Page 70 of Clive Cussler's Quantum Tempest
“I wish I could. It’s just that I’m really slammed right now. We’ll talk soon, I promise.”
Linlin nodded hopefully. “Of course. It’s a busy ship.” She forced another smile. “You still playSlayers?”
“Heck, yeah. Old-school.”
“Maybe we can play it together sometime in your cabin when things settle down?”
“Yeah, that’d be cool, for sure.”
“I’d really like to spend time with you. And really, thanks for everything. You saved my life.”
“It was a no-brainer.”
“Are you sure you can’t stay for a little while?”
“Sorry. There’s just a lot going on.”
“I’ve been hearing lots of sounds. Almost like a military operation or something.”
Murph frowned. He wondered if Cabrillo was right. Maybe it had been too risky to bring her on board. Even stuck in her cabin she was noticing things, and drawing conclusions.
He pushed the thought away.
“Nah, it’s nothing like that. We’re not military. We just have a lot of cargo we need to unload, and the port can’t let us in yet, and we’re far from shore. Some of it is time-sensitive…medical supplies. And the tilt-rotor can’t carry a whole lot, so we’ve had to make multiple flights. Really, it’s no big deal.”
“That makes sense.”
Murph swallowed hard, hoping she bought it. He wasn’t very good at either poker or lying. He nodded at the breakfast tray.
“You better eat while it’s still hot.”
“For sure.” She dropped into her chair, snatched up her fork and knife, and dug in. She forked a big chunk of honey-soaked waffle and chicken into her petite mouth. Her eyes rolled with delight.
“Good, eh?”
“Incredible.”
“Cool.”
She swallowed her bite. “Seriously, thanks for the chicken and waffles. It’s very thoughtful of you.”
Murph shrugged. “I’ll stop back as soon as I can, for sure.”
“Yes, please do, Murph. I’d love to catch up. Really, I would.”
Murph blushed again. “Well, okay, I guess I gotta go. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Murph backed awkwardly out of the cabin and shut the door behind him.
Linlin took a bite of the perfectly cooked bacon, savoring the smoky sweet flavor. She smiled to herself. She had played her hand well.
Now Murphy and the others would believe she was merely a compliant guest gratefully resigned to her quarters, killing time on her e-reader. No threat at all.
Now she could get to work.
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