Chapter 3

One morning, Kim said, "Piper, we're getting low on Abicore. We need to find a chemical supplier."

Kim sounded grouchy but she got that way when her period was due. I replied, "I already lined a few up but haven't gone further."

From another part of the house we heard Joy say, "Mommy, my cunny's sore."

Outside came the thoughts from Bobby, "I'll come in and look at it for you, sweetie."

"Mommy uses her tongue and you use your dick. That's why I'm sore."

There was no hiding from a group of telepaths unless I hid my thoughts but this was not considered a nice thing to do. Everybody knew everything that was going on. I kept a partition buried deep where I hid some of the thoughts that made me what I am.

"I was talking to Kim, guys. I'll look after you tonight if you have your chores and your studies done. A test is coming up and you better pass."

Both children, with all the rest, said sarcastically in unison, "Yes, Mommy." Many of them were older than me. They were not being cruel because I felt their love for me and their affirmation that I was the one to lead the pack.

I fired my computer up and connected to the satellite. With the money we had, the cost of the linkage was almost nothing. Dial up was the only substitute and it wasn't much of one.

The chemicals we currently needed didn't require permits. Diethyl ether did but we had enough for another batch. At some time in the future we would have to find a source or prepare our own. It was easy to make and organic chemistry was such an interesting subject to learn.

My memory was near photographic since the drug changed me. I recalled the companies, their URL's, and their addresses. One business in North Bay was too close. There was news in the paper that Knox had survived her wounds. Evil people seemed to live forever. If she caught wind of the purchase she would be on our trail.

I chose a company in Brampton, just northwest of Toronto. What I wanted was available there or some other sources near Toronto. I could make a phone call but not from here. It frightened me to enjoy organic chemistry, be really intelligent, and also be paranoid. This reminded me too much of what Knox was like.

This was not that big of a trip but we didn't get out that much. I was always fearful of the pack being found. It was a lot of work but the alternatives meant we would be dead. My fears did not carry strongly to the pack but they were not carefree either.

We would only be gone a full day but I wanted to swing by Knox' home and find out what she was doing. I caused her a world of grief but she would use that emotion to hunt for us when she wasn't working on killing people to find answers about the drug. This may take an extra day or two. Tiffany would go home right away with the truck and supplies because she still breast fed.

Our van was prepared as an escape vehicle. It had three pistols, ammunition, four grenades, a good medical kit, bug detector, phony papers, and lots of cash. Knox had a similar cargo in the automobiles she usually drove, or she did after she was attacked. The windows were all heavily tinted so people couldn't look in. Our hair colour had changed and we wore sunglasses most of the time. Kim could wear any glasses she wanted and now she had good hearing aids. She was almost deaf without them.

Jess came to drive the van. It was Kim's turn to go with me. Tiffany came to drive the rental truck home.

I said to Tatum, "I know you don't like me to treat you like a child but I worry."

"I know. Keep vigilant, know where everybody is all the time and look for ways to escape no matter where I am."

"Thanks, Tatum. I knew I could depend on you."

"There's nothing to do. The pack knows what to do and they do it. I'm a figurehead."

I held Tatum and kissed her with both passion and care. I loved her and the rest. I then went through the entire group. I even hugged Sniffer and Dancer because I was taking Turbo and Sparky with us. They liked to travel and they didn't get much of a chance. We were still saying goodbye when we were two kilometres away. Our range had improved considerably.

As the trip progressed, I relaxed more but I was always scanning the minds of those that passed in other cars. I had the drug strattera though we tried to use it as little as possible. I hoped to build up to a point that we would not need the drug to keep the minds of all those around us out of our heads. We still avoided large concentrations of people when we could. In some cases we felt pain as if too many people were clamouring to get into our heads at one time.

We stopped every few hours to stretch and allow the dogs to water the daisies. They could hold it a long time and told us when they needed to go. I just didn't like being confined in a car for too long.

Near Toronto we pulled over and Tiffany fed a public telephone some coins. We called six places even though the first had what we wanted. Paranoia was a good thing to have if you wanted to stay alive.

Our next stop was a truck rental business where we rented a cargo van with one of our sets of phony papers. With it we got a lot of blankets and nylon straps to hold the cargo.

It was still nearly an hour to the business in Brampton. Jess drove to the area first and we scanned the area for somebody excited about a hunt. Tiffany drove in after we finished the search.

I went in with Tiffany. The counterman only admired both of our bodies and Tiffany preened for him.

The counterman stood straight and preened himself. "What can I do for you ladies?"

Tiffany smiled seductively and gave her list verbally as she handed over a listing on paper of the articles. There were different purities of product and we tried to get the best. She claimed to work for a new plastics company in need of some odd raw materials to do some research.

The counterman filled the list but didn't work very fast. He liked Tiffany and I got a few glances myself. This didn't hurt my ego but I didn't prettify myself the way Tiffany did.

"I did not."

"That was only a thought to think about, not send."

"You're forgiven but I think you turned to show him your profile. He likes you. If you climbed on the counter, I bet he'd be kissing your lower lips in seconds."

"You're just a pig." I waited a while and said, "But a pretty pig."

Two men helped load the rental truck and we drove out of the gate.

We got on the 401 because we didn't want to use the electronic tollway. This would leave tracks. Knox lived in the east near Unionville. Tiffany was going to head north on the 400 and home but we stopped at a busy restaurant first. We found a parking space right away but it took a while for Tiffany to find one for the truck. The dogs had their kibble but we would still bring a treat to them.

Just after our meal was delivered, we heard Sparky growl mentally. There was a threat to the pack. We hurried out to see what was happening. We could sense Sparky and Turbo and they were mentally pointing to a far corner of the lot.

There were two people in that corner and when we went purposely toward them they got in a car and left.

The waitress came out thinking we had skipped and Tiffany said, "Somebody was fiddling with our car."

"Did they break in?"

"We have a radio operated alarm. They didn't get into the car, they were just trying. We better get our meal packaged. I don't feel comfortable here."

The waitress said, "I'm sorry to hear that. We don't usually have problems like this."

The meal was put in Styrofoam boxes and we got some plastic cutlery to go with it. While Tiffany paid, I said to Jess, "Those two people were not thinking of Knox but they were certainly looking for us. I don't know if they saw our van or not but I think we have a bug someplace."

We used the bug detector and found it attached to the bottom of a plastic container that had a heavy ridge around it. We searched the rest and even checked the van in case they planted another beacon but the detector found nothing more.

Kim was the most nervous but the rest of us weren't far behind. She said, "What are we going to do?"

"Find a public phone and call home. They're probably safe. We have to get the reagents home and ditch the two vehicles. Those guys are still around but can't see us. They're waiting for us to leave."

We used the phone in the restaurant. Tatum was upset but seemed to be handling the stress fairly well. We had fire drills all the time but they were intended for intruders. This would be just one of the scenarios and they would be on the lookout.

One more call was 911. "Hi, My name is Mary Snyder. I'm in Keelson's Restaurant near the airport. I saw two men. One of them has a big black gun with something like a pipe on the end. I saw it when the wind blew his jacket open."

"Where are they now?"

"They stopped and talked near a Ford Taurus licence plate LMN 438. They seem to be looking around as if they're hunting for somebody."

From a few metres away, Tiffany said loudly, "Come on, Mary. We're not staying here any longer."

The police wanted more info. "I have to go. My sister doesn't want to be around if there's shooting."

I hung up and I got some weak smiles from the girls. We waited long enough for the police to arrive and we left. They even gave chase to the car. We headed north to Woodbridge and rented another truck from a competitor of the one we got ours from. The cargo was transferred and we drove back to where we rented the original truck and turned it in.

Tiffany said, "I trust you, Piper, but this makes me nervous. Not so much for me but for you guys."

We travelled up the 400 highway and kept in touch with our cell phones. I needed Jess to drive but Kim stayed with me instead of going with Tiffany. She was just too worried and held onto my hand as if I were the big sister. This thought had to be hidden deep with a lot of other thoughts or it would hurt her feelings.

When we got to a small community south of Newmarket, we stopped early for the night. If we were followed I wanted to know before I got home. We got a suite at a hotel and studied how to defend our temporary home and how to flee if the need arose.

The dogs were walked every hour. This was not for their benefit but to have an excuse to make our rounds. At least one of us was awake and ready to hurry to assist the one on patrol.

At three twenty, Kim woke me. "Somebody's looking for us."

This woke me up with a jolt of adrenaline. Instead of waiting for her to give me the info I dug it out myself. They had gone near the minivan first so there must be something there we missed or they were searching at every spot we could possibly stay at. The latter was too improbable.

There was no block on the men so Kim and I searched through those that were near us until I found another man. The rest of the girls were awake now and ready to fight or take flight.

Jess said, "I found the other."

Tiffany looked at me and I said, "We go. Maybe we can slow them down." The girls read my idea and smiled gamely this time. Even the dogs seemed to like the idea.

We gathered our property and left quietly. We took the service elevator. There was some night staff but nobody bothered us. Kim had us stop in one area as she concentrated. Through her link we found some of the parts to the puzzle. It was not Knox but Carstairs that was after us. He was the one that was hired by Colins to kidnap Knox and failed. He managed to capture Tiffany, Tatum, and Brandon. We killed a man in the process of rescuing them. Knox had killed a few more because she was going to kill off the pack starting with the three that were captured.

Carstairs didn't know of our abilities. He was wondering, though, how we always out thought him and he was a professional. Knox was still actively searching for us and the two forces had a sort of truce since the fight at the farm. We came to their attention when we purchased more than one of the chemicals needed to make Abicore. I could only surmise that somebody had placed the tracker and fled before I could detect his thoughts. This inferred that they knew we could read minds but it could be a coincidence.

The cargo van had another tracker on it. It was one that transmitted intermittently so it would be difficult to find.

The bill for our room had been paid in cash and ahead of time. A phony credit card was used to confirm our fake identities. We could not be traced back by that route. We learned one more fact. Another car with four people in it was due to arrive right away. We saw that they were going to follow us but one man thought it was possible to rush the room and capture the four of us.

I considered leaving the cars and calling a cab from someplace down the road but I didn't want to risk walking at this time of the night.

It was twenty minutes later that the other man's cell phone rang. He gave directions and in five minutes the car pulled in with four men in it. The two original men kept their posts and the four joined them for a conference.

Jess and I hurried across the parking lot and used our knives in the sidewalls of the back tires of both cars. We hurried to our vehicles. Tiffany had the new tracker in her hand and Kim had the one that was on our minivan.

Kim said, "What do we do with them?"

It took only a second to think, "We take them with us. Tiff goes home with the truck. Its night and she can get pretty far before someone could go on visuals only. We take the two trackers and go east. At a truck stop I'll put one on a transport truck. We'll go further east and do it again. I guess we'll sell the van and buy another to get home."

We got out of the parking lot without anybody noticing. It took only a few minutes to get on the highway. With a lot of tears and recriminations, Tiffany continued on while we turned east. Kim would be an asset to her but she figured that she was in more danger and didn't want Kim. She tried to hide this but my sister and I were stronger than any others in the pack.

I felt like crying but I couldn't. I was the leader and had to shepherd my flock by example or we could fall apart. We drove for a few hours and at the first truck stop we pulled in. We walked among the trucks. The drivers were sleeping in their cabs. It was not hard to find someone that had to get up early and was going west. This truck got Tiffany's tracker.

We stayed on Highway 7, the Trans-Canada Highway. We stopped for a quick breakfast and a chance to walk the dogs. The highway lead to Ottawa but we stopped in Perth, where we dropped off the other tracker and called home. Tiffany had made it safely and we all felt relieved.

I considered ourselves safe and backtracked down the Trans-Canada to Madoc and headed north so we could go above Lake Simcoe and then head home.

The roads were paved but weren't highways because they went up and down a lot. We were tired when nightfall came. We had little sleep though Kim and I got some in the seats.

Orillia was about the best place to stop for the night. Jess was familiar with the area because she used to live here at one time. We phoned home later to find everybody safe. They were happy to hear from us. Even Sparky hammed it up by barking to his other two mates. Dancer barked back as if they could really communicate.

A new batch of Abicore-Q was made but we were not explicit on the phone for obvious reasons. Everybody had been involved in its manufacture so they knew what was happening with their own eyes.

We found a nice motel but none of us slept well. Even the dogs were twitchy. Early in the morning I took a gun and the dogs and went for a walk. The cool air had the smell of the lake on it but it didn't relax me.