Footsteps sounded behind him, and he turned toward them with open arms. He caught Kimberly and hugged her tight. His lips grazed hers. “This is a welcome break,” he said. “Thank you.”
She hugged her body to his. “You’re welcome. I wanted time together, doing something other than the work. Something besides the mission.” Her eyes lifted to his. “Unless this is just…a mission to you.”
He stroked her back. “It’s not. I believe you know that.”
A smile filled her features and she leaned up and kissed him. “Yes. I guess I just had to hear it from you.”
“Eeew! Gross! Stop that! You’re going to make me go blind,” said a voice approaching them. Melo and Alisha strode into the clearing, holding hands. The looks on their faces were of pure joy. “What do we have to eat?” Melo asked. “I’m hungry.”
Bennett shook his head, taking a step back from Kimberly and putting himself between the food hamper and Melo. “You’re always hungry. Ladies first.”
“By all means,” said Melo, taking a bag from Alisha. He pulled a blanket out of it and spread it on the ground. “Ladies.”
Kimberly and Alisha sat down and pulled the food out of the hamper, placing it in the center of the blanket while Bennett and Melo grappled on the ground, attempting to see who would reach the cooler full of beer, wine, and water first. Bennett was taller and won by an arm’s reach.
“Get off me,” said Bennett, rolling Melo to the side. He opened the cooler and tossed a beer to his Teammate. “Guess this old man still has it.”
“Hell, you’re in better shape than I am. Too much broken-down shit in my body.” Melo caught the beer, popped the top off with a rock, and sucked down half before he added, “Glad your bones are going to be rattled. Better you take the knocks than me.”
“Gee, thanks.” Bennett lifted his beer. “To the stars.” His eyes caught Kimberly’s, and they locked to each other for several heartbeats.
She blew him a kiss and went back to setting out the picnic food. “I’ll have wine,” she said. “Alisha, I put two kinds of water in there—bubbling and flat.”
“Oh, bubbles. Definitely.” Alisha opened her hand and waited for her husband to fulfill her request. He did just that, but he kissed her dainty palm before depositing her requested beverage. “This was a great idea,” Alisha continued. “Thanks, Kimberly. When I received your call, my first thought was bad news. But this…this is wonderful. I know you can’t discuss anything, and I’m not asking you to. I just want you to know.…” Pulling out her phone, she showed Melo a picture. “To see this…”
His eyes brimmed with unshed tears. “It’s the ultrasound photo. Damn, that’s incredible. There’s my slugger. Boy or girl, you’re going to be a baseball player.”
The tears spilled as Melo turned the phone toward them.
Bennett squinted his eyes, but all he could see was a picture of a blob and a few dots.
“Congratulations,” said Kimberly with a bright smile. “That’s such a gift.”
Bennett really didn’t know what to do, so he shrugged at Kimberly and said, “Yeah, congrats. You both will be wonderful parents. Melo told us on the car ride home, but I guess this makes it…more real.” He knew they would be great too. It was just a different stage of life, one he hadn’t made the leap to yet.
“My morning sickness makes it even more real,” said Alisha with a laugh. “But telling friends, talking about it…adds to the anticipation and excitement.” She grabbed Melo’s hand and urged him to sit down beside her. “I’ve already started my ‘honey-do’ list, so when you get home we can paint the spare room and put the crib together…”
The two were very doe-eyed and seemed to focus in on their own world.
Bennett took his cue and reached out a hand. “Come with me. I’m not that hungry…for food anymore. Are you?”
“No.” She grinned at him and dropped the chicken leg she was munching on, wiped her hands on a wet wipe, and took his hand. He pulled her to her feet and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, escorting her to a secluded grouping of rocks.
He sat down and pulled her onto his lap. “Just needed a little time alone with you.”
“You can capture me anytime,” she said and then saw something out of the corner of her eye. “Look at that.”
A meteorite flared on its path toward the Earth, crashing some distance away.
“I wonder what treasures are aboard that rock.”
Bennett nibbled at her earlobe. “Sorry, Doc, I’m more concerned about the treasures here on Earth. I’m holding the most precious one in my arms.”
Chapter 11
Bennett wanted Melo’s life right now. His Teammate was dry and tucked into think tanks with some of his favorite heroes in the engineering and design fields, and Bennett was stuck here, sick to death of tests. At least the laser array was good to go and the shuttle issues were being fixed now, thanks to Melo. Yep, that man was sitting pretty.
Water. Water was everywhere, and though he loved the stuff on a normal day, his skin was beginning to look like a duck’s butt underneath the feathers.
His mind wandered. He didn’t know what to think about Kess and how that guy fit into the issues surrounding the shuttle, but he agreed with Melo that they had to be related. With Bennett stuck here, how could he follow Kess or uncover additional facts? Besides, with the shuttle timeline so short, why keep doing these tests? He’d been shoved through more analysis than he knew possible, and his brain had been stretched with three psych evaluations. His body had been wired up while he ran three ten-mile stretches and more. Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d peed in private.
Everyone knew where Bennett was and what he was doing 24-7, which didn’t leave any time or leeway for solving crimes. After he’d finished the spatial-awareness tests, he’d almost considered punching out the monitor. The man had injected him with a mild sedative and left him wired up to a game that zapped him with a current when he veered off the path, and then the man had gone on a break. Bennett’s anger had kept his exhaustion at bay, but he desperately wanted to wire a part of that man’s anatomy to see how he liked being zapped. The test seemed more fictional than real. Who was going to fall asleep during one of the most exciting experiences of their life?
Bennett sighed. Opening his eyes, he looked up through the water at the faces and shapes above him. Right now he was doing an oxygen-deprivation test—holding his breath. As if a SEAL didn’t know his limits with every element, especially water. He told them he could go almost five minutes, if no one bothered him. Learning to slow your pulse rate and breathing was one of the first things instructors taught the tadpoles in BUD/S. If you didn’t master it, you pretty much didn’t make it through the phases, let alone Hell Week.
He counted to himself, figuring out how much longer he needed to stay under. If someone could best his time…have at it. He doubted they would, as he gave everything he focused on his full attention.
The gear holding him down helped. It might add a few more seconds to his time. Truth was…in the quiet of the water…this was the most relaxed he’d been all day. But who knew what was next? Maybe he should just stay down here.
* * *
“They’re tormenting and torturing our boy.” Melo stood in the doorway of Kimberly’s quarters. He crossed his arms over his chest as he said, “It’s time to call it.”
“Call what?” Looking up from her desk, she stared at the broad-shouldered SEAL. She’d been so engrossed in her reading that she hadn’t heard the door open. “What do you mean?”
“Look.” He took a seat in front of her. His face was grim. “I know my shit tolerance for tests. I’m pretty sure that Sheraton reached his…like ten tests ago. You need to put a stop to all of this testing. Wrap this puppy up. You know who you’re sending into space. Put everyone out of their misery and choose.” Melo scratched his nose. “Beli
eve me, it’s for the best. Besides, he needs to have something left for the flight. Let him conserve whatever energy and brain power he has left.”
“I never thought of it that way.” Kimberly smoothed her hair. “I just wanted everyone to know that Bennett is the right candidate—mainly, because he outperformed the others.”
“He’s already done that.” Melo waited for her to speak or take some kind of action, and Kimberly knew it was time to be more decisive.
“You’re right,” she said. “No more testing. It’s time to make the decision…official.”
* * *
A hand smacked the top of the water. It was time to come up. Bennett released himself from the gear and swam upward. As he broke the surface, he headed for the stairs and walked out of the pool.
Several of the other piloting candidates pointed at the scoreboard and argued. Bennett glanced at it, though he didn’t need a tally to tell him that he’d kicked ass on this test.
A short man wearing the name tag of Johnny Grisnor handed him a tube. “If you’ll open it and suck on the oxygen for five minutes, I need to score your blood-oxygenation levels,” Grisnor said. He held up an oximeter. “We’ve had two candidates exhibit hypoxemia—where the blood oxygen falls below normal levels—and one person has showed signs of oxygen toxicity, or…”
Bennett finished the sentence. “Hyperoxia. I dive.”
“Right, right. Of course.” Grisnor pointed to the spot where the oxygen would be triggered. He looked at his watch and said, “Whenever you’re ready, we’ll begin.”
His fingers triggered the oxygen tube, but as Bennett brought it toward his face his nostrils flared. He pushed the tube back and quickly shut it. “It’s ammonia.”
“What?” asked Grisnor. “Let me see that.” The technician looked shocked as he retrieved the tube and checked for himself, and then he put it aside and took out another tube. He assured himself that it was indeed oxygen and handed it to Bennett. “Captain Sheraton, I’m very sorry! I don’t know how that gas got into our stock. If your olfactory had not been so well developed, you could have been poisoned.”
Cautiously lifting the proffered tube of oxygen to his mouth, Bennett took a tentative half breath. Yep, that was O2. When everything went well with that breath, he slowly increased his inhalations until he breathed normally and fully utilized the device. In the meantime, he watched Grisnor calling frantically on his phone about the ammonia tube. It was obvious this individual had nothing to do with the mix-up, but who did?
After the five minutes passed and the test ended, Grisnor took Bennett’s vitals. “You’re good to go, Captain. Right on track, though I’d prefer you stay here for a few minutes and take advantage of the oxygen.” His hand touched Bennett’s forearm. “Sorry again, sir.”
Nodding his head, Bennett accepted the apology. “Sure. Thanks for the oxygen. Oh, by the way, who, uh, who was in charge of filling and/or distributing these?”
“A variety of people were involved in the process, though I believe ultimately Mr. Kess was in charge of making sure we had enough stock for all the candidates, as well as adding the labels to the equipment.” Grisnor pointed to the sticker. “See, your information is right there.” A phone beeped emphatically. “That’s my supervisor. I’ve got to go. I’m going to file a report about this. Take care, Captain Sheraton, and best of luck. Hope you make it into space.”
“Thanks. Me too.” Bennett watched the young man hurry away. His lips thinned. He picked up the oxygen tube and took a few more breaths. Even though it wasn’t really necessary, it was calming. This was pretty much the reason why there was oxygen on air flights, so that the passengers were calmer when a plane plummeted. Horrific as that was…it was the truth.
Allowing his mind and body to relax, Bennett considered the situation. He could make a big stink about Kess and whoever else might be involved, but that could also chase away a lead. In terms of attempts on his life, this was a fairly lame one. He’d seen hostiles with more determination, so this “poisoning” only registered about a two on his one-to-ten drama/action scale.
Yes, it was a better plan to remain low-key. Bennett made several mental notes on the event. If it ever came up in the future, at least he’d remember the chain of events correctly and the reason he’d made his present decision. He’d update Melo and record it for his After-Action Report, the damn document he’d be writing after his return from space. But if he didn’t make it, the next group would have an idea of where to pick up a lead.
* * *
Kimberly walked out of her office, a woman on a mission. Melo was wise to push her. She’d hate for Bennett to get the mission and have nothing left in the tank to act on the role.
She gave herself a pep talk as she went. It was time to take charge. This was her shuttle, and she was the one who decided the role of pilot.
Adrenaline surged through her body as she pushed herself to a faster pace. She could feel her heart thudding against her chest as she rounded the corner. One of two things was going to happen: either she’d talk herself out of what she wanted to do by taking the long walk to Bennett’s test, or she’d become more adamant about ripping his clothes off and taking advantage of him.
Smiling to herself, she wondered if the word advantage was the best choice. What man didn’t like being wooed, touched, and made love to? Seriously, though, would a SEAL really turn down all of this?
She looked down at her white lab coat and utilitarian gray skirt. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t sporting supermodel attire, but she definitely had the secret-identity look nailed. Underneath, she had quite a surprise.
After pulling open the last door, she walked into the holding room of one of their sterile rooms and punched the button on the intercom. “I need to speak with Boss ASAP.”
Inside the room, four techs worked with one pair of trainees. The point of the exercise was to deprive the trainees of a certain amount of oxygen and have them perform a series of tasks. A scoreboard held their current rankings: Navy was way ahead in first—go Bennett—and the internationals, listed in order of their best times, lagged behind.
A bell rang, and the Army guys sprang into second. The rankings altered again as Boss was pulled out of his gear, given a small tube of oxygen, and led to the door.
One of the programmers waved at her, signaling that he didn’t need Boss to come back. The tech mimed scratching his butt and she smiled. Dressed in head-to-toe white suit and helmet, he looked like a science-fiction character, and she pursed her lips to hold back a humorous retort.
The tall SEAL stared down at her as she walked to him, grabbed his elbow, and steered him out of the room. They went down one long corridor and then another one. Few people greeted them as they went farther into the bowels of the building.
She was surprised that Boss let himself be led. He continued to suck on the oxygen as his eyes studied their surroundings. When she stopped at a large door, he looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.
When she swiped her badge over the scanner, the door opened and she led him inside. The lights sprang on, and she pushed a red button to the right of the door, locking it. There would be no mistaking her intent as Boss took in the mock-up of a bedroom in space.
“It’s a model for a new space station, one being developed for commercial use by private financers. They wanted my input, so I made them an actual physical room to check out. What do you think?” asked Kimberly.
Glunk.
Boss had placed the oxygen tube on the table to his left. He looked amused. “Is there a test that you need me to pass…here?”
“I don’t know that I’d call it a test…” She was being evasive on purpose.
He took a step closer to her. “What do you want to call it?”
“A stress reliever.”
He smiled and closed the gap between them. His mouth was only a hair’s breadth away. “Thank God! Do
you need someone to open your pressure valve, Doc?”
“Yes,” she said, meeting his brashness with her own. “I want to see you put your words into action. Isn’t that what you often taunt me with?”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Passion was not the word for that kiss. Heat. Demanding, concentrated force that searched for a target, and she was it.
Every ounce of her want pulsed in her actions as she pushed his clothes off and sought his mouth. Their tongues dueled as their hands ripped, tore, and released the barriers until they were both skin to skin.
He lifted her into his arms and walked them to one of the space chairs. Designed for an astronaut wearing a bulky space suit, it was an easy fit for two. He seated himself, situating her on his lap.
She pointed to one of the slots on the armrest.
Boss was curious enough to delve into the slot. His fingers withdrew a condom.
Her body lifted with the reaction of Boss’s belly laugh. She joined in, as he fit the sheath over his cock and then gave his full attention back to her. “You’re full of surprises,” he said.
“Aren’t I?”
* * *
With Bennett tucked into the model bed of the mock-up space bedroom, and with her stress level in check, Kimberly walked with a small bounce in her step toward Hubbard’s office. She was on her way to share the good news before she lowered the boom on Kess. It seemed fitting that way, or maybe she was just being petty toward Kess. Either way, it worked for her.
She passed several assistants who scurried past, laden with dry cleaning and packages, and she smiled at them. They nodded back politely.
Maybe it was outside of her character to be so overtly friendly. It didn’t matter, because all was right with her world at this exact minute, and she wanted to enjoy that.
Outside Hubbard’s office door, she scanned her ID and requested entrance. The door slid open. Deciding to leave him a quick note, she walked to his desk and was about to sit down when she saw Hubbard’s body covered in blood. Tucked into the alcove below the desk, he lay there like a discarded piece of paper. His throat was slit, and his eyes were wide open, as if he had been caught unawares. The horror of it was too much to take in immediately.
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