Can you hear something? (Picfic, 25 July)

[hypatia-66.livejournal.com]

“I thought I heard something,” said Napoleon, opening the door.

“You go first,” said Illya, holding the door for him.

“Chicken, Illya?”

“More likely a cat,” he replied, peeping into the room, where there was nothing to be seen.

“My holster’s in the office.”

“You can’t shoot the office cat, Napoleon.”

The room was empty. Illya looked at his partner. “Are you sure you heard something?”

“Yeah. A sort of whistling.”

“Can you still hear it?”

“Yeah. Maybe it was in the corridor.” He went out and came back. “It’s everywhere. Why can’t you hear it?”

“Possibly because I’m not suffering from tinnitus,” said Illya.

“Tinnitus?”

“You should wear ear protection on the firing range. You don’t, do you. That’s what causes the damage.”

“Do you?”

“Of course.”