She glanced at the wall clock above her workshop’s station. Fifteen minutes after her shift ended and no Deacon. Okay, so he said he might be a little late. She was hungry, going on ravenous. Maybe a little ravenous for his company? Well, that too. She liked being with him, but did he like being with her? He said he did, but why did he find excuses not to stay the night and have sex with her? “Marlee!” She startled and blurted out a sharp, “What?” “The wrench ceased functioning twenty seconds ago.” She removed the unit. “Okay, try the hand. Is it working up to specs?” He flexed and spun each of the three fingers on the appendage. “Affirmative. Yes. All is within working parameters.” “Great, and, Henry, please don’t put any more of your digits into a RoboBot’s mouth.” “Puppy is not a RoboBot. It is a toy. A much beloved toy.” “Yeah, a toy with the Bite Force Quotient of an uber-katachin.” She glanced at the pile of parts that had been Puppy. “Next time a kid throws a tantrum over getting an injection, don’t bribe him with anything he can smash and it goes berserk.”
