"Is that a yes or a no?" Dar's voice sounded amused. "Or were you partying with your mother?"

Kerry started laughing. "Actually we had tea and chocolate together. Thank you, my love. The socks are warming my toes as we speak."

"I was just standing on my head for twenty minutes. My nose is throbbing," Dar informed her. "It's goddamn boring in a country mansion in England at five in the morning you know that?" she complained. "I'm afraid to go out and run in case they have foxhounds or something out there."

"Well." Kerry smiled. "You're a fox. It's a valid concern." She heard a conspicuous silence on the other end and her smiled grew wider. "Oooo--I gotcha."

Dar chuckled softly. "You did," she admitted. "So how's it going?" Her voice altered. "I'm stopping you from sleeping so I'll keep it short."

"Don't," Kerry said. "I could easily talk to you all night long," she added. "Even my mother thinks you have a charming voice."

"Huh?"

Kerry cleared her throat a bit. "It's not bad," she said. "This room you rented for me could hold our entire department with room for our dog. Mom's being okay. I think after that blowup she's just staying away from a lot of stuff. Which is fine by me."

"Yeah."

"I wasn't in the mood for a fight tonight anyway," Kerry said. "And after I made that whole speech about being grown up and everything we were playing hide and seek in the house and I knocked a freaking table over. Ended up breaking a bowl the size of our sink."

She could hear Dar muffling a snicker. "No, go ahead and laugh." Kerry sighed. "Talk about blowing my image. I could have smacked Mike. He tripped me right into the damn thing and I hit the legs sideways."

"Table didn't have a chance." Dar commiserated. "You've hit me in the knees. I know what that feels like."

"My sister was laughing so hard she was crying," Kerry admitted. "And the look on my mother's face when she came around the corner to see what the hell was going on was pretty much priceless." She paused. "It reminded me of the fact that growing up in that house wasn't always a horror show."

Dar chuckled aloud.

"Anyway." Kerry sighed. "So it's not going too bad. How about you? Are you ready to fly?"

"Yeah. Actually, the timing is going to give me a problem trying to get hold of Gerry," Dar said. "If I don't get him before I take off, I might need you to call him," she said. "I'll message you if that's the case. It'll be really early your time when I leave."

"No problem," Kerry said. "I think I'm going over there in the afternoon so I can touch base with him. Shouldn't be an issue."

"Good," Dar said. "We can stop taking about business now. How did my voice come up in conversation?"

Kerry closed her eyes and smiled, narrowing her world down to the sound in her ear. She reached over and turned the bedside light off, leaving her in darkness that only made their conversation all the more private. "She was being nice. She was listening to you when you were on the conference call. Angie said something too, about your accent."

"My what?"

"Your cute little Southern twang," Kerry clarified. "I'm so used to hearing you I don't really hear it anymore, but they both noticed."

"I don't have an accent. My father has an accent," Dar said. "You have an accent."

"No I don't."

"Sure you do."

"I do not!"

"You do!" Dar insisted. "Everyone has an accent. Except me."

Kerry started laughing, "You're so funny. Thank you for calling me. I was starting to really get bummed out."

"Why?" Dar asked. "You said things were going okay."

"I know. I don't know," Kerry replied. "I just was. All the stuff going on and thinking about our people who are still missing, and not knowing what's going to happen with the government tomorrow-- it was just bumming me out." She thought about that. "Do I sound like a weenie?"

"No." Dar's voice deepened a little, warming audibly. "I was getting bummed here too. I feel like I'm so far away from everything," she admitted. "I'm glad we're leaving today, but knowing I'll be out of touch for that long is driving me insane."

"Me too," Kerry agreed, in a wry tone.

They were both quiet for a moment. "We're a couple of goddamned idiots," Dar said. "We'd give Mr. Rogers diabetes." She sighed with exaggerated exasperation. "Wait. Let me go out and see if I can find a box of bonbons and a pair of pink fuzzy slippers."

Kerry started laughing. "I have the bonbons and fuzzy slippers here, honey. Come and get them."

"If I could," Dar said. "If I could close my eyes and will it, and be there, I would in a heartbeat." She sighed. "But unfortunately I'm not a refugee from a bad science fiction movie of the week. I did tell Alastair I'd need to head out to Washington as soon as we got in the States though. I'm hoping the planes will be flying by then."

"Me too." Kerry could feel the beginnings of a disassociation that meant she was falling asleep. "Would you do me a tiny favor?"

"You have to ask?"

"Sing to me. Just for a minute."

Dar hesitated. "Oh. Uh--okay. Sure."

"I just remembered when I was talking to Mom what that sounded like and I want to hear it. I love your singing voice." Kerry smiled, as she heard Dar clear her throat softly, and she took a deep breath and released it as her partner complied, easing her into sleep so gently she didn't even remember the tune.


Chapter Thirteen

DAR TURNED THE collar of her leather jacket up to protect her neck against the damp, chilly wind as she waited for Alastair to finish his goodbyes. She'd made the mistake of dropping off to sleep again after talking to Kerry and now she felt as foggy as the sky appeared, waking up again only ten minutes before they were supposed to leave.

The only thing that had saved her ass was that she'd grabbed a shower and packed while waiting for Kerry to get to her hotel. So she just had to throw her clothes on, brush her teeth and hair and try to pretend her brain wasn't somewhere in the southern Caribbean where her dreams had taken her before she woke.

On the boat, in the sun, Kerry's warm body curled up next to her and the late afternoon sky getting ready to set and provide them with an evening entertainment.

Goddamn she wished it hadn't been a dream.

Her cell phone rang. She unclipped it from her belt, glancing at the caller ID and hoping it was Gerry Easton. It wasn't, but she was glad to see the name anyway. "Morning, Mark."

"Hey Boss." Mark sounded absolutely exhausted. "We just crossed into North Carolina. What a bastard of a drive."

"It is. How are things going? I didn't have time to login to the desktop this morning. We're about to leave for the airport." Dar felt a distinct sense of embarrassment.

"For us, we're cool," Mark said. "Nothing big new on the board, and all that, since it's like 2:30 a.m. But we just heard they closed down NY again and found some truck bomb trying to cross one of the bridges."

"Shit." Dar exhaled. "Kerry's in Washington."

"Yeah, I know." Mark sounded unhappy. "But hey, she's probably safe someplace, right? She's not like, at the Pentagon, is she?"

"No." Dar caught motion of the corner of her eye, and saw Sir Melthon and his staff walking toward her, the magnate still in discussion with Alastair. "She's in a hotel, but I'm about to get on an airplane and be out of touch for ten hours. I'm going to lose my mind."

"Well, Dar, we ready?" Alastair said, as they closed in on her. "Everything all right?"

"Hang on Mark." Dar put her cell phone on mute. "Just getting a status," she said. "Sir Melthon, it's been a true pleasure working with your team, despite the circumstances."

"Likewise," the magnate said. "Now, I know this is not really the time to discuss this, but I have a schedule to meet. I need to know how this event is going to impact that." He held a hand up. "McLean, this does not change anything in our pact. I'm not an idiot. I know full well this disaster requires attention."

Alastair and Dar exchanged looks. "I'll know better once we get back to Houston,." Dar said. "The resources tied up normally in that side of our organization would not be dedicated to your project, but I'm going to have to pull people in so I need to assess."

The Englishman frowned, but he also nodded at the same time. "Fair enough," he said. "My godson tenders his regrets. He had to hurry back to Hamburg last night. An aunt of his was taken sick."

"Hope she's doing better," Alastair said. "As Dar said, let us get back and sort ourselves out, and we'll be back in touch soon as we can." He held his hand out, and the magnate gripped it. "Thanks for your hospitality. Hope I can return it sometime if you're in my neck of the woods."

"Could be I'll take you up on that," Sir Melthon said. "Wouldn't mind seeing your headquarters, but not until after all the broohah passes on." He extended his hand to Dar. "Ms. Roberts, believe me when I say it has truly been an honor."

Dar took his and traded strong grips with him. "I'm glad you're a customer," she said. "You're the kind I don't mind going two hundred percent for."

Sir Melthon smiled, looking for a moment as though twenty years had been erased from his face. "Have a good flight home, you lot. Let us know if you get in safely. My man here will get you to the airport fast as London traffic allows. Which means--hold on to the armrests and close your eyes if you're smart."

Dar waited until they were in the car before she unmuted the phone. "Sorry about that Mark."