by Melissa Good
"Now that's awesome." Dar agreed. "I'll take that news any damned day." She looked both ways as they exited from the room, and then eased out into traffic. "Probably a good thing they didn't take mine while I was waiting for you."
"Aw." Kerry was content to shelter in Dar's arm, as they dodged the quiet crowd in the waiting area on the way out. "Why were you so stressed? I think we both pretty much knew what they'd say." She glanced to either side as they reached the door.
"I hate hospitals." Dar muttered.
Kerry patted her stomach. "I know, hon." She caught the eye of a woman standing just outside the hospital entrance, her hands full with a stack of colored paper. The woman came forward and held out one of the sheaves.
"Oh." Kerry took it instinctively. She looked at it, seeing a round face with a fringe of dark hair looking back at her.
"This is my husband," the woman said. "Have you seen him? He went to work on Tuesday. I know he must be here somewhere. Please look at it. Have you seen him at all?"
Kerry felt Dar's body shift and she stopped walking, touching her partner on the arm as she bent her head to study the page seriously."Dar, look. Did you remember seeing anyone like this?"
Thus called, Dar tilted her head and focused her eyes on the sheet. The man's face was ordinary and unremarkable. He had a golden skin tone, and in the picture he was smiling broadly at whoever was taking the picture.
Could have been anyone.
"Anything, Dar?"
Dar put her photographic memory to work, flicking through pictures of the last couple of days, above ground and below, going along streets, and standing on the steps of the Exchange, riding in the subways, walking around their hotel.
Down in Battery Park.
'I don't think I have," Kerry said finally, in a regretful tone. "Dar?"
"I didn't see him." Dar lifted her eyes and met the woman's squarely. "I'm sorry."
The woman wandered off without answering, going up to the steps to greet the next people to come out from the hospital with her colored paper, and her eternal hope.
"Jesus." Kerry murmured. "My god, Dar. These people have no freaking closure." She watched the woman plead. "Did you hear the news? I was listening while I was waiting for my X-ray. They think four thousand people are missing, and they've only found a hundred and eighty bodies."
'Yeah." Dar guided her to the curb, and turned to watch for a cab."You don't have closure."
Kerry turned and looked up at her. Then she leaned into Dar's body. "Sorry."
"Don't be." Dar signaled a cab. "My father's waiting for us at the hotel. If ever I had to have it beaten home to me what a lucky son of a bitch I am, you just did it."
They got into the cab without further conversation. Kerry leaned against Dar's shoulder and watched the streets go by, feeling a sense of separation from the world around her.
She wished they were home already. She was tired of the crowded chaos of the city. She no longer wanted to help out, or deal with the problems, or face the impatient antagonism they'd been subjected to by pretty much everyone they tried to help.
She'd just had enough. She felt bad for all the people here, she felt bad for their customers who were in the affected area, and she felt bad for her country and about the future that had suddenly become very, very murky.
But she'd had enough. It was time to let someone else step up and take care of things, and respond to the government's demands. They had done their part. She had done her part, and had a cracked rib to show for it. "What time's our flight tomorrow?"
"I have Maria trying to change it for the morning," Dar said. "It's one something right now."
"Wish there was a flight tonight." Kerry mused. "I'd love to be home right now, on our comfy couch, petting Cheebles."
"Me too," Dar agreed. "I miss my milk dispenser."
Kerry snorted softly, trying to stifle a laugh. "You're so bizarre sometimes"
The cab pulled up in front of their hotel. Dar paid the fare, and they walked inside, not really surprised to find the rest of their team gathered in the bar. "Let's say hi." Kerry nudged her partner in that direction. "And I'd love a beer before I start taking those drugs."
Dar hesitated, and then she surrendered. They walked into the bar,crossing past the service area to the pit of chairs filled with their staff. "Hello, folks," Dar said.
"Hey!" Scuzzy waved. "How are you guys?"
"How's the ribs, boss?" Mark was seated next to Scuzzy, a frosted beer mug in one hand. "You look kinda washed out."
"I feel washed out." Kerry eased into a seat. "I have a cracked rib."
"Ow."
"Ooh." Scuzzy made a face. "Man that hurts, huh?"
Dar rested her hands on the back of the chair. "Someone please order Kerry a beer. I'm going to go arrange for her drugs."
"Hey. I've got a cracked rib. Not broken vocal cords." Kerry reminded her. "Scoot. I'll get you a Kahlua milkshake."
"Mm." Dar patted the back of the chair, and then headed off toward the concierge stand. The lobby was relatively empty, and she found the concierge ready and willing to help her. "I have a prescription." She produced it. "Can you get it filled for me?"
"Of course," the man said, immediately. "May I ask what it's for?"
Dar studied the paper. "Painkillers?" She handed it over. "My partner has a cracked rib."
"No problem." The man accepted the slip and briefly looked at it. "Do you have a preferred pharmacy? We've got one right around the corner, but it's local and might not take your insurance."
"Just get whatever's fastest." Dar waved her hand a little. "I don't care what it costs."
The concierge smiled at her wholeheartedly. "Now, there's a woman after my own tastes. Ma'am, just leave it with me. I'll have it brought to your room as soon as it's filled. You're in 1202, correct?"
"Correct," Dar said. "And while you're at it, I could use a few other things up there. Got a pad?"
The man whipped a pen and paper out faster than her eye could follow.
Chapter Fifteen
"SO, THAT'S WHAT happened." Kerry cradled the mug of beer in both hands. The twinge of holding it, she decided was worth its cold comfort. "I can't figure out what the rats were doing there."
"I got that cleared up." Scuzzy held her hand up in the air as though she were in class. "I was talking to these guys here, in the hotel? They got a place down near where the towers were. They said it was all full of rats when they went down there today. They came up from the sewer."
"From the sewer?" Mark cocked his head. "For what?"
"They said, from all that stuff that happened down near the towers." Shaun spoke up. "I heard the guys at the Exchange talking. They're in all the basements."
"Ugh." Kerry grimaced.
"I am glad we are not going back there." Kannan spoke up. He was seated in one of the big chairs, his slim form almost swallowed by it. He had a steaming cup in his hands that he'd been sipping from. "That place disturbed me very much."
"Me too," Kerry said. "I think I have too much of an imagination."
"The big cheese has big brass ones to pull us out of here," Mark said. "Those guys down there couldn't believe we were just leaving. They thought we were bullshitting."
"No bullshit," Kerry shook her head. "They finally pushed Alastair too hard."
"Someone call my name?" Alastair entered the bar and went over to the service area taking a seat on a barstool. "Ladies and Gentlemen, you have my greatest admiration and gratitude for the work you've done here."
"Include yourself in that, sir." Kerry told him. "Teamwork gets you nowhere without good leadership to go along with it."
Alastair looked exhausted, but that made him smile. He lifted his newly poured beer in their direction. "To being homeward bound."
"Yeah!" Mark lifted his mug. "Café con leche at the airport's on me!"
Dar returned and perched on the arm of Kerry's chair, picking up the cup on the table in front of her and taking a sip from it. She let her free hand rest on K
erry's shoulder, and listened to the chatter of the group around her.
It felt good. They had done their best.
Now they could move on.
KERRY PAUSED AND leaned her hands on the back of the room's chair, staring at the bed. "Dar."
"Yes."
"What in the hell is that?"
Dar wandered over and stood next to her.
"If you say it's the bed, I'll bite your arm." Kerry warned her. "What did they do to that bed?"
Dar studied the piece of furniture in question. The top of the bed was literally covered in pillows, some stacked against the back, some arranged long ways down the mattress, a few dotted around apparently as decoration. "Well," she cleared her throat a little, "they said they didn't have time, or the space to get a recliner."
Kerry turned her head slowly to look at her partner. "Did you actually ask them to?"
"Yes, I did." Dar responded in perfect seriousness. "So anyway, this was what they came up with. G'wan up there and see how good they did."
"Let me get undressed first." Kerry demurred. "Because I have a feeling once I sit down in that nest of feathers, I'm not getting up again." She went over to her bag. "Did you say the drugs got here?"She unfastened her pants and let them drop off her.
"They did." Dar opened a bag lying on the dresser and removed a bottle, examining the label. "Ready for some?"
"Oh yes." Kerry exhaled, wincing as the throbbing got a little sharper. "I'm glad we spent some time with the team, but I'm paying for it." She removed her sleep shirt from her bag and draped it over the chair"Be right back."
"Yell if you need help." Dar patted her on the hip as she eased by. "I have some goodies here too."
"Thank you, Doctor Dar." Kerry had to smile, as she made her way into the bathroom. "Have we gotten paged for anything?" She called back. "It seems too damn quiet."
"Jinxer."
"Well, it does." Kerry carefully washed her face trying not to move around too much. The water was startlingly cold and she let it run a moment, turning on the warm water until it was bearable. In Miami, she never had that problem. The cold faucet produced, at best, lukewarm water in all but the coldest weather.
She brushed her teeth and rinsed, then studied her reflection in the mirror. "Ugh." She put her toothbrush back into its glass and returned to the room, finding Dar already in her T-shirt, standing there with Kerry's shirt bundled up in her hands.
It felt amazing to know she could just change, despite the relatively early hour, and then go sit quietly for as long as she wanted. "Thank you." Kerry unbuttoned her shirt and let Dar strip it off her. She stood as Dar got her into her sleep garb with careful, gentle hands. "You make me almost forget how much of an idiot I feel like getting hurt the way Idid."
"I popped my knee falling in a sinkhole, got smacked with a baseball bat, and got bitten by a fish. You want to have a dumbass injury competition with me?" Dar inquired. "Go sit on the bed, Kerrison."
"Yes, ma'am." Kerry went over and sat down on the soft surface, carefully squirming into the nest of pillows until she was leaning against the ones in the back with her elbows tucked into the ones down the middle. "Ah."
"Comfortable?" Dar was busy at the tray.
"Yeah. Matter of fact." Kerry crossed her ankles. "I am." The support took the pressure off her ribs, and the pain eased. She leaned back and relaxed, letting out a long sigh of relief. "So no calls?"
"No." Dar brought a tray over. "I have our phones forwarded."
"Oh. I see."Kerry tilted her head so she could see what was in her immediate future in terms of edible items. "Wow. What is that--"
"This is lobster." Dar regarded the tray. "Cut up in nice bite size chunks with appropriate things to dunk them in."
"Mm."
"These are corn fritters." Dar went on. "These are green beans because I knew you'd yell at me otherwise, and this is a chocolate fondue."
"Wow."
"With cheesecake to dip in it along with strawberries."
Kerry had been pretty sure she'd entered the hotel room convinced she wasn't hungry, but at the moment, her body wasn't buying that. "This is for both of us right?"
"Yes. Hang on. Let me get the bubbly."
Kerry folded her hands over her stomach as Dar got up to retrieve a bottle and two glasses. Despite the long day, and her aches and pains, the solicitous attention could only make her smile and she did, tilting her head a little again to take a sip from the glass her partner offered.
A little sweet, a little fizzy, a little spicy. The champagne tickled her tongue and she settled back to enjoy as Dar squiggled herself into a comfortable position on the bed and commenced delivering lobster to her.
Perfectly cooked, chilled just right. Kerry licked her lips. "I think I know why emperors had servants now." She accepted another bite of lobster, neatly dipped in butter sauce and a touch of lemon. "This is lovely."
Dar chuckled softly, taking a piece for herself before she offered Kerry a bite of corn fritter. "I just wanted something simple I could handle with my fingers. I'm too tired to mess with silverware. Ready for you pills?"
"Just my luck." Kerry sighed happily. "You know what?"
"What?" Dar delivered a sip of champagne to her.
"Save the pills for tomorrow when we fly." Kerry leaned on her pillows and accepted a mouthful of lobster. "Right now, I feel great." She gazed lovingly at the angular face next to her. "Thanks."
Dar kissed her. "Anytime."
Kerry took another sip of bubbly to clear her mouth. "Dar, how do you really feel about us walking out like that? Do you regret it?"
Dar sipped her champagne, set the glass down, then picked up a piece of corn fritter and bit into it. She chewed slowly, thinking about the question. Then she handed over the other half of her fritter to Kerry's waiting lips. "Yes."
Kerry chewed, and swallowed. "Yes, you regret us backing out?"
Dar nodded. "I hate quitting. You know that. I don't blame Alastair for a minute for what he did, but yeah. I do regret it, a little. But on the other hand--" She offered Kerry more lobster. "Now if it doesn't work we don't have to stand there looking like jackasses either."
"You think that's why he did it?"
"Maybe. I might have. He knew what the deal was. Might have been a calculated decision. This is going to cause a huge wave, but from that standpoint, better than public failure."
"Hm." Kerry cautiously reached for her glass of champagne and took a sip. "That actually makes sense. You really don't think we'd have been able to do it?"
"No. Ultimately we'd have gotten everything in place, but there's no way they could have worked the optics. We'd have been standing here when that bell rang with a lot of egg on our faces. That's why I didn't say anything to Alastair when he told me. He's right."
"That really sucks though." Kerry selected a green bean and ate it."It sucks that they put us in that position." She paused. "Or did we put ourselves in it?"
Dar extended her legs along the bed and stretched out on her side.She lifted her glass in Kerry's direction in a wry toast.
"Mm." Kerry took a sip of her champagne and set the glass back down. "Can you reach me a bit?"
"Sure." Dar produced a chunk of lobster. "So tomorrow, let's work on wrapping up things here, and get a task list we can throw at ops in Miami. See what we can do for our customers aside from letting them camp at our doorstep."
"Sounds good." Kerry chewed and swallowed. "I can start looking at the capacity we have here. We can find out what we need to do if we need to start mounting SAT rigs on people's roofs."
"With solar panels." Dar suggested. "Maybe we can have the gang down at integration start putting together mobile kits."
Kerry settled back and licked her lips. The pain in her side had subsided to a mild throbbing, and she was perfectly content to lay here nestled in her pillows, enjoying the chance to just sit and talk to her partner.
She hoped the rest of the team was having as quiet an evening as she
was.
ALASTAIR SAT DOWN in a leather chair in the empty flour lounge, glad the rest of the team was off resting--he hoped--or enjoying some time off. He glanced over at the door where a secret service agent was standing, his attention fixed on the hallway rather than inside the room.
He thought, perhaps, he should be more nervous than he was, having been called out of his room for this meeting on just a few minutes notice. But he'd discovered he was just too tired, and too over it to be anything more than mildly thirsty.
Fortunately, the lounge was equipped for that. He got up and went to the sidebar holding a self-service beverage station, selecting a tea bag and setting it into a china cup. He poured water over it and let it steep, even when noise behind him indicated he was no longer alone in the lounge
"Hello, Alastair,"a voice sounded behind him.
"Hello, Dick." He added a touch of cream and a cube of sugar,stirred, then took the cup and returned to his seat. "If you're here to yell or threaten me, give it up." He sat down, and regarded the man standing across from him. "I'm not in the mood."
The vice president took his hands from his pockets and sat down. "Won't waste my breath" he responded. "We've known each other too long. When you tell someone to fuck off, it's usually for a reason."
Alastair took a sip of his tea. "So what are you here for then?"
"I want to understand. What the fuck you think you're doing, putting everything you worked half your life for at risk here. This is big,Alastair. There's no going back from this. Either you're with us, or you're not, and those that are not, might as well move to Japan."
Alastair regarded him benignly. "Y'know, funny thing. Tried sushi for the first time just the other day, matter of fact, I liked it. Why don't you tell me something? Why are you letting all these jackasses scrambling around like idiots treat people like me like a hired hand? I've spent the last week being smacked around by your lackeys and threatened with everything from jail time to being taken into a back room somewhere all because we're here doing you a fucking favor."
The vice president pursed his lips. He was dressed in a pair of dark slacks and a dark wind breaker, in an apparent pitch to avoid notice. "People are tense. You can't blame them."
