Table for Two Ch. 04: Final Act

"Yes they have. And he's been advised not to reveal everything he's learned. National security, and all that. So please, don't be too hard on him."

"I won't. Terry is a good man. I trust him. But thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome," Julie said.

"So, what's this talk about 'a new way' and a 'sisterhood?" I asked, recalling the conversation with Allison and Samantha earlier.

"You caught that," Julie responded. "Well, after the old MMAS corporate structure was brought down, the organization morphed, went global. Became even more radical and less inhibited about things like murder. There was a county commissioner in Texas who was murdered not too long ago - as part of an experiment."

"Damn," I shuddered.

"We still don't know if those terms are the group's new names, or just generic terms they use. Could be both for all we know. The bottom line is they're a lot more dangerous now than they were when you were in the service. You need to be very careful."

"Careful is my middle name," I quipped, causing her to chuckle.

Just then, our orders had arrived. We both opted for Luigi's Special lasagna, one of my favorites, dripping with three different kinds of cheese and loaded to the gills with meat and mushrooms. We both dug in, using our bread sticks to soak up the leftover sauce.

"This is absolutely delicious," Julie exclaimed.

"It's one of my favorites. I can make myself sick on this stuff."

"I can see why," Julie stated.

"By the way, there's a nice little dance club next door. When we're done here, would you like to go have something to drink and maybe dance off a couple of calories?" I asked.

"Why, Mike Jacobs, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you're trying to seduce me," Julie said with a laugh.

"What, me?" I responded, feigning indignance.

"Yes, you. But for the record, I'd love to have a drink and a dance... or two... with you. That is, if you can keep up with me."

"Well, I admit, I'm restricted to slow dances these days," I teased. Julie's smile widened, and I took in her dimples. God, I could get lost in those dimples.

"How do you manage, with..."

"I learned a long time ago to improvise, adapt, overcome," I told her.

"In that case, I'd definitely love a couple of nice slow dances with you, Mike," Julie said in a sultry tone that held a lot of promise. Our waitress came with the check, so I handed her my credit card, and she returned a few minutes later to wrap things up. After I finished with the bill, we headed out and walked to the dance club, which wasn't too busy, fortunately.

Julie turned heads when she walked in, and I could almost hear the murmurs of the men in the place as they sized up my date. Naturally, none even suspected what Julie could do to them should they get out of line. We took a table and ordered our drinks.

When the band started playing a slow dance song, I asked Julie for a dance, which she readily accepted. We made our way to the dance floor, and I wrapped my right arm around her while holding my cane in my left hand. Julie melded her body into mine as we worked our way around the dance floor. Slow and steady was the trick.

"You are amazingly light on your feet, Mike," Julie whispered as I held her close. I took in the scent of her hair as she placed her head on my shoulder.

"Where there's a will, there's a way," I whispered back. We danced through two slow songs and then returned to our table.

"That was nice," Julie said quietly when I sat down. "I never thought of you as a dancer before."

"Well, things have changed a bit over the years. I've personally found it helped me considerably during my therapy."

"Did you and Samantha come here often?"

"I tried to make it a weekly thing at least, but to be honest, the last few months were pretty rough. She had been rather cold and standoffish for quite a while. At the time, I thought it was just stress from work. Now I know better," I said. "Enough of my troubles. How have you been? Met Mr. Right yet?"

"Not hardly," Julie said with a chuckle. "I don't know. Maybe it's the job that does it to people like us. We see so much hurt and pain. Not exactly the best environment for a relationship."

"I know what you mean," I acknowledged.

"I did meet someone, once," Julie said wistfully. "But he turned out to be a jackass. A player. I dropped him and never looked back."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I told her.

"Don't be," Julie scoffed. "I'm just glad I found out before it was too late."

"Yeah. So what are your plans now?"

"I intend to stay with the Task Force. I'll be looking to retire in a couple of years or so. Thought I'd maybe get a condo on the beach somewhere and share it with a cat or something."

"That's a helluva commentary, isn't it?"

"I suppose so," Julie said. I could see the sadness on her face, and I changed the subject, hoping to lift her spirits a bit.

"What do ya say we blow this joint, maybe take in some music or something?"

"You still have that collection of Tull?" Julie asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do," I told her. "I've even added to it since the last time we saw each other."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Please. Take me to your parlor, kind sir," Julie drawled as she draped her arms over my shoulders.

"Where did that come from?" I asked, surprised.

"From a book I read online," Julie answered. "Are we going, or what?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said, grabbing my cane. After paying our tab, we left the club and headed to my place. When we got there, I gave Julie the nickel tour of the place, which ended in my office, where I kept my stash of Tull vinyl. I don't care what anyone says; nothing compares to the music on those old records. I let Julie pick which album she wanted to hear and was a bit surprised when she selected "A Passion Play."

I fired up my stereo and placed the album on the turntable. We headed to the front room as the music filled the house. After pouring a couple of glasses of wine, we sat on the couch and listened to the music.

I turned the album over to play side two when the first side finished. Julie got a kick out of the "Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" and giggled uncontrollably when I returned to the front room.

Julie was still giggling as the story concluded: "And after all, Hare did have a spare a-pair. A-pair."

"What's so funny?" I asked as the music continued.

"I don't know why, but that story cracks me up every time I hear it," Julie said. She set her wine glass down and turned to me. Unbuttoning my shirt, she ran her hand over my chest while staring intently into my eyes. "Mike, did you ever wonder..."

She never finished her sentence. That's because our lips had come together in the hottest kiss I had ever experienced, even with Samantha. Our tongues wrestled for what seemed like forever. She broke the kiss and looked at me.

"Yes, many times," I whispered. Julie climbed over me and straddled my legs, lifting her short dress up to her waist, and I could see her tiny panties. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me again. She broke the kiss and whispered in my ear.

"Make love to me, Mike," she hissed. "Please." She didn't need to coax me any further. The next thing I knew, clothes were flying off both of us, and Julie had impaled herself on my rock-hard cock.

"Oh, God, that feels so damn good," she moaned as she rode me. Julie gripped my head with both hands and buried her tongue in my mouth as she rode me to climax. I had never experienced anything so... primal, so... erotic in my entire life. I felt my orgasm build and broke the kiss.

"I... don't have... a condom," I gasped.

"That's okay, baby. I'm on the pill," Julie moaned back. "Just fill me up. Please. I need to feel you cum inside me." And I did as she asked, with more force than I could ever remember. Julie's orgasm hit simultaneously, and I felt her fingernails dig into my shoulders.

"Aaaaghhhh," Julie cried out before slumping down on me. We lay there on the couch, drained, for just a few moments. We looked into each other's faces as the intensity of our coupling slowly faded.

"I think the song is about finished," Julie finally said. I listened and realized she was right.

"There was a rush along the Fulham Road into the Ever-passion Play..."

"I believe you're right," I said. "I guess that makes this our song?" Julie smiled back.

"Yes. Our song," she said with a smile. "Why don't you put on another album?"

"Okay," I said as she kissed my face. She climbed off my lap, and I managed to stand with the help of my cane. I swapped "A Passion Play" with "Live: Bursting Out" and went back into the front room, where I collapsed on the couch. Julie's eyes were drawn to the scar on my thigh.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I'm more than okay," she said. "It's just... I've never seen your scar before. That's worse than I thought."

"It's a lot better now," I said. "If it bothers you, I can put my trousers back on."

"No, don't," Julie pleaded. "It's part of you. I'm not bothered by it. I've got a few scars of my own, you know." To me, Julie looked perfect, but looking closer, I could see a few reddish lines on her torso. "That happened in Seattle. A knife fight. You should see the other person. Does it bother you?"

"Not at all," I told her. "You're perfect just as you are." I hesitated for just a second before asking my next question. "Would you like to, uh, stay the night?" Her smile lit up the room.

"I thought you'd never ask," Julie said as she wrapped her arms around me. We went upstairs, leaving our clothes in the front room.

"I hope you don't mind if we use the guest bedroom. I have a new mattress coming for the master bedroom."

"That explains the box springs," Julie said. "I thought maybe you had some kind of weird fetish or something." We both laughed at that. We climbed into the guest bed and snuggled for a while. "I really enjoyed our time together. You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that with you."

"Really? I'm glad you enjoyed it. I enjoyed it myself. To tell you the truth, I never wanted it to end." Julie smiled before kissing me, then started working her way down my body until she came to my cock, which had come back to life.

Opening her mouth, she took all my erection down her throat and gave me the best blowjob I had ever experienced. She didn't stop until I had shot off in her mouth, and to my amazement, she swallowed my entire load. That was something Samantha had never done.

Julie kissed her way back up my body and took my cock back inside her pussy. This time, we made love to each other until we both climaxed, then fell asleep in each other's arms.

I woke up the following day to the smell of bacon. After doing my business in the master bathroom, I threw on some casual clothes. I went downstairs to see Julie in the kitchen dressed only in one of my long-sleeve shirts.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she smiled as she handed me a cup of coffee. "Breakfast is about finished."

"You're going to spoil me, you know that?" I asked before giving her a kiss.

"Isn't that the idea?" she responded. I smiled at that. She returned and brought two plates with eggs, bacon, and toast. She handed me one and set the other down in front of her.

"This is delicious," I said after taking a bite of the eggs.

"Thank you," Julie said. "Kinda hard to screw up an egg, though."

"Maybe," I said. "Or maybe it's the fact that you cooked it when you didn't have to."

"Thank you for last night," Julie said with a hint of sadness. "I really needed that."

"I think we both did," I told her. "That was the best night I've had in a very long time. I wished it would never end. But I know you've got a job to do. I understand."

"Yes, I do have work I need to finish. But Fort Apache isn't that far away. We always have weekends. Besides, I'll be retiring in a couple years. That'll give us some time to get to know each other a bit better. What do you think?"

"I'd like that," I told her. "I really felt a connection last night that I haven't felt with Samantha in... a long time. And I want to make sure this wasn't just two ships passing in the night."

"I concur," Julie said. "I want you to know that I don't make it a habit of spending the night, well, like we did last night. I've been attracted to you for a long time."

"And I've been attracted to you as well. Is there a 'but' I'm hearing in your voice?"

"I don't want to be a rebound relationship for you, Mike. You're just starting your divorce. You have a long road ahead of you. Trust me, I've seen what divorce does to people. It's not pretty. But I'll be here for you anytime you need me."

"Thank you for that," I told her, trying to keep a neutral tone.

"Why don't we take it slow and easy for a while? I'll come out and spend the weekends with you if you want. If you need to talk, call me anytime. There's no need to rush, and before you ask, no, I don't have a boyfriend anywhere else." I knew what Julie said made sense and mulled it over for a few moments before responding.

"All right," I said. "You're welcome here anytime. And of course, I want to see you on the weekends."

"You realize I may have to work some weekends, right?"

"Oh yes, I know that all too well. Been there, done that, remember?" Julie chuckled at that.

"I'll never forget," she said. "But I do have to get dressed. I have to meet the U.S. Attorney this afternoon, and I don't think he'd appreciate me showing up like... this," Julie added, holding open the shirt. I smiled at that.

"I don't know. I rather like seeing you dressed that way, especially at my table," I laughed, causing Julie to smile.

"You're so naughty," Julie chided.

"Yes, I am," I joked back. We kissed and hugged each other for a few moments before Julie stood, gathered her clothes from the living room, and headed upstairs. I watched her cute little bare ass sway under my shirt with a smile, then cleared the table and cleaned up the dishes.

Julie came back downstairs a half-hour later, dressed and ready to return to her hotel, so I grabbed my keys, and she followed me to the car. When we got to the hotel, she leaned over and gave me another scorching-hot kiss full of promise.

"What do you want for dinner tonight?" I asked.

"Surprise me," Julie said, smiling. "I have to fly back to Fort Apache tomorrow morning. Think you can stand to have me around one more night?"

"I think I can manage that. I'll just have to tell my other girlfriends I've got a date, though," I quipped.

"Yeah, right," she said, slapping my arm. "I'll call when I'm done, alright?"

"Sounds good. By the way, you might as well have this," I said, handing Julie a key to the house. I also pulled out a card with the security code to the alarm. "This is the code for the security alarm. Once you open the door, you have just under a minute to enter the code."

"Thank you for that," Julie said, taking the card. She gave me one more kiss that held a lot of promise, then exited the car and closed the door. I waited until Julie was in the hotel, then left and drove to the office.

"What, are we working casual today and no one told me?" Jack asked when I walked into the executive office suite. I laughed as I walked into his office. "You sure seem to be in a better mood today. I take it everything is going okay."

"Yes, it is," I replied. "In more ways than one. By the way, have you seen Terry? I need to talk to him."

"I haven't seen him, but I'm sure he's around here somewhere," Jack said.

"I'll call him, then. No big deal."

"How did the arraignment go?"

"Better than I hoped. Samantha and her co-conspirators are now in federal custody and on their way to Washington. Seems they're being investigated by a federal grand jury."

"Interesting," Jack said. "So, are you back for good now?"

"I think I'll be good to go from here on. I do have a date tonight, though."

"A date? You sure do move fast, Mike. Who is she?"

"Her name is Julie Bascomb. We were in the service together. She's retiring in a couple of years or so."

"Well, you enjoy your date, then. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Jack joked. I laughed at that.

"Yeah, right," I said before heading to my office. When I got there, I called Terry.

"Hey, boss, I was just getting ready to come see you."

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted to give you my final report."

"I look forward to that."

"I'll be there in about five minutes," Terry said before ending the call. True to his word, Terry came into my office four minutes later carrying a fairly thick folder, which he handed to me.

"Wow. You have been busy," I told him as I hefted the heavy folder. "I take it you provided a copy of this to the feds and Ms. Hawkins?"

"Yes," Terry said. "That Special Agent Bascomb seemed quite pleased to get it. You already know much of what's in that report. I got a full file on that Williams character, and on Morrison's divorce from Samantha. It wasn't pretty."

"Did you forward a copy to Williams' wife in New York?" I asked.

"Not yet, but I will if you want."

"Please do," I instructed.

"Consider it done," Terry said.

"Anything on the photos?"

"Yeah, I spoke to my audio-video guy. He agrees those appear to be printouts from digital images that have been Photoshopped. Couldn't say much more than that without seeing the original digital files, though."

"That makes sense," I reasoned.

"Anyway, it's all there. Everything I could dig up in just a couple days. Hope it helps."

"Yes, Terry, it does," I said. "Nice work. Thanks. I owe you big time."

"My pleasure, boss," Terry responded with a smile. "Well, I have to get back to it. Let me know if there's anything else you need."

"Will do, Terry," I told him. We shook hands, and I watched as he left the office. I spent the next couple of hours looking through the package Terry put together and wondered if I ever really knew Samantha. I finally closed the folder and tossed it on my desk. It was all academic now, I thought, as it was in the hands of the grand jury.

I caught up with the rest of my work and realized it was lunchtime, so I headed out to grab a sandwich. While I was out, I planned the evening meal I would share with Julie, and I wanted to do something special for her. At first, I considered taking her out to that new steakhouse, but I had a change of heart and decided to grill a steak for her instead. After lunch, I returned to the office and checked in with Jack.

"If you don't mind, Jack, I'd like to head out a bit early. I need to stop at the store on my way home," I said.

"Yeah, sure, Mike," Jack said. "We got everything under control here."

"Thanks, Jack, I appreciate that." With a wave, I left and stopped at the store, where I grabbed a couple of thick steaks, potatoes, and all the fixings. I also grabbed a bottle of wine, then headed home. My phone buzzed as I was preparing the meat, and I saw it was Julie, so I took the call.

"Hey, G-Man," she said when I answered. It had been a while since I heard that, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey yourself," I responded. "How's your day so far?"

"Interesting," Julie said. "I called to see what you had in mind for dinner."

"I'm in the process of preparing a couple steaks. I thought I'd grill us some steaks and a couple baked potatoes with green beans. How does that sound?"

"Meat! Yes," Julie exclaimed. "I'd love a home-grilled steak."

"Your wish is my command," I jokingly said. "So, any news?"

"Yeah. I'll tell you when I see you tonight."

"I look forward to that."

"I just have to stop at the hotel to change, pack up and check out. That is, assuming you still want me to spend the night," Julie whispered.

"Of course," I said.

"Alright, then. I'll see you in a bit." We said our goodbyes and ended the call. I returned to my preparations, a smile on my face as the words of a favorite tune played on the house stereo.