Shadow Men – 19 – Rafe and Steele

"Okay, now I'm starving." Rafe leaned on his elbows as he looked down at Steele.

A good night's sleep had done wonders for both of them. Add to that an amazing bout of morning loving and they were definitely ready to face the day.

"Then you're going to have to move because for some strange reason we can't fix breakfast if we're lying here."

"Actually," Rafe said after he kissed Steele thoroughly one more time and then rolled off him to sit up, "I doubt we can fix breakfast anywhere here. If there's food in the fridge, it's probably growing green mold."

"Lovely thought that." Steele got up to hit the bathroom after he'd retrieved his kit from his backpack. While he was in there Rafe went to the bedroom window and cautiously looked out between the curtains. He could just see the street, which seemed to be empty. A check of the time told him it was midmorning and thus the lack of pedestrians was not surprising.

Steele returned a few minutes later, clean-shaven and with his hair combed back off his forehead, which gave him a completely different look from what he'd had for the last few days. He eyed Rafe then nodded.

"What?"

"Go take care of business and then you're getting a haircut."

"Like hell," Rafe grumbled as he ran his hand through his too long, curly black hair. One look from Steele and he knew he was doomed, and why, so he vanished into the bathroom. When he came back he was grinning. "No scissors."

"Sharp knife. Sit." Steele waited until he had and then set to work. Fifteen minutes later he deemed the job finished.

Rafe took a look in the ancient mirror over the dresser. "Not as bad as I expected," he said when he'd turned back to Steele.

"You knew it wouldn't be. Now get dressed. I was thinking touristy."

"With a touch of 'Yes, we're heading out to hike'," Rafe added. "It will explain the backpacks."

With that decided they dressed accordingly from what clothes they had with them. The dirty, bloody clothes they'd arrived in went into a trash sack Steele found under the kitchen sink, set for disposal in the closest waste bin.

"Ready?" Rafe asked as he opened the back door just enough to check if anyone was out there. Two doors down he saw a middle-aged woman hanging laundry out to dry and held up his hand. When she finally went back into her house, the two men walked swiftly to the back gate of the small yard then down the narrow alley to the street. The area was residential but three blocks away they could see some shops. They both donned sunglasses and walked casually toward them.

"Food," Rafe said, pointing to a small café. They continued on past it as they carefully checked the area for anyone who seemed too interested in them, even though they were not the only tourists around. When they were certain it was safe they returned and went inside. Rafe took the lead once they'd found an empty table in back. He ordered for them in Italian flavored with a hint of a German accent. Then as the waitress started to leave he asked Steele in flawless German what he wanted to drink. Steele replied in kind and Rafe passed his wishes on to the girl who nodded and smiled at them before she left.

The food turned out to be excellent and as they ate they talked, in German, about which way they should go on their hike. At one point Rafe flagged down the waitress to ask her opinion and she made a couple of suggestions. When they finished and left, after a quick check to again make certain no one seemed interested in them, they started toward the center of the town and then veered off onto a small side street at Steele's insistence.

"Something?" Rafe asked as he looked back over his shoulder.

"Just a feeling, nothing more, but under the circumstances I think now might be a good time to head for the hills, and not the way our waitress suggested."

"Or…" Rafe eyed the car park directly ahead of them. "Come on."

There were several cars there, but only one that caught their eye as being a good choice. It was in the back and had a layer of dust and dirt on it that said it hadn't been driven in quite some time. They crossed to it as if they owned it. Rafe took a set of tools from a pocket in his backpack, picked one and moments later opened the car door. Then he tried to start it. When it wouldn't, Steele, being the mechanical one when it came to cars, lifted the hood. After a few minutes, while Rafe kept a weather eye open for trouble, Steele told him to try again. The engine chugged and stalled. Steele made another adjustment, and it turned over. Soon they were out of the car park and on one of the roads that would take them away from the town.