Out of Retirement

Chuck has us looking at a link today... and it's putting together two people and making them work in our work. I got: 'He's a sword-wielding, guitar-strumming card sharp with a passion for cars. She a provocative insomniac widow trying to make a difference in a man's world. They fight crime!'

enjoy.

He pulled his car into the driveway and turned off the engine – as the lights turned off at the same time. He had to look in to the engine tomorrow because it just didn’t sound right. Sighing, he realised he had almost been found out at tonight’s game. Getting out of the car, he spotted the house across the road had a light on.

She always had a light on at night when he arrived home.

Dixon wondered why such a hottie was always awake at night, but then, he shrugged and went back to his darkened house and let himself in. Now was not the time to introduce himself.

Anna looked out the window of her house as his Impala pulled into the driveway and he just sat there for a moment. He must have lost at the card game again – or almost lost. Her mind reached out and she found out his name was Dixon.

Nice name for a dude who was... woah, is that a hidden staff? No, hang on, a sword that only comes out when he’s in battle? Exactly who was this?

It was around 8am before she crawled out of bed to the sound of Dixon working on his car.

“Oh, jeez, why now? It’s so early.” She muttered pulling on a pair of jeans and finding what she was going to wear for the day and plodding downstairs after running a brush through her hair. Anna put on the coffee maker and opened the curtains to let in the sunlight as she watched him bend over the fender of the car in a pair of black jeans and a grubby t-shirt; his guitar leaning against the garage door.

He was constantly working on his car and then playing that guitar – and he wasn’t too bad on it either.

But what had she seen last night?

Pouring out two large mugs of coffee, Anna thought it was high time she introduced herself. As she looked up, she saw a black van pull up.

Dixon stood up slowly from his car.

He wiped his greasy hands on his jeans as he took in the van.

Anna could feel trouble brewing outside – not just her coffee.

A gunshot pierced the air, making her run for the door, forgetting the coffees. On the way through, she grabbed a garden stake from the roses out the front and ran across the road as Dixon was shot twice, but he didn’t fall.

Staggering, he grinned and he raised his right hand up and over his head to where a sword pummel materialised, “I was really hoping you’d do that!”

Anna’s mouth dropped as the gunmen turned on her, “Who’s this slut?”

“Who are you calling a slut?” she snapped dropping the garden stake and opening her right hand where a ball of blue-white electricity grew – snapping and popping as it her anger did – and she stood there on the footpath glaring, “Answer me!”

It was Dixon’s turn to be shocked, “Well, shit... and you guys better answer her now.”

The guys from the black van hesitated before they turned, clambered back into the van and took off. Closing her hand, the ball of electricity vanished with a loud pop, and she smiled, “Um... well, hi.”

He looked at the sword in his hand, “I better explain this.”

“I think we both have some explaining to do, before the neighbours call the police and we’re both in a world of pain.” She glanced around.

He replaced his sword – and it vanished again – and he turned to his car, “I’m just replacing the spark plugs, and we can talk, okay?”

At dusk, Dixon knocked on her door.

He brought his guitar and a bag of freshly ground coffee.

“Hey a man after my own heart... coffee.” She smiled.

“Yeah... so it looks like we’re both hiding secrets.” He handed over the coffee, “Would you like to talk about it?”

She smiled as she opened the coffee, “It’s nice to know I’m not alone.”

“So,” he turned from her ordinary-looking house, “When did you retire from being in the super hero spotlight?”

Pouring a few spoons into the coffee maker, she glanced outside at the dying day, then back at Dixon, “You kind of never do.”

He grinned, blushing a little, “No, I guess we don’t.”

After turning on the machine, she pulled down the mugs and left them on the counter. Walking over to him, she sat on the lounge, and he joined her, “So, Dixon, what do you want to do about this?”

His eyes ran down her body, and back up to her face, where a wicked little smile was making her eyes twinkle, “Well, I’d like to join forces with you – only if you’d like to...”

“...join forces with you?”

“Yeah.” He whispered leaning in closer, he kissed her softly, gently, sweetly at first... then...

Her hair smelled so sweet in the morning as they snuggled together the next morning. Dixon watched her sleeping and knew he had to tell her what his mission was – eventually.

“Eventually?” she whispered, “What is your mission? You said you were retired.”

“No I didn’t. You did.” He said.

“So, what happens now? You fuck me and think you can get away with handing me over to some black-van-driving assholes who think they can pull me apart like some experiment?”

“No... well... that was my job. But how about we join forces?” he smiled, “You can kick ass like I can – and why not try to take down the whole system and let the super heroes rule Earth again? I think it’d be great.” Dixon rolled onto his back and stretched.

“You think so?” she asked leaning on his chest.

“Yeah, we scared the shit outa those guys yesterday.”

“That wasn’t a show?”

“No. That, Anna, was the real deal... if you scared them, you and I can pull down the whole thing.”  
"They are the same people who killed my husband; and I want revenge." she smiled, "So count me in."