"You know, I could use a business partner. Somebody who was smart and knew the business. And was, like, abrasive."
"Like abrasive."
"You wouldn't be interested, would you?"
"Wait--you mean quit my job and go to work with you?" Sutton laughed, genuinely amused.
"Sure! We'd be a great team."
"No way in hell." The anchorwoman walked over to the messy pile and began to help Rune pick through it. She'd hold up an object and Rune would give her instructions: "Save." "Pitch." "Pitch." "Pitch." "Identity-unknown pile." "Save." "Save."
They worked for a half hour until Sutton straightened up and looked at her smudged hands with a grimace. She found a rag and started wiping them clean. "What time you have?"
Rune glanced at her working watch. "Noon."
Sutton asked, "You interested in getting some brunch?"
"I can't today. I'm going to the zoo with somebody."
"A date, huh?"
"Not hardly," Rune said. "Hey, you want to come?"
Sutton was shaking her head, which Rune figured was probably her reflex reaction to invitations of this sort. "I haven't been to the zoo in years," she said, laughing.
"It's like riding a bike," Rune said. "It'll come right back to you."
"I don't know."
"Come on."
"Let me think about it." Sutton stopped shaking her head.
"Aw, come on."
"I said I'll think about it," Sutton snapped. "You can't ask for more than that."
"Sure I can," Rune said.
The anchorwoman ignored her and together they crouched down in front of the pile of mystery artifacts and began picking through it, looking for more of Rune's damaged treasures.