Exton

I steer Star to our usual table and Monty brings her a glass of raspberry wine. He arches an eyebrow at me, but says nothing. "Beer, whatever you've got today."  He nods and goes back to the bar.

Two minutes back, he comes back with something in a mug. It might be beer, who knows? The way I feel, who cares? I take a deep drink and sigh, nodding. "Oh yeah, that's good." Truth to say, it could taste like dishwater and I'm not sure I'd notice the difference at this point. Coming down from a berserker rage can be nasty.

About half an hour later, Keon and Guunnar amble in. Keon looks better than I feel, but just barely. Guunnar makes it look like he's just slapping Keon on the back, but I know better; his arm is as much for support as anything. Keon sinks heavily into the booth, the first time I've seen him be anything less than graceful.

Well, no time like the present….

I hoist myself to my feet and walk over to Keon's table, Star trailing behind me. Keon looks up as we approach, but says nothing.

"Your pardon, Keon; I won't keep you long. I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me today, and for what you've done toward bringing those two to justice."