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“And back to business for just a moment then I’ll get out of your hair.” Nutsbe focused on Halo. “Your rental car is in the parking lot. I’ve programmed your shirt. You’re all set for the bog tomorrow.”
“Bog?” Mary tipped her head back. “I thought they were in Scotland.”
“About an hour outside of Tallinn. It’s gorgeous there,” Halo said. “I went yesterday with the team, and I need to go back and introduce Max to the area and see how he does out there.”
“Oh, I’d love to see that, and Deidre—my friend I’m traveling with—is nursing a bum knee from skiing. Do you think it’s possible for me to come?” It was audacious, but why not ask? She looked from Halo to Nutsbe since Nutsbe seemed to be the organizer. “Or is this … Ha, Sorry about that. I’d think it was odd if you invited yourself to my place of work to see what I do after just meeting you. I’m sorry. Forget I asked.”
“No, Ma’am, I’m glad you did, actually,” Nutsbe said. “Our job is to keep civilians safe in various scenarios. It might be interesting to have you go out with Halo and get your feedback. I need to run this by our team lead, Titus Kane. But the team knows and highly esteems you.”
“Isn’t that nice?” A bemused smile softened Mary’s face. “I’m not sure that I’ve been highly esteemed before.”
Nutsbe grinned. “Your heroism will be told for generations, The Legend of Flagpole Mary.” He clasped his bag. And pulled the strap over his shoulder. “We have a protocol in place that allows volunteers to join a research trip,” he told Mary. “You’d need to sign a contract with us. It provides insurance should anything go wrong. It puts you under our protection. And you’d have to understand that Halo is working while he’s out there and is held to a very,” he cleared his throat, “strict set of conduct rules.”
“Of course,” Mary said.
“After I check with Titus, I’ll text Halo with the response. If I get his okay, I can meet you downstairs in the morning with the paperwork.” He reached into his thigh pocket and pulled out a pad and pen, handing them to Mary. “Can I get your legal name, home address, and local contact number? If you’re able to go, I need them for the contracts. If Titus doesn’t okay it, for whatever reason, we’d still like to have your information in our system because of today.”
“Yes, of course.” Mary reached for the pad and leaned over the nightstand to jot out the information. Nutsbe accepted it back and walked into the hall.
“Thanks, mate,” Halo said, gently closing the door. Turning to Mary, he asked, “Are you comfortable being in this room? If you prefer, we could go to the lobby or our conference room downstairs, or—it’s a beautiful night—we could sit in the park.”
“Can I lay on your bed?” Mary asked. “Is Max allowed up?”
“Make yourself comfortable.”
“Your team, they’re American. And you’re Australian?” Mary asked, sitting on the corner of the mattress and slipping off her shoes.
“Yes. Well raised in Australia, born in America.”
“Your eyes are different,” Mary budged farther onto the bed, settling her back against the headboard, her legs stretched long.
“I’m sorry?” Halo gave Max the hand signal to load onto the bed.
Max jumped up next to Mary, curling into place against her.
Mary wiggled a finger near the corner of her face. “Your eyes are different from the other men’s. With the other guys, there’s a hardness to them. I wonder if that’s what happens when you go to war.” Her fingers rubbed behind Max’s ear. “What did you do for the military?”
“I was a Commando.” Halo dragged a chair to the side of the bed near her feet.
“Commandos. What is that?”
“Australian special forces.”
“Ah, okay, that makes sense.” She popped her brows. “And whew! You’re not an actor.”
“Sorry?” He canted his head.
“Nothing.” She batted a hand through the air. “Just let that go. Special Forces, you were in the thick of things.”
He sat and untied his boots. “Ah. Well, I went to war. Twenty years of war.”
“But …” Mary put her hand over her heart. “I’m sorry for the losses you must have experienced.” Her brow drew together. “Commando. That was very dangerous.”
“It had its moments.” He shucked his shoes and socks. “I was lucky, though. I was the K9 handler.”
“The others on your team didn’t work with dogs?”
His brow drew together.