by Melissa Good
Andrew had put down the bags he was carrying and was standing with his hands in his pockets his pale blue eyes regarding the crowd.
The loudspeaker crackled suddenly, and everyone around them jumped a little. Kerry tried to picture where she was in the city and realized she was under Madison Square Garden. "Wow," she murmured. "Guess people are a little shell shocked."
"What's that, kumquat?" Andrew asked.
"Just thinking." Kerry felt a gust of wind hit her in the face. It smelled of dust, iron, oil, and a sense of time that made her aware of the age and the history of the walls around her.
Different than Miami. Different than Michigan.
New York was one of those few cities in the United States whose bones showed. That raw skeleton born in the turn of the last century's industrial revolution that had laid a foundation buried in the stone Manhattan was built on that was often covered over, but never replaced.
How many of those bones were exposed now on the southern tip of the island?
But there was no real time to think about it because in a moment, the train was there poking its nose out of the tunnel and screeching to a halt in front of the platform in a rush of humming silver. Kerry grabbed her bag and waited for the door to open, glancing aside at Dar as she did. "You okay?"
Dar had her bag held in both hands in front of her, and she turned her head and peered down at the questioner. "I'll live," she said. "It's not a long trip. Only a couple of stops."
They entered the train along with the rest of the waiting people. At midmorning it wasn't that full. Everyone got a seat, waiting in silence until the door alarm sounded, and the door slid shut. They lurched into motion, but not before a national guard soldier entered the car from the door between them, and took a seat at the front facing them.
His face had a smear of gray dust across his cheeks, his uniform was half covered in it, and his eyes were bloodshot. He exchanged nods with Andrew though, and then leaned back with his hands resting on his rifle as the car rumbled through a station.
"You going to call Alastair?" Kerry asked. "Let him know we're here?"
"Nope." Dar stolidly watched the walls flash by in the shadows."I'm going to walk up behind him and smack him in the back of the head when we get there."
"Ah."
"Then we'll get to work."
"Mmph. Alrighty then."
THEY EXITED THE subway right under the building where their offices were located. "What time is it?" Dar asked, as she studied the selections of street exits the station offered.
"Eleven." Kerry edged closer to her partner, as the crowd flowed around them. "Are those the stairs there?" She pointed.
"Good as any." Dar started toward it. They crossed the hallway and started up the steps, emerging from underground into an overcast sky and a surprisingly uncrowded street. "There." Dar pointed at the entrance to the tall, distinctive building nearby. There were several men standing outside, and after a cursory glance, they moved aside to allow them to enter.
Dar ignored them. She entered the revolving glass doors into the lobby and headed immediately for the elevator stacks with Kerry and Andrew following close behind her.
The inside of the building was stunning. Kerry glanced around as they stopped in front of the elevators. It was in an art deco style, and every inch of it spoke of class and money. The people inside though, weren't bustling around much. They were standing in small groups, talking or watching the televisions mounted on the far walls.
Kerry caught a glimpse of one. "Ah." She followed Dar into the elevator car. "The president is here today."
Dar punched the floor button. "Good. Maybe they'll all go mess with him and leave us alone." She waited for the doors to close then leaned against the back wall.
They were alone in the elevator and as it ground gamely upward, a pensive silence fell.
"Know what I was thinking?" Kerry asked, after about twenty seconds of silence. "I was thinking that given what happened here earlier this week, I'm pretty sure I don't like being in a building as famous as 30 Rock and sharing it with NBC."
Dar gave her a wry look, then patted her shoulder as the doors opened and they were on their floor. Obviously their floor, as the elevators opened out into a lobby with a curved wall of glass with their logo chiseled into it in all its staid and definitely boring corporate detail.
A big reception desk guarded the opening curved in the same shape and made of polished teak. Behind it a young woman was standing, a headset on her ears, her head bent and cocked to one side and her hand on the buttons of a big console phone. "Sir--sir--please, hold on a minute--sir--I'm sure I don't know if--sir, please stop yelling at me. I'm trying to--"
Dar went over and tapped her on the shoulder, making the girl jump almost into the glass wall. "Gimme." She held out her hand for the headset, glaring at her until the receptionist surrendered it in bewilderment, staring around and spotting Kerry and Andrew standing there.
Her mouth dropped open.
Dar put one ear muff to her ear and got the mic in position. "Who is this?" she asked sharply. "Mister Dobson? What do you want?" She paused. "Let me give you some advice. Turn on a goddamned television set. Half the city is down."
The receptionist's eyes almost came out of her head. Kerry stepped forward and put her briefcase down, giving the girl a smile.
"I don't give a damn. Tell your boss if you don't stop calling and harassing my people I'm going to put him last on the list of things to worry about behind the pushcart vendor outside and some taxi driver going by. Understand me?"
"Ma'am--" The receptionist bravely held her hands out in a placating gesture. "He's a big customer."
"I don't care," Dar mouthed back at her. "Roberts," she said into the phone. "Dar Roberts. I'm the only person in the damn company who can help him, so stop pissing me off and get off the phone." Her voice rose into a yell. After a pause, she nodded. "Thanks. Goodbye." She released the line and handed the girl back her headset. "Here."
The receptionist took them as though they were going to explode. "Uh--"
"Hi." Kerry distracted her. "We're from Miami. They're probably expecting us inside." She held her hand out. "Kerry Stuart."
"Uh." The girl merely pointed at the entrance.
"Thanks." Dar picked up her bag and motioned them inside. "Let's go."
Andrew picked up Kerry's luggage and followed her, giving the receptionist a polite nod of his head. "Lo." He ducked inside and waited for Kerry to catch up, then they both hurried to catch up with the visibly annoyed, stalking CIO ahead of them. "Tells folks off real nice, don't she," he conversationally said to Kerry.
"Best in the world," Kerry acknowledged, with a wry smile. "Nobody does that better than Dar."
Dar turned and walked backwards, giving them a dire look. "You better be talking about my phone skills and not anything more intimate." She turned back around and kept going, turning left down a corridor and whisking past various, mostly empty, offices.
Kerry felt herself get lightheaded as a deep blush colored her face, not helped in the least by Andrew's deep chuckle. "Someday I'll learn not to do that," she muttered. "She gets me every time."
She could hear the sound of raised voices and she quickened her steps, catching up to Dar just as her partner stiff-armed a large, heavy mahogany door open. The sounds got a lot louder as they entered a big conference room full of people.
Four men were faced off opposite Alastair, all talking at once. Three more were surrounding Hamilton, who had both hands up and was arguing forcefully. Two or three more men were standing around, aides apparently, and they were the only ones who looked up as they entered.
Then they went back to watching the disagreement, dismissing the new arrivals.
"You made a commitment to the mayor," one man said. "This ain't no joke anymore. I need an answer on when that office is going to be up."
"That and the president's office said you'd get things working. What's happening with that? You've been te
lling me for two days you've got a plan. Where is it?" an older man asked.
Dar tossed her bag toward the wall and went right to the table slamming her hand against it and creating a loud, startling sound. "Excuse me."
Alastair turned immediately, recognizing her voice. He spotted her behind the table, and a look of utter relief appeared on his face. Even Hamilton looked glad to see her, and they quickly abandoned their opponents and circled the table to join her.
The other men followed, staring at them. "What's this?" the oldest of them asked. "We have no time for more interruptions, McLean. You've stalled long enough. I need results! The governor's expecting an answer!"
"Well, Dar. Glad you made it. Glad you're here," Alastair greeted her, ignoring the man for the moment. "I was just explaining to these fellas--"
Dar stared right at him, until his voice trailed off and he fell silent. Then she turned and looked at the rest of the men long enough for them to start to fidget a little. "Everyone sit down, please," she said, resting her hands on the table.
The older man looked annoyed. He started to say something, but Dar stared him down until he pulled out a seat across from Alastair and sat down, motioning for those with him to do the same. "All right, lady. Make it fast."
Kerry settled into a seat to Dar's left, and Andrew ambled around and took the chair on the other side of her. The rest of the men grudgingly took seats also, leaning forward and looking at Dar.
"Thank you." Dar remained standing, resting her weight a bit on the hands she still had resting on the table. She looked at the older man. "Can you please introduce yourself so I know who the hell I'm talking to?"
Hamilton put a hand up over his mouth, his eyes twinkling a little. Alastair merely clasped his hands and worked to keep a benign expression on his face.
"Ivan Falcuzzi," the man said, shortly. "I work for the governor.
Who the hell are you?"
"Dar Roberts," Dar responded matter of factly. "So let me get my plan out on the table, then we can stop all the horse crap and actually get something constructive done." She drew in a quick breath, and started talking again before she could get interrupted. "You don't really have to tell us your problems, Mr. Falcuzzi." She straightened. "We know what the problems are."
"Then why aren't you doing something about it?" the man asked bluntly. "We were told you people would fix things. Things ain't fixed."
"I was fixing things," Dar responded. "We've been fixing things since this situation started. Tell me what you'd have liked us to do here before you let people back in the city, before we could travel, before we could get anything shipped in to help you, or before we made sure the military was going to keep running so nothing else could happen to anyone else?"
Falcuzzi lifted his hand. "Wait a minute."
"What did you expect us to do?" Dar enunciated each word separately. "What in the hell do you people think we are? Any of us here look like Poodle the Magnificent? Think we have rabbits we can pull cutoff our asses?" She leaned forward again. "I appreciate that you are frustrated Mr. Falcuzzi, but you are not one tenth as frustrated as I am to come in here after working round the clock for three days and finding you in here blowing hot air for NO GOOD REASON."
He opened his mouth, then shut it again.
"WE WILL FIX ALL YOUR DAMN PROBLEMS," Dar hollered at top volume, "IF YOU GET OUT OF HERE AND LEAVE US THE HELL ALONE!"
He stared at her. "You got any idea who you're talking to?"
"You have any idea how little I care who I'm talking to?" Dar countered. "You're keeping us from doing our jobs. Get out of here, and we'll deliver whatever it is Alastair promised we would. I don't have time to talk to you any more."
Falcuzzi studied her for a moment, then he glanced to the side, where Andrew was seated, his big, scarred hands resting on the table, folded together. His mouth pursed, then he shrugged and stood up. "All right," he said. "At least you ain't pitching me any excuses." He made a curt gesture to the rest of his gang. "But if I were you lady, I'd make good on that fixing business. Know what I mean?"
"Gentlemen," Hamilton stood up, recognizing a legal cue when he saw one, "as our dear CIO has so eloquently said, we know what we need to do. Now take your distinguished selves on out the door, and let us get on with it." He opened the door. "I'll walk you on down."
The men filed out. The last three, big men with very little in the way of necks, made a point of looking around before they walked out, tugging their jacket sleeves straight as they left and closing the door behind them.
The conference room became quiet. Dar rested her weight on her elbows and glanced at Kerry. "Got any Advil?"
Kerry grimaced in sympathetic understanding and leaned over to rummage in her briefcase.
"Well, Dar." Alastair put his hands on his chair arms, and sighed.
"I'm really glad to see you." He eyed his scowling CIO. "I know I've been a pain in the ass all day. You going to kill me?"
Dar stood and went to the credenza, poured herself a glass of water and used it to chase down the pills she was juggling in her right hand."I'm not going to kill you Alastair. Too many crappy things have happened to too many people in the last few days for me to get pissed off about a couple of phone calls."
Alastair twiddled his fingers on the chair arms. "You sure sounded pissed off at the politico's boys."
"I don't know or care about them." Dar came back and sat down, exhaling. "I know and care about you." She caught her boss's eyes widening in surprise. "So I'd rather take my cramps out on them since they weren't doing anything productive for us anyway."
"Ah."
Kerry reached over and gave Dar's back a little rub. "We have a short list of critical tasks, sir," she addressed Alastair. "The emergency office and some kind of coverage downtown are top on the list. Is there anything else they're pressing us on?"
"Well." Alastair eyed them both warily. "I don't want to get your shorts back in a twist now."
"Alastair, please." Dar smiled briefly.
"We do have a little longer short list," Alastair admitted. "Somethings came up today, and I guess they thought they'd throw everything at us and see what stuck."
"Bring it on." Kerry took her laptop out and put it on the table."Dad, you want some coffee? I'm going to find some tea."
"Naw," Andrew said. "How bout I get your's and Dardar's bunks squared away. I figure you got a lot of stuff you got to take care of," he offered."Ah'll find out what's going on round here anyhow."
"Thanks, Dad," Dar said "That'd be great."
Andrew stood up and slung his own bag over his shoulder. He stepped behind them and patted Dar on the shoulder then collected their bags and ducked out the door. "Better find me that coon ass, too, 'fore he gets into trouble with them folks," he muttered as he left, his words echoing softly.
That left the three of them. Kerry focused on getting her laptop started up, as Dar and Alastair regarded each other.
"Here we go again," Alastair said, finally.
"Here we go again," Dar repeated, with a sigh. "Got any rum?"
"Eh?"
Chapter Two
"FIRST THINGS FIRST." Dar had her hands in her pockets, as she studied the conference room wall. Once sedately weave covered, it now sported various plans and blueprints spread out from end to end."Kerry, who do we have here from services?"
"I've got three people here, Dar. They're the support folks for this office," Kerry said.
Dar ran her finger along the coastline of Manhattan. "Okay. So let's get them out to the Intrepid. If this is to scale, and it's correct, we'll need a fiber spool and someone who can terminate it. We got that?"
Kerry reviewed her notes. "I don't think so," she admitted. "We contracted out the fiber install here. I don't think that's our access either."
"Okay." Dar moved to the other end of the map. "Let's start from a place I know they'll let us into. Have the guys take the biggest spool we have, make sure it's rubberized, and have them start at the mayor's
damn offices and move toward the Intrepid. Maybe I can work on getting us access while they do that."
"Will do." Kerry leaned over her laptop and put her headphones in.
They were alone in the conference room. Alastair and Hamilton had gone to join the rest of the New York staff in watching the visit of the president, leaving them in peace to get things rolling.
Dar didn't feel like rolling anything. The pills had taken the edge off her cramps, but only the edge, and her body was aching so badly she felt like curling up in the corner of the room and forgetting all about the long list of problems facing them.
She suspected Kerry knew that. Her partner kept watching her, and giving her little rubs on the back, and looking like she wanted to tuck her into bed somewhere.
Dar would have given a year's salary to be able to let her.
"Dar?"
She turned around and leaned one shoulder against the wall, finding Kerry gazing back at her with wry sympathy. "Yes?"
"The guys are on their way in the company van. They said the hope they'll let them down there," Kerry said. "Can I get you some tea?"
Dar held her hand out. "Gimme your cell." She waited, and caught the phone as Kerry tossed it. She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and keyed in a number, then held the phone up to her ear. "Yes. Can I speak to the governor please? This is Dar Roberts. Yes, I'll hold."
Kerry got up and came over to her, circling her with her arms and resting her cheek against Dar's shoulder. She felt Dar exhale, and looking up, saw the wry expression on her face. "What can I do for you, my love?"
"What more can I ask of you besides loving me?" Dar responded, with a gentle smile. "Hello, yes?" She returned her attention to the phone. "Governor, you said you could remove roadblocks. You ready to make good on that?"
Kerry kissed her on the upper arm and gave her a gentle squeeze. Then she moved around behind her and started massaging Dar's lower back, making small circles with her thumbs on either side of her partner's spine.
"Are you telling me you can't clear them through there? Get someone to help us?" Dar's voice rose and took on a darker edge. "What in the hell do you expect me to do, bring guns and force our way into the telco demarc?"
