Undetected (10 page)

“She'll put you to sleep, Mark. She's a nice woman, but when you've met her, spent a few days in her company, you've discovered all there is to know about her. Melinda had layers on layers, and you loved that. Find someone with history, someone with a packed calendar, a busy woman going lots of directions. Tiffany, if you want a name.”

Mark laughed. “Your description of Melinda is right on, but Tiffany as a wife for me? We're on different planets on that one. She's got fitness clubs and gyms popping up all over the area, she's got energy leaking out of her, she's the definition of a bubbly personality—and she would drive me nuts inside of a week. She's also . . . what, a decade younger than me?”

“Eight years. You're going to have to accept going younger if you want to find a woman who's flexible enough to adapt to being a Navy wife. It's not an easy transition, Mark.”

“Why don't
you
ask Tiffany out?” Mark countered.

Jeff grinned. “Already have on occasion.” He pushed another folded table into the truck bed. “But can you imagine Gina and Tiffany in the same room?”

Mark thought about it. Both women collected information—Gina's tended to be facts and thoughtful, while Tiffany's leaned toward social and conjecture. But both were
never boring to talk with. “They might do better together than you think.”

“Whoever she turns out to be, my wife's got to get along with my sister or my life would not be worth living.”

“You're thinking about getting married?”

Jeff shrugged. “You're not the only one getting older.”

“Good for you.”

“Didn't say I was going to do something about it.”

Mark smiled. “You will. The idea spreads until it's the only good idea you've got left, and you have to do something about it. Ask Gina about Tiffany before you make an assumption. She might surprise you.”

“Why don't you do the same?” Jeff replied. “Ask Gina out before you assume she's too young for you.”

Mark glanced around as the screen door bounced shut, and the conversation was abandoned before he answered. Gina and Peter York were coming down the front steps, Peter carrying the box of leftover cupcakes that Mark had asked him to take to the family center on base.

“Anything else you want me to drop off, Commander?” Peter asked.

“That's it. Thanks for the help.”

“No problem. Gina and I are going to go see the moon fog that rises over the Hood Canal on cool nights like this. I'll bring her home in a few hours, Jeff.”

“Sure thing.”

Peter put the box in the back seat, then held the passenger door for Gina.

Mark sent Jeff a glance as the car pulled out. “Looks like you won't have as much to do as you thought. I'd say she just got claimed.”

Jeff frowned after the car. “You'd better give me the details you know on him.”

“I know York is good at his job, and he has a clean personnel jacket. Home is Idaho, I think. This was his first patrol with
Nevada
gold. I thought he was dating a girl from his high school days, but I'm nowhere current on that. Kingman knows him better. You should give him a call.”

“I'll do that,” Jeff said. “I think he's younger than she is by a couple of years.”

“That a problem?”

Jeff shook his head. “According to Gina, women live longer than men so she should look for a guy younger than herself.”

Mark smiled. “Another remark back from when she was a teenager?”

Jeff nodded, then turned serious. “It was a conversation I'm not likely to forget.” He lifted the last table into the truck bed. “I want her married, Mark, happily, so my life can go back to being calm again.”

“Just wait until you turn on the porch light to find her kissing a guy good-night.”

Jeff scowled at the thought.

“Don't worry, you'll survive,” Mark laughed.

Jeff was at the kitchen table finishing a bowl of ice cream when he heard Gina return home. He smiled as he heard the shoes land by the doormat. She followed the light and came to join him. “Have a good evening?” he asked, trying to sound low-key.

She rested a hand against the back of the chair opposite him. “A very nice evening. Peter showed me around more
of the Bangor base, and then we drove over to the Toandos Peninsula so we could see water in three directions as the fog rose.” Gina got another spoon from a drawer, then turned back to the table. “Share a bite or two?”

He slid the bowl over. “Leave me the cherry.”

She settled into the chair. “He was a perfect gentleman. He's hoping to get engaged to a lady who's currently in London with a college exchange program.”

“Really? I didn't see that coming.”

“I did, early on. He mentioned his girl wasn't able to come to the barbecue, he was at loose ends, and asked if he could show me around. He was a safe date, so I took it.” She looked across the table at him, smiled. “I didn't want you hovering, keeping an eye on me all afternoon.”

Jeff studied her. “Did you change your mind about me introducing you to some guys I like? Because the barbecue was crowded with possibilities.”

“I didn't change my mind. I just didn't want a speech freeze in a crowd when you started making introductions. It's easier one-on-one.” She gestured with her spoon. “Who did you have in mind? I might have met him.”

“Near the top of my list, I'd like to introduce you to Daniel Field. He's a sonar guy on the
Nebraska
.”

“Because of the sonar work I've done?”

“It's purely incidental that he's well versed in sonar. He's a gentleman, from the South, and he'll treat you right. He's got a solid reputation and is well liked around Bangor. Bishop agrees he's a good man.”

She went still. “You told Bishop what I asked you to do.”

“I wanted to find out if he had an interest himself. You two would be good together.”

She looked shocked, took a breath, then another before she asked, “What did he say?”

“A case of mistiming on my part. Someone named Jessica had already crossed his path,” Jeff replied. He wanted his sister with someone he trusted. Bishop had been a long shot, but one he would have been very comfortable with for his sister. Bishop had sounded certain about the no, so Jeff was going to his next best idea. “You'll like Daniel. I was thinking we could do an informal foursome so I could introduce you. I'll invite Tiffany and Daniel to join us for an evening out. That way it's a date, but a casual one. I won't let us get split apart into couples unless you decide you're comfortable with him. Tiffany can carry the conversation if you don't feel like saying much. She's got that cheerful, outgoing kind of personality that naturally fills in pauses in a conversation.”

“I like that plan,” Gina said with a nod.

“I'll set it up for before I go to Boulder.”

Gina finished a quarter of the ice cream and slid the bowl back. Jeff scooped up the cherry she'd left for him.

“What would you think about Bishop if he did ask you out?” he asked, curious.

She hesitated. “I don't know. He's your friend, Jeff. That could make it awkward.”

“No protest that he's too old for you?”

“I promised myself I would keep an open mind on the details.”

“Wise move.”

“He's been married before. He's probably got expectations for someone vastly different from me.”

“I didn't even think of that when I was talking with him,” Jeff admitted. “You would have liked Melinda, and she would
have liked you. I'm glad Bishop is thinking about getting married again, but I don't think Jessica's the right fit. He was thinking about a woman named Linda Masters, but she got engaged while he was on the last patrol.”

“Tell me about Tiffany. Have I met her before?”

Jeff found her abrupt switch in the conversation telling, but accepted it. “Tiffany is the lady who owns and runs the gym over on Beach Street.”

Gina grinned. “The one you go to impress with your workout routine for an hour every day when you're home?”

Jeff chose to ignore the embarrassment her comment caused since she was partially right. “That's her.”

“Have you been dating her?”

“We've been out a few times,” Jeff said. “You can tell me what you think of her after the dinner.”

“I'll do that and be nice in my comments,” Gina offered. “So tell me more about Daniel Field. What do you know about him?”

Jeff had made several phone calls and filled in more of the blanks about the man. “He's a Georgia native, has three sisters, all of them older than he is. He's third-generation Navy. Daniel spent six years at Kings Bay before transferring to Bangor. He's considered the best sonarman on the
Nebraska
.” Jeff tried to remember what else he'd learned. “He's on the Bangor baseball team, plays second base. He's known for his ability on the guitar.”

“How old is he?”

“I'd say around 27 or 28.”

“He sounds like an interesting man,” Gina decided.

“If it doesn't work out, I'll come up with someone else,” Jeff assured her. “I remember my promise.”

“So do I, which is one reason I came to see you.” She smiled as she got up from the table. “I'm glad you're my brother.”

“Remember that when you're fussing over the fact I ask what time you'll be home.”

She laughed. “Good night, Jeff.”

He listened as she headed upstairs, then finished the ice cream. She was going to be married by this time next year, he could just about count on it. He'd find the right husband for her, someone who would love her well and a man he could tolerate. They'd be having holidays together for the next 50 years.

For the first time in his memory, he felt kind of old. He sighed, got up and put the bowl in the dishwasher, set it to run. Gina had alphabetized his spice rack again. He smiled when he saw it and deliberately moved the cinnamon next to the garlic. He'd give her a day or two to realize something didn't look right. His sister was restless. She didn't have to say it for him to see it. She puttered around here, moved his furniture, organized the cupboards, and then worked too many hours. The sooner she got settled with a good man, the better off she was going to be, and the less he would worry about her.

L
arge-scale posters of abstract artwork adorned the walls of the Squadron 5 ready room. Mark noted the change and wondered who had been decorating. The place looked nice. He needed to give his ombudsman a budget so Mrs. Delheart could work on theirs. “How's your sister doing?”

Jeff pushed a page across the desk for him to sign. “Working too hard at night, coming home and sleeping during the day, getting that distracted look on her face as we're talking when she has a random thought about something she's trying to figure out. Leaving sticky notes on my mirror about things she forgot to tell me. Cleaning my place to the edge of spotless and insisting I quit hanging out with her and go do something like fish or have a date or see a game with the guys. Driving me nuts with her protests everything is fine.”

“Ever think there—?”

Jeff held up a hand and gave a small nod toward the open door. Mark looked around.

Gina hesitated, her hand raised to tap on the doorjamb.

“Come on in, sis. We're just coordinating training class schedules.”

She looked tired, Mark thought. She wasn't fooling anyone who knew her with those assurances she was fine. Her smile aimed at him was brief, a bit polite but also a touch uncertain.

She had a flash drive in her hand. “I made a model of what I need for the sea trial. It's basic—just three stick submarines moving around in a three-dimensional cube.”

“Close the door. Let's see it,” Jeff said, holding out his hand.

He plugged in the flash drive and loaded the computer-generated video. Stick submarines appeared, moving around in an ocean box with various marker lines tagging the distances she would like to check.

“I need two subs to basically sit there with cross-sonar running,” Gina said, “while another sub travels directly away from them at good speed for six hours, moving above and below a thermal line. Then he turns, comes back on any vector he chooses to rejoin them, and stops within a thousand feet.”

Jeff nodded. “Sounds simple enough.”

“I have three basic questions,” Gina continued. “Does a cross-sonar ping find the moving sub? How far away does it find the sub? And can the sub hear that it's being pinged?”

“What's the kicker?” Mark asked.

“I need the test run in four different parts of the sea,” Gina replied. “The quiet of Tufts Plain where ocean noise is minimal. Near the vents at the Schoope Ridge where the ocean is full of geological noise. Near the continental shelf where the ocean is filled with rushing currents and ravines with their echoing sound. And finally in the coastal waters near the shipping lanes where it's filled with man-made noise.”

“Add a fifth area—arctic ice,” Mark offered. “Glacier ice cracking and falling into the ocean is the most complex background noise out there.”

“Perfect, thanks. I need the raw audio for what all three subs hear during the tests. It's going to be a massive amount of data to record.”

“Not so bad,” Jeff calculated. “Six hours outbound, six inbound, five locations, we'll take high-density drives along to swap out between locations.” He reran the video movements. “A simple enough trial design. We can get all but the sea ice in . . . what”—he glanced at Mark—“five days, counting transit time?”

“I'd prefer to test ice in the Atlantic, up around Greenland in January. But for now, Glacier Bay off the Alaska coast might be noisy enough to give us a sense of what we need.”

“Glacier Bay would be fine,” Gina said.

Jeff shut down the video. “Gina, even if this works, the Navy may turn the concept into a studied-forever black hole, trying to figure out how vulnerable it makes cross-sonar before they consider putting it into operational use. Or they will likely get bogged down running more extensive trials to satisfy the skeptics that it really works.”

“I expect both,” she said with a shrug. “I'd like to hand off the algorithms and the concept and let someone else take over the concerns about the fact this can be done. I know it's dangerous whenever a new capability makes it easier to find and see a submarine. It's a potential risk to the U.S. fleet as much as it is a help.”

“Don't worry about that part,” Mark assured her. “Concentrate on the science. The Navy is good at adapting to changing realities. How far away are you from having the algorithms in place to generate your soft ping and the echo template?”

“Everything looks ready on the software side. I've been
generating pings on demand, checking by hand the echo template created, watching the software search for a match. I don't have it pretty-packaged yet—the code annotated with comments and a software installation program built. I'd suggest for the trial simply swapping in a drive with the updated cross-sonar software, then reverting back to the prior drive with the certified version of cross-sonar once the trial is done. I'll probably need about six hours of time to train the sonar operators on what they need to do.”

“I'll talk to Rear Admiral Hardman,” Mark said. “Jeff and I can get the trial plan put together. Boat schedules have a window opening up on May 22nd for us to go to sea with the
Nebraska
,
Ohio
, and
Connecticut
.”

“You're going to sea with us, Gina,” Jeff mentioned.

She looked over, startled. “No, Jeff, I'm not.”

“You should be there to make sure you're getting the data you need and to diagnose any problems.”

“Two subs will be running the new software,” she replied quickly. “I can't be on both, so there's no need for me to be on either one. I can explain to the sonar guys what to watch for, and the software's very simple to use—a couple of commands, some data files to save. I'll have all the details written down.”

“We'll talk more about that later.” Mark stepped in to sideline the subject before it could become an issue. The intensity in her voice had Mark trying to remember an occasion where she'd been down in a sub. He could tell Jeff wasn't clicking into the fact there was actual fear behind Gina's protest. Was she claustrophobic? And wouldn't that be a honey of a problem, for they really did need her out at sea with them on this trial. Otherwise they would have to risk surfacing to
send message traffic and try to troubleshoot problems with her onshore, which would seriously complicate getting the accurate trial results they needed.

“How strong a thermal do we need to find, Gina?” Mark asked, hoping to change the subject. “And how often do you need the target sub above and below it?”

His diversion got her to shift her attention from Jeff back to him. Mark jotted notes on the water temperature spread she was looking to get. “There's always a strong thermal around the Gilbert Seamounts. Jeff, touch base with Anderson, see if he can direct us to a likely spot on the Tufts Plain.”

“I'll give him a call. And we can probably find an offshoot of the deep-sea current with a thermal near the continental shelf.”

“I'll pull the Aquarius satellite data and take a look,” Mark agreed. He accepted the flash drive Jeff handed him. “A week, Gina. We'll have the trial plan together.”

Jeff tossed the training schedule into the out-box to send over to the Trident Training Facility. “You want to join us for an early lunch, Gina?”

“Thanks for the offer, but I'm heading home.”

“You need some sleep,” Mark said quietly.

She glanced over at him, accepted his comment with a nod. “I'm done with the long nights of data runs, and the software is solid. I'll catch up on my sleep now, lighten the work hours.” She got to her feet. “Call if there's anything you need.”

Mark watched her leave. “Have you introduced her to Daniel Field yet?”

“We're having dinner this Friday so I can make a casual introduction. I made it a foursome, Tiffany along with Gina
and Daniel, so the conversation shouldn't be a problem even if they don't hit it off.”

“He's a nice guy. She'll like him,” Mark predicted.

“I'm hoping she does,” Jeff said.

Gina's first impression of Daniel Field was
cute
. Southern charm with the added appeal of California-surfer blond hair and a sleek muscle build. She saw the good humor in his face within moments of sitting down across the table from him. A man for whom laughter and a smile seemed to be the norm of his day. How he had stayed single for so long was a mystery. She could see she had his interest—that was clear when he soon was paying far more attention to her than the sparkling blonde seated beside him. Tiffany, an athlete who owned fitness clubs and gyms, shared Daniel's good looks. But tonight it was Tiffany and Jeff hitting it off. With a deftness that charmed Gina, Daniel rearranged the seating after the salad was delivered for easier conversation with her.

She felt like she always did on a first date: nervous, a touch flustered. She could tell Daniel was trying to impress her. It was in the small things, the fact he rose when she first joined them, held her chair. He asked questions and then kept the conversation casual and on subjects she brought up. She offered as topics Bangor and Chicago, movies and books, then got him talking about boating and surfing—and heard in his voice that she'd uncovered a passion of his. The man loved the water. For him the water was a place to unwind, spend his free time, entertain. He had her laughing as he described trying to teach his nephew to water-ski.

The main-course dinner plates were being picked up an
hour after they sat down. “Do we want to consider dessert?” Jeff asked around the table.

Tiffany laughed. “Absolutely. I want something rich and chocolate. One benefit of my active job is the freedom to enjoy desserts.”

“Gina?”

“Daniel mentioned the Ice Cream Shack is near here. I thought we might go for a walk, share some ice cream. We'll rejoin you and Tiffany in, say, an hour?”

Daniel looked surprised, but he tagged on to the suggestion with pleasure. “A very good idea,” he said, already rising to his feet. “I'll cover the dinner tab on the way out, Jeff.”

“Thanks—we'll argue about that later.”

Gina met her brother's confused look with a slight smile. She realized Jeff could get serious about Tiffany, who probably knew it too. Jeff was the one who didn't seem to have clued in yet. “See you two in an hour.” She smiled at both of them and slid her hand into Daniel's to follow him out of the restaurant.

She was determined to use the next hour to break some further ground and find out more about this very attractive man. Was he as good as he looked? First dates were awkward, but second ones were easier. The
Nebraska
wasn't due to leave on patrol for several months. If he asked for a second date, she was going to say yes. She wasn't making an early decision about what she thought of him, but Jeff had been right in one respect. She did like him.

“Nicely done, splitting us off. I appreciate it,” Daniel mentioned after paying the table's dinner bill and holding the restaurant door for her.

“My pleasure,” Gina replied. “My brother is attempting to
avoid the fact that he's falling for Tiffany. I'd like to encourage that relationship along while I'm in Bangor.”

“You'll be doing Jeff a very good deed. And I like your suggestion too, may I add. Ice cream is this way.” He turned her eastward.

“Can I ask a very personal question, now that we're on our own?” She glanced up at him, then away, feeling shy.

He turned her way with a smile. “Sure, if only because I'm curious what matter you consider very personal.”

“How come you're not already . . . well, taken?”

“Ah, the ‘what's wrong with the not-half-bad-looking guy' question.” He laughed. “It's not for lack of trying. I've been engaged three times. The first time her parents objected because we were both only 19, I was heading to the Navy, and she still had a future as a gymnast. They convinced her to break it off.

“The second time was with a fellow Naval Academy graduate. She was heading to a job as a helicopter mechanic, and I was off to Kings Bay for my first submarine patrol. She asked me to call it off after we were engaged eight months. Our schedules kept conflicting, and the wedding date had to be moved twice. The work of a long-distance relationship cooled whatever she thought of me. That one literally broke my heart.” He glanced at her, then continued.

“The third time I fell hard for a woman who went to my church back home. She moved out here to get a job, we got engaged, found the house we'd buy after the wedding. But she had a previous boyfriend who tracked her down to Bangor, talked her into changing her mind and giving him another chance. She told him no the first half-dozen times he asked, said she'd moved on and was getting married. But the truth
was she was in love with the guy, even I could tell that. I told her we'd put things on hold for six months, that I wasn't going anywhere. But she needed to sort out if she was marrying me because she was over him, or she was marrying me because it hadn't worked out with him, or she was marrying me because she loved me. Within those six months she gave me back the ring, they got married, and it appears to be a happy match. No doubt best for all of us.