Our Little Secret Ch. 10

"Oh my God Joel, you were in Albuquerque?" she asked him with disbelief? Joel nodded. "You were never in Phoenix?"

"I couldn't tell you," Joel shrugged. "It was classified."

"Perhaps you heard about a murder suicide at a dinner party in Dallas, Texas," Colonel Greene added. "Two women were involved." Jenny nodded.

"Joel hunted down the man responsible for that, and now he is in our custody."

"Jesus Joel! We talked about that. Who the fuck are you!?" She snapped at him with mixed fear and awe.

"He's also a healer. He helps the women who have been affected, and that's why I'm here." Colonel Greene pulled an electronic tablet out of his satchel. "Joel, Ms. Riverton, please take a seat," he gestured to the sofa. They sat down beside each other. "Ma'am, Joel has never seen this. Now, I remind you, you may never talk about this to anyone, ever," Colonel Green said. He set up the tablet on a stand that held it at an incline as he started up a video.

"Hi Joel," came up an image of Melissa Ferry. "I just wanted to thank you one more time for saving my life. I'll always love you for that, Joel."

"Hi Joel," a new face appeared.

"Christina," Joel said before she said another word. Christina, Kelsey, and Mary were the three girls who danced naked on the Mojo bar.

"It's Christina Carroll. I just wanted to say thank you. I can breathe again because of you, Joel. You saved my life, Joel. You're the best."

"Hi Joel." It was Kelsey Danton. "Kelsey here. I don't know how to say it, but thanks. It's a tiny word next to the huge thing you did. Thank you Joel. I live again because of you."

"Hi Joel." It was Mary Wilson. "I've never told anyone else this before, but after I was attacked, I just wanted to kill myself. Now I'm taking a vacation in Europe. I'm alive because of you, Joel."

"Joel," Gail Carroll's face appeared, Christina's mother. She spoke in her usual severe tone. "You might think of me as a snooty bitch." Joel nodded in agreement to the screen, and Jenny snorted a chuckle at Joel's reaction. "Joel, our children were lost forever. We had lost all hope. Then you came into our home, and you returned our children to us. Joel, a parent can never repay that debt. I mean this most sincerely, whatever you need, you make me your first call."

Jenny looked at Joel's face. Joel's hand was over his mouth. He was trying not to cry. Jenny felt her own tears slip down her face.

"Hello Joel," Mary-Jane Parsons face appeared. Joel recognized her as the flight attendant who declared herself a bitch. "We have never met, but I learned how you hunted down the fucker who did that to me. Thank you Joel. God bless you."

"Hi Joel," a new face appeared. "It's Shelby." She was one of the Albuquerque survivors whom he later hypnotized. "Joel, I don't know how to thank you. I use my crystal ball every day now. Thanks to you, I can go out. I can talk to people. I can live again. I love you Joel."

Each of the next ten surviving Albuquerque women appeared in person, and each offered their personal thanks. Samantha, Lauren, Alexis, Katherine, Maria, Jordan, Paige, Gabby, Jamie, and Sabrina each took a turn to thank Joel and tell him how their life has changed because of him.

The video ended. Joel looked at Colonel Greene with red eyes. "Colonel Greene, I think you've done the impossible," Joel said, his coded message way of saying thank you.

"First of all, that's Brian to you," the colonel smiled. "And second, no, Joel, you did the impossible."

"I don't suppose I can take a copy," Joel said.

"No, but I can let you watch it one more time." He restarted the video. Jenny rested her head on Joel's shoulder and watched with him. When it was finished, Brian picked up the tablet, turned it off, and returned it to his satchel. "I'll leave you two, now." He walked toward the door to let himself out. When Brian reached the door, he looked back. "Joel, I'll be in touch. It was a delight to meet you, Miss Riverton." He closed the door behind him.

Joel knew he owed Colonel Brian Greene a colossal debt, and unlike Gail Carroll, Joel's debt was to be repaid. Greene manufactured an alibi for Joel at the Manic Monday bar so Jenny would think it was Fieldman, not Joel, who forced her to have sex with him on that first night. And this little video presentation with Jenny sitting at Joel's side was not a touchy feely moment for Joel. It was carefully scripted and played out for Jenny's benefit.

Colonel Greene knew the truth about Joel on that night at Manic Mondays, and he could crash Joel's new world order down at any time. I'll be in touch was not a pleasant good bye. The impossible didn't come for free. Joel was going to work for the OSI.

"Joel, I'm so sorry," Jenny said after Colonel Greene was gone.

"Don't be," Joel offered. "You interpreted the evidence exactly the way I would have." He paused. "I would have preferred you at least let me tell you my side of the story, but I understand why you were so upset."

"You're so right, Joel," Jenny nodded. "I'm really sorry I went off at you like that without even giving you a chance to explain." She thought for a while. "Did you even know he was in the bar that night?" Jen asked.

"I never saw him there," Joel answered truthfully. "I didn't even know about this little prank of his until I saw it on TV yesterday."

"It just gives me the creeps this same guy -- the guy who did that Albuquerque thing ..." she shivered without finishing her sentence.

"Oh my God," Jenny's face lit up. "I forgot Ellie."

"Who's Ellie?"

"My boss's wife, Ellie McLean. She's in the car downstairs." Joel looked at her quizzically. "Long story," Jen shrugged. "Can I invite her up?"

"Sure," Joel shrugged.

"Joel," Jenny paused, "do you think, can we someday find a way to get back together?"

"How's today work for you?" Joel asked with a smile. She hugged him hard. "Jenny," he pulled her away. "You're reaction was perfectly understandable. I still love you."

"Oh God, Joel, I love you so much," she cried, and hugged him again. She pulled away. "To be honest I never thought it was possible I would ever say that again."

Impossible is what we do. "Let's not keep the boss's wife waiting," Joel said. Jenny took a moment to recompose her face in the bathroom. "You can't tell Ellie, or anyone, about anything about me, or any of those people in that video," Joel warned Jen as they left the apartment.

Jenny nodded, remembering Colonel Greene warning her of imprisonment. "It's our little secret," Jen kissed him, and took him by the hand.

Ellie stepped out of her parked car when she saw them approaching hand-in-hand. "Look at you two!" she smiled.

"Ellie," Joel hugged her. "Thank you for being so good to Jenny."

"Looking at you two love birds made it worth the trip."

"Stay, please," Joel offered. "Join us for dinner."

"No, thank you," she smiled. "I really am tired. I need some sleep."

Jenny hugged her. "Thank you so much, Ellie. Tell Don I'll come back this weekend. I'd like you and Don to come over for dinner in a week or two."

"We'd be delighted," Ellie smiled. "You two take care." She climbed back into her car. Joel and Jen watched her drive off.

"So, what now," Joel asked.

"Take me upstairs and charm me," she said defiantly. "Make me do anything you want."

"You're joking, right?" Joel said.

"There is no way on God's little earth I am letting that creep be the last person to touch this body with a charm," she looked into his eyes. "I trust you, Joel. Take me -- make me do anything. Just don't ever tell anyone. Let's make this our little secret."

"Hold my hand," he commanded her, "and come upstairs and make love to me like you were born for no other purpose."

- - - End of Chapter 10 - - -

Our Little Secret

Epilogue

Ten months later.

The morning sun had long since burned the dew off the lush green grass in the urban park across the street. Joel awoke blissfully to the distant lilt of a Parisian accordion. The corner bakery's aroma wafted through the open window among the clatter of street noises.

Joel rolled over. Jen was sleeping beside him on her back. They only needed a single bed sheet over them during the warm July night, and the morning sun was already turning the hotel room into their private sauna. They both preferred sleeping to the fresh air from the open window to the stuffy air-conditioning.

In her sleep Jen had pushed the sheet down to her hips to regulate the heat, showing off her beautiful, naked breasts. He leaned across and gently kissed one large, nipple, then the other.

Jen drew in a gentle wake-up breath. "Oh my God that bread smells so good," she smiled with her eyes still closed as he lightly squeezed her nipples between his lips, the way she loves.

"Good morning Mrs. Winkman," he whispered with his mouth still touching her left nipple.

Jen opened her eyes. She wrapped her hands around the back of his head, still over her bosom. "Good morning Mr. Riverton," she smiled. They kept their own names, but used this reverse greeting as a ritual of endearment. He gently tracked his lips northward, kissing her chest, her neck, then her chin, until his lips met hers. They kissed each other for a long time.

"I think you made me cum three times last night," she smiled.

"Well, four if you count ..."

"No!" she yelled, smiling, and batted his shoulder gently. "We're not counting that, you bad boy!"

"Hey," Joel smiled, "if you can't make your new bride cum at the top of the Eiffel Tower, then what's the point of going all the way to Paris for a honeymoon?"

"You charmed me into letting you do that to me, didn't you?"

"You loved it," he smiled.

"I really did!" she laughed out loud as Joel watched her breasts jiggle to the rhythm her laughter. She looked up into his eyes. "And I love you." They kissed again. She pulled back and looked into his overhead eyes again. "Do you think last night was the one?" she asked softly.

"I don't know. It felt pretty spectacular." He paused. "You're the one who would know better than me. What do you think?"

She still looked into his eyes. "I think it would be perfect to conceive our first child in Paris. It's called the City of Love, you know."

Joel pulled the bed sheet off the bed, exposing both their naked bodies. He gently rolled on top of her. "Practice makes perfect," he smiled and kissed her passionately. Jen welcomed him with open legs, and he settled between her thighs. She closed her eyes and moaned with delicious anticipation when Jen felt his growing manhood press against her bald pussy.

Joel's cell phone interrupted their sunrise celebration. "Oh, oh," Jen opened her annoyed eyes. She knew that ring tone. It would bring no good.

Joel rolled off Jenny and sat up on the edge of the bed with his back to her. It was nine thirty in the Paris morning, which made it three thirty in the morning in Quantico. "Good morning, Colonel," Joel answered. "Bright and early, I see."

"Joel, I have a civilian jet fueling at Charles de Gaulle. I need you here ASAP."

"Another one?" Joel asked. There had been two more catnap flights since Joel's diversion to Richmond Virginia. A Boeing 737 jet in China, and a Q400 turboprop in South Africa. Both were domestic flights, and had a relatively small impact on the USA.

"It's not a flight," Colonel Greene warned.

Jen watched Joel's back as he listened to Colonel's explanation, and she could tell by the tension mounting in his shoulders something was wrong. He leaned forward, resting his forehead on his hand. "Holy Shit!" she heard Joel bark with a tone of stunned amazement. Jen bolted upright and leapt across the bed to better see his face. "I'm on my way," Joel promised, and hung up, looking dazed.

"What?!" Jen asked with anxious trepidation.

"A cruise ship is scheduled to dock in Miami in seven hours," he said, still with his back to her.

"So?" Jen asked, not understanding the magnitude of the news. "That happens every day."

Joel turned toward her and looked into Jen's eyes. "Six thousand catnap passengers and crew."

"Oh my God!" Jen breathed. They sat together in silence for a couple of seconds. Jen stood up naked, picked up her nightshirt from a chair, and covered up. "I'll start packing."

- - - The End - - -