Timeo Danaos et Dona Ferentes

"Yes, she said it made her upset and she seemed to understand and felt sympathy for me. She did try to comfort me. She's very affectionate and very loving; also incredibly beautiful, and more genuine and perfect than anyone I've ever known."

Leah smiled again, in a manner Jack felt was maternal and approving. "Perfect? Oh my, you are smitten!" She said, smiling as Jack blushed, once again. "How does Veronica feel about you? You mentioned that you love her, does she love you, too?"

"Yes. She said she loved me."

"Do you believe her?"

Jack's eyes flashed, but Leah was uncertain if it was Jack's never-far-from-the-surface anger at the question, or his self-loathing and doubt that she'd long suspected was the source for much of his sensitivity to personal insults from some of his more obnoxious former teammates, and which had led him into violent, sometimes terribly violent, fights with these same former teammates.

"Yes." He said, but he was less confident than earlier.

"Jack, from what you've said, I believe that you and Veronica very likely are in love with each other, and the speed with which you've fallen in love has, I think, a lot to do with the early childhood traumas you each had, and how difficult it's been for both of you to find anyone else who has had similar experiences. I mean, you both came from very chaotic, very dangerous environments where as children, you learned to adapt by making quick decisions and those decisions likely carried with them the threat of great danger if you were wrong. At a much earlier age than most people have had to do, you both learned to make tough judgments and stick with them. Given that shared kind of unique background, it's rational to believe you're both in love, even in such a short space of time as a week. I suspect, too, that her love and affection meet the need that your mother's death left you with, and I suspect, albeit without having actually met Veronica, that you offer the protection and loyalty that she likely lacked in her early life."

Dr. Mikulski scribbled furiously for a few minutes before looking up and continuing. "Have you had sex yet?"

Jack was a bit surprised she asked him this, and his face visibly flushed red along his cheeks and throat. She smiled at him encouragingly, and given the still maternal demeanor she struck, Jack suppressed his discomfort, cleared his throat, and answered her.

"Yes. Quite a bit, actually."

"Good for you!" She said, smiling again. "Again, given both of your backgrounds, it's understandable that you'd progress so quickly to intimacy; it's a normal, healthy human need and often people from traumatic backgrounds are particularly inclined to seek not only pleasure, but also a physical connection and intimacy from sex, in a way that people who've not experienced such things may be less inclined to pursue. I see that in the men and women who have been in life or death combat situations, and I'm not surprised to see this same phenomenon arise as intrinsic component, already, to your and Veronica's relationship. Are you using protection?"

Jack swallowed once and looked away from Dr. Mikulski's eyes before answering, confirming to her before he even spoke, that he would lie. "Yes."

She nodded sagely as she considered his lie. "Think carefully about the consequences, not just diseases, but also unplanned pregnancies, if you two decide to not practice safe sex. I would caution you to take your time before you make any solid commitments that might feel like natural follow-up to sharing yourselves so intimately; I strongly recommend you wait before you get married or anything like that. Make sure to take the time that you both need to feel secure that your decisions were the right ones, and remember, it's okay to realize you might have moved too fast. Don't be too impulsive, but also don't be afraid to fall, or feel bad about falling in love, Jack."

She wrote a few more things, then closed her portfolio and smiled at him once more. "Okay, that's enough about your relationship. I can tell it's had a positive effect on you and your anger. You're visibly more calm and composed than the last few times we spoke, and you have a reason now to continue this progress. Don't waste it. And if you feel yourself in crisis, please call that number I gave you; here, I'll give it to you again. This is the veterans' group I told you about. Please consider joining them. You don't have to talk until you're ready. You can just listen, until then." She said, and handed Jack another of the small, home-made looking business cards for the Veterans' Action Network, the local group that held regular and as-needed, impromptu meetings, both group and individual, for combat veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"Okay." Jack said, and looked at the card once before placing it in the breast pocket of his suit jacket. "Do you need to talk to me again, in a month or two?"

"No, at least, not outside of the normal pre-deployment process. I think you're on the right track, and my report will reflect that. Keep up the good work, Jack!"

Jack smiled and was taken aback; it was yet another sign for him that Veronica was not merely his girlfriend or she with whom he enjoyed regular sex. She was a blessing to him, and her impact on his life was deeper and more profoundly positive than so much of what he could consciously remember. He was surprised at how emotional this realization made him feel, and while he suppressed the sentimentality that had threatened to intrude on his consciousness, he also acknowledged the deep humility he felt. While he had agreed to give Veronica refuge in his condo and provide her with clothes and essentials, she had given him so much more. Jack felt incredibly loved and fortunate to be with and loved by Veronica. In that moment, he vowed to make sure she knew how much he cherished and valued her, how much he loved her, as soon as he returned home.

As Jack and Leah stood and left Gill's private office, they found that Gill was no longer in the larger Horizon office. Jack looked outside and saw that Gill's Bronco was also gone.

"Maybe he needed to run an errand?" Leah offered, shrugging her shoulders before she put on her overcoat and shook Jack's hand as she prepared to leave.

XXIX

Tuesday, 1027

Jack felt the vibration from his iPhone ringing in his pocket and took it out, saw the number and the name of the contact across his screen and smiled as he answered.

"Hey sweetheart, I see you found my surprise."

"Jack, thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, Ronnie. Let me know if you have any trouble with it. Did you find the Note I made for you in the phone's 'Notes' app, with instructions for your login on the computer?"

"No, but I'll check it when we're finished. Thank you! I'm so anxious to get online again and see what's happening in the world. How's work?"

"Better than I thought. I should be home today around four or five o'clock."

Veronica was silent for a moment, Jack wasn't sure but suspected she was smiling and thinking about the morning. "I love you, Jack."

Jack closed his eyes and reveled in the happiness he felt as she confirmed once again her love for him. He knew he'd never get tired of hearing her say that, nor in the clean, good feeling he knew when she said it. "I love you too, Ronnie. I mean that, sweetheart. You are the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time. Always know that, Ronnie."

Veronica was silent for a few moments before she responded. "Jack, that's so nice of you to say. Thank you!" Her voice was happy, but he thought he could detect a hint of emotion as she finished speaking.

"I'm glad you called, Ronnie. I miss you..."

"I miss you too, baby... See you tonight!" She said seductively as she ended the call.

Jack smiled and put away his phone, then heard Gill's office, landline phone ring. He ignored it, letting it ring eight times before Gill's voice mail took over the call. Jack smiled, quietly telling Gill to go fuck himself as he finished up the last of his reports and prepared to leave. Gill's phone began to ring again. This time Jack felt intrigued, and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Jack? Jack!" He heard Gill shouting into the phone. "You've got to help me!" Gill wailed, crying.


"Gill, what the fuck? Where are you calling from?" Jack asked, but felt confident he knew the answer. He glanced at the caller ID box on the phone and felt his excitement ignite and explode, burning hotly. His plan was coming together perfectly and it made his cock instantly tumescent and hard.

"I'm in jail!" Gill wailed again. "Some fucking bitch-cop pulled me over for a busted tail light, and then she arrested me! Said I was abusive and threatened her, and then she planted a bag of drugs in my car!" He whined.

"Gill, what do you want me to do?" Jack asked, keeping his voice calm but he wanted so badly to tell him off, to admit that he was the one who set Gill up.

"You gotta help me! Do something!! I need help, I'm innocent, I swear!!" He sobbed, blubbered and whined.

"Okay, sit tight, Gill, I'll call Horizon and ask them to get you a lawyer and see what we can do. Where are you?" Jack asked, fishing out a pencil from Gill's desk drawer, but refusing to sit in his toxically-farty chair as he took down the location of the jail.

"Thank you, Jack, I knew you'd help!" Gill blubbered as he hung up.

Jack set the phone down on Gill's desk and flipped through the old man's rolodex, finding the card he needed and dialed the number.

"Horizon Solutions, may I help you?" Jack heard the receptionist say crisply in her upperclass, "Received Pronunciation," British accent.

"Hello, Vida," Jack said, recognizing the voice of the Indian-British receptionist who worked at Horizon's US headquarters. "this is Jack Northcutt, I need to speak with Mr. Cudgeons, urgently."

The receptionist paused for a moment before answering. "Certainly. Please hold, Jack." She said, placing him on hold for five minutes before the baritone, working-class, Cockney accented voice of Richard Cudgeons, managing partner for Horizon Solution's US subsidiary, boomed forth from the phone.

"Hello, Jack my boy, what can I do for you?" He asked, pronouncing 'hello' as 'a'llo'. His greeting was polite but as was his habit, he got straight to the point.

"Sir, I'm calling because Gill Leatherwood was just arrested, and is in jail."

"Fucking hell, son! Just what, may I ask, did Gilbert do?" Richard asked, referring to Gill by his legal name.

"Sir, I don't know much, other than a police officer pulled him over him as part of a traffic stop of some kind, arrested him for threatening her, possibly assaulting her, then apparently she found drugs of some kind and quantity in his vehicle and now he's asking for a lawyer. For what it's worth, he was acting strange today, he even fired me before Dr. Mikulski came by."

"God damn that man, he can't fire you; you make too much fucking money for us! What's he fucking thinking?! We should have binned him two years ago. Well, we're not sending him a lawyer, unless as a way to let him know that he's the one who's fucking fired. Where is he at?"

Jack relayed the address and phone number for the police station where Gill was cooling his heels.

"Fucking hell, son... Do me a favor, tell me you have the keys to lock up the office."


"No sir, only Gill does."

"Of course he FUCKING does!" Cudgeons growled. "Fine. You wait there, I'll have a man there within an hour or two to lock up, then you go home and work from there until we get this mess sorted out, yeah?"

"I understand, sir." Jack confirmed.

"Good lad." Cudgeons said, slamming down the phone.

Jack returned to his desk and sat back in his chair, putting his feet up on the desk's surface, interlacing his fingers behind his head and smiling wide, enjoying the way the dominoes had all fallen perfectly within pattern (so far). His erection throbbed in his pants, and he wished he could feel Veronica's lips on his cock again.

"God damn I love it when a plan comes together!" He told himself and laughed evilly at the vengeance he'd loosed on Gill.