Turning to John, the guy said, "Doc Crandall's got the duty today. Do we
need him?"
Glancing up, John said, "Don't know yet. Stand by."
Facing Cade, he asked, "Cade, what's wrong with you?"
With a terse shake of his head, Cade said, "Just woke up, that's all."
"You look as if you've just climbed out of your grave."
Looking up, Cade said, "Well, gee, thanks."
The guy on the phone snorted a laugh as John studied Cade's face rather
critically.
"I'm okay, John," insisted Cade, "Just tired, I guess."
"Just like that, you got tired?"
Shrugging, Cade said, "Guess so. You know I was up late."
Checking his watch, John said, "Well, then, you've got most of an hour to
get to the ops room. Tonight's Mandi show starts at eight and we want everybody
in place ahead of time."
"She's back?"
"Yeah. She's going over a few things with Phyllis."
Nodding, Cade said, "Okay. Half an hour. Got it."
"You sure you're okay?"
Sighing, Cade stood up, spread his arms, and said, "Hey, I'm up and I'm
dressed. I'll be there."
Once he was alone, Cade made himself a wakeup coffee and downed most of it
on the spot. A look in the mirror confirmed John's appraisal; Cade looked as if
he'd risen from a sickbed. He felt that way, too; dog-tired and faintly
trembling, he turned on the shower and shed his clothes.
The shower seemed to help a bit. Cade leaned against the wall and did
several fast pushups under the spray to get his blood moving a bit faster.
As he turned to face the spray he used some of it to rinse the staleness out
of his mouth and discovered an intense thirst. After drinking what seemed like a
gallon of water, the thirst eased somewhat and Cade finished washing up.
His coffee seemed to beckon to him as he dried himself. Cade slugged down
what was left of the stuff and made a fresh cup, then went to get dressed.
Before he had his shirt buttoned, the new cup of coffee was gone and he craved
more.
"What the hell..?" he muttered, realizing that he'd felt the same way about
the water in the shower.
Glancing at his watch, he realized he might not have time for any sort of
dinner, which was all it took to make him feel ravenously hungry. He went to his
backpack and took out one of the two big cans of chicken soup and a P-38
military-issue can opener that he kept in the bottom compartment.
One can wasn't enough. Not even close. A few minutes