THE HERE AND NOW
CHAPTER 17
"HUSBAND"
She smiled and played with her son, laughing. She watched him ramble on about his day and about the new baby sitter she had gotten him. After a long and hard day at work this was what she needed, to spend time with her son and get re-energized and when the door to the house open and her husband walked in it was shattered.
"You're home."
"I finished early."
"About time."
Four weeks and she had been growing tired of this of his attitude, of him always throwing her work in her face and always giving her an attitude. Taking a deep breath she tried to resume talking with her child, but it was no use. The moment had been broken and Pete turned on the television, the sound filling the small room. Aron smiled at her and she hugged him.
"Come on, you can tell me about your day while I fix dinner. How's that sound?"
"Yeah, April and I were…"
"Ah come on champ, aren't you tired of ranting on about school? Come watch some TV with your pops."
Aron smiled and looked at his mom. On TV there was a sports match. Baseball or something. Sam nodded. She knew that Aron was going to be bored, but the last thing she needed right now was another of Pete's moods to ruin the somewhat calm state of her home at the moment. Unfortunately Pete had seen the small exchange and grunted.
"So now he has to ask you?"
"What are you talking about Pete?"
"Aron, please go to your room."
"Dad it's okay I…"
"Aron, do as you father tells you."
The boy nodded and headed up the stairs. Sam turned towards her husband and waited for his anger. Over the years she had seen that he was the kind of husband who liked to be the provider and have the woman be a home body. It had worked at the beginning. She hadn't been working then and she had always been the one trying to make it work. For a while, when Aron arrived, they had been happy.
Most couples are, but after that, it began to change. She was busy with Aron; he didn't help. He didn't spend time with her. It was as if he had done his job and now he was just maintaining them because his plans had been accomplished. He had gotten a wife, had a child and now everything was set. She would remain at home, take care of Aron and he would provide, but it had all changed now and when he had seen that, he had tried to accommodate her.
"He doesn't listen to me, is that it?"
"Pete you know it's not like that."
"I've seen how this move has changed you Sam. You used to be happy with what you had, what we had was enough."
"I…This is not about that Pete. I was happy, still am."
"Then why the job, why the move? I see how you treat Aron, how he talks about that girl and her father."
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh don't play coy with me. You think I haven't seen how you act around him? How you went back to him."
"What! What on Earth are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about him. I'm talking about Jack"
"Jack? Jack O'Neill?"
She understood now and saw him for what he was. The attitude, the anger and the way he was treating her. He was jealous, he thought she was having a thing with Jack. Shaking her head she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. He had misunderstood everything. She had been trying to become friends with them again and Pete had completely miss construed the facts. She smiled and turned to him.
What she saw floored her. His face turned into that of shear anger, his eyes were ablaze with fury. He rushed towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders, his eyes piercing her. She was unable to move or speak this was not the Pete she had known and loved, this was not the father of her child.
"It was all for him wasn't it? Maybe I should have done the background check on him.''
She was taken aback and he smirked. Pushing her down on the couch, he sat opposite of her and looked at his hands. He chuckled and shook his head.
"I should have followed you more. At least for a couple of more weeks. Maybe then I would have found out the truth."
"W-what truth?"
"You were sleeping with him."
"What…"
"Were you ever in love with me?"
Her hesitation was not out of uncertainty, but out of surprise at the questions and statements he had made. Yet it was enough and he bolted from the room leaving her sitting alone in her living room, reeling from every thing. He had followed her; he had done a back ground check on her and believed her to be sleeping with O'Neill. She closed her eyes and leaned back on her couch.
Almost five years of marriage and he still had doubts. He doubted her feelings for him and she wondered what the hell had she been thinking? What made her think that marriage was going to be all those things she believed them to be, a childhood fantasy of being forever loved and living happily ever after. She was a fool. Real life was anything but. She should have figured that out a long time ago.
"Mom?"
"Aron, it's okay. Your dad just went for a drive."
"He doesn't like April, does he?"
She smiled at the naivety of her son. He was brighter than most kids but he was still a child and she thanked God for that. She smiled and put on a brave front. She would try to follow the child's lead and tell him about why daddy didn't like April, but why he was wrong. She would not burden him or poison his mind against his father. No, she would explain and tell him.
Three hours and he had yet to return home. Taking a deep breath, she frowned. This had been going on for long enough. She was tired of it and she wasn't going to fool herself yet again. No, this time. Aron was big enough to understand and she had a steady job that paid well. She was not going to let this continue for both their sakes. She was going to make this right.
"Hello." Pete had called his old friend again.
"Hey I need another favor."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, you know just like last time."
"Man I almost lost my job because of that!"
"Just one and dig deep."
"Yeah okay, what is it."
"Jack O'Neill. Need a background check on him."
He was going to find out about this General. He needed to know about him and as the phone went dead and he waited for the call back. Over in the Denver offices of the FBI his friend dug around and his whole system went red. His hands flew all over his key board and yet nothing. All he could see and all he could hear around him were murmurs.
"What is this?"
"The computer is flashing something?"
"Are we being hacked?"
"Get down to the computer main frame now!"
Panic began to rise in the office and as he stood and glanced at the cubicles and offices and saw the screens of the computers, all he saw was the same message. It had appeared on his screen first and his blood ran cold with realization. The last thing he thought before hearing the scream of his boss was to damn his friend.
"What the hell did you get yourself into?"
He was frozen; he knew it was all over and all the while in the offices all that could be seen on the screens of the computer, were the blazing red signs with letters flashing and an all too familiar warning and emblem of the United States' secret service.
RESTRICTED ACCESS
The words he would forever remember and curse. Meanwhile within the offices of the national security agency a man's hands worked on tracking the source and phone calls began to be made. The chief of staff was called and Generals were woken. The President was informed and all were assembled because there had been an incident. Someone had tried to access their files.
Someone had made an attempt to gather information on one agent. The President listened and wondered just what the hell was so important about this man. That was until he saw the files and the Generals told him about why this particular incident was of such importance and the President wondered if he was living in a movie. Espionage, secret mission cover ups and assassination this man had done it all.
"So gentlemen what shall we do about this?"
"We need to find and dispatch someone."
"Trace and find whomever did this see if it's a matter of national security."
"Very well, do what you have to gentlemen."
The meeting was adjourned and President Hayes walked to his office, reached for his phone and dialed an all to familiar set of numbers. He wondered if George was going to be angry for being out of the loop. Then again he was a General, he would understand.
"This is Hammond."
"George have you ever heard the tail of Black Dawn?"
"Sir?"
"I think we need to talk."