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Date Posted: 16:57:53 11/21/04 Sun
Author: moondreamer
Subject: Chapter Twelve
In reply to: moondreamer 's message, "The Ghost in the Machine - PG 13" on 08:45:09 10/07/04 Thu

Jake pulled up in front of Sara’s apartment building and gave the horn a loud honk when he didn’t see her. He laughed at the look on Sara’s face as she flew out her front door, almost spilled her cup of coffee and got into the car.

“Jeez, Jake. How tacky is that?” The door hadn’t even slammed shut before she started bitching at him.

“What?” He laughed again.

“The damn horn thing is what. Is that how you treat a woman?”

“You’re not a woman. You’re my partner.”

He pulled out into traffic, listening to her complaints with only half an ear. The last several weeks had seen a definite change in his relationship with Sara.

Not only had she been fully reinstated after some kind of mix up with the forensics at the Rialto had come to light. But after a few rather weird cases she had accepted him as her partner and they had settled into a steady routine that he found very satisfying. There were times Jake wished he could forget that he was a Fed undercover and just go with the flow of being a New York cop.

Jake had a whole new respect for Sara Pezzini after working with her. The woman pushed herself and everyone around her, hard. She really did have a fixation about Tommy Gallo, seeing his machinations behind most of the crime in the city but he after what he had learned about her friend Maria, her father and now with what had happened with Daniel Woo he could understand it. The fact Gallo was currently out on bond and rubbing it in her face didn’t help matters.

He wasn’t quite so sure about her new relationship with Kenneth Irons, self-made billionaire and high on his list of possible suspects for “V”. Of course, he wasn’t exactly sure what the relationship was. Sara wouldn’t come out and say, but she was spending a lot of time with him and his bodyguard. Jake just hoped she wasn’t sleeping with either of them.

Jake hated to admit it, but it looked bad to his cop’s eyes. One minute she was in his apartment, claiming to only know of Irons and the next minute she was over at Vorshlag Industries and then Irons’ mansion. The small tracer device Jake had planted on her Buell hadn’t let him down.

He could also factor in the way she had argued with him when he told her he was pressing charges against Ian Nottingham for his assault at the Rialto. Jake just didn’t buy her story that Nottingham had thought Jake was one of Gallo’s men and was trying to protect her. His gut told him otherwise.

In the end, Jake had agreed not to follow through. If that’s what it took to keep him on Sara’s good side then so be it. This way he could keep an eye out on both Gallo and Irons through Sara and try to see if either one of them was the mysterious “V”.
Heck, at this point Jake’s money was on Nottingham. Or maybe he just didn’t like the guy. Those eyes made him too uncomfortable. They seemed to see way too much.

“Hey, Jake. The light’s green. Come on, we’re going to be late for lunch.” Sara was snapping her fingers in front of his face. “We don’t want to keep Vic waiting; you’re liable to find something nasty in your desk.”

Jake had to agree with that. After the Bronte/Boucher snake case he, Sara and Vicky Po had been having lunch on a regular basis. He really liked the petite medical examiner but he was afraid Sara was trying to play matchmaker.

“Hey, look at that! An open space.” Jake parked the department sled and got out of the car. “Am I good or what?” He asked Sara as they headed into the restaurant.

“I’ll go for the “or what” part.” She responded as she spotted Vicky Po and walked swiftly to the table where the other woman waited.

“’Bout time you guys showed up.” Vicky was obviously not having a good day. “I’m starving.”

Jake ignored Sara’s attempt to get him to sit next Vicky and slid into the booth after her.

“What’s the matter, Vicky?” He asked while flipping through the plastic sheets of the menu in disgust. “Is there anything good here?”

Both the women ignored him.

“I’ll tell you what the matter is! It’s like there’s been a full moon for the last three weeks. I’m going to have to start working double-shifts if I can’t get on top.” She shot Jake a warning look. “And, no, don’t you touch that.”

Jake held up his hands in innocent protest before dropping them to back to the table. Sara set her Styrofoam cup of coffee down and looked around.

“Gotta hit the facilities. I’ll be right back.” Her satisfaction at finding a way to leave Jake and Vicky alone at the table was evident in her stride.

Jake looked down in discomfort. He knew the guys teased Sara about his supposed crush. And actually, having spent more time with her he could probably have developed one had he not so much personal baggage. But her painfully obvious attempts to pawn him off on whatever female happened to be available was really getting old.

“Hey, Rookie!” It was Vicky’s turn to snap her fingers in front of his face.

Jake looked back up and smiled weakly at Vicky. It wasn’t her fault.

“Don’t worry about it so much, Jake. I’m not taking Sara seriously, and neither should you.” The dark haired woman patted his hand lightly. He tried not to think where last that hand had been.

“You just need to play a little hard to get if you want to catch her attention.”

“Hard to get?” Jake parroted in disbelief. Vicky was going to give him hints on how to attract Sara’s attention? Did everywoman have a frustrated matchmaker hidden deep inside?

“You know, don’t be so available all the time.” She made an exasperated face.

“I tell you what, let’s you and me meet for lunch tomorrow without Sara. Make her think all her efforts have paid off. She’ll be singing another tune in no time.”

“Uh, sure, Vicky.” Jake agreed as Sara made her way back to the table. If nothing else, it would give him a chance to see if he could find out more about Sara from one of her few friends. “That’s be great.”

“What would be great?” Sara asked with a knowing smile as she sat back down.

Before Jake could answer her he was interrupted by the ringing of his cell.

“McCartey.”

He listened for a few minutes and then flipped the cover down and looked at the two women who groaned in unison.

“We gotta roll, Pez. Sorry, Vic.”

Vicky just waved them off with one hand. “No problem. But I have to eat something before I stick my hands in another stomach.”

“Yeah, right.”

Sara was still laughing at the green tinge on Jake’s face as they left the restaurant and drove off.

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