“Now don’t get your back up, partner,” Aahz said soothingly. “You caught me a little off-guard is all. So tell me, just how do you figure to get me out of here?”
That brought me back to earth … or as close to it as I could get while suspended in mid-air.
“Umm . . . actually, Aahz, I was kinda hoping you might have a few ideas on the subject. You’re usually pretty good at coming up with plans to get us out of tight spots.”
“What I want to know,” Guido snarled, turning slightly in the wind, “is how come your partner hasn’t figured a way out of there all by himself, if he’s so all fired smart?”
I started to rebuke my bodyguard, but slowly his words sank in. That was a good question! Aahz was strong … I mean STRONG! By rights he should have been able to rip the stone teeth out of the window all by himself. What was keeping him here?
“Oh, I’m having so much fun in here I just couldn’t bear to leave,” Aahz barked back. “I’m in here because I can’t get out, that’s why. What’s more, if any of you have any ideas about how to get me out, I think now’s a real good time to share them with the rest of us.”
“Wait a minute, Aahz,” I said. “Why can’t you get out… and how did they catch you in the first place?”
“I was framed,” my partner retorted, but I noticed his voice was a bit more subdued.
“We already know that.” Impressed. “What I want to know is why you didn’t just bust a few heads and sprint for home? You’ve never been particularly respectful of local authority before.”
To my surprise, Aahz actually looked embarrassed.