Captain Stanley stood in the door of the
kitchen and sighed. The twits were at it again. Rubbing his fingers at a
spot over his right eye, Stanley turned on his heel, heading out the back
bay. He simply couldn't put up with the bickering.
The night sky was a-twinkle with stars, the
usual Los Angeles smog dissipated thanks to El Nino's winds. He walked to the
wall separating them from the expressway. Stanley leaned against it,
breathing deeply. He closed his eyes, willing himself to relax.
"Cap?" A quiet voice came from the garbage
area.
"Yeah, Mike?" Stanley opened his eyes to look
at his engineer.
"You okay?"
The lanky officer shrugged. "Mostly."
Stoker moved to the wall, hopping up to perch
next to his captain. They stayed side-by-side in the balmy darkness. Silence
was rare at Station 51, especially when Chet and Johnny were going at it.
Both men were enjoying the respite.
Stoker finally broke the silence. "Cap, if
there's anything I can do, you'll let me know, right?"
"Of course, Mike. I'm fine. Just a little
tired."
"I mean it. If you'd like me to kill the PPs,
I will."
"Pee pees?" Stanley looked up at the normally
quiet man.
"The Phantom and the Pigeon. The PPs. Kinda
fitting, I think, considering what both of them are full of."
Stanley blinked, then broke out laughing. He
slapped a hand on Stoker's leg. "Thanks, Mike. I needed that."
Stoker jumped down from the wall, pleased at
his leader's reaction. "Ready to go inside?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I am." They strolled back to the
garage, their steps in sync.
