The Supreme Soldier in the City
Chapter 99: Drunk

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Drunk

James Brown felt utterly dejected, really dejected. Who would have thought that simply saving Joan a couple of times—he just happened to be there, and it was all in fun—would lead to her taking it seriously.

The sound of a cup falling to the floor didn’t even awaken Joan, who continued to slowly sip her drink, lost in thoughts of the extraordinary person she admired.

James kicked the broken pieces of the cup aside, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry. Was he really that cool? With his ordinary appearance, one that would get lost in a crowd, he had somehow captured Joan’s fancy. What sort of taste did Joan have?

Luckily, the person Joan fancied was not him, at least not the person he was now. As long as Joan didn’t find out he was that person, all should be well.

If Joan knew what James was thinking at that moment, who knows what expression she would wear?

As Joan mulled over her secretive yearnings, she went from one drink to the next, until James realized she was already drunk.

"Hey, can you still handle it?" James nudged Joan, who was slumped over the table, and was speechless. Why drink so much when you don’t have the tolerance?

Joan muttered something incomprehensible and then went back to sleep.

James, out of options, had to drag and carry her up. It was supposed to be Joan treating him to a meal, and now he had to foot the bill. Luckily, there hadn’t been any major expenses recently, and he had some money on hand, so paying the bill wasn’t an issue.

Joan was truly drunk by this time. When James carried her, she didn’t react at all, her body limp. James decided to carry her horizontally, which made things somewhat easier.

Once inside the taxi, James nudged Joan, who was leaning on his shoulder, and said, "Officer Monaghan, where is your home? I’ll take you back."

"..."

"Wake up, I’m taking you home."

"..."

James was truly at a loss for words. Even though Joan was a cop, she was also a woman, and here she was, so drunk she was oblivious to the risk of being taken advantage of.

Having no other choice, James decided to take her back to his place first and figure things out once she woke up.

Exiting the elevator, James unlocked his apartment door. There was no noise from the neighbors on either side; he wasn’t sure if they were at home. While it would have been more convenient to take Joan to the homes of his neighbors, Emily Jenkins and Lucy Campbell, he didn’t have much of a relationship with them. Bringing a woman home and then dropping her off at their place didn’t seem right, so he had no choice but to take Joan to his apartment.

James laid Joan down on the only bed in his apartment, removed her shoes and revealed her feet, clad in stockings. The shape of her feet was quite attractive, reminiscent of Emily Lopez’s—she and Gina Lopez hadn’t called him in quite a while.

"Why is this?" Joan mumbled, "Isn’t this just faking it? Even if I become an official this way, it won’t sit right with me...", she twisted her body, turning her head towards James, her brow furrowed.

James felt Joan was really quite stubborn. What was clearly a good turn of events bothered her so much, a stark contrast to those who scheme relentlessly to obtain official positions.

"You are really amazing. I admire you so much!"

James, about to leave the room, paused. Joan seemed to be talking about him.

After waiting a moment, Joan’s cheeks reddened more and more, her tone extremely gentle, "I don’t know your name, nor who you really are, but do you know, you’re always on my mind, and I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again. If I do get to see you, I really want to say to you... I... I..."

James was actually eager to hear what Joan would say next, but after repeating "I" several times, she didn’t continue. This left James somewhat frustrated. What game was she playing? So reserved even in sleep, it seemed the words she hesitated to voice out loud were very likely "I love you."

At the thought of those three words, James couldn’t help but shudder. Joan wasn’t the type of girl he wanted to get involved with. Love was truly difficult for him, so he immediately resolved to avoid getting mixed up in her affairs in the future.

Seeing that Joan had nothing more to say, James walked out and carefully closed the bedroom door. Noticing it was still early, he performed some simple exercises in the living room, took a shower, and prepared for bed.

With Joan occupying the bed, James obviously couldn’t sleep with her, so the couch was the only option.

For James, however, sleep came easily in even the harshest conditions. He recalled the times during missions when, to preserve strength, he could sleep anywhere—whether in a dense forest, on hard stones, or even in muddy terrain. In the name of survival, maintaining strength was paramount.

Compared to those environments, the couch was a luxury. So James lay down on the sofa, and within five minutes, he was deep asleep.

But it had been less than two minutes when a noise came from the bedroom, and by the sound of it, Joan Wilson was vomiting, which really dampened James Brown’s spirits. He hurried in to find Joan bent over the edge of the bed, throwing up vehemently.

After she finished, the beautiful police officer simply collapsed and fell asleep right there.

Joan Wilson was a beauty, but even the most beautiful person’s vomit still smelled horrendous. James Brown quickly set about cleaning up. After all, it was his home, and he had to get it cleaned up no matter what.

Having cleaned up the mess on the floor, James glanced at Joan with a frown. There was a lot of filth on Officer Monaghan’s clothes too, and without cleaning that up, it would be disgustingly dirty.

"Don’t blame me for taking advantage of you; your feelings don’t matter, but I still want my bed," James mumbled to himself, sitting on the bed. In just a moment, he had stripped off Joan’s outerwear.

James wasn’t one of those shy young boys who turned red and stiff when undressing a woman. He had undressed women so many times before that by now it was second nature to him, and he didn’t hesitate or dilly-dally.

Underneath, Joan was wearing a tight pale pink undershirt, the kind with stretch to it, which left a patch of snowy skin exposed at the collar but clung closely everywhere else.

"She’s actually quite stacked," James couldn’t help but admire Joan’s full, firm chest, and his mind wandered to less honorable thoughts. However, he dismissed the thoughts quickly and took Joan’s clothes to the bathroom.

He had thought about not washing Joan’s clothes, but the smell really bothered him, so in the end he washed them all.

Early the next morning, just after five o’clock, James was sleeping soundly when a scream from Joan suddenly filled the bedroom. James turned over and didn’t bother to respond. Without even thinking about it, he knew Joan must have freaked out upon realizing she had been undressed and was in a strange place.

The bedroom door quickly opened, and Joan rushed out, the bedroom light already on and some light filtering into the living room as well. Joan caught sight of a person sleeping on the sofa, and moreover, it was a man.

As a woman, her scream had been instinctive, but as a police officer, she quickly calmed down and conducted a swift check of her body. Finding no harm, she relaxed. So, when she saw there was a man, she didn’t panic.

Finding the living room switch, Joan turned on the light and approached the sofa, then recognized James and felt an inexplicable relief.

"I say, Officer Monaghan, are you all right? It’s only just past five, and here you are, making a fuss. Am I not allowed to sleep?" James rolled over, a picture of annoyance as he looked at Joan.

At that point, Joan smiled and said, "Thank you very much."

James rolled his eyes and said, "This early, you couldn’t just be planning to say thanks, could you?"

Joan, somewhat embarrassed, replied, "Of course I have to say thank you. I really lost my composure last night."

"All right, all right, I’ll take your thanks. Just turn off the light and let me sleep; I’m tired." Having said that, James turned over, facing the sofa, and showed his back to Joan.

Joan hesitated for a moment, then turned off the light and went back to the bedroom, but once in bed, she couldn’t sleep.

As a girl, Joan knew all too well the gravitational pull she could exert on men, and having studied criminal psychology, she also knew how easy it was for a drunk woman to lure a man into crime.

Yet James, this guy, had taken off her outer clothes and then did nothing else. This really didn’t seem to fit the normal psychology of a man. Could it be that this man was truly honorable, a true gentleman who would not take advantage of a situation?

But then Joan immediately dismissed the thought. Just a couple of days ago, she had seen a college student staying with James, and before that a pretty woman also tangled up with this guy. Could such a person really be anything resembling a gentleman? He was nothing but a fickle lothario.

And then there was that high school girl; this guy was absolutely shameless not to spare even a girl of that age. He was a beast through and through.

But then Joan recalled how, when Sarah Grandy was here, James had tried to send her packing, and he had even tried to use Joan to do it.

"Oh no, could it be that this guy swings the other way?" Joan suddenly pondered the possibility, and the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Nowadays, the world was crazy. Men didn’t only have to be with women; they could be with other men. James had brought her back when she was drunk. If he were a normal man, how could he let such an opportunity pass, especially with that high school girl, who was so attractive? What normal man wouldn’t like such a young cutie?

As for the pretty woman and the college student, she had only seen them together, not actually seen them in bed. Perhaps James was just pretending, staying with women to throw people off the scent.

Joan felt a chill on her back. She had heard plenty about perverted men but had never actually met one, let alone had contact with one. This was her first time, and no matter how she thought about it, something felt off, sending involuntary shivers through her body.

Right now, James had no idea that Joan had already pegged him as someone interested in men, but if he knew, he would surely be frustrated to death.