passing through two sets of doors, they could hear normal speech again.
"Let's go to the control room," Astrid suggested, and led the way down a gloomy corridor and into a dated-looking control room. It looked like a set from a NASA space launch, with old-school computers, flickering monitors, and way too many panels with way too many glowing lights, switches, and ancient data ports.
There, sitting on the control room floor, rocking slightly back and forth, playing a muted handheld video game, was Little Pete.
Astrid did not run to him. She stared with what looked to Sam like something close to disappointment She seemed almost to shrink down a little.
But then she forced a smile and went to him.
"Petey," Astrid said in a calm voice. Like he had never been missing, like they'd been together all along and there was nothing weird about seeing him all alone in the middle of a nuclear plant control room playing Pokemon on a Game Boy.
"Thank God he wasn't in with the reactors" Quinn said. "I was going to say a big N-O to searching that"
Edilio nodded agreement.
Little Pete was four years old* blond like his big sister, but freckled and almost girlish, he was so pretty. He didn't look at all slow or stupid; in tact if you didn't know better, you'd have thought he was a normal, probably smart, kid.
Bui when Astrid hugged him, he seemed barely to notice. Only after almost a minute did he lift one hand from the video game control and touch her hair in an abstracted way.
"Have you had anything to eat?" Astrid asked. Then she revised the question. "Hungry?"
She had a particular way of talking to Little Pete when she wanted his attention. She held his face in her hands, careftilly blocking his peripheral vision, hslf covering his ears. She put her face close to his and spoke calmly but with slow, careful enunciation.
"Hungry?" she repeated slowly but firmly.
Little Pete's eyes flickered. I Ic nodded yes.
"Okay," Astrid said.
Edilio was inspecting the dated-looking electronics that covered most of one wall. He frowned and wrinkled his brow. "Everything looks like it's normal," he reported.
Quinn scoffed. "Pm sorry, are you a nuclear engineer as well as a golf cart driver?"
"I'm just looking at the readouts, man. I figure green is good, right?" He moved to a low, curved table supporting three computer monitors before three battered swivel chairs.
"I can't even read this stuff" Edilio admitted, peering closely at one monitor. "It's all numbers and symbols"
"I'm going to the break room to find some food for Petey," Astrid announced. She started to move away, but Little Pete began to whimper. It was the sound a puppy makes when it wants something.
Astrid looked pleadingly at Sam. "Most of the time he doesn't realize I'm around. I halt to leave him when he's relating."
"I'll get the food" Sam said."What does he like?"
"Chocolate is never refused. He . . " She started to say more but stopped herself.
"I'll get him something" Sam said.
Edilio had moved on to what seemed to be the most up-to-date piece of equipment in the room, a plasma screen mounted on the wall.
Quinn was looking up at the screen as well, rotating slowly in one of the engineer's chairs. "See if you can get another channel, that one's boring."
"It's a map," Edilio said."There's Perdido Beach. Therms some little towns back in the hills. It goes all the way to San Luis."
The map glowed pale blue, white, and pink> with a red bull's-eye in the center.
"The pink is the fallout pattern in case there is ever a release," Astrid said."The red is the immediate area where the radiation would be intense. It gets data on wind patterns, the contours of the land, the jet stream, all that, and adjusts it"
"The red and the pink, that's the danger?" Edilio asked,
"Yes. That's the plume where the fallout would be above acceptable levels"
"That's a lot of land" Edilio said.
"But it's weird " Astrid said. She guided Little Pete to his feet and went closer to the map.
"Let's go to the control room," Astrid suggested, and led the way down a gloomy corridor and into a dated-looking control room. It looked like a set from a NASA space launch, with old-school computers, flickering monitors, and way too many panels with way too many glowing lights, switches, and ancient data ports.
There, sitting on the control room floor, rocking slightly back and forth, playing a muted handheld video game, was Little Pete.
Astrid did not run to him. She stared with what looked to Sam like something close to disappointment She seemed almost to shrink down a little.
But then she forced a smile and went to him.
"Petey," Astrid said in a calm voice. Like he had never been missing, like they'd been together all along and there was nothing weird about seeing him all alone in the middle of a nuclear plant control room playing Pokemon on a Game Boy.
"Thank God he wasn't in with the reactors" Quinn said. "I was going to say a big N-O to searching that"
Edilio nodded agreement.
Little Pete was four years old* blond like his big sister, but freckled and almost girlish, he was so pretty. He didn't look at all slow or stupid; in tact if you didn't know better, you'd have thought he was a normal, probably smart, kid.
Bui when Astrid hugged him, he seemed barely to notice. Only after almost a minute did he lift one hand from the video game control and touch her hair in an abstracted way.
"Have you had anything to eat?" Astrid asked. Then she revised the question. "Hungry?"
She had a particular way of talking to Little Pete when she wanted his attention. She held his face in her hands, careftilly blocking his peripheral vision, hslf covering his ears. She put her face close to his and spoke calmly but with slow, careful enunciation.
"Hungry?" she repeated slowly but firmly.
Little Pete's eyes flickered. I Ic nodded yes.
"Okay," Astrid said.
Edilio was inspecting the dated-looking electronics that covered most of one wall. He frowned and wrinkled his brow. "Everything looks like it's normal," he reported.
Quinn scoffed. "Pm sorry, are you a nuclear engineer as well as a golf cart driver?"
"I'm just looking at the readouts, man. I figure green is good, right?" He moved to a low, curved table supporting three computer monitors before three battered swivel chairs.
"I can't even read this stuff" Edilio admitted, peering closely at one monitor. "It's all numbers and symbols"
"I'm going to the break room to find some food for Petey," Astrid announced. She started to move away, but Little Pete began to whimper. It was the sound a puppy makes when it wants something.
Astrid looked pleadingly at Sam. "Most of the time he doesn't realize I'm around. I halt to leave him when he's relating."
"I'll get the food" Sam said."What does he like?"
"Chocolate is never refused. He . . " She started to say more but stopped herself.
"I'll get him something" Sam said.
Edilio had moved on to what seemed to be the most up-to-date piece of equipment in the room, a plasma screen mounted on the wall.
Quinn was looking up at the screen as well, rotating slowly in one of the engineer's chairs. "See if you can get another channel, that one's boring."
"It's a map," Edilio said."There's Perdido Beach. Therms some little towns back in the hills. It goes all the way to San Luis."
The map glowed pale blue, white, and pink> with a red bull's-eye in the center.
"The pink is the fallout pattern in case there is ever a release," Astrid said."The red is the immediate area where the radiation would be intense. It gets data on wind patterns, the contours of the land, the jet stream, all that, and adjusts it"
"The red and the pink, that's the danger?" Edilio asked,
"Yes. That's the plume where the fallout would be above acceptable levels"
"That's a lot of land" Edilio said.
"But it's weird " Astrid said. She guided Little Pete to his feet and went closer to the map.
Similar Books
