Oklahoma Salvage Read Online Free Page A

somewhere.
    She did hear it. “Better
slow down. I think there’s something hanging from below. A loose
cable or something snagged on the skid .”
    He did slow, and the
sound stopped. As they turned, he added, “I was hoping to
forget about the nose. All the damaged parts have been removed, but the manual controls feel like they are in
cement.”
    “ Cement?” she asked,
unfamiliar with the term.
    “ It’s like foamcrete,
liquid rock.” He shook his head. A light turned red on the status
panel. It was number one of the three skids . The front
one.
    “ Shit, can we land this on
a tarmac somewhere?” he asked. “Preferably closer to
the bathrooms . The head still isn’t sorted
out.”
    “ Sure. We’ll have to walk
back and get the rest of your stuff.” She pointed. There was an open pad just within the shadow of the water tower. “Land
on 21D. There is also power and sewer there. Might be handy for
fixing the head.”
    There was a great groan and a thunk as
they set down. As her chair slid back and the shuttle powered down,
she noticed the power to the empty rack stayed up. Dave was out the
hatch quickly and around the front. They had indeed knocked the
dust off. The white was now too bright where the sun was on it. She
had left her hat back in the cart. She’d better retrieve it before
Harv saw her.
    “ Fuck,” she heard from
underneath the nose.
    She saw the problem right
away. It hadn’t been a cable; it was a hydraulic hose from the
front skid. Luckily the front skid was down and locked.
    “ Good thing you didn’t
retract the landing gear. It would never have lowered again.” She
could see where the loose end of the hose had battered all the
glass paint off. “Oh, no. You scratched it.”
    They both laughed as he
stood. There it was again, though: the laugh did not reach
his eyes. Her gut twisted for an instant. No idea why.
    “ All of this was drifted in sand .” He looked around. This is a good spot. He pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil, just
like Harv always did. “How much room is left on the tab?” he
asked.
    “ What the fuck do you
think you’re doing?” Harvey suddenly appeared from around the side
of the shuttle. “What did I tell you about test flights?” Harv
groused at Alex but was already on his knees looking at the strut.
“And where’s your hat, dammit?”
    She didn’t think this was
the right time to indicate that he was not wearing one either. Harv
was laying on his back now, awkwardly adding to a list on
his own notepad.
    “ We are going to get the
rest of Dave’s stuff and the cart, Gramps. We’ll be back in half an
hour,” she said, holding a finger to her lips for Dave’s benefit.
    “ DON’T CALL ME
THAT!”
    “ Ok, Harv.” They walked
away, amused. “By the way, the bathhouse is right there. ” Alex pointed to a small building, “You smell like
ass. Just
sayin’.”
    Dave laughed again. This time, he seemed genuinely amused. Her odd feeling
faded.
    ***
    It was almost an
hour before they were back. They loaded the rest of his gear into
the truck, and the generator back onto the cart. Dave no longer
needed it. When they pulled up beside the MP-82 Harv was gone. He
had connected the ship to the landing pads’ lines for water, sewer
and power before he left.
    “ I’ll be in the store if
you need anything, ” Alex said, not getting out
of the cart. Her hat was back on.
    “ Thanks, Alex. I may drop
off a list later tonight. Depends on what Harv says I
need. I swear he’s testing me by comparing my lists with his.” He
waved as she started to pull away.
    When she walked through the front door
of the shop, Harv was sitting on one of the counter stools, arms
crossed over his chest, brows furrowed.
    He looked old to her for the first
time in her life. And worried.
    She chose her words carefully. “I’m
sorry, Harv. I meant no disrespect. And I will stop bugging you
about the hat thing.”
    “ You need to stay away
from this Keener fellow. And don’t