Page 9 of Carler

"They will treat you fairly, but first, you must give up those machine guns," she replied.

"These aren't real. We were told there are some kind of high-priced toys," Andy pointed his gun at the ceiling and pulled the trigger.

People panicked and rushed out of the restaurant as bullet holes appeared in the ceiling. It was a good thing the floor above was steel, and the bullets would not go through. People could have died.

Andy moved his finger off the trigger and dropped the machine gun. His face was pale, and he was shaking. It was obvious to everyone they had been lied to about everything. They were sacrificial lambs being led to the slaughter. Most people would have shot someone carrying guns like that without asking questions first. Viv was the only one she knew who was crazy enough to try to talk someone out of a machine gun.

Chapter 3

Who is that?

Jason and Andy were led away. Viv was sure they wouldn't harm them. As short on help as they were right now, they might even offer them a job. Both young men looked underweight, and she hoped they were fed before being interrogated.

Her stomach growled, reminding her of the meal on the table not far from where she stood. She never wastes anything, so she returned to her meal and began eating again.

Carler gave her an amused look before he concentrated on his meal. He'd never even left the table, but she knew he had watched her closely.

After returning to their meal, she noticed a guy–a really big, frightening-looking guy who was smiling. He'd watched the whole thing, and it had also amused him.

He didn't just stand out because he was larger than the average male, but because he had snow-white hair, even though he didn't look old enough to have hair so white. Carler noticed where she was looking, and the male nodded at him before looking away. It was clear to her they knew each other, and it made her wonder what a male so dangerous was doing here. Did he have something to do with security? Or was it possibly something personal?

Viv intended to watch it and figure out what was happening there. Not only was she a naturally curious person–which had helped her greatly in her previous job–but for some reason, she felt the guy had something to do with her job. She'd already figured out that her bosses often hid things from her, things that, for whatever reason, they determined she didn't need to know. Carler was even worse than Ranger about doing that. Maybe it was because he felt something was happening between them and was trying to protect her.

To hell with that. Viv could protect herself and had for many years. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing he could do that she couldn't.

"You handled that situation well, but you scared years off my life," Carler admitted.

"It was clear to me that they were just two scared boys who would respond better to a female than a man."

Viv noticed that she was starting to talk more like them. That male and female thing was very noticeable and would not do her well when she was out in the rest of the world.

"I'm sure you were right. What bothered me were the machine guns. I never, for one moment, felt like they were toys or that they were empty."

Viv sometimes wondered if Carler had greater powers of observation than she did. He seemed sure about the guns, but she couldn't tell if they were toys. Maybe part of the reason was because she was aware that toys had gotten close to imitating the real thing, and she doubted that Carler had anything to do with toys.

She and Doug had investigated a crime committed by a boy who had used a toy to rob a bank. Unfortunately, it didn't matter that it was a toy. The boy had gotten a prison sentence even though he was only fifteen.

It was funny that sometimes they would go after someone like that and throw the book at them, and other times, someone who had a real gun and actually killed somebody would get off with a slap on the wrist. It had been one thing that really bothered her about her job. It lacked consistency and heart. This job was much better, except she hadn't managed to catch any of the bad guys she was after. Yes, Joe Senior was the main one, but there were others that she still pursued even though her bosses probably wouldn't appreciate it.

Viv sent the information to the lady who had taken her old job. She'd known her since she had come on with the FBI. She'd been moving up the ranks and was due for a job like Viv's old one. Delilah appreciated the information even though she sometimes couldn't act on it due to all the rules she had to follow. That was one of the things that bothered Viv when she had that job as well.

It made her wonder how Del, as she preferred to be called, would handle the really tough cases and big problems. Few people could handle them well, and many of those she worked with drank, and some took drugs. Others were destructive in their relationships or had other obsessive behaviors like gambling. Thinking you would save the world and finding out you wouldn't be allowed to was difficult for some people.

Doug had told her that if it wasn't for her, he would have gone crazy. She thought the same and knew she'd been on a downward spiral since he died. Would she ever have an opportunity to live a real life, or would she always look back and wish he was still with her?

She'd been so busy looking back that she'd forgotten she was sitting across from Carler. However, when she looked up, he was watching her. He knew what she'd been thinking. The look on his face said it all. Did he wonder if there was any way he could ever get her past out of the way and have a relationship? She wasn't sure that would ever happen, and if she was him, she would just quit trying.

"Are you done eating now, or do you want dessert?" He asked.

"What kind of dessert?" She asked. Viv loved dessert even though she rarely allowed herself one.

It was a matter of worrying that a moment on the lips would be forever on the hips—an old saying that fit the situation perfectly. On this night, she just didn't care. She wanted to drown in something luxurious and wonderful, hoping it would make her feel better.

"I'll call the waitress over, and we'll find out. I do know that they have an amazing chocolate cherry cheesecake. They even have a unique gooseberry cheesecake, but that one's not always available."

Viv moaned. "I love gooseberries, and they are so hard to find."

"Then we'll see what we can do." He motioned to the waitress, and she hurried over. "Do you have any of that gooseberry cheesecake available?"

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