a work in progress

“Are you decent?”

 

“Not morally, no, but I have pants on if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Ugh,” Penn rolled his eyes dramatically as he entered the room.  “It’s time to head out.”

“Where to again?”

“EZRA.”

“I’m serious!” Ezra furrowed his brow and ruffled his hair, ashamed.  A growl of frustration rumbled in Penn’s throat.

“Come on; I don’t have time for this,” he huffed, “You knowwe’re about to be late.  I’ll be in the car.”

Ezra came to the car a few moments later.  His tawny hair was as disheveled as when he first awoke.

“You look like a hobo,” said Penn.

“Well at least I’m never overdressed,” shrugged Ezra.

“Look, if I’m going to do this kind of job, I feel like I should at least do it with some style.  Puts a little distance between me and some common cretin.”

“Your alliteration is dumb.”

“I’m surprised you know what that means.” Penn chuckled.  Ezra smiled in return and turned the radio on.  He knew which station they both agreed on. However Penn liked to dress himself up, he was a sucker for Taylor Swift.

“So,” Ezra leaned back in his seat, “What is it this time?”

“Very standard, unfortunately.”

“Aw… Well, may as well sneak a few free drinks there, yeah, Penn?” smirked Ezra.

“You keep doing that… You know that’s against the rules. We can’t have you drunk on the job.”

Ezra blew a lock of hair out of his eye.  “I’ll have only one.”

“You never have only one.”

“I’ll promise you.”

“You’re a liar.”

“Yeah… I guess you got me there.”

“We’re almost there.  Fix your appearance.”

“I’m the life of every party; who cares what I looklike?” Ezra frowned but took the hair clay Penn liked to keep in his glove compartment and smoothed his curls back.  He made a face and looked a little closer in the visor mirror.  “Your blonde shed in the clay.”

“Apologies,” Penn replied dryly.

“Screwing up my perfect hair, you twit.”

“I can’t ruin something that’s already unsalvageable.”

“Never stopped your last relationship.”

“I beg your pardon!”  Penn huffed.  Ezra’s cheeky smile faded, and he took a breath.

“Look,” he finally spoke and lowered his voice, “There’s something I gotta tell you before we head in.”

“If you’re going to say something idiotic again—”

“No, really,” Ezra thumbed the latch to his little kit before popping it open and then thumbing the foam lining.  Penn leaned back in his seat at a stoplight.

“What is it then?”

“Are you sure you want to keep doing this…?”

“Of course, I do.  Ezra, what’s the matter.”

“There’s something wrong here, man.  Something really wrong.”

“What’s the difference between this one and any other? We’ve dealt with some… interesting clients before.”

“This one is different.  I heard there are some serious people here.  One other team has dealt with them before.  We may need some help.  I heard that—”

“Oh, I don’t care about what you’ve heard,” Penn made a face and waved away his partner.  “You hear things all the time.  That’s a line for the client, not for me.  I know what I’m doing by now.”

“Penn.”

“Let’s get this over with quickly,” Penn sighed, “I’d like to catch dinner early today.”

“You have… a date?”

“Indeed,” Penn smiled, “A date with Captain Poldark.”

“You need a life.”

“As do you.  Now then, it’s about showtime, isn’t it?”

“Be careful.”

The two popped their respective doors, and Ezra re-latched the kit and pocketed its small contents, double and triple checking he was holding the proper end.

“You’ve met me before this, have you not?” Penn gave his partner a reassuring smile, though Ezra only returned it with a tight-lipped frown.  “Fine. I’ll be careful.  And if things go awry… You’ll save the episode for me, won’t you?”

“Yeah,” Ezra nodded before they split off.  The party was in full swing by now.  In and out.  A standard client; a standard job.  Ezra’s intuitions had been wrong before… hadn’t they?