"One other thing, Clive," Major Hamilton called out as the group was leaving the major’s office, "The man I spoke to said that Sergeant King is still in a rather agitated frame of mind."
With that information ringing in their ears, Clive, Izzy and Alec first went to a hotel where they rented two adjoining rooms, dropped off their luggage and got a quick bite of food, then left for the harborfront. Clive advised that, for the purposes of his plan, that they should all stick together in their travels.
Clive envisioned a scenario where he would speak to Felix first. He felt that the others were too close to the problem and might inadvertently drive Felix further away. However, he kept this part of his plan to himself for the time being—no use in dealing with their protestations until Felix was located.
For hours the group scoured the waterfront dives, and Izzy and Alec got more disheartened with each failure to locate him. Finally, they decided that they would have to find some food for themselves before they could go on. As luck would have it, Izzy strode up to window of the last tavern they checked, hoping to see a menu posted, and spotted Felix as he limped down the back stairs and headed for the bar. She was just about to scream his name and burst through the door, but Clive held her back and shushed her.
"Alec, take Izzy back to the hotel and get something to eat. Let me speak to him alone first. I think it’s better this way because I can understand what Felix has gone through."
Needless to say, Alec and Izzy were not thrilled with this plan, but finally Clive convinced them and they left. Clive took a deep breath and entered the tavern. He walked up just behind Felix, and clamped a hand on his shoulder. "Sergeant, can I buy you a drink?"
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