Set Fire to the Rain
Part I – Captain Becker has a problem – and an epiphany
"What do you mean your car has 'gone crazy'? Is it a problem with the motor or with the electronics? Because I have no idea how to fix a motor." Jess had been sitting at the ADD hub, lazily spell-checking the newest reports for lack of anything else to do when Becker had called her over his comm unit. Apparently he was outside in the parking lot watching his car … go crazy.
"It's not the motor, I could've done that myself. I don't know what exactly is wrong, that's why I called you." She sighed. She really could use a little bit more information than 'my car's gone crazy'. Nevertheless, it wasn't as if she could ever refuse her captain anything.
"I'll come out and have a look at it."
"You can just send out some tech person - I don't want to keep you from your work."
"You're not. I'm actually bored out of my mind."
Jess was indeed happy to get a break from staring at the screen, and the fact that Becker had asked for her help had absolutely nothing to do with the bright smile on her face – at least that was what she told herself as she almost skipped to the exit.
Her mood was a little dampened when she left the building and noticed the slight drizzle that would not agree at all with her light, pale yellow summer dress, but she figured that this would probably not take long.
She had to re-evaluate that assessment when she saw the state of Becker's car. Its electronic systems seemed to be completely fried, the lights and wipers going on and off at short, irregular intervals. All in all, the car looked like it was having a nervous breakdown. So did Captain Becker, who was standing beside the 4x4 with such a look of desperation on his face that Jess had to stifle a giggle.
One look inside the driver's seat door told her that the electronics weren't faring much better here: Lights on the dashboard went on and off at random, not to mention the radio. She just hoped the electrical chaos would not somehow cause the ignition to start. Already the electronic systems were running without the car key, which shouldn't even be possible. Before she could start investigating the source of the problem, she would have to unplug the car battery.
Sighing, she shimmied back out of the car and bumped into Becker, who had been standing right behind her trying to look over her shoulder. In her surprise, she slipped off the wet edge of the car door and would have fallen if he hadn't caught her by the hips and helped her get off the edge of the seat, holding onto her for a few seconds even after her feet were safely on the ground. She could feel the heat of his fingers splayed over her hips through the thin dress, new and strange and yet surprisingly right. It caused a pleasant shiver to run down her spine, and he dropped his hands as if they had been burned.
They were both flushed with embarrassment now, and Jess was glad to be able to dive into the car's underbelly. She had mainly studied the software aspects of computers, but she knew a few things about hardware, and really, she figured, this couldn't be much different from a computer.
While Jess worked under the bonnet Becker had lifted for her, the rain really picked up. Within minutes she was sure that her dress must be completely drenched – a suspicion confirmed by the fact that Becker offered her his jacket with a slight blush and without meeting her eyes. By now, however, her ambition was sparked – she would figure out what was wrong with this car.
"Jess, maybe you should wait until the rain stops."
"No, I'll have it figured out in a minute."
He didn't protest and remained standing next to her, heedless of the torrential rain. She appreciated his supportive attitude, even more so when he surreptitiously draped his jacket around her shoulders, and again she had to suppress a delighted shudder when his warm hands brushed over her cold skin. Trying to concentrate on her task, she fiddled around with a few more of the wires she suspected of being responsible for this chaos. There was also, surprisingly, a little chip attached to the main wiring that she could not explain to herself.
"I've got it!" At least, she was fairly sure she did. To test her theory, she re-attached the wires to the car battery – and had to jump backwards as the car suddenly lurched towards her, the bonnet falling shut with a bang. Unprepared for the sudden movement, she landed flat on the ground, staring nervously at the car with an equally tense Becker hovering over her.
Rationally she knew that the car could not suddenly start driving and that the lurch must have been a one-time freak occurrence, but nevertheless, if it did she would be right in its path. Becker must have come to the same conclusion, because he quickly took hold of her arms and pulled her up and away from the car.
"Are you all right? What was that?" He looked worried, although his serious expression was ruined by the fact that his wet hair was plastered to his face on one side but sticking up on the other. Frankly, he looked ridiculous.
"That," she explained, suddenly feeling giggly, "was your car's way of telling you to treat it better." And then she burst out laughing, to his utter confusion. This entire situation was beyond ridiculous. Trying to get herself under control again, she forced herself to stop laughing and, seeing his unreadable expression, tried to turn away from him, now embarrassed at her childish antics. He was still holding on to her arms, though, and so she was rooted in place while he looked at her intently. They were standing very close together, she noticed, and her heart beat a little faster. And then he suddenly blurted out:
"Go out with me."
She was so surprised she had to suppress an incredulous snort. Instead, she just stared at him, blinking a few times and watching him blush again. Funny, she thought with a hint of triumph, he never used to blush this much when I first met him.
"You know, for drinks or dinner or something..."
"I'm familiar with the concept." She was still busy looking at him, trying to take in everything about this moment: the empty parking-lot. The rain that made his black shirt stick to his skin, showing off every contour and tempting her to let her fingers dance along the hard lines and ridges. His ridiculous hair that, though still funny, she now found herself unable to laugh at as she seemed to have lost the ability to breathe. The hopeful expression on his face, so different from his usual unapproachable manner. The warmth of his hands that she could feel even through his thick jacket – she wanted to savour it all. She had after all waited so long for him to make a move, she had almost given up hope.
Unfortunately, he seemed to take her silence as a rejection, because he let go of her arms and his face fell.
"I mean, it's okay if you don't want to. Things don't have to be awkward now..." Judging by his embarrassed behaviour, things would most definitely be awkward if she turned him down, Jess thought. Fortunately, she had no intention of doing so.
"No, I want to. I just have one question..." The look on his face was now a mixture of suspiciousness and relief, she noted before continuing: "Why now? For one and a half years, I've spent ages every morning trying to look my best. I've been falling all over myself to get your attention. And now, when I'm smeared with car grime and absolutely drenched from head to toe, now you decide to ask me out?"
It was his turn to laugh now, relief fully replacing the suspicious look, quickly followed by a mischievous smile.
"Why now? For one thing, I just realized how convenient it would be to go out with a girl who can also fix your car. Secondly, you look really nice in my jacket. And third - well, the see-through dress is certainly helping."
She made a sound between a breathy laugh and an embarrassed yelp, but before she could protest or even look down to check if her dress had really become that transparent, he kissed her.
For a few seconds, it was sweet and slow and hesitant. Then Jess realised just how long she had waited for this, how much pent-up longing she had to get out of her system. As she slung her arms around his neck and drew herself closer, trying to get rid of every last air particle between them, she realised that apparently, he had waited quite a bit as well. At least he responded enthusiastically, put his hands on her waist and lifted her up onto the bonnet. This, Jess thought happily as his lips wandered to her neck, was quickly spiralling out of control, and she wasn't going to stop it...
By the time they went back inside, his jacket around her shoulders was as drenched as every other piece of clothing she was wearing, but Jess did not feel cold at all. She had not expected him to lead her back inside with any obvious signs of affection, and she was okay with that. After all, they both had to keep up some semblance of professional behaviour around here, and it wouldn't help to act like a couple of lovesick teenagers.
Their efforts at subtlety, however, were quite useless. The fact that they had spent almost an hour out in the pouring rain only to come back inside with barely concealed goofy grins, drenched clothes and tangled hair spoke for itself. And if that wasn't enough, one needed only watch Becker's murderous expression if any of his men dared so much as glance in Jess' direction, and it became quite clear that their chief of security and their field coordinator had done much more than repair a car out in the parking lot.
Not that anyone was surprised.