Kerry watched them, then turned and studied her boss’s face, which had gone dark and cold, with a glittering anger in the pale blue eyes that sent a chill down her back. ”What was that all about?”

Dar felt the sour taste in the back of her mouth. ”Old history,” she replied, then returned her attention to the building. ”All right. C’mon, we’re going to have to do this the hard way.” She started towards the tarp the rest of their assembled group was huddled under at a brisk pace.”But.” Kerry caught up to her, tugging her collar up a little. ”Dar, I don’t, um.”

”Okay, folks,” Dar stated, as she ducked under the blue plastic.

”Bad news. We don’t get in for a week, at the least.” She pointed to the Bellsouth regional service coordinator who had just arrived. ”I need all the circuits in that building stripped and redropped, and I need them tonight.”

His jaw dropped. ”You’re joking, right?”

”No.” Dar stared him down. ”Just get started. I’ll let you know where I need them dropped.” She turned and faced the building manager. ”I have seventy Cisco 7200's headed here on a charter, find someone to go pick them up.”

His jaw dropped too. ”What in the hell are you doing, Dar? You make it sound like we’re rebuilding the goddamn complex.”

A dark brow lifted. ”We are.”

”That’s impossible,” he told her flatly. ”There is no way this facility is going to be duplicated overnight.”

”Have you ever tried it?” Dar countered her temper building. ”No?

Then how do you know it can’t be done?” She pointed. ”Just get moving, and get me someone here with a truck, who knows the area, and you,” she pointed at another woman who was muffled in a large mackinaw, ”start getting your people back in here.” The staff had been sent home earlier.

”Look, Dar,” the regional manager objected.

She whirled on him and jabbed a finger into his chest. ”You want a job tomorrow morning?”

Silence.

”Then start moving your ass,” she snarled. ”All of you!”

A low muttering sprang up as people started to move, more than one whisper of ”crazy” leaking back to Dar’s ears. She turned her back on them and walked to the edge of the tarp, staring out into the darkness and trying to calm the churning tension in her guts.

Kerry took a breath, then stepped up next to her. ”Hey, look Dar. I 194

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think he’s right, this is really crazy.”

The back facing her stiffened, and it was a long moment before Dar turned her head and looked right at Kerry. Her face was an unreadable mask, but the turmoil in her eyes was unmistakable. ”If you don’t want to help out just go back to the car and wait,” Dar spoke with low intensity. ”But don’t stand here and tell me what I can’t do. I don’t need that from you.”

Kerry felt her knees start to shake and she sucked in a shocked breath, having not expected the response. She tried to think of something to say, but before she could, Dar simply turned and walked away, out into the darkness.

THE FREEZING RAIN now matched her mood completely. Dar stared into it, hardly even feeling the sting against her face as the last warm spot inside her dissolved, replaced by a damp bleakness that already regretted her words to Kerry.

Damn it. She tucked her hands under her arms, ignoring the pain the cold was inserting in her joints, and took a quick glance over her shoulder. Kerry had disappeared. The knowledge sank into Dar’s guts, and she felt a long moment of just wishing she could scrap the entire night, and go after her.

And say what? Sorry for being an asshole. It’s just something you have to get used to? Wasn’t it good old Shari who had told her she’d never have a successful relationship, because she always put everything else ahead of it?

Yeah. Funny she should turn up right at that moment. She let the freezing rain drive against her, numbing her face until heavy footsteps ran up and she turned, to see the Bellsouth supervisor pulling his yellow rain suit tight against him.

”All right, we’ve got the pairs pulled out,” he told her, scrubbing his face. ”Now what? I can’t keep those guys up on those poles, Ms.

Roberts. You need to give us some direction here. We’re pulling all the stops out, but I’m not putting my guys in danger, and it’s icing up.”

More than you know. Dar rubbed her arms, then exhaled. ”Okay, let’s see where everyone else is.” She led him back to the tarp, ignoring the angry looks she was getting by the rest of the team, channeling her focus only on the goal. ”What’s the status?”

”Plane just landed with the routers,” one man grudgingly admitted, blowing on his hands. ”I got a truck. We were about to leave to go pick them up.”

”Good.” Dar nodded. ”Take off.”

”Staff’s headed back in, those I could reach,” the older woman told her. ”But I had to get pretty tough. No one’s happy and a few flat out refused.”

”Fine,” Dar told her. ”Okay, now we just need a...”


Hurricane Watch

195

”The warehouse next door is empty,” Kerry’s voice quietly interrupted her. ”They have a Telco punch down and the landlord’s on his way with a key.”

The flapping of the tarp was suddenly loud as everyone turned to look at her, and Dar felt an irrational jolt deep in her guts. She studied the set, serious face for a moment. ”Thank you, Kerry, good work.”

Kerry nodded and glanced down at the churned, half frozen mud they were standing in, folding her arms over her chest and exhaling.

”All right, let’s move everything over there. We’ll get inside as soon as they open it up. It’ll be warmer and drier at least,” Dar stated quietly. ”John, that’s where we'll need the lines dropped. I think I spotted a block on the back end of that building.”

”Right you are,” the Bellsouth manager nodded briskly, pulling out a walkie-talkie and speaking into it. ”That’s an easy swing. They might even be wired for it already as that used to be a telemarketing operation.”

Kerry listened to the conversation, letting it roll over her, until she was aware of footsteps leaving, and then silence. With a sigh she lifted her head, almost jumping when pale blue eyes met hers. ”Oh.” She’d thought Dar had gone with them.

They studied each other for a long, pensive moment.

”Sorry about that I...” Kerry started.

”Sorry I snapped at you. I...” Dar rumbled at the same time.

Silence fell again, then Dar released a breath and wiped a weary hand across her face. ”You didn’t deserve that.”

Kerry stepped closer. ”No, I shouldn’t have questioned you, Dar.”

She put out a hesitant hand and touched Dar’s arm, as though reassuring herself. ”You needed my support right then, and I blew it.”

Dar dropped her eyes to the ground. ”I don’t want you to think that,” she said, after a moment’s thought. ”Sometimes you need to question me, Kerry. I don’t know all the answers and sometimes I push too hard, and the result doesn’t end up justifying the means.” Her eyes swept up in startling honesty. ”You should know that.” She sighed and looked around. ”I don’t know if this is the right thing to do, but I don’t know what else to try, and I have to try something.”

Kerry nodded, and moved another step closer. ”I know. I went over to the truck there and sat down, and I thought about it.” She paused.

”That’s why I called about that warehouse. I knew that’s where you had to go next.”

Dar lifted a hand and gently laid it alongside her cheek. ”Thank you,” she murmured, sincerely. ”That really was well done. How’d you know about the punch down?”

Kerry smiled, feeling her cold stiffened facial muscles protest.

”Modern technology. I linked up to the local real estate page and did a search on available commercial property in this area, listed my specifications, and it popped right up.” Her eyes twinkled gravely at 196

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the widening of Dar’s eyes. ”Even had the landlord’s number there,”

she added. ”He wasn’t happy about me calling him at two a.m., but since I offered twenty percent more than what he was asking, he made an exception, and said he’d get right over here. He lives about ten minutes away.”

Dar gave a little shake of the head, then she impulsively pulled Kerry into a hug, reveling in the warmth as the smaller woman wound her arms around her and squeezed really hard. ”You’re the best.”

Kerry smiled in pure relief, ignoring the dampness of Dar’s jacket.

Then she released her boss and patted her gently on the side. ”And, hey Dar?””Mm?” The now warm blue eyes regarded her.

Kerry lifted her chin. ”If and when you want to talk about the old history, I’m here.”

Dar’s eyelids fluttered as she ducked her head for a moment, then raised it. ”Thanks,” She replied quietly. ”Maybe we’ll have time this weekend.”

”Okay,” Kerry exhaled. ”Well, I think that’s our landlord over there. I guess we’d better get started, but Dar, I have to ask you. We’re replacing the routers, but what about the mainframes? We can’t duplicate those, not even if you commandeer half the air force.”

Dar slipped an arm over her shoulders and started to walk towards the now lit building behind the operations center. ”No, but the mainframes are in a separate room. They connect over a fiber optic LAN

bridge.” She pointed. ”And the access block for that is on the roof.”

Kerry stared at the roof, then her eyes shifted to a new truck that had just pulled up, bearing the fiber optics division insignia of the telephone company. ”Oh, you’re just too good.” She turned an admiring gaze on her boss. ”That’s slick, Dar, but do we know they have power and are turned on in there? I thought those environmental people turned everything off.”