Green leaned on the table. "You're interfering with National Security." He spoke the words emphasizing the capital letters.
"I'm just telling you the truth." Dar stood up, stretching to her full height. "You want us to break the law? You threaten us with jail? You stand here and talk nothing but utter bullshit, you waste of my taxpayer dollars." She put her hands on her hips. "Who the hell do you work for?"
"Listen, lady."
Dar circled the table with surprising speed. "You listen, jackass." She let her voice lift as she closed in on her target, missing the widening of Alastair's eyes behind her. "Get your boss on the phone. I want to talk to him and tell him what a complete idiot he has working for him."
The man stood up. "You want to speak to my boss? All right. I'll arrange for that." He stepped back from the table and pushed the chair into place. "Don't go far." He turned and walked to the door, leaving and closing it with surprising gentleness.
Alastair rested his chin on his hand, his elbow propped on the table. "I think we just got ourselves in trouble, Paladar."
"You care?"
"Not really." Her boss shrugged. "Let me warn Ham. He's about ready to disown us anyhow. With any luck maybe I can get them to throw us all out of the city and we can take everyone out of here." He stood up and picked up the phone. "I'll warn the board they may need to post our bail too. That should start their morning off right."
Dar smiled briefly. "Let me go talk to my people. Call me if you need me." She headed for the door, as Alastair raised a hand and waggled it at her in farewell.
Not a good morning, at all.
"SEE, HERE'S THE deal." Mark was sitting on the floor with a thick loop of rope over his shoulder. "We figured we'd track back, and get a rope down to where those guys have to bring the cable so we can haul it when they get here."
"Like a giant pull string." Kerry was crouched next to him, a flashlight held in one hand.
"Yeah." Mark nodded. "Problem is we're kinda stuck getting out off this freaking room." He looked around the old, small space. "I don't know what the hell we're gonna do."
Kerry backed out of the room and looked across the floor toward the entrance to the subway. The space was filled with people crossing back and forth. "Well, with enough arm twisting we can run it across the floor I guess."
Mark joined her. "They're gonna freak."
Kerry shook her head. "It's dangerous. That's a big cable. Everyone's going to trip, they're going to have to put a shield over it or shut this floor down."
"Guess they'll have to." Mark agreed. "Let me get hold of that maintenance guy and give him a heads up. I bet we're going to have to go up the chain for it."
"Probably." Kerry agreed. "I'll go talk to the building management. I think I just booked them a couple thousand in rentals so I've got some good points in the bank with them at the moment." She dusted her hands off. "I'll be back."
"You got it boss." Mark dropped his loop of rope and started off toward the back of the hall.
Kerry slid her flashlight into the side pocket of her coveralls and moved in the opposite direction, climbing up the steps and crossing the floor toward the management office for the second time that morning.
It felt like she was being constructive. The morning session on behalf of their customers had been almost pleasant. She was bringing more business, and the complex was glad not to have someone asking for exceptions, or rent deferrals.
She pushed the door to the office open and returned the brief smile of the receptionist. "Hello, me again. Is Tom available for a quick moment?"
"I'll ask, Ms. Stuart." The girl got up and disappeared into the inner maze of office hallways as Kerry went over to the courtesy counter and started fixing herself a cup of tea.
One thing about New York. Kerry selected a fragrant bag from a box of assorted teas and dispensed hot water over it. People liked their comforts here. She stirred the cup and took a sip, turning and leaning against the wall as she waited.
The girl came back. "Right this way, ma'am." She smiled, waiting for Kerry to join her before she led her back into the managing director's office. "Here you go."
"Hello there again." Tom Brooks waved her in. "What can I do for you, Kerry?" He was an older man, with a close-cropped beard and salt and pepper hair.
"Well..." Kerry came in and took a seat across from him. "I wish I could say I've got another dozen tenants we'll guarantee for you, but this time I'm here to make trouble."
"Oh no." The man behind the desk didn't look overly alarmed. "How much trouble can a nice young lady like you cause anyhow?"
"You'd be surprised." Kerry remarked, dryly. "Just ask my boss. Anyway, here's the problem we have." She went on, "as you know, we've got an emergency project going on for the city government."
"I didn't, but it doesn't surprise me. Every little thing these days is an emergency."
Kerry toasted him with her cup of tea. "Point made. In this case, there are a bunch of telecom wiring people running a big piece of fiber cable from the New York Stock Exchange to our demarc down in the dungeon here--lower level."
Tom blinked at her. "Seriously?"
Kerry nodded. "Seriously."
"Jesus." He shook his head. "How in the hell are you going to do that? There's no opening from that area near the steps to the subway."He thought a minute. "You'd have to bring it up through the station and cross the concourse with it."
Kerry nodded.
"You want to do that?" Tom's voice lifted sharply. "You kidding me?"
Kerry shook her head.
He leaned back in his chair and tapped his pen on the desk. "Wow." He mused. "That could be a big problem. There are a lot of people down there," he warned. "I don't know if we can run a cable across the floor. Maybe we can run it along the wall or something."
Kerry grimaced a little. "That's a long way."
"Well, it's coming from a long way. I don't think they'll let us cross the concourse due to safety reasons. Let me take my guy down there, and we'll look at it. What size cable are we talking about?"
"Two inch round," admitted Kerry. "We know it's a hassle, but the project we're working on really is a number one priority for the government."
"Surprised they're not in here telling us what to do then." Tom got up."I'll see what we can arrange for that, Kerry. I know you all have been working down there. My facilities chief has been bitching about having to leave the door open. I'll let you know what I find out."
"Thanks." Kerry got up. "Believe me I know we're asking a lot. We're trying to get this working and there's a lot riding on it." She took his proffered hand. "Thanks, Tom. I really, really appreciate it."
"Save that till I can do something about it." Tom warned. "And you folks be careful of that room in there, okay? There are some dangerous pipes and things in there."
"We know. Dar nearly got knocked on her behind from that electrical panel." She followed him out of the room and down the hall. "Do we really use steam heat here?"
Tom chuckled. "Sure as hell do. Glad we don't have to turn those pipes up with you all in there. I'd have to charge you for a sauna bath." He held the outer door for her. "After we get through this, let's talk about moving your connections someplace else."
"How did we end up in there anyway?" Kerry waited for him to catch up to her and they walked across the floor together. "Dar was wondering about that."
"Long story. We'll get it straightened out." He started angling away from her. "Be in touch with you, Kerry. Let you know."
"Thanks, Tom." Kerry headed for the steps, her cup of tea still clasped in her fingers, feeling another, though minor, sense of accomplishment. She didn't envy Dar, who was floors and floors above her,dealing with the press, the government, and the board.