Disclaimer: If you think I own 24, your probably even newer here than I am. :)
Hey Everyone! Sorry if it's kinda slow I'm gonna try and pick it up a bit in later chapters. I'm also gonna play the sympathy vote here, I'm a newbie in bad need of feedback, so please, please, please, please, R&R!
Jack woke up suddenly, immediately awake, and glanced around the small room. It was a habit he had worked on for months when he joined the military. Being able to be fully alert in a second or two was neverendingly useful in the military.
The military. Jacks past crept into his thoughts quickly. His military training was of no use to him now. With the military, came the other aspects of his past life, his job, his family. G-d, they flooded his thoughts, and the pain of what he had lost stuck in him like a knife. Quickly he blocked out his mind and began getting ready for the day. He packed his few needed belongings into his bag, as he had done everyday for the past three months. Moving quickly around the room, he showered and dressed, then left the small motel room that was his home. At least, it was today. Jack had been constantly moving for the past eight months, never staying anywhere more than five days to a week. He walked out into the hot Mexican sun, and looked down the street.
This town was small, but not tiny. It had many businesses and a large surrounding farming area. In fact, it was the largest town for 43 miles. It suited Jack well, not big enough to cause problems, but large enough for him to find a job easily. He had walked into the town two days ago, and had found a job the day before. He was a factory worker, at a steel goods complex. It was hard work, but had okay pay, so Jack didn't mind.
He entered the factory and stored his bag in the locker he'd been assigned. No one looked up, and no one said hi. Around here it was normal for workers to only stay a week or two, so the 'regulars' didn't even bother anymore. He walked down to the main shipping and receiving building and started working.
Jack had found out quickly that it was much easier to get through the day when you kept busy and worked continuously. By lunch Jack had finished all his work and helped another man finish his, the lunch bell sounded and everyone dropped what they were doing. Jack didn't particularly want to eat with the rest of the workers, he didn't need company, and after eight months he was quite used to eating alone. He grabbed his bag, walked outside, and started towards the towns centre. As Jack walked he thought about the life he'd grown to have. Constantly moving, he strived for as little contact with everyone else as possible. He didn't mind, he could live like this, but still it would be nice to settle down somewhere. Maybe not permanently, but long enough to make some extra cash, and to get some rest, a couple months couldn't hurt. This town was as good a place as any. It was out of the way, and didn't really seem to have a major drug-and-gang centre like so many other towns did. On the other side of the street, Jack spotted a small cafe advertising a $2.99 special. Feeling hungry he decided to try it out, he had another 30 min. of lunch break anyway.
He walked in the front door, doing his systematic check of everyone inside. There was a few booths and a row of stools at the large counter that went almost the entire length of the hallway. You could see into the kitchen from the stools, and a bathroom door was on the left side of the room. There was a waitress behind the counter, and he could hear a cook muttering in Spanish in the kitchen. Besides them he was the only one there. He took a seat at the furthest stool, in the corner. The waitress walked up and smiled.
"What can I get you" she asked in Spanish. Jack looked at her name tag and saw her name was Sara.
"I'll have the special" he replied in Spanish. She laughed suddenly and began speaking in English. Jack couldn't help but notice she had a distinctly American accent.
"I'm sure you are, you don't speak Spanish, do you?" she laughed again. Jack looked confused and shook his head.
"I'm still learning, why?"
"You just said you were special. I'm assuming you want the special." He nodded and turned slightly red.
"Sorry, he replied, I'm still working on a few things." He gave her a small smile as she came back with his coffee.
"So, where are you from?" she asked. Jack looked down at his coffee, he hadn't really wanted to talk, much less have to lie.
"All around," he knew it sounded vague, but what was he going to tell her, the truth? The cook started yelling suddenly, and she turned around to see what was going on. Jack sighed in relief, discussions about his past were not something he wanted to discuss over lunch. He busied himself with fixing his coffee, while trying hard not to appear as if he was eavesdropping. It wasn't hard however, as the cook was probably yelling loud enough for people on the street to hear. Even with his rudimentary understanding of Spanish he was getting the jist of the conversation. The cook was yelling at the phone and was screaming something about payments that had to be made or something about transferring money. The waitress turned back around and shrugged.
"Just his ex-wife" Jack shot her a questioning look.
"Child care payments," she said by way of explanation, "He already has two, and another one on the way." Jack nodded and returned to his coffee. By now the cook had hung up the phone and returned to his stove, once again muttering under his breath.
"So how long you gonna to be in town," the waitress asked, returning to their conversation.
"Don't really know," Jack said, looking up. As Jack looked up, the cook turned towards the waitress and began yelling at her. She turned around and said a few sentences in Spanish. This only seemed to agitate him, and he began to gesture wildly around the restaurant. This wouldn't have been a huge problem had the cook not been carrying a rather large knife. Jack tensed, and watched the cook closely. The waitress backed away, and Jack could hear her apologizing in rapid Spanish. The cook gestured once more, then went back to work. He moved around several large pots around, banging them together loudly. The waitress turned around slowly, looking paler then before.
"More coffee", she asked. Her voice was much quieter now, and Jack nodded his thanks. Just as she was picking up the pot, the cook slammed two pots together loudly. This startled the waitress and she dropped the pot, watching helplessly as it shattered into hundreds of pieces on the floor. The cook began yelling louder than before. Insult upon insult, that the pot would come out of her pay, and he should fire her then. He came out from the kitchen, and Jack leapt up.
"Senor, Senor", he started, "It wasn't her fault, I hit her hand, it was an accident, I'll pay for the pot. Senor?" The cook looked over at him, then back at the waitress, then turned to Jack and nodded. Jack nodded with him, then sat down. The cook returned to the kitchen. The waitress looked over at him as soon as the cook had gone.
"Thank you, I'm so sorry-,"she started. Jack shook his head in dismissal.
"Don't worry about it, the cook was just worked up." The waitress looked behind her, and watched as the cook walked out of view. She turned around and smiled slightly.
"Well anyway, thank you. My name's Sara, by the way." She held out her hand.
"Jack" he replied. He reached across the counter and shook her hand.