Time Sensitive Target

Part 41 - Obstinance

"Okay so I'll check in with you tomorrow evening," Jack gave a false tight-lipped smile, nodding professionally at Jase. Neither man liked the other. Jase was everything Jack wanted to be seen as, and Jack was everything Jase didn't trust. "Jason, I'll see you at the ten thirty meeting tomorrow?" 

"No, I won't be there. I'll meet with Lorres and Charles later in the day," Jase looked at Jack expressionlessly, privately enjoying the subtle tell of chagrin across his face. Charles was the most senior CIA officer situated in San Diego, Jack would have considered himself lucky to loan him a pen. 

"Right, of course," Jack attempted to recover as smoothly as he could, wondering how on earth  brutes like Jason Hill became revered whilst calculated players like himself were always left trailing behind. 

"I need to get some work clothes," Paige squinted in the sunlight as they walked towards the car. 

"Sure, anywhere specific?" Jase pressed the key and opened Paige's door, closing it safely behind her. She hadn't quite been ready to brave a mall or weave in and out of sidewalks in the busy city center, preferring superstores with their grid like format and convenience. 

"No... Walmart, Target... wherever," Paige wound down the window as they sped along, ignoring Jase's preference for air conditioning and privately enjoying the moment his finger reached for the button to switch it off. 

"Ok," Jase adjusted the satnav. 

"You don't like Jack, do you?" Paige gazed out of the window. It was unlike her to make unnecessary conversation, but she was surprised Jase seemed to share her wariness. 

"What makes you think that?" He frowned towards her. 

"I can tell. He really doesn't like you, either. Or Lorres, I think," Paige reflected on her observations of the young ambitious operative. 

"Do you like him?" Jase asked and instantly regretted it. It hadn't dawned on him until this point that Paige would form opinions of the people around her, especially men. As she grew stronger in mind and body each day, with a fleeting sense of dread he realised she might want to go out, socialise and meet men. It was completely out of the question. 

"No. And I'm not really sure why, he's been nothing but helpful," Paige mused. There was something fundamentally untrustworthy about him. 

"Trust your instincts, they'll normally be right," Jase drummed his thumb on the steering wheel as they crawled along the traffic. 

"They've been wrong before..." Paige contemplated aloud. Jase gripped the wheel a little tighter. She liked doing this, he realised. She was too afraid to scream and fight against him, but if the occasion presented itself she would take her little jabs, subtle warnings to remind him she despised him and everything he was. "But I don't think they are in Jack's case. He screams narcissistic misogynist." 

"I don't like him either," Jase offered in solidarity. "I don't trust him, neither should you."

Paige wanted to point out that coming from him, his assessment was rich. She'd trusted Jase once, ending up tied to a chair and injected with a torture drug. She also acknowledged that Jase didn't seem entirely with the agency. He spoke of them warily, warning her not to let her guard down at any time. It was something she pushed to the back of her mind for now, but she wasn't unaware of Jase's cautions. 

Walmart was pleasantly empty, enough to make Paige feel a little more confident as she wandered up and down aisles with Jase never more than two feet away. She'd selected an assortment of office attire, she assumed she needn't wear full formal workwear but it was better to make the effort with smart clothing. 

"I need to use the changing rooms," she grasped the garments in her arms and started for the dressing room before Jase abandoned the cart and leapt ahead of her. 

"Wait," he ordered and paced towards the cubicles, knocking briefly on the doors before pushing them open. 

"Sir- sir! These are the ladies dressing rooms, can I ask what you're doing?" A portly lady in her late fifties wearing a bright blue uniform shuffled over with puffed up shoulders, ready for confrontation. Paige said nothing as she watched Jase try to placate the worker, his mysterious charm having absolutely no effect. Jase gestured towards her, explaining they were together and he was making sure the cubicles were empty. 

"Well I'm sure your wife can check that for herself, it's inappropriate for you to knock on ladies dressing rooms. The cubicles are free if you need one, but your husband needs to go to the men's department to try things on," the woman addressed Paige as though she may have been simple.

"Oh we're not together-" Paige feigned a puzzled look, stifling back laughter as the woman glared back at Jase incredulously. He began to put his hands up to protest his innocence until Paige headed for the first cubicle, stepping between the conflict. "-Not in that way, he's not my husband. He'll wait outside, sorry for the confusion." She was almost sorry to have missed the opportunity to watch security escort him out, and wondered if he'd have gone willingly. Jase glowered at her as she drew the door to a close. 

"Have fun?" Jase raised a subtle brow as Paige re-emerged, clearly irritated. He didn't like situations he couldn't control, and there were very few he couldn't. Paige had started to do her best to challenge him when she could, taking immense satisfaction at watching him seethe quietly. 

"She's right though, it is inappropriate for you to loiter around ladies dressing rooms," Paige stated simply. Jase chewed his tongue for a moment, deciding not to respond. She was enjoying testing his patience far too much, and he had to do something about that. 

Paige led the cart to the furthest reaches of the store, taking advantage of the quiet lull to explore in relative comfort. She enjoyed seeing little cultural differences, comparing prices and finding products she wouldn't be able to get back in the UK. They reached a counter surrounded by locked glass cabinets, various rifles and shotguns proudly displayed. 

"Are these real?" Paige stood agape, moving closer to the displays.

"Yeah they're real, they're cheap but they're real," Jase smirked as he assessed the selection, the clerk eyeing them carefully. 

"What do you shoot?" He tipped his chin to Jase. 

"Glock 19, or Desert Eagle 50," Jase surveyed the $149 shotgun in the case before him. 

"Desert Eagle," he widened his eyes. "You in the Navy?" 

"Yes sir." 

"Thank you for your service," he nodded briefly. "What about you ma'am, what do you shoot?" Paige looked up in surprise, transfixed by the concept of rifles for sale in the same store you could buy children's clothing. 

"Oh, I don't have a gun," Paige had never thought of it before, though she had smuggled a knife from the kitchen under her mattress just in case. She glanced at Jase briefly. 

"You're not having a gun," he answered before she had really considered whether or not she wanted to ask the question. She couldn't legally own one anyway, although Jase could probably find a way around that. Still, it was another thing totally out of the question as far as he was concerned.

"You have one," she declared obstinately. The more she thought about it, stood in front of rows of weapons, the more she was sure she could find comfort in knowing there was one next to her at night. 

"Exactly, I have one, so you don't need one," he dismissed her with a glance at his watch. "Let's get moving." 

"Ah, your husband's a gentleman ma'am. You'll be more than safe," the clerk nodded at Paige knowingly, Jase appearing the ultimate male fantasy- serving veteran, owner of flashy firearms, controller of women. The ball of rage intensified in her stomach, Paige hated to watch others' false perceptions of him. He was everything women desired, and men desired to be. Tomorrow she finally had a break from his constant presence and was counting down the hours to 10am. She could take a lunch break alone. She could walk to the bathroom without having to tell him. She could probably walk outside, maybe even along the beach. She would take a walk on the beach, without Jase, after work. The nervous anticipation made her feel slightly nauseous with fear and excitement. Yes, tomorrow she would walk alone.