Jack smiled and sucked in a deep breath. She had a truly amazing mind, and the stubbornness to stick to her guns no matter what. She was amazing. He felt something in him shift and knew, whether she walked or stayed in the next moments, he would be proud of her for doing it. And she was worth going all the way to make her stay.
“It’s not really a game,” he said in a calm, clear voice. “Oh, I’ve kissed a lot of girls in my time. High school. College.” He chuckled. “More than one father chased me off at gunpoint.” He shook his head but held her gaze so she could know he was telling the truth. “I knew every one of them. I enjoyed spending time with them.” He chuckled again and rubbed his jaw. “I think the only time I ever did homework was with…someone that made me want to do it with them. More than once, a father barged into bedrooms to find books scattered over the bed, thank God.” Jack gave a low whistle. “Saved my bacon let me tell you.” He chuckled for a moment, then chewed his lip for another, and brought one finger up to hold it between them. “They were friends, people I trusted and liked. I’ve never kissed a stranger before.”
Samantha stepped back and her eyes shifted from side to side as she considered his words. He waited for her to look back at him before continuing. She needed to know he was truthful.
“I liked the kiss but couldn’t stand being the stranger. So I decided to make certain we weren’t strangers by the time the kiss ended,” he finished with a calm look. He spread both arms out wide. “Wrong or right, that was it. That was why. And after that I stepped back and waited for your next move.” He took a very small step back, just enough to show his intentions, grabbed the scarf and whipped it off his shoulder to hold it between them once more. “I don’t want you to walk right now. I really don’t.” He swallowed, but now was not the time for half measures. “But I will never stop you from walking if that is your choice. Not today, not tomorrow, not ten years from now. Never.” He gave her a calm smile and waited for her next move. Again.
Samantha remained still, studying him, for what seemed like an eternity. Finally she bit her lip, nodded, and sighed. She stepped close, grabbed the scarf, and very firmly placed it back on his shoulders. He swallowed as an electric shiver ran through his body.
“I believe you,” she whispered and patted the scarf, sending another jolt through him. She turned away from him and gave a slight nod.
Motion caught Jack’s attention and he focused on a man by a car in the distance. The man nodded back, opened the car door, and slipped into it. A few moments later, it lifted off the ground and flew away. A chill went down his spine as the fact that she’d expected to walk settled in.
She turned back to him and smiled. “I’m afraid I didn’t plan very well. Do you have any plans?”
Jack sucked in a deep breath, gave her his best charming smile, and crooked his arm out next to him. He looked down the boardwalk, at the vendors shutting their shops, at the sunbathers going home, and sighed. “Would my lady like to walk down the boardwalk?”
She slipped her arm into his with a smile of her own. “I would love to,” she answered and they began to walk. She leaned in close and whispered. “I’m glad I kissed a stranger last night.”
Jack let out a long breath and smiled. “Just to be clear, we’re talking about me, right?” he asked.
Samantha slapped him with her free arm. “And just how many strangers do you think I kissed last night?”
Jack sucked in a deep breath. “Well, you were moving pretty quick…”
“Jack?” she said and gripped his arm tight.
“Yes, Ma’am?” he asked.
“You can shut up now.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
She gave him a satisfied smile. “Good.” She leaned against him as they walked.
Jack looked down, examining the scarf that was a match for the one she’d given him hung around her neck, draping over her breasts. He reached his free hand over to grab the scarf and ran his thumb over it. “What is this?”
“A scarf,” she answered, not taking her head away from his arm.
Jack raised an eyebrow at the top of her head. “I’ve seen a lot of these walking around town. All different colors and patterns. And I see that some of them are more prestigious than others.” He lifted her scarf off her breast and waved it in the general direction of a particularly snooty group of young men and women walking off the beach, all wearing a scarf of some other design.
She smiled and pulled her scarf out of his hands. She waved it in his face. “They’re school scarves.”
“Ahhh,” Jack whispered, projecting a tone of total understanding. “So they come from a rival high school?”
Her body stiffened and she slapped his arm in a playful manner. “College actually.”
“No,” Jack said, projecting shock as best he could. “That can’t be.” He cocked his head to the side and examined her smiling face. “Unless you’re one of those honors students of course. Getting ahead of the pack and all that.”
She bumped her hip against his leg playfully. “And just how young do you think I am?” she asked.
Jack pulled in a long breath, enjoying the moment and really not wanting to break it. “Well…” he said through pursed lips, considering his words carefully. He smiled as something came to mind. “I think you’re old enough to know your father wouldn’t approve of me, and young enough that you’re willing to risk it.”
Samantha chuckled. “And what makes you think my Daddy has any say in who I date?”
Jack sighed and patted her arm with his free hand. “If you call him Daddy, not Father, you will always be his little girl and he will always have something to say about who you date. Whether you like it or not. And it will often be through the megaphone of a shotgun aimed at the lad he has something to say to,” he finished with a wry smile.
Samantha chewed her lip for several seconds before shaking her head and patting his arm. “Good answer.”
“I try.”
“You succeed,” she corrected.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Jack smiled at the young lady on his arm, enjoying every second of it. “So what school do you go to?”
“New Churchill College. Business major. What about you?”
Jack chuckled. “Bemidji State. And if I’m being honest, I majored in music, drinking, and girls, and not necessarily in that order.”
Samantha laughed. “Do you play?”
Jack gave her a very large grin. “I’m told I play very well.”
Samantha slapped his arm. “Music.”
Jack chuckled. “Oh…right. That.” Jack made a production of a regretful sigh. “Yes, I play the guitar, I pluck a good fiddle, and I can do a mean harmonica too. Do you play?”
Samantha gave him a slow smile. “Yes,” she finally whispered.
Jack pulled in a deep breath in admiration. She truly was a lively one. “Are you going to tell me?” he finally asked.
She pursed her lips and cocked her head to the side. “Do you think you can guess?”
“What do I get if I guess right?” he asked.
She smiled at him playfully. “A walk on the beach?”
He looked over at the beach. “We’re already doing that, aren’t we?”
Her smile grew. “A longer walk on the beach.”
“OK. I’m in,” he said with a satisfied smile. Jack examined her right hand closely. “Well, no calluses, so you don’t play a guitar. Unless you’re left handed or use a pick.”
Samantha shook her head with an approving smile.
“Right. So I’m guessing no harmonica?”
Samantha chuckled. “Cold.”
“Right.” Jack pursed his lips in thought and scanned her body. She had better posture than most young ladies, suggesting she either had someone who taught her to walk properly, or she played something that required it, or both. He watched her breath for several seconds, recognizing the smooth and controlled tempo of it. “Well, you certainly have healthy lungs,” he said with a smile.
&
nbsp; Samantha raised a warning eyebrow at him.
“I’m serious,” he answered with a chuckle. “You control your breathing like you were trained to.”
She pursed her lips, examined him carefully, and finally nodded.
Jack pondered for a moment, and smiled again. “You’ve got good lips too. Flute?”
Samantha smiled and patted his arm before shaking her head.
“Ah…darn.” Jack shrugged and scratched his chin with his free hand. “Well, you don’t have the lips of a brass lass, so no tuba for you.”
She gave him a surprised look for a moment, then shook her head and shuddered theatrically, forcing him to chuckle. It was actually a very good theatrical shrug. He frowned and studied her again. She had impressive control of her gait, very graceful, with each step landing exactly where she meant it. He’d seen that before.
“You have nice legs too.”
She aimed another raised eyebrow at him.
He gave her an innocent smile. “I mean you have good posture and have very good control of where you walk. You do stage work.”
Samantha smiled. “Getting warmer,” she whispered.
Jack smiled back and licked his lips. The theatrical control of her body suggested training. “Acting?”
Samantha sighed and walked on.
“Not exactly,” Jack whispered and considered more. Back in the club on New Years she had slipped through the crowd without bumping into anybody. “You know your way through a crowd and have an excellent sense of timing with the music. So you perform in a crowd. I’m going to say no to opera though.”
She looked at him for a long moment with a curious gaze. “Why?”
Jack smiled at her. “I’ve known opera girls. They wouldn’t have been caught dead in that club on New Years. They would be at their family’s Holiday Ball hobnobbing with all the other members of ‘real society’ and all that bunk.”
Samantha nodded in approval. “You may continue.”
“I’m going to say no to ballet as well.” At her questioning look, he smiled. “Ballet companies prefer stick figure girls. You, my lady, are no stick figure girl,” he said with an admiring look.
Samantha laughed and gave his arm a soft pat. “We’re running out of boardwalk,” she said with a nod.
Jack glanced ahead to see where it ended about a block away. They still had plenty of time. He shrugged and pulled in a deep breath. “I think your performing style is…singing…and some dancing or…choreographed stuff…with a bunch of other people.”
Samantha aimed an admiring smile at him and shifted back and forth on his arm. “Getting hot,” she whispered.
“Yes, you are,” he answered.
She slapped his arm.
“Yes, Ma’am,” he whispered and chewed his lower lip as he watched her move. It was a very enjoyable sight. He laughed as all the hints came together. He could be wrong, but it matched everything he knew so far, so it was worth a guess. “I’m willing to bet a very long walk on the beach, and a short dip in the ocean if you approve, that you are in a glee club.”
She stopped and spun to face him. “How?” Her gaze turned suspicious. “Did your cyber tell you?”
Jack shook his head. “No, Ma’am. Using a cyber like that on you would be spying. I don’t spy. I’d much rather discover who you are in person.” He aimed his best charming smile at her. “And you are worth all the time, and all the pitfalls, and all the worry in the galaxy to discover.”
She raised an eyebrow and slapped his arm playfully. “You, Sir, flatter too much,” she whispered.
Jack waggled his eyebrows at her. “Only as much as you deserve.”
She smiled and gave him a thoughtful smile. “Whatever do I do with you?” she finally asked.
Jack shrugged. “I guess that depends on what you want to do with me.” He gave her another charming smile. “Is this a multiple choice question?”
Samantha smiled, pulled his head down, and kissed him on the lips.
Jack pulled back, sucked in a deep breath, and smiled. “Ooh, I like that one. But I think I’d be remiss if I answered before I’d seen any of the other options. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes,” she answered with a flirtatious smile.
“So what about that swim?” he asked.
She looked up at him, her lips twisted in amusement. “Maybe.”
Jack gave her his best charming smile. “What, oh lady, do I have to do to make you agree?”
She shook her head and turned around to pull him back the way they’d come. “Guess,” she finally said in an amused tone.
Jack felt a smile of confidence enter him and began to throw out option after option in his mind as he searched for just the right tactic. He was so on for this game.
Many, many hours later, he strolled back onto the base that was his new home along with the rising Alpha Centauri A to see Charles waiting for him with a frown.
“You’re late!” Charles snapped.
Jack automatically went to attention, snapping his heals together and deciding that right now was probably the right time to actually channel all the Marine stuff they’d shoved into him back in boot camp. “Sir! I have ten minutes until I report for duty, sir! I am not late yet, sir!”
Charles’ frown deepened, his eyes running up and down Jack’s dirty, soggy, and sand-spattered Dress Whites. “What in Hell did you do to your uniform?” he growled.
“Sir! I swam in the ocean, sir!” Jack said, his voice full of pride.
Charles shook his head and growled. “Why in Hell would you do something so stupid with your Dress Whites?”
Jack’s face broke out in a grand smile. “Sir! There was a girl, sir!”
Charles lowered his head, brought a hand up to it, and shook his head, mumbling something that sounded like “Why do I bother?” The man looked up, made a show of looking at a watch on his wrist and tapped it. “Nine minutes, Jester! Be bright and shiny! We have a long day today!” he finished with a wicked gleam that said he was not going to give Jack any slack.
Jack smiled back. “Sir! What do I do with the remaining five minutes, sir!”
“Get out of here!” Charles shouted
“Sir! Yes, sir!” Jack shouted and broke into a run towards his barracks.
Hello, my name is Jack. What does it take to be a pilot in the age of cybers? Reflexes. You need reflexes to move fast and the instincts to use them even when you don’t know why. You have to be good at reading situations too, recognizing the dip of a wing or the flare of a maneuvering rocket that means the enemy is about to fire. No matter how fast your reflexes are, dodging after shots have been fired can be a lifetime too late.
Devilcats
The Hellcat cut through New Earth’s atmosphere with a deadly grace, engine exhaust painting white contrails of water vapor across the bright blue sky. Maneuvering thrusters flared, flaps lifted, and she banked to the side, lines of ice crystals shimmering off the laser turrets on the tips of her wings. She maneuvered like a dream, reacting to her pilot’s commands without hesitation.
“Any regrets?” Jack asked, examining the inside of the cockpit with a proprietary air. He’d wanted to fly one of these since he was a kid and it felt good now.
Betty, sitting on the console in small mode, shook her head. “None. Oh, this is a nice little bird for shooting other birds down, but there is no way she could do what we do.”
“Good,” Jack said with a smile.
She cocked her head to the side and smirked. “You? Any regrets?”
Jack pulled in a long breath and let it out before answering. “No. Yes, I wanted this. I always knew the Hellcat would be a fun ride, and she is.” He smiled at Betty and shook his head. “But the things the Avenger can do…” he faded out and whistled. He sighed and released the throttle to brush the scarf hanging around his neck. “Trust me. No regrets at all. We never could have ‘saved’ the Peloran with Hellcats, and we certainly wouldn’t be here now.”
Betty smiled at the scarf
. “Of course. Parish the thought.”
“Well, you wouldn’t have met Hal,” Jack said with a smirk. “I think we’re even on that score.”
Betty smirked at him. “Well I at least…” She stopped and cocked her head to the side. “Well, what do you know? The next candidate is in the air.”
“Perfect timing,” Jack said with a shake of his head.
She answered him with an innocent look and a cocked head.
Jack placed both hands back on the throttle and stick and swung them to the side. The Hellcat banked and sliced through the air, following his commands like they were second nature, to face Leif Erikson Spacebase. A Hellcat came into view in the distance and Jack glanced down to the screens to confirm that, yes, it was Devilcat Ten.
“This is Cowboy Five to Devilcat Ten,” Jack said in a jaunty tone. “You may try to kill me now.”
“Roger,” the Devilcat pilot answered and his engine pods shot flame as he accelerated into battle, white contrails streaming after it. Maneuvering thrusters began to flare, and the Hellcat started gyrating through seemingly random maneuvers at the command of her cyber, making the fighter hard to hit, and spraying streams of ice crystals off her wingtips.
Betty responded in kind and their Hellcat bucked through the atmosphere like an angry bronco. Jack swallowed, forced his eyes to focus on the enemy Hellcat through the maneuvers, and watched for the attack. He saw it coming, and shifted the Hellcat to port at the last instant. Training lasers and missiles streaked by, missing him by meters, as their lasers chattered away in point defense mode, destroying anything that got too close.
“Too slow,” Jack transmitted in an easygoing tone, but held his attention on the Hellcat. “Don’t take so much time planning your killshot next time.”
“I’ll try.” The opposing Hellcat turned and slashed back in, disappearing behind another wall of missiles..
Jack pulled their Hellcat up and over the missile swarm and they flashed past the fighter before the Devilcat could fire again. “Too predictable. Shake it up next time.”
Forge of War (Jack of Harts) Page 24