Moving to stand by Steve, I said quietly, "Going up in a flitter is no biggie, but when it dives for the ground in a few minutes, you might wish you'd gone to the bathroom first."
He stiffened and glowered at me for a moment, then said, "I was just waiting for everyone else."
With a slight nod, I said, "Okay. Just thinking ahead, is all," and moved back to my seat.
When Frank came out of his column, Steve went to it and studied it closely, testing the wall with a hand as Carl had before easing through the wall.
It somewhat maliciously occurred to me to tell the flitter to make the columns disappear, but I decided not to. Barbara's peering gaze caught mine and she seemed to catch my thoughts.
She glanced at Steve's column and bit her lip as she softly chuckled, "Are you maybe thinking about making his column, uhm... disappear or something?"
Nodding, I quietly answered, "Yup."
"Would you do that to him?"
"Already decided not to."
She snickered. "I'd love to see it. He's such a jerk."
"His type doesn't live things down well. He wouldn't be able to hassle me, but you'd be close at hand."
"Only until I transferred."
Shaking my head, I said, "You never know what they say about you that they don't put in the records. He already hates me for stunning him. We don't need to give him a reason to hate you, too, if he doesn't already have one."
Chapter Nine
When we were five minutes from Landstuhl, I told the flitter to drop stealth mode so we'd show up on radar and called Danvers on a field screen.
She answered with a terse, "Yes?"
I said, "We'll be there in about five minutes," and turned off the screen.
We began descending as Steve rejoined us and took his seat. I waited to see how everyone would handle a landing under 'standard flight parameters'.
Alanah leaned slightly forward to look at me and I gave her an innocent look and a dumb smile. She shook her head, rolled her eyes, and sat back upright.
Frank was the first to notice that our altitude had changed. Looking over the side, he started to say, "Hey, are we going..." then his eyes got big as he clutched his seat and stared at the uprushing patchwork world.
Carl and Steve were sitting farther from the edge. When they noticed Frank's angst, they gave each other questioning glances and stood up to see what he was seeing.
I put my feet up and sipped my coffee. Barbara peered quizzically beyond me at the guys, then looked over the side on her side of the flitter.
For a moment she froze and clutched her seat. I saw her pulse pounding in her neck and heard her breathing go shallow, then she seemed to gain control of herself and sat upright to look at me.
Sipping my coffee again, I smiled and flicked my eyebrows at her. Barbara's gaze traveled from my propped-up legs to my face, then she took a quiet, deep breath and looked over the side again.
"Damn," she breathed, willing her fingers to let go of her seat, "This thing really moves, doesn't it?"
As a big white building became more visible below and we quickly settled to Earth on a big white 'X' in a circle some distance from it, I sipped the last of my coffee, stood up, and said, "Yup. It sure does."
Two Army HumVees and two ambulances were parked nearby and there were probably a dozen people moving toward the flitter, some with cameras.
I said, "Flitter, put your shields up, please. Nobody gets aboard without an invitation."
The flitter said, "Yes, sir," as a gray-tinted barrier formed around it. Those hurrying toward us reined in and approached a bit more cautiously.
As they began touching and trying to reach into the flitter's field, Steph said, "I'll take my leave now. It's been nice meeting everyone."
"Thanks for all the help," I said, "I think Alanah may be the only one among our passengers who really knows just how much you helped during this little adventure."
Barbara bumped my arm and said, "I do. Well, at least I think I do." She extended a hand to Steph and said, "Sort of. And even if I don't, thank you very much, Stephanie. You, too, Elkor. I'm not sure what you all did, but I'm absolutely sure you did something."
Steph chuckled as Elkor said, "You're welcome, Lieutenant Klass."
"Barbara, please."
Nodding his little cat head, Elkor said, "Barbara, then."
Alanah also took Steph's hand, and I heard her softly, smilingly say, "My, how you've grown since the last time we met, Stephanie. You've done very well, indeed."
Turning to Elkor, she said, "It's been nice to see you again, too, Elkor. Thank you for coming to our aid."
Giving her a slight nod of his head, Elkor replied, "You're very welcome, Alanah."
To me, Alanah said, "And you, Ed. Thanks. If I weren't married and if Ellen hadn't told me why you two parted, I might be interested, you know."
"Sorry, ma'am, but there are still no kids in my future. But if you ever get free of your current old man, I'd be proud and happy to help you practice for the next one."
She snickered and said, "I'm sure you would," then kissed my cheek and took my hand as she stepped off the flitter.
When I turned from handing Alanah down, Barbara said, "I can't believe you said that to her."
"Why not? I've known her longer than you have, and I meant every word of it."
"Oh, no damned doubt about that. I saw you staring at her a few times."
"Politely gazing intently, ma'am, not staring. Jealous? Want me to look at you like that, too?"
"Hell, no." She shrugged. "There's no time for it now, anyway. Will a simple 'thanks' cover everything?"
"Sure. I never charge extra for officers. They don't take up much more space than enlisteds when they're out of uniform."
It was apparently an awkward moment for her, for whatever reasons. She seemed to want to say or do something more.
I took her hand and kissed it in a courtly manner, then softly said, "Just say goodbye, LT. Hop down there and go lead some embassy troops or something. If I'm real lucky, I'll see you again sometime."
She bit her lip and smiled, then nodded and stepped down as I -- very likely unnecessarily -- steadied her descent.
Only Frank and Carl were still on my deck, making their goodbyes with Sue, Steph, and Elkor. Steve was talking rather animatedly to Lena Danvers some distance from the flitter.
Joining the little group by the console, I waited for Frank to finish saying something about Steph's 'great outfit', then said, "Well, guys, this is it. All ashore, and like that."
We shook hands and chatted for a few moments more, then they also stepped down to be taken in tow by Danvers and her people. I reached for my coffee mug by the console.
"Steph, Elkor, thanks for all your help and -- if I have things right -- thanks for letting Sue run the op today. The job was a complete success and it'll look damned good on her resume."
All of them seemed momentarily mystified. Sue looked as if she might be somewhat prepared to be irritated.
"What?" I asked. "That wasn't a joke, people. Anytime you get a chance to take some honest credit for something, you should damned well take it. You may be vastly more capable beings, but you're interfacing with humans who usually have no concept at all of just how much 'more capable' you are. Being able to flash up a track record is a good thing."
Sue seemed to relax and Steph said, "Yes, you have it right, Ed. Sue planned and executed today's... adventure."
I grinned at her. "Still won't call it a mission, huh?"
"Not until it has been recorded as such."
"Oh, well. I think I'm going to have a look around the base and town. I'm kind of curious to see what's changed around here after almost thirty years."
Looking past me at the people still milling around the flitter, Elkor said, "Lena Danvers may wish to speak with you, Ed."
"Yeah, but anyone who needs to know what happened today will get a copy of the flight record. I still have a few hours of daylight left to act
like a tourist."
"In that case," said Elkor, "I'll visit with you later."
From a human, those might have been the words of someone who felt a sense of rejection. From Elkor, they were simply parting words.
Nodding, I said, "Sounds good, unless you and Steph would rather come with me."
Steph shook her head. "I put a few things off today that concern my company. I'd like to open in September, but there are some licensing issues."
"May I make a suggestion, Steph? Don't represent yourself in legal or contractual matters. Any little slip of personality or the slightest impression of aloofness can put people off, and all it takes is one misunderstood mannerism. If someone else does the screwups, you can always, apologize for any misunderstandings and continue negotiations."
Smiling, Steph said, "I hired a patent law firm in Virginia."
"Ah-hah. Well. So you've got it covered and I'm hauling coals to Newcastle. Still, it's good to know you're on it."
Reaching for my backpack, I took out my passport and some traveler's checks left over from my last trip to Texas. There were still five fifties in the packet. Good enough.
Looking at Sue, I asked, "How about you, lady? Wanna be a tourist for a while?"
She gave me a little 'why not' shrug, a bob of her head and said, "Sure, mister. I guess my evening's free."
With a short laugh, Steph said, "I'll see everybody later," and vanished. Elkor said, "I'll visit with Tiger for a time. Goodbye," and also vanished.
Outside, the HumVees, ambulances, and military personnel were gone, leaving only Lena Danvers and two guys in suits standing on the helipad, apparently talking about something.
Sue said, "It might be diplomatic to at least meet briefly with Lena Danvers before we depart. Her local support might be useful if we ever have occasion to..."
"Lordy, you sound a lot like Elkor at times."
"Well? Am I wrong?"
Sighing, I slung my pack on my shoulder and said, "No, you aren't wrong. I'll take a minute with her on general principles. Flitter, once we're off the deck, go back to stealth mode and park yourself upstairs, please."
"Yes, sir."
We stepped down and the flitter abruptly rose into the sky behind us. At first everybody saw only the flitter rising, then they saw us as the flitter's field uncovered us.
You'd have thought we were a pair of aliens who'd beamed in from the way everybody stared at us for a time. Danvers suddenly stepped forward and two guys in suits somewhat belatedly followed her.
Extending a hand toward me, she said, "Lena Danvers, Mr. Howdershelt. Sorry about our misunderstanding before."
Misunderstanding? I hadn't noticed one. In fact, she still seemed stiff and cool.
Deliberately misinterpreting her greeting, I said, "Well, if you're going to be Lena, I guess I'll have to be Ed. This is Sue."
Her gaze narrowed, but we shook hands all around. She introduced the guys with her as Cole Markland and Gerald Williams. Williams amended, "Call me Jerry."
The way people smile at you can be interesting. Jerry's smile was open and rather admiring as he looked at Sue. Cole's was one of those manufactured little half-smirks that seriously arrogant people seem to think will get them by. Danvers' grimace was so forced it looked as if it might be painful.
"Right," I said. "Do we really have anything to talk about, or is this just a protocol chat for the record?"
Danvers met my gaze for a few moments as if trying to decide how to answer. She chose the truth.
Glancing around to be sure we weren't on camera, she spoke, barely moving her lips. "It's just protocol."
"Then let's say we did it and go our separate ways. I don't think we're gonna get along very well."
Jerry seemed astonished that I'd say something like that to her. Cole's expression never changed a whit. Danvers again glanced around, then took a step closer.
"I think you're probably right. Anything to report?"
"Nope. We went there, did that. I've already talked to Linda, you have the hostages, and I'm not supposed to tell anyone a damned thing. Are we done?"
Nodding curtly, she stepped back and asked, "Are you like this with everybody?"
I shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much. Are you like this with everybody?"
She grinned slightly. "Yeah, pretty much."
"Then we know where we stand."
Jerry glanced upward and said, "Your flitter's gone. Were you planning to stay here for a while?"
"Thought we'd look around some. I used to work here."
"Here? You mean here at Landstuhl or here in Germany?"
Grinning, I said, "Well, both, actually." Looking around, I added, "But I'm not going to waste my time up here on base. They've changed everything but the roads."
Danvers said, "We'll be here a while, so if you need a ride down the hill, Cole or Jerry can take you."
"No, thanks. We're okay."
It was apparent that Danvers regarded that as a rebuff of some sort. She stiffened up instantly.
I raised a hand and said, "Wait one. I wasn't refusing your offer in favor of a taxi, Lena. We really don't need a ride anywhere."
Jerry asked, "You're not going to walk down, are you? This hill must be a mile high."
"The road to get up here is about a mile. The hill isn't." Shrugging, I added, "Unless they changed that, too."
Turning back to Danvers, I asked, "Are we through?"
With another curt nod, she said, "Sure."
Shifting my backpack to put my right arm through the strap, I said, "Later, then," and built a field platform under my feet that quickly lifted me skyward. To Sue, I said, "I'll open my kite at fifteen hundred or so."
Sue rose alongside me and shortly said, "We're there," right about the time the cars and people looked small enough.
"Thanks, milady. Glider on."
My field implant formed a transparent hang glider above me and I nosed slightly downward to gain forward speed, heading for the main gate and the road down the hill.
Yeah, they'd changed the place a bit. All I really recognized was the motor pool up the hill, the general layout of the base, and some of the old stone buildings that dated from well before WW-2. The old wooden hospital wings that had sprawled over the hillside had been replaced with a modern, multi-story concrete box.
The gate guard freaked a little, I guess. He saw a man and a woman with no visible means of support floating over the gate and just stared for some moments.
I didn't find the thermal I'd half-expected on the hillside just beyond the gate, but it didn't matter. Banking around the hill, I saw that the theater at the bottom of the hill was still there, as was the Esso gas station where the road to Ramstein came into town.
Heading that direction, I looked for a pub across from the bahnhof and felt somewhat gratified to find the same name above the door that had been there years ago. On the other corner was the police station, also right where I'd left it.
There was a lot more traffic than I remembered, but that made sense. The kids had grown up and had their own kids, and all God's chillun gotta have wheels in the western world.
Sue asked, "Are you disappointed, Ed?"
"Change happens. See that pub down there? It's as good a place as any to see about dinner. It used to be a sports pub and I came here a lot when I coached soccer on base. We set up schedules over beers."
Grinning, Sue said, "That isn't in your official records."
"A search of related records from the early seventies might turn it up. I was a co-captain on the hospital team, too. We coached kids from the German-American club on weekends."
"Ah. That helped. Found you. It says your hospital team did very well. For Americans."
"It says 'for Americans'?"
"That came from a local newspaper article. Do you want company for dinner, or would you prefer to prowl the place and reminisce alone?"
"Your choice, ma'am. If you're with me, they'll never even notice me unless I cough or fart or somethi
ng."
Laughing, Sue replied, "If you'd like, I could send probes to record the town at a height of about six feet."
Nosing the glider into a lazy spiral, I said, "Thanks, I'd like that. I'll set down at the bahnhof."
I lined up for a final approach in the train station parking lot and glided to a landing behind a couple of people on their way into the building.
When I touched down several yards from them, I looked back. They were looking around, having heard and felt the wind of my passage, but they didn't connect Sue and me with what they'd experienced.
Looking around at ground level, nothing seemed too different about the bahnhof area. We stepped into the lobby. The ticket window and tiny newsstand shop by the door to the tracks was about to close for the day.
Choosing a Frankfurt newspaper and a pack of gum, I gave the woman behind the counter a dollar as I checked the currency exchange chart on the wall behind her.
Twenty bucks would cover dinner and a few beers; I gave her a twenty and some of my Euro change from the buck for two ten-Euro notes.
As we headed for the door with another look around the lobby, the front door opened and in walked a middle-aged man. He glanced around, saw that we were the only people in the lobby, and looked us over briefly.
Well, he looked me over briefly, anyway. His gaze lingered on Sue somewhat longer, of course, then he asked in English if we were Americans, which had to be nothing more than a conversation-opener, given my clothes.
For the hell of it, I tried my rusty, dusty German when I replied, "Yes, we are." The man studied me for a moment.
"You speak German very well."
"I used to. Thirty years ago. Don't know if I still speak it very well."
"You're doing fine so far. Your lady is also American?"
For lack of a better answer, I said, "Yes."
Through my implant, Sue asked, "Are you sure about that?"
He asked, "Have you seen anything... unusual... during the last few minutes?"
Nothing unusual for me. I shrugged and said, "No, nothing. We just got here, though."
Noting my backpack, he asked, "You arrived on a train?"
"No, we came down from the hospital to have dinner in town." Pointing through the window, I added, "Over there."
3rd World Products, Inc., Book 5 Page 10