Job Satisfaction

Chapter 1

The Picnic

"...and a flask of coffee." said Aaron happily putting it in the hamper. Spencer closed the lid with a flourish. "What did we do before they invented triangular sandwich boxes? They tessellate just perfectly!"

"People would have had to make their own sandwiches!" Aaron said, "And risk all manner of 'kitchen accidents'."

Spencer laughed, picking up the hamper off the table and struggling to carry it to the door. He was looking forward to this day out. It had been three months now since Scarson's trial, and Aaron was only just able to think about going outside the house. As long as they were back before dark, Aaron promised that he would be fine. Obviously, Spence could go out, but Aaron wasn't ready to be left alone yet. So a picnic in the quiet countryside on a lovely autumn day was perfect.

He dragged the hamper out to the Volvo, and heaved it up onto the back seat. There was a car rug folded in the back for them to sit on, and a twenty five litre drum of water that Aaron asked that they take. Since his ordeal, he had a fear of not having enough water. Spence looked back at Aaron who was standing at the door. He had his arms folded across his chest, and he was clenching and unclenching his fingers on his upper arms. His head was tilted to the side, and he had a scared look in his eyes. Spence threw the keys onto the driver's seat and went back for Aaron.

"It's ok, Babe. I promise. It's a lovely day. Let's have some fun."

Aaron nodded weakly. "Ok, Sweetheart." He allowed himself to be led to the car, and sat in the passenger's seat. He strapped himself in and Spencer got in the other side. He started the engine.

"Did you bring a CD?"

Aaron passed him the Erasure/Yazoo CD he had made for the journey. 'No-body's Diary' played as they drove away from the Castle towards the woodlands that surrounded Quantico.

A few seconds later a small dark Ford pulled away from the kerb and followed.

-0-0-0-

Spencer parked the car at the side of the road among the trees.

"I'm leaving my cell in the car, Babe. I don't want to be disturbed today." smiled Spence. Aaron grinned and tossed his on the back seat with Spencer's.

They walked away from the Volvo, over a grassy hill. Aaron carried the hamper in one hand and held hands with Spence with the other. On the other side of the hill, where they could no longer see the car, Aaron put the rug on the ground and sat on it; Spencer put down the hamper and sat beside him.

Aaron leaned back on his elbows, tilted his head back towards the sky and closed his eyes. "This is ok, Spence. The anticipation was scary, but not now I'm here." He turned his head towards Spencer and smiled at him. "Guess I love you, Sweetheart."

Spencer crawled towards him and kissed him on the lips. He rocked back on his knees and took Aaron's face in his hands. Slowly he moved a hand to the side of his neck. Aaron sighed and closed his eyes. He lowered himself onto the blanket, and Spencer knelt over his hips without breaking the kiss.

The sun shone gently on the lovers as they lay on the hillside. The breeze murmured in the trees and clouds wandered across the blue sky above. In the distance at the bottom of the hill, they could hear water running over pebbles in a brook. Aaron felt tears of love and passion prick the back of his eyes as he held Spencer's slim body close to his chest.

In the trees five hundred yards away, somebody watched them through the sights of an AR15. He could squeeze the trigger now and take them both out. But he was only paid for one of them. Besides, there could be a good floor show to come. He was enjoying himself.

Aaron poured Spencer a coffee from the flask.

"Hey, Sweetheart, check this! I managed to carry the flask here from the car, and it's not broken!" He handed Spencer a mug.

"You really are relaxed, Aaron. It's so good to see you so well." He took the drink and sipped it. Aaron sat facing him, legs outstretched, over Spencer's. He reached into the hamper and took out two triangular boxes.

"BLT ok for you, Sweetie?"

He gave Spencer the pack. Happily they ate the sandwiches and drank the coffee, and felt the autumn breeze in their hair. They laughed and enjoyed the peace and perfection of the view. Over head, birds flew in groups, preparing for their flight to warmer places, and the sun gradually made its way across the sky towards the end of its diurnal journey.

Aaron reached out to Spence. "We should think about getting back to the car. We don't want to be out here in the dark."

"I was just thinking the same, Babe." Spence said. They picked up the plastic boxes and the flask and put everything back into the hamper. "I'll carry it back to the car."

"Oh very noble of you, seeing as it's now empty and weighs next to nothing!" He gave Spence a friendly shove.

"Hey! Watch it!" Spencer laughed, going to shove back, but Aaron dodged. They spent the next fifteen or so minutes playing and chasing each other across the grassy hillside… They ended up sliding down the hill towards the brook, laughing and hanging onto each other like kids. At the bottom of the hill, they lay side by side on their backs at the edge of the water, breathless and panting from running and laughing. This time, Aaron crawled to Spencer and leaned down and kissed him.

"Let's get back to the car, Babe." said Spencer. "It's going to be dark soon."

Aaron stood up and reached down for Spencer, and arm in arm the walked back up the hill. The sky was turning pink and mauve, as Spence picked up the hamper, and Aaron threw the rug over his shoulder.

As soon as they reached the top of the hill and looked down at the car they could see there was something wrong. They broke into a run. Aaron got to the car first. He called back to Spence.

"Some one's slashed the tyres." he said. Spencer stopped beside him, dropping the hamper on the floor. He put his arm around Aaron's waist. Aaron turned in a circle, watching the trees. Suddenly the lovely carefree day had become frightening and unsettling

"The phones are gone." he said. Aaron noticed that the back window of the Volvo was broken. They couldn't see it at first, as it was the other side of the car. Instantly, the two men were on alert. They crouched down and scanned the area around them.

"We can't get out of here, and we can't call for back up, Spence." Aaron's voice was shaking, although he was using all his self control not to show how afraid he was of being out here all night. His first duty was not to himself, though. His first duty was to Spencer. As the Team Supervisor, his duty was to his team members.

"We can't stay here, Spencer. We have to move away and find somewhere safe." Aaron instinctively moved so that Spencer was between the car and him. The sun had set now, and the colours in the sky were now fading to a deep purple.

Aaron's sixth sense told him of the danger before he realised. He pushed Spencer out of the way and threw himself flat. A hole appeared in the car door beside them as a .223 Remington cut through the metal.

At least he now had an idea of the direction of the UnSub. It only took a split second for him to decide.

"Run, Spence." He pointed towards the trees on the other side of the car, and they ran around the car to the only cover available.

-0-0-0-

He watched them cowering by the car. Again it would be easy to take them out. But the older one was always in the way. He was going to have to waste them both. Not that it made a huge amount of difference when it came down to it. He could probably do it with a single bullet.

Putting on his night sights, he aimed for the car just above the dark haired man. He smiled to himself as they flattened themselves on the ground. He followed them in his sights as they ran towards the trees on the far side of the car. Again, his target was hidden behind the darker man. When they were about ten feet from the trees, he pressed the trigger. The .223 entered the older man's upper body to the right of his spine, and exited straight through. It then entered the younger man's neck right of centre, and exited at the front just north of his collar bone. It was travelling quite slowly now, and when it hit the tree, it stuck in the bark and stayed there. He watched them fall mere feet from safety and smiled. He hadn't killed them, just slowed them down a little. He wanted to have some fun tonight before he earned his money.

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"Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game."- Paul Rodriguez