Chapter 22

We started down the steps and we heard the fight start already. Nadezda was very worried and Sandra said, "It's Evzen that's being hurt now. Your new husband can take care of himself."

Tommy stood his ground and Evzen came at him repeatedly. Tommy just struck him and moved aside and let the bull of a man continue on. The open doorway allowed the spectators to see what was happening. Evzen now wanted to beat Tommy to death and then go after his wife and do the same thing.

Every time Evzen attacked he found himself hurt instead and could never land a finger on his young adversary. Chairs were used to extend his reach but this didn't help. Lamps were thrown along with heavy ashtrays but nothing seemed to connect. Evzen's face though showed that he was in a good fight for it was bloody.

Tommy didn't hurt Evzen too much with each blow. It was better this way with the man getting a much longer beating that would hurt him much more in the long run. Evzen came crashing in again and Tommy just threw the much heavier man off balance and let him fall to the floor or better yet into the wall.

We got Nadezda into the motorhome and started to move. Nadezda looked back at the building and was afraid of what was happening. Sandra said, "Evzen is now very bloody. Tommy is playing with him. He wants this beating to be remembered for a long time to come."

"But he's so young."

"Tommy had not even been hit yet. There is as much chance of him even being touched as there is of a butterfly trying to knock over a man. Relax, my brother will be out when he has meted out what he thinks is right.

We stopped three blocks away and told Tommy where we were. He said, "I will be along in fifteen minutes. I have a lot of anger to get rid of."

We saw with our minds three men come racing to the building and then race upstairs. In a moment another car came with two more. Tommy was warned but he was not worried.

Evzen was hardly able to stand. The spectators had never seen him beat this way and by a boy no less. The same spectators gave way as men came charging up the steps and into the hallway. They immediately ran to the apartment of their friend. They saw the boy drive his fist up into Evzen's face then hit is abdomen hard enough to have him spew the beer he had drank recently.

Tommy turned to face the men. He knew they carried weapons that ranged from knives to guns. Some of these same people were working for organized crime figures and this was hurting their image. "You fight me then you better expect to lose. If you use a knife, you will regret it."

They only saw a boy and came wading in. Tom hit harder now but kept the blows believable. They fell down but before they got up more arrived and they were given the same verbal then physical greeting.

Only one man left the room that entered. Tommy did some house cleaning and stacked the men against the wall. Those that still wanted to fight found themselves making depressions in the walls. Soon more men came and they started to use the knives Tommy warned them about.

Those men found their own knives driven through their palms and into a solid stud in the wall. The pain was great but not enough to cause unconsciousness. The knives were driven into the wall so hard that it would be nearly impossible for the men to remove their own weapons.

The fighting stopped abruptly when one man took out a small pistol and proceeded to shoot round after round at Tommy. The boy stood calmly until the gun was empty and walked to the man. He squeezed the gun hand and crushed all the fingers. His hand would be of no use to him in the years to come.

One more man didn't learn from this and a much larger gun came out. His hand too was crushed around the gun. In moments there was nobody left standing. Evzen came around to see the wreck of his apartment and took a knife of his own out.

"You are going to die now."

When he got close Tommy just took the knife hand and broke the arm casually as the man looked. "That was for Nadezda's arm that you broke."

Tommy moved the good arm over Evzen's head and found a stud with his mind. The knife was plunged with precision into the other hand and pining it in place. "That is for coming at me with a knife and for thinking of trying to hurt someone."

When Evzen came to from the pain he was able to hear Tommy say, "Now I will keep your seed from spreading. I don't want the next generation to be plagued with animals like you." He paused long enough for Evzen to think of what this might mean.

"Nooooo!" was screamed.

Tommy casually reached down and crushed the man's testicles in his hand. The cry was heard by everyone in the building.

The noise of police cars made all the spectators leave for their apartments. Tommy went invisible and quickly left the apartment. Police in swat gear were already coming up the stairs. Tommy climbed on the railing and held the rungs of the steps above. Soon the police had gone by and he made it down a few more flights until he had to do it again. He made it out the front door as a police officer was holding the door open for a superior.

A ring was set up on the street and around the building. The police had come many times before but this was the first time like this. Usually the wife went to the hospital and the husband had a day in jail then everything went back to usual. Justice this time had been satisfied.

It was easy to get through the cordon and to an alley close to the van. There he became visible and casually walked to the motorhome. Nadezda opened the door and fled to him. She pulled him to her as if he were a child. She was sure he had been killed for she had heard gunshots. She had also seen known cars race to her building with the single purpose of killing the young man that had saved her.

"You are alive. How can this happen? There was shooting and those men are killers."

Tommy just held the face of his newest wife and brought her face to his. After the kiss he said, "You will find out in a very short time. It was really not much of a task and there was no danger to me. I didn't even kill anybody but I am sure the hospital will be full. I cannot even imagine what the police report of the incident will mention. They will be looking for you as a witness but your neighbours saw you leave before any violence occurred."

"What happens now? I have no home and no family."

"Nadezda, you are mine now. You have a good place in my family and a great deal to learn. It's me that will have to suffer a bit."

"Why is that?"

"I said you would be one of my wives and this just means that my duties as a husband are going to get even more strenuous. Let's go meet your new sisters."

We drove for a few kilometres and parked in an industrial section. Tommy separated the van from the motorhome. Sandra, Megan and I stayed for we had a search to continue and Tommy had a new wife to educate.

Tommy made the van invisible but did this after he and Nadezda were inside. To them it had not changed. "Nadezda we are going to fly home. On the way I will tell you about my family and the much larger family you have yet to meet. They already know much about you and are anxiously awaiting your arrival."

"Where are they?"

"We have a few homes but the current one is on the moon. It's in a large dome with a just a few people."

Nadezda laughed and said, "You joke at a time like this? Nobody lives on the moon."

"That's where you are wrong. My parents are there and you already met my two sisters and their husband. The majority of us are Human but Leif is not quite. He can easily pass for one but there are some minor differences."

"Like what?" She giggled at the continuing joke.

"He normally didn't have eyebrows, coarse body hair and earlobes. His internal organs are similar but just work better. Now I want to leave. Watch the buildings. You will not feel any odd forces on your body."

The speed was just fifty kilometres per hour but the buildings seemed to be sinking into the Earth. Nadezda's face went close to the window and looked down for the planet's surface was moving slowly away.

Frantically she said, "What's happening?"

"We are flying home. Would you like to give it a try? I can move over with no danger to us. We are in no hurry."

A large screen materialised and a young beautiful face appeared before the startled woman. "Hello Nadezda. I'm Consti and our husband takes much too much for granted. I am one of your sisters now. There's nothing to be afraid of and you will look back on this time as the start of your new life. We're currently enlarging our home once again and putting in a much larger nursery. Our husband has got all of us pregnant. We'll get our vengeance when he has to take care of the children."

Consti introduced Amelia to Nadezda and a new conversation was taking place. Tommy's second wife mentioned what she felt like when she was recruited and how she felt after meeting the rest. She said, "He's great in bed. Wait until he starts working on you. I have had lots of men but none were even close to what Tommy is like. Let me introduce Michelle to you. She was much like you but let her talk."

Michelle said, "Tommy found me in France. I was working in an office. I am much older than you but as you can see we can fix our bodies to be young again not just look it."

The talk went on until Tommy's fourth wife wanted to have her say. "Hi, I am Breanne I came recently too and from Belgium. I was an insurance adjuster when that brute beside you stuck his aura in my face. He made me follow him." Her eyes went over to Tom and mellowed a bit. "It was the smartest thing I had ever done. In a few weeks I could top any scientist on Earth and I am still learning. After the second improvement he put a bun in the oven I think she's a girl but it is too early to tell."

The fifth wife said, "Hello Nadezda. My name is Constance. I just came here three weeks ago and we thought Tommy was going to slow down a bit. Leif and his wives found you and Tommy just had to have you too. We can use the help. He's a horny lad and we get a little sore from all the activity. I wouldn't trade it for the world though but it is nice to talk to other girls. He's not too pushy except when he is between our legs then he is something else. You let him get there and you will never even consider another man. We heard that you may have problems getting pregnant. We have the best medical care here and I guarantee that in three weeks you will be pregnant too."

Tommy said with a gruff voice, "Will you girls leave Nadezda alone for a while? She's confused enough. We will be there in a few minutes. I'll meet you at the house. You can take her around and show her the sights. Make sure you introduce her to the neighbours but leave Odava and Ichom for last."

"Yes husband," came in unison from five different voices then the connection was cancelled.

"You have five wives?"

"With you I have six. One young girl has to wait until she grows up a bit but she will be a wife too one day. She phones us every week and we talk to her. She knows only a small amount about us but knows that I have five wives. This weekend she will find out about you." Tom pointed off to the right and said, "Look over there."

"We're at the moon!"

"That is where I told you I was taking you. In a while it will be like home. Now look up when I aim the boat in the right direction. You will see our next home if we are lucky." The bow of the boat elevated and far away light could be seen reflected off a far away structure. When the boat got close the true size could now be discerned. Four figures were working at the base of one of the smaller ribs but their size showed how gigantic the rib really was.

"That's my dad and my mother. Two of their wives are with them. At present we are building a ship to explore the galaxy and maybe the next too one day. Some of our children may be lucky enough to be born on her. Now let's get back. I have to tell you about the Gossna. They are very timid so you have to move slowly and not move your arms excitedly. They are our best friends and part of our extended family."

Sandra, Megan and I left Brno within minutes. Our motorhome had changed colour and the licence plates. The paperwork changed too. I was quite sure they would start an intensive search for us. The neighbours had seen all of us and we would be sought too. We flew directly to Prague to stay well ahead of any search. The 'Mercedes' would return to us when we were in a good position.

We searched the rest of the day and then the entirety of the next too. We joked that we were on the trail of another of Tommy's wives and he better be ready to come down and get her. We of course were still sad that we had not found any new members of my own family. The way my personality worked meant that I would have to find very determined individuals and this was not the way most people were composed. I was still in awe that I had been able to find two and in such a short time. It felt as if it was destiny that was taking a hand in making us meet.

With the stir we made in Czech Republic I thought it wise to now go to Slovakia. Until recently it was attached to the Czech republic to form one country. We landed in Bratislava which happened to be the capital. By early morning we had split up and were watching the areas frequented by many people. The airport and the train station were always good. Megan took the business district and tried to assess the many female executives and secretaries. The frequency of the trains and buses slowed down when the morning rush was over.

I had the airport this time and the girls had a chance to tour the town on our quest. As usual I was propositioned a few times as travellers thought I was working the terminal for business purposes. My responses were always in line with how the question was originally asked. It just so happened that I met many people that I had seen at other airports. I seemed to be just as memorable as my wives in this respect.

The only good part about being here was that I could peer through Megan or Sandra's eyes on occasion or have a conversation with them. Everybody else was hard at work while we appeared to be on a foolish vacation that brought our particular family nothing but fruitless work and a bit of sightseeing.

The crowds thinned out around seven and the wives wanted to eat. They had the ability to visit good restaurants while I had to eat what was served at the airport. The shoe was on the other foot though once in a while.

Rather than buck traffic I took a taxi to a common destination. Five minutes into the trip I heard from Pat'uch. The current AI handling the large precision fabricator and the main computer for our base. "Captain, one of the criteria you wanted to monitor for has become active. A group of men have slipped through security and taken over a nuclear reactor at Rostov on the Sea of Azov. The Russian military are racing to the scene. There is a very high probability that the attackers will be able to destroy the reactor and cause another incident like Chernobyl."

"Give me the data from your probes."

I was fed data from orbit and some even inside the plants themselves. I used my own mind now that I had a location to work with. This was the most important thing I had put this ability to since acquiring it. I had to concentrate very hard but I could see twenty seven men herding men and some women into two large rooms. Some slow captives were shot as a warning to the rest. The language told me that they were Chechens and not likely to listen to any sort of reason.

I checked the two reactors. They were an old type that were similar to the Chernobyl reactor with graphite and water. It had many new safety devices but it was still susceptible to sabotage. More importantly, it could spew the same mass of radioactive material into the air as Chernobyl did because it had no real containment building.

A truck outside one of the two reactor buildings was being unloaded. The wooden boxes carried plastic explosives and a great many detonators. The men here worked frantically as if pressed for time. This was a major undertaking for thirty six more invaders were inside the wire perimeter of the installation and more yet were outside.

In the distance I could see the Russian military coming but as yet it was only two trucks. Fifteen kilometres behind came another group of three more trucks and two command cars. From the hills close to the road men raised RPGs and fired them at the trucks. It was much too far to do anything and the two trucks blew up A few rifle shots later and there were no survivors. Individual cars were now targeted, probably to block the road to any relief that was sure to come.

It was easy to see that there would be no negotiations. The Russians would not give in to this or all their old subjects would rise up and do the same thing. My only hope was that they would play for time and get some countries involved and use them to pressure Russia. The end result would still be the destruction of both reactors and a contamination that would spread far beyond what had happened before.

The taxi was redirected now. The driver was shown a hundred dollars and told to hurry. I sent the data to the rest of the family and gave them a minute to digest what they saw. To Sandra and Megan I said, "Back to the boat. We are going to Russia. Fabricate some class seventeen weapons and prepare thirty six of the construction probes."

I got back simple, "Yes Captain."

Odava and Ichom were alone at the skeleton of our newest ship. "Odava, prepare a decontamination unit and get the disintegrator set for very low power settings. We may need to use it in a meltdown situation."

"Yes Captain."

The rest of the family requested that they be employed and already we had enough for this task.

Everything now appeared to slow down like it had when my mind and body has sped up. This was fought so as to not waste the effort too soon. The effort paid off but I was still conscious of every second as if it were an hour.

We met in a manufacturing district north of town. I made sure to pay the driver what I owed. Megan had already put the van onto the trailer behind the motorhome and stood waiting for me.

We both got the latest data on the situation. Both wives could easily use their minds to ascertain the situation without the probes. We left the area as soon as we could. This time Sandra had found a road with closed businesses on each side. This was better than our usual method of leaving the sight of others. In less than a minute we left the district and were climbing rapidly.

It took only minutes but we had gained two time zones. Here night was much further along. Now would be the time that the Russians would try to infiltrate but the Chechens had much the same type of night vision equipment. Black-marketeering was rampant in the old Soviet Union. The war in Chechnya though could have been a source of this sort of equipment.

Odava and his wife Ichom were there ahead of us. They had descended to only a thousand metres. Odava said, "All is in readiness Captain. A Chechen team is already planting the explosives in the first reactor. They are relying on timers and hardwiring the explosives. There is too much concrete, steel and interference to do much from here."

"Thanks Odava. Is this situation beyond your capabilities?"

There was a pause for him to think. He said, "We will do our duty. We see that there is no danger to us or to the ship."

"That is very good to hear. Sandra, Megan and I will be going in to see what we can do to help. You may be called on to use the disintegrator in close quarters with us on the scene. There are a lot of hostages to be considered but if the situation gets out of hand you may take their lives if necessary. The alternative is to have a million more at risk."

"I understand Captain. We will work with your family and do what is necessary."

Sandra and Megan brought out a weapon suitable for opposing a simple barbaric race. A short range stun gun was our only offensive weapon that we should need. Narcotic gases were considered but air currents were variable in each of the large rooms making their use even more dangerous. Someone falling unconscious would alert the guards and allow them to start a full scale slaughter if they chose.

Our main concern was the reactor itself. If necessary the staff may have to be sacrificed but a good effort to avoid this was in our plans. Our only other device was a copy of what North America used for disposable handcuffs. Ours could be many times better but their use would alert humanity to our presence. We used copies of the simpler Human variety.

The three of us landed between the two reactors. Sandra and Megan took the reactor that had been started sooner and I took the one with less time to plant charges.

I found problems immediately. The Chechens had gained entrance to the security section and were now using the existing facilities to screen people entering. I was just in time to enter a side door that had been used to receive its share of the truck's cargo of explosives that I had seen earlier.

The stun went into immediate use and four men fell to the floor. I worked quickly and put the tie wrap cuffs onto them. One longer unit went around their head and across their open mouths. They would be able to breathe but not yell or even talk intelligibly. Their feet were tied together and their hands behind their backs.

The next door was locked and two men came rushing in to take more explosives deeper into the facility. They joined their compatriots on the floor as I kept the door open with a Kalashnikov.

My mind searched the hallways and found men running all over the place. Some were dressed as technicians but carried concealed weapons. Twelve more men were setting the charges while three were strictly for security.

The best path was plotted when I finished locating all the opposition. I began to run through the facility. It took very little time to tie them up. The stun would keep them out for hours. My intention was to keep them alive to be questioned. Russian troops would come in with guns blazing and kill everyone in their path. I doubt if they would even spare the local workforce if there were any doubt as to who they were.

One holding a good radio was stunned but only after I read enough of his mind to get the security protocols. One more security guard was stunned and I hid him in a locked room off the main hall. A room contained three tired men waiting for more explosives was found. I burst into the room instead. They had no idea why the door flew open for they could not see me at all. One got his gun out but it fell like him to the floor.

The reactor itself had a great many security features and I bypassed them with my PK. Inside I found six men setting elaborately placed charges so the reactor could not be shut down after the rods were pulled and the water removed. All other types of reactors used the water to cool but to also help assist the process. This type reactor actually increased in activity if the water were removed.

They wore white suits with faceplates. This restricted their visibility to a great degree. The last two saw their friends fall and one decided to set off his explosives manually. This one was my first goal and I had to move very fast in this situation. As soon as possible I slowed down for I did not want to be unconscious for hours again, especially when I was needed the most.

This one dropped four metres short of his closest charge. The last tried to flee and warn security that something was happening in this large room. The man stumbled on the grating and almost fell through the chains barrier guarding the pool of water. My PK extended and I used just enough that he fell onto the metal that he was running on. A second later he was stunned.

Outside the reactor room I found the last guard frantically calling on the radio. I answered it immediately and explained that I had to go into the reactor for a minute with the other guard. I was cursed at in a very colourful way. I had to give my apologies then take the abuse again as the other guard

This last man was hunted down along with two tired runners and sedated.

The girls were doing much the same as I was doing but there were two of them. The number of their opposition was a little larger though. Instead of assisting I ran into the reactor again and dragged all the saboteurs out and then pulled the number eight military caps out of the plastique that had been planted. If the caps now went off they would not set off the explosives. This way the military could clean up the mess. Five minutes later all of the men were bound. This might be the only thing that saved their lives. This would only be in the short term for the Russians were sure to execute them.

The girls originally had trouble gaining entrance to the first reactor but were now working hard to catch up to me. With everything secure I left through the front entrance and more or less locked the doors behind me.

I bypassed the girls' objective and went to the main offices and the secondary controls for both reactors. There were Chechens manning machine guns on the roof the same as the two reactors but I had left these alone. If they had no reason to shoot then they would not give a warning.

The front door was monitored by two guards and locked as well. I was able to get close to the building and use my PK to render the lock useless. The small noise though had alerted two nearby guards. I was not worried about the girls for they had taken out all those with radios already.

When the door opened though shots were fired by one of the nervous guards. This brought calls from those within. I just waited for them to put the event down to natural causes before I continued. When the radio calls went out that nobody was attacking I began to do just that. The two at the door and six further back fell without firing an additional shot.

As before I found men running all over the place. My mind and body were psyched up one more time and I began to run through the multi floored building. One room had two men raping two of the women while a third man stood guard. The door had been locked but I hit it hard enough to shatter it. The men never knew what hit them. The women were in shock and the best I could do for them was to stun them too but with a lesser charge. They would run through the building otherwise and either get shot by the Chechens or by the relieving force of Russians.

The two main holding rooms were hit one at a time but I had to move very fast before anybody was hurt. In all the cases I stunned the captives too but they would recover in less time. With the lower floor finally clear I headed for one of the three sets of stairs. Sandra and Megan were now coming in the front door and would clean up for me and dress the two women at my request.

The steps had fire doors across the entrances and I was able to shoot through the glass when one guard was close. Sandra was going up the other set of steps to clear out the top floor. I made it to the front where the auxiliary controls for the reactors were. The very large room was surrounded by thick glass and a strong security door. I could see with my mind seven Chechens and three badly beaten Russians by the controls and eleven more Chechens further back and looking out the window for possible enemies.

One Russian was dead on the floor as a lesson I presumed. This was the tenth body I had passed. The Chechens were demanding more information about the system. Apparently passwords had been recently changed and their original data was no longer valid.

I was ready to advance when I felt an odd feeling. Sandra and Megan were not very close but it felt as if one were. My mind worked very quickly and found a girl of thirteen hiding in an open closet. The only thing protecting her were some long coats. While I was contemplating this event the radio in the large room demanded immediate attention from the Chechens. Sandra or Megan were caught on surveillance or rather that the bodies that they dragged into one holding area were seen to move. One man was very quick and said that the only way for this to happen was if we were invisible.

More guns came out but some pointed to the hostages in the room with them. One of the Moslems was not going to go down without taking some of the hated Russians with him. The machine gun teams on the roof and the rocket teams protecting the perimeter were appraised of this. The two reactor teams didn't respond. The failure to reply caused the most consternation. They were now even more likely to kill all of the people they had captured for it looked like their primary mission had failed.

The hidden girl in the closet could easily be shot by a stray bullet or if she even made herself known. I waited for Sandra and Megan to finish and join me. They were going to do the same thing they did to gain entry into the first reactor building. Megan ran to assist her sister and they cleaned the top floor very quickly. The only consideration now was to try to limit the Russian casualties.