Gone 2 Long (Number Five)

The Majestic 12

I woke up the next morning and decided to make breakfast. I made eggs while Allison called Hospitals looking for Ray.

"Parkland Hospital? Yes, I'm...I'm looking for a patient, Raymond Chestnut. He may have been brought in last night after the riot at Stadtler's. Why does that matter? Of course you don't treat *******. How silly of me." She set the phone down in anger.

"You all right?" Klaus asked Allison.

"No. Ray didn't come home last night." She sounded agitated.

"Okay. Okay, no problem. I'm sure he's fine. First thing we're gonna need...is coffee..."

"Already on it Klaus!" I said from the kitchen."

"Oh good. Vitamin B12, and...oh, a piping hot bowl of menudo, and then we're gonna sort all of this stuff out."

"Klaus I made eggs, you are eating eggs." I said to him. He hissed at me.

"He saw me rumor that cop, Klaus." Allison said to him.

"I know. But, uh...you...you were saving his life. I mean, that asshole was gonna kill him."

"He has a point." I said quietly.

She banged her palm on the end of a chair and sighed. "I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not." Me and Klaus said as she sat down. I set a plate of eggs down in front of her.

"I promised myself I would never do this again. Nothing good ever comes from it." She said putting her head in her hands.

Klaus walked over and sat down. I put a plate of eggs in front of him too and set a plate down for me as well and sat down.

"Have you ever heard the fable of The Scorpion and the Frog?" He said.

"What?" Allison asked.

"The scorpion wants to get across the river, so he asks the frog to carry him across. But the frog's like, 'Well what's in it for me?' And the scorpion's like, 'How about five bucks?' And the frog says, 'Make it 20.' The scorpion's like, 'Ten.' The frog goes, 'All right, fine 15.' And the scorpion's like 'All right, fine, 15.' Then halfway across the river, the frog feels this terrible pain on his back, and...eh...the scorpion stung him. You know? And the frog's like, 'Well, what the hell? We're both gonna drown now,' and...they both did."

I ate my eggs while he was telling the story. Allison didn't look like she was having any of it.

"What the hell is the point of that story?" She asked.

"The point is, frogs are bitches, and we do not negotiate with terrorists..."

"Amen." I said.

"Allison..." She cut him off.

"No. No, no, no. I...I actually can't deal with you right now. I'm sorry, I'm not...absolutely not." She walked away.

"...a morning person. Can we do this again at, like...Where you going?" He asked.

"To find my damn husband." She said walking out.

"Menudo." He said sadly.

"Eat your eggs Klaus." I said to him getting up and putting my plate in the skink. I gave him a cup off coffee. "And here's some coffee. Eat, drink, and wake the hell up." I said.

I washed my dishes and waited for Klaus to be done. When he was he gave me his plate and cup. I washed them and put them all away.

"Okay, Klaus. I have to get some clothes from the base. I will be back in a little."