Forty Six

Problems for them tending to be rated by the number of pots of coffee they required while solving. Tori pressed the button to start pot number two, while she listened with half an ear to what Jade was saying in the living room.

"Let me get this straight." Jade rubbed her temples. "You came down here because Shari and Michelle convinced you that we were trying to screw up your filming project by deliberately making them look bad."

"Right."

"And we didn't do anything to change that idea."

"No."

Jade folded her hands and rested her chin on her clasped fingers. "So why are you here? Just write your story. They're struggling good guys, we're monolithic bad guys trying to squash them.. makes for great television. Go for it."

Pat got up and paced. "You know, you know… I really want to go for that." She used her hands when she talked for the first time, her fists clenching and unclenching. "It's a great story, you're right. Make great television. Just what my boss was looking for."

Jade's ears pricked. "Your boss."

Tori brought the new pot of coffee in, setting it down on the tray quietly and taking a seat next to her partner.

"My boss. Really wants this show." Pat agreed. "Something new, you know? Yeah, it's travel related, but it's also got a big human angle, and people like that."

"Mm." Jade nodded. "But?"

"But." The reporter repeated softly. "But you know… " She turned and faced them. "Sweet as this story is, the good guys in it aren't the people I want my boss to see." Hesitating, she finally shrugged and went to the seat across from the couch, sitting down on it. "You're not the only ones with a personal agenda here."

Tori blinked, positive she was missing something. A quick glance at Jade's profile clued her in to the fact that her partner wasn't.

Jade's head lifted, the entire expression on it shifting from bewilderment to understanding from one breath to another. "You want your boss to see how we work." She indicated Tori and herself.

Pat nodded. "Yeah." She said. "Because let me tell you, those other two have tried their damndest to convince me that you two are as dysfunctional as they are, and believe me, they're a pair of head cases together."

"Dysfunctional?" Tori frowned, then turned her head to face Jade. "We never malfunction, do we?"

A wicked twinkle appeared in Jade's very blue eyes. "Not that you've ever mentioned to me, no." She drawled. "And I've got no complaints."

Tori looked puzzled for an instant, then she reached over and tweaked Jade's nose. "Grunge." She shook her head and faced Pat again. "I don't understand how they'd give you that impression."

Pat's lips twitched. "Whole lot of talk." She concurred. "Especially that Shari. She's got a lot to say about you… " She looked at Jade. "And it sure isn't complimentary."

"That's just because Jade keeps kicking her butt every time they square off." Tori snorted. "Shari should learn better business tactics."

The reporter leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "It's not business she's talking about."

"Ah." Jade chuckled shortly. "Let me guess – Shari's painting me as a half unstable megalomaniac with twisted personal issues stemming from my upbringing."

"What?" Tori barked.

"Who beats her girlfriend." Pat added crisply.

Jade just snorted. Tori gave an excellent impression of boiling tea kettle without stirring a muscle as Chino trotted over and pushed her head against her Latina mother's knees. "Boy, does she have her lines crossed." The dark-haired woman shook her head. "I'm not the Tasmanian devil in this relationship."

"I'm gonna cross her lines." Tori got out from between clenched teeth. "Has she really been telling people that?"

"Well, she had me half buying it, and to be honest, that's the real reason I came down here." The reporter admitted. "You can act however you want in the office, but like you said, this is not your office, and it's off the clock." She looked around. "And this ain't no movie set."

Jade scratched her nose and produced a brief smile. "No, it's not."

"Jade, do you think that's where all that crap in the office came from?" Tori turned and looked at her. "From Shari? Is that possible, that she fed all that bs to someone inside?"

"That would be the obvious choice." Jade sat forward and started pouring herself another cup of coffee. She very gently nudged Tori's bare foot with her own. "But you never can tell. Could be the other way around."

"Ah. Yeah."

"Problems inside your office?" Pat asked alertly.

"Just more of the usual chatter." Tori shrugged it off. "We had a good laugh about it."

Jade stirred her coffee around counterclockwise just hearing that characterization of her partner's reaction. "So." She set the spoon down and took a sip. "What are you going to do?" Her eyes lifted and met Pat's. "Now that you've achieved your goal and interviewed us today."

Jade's cell phone chose to ring at that moment. With a faint sigh, she leaned over and picked it up, then answered it. "Yeah?"

"Hey boss." Sinjin's voice sounded aggravated. "Listen, I traced down the IP we saw, and it was one of the Sinjineting bullpen machines. Could have been any of ten people using it."

"Okay. Get me full scans on those ten." Jade replied quietly. "And put traces on them."

A pause. "All the way?"

"Yes."

"You got it." Sinjin said. "Hey, you know what? It's been a lot cooler around here since you put that stuff on the big pipes. I haven't had nearly as many alerts."

Inwardly, Jade smirked. "And you're surprised?"

The MIS manager chuckled. "Nah. I knew you hadn't lost your touch. We've only got one little bastard who keeps trying. I'm keeping an eye on it though."

"Good work. Keep me in the loop." Jade said, and then she hung up. "Well?" She turned her attention back to the avidly listening reporter. "Decided what your angle's going to be or what?" Leaning casually back, she stretched one arm across the back of the couch and sipped her coffee, watching Pat over the rim of the cup.

Tori decided to settle back herself, ending up by design in the curl of Jade's arm, and with one hand resting lightly on her partner's belly. She recognized Jade's fencing mode, and figured it would be better all around for her to stay out of the match until she could get more fully clued in on what was going on.

"Well, not yet, no." Pat said. "It's kind of a tough situation, you know? I mean, if Telegenics wins that bid, it's going to be real hard for me to slant my story any way except for what everyone's expecting. We need to have our viewers happy about who comes out on top."

"Well." Tori pursed her lips. "Y'know, with two sets of dykes in the mix, you probably need to recruit some heteros or you're going to be upsetting most of your viewers no matter what if either of us comes out on top."

That caused a bit of a silence. Jade prudently stuck her nose in her cup and slurped up some coffee, as the reporter merely goggled at Tori briefly.

"It's true." The Latina said, with a slight shrug.

"Maybe they should back a dark horse." Jade mused. "Knock those lousy lezzies off their pedestal – that'd make a good story, don'cha think, Tor?"

"Mm. I wouldn't watch it, but… sure."

Pat shifted uncomfortably. "Are you making fun of me?" She asked, with a slight hesitation. "We don't practice discrimination in our telecasts." She got up. "So that part of your lifestyle never came into the picture."

Tori got up also, neatly drawing her attention. "How can't it? She asked. "You've got Shari and Michelle, who are very out, and Jade and I, who are also very out. We're competing for the same prize, and we're in a dog fight with all the dirty tricks stops pulled out." She cocked her head to one side. "How do you intend on portraying that without mentioning our sexual orientation?"

"Well, of course we were going to mention it but…"

"We could always arrange for a jello wrestling match." Jade launched herself from the couch and prowled over to the back window, watching outside and bracing both hands on the window. "That'd get ratings."

"Wrestling." Tori looked thoughtful. "I'd go for that."

"Wait a minute. This isn't supposed to be about you all fighting each other.. well, not like that.." Pat protested.

Jade turned. "Either you go the personal route, or you don't." She leaned against the window. "If you take that path, you have to deal with the dirty parts. You want your boss to see how we mix living and working? Then you have to show how Shari and Michelle don't well, and that means you have the Dueling Dykes show."

"But.."

"She's right." Tori picked the ball up effortlessly. "Mention why you were here, and you have to go over why Shari talks about Jade the way she does. It's not for business reasons."

Pat looked cornered. "Wait a minute…"

"Tell you what." Jade swiped the ball back. "Invite your boss to dinner with us. Save the drama, and stick with the business line on your program. You'll end up with happier sponsors for it."

Tori chuckled. "At the least."

Pat looked at them both uncertainly. "But the people angle…"

"Find another people angle." Jade pressed her. "Think about it." She turned and opened the back door, gesturing towards it with one hand. "Your boat's ready. I think the coasties even left your drivers intact."

Slowly, Pat walked towards the door, watching them both until she was in the doorway with her hand on the sill. She took a breath to say something, then she merely shook her head and walked out, without looking back.

Jade swung the door shut. She and Tori regarded each other for a brief moment, then both sighed at once. "This is gonna be a mess if she doesn't take that advice."

Tori joined her. "You got that right." She agreed. "But… I think it's a mess anyway." She exhaled. "I think we really did mess this one up, Jade."

Jade put an arm around her shoulders. "I think you may be right, Tor." She admitted. "I think we made some bad choices. But we can't change that now, so let's just make the best of it we can."

"Break out the mops."

"Yeap."

The morning sun rose gently over South Pointe Marina, gilding the forest of pristine white fiberglass that graced it's many slips. Towards one side of the marina, in an area relatively uncrowded in the summer a sixty foot Bertram yacht rode peacefully within it's dock, rocking back and forth slightly as a tall, broad shouldered figure paced across it's stern deck.

James whistled softly under his breath as he worked, laying out a new set of white cotton lines for the big boat in orderly loops. His hands worked the rope with almost unconscious skill, fingers half twisting the lines to release the kinks in their new fabric.

It was Sunday, the weather was fine, he had work to do on his boat, and Ceci had promised him a hamburger for breakfast. Life, he reflected silently, just did not ever get any better than this. Especially given where his life had been so short a time ago – he had no doubt at all this was just a gift from God he had no expectation or explanation for.

Coulda been a reward, he acknowledged, for the years he'd spent in Hell already. Or it coulda been a nod from the feller upstairs over them lives he'd saved getting into all that trouble.

Jim perched on the side wall of the boat and blinked into the sunlight. Maybe it wasn't any of those things, though. Maybe it was just dumb luck, and the catchback he'd gotten for pouring his heart into fatherhood, since if it hadn't been for Jade, all what he had now would just be some damn dream.

He exhaled contentedly. Turned out a damn good kid, after all that. It irked him, a little, that he'd gotten taken out of the ship job. Being Jade's little bit of trouble inside there had been a good thing, and now, them women could be getting up to all kinds of no good without anyone to keep an eye on them.

Not a good thing. James sighed. He hated half finished missions.

The cell phone clipped to the wooden cabinet near the door buzzed, surprising him. He dropped the rope and walked over to the door, picking up the device. "Lo?"

"Hey, Ugly! Where the hell are you?"

James studied the phone receiver as though it had morphed into a wholly unexpected weasel. "This here Bradley?" He queried.

"Sure is! Where are you, man? I told you I wanted everyone working today."

"Wall." Jim crossed his arms and leaned against the cabinet. "Them folks told me not to come back yesterday." He said. "They talk to you?" He added curiously. "They were pretty fussed up last night."

Ceci emerged from the boat's cabin and cocked her head curiously. "Who's that?" She was carrying a plate containing a cheeseburger, surrounded by a veritable cornucopia of vegetables and fruit bits. She put it down near James's elbow and leaned next to him.

"Feller thinks he's my boss." One of her husband's grizzled eyebrows waggled, as he covered the receiver with the palm of one large hand. "Ain't figgered he isn't yet." Carefully removing the burger from it's nest of healthiness, he nudged aside a carrot curl threatening to contaminate his breakfast and then bit into it.

"Ah, the mental midget who made your first petty officer look like Einstein. Gotcha." Ceci walked over to the canvas bucket chair on their back deck and seated herself, resting her head against the wooden seat back and contentedly absorbing the early morning sunlight. "Anyone ever tell him that whole Christian Sunday is the day of rest stuff? Only thing in the whole rigamarole that ever made any sense to me."

James reached over to tweak a bit of her hair. "Yeap, ah am still here." He spoke into the phone. "Did you talk to them folks? Got their shorts in a big old twist yesterday."

"Yeah, yeah.. I talked to them." The supervisor sounded dismissive. "Listen, that lady was just spouting some crazy stuff, and yeah, she doesn't want you around here but I got a spot on that other boat behind this one and I really need you to help me out."

"That big blue one with the patches on one side?" James asked.

"Yeah, whatever. The one behind this one."

Jade's boat. James took another bite of hamburger and chewed it thoughtfully. "Hm."

"C'mon, buddy. I figured you could use the cash, right?" The supervisor sounded a touch desperate. "My guy over there walked out this morning, said he'd gotten a better offer. Tell you what.. I'll give you a buck an hour raise."

Forty bucks a week. James mused. Well, it'd pay the phone hook up fee for the month, at any rate. "All right." He agreed. "But I got to finish what I'm doing here right now, so it'll be a bit." He told the man. "Then ah will be over there."

Ceci stuck her tongue out.

"Okay, but not too long, huh?" Bradley said. "This place is a mess. Wait till you hear what happened last night after you left with the government people. It's chaos."

'"Yeap." James agreed. "I do believe the gov'mint usually does cause that. Bye." He hung up the phone and set it on the counter. "Seems like somebody done hired this guys' feller off that boat Jade's working on."

"Oh, really?" Ceci regarded him, a mildly sardonic look appearing on her face. "I wonder if I can guess who that might have been, hm? My goddess, those women are a pair of hairless Mexican cats." She frowned. "Can they be that desperate, or are they just that pissed off about you?"

"Beats me." Jim finished his breakfast, licking a bit of juice off his thumb. "That was damn good hamburger, ma'am." He complimented his wife. "Do you want your part of this here MRE?" He handed over the plate of plant matter.

Ceci took a tomato slice and bit into it. "You only wish you ever got these in those." She retorted. "So you're going to go work on Jade's boat now? Doesn't really help much to know what those women are up to."

James shrugged. "Do the best ah am able to." He said. "Sides, got me a one US dollar an hour raise out of it."

"Oo. You're taking me to dinner on your paycheck this week, sailor boy." Ceci laughed. "And we're not ending up in that chicken wing place, either." She got up and slid her arms around him, giving his solidness a fierce hug. "I'm glad you're helping out the kids. I think this one's throwing them out of whack a little. And with Jade and Tori Preocupied about the baby…"

"Ah'm sure they're having themselves a good time down south." James said. "Without none of this here stuff to bother them." He gave her a return hug, then ducked his head an surprised her with a kiss, even though they were standing in what was now broad daylight on the back of the boat.

After a moment, they parted, and James looked down at his wife, his eyes twinkling in the sun. Ceci reached up and stroked his face gently, her fingertips tracing the scars that, though faded, still crossed his skin. "I was looking forward to spending the day with you." She admitted.

"Yeap." James kissed her again. "Me too." He said. "But I told that man I had something to take care of before I went over there."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeap."

"Well then." Ceci smiled. "What are we standing out here for then? Unless you want to shock the neighbors." She paused. "Again."

"Nope." James courteously opened the door, then followed her inside.