Surrender Ch. 11

Arriving at the camp, Jack handed Morgan over to some of his men and they tied him up. He was still unconscious but seemed otherwise to be in good shape.

Jack's men congratulated him on capturing such an important enemy and Eva spent countless hours talking about her mission and the information she had uncovered. She was happy to observe that the men treated her with a lot more respect now that she had shown her mettle and helped their cause. Still she said little about what had happened after her cover had been blown, although she sensed they were anxious to hear more about it – especially the women.

Finally, one of the men blurted out what everyone else thought but did not dare ask.

"How did they torture you?"

Eva noticed Jack flinch at the question, before grabbing the curious man by the throat.

"I think the questions can wait. My sister needs her rest."

"No, Jack," Eva intervened. "I think I will answer the question." She breathed deeply before meeting the eyes of her curious listeners. "Yes, I was tortured." A collective gasp went through the assembly and Jack lowered his head as in shame of what he had sent her to do. "But, I think I got of a lot easier since I'm female." She continued to tell them about the truth serum they had given her and what she had discovered about it. "I realised that the serum can be fooled as long as you decide which truths to tell them."

"So what did you tell them?" one of the elder women asked. "How much their feet stank or something?" Laughter broke out and relieved the tension among the assembly and Eva joined the laughter. It was so good to be home again, she thought.

"Not exactly," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "But some of them blushed really nicely when I told them about the sexual prowess of my lover and giving them more details about his body that they preferred to know."

"Oh my," the women sighed as they wore dreamlike expressions.

"After that they didn't try the truth serum any more."

"What did they do instead?" a younger woman asked curiously.

"Sexual torture," Eva said slowly.

"What?" several voices blurted out at the same time.

"Yes, they choose a man that will pleasure you until you reveal all your secrets and some you never knew you had."

"Didhe did that to you?" one of the women pointed at Morgan's still unconscious body, his large frame having been the object of a lot of interest since they had entered the camp.

"Yes, he made me crave him sexually and after that he mated with me."

"Doesn't sound much like torture to me, honey," one of the old women interrupted. "If someone like that handsome man wanted to mate me I wouldn't have left his bed at all." The laughter spread heartily among the women.

"He's still our enemy," one of the men interrupted in an angry voice.

"So what?" the old woman declared. "We still have eyes, don't we? And it's nice to have something besides Jack to look at since the rest of you are not so pleasing." The women laughed as the men scowled and their faces turned different degrees of red.

"Just stop this nonsense!" Jack blurted out and got on his feet. Starting to walk back and forth, he seemed to be pondering a difficult problem. "There is no way you can stay mated to this man, Eva," he finally growled out as he pointed a finger at Morgan.

"Well, the star seers on Alpha Centauri seemed to be convinced. Besides, the ceremony has already taken place."

"Damn it. I know that. It's just that…," he paused before taking a deep breath. "He's still our enemy," Jack growled out.

"Unfortunately, yes. However, he is also one of their superior officers and a good friend of the governor. I suggest you use that for what it's worth and give them some tough demands for his release."

"Perhaps." He seemed to ponder her advice. "I'll think about it."

"We can gain a lot more by keeping him alive than by killing him, Jack, and I think you know that," Eva prodded her brother.

"I've said I'll think about it. Now, go and get yourself some rest, sis. We'll talk in a few hours."

***

A few hours later Eva had slept and eaten a hearty meal. Still, Jack had not revealed any of his plans for Morgan and she could not bear to wait any longer. She saw him standing by himself at the end of the clearing and she welcomed the chance to talk to him in private.

"Have you decided yet, Jack?"

"About what?"

"About Morgan, of course."

"Ah, yes, that unfortunate mate of yours that practically waltzed into our camp yesterday. Yes, I've thought about him and even send out men to locate the rest of his soldiers before they attack us."

"Oh? You don't think he acted on his own?"

"Nope. Although my men have not been able to find any soldiers having entered the forests lately, so perhaps he was alone. What puzzles me is how he could have been that stupid in the first place? Anyway, my guess is that he followed you from the palace."

"No, it's not possible. I drugged his wine and he drank it while I was watching. He fell asleep in my arms."

"He must have fooled you somehow."

"Perhaps, but I just can't understand how? I thought I was so careful that no one would be able to track me, although I did hear some strange noises in the forest," she contemplated suddenly.

"What noises?"

"Like someone was following me. I thought it was you as first, but the noises stopped."

"Bloody hell. Why didn't you tell me? And why didn't you wait for me before entering the forest, like we agreed?"

"You weren't there at the time and I wanted to get away before the guards could catch me again. Besides, it all went well, didn't it?" she smiled at him.

"Thanks to pure luck, it did, yes. But please be more careful next time, sis. Your luck won't last forever."

"I'm always careful," Eva stated teasingly.

"Sure you are. Such as when you broke into the Captain's cabin to steal a few papers and he decided to take you for mate. Now that's not exactly being careful, as I see it."

"Speaking of which, what will you do about him, Jack?"

"I want to kill him for what he did to you," Jack answered heatedly.

"But he's my mate."

"So? If I kill him you can have another mate. Preferably someone of our own."

"No, I want to keep the mate that I already have," she stated.

"Why? What is it with him that makes you want to keep him, sis? He's done you nothing but harm as far as I can see."

"Oh well, but he's such a fine specimen and he's equipped with the largest… ," Eva murmured the rest of the sentence into Jack's hand as he had suddenly reached forward and pressed her mouth shut.

"Don't even begin to tell me the details, sis. I'm still trying to cope with the fact that you're mated, for god's sake."

"All right, Jack. I didn't realise you were so embarrassed about the facts of life," she winked at him.

"Don't even start," he growled. "You're giving me nightmares. You just keep him as your toyboy then, and I'll try to keep my mouth shut."

"Any news on the fighting, then, Jack?" Eva asked in order to steer her brother in another direction, making him ease down a bit about her mate.

"It's quiet for the time being. The Governor has declared a few law changes that we're anticipating the result of."

"So he's turning in the right direction?"

"Seems like it. But, if not, we'll surely give him a push if it needs be," Jack chuckled.

"By sending in more female spies?"

"No way. One was more than enough. From now on our women will stand back and let us men do the dangerous tasks."

"I think it worked well for quite a long time. Besides, they will never expect any more female spies from the rebel group," Eva argued.

"It worked well? Yes, I'm not denying that you uncovered information we would never have got our hands in other ways, but I must say the prize were high when my sister gets mated to an enemy – and he stumbles into our camp in broad daylight by tailing her."

"But in the process you also got a useful prisoner."

"Yes, yes, but he's still your mate so I'm not even allowed to kill him, and I suppose you're not letting me scratch him a little either?"

"No way, Jack. After pummelling him into unconsciousness I think you have done quite enough."

"Damn it. How about the moral among my men when we can't even hurt him just a little bit? I'm sure there are plenty of pieces of him that you won't even miss."

"Such as?"

"His tongue, for instance."

"Have you lost your mind, Jack? How do you suggest getting information from him if he's not able to talk? I'm mated, and I want a fit and whole mate so I suggest you just get over it! Besides, I can think of a number of good uses for that tongue of his," she cheekily replied.

"Please, don't enlighten me, sis. I liked you a lot better when you were younger and playing with less dangerous toys. Dolls are a lot easier to cope with than enemy captains."

"Ha, but the grown-up toys are so much more exciting," Eva teased.

Suddenly, the object of their discussion groaned loudly and they both turned toward Morgan that had finally awakened.

***

Morgan had tried to listen to their conversation as soon as the fog on his mind had cleared away sufficiently, but most of the words were still a blur to him. However, he had heard them referring to him as her ‘ toy' and the nickname sent a chill through his body that he hadn't felt before. How stupid he had been to think there was something more between them, to believe she felt the same as he did.

Instead, she had betrayed him and helped her lover to catch him. How could he have been so stupid as to show himself? He had planned to follow them her to the rebel's camp but the sight of her in another man's arms had made him lose control.

He had known that she planned to escape to the rebels with the information she had gathered, but in the last week he had started to believe that he meant something to her and that she wanted to stay with him. More the fool he was, he thought ironically.

Well, if he ever got out of this scrape he would never let himself be steered by a woman's touch again. He groaned aloud as the whole situation got clear to him, making him appear the most helpless of fools for trusting such a woman and giving her all he could give.

"Ah, he's awake, at last," he heard a male voice from above him. Morgan opened one of his eyes and noticed a large man standing above him. He recognised him as the man that had knocked him unconscious. The same man that had been hugging Eva.

He blinked his eyes as he tried to recall where he was.

"Eva, your plaything will finally allure us with his presence," the man stated before making a grunt, indicating that someone had poked him in the ribs.

"Behave yourself," he heard Eva order the man that had spoken. Apparently, they knew each other well, Morgan thought and wondered who the man was. Her lover probably.

"Welcome, Captain," the large man announced arrogantly. "So glad you could join us." Morgan heard laughter coming from around them, but he couldn't make out any faces. He shook his head as to clear his head again. Then he felt the bonds that held his arms behind his back. They had tied him up.

"Thanks, but your service standard is somewhat lacking," Morgan said grumpily.

"You're complaining? Well, fortunately we freedom fighters aren't as spoiled as some of our enemies."

Morgan looked up at Eva, standing beside the large man. "I see you have your mistresses around as well. Must be a great improvement to lying on the ground."

"Why you ignorant scumbag…," the man snarled at him and came closer, his face and body stance indicating he wanted to kill Morgan the worst way he could think of. Eva jumped forward and grabbed his arm. He stopped immediately.

"Don't let him provoke you, Jack. He's doing it on purpose."

"Jack? As in Jack Kelley?"

"That's me, yes," the large man replied. Morgan realised he had the same colours as Eva, and wondered why he hadn't noticed the similarity before. Her brother. Good, Morgan thought before he could arrest himself. It shouldn't mean anything that he wasn't her lover. She had still betrayed him and he needed to remember that before he did anything more stupid than he already had.

He carefully raised himself up on his feet again, noticing that he and Jack Kelley was of the same height. He felt better now that he didn't have to raise his eyes so much to see the other man.

"So now you're sending women to do a man's job is that it? Too chicken to do it yourself?" Morgan prodded on.

Jack's face turned red but he stood still, only held back by Eva and some of his men.

"I wanted to do my share," Eva interrupted. "Besides, you never anticipated a woman could be a spy. It took years before I was exposed. We took you by surprise there and learned a lot about your weaknesses."

"Especiallysome of our weaknesses," Morgan agreed. "Whose idea was it to use seduction to achieve the information?"

"It was my idea," Jack reluctantly admitted. "I thought it would be the easiest, but I've regretted it ever since," he looked at his sister with remorse.

"Why me? Why target me?" Morgan suddenly blurted out before he could stop himself. He didn't want them to see the pain that was lodged inside of him. He looked the fool already and there was no way he would give them another hold on him.

"I picked you," Eva admitted.

"Why?"

Eva looked him right in the eye, and answered. "Because as the highest ranking officer you would have access to the most information. Besides, already at our first meeting I sensed you would be more susceptible to seduction than the rest of your crew."

Morgan felt as if his heart hardened and hatred erupted inside of him as his suspicions were finally confirmed. She had used him. Used him from the start. He had known she had sought information, but he had honestly believed that their last few weeks together had meant something to her. Obviously it didn't.

"So what do you intend to do with me?" Morgan snarled at Jack, not wanting to look at Eva any longer.

"I prefer killing you," Jack said matter-of-factly. "But as my dear sister points out you're much more worth as a hostage and bartering tool so I'll guess you'll live."

"Fair enough, since I intend to kill you at first opportunity."

Jack just laughed. "Don't tempt me. By the way, how did you find us?"

"I followed her," Morgan smirked.

"But she drugged you."

"She thought she did. I poured out the wine when she wasn't paying attention. I suspected she would try something like that."

"Clever," Jack admitted. "But then you let yourself get caught and giving us the perfect opportunity to gain even more information than what Eva could unearth. Good."

"I'm not telling you a single thing," Morgan glared at Jack.

"No? Ever heard about torture? Or sexual torture? I'd be happy to repay the hospitality you gave my sister, only this time it won't be pleasant," Jack threatened as he pushed Morgan back to the ground and ordered his men to tie him to the nearest tree.

***

As the darkness fell over the camp, Morgan suddenly felt someone cutting away the bonds that held his hands. He tried to turn around to see who had freed him.

"Sit still, you fool," Connor hissed behind him. Morgan could barely hide his joy. It wouldn't do to let the rebels know the rescue was here. He noticed a few of Connor's men taking position behind Jack Kelley - preparing to take him down. Morgan couldn't wait for that to happen. This time they would catch all the rebels and finally put an end to their troubles. He glanced carefully to his side and noticed some of his own men taking position around the rebel camp.

"Ready when you are," Connor whispered.

Morgan answered with a slight nod, waiting for the perfect moment. Suddenly, Eva came toward him with a bowl of food. This was it, he thought.

***

"Hey, Kelley," Morgan shouted.

Both brother and sister turned toward him. Eva wondered about the strange look in his eyes. As if he planned to do something stupid like insult her brother and make him hurt him. She prepared to face down her brother one more time in order to protect Morgan.

"Did she ever tell you about the DMO sensor I bought for my ship?" Morgan stared over at her brother, arrogance floating from him even though he sat bound on the ground.

"What about them?" Jack sounded disinterested. "The last thing I heard was that you hadn't been able to install them properly. Did you forget to read the manual, Captain?" he joked and all his men laughed heartily at the insult.

"Your sister is a lousy spy then," Morgan said silkily.

"What do you mean?" Jack held up a hand and immediately the laughter stilled around them.

Morgan carefully rose. The bonds that had held him hang loose around his hands before falling to the ground.

"The sensors are working just fine," he said in the same silky voice, before shouting aloud. "Arrest them all!"

Immediately panic erupted as soldiers emerged from behind every bush and attacked the rebels. Some of the rebels answered by locating their weapons and meeting the attacks, while others ran for the forest and freedom. Eva was standing completely still and trying to grasp what was happening.

"Run, Eva!" Jack yelled at her before he knocked down an opponent and crashing himself into another one, his knife held high.

Eva finally located her wits and tried to escape, but at the same time a hand curled around her waist, holding her tightly as another clasped around her throat. She gasped as the grip tightened around her throat, making it more difficult to breath and impossible to move. She tried to loosen the grip but her assailant was far stronger than she was.

"Jack," the man that held her shouted. To her shock, she immediately recognised it as Morgan's voice. "If you value your sister's life you will surrender right now."

"Never," Jack answered and continued fighting the soldiers coming at him.

Morgan tightened his grip around her throat, making her moan at the sudden pain. She couldn't believe Morgan would be capable of something like this.

At the same time, Jack turned toward them, his look so dark he could almost kill with it.

"You wouldn't."

"I would," Morgan said coldly, holding his hand a little higher, baring Eva's throat to her brother.

"She's your mate, man," Jack said surprised.

"So? I can always get another one, can't I?" Morgan's voice was so cold Eva shivered in response. Tears gathered in her eyes as she wondered if it was the pain in her throat or the one in her heart that was the worst. Jack stared at her as her tears glided down her cheek and wetted the hard hand that held her throat. Morgan didn't budge at all.

"Run, Jack," Eva managed to gasp. She didn't care what Morgan would do to her. He could kill her for all she cared, as long as her brother was safe. Judging by the pain in her chest, it felt as if he had already killed her. How could the man she loved be willing to kill her? She let her body relax, closed her eyes and waited for the snap that would surely break her neck.

"Eva, no," she heard her brother exclaim and as she opened her eyes again, he had thrown away his weapons and was laying sprawled on the ground, with several soldiers securing his wrists.

At the same time, the hard grip around her throat loosened and Morgan pushed her away from him. Her knees gave away and she sat down in the grass, no strength left in her to move.

"Bind her," she heard Morgan order behind her.

***

"Excellent. It all worked according to your plan, Morgan," Connor said happily and clapped his hand on Morgan's shoulder. They were returning to the palace with their prisoners safely stored in the cells onboard Morgan's ship.