p id="docs-internal-guid-453db9f2-162d-afd0-dbfe-9da3ca35033d" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's really not that complicated, Morse."/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Max dropped the empty bottle into the rubbish bin. 'If you keep drinking like this you're going to end up with kidney failure. And I'd really rather not see you on my slab any time soon."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's not that bad," Morse huffed, rubbing his temples./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You passed out, at three in the afternoon. If that's not a problem, I don't know what is."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Debryn took a bit of cloth with antiseptic and carefully swabbed the skinned area on Morse's forehead./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It was heatstroke," Morse protested./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If that was heatstroke, then I'm your mother," retorted the somewhat older man./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well you're certainly acting like one," snapped Morse, flinching as Max bandaged the skinned palm of his hand./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Max pulled the bandage perhaps a bit tighter than he might have needed to. "Well maybe it's because you need one. You're acting like a foolish child!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morse frowned and turned away. Max let out a sigh./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Look, Morse. I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm saying all this because I care, we all care about you. You don't have to quit cold turkey, but perhaps you might consider going a little easier before dinner time. Not only is your health on the line, but if Mr. Bright found out you were drunk on the job, well..." he raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "That wouldn't be a pretty sight."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It was just... a bad day," Morse said at last. He thought about what had happened on this day, years ago, when he was still a boy. The day he lost his innocence. The day his mother had died./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well if you ever have a 'bad day' again," Max said hesitantly, "And I know we all do, you let me know."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morse nodded absently. "Course."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Max put his hand on Morse's wrist. "Morse, you let me know, do you understand. If not for your sake, then for mine. Please."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morse looked into the fervent eyes of the little man, seeing something there he had not seen often. "Yes, of course."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's really not that complicated, Morse."/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Max dropped the empty bottle into the rubbish bin. 'If you keep drinking like this you're going to end up with kidney failure. And I'd really rather not see you on my slab any time soon."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's not that bad," Morse huffed, rubbing his temples./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You passed out, at three in the afternoon. If that's not a problem, I don't know what is."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Debryn took a bit of cloth with antiseptic and carefully swabbed the skinned area on Morse's forehead./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It was heatstroke," Morse protested./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If that was heatstroke, then I'm your mother," retorted the somewhat older man./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well you're certainly acting like one," snapped Morse, flinching as Max bandaged the skinned palm of his hand./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Max pulled the bandage perhaps a bit tighter than he might have needed to. "Well maybe it's because you need one. You're acting like a foolish child!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morse frowned and turned away. Max let out a sigh./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Look, Morse. I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm saying all this because I care, we all care about you. You don't have to quit cold turkey, but perhaps you might consider going a little easier before dinner time. Not only is your health on the line, but if Mr. Bright found out you were drunk on the job, well..." he raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "That wouldn't be a pretty sight."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It was just... a bad day," Morse said at last. He thought about what had happened on this day, years ago, when he was still a boy. The day he lost his innocence. The day his mother had died./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well if you ever have a 'bad day' again," Max said hesitantly, "And I know we all do, you let me know."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morse nodded absently. "Course."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Max put his hand on Morse's wrist. "Morse, you let me know, do you understand. If not for your sake, then for mine. Please."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: #ffffff; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morse looked into the fervent eyes of the little man, seeing something there he had not seen often. "Yes, of course."/span/p