Golden Opportunity

Part 3/?

Warings and Ratings with Part 1

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Dana's little white car pulled into the parking lot of Roark Industries and stopped in front of what looked to be the main office building. From what Johnny Smith could see out his passenger side window there were two main buildings and one small packaging warehouse. And to the North was the marina where he counted fifteen fishing trawlers carrying the RIINC logo. Overall Roark Industries Inc. was an impressive array of buildings, boats and equipment.

Dana turned off the engine and the two of them got out of the car and headed inside the main office.

Despite the size of the fleet out in the harbor, this looked to be 'mom and pop' organization. The waiting area for the main office was nothing fancy and boasted only one chair, circa 1970 and a magazine table with magazines that seemed to be from the same era. There was a single door leading to the back office area and a little window that reminded Johnny of a doctor's office. Since there was no one at the window, Dana led them though the door and looked in to see who was about.

"Jerry?" Dana spotted the older man in the office at the end of the hall.

"Dana! Come on back! It's good to see you again!" Obviously old friends, the two met in the hall halfway between Roark's office and the entrance. Embracing, they both smiled, genuinely glad to see each other.

Roark was the same age as Madsen of course, but being a man used to the outdoors, his face was tan and weathered. He didn't have as much as gray hair as Greg, which was a good thing, because with the wrinkles caused by too much sun, he might have looked liked Madsen's father. Still in good shape for a man his age, Johnny could see why Dana might be extending their embrace a bit longer than necessary. Now that he thought about it, it sort of irritated him, a fact, which further irritated him. He really didn't need this distraction right now.

As Roark stepped back, he finally noticed that there was someone else in the hallway with Dana. Eyeing Johnny skeptically, Roark never the less made the first move and held out a hand of welcome to him. Normally Johnny might have politely excused himself, from shaking hands, but touching Jerry Roark could be helpful.

Bracing himself he put his hand in Jerry's. The now familiar rotation of perspective gripped him and he found himself looking across the room at a woman sitting at his desk with her head in her hands. He could tell immediately that he was seeing her from someone else's perspective- possibly Roark's.

"Look, I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore, it just isn't going to work out!"

He took a step toward the desk fidgeting idly with coral shaped paperweight sitting on the corner.

The woman continued to sob into her hands, but managed to make herself heard anyway.

"You promised me that we had a future, that you loved me! Now you tell me not only am I going to lose you, but my job too!"

Johnny- as Jerry tried to get a look at the woman's face, but she only lifted it enough to get her words out. She was inconsolable and near hysterics. Johnny saw himself put the paperweight back down and begin to pace in front of the desk.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but I really did think my marriage was over. I really thought that I didn't love Marie anymore, but I guess when it came to leaving her for real, I was just more attached than I thought."

Jerry's statement elicited another hiccupping sob from the woman behind the desk, but at last she looked up and Johnny could see her clearly. He didn't recognize her; but he did recognize the look on her face, he saw it in the mirror almost every day…the face of someone who had lost their entire world.

The vision ended as Johnny let go of Roark's hand. Blinking he hoped he hadn't been out so long that he missed something. He didn't really want Jerry to know that he had been looking into his soul- yet.

No one was looking strangely at him, so the vision must have been shorter than it seemed. Good.

"You must be John Smith, the man Greg was telling me about. Well…" eyeing Johnny critically up and down, "it's nice to meet you. Call me Jerry."

Johnny managed to smile easily despite the tense nature of his vision. "Thanks, nice to meet you Jerry."

"So, you're one those psychic guys huh? Load of crap if you ask me, but what the hell, the police haven't been able to figure this thing out! At this point, I'm willing to ask the Tooth Fairy if it will help me catch these bastards."

Dana, quietly amused during the exchange figured she'd better rescue Johnny before Jerry really got going. Looping her arm through his, she walked them all to Roark's office. "Now, Jerry, before you make up your mind, I have to tell you, I've seen Johnny solve cases for the police, and he's not a fake. I want you to promise me, you'll give him a chance."

"Don't get yourself all worked up, Dana, I'm actually praying your Mr. Smith here is as good as you say he is, because my company has sustained almost 2 million dollars worth of damages in the last two months and my insurance company is threatening to drop me if it doesn't get resolved soon!"

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Dana realized on leaving the building that the sun was setting and it was later than she thought. She knew that they'd have to return to Cleaves Mills before too long. Johnny was hoping to get more insight into what had happened by taking a look at where most of the damage had been done by the vigilantes. But he'd have to make it quick.

Back in the office, Dana and Johnny had examined the newest letter from the eco-group and grilled Jerry for any thing further he could remember about the night he ran into them on the property.

He did say that he was pretty sure one of them was a woman, because she was smaller than the others and slighter of build. He said too, that she seemed almost familiar to him, but he couldn't place her no matter how hard he tried. As for the others, he was sure he had never seen them before.

The most recent letter was not really any more helpful than their conversation with Roark. It was the same as before- a person crying as they pasted the letters to the page. Johnny's only hope now was that he might gain more information by touching some objects that the terrorists had destroyed.

The two crossed the ground between the warehouse and the office quickly, trying to make the most of the remaining sunlight. Dana was dying to ask Johnny what his impressions were about Roark, but that would have to wait till later. Hell, if she played her cards right, it might even turn into an excuse for a late night dinner. A girl had to think ahead especially with someone like Johnny Smith.

In the last attack the eco-terrorists had destroyed two of the loading bay doors. New doors were in place, but Johnny felt sure he'd get something by touching the frames surrounding the doors.

"So, what's first?" Dana queried as she came to a stop in front of the newly installed doors.

"I'm not sure it matters, but I think I'll start outside and work my way in." Johnny took a step closer to the doorway; leaning forward on his cane he put his hand on the frame. His perspective lurched into darkness and he heard voices from either side of him.

"Here, hit it over here, by the pad lock- it's almost open." Hissed the voice to his left.

Johnny's vision shifted again and he was looking at someone with a sledgehammer. The man raised the heavy hammer and swung it swiftly down onto the door. Two more swings saw the breaking of the pad lock and with two more the entire door crashed down falling back into the building.

"Woo Hoo! Did you see that? Boom! Totally awesome!" This second voice was younger, probably 19 or 20.

"Yeah baby!" The owner of the third voice, equally as young, moved to stand beside the first and Johnny stood watching as the two boys high five'd one another, obviously very pleased with the results of their efforts. A third figure, decidedly smaller in stature, pushed ahead of them, impatient to get on with what they came for. At first it looked like an even younger boy, but that notion was dispelled when the person spoke. It was a woman.

"Will you two grow up?! Come on, we have a job to do!" The two ignored their companion and continued their celebration. The one wielding the hammer strutted around swinging it like an axe.

"Neil Weymeyer, world class eco-defender!

"What did you see?" Dana asked, her reporter senses coming into full swing. She could tell by the look on his face that he'd gotten something important.

"Come on, let's go, we need to find out everything we can about a Neil Weymeyer."

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Dana and Johnny sat in her office with a half eaten pizza and a pile of paperwork between them. Dana had gotten her dinner wish, but it hadn't turned out exactly the way she envisioned it. With the revelation of one of the eco-terrorists names, the investigation had turned serious. They had to find this kid before these people did any more damage to Roark Industries.

It took about an hour to get back to Cleaves Mills, and during the ride, Johnny filled Dana in on the helpful bits he was able to glean from his visit to Roark Industries. Dana, for her part, was not to be out-snooped just because she wasn't psychic. She'd been a damn good reporter for sometime now, and she had made her own observations while she visited with her old friend.

There was something different about Jerry, and it wasn't just the stress from the situation she and Johnny were investigating. Jerry had always been a terrible flirt and bantered constantly with Dana every time they saw one another, but this time, after their initial greeting, he didn't go near her again. She also had a feeling that there was more to this story than just a bunch of wackos fighting for ecological injustice.

"Well, he didn't go to school in Maine." Johnny sighed and stretched, he was getting a little stiff from sitting in one place for so long.

"We'll just have to widen our search, with a name like Weymeyer, he can't be that hard to find!" Dana began typing the new search parameters into her laptop.

Her expression earnest, she held a pencil between her teeth and looked intently at the information before her on the screen. Something about the way she looked in that moment caught Johnny's attention and riveted his eyes on her face. The soft lamplight in Dana's office turned her fiery red hair to a deep rich auburn and he realized suddenly that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever known.

She wasn't quite what he expected either. For all her professional intensity, Dana Bright was genuinely interested in the truth and in helping others when she could. And despite the myriad of warnings to himself that he didn't need any kind of woman in his life right now, he couldn't turn away from the idea of her.

Finally aware that Johnny's attention was no longer on the work, she looked up to find him looking at her with a strange expression on his face. She was used to be ogled by men as if she was some sort of prize, but this was different- it was more like – longing. Or maybe not, maybe she was just tired.

"What is it?" The concern in her voice brought Johnny to his senses and he stumbled a moment being caught staring at her that way.

"Ah…Oh, nothing, I just…thanks. I know you didn't have to help me the way you have with the story. You could have done most of it on your own, but you didn't. I want you to know I appreciate it."

He'd meant to touch her hand only as a friendly gesture, but the warm feel of her skin was like food to a starving man and almost without thinking, his hand covered hers in a gentle caress and just stayed there.

For a moment neither of them spoke, they just shared the space between them while it lasted.

Unbidden to Johnny's mind came the same flood of erotic images he'd had before when he'd accidentally brushed up against Dana and he quickly moved his hand, lest she somehow discern the images that flashed before his hungry eyes.

But Dana wasn't aware of anything besides his touch and the look in his eyes. She was also moved almost beyond words by his quiet gratitude. He was so very different from most of the men she'd known before. To say she was attracted to Johnny was an understatement, but the feeling that spiked inside her just now went far beyond physical attraction. There was a depth to John Smith that she was sure most people never got to see, but she did and it called to her in a way that both excited and frightened her.

"Johnny, I…"

The ringing of a cell phone interrupted whatever question Dana was about to ask. Johnny was disappointed, but maybe it was just as well for now. It was Johnny's phone and he looked at her apologetically before answering it.

She couldn't hear the voice on the other end, but who ever it was, Dana could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't thrilled to be talking to them.

"Sorry, I haven't been home yet, to get my messages."

"Dana and I had a break in this vandalism case and we're working late."

Johnny frowned again and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Look, Sarah, I really can't talk right now, I'll have to call you tomorrow. And tell Walt I'll give him a call in the morning, if we come up with anything."

End Part 3