Tropical Convergence (23 page)

The man stepped up into the booth and flipped a card at her. Dar picked it up and looked at it, noted the Army insignia then flipped it back to him. "Something I can do for you, Captain Mousser?"

The man turned one of the chairs around and sat on it, folding his arms across the back and studying her with bright, alert eyes. "Yeah. Let's talk. You ever play G.I. Joe as a kid?"

Dar blinked. "What?"

The captain grinned at her. "Wanna get to play with more cool toys than your company could afford in twenty years?"

Oh...Dar groaned inwardly. I've got a bad, bad feeling about this... "No," she said. "I'm happy with the toys I have, thanks."

The Army captain got up and perched on the corner of her console desk. "Hear me out. You might end up interested."

Dar was about to dismiss him, when she thought about how she'd similarly brushed off Quest. "Okay." She settled down to listen. "Pitch me."

KERRY SETTLED BACK in her seat and watched a loaded boat drift by, with two giggling girls in the front and two necking teenagers in the back. She found herself wondering if they were all related, and it reminded her somehow of her much younger years.

They'd never gone to Disney World, but they had gone to a couple of smaller thrill parks up north, usually with some of her father's staff to keep an eye on them. Kerry remembered one such afternoon in the fall, when the crisp air had made everything seem bright and fresh to her. She and Angie had shared a fried dough pastry covered in white powdered sugar, and she'd finally coaxed her sister to come with her on the tall roller coaster.

Angie hadn't enjoyed it at all, she recalled ruefully. She'd ridden the coaster again by herself, but somehow it wasn't the same and by the next year...Kerry dismissed the thought and shook her head, taking a sip of her beer instead.

Dar would go on roller coasters with her, and enjoy them, wouldn't she? "Dar?"

"Yeeeess?"

"How do you feel about thrill rides?"

"Yes," she responded instantly. "They don't have enough of them here."

"Heh." Kerry took another sip of her beer and smirked. "We should try Universal next time. They've got some killer coasters."

"You got it."

Exactly the answer she wanted to hear. Kerry exhaled in satisfaction, casting her eyes around their surroundings with an agreeable smile.

They were inside the Mexican pavilion, where the air was cool and dry, and the lighting a perpetual twilight. It was calm and peaceful, and the scent of Mexican spices filled the air. The restaurant was only half full, and they had a table in the corner with a good view of the 'river' all to themselves.

It was nice. Kerry crossed her denim-covered ankles under the table glad beyond words she was out of her suit and into the jeans and light T-shirt she was currently wearing.

She'd noticed a tendency in herself lately to have less and less affection for the formal business clothing they wore at the office, and at functions like this. Though she never had minded dressing up, and she was self aware enough to acknowledge the vanity of liking how she looked in the neatly tailored fabric, she'd found herself looking forward to shedding them at the end of the day in favor of the softer cottons and denim they both wore at home.

Kerry let her hand rest on her thigh, smoothing her thumb over the faded blue surface with an absent smile.

Across the table from her, similarly attired, Dar was studying the menu with half closed blue eyes. "Hey," she interrupted her companion's ruminations again.

"Mm?" Dar looked past the writing at her. "Are you as glad as I am that's over?"

Kerry grinned wholeheartedly. "You bet, Dixiecup." She lifted her beer, waited for Dar to do the same, and then touched her glass to her partner's. "Here's to a sort of successful trade show."

Dar took a long swallow before she set her mug down. "I think it was successful." She tendered her opinion thoughtfully. "For the company. For us it was one huge pain in the ass."

"Except the dive," Kerry reminded her. "And that first day. That was fun."

"Uh huh."

"And tonight." Kerry reached across the table and fit her fingers around Dar's, giving them a gentle squeeze. "And you know, last night was pretty cool too."

A twinkle grew in Dar's eyes.

"So really, it was the sixteen whatever hours we had to spend in that hall that tanked," Kerry concluded. "And since it's tonight, and I know tonight's gonna be great, to hell with it." She glanced up as their waiter arrived, giving them both a smile. "Hi."

"Buenos noches, Senorita," the boy greeted her cheerfully. "What can I get for you lovely ladies this evening?"

"Two of these, two of these, and one of this." Dar pointed at her menu. "And two more of these in a few minutes." She indicated the beer.

"Got it, thank you." The waiter took the menu and disappeared.

Dar stretched in her chair, then slid down, extending her long legs under the table. She cradled her mug in her hands, sipping her drink slowly as she watched the restaurant fill at a very leisurely pace. Few families, she noted, more couples who seemed to be enjoying the low light and the pavilion's romantic atmosphere.

She tilted her head slightly and let Kerry come into her line of sight, admiring the nice gilded tinge the warm illumination brought to her skin. Her partner's attention was still on the river, so she had a few peaceful moments to simply look at her and enjoy the view.

Kerry must have sensed it, one hand coming up to fiddle with her hair and riffle it back over her ear on the side facing Dar. It was an endearing bit of self-consciousness, and Dar responded to it by dropping her hand beneath the table and finding Kerry's knee to give a light squeeze.

Her partner turned her head and rested her chin on her fist. "Will you ride on the boat with me after dinner?" she asked.

"If we sit in the back seat," Dar drawled. "Sure."

Kerry grinned. "You know, I was just thinking about the last time we were here."

"Mm...that food festival was a blast."

"I had so much fun," Kerry said. "I hadn't had that much fun with anyone for years, Dar. Years." She flexed the fingers of her free hand in front of her, the light catching the ring on her finger. They'd both suddenly found themselves wearing them, after keeping them on neck chains for so long, and neither of them had really discussed why yet.

One morning, for some reason, she'd decided to put her ring on. Later that day, in a meeting with Dar she'd looked up across the conference table and caught the flash of her partner's ring as she moved her papers. Weird. Synergistic in a way she didn't quite understand, but somehow also very comforting.

Maybe they'd find time later to talk about it.

"Years? Me either," Dar replied. "I remember sitting at the Pub looking across the table at you halfway through dinner, and realizing I never wanted to leave that day."

"Really?"

Dar nodded. "Remember when we were talking about IPv6?"

Kerry chuckled. "Yes."

"I think I fell in love with you right then." Dar smiled easily, laughing when she saw the blush creep up Kerry's neck. "No, that's not really true."

"No?"

"No." Dar rested her head against her fist. "I did that when I saw you the very first time, in that old office of yours," she admitted. "There I was, standing in that doorway, just staring at you like I'd just seen my first multi-partitioned disk array."

Kerry wrinkled her nose. "Thanks. I think."

Dar chuckled. "I'd seen a picture of you, but it didn't do you justice."

"You did?" Kerry asked, cocking her head.

"Sure." Dar stifled a yawn. "Mark thought it was necessary to add a full color picture to your personnel file when he gave it to me."

"Oh, he did, did he?" Kerry started laughing. "For what?"

Dar was silent for a minute. "I don't know," she said. "So I could recognize you when I saw you, I guess...or maybe because we both like good looking women?" Her tone was a touch sheepish. "I didn't think to ask at the time, but I kept your folder in my briefcase for a month so I could look at that damn picture."

Kerry blushed a little.

"Damned if I know why it took me so long to figure out I was in love with you." Dar sighed theatrically. "You'd have thought that was a big enough clue along with how tongue-tied I was when we first met."

Kerry indulged in the memory willingly. "I remember that moment," she murmured. "I remember it being such a lousy day...after Robert told me what was going on, and with all those people looking at me...depending on me to protect them." Her lips parted as a sigh trickled out. "And it was a lousy day for me anyway. I'd talked to my parents the night before and they'd put all kinds of pressure on me to get out of Miami."

"Grr."

"Mm." Kerry nodded wryly. "Then the whole office gang went to lunch that day and invited me to go along. I really wanted to, but I stayed there with my carrots instead."

"And met me."

"And met you," Kerry agreed. "No matter how nasty that was, boy...let me tell you, I knew something happened to me the minute I picked my head up and looked into those baby blues. You were the only thing I thought about for the rest of that day." She reached over and tangled her fingers with Dar's again. "My heart jumped every time I saw an email from you come into my inbox."

Dar smiled at her.

Kerry smiled back and they both dissolved into silent laughter. "We're a couple of mooney saps, you know that?"

"Yeah," Dar admitted. "But I don't give a damn."

"Me, either." Kerry straightened up as the waiter returned putting down the appetizers Dar had ordered. She handed over her now empty mug, and settled her napkin on her lap neatly as she surveyed the tasty plate of nachos and other small Mexican treats. "Mm. Looks good."

Dar selected a morsel and nibbled it. "Couple things I forgot to tell you before we left."

Kerry looked up from a piled high nacho, caught halfway into a bite. Her eyebrows did the talking for her, rising up sharply in question.

"Alastair called."

"Ah." Kerry swallowed and wiped her lips with her napkin. "Is he mad?"

Dar shook her head. "No." She toyed with the tortilla in her fingers. "Well, he was, but after I talked to him for a while he chilled out. But...um..."

Uh oh. Kerry could see the fidgets already starting. "What's up?"

Dar set the chip down and leaned back, resting her hands on the chair arms. "I told him about the ship bid," she said, pausing when the waiter returned with two frosty mugs for them. He set the glasses down and gave them both inquiring looks.

"Everything okay here, ladies?"

"Fine, thanks." Kerry almost sat on her hands to prevent herself from shooing him away. She waited for him to leave, and then scooted her chair closer to Dar. "And?"

"He wants me--wants us--to personally do the bid."

Kerry blinked. She looked around at the restaurant, then focused back on her partner's angular face. "Yeeeah...and? That's a problem? We were going to do that anyway."

"Right," Dar agreed. "It's not a problem, but he pretty much told me he expects me to deliver the contract, no matter what."

Kerry sat back and drew one knee up, circling it with her arms as she contemplated the statement. "Okay," she finally said. "And this is news? Dar, he always expects miracles from you." A crease formed across her brow. "You think it's going to be an issue?"

Dar took a sip of her beer. "Not really, no."

Her companion rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Okay, so what's the problem, sweetheart?" she asked in a soft voice. "If that's not the problem, what is?"

"I got recruited." Dar leaned closer and lowered her voice.

"Again? Jesus! I thought we told that guy to back off, and Michelle said..." Kerry straightened indignantly.

"Not by Telegenics."

"Oh."

"By the army."

Kerry's jaw dropped slightly. "The army?" she repeated. "Wait. What? As in...the U.S. Army? They want us to bid for something?"

With an expression that was a mix of consternation and embarrassment, Dar shook her head. "No. They want me." She poked her thumb at her own chest. "As in...enlisting."

"You?"

"Me."

"In the army?" Kerry goggled at her. "Like...boot camp and everything?"

"Uh huh."

Kerry covered her eyes immediately. "Oh, my god." She peeked through her fingers at her partner. "You have got to be kidding me." She watched Dar shake her head solemnly. "What did you tell them? When did this happen, Dar? Where was I? I was with you most of the afternoon. What did they do, follow you into the bathroom or something?"

Dar settled back again, at last allowing a wry chuckle to emerge. After she'd gotten over the shock of the whole damn thing, it had been sort of funny. "I told them no." She exhaled. "But he was pretty insistent. Made me take his card and said he'd be in touch. They've got some kind of project they're seeking high level engineers for."

"Jesus."

"You were talking to the guys," Dar went on. "Maybe I can talk him into an outsource. He talked like it was happening right now, though," she mused.

"Ah." Kerry picked up a chip and examined it, then munched it thoughtfully. She swallowed, washing down her mouthful with a sip of beer as she pondered. "Right now as in the same timing as the ship deal."

Dar nodded.

"So that's the problem." Kerry picked up another chip. "Was he pissed off when you said no?"

A shrug. "Damned if I cared about that...the hell if he thought I'd even consider it."

Kerry leaned over and offered Dar a nacho, smiling a little as her partner took it from her fingers with a delicate grace. "Of course not. Did he really expect you to drop everything...your job, your life...and just join the Army? That's insane, Dar."

"You got that right." Dar licked her lips. "What in the hell would I say to my
father
? He forgave me being a rebel, forgave me being gay, and forgave me becoming a yuppie. " She shuddered. "He'd never forgive me for
that
."

Kerry dissolved into snickers, covering her mouth hastily.