Tropical Storm - DK1 (88 page)

We sponsor credit union picnics. If they have a fundraiser, we’re involved. So then we can go in and say, ‘hey, we do this data stuff for the CU, why not let us handle yours?’ ” Dar made several changes to Kerry’s file, then saved it and returned to the main menu. “And they usually sit back and realize it does make sense, because we are professionals, and this is what we do. It’s more cost-efficient for us to add them to our network than for them to maintain 426
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their own—especially WANS. Those T1 lines are expensive as hell, and you don’t get redundancy on them.” Dar then dumped out of the menus and went to the operating system level, starting a diagnostic.

“Okay, that makes sense,” Jack acknowledged.

“So after that, we go in and say, ‘hey, we’re doing the data stuff for the CU, and we handle your network, why not outsource the rest of your IS to us.

We’ll give you a support package, and you won’t have to worry about anything.’ ” Dar watched the diagnostic run. “There’s the problem,” she muttered, stopping it, then standing up and going around to the back of the computer and kneeling down. “Stupid interface cable’s chewed, they must have rats.”

“Rats? What?” Jack peered at her. “You figured it out already?”

Blue eyes glanced back at him. “It’s my job, remember?” Dar took a splicing kit from her briefcase and quickly fixed the cable, then went back to the console. “They don’t know we’re here; I might as well fix this, then we can get on with getting Kerry the hell out of here. She’s probably sleeping, might as well give her a few more minutes.” She typed in a set of commands and tested the cable. “Ah, better.”

“So, do they usually let you take over their stuff?” Jack asked, fascinated.

“A lot of times, yeah, because maintaining an IS group, especially in a place like this, whose focus is so narrow, is just a pain in the butt for them. It’s much easier, and about the same amount of money, or maybe just a bit more, if they let us do it. And it’s a big problem off their shoulders because we’re big enough so they know if something does go wrong, we’ll get it fixed.”

“Like now.” Jack smiled.

“Well, we don’t usually send corporate vice presidents to splice cable.”

Dar chuckled ruefully as she started up the data transfer cycle. “They were bringing a tech up from Chicago, I canceled him.” She watched the counters roll. “Another day, another dollar.” She stood up and dusted off her hands, then turned as the nurse came back with the coffee. “Good news.”

The woman handed the coffee over and peered at the screen. “Really?”

“Yep, you’re rolling,” Dar informed her. “It’ll take about twenty minutes for this to go through; we’ll hang around and make sure it gets finished.”

“Bless you!” the nurse squealed in delight. “Oh my god, I have to go let everyone know. Thank you, thank you. You’re a genius.” She dashed out, headed back for her station.

“Okay.” Dar took a sip of her coffee. “You stay here. I’m going to wander casually down the hallway and see if I can get into Kerry’s room.” She picked up the piece of paper with the room and code on it and put it into her pocket.

“Then I have to figure a way to get her the hell out of here.”

“Oh, so that part of the plan’s not ready yet?” he asked nervously.

“Plan?” Dar gave him a nervous look right back and grinned faintly.

“What plan?” She slipped out the door and sauntered down the hallway, gazing around in apparently casual interest. The nurse spotted her and waved, never stopping her speech on the phone as she did so. Dar waved back and continued her progress, stopping every so often to peer at the bulletin boards, which dotted the walls, and read the notices and schedules on them.

Kerry’s room was at the end of the hallway, Dar realized, around a small
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crook in the otherwise straight walls. When she came even with the door and glanced back over her shoulder, she could no longer see the inside of the nurse’s station, only the front edge of the desk. “Good,” she muttered, then eased back the little peephole and peered inside. The harsh white light displayed a stark, almost bare room, with a bed near the far wall. A figure was curled up in it, and Dar nodded to herself as she closed the panel, then keyed in the lock code and gently opened the door.

She felt rather than saw the blow coming and let her body react, twisting as something hard and cold struck her on the shoulders. She went with the force of it, diving for the floor and rolling, then coming back up on her feet in a dazed blur, holding her hands out in a defensive posture. She blinked the stars from her eyes, and heard a faint choking sound, then her vision focused finally on Kerry’s stunned face. “Wow,” she managed to joke weakly. “I love you too, but couldn’t we just kiss each other?”

“Oh my god, I’m…” Kerry unfroze and closed the distance between them, touching Dar’s neck in horror. “Dar…I’m…I didn’t know it w…I thought it was… You’re bleeding. Oh Jesus.”

Dar rubbed her head. “Does that mean you’re glad to see me or not?” She gave the blonde woman a wry smile.

Kerry just looked at her for a long moment, then slowly came forward and leaned her body against Dar’s taller one, sliding her arms around her lover’s waist and burying her face in Dar’s chest. “Glad to see you? I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my entire life.” She let out a shaky sigh. “Oh god.”

Dar felt her entire world collapse until it only encompassed the two of them, as she wrapped her arms around Kerry and gently kissed her head.

“What in the hell’s going on here?”

A sigh warmed her chest, even through the fabric. “I can’t believe he did this, it was horrible, Dar. At first, he wanted to blame you, he said it was all your fault. That you…lured me into this.”

Dar exhaled but kept silent.

“And, I couldn’t. I had to tell him that wasn’t true. And he…” Kerry’s arm unwound and lifted, her hand touching her cheek. “He hit me.”

The dark-haired woman pulled back a little, so she could see her partner’s cheek. “Bastard.”

Kerry just looked sad. “There was so much hate in him. I don’t understand, Dar, how can people hate you for something as beautiful as loving someone?” She put her head back down, her voice shaking.

“It’s part of what makes us human, Kerry,” Dar answered in a tired voice.

“We hate anyone different,” she told her softly. “Come on, we’ve got to get you out of here.”

Kerry nodded. “I know. They were going to start ‘probing’ me in the morning. I knew I had to get out of here before then. I was afraid they’d…”

She hesitated. “I didn’t know what kind of drugs they were going to fill me with, or…I mean, you can say anything under some of that stuff, and…” Her eyes lifted and met the pale blue ones gazing down at her. “I didn’t want to take a chance on them forcing me to say something I didn’t mean.”

Dar’s lips tensed into a grim smile. “What were you going to do after you 428
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knocked out Little Miss Sunshine out there?”

“Find a phone,” Kerry admitted, “and scream for help.” She plucked at her hospital gown. “After stealing some scrubs to wear.” Her brow creased.

“And, how did you know about this, Dar? How did you get here?”

The taller woman snorted. “They found your medical card in your wallet and figured they might as well bill us for your brainwashing.” She keyed the door open again and peeked out, seeing a quiet, empty hallway. “Let me go see if I can find your clothes and let Jack know what’s going on.”

“Jack?” Kerry queried.

“Gerald Easton’s son, he got me here,” Dar answered absently, peering at doors to try and figure out what was behind them.

“Got you here?” A pause. “I thought you were in Maryland with him, did you… No, you couldn’t have driven, it’s the middle of the night, there’s no planes!” Kerry stared at her in confusion.

“He’s a Navy pilot,” Dar replied offhandedly. “It pays to have old friends in fast places, Kerry. I’ll explain later.” She eased out. “Okay, I’ll be right back.

Just take it easy, okay?” She patted her pockets, then pulled out a slip of paper. “Just in case.” She handed it to Kerry. “It’s your lock code.”

“A Navy p…” Kerry took the paper mechanically, watching as Dar carefully closed the door and eased down the hall. She leaned against the wall again, her knees shaking so badly she could hardly stand. It was too much.

She slid down the wall and rested her head on her arms, wondering if it was all just another one of those strange dreams she’d soon wake up from.

OUTSIDE, AFTER SHIFTING her jacket so that the cut on her neck was covered, Dar padded quietly down the hallway and popped around the corner to see the nurse bending over some paperwork. She looked up as Dar sauntered closer, then smiled.

“Well, you certainly are the hero of the building.” She put down her clipboard and sighed. “You don’t know how many people there are here who can breathe now. For me, tomorrow is my kid’s birthday. It was gonna be a doughnut with a candle in it until you walked in.”

Dar smiled sincerely at her. “Glad I could help.” She leaned on the counter, checking her watch. “Not too much longer,” she commented, stifling a yawn. “Say, are those things really comfortable?”

The nurse looked down. “Oh, the scrubs? Yeah, they sure are. Beats the heck out of that starched polyester they used to make us wear, let me tell you.” She looked at Dar speculatively. “Hey, would you like a set to try? I could get you one, we’ve got thousands.”

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“Could you?” Mild blue eyes blinked at her in gratitude.

“I’ve always wanted to try them.”

The nurse patted her hand. “Honey, for you, anything.” She ducked out from behind the desk and hurried off.

Dar smiled and regarded the nurse’s station, peering under the counter to see if she could spot any of Kerry’s belongings, without much success. “Hey, Jack, how’s it going in there?” she called in a normal tone of voice.

Jack’s blond head popped out, and he glanced at her. “Um, the red bar is
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about seventy five percent of the way across, is that what you’re asking?” She nodded. “Everything okay?” He looked closer. “Christ on a rudder, Dar, you’re bleeding.” He walked over to her and pulled her jacket collar back.

“What happened?” He asked in a lower voice. “Did you find Kerry?”

“Yes, I got hit with a stool, and yes,” Dar muttered. “Kerry was trying to make a break for it and thought I was a nurse.”

“God. Feisty thing, isn’t she?” Jack half laughed. “She okay?”

Dar nodded. “She’s fine, they hadn’t had time to do anything to her. That was scheduled for the morning.” She sighed. “But she’s pretty shook up.”

He digested this. “Why is she in here, Dar? She nuts?”

Dar shook her head. “No. Just gay.”

The shock showed in his face as he stared at her. “You’re not serious.”

She sighed tiredly, rubbing eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and tension.

“Yeah, I’m serious.”

Dar looked up as the nurse returned, holding a package and smiling cheerfully. “Here you go, hope you enjoy them.” The woman handed it over, then gave Jack a smile as well. “Hello there. You want a set, too? My husband loves them.”

“Um, no thanks.” Jack mumbled. “Thanks anyway.”

“Thanks.” Dar took the scrubs and tried to figure out what to do next.

Her mind was slowing down, she realized, as the problems of getting Kerry out of the hospital safely weighed down on her shoulders.

She hadn’t really gotten past what to do after she got in here, mostly because she had no idea what the layout was, or the possibilities. Maybe she could pull the fire alarm…or, was that a water pressure pipe in that other alcove?

“Excuse me.” The nurse touched her arm. “Listen, can I ask you a big favor, since you’re stuck here for a little while anyway?”

“Huh?” Dar broke off her planning and turned to the woman. “Sorry, sure.”

“I’d like to run down and grab a sandwich from the cafeteria, can you just listen for this phone?” She pointed at it. “If it rings, just answer Third Floor and take a message.”

“Uh…well, sure, of course, no problem,” Dar assured her, working hard to keep an incredulous grin off her face. “Go on, we’ll be here another…uh, thirty minutes at least, that load’s taking longer than I thought.”

Nurse Archer beamed at her. “You’re the best.” She ducked out from behind the desk again. “Can I bring you back a sandwich? They have turkey on a croissant today and some tomato soup.”

“No, no, we’re fine. Thanks.” Dar waved at her. “Take your time.”

The doors to the elevator slid closed behind her white butt, and they looked at each other. “Well.” Dar rubbed her nose. “You stay here and listen for the phone, and I’ll go get Kerry.” Unable to quite believe her good luck, Dar trotted down the hallway to her lover’s door and punched in the code, having the handle practically taken out of her hand by an impatient blonde.

“Hey!”

“I was starting to get nervous,” Kerry whispered. “I thought maybe you got into trouble.”

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Dar leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, letting her touch linger a bit. “I am trouble,” she purred into the shorter woman’s ear. “Here.” She handed Kerry the scrubs, which came complete with little booties. “It’s not chic, but it’ll get you the hell out of here.”

Kerry took the bundle and examined it with interest. “Hmm, I always wanted a set of these. This wasn’t the way I’d have chosen to get them, though.” She opened the packages and shook out the white garments, stripping off her uncomfortable hospital gown and slipping into the drawstring pants. “Yeesh.” She tugged on the waist strings to make them fit, and ended up tying a big bow, while Dar knelt and did the same for the ankles. “That’s better, at least I won’t trip on them,” Kerry muttered as she pulled on the shirt, settling it around her body. “Well, that’s not too bad.”

Dar smiled, then stood up and pulled a comb out of her pocket and ran it through Kerry’s disheveled hair. “So, other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was Thanksgiving?”

That got a weak laugh from the blonde woman. “Oh, lots of relatives, lots of bullshit. I got to make nice with Brian and see some of my uncles and aunts I haven’t seen in a while.” She paused. “Now I guess I won’t ever again,” she concluded softly. “Dar, he’s not going to just let go of this.”