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In
the end, he shook his head and reconciled himself to her presence. Besides,
assuming that the landing site was safe, he would have called up to the Rhea and had her brought down anyway.
Melissa’s little impromptu hitchhiking had just saved the team about forty-five
minutes, and who could argue with that?
       Shawn could. “So
I’ve noticed,” he said with measured patience. “You sure have a funny of way of
listening. There are such things as
safety protocols.”
       “Safety protocols?”
Melissa chuckled. “You are really cute sometimes, you know that.” She placed a
hand lightly on her chest as her laugher subsided. “Did you and Raven have a good chat on the way down?”
she said teasingly, drawing out Raven’s name as she had done back on the Rhea after she’d had too much to drink.
       He shook his head
slowly. “You really are something else, lady. You know that?”
       She rolled her eyes
and stepped closer to him, easily invading his personal space in the process.
“Look, I’m sorry about how I acted earlier.”
       “Oh, and how was
that?” he asked cynically.
       “I was…rude. And
inconsiderate. And—”
       Shawn’s eyebrows
rose high on his forehead. “And?”
       “And
unappreciative.”
       Shawn held his
index finger and thumb up about an inch apart. “And just a little bit crazy,
too. Don’t forget to include that.”
       Melissa dropped her
arms to her side. “Fine, Commander. I’m sorry for that as well. It was entirely
unintentional.”
       Shawn grunted with
approval. “You seem to be apologizing a lot lately.”
       Melissa cast her
eyes to the battered and scorched runway under her feet in silence. She kicked
at a loose clump of asphalt near her boot, sending the debris scattering toward
a pile of brush nearby. “I’m…I’m trying to say…that I…”
       “Yes?”
       His eyes were
burning into hers, and though she couldn’t tell if he was angry or expectant,
she knew it wasn’t the time to get into this conversation. “I…I just need a
little time. That’s all, Shawn.”
       He couldn’t help
but carry a sarcastic tone to his words. “That’s all, huh?”
       Melissa smiled
weakly. “Well, that and a little patience on your part. Look, I’m really sorry
for coming down here like this. I want you to know I really do have a deep
respect for your concern for me and I want you to know that—”
       In the distance, the
rear doors of one of the Pharaohs opened, and a team of Marines began to unload
the contents of the vessel: two small troop transports. Due to the sound of the
two vehicles hovering out of the Pharaoh, Shawn couldn’t hear what Melissa was
saying. For a moment her mouth moved, but the sound didn’t penetrate his ears.
After a few seconds, her voice broke through as the skimmer’s engines wound
down. “—you feel the same way. So, having said that, do you think you could
forgive me?”
       Having no clue what
she’d said, he hoped he wasn’t about to agree to something he would live to
regret. “You ask a lot.”
       “Well, I’d like to
think that I have a lot to offer…toward the mission, I mean.”
       Of course she did.
There was no way Shawn could argue that point. On the other hand, if she wanted
to help a headache along, he was sure she’d be able to do that with marked
efficiency. He rubbed his chin absently, admiring her guile—even if it was a bit misplaced.
       “So,” she asked,
drawing out the ‘o’ in the word as she extended a gloved hand toward the
lieutenant commander. “Friends again?”
       Shawn smiled as he
realized that keeping up with Agent Melissa Graves was like surfing blind; you
could never tell if you were about to get smacked headlong into the surf or
ride the water smoothly back to the shoreline. “Why do I get the feeling that
we’ll be repeating this little routine for a long time to come?” he smiled
again as he gracefully took her hand in his