Faster

by Alex Schuler

  “I don’t want to hear apologies,” Rusty said. “Everyone focus.”

  Ted put a hand on Nico’s shoulder. He let his eyes wander past Rusty and settle on Sam. She was standing a few feet behind Lori, looking quite concerned. Ted then looked over at Kyle, leaning up against the side of the Chevy. Kyle was busy pulling the video cabling running along the crane atop the Tahoe. To Ted, it looked as if Kyle were reeling a huge fishing pole line.

  “Fish a tuna,” Ted said softly. “That’s it!”

  “What?” Rusty asked with confusion.

  “Kevin will have what we need.” Ted ran over to Kyle. Rusty and Nico followed him. “Kevin’s a packrat. He’s insane about version control. The back room in the Nixon facility will have a shitload of magnetic dampers. Every iteration.”

  “Are you sure?” Nico asked. “If it’s not an exact match—”

  “It will be close enough.” Ted struggled to contain his excitement. “The final versions I used on Cyclops are based on my original prototypes. I can make adjustments to get those to work. I know I can. Kevin will know which ones I need and can express ship them to us.”

  “There’s only one problem,” Kyle said. “Kevin’s in Boston. He had a death in the family. The shop’s closed.”

  “Don’t you have another shop in Reno?” Rusty asked. “Just have someone drive out and get what we need.”

  “The guys at the Reno shop don’t have access to the test site,” Kyle said.

  “Then they can break the door down!” Rusty yelled, his temples throbbing in anger.

  “It’s not that easy,” Ted said, his enthusiasm quickly fading. He spun around and leaned back against the Chevy. Sam, Lori, and Harry had now joined the group. “Kevin will have dozens of different versions stored away. It’s not something I can talk someone through.”

  “So, then we drive up and get it.” Bits of potato chips fell from Harry’s mouth as he excitedly grabbed another handful from the bag he was holding. “We can rent a car or take the RV. How far can it be?”

  “It’s probably a ten- to twelve-hour drive,” Kyle said. He and Rusty were busy staring at one another. “Depending on traffic.”

  “Okay, so we take turns driving and load up with caffeine.” Harry now seemed genuinely excited at the prospect of a road trip. “What’s today? We can leave early tomorrow morning. That should still give us time to—”

  “No.” Rusty stepped forward until he was beside Kyle. “I’m not sending half my team on a road trip. This isn’t a problem we created, so it’s not our problem to solve. Kyle, a word?”

  Kyle lowered his head and followed Rusty around the other side of the Tahoe. Ted, Nico, Harry, Lori, and Sam gathered around. Ted placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder and nodded quietly to thank her for her support. Harry was busy looking over his shoulder, his gaze seemingly fixated on the underside of the Chevy.

  “What are you looking at?” Lori asked.

  “I’m waiting for the blood to flow,” Harry responded. “I know that look in Rusty’s eyes.”

  Kyle and Rusty were gone less than two minutes before returning to the group.

  “Ted, I’m going to fly you to Reno.” Kyle spoke slowly, reflecting on the task he’d just agreed to do for Rusty. “My plane is only a few minutes away at the airbase. I can have you there in two hours. You’ll be back by midnight.”

  “A private jet to Reno?” Harry licked the salty canola oil from his fingertips. “Can I go?”

  “No, none of you will go.” Rusty said, still angered by the damage and delays caused by Kyle. “There is too much prep we have to do here. That replacement part won’t be an exact match. You need to be ready to make it work. Besides, the Urban Challenge is just around the corner. All of you have a lot of work to do to get ready for that event.”

  “Do you need to run this by DARPA?” Ted asked Kyle. “Aren’t you breaking some kind of rule by helping us out?”

  “I will speak to them and explain what happened. This is a DARPA error. My error, yes, but I’m representing DARPA here. I will ask for two-day delay to allow time for the repair and I will see if I can get permission for Ted to leave to go pick up the parts he needs. I am confident they’ll agree to all terms. . . . And, as Rusty so eloquently pointed out to me on the flip side of the Chevy, I broke it, so now I own it.” Kyle smiled as he slapped Rusty on the shoulder. Rusty did not smile back. “Meet me at the operations center under the big top in fifteen minutes, Ted. I’m going to get the ball rolling on this, including arranging a rental car for you in Reno.”

  Kyle turned and headed off to the tent. Rusty pointed at Nico and motioned him toward Cyclops. Nico led him over to show him the damage in detail. Harry and Lori walked away and began discussing their next steps, leaving Ted alone with Sam.

  “Do you think you’ll be able to fix it?” Sam asked. “Or was that just to shut Rusty up?”

  “No, I’m sure of it. Kevin’s so methodical, I know he’s going to have the pieces I was working on or something very close to what we need.”

  “Sounds like my kind of guy.” Sam let out a laugh. Ted managed a smile. “I’m looking forward to seeing Cyclops back up and running.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Okay, let me get back to my team. They’re throwing a surprise birthday party for me.”

  “A surprise that you know about?”

  “Ralph told me there was an emergency team meeting back at our camp. But I already found the cake they stashed away. It’s fine. I’ll fake a smile and get through it.”

  “You really don’t like birthdays, do you?”

  “It’s a long story.” Sam slid her aviators back on. “Good luck, Ted.”

  Ted was worried but hopeful. He was also genuinely surprised at Sam’s concern for him and the DSU team. An idea suddenly hit him. Looking toward the big top, he spotted Kyle still making his way across the dusty field. Most of the other teams had cleared out. Ted bolted to catch up to Kyle.

  “Hey Kyle, how big is your plane?” Ted asked as he gasped for breath.

  “Why?”

  “Do you mind if I bring someone with me?”

  17

  Sam Lavoie was born and raised in California. Her mother, Catherine, a self-made millionaire, demanded the best education for her only daughter, but was overly protective. Traveling, considered risky, was something they only rarely did. Sam could count on one hand the number of times she’d been in an airplane.

  From the tarmac, the plane had seemed small and confining. Although she didn’t consider herself claustrophobic, Sam found herself a bit concerned over the private jet’s tiny size. The few times she’d flown with her mother, it had been first class in commercial jetliners. Despite the luxury accommodations inside the private jet, she couldn’t help but feel this was a step down from what she was used to.

  “Prepare for takeoff.” Kyle’s voice sounded thin and frail over the cabin speakers.

  She closed her eyes and with her right hand, felt for the small heart charm pendant on the gold chain around her neck, clutching the armrest on the seat with her left.

  The engines roared to life and the jet accelerated down the runway. Within minutes the tiny plane was off the tarmac and banking upward. The landing gear doors whirred and whooshed and then thumped and closed. Sam opened her eyes and exhaled.

  “Are you okay?” Ted asked. He was seated to her right, a narrow aisle between them.

  “I’m fine. I just get a little nervous.”

  The plane banked right as it climbed into the evening sky. Ted cupped his hands beside his eyes and pressed his face to the glass as he stared at the ground far below.

  “I can see the airbase,” Ted said. “Do you think we can see where the Urban Challenge will be?”

  “That would be cheating.”

  “It will be a few more minutes before we reach cruising altitude,
” Kyle said through the speakers. “We should be in Reno well before six. A rental car will be waiting for you two. There are drinks and snacks in the bag at the back of the plane. Help yourself once we level off.”

  “I wonder if he has any whisky,” Ted said.

  “Whisky? I don’t think we should be drinking. We have a long night ahead of us.”

  “One glass won’t kill you.”

  Ted unlatched his belt and knelt in front of his seat.

  “Ted! What are you doing? We’re still climbing!”

  “Relax.”

  The space between the seats was tight. Kyle had strapped a duffle bag into the rear bench seat. Ted slid past Sam and sat on the floor behind her. His body bobbed back and forth as he struggled to keep himself steady. He managed to get the top of the bag open and thrust his hand inside. After a few moments, he pulled out a box of sesame crackers and a bottle of wine. He passed both to Sam.

  “You’re insane, Ted. I hope you know that.”

  He came back to his seat, wine opener, napkins, and two plastic cups in hand. Once his seat belt was secured, he flipped out the tray stored beside his seat and set about opening up the box of crackers.

  “Why are you doing this?” She asked as she gripped the bottle of wine.

  “We’ll be level in no time. There’s no reason we can’t start to enjoy ourselves early.”

  “No, I mean me. Why did you want me to come along?”

  He tore the foil cracker pouch open and scattered some across a napkin. The nutty scent of sesame wafted through the cabin. He grabbed the bottle of wine from Sam and removed the foil covering the cork.

  “Well, I certainly didn’t want to take this trip alone.”

  “You could have been up front in the cockpit with Kyle or insisted with Rusty that one of your teammates be allowed to come.”

  “I think Rusty was pretty adamant about everyone else staying behind to prep. And two hours listening to Kyle’s stories? No thanks.” Ted laughed, then grimaced as he struggled to remove the cork from the bottle without splashing red wine across the tan leather interior.

  “The question I have, Sam, is why you decided to come?”

  “Well, it was the perfect escape from the surprise birthday party, and . . .”

  “And . . . what?”

  “I thought it might be a fun adventure. And a way to be a good sport and help a fellow competitor get back up to speed so Ashton can win spectacularly, fair and square.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Ted said looking directly into Sam’s eyes. “Well, I’m sorry to have to be the one to disappoint you then. . . .” He paused, his expression hardening a bit. He moved away from her slightly, suddenly seeming to change tack and taking on a more professional air. “Actually, speaking of your expertise and knowledge, I did want to learn more about Athena. That is one impressive vehicle. I was hoping to hear about what you went through to build her.”

  As he spoke, Sam thought that the deep blue shade of his eyes reminded her of the deepest blues of the Pacific on one of those priceless cloudless days. She could feel a heat deep within her that made her a little giddy, and she could not stop smiling. She reminded herself that this was a professional trip—for a colleague in need.

  He smiled as the cork finally popped from the bottle. The jet was slowly beginning to level off. He pointed to the bin against the wall beside Sam. She opened it and unfolded her tray for Ted to place two plastic cups in front of her and pour the merlot.

  “I was also wondering why Vin let you come tonight.”

  “Oh, Vin had no problem with me coming whatsoever. With the extra time we have to prepare because of the delay, he could afford for me to go tonight. Besides, he wholeheartedly agrees with the idea of helping when needed, even when it’s for the competition. What happened to DSU today could have happened to any of us.” She held up her acrylic cup and passed the other to Ted. “Cheers.”

  “Happy birthday, Sam.”

  She took a sip of wine, looking down, and ignoring his birthday wish.

  “If you get to learn about Athena, then I get to hear about the great Cyclops machine that DSU built. Tell me, Ted, is Rusty as big of an ass to work for as he seems?”

  “Bigger.” Ted tossed a few crackers into his mouth and washed them down with the wine. “It’s like he never left the military, and we’re all in this neverending boot camp. He made us test Cyclops overnight in sub-freezing weather.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s an ass. A big giant ass.” Ted rolled his head sideways and stared out at the darkening sky. “What’s Vin like?”

  “Vin’s amazing. He—”

  “Hey guys,” Kyle’s voice interrupted. “We’ve leveled off. Feel free to help yourself to some snacks. I’ll let you know when we’re getting ready to land.”

  “Vin pushes us, but not like Rusty, it seems. He’s always asking us to think outside the box. We bring him solutions, and he will tell us they’re great and then ask us if they could be better. Our team is completely in sync. We support and encourage one another to go further.”

  “It sounds delightful.”

  “Do I detect a note of jealousy?” Her smile faded as she realized Ted seemed genuinely upset. “Hey, sorry. Is it that bad at DSU? All joking aside, Cyclops is also quite impressive.”

  “It’s just that when I agreed to get on board with Rusty, I thought . . . I thought he got me. That he . . . understood.”

  “Understood what?”

  “Me.”

  She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, watching as Ted sipped his wine, keeping his gaze fixed outside at the horizon. She was suddenly aware of how intimate the interior of the jet was, and how little space separated her from Ted.

  “I take it the brilliant Ted Wolff with two ‘F’s’ is a tough nut to crack?”

  “I guess you could say that.” He spun sideways in his seat so that he was facing her. “You tell me. What do you see when you look at me?”

  “Oh, do you really want to go there?”

  “I do. Go for it.”

  “Okay.” She realized she had finished half her wine. A slight buzz was beginning to set in. She took a handful of crackers from the napkin in front of Ted, doing her best to ignore the piercing stare of his blue eyes. “You come across as confident, but borderline egotistical. I mean, you seemed very dismissive of the digital gimbal we built. I never once heard you compliment the tech we’ve got on Athena. You’re obviously a smart and talented engineer, Ted. Cyclops kicked our ass in the road race and came very close to beating us during the Qualifying Stage. You have every right to be proud. But there’s a fine line between pride and arrogance.”

  She paused to gauge his reaction. His gaze was focused on the cup of wine in his hand, so she couldn’t get a read on him.

  “You told me to go for it,” she added.

  “I did. I didn’t expect you to go that big.” He grinned and smiled at her. “Look, I know I can be impatient now and then. And maybe I do tend to be a bit overconfident from time to time. I just . . . I just want a better life.”

  “We all do. Do your parents support you?”

  “My parents?”

  “Sorry. If I’m getting too personal, tell me.”

  “No. No. It’s fine. At least . . . with you.” Ted briefly draped his hand on her knee. “My dad is very old school, you know? I have two older brothers. They basically did what my parents wanted. Trade school. Working at the factory. Do as you’re told, and you get all the praise.”

  “And is that something you seek? Praise?”

  “No, it’s just that I feel like the life I want, and the dreams I have, aren’t the ones my parents have for me. They . . . they don’t understand.” He grabbed the bottle of wine and emptied some into his cup. He motioned toward Sam to fill hers, but she waved it away. “How about you? Are you close to y
our family?”

  “Family means everything to me. My parents divorced when I was four years old. I barely remember my dad. He went off and found someone half his age.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I think my life turned out all the better because of it. My mom was so broken that she vowed to reinvent herself and went on to form her own company. She’s been the best mother—the best friend—a daughter could ask for. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.”

  “That’s amazing. Any siblings?”

  “No, it’s just my mother and me. And, well, I . . . I also have a daughter.” Sam waited a few moments to see if Ted would say anything. He just sat there with a blank look on his face. “Danielle. Dani. She’ll be four in December.”

  “A daughter. Wow.” His eyes drifted to her hands, which were wrapped around her cup of wine.

  “I’m single, Ted.” She lowered her cup, and unconsciously slid her hand over her ring finger. “Dani was . . . Dani is, a long story. She’s my world.”

  They sat in silence for several seconds, each staring ahead. Sam wondered if she’d revealed too much too soon. She finally said, “I’m guessing you don’t have any kids.”

  “No.” Ted shook his head and grimaced. “The thought hasn’t really crossed my mind. So, um, is it, uh, hard being a single mom?”

  “Yes and no. We live with my mother in Fremont. I commute to Ashton, and my mom and the nanny care for Dani when I’m not there.”

  “You have a nanny?”

  “My mom arranged for one to help out. She sold her cosmetics company years ago. Now she’s on the board of directors in an advisory role, so she’s got plenty of time to care for Dani. But the nanny helps out as needed.”

  “Must be nice,” Ted said with a bit of contempt.

  “It’s not like that, Ted. We came from nothing. My mom struggled. I wasn’t born with some silver spoon in my mouth. She built what she has.”

  “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  The roar of the outside air rushing across the plane’s fuselage hummed throughout the cabin, filling the silence left by the sudden lack of conversation. Sam slid her empty cup to the far side of her tray table. She’d had enough alcohol for tonight. She spun around and reached into the duffel bag with the snacks, retrieving two bottles of water. Passing one to Ted, she opened the other for herself.