Crimson and Clover
-Chapter Six-
Jack and Claire were released after two weeks in the hospital. They'd been visited by agents from Protective Services, the branch of New York government tasked with safeguarding ADAs and their big cheese, the DA himself, as well as the mayor and other highly placed functionaries in law enforcement and government. Informed that they would be under heavy guard, they gave in as gracefully as possible, with the caveat that Claire share Jack's apartment. Two large agents manned the wheelchairs transporting them to the street and into an SUV driven by the female agent they'd met yesterday. Locking doors with the push of a button, Piper Craig pulled away from the curb and slipped into the stream of traffic.
Jack held Claire's hand. They were sandwiched between the two men who'd wheeled them out of the hospital, a third man sat in the front passenger seat. No one spoke. Agent Craig took a circuitous route to Jack's apartment on the upper West side, and pulled into the service alley running behind the backs of the apartment buildings and stores. Another agent waited at the service door of Jack's building.
Piper Craig went into the apartment with them, her eyes professionally scanning everything, though she'd been there earlier, stocking the kitchen and putting Claire's clothing away. Drapes were pulled over drawn shades. It reminded Claire of a cave. Lamps provided some light.
"Until this is resolved," Piper began, "you'll need to keep the windows covered and lighting to a minimum. We've stocked the pantry and refrigerator and," she smiled at Jack, "the liquor cabinet." She turned to Claire. "I more or less cleaned out your closet and drawers, it's all here. I can show you where I put it. We have a tap on your phone line. Two agents will be outside the door at all times, and you'll be driven to work and back. In short, you won't see the light of day without guards. You'll get used to us, and I hope you realize this is for your protection. We're not here to make you miserable, so please don't try to duck us. We have to insist you curtail your social lives, that you not go out in public. It's very difficult to cover a restaurant or bar. They got to you once, they can certainly do it again. So please, cooperate with us."
Claire nodded, but she was uncomfortable with the thought of this woman handling her things. Did she bring her makeup, blow dryer, Tampax? She excused herself and went into the bathroom. It was all there, in a plastic box under the sink. Claire sighed. Piper Craig was nothing if not efficient. She flushed the toilet for effect, then returned to the living room.
"We'll do your shopping," Piper said to Jack, looking up as Claire came back. "Make a list each week and I'll take care of it. I trust you found everything?"
Claire blushed and walked into the kitchen. She got a Diet Coke, using it to wash down a couple of pain pills, then she went back to the living room and sat on the couch. Jack sat beside her, reaching for her drink. He fished his own medicine out of his pocket and slipped a couple of pills into his mouth, chasing them with Diet Coke. Then he put his arm around Claire.
Piper knelt beside Claire and lightly touched her knee. "Uh, I looked for birth control pills…"
Claire blushed again. "It doesn't matter, I have to start over after two weeks in the hospital. Do I make my own appointment with my gynecologist, or do you do that, too?"
"I understand this is awkward, but it could be worse. I could have been ordered to move in with you. Make your appointment, I'll take you." She glanced from one to the other. "We have to make this work, people. Your boss feels you're still in danger, and we agree. Whoever ordered the hit on you has opened a huge can of whupass, and it's spilled on the other families. They're not happy, so he has something to prove, which means whacking you for real this time. Almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades in their business." She stood, her knees cracking. She dug a card out of her hip pocket. "My phone numbers, I carry a cellular phone at all times, so if you need anything, try it first. Any time of the day or night." She gave the card to Jack, who looked at it before sliding it into his shirt pocket. Piper looked at her watch. "I have a meeting with your boss. I'll be bringing dinner to your door guards, can I bring something for you?"
Jack looked at Claire, she shook her head. "No, thank you," he said. "We can take care of ourselves."
"If you change your mind, call. I have to physically check on you before I go for the night. I'm sorry for the intrusions," she said, reading their expressions, "but I have a job to do, and that's keeping you from harm. I have no intention of being the agent who let a hit happen. So get used to me, I have a key – Mr. Schiff insisted," she said when Jack glared at her, "so I'll be checking in first thing in the morning and last thing before I go home. And yes, I'll knock first but I won't wait for an invitation to enter." She walked to the door, then turned. "We can make this work if we respect each other. I'll do my damndest to respect your privacy, but not at the cost of failure." She opened the door and walked out, closing it softly and testing the lock.
Claire looked at Jack, blushing furiously. "I can't believe she went through my things, handled my personal stuff. Looking for my birth control—"
"Hush," he whispered, gently pressing her face into his shoulder and kissing the top of her head. "She's looking out for you, even if it is embarrassing. I doubt she's a panty-sniffer."
Claire laughed. She pulled her head away from his shoulder and cupped his cheek. "Oh my God," she said, "thanks for planting that image in my head."
"You're welcome." He grinned. "I'm sure she views turnabout as fair play, so when she didn't find your pills, she probably put condoms in my nightstand."
"Sweet Jesus Christ, would you stop?" Tears formed in her eyes as she tried to stop laughing.
Jack eased away from her and got up. He walked into the bedroom and Claire heard the sound of a drawer sliding open. "Well shit," he called, "I was right." He walked back to the couch with a smirk.
"Did you check the size?" Claire reached for his hand and pulled him down, snuggling against him. "I doubt that piece of information was included in your medical records." She tickled his abs. "Not so funny when you're on the receiving end, huh?"
"I'm not looking," he said.
"And I'm not doing it bareback, buddy boy."
"I'm not doing it until I can move without feeling like someone's jabbing me with a hot needle."
Claire fell silent, she knew too well how much bullet wounds hurt, even weeks after being shot. They'd been told the interior stitches would dissolve on their own, but the outer layer, keeping the healing epidermis together, would have to be removed by a physician. They were scheduled for a wound check in three days; until the stitches came out, and for a few days afterward, the risk remained for ripping fragile new skin open. Dr. Ervin had counseled strongly against sex for another two weeks. It would be another four weeks or so before the pill would be effective once she resumed taking them. One side effect of pain medicine she appreciated was loss of libido. She hoped it knocked Mr. Winkie out for the count, too.
"I'm sleepy," Jack whispered. "I'm going to take a nap." He wiggled up and held his hand out for Claire's. She let him help her up. They walked into the bedroom, and Claire turned the covers back, then changed from the jeans and oversized oxford shirt she'd worn home into cotton drawstring pants and one of Jack's tee shirts. She snuggled next to him for the first time in three weeks, turning on her side, spooning against him. She covered his clasped hands under her breasts and let herself relax completely.
She awoke with a jerk at the sound of a key in the front door lock. Jack slept through it, she glanced down at him as she heard Piper Craig announce herself. Claire eased back on the pillow and pulled Jack's limp arm around her waist. Then the overhead light cut through her closed eyes and she opened them, shielding them with one hand as she sat up.
Piper stood in the doorway, tense, but she quickly flipped the switch to 'off' when she saw them in bed. "Sorry," she murmured.
Claire eased out of bed and walked around it to meet Piper in the doorway. Piper stepped back and followed Claire into the living room. Claire abruptly changed direction and snagged a drink from the refrigerator, offering one to her keeper. Piper accepted, and they sat on opposite ends of the couch. Claire took two more Percocet, then crossed her legs and faced the woman who'd become an intimate part of her life for God knew how long.
"We need to establish some ground rules," Claire said, not unpleasantly. "Just us girls if you will."
Piper glanced at the open bedroom door and raised her eyebrows.
"Jack would sleep through the Second Coming," Claire said. "And that's when he's not exhausted and drugged. Look, I'm a very private person, and I find it awkward in the extreme to know you've gone through my personal things."
Piper sipped her drink. "I understand that, I'd feel the same way, but you have to understand the nature of my job. Like it or not, you have no secrets where I'm concerned. I can't do my job otherwise. I had to move you into this apartment before you were released from the hospital, for several reasons – it's unlikely a hitman would be watching your place as long as you were hospitalized, and it would have taken you too long to do it yourself, given your injuries. And I had to anticipate everything you'd need while staying here. I assumed birth control was a high priority, and I couldn't have you wandering around a pharmacy buying cosmetics and Tampax. Of course," she said, dryly, "I can't afford Lancome, so I made the assumption that only proves the rule. That said, couldn't have you in a high end department store, either, for security reasons. Everything is driven by security. So I'm your underpaid personal shopper."
"You really bought condoms for Jack?" Claire didn't try to hide her smile.
"Nah, Jeff did that. I mean, c'mon, we're supposed to protect you, and that means even from yourselves. I'd get a major rash of shit if you got knocked up because we didn't anticipate every single contingency."
Claire shook her head. "I do not believe this."
"Oh, believe it. It's happened before, which is why it's now a written rule. Seriously. It's a major complication for a lot of people, for a lot of reasons. So not only do we discreetly provide contraception, we keep up with cycles and personal hygiene products, as well as doctors appointments." Piper kept a straight face.
"Jesus H. Christ," Claire said, embarrassed to her core.
"We have to know you better than you know yourself to protect you." Piper drank. "I know it's embarrassing, but it's the embarrassing stuff that's cost us people. We were guarding the daughter of the Israeli Minister of Defense a few years ago, and we kept out of her personal business. She woke during the middle of the night, her period unexpectedly starting, and she rushed out to buy supplies, shaking her agents in the process because she was too embarrassed. She caught two rounds in the back of the head." Piper stared off into space, into the horrific memory of a young girl slain in a bodega around the corner from the diplomatic apartment maintained by the Israeli embassy. "Since that day we don't give a rat's ass how humiliated you are, we are going to be aware of every single thing that could come up and cause a fatal mistake out of misguided sensitivity. So if that means putting a box of condoms in Mr. McCoy's bedside table, they'll be there, just as you'll find Tampax under the sink, next to an abundant supply of toilet paper and soap. An agent will do your laundry. I, or another female agent, will accompany you into the bathroom at work." An indifferent shrug accompanied Piper's litany of personal indignities.
A mischievous spark flickered in Claire's eyes. "So, what size did Jeff buy?"
"Size?" Piper was puzzled and she tilted her head, processing the options and answers.
"Condom size." A faint blush crept up Claire's neck. "He hates them, by the way."
"Most men do, or so I've been told. Uh, I don't know, I didn't ask. I didn't know they came in sizes." It was Piper's turn to blush. "The guys handle guy stuff, I get the girlie stuff." She got up. "Want me to order something for dinner?"
Claire watched her, delighted to know the agent could be embarrassed. "No, I'll wait until Jack wakes up, see what he wants."
"Jack is awake." He walked into the living room, in cotton pants and a tee shirt, rubbing his face. "And I heard the last part of that conversation, Miz Kincaid. If you're so damned curious, go look for yourself." He grinned, and went for a drink. He plopped on the couch next to Claire without spilling it. "You bogarting the meds?"
Claire opened the drawer in the end table beside the couch and picked up a bottle, read the label, put it back and grabbed the other one. She opened it and tipped two into Jack's palm, then capped the bottle and put it back.
"Damn, you are bogarting them," he said. "They gave us the same stuff, and you're hoarding yours?" He put the pills in his mouth and chased them with his soda. Then he rubbed the healing, itching exit wound on his chest. "Did I hear something about food in between speculation about my penis?" He bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing at Claire's expression.
"Jesus, Jack," she sputtered.
"I'm sure Agent Craig has heard the word penis before. She's probably seen one or two, too." He cast an amused glance at the agent and her determined effort not to smile.
The phone rang. Jack started to reach for it, but Piper grabbed it. "Hello," she said. "Who's calling?" Piper held the phone against her shoulder. "Do you know a Danielle Melnick?" Jack nodded and held his hand out, wiggling his fingers impatiently. Piper passed the receiver to him.
"Danielle, Jack." He sipped his drink, combating a growing case of cotton mouth.
"Who the hell was that, Jack?"
"Oh, that's my minder, Piper Craig of Protective Services."
"Geez, I know some of those people, I wouldn't wish them on a Nazi. You'll probably kill her before the week is out, and I'll happily defend you for a very nominal sum." Danielle sounded like a merry gremlin on steroids.
"Uh, Danielle, this line is tapped." His merriment matched hers.
"Good, those self-righteous asses should know what I think of them."
"What happened, did one of them tell you there was no Santa?"
"Damn close. Anyway, how are you, Jack, how's Claire? They wouldn't let me see you at the hospital, official visitors only."
"We're as well as can be expected." He glanced at Claire, asking permission with his eyes. "Why don't you come see for yourself? Claire and I aren't permitted to go out and play. You can bring Chinese." He warned Piper off with a glare.
"Deal. How many eight hundred pound gorillas are hanging around?"
"Three or four. Two outside the door, for sure. Agent Craig is temporarily inside, discussing the state of my phallus with Claire." Claire smacked him on the shoulder.
"I'll be there shortly, do try to behave, for Claire's sake. I don't think the girl has ever seen you in your rebellious mode."
"Later, Danielle." Jack clicked off and leaned over to seat the receiver in its charger. He looked at Piper. "One of my closest friends is coming to visit. It won't be necessary to search her or to sample my dinner."
Piper shrugged. "And here I was looking forward to a cavity search. I've heard of Danielle Melnick, we had to protect her once."
"And she was a royal pain in the ass?" Jack said.
"Indeed, until my boss said he'd withdraw us and let her deal with whatever came her way. I'll be on my way, I'll tell the guys she's coming and to let her pass without interference." Piper had withdrawn into a cold dignity. "I'll see you in the morning."