I NEED A HERO (𝓒𝓞𝓜𝓟𝓛𝓔𝓣𝓔)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Downstairs in the secure section of the parking garage the three cops exited the hospital by a side door. In moments they were in Orr's car and on the way to the Asavi Grill, one of the most popular steak houses in Om Basset. Since it was late in the evening and the normal dinner rush was over they only had to wait a few moments before they were seated.

The waitress, a tall, slim, energetic Tav with the small spots and long legs of a highland variety, grabbed three glasses of water and came gliding toward their table. She wore three earrings per ear and her tawny hair was blunt cut and gelled into spikes. After she sat the water down, she sidled up to Tau, ears up, whiskers forward and tail carried high.

"Hello, I'm Drasi, your waitress. What can I get for you?" Her glance slid over all of them, but landed and stayed on Tau, plainly admiring.

"Three of the biggest steaks you have," said Tau. "With all the trimmings." He looked over at Orr. "How do you like your steak?"

"Medium rare," Orr replied.

"How about you, Cavanaugh?" Tau's ears and whiskers questioned at the same time.

"Rare," said Nemera. "Cat rare."

"Cat rare?" Tau gave her a quizzical look. "Is that different?"

"Mota like even rare steak just a bit more done than cats do," explained Nemera. "Some Urku even like their steak raw. Most restaurants in Simaliki can adapt to any preference. When you serve food to a public made up of four different species you need to be flexible to suit their tastes."

"Gotcha," said Tau, turning to the smiling waitress. "Make that two cat rare and one Mota medium rare."

"And what would you like to drink?" Drasi asked."Wine, liquor, beer, coffee, tea, milk or a soft drink?"

"Soda for me," said Orr in response to a questioning look from Tau.

"Milk, please," said Nemera.

"Milk sounds good to me, too," said Tau. "Any preference for sides?"

It didn't take long to decide on the rest of the meal. Nemera was glad the pain medication wasn't wearing off her shoulder yet, it made things much more enjoyable. She found that the only thing more amusing than watching the waitress trying to catch Zuberi's eye, was watching Zuberi being apparently oblivious. He was pleasant, courteous and friendly, but he gave her no encouragement.

"So what do you think about Simaliki?" asked Orr as Drasi walked away with nothing to show for her efforts but a dinner order.

"I like it here. I worked in a port city, and I thought that it was cosmopolitan, but Simaliki just blows it away. It's  ..." Tau searched for the right word. "Open. Wide open. There's no societal segregation here - like the apartments having heat lamps for Urku and drying tubes for cats and Hrael and the restaurants having dishes for all the races. In Manundari they made accommodations for other races in certain hotels, but the overall atmosphere was still Roki and the other races could never really be a part of it. Here the mix goes clear through everything and everywhere."

"In most places it does," agreed Orr. "You're remarkably open minded about things."

"For a Roki, you mean." Tau chuckled. "It's gotten me some funny looks more than once. I was lucky, in some ways." He took a sip of his water and his ears swiveled back. "The Zuberi clan is old money in Orsit. My Father already had his heir, a doctor, a lawyer, a CEO, a banker, a politician and daughters married into all the powerful clans. I was the runt of the last litter and the other two were girls, so they pretty much left me alone. I'm sure they regretted my lack of proper training when I decided to be a cop, but by then it was a bit too late."