His Name Was Zach (Book 2): Her Name Was Abby

by Martuneac, Peter

  Abby caught her breath as she gazed at the famous warrior, but she stared for a second too long and was caught by the general. He smirked and waved her over before she could look away.

  Feeling obliged to obey the summons of a general, Abby lifted her glass and walked over to the man, who rose from his stool as she neared him. “First time at one of these galas?” he asked, and Abby nodded her head.

  “A word of advice: don’t stare at any of these decrepit old creatures like you did with me just now. Coming from a gorgeous woman like you, they’ll pounce.”

  “All due respect, sir, but I can handle myself,” Abby replied, taking a sip of bourbon.

  “I believe it,” said Sloan, who followed Abby’s lead and took a drink from the glass in front of him. “Still, best not to even look these vultures in the eyes at all. Blood-sucking parasites, the lot of them.”

  “Why General, am I hearing you repudiate our entire chain of command?”

  “Did I stutter?”

  “Then why come here in the first place?”

  “To drink their booze.”

  He raised his glass in a toast to Abby, and she clinked her glass against his as they both took a drink.

  “All jokes aside, General,” Abby said as she leaned in closer, “it sounds to me like you’re not very happy with… everything.”

  “Your intuition is correct,” Sloan replied. “Used to be our military stood for something. We may not have always been right, might have been a little quick on the draw sometimes, but we were fighting for a greater good. Now… now we build our own Berlin Wall and fight a resistance movement which George Washington himself probably would have joined.”

  “So you’re sympathetic to their cause?” Abby probed. It was starting to sound like this famous general might be open to hearing from Hector. Maybe he could serve as another mole, or even defect with his soldiers.

  Sloan smirked again. “Young lady, are you trying to catch me talking treason so you can turn me in?”

  “Never was a true believer myself,” Abby admitted. “Consider it insatiable curiosity that a man so steeped in military tradition could be so averse to his commanders.”

  “Well, I’ll tell you this: you wouldn’t see a tear from me were the rebels to succeed in their mission.”

  So saying, Sloan drained the rest of his glass and smacked it back down on the bar. “It was nice meeting you, miss uh… “ Sloan said.

  “Abby,” she replied, extending her hand.

  “Abby,” Sloan repeated. He took Abby’s hand and kissed it, then said, “You take care now. Seriously, take care.”

  And with that, the old general slowly made his way towards the exit.

  “Don’t tell me you found yourself a new boyfriend,” Derrick said as he approached Abby.

  “I’m so sorry, dear. But come on, he’s a general.”

  “Well, can’t win ‘em all I suppose.”

  Abby smiled and kissed Derrick. “Come on,” she said, “let’s get back to mingling.”

  With the worst of the night behind her, and her task completed, Abby felt like she could finally relax and enjoy herself at what truly was an entertaining party. She met some more senators and other notable figures, and even did some dancing with Derrick. But the hours passed, and finally people were beginning to leave the party.

  “Maybe we should go now. My cheeks are killing me from all this smiling,” Abby said to Derrick. She’d only had two drinks that night despite her urges, and she was getting bored of talking to increasingly drunk guests while she herself felt as sober as a pastor.

  “Yeah, you’re right. I need to get out of this monkey suit, anyway.”

  The couple made their way back to the entrance, where Derrick handed his valet ticket to one of the valets. The young man jogged off towards a lot that was hidden from view, appearing a minute later with Derrick’s bright orange sports car. He helped both Derrick and Abby into their seats, earning himself a hefty tip from Derrick.

  Once they got back to Arthur Square, Derrick parked as close to the barracks as he could get, telling Abby that he didn’t want her to have to walk any further on those heels.

  “You kidding me? They’re already off,” she said, holding up the expensive but uncomfortable shoes for Derrick to see.

  He laughed and said, “Well alright, let’s go then.”

  Barefooted, Abby walked along the path back to the barracks with Derrick. “Thanks for inviting me to that, I had a lot of fun,” she said.

  “Of course! Thank you for coming,” Derrick replied. “I’ll have to see if I can convince dad to do this every year, because I’d sure love to bring you again.”

  Abby smiled and said, “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah,” Derrick said, smiling back. “That was the first time I’ve ever felt so confident around dad’s friends, and it was because of you. You make me better, more confident and sure, and I hope you’re always by my side.”

  “So do I, Derrick.”

  Abby glanced over and saw what looked like a pained, uncertain look on Derrick’s face. His hand was fumbling with something in his pocket. “Oh no,” she thought as she connected some dots, “that’s not a… a ring, is it?”

  “A-Abby,” he stammered, “I uh… I— ”

  “Yes?”

  “Would you, well, w-would you… like me to carry you? If your feet hurt, that is.”

  A look of defeat spread over Derrick’s face as he pulled his empty hand out of his pocket, and Abby felt a little pity for him. “I’m okay,” she said, pretending not to have guessed at his true intentions. “We’re pretty much there, already.”

  They ascended the stairs to the third level, then down the hall to Abby’s room. She unlocked the door and they both went inside. Derrick took off his shoes, jacket, and tie as Abby removed her jewelry (and the thumb drive), set these in the drawer of her nightstand, and undid her hair.

  “Unzip me, please?” she asked Derrick, holding up her hair and turning around. Derrick obliged her, and she let the dress fall down to her feet, kicking it aside.

  “Wow, that dress looks even better on the floor there,” Derrick said as he unbuttoned and then removed his shirt.

  Abby was a little surprised that Derrick’s confidence had returned so soon, but then again flirting is probably a lot easier than proposing. She smiled and said, “Oh yeah? Just wait till you see how the rest of the outfit looks on the floor there.”

  So saying, Abby pulled off her underwear and unclasped her bra, tossing these aside with her dress and placing her hands on her hips. This was not the first time she’d been naked for Derrick, so she felt quite comfortable as his eyes wandered up and down her full length.

  Derrick smiled and walked up to Abby, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her. Abby kissed him back and led him over to her bed. Likewise this was not the first time she’d made out with Derrick while one of them was naked, so she was still inside her comfort zone. She was in a fantastic mood after her successful mission, and the banquet itself had been a blast, so she felt like fooling around with Derrick a little bit. Just the usual routine, have some fun and then kick him out. No harm done.

  But while her mind wandered, Derrick had been removing more of his own clothes. When Abby came back to the present, she realized that they were both now naked and in her bed. Now this was farther than she’d ever gone with him, and it made her a little uncomfortable. But so far they were still just making out. “This is fine,” she thought, still kissing him. “Just another minute and I’ll ask him to stop. God, he’s a good kisser.”

  A few minutes went by and now Derrick laid Abby flat on her back and pressed himself against her, kissing her neck and sending shivers down her spine. “Okay, you have to stop this now,” she thought. “But just a few more seconds. Ask him to stop in a few more seconds.”

  Derrick’s hand drifted down from Abby’s neck to her stomach, then even lower. “You okay with this?” he asked.

  Abby nodded her head emphatically,
and said, “Yes.”

  “No. No, this is way too far,” she thought. “But he’s already there. Just a moment more and I’ll ask him to stop.”

  “I love you, Abby,” Derrick whispered.

  “I love you, too,” Abby replied, and for the first time it didn’t feel entirely fake.

  “Just a few more seconds, a few more seconds,” Abby reminded herself.

  “Still okay with this?” Derrick asked again. He moved his hand away from where it was, and another part of him took its place inside Abby.

  “Yes! Yes!” Abby whispered, grasping the sheets.

  “Just… just another moment,” she told herself.

  “Just a few more seconds,” she thought after another minute passed.

  “Just… don’t stop,” she said aloud to Derrick. “Don’t stop!”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Abby pounded the heavy bag like it had burned down her home and killed her family. The sun peeked over the horizon, and Abby, waking from a restless slumber, had come straight to the gym. She didn’t bring her towel, water, or her gloves. Indeed, she had barely remembered to get dressed before leaving her room. But she needed to hit something. A lot, and hard. That was the way she vented when overcome with emotions, and today her chief emotion was white-hot, searing guilt.

  Not a word of protest, not a moment’s hesitation. Hell, she was the one who’d started things last night. She knew she should’ve asked Derrick to stop, just like she’d done on several occasions in the past. She could have, but she didn’t. Derrick even gave her every chance to stop things. He’d asked twice if she was okay with what he was doing, and she’d said ‘yes’.

  And that’s where the guilt came from. It didn’t come because she did not say ‘no’, it came because she realized that her ‘yes’ had been emphatic and genuine. Having sex with Derrick was exactly what she wanted last night. Telling herself ‘just a few more seconds’ over and over had been an act of denial, a lie to convince herself that she didn’t really mean to go all the way, and that was an absolute, black-and-white betrayal of Hiamovi.

  Thinking his name made her angrier, and she hit the bag again and again. But neither her bloodied knuckles, nor her bruised elbows and knees took away the guilt. Even as she stood upright, it felt as if a truck was parked on top of her chest, crushing her lungs. She spun herself about on her back leg and delivered one more devastating kick to the heavy bag before leaving.

  “What am I gonna tell Hiamovi?” she thought as she trotted across the street and made her way back to her barracks room. She had to tell him, didn’t she? Maybe he’d understand. He’d understand that she had been caught up in the heat of a moment. After all, she’d just completed an extremely dangerous mission inside the capital building itself and that had released a metric shit-ton of pressure inside her. Small wonder she vented by having sex with her crazy hot boyfriend after something like that… right?

  “Right,” she whispered as she gingerly opened the door to her room and slipped inside, closing the door behind her. Derrick still slept, one arm hanging over the side of Abby’s bed. She wasted no time, grabbing a pair of jeans and a shirt, her handgun, and the thumb drive.

  Creeping back into the hallway, she allowed the door to close again before pulling off her workout shorts and replaced these with her jeans right there in the hallway. She didn’t care if anyone saw, she needed to get going. She pulled the shirt down over the sports bra she’d worn to the gym, tucked her holstered pistol into her pants, and slid the thumb drive down into her pocket.

  As she descended the stone stairwell, Abby used her phone to send a text message to Derrick, telling him what a great time she had last night (even adding a little winky face), that she was going to get breakfast and then take a walk. She’d meet him for lunch later. Abby hit ‘send’ and slid the phone into her back pocket. She figured that should buy her enough time to meet with Hiamovi.

  They were meeting at the big church out in District 2. Lots of people went to church on Sunday morning these days, so it was a great opportunity for them to rendezvous and get swept up with a huge crowd. Abby arrived at the church just a few minutes before the early-morning service would start, as all kinds of people from every walk of life streamed into the church. She pushed herself into the middle of the crowd, gave a few weak greetings to people who said ‘hello’, and entered through the wide open doors.

  “Why did it have to be a church?” she asked as she entered the lobby. A vast painting of Jesus of Nazareth on the Cross was the first thing that greeted her there. The face of the Son of God stared at her with an accusatory expression, like He knew what she’d done last night. The guilt inside her came swelling up again, threatening to burst out of her.

  Abby hurried by the painting and into the church auditorium, where a piano was playing an old hymn and people were chatting before church started. She sat down in the pew that was third from the back on the right side. It was unusual for Hiamovi to show up to these meetings after Abby, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to wait long.

  To pass the time, Abby picked up one of the hymnals and began to thumb through it. She read the titles of songs as they flashed by, songs of redemption, of saving grace, of merciful forgiveness, all of which were concepts that Abby didn’t want to think about at the moment. She set the hymnal down next to her and checked her watch, frowning as she did.

  “What’d that watch ever do to you?” Hiamovi asked as he sat down next to Abby, taking note of her expression.

  Abby did her best to force a smile, but it was little use. Seeing Hiamovi now made her sick with shame. She felt as though she could vomit, but she held her composure, retrieved the tiny thumb drive from her pocket, and said, “Here you go.”

  Hiamovi took it from her and dropped it into his own pocket. “Nice work, Abby,” he said. “I’ll get this back to Jay so he can figure out what’s on it.”

  “Okay. I’ve got something else too. I ended up talking to General John Sloan last night—”

  “Sloan? The John Sloan?”

  “Yes. And as it turns out he’s sympathetic to the cause.”

  “Unbelievable!” Hiamovi said. “Granddad will be thrilled to hear that. You wanna meet again in one week from today?”

  “Sure.”

  “Coffee house at seventeen hundred hours?”

  “Sure.”

  Hiamovi paused to look at Abby. Her face was drained of color, and her grey eyes were dull, distracted. “Everything okay?” he asked.

  Abby returned his gaze, but could not hold it for longer than a second before breaking down. Tears formed in her eyes, and she put her face in her hands.

  Concerned, Hiamovi scooted closer and whispered, “What’s wrong?”

  “Last night,” Abby said. This was it. She had to tell him what she did, no matter how much it hurt her, and a church seemed as good a place as any for confessing your sins. She roused her courage and looked him in the eyes.

  “Last night, I… ” she repeated, but her voice trailed off.

  “I… ” she said yet again. ‘Slept with Derrick’ was what she intended to say next. But looking into the eyes of the person she loved, the person she betrayed, her courage broke.

  “I was almost caught,” she said. “In the president’s office, Arthur came in just as I was finishing up the job.”

  “Really?” Hiamovi asked. He lowered his voice even further and said, “You don’t think he was suspicious, do you?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  Hiamovi nodded his head as he sat in silent contemplation, so Abby wiped the tears from her eyes and said, “I’m sorry. I’m just super stressed. And I just want this whole thing to be over.”

  “I know,” Hiamovi said. “Depending on what you got for us, that may be very soon. And then we can put this all behind us.”

  “Yeah. All of it.”

  Abby started to stand but remembered something important. “Oh, by the way, you need to keep a low profile. You’re on a watch list.
”

  Hiamovi’s eyes grew wide. “You’re serious?”

  “Yeah. Sorry, we got word about it last week. Just you, not Hector. So just… be careful. Please.”

  Abby kissed Hiamovi and said goodbye, rising from the pew just as the rest of the congregation rose in unison for the opening prayer. Abby stopped at the door out of respect, intending to wait for the prayer to conclude before leaving.

  “Heavenly Father,” began the preacher up at the pulpit, “we humble sinners come before you today, unworthy of the smallest iota of Your grace and love. Each and every day we betray You and disappoint You. But You bid us come before You nonetheless, receiving us with open arms. Such infinite love that only the one true God could show. We pray You forgive us our sins. I know I was a wicked sinner this past week, and I’m sure my brothers and sisters here gathered admit the same.”

  “Thank you for all with which you have blessed us. Though these days are dark and Your people are imperiled, we have yet more than many others on this Earth. Thank you for another Sunday to gather before You in worship. Thank you for the flowers in the Spring, the Summer sun, the changing leaves of Autumn, and the beautiful snow of Winter. You are Alpha and Omega, eternal. All honor and glory be to Your holy name, Father. In the name of Your Son, Christ Jesus, Amen.”

  “Amen,” the congregation repeated in unison.

  But not Abby. What right did she have to join in the ‘amen’? This was her one chance to come clean to Hiamovi, to tell him the truth. But she didn’t. She lied right to his face. And now her one chance at redemption was gone. To tell Hiamovi now, she would also have to confess to lying, a double betrayal that Abby did not think he would forgive. And who could blame him? She probably wouldn’t forgive her, either.