Chapter 118: Helping the Sisters

Friday, June 11, 1971

I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I had to do Something. Finally, I made an executive decision.

“Get dressed,” I told the three sisters. “Quickly! The FBI will be here any minute. You’re coming with me.”

They scrambled for their robes and even had Pipiti dressed before I knew it. It was then that I realized that Samantha and the others were still bound, but I decided to let the Feds worry about them. I knew there was enough stuff in her office to lock her away for a long time.

I had started for the long hallway, when I made a quick detour by the workbench where I grabbed one of the toys.

“I hope Samantha doesn’t mind if I borrow this,” I thought. “I’m betting that Vickie will love it!”

Stashing it in the pocket of my tuxedo, I led the three sisters down the dimly lit hallway, out the side door, and down to the runway. Anna waved the sisters onto the plane as the propellers started to turn. I quickly followed them in and Anna pulled in the retractable steps behind me as she yelled to the pilot, “Hit it!”

We had just cleared the end of the runway when the grounds of the estate were suddenly flooded with bright lights. I hurriedly released everyone on the ground that I had zapped as the pilot banked the King Air out over the Gulf of Mexico, heading us back to Houston, to my family, and to my home on rails.

When the King Air 100 leveled out, I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Now that I had them, what was I going to do with three Haitian Vodoun priestesses? Of course, if they had truly lost their powers, and therefore their title as priestess, then what was I going to do with three Haitian sisters?

“What are you going to do with them, Michael? They’re in the US illegally. They have no papers. At least we didn’t find any on their plane. They are representing a foreign country, in the US for the purpose of unlawful acts. In short, they’re spies,” Anna told me.

“We no spy! We came to pick up package. Already paid for!” the older sister exclaimed. The other two nodded their heads excessively.

“Oh, no...” I sighed. Did she overhear me because she still had her powers, or because she was destined to join my other ladies? Moreover, did her sisters overhear my thoughts as well?

Anna arched a single eyebrow at me, which was her way of asking me the same question I was asking myself. I shrugged my shoulders as I had no real answer.

I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. Then I began to scan the oldest one. Her name was Serkia, and she was only twenty years old. She had been born into such squalid conditions in Haiti, that a slum in America would have seemed like paradise to the young girl. Her two sisters, Vie and Pipiti, followed closely behind. Each from a different father.

When Serkia was seven, a hurricane triggered a mudslide that wiped out the dump of a village where they lived with her mother. They never saw her again. However, Serkia had hung on to her sisters, and somehow, the three survived. With thousands of now homeless poor, Haiti was not prepared to deal with the aftermath of the decimated village.

Fortunately for the three sisters, a kindly Red Cross Volunteer from Sebring, Florida, took the three little girls under her wing and began the process of adoption for the three sisters. However, she was not prepared for the corrupt bureaucracy, and the days dragged into weeks, until finally, a tearful relief worker was forced to return to Florida without the young orphans.

As it turned out, one of the nuns who had been assisting the Red Cross volunteer in her futile effort to adopt the sisters decided to see to it that the three sisters were able to remain together. She even arranged for them to go to an orphanage up in the hills.

Times there were tough, but to the sisters, it was a major improvement. They thrived in the relatively safe environment, quickly excelling to the top of their classes in almost every subject. This brought them to the attention of the local Vodoun Priest, who immediately brought them into the care and training of the Vodoun society. There, inside the privacy of the village, they were trained in the secrets of their religion, and in the arts of defense, both physical and mystical. They were also given as much education as was available in the remote village.

Again, the sisters excelled at their craft. Serkia was the best practitioner of the magics, both light magic, and the very secretive dark magics, while Vie excelled at the defensive skills, including the martial arts. Pipiti, with her thirst for knowledge, was just coming into her own as a superior student of academia, and she specialized in planning, logistics, and acquisition. Together, the three of them formed a powerful team.

As the time drew near for them to be ordained into the secretive religion, they were told that they would be given a test, a mission in which failure meant certain death. Pipiti and Vie were taught to fly the old Cessna 310 that had been mysteriously supplied by an unknown benefactor, and told that they would be given their test soon. However, Haiti’s dictator, Duvalier, died, and everything was put on hold. The sisters continued to practice their skills, and two months later they were awakened early one morning and told they would leave on their mission in three days.

Now that that mission was in shambles and they were deprived of their powers, I could sense that they were concerned, yet not really worried. Pipiti was convinced they had fallen into the god’s hand again, and did her best to persuade her two older sisters.

I scanned them at depth, looking for memories or signs of duplicity. I discovered they were loyal ... to each other. However, no one else had ever earned their loyalty, or their respect. They had been doing as they were told as a way to survive. As Vie thought of it, they had been put there, so they would survive until they were put somewhere else.

“Anna? What would happen if they asked for asylum?” I asked.

“I don’t really know. They seem to meet the criteria, in that they are here, and that they will face certain death if they return. However, they entered the US illegally,” Anna replied. “With the intent to break the law.”

“But don’t most refugees enter illegally?” I asked.

“I suppose. It’s really complex Michael, and I just don’t know how it’s handled,” Anna told me.

“Who handles immigration and asylum?” I asked.

“The State Department, I guess,” Anna replied.

I was not sure how to proceed, so I did what I always do.

“Catherine, I’m sorry to disturb you so late,” I thought to her.

“Michael!” Catherine exclaimed. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. We are safe and flying back to Houston,” I told her. “However, I need a couple of minutes of your time if you can? Did I wake you?”

“Heavens no!” Catherine replied with a laugh. “The Count and Countess arrived this evening with their children, Sturgey and Trealyn. By the time we got them settled in, it was already late. Then I joined the other girls to help you, and I stayed connected until you were on the plane. I was just starting to get ready for bed.”

“Well, I have a bedtime story for you,” I told her as I replayed the scene from the dungeon. Most guys wouldn’t have gone into details with a loved one like that. But I had made a commitment to hold nothing back from Catherine, so I shared everything.”

“So you want me to call Secretary of State Rogers and feel him out, don’t you?” she asked sweetly.

That’s what I love about Catherine. No matter what’s going on in my life, she always seems one step ahead of me. “That is an excellent idea!” I told her.

“Okay, Michael, I’ll contact the State Department on Monday. Can you keep them out of trouble until then?” she asked me teasingly.

“I honestly don’t know, but I’ll do my best,” I told her.

“Well, we still need to talk, so why don’t you contact me tomorrow, after you’ve had time to rest. Okay?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am,” I told her. “And thanks for being there for me tonight. I could really feel your love. I hope you could feel mine.”

“I did. It made me miss you,” she replied softly.

“I miss you too. Goodnight, Catherine. I love you,” I told her as I made up my mind to convince her to meet us at the ranch next week, when we spoke tomorrow.

“Serkia, what do you and Vie and Pipiti want to do?” I asked the sisters. Serkia quickly translated my question for her sisters, as they discussed it in their native tongue.

“What do we call you?” Serkia asked me simply.

I had forgotten that I hadn’t introduced myself. I smiled as I told them, “My name is Michael.”

“What a funny name for a god!” Serkia replied. “I am called Serkia, and these are my sisters, Vie and Pipiti. We do not know what will happen to us if we stay here. But if we return without the ordained one, then we will surely die.”

“Well, I have someone who is looking into your next step for you. But for now, I offer you and your sisters a place in my home,” I said.

Vie asked something and Serkia quickly translated. “Vie wants to know if we are your prisoners?”

“For heaven’s sake, no!” I laughed. “You are welcome to go where you want; although without papers or money you may have some difficulty. I was just trying to keep you safe until we can find a way to help you. However, nothing can be done since it is the weekend in America.”

They discussed it some more.

“Are we to serve you then?” Serkia asked.

“Serve me?” I asked, not understanding.

“You know, bring you things, or have sex with you. Serve you,” she repeated.

“I can get my own things, thank you. And as for sex, well, I’m afraid you would have to go to the end of the line,” I laughed.