After about an hour, Chuck, the construction guy, put his tools down and walked over to the shallow end of the pool and sat on the steps, watching me....As I was climbing the ladder at the deep end, Chuck asked, " are you a bottom, or top "? It took me by surprise, to say the least! After hesitating briefly, I said " bottom " … he said great, I'm a top!.. This guy was nice looking, and I'd say, about mid 50's, with a nice build. I dove in, and swam to the shallow end where he was sitting, and. .. and ... cat?”“Ugh, damn seagull. I hate seagull with a fiery passion.”“You have no passion, Holmes, remember?”“I’m passionate about plenty of things, like how my shoulders are going to start bleeding if I have to wear this armor for another minute.”“That one, I can agree with. Just until nightfall, then we can rest, and soon this war will be over.”“You know that baker in the western district? His shop was robbed last night. I stopped by and it seemed like everything made of glass had been. He rocked back and forth in the driver’s seat, occasionally responding in short, clipped tones. “Uh-huh ... Already done ... No problem.” He clicked the phone shut and set it back in its place.Closing his eyes, he tilted his head back for a minute, two minutes, three. Then his eyelids snapped open and he leaned forward to turn the key in the ignition.Ahead of him in the alley, a bare bulb cast a flickering yellow light over a battered metal door. That door opened to expel a figure in heels,. ” He had been dabbing the beading sweat on his forehead with his handkerchief. “Is it hot in here to you? You seem to be sweating.”“It is crazy warm in here, Doc,” he offered. “Please, call me Rana. Let me turn on the A/C and make a quick phone call. OK?” She walked over to her desk, picked up the phone and made a quick call. Matt only heard a snippet of it, but was more interested with how Rana was moving. She twirled a finger in her hair while she made the phone call, and slightly bent over.