Chapter 8

The remainder of the pack pulled out of Montreal slowly and travelled to our nation's capital. The students had to stay until we made arrangements for their lodging.

Ottawa was one of the most beautiful cities in Canada. It was actually rated one of the best cities in the world to live. It was not as glamourous as some but it was safer. We were going to make it even better.

We met Nicolas. He had his block up but wore a smile so I knew we were in for a surprise. He said, "You are going to love the city. Warm now and cold in the winter but always nice."

I did not want to intrude on his secret so I just said, "I suppose they have lots of things here to keep you interested?"

He wanted me to ask so I said, "What did you find?"

"Israeli Intelligence already had all the spies marked and all I had to do was grab the file. I didn't believe what I read so we went around and checked ourselves. The Russians have spies people can see and others that look inept are actually good at gathering intelligence.

"The CSIS has some files set up as a blind like we do and since it is hard to get at, everybody that gets in thinks it's the truth. The Americans have done the same thing."

I said, "There's more Nicolas."

Nicolas was a little hesitant then said, "I worked through some people from the Australian Embassy and got us accepted into Gatineau Club. The wives of most of the ambassadors go there to swap gossip."

"You have your block up Nicolas. Tell me about this."

His block stayed in place. "I met some of the people in External Affairs and then passed myself off as an undersecretary. I mentioned our philanthropic arm and got you invited. I figure this is a good chance to hobnob while you are searching out dirt."

He paused and I could see that he was worried. "Did you think alumnae or alumni?"

Nicolas dropped his block slower than usual and I looked at the data he put there for me to see. The total cost was going to be higher than Nicolas mentioned but it was not coming out of our pockets. Thanks to the Columbians, we would even save on our taxes.

The school was in need of extensive repairs. There were only 632 students in residence and another hundred on work assignments. Sixty full and part-time staff were here. There were thirty five full-time faculty when there should be more. Many were old and ready to retire and Nicolas saw them as worn out or possibly not inspired. I had to consider pensions. A handful of students worked at the school for a few hours a week but not many. The library was the most out of date and we needed somebody to manage this a lot better. Computers were what popped into my mind.

The school had some business courses, language studies as well as a fair program in Political Science. There was a poor sports program. The students that the school attracted were far from the best. The private school catered to foreign students in two ways. It was a university but also a school to bring up their foreign students' academic standings. Some of those coming from some countries were the equivalent of our students in grade six. Apex upgraded their language skills and prepared them for entry into a more prestigious university or their own.

Almost half of the students did not speak English very well and they were taught their courses by multilingual professors that were also teaching them our language.

Many of the courses stressed the woman's place in their respective countries and I was happy to see that the school was trying to elevate that position a bit at a time and prepare the student for the conflict she would have at home.

There was something else hidden in Nicolas' mind but I did not dig. "What's it that you're hiding?"

Nicolas smiled and this block disappeared quickly. He had found a nice home out of town on a hundred and seven hectares of land. It was nice but much too small.

There was also a large apartment building that was being presently converted to luxury condos. Nicolas had found the building being gutted with a small crew and sensed that the owner was in trouble. Upon investigation he saw that this was the case. Nicolas pushed the illusion that he was much older and offered the three brothers that owned the building a fair price. At the moment they were ready to accept it but it was not ours yet.

The construction would not normally be complete for another seven months but we could hurry it up with the infusion of more money. If we got the condos, it would be because of the giving natures of the jolly Columbian drug lords Nicolas found.

"Not bad for a young man with magic fingers." Nicolas blushed and smiled.

We settled in a hotel again because the house on the farm was undergoing extensive around the clock renovations.

Apex University was not that far out of town and we visited it. There was a security gate that we had to go through that was part of the reason some parents sent their daughters here. There was a tall fence around the buildings to keep young men from slipping in or young ladies slipping out. The buildings were of cut stone and looked good. The majority of the students stayed all year round and they were presently in classes. We saw some and one was quite young.

There were three residential areas. One group was for the faculty and staff. The other two were connected with walkways with a small central park common to all four units. All but a very few of the 632 residents lived here and there was room for a total of 1800. The school was certainly underused.

Nicolas said, "An influential and I might add, rich, eastern diplomat found out that his lovely daughter liked to spend her time between one of her female professor's legs. When he came to check on it personally, he found that the students could actually meet young men without too much difficulty. This apparently was what really affected him. He pulled his daughter and then so did many other ultra conservative diplomats."

Nicolas added, "Our own female students could go to the university to swell the ranks until we make it coed. Alternately, we could form a new campus so we can use the school name. The students slated to join the pack and those in the pack do what we do best and use our minds to dream up new ideas or devices. When we start selling patents for the things we develop then more students will come."

I asked, "What do you know about the Political Sciences Department?"

We settled into the hotel but only after visiting the farm. The house was big but small compared to what we had become used to. Bobby saw the farm equipment that came with the farm and now wanted to become a gentleman farmer. I was not going to dissuade him because he was a very determined young man. The pack thought of horses and they all wanted to be cowboys except some wanted to be cowgirls.

It looked like we would have to stay in the hotel at least a week. The pack was set free to be tourists and to sniff out both kinds of prey. Runaways for the school were easier to find and so were low level criminals. This time we were going to expand our search for young adults.

Three days after we arrived, Herb, Ellen, Nicolas and I met Dean Addams. She was a large woman. Nicolas had grown a lot and so had I but we still used pseudonyms and illusions.

"Welcome, welcome. Please have a seat."

Herb appeared just as big and about the same age as the Dean. "Thanks Dean Addams."

"Please call me Joan. There is no need for formality."

Once we got comfortable, Nicolas said in his forty year old voice, "I would like to take our time and be polite but both of us are busy people. Do you mind if we get down to business?"

"Not at all Mr Comp."

"Please call me Ron and thank you. We have bought up all the school's outstanding loans." The Dean was very nervous now. Nicolas said, "Your school needs an additional seven point eight million to function for this year alone. There are other long term projects that need to be completed and they total thirty five million."

Nicolas now waited for the Dean to speak. "Are you trying to purchase the school?"

We all had read the Dean's worries and Nicolas said, "We wish to perpetuate the school and broaden the courses offered. We do not wish the school to close. We want to make some changes though."

"What changes are they, Mr Comp?"

"More than half of the students are learning English as they take university courses. This I think is one of your better attributes. Students with many backgrounds find ways of working together. Not all the students that graduate find work. We can do better.

"The remainder of your students come from conservative countries. They are segregated here so they can get a good education and still not be corrupted by male influences. Basically this portion of your school takes a student and gives her enough education to enter one of the prestigious universities on this continent or to enter into the university portion of Apex.

"Ever since one father took exception to his daughter's activities, enrollment has fallen and students have even left. New students have not arrived. You are in danger or losing your charter. The quality of your programmes has fallen markedly and the government has stepped in. This will mean that the school will have to close. We do not see a way for the present administration and the board of directors of avoiding the third warning or the culmination a year later.

"We have some ideas that will allow the school to not only remain open but to grow. This means we will contribute more to erect buildings dedicated to science and mathematics.

"This sort of commitment can only be done if we have control of the school."

The Dean said, "We cannot go coed. All the students would be pulled then. What are your plans about the faculty and staff?"

"It's very hard to draw good professors quickly. If we gain control of this institution, we will have to assess everybody individually. This means that tenure would have to be broken. A reduction in force is a necessary evil. We would keep all of those that we could."

Joan said, "I cannot make deals for the board of directors."

"We are well aware of that. We have a meeting with the majority holders on the board of directors this afternoon. The head of the board already knows our position from the documents we sent her. We simply spoke to you first to get your ideas on how to proceed."

"What could I possibly give to you?"

"The school needs qualified leadership. That leadership has to know the failings of the faculty, the buildings and the equipment. We would like you to attend the meeting with us and give your opinions."

She nodded her head and hoped that she would keep her job when the dust settled. Part of this was because she felt that part of the problems at the school were caused by fraud. Costs were skyrocketing and she could not get the board of directors to work on this. The situation lead her to believe that some on the board of directors were swilling at the same trough.

We talked about what the school needed to bring it up to one of the leading institutions and especially the cost to accomplish this task. The figure far surpassed what was needed to get the school to its usual state.

Nicolas brought out but did not show Dean Addams the paperwork to show that we held the notes on the school. There was little we could do with them because the school was still paying their debts on time.

Food was brought from the faculty cafeteria for our noon meal but we had no idea how good it was compared to what the students would have. We were not egalitarians simply because we knew that some people needed perks.

Our limo was waiting outside when we exited the admin building. Dean Addams was going to drive her own car so she would not have to rely on us for a ride back.

Ellen said, "Addams will try to side with us as far as the problem areas in the school go but she will not go too far yet."

Herb said, "I would do the same. Some of the new pack members found that Janet Cullis' has her own problems with money. The school has been in family hands for a hundred and seventeen years and she would like it to stay there but it won't. Her three sons would sell the place if they could. She was thinking of setting up a corporation where family cannot touch it."

Kim said, "I didn't hear why Cullis happens to be in financial trouble."

Herb said, "She backed her youngest grandson in a venture. It failed no matter how much money she pumped into it. The grandson was one of those anonymous backers that were helping to finance the mob's purchase of drugs. When everything fell apart the police went after documents and found enough to get the young man arrested. The legitimate portion of the business failed simply because the man running it was under the influence of drugs or just plain inept."

When we got to the Cullis estate, we found it looked much like the one we owned in Montreal but without all the land. Dean Addams followed behind us and had taken the opportunity to inform Cullis what she had learned at her meeting with us. She told the truth and tried to come across as a neutral.

Janet Cullis was a woman about Ellen's age. She moved about purposely still and I admired her for her zest for life.

There were four board members and one of them was Janet's sons. The son did not want the school sold unless he could get a piece of the action. Then again, the board of directors wanted the same thing. We had hardly got started when another son and board member arrived to look out for his portion of his inheritance.

Ellen was our chief spokesman and the chief executive officer of the corporation. She came across as a strong willed woman that was a lady first and foremost. The Cullis tradition had it that women should be boss. The daughters were given husbands found by their mothers so as to perpetuate their matriarchal position.

Janet also sat back and let the two women and one male directors argue for her while she appeared as if she were neutral. She followed all the details mentioned very carefully.

Ellen said, "I want it known, and it would go into any agreement, that the property will remain a school. We will even go so far as to alter its charter so that it cannot be used in any other way."

Others had come to buy the troubled school but it was worth far less as just real estate and a few large buildings. For us the best time to buy was when the school was ready to fall apart and the faculty about to leave.

Janet said, "That takes a burden off my shoulders. My family has invested too much of their blood and money into the school over the years to let the school fail."

Ellen said, "It is failing though. Its accreditation is in jeopardy and if it fails the school will stop being a place of teaching."

The two sons were both wealthy but always wanted more. When they could they talked of how much the school meant to the family and then how valuable it was. Their mother was angry at them because she figured we could see through their subterfuge.

As Ellen spoke, the rest of us dug deep into the minds of those around us. They were all human which meant that they were far from lily white. That did not make them bad people though. Each of them were guilty of siphoning off some of the school money into their own pockets.

Our offer was finally tabled but only after we tabulated all the assets and the debts so that the parties could argue on various points. We left later with no contract but we had made headway. Part of this was the way Ellen sided with many charities that Janet supported. The conclusion of the sale, if it happened at all would be months if not years away.

We spent the rest of the week monitoring the Attorney General's office and its employees. Nicolas provided us with a list of employees and we made reports while they were at their office or at home. There was a lot of deadwood and ones that had sold data on occasion but this did not happen much.

In the mean time we purchased furniture for the farm and called to bring the dogs from Toronto. They missed us and we felt the same way.

We registered in two colleges that were affiliated with the University of Ottawa or Carlton University. They had two mini summer courses that would allow us to take care of the basic general education courses. Testing out took some preparation but the exams were not hard.

Security measures were taken but contractors were not used to install the devices. Some of the students arrived and helped us get settled. There were now thirty seven pack members, eighty four students slated to ascend and two hundred and twenty seven students that were not suited to gain what we had. So far, none of them had let our secret escape. Part of it was because we placed stronger compulsions on those that were weak.

Jack and Marcel phoned on occasion for some help and we sent some old hands, like Bobby and Joy, their way along with some of the new pack members. Joseph and Pete did the same thing.

Tiffany, her daughter Megan, Amber and four of the new pack members left to take up residence in Toronto and try to get into the University of Toronto. We needed pack there to keep all of us safe. There was a lot of crying because Megan saw the children as her brothers and sisters. I hurt too because deep inside she was my daughter too.

We were working on the Department of Defence. There were spies here too but I was not too concerned. One country had to monitor another country to find threats. Canada was not so stupid as to not do the same thing. What we did find was the same as in other organisations. Getting rid of the deadwood was going to be hard.

We were still negotiating for the school and the condo building. Ellen upped the ante for the school by showing drawings of the new buildings that had to be erected. Ellen promised to put a stipulation in the contract that the buildings be erected in the next ten years or a penalty clause would kick in.

The woman was still not willing to sell. There was still hope that the school could weather the storm. She knew that she had to succeed or lose the school through one means or another. The time when the decision had to be made was still at least a year away and it all depended on if the latest attempt to lure new students was successful or not.

Through Janet Cullis, we were invited to a party that was mostly composed of Humane Society members.

Herb told the woman, "I don't think I can make it but my son might. He loves dogs and they simply love him. Some of them are probably more intelligent than some of the guests."

"I'd love to see your son and his dogs. What makes them so special?"

"The have a large repertoire of tricks but it's because they learn so fast that they are special. It takes only a short time for them to learn new skills. Sometimes I think they understand us so well that they mock us."

Herb went on to talking about some of the things Baron or the other dogs had done.

"You should bring them to the party. It's not held in town but on a hobby farm."

We ended up going to the party without any illusions. Herb was his own son, Matt and we all had new names. The dogs were well behaved and all of them could read minds, now that it was safe to give them the form of Abicore that was not dangerous.

Baron even had a date. Her name was Baroness. She was young and not a purebred so she would not have the faults that accompanied inbreeding. They responded to voice commands very well but preferred the mental images we sent them because the orders were so much clearer.

We met a lot of nice people and a lot of nuts. They saw pets as child substitutes. The dogs did not like to be handled by non-pack members but took the abuse stoically.

Janet had introduced us after she found our new identities. She was very taken with the dogs and us. I was back to being a sixteen-year-old girl and Kim was my sister of eighteen. Herb as Matt was our brother and Ellen was our aunt. She looked young enough to fit in easily. In fact she looked very young because she was now pregnant.

Herb asked Baron to follow Janet's orders after doing a test. Dogs could not see red and green so they were partially colour blind. They see yellow, white, blue, brown and black. Their world is brighter and less detailed than what a human would see.

Janet asked Baron to fetch various coloured objects and he did as he was asked. The rest of the dogs sat and watched. His memory was tested by getting more than one order. Numbers of objects fetched were stipulated and Baron did fairly well. Mathematics was not his strong point.

A slate was brought out and the dogs wrote their names and some mathematics we dictated to them using large pieces of chalk. We would use a whiteboard but the solvents in the markers were objectionable to the dogs.

Janet was only one of those that were stunned by what she saw. "This is utterly amazing. How did you do it?"

Herb said, "Careful breeding of the best dogs possible. Our bloodlines do not match any kennel club. We strive for intelligence though all of them look good."

Ellen was presently preoccupied as she was for the last few months. She loved her four boys and they loved her even though she was a woman. Ellen's periods were encouraged to start again and all of us monitored the situation. With our healing power, she released four eggs.

It was a documented fact that some women with multiple sexual partners had released two eggs though usually days apart. One was fertilised by one partner and one by another. This was easy to prove when the twins were born with one having black skin and the other white. DNA tests proved that the babies had different fathers. This time there were four fathers and Ellen was going to have quadruplets.

With our powers of healing, she was not worried about herself or her babies. Many older women that had undergone fertility treatments had twins or better. The trouble would be when Ellen returned home and presented her new family to her old one.

When we ate, so did the dogs. This time they ate steak but consumed it in small portions as if they wanted to talk to each other. The fact was that this was true. Baron was the biggest but it was Sparky that was the alpha male. This was solely do to his mind and then his gender. Turbo was his main mate but Sniffer and Dancer almost got equal billing. Baroness was not put out to be the lowest on the totem pole because she was the mate of the second male.

Ellen's condition did not show. When the music started so did she. We were all asked to dance but it wasn't until we danced with Herb, did the males learn how well all of us could move. From then on the males were a little intimidated but not the women. They flocked to Herb and he did the best he could with them. Janet got a dance and she blushed at first, then very excited for the rest of the night.

When we left that night, I was sure we would be invited to more parties. Many women loved Herb but also wanted to play matchmaker with their young relatives.

Ellen said on the way home, "It looks like Herb had a lot of fun. I hope the ladies didn't tire him out too much?"

Herb was not fatigued much and said, "I've got lots of stamina left to make my wives happy — at least for a while."

We laughed at this and I hugged him. "We're not too aggressive, are we?"

Herb took an arm off the steering wheel and held me. "I can perform better than most men alive. Those men would die happy trying to equal me. No matter what you call on me to do, I will consider myself the luckiest man on this or any other planet."

We saw images of Kim and I then Melissa. We all had our babies. It was not just sex though that was part of it. Love held us together and we had one very happy man.