November

November 7

Jesse found a message slipped under his door when he woke up.

Jesse,

I found something in the woods that I think you should see. I'll get you from the west door, tomorrow at noon. Dress warmly, as it may be chilly later.

- Michael Kieran, 3rd Heir, 2nd Estate of Admiral O'Connor

P.S. I've already got authorization; don't bother with a chaperone.


The last line made his stomach hit the floor. Jesse held on to the paper for a while, turning the message over in his head. One the one hand, it sounded pretty ominous, which worried him. On the other, Michael seemed pretty even-keeled; not at all like the type to suddenly go and do something terrifying - maybe it was just oddly worded, but innocuous. On the third hand, it might be a trap. On the fourth, it was probably a trap. Jesse imagined himself and Michael, alone in the middle of the woods. No one would even hear...Jesse cut off that line of thinking, folded the note up. Whatever the note was implying, he didn't exactly have a choice in the matter. He'd be by the west door at noon. A hand on his back made him jump. Vichy raised both eyebrows, then saw the piece of paper folded in Jesse's hands. His face darkened.
"A summons?"
Jesse shook his head and Vichy looked relieved.
"What, then?"
Jesse glanced away, trying to think of an appropriately cagey answer to put off further inquiry. Vichy caught on immediately. A broad grin broke across his face.
"Him again? Show me!"
Jesse shook his head but Vichy would not be deterred. He faked left, moved right, then reached around Jesse's unguarded left shoulder and took the note from his hand.
"Come on, Vichy, give that back - that's mine!"
Vichy ignored him, now busy reading. As he read, his smile faded. He turned slowly. Jesse felt a lump in his throat; he hadn't wanted anyone else to know for a reason. If he was right, if it was a trap...he would just rather the inevitable at least not be a public spectacle. Vichy's face was confirming his fears.
"Does Sloane know about this?"
Jesse shrugged. Vichy pressed the paper hard against Jesse's chest.
"Tell him. Tell him now, tell him you got this and don't know how and tell him you don't want to go. Tell him now, Jesse!"
Jesse rolled his eyes.
"Maybe you've forgotten, but Sloane and I aren't exactly on the best of terms. He's not always very inclined to get me off of an authorized event engagement. And I wouldn't even want him involved in this; he'd help me just like he helped Ortega."
Vichy looked defeated for a minute, then shrugged it off.
"Then you have to go to Kosin. Tell him he's made a mistake, this shouldn't have been passed through."
Jesse laughed.
"I walk in that office and start telling them about the mistakes they've made, they'll tell me to go to hell and send four chaperones to make sure I complete the trip."
"Ignore the instructions. Take a chaperone. Take two. Take three!"
Jesse smiled ruefully and shook his head.
"Won't matter, Vichy. You know he'll find a way."
Vichy struggled with this, chewing roughly on his lip.
"I can tell Jonathan. Yes, I can tell Jonathan and I'll just ask him to do something to stop it. He loves me; he'll help you out."
Jesse half-grinned.
"You save your fiancé's favors for someone who really needs them. I promise you, Vichy, that I'll be alright."
He took the crumpled piece of paper that Vichy was still holding fast against his chest and smoothed it out in one hand.
Vichy was clenching and unclenching his fists.
"I just don't want you to go alone, Jesse."
Jesse looked up, impressed by the forcefulness belied by his usually meek friend's tone.
"Vichy," he answered calmly, "I'm going to have to."

~:~

Jesse couldn't sit still all through arts in the afternoon. They were supposed to be sketching still-lifes of various historical artifacts, but Jesse's page just had three or four charcoal lines and one angry blue scribble on it. Art was not his forté. Jesse found himself constantly twitching, fidgeting with the pencils, his stool, the easel, his clothes. Vichy kept throwing him worried glances, looking once at Jess, then meaningfully up at Sloane. Jesse ignored this.
"Jesse, please tell him."
"No. And you keep it quiet, too, since you weren't even supposed to know in the first place."
"Nobody asks you to meet them alone like that for no good reason."
"Michael does. It's fine. I'm fine."
Sloane looked suspiciously over at Vichy and Jesse and so Jesse picked up his pencil and scribbled some more. Two horizontal lines made a tic-tac-toe board. He drew an 'o' in the middle.
"Besides, at least I get to miss carrier counseling. If Michael wanted to do this, he couldn't have picked a better day."
Vichy stopped drawing, stared straight at Jesse.
"You think this is funny?"
Jesse raised half his mouth in some semblance of a half-smile.
"I have to laugh, Vichy. What else can I do?"

~:~