Jake had spent the whole night reading “Basic mechanics and Metal Structuring” and could not remember a thing. Too many things were running through his head; the shop, this “project”, his brother and sister, Jo. It really was too much to lay on one man, all at the same time.
Forgoing a shower and a shave, he brushed his teeth, washed his face and left the house at dawn. He drove straight to the store, still having not figured out what excuse he’d have to hand the entire store over to Chip, a teenager, for six whole weeks – maybe more. He had to trust him, and he would check the stocks and ledger books at night.
He still needed coffee, and he knew the only place he could get some good and satisfying coffee would be at the Coffee Grounds. Parking the truck and literally making a run across the small street, he wondered if Jo had gotten her daily dose yet – maybe he could buy her coffee. He liked her, no doubt about it, even if she was crazy.
He walked in and noticed her crazy mane of hair instantly, only this time she had attempted to tame it into a bun; which looked a lot like bird’s nest – a big bird’s nest, with escaped tendrils around her neck. It was sexy. Scoffing at it, he walked past her to the counter and ordered his usual drink. When he turned around, he saw that today she was wearing the most ridiculous outfit ever. A huge men’s shirt, folded at the sleeves over a pair of loose men’s jeans, also folded. Huge, chunky wedge heels supported her feet, with neon green nail-polish. Her signature over-sized bangles rested on her wrists, and she had neon-green eye shadow.
Seized by the worry that she was actually wearing some guy’s clothes, “Do you ever dress like a normal, sane human being?”
“What? Oh, good morning, handsome! I just felt like wearing something super comfy today. That’s all. Plus, I look cute, I know it!” she chirped. Was she ever in a bad mood? The few customers in the cafe were already stunned to see that they actually knew each other and spoke to each other.
“Sing to me, Jake-meister! ‘My eyes adored you, though I never laid a hand on you, my eyes adored you’,” she sang, off-key - as expected. She made the people in the shop smile, she made him smile. Trying for a stern look and failing, he moved a chair directly opposite her and sat at her table.
“I dare you to do that thing you do, with me watching you. You want to play, let’s play, crazy lady,” Jake said, quietly. So quietly he was sure no one else in the shop heard him.
“What are you talking about? You’re as nuts as I am. I have no idea about what you’re talking about,” she replied, looking every bit as confused as he knew she was. He was going to indulge himself this time. He had the perfect seat – front and centre. He was going to watch her do it, and he was going to make her aware of herself, perhaps even shame her, just for the fun of it. If only he could make her as nervous around him as he was around her.
Tim, another high-school kid who worked with Chip, brought her the staple latte. Extra foam this time. It was perfect. She thanked Tim, beamed at him and he thought he might go mad waiting for her to get to it. The stir-lick-lick made his day - everyday.
She sighed and picked up the spoon. He was staring, he knew he should not stare, but watching her from the corner of his eyes was self-abuse, so he went ahead and indulged himself, just this one time. She dipped the spoon in, mumbled something about the foam and stirred. She lifted it, and licked the first side and accidentally looked his way.
The look on his face was enough. He seared her with a look so lustful she would be stunned and fall into a self-conscious state. He knew it. The second lick was tentative, even shy. He knew he had accomplished his mission. She smiled, and stifled a laugh before plunging the spoon back in, looking him straight in the eye, daring him to watch. She did the whole thing all over again, and there was no innocent look in her eyes. Now that she had figured it all out, she was going to exact vengeance.
Fixated, he stopped breathing. How could spoon licking be seductive? He was still unable to move, she smiled and laughed heartily, picked up her mug and gulped the entire latte down. She placed her mug down and stood.
“Let’s go, big boy. You and me, my place,” she said flirtatiously. Still stunned and awed, he moved to stand like a zombie. All eyes in the cafe were fixed, conversations came to halt, Tim was frozen with a tray in his hand, looking almost statuesque.
She moved, in an instant, grabbed him by the shirt collar, a “Whoa” escaped from the small crowd in the cafe and whispered in his ear, almost inaudibly, “We have work to do. Snap out of it!”
“Huh? Oh!” Jake mumbled, extremely embarrassed and angry with himself for losing the battle – which he had initiated. They both moved towards the shop door and Tim was literally cheering Jake on.
“We’ll take my car, if you don’t mind,” Jake said, still too embarrassed to look her in the eye.
“Fuck no! We won’t. We’re taking my baby. You can leave your manly-man truck right here, thank you,” she looked at him, flexing her muscles. She did look adorable in men’s clothes.
“Whatever, but drive slowly, and stop cussing. Stop being a potty-mouth,” Jake griped.
“Yessir! By the way, you look tired. Studying much?” she laughed.
“Just get in the car and drive, will ya?” he replied, still sulking. He knew he was sulking, but really could not help himself.
They drove back to the Coroner’s office, with her mind-scrambling techno music blasting. They did not even attempt to make conversation. He stole a glance at her and saw she was smiling, her delicate fingers tapping on the steering wheel. He knew the whole debacle at the coffee shop was funny to her, and was secretly happy that he had made her laugh – though anything would make her laugh.
As she deftly parked the oversized vehicle and literally bounced out, he saw the metal shutters rising again, now knowing what was inside, he was not all that impressed. As they walked in, she stopped at the security panel and checked the logs. No intruders so far, but now he knew that she had known that he followed her the first time - nothing he could do about that.
She went into the kitchen and called for Hootch, while Jake went straight to the work shop to look around. He liked it, there was every tool imaginable, and he could not recall her ever coming into his shop to buy them. There were pigeon holes full of nuts and bolts, screws, nails, wall plugs and it was literally a “manly” man’s dream come true. On the workshop table, which was big enough to seat 6 people for dinner, there was a rough sketch of the “weapons delivery whatever”, obviously drawn by Jo. He saw her initials at the bottom of it, and knew she had conjured it up last night after he and James left.
Studying the drawing, he did not hear her come to stand at the door. He did not notice her watching him. He was very deep in thought, figuring out how he would draw a three dimensional schematic, and he would need to know what kind of metal he would be using. He could not be possibly be working with lead – he knew that would not be the ideal metal to deliver a nuclear weapon which probably had its own casing.
“You’ll be using an alloy, mostly. A molybdenum alloy, the kind they use in aircrafts. It’s got good heat and corrosion resistance, and weld-ability, if that’s even a word. I can’t be sure. Heeee. You like my drawing? You’re going to need to build based on that, and you’re own schematics, of course,” she explained.
“Yea, because I know how to deal with these things. I still think you’ve got the wrong guy for the job, but I’m willing to give it a try. When do the parts get in? I’m going to have to learn and practise a little bit.”
“Falloon’s bringing in the stuff, in a big truck he claims looks ‘inconspicuous’. People’ll think it’s his furniture. Hah. Expect to start building in ten days or so. Before that, you’re going to have to come up with the proper schematics and dimensions, with a clay model preferably. Base your drawings on a low pay-load, stealth aircraft. Like the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber or the wonderful Indian-Russian Sukhoi Pak Fa. The Russians know their shit, and I’d trust their Cold War technology over any other country’s paltry efforts at being a super power. Gotta love ‘em Russkies, their shit is used all over the world. As for the mount, Fallon and I will come up with a schematic. I’d explain what everything means, but it would take the fun out of things, don’t you think?”
As he left the house with her sketch in hand, trying to remember everything he had just heard, he called himself ten kinds of fool for getting himself into something he knew nothing about. His first day on the job and he was lost.
Missed a chapter or two? Read them here:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
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Gotta love em Russkies...
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