Two men were opposite her, clearly uncomfortable.

”Ms. Roberts,” one said, with a sigh. ”Look, the environmental people won’t clear us, because that chemical has been confirmed to be toxic.” He gave her a look that indicated the last thing he’d expected was to have a VP Ops drop into his tent, where they’d been having a pizza and beer.

Dar’s face tensed. ”How long?” she snapped.

He shook his head. ”I don’t know. The regulator told me an hour ago she wouldn’t even have a team here until tomorrow noon.”

Pale eyes almost silver in the glaring lights studied him thoughtfully. ”Where is she?” Dar’s voice dropped a bit, taking on a predatory burr.

The man glanced at her nervously. ”Well, she’s over there, by that van of theirs, but let me tell you, ma’am, she doesn’t take any bullshit.

I’ve worked with her before. ”

”What’s her name?” the burr deepened.

”Anne Simmonds,” the man answered. ”But, I mean, really ma’am, if she decides to get tough on us, we could be here for weeks.”

Dar turned and stalked out without a word, letting the rain drive against her in freezing darts, conscious of Kerry’s quiet form a pace behind her. She was met by a young man who was dressed in a white 190

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coverall as she approached the van. ”I’d like to see whoever is in charge,” she told him quietly.

He cleared his throat and pushed a pair of glasses up the bridge of his nose. ”Well, Dr. Simmonds is inside, but she’s busy. Can I help you?”

Dar stepped up closer and stared him down, her eyes inches above his own. She let the silence grow for a moment, watching him swallow a few times in reflex. ”No,” she finally told him. ”I’d like to speak to Dr.

Simmonds, please.”

”Uh. ” He looked past her to Kerry’s damp head. She smiled briefly at him. ”Uh, well, I...I can ask her, but, um... Okay, are you from this company or...”

Dar cocked her head and pinned him with a stare. ”I’d appreciate that, my name’s Dar Roberts, and I’m from our Miami office.”

”Okay.” He nodded. ”Okay, um, wait here. I’ll be right back.” He turned and walked towards the van, startled to find Dar pacing next to him. ”Oh, we, we’re doing some experiments, I...”

”I’d like to get out of the rain, ”Dar overrode him. ”I won’t break anything, I promise.”

He looked past her.

”Me either.” Kerry smiled kindly at him. ”Really. My mother used to take me into china shops when I was a child.”

Dar hurriedly wiped a hand across her face, muffling a laugh, then cleared her throat as they approached the van, which had a tarp extending from it’s passenger side, shielding several work tables with people busy over them. The young man went over to a figure bent over a microscope and touched her arm.

”What?” the woman snapped, not looking up. ”You just shook this whole slide. I’m trying to take pictures, Michael.” She was very short, shorter than Kerry even, and slim, with dark auburn hair that was pulled tightly back under a close fitting cap. Her bearing was powerful though, and exuded impatience.

”Um, yes, doctor, I know, but there are two people here from Miami. They wanted to talk to you, and I...”

”Tell ‘em to go the hell back to Miami. I’m not having some stuffed suits smelling of Cuban cigars hanging around my neck asking stupid questions,” the doctor snapped back. ”Nothing doing, Michael, so you march your lily white butt back out there and...” She glanced past his shoulder, where two shadowy, strange forms were standing. ”Get rid of them.”

”Actually,” Dar’s low voice spoke clearly, and concisely, as she strode forward, coming into the light with startling impact. ”I don’t think I’m going anywhere.” She stopped precisely in the center of the tent, letting the garish light outline her in stark detail. ”And I’ve never been partial to cigars.”

The doctor was surprised. Kerry decided, watching the smaller Hurricane Watch

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woman’s eyes flick warily over her boss’s truculent form.

An uncomfortable silence dropped over them, until Dar took a step forward and offered a hand. ”Dr. Simmonds? My name is Dar Roberts.”

She waited impassively as the doctor studied her for a long time before extending her own hand. ”I need some answers.”

It was the charisma. Kerry gave the doctor a brief smile as Dar released her hand and half turned. ”This is my assistant, Kerry Stuart.”

”I don’t have answers.” The smaller woman recovered her composure and scowled, giving Kerry a brisk nod. ”I told you people that hours ago. That damn extinguisher company put so much toxin in that system, it’s a damn good thing your folks evacuated, or they’d have been glowing like fireflies.”

Dar exhaled. ”What is it?”

”I have no goddamned clue, and those people won’t say,” the doctor stated, disgustedly. ”So damn scared of a lawsuit they won’t even admit to having first and last names.”

Dar glanced at Kerry, who handed her the cell phone without a word. She dialed a number and waited. ”Evening, Alastair.”

”Jesus, Dar, it’s...” A yawn. ”Midnight. What in bl...are you in North Carolina?” He cleared his throat. ”Listen, we’ve got twelve accounts set to cancel if we’re not back up by tomorrow morning.”

”Thanks. Needed the extra pressure,” Dar grunted. ”Damn it.”

”I wasn’t worried. I heard you were on your way. In fact, I went to bed,” the CEO told her cheerfully. ”You know I’ve got all the confidence in the world in you, Dar.”

The responsibility slammed down on her shoulders with an almost audible crunch. ”How much business are we talking about?” Dar asked, cautiously. ”It doesn’t look good here, Alastair.”

”Well...” he paused. ”It’s not good, Dar.” His cheerfulness vanished. “I’ve had a few calls from the board. Apparently some of them know some of the companies affected and they’re getting pressure too. They think for some reason I’m shielding them from what’s going on.” He paused. “Or shielding you.”

Dar’s eyes drifted out to the rainy ground. ”I see.” A dull throbbing started in the back of her skull. ”Nice.”

”Didn’t know until after six, you’d already left for the airport,”

Alastair told her. ”And anyway, what more could I do? You’re the best we have, Dar. If you can’t solve it, no one can.”

Dar rubbed her temples. ”All right. I need someone from Legal to call whoever’s in charge of that damn extinguisher company and threaten them with a full liability lawsuit, naming the officers as personal respondents if they don’t give the people here the name of the stuff they put in that goddamned system.”

”Hell with Legal. I’ll call him. I know him. He’s my second wife’s third ex-husband’s brother-in-law,” Alastair advised her. ”Call you right back.”


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”Right.” Dar disconnected, studying the building thoughtfully.

Then she dialed again, glancing over her shoulder ”Call Bellsouth. I’m going to need someone very high up in their provisioning department.”

Her voice had taken on a grim tone.

”Okay.” Kerry got out her own phone, and her palmtop, and checked the number, then dialed, sensing the sudden change in her lover, and feeling a sick gnawing in her guts.

Dar listened for a minute, then heard Mark’s voice. ”Evening.”

”Ah, Dar, hi.” Mark’s voice sounded blurry. ”Um... I was just...

uh... ”

”Sleeping at your desk,” Dar remarked dryly. ”Listen, I need an inventory check. Can we duplicate the setup in NC?”

Momentary silence. ”You’re kidding, right?” Mark answered, faintly. ”You know we can’t do that.”

”Thought so, call up Cisco and find out what they have on hand.”

Dar sighed. ”We’re locked out of here.” She hung up and faced the doctor. ”I need to get in there and get equipment out.”

”No way,” The woman answered instantly.

”Look,” Dar started.

”Hey, I said, no way.” Anne put a hand up. ”So don’t try it, lady.

I’ve said no to a lot worse than you.”

Kerry put her hand over the mic on her phone and stepped artfully between the two women, seeing the sudden icy glare settle over her boss’s face. ”Here Dar, it’s some Executive VP of something or other.

Was that high enough?” She passed her the phone, watching the flare of Dar’s nostrils as she took the instrument.

”Yeah. That’s fine,” she muttered, taking a breath before half turning away to talk.

”So.” Kerry gave the doctor a grim smile. ”Any coffee around here?”

“WELL, THAT’S IT.” Anne Simmonds closed up her cell phone.

”All right, guys, pack it up,” she yelled to her team, then turned to a waiting Dar. ”Sorry. They’re going to have to bring in a team to scrub the place. Thanks for getting me an answer, though.”

Kerry shot a glance at her boss. ”What does that mean?” she asked.

”Means the stuff is so toxic we can’t go in there without environmental suits.” The doctor answered succinctly. ”And I’ll be glad to get out of this weather. You might as well do the same.”

”How long?” Dar spoke for the first time, her voice sharp.

The doctor shrugged. ”Who knows? Take the team a day, maybe two to get here, then probably a week or so.” She packed up her kit.

”I can’t keep this facility closed a week,” Dar stated flatly.

”Well, that’s just too bad,” Simmonds replied. ”Because I’m leaving a trooper here to keep everyone out.” She gave Dar a grim smile. ”Have Hurricane Watch

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a nice day.” She shouldered her bag. ”Oh, and Ms. Roberts?”

Cold blue eyes watched her silently.

”My boss, Shari, says have a nice day too.” She turned and walked off, joining her group as they got into their van and closed the door, driving off and leaving them in the fitful, freezing weather.