Cut and Run 5 - Armed and Dangerous

didn’t mess with the volume. Cameron tipped his head to look into the rearview mirror at Zane’s reflection. He couldn’t be sure, but there might have been a smile on Zane’s lips.
    “How long have you two been partners?” Cameron asked. There was absolutely nothing about the landscape passing by to hold his interest after the first five minutes, and Julian was sulking or plotting, or both, so he might as well try to talk to them. Julian had told him to try and converse as much as possible; it would put their guard down, enable Julian to glean information, and make Ty and Zane less likely to hurt Cameron.
    Ty jabbed at another button and put his hand over the radio controls so Zane couldn’t touch them. “Too damn long,” he said to Cameron.
    “You love me,” Zane said in a tone that was practically cheerful, and Cameron couldn’t help but grin as Zane used the button on the steering wheel to turn the station.
    Julian turned his head to look at Zane’s reflection in the rearview mirror, and then at Ty.
    Ty was watching Zane, eyes narrowed. He finally retaliated by turning off the radio and huffing at his partner.
    “Come on, how long?” Cameron asked again. If he had anything going for him, it was that he was persistent. Julian could attest to that.
    “About eight months,” Ty said as he continued to eye Zane.
    “Eleven months,” Zane corrected.
    “Uh huh,” Cameron said, doubtful of the veracity of either statement.
    “It’s been eight months, official. By your logic it’s almost two years.”
    “What?” Cameron asked.
    “There was a short break in there,” Zane said. “We didn’t get along very well on our first assignment.”
    Cameron snorted. “And how is that different from now?”
    “You heard him,” Ty said with a sarcastic edge to his words. “I love him now.”
    “Yeah, I can tell,” Cameron said, looking between them. Zane was actually smiling. It looked like he enjoyed needling his partner as much as his partner enjoyed needling him. “Why stay together if you didn’t get along very well?”
    “They were assigned, Cameron. They don’t get to pick and choose,” Julian said in a gentle voice.
    “Well, but surely their boss wouldn’t make them work together if they hated each other,” Cameron said. “They do carry guns, after all.”
    “Do we look like we hate each other?” Zane asked.
    Cameron held up his hand and waggled it from side to side in a so-so motion. “Sometimes, maybe.”
    “He can’t tell what you look like with that beard,” Ty said as he turned his head to look at Zane. Cameron could see him smirking again.
    Zane’s head turned toward Ty, and Cameron imagined it was so Zane could glare at him. “What’s that have to do with it?”
    “You look like a lumberjack.”
    Zane shrugged one shoulder. “‘I’m a lumberjack and I’m okay,’” he answered in a low singsong voice.
    “Stop,” Ty said with real urgency.
    “Please,” Julian added.
    Zane chuckled, and to Cameron’s ear it sounded a little on the evil side. “You want to sing instead?” Zane asked as he glanced sideways at his partner.
    “If I sing, I’ll sing whatever I damn well want to. Might as well listen to my radio station.”
    “Nope,” Zane said, and again Cameron wondered about his apparent saintly level of patience.
    After leaning back, Cameron looked over at Julian. “They almost sound like you and Blake, sometimes. When Blake really gets on a roll.”
    “Must you continue to compare me with either of them in any scenario?” Julian asked as he looked at Cameron earnestly.
    Cameron shrugged. “I have a small frame of reference for people who kill things.”
    “You sing for hundreds of people sitting in the stands at a ballgame, but you won’t sing now,” Zane was saying.
    “No, I’m not going to sing,” Ty said, incredulous as he glared at Zane.
    “Why not?” Zane asked.
    Cameron leaned toward the middle of the seat so he could peer through at Zane. He looked relaxed, left hand loose on the wheel, right hand free and resting on his thigh. A year ago, Cameron wouldn’t have thought anything about that. Now, it occurred to him that Zane was probably keeping his hand free so he could draw his gun. Cameron frowned and sat back.
    “Stop it, Garrett, I’m not singing,” Ty said as he jabbed at the radio.
    “How in the world did they get you to sing, anyway?” Zane asked.
    “Sing where?” Cameron added, and then belatedly doubted the wisdom of