by Melissa Good
Kerry stared at him. "Are you kidding me?"
"Nope." Mark shook his head. "I've been meaning to tell you about it. I kept forgetting with all this crap going on. I mean," he held one hand up, "like, they're happy we're helping and they think it's great we're doing this, but they're also checking to see how they can line their own pockets at the same time, if you know what I mean."
"I know what you mean." Kerry stepped back and held the door open. "Let's lock this and go get that beer. Dar and I have some work we need to catch up on tonight, so we'll pass on dinner, but she wanted to buy the first round of drinks."
"That is very nice." Kannan shouldered his backpack as he and Mark moved past Kerry and she shut the door behind them. "It is difficult, these things we are doing, but all the same satisfying. It is good to do hard work."
They walked around the back of the stairwell and headed for the steps up to the lower level of offices. Most of the shops were closed, though the restaurants were still open, and there was a small scattering of people still walking around.
Near the entrances, there were National Guard troops standing near the walls and watching the remaining people, their eyes following the odd one walking along as their hands cradled their rifles.
It brought home, again, what had happened. Kerry had realized she'd started to forget, caught up in the moment of doing what they were doing until she was pulled back into focus by seeing one of the guardsman, or hearing someone talk.
Seeing the pictures of the site. Pictures of the dust covered firemen doggedly searching through the wreckage for survivors, or signs off their lost comrades.
Resolutely she turned her back on the guard and led the way up the steps, reaching the lower level and heading to where Dar and the rest of the team were waiting.
The offices above were already quiet. The staffers had gone home-- those that could--and the rest were going with them to stay at the hotel until they were allowed back downtown. Alastair had visited the hotel manager and leased out a floor of the place to give the dispossessed a place to call home that wasn't the office they'd been camping in.
Life was moving on. One of the salesmen had commented on it as they'd broke up and closed the office down for the first time since the attack. There was a sense of sadness about that, a grief that was only partially acknowledged, and not yet dispelled.
She could see Dar, leaning against the wall, her hands in her pockets as she talked to one of the New York staff. Her partner looked tired.There was an uncharacteristic slump to her body posture that was visible to Kerry, if not to anyone else, and she felt a moment of impatience that they had to postpone a retreat to their room if even for the best of motives.
Dar sensed their approach and looked up, past the person she was talking to right into Kerry's eyes. Her expression shifted and one brow raised, the message as clear as the crystal goblets in the store fronts she was passing.
Absolutely expressive. Kerry could recall only a few times she'd seen that particular look, usually at the end of a very long day, when the inner door to her office would open, and Dar would be leaning on it looking at her with that look, and saying "Take me home."
Everything went into the to-do folder when that happened. No matter if she was working on who knows what urgent problem, she'd put her phone on voice mail, pick up her laptop, and they'd go. That look was where the line was drawn, and always had been.
"All right, we're all accounted for," Kerry said, as she reached her partner's side. "Let's roll, people." She waited for Dar to push away from the wall and then she put an arm around her, giving her back a little rub with her fingers.
They climbed up the steps and out into the night, crossing the marble courtyard and heading for the streets beyond. Traffic had picked up a trifle, and the streets seemed busier, but Kerry wasn't sure if that was something really different or if it was because it was Saturday night and more people would be out.
Dar's arm settled over her shoulders with welcome warmth. She looked up at Dar. "Tired?"
"Headache," Dar replied briefly. "Looking forward to kicking back and chilling."
"Me too." Kerry exhaled. "I think I'll settle for a bowl of soup for dinner and a bubble bath."
"Mmhg." Dar made a low sound of appreciation. "And ice cream," she added.
"Of course."
They followed the group along the sidewalk, not at the very back, but near it. Kerry was glad the pace was casual, since the long day of running around had tired her out. She also had a slight headache, and the cool breeze felt good despite the city scents in it.
She felt a little sweaty, a little dusty, and another thought crossed her mind. "Hey Dar?"
"Mm?" Dar seemed supremely content to amble silently at her side.
"That hotel has a pool, doesn't it?"
"I think so. Wow. A swim sounds like a great idea." Dar perked up a little bit. "What made you think of that?"
"You in a bathing suit," Kerry answered. She felt Dar twitch a little, then start to laugh. "You asked."
"I did." Dar chuckled, giving her a one-arm hug.
A tall figure dropped back to join them. "Hey there." Andrew greeted them. "What are you kids up to?"
"I was just going to ask you that, Dad," Kerry responded. "We haven't seen you since lunch. What have you been up to?" She tucked her free hand through Andrew's elbow. "I heard some of the guys saying you were yelling at someone before."
"Wall." Andrew made a dismissive gesture. "I been sticking around that coon ass He got himself mixed up with some of them gov'mint fellers and they was giving him a hive over some reports. Fellers were jackass rude."
"Alastair was telling us about the FBI wanting more reports. Was that it?" Kerry asked.
Andrew nodded. "Yeap. Got my back up when they started saying how they were thinking how cause all them boys of yours weren't from here that we were some suspect or something."
"What?"
Dar craned her neck around to look at her father. "What?"
"Yeap," Andrew said. "Don't know where they got that idea, but ah talked to them about it and I think they're all right with it now."
"Huh." Kerry frowned. 'What's that all about? Dar, we've had non US workers on visa to us here for years. You know as well as I do we take every qualified network tech we can find."
"I know," Dar said her expression a little grim. "But I also know there's an isolationist streak in this country a mile wide, and I've got a feeling this disaster is going to give that a chance to show."
"Them folks just ain't been much in the world." Andrew remarked.
"My father was one of those people," Kerry said. "He used to say all the time that we had to watch out for what he called that 'foreign element'."
A siren erupted nearby and everyone flinched. But it was only a lone police car pulling around a corner and racing through the taxi crowded street with lights flashing.
"And a couple days ago, what was undeniably a foreign element, killed a few thousand people and brought down two buildings and part of a third." Kerry went on. "So maybe those people feel justified."
They walked along in silence for a few minutes crossing a street at the light and moving along the block toward their hotel. Their colleagues were walking in a group around them, talking in low voices.
"Country's always had people from other places," Andrew finally said. "Ain't nobody hardly can say they b'long here."
"No one likes to remember that in times like this." Kerry agreed wryly. "My father's family, back in the early nineteen hundreds, came from Scotland." She paused. "My mother's came from Germany. "
"Wall." Andrew scratched his ear. "I believe my folks been here a while longer. Dar's mother's folks came with them Pilgrims."
Kerry turned her head and stared at her partner, one blond brow arching sharply.
Dar shrugged. "She thinks it's funny."
"No wonder she made that crack about the turkey last Thanksgiving," Kerry said. "But anyway, here's the hotel. Let's leave this
for tomorrow, and take a mind break. Okay?"
"Sounds good to me." Dar was glad to see the doors to the hotel.Her headache had gotten worse during the walk and even the enticing leather chairs of the bar weren't appealing to her. There was noise there, and people moving around, and she wanted none of it.
"Alastair?" Kerry called out softly, as they entered the lobby.
Their CEO turned, spotting them and pulling up. "Well, hello there. Glad to be at the end of this long day as I am?"
"You bet," Kerry said. "Hey, looks like they resumed the games this weekend."
The bar was relatively crowded with most of the screens shifted from CNN's tense pictures to the colorful flash of football and green grass, and the drone of the stadium. One screen, a large one in the back, had the news going, but most of the patrons were around the bar with an attitude of perceptible relief.
"You a fan?" Alastair asked.
"Not so much." Kerry admitted.
They paused in front of the bar--the big group of them--watching the screens.
"Hey, folks."Alastair addressed them. "Give me an ear, eh?"
Everyone turned to face him. "We've got the whole floor, matter of fact, we took over the concierge lounge up there too. It's got a big screen. How about we all go up there and I'll get some suds in, and we can watch from there."
Big smiles.
"You are a real cool dude," Scuzzy said. "Anyone ever tell you that?"
Alastair managed a brief grin, and then he waved them toward the elevators. "Let's put this plan into action then, shall we?" He waited for the group to start trouping toward the end of the lobby, before he turned to Dar and Kerry. "Feel free to skip the game shindig, ladies. I'm sure you have other things to do."
"Thanks." Dar didn't miss a beat. "We do." She gave Kerry a kiss on the top of her head. "C'mon Ker. You owe me some ice cream."
"Owe you?" Kerry got her arm wrapped around Dar's waist again."Thanks Alastair. We were hoping for a chance to chill for a while."
He winked at them, and strolled ahead. Andrew chuckled and joined him, leaving Dar and Kerry to bring up the rear.
Which they did. "He's a good boss," Kerry commented, as they passed the front desk.
"He is. Or I wouldn't have stayed for fifteen years, and in fact he wouldn't have put up with me that long either." Dar responded. "He's as conservative as they come, and yet, he never turned a hair at my being gay. "
"Never?"
Dar shook her head as the waited for the elevator. "When he was promoting me to Vice President of Operations, I met with him and warned him I was, and that it would probably cause a problem for him. He said he really didn't give a damn who I slept with."
"You think he meant that though? A lot of people say it," Kerry said.
"Then? I think he said it because he thought it was the right thing to say." Dar acknowledged. "But over the years he grew into that statement, and now I absolutely think he means it."
"He sees value in people." Kerry exhaled. "Wonder if his kids know how lucky they are." They got into the elevator and were quiet for the ride up, exchanging mild nods with the three other guests who had joined them.
The floor was already noisy down near the lounge when they got off, a trickle of television sound coming out along with the chatter of many voices.
"Glad we're down at this end." Kerry waited for Dar to key the door open and followed her in, closing it behind them and shutting out the sound. "Ugh."
"Ugh." Dar repeated, trudging across the carpet to her bag. She opened it and took out her bottle of Advil, opening it and shaking out a few of the pills. A warm body bumped into her, and she turned to find Kerry standing there, hand outstretched.
"Share." Kerry bumped her again.
Dar did, and then put the bottle back and rooted in the bag for her swimsuit. She took it out and paused at the credenza, picking up the bottle of water there and uncapping it. "Want some?" She took a swig and passed it over.
Kerry swallowed her handful of pills and wandered over to the book of services, opening the front page. "Dar? Where is the pool?"
Dar pointed up.
"Wow." Kerry went over to her bag and opened it to retrieve her suit."Glad I got into the habit of always packing mine like you do." She commented. "You don't know how many times I've thanked you when I was traveling and ended up in some business hotel with a nice pool and a nice bar and this suit made me pick the virtuous path."
Dar's warm chuckle surprised her with its closeness, and she turned to find Dar standing behind her, already in her suit. "Holy cow how did you change so fast?"
"Lots of practice with you taking my clothes off." Dar gathered Kerry's shirt in her hands and started easing it over her head. "There are robes in the bathroom. We better take them before we end up being entertainment for that crowd in the other room."
Kerry stifled a giggle as Dar's fingers brushed her bare ribs. "Go get the robes," she said. "I'll get changed and we can head down."
"Up." Dar tickled her navel, and then she backed off and headed for the bathroom.
Just ten minutes ago, she'd been toast. Kerry quickly shed her pants and underwear and got into her bathing suit. Ten minutes ago she'd been a little down, a lot tired, and wanting nothing more than to crash.
Now? Kerry looked up from adjusting her strap to find Dar leaning in the doorway, a knowing look in her eye. She felt a surge of sensual energy, a clean, powerful sensation that made her smile. "Ready?"
"Always." Dar tossed her the other robe and held a hand out. "Let's go. I want to get wet."
"Me too." Kerry answered, with a frank grin. "Let's hope no one else in the hotel does."
"Let's hope they don't have lifeguards."
THE WATER FELT unspeakably good closing over her as she dove in. There was that moment of silence, quickly overwhelmed by bubbles as she headed for the surface and felt the agitation next to her of Dar's tall form plunging in one step behind.
She surfaced and sucked in a lung full of chlorine-tinted air, blinking droplets out of her eyes as she flipped over onto her back and relaxed. "Ahhh."
Dar emerged from underwater next to her, shaking her head to clear her hair from her eyes. "Not overheated. Nice."
"Nice." Kerry agreed, enjoying the pleasantly cool liquid cradling her body as she floated. The pool was reasonably large, a rectangle of clear water against a painted blue background with lanes marked on the bottom.
There were no slides to go down, or diving boards to tempt Dar's quirky daredevil side. Just a placid expanse of water inside a glassed in space that would be pleasantly sunny in the daytime but now was full of watery shadows and highlights.
Around the pool were chaise lounges, and on one side was a bar that was currently closed.
That was fine with Kerry. It was nice to have the pool and Dar to herself. She rolled over and dove under again, pulling herself along with her arms and kicking from one side of the pool to the other, the chlorine only stinging her eyes a little as she swam along.
She rose to the surface again and exhaled, then turned when she heard splashing behind her.
Dar was swimming along the length of the pool with smooth, efficient strokes, barely creating any wake as she reached the end of the pool, disappeared underwater to turn, and then surfaced again still in motion.
Kerry didn't feel so ambitious. She stroked forward slowly in a lazy frog motion, blowing bubbles as she meandered around in a circle, going from side to side as Dar turned and came back again.
She took a breath and ducked underwater again, diving down to the bottom of the pool and swimming along the bottom, enjoying the silence and the sensation of weightless gliding. She reached the wall and turned, heading back across the width of the pool in the other direction.
Halfway there, she felt something snag her suit. She turned to find Dar turning with her underwater, those blue eyes glinting with mischief.
Kerry twisted free and shook a finger at her mockingly and headed for the surface as she
ran out of air.
Dar went with her and they broke the surface together inches apart. "Hey, it's a fish." Dar smiled.
"Was that a fishhook that caught my suit?" Kerry splashed her a tiny bit. "Boy this feels great."
"It does." Dar agreed. "Wish it was in the pool back home, but I'll take it." She eased over onto her back and stretched her arms along the pool edge, gripping the tile rim with her hands.
Kerry swam slowly around in a circle, the sound of her displacing water the only echo in the large space. "So, where's the first place in Europe we're going to visit? You want to go the Alps?"
Dar's face relaxed. "Thank you for not talking about work," she replied, simply. "I can't take any more thinking about it right now."
"Me either." Kerry paddled over to her. "So, where?"
"Where do you want to go?" Dar countered. "It's going to probably be near your birthday."
"Oo." Kerry put her hands behind her head and floated, bumping Dar gently and then moving away. "Where do I want to be for my birthday this year? Let me think."
Dar was content to do just that. She tilted her head to one side and admired Kerry's lithe body, glad to enjoy the moment.
"Dar?"
"Uh?" She straightened up and stifled a grin at Kerry's raised eyebrows. "Sorry. Drifted off there."
"Ah hah." Kerry looked skeptical. "Maybe it was mentioning it earlier, but you know, I think I'd like to go to Scotland," she said. "Could we start there?"
"That would be cool." Dar agreed. "I'm up for that."
"That's what I'd like to do for my birthday this year. Go to Scotland and have a blast with you. Climb some mountains, see some castles, and just hang out. I hadn't really thought about it before, when we were talking about the Alps and everything. That would have been fun too."
"But?"
Kerry gazed up at the glass ceiling, the smoked surface barely showing the fuzzy outline of the moon overhead. "But I don't know. It would be so easy to go to all those ritzy places. We could afford it."
"We could afford damn near anything we want." Dar agreed. "You'd look good in a Swiss chalet."