Chapter 21 – Besties
Against her Doctor's orders, Z checked herself out of Newtech General the following morning. Her unique genetic structure coupled with Ranger level healing would fix her shoulder up in no time. The Doctor wasn't convinced but with no legal reason to keep her in, he had no choice but to let the yellow ranger walk out the door. Z was grateful to Syd for bringing a change of clothes with her last night. Z really didn't feel like walking out the hospital in a gown or the dirty remains of her SPD uniform.
One pair of skinny jeans, a yellow top and her favourite boots later, Z was ready to leave. Syd had also brought her yellow leather jacket and hoodie combo. The yellow ranger looked at the article of clothing reluctantly for a couple of reasons. Firstly it was the middle of June and approaching ninety degrees outside, a fleece lined leather jacket probably wasn't the best thing to wear in those temperatures.
The main reason though was Charlie or more accurately the memory or the traitorous green ranger. This was the same jacket she was wearing when Z followed Charlie to Toby's bar. The memory of Charlie's criticism of her undercover skills, more precisely the choice of bright yellow was tailing someone, was still fresh. It could've been taken negatively but Z saw it as Charlie's attempt to help Z become a better officer. At the time Z saw it as Charlie first step towards redemption, how wrong she had been.
Z angrily pushed her thoughts aside, she loved this jacket and wasn't going to have it ruined by Charlie, "Step one of getting over her", Z mumbled and slipped her arms into the sleeves. She tucked her hair inside the hood and pulled it over her head. Cruger would probably know soon that she had discharged herself. Eager to avoid the wrath of the Commander for as long as possible, Z wanted to remain anonymous.
About a block away from the hospital she instantly regretted the jacket. Sweat was pouring off her body, making every step uncomfortable. Soon she began to feel faint and had to sit down at a nearby bus stop, "Maybe this was a mistake", she panted. Now she was out the hospital, Z realised that she had no idea where to go. Heading for Delta Base was probably the sensible option but she really didn't want to face the team yet. That only left her with one place to go and fortunately the appropriate bus was coming her way. She stood up and extended her arm, her oldest friend would know exactly what to say.
Twenty minutes later the bus dropped Z off outside Jack and Ally's store. The blonde haired co-owner was arranging a display outside and greeted the yellow ranger warmly, "Hey Z, didn't expect to see you here". The smile quickly fell from Ally's face when the tired looking Z lowered her hood, "He's in the manager's office", Ally stated. Z gave her a half smile in return, Ally always knew when something was wrong with Z. She wasn't jealous of the close relationship between Jack and Z, knowing full well about their shared childhood experiences.
Z didn't even bother to knock on the manager's door and was greeted by a startled Jack hunched over the desk surrounded by paperwork. The moment he set eyes on Z he let out a loud sigh, "I'll break out the orangeade", referencing their preferred childhood aliment remedy.
As Jack opened his desk draw Z shook her head, "Think I'm going to see something stronger than that today", she slumped into the chair opposite Jack.
The former red ranger frowned and opened another draw, pulling out a small silver flask, "Russia's finest, courtesy of Piggie". Z frowned, knowing the reputation of Jack's alien partner, "Don't worry it's legal", Jack chuckled and pushed the glass of clear liquid over to Z.
The yellow ranger took a sniff at the glass but whatever was inside was completely odourless. She took a small swig and almost instantly the back of her throat began to burn, "Jesus Christ Jack", she coughed, "that's like liquid fire".
"And people criticised President Trump's close relationship with the motherland", Jack smiled, "what did Matthews do this time?" Z's head snapped up, "I'm not a total idiot Z, the only time you visit me nowadays is to complain about your partner". A small grin appeared on his face, "Did you finally tell her how you felt?"
Z screwed her eyes up, did everyone know that she had a thing for Charlie? "Kind of but that's definitely not the whole story".
Over the next few minutes Z went into a detailed explanation of the last week's events. Since Jack was a civilian he would only have the presses account of things. To her knowledge A Squad's attack at the warehouse yesterday hadn't even made the news which was a small blessing. Once her story turned to Charlie's deception and betrayal, she could see the fire behind Jack's eyes beginning to burn. The two former red ranger's never had much love for each other but deliberately hurting Jack's best friend, that added a new level to their rivalry.
When Z was finished Jack didn't say a word and that really made the yellow ranger worried. Whenever her oldest friend went quiet like this, it was usually the sign of a massive eruption brewing. "Jack don't do anything stupid", she could see his hands shaking with rage across the desk.
Jack calming stood up from his chair, "I'm not going to do anything stupid" he began and slowly made his way towards a cupboard on the other side of his office. He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the medium size door, "This is probably the smartest thing I've ever done". He reached inside to retrieve a baseball bat, "I'm going to track down that heartless bitch and break every bone in her body".
"Jack don't", Z stood in front of main office door, "I won't have to rot away in prison for some SPD traitor".
"Z this isn't because she's a traitor, she tried to kill you", Jack snapped, "I can believe that she's a traitor, I mean a leopard can't truly change its spots but she let her buddies drop you off a building and then blasted you at point blank range".
"Getting angry isn't going to solve anything", Z retorted.
"I'll get angry if I want", Jack banged the bat against the floor, "I can't understand why you're being so calm about this". Jack's question stunned Z into silence for a moment, why was she being so calm? Yesterday she had been a little hysterical but today she was feeling much calmer and a little more together, "You still love her don't you?" Jack's statement pierced the silence, "despite all this, you're still in love with Charlie". He allowed the bat to drop to the floor and began to rub his temples, "What are we going to do with you Z?"
Jack had hit the nail on the head, despite everything Z was still in love with Charlie. The two old friends sat back down again, the explosive mood defused for the moment, "I can't explain it but there's-"
"Don't say there's still good in her", Jack shook his head, "don't dare ruin my favourite films by using their lines to justify your feelings". Jack returned to the silver flask and took a quick swig, "I know you've told me about all the good things she did early in her SPD career but you've got to face facts Z, she as rotten as they come now". Z didn't want to believe him and shook her head defiantly, "Maybe she told you those stories to win you over, paint herself with as much sympathy as possible".
Reluctantly Z had to concede Jack's point, if Charlie had wanted to manipulate the situation then that's exactly what she would've done. If fact that's Charlie's first lesson during their undercover class, do whatever you could to win over your mark. Z placed her head in her hands and leaned across the desk, "I'm not just some mark alright, give me some credit", she groaned.
"You're smart Z but you haven't got that much experience in the love department", Jack replied, "not emotional love-"
"Finish that sentence and you'll be the one in hospital", Z growled. Maybe this was a mistake coming to Jack, he wasn't likely to be objective when it came to Charlie. The two had rubbed each other the wrong way from the very beginning. The privileged child who had toiled away for ten years to become red ranger against the street kid with no experience, they were never going to get along. What Jack was good at was reading people and right now, she didn't trust her instincts, "Forget about your personal beef with Charlie for a minute", she continued, "did you honest think she had changed?"
There was a long silence as Jack thought about the question. Z was slightly relieved that he hadn't dismissed her outright and he was mulling it over, "I'll admit I've heard nothing but praise for the green ranger from people who've come into the store", he answered, "so she definitely put a lot of effort into her performance".
"Jack, please", Z pleaded, "I came to you for an honest, subjective answer".
"Alright she had me believing too", Jack snapped back, "for the first couple of months I tried my hardest to pick holes in her but I came up with nothing. I even had Piggy use some of his more questionable contacts to dig up some dirt on her but he came back with nothing".
"You ran an illegal background check on my partner?" she cried, scandalised by his actions.
Jack nodded defiantly, "I didn't keep us alive on the streets for years without being cautious", he replied, "and I wanted to distrust Charlie but in the end I had to admit that she had turned over a new leaf". He banged his fist on the desk, "She even had me fooled, happy now?"
Z shook her head, "Not really, that just brings up more questions".
Before their conversation could continue the office door opened. At first Z thought it was Ally but to her shock, it was Commander Cruger, "Officer Delgardo, this doesn't look like Newtech General to me", he barked. Z was too tired to stand up and give him a proper salute, merely waiving vaguely in his direction, "At ease", he snorted sarcastically, "we'll deal with this later but right now, I have some business with your friend".
"Me?" Jack pointed at his chest, "Look Commander I'm out of SPD, have been for a while". He then began to frown, "If it's about that last shipment that Piggy brought it, I promise you it was from a legal source".
"I'm not here to talk about Piggy", Cruger began, "actually I'm not here to talk to you at all".
The Commander stepped aside and another man entered the office. Z immediately recognised him as Supreme Commander Andros. The yellow ranger began to get up but the older man waived her off, "Please Officer Delgardo stay seated", he began, "I know the last 24 hours have been hard on you".
"Getting shot at by someone you thought was on your side, that hurts you more mentally than physically", she commented.
A sad look crossed Andros's face, a look that suggested he knew exactly what she was going through. He soon shook it off and turned his attention to Jack, "I know you've been out the business for a while Jack but I've come to make you an offer".
Jack raised an eyebrow at the Supreme Commander, "Is this a financial offer, if it's not then I'm not interested".
"Landors", Cruger growled, "show a little respect".
"At ease Doggie", Andros smiled, "of course Jack will be financially compensated if he accepts my offer".
Z watched Jack's face carefully, she could almost see the grey cells in his head working away, "I'm listening", the former red ranger answered.
Andros smiled warmly, "Thank you", he began, "since Officer Delgardo is here then she's probably already told you that B Squad is down by one member", Jack nodded as Z scratched her head nervously, "it wasn't a secret Z so don't worry about that", Andros smiled,"we might have a way of filling that gap but we need your help".
"Why me?" Jack asked, a little surprised by Andros's offer, "and what would I need to do?"
"You have experience and the tech we have on offer requires someone with experience", Andros replied nonchalantly, "for the rest of the briefing, you'll need to come with us to Delta Base".
There was a brief moment when Z thought Jack was going to reject the offer, however, his anger towards Charlie and the rest of A Squad was probably still in his system, "Lead the way", the former red ranger stated. As Z followed the others out of the cramped office, she wondered if recruiting a vengeful Jack was the best idea.