Storm Surge

by Melissa Good

  "This airport is closed, ma'am." The man was dressed in a guard uniform and sounded very stern, but polite. "Please turn around and go back the way you came."

  Kerry heard a sound behind her. She glanced through the window and saw three more soldiers, standing with their rifles pointed not quite at the car, but not quite at the ground. "Oh boy." She fished for her identification in her briefcase.

  "Thank you officer," Angie replied in her most polite voice. "I know the airport is closed. My mother, Senator Stuart, asked us to join her here. I am dropping my sister off to accompany her to Washington."

  The soldier looked at her doubtfully.

  Angie removed her wallet from her purse, and extracted her driver's license. She handed it over to the man. "Glad I had my name changed back," she muttered. "This doesn't need to be any more complicated."

  Mike prudently just kept his mouth shut, for a change.

  Kerry leaned slowly over and handed her own ID over, in a leather folder that held not only her driver's license, but her passport and corporate ID. "Here you go."

  The soldier took both ID's and stepped back. Another man joined him and shone a flashlight on the documents.

  "Got mom's cell phone number?" Kerry asked, keeping her voice low.

  "Yep," Angie answered. "Hope we don't need it." She glanced behind her. "Give me your license Mike."

  "I don't have it with me," he answered, in a small voice. "I left my wallet in my car."

  Angie closed her eyes and exhaled. "And you called me a retard."

  "Can you open the trunk please, ma'am?" the guard said.

  Angie and Kerry exchanged looks. "Oh boy." Angie triggered the trunk lock. "I'm trying to remember what I have in there. Hope it wasn't the diapers."

  Kerry faced forward and folded her arms over her chest, very aware of the men watching through the window. "I guess given what happened Ang, they don't have any choice. I'd rather be sure, even though this is creepy as hell."

  "True." Angie looked out as the soldier came back. She heard the trunk slam.

  The soldier handed her back her ID, then he leaned forward and handed Kerry hers with a little duck of his head. "Ma'am."

  "Thanks." Kerry took the leather portfolio, and put it back in her briefcase. Then she gave the soldier a smile. "Long night?"

  "Long day," the man responded. "Gonna be a lot of them." He looked back at Angie. "Go down the road there ma'am. There is a guard in front of that little terminal. They'll ask for ID again. The Senator's not here yet, but I got a radio call that she's on the way and will be here in a few minutes. Said she was expecting you."

  "Thank you." Angie said. "Very, very much."

  "You ladies be careful, okay?" the soldier said. "This is not a night to be out driving." He lifted his hand, and the other soldiers went over to pick up the barrier, moving it aside to let them through.

  Angie put the car into drive and eased through the gates, passing the cluster of soldiers and their trucks and gaining the relative safety of the short road that led to the airport terminal building. "I don't think he noticed Mike."

  "Not if he called me a lady he didn't." Mike finally scraped up the courage to lean forward and sling his arms over the seat. "I think he liked Kerry. He was nice to her."

  "Yes, he was." Angie glanced at her sister, with a grin. "But then, she was always the magnet in the family."

  Kerry eyed them. "He probably recognized the logo of the company that handles his paycheck," she remarked dryly. "But if it's like this here, what's it going to be like where we're going?"

  Angie parked the car. "I don't know, but no matter how much it's needed, I don't like it." She indicated the squad of armed soldiers waiting for them, complete with helmets and side arms.

  "Me either," Mike agreed. "Too forties movielike."

  Kerry zipped up her jacket and opened the door letting in a rush of pine scented cold air. "Well, let's just hope for the best." She got out of the car and picked up her briefcase, seeing the bright lights on the small plane in the field beyond. "Cause I'm not sure we've got a lot of choice right now."

  "Crazy," Angie said, as they walked toward the line of armed soldiers. "Just crazy."

  KERRY SLIPPED PAST the crowd of aides and found a seat near the front of the plane where it was quieter. The aircraft had eight seats, plush and comfortable, and she settled into the one nearest the cockpit and stowed her briefcase.

  Her mother and her three aides were clustered toward the rear of the plane where the four seats were turned facing each other with small tables to work on.

  Kerry leaned back and crossed her legs at the ankles, glancing at the two empty seats nearby and wishing her siblings weren't back in Angie's car waiting to watch them leave.

  Safety in numbers? Kerry had to admit she'd always felt more comfortable and a bit more anonymous in the presence of her siblings at family events. Even though she tended to stick out with her fair hair and shorter stature, it still had diluted the attention.

  Well. She folded her hands in her lap and twiddled her thumbs. Here she was.

  "Kerrison?" Her mother was looking around the plane.

  Kerry looked past the set of seats opposite her. "Over here." She lifted one hand and let it drop. "Thought I'd stay out of the way."

  "Oh." Her mother studied her for a moment. "If you like, one of my aides can sit over there, and you can sit here with the rest of us."

  Kerry smiled. "I'm sure you have work to do," she demurred. "I'm fine over here. After all, I'm just hitching a ride." She caught a look of relief out of the corner of her eye from the aides. "It's not that long a flight."

  "True enough. Possibly two hours," Cynthia said. "Very well, we will continue our business." She went back to her discussion, dismissing Kerry to sit quietly in her corner.

  That suited Kerry just fine. She fished in her briefcase and removed a magazine from it, laying the pages open on her lap and turning the reading light on.

  Colorful fish faced her. She turned to an article on underwater photography and relaxed, leaning against the chair arm as she read.

  She glanced at her watch, and then went back to the review of new models of underwater cameras. She had seen divers with rigs the size of small minivans taking pictures and she knew the results were often spectacular. She herself was more prone to moderation in her gear, preferring to trade off professional quality for ease of use and handling.

  However, the enticing possibility of filming Dar swimming underwater in high resolution, now--

  "Kerrison?"

  "Huh?" Kerry looked up to find her mother looking back at her, two of the soldiers at her side. "Ah, yes?"

  "This gentleman wishes a word with you." Her mother indicated one of the men. "I hope there's no problem."

  Kerry wondered what problem her mother thought would involve her and the Michigan National Guard. "Sure, what can I do for you?" she asked, closing the magazine and setting it aside. "Sit down. " She indicated the seat across from her.

  The man came over and sat down gingerly, moving his automatic rifle out of the way. "Sorry to bother you, Ms. Stuart," he said, "but I got a favor to ask."

  Kerry was aware of a silence behind the man, as everyone else listened in. "If I can help, sure." She gave the soldier a smile. It was her friend from the gate, she realized, a tall man with sandy brown hair and a square, Midwestern face.

  "My brother Joshua works for your company," he said, without preamble. "He works out in Manhattan. He runs cable for you all."

  "Okay." Kerry nodded. "We have a service office there, yes."

  "We haven't been able to talk to him since last night and my mother's having a heart attack," he said. "Do you know if he's okay?"

  Yikes. Kerry took out her PDA. "Let me see if I can find out for you," she said. "His name is Joshua."

  "Douglass," the man supplied. "He's my brother."

  Kerry typed out a quick message to Mark. "I'll give that a minute, and if no answer I can log onto our systems an
d check," she said. "I know there are a lot of people that couldn't be contacted. The phones are jammed up and a lot of lines are down."

  The soldier nodded. "That's what they said on the television." He glanced behind him. "Sorry to cut in here, ma'am," he addressed the Senator. "Uh, and you know--the press is here too, wanting to take pictures, I guess."

  "Are they?" Cynthia asked, sharply. "Oh my. I didn't think we notified them we were leaving tonight, did we Charles?"

  "I'll go see them." One of the aides immediately rose. "Shall I bring them onboard?"

  "Well--"

  "Let me see what their angle is," the aide said, scooting for the door. "It could be a good op."

  "Guess I should have said that first," the soldier said to Cynthia. "Sorry about that Ma'am."

  "Please." Cynthia held a hand up. "Your family is more important than the press, or I should hope!" She came over and took the seat on the other side of Kerry. "Let's hope for good news."

  Kerry's PDA beeped and she opened it, crossing her toes as she scanned the note. "Hm." She picked up her cell phone and dialed a number. "Let's see what this is about--Mark?"

  "Hey, Kerry."

  Mark's voice sounded relaxed, which made the sudden knot in her gut relax. "What's up? Do we have anything on the name I sent you?"

  "That's why I'm calling," Mark said. "I thought it was so completely freaking weird that you sent me that note when I was actually on the phone with that same guy," he said. "How did you do that?"

  "You were?" Kerry asked. "Oh, wow!"

  "Still am," Mark said. "So what's the deal with him? He's one of our line techs. Spent the whole damn day getting out of Manhattan and ended upstate near Buffalo," he said. "He got the alerts on his cell but couldn't answer and then turned it off for a while."

  Kerry looked up to see her mother and the soldier watching her anxiously. Behind them, the sound of people approaching echoed. "Can you conference me in? I have his brother here."

  "For sure," Mark said. "Hang on a sec." He clicked off, and then clicked back on. "Okay, we're here. Say hi to Kerry, Joshua."

  "Uhhh--hi ma'am."

  Kerry smiled. "Hang on." She held the phone out to the soldier. "Here. Want to say hello?"

  The man stared at her, and then reached out for the phone, his eyes wide. "Are you kidding me?" He put the phone to his ear. "Hello?" He paused. "Josh, is that you? Yeah! Yeah it's Mike! I can't believe you're on the phone! Jesus Christ, bro, mama's about sick to death with you!"

  Kerry leaned on her seat arm, a big grin on her face, very satisfied to have pulled this particular undeserved rabbit out of her navel in typical coincidental fashion. Across the aisle, her mother was also smiling as she listened, and behind them she caught the flash of a camera capturing it all.

  "No, no man, I'm guarding the airport here." Mike was saying. "I saw that lady from your company come in and so I came and asked her what was up--what? Where are you? Buffalo?" He paused. "Well go have some damned chicken wings then!"

  Kerry chuckled. "Mm," she said. "I love chicken wings." She saw her mother's eyebrows hike.

  "Okay, okay, listen," Mike said. "Call mama. She's crying, man! Okay? Yeah, you used to make fun of me for being in the Guard, and look who was nearer the hard stuff, huh?" He glanced around. "Listen, I gotta go. I'm holding these people up here. You call mama, okay? Bye!" He hung up the phone and turned to face Kerry.

  "Feel better?" She took the phone.

  "Man that was cool," he said. "That was great. I can't believe you just called up and found him. We have been trying and trying all day long. We were so scared cause he was supposed to be downtown today." He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Wow."

  Kerry reached over and patted his arm. "I'm really glad we found him," she said. "It was really great timing that you asked right after he called us."

  He grinned at her. "Sometimes you gotta have some luck," he said. "After a crappy day like this, man, that was just cool." He looked over at the Senator. "Thanks for letting me on the plane, ma'am."

  "Oh! Of course," Senator Stuart said. "I'm so glad, so very glad it was good news, and my daughter could help. It's fabulous. Simply fabulous," she told him. "Worth every moment of the delay, without question."

  The soldier stood up and carefully lifted his rifle so it didn't smack Kerry in the head. "I can go out there with a light heart now," he said. "You want everyone to be safe, but when it's family--man, that's just different, you know?"

  "I do know." Kerry also stood up. "We had a lot of people in harm's way, and we care about all the people who work for us. It's not exactly like family, but it is close," she said. "I hope you have a quiet night after this."

  "Me too," the soldier said. "Thanks again, ma'am. I really, really appreciate what you did," he said. "Let me get out of your way now." He edged into the aisle and headed for the door, ducking past the television camera and the man holding it with a third person ahead of them with a microphone. "Man that was the best."

  Kerry tucked her cell phone back on its clip. "That was pretty awesome," she commented. "We have so many people unaccounted for in New York. I'm glad his brother wasn't one of them."

  Her mother stood up and twitched her jacked sleeve straight. "Well, I shall go talk to the press," she said. "They might want to speak with you," she warned. "I believe they are looking for any bit of news in our area about this."

  "Well." Kerry eyed the reporter. "They could also want to talk to me about a lot of other things. But that's fine." She put her hands on her denim clad hips. "I'm up for it if they want to." She took a deep breath, feeling the finely knit wool of her sweater tighten around her body.

  "That is another lovely sweater," Cynthia remarked. "Just lovely. What are those designs--are they animals?"

  "Beavers." Kerry's lips twitched as she muffled a grin. "Dar gave it to me."

  "Ah," her mother said. "Is she a supporter of wildlife?"

  "Yes," her daughter answered. "She loves wildlife. And beavers."

  Her mother merely nodded, and then turned and walked down the narrow aisle to where the reporter was waiting. The television light went on immediately and the aides closed in on either side, blocking Kerry's view.

  Which was fine. She sat back down in her seat and picked up her magazine, glancing at her watch again. "Should have kidnapped Angie and drove." She shook her head and started reading.

  Chapter Twelve

  DAR WOKE UP in complete darkness disoriented and not entirely sure of where she was. The smells and sounds were wrong for home, and she remembered light pouring in her window from the street in her London hotel.

  Here, just darkness, and lots of quiet.

  After a second of confusion, she remembered, and her tensed body relaxed back onto the goose down topper on the bed's mattress.

  Sir Melthon's estate was set back from the road and surrounded by hedges and land, and thick gates. Far enough from the city sounds to be silent, much like it was in her condo back in Miami.

  But no ocean sounds. If she concentrated, she could hear crickets though.

  "Sheesh." Dar rolled over and lifted up her watch, pressing the side button and checking the digital display. "Ngh." She set it back down. "Four in the morning." She counted back, then reached over and picked up her PDA to check for messages.

  Sure enough. Dar clicked contentedly and opened it.

  Made it. Slept most of the way. Mother won't hear of my getting a cab this late so she's sending me in the car to the hotel once we drop her off at the townhouse. Lesser of two evils. I will end up being on the local late news in Michigan though. There was a press bunch that cornered us at the airport. Interview wasn't bad. They were too busy with all the disaster news to ask me stupid questions about my sex life. Mom likes my sweater by the way. She thinks you have good taste if a rather odd fixation on small mammals. Love you. K.

  Dar started laughing, the motion waking her up enough to make going back to sleep immediately out of the question. The tone of
Kerry's note was a little resigned, but amused, so she figured things weren't going along too badly.

  She sat up and crossed her legs up under her and leaning her elbows on her knees as she removed her stylus and started an answer.

  Hey Ker--

  I've commissioned a knitted pullover for you with the Gopher from my program in poses guaranteed to get you thrown out of Wal-Mart. Tell her that. Glad you made it okay. Hope everything is calm in the city. Mother or no mother I'd have rather you go directly to the border and not stay near anything white and colonnaded just in case. I know that sounds callous and obnoxious but I am sometimes.

  Dar could almost hear Kerry's objection to that, but it was true, and she knew it.

  Send me a note when you get to the hotel. I have no doubt the Mandarin Oriental will have a room ready for you, but I'd sleep better if I knew you were in it.

  DD.

  Dar clicked send and lay back down, letting the PDA rest on her chest. Aside from the early waking, she'd slept pretty well, the quiet and comfort of the room allowing her to get more rest than she'd really expected to.

  She wasn't really tired. She didn't want to spend hours lying in bed staring at the ceiling either. After a moment more of it, she sat up and swung her feet off the bed, reaching over to turn the lamp on. A soft, golden light filled the room and she took a moment to stand and shake her body out before she walked over to retrieve her laptop.

  It was quiet enough that the zipper of the case sounded loud, and she glanced around a trifle guiltily, though she knew full well the sound wouldn't penetrate the walls.

  At least she hoped it wouldn't. She removed the machine and its cable from the case and took it back with her to the bed, laying it down and then returning to the sideboard where there was a tray resting with cups and several bottles.

  Reviewing her options, she poured a cup of still warm milk out of a very efficient thermal carafe and brought it back to the bed with her. She set it on the bedside table and sat down, opening the lid of the machine and pressing the power button.

  Her PDA was blinking.

  Dar smiled and opened it, bending her head slightly to read the message.