by Melissa Good
There was a moment of silence. Then Dar turned toward Andrew. "Funny," she commented briefly, before she headed toward the stairs. "Okay, get him down here. I'll go find out how long it'll be until we get to port."
Mark shook off his paralysis and got up, hastening over to help the injured Darcy along with a couple other techs. "Easy, dude. Just relax."
Kerry exhaled. "Jesus Christ," she murmured, gathering her wits. "What in the hell were they thinking." She turned and looked at Andrew, who was still standing there in something of a stunned silence. "That was really supposed to be a joke?"
Andrew's face took on an expression Kerry had seen but a very few times on his daughter's face. It was the one she got when she knew she'd done something outstandingly stupid, and it was a look that always touched Kerry's heart.
This time was no exception. She took a step closer to her father in law and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure they didn't really mean to hurt anyone." At least, she sincerely hoped not.
"Scuse me," Andrew murmured before he turned and headed off in the direction Dar had gone.
Kerry watched him go, and then she exhaled heavily before she walked over to where the injured tech was sitting and assembling a plan as she walked. "All right," she said. "I don't think that's going to happen again. So let's get the rest of these things where they belong, so at least we get that much done." She knelt next to Darcy who was biting
his lip in an attempt not to cry. "And don't you worry. We're going to get you some help even if Dar has to get a helicopter out here."
Darcy managed a faint grin. He was a dark skinned Cuban with a faint moustache and dark, curly hair. Kerry knew he had a talent for working with servers and he knew lots of really bad jokes. She put a hand on his uninjured leg and returned his grin. "Just try to take it easy. It hurts more otherwise."
"Yeah," Darcy managed to get out. "You broke your leg too? Sounds like you know." He looked down the length of his leg, visibly twisted around the knee under his thick jeans.
"Dislocated my shoulder," Kerry said. "When I was in that hospital explosion...if you remember that."
Several techs made sympathetic noises. "That hurts," one of them said. "My brother had that happen. He screamed like a, um..."
Everyone chuckled nervously.
"I did too," Kerry admitted, "when Dar had to put it back in place."
Wide eyes looked at her.
"In the dark, under a collapsed ceiling, in a building on fire." Kerry went on. "So you know," she patted Darcy's leg, "things could always be worse."
"All right." Mark stood up. "C'mon, you guys. Let's get this stuff moving. You three stay here with Darcy, all right? Get him some water or something." He looked at the crew, now standing in silence behind the desk. "From our catering guys. At least we know where it's from."
"I'll stay here," Kerry told him.
Mark looked at her. "This sucks."
"I know."
"This just totally freaking sucks."
"Yeah, I know."
Mark led the techs out again, arms full of hastily righted machines. Kerry waited a moment, then she sat down on the cold floor crossing her legs up under her and leaning her elbows on her knees. She stared at the marble with unseeing eyes, trying to absorb all that had just happened.
"So. Uh. That burning building...that was scary, huh?" Darcy asked.
Kerry looked up at him. "Yeah," she said. "Want to hear about it?" She figured anything that would take his mind off his leg would help.
"Sure."
Kerry straightened up and ordered her thoughts, pulling up her memories of that far off terrifying night. There was something just faintly familiar about the act--some chord the looks in the eyes of the techs that struck her as she got ready to tell her story--that almost made her pause.
Almost. Kerry shrugged the feeling off. "Well, it all started with a baby..."
Chapter Six
DAR HEADED DOWN the hallway toward the bridge, feeling her temper simmering as it hadn't for a long, long time. She was mad at a lot of things, the stupidity of the prank, the possibility of Kerry being injured, her father's complicity...
Gah. She stiff armed the door to the bridge and walked inside, her eyes sweeping right and left in search of the captain.
Two of the officers turned to look at her, startled. "Yes?" one said. "What is it you want?"
"Ah." Dar spotted the captain in his tiny office. "Found it. Thanks." She headed for the room. "All right, mister." She shoved the door open. "What in the hell do you think you were doing?"
The captain, who had been leaning on his desk with both hands, straightened up and stared at her in utter shock. "Pardon?" He snorted. "What is the meaning of this, you bursting into my office?"
"What's the meaning?" Dar went right up to the edge of the desk and pointed at him. "I'll tell you what the meaning is, Captain. The meaning is I'm going to sue your sorry ass for deliberately endangering my staff." She let her voice build to a bark. "Got it?"
The man's jaw actually dropped.
Dar turned. "But that's not why I'm here." She glared out at the horizon. "How long until this piece of junk gets into port? I've got someone that needs medical help."
"Ah, one hour. But Ms. Roberts... The captain started around his desk.
"Don't bother." Dar snapped. "Save the sanctimonious crap for someone who gives a damn about your stripes. Just radio ahead and tell them to have that gangway ready when we get there." She turned and walked out, slamming his door behind her and leaving him inside.
The entire bridge staff was staring at her in slack jawed disbelief, but Dar barely saw them. She continued on through the bridge and out the door, pulling up short as she almost crashed into the staff captain outside.
Maybe her stare warned him. He stepped out of her way and let her go past, then turned to watch her leave. "You really should work on that sense of humor, Ms. Roberts."
Dar didn't even bother to answer. She turned the corner of the corridor and headed down the damn steps again, tired of the ship, tired of running up and down stairwells, and very, very tired of obnoxious ship officers with bad hair and worse manners.
Spotting daylight, she got off the stairs at the eighth deck and went out onto the exterior promenade that circled the ship and gave access to the fresh air. She gripped the railing and stared over it, her guts still churning with anger.
Moving around seemed like a good idea. She turned and started to walk down the promenade deck, the wind buffeting her as the ship rocked slightly in the waves. The deck was empty, only the lifeboats swung over her head in creaky counterpoint to the ship's motion.
Bloody bastards. Dar felt like throwing up. She'd been safe enough when the ship tilted over, having just come back into the atrium and close enough to the stairwell to just grab hold of the railing and hang on. But the thought of Kerry being down in the lower decks, with all that gear, and all those guys...
Okay. Dar stopped and stood near the rail again, gripping it lightly with her hands. Just relax a second, yahoo. Nothing happened. She exhaled. Nothing happened to Kerry, anyway, except for...
Except for the 'later'.
Dar leaned her head against the metal cross brace, staring bleakly out across the sea.
"WHAT HAPPENED?" CECI knelt down next to Kerry giving the injured tech a concerned look.
Kerry had just handed him a glass of water and some Advil. It was all she had to offer for what was surely a tremendously painful injury. "He was carrying one of the terminals when the ship tipped over and he fell down the stairs." She gave Darcy a sympathetic look.
He grimaced back at her.
"Ow." Ceci grimaced too. "I was busy being green in my bunk. That little roller coaster seems to have fixed me up permanently. What happened? Have you seen Andy?"
Ergh. "Well." Kerry exhaled. "Apparently the ship was doing some tests that they sort of forgot to tell us about."
Ceci's brows both lowered. "Forgot?" She snorted.
&nb
sp; Kerry half shrugged. "Anyway, looks like Darcy was the only one hurt," she said. "Dar's upstairs yelling at the captain and finding out how long it'll take us to get back."
"Hm." Ceci pursed her lips. "Sorry I'm not there watching. Nothing like a little deserved tongue lashing to perk up the morning." She shook her head. "Unbelievable. Someone could have gotten killed." She glanced at Kerry. "Bet she's pissed."
Kerry nodded. "Very," she agreed. "So was I, but I think she's more pissed at Dad than she is at the guys running the boat."
"Andy?" Ceci frowned. "But w..." She stopped. "He knew?"
Kerry nodded again, unhappily. "Dar went off on him big time."
"Did she? Good." Ceci announced firmly. "Let me tell you I've had my fill of that brotherhood of the sea nonsense, and if he knew and didn't tell her it was going to happen, he deserves a spanking."
Well, that was probably true Kerry acknowledged. But she also knew Andrew felt a kinship with these travelers, ratty though they were, that she probably would never understand. "I know," she said. "But I've been at the other end of that tongue lashing and it's no fun."
"So have I." Ceci commented. "But in my case, the real surprise was what it was like when she wasn't mad." She got up. "Let me go find my husband." With a pat on Kerry's shoulder, she wandered off, heading for the stairwell.
Kerry wrapped her arms around her knees and fought the desire to go with her.
ANDREW PAUSED AT the doorway, looking out. He waited for a bit, but Dar didn't seem disposed to move, so after a few moments he gathered his wits about him and pushed the door open.
The warm air blew against his face, a feeling so familiar it raised ghosts that had no place on this ramshackle cruise ship. He dismissed them, needing a clear mind to deal with the trauma ahead of him.
He had seen Dar mad on many occasions. She had a temper, hell, she had his temper and he knew to an intimate degree what that anger felt like inside. He'd seen her stand her ground fearlessly in front of situations she damn well should have run from, and though he valued his daughter's safety above all else, he knew where that courage came from and couldn't fault her for it.
But he also never had that anger turned on him before, and he wasn't really sure what to do about it. So, as he always had in all kinds of bad situations before, he just stepped up to it and walked over to where Dar was standing.
As he came even with her and put his hands on the rail, she turned her head and looked at him. The few things he'd thought about saying died on his lips, and he just stood there looking into those stormy eyes.
He'd seen them before, matter of fact--every time he'd turned his back on his family and climbed up that gangway to go back to sea.
'Specially that last time. There really weren't no words to say that meant anything faced with that, was there?
So he didn't say any. He just reached over and put his hand on Dar's shoulder. Dar looked away. Then she exhaled and pushed away from the railing. "I've got work to do," she said, briefly, before she eased out from under his grip and headed back toward the doors to the interior.
"Dar." Andrew called after her.
Dar raised one hand, but didn't turn around. "It's all right," she said, before she pulled the door open and went inside.
Andy leaned back against the railing and folded his arms across his broad chest, turning his head slightly as Ceci wandered up to him from the direction of the front of the ship. "You fixing to yell at me too?" he asked testily.
His wife rubbed her nose, suppressing a wry smile. "She should have kicked your ass, not yelled at you for that Andrew."
"Ah did not do anything."
"Exactly," Ceci said, seriously. "You should have. You know better."
Andy scowled.
Odd, to be on this side of the fence. Ceci mused. "Well, just let her be for a little while. Let Kerry work on her and turn her back into a pile of goo, then you can give it another try."
Her husband eyed her.
"Or go kick the captain's ass." Ceci suggested. "And by the way, I'm feeling much better. Thanks for asking."
He sighed. "Hell fire day all round."
"Mm." Ceci relented and put her arm around him. "And it's just starting, too."
KERRY TURNED HER head toward the hall just before Dar appeared in it. Some of the techs were straggling back in as well, and the atrium was becoming somewhat crowded. And yet, when Dar lifted her head and sought Kerry's eyes for that moment it was as though they were the only two people in the entire place.
"Excuse me." Kerry got up and threaded her way through the crowd. "Hey." She reached Dar's side and walked right into her personal space, ignoring the room full of employees and wrapping her arms around Dar's waist.
Dar, unsurprisingly, stopped walking and returned the gesture circling Kerry's shoulders. "Hey," she responded quietly. "We'll be in port in an hour."
"Darcy's doing okay. He's just in a lot of pain. I gave him what I had, but it's not helping much." Kerry said. "Did you see the captain?"
"Yeah."
Kerry waited, but nothing more seemed forthcoming. "Did you see Dad?"
"Yeah." Dar rested her chin against Kerry's head. "Did all the stuff go out?"
Kerry nodded. "Most of it. They just came back and got the last round. Then we're done. You want to test it?"
"No."
"C'mon." Kerry nudged her toward the steps. "Let's just get it over with."
"To hell with all of them. I hope the damn ship sinks in the harbor."
"C'mon."
"Jackasses."
Kerry really couldn't argue with that. "Okay, I really want to just get you alone in a dark room. Humor me?"
That got her a smile. Only a tiny, grudging one, but a smile. It was a start.
KERRY PECKED AT the keyboard, sparing a glance every few seconds to her silent partner. Dar was standing in front of the server racks, leaning her hands against them and staring into the blinking LED's with an expression of dour anger. "Well."
Dar grunted.
"At least we know the rack mounts all work right." Kerry commented softly. "You know, Dar--"
"Fuck them."
Kerry exhaled and continued typing, shaking her head a little. "Okay, the POS server's up." She got up and walked over to where Dar was standing, putting a hand on her back and giving it a little, friendly rub. "C'mon, sweetie."
Dar glared at the rack a few seconds, then she turned abruptly and slammed her fist into the back of the door, a sudden surge of violence that caught Kerry totally by surprise.
She pulled back, uncertain of what was going on. "Dar?"
"How," Dar growled, "could they be that stupid." She pulled back away from the door and studied the healthy dent her fist had made in the metal. "Son of a..."
Kerry acted before she thought it through. She jumped forward and grabbed hold of Dar's arm before she hit the door again and held it, wrapping both hands around her partner's wrist. "Hey! Hey! Hey!"
Dar turned and glared at her, but after only a few seconds did her expression soften. She leaned back against the wall with a thump. "Pah."
Reassured, Kerry moved up next to her and let Dar's hand rest on her shoulder. "Honey, take it easy, please. I know you're really upset, but beating up the ship isn't going to help." She put both palms flat against Dar's belly and looked up into her stormy eyes. "Take it easy."
Dar drew in an unhappy breath. "I'm just so pissed."
"I know." Kerry crooked her fingers and leaned forward. "Believe me, I'm mad too, Dar. It wasn't bad enough I had some creeps hitting on me in the bar, but then to have...Dar?"
"Hitting on you?" Dar's mental train jumped tracks without any effort at all and continued merrily along its way. "Is that the 'later? Why the hell didn't you say something? I could have..."
The agitation was wearing on her nerves. "Dar." Kerry repeated, pushing her very gently against the wall. "Would you please chill? You're giving me a stomach ache."
Dar sighed. One hand lifted and scru
bbed at her face. "Let me go sit down." She circled Kerry and took a seat in the one utilitarian chair next
to the racks, letting her elbows rest on her knees. "Sorry, Ker."
Kerry knelt beside her. "It really wasn't that big a deal," she explained gently. "Just a couple guys who thought any girl would fall for their masculine charms." She clasped Dar's hand with her own. "Carlos was with me, and I ended up kicking a pool cue halfway out the window. Nothing big."
Dar looked up through shaggy bangs at her. "Pool cue?"
"Uh huh. I kicked it out of the guy's hand."
"Ah."
Dar's fingers were chilled. Kerry lifted them and pressed them against her cheek to warm them, her thumb running over the faint swelling on the knuckles from where she'd punched the door. "Hey."
"Mm?" Dar now seemed exhausted rather than angry. Dar asked, "Can we just go home now? If we jump overboard as they get to the mouth of the cut, we could swim to the condo in about ten minutes."
Kerry wished she knew what was really going on with her partner. The violent mood swings were beginning to scare her more than just a little. "Sure." She combed her fingers through Dar's hair, encouraged by the way her shoulders relaxed at the touch. "Can I get you a drink or something?"
"Do I look like I need one?" The touch of wry humor was very welcome.
"Yeah," Kerry told her. "You really do."
Dar exhaled heavily. "I can't figure out if I'm more pissed at the jackass captain, the smartass crew, my father, or myself."
Kerry kept up her riffling. "You? What'd you do?" she asked. "Or is this whole tipping over thing a tradition of the sea you knew about and forgot to tell me?"
"No...well, I don't know, it might be," Dar admitted. "Hazing at sea is. I knew that. I just didn't figure on them pulling a stunt like that on a trip like this."
"Were you a haze-ee at some point?"
"No."
"Everyone was scared of your dad?"
A faint smile. "Something like that." Dar sighed. "But you know what? He knows better too. I can't believe he didn't tip me off that they were up to something. Damn, that hurts."