Irish Throwdown (What Happens In Vegas Book 4) by Matt Lincoln (short books for teens .TXT) 📕

together once they come back and find Nelson in the hospital and all the office stuff wrecked.”

“I know, I know,” she grumbled. “Just downplay how bad it is, at least? I don’t want him getting distracted while he’s working.”

“Fine.” I rolled my eyes as I went to call Charlie. Junior would ask too many questions.

“Oh, hey,” Charlie replied almost immediately. “I was just about to call Wallace. Is everything okay?”

“Not really, no,” I replied. “Wait, why were you about to call Wallace? Is everything okay with you?”

“Just a bus-jacking,” Charlie replied sarcastically. “No big deal. Anyway, what’s going on there?”

I was stunned into silence for a moment. Had I really heard him say bus-jacking? I was pretty sure he and Junior had only been in Ireland for a few hours at this point. How exactly had that happened?

“It’s Agent Howard,” I answered honestly. I decided there was no sense beating around the bush. “We have some new information about the drug. It isn’t just in the cough syrup.”

19

Charlie

I knocked on Junior’s door early the following morning. After everything was said and done with the police, it had been past midnight. Then there was the fact that Miranda had called to inform us that one of our own had fallen victim to the drug and had gone on a rampage which included an attack on Fiona. In the end, I’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, and I suspected that Junior probably hadn’t fared much better. Still, we had a job to do, and we needed to meet up with the police to get our investigation started.

I knocked again and glanced out the hallway window as I waited for a response. Our rooms were on the third floor, and the window granted me a lovely view of the city. The day was overcast, which wasn’t unusual for Ireland. Nelson had mentioned before we left that Ireland was a generally cold and rainy country, and even during the summer, peak temperatures didn’t usually venture above the high sixties. It was currently October, which meant that the weather would probably hover around the fifties for most of the day. He’d warned us to pack layers and a raincoat.

I didn’t mind the weather. As I looked out at the overcast street, I felt as though I’d been transported back in time into some noir detective film. The tall buildings were casting mysterious-looking shadows along the street, and the Halloween decorations that had been set along the buildings only added to the spooky atmosphere. I’d never liked hot weather, anyway. In the cold, it was easy to bundle up or light a fire, but in the heat, all you could do was put up with the force of the sun bearing down mercilessly on you, eyes stinging and clothes sticking uncomfortably to your back.

Plus, all that rain meant that the countryside was rich with lush foliage and flowers, which was where we would be heading if Junior ever decided to come out of his room. I was about to pound on the door again when I heard footsteps approaching me from down the hall.

“Oh, you’re up,” Junior called as he turned the corner and stepped into view. He was fully dressed and holding two cups of coffee. “I was about to check to see if you were ready. I got some coffee.”

I took the proffered drink from him and drank it down. It was hot and very strong and gave me just the jolt I needed to feel fully awake after getting such little sleep.

“How long have you been up?” I asked as I took another sip of coffee. I was sure he’d be just as groggy and tired as I was this morning, but he looked fully awake and alert.

“About an hour,” he admitted. “Maybe a little more. I actually couldn’t sleep much at all.”

I frowned at his words. I could understand he was concerned, but I couldn’t afford to go on a mission with a partner who wasn’t operating at one hundred percent.

“Miranda said Fiona was fine,” I attempted to reassure him. “They were just heading to the hospital as a precaution.” I really wasn’t sure how honest Miranda was being when she told me that, but there was no sense in pointing that out to Junior.

“I know,” Junior sighed. “That’s not the only thing I’m worried about, to be completely honest.”

“What else is bothering you?” I asked as I led the way toward the elevators.

“The injury in my shoulder,” he responded as he moved his free hand up to the spot where he’d been shot a few months ago. “Last night, with the busjacker, I couldn’t hold my gun steady. It’s been acting up for the past few weeks, but it’s never been this bad before. After he turned around and started shooting at you, I couldn’t get a shot on him because my arm wouldn’t stop shaking. I was too worried that I’d end up hitting you or the driver.”

A beat of silence passed between us as I took in everything he had just said.

“Damn,” I sighed. This wasn’t good. Junior and I had worked as partners for a year now, and I trusted him to have my back. However, it was difficult to entrust your life to someone who had just admitted they were having trouble aiming their gun.

I would have been lying if I’d said I wasn’t a little irritated at Junior. Clearly, he’d noticed that something was wrong but hadn’t said anything about it. It wasn’t like there was anything we could do about it at the moment, either. We were already in Ireland, so we needed to move forward with the mission despite whatever issues he was having. At the same time, I could understand his hesitation to speak up. Harry had been forced into early retirement by an injury that left him unable to perform his duties the way he used to. Junior was still in his mid-twenties, and getting a career-ending injury