CHAPTER 7: WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO

Dave left shortly after Jack walked out of the house. Lisa was sitting back down shaking slightly from the adrenalin rush she got from the moment of action. She couldn't believe that Dave had acted like he had. She felt so bad because Jack apologized for defending himself.

"He's a prick." Liz said getting up from the ground the back of her head hurting.

"Don't call your father that." Lisa assumed Liz was talking about her father.

"No. Jack whatever. He never should of attacked my dad that way."

"Liz he didn't attack your father. He attacked him."

"Whatever mom. I don't like the guy." Liz rushed off to her room angry.

Lisa still shaking slightly felt bad, but didn't want to go to Jack's house so soon incase Dave was sitting outside waiting for her to leave. She walked to the fridge and grabbed the last beer in there. She sat down and drank it. Should she have brought Jack back so soon? She had just meant him, and it was just supper nothing more. She enjoyed talking to him, he seemed like a sweet guy. She knew she did her typical thing thought.

Habits die hard and she was a prosecutor most of her life, questioning uncooperative witness's on the stand, and cross examining others and she got so use to just freely asking questions and pushing for the answers that she almost always did it. She would never catch herself in the act, but afterwards she would look back and see what she had done. She had to stop completely and utterly just screwed it up, but what? It was just drinks she reminded herself. She laughed all the tension running from her body, just drinks, maybe just drinks again.

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"What did you do?" The colonel asked wondering how Jack got into trouble in that short period of time.

"It's nothing Thomas. What do you want me to do?"

Thomas noticed Jack changed to his name and not calling him Colonel, a sign that Jack was getting irritated with his questions. "My nephew has sort of gone missing. Not really missing, we know where he is but it's the wrong crowd of people."

Jack sighed and sat down.

"WE have a group over in East Peoria, white supremacist and I fear he had joined them. Matt Hale the leader of the Church of the Creator, I've seen my nephew Peter with him before. I know they are planning on doing something, the lady you meant tonight Lisa, has almost got the leader Matt on a conspiracy charge, and I know they will probably act against her eventually or try to. I'm almost sure they'll have Peter right in the middle of it too. If you could please go in and get Peter to come back out, I can't they know I don't think like them, but you are what they want. A lone person, who is disenchanted with the world, and needs someone to blame for their problems. Not exactly you, but I know you are good at undercover stuff. If you could please do this for me we would be even."

"Colonel we would never be even you've helped me to much." Jack thought about what the man was asking. Jack no longer had the protection of the law on his side, and if things went sour he had no backup. "What about back up plans? Incase something happens. Establishing a cover."

"I'm afraid on this one Jack you would have to go as yourself. And if you get in trouble than you'll have to face the charges or work with Lisa to get you help out of it. I don't want her to know about what you are doing."

"I understand." Jack thought about what the man was asking him. He owed the man. Jack had flown with Thomas before on training missions. Thomas would fly the men to islands and drop them off, he was always on time for the pick up, and had flown Jack into quite a few real missions. He had been the helicopter pilot that disobeyed an order to turn back when Jack called for an evacuation during the Operation Nightfall fiasco. Jack had been injured and was having a hard time, under heavy fire to make it to the helicopter, Thomas put his co-pilot in charge and went out and grabbed the man in the field and helped him back to the helicopter all during heavy fire. Thomas had helped him multiple times with dealing with the fiasco and much more. "Is there a deadline on any of this?"

"Not really before Peter gets himself into trouble." Thomas said studying his friend. "Jack I don't want you to feel obligated to do this. I'm asking a lot but I don't know anyone else who can do it. I will fully understand after all you've been through if you tell me to forget it. I would never fault you for it."

Jack sighed, "I'll do it. I've been bored anyways. I'll need a gun. They took mine."

"No problem I got a friend willing to help with that. And might even have a possible way in for you." Thomas said smiling, "I'm very grateful Jack. No matter what you say after this I will be the one who owes you. I'll get back to you tomorrow with everything. Show up to the practice and I'll get you a contact."

"Ok. After that I think we should limit conversations because once I get in I can't have connection with you. I'll call you once I got anything. Do you have a picture of Peter?"

"Yeah I'll get it to you tomorrow." Thank you Jack.

"Thank you." Jack said smiling. He was back to action Jack, no longer sitting around with his thumb up his ass bored as hell. "you want a beer sir?"

"No. What happened to your face now?"

"It was nothing. Just a mistake."

"Wasn't Lisa again was it?"

"No." Jack smiled.

"So what do you think of her?"

"She seems like a great mother and an even better lawyer. I felt like I was in front of a senate commission or something like that." Jack said smiling.

"Yeah she can do that. I don't think she means to it just kind of happens that way. But she's a really good woman. I've known her for a few years now since her daughter Liz started in the unit."

"Liz seems like a decent leader."

"Yeah I'm hoping to get her into the Air Force Academy and she wants to be a pilot too."

"Ah I see you found a new protégé" Jack laughed his head hurt from where he was hit.

"Well I'm going to sneak out the way I came in. Think about Lisa for a bit. Chew on it if you must, from the sounds of it you are a blacklisted man in L.A. and it'd be nice to have a war buddy here."

"I'll think about it. Why do I feel like this is a really bad set up gone wrong."

"Because it almost is. Talk to you later Jack. Good luck and thanks."

"See you tomorrow Colonel."

Jack sat on his old warn couch that came with the place. He took a long pull of the beer he had grabbed from the fridge earlier. L.A. he didn't really want to go back, there was nothing really there for him, but Kim. Was that enough to take him back? He could probably find a decent job in Peoria. What was there to do, it was a smaller town, not small, but smaller, what was there to do? He wouldn't mind settling down somewhere that no one would look for him. How many terrorist would look in Peoria, Illinois for him? There had been a few at the main college there, with possible connections, but than what would you expect in a town where there is a great private college (IT"S REALLY NOT THAT GREAT IT SUCKS MONKEY BALLS).

He drifted off to sleep wondering what Peoria might have for him.

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