“There’s no hope?” “Not at his age, I’m afraid.” . . . “Mr. Belem? Should I prepare the shot?” “I’ll do it.” “That isn’t nec—“ “I said, I’ll do it. Hey, Chico? You and me, right to the end. You should have seen him, Doctor. He was a champion even before the amplifiers. When he was young, he could follow one drop of perfume on a whore’s tit across all Rio. He once tracked a missing child through half Brasilia with only the family hairbrush for a template.” “Just lightly there, under the leg.” “Steady, boy.” “He must have been a great hunter.” “Only time was greater, Doctor. Only time.”