Caitlin walked to meet him, taking her time so John could keep up. “I’m impressed. I thought no one could get a prototype out in eight months.”
“It’s amazing what can be done by throwing money at a target. Every electronic firm on the planet has been rushing to be the first to develop this technology. The government is still attempting to claim the patents, but three congressmen have introduced legislation to make the technology public domain.”
Caitlin reached him and stopped. She’d been about to hug him. What was it going to be like? The only person she’d ever had full contact with was John. She didn’t want to share that kind of intimacy with Zim. She had told him what it was like between the two of them. Would he be insulted if she didn’t hug him now that he wore a translator?
“What’s the matter?” Zim asked.
“I’m not sure what to expect. The translators can make a hug awfully intimate.”
“So you’ve told me. Well, we can just shake. I’ve done that with a few of the guys from Intel and while it was a new experience, I wouldn’t call it intimate.” He held out a hand.
“No way I’m letting you off with just a handshake.” Caitlin brushed his hand aside and wrapped her arms around his chest in a hug.
Their emotions mingled, telling them that their feelings toward the other was returned in kind.
“Wow,” Zim transmitted.
“We both love you, Gunny. If you hadn’t helped us we’d still have the government on our backs.”
“Ah, you’re not fooling me with that, Caitlin. I know you could have spread the blueprints over the Web just as well as I.”
“Has anyone been sniffing around our trail?” John asked.
“No, not for about three months now. The last one was a reporter.”
“Oh? Was he legitimate or a deep cover?”
“Hard to tell. He could have been legitimate. Lord knows his ugly face is on the box often enough.”
Bruno stood against John, bracing his forelegs against John’s chest and chomping the Frisbee in his teeth. He had to push Bruno down to keep from falling over.
“John, how’s the therapy coming?” Zim asked.
“They finished the injections. The doc tells me that the nerve regeneration should be complete in another month or so. It’ll be nice to be able to walk unassisted again.”
“It’s going to take a long time to build the muscles back, but the feeling has returned to my leg, and it burns like mad.”
Caitlin put an arm around John and shook him lightly. “He’s just being a baby about it. The doctors told him the nerves would activate slowly and that it would feel like when your foot has fallen asleep.”
“Hey, who’s telling this story?” John asked in mock anger.
Bruno dropped the Frisbee at Caitlin’s feet, leapt back a ways, and then barked.
“He’s getting impatient. Throw it for him,” John said.
“Throw it yourself. I’m talking with Gunny.”
John leaned hard on his cane to pick up the Frisbee. Standing, he flipped the disc toward the water. Bruno burst after it.
“Gunny, could you bring another translator and the encoder with you next trip?” John asked.
“Sure, but who’s it for?”
John watched Bruno catch the Frisbee in a splash of sea foam. As Bruno ran back through the surf, Zim and Caitlin felt his intentions.
“You can’t be serious,” Zim said.
“I don’t know. It would be interesting,” Caitlin said.
THE END
About the Author
Richard Bamberg was born in small town Alabama, to a great pair of middle-class working parents. After high school, he enlisted in the USAF. He earned a degree in engineering from Texas Tech and went on to work for Boeing and the Missile Defense Agency.
He sold his first novel, Emerald Eyes, to Books in Motion in 1994. Since then he’s published ten novels. His novels range from modern action/adventure, to horror, to urban fantasy, and finally science fiction. He’s had numerous short stories published, including one in the award-winning anthology Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction.
His hobbies, when not writing, have been fencing, shooting, fishing, RPGs, computer games, and reading. He’s an avid fan of SpaceX and their long-term goal of occupying Mars.
Other Novels
by
Richard A. Bamberg
Strega
Emerald Eyes (with Joy Bamberg)
The Nazi Legacy (with Joy Bamberg)
Doors Without End
Wanderers 1: Ragnarök
Wanderers 2: Apprentice
Wanderers 3: Garden of the Gods
The Hunters: Monster Hunting 101
Ancient Enemy
