(This is a stand alone story, I'm almost sure I tied off all the loose ends. My thanks go to my friend who helped with the technical side and pointed out some mistakes in the time line. Bless you. I also thank my editor hale1 for taking on such a huge story all at once. Please enjoy your read, I know I had so much fun writing it.)
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It was my father that first introduced me to the saying, 'when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object' oh he explained it very well the second time around. It was his first explanation that really confused the hell out of me but I was ten at the time so although I didn't understand it then, it was almost twenty years later that I thought my father to be the wisest of us all.
When I left school with an overinflated opinion of myself and very little in the way of qualifications I went into the army as a form of employment. Boy wasn't that a wake up call, watching the flag being handed to the parents of my best friend the day of his funeral taught me that life is precious and it was about time I stopped wasting mine. As a parting gift the army taught me about computers, not so much all the graphics and stuff you can make them do.
To me it was what was inside that little box, fixing them was the real fun. At the end of my time in the Army one of my instructors reached out and helped find me a job. Within a year I was offered a transfer to one of the companies satellite businesses, it was only when I asked where that it felt like I should take it.
Since I had left my home town to join the Army I couldn't see the point of ever going back once I left it, both my folks were now dead and I was an only child. My late friend always talked about his home town and how he couldn't wait for his time in the army to end so he could return. He didn't envision his return being in a box, it took me an hour to make up my mind and that's only because my boss wanted me to think about it first. So I took a coffee and sat in the canteen and did just that.
So a year after leaving the service it seemed I did take him up on the offer of living there, since my first time was only to bury my friend and return to my unit after the funeral I didn't get to see much of Winchester Springs that day, but it was everything he said it was and today marked my third year
My life could best be described as drifting in those three years, I had an ok apartment in an ok part of town and an ok job to pay for it. Part of me would also like to say I had an ok wife as well, I guess three and 0 was the score on that. A list of one night stands and a few even hung around for a few months to a year,
*******
One of the gifts the army left me with was a very well honed instinct for something being out of place, and that's what kicked in when I was on my way back from a business meeting and still some miles from home. Thankfully glimpsing Wal-Mart from the road reminded me that I had nothing in the fridge and decided to do some shopping that afternoon. Now when I go shopping I'm not one of those who will try to get their car as close to the shop doors as possible, I've seen too many people get into each others faces when the car next to you swings their door open and places a real good dent in yours.
Of course the leaning your cart up against the car beside you while you unload your shopping into the trunk of your car and ignoring the scratches left by the cart has always been one of my favorites as well. So habit means I place my car at the furthest end of the car park and walk, the exercise does me good anyway.
So too use a well-worn phrase, 'there I was, minding my own business.'
The car a few spaces over from mine was as nondescript as you could get, no bumper stickers, not new but not more than a couple of years old either, the guy behind the wheel was mid forties, the muscles went from his shoulders to his head, missing out on a neck, this man trained with weights and my mind screamed thug. Yet it was the woman in the back that looked so out of place, she watched as I pulled up a few spaces away from the other car and got out.
I had seen situations like this before on my tour of Iraq, the way this woman sat so far back in her seat to place as much space between herself and him, she was clearly afraid of the muscle who was eating Chinese out of a carton and doing his best to ignore the woman in the back seat. That instinct kicked in and as I walked towards the shop I pulled my cell out of my pocket, it sure was difficult getting the police to understand that it was instinct that made me call.
My belief was that they would have preferred something with a bit more meat on the bone like an armed robbery or something. In the end she said they would send a car over to investigate. I was at the checkout when the commotion started, people gathered at the window and watched as the police officer forced the guy over the hood of the car and cuffed him. By the time I had paid and walked back to my car the woman was in a separate car talking to a female officer and a male officer was waiting for me.
Thankfully this guy wasn't a rookie so knew what instinct was all about, my statement was taken while we both leaned against my car, well what little I could add to the proceedings. When I did get a little curious about what went on the officer told me it was now an ongoing investigation. My mind read that as Police talk for mind your own business.
He took my name, address and number and mentioned that they would be in touch if they needed anything, since I doubted I could add anything to my statement I duly dismissed his comment and although we shook on it, my mind had all but chalked this down as someone else's problem now.
*******
Friday was dinner date evening. When I came to bury my friend I met his sister, she was hot but married to a real ass. When Casey found out I was now living a couple of miles away she was furious that I had not contacted her. My defense, meager though it was that I didn't want to be around her husband was met with her adding the word 'ex' into the conversation.
As this was Friday I dropped my groceries at the house and headed out to Casey's for dinner, since her divorce she seemed to hate the weekends so we had established that Friday was dinner night until she was comfortable enough to get herself back out there. Her retort was sadly always the same, 'who would want to get saddled with a ready made family' the hot babe sat across from me and two little munchkins sat either side of me at the dinner table was the simple answer. My reply was always the same and I stuck to it like it was a life preserver.
"Dammit Casey, you need a man in your life and these two need a farther figure, not some weirdo who comes to dinner every Friday."
We always ended the evening with a hug and her giving me a promise that when she was ready she would get back on the merry-go round. The journey home was always the same, me wishing only the best for my friend's sister who I honestly cared about and hoping against hope that she didn't end up as lonely as me.
My thoughts came back to reality when the door to the underground car park opened and I pulled my car into its spot. When I got out that nagging feeling made the hairs on my neck stand, I spotted the reflection of someone behind me in the car window. My reflexes may have slowed down some due to lack of practice, but not that much.
I grabbed a wrist as I twisted, grabbed a hand full of hair on the way around and had the woman face first into the roof of my car before the realization that it was a woman came to me. The words 'oh fuck' followed quickly after that.
"Ouch."
My senses screamed at me to let her go a second before my body caught up with the command.
"Sorry."
Taking three paces back gave her some sort of comfort zone, the woman slowly turned and massaged her wrist with her other hand while she did. She eyed me up and down and that alone made me feel uncomfortable.
"You'll do."
Confused as I was I managed, "I'll do for what."
She once again looked me up and down like I was for sale and evaluating if I was worth the price tag.
"Yes, you'll do very nicely."
Recognition dawned slowly, followed by the obvious question a second later.
"How did you find out where I live?"
