Page 81 of Hollow Code
"Yours required surgery. Mine required Wynn sewing me up in a moving vehicle with one hand. I think mine wins on style points." Coulter smiled.
"He's not wrong," Wynn said as she entered the room. "That was some of my best work."
Scout walked in and stood near the door. She looked at Gideon for a long moment. For Scout, that was essentially a standing ovation.
Kane shuffled in and immediately started examining the IV line. "Is this the right drip rate? Because it looks?—"
"Kane." Darwin appeared behind him. "Please don't touch my equipment."
"I'm just looking."
"You're playing doctor again because you’re bored," Darwin said. "I can see your fingers moving toward the valve."
Kane pulled his hand back. "You’re no fun."
"I tried to keep everyone out. I really did." Shepherd materialized in the doorway with the tray. He scanned the room, counted heads, and frowned. "I need to make more sandwiches. Coulter isn’t allowed to eat anymore."
"But I’m hungry," Coulter said.
"You’re always hungry." Neve poked his good arm.
Shepherd set the tray on the empty stand "Gideon, turkey or ham?"
"I'll take either."
"Wrong answer. Turkey has better protein for tissue repair. You're having turkey." Shepherd placed a sandwich on a napkin and handed it to Gideon. "And you." He pointed at Zadie. "Ham. And you're going to eat the whole thing because you've had nothing but a soda since five this morning."
"How do you know that?" Zadie asked.
"Because I know everything that happens in this bunker."
"Hell of a day." Gus appeared at the threshold.
"General." Gideon tried to sit up straighter and winced.
"Stay down, son. You've earned horizontal." Gus stepped inside and rested his hand on the bed rail. "Darwin tells me you cracked ORACLE."
"Zadie did. I held her chair."
"Actually, he moved it,” Zadie said. "That was when the roof nearly came down on us."
"And then I got stabbed," Gideon added. "But the other guy got stabbed worse."
"The other guy is dead," Neve said flatly.
"That’s worse." Gideon smiled.
Gus waved a hand at Darwin. "He always like this?"
"Since the day I met him." Darwin stood next to Wynn "He once wrote a Post-it note in my office that said, 'your comments on my review were emotionally damaging' and left it on my monitor."
"They were," Gideon said. "You used red ink."
"I used red because you ignored blue ink."
"Only when my original notes were blue."
"This is the most absurd conversation I’ve ever heard," Gus said.
