Agent with a History

  *****

  Galloway let the rifle down and helped pull first Flint and then Tyre into the boat.

  “How did the big he-bull take it?” Galloway asked curiously.

  “Not well!” responded Flint with a broad grin, but his companion was more reserved.

  Tyre was, in fact, the very essence of the word reserved, with somber running in a close second.

  “Flint, I found a couple more clues, but I didn’t see anything as to where the actual treasure is,” Tyre said cautiously.

  Flint patted him on the shoulder, “That’s okay, because I found the key that unlocks the door.”

  Galloway looked him up and down, “Well, where is it?”

  “I don’t have it with me, but I know what it looks like.”

  “What does it look like?” Galloway asked cautiously.

  “5’11’’ of perfectly proportioned symmetry, coated in a honey chocolate glaze, capped off with a pair of expressive black eyes, long black curly hair and a smile to die for.” Flint responded with a grin.

  “The detective!” exclaimed Galloway.

  “One and the same,” Flint said, still smiling.

  “You think she’s just going to tell you where the treasure is?” Galloway asked in open skepticism.

  “I’m hoping so,” Flint said.

  “What if she doesn’t? I’m not into roughing up chicks!” Galloway responded heatedly.

  Flint gave him a reproachful look. “And when have you known me to be?”

  “There was that Asian chick in Singapore.”

  “She was trying to cut my fingers off and feed them to me!”

  “There was that social debutant in France last year.”

  “She was a black widow and had a machete, with which she was trying to take off my head!”

  “Then there was that woman in Istanbul.”

  “Now, that was an accident! How was I supposed to know that monster was a woman?”

  Tyre half choked on a burst of laughter.

  “Yes!” exclaimed Galloway, as he and Flint smacked hands together victoriously. Tyre just shook his head and started up the outboard motor.

  For years the two of them had made a game of trying to crack up Tyre’s somber façade and when they succeeded it was cause for celebration over a hard won victory.

  “Seriously Flint, what are we going to do if she doesn’t tell us what she knows?” Galloway asked loudly, in order to be heard over the noise of the motor prop.

  “We’ll keep her safe. As long as she is safe the treasure remains buried.”

  “And I guess you’re just the man for that special protective detail, aren’t you?” Galloway said knowingly.

  Flint just smiled back in return.