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Back at the barracks, he caught the tail end of dinner, then returned to his room, where he paced for several minutes before giving up and taking the elevator back up to the lounge. He didn’t see her at first, so he took a table to study the crowd more closely. After several minutes of careful searching, he was forced to conclude that Candy wasn’t there.
“Absolutely.”
She leaned over and kissed him, but when he started to rise she held up one finger. “Give me a few minutes, I need to see someone.”
She crossed to a corner booth. The light hanging over it was one of the several in the lounge that were out, leaving the booth in semi darkness, but it seemed to Jack that the only occupant of the booth was male. Candy sat down.
Jack flagged a waitress and ordered Candy a drink, keeping an eye on the distant booth as well as he could. More people were filing into the lounge as the day came to an end, and it the thickening crowd made it difficult to see what as happening.
“Pardon me,” said a voice at his elbow.
Looking up, Jack saw Doctor Russ, whom he hadn’t noticed walking up. “Doctor Russ, how do you do,” he asked, not too coldly.
The waitress returned with Candy’s drink, placing it on the table. From the corner of his eye, Jack saw Candy rise and begin to walk toward him. “I didn’t realize you had a guest,” said Stephen, “I hope I’m not intruding?”
“No, I - er - this drink is mine,” Jack said, picking it up and drinking down half of it, fighting the urge to gag. Martinis, dirty or not, were not his thing. Candy, now halfway across the lounge, had stopped, turned, and started to walk in another direction, toward another client.
Jack turned to fully face Doctor Russ. “Is there something you need, Doctor, that can’t wait till we’re back aboard?”
“No, sir," said Doctor Russ. “I won’t take up any more of your time.”
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