A/N: We're digging a little deeper into the Jackal and Ghost's relationship and how they came to be. Ghost is still reeling from the sight of the man responsible for her trauma, but she's slowly reclaiming control of herself. There is a job to do!
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"I've been looking into Dy- into /that man/ yesterday, and I have been successful, somewhat." The Jackal told her as he leaned into his chair and crossed his legs. She nodded and looked down at her coffee cup-
She grabbed her coffee cup and sipped while her hazel eyes stared at him. She ran her hand through her coily hair and grabbed a fistful of it. Seeing the man who ruined her life renewed her desire for revenge, and after the good night's sleep she had, Diane was ready to focus on finding that man and killing him. She realized that her agitated sleep might have happened because of suppressed memories. For two years she stopped thinking about that man and what he did to her. For two years, it felt as if she had given up revenge altogether for something better.
"Shoot!"
"He was always in the background during important meetings of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging. He suddenly stopped appearing in pictures a year ago, and he had never been back there. The leader of the party was not the target because he's still alive and still in power. So, if he wasn't cozying up with that man to kill him, maybe he was hired by him."
"I haven't searched for potential deaths connected to that man. Maybe, if we look into it, the leader of that party hired /that man/ to execute his enemies. I know that some journalists were onto him. Rumours had it that one of them had a smoking gun about that leader, but I haven't followed that lead."
"Would that man take on odd jobs like this? Taking care of a journalist? I thought he was more into bigger missions."
"As long as he can kill, he doesn't care about what type of job it is." -She leaned into her chair and snarled a little.- "I really need to look at odd deaths in South Africa. What bothers me is his presence here. He's usually seen in Africa or South-Asia and rarely in Europe because he knows police might connect the dots more easily and they have more resources."
"MMmhhh..."
The Jackal nodded and ran his hand over his face. He held his chin for a minute, focusing on the last words she had said to him. So /that man/ was a mercenary who enjoyed his job. It wasn't just a means for him to earn money. He was in it for the thrill of killing people. He enjoyed taking lives, and if anything, what he did to Diane was the perfect example of a man who got off of inflicting pain onto others. Toppling governments, crushing rebellions, or killing a single dissident was all the same for him, so how did she know it was his work? How could she tell that a carnage that happened was because of him? He had to know.
"I have a question, Diane. You said that you could recognize his work from anywhere. How exactly do you do it? What makes you tick when you look at a crime scene that indicates it's his work?"
"What he did to me.... The slashed back with his machete, the two gunshot wounds... It's his signature. There is always one victim with these wounds... Always. And when it comes to multiple victims...He needs to make them watch the horrors he's doing to others. You can tell by the way the bodies are placed. He doesn't move them after they're killed. It's always at least one victim who is made to watch and one victim, the one he handpicked, to torture like he did to me."
"He's a sexual sadist... He always signs his crime scenes for all to see. I understand." -Diane nodded and put both hands on the table. She tapped her fingers against the wooden table and lifted her eye to stare into his blue eyes- "Diane. I thought about something last night while working on that case. I think you're too traumatized by our target to be able to kill him. You've tried, god knows how many times you've tried to kill him, but every time you do, you freeze on the spot."
"No shit Sherlock!" -She retorted and chewed at her bottom lip- " I'm sorry. I'm lashing out at you like that. It hurts my pride to be unable to kill him. It hurts me deep into my core to be unable to finish that job." She admitted before leaning back into her chair.- "I have to know why you want to help me. It doesn't look like you at all, Jackal."
"Diane..."
"Answer me! Why do you care that much?" -She had to ask, and since this situation forced her to reveal so much about herself, she thought that it was only fair for her to know what truly motivated him.-
"Because I want to."
"It's not enough!" -She hit the table with the palm of her hand-
"Because I like the challenge!" -He replied in a monotonous tone-
"It's not enough!" -She raised her voice and hit the table harder this time-
"Because I want to take him off the streets!" -Bullshit! He didn't believe himself, but he felt cornered-
"It's /not/ enough! Stop giving me bullshit reasons!! Why. Do. You. Care???" -She yelled. both hands hit the table and made a very loud noise that bothered him enough to reply loudly-
"It's for you!" -She blinked. He blinked. He may as well have said he was in love with her, which he didn't do. Not now.- "It makes me sick to think that the man who hurt you can still freely walk the Earth. It makes me sick to see that you're so deeply hurt, and he lives as if it didn't matter! It makes me angry! It makes me vengeful! I cannot find peace as long as he breathes the same air as you. It makes me sick because it happened to /you/." He took a deep breath, his alabaster skin now red from the pent-up anger that exploded right before her. Diane was speechless....confused even because she couldn't make sense of what he was saying to her. -
It was simple, come to think of it. The Jackal cared about her, and the thought of someone hurting the person he cared about was enough to send him spiraling into an unbridled rage. He wanted to be the one to avenge her, the one to do what she clearly couldn't do herself. He wanted to put /that man/ down like a rabid dog for her. Alex gained nothing from this kill because he offered to help and would never accept her money. Alex had no reputation to build because he already was a big name in the business, and the two of them were already intimate, so it wouldn't be sex. No... He genuinely cared for her, and because he did, he wanted to take away the pain she felt that was embodied by that man. She felt tears pool in her eyes, and she decided to stand up and close the distance between the two of them.
"Alexander..." -She whispered his name, her hand slowly cupped his cheeks, and she sat on his lap. He ensnared his arms around her frame and leaned his head against her ample and soft chest- "Thank you." She pressed her plump lips to the top of his head and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He cared about her in ways nobody ever did, and the realization that, perhaps, that man was in love with her like she was in love with him hit her like a truck. He was doing this for love. not vanity. not greed... but Love.- "Thank you." She whispered again, feeling comfortable in his arms.
Alex enjoyed her body against his and couldn't fight the stir in his loins as she sat on his lap. She could feel him twitch against her, and that elicited a soft moan from her. She wanted his touch and reacted to it without thinking. Her lips peppered his skin with kisses, first his left cheek, then his left ear, then she kissed her way to his forehead while her fingers lost themselves in the luscious reddish-brown locks of his. The Jackal groaned and pulled his head back so he could have a good look at Ghost's face. He wanted more, but he also knew she didn't eat or sleep well, and that took precedence over his own desire. There would always be time for the two of them to have sex, but this morning wasn't the right moment for that. He softened his gaze and sighed deeply to signal that he was going to interrupt the beginning of a hot morning, much to her dismay. Before she could say anything, Diane heard her belly noises. She gently patted Alex's chest and chuckled.
"No need to tell me anything. I have to eat, shower, and rest today. I'll do my part and research any strange murders here, as well as follow the trail he left in South Africa. I know you have a job in Italy, so don't worry. I'll do my part, and I'll get myself together. You do your job, and when you're back, we'll take it right where we left."
"Is it a promise?" He asked, bemused. She shook her head.-
"No. It's a spoiler. Now go grab your things; I'll handle breakfast." He chuckled and waited for her to get off of him to stand up. -
She turned around to return to her seat, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him. Diane's hazel eyes grew wide open, and she bit her bottom lip. Alex gently cupped her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. He then pressed his lips to hers in a good, hard kiss. She moaned into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his waist. The kiss sent a shiver down her spine, and she closed her eyes.
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"What about your wife and Son? Did you find them?" -She asked while running her finger over his chest. Her lips pressed against his nipple-
"I did." -He closed his eyes and ran his hand through her braids. He held her scalp and started to massage it. "She's no longer my wife, Enora."
"What... happened?" She furrowed her brows. "Did you...?"
"No! No! Not like that. I found Nuria and Carlito and observed them for a month just to know what her new life was like. She had a new man who had welcomed Carlito and loved him like his own son. I saw my wife smile, even laugh. She was happy. My son was taken care of and happy, I didn't feel like... interrupting."
"You? Giving up on Nuria without a fight? I don't believe you. You talked to her, didn't you?" -He clenched his jaw and stroked her cheek with his thumb-
"I... did. I talked to her. After a while, I couldn't bring myself not to. I needed to hear her say those words."
"Which words?" - She whispered in his ear-
"That she didn't need me anymore. That she had moved on. That she would protect our son and provide him with everything he needed without me. I put their lives in danger with my lies, and I couldn't.... I can't afford to have the life I dreamed of. Not with her. Not with our son."
"Did she tell you?"
"She told me she divorced the man she married and after so long, she realized that she had married a ghost. She loved Charles but hated the Jackal. She loved Charles but realized that she was nothing but a pawn, a cover, or even worse, a lie I told myself. Nuria was harsh but right. I couldn't... make her endure another life with me. She promised she wouldn't say anything because it would compromise their lives, but to her, Charles was dead. I didn't fight her. I couldn't... I couldn't fight her because she was right. I never was Charles Calthrop. I hoped, once, that I could fully embody him one day, but it was a dream out of reach for me."
"So you parted ways.... peacefully?" -Diane curbed a brow, and he nodded-
"I realized that I broke her trust in me, and you don't ever recover from breaking the trust of someone you love. If they had stayed with me, I know they would have been unhappy. Caring for them would mean that I should make sure they were happy. And they were happy without me. As bad as it hurt me, it was the truth. I set them free, and I disappeared."
"Did you sign those papers?"
"What do you think? I signed them as soon as I got them, and I sent them back to Nuria so she could finalise the divorce. As of today, I am a divorcee." -He bitterly chuckled-
Ghost leaned her cheek against his chest. He was far more upset at the situation than he let on. Could she blame him? He had genuinely loved Nuria and their son, and losing them hit harder than he expected. Of course, it would hit hard. Deep down, however, she felt reassured to know that he was a single man with no ties that could leave her and break her heart. Selfish? Yes, she was selfish. At this moment in their relationship, Ghost didn't want the Jackal to leave her. She enjoyed his company, far more than she cared to admit. She wanted to spend more time by his side, and she knew that with a family waiting for him, his attention would never fully be on her. She bit her bottom lip and leaned into his chest a little harder. Why did she feel this relief over this information? She didn't want him to see her face, so she kept it close to his chest.
"Then you are free to break my heart anyway you please." -She said in a teasing tone.-
"As if I intended to do such a thing. Enora... I am content with the life we're leading right now."
"You can't blame a girl for trying to prepare herself, Charles." -She pressed a kiss to his chest and closed her eyes- "I'll keep you to your word then. to leave Nuria and Carlito alone so they could have a chance at being happy. I'll keep you to your word."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because I don't want you to suffer. Going back would hurt you more than anything, and more importantly, it would hurt them more than anything. I'm looking after you, here."
"How generous of you..." He said, giving her a light kiss on top of her head. "I appreciate it."
And he genuinely did. He could tell she was sincere and wanted to protect him from potential heartbreak. Ultimately, she was right about something: his life with Nuria and Carlito was over. He knew best than to hold onto an old dream. Here, in her arms, Alexander Duggan felt comfortable and safe and it was all that mattered for him.
-TBC-
