They inched up, toward the police guarding the entrance until they were even with them, tired, harried looking men trying to move cars past with impatient gestures. Nan rolled the window down and visibly braced herself for the argument she was sure was coming.

"Please move along, ladies," the man said. "C'mon, we have to get emergency people in here."

Nan took a breath, but Kerry put a hand on her arm, and leaned over. "Hello, officer," she said, already holding out her badge in her hand. "I'll make this quick because I know the last thing you need is a stopped car out here."

The police officer leaned on the door and peered in at her. "Yes?"

"My company handles the IT for the building," Kerry said, nodding toward the Pentagon. "We want to get things rolling again."

The officer looked at her ID, glancing over it to look at Kerry. "One of your guys just went in there."

"Our equipment van." Kerry nodded. "With generators."

The officer nodded. "You people don't waste time. Go on in, Ms. Stuart. They told us you'd be here." He stepped back and motioned to the next officer, who dragged aside a barrier blocking the entrance to the big inside parking lot.

"Thanks," Kerry said, taking back her badge. "Tell your guys to come by our truck later. We've got food and coffee there. I bet you could use some."

The policeman managed a smile. "Thanks," he said.

Nan rolled the window up and maneuvered the SUV through the opening in the barriers, the wheels bumping up over debris as she edged into the parking area.

"Over there." Kerry spotted Mark's truck, with the RV behind it, not far from the company courtesy bus. "That's our area." Already there were techs surrounding the spot, in jeans and company polos. They were in the back part of the lot. The front was filled with emergency vehicles and military ones, with a huge cluster of press tents behind the lot and separated by a fence.

Nan parked and they got out. Kerry stepped away from the SUV and faced the building, her eyes taking in the smoking, gaping hole in disbelief.

She could smell the smoke. Mixed with that was the tinge of fractured concrete, the smell of burning electrical and shot through, with every other breath, a darker hint of decay and ruin. She took a few more steps toward the building, and stood, arms crossed as her eyes slowly scanned the area, seeing wreckage, and people, and exhausted faces.

Anger. Grief. Sadness.

To one side, a huge American flag was draped, as though in defiance. Kerry felt tears sting her eyes as she saw it and knew a moment of solemn kinship with everyone around her.

"Sucks." Mark came to stand shoulder to shoulder with her.

"Yeah." Kerry drew in a long breath. "Fifty states, right and left, Yankee and redneck, two billion opinions and twice as many assholes but right now we're all Americans." She turned and gave him a brief hug. "Let's get to work."


Chapter Sixteen

DAR WAS SIDEWAYS in her chair again. She had both legs over one arm of her seat, and her head resting on the opposite padded rest. She had her eyes closed and her hands folded over her stomach, the drone of the engines filling her ears.

Her anxiety had faded, buoyed by the knowledge that she'd be landing hours before she'd expected to, and be in a position to immediately jump back into the problems she knew were waiting rather than facing international immigration, a second flight, a cross border drive, and a long haul up into Houston.

Across the aisle from her, Alastair was finally napping, and the lights had been lowered in the cabin along with the window shades producing a dim, peaceful atmosphere. Dar was content to sprawl where she was in a state of half waking, half sleeping.

She'd started out by trying to think ahead to what was going on down on the ground, but the long day and the stress had caught up to her and now she was merely daydreaming. Her mind running free with thoughts of where she'd wander with Kerry in Europe after world events calmed down.

Where would Kerry really like to go? She'd seemed enthusiastic about the Alps, Dar mused. Would she rather go to one of the ritzy winter resorts? Dar opened her eyes and looked around the inside of the private plane. She reluctantly admitted, privately, that she wouldn't mind spending time in someplace nice. She suspected that-though Kerry poo poo'd high society trimmings-she wouldn't argue too hard against a room with a marble Jacuzzi or chocolate dipped strawberries before bed either.

But would she rather be in some nice lodge somewhere quiet, where they could go outside and simply sit on a hill and look at the stars? Or would she rather go outside and sit in a café looking at other kinds of stars living the high life?

Maybe they could find a compromise, like their cabin. She loved the comforts of it and the contrast of the raw, weatherworn dock outside and the proximity of the wildness of the sea. She and Kerry could go out and get as sandy and seaweed ridden as they pleased, and then relax on the couch in the air conditioning with a bowl of microwave popcorn.

Were they wimps? Maybe. Did she care?

Hmm.

Dar let that thought drift for a moment, then pondered the notion that it might work out that they were on vacation during Kerry's birthday. What would she like to do for that? Dar decided her partner would probably want to do something special, maybe something exciting and new to her for her birthday.

Maybe they could go to Venice. Or Rome. Dar smiled. Or maybe the Greek Isles.

A soft sound made her open her eyes, and she turned her head to see the door opening quietly allowing the steward to enter. He paused when he saw her somewhat odd position, but then continued moving, shutting the door behind him.

"It looks like we picked up an escort," the man said, quietly, as he stopped next to Dar's seat. "I don't think it is anything to worry about. They seem to be keeping their distance."

"Fighters?" Dar asked.

"I guess," the man agreed. "Not my area of expertise. But the captain is okay with it," he continued. "They called him and just told him to keep on course, which is exactly what we want to do."

Dar smiled. "Yep," she said. "I'll be damn glad to be home, even if it's just for a little while." "I can well imagine," the steward smiled back. "I'm going to go get my passport. I'm sure they'll want to see it when we land." He moved past Dar and went into the back of the plane, leaving her to resume studying the woven cloth ceiling.

After a moment, though, she sat up and reached across to the window shade, opening it to peer outside. Off the wing, at a reasonable distance, was a Navy fighter. "Ah. Hornet." Dar put the shade back down and extended her seat out again.

She wasn't sure how she felt about the escort. On one hand, she suspected they'd rattled more than one cage and no one was taking chances. On the other hand, she knew damn well there was a good chance whoever had sent the planes up recognized her name.

That was arrogant. Dar acknowledged it with a smile. But it was also true that there were a lot of people who would remember her either for better or for worse. Some now, for a lot worse. Her smile disappeared as she remembered Chuckie and what a mess that had turned out to be.

She wished again, for the nth time, that she could go back and do that all over. She thought maybe her father did too.

Her father. Dar found her thoughts moving to a different track. What would this mean for him? Would the Navy try to get him to come back?

No way.

Would he?

Dar was troubled to realize she honestly didn't know the answer to that question. She knew her father was very much invested in how he'd spent his life for all those years, and he had friends by the hundreds and probably thousands still in service.

But then there was her mother. After what he went through, Dar had to think that at the very least he had to seriously consider the question if they asked.

And if they did ask, she knew she'd go to the wall to convince him to say no. For her mother, for herself, damned if she was going to lose her family again. She'd get Kerry to help her if she had to.

She picked up the bottle of orange soda on the table and took a swig of it, and checked her watch, wondering what Kerry was up to. She'd probably made it to the Pentagon already, and Dar was sure she'd have plenty to tell her when she called.

Once she got the squeal out of the way.

She felt a faint pressure change against her ears, and let the thoughts go as the steward came back through the cabin, giving her a smile as he passed. "Heading down?"

"We are." The steward nodded. "Boy, I'll be glad to get on the ground." He went to the front of the cabin and started preparing it for landing, bringing up the lights a little and fastening the curtains back.

Dar reached across the aisle and gave her boss's sleeve a tug. "Alastair?"

"Eh?" Alastair blinked and lifted his head. "What? More people need yelling at?"

Dar chuckled. "No. We're starting down." She moved her seat upright and reached for her briefcase, digging in it to retrieve her leather ID holder, which had her passport and her company badges in it. She also got her PDA and cellphone out, and set them on the small table next to her seat.

"Ah. We're there." Alastair stretched. "Damn, that's great. But I could definitely use a cup of coffee." He rubbed his eyes and rummaged around, getting his things together. "This is the tough end of the jet lag. We've got a whole damn day to get through now."