The Failover File by Al Haggerty

Author:Al Haggerty [Haggerty, Al]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: airplane, hacking, industrial sabotage, Mysteries & Thrillers, Mystery, Plane crash, Suspense, thriller
ISBN: 9781601742261
Publisher: Uncial Press
Published: 2017-02-17T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The weather had turned colder and rainy on Sunday. We shared a late breakfast and conversation in a small dining room off the kitchen. Charlene wore loose satin pajamas, which allowed me to relax a little.

Zygler and I turned out to share a love of old science fiction movies, "The kind with bug-eyed monsters and flying saucers," we agreed. He announced at the end of the meal that he was taking the day off. He closed his pad and shut it down with a grand gesture.

We adjourned to a large media room filled with extravagantly sized and extravagantly comfortable furniture. There was indirect lighting, lots of movie posters and a popcorn machine that we quickly put to work. One wall of the room was covered completely with another huge television and audio gear, and Zygler operated it all expertly from a remote next to the central couch. We decided on Howard Hawks' classic "The Thing From Another World," starring James Arness as the Thing itself. Zygler had obtained a rare uncut version of the movie, and I was treated to several scenes I hadn't known existed.

Zygler and I annoyed the ladies by shouting fractured dialogue at the screen, and laughing in all the wrong places. Charlene and Sally left us to a double feature, preferring conversation and quiet to the giant ants of an un-colorized version of "Them!" with James Whitmore in what we decided was his best role ever.

After the Formicidi gigantae were safely incinerated in the sewers of Los Angeles, Eric and I walked out into the gray daylight, stretching and blinking. Zygler went to the huge windows in the great room, and stood next to the gigantic fireplace, admiring the mountains that were swathed in patches of clouds.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, and sighed. "I was thinking about taking the Mustang out this afternoon but it looks like the cloud cover's too low to have much fun."

I stood beside him and shrugged. "It's getting a little late, too. It'll probably be clear tomorrow."

He continued to stare at the mountains. "It's hard for me to get away. Everybody wants my time, you know? I thought they'd want my money, and I can spare that. Time's the thing I don't have enough of." He paused again for a moment, and looked down at the floor. "Wes and I used to goof off like this once in a while."

He stopped and grabbed my arm, suddenly smiling. "Let's make an appointment. We'll fly the Mustang tomorrow afternoon. I'll have Grimsby meet us at the hangar, and we'll take turns, OK?"

I could blow a couple of hours of vacation time. "Great. Just don't tell my boss I'm goofing off."

"Deal," he said. He leaned against the fireplace, staring at the floor, still smiling. "I really am glad you're here, Mike. I'm sorry you got hurt, but I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

"I could get used to this. I hate to think about going back to work tomorrow.

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