Chapter 36
Aboard the Oregon
Linlin perched uncomfortably in the steel chair, eagerly waiting for her breakfast. She was reading a book on her e-reader, which she’d fished out of her backpack slumped in the corner.
She also did a lot of pushups.
Her boss, Peng De, wouldn’t call this a successful mission so far. Neither would she.
The MSS operative began to wonder if the kindly ship’s captain in the tropical shirt had pulled a fast one on her. Locked away in the small, windowless cabin, she felt more like a prisoner than a protected guest. She also noted at least one crew member was always nearby, as if guarding her.
Linlin had just showered and dressed, and her hair was still slightly damp.
The day before, a diminutive woman introduced herself as the ship’s doctor and delivered several changes of clean but ill-fitting women’s clothes.
Dr. Julia Huxley also inquired about her health.
Both were kind gestures, but the visit was short and professional, and not a social call. She’d had no other visitors.
Linlin’s meals always arrived promptly on the designated hour. The shy hand that suddenly tapped on her door came as no surprise. She set her reading tablet down.
“Come in.”
A smiling Murph pushed through carrying a food tray with a covered dish, a silver pot of hot water for tea, and a frosty-cold glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice. The lanky lover boy also wore a serving towel draped over his arm the way he’d seen Maurice do it hundreds of times before.
Linlin’s eyes brightened as she stood. “Murph! So glad you came.”
Murph lifted the cover off the plate with a flourish, releasing a puff of steam.
Linlin’s eyes widened.
“Chicken and waffles! My favorite! You remembered.”
“Of course I remembered. How could I ever forget?”
Murph suddenly blushed, regretting the emotional outburst. He promised himself to control his feelings, which, like his racing heart, were galloping away at a thousand miles an hour. He tried to cover his tracks by describing the specially prepared breakfast.
“Cookie whipped you up a batch of buttermilk fried chicken with cheddar and chive waffles, drizzled with spicy honey, along with a rasher of pork belly bacon on the side.”
He set the breakfast tray down on her desk.
“Wow. Sounds more like a meal on a cruise ship than a cargo ship.”
“The Chairman was pulling your leg before. Cookie obsesses about food.” Murph gently pushed aside her e-reader and set her place with a single service of silverware, a cloth napkin, and a thick ceramic mug for her tea.
“Aren’t you joining me?” she asked.
“I’ll eat later. I’m kind of in the middle of something right now. I just wanted to grab your breakfast for you and see how you’re doing.”
“Well, to be honest, I’m pretty bored. Not much going on in here. Just glad I brought my e-reader.”
She waved her hand around the cabin. The small ten-by-ten room was gray-painted steel, with a narrow cot, a small desk and chair, and an old, battered AM/FM radio that only picked up staticky Spanish-language stations. “Not that I’m not grateful, of course.”
“No, no, I get it.” Murph nodded at the e-reader. “Whatchya reading?”
“I’m rereading Neuromancer.”
“Classic. One of my favorites, ever.”
“I know.” She smiled. “It’s great. But I can only read so many books. Wish I had a gaming computer in here.”
“I’ve got a monster gaming machine back in my cabin, but well, you know. You’re kinda stuck here for a while.”
“Yes, of course.” She smiled again, trying to prompt him to the next obvious thought. It worked.
“I asked about bringing you a laptop but, um, we don’t seem to have a free one available right now. Sorry about that.”
“I understand. I just threw everything into a pack when I heard they were coming…” Linlin’s eyes teared up as her voice trailed off.
Murph laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry that happened to you. It must have been scary.”
She sniffed, but didn’t say a word.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know what the future holds.”
“We’ll figure something out.”
“I’m scared, Murph. And I’m tired of being alone. Can’t you stay here with me?”
“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 play Slayers?”
“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.