Before he knew it, he woke up in his apartment. The morning light was shining through his window and his voxillator was buzzing from his jacket pocket somewhere on the floor. He suddenly remembered what transpired the night before. Everything seemed a blur. And then he felt guilty. Nolan looked around his apartment for her… but she had already left. There was a caffee mug on the table with a small note on it. He picked up his voxillator to answer as he walked over to the table in his boxers. “Where the hell were you!” an angry Lazio demanded. “Sorry, but something important came up and I…” he got cut short. “… I came all the way in the middle of the night ‘cause you wanted to investigate the dead Fixer and you simply,” there was a pause before she continued, a little more controlled, “… the two scavs we picked up earlier, found their bodies this morning. One with his throat sliced and the other, stabbed to death.” The line went dead after that. Nolan sighed as he put his voxillator away. She’s pissed! I’m gonna have do a lot of grovelling today, he sighed. Then remembering what happened the night before, Nolan felt an immense guilt in his chest. It was sweet once… he thought. No words were spoken in the darkness… it was just one big release for them both, just unspoken anger, frustration, sadness… all that wanted out. Nolan’s eyes fell on the note lying there on the floor. It had fallen off the table. He bent down to pick it up; caught a whiff of her sweet aroma, still lingering… like she was still there. Thank you for last night. You were wonderful and as ever, more than I deserve. I really needed to see a friendly face and a little comfort from someone who knows me well. Love, XXXXX *** Excerpt from SANDS OF GLIESE - BOOK 1