Tropical Convergence (46 page)

"Damn it, they had one this afternoon." The men came back, obviously frustrated. "Jesus, those damn generators won't do us a lick of good if we can't connect 'em all in series and keep the power up...hey!" He stopped, staring at Kerry's cart. "She got one! She got it!"

Hey! Kerry echoed in mildly amazed silence. I guessed right! Whoa! "That's right. Excuse me, gentlemen." She pocketed her card and started to push her flatbed past them. "Things to do, power to generate, you know how it is."

"Damn! Hey, can we buy that off you? Pay you double for it!" The man in the lead caught up with her. "C'mon, lady...I really need that!"

"No thanks. Sorry. So do I." Kerry steered toward her car with a definite purpose.

"You even know what it is?" the man yelled in frustration.

Kerry stopped, turned and looked at him, one hand on her hip.

"Yeah, yeah, okay." The man waved a hand in disgust at her, shaking his head. "Five minutes too late."

"That's right." Kerry made a shooing motion at him. "Go find another Home Depot. Scoot." A rumble sounded over head, and she glanced up, dismayed to see storm clouds gathering. "Oh, great. Just what I need." She gave the cart a shove and headed for the Lexus. "Maybe I should have gotten a tent."

The thunder rumbled again, as though she was being laughed at.

DAR'S CELL PHONE rang as she entered the hotel lobby, and she found a quiet corner to drop into a leather chair and answer it. "Yeah?"

"Dar!" Alastair's voice belted through the phone. "Good grief, woman! Where are you!"

"New York," Dar answered. "Saving one of our client's asses. Why?"

"Do you know what's going on down in Florida? Dar! We've got half the network down!" Alastair said. "I've got twenty customers on hold on my damn phone screaming their heads off!"

The silent anchors of CNN faced Dar from the bar's big television, the outline of a darkened Miami prominent in the background. "We're page one on CNN. Of course I know what's going on, Alastair," she snapped. "Kerry's handling it."

"What?" her boss almost squealed. "Dar! This is serious!"

"And I'm 2,000 miles away!" Dar yelled back, only in a soft tone, since three men at the bar had turned around to look at her. "What would you like me to do about it? Jesus, calm down!"

"Calm down." Alastair fumed. "I have an international board meeting in two hours, in case you forgot, Dar. One where I have to explain all the calls I've been getting from every big name account we have in the US."

Oops. "No kidding. Me too," Dar replied calmly. "And?"

"Dar."

She could hear the absolute panicked frustration in his tone. "Alastair, it's a power outage. Most of the crits are on the SAT, and Kerry's working on a plan to get more lines up. What is it you expect us to do? Change physics? All the money in the bank ain't gonna cut any slack down there because they can't get the damn hospitals working. Guess what? That's first."

There was a brief silence. "Kerry's working on something?"

"Of course." Dar injected as much impatience into her tone as she could. "I thought we'd gotten past that damned 'I picked her for her looks' thing. What's wrong with you?"

Alastair sighed. "I'm not used to having to rely on anyone but you. That's what's wrong with me."

"Get you something, ma'am?" A waitress came over to her.

Dar hesitated, debating on the answer, covering the microphone with her fingers. Then she half shrugged. "Got a chocolate milkshake handy?"

The woman smiled. "I can find one for ya. Be right back."

"Well." Dar spoke into the phone. "Get used to it."

Alastair paused, taking an audible breath. "What's that supposed to mean?"

What was it supposed to mean? Dar wondered bleakly. "I pay her for a reason," she finally said. "If I didn't think she could handle it, I'd have already headed back."

Her boss sighed. "Yeah, I know," he admitted. "Sorry, Dar. Backhanded compliment, really."

"Yeah," Dar agreed softly. "Look, she'll take care of it. Trust her."

"Since you do, I will," Alastair said. "Just got the jitters, Dar. Been a rough couple of months here. Last thing I need is bad press. What the blazes happened to the backup we're supposed to have down there?"

Dar explained the problem. "So, yeah, it's Bellsouth's issue. They screwed up. Doesn't help us."

"I'll get Ham on it," he stated, his voice now brisk and businesslike. "We can get some cash out of it, anyway. Keep me advised, willya, Dar?"

"I will." Dar promised. "See you on the conference call later."

"With good news," Alastair said.

"With news," Dar clarified. "Or else I'll be on a plane headed south. Guaranteed."

A more contented sigh. "Now I feel better," he replied. "Thanks, Dar. Talk to you soon."

Dar folded the cell phone up and clipped it to her pocket. She slid down in the leather chair, gazing up at the finely plastered ceiling until the waitress sauntered back over with her milkshake. "Thanks."

"Sure you don't want a shot in that?" the woman asked, with a sympathetic grin. "Looks like you could use it."

Dar stared at the glass for a long moment, then her eyes lifted. "No, thanks." She cradled the cold drink between her hands. "Just this for right now." She handed the woman her room key, then signed the resulting check presented to her from the handheld printer. "Appreciate it."

"Anytime, okay?" the woman smiled warmly at her. "Just ask for Angie." She gave Dar a wink, then went on to the next group of older, business suited men seated nearby.

The flirting didn't even register, really. Dar got up and headed for the elevator, hardly aware of the watching eyes.

MARK MET HER as she got out of the Lexus, his face a study in anxious consternation. "Kerry, listen, I tried like a son of bitch to figure out what that electrical stuff was but..."

"No problem. I got it," Kerry said briefly. "I'll need a hand with the stuff in the back. Got the generators set up?"

"Yeah, but..." Mark pointed at the now very overcast sky. "I don't know how good they're gonna be in that."

"No problem." Kerry replied again, with a grim smile. "I brought a tent. Let's go." She turned and headed for the back of the car, popping the hatch and pulling down the rear gate. "You guys, take that ducting and tape out and start stretching it. Need to go from the air unit inside the back of the truck all the way inside the building."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Mark, you get the tent. I'll get this gizmo up and running and connected to the generators. Then we can fire them up and see what we got." Kerry finished briskly. "Any questions? Okay. Let's just do it. I want out of this damned sweatbox."

"You got it, boss." Mark pulled the canopy out and threw it over his shoulder, moving aside to let the two other techs get the ducting gear out. He followed Kerry over to the back door and watched as she dropped to one knee in front of the generators and started tearing the box of her gizmo open. "Whoa. Didn't know you knew the electrical engineering side, boss."

Kerry pulled aside the foam packing and removed the control unit, studying it closely. Four inputs in the back, four in the front, dials, gauges...Jesus. "Yeah, well...you never know when the odd class in college comes home, huh?" She set the unit down and reached inside for the insulated plugs, connecting one end to each generator and the other end to the back of her unit.

Her hands were shaking. Kerry wiped the back of one across her forehead. "Hey, Mark?"

"Yeah?" Mark finished unrolling the tarp and walked over. "Need me?"

"Can you get my backpack from the car?" She fished in her jeans pocket and removed her keys, handing them over. "I need something from it."

"Ma'am...you want this on the floor or..." One of the techs stuck his head out. "It's kinda wonky."

Kerry climbed to her feet and peered inside the building, getting a face full of stale air. "Let me see where the boards are...ah." She stepped over the unrolled ducting and looked at the switch, squatting in damp silence in front of her. "Okay, there's the out-take up there, so the intake has to be back here." She indicated the fan. "So it should pump in right behind that."

"Run it up here?" the tech queried, touching the top of the unit. "It's a hard bend."

Damn it, yes, it was. Kerry looked overhead, taking the flashlight from the tech and examining the drop ceiling. "No, loop some tape over the crossbar, there... see? Then kind of..."

"Cradle it, like this?" The tech wrapped a piece of tape around the duct and held it up. "Like that?"

"Perfect." Kerry gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Just suspend it like that out the door, and then we'll go right to the truck. We got enough duct?"

"Oh yeah." The tech nodded. "Just right."

Kerry managed a smile, before she escaped outside and went back to her work. The sun had long since set, and it was getting dark. She looked up as Mark came over with her pack, and set it down. "Thanks." She dug out another power bar and ripped it open. "How's the tent coming?"

"I'm a lot better at routers," Mark said mournfully, gazing at the poles. "But I think I got it."

Kerry looked up. "You better," She muttered around her mouthful.

"What if we blow that thing up? These generators aren't the greatest," Mark commented, as he got a pole into the corner of the tarp and raised it. "That's some bitching gear in there."

"This thing's got a power massager and anyway if we trash it I'll pay for it." Kerry squinted in the gloom at the directions. She looked up as a warm light bathed her, then gave Mark an appreciative smile. "Thank you."

"No problem." Mark was holding the flashlight in his teeth, and working the tarp with his hands. "You know how many times I hadta do this last time we moved one of the regionals? It sucked!"

Kerry got everything connected. With a slow exhale, she leaned over and pressed the starter on the first generator, holding her breath until the machine caught and came to life in a shockingly loud rumble. A low hum nearly made her jump out of her skin, until she looked down to see the gauges coming obediently to life on her gizmo. "Last one they had." Her voice almost cracked. "Had to fight some guys for it."

Mark peered over her shoulder at the dials, pointing his flash at them. "Wow," he said in a respectful tone. "Man, you know your shit, let me tell you what."

The irony made Kerry smile briefly. "Thanks."

Another bright light suddenly interrupted them, and they looked up to find a television camera pointing its round, inquisitive eye at them followed by a reporter stumbling alongside almost losing his footing on the loose shale.

"Uh oh," Mark muttered. "This ain't' good."

Kerry exhaled as the reporter headed her way. "Wanna be a Vice President for a day?"

"Nuh UH."

"Didn't think so."

"Betcha wish Big D were here."

The sweat in her eyes felt very much like tears. Kerry had to look down for a long moment and wipe the moisture away with her sleeve before she could pick her head back up and face the music.

AT LEAST IT wasn't CNN. Kerry wiped her hands off as she walked over the broken stone and grass, lifting one to shade her eyes from the blaring lights as she recognized one of the local news stations. "Hello."

A woman in her mid-thirties, sweating like a pig, was unwinding a mic cord as she approached. "Okay, hold on, hold on, I'm almost there." She was obviously talking into her own ear. "Give me a minute."

Kerry stopped and hitched her thumbs into her front pockets. She watched the cameraman circle around and take a bead on her, and it gave her a moment to gather her thoughts as the reporter got herself together and made eye contact.

"This is Conchita Gonzalez, of Channel Seven news. We're here at the Bellsouth regional center, where we've been told someone is trying to get something going here in this wasteland of darkness."

She extended the mic. "Can I ask who you are?"

Kerry almost said Martha Stewart. But at the last minute, her better sense prevailed. "Kerry Stuart." She paused, then waited, a mildly inquiring look on her face. "Can I help you with something?"

"What's going on here?" the woman asked, as the camera panned over to the truck. "Are you from the city?"

"No." Kerry shook her head. "We're a private company working on getting our customer's service back." She looked around. "Nothing really interesting going on here."

"Okay." The woman talked to her ear again. "We've been told the emergency services tied through this office are down. Are you helping to restore that?"

"No." Kerry shook her head again.

"Can I ask why not?" The woman focused on her. "We have people who could be in trouble, who could be hurt, or needing help, depending on those services. Shouldn't that be the priority?"

Kerry felt her mouth go dry, as the camera zeroed in on her. "It's not my priority," she said, after a pause. "My priority is doing what I can for my customers. The emergency systems are important, but the people in charge of them are who you should be asking that question."

The woman nodded to herself. "Okay." She said into her ear. "Can you tell us what you're doing?"

It all felt very disconnected. Kerry had the sense that the reporter was only ten percent here with her, and ninety percent in some crazed television news land with people yammering in her head all the time.

"Sure," she said. "We're generating power so that we can bring up the circuits to our main offices, to restore service to our customers."

The reporter stared at her. "Why aren't you doing that for everyone?"

Kerry stared right back. "Why isn't the city doing that? If it's that important, shouldn't they have backup systems?"

"What?" The woman leaned her head to one side. "They are? Okay. I'm out of here." She looked back at Kerry. "Thanks for your time. I'm not sure what you're doing, but someone should be finding out."

She motioned to the cameraman who flicked a switch on his camera and turned to follow her as she trundled away, her hand pressed to her ear. "What? What? What street is that?"