moved the rough brush down, scrubbed his shoul-
his armpits, his back.
sy was expert in bed, but she was too sure that such made her superior to other women. It did not. In (dark, they were all the same, true?
.must be made to understand that some things could ; be allowed by a man such as Santos. Not allowed.
134
NET FORCE
Washington, D.C.
“A nightclub?”
“Not exactly,” she said. “More like a… roadhouse,” she said.
Michaels looked at Toni and raised one eyebrow.
They were in the living room. The baby was asleep, and so was Guru.
“We haven’t been out since Alex was born,” she said.
“Yes, we have,” he said.
“Not by ourselves,” she said.
“We didn’t have a baby-sitter,” he said. “And if we had had a baby-sitter, we wouldn’t have trusted her.”
“Well, we do now,” she said, smiling. “Guru.”
“She’s a witch, you know. She’s put a spell on our son. No baby should behave mat well.”
“Alex…”
“So, what is the attraction of this roadhouse exactly?”
“The food is supposed to be terrific, and they have a great live band.”
“As opposed to a great dead band?”
“Has anybody ever told you how funny you are?”
“All the time.”
“Yeah, well, they lied.”
“Now who’s being funny?”
“Anyway, the band is called Diana and the Song Dogs.”
“What kind of music do they play?”
“Well, it’s kind of, well, uh… country/rock/folk/blues fusion.”
“Oh, please. Not another of those new-age bands playing touchy-feely elevator music-”
“No, no, nothing like that. It’s just the kind of music you can listen to while having a beer. Foot-stompin’, bug- squashin’ music.”
“Had a lot of that in the Bronx, did we?”
“We had radio. We had television. Why, we even had transportation that could take us to places outside our neighborhood.”
135
CYBERNATION
I see.” o, you don’t. But you will.”
: you sure you wouldn’t just rather stay home and ‘ the quiet? Just the two of us in the house? Alone?” ;led his eyebrows. “Guru can take Alex to the rjfor a couple of hours-”
Ife are going out. I am not going to become one of women who, if she ever gets the chance to talk to y, prattles on about what color her little darling’s I poop was when she changed his diaper.” : color was it?” get dressed, Alex,” she said. Her tone was omi-
i roadhouse was called the Stone Creek Pub and Grill, | it was far enough out into the Virginia countryside I it took a while to get there. There were a lot of trees, ; was plenty of oxygen in the air when they found tig spot in the crowded lot. And there were animals ; in the area, too-less one skunk somebody had run r, adding a fragrant stink to the evening breeze. “fleez, what an odor,” Toni said, fou wanted to come here.” ; place appeared to be a converted barn, lots of open work and bare walls with old metal signs and horse and such hung on the walls. They managed to t a table, and it was noisy, filled with people, and busy. Michaels was fine once he had gotten up and past inertia. Toni was right; they needed to get out more, lying her back at work was good, but hardly restful, ling parents had put a big crimp in their lives. Mi- els really didn’t mind, since he would usually just as stay home as go out after a hard day at the office, it was all too easy to turn into a couch potato who yed home all the time, warm and secure in the nest, baby hadn’t helped that. It was easier to be where had everything they needed; if they went out, they to pack diaper bags with bottles and domes and rat
136
NET FORCE
ties and stuff, and it was a hassle. He had gone through that with Susie when she’d been a baby, but he had forgotten, it had been so long.
The waitress came, took their orders for pints of beer. Toni got something called Ruby-beer “with a hint of raspberry,” ick-and he got one called Hammerhead, which seemed appropriate. The waitress promised to be back for their sandwich orders in a few minutes.
The band consisted of a woman in jeans and a work shirt with a guitar slung around her neck, a guy with a fiddle, another on a double bass, and one more with a mandolin. They cranked up and started playing a lively tune that did have a folksy-bluesy sound to it. The harmony was pretty good, and the song was something about doing cartwheels on a gravel road or some such. The woman singer-Michaels assumed she was Diana and the men were the Song Dogs-had a pleasant voice and an animated face. When she sang lead, she belted it out pretty cleanly, and she sang a nice harmony for the bass player in a couple of places.
She had her web page address painted on the front of her guitar.
Well, you could hardly get away from that, even here in the country. Hank Williams would have been amused.
The beer came, and as she promised, the waitress dutifully took their sandwich orders. Michaels went for the barbecued chicken, Toni got the Reuben, and they decided to split a small order of fries.
The band began another song. The words were hard to hear, given the noise of the diners, but everybody seemed to be having a great time. And, Michaels had to admit, he was feeling pretty good himself. It had been a long time since he and Toni had been out together.
The band got through another tune and the food arrived. The basket of fries was huge, the sandwiches also generous, and the waitress brought catsup and vinegar and
137
CYBERNATION
and plopped them onto die table. Along with a f napkins.
glad we decided to get a small order of fries,” said.
why they had gotten all the napkins as soon as sauce squished out of the sandwich and ran r his chin.
die band’s next number, a harmonica player ap- from somewhere to sit in; the Song Dogs sang œ traveling on the railroad and long stretches of empty , and the blues harp wailed like a train whistle, long nful.
els watched Toni, enjoying the look of pleasure face as she watched and listened to the band. This hat life was all about, wasn’t it? Watching your i have a good time, and being a part of that? Drink- eating greasy fries, listening to a band-how I better did it need to be? He could do this. Definitely. I maybe that’s what part of your problem has been A/ex, hmm? Too much willingness to drop work home to play with the baby? To lie in bed with hen before you’d have been up and at work before < else got there? els felt a stab of guilt at that thought. It was true, still did a good job. But for the last few months, |heart just hadn't been in it the same way. He wasn't ay man the way he had been before. He wanted this wife, this baby, in ways he hadn't enjoyed wife and child. He had put them second, behind and as a result, he had lost them. He wasn't going i Toni and the baby. t that fair to Net Force ? Didn 't the agency deserve a dedicated to it first, before anything? When he t about it, yeah, maybe. Then again-who could do r job than he was doing? Even at three-quarter speed, still faster than anybody else around, wasn't he? Now there's a great rationalization, on, he told himself. Isn't it better for the com 138 NET FORCE pony if I'm relaxed, comfortable, at ease with myself? Doesn't a happy worker do a better job? There's an even funnier one, Alex. Give us another. He was beginning to get seriously pissed off at his inner voice when his virgil cheeped. He and Toni exchanged looks. This was not apt to be good news. 16 a, Morocco off the desert was hot, dry, and carried in it a ' powdery dust and fine sand that swirled through ' as if alive, changing into an irritating, gritty mud got into Jay's eyes. .good touch, that, he thought. Even if he did have to 3 himself. in Northern Africa as in Europe, everyone knew as on the horizon, if not exactly where and when it arrive, and things were about to change, as they I change everywhere. ' stepped into the nightclub and out of the wind, amid | babble of half a dozen languages. There were well- foreigners in their silk and linen suits, mostly , a few women. Natives, dressed in colorful robes and I designed to keep the sun and sand out, sat at some ; small round tables, drinking something mysterious brown bottles.