Mysterious Distance

Part 2

Jack searched the crowded, smoke filled dive. He knew she was here. Her bike was parked outside. Unless, she had already left with someone. He really didn't want to consider that possibility. Then he spotted a familiar head of blonde hair. She was sitting at the end of the bar by the jukebox. Alone, thank God. Her helmet and black leather jacket were sitting on the unoccupied stool next to her. She was dressed in tight black leather pants and a tight black t-shirt that left her midriff bare. Yep, she certainly looked like she was looking for trouble. His first instinct was to rip her off that stool and drag her out of there to his truck to…take her home…to her home…put her to bed…to sleep off the tequila she was throwing back. Right. That was his first instinct.

He decided to play this Daniel's way. He took a seat at the opposite end of the bar that provided him with a clear view of Carter but kept him cloaked in shadow. The bartender ambled up. "Guinness." Jack told him.

"Sorry. Don't have any."

Philistines, Jack thought, but said. "Budweiser, then."

The bartender ambled away. Jack studied Carter as she threw back another shot of tequila and then played with several warped pieces of lime on the bar. Jack started to relax a bit. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Just sit here, watch Carter drink, and when she got ready to leave, drive her home. That wouldn't be too hard. Right. He could do that.

"Catch your eye, did she?" Jack looked up as the bartender plunked down his beer. "I guess I should warn ya. She's got this geeky guy that always shows up, keeps her out of trouble. Used to be a little firecracker of a redhead that'd come too, but she stopped. Now it's just the guy with the glasses."

"She died."

"The redhead? No shit."

"Yeah." God, he wished Janet was still here. Janet would have never let the whole Pete thing go as far as it did.

"Damn. I'm sorry to hear that. I always liked her. Is that why Blondie's here tonight?"

"No. She died about a year ago."

"So I guess you know her, then, huh?"

"Yeah." Jack sighed. He thought he knew her.

"So what's her story, pal? She doesn't come in regular, but when she comes- Man, watch out. She's either looking for a fight or a fuck. And she's a hell of a fighter. I can only imagine her in bed."

"Yes and that's all you'd better do," Jack grated out. No one should think things about Carter like that. Except for maybe him. Sometimes.

The bartender laughed at that. "I'm guessin' you're her keeper tonight."

"Yeah."

"Good luck. It'll be a while yet before the fun starts." And with that the bartender moved on to another customer.

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It had been two hours since Jack had sat down at the bar and Carter had refused the advances of several of the other patrons and thankfully they seemed to be content to leave her to drink alone. Carter had always been able to hold her liquor well. Something that had always made him proud. Now he'd lost count of how many shots he'd watched her drink and she was decidedly drunk.

There was another idiot trying to cozy up to Carter and disturbingly it looked like she was reciprocating. Jack didn't interrupt though. Not yet. Because, of course, he knows Carter will soon come to her senses and send the guy on his merry way. Anytime now.

Anytime.

But unfortunately she's way beyond drunk and he can't believe he's watching Carter make out with some stranger in a seedy bar. This just isn't right. And the bastard just stuck his hand up the font of her shirt and she didn't stop him. Time to end this.

Jack threw a couple of bills on the bar and hopped off his stool. Carter didn't even notice him standing beside her because she had a Neanderthal attached to her face. Jack took a deep breath. He knew this wasn't going to be pretty however it went down. He tapped the brute on the shoulder, "Excuse me. I think you should leave her alone."

The guy pulled away from her just long enough to grunt out, "Scram." And then he turned this attention back to Carter.

So the polite way was out. Jack absently noted that the bartender had stopped what he was doing and was leaning on the bar watching curiously to see how this would play out. Jack grabbed the Neanderthal by his thin little pony tail and physically pulled his head away from Carter. "I thought I told you to leave her alone." The man was so shocked he didn't move for a minute and Carter peeked around his hulking form to see Jack. Her eyes went wide in recognition, but she didn't seem embarrassed. "Get your stuff, Carter. Playtime is over."

Her suitor regained what little sense he had and demanded, "Who the fuck do you think you are? Her father?"

Jack shoved him away and his head bounced against the bar. That had been the wrong thing to say. Carter could tell the man was about to try to hit Jack who standing there with a cold smile. She knew that predatory look and put a restraining on the brute's arm. "I don't think you wanna do that."

"Why the hell not? He's picking the fight. It won't take a sec to show him his place."

"Cause he's Special Forces and could prob'ly kill you 50 dif'rent ways with his bare hands in under 30 seconds."

"Yeah, right."

Carter shrugged and looked at Jack and grinned. He realized she was going to enjoy seeing him taking this guy out. The idiot turned and before he could even think about laying a single blow on Jack, he was sprawled out on the floor. Carter hopped off her stool and kneeled down next to him still grinning. "Told ya." The gloating was lost on the Neanderthal because he was unconscious.

Jack grabbed Carter under her arm and jerked her to her feet. She flung her free arm around his neck and whispered in his ear, "I love it when you go all Alpha-male." And then to his astonishment, she bit his earlobe. He pushed her away from him. "Shut up, Carter!" He shoved her jacket and helmet in her arms and dragged her out of the bar.

Jack opened the passenger door of his truck. He took her jacket and helmet from her and tossed them in the back seat. She just stood there smiling at him strangely. He didn't want to contemplate what she had on her mind. All wanted to do was get her safely home and then go home and get drunk himself. He growled, "Get in the damn truck." And she did. Meekly. He didn't trust her for a second. He slammed the door shut and stalked around to the drivers side.

They drove in silence for a while. She was still smiling strangely at him and he figured that it was just her excessively drunk smile. He began to relax a little bit again. He thought the worst of the night was over. Until she broke the quiet, "Are you gonna fin'ly do it?"

"What?"

"Fuck me."

"Excuse me?" He asked turning to look at her. Luckily they were at a stop light or there might have been a wreck. He wondered if she'd planned that.

"Y'know. I've been waitin' a long time. I'm tired of waitin'." She unclipped her seat belt and slid across the bench seat to his side to reach between his legs.

"Carter, get your ass back over there! That's an order!"

She squeezed him and slid back to the other side. The light turned green and he drove away. Breaking the speed limit more than he normally would. At least he had a good excuse. He wondered what the cop would say to his excuse of, "Well, the woman I've been in love with for about seven or eight years is drunk off her ass and attempting to seduce me, but I'm not allowed to be seduced by her. So I'm trying to get her home and away from me as quickly as possible." He'd buy that. Right?

"You wanna know why Pete left me?"

"Probably not," he muttered keeping his eyes steadfastly on the road.

"I called him 'Jack' while he was screwin' me."

"That'd probably do it," he told her. He really didn't want to hear this. Not now. If she was sober it might be different. But now she could be lying for all he knew and just trying to tell him what she thought he wanted to hear.

"So we're gonna do it, right? You ran off my other lay. You have to take his place. It's the law or somethin'."

"Carter, I'm ordering you not to say another word," he growled between clenched teeth and sped up even more.

"I like you all authoritative and dominant. It's hot."

"Carter!"

"Well, it is."

After what seemed like an eternity he pulled up at her house. He quickly jumped out and opened her door. She jumped down and took a couple of steps and stumbled. He grasped her arm tightly holding her upright as he escorted her up her sidewalk and the steps to her front door. He didn't even bother to ask her for her keys. He just took out the spare that she'd given him when she first moved into this place. He held the door open for her, "Goodnight, Carter."

"No, you can't leave me like this. I need you." She tried to wrap her arms around him, but he was quicker. He grasped her arms pinning them to her sides and held her at arms length. "Stop it, Carter."

"Oh, c'mon. I've never fucked a general before and I've always wanted to fuck you. I'd be killin' to birds with one stone."

Jack couldn't help himself and shook her in a vain attempt shake some sense back into her tequila addled mind. "Get in that damn house and sleep this off."

She wasn't to be deterred. "I know you want me. C'mon, General. I want you. You want me. What's the big deal?"

"I do not take advantage of drunken women, Carter. Get inside before I have you brought up on changes for conduct unbecoming an officer."

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TBC