Todd,' he said, wheeling around dramatically, 'I'm calmer after I smoke. That means I can deal better with my anger.'
He walked directly over in front of the lieutenant. 'Because I'm goddamn mad about this, young man. Make no mistake about that. There's a part of me that wants to make an example of you, maybe even court martial you for not following regulations. You're too cocky, too sure of your own conclusions. You're dangerous. If you had slipped and made some of the comments you made in here to that woman reporter, then it would be Katie bar the door. But' Winters walked around behind his desk and stubbed out his cigarette, 'it has always been my belief that people should not be crucified for a single mistake.'
The commander sat down and leaned back in his chair. 'Just between us guys, Lieutenant, you're on probation with me. I don't want to hear any more nonsense about an international incident. This is a simple case of a malfunctioning test missile. Do your job thoroughly and carefully. Don't worry, you'll be noticed if the work is done properly. The system is not blind to your ambition or your talent. But if you run off half-cocked one more time on this problem, I will personally see to it that your personnel file is ruined.'
Todd could tell that he was being dismissed. He was still angry, now at himself mostly, but he knew better than to let any of it show. He considered Commander Winters to be a marginally competent old fart, and he hated being lectured by him. As of now, however, I have no choice but to accept it, he said to himself as he left the commander's office.
FRIDAY Chapter 6
NICK'S message light was blinking when he walked into his townhouse after the meeting with Amanda and the encounter with Greta. He put the bag with the trident back in the closet and turned on the answering machine. Julianne appeared on the small three-inch monitor. Nick smiled to himself. She always left all of his messages, no matter how small, in video.
'Sorry to tell you this, Nick, but your Tampa charter for tomorrow and Sunday just called up to cancel. They said they heard a weather forecast calling for thunderstorms. Anyway, all is not completely lost cause you get to keep their deposit.' She paused a couple of seconds. 'By the way, Linda and Cotinne and I are going to Sloppy Joe's tonight to hear Angie Leatherwood. Why don't you stop by and say hello? I might even buy you a drink.'
Shit, said Nick to himself. I needed the money. And Troy did too. He automatically entered Troy's name on the small keyboard near the phone and waited for Troy to pick up the receiver and turn on the video switch.
'Why hello, Professor. What are you doing on such a beautiful day in the tropics?' Troy was in a good humor as usual. Nick could not understand how anyone could be in such a perpetually good mood.
'I have bad news and bad news, my friend,' Nick replied. 'First, Amanda Winchester says our trident is modern and almost certainly not a part of any ancient treasure. For my part, I'm not completely convinced. But it doesn't look promising. Second, and probably more important for the short term, our charter has cancelled. We have no work for the weekend.'
'Ouch,' Troy said, a frown sweeping over his face. 'That do present some problems.' For a moment it seemed that Troy couldn't figure out what to say. Then the normal Troy was back, smiling cheerfully, 'Hey, Professor, I have an idea. Since we now both have nothing to do this afternoon, why don't you come over here to the Jefferson sanitarium for some chips and beer? I want to show you something anyway.' His eyes were twinkling.
Under almost any circumstances Nick would have declined Troy's offer and spent the afternoon reading Madame Bovary. But the morning had already been heavy with emotion and Nick was acutely aware that he needed some levity. He smiled to himself. Troy was a very funny man. An afternoon of booze and mirth sounded appealing. Besides, Troy had been working for him for four months and they had not yet taken any time to socialize. Even though they had spent many hours working together on the boat, Nick had never once visited Troy's apartment. 'All right,' Nick heard himself respond, 'you're on. I'll bring the food and you get