The safe house was one that Kyle had established. Small and isolated, actually it was the offices in a warehouse Kyle owned, renting space out to agents for long term storage. Never the less, the furnishings were nice and there was a huge freestanding ball in claw bathtub; this Diane liked a lot. Kyle had brought their entire DVD collection, it wasn't a big collection: Sliders, Firefly, Serenity and the Thin Man collection – they mostly rented.
When Kyle left, Jake took Diane by the shoulders, looked deep into her eyes and thought to her, "Time to look for bugs."
"Bugs? But this is a safe house." She thought back.
"Most likely safe, don't want any videos of you bathing floating around…"
"Definitely!"
"Of course my birthday is coming up in a couple or thirty weeks."
"Jake!" She exclaimed out loud. "Never, never, never!" She thought to him, then realized by his grin that he was teasing about the video. "You are irascible!" She said aloud.
"Yeah, and you chose me." He retorted.
"Chose you? I was under orders!"
"O-Orders?" Jake choked with alarm in his eyes.
Diane leaned forward and whispered teasingly, "From my heart."
"You've got a cruel sense of humor Dr. Hughes."
"That's Dr. Hughes-Foley to you."
"Yes ma'am." Jake smiled, "Do you sense any bugs?"
"No."
"There aren't any."
"I'm going to clean up." She said closing the bathroom door.
XxxxxxxxxxxxXDiane thought to herself, "This generation of nanites is healing fast, no scar at all."
As the tub slowly filled with warm water, Diane looked her body over in the mirror, doing the one thing Jake hates for her to do – criticizing her body. She was too short, her legs not long enough, her mouth too small, her eyes too big, her skin too pale, her hair… never right. She laughed to herself; a mother's criticisms never went away.
Her mother, while being impressed that she was a doctor, still she could do little right. She just wouldn't understand that what Diane did was important. Her mother did like Jake. Mostly because he could fix all of the electronics she messed up. Dad liked Jake too, mostly because he loses at checkers and drinks beer.
Diane had liked Jake even when he was the nameless guy who fixed the computers. He always saw who he was talking to and that was nice. She liked him because he accepted the nanites with humor. She liked that he believes in justice and peace. She liked the way he watched out for her and never played up the hero part, which made him even more heroic. She liked the way he loses at Boggle, even if it is getting harder to beat him; she was going to have to start wearing her low cut sweaters again – like before they ever dated. He never did figure out why she liked playing on that low coffee table.
She looked at herself again and sighed, unbelieving, she must be pretty; Jake told her often enough how beautiful she is.
Diane slips into man's greatest invention, the warm bath.
Jake must have good taste, he was hung up on that Sarah Carter for years, and she is stunningly beautiful; tall, blond, green eyed and tan. If she wasn't so nice Diane could really hate her. But Jake had been assigned to befriend her, which was impossible after she had slapped him, believing that he was lying about being a spy with nanobots. A few months later Jake was dating her and Sarah was out of the picture. Then Sarah's mother had died. Diane went with Jake to the sparsely attended funeral. After the graveside service Jake went and talked with Sarah, her father having died at the start of Desert Storm, and invited her to join them for dinner.
While Jake went to Italia Rosa's for food, the two women had a talk in Diane's apartment.
"So, you and Jake?"
"Yeah, a couple of months now."
"So nothing before?"
"We've been friends for, a year, maybe."
"And you two work together?"
"I break 'em, he fixes 'em." She replied using the story she and Jake had decided on after Kevin and Jenny's wedding in Seattle.
"The same department?"
"Ok Sarah. I'll be honest with you, as honest as I can be anyway. I'm a doctor with the NSA. I do research. That research requires a certain level of security clearance. Few people have that level, one of them is Jake, which makes him very rare and in demand. So when I say we work together, we work together, just not together. Understand?"
"No."
"How about, if the NSA were a sports team, I would be a player and Jake would be the equipment manager."
"I think I get it; you break 'em, he fixes 'em."
"That about covers it."
"So, you and Jake getting serious?"
"I am, I think he is too."
"You two seem to mesh. So he doesn't lie to you?"
"Sarah, we really don't have… He doesn't lie to me."
So nanites are real?"
"Sure, on Star Trek or Seven Days."
"I guessed as much. I'm glad he found you, you're nice."
"Thank you Sarah."
"What ever happened to Steve?"
"He kid… Let's just say Jake helped me get away from a violent, controlling, maniac."
"You're kidding!"
"No. Beneath the charm and great looks lay a…" Diane closed her tear filled eyes and looked away.
"I'm sorry, he seemed so nice."
"He… If it weren't for Jake…"
"Jake saved you? Jake Foley?"
Realizing just how much she had said, Diane took a couple of deep breaths. "Jake heard a few things, checked them out and told me. When I didn't believe him, Jake kept an eye on me and when things went bad, stepped in."
"Jake?"
"Ok, it wasn't pretty, but he's got heart."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"That night at the fair?"
"He was there for you. In fact it was Steve carrying a gun that made Jake start asking questions."
"You think you know a guy."
"Yeah. It made me look at Jake in a whole different light. Before, we'd watch movies and play Boggle. Afterward, I started looking beyond my friend at the man. I couldn't believe what was right in front of me all along."
Jake stumbled through the door just then, loaded with Italian food. "Bon Jour Ladies."
XxxxxxxxxxxxXJake was board with waiting; no books or magazines, and the TV was set up only to view videos and DVDs. Maybe he should set up a little surprise for Diane.
XxxxxxxxxxxxXDiane finally felt relaxed. She hated freaking out, but now she felt like she was floating on a nice, warm, puffy cloud. What was that crunching sound? She opened one eye, then both flew open wide. "Jake !"
Jake was sitting on a stool eating popcorn, ''Hi.''
''What are you doing ?''
''Well I figured since I wasn't getting a video…''
Throwing the loufa at him she yelled, ''You are in such trouble…''
Jake grabed her clothes and ran out.
Quickly tying a towel around her Diane chased after her husband. When she ran into the dark warehouse her first experience with nightvision shocked her into a standstill. ''Cool."
The lights come on and hearing Jake approaching, she crept to the corner of a nearby crate and jumped around to grab Jake. Instead she ran into a brick wall, a big black cloth covered brick wall, named Kyle.
''Nice to see you Diane.'' He said averting and closing his eyes.
''Jake!'' Diane yells angrily.
''I'm here.'' Jake says dropping from atop a nearby crate. ''Sorry, I'm sorry Diane. I thought you had turned on the lights. I am so sorry.''
''Sorry enough to give me my clothes?''
''Look in the bedroom.'' Jake said watching Diane stomp off.
Opening his eyes Kyle spoke up. ''You really messed up, Jake my friend.''
''Don't I know it. Any chance of getting flowers delivered?''
''None. Besides you'll come off better with ritual suicide. Come on, let's get the groceries and pizza from the car.''
XxxxxxxxxxxxX
Diane was angry, exactly why she didn't know. Jake hadn't done anything he hadn't done before, not much different anyway. Maybe, no definitely, she'll make peace. Besides, she was eager to try nanite enhanced sex.
XxxxxxxxxxxxX
Jake was confused, Diane was in a good mood. Well better than the alternative he decided.
''Jake,'' Daine began after taking a bite of her pepperoni, anchovie and artichoke heart pizza, ''Why did you steal my clothes?''
''I think I can answer that,'' Kyle stated. ''You were playing Roadrunner.''
''Roadrunner?''
''For the last couple of years, Jake and I go to the training facility to knock the top cadets down a peg or two.''
''What do you do?'' She asked Jake.
''I'm the Roadrunner, the cadet is the Coyote. The Coyote chases me into a warehouse, we are both armed with paintball guns. Once in the warehouse I make sure they don't win.''
''Remember the cadet that you switched his gun with a toilet plunger?''
''Didn't he quit?''
''Transferred to the FBI. A shame really, he's a good agent.''
''So I'll have to chase you?''
''It'll be a nice change, really.''
''Hardly.''
''You think I didn't chase you?''
''I think if I wore my sweaters any lower on Boggle night I'd have been arrested.''
''She's got a point Jake.''
''And as far as Roadrunner is concerned… You're going down!''
''Beep, Beep…"
XxxxxxxxxxxxX
Next: Beep Beep
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