Winds of Change Book Two

by Melissa Good

  She released the line then studied the phone. Was there anyone else she could call?

  Anything else she could do? Dar stood up and shoved the phone into her pocket. Was there anything she really wanted to do?

  She trotted down the steps and heard voices in the conference room. She paused for a moment to riffle her hair into some kind of fluffiness, then forged ahead into the conference room. “Evening.”

  There was a man there with a thin, angular face that Dar thought she sort of recognized. On one side of the room she saw two women who had over the shoulder messenger bags, with pens and pads and stopwatches hanging from them. On the other side of the room were two men with cameras and gear.

  The man half waved. “Ah, Ms. Roberts. You probably don’t remember me.”

  “I do.” Dar produced a smile. “You interviewed me in New York.” She did remember that in a hazy surreal kind of way that most of the events were enfolded in. “We talked about cupcakes.”

  The man grinned. “We did,” he said. “So we’re a galaxy away from that moment, huh? You’re not with ILS anymore.”

  “Nope.” Dar took a seat at the head of the table. “Hung up my own shingle.” She indicated the building around her.

  “Okay, Pete,” one of the women interrupted. “Why don’t you sit down here and we can shoot from that angle across the table.”

  “Sure.” Pete amiably came around the table and sat down. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a leather jacket. “To be honest, Ms. Roberts, that interview with you got me interested in the technology biz. So now I do in-depth stuff for CNN about it. Nice change.”

  Kerry came over and sat on the other side of Dar. “This has been a nice change for us, too,” she said. “Getting to start everything from scratch and all that.”

  The cameramen busied themselves getting a tripod arranged behind Pete’s shoulder and settled a camera on top of it, flicking on the battery packs that powered up with a soft, faint whine. “We got sync to the truck?” one of them asked.

  “Eyup...got a signal back to base,” the other responded. “Cheryl, we’re good.”

  “Thanks.” The producer put her pad down, with notes. “Let me just make sure I’ve got everything accurate here, ladies, then we can get this and let you get on your way. I know it’s late.” She glanced up at Dar and Kerry. “Thanks for hanging out and waiting for us.”

  “We were glad to,” Kerry said. “I suppose you tracked us down from that picture in the paper?” She smiled briefly. “Dar enjoyed her visit to the White House.”

  Pete cleared his throat. “Actually, we did pick that up on research, but really you popped up on my radar because I’m local here and I was home on vacation when my brother-in-law’s scatterbrained son got hired to write games and I wanted to see who’d be crazy enough to hire him.”

  Dar chuckled. “Ah, I see.” She leaned back. “He’s got good programming skills. I always look everywhere for talent. Your nephew, once removed, might turn out to be the Bill Gates of the family.”

  “He loves this place. He was at dinner at our house a week ago talking nine to the minute about some program you did with a hamster in it.”

  “That would be a gopher,” Kerry corrected. “Gopher Dar, in fact. It’s an animated program Dar writes on sometimes.”

  They all chuckled “So then I ran a scan on headlines and found the picture of you with the president and figured, hey, it’s time for me to get back in touch with Dar Roberts,” Pete said with a smile. “I guess you just recently left ILS?”

  “About a month or so ago, yes,” Dar said. “After the time we spent in New York, Kerry and I decided we wanted to retire and go do our own thing.”

  “Get out of the spotlight?” Pete said, his eyes twinkling. “Didn’t work out so well for you on that front I guess.”

  Dar shrugged.

  “Okay, we’re ready,” the blonder of the two women said. “Pete, you’re on.”

  He folded his hands on the table and paused, clearing his throat. “We’re rolling to archive, Dar, not live to the channel.”

  “Now that’s a good idea,” Dar said. “Especially if you remember what I said the last time about not asking me anything you don’t want to hear the answer to.”

  One of the producers pulled a phone from her pocket and held a hand up, moving to the door and slipping outside.

  “We’re speaking here today with Dar Roberts, who is a well known business person in the technology field,” Pete said. “Ms. Roberts, you recently left the big corporate world and opened up your own IT-related business. Tell me about that.”

  Kerry quietly got up and eased back, glad to give Dar her moment in the spotlight. She ducked outside the door and went across to the small kitchen, pausing when she almost bumped into Scott in his wheelchair. “Hello.”

  “Hi.” He was removing a small container from the refrigerator. “What’s up with CNN?” He rolled out of Kerry’s way and put the container on the table, opening it up and revealing what looked like a fruit salad.

  Surprising. Kerry got one of the cold ice teas and opened it. “Their

  technology desk saw Dar’s picture in the paper and wanted an interview,” she said. “How’s it going with you? Mark says you do good work.”

  “I like it,” he responded. “It’s good to do stuff that’s just normal.”

  Kerry sat down at the table. “I remember when I got back from New York after 9/11, it was a relief to just be able to sit down and have a boring staff meeting.”

  He glanced briefly at her. “You were in there when that went down? I was in the hospital in Frankfurt.”

  “No, I was at my family’s home in Michigan. But I went there the next day,” Kerry said. “The company we worked for had people in the Pentagon and also in downtown New York.”

  He ate several pieces of the fruit with a spoon, chewing it thoughtfully. “I saw pictures. That was a mess.”

  “It was,” Kerry agreed. “We did some work down by the stock exchange. The destruction down there was incredible.”

  “Yeah. Only thing I was glad I got half blowed up because I knew I wasn’t going to have to go back there,” he said. “We’re going to go back there and beat the shit out of them for that. Everybody knows it.”

  “Mm.” Kerry sipped her tea thoughtfully. Their new tech had gotten himself some polo shirts and work style chinos, she noted, remembering they’d been paid the previous Friday. “Everything working out for you?”

  He was silent for a long moment, then nodded. “Glad I came and asked for that paper.”

  Kerry smiled. “I think we’re glad, too,” she said. “Sometimes you just have to take a chance, you know?”

  He looked up at her expressionless. Then he smiled.

  Kerry started to speak again, then paused as the CNN producer stuck her head in the door. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” The woman looked harried. “Listen, I’m really sorry. And I mean, really really sorry, but we’ve got to pull out of here. There’s some big issue in the banking industry and they need us on it.”

  “Wow sorry to hear that.” Kerry got up. “A technical issue?”

  “Something to do with how they talk to each other. Something’s gone wrong,” the woman said. “Hell, you want to come with us? You probably understand more of it than we will.”

  Uh oh. Kerry managed an apologetic smile. “Sorry, we’ve got plans,” she said. “But I’ll be watching tonight to see what it was.”

  “We’ll get back to you,” she said. “Let me go get my guys packed up.” She bustled out and left them in contemplative silence for a moment.

  “Hm.” Kerry leaned against the wall. “Wonder if I should start ordering pizza.” A moment later Dar came into the room, leaning one long arm against the door frame. “Hi.”

  “Interbank’s down,” Dar said.

  “Yeah, I figured.”

  “Should we just stay here?”

  “I was just considering ordering some dinner in,” Kerry said. “Let
me go tell Mark what’s going on.”

  Dar exhaled, went to the refrigerator, removed a chocolate milk chug and opened it. She turned and leaned against the appliance, eying Scott.

  He watched her in silence in return, chewing his fruit salad.

  “Your buddies still giving you a hard time?” Dar asked, after a bit.

  He nodded. “I keep clear of ‘em,” he said. “Stay around that gym a lot. They let me work in there too a little, at night.”

  “Make friends with guys in there,” Dar suggested. “I’ve seen some of the dudes that go in there. They look like ass kickers.”

  He nodded again. “They got a pool in there. I like that.” He paused. “There some kind of problem here?” he asked, bluntly. “With them press people and then everyone running out?”

  Dar sat down and rested her elbows on the table. “No, there’s no problem here. There’s a problem where we used to work.” She took a sip of her milk and looked up as Mark skidded around the corner and came barreling into the room. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” Mark said, glancing at Scott then back at Dar. “Kerry told me and I got a call from our old guy at the NAP. Crap’s coming down”

  Dar nodded agreement. “It is.”

  “You think they’re gonna call you?”

  “I think they’re going to have to,” Dar said. “I’m just sitting here trying to figure out how to tell them no.”

  “Why?” Mark said. “At this point, it’s all in the crapper, Dar. They can’t blame you for any of it. You could go in there and show them all up.”

  “I know that, but where does it get us? I don’t want to go back in there. I want them to figure out their own problems and leave us the hell alone.” Dar got up. “I fix this, they’ll never let go of me in the short term and I’ve got better things to do.” She drained the chug and tossed it in the recycle bin. “I’ll be in my office.”

  “K, boss.” Mark shook his head. “Man, I remember the days when I was glad to just be a tech yonk. End of the day, you just go home.”

  Scott finished his fruit salad and put the container carefully back in the plain, dark blue holder. “Gonna finish that printer,” he said. “Someone bent the frame, that’s why it keeps jamming.”

  “We’ve only had it two weeks. Who had a chance to do that?” Mark said.

  “Probably the delivery company.” Scott put the container in his lap and prepared to roll out. “Might need some tools.”

  Mark opened the door for him. “Give me a list,” he said. “I’ll get ‘em ordered.”

  They emerged into the hallway. “We’ll be here a while so take your

  time with the printer,” Mark added. “Let you know when chow gets

  here.”

  Scott nodded and headed off down the hall to the support office.

  Mark watched him go and then turned toward the stairs, pausing when Kerry came around the corner to join him. “This gonna be a long night?”

  Kerry lifted her hands and let them drop. “I’ve got no idea. Maybe those guys will find a way around having to call for help. I sure would if I were them.”

  “Kerry.” Mark eyed her. “Trust me. I lived in that place for long as she did. If it’s this fucked up, no one’s gonna be able to fix it but her.”

  Kerry sighed.

  “Pizza?”

  “Chinese buffet.”

  “Whoof.”

  “ARE WE KIDDING ourselves and no one’s calling us, or considering calling us?” Kerry was seated on the windowsill, manipulating a shrimp with her chopsticks. “How long are we going to hang out here?”

  Dar was chewing a very red spare rib. She paused and licked her lips. “We just saw them go over the Interbank outage on CNN and they said they were searching for a senior spokesperson from ILS. Either they’re crapping their pants and trying to find my phone number right now, or they’re going to blow them off.”

  “They can’t be that stupid.”

  “They can. So either they call me in the next fifteen minutes or we’ll just go home.” Dar took another bite of her rib. “They can’t afford to have all their customers start calling CNN.”

  “Maybe they’ll figure it out themselves,” Kerry said philosophically. “I don’t want to end up with my ass parked in that mausoleum lobby tonight anyway.”

  “I hope they do.” Dar picked up her bottle of green ice tea and took a swallow. “Then we can finally leave them behind.”

  Kerry leaned against the windowsill and hiked one boot up on the wooden surface. She fished out another shrimp and bit it in half, swinging her other leg a little to the soft new age music playing in the built-in nearby.

  Everyone else had gone home, in some cases at their insistence. They were alone in the building, doors locked with the security system in place. The street outside was quiet, befitting the middle of the weekday night she heard the faint sounds of a softball game going on at the field down the street.

  “We could form a company softball team,” Kerry commented after a moment. “That would be fun. Want me to see if there’s a league around here?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’d like that. I thought the league we started to be part of before 9/ 11 was going to be fun, but it would be more fun if we had our own team. We can get uniforms in our colors.”

  “Sounds good.” Dar munched thoughtfully. “You look adorable in those baseball pants.”

  Kerry rolled her head around and gave her a droll look.

  “You do,” Dar insisted. “You’ve got a really cute butt, hon. Those pants show it off.”

  Kerry actually blushed. “Dar.”

  Dar opened her eyes wide in mock hurt. “What?”

  Kerry stuck her tongue out.

  “Same to you.” Dar finished up her ribs and put them in the silver lined bag they’d come in. “Let’s go home. Screw it.” She got up and shut her laptop down. “I’m out of patience. With any luck they’ve solved everything themselves and I won’t get shanghaied when I walk into the Pentagon tomorrow.”

  Kerry was more than ready enough to leave. She wrapped up the remains of her meal and Dar’s and took them downstairs to store them in the refrigerator. She glanced around, nodding in approval at the neatness from the cleaning service then went back in the hallway just in time to see Dar trotting down the steps with both their bags.

  She took hers, then waited as Dar triggered the exit allowance for the alarm system. She opened the door and they walked quickly out, Dar locking the door behind them as they heard the alarm reset softly inside.

  It was a nice night. Kerry drew in a breath of cool air, savoring it since they were on the long downhill slide into summer. In a month or so, any chance of outdoor comfort while fully dressed would be gone.

  So she enjoyed the crispness and the smell of the leaves in the trees around the building. She waited for Dar to join her and then they walked down the sidewalk together toward the parking lot. “Glad we left the pups home today,” she said. “Would have made a late night for them.”

  “Mm,” Dar agreed. “I think they like it though, being with us.” She beeped open the doors to the truck. “Everyone pays attention to them in the office.”

  Kerry opened the passenger side door and put her bag inside, then hoisted herself up after it. “We should have gotten a running board for this thing. I feel like I’m doing a vault.”

  Dar chuckled. “I’ll call the dealership tomorrow,” she said then paused, looking out over the steering wheel through the front window. “Oh crap.”

  Kerry looked up quickly and spotted the group near the trees on the side of their building. “Is that—oh, yeah. It is.” She recognized their rowdy antagonists, and in the middle, the shorter outline of Scott in his chair. “Well, poots, Dar.”

  Dar opened the door and slid out. “He’s one of us now,” she said as she hitched up the sleeves on her shirt and started toward the gang.

  “Wouldn’t have stopped you in any case, Crusader Dar.” Kerry reconciled herself to some
after hours conflict and got out on her side, shutting the door and trotting quickly after Dar.

  The group was clustered around Scott and it was obvious they were pissed. Kerry caught up to Dar just as they came up next to the group and she got her balance set and squared her shoulders.

  Not that either activity would come off as imposing. Not nearly as much as Dar’s did when her six foot plus partner stood up straight and glared at the men.

  “What the hell’s going on here?”

  The men turned abruptly, one of them letting loose of Scott’s chair arms. He looked up in surprise and saw them. Kerry saw a brief moment of relief that almost put a smile on her face.

  So yeah, he’d crossed that line, too.

  “What the hell is it your business?” the closest man responded, turning and revealing himself to be Joe, the group troublemaker.

  “You’re messing with an employee of mine,” Dar responded. “In front of my office. I thought I made it clear to you people I wasn’t going to put up with that.” She stood square on to him, her hands in her pockets.

  “You don’t own him, you bitch,” Joe said. “Get out of here.”

  “No.” Dar took a step closer. “I don’t own anyone. But I value people, which is a lot more than you do. You want to get away from me? You leave. It’s his choice to leave with you, or stay.”

  “I’m not going to take that from you, lady.” Joe hauled back and swung on Dar and in a second they were grappling as she blocked his punch and put an elbow into his chin.

  Kerry watched the gang carefully as she looked around for something to use as a weapon, not nearly as confident in her martial skills as Dar was.

  Joe backed off and touched his jaw, watching Dar’s tense figure and flexing hands. “You know how to fight.” He sounded surprised.

  “I do,” Dar answered shortly. “I don’t want to, and I don’t like to, but if you push me I will.”

  Joe studied her for a minute. “I want to, and I like to, but I don’t like fighting with women,” he answered. “My daddy didn’t raise me to hit girls.”

  A voice came out of the darkness with more than a hint of amusement in it. “Y’all are out of luck then, boy, cause I didn’t raise her to care about what was in the pants she was kicking.”