"Cover Me"

�Ok,� Elliot began after exhaling smoke through his nostrils, �what can I do for you?�

�I need your services.� Beatriz dragged on her cancer stick.

�I don�t do that anymore.� He shook his head as he spoke and straightened from his hunched slouch.

�Oh no, not those services,� she said slightly laughing, �This is different.�

�How different?�

�I need someone to�,� she stopped and thought, eyes rolled ceiling-ward, �hmmm�� she looked back at him when the right phrase came, �guard me. Yeah, that.�

�What happened?�

�Well,� she pauses, �I kinda�,� pauses again, �upset some people and I think they might have it out for me.� She continues after a few seconds, smiling. �No, no, I�m sure they do.�

�What�d you do?� He�s a little concerned.

�I wrote my boss a little letter, pretty nasty in content��

�And he�s out to get you?�

�Actually, she might think it�s funny, now that she knows I wrote it, but when she asked who sent it, nobody said anything, so she punished all the guys by making them drag. All of them.�

�Hmmm, that must have been pretty nasty.�

�Not as nasty as the rough draft, but still efficient enough apparently.�

�Apparently.�, he agrees with a nod.

�Now, they�re all pissed.�

�I can�t really blame them there, sweetheart.�

�I didn�t even know she would resort to something like that, though some of them didn�t look all bad.�

Elliot looks at her like she�s speaking Martian.

�What?�

�Baby, I love you, but you�re fucked up!�

�Oh come on, it was a joke! You mean to tell me these guys just can�t laugh it off, since they�re so fuckin� tough?�

�I�d want to beat your ass, too.�

�You would not.� She smiles cheekily.

�Maybe not, but I�d be fuckin� pissed.�

�And be oh-so-beautiful.�

He laughs.

�So, do you have my back?�

�Baby, I�ll have your back, front, top, and bottom.�

She giggles. �I don�t think your wife will appreciate that.�

Smirking, �Don�t tell her, then.�