They hadn’t said a word since they had left the training area. Jan sat at the table across from Ward waiting on her order. It was a waiting game now to see who was going to talk first, and she didn’t have time for it.
“So, were you wondering just how good my hands were as well?” and she smiled. It was a flash of something that crossed his face and the sudden stillness of a hunter that had been discovered that let her know that his thoughts had not been about her training. They had been purely about other things.
"The water pipes make great speakers," she continued. Slowly it dawned on him and he laughed.
“I should have known,” he picked up his coffee. "I'll keep that in mind for the next time though."
“I take it that this was the first time you included a girl in your little group,” it wasn't a question. Picking up her cup she took a small sip of the hot liquid as she looked at him over the rim.
“Not so,” and he smiled back mischievously. He waited while she put her cup back down and then continued, “My first handler was a woman and she trained with us a few times out here. Obviously she didn't want to let that little secret slip.” It had been a long time since he had been able to talk about Melissa without being overwhelmed with sadness. They had never been anything more than friends, best friends. She had always been there for him. More to the point they had always been on the same track when they were working together. He hadn’t had that for a while. His new handler, Gregg, had been a waste of time and as soon as Ward could he had requested someone new. Not something that was normally done, but Ward had proven himself enough of an asset that they had done it. Normally once assigned a handler there had to be something of a catastrophe for a change to occur. Even though he knew it would happen sometime, Ward wasn't going to wait for that to happen.
"She meant a lot to you," Jan's tone was soft and gentle.
"It was a senseless car crash on her way in one day that killed her," staring off into space for a moment he continued to talk almost as if it was yesterday, "I tried to make sense of it, but," and he stopped. Jan had placed her hand over his. It was more than just a touch. They both felt the connection even though they hadn't opened their minds. The warmth spread up from their fingers and made a mental connection that surprised them both.
"I'm sorry," didn't seem to cover it, "you seem to have had to deal with loss way too much lately," she was picking up on the man he had walked in with months ago when they had first made eye contact. She knew both men had experienced a great loss but could feel the depth of it now. He looked up and into her eyes and with an intensity she had never experienced, their eyes locked. It was just a few minutes until the waitress came over with their food and the spell was broken.
"So, tell me how a desert dweller comes to love water," the spell was broken as they pulled their hands apart to eat. For the next few minutes they both ate and talked not sure of what had just been shared. It was almost as if they had been reading each other's minds; yet it had been a far more intense experience and definitely nothing either one of them had ever experienced with someone else. The conversation meandered from her love of water because of a trip to the ocean when she was very young, to his love of climbing and what's now called base jumping as the only thing that had made him feel free. It wasn't until her phone beeped that they were brought back to reality.
"Damn," she looked at the message on her phone.
"Being called in for an assignment?" He wanted her to say no, but was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. As casually as he could he scooped up a bite of the omelet he had order.
"No, more like being caught playing hooky from one," at that information the fork stopped midway to Ward's mouth. "Before you say anything more, I fixed it the same way you made sure I would be included in this training."
"Your cover?" He wanted to be mad, angry. She had jeopardized a mission and maybe a bunch of people's safety to be with him. Yes, he wanted to be angry but what he really felt was flattered.
"Still good. The bodyguard assigned to me for my special trip to the States won't be waking up for a couple more hours and when he does he won't be telling his boss about it," she took this moment to put a bite of food in her mouth. "Raul will wake up in a seedy hotel, an awful headache, and more than enough proof happily provided by a well paid lady to show how good of a time he had."
"Really," Ward almost laughed. She had taken a chance, but had set it up brilliantly. Problem was it had still been a dangerous move.
"Assignment's heating up, I needed a break, and you ship out on diplomatic duty in a week," placing the fork back on her plate she crossed her arms on the table in front of her and stared at him.
Ward smiled. Jan had managed to surprise him once again. Instead of answering her unspoken challenge right away he also crossed his arms on the table and leaned in just a bit. They had both just proven they could and would bend the rules for the right reasons; he wondered just how far she would go.
"How about you send a message back to Rob that you already have a ride," the smile grew wider and his eyes sparkled, "I'll drive you back and we can spend that time figuring out how many more rules we want to break."
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