За разломом орла

           "Easy,Skip,"Suzysays.Sheleansoverthetankandstartsunpluggingme.Ican’thelpbutsmile. Suzy’ssmart—thereisn’tabettersyntaxrunnerinAshantiIndustrial—butshe’salsobeautiful. It’slikebeingnursedbyanangel. 

           IwonderifKaterina’sjealous. 

           "Wherearewe?"Itryagain. "FeelslikeIwasinthatthingforaneternity. Didsomethinggowrong?" 

           "Minorroutingerror,"Suzysays. "Wetooksomedamageandtheydecidedtowakemefirst. Butdon’tsweataboutit.Atleastwe’reinonepiece." 

           Routingerrors. Youhearaboutthem,butyouhopethey’renevergoingtohappentoyou. 

           "Whatkindofdelay?" 

           "Fortydays.Sorry,Thom. Banggoesourbonus." 

           Inanger,Ihammerthesideofthesurgetank. ButKaterinastepstowardmeandplacesacalminghandonmyshoulder. 

           "It’sallright,"shesays. "You’rehomeanddry.That’sallthatmatters." 

           Ilookatherandforamomentremembersomeoneelse,someoneIhaven’tthoughtaboutinyears. Ialmostrememberhername,andthenthemomentpasses. 

           Inod."Homeanddry."