"Come out from behind the desk with your hands up. I'm not aching to turn anyone into fertilizer today, but if pressed, I'll happily drill you so full of holes that even your mama won't be able to recognize you."
Cody's mouth dropped open in surprise at the sound of Teaspoon's voice. Relief swept through him as he called out, "Teaspoon? Is that you?"
"Cody? What in blazes are you doing? Do you have a death wish? Do you realize how close I came just now to pumping you full of lead?" Teaspoon asked irritably.
"Sorry, Teaspoon. When I saw the shut curtains and all, I figured trouble had come to call and acted accordingly." Cody said apologetically, rising to his feet and holstering his gun.
"Did you ever think to try knocking on the door first, Cody. Or maybe calling out my name to see if I was inside?" Teaspoon continued, holstering his own weapon.
"Shoot, Teaspoon. If I'd done that, I might have gotten us both killed." Cody said heatedly. "You always tell us that an element of surprise works best when you can't see how many opponents there are. I was only doing what you've drilled into all of our heads since the first day we met you!"
As the truth of Cody's words hit him, Teaspoon's irritation faded away and a sheepush grin appeared on his face. " I suppose you got me there Cody. Guess I'm going to have to be careful of what I say around you boys from now on. Didn't realize that you all were paying so close attention to me when I'm talking. Half the time it seems that my words just go in one ear and out the other."
Cody grinned. "We only make it look like that, Teaspoon. Otherwise you're likely to talk us to death before you run out of things to say."
Before Teaspoon had a chance to reply to Cody's remark, a female voice spoke from behind them.
"I reckin it's safe for me to come in now, seeing's how there ain't any dangerous criminals in here besides you two."
Cody and Teaspoon turned toward the doorway with startled glances on their faces. Rachel stood just inside the office, her hands on her hips and a wide grin on her face. There was a mischievous twinkle in her green eyes as she approached them and both men could see that her body was trembling slightly with an effort to contain the mirth they saw written on her face. Cody and Teaspoon exchanged sheepish looks as they realized that Rachel had witnessed what had happened.
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