"In that case, open up, Elkor. I'll put this watch in the case and use the pen for a while."
Chapter Twenty-Six
There was a green Chevy in the driveway when we got back to the house, and as we approached, Gary stepped out of the car. I cautioned Elkor not to change shape or reveal himself to Gary as we pulled in next to the Chevy.
"That is, unless he already knows about this,” I added.
"I was not obligated to notify anyone,” said Elkor.
Gary walked over and shook my hand as he said, “I'd just arrived a moment ago, Ed. Glad you came back when you did. I tried to call, but..."
"But you got a busy signal. Hi, Gary. What brings you out here? I thought you were off-ship now and moving to the town with Ellen."
"Linda called me, Ed. She wanted me to talk with you."
I nodded. “Come on in."
We went into the house and I told him to make himself at home.
"That includes making your own coffee,” I said. “I have guns to clean. Get yourself something from the kitchen and pull up a chair."
Gary rooted in the fridge and found one of the cans of iced tea that he and Ellen had preferred to my Dr. Pepper. He sat in the sofa chair on the other side of the coffee table from me as I spread things out on some newspapers.
"I saw your watch on the wine bottle, Ed. Linda and I have been trying to contact you all day. If I can, I'd like to try to help."
"Did Linda tell you anything that might help you figure out how to help?"
"She told me about your flitter trip."
"Did she tell you why she's acting like a bureaucrat instead of a girlfriend? Did she tell you why she sent you, instead of coming to talk to me herself?"
Gary swirled his can of tea and said, “No. She only told me that she wants you to remain active in the project. I'd like to try to keep you from leaving."
I looked up from running a swab down the barrel of my .22.
"Why bother, Gary? You and Ellen are somewhere else these days. The job I was reactivated to do is done. Linda would rather be a boss than a girlfriend, I guess, and that sort of leaves me thinking it's time to get out."
"There are other things to do in the project, Ed. We could use you at the town, or at one of the factories. There have been a few attempts at sabotage."
I finished swabbing the gun's cylinders before answering.
"Let's talk about something else, Gary. Did you really want to try fishing?"
When I looked up from the gun he shook his head slightly.
"No, not really, Ed. I only said that because I thought it might be good to remain available as a link between you and Ellen."
I checked the bore and put fresh Hi-Shok ammo in the .22, then closed it up and set it aside. After prepping a couple of swabs for the larger bore of the .357, I began cleaning the bigger gun.
"Gary, Ellen wants kids and she'll have them. I don't want kids in my life or—for that matter—within a hundred yards of me. We may wind up being friends of some sort someday, but nothing more, I think, and even that will take a long time. She was pretty pissed at me when she left."
He gave me a wry smile. “Yes. She definitely was pissed. I don't fully understand why, since you don't desire fatherhood and other men are available, but she's still pissed."
"It's called 'not getting your own way', Gary. I'd been incorporated into her agenda and she'd spent a lot of time and emotion on me before she found out about my vasectomy. To her, that was just a little problem Elkor could fix in no time. To me, it wasn't. Tell Ellen that I'm in agony over this and that I dream about her and miss her terribly. Maybe that will make her feel better. No, wait. If you tell her that she'll think she might change my mind about kids."
Gary laughed softly and said, “Maybe I shouldn't tell her anything, Ed."
I nodded. “Yeah. Good enough."
The .357 didn't take long to clean. I reloaded it and put it in its holster, then cleaned up the area and took the soiled newspapers out to the trash. When I came back in, Bear had climbed aboard Gary's lap for some attention. I stopped by the fridge for a Dr. Pepper and put the guns away, then sat on the couch again.
I watched him scuffle Bear's chins and stroke him for what seemed like quite a while before, without looking up, he asked, “So what now? What are you going to do about Linda?"
"Is she listening to us, Gary?"
"No. I turned my watch off when I came in."
I nodded. It didn't really matter, anyway.
"Well, then, not a damned thing, Gary. This is Linda's demon. She let me see her truly frightened of something for the first time since I've known her. I told her that everybody has something they fear, but that didn't seem to help much. Her ego has to heal itself before she can face me comfortably again, I guess. Gary, I've seen people scared before. I've been damned scared myself, at times. Things that don't get to one person will petrify another. No biggie. Maybe she'd have been less frightened if she'd been in control of the flitter. She doesn't seem to realize that I just don't give a damn about it."
"Maybe if she heard you say that..?"
"Your watch may be off, but I've no damned doubt you're recording all this. Play it back for her later, Gary. I'm telling you that the meaninglessness of it has to occur to her. Nothing I say will make a damned bit of difference until it does."
Gary ruffled Bear for another moment, then said, “You could try."
"Been there. Dunnit. A reporter in Africa messed his pants because of a bullet's near miss. He wouldn't come out of his room for a while afterward. Only the fact that the next day's field commander was a woman made him decide to continue with us. It would have been more embarrassing for him if he hadn't gone out with us again. The same kind of thing has happened other times in other places to other people. You can say anything to try to help them through it, but until they come to terms with their embarrassment, you're wasting your time."
Gary looked thoughtful. “Are you so certain that you're right, Ed?"
"Certain enough to re-retire and take Stephie on a tour of Europe rather than wait for Linda to realize she's human, after all."
"Stephie? Oh, yes, your flitter."
I grinned. “Oh, yes, indeed, my flitter. You really ought to get one of those, Gary. Stephie makes those flying boxcars you've been driving seem boring."
Gary laughed and said, “Some of us have things to do, Ed. It will be at least another year before I can take a whole week off conveniently. Maybe I'll see about getting one then."
"Uh, huh. Tell you what, Gary. Don't wait. Do it before there's a waiting list."
Gary's watch beeped four times. He glanced at me and put a finger to his lips, then tapped it.
Linda said, “Gary, when you get a few minutes, I need to get with you about moving some of my stuff off the ship. I know we have a month, yet, but..."
Bear heard Linda's voice and said, “Yahhh."
Gary made an 'Oh, geez!' sort of face.
There was silence for a few moments, then Linda said, “Hello, Bear. Gary, it can wait. Call me back when you're free."
"Okay,” said Gary. When Linda said no more, he turned his watch back off.
I looked at Gary to try to determine if what I was seeing on his face was real anguish at being caught.
"She didn't really know you were coming here, Gary?"
"No."
"Did you know what had happened during our flitter ride?"
"No, not exactly. I was hoping you'd tell me."
"Well, I guess I did that. She'll assume I did, too, and assume I told you more than I have. You may find yourself in my position shortly, Gary. What then? You still have to work with her."
Gary gave me a wry grin. “I'll manage."
I nodded. “Do you want to take the watch and PDA with you?"
He shook his head. “No. That isn't why I came. I'd like to ask you to defer any permanent decisions, Ed. Let this problem sit a while. Maybe it will work out."
I nodded again. “
Okay. The watch can stay in the fridge for a week."
"A week?"
"A week is what she has to work with. She'll become a girlfriend, a boss, or the same kind of old friend she was before this project started. A fond memory. She knows where to find me."
"I see. Well, I guess I'd better be going."
Gary took another moment with Bear, then put him down and stood up. He looked around the room for a moment and said, “Ellen really liked it here."
He turned as we headed for the door and added, “And so did I. Thanks."
As we shook hands, I said, “You were good company. Both of you. When Ellen gets past her snit, why don't you bring her by sometime? We'll make her new hubby do all the cooking on the outdoor grill."
After Gary left I set the answering machine for four rings and replaced the anti-call plug with the phone's line, then recorded a new answering message:
"Hi, there! I'm probably sitting right here waiting to see if this is just another one of those too-damned-many sales calls, so leave a message at the beep. If you're a sales person, leave your private, home number and a time when you'll be in the shower or eating dinner so I can return your call appropriately."
I took the PDA out of the briefcase and had a look at the screen. Smaller icons had been added to the sidebar menu in the shapes of the new ports. When I touched each icon, a drop-down window displayed its properties and functions. Elkor had apparently intended them to be similar to what I was used to on my own computer.
I touched the disk icon and was presented with a choice of 'Internal' and 'Floppy'. Tapping the internal drive's icon split the screen and presented me with another set of icons in a box frame.
"Elkor, we're down to individual information systems, here, and I'm not fond of vague icons as a whole. How do I change these icons to descriptive text?"
As I watched, they changed. One was marked, 'Flitter'. I tapped it as Elkor asked, “Is this better, Ed?"
"Much. Thanks, Elkor."
A titled document appeared on the screen, and from there it was just a matter of tapping the highlighted links to specifics that interested me. Of immediate interest were Stephanie's capabilities. I tapped the 'specifications' link and was presented first with diagrams and data concerning her structure.
I tapped on the word ‘summary’ and was rewarded with a list I could use. Stephie's ceiling, top speed, ranges of field densities, and defensive capabilities took up several screens by themselves, and more info was offered via embedded links. The ‘maneuverability’ link offered a graphic display. I tapped it.
For several minutes I tapped one after the other of Stephie's preprogrammed maneuvers. Each was displayed in a three-dimensional grid with a miniature flitter that at first zipped through the motions so quickly I couldn't follow them. The speed zoom helped a lot. Slowing the animation to one-third speed allowed me to understand what the cursor-sized flitter was doing on the screen.
Stephanie could apparently change direction nearly instantly. Up, down, sideways, or any variation of combination thereof was no problem, even at her best speed, which was thirty-eight hundred miles per hour.
I blinked and reread the number. It was a three, an eight, and two zeros. That was basically Miami to Seattle in less than an hour! Ho-ly shit!
I put my finger on the number and asked, “Elkor, is this a typo?"
"No, Ed."
"The commercial flitters aren't going to be able to do this stuff, are they?"
"No, Ed. Civilian flitters will be limited to six hundred miles per hour and the more gradual course changes experienced in atmospheric aircraft, partially to make them more marketable. There will be other changes, as well, such as a ten thousand meter ceiling and fields capable only of shaping themselves for least resistance in flight, insulating and pressurizing the canopy, and preventing collisions. They will not be able to focus ambient energy and particulate matter as Stephanie can. That facility was judged too dangerous by the design committee."
"I'll bet. They were probably worried that someone would bypass protocols and find a way to use it as a weapon."
"Those were almost the exact words of the committee member from Idaho."
I read on for a bit, but eventually I tapped the PDA off and said, “Elkor, I think I'll learn best by doing from here. The numbers are beginning to mean less and less to me. I'll take Stephie up to around six hundred and let her show me what she can do. She probably needs a pilot about as much as I need a dog, anyway."
Elkor said, “That might, indeed, be the best way to learn, Ed. Should I infer that you don't like dogs, either?"
"Some are okay, I guess, but they rip up lawns and make messes and useless noise the same way kids do. I once kept an Akita for a friend, though, and that dog seemed pretty smart. When he first arrived, I asked him if he understood that he was only a ten minute drive from a kennel. He barked once, and not loudly at all. He found himself a bunk on a spot of carpet and only barked to let me know someone was outside. If he wanted out, he knew how to operate a screen door handle and he never tried to go out the front. When Chuck got out of the hospital, Binky stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on my shoulders—he was big enough to do that—and barked once the way he had when he arrived. I didn't know if he was saying 'thanks' or 'fuck you'."
"I trust you responded graciously, Ed?"
"You do have a sense of humor, don't you, Elkor? You're just not allowed to admit it to anyone, right? Yeah, I patted the godzilla dog and said, ‘See ya, Binky. You've been a good guest for a dog.’ Funny thing was, I guess I meant it. Most of the time I forgot he was there. I'm sure Bear never forgot for an instant, but Binky never bothered him at all. Ignored him completely. I'd thought that Binky might have to stay outside in the yard, but his reaction to Bear was only something like 'Oh, I see you have a cat,' when I introduced them through the glass doors. Bear settled down after a while and they seemed to come to an understanding."
"Still, didn't you feel as if you were taking a chance?"
"Sure. I cracked the door so they could sniff each other a bit, but I had a stick in the track to make sure Binky couldn't open the door any farther, and I made sure Binky knew that Bear was mine by showing Bear lots of attention at the door and letting Binky sniff my hand after all the petting of Bear. He got the message."
"Why did you expose them to each other at all, Ed?"
"Accidents happen, Elkor, and Binky was a big dog. I couldn't leave the stick in the door track all the time, and Binky was smart enough to let himself into the house if I'd forgotten it even once. He was going to be at the house for a week. That's too long to take chances with doors. If Binky had shown any aggression at all, he'd have been in a kennel a few minutes later."
"How did you become Binky's keeper?"
"Chuck and his wife were in a car accident. Her mom came over from Orlando to sit with their kids, but she was deathly afraid of dogs. It was a decision made in a hurry in an emergency room. Who is the flitter-marketing honcho, Elkor?"
"Mrs. Denise Michaelson shares that position with Mr. Robert Preston. Their offices are located in Miami, Florida."
"Do they have PDA's or pads?"
"Yes, they have PDA's. Would you like me to see if they're available?"
"Sure would. Thanks, Elkor."
Moments later a woman's voice was briskly asking, “How may I help you?"
No company name, no preamble or unctuously formal greetings.
I said, “This is Ed..."
The woman's voice was honey-coated steel. She'd have sounded delectable if it hadn't been for the barely-concealed edge in her tone as she interrupted me.
"Elkor told me who you are. How, exactly, may I help you?"
Well, zap, y'all! Skip the pleasantries with this one.
"I just want to know how soon personal flitters will be available."
"We're not releasing that information at the moment, sir."
"Tell me anyway. I have one and I want to use it, which means landing and
taking off in my driveway in broad daylight. I'm trying not to rock your boat, here, ma'am, so let me know how soon I can fly it or I'll just have to guess."
"Where did you get a flit...? Never mind. It can't be a production model unless you're with the government, and if you were, you wouldn't be asking me this. You must have one of the prototypes."
"So they're already being issued for government use?"
She ignored my question and asked Elkor if my security clearance and need to know was high enough. Elkor said my security clearance was adequate and that he was unable to properly judge my need to know.
"Mr. Howdershelt,” she said, “Very limited public sales are two months away at the earliest. We're making a slightly enhanced version available for police and government use first. You should be seeing them on the nightly news by the end of the week. If you fly yours openly after that time you should be prepared to identify yourself as a government employee until such time as public sales commence. Does that answer your question well enough?"
"Sure does. I'm surprised as well as grateful for the info, ma'am."
There was a moment's pause.
In a lower tone, she asked, “Surprised? That sounds like an insult."
"Nope. Not at all. When you answered I figured I'd called at a bad time, but I had you on the line, so I asked anyway. Thanks for the info. I'll try to contain my urges until I see flitters on the news."
"Mr. Howdershelt,” she said, “Do you know who you're talking to?"
"Yes? No? The woman who knows when I can fly in the daytime?"
"I didn't think you did. You will soon, though. I do not like the casual use of such phrases as 'contain-my-urges'. If we should ever speak again..."
"Don't you worry, ma'am. I'll do my damnedest to avoid that, ‘cause I don't like humorless, stuffed-shirt, PC people. That, by the way, wasn't an insult, either. It was just an observation. See ya. Thanks again. Do you want to hang up first?"
She must have.
Elkor said, “She's no longer in contact, Ed."
"Good enough. She told me what I wanted to know."
Ten minutes later Elkor told me Linda wanted to speak with me and that she sounded angry. I decided to break my own rule and answer through the pad.
Book 1: 3rd World Products, Inc. Page 30