Cut and Run 1 - Cut and Run

to the peephole and peered through, his hand on the gun at the small of his back.
    Zane stiffened as he saw Ty reach for his gun, and he picked up his own from the dresser right next to him. He watched carefully, staying just out of a direct line of sight from the door.
    But Ty relaxed as he saw the hotel server outside with the food, and he wondered why he was so edgy. He opened the door and greeted the server without further alarm, and after the food had been placed and the server left, Ty looked at Zane and shrugged. “I'm a little tense,” he admitted abashedly. It wasn't the first time he had said the words to Zane.
    "More than a little.” Zane looked at him evenly. “Don't ignore those instincts. Yours are sure to be better than mine."
    "Shut up,” Ty huffed immediately. He narrowed his eyes as he lifted the lid off his plate and he cut a glance at Zane and smiled. “Why do you think I'm sleeping in here with you?” he asked wryly. “'Cause I get skeered easily."
    "Thought it was for my scintillating conversation,” Zane said drolly.
    "For your scintillating something, anyway,” Ty responded distractedly as he sat down and pulled his plate to him.
    Zane chuckled and took up his plate, but not until he snitched a fry off Ty's. He had mozzarella sticks instead of fries. He'd decided spur of the moment to pass on the onion rings. Just in case.
    "Thief,” Ty murmured sulkily.
    Zane winked and held out a mozzarella stick to placate him.
    Ty glared at it stubbornly and then snatched it out of Zane's hand. “Have you noticed anyone tailing us?” he asked before biting off the tip of the mozzarella stick and yipping as the hot cheese hit his tongue.
    "Sure; I just didn't say anything because I'm an idiot,” Zane answered flippantly.
    "Jesus, you didn't tell me these damn things were nuclear,” Ty grunted as he pulled the cheese out of the breaded exterior and tried to no avail to shake it off his finger.
    "I figured the fact they were still steaming might be a clue,” Zane drawled.
    "Shut up,” Ty muttered as he shifted in his seat, unconsciously betraying a bit of lingering soreness.
    Zane's brow furrowed as he watched Ty move uncomfortably, and he blinked when he realized why. He was really hard-pressed not to grin, but his lips still twitched.
    "Stop it,” Ty muttered at him as he tried to eat the cooling cheese off his finger.
    Zane very carefully schooled his face, though his eyes were still bright and dancing. He got the better of Ty so rarely, he couldn't let it go just yet. “Just let me know if you can't handle hot and spicy,” he teased, taking another bite of the hot cheese stick. He was probably pushing his luck, but what the hell.
    "Another bad pun, and I'm going to hit you,” Ty warned.
    Zane couldn't resist. “How do you know I wouldn't like it?"
    Ty glared at him, pondering that question with narrowed eyes, reviewing Zane's persistence in that fight. The cell phone at his hip began to ring demandingly, probably saving Zane from another left hook to the chin.
    Ty snapped it off his belt and looked down at the readout. He cursed as he flipped the phone open. “It's about fucking time,” he groused into the phone as he set his plate down. “Are you Steve Number One or Steve Number Two?” he asked the detective on the line sarcastically.
    "Hey,” the man on the other end of the call protested. “We were just told about you guys, shithead. Don't start with me."
    "We've been cooling our fucking heels for days!” Ty shouted as Zane pushed his plate away and got up to head for the bathroom.
    "It's not my fucking fault you government boys need someone to hold your dicks for you,” Detective Steve Pierce chastised. “How soon can you get here?"
    "Give us thirty,” Ty groaned as he pushed his own plate away and glanced toward the bathroom, hearing the water run. “No. Give us an hour,” he corrected as he tried to calculate the afternoon traffic. He got up and began pacing as Zane walked back into the room and began pulling his shoes on.
    Ty exchanged a few more words with Detective Pierce and then ended the call, flopping back onto his bed with a long, heartfelt groan.
    "So. Did they even know we were here?” Zane asked knowingly.
    "Said they found out this morning,” Ty answered dubiously. “I'm really beginning to feel a little like a salmon here...."
    "Swimming upstream? Yeah, I get that feeling, too,” Zane agreed as he pulled a plain gray dress shirt over his head and