Ch 36 Bad memories
Canberra
Dylan poured coffee in the mugs, added a little milk for her and grabbed them in one hand. Then he took the daily mail and squeezed it under his arm so that he has a free hand to knock the door.
"Good morning ma'am. Here's your brew and the daily reports", he deadpanned as usual when he entered.
"Hi", Kate replied uninterested.
He frowned a little.
Uh? That doesn't sound good. This morning everything was ok though?
He threw a quick look under the desk and saw her bare feet on the carpet.
Hmm, normal behaviour, what else then?
"What's the matter sweetie? During breakfast you were in a good mood. Too much job or your knee all of a sudden?", he asked as he looked for a free place on her desk to put down the mugs and sat down.
Kate shrugged and shook her head. "No. It's busy actually with the combined manoeuvres and the knee is ok, but sometimes it ambushes me, then I'm getting homesick to the sea. Being at the bridge, doing real actions.", she said. Next Kate spread her arms. "Look, I've the most luxury and spacious office of the Navy, even 20 times bigger then my cabin on the frigate, but I'm missing that particular climate of being on a ship." She looked straight at him. "Do you understand that?"
He grimaced. "Yeah sweetie, I know what you feel, but remember, I've said once to you that there will come a chance to be at sea again", he replied with a smile.
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I remember that, but I don't have a prospect."
Kate switched her mood, took the mug and took a sip of coffee.
"Right! What do we have today?", she asked convinced.
He smirked. "Mike will be over the moon. Today the order to build the ships is going to be sent to Merriman Ships Wharf."
A broad smile appeared on her face. "Great! Then he has no reasons anymore to kill Nikki about details."
"You've heard something about Kerry yet?", he asked.
Kate made a wondering face. "Nope, nothing. It's just like she doesn't exist. Nikki hasn't heard about her either. She's in that centre, but for how long, I don't know and she can't get anything out of him about her."
"Weird."
"What else?"
"Too much correspondence about the combined manoeuvres that will start within two days. They really want to copy you in for everything, even for toilet paper and body bags!", he said making a face.
Two days later.
The directors of Merriman Ships Wharf were invited to Canberra to discuss the details of the construction of the ships. Mike had also attended the meeting because he had done the investigation. Kate had attended the meeting for the introduction and the delegation of the tasks and then she had left it to leave the details for the specialists. She had also found out that the directors of the ship wharf were man and wife. Martin Merriman was the general manager and he managed the technical side of the construction, while his wife Carly Merriman did the financial part.
Kate left the meeting room and walked back to her department. She knocked the doorframe of Dylan's office and entered.
"Hey, how was it?", he asked as he put down his pen.
"Hmm, … can we grab a brew?", she asked him motioning with her head to the door.
"Ah? Ok, there's always time for a brew", he said as he stood upright.
"Something wrong?", he asked her as they walked together to the mess and he saw her thoughtful face.
"Yes, … no, … I don't know honestly", she replied faintly.
"I'll get the coffee this time!", she said to get away from the topic.
She walked back to the high table with two cups which put on it. He waited until she had hissed herself on the stool.
"Tell me, what's bothering you."
Kate spooned some milk through her coffee and opened carefully the package of the cookie while she was thinking how to formulate her thoughts.
"It's Mike. He doesn't behave like I'm used from him. He started enthusiastically on the project and his presentation was full of passion. Moreover he was also so impatient to know if the project was assigned to the constructor", she said.
"Yeah and?"
"When I saw him in the meeting, it noticed a certain reticence from him. It looked like he wasn't interested anymore. So quiet. When it came to a personal contact with the Merrimans I've got the impression that he didn't want to see them. Strange."
"Hmm, indeed strange, that's not the Mike we know", he said toying with his cup.
She lifted one eyebrow. "Watch out with that cup big fella. Last week, you've made big spots on my and your shirt by toying with it. It wasn't a nice view, especially when we two attended that meeting afterwards. I still see all those grins."
He grimaced and released the cup.
She shook her head. "Even when I ordered him to follow up the project he looked like he was hit by a freight train. First he was over the moon with it and now it looked like he wanted to get rid of it. And next to that I'm getting the impression that he's avoiding me, just like we've had a fight."
"Maybe it's an impression of you?"
Kate looked at him and shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. Maybe I'm seeing ghosts. Besides it's not my day today, Maybe it's that."
She tapped his hand. "Come, back to work, I've still some documents to finish for the big Army-Navy-Air Force manoeuvre that starts the day after tomorrow."
They stood upright and walked back to their offices.
The next day it was a real funny house at the headquarters in Canberra. Officers of all ranks of the three forces were having last meetings before the manoeuvre would start the next morning at 6:00 AM.
Kate left a meeting room with a few files under her arm and started to walk back to her office. Dylan left the meeting room as well with his laptop and some pinned A4 papers.
"Kate", he said out loud, "you forgot the Air Force schedule", whereby he bumped almost at an Air Commodore.
"Oops, sorry sir", he apologised .
The man frowned and said "Captain, you seem to have a very strange syntax towards a superior officer!", he reprimanded him.
"Uh?!", Dylan stammered, realising he had made a mistake. Everyone knew about their relationship, but not the people from outside.
Kate had heard Dylan's remark about the papers and the comments of the other man and turned back.
"Don't worry about that Commodore, we're married", she said dryly as she held open a file so that Dylan could insert the missing papers. After that they walked together to her office leaving the Air Force man with an open mouth.
Later that day.
Petty Officer Billy Webb, Spider, has just checked the latest documents to be sent and turned to go to the mail desk as he came across Mrs Merriman.
"Hey! Carly! That's an eternity ago! How are you?", he asked joyously.
Carly looked at him a bit surprised. "Do I have to know you sailor?", she asked him.
"For sure! I'm Billy. My mates called me Spider. We've met each other years ago at the island of your father and at his yacht", he explained.
"Hmm, yeah, now I remember. Well as you can see, I'm fine. But I've a meeting to attend", she answered and walked through.
At the same time Kate left another meeting room and headed to her office.
Pfft, that was the last one for me. Now it's up to the branch commanders to fill in the details.
She saw Spider in conversation with Mrs Merriman.
Hey, Mrs Merriman is here again, probably for the invoices. Hmm, she seems to know Spider.
"Hey Spider, you seem to know Mrs Merriman?", she asked him.
"Ah! Ma'am. Of course I know Carly. So, she calls like that nowadays, Merri-man or something like that?", he replied.
"Indeed, Merriman", and she frowned, "How do you know her?"
"Ma'am, you know her too. Carly Walsman, we've met her at her father's resort at that island and at his yacht", he said convinced.
"Ray Walsman?", she asked with narrowed eyes.
"Exactly. What a coincidence huh?"
"Yeah indeed, a coincidence", she said as she walked slowly further.
Carly Merriman is Carly Walsman, daughter of that terrorist leader. She married with a ships builder, Merriman. Do I have to make links here? It's not said that she's in the footsteps of her father. Is this a coincidence or not? Do I have to start worrying? Probably not, the girl started her own life. Although I feel that something isn't normal here…
"Hey ma'am!", she got interrupted by an enthusiast voice and she turned to see where that familiar voice came from.
To be continued