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A few seconds later, Fingerman snatched at the curtain that separated the front of the store froy brown hair and bright green eyes Dressed in a baggy tan T-shirt that had seen better days, he looked like he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days
Ah, that here Bubba’s beard had gone
Mark had been working for Bubba off and on for years But more than that, the two of them were best friends, and Mark was every bit as crazy as Bubba
Wait, on second thought, he was even crazier Bubba didn’thioodness Mark wasn’t wearing it today, ‘cause that stuff stank with a big capital S
"Dang it all, Bubba, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that? You scare the crap out ofvoice of yours It carries and breaks the sound barrier One day, you’re gonna cause onna clean it up You cause it You clean it"
Bubbathat sounded like Latin
"I’ Don’t bark at onna make me bite"
Nick cleared his throat to reuys? My phone? Malicious lunatic at school? Your mom at the airport?"
That snapped Bubba’s attention to where Nick wanted it He handed the phone to Mark "I need you to trace the IP on this and find out who registered the doht I can do that"
"I know you can That’s why I called you out here"
Mark clenched his jaw in a way that let Nick knoas having to force hiestured toward the door "Don’t you need to go get yourtrip froood-hearted wo" Bubba opened his jacket to check the pocket and make sure he had his wallet He patted his pants, then frowned
Mark picked his keys up froh of relief, Bubba took the his head, Mark didn’t say anything until after Bubba had left the store "I swear, I love his ets so beside hiht"
Caleb snorted "I didn’t know he ever thought straight"
Mark laughed at that "True All right, y’all, come on back and I’ll trace this for you"
They walked around the counter and through the curtains Kody took a seat at the long, tall worktable that was streith various corabbed her hand "Make sure you ground yourself before you touch anything" He stressed the last word
She frowned "Ground , am I?" From anyone else that would sound like a joke, but since Kody could actually fly …
Mark placed her hand on the"Static electricity is your worst eneas"
Caleb and Nick exchanged an aood After all, Mark was the only one Nick kneho could set fire to his jeep by sias?" Nick asked
"Yeah, I once blew up my uncle’s motorcycle by accident and set fire tohad I done it intentionally Anyway, I slid off the vinyl seat and touched the nozzle without grounding nited the fumes and that was all she wrote You’d be amazed how many people a year blow themselves up Believe it or not, I’m not the only one … Not exactly sure how that h Glad I’m not the only one, but still…"
Mark sat down at the bench and pulled the keyboard toward him "Did you know there’s been over two hundred reported cases of people who ignited theround the the nozzle? It’s true Most are woot back in the car, and when they got back out to touch the nozzle, ka-boom I have to say that I am not proud to be one of the very few , but if I can keep one of you fro lad Bubba wasn’t there to see it and hed "That’s what I love most about you, Mark"
"What?"
"Your whole purpose in life see to others on what not to do"
Laughing with hi "Sad, but true, kid Sad, but true Now let’s see e can find"
They waited quietly while Mark worked
Nick’s phone started ringing Without le keystroke, Mark handed it to him Now that was impressive But then, Mark was thehe’d perfected while keeping one hand buried in a potato chip bag while he worked or surfed
Pressing the answer button, Nick held his phone to his ear "Hello?"
"Are you dead?"
Nick hesitated at the sound of Kyrian’s deeply accented voice "No, but that tone sounds like ht be ilanced to the clock on the wall and cringed It was after five "Sorry, boss I got distracted"
"Yeah, and you didn’t call your mother and she called me worried sick about you"
Nick scowled "Why didn’t she call ain and it rolled straight to voicemail She now thinks you’re dead in a ditch"
Great Detention and grounded Just what he wanted "I’ll give her a call"