THR33 DIFFERENT WOMEN. Part 21.

He'd known her as Marie Gagne, a civilian office manager in charge of postings and assignments. He'd discovered none of that was true. This woman, sitting across from him, looked nothing like her. Yet it was the same person. A prosthetic for the nose, some fake teeth, no makeup and a severe hairstyle, had changed her beyond measure. She was actually not bad looking. No model or film star, but above average. The smile was the biggest change, though he knew she was using it to appease him. Making herself seem less threatening. There were at least a dozen possibilities as to who she really had been working for. Some branch of the French intelligence services, was by far the most likely. Asking her wouldn't get him a straight answer or one he'd believe. Jay didn't like subterfuge or deviousness. Hiding behind lies and misrepresentations wasn't for him.

Given their history and the current circumstances, they weren't going to sit there reminiscing about old times. She flattered him first of course. He was the ideal candidate for the job she had in mind. Which translated into, he was the best available. Jay knew he wasn't ideal for anyone or anything. Even Sophie and Liz wouldn't have argued that point. What it boiled down to was some fabulously wealthy rich kid needed a minder. He wasn't actually listening to her pitch, having already decided to reject it. Marie, or whoever she was, knew he couldn't be bought. She was wise enough not to risk pressurizing or threatening. In fact she knew his response to any threat to those he cared for, would be to confront it immediately. Which was one more reason why he was perfect for this position. Nursemaid to a kid who had more money than God. The five minutes were up, and she knew she'd failed. That didn't prevent her from hoping for a more positive response.

"So what do you think? A six figure salary for doing some protective work. You'll be free to spend time with your friends here. The princess spends quite a bit of time in the States and UK. Shit we'll fly Sophie, Jacob and Liz out to be with you at our expense."
Full credit to her, she didn't wilt under his disdainful demeanor.
"Thanks, but no thanks. You've had your five minutes. I'm gone."
"At least take these with you. Please." She pushed over a DVD and a memory stick, in a clear plastic wallet.
The please had sounded sincere, but so had her civilian worker facade. He picked them up and left without another word. Dumping the wallet in the first trash receptacle he passed. There was no way he was having anything to do with her. Not after the level of deception she'd used.

"Who was that you were talking to?" Sophie casually inquired, staring at the woman as she retrieved her presentation from the garbage.
He wasn't going to lie. Not when a quick truth would conceal far more than it revealed.
"Someone I was forced to work with when I was in the Legion. Don't let appearances deceive you, she's not a nice lady. Thought I'd forgive and forget. I told her I'd forgive, but never forget."
She wanted to ask more. To dig deeper. There was obviously bad blood between the two of them, but Sophie could see the expression on the woman's face. Not desolation exactly, but damn close.
"I'm just going to take a leak, will you look after Jacob for me?"
"Of course. You know you don't need to ask."

The relief he felt as they left Marie behind, could not be quantified. There was a long explanation required as to what the hell she was and a lot of questions proceeding from their time together. He'd already drawn a line under that. Closure was overrated, when you could deal with it immediately and move on. Life was full of mysteries, most of which weren't worth the time and labor required to solve them. Why couldn't people be straight forward and up front, instead of hiding their true intent, their true selves? Why was he such a hypocrite, also wafted through his mind. He'd done the same things. It was different though.

They were about to go looking for her when Sophie finally returned, full of apologies. A woman had spilled her meal on her dress, she'd been helping her clean it off before it stained. It was twilight as they set off. Jay with a long look over his shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed. That awful woman had been the source of his paranoia. Who knew what she could have been up to? Or what resources she could call on. They'd been tracked around America for Christ's sake. He was still fuming internally when he was aboard the flight home. Distracting himself by keeping Jacob amused. Flying was still a novelty for the youngster. He'd be an old hand by the time they landed. Imagine the nerve of those bastards, thinking he could be manipulated.

Sophie spent her time wallowing in the guilt. Taking swift peeps at her carry on luggage. She'd seen that look on the womans face before. In the mirror. At a complete loss as to what to do next, now that every avenue was blocked off. Her son slept through the drive from the airport. Jay putting him to bed as soon as they got home. She could tell he was still in a mood. Not with her of course. Call me Marie, she'd said when they spoke. Having tracked her down, Sophie wanted to find out as much as she could. Learning anything about Jay's time in the Legion would have been unusual and enlightening. That was a different world. One Jay didn't want crossing over into his domestic life. Oddly Jacob heard more about his time as an enlisted man. Life lessons in the form of stories from that time.

The next morning, his uncle took Jacob to school. Where he couldn't wait to run off to tell his friends what he'd been up to. Jay missed the early days when his nephew didn't want to leave his side until the last possible moment. A symptom, he now realized, of him being away most of the time. That wasn't much of a role model was it? Except his own father hadn't been a constant presence. He'd spent even less time, in proportion, with his son and wife. Never a constant. Always a variable. Looking back as an adult he could now see things far more clearly. When things had gone well with whatever fraud was being perpetrated, his dad had money to burn. When the take hadn't been as expected the spending wasn't as generous. Miss Dietrich was talking with the principal. He wasn't going to have the opportunity to explore the relationship possibilities.

Opening the door to his home, Jay was sure he heard a child crying. It was cut off as soon as he stepped inside. He called out to Sophie, she was busy she said. Needed some time. He busied himself, in the kitchen. Made two cups of coffee, before taking the meat out of the freezer. It was his turn to cook and he'd gone for his failsafe stew. This time with a slight twist. Some paprika added to the mix with less ground black pepper. It would taste different. It wasn't going to fool anyone though. Stick a pig in a nice dress and it was still a pig. An analogy that also applied to Marie. He'd humored her when she was being an absolute bitch, back in his military days. Mostly because it might annoy her. Nando had always told him to smile, it confused people. That memory did bring a curve to his lips. The first since everything went to shit that day.

Lost in reflection he glanced up as Sophie entered, then returned to his thoughts. Taking a look at that trunk could wait for a while. It wouldn't contain anything spectacular, he was sure. The sound the contents made, when it was shifted about, hinted at books or papers. It could be a box full of boxes. That would be funny. The value of the contents might not cover the excess baggage charge they'd paid. They'd done the obligatory road trip. Nobody would be making a movie of it. The sound of the chair being drawn out attracted his attention. Sophie seated herself opposite him. When he looked up she was studying him critically. He looked back over his shoulder to make sure he was the object of her scrutiny.

"What's up?" Was all he could think to say, as he wilted under that gaze.
Sophie's hand came up from her lap, sliding a DVD across to him.
"Why didn't you give Marie a fair hearing?"
If it had been anyone else, apart from her and Liz, he'd have told them where they could go.
"What makes you think I didn't?"
That look she was giving him was icy.
"Five minutes? That's only enough time to boil an egg. All she wanted you to do was watch and listen."
Jay groaned.
"Look, her name isn't Marie. I don't know what her real name is and it's possible she doesn't either. She's a liar. You don't know her like I do Soph. She offered me a job. I turned it down."
"Without hearing her out."
His head shook.
"You were the one who didn't want me to leave. The job she was offering would have required me to travel. And I will say it again, she's a proven liar with an unknown agenda. That woman cannot be trusted."
"You and I are both proven liars as well Jay. It was part of her job. Killing people was part of yours. Should I not trust you? You're a proven killer."
He was about to say that was different. Only it wasn't. He'd drawn a line. One he'd crossed numerous times himself. That hypocrite label was becoming increasingly apt.
"It's a babysitting job. Some ultra wealthy spoiled little girl. I'll be running around after her like a bloody nurse maid. You know I don't get on with kids." That brought a wry smile to her lips. "Her parents are fabulously wealthy. They can buy her all the nurses she needs."
"What, so if you're rich you can't be hurt? You can't feel any pain through all that money. She's a little girl Jay. Both her parents are dead anyway."
"According to Marie, who is a proven liar. So the money comes from the grandparents? It still buys the same privileges. It still allows whoever has it to behave as they like. Liz put it best "The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must." That's what money does. It makes whoever has it strong enough to exploit the poor and weak."
"Have you turned into a communist? She comes from money. So she has to be shunned and punished for something she has no control over?"
When she put it like that it seemed like he was the one being unreasonable.
"What do you want me to do then? It's probably too late anyway. I don't know how to contact her."
It was the best excuse he had, with the bonus it was true.
"You're going to watch this DVD with me. Most of it is audio only. Don't worry about Marie, she gave me a contact number."