Chapter 108

CHARLES DANKO didn't spray me with ricin. That was what the doctors were saying, hovering¹ over me all morning at the toxicology unit at Mof?t.

And the vice³ president wasn't going to die. Word was that they had him two floors below me, that he had even been on the phone to his boss in Washington.

I spent several hours with a maze⁴ of tubes and wires stick-ing out of me, monitors reading my blood and chest scans. The contents of Danko's canister were identified as ricin. Enough to kill hundreds of people if he had gone undetected. Danko had ricin in his lungs, and he was going to die. I wasn't sorry to hear it.

About noon I got a phone call from the president, as in the president. They stuck a phone to my ear, and in my daze⁵ I remembered hearing the word hero about six times. The president even said he was looking forward to thanking me in person. I joked that maybe we should wait for the toxic² glow to settle down.

When I opened my eyes after a snooze, Joe Molinari was sitting on the corner of my bed.

He smiled. "Hey. I thought I said `no heroes!'"

I blinked and smiled, too, a little more groggy⁶ than tri-umphant, embarrassed at the tubes and monitors.

"The good news," he said with a wink⁷, "is the doctors say you're fine. They're just holding you for observation a few more hours. There's an armada of press waiting for you out there."

"The bad news?" I said, hoarsely⁸.

"Someone's gonna have to teach you how to dress for these photo ops."

"New fashion look." I squeezed back a smile.

I noticed that he had a raincoat draped over his arm and was wearing the navy herringbone suit I'd seen him in the first time. It was a very nice suit, and he wore it well.

"The vice president's recuperating⁹. I'm heading back to Washington tonight."

All I could do was nod. "Okay..."

"No" - he shook his head, inching closer - "it's not okay. Because it's not what I want."

"We both knew this would happen," I said, trying to be strong. "You have a job. The interns¹⁰..."

Molinari scowled¹¹. "You're brave enough to go after a man holding a canister of deadly poison, but you're not ready to stand up for something you want."

I felt a tear creep out of the corner of my eye. "I don't know what I want, right now."

Molinari put down his raincoat, then drew close and put a hand to my cheek, brushing away the tear. "I think you need some time. You have to decide, when things calm down, if you're prepared to let someone in. Like a relationship, Lindsay."

He took my hand. "My name's Joe, Lindsay. Not Molinari, or Deputy Director, wink, wink. And what I'm talking about is you and me. And not trying to joke it away because you've been hurt before. Or because you lost a really close friend. I know this'll come as a disappointment, Lindsay, but you're entitled to be happy. You know what I mean. Call me old-fashioned." He smiled.

"Old-fashioned," I said, doing exactly what he accused me of, making jokes when I ought to be serious.

Something was stuck inside me, the way it always seemed to stick when I wanted to say what was in my heart. "So, you get out here how often?"

"Speeches, security conferences...a couple of national crises factored in..."

I laughed. "We can't help the jokes, neither of us."

Molinari sighed. "Even you must know this by now: I'm not one of the assholes, Lindsay. It can work. The next step is yours. You have to make a move to try."

He stood up and brushed his hand over my hair. "The doctors assured me that this is perfectly¹² safe." He smiled, then leaned over and planted a kiss on my lips. His lips were soft, and mine, chapped and dry from the night, clung on. I was trying to show him how I felt, knowing I'd be crazy not to tell him and let him walk out that door.

Joe Molinari stood and draped the raincoat over his arm. "It's been a privilege and an honor getting to know you, Lieu-tenant Boxer¹³."

"Joe," I said, a little scared to see him go.

"You know where to reach me."

I watched him head to the door. "You never know when a girl might have a national emergency...."

"Yeah" - he turned and smiled - "I'm a national emer-gency kind of guy."

1 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

2 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

5 daze   

v.(使)茫然，(使)发昏

参考例句：

• The blow on the head dazed him for a moment.他头上受了一击后就昏眩了片刻。
• I like dazing to sit in the cafe by myself on Sunday.星期日爱独坐人少的咖啡室发呆。

6 groggy   

adj.体弱的；不稳的

参考例句：

• The attack of flu left her feeling very groggy.她患流感后非常虚弱。
• She was groggy from surgery.她手术后的的情况依然很不稳定。

7 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

8 hoarsely   

adv.嘶哑地

参考例句：

• "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
• Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

9 recuperating   

v.恢复（健康、体力等），复原( recuperate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He's still recuperating from his operation. 他动了手术，还在恢复。
• He is recuperating from a serious back injury. 他背部受了重伤，目前正在康复中。 来自辞典例句

10 interns   

n.住院实习医生( intern的名词复数 )v.拘留，关押( intern的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Our interns also greet our guests when they arrive in our studios. 我们的实习生也会在嘉宾抵达演播室的时候向他们致以问候。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• The interns work alongside experienced civil engineers and receive training in the different work sectors. 实习生陪同有经验的国内工程师工作，接受不同工作部门的相关培训。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

11 scowled   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
• The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

12 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

13 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。