Read Online Silhouette by Dave Swavely - Free Book Online Page B

lady…” Her straining voice was suddenly choked off by a series of sobs. “This is what I was afraid of!” Then more sobs.
    I sat silently for a few moments, listening to the humming of the aero’s engine. I thought about striking back or hanging up, but something told me that would mean more than I was ready for it to mean. I was truly beginning to think this might be the end for us, and for some reason the biggest part of me didn’t want that.
    â€œLynn,” I started, having no idea what I was going to say.
    â€œNo, Michael, listen,” she interrupted in a softer voice. “I don’t know what to think right now, so you need to do the thinking for us.” She let out a combination of a sob and a chuckle. “Huh, that’s from, uh—”
    â€œCasablanca,” I said.
    â€œYeah.” It sounded like she was wiping her eyes and nose. “You just tell me if you want to come back here or not, that way I don’t have to make the decision. Yeah. I guess I kinda want you to come home right now, I guess. But stay away if you want. You just tell me, so I know how it’s gonna be.”
    â€œWell, I can’t come right now—” I started.
    â€œFine. Goodbye,” she blurted.
    â€œNo, wait!” I said, then paused to make sure she was still on the line. “I want to come home and be with you. But I’m here at Paul’s right now. I have to meet with him for a few minutes, then I’ll be there.”
    â€œOkay,” she said. “But you have to be here. You remember all those times when you told me that and didn’t make it? Well, this can’t be one of them. I’m close, Michael, I’m on the edge. Don’t let me fall off.”
    â€œI’ll be there,” I said. “Give me an hour at the most.”
    â€œI’ll see you then,” she said.
    â€œI’ll see you then,” I echoed, and then tapped the glasses’ audio off.
    â€œI love you…?” I said to nobody, after a few moments of silence.
    By this time, the aero had automatically stopped and was undergoing a series of security scans at the perimeter of Paul’s property. Marin had proven too broad an area to secure corporately like the Napa Valley, so the individual estates had developed their own fortresslike defenses. And Paul’s was the best guarded, not only because he had access to the highest of high-tech resources through BASS but because his property was the most valuable.
    Even beyond the obvious worth of three thousand acres secluded from any real neighbors, and the fifty million dollars’ worth of architecture, the Ranch was a bona fide cultural and historical landmark. The land and the original buildings had been owned and built by a man named Lucas, who had produced about ten of the most well-known (and worshipped) flatmovies of all time. He had died just prior to the onset of holos, but versions of the virtual universe he created in his antiquated medium endured even until today, in various forms of entertainment.
    As I hovered above the arid woodlands, waiting for the scans to conclude, I saw the inconspicuous gate on the ground in front of me and to my right. Someone with only a ground vehicle wouldn’t have known the impressive estate was here unless they had been directed to it, and I was sure there was no sign at the road saying SKYWALKER RANCH (the original name, from one of the man’s characters). But from the sky, I saw the congregation of Victorian-style buildings not too far north of the gate, and it was toward them that I directed the aero, once the clearance had been granted.
    I watched and numbered the buildings in my mind as they grew closer: the inn for guests, the old firehouse, the stables, the theater, and the main house, along with accoutrements such as a vineyard and a baseball diamond. I also saw Paul’s biggest addition to the original structures: an Olympic-size swimming