Fourth Vector Ch. 39

"That's fucking enough!" he yelled, making both women jump in their seats. Their eyes went wide at seeing his anger, and it was the first time since the argument started that Jack felt like he had a measure of control.

"I'm sick and fucking tried of your bickering," said Jack, keeping his voice elevated. He sat up on his chair and positioned his hands against the desk, which allowed him to glare down at each woman. "This will end today with no exceptions. I don't care what you have to do but figure your shit out now!"

"But Jack, I'm still--" started Abigail but Jack cut her off by raising his hand.

"I don't care," he interrupted. "Your constant argument is hurting me the most. Not each other, not the other woman, but me. I have to split my time between the two of you because neither of you will be big enough to admit when you're wrong. The fact of the matter is that you'reboth in the wrong on this. You both said incredibly stupid things and you both owe the other woman an apology. I'm done trying to mediate because it gets me nowhere so here we are. You have until the end of the day to fix things between yourselves or else you'll leave me no choice."

Kat's lower lip stuck out in a pout. "No choice for what, Jack?"

He crossed his arms and held silent for a moment, letting the weight of the situation sink in for both of them. "Or else I'll send you both back to Galicia. You can both stay there while I finish this war without any interruptions. Whether the war ends in six months or six years, you'll be separated from me for the entire time."

Both women managed to look completely shocked at such a suggestion.

"Would you really do that, Jack?" asked Abigail in a quiet tone of voice.

"You bet your ass I will," he said stiffly. "I have no problem sending you both away if you continue to let this fester. Find a way to end this today or I'll have you on the first ship back to Galicia tomorrow morning."

Jack didn't let them get another word in. He flickered his gaze between each woman before he gathered his things and left the room, leaving both of them in a stunned silence.

Outside the room, he found Ben Torben acting in his role as bodyguard and watching the approaches to Jack's study. He nodded at Ben to follow him.

While Ben was usually one for small talk, he said nothing as he followed along behind Jack. Jack wasn't entirely surprised by that. The walls in this part of the palace could be awfully thin and no doubt Ben heard the entire thing.

For now though, Jack wanted to put some distance between himself and the palace. He knew another transport ship had just arrived from Naxos, and he decided to head down to the harbor to supervise the unloading of troops. He hoped that by the time he returned to the palace, one of them (or both) would be willing to put water under the bridge.

At least, that was the hope at the forefront of his mind as he stepped outside the Picard palace with Ben and the rest of his security detail.

*****

Unbeknownst to Jack, there was someone else who'd taken notice of his exit from the palace that late afternoon.

Alvin was once again at his vantage point on the second-story rooftop not far from the palace. A stiff breeze was blowing at this level--a reminder that the chilliness of winter hadn't entirely disappeared yet. Alvin wore gloves on his hands to keep them warm as he kept surveillance on the route below.

So far, it had been a meaningless day. He hadn't even brought a girl home the previous night. While it meant another day of life for some random Picard woman out there, it also meant that he was wound up and sexually frustrated.

His hands reflected that frustration to some degree. While Alvin blamed the slight tremor in them to the chill in the air, the truth of the matter was that he needed sexual release.

That release was put completely out of his mind when he noticed that Jack Easterbrook was once again leaving the palace. Alvin's mind snapped to readiness as he grabbed his Swabian rifle and steadied it across the roof tiles directly in front of him.

It didn't surprise Alvin that Easterbrook was moving with a bodyguard as he always did. The trick to doing this whole thing was twofold--he had to have a good shot on Easterbrook without the bodyguard getting in the way or too many people being on the street.

The second item was harder to accomplish. The street he was monitoring in front of the palace was usually crowded with people, and any one of them could have spotted him on the roof and put a dent in his escape plan.

However, today seemed to be his lucky break. The streets were surprisingly empty at this hour, and Alvin suspected that most Picards were going inside to eat their evening meal. Not only did he have a clear vantage point on Easterbrook's position but there was no one to give away his position.

Unless one counted Easterbrook's bodyguards themselves. Each of them kept a careful watch over their surroundings, showing the level of observation of a true professional. No matter what happened, Alvin couldn't linger in his position after the shot or they would find him.

He would have to be quick and deadly.

Alvin centered the sights on Easterbrook's back, right in the middle of his target. There was just a small window of opportunity to get him and since the conditions were the best he'd seen just yet, Alvin took in a deep breath.

His target was on point.

His aim was true.

Alvin pulled the trigger.

*****

Jack heard the barking of gunfire and the sound of a whizzing bullet in his direct proximity. Training kicked in and he soon crashed to the ground with considerable pain. Before he knew it, two members of his bodyguard were on top of him out of protection.

"Protect the King! Assassin!" roared Ben.

The next thing Jack knew, he was being pulled inside the nearest building as the other able members of his guard returned fire to some point off in the distance.

Before he could go though, he noticed a small pool of blood not far from his feet. Next to the pool was one of his fallen bodyguards, a man by the name of Davis.

While Jack watched from the doorframe of the building, the rest of his bodyguard fired off multiple shots that seemed to be centered on a two-story building not far away. At that moment, Jack saw the glint of a rifle scope and another shot was fired in their general proximity.

Thankfully, it missed but in firing the second shot, the potential assassin gave Jack's bodyguard a pinpoint on exactly where he was.

The assassin seemed to figure that out at the exact same moment. Jack saw a flash of clothing from the rooftop as he tried to make his escape.

"Go after him! Try to take him alive!" yelled Jack over the roar of gunfire.

Ben was the first to lead the way back to the two-story building, followed by three of the other guys while three stayed with Jack. Around them, the Picard citizens mostly looked on in terror and confusion at what was going on, but quite a few thought to run away from the scene.

Jack couldn't say he blamed them. With how much shooting that had just taken place, the chances of catching a stray bullet were high.

It didn't take Ben and his group of men long to find the man. Jack heard two shots ring out in the distance followed by silence. Nearly five minutes later, they returned to Jack's position, dragging a man behind them who was leaving a small trail of blood behind him.

"Not here," said Jack as he watched Picard attention center on them. "Back to the palace. Quickly!"

While the would-be assassin was carried back in front of them, Jack was shuffled between the other three guards. Once he was safe in the palace, they would go back to retrieve the body of Davis. Jack thought to grab him with his group but they shook their heads.

"Too risky," said one of them, a man named Lamar. "Could be other shooters out here. We need to get you to safety."

That seemed to be the end of the argument and once Jack was safely back in the palace, they all centered on a spare room to interrogate the assassin, who was still alive. Jack had word sent out to Aedan so he could secure the city and then he focused on the man in front of him.

It wasn't hard to tell he wasn't a Picard. His skin tone was slightly darker than the Picards and his hair was dark without any traces of red. Due to his coloring, he almost looked like a Javan but then again, how could that come to pass?

One thing that Jack dismissed immediately was that the assassin was Swabian. He didn't fit the phenotype whatsoever.

"What's your name?" asked Jack, figuring he ought to start some place.

The assassin glared back at him and spit on the floor. The discharge was heavily tainted with blood. He also clutched a wound at his side, just a few inches right of his navel. It wasn't a mortal wound but it would certainly be painful for the next few weeks.

"Tell me who hired you," continued Jack, wanting an answer.

When he still didn't answer, Jack nodded toward Ben. The head of security took the butt of his rifle and slammed it into the assassin's stomach.

The man howled as he barreled over and clutched his body.

"I'm going to ask you again, and if you stay silent, I'm going to ask my men here to keep beating you," said Jack simply. "How many of you are there? Is it just you or are there more men out there?"

When the assassin resumed his former position, there seemed to be a strange glint in his eyes. It was slightly unsettling to see the man's gaze, even as a small grin started to form on his face.

"I work alone," he answered. "No one else can hold a candle to my skill."

His accent left little doubt as to where he was from.

"You're Javan," said Jack. "I'd recognize that accent anywhere. Let me guess--Belfort?"

The assassin shrugged. "Where I grew up is of no consequence now. But yeah, I'm from Java."

"Who hired you?" repeated Jack.

The assassin spit out more blood. "You should be able to figure that one out, don't you think?."

"It was Bancroft, wasn't it?" said Jack. "He's the only one that would want me dead back in Java. He's the only one with cause to do this."

"It looks like you pissed off the Javan Emperor, Easterbrook," said the assassin. "And he's not a man that likes to suffer slights."

"So he sends an assassin across the ocean to try to kill me," said Jack. "And he can't even send a man who doesn't miss?"

The assassin's smile melted and a look of anger took hold on his face. "I would have had you if not for that idiot bodyguard behind you stumbling at the last second. The big lunkhead tripped over his own two feet, but that split-second trip put him in the path of my bullet. His stumble is the only reason you're alive right now and I'm not on a boat back to Java."

"You still killed a good man for no reason," said Jack. "Although I'd have to guess a man like you wouldn't give a shit."

The assassin started to laugh. "Life or death has no meaning to a man like me, Easterbrook. We all die one way or another. Some of us die like lions and some of us die like sheep. At the end, death finds every man."

"As death will find you too," promised Jack. "For what you've done. I have half a mind to send your body back to Bancroft with the news that you've failed."

"Go ahead," challenged the assassin. "He'd kill me just as surely as you would. That is, if he got his hands on me. A man like me can be awfully tricky when the situation calls for it."

Jack shook his head. "I won't do that. I'm not going to flaunt Bancroft's failure in front of his face. His retribution will be even worse."

"Smart man," said the assassin. "It seems at least that someone still has half a brain here in the Fourth Vector. I was beginning to think this entire hemisphere was full of brain-dead whores and grouty merchants."

"Now the only question is what do I do with you?" asked Jack as he tapped his chin with his fingers.

The assassin's response was unnerving. He actually smiled.

"I'm afraid you don't have much of an option there," said the assassin as he started to shake. The body tremors were small at first but then they started to get more violent. "I'm not long for this world, you see!"

Jack watched in confusion as the assassin's body really started to convulse. His skin tone became redder by comparison and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Finally, he fell to the floor as he began to lose consciousness yet the convulsions continued.

A minute later, the assassin was dead.

"I doubt the wound in his stomach did that," said Jack as he gestured to Ben. "Check his pockets. I'm thinking he probably poisoned himself."

Sure enough, Ben found a small bag of pills in the man's upper breast pocket. One look at the marking told Jack two things--the first was that he'd ingested cyanide, confirming his suspicion.

The second was that the manufacturer of the pills was back in Java.

The assassin hadn't been lying. Bancroft really did send him here to kill Jack.

It was at that moment that Aedan arrived. He took one look at Jack and then the assassin's still body on the floor before covering his mouth.

"Dear gods, are you all right?" he asked, looking at Jack.

"I'm fine," replied Jack before thumbing down to the assassin. "He's not though. He tried to kill me. He got one of my guards in the process."

"Do you know who he is?" asked Aedan, prompting Jack to tell him everything he knew.

"It seems like my old mentor across the ocean isn't going to be content with just letting me fade away," said Jack finally as he knelt by the assassin's body.

"I can't say I'm surprised to hear that, Jack. After all, you took a good portion of his ships and went rogue. Slights like that won't be forgotten anytime soon."

Jack didn't disagree with him. He knew there would be a cost for turning his back on Bancroft but part of him wondered to what lengths Bancroft would go just to see him killed.

Or perhaps to kill the people that he loved.

At that moment, he not only worried about his wives and his family, but he also thought about the only family he had left in Java.

His sister, Jocelyn, and her family.

Jack's heart started to pound faster.

His sister was entirely vulnerable back in Java. And if Bancroft found out that he couldn't hurt Jack over here, he just might turn his attention to someone hecould hurt.

And he knew all about Jocelyn from Jack's time in Belfort after the Battle of Aberdeen.

If there was anything to take from this, he had to come up with a way to keep her safe.

Before anything else could be said, the door to the room crashed open. At the doorframe stood Kat and Abigail, their faces full of worry. They took one look at Jack and came crashing into his arms at the same time.

"Jack! Oh, thank the gods!" said Kat as she buried into his left shoulder.

"You're not hurt, are you?" asked Abigail from his right.

"Not me, but he got one of my guards," said Jack. "It looks like Bancroft sent him."

Jack watched as Abigail's eyes went from full of concern to full of anger. "He's trying to kill you now?"

"I guess we can't be too surprised at that," replied Jack.

Abigail didn't respond. She just buried her head against his shoulder and remained silent.

Truthfully, he wasn't in any mood to let them go. It had been a week since they'd stopped talking to each other, and this was the first time since then that he had both of them in his arms at the same time. Jack missed the smell of each of them and the feel of them in his arms.

Apparently, his happiness was noticeable to others in the room too.

"Ah, Jack, we'll just leave you be for a bit," said Aedan as he gestured to the door. "I'll post your guard outside your room just in case."

"Thank you, Aedan," Jack replied as he was left alone with both women.

The sudden onset of privacy dialed up the emotions on both his wives. Suddenly, they were kissing him frantically, one after another as if they might never kiss him again.

It was all Jack could do not to laugh. Suddenly, his wives were cooperating again, even if it was in just a small capacity of switching back and forth on who was kissing him.

If anything, it was a promising start.

"We need to double your guard," said Kat finally after a long kiss. "I can't have anything happen to you, Jack. I just can't."

"My guard performed just fine today," he replied. "They did exactly what they were trained to do. I couldn't have asked more from them."

"But still," added Abigail as she looked at Kat. "We'd feel better if you had more men to watch over you."

"More men wouldn't have helped today. I think we just need to be lucky that the assassin missed me."

Kat gave him a long look. "Just humor us, please? We can't lose you."

Jack chuckled. "Fine, I'll look to expand it, I suppose."

Abigail started to nod. "It's for the best, Jack."

"It really is," agreed Kat.

Jack gave them an amused expression. "This is the first thing I've heard you two agree on in over a week. I could get used to this!"

Finally, the dam seemed to break. Each woman gave the other an embarrassed expression. Kat stuck out her bottom lip while Abigail turned red in the face.

The moment he'd been waiting for had finally arrived.

"I'm sorry, Abigail," said Kat finally. "I'm sorry for the things that I did. The words that I used--"

"No, I'm sorry," interrupted Abigail. "I shouldn't have called you names. You're not selfish at all. You're one of the best people I know."

"Well, it was still stupid of me for not picking my words better," said Kat. "I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you."

Jack found himself smiling as they fell over each other with apologies. "I can't tell you how happy it makes me to hear you two make up. I just wish it hadn't taken me almost getting shot to get here though."

They managed to look even more embarrassed.

"You're right though, Jack," said Abigail. "Not about almost being shot but what you said before. It wasn't right for us to take this out on each other because you were the one that ended up suffering. I just couldn't see that through my anger."

"And nothing made my anger disappear faster than hearing what almost happened," said Kat softly. "When I heard the news, the first thing I thought was if they actually did get you, the last conversation we had was you yelling at us for our behavior. It made me feel rotten to the core."

"Rotten is a great way to describe it," agreed Abigail.

"I don't want us to dwell on it anymore," said Jack. "I just want both of you back. The normal version of you, not the angry or petty one. Can we go back to that? Can we truly mend our relationship to go back to how things were?"

Abigail started to nod her head. "I can go back. I love you, Jack." She then turned her head to look at Kat. "And I love my sister too. And I'm sorry for everything I said."

Kat smiled and embraced Abigail. "I love you too. You really are the sister I never had. I really want us to put this behind us, deal?"

Abigail giggled. "Deal."

Jack pulled them back into his arms. "Now that we're back to usual, we really need to have sex. You have no idea how badly I've missed both of you in my bed."

Both women started to laugh.

"Come on, baby. I've heard that make-up sex is the best kind," said Abigail while giving him sultry eyes and tugging him back to their quarters.

*****

There was enough excitement that week in Picardy to last Jack a lifetime. For the rest of the month they were there, nothing else seemed to match the intensity of that first week.

For one, there were no more assassins, at least not yet. In the weeks that followed, the country was remarkably quiet as most of the Allied Army was shuffled to Picardy. One week after the assassin struck, Jack had his headquarters officially moved to Zarah, where all preparations for the invasion of Swabia would commence.