Kerry started laughing. "I have the bonbons and fuzzy slippers here, honey. Come and get them."
"If I could," Dar said. "If I could close my eyes and will it, and be there, I would in a heartbeat." She sighed. "But unfortunately I'm not a refugee from a bad science fiction movie of the week. I did tell Alastair I'd need to head out to Washington as soon as we got in the States though. I'm hoping the planes will be flying by then."
"Me too." Kerry could feel the beginnings of a disassociation that meant she was falling asleep. "Would you do me a tiny favor?"
"You have to ask?"
"Sing to me. Just for a minute."
Dar hesitated. "Oh. Uh--okay. Sure."
"I just remembered when I was talking to Mom what that sounded like and I want to hear it. I love your singing voice." Kerry smiled, as she heard Dar clear her throat softly, and she took a deep breath and released it as her partner complied, easing her into sleep so gently she didn't even remember the tune.
Chapter Thirteen
DAR TURNED THE collar of her leather jacket up to protect her neck against the damp, chilly wind as she waited for Alastair to finish his goodbyes. She'd made the mistake of dropping off to sleep again after talking to Kerry and now she felt as foggy as the sky appeared, waking up again only ten minutes before they were supposed to leave.
The only thing that had saved her ass was that she'd grabbed a shower and packed while waiting for Kerry to get to her hotel. So she just had to throw her clothes on, brush her teeth and hair and try to pretend her brain wasn't somewhere in the southern Caribbean where her dreams had taken her before she woke.
On the boat, in the sun, Kerry's warm body curled up next to her and the late afternoon sky getting ready to set and provide them with an evening entertainment.
Goddamn she wished it hadn't been a dream.
Her cell phone rang. She unclipped it from her belt, glancing at the caller ID and hoping it was Gerry Easton. It wasn't, but she was glad to see the name anyway. "Morning, Mark."
"Hey Boss." Mark sounded absolutely exhausted. "We just crossed into North Carolina. What a bastard of a drive."
"It is. How are things going? I didn't have time to login to the desktop this morning. We're about to leave for the airport." Dar felt a distinct sense of embarrassment.
"For us, we're cool," Mark said. "Nothing big new on the board, and all that, since it's like 2:30 a.m. But we just heard they closed down NY again and found some truck bomb trying to cross one of the bridges."
"Shit." Dar exhaled. "Kerry's in Washington."
"Yeah, I know." Mark sounded unhappy. "But hey, she's probably safe someplace, right? She's not like, at the Pentagon, is she?"
"No." Dar caught motion of the corner of her eye, and saw Sir Melthon and his staff walking toward her, the magnate still in discussion with Alastair. "She's in a hotel, but I'm about to get on an airplane and be out of touch for ten hours. I'm going to lose my mind."
"Well, Dar, we ready?" Alastair said, as they closed in on her. "Everything all right?"
"Hang on Mark." Dar put her cell phone on mute. "Just getting a status," she said. "Sir Melthon, it's been a true pleasure working with your team, despite the circumstances."
"Likewise," the magnate said. "Now, I know this is not really the time to discuss this, but I have a schedule to meet. I need to know how this event is going to impact that." He held a hand up. "McLean, this does not change anything in our pact. I'm not an idiot. I know full well this disaster requires attention."
Alastair and Dar exchanged looks. "I'll know better once we get back to Houston,." Dar said. "The resources tied up normally in that side of our organization would not be dedicated to your project, but I'm going to have to pull people in so I need to assess."
The Englishman frowned, but he also nodded at the same time. "Fair enough," he said. "My godson tenders his regrets. He had to hurry back to Hamburg last night. An aunt of his was taken sick."
"Hope she's doing better," Alastair said. "As Dar said, let us get back and sort ourselves out, and we'll be back in touch soon as we can." He held his hand out, and the magnate gripped it. "Thanks for your hospitality. Hope I can return it sometime if you're in my neck of the woods."
"Could be I'll take you up on that," Sir Melthon said. "Wouldn't mind seeing your headquarters, but not until after all the broohah passes on." He extended his hand to Dar. "Ms. Roberts, believe me when I say it has truly been an honor."
Dar took his and traded strong grips with him. "I'm glad you're a customer," she said. "You're the kind I don't mind going two hundred percent for."
Sir Melthon smiled, looking for a moment as though twenty years had been erased from his face. "Have a good flight home, you lot. Let us know if you get in safely. My man here will get you to the airport fast as London traffic allows. Which means--hold on to the armrests and close your eyes if you're smart."
Dar waited until they were in the car before she unmuted the phone. "Sorry about that Mark."
"No problem boss, I got a grilled cheese sandwich and a Bawls out of it," Mark replied, in a somewhat muffled tone. "These RV's are awesome. We should keep one around the office."
Dar sighed. "I'll put it on the budget list," she said, in a distracted tone. "Now, where were we?"
Mark rustled some paper. "We were just talking about stuff going on," he said. "You were bitching about having to be out of touch for ten hours."
"Ah." Dar glanced at Alastair. "Hang on again." She waited for her boss to turn his head. "Mark says they reported a truck bomb in Manhattan."
"Damn it," Alastair exhaled. "Damn it all to hell, this has to stop."
"Sorry." Dar went back to the phone. "Just catching Alastair up." She braced her elbow against the door and rested her head against her hand. "I talked to Kerry earlier and there were bomb threats in Washington too."
"Yeah, they were saying," Mark murmured, "some place near the Capitol, and two other ones around there." He hesitated. "Listen, boss, you want me to go find her instead of heading through? If we keep driving, we'll probably make it before you land."
Dar was silent for a moment, weighing her personal desires against her judgement.
"Hey Dar?" Alastiar touched her arm. "You all right? You look a little pale."
Dar felt a little pale. "Yeah," she said. "Just woke up with a headache." She drew in a breath. "Keep going, Mark. I'm not sure where Ker's going to be by the time you get there, and it'll be a wild goose chase."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Yeah," Dar said, briefly. "She'll be all right. They're going to need you in the city."
"Okay," Mark said. "I'll drop her a note with my cell and remind her I'll be passing through though, okay?"
Dar managed a small grin. "Sure," she said. "At worst maybe she'll need you to rescue her from her mother."
"Uh."
"Hey, you volunteered." Dar felt her neck muscles relaxing a trifle. "What else is going on? We find any more of our folks?"
"Two in Washington," Mark replied. "They weren't even at the Pentagon, like they were supposed to be. They got sent on a run to get freaking doughnuts, and got in a car wreck."
"Oh," Dar murmured. "Hope they're okay."
"Sure," Mark said. "Numbskulls didn't have a cell with them, and decided to take the rest of the day off with a freaking doctor's note and went hiking."
She could hear the frustration in Mark's voice, a mixture of relief that the two workers were all right and anger at their desertion. "Did you talk to them?"
"Yeah."
Dar watched Alastair watch her, distracted by the realization that her boss had never really seen her exercise the management part of her position. It got her mind off Kerry and her discomfort, and she felt her concentration sharpen. "How old are they?"