Fourth Vector Ch. 33

"Are there any relatives in the country that they could have moved in with? Any other places they would have gone?"

The Director shook his head. "There was no one else. They would not have left the apartment. I've searched high and low, including tracking down the owner who rented the apartment for them. That's why I was back so late last night. I pounded on his door well into the night until he finally opened up for me. He didn't even know they weren't there anymore."

"What about their things? Were their things still in the apartment?"

"Mostly items that weren't easy to move," answered Santino. "Their clothes and luggage were gone."

Jack leaned back in his chair. "We can't assume the worst just yet then. If they took their clothes, it's plausible they left on their own accord."

"It still doesn't make sense to me, Jack. Where would they have gone?"

Jack didn't answer that right away. For him, the next question was obvious but it was the last question he wanted to ask.

"Santino, is there anyone in the country who knew they were here and didn't want them to be?" asked Jack. "Anyone who could hold a grudge against you and use your family against you?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out." Santino got out of his seat and began to pace in front of Jack. "I've made my share of enemies. What politician hasn't? But those enemies were in Apulia. I have no knowledge of pissing someone off in Samara. Well, pissing someone off enough to want to strike back at me like this."

"Could any of your enemies have left Apulia and be residing in Samara now?" asked Jack.

Santino stopped pacing while he thought. He shrugged helplessly a moment later. "I just don't know, Jack. I don't know who would have done this."

"Well, let's not assume that's what happened just yet," said Jack. "We have no evidence of anything. Perhaps something was wrong with the apartment. Perhaps the neighbors were loud or there were mice or something of the sort. Something that would make them leave to find a new place or cause a temporary drop in communication."

"I can believe that somewhat but it's the lack of communication that's killing me. My wife, Giana, would not just leave without notice." Santino sat back down a defeated man. "Something is terribly wrong and I don't know where to begin."

Jack sympathized with the man. Not being around one's family was a terrible hardship to bear. There wasn't a day that went by when he didn't think about Abigail or Kat, the two women closer to him than anyone else. Likewise, he could say the same about his real sister, Vera, or his adoptive sister, Jocelyn. He knew Santino's struggle and he knew that more than anything right now, he would need support.

"You have my word that I'll help you find them," promised Jack. "Whatever it takes or wherever they've gone. I won't rest until you're reunited with your family."

Santino's red eyes focused on him. "Do you really mean that, Jack?"

Jack nodded easily. "I do. We won't leave Samara until we figure out what happened to them."

Some of the tension went out of his back. Santino didn't have to say a word. He reached out and clasped his hand with Jack's.

The message of appreciation went deeper than words.

Santino's relief only added to the tension that Jack now felt. How was he going to bring the Samarans into the war while finding Santino's family at the same time?

*****

The smell of salt in the air was equal parts relief and stress. Kat had learned to get used to it after so much time spent on theDestiny but today that smell was a mixed bag of emotions.

The only part about it that was relieving was that they were back on the open seas again. It had only been a few days since the remaining forces of the Allied Army crammed aboard the Javan ships in Daban harbor. With their hold on the country only limited to a harbor that could only be measured in square yards instead of miles, it was inevitable that this would come to pass. The biggest obstacle to that withdrawal had been King Aedan but saving the army became more important to letting it perish completely.

And so Daban fell for the second time. The city that had changed hands so frequently in the last year was once more solidly in the hands of the Swabians. With their foothold in Picardy now gone, it was decided to make for Apulia, the last location where Jack was reported to be.

Yet thoughts of Jack were just as stressful as having to leave Picardy. Would he really be in Apulia when they got there? Was it a wise decision to leave Picardy to achieve a concentration of force?

More importantly, could the Swabians ever truly be stopped with the limited forces at their disposal?

None of those questions had answers and it only added to the maelstrom of emotions she felt deep inside. Their cause seemed weaker than ever and so far nothing they did had been able to turn the war in their favor.

If they lost their foothold in Apulia, all might have been lost.

TheDestiny hit a rough wave which made Kat grab onto the railing tightly. The seas were choppy this morning, even for a ship as large as theDestiny--the result of a storm that was directly in front of them. She regained her balance easily enough, but the quick shift in her weight made her free hand go to her stomach.

She was now over eight months pregnant, and she never knew she could feel this large. Her midsection stretched out endlessly over her formerly thin, svelte body. Her breasts, already quite large before, now felt like they were a full cup size larger. Sometimes when she looked in the mirror, she wondered what Jack would think of her now, seeing her so pregnant.

Despite some hidden insecurities, she knew that he would probably enjoy the sight of her very pregnant body. Especially the boobs, but then again, they were always one of his favorite parts.

When her thoughts turned deeper, she wondered if she would see him again before she gave birth. Despite being a month away from it, she hoped that this passage would go smoothly enough to let her see him before the arrival of their baby. It had been nothing short of agony to be this separated from him.

Her only wish was that he was the same Jack that she remembered all those months ago. Would his time in captivity change him? Would he still love her like he used to?

"More questions without answers," she said under her breath. It seemed she never had answers anymore.

After a heavy sigh, Kat made her way from the bow of the ship toward the superstructure, following the familiar path to the main personal quarters. Along the way, she passed several groups of soldiers, including a group of Carinthians and two groups of Picards. The entire task force was now full of soldiers, nearly nine thousand strong after the loss of so many casualties in the last battle of Daban.

They were a floating battery of men and machines, all lacking the land to fight on.

As she made her way past the soldiers, she finally came to the door she was looking for. Once she was inside, Kat saw Abigail's face immediately, already sitting in her seat at her desk and hard at work.

"The waves are really picking up out there," said Kat as she took a seat to rest her weary feet. "I think this storm is going to move in within the hour."

Abigail nodded. "I've issued orders to the entire task force to have everyone brought inside the superstructure. The last thing we need is to be dealing with any cocky soldiers who manage to fall overboard."

"I just hope this storm isn't too severe," said Kat once she was properly seated. "We didn't escape from Daban just to have the entire force sink in this storm."

Abigail gave her a fearful expression. "Don't you know you're not supposed to say things like that out loud? You might jinx the task force with that kind of talk!"

Kat smiled but she could tell Abigail was still half serious. Most of the naval commanders were a suspicious lot, with only one wrong word or phrase being enough to make them think the gods would take direct action against their goals.

"Sorry, blame the pregnancy brain for that," she said playfully.

Abigail lost the look of fear quickly. "How are you feeling today? When's that baby going to come out?"

"Not anytime soon, I hope," said Kat with a soft laugh. "He still has some growing to do."

"I see you're still calling the baby a he. Are you that certain he's a boy?"

Kat shrugged. "Call it mother's intuition, I guess. I just don't feel like I'm carrying a girl. This one feels like a boy. When I close my eyes and think about it, I just see blue."

Abigail raised an eyebrow right before she started laughing. "We'll see how right you are when the time comes. For the record, I'm going to guess it's a girl though."

Kat stuck out her tongue. "You would do that, wouldn't you?"

The two women shared a laugh before there was a knock at the door. The newcomers were Vera and Greg, and both of them had stressed looks on their faces. Kat assumed it might have been from the storm but was quickly proven wrong.

"These just arrived from Java," said Greg solemnly as he passed over two dispatches to Abigail. She read them quickly and gave them to Kat, her expression changing in an instant.

Once Kat read them, she could understand the severity on Greg's face.

"This calls on you for the immediate release of Captain Barnabas as well as Viceroy Ferris," said Kat once she was done reading. "How did they find out?"

"I had the logs searched when we took over theCenturion," said Abigail. "Barnabas sent one last message that detained what we did and his fear of being captured. He conveniently left out that he was going to spring a trap to capture Greg and I."

"We're assuming that when he didn't answer the following dispatch, they guessed he'd been captured too," added Greg. "Now they want their release or they're saying we'll be dismissed from the force and tried as traitors."

Kat couldn't find the right words to respond to that. Judging by the silence, none of them could. It was always the outcome that they feared the most, but knew would come regardless of their actions.

When Greg and Abigail threw their lot in with Jack, it would mean the final cessation of ties with Java. Now that it was staring them in the face, the momentum of the situation hit them hard.

"Not much we can do about it now," said Abigail finally as she put on a brave face. "We don't even know if Ferris or Buttface is still alive anymore. They might very well be dead."

That was certainly true. The fall of Daban happened so quickly that there wasn't time to remove the two men from their cells in the palace. The Swabians could very well have killed them, but even if they escaped, where would they go? They were as good as dead anyway.

"Nothing left for us to do," agreed Greg. "I'll file this dispatch and let you know if any more arrive. I assume we'll have a new one in the days to follow once this one goes unanswered."

The pain on his face was evident at that moment. Vera reached her hand over to his back and gave it a consoling rub. Of all of them, Greg had the worst struggle with his changing allegiance. While Abigail had her love for Jack to rely on, Greg couldn't muster the same feelings. He was putting blind trust in picking the right path forward, and on days like this one, it was a struggle to know he made the right choice.

"I'm going back to my office for the rest of the storm," said Greg finally. "Let me know if you need me."

With that, the marine officer turned heel and left, leaving the three women alone. Concern was on all of their faces.

"How is he, Vera?" asked Kat finally. "Is his mental state as bad as it looks to us?"

Vera shrugged. "He has his good days and bad days. He really struggles. Especially when it came time to relieve the loyal Javan marines who weren't going to fight."

Kat nodded quickly, knowing how distasteful everyone found that. There was a small portion of the Javan marines who wouldn't follow Jack. Many of them were young and newer recruits, not sharing the bond with Jack and Greg over the shared experiences of this mission. For that reason, they would not fight for Jack if it meant potentially fighting against other Javans.

That meant there was only one thing that they could do. That small contingent had to be disarmed and removed from the force. For now, they were at the bottom of theCenturion living in guarded quarters with all the same luxuries as before. Ultimately, they would have to find a way to send them back to Java before they could become a dangerous fifth column within their force.

"Has it gotten any worse?" asked Abigail. "I guess what I'm asking is he making progress with it or is he still just as distressed about it as when we were back in Daban?"

"I wish I could say he's making progress but I think that's a bit premature right now," answered Vera. "I think he'll get there. He knows it was the right decision to make. I know detaining his own men really hurt him but we all know that a small force of loyalists couldn't be left to stand."

"No, no, they couldn't," said Abigail. "Thankfully, we didn't have as many to worry about with the task force. All of the men here have been sailing with Jack for a long time, and most of the officers on theCenturion hated Buttface so they were only too ready to be rid of him. We dodged a bullet when it came to the ships."

"It could have been a lot worse," agreed Kat before she turned to look at Vera. "Keep us posted on Greg. Let's hope that if we actually manage to link up with Jack in Apulia, that will help to turn things around a little."

Vera's expression turned hopeful. "Do you really think he'll be there when we arrive? I know it's a long shot so I'm not allowing myself to get my hopes up in case he won't be there."

"It's the best lead that we have," said Abigail. "It's better than going to Carinthia. Our only chance now lies in the concentration of force with Jack."

"And if the word from Apulia is correct, he can only be in the part that's not conquered," said Kat. "That means the city of Arezzo on the western part of the main island. That's where we're going."

"He better be there," growled Abigail. "And if he is, I'm not letting him out of my sight again."

The other two women smiled. "Amen to that," replied Kat with a small laugh.

*****

It was the third time that morning that a visitor to the tent was asking to come in. With a solemn face and short shake of the head, Trevor turned them away, knowing their visit wasn't good timing. He didn't need to say a single word. They knew from the look on his face that it wasn't time to press the issue. For that reason, each of the three visitors left after promising to return another time.

Trevor sighed to himself and let the flap of his tent fall. The sound of the fabric hitting the ground attracted attention.

"Who was it?" came a soft and vulnerable voice from his cot.

"That was Kirk," said Trevor as he sat down in front of the cot and put his hand on the small of Nina's back. She didn't respond to his touch. When his eyes finally settled on hers, he could see they were still puffy and red. "Just wanted to check on you."

Nina didn't reply. Instead, she sniffled and shifted her weight.

She'd been like this since yesterday. Ever since she found out about the death of another one of her cousins, she'd been contained inside their shared tent, unable to face the rest of the world. Trevor didn't blame her, especially not after hearing the stories from when they grew up together. Cherise was someone that had no business being in the middle of a war and even still, the Javans killed her in cold blood.

It was a scene that was playing out on a much larger scale all across Tyrol. Ever since the failed attempt to liberate the hostage camp, which was a carefully designed trap that nearly succeeded in getting the Tyrolean Army destroyed, the Javans had ramped up the violence and destruction against their former countrymen.

Every Tyrolean man, woman, or child who was unfortunate enough to cross paths with Javan soldiers was immediately put to death. Towns all over the country were being abandoned--those towns that were still left standing after their campaign of destruction. Trevor's carefully hidden mountain fortification was now the home of multitudes of refugees, all trying to escape the Javan warpath.

There wasn't a single soul that hadn't experienced loss. Just the previous week, Trevor had to bury more men from Amboy. Two brothers that maintained a paper route business and were no older than eighteen were killed in the middle of a skirmish. Trevor had personally taken part of their burials, thinking it only appropriate that someone from Amboy should put them to rest.

For many of the dead, they would receive no such luxury.

Trevor was temporarily brought back to the present only to find Nina's eyes settled on him. He moved closer, bringing their faces within inches of each other. The last time they were this close was the previous morning, when they made love together in the cool stillness of dawn. Back then, her eyes had been full of passion and excitement.

Today they were full of death.

"Don't be upset with me," she whispered softly.

Trevor ran his fingers through her hair. "Why would I ever be upset with you?"

"Because I'm a mess. Because I can't keep it together. I've seen death thousands of times. I shouldn't be losing it like I am today."

Trevor shushed her. "Death hits much closer to home when it's those that we love. You have every right to grieve."

She sat up slightly and looked at him. "Do you think less of me?"

"Never. How could I?"

"I thought that you might."

"After all the times you've comforted me in this very tent, it's the least I could do for you."

Nina sniffled. "I'll be better tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll be ready to avenge her. But I need today to finish grieving. I need today to let my body feel her loss."

"Take as much time as you need," insisted Trevor. "No one will say a word otherwise."

She grabbed his hand and brought it closer to her face. She kissed the back of his knuckle. "You're too good to me."

Trevor smiled. "I was ready to say the same thing the last time our roles were reversed."

"I love you."

Trevor blinked, not knowing what to say. Nina closed her eyes and kissed his knuckles again. "I don't think I could handle this if you weren't here."

"You'll never know how that has to feel then," he promised. "I'll always be here for you."

A tear cascaded down her cheek. Trevor knew the rush was soon coming. He passed her a fresh handkerchief and let her cry while he softly caressed her back.

Her tears lasted for another ten minutes or so before her breathing leveled off. By the quiet sounds of her body, he could tell she was soon asleep.

The poor thing, he thought. Exhausted mentally and emotionally.

With her sleeping soundly, he decided to slip out of his tent temporarily to find something to eat. All the refugees in the fortification had a frightful effect on the food supply, meaning that rations were tighter than ever. A good portion of them scoured the mountains every day to find food, often bringing back deer, foxes, rabbits, as well as whatever crops they could get their hands on. Judging by the smell in the air, deer was being roasted not too far away, and he vowed to get a piece of it before it was gone.

Once he exited the tent though, it quickly became apparent that he wasn't alone. Gavin Gower was waiting for him, sitting on a stump only five feet away. The two men locked eyes on each other instantly.

"How long were you waiting for me?" asked Trevor.

Gavin shrugged. "Long enough to see the last two visitors. How is she?"

"She's been better. Sleeping now, which is a good thing. She was very close with her cousin."