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Not Prime Time 2017
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2017-06-29
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Stunning Day

Summary:

Taggart causes another disaster at Global Dynamics, leaving Jack and Jo to deal with the fallout.

Notes:

I do hope you like this :)

Work Text:

"No, No! Jo, don't shoot the... ," Jack exclaimed, then added with a sigh,"...prisoner," as Doctor Hardgrip collapsed backwards onto the cot in the cell, sprawled in a messy heap. Jack shook his head. "I hope that was on stun," he stated in annoyance as Jo rested the overly large gun back on the desk in front of her and began to dismantle it.

She raised one sculptured eyebrow as if to ask if he truly believed she would shoot an unarmed civilian with real bullets. Not entirely convinced, he gave a half-shrug and wince before grasping the bars and staring into the cell at the now quietly snoring Hardgrip. At least he was still breathing.

"Okay. So what did he do?"

With an oily rag she indicated towards a gadget placed on the edge of Jack's desk before turning her attention back to stripping down and cleaning the gun, which he now recognized as one of the new crowd control sonic stun guns. The shock wave from the gun could take out a small crowd fanning out from the end of the barrel as far as twenty feet so Hardgrip hadn't stood a chance while locked in the cell. The only drawback, according to Stark, was the sizeable headache Hardgrip had to look forward to once he regained consciousness in about an hour or so. Of course Psycho-Stark had tried to play that down as immaterial, and Jo certainly didn't seem to think it a problem. Personally, Jack would like to try it out on Stark and see how he felt about its side effects after being on the wrong end of a stun. Putting that entertaining thought aside, Jack wandered over to his desk, picked up a pen, and poked at the gadget.

"What is it?"

"An EAR."

"A what?"

"An EAR. Effluence Acidity Reader, stolen from Doctor Pottimouth's laboratory." She growled. "Doctor Hardgrip wanted me to blow in his EAR."

"Effluence?" His eyes widened in realization. "Crap!"

"Exactly," Jo stated, snarling a little more.

He winced and gave a small shudder when it all became crystal clear. "These scientists definitely need to get out of the laboratory more often," he stated, because most had no idea how to talk to a normal person - and Jack considered him and Jo the only normal people left in the town now Zoe had gone off to stay with her mother for a few weeks. He sat behind his desk and poked at the gadget one more time before deciding to do something about it. "I should take this back to Global."

"Yeah, you do that," Jo mumbled, still too engrossed in the gun to even look up.

Jack sighed and left her to it, convinced she was never happier than when she had a very big gun to play with, especially when she'd finally got the chance to fire it. Placing the gadget on the dashboard of the Cherokee he headed out and had barely managed to drive twenty feet before the radio crackled. Jack grabbed the mike.

"Go for Carter."

"Carter, you're needed up at Global," Allison demanded abruptly, and he could hear the strain in her voice so something big had to be going on.

"Already on my way. What's going on?"

He could almost hear her teeth grinding in anger. "Taggart accidentally released a mood enhancer into the air filtration system. It's turning ugly here."

Jack groaned as soon as he heard Taggart's name. It just had to be him or Fargo.

"That man's a menace! Wait? Mood enhancer? What kind of mood exactly?" he asked, only to hear the sounds of raised voices in the background followed by Allison sniping at Nathan angrily.

Normally he would have loved to hear Allison and Stark fighting but the thought of a whole bunch of nerds at each other's throats filled him with dread. Most of them couldn't throw a punch to save their lives but those eggheads tended to choose more inventive methods of getting payback so Jack could just imagine the chaos if things got too out of hand.

"Just get here now," Allison snapped, ending the call just as abruptly with none of her usual grace and charm.

Jack thought about it for only a few seconds before he decided it was time to let Jo play with a certain big gun - again. He keyed the radio. "Jo, we have a crowd control problem. Get that gun put back together and head over to Global. Bring the spare and a breathing mask," he added, hearing her excited, sharp intake of breath and imagining her gleeful expression right about now.

By the time Jack reached Global the scientist slapping fights had spilled beyond the building into the parking lot and for a moment he debated on whether to try breaking it up on his own or wait for back up. Doc Simson threw a particularly pathetic slap-punch, missed the target and fell over. Jack sighed and put in the special ear plugs to prevent the sonic stun affecting him before pulling out his mask with its sophisticated in-built filtering system. He leaned against the Cherokee and waited, knowing Jo would be only a few minutes behind as he had seen how fast she could reassemble a gun and drive. Sure enough, he heard the siren and saw the flashing blue light moments later. Her smaller patrol car screeched to a halt beside the Cherokee and she jumped out, breather and ear plugs already in place, and threw open the trunk. Jo grabbed one of the large crowd-control stun guns while Jack picked up the other, and he couldn't help echoing the shark-grin visible beneath her transparent mask. Together they headed into Global with his small but fierce deputy in full GI JO mode, stunning groups of angry scientists as they moved from cover to cover until they reached the atrium where a greater number of scientists had gathered in an angry protest over... Well, who knew what had riled them up. They were hurling abuse across the small empty space separating two distinct groups. At the head of one group, Stark sneered.

"Oh look who's arrived? It's the Keystone Cops."

Jack had a feeling that was an insult, his finger twitching on the trigger, and though he was tempted to shoot Stark his sense of duty prevailed.

"How about we break this up," Jack demanded. "Everyone go back to your offices or laboratories peaceably."

"Or what? You'll shoot us?" Allison yelled out from where she was heading up the group on the other side of the atrium, hands on her hips, head tilted aggressively; her mouth twisted into an ugly sneer.

Yeah, this was going to get bad.

"If I have to," he replied, and just as he suspected, instead of defusing the situation the crowd turned uglier, surging towards him and Jo.

He cast a quick glance and nod towards Jo knowing she'd understand his order, and they both fired, taking down over a dozen of the angry scientists in one go. Jack gave into the temptation and swung the gun round, firing into the crowd on the other side of the atrium, and probably taking too much pleasure from seeing Stark fall into a heap on the floor, stunned. Damn, the man even collapsed with style, Jack thought. On the other side, Jo was clearly having fun, quickly moving forward to take down anyone who so much as twitched in her general direction. Jack felt less pleased when he had to turn the stun gun on Allison.

"Don't you dare..." Allison ground out.

Jack grimaced when she collapsed gracefully to the atrium floor, offering a silent apology and hoping she'd thank him later. He felt an uncomfortable tingle even through the special ear plugs when he was caught on the edge of one of Jo's shots. Still, he had to admire the way she took down Taggart, who must have been stalking towards him using the piles of stunned scientists as cover.

Together, Jack and Jo worked their way up to Allison and Stark's joint office, and Jack was relieved when Jo scanned the readout on Stark's desk and announced the completion of an air cleansing cycle. By the time everyone came round the mood enhancer should have fully dissipated.

"Let's keep the masks on a little longer just in case," he decided as he didn't want to risk Jo being affected while she had a big ass gun in her hand. They moved through the corridors stunning anyone who looked even a little aggressive, and maybe a few others - like Fargo - just for the sheer hell of it. There was something very satisfying about that particular shot.

Returning to the atrium a little later, Jack put down his heavy gun and picked up Allison. He had to step over the top of Stark's almost artistically posed, unconscious body as he prepared to carry her back to her shared office where he could place her more comfortably on the couch. For a moment he debated on grabbing the gun and stunning Stark a second time, wishing he could justify it. The high pitched sound of the sonic weapon erupted close to Jack again and he looked from Stark's jerking body back to Jo's barely hidden grin.

"He twitched," she stated.

***

Much later, Jack and Jo sat side-by-side on bar stools at the counter in Cafe Diem drinking a Vinspresso and eating well-deserved muffins when Allison and Stark came in. Jack openly grinned when he noticed how gingerly Stark was moving compared to Allison, as if afraid his head was about to fall off, and he could not resist the temptation to taunt Stark.

"Had a stunning day," he quipped, gaining a glare in response, and smiling even wider when he realized Stark was feeling too fragile to even attempt to retaliate.

Grabbing a fresh Vinspresso, Jack whistled happily as he sauntered away, enjoying the way Stark cringed in pain at the higher pitch when Jo joined in with an evil glint in her eyes.

All in all it had been a great day, and he owed part of that to having the Best. Deputy. Ever!

As they headed back to the Sheriff's Office, Jack made a mental note to ask SARAH to order in the latest copy of Military Ma'ams and Summer Pumps and Sandals for Jo, as a thank you.

END