"Kerry?" Elaine walked over, holding some papers. "Can you just look at this? I think it's all right, but--"
Kerry took the pages and held them in front of her, eyes scanning the typed print without comprehension for at least a minute. Then she sighed and handed them back. "Hold on to this, would you? I need to go take care of something, and I'll check it when I get back."
"Uh...sure." Elaine watched her leave, a puzzled look on her face.
Kerry exited the building on the side near the ship, showing her identification badge to the guard who waved her past wearily without really looking. Given the number of people that must have been traipsing in and out, she could hardly blame him, but the lack of security bothered her anyway.
Ah well. She'd take care of that when she got back. Orienting herself, Kerry headed down the pier, walking past the tall cranes, the small groups of arguing men and the ever present forklifts zipping everywhere.
It seemed like the pier went on forever, giving her far too much time to think about what she was doing. Doubts pecked at her like hungry pigeons, but she kept herself moving across the pavement resisting the urge to stop and go back and--
What was Dar going to say if she asked her? Would she say not to look a gift horse in the mouth? After all, they hadn't arranged for Michelle and Shari's gear to be delivered to their dock, now had they? For sure, for absolute sure, if the positions had been reversed, Kerry knew the most she'd ever see of her stuff was a box floating past heading out to sea.
But she wasn't Michelle, and she wasn't Shari. Kerry crossed the line between the two piers. She wasn't Dar. What had she just been saying? What comes around goes around?
Well. She squared her shoulders and edged between two tall stacks of steel, walking into the floodlights around the other ship and spotting two familiar figures standing near the gangway.
Two cameramen bracketed them, and it was obvious that Shari was busy holding court for them. She was making grand gestures, and as Kerry came closer, her words started to become comprehensible.
Well, she could hear them anyway.
"So, gentlemen, you see the obstacles we must surmount," Shari said. "We've faced sabotage, dirty business tactics, and espionage. Didn't think you'd be in for that in a simple story about cruise ships now did you?"
Kerry slowed as she approached, coming up behind the cameramen.
"But we'll prevail." Shari spoke confidently. "No matter what ILS throws in our path, we'll get over it. Their dirty dealing will bury them, mark my words."
Kerry paused, half in and half out of the shadows.
"We're the ones putting in the time, we're the ones here making sure the job gets done." Shari pointed toward the other ship. "Not them. You won't catch them here, getting their hands dirty, that's for sure. Go on, go ask! See where they are right now!"
"No need." Kerry stepped forward into the light, laying her hands on the gangway railing. The cameras swiveled to focus on her, and she let the silence extend a moment before she spoke again.
She'd caught them all by surprise, no doubt. Even Shari seemed to be tongue tied for the time being. She let her eyes wander over all of them, hesitating again, even now.
"Come to ask for help, or forgiveness?" Shari found her tongue, and a smirk.
Kerry was very aware of the round, blank eyes turned on her. A faint smile appeared on her face, and she exhaled, surrendering to her own nature with only the faintest of sighs. "Neither," she said quietly. "Some of your equipment was delivered over to us by mistake. If you send a forklift, I'll have it loaded."
Caught flatfooted, Shari could only stare at her. Michelle, however, circled the gangway and approached Kerry. "By mistake?" She questioned suspiciously.
"Apparently." Kerry agreed. "The four orders you placed for network gear to try and dry up the channel arrived with ours. Good luck trying to return it." And with that, she turned and simply walked off, not looking behind her to see if anyone was following.
"WHERE DID SHE GO?" Dar asked, resisting the urge to pace around the inside of the building.
"That way, ma'am." The guard pointed down the pier. "Just a few minutes ago, in fact. "
Dar went to the door and peered out, shading her eyes from the glaring spotlights. She could see several figures moving between the two ships, but none of them resolved into her partner's familiar form. Why would Kerry go there?
What was she up to?
"Hey, Dar?" Mark walked over, wiping his brow. "I think we got everything unpacked...you think we can hijack a piece of the line in here so I can download configs?"
Dar blinked, spotting Kerry's distinctive outline appearing from between two stacks, heading back toward the terminal with a determined stride. Her body language was a mixture of anger and ferocity, her head held high, but hands balled into fists at her side.
"Dar?"
Dar pushed the door open and limped back outside, heading across the concrete on a path calculated to intercept her partner. She watched Kerry's eyes suddenly track to her, and the alteration in her body's posture now added a touch of apprehension to her attitude.
"Hey." Dar slowed to a halt as they met. "Where'd you go?"
Kerry looked up at her. "To do something you're probably going to think I'm an idiot for."
Dar felt her heart speed up a bit. "Last time you said that, you got a tattoo and it wasn't so bad." She ventured. "You want to go inside and talk about it?" She hesitantly put a hand on Kerry's shoulder. "I didn't know where you went. I just came back and you were gone. The guard said..."
Kerry stared past her for a second. "Did Mark show you the boxes?"
Dar fell silent for a second. "Uh?"
"Okay. C'mon."
They walked inside the building, and Dar silently allowed Kerry to lead her into the back section of the terminal, in the shadows, where she could now see several pallets of boxes under tarps. "What--"
Kerry walked over and lifted the tarp, pointing at the label. She waited for Dar to lean close to read it, aware of a few set of eyes watching them.
Dar straightened up, and put her hand on the boxes. "Well. Son of a bitch."
"Mm."
"So..." Dar looked around, then back at Kerry. "You went to tell them it was here, right?"
Kerry's shoulders relaxed suddenly, and she leaned against the stack. "Yeah."
Puzzled, Dar shifted her hand from the box to Kerry's shoulder, giving her a comforting little pat. "So, what's the problem, sweetheart?"
Kerry scrubbed her face with one hand. "Your father said...I mean, it's a big competitive advantage, you know, Dar? I mean, we keep this, and they're dead in the water."
"Kerry!"
They both turned around and looked, to find several people including one with a still camera in the front doorway. Mark was nearby, waving at them with a dour expression.
"Ker, we keep this, and it's grand theft." Dar captured Kerry's attention, gently turning her head so their eyes met again. "I may be one to take any advantage, but I draw the line in some places, y'know? That includes putting either of us or the company in danger of criminal action."
Kerry looked at her for a long moment then abruptly sagged against Dar, laying her head to rest on her partner's shoulder. Then she straightened and touched Dar's side with one hand. "I need to go sit down. Can you go see what that's all about?"
"Sure." Dar murmured. "There's a chair over there. Let me get rid of whatever this is, and I'll be right back, okay?"
Kerry gave her a brief, but genuine smile, and then she turned and walked over to where a chair was half hidden behind the boxes. She sat down in it and rested her elbows on her knees, gazing at the dirty carpet with pensive eyes.