Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Since Jason never had a last name in BotP, for
the sake of argument, I'll assume the Chief adopted him and the others and
since the Chief wasn't given a first name in the series, I gave him one.
Married life seemed to agree with Sam and Jason, but after three weeks, they still hadn't told anyone. Mike just assumed that they were sleeping together.
"You know, Jase, we probably should tell Mr. Pitney that we got married," Sam said one morning, as she was getting ready for work.
"Why? I like my body parts where they are," Jason mumbled into his pillow.
"I like them where they are too, but we still need to tell him. Then there's that little matter of my name change."
"You're changing your name?" came the mumbled reply.
"If you don't want me to, I won't, but it would make things easier."
"If you do change it, be sure to let me know what you change it to so I'll know what to call you."
"You're a real comedian, you know that?"
"I have my moments."
Sam leaned across the bed to kiss her husband good-bye. He reached for her, but she pulled away. "Don't even think about it. I'm late as it is."
"Spoilsport," Jason mumbled as he rolled over and went back to sleep.
It had been easier for Jason to move out of his apartment and into Sam's than it would have been for her to move into his. Jason couldn't be bothered with shopping so he just rented a fully furnished apartment. What? You thought he was going to live in a trailer for the rest of his life? Sam, on the other hand, had scrimped and saved for everything she had and had bought the best she could afford, leaving her with a well furnished, if somewhat Spartan, home. Just after they had gotten married, they talked about buying a house. Sam had saved most of her earnings as a mechanical engineer and Jason still had most of his combat pay from his time in G- Force and his race winnings. They managed to buy a small house that was about five minutes from Sam's office and less than 10 minutes from the track.
After Jason had gotten up and showered, he thought about what Sam had said before she left for work that morning. "She's right. We can't keep hiding what we did." He finished dressing and then went out to his car. He drove to the main office for Pitney Racing. After signing in, he rode the elevator up to the sixth floor where Sam's office was located. Sam always left her door open when she was working, so when Jason got off the elevator he could see her sitting at her computer. She had a tendency to focus her complete attention on her work. He walked quietly into her office and kissed the back of her neck, trying not laugh when she nearly jumped out of her chair.
"What the--?" she yelped as she spun around. "Jason, what are you doing?" she hissed at him.
"I thought about what you said this morning. We need to tell Mr. Pitney."
"Now?"
"Yes, before I chicken out."
"You? Chicken out? Not going to happen." She regarded him for a moment. "I'll see if he's in his office." Sam turned toward her phone and dialed her boss's number. "Hi, Mr. Pitney. Do you have a couple of minutes you can spare? I need to talk to you."
They walked down the long hall to Jack Pitney's office. Sam stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath to calm herself before knocking. After hearing a muffled "Come in", she turned the handle and opened the door. Jason walked in after her and closed the door behind him.
"Sam? Jason? What's up?" Mr. Pitney asked, a suspicious look crossing his face. "Is something wrong?"
"No, Mr. Pitney. Nothing's wrong," Jason said, glancing at Sam from the corner of his eye.
"All right, something's up. What have you done and which one did it?"
"We got married, Mr. Pitney," Sam managed to blurt out.
Pitney's eyes widened and his face turned red as he shot to his feet. "What?" he yelled loudly enough that the people in the next county could have heard him. "Anderson, what did I tell you would happen if you so much as laid a finger on Sam?"
Eileen Pitney chose that moment to walk through the door to her husband's office as he started on a tirade that lasted a good 10 minutes. "Jack, remember your blood pressure," she told him sweetly when he finally stopped for a breath. She walked over to Jason and kissed him on the cheek. "Congratulations, dear." Then she turned to Sam and gave her a hug. "It's about time you two figured out what you were going to do."
"Eileen, stay out of this," her husband sputtered.
"Jack, listen to yourself. They got married and there isn't anything you can do about." Mrs. Pitney looked at her husband and waited until he returned to a more natural shade of pink. "Besides, what are they hurting? They got married, so what? They're both over 21 and they didn't need your consent. You'll just have to deal with it."
Sam and Jason looked back and forth between Mr. Pitney, Mrs. Pitney, and each other. Mr. Pitney finally started breathing at a more normal rate. "Jason, if you even think of hurting her, you're a dead man. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Jason replied quietly.
Sam remained quiet and tried to hide a smile behind her hand. She knew perfectly well what Jason was capable of and that Jack Pitney didn't stand a chance of ever laying a hand on him.
Jack and Eileen Pitney talked back and forth about what Sam and Jason had done, evidently forgetting that the couple remained in the office. Jason took Sam by the elbow and led her from the office, quietly closing the door behind them.
Sam finally let out the laughter that she had been trying to keep in check. "That went better than I thought it would. I still can't get over how docile you become when Mr. Pitney is around."
"I respect the man, all right? Besides, who knows what would have happened if he hadn't hired me as one of his drivers. I owe him everything. If it hadn't been for him, I never would have met you, would I?"
"You did all right before you met me."
As the newlyweds walked back to Sam's office, they didn't hear the telephone call that Mr. Pitney made soon after their departure.
"Jack, you don't have to do this," Eileen said.
"I know, but I owe it to him. That was part of the agreement when I hired Jason in the first place." Jack Pitney picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew from memory. "Director Anderson, please. This is Jack Pitney."
"It's still dishonest. You've been keeping tabs on the boy since you hired him."
"John Anderson insisted on it. I knew what I was getting into when I hired the kid. You know we do a background check on everyone we hire. Finding out about his previous job only made things worse."
"That still doesn't make it right."
"John? Jack Pitney. No, Jason's fine. I just wanted to let you know the kid got married." He held the phone away from his ear for a moment before continuing. "That was my reaction too. No, no. He married one of my engineers. Her name's Samara Sinclair. I can send you her background check if you want. I should have known something like this was going to happen, but what can you do? Like my wife says, they're both adults. They didn't say, but I'm assuming it happened when they were in Vegas three weeks ago. No, he doesn't know about our talks. I don't know if he suspects anything or not. Sam's a good kid and she keeps him in line. I'll keep you posted. Talk to you later, John."
After he hung up the phone, Mrs. Pitney said, "You're terrible, you know that? Jason hasn't done anything in the 13 years he's worked for us, yet you feel you need to tell John Anderson everything he does."
"When ISO found out we hired Jason, it was part of the agreement. You know that. We either keep tabs on him or the ISO will drag him back and throw him in prison for the rest of his life."
"Why would they throw him in prison? They're the ones that fired him in the first place."
"He's dangerous, that's why."
"He may be dangerous, but he's never gotten into any trouble since we hired him. Those two times that he and Sam were arrested don't count."
"What do you mean they don't count?"
"It wasn't Jason's fault they got arrested either time. Sam took full responsibility. She's the one that has a knack for starting fights with men twice her size. Jason was only trying to defend her."
Married life seemed to agree with Sam and Jason, but after three weeks, they still hadn't told anyone. Mike just assumed that they were sleeping together.
"You know, Jase, we probably should tell Mr. Pitney that we got married," Sam said one morning, as she was getting ready for work.
"Why? I like my body parts where they are," Jason mumbled into his pillow.
"I like them where they are too, but we still need to tell him. Then there's that little matter of my name change."
"You're changing your name?" came the mumbled reply.
"If you don't want me to, I won't, but it would make things easier."
"If you do change it, be sure to let me know what you change it to so I'll know what to call you."
"You're a real comedian, you know that?"
"I have my moments."
Sam leaned across the bed to kiss her husband good-bye. He reached for her, but she pulled away. "Don't even think about it. I'm late as it is."
"Spoilsport," Jason mumbled as he rolled over and went back to sleep.
It had been easier for Jason to move out of his apartment and into Sam's than it would have been for her to move into his. Jason couldn't be bothered with shopping so he just rented a fully furnished apartment. What? You thought he was going to live in a trailer for the rest of his life? Sam, on the other hand, had scrimped and saved for everything she had and had bought the best she could afford, leaving her with a well furnished, if somewhat Spartan, home. Just after they had gotten married, they talked about buying a house. Sam had saved most of her earnings as a mechanical engineer and Jason still had most of his combat pay from his time in G- Force and his race winnings. They managed to buy a small house that was about five minutes from Sam's office and less than 10 minutes from the track.
After Jason had gotten up and showered, he thought about what Sam had said before she left for work that morning. "She's right. We can't keep hiding what we did." He finished dressing and then went out to his car. He drove to the main office for Pitney Racing. After signing in, he rode the elevator up to the sixth floor where Sam's office was located. Sam always left her door open when she was working, so when Jason got off the elevator he could see her sitting at her computer. She had a tendency to focus her complete attention on her work. He walked quietly into her office and kissed the back of her neck, trying not laugh when she nearly jumped out of her chair.
"What the--?" she yelped as she spun around. "Jason, what are you doing?" she hissed at him.
"I thought about what you said this morning. We need to tell Mr. Pitney."
"Now?"
"Yes, before I chicken out."
"You? Chicken out? Not going to happen." She regarded him for a moment. "I'll see if he's in his office." Sam turned toward her phone and dialed her boss's number. "Hi, Mr. Pitney. Do you have a couple of minutes you can spare? I need to talk to you."
They walked down the long hall to Jack Pitney's office. Sam stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath to calm herself before knocking. After hearing a muffled "Come in", she turned the handle and opened the door. Jason walked in after her and closed the door behind him.
"Sam? Jason? What's up?" Mr. Pitney asked, a suspicious look crossing his face. "Is something wrong?"
"No, Mr. Pitney. Nothing's wrong," Jason said, glancing at Sam from the corner of his eye.
"All right, something's up. What have you done and which one did it?"
"We got married, Mr. Pitney," Sam managed to blurt out.
Pitney's eyes widened and his face turned red as he shot to his feet. "What?" he yelled loudly enough that the people in the next county could have heard him. "Anderson, what did I tell you would happen if you so much as laid a finger on Sam?"
Eileen Pitney chose that moment to walk through the door to her husband's office as he started on a tirade that lasted a good 10 minutes. "Jack, remember your blood pressure," she told him sweetly when he finally stopped for a breath. She walked over to Jason and kissed him on the cheek. "Congratulations, dear." Then she turned to Sam and gave her a hug. "It's about time you two figured out what you were going to do."
"Eileen, stay out of this," her husband sputtered.
"Jack, listen to yourself. They got married and there isn't anything you can do about." Mrs. Pitney looked at her husband and waited until he returned to a more natural shade of pink. "Besides, what are they hurting? They got married, so what? They're both over 21 and they didn't need your consent. You'll just have to deal with it."
Sam and Jason looked back and forth between Mr. Pitney, Mrs. Pitney, and each other. Mr. Pitney finally started breathing at a more normal rate. "Jason, if you even think of hurting her, you're a dead man. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Jason replied quietly.
Sam remained quiet and tried to hide a smile behind her hand. She knew perfectly well what Jason was capable of and that Jack Pitney didn't stand a chance of ever laying a hand on him.
Jack and Eileen Pitney talked back and forth about what Sam and Jason had done, evidently forgetting that the couple remained in the office. Jason took Sam by the elbow and led her from the office, quietly closing the door behind them.
Sam finally let out the laughter that she had been trying to keep in check. "That went better than I thought it would. I still can't get over how docile you become when Mr. Pitney is around."
"I respect the man, all right? Besides, who knows what would have happened if he hadn't hired me as one of his drivers. I owe him everything. If it hadn't been for him, I never would have met you, would I?"
"You did all right before you met me."
As the newlyweds walked back to Sam's office, they didn't hear the telephone call that Mr. Pitney made soon after their departure.
"Jack, you don't have to do this," Eileen said.
"I know, but I owe it to him. That was part of the agreement when I hired Jason in the first place." Jack Pitney picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew from memory. "Director Anderson, please. This is Jack Pitney."
"It's still dishonest. You've been keeping tabs on the boy since you hired him."
"John Anderson insisted on it. I knew what I was getting into when I hired the kid. You know we do a background check on everyone we hire. Finding out about his previous job only made things worse."
"That still doesn't make it right."
"John? Jack Pitney. No, Jason's fine. I just wanted to let you know the kid got married." He held the phone away from his ear for a moment before continuing. "That was my reaction too. No, no. He married one of my engineers. Her name's Samara Sinclair. I can send you her background check if you want. I should have known something like this was going to happen, but what can you do? Like my wife says, they're both adults. They didn't say, but I'm assuming it happened when they were in Vegas three weeks ago. No, he doesn't know about our talks. I don't know if he suspects anything or not. Sam's a good kid and she keeps him in line. I'll keep you posted. Talk to you later, John."
After he hung up the phone, Mrs. Pitney said, "You're terrible, you know that? Jason hasn't done anything in the 13 years he's worked for us, yet you feel you need to tell John Anderson everything he does."
"When ISO found out we hired Jason, it was part of the agreement. You know that. We either keep tabs on him or the ISO will drag him back and throw him in prison for the rest of his life."
"Why would they throw him in prison? They're the ones that fired him in the first place."
"He's dangerous, that's why."
"He may be dangerous, but he's never gotten into any trouble since we hired him. Those two times that he and Sam were arrested don't count."
"What do you mean they don't count?"
"It wasn't Jason's fault they got arrested either time. Sam took full responsibility. She's the one that has a knack for starting fights with men twice her size. Jason was only trying to defend her."