“It’s okay,” Rafa said, knowing his dad didn’t mean to yell. “Dr. Jacobs is a colleague of Dr. Mejía’s.”
“Jacobs? Jacobs?” his dad mumbled to himself as if racking his brain. “From UC Berkeley?”
“Yeah, how did you—” Rafa started to ask, but caught himself—his dad knew everythingandeveryone.
“What’s the situation with this Dr. Jacobs?” his dad asked, not even bothering to entertain Rafa’s prior half inquiry.
But good question. Rafa had been wondering the same thing all last night. While Quinn had talked his ear off until almost midnight. While he’d lain awake in bed until well past two in the morning. While he’d slowly walked through the hotel before heading for coffee, notnothoping for a chance encounter with Miri in the hallway. While he’d…
A loud crash across the street at the hotel stole his attention. Two enormous ten-passenger vans were parked on the street, each with loads of gear being strapped to the top; or at leastsomeof the gear had made it onto the roof. Several bags rested in the roadway, having toppled over during loading—and were now lying beside Miri’s feet.
Speak of the devil.
“I’m not…I’m not sure,” Rafa answered while his eyes remained on Miri, who was arguing back and forth with the driver. What was it with Miri and drivers?
“Hmm…I’ll need to check her background. What does she know about the Moon City?” his dad continued, oblivious to the commotion on Rafa’s end of the call.
“I don’t know. I don’t think much. Though there was a memo under my door this morning that was directed to the entire team saying to be packed up and ready to go at nine a.m.”
“Packed? Where are you going?” his father asked.
“Not sure.”
“Well, as long as you stay along the Amazon River, you should be okay. Just remember, keep them away from the Serra da Mocidade.”
His dad’s voice registered in Rafa’s ears, but he was too distracted watching Miri to answer. He couldn’t hear what Miri and the driver were saying, but based on the pointing and arms flailing about, it appeared she was being blamed for the bagsfalling over. With a final flourish of his hands, the driver turned and walked away. Her gaze shifted from the bags to the roof rack before Dr. Quinn walked over to assist.
No…wait…
What’s he doing?
Quinn shoved his own bag into Miri’s chest, then departed.
“What a dick,” Rafa unintentionally said out loud.
“Excuse me?”
Rafa snapped his attention back to the call. “Sorry, looks like we’re loading up. I have to go.”
“Send me updates…and find out what you can about Dr. Jacobs.”
“Will do,” he said.
He hung up without waiting for his dad’s goodbye as his eyes fixated on Miri.What is she doing?Miri strung a rope through the handle loops on the bags, then flung the rope over the top of the roof. She then backed up several feet and ran toward the van, hurling her body to reach the roof rack.
Her body slammed against the back of the van with a painful soundingkerchunk, causing Rafa to wince.
With the grace and precision of a giraffe walking on ice, she swung her legs every which way, trying to loop her ankle around the roof rack before struggling to pull herself up. Once on top of the van, she pulled the rope, heaving her entire body into it without success as the weight of the bags inevitably fell back to the ground.
Attempt number two wasn’t any more successful. She swatted her bangs out of her face—sure, Miri, that’s it…it’s the bangs getting in your way—and tried, and failed again, this time landing on her back atop the other bags on the roof.
Okay, he couldn’t sit there any longer and watch herstruggle. He drained the contents of his mug and then made his way across the street. The tension in the rope tightened again as soft grunts came from atop the van and the bags lifted from the ground once more.
“I’ve got you. Don’t…let…go,” Miri grunted to herself, clearly unaware of Rafa’s presence below her.
He smiled at her utter adorkableness. She groaned again, clearly straining to pull the bags all the way up, when Rafa lent a hand and pushed the bags over the lip of the roof.
“What the—?” Miri said as she scrambled to the edge of the van to investigate the sudden ease with which she’d succeeded. One look at his face, however, and hers turned a bright shade of pink. “How long were you down there?”
