"That jerk at the restaurant aggravated me." Dar said, out of the blue.
"Yeah, me too." Kerry agreed.
"He had no right to take it out on that waitress." Dar continued. "It wasn't her fault he split his pants."
"Too true."
"I wanted to kick him."
Kerry patted Dar's back. "I know, honey, and I know you couldn't because your foot's hurt." She sympathized. "Anyway, I'm sure the karma will come back and bite him in the butt someday."
"Hmph."
Kerry chuckled. "You're such a crusader. I love that about you."
"Me?" Dar hobbled up the steps to the terminal and headed for the doors. "I'm nothing of the sort. I just hate jerks."
Kerry swatted her on the butt as she held the door open and let Dar enter ahead of her, glad when the somewhat clammy but welcome chill of the air conditioning beat back the mugginess of the evening air. The interior of the room was far more active than it had been previously, and they both paused in surprise as the chaos resolved itself. "Holy pooters."
The inside of the big terminal had been transformed from a dank, empty space to a bustle of activity, filled from back to front with people and gear they both recognized as belonging to ILS. "Well." Dar exhaled, and started forward, lifting a hand to wave as people began to recognize her. "We did call up the troops."
"Hey boss." Mark appeared from literally nowhere, carrying a spool of cable and a switch on one shoulder. "How's the goldfish nip?"
"Fine. What's going on in here?" Dar asked, looking around. Boxes and boxes of gear were stacked against the walls, most unpacked with humming and blinking boxes propped up on every available surface. "Mark, the network goes inside the ship, yeah?"
"Lemme get rid of this." Mark trotted over and divested himself of his load, handing it off to a harried looking tech. "A ton of our stuff came in, but they ain't got no space for it yet."
"Ah." Kerry walked over to a carton and examined the packing slip. "Yeah, I was expecting this today. Good." She looked over at Mark. "Guess they came through after all, no matter where they got it from."
Mark nodded. "Yeah, I talked to our guy today, just checking on stuff. He's still torked."
"Too bad." Kerry put her hands on her hips. "So, you brought it all in here?"
"Nuh uh." He shook his head. "I got told it was coming in here, and that I was supposed to do something useful with it."
Dar cocked her head. "Who in the hell had the balls to tell you that?"
Kerry was already smiling, half covering her face with one hand.
"Your dad." Mark cheerfully supplied. "I figured I'd better listen to him."
"My dad." Dar appeared to have developed a headache, from the way she was rubbing her temples. "Okay, fine. So you are...?"
"Setting up, burning in, and testing the network here," Mark said. "Configuring it after that, so when they do have someplace to put it, we'll be ready."
Dar absorbed that, then nodded. "Makes sense." She said. "John around?"
Mark pointed toward the entrance to the ship. He watched Dar limp off, then turned to Kerry. "Hey...um...I got something kinda skanky to show you."
Kerry tore her own eyes from her partner's retreating back, and focused on him. "Skanky?"
She followed Mark over to a pallet that was covered with a gray, dusty tarp. Mark took hold of one end of it and pulled it free, exposing a stack of boxes. "Dar's old man dropped this over here too. Said it was delivered to us by accident, but we should just keep it hidden."
Kerry looked at the packing slip. The receiving name was Telegenics. "This isn't ours."
"Yeah, I know." Mark agreed. "It's the same stuff we ordered, but it's for those jerk wads down on the other ship." He pointed. "Got three more pallets full."
"The four orders."
"Yeah."
Kerry walked to each pallet, and examined the labels. They were all identical. Proof of Telegenic's duplicity--or was it? Could that have been done by accident? "Mark, did you ever ask the goofball if they questioned those four orders?"
Mark walked over and leaned an elbow on the boxes. "Yeah, I did. He told me he was told to shut up and mind his own business, and just deliver what was ordered."
And didn't that just sound like Shari? Kerry slowly let out a held breath. "Well, well." She flicked her fingers against the cardboard, suddenly aware that she held the fate of the bids in her hands, at least the Telegenics one. There was no way for them to get replacement gear for anything less than truly exorbitant prices if this batch went missing, chiefly because they themselves dried up the channel.
What goes around comes around. Wasn't that the saying? Didn't it serve Shari and Michelle right to have this happen after what they'd tried to do?
It was just good, hard business sense for Kerry to keep these pallets right here, under cover, maybe filing a mis-delivery with the carrier that would take several weeks to resolve, right?
Absolutely.
"You have a really funny look on your face, chief." Mark commented.
"My head's having a cat fight with my conscience." Kerry let her hand fall. She turned and spotted a cluster of people near the office. "Now what?" She started toward the group, leaving the pallets behind for the time being.
Mark stood by and watched, until one of the techs came up next to him. "Hey." The tech said. "You show her these boxes?"
"Yeah." Mark nodded.
"What do you think she's gonna do with 'em?"
Mark scratched his neck. "I dunno." He admitted. "C'mon, we've got shit to do." He headed back toward the piled gear, shaking his head a little.
Chapter Twelve
DAR LIMPED UP the gangway, wincing at both the pain in her foot and the glaring spotlights surrounding the pier. She could hear men cursing ahead of her, and suddenly in the rumble of sound she caught a familiar drawl.
She stopped at the top of the gangway, unable to go further due to the cramming of boxes, people, gear, and packing material stuffed in the entrance. Briefly she paused, looking for a way around it, then shrugged and tipped her head back a little. "Dad!" She let out a yell.
One hundred percent of those inside the hold were men, and a significant portion of them were fathers. However, only one shouted. "Dardar, that you? Careful of that there mess, will ya?"
"What in the hell is all this crap?" Dar pushed against a box. "You building an ark in there?"
Abruptly a box moved then disappeared, allowing Andrew to stick his grizzled head into the hole it left. "Lord, I will tell you there are more stupid human beings inside this here boat than I met in all mah years in the Navy."
Dar leaned against the boxes. "What are you doing here?"
"Long tale, young lady," her father said. "Anyhow, them folks are trying to get all this here new stuff up one itty-bitty elevator and it ain't flying. You get them boxes inside? That's all your stuff, ain't it?"
"Yeah," Dar said. "My people are setting it all up and getting it ready."
"Yeap." Andy nodded again. "Folks seem like they know what's up inside there."
"Of course." Dar felt a prickle of pride. "Hey, why don't you put some of this packing crap out on the pier? You'd have more room."
Her father gave her a look. "Cause them there folks," he pointed at a sextet of jacketed individuals watching the ship, "do not want no garbage exiting this here vessel."
"Ah." Dar exhaled. "EPA?"
"Yeap."
"How in the hell did they get into all this?" Dar wondered.
Andy cleared his throat. Dar looked at him. They exchanged knowing glances. Dar scrubbed her face with one hand, and mildly resented this additional complication to an already complex and morally questionable series of actions. "Christ."
"Well," Andy sighed, "them boats are leaking."
"I know." Dar leaned against the side of the ship entrance. "But there are so many questionable things involved with this circus right now, if that gets out...I don't' know." She shifted her weight off her injured foot. "
It's a mess."
Andrew was watching her like a hawk. "Something hurting you?"
"I got my foot bit by a fish." Dar answered absently, her mind churning over the possibilities.
"How in the hell did that happen?"
"Long damn story." Dar turned and put her hands on the gangway railing. "All right, let's just do what we can, and make the best of it." She looked over her shoulder at him. "Thanks for watching out for us."
Andy regarded her. "You going inside there? Let you know when a body can move inside this place."
Dar nodded. "You need anything? Drinks or whatever? I saw our catering truck outside."
Andy grinned.
"I'll take care of it." Dar turned and made her way back down the ramp, wondering what possibly could happen next to screw up a situation already so screwed up it defied explanation.
Then she figured she'd better stop wondering in case it happened.
KERRY STOOD INSIDE the small office, surrounded by busy people. She had taken a cup of cold water, and she was slowly sipping it as she listened to the many conversational threads around her.
But her mind wasn't really on the business in the room. She rolled the cold, almost tasteless water around in her mouth and swallowed it, feeling the chill slide down her throat and into her stomach.
"Kerry?" Elaine walked over, holding some papers. "Can you just look at this? I think it's all right, but--"
Kerry took the pages and held them in front of her, eyes scanning the typed print without comprehension for at least a minute. Then she sighed and handed them back. "Hold on to this, would you? I need to go take care of something, and I'll check it when I get back."
"Uh...sure." Elaine watched her leave, a puzzled look on her face.
Kerry exited the building on the side near the ship, showing her identification badge to the guard who waved her past wearily without really looking. Given the number of people that must have been traipsing in and out, she could hardly blame him, but the lack of security bothered her anyway.
Ah well. She'd take care of that when she got back. Orienting herself, Kerry headed down the pier, walking past the tall cranes, the small groups of arguing men and the ever present forklifts zipping everywhere.
It seemed like the pier went on forever, giving her far too much time to think about what she was doing. Doubts pecked at her like hungry pigeons, but she kept herself moving across the pavement resisting the urge to stop and go back and--
What was Dar going to say if she asked her? Would she say not to look a gift horse in the mouth? After all, they hadn't arranged for Michelle and Shari's gear to be delivered to their dock, now had they? For sure, for absolute sure, if the positions had been reversed, Kerry knew the most she'd ever see of her stuff was a box floating past heading out to sea.
But she wasn't Michelle, and she wasn't Shari. Kerry crossed the line between the two piers. She wasn't Dar. What had she just been saying? What comes around goes around?
Well. She squared her shoulders and edged between two tall stacks of steel, walking into the floodlights around the other ship and spotting two familiar figures standing near the gangway.
Two cameramen bracketed them, and it was obvious that Shari was busy holding court for them. She was making grand gestures, and as Kerry came closer, her words started to become comprehensible.
Well, she could hear them anyway.
"So, gentlemen, you see the obstacles we must surmount," Shari said. "We've faced sabotage, dirty business tactics, and espionage. Didn't think you'd be in for that in a simple story about cruise ships now did you?"
Kerry slowed as she approached, coming up behind the cameramen.
"But we'll prevail." Shari spoke confidently. "No matter what ILS throws in our path, we'll get over it. Their dirty dealing will bury them, mark my words."
Kerry paused, half in and half out of the shadows.
"We're the ones putting in the time, we're the ones here making sure the job gets done." Shari pointed toward the other ship. "Not them. You won't catch them here, getting their hands dirty, that's for sure. Go on, go ask! See where they are right now!"
"No need." Kerry stepped forward into the light, laying her hands on the gangway railing. The cameras swiveled to focus on her, and she let the silence extend a moment before she spoke again.
She'd caught them all by surprise, no doubt. Even Shari seemed to be tongue tied for the time being. She let her eyes wander over all of them, hesitating again, even now.
"Come to ask for help, or forgiveness?" Shari found her tongue, and a smirk.
Kerry was very aware of the round, blank eyes turned on her. A faint smile appeared on her face, and she exhaled, surrendering to her own nature with only the faintest of sighs. "Neither," she said quietly. "Some of your equipment was delivered over to us by mistake. If you send a forklift, I'll have it loaded."
Caught flatfooted, Shari could only stare at her. Michelle, however, circled the gangway and approached Kerry. "By mistake?" She questioned suspiciously.
"Apparently." Kerry agreed. "The four orders you placed for network gear to try and dry up the channel arrived with ours. Good luck trying to return it." And with that, she turned and simply walked off, not looking behind her to see if anyone was following.
"WHERE DID SHE GO?" Dar asked, resisting the urge to pace around the inside of the building.
"That way, ma'am." The guard pointed down the pier. "Just a few minutes ago, in fact. "
Dar went to the door and peered out, shading her eyes from the glaring spotlights. She could see several figures moving between the two ships, but none of them resolved into her partner's familiar form. Why would Kerry go there?
What was she up to?
"Hey, Dar?" Mark walked over, wiping his brow. "I think we got everything unpacked...you think we can hijack a piece of the line in here so I can download configs?"
Dar blinked, spotting Kerry's distinctive outline appearing from between two stacks, heading back toward the terminal with a determined stride. Her body language was a mixture of anger and ferocity, her head held high, but hands balled into fists at her side.
"Dar?"
Dar pushed the door open and limped back outside, heading across the concrete on a path calculated to intercept her partner. She watched Kerry's eyes suddenly track to her, and the alteration in her body's posture now added a touch of apprehension to her attitude.
"Hey." Dar slowed to a halt as they met. "Where'd you go?"
Kerry looked up at her. "To do something you're probably going to think I'm an idiot for."
Dar felt her heart speed up a bit. "Last time you said that, you got a tattoo and it wasn't so bad." She ventured. "You want to go inside and talk about it?" She hesitantly put a hand on Kerry's shoulder. "I didn't know where you went. I just came back and you were gone. The guard said..."
Kerry stared past her for a second. "Did Mark show you the boxes?"
Dar fell silent for a second. "Uh?"
"Okay. C'mon."
They walked inside the building, and Dar silently allowed Kerry to lead her into the back section of the terminal, in the shadows, where she could now see several pallets of boxes under tarps. "What--"
Kerry walked over and lifted the tarp, pointing at the label. She waited for Dar to lean close to read it, aware of a few set of eyes watching them.
Dar straightened up, and put her hand on the boxes. "Well. Son of a bitch."
"Mm."
"So..." Dar looked around, then back at Kerry. "You went to tell them it was here, right?"
Kerry's shoulders relaxed suddenly, and she leaned against the stack. "Yeah."
Puzzled, Dar shifted her hand from the box to Kerry's shoulder, giving her a comforting little pat. "So, what's the problem, sweetheart?"
Kerry scrubbed her face with one hand. "Your father said...I mean, it's a big competitive advantage, you know, Dar? I mean, we keep this, and they're dead in the water."
"Kerry!"
They both tur
ned around and looked, to find several people including one with a still camera in the front doorway. Mark was nearby, waving at them with a dour expression.
"Ker, we keep this, and it's grand theft." Dar captured Kerry's attention, gently turning her head so their eyes met again. "I may be one to take any advantage, but I draw the line in some places, y'know? That includes putting either of us or the company in danger of criminal action."
Kerry looked at her for a long moment then abruptly sagged against Dar, laying her head to rest on her partner's shoulder. Then she straightened and touched Dar's side with one hand. "I need to go sit down. Can you go see what that's all about?"
"Sure." Dar murmured. "There's a chair over there. Let me get rid of whatever this is, and I'll be right back, okay?"
Kerry gave her a brief, but genuine smile, and then she turned and walked over to where a chair was half hidden behind the boxes. She sat down in it and rested her elbows on her knees, gazing at the dirty carpet with pensive eyes.
Dar paused indecisively, considering ignoring the crowd at the door.
Kerry apparently sensed that because she looked up and managed a grin, raising one hand and flicking her fingers at Dar in the direction of the door.
Reassured, Dar turned and started a somewhat dignified marching limp toward the entrance, gathering an annoyed attitude around her until by the time she got there, people were taking tiny steps backwards and gaining looks of alarm.
"Something I can do for you folks?" Dar asked, stopping in front of them and adopting as aggressive a posture as she was currently capable of.
"Hi." The woman nearest her took the lead. "My name is Elecia Rodriguez, and I'm a reporter for the Miami Herald."
"Good for you." Dar gave her no quarter.
"I'd like to speak with Kerry Stuart, please." The woman apparently had faced down unwilling participants before, and her tone didn't alter a whit.
"She's busy."
"She's sitting over there, not looking busy at all. Can I speak with her please?" The reporter replied calmly. "It's really in her best interests."
Stormy Waters: Book 10 in The Dar & Kerry Series Page 33
