Book 4: 3rd World Products, Inc.

by Ed Howdershelt

  Sue giggled and said, “I can see that."

  "Interesting that Steph didn't mention that I sleep naked."

  Steph smiled and vanished. After another glance at me, so did Sue.

  After spiffing up a bit and dressing I headed for the kitchen and found coffee made. Although I don't have a taste for brewed coffee anymore, I poured a cup and took it to the kitchen table. Steph was nowhere in sight. Sue sat down across from me.

  No surprise with the brewed coffee; I was used to quick-fix instant and brewed stuff just didn't taste right to me anymore.

  I took Sue's hand in mine, raised it to my lips, and said, “Thank you for trying, milady, but please don't make my coffee. I've acquired a taste for the way I make it."

  Sue simply shrugged and said, “I made coffee because we're expecting company this morning."

  "Good thinking. Kent's in the Army. He'll probably soak up the pot."

  Sure enough, when I went out for the paper Kent chose that particular moment to take out the garbage. He “spotted” me and walked across the street for a handshake.

  I invited him in and pointed him at the coffee pot and cups as I made my own coffee from instant in my Aladdin travel mug. Sue was nowhere in sight.

  He watched me assemble my coffee in silence, but when I finished and moved to the table, his questioning expression made it clear that he was curious.

  Sue popped into being in the chair opposite mine and startled the hell out of Kent, who had thankfully put his cup down before she appeared.

  "He doesn't like my coffee,” said Sue. “He prefers that mud he makes."

  Kent simply gaped at her as I said, “Oh, not fair, Sue. I apologized, didn't I?"

  She sighed and said, “Yes, I suppose you did. Sort of. Kind of. After a fashion."

  "Kent, don't let her hustle you for sympathy. Sue made that pot because she knew you were coming over."

  "Huh?” his eyes met mine, then he looked at Sue and managed, “Oh. Uh, thank you, Sue."

  Some moments of sipping later, I asked, “How much do you figure the Army's changed since 1970, Kent?"

  "Oh, damn. In some ways a lot, I'd think."

  Shrugging, I said, “I dunno. They still have officers, enlisteds, helicopters, and guns, right? Can't have changed that much. Some of the hardware and the uniforms, yeah, but I'll bet the Army is still basically the same."

  He sipped his coffee with a sidewise glance at Sue, then peered at me for a moment as he said, “Yeah, probably so. 1970, huh? Damn. You've been out for some time, haven't you? You don't look that old."

  "Oh, I'm pretty much ancient, Kent. We had horse-drawn helicopters in my outfit."

  He chuckled and said, “That's the way I feel sometimes. The only flight time I get these days is what little it takes to keep my wings current. They wouldn't give me that much air time if it wasn't in the regs that they have to. I've been mostly flying a desk for the last two years."

  We discussed some of the Army's changes; for example, while the M-60 machine gun was still an issue weapon, it had largely been replaced by the Squad Automatic Weapon—SAW—that was generally issued to three-man teams within units. I didn't tell him that I'd qualified with a SAW in 2001 as part of a personnel update.

  Kent begged off talking about some of the infantry's changes because such things weren't within his scope. He also said he was a brigade executive officer enroute from a Pentagon duty station to a new assignment at Ft. Bragg, NC, and something in his voice made me ask if being stationed there was somehow a problem for him.

  "Maybe,” he said. “My ex married an Air Force captain a few years back and he's at Pope AFB. Chances are I'll be running into them, sooner or later. I've considered calling her to let her know I'll be in the neighborhood."

  "Hm. I'd make it sooner and get it out of the way. Did you have any kids with her?"

  With a shake of his head he said, “No."

  "That makes it a lot easier. Maybe she'll fix you up with one of her friends."

  "My current girlfriend might not take that very well. She's coming down after I get set up."

  "Ah. Well, then, I'd just give the ex a heads-up call and be done with it."

  "That's kind of what I figured to do."

  After sipping my coffee, I said, “Check it out. I'm handing out advice to a brigade XO, and it's not even advice he hasn't already given himself. You're in your mid-forties, Kent. I figure that makes you at least a light colonel, maybe a bird colonel."

  "Bird,” said Kent. “And that's about as high as I'll be going, I think. I'm close to having twenty-five years in and I'm in a subcritical MOS, so I doubt they'll waste a star on me."

  Sue asked, “Are you thinking of retiring?"

  "Yes,” said Kent, “I could go for thirty, but my heart just isn't in it anymore. I'd just be going through the motions, I think, and I'm still young enough to pick up something out here. Or start something of my own; something that would get me back in the air."

  Looking at Susanne, I keyed my implant and said, “Steph."

  "Huh?” asked Kent.

  "Yes, Ed,” said Steph.

  "Got a minute, milady?"

  Kent gave me an odd look, then his eyes got real big real fast. The fourth chair at the table, directly across from Kent, abruptly filled with Stephanie.

  She wore a skirt-jacket outfit of a subdued shade of emerald green. Kent froze in mid-sip of his coffee, staring hard at her. She smiled at him, then us.

  "Steph,” I said, “This is bird-Colonel Kent Meyer, nephew of Steve-across-the-street. Kent, this is Stephanie, the lady Susanne replaced."

  "Uh...” said Kent, then, “Yes, I ... Hello. Ma'am. My uncle has mentioned you."

  "Favorably, I hope,” said Steph.

  "Oh, God, yes, ma'am. Very favorably. And now I see why. You do look like her. Uh, Ingrid Bergman, I mean.” He glanced at me and softly said, “Wow."

  I nodded. “Wow, indeed, and you don't know the half of it, Kent.” Turning to Steph, I asked, “Were you looking for someone about his height and rank to help out in your new company, Steph?"

  She chuckled. “Height and rank? I had other criteria in mind, Ed, but since I'm here, I'll listen."

  "A military liaison,” I said. “Maybe with the police and such, too. He's got enough time and grade to get their attention and he isn't afraid of heights."

  Kent asked, “Ed, what are you doing?"

  "Thinking out loud,” I said. “Gimme a minute."

  "She doesn't know anything about me. For that matter, I don't know anything about her company."

  "No biggie. It isn't up and running yet, so there's nothing to know. And don't worry that she doesn't know anything about you, because she does."

  "Only that I'm an Army colonel and the nephew of one of your neighbors."

  I shook my head. “Nope. By now she probably knows whatever's on record anywhere. Steph, do you want to check with Linda about this?"

  Steph tapped a fingernail on the table a few times, then asked, “You must have had a reason for asking that. What do you think?"

  "I think it'll be your company, Steph. You'll command it, and this is an opportunity to demonstrate that fact to all involved. If you want him, hire him, then run him past Linda for a second opinion."

  Glancing at Kent with a grin, I said, “You can always fire him later if he doesn't work out."

  We sat talking for a few minutes before the front door opened and a PFM flashed to a landing on the table.

  Steph picked it up and handed it to Kent as she said, “You'd be marketing these. I make them."

  After a moment's hesitation, Kent took it and asked, “What is it?"

  Steph let him take it and study it. “It's called a Personal Portable Field Manipulator, Kent. We've been calling them PFM's."

  "That one is a demonstration unit,” I said, “If you sign on, you'll keep it and use it to show and tell. If you don't sign on, she'll put it back on the shelf.” Turning to Steph, I said, “Anytime you're ready
, ma'am."

  "Ready? For what?” asked Kent.

  "A flitter ride, Kent,” I said, “Some of the things that gadget can do shouldn't be done in a room this size.” Waving a hand at the kitchen in general, I added, “Hell, some of ‘em can't even be done indoors."

  "Such as..?” he prompted.

  "Well, let's see ... Are you airborne, Colonel Meyer? It's kind of a big thing at Ft. Bragg, y'know."

  He grinned at that and shook his head.

  "No. I've had emergency training, but I've never sought out opportunities to jump out of planes unnecessarily."

  "Ever do any gliding?"

  He chuckled. “I've made a few dead-stick landings in fixed wings and helicopters. Does that qualify?"

  "You're still here, so that's probably close enough,” I said as I got up to refill my cup, then excused myself for a trip to the bathroom.

  Keying my implant on the way, I asked, “Steph, what do you think of all this? He's a short-timer who knows people at the Pentagon."

  "I've reviewed his records, Ed. He'll do as a liaison."

  "Great. Milady Sue?"

  "Present and accounted for. Sir."

  "Where did you pick that up?"

  "From you, of course. According to the info Steph gave me, you've said it to Linda many times."

  "Uh, huh. Okay, just curious. Let's let Kent see the flitter land. Impress him, please. Then we'll take him for a hard, short flitter ride. Try to tear the wings off."

  There was a chuckle in her voice as she said, “Okay."

  I grabbed my coffee mug in the kitchen and led the way to the front yard. When I looked up, so did Kent. The flitter went from being a shiny speck in the sky to a van-sized object descending rapidly enough to make Kent gulp and take a step back from the driveway.

  A huge rush of air rattled branches in the oak tree behind us as the flitter came to a dead stop a foot or so from the concrete.

  Handing Steph and Sue aboard in a gentlemanly style, I turned to Kent to ask, “You don't get airsick, do you?"

  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, the
n 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.