Read Online GEN13 - Version 2.0 by Unknown Author - Free Book Online Page A

up her white, ruffled blouse as she simultaneously dashed around the apartment, gathering her things. She started to apply lipstick while she ran toward the kitchen.
    Sarah continued to do her lazy stretches without opening her eyes. Lynch spent another minute or so watching the newscast, until the story changed to a feature on high-priced holiday fashions for dogs. He used the remote to switch off the television, then took another sip of his coffee.
    Kat came tearing back into the room, stuffing a bagel into her mouth with one hand while she pinned a stack of resumes under the opposite arm. She juggled it all successfully as she snatched her suit jacket off the end of the sofa. But when she raised her arms to put the jacket on, she lost her grip on the stack of resumes. They drifted down like Autumn leaves to scatter on the floor.
    “No!” she shrieked through a mouthful of bagel.
    Kat fell to her knees and frantically started to gather up the fallen paper. She was about halfway through when Lynch said, “You can’t go.”
    Kat froze for a moment, then went back to picking up resumes. “Oh, come on, Mister Lynch,” she mumbled through the bagel. “We went through all of this last night!”
    “Yes, but that was last night. Things have changed.” “Changed? What kind of things could have changed?” “A nuclear submarine sank in the North Atlantic this morning.”
    “Wow, that’s terrible. Anyone hurt?”
    “Over one hundred dead."
    “Wow.” She started tapping on the sides of the pile of paper to straighten out the stack. “And ... ?”
    “ ‘And’ what?”
    “ ‘And’ . . . why would it affect my job interviews?” Lynch looked surprised. “Kat, nuclear submarines
    don’t just sink. They have multiple redundant back-up systems. I think it bears looking into.”
    Kat thought for a moment, her head cocked to the side. “Isn’t the Navy doing that?”
    “Well, yes, but..
    Kat slipped the resumes into a shoulder bag. “Was there some kind of giant, radioactive dinosaur involved?” “What?!”
    “Then why does the Navy need us getting in their way? It’s not like anyone’s in any immediate danger. I’m really sorry it happened, but unfortunately, the damage is already done. There’s nothing we can do about it. Aha!” Kat pointed triumphantly at her missing shoe. She reached under a bar stool with her foot and wriggled her way into it. “All that’s left now is figuring out what happened. I’m sure the Navy’s got people who are a lot better qualified than I am to do that.”
    “Perhaps, but they certainly don’t have anyone better qualified to deal with the people behind it.”
    “If there are people behind it. You’re assuming someone set this up. But how can you tell? For all we know, this could just be an accident. Like with that Russian sub that sank a while back.”
    Lynch’s face tightened. “You’re missing the point, Kat. Something’s in the wind. To have you potentially inaccessible when it hits, well, it’s just not a good idea.”
    Kat opened the closet and grabbed her coat. “You didn’t think it was a good idea before the submarine sank either. Forgive me for asking, but are you sure that isn’t influencing your interpretation of the whole submarine thing? Maybe just a little bit?”
    Lynch inhaled sharply. “I’ve been doing this a long time, Caitlin. Longer than you’ve been alive. I’d like to think I’m a little more professional than that.”
    Even in her hurry, the yawning pit in her stomach told Kat that she’d gone too far. She stopped cold, right in the middle of slipping her arm into the sleeve of her coat.
    “You’re right,” she said, even though she didn’t really believe it completely. “I’m sorry.”
    The two stared at each other for a moment.
    “Look, how about a compromise?” Kat offered. She shrugged the coat onto her shoulders, then pulled a pen and one of the resumes out of her bag. She stepped quickly over to the bar, laid the