Vostok by Steve Alten Read Free Book Online Page B

the end of the call. “Well, good luck with that. And send my best to Masao.”
    Brandy chided me with a scowl. “Are ye expectin’ anyone, Zach?”
    “No, but I’m secretly hoping it’s the pizza delivery boy. The smell of that re-heated mutton concoction is making me ill.”
    “When ye get yer first paycheck from Cambridge we’ll feast on take-out. Until then I’m making do.” Opening the door to Suite 300, she turned to the man knocking on Suite 302. “Can I help ye?Oh, it’s you.”
    Ben Hintzmann stepped into view. “Evening. Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
    Brandy blocked him from entering. “We were jist aboot tae eat supper.”
    “Are you hungry, Ben?”
    Brandy turned to face me, her eyes daggers.
    “No, I ate earlier. The others went to the village with the big fella. I stayed behind hoping we could talk. I can come by later—”
    “It’s all right, come in.”
    Brandy allowed him to squeeze past her before returning to the kitchen. “Something tae drink, then?”
    “No, I’m good. Who’s this little guy?”
    I smiled proudly. “This is our son, William. Willy, say hello to Mr. Hintzmann.”
    Willy smiled bashfully, then swatted his dish of applesauce and strained spinach off the highchair’s tray, turning Ben’s jeans into something that resembled a Jackson Pollock painting.
    “Willy! Ben, I’m sorry.”
    “It’s okay.”
    Brandy wetted a dishtowel and handed it to Ben. “Perhaps one day ye’ll have bairn of yer own?”
    “Bairn?”
    “Baby.”
    “Sure. Maybe. My girlfriend’s more focused on her career.”
    “But ye want a wee un, I can tell. Perhaps this girlfriend of yers is not the marryin’ type?”
    “Brandy!”
    Ben finished wiping down his pants. “Amanda’s still adjusting to me no longer being in the Air Force. And with all the changes, I’m not exactly ready to be anyone’s father. What’s that smell?”
    I inhaled, catching a whiff of the baby’s soiled diaper. Releasing Willy from his chair, I handed him over to his mother. “Brandy, would you mind?”
    “Time for his bath anyway. Serve yerself the mutton pie before it gets cold.”
    “It’s okay, I’ll eat later.”
    Brandy shrugged and carried the baby into the connecting suite, closing the door behind her.
    Ben smiled. “Mutton?”
    “Sheep meat,” I said. “It’s like lamb, only tougher and drier. Want to try some?”
    “God, no. I’d rather eat Willy’s leftovers.”
    “Let’s talk out here.” I led him to the terrace door and outside to the enclosed balcony. The glass walls blunted the cold to near-tolerable levels, the night concealing Loch Ness from view. Ben made himself comfortable in one of our padded rocking chairs while I ignited a portable heater.
    “Must be nice out here during the summer.”
    “It’s peaceful,” I agreed, flopping down on a lounge chair. “So what’s on your mind? This isn’t a last-ditch effort to recruit me for Vostok, is it?”
    “Just an opportunity to get to know someone I admire. For the record, I wasn’t interested in the Vostok mission until I heard they were recruiting you.” His eyes settled heavily on mine. “When I read
The Loch
last year, I remember thinking how hard it must have been for you, as a reputable professional in your field, to have been ridiculed by your peers for believing in the water equivalent of Bigfoot or the Abominable Snowman.”
    “I had a close encounter. It didn’t matter what my peers believed, I knew the truth.”
    “A close encounter, exactly! The truth can’t be coerced, can it? I mean, it can. People falsify evidence whenever the truth conflicts with their own agenda. They make you sign things andthreaten you, but the truth is still the truth no matter how crazy it sounds, right?”
    “Right, uh, what are we talking about?”
    “We’re talking about finding the truth by thinking outside the box. For instance, that giant croc—what if it’s still alive?”
    “
Purussaurus
? Not likely. It was