“Ignore him. He was drinking—a lot,” Gene said, glaring at the man.
Lucas laughed.
“Again, no worries,” he said.
Since the man was being magnanimous, Gene needed a few other things too.
“Can you get me a laptop? So I can get reports ready, and I can get them transmitted at the end of this?”
The man nodded.
“We also keep a spare in the office vehicle. I’ll go grab it. Like I said, if you need help, by all means, reach out to me. I won’t get pushy, but please know, we all liked Jarrod. This matters to us,” he said, touching the man’s head with a gloved hand. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Buddy. I’m going to miss you.”
His voice was full of sadness, and so were his eyes. It was clear they’d been friends.
Yeah, everyone there understood that.
When you lost a friend, it hurt.
“I’ll go get your laptop for you, and gun,” he offered. “I’ll be right back,” he stated.
When the man was gone, Gene was curious.
“What’s his deal?” he asked, trying to get to know the people he’d be amongst the next few days.
Ben looked up.
“Oh, Lucas? He’s a good guy. He’s so laid back you sometimes will think he’s comatose. Most of the people who work in the office are. The weather here makes you that way,” he stated.
That made him laugh.
Because the weather back home made him bitchy, cranky, and depressed.
“Thanks for the warning. I’ll try not to let it make me the same way.”
Ben clarified.
“Everyone is really cool out of the office. I just got here a few months ago, but I can tell you that they are a close-knit family. They will likely be up your ass if you let them. Consider that the warning.”
Oh, well, he got that too.
If something happened to Greyson, or Antonio, he’d want, no, demand to work it.
He was curious.
“Who is his partner?”
The ME was direct.
“They’re short-staffed here. All the agents pretty much run solo. Hell. I barely have a lab crew. What you see is what you get. The only good thing is we are rarely overridden with murders. It’s normally the cops who take the heat with that. We don’t get a lot of other issues. Maybe some drugs, maybe some gun running, but for the most part, it’s nothing difficult. Lucas, I believe, handles Vice issues more than homicides.”
Gene was listening.
“So you’re not busy?” he asked.
The man confirmed.
“Half of the time, I’m shocked I was put here when the city ME could do my job, but here I am.”
