Fourth Vector Ch. 17

"I still do," he said, earning a swat from her.

"I just had a feeling you were more than what you let on, Jack. Our trip to the island only confirmed that."

"It doesn't scare you away, does it? It doesn't want to make you run from me?"

She slipped her hand into his and squeezed. "If anything, it makes me want you more. Not in a superficial way, if that's what you're thinking. I couldn't care less if you were a king or a servant. It just means that my initial feelings about who you are in here makes me more enamored with you." Abigail touched his chest right above his heart.

"Enamored? So you still love me?"

She nodded quickly. "I love you more than you know, Jack."

He smiled and then kissed her tenderly. "And I love you too, Abigail."

She closed her eyes and smiled contently, resting her head against his chest. Jack could only hold her close to him, thankful that even whenever all else seemed to be going off course, at least he could count on Abigail, and Kat for that matter. The two women were a shelter for him when things spiraled out of control, and for that he was truly grateful.

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that in bed, but all too soon, Abigail had to get back to work. She'd slipped out of bed with one last kiss, resuming her spot at her desk. Jack stayed in bed for a few minutes longer, soon realizing that if she had work to do, he probably had his fair share as well. Just as he'd put his cap back on in order to leave, there was a small knock at the door, and Abigail beckoned in the new arrival.

It was her deputy, Brittany. The lieutenant stepped into her quarters and soon closed the door. "Abigail, you have a visitor."

"Who is it?"

Brittany gulped heavily. "It's your sister, Anna."

Abigail and Jack shared a look with each other. This was most unexpected. The last time Jack had seen Anna was when she was transferred over to Luke's command on theValiant. And that had followed a short episode when she'd forced him to choose between herself and her sister.

It wasn't that there was bad blood between them. It was just that the situation had become awkward, and Jack wasn't sure if he should slip outside the quarters and let the two women visit in private or stay in his spot. At the time, Anna had thought that he would end up with Abigail, even though their feelings for each other at that point hadn't developed as fully as they were now. Jack had to wonder what the younger woman would feel about her premonition coming true.

Abigail looked at him with panic. "Should I let her in?" she asked with uncertainty.

Jack nodded after a moment. "No reason not to. We might as well. It's not like this could've been hidden forever, right?"

Abigail nodded silently. With a heavy breath, she looked back at her deputy. "Send her in please, Brittany."

Brittany did as she was told, slipping back outside the door. It opened a short while later, and Jack gazed into the pale-faced, dark-eyed complexion that he hadn't seen in months. Anna Wainwright still looked as lovely as ever, with her shimmering dark hair and innocent smile. That smile was what got men into trouble with her, and for a brief moment, Jack remembered all the times she'd snuck into his bed and the wild nights that followed.

He was uncertain if she would have any malice toward him. Although they'd left on good terms back in Sorella, part of him wondered if time had hardened her heart. Would she resent him for picking her sister over herself? What about Abigail? Would it deeper an existing rift between the sisters?

If Anna was upset or angry with him, she didn't show it. Instead, he received the opposite reception that he was expecting. Anna lit up with a beautiful and genuine smile upon seeing his face.

"Jack! It's so good to see you," she gushed, before pressing in for a long hug. "What a surprise, I didn't expect to see you here."

He wrapped his arms around her even as he shared a surprised look with Abigail. He couldn't stop himself from chuckling. "It's so good to see you too, Anna. How have you been? Has Luke been treating you well on theValiant?"

Anna beamed. "I have no complaints! It's a great ship too, although not as good as theDestiny. Although it still didn't prevent us from licking those Occies though."

Jack grinned. "Yeah, you sure did. Twice for that matter."

"What can I say? We're the best," she said without the slightest hint of modesty. It wasn't until Jack didn't respond right away that Anna looked over to see her sister.

"Abby!" she squealed, rushing over to the other woman. Abigail rushed over just as quickly, no doubt relieved that her sister was in good spirits.

"Anna-bear, I've missed you," said the older sister, scooping up Anna in a big hug.

"I missed you too. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about you," said Anna, only after they'd separated. Anna looked to Jack and then back to her sister. "I'm not interrupting anything here, am I?"

Both Jack and Abigail shook their heads simultaneously, a near perfect indication of the state of semi-guilt they felt. "Not at all," said Jack before pointing to the door. "I should leave you two some time to visit and get back to my own quarters."

Anna waved her hand dismissively. "No, no, Jack, you don't have to go just on my account. Even though I did just come over to see Abby, it's absolutely wonderful to see you too. I just had to see my sister though after so many long months apart."

Jack smiled politely, not knowing what to say. He stayed quiet for a few moments while the two sisters talked between themselves, going over the last few months of events before dipping into personal subjects in a way that only sisters could. Jack felt more like a third wheel the longer he stayed, and the situation wasn't helped at all when Anna asked the fateful question.

"So, tell me about you two," she said with a sly smile. "Are you both still . . . you know?" Her insinuation was clear.

Abigail turned red in the face, her answer already evident. "We are."

Anna grinned and then turned to Jack. "Really, Jack?"

He cleared his throat and then nodded. "Yes, that's right. We're still together."

To his surprise, Anna shared a genuine look of happiness. "I'm so thrilled for both of you. I was hoping I might hear that."

Abigail gave her an incredulous look. "Really, Anna? I didn't really expect that answer from you."

Anna puffed her cheeks. "Heavens no, do you still think I care about . . .? No, Abigail, that's in the past. I had a feeling what would happen once I left. And I'm just glad to see it's still happening. You two are good for each other, and I can't deny that."

Abigail looked relieved. So relieved that she walked over to Jack and slipped her hand in his. "Truthfully, it's been wonderful," she said, while looking up at Jack. "It's not been without its share of surprises, but I'm really happy. We're really happy, right, Jack?"

Jack nodded eagerly. "We are. I swear, we're not trying to rub it in or anything Anna, but this just fits. She just fits in with me."

If there was any jealousy left in Anna over how the situation had turned out, she didn't show it at all. She beamed with happiness as she reached over to hug the both of them at once. "I really am happy for you both. Truly. I have to admit, it was tough to get over it at first, but I can honestly say that I'm over it."

"What made the difference?" asked Abigail.

It was Anna's turn to blush. "I met someone. On theValiant. Another officer, but someone who makes me happy."

Abigail beamed with a smile. "I'm so happy for you, Anna-bear. You'll have to tell me all about him. I want to hear all of it. Don't spare any details!"

Both sisters soon went over to Abigail's bed, gushing together like two girls who'd just entered the Academy. Jack had to bite back a chuckle at their behavior. In the space of a few minutes, two fully grown officers were now gossiping together like teenagers. No matter how much that it amused him, he was thankful for this time they had with each other. He didn't want to get between them in the first place, regretting the conflict that existed because of their relationship. Now that Anna had moved on, it seemed the sisters were ready to resume their relationship.

And for that, he couldn't have been happier. Especially as Anna described her new paramour, and as he fought the tiniest feelings of jealousy as she described the man.

There was another knock at the door a few minutes later, and Brittany stuck her head in again. This time, Kat was directly behind her.

Kat gave a curious look at Abigail and Anna before looking back to Jack. "There you are. I wondered where you'd gone off to."

"Just in here with Abigail and her sister," said Jack, pointing to the two gossiping women. "I could use an escape right now though."

Kat looked over at Anna and then back to him. She gave him a coy smile. "Come on, let's go to your quarters."

Jack gave a fond farewell to Anna and a quick wave to Abigail as he left the two of them to catch up further. As he walked along the passageway with Kat, her hand crept into his.

"I didn't realize that Abigail had a sister in the task force," she said as they walked.

Jack nodded. "She's an officer too. She even used to be on theDestiny before she transferred over to theValiant right around the time we left Sorella."

Kat looked at him with a confused expression. "Why did she transfer?"

Jack held back an embarrassed look. "That's quite the long story, actually."

"Do you have anything better to do?" Kat crossed her arms under her breasts, raising an eyebrow in a move that he found incredibly sexy.

Jack took a deep breath. "There was a conflict of interest between the two sisters."

Kat started to giggle. "Conflict of interest, you say? You don't mean . . .?"

Jack chuckled as they reached his quarters. He quickly opened the door and shut it behind the two of them. "Yeah, I do. The conflict was me."

Kat made an excited noise and covered her mouth. "You were sleeping with both of them, weren't you?"

"In my defense, Anna jumped me after she found out about me and Abigail," he added with his hands raised in front of his torso.

"Sisters, huh? That's quite impressive," said Kat with a laugh as she pressed her body up against his.

"It wasn't all that it's cranked up to be," he added sourly. "Especially when I was caught between them. Anna wanted me to pick between her and Abigail."

"And obviously you picked Abigail?"

"At the time, I didn't pick either of them. Abigail and I weren't really together, and at that point, we'd only slept together once. I had more of a relationship with Anna, but something that I realized wasn't exactly long-term."

"Interesting," said Kat. "So her sister transfers off the ship, and then I'm guessing that's when you two started getting more serious?"

"Not right after, but more so once we got to Andalucia."

Kat gave him a funny look. "You're something else, Jack," she said with another giggle.

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

She poked his chest playfully. "I mean that this isn't the first time you've been toying with the affections of two women."

"In my defense, I'm not toying with you or Abigail—"

Kat started to laugh again. "I'm just teasing you, silly. I just wanted to see what you'd say."

Jack tilted his head when he looked at her. "You're evil."

She made a pouting face. "That's not what you said the last time you were inside me."

"Hmm, and what did I say back then?"

She pressed her body against his tightly, only leaning in to whisper into his ear. "I do believe you told me how much you enjoyed being inside me and how much you loved me. I remember those vividly."

Jack let out a low groan at feeling her body against his. In that moment, his mind went back to that day—the feeling of her body underneath his, the way their hips moved in unison, and even the way she kissed. Kat helped the memory by attacking his lips with passion as her arms slipped over his shoulders.

"I didn't expect a kiss like that," he whispered against her lips only after she'd pulled away. "What did I do to earn that?"

Kat shrugged. "Nothing, I guess. I just wanted to see you to give you that. I missed you, and I wanted a kiss."

"Feel free to collect on kisses like that more often."

She grinned. "Oh, I intend to."

They kissed for several more minutes before their embrace ended. Even though her presence was relaxing and extremely comforting to him, he couldn't help but ponder their current situation in the quiet moments afforded to them by privacy.

"What's wrong, Jack? I can tell something is on your mind," she asked, only after he sat down at his desk.

"I'm just not sure what to do here," he admitted. "I can't figure out how to get in front of King Aedan without causing some kind of international incident. I hate that every moment we spend here without a meeting is one more that we spend while our enemies strengthen."

Kat nodded and slipped in front of his desk. She sat down on the chair in front of it, her wheels clearly turning inside her mind. "I've been giving this some thought. What if we tried something different?"

Jack leaned back and looked at her. "I'm all ears. I'm open to just about any suggestion at this point."

Kat took a deep breath. "What if I slipped into the city by stealth and made my way to the palace? How do you feel about that?"

"You, Kat? Why you?"

She shrugged. "I know Picardy the best. I just so happen to know Aedan as well. He would recognize me and be sure to at least listen to what I had to say. I just know that if I was able to get in front of him, we could buy you that meeting for sure."

Jack gave her a confused look. "How exactly does he know you? Don't take this the wrong way, but he's royalty. I didn't know you were on good terms with the various kings of the Vector."

Kat blinked a few times before responding. "I know him from my travels. Trust me when I say he would recognize me."

"Kat, you're doing it again," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"Doing what?"

"Being cryptic," he said with a small smile. "I thought we agreed this was over with back at your house?"

Kat let out a relieved smile. "Sorry, I'm just trying to help the situation, that's all."

"You almost made it sound like he would recognize you because he used to date you."

Kat laughed. "No, that's not what I meant. But I do think he would listen to what I had to say. Besides, it's better than anything else we have now. How long are we going to stay at this dock while this plague rages inside the city? Probably too long, and it's just going to give the Swabians more time to build their forces against it."

Jack thought about the idea long and hard before he responded. In his mind, he could see Kat slipping into the city at dusk, somehow managing to get past the port officials and into the city, using the shadows to make her way to the palace. However, he could also see her running into victims of the plague, finding their stricken bodies laying where they fell. He also saw her getting caught and imprisoned, causing a situation not unlike what they had in Andalucia. What if he had to rescue her a second time? What if he ended up causing a war with the very people he came to ally with?

In the end, it wasn't something he was willing to chance.

"No, Kat," he said firmly, shaking his head. "I think we should find another option than that. It's not that I doubt you or think that you can't do it. I just think there are a few factors working against us."

"Like what, Jack?"

"The plague for one," he said, sticking up one finger. "The last thing I'd want is to see anything happen to you or having you catch it. Secondly, by sneaking into the city, you could very well forfeit your life if you get caught."

"If I get caught," she stressed.

"Still. We don't want to cause a row here if we can help it. I'm not willing to do that, Kat."

She looked like she wanted to argue. She even opened her mouth to continue fighting, but something made her close it without another word. Surprisingly, she nodded her acceptance.

"Really? That easily?" Jack asked, incredulous at her quick agreement.

Kat shrugged. "I can't very well disobey my king, now can I?"

He sat up from his chair and walked over to her, pulling her into his arms. "I just don't want to risk you again. I had to fight a war to get you back the first time. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I don't want to get to that point where I could lose you again."

She shook her head fiercely. "You could never lose me."

"I don't intend to try," he added. "We're not out of options just yet."

"I hope you're right," she whispered against his chest.

Jack hoped he was right too.

*****

"Sir! We'll be arriving in the capitol city shortly."

Adalbert's eyes fluttered open a few times before he finally looked at the guard at the door. He'd been resting in his own room for the last few hours, tired of seeing nothing but coastline and the open sea. They'd been on the ship for almost a full week now, and Adalbert was anxious to get on dry land again. There was something about the persistent rocking of the ship that made his stomach upset, a feeling that was only sated by laying down.

Adalbert pushed off of the bed and grabbed his gray Swabian robe, draping it around his shoulders. Leaving his quarters, he stepped outside and looked out across the railing. Just to the front of the ship, he could see Daban in the distance, a city far too colorful for his liking. The many-colored buildings and dim lights of the streets seemed too artificial for his own liking, contrasting greatly with the drab, functionality of Swabia.

It still beats having sand in every crevice of my body, he thought to himself, remembering his time in Andalucia. He'd been all too happy to leave that forsaken country, having to hide out like a beggar once his cousin's regiment was destroyed by Jack Easterbrook. He'd spent nearly two days on a full run away from that victorious army with only Berimund as his company.

And some company he was. Berimund was like a walking shell of a man at that point, already knowing his fate for his failures in Andalucia. Adalbert felt a sliver of guilt at convincing Berimund that his cousin would give him a third chance. He told the man how well it would look for him if he was the one to give the news personally to Avila, and how much his cousin respected those that showed bravery in the face of defeat. He also gave Berimund an outright lie, saying that many such men who did so with Avila received yet another chance, impressing upon the lord with their bravery.

Poor fool. There's no second chances in Swabia, thought Adalbert.

In reality, Adalbert had to devise a way to get Berimund to go back to Avila on his own, lest his escape reflect badly upon himself. Berimund had been too willing to believe, perhaps holding onto some shred of hope that he might keep his life. However, Adalbert was determined to keep his, and after hearing about Berimund's fate and his new mission, he threw himself full force into this new task.

He couldn't let himself be so lackadaisical with his own life any longer. He'd made mistakes in Andalucia, something that he couldn't afford to do any longer. He had to be better, be smarter than his opponents.

And one way or another, he would find a way to personally deliver Jack Easterbrook to his cousin.

For now though, he was joining a different type of mission. A mission of craftiness and stealth, the kind that advanced one's own position without overt means. It was his cousin's favorite way of subverting other countries from within, and these type of psychological operations were in place in all the neighboring countries. This one in particular was designed to bring the Picards to their knees.