Chapter 12 - Good Cop/Bad Cop

After finishing their discussion, Jon thanked Danny for his time and his honesty, then went back to Cate’s office. He glanced at the clock on her wall. 10:30. Still an hour to kill before Cate would be done with her class.

Jon sat on the couch, pushing his bags aside, and pulled out his Blackberry. He checked his e-mail, responding to one from his son Jesse, then he called Obie to see how things were going in the studio. After laughing at Obie’s grousing then discussing some business, Jon finished the call and sat for a moment.

His eyes traveled around Cate’s office as he thought. He noticed her silver iPod in its dock. Hmmm, let’s see what she’s got in there. Jon stood and crossed to Cate’s desk, disconnecting the little machine from its speakers. The screen glowed brightly, and Jon touched the controls, dialing back to Cate’s Music folder.

He felt a little guilty for snooping – after all, an iPod playlist could be a very personal thing – but he wanted to know what music Cate liked. He was hoping he would be able to share some of it with her very soon.

Jon wasn’t surprised to find all of his band’s music, as well as his and Richie’s solo albums. Cate also had David’s album of piano music, most of the band’s b-sides and some bootlegs, and assorted songs he, Richie, and the band had done for various soundtracks and compilation albums.

She also had a large collection of 80s rock and pop songs; she was a teenager of the 80’s, after all. Jon smiled and nodded to himself when he scrolled through her large selection of classic rock: Zeppelin, Beatles, Janis Joplin, Stones… she had all the good stuff here. She had a healthy collection of Country, R&B, Motown, Classic Blues and Jazz, as well. She really does love music. Now there’s something we have in common.

After scrolling through Cate’s music and video folders he pulled up her playlists. It was obvious Cate had created a list for her every mood. There were numerous compilations of every genre, and several others titled with descriptors like “Pissed Off,” “Chick Tunes,” “Chill Out,” and one in particular that caught Jon’s attention: “Bubble Bath.”

He quickly clicked on that playlist and perused its contents. He liked what he saw - a selection of mellow and sultry songs from various genres and artists, including some of his own music. Jon’s heart skipped a little and he felt a stirring in his groin as he thought of Cate relaxing in a bubble bath, surrounded by candles and sipping a glass of wine as his music washed over her. He absolutely loved the idea that his voice accompanied her most intimate personal moments. He wondered what else she did in that bath while he sang to her…

Jon shook himself back to reality and scrolled back to the main screen of Cate’s iPod, then replaced it in its dock. He saw that it was now nearly 11:00, and realized he had nothing to do for the next half hour. He wandered out into the hall and almost bumped into Danny.

“Hey Man, I was just looking for you.” Danny said. “I’ve gotta take some forms over to the range for George and Cate. Wanna come along?”

“Sure.” Jon answered. He grabbed his FTB cap and sunglasses from his bag, then followed Danny out the door. The men talked about football as they made the short trek to the range, then climbed the stairs into the control booth.

Brandon was the Range Controller today, and he greeted Jon & Danny with a wave. Jon looked out the large window of the booth, down on to the long concrete platform. George stood at the far end of the firing line, talking to the BAT at position 18 and pointing downrange at the student’s target.

Jon spotted Cate, her auburn ponytail swinging slightly back and forth as she paced up and down the firing line behind the students. Today she was wearing her tan range pants with a bright red t-shirt emblazoned with RANGE OFFICIAL across the back in black letters. She had her Glock on her hip, all her gear on her belt, and her range glasses and earplugs in place. Jon thought she looked tough as nails…and sexy as hell.

“How they doin’?” Danny asked, handing Brandon the folder he had brought.

Brandon gave a little grimace. “Man, it’s rough. This new bunch is pretty bad.” Danny laughed and looked down on to the range.

“Well, they have the right crew to start ‘em off.” Danny grinned. “Good Cop/Bad Cop.”

“Yeah, Man.” Brandon replied. He saw that Jon didn’t follow. “We call George and Cate ‘Good Cop/Bad Cop’ when they work the line together,” he explained. They each have their own style of … encouragement… with these new classes. George is very patient and nice, and Cate…well, she isn’t.”

“Really?” Jon asked. He was surprised. Cate had been very encouraging and engaging yesterday when she taught this class of BATs the basics of weapons handling. He watched her stride down the range toward a student at the end of the firing line. She moved up close behind the young man, who was fumbling with his magazine as he attempted to reload his empty weapon.

Though Jon couldn’t hear Cate’s voice, he could tell she was yelling at him to hurry up and reload. The poor BAT was clearly nervous, and his magazine fell to the ground. He scrambled to pick it up and insert it in the slot under the gun’s grip as Cate continued to goad him. Jon was reminded of the movie depictions of military drill instructors as he watched her. The BAT got his weapon re-loaded and pointed downrange, and Cate stepped back.

She moved back down the line and stepped up behind a female trainee who was wincing at every recoil her weapon made after she pulled the trigger. Again Cate turned up the heat, and the young woman began to tremble so badly that she couldn’t hold her aim. Cate reached up, snatched the Glock out of the BAT’s hands, quickly cleared and safed it, then laid it down on the ground. Cate pointed to the back of the platform and the young woman quickly scooted over against the wall. Her eyes glistened with tears.

“What a bitch, huh?” Brandon remarked, reading Jon’s expression. He grinned. “I know, it looks rough, and it is. But believe me, she’s doing these BATs a favor. They have to learn how to operate under pressure, and having some bitchy FT instructor yelling in their ear is nothin’ compared to what they may come across in the field.”

Danny continued Brandon’s explanation as Jon looked back out the window to the range. “She believes in tearing them down, then building them back up. That’s how they gain confidence. Yeah, they all hate her at the beginning, but by the time this class graduates they will all think she’s the coolest instructor on the Center.” Danny smiled. “And, most importantly, she may save their lives by giving them the confidence to do what they need to do, without thinking, when the shit goes down.”

“Tough love,” Jon answered. His mind went to what Danny had told him earlier about Cate’s own field experience. She certainly had first-hand knowledge of what it was like to survive a shooting.

Jon saw Cate talking to the female BAT against the wall, then gesturing George over. Cate walked away from the young woman and resumed stalking up and down the firing line, watching each student and stepping in to correct or pressure as she saw necessary. George took the female BAT back to her position on the firing line, picked up her weapon, and coached her back into training.

Fifteen minutes later the class wrapped up for the morning and the BATs took their weapons into the armory. George followed them in to oversee their cleaning and storage of the guns, and Cate looked up to the control booth. She smiled as she saw Jon standing there, looking down at her.

Cate gave him a little wave, then took off her range glasses and pulled out her earplugs. Jon grinned broadly in response to her gesture. She looked away and walked over to the stairs, then climbed them to the control booth. “Hi,” she said, stepping through the door.

“Well hello yourself,” Jon replied. Cate seemed to be relaxed and happy, a complete 180 from the persona she had displayed to the students. He gestured to the range. “Man, you’re tough. Don’t think I wanna cross you,” he teased her lightly.

“Yeah, well, it’s my job to be tough. I know it looks really mean, but they’ll thank me later.” Cate shrugged. “I have no problem being a bitch.”

“No shit, Slick.” Danny replied.

“Shut up, Slick.” Cate shot back. She returned her attention to Jon, noting his gym attire. “So, looks like you’re ready for DTs. Did you review the binder and DVD?”

“Yes, Teach. I’m ready.” Jon grinned. Boy, am I ready… “Bring it on.”

Cate laughed. “Okay, you asked for it.” She swiped her hand over the back of her neck, which was sweaty and grimy from the morning’s training. “Tell ya what. I’m gonna grab a quick shower back at the office and change into my PT gear, then we can get something to eat before we head over to the gym. I have a mat room reserved for 1300.”

Jon felt himself respond to the thought of Cate in the shower, all naked and soapy, and tried to push the image from his mind. “Sounds good,” he answered.

Cate nodded and moved past Jon, over to Brandon. She took the folder from him and paged through the stack of forms, initialing each one. Jon could see they were training records, one for each student. He could only imagine how much paperwork must go along with this job.

When Cate finished, she, Danny, and Jon headed back to the FTB building. They chatted about sports along the way, Danny and Jon resuming their debate about the Giants versus the Packers.

Once back in her office, Cate gave the gear she had left on her desk to Jon, telling him he would need it for defensive tactics training. Seeing his bags on her couch, Cate directed Jon to bring them, then led him down the hall to a small locker room.

Jon was a little surprised when Cate pushed through the door and led him into the room. He wondered if the locker room was unisex, then realized it must be since Cate was the only woman assigned to the branch. Looking around, he saw a vanity with a sink, a toilet stall, a decent-sized shower, and two benches in front of a wall lined with tall metal lockers. Most of the lockers had names on them; Cate’s was on the end.

Cate opened an unlabeled locker and told Jon he could keep his gear there for the duration of his visit. Jon stuffed his bags inside and made a mental note to bring in some extra clothes, towels, and toiletries tomorrow. He figured he would need to shower here at some point.

His lips curved into a smile as he wondered if he could somehow convince Cate to join him in the shower before the week was through. As if she was reading his thoughts, Cate pointed to the door and told Jon to “go away” so she could shower and change. Jon smiled and winked at her, then left the room to find Danny. He heard the click of a lock as Cate shut the door behind him.

Cate stepped into the warm shower and washed the range grime from her skin. She gave her hair a quick wash and condition, then stepped out of the shower and toweled off. Cate combed through her thick hair, then pulled it back into a long braid, still wet. She blow-dried her bangs, and smoothed some lotion over her skin.

She allowed herself one small indulgence – a quick spritz of a light cucumber-mint scented body spray. After all, she was going to be in close quarters with Jon this afternoon…it wouldn’t hurt to smell nice, would it? She was sure he would smell delicious.

Cate dressed quickly in the required physical training uniform of Center t-shirt and track pants, then tied on her cross-trainers. She emerged from the locker room, feeling much cleaner and refreshed.

Cate had spent the night reliving her parting from Jon. She could still feel the burn of his calloused finger on her skin as he traced her tattoo, the brush of his cheek against hers, and the warmth of his breath in her ear as he bid her good night. It had taken her a good long while to fall asleep.

When Cate awoke this morning she realized that maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to try to do what Jon asked, to lighten up and treat him like one of the guys. But that meant she would have to quash her attraction to him. And that would be hard. Really hard.

Cate found Jon in the break room with Danny, George, and Brandon. As was their custom, the range crew had placed an order that morning for sandwiches from the Center’s dining facility. Cate had ordered a roast beef sandwich for Jon, with chips and pasta salad. George had stopped at the chow hall to pick up the order on his way back to the office. Starving, Cate grabbed her sandwich and a Diet Coke and joined the boys.

Jon thoroughly enjoyed his lunch. Cate was in a cheerful mood, and the group laughed and joked about all kinds of things. They also spent a good part of the hour talking sports, and Jon was pleasantly surprised to find that Cate was well-versed in all of the major sports. My kind of woman, he thought.

The hour passed quickly, then the instructors headed out to their afternoon classes or back to their offices. Cate and Jon grabbed their bags, then headed for the gym.