They got into the car, and Hjalmar took them to a drive-through where he got fries and a burger for Frode.
* * * *
Frode blinked his eyes open then closed them again.There were a table and chairs in front of him--not his table and not his chairs.He listened to a low murmur of voices.There was someone in the room, more than one.
He opened his eyes again and squinted.He was spread out on a couch, and Nikolai and Elmore were both seated at the end of the table, shuffling through papers, reading, and making notes.
He closed his eyes again and took stock of himself.His head was throbbing, his throat was a little sore, and his limbs were filled with lead.
Looking over at Nikolai again, he tried to get a grasp of how much time had passed.He remembered eating fries in Hjalmar's car, but he couldn't remember getting here.They couldn't have carried him, could they?Nah, he'd most likely been functioning.He shivered and wished he was at home so he could crawl into bed.
"Hey."Nikolai spoke softly, but despite looking at him, it took Frode a moment to realize he was talking to him.
He gave him a small nod, not ready to try his voice yet.
Nikolai got up from his chair and walked over."How are you feeling?"He crouched in front of the couch and placed a hand on Frode's shoulder.
"Dead."It wasn't more than a whisper, but Nikolai winced, so he must've heard him.
"Yeah?Can I get you anything?"
Frode closed his eyes and blew out a breath.He didn't have the energy to move.
"Water?I got you raisins."
"You did?"Frode looked at him."When?"
"I ran down to the corner store once you were asleep."He grabbed a bag of raisins from the small table next to the couch.
"A bag?"Was it rude to whine when someone was being kind?
"They didn't have the little boxes."
"What?What kind of store doesn't have the little boxes?"Everyone knew raisins were supposed to come in little red boxes.
Nikolai smiled at him."Do you have your box?I can fill it up, and you can pretend it's a new box."
Frode scrunched his nose."It's not the same."
When Elmore snorted, Frode remembered they had an audience.Shit.
"It's okay.I'll live.Thank you."He grabbed the bag from Nikolai and pulled himself up, so he was leaning against the armrest.Then he opened the bag and ate a few raisins.They were soft and sweet and exactly what he needed.
"The mechanic didn't touch the rug."
Nikolai rubbed a hand over his mouth; a five o'clock shadow had appeared while Frode had been napping.How long had he been out?
"Did you learn anything?"
"A lot of faces.More than on the first one, so I'm not sure we should trust Saylor in the future.Though I never asked him if he believed more or less people had touched this rug compared to the first one, so maybe he's not to blame."
Nikolai studied him for several long seconds."Are you up for talking about it?"
Frode ate some more raisins and considered it.He hadn't learned much, so there wasn't much to talk about."Yeah, we can talk about it."Then he'd head home and sleep some more.A long hot shower, then crawling into bed.
"Want to come sit by the table?"
"Ugh, you meant talking about it official-like?Can't I talk from here?"
