Chapter 161

THE RETREAT

Jeff, Sheriff Tate, Dave and Fred were sitting in the living room, the conversation more or less dominated by Quinton and Fred as they told amusing stories about their careers. Diana, Arlene, Kayla, Nat, Nicki and Whitney entered the room carrying packages.

Jeff turned with a quizzical look.

"New trash cans, Sweetheart," his Queen said with a smile as she and the others put their boxes down.

"What's wrong with the trash cans we have now?" the Prime wondered aloud.

"Not a thing," she answered. "But I saw these advertised on the net, and I thought we would try a few of them," she finished, accepting a box cutter from Nat to slice the sealing tape.

With the boxes open and the trash cans out, the women inserted batteries in the can lids. Diana waved her hand in front of her can, and with a little whirring sound, the lid snapped open and a tiny, green LED light came on for a few seconds before the can closed and the light went off. The can itself was approximately two feet tall, with a body of brushed stainless steel. The black plastic top had a slight arch to it. If trash cans could have elegance, these did.

"We've already put a couple in our bedroom. If we like them, we'll order larger ones for the kitchen, and also some for the suites we frequently use for guests."

The wives placed six trash cans in the big living room, then stacked the empty boxes near the door to be disposed of later. Each wife kissed Jeff before sitting near him.

Tate looked at Jeff and raised an eyebrow. Jeff grinned and teased, "I guess my honeys don't have enough to occupy their minds." After a moment of hesitation, he went on. "But doggonit, I can't throw my trash at the trash can anymore. These have a lid on them."

"Oh, you'll live," Diana said, laughing.

The men chuckled, then Fred and Quinton continued with their stories, their audience now expanded. Eventually, Selina came in to tell Jeff good night, her kitten on her shoulder as usual. As she kissed her Prime on the cheek, Billy jumped to his lap. Hugging Selina, Jeff absently petted the cat.

While they chatted, Billy spied the nearest trash can, immediately realizing it was something he hadn't yet explored. Jumping from Jeff's lap, he bounded over to the nearest can. He sat peering at it for a moment, then checked out each side of the can. He couldn't get behind it because it was backed up against a wall. The surface of the can was polished, not a mirror finish, but rather a brushed, dull surface, understated. He couldn't see his image, but as he sat back on his haunches, he noticed the top.

As everyone there watched, he stood on his back legs, reaching up with his front paws, but he was still too short to reach the lid that had caught his interest. He crouched and launched himself upward. Obviously, he came close enough to activate the sensor, for the lid (looking like a giant mouth to the kitten) opened with its distinctive whirring sound.

Billy, instantly terrified that he was about to be eaten by a true monster, bounced off the can just under the lid and ... disappeared, the disappearance accompanied by a soft "whap" as the air rushed in to fill the void.

"Billy!" Selina screamed.

Jeff was on his feet before she even got the word out, the other three Alphas a half second behind him. "What the crap?" Jeff muttered.

"Oh, my gosh. What happened to him?" Diana blurted, now standing, her worry evident, the others in the room voicing similar concerns.

"He just ... disappeared," Nat managed past tears already starting to flow down her cheeks.

A second later, Jeff and Selina heard a distant "Meeeoooowww," coming from the hallway, the cry laden with anguish.

Jeff bolted for the doorway, Selina only a couple steps behind him, the others scrambling to follow. Fifty feet or so down the hallway, the kitten crouched down, his gaze snapping from side to side as he scanned for the monster that had "attacked" him.

Jeff stopped, allowing Selina to run to her kitten. Billy, his tiny, young mind rattled, turned to escape. She reached down, caught him and raised him to her chest, holding him tightly against her body. "You appear to be uninjured. You are secure," she soothed. "Nothing will hurt you."

Selina turned and started back toward Jeff, everyone from the living room now standing in the hall. Jeff put a hand on her shoulder as they returned to the living room, Billy beginning to hiss and struggle.

Selina, peering down at her kitten, whispered, "It is alright, Billy. You are safe."

As she sat in a chair, hugging her kitten, Diana handed her an afghan (one of many that the women kept in the living room.) "Cover him up while you continue to snuggle with him," she advised.

"That kitten just ... disappeared," Quinton said as he, with all the rest, had gathered around the six-year-old and her kitten. Selina covered Billy with the afghan, snuggling him closely to her. She unconsciously rocked while holding the tiny feline against her chest, tears trickling down her cheeks.

Diana slid into the seat with the child, pulling Selina into her arms. Nicki squatted by them, gently dabbing at Selina's cheeks with a tissue, the other females crowding around.

Everyone eventually returned to their seats, saying little as they continued to watch Selina.

"I was almost certain he was dead," she said, her voice breaking as she unsuccessfully tried to choke back sobs.

A deep frown on his face, the Prime said, "I guess we now know how he got out of your suite."

"Like the Ship," Kayla said as she moved to kneel next to Selina's chair, reaching a hand under the afghan to pet Billy.

"Not exactly," Jeff returned. "The Ship translates, using the dimensions to move from one place to another. I... think Billy teleported. I can't imagine a kitten understanding enough about the dimensions to be able to translate. Of course, I'm just guessing, though. We were all watching him. He certainly didn't run away; he just wasn't there anymore. Obviously, he doesn't understand what happened. He was still terrified when we got to the hallway."

Selina's sobs subsided as her genius took over, "Precisely six seconds had transpired prior to our entering the hallway and observing him."

"How in the heck do you keep a teleporting cat from leaving Selina's suite? Or keep him anywhere?" Dave asked, the question obviously rhetorical, because no one there had the slightest idea how to do it.

"Good question," Diana agreed, summing up everyone's thoughts.

Raising the afghan a little, Selina looked under it at her kitten. Looking back at her, his eyes seeming even larger than normal, Billy let out a more relaxed, "Meow."

"He actually did teleport, did he not?" Selina asked everyone without taking her eyes off her kitten.

"Evie is never going to believe this, and I know she'll be pi... , uh, displeased that she missed it," Dave said.

"What shall I do?" Selina asked Jeff as Billy crawled from under the afghan, turning to look toward the trash can.

Jeff cleared his throat trying to stall as he searched for a logical answer. "I don't have the answer to that, Baby. Maybe just try to keep him from being scared. He obviously teleported this time, or whatever he did, because he was badly frightened by the trash can, or at least its lid. Perhaps he was frightened when he so mysteriously escaped your suite, or maybe he just wanted out badly enough."

He shifted in his chair to reach over and hold the little genius's hand. "Sweetheart, we need to keep this from everyone other than the Alphas and their women. Okay?"

"But he teleported," Selina said, trying to keep the whine out of her voice. "He is the only cat in existence with the ability to teleport."

"If you tell people, they'll probably think you're playing — pretending. Remember, they'll think you're just an average little girl — and that would be good if they did. It would be a far worse thing if people actually believed you, as they eventually will, given your intellect. But as soon as word got out there was a cat that could teleport, there would be droves of people up here, probably led by the news media. Eventually the government would hear about it and send out investigators. Investigators from an agency we've probably never heard of. They would want Billy, badly. We would have to leave here and go into hiding — and that would be the best scenario under those circumstances. We could never be seen in public again."

"Oh," Selina quietly said. "I ... should have envisioned that. I ... apologize."

"No problem, Sweetie. Just remember to never mention it to anyone outside our family."

Selina's expression took on an adult edge. "I shall never discuss this with anyone outside the family. My kitten is far too valuable to ever risk his life."

"Maybe we should get rid of the trash cans," Diana offered. "I just bought them because they looked nice and were unique."

But Selina was shaking her head. "If the trash can had not provoked this response, then something else would have elicited it. Billy possesses far too much curiosity.

"Says the pot to the kettle," Diana said with a chuckle.

Selina stuck her tongue out at Diana, and they both laughed, the tension beginning to dissipate.

Jeff stared at the kitten as Selina continued to snuggle him against her chest. He noted that Billy frequently glanced toward the trash can. This is because of Little One. I would just about bet on it, the Prime thought. Something about the enhancement triggered this. Is this an ability that has been lost, or as Little One thinks about some of my awakening abilities, is it something that has atrophied or lain dormant over time to awaken after his enhancement? Shifting his thoughts slightly, "We need to talk about this, Baby."

{{{ Yes, my Prime, }}} Little One responded.

Later in the bedroom, Jeff lay with Diana snuggled on one shoulder and Arlene on the other. All his other women were deeply asleep, exhausted from their love play and orgasms. The three kissed from time to time, telling each other how much they loved the other. Finally, Diana asked what Jeff had been expecting her to ask. "What did Little One say about Billy?"

Jeff let out a soft sigh as he hugged the two women to him. "She says there are, or at least were at some point in time, several races who could teleport short distances. Apparently not every individual among those races had the talent, but a few did. They were usually held in high esteem and thought to be special, she thinks. She, of course, has no direct knowledge about this, just scant information from her database of incidental knowledge. She says there have been assassins who have reportedly had this ability, also."

"But he could hurt himself doing this, couldn't he?" Arlene injected. "Materialize inside a wall, or something."

"Or go out in the snow and not remember how to get back," Diana added. "That's where we found him to start with. Do you suppose?"

Jeff squeezed her for a second, her breasts pushing nicely against his side. "Let's not let our imaginations go too far afield. Remember the thing about not looking for zebras when you hear hoofbeats? Chances are he was just thrown out to get rid of him. No teleporting or anything like that.

"It's reasonable to think that Little One triggered something when she enhanced him. She says that she only corrected the things that were wrong with him, and optimized his cells for perfect reproduction, among other similar things. Basically what she did to us. She says his mind will function far better, just as ours now do, and his body and brain, again like ours, will continue to improve. Perhaps cats could at one time do that, or at least some of them could. It would be one heck of an advantage to a carnivore. I suspect it's a recessive trait that Little One has somehow stimulated."

The Queen laid her head on her Prime's shoulder, her face only inches from his. "I just hope nothing happens to Billy. I'd cry for a month if it did."

Arlene wiggled against Jeff's side a little. "Helen lets Selina bring Billy to class unless we're doing something in the lab. For the first few days, he tried to get us to play with him, but after a time he seemed to understand that we weren't going to play in the classroom. Now, he generally plays with his toys or sleeps."

"I've kept him several times when Selina couldn't take him to class with her, but I can't keep him every time. Most of my lab work doesn't involve anything that would hurt him, but there are certainly other things in the lab that could hurt a curious kitten," the Prime said.

"Maybe we need to have a family meeting," Diana interjected. "We generally know what each of us is doing, but perhaps we need to factor in a ... caretaker for Billy until we manage to understand how to limit his, uh ... teleporting. I know that Helen has detailed lesson plans, so we could use them to get a general idea when Selina can't take care of him. Since I'm taking my classes on-line, I can generally keep him if something comes up suddenly for someone else."

But the Prime was shaking his head. "Okay for now, but we need to solve this somehow. We can't commit the family to cat-watching every minute of the day, at least for an extended period of time. It isn't fair to whoever gets the job at that time, or even to Billy. Cats are curious, and this little guy is probably way beyond the average kitten in intelligence. Exploring and curiosity are normal parts of being a kitten, or a cat, for that matter. He needs to be free to do those things as he grows."

There was a pause as each was involved in his or her own thoughts, then, "Little One isn't familiar with cats. Heck, the only humans she's associated with are us. Although we're similar to the race she's ... programmed for, we're different in many ways. Not the least of which is that her race was or is telepathic. I don't even know if they continue to exist. But at least her builders allowed her the ability to reprogram herself, and because she was designed to be a Prime's Healer, she has the ability to reconfigure and expand her abilities. The ship gave her the ability to tap power from the dimensions, so she's far more capable now than when I first used her on you two, or Helen, but still, we struggle to communicate."

The Prime was quiet for a moment, then went on, "I need access to the Ship."

Jeff urged Diana to her back as Arlene took her weight off his shoulder. As he pressed his lips to his Queen's, Arlene moved to the other side of her mother. After gently stroking her hand over her mother's breasts, Arlene took a turgid nipple in her mouth. Sucking lightly, she flicked her tongue across the bud as she gradually increased the suction. Diana groaned into Jeff's mouth, their tongues teasing each other as Arlene began to drink her mother's pheromone-laden milk.