"Steph," she said, "Would you please soundproof and opaque the canopy?"
"Certainly, Linda," said Steph.
The canopy field became tinted with gray, then Steph nodded. "Done. You can see out, but nobody can see in."
Linda sat down in the seat to the left of the pilot's seat and said, "Got any of those beers left?"
I nodded and fished a beer out of the cooler, opening it and handing it to her. As I pulled one for myself and sat down in the pilot's seat, Linda chuckled and said, "Emory thinks there's something wrong with someone who doesn't need a little company after an experience like yours tonight, Ed. When we called and Steph told us that you were asleep... Well, Emory thought that was fairly strange, too. Enough so that he made a log entry about it."
"And you said...?"
"I told him that you handled things differently from other people. Bear in mind that we'd just watched everybody on that roof die, Ed. Some of our most experienced people had been throwing up. Some had tears in their eyes. Emory made a point of asking me how many others had slept through it all."
"They watched the whole show. I didn't feel a need to do that. Maybe I should be talking to Wallace, Linda. That is, unless you think he's right..?"
She gave me a steady gaze and said, "I just want to make sure you're all right, Ed. I think you probably are, but I want to be sure."
I met her gaze for some moments, then said, "I'm fine, ma'am. If you have any doubts, ask Steph."
"How would she know, Ed? She can monitor your physical state, but what about...? That was a rather strident little speech you made. Am I to believe that you simply put the whole thing out of your mind?"
"Ask her," I said. "Get a playback, if you want."
Chapter Forty-Two
Linda watched me sip my beer, then took a sip of her own. She looked at Steph, who had taken the seat on my right.
"Steph, how about it?" asked Linda. "Any signs of unusual stress?"
Steph shook her head and said, "No, Linda. He appeared to disinvolve himself from events within the building soon after he was aboard me. In my opinion, he chose to sleep rather than observe developments that could lead to only one conclusion."
Linda regarded Steph thoughtfully for a moment, then asked, "Well, then -- also in your opinion -- how normal is that, Steph? Nobody else in our group took a nap."
"He wasn't within your group, Linda, so your group's dynamics didn't affect him. It appeared to me that he was simply acting to minimize further emotional and psychological impact from the evening's events."
Linda nodded, sipped her beer again, then looked at me.
"She makes it sound so simple, Ed. You're saying that you just tuned everything out and took a snooze?"
I shrugged. "Sorry if that doesn't fit Wallace's expectations." I raised my beer to sip again, but paused halfway to add, "Or yours."
She shook her head and took a sip of her beer, then said, "Maybe I've just known you longer than anyone else, Ed. Your nap suddenly doesn't seem all that strange. I don't think Emory will see it that way, though."
"I don't work for Wallace."
She sighed and said, "No, but he'll be filing a report, too. I'll talk to him."
I nodded. "Send him over here. I'll talk to him, too."
"That may not be such a good idea right now, Ed."
"Sure it is. Five minutes with Wallace now could keep me from having to explain all this crap later to people who weren't there."
After a moment, she nodded. "Yeah. It might, at that."
I turned to Steph and said, "He's wearing a comm watch. Would you open a link to Wallace for us, Steph?"
"Will do."
A couple of moments later, Wallace asked, "How's the private conference going?"
"Fine," I said. "If you've got a spare minute, how about dropping by?"
After a slight pause, he asked, "Are you sure I wouldn't be intruding?"
Linda's face flashed with irritation as she said, "Emory..."
"Okay," said Wallace. "Yeah. I guess I can make time for it."
"Good enough," I said. "Just step aboard when you get here. Steph will let you in."
We watched Wallace gaze thoughtfully at our flitter for a few moments. He said something to someone nearby who appeared to crisply acknowledge his words.
I thought, Probably something like, "You're in charge 'till I get back."
Wallace then started toward us. He seemed mildly perplexed as he approached to within a couple of feet of the flitter and stopped. Raising his watch to his lips, he asked, "How the hell am I supposed to get in there?"
I said, "I told you to just step aboard, didn't I?"
"But..."
"Just give it a try, Wallace. We didn't call you over there to play tricks on you."
Linda started to say something, but I put a finger to my lips to shush her. We saw Wallace reach tentatively to touch the "hull" of the flitter. His eyes widened, then narrowed when his fingertips met nothing tangible. After a moment of apparent consideration, he leaned forward into the field.
As his head and shoulders appeared inside and he spotted us sitting by the console, I said, "Haul the rest of yourself in here and have a beer, Wallace."
He looked at Linda as he climbed aboard. I reached into the cooler and handed him one of the three beers remaining. He took it without comment as he examined the translucent canopy.
"We've been talking about you," I said. "Linda says you think I'm a trifle weird because I crashed instead of watching a roof full of people die. I told her that I didn't have to watch, so I didn't. What do you think about that, Wallace?"
He glanced at each of us, opened his beer and took a sip, then said, "Nobody else slept through it. Just you. Why's that?"
"I didn't have half a dozen other people around me pissing and moaning about it, Wallace. It was a show I didn't want to see, so I turned it off."
"Just like that, huh?" He sipped his beer without taking his eyes off me.
"Yeah," I said, "Just like that. What's the big deal, Wallace? I'm not calling it an act of courage or toughness. I freely admit that I didn't want to watch those people die, so I didn't. Satisfied?"
"No," he said. "Not really."
I turned to Linda. "How about you?" I asked.
She glanced at Wallace, then said, "I just wish I could have tuned it all out, too. Yes, Ed. It's explanation enough for me."
Nobody said anything for some moments as we sipped beer. I reached in my pocket and handed my gold doubloon to Linda. She examined it in surprise as I said, "That's your dowry, miLady, as promised."
Wallace peered at the coin and said, "I thought you were joking. Is it real?"
I grinned. "Would I dare to give my Fearless Leader a fake anything? She'd have my ass if I did."
Linda looked up at me and asked, "Are you sure, Ed?"
"Yeah. Steph found a few coins and gave me that one. Now I'm giving it to you. What are you going to do with it, Linda?"
"I... Thank you, Ed. I don't know... It would make a great pendant, wouldn't it?"
"Want a hole in it? Someplace to put a connector? If I can't do it, Steph can."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean that if you want a tiny hole in the top, hand it over and I'll give it a shot. If I can't put a hole in it, Steph can do it."
She handed me the coin and said, "Sure. I'll need some way to hang it."
Steph asked, "Ed, are you sure you can do it?"
"If I were, I wouldn't have called this 'giving it a shot', Steph."
I focused a pinpoint heat field at the top of the coin, just below the edge, and concentrated. Nothing seemed to be happening for some moments, but the coin became too hot to hold. I turned off the field and thought a moment.
"I'm going about this wrong," I muttered. "At this rate, all I'm going to do is char my fingers. Lemme try something else."
Lifting the coin from my hand with another field, I split that field and again focused a tiny tendril where I wante
d the hole.
Linda said, "Ed, be careful, okay?"
I broke off my effort to laugh and said, "Exactly how the hell am I supposed to do that, Linda? Don't make me laugh. I can't concentrate."
Wallace was staring at the floating coin. He wordlessly looked at me as if I'd gone nuts, then returned his attention to the coin.
Steph said, "Ed, perhaps you should turn the coin upside down. If you succeed, the melting may dribble on the face of the coin."
I stopped the field again and looked at her.
"Good thinking," I said. "Any other suggestions?"
"No. Good luck."
I sat straight and grinningly asked, "You don't think I can do it, miLady? Is there something you aren't telling me? Is my implant strong enough?"
"Your implant is certainly capable of the task, Ed, but you've never tried so intense a heat before. That's the only reason that I wished you luck."
Wallace waved his hand to get my attention and incredulously asked, "Am I hearing you right? You're going to try to burn a hole in that coin with your implant?"
I grinned and said, "Melt, not burn. Is everybody going to pipe down and let me try, now?"
He sat back and spread his hands in a gesture of vast largesse.
"Oh, sure, sport. Go for it. Don't let me hold you back."
Linda said, "I still say to be careful, Ed."
Nodding, I turned the coin upside down and again set about my task. For some long-seeming moments, nothing seemed to be happening other than a faint wisping of smoke. I couldn't think of a way to try any harder and was about to give the coin to Steph when a droplet of gold fell to the deck and a tiny hole appeared in the coin.
I was so surprised that the coin almost fell to the deck before I caught it with my field. Linda was staring at the coin. Wallace was staring at me.
Steph softly said, "Well done, Ed."
"Thank you, ma'am. Coming from you, that's truly a compliment."
Linda reached for the coin in amazement. I pulled it away from her and she looked at me questioningly.
"It may still be too hot," I said. "Give it a minute."
In my enthusiasm, I cooled it a bit more than necessary. Dew formed on the surface, then frost. I decided that frost was as impressive as heat and guided the coin to Linda's hand. She let it rest in her palm for a few moments, then turned it over.
When Wallace reached for it, she quickly closed her hand over it and said, "No, no. Huh-uh. You may get me, but you don't get this coin. No way. It's mine."
Wallace gave her a droll look and said, "Would you mind very much if I just looked at it closely, madam?"
After appearing to give his request some thought, she handed him the coin with, "Well, just don't try to forget to give it back, sailor. There's nowhere to run."
Wallace gave her an obsequious expression as she handed him the coin, then studied it closely for some moments.
"It looks real enough," he said. "Where'd you say you got it, Ed?"
"From Stephanie. Sifting sand is her hobby these days. When she found a few of these, she gave me that one."
After several moments of studying the coin, Wallace handed it back to Linda and asked me, "What else can you do with that... thing in your head?"
I shrugged. "Freeze your beer. Lift a few pounds. I'm still figuring things out."
Wallace sipped his beer thoughtfully, then said, "You two are real tight with each other, but you didn't give her the coin while you were alone with her just now. Why do I get the feeling that I was supposed to be here for that little presentation?"
Linda suddenly seemed curious about that, too, but she made a point of keeping her face turned away from Wallace so that only Steph and I could see her expression.
"Wallace," I said, "You caught me. I put on a display for you to show you that I'm outside your normal range of experience and judgment. I'm also outside your command structure, so I'd appreciate it if you'd leave me out of your own reports. Linda is my boss, and if you have anything at all to say or ask about me, I'd appreciate it if you'd consult with her before mentioning it anywhere else."
"What made you think I'd have anything to say about you, Ed?"
"No fencing. No banter. No bullshit, Wallace. You think I'm an irreverent, borderline nutcase who stays on the payroll because he's an old friend of Linda's. Even after what happened this evening, you think that about me, don't you?"
Linda turned to face him. He stared back at us for a moment, then said, "Yes. I do," in a tone that seemed almost defiant.
I asked Linda, "You showed him my file? Told him about the station incident and some of the other times and places?"
Linda nodded and said, "Yes."
"In that case," I said to Wallace, "I have to believe that you have some other reason for wanting to believe as you do about me. If you don't have absolute facts to back up your opinions of me, I'd suggest that you keep them strictly to yourself. I'm not after anybody's job or your girlfriend, Wallace. I like things just as they are, and I'll fight to keep them this way."
Turning to Steph, I said, "Would you please display the log from their flitter, Steph? Skim through it and pull up any mention of me, please."
She did so on a screen that popped up where all of us could see it. Wallace came half out of his chair.
I said, "Sit still or be restrained, Wallace."
Linda put her hand on my arm and said, "Ed, this isn't..."
"Give me some latitude, here, Linda."
The first log entry stated Wallace's misgivings about my entering the building without adequate weapons or equipment according to recognized standards.
"Refused to carry comm unit. No flash grenades, no rifle, no vest, no backup personnel, no this, no that, etc..."
It also mentioned Wallace's belief that Linda shouldn't have allowed me to go alone. That earned him a withering look from Linda.
I asked Linda, "Did you tell him about my three and five suits, my comm and field implants, and my stunner?"
"I did."
"Odd that there's no mention of them in the log."
"Yes," she said flatly. "It is."
Chapter Forty-Three
Wallace began a protest. Linda almost whispered, "Quiet!" in a soft, sharp tone that I haven't heard her use very often. Wallace subsided with a startled look.
Most of the other log entries had to do with my progress through the building, noting times and activities, as well as who had been sent to retrieve my victims. One was a comment on my comments, which Wallace had regarded as frivolous.
My little speech was in there, too, and then came Wallace's words concerning the fact that I'd slept through the rest of the evening's events.
"Recommend psychological evaluation..."
I looked at Wallace as I said, "No, you don't recommend a damned thing, Wallace. Steph, wipe that last bit of crap, please."
As Linda and Wallace stared at me, Steph said, "Yes, Ed."
The offending lines disappeared.
"Thank you, Steph. Would you see if anything like that appears elsewhere? If so, I'd like a look before we delete anything."
"Will do, Ed."
Wallace responded with a degree of outrage. "That was an official document!"
"It still is, but 'was' is the right word for that last line, Cap. You don't really know shit about me, but you can ignore Linda's opinions of me and you're willing to set me up like that anyway. That amazes me a little, I think, but I still don't like it one damned bit. Who the fuck are you to judge me? What do you get out of it?"
Wallace stood and loomed over us as he said, "I think you're a goddamned loose cannon, mister. A loner who can't work worth a damn with others."
"So what? I'm not on any of your teams, am I? And maybe that's why Linda uses me for some things, Wallace. Did that ever occur to you? Why risk more than one man at a time unnecessarily? That may even be why she won't lend me out, too. She knows that I don't play well with others. What do you think would happen if she lent me to som
e by-the-book stiff like you?"
Linda stood up and said, "Enough. Steph, put a copy of that log in my datapad, please. Wallace, you didn't clear your personal log entries with me on one of my missions. Boyfriend or not, if you pull anything like that again, you'll be history at 3rd World."
Whups. She called him 'Wallace', not 'Emory'. Bad news for the deck hand.
Wallace said, "As second in command, I didn't think I needed permission to make log entries during a mission."
"When they're valid, factual entries, no. When they're opinions, you'll check with me first. No exceptions. If you can't accept that, there won't be any more joint operations between our departments. I'll just pull the personnel I need and they'll be directly under my command."
Wallace's shocked stare at Linda became a glare at me.
In an ominous tone, he said, "I told you not to come between us, mister."
"You shouldn't have set me up," I answered. "Mister."
Linda said, "And I said, enough, dammit. Wallace, sit down. Both of you shut up and finish your beers. It's my turn to hold the floor."
She stood there glaring until Wallace sat down, then she took a sip of her beer and said, "I think it's just too damned sweet of you boys to butt heads over me, but that's not how we do things. Specifically, that's not how I allow things to be done. I thought that bringing you two together might let you find some way to cooperate. Since that isn't the case, you won't be working together on any future assignments."
Linda finished her beer and handed me the bottle.
"I'm leaving, now," she said. "Lights out in half an hour. If you two have anything else to discuss, keep the noise down. Others will be trying to sleep." With that, she turned and stepped off the deck to the concrete floor, then walked a few paces away. She stopped, returned to the flitter, and said, "My manners are slipping. Thank you for the coin, Ed. Good night, Stephie." She then turned and walked away again.
As we watched her go, Wallace asked, "When and where, Ed? How about right here and right now?"
I shook my head. "Steph won't allow it. She'll stun us both."
He glanced at Steph and said, "Bullshit. Linda said you own this flitter. Is that right?"
3rd World Products, Inc., Book 3 Page 31
