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“Bulleit, agent. Got a problem with that?”
“I do not.” She leaned into the back of her seat and took another look at her bandaged hands. They were beginning to throb. “Why on earth would people want to do this voluntarily?” She raised one fist in the air.
“They usually wear boxing gloves,” Gilmour replied.
“Duh. But like Officer Kincaid said, bar fights.”
“It’s called excessive consumption of alcohol. Makes people think they’re tougher and stronger than they are. False sense of bravado.”
“Had many yourself?” Melanie liked Gilmour. She could always count on him when the cases got gory. She much preferred stalking cyber criminals. At least she was now behind a desk doing analytical work. Soon she would be back in college working on her ticket out of crazy town.
“Me? Bar fights?” He guffawed. “How do you think I ended up here? It was going to be the military or the penitentiary. I was a wild young man,” Gilmour said.
“Really?” Melanie gave him a long, hard look. “How is it that I didn’t know this about you?”
“It’s on the down-low. I was in my teens, associating with the wrong types of fellas. Got nicked for shoplifting, and it scared the pants off me. Back then, they weren’t playing around. People got busted for anything and everything. It was a little-known fact that municipalities got kickbacks from the state for meeting a quota. X number of misdemeanors, x number of felonies, etcetera.” He turned down the road that led to her apartment. “I got busted for stealing a protein bar.”
“Get out!” She slapped him on the arm and then winced.
“I kid you not. Well, there were extenuating circumstances.”
“Ah. Here’s the loophole,” Melanie joked, beginning to feel more like herself.
“Seriously. I was with a few of my buds. We were in one of those big box stores. I took a protein bar, but my friends tried to heist much bigger prizes like Xbox games, watches, and an assortment of tech accessories. I had about three dollars’ worth of stolen goods, and they had thousands. Guilty by association.”
“But you did steal a protein bar,” Melanie said with a tight lip, trying to stifle a chuckle.
“To be honest? I wasn’t really paying attention. I picked up a bar when I saw the security guards pulling my dudes aside. I absentmindedly put it in my pocket. It was an involuntary reaction. It wasn’t premeditated,” he protested.
“Obviously. If it was premeditated, and your target was a protein bar, then you don’t deserve to go to jail. You need psychiatric help. You could have asked an unsuspecting stranger to buy one for you. Many people do, actually. People are nicer than we think.”
“Says the woman who was abducted and almost killed.”
“Putting recent experiences aside, the typical person is more inclined to be kind. I’m not talking about people with a personality disorder. Heaven knows we have plenty of them. But people. People like you and me. I bet you would buy someone a protein bar if they asked.” She gave him a minute to digest what she was suggesting.
“Depending on the circumstances, probably yes. What I hate is when they ask you for money for food and you offer them a sandwich and they spit on you.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Melanie looked up at the ceiling. Men really are different from women.
“Look at all the people who tried to come to my aid today.”
“Good point. I guess it’s the agent in me that’s blocking the idea of humanitarianism.”
Melanie let out a big laugh. They pulled into the driveway in front of her townhouse. “Gilmour, would you think I’m a big baby if I asked you to go in first and check for goblins in the closets and monsters under the bed?”
Gilmour snorted. “Melanie Drake, I am going to resist the temptation to tease you because you had a rough day. I will gladly clear the apartment for you.”
“Thanks.” She sighed. It truly had been a rough day.
“No worries. And your secret is safe with me.” He gave her a wink and lightly patted one of her bandaged hands.
She gathered her things and gingerly got out of the car. Gilmour lent her a hand. “I didn’t realize how banged up I was.”
“Listen, you took a beating, and you gave one back. And better. You knocked him out. Mel, that was very impressive work.”
“It was the will to live,” Melanie replied. She fished out her keys and unlocked the door. She motioned for Gilmour to go ahead of her. “It was also the will to get that miscreant for all the terrible things he’s done, and to keep him from doing them again. It was a multilayer mission, although staying alive was at the top of the list.”
Gilmour did what she’d asked and checked all the rooms, under the bed, and in the closets. “All clear.”
