Page 67 of Hot Zone

“Yeah, he’s fine. He just has a difficult client. They have a stalker, but they don’t want to follow his directions.”

“That must be a pain in the ass.”

“It is, believe me. It is.”

“Hey, boys, what can I get for you two today?” our server, Polly, asked.

“I’m about to blow your mind, Polly. I’m going to get something new today.”

“Are you?” she asked.

“Yep, apparently, the real mark of a good pub is their burger, so I’m going to try one today.”

“You go ahead and do that. I’ll stick with the Philly,” Hawk said. “And a beer, of course.”

“Yeah, I’ll have a beer as well.”

“Okay, I’ll put your food in, and I’ll be right back with your beers.”

“A burger? Really?” Hawk asked.

“Yeah, Mars said he thought the best test for a pub’s food was the burger. He wants to go on a tour of the city’s burgers and see if we can find the best burger in town.”

“So you’re pregaming for your date then?”

“I guess. I just like to know what I’m talking about if I suggest we try this one.”

“How are things going between you two?”

“Damn good. We had Steven and his girlfriend over for dinner last night, and everything went great. I think he’s coming to grips with it.”

“And your boy? Is he settling into the lifestyle?”

“Seems to be.”

Polly swung by the table and dropped off our beers, and I picked mine up and took a drink. “I have to tell you, things are better with Mars than with anyone I’ve ever been with. Now I just have to convince him not to move out.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t done that already.”

“We haven’t talked about it. My whole garage is full of stuff he’s bought for his place when he finds one, but as far as I’m concerned, he should just go ahead and unpack it all. I have plenty of room for everything he owns and anything else he wants to buy.”

Just as Polly brought our food, my phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID to see Fox’s name. “Sorry, Hawk, I need to get this.”I knew Fox wouldn’t be calling me on a Sunday if it wasn’t important.

“Sheridan,” I answered.

“Hey, Chief,” Fox said. “We got another one.”

“Where?”

“Vesper Fire Academy.”

“Shit, that isn’t in our service area.”

“Nope, sure isn’t.”

“And you’re sure it’s him?”

“I am.”

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