Truth Be Told (closed)

[BeachBum25]

"Do I still do it? Yes, I do. Will I ever stop? Yes, I will."

He could sense a change in her voice, but he wasn't quite sure what it was.

""There are very few people who know who I am. The ones who did are no longer around."

 

[zydrate]

That scared Jessica. The way he said it, it scared her. She knew what he did now so did that mean...?

"Why couldn't you just leave me alone Paul? I was doing OK until you found me.." Well, maybe OK wasn't really the word. She was living but had no real life...not like the one she had when she was with him. They lived a very happy life and enjoyed each other's company. Things had been perfect.

"What now? We go on like nothing ever happened?"

 

[BeachBum25]

"I didn't leave you alone because I love you, and I wanted you back."

He looked at her for a reaction.

"No, we obviously can't go on like nothing happened. However, you have to understand that I am the same man that you fell in love with and married. Nothing is different. We can work through any issues you have with what I do. You running away from it isn't going to do any good."

 

[zydrate]

It hurt to hear him say that he loved her still. She loved him too but she was hoping he would give up on her.... it would make things a lot easier...

"I love you too...still..." Yeah, after all that time, she did love him. She had many opportunities to 'be' with other guys but she never went through with any of it.

 

[BeachBum25]

He was surprised to hear her say it so quickly. He truly believed that she did still love him, but he never thought she would come out and admit it so soon.

He reached out and caressed her cheek while looking into her beautiful eyes.

"I have to be straight with you. I am not giving up my line of work yet. We need to figure out how we can make it work though."

 

[zydrate]

"Fine." It's all she could say at the moment.

Jessica was afraid he would say that.

Was that really a deal breaker though? The truth was, she was more pissed at him for lying to her. Not trusting her enough to tell her truth when they first met.... although the killing was a close second...

"What do you propose?"

 

[BeachBum25]

"Jessica, I do not want to dictate anything to you. I want us to work this out together."

He knew she was still pissed at him. it wasn't something that she would get over quickly, but hopefully she would get over it eventually.

"You will know as much as I can tell you before each mission. You will know as much as I can tell you after each mission as well. I will do my best to make sure that I come home to you each and every time. Just like I always did. You were the one that made me make sure that I did everything right, because I wanted to come home to you.

 

[zydrate]

How was she supposed to stay mad at him when he said lovable shit like that? She relaxed and nodded, exhaustion finally getting the best of her. It was already late and she was hungry but more tired than anything.

"Can we talk about this more tomorrow?" It was a weak way of her saying she didn't want to talk about it anymore anyway. She needed time for all of it sink in...even though she had known what he did during their time apart, just hearing it from him still had her on edge. He said he wasn't going to give it up... and well...

 

[BeachBum25]

"Yes. We can talk about it tomorrow. I know it is a lot to take in. I know that it has been a long time coming. I am sorry I kept it from you, but I was really trying to protect you."

He got up and kissed her on the cheek and directed her to the bedroom. He walked over and laid on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling. He wasn't sure how long it would take her, but he was willing to wait.

 

[zydrate]

They say everything is supposed to look better in the morning.

For Jessica, it didn't happen. Maybe it was because the next morning, the clouds were out and threatening to dump rain. It was cold and just blah.

She started some breakfast and was surprised that the kitchen was well stocked. If there was one thing that could make her feel better, it was cooking. She was drinking some coffee and could feel someone staring at her and when she looked up, she saw him.

Jessica gave him a small smile, "Morning.."

 

[BeachBum25]

He watched her cooking. She looked right at home. This was not home, but, he could certainly get used to having her with him again.

"Good morning Jessica. Sleep well?"

Crozier walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter. He stood close to her, but not close enough to invade her space or make her feel uncomfortable.

 

[zydrate]

Jessica served up breakfast and nodded, "Pretty good..." she lied as she motioned for him to sit down.

"By the way... that other person you were with yesterday.... You said she does the same thing you do... she didn't kill the doctor..did she?" That was something she had been worried about also yesterday but hadn't asked it as she was afraid for the answer.

This morning she had served up a simple meal, eggs and hashbrowns with toast.

 

[BeachBum25]

He hated to tell her that he wasn't that hungry after the huge meal she prepared. So, he sat down and ate breakfast with her.

"No. Your doctor friend is just fine. He probably will think twice before he goes to another woman's home. Hell, he may think twice before he looks at another woman, but he will be fine.. physically. Emotionally, it may take some time."

 

[zydrate]

"Good." She was generally relieved. He was a prominent figure in the community, despite being an asshole.

She noticed he wasn't eating much but that was OK, she didn't want to question it nor didn't mind. Stress was high as it was. "So... do you kill just anyone they tell you kill?"

It wasn't a great way to start a morning but it had to start, nonetheless.

 

[BeachBum25]

"might as well get right into it, huh?"

He looked at her and took a deep breath.

"Jessica, in essence, I am a soldier. Just like a soldier, it is not my place to question my orders. I am not involved in the decision of who or when. I am responsible for the how."

 

[zydrate]

She nodded and sighed.

"OK...I understand." Surprisingly, she did understand.

Jessica sipped her coffee a bit more, "It scares me Paul. You scare me. That's probably one of the reasons I ran. Not the fact that you lied but the fact that you kill. It's a lot to take in on someone you thought you knew."

 

[BeachBum25]

He looked at her. There was a part of him that was pissed at her.

"What have I done to you to scare you? You have never seen me kill anyone. In fact, nobody has. When you see a soldier come home from deployment are you afraid of that person? All of the soldiers that have fought for this country and killed enemy combatants are just like me. Afraid of them?"

He looked at her, waiting for a response, but before she could....

"I know you aren't married to them, but you walk past them everyday on the street. Many of them are more dangerous than I am. Many of them have endured situations much different and much worse than I ever have. I go, I do a job, I come home, and our country is safer for it."

 

[zydrate]

"Take me back to my home now. It's obvious this isn't going to work!"

She stood and walked from the kitchen to the front door. Before she could open it, something shattered near her.

One of the front windows! A burning sensation was felt across her thigh... she looked down and immediately saw blood.

 

[BeachBum25]

All of a sudden it struck him. This was their plan. They knew all along that he would try to get her back. They planted the seed in her head and waited for him to find her. Then they followed them.

"Get down."

He rushed to her and tackled her.... laying on top of her as he grabbed for his Sig. He looked around and tried to evaluate the situation. He knew there was only one way out. They had to use the escape tunnel. Would she be able to get there? How bad was she wounded?

He grabbed a towel from the kitchen counter and made a tourniquet. He tied it around her upper thigh and then looked her in the eyes.

"You will be okay. It is through and through..... missed the femoral artery. I will get us out of here. You just have to do the best you can."

The moved across the floor to the closet. Once he had her in the tunnel, he went back and cleaned the blood trail off the floor. He went back to the closet, closed the door behind him, and then closed the trap door to the tunnel after he entered.

"Crawl down the tunnel. You will come out in about 300 yards near the river. There is a boat there for us to use."

 

[zydrate]

She was too in shock to realize what had just happened. The next thing she realized was that Paul was on top of her and then tending to her leg. It then hit Jessica that she had been shot.

The want to faint was there but she knew she couldn't. Something was happening!

"Tunnel?!" she finally was able to comprehend what he was saying to her and Jessica shook her head, "I can't do it! What are you going to do?!" Of course she didn't realize how much time she was causing him to lose during all this.

 

[BeachBum25]

He prodded her on..... forcing her to move forward. He knew they had time; how much time was the question. The guys who shot Jessica would be slow to come in because they knew who they were dealing with, but they would come in.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, he had her wait while he went to check on the boat. When he got it started, he went back for Jessica and helped her into the boat. He untied it and took off down the river.

He looked back to check on her. He had to get her to someone who could take care of her. Maybe she was better off without him. Maybe he should just leave her at a hospital and disappear.

 

[zydrate]

The pain of being shot was nothing like it seemed on TV. This hurt...her whole leg was on fire but Jessica did her best to toughen it out. She needed to be strong...

She couldn't be mad at Paul...he tried to keep her safe but..well...

Once they got to a safe distance, Jessica leaned on Paul as he helped her out of the boat, "I take it that wasn't in the plans for getting back together.." she said, trying to distract herself from what was happening.

 

[BeachBum25]

"No. This was not in the plans. I am sorry that you got used in this."

After helping her out of the boat, he moved toward a little restaurant, and looked for an easy car to steal. He found one, and off they went.

"I am going to drop you at the hospital. I am sorry this happened to you. I never meant for anything bad to happen to you. I just wanted you to know I loved you. I don't want to put you in danger. I will let you go back to your adopted life."

He headed for the nearest hospital. He drove up the road to the emergency room.

 

[zydrate]

Jessica did her best to ignore the pain...but God it hurt so much!

Paul hadn't said a thing since the cabin and when they pulled up the hospital, even though she was holding onto his hand, they had to let go when she was wheeled into the ER. That was the last she saw of him before she was taken to surgery...

****
Nicole walked up to Crozier as he tried not to pace while his wife was in surgery. "I checked the place. Nothing was found...except this." She handed him a bullet. It had his name on it.

She didn't bother to sugar coat anything, "Seems you've been found out. So...the Boss wants you and Jessica out of the country until after we've deemed it safe. Once she's well enough to travel, you'll both be sent to some place safe... We'll have guards around..you know drill Paul, there's nothing to do but wait for Jessica."

 

[BeachBum25]

"No. This is personal now Nicole. They came after my wife. I want to deal with it. I need to deal with it. They need to know they fucked with the wrong guy."

Crozier never took the job personal. It was always business.... until today. Now, it was most definitely personal He knew this probably wasn't the best way to approach it, but they had shot Jessica, and that needed to be addressed.