it?”
“Right now, stuff from the plant rides its way west to California, to be turned into a less lethal form. We think a high-level person on the inside plans a switch before it gets on the road. What we’ll do is open a window of opportunity for the two parties—buyer and seller—so they think they’re getting away with it. And then…”
“You’ll spring the trap?”
“Yes. And that’s all you need to know now. Be careful, darling. And while you’re remembering poems, recall that old story about Psyche.” He hoped she wouldn’t take offense at his words. “She was what you might call a prying woman—”
“Are you calling
me
a prying woman?”
“Now, wait—not really. I was just trying to make a little joke about the trouble Psyche got into from prying.…” He was silent for a moment. “On second thought, a little prying on your part might not be amiss.…”
“What kind of prying?”
“Just keep your eyes and ears open around Boulder, but don’t
act
. You already realize it’s a pretty sophisticated place—”
She couldn’t resist being flip. “You mean it’s not Hicksville?”
It was lost on him. “Not by a long shot,” he answered. “Boulder has lots of scientists, experts on rockets, weather, time, archaeology. It has high-tech industries, cutting-edge biological labs, that kind of thing, in a corridor between Boulder and Longmont. So there’s NIST, NOAA, NCAR, IBM, Ball Aerospace, StorageTek—and the university, of course. People—especially scientists-come here from all over the world. But if you see anything abnormal around here, anyone doing anything that seems out of the ordinary…”
“Let’s see: I should not be suspicious of people who act normal, only those who skulk around in a suspicious manner.”
“Louise, you’re making jokes—and I like that. It means you’re back to normal. But this is not exactly fun and games.”
“I know that. And I’ll be happy to help. I’ll keep my eyes open, and I’ll give you a report when I get home each day.”
“Oh.” He paused. Her defenses went up again, and she pulled to her side of the bed. “I’m not going to be
here
, because the action isn’t only here. It’s … well, nevermind the details. I leave early tomorrow. But I’ll call you from my next destination, which I can’t tell you about.”
She lay quietly in the bed. He leaned over and brushed her lips with a soft kiss. “I guess that’s as close as you’re coming right now.” Generally, they slept spoon-style, both facing the same way.
“That’s as close as I’m coming right now,” she said in a muffled voice, her head practically buried in her travel pillow.
“I’m sorry if all this is upsetting, Louise. I’ve probably told you more than I should. Maybe we’d just better go to sleep.” He turned on his side. “And one more important thing. Please don’t go overboard—you know what I mean? It wouldn’t do at all for you to, say, visit the Stony Flats plant, which does allow the public in for tours. You see what I mean?”
“Yes, I see,” she said, and there was a sad tone in her voice. He knew she was frustrated: his sidekick again, asked to do simple favors, hut told very little about what was going on. She tossed and turned beside him for what seemed like hours. Nor could he relax and sleep, with the thoughts tumbling around in his head.
The terrible irony was that Louise had valuable skills—and a peculiar talent for ferreting out criminals. And yet he had no authorization to enlist her help, especially into this current dangerous assignment.
It had felt good to have her back in his arms and to be able to talk about the things that were driving a wedge between them. Too bad there would be little opportunity for romance on this trip. Instead, there was danger ahead for him—but, fortunately, none for Louise.
Open Space For Plants, Humans … and Prairie Dogs
I N VARIOUS PARTS OF THE world, it is called open space, open
“Right now, stuff from the plant rides its way west to California, to be turned into a less lethal form. We think a high-level person on the inside plans a switch before it gets on the road. What we’ll do is open a window of opportunity for the two parties—buyer and seller—so they think they’re getting away with it. And then…”
“You’ll spring the trap?”
“Yes. And that’s all you need to know now. Be careful, darling. And while you’re remembering poems, recall that old story about Psyche.” He hoped she wouldn’t take offense at his words. “She was what you might call a prying woman—”
“Are you calling
me
a prying woman?”
“Now, wait—not really. I was just trying to make a little joke about the trouble Psyche got into from prying.…” He was silent for a moment. “On second thought, a little prying on your part might not be amiss.…”
“What kind of prying?”
“Just keep your eyes and ears open around Boulder, but don’t
act
. You already realize it’s a pretty sophisticated place—”
She couldn’t resist being flip. “You mean it’s not Hicksville?”
It was lost on him. “Not by a long shot,” he answered. “Boulder has lots of scientists, experts on rockets, weather, time, archaeology. It has high-tech industries, cutting-edge biological labs, that kind of thing, in a corridor between Boulder and Longmont. So there’s NIST, NOAA, NCAR, IBM, Ball Aerospace, StorageTek—and the university, of course. People—especially scientists-come here from all over the world. But if you see anything abnormal around here, anyone doing anything that seems out of the ordinary…”
“Let’s see: I should not be suspicious of people who act normal, only those who skulk around in a suspicious manner.”
“Louise, you’re making jokes—and I like that. It means you’re back to normal. But this is not exactly fun and games.”
“I know that. And I’ll be happy to help. I’ll keep my eyes open, and I’ll give you a report when I get home each day.”
“Oh.” He paused. Her defenses went up again, and she pulled to her side of the bed. “I’m not going to be
here
, because the action isn’t only here. It’s … well, nevermind the details. I leave early tomorrow. But I’ll call you from my next destination, which I can’t tell you about.”
She lay quietly in the bed. He leaned over and brushed her lips with a soft kiss. “I guess that’s as close as you’re coming right now.” Generally, they slept spoon-style, both facing the same way.
“That’s as close as I’m coming right now,” she said in a muffled voice, her head practically buried in her travel pillow.
“I’m sorry if all this is upsetting, Louise. I’ve probably told you more than I should. Maybe we’d just better go to sleep.” He turned on his side. “And one more important thing. Please don’t go overboard—you know what I mean? It wouldn’t do at all for you to, say, visit the Stony Flats plant, which does allow the public in for tours. You see what I mean?”
“Yes, I see,” she said, and there was a sad tone in her voice. He knew she was frustrated: his sidekick again, asked to do simple favors, hut told very little about what was going on. She tossed and turned beside him for what seemed like hours. Nor could he relax and sleep, with the thoughts tumbling around in his head.
The terrible irony was that Louise had valuable skills—and a peculiar talent for ferreting out criminals. And yet he had no authorization to enlist her help, especially into this current dangerous assignment.
It had felt good to have her back in his arms and to be able to talk about the things that were driving a wedge between them. Too bad there would be little opportunity for romance on this trip. Instead, there was danger ahead for him—but, fortunately, none for Louise.
Open Space For Plants, Humans … and Prairie Dogs
I N VARIOUS PARTS OF THE world, it is called open space, open
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