“Nah, I’m a cheesecake man, through and through. Send that bad boy down here.”
Henn slides the cheesecake across the table toward Josh.
“Hey, Josh, shoot that apple pie over to papa,” Henn says, a huge bite of chocolate cake stuffed in his mouth.
“Here you go, papa,” Josh says.
“Oh no, did they forget the ice cream?” I ask. “Please, God, no.”
“It’s right here,” Henn says, shoving the bowl of ice cream at me. “Save your prayers for world hunger or curing cancer.”
“Or Seahawks games,” Josh adds.
I laugh.
When our eating frenzy has slowed down a bit, we lean back in our chairs, patting our stomachs.
“That hit the spot,” I say. “Thinking so hard really works up an appetite. Who knew?”
Henn laughs.
“I don’t know how you do it day after day, Henn,” I say. “Just a few hours of thinking hard and my brain hurts.”
“It’s not thinking hard for Henn. Like I keep saying, he’s a fucking genius,” Josh says.
“Thanks, man.”
“So what’s next, boss?” Josh asks.
“We send all the data we’ve extracted through translation software and hope whatever comes out the other side leads us to our next rabbits to chase.”
“How long ’til you crack into their system, you think?” Josh asks.
“There’s no way to know for sure, but I’m guessing just a couple days. Maybe four or five, outside.”
My stomach turns over and my chest tightens. Damn. I’m definitely gonna have a problem keeping my job if this takes much longer than another day or two. I glance up at Josh and he’s staring at me intently. I half-smile at him, but I’m suddenly wracked with anxiety.
“I tell you one thing, though,” Henn says. “Having you guys helping me out tonight sure sped things up a ton. Probably shaved a couple days off.”
“It was amazing watching you work,” I say.
“Yeah, that’s what all the pretty girls say, Kitty Kat.”
I laugh. “I’m sure they do, Henny.”
“Actually, no, they don’t. That was humor borne of pain.”
“That’s all humor is,” Josh says. “The flipside of pain.”
“Hey, no deep conversations allowed here,” I say. “Only superficial banter, please. And cake.”
“Amen,” Josh says. “No argument from me.”
“Henn, I can’t imagine why girls aren’t tackling you to the ground as you walk down the sidewalk,” I say. “You’re obviously the total package.”
“Why, thank you.”
“Which means whatever’s not working for you can be traced to whatever you’re doing ornotdoing to get their attention.What’s your go-to move to close the deal, if you know what I mean?”
