It was very quiet in the car. She’d deliberately turned the stereo down to allow her passengers to relax and doze off if they wanted to. In fact, she encouraged them to do just that, knowing Dar would remain awake and alert if everyone else was, just out of sheer cussedness.

But Mark had taken her hint and loudly announced his intention to nap, poking Brent in the leg until the slightly slow-on-the-uptake tech realized what he wanted and huddled down in his seat with a glum expression.

Then, of course, and only then had Dar allowed herself to relax and slump against the doorframe, using a folded sweatshirt of Kerry’s as an impromptu pillow as she closed her eyes and surrendered to a light doze.

Now Kerry wished the trip was longer, but she reached over and gently touched Dar’s thigh, squeezing it twice before she got a reaction.

Dar’s eyelids fluttered open and she blinked, turning her head to peer at Kerry in confusion for a moment before her expression cleared and she Red Sky At Morning 237

straightened in her seat.

“Okay, duck down, guys,” Kerry said. “Just pull those comforters over you while I go through the gates.” She turned into the base and eased slowly down the approach road, pulling up next to the guard shack and leaning back a little so Dar could see the guard.

“Afternoon,” Dar greeted the man. “Looks quiet.”

The man came closer, then smiled. “Ms. Roberts...hey.” He glanced around. “Didn’t expect you here on the weekend.”

Dar smiled back. “Got some little things to clear up,” she said.

“And my parents are coming down, just for old time’s sake, to look around in the daytime.”

The Marine’s eyes lit up. “Big Andy’s coming in today? All right.

Man, wait ’til the guys hear. You know they got a big old UD get-together going on today, right?”

“No, I didn’t,” Dar replied. “That’ll be a damn nice surprise for him, though. Thanks for the word.” She waved casually. “Gotta get to work.”

The guard raised the gate and waved back. “Take it easy, Ms.

Roberts.”

Kerry drove into the parking lot. “Will that be a problem?” she asked. “That meeting or whatever?”

Dar was rubbing her eyes, and now she looked up. “Problem?” Her lips quirked. “I doubt it. This place’ll be crawling with SEALs. This could be easier than we thought.”

“Crawling with SEALs.” Kerry parked and set the brake.

“Interesting visual, Dar, but how does it help us?”

Dar opened the door and got out, stretching out her body as Mark joined her on the passenger side and Kerry, with Brent, walked around the front of the Lexus. “It means we have friends here, Kerry.” She felt better already. “The kind of friends you like to have when you’re in a potentially dangerous situation.”

Kerry considered that, as Mark removed the analyzer from the back of the car. “Unless some of them are involved,” she commented, looking up to see ice-cold blue eyes looking back at her. “Um. I mean—”

“Never.” Dar said, low and forcefully. “Not these guys.”

Kerry and Mark exchanged glances. “Okay,” Kerry agreed softly.

“You’re the expert.” She patted Dar’s back. “Glad to hear that. If they’re all like Dad, this’ll be a piece of cake.” Her eyes slid past Dar to meet Brent’s, which darted off in another direction. “I feel better already.”

“Brent, gimme a hand with this.” Mark was kneeling next to the analyzer. “I need to fit the wiring harness.”

Brent walked over and they fussed over the equipment, leaving Dar and Kerry standing a little apart as they waited. Dar glanced around, then exhaled and ducked her head a bit. “I know I’m being a bitch.

Sorry.”

“Were you?” Kerry asked mildly. “I hadn’t noticed.”


238 Melissa Good Their eyes met. Dar managed a smile. “Liar.”

Kerry shrugged slightly. “It’s all right.” She forced herself not to think about the churning in her guts. Suddenly, she found her shoulders circled by Dar’s arm, and her senses were barraged by the abrupt closeness and warmth as Dar pulled her close in a hug. A voice whispered into her ear, and it took her long seconds to acknowledge the words.

“If I get too obnoxious, slap me.”

Kerry felt some of the tension seep out of her as she circled Dar’s waist with an arm and squeezed. “All right, I will,” she prom ised, releasing her and swatting her lightly on the butt. “Right there.

Deal?”

“Deal.” Dar let go of her as Mark and Brent came around the side of the car again, carrying the equipment. “Soon as the others get here, we move.”

A FUSILLADE OF gunshots made them all jump. “Holy shit.” Mark backed against the car. “Is that for us?”

“War games.” Dar peered over the hood of the Lexus. “We got lucky again.”

“Lucky?” Kerry winced as she heard an echoing boom. She edged a little closer to Dar and peered behind her to where Andrew was just haphazardly parking her car’s larger cousin. It was still overcast, and the air was thick with moisture. She sniffed at the wind. And thick with what smelled like gunpowder. “Those aren’t real bullets, are they?”

“Sure,” Dar replied. “But don’t worry. Everyone will be participating, or watching, or keeping the hell out of the way. We can get in and get out and not attract attention.” Unanticipated, but Dar wasn’t a person who argued with good luck when it happened to thump down on top of her head. Things had been strained enough lately; a little smooth sailing was definitely called for.

“Ah.” Kerry frowned. “Well, as long as we stay inside. I’m allergic to bullets.” A group chorus of deep, male chanting carried over.

“Mm...way too mucho macho for moi.”

The rest of the group came over and gathered around them. “All right,” Dar spoke. “We’re heading for the administration building, over there. It should be pretty much empty.” She glanced around, seeing that most of the area was, in fact, pretty much empty.

Kerry shouldered one of the portable scopes. “I’ll take Mark to the telecom center,” she offered. “I remember where it is, and I’ve got my badge, still.” She displayed it. “He can hook up there and control the network.”

Mark looked up. “Brent, you and Josh come with us. Bring that cable kit, willya?”

Dar nodded. “Okay, the rest of you come with me to the computer Red Sky At Morning 239

center. Bring that array and the black box,” she said. “Dad, go along with Kerry. She’s headed toward the ops center, and there might be people around.”

Andrew regarded her thoughtfully. “All right,” he drawled after a moment.

“If anyone questions you,” Dar told them seriously, “just tell them you’re doing your job, and refer them to me, understand?” She made eye contact with the techs. “Don’t act like you’re not supposed to be here, got it?”

“Got it,” Mark assured her.

“Captain, you come with me.” Dar squared her shoulders and started to lead them toward the building.

The group sorted themselves out and followed her. Dar took the few moments of peace to run her plan through her mind again, checking the details and making sure she knew what she was going to do once they got to the computer center. After a few strides, she realized she had a diminutive shadow. “Thought you’d go with Dad.”

Ceci rubbed the side of her nose. She and Andrew really hadn’t talked about what they were going to do once they got to the base, but after Dar had told him to go with Kerry, it had seemed only natural that she— What in the hell are you talking about, Cecilia? This isn’t natural for you in any way! “Well,” Ceci glanced around, “I figured that if you ran into any trouble, I’d just tell them that I’m your mother, and I said it was all right.”

Dar’s eyes perceptibly widened and went round. She gave the two techs a startled look, grateful they hadn’t heard.

Or, at least, they were pretending very hard not to have heard. She lowered her voice. “W...what?”

Ceci smothered a grin, and shrugged. “It always worked when you were a kid,” she explained soberly. “Those Marines usually recognized my authority a lot faster than their CO’s.”

Dar felt a blush coming on, and she hoped her employees wouldn’t notice. Having her mother along wasn’t something she’d figured into her battle plans. She sighed. Not that Ceci wasn’t right, she grudgingly admitted, remembering many a time when only her mother’s intervention had saved her from fates worse than death. Like cleaning the recruits’ latrine.

Dar felt her nose wrinkle in remembered disgust. “Good point,” she finally said aloud. “Maybe you better write me up an admin pass while you’re at it.”

They climbed the stairs, and one of the techs scurried forward and opened the door, holding it courteously as the rest of them approached.

Resting a hand on the doorsill, Dar paused and looked around.

No Marine. She wondered about that. Hadn’t there always been a guard at this door? It seemed very quiet, though, and after a moment she shook her head and continued inside the building. It’s been years, 240 Melissa Good Dar. They could have changed a procedure or two.

The door closed behind them, its metal lock clicking home with an exaggerated sound that echoed slightly in the empty hall.

KERRY WALKED NEXT to Andrew, one hand nervously running up and down on the strap of the scope she carried. So far, they hadn’t seen anyone on their walk to the telecom center, and she was trying to decide if that was good or if would be better for them to meet the first potential objector instead of anticipating it.

Not that she was all that worried, not with Andrew strolling beside her, his long and somewhat rolling stride making her lengthen her own steps a little to keep up. She had no doubt her father-in-law could handle whatever uniformed minion got in their path, but still...