Chapter 2 is at last complete! Many thanks to Tobias Corvinus, ANON THE GREAT, and Laurie Jupiter for their wonderful reviews! Much love! Reviews make my world go round and help keep the creative juices flowing!

This one gives a little more insight into the mind of Jackie J Vanek, which I hope you enjoy! As stated previously, this will be rather short fic, but hopefully still a very enjoyable one! I hope to have more for you soon. As always please read, review, but most of all, enjoy!

Time rushed by after that day. Jackie grew stronger, healthier, with each passing moment. The wives on the military base, of the other Marines, had laughed when they had seen them. Hard ass Vanek, father to a baby girl—irony at its finest they had said. The women of the Marine Corp had pitied poor Jackie though. "That girl doesn't stand a chance at civilian life," they laughed. "She'll be a full fledged Marine by the time she's four."

It wasn't long after bringing Jackie home that Vanek found out how little he knew about raising kids—much less a baby girl— but he made a quick study. He learned that the women of the Marine Corp were a God sent, helping him without mocking him when he had no earthly idea what he was doing; that his "Colonel look" was good for a hell of a lot more then stifling a laugh when some idiot felt the urge; that his daughter would forever be able to crawl faster than he could ever dream of running; that nothing is truly "child proof"; and that if you blink, children spontaneously grew up.

One day she was three months old, just barely out of the hospital. Then he blinked and suddenly she was nearly five and about to start school. So, he learned to stop blinking. But he had also learned that it was damn impossible to be a single parent with no family connections and a Colonel in the US Marines.

It was on the day of that realization, nearing his daughter's fifth birthday, that he received a certain phone call from a certain secretary of a certain chairman of board of directors of Armacham Technology Corporation concerning a certain "job opportunity". He didn't like all the "hush hush" surrounding the details. And he didn't like the feeling that he was having his chain jerked, but the chairman had gotten on the line. He assured him that he would make it worth his while and that if Colonel Vanek accepted his daughter could go to Harvard without so much as having to take out a student loan. Vanek had saved up a considerable sum of money during his service and, all though his daughter seemed to no longer possess any medical problems, she had racked up a considerable amount of medical bills early on.

In spite of this, however, Vanek was still uncertain, the position sounding too good to be true.

"Just come on down to my office tomorrow morning," the chairman, Salyers, had said. "We'll discuss the details then. And I promise you, Colonel Vanek, I won't waste a man of your talents time."

So there he was, sitting in the lobby, early as always, waiting for the meeting time to arrive. Next to him sat his wide-eyed and ever curious baby girl, Jackie. The sitters he had come to trust over the years were unable to watch her on such short notice. Various other preoccupied teens had offered their aid in watching his pride and joy, but he had refused their help. Jackie ran the risk of having enough long term health problems as it was, he didn't need some absent minded teenager's failure to properly observe her adding to them.

At present, little Jackie seemed to be admiring the marble flooring, or perhaps it was her reflection in the marble flooring, of which, he couldn't tell. All he knew was that watching her sit there and swing her short little legs back and forth as she quietly sat next to him in the lobby made his heart swell. Times like this made him wonder what he ever did to deserve such a loving and well-behaved child. He was ever grateful for his little shadow.

Jackie grinned suddenly and his curiosity peaked. What was it she was grinning at, he had wondered. Then suddenly she pointed over to a spot on the floor, as if having read his mind. His eyes followed her tiny little finger over across the marble floor to that of his own reflection.

She had seen him watching her in the glossy marble tiling.

His smile widened with pride. Such an observant little thing she was. The doctors worried by how quiet she tended to be, fearing her silence might be something screaming back at them, but times like this assured Vanek that his little joy was alright. She was merely watching, waiting, speaking when she felt the need. She let her actions do the rest.

Not unlike her father.

Jackie's head shot up suddenly, making Vanek start.

"Colonel Vanek?"

One of the director's secretaries had approached. "Mr. Salyers will see you now," she said with a polite smile.

Vanek rose from his seat, and little Jackie hopped up after him. He caught the secretary stealing a worried glance at her, undoubtedly having had trouble with ill-behaved children in the past.

"She'll be fine," he said, no expression on his face.

The secretary had looked up at him, nervously, but did her best to smile assuredly. "I'm sure she will," she said politely as she motioned them to the elevators. "The director's office is on the top floor. There's a small waiting room outside. Your daughter can wait there, if you would like. One of our secretaries can watch her while you speak with the director."

Vanek nodded politely to the secretary but said nothing more. He took little Jackie by the hand and made his way to the elevator.

He pressed the button to call the elevator down and waited patiently as the great mechanical box undoubtedly embarked on an epic journey, the building being as large and unnecessary as it was. It was there, as he waited, in the gold metal finish of the large elevator doors, that he realized his daughter was acting strangely. She looked at the doors, then back at him, then back to the doors and back at him. After a moment of this, she stopped and tugged his hand. At this, he turned to face her.

Curious green eyes stared up at him.

It was then he remembered. "She's never seen an elevator before, has she?" he thought. "Not one like this at least."

He smiled at the curious look she gave him, at her tugging on his hand again, demanding her inquire be answered. He admired her inquisitive nature, even endeared her way of asking, but the doctors had frowned strongly upon it.

"You're encouraging her silence," they had scolded him. "We know you know what she wants when she does these things, but you need to make her ask, she needs to speak. This way isn't good for her."

Again , she tugged at his hand.

He shook his head. "Uh-uh, kiddo, you know the drill," he said firmly but lovingly.

He had to repress a laugh when she huffed at him. Knowing that she knew that he knew damn well what she wanted. She stubbornly turned to face the elevator doors, her expression not that different from any pouting child.

She would once again attempt to win the battle of wills.

Vanek smiled a little in spite of himself, and turned to face the doors as well. "Alright than," he said, knowing that every passing second her curiosity would erode her stubbornness.

He stifled his laugh as he watched her face contort, as she tried to keep from blurting out her question. She couldn't stand it, not knowing, absolutely could not stand it.

She wouldn't last long.

Sure enough, as the elevator finally made its way to the bottom floor and its giant golden doors slide open with great ease, she blurted out as quickly as she could , "Whatisit?!"

"It's an elevator," he said warmly, chuckling at the little sigh she made, relieved that she knew at last what must have looked to her to be an odd thing indeed.

"Want to push the button to make it go?" he asked.

He grinned from ear to ear as her face lit up and she nodded, ever enthusiastically, delighted at the thought of controlling what she would later refer to as the 'giant floating box'. He helped little Jackie inside and lifted her up so that she could reach the button that would lead to the chairman's office.

"That one?" she asked as she pointed to the button that, sure enough, would lead them straight there.

"She hears everything," he thought proudly, and worriedly, as he nodded his head in response. "Yup, that one. Not too hard now, don't hurt your finger."

"I won't," she assured him as she dramatically reached out to press the button, causing her father to laugh once again.

"Ata-girl," he said with a smile, carefully setting her down next to him, her giggling all the while.

The ride to the top floor had been an enjoyable one, his daughter all a buzz with questions about the giant floating box. He did his best to answer her questions, realizing once again how little people know about the machines they use every day. Upon reaching the top floor, she had finally called his bluff.

"You don't know much about it, do you?" she had asked.

"You're five years old, you shouldn't even be able to phrase a question in such a way," he countered, and at that, she had giggled. "Clearly, I read to you too much," he teasingly added.

He laughed at her expression as she baulked at the very idea. "Settle down now, settle down," he said to her with a smile. "I have to go and talk to a very important man for a little while. I need you to wait quietly in here for me while I do, alright?"

Jackie looked from him, to the secretary that had approached them with a warm greeting, and then back to him. "Do I have to?" she asked so, so quietly that he almost didn't hear her.

Almost.

He sighed. "Afraid you do, kiddo," he said as he patted her on the head. "It shouldn't take too long," he said, trying to reassure her.

She frowned suddenly, "You only say that when it does."

He sighed again. "You got me," he confessed. "It may very well take a long time." 'Or no time at all,' he thought, 'depending on what he has to say.' "But I really need you to wait here for me, quietly, and behave for this nice young woman, alright? Can you do that for me?"

She studied him for a moment, seemingly gauging his earnestness. After a moment, she sighed and nodded her head.

"That's my girl," he said with a smile. He pointed to a nearby chair he instructed her to sit down quietly and wait for his return, all the while the secretary reassured him that she would keep a close eye on little Jackie.

With that, and another quick glance to check on his beloved daughter, Vanek stepped into the chairman's office. He was greeted warmly by a man in a very expensive suit that stood up from a very expensive desk in what was no doubt the most expensive office in the entire overly expensive building. Vanek used his "Colonel look" to hide his distaste for the over extravagance.

As anticipated, chairman Salyers immediately took over the conversation, first talking about the great and wonderful company and how wonderful their work was for humanity. Then he proceeded to try to talk about how talented Vanek was at his job and how they needed men like him to keep the company running, etcetera, etcetera.

Vanek was annoyed at the blatant ploy, mentally noting that if the chairman thought that he was truly so wonderful at his job, he wouldn't be trying such offhanded tactics on him. The man was transparent, whether he knew it or not, and was currently insulting Vanek's intelligence.

Vanek had done his homework before reporting for this interview. Although he was only mostly familiar with the public face of ATC, he was aware of their other dealings. He knew they dealt heavily with tech that was intended for military purposes. He also knew what kind of work and threats building of such tech entailed.

After minimal questioning, it was becoming apparent that something had happened at one of their facilities that had spooked the department of defense, which is likely how his name came up. Some threat, external or otherwise, popped up on someone's radar and investors were likely scrambling to get their checks back, causing a large portion of the company to chase its own tail.

After taking all of the coded, quiet talk he could stand, Vanek decided to interrupt the chairman and cut this meeting remarkably short.

"Mr. Chairman, let's get down to the point here," Vanek interrupted suddenly. "I'm sure you're a very important man and I have other things to do than sit here and listen to you ramble on for over an hour and say next to nothing."

Vanek repressed a smirk when the chairman went slack jawed.

"If this isn't a safe place to talk openly then I suggest we get to one," he added with a stern look.

The chairman cleared his throat awkwardly and reached under his desk. The motion was followed by a barely audible click, after which the chairman motioned for Vanek to continue speaking.

"Your precious company is one that builds tech for military applications, and I'm one of the few people that knows exactly what that means, along with all the wonderful, unreported fuckery that goes with it, and I don't say that lightly," Vanek said bluntly. "You called me offering a job as head of your security division, a private security division, might I add. Now I know my name didn't just pop up in the wanted ads so let's get down to business, shall we? It's apparent that something's happened. Being that one of your main investors is the D.O.D., I'm sure there are some very powerful people that are very...displeased."

The chairman leaned back in his seat quietly, trying to look calm and collected, but Vanek could tell he was squirming on the inside.

"Now you need someone to clean house, to reassure your investors that you have everything under control," Vanek continued, "and why else would you call me? Because talented as I may be, I have a very select skill set."

The chairman shifted slightly in his seat. "They were right to recommend you," he said with sly smile. "Looks like I won't have to brief you after all."

Vanek smirked. "I'm sure your investors were just drooling over my dossier. Now let's cut to the chase."

The chairman raised a brow, "Yes?"

"Money," Vanek said flatly. "What you're offering for what you want me to do isn't nearly enough. Given what I'm good at, I'm interested, but as I'm sure you and your associates are aware, I have a kid in this equation. I'm not about to go run off and do something stupid like clean up your horse shit for free."

The chairman paused for a minute, eyeing Vanek carefully, studying him.

Vanek didn't so much as blink.

After another moment of silence, the chairman smiled. "Done."

"Might want to belay that response till you hear the rest of it, Mr. Chairman," Vanek added. "I want intel, all you have on all your projects. If I'm going to be protecting your investments, I need to know what they are, where they are, and what I need to be worried about. I've heard rumors on some of the shit you lot do down where the ethics committee can't so much as spit on you. If you want me to keep your shit wrapped up tighter than a bride on her wedding night, I need to know the details."

The chairman thought on this for a moment before he spoke again. "That will be more...difficult...to arrange," he said carefully. "Possible, but difficult...I'm sure you're aware of the repercussions of misplacing such information?"

Vanek snorted. "Respectfully, Mr. Salyers, you don't get to be where I am by runnin your damn mouth."

The chairman smirked, "No, no I suppose not..." The chairman paused momentarily. "Anything else?"

"Yes."

The chairman furrowed his brow.

"I want the power to select my own team," Vanek said flatly. "Considering the potential shit storms that could arise while working for your company, I want to know who I have running alongside me to clean it up before it hits the fan."

"Reasonable."

"I thought so too."

Another pause.

Vanek wasn't budging. This job had potential, but he was flat out lying to himself if he didn't acknowledge how quick it could go wrong. If he was going to do this, it was going to be done his way.

The chairman sighed. "You certainly drive a hard bargain, Colonel Vanek."

"I know what it takes to get the job done, sir," Vanek said sternly. "If you want to hire me for what I can do, then you and your company are going to have to let me do it. Otherwise, we're all wasting our time."

The chairman rubbed his chin, likely mulling over all that had been said. Vanek could tell he was running potential negotiation pitches through his head. He only hoped the chairman realized that he wasn't going to buy any of them.

At last the chairman sighed, stood up, and reached over his desk, extending his hand.

"You have a deal, Colonel Vanek," he said with confident smile.

Vanek rose from his seat and shook the man's hand. "Glad to hear it, Mr. Salyers," he said with a nod. "When can I start?"

"Two weeks," the chairman replied. "I hope that will give you enough time to get your affairs in order?"

Vanek smiled, "Of course."

After a few more obligatory words were exchanged, Vanek left the chairman's office with a triumphant gleam in his eye. He took his precious daughter by the hand, who had waited so patiently for him to finish with his interview, and together they made their way out of the elaborate building and back towards their quietly little house just outside the military base.

In two weeks time he would send his precious little angle off to her very first day of school, all the while trying his damnedest not to cry. Then, he would walk into the last company he would ever work for, and descend its floors to the closest thing resembling hell he'd ever seen.