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Karla was elated and exhausted at the same time The scientific crews had b
een working twenty-four hours a day on three shifts Some, like Karla, had become so involved in their work that they had worked ulped several breaths of fresh air In the blue-gray light, she saw a speck coin a descent into the valley
As the object neared, she could see that it was a large, colorful canopy with a huainst hope, she walked away from the tents to a clear area and madly waved her baseball cap in the air
The paraglider had been descending in a spiral, but it turned in her direction, swooped in low and landed only yards away Kurt Austin unbuckled himself from the harness and rolled up the canopy He walked over with a grin on his face and said, "Good "
She had thought about Austin a lot in the past feeeks Their encounter had been short and sweet Then she was off to Siberia But there were otten to know the handsome NUMA man better
"What are you doing here?" Karla asked with a combination of joy and awe
"I've come to take you to lunch"
She glanced at her watch "It's three o'clock in the "
"It's lunchtime somewhere I didn't come all this way to have my invitation rejected"
She shook her head in disbelief "You're crazy"
Austin's blue eyes sparkled with amusement "Insanity is part of the NUMA job description" He took her hand "As the old Sinatra song goes, 'Come fly with me' "
She brushed a strand of blond hair out of her eyes "I've been working all night I'm a mess"
"There's no dress code at the joint I have in mind," Austin said Come on
He asked her to help hiave Karla a quick lesson They spread the canopy on the ground, buckled themselves into the tandem seat, inflated the canopy with the prop wash and jumped into the wind Karla was a natural flier, and the takeoff was far smoother than the first one he had made with Zavala Once they were airborne, Austin circled above the tent village and put the paraglider into an ascent
"Quite the change in scenery in a feeeks," Austin said as the earth slipped away below them