:: Dangerous Choices ::
There are times in a man’s life when he looks around him and wonders, ‘How in the hell did I get to this place in my life. This is not one of those times. I know exactly how I came to be in this room in the Willard, gazing down into the sleeping face of Sarah MacKenzie, my chief of staff and a woman so off-limits she should be wound in yellow police tape. Instead, she is wrapped in one of hotel’s plush robes, the swell of her breast tantalizing through the open vee of the lapels. Earlier, this morning I was glaring at my calculator, muttering about yet another budget, when my phone rang. "Chegw…" "AJ! You got to get down here right away, they…I can’t…oh Jesus, just get here fast." I already had my cover in my hand. "Where, damn it." "12th District police station." Webb looked like shit. The two detectives tried to stop me but I pushed past them, grabbed him by his collar and pulled him to me. "Where…Is…She?" "I can find her AJ. Just get me out of here." He squeaked. "How?" "Use your contacts for god…" My fist gripped his collar tighter. "How…Can…You…Find…Her." "Tracking device." He choked out. It took three phone calls; three favors I would owe. "I own you, Webb." "I know AJ." "Spill it." I growled as we pulled away from the police station. When he was done it’s a wonder I didn’t stop and break his whole face. "You son-of-a-bitch. This wasn’t sanctioned? You pulled Mac into a personal vendetta." "Look AJ. Mac knew all about it. She…she knows Anna." "I don’t care, Webb. You used one of my people to track down a sexual predator because he raped one of your agents." I roared. "He didn’t just rape her AJ. He…" His anguish was apparent. And I suddenly knew. "She wasn’t an agent was she?" "Not CIA, FBI." His pain-filled hiss told the entire story. "Where’s this tracking device?" "Back at the hotel." "How the hell did he get away from you? "Look, it was never supposed to happen that way. She was supposed to go to his room and as soon as things got heavy, I would burst in on them." "And?" "He must have figured it out. There was no way the cops would have come up to my room like that if he hadn’t sicced them on me." "Go get the damn thing." He was gone ten minutes but for each minute I imagined the horrible things happening to her. When he came running down the steps I took one look at his face and groaned out loud. I got out of the car to meet him. "What?" "Shit!" "Damn you, Webb." "It shows she still here." "What!" I followed him back through the lobby. Instead of going to the elevators, he turned down a hall and opened a door leading downstairs. I guess if there is one thing the CIA does well, it’s tracking devices. Guns drawn, we crept down two flights of stairs, until we came to a long dark corridor. The florescent light overhead flickered, casting ominous shadows that seemed to point to a nondescript door. He went high and I went low. Let’s leave it at this, we won’t have worry about the bastard pleading diplomatic immunity. Estonia’s cultural attaché had still been in the preliminary stages of his torture. As I wrapped her naked body in my jacket, Mac told us he had tore her clothes from her after viciously taunting her with a knife and that he really hadn’t touched her otherwise. I could see the emotions flitting across Webb’s face but since Mac was okay I could allow myself to feel some understanding for what he had done. "Let’s get her out of here, Webb." "Yeah." He whispered before kicking the body. Mac pulled away from me and ran back to a dark corner of the room. When she returned she held a cage. Inside was tiny pug puppy. "He said he found it. Told me he was going to make me watch him kill it. I don’t want to leave him here." Her whisper broke my heart. We made our way upstairs with no trouble but I was loathed to walk her out into the lobby of the hotel dressed like that. Webb found the service elevator and quickly hustled us inside. He led us to the room he had been using. The room next door to where Mac had played her dangerous game. "Stay here. I’ll find some clothes for her and bring them back." Mac walked up him and gently insisted. "Clay. Take Anna the dog. Tell her you rescued it from Krycek. Tell her I’ll stop by and see her. Tomorrow. Okay." Webb looked like he was about to cry but he looked at the pug and just nodded. "Yeah. She would probably like him. Thanks Mac. I-I’m really sorry." "Go." She looked back at me and smiled. "Don’t rush back. Stay with her. She needs you, Clay." She turned to me and gave me a long appraising look. "I almost died today, AJ. And all I could think about was how you would feel about it. I’m sorry, AJ." "Sarah. I…" "Don’t." she whispered and the next thing I knew, her lips were on mine. "I’ve wanted to do that for so long." Her sigh made me hard. "And, you know what? It’s not enough." I stopped thinking. Hell, I almost stopped breathing. But, I finally did the one thing I’ve wanted to do for five years. I made love to her. Now, hours later, it’s dark and she’s sleeping after our shower together. The knock at the door wakes her and a bellboy delivers a suitcase and a bag from Ben and Jerry’s. "He remembered! Anna and I love Chunky Monkey! I introduced them at Ben and Jerry’s." Her laughter is enough to finally make me forgive Webb, at least a little. Home :: JAG Index :: e-mail |