Chapter 72: A Cold Delivery

Jill was utterly silent while looking at Rachel. There was so much she wanted to ask. About Chris and Jessica of course but she knew she wouldn’t get any answer as she was certain the blonde woman didn’t know anything about them. That left Rick as a topic to talk about. But where to start?

Rachel was the first to break the silence. “You were the only reason he smiled, you know?”

It surprised Jill. Rachel’s sudden change in her tone for something softer and less shameless and excited, had not been what she would have expected from the woman.

“What do you mean?”

“Every time he read an e-mail from you, he smiled. No one else could do that. Not even me. At least at first.”

Rachel got on her feet, checked the now broken zipper of her suit to make sure she wouldn’t find herself naked and hindered by it falling down her body at an unfortunate time. Afterwards she began looking around. After noticing it was a medical station, she decided to rummage through everything.

Feeling like they had broken the ice properly, she switched topics.

“So Claire?”

Jill took a moment to answer. She didn’t know much about the woman in front of her but Rick trusted her and had displayed a great amount of care for her. His sudden mad rush to save her life when they heard her scream, the immediate medical attention, the dressing her back up. Most of all he wouldn’t have left Jill alive with her if he hadn’t. That was why she decided to share.

“You heard about Harvardville?"

Rachel found a clean cloth and a few unopened compressed inside a shelf. “Hard to not to.”

“Well, she was there and they had sex. When morning came, she was nowhere to be seen and had left a note.”

Closing the drawer she was rummaging through with a lot of strength, Rachel’s jaw clenched. “I hate that bitch. I don’t know her, never met her and yet I just want to punch her face.”

Jill didn’t say about it but inwardly she agreed. While she didn’t hate Claire, she sure wanted to give her a piece of her mind and preferably with her fist. Rachel moved to another shelf and went through its content. It reminded Jill of Rick.

“Is it black ops standard to… search and hoard for everything?”

Rachel smirked and pocketed an anti-septic spray. “It’s not. It’s just Rick and I. I had it bad but never as bad as he did. It got worse and I blame him for it. To be fair,” she walked back to the table with a lubricant bottle in hand. “It saved our lives plenty of times.”

Drawing the gun Rick gave her, she disassembled it. Taking the clean cloth, she dipped it into the lubricant and started to clean the inside of the barrel of any impurities in it.

“So… Did Rick change his mind about relationships? Are the two of you an item?” The non-chalance she spoke with about the subject didn’t surprise Jill as much as she thought it would.

“What makes you think—”

Rachel interrupted her. “Because that’s how he copes.” The barrel cleaned, she put it down and picked another part. “Alcohol does nothing for him and he can’t vent on a punching bag because of his enhanced strength. Sex is the only thing that makes him forget and feel better.”

Jill frowned. “You weren’t joking when you said you were ex-lovers.”

Rick’s sex life wasn’t any of her business. Aside from the fact they had slept together twice back to back. Yet he was still her little brother figure and she worried. Claire’s actions had a devastating effect on him and she knew that a series of one night stands wouldn’t do any good for his psych or emotional side. She had pegged Rachel as flirty and frivolous already, partly from her attitude, partly from her words and partly from the kiss she had given Rick earlier.

Rachel looked up from her gun with a teasing smile on her lips. “No. Nothing serious though. He still loved the bitch and I don’t do deep relationships. So we had an agreement we were both very happy about. We do love each other but not romantically if that’s what you’re worrying about.”

“I’m not. Rick and I—” Jill was now scowling.

The blonde woman snorted. “Please. I know my partner like the back of my hand. At his lowest moments? He’s always searching for comfort from the emotionally closest person to him. From what I know, it’s you and me. I wasn’t available which left you.”

Jill wanted to protest but couldn’t. That was how Rick operated. She had considered this one of the reasons he had gone along when she was drunk instead of doing the right thing and declining her aggressive advances.

‘Claire broke his heart and he went straight for me. To feel comforted, cared and loved.’

The thought that he had no one else to turn to saddened her a bit. On the other hand she felt very pleased by the fact he chose her in his moment of need.

“We’re not… an item,” Jill finally said. It didn’t deny Rachel’s accusation but it didn’t confirm it either. She and Rick weren’t dating but they could very well be fucking, just like he and Rachel. Both women knew, however, that while not outright saying it, Jill’s hesitant tone revealed the truth of the relationship.

“I can use him then?” Rachel was done cleaning her gun and was now checking how well it worked.

Jill frowned at the vocabulary the blonde used. “Rick is not—”

The sound of the hammer clicking told Rachel everything was right and she put in a mag. “Don’t mind it. He uses me too. I know it sounds bad said like this but… he’s my partner for a reason, there is no word to properly describe our relationship and we do go to the other when we want or need it and the other is more than happy to provide.”

It left Jill speechless. Could she really take offence on Rick’s behalf when both he and Rachel had their own way to communicate and agreed on the relationship they had? The answer was: no and she knew it. It didn’t mean however that she had to like it.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.” Rachel holstered her gun. “I’m curious about how the two of you happened though. Rick has always been very private and the very few times he spoke of you it sounded like… you were family.”

“Not your business.” Anywhere but here was where Jill wanted to be. Or rather be with anyone but Rachel. The blonde gave her a knowing smile. She opened her mouth but Jill pre-empted her. “I’m surprised you’re best friends when you’re so noisy.”

Rachel gave her an even look. It was as if she had been wearing a mask and it had fallen to reveal her true self. “We’re both survivors. From the very first day we met we understood each other at a very deep level. That’s why.”

Jill had an inkling. Rick didn’t give his trust easily and rarely connected with people. That he left her, his big sister figure and only family to speak of, with Rachel without a second thought, despite being paranoid, said a lot about the bond they shared. He trusted Rachel with her just as he trusted her with Rachel.

“Since you know him so well, you can tell me if his current behavior is normal?”

The F.B.C. agent hopped back on the table to sit. “You mean dead cold? No non-sense and objective focused?” Jill gave her a nod and Rachel thought about messing with her for a bit but changed her mind. She didn’t want Rick to glare at her for it. “Yes. I’m sure you’re aware he’s not good at feelings, not really a surprise as to why. ‘A time and a place’ is practically his motto. That and ‘never waste resources’, something which I fully agree with but that’s beside the point. He compartmentalizes heavily and that’s mainly why he and I are still alive today. Where anyone else lets their emotions run wild on the field, even for a tiny bit, he doesn’t and that’s why he obtains the best results.”

She took a big breath to calm herself because what she was about to say enraged her more than anything. “He’s not faking being nice or sarcastic or loyal or anything you see while off the job. Rick is both and adapts the side he shows for the situation at hand. Something that the bitch doesn’t seem to understand.” The last part was said with barely contained venom.

“On that we agree. Claire is, at the core, a good person though. She always believes in the best in people. She runs on her emotions and I suppose Rick’s… attitude on the field is something she can’t accept because it goes against everything she is.”

“Yeah? She broke my best friend’s heart. Twice apparently so she’s certainly on my naughty list.” Rachel displayed clearly she wouldn’t relent on this matter.

There were a few things Jill wanted to say to defend Claire but she couldn’t. Not after the note she had left Rick. She didn’t even want to, it was just on principle.

The conversation got short when they heard a shotgun roar from afar. Immediately, Rachel was on her feet, gun in hand and aimed. Jill was much in the same state. Both were aiming at the destroyed window. When the former began to walk forward, determined to check on her ex-partner, descending feet appeared on the stairs. Both ladies had their fingers on the trigger, ready to fire when Rick’s face became visible. He was carrying someone on his shoulder while holding his shotgun with one hand.

When he reached them he dropped the body over the window’s edge, right between Rachel and Jill.

“Time to see who’s that Veltro fucker.”

Rachel was already crouching and removed the black gas mask from the unconscious terrorist. The long bright red hair clued her in before she could even see the face.

“That’s Raymond.”