by Melissa Good
“Good to have a name to put to the face,” Kerry replied in a mild tone. “Roof or not, I’m sure he probably didn’t appreciate the hospitality.”
The officer half shrugged. He was a man of medium height and curly black hair, going gray at the temples. “He’s been in before. You know these guys? They come back and they think the rules are like over there. That they can do what they want because they’ve got guns and a cause.”
Kerry leaned on her elbows. “That’s kind of what’s bothering me because since my father-in-law’s a retired SEAL, I’m sort of predisposed to be sympathetic to veterans. I don’t want to mess with them or give them a hard time.”
Sanchez scratched his chin with his pen top. “Yeah, none of us do. I tried talking to him but it’s all like a permanent road rage, you know?”
Kerry studied him. “What do you think we should do?” she asked. “I don’t want to escalate this, and I can see where it could get like that.”
Officer Sanchez looked relieved. “Glad you see it that way,” he said. “Cause I was thinking sort of the same thing. With these guys, you push them, they push back, you push harder, they push harder. Know what I’m talking about?”
Possibly better than he imagined. “My partner’s very much like that, too,” she said. “She absolutely does not, and will not back down, and I think that’s going to end up a bad combination if we keep this up. So, what do you think we should do?”
He regarded her seriously. “You really want to press charges?” he asked. “You seem like a bright lady. I think you know he wasn’t going to touch you.”
Kerry thought about that in silence for a few minutes. He let her, merely sitting there across from her with his pad, waiting. “Can we use it as a bargaining chip?” she countered. “They leave us alone, I don’t press charges? Or are they going to think I chickened out if I say yes.”
Sanchez was thoughtful. “How about this. What if I put it like, you agree to hold off for a while and we see what happens? I don’t know if they’ll deal.”
Kerry didn’t know if they’d deal either. She changed the direction of the questioning. “What actually do they want? You said they were working at some half way house. These guys don’t have a place to live, or a place to go. In the best possible case, what happens to them?”
He shook his head. “Now that, I don’t know. You heard about that one guy’s family moving out? These guys feel abandoned. By their family and by the service, too. It’s a hard thing.”
“That doesn’t seem right,” Kerry said. “Can you get me their names? I’d like to find out why they ended up the way they did.” She saw his wary look. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to publicize them on the Internet or anything like that. We do work for the Department of Defense.”
“Oh,” Sanchez said. “I didn’t know that. What is it you people do?”
“We work with computers. But Dar was just up having a meeting at the Pentagon, so at least we know the right people to ask the questions of,” Kerry said. “If we could help these guys out, I’d like to, even after the trouble we’ve had.”
The officer closed his pad. “I heard from those guys that some military cars were here the other day. Maybe that’s why they were sniffing around?” he said. “They’re always looking for an angle.”
“Military cars...oh, right.” She nodded. “General Gerald Easton, from the Joint Chiefs, and then Michael Bridges, the president’s advisor,” Kerry responded with a brief smile. “They’re clients.”
Sanchez stared at her.
“So we’d rather not get into a tussle with some veterans,” she continued. “Makes it kind of awkward, you know?”
Sanchez tapped his pen on his knee. “Okay. Let me see what that tack gets me. I’ll tell them I talked you into holding off and that they’d better steer clear if they don’t want their benefits chopped.”
“We wouldn’t do that,” Kerry said. “That wasn’t my point.”
“No, but they don’t know that.” The officer stood up. “Brass? That they get. Who knows? Maybe they’ll be offering to carry your briefcase to the car.” He winked at her. “Don’t worry, ma’am. It’ll be fine.” He lifted a hand. “Have a good day.”
Kerry waved in response, more than a little disturbed. “That wasn’t what I was going for.” She sighed. “Crap.” She glanced down as her Handspring buzzed. A text, from Dar. “Glad you’re on your way home, hon. I think I just got us in deeper than I thought.”
Her phone binged. “Yes?” She hit the speaker key.
“Hey, Kerry.” Mark’s voice sounded amused. “Check your email.”
“I just did?” Kerry glanced down. “Oh, on my PC?” She looked over and spun her trackball, then clicked on the new mail on the screen with Mark’s name on it. “What is it...oh.”
“Sweet pix,” Mark said. “At least she didn’t whap him one.”
Kerry blinked at the screen, which had a cap of a newspaper article with a picture of Dar and President Bush, the former drawing something on a pad on a desk, the latter standing by leaning on the surface and studying it. “Oh, gosh,” she said after a brief pause. “That’s a nice shot.” She glanced at the headline. “And I guess we got our publicity.”
“Sure did.” He chuckled. “Barbara just called me. Someone at her office saw it. Didn’t take us long, huh? Three weeks and we’re famous.”
No, didn’t take long at all. “You got that right.” Kerry had to laugh a little. “Let me forward this to her parents. They’re gonna die.” She scanned the article briefly but it was bland and general in tone. “Least they spelled the company name right. Mark, you probably should beef up the web server.”
“On it,” he said. “Top of the roller coaster...here we go!” He hung up, still laughing.
Kerry sighed as she forwarded the mail to the rest of the company, her mother, and Dar’s folks. “Yep...here we go.”
KERRY PASSED DAR a copy of the paper as she pulled away from the arrivals terminal at Miami International Airport. “There you go, rock star.”
Dar unfolded the paper as she settled into the passenger seat. “I knew they were taking pictures but I figured...ah hell, yeah, there I am.” She exhaled. “I look like a dork.”
“Oh you do not,” Kerry said. “Did they have you leaning over that table so you wouldn’t tower over him?”
Dar studied the picture, then started laughing. “You know, maybe they did. I still think I look like a dork. Stupid-ass posed shot. I was drawing a cow on that pad.”
“Were you really?”
“Yeah.” Dar folded the paper and put it in the side pocket of the door. “He kept it.” She looked mildly embarrassed. “He was all right.”
“Bush?”
“Yeah.”
“Glad I have my sunglasses on so my eyeballs can’t fall out,” Kerry said. “Because I would never in a million years have guessed that would come out of your mouth.”
“No, me either,” Dar said. “I don’t know what I was expecting.” She propped her elbow against the window and rested her head against her hand. “Anyway, I’m glad I’m back.” She reached over the center console and curled her fingers around Kerry’s arm.
Kerry moved her arm back so she could clasp her fingers around Dar’s. “I’m glad you’re back, too. Now maybe I can get a good night’s sleep.”
Dar brought their joined hands up and kissed Kerry’s knuckles, waiting for her to stop at a red light and turn her head so their eyes met.
“Or maybe not.” Kerry managed a wry grin.
Dar winked at her. “We should always travel together,” she said. “Sorry you had a crappy night last night.”
Kerry looked back at the road as the light changed and pushed her sunglasses back up on her nose. “Where you go, I go, baby. Sounds good to me.” She left her right hand clasped into Dar’s left and felt the squeeze as Dar’s long fingers contracted gently.
“Did Mark goose up that web server?” Dar asked after a minute or two of quiet. “We’l
l get some traction from that dumbass picture anyway.”
“Oh yes. He was already working on it before I left to get you. I can just imagine the teeth grinding going on over at the ILS boardroom, though.”
“They knew that contract wasn’t on the table for them,” Dar said. “Bridges told me he was told in no uncertain terms that he was prohibited from giving it to any company with a multinational presence.”
“I know that, but can you imagine the scene?” Kerry shook her head. “Every single one of them would have wanted to be in that picture with him.”
“You know, I don’t feel bad about that,” Dar said. “We earned that contract, Kerry. We came to his attention because of who we are, not what ILS was.”
Kerry decided not to correct her beloved, since there hadn’t been any ‘we’ involved.
“We did an impossible task for this guy,” Dar continued. “We didn’t have to, but we did, and he knows that, and he trusts us because of that. ILS would have thrown Alastair to the wolves and he knows that, too. Why should he trust them?”
“That’s all true, hon.” Kerry pulled into the parking lot of their building. “But it won’t stop them from being pissed off about it.”
“Peh.”
They walked toward the building, and as they did, they clasped hands again, walking up the path side-by-side, then pausing as they spotted a tall ladder blocking the way. “Oh,” Kerry said in surprise. “Our sign is here. Wasn’t when I left.”
There were two men beneath the ladder, preparing the large wooden panel, and they looked up as the two women approached. “Be just a minute, ladies,” the nearer of the two men said. “Boss just sent us over to get this ready to mount up.”
Kerry kept her hand clasped around Dar’s as she studied the sign. It was a honey colored wood, with the company’s logo carved into it in a relief. The background of the sign was stained a dark blue, and their compass point logo was painted white and silver. “I like it.”
Dar smiled. “Me too. Once it’s up I’m going to take a picture and send it to Mom and Dad.”
“Between that article and this, your dad’s going to explode.” Kerry could imagine her father-in-law’s expression without much effort. There was just no prouder father anywhere, and she spared a moment remembering coming back uptown with him after they’d managed to get the stock market working.
She, half dazed and aching. Andrew sitting next to her in the limo. Both of them listening to Alastair explain what had happened to Cynthia Stuart, and ending it with the statement “I can tell you this, Senator, I seriously believe with all my heart there’s nothing his kid can’t do.”
Andrew didn’t say anything, but Kerry remembered with extraordinary clarity the glint of tears in his eyes and the paradoxical grin on his face. And despite the pain, she remembered smiling, too, if a bit wistfully.
“Or yours.” Alastair gave Kerry a gentle pat on the knee. “Saved our asses.”
Cracked ribs or not, it felt good.
The two workmen finished preparing the sign, then they mounted the big dual ladder and walked the panel up, positioning it on the second level ledge and clamped it in place so they could drill the bolts in.
Kerry nudged Dar. “Wave, honey. We’re on candid camera.”
Dar glanced up to the second level windows where there were faces watching them and waving. She lifted her hand and waved back, then made a beckoning motion to the people there. “Let’s get a group picture.” She draped her arm over Kerry’s shoulders. “Only get a first sign once.”
True. Kerry grinned as the staff emerged from around the side of the building, having gone out the back to avoid hitting the ladders. They gathered to watch, making a careful circle around their two owners.
Mark eased forward. “Hey, Dar.”
“Hey,” Dar responded amiably. “This our new security chief?” Dar delivered a smile to Carlos, whose head was roughly even with her own. She extended a hand. “Hi, I’m Dar.”
The big man blushed a little, but took her hand. “Hi,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“I bet.” Dar gave Mark a droll look. “Welcome. Glad you decided to give us a try.”
Mayte came over. “Kerry, I have some messages for you. I left them on your desk,” she said. “Welcome back,” she added to Dar. “My mama also has a package for you, and some notes.”
“Thanks.” Dar pulled Kerry a little closer. “We just want to get a picture with everyone and the new sign.” She pointed at the second level where the workmen were climbing down off the ladder after finishing with the bolts.
Mayte’s eyes lit up. “Oh! That is so nice.”
They cleared the ladder away and Kerry retrieved her camera from the SUV, taking a few pictures of it before everyone had come down from the office and gathered in front of the entrance. “Okay, now....” She glanced at the workers. “Could I impose on you guys to take a picture of us with this beautiful new sign?”
“Sure.” One of them came over and took the camera. “Just press that to focus and then to take the picture?” he asked. “My son’s got one of these. He really likes it.”
“Yep.” Kerry crossed over to where the group was and paused long enough to pick up Mocha, turning and coming up next to Dar who put her arm back over her shoulders. “Everyone ready?”
The workman smiled, and focused, and then it was over and everyone was swirling around again, this time coming up and asking Dar about her meeting.
Kerry took a step back and gave Mocha a hug, walking over to reclaim her camera. “You guys did a great job,” she said. “It looks great.”
The man nodded. “He’s a good carver. Said he’d be by later to check the install and pick up the fee.” He scratched Mocha’s ears. “Glad he got a commission. Been a while. People don’t want to pay for stuff like this in these times.”
Kerry nodded. “It’s tough. I was glad they referred him to us.”
The man glanced around, then back at her. “I heard you had some trouble with some of those guys that hang around in the streets ‘round here. That true?”
Kerry wondered if it wasn’t just a little more small town like than she was comfortable with. “Yes,” she said. “But I think it was more of a miscommunication than anything.”
The man nodded. “Be careful with them guys. You seem like nice ladies and we heard they like to hassle women.”
Kerry sighed. “I sure hope they don’t,” she said. “But thanks for the warning.”
The man lifted his hand in farewell, then shouldered his tool kit and picked up his end of the ladder, he and his partner moving off down the street together.
Kerry went back to the crowd, who was now sorting themselves out to re-enter the building through the front door. Dar waited for her and they walked back in together and headed up the steps to their offices. “Did you get any lunch?” she asked, as they reached the top of the stairs.
“They fed us on the plane,” Dar said.
“Take that as a no, then. We probably have some of those pastelitos left.” Kerry bumped her with her hip.
“I’ve got some Kit Kats left in my backpack.” Dar bumped her right back. “We can trade.”
Chapter Five
THE SUN WAS setting as they gathered in the conference room, Dar and Kerry, Mark and Carlos, Maria and Mayte. Dar had a copy of the newspaper article and she put it on the table as they all sat down. She folded her hands. “We seem to have acquired some additional notoriety over the past day.”
Mayte was taking notes. “It is a very nice picture,” she said diplomatically.
“Well, a lot of people think so,” Kerry said. Four of those five messages you left me were from people who’d seen it and want to come in and talk to us. So we have a couple issues here. One, we’ve become very visible very quickly.”
Carlos nodded. “People might see you as a way to get in on the government.”
“Exactly,” Dar said. “That kind of influence is in a business sense, priceless.
”
“But, Dar...you always had those hooks,” Mark said. “I mean, they came after you the last time, remember? Like, right out of the blue.”
“That’s true,” Dar said. “I’m not worried about that part of it. My links to the military are what they are. I can’t change that. But we need to think hard about how we’re going to secure ourselves because other people might want to find out what we’re doing for them.”
“Cams,” Mark said, then looked pointedly at their new security man.
Carlos pulled out a folder from where it had sat on his lap, and opened it. He was dressed in neatly pressed cargo pants and a blue pullover sweater that had a faint look of the military about it. “I think we should use these.” He pushed a data sheet over. “They’re expensive, but they’re PTZ, IR, night scope, and 10X zoom.”
Dar pulled the sheet over and studied it. “IP?”
He nodded. “The last place I was at, they did the wired and wireless, so if someone got some smart idea to cut the cable it would go over the radio.”
“Good,” Kerry said. “That’s nice.”
Maria folded her hands. “If you tell me the places you want these things, I will have the electrical man make the connections for them.”
Dar’s eyes twinkled as Carlos passed a diagram over to her. “Thanks, Maria.”
Mark grinned. “Good job, buddy.” Carlos grinned back.
“I like that,” Dar said, passing the page off to Kerry. “Get them and get them installed. I’ll write a program that takes the input from them and parse alerts.”
Kerry eyed her. “We do have programmers, hon.”
Pale blue eyes pinned her with ferocious intent. “When it comes to the safety of the people here, especially you, I want absolute perfection.”
“Got it.” Kerry muffled a smile.
“Anyway, I’d like to get the cams in before next week ends if we can. Kerry and I will be out of town this weekend. I’d like to start on the program after we get back from New Orleans.”