My Hubby the Action Hero 2: The Spy who hugged me

A little Heart to Heart Redux

After relaying their position to Commander Okumbe, Joe and Johnny headed for the Valkyrie. Sitting in the cockpit, Joe leaned his head against the window. "I need a nap and a Yoohoo after that."
Johnny kept his hands on the controls and his eyes on the skies. "Don't tell me you're fatigued already."
Joe opened his mouth to retort, but Joe tossed him a granola bar. "Oh, thanks."
"Like I said before, a good agent is always prepared." He looked back at the sky. "I take back what I said before."
"About what?"
"You and Bullet. It's not just bad clothing you have in common. I had already given up on that cab driver, but thanks to you, I think he'll live to see another day. I'm sure of that."
"Eh, I didn't do much. I just used what I already knew. Just letting people die, even people you don't know or like, is not okay."
"I wonder."
"Wha?"
"Those sentiments are shared by few in the world of espionage. There are always casualties, and its considered acceptable."
Joe sighed. "I know it's not like some PG-13 flick where stuff explodes all day and no one gets hurt." He paused. "But if I can avoid getting people killed, I will."
"What if they're trying to kill you?"
"Then mama said knock 'em out."
"Oh? And what if they have your mother?"
"...."
Johnny looked back at him.
"Stuff like that is what made me leave in the first place," Joe said. "I'm not cut out for that."
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When they finally arrived on the Valkyrie, the first one to meet them was Kana. She greeted him with a hug as if they were old friends.

 Joe supposed in a world of deadly missions and 'casualties' the number of people Kana could actually correspond with were severely limited.
After catching a look from Dangerfield, she went back to being reserved.
"Commander Okumbe is waiting in the control room."
The commander had his usual look of expressionless zombie face. It was tinged with disdain when they entered.
"I see you both had a fun time getting here."
Joe crossed his arms. "Oh yeah, 'cause I love getting shot at, chased by another car and almost arrested. It's all the bee's knees for me. What's the story, commander?" Joe had one eyebrow raised. "I thought we had a mutual thing going on. I do what I want, and we both pretend the other doesn't exist."
"That'll have to come to an end, I'm afraid. There's something we need your help with." The wall-length screen behind him activated and Kana controlled it from a small handheld console.
"I'm not sure what Dangerfield has shared with you so far, but I'll be brief. Chau's men have a setup in London, and we need your help getting in."
The screen displayed a tall fixture in the middle of London.
"That is all. We're partnering with MI6 on this, so Dangerfield will be doing the heavy lifting."
At the sound of his name, Johnny stopped inspecting his teeth. "Hm. Yes..."
"And after that?" Joe asked.
"You may return to your life of card counting." Okumbe replied. "Such a shame that someone with your talents would be reduced to a gambler."
Joe unfolded his arms, and slowly slid his hands into his pockets.
"It's too late for the reverse-psychology thing. Way, way too late."
The room was silent for a moment.
"Duly noted." Okumbe replied. "Well, let's get started then."
As Dangerfield was already familiar with the building and Joe already coming in as a last-resort agent, it became a 3-person mission. Kana acted as their connection and Intel, but remained on The Valkyrie as the two headed to their next destination--London.
They traded their stolen helicopter for a private jet. Dangerfield was at the helm once again, leaving Joe as the sole passenger. They sat in the cockpit in silence as Joe distracted himself with streaming tv and Johnny kept them in the air. After two hours of Xena, and three episodes of Hercules the novelty was beginning to wear off and Joe squirmed in his seat.
He pulled his earphones out. "How can you stand all this quiet!? I'm about to lose it!"
Johnny looked at him from the corner of his eye. "Haven't you ever heard that silence is golden?"
"Pssh. How much longer?"
"ETA is still three hours from now. Why don't you go read the ingredients on all the food packets or something?"
"Aughhh...." Joe leaned back. 'Why can't this just be over already?'
He closed his eyes.
He opened them.
He closed his eyes.
He opened them again.
"So..." Joe began, "When did you join the MI6?"
"That's classified information."
"Oh. My. Bob." Joe sat up and faced him. "Who would I even tell!? The KGB? I'm just making conversation!"
"....."
Joe slumped in his seat. He remembered the last time he was in the cockpit of a plane. He shut his eyes. "A walk down memory lane is the last thing I need right now."
It wasn't something he had meant to vent out loud, but luckily he had.
"I joined the service when I was a teenager." Johnny said, eyes still forward. "Originally I wanted to be a police officer. I wanted to do something that stayed in demand and kept me in a smart uniform."
"What happened?"
"The bombings in London." His eyes narrowed. "Suddenly I wasn't just a man in uniform. People looked to me for answers, and all I had was questions. After all, I lived in the UK. We weren't the ones who were attacked. We attacked. Always. And surely we wouldn't attack ourselves. But that's what happened. And I didn't like it. And before I could get out of dodge, I was recruited by the MI6. They needed fresh faces for a world of hidden soldiers and I had the right...credentials."
"As a cop...?"
"Oh no, that had nothing to do with it. Don't expect me to divulge everything just yet. We haven't even had drinks, and I've only known you a few hours."
"Pfft. You're right."He looked up. "Oh man...I can't believe I'm going across the pond. The closest I've gotten is watching BBC."
Johnny gave him a glance. "Oh yes, our crowning achievement. Though I don't peg you as a Whovian."
"I watch it all. Luther, Sherlock, I have to finish Merlin..." He frowned. "As for the doctor, I'm guilty of tuning in for Docs nine and ten."
"Capaldi's not good enough for you?"
"Nah, I'm not worthy. I don't even watch them in order, just randomly when its on. I'm a filthy casual."
"Consider yourself lucky."
"I try to limit my obsessions, don't wanna get consumed. I wanna see more of like, the actual world before I get sucked into fictional ones."
"Then I suggest you stay in service for The Valkyrie."
"..."
" Your personal issues aside, consider the fact that Okumbe tried to call you in for your expertise instead of having you brainwashed and made into a super soldier."
"Okay. That's scary."
"Truly. That's how Chau does things. Do you know how many men and women we have deprogrammed?"
"No, but now I have new nightmare fuel, thanks--"
"You're welcome. The world is full of terrible things, but it's also full of people attempting to fix them."
"Yeah...And those people, despite their good intentions, don't always get what they deserve."
"True." Johnny paused. "But their seat cannot be left vacant. Especially a man like your husband."
"He wasn't my..."Joe sighed in frustration. Eventually, he mumbled; "Not my husband."
"And yet you were married."
"Drunkenly married. Met him when I was drunk. Fought Chau's suits drunk. It was all accidental."
"...." Johnny narrowed his eyes at him. "And then he just accidentally popped into your flat whenever he wasn't working for months?"
"....."
"And your wearing of that ring is accidental?"
Joe didn't have an answer for that.
"Jackson Bullet was a skilled man. And from what I saw he did not have accidents. And I don't think that your meeting was accidental. And I don't think he thought so either."
Joe had his head in his hands. "He didn't." His voice cracked, giving Johnny pause. "He wanted to make it work. I knew that. I wanted us to just be friends. And that didn't stop me from wondering how things would have gone if we never met."
Johnny turned to face him. "You want to know? I'll tell you. If Jack didn't find Chau's hideout that night, Las Vegas would have been destroyed, the following day Nevada would have been held for ransom, and by now the United States' entire chain of command would be dead."
There was horror in Joe's eyes and Johnny continued.
"And now someone out there has of all things, a railgun. Do you know what a railgun does?"
Joe nodded.
"Then you know we've given him enough time already."
"But I don't understand that. I kinda understand how he could build one...Uh in theory." His gaze turned inward, pensive. "He was able to fire it before, which means its operational. That was months ago. Why hasn't it been used since?"
"Classified." Johnny blurted out.
Joe blinked. "What?" He blinked again. "Why would you...Oh. " He frowned. "Who owned it?"
When Johnny didn't reply, Joe continued to speculate. "It wasn't their railgun...It was...England's railgun? America's railgun?"
"..."His silence was a confirmation.
"And now Chau is in England. But the railgun is...deactivated?"
Johnny looked away.
"But you have to figure out what he's up to...And what other things he can get his hands on."
"I can not confirm nor deny that." Johnny finally said.
"Oh jeez." Joe rubbed his temples. "Now before we act on the behalf of the free world, I'm gonna take that nap. And when we get to London, I'm having that Yoohoo. Or, whatever its British equivalent is."
He stood and walked into the cabin.
Johnny watched him go and then resumed gazing the skies.
'Don't worry, Bullet. We'll make an agent of him yet.'
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