Storm Surge - Part 2

• Storm Surge: Book Two
  
• Copyright © 2011 by Melissa Good
  
• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2
  
• Chapter 3
  
• Chapter 4
  
• Chapter 5
  
• Chapter 6
  
• Chapter 7
  
• Chapter 8
  
• Chapter 9
  
• Chapter 10
  
• Chapter 11
  
• Chapter 12
  
• Chapter 13
  
• Chapter 14
  
• Chapter 15
  
• Chapter 16
  
• Chapter 17
  
• Chapter 18
  
• Chapter 19
  
• Other Melissa Good Titles
  
• Visit Us On Line
  

Storm Surge: Book Two

by

Melissa Good

Copyright © 2011 by Melissa Good

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Parts of this work are fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, or events is entirely coincidental.

ISBN 978-1-61929-000-6 (eBook)

eBook Conversion August 2011

Cover design by Donna Pawlowski

Published by:

Regal Crest Enterprises, LLC

4700 Hwy 365, Suite A, PMB 210

Port Arthur, Texas 7764

Find us on the World Wide Web at http://www.regalcrest.biz

Published in the United States of America

New York has played a frequent part in my stories and not always in a flattering light. Many natives have accused me of being mean and not liking the Big Apple but the fact is it's the hometown I just never lived in and a place that has always held a piece of my heart. Not long ago I crossed the Atlantic and came into NY harbor by sea as both of my sets of grandparents did and realized at some level it would always be home.

~ Melissa Good

Storm Surge: Book Two

by

Melissa Good

Chapter One

DAR SPRAWLED IN the leather desk chair, her bare feet propped up against the desk and her elbow resting on its surface. She listened to the voices on the conference call with barely contained aggravation, shifting forward suddenly only to relax again, as another voice took up the argument.

She picked up her glass of grapefruit juice and sipped from it. The astringent beverage was cold, and she swallowed a few mouthfuls before there was a gap in the discussion and she saw her chance to dive in. "Hey!"

The phone almost visibly shuddered. "Yes, Dar," Alastair said, after a moment. "Listen, I know things are tough where you are, but we're getting a lot of pressure here from a lot of people."

"Too bad," Dar said. "Have any of you been listening to what I've said the past twenty minutes? It's 8:00 a.m. I got back from the work site at 3:00 a.m. We just got things moving there."

"Now Dar," Hamilton chimed in. "Settle your shorts. Nobody said you weren't working hard. We just made some promises to the government and they want to know when we're gonna keep them."

"I can't see why we're delaying," another voice chimed in. "This is big. We've got a great opportunity here."

Dar glanced plaintively at the ceiling. "What the hell's wrong with you people?" she asked. "Did you not see the hole in the side of the Pentagon on CNN? Do you not know what goes on in that building?"

"Now Dar," Alastair sighed. "Well--listen folks. Today they're doing a big ceremony, and I've got to go get ready for it," he said. "I know your people there are working like anything, Dar. I understand it's important to get things going there. I know you've got a personal responsibility for the place. But damn it, I need you here."

Dar turned her head and glared at the phone. "So, what part of yes, I'm making arrangements to get to the city today wasn't clear? Did that whole five minute spiel from me at the beginning of this call not mean anything to anyone there?"

Alastair sighed. "I was hoping you'd be here this morning."

"I was sleeping this morning," Dar said. "And frankly, you all can kiss my ass. Anyone who thinks they can do this better, c'mon. Bring it."

"Dar, no one said that."

"Then everyone shut up and go do something productive." Dar turned and slammed her hand on the desk, raising her voice to a loud yell. "Instead of tying me up when I should be!" She turned, to find Kerry unexpectedly standing behind her. "Yelp."

"What was that, Dar?" Hamilton asked. "Cat get your tongue?"

"Nothing." Dar leaned back in the chair and let Kerry rub her shoulders. "Are we done?"

Long silence. "Well, I guess I'll see you here later today, huh, Dar?"

Alastair asked. "The mayor was just on the line, something about an office at the pier--any chance of looking at that first?"

"Sure," Dar said. "Done now?"

"Goodbye, all," her boss sighed and gave in. "I'll do what I can here. Going to be a rough day." He clicked off the phone and it echoed a little, then the room was once again silent.

"He sounds pissed."

"He wants me to be there making him look good," Dar said. "Screw that, Kerry. We had work to do here. "

"Uh huh. And we'd better be taking a train to go there." Kerry informed her. "'Cause, sweetheart, they're not letting anyone fly without ID," she said. "If we get packing, we can catch a train in an hour, and be in New York in three more after that. We end up in Penn Station. "

"A train," Dar mused. "Think we can get tickets? Probably pretty busy. No one wants to fly."

"Already got them." Kerry kissed the top of her head. "C'mon. Let's just get there. I'll give Dad a call." She held a hand out to Dar. "Shower? We'll save time together."

"Hedonist."

"Takes one to know one."

"HM." DAR STROLLED back down the aisle and resumed her seat next to Kerry. "I think I like trains," she concluded, folding her hands over her stomach as she regarded the inside of the somewhat narrow first class car.

"I suspected you would." Kerry looked up from her laptop, that she'd been diligently typing on. "There's windows to look out, and lots of mechanical stuff around to explore. I'm not sure I like the motion though."

"The wiggle waggle?" Dar stretched her legs out. "It's not bad."

"Mm. It's making me a little queasy." Kerry continued typing, tucking the bud in one ear more firmly into place. "At least we can stay in touch riding on this." She held a finger up then she clicked her mic on. "LA Earthstation, what was that? Who's asking you for that bandwidth?"

Dar rested her elbows on the arms of her chair, taking the time to sit back and consider an action plan for when she reached the city. Tough situation. She reached down into Kerry's briefcase and drew out a small pad, taking a pencil from her shirt pocket and hitching one knee up to rest the pad against it.

She could have hauled out the big laptop she'd been given, but it seemed too much trouble to do that just to take a few notes. "Okay."

"Okay?" Kerry glanced up.

"Talking to myself."

"Oh. Well, you know, all the traffic we took off the satellite back to the network is being filled with requests from the city." Kerry shook her head. "They're stuffed again."

"I figured they would be." Dar spent a moment doodling on the pad. "So let's see. We have the pier office to worry about, right?" She scribbled a note. "What's our best option for that? We don't have much on that side of Manhattan."

"You do, hon. You're forgetting the Intrepid Air Space Museum you managed to wheedle a contract out of after you visited the last time," Kerry reminded her.

"Mm. Not a big pipe." Dar groused.

The train hummed along, and a service person appeared with a tray. She started down the aisle, smiling at the travelers and offering them champagne flutes filled with orange juice. A few people took them, but most seemed glum and withdrawn huddled near the windows or with radio headsets covering their ears.

Kerry wondered if it was always like that or a reaction to what was going on. She accepted the glass from the server with a smile, and waited for her to pass by before she took a sip of it. "Oh. Hello." She blinked. "Mimosa. Wasn't expecting that."

Dar set her own down on the table between them and cleared her throat. "Fizzy."

"Miami exec, this is the New York office," a male voice quietly said. "Mr. McLean is asking your ETA."

Kerry checked her watch. "New York, we're looking at two hours to Penn Station," she said. "Is there anything we can do from here?"

"No ma'am," the man said. "There are a lot of people here from the city and state and he was asking."

"Well, we're moving as fast as the train lets us," Kerry said.

"I'll let him know, thanks," the man said.

"God we do need someone on the ground there," Kerry muttered. "Let me check who we've got accounted for." She typed into her keyboard and sighed. "Someone with some initiative."

"Send an email to Hermana Jones," Dar said. "Tell her to meet us at the Rock." She continued scribbling on her pad.

Kerry paused, and looked at her. "Hermana Jones? Who is that? Name is not familiar to me."

"My friend who now runs the Queens data center?"

Kerry blinked. "Oh. You mean--um-- What was that funny name that sounded like a part from Intel?"

"Scuzzy."

"Scuzzy." Kerry opened her mail. "That's right. You met her in Manhattan, didn't you?" She typed the message, trying to remember if she'd ever had occasion to talk to the woman. The data entry side of the house really wasn't her area, and she decided she probably hadn't.

She remembered Mariana having a heart attack about Scuzzy though and Dar's mischievous laughter when Hermana had turned out to not only be a worthwhile addition to the company, but was promoted to center manager to boot. "Why did you do that?"

"Huh?" Dar looked up but was distracted as the forward door to the train opened and Andrew sauntered back in after being absent for a good part of the journey. "Hey Dad."

"Hey, rugrat." Andrew sat down in his seat across from the two of them. There was a line of single seats along one set of windows, and double seats along the other, and there was ample room for Dar's father to stretch out his long legs in front of him. "This here is a nice train. I like it."

He was dressed in a company logo sweatshirt, the arms pushed up past his elbows and a pair of carpenter's pants. His scarred face took in reflections of the passing sunlight from the window, as he watched the countryside go by.

"I like it too," Dar agreed. "Thanks for coming with us, Dad. I thought maybe you'd want to stay back in DC with the guys."

"Them people pissed me off," Andrew told her.

"Our people?" Kerry leaned forward a little. "What did they do?"

Andrew glanced up as the server came by and offered him the tray. He took a glass and sipped it. "Jesus P Fish there's alcohol in that." He set the glass down. "No, kumquat, not your fellas. Those are good folks there. Ah was just getting ticked off because everybody's runnin' round in circles and nobody wants to own up to how bad things got screwed."

"Dar, Hermana just answered. She said 'Hell yeah!'" Kerry seemed bemused. "This should be interesting."

"You'll like her." Dar made another note on her pad. "Dad, it's only going to get worse where we're going. That's all civ."

"Wall, somebody's got to keep you kids out of trouble."