Dangling the keys in Jake’s face, Sean leaned closer and whispered, “If you decide to remain in here, then watch me”.
He was being baited and it worked perfectly. Jake stormed out the door first but Sean remained inside for a minute, heading over to the back door to barricade it before shutting all the windows and making sure the house was properly locked before they left.
“Are you always this paranoid?” Jake had to ask.
With a grin and soft scowl, Sean answered, “The question should be why aren’t you?”
Jake gave it some thought and realized the man was right; he had been dealt so much intrusion over the past week that if he got himself a dog for security or hired personal guards it would all be worth it.
‘By the way, get yourself a good alarm system”, Sean advised. “You can afford it”.
Jake made no move to argue with him as he put the car in reverse and pulled out of his driveway. He definitely could afford it but the problems with alarms are, once they get broken into, they let off warnings and such warnings only attract attention which was the last thing he wanted for his house or him in entirety.
“Did I mention you’re paying for the drinks?” Sean looked over to Jake and smiled cockily.
Jake shook his head and sighed. ‘I know a fun place”.
***
Sitting in the corner of the not-too-popular Irish watering hole he had visited once before, Jake felt good about himself with a soft smile as he looked around the room. The place was filled with unfamiliar faces, just as he liked it but Sean had barely said a thing since they arrived there. His demeanor had said it all from the moment they walked through the door with subtle grunts and sighs before they found a seat in the corner granting them a good view of the road outside.
“It is bad enough I’m spending my night with you, but it’s even worse when you bring me to such shitty place”, Sean finally let out how he felt.
Jake saw nothing wrong with the environment. He looked around again to be sure and bobbed his head.
“I like it”, he simply said.
Wearing a frown, Sean replied sarcastically, “Of course you’d like it… who wouldn’t?”
An almost topless waitress with heavy makeup approached with a wry smile and an enticing look as she wiggled and giggled before them.
“What’s it going to be tonight boys?” she asked.
Sean cast Jake a damning look and a rather judgmental one as well before sorting. “I’ll have the strongest thing you got”.
“I’ll have a virgin Cuba libre please”, Jake ordered.
The lady walked away almost immediately while Sean stared at her massive backside and Jake reprimanded him with his looks.
Snapping out from the stare, Sean turned to Jake, “Wait a minute! Did you just order coke?”
“I ordered some Cuba libre”, Jake reiterated.
Sean waved his hands, “That’s the same fucking name for coke or some sugary content in water”.
Jake didn’t care; he wanted what he wanted. They sat in silence for a few minutes while the room grew noisier with people having fun and the band brought into play made a mess of silence.
“What kind of woman was she?” Jake spoke with the corner of his mouth without looking at Jake. “Your wife… what kind of person was she when she was alive?”
Sean rubbed his chin and slowly sat back up. He seemed suddenly ridden with emotions and could barely hide them as he ran his fingers through his hair for the umpteenth time.
“Susan was unlike any woman you would ever meet”, he began with a sigh. “Driven, willed, stubborn and someone who could handle herself under any situation and with any man”.
His tone grew somewhat shaky as he spoke but halted with the waitress bringing over their orders. Staring at the dark brown liquid in the glass, Sean didn’t seem to care what could be in the mix and gulped down a good amount before sighing out in relief.
“She was one of the best CIA operatives they recruited in years and I she just happened to suit my scrummy and scruffy nature if you know what I mean”, he laughed.
Jake shrugged. “She must have had some serious balls if she decided to stay with you”.
Taking no ill intent from the words, Sean burst into laughter briefly while Jake did the same as well.
“Why did she leave? How come you let her leave without tracking her down?” Jake sounded serious.
Sean took another gulp from his glass and rammed it into the table. “I messed up… I messed up bad and went on a bender with drugs, prostitutes and even almost got her killed on a mission we were sent undercover for”.
Jake noted the shakiness in his voice now and the discomfort that came with it. Sean remained silent for a while before downing the remaining of his drink and waving at the waitress to bring him some more.
“There was this one time she had to go uncover as a prostitute and even befriend many of the red district girls just to bust me and keep me from messing around”, he continued. “Yet, she never got angry with me or even caused me problems… she simply watched out for me on every turn”.
It was taking a rather big toll on him not to shed the tears Jake could see swelling in his eyes. He couldn’t wait for the waitress to come over sooner as he took the glass from her hand and began drinking hard and at a stretch.
“It’s a good thing you won’t be doing the driving home”, Jake patted him softly on the back before turning to look at the waitress. “Keep it coming”.
She nodded and waked away immediately.
“I failed her… I failed Susan!’ he sobbed with his head bowed as the tears finally came rolling out.
Patting him on the back gently, Jake whispered, “it is alright buddy… it is alright… you will do good
