Page 116 of Out Of A Fix

“I am.”

“Well, we’ll have a warm shower and some hot soup waiting for you.”

“Thank you. I’ll talk to you soon,” I said, and hung up. I called Shaw next.

“Who is this?” He asked tersely.

“It’s me,” I snapped at him.

“It’s Saturday,” he announced, like I didn’t know that. “And why aren’t you using your phone to—shit. What happened?”

“I need a new phone here tomorrow. Mine is officially dead.”

“Why?” He sounded annoyed, so I answered him with the same level of irritation.

“I chased a guy, and it died in the ensuing altercation.”

“Fuck you, Nash! Why didn’t you start with that?”

“Because you were being a dick.”

“For the love of—are you hurt?”

“I’m banged up a little, but nothing is broken and I’m not bleeding profusely. There are a few cuts and scrapes is all.”

“Shit. Who showed up?”

“No one remotely interesting. Just a guy who used to work for the former chief of police.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Listen, I need a phone. Can you get me one, please?”

“Yeah, I’ll have it there in the morning,” he grumbled.

“Why’re you mad? I’m the one who got hurt.”

“I know. You always get hurt.”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“I want you to know that you’re a great fixer, Nash, but you have my permission to be a regular man too.”

“Are you awake? Were you sleeping?”

“No, I wasn’t sleeping! All I’m trying to convey is that you deserve to be happy, and maybe that means you should be done working for Torus. You can stop. You’re allowed. Even though you’ve been here the longest, you can leave. I want you to know that.”

“Why on earth would I ever need permission from you for anything?”

“I think you need someone to say it to you. Benji thinks so too.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?”

“I’ll talk to you later.”

“Wait,” he said, and then didn’t say a word.