And say what? Sorry for being an asshole. It’s just something you have to get used to? Wasn’t it good old Shari who had told her she’d never have a successful relationship, because she always put everything else ahead of it?
Yeah. Funny she should turn up right at that moment. She let the freezing rain drive against her, numbing her face until heavy footsteps ran up and she turned, to see the Bellsouth supervisor pulling his yellow rain suit tight against him.
”All right, we’ve got the pairs pulled out,” he told her, scrubbing his face. ”Now what? I can’t keep those guys up on those poles, Ms.
Roberts. You need to give us some direction here. We’re pulling all the stops out, but I’m not putting my guys in danger, and it’s icing up.”
More than you know. Dar rubbed her arms, then exhaled. ”Okay, let’s see where everyone else is.” She led him back to the tarp, ignoring the angry looks she was getting by the rest of the team, channeling her focus only on the goal. ”What’s the status?”
”Plane just landed with the routers,” one man grudgingly admitted, blowing on his hands. ”I got a truck. We were about to leave to go pick them up.”
”Good.” Dar nodded. ”Take off.”
”Staff’s headed back in, those I could reach,” the older woman told her. ”But I had to get pretty tough. No one’s happy and a few flat out refused.”
”Fine,” Dar told her. ”Okay, now we just need a...”
Hurricane Watch
195
”The warehouse next door is empty,” Kerry’s voice quietly interrupted her. ”They have a Telco punch down and the landlord’s on his way with a key.”
The flapping of the tarp was suddenly loud as everyone turned to look at her, and Dar felt an irrational jolt deep in her guts. She studied the set, serious face for a moment. ”Thank you, Kerry, good work.”
Kerry nodded and glanced down at the churned, half frozen mud they were standing in, folding her arms over her chest and exhaling.
”All right, let’s move everything over there. We’ll get inside as soon as they open it up. It’ll be warmer and drier at least,” Dar stated quietly. ”John, that’s where we'll need the lines dropped. I think I spotted a block on the back end of that building.”
”Right you are,” the Bellsouth manager nodded briskly, pulling out a walkie-talkie and speaking into it. ”That’s an easy swing. They might even be wired for it already as that used to be a telemarketing operation.”
Kerry listened to the conversation, letting it roll over her, until she was aware of footsteps leaving, and then silence. With a sigh she lifted her head, almost jumping when pale blue eyes met hers. ”Oh.” She’d thought Dar had gone with them.
They studied each other for a long, pensive moment.
”Sorry about that I...” Kerry started.
”Sorry I snapped at you. I...” Dar rumbled at the same time.
Silence fell again, then Dar released a breath and wiped a weary hand across her face. ”You didn’t deserve that.”
Kerry stepped closer. ”No, I shouldn’t have questioned you, Dar.”
She put out a hesitant hand and touched Dar’s arm, as though reassuring herself. ”You needed my support right then, and I blew it.”
Dar dropped her eyes to the ground. ”I don’t want you to think that,” she said, after a moment’s thought. ”Sometimes you need to question me, Kerry. I don’t know all the answers and sometimes I push too hard, and the result doesn’t end up justifying the means.” Her eyes swept up in startling honesty. ”You should know that.” She sighed and looked around. ”I don’t know if this is the right thing to do, but I don’t know what else to try, and I have to try something.”
Kerry nodded, and moved another step closer. ”I know. I went over to the truck there and sat down, and I thought about it.” She paused.
”That’s why I called about that warehouse. I knew that’s where you had to go next.”
Dar lifted a hand and gently laid it alongside her cheek. ”Thank you,” she murmured, sincerely. ”That really was well done. How’d you know about the punch down?”
Kerry smiled, feeling her cold stiffened facial muscles protest.
”Modern technology. I linked up to the local real estate page and did a search on available commercial property in this area, listed my specifications, and it popped right up.” Her eyes twinkled gravely at 196
Melissa Good
the widening of Dar’s eyes. ”Even had the landlord’s number there,”
she added. ”He wasn’t happy about me calling him at two a.m., but since I offered twenty percent more than what he was asking, he made an exception, and said he’d get right over here. He lives about ten minutes away.”
Dar gave a little shake of the head, then she impulsively pulled Kerry into a hug, reveling in the warmth as the smaller woman wound her arms around her and squeezed really hard. ”You’re the best.”
Kerry smiled in pure relief, ignoring the dampness of Dar’s jacket.
Then she released her boss and patted her gently on the side. ”And, hey Dar?””Mm?” The now warm blue eyes regarded her.
Kerry lifted her chin. ”If and when you want to talk about the old history, I’m here.”
Dar’s eyelids fluttered as she ducked her head for a moment, then raised it. ”Thanks,” She replied quietly. ”Maybe we’ll have time this weekend.”
”Okay,” Kerry exhaled. ”Well, I think that’s our landlord over there. I guess we’d better get started, but Dar, I have to ask you. We’re replacing the routers, but what about the mainframes? We can’t duplicate those, not even if you commandeer half the air force.”
Dar slipped an arm over her shoulders and started to walk towards the now lit building behind the operations center. ”No, but the mainframes are in a separate room. They connect over a fiber optic LAN
bridge.” She pointed. ”And the access block for that is on the roof.”
Kerry stared at the roof, then her eyes shifted to a new truck that had just pulled up, bearing the fiber optics division insignia of the telephone company. ”Oh, you’re just too good.” She turned an admiring gaze on her boss. ”That’s slick, Dar, but do we know they have power and are turned on in there? I thought those environmental people turned everything off.”
Dar let out a breath. ”We’ll find out, but we’ve got a lot to do before then and it’s going to be a race.”
Kerry lifted her head and regarded the growing crowd they were heading towards. ”I have a feeling I’m going to be present at yet another Dar Roberts legend in the making.”
”Hmm, let’s just hope it’s not my swan song,” Dar muttered. “I’ve got a feeling a lot of things are lining up against me on this one.”
Chapter
Fifteen
KERRY STOOD BACK and watched the group disperse inside the large, ill lit warehouse, scattering out from the door and trying to avoid the tumbleweed size dust bunnies that were rolling languidly across the stained carpet. It smelled like a cross between a dirty shed and a mildewed garage, and Kerry wrinkled her nose in pure reaction.
But at least it was warm, sort of, and not raining inside. Dar was standing in the center of the room, her hands on her hips and her eyes regarding the space they had to work with, and Kerry noticed the rain dripping off her jacket with a frown.
”All right,” the tall, dark haired woman finally said. ”Truck here yet?” She turned to the facility manager. ”Thought I heard the engine outside.”
He nodded. ”Just got here. I’ll have them stack the boxes over there and start unpacking things.”