The Gray Man Ch. 12 - Tess

Dear Reader,

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination.

I am back after an extended hiatus - the writer's block has seemed to clear, the fog has seemed to lift - though this story took much longer to compose than previously

Constructive criticism, and feedback is truly appreciated. I would like this to be an interactive journey as much as this medium allows. Please feel free to send suggestions, ideas for future characters etc. I welcome the input.

A special thank you to a reader for submitting the idea of a character. if you'd like a character to inquire about Gray's services send me a description and we can work from there.

Keep Soaring,

Pelican

(¬‿¬)

After his time with Sadie, TJ needed to get back to his focus on the situation with Elliot. Sharpshooter was right, he needed to find a way to put a bit of a squeeze on the situation without having it all blow up in his face.

He pulled out his file folder filled with copious notes on a yellow legal pad. He skimmed through the pages and jotted down the information that he was looking for.

He opened a beer, put steaks, a cast iron skillet with potatoes and onions, and asparagus on the grill for himself and Angela and made his decisions on the next best steps to take to try to push Elliot to make a mistake.

The steaks and asparagus were done at the same time Gray heard Gunnery Sergeant Taggert's MG pull into the spacious garage. He heard her come into the kitchen and turned and paused to let his eyes drink in her beauty.

Standing in her Woodland Pattern MARPAT US Marine Combat Utility Uniform with her Durashock Boots. Her sleeves were rolled and her cover was off. Her short red hair and her light freckles danced in the sunlight streaming through the window.

"What are you looking at, Mister?" she asked with a coy twinkle in her eye.

TJ smiled, "You. Just amazed at how gorgeous you are. Whether it be dress blues, running gear, or in uniform. Makeup - No Makeup, it doesn't matter."

Angi giggled, "Are you trying to get into my pants, Ranger?"

TJ smirked, "Maybe, but after we eat." He handed her a beer. "Steaks are done, fried potatoes and asparagus. I picked up salad stuff and it's in the fridge if you want one. Also, beer is in the fridge."

She walked by and lightly slapped his ass. "Do you ever actually go to work, or are you just going to be my good little house bitch?"

He chuckled, "Depends on how well being a house bitch pays?"

Angela reached into the fridge and pulled out a beer and the colander with the salad as she laughed, "I'll let you fuck me whenever you want. That's the best I can offer."

Gray stepped up behind her as she stood and started kissing down her neck. "You let me do that anyway, my dear."

Angi moaned as she let her ass grind against him, "We need to eat before you start that Ghost."

As they ate Angela told Gray about her day. The news wasn't great. She heard rumors that she and Colonel Williams were being deployed to Camp Panzer Kaserne in Böblingen, Germany near Stuttgart. The scuttlebutt is that Colonel Williams is getting his star and taking over as the G-4.

TJ smiled, "That means you will be getting an extra stripe. Damn proud of you Ang. However, I also know that if they are moving y'all to Kaserne there is something afoot. That's the home of 1st Batt - 10th Group as well. Williams and you support Spec Ops teams. No offense, but you two are too good of a team to be sent to a General Staff for a normal Division."

Angela smiled, "That info is confidential Master Sergeant." The wink told TJ more than he needed to know. He had served for too long in too many places to not understand that Williams and Taggert being promoted and deployed meant that there was real concern at the highest level of government that the war in Ukraine had the potential to spill into NATO areas. He knew that Ranger Recon, Marine Force Recon, Army Special Forces and Navy Seals would be spreading out from Panzer Kaserne into all of Europe to do what they do best.

Gray reached out and took her hand. She looked at him gently, "I know, Ghost - but this is the life we have chosen."

The decisions that TJ had made seemed to fade into the foggy recesses of his mind. All he wanted to do was bend Gunnery Sergeant Taggert over the table and fuck her until she was exhausted. After they finished eating that was exactly what he did. For the first time in weeks they both slept soundly.

The next morning Gray started the attempt to make things a little uncomfortable for Elliot. TJ was going to do what he did best - show up someplace and act like he belonged. His first stop was Dawson Industries - a company that did serious work with a certain Space company in designing satellites for military use.

He hung around just outside the corporate offices of Dawson Industries Headquarters. The corporate webpage had an image of Ellen Johannson, the legal counsel of the company. Gray waited until Ms. Johannson left for lunch in her White Tesla. He followed her to One Bar & Grill where she was scheduled to meet a friend for lunch.

TJ watched as she exited her car and pulled up beside her. He rolled down his window, "Excuse me, Ma'am."

Ms. Johannson glanced his way, put her head down and walked on. TJ put the big Suburban in reverse and backed with her, calling out to her again. Finally, he got her attention by calling out, "Ms. Johannson, you may want to hear me or we can do this officially with a subpoena."

The short, thin blonde stopped in her tracks. She turned to look at Gray, in the large black suburban, his features somewhat hidden by the aviator style sunglasses on his face. "Do I know you?"

TJ shook his head, "Not yet and trust me when I say you don't want to know me."

Ellen Johannson's shoulders stiffened, "Are you threatening me?"

TJ again shook his head, "Consider this some friendly advice. Information that you are providing to Elliot Davidson is being funneled to Russian hands - be very careful what you share. You have been informed, any further information shared will be considered a breach of national security. Enjoy your lunch." With that, Gray rolled up his window and drove away.

Later that afternoon Gray had used Gretchen to get him admission to The Tavern at an exclusive Country Club in Reston, Virginia where he waited for Tom Walker, the Chief Legal Counsel for VetTech - a company that worked to make digital, secure, satellite communication for the Special Operations Community. Again, thanks to lousy operational security on his facebook page TJ knew what Tom looked like, and that he golfed in a league on Tuesday. As he watched Mr. Walker stepped out of his car Gray put cash on the bar to pay his tab and walked towards the parking lot.

As he passed by TJ smiled and said as he walked, "Be careful who your outside counsel is Mr. Walker, rumor has it Top Secret information from your company has been compromised."

Tom Walker stopped and turned, "What did you just say?"

TJ stopped but did not turn around, "I said that you have a leak, and it's outside of your company. I believe the leak is coming from information that you share with an outside source. I also know how the Tier One community is, and if that information is true, there will be some very angry operators who are very gifted at doing very bad things. Enjoy your round."

Gray smirked as he got into his Suburban and pulled into afternoon traffic. He drove home with a smirk on his face. When he pulled into the driveway he saw two cars waiting. He parked the truck and walked into the house where he found Angela, Gretchen, and Mark Underwood. They were laughing, drinking beer, and had the grill going.

"Ghost! How the hell are you?" laughed Sharpshooter. "Nice place your cousin found for you. Hang out here long enough and you'll get soft, brother."

TJ had a puzzled look on his face as Angela walked up to him. "Surprise!"

TJ shook his head, "Surprise?"

Angela nodded with a big grin. "We had talked about introducing Underwood to Gretchen, so I decided what better time than today. Surprise!"

TJ chuckled, "Well, I guess that I don't need to make introductions."

Mark winked at him, "So, how was your day?"

It was the second time in 5 minutes that TJ looked perplexed as Mark laughed. "Rumor has it, you had a couple of interesting meetings today."

Everyone looked at Mark, "Pardon?" TJ asked.

Underwood smiled, "Simple math Mr. Gray. You talked to Gretchen this morning about in house counsel for two of Elliot's clients. You and I talked about turning up the heat on Elliot. The Den Mother announces she's heading across the pond and you my friend will want to have things wrapped up with this sooner than later. So, my guess is today you met with Tom Walker and Ellen Johannson."

Gray shook his head, "Bullshit - Sharpshooter. You are good but you are not that damn good."

Angi burst out laughing. "Okay, okay. You have your location on for me on your Snap - so I knew where you were, and we all put two and two together."

Gray shook his head, "That's better than the conclusion I came up with which is that whatever alphabet group Underwood is working for had a tail on me today that I didn't detect - which honestly scares the shit out of me."

Mark headed out to take the two racks of ribs off of the smoker as he called back over his shoulder. "What scares you Ghost, that I would have you followed or that they were so good you didn't know they were there."

TJ chuckled, "Oh, I know you'd put a tail on me - that wouldn't surprise me at all. What would bother me is that I had a tail I didn't detect."

Angela came over and kissed him on the cheek. "You haven't lost a step, baby. Trust me. You are as good now as you have ever been."

The four enjoyed a fun evening of dinner and laughs. Much to Angela and TJ's delight, Gretchen and Mark hit it off immediately. On Wednesday Gray decided to go into the office just to gauge Elliot's reaction to his encounters yesterday.

Elliot had already demanded that Gretchen call her investigator and have him appear at the office. Gretchen didn't even bother calling Gray, she just waited as Elliot paced and ranted.

Gray finally showed up around 11, the receptionist let Elliot know that Mr. Gray had arrived. The associate's room buzzed with anticipation of the confrontation. Gretchen stepped into the hallway as Elliot physically pushed past her heading to confront TJ.

Elliot was screaming as he came down the hallway. Gray stepped to him nose to nose and cut him off, "Don't ever lay a hand on my cousin again. The next time that happens will be the last time."

Smugly Elliot smirked, "Are you threatening me, Mr. Gray?"

TJ smiled, "I don't make threats, Davidson."

Louis came out of his office, "Gentlemen, let's take this into the conference room. It's not becoming of gentlemen to make a scene like this in front of everyone."

TJ smiled a cold smile as he waved his arm, "After you Davidson."

Elliot spun on Gray with rage the moment Louis closed the door. The senior partner was positive that the confrontation would turn physical. Honestly, he wouldn't have blamed the retired Army Ranger if it had. To his credit, thought Louis, the man didn't flinch as Elliot fought to control his rage.

After Elliot used up his energy ranting about Gray speaking with HIS clients about HIS work Louis quietly reminded him that they were actually the firm's clients and while out of the ordinary it was not unheard of for someone other than the lead attorney to be in contact with clients.

Saban motioned to the chairs around the large table in his office, "Gentlemen, let's all sit down and discuss this like gentlemen. After they sat, Louis then looked at TJ, "While not unheard of it is very unusual. Would you tell me WHY you were in touch with clients that have no bearing on your work with the firm?"

TJ debated for a minute before he spoke, "Well, Mr. Saban, I have reason to believe that Elliot retains the clients he retains, specifically in the defense and intelligence industry for more than legal representation. It turns out that he's from a pretty elite blue blood family in New England. His grandfather was a political appointment to the US Embassy in New Zealand in the 70's the New Zealand government says that one Vladimir Putin was an operative in Wellington and Auckland New Zealand in the mid 70's. There are certain agencies in our government that seem to think that Elliot is using his connections to funnel intelligence to Russia."

Elliot jumped up from his seat, "That's preposterous. That's slanderous!"

TJ smiled, Elliot's overreaction said more than any words that he said.

Louis leaned forward over the table, "That's quite an accusation Mr. Gray. I have known Mr. Davidson for years and I will put my reputation on the line to defend his integrity."

TJ leaned back and looked from Louis to Elliot then back to Louis, "With all due respect, Mr. Davidson came into your life when you were very vulnerable. It could be coincidence, or it could have been a well planned maneuver by a seasoned operative."

Elliot was enraged, "I'll sue you for this."

TJ smiled, "Please do, then the various loopholes you have written into multiple documents will come to light due to discovery. Your family's history will be entered into evidence. It's not personal Elliot, I'm just trying to close a leak and all of this going into the public record will create a darkness around you that no company would consider entering into a contract with you."

Elliot lunged at the still sitting Gray but pulled up short with a harsh rebuke from Louis. With nothing to do with his rage Elliot walked into the hallway, slamming the door behind him. Louis looked at Gray, "That's quite an accusation Mr. Gray. I do hope you have evidence to corroborate them, or Elliot will destroy you in court."

TJ stood, "If I am correct this won't ever make it to court. I won't bring that shame to Gretchen's firm."

TJ met Gretchen for lunch at Extreme Pizza near The Pentagon. As they ate they discussed the confrontation with Elliot, her upcoming date with Mark Underwood, and Angela's approaching deployment. Finally Gretchen looked at her cousin. "I know it's been a while, but I do have someone that seeks your particular service."

Gretchen slid a file across the table to him. Gray's brow furrowed as he opened the folder and saw a headshot. Gretchen chuckled, "She's an actress."

Gray shook his head, "Sure she is, and I'm a member of Congress that is just slumming it."

Gretchen shook her head, "Contrary to what you saw in your career, not everyone is as cynical as you. Actually, she's pretty accomplished. Numerous commercials, a couple of small ongoing parts in series, even a couple of movie credits. In the grand scheme of acting she's better off than most folks."

TJ shrugged, "So, she's an actress. Red Carpets, Hoopla, adoring fans. Why does she need something from me?"

Gretchen reached over and closed the folder, "Teej, I know you are upset about Angela deploying. Stop taking it out on everyone else. It's not something I can fix, and it's not Tess's fault."

TJ cocked his head, "Who is Tess?"

Gretchen's recently manicured finger tapped the folder. "That's Tess. What she needs from you is a night that she can't forget. If you would put your cynicism aside and read you'd see that the last time she had sex was 4 years ago. She was in a relationship with a consultant on one of the shows she was on. He was a Navy Pilot with the 85th Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron and the day after their last night together he was killed in a training exercise when his helicopter crashed off of Coronado.

TJ paused, "He flew SEALS and other Spec Ops folks. I know that squadron. So, what is it she's looking for?"

Gretchen smiled, "To be reminded that there is life beyond grief. She's a cowgirl, likes boots and cowboy hats, and plays the antagonist in most of her roles. Folks can't separate fact from fiction and most folks think she's a bitch in real life too. If you would read she says, 'Most folks think I am a real life Beth Dutton and run away. Those who come close do so for the wrong reasons. I want to have a night to be the bad girl who is reminded that it's okay to not always be strong, with someone that it's safe to lose control with, who shows me that I am going to be okay."

TJ nodded as Gretchen went on, "If you are interested she will be having lunch at Hill Country Barbecue on Saturday before heading to The Next Whisky Bar in The Watergate..

Gray smiled, "Tell her I'll find her at the bar around 8 pm. Tell her to eat well, and to not drink too much."

TJ wandered into the bar just after 8. He moved to the bar and ordered a Woodford Reserve Double Oak - one of his favorite sipping bourbons. Gretchen had been right, TJ had been feeling angry and depressed after learning of Angela's deployment. He also had to admit that he was jealous that he wasn't going back to the field. They were going to a place and doing missions that for years he had been a part of.

Tess was enjoying The Next Whisky Bar. She loved the atmosphere, the drinks, and the people. She was a successful actress, fairly well known for her roles in dramas and one Hallmark Christmas movie she regretted. Throughout the years she had developed a lot of fans and admirers, but she never found anyone who could fill the void in her heart since James. She always wore a blue ribbon in her hair, a reminder of her lost love, who died in the crash five years ago.

Gray caught her eye as he was ordering his bourbon. Tess was sitting at a quiet table sipping a lovely Old Forester 1897 - Bottled in Bond on the rocks. When their eyes met, Tess smiled warmly.

With his drink in hand TJ made his way to Tess's table. She watched as he walked towards her with purpose. He was tall and lean, his hair cut close to his head, and his eyes pale and light seemed to take in everything and everyone at the same time. "Hello Tess," he said as he sat down.

Suddenly the usual outgoing Tess was shy and almost embarrassed. "Hi,," she said. Instinctively she blushed when she looked into his eyes. She had never met the man but she felt like he was looking through her facade directly into her soul. She had not felt that since... well, since James

For his part Gray was impressed. She was a truly beautiful woman. Even more beautiful in person than in the headshot or other pictures he had seen online. Without the stage makeup and the glam shots she was truly just a beautiful woman with a soft smile and pale blue eyes. She was slender, but not skinny with soft, well proportioned curves.

They started a conversation over little things and nothings. Tess found herself beginning to relax, hoping that this was the man she was planning to meet. They talked about movies and travel, but found they had a common passion for hockey. Though there was some tension that he was a die-hard Detroit Red Wings fan, and she was just as tenaciously loyal to the Columbus Blue Jackets. They talked about his time in the Army and she talked about her relationship with James.

She observed that Gray was serious and realistic - his eyes looking at her but also keeping an eye on everyone at the same time. She had never lost her hopeful optimism even after James' death. While Gray had seen the horrors of war, Tess had seen the glamour of Hollywood. They were intrigued by each other's stories and personalities.

They decided to move to a quieter corner of the bar, where they could talk. Gray ordered them both a dram of Pappy Van Winkle - which he insisted she had to try at least once in her life.

As they sat and sipped the golden liquid she commented, "The nose is amazing, and the flavor is as smooth as any bourbon I have ever tasted." She let that just hang for a moment.