Chapter 31
Championship Game
With the destruction of eleven of the twelve Colonies, interplanetary sports became a thing of the past. During the first and second years of the Cylon occupation, the Caprica Buccaneers pyramid team went undefeated as rival teams from Antioch, Sovana and Delphi recruited and trained new members. During the third year as the newer teams came into their own, the Buccaneers faced stiff competition for the first time since the Colony came under Cylon control.
-Bartell, History of the Second Cylon War
.
If Laura had to describe her long weekend with John in one word, that word would be sensual, and not just in a sexual way. From the moment he picked her up on Friday morning and the transport took them to a small, private airfield outside of Caprica City to the moment he brought her back on Monday evening and kissed her goodnight, the weekend was a feast for all of her senses.
She learned right away that he owned a small four-passenger ship that he kept in a hangar outside the city. Later she learned that he owned a cozy little cottage on the rugged northeastern shore of an island a hundred miles off the south coast of Delphi.
She was not in the least surprised, however, as they arrived at the small airport to hear him greet almost everyone they saw by their first names. She was not surprised either at his professionalism as he filed their flight plan and checked the ship before they took off. She loved that she got to sit in the co-pilot's seat beside him. It was an experience she had never had before, one that she would add to their growing list of firsts.
When they were in the air and he had stopped talking to the tower, she asked him, "How long have you had your own ship?"
He switched off the transmitter of his headset. "A little over two years. I bought it when I sold the other one, the ship I stole from the drug runner on Picon to get Kara off the planet."
"How could you sell a stolen ship?"
He grinned. "Easier than you might think. I didn't need a twelve-passenger, deep-space worthy ship with N-class radiation shielding. That ship retails out of the box for about a million and a half cubits. Add the shielding and you've got a ship worth more than two million. I sold it for about half of that to a guy who could pay for it without any financing."
"Another drug dealer?"
"No. I made sure of that. He may not be the most upstanding citizen, but he's a legitimate business man. He's also smuggling arms for a group we're acquainted with that starts with an R. That's why he needs a ship with the radiation shielding. It prevents cargo scanning. I bought this ship and had enough left for a little vacation place."
"So are you finally going to tell me where we're going?"
"I guess now that we're in the air and you can't back out, I can tell you. I've got a place on the north coast of Mykos Island. The south and west sides of the island are the popular touristy spots. The beaches and coves on the north and east are too rocky for the tourists, but it's great for relaxing in private."
"It sounds perfect."
"It wasn't much when I bought it two years ago, but I've been flying down about once a month and working on it. I'm almost through now. I haven't finished all the interior painting, but the rest of it is done. I contracted what I couldn't do myself. You can tell me what else it needs."
"Didn't Lissa help you?"
"I never took Lissa down there. Not that I wouldn't have. She was just never interested in going. Too far away from Gaius Baltar, I guess." He smiled and winked at her.
"John…"
"I shouldn't have said that. It sounds like it still bothers me but it doesn't."
"How long will we be in the air?"
"About two hours."
He reached over and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers before he brought her hand to his lips and kissed the top of it.
"I took yours and Billy's advice and hired a private detective yesterday to look for Kara, one who specializes in missing persons, especially young people. First thing he said after I showed him the information that Billy had found was not to get my hopes up for anything happening fast. I think that was his way of telling me it's probably going to cost a lot of money. He said he wished I had a more current picture of her. The only one of Kara I brought with me from Picon was the one I had in my billfold which was her third grade picture. She was eight years old. I had her other school pictures in a nice frame where you can put every picture from kindergarten through the senior year of high school. Kara's mom was good about always getting me her school pictures. I couldn't bring the big one with me. The night we left Picon was crazy anyway."
"Can I see the picture?"
"The detective took it. He's going to give it back, but he wanted to scan it into some software he has that can age a person. He told me to call him next week when I got back from our trip and look at what he had come up with before he starts using the picture in his search. In the meantime he's going to go over everything Billy found and see if he can pick up some more clues. I wish I felt more hopeful right now."
"It's far too soon to give up. Next week we'll eat dinner with Hugh Connelly and he can tell you about Kara's life in the camp. John, I don't think it was nearly as bad as you've imagined it."
"I hope not. Now you and I are going to put this out of our minds for a couple of days. I've obsessed about this enough since you told me she's alive. I'll let the detective do what I'm paying him to do. We're going to relax and read and walk on the beach."
"That's all?" She asked in her most coy tone of voice.
He grinned. "What did I leave out?"
"What do you think?"
...
The cottage was cozy and beautiful with blue-gray shutters and a slate roof. It was made of light-colored limestone and was set on a low headland overlooking a small bay. The beach was narrow and the waves crashed over large rocks near the entrance to the cove. It was definitely not a typical tourist beach, but Laura found its wild beauty breathtaking.
She and John stood together on the headland before walking down to the water's edge. "It reminds me of where I grew up," he said. "That's why I bought it. The house was in bad shape and it's taken a lot of work, but I've finally got something I'm proud of."
"It's beautiful…everything about it…the cottage, the view, everything."
"The water's still too cold for swimming, and the currents are bad this time of year, but it's fine for wading. The beach is a great place to relax and read or sleep because it's so sheltered. I don't own the little bay, but I might as well. Nobody ever comes here because the only access is by my property or by boat and unless you know where the rocks are, you'd be crazy to bring a boat in here. We should have it to ourselves this weekend."
"My mother was deathly afraid of water," Laura said, "especially the ocean. Our vacations were rarely spent at the beach. My father insisted that I learn to swim, though."
"The only time I lived very far from the water was when I was on the Solaria. My apartment on Picon was a couple of blocks from South Beach. When Kara was a baby her mother would bring her over. We'd walk down to the beach and spend a few hours. Kara loved the water. She loved it when I'd pick her up and take her out into the waves. She'd hold on to my neck. She…" he stopped and stared out at the ocean.
She took his hand and said softly, "We're going to find her, John. You mustn't doubt that. Now, you said we were going to forget our problems for the weekend. Let's go down and walk on the beach. Then we can fix some lunch and…maybe take a nap. I can't remember the last time I took a nap after lunch."
He came back to the present. "A nap sounds good. There's a hammock on the porch that will sleep two."
"A hammock? I don't believe I've ever taken a nap in a hammock."
"It looks like we're going to keep adding to that list of firsts, doesn't it?"
She looked at him, her eyes full of meaning. "And the shower?"
He grinned. "You're not going to give up on that until I show you, are you?"
She shook her head. "You should have realized by now that I'm very persistent when I want something." He didn't say anything for a long time. She finally couldn't take his silence. "What are you thinking about, John?"
He squeezed her hand. "I'm wondering how I ever got this lucky."
...
Laura had always tried to forget some experiences almost immediately, like her experience with Cavil and his centurions on the steps of the university's admin building. But others she committed to her memory in such a way that she could recall them almost minute by minute. Such were the four days she spent with John on the island of Mykos.
They walked on the beach. They waded out into the cold surf as far as they dared. They spent lazy hours talking and reading and dozing.
Each night John built a fire in the cottage's fireplace and they spent hours in front of it talking and drinking wine or Siren's Kiss and making love. She remembered every single incredible time. She loved the way it wasn't always her or always him who was the first to touch or kiss the other.
He finally showed her what happened in the shower when her arms were tight around his neck and her back was against the tiles snuggly enough that she felt secure but not uncomfortable. Afterward she was so weak-kneed that he had to take her towel and dry her. It was perhaps the first time that she realized what good shape he was in.
She playfully asked him if he did his shower trick often enough to stay in that kind of shape. He smiled and told her that he worked out at a health club several times a week. She told him that she was almost tempted to believe him.
Sunday night was warm and they went down to the beach and lay together on a blanket and looked up at the stars. Laura snuggled against him.
"We go home tomorrow and I really don't want this time to end. This has been so good for me. I can't tell you how much it means that you shared this place with me."
She felt his lips on her forehead. "We can always come back. Anytime you want, Laura."
"Oh, let me just savor that thought for a few minutes."
That thought more than any other was the one that she took home with her the next day and began to cherish. That she could return to this place of wild and untamed beauty where she could temporarily forget the responsibilities of her office and her obligations to those who depended on her. That she could return to a place where she had felt cared for, where she had felt safe, and where she and John had made love beneath the stars that night with their bodies so perfectly attuned to each other that the experience had touched her soul.
She finally admitted to herself as she lay in his arms that her feelings for him were a lot more complicated than she had ever thought they could be. But love had always eluded her and for the moment, at least, she was afraid to admit that she was already in love with him.
...
Monday night Kara had just sat down to watch a movie on television when the doorbell rang. She ignored it, hoping whoever it was would go away. No such luck. The person began knocking. She got up, walked to the door and looked out the peephole. A handsome brown-haired man who looked very familiar stood in the hall. While she watched he knocked again.
"Come on, Tory, I know you're in there. Open the door. I'm sorry I haven't called in a while. I've been busy. I brought you a present."
Kara left the chain on and opened the door, enjoying the confusion on his face.
"Oh, crap, I've got the wrong apartment," he said. "No, 22-G. Right apartment, wrong woman. Has Tory Foster moved?"
"She's out of town on her job for a while. I'm taking care of the place while she's away."
"Are you one of her friends? I don't remember meeting you."
"Nope, just the sitter. She's going to be gone a couple of months."
He held up a bottle of wine. "In that case take this and never say Samuel T. Anders didn't give you something."
That's why he looked so familiar. She didn't take the bottle of wine. "You're Sam Anders?"
He smiled showing perfect white teeth. "In the flesh. And you are?"
"Carrie Warner. My boss and his wife live in this building. She knows Tory."
"Since I'm here, could I come in for a minute? I'm harmless. I promise."
Wondering about the wisdom of what she was doing, Kara unfastened the chain and let him enter. He headed straight for the kitchen. She followed him. He obviously knew his way around Tory's apartment. She stood in the kitchen doorway and watched him get an opener from a drawer and uncork the bottle of wine. He got two wineglasses from a cabinet.
"So if you and Tory are dating why didn't you know she was out of town?"
"I didn't say I was dating her. We just hook up from time to time."
"Sleep together," Kara said.
Sam laughed as he poured two glasses of wine. "That's generally what hooking up means. So what are you, a student or something? You look like you're in high school." He held one of the glasses out to her. "I'm not offering alcohol to a minor, am I?"
She took it but didn't drink. "I'm not in school. I work."
"You said that, didn't you? What do you do?"
"I deliver medicine to hospitals and clinics."
"A delivery driver. Not usually a girl job."
Kara bristled. "A girl job? What the frak is a girl job?"
"No offense. What company? CapEx?"
"MediFirst."
Sam took another sip of his wine. "Never heard of it."
"We deliver medical supplies to clinics and hospitals. Most of the time I ride a motorcycle and do the emergency runs."
"A motorcycle! Definitely not your typical girl job."
"I like speed. It's in my blood. My dad was a Viper pilot."
"Was?"
"He's dead."
"In the war?"
Kara shrugged. She didn't feel like getting into the story with Anders.
"I had a pilot snake a girl from me once. She was hot, too. About three times smarter than me, but hot. It left a bad taste in my mouth for pilots. Come on." He went into the living room and sat down on the couch like he owned the place. Kara stood in the doorway. "You can come over here and sit on the couch. I won't bite."
She took a tiny sip of the wine. It was good. She took a bigger sip before she sat in one of the chairs.
"So what do you do for fun, Carrie?"
She shrugged. "Not much. Hang out with friends mostly."
"Boyfriend?"
She shook her head and then said. "I just broke up with one. I met another guy. We're…taking it slow right now."
"Taking it slow." Anders seemed amused. "What happened to liking speed?"
"Not when it comes to guys," she answered. "So are the Buccaneers going to win Saturday night?"
"You bet. Are you and this new guy of yours exclusive?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you dating anybody else?"
"I'm not dating anybody right now. I don't know about him."
"Would you consider dating me?"
Kara shrugged. "There's a lot going on in my life right now."
"A lot going on in your life?" He laughed. "What are you, eighteen, nineteen years old? What could be going on in your life?"
"Are you making fun of me? Because if you are, there's the door," she said hotly. "You don't know the first thing about my life or what I've been through."
"No, I'm not making fun of you." He downed the rest of the glass of wine and got up from the couch. "Look, if I give you a ticket, a floor-side seat to the game Saturday night, would you consider going?"
She wondered what a floor-side seat to the championship pyramid game would cost. Probably what she made in a month, maybe even two.
"I guess."
"And after the game would you consider going to a big celebration party with me?"
"What if you lose?"
"Not going to happen."
"Okay, send me the ticket."
"What if I bring you the ticket and take you to dinner tomorrow night?"
"I don't do the hooking up thing."
"I'm not asking you to hook up with me...just go eat dinner."
"I don't own a dress."
"Wear your jeans. We'll go somewhere casual." He handed his empty wineglass to her. "I can find my way out. I'll see you tomorrow night about seven."
"Make it eight. I don't get off work until seven."
"Eight it is." He took out his mobile phone and found the number he wanted. "Hey, Janine," he said as he headed for the door. "What are you doing tonight? You want some company?"
After he was gone Kara walked into the kitchen and put his empty wineglass in the sink. She finished her wine and put her glass beside it. She couldn't shake the feeling that instead of simplifying her life she had just complicated it.
...
He was late arriving the next night, so late that she thought she was getting stood up. And when he did arrive, he offered her no explanation other than a quick, "Sorry I'm late."
"What happened? Did you stop by Janine's on the way?"
"That's funny. I got hung up at practice. These things happen. I don't have the kind of job where you punch a time clock."
Kara rolled her eyes.
"So do you still want to go eat or not? I'm hungry."
"I'm hungry, too."
He had a transport waiting and told the driver to take them to Max and Emma's. Kara recognized the name of a restaurant she passed occasionally on her deliveries. It was in a very nice part of the city.
Maybe he called the restaurant casual, but she didn't. He fit in fine in his dark t-shirt, jeans and expensive sports coat. Some of the women were wearing jeans, too, but Kara didn't see another pair of sneakers. They were all in stiletto heels and fashionably brief tops. Her red sweater made her feel both conspicuously casual and too covered up. She wished they'd gone to Zeno's. She never felt out of place at Zeno's.
She saw why Anders liked this place, though. Everybody there seemed to know him. Calls of, "Hi, Sam" and "Anders" and "Longshot" followed them as they were seated. Sam greeted them with waves and smiles. He was clearly a star here. She didn't feel like she belonged, not like she did at Zeno's or the deli near her old apartment or even the little diner where she and Lee and eaten.
Lee. Gods how she wished she were with him right now talking about the Academy and flying a Viper. She started to think again about a way she could tell Lee who she really was without wrecking her whole life. He'd kept her secret about her part in destroying the Cylon lab. What would he do if he found out she was only sixteen years old. Would he freak out on her? How far could she trust him? If Jack found out he would fire her because their insurance policy clearly stated the motorcycle riders had to be at least eighteen years old.
"Hey, where are you?" Sam asked.
She refocused on him. "I'm not used to being in a place like this."
"You don't like it?"
"It's too fancy for me."
"Too fancy? At least I didn't take you to Bonnie Patrice. It makes this place look like a rat hole. So where would you rather have gone?"
Kara shrugged. "This is fine."
When the waiter came Sam ordered a bottle of wine. Kara opened her menu and looked at the prices. Each entrée was more than she spent on food for a week.
"Wow."
"What's wrong?"
"These prices," she said.
"I don't expect you to pay for your dinner."
"Still that's a lot of money to spend on one meal."
He smiled showing her his beautiful white teeth. "How about you let me worry about that? Order whatever you want."
Their waiter suggested the prime rib and she took his suggestion.
"So, Carrie, how did you get a job riding a motorcycle?"
"It's a long story."
"Is that what you want to do from now on, ride a motorcycle?"
"I want to go to the Academy and learn to fly a Viper."
"There's not much future in a military career these days."
"Maybe more than you think. One day we're going to get rid of the Cylons. I think I'll have a part in that."
Sam was amused. "What would you do? Shoot at them with rubber missiles?"
"I told you I don't like people making fun of me."
"I'm not making fun of you. What you're thinking of doing is impossible. We're stuck with the Cylons. You might as well get used to it and accept it. They're going to be with us from now on."
"If you knew what they were trying to do, you might not be so…so okay with it."
"What are they trying to do?"
"You know that lab that got blown up?"
"The one north of Caprica? It was all over the news for a couple of days. A former girlfriend used to work there. Maybe still does for all I know."
"Well, they were trying to make a baby that's half-human and half-Cylon."
"Oh, right. That's just something that got started on the internet. The Cylons traced it back to some blogger called Simon Templar. He was arrested."
"It's true."
"How do you know?"
"I just know. If you don't believe me ask your girlfriend."
"Former girlfriend. I haven't talked to her in a couple of years. Last I heard she was living with the pilot."
"Whatever."
"You're serious. You really believe that, don't you?"
"Yes, I really believe it."
"That's pretty wild, Carrie."
"So you don't care? You think it's all right for them to make something like that?"
"What would it hurt? As long as they leave me alone, I'm okay with whatever they do. I just want to play ball."
Her voice rose slightly. "I'm glad everybody on Caprica doesn't feel like you do. I'm glad some of us still hate those motherfrakkers and want to get rid of them."
"Hey, easy, okay. Why do you hate them so much?"
"My parents and my best friend's parents are dead because of them. I spent nearly three years in a godsforsaken refugee camp because of them. Three years of shooting rats with a slingshot to keep them out of my tent while you were back here signing stupid little autographs for people who didn't give a frak what me and my friends were going through."
"Whoa. I had no idea. I can see why you've got a whole other opinion about them."
"Just forget it. Play your game. Do your thing. Sign your little autographs. Let me worry about the Cylons."
She wished again that she was with Lee tonight. He understood a lot more about the Cylons than Sam Anders ever would. And he cared a lot more, too.
When they got back to Tory's apartment, Anders stayed in the transport. As she started to get out he put his hand on her arm. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"What? You think I'm going to kiss you goodnight?"
He laughed as he took an envelope out of his inside coat pocket. "Your ticket to the game Saturday night. You'll have to get your own transportation."
"Oh, right. Thanks for dinner tonight. And for the ticket."
"Just promise me one thing. If you sell the ticket, make sure it's to a hot babe. Don't sell it to a three-hundred pound guy. Okay? My reputation would never survive."
"I'm not going to sell it."
"Good. I'll see you there."
...
Hugh Connelly was waiting for Laura and John in the entry area of Bonnie Patrice when they arrived on Thursday night. Laura greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Hugh, it is so good to see you again."
"Laura, you look wonderful. It that a suntan?"
"John and I spent a few days on an island." She put her hand on John's arm. "John, this is Hugh Connelly. Hugh, this is John Gallagher, Kara's father."
The two men shook hands.
"I'd pictured you as older," John said to Hugh. "When Laura said a teacher, I thought you'd be older."
"You mean I don't look ninety? Some days I feel like it." Hugh laughed, but Laura could hear nervousness and apprehension, too.
She caught the eye of the maître d. He nodded and motioned for them to follow him. She had reserved a table in the smaller, more private dining room and they were quickly seated. They all ordered drinks.
"How did it go at the Academy today?" She asked Hugh.
"I think it went well…very well. Colonel Winters said he would be in touch as soon as they finished the other interviews. Thank you for your recommendation. The colonel had nothing but nice things to say about you."
"Chuck Winters is a smart man and a very capable administrator. I think you would be happy working for him." She turned to John. "I called Chuck last week and gave Hugh a good recommendation for the teaching position. I think he would make a fine addition to the Academy staff."
"You mentioned that," John said. "So Hugh, Laura tells me you knew my daughter in the camp. I'd like to hear about it."
"That's right. She's a remarkable girl."
John took a sip of his drink. "How did you meet her? And tell me the truth. If you lie, I'll know it and we'll have to start over."
Laura was shocked, not only at what John had just said but also at the tone of his voice.
"John," she said softly. "Please."
He looked at her. "Laura, Hugh and I are going to have a conversation about my daughter. He knows exactly why. If that's going to bother you, he and I will be happy to step into the bar and talk."
In that moment she saw a side of John she had never seen before. She saw the man who had faced Cylon Raiders and come away victorious time after time. Single-minded and ruthless were the two words that came into her thoughts as she looked at him.
She drew herself up and said coolly, "No, stay here. I just ask that you be civilized about it."
"I'm not going to embarrass you. Now, Hugh, how did you meet my daughter?"
"She saved my life. She walked up on me out in the woods near the camp while I was pointing a pistol at my head. She shouted at me and that stopped me from pulling the trigger. As it turns out it wouldn't have mattered if I had. The safety was still on the gun. I don't know anything about guns. She pointed it out to me."
"Why were you going to kill yourself?"
"John, that's really none of our business," Laura said.
"No," Connelly said. "I'll tell you why. I lost my wife and my parents when the Cylons bombed Sovana. The day before I met your daughter, my two-year-old son had died. I didn't have anything left to live for."
"I'm sorry," John said, and his tone softened. "So Kara owns a piece of your soul."
"Yes, she does."
"Her mother owned a piece of mine. What about your heart?"
"Kara owns a piece of that, too."
"Did you act on it?"
"No, not that I didn't think about it, especially before I found out how young she was, but no, nothing happened. I give you my word on that."
"Okay," John said. "Now you can tell me what she was doing out in the woods away from the camp."
"She was visiting an ancient Colonial worship site, an old stone altar. She had put things on there. She told me it was her special place. There was a little toy plane that she had put there for you. She thinks you're dead."
"I know," John said. He took a deep breath and let it out.
Laura could tell that he was starting to struggle with his emotions again. "John, maybe we should talk about something else."
"No, I've got to do this. I've got to know. What was her life like in the camp?"
"It was hard. It was for all of us. But there was food every day and we had showers. We could stay clean. She played soccer with her friend Karl and some others. There were a lot of young people in the camp. I used to watch them play occasionally. Karl was very protective of her. She survived the flu epidemic, didn't even get sick. She pulled Karl through it. She helped me, too. She's tough and strong. You should be proud of her."
John nodded. "I am. That's all I can deal with right now." He finished his drink. "Thank you. I'm sorry if I came across rough to start with, but I had to know about you and my daughter."
Hugh smiled for the first time since they had started their conversation. "I know how you feel. I have a little girl now. Her name is Elaina. I'd want to kill any man who touches her, too."
Laura felt the atmosphere at the table change with the mention of Hugh and Stacey's child. Suddenly there was a bond between the two men, the bond of their daughters. She felt at once happy and envious and left out.
John smiled. "Do you have a picture of her?"
Hugh got out his mobile phone. "How much time do you have?"
After the meal they said goodbye to Hugh outside the restaurant. His hotel was only three blocks away and he decided to walk despite the cold. He and John shook hands again and this time she felt like there was at least the potential for the two men to become friends.
John got a transport for the two of them. On the way back to her apartment she said, "You were very rough on Hugh. He didn't deserve that from you."
"He would have lied to me otherwise…like you told him to do."
"I didn't tell him to lie to you."
"You told him not to tell me anything bad about the camp, didn't you?"
"Not in those exact words, but yes."
"Why?"
"Because you've beat yourself up enough over not finding Kara."
"That wasn't your decision to make."
"John, I was thinking of you."
"I'm a big boy, Laura. I don't like to get the truth sugar-coated. I've already talked to somebody who was in the camp Kara was in. I know what it was like."
"Then why did you put a nice man like Hugh Connelly through an interrogation like that?"
"What I really wanted to know didn't have anything to do with conditions in the camp."
"You wanted to know about his relationship to Kara."
"She would have been only fourteen or fifteen when they met."
"What made you think he had an inappropriate relationship with her?"
"He was having a hard time looking me in the eyes when we met."
"And from that you deduced…I can't believe…"
"You saw them together. You have a good sense for these things. What did you think?"
"I sensed absolutely nothing between them."
He looked out the window of the transport for a long time before he turned and looked her directly in the eyes. Even in the dim light she knew she had made a mistake.
Several long moments elapsed before he spoke. "You know that's the first time since I met you that I know you lied to me. Who do you think you're protecting this time? Hugh or me or Kara?"
The transport pulled up outside her apartment. John paid the driver and they got out. "Would you like to come in?"
"I think I'll go back to my place. I've got a lot to think about."
"John, I'm sorry. Yes, I did lie to you. Your daughter had a crush on Hugh. I saw it, but I believed him when he told me that nothing had happened between them. He's a good man, an honest man."
"What else are you not telling me?"
"Kara lied to him about her age. He thought she was older. And that's all I know. When you find Kara you'll have to ask her anything else you're curious about."
"Why couldn't you have just told me that in the beginning?"
"Because, John, what difference can it make now? If something had happened between Kara and Hugh what could you do about it? Yes, she was too young, but it would have been done and you couldn't change it. You can't protect her for the rest of her life. She's a very tough, very strong young woman. Hugh saw it. Even I saw it in the short time I was with her. Don't you realize that when you find her, suddenly becoming her father is going to be a difficult transition for both of you?"
"So now you're giving me advice on being a parent?"
"I'm trying to get you to see the reality of the situation."
"Which is?"
"You left an innocent thirteen-year-old girl at that airport and she's now sixteen going on seventeen. She had her friend Karl to help protect her, but she's basically been on her own for over three years now. You can't expect to find the innocent child you left. Even though nothing happened with her and Hugh, you don't know that she hasn't found someone else. She's a beautiful young woman. She's tough and smart, but that doesn't mean she couldn't have met someone and fallen for him since then."
"You're right. She isn't going to need or want a father telling her what to do. She isn't going to need me at all."
"John, I did not say that. It might be difficult for you and Kara to work out a relationship that's right for both of you, but she's still going to need you. Every sixteen-year-old girl needs her father. I still needed my father when I was twenty-six, when he was killed I still…" she suddenly felt tears stinging her eyes. "Losing him was one of the worst things that ever happened to me…even when he made me so angry I thought I hated him, I still needed him. I still loved him. I…"
The tears spilled over and she was suddenly crying, standing there on the sidewalk shaking and crying. She was horrified and yet she couldn't seem to stop. Where had all this emotion come from?
John had her in his arms in an instant, her face against his shoulder, his mouth against her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't take this out on you. I'm sorry. You've done nothing but help me and I've acted like a jerk tonight."
All she could do was cling to him and hope the tears would stop. She hadn't cried about her father in years. What had churned up her emotions right now? Was this some kind of delayed reaction from her experience with Cavil? Had facing the possibility of her own violent death from centurions' bullets dredged up memories of her parents' violent deaths and the terrible emotional aftermath?
John took her inside and got her up to her apartment, got the door open and got her inside. He got tissues for her and sat with her on the couch and held her until the tears finally stopped.
She went into the small bathroom off the hall and washed her face in cold water. When she got back John had poured them both a drink, but not Siren's Kiss, just straight whiskey. He handed it to her.
"I'm not going to stay. You need to go to bed and get a good night's sleep."
"I'm sorry. I don't know why I fell apart like that."
"Don't apologize to me Laura. I behaved like a jerk tonight. I thought those days were behind me but I guess not. You're right. Everything you said about Kara is right. She's not a kid anymore. She might have a boyfriend. When I find her she and I will have to work hard at a relationship that suits both of us. I envy Hugh Connelly, getting to raise his little girl, getting to be there for her as she grows up."
"Kara loves you. I know she does."
"She didn't even remember me. I was with her for a couple of hours one night three years ago. How can you say she loves me?"
"Because you're her father."
He downed the rest of his drink. "I go see the detective tomorrow to look at the picture. I'll call you tomorrow night around seven and let you know what he said. I'm meeting Lee at McGee's at eight. Would you like to go to dinner Saturday night?"
She smiled. "If you think you can behave yourself."
He smiled, too. "Now what would make you think I can't?"
...
"Hey, Zak," Lee joked as they climbed the steps of the pyramid arena toward their seats, "I could have gotten a better view if I'd flown my Viper overhead. Do they keep oxygen up here for people who start suffering from altitude sickness?"
"Bitch, bitch, bitch," Zak replied. "If I'd known you were going to bitch like this, I'd have asked a friend instead. It's the damned championship game. What did you expect? How much did you pay for your ticket, huh? Tell me that."
"Just because it was free doesn't mean it's that great. Where did you get them?"
"A guy who buys a lot of stuff at Bull's Eye gave them to me. I've been helping him lately. He works for a company that manages a lot of sports stars like our boy Anders there. I've talked to him about getting a job with them."
They got to their row and carefully stepped across the feet of other fans as they made their way to their seats midway down the row.
"What kind of job?" Lee asked him when they were seated.
"PR or something. I don't know. Anything's better than being on a sales floor all the time, working nights and weekends and holidays. I mean I like the job okay, but the hours suck. I don't meet many girls, either, unless they're jocks."
"What a shame," Lee said sarcastically. "What are you down to now, five or six girlfriends?"
"I'd trade all of them for the one you've got."
"I told you I don't have her yet, but I am working on it. And you can forget about her, little bro, she's mine."
"Give me those binoculars. The players just came out."
Lee took the binoculars from around his neck and handed them to Zak who watched through them for a few minutes.
"That Anders is one smooth dude. If he plays like I've seen him do for the last ten games, there's no way they'll lose tonight."
"Did I ever tell you I met him a couple of years ago before he was quite so famous?"
"You're kidding. You met Sam Anders? Where?"
"John and I were at McGee's one night and Anders came in with Lissa."
"I think you did tell me that. So Lissa dumped Anders for John, huh? What could he have that Sammy doesn't?"
Lee started to make a crude remark about Anders' shortcomings and then changed his mind. Instead he said, "They left me sitting in a booth talking to Anders. She and John went out to her car in the parking lot and got reacquainted."
"No kidding, man. So John frakked Anders' girl in the parking lot at McGee's?"
"I gave him hell about it, too."
"Why? That was righteous. That was way more than cool."
"You don't see anything wrong with what they did?"
"Not a thing. If Anders can't hold on to his woman, that's his problem. Of course Lissa is a slut."
"Why do you say that?"
"That night at your graduation party…if I tell you this you're not going to slug me, are you? It's not about Blaire."
"No, Zak. I'm not going to slug you."
"Lissa…yeah she's hot. I know she's older and all that, but she…when we were dancing she was rubbing her hands all over my butt. She made it real clear what she'd like to do. If I'd had the guts I would have taken her to my room that night. That's no lie. But, man, she wasn't worth tangling with your buddy over. You told me what he did to Tom Zarek just for grabbing his daughter's arm."
"What you said about Blaire…"
"I was lying about Blaire. I should never have said anything about her. Blaire is not a slut."
"John caught Lissa with another guy."
"That doesn't surprise me. Like I said, she's a slut. So what did he do? Take the guy's head off?"
"Nothing. He wanted out of it by that time. It gave him a good excuse."
"Damn, if I'd known he wouldn't have kicked my ass, I'd have taken my chances that night and taken her to my room."
"Zak…" Lee said and then stopped. "Never mind."
"Listen, bro, your buddy knew what he was getting into with Lisa. I don't feel sorry for him one bit, especially since he's banging Dad's old girlfriend now."
"You know about Dad and Laura?"
"Mom's drinking again. She and Dad got into it one night. I overheard some stuff. The whole neighborhood probably heard it."
"Lords of Kobol. I didn't know she was drinking again…or fighting with Dad."
"Spend five minutes at the house some night."
"Mom needs to go back to her counselor."
"Why don't you drop by sometime and tell her that? She can tell you it's none of your business like she did me." Zak put the binoculars up to his eyes again and began scanning the pyramid court. "Damn, I don't believe it."
"What?"
"Damn. This is un-real."
"What, Zak?" Lee heard the irritation in his voice.
Zak handed the binoculars to Lee. "Look on the other side of the court, about midway, floor seats, second row. Is that who I think it is?"
Lee took the binoculars and began scanning the floor seats. It didn't take long for him to find Carrie Warner. He stopped and fine-tuned the focus. There was absolutely no doubt it was Carrie. "Damn," he said under his breath. "What's she doing in a thousand-cubit seat?"
"Is that her or not?" Zak asked.
"Yeah, it's her."
"I wonder who she's frakking to get a seat like that?"
"She's not frakking anybody for it. Somebody must have given her a ticket."
"Oh, come on, Lee. Don't be stupid. People don't give away thousand-cubit tournament floor seats for nothing. She's the guest of somebody big."
"She looks like she's alone," Lee said. He felt sick. Zak was right. Carrie Warner couldn't afford a seat like that. Somebody had given it to her. While he watched the referee cleared the court of the practicing players and they returned to their respective benches. The game was about to start.
The Caprican anthem began to play and they all stood. Lee let the binoculars drop on the strap around his neck, but he kept his eyes on Carrie. She was standing. It looked like her eyes were on the flag of the United Twelve Colonies being raised above one end of the arena. At the conclusion of the anthem, he lifted the binoculars in time to see Sam Anders turn around on the bench and give Carrie a thumbs up. She returned it with a smile.
He felt sicker. It looked like she was Anders' guest.
"Let me look at her again," Zak said.
Numbly Lee handed the binoculars to his brother.
"She looks pretty hot, big bro. That is a radical-looking top she's got on with those jeans. She didn't have on anything that fit her like that the night I met her. I mean, damn, she has got a perfect pair of…"
"Shut up, Zak," Lee cut him off.
"After the game let's go speak to her. If she's got an in with one of the players maybe we can meet a couple of them."
"I don't think so."
"Who do you think she's with?"
"Anders."
"Well since you know him…"
"No, Zak. The answer is no. We're not going down there after the game and speak to her."
"Why not?"
"Anders is not going to remember me with kindness. I was the one who sat there keeping him occupied while John was frakking Lissa in the parking lot."
"He won't remember that now."
"I wouldn't bet on it."
...
It was all Kara could do to stop herself from tugging the low-cut knit top over the top of her breasts. She could kick herself now for going to Maximillian's after work the day before and buying the thing, but she wanted to look like the rest of the girls and women who usually sat court-side at the games. Funny, it didn't look quite that low-cut in the dressing room, and the sales clerk told her about fifteen times how good it looked on her. Cinnamon is a great color with your hair and eyes, and you've got the body to wear a top like that. Right. She knew how to make a sale.
Maybe it looked good, but it made her feel half-naked. She'd had to buy a new bra, too, because the sports bras that she usually wore showed over the top of the scooped neck. The new bra pushed her breasts up into mounds above the clingy fabric. She decided for the hundredth time that she wasn't meant for girly clothes. But Anders liked the top just fine. She drew the line at the stiletto heels, though. She'd tried on a pair in the shoe department and had nearly broken her ankles trying to walk. She bought a pair of flats.
She was so distracted worrying about the top that she almost missed Anders' first score. The crowd went wild. He went to the sideline, got a towel and glanced in her direction as she cheered and gave him two thumbs ups. Maybe she'd been too hard on him at dinner Tuesday night. He was doing what he did best. She could see why he didn't care about the Cylons the way she did. He was a star and this was his universe. As long as they let him play, he was happy.
The Delphi Dominos were a good team, and they came back almost immediately and scored. The game got extremely physical after that and she saw Anders' advantage in his size and strength. She also saw one of the Dominos go after him in a neutral zone and catch him with an elbow to the ribs.
The crowd started booing at the obvious foul as Anders and the Domino both went down hard on the court and came up swinging. It took three referees and several of their teammates to separate them. Both were benched for the duration of the first half. He looked back at her several times and smiled, but she could tell he was in pain despite the fact that the team trainer had wrapped his ribs.
The half-time show cut to a rock band that performed in an adjacent arena because the pyramid court was too small to accommodate their stage. The performance was shown to the sports fans on huge screens that were lowered from the ceiling.
The second half was faster and more furious than the first half. With the championship at stake, the players weren't holding anything back. The score see-sawed until one of the Dominos scored with a minute to go. Despite the Buccaneers efforts, the Dominos maintained their lead until the final buzzer. Kara couldn't believe it. The Buccaneers had lost the championship for the first time in three years.
High in the stands, Lee and Zak sat in disbelief.
"No frakking way," Zak kept saying. "There's no frakking way they lost."
"Read the scoreboard and weep, little bro. It doesn't lie."
"Well there goes my next paycheck and then some. I had a few cubits riding on this game."
"How much?"
"Six hundred."
"Holy Hera, Zak. You bet six hundred cubits on the game? That was beyond stupid."
"They were supposed to win, godsdammit. Not lose."
"I was supposed to fly my Viper every week and the minute that lab got blown up, I didn't fly for a month. You can't ever count on anything."
"Rub it in. Frak, man. This really sucks." They sat while the seats around them emptied. Zak finally said, "Your girlfriend's still sitting down there. Come on, let's go say hello."
"No, Zak, no." But Zak was already out of his seat. Lee caught up with him near the bottom of the steps. On the stage in the adjacent arena the championship ceremony was taking place and was being shown on the big screens. All the players from both teams were there. Carrie Warner was still sitting in her seat, but most of the ones around her were empty.
"Zak, please stop."
"Stay here if you want. I'm going to speak to her."
Kara was watching the ceremony on the big overhead screen when she became aware that someone had stopped at the seat in front of her. She shifted her gaze down from the picture. Zak Adama stood there with Lee right behind him.
"Hi, pretty lady," Zak said. "I know your name now."
"And I know yours. Hi Lee."
"Hi Carrie," Lee said.
"This was my idea," Zak said, "coming down here to speak to you. He didn't want to."
"Why not?" Kara looked at Lee.
"I was afraid you'd accuse me of stalking you again," he smiled sheepishly.
Gods those blue eyes did something to her. She smiled. "Are you stalking me?"
"It just looks that way. You look really good tonight."
"Me and the girls?" She glanced down at her breasts. "Thanks. So this is your little brother?"
"Yeah, this is Zak. Zak, Carrie."
"So Carrie," Zak said, "how did you rate a floor-side seat to this disaster?"
"It wasn't a disaster when I got the ticket."
"How do you know Sam Anders?" Lee asked.
"I don't. He dates a girl I know. I got the ticket because she's out of town."
Zak seemed to accept her explanation without question. "Cool. So do you want to go get a beer with us or something?"
"I'm supposed to go to a big celebration with Anders after the game."
"Some party that's going to be," Zak said. "You'll get to sit around and listen to everybody cry in their beer. Come on and go with us."
"I'd better wait. You go ahead. Have fun."
"Come on, Zak," Lee said. "We need to go. She's waiting for Anders."
He turned and he and Zak began walking toward the exit. He heard quick footsteps behind him. He turned.
Kara caught up with them. She looked directly at Lee. "I'm going to wait for Anders, but I just want you to know I'd rather go with you."
Lee smiled. "Next week, maybe Zeno's one night?"
"I'll be at Zeno's on Thursday night."
"I'll see you there."
Zak said, "We'll see you there."
"Who invited you?" Lee asked in a half-exasperated tone of voice.
"Mom raised us to share. I would like to share this pretty lady's company and a beer with you on Thursday night."
Kara smiled and looked directly into Lee's eyes. Then she leaned over and said softly against his ear, "Don't worry. Zak doesn't have blue eyes or wings over his heart."
Lee understood immediately what she meant.
"And Anders only thinks he's a prince," she said before she turned to go back to her seat.
"What the frak did she say to you that put that kind of smile on your face?" Zak asked as they walked out of the arena.
"She said that you and Anders don't stand a chance with her," Lee said.
"No way. She didn't say that. No way you'll get me to believe she said that to you."
Lee was still smiling. "The Buccaneers couldn't lose tonight, either, could they, little bro?"