PART ONE
"Downtown"
The CD player whirled again, her song cutting off in the middle of a high note, making Juliet turn around and frown. She set down her duster on the small table in her hallway, walking briskly to the darned machine, hitting it lightly. It didn't help. The CD continued to spin, only making a dry hiss sound, the sound of a saw cutting through the atmosphere. She stopped the disc, popped it open, inspecting the back. A large scratch cut across half the disc, and her mouth widened in surprise.
"Well, that's not good…" she said, sighing heavily.
Setting the disk aside, she searched for another one. Her old (and rather dusty) Petula Clark didn't looked scratched at all, and after wiping it on a rag, she put it into the CD player, closing the door. The CD whirled again, and the first song started. Downtown… Juliet had almost forgotten that this song was on here. After the plane crash, their reconissence, the deaths of two of their agents, and then Ben's kidnapping… her mind had been elsewhere.
And it wasn't exactly on Ben himself, even if he'd hope that. Sure, they had dated once. But that was a long time ago. Juliet had found out the hard way how depicable that man could be. He seemed so great on the outside, but inside… he was the quintessence of evil. She had been listening to this song (how many days ago?) right after a rather awkward encounter with Ben. This coupled with the fact no one liked Carrie because Ben had totally corrupted the entire group to think what he thought.
Juliet did not like that at all.
Singing the song lightly under her breath, she began cleaning again. Almost the entire house was clean. All that was left was the kitchen. Getting the cleaners, the rags, everything, she began. Juliet had only gotten to the stove when her mind turned to Jack. Poor man, sitting in his cell, defeated in the corner. Ben had made the proposition only the day before. He told him the truth, had shown him the evidence. From his file, she had known he'd get a kick out of the information about the Red Sox. In the end, it was the thing that broke him.
Juliet had been watching, from the control room, eyes never leaving him. He had laughed a crazy laugh before it sunk in, and just watching it saddened her. Jack had been a good man before he came here. Not perfect, but good. Sure, he made mistakes, a lot of mistakes. But no, she reminded herself, it was not who we were. It is who we are.
Who was Jack now? He's a leader and a fighter, who had easily taken control of his group. Me? Who am I? I am a leader, a fighter, who took control of the group when Ben was gone. She knew they were alike. That interested her when he had come here. She noted the similarities. She didn't note how they made him attractive to her, before she ever met him, before she even realized it herself.
Juliet shook her head, trying to get that thought out of her head. Everyone would ban her if they ever caught her talking to him like she had done before. Luckily, she had been alone in The Hydra. No one witnessed her "crimes." Opening the cabinet, she put a firm picture of him in her mind, silently wiping down the interior, trying to think of what it would be like actually with him.
Juliet Shephard, I like it…
Just then, the door bell rang. She jumped as if she had been shot, almost knocking a mug off the shelf, turning and staring at the door. Juliet took a deep breath, then another, knowing that no one had heard what she just thought. Someone was simply at her door. That was all. No problem. She could handle that. Just don't mention Jack, and she'd be fine.
Juliet threw the rag over her shoulder, walking to the door and opening it wide. "Downtown" was ending now, the CD player whirring as it changed songs. She regarded Ben with ill contempt. She looked at him, the squirrel of a man, feeling a sudden repulsion. How could I have ever been attracted to him? She forced a smile.
"Well, hello Ben. What a pleasure to see you."
Like hell.
Ben smiled, nodding, walking in and past her without even asking to come in. Juliet followed him with her eyes, slightly disgusted at the thought of him entering her home. This was unlike him. Usually, she was contacted outside of home, when she was working. The conversation between them was simple, except when Ben made references to their past together. She had gotten over it, gotten over him. Apparently, Ben was not on the same page.
"Have you heard from Colleen?" he asked, locking his eyes on hers.
Her eyebrow's rose in surprise, not expecting that question at all from him. Juliet and Colleen weren't exactly friends, enemies to the bone if there ever were any. If Ben was coming to ask her if she had seen them, then he must have been desperate. Or he had something else to tell her.
"Ben, look. Why are you really here? You know Colleen and I aren't exactly… best friends. I bet she's in her room, sleeping off the raid from the boat. Have you talked to Tom? I think he went last night."
Benjamin only scowled, looking away, as if she was hiding around the corner from him. Juliet put her hands on her hips, migrane forming, looking from him to the wide-open door, starting over to close it.
"I need you to watch Jack for me, for the next few hours. I think something may have happened to the mission. I'll tell you anything later when I have time."
Ben turned, seeing her grasping the doorknob, smirking silently.
"I'm glad to see you have finally learned some manners for your superior." Ben said sharply, walking out onto the porch.
Juliet closed her eyes, leaning against the door. "You should've listened to me and let them come."
He only paused. "Have a nice day."
She closed the door. Juliet closed her eyes for good, sliding down the heavy wooded frame. She took the rag from her shoulder, throwing it across the room, using her hands to fix her hair as she thought about Ben, and Jack. It was no big deal to watch him for a few hours, if he were any normal prisoner. But he wasn't. Pushing herself up, she took the lunch meat from the refridgerator, slapping turkey, ham, and cheese onto the table next to her.
She didn't have time to make him a grilled cheese or soup. A regular sandwhich would have to do.