Tropical Storm - DK1 (49 page)

She exhaled, then cleared her throat and got out of the car, bringing her laptop case with her. She trotted up the stairs and rang the bell, listening for and hearing Dar’s low voice in response. “It’s business, it’s business, it’s business,” she repeated silently, as she pushed open the door and ducked inside.

Dar was sprawled on the couch in her pajamas, one long, bare, muscular leg slung over the end of the furniture and her shirt half unbuttoned.
Oh well.

So much for that,
Kerry sighed, as every single solitary hormone in her entire body stood up and said, “Hi there!” She managed to give Dar a crisp nod as she put her case down and got her laptop out. “Hey. Long time no see.”

Dar glanced up and over the back of the couch at her, eyes flicking over her as a brief grin appeared. “Hope you brought something more comfortable to change into. It’s gonna be a long night.”

Kerry just managed not to smirk. “Yeah, I feel a little overdressed,” she agreed as her eyes lingered on Dar's bare legs. “I’ll go fix that.” She took herself off to the nearby washroom, leaving Dar to her phone call.

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Melissa Good
Dar’s eyes briefly followed Kerry toward the washroom, and then she returned her attention to her phone call. “Look, Jim, I don’t care what it’s going to take, I need the building back online.” She leaned forward and cradled her head in her hand. “They can’t go on backup power because the fire department won’t certify the electrical substructure as safe. That means I need an electrical engineer in there, and I need them now, not tomorrow or Monday. Got me?”

Kerry got her system going, then she stood up. “Bet you could use some coffee,” she guessed, getting a pathetically grateful look from her boss.

“Thought so. I’ll go make some.”
Okay, I can do this. We’re functioning.
Kerry felt a little relieved, her initial nervousness fading as she rattled around the kitchen, setting up the coffee maker and starting it going. She returned to the doorway and leaned against it, watching Dar as she persistently threatened, cajoled, and harangued a series of people, finally resulting in a string of curses in two languages that caused Kerry’s eyebrows to lift as the executive slammed down the handset.

Dar glowered at the phone, then looked up, to meet warm, green eyes looking back at her. “Idiots.”

Kerry disappeared, then reappeared a minute later with a cup of steaming coffee, which she handed over before taking a seat next to Dar on the couch. “No luck, huh?”

Dar sighed and leaned back. “I have an electrical engineer headed there from South Carolina, and two backup machines being prepped in Houston, but…it’s not enough.” She took a sip of the coffee, then gave Kerry a look.

“You remembered how I like it.”

Kerry laughed. “Dar, c’mon. You add enough cream and sugar so that it stops tasting like coffee, and there you are.” She patted her companion’s leg, feeling the subtle shift of muscle under her hand as Dar stretched a little.

“Eh, that’s true,” Dar admitted, giving her an affectionate look. “God, what’s next?”

Kerry was searching the database. “Jesus, that board looks like a frigging Christmas tree.” She pulled her laptop back onto her lap as she settled deeper into the soft leather and sat cross-legged next to Dar. She glanced up. “Hey,
Beauty and the Beast
, I love those candlesticks.” She grinned and shook her head, not seeing the startled look in Dar’s blue eyes. “Yeesh, Dar, this is terrible. We really don’t have a backup if we lose that facility.” She looked up at her boss, who nodded slowly. “Wow.”

“I know. Three years ago in executive committee, we made a decision not to duplicate that center. I fought it like crazy, but no one wanted to allocate the budget for it. I wanted to split the processing, but they just wouldn’t go for it.” Dar sighed. “This is one of those times when I wish I wasn’t being proven right.”

Kerry shook her head. “Well, we can shift critical stuff here and here, but they’ve got all the routers up there, Dar. We don’t have enough alternate routes to get around that.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’ve been putting my efforts into getting the building back up,” Dar acknowledged glumly. The phone rang, and she picked it up.

“Yeah?”

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“Dar, it’s José.” Montarosa’s voice was excited. “Do you know what’s going on?”

“Yeah. We’re down,” Dar replied tersely. “Now get off my goddamn phone so I can do something about it.”

Kerry glanced at her, then disengaged a hand from her keyboard and rubbed the taller woman’s back in gentle circles. She could feel the tension in the tight muscles, and she let her fingers probe the knots she found in her neck.

There was a slight pause before Dar’s voice resumed. “I’m sorry, José.

What was that you asked?” Her tone had relaxed a little. “No, there was a fire in the building. The mainframes are fine, but we don’t have power because the fire department won’t let us put juice in from the generator.” Dar closed her eyes as strong, sensitive fingers probed muscles sore from painting. “What?

Oh, yeah. No, we don’t have a backup location. You know that, you voted it down, remember?”

Kerry put down her laptop and crawled up onto the back of the couch, going to work with both hands.

“Uh, I don’t…I’ve got an electrician coming down to certify the building, so yeah, probably. But I’m going to keep pushing on the fire department anyway. Maybe they’ll get tired of hearing my voice and give up. … No. …

Okay, I’ll let you know. Bye.” Dar let her hand drop with the phone in it and groaned. “You are very good at that.”

“Thanks,” Kerry murmured. “You’re really tense.” As the dark-haired woman leaned forward, she worked her way down Dar’s back, then started back up. “There. Better?”

Blue eyes gazed back at her as Dar half turned. “Much.”

Kerry grinned and slipped back down onto the couch. “So, what’s next?”

Dar draped an arm across her shoulders. “Just stay here and keep me company while I yell at people, okay?”

Okay?
Kerry squirmed closer, settling against Dar’s warm body with a little sigh of contentment. “Sure.” She let her legs join the taller woman’s, propped up on the coffee table, her green socks an odd contrast to Dar’s bare feet, then pulled her laptop over, resuming her search for resources. “We could shift these routers and get some of the bank traffic up, or…wait…here, and get Interline back.”

Dar peered over her shoulder. “Mmm. Do it. I’d rather have NOTAMS

and the weather service back for the airlines. It’s the weekend, the banks can wait.”

Kerry almost didn’t hear the last part of that, since Dar’s breath was tickling her ear very distractingly. “Uh, okay…erf…uck, I forgot I can’t use…

Oh, wait, I can route the request through the Houston backbones. Hang on.”

“You’re very good at that, too.”

Dar’s voice almost made her accidentally reconfigure a master router.

“Dar?”

The executive peered at the screen. “Hmm?”

“Unless you want me to reroute the NBC satellite feeds to Iran, could you just be quiet for a minute?”

Pale blue eyes winked at her mischievously. “Sorry.”

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“No problem.” Kerry tried not to think about how close those nice, inviting lips were. “What was I doing? Oh yeah…” She worked at the keyboard for a minute. “Okay. Yeesh, that’s awkward.”

The phone rang, and Dar picked it up. “Yes? … Oh, right. Okay, good.

… Let me know.” She hung up, then stretched. “The electrician just got there.

Hey, want some ice cream?”

Kerry didn’t think twice. “Sure.” She continued her browsing. “Oh, I can get ATMs back up in the Northeast. Hang on.”

Dar got up and ambled into the kitchen, musing on how much more fun a disaster was with Kerry around. She thought about that as she dished out the frozen treat. How much more fun everything was with Kerry around. She carried the dishes back and handed Kerry hers, then settled back in her spot and picked up the phone again.

It was almost five AM before the electrician finished his inspection, and Dar had to argue with him for fifteen minutes before he agreed to issue his report then and there. “Look, I didn’t have you get out of your god-damn bed at one AM so you could write a report tomorrow. Just do it!” she snarled. “Put Gregory on the phone.”

The deep, rumbling voice of the Netops chief came on. “Yeah, Dar?”

“Get that report. I’ve got that damn fire chief on his way to you now.

Give it to him, and tell him to take it and shove it.” She stopped abruptly as Kerry stuck a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. “Mfufh…” She swallowed.

“Sorry, I mean, tell him to please open the seals, and let you in the control room to get the power cut over.”

“Sure. Hang on, here he comes now.” Gregory chuckled. “You wanna talk to him?”

“No.” Dar sighed. “He doesn’t want to hear my voice again, I can tell ya that.”

“Okay, he’s doing it. We’re in.” Gregory’s voice faded, and several clanks and sharp pops came clearly through the phone. “Hold on… Yow, it’s dusty in here. Thank god we test this thing once a week. Okay, hold your ears.” The overwhelming rumble of the generator was easily heard. “Stabilizing…

Coming up to voltage… Okay…”She could hear the muffled voice of Gregory on another phone. “Yaz! Hit the switches, eh?” He came back. “Power’s up, Dar. I’m going to give it ten minutes to peak and spike, then kick the dogs in the ass and get them back online.”

“Whoops, here come the routers,” Kerry informed her, watching the top-level map. “Do they autoboot?”

Dar nodded “Routers just came back, Greg.” She watched as the red lights slowly mapped to green. “Backbones are up.” She felt a tired smile twist her lips.

“Packets are passing,” Kerry reported, with a grin. “The overseas link just came up.” She pointed at the multiline gateways that passed data over the Atlantic.

Dar ruffled her hair, then draped an arm over her shoulders as they watched. “Okay, looks good, Greg.”

“Uh huh. Thanks, Dar. Couldn’t have done it without you, that’s for damn sure.” Gregory cheerfully told her. “Later. Go get some sleep, eh?”

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“ ’Night, Greg.” Dar replied, and cut off the line. “Damn, that was a bitch.”

Kerry nodded, then turned her head to regard Dar. “You’ve got ice cream on your lips,” she observed, peering at the offending spot.

Dar eyed her quietly. “I do?”

Kerry leaned over and gently, deliberately, removed it, tasting the surface with a tentative tongue. She felt the soft intake of breath, then a steadying touch against the back of her neck sent tingles down her spine as Dar returned the favor, taking a leisurely bit of time doing so. Kerry could feel the warm closeness of her body, and breathed in the pleasant scent of her as she let herself respond, enjoying the simple, undemanding pleasure of it.

They were both too tired to go further, she knew, but it felt very good to spend a few minutes in this gentle exploration, giving them both a chance to get used to each other. She drew in a breath as Dar pulled back a little and rubbed noses with her. It brought a smile to her face, and she let her head fall back against the couch, with a sigh. “That felt nice.”

Dar nodded, brushing back her hair with idle fingers. “Mmm-hmm.

C’mon, you can find out first hand what a waterbed feels like.”

Kerry must have looked a little startled, because Dar laughed a little, and put a hand up, patting her cheek. “Easy, easy. Just to sleep in. We’re taking this nice and slow, remember?”

Kerry returned the smile. “It’s just all a little new to me,” she explained.

“But a bed of any kind sounds really good to me right now.”

Dar nodded in quiet understanding. “Is this your first time, Kerry?” She knew the answer, but waited.

The green eyes dropped, and a soft flush colored Kerry’s neck. “Um.

Not…with a woman, yes.” she finally got out, glancing up. “I, um…”

“Shhh, it’s okay. I kind of guessed that.” Dar gave her a reassuring pat on the arm. “Take it easy—no rush, no pressure.” Stifling a yawn, Dar got up and then held out a hand in invitation. “C’mon, time for bed. I’m really bushed.”

It’s…
Kerry put down her laptop and stood up, having changed into her pajamas earlier. It was scary, and at the same time, exhilarating
.
She took Dar’s hand and followed her into the cool, blue-walled bedroom, feeling the calmness of the place with a sense of anticipation. She glanced at the bed.

“You ever get seasick?”

The executive chuckled. “No.” She pulled back the covers and got in, moving over to the center of the bed. “See? Big enough for six.”

Kerry laughed and accepted the invitation, surprised at the gently moving surface. “Oh, I thought it would move more.”

“It’s semi-waveless,” Dar explained. “There are these little foam baffles inside, and the water gets trapped in there, so it doesn’t move around much.”

She patted the surface. “See?”

Kerry settled down. “Mmm. Wow, this is comfortable.” She had plenty of space around her and a nice soft pillow. Her anxiety eased and she relaxed, watching as Dar reached up and turned off the overhead lamp.

“You okay?” The low, vibrant voice cut through the darkness.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Kerry answered sleepily. “G’night.”

Dar put her hands behind her head and gazed up at the unseen ceiling.

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“G’night.” A peaceful silence fell, and Dar waited for sleep to claim her, tired, but very conscious of the warm body nearby.
What a day.
She shook her head in mild disbelief. Her life was changing, shifting so fast she hardly knew what to do about it. In the space of a single day, of a single night, really, she’d suddenly acquired a facet in her life she never would have expected, but now that she had it, she was wondering how she’d ever lived without it.

The bed shifted gently; she felt Kerry’s warmth move closer, and a grin appeared. It took another ten minutes, then she felt a touch against her and she sidled over, closing her arm around the sleeping woman, who nestled closer immediately, tucking an arm around her waist, and relaxing with a sigh as she nuzzled Dar’s shoulder.