Page 63 of Burn Bag

“And he’s a kid who just got knocked down a peg.”

“They call that child abuse!”

“Oh, relax. I didn’t hit the kid.”

“But you would have.”

“If he was my kid, I would have spanked his ass in the middle of the aisle. That mom needs a lesson on bringing her kids to heel.”

“They’re not fucking dogs.”

“No, but she’s letting them run wild. Why is it that only adults have to behave themselves? Why aren’t more parents making sure their kids don’t turn out to be selfish pricks?”

I didn’t have the mental capacity for an argument like this in a room so small. I could feel the tension building in my shoulders, and the longer I stayed in this room, the more I felt like knocking out my teammate. I figured that would be frowned upon.

The door opened and the snooty manager walked inside, glaring at both of us. “Your ride is here.”

“Can I have my shit back?”

She pursed her lips and reached out into the hall, grabbing a small box. “Your phones.”

“You’re lucky that’s all you took,” Dash muttered.

I elbowed him in the side, warning him to shut up. “Where can I pay for my litter boxes?”

“I’m sorry, we won’t be selling those to you today.”

“Why not? My money is still good.”

“Sir, you started a fight in the middle of the store.” She stared at me pointedly. “With a child.”

I pointed at Dash. “He did it.”

“Be that as it may, you can take your business elsewhere.”

“I can’t fucking believe this. It’s not like I took out my gun and started waving it at people!”

“You have a gun?” she gasped.

I quickly shut my mouth and shook my head. “Just a saying.”

Dash nudged me from behind and we quickly exited the room before she could decide to lock us back inside. Red and Laura were waiting for us at the entrance, both of them holding back their laughter.

“Shut up,” I muttered.

“Seriously?” Red laughed. “You let a store employee lock you up?”

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to fight with a civilian? A choke hold was not exactly an option, and I’m pretty sure I would have ended up in jail if I punched the woman. Besides, it’s not my fault. Dash started it.”

“You were the one swearing.”

“You were bitching about carrying a box! A fucking box!” I snapped.

“Hey, I work with my fingers all day.” He held out his hands for me to see. “If I damage even one of these bad boys, it could shave seconds or even minutes off the time I get you intel. Is that what you want? To be on a job, waiting for the answers because I damaged my precious digits getting you a litter box?”

“I’ll break one of those precious digits now, and I won’t even think twice about it,” I snarled.

“Okay, okay,” Laura sighed, stepping between the two of us. “Clearly, the battle of the ages has commenced. You’re both amazing. You’re both great at lifting heavy things, and the company would cease to exist without the magic that is you.”

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