Steamed Read Free Page A

were building.
    A half hour later, when I was doubled over a minute circuit board, soldering on a tiny circuit, the door opened.
    “Good morning, Indiana. What adventures have you had this morning? Rescued a damsel in distress? Saved a priceless amulet from being stolen by ruffians? Smuggled innocent baby seals from a fur-processing plant?”
    “Hallelujah,” I said, looking up and waving a small soldering iron at her by way of greeting. A minute piece of silver solder flew toward her. “What are you doing here?”
    “Avoiding internal injury, evidently,” she said, sidestepping the solder. “And don’t call me that. You know I hate it.”
    “Not nearly as much as I hate being called Indiana.”
    “He who weareth the hat shall be calledeth by the name,” she said, grabbing a stool and hauling it over to my worktable. “At least you haven’t gotten a bullwhip. Yet. ”
    “You’ve been talking to Karin.”
    “Bah,” my sister said, waving away the subject. “I hope you’re not serious about her, because she’s totally the wrong type for you.”
    “I’m not serious about anyone, not that it’s any of your business,” I said, looking through the microscope for placement of a minuscule part.
    “Ah, but it is, big brother. I am here in my official capacity to hook you up with an absolutely terrific woman.”
    I set down the soldering iron. “Not another blind date, Hal? You promised me you weren’t going to set me up on any more of those hellish experiences.”
    She picked up a piece of circuit board and toyed with it as I went across the lab to grab some wire. “Trust me, you’re going to like Linda. She’s different. She likes all the things you like.”
    “Such as?” I took the piece of circuit board from her. Absently, she picked up a pair of forceps meant to position small pieces, and used them to poke at my notes.
    “She has a laptop that she takes everywhere, so she’s clearly a computer geek, just like you. And she likes reading, and you always have your nose in a comic book.”
    “Graphic novel. They’re called graphic novels.”
    “Whatever.” She forcepped a piece of muffin left over from my breakfast and popped it in her mouth. “She likes those—she was reading one that she said was a retelling of a Jules Verne book, and it sounded just like something you’d read, what with all those Victorian rocket ships to the moon, and people marching around with ray guns and goggles.”
    “I’m delighted that you have a friend who enjoys steampunk and computers, but I fail to see why you would want to match her up with me. I’m perfectly happy as I am.”
    She slid off the stool and moved around the lab, tidying papers, rearranging boxes of computer components, and generally doing what she referred to as “straightening up.” “It’s . . . well . . . you see . . .”
    “Spit it out, Hallie,” I said, squinting through the microscope as I wrapped wire around a semiconductor.
    She took a deep breath, then said very quickly, “I promised you to Linda.”
    I looked up at that. “You did what?”
    “I promised you to Linda. That is, I sold you to her.” She held a small canister of helium in her hands, absently twisting the top as she watched me with anxious eyes.
    “You sold me? Like a slave or something?” I asked, completely confused. “What do you mean, you sold me?”
    “No, not like a slave, don’t be stupid,” she said, biting her lip. “It was an auction. A charity auction.”
    I closed my eyes for a moment before shaking my head. “Which charity?”
    “Now, don’t you get that tone of voice,” she said, adopting a defensive attitude. She shook the canister at me as she spoke. “I know what you think about my charities, but this one is fabulous, Jack, just fabulous. It’s for care and rehabilitation of released parakeets.”
    I was so surprised by what she said, I stopped worrying about whether the top had been loosened on the helium. “Released what