Chapter 10 - Sweat and Cordite

“Slick, you okay?” Danny’s voice brought Jon back. He focused on Danny striding up behind Cate.

“Yeah, Damnit…just got brass down my collar.” Cate moved her bra back into place and turned to face Danny. “It’s fine.”

“Shit, Slick -- got ya good, didn’t it?” Danny was peering at the red welts on Cate’s chest. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll put some cream on it and it’ll be fine.” Cate turned toward the back wall, where the first aid kit hung next to the stairs to the control booth. Jon quickly stood up, concern on his face. Shit, I forgot he was here! Cate was suddenly very aware that she was shirtless. She froze.

“Are you alright?” Jon breathed, his voice soft, worried.

Cate just nodded. Why is he staring at me like that? It was just a little hot brass, for Christ’s sake…

Danny saw Cate stop when Jon spoke to her, and he immediately realized what had happened. Jon had seen the tattoo. Danny smirked slightly, then pushed past Cate to take the first aid kit off the wall. He dug into it and found a tube of first aid cream, then turned back to Cate. Neither she nor Jon had moved.

“Here.” Danny stepped between Cate and Jon, blocking her view of him. He opened the tube and leaned in close, like he was inspecting the burn marks on Cate’s chest. “Why don’t you ask Rock Star to help you with this?” he whispered to Cate. “He looks willing.” He pulled back a bit and smiled mischievously at her, raising his eyebrows.

Danny’s voice snapped Cate back to the moment. “What?” she asked, then her brain deciphered what he had said. “Shut up!” she hissed. She grabbed the tube from Danny and stepped back from him. Danny chuckled and walked back to his post on the firing line. Cate squeezed some cream onto her finger and dabbed it onto the welts on her skin. Jon’s gaze followed her fingers as she soothed the burns.

“Cate, you wanna finish this course with us or re-fire it later?” Floyd called over from his position. The others had finished shooting, but Cate still had ten rounds to put on target to complete her qualification.

“I’ll do it.” Cate flipped the tube of cream to the ground and strode over to her position. Not bothering to put her shirt back on, she shielded her eyes with her safety glasses, adjusted her hearing protection, picked up her rifle, and took her mark, leaning forward and resting her supporting hand on the barrier.

She took a deep breath, let it out, looked down the sights, and squeezed off ten shots in quick succession, in a perfectly-cadenced rhythm. Then she raised her head, cleared her weapon, and set it back down against the barrier. She realized every pair of eyes in the place was on her. She turned to face her colleagues. “Shit, guys, ain’t you ever seen a woman shoot a gun before?” she asked, breaking the tension.

Floyd and the boys broke into laughter at that. Floyd shook his head and grinned. “You are somethin’ else, Missy.” He noticed Jon standing directly behind Cate, staring at her back with a look of awe. He chuckled and turned back to the line, signaling the Range Master to score the targets. “That’s it, Kids. If you wanna burn some more rounds for practice, you can. But everybody’s done with Qual for this month.”

Cate snagged her shirt from the ground and mopped the back of her neck with it, then tucked it into the back of her belt like a towel. She picked up the M-16 and slung it by its strap over her shoulder, grabbed her Uzi, and checked that her Glock was strapped to her hip. She bent down and picked up the metal ammo box by its handle and turned to walk to the armory.

Cate was aware of Jon’s eyes on her as she moved, and she turned toward him, tipping her head toward the armory door. “Come on, I’ll show you how to clean these babies.” She saw the lustful look in his eyes and tried her best to ignore it. But she could feel her nipples pucker and her pulse accelerate. She turned away and strode toward the door.

Jon blinked and gathered himself. He began walking toward the door, following Cate. He fell into step beside Danny, and glanced sideways at Cate’s friend. Danny shot Jon a knowing look and grin, then lengthened his stride to catch up with George, calling out something about grabbing a beer.

Jon followed the group into the armory and found Cate laying out her weapons on a long table equipped with various cleaning tools and supplies. She still hadn’t put her shirt back on, and he could see the edge of her tattoo. She gave him a small smile and gestured him over to where she stood. “Here, let me show you what to do.”

Jon relaxed a little and went to Cate. She handed him the M-16 and told him how to break it down, disassembling the rifle so it could be cleaned and oiled. As she talked him through the process, her hands occasionally brushed his, each touch making Jon falter slightly.

After they cleaned and reassembled the rifle Cate had Jon break down and clean the Uzi. Then she watched him disassemble her Glock, as he had learned to do earlier in the day. She helped him clean and oil the parts, then had him reassemble the weapon.

Jon tried to focus on the task before him, but he kept catching her scent; the mint and jasmine and musk now mixed with sweat and cordite. She had to prompt him more than she should have; he had honestly paid attention to her earlier lecture and knew what he was supposed to do. He just couldn’t seem to keep a coherent train of thought.

Jon was relieved when George came over to the bench and invited him and Cate to join a couple of the guys for a beer. Cate declined, saying she was tired and she planned to turn in early. Jon also passed on the invitation, using the excuse that he had homework to do and he wanted to be ready for the next day’s training. Jon promised to join the gang for beer & wings on Friday, and George wandered away, satisfied.

One by one the guys gathered their things and left. Danny called out his “see ya” to Jon, then to Cate, giving her a quizzical look while pausing by the door. Jon saw Cate reply with a slight nod, then Danny headed out to the local watering hole with George, Bobby, Troy, Steve, and Brandon. Since she had been teaching Jon how to clean the weapons, Cate had finished last and was left to lock up the armory.

Cate picked up the semiautomatic rifles she and Jon had cleaned and carried them across the room, placing them in their racks and closing and locking the lockers. She then worked her way around the room, ensuring every gun locker was secure.

Jon watched her as she moved, her back toward him. Cate’s skin glistened with a light slick of sweat from her workout on the range, and her ponytail had loosened. Long wisps of auburn hair clung to her damp neck and shoulders.

Jon could see the top of the mark on her lower back, the one he had briefly glimpsed earlier. He could tell it was some sort of tattoo, but it was partially covered by her handcuff case which had slid along her belt toward her right hip. Her shirt still hung from her waistband, covering her butt. Jesus, she doesn’t even know how incredibly sexy she looks…..

Cate completed her rounds, annotated the security log, then walked back over to the cleaning bench to grab her range bag and gear. She seemed much more relaxed than she had been earlier. Jon, however, was wound tight. He so wanted to touch her, to grab her and pull her in and taste the sweat on her delectable neck. But he knew from their encounter that afternoon that Cate had her guard up, and one wrong move would push her further away.

Cate walked over to him. “So, did you learn something today?” she asked, cocking her head to the side and giving him a small but genuine smile.

Jon returned her smile and nodded. “I did.” More than you know. “I’m well on my way to being able to act like a real Fed.”

“Good.” Cate answered. “C’mon, I gotta lock up and you need to get your stuff from my office.” She and Jon grabbed their bags and moved to the exit, then Cate set the alarm and they stepped through the door. After making sure the alarm was properly armed, Cate locked up the range and she and Jon made the short walk back to her office.

Cate gave Jon a sideways glance as they walked. He looked preoccupied. She decided to break the silence. “Tomorrow we’re gonna be busy, so I’m afraid you’ll have to do some of your homework tonight.”

“No problem.” Jon was looking forward to having something to occupy his thoughts other than replaying the day’s encounters with Cate, which would surely drive him mad. “What do I need to review?”

“Well, we’re going to start DTs – defensive tactics – tomorrow, so you need to read through the first binder. Don’t worry about trying to memorize anything; it’s mostly just diagrams and photos of the different moves I’ll teach you. Also watch the DVD about arrest and apprehension procedure. It’s only about 20 minutes long. That will give you the basics of what we’ll cover in the afternoon.”

Cate paused and thought for a moment. Based on the script information Jon had given her, he would need to be especially comfortable with the rifle. “We have the range for tomorrow night from 1900 to 2100, so we’ll probably hit firearms training pretty hard. I want to get you qualified with the Glock, and have you fire the M-16 through a couple different courses.”

“Okay.” Jon answered. He was looking forward to spending more one-on-one time with Cate.

They arrived at the back entrance of the Firearms Training Branch building, and Cate unlocked the door and led him down the hall to her office. She opened the door and Jon followed her in. She didn’t bother to turn on the lights, as golden rays of Georgia dusk slanted across the floor from the large windows opposite her desk.

Jon leaned silently against the door frame, his arms crossed on his chest and his right foot over his left, watching as Cate shut down her computer and made sure her safe was locked and everything was in its place. “What are you doing in the morning?” he asked quietly.

She moved around her desk to face him and settled back against it, her ass against its edge. “I’m going to run the new class of BATs through their first qualification. I’ll be done around 1130. If you wanna meet me here around noon again, we can grab a sandwich then head over to the gym.” Damn, he looked good there, shadows playing across that beautiful face…

“Since we’ll be over there all afternoon, wear PT gear; the t-shirt I gave you today, track pants, running shoes. Bring jeans or cargo pants with a belt, a t-shirt, and your range bag for firearms. Be sure the shirt is close-fitting; no v-neck or loose collar….”

Cate stopped herself; she realized she had launched into her standard student instructions about WHY one didn’t want to wear an open-collared shirt on the range. After what Jon had witnessed today, he surely got the point.

Jon finished her sentence. “…You don’t want hot brass going down your shirt…” His voice was soft and slightly husky. He stepped forward, out of the shadow and toward Cate as his eyes traveled down to the burn marks on her chest.

Cate saw his gaze drop and felt her pulse quicken. She hadn’t put her shirt back on after stripping on the range. She hadn’t even realized until just now that she had spent the better part of the last hour parading around half-naked. She was so used to working out in cropped tanks and sports bras that she had felt completely comfortable in her minimal garb.

But now, with Jon’s eyes playing over her, she wished she was covered. Surely he could see her nipples through the fabric, poking urgently at their restraints. She mentally shook herself. “Yeah…it’s not pleasant,” she breathed.

Jon moved his gaze up her graceful neck, to her face. In the dusky light his eyes were unbelievably blue. Cate felt a little dizzy, and she gripped the edge of her desk.

As Cate blinked at him, Jon smiled gently and slowly raised his left hand, brushing back a stray strand of ginger hair, tucking it behind her ear. His hand moved down to her shoulder, barely grazing her skin. Jon’s eyes dropped to his hand, and he gently nudged aside the wide strap of her sports bra, uncovering her tattoo.

Cate’s eyes widened as the realization dawned….he knew. He had seen it. She was busted. Embarrassment washed over her, yet she found herself unable to move. She exhaled as Jon gently traced the outline of the heart, then moved the strap back to its place. He brought his eyes back to Cate’s. She couldn’t help but meet his gaze. She was hypnotized…

Jon stared into Cate’s eyes for a moment, seeing that once again they were shining pools of sapphire. But this time he wasn’t going to push his luck. He smiled that smile at her then leaned in close, his cheek brushing hers. “Good night, Cate.” He whispered in her ear. Then he drew back, turned and picked up his gear from her couch, and left.

Cate stood stock-still, listening to Jon’s footsteps fade away down the hall, then hearing the gentle click as the back door closed. She heard a car door slam, then the roar of an engine and the crunch of gravel as Jon’s rental pulled out of the lot.

Cate realized she had forgotten to breathe, and gasped in much-needed oxygen. She stood and took three shaky steps across her office, stopping in front of the couch.

"Fuuuuuuck……..” she groaned as she collapsed onto it.