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  Afterwards, as Kierra lay moaning in the bathtub, he removed all of her fancy clothes and expensive gifts from the bedroom. She was confined to the bedroom from now on. The maid would bring up her food.

  Periodically over the next four months, El Patrón would return to the bedroom to try and cause a spontaneous abortion. Kierra would curl up in a tight ball and cover her belly. It didn't matter what he did, she would not uncover her belly.

  At the seven month mark, Diego gave her to Ramón. Her howls echoed through the house, but each time, Ramón would report that she wouldn't uncover her belly.

  Kierra gave birth on December 15, 2072. El Patrón was out of town on business so Constanza was able to sneak a midwife into the house. The paterfamilias arrived the next day with the necessary baptismal and birth record forms. Kierra entered the church's records as Kashmira Diamante, daughter of Diego Diamante.

  When he returned later that day to find himself an official father, El Patrón ripped up his copy of the birth certificate. "Give me a divorce," he instructed the paterfamilias.

  "On what basis?"

  "The mother abandoned the baby immediately after the birth."

  "Very well. The church considers that ample reason for a divorce. How did the mother manage to leave the city?"

  "You don't need to know."

  "I do need to know that she won't be coming back. That could negate the divorce."

  "She won't be returning."

  "The baby must live. You cannot kill it. You must hire a wet nurse to care for it."

  "Is that a church rule too?"

  "No. But a baby dying so soon after her mother had disappeared will draw attention to you and to me. I could be investigated for not reporting the extent of your wife's pre-natal injuries to the proper authorities."

  El Patrón knew a shakedown when he saw one. Paterfamilias' divorce charges were always high. They'd be even higher now that there was a child. "How much?" he asked.

  The next day, Ramón loaded Kierra into his copter and took her to Manila. She was not allowed to take anything with her other than the clothes on her back. As her husband had predicted, she never came back.

  Back to the Table of Contents

  Chapter 4

  We're now back to present time and we're in North America. It's the morning of Tuesday July 2, 2086. The last slaves were freed from the Safe Haven ranches on the Sunday and the Wilizy had debriefed the battles on the Monday. [See book #9, Bite Me!] Everybody was gathered in the Wilizy's recreation center for a family breakfast courtesy of Stu, Momaka, Grannie, and Yolanda.

  Hank stood as the noise of cutlery scraping on plates started to subside. "As you know, we have secured all of Safe Haven's slave ranches, but Safe Haven as an organization remains untouched," he started. "Their management in Minneapolis will soon discover that they have no functioning slave ranches in Montana, South Dakota, or North Dakota. We have to visit Safe Haven's offices in Minneapolis this morning before their managers can learn what happened and disappear. The planning for this visit will be conducted en route in one of our super transports. William has already stocked it with the supplies and armaments that we might need. Jock will lead this operation and will be joined by Mac as Battle Commander, Doc for medical support, and William for science. Wolf, TG, Lucas, Mathias, and I will serve as Sling Warriors. These people should go to the transport now. I will be there shortly."

  When the hubbub had become not-so-much-hub and mostly bub, Hank resumed his address to the remaining Wilizy. "We have to offer some form of support to the former slaves. Right now, they're free of their dog collars. But how will they survive? Pililiani, the housekeeper at Ranch #4, asked us to spare their big house from destruction so that the slaves could use it to help start their new lives. We need to know what she had in mind and whether her idea can be applied to all of the ranches. We'll have to develop some plans for the slaves' care and return to normal life. Not a battle plan, but rather a business plan. Wizard and Stu will take the lead on this. Visit Ranch #4 and the other ranches. Come up with ideas. Dreamer, Momaka, and Wanda – please join in. Winnie and Reese are also in this group to assess the character of any potential business partners we might consider. Marie is with you to help with any discussions you need to have with the former slaves. Theo and Nary, we don't foresee the need for mystical warriors in either of today's operations, but you can join whichever group you want to. Everybody in the business plan group should stay here long enough to clean up the rec center and then you all can head off."

  "Melissa and Yollie. You're in charge of taking the kiddies home. Why don't you take EmmaGee with you? That way she can have a longer visit with her cousins."

  As you may have suspected from this last instruction, Hank's suggestion for EmmaGee to join her cousins in the satellite compound was prompted by the Scandinavian attack on the home compound. Yolanda had told Hank almost everything about that attack. Where the soldiers had come from, what they wanted, and how they had died. She had also told him about the Scandinavian spy who had switched sides and why she had done that. Yolanda didn't reveal anything else about this spy. Yolanda and Hank decided to keep the news of this attack on the home compound secret for now. Other matters were more pressing. In time, the directors would decide what to do with Scandinavia. For now, EmmaGee would live in the satellite compound on the other side of the world where she couldn't be found and kidnapped.

  Half an hour later, only four Warriors remained in the home compound. Granny, Yolanda, Theo, and Nary. Theo and Nary had decided that they wouldn't join either group today. They were sitting in the recreation center discussing something. Neither of them looked particularly happy.

  # # # # # # # #

  Granny was in her kitchen cooking up a pot of hot chocolate. Peace and quiet at last. She heard a tap-tap at the door and automatically called out "Come in." Then she thought, Why would Yolanda knock at the door? Granny continued to stir. Stirring constantly was an essential part of the secret for making a good pot of hot chocolate.

  "Hi Granny."

  Granny turned to look at her visitor. Two of them actually. Theo and Nary were hanging onto each other for dear life. She had seen that look on young faces before. This was not a social call. "I thought you'd be on one of the operations," she said in greeting.

  "Umm. We were looking for Mom. She's not in her house; she's not in the rec center either. We thought she might be here."

  "Off for a fly, perhaps. You guys want some hot chocolate?"

  Theo sent a short mind-message to Nary. She replied that she didn't care who he told so long as he told somebody soon. If not, Marie would find out what they were trying to hide and neither of them wanted to be around when she heard the news. Their initial plan had been for Theo to reveal what had happened to somebody in the family who was non-lethal and that person would be the one to tell Marie. Yolanda had been their first choice but she wasn't around. Granny qualified as non-lethal – at least in terms of this kind of news.

  # # # # # # # #

  Theo and Nary were sitting on the sofa and facing Granny in her rocker. Both were warming their hands on mugs of hot chocolate. Theo's hand was shaking a little. Nary was propping her mug on her knees and was staring steadily at it. She hadn't looked Granny in the eye since they had sat down in the living room. Granny was studying her visitors and recognizing the signs. Somebody was in trouble. Probably both of them if her suspicions were correct. She placed her own mug of steaming hot chocolate on the floor next to her rocker. She wouldn't pick it up again until she had heard everything. She had found herself in this situation before with grandchildren. She wouldn't get caught looking like a whale spewing hot chocolate through its blowhole again. Not that any whales existed in today's world, but you can appreciate her reservations.

  "What's up, Theo?"

  "Well... I don't quite know how to start."

  A long silence followed. Nary put a not-so-delicate elbow into his ribs.

  "You see, we've bee
n having sex..."

  Granny decided to put him out of his misery. Teenage moms and dads were the norm in frontier societies. What with the prevalence of skin cancer and other untreatable diseases, couples married soon after they reached the legal age for that ceremony – 16 years old in some jurisdictions and 17 in others. That way, they'd have their children and probably live long enough to see them get married. Then they'd die a painful death.

  "My granny ESP tells me that somebody is pregnant," she tried to make light of this predicament. But really, Nary's pregnancy would be harsh for both of them. Theo was fourteen and a half years old. Nary was probably the same. For Theo, Nary's pregnancy would mean the end of his plans for university and for basketball. He was the kind of boy... well make that a man now... who would act responsibly. He'd take some sort of job with the Wilizy to support his family. He wouldn't ask for any handouts and he wouldn't consider evading his responsibility. Nary didn't have any work skills that would give them income. She was barely literate. She'd raise the child with Yolanda hovering over her, offering to help but driving her crazy instead. And Marie? Nobody knew what Marie would do.

  Theo answered "Yup" to Granny's somebody is pregnant comment and looked down at his mug which he had put between his knees to stop it from spilling. With both of his feet jittering on the floor, the chocolate levels in the mug were rippling inside the mug. Nary placed a hand on one of his knees to fend off the upcoming chocolate slop-over. The other knee just shook harder and the mug started to tip to the side.

  "What are you two scared of?"

  "Marie," Theo admitted. "She has spells. She eats people she doesn't like."

  "I'm scared of Yolanda," Nary confessed. "She won't want me in the family any longer."

  I'll take your mug; stand up and walk around, Nary mind-messaged Theo. She placed Theo's mug on the floor next to her feet and continued to examine her own mug for signs of alien intrusions, insect infestations, spontaneous combustion, or any other unexpected event that would allow her to flee from this house in one piece.

  Granny looked at Nary's midsection. Her sitting position prevented any chance of Granny estimating how far along she was. "Are you sure about the pregnancy?"

  "Yes," Nary confirmed.

  "How far along?"

  "Three days."

  "You can't be sure with three days! There could be many reasons why..."

  "I'm sure, Granny. I felt it."

  "Well, why don't we wait for a couple of months to be absolutely sure? That will give us ample time for the baby to show. You don't have to tell anybody else right now. You have almost nine months before the birth."

  "Actually, we have only three months before the birth."

  "No, Nary. Nine months even for Voodoo princesses. I'm sure of that."

  "Three months, Granny. I'm not the one that's pregnant. Contrary is."

  # # # # # # # #

  Granny's fears for Theo and his future subsided. It wasn't a big deal. Some panther that lived on the other side of some astral plane was pregnant. The panther would give birth like all wild animals did. Theo could still go to university and play basketball. Nary could continue her education. Granny picked up her mug of hot chocolate from the floor. Sipped it. Perfect temperature. "Why are you taking this so hard, Theo? Wild animals have babies all the time." Granny took a big pull on the mug to demonstrate how unworrisome this situation was.

  "I was the one who got Contrary pregnant."

  As Granny coughed and choked, she knew that no family, not even a tolerant one like the Wilizy, could accept this news calmly. Then Nary was patting her on the back. Theo was running into the kitchen and coming back to the living room to wipe her down and the floor as well. All the time the clean up crew was working, Granny was frantically trying to come up with some words that would excuse a young man who had had sex with a panther. She had nothing. There could be no excuse for that outrageous behaviour.

  "You're scared of what Marie and Yolanda will do?" Granny finally asked.

  "Yes," they both said.

  "I don't know how it happened," Theo started.

  "Don't try to bulls... me," Granny dipped into curse mode. "There's only one way it could have happened." My readers will appreciate that Granny was struggling to hold herself together and not succeeding very well.

  "I was dreaming. We believe it happened then."

  Granny shook her head in disbelief.

  "I'm scared Granny," Theo continued. "We don't know if the baby will be a panther or a human."

  "Contrary can't be pregnant. A human cannot impregnate a panther. I've never heard of such a thing. Doc would know for sure. But Theo, what were you thinking? Had you eaten some unknown herb? A hallucinogen, perhaps?"

  "A human didn't make Contrary pregnant, Granny. I was in another panther's body at the time. A panther made Contrary pregnant."

  "Huh?"

  "All the time that I was learning how to control my panther's body, I thought I was controlling Contrary. Nary said I wasn't. She told me that I had my own panther from the astral plane. A male one. At the end of the last battle with Safe Haven, Contrary was in heat. My panther chased her while both Nary and I were sleeping and dreaming. We felt them mate."

  "Panthers actually have quite an exuberant sex life," Nary started.

  Granny stood up and turned towards the kitchen. "Come with me," she said to her astral-roaming, sex-crazed grandchildren.

  They did, somewhat confused but obedient nonetheless.

  Granny poured the remaining hot chocolate from the near empty pot over their heads. "You owe me a mug of steaming hot chocolate after you clean up."

  "I don't understand," Theo said as the sticky liquid seeped through his hair and onto his face. "What will happen with the pregnancy?"

  "A male panther and a female panther mated. They will produce an infant panther. The mother panther will probably raise it. The father panther will probably desert her. If there are such things in the astral plane, he'll probably spend all of his time in a panther bar, sucking down beer, and watching re-runs of the Top Ten Kills of the Week."

  "But what if that baby panther has some human genes that make it part human, part panther? What are we supposed to do with it?"

  "Bring it to family picnics so it can play with all the other weird creatures that we have in this family. When do I get my hot chocolate?"

  Back to the Table of Contents

  Chapter 5

  The operation against Safe Haven's Minneapolis offices ended quickly. Lucas led them directly to the building housing the executive offices. Three back windows on the second floor of that building had been blown out and glass fragments littered the ground. William tried to send a drone through the front entrance to see if the building were safe to enter. The drone died before it could enter the building. He tried to send a drone through one of the shattered windows. It died as it approached the building and crashed on the ground.

  "The outsides of the building are probably protected by what we call Chicago pellets," William reported to Jock. "Melissa and I ran across them in Chicago. If you're near them, everything electronic that you are wearing will die."

  Jock asked Mathias to use the jumbo transport to check the building for heat signatures but he found none. They tried searching the grounds for the pellets, but couldn't find any. Hank and Wolf examined the exterior of the walls and suggested that the pellets could have been embedded in the walls of the building. Possibly on the roof as well. The second floor would be far enough away from the roof for the executives to operate electronics inside their offices. All of their electronics could also be positioned far enough away from the exterior walls to function.

  Jock formed the necessary entry plan easily. "Mac, Lucas, and I will enter on foot. What do you have in the way of weapons for us, William?"

  "Only some knives, Jock."

  "That'll do. I don't expect to find anybody alive in the building."

  And they didn't. They found corpses however in
a second floor office. All were dead from an explosion that had taken out those windows. All of the other offices in the building were empty and unused. Access to the second floor was provided only by an elevator that was monitored by cameras. Safe Haven had built themselves a secure vault in the middle of a large building. They had ample non-electronic weapons inside that office to defend themselves.

  William and TG were able to determine that the explosion have been caused by a bomb, but they couldn't determine how the bomb had been delivered. A young woman was closest to the bomb when it went off. Her facial features were entirely destroyed. Fortunately for the Wilizy, the bomb was designed to blow people up and not to burn the building down. All of Safe Haven's records were kept in metal filing cabinets and those survived intact. Jock ordered them to be loaded into the jumbo and sent everybody home. He assigned Lucas to analyze all of the records. It would take him several weeks to do this.

  # # # # # # # #

  Wizard and Stu's business group travelled first to Ranch #4 to meet with Pililiani. That meeting started out happily with the discovery that one of the bosses on the ranch was the young boy who had traded peaches with Wizard for Chicago pellets years ago. Pililiani had stayed at the ranch to help Boss, now known as Yuri, to farm the land. He intended to grow peaches on the property.

  All of the other slaves had left the ranch with the help of a ferrying system that Pililiani had set up with Big Momma's and Big Daddy's copters. She knew only that the former slaves had headed west. While Wizard discussed Yuri's ideas for irrigating the land and growing peaches and other food, Winnie organized the Wilizy to fly over the other Montana ranches to see if the former slaves were still there.

  All the slaves were gone as were any copters that might have been there before. If any kidnapped little blonde girls had been at those ranches, they were gone too. The Montana slaves had been freed first so Winnie expanded the search to the ranches in the Dakotas with more optimism. At a few ranches, they found some slaves sitting in groups waiting to be ferried; other ranches were deserted. Winnie messaged Hank for instructions and he told her to bring the Wilizy home. They arrived Tuesday evening. Wizard arrived back home a day later. He and Yuri did talk about the Chicago pellets, but that conversation came too late for Wizard to warn Jock that Safe Haven had taken Yuri's available stock. Wizard didn't think of asking Yuri where he had found the pellets.