"Aw, come on now Mike, you knew he was going to play that game."
They'd been arguing since they returned to the emptying parking garage of the Hall of Justice building, completely ignoring the puzzled looks from the people crossing their path on the way to the Homicide bullpen.
"Then why didn't you help me push him harder? Are you taking gag orders from a prisoner now? A thug?", the Lieutenant barked, entirely unjustified, but not for the first time since their minor disagreement upon leaving the gates of San Quentin had turned into a major argument.
"What difference does it make? He was lying through his teeth no matter what angle we approached."
"Now, what kind of excuse is that? And since when do I look like somebody who accepts excuses?!"
They reached the elevator and Mike pushed the button for the upstairs floors forcefully, huffing a few angry breaths before glancing back at the young Inspector.
"I thought you'd learned how to properly execute an interrogation by now. Don't tell me I gotta start you back up on the basics all over again!"
After the berating that had been going on for the better part of half an hour, this one cut an inch too deep for his liking, no matter how justified Mike was in his anger and frustration.
Facing the fiery blue eyes with stoic indifference, Steve clenched his jaws, letting the silence do the talking for a moment, then motioned back toward the parking garage.
"There's nothing more for me to do here today so I am going to head over to Franklin to check on Bill and Floyd, then go home. I'll see you in the morning, Mike."
Leaving the baffled Lieutenant behind even though every last instinct deep inside urged him to stay with his best friend, Steve spun around, swallowing the ache in his heart from the blatant insult, and returned to the silent comforts of the Galaxy, hoping that Mike would be safe on his own for a few precious hours.