"Robert Tine - The Astronaut's Wife" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tine Robert)

ship.тАЭ Spencer smiled crookedly. тАЬI donтАЩt think he would really have done it... Someone would
be bound to notice that I went up but somehow failed to make the trip down.тАЭ
Jillian harrumphed. тАЬYou can tell Streck that your ass is mine and he can keep his hands off it,
thank you very much.тАЭ
тАЬAye, aye, maтАЩam. Understood,тАЭ said Spencer briskly. тАЬI will see to it that the commander is
given the orders as to the disposition of my ass post haste, maтАЩam.тАЭ
Alex Streck was SpencerтАЩs immediate superior and mission commander. Both he and his wife
Natalie were good friends of the Armacosts, despite slight differences in age and the subtle
distinctions of rank.
тАЬGood,тАЭ said Jillian with a little laugh. She snuggled in closer, burrowing under his arm and
pushing up against his body, as if to absorb warmth from it. тАЬMy class wants you to come in
when you get back. I think they only tolerate me to get to you.тАЭ Jillian Armacost was being
unduly modest. She was a wildly popular second grade teacher at a local Florida elementary
school. Though she did have to admit that having a husband who was an astronaut with flight
status probably gave her a little edge when it came to engaging her boisterous and rambunctious
pack of second graders.
Spencer stretched in the bed. тАЬI might be able to arrange a visit,тАЭ he said cagily, like a gambler
trying to make the most of a less than perfect hand. тАЬItтАЩll take a little bit of doing, though,тАЭ he
added.
тАЬWhat will it take?тАЭ Jillian asked.
тАЬWell, it wouldnтАЩt hurt for you to be a little nice to me,тАЭ said Spencer, smiling.
тАЬHow nice?тАЭ Jillian asked, as if weighing her chips before she bet anything.
тАЬOh, you know,тАЭ said Spencer airily. тАЬYou know me... IтАЩm just an old married man, a little
kindness goes quite a long way with an old coot like me.тАЭ
Jillian brushed her lips against his and reached down under the sheet, her hand closing around
what she discovered there. JillianтАЩs eyes went wide, as if
she were the virginal heroine of a nineteenth century novel.
тАШWhy, Mr. Armacost, whatever do you have there?тАЭ
Spencer said through a stiff upper lip, тАЬWhy, Mrs. Armeacost, whatever do you mean?тАЭ
 As they melted into each otherтАЩs arms, Fred AstaireтАЩs singing of music and dance provided the
only possible answer.




1
The firm and authoritative voice came through a crackling cloud of static.
тАЬVictory, we are at T-minus thirty-one seconds, your onboard computers are functioning. Start
auto sequence.тАЭ
Mission Control was talking to the space shuffle Victory. The great pile of vehicle was
standing straight up on the launch pad, ready to blast off and head for space. The whole machine
was made up of several components: the familiar and elegant winged orbiter, two solid rocket
boosters, and a giant external tank.
Despite all the talk about onboard computers, for the next few minutes the Victory would be
dealing with a technology as complicated as an ordinary bottle rocket. Spencer and Alex Streck
and the rest of the crew were strapped into the orbiter fifteen stories above the ground, the larger
portion of which was stuffed with hundred of tons of volatile
fuel. In a moment or two, someone would set fire to it and they would be on their way.
The voice of Mission Control seemed to pervade the very air of the Cape. Jillian Armacost
had been through it so many times she could imagine every order, every check, every response