In Danger and Falling Fast

Chapter 1 “So tell me why the hell there’s this kelp stuff all over the beach.” Maggie Degginger jogged along one of the San Diego beaches beside Mike Rousseau. He laughed and let his gaze rove across her toned muscular body. Her long dark braid swung from side to side with her steps. He’d lived in the area for more than a decade and gotten used to the large rubbery fronds that washed up. “It’s a west coast thing, or maybe more of a southern California thing. I’m no marine biologist but I think it has something or other to do with the water temperature. You should probably Google it.” “It’s alien life form type of creepy.” Mike grabbed up a stalk and waved it at her. “Ew, just ew. What are you, fourteen? No, maybe ten.” She rolled her eyes at him and veered sideways. “Naval officer.” He pointed a finger at his chest. He spent a good deal of time in the gym and working out, so a layer of ropy muscle covered his blond six-foot frame. “Military intel data weenie,” she teased. “Enh, guilty…” He tossed the kelp stalk into the surf. They both slowed to a walk. “Did your furniture ever show up?” Maggie had been reassigned from DHS in Washington D.C. to a SPAWAR office in San Diego. The cross-country move had occurred over the past few days. “Finally. They promised Tuesday, which turned into Wednesday and it finally showed up yesterday, Thursday.” “You know you could have stayed with us the past couple of nights,” Mike said. He and his work partner and lover shared a large house in the suburbs of San Diego. Maggie was a very welcome addition to the relationship. “Yeah, I guess I could have, but I was apparently way too optimistic.” Mike picked her up and swung her around, eventually setting her back on her feet and kissing her. “You don’t really need that apartment at all. Kurt would be just as happy as I would to have you share the house with us.” Kurt Halstead was, until recently, Mike’s field assignment partner. Now he was Mike’s roommate and in truth, a great deal more. “But…” She poked him in the chest with a finger. “There’s a limit to how much I want to tip off the command as to what I do on my down time.” “Mmm, okay, I get it. The offer still stands if you change your mind. Did everything show up? You implied there were two parts to the moving shipment.” “It all seems to be there, along with fifty boxes of my crap. I unpacked the coffee maker and some extra clothes. That’s about it.” “You want some help?” “Maybe. I’ll let you know.” She looked up at him. Mike smiled. Despite the fact she was soon to be involved in a risky assignment, he was glad of her presence. There had been attraction between them since day one, which was somewhat different from his relationship with Kurt. That one had started out tense, evolved into a deep friendship, and eventually crossed the line into something far more. “Are you ready for the mission start-up briefing tomorrow?” “I guess. Did Admiral Lang decide on a replacement for Mr.-let’s- commit-treason- and-kill-our- own people?” She referred to the commanding officer who had tried to kill Kurt as part of a complicated assignment in Iraq about four months before. “So I’ve heard. It’s a woman. Captain Jill Hubert.” “Do you know anything about her?” “No, not really. A spotless record is the only thing I’ve heard.” “I guess that’s good, but what about Kurt? He trusted Givens.” Maggie trailed a finger down Mike’s cheek. “You’ll have to ask him. That’s the one thing about that event I can’t get him to talk about.” “I wish I knew if that was going to be a problem.”