"Ah."
Kerry reached over and gave Dar's back a little rub. "We have a short list of critical tasks, sir," she addressed Alastair. "The emergency office and some kind of coverage downtown are top on the list. Is there anything else they're pressing us on?"
"Well." Alastair eyed them both warily. "I don't want to get your shorts back in a twist now."
"Alastair, please." Dar smiled briefly.
"We do have a little longer short list," Alastair admitted. "Somethings came up today, and I guess they thought they'd throw everything at us and see what stuck."
"Bring it on." Kerry took her laptop out and put it on the table."Dad, you want some coffee? I'm going to find some tea."
"Naw," Andrew said. "How bout I get your's and Dardar's bunks squared away. I figure you got a lot of stuff you got to take care of," he offered."Ah'll find out what's going on round here anyhow."
"Thanks, Dad," Dar said "That'd be great."
Andrew stood up and slung his own bag over his shoulder. He stepped behind them and patted Dar on the shoulder then collected their bags and ducked out the door. "Better find me that coon ass, too, 'fore he gets into trouble with them folks," he muttered as he left, his words echoing softly.
That left the three of them. Kerry focused on getting her laptop started up, as Dar and Alastair regarded each other.
"Here we go again," Alastair said, finally.
"Here we go again," Dar repeated, with a sigh. "Got any rum?"
"Eh?"
Chapter Two
"FIRST THINGS FIRST." Dar had her hands in her pockets, as she studied the conference room wall. Once sedately weave covered, it now sported various plans and blueprints spread out from end to end."Kerry, who do we have here from services?"
"I've got three people here, Dar. They're the support folks for this office," Kerry said.
Dar ran her finger along the coastline of Manhattan. "Okay. So let's get them out to the Intrepid. If this is to scale, and it's correct, we'll need a fiber spool and someone who can terminate it. We got that?"
Kerry reviewed her notes. "I don't think so," she admitted. "We contracted out the fiber install here. I don't think that's our access either."
"Okay." Dar moved to the other end of the map. "Let's start from a place I know they'll let us into. Have the guys take the biggest spool we have, make sure it's rubberized, and have them start at the mayor's damn offices and move toward the Intrepid. Maybe I can work on getting us access while they do that."
"Will do." Kerry leaned over her laptop and put her headphones in.
They were alone in the conference room. Alastair and Hamilton had gone to join the rest of the New York staff in watching the visit of the president, leaving them in peace to get things rolling.
Dar didn't feel like rolling anything. The pills had taken the edge off her cramps, but only the edge, and her body was aching so badly she felt like curling up in the corner of the room and forgetting all about the long list of problems facing them.
She suspected Kerry knew that. Her partner kept watching her, and giving her little rubs on the back, and looking like she wanted to tuck her into bed somewhere.
Dar would have given a year's salary to be able to let her.
"Dar?"
She turned around and leaned one shoulder against the wall, finding Kerry gazing back at her with wry sympathy. "Yes?"
"The guys are on their way in the company van. They said the hope they'll let them down there," Kerry said. "Can I get you some tea?"
Dar held her hand out. "Gimme your cell." She waited, and caught the phone as Kerry tossed it. She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and keyed in a number, then held the phone up to her ear. "Yes. Can I speak to the governor please? This is Dar Roberts. Yes, I'll hold."
Kerry got up and came over to her, circling her with her arms and resting her cheek against Dar's shoulder. She felt Dar exhale, and looking up, saw the wry expression on her face. "What can I do for you, my love?"
"What more can I ask of you besides loving me?" Dar responded, with a gentle smile. "Hello, yes?" She returned her attention to the phone. "Governor, you said you could remove roadblocks. You ready to make good on that?"
Kerry kissed her on the upper arm and gave her a gentle squeeze. Then she moved around behind her and started massaging Dar's lower back, making small circles with her thumbs on either side of her partner's spine.
"Are you telling me you can't clear them through there? Get someone to help us?" Dar's voice rose and took on a darker edge. "What in the hell do you expect me to do, bring guns and force our way into the telco demarc?"
Kerry started humming "New York, New York" under her breath as she worked on her aggravated boss's tall frame.
"You people are as useless as tits on a boar." Dar clapped the phones hut and almost tossed it across the room, remembering at the last minute it wasn't hers to destroy. She handed it back to Kerry and growled, leaning with both hands against the wall. "Son of a bitch."
"Easy, babe," Kerry soothed her. "We'll find a way. "
A soft knock came at the door. They both paused then sorted themselves into a semblance of decorum as Dar cleared her throat. "C'mon in." She resumed studying the wall, but didn't hide a smile as Kerry kissed her hand then let it go just as the door opened.
A woman with dark golden skin and dark hair entered, wearing a colorful jacket and leather pants. "Hey!" She spotted Dar. "Dar from Miami! How are ya!"
Dar chuckled and stepped forward to take the extended hand."Hello, Scuzzy," she said. "How are you doing?"
"Well," Scuzzy stuck her hands in her pockets and shrugged, "not so great, you know? It's been tough the last few days."
"I know," Dar said. She half turned. "Scuzzy, this is Kerry Stuart, our Vice President of Operations." She could see the quirk in her partner's brow. "Ker, this is Hermana Jones, from the Queens data center."
"Hello," Kerry extended her hand, "nice to meet you."
"Oh hey!" Scuzzy took her hand and shook it vigorously. "That's been you on the phone that whole time, huh?"
"Mostly, yes," Kerry agreed. "It's been a long couple of days."
Scuzzy released her. "Everyone here's pretty shook up, you know? It's been tough. My brother's FDNY."
"Oh no," Kerry said. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah." Scuzzy nodded. "He was uptown saving some lady who got stuck in her car or something. He was all pissed off that he didn't get down there until them buildings fell down. Then he wasn't so pissed anymore, just mad about all the other guys."
They were all silent for a moment, and then Scuzzy shrugged. "My mama wants to send that lady a basket of flowers, you know?" She glanced around. "But they weren't so lucky here, huh? I heard about the big cheese."
"They weren't," Dar agreed. "But we've got a lot of other things to worry about too. That's why I asked you to come down here, to see if you could help us out." She turned to face the map. "You up for that?"
"You kidding?" Scuzzy asked. "Meeting you in that subway changed my whole freaking life. You want me to do something? Whatever, you know?" She glanced at Kerry. "Sorry, I know that sounds crazy."
Kerry's green eyes twinkled. "I know exactly what you mean," she demurred. "Dar certainly does have that effect on people." She patted her partner on the side. "Let me get back to the conference. Do I take it we get no help from the governor?"
"Jerk," Dar said. "No." She looked at Scuzzy. "But you might be able to help. Here's the deal." She turned to the map, finding the pier with one long finger. "The city's putting in a command center here."
"The pier? That old creaky place?" Scuzzy seemed dubious. "You got to be kidding me, right?"