Twenty minutes later, Max was back with his own unit. He was thankful that the streets were not too crowded that morning. Without wasting any time, Max decided to get ready right away.

It did not take long for Max to get dressed for work. He was ready to leave, but decided to heat up the leftover pizza from last night. Max thought that five minutes would be enough to fill his stomach for the morning. However, a call that came in on his cell phone made Max change his plan.

“Mom.”

“Max, how are you?”

Hearing Riley ask about his well-being somehow sent a chill down Max's spine. Unconsciously,...