Alan Ch. 26

"Go somewhere where there are lots of people and wait for me. I'll have Karick pull the car around and call you once we get moving. Keep away from this guy."

Alan clicked off his phone and walked smartly to Broadway, to the West End Grille, and ordered a draught beer, brushing off the counterman's request for proof of age with a light mental push. He took a small sip and called Massimo back.

He considered the last half hour...

It was a cool early November night as Alan snapped his laptop closed and stowed it in his backpack. He had eaten a fast dinner in Wein Hall's cafeteria and then spent the last five hours finishing a paper. His joints were a little stiff; he had worked on the paper at the Hungarian Pastry Shop, a small coffee house opposite the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, a few blocks from campus. The Hungarian was a student hangout; people spent hours within its confines, some just reading, others talking, some, like him writing and working. It's been said that a significant number of doctoral dissertations were wholly composed within its cave-like interior.

As he emerged onto Amsterdam Avenue he was braced by a chilly wind. He zipped his parka up and pulled his knit cap over his head so his ears were covered, and then donned a pair of wool gloves.

He could have gone back to his dorm through the streets, a more direct route than cutting through campus, but he had borrowed a book from a friend, and needed to return it right away. Steve, the lender, lived in Wallach, so he headed north to the wrought iron gates to campus, at Amsterdam and 116th. As he emerged through the tunnel formed by Kent Hall on his right and Hamilton Hall on his left, he could see the expanse of the center of campus. Only a few steps into the clear and he was brought up short. There was a man sitting alone on the sundial in the center of College Walk. That in itself was not unusual; people were always hanging out there day and night; but this man was Japanese and middle aged, dressed in a monk's garb. He wasn't even wearing a coat to protect himself from the cold night.

Alan reached out with his mind and sent a stealthy probe forward; he held back from giving the full scan, hoping not to alert the monk. To his horror, the monk turned and saw him, and Alan knew he was revealed. He hastily retreated to Amsterdam Avenue, and decided to walk down two blocks so he could cross to Broadway and avoid further contact. He had barely taken a few steps when he realized he was being stupid. He had been tracked again. The monk knew who he was and where he lived, both on campus and at home. He pulled his phone from the pocket of his pants, bit the end of his glove and brought his head back to free his right hand, and speed dialed Jack.

* * *

Leaving three-quarters of his pint unfinished on the bar when he saw the car pull up Alan turned his collar up as he made his way to the exit.

"We've been waiting for you. It's surprising really that it has taken so long."

"Please forgive me," the abbot replied, "My English is weak."

Alan and Massimo nodded, waiting for the man to continue. They were sitting on facing stone benches at the western edge of Morningside Park, a weather-beaten chess table between them. It was late, past midnight. Occasionally a dog and owner passed, but as this was a very underused byway they were seldom disturbed.

"I am here to barter, if that is the right word. Trade."

"What is it that you would like?" Massimo asked, his voice remaining deeply respectful. "What do we have that a man such as yourself, could possible want."

The monk said nothing for a minute, preparing his answer.

"You want the woman," Alan said.

"Yes, I want her back, for the order, but, that is entirely up to you."

"If not the woman, than what? What else?"

"You...I...Apologies. I know you have abilities like those of the members of my order. Before I can make you an offer I feel I need to ask exactly how much information you have managed to extract from her."

Alan was about to say something, but Massimo raised his hand, stopping him.

"I'm afraid," Jack answered, "That to do so would provide you with information concerning the extents and limits of our abilities. You understand."

The visitor sighed. "Very well. Then I must be frank. An object has been stolen from us. In order to secure its return she was sent to kill you," he said, nodding is head at Alan. "This object is vital to the continued existence of my order, and we had no choice but to cooperate. Had it remained in Japan we would most likely have been able to effect its return, but we are now certain that it is no longer in the country."

"We know who has it."

Jack shot him an unpleasant look, unhappy that Alan had shown their cards so early in the hand.

"You don't even know what it is," the abbot insisted.

"A small stone. Shiny and black. It's usual place is resting on the altar in the center of your chapel."

"Yes, yes!" The abbot licked his lips, but only because the cold wind was chapping his lips.

They we all getting tired of being out in the open, so Jack suggested they adjourn to his brownstone, and they all left. Jack put their visitor in one car with Peter, and Karick drove Alan and Massimo.

"When we get to my place, boy, let me do the talking."

* * *

Alan was prepared to leave for London at once, but Jack and the abbot wanted to wait. The reasons for the delay were twofold: Michiko needed time to regain her strength, and Thornbow had gone missing. The surveillance operation in Britain had kept close tabs on him for more than a year, not a hard task with a person so public as His Lordship, but he had not been spotted in weeks. They had followed him to his country estate in the Midlands, but had seen neither hide nor hair of them since then. Either he had holed up or shaken the watchers, and until they knew for sure they had no good business over there. If he was cloistered in his castle they would wait him out, and if he wasn't, they were confident the trail could be reacquired if they were patient.

By the end of the night the abbot was installed in Jack's guest room, and Michiko in the townhouse's basement apartment. Her novice would be arriving in two days to attend her in her recuperation.

Karick would be leaving the next morning. He was planning to ramp up their surveillance operation against Lord Thornbow, and to do so properly he felt he needed to be closer to the action.

For Alan, one of the benefits of this new alliance was that his own security had to be lessened. No longer would Cyaxares-employed security men and women trail him around campus; they were needed in Britain. They weren't obtrusive, but he knew they were there, and sometimes he wished he could have a more normal college life. He was discussing the new security protocols with Karick on Massimo's stoop when the Jack popped his head out the window and called Alan inside.

"She wants to talk to you."

"Michiko?"

Jack nodded.

"OK."

Jack led the way, down the stairs from in back of the kitchen, and he knocked and waited for her reply before letting Alan enter.

She was in bed, the cover pulled up to her shoulder line, propped up on a pile of pillows so that she was nearly sitting upright.

"Hello," he offered. Her eyes had never left him since he had crossed through the door, as if she was worried for another attack.

"Good evening," she answered, her voice still betraying the weakness of her condition.

"So, what is it you want to talk about?"

She did not answerer right away, marshaling her thoughts. The silence was deafening.

"If you're still not feeling well, I can come back later."

"No, please stay. I want to thank you."

"For what?" he asked. "For capturing you and keeping you locked up for weeks on end?"

"Yes," she replied, to his shock. "I have been doing--I think the idiom is 'soul searching'--and I have come to some decisions. One day I will tell you about them, but for now I just wanted to thank you."

"I understand," he said, but he didn't really.

"Also, the two of you could have raped me, with nothing to stop you, and without any consequence, and for the fact that you did not, I am still grateful."

"Yeah, well, we didn't capture you for that reason, you see. We took you because you attacked me--"

She tried to interrupt, to explain what she had attacked, but he held up his hand, and she allowed him to continue.

"--No, I understand why you did what you did. We kept you not for sexual pleasure, but to gain intelligence."

"Yes, with your abilities I'm sure your quests for sexual pleasure are easy ones at that."

He blushed, for the first time in a long while. At her request he turned off the lights as he let himself out.

* * *

Jenna hand paused before knocking on Kate's door. She had really, really, needed to use the toilet. She had fought her urges all day, not wanting to face the humiliation of having to ask another human being permission to perform a simple biological function, but the discomfort was approaching unbearable levels.

It had been a weird day after a sleepless night; as she sat in her classes the plug felt funny. It didn't hurt or anything, but she felt uncomfortably full, and she had to position herself carefully as she sat so as not to put too much pressure on the plug. Her one attempt at removing it had not gone well. The second it came out her stomach heaved, and she felt an intense nausea pass through her, with cramps so severe they made her monthlies seem like a hiccough. Curled up in a fetal position on the floor of her room she grasped blindly for the plug and replaced it to stop the terrible sensations. Disobedience equaled discomfort seemed to be the lesson of the day.

"Hi Jenna, what's up?" Kate asked the blonde girl.

"Can I come in, please?"

"Why?" Kate could see that Jenna was uncomfortable, uneasy, and shifting her weight back and forth from one foot to the other. Kate had an inkling as to why Jenna was here.

"I have to ask you something in private," Jenna said, her voice at a regular volume, but she dropped it to a near whisper before she added, "Mistress."

Kate smiled and stepped aside, allowing the fidgeting girl to enter. "You don't have to call me that. We're not playing now."

"Oh, OK. Um, well, I need to, uh, go to the bathroom," Jenna said as she unbuttoned her pants and slid them down just past the bottom of her panties.

"Here?" Kate asked with mock alarm.

Jenna turned her back to Kate and pulled her panties down just off the hips so that the white plastic of the plug was visible. "Please, Kate, take it out. It's been like torture. I've been holding it in since five o'clock."

Kate took a wad of Kleenex from the box on her desk. Jenna moaned as she felt the dildo move within her, and she let loose a small "eek" as it popped free. Kate set it in the tissues and handed it to her as she was redoing her pants.

On the toilet Jenna considered her position. In the most pressing matter she realized at once she would have to return to Kate's room to put the plug back in. Kate had the lube, and though she thought it was possible to reinsert the plug without any jelly, she shuddered at the thought. The next thing she realized was that it might not be a bad idea to get to know Kate better, and not just in the "biblical" sense. She needed to humanize herself in Kate's eyes. Chat her up a little.

She wiped herself, and cleaned off the plug with plenty of hot water before returning to Kate's room. Kate gave her the tube of jelly, and then was so kind as to help her put the toy back in.

"What are you working on?" Jenna asked, gesturing towards Kate's desk. The monitor showed an essay in progress, and the computer itself was surrounded by neat piles of note cards and photocopies of research.

"English Lit. paper. It's coming along nicely. It's on Blake's use of religious imagery."

They made small talk about school work for a bit until Jenna steered the conversation towards more personal subjects.

"So how long have you and Alan been together?"

Jenna was slightly puzzled by the blush this question brought forth from Kate as she stuttered out an answer.

"A little more than a year."

"Oh. Did you meet him here?"

"No. We grew up together. I've known him since elementary school. His mom was the music teacher in our middle school. They moved to our town when we were in third grade, uh maybe fourth, I can't exactly remember."

"So you knew him in high school?" Jenna asked, still confused by the embarrassment these innocent questions seemed to bring out in Kate.

"Yeah," Kate mumbled.

"Was he always that way?"

"What do you mean, 'that way?'"

"I think you know what I mean, Kate. You know, that commanding presence he has, like he can look right through you and see your most secret thoughts. The way he can get you to do whatever he wants."

Kate's face was bright red now, her thoughts shuffling back to the day Alan had first fucked her, that day when he had first imposed his will open her. She sighed wistfully, enjoying the recollection. "Yeah, I know what you mean. We do that a lot together. I'm not always 'Mistress Kate,' you know. I love it when he takes the lead with me, like we did with you last night. No, he wasn't always that way. Most of high school he was just this nice, quiet guy, the kind you would give a second glance to. Sometime during senior year he just transformed. The 'Commanding Alan' like appeared out of nowhere."

"So you didn't hook up until you got here?"

"No, that's the weird thing," Kate answered, surprised that she was sharing so much info with Jenna, "We slept together almost all of spring semester in high school, but we weren't boyfriend/girlfriend. I was dating this really cute guy named Chad, though he was a dud in the sack, and Alan, if you can believe this, was dating my sister."

"You're shitting me!"

"No, God's honest truth. I broke up with Chad right after the prom, and Alan and my sister decided that with him going to college they should see other people. Pauline started dating this really nice guy. She and Alan are still really close friends, and she doesn't mind at all that we're together now. She told me she thinks he's good for me. I was amazed really, when I told her we were a couple. She's really in love with her new boyfriend, AND she still talks to Alan about twice as often as she talks to me. It's weird really. I think he loves her in his own way. Pauline's the sister he never had. I know it's a cliché, but it's true."

"And he obviously doesn't mind that you're into girls."

"I wasn't into girls until recently. Actually, Scarlet's the one who got me thinking along those lines."

"And was Alan surprised?"

"No. If you can believe it, we actually discussed it a lot before I actually had sex with another woman."

"Scarlet?"

"No, someone else." As Kate wasn't too forthcoming about her first lesbian encounter, Jenna decided not to press.

"What about you?" Kate asked. "I know almost nothing about you."

Jenna started with the bare facts. She told Kate that she grew up in Denver, but that her family relocated to Houston during the summer between her freshman and sophomore years in high school. Her dad is an executive with a Christian television syndicate, and her mom teaches religious studies at a Dallas area christian academy, and they would each have heart attacks if they knew what she had done last night. They thought she was a virgin, not knowing she had been sleeping with boys since she was sixteen.

"I'm surprised your folks let you come here. I mean Barnard has such a liberal reputation, and New York, well, isn't the center of all sin in the universe?"

"Yeah," Jenna laughed, "You would think, wouldn't you? They are worried about me like that, but my mom went here, and loved it, so I'm a legacy."

They conversed for a long time. Both were surprised how easy it was to talk to the other. Kate had always considered Jenna a bitch, akin to the way she was not so long ago. Jenna never really had many girlfriends. She always hung out mostly with guys, teasing and flirting. It was one of the things that made her hesitate before enrolling at Barnard, that she would have to hang out with women. She had really never seen the need to it before, but now she realized that she had missed out on having relationships with members of her own gender. The sex that happened between her and Kate was still somewhat an uncomfortable situation, but she was resigned to it, and now that she knew Kate better she was feeling less awkward. By the end of their hour together Jenna was amazed that they were even making plans for an outing next week.

As she stood to make her exit she felt the plug. She considered asking Kate to help her out by removing it, but did not want to seem to be trying to cash in on their new friendship.

"Leaving so soon?" Kate asked, her eyebrow arched. She had noticed that even though their chatter had been friendly, Jenna had retained a bit of her natural standoffishness, that she had made sure to always stay physically out of close range.

"Well, yeah, I thought--"

"You know, Jenna, we just had our first real conversation, and we learned a great deal about one another, but in all this time you never once brought up last night."

Jenna blushed.

"So," Kate continued, "You come in here, ask me to remove a plug from up your butt, and then spend the next half an hour just pretending it never happened?"

Jenna backed away from Kate, bumping into the dorm room's closed door, and was then unable to move at all as the black-haired slowly advanced on her. "P-please. I don't want to talk about it right now."

"OK, Jenna. Don't talk about it, if that's what you want," Kate whispered, nose-to-nose now with her prey. Kate leaned in, tilted her head and pressed her lips lightly against Jenna's. The blonde moaned softly and allowed Kate's slithering tongue entrance past her own trembling lips. Her knees buckled slightly as arousal built rapidly within her. Kate reached around and placed her palm against the back of Jenna's head, cupping it, as she slowly led the trembling girl back to the narrow bed.

Kate threw an arm around Jenna's shoulder and drew her close for another kiss. "Did you like that?" she asked the trembling girl, receiving an affirmative nod in response. "Do you want to kiss me some more?" Another nod. As she resumed the kiss Kate brought her free hand up and cupped Jenna's petite breasts, teasing the nipples so that she could feel them harden through the other girl's thin cotton shirt and satiny bra.

Jenna pulled back and gasped, "Oh my, that feels so good!"

Kate removed her arm from around Jenna and peeled the t-shirt from her. "I want to suck your nipples," she said, a sultry whisper in Jenna's ear. Jenna nodded again and reached behind her own back to unfasten the bra clasp.

Jenna purred as Kate suckled on her. Her head fell back, limp, her eyes closed so to concentrate on the pleasures running through her. She ground her ass into the mattress, trying in increase the wonderful feelings as Kate's lips and the hormones coursing through her caused her to approach release. She moaned as Kate nipped a little at her left nipple while simultaneously squeezing the other. So close.

"This is wrong," the small part of her brain that was yet to succumb to total bliss screamed out, and she summoned the strength to push off of Kate and scamper down the length of the bed. She held her arms over her breasts in a small attempt at modesty, and panted as she tried to return her breathing to normal.

"Let's not do this, Kate, it's wrong," she whimpered.

"What's wrong? I'm doing it wrong? It didn't feel good?"

"No," she sobbed quietly, "It feels good, but I don't want it to."

Kate pulled her sweater over her head and slipped off her bra. Jenna's eyes became fixed on the glinting rings. Kate held one of her own nipples between her thumb and forefinger and gave it a light pinch.