We have a number of clients who require mobility in their daily lives, and need to be back on their feet immediately if they have a problem. Call
us if you need us.’
He handed the card to Calum. Calum took it, and turned it over to see the front.
DR THEO KIRCHER
HEAD OF MOBILITY
ROBLEDO MOUNTAINS TECHNOLOGY
There was also an address and several phone numbers, but Calum noticed that a line of small text underneath the ‘Robledo Mountains Technology’ had been blacked out
with a felt-tip pen.
‘What did that say?’ he asked, intrigued.
Dr Kircher looked away. ‘Just some corporate stuff,’ he said. ‘You know the kind of thing – companies get taken over, sold, bought or traded all the time. It’s
greener to keep the same business cards and just cross out the stuff that doesn’t apply any more.’ He raised a finger warningly, looking back at Calum. ‘No running though. And
don’t climb any stairs – we need to rehearse those movements thoroughly with you in our next session.’
‘I promise,’ Calum said, ‘no running or climbing stairs.’ He hoped that Dr Kircher couldn’t see his fingers, crossed beneath the table.
Natalie had spent the long flight to Hong Kong partly reading a trashy novel on her e-reader, partly looking at the pictures of duty-free items she could buy on-board, partly
watching a vacuous comedy about rich Californian girls who spent every day shopping and bitching about boys, and partly asleep. Between this journey and the one she’d only just done from New
York to London, she was fed up with long-haul.
Rhino had had his head buried in a book – a
real
book, not an electronic one – for most of the flight. Gecko had slept a lot, and eaten whenever any food was going. Natalie
supposed his free-running activities meant that he needed all the nutrition and all the rest that he could get. It must be nice not to put on weight just by
looking
at food.
At least they were in First Class, which meant that the seats had little barriers around them to make them more private, and they could be laid flat to turn into small but functional beds. That
was a boon. Calum had booked the tickets without complaint, saying that there was no point in them getting to Hong Kong and needing three days to recover from the flight. There were even sets of
pyjamas in cotton bags in the overhead lockers that people could wear, if they chose, along with a neat little blindfold to block out the aircraft’s interior lights. Natalie decided not to
take advantage of them. The toilets were still small, despite the fact that it was First Class, and she didn’t want to have to bash her elbows and knees while struggling to get changed into
the pyjamas, only to have to do the same thing in reverse a few hours later. Sleeping in her own clothes was
icky
, but she could manage. She had slummed it before.
The captain came on the tannoy to say that they were preparing to land, and everyone should go back to their seats and fasten their seatbelts. Natalie glanced across to see that Rhino had looked
up from his book.
‘Have you ever flown into Hong Kong before?’ he asked.
‘No. What about you?’
He nodded. ‘When I was in the military, I came in and out a few times. That was when Hong Kong was owned by the British, of course. They’ve built a new airport since I was here, Chek
Lap Kok Airport, which has to be an improvement.’
Natalie was intrigued. ‘Why’s that? Was the old one not very good?’
He shook his head. ‘It’s not that, it’s just that the approach to landing at the old one – Kai Tak Airport – was quite –’ he hesitated for a moment,
trying to choose the appropriate word – ‘dramatic. Especially on runway thirteen. It was ranked by some TV programme a few years back as the sixth most dangerous airport in the world
for landings.’
‘So what was so bad about runway thirteen?’
Rhino smiled, obviously remembering. ‘The problem was that there was no direct
us if you need us.’
He handed the card to Calum. Calum took it, and turned it over to see the front.
DR THEO KIRCHER
HEAD OF MOBILITY
ROBLEDO MOUNTAINS TECHNOLOGY
There was also an address and several phone numbers, but Calum noticed that a line of small text underneath the ‘Robledo Mountains Technology’ had been blacked out
with a felt-tip pen.
‘What did that say?’ he asked, intrigued.
Dr Kircher looked away. ‘Just some corporate stuff,’ he said. ‘You know the kind of thing – companies get taken over, sold, bought or traded all the time. It’s
greener to keep the same business cards and just cross out the stuff that doesn’t apply any more.’ He raised a finger warningly, looking back at Calum. ‘No running though. And
don’t climb any stairs – we need to rehearse those movements thoroughly with you in our next session.’
‘I promise,’ Calum said, ‘no running or climbing stairs.’ He hoped that Dr Kircher couldn’t see his fingers, crossed beneath the table.
Natalie had spent the long flight to Hong Kong partly reading a trashy novel on her e-reader, partly looking at the pictures of duty-free items she could buy on-board, partly
watching a vacuous comedy about rich Californian girls who spent every day shopping and bitching about boys, and partly asleep. Between this journey and the one she’d only just done from New
York to London, she was fed up with long-haul.
Rhino had had his head buried in a book – a
real
book, not an electronic one – for most of the flight. Gecko had slept a lot, and eaten whenever any food was going. Natalie
supposed his free-running activities meant that he needed all the nutrition and all the rest that he could get. It must be nice not to put on weight just by
looking
at food.
At least they were in First Class, which meant that the seats had little barriers around them to make them more private, and they could be laid flat to turn into small but functional beds. That
was a boon. Calum had booked the tickets without complaint, saying that there was no point in them getting to Hong Kong and needing three days to recover from the flight. There were even sets of
pyjamas in cotton bags in the overhead lockers that people could wear, if they chose, along with a neat little blindfold to block out the aircraft’s interior lights. Natalie decided not to
take advantage of them. The toilets were still small, despite the fact that it was First Class, and she didn’t want to have to bash her elbows and knees while struggling to get changed into
the pyjamas, only to have to do the same thing in reverse a few hours later. Sleeping in her own clothes was
icky
, but she could manage. She had slummed it before.
The captain came on the tannoy to say that they were preparing to land, and everyone should go back to their seats and fasten their seatbelts. Natalie glanced across to see that Rhino had looked
up from his book.
‘Have you ever flown into Hong Kong before?’ he asked.
‘No. What about you?’
He nodded. ‘When I was in the military, I came in and out a few times. That was when Hong Kong was owned by the British, of course. They’ve built a new airport since I was here, Chek
Lap Kok Airport, which has to be an improvement.’
Natalie was intrigued. ‘Why’s that? Was the old one not very good?’
He shook his head. ‘It’s not that, it’s just that the approach to landing at the old one – Kai Tak Airport – was quite –’ he hesitated for a moment,
trying to choose the appropriate word – ‘dramatic. Especially on runway thirteen. It was ranked by some TV programme a few years back as the sixth most dangerous airport in the world
for landings.’
‘So what was so bad about runway thirteen?’
Rhino smiled, obviously remembering. ‘The problem was that there was no direct
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