Discovery
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be, not making any profit.
Author notes: This story is the first is a now completed series, which may or may not be posted here. I rated this story as 15 on my lj, for mild swearing and darkish situations, so you have been warned. :) It's pre-slash for Jack and Sky, which probably doesn't surprise anyone, it's AU and it has some supernatural elements as well, so if that bothers you, don't read it.
Boring, boring and more boring. God, I hate patrols. Jack scowled briefly as he walked along the pavement. Patrols were boring, nothing interesting ever happened and he usually couldn't wait to get to back to base. That impulse was particularly strong right now when you considered who he was patrolling with. Sky was not the most entertaining person to be around on boring patrols - unlike the others he refused to be distracted by idle conversation on the grounds that they might miss something important, so patrols with Sky were not high on his list of fun things to do. It wasn't that he didn't like Sky, it was just that the blue ranger needed to learn how to lighten up a little and then maybe he wouldn't quote the rulebook at the rest of them all the time.
He frowned slightly as he studied his friend's profile out the corner of his eye. Sky was tense, more so than usual and he wondered why. It wouldn't just be the fact that Sky was having to patrol with him, something he knew irritated his second in command almost as much as it did him, that was just your average Sky tenseness. This was different and Jack couldn't work out what would do that - for one thing he hadn't thought it possible for Sky to get more tense, but obviously he'd been wrong.
Just then he felt the skin on the back of his neck start to crawl and he tensed slightly himself, something that drew Sky's attention even if the blue ranger didn't actually comment. His senses on a heightened state of alert, Jack restudied his surroundings, taking everything in a second time, analysing it for anything out of the ordinary, anything that didn't belong.
Just as they walked past the entrance to the city park a quick blur of movement drew his attention and he caught a quick glimpse of a man - human, not alien, not a member of Gruumm's army - before the man melted into the darkness beneath the trees. It lasted only a moment and Jack wasn't even sure he'd really seen it. He stared at the trees for a moment then, when nothing else happened, he frowned slightly and continued his patrol.
The sense of being watched didn't leave, though. If anything it got stronger, more intent and focused. In the end he stopped abruptly and turned around, alert for anything, his entire stance a challenge to whoever it was. Nothing. He stayed like that for another moment or so, knowing there was something out there but frustratingly unable to pin it down. The watchfulness grew oppressive and for a moment it was a struggle to breathe in, the sense of malevolence was so strong. Whatever was out there hated him and he had no idea why.
He jumped when he felt the light touch on his shoulder and he automatically went to flip off whoever it was before his mind recognised Sky and he relaxed a little.
"What's wrong with you?" Sky asked, face impatient but with a faint underlying concern.
"Nothing," Jack said, unable to keep the uneasy tone out of his voice. "Just… you know sometimes you get the feeling like you're being watched or something?" Sky nodded. "Well, it's like that."
"Like someone's watching you?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah. And whoever it is doesn't like me very much."
Mercifully Sky didn't make any smart ass comments, or even give him that sceptical look. "We're almost done," was all he said. "Once we've finished this sector we can head back to base."
Jack nodded again. "Might be a good idea."
Even after they got back to base Jack couldn't shake the uneasy feeling and it was almost a relief when the alarms went off, signalling a Troobian attack in progress. At least now he had an outlet for his apprehension and he made the most of it, sending krybot after krybot to the floor and confining the criminal in a reasonably short amount of time. Okay, so it probably wouldn't have won any records for speed or co-ordination, but it was satisfying. Well, maybe not satisfying, but it did make him feel better, and by the time they made it back to the Delta Base a lot of his unease had gone. What was left of it he was able to shove to the back of his mind and not think about.
That state of grace only lasted until night fell. He'd been off duty for a few hours now and he knew he had no reason to be nervous inside the Delta Base - there was nothing and nobody here that would hurt him, nothing he had to be on guard against, but still his unease grew and he found himself falling back into old habits of watching anything and everything for the slightest hint of trouble. He caught Z giving him worried looks when she thought he wasn't looking, and he supposed he should have known Z would pick up on his mood and wary stance even if the others didn't. Z knew him inside out and she would be wondering what had prompted his return to their previous levels of wariness and skittishness. He made his excuses and called it an early night in an attempt to avoid her curiosity and the inevitable probing questions as she tried to figure out what was wrong. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day, he thought, as he tiredly pulled off his shirt and changed into his pyjamas. Tomorrow had to be better than today.