Moving Target

by Melissa Good

  "Ah." Alastair cleared his throat. "That's bad, isn't it?"

  "It's awful."

  "Really?"

  "Really."

  "Ah. Well, is it going to get better?" Alastair asked. "We've got a board meeting on Monday, y'know."

  "What's up?" Kerry mouthed, giving the approaching film crew a worried look. "Where is everyone?"

  "Dar?"

  If you have a plan Dar, stick with it. Dar heard the echo of a younger Alastair's advice way back when, at a time where the then VP of Operations had given advice to a new regional tech manager. "Yeah, Alastair. I'm here. Listen, we've got some stuff to do. I'll give you a buzz back when we're done."

  "Ah. Okay, right," her boss said. "I know you'll take care of things. You always do."

  Dar folded the phone and started backing up. "C'mon, Ker. Help me install a router, huh?"

  Kerry gave the reporters a startled look, but followed. Elena kept right at her heels, a determined expression on her face.

  "Wait, wait. Come back here." Cruickshank called after them crossly. "Don't make me chase you down. C'mon now."

  "We've got something we have to do," Dar told her. "Maybe later."

  Dar picked up the router and laptop from where she'd left it, and they started up the steps.

  "What exactly do you have to do in this ship?" Cruickshank called after her. "Break something else?"

  They kept going. "What are you doing?" Elena asked casually. "Sabotage?"

  Dar held up the router. "Bringing their circuit up."

  "What?"

  "It's complicated." Kerry sighed. "And it's only getting worse.

  Where's Shari and Michelle??"

  "Fighting."

  "Jesus."

  "WHAT THE FUCK?" Michelle whirled as soon as the door closed, and faced her partner. "What is going on here?"

  "I'm protecting my investment," Shari told her coolly. "Don't look so shocked. You'd have done it if you'd thought of it. That jackass was asking to be paid off."

  Michelle went to one of the desks and stood next to it, her hands on the back of the chair and her back to the room. "No, I wouldn't have."

  "Bullshit," Shari said. "You cut a deal for this place, remember? What was that, Miss White Shoes?"

  "I paid for an advantage for us," Michelle said, through almost clenched teeth. "Not a wrecking ball for them. Don't you get the point, Shari? Did you ever get the point? I wanted to win. Not beat them."

  "Give me a break." Shari rolled her eyes. "Take your morals and flush them. Beating them was the only way we were going to win you fool. We had to smash them into the ground, or else this whole thing was just stupid bullshit."

  Michelle sat down in the chair and rested her elbows on her knees. "But we didn't."

  "Well, if that fucker out there had..."

  "He did." Michelle cut her off. "They bribed the loading crew. Paid off the foreman. Paid off the electricians and plumbers, and put a dozen road blocks in their way."

  "Not enough."

  Michelle laughed bitterly. "No." She shook her head. "Just be honest for once. They're just better than we are. Hell, they're better than anyone is. They're fucking unbelievable. You know I just watched Dar sit down and do in twenty minutes what it took that stupid guy we paid ten fucking grand to do in four goddamn days!" She stood up, her voice rising in frustration. "Jesus! Do you know what you set them up for? If this gets out--and that freaking reporter knows despite everything we tried to do--all the money we paid, all the crap you arranged for at god knows what price and, despite all that, they fucking did it all anyway? And then helped us? Do you know what that will look like?"

  Shari shrugged, and looked away.

  Michelle sat back down. "So, brain trust. What do you suggest we do now?"

  Shari walked over and sat down on one of the tables against the wall. Shoved against one corner was the telecommunications gear, and there were a few computers scattered around haphazardly. "Fuck if I know," she admitted. "Only reason I said anything about the payoff was to get Quest to shut up."

  "Yeah, sure."

  "Go to hell."

  "Already there, thanks."

  There was a brief moment of silence. "You two have fun up there in the dark?" Shari asked in a sarcastic tone.

  "No." Michelle seemed too tired to even be insulted.

  "C'mon, you miss an opportunity to grab a little from a good looking woman? No way."

  "Shut up and go to hell," Michelle said.

  "Thought we were already there." Shari taunted her. "I don't know, up there in the dark, I'd have taken a shot at it." She leaned back on her hands. "What's the worst she could do? She was a good kisser way back when."

  Michelle stared ahead of her. "You were right, by the way."

  "What?"

  "There was something in that tank at the restaurant."

  Shari got up and walked over to her. "You have fucking lost your mind, you know that? What the hell made you think of that now?"

  "It was them." Michelle looked up with a quiet, almost tired look. "They were diving in the tank and they deliberately tried to scare the shit out of us."

  "Who--wait." Shari held her hand up. "You mean Dar?"

  "Both of them. They dive." Michelle said. "Kerry told me about it." She paused, a trifle awkwardly. "So, if it means anything at this point, I'm sorry. I was wrong."

  Shari seemed for once to be at a loss. "Shit," She murmured. "So I guess I wasn't a sicko fixated on Dar then, huh?"

  One of Michelle's ginger eyebrows quirked. "No. You are fixated on her," she replied evenly. "But you were right, it was her in that tank, and they did screw with us."

  "And caused us to break up. Nice," Shari said. "Fucking thanks, Dar. You did it again, you stinking whore bitch."

  Michelle shrugged this time. "Well, that's what you were trying to do to them. I guess it's just some kind of half assed justice."

  "Fuck that."

  "Whatever."

  "Fuck you too." Shari walked out and slammed the door behind her.

  Michelle leaned back in the desk chair and put her feet up on the desk. She let her head rest back against the fabric and stared at the gray wall, wishing more than anything that she was back home and out on a sailboat somewhere.

  The door opened, and one of the techs came in, stopping short when he saw her there. "Oh, sorry ma'am." He apologized. "I just need to get my kit."

  "For what?" Michelle asked

  The tech seemed taken aback. "Uh, well, the power just came on, and our stuff's coming up so, I mean, you want us to like, test it right?"

  Michelle stared at him. "It's up?"

  He nodded. "Yeah, the server guys were pretty surprised...the pipe's up. They didn't think that was gonna happen any time this century, no offense, ma'am."

  "Yeah. I know. I didn't think so either, but I had..." Michelle exhaled. "Someone came over and worked on it. They got the power back on, you said?"

  The tech nodded. "Talk about down to the wire. We don't got but like fifteen more minutes before the deadline."

  Michelle got up and motioned to him. "Get your stuff. Let's get this project closed." She walked out the door and into the terminal, thinking so hard she walked right past the cameras bright lights, and didn't hear Shari's voice talking to them.

  Chapter Eleven

  "OKAY, OKAY OKAY." Elena chased them down the gangway. "Let me get this straight." "That's your first mistake." Kerry muttered. "Nothing in this is straight."

  "Especially us," Dar remarked.

  "Dar."

  "You are telling me that this entire thing, all these boats and all you guys, this whole thing, all of it is one huge Candid Camera stunt?" The Herald reporter sounded utterly incredulous. "Are you insane?"

  "We've wondered that over the last few weeks," Kerry admitted. "But no, we're not kidding. It really is a made for television stunt."

  Elena grabbed hold of Kerry's arm and hauled her to a stop. Kerry turned around, and Dar, sensing there was no motion
at her back, also stopped and turned.

  Seeing her partner being accosted, she marched back in the other direction.

  "Easy, slugger." Elena held her free hand up to Dar. "Now you two listen to me." She added, "Do you realize the scoop you just handed over? How amazing a story that is? So I have to be sure it's true, because when I phone this one in, my editor's underwear's going to spin round three times and knit itself into a bootie."

  Kerry was impressed with the colorful speech. "Sure, we know that," she answered. "After all, you looked out for us locals, stands to reason we'd return the favor, right?"

  The reporter looked from Dar to Kerry. "It's really true?"

  Dar nodded.

  "So what's your plan then? What are you guys doing?" Elena asked. "You just fixed something on their ship, didn't you?"

  "That's right. I..."

  "Dar." Kerry reached past the reporter and grabbed hold of her partner's arm. "Look."

  They looked over the railing to the pier. Shari was leading the filming crew out, heading for the ship with a determined expression.

  Quest appeared from the left and hurried over to her, meeting the group of them at the end of the gangway. "What's going on here?"

  "What's going on here?" Shari turned to Quest. "You gave us a challenge, and we beat it. Now it's time to show it off to you, and let the world see what we can really do."

  "Dar!" Kerry's jaw dropped. "You just fixed it for them, and now that..."

  The reporter rested her hands on the railing. "So, I guess she's not in on the TV plan?"

  "She is." Dar experienced a sour taste on the back of her tongue. "But I guess she decided to take the low road. Damn."

  "Stop her." Kerry urged. "C'mon, Dar. You can't let her take the credit for what you did!"

  "Whoa." Elena was behind her, snapping pictures.

  "Dar!"

  Should she just let them do what they wanted? No, Dar supposed she really couldn't. With a disgusted sigh she edged past Kerry and the reporter and headed back down the walkway toward the ship. "I'm probably going to have to jump down off this thing too. That should make some good video."

  Below, Shari marched up the gangway, the camera crew following her. Quest waited at the end of the gangway, watching them go by with a bemused expression on his face. "Guess this is the ending you were looking for," he remarked to Cruickshank as she passed.

  "Well, I'll take it," the reporter said. "We'll need to go to the others after this and get some reaction shots. Don't tell anyone until we do. I want to see their faces."

  Dar growled softly. "See this, you little..." She picked a spot near the end of the walkway and put her hands on the rail.

  Kerry measured the distance from the second floor walkway to the ground and sped up, her hands reaching out to grab hold of Dar and prevent a possible vault over the railing to the ground. "Oh, bububhhh--w--"

  Dar stopped unexpectedly. Kerry crashed into her. "Hey!"

  "Shh." Dar pointed. Now, closer to the ship, they spotted Michelle in the gangway entrance, standing with her hands on her hips blocking the way.

  "Can I ask what's going on here?" Michelle called out.

  Shari stopped and regarded her warily. "We're going to show Mr. Quest our results."

  Kerry wedged herself in behind Dar, who was leaning her elbows on the railing. She rested her chin on her partner's shoulder and watched intently. "Here's where you prove yourself fish or fowl, Michelle," she whispered.

  "Mm."

  "What results?" Michelle asked.

  "The system." Shari looked at her like she was crazy. "I know it's done. Rafael came and told me. So let's go and show it off." She smiled, clearly expecting Michelle to join in. "Let's get Mr. Quest in there, show him what he's paying for, and then I'll buy a round for everyone!"

  The cameramen cheered. "You're on." Cruickshank agreed, with a smile.

  "C'mon." Shari moved forward and put her hand on Michelle's arm. "We've been working like idiots for weeks for this. Let's go enjoy it."

  Michelle moved her arm out from under the touch. "Sorry," she addressed the others. "Rafael was wrong. We're not ready." She looked at Quest. "So, I guess you can come back later. Or we'll call you."

  "Ah." Kerry breathed into Dar's ear. "Unexpectedly Piscean."

  "Mm."

  "What?" Shari barked. "Are you serious?"

  Michelle's expression remained mild. "Sure am." She laid a hand on either side of the gangway railing, providing a diminutive, but effective roadblock. "After all the hard work, I'd hate to see us fall flat on our faces trying to show it off, hm? Give us a little more time." She told them. "Then we'll be ready."

  Cruickshank seemed a little suspicious. "You sure you're not holding back on us? I heard some of your guys say you were good to go also."

  "Yeah," Shari said. "Look, it doesn't have to be perfect. It's almost sundown. Let's get this over with Michelle." She lowered her voice and gave Michelle a meaningful look. "We both want that."

  The redhead merely held her ground. "Nope. Sorry," she said. "I designed this, and I'll say when it's ready. Not Rafael, not Julio, and not George Barfing Washington. Me. I say it's not ready. Everyone got that?"

  "Ooh." Kerry leaned on Dar's shoulder. "About time that side of her showed up."

  "I didn't know she had a side like that." Dar mused.

  Quest finally shrugged. "As you wish." He turned and started to walk away. "Just bear in mind, I have finite patience, and we have an agreement to conclude."

  "Yeah." Cruickshank recouped the situation. "Let's talk about that deal, shall we?" She motioned the camera forward. The big lights came on, washing the side of the ship in bland silver, blanking out the golden sun. "You paid off Mr. Quest to help you win the bid. Is that it?'

  "Yohoho." Elena chortled softly. "Arr...there be pirates around here, matey."

  Shari turned. "That's right," she replied boldly. "The name of the game is winning, Ms. Cruickshank. That's what we do. We win." She added. "Now, excuse us. I need to talk to my--partner." She moved further up the gangway, forcing Michelle to step back.

  "But, wait," the reporter said. "I'm not finished with you two."

  "You're finished," Shari said. She walked off into the ship, taking Michelle by the arm and guiding her inside without any visible protest from the red haired woman. They disappeared into the dark inside of the hold, leaving the reporters outside.

  Cruickshank put the microphone down, and the lights went off. She turned and looked at the lead cameraman. "What do you think?"

  "I think she's lying," the man said, promptly. "I think she's in cahoots with those other guys."

  "Who, Graver?"

  The man nodded. "Yeah. Something's fishy. You said you saw that other woman bringing in some of their equipment? And we saw that other stuff being taken away in that truck."

  "Hm. And we thought we were being so subtle." Kerry lamented softly.

  "Well, I think you're right," Cruickshank said. "Something ain't gelling here. We've got all the ramp up film we need to make this story, and now when we're getting to the critical point, they're backing off."

  "Right." The cameraman nodded. "Hey, you think maybe those other guys paid them off? They've got the dough."

  Cruickshank tapped the mic against her thigh. "Maybe," she said. "Let me go talk to the boss. We've put too much of our cash into this to lose out due to some monkey business."

  "Ook Ook." Dar hooted softly.

  They watched the crew leave, crossing the pier and walking right under the walkway they were standing on. After they disappeared, Dar and Kerry straightened up and looked at each other.

  Then they looked at the reporter.

  "Okay," Elena said. "So, what's the endgame here, folks? What are you going to get out of this whole shebang? That's what I want to know. What's the goal?"

  It was a very good question. "To go home," Kerry answered. "We've been wasting our time here for weeks spending god only knows how much money on this project,
putting sweat and tears into it, and for what?"

  "Hm," the reporter said. "Couldn't you go and get Quest, and take him to your ship, and have them show you guys as the ones that finished everything? Wouldn't that get you something? Good press? Yes?"

  "We could," Dar agreed, turning to lead the way down the walk to a stairwell in the corner between their ship and this one. "Yeah, we could."

  "So, why don't you?"

  Dar was silent for a few steps, turning her head to watch Kerry's expression from the corner of her eye. Kerry was gazing ahead of them with gentle patience, waiting for her to answer for both of them. "What do you think, Ker? Should we just go do it?"

  Kerry turned and looked at her, cocking her head a little. "No," she said. "I don't want to give those television people what they want. You said it the last time, Dar. The only way we win in this thing, is to take away their goal, not go for ours."

  "So, let me understand this," Elena said. "You're deliberately forfeiting all this fun television notoriety, and wasting all those dollars, just to piss off the filming company for arranging all this?"

  Dar considered that. "Something along those lines," she agreed.

  "The thing is, I don't like being played. Neither does Kerry."

  "No one does." Kerry interjected. "Michelle doesn't. Shari's--"

  "Just an asshole." Dar completed the sentence. "So we told the rest of the teams what was up, and promised we'd help everyone finish on time. That gets their projects paid for by Quest."

  "And by everyone finishing at the same time, cooperating like kids in the schoolyard, there's no drama," Elena said.

  "Not even dyke drama. Yes." Kerry agreed.

  "D'you feel like idiots that they got so far with it before you figured it out?"

  Dar chuckled softly. "Yeah."

  They walked down the stairs and headed for the terminal building. "So, why do you think Michelle Graver went along with the plan back there?" Elena asked. "Or was she telling the truth, and they're not ready?"

  "They're ready," Dar said.

  "You know that for sure?"

  "I brought their systems up." Dar reached for the door handle and pulled the door open, standing back to allow them to enter. "So if Michelle chose to say otherwise, all I can assume is that she just decided to stand by her word."