"I don't care," Dar mouthed back at her. "Roberts," she said into the phone. "Dar Roberts. I'm the only person in the damn company who can help him, so stop pissing me off and get off the phone." Her voice rose into a yell. After a pause, she nodded. "Thanks. Goodbye." She released the line and handed the girl back her headset. "Here."
The receptionist took them as though they were going to explode. "Uh--"
"Hi." Kerry distracted her. "We're from Miami. They're probably expecting us inside." She held her hand out. "Kerry Stuart."
"Uh." The girl merely pointed at the entrance.
"Thanks." Dar picked up her bag and motioned them inside. "Let's go."
Andrew picked up Kerry's luggage and followed her, giving the receptionist a polite nod of his head. "Lo." He ducked inside and waited for Kerry to catch up, then they both hurried to catch up with the visibly annoyed, stalking CIO ahead of them. "Tells folks off real nice, don't she," he conversationally said to Kerry.
"Best in the world," Kerry acknowledged, with a wry smile. "Nobody does that better than Dar."
Dar turned and walked backwards, giving them a dire look. "You better be talking about my phone skills and not anything more intimate." She turned back around and kept going, turning left down a corridor and whisking past various, mostly empty, offices.
Kerry felt herself get lightheaded as a deep blush colored her face, not helped in the least by Andrew's deep chuckle. "Someday I'll learn not to do that," she muttered. "She gets me every time."
She could hear the sound of raised voices and she quickened her steps, catching up to Dar just as her partner stiff-armed a large, heavy mahogany door open. The sounds got a lot louder as they entered a big conference room full of people.
Four men were faced off opposite Alastair, all talking at once. Three more were surrounding Hamilton, who had both hands up and was arguing forcefully. Two or three more men were standing around, aides apparently, and they were the only ones who looked up as they entered.
Then they went back to watching the disagreement, dismissing the new arrivals.
"You made a commitment to the mayor," one man said. "This ain't no joke anymore. I need an answer on when that office is going to be up."
"That and the president's office said you'd get things working. What's happening with that? You've been telling me for two days you've got a plan. Where is it?" an older man asked.
Dar tossed her bag toward the wall and went right to the table slamming her hand against it and creating a loud, startling sound. "Excuse me."
Alastair turned immediately, recognizing her voice. He spotted her behind the table, and a look of utter relief appeared on his face. Even Hamilton looked glad to see her, and they quickly abandoned their opponents and circled the table to join her.
The other men followed, staring at them. "What's this?" the oldest of them asked. "We have no time for more interruptions, McLean. You've stalled long enough. I need results! The governor's expecting an answer!"
"Well, Dar. Glad you made it. Glad you're here," Alastair greeted her, ignoring the man for the moment. "I was just explaining to these fellas--"
Dar stared right at him, until his voice trailed off and he fell silent. Then she turned and looked at the rest of the men long enough for them to start to fidget a little. "Everyone sit down, please," she said, resting her hands on the table.
The older man looked annoyed. He started to say something, but Dar stared him down until he pulled out a seat across from Alastair and sat down, motioning for those with him to do the same. "All right, lady. Make it fast."
Kerry settled into a seat to Dar's left, and Andrew ambled around and took the chair on the other side of her. The rest of the men grudgingly took seats also, leaning forward and looking at Dar.
"Thank you." Dar remained standing, resting her weight a bit on the hands she still had resting on the table. She looked at the older man. "Can you please introduce yourself so I know who the hell I'm talking to?"
Hamilton put a hand up over his mouth, his eyes twinkling a little. Alastair merely clasped his hands and worked to keep a benign expression on his face.
"Ivan Falcuzzi," the man said, shortly. "I work for the governor.
Who the hell are you?"
"Dar Roberts," Dar responded matter of factly. "So let me get my plan out on the table, then we can stop all the horse crap and actually get something constructive done." She drew in a quick breath, and started talking again before she could get interrupted. "You don't really have to tell us your problems, Mr. Falcuzzi." She straightened. "We know what the problems are."
"Then why aren't you doing something about it?" the man asked bluntly. "We were told you people would fix things. Things ain't fixed."
"I was fixing things," Dar responded. "We've been fixing things since this situation started. Tell me what you'd have liked us to do here before you let people back in the city, before we could travel, before we could get anything shipped in to help you, or before we made sure the military was going to keep running so nothing else could happen to anyone else?"
Falcuzzi lifted his hand. "Wait a minute."
"What did you expect us to do?" Dar enunciated each word separately. "What in the hell do you people think we are? Any of us here look like Poodle the Magnificent? Think we have rabbits we can pull cutoff our asses?" She leaned forward again. "I appreciate that you are frustrated Mr. Falcuzzi, but you are not one tenth as frustrated as I am to come in here after working round the clock for three days and finding you in here blowing hot air for NO GOOD REASON."
He opened his mouth, then shut it again.
"WE WILL FIX ALL YOUR DAMN PROBLEMS," Dar hollered at top volume, "IF YOU GET OUT OF HERE AND LEAVE US THE HELL ALONE!"
He stared at her. "You got any idea who you're talking to?"
"You have any idea how little I care who I'm talking to?" Dar countered. "You're keeping us from doing our jobs. Get out of here, and we'll deliver whatever it is Alastair promised we would. I don't have time to talk to you any more."
Falcuzzi studied her for a moment, then he glanced to the side, where Andrew was seated, his big, scarred hands resting on the table, folded together. His mouth pursed, then he shrugged and stood up. "All right," he said. "At least you ain't pitching me any excuses." He made a curt gesture to the rest of his gang. "But if I were you lady, I'd make good on that fixing business. Know what I mean?"
"Gentlemen," Hamilton stood up, recognizing a legal cue when he saw one, "as our dear CIO has so eloquently said, we know what we need to do. Now take your distinguished selves on out the door, and let us get on with it." He opened the door. "I'll walk you on down."
The men filed out. The last three, big men with very little in the way of necks, made a point of looking around before they walked out, tugging their jacket sleeves straight as they left and closing the door behind them.
The conference room became quiet. Dar rested her weight on her elbows and glanced at Kerry. "Got any Advil?"
Kerry grimaced in sympathetic understanding and leaned over to rummage in her briefcase.
"Well, Dar." Alastair put his hands on his chair arms, and sighed.
"I'm really glad to see you." He eyed his scowling CIO. "I know I've been a pain in the ass all day. You going to kill me?"
Dar stood and went to the credenza, poured herself a glass of water and used it to chase down the pills she was juggling in her right hand."I'm not going to kill you Alastair. Too many crappy things have happened to too many people in the last few days for me to get pissed off about a couple of phone calls."
Alastair twiddled his fingers on the chair arms. "You sure sounded pissed off at the politico's boys."
"I don't know or care about them." Dar came back and sat down, exhaling. "I know and care about you." She caught her boss's eyes widening in surprise. "So I'd rather take my cramps out on them since they weren't doing anything productive for us anyway."