Moving Target
Part 13
Kerry peered at her reflection in the mirror as she
inserted a jade earring in one ear. The color not only matched her eyes, it
complimented the sea green dress she was wearing and she stepped back to assess
the combination with a satisfied grunt.
"Something wrong?" Dar appeared at her
shoulder, glancing curiously at her.
"No.. except that this is the second time this
week we had to get gussied up." Her partner replied. "And it's not
nearly as much fun as the first time was."
"Eh." Dar shrugged one shoulder. "The
way I figure it, we'll go for a little while, then bow out. Nothing says we
have to spend all night there."
Kerry inserted her other earring, nodding a little
in agreement. She had a few butterflies in her stomach anyway, since it
was going to be the first time she'd seen Michelle and Shari since she'd..
well, since she'd blown them off.
No other way to say it, really.
Blown them off, and triggered a food attack on them
by her staff. Kerry almost chuckled. "Okay. " She said. "Then we
can come back here - how about a swim in the pool when we get back? I bet we'll
be all sweaty just from the drive up and back."
"Good for me." Dar finished putting her
necklace on. "Do I need to bring my boxing gloves? Or you think they'll be
civilized?"
Kerry indulged herself in a moment's fantasy of Dar
in her black silk sheath clobbering their Telegenics competitors with the cute
red boxing gloves she used for class. "Heh."
"Was that yes, or no?"
"That was me wishing they'd be
uncivilized." Kerry admitted. "Ah well. Let's get going. Want me to
drive?"
"Sure."
Kerry walked into the living room, shadowboxing as
she walked. "Boom..boom...boom.." She paused as they reached the
front door and cocked her head to one side. "Wouldn't it be cool if we had
the motorcycle up here? I'd love to pull up on that."
Dar stopped. She leaned on the door and looked Kerry
up and down. "Hon, think about that a minute and how you have to ride a
bike." She said. "If you think I'm giving all of downtown Miami a
view like that, you're nuts."
Kerry looked puzzled, then glanced down at herself.
A snort emerged. "Oh." She muttered. "Yeah... I see your
point."
Dar opened the door and gestured towards the
outside. "Exhibitionists first."
"Nyahh."
**
Pier 12 appeared somberly festive as they walked up
the flight of stairs into the port facility. Dar handed the white gloved
receptionist their invitations and waited to be check off whatever list the
woman had, then gave her a brief nod as they were allowed past.
A glance at the banners told her that Quest wasn't
quite the expansive host he'd presented himself to be. It was clear that the
cost of the party was being borne by the Port, which tied in with what Kerry
had told her about them being glad of the business in an off time.
They rode the escalator up to the second level,
where there were tables lining the walls filled with various edible items. A
bar anchored each end of the room, and both were busy with well dressed
schmoozers taking advantage of the free alcohol.
Dar spotted Michelle and Shari at the far one, and
accordingly steered Kerry towards the nearer, reasoning there was no sense in
getting into a fistfight before even getting a beer out of it.
Quest approached them just as they reached the bar,
looking quite pleased with himself. "Good evening, ladies." He
greeted them cordially. "Glad you could make it."
"Thanks. It was a nice thing for you to
do." Kerry replied. "I realize we're all competing, but the goal of
the project is to give you a solution you can use, and that we can
implement." She said. "And besides, we're all adults, right?"
Dar handed her a cold beer, poured neatly into an
acceptably chilled mug.
"Exactly." Quest agreed. "I'm very
glad you have decided to take that view on it." He turned slightly and
ordered a drink from the bar, then leaned on it and looked back at them.
"Especially since one of our applicants has chosen to capture this process
on film." He indicated behind them.
Kerry turned her head, to see a cameraman and an
assistant over in the far corner. "Why did you let them?" She turned
back to Quest. "I thought you wanted this to be low key."
The man shrugged. "Once it was out, it was out.
No point in hiding it anymore." He said. "This way, we get some good
press for free. What can I tell you?"
Practical. Dar silently agreed. "Look at it
this way, Ker. One day you'll end up watching yourself on the Discovery
channel."
"Travel Channel." Quest corrected her
succinctly. "They've already signed the deal. My people love it."
Dar studied him. "Be a lot of pressure
for Telegenics to win the bid then." She remarked casually.
"Otherwise, makes for bad tv, doesn't it? No happy ending for the little
guy."
"Doesn't it?" Quest tipped his drink
towards her, then walked off in the direction of the camera crew.
Kerry strolled a little away from the bar, with Dar
at her heels. They both stopped in a relatively empty spot, reviewing the room
together. "Hm." Kerry said. "Why does this whole thing
just get slimier and slimier every time we turn around?"
"Mildew." Dar edged away from the
prominent salad bar. "Let's go see what they've got over there." She
nudged Kerry towards the canapé table. Halfway there, she realized
they'd been spotted by Michelle and Shari, but she just kept walking, one hand
coming to rest on Kerry's back as they reached the line. "Ker?"
"I see them." Kerry observed the choices.
"Oh, look, hon.. lots of little potential weapons. I bet those stuffed
potato puffs fly really good."
"Contain yourself, Jesse James." Dar
handed her a plate. "Maybe it'll be civil."
"Maybe our dog will learn to fly."
Dar offered her plate up to the uniformed attendant
and watched as he placed several canapés on it. Her peripheral vision
picked up their adversaries approaching and she took a moment to sort out her
possible responses before she turned and made eye contact with them.
"Evening." She decided on a gracious nod.
Kerry's shoulders squared visibly before she looked
up. She merely returned the stares evenly, allowing Dar to do the communicating
for the both of them.
"Evening.' Michelle responded, taking a breath
to continue. But after a second, her jaw closed and she merely picked up a
plate and continued down the line.
Shari glared at both of them. Dar lowered her
head slightly, and her posture altered very subtly as an icy edge came into her
eyes.
The camera man from the filming crew closed in,
focusing on them tightly, and with a twitch of her lip, Shari also turned and
went down the line, cutting in front of them and grabbing a plate of her own.
Kerry smiled pleasantly at the cameraman.
"Hi."
"Hi!" The man returned her greeting
cheerfully. "So, what do you think about the party?"
"It's been just charming so far." The
blond woman said. "Hope it stays that way." She added, just loud enough
for her voice to carry.
Neither of their adversaries turned, but both backs
stiffened.
The man moved off to follow Shari and Michelle,
followed by another man, who was talking into a recorder.
Kerry removed a generic puffy something from Dar's
plate and popped it into her mouth, chewing with thoughtful vehemence. After a
second, she stopped with a weird expression on her face, and hastily washed her
mouthful down with a swallow of her beer. "What was that?"
"The establishment of primate dominance as a
vestige of our biological lineage." Dar replied succinctly. "Or did
you mean the spicy mushrooms and anchovies?" She added. "Thanks
for trying it for me, by the way."
Kerry digested both pieces of information and wished
she wasn't on the first. She took another swallow of beer to get the last of
the taste from her mouth, and swallowed it. "Ook, ook."
"Me Jane, you Jane, you know how it is."
Dar sounded more than amused. "Let's go talk to those guys from
Cangen. I think that second one in the corduroy trousers used to work for
us."
"Cords in summer?" Kerry muttered, as she
followed her partner across the tile floor. "Bet he didn't work for us
long."
**
Just her luck, it would be the bathroom again. Kerry
found herself face to face with Michelle as she stepped up to the sink and
leaned forward to wash her hands. The red haired woman was dressed in a caramel
colored cocktail dress, which truthfully did not flatter her at all.
"Hi."
"Hi." Michelle responded. "I've got
to hand it to you, Kerry. You surprised me."
Kerry concentrated on washing her hands. "Did
I?" She asked.
"Yes." Michelle leaned against the sink
and waited for the other woman washing her hands to finish up and leave before
she continued. "I thought you were civilized."
"Ah." Kerry straightened up and reached
for a towel. "Well you know, most of the time I am." She faced the
red haired woman squarely. "But you stomped all over my last nerve to such
an extent, I just lost the ability to deal civilly with you. Isn't that a
shame?" She tossed the balled up paper towel into the basket neatly,
and walked past. "Good night."
"Kerry."
Michelle was, if nothing else, persistent to the
core. Kerry debated a moment, then paused and waited. "Yes?"
"I know you think we hate you.."
"No." Kerry interrupted firmly. "I
don't think that at all. I think your partner hates Dar, and you both will do
anything to beat us. I don't mind competition - just don't put a friendly
face on it. Be square."
Michelle folded her arms over her chest.
"We can compete and not be enemies." She suggested. "I know
there's an issue between Shari and Dar, no question. But you and I always got
along."
"Until you starting playing dirty tricks."
Michelle's eyebrows arched. "Says the women who
sent thugs from her office to attack me?"
The characterization of their staff just struck
Kerry as sadly funny. "They didn't go there for that." She told
Michelle. "They just wanted to let you know I wasn't coming."
"Your way of sending a message?" The other
woman countered, with a touch of sarcasm.
"No." Kerry turned and opened the door.
"I didn't send them. I would have just let you sit there and rot."
She gave Michelle a last smile, and walked out.
Michelle stood for a moment in quiet thought, her
eyebrows lifting. "Now that is a damn surprise." She murmured to
herself. "I guess the old divide and conquer isn't flying
anymore." With a shake of her head, she walked out of the bathroom
and headed across the floor.
Kerry was ahead of her, angling towards the other
side of the room where she suddenly spotted Dar and Shari facing off, the
taller Dar's body language aggressive and exuding energy.
Michelle sighed gustily. "Oh, crap."
She hastened her pace, then, just as suddenly, she slowed again. "You know
what?" She said to the air. "To hell with it. If she's opened up her
mouth again, let her take the consequences this time. I'm over it." With a
nod, she turned on her mid height heels and headed back for the bar.
"Chili once was once too many for this red head."
**
Kerry reached Dar’s side just as she heard her
partner say something she hoped wasn’t related to Shari’s biological origins.
“Hey.” She put a hand on Dar’s side.
“Sorry, that’s just bilgewash.” Dar replied crisply,
then glanced to one side. “Not you.”
“Why is giving a customer a low cost solution
bilgewash? Because it can be done cheaper than you can do it?” Shari countered.
“Because it doesn’t work.” Dar said. “Not long term.
There isn’t a piece of software out there that can’t be hacked or modified
without firmware backing it up.”
“Oh, that’s bull.”
Dar refused to lose her temper. “No, it’s not bull,
it’s just how technology is. Engineers know that.” She exchanged a slight nod
with her counterpart at another of the companies. “If you want to have real
control of the process, you have to control it at a machine level.”
“But hardware costs more.” Shari argued.
“Failing costs more than whatever you pay to
succeed.” Dar said. “If you ignore that, you set up your clients for failure.”
She continued. “Here’s an example. A client puts in production a new
application, whose over wan link bandwidth had never been quantified.”
“That’s not my problem as the network provider.”
Shari said. “I sell a service, and a pipe.”
Dar’s blue eyes glinted with sharp glee. “That’s the
difference between being a business partner, and a vendor. I don’t just sell pipes.”
“No.” Shari didn’t miss a beat, very aware of the
cameraman focusing on them. “You sell insurance, at a premium.”
The man Dar had been talking with interjected a hand
wave. “Yeah, but it’s like clean underwear. You don’t have a pair, boy, you end
up needing em.” He said. “I don’t go
for all the high priced goodies you do, Dar, but there has to be some ass
covering. I don’t ever trust just one piece of anything to be the only
solution.”
“Pithy way of putting it, Don.” Dar produced a grin.
“I’ve seen more software take a dump in my time than
hardware, ma’am.” He shrugged unrepentantly. “I for one do not intend on
pushing a lowball I can’t sleep at night over just to get a contract.”
The cameraman’s assistant winced a little at the
language, but indicated his partner to keep filming.
“It’s got nothing to do with lowballing!” Shari
broke in. “It has to do with not waving the latest and greatest and most
expensive at people who don’t need it!”
“But why shouldn’t we offer the latest technology?”
Kerry asked. “Isn’t that the whole point?” She frowned. “You all talk like
using the best and the newest stuff available is a handicap. Hello? We’re in
the technology business, folks. It changes every ten minutes. If all customers
want is a canned, old solution – let them go to Best Buy.”
“Are you nuts?” Shari now addressed her directly.
“People want the cheapest solution the fastest way possible. They don’t want to
be cutting edge.”
“No, but we do.” Dar smoothly took back over.
“You’ve got it all wrong, Shari, just like always. People don’t want the
cheapest solution, they want the one that is most economical for them.”
Shari rolled her eyes. “Ah yes, Professor Roberts,
who probably barely passed freshman English. I see the difference.”
“ILS doesn’t pay me to write essays.” Dar still
maintained her composure. “But if you don’t know the difference between
economical and cheap, that’ll explain things when those companies you sold
bargain basement solutions to all fall apart and come crying to a real IT
company for a solution.”
“You wish.”
“No, ILS does pay me for in depth analysis and
trending. I don’t wish. I know.” Dar replied coolly.
The cameraman seemed totally engrossed in the
exchange, sliding the lens back and forth between the talkers. He lingered on
Dar. She noticed, and turned her head slightly to look right into the blank,
black eye. She winked at it, and unexpectedly grinned. “Now remember. I’m the
bad guy.”
The assistant grinned back at her, making an okay
sign with his fingers.
Shari glanced around, but apparently did not find
what she was looking for. “Well, we’ll find out which one of us has the right
approach soon enough.” She said. “Excuse me.”
Dar watched her go, feeling a sense of vague
personal triumph that she hadn’t let Shari’s jibes rattle her. Outwardly,
anyway. She took a deep breath, feeling Kerry move just a little closer to her,
her partner’s body heat gently toasting her left side.
Did Kerry sense how she felt? Dar let out her held breath slowly, only
marginally paying attention to Don’s subject change to a new set of IEEE
standards. The cameraman was still
standing there, fussing with his gear, and the assistant took the opportunity
to approach them.
“Well, that was a great piece of film.” The man
said. “I think that was one of the best we’ve got so far… Ms. Roberts, mind of
I ask you a few questions?”
“Well..”
“Just a few?” The man coaxed. “Let’s go over there
where it’s a little quieter.”
“Go on, boss.” Kerry poked her a bit. “I’ll go get
you a refill.” She captured Dar’s glass and plate.
Dar gave her a brief, uncertain look, then shrugged
and indicated to the cameraman to lead on. “Can’t guarantee I’ll answer, but
you can ask.”
Kerry waited for them to move off, before she headed
back towards the tables, running her mind over what had just happened. Dar had won the exchange, she realized, and
without getting mad in the process.
She’d also impressed the television people, and used her charm on them
to very good effect.
Wow. Kerry handed the bartender her empty glass.
“Can I have an.. um.. “ Beer? Scotch?
Something cocktailish to match Dar’s newly burnished image? She leaned forward
and put her hands on the edge of the bar. “Do you have any milk?”
The bartender paused in the act of pouring a glass
of wine and looked at her. “Milk?”
“Milk.”
He finished and handed the glass to a woman standing
by waiting. “Uh.. yeah.. “ He fished around under the bar, then looked up
again. “You sure you don’t want a.. um.. a Shirley Temple or something?”
“Milk.”
“I got some ginger ale?” The man offered with polite
persistence.
“Milk.” Kerry repeated again. “Don’t make me go find
a Farm Stores.”
“Okay.” The man gave up gracefully and produced the
required chilled homogeonized dairy product. “Here you go.” He handed it over.
“I never argue woman wearing a snake on her chest.”
Kerry almost gave her snake a milk bath, but managed
to regain control over her grip on the glass and retreated towards the food
tables, intent on finding something appropriate to go with it.
**
Dar sat down at one of the small tables on the far
side of the room and fiddled with a table tent as the camera assistant joined
her.
He started off by extending his hand across to her.
“First of all, I don’t think we actually met. I’m Derren Eschew.”
Dar warily took his hand and shook it. “People say
bless you a lot to you don’t they?”
Derren chuckled goodnaturedly. “Oh yeah.” He agreed.
“Bless you, gesundheit, want a tissue, have a cough drop.. you name it I’ve
heard it six million times since first grade.” He leaned back in his seat once
they’d released their grasps. “You have a pretty unusual name too, don’t you?”
“Roberts?” Dar lifted a brow slightly. “In Miami, sure.”
“Hehheh.. I meant your first time.” Derren
clarified. “Is it short for something?”
“I’ve never been short for anything.” His
interviewee replied. “No. It’s just Dar.”
The man opened a small notepad and studied it’s
contents. “You characterized yourself as the bad guy.” He looked up at her.
“Why?”
Dar paused a bit before she answered, considering
her words. “You’re framing Telegenics as the good guys.” She said. “So that
makes me the bad guy.”
“Beeecausee… they’re a little, struggling company
and you’re the IT giants?” Derren hazarded. “David and Goliath kinda thing?” He
said. “They have worked incredibly hard to get an inroad into a very tough
business, which you seem to own. Isn’t that right?”
Dar propped her chin up against her fist. “No.” She replied. “That’s not right. We only own
the contracts we’ve won, and despite Telegenics opinion to the contrary we won
those contracts by being the best choice for the companies who signed them.”
“But they’re going out and changing that.” Derren
flipped a page and made a note.
“Are they?”
The man stopped writing and looked up. “You don’t
think they are?”
Watchful blue eyes focused on him. “I think it’s a
tight economy, and they’re taking advantage of companies looking for savings
anywhere to tempt people with short term savings.” She stated quietly. “Whether
it was the best choice for them remains to be seen.”
The man scribbled another note. “Naturally, you
don’t think so.” He said.
“Naturally.” Dar agreed, with a flash of neat white
teeth. She let her eyes drop to the table, then turned her head sideways as she
sensed Kerry approaching. Her partner was carrying a glass and a plate, and as
their eyes met, Kerry broke into a warm smile.
“Your company does a lot of work for the
government.” Derren distracted her attention back. “Isn’t that right? Military
work?”
Dar nodded.
“Bet you’re glad the don’t ask don’t tell policy
doesn’t extend to contractors, huh?”
The question caught Dar by surprise, and she let
potential answers percolate for a second or two while Kerry set the plate and
glass down, and took a seat next to her.
“Why?” She cocked her head. “Despite what you’ve been told,
corporations, even big ones like mine, are sexless.”
Kerry came in right on the sexless. Her head jerked
a little in startlement as she gave her partner a bemused look. “I leave to get
you a drink, and I come back and you’re talking sex? I thought this was for the
Travel Channel?”
Derren leaned on his elbow. “So working with a bunch
of GI’s who would be glad to give you the boot doesn’t bother you?”
Kerry leaned towards him. “Does it bother you?” She asked.
“Did you tell when asked or something?”
A guarded look crossed the man’s face, and he
straightened up and moved back from the table. “Nah, I just wondered. Politics
and contracts made strange bedfellows, I guess.” He got up and closed his
notepad. “Nice talking to you, Ms. Roberts. Hope we get to do it again.” He
held out a hand, and clasped Dar’s briefly. “Night.”
He walked off trailing the cameraman behind him.
Dar studied her glass. “You got me milk.” She
commented.
“And cookies.” Kerry nudged the plate closer. “Are
we having a good night here?”
“Damned if I know.” Dar took a sip of the milk.
“Damned if I know, Kerry. There’s something just not clicking in this whole
thing. I’m missing something.”
She drummed her fingers on the table. “Something.”
**
Kerry turned the page of the book she was reading,
enjoying the cool breeze off the water as she swung idly back and forth in the
swing chair. It was just past six and
they’d left work early after a long, long week.
Fortunately, after the party Quest had left them all
alone, and neither she nor Dar had heard anything more about the project all
week long which had turned out to be a damn good thing.
Disasters tended to come in spurts. This week she’d had to deal with six of
them, one for each day and two on Monday that had almost resulted in her being
on an airplane to someplace boring and unpleasant.
But she’d worked it out in the end, and now she was
blissfully enjoying the quiet decompression of sitting on the deck watching the
sun’s light slowly fade.
Behind her, the glass door slid open, releasing a
puff of chilled, garlic scented air along with Dar’s tanned and mostly bare
body. “Hey.” Kerry lazily rolled her head to one side as Dar joined her on the
swing chair, dressed in only a pair of soft cotton shorts and a colorful
scarlet sports bra. “What are you up
to?”
“About six and a quarter.” Dar put her feet up on
the stone porch balustrade, flexing her toes against the warm surface. “Busy
week.”
“Uh huh.” Kerry laid her book down and let her head
rest against Dar’s shoulder. “I’m glad it’s over. Between my fubars and your
hackers, I wanted to call FPL and have them take the power out again.” She
leaned closer and sniffed Dar’s skin curiously. “Why do you smell like bubble
gum?”
“I was playing ball with Chino and her new toy.” Dar
displayed a clump of cream colored hair dusting her shorts. “It’s a giggle
ball, and it smells weird.”
“A giggle ball?”
“Uh huh.” Dar said. “Like you.” She reached over and
tickled her partner who obliged her by giggling and smacking her hand.
“Dar!” Kerry tried to tickle her back, but found her
hands caught and gently held. “You punk.”
Dar released her, as she chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve
been a punk all week. I’m driving the
ops crew nuts. I think they wish I’d go back to yelling at people in meetings.”
“That’s not true. They love it.” Kerry said. “I
heard them in the break room. You were the entire subject of conversation the
last six times I went through there.”
She added. “At least until they spotted me. Then it switched to soccer.”
“Soccer?” Dar sounded pleased nonetheless. “Yeah,
I’ve been giving them some pointers as long as I’m taking over the console.”
She wiggled her toes contentedly. “Been sort of fun.”
“They’re in awe of you, you know that, right?” Kerry
smiled, rocking them both a little. “Hey, I’ve got an idea… you up for a night
dive tonight?”
“Oo.” Dar’s eyes lit up. “Yeah!”
Ah. Kerry felt the stress of the week slip away from
her. Warm air, warm water, the stars… “You’ll protect me from cuttlefish,
right?”
“With my life.” Dar promised.
“I”ll grab dinner, you grab the towels. Let’s go get
deep.”
**
“C’mon, Chino.” Kerry herded their pet onto the back
of the boat, watching her frisk around the space and busy herself smelling
every square inch of it. After watching
the dog for an indulgent minute, Kerry continued on into the boat’s cabin and
put down her armful of supplies.
The potful of spaghetti and meatballs she set on the
small stove, putting the locking arm in place to keep the contents from
becoming interior decorating when Dar started the boat moving. The wine she put in the small fridge to
chill, along with the dessert, a six pack of yogurt, and some baby chocolate
chugs.
The boat rocked lightly, announcing Dar’s presence
and a second later her partner joined her in the cabin. She dropped a mesh bag
containing Kerry’s gear on the deck, and tossed her own nearby. “We’re outta
here.”
“Go go Gadget.” Kerry went to stow the diving gear.
“I’ll get us loose.”
Dar ducked outside and headed up to the controls while
Kerry dodged the curious Chino and hopped onto the dock to untie the lines. The
sun had just gone down, and the breeze had picked up, tossing her hair back as
she jumped back on board. “Okay!”
The low rumble of the diesels started up, vibrating the deck beneath her feet. Chino barked in surprise, and backed up as the water churned behind them. Normally, Kerry would go up and join her partner as they motored out, but she knew if she did their pet would stand at the bottom of the ladder and bark, so she parked herself in one of the wood and fabric deck chairs instead. She was barefoot, and wearing a sleeveless muscle tshirt, and now she completed her outfit by snagging one of Dar’s baseball caps and putting it on backwards to keep her hair out of her eyes once the wind came up.
Chino went over to stand near the edge of the deck
as they backed out into the quiet marina waterway, her tail wagging idly as she
watched the other boats go past.
Kerry stretched her legs out and leaned back as the
island slowly receded, the lingering bands of sunset still painting the sky to
the west. It was warm, but with the
breeze very comfortable. Kerry allowed herself a few more lazy moments, until
they reached the buoy and Dar kicked the engines into higher gear. Then she
pushed herself to her feet and got to work preparing their gear for the dive.
First, she got their bags out onto the deck without
tripping over Chino, and pulled out the two sets of masks, folding snorkels,
and fins. Those she set aside for last. Next, she pulled out their shortie
wetsuits, since it was a night dive and they both tended to be chilled after a
while without the warm sun around.
“Hey, Dar?”
“Yeap?”
“Did you wash these?”
“Yeap.” The answer came back promptly. “Found some
new stuff in the dive shop last time I went. You like the smell?”
Kerry sniffed cautiously. “Smells like tangerines!”
She yelled up. “I like it!” She set the neoprene suits down with a grunt of
satisfaction. Then she went to the built in lockers and removed their BC’s and regulators,
laying them out on the counter and going over them with a careful eye.
They were only doing a reef, and a somewhat shallow
one at that, but Kerry had never bought into taking chances with their favorite
sport. She checked all the o-rings and the
clips that held their hoses down, and made sure the fittings didn’t have salt
corrosion on them.
Satisfied,
she opened the bottom cabinet and removed two tanks, lifting them with
some effort onto the low bench on the side and bungy tying them in place as the
boat shifted in the waves.
Tanks falling on your toes sucked. Kerry had two
formerly broken ones to attest to that. She picked up Dar’s BC first and untied
one tank, slipping the rig over the top and sliding it down by wiggling the
straps against the snug fit. She relooped the bungy while she positioned the
rig, tightening the tank clasp with a firm hand.
The boat shifted and rocked, making Chino bark in
surprise again. The dog scrambled back next to Kerry and pressed against her
legs, eyeing the spray coming over the bow with dubious eyes.
“It’s okay, Cheebles.” Kerry patted her on the head.
“Mommy Dar just wants to get us where we’re going fast.” She reached over and picked up Dar’s
regulator, then went back to her task.
She’d done it numerous times before, of course, but
each time she went through the steps with meticulous care, always mindful that
was Dar’s life she held in her hands as she made sure nothing was wrong.
Unlooping the bungy, she positioned the first stage
over the tank valve and carefully seated it, checking the seal for salt
crystals again before she tightened the bolt that held the two together.
Once that was done, she connected the low pressure
hose to Dar’s PC inflator, cracked the tank value open, and inflated the vest. She
stopped the air and listened, leaning close to hear over the roar of the
engines. No hiss greeted her, and she released the air with a nod of
approval. She picked up Dar’s regulator
and fit the mouthpiece into her mouth, sucking a lungful of the compressed air
before she clipped the hose to the vest and rebungy tied the tank.
So far, so good. Kerry secured Dar’s instrument
console to the D-clip on the right hand side and prepared to repeat the entire
process with her own gear.
Once finished, she took their masks and sat down
with a tube of no fog, applying it as Chino curled up at her feet on the deck.
It was a comforting and familiar task, and the smell of the sweet, salt air and
the feel of the spray against her put her heart at ease as they headed into
their own private world.
**
Dar popped up out of the water, reaching for the
steps with one hand as she cleared the surface. She removed her regulator and
gave Kerry a nod. “Okay, we’re tied off.” She said, licking her lips. “Nice
down there. No current.”
Kerry was standing by in her gear, or more to the
point, sitting by, since she was on the back deck with her flippers resting on
the wooden diving deck next to the ladder. Chino was standing up on the inside
of the wall, peering over at Dar as she wagged her tail.
“Cool.” Kerry prepared to stand up, readying her
balance as she lifted herself plus forty pounds of assorted gear onto her fins.
She put her regulator in her mouth and took a breath, then she put her hand
over her mask and stepped out into the sea.
The water was pleasantly cool, and it quickly
penetrated her shortie wetsuit and reduced some of the heat built up inside
it. Kerry got her equilibrium settled
and looked around, spotting Dar immediately nearby.
This was her favorite kind of night dive, when they
descended while it was still a little light out. She could see shadows under
her, and the outline of the reef, more comforting than going down in total
darkness.
Dar pointed downward. Kerry nodded and let the air
out of her vest, feeling her body settle deeper in the water as she changed
from vertical to horizontal and headed down to the bottom.
Dar had picked one of their favorite reefs, with
lots of undercuts and coral for critters to hide in. Kerry settled on her knees
in the sand just clear of the coral and got her camera gear arranged, watching
as ghostly schools of fish whisked around her and started to dissipate.
A big sea bass appeared, swimming idly through the
reef pretending not to notice all the potential dinner candidates heading away
from him. He swam closer to Kerry and she simply kept still and waited, her
camera raised so she could look through the offset crosshair.
The bass seemed as curious about her as she was
about him. He finned closer, tiny bits of iridescence reflecting the last of
the light from the surface as he came within her easy reach.
Kerry cautiously closed the shutter button, wincing
right along with the fish as the strobe went off and sent a brief silver flash
of light everywhere. The bass gave her
an insulted look and swam off, flicking his tail at her as he disappeared into
the gloom.
Kerry felt pleased with the shot however, and she
turned to find something else to take a picture of. As though in total cooperation with her effort, Dar swam into view
a little above Kerry’s head, outline against the pale surface of the water.
Another flash of silver secured the portrait.
Kerry pushed up off the bottom and finned towards
the reef. It was getting darker, and now if she peeked under the coral ledges,
she could see the beginnings of the eerie phosphorescence the night would bring
out.
It was like a magic world, which hid itself from the
night. Kerry decided to just experience the change, so she settled carefully
down on the bottom again, folding her fins under her and getting herself cross
legged somehow.
She focused the lens on the darkness of the
overhang, aware from the corners of her eyes of Dar’s nearby floating presence.
In the shadows, several bioluminescent fishlets
suddenly appeared, nibbling at the pale scarlet polyps. Kerry captured it, then
nearly lost her mind as the occupant of the dark hole, a green moray eel, came
rushing out to confront her with open jaws.
Seated as she was, there was no way for her to get
out of the way in time. However, just as she had started to unwind her body,
she felt herself lifted up and away by a powerful yank on her gear, and the
next thing she knew she was twenty feet
away over another part of the reef.
In the gloom, she saw the eel retreat, not without giving
her a vicious glare.
She let out her breath in a stream of bubbles, and
looked over her shoulder into Dar’s watching eyes. Kerry wiped the back of her
hand over her mask, and nodded as her partner gave her a pat on the butt.
Dar held up two fingers, then indicated her own
eyes, then indicated Kerry’s. She shook one of the fingers at her in semi-mock
remonstrance.
Yeah, she was right. Kerry nodded at her, accepting
the scold. I’m in the ocean, not in an aquarium. These are wild animals. She got her composure back, and floated for
a moment, then spotted more glowing coral and started towards it, more
cautiously this time, as the last of the light faded and the darkness closed in
around them.
**
“Ooohgh.” Dar finished putting their gear up and
dropped down into a deck chair. “Nice dive.”
A perfect canopy of stars now covered the sky over
them, obscured only in spots by drifting clouds. Kerry continued out from the cabin and put two plates down,
taking her seat across from Dar with an equally contented grunt. “Killer.”
Dar leaned over and got hold of a strand of
spaghetti between her teeth, slurping it in until it broke and left her with a
smattering of sauce across her nose. “Whoops.”
Kerry lifted a glass of chilled wine and took a sip
of it, swirling it’s tangy sweetness around in her mouth to cleanse it of the
last of the saltiness. “Thanks again for saving me from Captain Eel, Dardar.
Man, that scared the poop out of me.”
Dar chuckled, picking up her plate and propping it
against her knees. “Me too.” She attacked the pasta with a fork, swirling a big
mouthful and consuming it, her body demanding something to replenish the energy
she’d just expended.
Kerry took another sip of wine instead, gazing out
over the dark waves she’d recently been beneath. Looking at it from above, like
this, it seemed almost insane to think about diving into it. It represented in
a way, the totality of the unknown and yet she now always felt a connection to
the sea she’d never had before she’d met Dar.
Far off, near the horizon, she spotted a darker
shadow against the clouds. She watched it idly, then she squinted a little as
it seemed to elongate. “Hey, sweetie? What is that?” She pointed.
Dar looked up from biting a meatball in half. “Uh?”
Her eyes focused on where her partner was pointing. “Um..” She swallowed
hastily and put her plate down, getting up and walking to the back of the boat.
“Hah.”
“What’s funny?”
“What do you suppose the odds are of you and I
happening to be out on our boat the very same time as Quest’s ships are making
the turn for the cut?” Dar asked, in a
very wry tone.
“Is that what they are?” Kerry joined her at the
back of the boat, peering out into the darkness. “Really?”
“Four big ships being pulled by eight little ones.”
Dar confirmed. “I don’t think it can be anything else.”
Kerry turned and regarded the opening to the cut,
which was just to their south. “We’re going to get a good look at them, that’s
for sure.”
Dar returned to the table, only just barely saving
her spaghetti from a Labrador tongue. “Yep, we sure are.” She settled back down
and put her feet up. “Front row seats.”
The line of ships crept slowly closer, their
superstructures only sparsely lit, rolling slightly in the almost calm seas.
**
Dar kept the Dixie idling just past the turnoff into
the port’s pier area, getting as close to the last ship as she could without
incurring the wrath of the circling pilot boats. There was a customs fast boat cruising around too, but Dar
figured she’d be pegged as a bored rich boater with nothing better to do than
sightsee rather than a potential threat or smuggler. “Which one, Ker?”
“I think it’s that one.” Kerry pointed at the ship
aligned on the northeast side of the port. “Yeesh, they’re big.”
“That they are.” Dar studied the vessels. They were
all roughly the same size, but all four had different configurations. Two
seemed to be taller and squatter, the remainder were longer and lower. Even in
the dark, they all bore signs of having better times behind them, and she could
see patches on patches of metal on the sides if the light from the streetlamps
lining the harbor hit at a certain angle.
The one on the northeast, which Kerry had pegged as
‘theirs’ – that was one of the longer, lower ones. Dar steered a little closer, keeping a wary eye out for the
authorities, her eyes measuring the length and breadth with automatic accuracy.
“Damn thing must be a thousand feet long!”
“Lot of portholes.” Kerry noted. “We’re going to
have to go distributed with fiber.”
“Oh yeah.” Dar agreed softly. The Dixieland Yankee
slid a little sideways in the tide, and a stripe of moonlight splashed between
her and the boat. It hit the water, and Dar leaned forward, her eyes catching a
ripple on the surface that didn’t look quite right. “Hey, Ker?”
“Yeah?”
“Check the bilge real quick, huh? Are we leaking
something?”
Kerry scrambled across the deck and hopped over the
back wall, leaning over and peering at the back of the boat. She held on with
one hand and fished her mini flashlight off her belt with the other, keying it
on and studying the spot where the engines were churning the water. “Can’t
tell.” She yelled up at her partner. “You’re breaking up the water too much.”
Dar cut the engines, after looking around to make
sure they weren’t going to drift into anything immediately. “Look quick.”
Kerry studied the water, then leaned way over and
stuck her hand in, bringing it up and sniffing. Her nose wrinkled. “This
stinks, but not of diesel.”
“Okay, get up .” Dar started the engines up again
and backed the boat away from the pier, getting to an angle against the
moonlight again. She spotted what had worried her, a silvery film on the
surface they’d just passed through that extended across the surface of the
water behind them.
Carefully, Dar turned the boat and followed the oily
stripe with her eyes. It went right past the boat and headed across the cut,
fading out from her view as it reached the ship in the northeast dock.
“Figures.”
“What is it?” Kerry was at the bottom of the ladder,
peering up.
“Should have thought of that first. It’s one of
them, leaking something.” Dar pointed.
Kerry turned and looked, shading her eyes against
the streetlamps. Now that her partner had pointed it out to her, she saw the
line on the water, and in fact if she went to the side.. . “I can smell it.”
She called up. “Smells like kerosene.”
Dar moved their boat sideways, out of the
stain. One of the customs boats was now
heading their way, apparently noting the odd maneuvers she’d been
executing. “Shoulda just stayed out on
the reef.” She commented. “Better go grab the registration just in case, Ker.”
The other boat pulled alongside and Dar set the
Dixie into idle, keeping her hands on the controls as the customs officers
grabbed hold of the railing. “Hi.” She called down.
“You having a problem?” The man called up to her,
apparently more concerned for her safety than suspicious.
“No.. I saw a slick, and thought I was causing it.”
Dar pointed. “But it’s that tub over there.”
The officer, shaded his eyes, then crouched. “Ah!
Yeah.” He nodded, then looked back up at her. “You just out for a ride?”
Kerry emerged, carefully locking Chino inside the
cabin. “No, we were diving.” She indicated their gear. “We live over there. We
saw these big ships coming in, so we were curious.”
The customs officer gave her a once over. “Well,
don’t be too curious. That’s our job.” He pushed off from the railing. “You
folks have a good night.”
“Night.” Kerry replied politely. “You too.”
The customs boat backed away, but placed itself
conspicuously between the ship and the Dixieland Yankee. The officers on the rear of the boat watched
them as Dar idled for a moment more, then swung the bow around and headed off
towards the marina on the far side of the island.
Kerry climbed up onto the flying bridge and joined her
partner. “That was weird.”
“Of course it was. Do normal things happen to you
and me?” Dar asked, as she glanced behind her. “But in fairness, I don’t think
oil leaks are their department.” She took the right fork around the island
instead of the left, coming even with another of the ships as she moved slowly
through the no wake area.
This was the first ship that had come in, and it was
already tied up. There were several figures standing the deck leaning on the
rails, looking at the sights. One waved at them.
Kerry waved back.
The figure stepped forward and exposed himself to
her, laughing loudly.
Dar picked up the mic clipped to the console and
switched on the Dixie’s PA system. “Throw it back, buddy. It’s too short.”
Kerry snickered, leaning against her partner and
hiding her face in Dar’s shirt sleeve.
The man’s companions laughed as well, slapping the
miscreant on the back and shoving him back against the wall. One of them then advanced to the rail, but
backed up again as the Dixieland Yankee turned into the marina channel and
started to disappear from view. “Hey girlies! C’mon back, yeah? I got me a big
one!”
“You know what?” Kerry sniffed reflectively. “I sure
hope Shari and Michelle get that one.”
Dar chuckled. “I’m sure ours won’t be much better.
Old salts are old salts.”
“Hm. We could bring our own old salt with us.” Kerry
mused. “He’s still on the payroll, and I bet he’d probably keep those guys off
our backs.”
“Hm.”
They came around the south side of the island and
entered the marina basin, slowing their already slow speed to just above idle.
Most of the marina was empty – the owners moving their boats to a more
comfortable climate during the summer along with themselves.
Dar angled towards their slip, putting the Dixie
neatly into place as Kerry scooted down the ladder to jump ashore and tie them
off. Her thoughts, however, were on
Kerry’s last suggestion. Not that she
really thought they needed Dad around on their ship…
But wouldn’t it be interesting if he were hanging
around the others?
Dar shut down the diesels and leaned against the
console, weighing the conflict of aiding their business goals at the expense of
asking her father to be a part of something not quite…
Would he consider it dishonorable? Or just good
strategy.
“Dar? You coming down from there or should I bring
coffee up?”
Dar shut down the console and pocketed the keys,
then started for the ladder, still pondering the question.
**
Kerry settled into her seat, glad of the very early
morning quiet of the office on a rainy Monday morning. She had a meeting scheduled with Mark and
the technical team for the bid in an hour, and she intended on using the time
before then to square away the project and tie up a few loose ends.
“Hey, Mayte?” She pressed her intercom. “You there?”
“Yes! I am.”
“Did we get the circuit completion on the pier?”
Kerry asked. “I don’t have anything here on it.”
“I will check.” Mayte promised. “They were saying on
Friday that it would be done.”
“Okay, thanks.” Kerry set that problem aside. She pulled
over a folder with requisitions for the project, and reviewed them. “Yikes.. is
this just for the setup team?” She sighed, leafing through the pages. Money to
establish an office at the pier and get that up and running, and provisioning
for the gear to equip the office. “Damn, IT is expensive.” She shook her head
and signed the pages, closing the folder and tossing it into her out bin.
“Kerry?” Mayte’s voice crackled in.
“Yeesss?” Kerry answered.
Her assistant laughed softly. “You sound so funny when
you do that.”
“Do I sound like Dar?” Kerry’s eyes twinkled.
“A little.” Mayte admitted. “Only not so big.”
Kerry’s eyebrow lifted.
“The circuits have come complete.” Mayte went on.
“The Bellsouth man says it is terminated in the local office on Brickell – he
needs to know from you which to patch here.”
“Tell him the Pier 10 one.” Kerry replied. “But hold
on to the other ones – I might be able to rent them.” She hummed softly in
satisfaction. “Okay, we’re good to go.” She typed a message to mark, then took
a sip of her morning tea.
The door opened and Mayte slipped inside, coming
over to her desk with a folder in her hands.
“Good morning.”
“Morning!” Kerry pointed at her outbox. “Can you
make sure that gets down to purchasing? We’re gonna need it.” She glanced at
her assistant. “That’s a pretty shirt. I like it.”
Mayte blushed visibly. “Mama got it for me this
weekend.” She fingered the silk shyly. “I think she was trying to make it up to
me for getting me in so much trouble when you went to New York.” She hesitated.
“Kerry, you were talking last week about going diving. Do you like that a lot?”
Kerry leaned back in her chair. “Absolutely.” She
said. “In fact, Dar and I went on a night dive on Friday night… it was
wonderful. I saw a moray eel.”
Mayte nodded seriously. “I think I would like to try
that. Do you know where I could find out about it?”
“Sure. Matter of fact, you can borrow my study
materials, to see if you like it. Remind me and I’ll bring them in tomorrow.”
Her boss promised. “It’s a great sport… ah, did you tell your parents you
wanted to do this?”
“No.” Mayte grinned a little. “I did not think they
would like it. Mama is always worried the sharks will eat you and la jefa when
you go.” She confided. “Have you seen a shark?”
“Sure.” Kerry said. “But it was in a tank at Disney
World. Does that count?” She grinned at her assistant’s look of bewilderment.
“Anyway, I”ll bring the stuff in and you can read it. Really, it’s a lot of
fun.”
“Thank you.” The girl said. “I will tell mama
afterwards. Yes?”
“You learn fast.” Kerry winked. “Hey, maybe you can
come out with us diving if you decide you like it. I think your mama trusts us
to take care of you.”
Mayte’s eyes lit up. “I think so too!” She blurted.
“Thank you!” Her gaze dropped to the folder in her hands. “This came for you.”
She held it out. “I am sorry, I am taking up your time.”
Kerry took the folder, and watched in some
bemusement as Mayte trotted for the door and escaped into the outer office.
“Huh.” She put the folder down and opened it. “What got into her, I wonder?”
“You.”
Kerry nearly jumped out of her seat before she
recognized the voice. “Jesus, Dar.” She looked over at the inner door. “You
scared the poo out of me.” Her brow creased. “What do you mean, me?”
Her partner strolled over and took a seat on the
edge of Kerry’s desk. “You haven’t noticed she has a crush on you yet?”
“Oh, she does not.” Kerry scoffed. “Get out of here.
She’s a nice kid, and she loves working here. What, because she’s interested in
diving, you think she’s got a crush on me?”
The corners of Dar’s eyes creased as a little grin
appeared. “Okay, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Did those lines come in?”
“Yes.” Kerry nodded. “I was going to send Mark and a
team there to get the office set up and facilities working. Did you want to go
look at the ship?”
Dar got up and went to the window, looking out as
she pressed her fingertips against the glass. “No.” She did a few vertical push
ups. “I’ve got something I’m working on in ops. Maybe I’ll go over tonight,
after the crowds take off.”
“Okay.”
“I just talked to Alastair.”
Kerry half turned to face her partner. “And?”
“The contracts this contract is tied into will
either make or break the quarter, he thinks.”
Nothing like a little pressure. “Okay… but the
quarter just started.”
“New business is down forty percent on the month.”
Dar kept doing her push ups. “Alastair said people are waiting to see what
happens with this one. It’s too public.”
“So we have to win it.” Kerry exhaled. “No options.”
Dar nodded. “I’ve got to go to ops.” She pushed away
from the window. “Tell Mark I’m sure Telegenics and everyone else is going to
be crawling over our people at the pier. Pick the right people to go down
there. I don’t want a leak inside.”
“All right.” Kerry watched the door close behind
her. “I’ll do that.” She added softly.
Things were getting serious. She figured it was only
going to get uglier as they went along, and at the end? What if they just
couldn’t put in a competitive bid? Would Dar agree to a money losing contract
to secure the more lucrative one behind it?
Kerry picked up her pen and chewed the end of it,
thoughtfully.
**