"Jack" Series, Part 1: Jack Arrives

6. Aftermath IV:  Tiran & Gabe

Opening my bedroom door, I saw that Gabe was waiting for me, on his knees in the adjoining doorway, but no one else. I felt a flicker of annoyance and, as usual, vented at Gabe.

"Who's on duty?" I asked irritably.

"I am, master," he answered carefully.

Oh. I crossed over to the chair by the window and sat down, noticing that I'd come upstairs so quickly I hadn't paused to take my shoes off. Remembering the feeling of expectation on my way up the stairs, I realized what was missing.

"Where's Rocky?" I asked.

Gabe had crawled over to take off my shoes. No, I don't usually make him crawl but I guess it seemed like an easy way for him to cover the short distance between us. Or maybe it had something to do with my mood.

"I think he was hoping to talk to Mr. Obernikoch when he got in, master."

Now that he mentioned it, I remembered Rocky saying something about that earlier on. Gabe's head was lowered as he worked on my shoes but I smirked a little despite myself. "Yeah, that should go over well with Jack," I said sardonically.

"Yes, master." Gabe spoke neutrally. He stood up to put the shoes away. "Shall I get him for you?"

"Don't be stupid." I leaned back and picked up the remote as Gabe went over to the bar. "Anyway, he won't be long." I laughed to myself and flicked to the blue channel. Gabe brought over my drink and a cigarette, hesitated a moment, and knelt tentatively at my feet.

"Will my lord be going out again tonight?" he murmured.

"No." I tossed back the drink and looked down at him, realizing this was the first time I'd seen him all day. "So? How was the meeting, Sol?"

He looked up, surprised, but with a sudden, sunny smile. "You haven't heard about it, master?"

I frowned, mildly annoyed again. "Of course I have. I'm asking you."

"I'm sorry sir," he said quickly, looking down again, but then back up at me. "It was wonderful, master."

"I heard you were the class pet ... " I goaded him.

He flushed abruptly. "No sir. I-I'm sorry, master. I don't know, maybe I was."

"Suck up." I laughed and dragged on my cigarette, glancing from the kneeling figure in front of me to the kneeling figure on the tube. For a moment I was tempted, but then I remembered what - or who - would be there momentarily and decided to hold out.

"Forgive me, master," Gabe said, still anxious, not sure how to respond. Generally he starts off formal and warms up as my mood guides him, but tonight he wasn't getting much help from me. He took a breath, then asked softly, "May I help my lord get ready for bed?"

"Don't change the subject," I said sharply. "The meeting. I want a report."

"... Yes, master," he agreed quickly. "It was ... I was very impressed. He's - well, you know how remarkable he is. We could truly see how good this is going to be for us after this morning, sir. He's extremely effective, and very professional, and I think we're all very, very excited." He paused, and leaned forward – probably to kiss my foot. But I’d had enough of the official slave routine. Rocky would be here soon – his current mission amused me – I was pleasantly buzzed, well looked after and soon to be better, and Gabe is, when the mood strikes me, my most intimate confidant and informer. I blocked his descent with a hand and pulled him up, to face me, and then, after a sharp, pointed look, onto the chair, in my lap.

"Yeah yeah," I said impatiently, running a hand through his hair. "Give me the good stuff. What’s the talk? What’re the boys saying?"

He smiled and leaned into me. "They’re psyched, boss," he said, and I heard the truth of it in his voice. Even if I didn’t have my human-lie-detector superpower, I can’t imagine doubting anything Gabe tells me. "We’re all psyched. It’s really exciting to have someone like Mr. Obernikoch around. He’s like … he’s like the avenging angel we’ve all been waiting and hoping for."

I laughed at that image of my friend. "But what are they saying?"

Gabe shook his head slightly. "No one’s saying much out loud, Tiry. It’s just too … new, or something. I think we’re all afraid to put anything into words."

I frowned a little, not sure whether to be annoyed. "What does that mean? Sounds a little like sulking to me."

Gabe laughed out loud. "No sir! Hardly sulking. Excited, more like it. But also a little scared, I have to admit. I mean, we know we have a lot to go through in the next little while, and it’s not going to be easy. It’s not supposed to be easy! He’s going to hurt us, we know that – we want that. But it’s still a little scary to think about."

I looked down at Gabe, wondering why the words didn’t sound like complaints when they came from him. Something about the way his eyes shone and the little smile played on his lips as he looked unseeing into the distance, I guess.

"I’m sure you think that way," I said, a little reluctantly. "But what about the others? How do you know what they’re feeling? Especially if they’re not talking."

His gaze came back to me, and he almost purred with contentment against my chest. "Everyone’s … I think we’re all sort of afraid to say anything out loud. We’re all a little on edge – you know, it’s that combination of excitement and anticipation and – and fear. I guess there’s a part of it where we know we’re each going to have to work it out on our own. I mean, Mr. Obernikoch -- he’s not going to treat us all collectively -- you know, ‘bad boys, you’re grounded’. We know we’re each gonna have to – forge our own way, develop a relationship, do the work, build trust - hopefully … it’s a long road, I think. I guess we all feel like we’re just at the beginning of something scary and exhilarating and it’ll be a bit different for all of us so not much point trying to compare notes or anything. I think we’re each just trying to … sort of figure out how it’s making us feel."

It all sounded a little too mystical to me. Moving to firmer ground, I asked, "What’s this about Rocky mouthing off to Jack? First day and in trouble already? What the fuck?"

That wasn’t exactly what I’d heard but it was a bit of a set-up for Gabe – if he had a different spin, this would make it easier for him.

But Gabe wasn’t biting. "No, sir," he said, contradicting me easily and almost laughing. "He didn’t do anything, at least not this morning. I don’t know what might have happened between them before though. It definitely does seem like Mr. Obernikoch has a hate-on for him."

"What’d he do?"

"What – Rocky, sir? Nothing, Tiry, truly. " Gabe looked at me softly, the way he often did when defending his father. "He was on his best behaviour." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Tiry? Could it be something that happened earlier? I’m not sure – did Rocky meet Mr. Obernikoch before?"

"I dunno," I said idly, putting out my cigarette and momentarily distracted by the television. Then I thought about what Gabe had asked and turned back to him. "Didn’t you guys come with me that time we met him in Sacramento?"

Gabe nodded. "Yes. Rocky was with us then. But I don’t remember anything happening there to piss off Mr. Obernikoch. Is that the only time they met?"

I shrugged a little. "I guess so. I don’t know – you think they had another encounter?"

Gabe shook his head thoughtfully. "No … I guess not. Rocky would have mentioned it. Just seems like Mr. Obernikoch already has a strong feeling about him."

I nodded slowly. ‘Yeah, I think Rocky kinda said the same thing." I thought about Jack for a minute. Obviously anything he said to me was privileged – not for sharing with my slave – but I realized now that he hadn’t given anything away. Other than a couple of flippant comments about how pissed off the boys would be, he’d given me no idea what he thought of any of my harem.

Gabe slipped down from my lap and went over to get me another drink, but I shook my head at him – I didn’t want to wake up hurting. He squeezed lemon into plain water instead and brought it back to me, then knelt beside the chair to begin getting me undressed.

"Hey, Tiry … how did you meet Mr. Obernikoch anyway?"

I looked down at him with a quirked eyebrow and he half flushed, half smiled under my scrutiny. "I’m just wondering, sir. It’s funny … it’s like you pulled him out of the air when we first asked about this, and none of us had ever heard you mention him before." He grinned up at me a little sheepishly as he finished unbuttoning my shirt. "We compared notes." He paused a moment, waiting, then added, "He’s so perfect for what we asked for – better than we could have imagined – and you had him all this time?"

I looked back at the television and said sarcastically, "Yeah, just waiting in my little box for your convenience."

Gabe smiled, not really abashed. "I’m just curious, my lord. Kick my ass if I pry – or have Mr. Obernikoch do it. It’s just …" He hesitated a second, then looked up at me. "He’s the real thing, isn’t he? A professional dom?"

I returned his gaze for a moment. "Yeah."

He hesitated again, longer this time. "Is that how you met him?"

"What, you think I was a client?"

He laughed out loud again. "No, master."

"You think I’m a pro too?"

He didn’t answer that question, attending to his work.

I shook my head. "No. You know I’m too lazy for that."

"But … as colleagues? You’ve been in that scene too … with him? Is that how you met him?"

"Nooo … not exactly. I met him at a bar. We’ve been friends for years, Solly. But not in the scene. I don’t play those games, you know that. It’s too much work for me, too … rigid. I just don’t have that kind of self-discipline. He’s let me tag along with him a few times, though. To watch. It’s fun to see him in action."

Gabe nodded. "It is for me, too. When did you first meet him, master?"

"I dunno … maybe ten years ago. I’ve always liked him, I saw him regularly there. I just never had an excuse to bring him here before."

"And now …. Do you think he’s going to join the scene here?"

I contemplated. "I doubt it, at least not right away. I think he’s got enough on his plate with you guys for now."

"My lord -- we’re not real subs. We’re not of the calibre he’s used to dealing with."

I glanced at him. "You think he’s going to want to get involved here?"

"I hope he does. I hope he finds something more interesting to work with here than us, or I’m afraid he may not stay."

I thought about that. Gabe waited while I caught up to him, then moved to his next point. "And you, sweet master? Do you think you might join him this time?"

I saw where he was going, and resisted. Although Gabe is legally my slave, he’s still also my best friend’s son, and some things I just don’t think I could do – to Rocky. "Solly," I said, firmly but not trying to be mean, "If I do … I don’t think it will be with you."

He didn’t argue, just nodded and said quietly, "May I still hope, master?"

I shrugged. You never knew.

By now I was washed, undressed, and ready for bed. Gabe made it all so effortless, which was a handy thing on those frequent nights when I came home unable to do it all for myself.

I stepped out on the balcony and looked over towards the little chalet I’d built for Rocky. There were lights on inside but I didn’t see any sign of movement. Rocky must be on his way by now. Turning back inside, I looked at Gabe again. "You never know," I told him, following my own train of thought. "Maybe you guys – or one of you guys – will be interesting enough for Jack eventually."

Gabe looked momentarily confused, then smiled, shutting the balcony door behind me. "That would be even better, my lord."

And outside the room, I heard footsteps on the stairs. Quick, eager steps, I thought with satisfaction. Gabe heard them too. He came over and leaned up to kiss my cheek. "Good night, master." He slipped through the door to his own room and I lay back on the bed, smiling, to await my final encounter of the day.