Chapter 26

Jack opened the door, bracing himself for the inevitable reprimand he was about to receive from the Wing Commander. He pushed the door open, letting it fall back against the frame as he stepped forward. Without hesitation, Jack braced his body into attention and raised his right hand into the perfectly timed salute.

Wing Commander Wayne frowned when he saw Napier pay him complements, usually he would of returned the salute, but not this time, he was too busy studying the purple bruise under his right eye to bother.

Their uniform was identical, apart from the lavish rank slides the Wing Co wore in comparison to Jack's. Wayne also neglected to wear his jacket, instead it was slung over the chair he was seated on by his desk. The office was small, grey metal filing cabinets were stacked to one side and only a desk in front of him filled the space, not leaving much room for an escape if Jack's negotiations turned sour.

"Sit down Napier." Wing Commander Wayne demanded, gesturing at the old chair which was positioned opposite to where he sat. Jack simply nodded, reaching out and dragging it back to take a seat. "How are you finding England so far?" Wayne asked, not really interested in the reply.

Jack smiled, his grin stretching out and creasing the bruise under his eye. "Wonderful, there are some very beautiful sights here." He added, not speaking strictly about the village.

Wayne tensed his jaw and narrowed his eyes. "You've been a bit busy it seems, your absence on base hasn't gone unnoticed Napier. You've got 2 new pilots under your wing and you've been off seeing the sights?"

Jack took a deep breath and returned the Wing Commanders intense stare. "With all due respect Sir, I took on Flight Lieutenant Richards' students as a favour, he wasn't teaching them a jot and if I hadn't of stepped in...they'd still be learning how to tie shoe laces."

"Richards has other responsibilities that I've assigned him. He's taken a keen interest in outside resources, soon with his help, we'll be receiving an influx of local produce at half the price it would cost to import from back home."

"So he's managed to completely disregard the rationing system and bring us a tonne of food? Doesn't that ring off alarm bells Sir?" Jack replied with a snap to his voice.

"Watch your tone Napier." Wayne warned, raising his hand to point a from index finger to his direction. "You're not doing yourself any favours here. You still haven't explained what you've been doing in the village which is more important than your job."

"I've been getting to know the locals." He shrugged, tasting the bitter aftertaste of his cigarette at the back of his tongue. "We've stormed in here without so much as a word. I wanted to get to know her - them, I want to get to know them and build a united front, Sir." Jack replied, hoping that his slip up went by unnoticed.

"We've got the dance to do all that this coming Friday. You can't go off on your own. This isn't a vacation Napier, this is a war. You volunteered to do a job, I bent the rules to get a group of us over here. Do what you came here to do, or go back home Napier, there are plenty more men to take your place, you are not irreplaceable." Wayne snapped. "And for your complete disregard for the rules, you're off Spits until further notice."

"Sir!" Jack yelled, jumping to his feet. "That's completely out of order, how am I supposed to train low level flying to the new boys without my aircraft. You're setting us back hours of flying progress."

Wayne stood to his feet calmly, but his facial expression was hard, cold and completely unforgiving. "You'll do as you're damn well told, or the next Dakota going back to the states will have you on board. Do you understand me Napier?"

Jack said nothing, he just held his glare, staring back at Wayne, challenging him silently through his lack of words.

"Take the Tigers for training, it's what they're supposed to be used for anyway. Get the boys through their basic exercises by the end of the week Napier, we go fully operational on Saturday - I don't want our first scramble to be a complete bloodbath. Get them trained and get it done right." The Wing Commander added, his sharp tone never changing.

Jack tensed his jaw, some less than respectful words sitting on the edge of his tongue, but as he stood with his chest heaving with built up frustration, he reaslied that Wing Commander Wayne had played straight into his hands.

"Fine, but the Tiger isn't a replica of the Spit, they'll need to get more hours on them before Saturday. Perhaps instead of punishing them and putting their lives at risk just because you've taken a dislike to me Sir, you should put duty before personal feelings." Jack said, his posture straightening after every word. "I'll take the Tiger out at 12:00 hours. I won't mess with the training schedule and I need to refresh my memory on how she handles, if you permit of course?"

The Wing Commander drew his lips into a tight line. If it wasn't for the fact that Napier was his best pilot, he probably would of personally packed his bags that instant and sent him across the Atlantic immediately, but luckily for Jack, he was the squadrons ace.

"Permitted." Wayne growled, trying to remain as professional as he could. Jack smirked before taking a step back to walk away, but before he could, the Wing Commander cleared his throat. "You're on curfew too Napier. Be in your bunk at 21:00 every night for the rest of this week or it's an official warning. Don't continue to test me - you won't enjoy the outcome."

"Sir." Jack nodded in acknowledgement. He ended his jaw as he stood once more to attention and raised his hand in a reluctant salute. Not waiting for Wayne to return compliments, he left the hut immediately, a sting of spiteful words hanging loosely on the tip of his tongue. Although the late night Pub visits might be put on hold for a few nights, he had full permission to take the Tiger without suspicion and to him, it was definitely worth the sacrifice.

Jack strolled of towards the hanger, his frown turning more into a grin when he realised Harleen would be waking now, the sun was now fully cast up in the sky and the first thing she would see when she opened her eyes would be his jacket. He hoped she'd return it, not because it was his possession, but because if she did, it would smell like her and he'd have something that he could keep when they were apart.

…

"Mmmm…" Harleen moaned, twisting herself up in the soft bed covers as she smacked her lips together. Like the night before and the night before that, she'd dreamed of Jack. His charming smile and deep blue eyes haunted and blessed her. It was as though he'd bewitched her. She was under a blissful enchantment, which seemed to have no end.

As her eyes fluttered open, she recalled last night's events, the smell of him and the feel of his warm lips on hers, sent a delicious shiver down her spine. Harleen stretched her right hand out to feel across her bed, humming at the memory of his body pushing hers back into the mattress, taking her mouth and claiming her oxygen so that she was left with none. She never knew a kiss could make you feel as much as she had last night. He made her chest tighten and her mind go numb. Even just a small brush of his fingertips drove her wild. She could never imagine another soul making her feel such things. She hoped he felt the same, god did she hope, because if he did...maybe this was it, maybe he was she needed and all she would ever need.

Harleen's heart stopped when she felt an unfamiliar texture come into contact with her palm, and when she opened her eyes fully, she saw the distinctive dark navy jacket Jack had ripped off his defined shoulders the night just gone. She grabbed hold of it in her hand and dragged it near, the smell of his cologne and stale cigarettes was something she'd already begun to miss, although she'd only just been in his company a few hours ago.

She suddenly sit upright, remembering the day they'd planned together, and the crate she was supposed to collected from the Pub beforehand. Harleen sprung to her feet, pulling the covers off her bed in the process. She dashed out of her bedroom door, paying no mind to her parents who were still asleep and her dogs which produced soft whimpers outside the back door, begging to be let in and reunited with her but Harleen couldn't think about that now, all she could think about was the seeing him again.

She searched frantically around her room, looking for something nice to wear, so she could impress him, but if was sticking true to his word about taking her flying, she had limited options. Her eyes wandered over towards his jacket, still laying across her bed, an idea instantly sprung to mind, and with a grin playing across her lips, Harleen snatched it up in her right hand and started to get ready for an experience of a lifetime with the dashing American from across the pond.