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“No. Of course not. We clean our weapons, too. Polar bears…” she said, trailing off because she felt foolish being caught staring at him.
He nodded and ran a patch through the barrel. “There something you want to talk to me about?” he asked, not looking her way.
Eric glanced over, one eyebrow raised. Then, a smirk curved his mouth. She glared at him and stood, stuffing her book under the seat cushion. They’d spent three winters together. He knew her well and likely recognized her interest in the newcomer.
She strode over to Gunn’s table and pulled over a chair to sit beside him. “Are you unpacked?”
He nodded. “Didn’t take five minutes.”
“Both bags?”
“My clothing bag. I have equipment in the other, but I’ll wait to pull everything out when folks aren’t underfoot.”
“What kind of equipment did you bring? More of this?” she asked, nodding toward his weapon, which he was busy applying oil to.
“I brought some surveillance equipment,” he said quietly.
“Cameras?”
“And motion detectors.”
“Will you need a computer to connect them?”
“They’re wireless. I can use my phone or my tablet.”
She nodded. “Guess it’s a good thing we have site comms and a satellite uplink then.”
“Yeah. Good thing.” He wasn’t looking at her, but she could see his smile.
She let out a deep breath. “Talking with you is work.”
He chuckled and in a blur of movement completed reassembling his weapon in seconds, setting it on the table and then turning his chair to face her. “What do you want to talk about, Ms. Russo.”
“It’s Maddie.”
“Maddie,” he repeated, his gaze sweeping over her face. “How did you get this job? You a scientist, too?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m a project manager. I know how to facilitate.” She shrugged. “I’ve worked with Doctors Without Borders, assembling teams for special initiatives. I meet people in strange places. Get job offers out of the air—in Africa, South America—wherever there’s a disaster. Polardyne was looking for someone who could handle a challenging environment, and my name somehow made it to the HR department there. I got an offer when I was working in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria… There’s still lots of work to be done on the island, but I was kind of tired of the heat.”
His smile stretched. “And you thought the Arctic was a great change of pace.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t figure I’d still be here three years later.”
“What do you do when you pack it up in the spring?”
“Last summer, I headed to Tibet. I tried some climbing. It’s not really my thing, though. I didn’t make any high peaks, but I enjoyed the country.”
“No family pulling you home?”
“No family,” she said, shaking her head. “My parents were killed in a house fire ten years back. So, no family and no home to go back to.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You? Do you not have family waiting for you at home?”
He shook his head. “Foster kid. I have no clue where my mom is. She was an addict. When I joined the Navy, I left Minnesota and never looked back.”
“Well, aren’t we a sad pair?” she said, easing back in her seat.