It was just seven o'clock. Getting up that early had been painful, but Dar had gotten a call from the board, and her consolation prize had been this plate of excellent pancakes and acceptably crisp bacon.
"Hello, is Kerrisita there?"
Kerry swallowed her mouthful hastily and switched on the mic. "Right here, Maria," she said. "Is there a problem?"
"No, no problema, Kerrisita. The FedEx says they can come pick up Dar's package. I was wanting to make sure where to send it."
Ah. "So, FedEx is flying again," Kerry said. "Miami ops, did you hear that?"
"Boo yah!" Mark's voice erupted, sounding a touch sleepy. "Right from the RV, boss. I hear it. That's great news. Hang on, let me get status here."
Kerry took a sip of her coffee. "Hang on for me too, Maria. Let me talk to Dar and see where we're going to be." She clicked off and got up, putting her ear buds down as she went into the next room where Dar was using the room's speakerphone. "Hey."
Dar had stopped and was leaning over the phone with both hands braced. She glanced up at Kerry, her dark bangs falling into her eyes. "Hold up, people. I need to check something." She put the call on hold. "Que Paso?"
"FedEx is moving again," Kerry said. "Maria wants to send your ID and phone."
"Great."
"Where?" Kerry held still as Dar circled the desk and nuzzled against her, licking a drop of syrup from her lips in a miniature cascade of sensuality. "Ah." She closed her eyes and they kissed again, the silence going on for quite some time.
"What was the question?" Dar asked, opening one eye and peering down at her.
Kerry had to admit her mind had gone completely blank. "I have no idea," she muttered. "I'm sure it was important. I came all the way out here about it."
"I remember." Dar rested her forearms on Kerry's shoulders. "Where to send my damn wallet," she said. "Paradox, again. I'd say here, since it'll be easier to get here at the hotel, but we need to go to New York and it'll probably be this afternoon. So to the Rock, please."
"Okay." Kerry obediently nodded. "I'll tell Maria. Do you think you'll be able to fly though, without ID?"
"Guess we'll find out." Dar gave her a kiss then bumped her toward the other room. "Go finish your breakfast before it gets cold."
"I'd rather finish you before you get cold," Kerry responded, with a rakish grin, as her partner's brows lifted and her eyes widened. "But I guess I'll settle for pancakes for now." She winked at Dar and ambled back into the other room, taking a moment to drink half her glass of orange juice before she got back on the phone. "Phew."
She clicked the mic. "Maria? You there?"
"Si, Kerrisita. I am here. "
"Dar says to have it sent to the New York office, please. She's expecting us to leave from here today and head up there," Kerry said. "I'm just hoping they'll let her on the plane with no ID."
"Jesu," Maria said. "They were just saying here on the television how strict it is now. Kerrisita, did you hear all the things going on? They went and took someone off one of the cruise ships even!"
Having been involved in cruise ships in the not so distant past, Kerry somehow didn't find that surprising. "One of the terrorists was on a cruise?" she asked.
"They did not say." Maria sounded disappointed. "They found something in the Europe too, in some countries in the north. People they had arrested."
Kerry sat down and cut a forkful of pancakes. "Unreal," she said, before ingesting them. She chewed and swallowed. "Maria, call the airline, would you? Let's find out what Dar's supposed to do so we don't get surprised at the airport."
"Si, I will do that."
"Hey, poquito boss." Mark got back on. "Man, we got good news here. Truck just pulled up with the gear, and the racks are ready and humming for them, and--wait for it--we found another circuit!"
Kerry put her fork down and clapped, hearing the echo in her ear buds. "Nice work!" She complimented her team. "Go go go."
"Miami exec, this is Newark." The earth station reported in. "We do see a decrease in saturation today. Boy. Is that a welcome sight. Good work, you guys." She paused, and studied her plate. "Mark, can you just run down where we are, overall."
"Sure."
Kerry clicked her mic off, nodding a little as she listened and ate more pancakes.
DAR SPRAWLED IN the leather desk chair, her bare feet propped up against the desk and her elbow resting on its surface. She listened to the voices on the conference call with barely contained aggravation, shifting forward suddenly only to relax again, as another voice took up the argument.
She picked up her glass of grapefruit juice and sipped from it. The astringent beverage was cold, and she swallowed a few mouthfuls before there was a gap in the discussion and she saw her chance to dive in. "Hey!"
The phone almost visibly shuddered. "Yes, Dar," Alastair said, after a moment. "Listen, I know things are tough where you are, but we're getting a lot of pressure here from a lot of people."
"Too bad," Dar said. "Have any of you been listening to what I've said the past twenty minutes? It's 8:00 a.m. I got back from the work site at 3:00 a.m. We just got things moving there."
"Now Dar," Hamilton chimed in. "Settle your shorts. Nobody said you weren't working hard. We just made some promises to the government and they want to know when we're gonna keep them."
"I can't see why we're delaying," another voice chimed in. "This is big. We've got a great opportunity here."
Dar glanced plaintively at the ceiling. "What the hell's wrong with you people?" she asked. "Did you not see the hole in the side of the Pentagon on CNN? Do you not know what goes on in that building?"
"Now Dar,"Alastair sighed. "Well listen folks. Today they're doing a big ceremony, and I've got to go get ready for it," he said. "I know your people there are working like anything, Dar. I understand it's important to get things going there. I know you've got a personal responsibility for the place. But damn it, I need you here."
Dar turned her head and glared at the phone. "So, what part of yes, I'm making arrangements to get to the city today wasn't clear?" she asked. "Did that whole five minute spiel from me at the beginning of this call not mean anything to anyone there?"
Alastair sighed. "I was hoping you'd be here this morning."
"I was sleeping this morning," Dar said. "And frankly, you all can kiss my ass. Anyone who thinks they can do this better, c'mon. Bring it."
"Dar, no one said that."
"Then everyone just shut up and do something productive." Dar turned and slammed her hand on the desk, raising her voice to a loud yell. "Instead of tying me up when I should be!" She turned, to find Kerry unexpectedly standing behind her. "Yeop."
"What was that, Dar?" Hamilton asked. "Cat get your tongue?"
"Nothing." Dar leaned back in the chair and let Kerry rub her shoulders. "Are we done?"
Long silence. "Well, I guess I'll see you here later today, huh Dar?" Alastair asked. "The mayor was just on the line, something about an office at the pier--any chance of looking at that first?"
"Sure," Dar said. "Done now?"
"Good bye, all," her boss sighed and gave in. "I'll do what I can here. Going to be a rough day." He clicked off the phone and it echoed a little, then the room was once again silent.
"He sounds pissed."
"He wants me to be there making him look good," Dar said. "Screw that, Kerry. We had work to do here. "
"Uh huh. And we'd better be taking a train to go there," Kerry informed her. "'Cause sweetheart, they're not letting anyone fly without ID," she said. "If we get packing, we can catch a train in an hour, and be in New York in three more after that. We end up in Penn Station. "
"A train," Dar mused. "Think we can get tickets? Probably pretty busy. No one wants to fly."