Home    Stories by Author    Stories by Title    Links

The Right Reasons 5: Shopping Spree

Rating
: IM15
Summary: Gunny runs into an interesting woman while running errands.
Disclaimer: See Part 1 for disclaimers.
Spoilers: All the way through the Season 9 finale. Let’s hope I get this done before Season 10 begins.

Hotel near Phoenix, Arizona

Webb was already awake and reading through the files again when Gunny woke the next morning.

“How long did you sleep, sir?” Gunny looked at the clock to see if he overslept; it was only 6:00 am.

Webb stretched his arms over his head and cracked his knuckles. “Not long enough, but reading this file was better than lying in bed not sleeping.”

Gunny ran his fingers through his close-cropped hair and rolled out of the bed. “I suppose it does. What’s the plan for today?”

“You’re going shopping,” Webb told him.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What for?”

Webb handed him a piece of paper. “This.” Another piece of paper. “And this.”

Gunny looked it over. The first list was food, and the second was clothing. He looked at Webb. “Are you serious, sir?”

“Unless you brought some spare clothes in your seabag, yes. You’re nearly the same size as I am, so you buying these won’t arouse any suspicions.”

Gunny sighed. “All right. What are you going to do, sir?”

“We will probably be here on this assignment for a while, so you can stop with the ‘sirs’. I do have a first name, you know,” he said dryly.

“Yes, s-, uh, Clay,” Gunny replied. “So what are you doing while I’m out shopping?”

“I’ll be watching,” and Clay pointed towards the balcony, which overlooked the river and the houses beyond it, “and see if our ‘friend’ is doing anything.”

“Sounds like you have the better job, Clay,” Gunny complained good-naturedly. “How did that work out?”

“One of the few perks of being dead. And no, I’m not trading with you. Go on, now. I’d like to change out of these clothes.”

Shopping Mall
Two Hours Later


Gunny hefted the bags up and began walking. ‘One more store, and then I can get the food.’ He hadn't realized how particular Webb was about what he wore, even the casual clothing. He had had to go to five different stores in the mall to get the right brand, color and size.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the petite redhead stopping in front of him. He plowed into her scattering not only his bags, but hers as well.

“I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed, trying pick up bags while people pushed around them.

"My glasses!" She looked around where they were kneeling. Victor found them, and gave them back to her.

“I should have been watching where I was going,” he apologized.

“It’s all right,” she responded. “I did stop very suddenly.” As he handed her bags back to her, he noticed how attractive she was. Their eyes met and she ducked away. “I’m Victor, by the way.”

“Irene.”

Just then his cell phone rang. He looked down and saw it was Webb. “I’m sorry – I have to take this call.”

“That’s all right. Maybe I’ll run into you another time,” she chuckled as she walked away.

“That would be nice,” Gunny muttered to himself. He hit the “Send” button on the phone and answered it. “Galindez.”

“It’s me. Our quarry is on the move. You need to get back here ASAP.”

To Part 6