The Lost Swords

by Dave Hicks

 

Chapter 5

 

1

 

Next day, Grace and Eleanor took the car into town and spent the morning buying various items and material to decorate Grace’s room. It gave me an opportunity to position camera’s and other devices around the property and connect them to my computer.

Around midday, I met Paul and Claire at the airport in the all-terrain vehicle and took them to the lodge. While they were settling into their room, Eleanor and Grace returned. They put the items they’d bought away and started making lunch.

Claire’s breasts had definitely grown since I’d seen her last. Paul still ate normal meals. Claire wasn’t able to produce enough milk to feed an adult the way Eleanor could. Only a metabolism like mine would survive solely on breast milk for any length of time. After the midday meal, the three women busied themselves decorating Grace’s room, leaving Paul and I to find something to do. I got a message from John and Ingrid, saying they would be arriving in the evening.

I decided to take Paul to see my helicopter.

"You going to have to run me through all this," he said to me, as we sat in the cockpit. "This is much more advanced than anything I’ve ever flown before."

I showed him how to power up the various systems and instructed him on the pre-start checklist. Then I opened the silo roof and started the engines.

"If I didn’t know you better," he said, "I would be inclined to think, you intended to fly us out of this pit and through that tiny hole in the roof."

I engaged the rotors to the turbines and allowed them to gather speed.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, buckling up his harness and putting on his helmet. "You do intend to fly us out of this pit and through that very tiny hole in the roof."

I brought up a map of the area on one of the displays.

"The area east of here is pretty well unpopulated," I said. "It’ll make a good spot for your first training flight. Plenty of sharp, pointy mountains and deep gorges to try your luck on."

 

2

 

When we returned to the lodge, the three women were having coffee in the kitchen. I gave Eleanor a hug and a kiss. Paul did the same.

"How was your afternoon?" I asked Eleanor.

"Busy," Eleanor smiled. "Claire’s got a big surprise for Paul. It all went so well. Just sit and watch for a second."

"Yes," Paul replied, to a mental question Claire had just asked him. He was unaware Claire hadn’t said anything for the rest of us to hear. "We just played around in one of David’s toys."

There was a pause, then he turned to me.

"Is Claire supposed to know about the gun ship?" he asked me.

"She does now," I laughed, placing my hand on his shoulder. "I imagine you’ve just told her."

Paul had a mystified look on his face. Claire rose from the table with a smile and took his hand.

"Come and walk me to the lake," she said to him. "I’ve got some things to tell you."

"I just happened all of a sudden," said Grace excitedly, after they’d left the room. "It was like Claire just clicked on - like a light switch. More than that, we can all talk to each other now, when we want to. It’s really great. I don’t feel like a freak anymore. I have to let Dad know sometime."

"Does that include Ingrid as well?" I asked Eleanor.

Eleanor relayed my question to Grace, so that she would not feel left out of the conversation. Grace nodded to Eleanor.

"Yes," Eleanor replied. "I contacted her an hour ago. She just hooked in to us as easy as pie. By the way, they expect to be here in less than an hour. You’d better get moving if you’re going to pick them up in time. You’ve got just enough time for a feed before you go."

"I’ll go and pick them up," I said.

"Can I come too?" Grace asked excitedly. "I need to get some things I ordered this morning. And I want to meet Ingrid and John."

"Sure," I smiled at Grace, then I asked Eleanor. "If that’s okay with you?"

"I’ll have to find something to wear," announced Grace, leaving the table. "And I promised to ring Dad before now. And there’s that dressing gown we saw this morning. I’ll need to buy that while I’m in town. And a music unit for my room."

"It’s fine," Eleanor replied, with a chuckle. "I’ll stay here and keep an eye on Paul and Ingrid. It’s good that you and Paul had a relaxing time this afternoon. He has a few things to come to terms with, at the moment."

I didn’t tell her I’d just put him through a crash course in flying a fully armed, state-of-the-art helicopter gun ship over some of the toughest terrain I could find. She could probably guess, anyway.

"Can Grace hear us talking right now?" I asked Eleanor.

"No sweetheart," she replied. "No one can. I just told her you were going to pick up John and Ingrid shortly and suggested she might like to go with you. We women can talk to each other now, but we can’t overhear each other’s conversations with our partners. Just as well, don’t you think?"

"I agree," I said. "I wouldn’t want Grace hearing some of the things we talk about."

Eleanor smile at me.

"There you go - thinking like a man again," she commented. "Grace is far more mentally mature than her age suggests. Telepaths know lot more about the facts of life, than normal people. They get it at an early age."

 

3

 

That evening, the seven of us sat around the table having dinner. There were so many mental and verbal conversations going on at once, an outsider would have good reason to be confused. After dinner, Eleanor made a suggestion to me.

"Why don’t you men go outside," she said. "That will give you all a chance to do some male bonding, or whatever it is men do, when they feel totally ignored and excluded by the doings of their womenfolk. Go and get some beer and take it out to the verandah."

I felt the control device force me to obey. Eleanor sensed what was happening.

"Sorry my love," she apologized immediately. "I didn’t mean to order you to do that. I need to choose my words much more carefully, in the future. I’m sorry."

I carried a crate of beer out to the front of the house. John and Paul followed me. Once we were seated, Paul spoke.

"I couldn’t believe it, when Claire started talking in my head," remarked Paul.

"It takes a little getting used to," I laughed. "No more dirty secrets for you, from now on."

"How was it for you," Paul asked John, "when you discovered that Ingrid could read your mind?"

John smiled.

"She pretty well always could," he replied. "Ingrid and I met when we were kids. That was lucky for us."

Paul turned to me.

"Can you hear what Claire and I are saying?" he asked. "If you can, there’s no privacy for us at all."

"No on can hear you," I replied. "Not even the other women. Anything between you and Claire is completely private. I asked Eleanor the same question not long ago and she assured me that’s the way it works."

John nodded his head in agreement.

"The women are the ones with the talent, not us," John explained to Paul. "We the drones who pick up what they send to us. They can do it because we’re mentally bonded to them in some way. They can only do it with the man they love. It would appear, they can all talk to each other, but only our own partners can talk to us and read our minds. Ingrid can’t read your mind anymore than I can."

"It’s a bit one sided," observed Paul. "They’re the ones who seem to have all the abilities."

I laughed and John smiled.

"Would you really want to listen in on what they must be talking about at the moment?" I asked him.

Paul considered what I said for a second, then laughed.

"You’ve raised a very good point, my dear Watson," he conceded, opening another bottle. "It must be why they invented beer."

John opened another bottle also.

"I must owe you for quite a lot of beer by now," John said to me.

"Don’t worry," I laughed. "I’ll buy a brewery tomorrow. What’s your favorite brand? At least that way we’ll get it at cost price. Ingrid probably thinks I’m trying to turn you into an alcoholic."

"That’s the way to go," said Paul, raising his bottle to his mouth.

John looked at Paul.

"I’ve got it!" John exclaimed to Paul.

"That’s a shame," laughed Paul. "Let’s hope it’s not infectious."

"No," said John. "I do a little martial arts, from time to time. Mostly Shobukai. I didn’t feel like it amounted to much, after seeing David fight."

"I know the feeling," Paul agreed. "Depressing isn’t it. I’m an ex-world champion and he makes me look like I’m sleepwalking."

"But I just managed to work out who you are, Paul," John said. "Now I feel even less like talking about my humble accomplishments."

Paul nodded his head, with a smile.

"I saw you fight in Stockholm," John stated. "You were world champion a few years back."

"Something like that," grinned Paul.

"I’d love you to teach me some of your moves," John said.

Paul rose from his chair.

"Did you bring your gee?" he asked John, with a gleam in his eye.

"In my room," John smiled.

"Let’s go," he laughed. "I haven’t exercised today yet. I need a workout. It’s a waste of time us mortals asking David for one. He just get bored with it after a while."

 

4

 

"We women have all decided we need to start a commune here for telepaths," announced Eleanor, as we lay in bed together, in the evening. "Now it’s my job to be very persuasive and have you agree to it."

"Oh yeah?" I said.

"It’s an idea place. There’s plenty of land for the buildings we’re going to need and it’s all be nicely hidden away from the world. We could pretend it’s a artist’s retreat. No one would ever guess what we’re really doing. You could set up some sort of foundation for us or something. You’re so good at that sort of thing. We’ve got John - who’s a psychiatrist - Ingrid’s a social scientist and Claire is an accountant. We’ve got no shortage of talented people to run it."

"It does sound very encouraging," I agreed. "And Paul seems to be handling it well enough. He’d be good on security."

She was silent for a while.

"I do ramble on so, my love," she said, pushing closer to me. "It’s that we’re all so excited about the commune idea, I’d completely forgotten to ask how Paul was doing."

"He’s coping well," I replied, with a smile. "He mustn’t have any dirty secrets, he needs to hide from Claire. He had a workout with John and that should have tired him out a bit."

"That’s good," she said.

I waited for her to speak again.

"Everything is going so well at the moment," she said. "And we owe it all to you. Grace has taken to everything, like a duck to water. It’s hard to imagine there was ever anything wrong with her now. Claire’s doing well too. It just goes to show how much easier it is for us, if there’s others to help."

I relieved her breasts before we made love. We tried once, making love when her breasts full. It resulted in milk everywhere and a soaking wet bed.

"I’m sorry for ordering you to obey me," she said later. "What did it feel like?"

"The device works well enough - that’s for sure."

"And you had to obey me?" she asked, stroking my chest. "You had no choice?"

"Absolutely," I replied. "I had no ability to resist your command at all. I simply had to obey you. Like you said - I had no choice. Now I know how a slave must feel."

She thought for a while.

"When I look into you mind," she said, "I can see you could isolate the control from your mind, any time you wanted to. Being who you are, you could even get your body to reject and remove it."

"That’s true," I agreed.

"But you’re not going to?" she asked. "Are you?"

I gave her a hug.

"No," I replied.

"It’s as if your planning something for the future, but you don’t know what it is," she said. "It’s such a strange concept. And it involves me having control over you. It’s as if it has to be this way, for some reason but you don’t quite know why. There are times when you think so differently to other people, I have trouble keeping up with you."

"Do you mind being able to order me about?" I smiled.

"I think I’ll get used to the idea," she replied. "I must confess, it worries me a little. I was thinking of Mum’s slaves and how they have to obey everything she tells them to do. Maybe I’ve always felt a bit sorry for them, in some way. It’s silly really, because she treats them a lot better than most owners would. Apart from turning them into women and making them obedient, she doesn’t hurt them or anything."

"So what would you like to do about it?" I asked.

"Let’s just leave it as it is, for the time being," she suggested. "We’ll see how it works out. It might sound weird but in a way but I rather like it somehow. That may be a little sick, perhaps. I don’t know. Is that okay with you?"

"That’s fine, honey," I replied.

 

5

 

About four in morning and I had just finished emptying Eleanor’s breasts, my computer gave an alarm. Eleanor had gone back to sleep and it hadn’t woken her. The screen displayed a car driving slowly towards the lodge. I dressed, switched on the verandah lights and waited for the car to arrive.

It pulled up in front of the lodge and a slender, oriental young woman, about Grace’s age, got out and went around to the passenger side of the car. She helped an elderly man out of the car. I went down the steps to meet them.

"He is the one," she said to the old man, in Chinese.

She bowed to me. I returned her bow, then bowed to the old man, which he returned.

"My grandfather does not speak English," she said. "I am Lao Cheen Yuh. This is my honorable mother’s father, Lao Tseng. My English name is Susie."

"May I suggest we talk in your language," I said in Chinese.

She nodded.

"I am David," I said, introducing myself in the customary Chinese fashion. Please enter my most humble home. You are the most honored guests of my unworthy self. All that I have is yours."

"We are indeed most grateful for your considerable hospitality," Susie replied, with equal formality.

I ushered them into the lounge, made tea and set it on a low table before them. Susie poured some into a bowl for Tseng. I waited for Tseng to speak.

Eleanor entered the room, in a long dressing gown..

"Sit next to me, sweetheart," I said to her. "They’ve only just arrived."

"Yes," she nodded, with a smile. She took a quick look into my mind to find out what was happening.

Tseng looked hard at me.

"I believe you are Dai Ho," he smiled, "My grand-daughter spoke the truth, when she said we would find you."

"What you say is true," I said to Tseng. "May I offer you food and a place to sleep. Perhaps we could talk when you are rested."

"Susie’s a telepath, my love," Eleanor informed me. "We’re talking together at the moment. Do you need to listen in?"

"No thanks, honey," I replied. "I’m sure you can handle that side of things."

"They’re both completely worn out," Eleanor informed me. "I’ll get them something to eat, then show them to bed. Susie can have the room next to Grace’s. Grace is awake and she’ll join us shortly."

"Thanks," I smiled to her. "The place is getting quite busy,"

"It’s wonderful, isn’t it?" she grinned in delight.

Tseng took another sip of his tea. Susie took the bowl from his hand, just before he fell asleep. I carried Tseng to his room and Susie undressed him and made sure he was comfortable.

The women moved to the kitchen. While Susie, Eleanor and Grace were communicating silently around the kitchen table, I went to Susie’s car and carried what little luggage they had into the lodge. I parked their car beside the barn, with the other.

"Susie’s gone to bed," Eleanor told me, as I walked back to the lodge. "Grace has gone with her, to help her settle in. She’s happy to have someone her own age to talk to, I suspect."

Eleanor made for coffee us and we sat on the verandah.

"Have you thought any more about our idea of the commune?" she asked, with a cheeky smile. "Say yes, because you love me so much."

"Yeah," I smiled. "I think it’s a probably a good idea."

"You really are a wonderful man," she smiled, holding my hand.

 

6

 

While the rest of the house was still waking up, I drove into town. I met with the owner of the biggest construction company in town, while he was having breakfast and gave him a complete set of the plans I’d drafted over the last few days. After he’d made a phone call to my bank and lawyers, he suddenly became convinced I wasn’t a lunatic and his powers of concentration improved immensely.

I needed a self-contained community for about one hundred people, built by the lake, half a kilometer from the lodge. I wanted it finished yesterday. It would be well away from where I kept the helicopter but a short distance to one of the tunnels leading to the old missile base. I gave him a copy of the contract my lawyers had drawn up the day before, offering to pay a price so generous, his accountant, bank manager and wife would no doubt inflict great physical pain, if he had refused to sign it.

I told him to work directly with Isabel and my parents architectural company. If he had a problem, he was to hire someone who could fix it. I’d pick up the tab - no questions asked. I was only interested in results. If he did it right, there was a substantial bonus for him. I left him a very happy man.

I stopped off at the airport and bought a twin engine plane and a normal, non-military helicopter. On the way back to the lodge, I passed John and Paul jogging the five kilometers into the village. I gave them a wave.

"Where are you, my love?" Eleanor asked.

"Just about to turn into our road, sweetheart," I replied. "I just passed John and Paul. I’ll be with you in a few minutes. Is everything okay?"

"Everything’s fine," she smiled. "Susie and Tseng are still sleeping."

After I arrived, Eleanor and I sat on a wooden bench, near the edge of the lake.

"We’re going to need slaves," she announced. "And before you say anything - I know you don’t like the idea but I feel we don’t have much choice."

I waited for her to continue.

"We can’t risk hiring normal people to help here," she continued. "And I’m going to need help with all the day to day things that need to be done. Even more, in the future."

"I guess so," I said.

"This is supposed to be a retreat for artists," she continued. "Can you imagine what would happen, if word got out that we are running a training center for telepaths? People do talk you know - they can’t help it."

"It wouldn’t be so good," I agreed. "Suddenly, I have this vision of all the good, decent and upstanding people of the village, holding burning torches in the middle of the night, storming the lodge and demanding blood."

"Exactly," she agreed. "We can’t have virile males or pretty young females. That would be far too disruptive - for reasons I’m sure you can imagine. For both the women and the men."

"True."

"So, I’ve decided they should be older women," Eleanor said, "That way, they’re not too attractive to the men-folk and nobody should get jealous or distracted."

"And that’s where Loretta comes in?" I asked, with a smile.

She looked at me curiously.

"There are times when I could swear you’re a telepath, my love," she smiled, holding my hand. "But yes - this is where my mother comes in."

"I can’t think of anyone more qualified to do it," I said.

"Good," she smiled. "I’ve told Mum, I want all the slaves to look alike. All the same size and shape. She said she can have the first one ready for us within a few days. And another within a few days. After that, it’ll take her about two weeks for each extra one we need. I told her to start on two more, making a total of four, for the time being. She’s more than happy to do it for us. She said she intends to give them all enormous bosoms. When I asked her why - she said she had her reasons but she wouldn’t what they were. She’s up to something devious - if I know my mother."

"Mm," I said thoughtfully. "All right, my love - I’ll leave the details to you, if that’s okay. Let me know how much money she needs and I transfer it to her."

"She’ll registered you as the slave’s owner," she informed me.

"I guess," I said. "I may be able to transfer them to the foundation later - when it’s set up."

"Thank you so much, my lovely man," she smiled, opening the front of her dress.

 

7

 

I was servicing the power generator, when John came to talk to me.

"Does Paul know you’re immortal?" he asked.

I stood and wiped the oil from my hands with a rag.

"I’ve never told him," I said. "Do you think I should?"

"Yes," John replied. "I guess it’s the psychiatrist coming out in me but, I feel it would answer a lot of questions for him. I think he has enough on his plate at the moment with learning to work with Claire now. These mysteries you keep throwing at him, just add to his confusion and anxiety. If the six of us are to work together in the future, I’d imagine trust and honesty would be an advantage as far as better communication is concerned. Provided you can trust him, of course."

"You’re right," I decided. "And I can trust him and Claire. I also trust your professional judgment. Let’s go and find him."

We walked towards the lodge. Paul had tied some sacking around a tree, a short distance from the lodge and was practicing his punches and kicks.

"Leave that poor tree alone," I laughed. "What are you annoying it?"

Paul wiped the sweat from his face with a towel.

"You have a go," he said.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked him. "I don’t want to hurt it."

"Sure," he smiled, folding his arms. "Show me how you can hurt it."

I turned to John.

"Would you get me a knife?" I asked him. "The biggest and sharpest kitchen knife will do."

John smiled and walked towards the house.

"I was thinking of you punching it more than whittling it," Paul said to me. "Cutting it down wasn’t really what I had in mind."

"I’ll punch it," I replied. "The knife is for afterwards."

I stood in front of the tree and punched it. My fist tore great chunk of wood and bark from the trunk. As I stood back, the tree fell over with a resounding crash.

"Shit," he said thoughtfully, after a few moments. "I suppose I’m going to have to find another tree now, aren’t I?"

"Guess so," I smiled.

He looked at my hand.

"Not a mark," he commented. "You should have broken every bone in your hand. How can you do that?"

"I’ll show you when John gets back," I replied.

John returned carrying a large knife went to hand it to me. Instead of taking it from him, I lifted my shirt, exposing my stomach.

"What’s going on?" asked Paul.

"Can you do it?" I asked John

He nodded grimly.

"You’ve got to be joking!" exclaimed Paul.

I turned to Paul and held up my hand for him to remain silent, then returned to John.

"Ready?" John asked me.

"Sure," I replied casually.

"Oh shit!" cried Paul. "He’s not bloody joking."

I nodded to John and he plunged the knife into my stomach, as far as it would go, then let go of the handle.

"Oh shit!" cried Paul again.

I turned to Paul, with the handle protruding from my abdomen. I removed the knife and offered it to him. With his eyes focused on the wound, he absently took the knife when I passed it to him. I wiped the wound with his towel. He watched, as the hole healed itself within moments.

Paul ran his fingers over my completely healed and unmarked stomach then looked at the bloody knife and towel.

"That’s impossible," he said slowly, shaking his head in disbelief.

"As I remember, that’s exactly the words I used," said John, with a smile. "Sort of shocks the system a bit, doesn’t it."

"You’re not bloody wrong," replied Paul. "I knew David was strange but this has to take the all-time grand prize. How many people know about this?"

"As few as possible," I replied. "Only us. And our partners. It’s not something I want on the evening news. They’ve got me into enough trouble, recently."

"Yeah," he nodded thoughtfully. "I can see that."

"I’m sort of immortal," I told him. "I’m thousands of years old. Maybe a lot more."

Paul nodded, not fully comprehending what he had seen.

"John and I felt you should know about it," I continued. "Eleanor knows, of course. And Ingrid. They’ll tell Claire about it eventually, I expect."

"Is it too early for beer?" Paul asked.

John looked up into the sky.

"No," he laughed. "In Europe where I come from, it’s just about the right time."

"Eleanor?" I called mentally to her, as we walked back to the lodge.

"Yes, oh sweaty-pie of my life?" she responded, with a laugh.

"Would you and Ingrid explain to Claire about my being immortal," I asked. "I’ve just shown Paul."

"Okay," she replied cheerfully. "Did he freak out, like the rest of us did?"

"Not to badly really," I laughed. "I thought he handled it rather well - but I reckon he’s had enough surprises for the rest of this year. John’s going to give him a few sessions of cognitive-emotional beer therapy. That’s were your brain catches up with your beer consumption. Who am I to argue with his professional diagnosis and treatment methods?"

"Claire might have something to say about it," chuckled Eleanor.

"I could always give Claire the knife in the arm routine," I smiled.

"I intend to break it a little less dramatically than that," she laughed.

 

8

 

Susie joined the rest of us for lunch. She looked bright and happy.

"How is your honorable grandfather?" I asked her in Chinese.

"I took him some tea just before, thank you Dai Ho," she replied, with a smile, in perfect English. "He’ll probably get up later. He’s still a little tired. At his age, it’s been a long journey."

She turned to Grace and they engaged in a silent but animated discussion.

"Who is she talking about?" asked Paul. "I think I’ve missed something, as usual."

"Susie and her grandfather arrived early this morning," I said to him. "Her grandfather is Lao Tseng."

"Wow!" exclaimed Paul. "Not the Lao Tseng?"

I nodded.

"I’m surprised they let him out the country," Paul said. "He’s considered a national treasure."

Susie turned to him.

"They didn’t let us out, Paul," she informed him. "We escaped. I have no doubt they’ll stop at nothing to get us back."

She turned to me.

"The car is stolen, Dai Ho," she said.

"I’ll get rid of it," I smiled.

"Thank you, Dai Ho," she said.

"Please call me David," I asked her.

"Dai Vid," she laughed at some private joke and turned back to her private conversation with Grace.

"Who was Dai Ho?" John asked me.

"He was - amongst other things - a master sword maker," I replied. "It is said, any man armed with a sword made by Dai Ho, could never be defeated in battle. In the latter part of his life, when all his family had died, he made three very famous swords. It took him ten years to make each one. He named them after his wife, his daughter and his grand-daughter. For hundreds of years, the family of Lao have been the custodians of those swords. They’re considered to be priceless. Over time, many have tried to buy, steal and murder for them. Fifty years ago, the government confiscated the swords from the Lao family and placed them in a museum. About ten years ago, they were stolen from the museum. They have vanished and are yet to be recovered."

Susie spoke to John.

"I’m the last of the family Lao," she stated. "When my grandfather dies, I’ll become custodian of the swords, as also will the children I bear. Then it will be my sacred duty to return the swords to Dai Ho, should he request them from me."

"But you don’t know where they are," said John.

"I’ll find them," she replied firmly. "It is the sworn duty of my family."

 

9

 

After lunch, I drove the stolen car through a concealed entrance, into a section of the underground missile base, for storage. It could be useful in the future. Being seen, attempting to return the car to it’s owners, wasn’t a risk I was prepared to take.

Paul and Claire spent the afternoon together by the lake, getting used to the changes in their relationship. Eleanor and Ingrid drove into town with Grace and Susie, to do some shopping. Susie brought very little with her. John decided to visit a book shop he’d discovered on his run to the village that morning.

I spent some of the afternoon with my computer, establishing new identities for Tseng and Susie and healthy bank accounts for them both. I walked along the lake’s shore and saw that the surveyors were already pegging out the site for the community’s buildings.

I called Isabel. She’d received and filed the contract and had already obtained approval to build the community. All the land in the valley had been purchased and ownership would be transferred to the foundation, when it was established, with the exception of the land surrounding the lodge, with would stay in my name. She was still checking to see if it was legal for a foundation to own slaves.

Tseng joined us for dinner. He looked quite fit for a man of his age. He said very little during the meal. After dinner, Susie, Claire, Paul and John practiced Tai Chi by the lake, under Tseng’s instruction. Eleanor and Ingrid got to know each other better, experimenting in the kitchen.

That night, Eleanor and I discussed the future.

"I need a name for the foundation we’re setting up," I said to Eleanor, in bed.

"I haven’t given it a thought," she replied. "Hang on, while I talk to the others."

She was silent for a few minutes.

"The Fine Arts Foundation," she announced proudly. "How does that sound to you?"

"Good name," I smiled. "The name says it all and nothing at the same time. Short and clear."

I’d ring Isabel in the morning and let her know the name to put on the foundation’s papers.

"We have to take Susie to see Mum tomorrow," said Eleanor. "It’ll take most of the day. I can’t leave you without a feed for that long, so you’ll need to fly us there in your new toy. We can bring back the first slave at the same time."

"Just minor facial surgery, especially around the eyes?" I asked. "Susie feels okay about it."

"Yes," she replied. "There! You did it again. You’re reading my mind. It was the same when you called out to me before, just after you let John stab you in the stomach. The other men can’t call to their partners like you can."

"When was that?" I asked, pressing closer to her breast.

"After you got knifed in the gut," she repeated. "Were you listening?"

"Not really," I replied, touching her nipple with a fingertip. "I’ve got more interesting things to think about, at the moment."

 

 

 

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© 2002 by Dave Hicks. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.