“I’ll snollygoster you in a minute if you don’t stop back talking me.” He grumbled under his breath. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can call Stan.”
“When did you start talking to him again?” As far as Laura could remember, Gordon had been at odds with his half-brother for reasons he’d never shared.
“I haven’t. But seeing how I’m short on fancy government satellites, he’s the only one I know who’d be able to locate a plane with no flight plan.” He picked a piece of glass from her cheek and set it on the used gauze pads.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet, ’cause if he hangs up on me, I’m gonna have to drive to West Virginia and beat the shit out of him.”
Laura laughed. “I don’t suppose Stanly has resources to prevent Jonathan Dekker from killing me on sight if I show up where they’re at.”
“And why would Johnathan do that?”
“Considering the history between the Mah and us, the only thing they’ll see me as is a threat.”
“And you don’t think the Senate creating a bunch of curs to try and scare the world into hating them isn’t a bigger threat?”
“Perhaps. But they have even more reasons to hate us, the Senate, and anyone associated with them than they have to trust us.” She couldn’t bring herself to hope Dr. Dante would listen either.
“I got two words, Laura.”
She cocked her mouth to the side. “Is it a pun?”
“A pun?”
“Yes, a pun.”
“What have you got against puns?” He picked out more glass.
“Not all puns, just yours.”
Gordon glared. “You used to like my puns.”
“When I was eight.”
“You still laughed at them when you were sixteen.”
“Because my father taught me to be polite.”
“Just for that, I should make you do this yourself.”
“I can.”
“No. ’Cause if you stab yourself in the eye, I’ll never hear the end of it. Now turn your head.”
Laura did. “What are your two words?”
“Oh, now you want to know.” He removed a long sliver from close to her eyebrow and another near the outside corner of her eye. “Occam's Razor.”
“What does…” She started to look at Gordon.
He stopped her. “Be still. You got bits all over the place.”
Laura exhaled a slow breath.
“And don’t go getting huffy with me.”
“I’m not.”