"Run?" Sam's eyes widened as she looked at Harry, "Run where?"
Maybourne look at Jack and Jack looked down, his face tense. There was a beat of silence before he glanced at Sam and then back to Maybourne. "What can ten get us?"
Harry shrugged, his smug expression back in full force. "Well usually it would be double that for both of you." He sighed, "But you're in luck Jack. I know a guy that owes me one and could probably make that work." He waved a hand lazily, "Not pristine mind you, but it will get you where you need to go."
Jack nodded and pursed his lips, deep in thought.
Sam was looking beyond confused and watched them go back and forth like a tennis match. But when they stopped talking, she wasn't any closer to understanding. She raised her arms, "Who could make what work? What's not pristine?"
Jack looked up, her voice pulling him out of his moment of contemplation. "Documents...passports and IDs to get us across the border."
"What?" She couldn't believe this was happening and could suddenly hear klaxons going off in her head. Were they really thinking about evading the police? Going AWOL from the Air Force? Running away from the from their lives, their friends and families? Sam took a couple of unsteady steps back and felt Jack's hands firm on her hips… then she was in his arms.
He bent his head to her ear, "I'm hoping it's just temporary. But we can't stay here, it's too risky. Listen, I know trust has been an issue for us lately, but I'm asking you.." He pulled back and cradled her face, searching her eyes, "to please trust me Carter okay? We can do this."
She nodded and flushed when she saw Maybourne watching them. She waited for one of his typical snarky comments, but he seemed genuinely empathetic as he gave her a half smile and an encouraging nod.
Jack walked over and bent down to grab the duffel, opening it up. He reached in and took out two bundles of banded cash and handed them to Harry, who placed a bundle in each of his inside pockets. "Don't spend it all in one place Harry."
Maybourne huffed a laugh and pulled a phone out of his jacket pocket. "It's a burner. I'll call you when they're ready, it'll take at least a couple days. Do you have a place to lay low?"
Jack shrugged, "We'll find a place." Then he tilted his head at him curiously, "Why're you doing this Harry? I'm sure you could've worked out a pretty good deal for yourself by handing us over."
Maybourne shrugged it off with a smirk and lifted his arms, "Ah, you know me Jack. I'm a humanitarian."
Jack smirked and then looked at him sincerely, "Thanks Harry." Sam nodded in agreeance and gave him a warm smile.
Harry gave her an awkward lopsided grin and then cleared his throat uncomfortably as he glanced quickly at Jack. Without another word, he bowed his head and scooting passed them and out of the dugout.
Jack grinned and looked at Sam, "Oh yeah, he likes you."
Sam shook her head and rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh, "So now what, where to?"
He tucked the bag under his arm, "Well, we can't go too far and any hotel or motel would be too risky." He thought about it for a moment before perking up and walking over to her. He leaned his head down and grazed her lips with his, flashing a smile, "I have an idea."
Sam looked at him strangely, "Care to share?"
Taking her hand, he gave her a little tug as he headed out of the dugout, "Come on, I'll show you."
A half hour later, they were creeping through some woods about a mile from Rash Field when Jack crouched down and put up his fist. Sam stopped and crouched down behind him. He waited a moment and waved her up to him. "Where are we?" She whispered as she crouched next to him.
He nodded ahead, "Bill Shiffle's place, we fish together sometimes. He lives alone and I'm willing to bet he'd let us lay low here for a couple days." He was looking at the ground in front of them intently.
She followed his eyes, trying to see what he was looking for, "What?"
"Well see, Bill's a bit older and let's just say, a bit paranoid. He was in Nam, and I wouldn't put it past him to wire something up back here."
"Great," she muttered.
"Stay a few paces behind me and just take it slow; step where I step."
He stood up and crouched, walking forward slowly. Sam looked up, figuring they had a couple of hundred feet until they were at the back of his house. That was a long way to walk, thinking that your next step could be your last.
Taking a deep breath, she waiting until he was about ten feet in front of her and then started after him.
Fifty feet in, he stopped…then she did.
She saw him go down to a knee and watched him put a hand down low to the ground. He looked back at her with a grim face and pointed the barely visible wire out to her.
She exhaled shakily and nodded. And when she approached it, stepped over it with care before proceeding.
In all there were three wires, paced off at about every fifty feet. By the time they got to the back door, Sam was a mess; she was shaking, her heart was racing and her throat was dry. Jack gave her a smile once they got there, like it was an obstacle course he went through every day, until he saw her face. "You okay?" he whispered.
She nodded, lying as usual as she stood alongside him. He put down the duffel, then leaned over to her and whispered, "There's a door to the basement over there, I'm going to see if it's unlocked before we knock on this one."
She nodded again, catching her breath.
Even though her eyes had adjusted fairly well to the darkness, once he was twenty feet away, he slipped out of sight.
All she could hear was the sound of her own breathing…then a growl. A low deep grating growl behind her. Holding her breath, she turned her head slowly and saw the white eyes of a huge black wolf-like dog as it crept towards her, teeth bared and huffing.
She took a step back, and reached behind her, slowly un-holstering her handgun.
If it lunged at her, she hoped to use the gun as a weapon instead of shooting it; knowing that any sounds of a discharging would have the authorities descending on them in a hurry. On her second step back, she gasped as she felt Jack's hands encircled her waist from behind. Without a word, he reached forward and placed his hand on the top of her gun, slowly lowering it. Then in one swift motion, he pulled her back and stepped in front of her.
The next thing she knew, Jack crouched low and started growling back at the dog…low and menacing. Sam started to panic. What the hell was he doing? Distracting it? Giving her time to get away? Her heart was racing as she looked around frantically for a stick or something to defend them against it. That's when she heard a whine and looked up. She watched as the dog suddenly bounded up to Jack as Jack went to a knee and ruffled its fur, talking to it, his voice low and energetic. Sam walked up tentatively and Jack looked back at her with a big goofy grin on his face, "This is Pig." Then he looked at the dog who was huffing and rubbing it's head up against Jack's arm to encourage more petting, "Pig, this is Sam."
Sam shook her head and exhaled a shaky breath, "Hey Pig." She grinned as the dog plopped down in front of them and rolled onto its back, sniffing at Jack's pockets expectantly.
Jack chuckled, "Sorry Pig, no treats this time. I'll bring double for you when I see you next okay?"
Sam snickered and Jack looked at her sideways, "What?"
She shook her head, "You were growling…"
He smirked, "Yeah...so?" Then he shrugged, "It's like our bonding thing…"
She giggled, and then the door next to them swung open noisily. A stocky gray-haired man stood there in boxers and a t-shirt, waving a double-barreled shotgun around. "Who is that! Who's there…show yourself!"
Jack slipped past Sam and grabbed the barrel, pushing it in a safe direction. "Whoa Bill! It's me Jack."
Bill let out a big breath and leaned over at the waist, "Jesus Jack, you almost gave me a heart attack! What the hell are you doing here? Do you know what time it is?"
"Yeah sorry Bill, I kind of need your help. Actually, we need your help." He waved Sam over and Bill saw her for the first time and his eyes widened. "Bill, this is Sam."
"Oh… as in Carter?" The old man smiled as he took a good look. "Wow Jack, you weren't kiddin'. Well, hello sweetheart."
Sam smiled at the man's sudden charm and raised her eyebrows at Jack, "Hello Bill, nice to meet you."
Jack cleared he throat uncomfortably and smirked, "Yeah, so do you mind if we step inside?"
"Oh yes, yes…geez, I should get some pants on. Sorry Sam. Jack, you know your way around." Bill waved them into the house as he shuffled away, while Pig bounded through the flap on the opposite door and followed him.
Jack headed toward the stairs, "Come on, let's get something to drink." Sam followed him upstairs to the kitchen. He dug into a cabinet and pulled out a couple of glasses. He opened the fridge and looked inside. "Iced tea or Pepsi?"
"Iced tea sounds great." Sam sunk gratefully into one of the chairs at the kitchen table cluttered with paperwork and bills.
Jack poured their drinks and set Sam's down in front of her before taking a seat. "So, no one really knows about Bill and he keeps to himself. I figured he'd be a safe bet."
Sam opened her mouth to comment when Bill shuffled in, freshly adorned with some grey sweatpants. "Excuse the mess dear, just push that stuff to the side if you need to."
"No, it's fine. Thank you for letting us in Bill."
Bill gave her a nod, "Of course, Jack's helped me out plenty of times. He knows he can count on me; ain't that right Jack?
Jack smiled, "Well, I'll definitely owe you one Bill."
Bill tapped his hand on the table and leaned in, "Alright so let's hear it…what's going on?"
Jack spent the next thirty minutes explaining what he could about someone being after them, Sam being targeted, and Pete's murder. He decided not to mention that the police were among those looking for them, stating simply that they didn't know who to trust on the force yet. That way if they got caught there by the police somehow, Bill would still have plausible deniability.
Bill told them they could stay as long as they liked and set them up in the basement, where there was an in-law suite. After showing them where they could get sheets, blankets and towels, he said goodnight.
The basement was a bit drafty but comfortable enough once they were lying in bed together under the blankets. Sam laid on her side next to him, her head on his chest and listening to the soft thud of his heart through his t-shirt. She took a deep breath and sighed.
His fingertips lightly grazed her back. "The bed's feeling pretty heavy. Whatcha thinking about?"
She thought for a moment. How could she explain to him the suffocation and dread she felt after their whole world had been blown apart in one day? "Just…everything."
"Yeah." He sighed and kissed the top of her head. There were a couple beats of silence before she heard him say, "Hey before I forget to tell you…"
He let the sentence hang and she tilted her head up to him, waiting for him to continue.
When she met his eyes, he gave her a small smile, "I love you."
And for a moment, as her stomach fluttered and warmth cascaded over her, she forgot about everything else.
Leaning up, she put her hand on his cheek and kissed him firmly, gliding her lips over his. She heard a small tense moan as his hand went to the side of her neck and he leaned into her; his kiss conveying everything he wasn't. She felt the anxiousness and stress he was hiding so well…and found herself deepening the kiss to console him. Sliding her tongue slowly over his until she felt the tension in his jaw fade. Until she felt his body relax against hers as his fingertips gently combed through the hair at the base of her neck. When they pulled apart, he braced his forehead against hers. His voice was low and rough as he looked down between them. "Thanks."
She leaned back to look at him, "Hey." She cupped his jaw and lifted his face gently until his glassy eyes met hers, "I love you too."