Cut and Run 3 - Fish and Chips

we’ve been here,” Ty offered. And he had indeed been listening, paying attention for that very reason. He smiled slowly. “It wouldn’t hurt to give them a passionate scream or two at night, though. To sell our cover, of course,” he said with false sincerity.
    “Hope you brought cough drops, then, ’cause you’re gonna be hoarse,” Zane drawled.
    Ty’s smile warmed, and he winked at Zane cheekily. His little experiment last night had obviously gone over very well with the guinea pig. Ty had liked it as well, though it had definitely been a step out of his comfort zone. “Don’t know if I could handle that every night,” he admitted with unusual candor. He was still sore from what Zane had done to him, but mostly in pleasant ways. Ty didn’t bottom often, for reasons he had never actually contemplated. He enjoyed it quite a bit.
    “I don’t think it will matter which of us is yelling,” Zane said as he shifted in his chair.
    Ty cocked his head playfully. “Statements like that make me wonder if you’ve been doing it right,” he teased.
    Zane groaned and let his head fall back so he was looking at the ceiling. “Don’t tempt me with that challenge. We have work to do.”
    “Okay,” Ty murmured, holding up both hands apologetically. He pulled his folder back toward him and flipped the page over, trying to concentrate again. “What the hell is the Queen of the Mediterranean doing cruising the Caribbean, anyway?”
    “Billy Ocean owns the rights to the other name.”
    “Why would they name the ship Billy ?” Ty asked with a sidelong look at Zane.
    Zane ignored him, though the corner of his mouth curled up slightly. “Are there any of these activities that we seriously don’t need to be doing, regardless of the schedule? I really don’t think cliff diving is a good idea,” he said, the reluctance clear in his voice.
    “Why?” Ty asked as he looked up at Zane curiously. He looked uncomfortable. It was an odd look on a man who’d gone through the things Ty knew Zane had gone through.
    “What?” Ty insisted after another silent moment.
    “It’s scary, okay?” Zane muttered. “Unnerving. I hate free fall.”
    Ty fought hard not to smile or let any amusement show in his eyes, although he knew he could rarely hide emotions from Zane anymore. He nodded and reached out to pet Zane’s knee. “Me too,” he said simply.
    Zane let out a slow breath and nodded before returning his attention to the papers. “Anyway,” he started, but he didn’t say any more than that.
    “It helps if someone shoves you over the edge,” Ty told him seriously, thinking Zane’s fear of falling might go beyond simply falling off a cliff. It was the loss of control. It was just one more reason Ty knew that falling in love with his partner was a solo endeavor.
    “I’ll pass, thanks,” Zane answered immediately. “I can handle this kind of stuff as long as I’m attached to a line. But diving off a cliff is just like losing my grip on a knotted rope.”
    The knotted climbing rope at the FBI Academy represented Zane’s physical washout his first time through. He’d graduated the second time, but Ty knew he still thought of the academy and its rope as hell. “There’s always rock climbing,” Ty offered, but he couldn’t put much effort behind it. The conversation had struck a tender nerve, and he’d lost the relatively good mood he’d been in. He perused his itinerary silently, not really seeing it anymore.
    “I was hoping for a break from dangerous situations,” Zane explained after a quiet moment. “We’re on a goddamn cruise ship, you know? What could happen? Who would go on a nice, relaxing cruise to take a fucking zip-line ride through the jungle treetops?”
    Ty hummed thoughtfully, focusing on the question. “I’d be really interested to see the other guys’ itineraries, see which outings match up with all three,” he said suddenly. “What if these adventures have a purpose? Like, they’re going scuba diving, but they’re really collecting some antiquity off the ocean floor they mean to sell?”
    “There’s a shopping extravaganza planned on Tortola, British Virgin Islands,” Zane said. “Maybe a meeting off-ship to make a sale?”
    “Or a buy,” Ty said with a nod. He stood with his folder and began moving toward the balcony again, unconsciously drawn to the fresh air and light despite the frigid temperature outside. He reached over one shoulder and began rubbing the sore