The Merger – 33

 

Osborne didn't back down, telling detective King, "I wasn't going to take any chances that Comstock might find out I'd brought in the police against his orders. Mr. Harte, with the able assistance of the bank's security expert, Mr. Stanton, did what was necessary tonight without any loss of life."

Mike could tell from the detective's expression that King wanted to say the police would have done a better job of things. Instead, King had the common sense not to argue, only telling Osborne, "I understand why you asked Mr. Harte and his associate to take the job. Next time, however…"

"There's not going to be a next time," Osborne replied tartly. Then he barely smiled, adding, "But if there were, I'd still do exactly what I did and hire Mr. Harte and Mr. Aston."

Mike nodded in thanks then asked King, "If you don't need anything more from us, may we leave?"

"You may," the detective replied. "All of you are to come by the precinct in the morning. I'll have your statements ready for you to sign."

Thad immediately took off, saying he was going to the hospital to see how Stanton was doing. Osborne couldn't leave until the police had finished their jobs, since he needed to reset the security system.

Mike and Josh opted to exit by the back door to avoid the reporters who had arrived en masse. They were gathered in front of the bank, TV cameras rolling, cameras snapping, while they badgered the two officers stationed outside the doors to keep them and any onlookers at bay.

One clever reporter had figured he might do better checking out the alley behind the bank. He quickly accosted Mike and Josh, tossing questions at them. He deflated when Mike replied, "We've been ordered by the police not to say anything as it might prejudice the case against the men involved in the robbery."

Of course the reporter grabbed onto that, saying, "So it was a robbery. Were the two of you hostages?"

Ignoring the reporter, Mike put one arm around Josh's shoulders, hustling them both out of the alley then down to where they'd parked their cars. Josh looked pale, in Mike's estimation, so Mike told him, "You're to go right home. Got it?"

"After I get some food in my stomach. In case you missed the memo, we haven't eaten since lunch." Josh frowned. "I did eat lunch, didn't I?"

"Josh…" Mike shook his head. "We'll both stop somewhere."

"Together?" Josh asked, his lips quirking up.

"Yes, together." Mike swatted his good arm. "Do you know Merker's? It's open until one."

"Yep. I'll meet you there."

They arrived moments apart, parking in the lot behind the restaurant. Given the late hour, there were very few customers, so they didn't have to wait to be seated.

They ordered meals and drinks—coffee for both of them. When the waitress was gone, Josh leaned back, saying, "We didn't do too badly tonight, thanks to George's help. I hate to think how it would have gone without him."

"We'd have won," Mike said with certainty. "A bit more bloody, but we would have. You're making a real believer out of me with the Tasers."

"Good," Josh replied. "I can't say the same about guns. In the long run, tonight, they didn't do much good and caused a lot of harm. If George had been using a Taser, he'd have been able to deal with Comstock without either of them getting hurt."

Mike smiled dryly. "I think everyone we tased felt a lot of pain."

"You know what I mean," Josh said, rolling his eyes. He thanked the waitress when she brought their coffees then took a deep drink. "I needed this."

"What you need—what we both need—is a good night's sleep. We have to play catch-up tomorrow on the jobs we cancelled from today, and that's after we go down to the precinct to sign our statements."

"I wonder how long it'll take for Comstock and his cronies to make bail."

"What I wonder," Mike replied, "is who that safety deposit box belonged to. From what Comstock said, he's dead now."

"I'm sure the police will figure it out and add a murder charge to all the others the bastard will be facing."

Their meals arrived right after Josh had said that. They dug in, more intent on eating than talking. When they'd finished, Josh stretched, saying, "Now, I feel almost human."

"You look very human," Mike replied with a grin. "Under different circumstances, I'd take you home and put you to bed." He wondered if he shouldn't have said that when Josh's eyes opened wide in disbelief. "To make certain you actually went to bed," Mike added quickly. "You look like hell."

"You just said I looked human," Josh teased. "Make up your mind."

Mike tapped his fingers together. "Thinking of Hell brings up images of devils. You look devilishly hand…human."

"Uh-huh. Now you're reaching, Mr. Harte." Josh flagged down their waitress, asking for their check. When she brought it, Mike snagged it before Josh could, saying he'd use the agency credit card to pay and add the expense to Osborne's bill.

With that taken care of, they finished their coffees then left the restaurant. Josh put his arm around Mike's waist as they walked to their cars. When they got there, he said, "I think I can safely say this has been the most interesting date I've ever been on," and winked.

"Let's keep it that way and have less exciting ones from now on," Mike replied without batting an eye.

"Works for me." Josh put his hands on Mike's shoulders, looking at him for a long moment before kissing him. It deepened when Mike returned it, until of one accord they broke apart.

"If I wasn't so tired…" Mike said a bit breathlessly.

"I agree. But you are, I am, and as you've pointed out more than once tonight, we both need to sleep." Josh hugged him, whispering, "Maybe we can pursue this in more depth on our next date."

"Tomorrow night," Mike replied. "Well, tonight. I think it's after midnight by now."

Josh took out his phone, checked, then said, "Nope. Not for half an hour. What do we want to do?"

It took a second for Mike to figure out what he meant. "Go dancing again? Go to a movie?"

"A movie sounds good to me," Josh replied. "We'll figure out which one in the morning." He kissed him again, quickly, before opening his car door. "See you bright and early."

"Not too early, since we have to go sign our statements, first."

"There is that," Josh said, sliding into the car. "Drive carefully and don't fall asleep at the wheel."

Mike laughed, replying, "You, too," before heading to his car—and from there, home.