Chapter 21

Eventually the day had come and Jack and Rose were getting ready to board their ship to England.

"Wow." Rose gasped when they got out of the car. "It's massive!"

Jack laughed. He loved seeing her so enthusiastic and after the time they had had recently, he was glad to get her away from the stresses and strains that she'd had to deal with. They made their way up to the long gangway to board the ship and handed over their tickets as they made their way inside. Once they were on board, they went searching for their staterooms.

"Come on." Rose grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him out of their room and back up towards the deck.

"What? Where are we going?" Jack asked as he was hauled along the ships narrow corridors.

"I want to go up on deck for when we pull out of the dock." Rose laughed, running along like an excited schoolgirl, ignoring the odd looks she got from people that she barged past. They finally made their way up to the boat deck and Rose ran straight to the side, stopping only because of the railings. "I feel so high up."

"That's because you are." Jack teased. She playfully punched him in the arm and turned back around to watch all the people below.

Across the other side of the deck stood Cal. He leaned against the railings staring at the young couple whilst taking a long drag from his cigarette. He scowled as Jack wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her neck. What gave him the right to do that? Why did she want to be with this when she could be with him? It didn't make sense to him. Caledon Hockley always got his way and always got what he wanted and he vowed to himself that Rose would be no exception.

"Come on, we should go back below and get our things unpacked, unless you want to be living out your suitcases for the next few days." Jack laughed, taking her hand and walking back towards the door they had come through. Rose nodded and followed him through. They had been up on the boat deck for some time and now all they could see in front of them was the vast ocean.

Cal watched them disappear and decided to head back to his own room. He had to work out what he was going to do and how he was going to take care of Jack. He had no weapons on him to use. He wished that he was born years before where there were no such things as customs and no rules preventing people from carrying such things on board a ship but now, had he tried to get on board with a gun or something, he probably would have been carted off by police. Cal decided he probably would have to wait until they reached England, but even then, what could he do? They had a lot tighter gun control laws in the UK than there were in America. Cal shook his head. Is this really what he was going to do? Shoot Jack? Was this what it had come to? Surely he could do something without being branded a criminal himself? Perhaps he could get someone else to do it. Cal's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a knock on his door. He stood up to open it and smiled as he realised who it was.

"Stacey." Cal grinned. "Glad to see you up and about."

"And you. Have you seen them yet?" She asked, walking into his room.

Cal nodded, closing the door behind her. "Yes, I seen them up on deck. Acting like quite the little lovebirds."

"It makes you sick." Stacey screwed her face up at the thought of it. "So have you decided how you're going to split them up?"

Cal shrugged. "I was considering making it a permanent change."

"What do you mean?" Stacey asked.

"Getting rid of Dawson altogether." Cal turned to her, handing her a drink.

She took it as she stared up at him. "What do you mean get rid of him? You can't just do away with him. I agreed to help you with this so I would get my Jack back and you got your precious Rose. That's hardly going to happen if you get rid of him is it?"

"No I suppose not." Cal agreed. He had to hold back his anger. He wanted Dawson gone but he needed help and Stacey was the only other person who desperately wanted them apart. They had to think of other ways.

"Look, surely we can split them up. Can't you take Rose away somewhere?" Stacey asked.

"You mean like, kidnapping?" Cal sat down in the chair opposite her.

"Well for want of a better word, yes." Stacey nodded, taking a drink. "Just grab her when he's not looking. By the time he realises she's gone, it'll be too late."

Cal thought about it for a bit longer. "I see what you mean. It's so busy in England too. They'll probably go to London or something. We can follow them and when Dawson takes his eyes off her, I can have my men take her. By the time he realises she's gone, we will be too. You can't show yourself here though otherwise he'll know something's up."

Stacey nodded. She understood completely. They could even leave a message for Jack and whatever hotel they were staying at. They could say that it was left by Rose for him explaining that she'd changed her mind about the wedding and that she had decided to go travelling alone. By the time Jack came back to America, he wouldn't have a clue where she was and she could jump in at the right time and comfort him.

"That sounds like a plan Cal." Stacey smiled, raising her glass. Her tapped his against it and nodded.

"Now all we have to do is keep ourselves out of sight until we get to England." Cal sniggered.