Disclaimer: Gatchaman/G-Force is not my creation in any way shape and/or form. Neither is "Rodeo or Mexico" by Garth Brooks.
Author's Note: This is a G-Force story because it is the first Gatchaman version I saw and I got used to the characters being like this. But I like all the versions. And all the Joe/Derk characters especially! Yum! And, yes I spell his name differently. I like it with an 'e.' Anyway, I hope in reading this that nobody is offended by any of my characters or situations. It was a joke with my friends that turned into a story.
Derk drove across the Texas border and into Mexico. The Border Guards didn't even notice him race past, but then again he was in G-2 mode. He rectified that situation by changing back to his civvies, and his Condor Machine back into the beautiful Chevelle SS he had finally convinced the Doctor to buy for him. The '69 had a modified diesel engine for obvious reasons and was dark blue with two black racing stripes down the driver's side. Dr. Brighthead had a fit when he saw how recognizable the car was when not in G-2 mode. But, it was Derk's new baby. The Cobra had exploded during the last mission, causing Derk much grief. He had loved that Cobra, but had to make a change since Galactor now knew what he drove, mundanely.
Galactor was the reason he was down in Texas anyway. Some of Galactor's men had been spotted in Waco and G-Force was there to take a look around. Not like Derk actually minded. He would be more than happy to kill some scum, especially to take revenge for his poor Cobra. But, the Chevelle was a beautiful lady. He had already named her, Rosie. Now it was time for Rosie to be christened, Derk's way. And he couldn't do that with "Mr. Goody-two-shoes" Goodhart around. Or for that matter any of the guys. Hootie wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut later on, PeeWee would be no help at all, and Aggie would kill him for corrupting her little brother. But, Aggie would have understood if PeeWee had not been around. Out of all the members of his team, she knew him best. Oh sure, all the members of the team were family, but Aggie could comprehend his reasons for living the way he did. If only Aggie wasn't such a sister to him and madly in love with Ace… Derk sighed to himself. Aggie would have almost been the perfect woman. Except, he didn't get involved with ladies from work.
He smiled, remembering his reason for being here. The ladies. Oh yes, Derk was a ladies man. Couldn't help it. Chicks loved him and his cars. That was his christening method. Bars and girls. He just had to get away from the others while he did so. So, across the border he went. Derk knew he wouldn't be gone long. He did have some business to take care of in the morning. No matter how lovely the lady, or how bad the hangover, Derk always did his job. He lived for that kind of rodeo. Some guys rode bulls for a thrill; Derk held his seat during the Firebird Mode. Now only if Ace would let him shoot bird missiles when he wanted. Blowing up stuff was good. Relieved stress.
Derk pulled into the first bar he came across and smirked. This looked like a fine place to start. There were several beat up clunkers out here, two or three nice cars, and several motorcycles. Looking up at the bar he was even more impressed with the amounts of neon lighting and loud music. This was good. Too bad he wasn't very well versed in Spanish. But, he could piece together just enough. His entrance with Rosie made some commotion from the guys out in front of the bar. They looked at his car and started talking rapidly amongst themselves. He could tell that they weren't going to be a problem, just car nuts like himself. He put on his moody and dark look and went inside. And then, as he reached the bar to get a beer, he saw her. The sexy senorita eyed him from her side of the bar with passionate brown eyes. He whistled below his breath. This was going to be a good night indeed.
For a change I headed south across the border
For the pesos and a different horse to ride
I'd be back to make the rodeo in Waco
But that was long before I saw them dark brown eyes
Derk got a beer from the bartender and slumped against the side of the bar. He casually ignored the girl, hoping she would get the hint. It worked like that for him. The stance also said, "Stay back," to increase the allure of a bad boy imagine that drove chicks wild and to prevent anyone from trying to talk to him. The beer was flat, but the atmosphere made up for it. People were having a good time here. There seemed to be a few shady deals happening in one corner of the room, but no one seemed to notice. Except, Derk had been trained to notice. A few hookers walked around the room, trying to scare up some business, however, none were as fine looking as the lady he had already laid eyes on. Just like an American bar, well, this close to the border it might as well be.
Well now, speak of the devil and she shall appear. She was making her way through the crowd towards him. She made no effort to simply walk around the group in front of him, which would have been easy. It was the chance to brush up against him that made her push through the crowd. And that wasn't his conceit talking either. She had paused while pressed against him and looked him straight in the eye, with a gaze full of promise. Then she had walked on, towards the jukebox at the side of the room. 'Oh my,' Derk thought, 'I do believe this one is not a hooker.' She didn't have the hardened look about her Derk had come to expect from anyone in that profession. But, yet, she wasn't quite acting like she wasn't one either. Maybe she was just a lady looking for some relief. Derk smirked again, 'oh please let that be it. This night could not get any better than that.'
She played with the jukebox for a minute, then seconds later a song blared across the speakers. The words, he couldn't understand, but the music was made to make a person move. She began to sway; closing her eyes and making several men take notice of her body all at once, and even caused Derk to take a long draw on his beer without thinking of the taste. He never even noticed the drink, just the movement of a certain body in a pair of tight jeans and little red shirt that showed her tummy as she lifted her arms. She danced her self over to where he stood, ignoring guys that tried to grab her attention. She stopped in front of him and spoke, but he understood nothing. He shook his head and responded, "No comprende." She gazed downwards and stuck out her bottom lip in the sexiest little pout Derk had ever seen. Then she slowly raised her arm and her eyes at the same time. She looked at him with a question in her eyes as she ran her fingers from his right elbow to his fingers, and then intertwined them with hers. She tugged at his hand, backing out onto the dance floor, giving him the come hither look that women were so good at. Derk was not immune to that look as he sat the beer down on the bar and moved with her.
As they reached the dance floor, she molded her body to his the way he would have had she not been faster. She stopped looking a tad unsure of herself for the first time. She pulled back from his body as if she had overstepped her bounds, until he caught her and pulled her back. He smiled down at her, genuinely, "I'm Derk, and you are?" She seemed to understand that as she responded, "Teresa," and neither one of them said anything more as they danced. But, Derk's mind was going as fast as he usually drove. 'Now, just where the hell am I going to take her, providing she doesn't object? I just hope she isn't one of the Galactor. That would be my luck. Oh geez, I hope he doesn't know about my taste in women, I'd be really dead really fast.'
With long black hair and English bad and broken
Her body said the words she couldn't find
As I hung on every word she left unspoken
The question started leaning on my mind
Derk noticed a couple of guys eyeing the woman with something akin to shock. Then, as they noticed exactly where Derk's hands were, and the possessive look he was shooting at them, they began talking rapidly. One of the cruder looking ones ran out of the bar and into one of the nicer cars outside. It was a foreign car, Derk couldn't quite place it. However, he could place the ill-feelings he was receiving. A person just could not dance with the best looking lady in a place without everyone else getting jealous.
Not that Derk wanted Teresa for her looks alone. No, she looked like fun too. And someone who wouldn't kiss and tell. God knows that had gotten Derk in trouble before. Nor did she act like she would hang on him in the morning like he was supposed to be madly in love with her. No, he was looking for pleasant company and a good time. Well, at least he wasn't going to lie about it. From the looks of it, that was all she wanted too. Oh yes, he had noticed the pale band on her left ring finger. But there was no ring there, not now anyway. And if she had taken the ring off, without being divorced, well, she was a grown woman and knew what she was getting into. If she was divorced, then he was just there to remind her that she was desirable, if not to her ex-husband, then to other men.
But, where were they going to go? And if he couldn't communicate with her, how on earth would he know what she was agreeing to with him. Not that he would hurt her, he would not do that to a woman. But what if she thought he was only offering a ride home? She would think the worst of him if he tried to do more than kiss her. Now just how the hell was he going to pull this off?
Derk's mind was blown off course as she answered the question for him. She seemed to read the turmoil within him and looked up at his face. He gave her an encouraging smile so she wouldn't be able to tell what he was thinking. But, it was too late. Teresa grabbed his face between her hands and pulled him down just far enough to give him a searing, passionate kiss. And she didn't object when he instinctively pulled her body closer and let her know that he was very interested in her. Instead she ran her hands down his body and slid her hands into his back pockets to bring their bodies closer, if that was possible.
Ok, Derk thought with his eyebrows into his hairline, one language barrier crossed. Now, where to from here?
Rodeo or Mexico
They both can keep a cowboy satisfied
Rodeo or Mexico
The only way I know how to decide
Is just get on and ride
After a few minutes of that kiss, Derk's brain was begging for oxygen. Teresa must have been having the same problem as they broke apart at the same time. Seconds passed as they stood there on the dance floor, breathing heavily. She said something to him, an inquiry, sounded like the American equivalent of "Let's get out of here." As he cocked one eyebrow at her in question, she cursed and sighed angrily. He knew that curse word in every language. That he understood. So he pulled out his car keys and motioned to the door. Teresa stared at his keys for a moment, then laughed delightedly. Nodding, she took him by the hand back to her chair to get her jacket and purse. As they began to walk out the door, they were stopped by one of the men Derk had seen talking about them earlier. Derk stood back as they had a not to pleasant sounding conversation. He heard her repeat that curse again and smiled. A woman after his own heart. He made no move to help her. If she needed him to assist her in removing this idiot, she would not have bade him to stay behind her. So Derk just looked intimidating enough to help her out, staring the guy down. Soon the man backed away and allowed them to proceed.
Derk walked out to his car and started to open the passenger side for her, but stopped at her negative gesture. He looked back at her confused. He hadn't read her wrong had he? He watched as she pulled her own car keys out of her black velvet purse and pointed to a small truck a few cars away. Teresa tried again with a few halting words in her language, but Derk just laughed and shook his head in the negative again. Oh, if Aggie could see this, she would never let him forget. Ace would have been dorky enough to have pulled a Spanish-English dictionary from somewhere. But the Condor just dealt with problems as they came to him.
Teresa made an annoyed sound, but the amusement in her eyes belied her anger. She gently took his keys from him and held them in her right hand with her keys in her left. She motioned for him to watch and he leaned back on his car, eyeing her hands. 'Nice hands,' he thought abstractedly. She moved her keys to the left and then his keys to the left. Her keys up, followed by his keys. Then to the right and down. The dim bulb over Derk's head suddenly made 60 watts. She wanted him to follow her somewhere. Derk smiled, nodded, and held his hands out for his keys. She looked relived and smiled at him. He placed his keys on the hood of the car and settled his hands around her hips, still leaning on the Chevelle. He pulled her in for another kiss, which she responded eagerly to. And, in one swift move, he had her pinned between himself and the car. She let out a surprised squeak that made Derk lift his head and smile at her again. God, she was fun. He eyed her lips again and dove back for them, angling his face for a deeper and deeper kiss that made him growl deep in his throat when she strained up to meet him. The position he had her in made it easier for him to slant his hips against hers, illustrating what her sweet kiss was doing to the rest of him.
The sound of the bar door opening reminded him where they were. He removed his lips from hers reluctantly. Looking down at her face, Derk swallowed hard as he saw the hunger in her eyes and the slightly swollen, red lips. He shifted back so they were no longer in contact, and bent to pick up the forgotten keys she had dropped to the ground. Awareness came back into Teresa's face when he pressed those keys into her hands. She flushed and stood straight on her own. He motioned her to her truck and she slowly walked off. Derk snatched his own keys and jumped into the drivers seat. She drove a Dodge. That was a very nice truck to have, and easy to follow. Which was good for his short-circuited brain.
It was simple to follow her for the 30 minute drive to her house. It was easy to walk into her ranch style house with her and into the kitchen. It was fun to polish off two, at least Derk thought it was two, bottles of vodka and orange juice with her. They tired to talk and laughed at their miscommunications for a long time. And then, as passion carried them from the kitchen to the bedroom, Derk had a passing thought. 'If only we could stop Galactor, this could be the kind of woman I could live with.' Then, in the darker side of Derk's mind came an insidious whisper, 'how could you give up the taste for revenge for a woman?'
We danced all night beneath that sheet of cotton
And you just don't tell a girl like that goodbye
But the cowboy life ain't easily forgotten
Though lying there I couldn't help but wonder why
Later, as Derk lay there in the dark, with Teresa sleeping softly by his side, he questioned his future. Would he even be able to love a woman for longer than a few nights, after defeating Galactor? Would he always be running from woman to woman trying to find the excitement that being a member of G-Force brought? Derk had seen the love his parents had shared before they died. He wanted to have that with some one. But, could he, after all this time of living like he did? The thrill of the hunt, fight, and destruction was something he thrived on. But, the fairer sex also had its many advantages. 'Ah, hell' Derk thought to himself as Teresa awakened and began to show interest in another round, 'This kind of thinking is what happens if you drink to much before bed. I'll just have to ride out the present until something changes.' He reached down beside the bed to grab his jeans and pull another condom from his pocket. And then, Derk couldn't think much at all.
Rodeo or Mexico
They both can keep a cowboy satisfied
Rodeo or Mexico
The only way I know how to decide
Is just get on and ride
The screaming woke Derk up. 'I wish to hell those guys would just shut up. Can't nobody sleep around this place.' Then his foggy mind snapped into clear thinking, but physically he didn't move. Training held all kinds of advantages like that. Teresa was arguing with someone… a man. There was no man around when he came in. So the guy had to have come in within the last few hours and Derk hadn't even noticed. If it was a Galactor, he was about to die. And in a woman's bed. That would be just the kind of death the group would expect from him. Derk took in the sounds and realized while Teresa was standing near him, the man had to be near the door across from the bed. His clothes were just next to the bed where they had been tossed and, as he felt the breeze, the window open next to the bed. Perfect escape.
He rolled quickly out of bed, causing the man to increase the volume on his voice, screaming at Derk. He grabbed his clothes up as he stood and started to go for the window, but Teresa grabbed his arm. He knew that she was not trying to stop him, but trying to work him behind her. However, she was messing with his escape. The man advanced on them faster than Derk thought someone of his size could move. He saw a glint in the man's hands and pulled his eyes away for the second long enough to see the five inch hunting blade coming towards him and Teresa. 'Ah, hell, just what I need.' Derk let his training take over again as he swiftly moved Teresa aside and with a sharp kick, made the knife leave the stranger's hand and a following uppercut to the chin left the man out cold. He looked to the side to see Teresa shakily putting on her clothes and grabbing her purse and keys. She was angrily muttering something under her breath that sounded like what the man had been screaming over and over. He was going to need a translation, but now was not the time. He shrugged on his clothes and grabbed his keys out of his pocket. Then he walked over to where the knife had been tossed, picked it up, and drove it deep into the wall. He went over to Teresa and wiped the angry tears from her face, then kissed her very gently on the lips. Then he took her hand and they walked out together. He drove back to the state line, and she went the other way.
The morning found the answer dawning on me
As I woke up to the sharp end of a knife
He was screaming at the women hanging on me
Does anybody know the Spanish word for wife?
Ace exploded as Derk walked into the army base they were staying in. "Derk, where the hell have you been? Do you know that if a call came in last night, we would have had to wait on you? That could have been a dangerous situation. And what if you had been taken, huh? Who would have known where to begin looking?"
Derk just smiled, letting Ace's anger roll right off him this morning. "Aggie would have figured it out."
Ace paused as he was about to go into another tirade, "Huh?"
Derk switched back out of birdstyle and into the civvies that were no longer rumpled. He had changed to re-cross the border this morning. He smirked in Aggie's direction. "After all, I have a new car."
"Oh Lord," she rolled her eyes, "You went across the border for a christening didn't you?"
"A what?" PeeWee asked, walking into the room.
Aggie shot Derk a dirty look that made him snicker. "It's nothing you need to know about PeeWee, and if Derk tells you, I'll kill him."
Derk grabbed his head, laughing, "Geez Aggie. Don't make me laugh with a hangover. It hurts."
"Is that a christening? Getting drunk?" PeeWee said innocently.
"PeeWee, get out of here!" Aggie and Ace said together. They then looked at each other and laughed.
Hootie walked into the room and handed Derk a glass of water and two aspirin. As he walked out, he grabbed PeeWee by the arms and pulled him out too. As Aggie and Ace watched in astonishment, Derk quickly swallowed the pills. He then explained the strange behavior with, "He was my roommate during training." And casually started to walk out, but paused in the doorway, "Oh and Aggie, next time you see my car, call her Rosie." With that, he walked into his allotted room for a long deserved nap.
"You know something, Aggie, one day that man is going to be killed by a jealous husband."
"Ace, don't say that. Derk runs real fast."
Rodeo or Mexico
They both can keep a cowboy satisfied
Rodeo or Mexico
The only way I know how to decide
Is just get on and ride
As he walked into the library for maybe the first time in 12 years, Derk picked up a Spanish translation dictionary. He flipped through the book trying to find the word that the man had kept yelling. As he found what he was looking for, he laughed outright. Ace was close, very close. Esposa meant wife. He had slept with a married women. A first, he believed. But wait, what was it she had been saying back. It took him longer to find the different words.
"Your ex-wife," she had said. Oh well, he grinned, time to go freak Ace out anyway.