Page 59 (2/2)
"Where are you, pray tell?"
"Home," Zane answered slowly
"How is Texas? Sunny?" Burns asked politely
"No, we’re in the middle of a blizzard," Zane deadpanned
"Well, your wit is still as sharp as a broken toothpick," Burns said with a sigh "Vacation is over in four days I want you here in DC on the fifth"
Zane pressed his lips together as he guided the bike off the interstate onto a lesser highway "You’re the boss," he finally said
"You’re not going back to Mialy
"Mia a sentio
"Be here in five days The Bureau will pay for transport, if you like
Get your head wrapped around the idea of a few easy assignments and a new partner while you’re at it," Burns instructed
Zane’s gut clenched painfully "I’ve told you I don’t want a new partner What happened to nored him when he asked about Ty, but now he cleared his throat and said, "That’s classified See you in five days, Special Agent Garrett" And the Assistant Director hung up
Zane had to force himself to pay attention to traffic as his stomach roiled He didn’t want another partner He only wanted Ty
God Ty Ale Nothing but blind hope to keep hiet But after the second ti injured in Miaerous, depressive funk and figured out he had better listen to Ty’s request for hiain to nil He put in the vacation and transfer requests, and for the first time in five years, went home to Texas
The last three weeks had been full of ood and bad Ty was always there, on the edge of his periphery, and Zane felt like a part of hi What were the chances Burns would put hiured on absolutely none, and that was optimistic If Zane had been put back in deep cover, then Ty had to have been as well That was the other man’s specialty, after all, and the classified answer prettyAt least Burnsto tell him how to contact Ty when they spoke in five days
The bike sped out of the city and into the flats, giving its rider ti the Orioles get the shit kicked out of the a Sam Adams fresh out of the tap He knew the bartender by name He knew the waitress by na darts at the public health poster in the corner by nareat deal of time in this bar
"Want another basket, sweetie?" Cindy asked hilasses and elanced at her and shook his head, offering a weak smile He slid the empty basket of chips toward her, and she smiled at him as she took it and went on her way Ty looked back at the television, watching but not seeing
The Orioles were just painful this season Finally, he drained his beer, setting the e down a fifty with it
He waved goodbye to all the people who thought they knew hihed and turned away fro instead toward his row house near Fell’s Point It was a long walk, but Ty didn’t mind it The walk helped quell the part of hi the narrow roads would just hit him as he shuffled across the street Life was no fun any away, and shooting them wasn’t worth the paperwork He couldn’t even watch baseball without feeling the need to slit his wrists
Fucking stupid O’s
He had tracked Zane right back to Miami, to an undercover job where Ty couldn’t possibly contact him They couldn’t have sent hin but to wonder why Zane would do that
The cell phone in his back pocket began to vibrate as he walked slowly behind a couple out enjoying the night Ty growled under his breath and then reached back for it, flipping it open and answering with a negligent,
"What?"
"Stop walking," the voice said on the other end of the call, "and wait for your ride to pick you up"
Ty stopped dead in his tracks and sed heavily, resisting the urge to look around "You’re having me followed?" he asked incredulously
"Only when you’re thinking about going AWOL," Assistant Director Burns answered with a s as a black Yukon Denali pulled up beside the line of parked cars next to the sidewalk and waited for hirowl
"Midnight to four aers?"
"Broken," Ty grunted in answer "Why ana had a nasty plane accident down in the Caribbean,"
Burns infor on his plane had soet all the nuts and bolts tight enough Get in the damn car and let it take you honers hurt And the important one won’t stand up by itself"
"So hold them all up and call it a flock," Burns advised in mild amusement
Ty snorted "Flock of birds That’s funny," he overnhed, his voice taking on the tone of theyou love out the , het to torture your new partner to the call
Ty looked down at the phone as if it had offended hi for hihtened as he looked up and down the sidewalk Finally, he sighed and trudged over to the waiting vehicle, sliding into the back wordlessly
ZANE ignored Burns’ offer of transport, instead spending a coupleon the bike and heading east He really didn’t care what tiot to DC on the fifth day Burns hadn’t specified, after all
He stopped both nights along the way and tried a lot not to think about aiting for him A new partner
It was a few minutes after noon when he pulled into the Bureau lot and showed his identification Once he parked, he got a hit of déjà vu He’d arrived like this last time Same bike, same leather--different jacket His h, so it was trimmed and neat once more He had a few more scars He’d not told anyone about those No one to tell, really, and they’dhis nose, Zane dropped the helrued to find out only that Ty had been released from Walter Reed on the day Zane had last seen him, but then he hit a dead end Hoas possible for Ty to just walk out of the hospital and disappear, he didn’t know; agents not on assignh the Bureau He hadn’t gone on the lecture circuit like he’d said he was, that was for certain The only thing Zane could co off the books--not even undercover, but serious black-ops stuff--and thatas all hell as Zane searched for him And now here he was, faced with a partner he didn’t want in a job that iftly beco he enjoyed<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>