Her hands ran over the books, taking in the varying
textures that the different bindings offered her impatient fingers. There were so many delicious choices in this
library, each one filled with its own priceless bits of history, bursting to be
known, to be read; instead, they sat on the shelves of a selfish government, in
a restricted section, collecting dust.
Her time was limited, but she could not stop her fingers,
as they wandered over a first edition copy of Mark Twain’s legendary Huckleberry Finn. Carefully, she pulled the book from its spot
on the shelf and laid it delicately on the table next to her. Gently, she opened the front cover and peered
at the opening sentences. “You don’t know about me
without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he
told the truth, mainly.” This book alone would be a treasure to own,
but she was not here for this treasure.
Closing the cover, she placed the book back with its companions. She could not spoil her months of planning
for this one item by taking one considerably less valuable.
Her research told her she needed to move two rows to the
left, about halfway up the aisle.
Softly, she moved, careful not to disturb anything more, in case the new
guard decided to come on duty earlier than scheduled. Standing on the tips of her toes, she scanned
the spines of each book on her intended shelf.
When she reached a series of books covering the Wisconsin Cheese
Festivals from the turn of the twentieth century until the recent decade, a
smirk crossed her face. It was a wonder
to her that no one questioned why a book about cheese festivals was located in
the restricted section of the Library of Congress. She assumed that those who used the library
never really looked at the titles of the books unless they were in need of
them.
Cautiously looking around, taking in the location of the
cameras and keeping her face turned so that it could not be seen in full, she
reached her hand towards the Cheese Festival books and pulled three of them off
the shelf. Rising on tiptoe again, she
glanced into the opening the books left.
She could not see anything immediately jump out at her. Smirking, she brought her arm through the gap
and began to feel around behind the books.
She felt nothing but the back of the bookcase.
Frustrated, she shoved the rest of the books about the
Wisconsin Cheese Festivals onto the floor.
In her haste, a few other books fell off the shelves. Upset with herself for mistreating the books,
she bent down to pick them up from the floor.
Her source had informed her the book was located here. She knew her source was not wrong; he agreed
with her agenda, at least the agenda she’d told him, but she was sure she’d
been convincing, and he did not know the real reason. Brushing the strands of black hair that had
fallen into her face back behind her ears, she stood and placed the books on
the table behind her, careful to avert her face still. Grabbing the first book in her stack, she
stood staring at the annals of the cheese festivals from 1920-1929 and thought
about the situation that faced her. This
was her one chance. She had two choices:
1. Abandon the
pursuit for this one item and move on, or...
2. Tear apart the
entire library searching for it and hope she could find it before a storm of
guards came to take her away.
Neither one of these ideas sat well with her. Unfocused on what she was doing, she started
to put the book back on the shelf. A
noise coming from the stairwell caused her to look up, rushed, and that was
when she saw it. The back of the
bookcase behind where the cheese festival books were located was not as far
back as the back of the shelves behind the other books.
Positively giddy at this point, she stood up on the tips of
her toes and started feeling around again.
There had to be a catch of some kind to release what she most
desired. After only a few seconds of
groping around, she felt something different and heard a slight click. This was it.
She knew the alarms would be sounding now; she had to grab the book and
make a run for it. There would be no
time to cherish her new possession until she was safe.
Prying the boards away, she finally felt binding and
quickly pulled it out of its spot.
Unable to wait, she decided she needed to take a look now. It was imperative that she knew she had the
correct book before bolting, only to find out later she’d stolen a first
edition Betty Crocker cookbook. Scanning
the words of the first page, she knew right away that she had the real deal: only one page, and secrets about the United
States and its founding fathers were opened up to her. Unable to keep up an air of professionalism,
she let a squeal come out.
“Up here,” she heard a voice calling. The squeal was too much, probably. It was fine with her; she needed them to see
her, and she needed someone to witness the great theft. Running faster than she thought possible in a
skirt and heels, she made her way toward the back staircase and took every
chance she could get to look up at the security cameras. She needed to look now; it was part of her
escape.
Finally, she reached the doors, and freedom was almost
hers. “Freeze!” the same voice she’d
heard earlier yelled out at her. She
turned to face the voice, laughing at the cliché use of “freeze.” Really, couldn’t they find a more creative
way to tell someone to stop moving?
Staring at the guard through the black strands of hair that
had fallen back into her eyes, a smile started to play on her lips. His hands were shaking slightly. “Ashavari?” the man questioned. The woman laughed. It was even better that this guard had caught
on to her disguise perfectly; that was something she had not planned for. Before he could say anything else, the woman
pulled a gun from her suit jacket and shot the guard in the knee.
There was barely enough time, but she made it out of the
library and managed to be far away before the police, FBI, and CIA were able to
make it there. She walked along the path
in the park and caressed the cover of the book gently. By far, this was her most coveted possession,
but she did not have much time to cherish it.
She had to move on to the next heist, the next priceless book that
needed “rescuing.”
± ±
±
“You
guys need anything?” an accented voice called out through the house.
“No,
we’re good, Opal! Well, wait, come on over;
I’m sure we can use something to brighten up the room a bit more,” Nick called
back with a grin, as he refocused his attention upon the files on the table in
front of him.
“Don’t
you start getting coy with me, Nick!”
“Now,
Carter, I told ya, she’s mine,” joked Brian, who was sitting next to Nick on
the couch. It was a new phenomenon for
the two of them to be in the same room, teasing each other in the way friends
did, without any underlying animosity.
But things had changed ever since the FANthrax mission, since Brian’s
life had nearly been claimed by the virus in Canada. “Whatever happened with Julilly, anyway? I’da thought you’d have used that trip to the
Olympics as another chance to hook up with her.”
Nick
shook his head, grinning sheepishly.
“Man, you know how those things go…”
“Do
you have booty call girls in every country or something?”
Nick’s
grin grew wider. “Something like that.”
“Good
thing they’re booty calls, or they’d get sick of you.”
“Brian,
you just don’t know. Once they go Nick,
everyone else makes ‘em sick.”
The
southerner shook his head and returned his focus back to what they were
actually supposed to be working on. The
two were at Brian’s house, just outside of Washington, D.C., in the beautiful
countryside of Virginia. The house was a
two-story, classic, country home, straight out of a clichéd movie, with acres
of woods around it, along with a large back porch, even with the handmade
rocking chair. The inside had a homey
feeling, designed for comfort rather than style, filled with heirlooms passed
through Brian’s family. It was actually
the kind of home Nick wished he’d grown up in – not that he would ever say so
aloud.
“Hey,
you paying attention?”
“Not
fully, sorry.” Not at all, to be more
accurate – not that he’d ever say that either.
“I
was saying, from the look of it, everyone’s starting to calm down about the
Olympics. South Korea’s finally stopped
blaming Canada for their lax security, and Cypress Mountain is open for operation
again, now that the avalanche cleanup is finished. You and Styx are lucky you got out of that
alive.”
Nick
nodded, shuffling through the papers with pent up frustration. “Yeah, but what about Drums and Dr.
Rough? I tell ya, man, the last I saw of
them, they were flying off a cliff.
Literally, off a cliff! They went
over the edge! Tell me, how could they
possibly have survived that? But these
say no bodies were recovered…”
Brian
watched Nick and nodded sympathetically.
“…which makes you think that, once again, Rough managed to escape.”
Nick’s
fist slammed the files he held in his hands upon the table. “It’s fucking frustrating, man! This midget has gotten away from us five
different freaking times! Who knows,
maybe more, and it just took us ages to realize it was that twitchy bastard.”
“Not
just you that’s aggravated, Nick. We are
too. My superiors are pissed no one’s
found him. They’re shocked as hell that
HimTak hasn’t gotten the job done yet.”
“Don’t
rub it in.”
“Sorry,
but we’re getting fed up, too. I don’t
get how he keeps slipping away.”
“’Cause
he’s a munchkin coward. Little people
are evil.”
Brian
smirked. “Hey, cut the short jokes. Not all of us are angry, overcompensating,
little twits.”
Nick
snickered. “Well, you’re not angry…”
“Now,
I ain’t the one showing mine off all the time.”
“Maaaan,
you know K almost killed me ‘cause of you.”
Nick picked up the files again, his eyes scanning them for anything that
could help him finally track down FANS and give them what they deserved. He also was trying not to think about how
Brian had forced him to flash Canada and show off not-so-little Nicky at the
hotel in Toronto.
“I
know; he called and yelled at me, too.
It was worth it to see your face.”
“Glad
to see you feel guilty about it, Country Boy.”
He saw Opal pass by them, heading into the kitchen. “Hmm, I know Red sent you that video, but did
Opal ever see it? Might explain why
she’s not knocking at my door yet…” he teased with a playful smile.
“Oh, I
saw it, Nick…” she answered with a giggle, as she tossed her curtain of silky,
black hair over her shoulder. Her green
eyes met his as she opened the fridge.
“I just prefer the good ol’ fashioned country boy.”
“Your
words wound me greatly, Opal.” Nick
pouted dramatically with his hands over his heart. “I don’t know if I can go on.”
“You
better ‘cause I know I ain’t doin’ all this paperwork for HimTak and CIA by
myself,” Brian said matter-of-factly, his accent thickening a bit. He shoved the HimTak papers back at Nick’s
chest. Between giggles, Nick started
getting back to work again, and Brian chuckled despite himself.
“Fine,
but one day, Opal… one day…”
She
laughed and closed the refrigerator door once again. “One day, your dreams will come…”
Brian
groaned. “Hon, don’t get him started on
Disney songs. He doesn’t stop!”
Nick
stuck his tongue out at him. “Had my
share of those last year, thanks. But I
can sing for you, since you love it so much.”
Opal
came to the table, leaned over Brian, and kissed him softly. “Sorry, sweetie,” she stated with a wry
grin. His hands reached for her face
gently and pulled her down for another kiss.
“You
owe me.”
“Maybe…
I need to run to the store though, okay?”
“Mmm…
not if you’re gonna do this, Ashie…”
Nick
was oblivious to the exchange, as he began to sing. “I want to love you… P-Y-T! Pretty Young Thing… you need some lovin'…
T-L-C!”
“Michael Jackson again?” Brian had to ask, once he pulled away
from Opal. She went to grab her purse
and keys. He watched Nick with amused
amazement.
Nick danced a bit in his chair to the music in his head. “Hey, the man was the King of Pop…” He grinned as he got back to work, continuing
to sing, of course. “…Tender Lovin' Care… and I'll take you there… I want to love you….”
“P-Y-T!”
Brian chimed in, waving as Opal headed for the door, laughing to herself. It was good seeing them get along, though it
looked like Nick wasn’t the best
influence in the world, but it was entertaining.
“Bout
time I see you loosen up!” Nick beamed
brightly. “…Pretty Young
Thing, you need some lovin'…”
“T-L-C!”
“Tender Lovin' Care… I'll take you there…”
Before Brian could continue the line Nick left off on,
there was a loud knock at the door. Brian
gave Nick a shrug before he got up and walked through the living room, to get
to the front room and answer the door.
Nick listened closely, as the person at the door introduced himself.
“I’m Agent Tom,” a man said, and Nick assumed he was now
flashing his identification, “and this is Agent Hank. We’re with the FBI. Is there an Ashavari Desai at this
residence? We have a warrant for her
arrest.” Nick sat up as soon as he heard
Opal’s real name and the word “warrant.”
He made his way silently through the living room and across the hallway,
where he slipped into the coat closet within moments.
“On what charges?!” Brian exclaimed, still standing in the
doorway to deny them access to his home.
Obviously, he knew Opal wasn’t home, but they didn’t know that, and he
wanted to keep them out of his house as long as possible.
“As far as you’re concerned, she’s been connected as the
sole perpetrator of a number of crimes:
grand theft, assault with a deadly weapon, and threatening national
security, at the top of the list,” Agent Hank said, growing impatient.
“What the-” Brian started, before taking a moment to
process this information, looking back as he did so and noticing the coat
closet door cracked open just slightly.
He would have been surprised by Nick’s quick hiding skills if he hadn’t
been so concerned about Opal at the moment.
“When did she supposedly commit these crimes? We’ve been damn near inseparable for almost a
week now.”
Nick’s eyes widened as he listened through the crack he’d
left in the door. He immediately pulled
out his cell phone and sent Opal a text message: FBI IS
HERE LOOKING TO ARREST YOU. DO NOT COME
BACK TO BRIAN’S. STAY WHERE YOU ARE.
“So Ms. Desai is here, then?” Agent Tom said, ignoring
Brian’s last comment.
“No, actually, she’s not,” Brian said, through gritted
teeth, as it was clear he was not going to get through to these guys enough to
call off their manhunt for his Opal.
“She went into D.C. for the day with some of her friends,” Brian lied,
silently hoping they would buy it, but knowing that they had no reason not to;
Brian was trained to spot liars just as well as they were, so he knew all the
traps to avoid.
Agent Tom and Agent Hank exchanged looks. “Fair enough.
We should be able to find her there,” Agent Hank said to Agent Tom,
quietly enough that he surely didn’t want Brian to hear his comment.
“Just remember, Agent Littrell, if we suspect foul play, we
can have you arrested for obstruction of justice and harboring a fugitive of
the law,” Agent Tom said, as Agent Hank walked back down the front steps of the
porch and made his way back to the car.
“I hope that’s not a threat, Agent,” Brian commented,
trying to control his temper as much as he could at that moment, “because it
sounded awfully threatening and damn near accusatory. Now, if that’ll be all I can do for you
today…”
“I suppose it is, Agent Littrell,” Agent Tom said, as he
turned around to walk to the porch steps, twisting back to look at Brian before
walking down. “I hope I won’t have to
come back here looking for you soon, too.”
“Have a good day, gentlemen!” Brian called, as he began to
close the door, waving goodbye, while ignoring Agent Tom’s last statement. Brian instantly turned around, after locking the
door, and darted to the hall closet.
“I’d make a joke about you coming out of the closet right about now, but
we really need to-”
“-Warn Opal to stay somewhere safe until we can come get
her?” Nick finished, holding up his cell phone to show the text message he’d
just received from Opal that simply said:
WHAT?! FINE, GET HERE QUICK. B KNOWS WHERE.
Brian grinned as he read the message, then reached behind
Nick to grab a jacket. “Come on. We have to work quickly if we’ve got a
chance.”
± ± ±
“I
gotta hand it to ya, Carter,” remarked Brian, as he drove them to Opal’s
preferred grocery store. “You can think
on your feet. I’d almost say that was
genius.”
In
the passenger seat, Nick raised his eyebrows and blinked rapidly, feigning
disbelief. “What was that,
Littrell? Could you say it again? The last part?”
Brian
smirked. “I said, I could almost call that genius, Carter.”
“Almost,”
Nick repeated, smirking back.
“’Course…
they could’ve searched the house and blown your cover,” Brian added, determined
not to let Carter’s head inflate too
much. “You’re just lucky they didn’t.”
“Opal’s
lucky,” Nick amended in a dark tone. “So
what the hell is this all about, anyway?
What exactly are they accusing her of doing?”
While
waiting a few minutes, to be sure the Feds were truly gone, Brian had placed a
call to a contact he had in the FBI to find out just that. Now he pressed his lips into a grim smile,
his nostrils flaring as he drew in a sharp breath, and answered, “There was a
break-in at the Library of Congress last night.
Security was breached in a restricted section, and a priceless book was
stolen. Security cameras captured a
woman who resembled Ashavari, and I guess there was an eyewitness – a security
guard at the library – who recognized her… or thought he did, anyway. But…”
He shook his head quickly. “It
couldn’t have been her. She wasn’t
there, Nick. She was with me, at the
house. Neither of us were anywhere near
the Library of Congress last night.”
“But
no one else knows that, right? It’s only
you who can confirm her alibi, and since you’re involved with her, CIA or not,
you’re not exactly an unbiased witness.
Sounds like the stupid fucking Feds think they’ve already got the case
in the bag,” Nick spat, his words tinged with bitterness at the mention of
federal agents.
For
once, Brian could understand his resentment.
“Exactly,” he muttered back. “I’m
not gonna let them put an innocent woman – my
woman – behind bars for a crime she didn’t commit. If it’s the last thing I do, I’m gonna get
Opal away from here until this whole thing blows over… until the real culprit
is caught.”
“Harboring
a fugitive… nice,” grinned Nick. When
Brian gave him an annoyed look, he added quickly, “No seriously, dude, I
approve! If Opal’s innocent, and the
goddamn U.S. government’s determined to find her guilty, then you gotta fight
to protect her.”
Seeing
Nick’s enthusiasm, Brian was suddenly skeptical. He didn’t have an actual plan yet, but it
seemed he was well on his way to doing exactly what Nick was suggesting: harboring a fugitive. And he, a CIA agent! Opal was innocent, but there would be no
doubt of his guilt if he helped her escape.
They would go down together.
“I
dunno, Nick,” mumbled Brian, shaking his head.
“I dunno what I’m doing… I dunno what I’m thinking! This is a bad idea. Maybe she should just turn herself in and
offer her alibi.”
“And
then what, rot in federal prison while they frame her anyway? Make an example of her, to show the public
they’re cracking down on library terrorism?”
Nick let out a derisive snort.
“Screw that,” he retorted. “And
you can forget this whole ‘I’ business.
Make it ‘we,’ dude – I’m with you all the way. Anything to screw over the government… and
save a damsel in distress at the same time.
I’m in. I’m so in.”
Brian
laughed skeptically, still shaking his head.
Deep down, though, he felt oddly touched at Nick’s sudden surge of
loyalty towards him. Well, him and Opal…
perhaps with the emphasis on Opal… and at the root of it was Nick’s hatred of
the government, the very agency for which Brian had worked and bled. But even still, he was touched.
00Carter
really wasn’t so bad after all, once you got used to him.
± ± ±
“I
can’t believe we’re plotting against the government in the freaking ladies room
at Safeway,” grumbled Nick, looking around in disdain.
“We’re
not plotting against the government,” Brian said sharply, giving him a warning
look. “We’re just plotting how to get
Opal away, until the government catches the real criminal.”
“Right,”
snorted Nick. “And we’re doing it in the
women’s bathroom.” He cast a mistrustful
glance at the tampon dispenser.
“Like
I said…” Brian sighed heavily, with the
air of someone trying to explain a complex problem to a hyperactive
two-year-old. “It’s the only place they
don’t have security cameras to record everything we’re doing. If the parking lot cameras catch the three of
us together, they’ll know I helped Opal.”
“Well,
why couldn’t we have done this in the men’s room?” Nick complained.
“Why
can’t the two of you just stop bickering and tell me what this is all about!”
exploded Opal suddenly, stunning the two men into silence.
“Sorry,
hon,” Brian apologized to her quickly. “Listen,
someone who resembled you broke in to a highly secure wing of the Library of
Congress last night and stole something valuable. Between surveillance camera angles – and you
know how grainy those images are – and the statement from a guard who thought
he recognized you, they’re convinced it really was you.”
“What?!”
Opal cried, shaking her head, her exotic green eyes widening. “But that’s insane! You know I couldn’t have-”
“I
know,” Brian cut in. “And Nick knows
that too. That’s why we’re going to get
you away from here, before they can incarcerate you for something you know
nothing about.”
“But
I have an alibi! You can confirm-”
Brian
shook his head. “I don’t know how much
good my testimony will do. Like Nick
said earlier, they won’t consider me an unbiased witness. Word gets around; the Feds will know we’re
together. They’ll think I’m just
covering for you. And then they’ll start
to wonder if I’m involved too, if maybe I even helped you.”
“But…
Brian, this is the government…” Opal protested weakly. “They just couldn’t do that…”
Nick
snorted. “You just said, it’s the
government. Of course they could! They could, they can, and they will, if we
let them. They pull shit like this all
the time! You, of all people, should
know – you work for them.” Opal shook
her head, but he went on, “You can stay at HimTak, at least for now. It’s the one place in the continental U.S.
that the government can’t touch.”
“But
it’s located next to Area 51. That’s
government property.”
Nick
offered her a grim smile. “You keep our
secrets, and we keep yours. We coexist,
but we don’t interfere in each other’s business.”
“But
isn’t that what you’re doing now?
Interfering in their criminal investigation by hiding their suspect?”
Opal asked.
Nick
frowned at her. “Look, do you wanna stay
out of jail or not? I’m offering you a
safe haven. You’ll be safe at HimTak. They can’t touch you there.”
Opal
nodded slowly. “Of course I want to stay
out of jail. I just don’t want to do
anything that would jeopardize yours or Brian’s careers.”
Finally,
Brian spoke again. “If anyone’s
jeopardizing my career, it’s me. I’m
doing this of my own free will. Your
freedom and safety are more important to me than serving a government that
would put an innocent woman behind bars.
You got that?”
Opal
didn’t reply. She looked like she wanted
to protest again, but she kept her mouth shut.
“Look,
between Nick and I, we’ve got a lot of pull with Kevin. I know once he hears the whole story, he’ll see
to it that you’re protected. You’ll
leave here with Nick, and he’ll contact K and get you safely back to the HimTak
headquarters in Nevada.”
“What
about you?”
Brian
sighed. “I’ve gotta stay here, pretend I
don’t know anything about your whereabouts.
If I disappear too, they’ll know I helped you.”
Nick
cleared his throat. “Here, put this on,”
he said, offering her a long, blonde Halloween wig from his shopping
basket. She rolled her eyes, but took it
out of its packaging and secured it on her head. While she did, he put on the gorilla mask
he’d picked up for himself.
“You
two better hope they don’t bust you for shoplifting on your way out,” warned
Brian.
“Chill
out, Country Boy; I’m not stupid. I paid
for it,” said Nick. “I don’t wanna draw
any more attention to us than we already will, but at least this way, if the
Feds get a tip that we were here, they won’t get anything off the surveillance
cameras in the parking lot. Nothing they
can prove, anyway. By the way, here’s
your disguise.”
He tossed
Brian another package containing a huge, black seventies afro. Brian flashed him a look of deepest loathing,
but reluctantly opened the package and pulled the wig over his wispy curls.
Nick
started to snicker at once. When Brian
glared, he said, “Hey, it suits you, man!
I mean, you’re like four inches taller with that thing on! You’re almost as tall as me!”
“Better
stop while you’re ahead, Carter,” Brian growled, “and get my girl outta here
before I change my mind.”
“You
got it, Richard Simmons. Come on,
Blondie.” Nick reached out to take
Opal’s hand, but Opal hesitated, turning pleading eyes upon Brian.
“Wait…
Bri, are you sure about this? Have you
really thought about the implications of-”
Brian
stepped closer to her, so that they were face to face. Beneath the ridiculous ‘fro, his eyes were
serious. “I’ve done a lot of thinking,
and it all adds up to one thing: You’re
getting in that car with Nick where you belong.”
Opal
shook her head, tugging on the front of Brian’s jacket. “But Brian, no, I… I-”
“Now,
you’ve gotta listen to me! You have any
idea what you’d have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we’d both wind up in
a federal prison. Isn’t that true,
Nick?” He looked to Nick for back-up.
The
gorilla head dipped in a nod. “I’m
afraid the FBI would insist.”
“You’re
saying this only to make me go,” accused Opal.
Brian’s
reply was immediate. “I’m saying it
because it’s true. Inside of us, we both
know you belong at HimTak with Nick. If that
car leaves the parking lot, and you’re not in it, you’ll regret it…”
“No-”
“…
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.”
Opal’s
eyes had grown teary. “But what about
us?”
“We’ll
always have DC. We didn’t have… we
almost lost us, until you came to Canada.
We got it back then.”
“When
I said I would never leave you,” whispered Opal.
Brian
shook his head. “And you never
will. But I’ve got a job to do,
too. Where you’re going, I can’t follow. What you’ve got to do, I can’t be any part
of. Asha, I’m no good at being noble,
but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t
amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.”
“A
hill of beans?” snorted Nick, interrupting their tearful exchange. “Where’d you pick up that expression, Country
Boy?”
Brian
ignored him. He only had eyes for
Opal. “Someday,” he said, “you’ll
understand that.” As her face fell, he
reached out and took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Now, now,” he murmured, tilting her face up
to meet his. “Here’s lookin’ at you,
kid.”
Nick
cleared his throat. “We should get
going. Everything’s in order.”
Brian
looked at Opal. “Are you ready, Asha?”
Opal’s
voice was suddenly stoic. “Yes, I’m
ready.” She joined Nick at his
side. “Goodbye, Brian. God bless you.”
Brian’s
throat felt tight. “Better hurry so
you’ll miss the Feds,” he said.
Without
another word, Opal allowed Nick to take her hand, and the walked side by side
to the door of the ladies’ room. Nick
held it open for Opal, and they sidestepped the “CAUTION: Wet Floor” sign Brian had placed just outside
the door, to give the impression that the restroom was being cleaned. He looked back once, and Brian said quickly,
“Anyway, thanks for helping me out.”
“You
owe me, you know,” said Nick, and Brian could imagine the big, smirky grin
hidden by his gorilla mask. “First I
saved your life, and now I’m saving your woman.
But I’m sure you’ll be good for something someday.”
“Does
that mean you’re officially no longer opposed to working with someone who works
for the government?”
“Nah…” Nick shrugged. “I guess you’re all right, Rok.”
Brian
smiled. “Nicky… I think this is the
beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
With
that, he waved them off, watching from the shadows of the doorway as a man with
a gorilla’s head and a woman with Rapunzel hair walked quickly out into the
fluorescent lights and disappeared through the automatic sliding glass doors at
the front of the store.
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