3rd World Products, Inc., Book 3
Page 34
"The message has been sent. Linda's pad should have it in a few seconds."
"Great. Now let's keep an eye on Wallace. He should have it as quickly as Linda."
Wallace was talking to a guy who'd been on the other team flitter when he seemed to freeze and look down at his pad. He resumed talking to the guy for a few moments, then walked over to the buffet table for a canned drink. After a quick glance around, he tapped his pad on and studied it for a few moments.
His face reflected slight resentment for a moment; probably about the time he read the line saying that I could ignore the fact that he was sleeping with Linda. Steph and I saw him glance around again, then he took a sip of his drink and let his gaze fall on our flitter.
"Closeup of his face, Steph?"
A bit of the canopy field modified and suddenly Wallace's face seemed only a few feet away. He no longer looked resentful; he looked thoughtful. He glanced at the pad again and nodded slightly, then tapped it off and set it on the table. He looked in our direction again for a few moments, then took his pad and drink over to Linda's bunk.
Linda looked up from her own pad and set it aside as Wallace approached.
I asked, "Sound, Steph?" and Wallace's words became audible within the flitter.
"I just finished Collier's report," he said with a grin. "They all say pretty much the same, as expected. Maybe we should just type up one report and have everybody sign it like a petition."
Linda returned his grin and said, "That makes too much sense. Some bureaucrat would feel deprived. Was that you getting out of Ed's flitter earlier?"
He nodded. "Yeah. We had another talk. I think it went better than the one last night."
"How so?"
"Well," said Wallace as he sat down beside her, "He said that he's pretty sure we aren't likely to have to work together, and that would definitely make things easier for all of us. Is he right about that?"
"Very much so," said Linda. "Ed has always worked alone, Emory, and as you've seen, I can send him into situations where I can't send the usual people. There have been others backing him at a distance to provide communications and support, but he's always preferred going in alone. I have no doubt that he'd retire rather than accept a permanent position on anyone's team. Either of you may end up in a mission support role for the other, but you won't have to work together unless it becomes absolutely unavoidable."
Wallace seemed to digest that news for a moment, then asked, "What is he, Linda? A glory hog, or just someone who can't lead or follow worth a damn?"
Linda sat very still as she gave Wallace a hard gaze. After a few moments, she said, "Whatever he may be, he has an 80-percent-plus success rate, Emory. When his missions have failed or gone sour, it was never his fault."
As an example, she told him about the time that a pilot couldn't find our pickup zone near the East/West German border. He'd flown too far north and had been spotted zig-zagging above the border as he'd looked for our signal. What had been a milk run had turned into a run for our lives.
I'd had to hotwire a truck and send it through the the fence, then herd the family through on foot. Guards had arrived at that section of the fence in time to fire a few rounds at us, but we managed to get across the border. Their tracer rounds had hit the truck's fuel tank, and the burning truck had been what had finally alerted the pilot to look for us further south.
Wallace said, "You two do go back a few years, don't you? The Berlin Wall came down in what..? Eighty-nine?"
In a quiet tone, Linda said, "That border incident happened in late 1972, Emory. Yes, you could say that Ed and I do go back a few years." She paused for some moments, then said, "Making things difficult for Ed will make things difficult for me, Emory. You might eventually drive him away, but you'd drive me away before then."
Emory nodded slightly and said, "Yeah, I'd already figured that out."
He stood up and looked around their indoor encampment, then asked, "Any word on when they're letting us out of here?"
I said, "I've seen enough, Steph. He either bought it or he didn't, and now there's no doubt in his mind about how Linda would handle more trouble."
At four that afternoon I was aboard my flitter, sitting back with my feet up on a field-generated footstool and reading a novel on my datapad, when the hangar's big doors rolled open. Close to fifty people were assembled on the pavement beyond the doorway. For some moments, nobody moved, then Dr. Mills, a short woman with a big briefcase, stepped into the hangar and approached Linda and Wallace.
They held a quick conference, then Wallace turned to his team people and said, "We're outta here, people. See you all in the morning. Dismissed."
While everybody else headed for the doors, Linda, Wallace, and Mills stood talking by the buffet tables. I saw Linda raise her watch and press the call button. My watch beeped in response.
I tapped my watch on and said, "Hi, Linda."
"How'd you know it was me? Doesn't anyone else ever call you?"
"Not on my watch. I never give out the number."
"Oh. Well, are you planning to stay here in the hangar another night, or what?"
"We'll be along. I've got two pages left of this chapter. You want me to be anywhere, or can I scamper on home?"
"If you stick around another hour or so, you can go to dinner with us. Dr. Mills offered to take us all to a restaurant in Carrington. We just want to check in with our offices first."
I didn't have to think long about it. I looked at Steph and covered my watch as I asked her if she wanted to go to a dinner.
She shook her head and said, "You go if you want."
"I don't really want to go, either. I've had too much company since yesterday."
I uncovered my watch and said, "Thanks anyway, but Steph and I have something we want to do before it gets too late."
Steph gave me a questioning glance as Linda said, "Okay, if you're sure."
"Yup. We're sure. See you later, Linda."
She signed off and the three of them headed for the hangar door.
Steph asked what it was that 'we' wanted to do before it got too late.
"We want to go home," I said. "Unless you have someplace better in mind. I don't want to spend time with Linda and Wallace, and Mills will probably turn dinner into yet another rehash of last night. Better we should give your lawyer a call and see how things are going with getting you legal and the sale of the gold. It might be fun to check out that new dance club in Gainesville tonight, too."
With a smile, Steph said, "Yes, it might."
"In that case, why don't you aim us at Florida while I call Selena? It's a school night, but that's never stopped us before."
Steph lifted us and took us through the big hangar doors several feet above the heads of those still standing outside. When we were clear of the buildings, she launched us in a high arc toward Florida.
End 3WP03
Book Information (click here)
Book Information
* * *
This book Copyright © 2000 by Ed Howdershelt. All rights reserved.
CAUTION: Some tasteful erotica late in the story.
If you're curious about me, check out:
http://abintrapress.tripod.com
http://www.wiccaworks.com/
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
* * *
Book Information
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
> Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46