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discarded and magnifying glasses put
in place, and she carefully plugged the tiny electronic device into
the socket of the printed circuit board. The one-tenth-inch piece
of silicon could switch a circuit on and off as many as one hundred
megacycles per second in a computer.
    Virginia returned the PC board to a special copper cold-pack
unit she had developed and slid it into the computer software
package. If all her testing and evaluations were correct, this
would solve one of the problems AVELCOMP was having with the
software.
    So engrossed was she in charting the visible wave patterns on
the oscilloscope's fluorescent screen, Virginia failed to realize
that she was no longer alone in the lab.
    "Dr. Farrell, I'd like-" A nasal voice jarred her concentration.
Startled, her pencil and clipboard clattered to the floor. Virginia
straightened and found Jerome Quimby's pudgy face looking even more
bloated through her magnifying glasses.
    "I'm terribly sorry, Doctor." Quimby ran an anxious hand over
his bald head. "I didn't mean to interrupt." The short, stocky
president of AVELCOMP nervously tugged at his gray plaid vest. His
dark gaze drifted toward the continually pulsating waves on the
scope.
    "Your flip-flop problem has been resolved," Virginia told him.
She lowered the magnifying glasses slightly to massage the bridge
of her nose. "I'll type my report and make a detailed schematic of
the copper-nitrogen vacuum process for your staff. I can begin work
on the tactile sensor system the day after tomorrow."
    Jerome Quimby stared at her for a long moment. Then his thin
lips curved into a blissful smile. "Congratulations, Doctor." His
beefy, moist hand clasped hers. "We've been banging our heads
against the wall for three months, and you conquer the problem in
just one week. You people at Briarcliff certainly live up to your
reputation as wizards." His hazel eyes looked past her. "Well,
Alex, between the two of you, I doubt we'll miss a deadline."
    "Your facilities are very impressive, Jerome, as is my learned
colleague," a masculine voice intoned from the rear equipment
bank.
    The distinctive deep baritone with more than a hint of a
Southern drawl kindled an erotic memory and simultaneously sent a
wave of nausea washing over Virginia. It couldn't be him, could it?
But that voice? She took a deep, steadying breath, turned, and was
instantly thrown into a panic-it was the Bandit!
    Virginia's eyes became fixed on the advancing masculine figure
that loomed larger than life through the aggrandizing lenses. There
was no mistake. Today his animal energy was contained in an
impeccably tailored navy business suit, but her fingers tingled
under the remembered intimate exploration of the hair-roughened
flesh hidden beneath his light-blue shirt and tic-weave jacket.
    Without the scarf mask his rugged, bronzed features were even
more handsome and compelling. His eyes glittered like diamonds and
echoed the silver strands that winged at the temples in his dark
brown hair.
    While Virginia mentally acknowledged the delayed Halloween
unmasking, the Bandit seemed totally oblivious to her identity and
interested only in the lab. She decided to make his ignorance work
to her advantage. After all, he had met Ginger, not the
perfunctory, diligent, remote Virginia. And that was exactly whom
he was going to meet!
    Jerome Quimby's sharp tones penetrated the exaggerated silence.
"Dr. Virginia Farrell, this is Alex Braddock from SoLas
Incorporated. Alex is here to work on the robots too. He'll be
sharing the lab."
    "SoLas?" Virginia inquired in a curt tone. Her index finger
pushed the magnifying glasses back in place, knowing the distortion
would aid her disguise. "Isn't that the solar energy and laser
group out of New Orleans?" Rudely she slid her hands into the
rubberized apron's pockets and acknowledged the introduction with a
regal nod rather than the customary handshake.
    "That's correct." Alex flashed Virginia an expansive grin that
went unreciprocated.