Chapter 8
As Bill pulled out of the RV lot, Caitlin was keeping him company in the cab of the large motor home. "Caitlin, I noticed you didn't react to the fact that Diane and Crystal were nude. In fact, I don't think I saw you even glance at them twice. I thought you said you liked girls?"
"I do. However, I was working. When I'm on a job, I can't afford to let something like that distract me. Things like that can get you dead real fast. Yes, both of those ladies are very beautiful, and I would be lying if I said I hadn't noticed them." She looked out the windshield for a few moments before she finished responding. "Carol said I could trust you. That counts for a lot with me, but only so much. I don't actually know any of you, or how you'll respond in a given situation. I've been hired as a guide and additional protection during your trip south. Carol asked me to bring along those documents to save time."
Bill could tell there was more to her answer, but when she didn't continue, he didn't press the issue. "Well, we have a long trip ahead of us, so you should be able to get to know us at least a little better."
The woman smiled; "One thing I'd like to know; why did Carol call you Master? I didn't think Carol was into those types of games, and certainly not with a man."
"Please believe me when I tell you that I have no idea what drove her to that desire. However, when we first met, Carol proclaimed herself our body slave and has been acting accordingly ever since," Bill answered.
"I was wondering why you had her cats with you. At first I thought that might have been how you all met, through a breeding club or something. Maus are not that common a breed. Then I heard you call them by name and knew that these were Carol's cats. Carol loves her cats and, as far as I know, would never just leave them somewhere. So the question becomes, if Carol calls you 'Master' and trusts you enough to leave her precious Maus with you, how is it I've not met you before?" Caitlin asked. "She doesn't trust that easily."
"Uhmm..." Bill bit his lower lip while trying to think how to answer her questions. "That's a rather... uh, complicated story."
"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't be asking," Caitlin said. "I've always had a problem with being too curious. I wouldn't have asked this time except Carol is special to me, and I don't want to see her get hurt."
"That I can understand, Caitlin," Bill said. "Honestly, I can't explain it all to you yet, but please believe me; I would sooner die than let harm come to Carol. What I can tell you is that we have only known Carol for a few days. Which only makes you more curious, I know, and if you check into this very far, you'll find that she is paying most of the bills for us now. This looks, at least on the surface, very suspicious. All I can tell you is that there are very good reasons for everything that's been done. I'm really sorry that I can't tell you more."
"Okay, I'll drop it, at least for now. I guess if I need to know everything, someone will tell me. And for Christ's sake, please call me Cat; everyone else does." She sat quietly watching the scenery for a few minutes, wondering why she was feeling like she could trust this young man. "I take it you're not really expecting any trouble on the drive?"
"What has Carol told you so far?"
"Only that there is a person or persons that very much want you and the girls dead. It's unknown if they know you are making this trip or what your destination is. I'm to guide you to Carol's, and if we get into trouble, advise you until the rescue team gets here."
Bill raised an eyebrow, "Carol mentioned that when we spoke to her. What's the response time for the 'rescue team'?"
"Under thirty minutes. Just don't ask how they're doing it." She grinned.
Bill chuckled; "Okay, it's safe to say that very soon, if not already, the... opposition knows we are traveling somewhere. Last night we took out three of their people. I'm sure it aroused suspicions when those three didn't report back."
Caitlin immediately lost her smile. "The explosion last night?" When Bill nodded, she continued. "Damn, talk about overkill. But I've still got to report this. Tell me everything you can, so I can pass it on."
Bill told her a sanitized version of the events of last night, leaving out exactly how most of it had been done. When he had finished, she opened her ever-present bag and pulled out a PDA. She used a stylus to punch a few buttons and when it beeped she spoke. "Gypsy to King's Knight — message follows. King reports pre-arrival party. A good time was had by all. Three guests had a blast. Request that a cleaning crew be dispatched to the ballroom. Gypsy is in motion." Then she tapped a few more times on the screen with the stylus until the PDA beeped again, then she put it back in her bag.
Susan chose that moment to open the cabin door. "Supper time. Honey, can you find a place to pull over so we can cook?"
"Sure, there's a town just up ahead. I'll pull over there."
Susan turned a smile to Caitlin, "How do you like your meat, dear?"
"Talk about a loaded question!" Bill snorted.
Susan slapped his shoulder affectionately as Caitlin answered with a laugh. "Medium rare, please."
Susan tuned to shout over her shoulder, "Diane, she likes it nice and hot, but still pink in the middle. Bill likes his burnt!"
"Oh, this is going to be an interesting trip," Caitlin said quietly.
"You have no idea," Bill replied.
That night an exhausted Bill climbed onto the bed in the main bedroom. He was so tired that he hadn't even bothered to undress or get under the covers. Trina levitated him off the bed while Asia and Crystal took his clothes off. Bill was placed back on the bed, this time under the covers, between a naked Asia and a naked Crystal who snuggled in. With a mischievous smile, Trina stripped off her clothes and snuggled up behind Crystal. Pasha jumped up on the foot of the bed and went to sleep.
Susan and Diane took over driving, and Father, in cat form, curled up on the dash to help. Caitlin extracted a promise to leave the driver's compartment open and sacked out on the couch.
For the most part, the night passed uneventfully. While passing through a small town in Nebraska, Susan thought she felt someone's mental energy reaching out, searching for someone. To her, it felt young, and alone. Very softly she sent out a tender caress and the feeling of hope. It never even occurred to her to wake anyone else, or even tell Diane about it. She drove on, hoping that young person would find whoever it was looking for.
Ten year old Elizabeth Jansen lay crying quietly on her bed. The fat smelly man that was her stepfather had finally left. She was sore and her privates hurt. At least there wasn't any blood this time, but the bruises on her thighs were already turning ugly purple.
Ever since her Mommy left, leaving her with her stepfather, she had been in hell. It started about a month after Liz had found out her mother was gone. The fat man came into her room one night and told her that since her worthless mother was no longer around it would be her job to take care of his needs. Liz, thinking he meant the house chores agreed and got up to make some dinner. He grabbed her and, pulling her skirt up, pushed her panties off.
Liz couldn't understand why her Mommy had left her like this. She yearned for her mother and reached out emotionally for the touch that had been so long absent. There, very faint, she thought she felt it, but she couldn't tell if it was her mother. It was a woman, yes, and a kind and loving one just like her mother. The feeling was moving away, moving south. Leaving her — again. She thrust out, hoping to grab even a piece of that warmth, and could only get the slightest impression of it. Like tracks in the sand at the beach, it was fading fast.
Quickly, she grabbed some clothes and stuffed them into a bag, then climbed out her window and took off running into the night.
The sun was breaking the eastern horizon and lighting the mountains to the west when Cat's PDA started beeping. She was immediately awake and all business. She snatched it out of her bag and punched in the authorization code. "Gypsy here, what's up?"
"Text attached. We have a wild card. You're being followed by what appears to be a little girl. How does the King want this handled?" A voice asked.
"Stand by, King is still asleep," Cat said.
"What did they say? It sounded like he said a little girl," Susan asked looking back.
Cat was reading the attached test quickly. "Apparently, this little girl stole a car from the gas pumps at a truck stop in Nebraska shortly after we passed through last night. She's been following us ever since. The police haven't located the car yet."
Susan remembered the brief contact, and suddenly realized her mistake. However, Cat didn't know about their mental powers. "Diane, pull over. I'll go wake the kids."
"What? This could be a trap!" Cat said.
Susan sat down next to Cat. "I don't think so. For one, the people chasing us wouldn't send a little girl; they'd send an assault team. I highly doubt that they would need to steal a car either. We need to pull over, let her catch up and find out if she is indeed following us, and what she wants."
"We're out in the middle of nowhere! Anything could happen out here," Cat argued.
"Cat, I can't explain everything right now, but you gotta trust me on this. How far behind us is she?" Susan asked.
"Roughly a half hour," Cat said in a frustrated voice. "One of these days would someone please tell me what's going on?"
Susan kissed her, before getting up and heading for the rear of the camper. "Please ask your team to let her through. I think she's very frightened, so try not to spook her."
"How the hell would you know that?" Cat asked.
"Just do it, please? We don't have much time," Susan said as she disappeared into the bedroom.
Twenty minutes later, Susan nodded to Bill. "It is her. I don't know how she tracked us, but she managed to follow us all the way from Nebraska."
"Any idea on the reason she's following us?" Bill replied. "Cat's going to want more answers then we were planning on giving her."
Susan shook her head no. "We all know Cat's trustworthy, but getting her to swear to secrecy without knowing the reason is going to be difficult. We might have to inhibit her,"
"I don't think so; I'll go talk to her. If this does turn out to be a ruse, we'll all know it immediately anyway. Let me know as soon as you find out more about her, Okay?"
Susan kissed him and said she would. Bill reached out and felt Cat taking a position in the rest stop that would give her a good field of fire if it was needed.
"I thought you would be at the RV with Susan when our guest gets here," she said when Bill got close enough.
"I was, but I thought you might need an explanation about what's going on."
"It would sure as hell make my job a lot easier. I don't understand why you would insist on stopping out here, in the middle of Colorado, where any help would take hours to get to us," she admitted. "This is tactically unwise, and damn strange."
"Cat, I need you to make a promise that what I'm about to tell you will remain a secret. I know you have to report most things to your boss, but this could get us all killed if you do, including your boss," Bill said.
Taking her eyes off the RV for the first time, Cat looked at him. "I have a duty to protect my client's privacy as long as it doesn't interfere with the mission. So, I can make that promise - conditionally. Some things, I absolutely have to report, especially if it will compromise the security of the company."
"I like you Cat, and I trust you. So, if after hearing what this is, you find it's something you feel you should report, you can try to argue me into it. But if we disagree, you have to abide by that, deal?"
Cat narrowed her eyes at him. "I somehow get the feeling you could stop me anyway. Okay, deal. But be prepared for an argument; I don't give in easily," she said.
As Bill filled her in on everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks, her eyes got big and she was visibly excited. "Bill, you have to let me report this, but I understand your reasoning, so I won't until you agree. I'll explain why when we get back on the road. Right now, I think something's happening out there."
Something was indeed happening; a late model sedan was cautiously pulling into the rest stop and it looked like it had no driver. Susan's mind reached out to Bill's, "Her name is Elizabeth Jansen, and she thought I might be her mother. Bill, the poor girl is being sexually abused by her stepfather. From what the girl knows, her mother left them about six weeks ago, and Liz doesn't know why. She misses her mother, and the stepfather is hurting her. So when she felt me last night, she followed us."
"Is she afraid of men? Can I come back to the RV?" Bill asked.
"Yes, she's only afraid of her step-father at this point. Bill, she's a strong telepath, and as far as I can tell, completely human. She remembers that her mother could 'mind-talk' as well," Susan said. "You and Cat can come in; this girl is no threat to us. I'm calling the others in as well."
"Yes please, I'd like to meet all of you," a bright, silvery voice said in Bill's head.
"Well then, M'lady, we shall be there forthwith!" Bill replied and heard a giggle.
Bill smiled at Cat, "Come on, I think you might want to meet an amazing young woman."
When Bill and Cat got back to the RV, Susan was sitting on the couch with a slightly smaller girl sitting on her lap, and holding on tightly. Bill squatted down and offered his hand to the girl. "Hello, I'm Bill."
The girl, who had been watching him since he came through the door, let go of Susan long enough to shake the offered hand. "I'm Liz. Can I please stay with you? Please?"
"You can for now, honey. But I can't promise forever," Bill said.
"Bill, I think you and Cat should sit down; you both need to see this," Susan said. When both new arrivals had taken seats, images started flowing into their minds. The images were the girl's memories for the last couple of months.
Both Cat and he had tears flowing down their cheeks after looking at those memories. Bill thought the stepfather might have 'helped' the mother to disappear. One way or another, Bill was going to be paying Mr. Ronald Emery a visit in the very near future.
"We'll find a way to make it permanent," Bill said. "But for now, we need to get going. Cat, can your friends take care of the car for us?
Cat only nodded, and dug out her PDA as she wiped off her cheeks. Bill climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. He noticed the fuel was getting low, and made a mental note to stop for fuel and breakfast.
Cat followed him into the driver's compartment about thirty minutes later. "Liz is settled in. When Diane and Susan got naked and climbed into bed, Liz simply stripped off and climbed in between them. It tore my heart out when I saw the bruises on her. We have to do something about that asshole."
"I plan to," Bill said. "I just can't do it yet."
"Let me know when you do, I want to help," Cat said. "But I need to talk to you about your abilities and my responsibility to report them. I need a similar promise from you. No one can know what I'm going to tell you. As with you, it's a matter of life and death."
"I think I can honor that; however, anything you tell me, you are automatically telling Susan and Trina. Most likely Diane as well since she and Susan are so close," Bill said.
"Agreed, I'll have to get the same promise from them as well, but I think it's a moot point, considering your own situations. Very few people in the company know of this, but the owner, John, is telepathic. He asked a few of us to keep our eyes open for other telepaths and let him know if and when we found any. He's a good guy, Bill. I trust him with my life on a daily basis."
The fact that she trusted him could have been implanted, but after scanning her mind earlier, he didn't think that was the case. "I did look into your mind earlier to see if it was safe to tell you, but I didn't look at any of your memories, only your surface thoughts and processes. When I have to go into someone's mind, I try not to violate them anymore then I have to. So I know you haven't been manipulated, or tampered with. So I have to believe you're telling the truth."
"He is one of the very few men I'd have sex with, but he is happily married to two very beautiful and wonderful women. They do allow others to join them from time to time, but never on a permanent basis. It's always voluntary; no one is forced or coerced. John once said that just because he could, doesn't mean he should. I get the feeling you and he are a lot alike," Cat said as she watched him light a cigar. "Anyway, I made a promise to tell him if and when I found someone else like him. I'm sure he would understand the circumstance behind the promise I made to you, but I would really hate to break my word to him."
"I take it the company headquarters are somewhere near Carol's?" Bill asked.
"Yeah, about forty five minutes away, why?"
"Why don't I tell him myself? Do you think he would like to come to Carol's or should I make an appointment with him?"
"I don't know which he would prefer, but if you would invite him and his wives to Carol's for dinner, I think it would be better. He'd probably freak if you showed up at the ranch and dropped this on him. Most of our operations are based out of there," Cat said.
"We'll do that then, I'll have Carol invite them to dinner and tell him. Or maybe I should just reach out and say 'hi'."
"If you can reach that far, that would probably be the best. That way the ranch will only be on alert for a few hours instead of days," she chuckled.
The mansion was huge. Bill thought he would need a map to find his way around the building. Carol, on the other hand, was overjoyed to see them all. She gave each of them a hug and a kiss. The house staff only chuckled, delighted to see their mistress so happy after so many years. "God, it seems like it's been months since I saw you last! Please, come in! The chef has dinner ready! Who's this pretty little thing?" She asked when she saw Liz.
"A new friend that I hope will become part of the family. Liz, this is our friend Carol; Carol, this is Liz."
Liz let go of Susan and walked up to Carol. She stuck out her hand, and said. "Hello, Ma'am. Is this your house?"
"Please call me Carol, Liz. Yes, this is our house. Yours too, as long as you want it to be."
"It sure is big!" Liz said, then turned to Susan and asked, "Can I really live here?"
"Yes Honey, you can really live here," Susan said, smiling.
Father and Pasha both rubbed Carol's legs as they made their stately way into the house. At the door, Father turned around to watch the humans. "Coming?" he asked Bill.
Liz's head snapped around and she looked right at the regal looking cat. She looked at Bill to ask the obvious question, but Bill shook his head slightly. "Later sweetheart; the cats' secret is not known to everyone here. I think they would like it to remain that way. You can ask Father or Pasha about it later, though. Let's go eat; I can feel your tummy rumbling along with mine."
The girl smiled, took Bill's hand and pulled him into the house, after the cats of course.
Bill quietly asked Carol if it would be alright to invite John and his wives for dinner the following evening. He told her Cat had thought the two men should meet, but didn't tell her why.
"Sir, this house is yours. The staff knows that you are in charge now. If you want to invite someone to dinner, you don't need to ask me. I'd be happy to make the arrangements for you."
"Uh, well, this is going to take some getting used to, so please be patient with me. I'll handle the invitation, though. Have John and his wives ever dined here before?" Bill asked.
"Yes, they're good friends, and really nice people. I've even done some advising on investments for them," Carol replied. "With what's coming in the future, I think it might be a good idea for you to meet them as well."
"Great, so everything should be set for tomorrow evening. Thanks Carol," Bill said, giving her a tender kiss.
She moaned into his mouth. When he broke the kiss, she looked playfully into his eyes. "Can I be of further service to you tonight? Mistress Katrina said you got a lot of sleep last night."
"Oh, I imagine you'll be tired of serving by the time we let you get to sleep tonight. But we need to help unload the RV. So we'll have to pick this up later," he said as he playfully smacked her ass.
"Yes, Master."
He watched her walk out of the room; she really had a nice ass. He pulled his mind back from that and reached out to his wives. "Trina, Susan, I'm about to make contact with John. I thought you might like to know just in case this goes sideways."
"Smart man. Be careful; we'll be listening if you need help," Susan replied, and he felt Trina's agreement. "From what Cat said, she should just about be to the ranch by now."
"We'll start on the RV, love. You take care of business," Trina added.
"Thanks, here goes," he said, and reached in the direction Cat had indicated. He felt the strength of the other telepath almost immediately, and simply followed it to its source. Bill wasn't sure how to 'ring the bell' so to speak, so he simply said, "Hello?"
The strength on the other end was surprised, and more then a little worried before all trace of that was suddenly shielded. "Hello, I didn't know there was another telepath this close," a male voice replied.
"Please forgive the sudden intrusion, sir. I wasn't sure exactly how to warn you I was about to touch your mind. I'm the client that Caitlin just finished guarding. It became necessary for her to know about me during the trip, and I asked her word not to tell anyone. That promise has put her at odds with her word to you. I thought I should introduce myself, so as not to force her to go back on her word to one of us," Bill said.
"That's very noble of you. Caitlin is just pulling in now, so your timing is pretty good. May I assume your name is Bill?" John asked.
"Yes sir, my wives and I would like to invite you and your wives over to Carol's for dinner tomorrow evening, if that would be okay. I think we might have a lot to talk about," Bill offered.
"My name, as you probably already know, is John. I think dinner might be arranged. Would you mind if I debriefed Cat before I agree? I also need to ask my ladies if they would like to come," John said.
"Thank you, John. Yes, I understand completely. However, I feel I should mention that I am not the only one here with abilities. Caitlin trusts you, and she hasn't been tampered with, which for someone with our abilities, says a lot about you. I'd like to be as honest with you as I can as well. If we are going to have any kind of relationship, we're going to have to trust each other at some level."
There was a pause, and Bill thought John was thinking about what he said. "I think perhaps you're right, Bill. I'm not the only one here either. In fact, I'll be bringing two of them with me for dinner. I'll pull Cat's tail a little," John chuckled mentally at the joke. "But I think you can count on having dinner guests tomorrow night."
Bill let out a sigh; "I'm actually looking forward to it, John. I think Carol is right, you are good people."
"Thank you. Would you like me to beef up security over there?" John offered.
"That might be a good idea, though I don't know exactly what you have over here now."
"We have one guy on the front gate, one roving the property, and the other manning the security center. Mostly they're to prevent kidnapping and vandalism."
"That should be enough for tonight. You can always increase it tomorrow night after you hear our story — that is, if you think it needs it," Bill said.
"Fair enough, I'll talk to you later, Bill. Caitlin's here for her debrief."
"Okay, she did a real good job as far as I could tell. I'll listen for your reply to dinner."
"I'll let you know within the hour. Talk to you later," John said.
"Talk to you later," Bill agreed and pulled his mind back
from John's.