The Soul of a SEAL Page 4

  She raised both of her eyebrows in his direction. “Question, Mr. Sheraton?”

  “Bennett,” he replied. “That’s my name. I prefer it, Dr. Warren, for my close friends and working buddies, and this informality will be especially useful if Melo and I are going to keep a low profile.”

  “I’m Jonah, but I prefer my last name, Melo. Just don’t call me Mellow Yellow,” said his Teammate. “In case you want to add that to your information bank too.”

  “Right.” She made a derisive noise. “I do prefer formality, but I will attempt to accommodate your request. For the record, I don’t mix pleasure with business or make friends in the workplace. But for the success of this mission, I will attempt to relax the formality and call you by the names you prefer.” She cleared her throat. “Bennett. Melo.”

  “Wow,” said Melo, staring at his phone. “This data stream is awesome.”

  Two bodies collided as they attempted to look over Melo’s shoulder.

  Hands still clutching each other, Dr. Warren and Bennett Sheraton locked gazes.

  Her mouth dropped open. She made a choking noise before she regained her composure and pulled away. Her cheeks flamed red as she cleared her throat.

  Bennett felt a rush of heat as well from their skin-to-skin contact. He scratched the tip of his nose, hiding his expression. The unexpected chemistry caught him off guard. “Sorry, Doctor.”

  She waved her hand between them. “No problem. Um, where was I?”

  “You were going to tell us who the royal we was,” reminded Melo, breaking the tension in the room, which had suddenly increased.

  “Yes, right.” She stood up and ignored Bennett as she scooted past without touching him again and walked to her bookcase. “Sally, please adjust the air temperature—lower by two degrees.” She pushed on the corner with a flat palm, and the bookcase opened like a revolving door, as if sourced from Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein. Bennett was on his feet, psyched to follow her. He loved that movie. Gene Wilder was a riot! The humor was golden.

  The room he entered was filled with banks of computers, a main desk and operating console, and one chair. This was obviously the sanctuary of one person who had a fondness for beige and gold.

  Dr. Warren gestured to the computer banks. “I had these rooms modified to accommodate all of my equipment and needs when I moved in here. I like the additional security: you have to access my room to speak with this gorgeous creature. This…is Sally. She’s the brains behind most of our systems here, and parts were copied for the main computer elements and placed in the shuttle, a computer system we call Sully.” She smiled broadly; evidently she was very proud of her creation. “I’ve spent the last five years perfecting the operating systems, and I’ve recently synced Sally and Sully to help me monitor the shuttle more closely.”

  “Interesting.” Melo studied the console. He put his fingers on the keyboard, and it shocked him. Rubbing the abused digits together, he eased the snaps of pain.

  “Now, now, Jonah. Oh, right, Melo,” said Dr. Warren. “Aren’t you married? Don’t you ask a lady for her permission before you lay hands on her keys?” She looked directly at Bennett. “It’s just good manners.”

  Bennett laughed at the pointed barb. This lady had a sense of humor. Good, it was going to make working with her significantly better. “Touché. Dr. Warren, how about a tour of the Lester Facility? It’s been a while since I was here.”

  “Right. I read about your Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training here in the early days of the Lester Facility’s development. I’m sure things have changed a lot since then.”

  Another point for the doc—she did her research. Of course, he wasn’t that old.

  Melo joined in the conversation. “My class didn’t stop here. We went straight to physical conditioning, combat diving, and then land warfare. They were pushing the limits on the phases during my time. We were a really small class.”

  “Of course.” She turned quickly and almost fell into Bennett. “You’re, uh, you’re standing too close.” Her nostrils flared as she breathed in quickly. Her hands were braced on his chest. He almost reached out and touched the tender skin of her hand, but thought better of it. Working relationship. Right, that’s what he needed to focus on.

  “Just getting a bird’s-eye view,” Bennett said, staring into her hazel eyes with glints of chocolate and green. He pointed at the computer, just over her shoulder. It was a small room; this was a valid point. He really was attempting to get a better visual, and he hadn’t planned the action.

  “Ohhh, I see. As long as you behave yourself, Captain.”

  He gave her his best military salute. “Aye, aye, ma’am.”

  She couldn’t hide her amusement. Her arms crossed over her chest, which vibrated with a few contained chuckles, and then she rubbed an invisible spot between her breasts until he could make out the outline of a small, circular pendant under the button-up lab coat. Her face was flushed as she said, “Work, Captain. Let’s get to it.”

  Had she been a stutterer when she was younger? He found that sort of adorable, if she had been. His best friend in grade school had stuttered, and Bennett had bloodied the nose of the bully who teased him. A wave of protectiveness washed over him.

  Crap, he told himself, don’t get soft on her. She’s part of the job. It’s a mission. Focus is imperative. “Lead the way, Dr. Warren.”

  Seriousness took over, and he took a step back and gestured with his hand. He’d have to keep his distance from her. “After you, ma’am.”

  * * *

  Kimberly slipped back into her room to freshen up before they went on a tour. She shook off the feeling that she had met Bennett Sheraton before. Something about his manner, his demeanor, was familiar, and it tugged at her. She hated feeling as if she knew someone but didn’t know why.

  She washed her hands and splashed water on her face. After patting her face with a towel and drying her hands, she was ready to take on the world again.

  Her phone beeped. It was another text from Kess. Her stomach clenched.

  Why did she hate Kess so much? Mainly because he was an ass whose presence on the shuttle project had usurped her power and position. He had demoted her to the role of “creator and technical adviser.” Kess was also a condescending jerk who wanted to get way too friendly with her.

  She ignored the message and tucked the phone back into her pocket.

  Kess couldn’t change one fact: the U.S. Government had made her the point person in charge of choosing the best pilot for the mission. One of these guys, Melo or Bennett, had better fit the bill. Kimberly was going to put these SEALs through their paces and figure out the best one to pilot her shuttle. Sure, it was a short timeline, but these were special circumstances, ones that these two Americans could fill with ingenuity and, she hoped, brains.

  Bennett, such a tall one, smiled at her. It annoyed her that he was handsome and engaging.

  She rejoined them, resuming her role as hostess. She knew she could be an amazing tour guide. Facts and history were things with which she was very comfortable. It was emotions she shied away from.

  “Dr. Warren, can you brief us on the individuals directly involved in the shuttle project? People with hands-on access.” Melo was eager to see it; his face was lit with enthusiasm.

  “Of course. First we have the hull designer, that’s me. I worked with Victor Chasing on the foam insert that connects the interior frame. We have an enormous list of engineers and hardware designers who created the consoles, but the software adaptation—its framework is a smaller version of the facility computer. We’ll go over that.” Kimberly noticed a few of the secretaries walking by. Had she noticed they were pretty before these SEALs arrived? Probably not. She watched the men’s eyes scan over them. It was hard to tell if this was part of their “protective” behavior or if they were just being extremely male.

 
Frowning at them, she wondered if perhaps she was biting off more than she could chew. Hadn’t that been her usual habit? As she advanced from her bachelor’s to her master’s to her doctorate, everyone had told her she couldn’t do things, and she had notably defied the odds. Her beautiful space shuttle was an innovative design using materials that had never been considered before, and it functioned. So if she applied that logic to her current situation, if these men weren’t right, she would spit them out and chew on something new.

  “You’re lagging behind, gentlemen. We have a lot of work to do. Let’s move.”

  * * *

  Dr. Warren chattered on. She was as an animated lecturer. Still, it was hard not to let one’s mind drift with all the amazing things they were viewing. Information floated in the air around them, and truthfully, Bennett digested only about half of it.

  He had to admit, this place was pretty impressive. It had changed significantly in the decades since he’d been here with his BUD/S class.

  The Lester Facility, roughly the size of ten football fields, according to the information on Bennett’s phone, was not visible from the air. The foliage folded back to reveal the runway for test flights, and they were able to climb to forty-five thousand feet, avoiding commercial traffic in less than a minute without any ill effects to the pilot or crew.

  They walked the entire building as Kimberly not only gave them a tour, but also pointed out what areas required their input. It was no surprise to either of them when she said, “I’d like you both to start work in the morning. The day begins with an 0600 shift. Melo, you can tackle the engineering bugs that keep cropping up between Sully, the shuttle computer, and Sally, the Lester Facility computer. Bennett, I’m afraid I need you to submit to a few tests before I can put you behind the test version of our shuttle controls, unless you’d rather do something more related to your degree in astrophysics.”

  “I’ll fly,” stated Bennett, grinning like a Cheshire cat because he was getting the assignment his buddy wanted. In truth, this was his dream job, besides being a SEAL. Pretty cool that he got to do both.

  “Wait, I’d like to be considered for the pilot role. I’m better qualified in terms of mechanics and electrics, if there’s trouble up there.” Melo wasn’t going to let the conversation go. He wanted in on the race to space.

  “Yes, of course.” Dr. Warren shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Happy to consider it. But first, eliminate the ghosts in the system—the problems and bugs—and then you can take the tests. Agreed, Melo?”

  “Hot dog!” shouted Melo as he slapped Bennett on the back. “I’m going to kick your ass, brother. Teammate or not, I’m going to the moon.”

  “Check the mission statement. We’re orbiting.” Bennett spoke flatly. He was tired and needed time to review the specs of this place, the shuttle, and…well, her. There had to be information on the good doctor in the computer.

  “Fine. Watch out, John Glenn, here I come.” Melo whooped quietly and then went back to studying the control panel. His smile was almost as bright as the sun.

  Bennett wanted to give Melo crap, but he was stoked, too. What they needed now was a place to settle in. “Is there somewhere we can bunk, work, and eat? I’d like to spend some time going over the information you’ve provided for us without losing it every time I drive off the lot.”

  She pursed her lips, considering her options. “Good point. If you’re going to get up to speed in time, you should probably stay here as much as possible.” They headed toward her office.

  She tapped a no-smoking sign next to her office door and a keypad slid out. “This is, uh, my private apartment. I use it occasionally, but the two of you can bunk here, and I’ll stay in my office on the couch if I need to be here overnight.”

  The door pushed back and then pocketed itself into the wall, leaving an adequate doorway. All three of them stepped inside, and the lights turned on.

  “Sally, please set the entrance, use, and exit access to Melo’s and Sheraton’s badges or voices.” Dr. Warren spoke clearly as she rushed toward a chair where a discarded skirt, blouse, bra, and panties were draped. She dumped them into a bin and pushed the bin into a standing wardrobe on the far wall.

  “Where will you be staying, Kimberly?” asked the computer.

  “Uh…in my office.” Dr. Warren straightened up, grabbing the lapels of her lab coat.

  “We can bunk in there,” said Bennett quickly. “No sense kicking you out of your home. Or if there’s an empty room, we can make do there. We’ve slept in worse.”

  “So true,” confirmed Melo. “We would like use of a shower now and then. Sheraton might not mind smelling like hellfire, but I’m not fond of his stench.”

  “If you’re sure…”

  Bennett placed his hand on her arm. “We are.”

  She stared at his hand.

  He could feel the heat rising from her fair skin. A strange urge to learn the texture overwhelmed him suddenly. Was it as soft as it looked? She was younger than he was, maybe by ten years, and she was brilliant. Could she be a prodigy, have tons of education and experience, and be running this place at her age? Guess so.

  It was obvious her mind was going in ten directions at once. She wasn’t easy to read.

  “Point the way.” He gestured and caught her staring at him.

  Her eyes were locked with his. Oddly, it felt as if she was looking into that quiet, secret space where no one entered. Not his soul necessarily, just the dark spot he kept hidden from the world.

  She nodded. “Yes, of course. There’s an empty room on the other side of this one. I’d meant to use it for a library. I helped design this wing of Lester Facility, but I never got around to bringing all my books in.” She paused as if contemplating what they might need. “Uh, there’s furniture, though.”

  Walking to the far side of the room, she pushed a red button and a door opened. The light illuminated the large space. There were two old-fashioned “shrink” couches covered in worn brown leather with bald patches in places, and two wall-sized white bulletin boards that stretched from floor to ceiling. The rest of the wall space had empty bookshelves waiting for some attention and a large table with chairs.

  Her hand lifted, and she pointed to the two red buttons. “The one on the left goes out to the hallway, and the one on the right goes to my—um, the bathroom. Sally, reset Melo and Sheraton for the library. I’m going to stay in my apartment.”

  “Yes, Kimberly,” said the female computerized voice.

  “Uh, I’m going to let you both get settled. I have some work to do.” She paused at the doorway. “There are extra toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, et cetera in the closet next to the sink. I have an extra stock of pretty much anything you can imagine. I…I d-don’t get out much.” She blushed, her cheeks brightening to a pretty pink, and then she turned and left. The door slid into place, closing behind her.

  “I feel like I need to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey and brush up on the best way to handle Hal. If I remember correctly, the answer was to pull the plug,” said Melo as he punched buttons on his phone. “I already feel like neither computer likes me. They keep asking me why I need access to every file on their systems,” he grumbled.

  “We don’t have feelings,” replied Sally. The sound of her computerized voice coming out of the blue like that was pretty eerie.

  “Please don’t listen to our conversation. Tune out until I ask you a direct question. Confirm command,” Melo stated flatly.

  “As you wish,” said Sally. “Good night, gentlemen.”

  There was a popping sound, which must have meant she’d logged off.

  “Damn Hal look-alikes. Space: that’s where I want to be. Not grounded with this crap.” Melo sat down on the couch closest to the door. “Give me your keys and I’ll get your bag.”

  Bennett was already at the door. “Let me get yours. You mig
ht piss the computer off so much that she won’t let you back in.”

  Melo tossed his keys into the air.

  Catching them with one hand, Bennett said, “You still driving the truck?”

  “Yep. In the parking lot next to the door.” Melo stretched out on the couch. “Not bad. Beats sitting on an anthill in the bushes, or dangling from a rope.” He closed his eyes. “If I’m asleep when you get back, don’t wake me. Being married is tiring. I need at least two hours before I can make sense of any of those schematics.”

  Bennett grinned. Working with Melo was going to be interesting. The man was built like a tank and had the personality of a teddy bear. What would his Teammate think of his habit of internalizing the crap out of everything except the mission? In that respect, he was too verbal for most folks. His personal life, of which there was none, was always off-limits to others. Though he might make an exception for Kimberly Warren.

  Man, that thought caught him unaware for the second time.

  As he turned the corner, he smacked right into her as if he had conjured her, sending her heading for the floor. He wasn’t a small guy. At six feet and 180 pounds, he was all muscle and could have been a decent wide receiver for any NFL team, even in his early forties. He ran every day, worked out, and had serious stamina for whatever task was at hand.

  His hand caught hers, and with one tug he had her safely in his arms. He cradled her against him. He murmured in her ear, “Sorry about that.” His first instinct was to be polite and distant, but this contact brought a wave of protectiveness with it that made him even more uncomfortable. He needed to keep his perspective. “I always seem to be apologizing to you.”

  “Must be something about me,” she murmured against his chest. Her body changed from pliant to stiff almost instantly. They were locked together for several seconds.

  “Guess so.”

  Realizing that she had to be at least five foot ten was kind of nice. It meant he wouldn’t have to bend down when he kissed her. Shit, there went his libido. He was attracted to her. Now he was going to have to be careful he didn’t compromise the mission.