Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer

the second time this month.
    I‟m not sure we‟ll open again.”
    2 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

    As he kept sweeping, Gregg‟s voice took over. “So far, no one
    has been seriously injured in the riots, but the property damage now
    reaches into the millions. Police say they are doing all they can to bring
    those responsible to justice, but tempers are beginning to fray. Today,
    city residents showed their frustration in a number of organized protests
    outside police headquarters.”
    The shot changed to a demonstration outside the ugly facade of
    one of Baltimore‟s many police district buildings.
    “They aren‟t doing enough,” a young woman identified as
    Jasmine Burke, student , said. “What have they done to stop it? Nothing.
    It‟s getting so you can‟t go around at night anymore without walking
    into the middle of a battleground.”
    “What are we paying them for?” Roy Monroe, store clerk , said.
    “They‟ve made no arrests, got no leads. Man, after they smashed up the
    store I work in, we had to shut down for a week, and I didn‟t get
    reimbursed for that time. Why are we still paying them?”
    “I am concerned. Of course I‟m concerned,” Bob Smitherman,
    banker , said. “Places that have always been safe in the city just aren‟t
    anymore, and public events? After New Year‟s, I‟m avoiding them.
    Too many angry people and too few police.”
    The shot switched to the Baltimore police chief. “We are, of
    course, doing all we can to stop the instigators of these riots, but we
    need the public‟s help to restore peace and safety to our city. We can‟t
    stand strong when we‟re divided.”
    A young woman in a light blue blazer appeared on screen holding
    a microphone. Her title read Andrea Gregg, WBAL reporter . A number
    appeared at the bottom of the screen. “Police are asking anyone with
    information or photos of rioters destroying property to call the tip line.
    You can also submit tips anonymously at www.baltimorepolice.org.
    This is Andrea Gregg, reporting for WBAL TV 11.”

    THE steaming hot water poured down over his shoulders, and Special
    Agent Zane Garrett groaned, drawing it out as he rotated his head to
    stretch the tense muscles of his neck. The shower was a pleasure after
    Divide & Conquer | 3

    the two-hour workout this morning that had culminated in another
    rough-and-tumble boxing match with his partner.
    Zane let his eyes flutter shut, laid his head back to soak his hair,
    and released a long sigh while he enjoyed the pounding water pressure.
    This was an old gym, a small one tucked away in the basement of the
    FBI‟s Baltimore field office. But Zane preferred it to the newer, shinier
    fitness center in town that some of the agents frequented. Mostly
    because this old locker room had wonderfully tall shower heads and he
    didn‟t have to stoop—one of the hazards of being six foot five—and
    half-wall shower stalls, which meant he could sometimes ogle his very
    handsome partner without too much risk of being caught.
    Straightening, Zane opened his eyes, switching his attention from
    the water trickling down his face to the man not even three feet away
    on the other side of the tiled barrier.
    Special Agent Ty Grady stood with his face turned toward the
    water and his hands on the tile wall in front of him, his shoulders
    hunched forward and his back arched. His dark brown hair was cut
    short, shorter than usual, a necessity after being bleached blond for
    their last assignment. The water poured over and around his defined
    muscles, sloughing off the remains of the soap from his body and
    making the dull gold of his Marine Corps signet ring shine. Winding
    down in the shower was one of the few times Zane ever saw his partner
    that still, a true novelty when it came to Ty Grady.
    Although if Ty stayed in place for more than a minute, Zane
    could get his hands on him…. Zane growled and ducked his head back
    under the water, reaching to turn down the water temperature before
    grabbing his bottle of body wash. His ability to keep the lust in check
    while at work was usually better than this.
    When he glanced over a couple of breaths later, Ty was leaning
    his arms on the partition between them, smirking at him. Zane arched
    an eyebrow, wondering not for first time if Ty could read his mind.
    Ty looked him up and down and then glanced over his shoulder at
    the otherwise empty showers. “So, I had a thought,” he told Zane
    casually.
    “Danger, Will