Red Sky at Morning

Chapter

Four

DAR WOKE JUST before the alarm went off and silenced it before it had a chance to ring. It was still dark outside, and by the scant starlight coming in the window, she could just barely make out Kerry’s features, peaceful in sleep.

For a moment, Dar debated not waking her up. They’d meant to go to bed early, since she knew she had to leave for the base first thing, but somehow they’d ended up watching a Croc Hunter special, and before she knew it, two AM was staring them in the face.

Whoops. Dar rubbed her eyes, wishing she could close them and go back to sleep.

The movement, however, woke Kerry, and she gazed up at her with half-opened eyes, a smile sketching its way across her face. “Can I come with you?” she said.

Dar spoke at the same time. “You want to come with me today?”

They both stopped and blinked.

“Wow,” Kerry remarked mildly. “The invisible psychic fiber hub’s up and passing packets, huh?”

A laugh escaped from Dar. “I guess.” She rolled over onto her back and stretched. “I was just thinking I’d like to have an outside opinion while I go through there. I know I’m biased.” Was that just an excuse to have Kerry along, though? Dar examined the thought carefully and decided it could go either way, but the fact that she wasn’t impartial was incontrovertible.

Kerry reviewed her schedule. “Well, I’ve got a marketing meeting I can reschedule, two conference calls that are just follow-up, and some small odds and ends. Yeah, I can clear my day,” she decided. “And, come to think of it, since you’re going to be allocating my resources right and left to Uncle Sam, I think I’d better be there to see how much trouble you’re going to get me into.”

Dar turned her head and regarded the dimly visible profile in amusement, remembering the agony Kerry had gone through not so very long ago and wondering if she was qualified to do the job Dar was asking her to. Since her promotion, Kerry had blossomed into the position, exceeding even Dar’s admittedly biased but high expectations for her. She felt briefly like a mother bird watching its offspring soar 64 Melissa Good proudly. “You don’t seriously think I’d overextend you, do you?”

A soft chuckle came out of the darkness. “No. C’mon, Dar. You know our systems and infrastructure better than anyone else, including me. I was just kidding.”

“Mm. You’re pretty close,” Dar told her. “I’d say, if I had to judge both of us, you’re doing a better job than I was as VP.”

There was absolute dead silence from the other side of the waterbed for several long heartbeats. “I think my brain just exploded,”

Kerry finally spluttered.

“Good thing this is a waterbed, then.” Dar rolled up out of it and stood. “C’mon. I know I need the run this morning or I’m not going to be awake enough to drive south.”

“Start the coffee. I’ll just suck up my neurons and be right with you.”

“You’ve got it,” Dar agreed before heading out of the bedroom and through the living room with Chino frisking at her heels. She opened the back door for the dog, then started the coffee running. By the time she turned around, a sleepy Kerry was trudging into the kitchen. “That was quick...use the vacuum?”

“Sucked them up with a straw.” Kerry pulled open the refrigerator and removed a jug full of juice, sloshing it around a few times before she popped the top open and poured herself a large glass full. “Can we stop talking about brains while I drink this? It’s got pulp in it.”

Dar slid both arms around her and rested her cheek against Kerry’s head. “Sure.” She listened to the soft, distinct sounds of swallowing as their bodies touched through two thin layers of cotton and swore she could feel the cold juice as it traveled into Kerry’s stomach, under where her hands were resting. She rubbed the spot, and Kerry gurgled as a chuckle interfered with her drinking. “Ah ah ah...don’t you dare bring that in here.”

Kerry glanced over to see Chino in the doorway, a big stick in her mouth and a guilty expression on her face. “Honey, where’s your toy?

Where’s Hippo? Play with that instead, okay?”

Chino dropped her find immediately and dashed off, to return with a stuffed fleecy animal in the vague shape of a hippopotamus. “Growf.”

She dropped it expectantly at Kerry’s feet.

“Oh. So now I guess you expect me to play with you?” Kerry put the glass on the counter and her hands on her hips. “How about you running with me and mommy Dar, hmm? That should tire you out.” She reached behind her and patted Dar’s thigh. “I’ll get your gear, if you fix the coffee.”

Dar released her. “Go for it.” She nudged Kerry toward the door and busied herself in pouring.

AS LUCK WOULD have it, they hit rain halfway to the base.

“Figures.” Dar drummed the fingers of her right hand on the padded Red Sky At Morning 65

console next to her. “Hope you like mud.”

Kerry looked up from her laptop, which she’d been busy working on. “Mud?” She regarded her pristine, nicely starched white shirt. “You did tell me not to wear this, didn’t you?” Her eyes studied the wash of heavy rain hitting the windshield, then a smile appeared. “But you know, this reminds me of the first time I rode in your car.”

Dar’s lips twisted into a wry smile. “I’m sure that’s not one of your fondest memories.”

“Au contraire,” Kerry objected. “It most certainly is, Dar. That was the start of everything; that was one of the biggest turning points in my life. You know that.”

It was quiet except for the rattle of Kerry’s keyboard for a little while, as Dar indulged herself in memories as she drove. “You know what I remember the most from that night?” she commented, after about fifteen minutes.

“Huh?” Kerry looked at her. “Oh, no. What?”

“Getting home, sitting down on the couch, and not being able to stop thinking about you.”

Kerry tilted her head back and smiled. “Oh yeah.” She sighed. “If you’ll remember, I sent you an e-mail at one AM. I hate to tell you, because I know you’ll laugh, but I slept in your sweatshirt that night,”

she admitted.

Dar did, in fact, laugh. “Did you?”

“Yeah. I really liked the way it smelled.” Kerry leaned over and sniffed Dar’s shoulder, emitting a low hum of approval. “I’m not sure I remember what BS I fed myself to explain that.” She paused. “Actually, I don’t think I even bothered trying.”

“I woke up the next morning, hired you, then conked out with the laptop sitting on my chest,” Dar recalled. “I got your mail asking about the clothing and answered it before I was actually awake.”

“Ah. That explains the shopping,” Kerry teased. “You have no idea how nervous I was waiting for you in the mall.”

“I was pretty rattled, too,” her lover murmured, steering carefully around a large puddle. “I’m not exactly a social butterfly.”

Kerry nodded. “I know. You were fidgeting during dinner.” She remembered watching Dar’s long fingers play restlessly with the table tents. “But I felt really comfortable being with you,” she added.

“Especially after you shared your dessert with me.”

Dar laughed. “Oh, so that was the big icebreaker, huh? I should have known.”

Kerry shook a finger at her. “Now that I know you the way I do, I know you sharing a plate with someone is a big deal, Dar, not to mention you actually gave me a bite of your dinner.”

“Mm.” Dar’s face took on a curious expression. “I should have realized right then.” She slowed the car. “Okay, hang on. Here we go.”

Kerry closed her laptop and tucked it into her briefcase as they 66 Melissa Good turned into the base, the road blocked by gates and an impressive set of armed guards. “Dar, that man has no neck.”

“Don’t start me on inter-service jokes, okay?” Dar muttered as she pulled the Lexus forward. “Damn place hasn’t changed much.” She waited for the car ahead of her to be admitted, then drove on.

“I don’t think the military is known for being avant-garde, hon.”

Kerry watched with interest as Dar rolled down the window and slipped on her attitude like a pair of sunglasses.

“I have an appointment with Commander Albert,” Dar stated in a crisp, no-nonsense tone as she handed over her identification badge.

The guard studied the badge, then studied Dar as though comparing the picture. Then he consulted a plastic-covered clipboard.

His eyes lifted, and he peered into the Lexus. “Commander Albert is expecting one person, ma’am.”

“Lucky him, he gets two,” Dar replied. “This is my associate, Kerrison Stuart.” She offered him Kerry’s badge, which the blonde woman had helpfully passed over.

“I don’t have clearance for her, ma’am,” the guard said.

By sheer will, Dar kept herself from smirking. “Then I guess we’ll be blocking your gate until you get it or turning around and going back to Miami and billing you for our time,” she said. “What’s your name again? Williams, is it?”

“Ma’am, this is a secure base, and we don’t give people clearance just because they show up at the gate,” the guard replied stiffly. “I think you need to understand.”

“Son,” Dar leaned on the doorframe, “I used to eat breakfast every day with someone a lot scarier than you, so put your attitude up in your side pocket and either let me in or tell me you won’t, and I’ll do what I need to do.”

The man stared at her for a moment, then retreated into his hut. Dar leaned back and crossed her arms, shaking her head slightly. “Some things just really never change,” she sighed.

“I don’t think I can quite picture you doing this, Dar,” Kerry observed. “Though you’d look really cute in those uniforms.” She fell silent as the guard returned, a look on his face that made her think he’d been sucking key limes in the interim.

“These are your passes, ma’am.” He handed their identification cards back to Dar, along with two clip-on badges. “Wear them at all times when you’re on the base.”

“All right.” Dar took one, and gave Kerry hers. “Thanks.”

“Commander Albert is in the Huntingdon building. Drive straight through the gates here, turn left, turn right, turn left, second stop on the right.” He opened the gate, and ducked his head in a semirespectful salute.

Dar finished putting her badge on. “That’s the long way,” she gave him a grim smile, “but thanks.”

Red Sky At Morning 67

Kerry waved at the guard. “Dosvidanya,” she told him cheerfully as Dar drove past. Then she settled back into her seat and looked around curiously as they made their way along a rather weather-beaten road. It was so different than she’d expected, Kerry mused, taking in the long rows of sturdy, plain concrete buildings. Everything was neatly kept, and there were columns of men and women doing various military type things—like running and chanting, drilling in a nearby field—and some were just walking about.

To one side, through a stretch of tall trees, she spotted a large cluster of small houses. She glanced at Dar and saw her lover’s eyes on them as well, a curious mix of regret and nostalgia on her face. “Was that home?”

“Yeah.” Dar gave her head a little shake and returned her attention to the road. “Wasn’t much. I think my room was the size of the back of this car.” She fell silent for a beat. “I spent my first...five, six years here, I guess; then we moved up to Virginia. Year or two after that to North Carolina, two years later to Baton Rouge, then we came back here for a while.”

“Sort of tough on you, moving to different schools all the time, hmm?” Kerry half turned in her seat, watching Dar’s profile. “Making new friends and all.”

Dar laughed shortly. “That was the least of my worries.” She turned down a side street. “I never bothered much with friends.” She parked the Lexus and turned her head. “You ready for this?”

“Me?” Kerry allowed an easy laugh to escape. “Dar, you forget how I grew up. It would take more than a bunch of hunky sailors and Marines to spook me.” She put a hand on Dar’s arm. “Thanks for asking me to come along, though. I’m glad I’m here.”

Dar smiled. “Me, too.” She gathered up her briefcase and opened the door. “C’mon. Let’s go see what trouble we can get into.”

Kerry followed her as they walked along the sidewalk and turned in to go up a short flight of steps to a guarded doorway. She tried again to imagine Dar as one of these stern, earnest, professional warriors.

Ow. It made her brain hurt. She gave the guard a smile and passed through the portal to another world.

DAR’S NOSE TWITCHED as she walked along the hallway, memories gently buffeting her from all sides. The air was thick with familiar scents: wool and brass and wood polish, and floor wax she knew came in gray five-gallon cans. The merest hint of gun oil trickled through, tickling her senses and bringing a faint smile to her face.

It was quiet as they passed closed doorways, the faint clatter of honest-to-goodness typewriters leaking through but not much more.

Kerry gave her a look. “Multipart forms,” Dar murmured. “Eight layers at least, sometimes ten.”

68 Melissa Good

“Ew.” Kerry winced. “They ever consider donating part of the government’s operating budget to saving the rainforests?”

“Mm.” Dar led the way up a flight of double stairs that swept up to a landing, with a door guarded by an armed Marine. “I tried to convince them to go thermal, but they held onto those Selectrics like they were worth actual money and wouldn’t give them up.” She gave the Marine a brisk nod and turned past him into a smaller, closer hallway with doors on either side.

“Dar?” Kerry watched her bemusedly. “When was the last time you were here?”

Dar thought about it. “Jesus...has it been ten years?” She shook her head and took a left, then put a hand on the first right-hand door and pulled it open. “I can’t believe it.”

Kerry glanced at the doorplate, which said “Computer Operations—Do Not Enter.”

“You’re telling me they haven’t moved anything in ten years?”

Dar looked at the plate, then at her. “Ten years? Kerry, there are some government offices that haven’t changed in over two hundred.

C’mon.” She followed her lover into a suite of offices that had a darker shade of carpet and colder air.

Now it was Kerry’s turn to twitch her nose. “That’s not mimeograph fluid I smell, is it?”

Dar chuckled, walking past her toward an office with a thick wooden doorframe and a scarred wooden door.

Perched outside it was a small desk, occupied by a dour-looking woman with curly dark hair and an attitude three times larger than she was. She intercepted them as they walked forward. “Ms. Roberts?”

Dar regarded her soberly. “Yes.”

“Commander Albert is in a meeting. He asked me to fill in for him,”

the woman stated flatly. “My name is Perkins, and I’m the data center manager.” She stood up. “We have a full schedule, so if you’d like to give me a list of what you want, I’ll see what I can do.”

Dar flicked her eyes over the much shorter woman, then simply walked past her, heading down a small corridor toward a set of double doors.

“Ma’am?” The data center manager bolted after her. “Ma’am, that area’s off limits.”

Dar just kept walking, stiff-arming the doors open and letting them close behind her, almost slapping her pursuer in the face. Kerry sighed and followed, catching one door as their naval guide blasted through them. Inside was a large room filled with mainframes, some of which, she realized, were perilously close to being an older vintage than she was.

“Ms. Roberts, I need to ask you to leave, or I’ll have to call the guard,” the data center manager stated fiercely.

“Go ahead.” Dar turned abruptly and faced her, showing her edgier Red Sky At Morning 69

side. “You call the guard, I call the Pentagon.” She took out her cell phone and opened it. “Because frankly, Lieutenant, I’ve had about enough BS for one morning, and I just got here.”

“This is a secure area,” Perkins shot back. “You are a civilian, and this is off limits; I don’t care how many generals you know.” Pause.

“Ma’am.”

“Look.” Kerry eased between them. “Lieutenant Perkins, I know this is seriously messing up your day.” She smiled kindly at her. “And I know that Commander Albert probably told you to be as big a pain in the ass to us as possible, but that’s okay, because Dar and I are used to that.”

The lieutenant eyed her warily.

“Most of the time when we’re doing this, the people we’re working with are scared silly we’re going to fire them, and sometimes we do,”

Kerry went on. “But you’d do us and yourself a favor if you’d just relax and let us do our jobs. Things will go much faster, and we’ll be out of your hair before you know it.”

The woman stiffened a little, bringing her head just slightly above Kerry’s. “We have a job to do here. Everything works, and we don’t need a couple of outsiders coming in and changing things,” she replied.

“I don’t have time to explain these systems to you. So why don’t you do yourselves a favor and just get the hell out of here.”

“Because we’re being paid to be here, just like you are,” Kerry explained gently. “And frankly, Lieutenant, you don’t have to explain anything to us. Between Ms. Roberts and myself, we’ve got enough certifications to plaster every square inch of the walls in here, so why don’t you just go over there and sit down and stay out of our way.”

The three junior operators in the room had become silent, radar-eared statues, staring at their screens and watching the reflections of the three women behind them.

DAR PUT HER briefcase down and unzipped it. “If we’re done with the first round of jousting, I’m gonna get the analyzer up and connected and start running first- and second-level tests.” She pulled out a coil of network cable and booted up her laptop. “If you’d like to do something other than stand there gaping, Lieutenant, you can get me a list of subsystems and running job streams.”

Without a word, the woman turned and walked out, letting the doors swish shut behind her with a vindictive sound.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Dar continued her task. She looked around and caught one of the console ops staring at her, a look of mixed awe and admiration on his face. “Would you like to run that for me?”

The sailor grinned at her wholeheartedly. “Yes, ma’am, I would.”

Dar grinned back and winked at him. “Smart boy.”

The other console operator turned in her seat and folded her arms 70 Melissa Good over the back of it. “Who are you people?” She was a willowy thin woman with straight, russet hair and an innocent face. Her voice was soft, and thickly Southern.

Kerry, who was closest to her, held out a hand. “Kerry Stuart, and that’s my boss, Dar Roberts.” She shook the red-haired woman’s hand with a firm grip. “Our company’s been asked to come in and see what we can do to make your lives easier.”

“You just did,” the third operator drawled softly. “Lieut’s been on the warpath all week, driving us half crazy.”

“Well, that’s probably our fault,” Kerry told him. “I know your leadership isn’t too happy we’re here, because they think we’re going to find all kinds of things they’re going to get blamed for. But that’s not what our plan is.”

“It’s not?” the girl asked.

“Nope.” Dar studied the results on her laptop screen. “The government’s looking to spend some money here, we’re gonna help them.” Her brow creased.

“Why’re they all freaking out, then?” the towheaded man closest to Dar asked.

The lines of data flashed before her eyes. “You know, that’s a good question.” Dar looked up at Kerry.

“People get comfortable with things, Dar. They don’t like change,”

her lover reminded her. “Even if the change is good.”

“Mm.” Dar finished her capture and closed her laptop. “That’s all I need here for now. Let’s see if we can get into the command and control center.” She gave the operators a half wave. “We’ll be back.”

Kerry heard the whispers and muffled laughs as they left, and she shook her head. She had a feeling this was going to be an uphill battle all the way.

And they were wearing Roller Blades.

DAR PUT HER briefcase down on the scarred wooden conference table and sat, folding her hands together. Kerry took a seat to her right, and the two Navy officers settled opposite them. “We’ve finished our initial review,” Dar said. “I’ve identified three main systems that need replacement of hardware, and I’m going to recommend installation of a new infrastructure to support that.”

Albert and Perkins exchanged glances, but didn’t comment. Kerry could almost read their minds, which were buzzing along the lines of

‘not as bad as we thought.’ “I’ll have the proposal transmitted to the Pentagon by tomorrow,” she told her boss. “And an estimated timeline for install.”

“All right,” Commander Albert said. “You can coordinate with Lieutenant Perkins for that.”

Dar nodded. “That was the easy part.”

Red Sky At Morning 71

Both officers stiffened. “You’re not finished?” Albert hazarded.

“No.” Dar met his eyes. “General Easton has forwarded us status and analysis reports on the existing processes you have in place here for training and implementation. He wants them reviewed.”

Kerry thought the two of them were going to implode, right there at the table. She’d never seen someone turn that red that fast, and her eyes widened a little as the veins appeared on the side of the commander’s temples. “It’ll go faster if you just cooperate,” she told them. “He’s not saying you don’t do a good job here, he just wants to see if there’s a way to make things easier and better.” She leaned forward. “Sometimes you need an outside pair of eyes to look at things—you get too close to the situation otherwise. Really.”

“Lieutenant, Ms. Stuart, would you excuse us please.” The commander bit off his words.

Kerry glanced at Dar, who cocked an eyebrow at her, then she stood and pushed her chair in. “I’ll go find some coffee.” She waited for the glowering lieutenant to join her, then walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. “Would you like to tell me where it is, or do I have to go ask the Marines?”

The woman was grimly silent for a beat, then her shoulders perceptibly relaxed and she shook her head. “Follow me.”

As they strolled along the corridor, Kerry took the opportunity to study their erstwhile adversary more closely. They were about the same size, she realized, and more or less the same age. She’d also detected something familiar in the woman’s speech. “Where in the Midwest are you from, Lieutenant?”

Brown eyes flicked to her in wary attention. “Ann Arbor.”

Kerry nodded. “You sounded local. I’m from Saugatuck.” They stopped at a coffee station and busied themselves in silence for a moment as they poured cups. Kerry was aware she was being covertly watched, and it made her ears twitch. “Want to sit down for a minute while they finish yelling at each other?”

Without answering, the other woman led the way to a utilitarian table with two bench seats. She put her coffee down and straddled one, resting her elbows on the table and keeping her gaze firmly fixed on the beaten Formica top.

Kerry took the seat opposite and composed her thoughts briefly.

“We’re not as bad as you think.”

“Do you know how often we have to go through this?” Perkins lifted her head and glared. “Everyone thinks they know how to do our jobs, so they come waltzing in here, change things all around, and two months later we’ve got to go back to doing it the old way because it’s the one that works.”

Kerry’s eyebrows lifted. “They send in consultants every two months?”

“No.” The other woman sighed. “Every goddamned newly made 72 Melissa Good admiral they put in charge of this place.”

“Oh.” Kerry took a sip of the coffee and held back a wince at the pungent strength of it. She was abruptly reminded of Andrew Roberts’s affection for tar sludge, and now knew where he got it. “Well, we’re not admirals.”

“No, you’re even more clueless about what we do,” Perkins snapped.

“That can be a plus,” Kerry answered mildly. “And as far as I’m concerned, yes, you’re right, I’m clueless about the Navy. But I’ve got a good understanding of the government and how it works, because my father’s a senator.”

The lieutenant grunted, tensing muscular forearms as she lifted her cup.

“Dar, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about the government, but she’s got a good understanding of the Navy,” Kerry told her, hiding a smile as the other woman’s head jerked up in surprise. “She was born here, on this base.”

One of Perkin’s eyebrows lifted, very much like Dar’s often did.

“She’s a Navy brat?”

“Yep,” Kerry agreed. “She sure is. Her father just retired, as a matter of fact.” Should have told them that first, her mind analyzed. Might have made the day a lot more pleasant. “So between the two of us, we’re not that clueless.”

“Commander Albert know that?” the lieutenant asked. “About her?”“I don’t think so, no. Not unless Dar mentioned it before, and I don’t think she did,” Kerry replied. “Why?”

For the first time, a smile appeared on the other woman’s face. “Just wondered.”

DAR WENT TO the window and looked out, ignoring the man behind her who was yelling into his telephone. She let her eyes wander over the familiar confines of the inner courtyard, noting the new sheds and walkways that dotted the grassy area. A smile appeared on her face as she eyed a thick hedge, remembering times spent huddled inside the center of it in a tiny space she’d dug out for herself, hidden from adult eyes.How many hours had she spent in there? In the leafy warmth, green filtered sunlight trickling through the leaves and spilling over the ragged pages of whatever book she’d been poring over that week.

Reading had opened the world to her, a love she shared with her father, but a skill only reluctantly displayed to her peers on the base.

There were no points for being a bookworm in her childhood world.

So she’d saved her books for that little private space, absorbing the Red Sky At Morning 73

words greedily, reading years ahead of her age from almost the very start.

The phone slammed down behind her, and she reluctantly left her memories behind and turned, leaning back against the windowsill.

“Done?” Albert looked about as frustrated as anyone Dar had ever seen.

His face was beet red, and there was a small tic jerking the side of his mouth upward in disconcerting rhythm. “Look, Commander—”

“No. You. Look,” he got out from between gritted teeth. “I am not going to have some half-assed civilians coming in here and telling me how to run my operation.” He slapped his desk. “The base commander’s on his way here, and let me tell you, lady, he’s not going to put up with it either.”

Dar exhaled. “Commander, I think you’re overreacting,” she told him.“No, ma’am, I am not,” the naval officer shot back. “To have you come in here and evaluate our computers, well, I don’t like it, but no doubt you know your business.” He pointed at her. “But the Navy’s my business, and madam, I don’t need you telling me how to do it.”

Dar sighed and shook her head. “This is a waste of time.”

“That’s what I’ve said all along,” Albert responded. “That’s what I told the base commander, and he agrees with me.”

They heard heavy footsteps approaching, and then a low gruff voice that seemed more a growl than anything else. “That’s the commander now.” Albert looked relieved. “He’ll get this straightened out.”Dar folded her arms and watched as the door swung open, admitting a very tall, extremely burly man with thick, grizzled silver hair and a full, well-trimmed beard.

“All right,” the newcomer boomed as he closed the door behind him with a solid crack. “Let’s just get this cleared up right— Son of a fucking bitch.” His eyes had fallen on Dar, and he stopped in mid-motion.

Albert glanced between his commander and Dar. “Sir?”

Dar blinked as a surprised smile spread across her face. “Uncle Jeff.”

The man covered the space between them with startling rapidity and engulfed Dar in a pair of very large arms, hugging her and lifting her completely off her feet. “Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch. I can’t believe it.” He gave her a squeeze, then released her and took her by the shoulders, studying her intently. “Tadpole, what the hell are you doing here?” he rumbled, then glanced at the dumbfounded Commander Albert. “Oh, hell...don’t tell me you’re the posse the Pentagon sicced on me?”

“’Fraid so.” Dar caught her breath, her mind still spinning with the shock of being reunited with a long-lost part of her past. “I didn’t know they’d put you in charge of this place.”

74 Melissa Good

“Lord God, yeah. Three months back,” Jeff Ainsbright said. “Look at you. Damned if you didn’t grow up gorgeous!” He cupped her cheek with an easy familiarity. “I can’t believe it.”

The door behind them opened, and Dar was aware of Kerry and the lieutenant entering, her peripheral vision catching the shift in body language as Kerry absorbed the stranger in the room with his hands all over Dar. She gave her lover a reassuring smile and caught her eye, then met the tall commander’s gaze. “Feels like it’s been forever since I saw you. Wish I’d known you were in charge here; we could have avoided a lot of yelling.”

Jeff pulled her into a hug again. “Tadpole, if I’d known you were behind this, I’d have just handed the keys off to you and gone fishing.”

Dar watched Kerry bite the inside of her lip to prevent a smirk from appearing. “Well, that’s not what I was hired for,” she told the tall man.

“We’re just here to give our best advice.”

“Damn straight,” the base commander agreed, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Albert, you give this lady whatever she wants, whenever she wants it, however she decides she needs it sliced and diced, you got me?”

“S-sir?”

“What part of that was in something other than English?” Jeff growled, turning his head to glare at the younger man. “Or are you developing a hearing problem?”

“No, sir.” Albert braced. “But I’d like to remind the commander of the discussion we had—”

“Forget it,” the answer came back. “I’ve got a whole different picture now. So you tell your staff to cooperate, or I’ll have every last one of you scrubbing the heads with a box of Navy issue Kleenex, understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Commander Albert got the words out from between clenched teeth.

“Good.” Jeff turned and slung a long arm around Dar’s shoulders.

“C’mon, lemme give you the top brass tour. Well, hello there, young lady.” The commander found a slim blonde woman planted firmly in his path.

Dar cleared her throat gently. “This is my associate, Kerry Stuart.

Kerry, this is Jeff Ainsbright. He’s an old friend of the family.”

Kerry stuck a hand out. “Sir, it’s good to meet you.”

“Same here, Ms. Stuart.” Jeff cordially enveloped her hand in his much larger one and shook it. “Let me take you both to lunch. I think we’ve got meatloaf today. You still like meatloaf, Tadpole?” He gave Dar a grin. “C’mon.”

“Sounds good to me,” Dar agreed, allowing herself to be hauled through the door while guiding Kerry before her, leaving a glowering silence behind them.

Commander Albert waited until the footsteps had receded down Red Sky At Morning 75

the hall, then he looked at his data center manager. “Son of a bitch.”

Lieutenant Perkins grunted. “This could be trouble.”

“Yeah.” The muscular blond man tapped a pencil on his desk. “Get me a report on Roberts. Find out who the fuck she is, will you? I never figured her for military.”

“She’s a brat.” Perkins picked up a pad and scribbled on it. “She’s from here. Shouldn’t be too hard to figure out who she is. Her dad was Navy.”

“Find out.” Albert nodded. “Find out everything you can. This could fuck up the whole project.”

“Big time,” the woman agreed. “She ain’t stupid. Neither is the other one, what’s her name? Stuart.”

“Hmm.” Her boss pursed his lips. “See what you can get on her, too.” He exhaled in consternation. “We could be in trouble. I need to call Scrooge.”

“Give him my regards.” Perkins took her pad and left, closing the office door behind her.

KERRY FOUND HERSELF seated at a comfortable, if Spartan, table in the noisy cafeteria, listening to her partner and the commander catch up on old times. She cut neat squares of meatloaf and nibbled them, surprised at the agreeable taste. A rakish smile spread across Dar’s face as the commander talked, and Kerry smiled too, charmed at the uncharacteristic, almost adolescent expression it gave her lover.

“So, what’s old Gerry’s beef, Dar?” Jeff asked around a mouthful of mashed potatoes. “He got a surplus he needs to spend somewhere?”

“Nah,” Dar replied. “From what he told me, it’s more a matter of the Joint Chiefs getting crap about making sure the military keeps ahead of the private sector in technology.” She took a swallow from her glass of milk. “They told him to make sure it happened, he figured he’d hire me to do it and save himself some time and heartache.”

“And me.” Jeff grinned, poking his fork in her direction. “I was fixing to toss your civilian butt off my base, y’know, ’til I walked in that office and found out who it was that was putting a mine in old Albert’s pants.”

Dar sighed. “I should have just come to see you first.” She gave Kerry a rueful look. “It would have saved both of us some time and half a bottle of aspirin.”

They ate in silence for a few moments, then Jeff leaned forward, fiddling with his knife a bit. “How’s your daddy doing?” he asked in a curiously gentle voice. “I tried to track him down after I heard they’d found him over there, but I never could put a finger on him.”

“He’s fine,” Dar reassured him. “He and Mom are living on a boat nearby my place, if you can believe it.”

“Aw.” Jeff smiled. “He got back with your mamma? Damn, I am so 76 Melissa Good glad to hear that, Dar. It about killed him to leave that last time with her so mad.” He stopped awkwardly and glanced at Kerry. “Pardon me, Dar. I didn’t mean to bring all that up here.”

“It’s okay.” Dar’s blue eyes twinkled gently. “Kerry knows my parents very well.”

“That’s right.” Kerry spoke up for the first time. “We have their phone number if you’d like it. I bet D—Mr. Roberts would love to hear from you.”

“I bet he’d kick your butt for calling him mister.” The commander laughed. “I’d love it. Hey, Dar, listen, Chuckie’s coming in this weekend. Why don’t we all get together and have a night out? I know he’d love to see you, and me and Sue would give up a month’s pay to see Andrew and Cec.”

Ah. Dar’s memory pricked her suddenly as she recalled Charles Ainsbright, Jeff’s son who was her age and growing up was one of her closer friends. Tall, cute Chuckie, with his blond crew cut and snub nose, who had wanted nothing more than to captain a Navy ship. “He finally get his command?”

“You bet your ass.” Jeff beamed. “Wait ’til I tell him you’re here.

He’s gonna float home. He still talks about you.”

Oh boy. “It’ll be good to see him,” Dar allowed. “I’ll see what I can arrange for Friday, how’s that? I think Mom and Dad’ll be glad to come down.”

“Great.” Jeff placed his utensils precisely onto the plate he’d scraped clean. “Tadpole, you let me know if the pinheads down in ops give you any trouble, all right? I’ve got a staff meeting I have to go kick some asses at. You about done here for today?”

“I think so,” Dar nodded. “I was just going to show Kerry around the place.”

“Good deal.” The commander gave Kerry a friendly nod, then walked past and clapped Dar on the shoulder. “See you later, Dar. Drive safe, y’hear?”

“Thanks, Uncle Jeff,” Dar replied, turning her head to watch him make his way through the tables, threading through a forest of salutes and stiffening bodies as he headed out the door. Then she turned her head to see curious green eyes watching her. “Hmm. That was a surprise.”

“Mm, yeah, I gathered.” Kerry cupped her chin in one hand. “He seems nice, though.”

Dar leaned back and exhaled, scratching her neck with one hand.

“He is. And his wife’s a sweetheart. They were pretty good friends of my folks. Dad and Jeff used to fish together at night.”

“Uh-huh...and Chuckie?” Kerry teased, having noted the faint blush that colored Dar’s face at the mention of the name. “Sounds like he liked you.”

Dar’s face scrunched up into a half-amused, half-embarrassed Red Sky At Morning 77

scowl. “Yeeeahh...he um...”

“Another crush?” Kerry laughed.

“Not exactly,” her lover admitted. “My first boyfriend. He was my high school prom date.”

Kerry’s blonde brows shot up in silent amazement.

“I was young and still pretty clueless.” Dar folded her arms and sighed. “But we had a good time together,” she added. “I know my folks’ll be glad to see them.”

Kerry sipped her ice tea thoughtfully. “He’s pretty Republican, isn’t he?”

Dar nodded, her lips twitching.

“Want me to find something else to do that night?” Kerry offered with quiet grace.

Dar gazed sightlessly at the center of the table for a long moment, her brow wrinkled slightly in thought. Then she drew in a breath and met Kerry’s eyes. “No. I really don’t.”

“Fair enough.” Kerry accepted the answer. “C’mon, as long as I’m here, I want to get some souvenirs,” she changed the subject. “Maybe a cap, since I’ve got enough Navy sweatshirts to outfit the entire Florida Marlin baseball team.”

“You got it.” Dar stood, and they put their trays away, then left the cafeteria, aware of the curious eyes that followed them.

“GOOD MORNING, MS. KERRY.” Mayte looked up as Kerry entered her office, giving her boss a bright smile. “Did it go okay Friday?”

“Sort of,” Kerry replied, pausing before Mayte’s desk. “It started off pretty rocky, but it turns out the officer in charge of the base is an old friend of Dar’s, so things smoothed out after lunch.” Remarkably so, in fact. Dar had gotten all the data she needed or asked for, and they’d departed early, heading back up the long, lonely road home while the sun was still a decent angle in the sky.

That meant they’d had time for a nice long workout in the gym, a walk on the beach, and dinner at the club before Dar sat down to digest the information they’d gleaned. Kerry stretched her shoulders out a little, still tight from the climbing wall, and wished briefly she could repeat the day. “What’s going on here this morning?”

“You have marketing sessions at nine and ten and the operations meeting at one,” Mayte answered promptly. “Mrs. Anderson, from the new company where we are buying cable, is to be here at three.”

Kerry exhaled. “Okay.” She spared a moment of envy for Dar, who had ambled out early dressed in jeans and hiking boots, then tucked her laptop case under her arm and headed for her desk. “Can you print me the meeting minutes for this afternoon and remind me what we’re fighting with marketing about this week?”

78 Melissa Good

“Of course.” Mayte’s voice floated after her. “Would you like some cafecita? I was just about to get some.”

“Yes,” Kerry called back. “I’d kill for a large café con leche. Thanks.”

It was quiet then, for a bit, and she settled down in her large leather chair, its cool surface warming against her legs as she nudged her computer on and investigated the inbox on her desk. “What have we here?” she mused, pulling over a folder and flipping it open. “Ah.”

Requisitions for new computers for the accounting department. After a moment’s study, she nodded and picked up her pen, checking the totals carefully and signing off on the papers.

Duks didn’t ask for new hardware often. She’d talked to him last month about the depreciation on the systems they’d last bought for his department, and he showed a studied reluctance to changing what he viewed as perfectly acceptable workplace tools. Kerry had disagreed, considering 386 DX systems that still ran Windows 3.11 to be something along the lines of what she’d use as a door stop.

But Duks had said no.

So, Kerry had reviewed the accounting software they were using and called the vendor, discovering a new, upgraded version with lots of nifty new features and reports they just couldn’t live without. She’d told Duks, and he’d agreed. “Great,” she’d said. “Now you can put in your order for new systems, because this software won’t run on the ones you have.”

“Heh.” Kerry put the folder into her outbox. “Accountants...fastest way to their hearts is through their report writers.” She turned and opened her mail program, watching as the screen filled quickly with black lines of new messages, a good percentage with red exclamation points next to them. She sighed and propped her chin up on her fist, waiting for the download to end.

LIEUTENANT PERKINS TUCKED a folder under one arm and knocked lightly on the door. She paused to listen for a reply, then opened the door and slipped inside. She crossed the wooden floor quickly and put the folder down on her boss’s desk, her eyes meeting his as he sat behind it. “I found her.”

Albert raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“Not good.” The lieutenant shook her head. “Take a look, sir.” She waited for Albert to open the folder. “Her actual name is Paladar Roberts. Her father was in for twenty years; he just retired a few months ago. She was born here, spent fifteen years on and off on the base. Left after she graduated from UM.” She paused. “BS in Computer Science, tops in her class. Been with ILS ever since.”

“Mmph.” Albert studied the contents of the folders, flipping through transcripts and documentation. “Wonder why she never...oh.

Did you see these ASVAB scores?”

Red Sky At Morning 79

“Yeah. Did you see what program she was qualifying for?”

His eyes flicked over the papers. “Aha. Wanted to follow in Daddy’s footsteps, but he was a SEAL. I get it. She’s probably got a grudge the size of a flat top.” He chuckled dryly. “She seems the type.”

“She passed the physical,” Perkins commented.

“Mm.” Her commander prowled through the papers, then selected a black-and-white photo, examining it curiously. An adolescent Dar Roberts stared dourly back at him, dark hair half obscuring the pale eyes, her lean body encased in a tight sleeveless black shirt and well-used fatigue pants. “Scary.” He flipped the picture over to her.

Perkins picked it up and studied it. “Very.” She tossed it back.

“What are we going to do about her?”

The commander sorted through the papers. “Can we keep her out of the inside systems?”

A shake of her head. “Probably not. Based on the questions I was getting, I’m going to guess she actually knows her way around a programming language. I could try to throw a pile of code at her, but I don’t know how long that would hold her up.”

“Give it a try.” Commander Albert sighed. “I’ll see what else I can do. Get everything you can and stick it behind the number six firewall.

We need to find something to distract her.” He closed the folder and pushed it back across the desk. “The timing just sucks.”

“You told Scrooge you had it under control,” Perkins reminded him in a worried tone.

“That was before I found out she grew up with Dudley Do-Right’s kid,” he snapped back. “I didn’t figure it’d be a problem getting her thrown out of here. Now we have to find another way.” He sighed.

“What about the other one?”

“We got lucky there.” The lieutenant smiled. “She’s Roger Stuart’s daughter.”

Their eyes met. “No shit?” The commander’s eyebrows lifted.

“No shit, no, sir,” Perkins said. “I thought you’d be glad to hear that.”

Albert leaned back in his chair, and laced his fingers behind his head. “I guess we don’t need to worry about her, then. I don’t think she’s coming back here anyway.” He exhaled. “But that might be the leverage I need. I’ll have to call Scrooge. He’ll know if we can use it.”

SHE WAS EARLY. The guard let her in without comment this time, and Dar drove slowly through the base, allowing her memories to surface without interruption this time. She parked at the far end of the lot and got out, locking the doors to the Lexus with a negligent flick, then turned around and leaned against the side of the car, just letting her gaze travel across the scene.

Damn. It looked different, but in some ways, the same. The 80 Melissa Good buildings had been altered, new construction changing the outlines subtly, and everything had fresh coats of paint on it. But as she stood there and looked, older images floated before her eyes; and without much conscious thought, she started walking toward the neatly trimmed pathway that wound its way around the base.

Of course, there was activity. Unlike most of the rest of the city, the day here started before dawn, and she listened to the familiar chants as groups of men and women jogged by her, some sparing a curious glance as they moved past. Dar regarded their backs thoughtfully and wondered for the hundredth time if she’d have ever had the internal fortitude to get through training if she’d chosen to join the Navy after all.

Physically, she knew she could have. She’d been all whipcord and iron back then, strong and tough and more than up to whatever demands the Navy would have chosen to dump on her shoulders. Even now—Dar glanced down and considered her tall form with a touch of conceit—even after all the years of desk-bound work and a plush lifestyle she’d never imagined back then, even now if she really pushed, she could probably force herself through the basic course.

On sheer stubbornness, if nothing else, she wryly conceded.

Mentally, though? Dar sighed, pausing and leaning against the fence to peer at the tiny houses just beyond it. She had the self-discipline, but she hadn’t had the ability to accept taking orders from anyone just because they had a stripe on their arm or a collar insignia. Not then, and, her lips pursed into a slight smile, certainly not now.

Her eyes found that one small house, third one on the fourth block.

She examined the neatly painted outside, then she circled the fence and walked down the sidewalk, stopping as she came even with the front door. It appeared vacant, and she walked up the small driveway into the carport, putting out a hand and touching the cement brick surface. It felt rough under her fingertips, and a familiar scent of dust and sun-warmed tar filled her nose as the breeze puffed through the enclosure.

Home.

She walked through and out the back into the yard, over to a ficus tree still firmly entrenched near the side of the house. Her eyes lifted and found the old, rotting bits of wood held by rusty nails that once, long ago, might have been the outlines of a tree house. She looked between the branches into a blank window, seeing the faint outlines of a plain, small room inside that had once been hers.

It felt very strange. Dar leaned against the tree and tried to remember what it was like being a small child looking out of that window. She found she couldn’t. Too much time had passed, and she was too different a person now to feel a link here.

Hell. Her face tensed into a scowl. She hadn’t even wanted to bring Kerry here to see this. Not that her lover would have laughed; in fact, Kerry would have been interested, as she was in everything Dar had to Red Sky At Morning 81

tell her about her childhood. She wasn’t ashamed of the house, either. It was just that it was so unremarkable a place, and she could no longer feel any kind of connection to it.

With a sigh, Dar pushed back from the tree, then she glanced up and craned her neck, shifting a hand to part a thick branch full of leaves.

Her eyes fell on her own initials carved into the bark of the tree, and even after all these years, plainly visible.

Then her brow furrowed, and she leaned forward, blinking as her eyes tried to make sense of the freshly cut markings right next to her old ones.

Kerry’s initials. Dar’s jaw dropped in open shock. When in the hell had she... Then Dar recalled the long stretch of time her lover had been gone on one of their breaks from the endless data gathering. She’d returned, cheerfully claiming a walk to clear her head. Dar remembered the smell of warm skin as Kerry had brushed against her, and now knew where it had come from. A silly smile appeared on her face as she gazed up at the letters.

Friday’s date, with a plus sign joining the old and the new, all carved into the gray bark in slightly awkward, but competent letters.

Without looking, she fished her cell phone from its holder clipped to her belt and speed-dialed a number. She waited for a voice to answer, then she closed her eyes. “You are the most incredible person I’ve ever known.” She heard the slight intake of breath. “I love you.”

Then she closed the phone and tucked it back into its holder and walked away from the house, headed back toward her waiting job, humming softly.

Kerry glanced at the roomful of marketing executives, all intently focused on her, and folded her phone back up. “That was a...um...a status report.” She smiled weakly, knowing her face was as red as a boiled beet. “I’m sorry, what were you saying about fourth-quarter projections?”

Eleanor cleared her throat. “We were talking about the emerging South American IT market.”

“Right.” Kerry rubbed her face. “Sorry. Go on.”

“AH, BOY.” KERRY put her cup down and filled it with hot water, waiting for her tea to steep. The break room was quiet, and she leaned against the counter reading the message board with idle curiosity.

She decided she liked the board in Operations better. It usually had good Dilbert cartoons posted on it.

“Well, hello.”

Kerry turned, to find Clarice entering the room. “Hello,” she responded cordially. “Getting settled in?”

The slim, black woman poured herself a cup of coffee in a bright pink mug. “Yes, I certainly am. It’s nice to be back home,” she replied.

82 Melissa Good

“Thanks for making it so easy for me.”

Kerry smiled. “No problem.”

“In fact, I think I have a much better handle on things in Chicago now that I can see the whole picture,” Clarice continued. “I’m working with Paul to try and get things settled.”

Kerry stirred her tea and turned, leaning against the counter. “I’m glad to hear it. I know it was kind of a rough week, but I’m sure you can get it all worked out. I heard from the account manager out there this morning—he feels a lot better about the client relationship now.”

Clarice leaned on the counter as well, studying Kerry. “Well, sometimes things just do happen for a reason, don’t they? Who’d have guessed a little winter storm could end up causing all these changes.”

A hint of a smile crossed Kerry’s face. “Storms sometimes do that,”

she agreed. “Excuse me,” she went on politely. “I’ve got a conference call I’m late for.”

“Oh, please, don’t mind me!” Clarice said. “Work comes first, and we sure don’t want to mix work and pleasure, now do we?” She gave Kerry a big smile and eased out ahead of her, strolling down the hallway and not looking back.

“Urgurf.” Kerry winced, catching the edge in the words. Not the way she’d wanted the conversation to go. After Clarice’s initial volley, which she’d ignored, she’d hoped the woman would just let bygones go.

Apparently not.

“Or maybe, Kerrison, you’re just being too sensitive, and she just was using a common expression,” Kerry told herself as she opened the door to her office and entered its cool peace. “Don’t go looking for trouble. You live with it, remember?”

Dar’s words on the phone came back to her and she dismissed Clarice’s, chuckling softly as she headed for her desk.