screens mounted on the wall opposite Dennis’s desk.
He spun to face them as Micki aimed the remote control at the screens and let the short loops of footage begin.
The images were horrific and mesmerizing.
“What’s going on out there now? Can you pull up a live feed?” Victoria asked quietly.
With a nod, Micki pointed the remote at the next screen and clicked it, then pulled Dennis’s keyboard toward her and rapidly typed in a sequence.
One of the research boats was on the scene, surrounded by five or so wetsuited security teams on Jet Skis and a few more in inflatables. Bobbing easily on the calm sea, surrounded by debris and dark slicks of spilled fuel, some still burning, they appeared to be waiting for something. Or perhaps just absorbing the chaos.
“Jesus Christ Almighty.” Dennis took a short, hard breath. “Get the chopper. I’m going out there.”
He began moving toward the door. As he passed her, Victoria reached out and grabbed his upper arms in a grip that threatened to cut off his circulation. “Wait a minute.”
“Knock it off. I’m—”
“Dennis, wait,” she repeated, her mind racing in too many directions too fast. She looked up at him and knew he was fighting the same smothering confusion. “Nothing is making sense to anyone right now. Just wait for a few minutes. ’Til the fog in our brains clears away a little.”
“What the fuck does that mean, Vic?” he snapped. “I need to be out there.”
“You might think you need to be out there, but no one else will appreciate it, Dennis. It’s your need you’re thinking of, not theirs,” she pointed out,meeting his glare as calmly as she could. “No one out there needs
you
. Not right now, anyway. You’ll only get in their way. It’s too chaotic. Even they are still figuring out what to do. There’s fire, a fuel spill, a huge debris field—let them assess the situation. It’s what they’re trained to do. They’ll let us know what they need. And I guarantee the last thing they need is a he li cop ter out there churning up the crash site.”
He was breathing as if he’d just finished a sprint. “I’m going out there, Vic.”
She clenched her teeth and put as much fire into her eyes as she had in her. “No, you’re
not
. You’re staying here, Dennis. I swear to God, if I have to pin you down and tie you up,
you are staying here with me
.”
“The fuck I am.”
Dennis’s face, contorted with tension and suffused with anger, let her know his heart rate was approaching the red zone.
“You can’t. I won’t let you, Dennis. You’re the pres—”
He tried again to shrug her off but pulling away didn’t dislodge her hands. Hers was a death grip.
“God damn it. Back off, Vic. It was my plane, my people. I’m—”
“Stand down, Dennis,” she snapped and gave him a hard shake. “For God’s sake,
you were supposed to be on that plane
. Think about that. Whoever planned this didn’t know you weren’t on board. No one knew except you and me and the pilot who brought you here before dawn.” She paused to take a shaky breath and continued in a slightly calmer voice. “Dennis, we don’t know what brought the
Gaia
down and we have no idea what’s waiting for us out there. There could be other—”
He froze at her words and stared at her, the blood suddenly draining from his face. “You think someone did this?”
“Yes.” The word came out of her mouth forcefully, without hesitation or forethought, and the strength of it made her blink. But she didn’t doubt herself. She never did when her gut spoke to her. Not for a second.
“But you don’t—”
“Until I’m convinced otherwise, you stay on land.” Victoria knew her eyes were boring into his.
Dennis stared her down as his breathing became less labored and his color improved. “That’s paranoid.”
“We went over this less than an hour ago.”
“The security at our Miami hangar makes TSA—hell, it makes the Secret Service drool with
He spun to face them as Micki aimed the remote control at the screens and let the short loops of footage begin.
The images were horrific and mesmerizing.
“What’s going on out there now? Can you pull up a live feed?” Victoria asked quietly.
With a nod, Micki pointed the remote at the next screen and clicked it, then pulled Dennis’s keyboard toward her and rapidly typed in a sequence.
One of the research boats was on the scene, surrounded by five or so wetsuited security teams on Jet Skis and a few more in inflatables. Bobbing easily on the calm sea, surrounded by debris and dark slicks of spilled fuel, some still burning, they appeared to be waiting for something. Or perhaps just absorbing the chaos.
“Jesus Christ Almighty.” Dennis took a short, hard breath. “Get the chopper. I’m going out there.”
He began moving toward the door. As he passed her, Victoria reached out and grabbed his upper arms in a grip that threatened to cut off his circulation. “Wait a minute.”
“Knock it off. I’m—”
“Dennis, wait,” she repeated, her mind racing in too many directions too fast. She looked up at him and knew he was fighting the same smothering confusion. “Nothing is making sense to anyone right now. Just wait for a few minutes. ’Til the fog in our brains clears away a little.”
“What the fuck does that mean, Vic?” he snapped. “I need to be out there.”
“You might think you need to be out there, but no one else will appreciate it, Dennis. It’s your need you’re thinking of, not theirs,” she pointed out,meeting his glare as calmly as she could. “No one out there needs
you
. Not right now, anyway. You’ll only get in their way. It’s too chaotic. Even they are still figuring out what to do. There’s fire, a fuel spill, a huge debris field—let them assess the situation. It’s what they’re trained to do. They’ll let us know what they need. And I guarantee the last thing they need is a he li cop ter out there churning up the crash site.”
He was breathing as if he’d just finished a sprint. “I’m going out there, Vic.”
She clenched her teeth and put as much fire into her eyes as she had in her. “No, you’re
not
. You’re staying here, Dennis. I swear to God, if I have to pin you down and tie you up,
you are staying here with me
.”
“The fuck I am.”
Dennis’s face, contorted with tension and suffused with anger, let her know his heart rate was approaching the red zone.
“You can’t. I won’t let you, Dennis. You’re the pres—”
He tried again to shrug her off but pulling away didn’t dislodge her hands. Hers was a death grip.
“God damn it. Back off, Vic. It was my plane, my people. I’m—”
“Stand down, Dennis,” she snapped and gave him a hard shake. “For God’s sake,
you were supposed to be on that plane
. Think about that. Whoever planned this didn’t know you weren’t on board. No one knew except you and me and the pilot who brought you here before dawn.” She paused to take a shaky breath and continued in a slightly calmer voice. “Dennis, we don’t know what brought the
Gaia
down and we have no idea what’s waiting for us out there. There could be other—”
He froze at her words and stared at her, the blood suddenly draining from his face. “You think someone did this?”
“Yes.” The word came out of her mouth forcefully, without hesitation or forethought, and the strength of it made her blink. But she didn’t doubt herself. She never did when her gut spoke to her. Not for a second.
“But you don’t—”
“Until I’m convinced otherwise, you stay on land.” Victoria knew her eyes were boring into his.
Dennis stared her down as his breathing became less labored and his color improved. “That’s paranoid.”
“We went over this less than an hour ago.”
“The security at our Miami hangar makes TSA—hell, it makes the Secret Service drool with
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