Red Sky at Morning

Chapter

Nineteen

ANDREW RELAXED, STRETCHING his long frame as he settled more comfortably in the large leather chair. “So, that’s what that old bag of wind told me,” he drawled. “All ’bout how he’d been gotten to some years back, and he just didn’t want to say no.”

The television played softly in the background as the two couples shared coffee and each other’s company.

Dar shook her head sadly. She was lying on the couch with Kerry curled up against her, and she had her injured arm draped over her lover’s body. “Hard to believe.”

Ceci snorted from her perch on the loveseat. “No, it isn’t. He always was a pompous asshole.” She ignored her husband’s round-eyed look. “You know it’s true, Andy. He was always wanting to be in charge. Remember that bowling team he hornswoggled you on to? He had to be the captain.”

Andrew grunted.

“Bowling?” Kerry opened one eye lazily, so completely stuffed she wouldn’t have moved even for a fire drill. “I didn’t know you bowled, Dad.”

“Ah most certainly do not,” Andrew replied. “Damn fool just would not listen.”

“Andy is so good at everything, Jeff just assumed he’d be a good bowler,” Ceci told, blithely ignoring another outraged look.

“Unfortunately, Jeff loved to stand behind his team and make comments.”

“Ah,” Kerry noted sagely.

“That lasted all of one time.” Ceci gave her husband a look. “Until Andy threw the ball backward.”

“Heh.” Andrew produced a rakish grin, amazingly like his daughter’s. “Never did hear a man make a sound like that one before.”

“Ow,” Kerry winced. “So you guys were rivals?” she asked curiously.

Andrew shrugged. “Naw.”

“Yes,” Ceci corrected him. “Don’t look at me like that, Andrew.

You know you were.” She picked up her cup of coffee and sipped it.

“Jeff always had to be first. His family had to be first. His kid had to be 316 Melissa Good first,” she said. “I think that’s what busted his chops so bad. He tried so hard, and pushed Chuck so hard, and neither one of you ever had to try hardly at all.”

Andrew and Dar exchanged glances. “Now, Cec,” Andrew rumbled, “wasn’t really like that.”

Ceci rolled her eyes. “Yes, it was. The two of you just never noticed,” she informed her husband and child. “Andy, you made your grades before he did, got the jobs he wanted, and copped the medals he coveted, and you never gave two whoops about it.”

Andrew folded his arms across his chest and gave her a sober look.

“And you,” Ceci gazed over at Dar with a half smile. “I’ll never forget the night Jeff and Sue were over, talking about how Chuck was going to enlist so he could save some cash for vocational school, remember?”

Dar nodded. “I remember.”

Kerry turned her head and looked at her. “What happened?”

Dark lashes fluttered as Dar blinked. “It was just a coincidence,”

she murmured. “I’d gotten my acceptance letters that day.”

Kerry studied her profile. “For college?”

Dar nodded silently.

“How many?”

She shrugged. “A couple.”

“Seven,” Ceci corrected her.

Dar rolled her eyes.

Kerry returned her attention to Dar’s mother. “Seven?”

“Mm-hmm,” Ceci agreed. “All full scholarship.” She folded her hands across her stomach and gazed at her child.

“That was a damn proud day for me,” Andrew said suddenly.

Everyone now looked at Dar, who looked back pensively. “I didn’t even think about it,” she admitted honestly. “That’s why I dropped them on the dinner table while they were there and told you.” Her thumb rubbed idly against Kerry’s side. “I thought it was pretty cool.”

“So did we.” Ceci smiled. “But you didn’t see Jeff’s face,” she sighed. “He and Sue were so jealous. I’m not surprised, Andy, if he went along with whatever those crooks wanted, if it finally got him the good life he’d always craved.”

Andrew shook his head a little. “Don’t make sense. He never did that poorly, Cec,” he protested. “Collected him plenty of rank, and pretty good jobs, I figure. He just never wanted to have to work hard for it.” It was a long sentence for him. “Dardar, you figure you got something on them people? Jeff thinks there ain’t much chance you do.”

Dar shifted a little, her eyes unfocused in thought. She felt Kerry twine her fingers around the hand she had draped over her partner’s body, and she breathed in Kerry’s distinctive scent as the thoughts tumbled over in her head. “I don’t know,” she replied truthfully. “If we got everything, and I can reconstruct it, yes.” Her eyes flicked up and Red Sky At Morning 317

met her father’s. “I’ll have it.”

Ceci leaned forward. “Have what, Dar? What the heck were they doing?”

An almost introspective look crossed Dar’s face. “Laundering money,” she answered simply. “Millions and millions of dollars, funneled from the sale of contraband and government property.”

Jaws dropped.

“You mean to tell me,” Kerry finally said, “they used the government’s own computer systems to do that?”

Dar nodded. “Feel better about your tax refund?”

Kerry covered her eyes with one hand and groaned.

“Jesus P. Fish,” Andrew blurted.

“Well,” Ceci murmured. “And here I thought maybe you’d found the truth about Roswell.”

Dar shrugged modestly. “Want me to audit there next?”

KERRY PUT THE piece of paper down on her desk and dropped into her chair, leaning forward and resting her head in her hands.

What a day. She scrubbed her face wearily. It was Thursday, Dar’s first day back; and her lover had spent the entire time since seven that morning holed up in the MIS command center, sequestered in a quiet, plain office around the corner from Mark’s, refusing to take a break even though Kerry could plainly see she badly needed one. She’d taken off her arm sling, and by the very messiness of the dark locks framing her face, it was obvious she’d been running her fingers through her hair.

Always a sign of frustration, Kerry knew.

So here she was, about to order in a pile of Thai food in hopes that, at least, would get her boss to kick back for a few minutes and relax.

Kerry reread the order, making sure she’d gotten everything down, and quickly typed it into a fax form, which she sent on its way.

To be fair, Dar had been exceedingly good for three days. She’d kept her promise and remained resting at home, though by halfway through Wednesday, she was already prowling around the island and spending a couple of hours swimming in the heated pool.

Her headaches had disappeared, and she’d started to use her arm, careful not to overstress the shoulder joint. They’d gone out on the boat the night before and had dinner under the stars, and Dar had remained alert the entire time; in fact, she’d ended up driving the boat back after Kerry had fallen asleep on the bow.

The pressure from Washington was getting critical, though.

General Easton had called twice, each time reporting the minor issues the security team had found and the fact that he was under a lot of pressure to back off the project entirely.

Someone had gotten annoyed, it seemed, that a private company 318 Melissa Good was prying into military affairs. If they didn’t come up with something more significant than fouled-up accounting and some black-market supplies, the entire contract was in jeopardy.

So, despite the fact that Kerry thought the enforced rest was doing her partner a lot of good, she had to admit she’d been glad to have that tall form pacing at her side when she’d entered the building that morning.

When the phone rang, Kerry glared at it for a moment, then hit the answer button. “Operations. Kerry Stuart speaking.”

“Good evening, Ms. Stuart.” Alastair’s voice was cordial.

“Evening, sir,” Kerry replied. “How’s Texas doing?”

“About the same as it usually is, this time of year,” Alastair replied.

“Getting on to Christmas.”

“Yeah.” Kerry perked up a little. “And close to Dar’s birthday.” She leaned forward. “You’re going to send her a card, right?”

A little chuckle came down the line. “Oh, I’m sure she’ll get a few of those. So, how are things there?”

Kerry sighed. “Slow going,” she admitted. “Dar’s been at it all day, and to be honest, what she’s doing looks like so much hex gibberish to me.”

Alastair sighed as well. “Kerrison, Dar’s been hex gibberish to 90

percent of this company for fifteen years, so don’t feel bad.” He paused.

“I’m getting a lot of pressure on this.”

“Mm.”

“It’s not that anyone doubts what we did, but I got a call from the JAG’s office today. They’re considering filing a reckless endangerment lawsuit against us.”

Kerry glared at the phone. “Those pissants.”

The CEO chuckled dryly.

“I mean it,” Kerry replied. “They know something’s wrong there, and they’re just covering their friends’ starched olive very drab butts.”

“Y’know, I think some of your shyness is disappearing,” Alastair commented. “Must be Dar rubbing off on you.”

“I’m not shy,” Kerry reminded him. “I told Dar to kiss my ass, remember?”

“And she certainly did tak—” Alastair stopped abruptly. “Good heavens! I beg your pardon, Ms. Stuart.”

Kerry blinked, also a little startled at the retort. “Uh, that’s okay,”

she told him. “I kind of opened myself up for that, didn’t I?”

Alastair chuckled. “I try to be good,” he said. “Anyway, as I said, I’m under a lot of pressure, here, Kerry.” He turned serious again.

“They want a meeting tomorrow in Washington. I’m going to have Hamilton get hold of that JAG officer and shake him up a little, but I’d really rather not go into the meeting, ah...”

“In nothing but your boxers?” Kerry asked.

“He wears briefs,” Dar’s voice burred. “White cotton ones.” She Red Sky At Morning 319

closed the door to Kerry’s office and walked over to the desk, hitching up the leg on her khaki cargo pants before she sat down on the edge.

“Hello, Alastair.”

“Ah. Hello, Dar,” the CEO replied. “Good to hear your voice.”

One of Dar’s dark brows lifted. “Why, you been listening to Eleanor again?”

“The Navy wants to sue us for reckless endangerment,” Kerry told her.

A chuckle. “Oh, really?” Dar leaned on her good arm and addressed the phone. “Who did a bunch of unarmed IS workers endanger, Alastair?”

“I don’t know. I’m having Ham handle it,” her boss said. “Listen, Dar, I know you’ve been on this all day, but what’s the word? Do we have something or not?”

“Alastair, this isn’t an Internet search,” Dar answered, a touch testily. “It’s a fifty-gigabyte drive array that I’m having to reconstruct in hex, sector by sector.”

There was a reverent silence following this pronouncement, as everyone gave the information its due respect.

“And?” Alastair asked briskly.

Dar sighed, and rubbed her eyes. “I’m not done,” she said. “But so far, so good.”

Kerry got up and walked around the desk. She put her arms around Dar and gave her a gentle hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You are so my hero,” she whispered in her lover’s ear. “Can I be you when I grow up?”

Dar blushed, her tanned skin darkening appreciably. “I can’t promise anything,” she muttered.

Alastair chortled. “Will you let me know tomorrow? They want me on the carpet first thing Friday morning in DC.”

“I said, I can’t promise anything,” Dar repeated. Alastair remained prudently silent. Kerry gazed confidently at her. Dar sighed. “I’ll call you tomorrow after lunch.”

“Right. Have a great night, Dar,” the CEO agreed. “Night, Kerrison; nice talking to you.”

Dar released the line and gave Kerry a look. “One of these days, I’m not going to be able to deliver him the River Nile in a coffee cup, and we’re going to be totally screwed.”

Kerry smiled and reached up to straighten the unruly dark locks.

“You look bushed, sweetie.”

“I am,” Dar admitted with a nod. She blinked, then rubbed her eyes again. “Ow.”

Kerry gently took hold of her jaw and tilted her head toward the office light. “Your eyes are all bloodshot,” she informed her lover.

“Hang on.” She went to her desk drawer and retrieved a bottle of eye drops, then came back. “Hold still.”

Dar patiently did as she was asked, watching the ceiling as Kerry 320 Melissa Good administered the treatment. She blinked as the liquid hit her eyes, stinging momentarily as her lover wiped off the excess with a fingertip.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Kerry capped the bottle. “These are designed for us, you know.” She examined the label. “Imagine, an entire product line based around the IS industry.”

Dar peeked at it. “Wonder if it’s any different from garden-variety Visine?” She rested her chin on Kerry’s shoulder.

“Probably not.” A smile. “But I felt so virtuous buying it in Office Depot, along with that gel wrist pad I got you and my new trackball.”

“Mm.” Dar straightened and stretched her back out. “You order dinner?”

“Yep.” Kerry looked up as her intercom buzzed. She reached around Dar’s body and hit the key. “Yes?”

“Ms. Stuart, this is Security at the front door. Did you order something?”

“Ooh. Nice timing,” Dar purred into Kerry’s conveniently close ear.

Kerry managed not to laugh. “Yes, thank you. I’ll be right down.”

She released the button and turned, not moving away from Dar, so that they ended up nose to nose. It was too easy not to just lean forward the additional inch, so Kerry did and they kissed.

It was a very pleasant, sensual jolt that followed, and Kerry found herself enjoying it a lot. It chased away the stress and exhaustion of the long day and made her smile, especially when she felt Dar doing the same. “You know.” She backed off a few inches. “I really like that.”

Dar merely smirked.

“Stay here. I’m going to get dinner,” Kerry said.

“No.” Dar patted her cheek gently. “Let me. I need to stretch my legs. That chair in Mark’s dungeon was made for a dwarf.” She got up off the desk and headed for the door before Kerry could disagree.

Kerry exhaled. “That crumb,” she commented to the empty room.

“She just conned me out of paying for dinner, didn’t she?”

DAR LEANED AGAINST the elevator wall, watching the numbers count down. As it was after hours, the annoying music that usually played in the contraption was turned off, and she could hear the hum and shush of the mechanism as it worked.

“You’re not even going to think about getting stuck in this thing, Roberts,” she told her reflection sternly.

The elevator seemed to hesitate, as though it was considering stopping. Dar glared at the panel and narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you even think about it,” she rumbled in a low growl. “I’ll take you apart and make you into a toaster.”

The chastened device obediently kept moving.

Dar smirked at her reflection, her upper body encased in a crimson Red Sky At Morning 321

short-sleeved shirt tucked into her cargo pants. She reached the bottom floor and the doors opened, allowing her to exit into the large empty lobby. She walked across the marble floor and past the fountain toward the security station, where she could see a guard talking to a man in casual clothing.

At her approach, the guard turned. “Oh. Ms. Roberts.” He blinked.

“I thought Ms. Stuart was picking this up.”

“Nope.” Dar gave the deliveryman a brief smile and handed him her credit card. He swiped it efficiently in a handheld device and offered the receipt to her for a signature. She reviewed the bill, added a tip, and signed it. “Thanks.”

She accepted the box of food, its spices already sneaking out and tickling her nose. “Back to the mines.”

The guard chuckled. “Good to have you back, Ms. Roberts. We missed you.”

Dar swiveled and regarded the man, whom she might have seen all of twice before. “Why?”

The man blinked at her. “Pardon me, ma’am?”

“Why the hell would anyone down here miss me?” Dar asked curiously. “Is there a rumor going around that I bring in doughnuts or something?”

The guard looked around, then took a few steps closer to her. “No, ma’am, but everyone knows that when you’re here, no matter what happens, we’re okay.”

Dar studied him in mild surprise. “Everyone knows that, huh?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Interesting.” Dar turned and made her way back to the elevator, supporting her tasty-smelling box with her good arm and balancing it with the other. She punched the button for the tenth floor and watched the doors close.

THEY ATE IN the ops center, with Dar leaning back in her uncomfortable chair, her feet propped up on the desk and her container of spicy chicken and rice nestled in her lap. Kerry was perched on a box of computer paper next to the desk, and Mark was sitting on an old mounting rack.

They were alone and it was quiet, the only activity around them in the operations control room itself just around the corner behind its secured door. At 8 PM, the office building was emptied of its staff and only the computer support group was left to tend the servers and provide support for the other offices around the world.

Mark selected a pea pod, turned it around so the small end faced him, and took a bite. “This reminds me of the old days, boss.”

Dar chuckled. “The bad old days, you mean.” She deftly used her chopsticks to transfer some chicken to her lips. “I spent so many damn 322 Melissa Good hours in this room.”

Kerry looked around. “This room?”

“This used to be Dar’s office,” Mark supplied, with a grin. “I remember whatshisface, that John whatever-his-name-was, that used to be the CIO. Remember when he came in here and saw this place the first time?”

Dar snorted. “Oh, yeah. Took one look at the posters on the wall and nearly laid a load in his pinstripes.” She looked around fondly at the small space, its walls at an odd angle due to the room’s position in the corner space. “Took one look at me and hauled ass right back to Houston to sign my termination papers.”

“Didn’t help you had your favorite uniform on,” Mark grinned.

“It was after hours,” Dar demurred. “I was going clubbing after work.”

Kerry had been watching them, her eyes moving from one to the other like she was at a particularly interesting volleyball match. “Was this during your rebellious phase?”

Dar waggled an eyebrow at her. “Definitely.” She took a sip of Thai coffee. “I had on biker boots with more chains dangling from them than you’d see in two days at the Westminster Kennel Club.”

Kerry covered her eyes as her shoulders shook.

“Mm-hmm. Those were nice,” Mark agreed. “I have a pair.” He chewed thoughtfully. “Without the chains. They get stuck in my gears.

But I think it was the muscle-T that spooked him worse.”

Dar chuckled and shook her head. “It’s a mystery why the hell I wasn’t fired that week. What was it that time, the mainframes in Troy?

That whole processing center went down, and they dragged me into it right before I was leaving. Damn, I was pissed,” she sighed ruefully.

“The bad old days. Things sure have changed.”

Mark looked up at his boss, who had removed her light jacket and was slouched in her chair in a short-sleeved top and cargo pants, with hiking boots parked on the desk’s surface. “Uh, yeah.” He tilted his head and studied her. “You make a lot less noise when you move now.”

Kerry almost snorted soup out of her nostrils as she burst into laughter. Mark started chuckling, too, at the expression on Dar’s face.

“Hey!” Dar gave them an injured look. “I did grow up, remember?”

“Sorry, Dar,” Mark apologized. “I know it’s a different world now, but I miss those days sometimes.” He looked contrite. “I didn’t really mean you look like a teenage punker anymore.”

“Mmph.” Dar appeared mollified. “Yeah, I do, too, sometimes,” she admitted. “Long days, but we had some good parties, didn’t we?”

Mark nodded, sucking on the end of his chopstick. “The night you guys were stuck in that hospital, we had the television in here. Sixteen of us crammed in here most of the night watching.”

Dar fell silent, concentrating on her container. Kerry watched her face for a moment, then picked up the conversational ball where it had Red Sky At Morning 323

fallen and rolled between her feet. “That was a pretty scary night,” she said. “I don’t remember a lot of it; the details are really blurry.”

“You had a concussion,” Dar stated quietly. “It’s probably best you don’t remember most of it.” She picked out more chicken bits and ate them. “Just a lot of smoke, and loud noises, and heat.”

They ate in silence for a moment. “Were you scared, boss?” Mark asked suddenly.

“You bet your ass I was,” Dar replied without hesitation. “Anyone with half a brain cell would have been.” She glanced up at him. “Why?”

He shrugged. “Just curious. I know I was scared pissless just watching the coverage,” he replied. “You guys pretty much just got to that room, then busted out, though, right?”

“Right.”

“No.”

Dar looked at Kerry, who had replied negatively. One eyebrow lifted. “No?”

“Well...” Kerry leaned her head back against the wall, “I remember the explosion.” She looked off into the distance. “I remember waking up and hurting.”

“Dislocated shoulder, right?” Mark commented.

“Yeah,” Kerry nodded. “Dar put that back all right, then we had to crawl out of where we were and through this little tunnel.” She looked at Dar, who was busily decimating her chicken and studiously avoiding everyone’s gaze. “It collapsed on us, and we almost died.”

Mark stared at her. “No shit?”

Dar looked up. “Thought you didn’t remember details,” she remarked wryly.

“I just remembered that,” Kerry murmured. “Jesus Christ, Dar. You saved us.” She stared at her lover in bemusement. “How in the hell could I have forgotten that?”

The pause was awkward this time. Mark cleared his throat. “Shit like that happens with concussions, I guess. That’s what I’ve always heard.”

Kerry felt her arm hairs lift as the memory cleared and she pictured the image of that tiny space with its smell of concrete dust and their sweat and blood as the wall pressed in on them. She could almost feel the labored heaving of Dar’s back under her weight as her lover struggled to breathe and the sudden, distinct surge as her body had arched, ready to break them out of their prison.

And in that moment, Kerry remembered with eerie clarity now, she’d had no shred of doubt that Dar would do just that. “Yeah,” she agreed with Mark’s comment. “I guess it does. Glad I finally shook that memory loose, though,” she said with a conscious lightening of her tone, on seeing the tenseness in Dar’s shoulders. “Anyway, it was an experience I never want to repeat. I was never so glad of anything as I was to put my feet on the ground after they rescued us.”

324 Melissa Good

“I bet,” Mark chuckled, getting up from his seat. “Hey, I’m going to grab a Coke, want one?”

“Sure,” Kerry agreed. “Dar?”

Dar nodded. “Sure.”

Mark slipped out the door, leaving so quickly it almost seemed like an escape.

Kerry waited a moment, then stood up and walked over to where Dar was seated. “Hey.”

Dar looked up at her from under dark brows and slightly shaggy bangs.

Kerry knelt. “He’s not very subtle, is he?”

It was the right approach. Dar’s lips tensed, then curled into a wry smile. “No,” she drawled softly. “He’s not.” She put her food container on the desk and rested her chopsticks on top of it. Then she leaned on her chair arm and gave her lover her undivided attention. “So.”

“You didn’t tell me about that.” Kerry put a hand on Dar’s arm and rubbed her thumb against the skin of it. “You told me about the wall, and the window, and the children, but not that. Why?”

Dark eyelashes fluttered closed over Dar’s eyes. “Maybe I didn’t want to remember it,” she said.

Kerry thought about that as she watched Dar’s face. “Okay.” She leaned forward and brushed her lips against her lover’s. “I can buy that,” she readily agreed, saving her thoughts for a later time. “But thanks.”

“Anytime,” Dar replied with a smile. “Now go back and finish your dinner so Mark can skulk back in here safely.”

Kerry stuck out the tip of her tongue, but got up and resumed her perch. “What’s the next step,” she consciously raised her voice a little,

“on the data restoral?”

Dar laughed silently. “Once I finish the structural rebuilding, we have to run data patterns to make sure the damn thing actually works and I didn’t put a piece back in wrong.”

Like a genie, Mark appeared in the doorway, carrying three cans of soda. “Hi.” He gave them a cheerful look. “I’m back.” He handed around the cans. “Damn AC’s going goofy again, Ker. I think they need to change those filters.”

Kerry sniffed. The air held a distinctly musty scent. “Son of a— ”

She sighed. “What is that, the fourth time this year? Where did they get the AC plant for this building, Dar, Sam’s Club?”

Dar sighed. “You can’t lay that one on my doorstep.” She resumed eating her chicken. “One of Alastair’s fishing buddies’ long-lost fourth cousins twice removed got the contract on this building, and I’ve had nothing but trouble with it since we moved in.”

Mark shifted. “You thinking of going somewhere else when the lease is up? I heard rumors.”

“Maybe,” Dar admitted. “I’ve got a couple of proposals on my Red Sky At Morning 325

desk. West Broward’s got the best one, and they’re promising me everything, including a private elevator and my own alligator.”

“With a view of the Everglades?” Kerry teased. “I thought you liked the one you have.”

“Gotta be a down side,” Dar admitted. “And yeah, I do, but I’d be willing to give it up for someplace I don’t have to have maintenance on three days a week.”

“West Broward? I like it,” Mark approved.

Kerry pointed a chopstick at him. “You live there.”

“Gotta catch a break sometime.”

“Maybe the rest of us don’t like dodging possums on the way to work.”

Dar rolled her eyes. “Can we wait until I pick a spot to start this debate?”

DAR PEERED AT the screen and studied the algorithm. “Okay.”

She typed in a command and viewed the results. “I think that does it.”

Kerry leaned on the back of her boss’s chair and looked. “It’s done?”

“Yeah.” Dar rubbed her eyes wearily. “What time is it?”

“Two,” Kerry supplied, shifting as she reached around and started a gentle massage of Dar’s shoulders. She’d tried to get her lover to quit for the night some four or five hours before, but had no luck. “Dar, your neck feels like a suspension bridge.”

“I bet.” Everything ached. Dar wished she could sneak in another round of painkillers, but it had only been two hours since the last set, and her stomach was already queasy from the medication. The throbbing in her arm was so bad she almost couldn’t feel the pressure from Kerry’s hands, though the warmth was definitely noticeable through the fabric of her shirt. “Mark!”

“Yeah?” Mark stuck his head around the corner. “I’ve got the links set up here. Hang on. You done?” He came into the room dragging several large cables behind him. “You wanted a patch directly into the big box, right?”

The IBM mainframe ran a custom program designed by Dar herself and was isolated from the rest of ILS’s giant network. It could analyze the structure of a database design and take it to pieces; she’d used it on many occasions to locate not only holes in a newly acquired company’s databases, but also hidden defects that could cause problems during integration.

“Right,” Dar murmured. “I think I got it back together.”

Mark cocked his head. “You think?”

She shrugged. “Far as I can tell.” In truth, her eyes would no longer focus on the screen, and she’d been going by instinct for the last little while. “Let’s find out.”

326 Melissa Good Mark and Kerry exchanged glances. “Now?” the MIS manager queried. “It can wait ’til the morning, boss.”

Eyes closed, Dar merely shook her head. “Not with Alastair booked on a flight at 1:00,” she disagreed. “If we don’t have anything, we need time to get our asses covered.”

Another exchange of glances. “Well, it’ll take me a little while to get all the connections secure and the ports configured,” Mark temporized. “You wanna to take a break for a few minutes?”

“Sounds good,” Kerry agreed quickly. “How about a cup of hot chocolate?” She tweaked Dar’s ear. “I’ve got a tin of dark Godiva upstairs.”

Hmm. Dar didn’t feel like resisting the offer. “Okay.” She slowly got up and stretched, wincing at the audible pops. “Jesus, I’m getting too old for this.”

Kerry rolled her eyes out of Dar’s range of vision. “C’mon, grandma. I’ll race you up the stairs.” She put a hand on Dar’s back and gave her a gentle shove toward the door. They ended up, however, at the elevator, which was obediently standing open awaiting them. “Ah, our chariot,” Kerry remarked. “Unless you’d really rather walk.”

“Nah.” Dar ambled inside and pressed the button for the fourteenth floor. She leaned against the wall while the elevator rose, then followed Kerry out as the doors reopened. “Wish it was this quiet all the time.” She glanced around at the dim corridor, empty of even the cleaning staff by this time. “I think they vacuumed up here tonight.”

Kerry wrinkled her nose at the scent of carpet dust mites clawing through the air. “Yum. Remind me to talk to the cleaners about using HEPA filters in those damn machines, will you?” As though in retaliation, her body expressed its displeasure in a sudden sneeze.

“Yeesh. Listen, go on over to your place. I’ll make up the hot chocolate and bring it over, okay?”

“Okay,” Dar agreed quietly, turning to her left and heading toward her office while Kerry turned to the right. She swiped her keycard in the outside lock and pushed the door open, then continued on through her outer office and into her inner one.

It was very quiet inside. Her PC was turned off and just the wall rim lighting was on, leaving the office mostly in starlight. Dar stood inside the door, then glanced to her right and decided the couch looked pretty good. She dropped onto it, then swung her legs up and lay down, stretching her body out fully with a sense of weary relief.

It was a good choice. The cool leather warmed to skin quickly, and she let out a soft groan now that she was alone and didn’t have to put on a good front for the troops. It wasn’t as comfortable as her couch at home, but it was a damn sight better than that office chair, and the cool quiet of her surroundings soothed the ragged edges of her temper.

After three days of lazing around at home, you’d think I’d have more Red Sky At Morning 327

energy than this. Dar scowled up at the ceiling. She hadn’t slept so much since the last time she’d broken her leg and they’d given her Percodan for the pain. All right, so it was two in the morning and they’d been here since seven, but so what? Used to be she could do thirty-six or forty-eight hours running and not feel this worn out.

Yeah. Dar had to laugh at herself. Back in the days when you used to live on Jolt and Hershey bars and you never went home because there was nothing there to go home to. She gazed out the window at the stars.

Isn’t it nicer now that you’re a grownup with a life?

And someone to share it with?

She never even heard Kerry come in. The touch on her arm startled her, and her eyes popped open to see her lover crouched next to her, holding a steaming cup in one hand. “Oh. Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Kerry put the cup down on the end table and smiled. “I almost didn’t wake you up.”

Dar gave her a puzzled look. “I wasn’t sleeping,” she protested.

“Was I?” She rolled up onto one elbow and captured the mug, taking a sip of the sweet chocolate. “Mm.”

Kerry patted her arm. “Well, you were giving a pretty good impression that you were. Maybe you were just resting your eyes, hmm?” Her lips quirked.

Dar’s quirked back. “No, I was sleeping,” she admitted. “My head’s killing me. I should just pack it in and go home, but I really want to see what we’ve got in this thing.” She took another sip, then set the mug down, licking her lips appreciatively.

“I know,” Kerry said. “Tell you what, why not just sack out here while Mark does his thing? A nap couldn’t hurt you, could it?” she suggested.

Dar studied her as a slow smile edged its way across her face. “You know something, Stuart?”

Kerry blinked at the address. “Uh...what?”

“You’re a pretty damn good Ops VP.”

Confusion colored Kerry’s expression. “Um, thanks,” she replied hesitantly. “What got me that compliment?”

“Your engineering of a very slick maneuver that ended up with my ass on this couch.”

Kerry pointed a finger at her own chest. “Me?” Her green eyes widened innocently.

Dar smiled. “Don’t give me that sweet Midwesterner routine, short stuff.” She extended a hand lazily and gave her lover a poke in the belly. “Yes, you.”

Kerry’s smile went from innocent to seductively triumphant.

“Yeah, that was pretty slick, huh?” she chortled softly. “But I wasn’t lying. There’s the chocolate to prove it,” she pointed. “I just know you.”

“Mm.” Dar wriggled into a more comfortable position and sighed.

“Yes, you do.” She closed her eyes. “Don’t try to lengthen this by 328 Melissa Good running a redundant loopback test on those ports, okay? Just wake me up when we’re ready.”

Kerry’s eyes twinkled gently. “You got it, boss.” She got up and took a seat in the chair next to the couch, cradling her own mug in her hands. Mark would take, she knew, about an hour to get things ready, regardless of how long it actually took to connect the systems together.

By then, maybe the nap would help, and Dar would be able to take a few more aspirin. Kerry sighed. She didn’t like it. She wished they were home, but she knew how important this was to Dar, and pushing her to slack off wouldn’t be either appreciated or heeded at this point.

She just hoped the results were worth it.

“IS THAT IT?” Kerry watched the monitor. “It’s all ready?”

Mark pulled his head out from under the console and grunted.

“Yeah,” he agreed tiredly. “You know what, Ker? I think I’m the one who’s getting too old for this crap. I used to be able to do all-nighters.

Not anymore.”

The blonde woman chuckled wryly. “Yeah, me too.” She leaned against the machine. “I hope this is worth it, or it’s going to be one very long day tomorrow.”

He nodded. “Yeah, but you know we won’t really know for a few hours, right? The first run will just tell us if Dar managed to pull something out of that mess intact. It’ll take the program about five, six hours to parse through everything and spit out a report.”

Kerry stared at the screen. “What do you think?”

Mark fiddled with his pen, then shrugged. “Hard to say. If anyone could, it’d be Dar, but I think she was fighting this one.” He glanced at Kerry. “That knock on the head still bugging her?”

“A little,” Kerry admitted. “I think it’s a little of everything. She’s stuck between everything hurting and not wanting to take the pills for it because they knock her out,” she said. “Just being in pain exhausts you.”

“Well, the first stage’ll just take a little while,” Mark said. “Ten minutes, maybe.”

“Ah.” Kerry hadn’t known that. “Good,” she nodded. “Then we can all go home after we start the run, right?” Nap or no nap, Dar needed to go home and rest. Hell, Kerry rubbed the back of her neck, I need to go home and rest. I’m bushed.

Mark sat down on the desk. “Well, theoretically, yeah,” he agreed.

“But I dunno, Ker. This whole project’s got my heebie-jeebie meter spiking to max. I don’t want to leave this thing running by itself. I’ll stay here and watch it.” He glanced around. “I keep expecting some dude dressed in black camo to come out of the walls and zap me.”

The darkened building was a little spooky, Kerry had to agree.

What if the people whom they suspected figured out they might have Red Sky At Morning 329

kept some information? Would they try to get at them? All sorts of wild scenarios started to play out in Kerry’s mind. What if they really were smugglers? What if they were connected with someone really bad, like the Colombians?

“Kerry?” Mark leaned forward and waved his hand in front of her eyes. “Yoo-hoo.”

“Huh?” She blinked. “No, I was just thinking. What if you’re right?

What if these people do try something? It’s not like we’re set up for airtight security around here.”

“You think they will?” Mark asked nervously. “For real?”

“They were shooting for real back there,” Kerry stated. “I don’t know.” They stared at each other uneasily.

The floor creaked outside, making them both jump. “Shit,” Mark squeaked. “Shut the door!”

Kerry felt her heart rate double and she turned, realizing that the door opened outward and she’d have to go out into the corridor to pull it shut. “I think we’re letting our imaginations get out of hand,” she stated, “but maybe that’s not a bad idea.” She edged toward the door, peering out into the darkened area beyond. “No one could get in the com center, right?”

“Uh...” Mark’s nostrils flared. “Not like your average Joe Delivery Boy, no, but I’m sure the military has all kinds of crap to get around our security.”

Kerry paused in the doorway, looking out. It was silent, desks and chairs crouching dumbly in the gloom. Nothing moved. Kerry suddenly became aware of a dark, looming object near the ops center door she didn’t remember being there earlier. She stared at it.

Was that breathing she heard, or was it just the AC? She took a step out, and her eyes seemed to detect a motion from the still object.

“Mark,” Kerry tried hard to keep her voice steady, “come here.” She reached for the doorknob and heard a creak. A hand touched her back and she yelped, then scrambled for the door.

Suddenly, the entire ops center came alive in a shocking blast of fluorescent light. Kerry slammed herself backward, knocking Mark flat on his ass behind her, and swung the door shut with startling violence.

She threw the deadbolt on the door and got back away from it, not trusting even the reinforced steel. “Shit.”

Mark had crawled out of her way and ducked behind the desk.

“You know, they never mentioned this in MIS 101,” he muttered. “Let’s call the cops.”

“Good idea.” Kerry joined him behind the desk and pulled out her cell phone.

They heard a sound on the other side of the door and froze, staring in horror at the lock.

It started to turn, a low rasping sound that ended in a distinct, harsh click as the bolt retracted.

330 Melissa Good The door opened. They ducked behind the desk. A voice split the silence.

“What in the hell are you two doing?”

Kerry lifted her head and peeked over the desk, her body almost dissolving in relief as she recognized the powerful tones. “Oh.” She managed a wan smile at her lover. “Hi, Dar.”

Mark started laughing in nervous relief. “Shit.”

Dar entered the room and pushed the door open, crossing over to them and taking a seat on the desk. “Do I want to know what just happened?”

Kerry got up and dusted herself off. “Overactive imaginations,” she admitted with a sheepish grin. “We started wondering if...well, anyway, there was a noise outside, and I looked, and I saw something I didn’t recognize...” She walked to the doorway and peeked out cautiously.

“Ah.” Her eyes found her threatening intruder, now masquerading as an innocent, if covered overhead projector nestled in the corner. “Sorry.

I was about to come wake you up.”

“Mm.” Dar was amused. She watched Mark stand up and brush himself off. “If we’re done playing Miami Vice, can we run the test now?” She’d woken a short time earlier and had spent a few moments splashing water on her face in the bathroom, resulting in a state of reasonable alertness.

Mark blushed, then started up the interface. “All yours, boss.” He rubbed his butt cautiously. “Damn, you’ve got a hearty forward block on you there, Kerry. Ever think of trying rugby?”

Kerry just laughed. “Sorry. I just wanted to get the door closed.”

Dar stepped around the desk and sat down, flexing her hands a little before she accessed the program files and started the analysis running. She reviewed her command line, then hit enter and folded her hands together calmly, watching the screen.

Not much was going on. A little asterisk in the corner spun. Lights on the black box indicated it was being accessed by the mainframe.

“How long should this take?” Kerry asked quietly.

“Depends,” Dar said. “It’s a fairly complicated structure.” She watched the screen tensely. “A lot of things could have gone wrong.

One glitch in the line during transfer and the entire matrix can get thrown off. Without every key in place, the whole thing—” Dar stopped and stared at the console, which was now blinking a result at her.

“Damn.”

Structure Valid.

Mark let out a whoop. “Hot damn is right.” He slapped the desk, making both of them jump a little. “Boss, you rock!”

Dar was frankly very surprised. She cocked her head at the screen as though not quite believing what it said. Given the complexity and her own state of scattered concentration, she’d had her doubts as to whether she’d gotten all the sequencing right. It had seemed more and more Red Sky At Morning 331

likely, as the night wore on and she’d had to redo her actions more frequently, that she’d made a mistake and would have to start all over again. In fact, she’d been pretty damn sure of it.

Well, apparently she wasn’t as decrepit as she’d imagined. “That’s good news,” she remarked calmly. “Now the hard part starts.” She rapped her head with her knuckles, then assembled what she wanted to do and typed in a second command to her system. “Go.”

The asterisk returned, but this time Dar slumped back in her chair and relaxed.

“Now we wait, right?” Kerry perched on the corner of the desk. “To see if we have anything.”

“Right,” Dar agreed. “We wait.” She paused and looked around the office. “Listen, no sense in all of us sticking around.”

“No,” Kerry agreed. “Mark said he’d stay and watch.”

Dar had opened her mouth to continue and now she closed it, giving them both a dour look, realizing she’d been outflanked. “If I didn’t know better, I’d suspect I’m being coddled.”

“Nope,” Mark jumped in. “I figured once this sucker runs and barfs up the results, you’re the one who gets to figure out what it means,” he said. “So the least I could do is watch the pretty lights flash for ya.”

Dar looked at him, then at Kerry, who looked back at her with a gentle smile. “Okay.” She dropped her hands onto the chair arms and pushed herself to her feet. “C’mon, Kerry, let’s get a couple hours’

sleep.” She turned toward Mark. “Want me to double lock the doors?”

she teased with a rakish grin. “I think I heard some phantom chicken men outside.”

Mark cleared his throat. “Nah, I’m fine. G’wan.”

Dar nodded. “Thanks.” She lifted a hand in a half wave. “Call me if anything doesn’t look like it’s going right.”

“Will do.” Mark settled in the chair Dar had just vacated, and leaned back. The door closed behind them, leaving him in peaceful silence.

BEING HOME FELT good. Kerry scrubbed her teeth industriously, turning as she felt a warm body nearby. “Hfero, Chirf,” she greeted her pet, who was standing up on her hind legs, peering into the mirror with Kerry.

“Argorf,” Chino barked, very glad to have her family home.

“What are you guys doing?” Dar wandered into the bathroom behind her and snuggled up, putting her arms around Kerry’s stomach.

“Giving her pointers, Chino?”

Kerry spit out her mouthful of toothpaste. “No, she’s showing me you didn’t quite get all the blackberry sauce off her face.” She pointed at the mirror. “How on earth did she get into the refrigerator, Dar?”

“Opposable paws.” Dar picked up one of the Labrador’s feet and 332 Melissa Good examined it, getting a kiss for her pains. “Glad you didn’t leave that container of pasta sauce on the bottom shelf.” They’d come home to find purplish blobs everywhere and a suspiciously meek-looking dog trying very hard to appear innocent with a face covered in jam.

“Bad girl,” Kerry scolded their pet. Chino cupped her ears and folded them downward in an expression only a Labrador could come up with, looking soulfully at Kerry all the while. “Ooh...you think you have me so fooled, don’cha?” She had to laugh at the hopeful tail wag.

“Spoiled brat.”

Dar chuckled and rested her chin on the top of Kerry’s head, hugging her and swaying a little. “Mm...bedtime for nerds?”

Kerry spent a moment just absorbing how wonderful it felt to have Dar hugging her. Then she turned around in her lover’s arms and the sensation trebled as she slid closer and returned the hug. “Mm.” She took a breath filled with the scent of clean cotton and Dar’s distinctive smell. “Definitely bedtime for nerds.” She took a step forward and guided Dar toward the waterbed, tumbling onto it with a sense of exquisite relief.

Dar immediately curled around her, capturing her in a net of long arms and longer legs, creating a warm nest she snuggled into, letting out a pleased murmur of contentment.

Dar reached over and turned the light off, ignoring the clock, which reminded her it was after four. Then she resettled her arm over Kerry, who squiggled closer and sighed, warming Dar’s chest with a minty scented breath. The still-nagging aches faded, and she closed her eyes as her body relaxed at last.

What would the analysis come up with? she wondered drowsily. She’d thrown the dice on capturing the data she had, hoping it would deliver to her the mechanism they’d been using to move around the funds that she’d seen in the accounts. But what if it didn’t? Dar felt Kerry’s breathing even out and slow, becoming deep and regular as her partner fell asleep. Curiously, she found herself unconsciously trying to match it.

She thought about that for a moment, then returned her attention to their problem. Or at least, that’s what she’d intended to do. But sleep snuck up on her, ambushing her best intentions and taking her out before she could form another thought.