There was a stranger in her
doorway. A tall, golden skinned woman with midnight dark
hair looked back at her, the lean body arranged against her
doorway in a posture of confident arrogance.
Kerry
blinked, and looked again, and was captured by the bluest,
clearest eyes she had ever seen, that drilled right through
her with a blast of cool intensity, and a strange, almost
haunting glimpse of something familiar.
Kerry slammed her chair back and stood, pacing
over to the wall and staring at it. She let her anger build
until it was at the breaking point, then she let it loose,
slamming her fist against the drywall surface with a
crunch.
"Low piece of godforsaken...I can't believe
she did that." She fumed,letting her hand come to rest
against the abused wall. "A whole week of killing myself
for nothing. For NOTHING!"
Dar chuckled
wryly. "Calculated game plan of attack. I'll wear it at the
meeting tomorrow, under my jacket. Her eyes twinkled
wickedly. "Good psychology..This Disney crowd's an odd
lot..They're businessmen, but there's still a strong
element in there of the old, family centered
franchise...They're very loyal to the brand name, and they
like to see some enthusiasm for their product."
Colleen studied her as the blonde
woman dug into her package. Smiling and interested, her sun
tinted skin evident in the lamplight, Kerry looked like
she'd just come back from a vacation, not a business
meeting. The redhead smiled to herself. "Well, you look
great...got some sun,huh?"
"Um... thanks for the Pooh. "Kerry said softly.
"That was a real surprise." A chuckle sounded, sending
gentle shivers down her spine. "I don't recall signing the
card." Dar replied in a playful tone. "But you're
welcome... I thought you deserved a little momento of the
successful bid." She paused, and Kerry could hear her clear
her throat a little. "And... um... that was an insane thing
to do, but thank you for the dolphins. I
love...them."
System
indicators showed red blinking lights everywhere on the top
levels of the network. With her free hand, she dialed the
phone, listening for a familiar voice. "Hey." Kerry
sounded a little surprised, but not disappointed to hear
her voice. "Hey...what's up?"
"We're not... Netops
had a fire, and the entire network is down." Dar told her
with a sigh. "Some idiot in the fire department won't let
them go on backup."
"Yikes... you need some help
there?" "I could use some help in research and
identifying available assets." "I'll be right there."
The blonde woman assured her.
"...say Dar? Is that one of those palmetto bugs you
keep describing to me? Oh my god they're ugly..." She let
her eyes widen and fasten on Elana's shoulder.
The
woman jumped. "Where...? "She caught sight of something out
of the corner of her eye and slapped at it, then screamed.
"Oh my god... "She stumbled backwards, hands flailing at
her head in panic. "Oh.. help.. get it off!"
Kerry
jumped to her feet and ran to help, colliding with a
rushing waiter just as she reached the frantic woman. The
tray he was carrying launched itself up into the air, and
came down, splattering the floor, the tables and Elana with
a conglomeration of food.
"Okay.. so it was her
epaulet... it was brown.. how was I supposed to
know?"
Angela willingly took the folder and flipped it
open, peering at the pictures inside. After a moment, she
looked up at her sister. "Jesus... she's
gorgeous."
It was quiet
then, until Dar walked over to the far wall and picked up
the the automatic pistol she'd kicked out of Kyle's hand,
juggling it in her own. Kerry watched an unfamiliar
expression appear on her father's face.
Fear.
"Did I forget to mention that she was the world
champion in karate one year?" Kerry murmured. "Guess I
did."
"I
never considered myself a romantic person... or someone who
believed in a great, mythical love. A pause. "But.. I don't
know... It's a really nice kind of possibility, you
know?" "Yeah." Dar murmured.
