Dedicated to Darkchilde (aka DC), who was left with the responsibility of poking my ass with a stick to finish this. Thanks for that. I want my stick back.
The door swished open with no warning. "Bridge?" asked Jack.
"He's not here," Sky snapped from where he was lying on his bed, reading. Jack rolled his eyes, not that Sky could see the gesture, and perched himself on the edge of Bridge's bed. "You're not leaving?" said the Blue Ranger.
"He'll be back eventually, and I don't mind waiting," said Jack. He glanced over at the nightstand that divided the room in half, and without thought, his fingers grazed over the silver frame of a photograph on Sky's side. He picked it up and studied it: a smiling man in red spandex, his arm around the shoulder of a little boy. The little boy was clutching the helmet that went with the uniform, looking for all the world like he wanted to be anywhere else. Jack certainly recognized that expression. "Is this you?" he asked, and Sky dropped his book to yank the photograph out of Jack's hands.
"That's not yours," he said sharply, and put it back on the nightstand, angled so that it faced his side of the room and not Jack.
"Is that your dad?" Jack continued, keeping his tone light. "I didn't know he was a Ranger."
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me."
"Whose fault is that?" Sky glared at Jack for the comment, but, typical Sky, offered nothing further. Jack sighed. "Why do you hate me?"
"I don't hate you."
"You don't like me."
"Wonder why that is. You're a rule-breaker, Jack. Rule four seven zero-eight, dash b, 'Cadets will not enter another cadet's living quarters—'"
"Blah, blah, blah, Mr. Handbook," said Jack irritably.
"—'without invitation,'" finished Sky.
"I'm waiting for Bridge!"
"And Bridge isn't here!" Sky finally swung his legs over the edge of the bed, sitting up to look at Jack head-on. He could get more volume this way. "A normal person would have left by now."
"I can see why. It's certainly not worth staying for the sparkling conversation."
Sky opened his mouth to retort, but what Jack heard was, "Cadets Landors and Tate, please report to the command center," in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Kat's. Sky cast Jack another unfavorable look. "What did you do this time?"
"What did I do?" said Jack disbelievingly, following Sky into the hallway.
In the blue-green glow of the command center, Commander Cruger's skin was darker, and the shadows flitting across his canine face seemed all the more menacing, particularly since neither cadet was sure what they'd done to get called in.
"Cadets," said Cruger, "I received a disturbance call from the north side, and I want you two to go and investigate."
"Sir, if I may, that's not really our area of expertise," interjected Sky.
"I am aware of that, Sky. However, the call was made by an acquaintance of mine, and I agreed to send some of my best squad members, as a gesture of goodwill between old friends."
"Sir, perhaps you'd be better off sending the entire squad?" said Jack. "Should we approach this armed?"
"Not necessary, cadet. This is a minor occurrence. You will go take her statement, and then report back to me."
"Yes, sir," said Jack, as the Rangers saluted.
Sky waited until he was sure that the door had closed behind them before he complained. "This is an insult. B-Squad doesn't investigate random calls."
"They can't all be bank heists and alien terrorists," said Jack. "Sometimes out there, the worst crimes being committed are the ones that the public never knows, that the cops never look twice at." His voice took on an interesting tone as he clearly thought about his past on the street. Sky cast him a thoughtful glance, and the two proceeded in silence to the Transport Center.
"I'm driving," Sky announced, touching the driver's side door of one of the Jeeps.
"I don't think so," said Jack. "Do you even know how to drive a Jeep?"
"Well, I'm not an expert on hot-wiring cars like you are, but I'm sure I can manage." Clearly, whatever minor connection they'd had back in front of the command center, a tiny fraction of respect, was long gone. Jack hip-checked Sky slightly, and jumped over the door into the open Jeep. With a sigh, Sky went over to the passenger's side and got in.
Had Sky been driving, Jack speculated, they would have gotten there a lot slower, because Sky would have made it a point to drive exactly the speed limit. Out of spite, Jack's foot grew a little more leaden, and he watched the speedometer wiggle in the 35-40 mph range as he cruised past a sign clearly labeling them in a 30 mph zone. Next to him, Sky's fingers tapped irritably at the arm rest. Jack took his next left turn a little too sharply, causing Sky's arm to jerk, and the man's face to tighten.
Still, for whatever reason, perhaps as a test for himself, Sky said nothing, his lips pressed into a thin line from the effort of keeping his unfavorable comments to himself, and when Jack realized he wasn't actually going to get a rise out of his second-in-command, he calmed his haphazard driving down. "What's the deal with you and Syd?" he found himself blurting.
Sky glanced at him, clearly taken off guard, his eyebrows raised in surprise at either the nature of the question, or the timing of it. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Are you guys, like..." Jack took a hand off the wheel to flap it about and wiggle his fingers, in a gesture that clearly meant something to him, but Sky couldn't interpret. "You know."
"Are we dating, you mean," Sky guessed flatly.
"Yeah. That's it." Jack turned his head to read Sky's expression. "Are you?"
"It's against regulations."
"I wasn't aware there was a chapter in the handbook on getting some."
Sky's voice dripped with distaste for Jack's word choice when he bit out, "There isn't. But it's frowned upon." Jack nodded, clearly pondering this, and Sky was definitely looking in the other direction when he added, "Why, are you interested in her?"
"Are you?"
"I asked you first."
"She's my type," said Jack carefully. To be obnoxious, he added, "And I think I'm her type, too."
Next to him, Sky snorted.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked, with a slight laughing tremor, though he wasn't amused by the implications of Sky's snort.
"I'm just saying that Syd has taste."
"So she'd pass up an attractive, intelligent leader with a great sense of humor for a guy with the world's biggest stick up his butt."
"I resent that," said Sky. Jack smirked to himself, convinced he'd hit his mark, but to his surprise, Sky continued, "I mean, Commander Cruger has a much bigger stick than I do."
The shock almost outweighed the humor for Jack, who took a moment to let it sink in before he started laughing. When he glanced at Sky, he was again surprised to see that the other man was wearing an uncharacteristic and not often seen grin. "Sky Tate, did you just make a joke?"
"Yeah, don't tell anyone about that."
"Are you kidding? I need to document this." Sky's grin faded, and Jack found himself frowning. "You should make jokes more often, Sky."
"Why?"
The question baffled Jack. "Because it makes you seem human?"
"It's unprofessional," he said curtly.
"Well, yeah, if you're training or getting briefed, maybe it's not the best time, but if you're just hanging around the rec room with your team, it's okay to, you know, smile or something."
"I smile."
"I've known you a few months, Sky, and I've seen you smile maybe twice. Each time, it looks like your face is about to break open because it's so unused to the exercise. 'Never frown because you never know who might be falling in love with your smile,'" he quoted.
"Are you saying you're in love with my smile?" said Sky, his voice tense and his words oddly tight.
Jack cast him a horrified look. "That's not what I meant at all."
"What did you—never mind." Sky shook his head. "We should be there by now, right?" He checked his PDA. "168 Kingstone St."
"That's 162," said Jack, pointing, grateful for the reprieve from a conversation that was rapidly becoming uncomfortable. 168 was a squat ranch house, off-white, with a street side mailbox bearing the label "B. Perle," matching the name on Sky's PDA. In the rearview mirror of the Jeep, Jack could see the vague outline of downtown Newtech. He'd never been this far out in the suburbs before, he'd never had the need to. He was surprised at the quiet.
Sky strode up to the front porch with quick, no-nonsense steps, and rang the doorbell once before getting into a stance: legs spread slightly, arms behind his back. Jack moved quickly to catch up, falling into line beside his makeshift partner just as the door opened, and a short woman with fluffed out white hair peered at them through the screen. "SPD," said Jack, pointing to the unmistakable insignia on the breast of his uniform. "You called about a disturbance?"
"You must be Doggie's boys," she said with a warm smile. "Please, come in."
Jack opened the screen door to follow her, whispering an aside to Sky, "Guess Cruger wasn't kidding when he said 'old' friend." When he glanced over his shoulder, he was rewarded with a tiny, amused expression.
The woman led them to a sun porch with white wicker furniture. "Sit down," she said, taking one of the chairs. Sky situated himself on the loveseat directly facing her, and after a slight hesitation, Jack took the other end of the custom pink cushion. He didn't notice the sideways glance Sky cast him, silently wondering why the Red Ranger hadn't opted for the other solitary chair.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice," the woman continued. "I imagine you boys have much better things to do with your time than investigate the phone calls of batty old women."
Jack smiled; she certainly seemed anything but batty. "Not a problem, Mrs. Perle."
"Please, call me Betty. My husband died five years ago, I'm no longer a missus."
"Of course. You know, the Commander speaks very highly of you." Cruger had never mentioned her before, but for him to send them on this mission in the first place spoke volumes.
"I'm glad to hear that. I'm quite fond of Doggie."
Jack grinned, leaning forward slightly. "How is it exactly that you and Commander Cruger know each—" he started, but Sky shot out his elbow. The smallness of the couch meant that it met its target in Jack's ribs without Mrs. Perle so much as noticing the motion. Jack coughed to mask his grunt, pulled back and drew himself into a more 'professional' position, and said, "I mean, please, could you describe the situation to us?"
"I've been hearing noises coming from the house next door. I know the Oneks are on vacation, because the wife, Alicia, asked me to water her plants for her." Mrs. Perle waved over at the potted tiger lilies on the far side of the porch, bathed in sunlight. "Lilies should be planted, but she's a novice at this. She's lucky to have my influence."
Jack smiled and nodded in understanding. Sky expelled the tiniest bit of breath that only Jack was close enough to hear. He recognized the irritation in the tic, and knew that Sky thought pleasantries were time-wasters. They'd certainly never shot the breeze with Piggy. But aside from wanting to make the Commander happy with handling the case well, Jack honestly liked Betty Perle. He was surprised that Cruger had associates like this.
"Have you seen anyone in or around the house?" said Sky, getting back on track.
Still, Betty didn't seem annoyed. "My kitchen faces theirs, and for the past two nights, I've seen a man wandering through it."
"And you don't recognize him?"
"No."
"Do the Oneks have any kids?" pressed Jack.
"They're too young for any children to be this man's age."
"Any siblings?" asked Sky.
"Not that I'm aware of, but we aren't the closest of neighbors. Mostly, Alicia and I just talk when she's watering the lawn, and I'm tending my garden. I'm afraid I don't know too much about them beyond that."
Sky nodded. "Jack, can I talk to you?"
They communicated solely with their eyes in that short moment: Jack thought it was rude to get up in the middle of the conversation, but Sky had something to say that he didn't want the old woman overhearing. Casting a polite smile at Betty, Jack got up and followed Sky just out of earshot on the edge of the porch.
"This is a crap assignment, Jack. Clearly it's just a brother, and she's paranoid."
Jack was more surprised by Sky's use of the word 'crap' than he was at his assessment of the case. "Listen, you're probably right, but—"
"But nothing. We don't have anything to go on. A guy shows up a couple days in a row at the same time while the family's on vacation? It's a relative house-sitting. You know it is."
Jack had been trusting his instinct for a very long time, as it was crucial to survival. That, and it came in handy in situations like this. He knew that Sky was probably right —though it pained him to admit it, even to himself— but he didn't want to just pack up and leave. "Listen. This poor woman lives all alone, with no one but a couple of ferns to keep her company for the past decade. She's just looking out to protect herself. Do you blame her?"
"So her imagination runs a little wild, and she calls in SPD, sirens blazing?"
"She's a friend of Cruger's, and you know he'd flip if we didn't do this right."
"He said to take her statement, and report back to him."
"And is that going to give her piece of mind, us just leaving like that without giving her answers?" demanded Jack, waving his hand in the direction of the sun porch. They both turned to look, where Mrs. Perle was watching them with curiosity that turned into a warm smile once she realized they were now watching her. "Would you boys like some cookies?"
"Sure, sounds great," said Jack. Sky elbowed him, a lot harder this time. Jack glared. "Listen, Betty, my associate here is just going to make a few calls back to headquarters, and you and I can take a snack break." He grabbed Sky's arm as Betty passed them en route to the kitchen. "We're going to stay here until six, wait until that guy comes back, get in a quick word, and report back to Cruger that everything is all set. Okay?"
"We took her statement, we can go."
Jack couldn't believe Sky was being so stubborn about something as simple as this. He didn't have anything more pressing to do with his afternoon, so Jack didn't see what the problem was. Betty Perle was a nice lady who was lonely and scared, and Jack could help with both of those problems. "It's our job to make people feel safe," Jack tried to make him understand. Still Sky looked unconvinced, so Jack pulled his trump card. "As your superior, I'm ordering you."
Sky glared, a certain murderous glint creeping into his eyes, a twitch in his brow. "Fine," he said, clipping the tiny word down even farther. "But if we catch hell for this..."
"I'll take full responsibility," Jack promised, and then went to join Betty in the kitchen.
Sky could see the Red Ranger join the woman at the counter, where she was arranging cookies on a plate. He said something that Sky couldn't hear, and the woman laughed, and Sky had a fleeting vision of why Cruger had sent Jack in particular on this mission. He was very much a people person.
He suddenly got why Jack was such a big promoter of one's smile, because he conveyed so much with his. Understanding, kindness, and you could even tell when he was annoyed, with a tight-lipped smile that didn't reach his eyes. Even when Sky wasn't upset, people often thought he was. It worked to his advantage as a member of SPD, and as a Ranger, but in situations such as this, he wasn't much use.
Sky sat back down on his end of the loveseat, the cushion still a little warm from before. Within moments, Jack and Betty returned, half a cookie in Jack's hand, and a full tray of them in Betty's. Jack scarfed the rest of his treat in seconds, beaming at their host with crumbs at the corners of his lips. "These cookies are amazing, Bee." The woman blushed modestly.
"Jack, that's disgusting," Sky said, shaking his head.
Jack stared blankly. "What?"
Betty laughed. "No worries. It means he likes them."
Sky rolled his eyes, dropped a napkin in Jack's lap, and picked up a cookie for himself. He took a bite, and chocolate flooded his tongue. It tasted so good that Sky had to close his eyes. "Mrs. Perle—Betty—these are amazing," he said sincerely, and his mouth stretched into another rare smile.
Jack said his name, and Sky looked over to see Jack rub at the corner of his mouth until his lingering crumbs were gone. Sky wasn't sure why Jack had felt the need to demonstrate this to him, except that Jack kept repeating the gesture, long after his mouth was clean. Jack reached over and wiped at the corner of Sky's mouth for a few seconds, before drawing his hand back as though it was on fire.
"You had crumbs," said Jack, wadding his napkin in a fist. "Um."
"So you two are partners?" asked Betty. Jack blinked at her.
"No, not really. We're on the same squad."
"I thought for sure you were, you work so well together." Jack cocked an eyebrow, not knowing what to say. Sky didn't say anything, leaving Jack to wonder if the Blue Ranger had heard the comment at all, or was just choosing to laugh privately at the ludicrousness of it.
"Jack?"
Sky had pushed up the sleeve of his uniform jacket to look at his watch. There wasn't a clock anywhere in sight on the sun porch. "It's five of six," said Sky. "We should go wait for our suspect."
Jack nodded curtly, and the two Rangers stood and made their way into the kitchen. They kept watch at the large picture window over the counter, which faced into a similar window next door. After about ten minutes, finally a tall man with a dark beard came into view. "Betty, is that him?" Jack asked quietly.
"He's the one," she agreed.
Jack touched Sky's shoulder. "I think you should go handle this." Sky looked appropriately surprised at the deference of power. "You're better at questioning than I am," said Jack. "That, and you're the face of SPD." He waved discreetly at Betty, who was gazing out the window. "This is more my area of expertise," he added quietly. "The public service aspects."
"What, you can throw down when it comes to it," said Sky. "I mean, you scare the living daylights out of Piggy."
"Sky, spiders scare the living daylights out of Piggy." Jack grinned. "You go on over, find out what's up, and I'll be hiding in the shadows as backup. I'm a mean shot."
"Okay, now you're just delusional," Sky said with a laugh, going out the front door.
Jack took his post, just behind the screen, giving him enough room to watch the interaction without necessarily being seen, weapon at the ready. If he had to use it, it wouldn't take him more than a few seconds to obtain a clear shot.
Sky rang the bell, and after a few moments, was joined on the front porch by the bearded man. Jack couldn't hear what they were saying, but Sky was nodding and pursing his lips, business-like. He finally spoke into his communicator for a moment, and then he and the suspect came over to Betty's porch. Sky nodded slightly at Jack holding sentry, and Jack let them into the house.
"Oh my," said Betty, coming into the foyer.
"Mrs. Perle, this is Rob, Alicia Onek's brother. He's been house-sitting."
Rob stuck out his hand. "Sorry to scare you, Mrs. P."
Sky took Jack aside. "His credentials are legit. I got a hold of Kat at the base and had her run them."
"I don't really have to say this, but good work, Sky." Sky said nothing.
"I have to go back and finish feeding the cats," Rob said. "I just wanted to apologize for causing you any worry." He left, and Betty was tinged pink.
"Well, how embarrassing. You two must think me a fool."
"Not a fool, just cautious," Jack assured her.
"I'm sorry to have wasted your time."
"The cookies were good," Sky said.
Jack glanced at his teammate, trying to hold in a laugh at Sky's complete lack of people skills. "You didn't," he told Betty. "It was fun. We'll have to come back and visit sometime."
"I hope you do. Give Doggie my regards."
"We'll be sure to. Thanks for the snack."
Jack and Sky headed back down to the street, where Sky put an extra spring into his step, and beat Jack to the driver's side door. "I'm driving," he said.
"Didn't we go over this already?" said Jack, but Sky already had the keys in hand. With a shrug, he settled into the passenger seat.
Just as Jack had suspected, Sky kept an eagle eye on the speedometer. Jack tried not to let it bother him, staring outside and trying to think about the good points of Sky. As a car rolled past with the driver being unable to see over the steering wheel, the good mood Jack had been in from a job well done quickly disappeared. "Why are you so anal-retentive?" he demanded.
Sky's eyebrows shot way up. "Excuse me?"
"You're going twenty-nine."
"It's not a must that you go the full thirty."
Sometimes talking with Sky made his head feel tight. "I'd just like to get back to the Academy before I'm as old as Betty."
"I'm not going to break traffic laws because you can't sit still." Sky sighed. "Why are you in such a hurry, anyway? Have to go consult the almighty Bridge, still?"
"You know it. I'm going to have him do a scan of your side of the room, and see if he can find the nest of bugs."
"Bugs?"
"Yeah. Like the ones that crawled up your butt and died."
Sky's entire face puckered up like he'd eaten something awful. An overstated reaction, considering how frequently he and Jack had these battles. Maybe he was feeling particularly sour about the comment, since for the most part, they'd gotten along surprisingly well on this assignment. Jack sighed, deciding to bite the bullet. "Listen, Sky, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. We're teammates, and we should at least be civil to each other." He glanced at Sky out of the corner of his eye, waiting for the snort, or the roll of his eyes, or the snide comment that was no doubt coming. Instead, he was graced with a very long pause.
"Well, we have, on occasion, been known to work all right together."
"When we're not battling for control," Jack remarked.
To his surprise, Sky actually smirked. "Yeah."
"After all, the Commander said that we were his best squad members. We should be an example for the others."
"You're right."
"Did you just admit I was right?"
"Stranger things have happened." They exchanged a glance and a smile.
After a pause, and an uncomfortable shifting in his seat, Sky finally dared to ask, "So why is it you need Bridge, exactly?"
For whatever reason, Jack found himself unable to remember exactly why he'd wanted Bridge in the first place. That embarrassed him far more than the original reason (whatever it might have been) would have, and to cover this, he reached over and turned on the radio.
While the SPD Jeeps could pick up local radio stations, rarely were the Jeeps used in situations where one was looking to cruise to tunes, so they were greeting by a loud blast of static that made them both jump. Sky turned the radio off in a quick jerk of his arm, obviously irritated beyond belief. "You are such an infant, sometimes, Jack. Really, you behave like a five-year-old with ADD."
"And you act like an old lady with irritable bowel syndrome."
"There you go. Like the true child you are, you resort back to poop jokes."
"I'm surprised you recognized that was a joke. Seeing as how you have no sense of humor whatsoever." And just like that, the two cadets —the best on the squad, or so their commander had claimed earlier that day— were back to squabbling over nothing in particular. It would seem that civility only went so far.