Chapter 10

This was shocking for a young boy but he was pack and he got his thoughts from the rest of us. I said, "No, we better interrogate her while we can."

Tiffany and Nicolas went over to Knox. We watched in case anybody else decided to try to enter or leave. Our guns were hidden and cars even came by. The drivers noticed the iron gates on the ground and I worried even more. My arm hurt like hell but there was little I could do.

We stood guard as the house was searched for people. There were only two at this point. The garage was opened and everybody herded in. There was no electricity so we had no lights.

Tiffany got the pickup truck and we dragged the gates out of view of the road so the portal would just look open. There was still no sirens and I wondered if our luck would hold out. It then occurred to me that the neighbours could not phone the police.

Dina stood guard alone at the front gate. She was not sure of this but would do it for the pack. I was driven back to the house to organise. Bodies were piled up near the crematorium but only the smaller ones. There was one body about seventeen. I had not seen her before and she did not look like security. There were lots more bodies but we didn't have any people able to move them except Brandon.

I saw him come out with tears in his eyes as he brought a body out. Behind him, Tatum and Nicolas used a stretcher to bring another. Nobody was happy about the results. The cost had been too high.

I wasn't the only one hurt. Missy had an arm wound that had shattered the bone. She wasn't doing bad but we kept her on a pallet we had made for her. William and Tiffany had been grazed but both refused to let up.

Knox was dying. Basically, our objective was accomplished. We obtained a lot more information from her mind only because she was unconscious and not fighting us. I found out about a camp set up outside the property where Knox winnowed out the useless from those she could use.

I had to decide what to do. At this point we could leave with all the documents we could find. The new information in Knox mind gave a second choice a lot more weight. It was also far more risky though it would give us a sort of freedom later. We had assumed that the people here would talk to the police and we would be fugitives for the rest of our lives.

I looked through those we had collected. There were five security people and three of them were wounded or otherwise hurt. The house staff had all survived and this represented four people. Three others lived off the property and basically took care of the grounds.

There were three young and one older girl that could only lick cunt. Three more were slated to be shunted into businesses if they proved themselves. Two of the three girls used for sex were here only a little over a week. Three other girls had been transferred to a house that served women clients. It was prostitution but apparently the madam treated the girls better than most.

Four espers were found but one was not likely to make it. Another was wounded and he was being tended to by one of the women in security.

None of the teachers were here. They had been given other jobs and they took them. They had little choice when Knox wanted something. In all I had twenty people here and three more were coming the day after tomorrow.

When I walked into the open garage, everybody stood. I simply went down the line reading the thoughts of everyone. When I got to the less wounded esper, the man of thirty would not drop his shield.

I said simply, "I killed lots of people today. I'll kill you here and now unless you drop your block."

He snarled at me and I was sure he did not believe me. I took out my gun and moved it to my good arm. The block was still up so I lined up on his head and shot him.

I moved to the next esper that had a similar snarl but his shield was down now and he was very anxious to give me anything I wanted. The next two espers were women and they gave no trouble either. The girls were petrified of me and two had peed themselves.

With no more trouble I had the two healthy espers carry the body to the crematorium.

When they came back I said to all of them, "Sheila Knox tried to kill my family. We ran. She found my husband and kidnapped him. I killed a total of eighteen people and Knox is near death.

"I have a few options at this point. I kill all of you and leave scot-free. I know that all of you believe me on this point. Another option is to take over Knox's position. She had you all watched. If you ran you died or were sent to a foreign brothel to live out the remainder of your days. Some lucky ones became stars in some snuff films.

"Some of you are ready to run. Since I read minds, I know just who. I am going to make work details. You will each work as hard as you can to please me. Failure to do so is detrimental to your well being."

I divided up the people and sent them with some of my own to clean up. Some got a hose and a broom and started washing blood from the concrete of the floor.

Tatum had seen me kill the man. She had pled for the man's life. I could not take chances at this critical time. If I did less, I would have untold problems later. To prove my case I showed the mind of the seriously wounded man and the woman. They were crazy and would kill as easy as I did but for their own interests. To loose them on the world would be the greatest of evils. They had found how to make the drug.

Tiffany phoned Ellen to say that everyone had survived. This is how we knew that the lock had been removed from the cell site. Ellen was invited to come in the main gate. Tiffany talked around the topic but said that there was a severe trash problem. It was her way of saying that there were a lot of casualties.

Tiffany then called hydro and complained about coming home to a dark house. The damage to the transformer was insignificant to what had happened in the buildings.

The streetlights came on so either they were on a different circuit or hydro had repaired the breakers. What we had done was sure to trip them.

With the bodies near the crematorium, we attacked the damage to the house. It would take weeks of work just to do the exterior. The interior bullet holes would take at least a week but the electrical system would take months. The damage to the other buildings was at least similar.

An hour after Ellen arrived Knox died. I felt a great relief with her dead but some felt at least a little sadness. Death was not common in our culture and we had to deal with it in wholesale amounts now.

Ellen was appalled at what she had found. Herb was only starting to recover and he felt the same way.

We had our first fight. Kim sided with me because I was fighting for the pack. I had a new total of all the people Knox had killed but somehow that figure didn't matter as much as what we had done.

I tried to be reasonable but I found I had turned into a hard person that had to things no person could do and stay sane.

I said, "Bad people died. There is no way around it."

"One girl was not shooting."

"The bullet went through a wall. The death was an accident."

"But you caused the accident."

I got angry and said, "How the hell could you be a paramedic and a PA? You jump on one death when you see many. How much have you campaigned to get alcohol removed so nobody will drink and drive? How much have you campaigned to make sure nobody speeds? You're a hypocrite."

"You could have called the police."

"What would happen to our country and the world if this secret got out?"

"Nothing?"

"You're irrational and a liar."

The fight went on but mostly it was some post traumatic behaviour.

Ellen stayed out of the fight and just tended to all the wounded. I think she fell in love with the pack that night. It wasn't sex but she felt she had found her place. It had all started when Bobby had cried at what he had to do to save the pack and soon more had joined him.

I put on a false front but I was appalled at what we had done. None of us were that rational and I tried to form some structure so we could survive.

The next day Herb went out and bought four large generators. Ellen was not sure if he was coming back but I was fairly certain he would.

The essential services apart from electricity still worked. The motorhome provided breakfast. There was lots of food that was going to start going bad soon.

Herb came back with his shield up as high as it could go. He didn't want to talk to me or Kim. The pack gave some sympathy. Bobby hugging Herb like he would his father if he knew who he was.

The crematorium was fired up and we threw bodies in as good as the SS had done during WWII.

Knox had a contract for all electrical work and the four women came over to inspect what had happened. The motorhome blocked the driveway so they had to walk to the house. They were not criminals or her lovers, just women that were electricians. Tiffany and Knox' surviving security said that Knox had fled but left orders that the property be repaired as good as knew.

The bullet holes were easy to see and they were not hid. A story was concocted that a team of commandos had attacked the house but were driven off by security. Many of the security people were reported to be in the hospital.

The tradeswomen were not prepared to deal with this type of mayhem. Tiffany read their thoughts and worked hard to shore up their mental structure. Good pay given in cash was a good incentive. They would tie in with hydro to get this all fixed.

The police came when the electricians were here. Tiffany again had to be our spokesmen. The police would like to get to the house but they had no excuse to do so.

The corporal asked, "Do you know who sabotaged your electrical system?" They knew of the phone lines being ripped out and the cell site shut down.

Tiffany tried to act haughty like Knox and said, "Miss Knox was attacked before. It can only be the same people."

"We'd like to talk to Miss Knox."

"She does not wish to talk to you. She fled until the repairs are complete. The best I can do is pass on your request if and when she decides to call me."

"Surely you have some idea where she is?"

"She did not want me to know. People have tried to assault if not kill her and she is not about to invite them to where she is now."

"We would like to see the damage."

"You will not get that without a search warrant. Her lawyers were already appraised of what happened. They will be protecting her rights in her absence."

The cops left with the intention of seeking such a warrant and Tiffany collected the names of who they would have to talk to do this. One of the legal firms Knox dealt with was contacted and told that Knox had been attacked again. Knox would usually demand that they come here so Tiffany demanded this in Knox name. The pending search warrant was mentioned. The name of the probable Justice of the Peace the police would use was stated.

The seriously wounded esper's mind was searched. He was not a good person and never would be. In fact, he was a thoroughly nasty man. The other two were only less so. These two I questioned in depth about what they knew about Knox and her operation. They actually knew quite a bit. I learned that there were three others at large that had the knowledge of how to manufacture the Abicore.

One of them was a younger women that was very submissive to Knox. Knox made sure she was pleased sexually and almost fed from Knox' hand. This was just a way for Knox to have a person she could dominate and would do whatever her mistress wanted. In this case it was to monitor the espers and the new ones being produced.

The espers as a group would tie in with security every once in a while. They came here to pick up the drug so they could continue their search for us. They had intimate knowledge of where Knox had set up her camp. This had to be closed down and everybody concerned with it captured.

We found out why the espers were so good. They had been subject to torture in various forms until they could read minds very well and also erect a block. I was appalled to find that some of them had some talents that were in line with what Brandon could do.

One woman was reported able to fly like Superwoman. Knox did not know of this. They rightly figured she would have the woman killed. Knox' surrogate was developing some sort of shield that would stop bullets some day. So far it only stopped stones thrown at her. The last was a man but he never claimed to do anything special.

The man here that we had captured was named Pete. I said to him, "Show me your ability."

"It's minor and doesn't work very well. When I'm nervous it doesn't work at all."

I said nothing but waited. Nothing happened but I felt a tickle around my block. I read his mind and called Laura. She was the other esper. "What did you see?"

"Pete flickered but I raised my block a bit and he stayed solid."

"Have you known him to completely disappear?"

"Yes, twice. Both times he was drunk and trying to impress me."

I said, "Do it again, Pete. Both of you stay out of my mind while I look."

"Yes, ma'am."

I saw what he did and how. I allowed his commands to reach my brain but not his other thoughts. He had disappeared. The reason I asked instead of just reading is because it was easier to gather data if the person was thinking of what you wanted to find.

Kim came over with crutches and she had witnessed what could be done. She said, "Three people attacked us near Orillia a while ago. What could they do?"

Pete said, "The man could float above the ground. He leans somehow and he can drift the way we walk and run. He could not go fast. He was with Miss Knox longer than any of us and he could see through walls."

Kim said, "Anything else?"

"One of the women could float but not very well. I think she was the one that was the best at forming a shield. She was also the best at tracking. The other woman couldn't do much except project fear. If she did it the right way, you didn't know somebody else was making you afraid."

Kim said, "Go through your mind studying what you know about every person in your group so I have an idea of how they did everything."

The man did as he was asked and Laura had to do the same thing. Joseph was the wounded man and also he gave up any secrets he had. Sometimes searching someone's mind was like looking for facts on the net without a search engine. It all depended how organised a person was. Somebody like Knox was a pleasure to search apart from the cesspit she had where we had a conscience.

Ellen came in with Tiffany and they went immediately to Joseph. They laid hands on the man and concentrated. I could feel them try to heal but Ellen had very little to offer. Ellen asked, "Will you two help us?"

I didn't really mind if Joseph died. I saw him as a person that was someone that could not be reformed. At the same time I wouldn't object to it.

I said, "We can all try." I looked at the three espers and sent them what we knew about healing. This way Joseph could try to heal himself. Tiffany was more of a conductor and she got each of us to do something a bit different so we learned. This is the way we worked in the pack usually.

This seemed to work well because Josephs pain decreased. It tired us out, though. The investigator in me wanted to explore this a bit more. A good way to start would be to heal the pack and then the rest.

We started on Tiffany though she tried to refuse. Kim was next and then I had my turn. For some reason I healed Laura and Pete though they had little wrong with them. I know I felt better after being treated but what repair was done or being done was unknown.

The work details picked up the spent cartridges and the pieces of damaged plaster. Blood was in may places and had to be removed.

All of the electrical equipment that was working was destroyed and some units that were turned off were fried when the high voltage jumped across switches. I ordered temporary refrigerators and freezers be found. The emergency generator was protected and out of the circuit and it was only damaged. If we could get it to work it would be a big help.

The lawyers came and Tiffany laid down the law in Knox' name. Tiffany said that an attack had happened on the house and a lot of damage done. The lawyers suggested insurance. She didn't mind this since most of the public in Canada got screwed for car insurance. The investigators would see the damage done by bullets and this would interest the police.

We worked through Tiffany to pluck what knowledge we could from the two lawyers. They were not honest people but I guess were honest enough for our interests. She had to keep them talking because there was a lot of data to be mined. The lawyers only took care of some segments of Knox' empire and had almost no knowledge of the rest. This is what Knox wanted.

Ideas were formulated in our minds on how to transfer Knox' assets to us or to institutions we controlled. The school was already set up and a good start. The lawyers left to talk to a magistrate about putting a restraining order on the police. This was just the first step because we then had to move up the ladder to more important members of the judiciary. Stopping the search warrant may still be impossible. In any case, the electricians and other people repairing the property would be questioned.

The phone rang many times and we had to take turns managing the empire from the knowledge we had leached from Knox' mind. Knox would not even trust encrypted cell phones and face to face meetings were necessary in some situations. The prostitution of girls was just one such situation. Usually all dealings with crime figures was the same way. Here it was kidnapping, slavery, snuff films, drugs, an ongoing investigation of Colins, and the search for our pack.

I knew this was complicated because we had been going through Knox' data we had on DVD. Managing what she owned was an order of magnitude greater. Knox used her own people for this and she managed them.

Nicolas was called in here because he was the best with numbers. Some of his knowledge was termed abstract but he had a solid grounding in accounting practices. When Nicolas was near we had his knowledge available the same way we shared any data any one of us had gathered. In some cases it wasn't necessary for everybody to store data. In others it was necessary that we could act independently and had to store our own copy.

We now managed assets that had been purchased. This was fairly simple. What Knox had left after we ran was the basic engine for generating this wealth. This engine had to be constantly tinkered with because of unforeseeable changes in the financial markets. In our case we had to alter the focus of some of the businesses and possibly disband some. The operation that produced espers was one needed drastic changes. Ones dealing with prostitution and other criminal activity needed to be destroyed. Slavery would actively sought out so those that bought other people could be exposed.

Herb worked hard to get us up and running. Again Bobby and Joy were nearby to be with him. They couldn't stay with him all the time because they had work to do themselves. His shield never came down. We had to go by what he said and how he said it to find out how he felt. Kim's crying was hard on him and she cried often. She would hold her abdomen at the same time as if cradling a fetus placed there by Herb. Kim wasn't acting and I figured Herbs resolve was crumbling.

The captives looked to Herb as well. He wasn't one of us but had some influence. The boys were afraid of men but would do whatever they could to find some sort of safety.

Knox had felt that three of the girls showed promise in a business sense and I called them over.

I knew their names and history from Knox' mind and from their own. I said mentally, "Please have a seat on the grass with me." The girls took this as an order. "You know I can project my thoughts into your heads. I can also read thoughts and you have all surmised this. There were four groups here. Security and the staff to run the property is easy to understand. The other girls were to please Knox in bed but also do the same for you three. Knox told you she had plans for all of you and this was true. She needed people to run her businesses. These people have to be trained and this is what she was doing. Are there any questions so far?"

Nobody said anything but they did mentally. "My plans for you are the same. You'll work for me instead of Knox. You were also wondering if I'll kill you. My people come first with me. If you are part of this group I'll actively protect each of you. If I was sure of each of you I'd send you off to do what you wanted in life and simply forget you. Even though I can read minds I have no way of knowing when you might someday talk about what happened here."

Amber was the youngest and she said, "Why did you kill all those people? They didn't do anything to you."

I tried to act nonthreatening and said, "You have a lot to learn about Knox. There are some new girls here. Do any of you know what happened to the ones that were here before?"

Nobody spoke because they did not know. "Knox had a lot of businesses. One was an organisation that sent girls to rich women that like girls to lick their pussies. This is prostitution and slavery. One of those girls was rented for a year to a woman in the United States. The other girl went to a home where women rent her services by the hour."

They didn't believe me so I pushed what I learned about this portion of Knox empire into their heads. They saw what Knox saw and experienced the selling of human beings. The girls broke down and cried so I only continued for a bit longer. I made sure they learned how some girls worked in snuff films.

One girl retched at this and was followed by the rest. They had also retched when we took the property.

When they recovered enough I sent them away to clean up the mess and in ten minutes they returned.

"You learned that Knox was not nice and I have to tell you that she killed many more with her experiments. The living failures were killed and disposed of the same way we are doing now. Thankfully, the incidence of brain lesions has been reduced because a good portion of them died of cancer even when they didn't gain telepathy."

Amber said, "I don't want to be here anymore."

"I sympathise with you but you have to stay until we're sure of you."

"I want to go home." She broke down and cried.

We had to wait until she recovered. I knew she would run at the first opportunity. I wanted to allow her to gather some sort of support but the pack was busy.

Sniffer was resting nearby and I called her over. She got up quickly and came to me. I directed her to the girl and the dog sniffed Amber's face and managed to get a few licks in. Amber weakly fought Sniffer until she had to hold the dog. That was enough of an invitation for Sniffer to lay herself down on Amber's lap.

Amber started to relax and then began to pet Sniffer. The dog took the abuse like a pro.