"I'm going to do to you what she asked me to do to her," Scooter said between clinched teeth as she grazed her bottom lip along Layne's neck from her open collar to her ear. She kept one hand on her breast squeezing and pinching her nipple as she ran the other down her stomach and opened the button on her jeans.
She pulled the zipper down slowly and moved her hand past the front of the satin g-string into the warm wetness she knew was waiting for her. What felt so right seemed so wrong. Layne writhed against her as she slid her fingers through the soaked folds around her clit, then deep inside of her.
"Oh God, Scooter!" Layne was panting and quivering on wobbly legs as Scooter added another finger and thrust deeper in and out of her. She grabbed a handful of short dark curls and pulled Scooter against her. Their lips met wildly. She sucked Scooter's tongue and bit her lip. Scooter sucked her bottom lip and bit her back. Then, she gentled the kiss just enough to keep it going.
Layne pulled her hair again and cried out, "Harder…harder…yes baby, you're making me come!" As she slammed herself down on Scooter's fingers over and over. Scooter wrapped her other arm around her and practically picked her up to keep her from denting the Porsche's hood.
When the waves of orgasm slowed, Layne's body slumped against Scooter with her forehead on her shoulder. Scooter held her tightly against her. When Layne regained her composure, Scooter pulled away.
"I…" Layne started.
"Don't." Scooter shook her head and cut her off. She backed up another step. "Damn you. I can't do this!" She got in her car and drove off when Layne moved away.
Chapter 26
Libby sat at the breakfast bar next to her sister who had her nose in the middle of the newspaper. It had been over a month since Scooter foolishly chased Layne down the street, fucked her against her car and drove off. Libby had no idea what happened that night, except that Scooter wound up not leaving with the blond since she saw her come back into the bar.
Once again, Scooter threw herself into working crazy hours which included teaching a part-time certification class on the base. She hadn't been to Frog's or any other bar for that matter since that night over a month ago.
"Let's do something tomorrow night," Libby said as she sat down with a cup of coffee and a plate of toast.
Scooter closed the newspaper and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"Dinner. A movie. I don't know, get out of the house."
"Don't you have a bar to run?"
"I have very capable employees, I'm sure I can miss one night to hang out with my sister." She bumped Scooter's shoulder.
"I see." Scooter opened the paper again after snatching a piece of her sister's toast. "I get out of the house every day. Actually, I'm gone ten or twelve hours most days."
"Yes, but you've turned into a hermit."
Scooter frowned. She wasn't a hermit. She just didn't feel like socializing and the farther she was from Layne Carmichael the better.
"What happened to prowling around the bar? Damn you!" Libby said when she realized her toast was missing. She slapped the newspaper down.
"What?" Scooter asked sheepishly.
"We are grown adults. You're almost thirty-three. I think you can stop stealing my food and learn to make your own!"
"Oh that." Scooter scrunched her face. "Too much butter and not cooked enough."
"Make it yourself next time," She chided. "So?"
"Yes?"
"Prowling? The bar?"
"I haven't felt like it I guess." Scooter shrugged.
"Does this have anything to do with that young blond you were pawing? I was sure I wouldn't see her again, but she came right back inside. I know you're not that fast."
"Oh really. And how do you know that?"
"You usually stay gone all night, not five minutes."
"Touché."
"She was sort of a bobble head and I guess I lost interest." Scooter closed the newspaper and folded it neatly. She really didn't want to have this conversation with her sister. Layne's name was bound to come up and she just didn't want to hear it, not now, not ever again. "I need to get to the base," she said as she slid off the stool and grabbed her wallet and keys. "Dinner tomorrow night sounds good."
~~~
Scooter rode towards the base in silence. Libby didn't deserve the cold shoulder from her, but she wasn't sure how to deal with being numb from the inside out. She needed to get control of whatever this was before it swallowed her whole.
When she pulled up to the west entry gate of the base it was locked down and the base was on red alert. She almost had her car searched when she tried to go through the gate leading to the submarine moorings on the other side of the island. She didn't watch the news that morning and had driven in with the radio off, so she was clueless when she got out of her car and walked towards Pier C-3 where the U.S.S. Lincoln was floating calmly in its mooring.
"Good morning, Commander." One of the enlisted Petty Officers stopped to salute her before she crossed the gangway. She saluted back and stepped through the hatch. She had the eerie feeling that she had missed something. Everyone was working steadily, every piece of equipment was undergoing test drills and full deployment supplies where being shuttled aboard.
She decided to go find the captain before checking her own messages. He was in the Control Room on the phone with an EAM fax in his hand.
"There you are. I almost sent the MP's to your house," he said when he hung the phone up. He walked out of the Control Room and waved for her to follow. When he closed to the door to the meeting room connected to his stateroom he handed her the EAM.
It said the entire Pacific Fleet was on Red Alert due to a raised Terrorist Threat Level brought on by the ongoing fighting between North and South Korea. Apparently, the South had finally had enough and threatened an all out war and unfortunately, the U.S. was an Ally of South Korea.
"When did this happen?" she asked.
"About twenty minutes ago. The entire base is in an uproar. RDML Muerk was just on the phone. The pentagon is in a closed-door meeting as we speak to discuss our reaction. As of right now we are on full alert, but it doesn't look like we will be deployed. This whole mess will probably blow over in a week or so, but until then we are operating as if we are preparing to go to war."
"Aye aye, Captain." She snapped to attention and saluted. He returned the salute. "I'm assuming the crew knows."
"Yes, I couldn't wait for you to get in. I informed all of the officers that were already aboard and I'm sure by now it has rolled downhill. The full crew is being called in to debrief before the Whitehouse press conference at noon. We will need to be prepared for that."
"As soon as the EAM comes in I will arrange a briefing on the pier. Until then, I will follow protocol and meet with all of the officers to go over the deployment checklists. Ironically, I'm scheduled to be in Roosevelt Hall at 1400 to give a lecture on alert protocol."
CAPT. Undell laughed. "I'm pretty sure that's been canceled until further notice. I'll put in a call to administration to be sure."
Scooter walked out of the meeting room and checked the messages on her cell phone. She felt it vibrate in her pocket the entire time she was in there. She usually left it in her stateroom on her desk while she was working, but with all of the commotion she bypassed her make-shift office and went straight to the Command Center to find out what was happening.
Two of her messages were from Libby, one asking if she had heard the news and to call her, the second saying of course she had heard and oh my god was she being deployed. One of the other messages was from base personnel letting her know the certification classes were postponed until further notice. At least, that was one less thing she needed to worry about. Now, she had to go call Libby before she started calling the admiral's office. The last message was Ike Duncan asking her to return his call as soon as possible. He had some news for her regarding her case.
~~~
Libby was pacing the floor at the house waiting for the President
to come on the TV at noon and tell the nation whether or not the United States was going to war. She was nervous Korea was nothing like Iraq or Afghanistan. They not only had nuclear weapons, but they also had a Navy on both sides and that was what scared her. Scooter had been deployed on the U.S.S. Dempsey outside of Afghanistan during the War on Terror five years ago, but that war seemed somehow less threatening to the Navy and Libby had no qualms with her sister over there tucked away from the disaster on a ship.
This time around, Scooter was on a submarine that could very easily see combat on the frontlines of a naval battle with North Korea. Libby prayed it didn't escalate to that. She was about to call Scooter again when her phone rang.
"Can you believe this mess? Please tell me you're not being deployed."
"Everything has been turned upside down in the past hour, but no one is being deployed at the moment. The entire fleet is on full alert and the base is locked down."
"Damn it. That's ridiculous."
"I know, but its protocol." Scooter sighed and sat at her desk. "After the press conference I will know more. Unfortunately, I have to stay on board until all of this blows over. I'll be home sometime this afternoon to pack."
"I hate your rules and codes." Libby sat on the couch. "It sounds an awful lot like going to sea to me."
"We have to be prepared to get underway in four hours when we are on full alert. I don't like it either, my entire crew is walking around on egg shells and hyped up with adrenaline at the same time. It's like a ticking time bomb."
"Oh, great analogy."
Scooter laughed. "I need to get going. I have a hundred things to do in the next hour. I'll call you when I'm heading home."
"Okay, you better be coming home and not disappearing for another six months."
Scooter smiled. "I'm coming home, besides we have to celebrate."
"Celebrate what? Another war?"
"No," Scooter laughed. "Ike Duncan called, it seems that Navy JAG pressed the governor pretty hard to have the case that asshole senator and Stewart Griffin were cooking up stopped immediately. Also, my file has been cleared of everything and closed. Oh, and Petty Officer what's her face was discharged."
"No way, oh my God Scooter that's wonderful news." Libby was so happy she wanted to hug her sister through the phone. She could finally start putting her life back together without looking over her shoulder constantly. "Too bad that asshole Griffin didn't lose his job."
"He still might. Ike said the governor is looking into the entire case and there may be an internal investigation. Navy JAG doesn't play around, that's for sure."
"I'm so happy for you. Now, hurry your butt home so we can celebrate the end of all of this and you not getting deployed for war."
"Don't get your hopes on the last part. It's out of my control. I'll see you soon," Scooter said before hanging up.
Chapter 27
Layne and Denise were sitting at a table in Frog's nursing a pitcher of margarita's. Neither of them had been in the bar in over a month. Denise refused to go without Layne and Tabitha, and Layne avoided anything that would bring her in contact with Scooter and her loose lifestyle. She fought the pain of heartbreak every time she slowed down long enough to think about her. She kept silent about their encounter in the middle of the road. Tabitha would find it extremely hot and Denise would chide her for giving in, but the truth was it was like an out of body experience for her and she was haunted by it.
"Can you believe this war shit? We aren't even in it yet and gas prices are already through the roof," Denise growled. "My boss is losing his mind waiting to see what the stock market does."
Layne topped off her glass. "I haven't seen the news all day. I guess I'm kind of avoiding it to be honest with you. The last thing we need is another senseless war."
"I agree."
"Oh my God, did you hear the news? I almost wrecked my car!" Tabitha said as she sat down and poured herself a Margarita.
"No. What happened now?"
Tabitha looked around the room. "Damn, no TV. I just heard on the radio North Korea shot down a plane a few hours ago and it was just confirmed to be a South Korean Air Force plane!"
"Are you serious?"
"Yes."
~~~
Scooter knew war was inevitable. She worked every day for the past month preparing her crew. When the call came, she was ready. The war had begun, within the next four hours the U.S.S. Lincoln would be on its way to hell, with her as the second in command. She wasn't nervous, not in the least bit. She had been through one war, maybe not on a submarine and maybe not all out naval warfare, but she had been there and learned one valuable lesson during that time…come home alive.
Scooter straightened her Dress White uniform and walked into Frogs. It was early on Friday night, the empty dance floor would be covered by sweaty dancing bodies within a couple of hours. She wished she were there to join them, instead of watching the petite blond woman walking towards her with tears running down her face. This was the hard part, saying goodbye, maybe even for the last time. She knew her sister was a strong woman, she almost regretted living so close to her because it became personal every time she was deployed for any reason. Whereas, before she moved to San Diego for her commission to the Lincoln her goodbyes would be a phone call or occasional video chat.
"Damn it, I don't want you to go, not this time," Libby cried when she put her arms around Scooter's neck. She knew the minute she saw the white uniform come through the door. The stiff shoulders and arrow straight walk belonged to one person and one person only.
"I know." Scooter bit back tears. She stood strong and tall, and proud to wear the uniform she bore. "I'll be home soon." She smiled.
Libby wiped her tears and put her hand on her sister's cheek. "I love you. Please come home safe."
"I love you too. I probably won't be able to contact you, just know I love you and I will come back. I promise you, Libby." She pulled her sister to her for one last hug. "I've got to go." She walked out of the bar quickly.
~~~
"Oh no," Denise said when she saw the stark white uniform.
"I bet she's being deployed," Tabitha said as they watched the display between the sisters. "That's sad."
Layne watched in silence as a tear slid down her cheek. When Scooter turned around to leave, she jumped up and ran after her.
"Please don't go, not without…this." Layne threw her arms around Scooter's neck and kissed her with every bit of passion and love her heart could muster. When Scooter's lips parted, she teased the tip of her tongue and pulled back just enough to make Scooter chase. Scooter wrapped her arms around Layne's waist and hastily kissed her. She pulled away quickly when she felt warm wet tears on her cheek. Layne wiped the tears spilling from her eyes. "I love you, Scooter." Layne sobbed as Scooter turned to walk away. She slowly turned back around.
"I have to go," Scooter said before walking away. Layne stood rooted the ground in that spot until Scooter drove away. Then, she slowly climbed in her car and went in the opposite direction.
Chapter 28
For the next eight weeks, Libby paced the floor during the day with her eyes glued to the news channel. The war campaign was escalating or at least that's how the media portrayed it. So far, the United States was serving as back up and border patrol for the ground troops. The Navy on the other hand was working around the clock to keep North Korean destroyers and submarines from launching nuclear weapons. This is what scared Libby, the idea of Scooter fighting a blind man's war, for reasons other than his own. She truly believed the Koreans should be left alone to fight it out themselves, but she understood the reasons behind the U.S. allying with South Korea. She just didn't agree with it and damn it she didn't want her sister over there risking her life for an undue cause.
~~~
Layne threw herself into her new practice full force. She was working twelve hour days building client lists and hitting the ground running, anything to keep her away from the news channels. She still
went to Frogs every now and then with Tabitha and Denise, but the atmosphere just wasn't the same. Who could be excited about war? Who could celebrate while others were over there with their lives on the line? She never understood those questions until it hit close to home. She woke up everyday knowing Scooter was out there somewhere hiding in the water waiting for a chance to strike or narrowly avoiding an attacked. She wished she'd had another chance to talk to her before her hasty departure.
Chapter 29
Scooter was standing in the control room when a loud boom resonated in the distance and the entire submarine shuddered wildly and went pitch black except for the few emergency lights that were running on the back-up generator. She lost her footing and fell against the captain. He helped her to her feet and moved away from the chart table that kept him from falling as well.
"Sound the collision alarm!" he shouted. The Warrant Officer ran to the panel of buttons and switches next to the radar screen and flipped the largest level at the top.
"What the hell was that?" Scooter said.
"I don't know, but we definitely hit something, or it hit us. Have all of the stations confirm and report any damage."
"Aye aye, Captain." She went to work checking in with each officer or chief in charge of a station of the sub. One by one, she went down the checklist and every station was clear with a few of the crew members reporting bumps and bruises from the impact.
The maintenance officer picked up the intercom phone with a breathless voice. "Chief Mills."
"This is the XO, what's your status?" she said.
"We're down ma'am. The reactor just shut down on impact. I think we took the brunt of the hit back here. It was bad. Macpherson's head is split open and bleeding, but he won't quit. We're doing everything we can, but we have no power, nothing." She heard the nervousness in his voice.
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