Three Brothers Restaurant.
"A Latin restaurant?" Dexter never imagined that the famous wings Larry had talked about came from a Latin place.
"The spicy ones are good. Our order is number 24. You can go stand in line while I grab the other food from the pizza place across the street." Larry pointed toward the distant pizzeria.
"Yeah, sounds good."
As Larry walked into the pizza restaurant and headed to the line, he suddenly felt someone watching him. Turning his head, he spotted a family of four at a table—three young women and a man who could easily be the father of all of them.
What caught Larry's attention, though, was a black-haired girl who wouldn't stop staring at him.
"Interesting look…" Larry was able to size up the kind of person she was in just a few seconds.
Everyone here has their own problems—he wasn't in this world to fix them all.
"Sir, may I take your order?"
Larry started ordering the pizzas, then waited silently for them to be ready before heading back to the car.
But just then, a heavily drunk man stepped in line to order. His eyes also locked onto the same table Larry had noticed earlier, and a disgusting grin formed on his face.
Of course, Larry knew that expression all too well—lust.
As the man took a step toward the table, Larry stood up, grabbed him by the shoulder, and said coldly, "Buy your pizza quietly and get the hell out of here."
"What the hell?" The man looked ready to fight, but then Larry lifted his jacket slightly with his right hand, revealing his gun.
"Special Agent from Miami. You really want to keep playing?"
Larry didn't need to say much more after showing his weapon.
"N-no, I'm sorry…" The man, suddenly looking sober, shook his head and rushed out of the restaurant.
"Damn…" Larry turned, paid for the pizzas, and before leaving, walked over to the table where the girls were eating.
"Looking for something?"
"Casey, calm down," said one of the women, about the same age as the girl who'd been staring at Larry—clearly, the same Casey—though she came off as a bit hostile.
Larry smiled politely, placed a few business cards on the table, and said, "If you ever get in trouble, call this number. I'll get here faster than the cops."
"Are you a detective?" the man asked, now understanding the situation. He stood up to greet Larry more respectfully.
"Let's just say... something like that. Doesn't matter. No one will bother you tonight, but just in case."
Larry would make sure nothing happened—at least tonight, because today felt like a good day.
"I see…"
"Faster than the police?" Casey scoffed at Larry's words, but he simply smiled and said, "Only if you're in trouble. Then I'll help."
"Thanks for everything," said the man, now fully understanding, and said goodbye to Larry.
Outside, Dexter approached Larry, who was holding the pizzas, and asked, "Everything okay?"
"A drunk guy causing trouble. Can you call the department and ask for a patrol to watch this area for a while?"
"Yeah, right away." Dexter pulled out his phone and made the call.
...
A few minutes later, Larry entered his apartment with Dexter following behind.
"What took you so long?"
"Some drunk idiot held us up, but we're here now." Dexter put the food on the living room table and sat down.
"Too bad, you should've called me," Ángel said confidently.
"It wasn't a big deal." Larry smiled and also sat down to relax.
"It's about to start!" Masuka shouted while watching the pregame show for the football game.
Everyone in the apartment dropped their small talk and gathered together—even Sergeant Doakes was there, having accepted Larry's invitation to watch the game.
It had been a few days since Larry had taken the Ice Truck Killer case personally, so he needed a break.
Debra had been invited too, but she chose not to come.
Larry didn't bother reaching out—his friendship with her had cooled after their argument a few days ago.
"So, for us newbies, how does American football work?" Dexter asked, to Larry's silent gratitude for the change in topic.
Masuka stood up like an expert and explained, "American football is an intense game between two teams of eleven players each. Every team tries to move the oval-shaped ball across the field—either by running it or passing it—with the goal of scoring a touchdown by getting it into the opposing team's end zone."
"It makes sense you don't know much about it, Dex. This sport tends to be more popular among social people," Sergeant Doakes took the opportunity to jab at Dexter.
Masuka looked at the screen and added, "It's a game women should never play—unless they're a bit special, and I'm not talking physically."
Larry was having a great time with his coworkers—it wasn't like him to spend his time this way.
Being surrounded by blood and bullets all the time was driving him insane. He had a lot of work to do if he wanted to become a better man.
He had to calm his murderous urges—especially toward serial killers.
"Come on, Masuka, we're crushing your team!" shouted Sergeant Doakes, the only one rooting for the rival team, celebrating as they took the lead.
Masuka opened another can of beer and whispered to Larry, "Happens all the time. We'll bounce back in the next quarter."
"We need to shut the sergeant up…" Larry said, watching the game with disinterest. He didn't love the sport that much.
Ángel, on the other hand, was the complete opposite—shouting like his life depended on it.
As the game went on, Larry started to feel better. The sense of belonging wrapped around him, giving him more confidence that he could recover.
"Let's go! Hell yeah!" Masuka yelled as his team made a comeback.
As the alcohol started to kick in, emotions ran higher. By the end of the game, Masuka and Sergeant Doakes were arguing about the quality of their teams and nearly came to blows.
"Guys, please, don't fight in here," Larry said, a bit drunk himself, pointing at the two men who looked ready to throw punches.
The game hadn't officially ended yet, but for them, it was already over—they were too drunk to keep watching.
"This is insane. Last time we got together like this, the sergeant got into a fight with a military guy," Ángel shouted when he saw his team falling behind again.