When Angels Fall

by Sherryl D. Hancock

  Lifting her head to look down into Devin’s eyes again, “I think you’re incredibly hot,” she said, her voice already showing the effects one kiss had on her.

  “Mmm,” Devin murmured, reaching up to pull Skyler’s head back down to her and returning the deep kiss, letting her hands trail up into Skyler’s hair.

  Minutes later they were in the house and making love on the couch. The rest of the day was spent watching movies, and making love whenever they felt like it.

  “So, how’s it going with the hot doctor?” Jams asked the next day when Skyler got to the hangar.

  Skyler merely smiled widely, her eyes twinkling.

  “That good, huh?” Jams said, nodding.

  It was good to see Skyler smile for a change. It had been so long since she’d been happy, since Iraq and that had been over two years before. He’d begun to wonder if she’d ever be happy again. He knew he was getting his hopes up with this new relationship she was in, but it was worth the relief it brought.

  Their day was spent doing engine checks and maintenance reports for the helicopters. The minute their time was done, Skyler in her car and flipping him a wave as she drove off. He watched smiling.

  “What’s this?” Devin asked later that evening as they lay in bed, her finger was brushing the scar on Skyler’s chest.

  She didn’t notice Skyler tense, but she heard the tension in her voice when she answered.

  “It’s from a crash,” Skyler said simply.

  Devin moved to lean up on her elbow, looking up at Skyler, seeing the muscle in her jaw jumping as she clenched her teeth, her eyes like ice.

  “When?” Devin asked simply.

  Skyler’s eyes narrowed slightly, and Devin could almost feel Skyler moving away from her, even if she didn’t actually move.

  “Two and a half years ago.” Skyler finally answered.

  Devin nodded, “Bad?”

  “Not good,” Skyler said, her tone incredulous.

  Devin actually shuddered at the combination of Skyler’s tone and the look on her face.

  “You think I’m pushing?” Devin said, it really wasn’t a question.

  “I think you’re pushing,” Skyler answered.

  Devin drew in a deep breath, and nodded almost to herself. Getting up and stretching she walked toward her bathroom, “I’m going to take a shower,” she said over her shoulder.

  Skyler lay in bed, watching the doorway Devin had disappeared into. Reaching up she rubbed her lower lip with her thumb, her eyes narrowing as her mind did it’s best to put away the tension she’d been feeling moments before.

  Devin was washing her hair when she heard the shower door open. She turned and rinsed the soap out of her hair, then wiped the water out of her eyes, just as Skyler’s lips touched hers. It was a soft, sweet kiss, an ‘I’m sorry’ kiss. Devin wound her arms around Skyler’s neck, kissing her back, and doing her best to show her that she accepted the apology.

  Later that night, though, as Skyler lay sleeping in bed, Devin did what she’d been trying to avoid doing. She used her formidable skills to track down information about Skyler and her crew, using what little she knew about them. It took a while and bending a few federal information technology laws but she finally found what she’d been looking for. She read the redacted report of the accident that the Black Hawk 59 of the 3rd Assault Helicopter battalion. There wasn’t a lot of information, but what she read made her feel sick to her stomach. The report outlined that the Black Hawk was hit by machine gun fire that damaged the tail rotor of the aircraft and sent it spinning out of control. It was noted that Chief Warrant Officer 5, Skyler Boche’ and co-pilot Chief Warrant Officer 4, Daniel Lauret, who Devin assumed was Jams, controlled the spin, but the helicopter was hit again with fire and finally succumbed to its damages. Staff Sergeant Tom O’Reilly was killed in the crash. Then there were several lines blocked out in the report, but Devin was able to determine that somewhere along the way Staff Sergeant Billy Kings was also killed. It was also listed that CW5 Boche sustained multiple injuries including two gunshot wounds, head injury, thoracic trauma, four broken ribs and a punctured lung. It also listed that CW 4 Lauret sustained two gunshot wounds as well as head trauma from the crash. Devin noted that much of the report was blacked out, it made her curious to know what was behind those solid black lines. She was sure it had a lot to do with Skyler’s current mental state.

  Devin hadn’t realized she was crying until she finally closed the report and backed out of the website she’d found it on, covering her electronic tracks as she did. She sat at her computer for a long time, just trying to imagine what it would have been like to be in a crash like that, and what about the gunshot wounds? Had they happened when the helicopter was being fired at? Or had it happened after that? It gnawed at Devin, her mind thinking a million things, especially when she went back into the bedroom to see Skyler asleep, laying naked from the waist up, her arm thrown above her head. It was then in the light of the bathroom doorway that Devin started to see the small scars on Skyler’s chest, even one just below her shoulder. Devin wondered why she hadn’t noticed them before. Now she couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened in Iraq, and how this woman was possibly affected by the crash.

  Skyler stirred, opening her eyes and seeing Devin standing next to the bed, her look devastated. Moving slowly to sit up, Skyler pulled the sheet up, as she saw Devin’s eyes move to her shoulder.

  Devin saw Skyler’s chin come up, and she knew then that Skyler had sensed her fear and worry. She tried to cover it quickly.

  “Sorry,” she said, smiling, as she turned around to walk to the bathroom light to turn it off. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” she said over her shoulder.

  When she turned around she knew her attempt at hiding her churning emotions hadn’t been successful. She moved to sit on the bed, and winced as Skyler moved away from her, her eyes narrowed.

  “You did it, didn’t you?” Skyler said, her tone accusing.

  “Skyler…” Devin began.

  “You fucking hacked it, didn’t you?” Skyler said then, her tone angry now.

  Devin debated lying to her, wanting to take that look of betrayal out of Skyler’s eyes, but she knew lying to Skyler would be worse.

  “Yes, I looked it up,” Devin said, finally, “I knew if I asked you that you wouldn’t tell me, and honestly I didn’t want to hurt you by asking.”

  Skyler’s look did not change, but her jaw tightened noticeably.

  “So what do you think you know now?” Skyler asked, her tone a sneer.

  Devin looked back at this woman who’d been so sweet just hours before, she realized that she may have just made a serious mistake, but it was too late.

  “Skyler,” Devin began again, her tone reasoning, but Skyler wasn’t having it.

  “What do you think you know?” Skyler repeated, her words measured and biting this time.

  Devin swallowed, blowing her breath out slowly. “That the Black Hawk you were piloting in Iraq crashed and–“

  “Was shot down,” Skyler inserted sharply.

  Devin blinked a couple of times, knowing there was no way out of this and just wanting to get through it.

  “Was shot down,” Devin repeated, her voice soft, “and that you and Jams were both hurt badly…” her voice trailed off as tears clogged her throat suddenly.

  Skyler’s eyes took on an edge, her face a mask of disgust, “And two of my crew were killed.”

  Tears slid from Devin’s eyes as she nodded.

  “Say it,” Skyler said, her tone sharp.

  “And two of your crew were killed,” Devin said quietly.

  “Is that what you needed to know?” Skyler asked, her voice a shout, moving to get out of the bed, and started pulling on her clothes.

  Devin watched helplessly, she sat crying softly as Skyler dressed.

  Skyler threw an angry look over her shoulder, and felt as if someone had just punched her in the stomach. In the moonlight coming through t
he bedroom windows she could see Devin crying. It wasn’t a wailing ‘give me attention’ kind of cry, it was a devastated broken hearted kind of cry. Skyler closed her eyes, trying with every fiber of her being to shove down the fury she’d been feeling moments before. Breathing slowly, she willed herself to calm down. Turning around, she stood looking at Devin for a long minute. Finally, she walked around the bed, moving to sit beside Devin, pulling her into her arms. Devin buried her face in Skyler’s shirt, her arms wound around Skyler’s waist as she did her best to stop crying.

  Finally, Devin raised her eyes to Skyler, “I’m sorry,” she said, her tone devastated, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, please don’t leave.”

  Skyler looked down at her, her eyes searching Devin’s. She knew she’d overreacted, and she knew that it was just this kind of rage that had ended a previously long relationship. While she was nowhere near ready to deal with all the aspects of the crash, she also knew that it was her own refusal to discuss that matter that had forced Devin to try to find out on her own.

  “I can’t talk about it,” Skyler said, her tone apologetic, “not yet, maybe not ever.”

  Devin nodded, sniffing and reaching up to wipe away tears.

  “Okay,” she said softly, “I’m really sorry.”

  Skyler grimaced, “No, I’m sorry, Devin, it wasn’t fair to try to keep the whole thing away from you, it forced you to do what you did. I shouldn’t have yelled, so I’m sorry.”

  Reaching up, Skyler’s fingers brushed away the last of the tears on Devin’s cheek. Leaning down she kissed Devin’s lips softly. Two apologies in less than two hours, Skyler thought, it’s becoming a damned epidemic.

  The next day as they both go ready to leave the house, Skyler’s phone buzzed. She picked it up looking at the message.

  “Aw, damn it,” she said, sending a text.

  “What?” Devin asked, glancing at her in the mirror.

  “I forgot Jams parents are coming today,” Skyler said, shaking her head.

  “Is that bad?” Devin asked, turning to face Skyler.

  “No,” Skyler said, shaking her head, “it just means I’ve been too distracted with a particularly hot PhD.” She said with a grin.

  “Oh,” Devin said, nodding, “so now it’s my fault?”

  Skyler stepping over to lean down and kiss her on the lips, “You do keep me distracted,” she said.

  “Well, if it’s a problem…” Devin replied, stepping back.

  Skyler laughed, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her back, “I don’t think so,” she said, moving to kiss her again.

  Devin was so relieved that Skyler was back to normal this morning, she’d been so afraid the night before that she’d pushed things too far, and she was going to lose this connection with this woman. She still wasn’t sure what had drawn them together, but she had a feeling it had everything to do with the crash, and Devin really wanted to be there for Skyler when she finally dealt with whatever demons still haunted her.

  After kissing for a few minutes they went back to getting ready. Skyler watched as Devin put on her makeup, glancing at her phone and answering messages as she did. Skyler was still fascinated with the process Devin went through to get ready to go to work, hair, make-up, outfit, not just clothes, accessories, earrings, watch, bracelets, everything coordinated. To Skyler the process was exhausting, but she had to admit the final product was amazing.

  Devin had a style all her own, regular clothes weren’t her thing, she liked quirky interesting pieces, like a great pair of shoes, and she’d build an entire outfit around them. Everything coordinated, right down to the color of eye shadow she wore, it was something that defined her in other people’s heads. She was quirky, but put together in a way that a lot of people couldn’t really explain even if they tried. Most people just thought of her as a dynamic fireball of a person, and when she got to work on solving their problems with their systems, no one expected her to be as good as she was.

  In Devin’s world, she was a goddess. Computer programmers would consider her area of expertise as a “hacker”, and she was good at it. She was able to track down viruses and malicious software in systems, and she was able to track them back to their origination point. Law enforcement agencies all over the country knew about her, and contacted her when they had information technology breaches in their own systems, or needed her assistance on high profile cases. She was a hot and therefore expensive commodity, so she was only contacted when they knew they needed the best. She had a reputation in the industry and was often referred to as The Glimmer for her ability to essentially disappear in a system once she’d been there.

  Skyler and Devin had discussed it one night as they lay in bed.

  “Why haven’t you told me this up until now?” Skyler had asked, her fingers intertwined with Devin’s.

  Devin had shrugged, glancing back at Skyler, they were laying on their backs, Devin’s head had been in the hollow of Skyler’s shoulder, Skyler’s arm under her neck, holding her hand.

  “What was I supposed to say?” Devin had asked, “Hi, I’m a super hacker?”

  Skyler had grinned, “Maybe?”

  “Uh-no,” Devin had replied.

  “You could have told me you’re a very successful computer consultant.” Skyler had suggested.

  Devin had moved to turn over on her stomach, levering herself up on her elbows and looking down at Skyler. “So, ‘Hi, I’m a super hacker who doesn’t even get out of bed for less than a hundred thousand’?”

  Skyler had given her a stunned look, “A hundred thousand dollars?” she’d repeated.

  Devin had laughed, nodding.

  “Son of a…” Skyler had muttered in shock.

  Now watching Devin get ready, Skyler was still astounded at how much her girlfriend made to do her job. It definitely explained the house she owned, houses in Malibu were never cheap, and Devin’s house was just incredible. In comparison, rescue chopper pilots didn’t make near as much, it was a decent living, but there was nowhere near what Devin made. Skyler guessed that she better to let go of the antiquated idea that she should make more than someone she was dating.

  “So, Jams’ parents?” Devin asked, her tone leading.

  “Are awesome,” Skyler said, smiling. “They own a farm in Kansas now, but Jams’ dad was an Army pilot too.”

  “Oh, I see,” Devin said, “So Jams is just carrying on tradition.”

  “Yeah, but he really didn’t think he was going to make it as a pilot, he didn’t think he had the knack for it.”

  “Does he?” Devin asked.

  “He’s good,” Skyler said, nodding.

  “But?” Devin asked, hearing the hesitation in Skyler’s voice.

  “But, I think he does it more for his dad than for him.”

  “Oh, that’s rough,” Devin said, nodding, “My parents wanted me to do more than what I am too.”

  Skyler gave her a deadpan look, “They want you to make more than ‘no less than a hundred thousand dollars’ a job?”

  Devin laughed, knowing she was never going to hear the end of that statement, “No, they don’t like what I do, they think it’s somehow unsavory.”

  “Seriously?” Skyler asked, thinking of what Devin had said about growing up in Compton and wondering how parents from there could hold themselves to high above what their daughter did.

  “My mom’s a teacher,” Devin said, “in one of the worst schools in Compton, and my dad works with a non-profit.”

  “So they don’t like that you’re taking so much money for what you do?” Skyler practically glowered, “Do they want you to be poor and live in Compton with them?”

  Devin bit her lip, enjoying the tone of loyalty in Skyler’s voice, “Well, they don’t live in Compton itself anymore, but I’m sure they’d like me to do something more ‘service oriented’.”

  Skyler made a “Pfft” sound with her mouth, dismissing that comment, “It ain’t like you’re working with the big corporations to figure ou
t how to rip off the little guy. Jesus!”

  Devin laughed, “It doesn’t matter to me. I went to MIT to make them happy, I do what I do for a living to make me happy.”

  “Good.” Skyler said with finality.

  “So are you close to Jams parents?” Devin asked, getting the conversation back to Skyler, who always seemed to find a way to steer it away from herself.

  Skyler looked back at her, narrowing her eyes slightly, it meant she knew what Devin was doing, but she didn’t comment on it.

  “Yeah, I am,” she said, “they are really great, and have been there for me like my parents never have been.”

  Devin nodded, now very interested in meeting these people.

  Later, Skyler drove them to work; Devin was still working with the LAPD on a job, so they were headed to the same area.

  “So, we’ll probably have dinner with Jams’ parents tonight, are you okay with that?”

  Devin checked her calendar on her phone and nodded, “Yeah, I should be able to, I just need to move a meeting.”

  “If you can’t make it, it’s okay,” Skyler said, not wanting to interfere with Devin’s schedule.

  “I’ll make it,” Devin said her tone serious.

  “Okay,” Skyler replied equally serious, but a grin on her face.

  Later at the hangar, Jams commented that they needed to leave at 3 PM that day to pick his parents up at the airport.

  “Got it,” Skyler nodded, as she continued to work on the log for the maintenance they’d performed the day before.

  They had a maintenance crew, but there were certain things that Skyler felt the need to check on and handle herself. The maintenance crew chief knew her well enough to trust her skills.

  “They’re going to want to meet Devin, you know,” Jams said his tone conversational.

  Skyler glanced up at him, “Is that your way of warning me that you’ve already told them about her?”

  “You know they always want to know how you’re doing.” Jams said.

  “Uh-huh,” Skyler muttered, giving him a suspicious look, “Did you call them that first night from the party?”