Read Online Darwin's Quest: The Search for the Ultimate Survivor by Jonathan P. Brazee - Free Book Online Page A

one of her bruises.
    “Who’re you calling a youngster?” she asked with a smile.
    “You, that’s who. And you should be respecting your elders, Lindadawn and me.”
    “Speak for yourself there, grandpa,” Lindadawn added.
    “Why, how old do you think I am?”
    I looked at her small frame and wrinkle-free face. “I don’t know.” I looked at Lindadawn for help, but she just shrugged. “Twenty-two? Twenty-three?”
    “ Bagwan ,” she said with a very broad smile. “I’m thirty-three.”
    I looked at her in amazement. Thirty-three? She was basically my age.
    “I told you what I do back in Bangkok, right?”
    “Yes, you’re in personal management,” replied Lindadawn.
    “Well, what I do is fire people.” She looked around for a moment as if trying to spot a cam. “I probably shouldn’t name the company here where it can be broadcasted, but let’s just say it is a major one, and I travel to our corporate offices throughout the ASEAN Compact to make sure we are streamlined. And that means I fire people. I’m young for that as it is. Do you think any multinational is going to give that job to a twenty-year old?” She seemed to think that idea was funny.
    It was hard to picture this petite, laughing pixie bringing down the hammer on employees though. But I guess she had proven her mettle when she jumped on a fish weighing just about as much as her. Alfhid had started to call her “Super Ratt,” and I guess the name sort of fit. I liked Ratt, and even though we were about the same age, I still had a bit of the older brother feeling in wanting to look after her. I had to keep reminding myself, though, that I didn’t want her to get too popular with the viewers. This was still a competition, and what if the two of us were both up on the same repechage? Alfhid’s nickname for Ratt could only serve to endear her with the viewers, making her a serious threat.
    Lindadawn moved the fish filets a little closer to the fire. Where Ratt was all cuteness, Lindadawn was all business. She was an attractive woman, if you looked at her closely. Her red hair, angular face, and well put-together body made for a pretty package, but her intense expression stole the attention and took away from the rest.
    “That was pretty good guidance out there, with the dolphins and fishermen,” I remarked to her as she settled back
    “Thanks, but October and I came up with it together.”
    “Well, if you hadn’t, we’d still be out there trying to catch something, anything.” Ratt nodded in agreement.
    “Why’d you let Hamlin take over, though? You’ve obviously got a good head on your shoulders. Why didn’t you take charge?”
    We had to be careful when speaking strategy. How would what we say be taken if broadcast over the holos? Some game-changing strategy had the effect of bringing in the viewers, making them co-conspirators, so-to-speak. But sometimes loose chat had the effect of bringing the speaker down and elevating others. Ratt and I both watched her as she considered her words.
    “Hamlin is a strong player. I’m not sure if I’m ready to butt heads with him. If I can come up with a course of action, but he wants to implement it, then that’s OK. We still get the end result. We’ve got fish here right now, after all.”
    That was very politic of her. I wondered how it would play. I could also sense the underlying tension in her, as if she was holding back. And holding back was building up the pressure. I was sure she wasn’t used to taking a backseat to anyone, and I had the feeling that we might have an explosion soon if she kept holding herself back.
    Alfhid stood up and wandered over to us, looking at the fish. She nodded at us but didn’t say anything. Finally she reached down to ruffle Ratt’s hair, then wandered back to where the others in Josh’s alliance were lounging. I watched her walk away, wondering what that was all about. There was obviously a friendship growing between the two of them, but Ratt