Chapter 11
Cerberus sat outside the open bathroom door with his head tilted to the side, watching as Mandy stood in front of the mirror applying mascara.
"I know Cerb… it's weird seeing myself like this too" Cerberus made a little yelp of agreement
Mandy looked at herself in the mirror, she hadn't worn a dress in a while and she was suddenly relieved that most of her visible bruises on her body had healed, she'd only had to apply a little foundation to a mark on her ankle.
She was actually glad she'd agreed to this night out, since she'd got back with Cerb the day before she'd been going a bit stir crazy. She wasn't going to be able to meet with anyone about work stuff for another couple of days so she'd been trying to occupy herself making a list of what she could remember she had in storage. She'd made an effort not to put on the TV to stop herself trying to guess where the guys might be in the world. Having Cerberus there helped to distract a bit and she was glad Emma had reminded her to pick up some running gear, her and the dog had been for a few long runs. At first she felt sorry for the dog getting dragged out every time she needed to clear her head but then she remembered this was Jason's dog, he was used to getting dragged out for runs at stupid times in the morning when he couldn't sleep.
She actually felt a little jealous. She'd been struggling to sleep and wished she could just go out running in the dark to stave off insomnia. It was what she always used to do, but since she was taken captive, even with the dog who she knew was a lethal weapon all of his own, she didn't feel confident out on her own in the dark.
She slipped on her heels and grabbed her bag and coat as her phone buzzed to remind her that her Uber was outside.
Cerberus made a low growl and a yelp as she headed towards the door "Its OK boy I'll be back later" and she crouched down to kiss his head and scratch behind his ears. He seemed happy with that and had run off back to his spot on the bed to curl up with his favourite chew toy.
Mandy went to grab the keys and laughed at the ridiculousness of Jason's huge bundle of keys and then looked at her tiny bag before taking the apartment key off the key chain and leaving the rest of the keys in the kitchen.
She locked up and headed for her ride into town.
When she arrived at the bar she was glad she'd made an effort, as Naima looked stunning as always, she'd put on a long brightly coloured maxi dress and Lisa who was usually pretty casual like her was wearing smart jeans, heels and a low cut blouse. It seemed to be a high-end cocktail bar with music and bright décor, a nice change to the tequila dive bars, she laughed to herself remembering what Jason had once said about her taste in drinking establishments.
Lisa noticed her first and waved her over to their table close to the bar. Mandy made her way across the packed bar to join them as Lisa stood to greet her in a hug. "Well don't you scrub up well!" Lisa joked "long way from captive chic" Mandy replied "At least I don't have sand in my hair like the last time I saw you" they all laughed
Naima stood to give her a hug too "I'm so glad you made it!" she seemed genuinely excited that she was here "What are you drinking?"
Mandy looked between the other two's now empty drinks with umbrellas and uneaten cherries "well this doesn't seem like a gin or tequila establishment so I think I'll go with whatever you're recommending"
"Good choice" Lisa grinned wickedly, "I'll get us a round"
"Why do I get the feeling I made the wrong choice?" Mandy asked as Naima laughed "I think Lisa is going to lead me astray"
"You managed to stop yourself from watching the news?" Naima asked giving a knowing look
"So far…" Mandy admitted "it's hard being on this side of things, I have a whole new respect for you Naima I don't know how you deal with it"
"Lots of practice" she replied "shopping went well if the dress is anything to go by" Naima looked the dress up and down giving her an encouraging nod
"Yeah it went well, got myself some basics and Emma insisted I got a dress for tonight she wasn't taking no for an answer"
Lisa walked up with a tray of drinks and shots as Mandy was talking
"I heard Emma was taking you shopping… I've been hearing a LOT of things Missy… I need updating on this hot gossip!" Lisa nudged her in the arm as she put the drinks on the table
"I'm sure I don't know what you're taking about…" Mandy grinned
"Girl, you are fooling nobody. And neither was Jason, the way he reacted to you being taken. He would have walked through hell for you." Lisa nudged her again "Sooo for real. You two. It's finally happening?"
"What do you mean finally?" Mandy laughed
Naima and Lisa rolled their eyes at each other then Lisa spoke again "You know what I mean, you two have been dancing around this for years. The only people who didn't know you two were meant for each other were you two" Lisa laughed out loud and Naima joined in.
"We've been friends a long time" Mandy said smiling.
"This is what I don't understand" Naima says "you've been so close and so damn professional with each other for so long, how the hell have you managed to keep it just friends with all that chemistry!"
Lisa nodded in agreement "It's hard, I know. I know there are rules but you two managed all this time"
Mandy smiled a knowing smile, taking a sip of her drink, trying not to laugh
"Wait…. What's that smile?" Lisa looks at Mandy
"OK I have a confession but it probably requires a shot… and it stays between us three" Mandy picked up her shot glass. Lisa and Naima followed suit and shot back their drinks.
"Bravo Girl code, lips sealed not even husbands can know...now Spill" Lisa demanded. Naima nodded her agreement.
"Well...Jason and I may not have always managed to keep things professional over the years…"
Lisa's jaw drops and Naima laughs out loud
"How many times did you guys slip up exactly?" Naima says before taking a sip of her drink
"Twice..." Mandy replies "...years apart" she adds
She watches as Lisa is smiling and thinking to herself "Do I get to guess?"
"What?!" Mandy and Naima both say at the same time
"I bet I can guess when the two times were" Lisa looks quite sure of herself
"No way" says Naima, "No way you can guess that"
"I bet you a round that I guess at least one. Two rounds if I guess both" Lisa puts her hand out to shake.
"Ok you get two guesses for each. You have yourself a bet girl" Naima shakes her hand, Mandy can't believe what she's hearing she just laughs and shakes her head
"And what if I just deny it and say it wasn't any of your guesses?" Mandy laughs
"You're good but you're not that good spook, we'll know" Lisa says grinning
"OK" says Naima "First guess then Lisa"
"J-Bad last deployment" Lisa says without hesitation
Mandy's jaw drops "what the…"
"So I'm right?" Lisa is doing a little dance "knew it"
"I think I've been hustled" says Naima "You didn't even need to think about that"
"How the hell did you guess that?" Mandy asks, genuinely shocked
"Well, its probably the only time I ever really wondered about you two. Jason never leaves the guys, ever. But he left them to take you to Samin's widow because he was so obviously worried about you after Samin's death. He's never ever done that before out of choice. You were both a mess that deployment, neither of you were sleeping. Jason was climbing the walls, doing laps making everyone dizzy. The day after you visited the widow I overheard Ray asking Jason about coming back to the hooch early morning and Jason was tight-lipped about it. That morning Jason was a bit calmer and more focused than he had been and you didn't have bags under your eyes for the first time all deployment, you said something about finally getting some quality sleep, which I thought was strange since you'd been so upset the day before…But thinking on it now, we all know how a night of red hot illicit sex can help anyone fall asleep!"
Mandy was stunned "Sorry Naima, you owe Lisa a round. Wow she really should be CIA"
Lisa laughed. "And I'm not even done yet…"
Mandy put her head in her hands "why did I think this was a good idea"
"OK. This one's tougher. See I think the other time was before that and you said these were years apart…. But I know neither of you would have gone there while Jason was still living with Alana…"
Mandy simply shook her head and sipped her drink
She looks stumped and then suddenly she gets a wicked smile "Mexico" she thumps her hands on the table
Mandy is gobsmacked. She just looks at her
"See! Right again." Lisa grins
"Mexico, is that right?!" Naima says
Mandy nods "Do I even want to know how you worked that one out?"
"Mexico is the only time I've ever seen you at each other's throats. You were crazy mad at each other, shouting at each other and calling out each other's decisions in front of everyone. That time Jason called out your intel and stormed off and you stormed off after him into the other room. Wow. We couldn't hear what you were saying but you were screaming at each other. We all just sat looking at each other awkwardly like what the hell is up with them? I've never known you two be like that with each other. But then later it was all was back to normal like it never happened. On the flight back you were hugging. I mean Jason isn't even a hugger, when at the beginning of the op I actually thought he might strangle you. I can only guess that you gave all that passion another outlet…" she winks
"That's it, I'm gonna suggest you join the agency, not that I'd be the best reference right now" Mandy giggled and ate the cherry from her drink "I can't believe we thought we'd been so subtle!"
"Honestly, you were. I only put them together from you saying that it happened twice and those moments popped out in my memory. I wouldn't have known otherwise, definitely not at the time"
"Ray thought maybe something happened between you two in J-Bad" Naima added
"He did?" Mandy says her and Lisa both looking surprised
"He said him and Jason had a heart to heart one night in J-Bad about the pressures of being bravo one and being all-in with the team, the difficulty in balancing having a family. He said Jason's mind was elsewhere since he'd been on a visit with Mandy and he'd gone for a walk to clear his head but didn't come back to the hooch 'til early morning. When Ray had asked him where he'd slept, Jason just said he'd rather not say. Ray said the only people Jason went to when his head was a mess were him or you. When he wouldn't say where he'd been he thought he was probably protecting you, because any other random woman on base he'd probably have just trusted Ray to say who and normally if he'd been sat up talking with you he'd just have said so without the secrecy.
"I have to say, after you told Jason you were leaving the agency, and then Jason leaving Bravo not long after, I did wonder if you had a lot to do with that decision. A little bit of me hoped maybe you were going to both find some happiness finally, maybe together! Lisa added
"We weren't in a good place in J-Bad or right after" Mandy replied a little sadly "I think we both needed to go and get our heads straight separately for a while"
"But look how it all worked out in the end" Lisa raises her glass smiling widely and they clink glasses "Cheers"
After a few more rounds, Naima's phone buzzed and her face lit up "bravo boys are home" she says. "All safe and well"
"They going straight home or to the bar?" Lisa asked before her phone buzzed too "Sonny- We're at the Bulkhead, bring the pretty faces" they all laughed.
"You going to join us at the Bulkhead Mandy? Sure Jason would love to see you" She winks
"Ermm, I'll pass" Mandy says as she looks at the text on her phone "Jason isn't there"
"And where, prey tell is he?" Lisa looks quizzically
"Apparently he's outside his apartment with takeout wishing he'd remembered to take a spare key with him" she laughs "My turn to go rescue Master Chief"