”Oh, we’re almost there.” Skippy stood up and went to her seat at the front, gathering up her stack of paper and peering out the front window. ”Okay, folks. You’d better wake up, because the road gets a little bumpy up here and I don’t want anyone to get scared.” Her perky voice stirred the rest of the group, who struggled awake, peering around.

Dar made her way back to her seat and dropped into it, opening her soda and sucking at it in silence. A blonde head appeared over the seat in front of her and she glanced up, only just barely keeping herself from giving Kerry a friendly smile. The green eyes, amber in the bus’s low light, twinkled a little in acknowledgment. She offered Kerry some pretzels.

”Thanks,” Kerry replied politely, selecting one and munching on it.

The bus turned to the right again and now it felt like they were going over a thousand bumps, the vibration rattling through them unpleasantly.

”Jesu Christo,” José blurted. ”What kind of place is this we’re going to?” They all peered out the windows, but could only see darkness and trees, whose leaves slapped against the bus’s tall sides. After ten minutes of rattling, the bus slowed and pulled in under some kind of portal, now rocking unevenly as the road turned to soft dirt.

Finally, the bus stopped and the interior lights came on. ”Okay.”

Skippy faced them. ”We’re in front of the main hall. We’re going to get off the bus and I’ll walk you over to your cabin.” She checked a list. ”We have some hot coffee in the hall and some sandwiches if you’re hungry, but this camp is not a luxury hotel, okay?”

”Does that mean we have only mustard or catsup but not both?”

Duks commented dryly as he hefted his bag to his shoulder.

Skippy smiled. ”You’ll see. We try to make it so you don’t concentrate on your surroundings, but on each other instead.” She led the way. ”Well, let’s get started!”

They got off the bus and were assaulted by cold air full of the smell of pine and sand. In front of them was a wooden building with a porch that circled most of it, and they followed Skippy up the stairs and through the swinging door.

It was a drab place and Dar was forcibly reminded of a few Navy camps she’d been in during her younger years. There were trestle tables arranged in neat rows, with long, narrow benches next to them, and 54

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faded banners on the walls. The place had been swept, but it was chilled inside, and only three lights were on, lending a dank, almost dingy quality to it. ”Nice,” she stated with a shake of her head. ”What is this place?”

Skippy looked up from her papers. ”It’s a YMCA camp,” she replied, with a slightly smug smile.

Eleanor had been looking around and now she stared at the woman, aghast. ”You can’t expect us to stay in this disgusting place.”

She tugged her jacket around her. ”This is ludicrous.”

José stepped up next to her. ”I must agree. This is not a place for people like us.” He waved a hand at her. ”There must be a hotel around here.”

Duks perched on the edge of a table. ”I could protest this on religious grounds,” he stated, mildly, glancing at Mariana. ”Do I have a case?”

The Personnel VP blew out a breath. ”I have to admit, this is not what I expected from your company,” she addressed Skippy. ”I know this is not the kind of facility they used in Houston.”

Steven had been roaming around, studying the walls. ”Oh, I don’t know. It’s not so bad.” He turned a smile on them. ”Kinda reminds me of when I was a Boy Scout.” He spread his arms out. ”C'mon, it’s only for two nights. Lots of fresh air would probably do us all some good.”

He took in a deep breath.

As though by common accord they all turned to Dar, who was leaning against the wall. The tall Operations VP shrugged. ”I’ve been in worse,” she commented. ”My guess is there’s no other place around here, right?” Her eyes went to Skippy.

”No.” The perky blonde looked disturbed. ”They assured us you wouldn’t have any problem with this place. We were very explicit in describing it.”

José snorted. ”They must be laughing their asses off at us.” He spat disgustedly. ”Big joke, big joke, wait until I get back there. I’m going to call up those bastards and give them a piece of my mind.” He pointed at Dar. ”See what you got us into?”

”Yes, I hold you responsible for this, Dar.” Eleanor agreed. ”What were you thinking of?”

Mariana got between them. ”Wait a minute. This has nothing to do with Dar.”

”Of course it does,” Steven interrupted smoothly. ”Her lack of cooperation is what landed us here, Mariana, but now that we’re here, we might as well make the best of it.” He smiled at Skippy, who still appeared very upset. ”I’m sure we’ll carry on, despite what old Dar’s gotten us into.”

”That’s a very good attitude St...I mean, Mr. Fabricini,” Skippy asserted.

Dar gave them all a dour look, realizing Steven had won a point.


Hurricane Watch

55

”Arguing about this right now is pointless,” she stated evenly. ”We can discuss it when we get back to Miami, or better yet, we can all take a flight over to Houston and talk about it with Alastair directly.”

That threat got a wide-eyed response. ”Right now, let’s just get through this.” She looked over at Skippy. ”You were going to take us over to a cabin? I think some sleep would be a good idea.”

”Um, right, okay, let’s go.” The guide knew when to beat a retreat.

”Right this way. Now, we put sheets and blankets on the bunks. It’s a little nippy tonight, so I have someone out checking for space heaters, but we don’t have those right now.” She led the way across the dark ground towards a smaller, wooden structure. ”Here we are.”

She

opened the door and stood back to let them enter. ”Watch your step.”

It was, Kerry decided, pretty horrifying. She’d been to camps, sure, but the ones her parents had sent her to had carpet on the floors and private bunks for each camper. This was not like that. It was basically two rooms with a shared bathroom in the middle, featuring wooden framed bunks against the walls and shuttered windows between them.

Six bunks in one room, six in the other, and the bathroom was split in two also, with two toilet stalls and two showers, lacking curtains.

Oh boy. Kerry glanced at Dar, who looked like she was caught between wild amusement and true irritation. ”Men on one side, women on the other,” the Operations VP stated flatly. ”Just don’t think about it.

Pick a bunk, and let’s just get some sleep.”

Dar stalked across the wooden floor, selecting the bunk in the back corner and tossing her bag down on it. Kerry ambled over and chose the next one, sitting down on it and folding her hands in her lap.

Mariana followed suit, silently picking the bunk to the other side of Dar, then smiling as Mary Lou sat down next to her, leaving the far bunk for Eleanor.

”Right.” Duks grunted and headed towards the other room, which connected via a door. He opened it and passed through. ”C’mon boys.”

Steven laughed gently, giving Dar a smile before he followed the finance VP into the next room and José trailed after him with a disgusted look. Eleanor’s assistant meekly went along leaving the women all looking at each other.

”I’m going to be ill,” Eleanor stated firmly, holding her bag. ”This is unacceptable.”

Kerry stood and circled the small room. ”Well, it’s not really that bad,” she stated. ”I mean, it could be worse. The linens are fresh and it’s clean in here, so they obviously keep it up.” She glanced up and decided not to mention the huge spider web. ”It’s only for a night or two.” She glanced at Eleanor. ”Look, we’re sort of stuck here and it doesn’t make sense to fight about it now. Let’s wait until we get home, then we can talk about it.”

Eleanor pursed her lips, unable to find a way to argue with Kerry’s logic and she tentatively approached the bunk, touching the fabric with 56

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one finger. ”Well, it is clean.” She pushed the pillow experimentally. ”I suppose I could make a sacrifice.” She looked up at Dar. ”But you’re going to pay for this, Roberts.”

Dar was seated on her bunk, leaning against the wall and staring at her impassively. ”Threats are pointless,” she stated point blank, ”so shut up. I didn’t ask for this. I wasn’t the one who sent the damn email to Alastair and I don’t want to hear that crap for the next two days.”

”Well, he wouldn’t have had to send it if you’d cooperated with him, now would he?” Eleanor shot back.

”I don’t cooperate with unreasonable requests. You should damn well know that by now,” Dar responded. ”I don’t care who makes them, not you, not Alastair, and especially not your little hatchet boy.”

”Ladies.” Mariana held a hand up. ”Can we can it for the evening, please?” she requested. ”We’ve got plenty of time to assign blame and fight with each other when we get back to Miami. Let’s just get this over with.”

Dar sighed. Mariana was right, and besides, she was letting Eleanor get to her. ”Right.” She sat up and unbuckled her overnight bag, tugging out a flannel nightshirt. An awkward silence fell and she glanced up to see everyone just sort of looking at each other. ”C’mon now folks. We’re all girls here,” Dar reminded them drolly as she pulled off her sweatshirt, and tugged her polo from its neat tuck into her jeans.

”Oh no.” Eleanor took her bag and retreated to the bathroom, leaving the rest of them in still uncomfortable silence.

Dar sighed. ”Just shut off the light,” she directed Mary Lou.

”Nobody can see each other in the dark.”

The tall ash blonde nodded appreciatively and did so, plunging the room into inky blackness, broken by conspicuous rustlings and the sounds of bare feet moving on the wood. Next door, ribald male voices were heard and they could see the light under the door.

”See? The boys don’t care,” Dar remarked, tucking her clothes away and seating herself on her bunk, which was raised slightly off the floor.

Mariana snorted. ”Care? They compete. They’re probably measuring themselves as we speak.”

A round of chuckles.

”Not in this weather,” Dar drawled wryly. ”They’d need a caliper.”

Another round of chuckles, this time louder.

A wild scream erupted from the bathroom and after a stunned moment, the door was thrown open disgorging a half clad Eleanor who screamed and bolted for the door of the cabin.

Unfortunately, she forgot to open it and slammed face first into the planks. ”Oh my god, oh my god, help!”

Dar hopped out of bed and headed over, hearing heavy footsteps from next door. She reached Eleanor just as José flung the door open, resplendent in his white silk boxers with red hearts. ”Jesu! What is going on here?”


Hurricane Watch

57

”I have no idea,” Dar snarled. ”Eleanor, what in the hell happened?”

The Marketing executive turned and waved her hands wildly. ”It attacked me! My god. I have to get away!” She pointed at the bathroom.

”In there!”

Kerry had followed Dar across the floor and now she ducked her head into the bathroom, glancing around cautiously. She saw the toilet, one small sink that had Eleanor’s makeup all over it, the shower stall, and a snake. She started to pull her head back out, then froze.

”Oh...Jesus.” Her eyes widened. ”Anyone know the local fauna?” She jumped back as the snake slithered out. ”Look out!”

”Dios Mio!” José yelped, spotting it. He jumped back inside the boys’ room and slammed the door.

The snake, a three foot long green specimen, headed towards Dar.

”Where’s Steve Irwin when you need him?” Dar muttered as she peered at it in the low light. ”I think it’s harmless.”

”You think?” Mariana was standing on her bed. ”Dar, don’t you ‘I think’ me, okay? I am not going to spend all day Monday filling out paperwork because you got bit by an ‘I think.’”

”No, it is.” Dar waited for the snake to crawl up on her foot, then she captured its neck and lifted it up. ”Probably looking for a warm place.” She examined it. ”Yeah, it’s just a garden snake. It’s not dangerous.”

The door to the men’s side cracked open and three sets of eyes peered out. ”Goodness,” Eleanor’s assistant squeaked.

Dar sighed and motioned Eleanor away from the door. ”Move, I’ll put it outside.”

”What?” Steven now stuck his head through the door. ”And let it attack someone else? No way. Kill it!”