*
There was a light mist in the air as Jack and Ezra rode toward the Hanson house. They had packed for traveling lightly, with only their rifles, food for two days, and a small tarp to use to keep the spring rains out. The blossoms on the trees were almost in full bloom, choking the air with their thick perfumed smell.
Jack winced as his mare stepped jarringly over a hole in the road. He gingerly felt his tightly wrapped arm. Last night the doctor had warned him to be careful and to not use the wounded arm. As usual, he ignored the advice and did not tell the doctor of the long trip he was about to take.
As they rode closer to the Hanson home, Jack felt his throat constrict with nervousness. All night he had wondered how she taken the news of her brother's death. Ezra said she was impassive when she heard it, simply nodding sadly before slowly shutting the door. He had had then quickly made his way back to the office to prepare for the trip.
Faith was waiting for them at the front door. She gave them a weak smile. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, but she still looked strong enough to see them. “I got your message last night, Jack,” she choked. “Why was he killed? Why?”
Jack pulled himself off of his mare and went over to where she was standing. He hugged her tightly with his good arm and felt her soft hair against his neck. “I don’t know. All I can say is that I’m sorry about what happened to your brother,” he said plainly. “I’ll see that the responsible parties pay for his death.”
She wiped her eyes, sniffled and wrapped her arms around him. “I was hoping he was still alive, but I guess I should have known better. It was hopeless all along, wasn’t it?”
Jack felt her body against his and had a brief moment of wishing he could hold her for as long as he needed to. He gently stroked the back of her head with his good arm. “Now there was nothing wrong with hoping. I want you to be strong while we are gone. We will be gone for two or three days at best. When I'm back, I'll come and see you.”
“Where are you going?” she asked softly.
“The woman courier sent up by Virginia told us where Lawrence’s killers went. We will pursue them as need be.”
Her voice cracking with emotion, she said, “I wish you could stay with me instead of leaving.”
“I told Henry Garrett of the City Watch to keep an eye on you. His men will be stopping by to check on the house.”
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. She hugged him tighter before stepping back to look at him lovingly. “Do you really think you will you be able to get those plans back?”
“They have a head start on us, but we know where he is going. It will take them some time to get to Harper's Ferry. If we’re lucky, we can catch up to them before they make their escape.”
“Please, be careful,” she said. Her voice had lowered; a warm look was in her eyes that Jack knew was just for him. “When you are done, please come back to me.”
”Don’t you worry, I’ll be back in a few days.”
“I wish you would reconsider this pursuit. Those papers aren’t that important anymore, but you will always be important to me.”
He smiled and held her hand in earnest. “That’s good to hear, but I’m still working in the Hanson family interest. If your honor is to be preserved then those plans must be returned.”
“I could care less about the papers – only Lawrence’s safety was ever important to me.” She said and then started sobbing again.
Jack hugged her tightly again and kissed her cheek. “Please don’t cry,” he whispered.
Ezra coughed politely to get Jack’s attention. “We best be going if we want to have any chance of catching them.”
“Right you are,” he replied. “Now Miss Hanson, I’ll be back soon enough. Take care of your father.”
She kissed him lightly on the lips and quickly turned away to flee into the house. Ezra smiled to himself as his friend painfully pulled himself back up on his horse. Jack then placed his arm into his makeshift sling and turned his horse down the lane.
Jack felt confused. He thought about his conflicting feelings for Faith and the job that lay ahead. It didn't seem to make sense because they could end the job now: Lawrence had been found, and the government could worry about the damn papers. Were the plans really so important to him now? Or did he really just want to get revenge on Stevenson and Davis?
They entered the wide, dirty street, having to ride along the side of the street to allow a large procession of troops to march by. As they continued west out of Washington, the temperature was beginning to rise and dry the mud-soaked streets. They turned onto Virginia Avenue when Ezra caught up.
He said, “Why didn’t you tell her it was Davis we are after?”
Jack shook his head. “She’s had enough misery right now. What would she think if she heard that a former suitor was tied to her brother’s death? She thought that Davis was in love with her. Could it be he was only interested in her due to her family’s wealth and her brother’s position in the War Office? Would you want to tell her that?”
“I don't see the reason to protect her feelings. Unless you're falling in love with that girl,” Ezra said flatly, keeping his eyes on the road in front of him.
Jack turned in saddle and gave his partner a sharp glance. He then shrugged his shoulders and gave a short laugh. “Could be,” he said, trying to keep any emotion out of his voice.
“It’s about time.” Ezra’s said, his tone turning friendlier. “She’s been waiting long enough for you to make your intentions clear.”
“My intentions? I don’t know what you mean.”
“She’s practically waiting for you to take her away from that place.”
Jack gave a little laugh. “She is in a sorry state right now, Ezra. I found her brother dead at the hands of that bastard Stevenson. I would not want to take advantage of her feelings right now.”
Ezra gave this some thought before changing the subject. “We have a long road ahead of us. Why do you expect that we will be able to catch up? Once Davis makes it to Harper’s Ferry, he only has to find the right people, hand over the plans, and then make his way south. Once he is down there, we won’t be able to get to our hands on him.”
“He may have escaped, but he doesn’t have the right passes to get there easily. The Army has pickets around this entire city.”
“That may be,” Ezra said, “but the pickets won’t stop a determined man. Everyone knows that.”
The detective answered, “I know. But, they only have a few hours’ start on us. Davis and Stevenson may know how to ride a horse, but to me they are still city boys. They will have to slow down on the small side trails and rest their horses more often than us. We’re used to hard riding and can make up the time.”
“You’re used to hard riding, Jack. I was never in the Army like you.”
“Don’t worry - I’m sure you’ll manage.”
“Do you really think we can beat them there?” Ezra asked, still cynical.
“I’m not sure, but we have to take the chance. We have some seventy miles of traveling ahead of us, and I aim to try my luck.”
Ezra frowned, aware that they had a tough ride ahead.
“Don’t worry, Ezra, it won’t be that bad. We’ll make good time on the road.”
“With company like yours, any road will be hard one,” he said sarcastically.