Chapter 10
For the remainder of the day, Callen sulked in the armory. The last person he wanted to see was Sam and now his partner stood on the other side of the firearm cleaning bench watching him work. "You have nothing better to do?" Callen picked up a silicone cloth and started the final polish on the Glock 17 he held in his left hand.
"I love watching you work." The corners of Sam's mouth turned up.
"Right, it excites you as much as watching Eric research databases," he said.
"Actually, I came to ask you out for dinner."
"I hope you're buying."
"Yeah, I missed our date."
"You missed your date, all right." The left corner of his mouth turned upward.
"Come on, let's go."
"You get Hetty's permission to take me to dinner?"
"You're cruising, man, glad to see your sense of humor returning."
"You sure about that?" Callen placed the gun in its position in the heavy oak cabinet in the room's center.
"I hate when you're argumentative."
"Me too." He sighed and closed and locked the cabinet.
"Besides you've sulked enough for two of us."
"Now you're asking me to dunk you in a fountain."
"Which one?"
"The first one I find."
They strode toward the bullpen.
"How's the shoulder?"
"Plan to slug me?"
"No, seriously Sam, how's your shoulder?"
"Want a rematch of our wrestling match?"
"Sam, I'm serious."
"And I'm not, you need to lighten up."
"I haven't had a donut since Monday morning, you?"
"Damn, G, you're good," Sam said. "I guess this means you're lighter than you were last week."
"Yeah, but you're getting pudgy."
"I'll show you pudgy."
"Who's not working out?"
"I'll wrestle you right here in the bullpen if you want."
"A one-armed wrestler, this I got to see."
"No, more like you'll feel it, as I use every pound of muscle to nail you to the floor." Sam grabbed the car keys off his desk.
Callen pocketed his keys and ID, and holstered his gun.
"You really need your gun?"
"I guess I could leave it behind, because I have the best protection in the world."
"What's that?"
"My one-armed wrestler."
"I'll dunk you first in the fountain for that one."
Hetty crossed the room and stood outside the bullpen. "Glad to see you two are making up."
"We have yet to do that, Hetty." The left side of Callen's upper lip curled upward.
"Take care of our doppelgänger agent, Mr. Hanna." Hetty strolled toward the exit.
"Doppelgänger?" Callen asked.
"That's what you are, G."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Gentlemen!" Hetty yelled from the exit. "Learn to live with it until we find your double." She laughed.
"Is this going to be the newest joke around here?"
"It'll keep you on your toes, G, and keep you laughing instead of arguing and fighting us."
"Says who?"
"Says me, G, now let's get a juicy steak."
"You mean a high-quality, thick slice of meat taken from the hindquarter of an animal?"
Sam wrapped his right arm around G's shoulders and guided him toward the exit. "Be careful what words you use to describe a doppelgänger."
"I ought to slug you."
"But you want me to pay for dinner?"
"Yeah, I'll settle for dunking you in the nearest fountain." The corners of Callen's upper lip curled upward.
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