Chapter 29

I learned that we would be staying at a lodge instead of roughing it in our tents. There were guides, boats and basically everything we needed. Fishing tackle was a hit or miss thing and we had to get them ourselves. There was a list of what worked best for Spring Steelhead.

"Pop you and Paul should make a day of going shopping, sort of a father and son thing."

"You're my son too in a way."

"I'll just go in and buy what I need and leave. The guys can come with me. You can shop and compare with Paul. Mostly it will be talk and that is what is important."

"I think so too. I better see if I can get off early tomorrow and get to the stores in time."

Toward bedtime I asked Connie, "What do you want to put into storage and what can you use here besides the bed?"

"My furniture is good but so is yours. The only thing I might want to keep with me are my books, my computer, my files and my keepsakes."

"Did you have much of a practice?"

"There were only a few until I got the chance to come to our school. Others took in my patients so I could come."

It occurred to me then that the Doc was not the only one that could be a Counsellor like Diana Troy. So far we had no problems with sanity except when some had to pinch themselves to see that they were not dreaming. It did give me a nice feeling that Connie could work with us and I could still watch out for her.

I said, "I hope you gained on your choice?"

She gave me a big hug and said, "I think I did very well."

Wednesday was similar to yesterday. I painted in the morning and then got my family up. They were not too grouchy because they got enough sleep last night. Connie learned that the guys would not show up at her condo because we would be shopping. She put on a pout but smiled anyway. "I'll miss you."

During recess Betts came to see me and Wendy came to see Chuck. It looked like Rebecca and Silvia were being weaned slowly.

Betts said, "Rebecca and Silvia were talking about the gun battle in the apartment they were in. They were very excited at the time and thought that they were going to die. They never saw you. They told me that your voice is similar but they cannot swear to that."

"If that is as far as they can go then the police cannot do much."

Wendy said, "Do you guys know that a van is parked across the field with some people concentrating on us?"

I had not bothered to look usually and saw that I had failed. "I didn't. That was good of you to spot them Wendy."

"We can't be perfect all the time. I guess they are pissed that we are not talking about what Betts just mentioned."

Chuck said, "Was it planned that way?"

Wendy said, "I think so. Rebecca and Silvia are told to say the story in detail and hope to catch us napping."

I said, "They caught me napping. It was lucky we can talk this way or they may have some evidence to pull me in for more questioning."

Chuck said, "They questioned my family a lot about you and me too. My family was even more worried when the questioning led to Caputo's death. I thought they were going to try to keep us apart."

"They can still try that as a way of putting pressure on."

We had our time at karate and separated. Gail dropped us off at a sporting goods store and left for Connie's condo. We were lucky and found somebody that could help us that knew about fishing Steelhead.

The guys along with Greg and Lasha went through the store. All of them were paid now and could use their own money. They spent lots of it on equipment. Chuck did the negotiating and we got a discount on all our purchases if we spent a minimum amount. The people helped us cut away the plastic packaging and put the lures, hooks, sinkers and all the other things in the four new tackle boxes. We bought a fishing rod and reel each and were given points on their use. After that came a caps, knives and waterproof maps of the area.

We came home in a cab and displayed our wares to the girls. They were polite but really not interested. Paul was though and he was itching for Pop to get here so he could go.

Things did not change much until the next night when the male members of our expedition gathered to compare notes and talk. Jerry's father drank too much but he was an adult and there was little we could do. Our tackle boxes were too large I found out and we were taking too much with us. We needed smaller boxes.

A light drizzle was predicted for the area and since it was in the north, we had to dress warm and wear something to shed the rain. I did a lot more thinking on the subject of fishing and saw that there was a good chance that we would be sitting in a cold wet boat being miserable. I decided to add some plastic sheeting and garbage bags to my list to take along.

We found out that the girls were going to Montreal for the weekend. Flights were cheap. They would shop, relax at a spa and come back Sunday night. They were going to stretch their vacation as well by leaving Friday night just after karate just like we were.

Gail was going to get the old bus checked out for us. I gave her $5,000 holiday pay and she bitched. I gave the same thing to my girls and Connie bitched. She made sure she gave me something back for it when we went to bed that night.

I put the finishing touches on my class seven med unit because I wanted to take that with us. Every tackle box should have one.

School was slow on Friday. We all were waiting for our respective vacations. We had moved everything that Connie needed to our home and she should have come to karate with us but Monday would do. Betts gave the Augusto girls some money to go out and enjoy themselves. It was Betts money and her business.

We stopped just long enough to buy smaller tackle boxes, a good compass and a loud whistle. We may not need the whistles but the adults should have them too. Rain hats and ponchos that looked military would make us feel that we were on manoeuvres.

I spent the time after getting home making love to my mates. Two days was nothing but it was a good excuse. We had a quick meal and moved everything into the bus. There were four adults and seven kids so there was lots of room.

Paul was on pins and needles waiting to go. Sam's dad drove up with the other two fathers in the car. We helped them stow their equipment. They had lots too. Pop came home with a passenger. The Doc got out of Pop's car but hung back. Pop was the one that said, "Wally, the Doc found out about our trip and asked to come. Is it alright with you?"

"I'll tell you in a minute." I turned to the Doc and said, "Hi Doc."

"Hi Wally. I hope I am not upsetting your plans."

"That depends. Are you here as a family friend or are you here to make a report about what you hear or see?"

Pop said, "Wally! That was uncalled for. Doctor Suffolk would not do such a thing."

The Doc said, "That was a very valid question. The answer is that I came to find out about you for my own purposes and for nobody else."

"If my head is going to be shrunk for free then I guess you can come."

"Thanks Wally."

We transferred the additional cargo then the women were kissed soundly. Connie had to be content with what she got earlier. With some additional supplies of emergency food, we were on our way.

We were headed for a small community on the south shore of Lake Nipissing. We talked a lot and I made sure the Doc had his chance to talk and not just listen. I found out that he had no children because of a medical condition. This was one of the reasons I was sure he wanted to come.

Lasha remembered almost nothing about the country of his birth but he told us what he knew and what he had heard. He told us a bit about his family life but now he told the three fathers too. He did not go into details but still became upset. Greg pulled him to one side and just held him. No words were spoken aloud but some of us heard a lot.

To lighten the conversation the Doc talked about his meagre times spent fishing. The adults talked about the subject too even though he was the one driving. After a few hours he came to the back and Sam's father took a turn.

Pop was surprised and very pleased when Paul claimed a place on his lap. There were lots of seats and some of them were quite luxurious. As the talk quieted down Paul went to sleep no doubt lulled by the motion of the vehicle. Pop would not trade his place for the world now. Even the Doc smiled.

I sat in the co-pilot's chair and gave directions to reach the camp. The road was not what I expected because it was all paved. There was room for an extra cot so the Doc got to sleep with the adults and we had our own room. If Paul had not awoken I was sure the man would have put him to bed.

When we got settled in I said, "Hello Ladies, how are you doing?"

Betts said, "You startled me. We were just having a shower."

"Were you cleaning those special places for me?"

"Actually no. Connie is doing that for you."

"And I was hoping to be able to sleep on my stomach part of the night."

"We are no different except we are not afraid to rough it a bit."

"Roughing it at a five star hotel?"

"You know what I mean. Now you better be quiet. She is getting really worked up. Your other mate is using a large tool on Connie."

"I'll leave you now. Give my love to the other two but you still have to get up early."

"You have your fishing in the rain and cold while Mom is going to get a stretched limo to take us to some of the nicer spots in the city."

"Our limos float; and good night. I love you, all of you."

"We know and we love you too."

Sleep took a while. I was not used to going to bed alone and undrained.

The next morning came early. I still woke up first and then got the others up. Lasha and Paul wanted to hide under their pillows until they got more sleep. I pulled down Lasha's pajama bottoms and gave him a quick playful slap. He jumped up quickly and Paul got out of bed holding to his pajama bottoms with two hands.

We got changed into warm clothing because there was a wind on the lake and it was cold. We marched out of our room in time to see the Doc coming out.

"Mornin' Doc. Y'all ready to chow down?"

"I think I am. This air makes me hungry."

I led the way to the restaurant and said verbally so the Doc would know, "We are going out on the lake. We will stop around noon on the shore to have a small meal and then back to fishing. The noon meal will probably be fish. You don't catch any and you starve. Some of us though could loose a few pounds but I won't mention names."

The Doc said, "You are a cruel and heartless young man. I still feel that you would fit in as a lawyer and then a politician. I take that back, you may have some ethics after all."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Doc but I have to go into politics too. I have the mentality for it but probably not the stomach. And speaking of the latter we better eat and eat a lot."

Our breakfasts were being served when the other four came out. They saw our meals and ordered similarly. The guides came by and separated us into two groups. Dad bought fishing licences, and the guides checked our equipment. They gave some rules and we went to the boats. They were like The Beagle. They were made of sheet metal but theirs was eleven gage.

The boats in my opinion were overloaded with people but not by weight. "Pop was there something in the brochure on the net about the number of people per boat?"

"I think so."

"We have too many and were are going to get in each other's way. How about getting another boat and split up our group a bit better?"

The head guide said, "The other boats are already in use. All we have is the aluminum job over there."

I said, "Let us rent that boat. The Doc becomes the pilot and he and I follow you."

"You are supposed to have another guide."

"Then where is he?"

"They are already out."

"Then lead us and we will be only fifty metres behind you."

"You could get lost."

"Are you just looking for more money? I just said we will be fifty metres behind you."

"I'll see if it's ready."

"Thanks."

The Doc said, "How do you know I can drive that boat?"

"If you do not know then I will teach you."

"Do you know how to do it?"

"No."

"Good, just checking."

We finally got under way. All the safety equipment was put onboard and the motor started for us. Chuck and Sam went with their fathers and Lasha. Pop and Paul went with Jerry, his dad and Greg. Our smaller boat took more of the packs and just the Doc and I.

We came to a river coming into the lake and spread out and dropped anchor. I could look through the water to see the fish but I had to focus on a specific distance. Looking through water was harder than air and walls. I caught one of the first fish and put it on a stringer.

"Doc, more to your left and down another twenty metres."

"Are you swami sing?"

"Of course. I am a mystical mystic."

Two minutes later the Doc had a strike and was as excited as a kid to pull it in. He put his on the stringer and said, "Ha, mine is bigger than yours."

"How juvenile of you especially when I am going to get the whale circling under our boat waiting to swallow both of us and the boat."

"You sound like Captain Ahab not Captain Kiefer."

"I don't even have an ivory leg."

I pulled a small one in and let it go. "That was for practice."

"I figured that."

There was a lot of hooting and hollering when Paul caught his first fish. Everybody including the guides were smiling at the boy's antics.

We all caught something by the time we made camp. There was even an outhouse with a heavy box for toilet paper. We were lucky and the wind was even in the right direction.

The fish tasted out of this world. The guides brought all the fixings and they certainly knew how to cook. We went out to fish once again but I kept letting my fish go. There was a big Musky and I planned on landing it. Near the time to go back I had the monster hit my lure.

"Doc, get out your harpoon. When it comes up to breach plunge one into its back and hold onto the rope tightly."

"But Captain Ahab, we're out of harpoons."

I fought the fish for twenty minutes until it broke the surface. Everybody knew I had something big but didn't know it was this big. I was getting tired but didn't even think of letting Doc take over. The Aristis would never do that.

Fifteen more minutes and the fish was near the Doc. We had no net and I told him to not even think of putting his hand into the mouth or gill. One of the other guides paddled his boat close and used a gaff to pull the fish into his boat. The Musky gave one valiant struggle and its tail slapped Paul's face twice. We even managed to get a few pictures of that event or just before.

We went back to the resort in high spirits. The guys were all kidding Paul about the slapping but the noise of the outboards were too loud for this to be done verbally.

We were starving when we got back. The tackle was put away and the guides cleaned the fish but not the Musky. It was measured three ways and then weighted. It looked like we had a new record or at least for this lake. The fish was photographed with me and it was a lot longer than I was tall. I made sure all of us were in some of the pictures.

The owner of the resort came and offered a hundred dollars for the fish. I bargained him up to double that and he pulled out his wallet. He counted out the money and presented it to me.

"Please, donate the money to a wildlife charity in my name."

"That is a lot of money but I'll do it the way you want."

When we finished eating we had a shower and went to bed. My stomach was bloated but it was still enjoyable.

The guys were more eager to get up Sunday morning. We were going to fish until noon and leave for home. The adults had been drinking last night and were not as cheerful. They did eat and we went out once again.

We did not go to the same place this time. It was closer to the resort but further out in the lake. We started catching large Steelheads. We got our limit and started to let them go.

The Doc stood to get his rod around the anchor rope when he fell. His hand went for the gunnel but missed. His face hit the metal edge of the boat. His rod and reel fell into the lake and he collapsed into the boat.

The lake was turbulent and we had not noticed it because the fishing was so good. Our anchor was a paint can filled with cement. It had come off the bottom and we were drifting away from the rest.

If I called the guys then there would be witnesses and if I stayed, I could use the med unit to help the Doc. I chose the later and opened my pack. The med unit came out and I directed it to the Doc. He was put out to make sure he did not awake when he might see what was happening.

The outboard motor was studied as I listened to the responses from Hal. Much of the damage would heal soon. On a whim I had the unit scan the man's body. I was getting some disturbing readings until I came to the Doc's intestines. There was a serious growth there and it took seconds to know that it was cancer.

I had debated this many times but let my heart overrule my brain. I directed the unit to kill the cancer. It then had to go through the man's body and kill twenty seven smaller cancers.

I started the motor and headed back as I warned the guys of the wind. We were the slowest boat. Pop was worried and asked what happened. I yelled, "He fell."

The med unit was back in my pack by the time we came to the dock. The men grabbed the Doc and took him to his room. Chuck brought the med kit we had made up for our casualties. The men let me get into position and I cleaned the bloody face he could use a suture or two but I had purposely kept the med unit from healing too much.

The Doc woke up later and felt his face. He mumbled, "Am I still beautiful."

Paul said, "You are pretty... pretty ugly. The cut lip helps some."

I said, "You will live but you need a couple of sutures. I'd do it myself but you would get angry at me steeping on the toes of your fellow tradesmen."

"Help me up. I want to see your handiwork."

He looked in the mirror and said, "Irene will be pleased that I will not be frightening children."

We settled up the accounts and I gave a good tip to the guides. A half hour on the road and the Doc had to use the toilet. He was shitting blood and I saw that he was very worried. He came out much later and said, "Could we hurry please. I feel sick. Don't do anything dangerous though."

I brought my pack near the doc and activated the unit inside it. I was not sure but there would not be any new bleeding but there was still more blood in his bowels. I used the med unit to calm him and it seemed to work. An hour and a half later I helped him to the washroom again.

Pop said, "Do you think it is serious?"

"The doc thinks it is but it isn't."

"How... ?" he said then didn't say anymore.

We dropped the doc off at his hospital and we helped him in. He was still dressed in his back woods outfit. He was a little disoriented so I said to the nurse at the emergency, "This is Doctor Rod Suffolk. He hurt his face in a fall and now has intestinal bleeding."

The nurse looked closely then called to have the man get examined right away. The woman looked for people to fill out the forms but the adults were far to the other side of the waiting room. I filled out the data with a little help from Hal.

I called Irene on my communicator. "Hello."

"Hello Mrs Suffolk. I'm the guy drawing a nude of you."

"Hi Wally. I heard you and that runaway husband of mine went fishing."

"We sure did. I caught some nice fish. The Doc slipped in the boat and cut his lip. He also had some intestinal bleeding. We just got him admitted to his hospital."

"How bad is he hurt?" she almost screamed."

"I have a good feeling about this, not bad. I volunteered to put two sutures in but he wants to protect his trade."

"What do you mean about a good feeling?"

"Just that. I do not see any danger to your husband."

"I want to talk to him."

"He is being admitted. Come on down if you want but don't race. I'll wait for you."

"I'm coming now."

"I said, don't race. I do not want to go to your funeral either." She said nothing and just hung up.

I said to Pop, "They contacted Irene. I'm going to wait here for her. You guys may as well go home. I get there by cab later."

Chuck said, "You want us to pick you up?"

"Too dangerous. I don't want the ship seen."

"Ok, how is the Doc?"

"He will make a full recovery. He had something wrong with his intestines and the med unit fixed it."

"That's good to hear."

The guys left and twenty minutes later Irene rushed in. I waved and she came to me. "Did you hear anything?"

"Not yet."

"They are probably sticking a telescope up his butt."

She didn't reply. I got her to sit but she was too worried to do much even talk. It was another twenty minutes that I got her to listen to me when I talked about our trip.

I would not tell her about the accident until I told her everything else first, by then she was relaxed. When I finished she was still quiet. I said, "Was it cancer?"

She looked at me suddenly. "How did you know?"

"Relax Mrs Suffolk. Look at the evidence and see if I could draw this inference."

"I guess you're right."

"Don't worry, he'll be alright."

"He'll never be alright. He's dying. Do you hear me? He is dying of it. There was too much and they could not get it all out." She started to cry then and bawled. I held her from the chair beside her until she calmed down a few minutes later.

Irene said, "I'm sorry, Wally. It is just the stress we have been under."

"It's ok, I would be the same way."

Before she could reply, the nurse came over to me and then looked at Irene. "Are you Mrs Suffolk."

"Yes."

"Your husband wants to talk to you."

Irene wanted to hurry the nurse. I had to guess that she thought that her husband was on his death bed. I followed right behind and tried to stay out of sight of the nurse as much as possible.

Irene raced to the bed and grabbed her husband's hand. "How are you Rod?"

"I don't feel good but something is wrong. Some of the tumour is coming out and the cancer cells are dead. They used a scope and found what looks like healthy tissue where it was."

"Thank God. I thought your time had come."

"I did too. They are going to keep me in here for a few days to run more tests to be sure. The funny thing is I have no idea of how this could have happened. I was dying yesterday and now it looks like I got a reprieve."

"Wally said you were going to get better."

"How did he know?"

"Ask him yourself."

I came from behind Irene and looked at the Doc. He asked quietly, "How did you know?"

"I do not want researchers chasing me. I do not want to be a lab rat. It is just that some visions come to me when I least expect them."

"You mean you can tell the future?"

"The answer is yes but only a snapshot with a fuzzy camera when something triggers the shutter. If any of you two tell anybody or bug me about this and we will not be friends again. This I swear."

"It looks like the cancer died. How did that happen?"

"I am the Swammi; not a healer. You are better able to find out what happened than me."

"But..."

"But you want answers and I can't give them to you?"

"Yes, I guess that's it."

"What did you feel about me?"

"I felt that your cancer is dead. I felt that your distraught wife was going to kill herself racing here so my brain not my heart asked her to be careful."

Irene said, "That answers my question. So Rod is not going to die?"

"We are all going to die but his time is not yet."

"Thank God. I was so worried."

"Then you are relieved now. Remember, we are friends but friends can turn enemies with the wrong words. Do not mention anything that happened with my name and do not bother me with questions."

The doc said, "I will abide by your stipulations but I still want to find out about you."

"If it's done in a friendly manner with dialogue going both ways then we may talk. Go too fast and we will not be friends."

"That is understandable, Wally."

"Good, then I have to get home. There's school tomorrow."

Irene said, "I'll drive you, Wally."

"Hold the Doc's hand for a while and then go home and get some sleep. You have work to do too. Somebody we know, gets a vacation while we get to work."

The gang were talking to me all the time. I said that the Doc was alright and I was coming home now. A cab dropped me off. I had a quick shower and got into bed with my mates. For a wonder we only cuddled then went to sleep.

The adults talked to me in the morning and I told them that the Doc looked good. That seemed to be enough. Nadac informed me and I said to Gail, "There is another shipment coming. They have your number but I don't know when it is to be delivered."

"That... thing you're building looks big Wally. I saw the metal and it was formed beautifully. It had to cost a lot of money to make."

"I negotiate for the cost but I can afford it and still have lots left over for my education."

"I was just wondering. You spend a lot of money."

Gail drove us to school and left to have our tanks drained and flushed. The girls, and not just mine, gave away small gifts to their friends and even to those who were not their friends. Some people could just not mix even if they had good intentions.

Gail picked us up after school and Connie got in her car to go to the dojo. Gail was the one who took Connie in hand and got her dressed. Ten minutes later I saw that the sensei wanted to see the two women kick. It took only a second to see that Connie still had panties and bra on. Gail of course had none. I felt that if Rebecca and Silvia were not here then she might dress like Gail.

Connie had some previous training but it was not as much as we had now. She made a good opponent for Gail because of her size and weight. Seeing two good looking women going at it stirred my blood too. I hit Chuck above the eye easily because he too thought the sight was too interesting.

We went to work in the garage. The large hollow aluminium frames had arrived. They were rectangular though in this version, we would get away from what the artists on Star Trek thought as proper. The sections were five metres wide and two high. They would contain the crystals and the substrate that joined them.

The frames would produce a class four shield that was suitable to hide from the radar used on earth. Grav-repellers were an integral component. These units would provide the structural integrity of the shuttle the way a skeleton did this for a human body.

Aluminium pipe plugs were around the sides of all the frames. There were rectangular openings in the frames to place the longitudinal members in place. All of these had to be welded. This was where I would mount the crystals and adjust them from when necessary. The sealed environment meant that we could take a vacuum. The frames would supply all that was needed to keep the substrate alive.

The base of the shuttle was much more massive as it contained the accumulators, and recycle units needed for extended trips into space. Our shield was good at diverting energetic particles but some of the more lively ones still came through. The ship was not really suitable for extended stays in space because of radiation damage to the human occupants. To get the necessary protection required much more power and a much stronger shield.

The keel of the ship was not aimed at the door because we would have difficulty working on both ends and getting around the shuttle. It was built along the length of the garage. When it was operational even Erin could turn it to be aimed out the double door.

Connie had to have a shower then she came out to help. The frames were placed almost sixty centimetres apart. The pieces almost snapped together and were tacked into place. Alignment needn't be perfect but it bothered me aesthetically. We worked until supper time then we separated to different chores. Most went back to the garage. Some had to get in a few more hours of flight training. Sometimes there were just too many people underfoot.

The jobs facing me were mounting. I worked on the painting for a few hours. I was down to using a brush with only one hair. Even then I used my PK to shape the flow of paint. I had to be careful here because others would try to copy my technique and had to be able to do it.

The grain of sand was abandoned for the moment as I worked on the broadcast units that would supply power. This was the one of the dozen units I wanted to place around Toronto. As time went on more units would spread out as they did on an Aristis or any civilised world.