★ Joe ☆

A couple of hours later, Mike still wasn’t feeling very well. He had told Ryan about the ‘accident’ with Lisa, and Ryan had shook his head pitiful. And because Ryan wouldn’t stop trying to explain that there really wasn’t anything going on between him and Deb, Mike had decided to go out for a walk.
Perhaps some fresh air would do him some good.
He was only two blocks away, from the hotel, when he saw someone that made him stop dead in his tracks. He shook his head; it couldn’t be true. His hangover was making him see things.
He walked further, and as he did so his view on the woman...

“Agnes!”
Agnes swallowed, and rotated her head. Dale was limping towards her.
In the meantime, Harrison was being dragged back inside the council room.
“What have te done?” Dale shouted angry, when he saw Deb’s unconscious body, at the bottom of the well.
“Harrison Parker, you’ve been found guilty for treason against our leader, Dale Waldon. What do te have to say for yourself?” Marion bellowed. She was sitting on Dale’s chair.
Harrison raised his head at her. “Look at what you’ve become. What we’ve become. Deb got away, but we just had to drag her back in. And for what,...

Max frowned. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve sworn Mike’s eyes were shining. “I’m sorry te had to hear this”, she detto carefully.
“Yeah” Mike said. “Thank you. I’ll take care of it. I’ll see te tomorrow”
“Really? I thought I was fired” Max muttered surprised.
“Just don’t pull out your gun” Mike warned her. “Unless it is to protect her, of course” He thought about that for a second, and added: “Don’t tell her I detto that. I don’t think she would appreciate it”
“My lips are sealed” Max commentato dry. “See te tomorrow, then” She walked...

“Okay, hit me”
Max an Debra were standing in the basement. Deb had put on più comfortable clothes, instead of pj’s, and Max had removed her coat. With rolled up sleeves, the latter looked expectantly at her opponent.
“I’m not going to hit you” Deb protested.
“Come on, Deb, te can’t hide behind a scrivania, reception forever” Max tried to provoke her.
“I wasn’t hiding” Deb frowned. “I just wanted to help other people like me, without…getting out in the field” she added, awkwardly.
“Yeah, that’s what I call a fancy way for saying te were hiding” Max emphasized the last three...

For several minuti Deb’s breathing was the only sound she heard, until she heard the front door open. She froze, and waited for footsteps to echo down the hall. As detto footsteps became louder, as they approached the kitchen, Deb turned around, and braced herself.
Max stood a few meters away from her, her hands up in a surrendering gesture. “Mike called me. detto he’d left”
She took up the courage to sposta a little closer, and as she did, she noticed the key on the ground. “You dropped something. Hold on, I got it” Before Deb could respond, Max had already dived for the key. “Here...

And so it was that, when a few days later Deb was released from the hospital and Mike drove her to his house in Woodbridge, Max was already inside, waiting for them.
“How did te get in here?” Deb asked, a little hostile.
Max, awkwardly, pointed at Mike. “He, uh, he gave me a key”
Deb narrowed her eyes and looked at Mike. “You gave her a key? Why did te give her a key? What does she need a key for? Heck, I don’t even have a key”
Max pressed her lips and closed her eyes for a diviso, spalato second. “That’s my cue” she detto and she walked past them to the front door. “Oh, da the way,”...