Moving Target

by Melissa Good

  "That was..." Carlos hesitated. "Who was that, was that the big boss, yes?"

  "Yeah." Mark saw a loosening in the throng, and took the opportunity to start moving toward the office door. "C'mon."

  "He did a good thing." Carlos followed him.

  "Buddy, you don't know." Mark edged past two tall men craning their necks to watch the television. Abruptly the picture cut off, fading to a glum black and the chatter level rose in reaction. They were halfway to the office door when it abruptly opened.

  "Send me a bill for the damn camera!" A low voice carried out into the hall. "I'll pay the postage from hell, which is where you both belong!"

  "Roberts!" A man's outraged voice answered. "Come back!"

  "Kiss my ass!" Dar walked out, her brisk stride slowly turning to a dead stop as she spotted the crowd turning to stare at her. Both eyebrows jerked up in surprise. "What the hell's this?"

  One of the camera people brushed by her and headed for the office. Another woman joined him, while the group near the television started to turn and gravitate toward Dar.

  Quest appeared from somewhere and shoved through the throng, also headed toward Dar and the newly arrived Kerry.

  Mark beat everyone to it. He plowed his way through the confusion and got to his boss's side, planting himself between them, and the buzzing multitudes. "Hey." He hesitated, not really sure what to say next. "Aum--"

  "Hey." Dar glanced past him. "Were we the evening news?"

  "Yeah," Mark admitted. "I tried to get back there to clue you, but it was like a zoo out here."

  Dar glanced at the crowd. "So I see." She murmured. "We knew it was being filmed but..."

  "Yeah."

  "Son of a..." Kerry exhaled. "Did you hear Alastair? I'm flying to Texas and giving him a hug soon as we leave here." She raked a thatch of blonde hair from her eyes. "I can't even think of any good curse words to apply to this whole thing. Jesus!"

  Quest shouldered through to them. "All right, Roberts."

  "Dar!" Michelle appeared from god only knew where. Pleasantly enough, there was no sign of Shari, for which Dar was very grateful. The last thing on earth she wanted to deal with right now was her ex-lover.

  Kerry seemed to sense it, because she eased closer, linking her arm through Dar's in an unconscious gesture. "Unreal!" She shook her head. "What a pair of jerkwads!"

  Of course, the first thing on earth she wanted to deal with was her current one. Dar leaned against Kerry gratefully, wishing she had a bottle of Advil and a gallon of chocolate milk to go.

  "Ah, Dar..." Graham appeared, and the fourth bid manager was right behind him. "That was quite spectacular."

  Dar was still shaking inside. The sudden win had honestly surprised her, and she felt quite adrift at the moment, needing to ground herself in a world that had tilted half on its side again.

  "Thanks." She muttered. "Crock of BS ending to a crock of BS project."

  "You can say that again." Graham agreed fervently.

  "Roberts." Quest pushed forward. "Just what's going on here?" He looked around. "What's up with all of you being here? Given up, have you?"

  Dar gathered her wits. She motioned Michelle, Graham, and Mike to join her, and then faced Quest. "We're done." She announced quietly. "We all finished your requirements."

  "No." He shook his head. "No way. You can't have."

  "Yes." Dar replied.

  "You can't have." The man insisted. "I don't believe it."

  "You're right." Graham said. "Left to our own devices, given your interference, we could not have." He rocked on his heels, his hands clasped behind his back.

  "My interference?" Quest gave him a mock surprised look. "What do I have to do with it? I just want my project finished."

  "But lucky for us, we had Dar here." Michelle continued the thought blithely. "And between us all, we managed. We're done."

  "Are you sure?" Quest asked doubtfully. "Really finished? Really?"

  "We're sure." Michelle told him with confidence. "We all worked together."

  Quest looked at Michelle. "You double crossed me." He accused. "You made a deal with her!"

  Michelle smiled. "Why, yes, I did." She agreed. "And you know, I enjoyed it."

  "You double crossed us!" Mike pointed at Quest. "You brought us in here to compete for your bogus contract, and the only thing you really wanted was a piece of crap television show!" His voice rose. "So believe me, mister, you're not only getting my bill for the project, you're also getting a bill for my time, my people's time, my aggravation, my companies cell phone charges, and the bloody parking ticket the bastards just gave me outside this damn building!"

  Even Dar was impressed by the outburst. "Hmp," she said. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

  "Yeah." Michelle nodded.

  "Quite,"Graham said. "Except I didn't get a parking ticket."

  "You're a fraud, mister." Kerry pointed at him.

  A soft hooting was heard from outside. Quest's head jerked up, and a not so nice smile pulled at his lips. "Well, it seems that the truth is...I'm not the fraud here." Quest said. "And you've all just made a pretty big mistake."

  "You can say that again." Michelle commented. "Many of them. Meeting you was the first."

  Surprisingly, Quest laughed. He slowly started to back toward the rear entrance to the terminal. "You all think you're so smart. You don't know jack." He gestured at Michelle. "And you're the biggest fool, but all of you are idiots."

  "We're not the idiot, buddy!" Mike accused.

  "She!" Quest pointed at Kerry. "She said it right in front of you! None of you even got it!

  "Huh?" Kerry looked at Dar. "What did I say?"

  Dar was as bewildered as everyone else. "No idea." She murmured. "Said when?" She asked in a louder tone.

  "At the meeting!" Quest crowed. "I thought we were sunk right then, but none of you caught on. Not even you." He looked at Kerry. "You were dead right. I wanted these ships done, and I wanted them done for free. And you all did it!"

  "The meeting?" Kerry said. "At the office!"

  "What do you mean, we? What are you talking about, Quest! You were in it with the television people! It was never about the ships!" Michelle shouted in frustration. "You told me that!"

  He reached the back door, just as ship horns sounded outside again. "I lied!" He laughed. "And you all just lost, big time!" He pointed at them. "Fools!"

  "No we didn't," Dar said. "You're getting a bill, buddy. Trust me." She started toward the back door, Kerry at her heels.

  "Four of 'em." Michelle confirmed. "And maybe a lawsuit for your little scam."

  Quest smiled again. "It wasn't a scam," he told them. "The contract was real." He glanced behind him, then turned back, obviously enjoying the moment. "I got exactly what I wanted."

  "Those ships aren't taking on passengers ever again," Dar said. "Don't tell me any different. I saw those engines."

  "Not as ships, no." Quest agreed. "But they're not going to be cruise ships. They're going to be hotels." He opened the door. "In Europe. Hasta la vista, my little friends. Next stop for me is Barcelona, and you can chase my ass with paper all the way if you want."

  He ducked out the door and shoved it closed, then bolted across the pier toward the ship.

  "Where the...hey!" Dar ran across the carpeted floor, followed by the others. "Quest!!!"

  They reached the back door in time to see Quest jumping aboard the ship, crossing a narrow plank that had taken the place of the metal gangway. The ropes tying the ship to the dock were already off, and they could hear the engines whining as they got up to speed.

  "You thought you were screwing me!" The man yelled back. "You gave me exactly what I wanted! Thank you! Thank you! Assholes!" He shot them a bird, and then vanished into the darkness of the hold.

  "Quest!" Michelle yelled at the top of her lungs. "Get back here!"

  A crewman tossed the plank clear, and stood back from the shell door as the ship moved away, pushing off from the pier wit
h a groaning creak of its old steel bones. He lifted a hand and waved lazily at her, then disappeared as the door ground shut, sealing with a metallic clang audible from where they were standing.

  In shock, they watched the ships move off, unable to do anything but stare.

  Saucily, the ship let off its horn again, in a 'shave and a haircut' pattern, as it jaunted slowly down the cut and out toward the open sea. The water chopped gently against the hulls, and a breeze had risen, puffing out a tattered American flag which had been run up the mast on the ship Dar and Kerry had worked on.

  "Son. Of. A. Bitch." Michelle clipped the words off tightly.

  Dar put her hands on her hips, truly at a loss. She turned her head and looked at Kerry, who was looking back at her with a completely stunned expression. "He got us," she said, simply.

  "He got us." Kerry repeated. "Jesus P. Fish."

  "That too." Dar covered her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief.

  "Floating hotels?" Kerry said. "That's why the public spaces got fixed..."

  "And not the engines." Dar looked over as the other door slammed open and Meyer appeared with Cruickshank at his heels. They gave her a dark look, but the chaos distracted them and they focused on the rest of the crowd instead.

  "What happened?" Meyer asked brusquely. "What's going on?"

  "What'd we miss?" Cruickshank added. "Where are they going? Is this another gag? What's the deal?"

  They looked at each other. Kerry cleared her throat. "You missed your perfect ending." She advised them.

  "What?" Meyer yelped. "What ending? What? Where?" He spun and looked around. "What in the hell's going on? You mean he tricked us? That bastard!"

  "Irony, thy name is Travel Channel." Kerry uttered under her breath, finding the humor in the situation somewhere. A motion caught her attention, and she spotted Andrew walking across the pier toward them, his hands in his jeans pockets and a bemused expression on his scarred face.

  Did he know? Kerry wondered. She hoped not. Misery did like company after all, didn't it?

  Michelle exhaled heavily. "I'll be a monkey's uncle," she finally said. "Never thought I'd find a situation that warranted that old hoary saying, but damn it if this one doesn't."

  Dar stared at the retreating ships, still mostly in shock. "Ook, ook." She agreed wryly. "Ook, ook, ook."

  KERRY WALKED OUTSIDE the terminal and waited on the edge of the steps for Dar to come out after her. Twilight was on them, and the glaring light of the day had faded to a placid purple, returning the temperature to one of almost comfort.

  Almost.

  The other bid managers had come out ahead of her, and gone to their cars. They were heading over to Snappers in Bayside to sit down and talk it all out, but she was glad she had a few minutes here to try to clear her mind and consider what they'd gone through already today.

  Ludicrous insanity was what it was. Kerry rubbed the back of her head, which was pounding with an annoying ache, and wished she'd remembered to stick some Advil in the glove compartment. Maybe Dar had some. "Oh. There you are."

  "Here I am." Dar agreed, putting a hand on her back. "C'mon, let's go. I need a good stiff drink."

  "I think we all do." Kerry started down the steps with her. "You don't have any aspirin, do you?"

  "In the car, yeah," Dar said. "Dad's going to meet us at the front there and tag along." She added. "I think I owe him a beer, among other things." She nibbled the inside of her lip, lapsing into a pensive silence as they walked across the tarmac to the car.

  Kerry was glad to slide into the leather seat of the Lexus and lean back, the residual warmth of the sun soaking through her shoulder blades and offering relief. "Ugh."

  "You okay?" Dar asked, as she turned the key and started the engine.

  "Tired." Kerry admitted. "Whacked out."

  "Me too," Dar said. "Wish we could just go home."

  Kerry laid her hand on Dar's thigh, rubbing her thumb on the rough surface lightly. "Me, too." She echoed. "Thank the Lord it's Friday."

  "After what we just went through, it would have been Friday no matter what day we ended on." Dar pulled out of the parking spot and headed for the pier building, where Andrew was standing and waiting. "I'm so looking forward to a few days off." She glanced at Kerry. "You have anything in mind for tomorrow?"

  "You and me in the waterbed all day, naked," Kerry said, as they pulled up and Andrew opened the back door. "That okay with you?"

  Dar managed a rakish grin. "Dare you to say that again." She drawled, as Andy closed the door and settled into the back seat.

  Pale lashes fluttered tiredly at her. "Dare me?"

  Dar cleared her throat. "Hi, Dad."

  "Lo, Dardar." Andy replied amiably. "Hell of an end to this here thing."

  Dar snorted. "Did you know they were going to do that? Pull out?"

  "Wall." Andy shifted, stretching across the back seat and leaning back on the door. "I knew they were fixing to leave, can't miss it when them diesels fire up. But you said they'd be leaving round sundown anyhow, so I figured that was it."

  "They skunked us." Kerry half turned and peered at him over the headrest. "Even the TV people. "

  "Yeap." The ex-seal gave her a wry look. "Ah did not see that one coming." He admitted. "I figgered it was what you said it was, with them television people. Got to give them sailors' credit, they kept their pie holes closed up."

  "Maybe they didn't know." Kerry suggested. "Not the big guys, I mean, but the worker bees. The ones I talked to seemed to be pretty darn puzzled as to what the heck was going on."

  "Yeap, that could be." Andy agreed. "Navy was like that. Don't know, don't ask, don't tell, don't get yer ass in the way."

  Dar chuckled. "You always knew what was going on." She disagreed.

  "Wall, I had me a monkey with their eyeballs inside them machines, now didn't I?" Andy reached over and ruffled Dar's hair. "But I sure fire know something about this here situation that you all do not."

  "What's that, Dad?" Kerry glanced curiously at him. "About the ship, you mean?"

  Dar concentrated on merging onto the bridge that would take them over to Bayside. She was tired, and she knew her reflexes were suffering because of that, but the traffic was thankfully light and she eased into the left hand lane with little trouble.

  "About that ship. "Andrew sounded surprisingly smug. "It done sailed with the number of folks it spected to, but there's one that ain't there they're gonna miss, and one that's there they sure fire ain't."

  "Huh?"

  Dar glanced in the rearview. "What are you talking about, Dad?"

  "Ah turned over that little engine feller to the police," Andy said. "He told me 'bout that thing he did to a lady he did meet. You were right, kumquat."

  Kerry's eyes lit up. "Yeah?" She exhaled. "Wow...boy, I feel a lot better now. I thought he got away with the whole thing. Why'd he come back?"

  "Ship guy." Andy shrugged. "Anyhoo, them folks ain't gonna appreciate taking on that big old bag of wind woman you all did not care for in his spot, I will tell you that."

  Dar very nearly braked to a halt in the middle of the causeway. "What?"

  Kerry got up on her knees and gripped the seat back, goggling at her father in law. "Shari went on that ship?" She squeaked. "You have got to be kidding me!"

  Andy grinned, his blue eyes twinkling back at her. "Ah do not think she planned that, 'zactly." He allowed. "She was fixing to make some more trouble for you all, and ah did not see the value in troubling her to tell her that there ship was leaving."

  Dar clapped a hand to her head. "Oh my god." She laughed helplessly, steering into the turn lane for Bayside almost at the last minute. "Dad, they're going straight across the ocean."

  "Ah do realize that, Dardar." Her father agreed equably. "Woman always seemed to be like she needed a rest of some kind. All that hollering and fussing and all."

  "Heh." Kerry turned and sat down, a big grin on her face. "Who cares about Quest? That just made my day." She chor
tled. "Hope she ends up with crackers and water swabbing the decks for her passage." She wriggled in her seat, doing a little dance to some unheard tune.

  Dar just kept laughing, shaking her head as she pulled into a parking spot near the stairs. "Know what I want to know?" She asked as they got out. "Which one of us gets to tell Michelle?"

  Kerry snickered in a very uninhibited way. She walked around to the back of the Lexus and made a squeezing gesture, nodding when Dar popped the hatch for her. She reached inside and pulled Dar's briefcase over, tugging open the front flap and digging inside for the bottle of Advil Dar usually kept there.

  Her mind was on Andy's news, though. She imagined Shari finding herself stuck on board and raising hell. She imagined the captain ignoring her--no, worse. She imagined the captain just locking her out of the control room and letting the rest of the crew laugh at her.

  It was a very satisfying image. She wondered if Shari would whine all the way to Barcelona. "Hey, Dar?"

  "Hm?" Dar leaned against the back hatch next to her. "Can't find it?"

  "No, I've got it." Kerry fished out the bottle and opened it, shaking out a few pills and pocketing them before she tossed the bottle back in. She closed the hatch and they all started walking toward the mall. "So, what happens now?"

  "Now we have dinner." Dar replied promptly. "Fish okay by you, Dad?"

  "Long as they're cooked, Dardar."

  "Not exactly what I meant." Kerry demurred. "But I guess that'll do for now."

  Dar ambled down the half flight of steps and they crossed into the plaza, moving single file through the press of Friday evening shoppers. She knew she hadn't answered the question Kerry had posed, but she also knew she didn't really have an intelligent answer, so she was glad her partner had accepted the deferral.

  What now? Who knew? It wasn't like there was a section in any business plan she'd ever done that covered the situation they'd just suffered through. They'd figure out something, she supposed-- just like she supposed she'd be a while explaining to Alastair next week exactly what had happened.