Well here is another chapter. I'm going do my best with this chapter like I do with all of them. Hopefully it'll turn out okay, but what do I know? Well enough to write 35 chapters.

Thank you all my readers. Thanks to ya'll I've topped 2000 hits. Thank you to Perrou, evelsaint93, and savageking for adding my story to your favorites. Thank you Canada, for some reason your people seem to like my story. Also, please don't send anymore reviews to my email account because I usually don't check for days. If you leave a review (and I would appreciate it) then click on the review button and type one.

Please review because I like to know what ya'll think and it tends to encourage me to write more.

I don't own any anime/manga or any trademarked item. To the people who do own these products, just think of me as free advertising.

Chapter 35: Content with the World

"Please tell us how you became aware of our product:

A) Military Surplus

B) Black Marketeering

C) Show Room

D) Negative Experience Opposing One

E) Heard A Loud Noise And Looked Up"

A joke McDonnell-Douglas Aviation order form

1600 Hours; August 14th, 2010; Mercer Island, Washington State; United States of America

(Please assume this chapter is in English unless stated otherwise)

Jack Shinhachi was driving down I-90 on his way home. He had spent the day with his visiting cousin, Sachiko, or as she liked to be call 'Sachi'. She lived in a city called Yagami and her parents worked in the US consulate in Yokohama and they were visiting for a few weeks.

It was a nice day out and he decided to take her out and around Seattle. They went to the fish market that Seattle was famous for, watched a Mariners game, watched the Mariners lose again (1), walked around the waterfront, rode on a waterfront trolley, went to the Space Needle's observation deck high above Seattle (2), and had a nice time.

"Yugoslavian troops continue their invasion of Croatia and Slovenia. Fighting appears to be increasingly fierce as air and artillery pound the border providences on both sides. Civilian deaths are believed to be high and reports of human rights abuse are coming from the battlefront," said an NPR newscaster.

"In other news, Israel has once again ceased off the Gaza Strip. International leaders criticize the Israeli decision," said a female newscaster. "Also in Middle Eastern news, a bomb blast today rocked the Beirut transit system killing 12 people and injuring 55 others. No group has claimed responsibility yet, but the Lebanese blame a joint Syrian-Lebanese group."

"Is American news always this depressing?" asked Sachi.

"A lot of the time yes, but for me, it's important to know what's going on in the world," said Jack as he drove down the highway. "Besides, would you prefer the Soviet's news where they say how everything from crime rate to the weather is better than in the 'poor capitalist nations'."

Sachi shrugged and reached for the dial and changed stations. Eventually, she found a station she liked and listened to My Chemical Romance singing their song Teenagers:

They're gonna' clean up your looks

With all the lies and books, to make a citizen out of you

Because they sleep with a gun, and keep an eye on you son

So they can watch all the things you do

Because the drugs never work!

They're gonna' give ya' a smirk

Because they got method of keepin' you clean

They're gonna' rip off your heads

Your aspirations to shreds!

Another cog in the murder machine

They say that

Teenagers scare the living shit out of me!
They can care less as long as somebody else will bleed!

So darken your close

Or strike a violent pose

Maybe they'll leave ya' alone, but not me!

Even though Sachi spent most of her life in Japan, she spoke fluent English and understood what she was hearing. She vaguely wondered if she should be hearing this 'mature language' at her age and if her cousin should be letting her hear them, but then again as he so wisely said, 'I ain't you parents.'

The boys and girls in the clique

The awful names that they stick

Your never gonna' fit in much kid

But if you troubled and hurt

What you got under your shirt

Will make them pay for the things that they did!

They say that

Teenagers scare the living shit out of me!
They can care less as long as somebody else will bleed!

So darken in your close

Or strike a violent pose

Maybe they'll leave ya' alone, but not me!

The song then cut to a bunch of electrical guitar playing.

They say that

Teenagers scare the living shit out of me!
They can care less as long as somebody else will bleed!

So darken in your close

Or strike a violent pose

Maybe they'll leave ya' alone, but not me!

All together now!

Teenagers scare the living shit out of me!
They can care less as long as somebody else will bleed!

So darken in your close

Or strike a violent pose

Maybe they'll leave ya' alone, but not me!

The song ended. Sachi was surprised it was such a short song compared to most songs which were usually more than 3 minutes.

After a while they reached the Shinhachi households and drove on in. Jack noticed a familiar 1967 Oldsmobile 442 (3) parked in front of his house.

He walked inside. Sachi dashed upstairs to the guest room she was staying in, eager to take a nap after a long day of walking around Seattle. Jack too wanted to take a nap, but he had things to do. He walked over to a closed and knocked.

"Come in," called an authoritative voice.

Jack walked in and bowed, "Konnichiwa (good afternoon) Oto-san."

James Sousuke Shinhachi, commonly called Jim by his friends and business associates, was a senior staff member in the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, a subdivision of the United States Department of Treasury. The primary offices were in New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Denver and their headquarters in Washington DC, naturally.

The OCC also had offices (4) in set up all the major cities of the United States and even one in London, England.

"John, did you and Sachiko-chan have a nice time?" he asked looking up from a report on his desk.

"Yes we did, I took her to see a ballgame. We lost again."

His father sighed at the Mariners latest defeat.

"Anything new?" he asked his father, referring to his papers.

"Hai, we're looking over a Bank of America in Tacoma. They've been giving a lot of bad loans and they can't make up for their losses," said Jim with contempt in his voice. Jack didn't blame him, it pissed him too that banks mindlessly handed out loans which tended to hurt their customer and the national economy more than the management. "What about you?"

"I sent some files on to Yokohama. Tomorrow the Air Force is gonna' start some air operations, but I've already said too much by naming the date," said Jack. "… and I need a couple thousand dollars."

"For?"

"Guns."

"Doesn't the Army supply you with guns?"

"Like the Army and Marine Corps was supposed to supply bulletproof vests to our soldiers in Iraq?" asked Jack with a raised eyebrow. "The military tries to keep up with the needs of soldiers like new weapons, vests, night vision goggles, head mounted radios, etc, but they either don't have the budget or don't have the inventory immediately available to supply everyone."

"Well the system is never perfect and we all should know since we're all part of the system," said Jim as he went back to reading the report. "What guns do you need?"

"I wanted to replace the Colt M-16A3s and A5s we have with H&K G-416, the version with the 20 inch barrel. Also I want to replace any Colt M4A1s with the G-416 14.5 inch barrel version. I'd like these guns with a laser dot scope with x4 zoom, laser pointers, some of my soldiers will want handle grips, and maybe attachable flashlights for them too," said Jack reading from a list he pulled out of his jacket pocket.

"Is that all necessary?" asked Jim.

"Most Delta units have pretty nice equipment. Maya's unit has the H&K G-36C and even the SIG SG-550. Another platoon leader, Major Wonbosi, he has the G-416 and was the one who recommended it to me as tougher, more reliable, and more accurate than the M-16 or M4A1. Plus this is to be used on a nation that attacked and invaded the land of our family's origin. Also, the East Asian communist aren't exactly a group of pushovers… of course nor are the European communist like Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and other Warsaw Pack states. We do need this equipment."

"… I'll talk to Oto-sama," said Jim referring to his father and Jack's grandfather.

"Arigato Oto-san," said Jack with a bow. "I will speak with Emma's family. I'm hoping the fact her father likes me will help get me some discount… I'm also prepared to beg."

"I should hope not," said Jim, he had a hard time telling when his son was joking or not. He was also not sure weather that was due to his lack of spending time with his son or his son spending his time in the Army.

Jack walked up to his office and sat at his desk. He quickly scanned through the report he and Maya had written after they had talked to Anya. That was not a pleasant conversation, but it was a vital and she did thank them for the warning. Hopefully Premier Bolotnikov would heed his daughter's warning. Actually, Maya and Jack were rather surprised to how calmly Anya handled the situation and took action quickly.

He would eventually send this report to all the US Intelligence Community which included 16 agencies, each with its own subdivisions. The main branches of the United States Intelligence Community, inclusive of government and military and they HQ's locations, are as follows:

Independent Agencies:

-Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Langley, VA

United States Department of Defense (DoD):

-Counter-Intelligence Field Activity (CIFA), Washington DC and in various classified locations

-Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency (AFISR or AIA), Lackland AFB, Texas

-Army Military Intelligence, Fort Belvior, VA and Fort Huachuca, AZ

-Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Washington DC and the Pentagon; Arlington, VA

-Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA), Quantico, VA

-National Geospatial-Intelligence Activity (NGA), Bethesda, MD

-National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Chantilly, VA

-National Security Agency (NSA), Fort Meade, MD

-Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), Suitland, MD

United States Department of Energy (DoE):

-Office of Intelligence, Washington DC

United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS):

-Office of Intelligence & Analysis, Washington DC

-Coast Guard Intelligence (CGI), multiple offices in most major ports including Seattle

United States Department of Justice (DoJ):

-Federal Bureau of Investigation; Directorate of Intelligence (FBI DI), Washington DC

-Drug Enforcement Agency; Office of National Security Intelligence (DEA ONSI)

United States Department of State (DoS):

-Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), Washington DC?

United States Department of Treasury (DoT):

-Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Washington DC

It was a long list and each of these agencies reported to a specific part of the government and/or military and/or black ops. Primarily Jack and Jason reported to Army Military Intelligence. Task Force Delta was technically a subdivision of the AMI, officially Delta Force didn't exist. Somehow, Jack didn't think the DoE's intelligence service would care since their main concern was the security of the nation's nuclear power plants… which was important, but not relevant to this situation.

Naturally the CIA, NSA, INR, AMI, DIA, ONI, and AFISR would be the service branches that would want this information the most. Jack was also supposed to report to the CIFA. Even Brig. General Lennox didn't know Jack and Jason were counter-intelligence (CI) officers who, in addition to their normal duties, were watchdogs that over saw Delta's Asian operations for corruption or leaks or operators 'overstepping their authority'.

"Hey, Jack," said a familiar voice.

"Jason, what's up?" asked Jack as Jason entered the office.

"I've been over to Puget Sound Naval Yard," said Jason taking a seat at a second desk which was for him. "We found the mole. He called himself Seaman Alan Mao, a Chinese-American from New York."

"And his real name?"

"Wouldn't give it to us, but CFI did take his computer and found he sent something to an IP address in Beijing," said Jason.

"CFI?"

"It was a crime committed on a US naval base and he was arrested on a civilian port… and we're Army. The Coast Guard and Navy have jurisdiction," said Jason annoyed that the CFI and ONI took the guy they'd tracked down.

"So, what'd he send to the PLA?" asked Jack.

"As far as we can tell, they reported the JNS Sutsuru (5) CVN-01 to the Chinese. We also think he reported the status of the CVN-81 Ford Class aircraft carrier being built in Puget Sound (6)."

"Guess we can't do anything else until the CFI are done with him," said Jack. He checked his watch and said, "We'll get a little more work done and then we'll have to leave. We're meeting them at 7:30. Okay?"

"Got it," said Jason.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1915 Hours; August 14th, 2010; Carlyle Grille, Bellevue; Washington State, United States of America

Emma checked her watch. She wondered where Jack and Jason were. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stand her cousin and her cousin's husband before she lost it and introduced them to her H&K P-8.

"Relax Emma," whispered a girl with pale skin, freckles, reddish-brown hair, and brown eyes. Virginia Lassiter too was prepared to attack Emma's cousin.

"So, Emma dear?" asked the arrogant voice of Maryanne Klein, Emma's visiting cousin from Hamburg. "I hear you're alone… again."

Emma didn't say anything. She knew Maryanne was trying to pull her into a trap in which she would be humiliated in front of her friends. Fiona Gross, one of Emma's other friend opened her mouth to defend her friend, but closed it in the face of Maryanne's infuriating, but intimidating smirk.

"It's okay Emma," said Maryanne. Ever since they were kids, Maryanne always loved to torment Emma. Always acting so superior. She wouldn't have let her come with her friends if her aunt and uncle made her introduce them to Emma's friends and Emma's parents didn't seem to get how evil her cousin was. Maryanne was only here for Emma's brother's wedding tomorrow.

"What's okay?" asked Emma through gritted teeth.

"It isn't your fault you have such bad taste in men or your fault you're so small and scrawny," said Maryanne with pure pleasure in every word that she knew was hurting Emma.

"I am too dating someone and he's everything I could ever want!" an enraged Emma shouted suddenly. A ringing silence fell on everyone. Maryanne was catch completely off guard as if Emma had punched her in the face and everyone else wondered how Emma would get out the lie.

"And who is this man?" asked Maryanne regaining her composure and quite she Emma was lying.

"Uh…" Emma stuttered.

"Hi Emma, you look nice tonight," said a familiar voice behind Emma.

"Him, he's my boyfriend," Emma said grabbing Jack Shinhachi who'd just walked up to their table and barely said hello.

'Forget my plan,' thought Maya to herself smiling, 'this could work much better.'

Using his well honed skills in grasping a situation almost instantly, Jack noted Emma was clinging to his arm, a unfamiliar women she was glaring at, and Fiona and Ginny both nodding in a way that said, 'go with it.'

To Emma's shock and relief she felt a warm hand lace around her fingers. "Who's this?"

"My cousin Maryanne and her husband Fredrick," said Emma loving the look of spite crossing her cousin's face.

'So this is the Maryanne that Emma wants to kill,' thought Jack to himself, 'well… let's have a little fun.'

"I'm John Shinhachi," said Jack holding out his hand.

Maryanne shook it glaring at him, "So what do you do?"

"I'm a lieutenant colonel in the special forces. Actually I'm just on a month's leave from Japan after fighting the People's Liberation Army and People's Korean Army. You may have heard we've just achieved a huge victory over the communist forces."

Emma could've kissed the man full on the mouth, she knew Jack was a master of destroying bullies verbally and he was using his skills to get the revenge she wanted for years. Oh, how she loved this moment.

"Oh, well Fredrick was just in Washington in the Pentagon. Isn't that right?" she said to a man next to her who didn't seem to talk unless she let him.

"Yes, I was in the Washington and drove to the Pentagon and the CIA, you know they are all near each other? And I was to discuss a deal with the US Military? Then I got on a flight out of Regan and flew back home and…"

"That's a pile of bullshit," interrupted Jack, "Firstly, the Pentagon and CIA are not in Washington DC. The CIA has their HQ in Langley, Virginia and the Pentagon is in Arlington, Virginia. Secondly, Regan National Airport is a national airport, they don't have flights that go outside of the US. And finally, I know every deal we do with weapons companies, especially foreign ones; I know Heckler & Koch aren't scheduled to meet with the Department of Defense until next week and the CIA hasn't planned on meeting with H&K in the relatively near future."

'This is working better than what I had planned,' thought Maya. 'Guess they don't need me.'

A waiter brought them diner and they all settled into silence.

"So," spoke up Kevin von Ritter. "How'd that lead I sent you two turn out?"

"We traced the email to a Chinese spy in Puget Sound, but the Coast Guard has jurisdiction since he was compromising the security of a US naval base," said Jason.

"Did you get those recon photos from yesterday?" asked Sean Connors.

"Yup, if you drop by I can give you a copy. Oh, how's training Israeli pilots?" asked Jack.

"Okay, they eager to learn and I think I'm pretty much done. SOCOM will probably send me back to Denmark or Turkey where I may get to go back to buzzing Soviet fishing boats again which is always fun. Ya' know, waiting their faces when we get up close and personal…"

"Excuse me, but could we discuss something else?" asked Maryanne rudely.

"Like?" asked Emma sweetly in a way she knew would drive her cousin up the wall.

"Is your boyfriend coming to your brother's wedding tomorrow?" she asked.

Emma felt her stomach clench; she hadn't told Jack about that.

"Well… I… uh," stuttered Emma.

"I did get an invitation," said Jack honestly. "Though… I may have left it in my office in Yokohama. At the time I didn't think I'd be back in time for it and in SOCOM it's hard to schedule these things."

"But won't you be busy?" asked Maryanne thinking he was lying.

"Well… I was gonna' head over to the CFI's office in Seattle, but I think they'll be more willing to talk if I make it seem like I've got more important things than talk to them. Plus I need to speak with Mr. Heckler about a few deals."

"Why would he want to?" asked Fredrick.

"Because I'm an advisor to Japanese Federal Military and they've been asking me whether they should buy from Glock or SIG Sauer. Heckler & Koch doesn't have done much business in Asia. I could change that."

He and Emma smirked, united against their newly sworn enemies.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

0900 Hours; August 15th, 2010; the Heckler's household, Kirkland; Washington State, the United States of America

"And that's what happened last night," said Emma to her brother, her soon-to-be sister in law, her mother, and her father. Emma had spent most of the morning trying to explain to her family as to why they needed to pretend Jack had been her boyfriend for the past few months.

"Emma, I really think you're over exaggerating…" started her mother, Heidi Heckler.

"Mama, she's not," said Paul Heckler, Emma's older brother. "I didn't even invite her. She invited herself."

"Is she the really nasty one that implied I was a whore?" asked Alexandra Muir, Paul's fiancé.

"Ja (yes)," answered Emma dryly.

"And Jack is the man in the military and whose family controls virtually all the Federal Government branches in this state?"

"Ja."

"He's nice. Why can't we have him come instead of her?" asked Alexandra.

"I did Alex. I did," said Paul.

"Can he really get the Japanese to buy from us?" asked Henry Heckler, Emma's father.

"I know Jack. He could give his commendation to you instead of SIG Sauer or Glock."

"I've never been able to sell more than a couple hundred MP-5s to Japan. What kind of deal?"

"You're gonna' have to talk to him about that. Also, he needs G-416s. About six with the 20 inch barrels and twelve with the 14.5 inch barrels," said Emma.

"What happened…?" he started.

"Stolen," she said. "If there isn't anything else then I'm going to get ready."

Emma went to her room. It was a large room with a balcony that had a beautiful view of Mt. Rainer, one of four volcanoes in the state and one of its most well known icons. Everyone knew Mt. Rainer; it was on the license plates, on the state quarter, and on several other souvenirs.

Anyways, in her room was a dresser, a walk in closet, and other things you'd expect in a girl's room.

The only unusual items was a gun locker with all of Heckler & Koch's handgun models; the P-8, which was a variation of the USP 9mm that was standardize by the Bundeswehr, was her favorite. Another unusual item was a large desk littered with her latest manga which she wrote her manga. The first chapter of her new manga was ready, but she didn't know any publishers that would produce it.

She stripped off the long white shirt she wore while sleeping. She then changed her into fresh underwear. Next she pulled on a narrow black skirt that ended just past her knees that greatly reflected the nice shape of her legs and hips. She also put on a sky blue tang top, it was a little snug, but it was mostly tasteful in it covered her stomach and wasn't too relieving. Finally she put on a thin black jacket similar in style to blazer. She'd pulled her hair into a loose ponytail and curled some of her bangs so they flowed down her cheek. Emma applied light makeup and a light pink lipstick. She smiled at her reflection; she hadn't cleaned herself up like this in months.

She grabbed her handbag with her cell phone, small makeup kit, pepper spray, P-8, and a couple of loaded clips of 9x19mm cartridges. Jack and Jason's paranoid ways of always keeping a gun near by rubbed off on her a little, plus some of the strange military types would be coming so it didn't hurt to be armed… just in case. Also she was hoping for a reason to shoot her cousin.

She walked downstairs and waited by the front door. Alexandra had already left and gone upstairs to change. The wedding was to be held in the backyard; they had a nice open area with a great view of the lake that separated Seattle from Kirkland and Bellevue.

Knock, knock

Emma opened the door and stared in awe. Jack was wearing his full dress uniform which she'd never seen him wear before. It was dark blue-black with gold buttons and a sky blue strap that went over his right shoulder. He had a white button shirt underneath, dark blue-black pants, black tie, black rim officer's cap, tunic that matched his pants, and gold trim in various parts of his uniform. He had silver oak leafs on his shoulder marking him as a lieutenant colonel and his 1st Special Operational Detachment-Delta patch on his sleeve. On his tunic was a European service ribbon, Afghanistan service ribbon, East Asian service ribbon, expert marksmen award, a Purple Heart with a number stitched on it for every time he was wounded, a Bronze Star, and Silver Star pinned to him. He was perfectly shaven for once in his life and his hair pushed to the side with a wave on the front.

He'd never looked so clean or looked so… so… sexy in his life, or at least that's what Emma thought.

In turn Jack was admiring Emma's appearance, noting she too had put a fair about of time in her appearance for today.

"Is it wise to be in uniform?" Emma finally asked. "My family will be on you like vultures and try to sell you anything."

"I am in the market, plus your cousin is gonna' hate seeing me in full dress uniform with all my medals and awards and ribbons," he said with a grin.

They headed into the backyard, arm in arm, where the festivities were to begin. Most of Emma's family lived in Germany or on the east coast of the United States. Jack noticed some of the Koch family had come, but than again they were also one of the founders of H&K so as business partners they must have decided to come. Jack was surprised none of his family was here since they collectively had control over or influence over shipping, transportation, and several other aspects of business transactions in the northwest.

"Big family," said Jack.

"Ja, but not all of them are close. Most of them aren't even part of the corporation," said Emma.

"Isn't that your second cousin? The director?" asked Jack curiously pointing to a large man.

"Sorta'. He asked me to be in one of his movies."

"Really? What?"

"Well… uh… he's in the 'adult entertainment business' and he was doing a parody of the movie Never Been Kissed. He called it Never Been Fuc…"

Jack held up his hands and said, "Emma, please. I can guess the rest of the title. So, I guess you weren't interest?"

She glared at him in a 'what do you think and answer that question carefully' sort of way.

A ring tone in Jack's pocket went off.

"Sorry, I need to check this," he said pulled out a PDA.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Air Force is starting combat operations over Korea start today and I just wanted to be on top of it."

"Anything interesting?" she asked craning her neck to see.

"Not really. But it looks like the PKA are confused as to why were bombing cities so far north from where they think we're landing," said Jack with a laugh.

"And where would that be?" asked a voice.

"Sorry, Mr. Heckler, but that's classified," said Jack to Emma's father. They shock hands.

"I've made some arrangements for the G-416s you've requested and now about that deal with the Japanese I would…"

"Not to be rude sir, but why don't we sit down and I'll tell you what they want," said Jack.

Emma wandered off to speak with her cousins, the ones she liked, while Henry and Jack talked.

"The Japanese have decided to change their standard pistol cartridge from the 9x19mm parabellum to the .45 caliber armor piercing cartridge (APC). Right now their either going to go with Glock's P-21 or SIG Sauer's P-220, but if you can offer your USP .45 (7) at a better price and make them available faster than your competitors they'll take the deal and run. I think they would also be interested in any UMP .45s you're willing to throw in," explained Jack.

"So it's a matter of making the weapons available faster than Glock or SIG?" asked Henry.

"I personally think you can supply them with the kind of equipment they need faster than the others. Plus you have a .45 caliber SMG which they'll also want. The Japanese want only the best and they'll pay top dollar for them," said Jack.

"Got it. Well, danke (thank you)," said Henry shaking his hand. "I hear the US is going to be making the same change and…"

"Colt beat ya'll to that a long time ago. The M1911A1 has over 70 years of history as our standard sidearm through both world wars, Korea, and Vietnam. Many soldiers continued to use it today," said Jack patting his holster which was his Colt .45 in it.

Jack sat down on a folding chair. He was sitting on the same row as several Bundeswehr officers and a man Jack recognized as the German Federal Minister of Defense. Jack also recognized some of the officers as members of the German Expeditionary Force that was sent to Afghanistan shortly after the US invasion in 2001.

They watched the service… well, everyone one else watched the service and Jack stared at Emma standing up at the front with her family. She'd never looked so beautiful in her life. After the bride and groom said 'I do' they all watched them walked down the isle. It was a different experience to his family's Japanese weddings which were conducted in silent reverie.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1950 Hours; August 15th, 2010; Heckler's household, Kirkland; Washington State, United States of America

Emma was feeling like she'd died and gone to heaven. Her evil cousin was off somewhere sulking. She'd gotten to slow dance with Jack while everyone admired her and him together in all their glory. She'd even caught the bouquet. Oh, her life felt so good since he'd gotten back.

'Where's Jack?' she wondered suddenly releasing he wasn't in sight. 'He's not a social person and crowds of this size would get to him eventually.'

She wandered over towards the pine trees grew around a creek that flowed through a corner of their property, the kind of place he loved to relax and clear his mind. He'd once told her his personal callsign was Piney Creek because on the creeks where the pines grew at his family's home was where he'd learned to fight, to meditate, and to be a warrior like the samurai of a long dead past of a proud Japanese history.

"John Shinhachi," called out an unfamiliar voice ahead. Emma silently crept through the trees using the skills she'd learned with Jack and his cousins while growing up. She found a perfect observation spot and watched.

"Ah, Hauptmann Edmund Franz," greeted Jack who was standing on a large rock on the edge of the creek, "what can I do for you? ... or is it the KSK who needs me?"

"What is going on in the Union?" asked a large muscular man that Jack called Franz.

"There are many unions. The European Union. The Union Pacific Railroad. The…"

"You know what I mean?!" shouted the man. "Why were you in the Soviet Union?!"

Jack stared at him coldly. "Why does the KSK need to know?"

"Because we're on the frontlines if the Warsaw Pack is up to something and the USSR runs the WP. You think France, England, Belgium…"

"Don't think I underestimate our EU allies' strength or intelligence," said Jack coldly. Emma watched with wrapped attention wondering what Jack knew that German special forces wanted and why this man thought Jack was in Russia when he was supposed to have been in Japan.

"One of our agents saw you and your second in command in Vladivostok and saw you leave a couple of days later. You were supposed to have been resting while between deployments against the Chinese. A Red Army division deserted the Soviet ranks and your superiors thought it was necessary to send you and your friend to Russia. Please… as a friend who's helped you in the past," pleaded the man.

Jack sighed, "We were sent because we knew that a unit of that size couldn't escape attention without help."

"And?"

"I won't go into detail because I'm not authorized, but half the KGB and a portion of the Red Army is on board with the coup. We know it's called Operation: Red Revolution. We know it means civil war and revolution in the Soviet Union. We know it would destabilize our relations with the USSR and Warsaw Pack. What we don't know is how or when."

"What can we do?" asked Franz sounding frightened. Emma too was shaking a little; she spent so many years with her war-and-politics obsessed friends that she was able to fully grasp the magnitude of the situation. She saw the embers of a world war burning on the horizon in Eastern Europe. Suddenly, she saw into Jack's world. She grasped the dangers and fears that must fill it. It was so cold and lonely. How did he have the courage to keep moving?

"The man's a ghost. We can't find him and some of our best our hunting him. My guess is that he's in the Caucasus by now," said Jack. Emma realized they were still talking and she'd missed some of it.

"Ingenious, they'd be almost impossible to find in all the fighting around Chechnya… what else?"

"There's nothing else I can tell you without committing treason… or shooting you," said Jack slipping his hand under his tunic and reveling a Glock P-21 with a silencer attached. There was also his preferred Colt .45 in a leather holster at his hip, but the shot would be heard if he used it since it didn't have a suppresser.

"I didn't plan on staying longer anyways. I'll be seeing you," he Franz and he disappeared into the night.

Jack sighed a kicked a pebble into the creek. He was staring up at the full moon in the sky. Silently, Emma walked towards him. She knew he hadn't detected her because he would always tense up his back, shift his arms closer to his gun or knife, and adjusted his legs to evade or escape a threat.

Once she was right behind him, she wraps her arms around him and placed her face into his back. She felt him tense. He grabbed her hand and dug his hand into it as though he was going to rip it apart, but Emma didn't yield… it was him just being paranoid. She felt him relax as he started to recognize her hands and her scent.

Jack shifted and sat down. Emma moved her arms, sat down next to him, and laid her head on his shoulder.

"So… how do you do it?" she asked once comfortable, after several minutes of silence.

"Any soldier needs a reason to live. A reason to want to come home. Whether it's for change, spite, pettiness, family, or love ones. He or she needs a reason... and it has to be stronger than fear because to function in war… you have to have a will to survive… that or you're a radical extremist… or a Republican," he added jokingly in the end nudging her lightly. He laughed a little. What true American after the Bush Administration didn't love to mock Bush and the Republican Party?

"What is it for you?" she asked.

"… you don't remember?" he asked. She shook her head. "You told me before I left for Afghanistan that if I didn't come home alive you'll dig me up, bring me back to life, and kill me personally."

"… you come back for me?" she asked feeling her heart flutter.

"It sounds so cliché when you say it like that," said Jack wryly.

Emma pouted at him, "We having a moment here, don't ruin it."

"Sorry."

"The things I put up with," she muttered to herself. Jack placed his hand on her hand and laced his fingers around hers. She responded by squeezing his hand slightly.

"I've loved you for years you know," he said suddenly.

"Really? I've only loved you for a few months," said Emma with a grin.

"Thanks," Jack said sarcastically.

"Like you can do better than me?" she asked.

He paused for a while, just to get back at a little her before smiling and finally saying, "Nope."

"You love me?"

"Yes."

The next thing Jack knew, Emma was kissing him full on the mouth. He was too shocked react… not that Emma cared; she knew he'd do something given time to process what was happening. For now, she was running a hand through his hair and using the other to draw him in closer. She felt warm arms engulf her and his lips move with hers. He ran a hand through her hair, loving its silky feel. His other hand was slowly rubbing her back in circles. Not entirely sure what he was doing, Jack started to figure out how to slip his tongue into her mouth. She moaned and then started to use hers to explore the inside of his mouth.

After what felt likes days, but was really a couple minutes, they broke apart. She had her head on his chest and he had one arm around her and the other still stoking her hair.

So there was a war in East Asia, the Balkans, and an ultranationalist Stalinist extremist that would probably send the world spiraling out of control into a world war… big deal. They had each other and they felt quite content with the world.

Or at least until Jack had to go back to Japan and worry about the world's problems.

"We're gonna' have to get something to before it's all gone," Emma said after a while when she their stomachs started to growl.

"Great I'm starving," Jack said grabbing Emma by the hand and walking back towards the house.

"So the mention of food and I'm suddenly chop liver?" asked Emma pretending to be offended.

"Of course not… your more like ground beef," he said grinning. Emma punched him in the stomach, but laughed nonetheless.

'It's like we're still best friends, but better,' thought Emma they walked. 'He's my boyfriend.'

So tell me, do I have any head for romance? If don't, be kind, but tell me. I really can't avoid some romance, because it is part of real life and I need to learn to write it eventually. Than again this is probably better than some of the shit coming out of Hollywood. Next chapter will be air combat as we rejoined Nara Kentaro and the NATO air campaign. Until then, please review.

Respectfully

J. H. Kamiya

Appendix

1. The Seattle Mariners of the American Major League, has never once made it to the World Series. I'm a Mariners fan… and it's painful to watch every year when we don't make to the World Series.

2. The Space Needle is the most well known buildings in Seattle. Most people recognize Seattle by it. I went their once, but I was very young and don't really remember it.

3. I know and care little about cars. I do have a car obsessed dad and against my own will, I have learned a little about cars. Like the fact his first car was a 1967 Oldsmobile 442.

4. My dad used to work for the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for some 20 odd years. He 'retired' from his job years ago and now he does the same thing, but for a private firm. In other words I know a fair amount about it. Their objects are to ensure the stability of banks and banking system, create competition so banks compete and offer news services to their customers, ensure that OCC and other Treasury agencies are effective in its regulation of the banking system, and that fair services are offered to all American citizens by banks… or else. It may not be an exciting job, but it's a pretty fucking important one.

5. The ship prefix JDS (Japanese Defense Ship) is the real prefix of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces, but it isn't commonly used. Since in my story the Japanese have restructured their forces into a full fledge military, I changed the prefix to JNS (Japanese Navy Ship).

6. Some of you may remember me mentioning the CVN-21 carrier. I recently found that it has been named the Gerald R. Ford Class aircraft carrier. The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) was started in Northrop-Grumman's ship yard in Newport News, VA on January 16, 2005. It is expected to be complete in 2015. Two additional carriers are scheduled to be built. CVN-79 is expected to be started in 2012 and a proposed name is USS Arizona after the battleship destroyed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; it is supposed to enter service in 2018. CVN-80 is to be started in 2021, no further information is available. These carriers will be able to do 30 knots, include various surface-to-air missiles, and hold 75 aircraft. No actual Ford Class carriers are being built in Puget Sound, but Puget Sound does service and repair carriers.

7. The Heckler & Koch Universelle Selbstladepistole (USP) is one of H&K's top selling series of handguns. The English translation is Universal Self-loading Pistol. It is available in 9x19mm parabellum, .40 caliber S&W, and .45 caliber APC. The gun comes in multiple versions in different lengths and can mount different equipment such as flashlights, suppressers, silencers, laser pointers, etc. A 9x19mm version called the P-8 is the standard sidearm of the Bundeswehr and most of Heckler & Koch's handguns are based of the USP series.