A/N — what can I say? Sometimes these things demand to be written. Set immediately after Chapter 9, where Kara and Danny talk. xoxo — tmtcltb

x

Carlton walked out dry storage and straight into Delta Team. Minus Green, of course, given that the guy was currently in storage with Kara and, Carlton noted with annoyance, no Cooper. Meaning that it was now Carlton's job to make sure that Tex didn't do something stupid like interrupt Danny and Kara right after Carlton got them to start talking. The idiot probably thought he was helping Green, when the best thing to do was leave the two of them alone to hash things out. Heaving an internal sigh — why Danny couldn't find some way to sneak into Kara's at-sea cabin was beyond him — Carlton crossed his arms over his chest. There was no way he was letting Delta screw this up after he went through all the work of arranging this little meet-up.

He narrowed his eyes. "You all know the rules about congregating in the p-way."

Tex grinned, leaning back against the wall. "And here I thought Green was sneaking in there to see Foster. You got something you want to share, Burk?"

Carlton shrugged. "Turns out the TAC team needed new basketballs. Green needed to know the general area. He's getting them now."

Tex pulled a flash light out of his pocket, grinning at Carlton. "Strange, I thought Miller told me the last one went overboard in Brazil. But since we're here, might as well find them. We won't keep you, XO."

Damn.

Thinking fast, Carlton decided that he needed to go on the attack. "Captain said your story about lipstick was a crock of shit, Tex. I'm tempted to write you up for spreading rumors about a senior officer."

"Lipstick?" Azima queried.

Tex winked at her. "Told Burk there that Green had lipstick on his face when I got to the safe house. Presumably from our fair Captain."

Azima scoffed. "Foster is not so stupid."

"Burk there bought the story," Tex pointed out.

Wolf shook his head at Carlton, muttering something about easy prey before asking. "Well, what did Kara say when you asked?"

"The Captain said that she and Commander Green followed the agreed upon plan, getting to the safe house and waiting for the rest of you to arrive," Carlton lied. What Kara told him in that storage room was between them. Besides, there was no way Carlton was going to tell Tex that his trick actually worked. "Exactly what she said in her formal report."

"Come on, Carlton," Wolf wheedled. "Don't give us that bunkum."

Azima elbowed him. "If you have a question for the Captain, you should ask it yourself."

Tex burst into laughter. "Only Burk can get away with that."

Thankfully, before Carlton had to think of a response, Sasha rounded the corner. She raised her hands to her hips, regarding each member of her team sternly. "I assume, since you are all here, that the debriefings I requested are complete?"

"We'll, ugh, get those now, ma'am," Wolf responded, edging around Sasha. Azima shook her head, then rolled her eyes at Sasha, before following.

Tex nodded his head towards Carlton. "Green's looking for basketballs. Figured that I'd help him out."

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "Guess you won't be available to handle the call scheduled with Commander Garnett in," Sasha checked her watch, "ten minutes then. I suppose I'll just have to..."

"No need, Mrs. Commodore," Tex said, tipping an imaginary hat. "I am happy to handle this boring and unnecessary call from Naval Command on behalf of Delta Team."

Carlton waited until Tex was gone to look at Sasha, giving her a nod of thanks. He wondered if Sasha's appearance here was deliberate, or merely fortuitous. Despite having interacted with the woman both on and off the field, Carlton still couldn't figure out what made her tick. Women were complicated, but Cooper was in her own league.

Sasha glanced towards the door that Carlton was blocking. ""How long have they been in there?"

"Maybe ten minutes," Carlton replied. "How long did you buy them?"

"Probably thirty." Sasha gestured towards a cabin further down the corridor. "If we leave the lounge door cracked, we'll see them coming."

Carlton almost smacked himself for not thinking of that earlier. After all, isn't that how he figured out that Kara and Danny were meeting here in the first place? Watching each of them exit dry storage one after the other just a few too many times?

"Smart thinking, Cooper." Carlton turned towards the lounge. "We can watch for Tex. Plus, any crew who wanders by will make a quick exit once they notice the two of us."

Behind him, Sasha hid a smile as she trailed Carlton down the p-way. Thank goodness. For half a minute there, she thought that Burk was going to ruin all of her planning.