FicWad

Author: "Wolfman Six"

DISCLAIMERS:

G.I. Joe, and all names and trademarks associated thereof, are the property of Hasbro International, Inc, Marvel Comics and Devil's Due Comics. Any other trademarks or service marks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies. No infringement of any existing copyright is intended.

This is entirely a work of fiction, although some information is based on fact. I derive no income from producing this work, but please credit me if you reproduce or retransmit this material in whole or in part. All original material in this work is mine, all mine, and I will hunt down anyone who steals it!

*

Steeler's Story

Part Five

'Dating Game'

*

Citibank Building

Wall Street, New York City

1100 hours, local time

The tall, imposing structure of glass and concrete that formed the Citibank New York corporate offices reached high into the jumble of buildings that formed the famed Wall Street financial district. From the ground, the tall skyscrapers nearly blotted out the sun from the immaculately-dressed executive types that scurried back and forth down on the street level, rushing back and forth between deals or meetings.

Steeler drove along the neighborhood's narrow streets in an Army-owned Chevrolet Lumina full-size sedan that he borrowed from the Joes' motor pool, trying to find a convenient place to park. As he passed the block where Citibank was situated, the major noticed a delivery truck pulling out of a curbside space, and he executed a feat of tank driving trickery to maneuver his car into the vacant spot before someone else could shove their way in.

Shutting off the engine, Steeler sat silently in the car for a moment, staring at himself blankly in the rearview mirror. The eyes in his reflection seemed blank and distant. His short-cropped hair stood neatly atop his head, and the major's dress greens were immaculate. However, his appearance wasn't among the thoughts that were swimming around in his head.

"Ralph, what do you think you're doing with this beautiful woman? You're just a grunt officer. She's a professional lady and way too good for a blue collar citizen like you."

"Ralph, what about Jenny and upholding her memory?"

"Ralph, you're a good soldier. Do your duty. Why spoil your career by getting back into having a relationship?"

In the fleeting moments of a truck passing by and honking its horn, or a passer-by taking a sip of coffee, Steeler found that he doubted himself, something he hadn't done in a long time. He was surprised in a way that Lisa had broken through his emotional shell and released such thoughts back into his head.

Steeler took his eyes away from the rearview mirror for a moment and they drifted down to the passenger's seat of the Lumina, where a small bouquet of white roses rested. He could hear his mother's voice, telling him that it was truly time to move on with his emotional life.

A soft tap-tap-tap on the driver's side window stirred Steeler back to his reality. Outside the car, the young face of an NYPD beat patrolman stared back at him. The cop had his PR-24 nightstick in hand and had noticed Steeler sitting alone in the car. Steeler turned in his seat and rolled down the car window.

"Is everything okay, Soldier?" the patrolman asked. "I noticed you sitting there and wondered if you were broke down or something."

"The car's fine, officer," Steeler replied. "I just need to run up to the Citibank offices. Am I parked illegally or something?"

The patrolman glanced up and down the street for a second, taking in the moving people and vehicles before looking back at Steeler. "Technically? Yeah, you are, Major. This is a truck loading zone only. But seeing as how you're in uniform and in an official vehicle, I'll leave you alone."

"Thanks, officer," Steeler said. "I should only be a few minutes." He grabbed the bouquet of flowers and stepped out of the Lumina next to the patrolman.

When the cop saw the roses in Steeler's hands, he whistled approvingly. "You soldiers have all the luck. When chicks dig a man in uniform, they always go for you guys."

"I wouldn't know much about that," Steeler replied. "But thanks anyway."

*

Meanwhile, inside the Citibank building...

Lisa Underwood walked back to her desk from the ladies' room, attired in a form-fitting cotton t-shirt and relaxed fit denim jeans. She had changed clothes from her work ensemble right after her morning meetings ended. The marketing executive was beaming with excitement about her first date with Major Pulaski.

"My, aren't you a tasty dish in that tight stuff," Patricia purred, as she accepted her boss's business suit and hung it neatly on a dry-cleaning hanger. "I think your soldier friend is going to want to find the most secluded part of Central Park and unwrap you like a Christmas gift!"

Lisa smiled unabashedly, her cheeks turning slightly red. "Well, that wouldn't be such a bad thing." Leaning towards her secretary, she whispered, "Not like I'm hard up for it or anything..."

Patricia winked at Lisa under the flowing strands of her red hair. "Sure you're not, Lisa. That's why you've conveniently forgotten to put your bra back on." She dangled the silk Victoria's Secret piece teasingly in front of Lisa before slipping it into an inside pocket of the business suit jacket. "I'll bet if he so much as blows you a kiss in that tight thing, your headlights will be so far on that half the park would sit up and take notice!"

"Hey, 'Trisha," Lisa said with a girlish giggle. "We have to do what we have to do." She turned and took the dry cleaning hanger from where Patricia had hung it on her cubicle wall and walked into her office to sit down at the desk and laptop computer inside. Just as Lisa sat down in the leather office chair, the phone at Patricia's desk rang.

Patricia looked at the display on her phone extension as it showed the identity of the caller. "Speak of the devil," she remarked, reaching for the phone's handset. "I think your major is down at security. I'll have the guard send him up the elevator."

"Thanks, 'Tricia," Lisa replied, turning to pick up a small hand mirror and fluffing her hair in front of it while she checked her makeup and lipstick. Patricia quietly spoke with the security guard in the visitor's lobby and then hung up the phone.

"Can you go meet Major Pulaski at the elevators, 'Tricia?" Lisa asked when she spotted Patricia turning in her chair to sip at her coffee. "I've got to shut everything down in here."

"Okay, Lolita," Patricia replied with a laugh. "But don't be surprised if I try to steal him from you."

"I don't need to worry," Lisa said. "I know where you live. I'll find you."

*

Lisa was just closing the lid of her laptop computer and tucking it into her briefcase, so she could lock her things up in a small wall closet when Patricia led Steeler down the main hallway from the elevator lobby to her office. The assistant was all smiles as she escorted the tall, immaculately-uniformed major past the stares of numerous office workers. She had flirtatiously snaked her arm around Steeler's while they walked from the elevator.

Patricia and Steeler stopped outside Lisa's office, where the assistant knocked once on the door and peeked inside. "Lisa, your visitor is here," Patricia said with an approving wink.

"Come on in, Ralph," Lisa said, getting up from her desk and walking around it to show Steeler to a chair. "Thank you, 'Tricia," she said to her assistant as Patricia returned to her cubicle.

"You'll have to excuse Patricia, Ralph," Lisa said, closing her office door so that the she and Steeler could have some privacy. "She's a flirt and has this thing for uniforms." Behind the closed door, she stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the cheek. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too," Steeler replied. "I hope your thing isn't like her thing for uniforms."

Lisa laughed and offered Steeler a chair. "No way, honey. How things go with us is purely a mutual decision. Do you want to go to Central Park right away?"

"I packed my car with a picnic lunch," Steeler replied, his eyes tracing a course down Lisa's body while she reached for a thick sweater that hung from a tall coat hook. "So why don't we go? I'm sure you could do with an early escape."

"You said it, Major," Lisa agreed, smiling in his direction while she tossed the wool knit sweater up over her shoulders and wiggled it down into position. She picked up her key ring from the desk, along with a leather handbag that she wore like a knapsack, and then took Steeler's arm. "Don't worry, Ralph. I'll protect you from Patricia on the way to the elevator."

*

1130 hours, local time

Central Park

Steeler spread an Army-issue olive drab blanket out on the grass in the "East Meadow" section, just north of 97th Street. The blanket had been borrowed from the base supply room at the suggestion of Clutch, who turned out to be a good advisor on how to have a picnic. He and Lisa had driven up to the park from Wall Street in Steeler's Lumina and made pretty good time at that.

Lisa stood off to one side, watching with an impressed smile at how gentlemanly Steeler was treating her. He seemed so innocent, like he hadn't dated all too often. When they had talked on the phone, Steeler discussed his family, his life in the Army (but with the ever-present tongue-in-cheek secrecy), and what he thought about life after his Army career. It was surely too early in their time together to ask him about other dates he'd had, but Lisa had a sneaking suspicion that he was somewhat wet behind the ears, or his last relationship didn't turn out all too well.

"Do you need any help with that blanket, Ralph?" Lisa asked, smiling at the Major as he finally got the large cotton blanket flattened out and brought the well-stocked picnic basket over to it.

"I'm okay, Lisa," Steeler replied, patting the blanket. "Come on over, and let's eat."

Lisa kicked off her flats and stepped gingerly onto the blanket. She laid down on it and stretched out, giving Steeler the full view of her curvy figure. Propping herself up on one elbow, she reached out to brush Steeler's cheek with her palm, and he stretched out on the blanket so that their heads met at one corner with the picnic basket between them.

"So, Major hot stuff," Lisa said coyly, batting her eyelashes. "What's the chow you brought along?"

Steeler unpacked the array of food he had selected. The opening course was a fresh vegetable salad and a light dressing that the two shared right out of the Tupperware container. It was followed by a lovingly prepared grinder sandwich made of grilled chicken in an Asian peanut sauce heaped high on crispy lettuce, firm Jersey tomatoes and thin strips of bell pepper.

Lisa munched away at the grinder and asked Steeler where he came up with such a thoughtful picnic lunch in between bites, daintily dabbing at some peanut sauce that was about to drip down his chin with a paper napkin.

"Well, I have to admit that I'm not a great cook myself," Steeler said, before sipping from a large bottle of spring water. "It comes from being a bachelor officer and eating in the mess hall all the time. But a Navy Lieutenant who's a part of the same program I work in is an attached guy, so he offered me some pointers and the key to the food lockers. I have to give him the lion's share of the credit, but I did make it all with my own two hands."

"That's quite an accomplishment, Ralph," Lisa said admiringly. "And don't worry, everything is delicious! If you ever want to learn about some home cooking, you can come over to my place and lay your two hands on some stuff. I'll coach you through it."

"I might take you up on that," Steeler replied with a half-smile. "But I can't - I can't make too many promises yet."

The tension that instantly developed in Steeler's voice was palatable to Lisa, and she turned her lips downward in a concerned frown. It felt almost like he was playing the turtle and crawling into his shell at the first sign of an emotional shift. Rather than probe the issue further, she simply rested a hand on his chest and gently caressed his pectoral muscles through the light, summer weight uniform fabric. "It's okay, Ralph. I know your duties are very important to you right now."

Lisa could feel Steeler shed the tenseness in his muscles as a sigh escaped from his lips. She felt good inside that the approach was right. At least the date wouldn't end awkwardly because of her invitation. "That sailor must be able to work magic in the kitchen, considering the spread he got you to make with a little coaching. I wonder if I can hire him to teach me some tricks, so that I can make something just as good for you someday."

"I'm sorry to say that he's busy," Steeler said in his matter-of-fact way. "He got deployed to Asia this morning. He's part Filipino, and he got tapped to support some sort of American presence in the Philippine Islands. I'm not sure exactly where he's going to be, but I'm sure he'd appreciate what you said."

"I'm glad you're tight with the troops you work with," Lisa said quietly. "I'll bet he would've been way too busy to help do this, if he packs for business trips even remotely like I do, namely at the last possible second when the airport taxi comes."

That drew a laugh from Steeler. He even tossed his head back and let out a loud guffaw. "He's a little bit better organized than that," the Major said. "But he did say during morning chow that he had to rush through packing his razor and favorite sidearm on the way out to breakfast."

The pair shared a final chuckle at the subject of Steeler's deployed teammate, and then the major reached into the bottom of the picnic basket to produce a bottle of Martini & Rossi Asti Spumanti. "I thought this would make a good ending to our picnic lunch."

Lisa smiled brightly at Steeler. "That was very thoughtful! I like this brand of bubbly a lot!" She accepted a glass from Steeler as he carefully poured her a dose. "Are you trying to liquor me up so you can take advantage of me? I hear that's an old Army trick the guys do when they're home from duty... My dad claimed to have hooked my mom that way in an old Brooklyn bar one dark and stormy night..."

"Nope," Steeler said. "I had no ulterior motive behind it, other than thinking a little might ease my own nerves."

Lisa's face took on an expression of mock hurt. "You're afraid of little old me?" she asked, reaching for his hand and gripping it gently. "I'm harmless, compared to a big, strong, lady-killer of a soldier such as yourself." Her voice trailed off while she leaned her face closer. The deep pools of her eyes fixed on Steeler's as their lips met. Cautiously at first, Lisa initiated the kiss, but Steeler began to let his self-imposed emotional shell melt away, and he brought his arm around Lisa's waist to draw her snugly close.

"Mmm," Lisa mumbled softly when their lips parted from the warm kiss. "You're a great kisser, Major. Did you learn that in OCS?"

Steeler flashed a smile that was warmer than any Lisa had witnessed from him. "No, but I can show you that I was a fast learner..." His mouth opened slightly, and Lisa brought her mouth against Steeler's once more, the two absorbing each other into a long and passionate French kiss.

*

Two hours later...

The hansom carriage finished rounding the tour route of Central Park, and the horse that drew the luxurious open-topped vehicle whinnied in protest when the driver brought it to a halt.

"It sounds like the horse wants to keep going," Lisa observed with a smile, after breaking her lip lock with Steeler. The major simply sat on the padded passenger bench with his arms around Lisa, enjoying the ride and the company.

"Sorry, lady," the driver said. "It's the end of the line. It's time for feed and water for Butch here. Thanks again for taking the ride."

Steeler climbed down from the carriage and helped Lisa out. They walked hand in hand across Grand Army Plaza from the carriage rental line and over to the spot where the major had parked his Lumina. Right before they got to the car, a buzzing sound came from Steeler's pocket.

"Is that you or me?" Lisa asked, revealing that she was also not totally disconnected from her job by yanking her tiny flip phone out of her knapsack.

Steeler fished into his pocket and pulled out the larger TDC that served as his link to the New York Detachment. "It's me," he said, flipping the plastic cover of the Tactical Data Communicator and turning it on. A simple text message flashed across the TDC's display, and Steeler's face became solidly fixed.

"I'm sorry, Lisa," Steeler said, resting his hands on Lisa's shoulders. "I have to drop you back at the office now. The base has recalled me. It's probably only an alert drill, but I have to go back."

"I understand," Lisa replied, taking his face into her hands and kissing him deeply one last time. "Thanks for a wonderful first date."

Holding the passenger door open for Lisa, Steeler helped her inside, shut the door and then climbed into the driver's seat. Within seconds, the Joe tanker had the Chevy sedan rolling and weaving through traffic.

*