Week 10 – Jetpacks and books and proposals, oh my…
Sky
The piece of machinery she found Charlie studying reminded her of an engine for a fighter jet, only much smaller. "What is that thing?"
Charlie didn't even glance up when he sighed and pulled out a pad of paper and began to make notes. "It's a crazy idea Dr. Lazarus had."
"Lazarus?"
He chuckled. "Yes… and all the jokes have been done to death."
Lisa circled around to look at it better. "Seriously, what is it?"
"The prototype for a flightpack for Robo. The project got exactly this far and was then cancelled when the forth interceptor was destroyed."
Now Lisa chuckled in muted laughter. "Ah."
Sun
In the depths of her concentration, searching for information through multiple layers of coding in the pentagon computer system, Diana wondered what exactly it was about the men who had robbed the warehouse that had Alex so up in arms that he hadn't bothered to control the robotic voice enhancer even a little bit. Did he know he was projecting more than he needed to for such a small room, or was it leftovers from being traumatically shut down like he was?
Or was it something else entirely? She'd have to catch him at just the right moment and ask.
Moon(s)
It was a very slow night and Diana, not expecting anyone, had settled down in the flux to read a holographic representation of an Asimov novel. She was so absorbed in the book that Charlie clearing his throat startled her, she jumped to her feet, and struck a kickboxing pose. And then she blinked at him. "Um… hi?"
Charlie set the basket on the floor. "Good evening. I'm not…"
She dropped her arms and sat down again. "I know you're not going to do anything dumb like infect the system with a virus or try to kill people with elevators, Charlie." He stared at her. "What?"
Stars
Charlie blinked again. "Infect the system with…?"
"It's happened twice now."
"And the elevators…?"
"Doctor Mallardo's reign of terror on the Chairman."
"Ah."
She glanced down at the basket. "What brings you to Public Works tonight, Charlie?"
"I wanted to do something normal. Mind if I have dinner with you?"
Diana smiled and whirled herself out of the flux to stand beside him. "Not at all. I don't eat, but that's no reason not to have a picnic right here."
Charlie spread the blanket and they both sat, and chatted for a long while.
Lightning
He reached for one last thing in the basket, and took a deep breath. "I know you won't be able to wear it, I'm not sure you'll even be able to hold it, but…" He pulled the ring box out and showed her what was inside. "Marry me?"
Diana stared at him, then at the ring, then at him again, speechless.
"It doesn't have to be right away, and I don't know how it's going to work, but I don't care, and I…"
"Stop," Diana suddenly told him, having found her voice again while he was rambling. "Why…?"
"Because I love you. Isn't that enough?"
It was. "Yes."