F3 Anything for Iris

His mouth moved back to hers, kissing her deeply, pulling her body close, one arm clutching her body, the other hand settling over her butt cheek, massaging it.

She leaned into him, feeling his hardness pressing against her belly. It made her feel good, that she could get to him like that. "Mmm," she whispered, once she could free her lips. "Somebody's happy," she teased, turning and pressing her hip into his erection.

He gave her a quick kiss, and turned to walk down the path, pulling her close, his hand around her shoulders. "Beyond happy. Ecstatic. It's coming together, Sy. I can feel it. And there's nobody I'd rather share it with than my incredible wife."

Sierra bumped her shoulder against him. "Enjoy it while you can, Bossman. In five days you turn back into a pumpkin, and I'm gonna be wielding the carving knife if you don't start behaving yourself."

* * *

They were early for dinner, in the upscale Velhi restaurant. It required reservations and had limited space, but their choice of accommodations gave them VIP status, and their wristband ensured priority seating. As "newlyweds" the staff had orders to ensure their special treatment. The combination had them seated in one of the six window tables, looking over the beach, across the Indian Ocean.

"It's beautiful here," Cameron said, gazing across the water.

"You ever done something like this before?"

He looked over at his dinner companion. "Go on a honeymoon?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Go someplace like this. Tropical paradise, all-inclusive, first-class."

He chuckled. "I'm lucky to get down to Ocean City for a weekend. I think my biggest adventure since I've been on my own was four days in Manhattan. Not quite the same, I think. You?"

"Panama City Beach for spring break, probably."

"C'mon, Sierra, I know you've been out to the Big Island twice."

"Four to a room, fly in, swim, bike, run, recuperate for a day, then stagger to Kona for the flight home. Not really relaxing." She sipped her cocktail. "Between training and triathlons, all my free time is taken. Iris doesn't leave much time for much else."

Cameron nodded. They shared that. The all encompassing nature of their business. Every spare minute working on their masterpiece. "You love it too, don't you?" he said.

Sierra was quiet for a moment. "More than I suspect anyone but you could imagine."

"You remember our first 'date'?"

She laughed. "Is that what you're going to call it? If so, you were the lousiest date in history. All we did was argue and fight for, what, like 14, 15 hours?"

He grinned, "And out of that feisty union, Iris was conceived."

She looked up at him, the only person in the world who could understand what that meant. Two more initial meetings, and she'd quit her job, and dedicated herself full time to the Iris project. Almost three years of her life, chewing through her savings, emptying her 401K, maxing out her credit cards. Virtually every waking moment was spent thinking about Iris. And she knew she hadn't put a tenth of what Cameron had into the project.

She gave him a smile. "Best date ever." She leaned across the table. "What are we going to do if this doesn't work out?" she whispered.

"We keep trying. I'll get a paying gig if I have to. Consult. Beg family and friends. Maybe sell a kidney. What we don't do is give up."

"Never give in," she whispered, her eyes moistening. "Never give in, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense."

Cameron held his other hand out for her, and she placed hers in it. He gave them a squeeze. "You'll fight with me, won't you Sy?"

Her voice was hoarse with emotion, as she nodded. "I'll go to war if I have to. As long as it takes, whatever it takes, for as long as I'm standing or breathing. Beyond conviction and good sense. I swear Cam, I won't let you down. Never. Never, never, never."

"And that's what I love about you, Sierra."

To the tables around them, slowly filling up, they were the picture of love. Eyes only for each other, whispering, smiling, holding hands. At the table for ten, the senior directors of Devereaux holdings sat. Janine nudged her husband, nodding toward the couple at the window. "Remember what it was like?" she whispered.

He leaned toward her, putting his arm around her shoulders, and kissed her cheek. "Every night, my love. Every single night."

She blushed, putting her hand on his thigh and giving it a squeeze. They'd been together since the beginning, fresh out of college. She remembered when he was working out of their basement, bringing four of his friends together. Janine dealt with all the finances, somehow finding the money for their first prototypes. Going hat in hand to their relatives, pitching their ideas, borrowing a hundred dollars here, fifty there. Living off Ramen and $.88 loaves of generic sandwich bread. Working 50 hours a week, to pay their bills, while he dedicated himself to their dream. Those were tough years.

She looked around, still barely able to conceive how far they'd come. When they had their first IPO, she was scared. The money was fairy-tale numbers. Alan was in demand everywhere, traveling, being courted. Would she lose him, to some new chippy? Younger, prettier, willing to do whatever it took to capture his attention.

Yet here she was, beside her man, almost 20 years later. She gazed on the younger couple, their villa neighbors, the poster-kids for young love. She silently prayed that their lives ended up even half as wonderful as hers had.

Alan tore his attention away from the parasites, the suck-ups, the beggars at his table. Presidents of major corporations. Millionaires in their own right, eager to latch onto his coat tails, so long as he had the magic touch. He watched his woman, seeing the wistful smile on her face, making his heart swell. He pressed his lips to her ear. "I love you just as much, more if it's possible. Without you, I'm a pauper."

Janine turned, grabbed her husband's face in her hands, and kissed him desperately. The hell with convention and propriety!

Across the room, Sy and Cam had noticed when their targets had entered the restaurant. For the most part they ignored them, all part of the plan. They weren't supposed to know anything about them. They were merely newlyweds, with eyes for nobody but each other. When they heard the laughter and cheering from the table, the turned to see their targets kissing like teenagers. They separated, gazing into each other's eyes, before turning back toward the table. Janine looked up, and caught the newlyweds watching them.

'Beat that,' she thought, smiling.

Sierra raised her glass in their direction, and Janine lifted hers, winking at the new bride.

Cameron had no idea what was coming, when Sierra stood, leaned across the table, grabbed his head, and curled his toes with the best kiss of his life. Their waiter stood patiently by, ready to deliver their food. Sierra slowly pulled away, smiling at her stunned table companion. She shook her hair out, and sat down, immensely satisfied with herself.

Cam barely caught his breath, before the waiter was placing their dishes in front of them. He glanced at the man's nametag. "Sorry... Aryanta."

The man smiled. "No need sir. I would wait all night before interrupting. Your joy fills the room. I'm pleased to be allowed to serve you."

Once he'd left, Cam leaned toward Sierra. "What was that?"

She grinned, snagging one of the shrimp from his plate. "Woman's prerogative. You complaining?"

Cam shook his head quickly. No doubt about it. Sierra was full of surprises.

* * *

After dinner, they made an appearance at the bar, passing on the nightly entertainment. They stayed just long enough to be seen, sharing some huge fruity drink.

"I need some air," Sierra said, her hand clinging to Cam's arm. "It seems like I've been drinking all day. I don't drink this much in a month."

He pulled out his roll of crisp dollars, peeling off a few and leaving them for a tip. Everything was paid for, part of the all-inclusive, with a few exceptions. Still tipping was encouraged, and they left just enough to be seen as generous without being eccentric. He took his tipsy 'bride' by her hand, and guided her to the beach.

A half-hour walk around the tiny island had them back to their end. Cameron was surprised at the presence of the security guards throughout. Stepping onto the dock that lead out to the VIP suites, a short dark man stepped forward and stopped them, asking to check their wristbands. He was extremely courteous.

He carefully studied their faces. "Sorry to interrupt your walk," he said with a British accent. "I will remember you, and won't need to disturb you again. May I inquire which suite you are in?"

They gave him the number, pointing in their direction. He nodded politely. "Have a pleasant evening," he offered, stepping out of their way.

Once they were past the concierge building, Sierra nudged closer to Cam. "Extra security for Devereaux?"

"There may be, but I don't think that was the case here. They're just keeping the hoi-poloi away from their betters," he teased.

"Their betters? We're probably the poorest people on the island, help included," Sierra laughed.

"Not as long as we have Iris, we're not."

In the suite, they got down to business. They started checking out the surveillance of the Devereaux' suite. "Anything good on your end?" Sierra asked.

"Some news. He's going to be in meetings all day, but it looks like she has a spa appointment at 10:00."

"Let me guess. That would be a good time for me to have one as well."

"Bingo. You could show up early, have some 'accidental' chat time. We'll meet for lunch afterward, in the regular restaurant."

"How do you think it's going?" Sierra asked nervously.

"Pretty damn good. We got the right suite, they've seen us around. Now we just need to a few opportunities to be sociable. Don't think we could ask for much more on day one."

Half an hour later, they'd made her spa appointment, and had gotten all they could off their recordings. They deleted everything they had, and verified the recorders were still active. Neither wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. Bedtime.

Cam went out to the deck, and took a seat. Sierra followed moments later, relaxing in the lounge chair. "You know what I'd like to do?" Cam said.

"I'm afraid to ask," Sierra laughed.

The sun was setting, the sky a panorama of reds, yellows, indigo and gold. A blue glow was rimming the posts, where the phosphorescent algae glowed. The warm breeze was blowing in from the right, and the music from the resort bar was faint in the background. "I'd like to go for a swim."

"Iris?"

"Of course. So? What do you think?"

Sierra smiled. "I'll never say no to Iris."

"You get ready, I'll get the gear," Cam offered.

Cam loaded the recharged batteries into Iris, and tested the connections. He ran through the diagnostics, and checked the results. With everything ready, he placed the pair of units on the water access deck, and waited for Sierra.

She showed up a few minutes later, wearing only a plain white t-shirt, and bikini bottoms. Cam was reminded of Jacqueline Bisset in the Deep.

"Your turn," she said. "Everything ready?"

"Yeah, but I imagine you're going to want to do your own diagnostics." He headed in, taking off his shirt, while she laughed.

"Of course. Never trust a man to do a woman's job."

He returned minutes later, with his trunks on. Sierra was already in the water, putting on her mask. Cam put on his pack, placed his mask over his face, and slid into the water, holding the mask in place. He submerged a moment, seeing Sierra's breasts outlined against her t-shirt, as he surfaced.

He went through the pre-dive setup, while Sierra swam around the area around their hut. Moments later he was swimming beside her. "Where to?" he asked over the comm.

"No place particular for me," Sierra answered.

"Swim by our neighbors?"

"Not too close."

The water was magical. The dying sun let little light through, but with a single command, their dual spotlights came on. It reduced their dive time by 30%, but this was only going to be a short one anyway. The neon blue phosphorescence around them, glowing with each movement gave their swim a fantasy feeling.

"Iris, Map overlay, lower right quadrant, stop."

Map overlay active, 50 meters, centered on current position, Sierra.

The layout of their end of the resort showed up on the glass, her position a green dot. "Iris, plot Cam on the map, stop."

Cam darling plotted, Sierra.

A Blue dot showed up, blending with hers to make teal where the two collided.

She heard Cam's voice. "On our right." She looked over and saw a huge manta, flying through the water, its movements deceptively slow and easy as it glided along a few feet below them, skimming the bottom.

Between the islands the water was no deeper than about 20 feet. The deep channel access to the interior of the ring of islands was at the far end of the island. They didn't have to worry about their depths, or equalizing. They stayed in a range of about 5' to 15' feet the whole time. That was ideal. The deeper they went, the less efficient Cam's artificial gills were. Even the air scrubber had to work harder. Iris wasn't designed for depths, and her usefulness dropped drastically after about 60 feet.

They hadn't seen much life at first. Then Cam's voice appeared. "Sy, sonar, high, spotlight 10, dim 20%."

After working with Cameron day and night for three years, she understood his shorthand speak. He only got that way when excited. The first time she'd heard him rattle off his cryptic commands, she'd taken a moment to figure out what he needed, while those around them froze. She'd immediately taken action. It had been a close call, but it save the test. She didn't hesitate now.

"Iris, activate sonar, max sensitivity, overlay map. Main headlamp, spotlight mode, full power, autolock on 10 meter movement, largest active target. Secondary headlamp, floodlight mode, 20% power. Stop."

Her world changed in an instant. The underwater scene before her dimmed, and she was swimming in a dim environ, Cam's glow from beside her providing little more light than hers. She saw a beam of light piercing the dark beside her, and movement at the end of it.

Sonar active, main headlamp spotlight mode, locked on largest movement. Alt headlamp flood mode at 20%, Sierra.

The spotlight from her unit reached out to team with Cam's. Under the dual rays, not 10 feet away, she saw a huge sea turtle moving across their front. "Iris, identify target."

Hawksbill sea turtle, Eretmochelys Imbricata, critically endangered, Sierra.

She felt him rubbing against her shoulder, and she reached out. His hand took hers automatically, and they adjusted their swim rate. "I love this," she spoke softly.

"Magical," Cam answered.

They turned in unison, following the turtle a short distance, its grace in the water stunning. She saw movement at the edge of their spotlight for a moment. "Iris, secondary target, identify. Stop."

Her spotlight shifted, illuminating a huge fish. Titan triggerfish. Aggressive. Keep your distance, Sierra.

Sierra, tugged on Cam's hand, slowing him. "Nesting triggerfish, Cam. Our girl says it's aggressive." It must have been almost three feet long. They veered away from it, and continued their exploration of their environs, allowing Iris to pick out and show them the unbelievable world that was theirs alone.

One of the more fascinating aspects of allowing Iris to pick out their targets, was her ability to find camouflaged fish, like the stonefish and leaf scorpionfish, which they would never have spotted on their own. They had to get within about three feet to see the stonefish Iris assured them was there, it was hidden so well. The perimeter of her mask flashed red.

Warning. Proximity alert. Synanceia verrucosa is highly poisonous, Sierra.

No kidding. Only the most venomous fish in the world. Lethal. "Thank you, Iris."

She looked over, and saw Cam watching her. She grinned and made an act of covering up her breasts. "Perv, watch the show."

"I am. The most beautiful thing out here."

She blushed, and pulled away, heading back in the general direction of their suite. She tugged on his hand, pulling him along.

"Tomorrow night, full batteries, Ok? I'd like to go from just before sunset until it's pitch black. See how the lights hold up," Sierra said.

"You got it."

A few minutes later Cam spoke up. "You think you could hook up a link to our camera in the house? Video capture of what's going on at the Devereaux place?"

She thought about it for a bit. "I'd need a couple of hours. Have to tap the field trial upload link. Wouldn't work beyond maybe 100 yards, unless I used a directional signal. Can you handle that?"

She heard his chuckle. What a stupid question. Of course he could. "I'll deal with signal amplification and the directional transmitter. You set up the video feed and Iris's controls," she heard him answer.

"Works for me." She gave his hand a squeeze. "Helluva team, aren't we?"

"The best."

They ran a couple of laps by their neighbor's hut, not sure they were even around, but if they were, they thought they might garner a little attention. At the 40 minute mark, they headed back, with plenty of time to spare.

Sierra pulled up to the access deck of their villa on stilts, her pulse racing. Was it possible for their tests to get any better? Iris at dusk was even more incredible than by day! Seeking out water movement, automatically tracking by spotlight, keeping them safe. She automatically went through the motions of shutting down Iris, and stripping off the equipment, Cam at her side.

She turned to him, and saw the desire, a hunger that frightened her, and then he was on her. Their mouths met, no tentative request, no simple shared joy. His arm went around her waist, holding her close. She released the deck, hanging onto him, while his single hand kept them tethered.

Their legs were intertwined, slow short kicks keeping them floating, alternating the pressure against each other's privates. She lost herself in the kiss, lifting her hands when he tugged her shirt off, over her head. Her naked torso pressed against his, as her pulse soared. She could swear if they stayed in the water much longer, it would start to boil around them.

The intensity of the kiss faded, becoming more loving, then playful, and she melted into his strong arm, clinging to him. When they finally broke apart, their faces remained close, eyes locked on each others. "Incredible," he whispered.

She felt his erection pressed against her leg, and purposely moved against it. "Superb."

A smile twisted his lips. "We need better superlatives."

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

"Scrumpdilyicious," he countered.

"I know. Iris was beyond description."

His face moved forward, his mouth covering hers, his tongue reminding her of the moray eel they'd seen, darting out from its cave, beautiful and dangerous. She captured it with her own. She was the first to pull away this time.

"I was talking about you, Sy. Un-fucking-believable." He released her slowly, his hand rising out of the water to brush back a few stray strands of her hair.

She grinned. "We need to check the scrubbers. I think you're high. Iris is the star here. I'm just a distraction."

His smile slipped. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Belittle yourself. Face it, Sy. You're the most incredible woman I've ever known. You've got it all."

"You're just horny," she teased.

"Stop it. Accept the compliment. How can you not see it?"