He'd been eyeing the flitter warily, looking under it and along the flat lines of the deck. His eyes met mine and he straightened somewhat as he grinningly said, "I haven't yet," and stepped aboard.
I chuckled and stepped onto the deck, then nodded to Sue. She smiled and the flitter leapt straight into the air. Kent at first looked around in shock, then saw that nobody else seemed particularly dismayed. Although he didn't seem to relax much, he again straightened himself and watched the ground recede beneath us.
With a grin, I asked, "Sue, how about letting me off at around five miles up?"
Kent glanced at me with a slight grin.
"Should I stop," asked Sue, "Or do you just want to know when we get there?"
Shrugging, I said, "Oh, just let me know, I guess. Five suit on."
Kent had turned away from the view upon hearing my words. I was standing on the other side of the deck from him as he looked at me oddly.
"Five what..?" he started to ask.
"Five miles, Ed," said Sue.
I said, "Thank you, milady," then I set my coffee mug down by one of the seats and tossed Kent a small salute and a smile as I said, "See you later," and dove off the deck backwards. The look of shock on Kent's face was priceless.
When my upward plunge ceased and became a downward plunge, I said, "Parasail on green."
My implant created an emerald canopy above me. Once my downward speed had slowed I switched to kite mode and began a wide, lazy spiral downward.
Keying my implant, I asked, "Sue, how's Kent holding up?"
Sue responded, "He dove to try to catch you, then watched you fall in a state of shock. He's still lying on the deck, watching you and swearing softly. I'll begin aerobatics at ten miles. You left your coffee mug, Ed. Does that mean you'll be coming back aboard, or would you prefer to land?"
"I'll land on your deck if you'll be good enough to put it where I can reach it conveniently."
She laughed. "I could do that, I guess. See you in a few. We're at ten miles, so I'll start the show now."
I looked up to my right and saw nothing, of course, not even a shining speck. Then some tiny motion caught my eye and I watched as the flitter enlarged quickly, seemingly headed straight at me.
It rocketed past me fifty feet away, apparently at barely subsonic speed, and a violent, rolling blast of wind grabbed my kite and shoved it sideways and down, nearly turning it completely over on its back and making it spin hard.
With a little guidance the hang glider quickly stabilized. Yessir, Susanne had a personality vastly different from Steph's... Or did she? Had Steph perhaps always wanted to do something like that?
Kent's voice came through my implant.
"Ed? Susanne says you can hear me and answer through this console. Are you all right?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine, Kent. Now I'll have to think of a way to get even with Sue, though."
"I told her she was cutting it too close."
"She knew precisely what she was doing, Kent. Believe it. She could have gone by me about ten feet away without rocking my wings." After a pause I added, "But she didn't, of course. I'll bet they were both giggling about it. Right?"
"Uh... Well, yeah. They were." As if to switch the subject, he said, "Stephanie says the... uh... thing she gave me..."
"PFM," said Stephanie.
"Uh, yeah. The PFM. She told me that mine will make parasails and gliders, too. I've never flown anything even remotely like a hang glider, Ed."
"No sweat. It's easy and you'll have a couple of miles of altitude to get the hang of it. If you're up to it, stick the PFM on your arm and try it."
"Well... I mean, it seems kind of..."
"Oh, hell, just do it, Kent. We didn't come up here to kill a colonel this morning. Think of it as a job interview. Sue, how about pulling alongside me for a few?"
Sue said, "Look behind you, Ed."
I did so. The flitter was again coming at me at a high rate of speed, but this time it slowed and pulled alongside about ten feet away. Kent simply stared at my kite as I sideslipped toward the flitter and hovered above the deck. Sue's field grabbed the kite and anchored me there.
"How about handing me my coffee, Kent?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, okay..." he picked it up and reached to hand it to me.
After a long sip I handed it back to him and asked, "You gonna try kiting today?"
Kent stood holding my coffee mug as he stared up at my wings. After a long few moments he turned to look at Stephanie, who coolly matched his gaze.
Sue said, "I'll stop the flitter, Kent. Just say 'glider on' and step off the deck."
He looked back at me. I grinned and banked hard left to veer away from the flitter. Sue's field released me and I hung to one side of the slow-moving flitter for a few moments, then sideslipped back toward it.
Sue matched my rate of descent, as well, so I was able to swing back into position just above the deck.
"Glider off," I said, and dropped to the deck, then took my coffee mug from Kent.
"That's all there is to it," I said. "Glider on or off. Parasail on or off. Name a color. Sue can catch you if you have any problems in flight or you can switch to the parasail if you want to land dramatically, but watch out for the powerlines down there. How are you getting to Ft. Bragg from here?"
Shaking his head slightly at the change of subjects, Kent said, "Uh... I'll be flying up there from Tampa on Tuesday."
Guzzling the last of my coffee, I put the cup down as I said, "A better idea. We'll deliver you. It's only about fifteen minutes away by flitter and I haven't seen the place for a while."
After a pause, I said, "Kent, Stephanie can't use you if you don't have confidence in the product."
With that I said, "Glider on green," and lifted off the deck. I hovered there for a few moments before I waved and banked away maybe fifty feet.
Kent stared at me, then at Stephanie, and then stared at the PFM in his right hand for a few moments, then he stuck it on his arm. The flitter stopped moving and I had to swing around to keep it in sight.
A green hang glider suddenly appeared above Kent and he seemed to be speaking with Stephanie for a few seconds, then he turned in a careful, awkward fashion, as if the kite actually had weight, and seemed to take a deep breath before running off the deck. He wobbled quite a bit at first, then seemed to get the 'hang' of hang gliding as he leveled and very cautiously tried steering his kite.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Keying my implant, I asked, "Steph, did you tell him about the protective field?"
"No, Ed."
"Did he say anything about me bailing out five miles up?"
"No, Ed. At that particular moment he seemed focused on the fact that you didn't have a parachute. He also rather indelicately questioned your sanity."
Sue giggled. "Yes, he did. Very indelicately. If you'd like a playback..?"
"No, funny lady," I said. "I've probably heard it before, anyway. Let's give him a few minutes of airtime, then head downstairs. Still think he'll do as a liaison?"
"Yes, I think so. Kent didn't simply follow you off the deck, Ed; he carefully verified the PFM commands beforehand."
"Yeah, I saw that. Cautiously daring; that's good. Okay, then. He's here to see his family, so you might want to get with him after Steve and Lynn go to bed or maybe even after he's reported to Ft. Bragg. I'd like to spend some time with Selena and Toni today, so I won't be up here too long this morning. Maybe half an hour or so more."
Sue said, "Speaking of Kent's family, Steve and Lynn are standing in their front yard with small group of your neighbors, Ed."
"As expected, Sue. Reassuring his aunt and uncle and describing his experience will help him come to a quick decision about all this if he hasn't already."
"Tell me, Ed; is that manipulation or management?"
"I'd prefer to say management, but you can ask Steph for a second opinion."
I got well ahead of Kent some fifteen minutes later and called Sue to request
a rendezvous. She slid the flitter under me and I turned off my kite, then waved at Kent, gesturing that he should hold a steady course. He nodded.
Sue maneuvered the flitter under him and he, too, turned off his glider. Kent was flushed and trembling with excitement as we descended toward his uncle's yard.
"Glad you had fun," I said, picking up my coffee mug. "I'm leaving all those people to you, Kent. We have places to go and stuff to do today, so we'll get with you later to make whatever arrangements are needed."
When I gestured toward Steph he looked that direction and I whispered, "Three suit on," and vanished. I walked to the rear of the deck and whispered 'glider on,' then stepped off and slid through the air toward my front yard, where I landed and watched the others for a moment.
Kent hopped off the flitter with a wave and a smile, then the flitter zoomed back into the sky. I walked around the house, let myself in the side garage door, headed for the kitchen, and ignored the flashing LED on my answering machine.
Steph and Sue were already at the kitchen table and Tiger was sitting on the table to allow both of them easy access. He looked at my coffee mug floating toward him and said something.
Sue said, "Tiger would like to know why you're not visible, Ed."
I laughed as I patted him and said, "Because someone might see me, Tiger. I'm about to refill my coffee cup, and that means standing in front of the window. Someone might come over to talk and I'd rather get my coffee made and go see Selena and Toni. Do you want to come along?"
Tiger listened with a cocked ear as Sue relayed my answer, then he spoke again in a tone I knew to be affirmative, translated unnecessarily by Sue as "Yes."
As I dumped what looked to be about enough instant coffee into my cup, I asked, "Steph, does it seem highly coincidental that an Army colonel who is about to retire and happens to be related to friends of mine showed up here this weekend?"
Steph's attention seemed to remain fixed on stroking Tiger as she said, "Col. Meyer received his orders last Friday, Ed. His visit here is listed as a 'delay en route for personal reasons'."
"Where are his parents? What state?"
"They live in Pennsylvania. Kent took leave to visit them during Christmas."
"Hm. The Army usually allows a month or more for peacetime transfers, Steph. What emergency circumstances required him to change duty stations on a week's notice or required the Army to fill a slot at Ft. Bragg that quickly?"
"No such circumstances are apparent, Ed."
Noting that the small crowd across the street had mostly dissipated as I capped my mug, I said, "I didn't think they would be."
I turned from the sink, sipped my coffee, looked at Steph, and said, "Assume that this is a setup; that he'll retire and sign on with you and even that he'll perform for you as well as he would for any other employer. Also assume that he'll be reporting to someone."
Steph smiled. "I'd planned to proceed along those lines, Ed."
Sue looked at Steph and asked, "You're going to hire him?"
"Someone once told me that well-known demons can be safer company than unknown angels."
Looking at me, Sue said, "I can guess who that might have been."
I picked up the phone and called Selena's number.
She answered on the fourth ring with, "Ed, we expected you to be here by now."
"The blessings of caller ID... Hello to you, too, lady. I'm calling to tell you we're about to hit the road. Wanted to make sure you hadn't gone shopping or something."
"As if," she said. "Get yourselves moving and your excuse better be good."
"Oh, by your command, milady. I'm bringing Tiger, too. See you in a few. Bye."
"Okay-bye. And hurry." She hung up.
Grabbing my travel kit, I said, "Ready when you are, ladies." Speaking to the room, I asked, "Elkor?"
Elkor's disembodied voice said, "Yes, Ed."
"Are you coming with us to Inverness?"
As he said "Yes," Tiger's platform floated into the kitchen. Tiger hopped onto it and spoke and Elkor's disembodied voice returned the catty greeting. I opened the front door and started to hold it for the ladies, but they'd already vanished from the kitchen.
Susanne and Steph were seated aboard the flitter when it landed. Tiger, Elkor, and I quickly boarded and the flitter lifted skyward swiftly. A couple of kids who'd been watching our prior air show had lingered at the corner to talk. One of them saw us and dropped his skateboard to point at us as he yelled at the other kid to look.
A few minutes later we descended toward Selena's condo. Selena and Toni lay by the small swimming pool in lounge chairs. Toni pointed up at us and swatted Selena with her towel. Selena waved her drink at us, then let Toni pull her to her feet.
The condo's back yard was too small for a landing, so Sue hovered above the fence and I dropped down to the lawn as Tiger descended on his platform beside me. I set my travel kit down to hug Selena and Toni. Tiger hopped off Elkor's platform to roll in the grass by their feet and they each took a moment to pat him and say 'hi'.
Sue and Steph appeared and Selena's and Toni's eyes widened considerably as they got their first 'in person' looks at Sue. After introductions and greetings there was an awkward moment, then Selena got us moving toward the condo.
"Toni and I are cooking out here," she said, "Let's get inside, out of the sun," and as she turned to lead the way she shot me an amazed sort of look and whispered, "My God, she's beautiful, Ed!"
"Gee, you think so?" I whispered back, eyeing Sel's bikini-clad body, "Gee, lady, I dunno... Compared to you, she seems kind of average to me..."
Sel's raised eyebrow and 'you can put that back in the bull' glance spoke her opinion of my comment. Tiger realized that he'd ceased to be the center of anyone's attention and rather frumpily got up to follow us to the screen door.
Steph studied the pool deck, then looked at Sel and Toni and asked, "Would you and Toni be more comfortable if Sue and I were also dressed as if for swimming?"
The catch in Toni's breath was audible and I knew that -- like me -- she and Sel were vividly remembering the last time we'd seen Steph in a bathing suit.
Sel glanced at Toni before saying, "Whatever would make you comfortable, Steph."
Field-generated clothing transmogrified into bathing suits; Steph's was, as expected, an emerald-green bikini and Sue wore a white one that offered a rather stark contrast to her carefully-computed bronze tan.
Toni breathed, "Oh, wowww...!" and settled into a chair near the big plastic table by the pool, unable to take her eyes off Steph and Sue. Selena let her breath out in a long, soft sigh as her gaze ranged first over Steph from head to toe, then Sue.
After a long look at all of the women present, I went to the kitchen for drinks as Selena grinningly sat down beside Toni, leaned across the table, and said, "So, Susanne, tell us all about you..."
Tiger followed me to the kitchen and wove back and forth between my feet as I opened the fridge. I took a moment to put down a bit of milk in a small bowl for him, changed into a bathing suit in the living room, then grabbed a Dr Pepper and two diet Pepsis and headed back to the pool deck.
As I set the Pepsis down Sue was saying, "...So here I am, a flitter pilot for at least a year."
She glanced at me and I felt as if she'd maybe truncated another line of thought. Sel and Toni trying to stifle giggles reinforced that feeling.
I looked at Steph, but she simply looked at me as if wondering why I was looking at her. Sue gave me a similarly innocent look.
Uh, huh... So it was a conspiracy.
Oh, well; almost nothing will create bonds among people quicker than sharing secrets.
Guzzling some Dr Pepper, I made my way to the pool and sat on the steps. I felt eyes on me and turned to see everyone staring at me. More games. Okay. I stood up and whispered 'five suit on' just before I entered the water.
When I ducked under I was below their line of sight into the pool. The five suit kept the water about half an inch from my
face and I was able to mutter 'three suit on'.
It wasn't a matter of holding my breath; reserve oxygen in the field sphere that hung near my briefcase circulated as necessary as I sat on the bottom of the pool.
Perhaps a minute went by before I heard a chair slide back on the rough concrete above, then a face -- Toni's, by her dark hair -- appeared almost directly above me. I wondered if she'd noticed where the thin umbilical link from the field sphere above me entered the water.
Apparently not. Sel's face soon appeared near Toni's. They looked around in some consternation for a few moments, then Selena seemed to have a revelation and she shoved Toni into the pool, then followed her in. Sel spread her arms, then Toni did the same and they began a methodical, groping search of the pool.
I followed them around for a little while, then it apparently occurred to Sel that I might be behind them. She turned abruptly and backtracked, very nearly making contact with me as I shoved off the pool wall and scooted out of her path.
When Toni moved to follow her, the time seemed right, so I formed two field tendrils that reached for their legs. Both women shrieked and thrashed, then seemed to become more determined than ever to locate me.
They began again their methodical sweep of the pool as I headed for the shallow end and eased myself up the steps and out of the water. Since the water didn't stick to my five suit field, there was almost no disturbance of the surface as I lifted my legs and feet clear.
Some minutes later, the ladies were rather frustrated as they turned to ask Steph and Sue for assistance in locating me. I froze, but though Selena couldn't see me, she noticed that my Dr Pepper bottle was suspended above the table.
Screaming their 'gonna get you's', the ladies stormed out of the water and converged on the poolside table. By that time I'd moved to the condo doorway, so their frantic groping around the table yielded them only empty chairs.
With some minor swearing first Selena, then Toni, sat down and sipped their Pepsis, then toweled their hair. I said 'three suit off' and their eyes found me in the doorway.
"That's cheating," Toni said in a flat tone.
"Yeah," said Sel, "And how come your hair isn't wet?"
3rd World Products, Inc., Book 4 Page 47