Chapter 11

Leonard had delivered everything Claire requested except for the EMP generator, which he hoped to obtain by the end of the weekend. He made up for it by providing a GR7 machine pistol and a pair of electronic field glasses. She hugged him passionately before loading everything into the luggage compartment of the SUV.

It was the evening before the camping trip and she was aware that if things went badly, they may never see her again. They sensed her concerns and made a fuss of her. Laid naked on her back, two mouths worshipped her breasts, chewing deliciously on the nipples. Fingers fought for possession of her sex and she suspected that Sierra claimed precedence. Leonard settled for caressing her backside and an errant finger soon teased around the entrance to her bottom.

Claire was in rapture. Her nipples ached from the attention they received; the fingers stimulating her vagina and anus felt incredible. She anticipated the penetration and was not disappointed. As the digits eased inside her, she gasped with the sheer eroticism of the contact. They teased her relentlessly, keeping her tottering on the brink of orgasm for what seemed an eternity. She begged for release and Sierra finally relented, rubbing her clitoris furiously, and then biting down hard on her captive nipple. Exploding in ecstasy, Claire writhed between her companions.

Much later, she stretched reversed over Leonard, sucking his cock as his tongue explored her, flicking the sensitive bud and teasing the tip deep into her channel. Sierra rimmed her anus, generating exquisite sensations that complemented those from the front. She struggled to contain her building excitement but soon realized it was a forlorn hope and surrendered to her passion. The torment continued as they pinned her between them and persisted until she came a third time. Leonard unleashed a torrent of sperm which she swallowed avidly, relishing the sour taste pervading her mouth.

Finally sated, Claire watched as Leonard turned his attention to Sierra, coaxing himself erect and spearing her with his shaft. They flowed together and looked a beautiful couple, Claire considered. As they neared climax her fingers settled between her thighs and caressed herself urgently, rushing to join them in bliss. Her final thought as she drifted off to sleep was a desperate desire to remain in contact with the pair in the future.

Claire called in sick to school the following day, deciding to travel up to the campsite early. It would allow her the chance to scout the area and maybe spot signs of any surveillance well ahead of her family's arrival. For the first time, she felt that she was finally doing what she was designed for. The last year with Karl, she'd played the part of loving housewife when a vast hidden talent lay untapped. Recent events had activated some latent capabilities within her and she'd only just realized her true potential. She loved her family more than anything and felt happy knowing she was now better served to protect them.

During the sixty minute drive, her mind eagerly anticipated the reunion. She understood that Karl comprehended her true nature but had conspired to withhold it from her during their time together, instructing her instead to believe she was human. Despite that, her sexuality had blossomed in Elysia and it had taken its toll on their relationship. Karl had expected certain mores from her and she didn't feel they applied. She had the sense of right and wrong but few of the inconsistent, sometimes petty moralizations that seemed to obsess the majority of humankind. She had reluctantly returned to New Arizona, committed to reaffirming their vows of faithfulness and ironically, it was this decision that had led to their discovery.

Holding no doubts that had they remained in Elysia, Syntel would probably never have located them, she acknowledged she would return there in an instant given the chance. Her body longed for that licentious lifestyle that sometimes made Mason's club pale by comparison. She was a sexual being and to deny that was to deny the very nature of what she was. You might as well ask a bird not to fly Claire mused, realizing that things would have to change once they lived together once more. If Karl failed to understand this, she knew that their relationship would probably not survive.

The campsite came into view and she parked the SUV out of sight amongst some dense foliage. She loaded the assault rifle and slung it over her shoulder. The pistols and spare clips went into her rucksack. Grabbing the binoculars, she picked her way carefully towards the pitching area, anxious to minimize her exposure. She used the field glasses to scan the horizon to locate anything out of the ordinary.

As she followed the path of a dried up river bed, she detected the first hint of trouble. The sun had reached its zenith and reflected briefly off something shiny, high up on the southern ridge overlooking the site. She switched the binoculars to their highest magnification setting, the electronic sensor compensating for the tiny shake of her hands and rendering a rock steady image.

Moving about under cover of the undergrowth, she kept scanning the ridge until she identified the cause. Resting on a tripod was a small satellite dish. Cables led from the antenna to a small, folding table on which a mass of communication equipment was arrayed. Claire froze as she recognized the figure seated behind the console. Dressed in loose fitting fatigues was the same red-headed woman who'd walked the dog outside her house and pretended to be the City Auditor on the day that she'd been abducted. Pacing the perimeter were two bulky men, each carrying heavy machine guns and undeniably the same ones from the car that had been parked in the street outside her home.

Taking comfort in the fact that they'd not spotted her, she retreated back to the car and carefully thought through her strategy. If she attacked them now, they'd doubtless be missed and others would be sent to investigate. The best plan seemed to move on them just after her family arrived, allowing her to complete her objectives before reinforcements could be deployed. Her aim was to take her family into hiding, possibly to Leonard's old apartment, which she'd checked and found it still remained unoccupied.

She spent the remainder of the afternoon rigging explosives to time detonators. Pressing the activation stud would trigger the charge after a five second delay. She screwed the suppressors onto the muzzles of the pistols and pushed them into her belt. Crawling carefully under cover, she found a position a hundred metres from the observation team where she could also monitor the approach road through the field glasses.

The two Hunter Killers made continuous sweeps about their encampment but their route was repetitive and predictable. Every three minutes they walked past each other and she realized that an explosive charge delivered at that point could eliminate both simultaneously. She surmised that they could be killed but wasn't entirely sure how much damage they could withstand. One kilogram of the material that Leonard had supplied would destroy a small office building. It was probably total overkill but would undeniably perform the job required. Unfortunately, the redhead would also fall well within the kill radius but that couldn't be avoided. Claire felt little sympathy as the woman was complicit in her abduction.

Around late afternoon, she spotted a dust trail on the horizon and used the binoculars to confirm Karl's car approaching along the access road. She watched the vehicle stop and four figures alight. This was the first that she'd seen of her husband in months and her heart yearned to be with him.

He handed out boxes to each of the girls and a large pack to the fourth figure. Vaguely remembering Kathy from the few times they'd spoken, she observed her walk beside Karl holding his hand as they headed up the trail. Forcing herself to suppress any resentment, she watched them reach the clearing by the lake and start to erect the lightweight tent. Karl set up the stove and connected the gas bottle before stretching out his arms to soak up the heat of the late-afternoon sun.

The Hunter Killers maintained their patrol but the woman now monitored the group below intently through field glasses of her own. Claire laid the assault rifle down on the ground, fearing the noise of the weapon's discharge would frighten her family. What they'd make out of an explosion remained to be seen.

Edging closer to the encampment, Claire approached within thirty metres without breaking cover. Her thumb hovered over the detonator and waited for the Hunter Killers to move together. Remembering her trick from the club, she sped up her perceptions and activated the timer. The next few seconds stretched out for an eternity but she timed the trajectory of her throw to the millisecond, arranging the charge to detonate at exactly chest height between the two targets. The projectile flew straight but the redhead noticed it immediately, recognized the threat and retreated rapidly.

The explosion blew the Hunter Killers into pieces and totally obliterated the communication rig. Their companion leapt and managed to escape the full force of the blast, rolling along the ground for several metres. Claire charged, pulling both pistols from her belt and firing continuously to disable her. She missed consistently and it took a moment for her to comprehend that her quarry shifted impossibly quickly. With her hyped awareness, the woman's movements should have slowed to a crawl. The fact that she hadn't led to one inescapable conclusion.

The woman was like her.

She chased the fleeing machine towards the edge of the clearing and into a dense thicket. The wood provided a lot of cover and Claire jumped carefully from trunk to trunk, stopping frequently to listen for the other's movement. A sound carried from her left, twenty five metres away. Sprinting across the rough terrain, she kept low and dodged erratically to avoid being targeted if the woman was armed. She froze, listening again for the slightest noise and detected the snap of a twig underfoot, closer and directly to her left. Spinning around, she sensed a flicker of motion and fired several times in quick succession, hearing a sharp cry of pain in response.

Claire rushed forward, entering a small clearing and noticed traces of blood on the ground. The movement from behind her was almost imperceptible and she twisted around just as a broken branch swung towards her. Instinctively, she raised her arms to fend off the blow and the heavy club slammed into her forearms, sending her weapons spiralling away into the distance. She staggered backwards and screamed with the agony of the impact, seeing blood flowing from deep lacerations in her flesh. The redhead bled from a nasty shoulder wound but it didn't deter her from advancing and swinging the branch a second time.

Darting out of the path of the log, Claire kicked out as hard as she could, catching the woman in the midriff and sending her tumbling to the ground. Even as the branch slipped from her grasp, her opponent immediately jumped to her feet and launched herself at Claire, kicking and punching her viciously. She managed to block most of the blows but several landed painfully, bruising her face and splitting open her lip.

Realizing that she had suffered little serious injury, Claire countered-attacked and drove her assailant back. The woman raised an arm to fend off Claire's blows but the force of the impacts buckled and broke it. Screaming in agony, the woman turned and tried to flee. Claire kicked out viciously, catching the back of her knee and smashing the joint.

The redhead wailed and fell onto her back with Claire dropping on top of her, smashing her fist repeatedly into the woman's face with all her strength. As the woman weakened, Claire grabbed hold of her head and slammed it hard against the ground until her movements diminished. As a final precaution, she twisted the woman's head violently and broke her neck.

The redhead convulsed and stopped moving. A trickle of blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth and her eyes stared vacantly into space. Claire collapsed in exhaustion, glad to be safe for the time being. Recalling the conversation with Monica, she realized that she'd finally met an Infiltrator and survived.

It was many minutes before she moved, gasping at the pain from her injuries. Covered in blood, both hers and those of the dead machine, she crawled to her feet and retraced her steps back to the encampment.

The Hunter Killers were utterly destroyed; pieces scattered over a wide area. Unlike the Infiltrator, there was no blood. Their severed limbs oozed yellowish goo that smelt pungent and distasteful. Wrapped around the dark metal endoskeleton of one was a mass of glass data fibres. The torso of the other was shredded, exposing the dark ovoid of its Datacore.

Leaving the carnage behind, Claire recovered the rifle and slowly made her way back down the trail before heading towards where her family had pitched.

Karl had heard the explosion and looked around in confusion, trying to identify the source of the sound.

"There," Hailey shouted, pointing to a point in the distance where a rising plume of dust was slowly dispersing in the wind.

"What is it Karl?" Kathy asked edgily.

"I don't know," he replied. "Maybe there's a quarry around here and they're blasting."

His attention suddenly focused on the smell of burning and he rushed over to salvage his sausages before they became irrecoverable.

Claire walked steadily in the direction of the camp, her senses alert for the slightest unexpected sound or movement. The group were in a clearing about fifty metres directly ahead. The girls stood together to one side whilst to the other, Karl was crouched over a frying pan, scraping away furiously.

His cooking skills haven't improved, Claire mused.

Kathy stood between them, looking around frantically. Claire wondered what had spooked her. With a quiet determination she approached closer, highly aware of how intimidating she must look, covered in blood and carrying the assault rifle. Hailey spotted her first, her body turning rigid with shock. The others followed suit soon afterwards, watching the bedraggled figure wander towards them. The girls' eyes flickered in recognition but were too stunned to speak. Karl observed her advance with a mixture of bafflement and trepidation.

Claire stood at the fringe of the clearing, searching for the right words to say. Of the four, Kathy was the hardest to read. She stood facing her, a wry smile written across her face and a look of quiet determination in her eyes.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Karl demanded, breaking the silence.

He doesn't recognize me, Claire realized. Warning bells rang in her head. She spun up immediately, focusing her attention entirely on Kathy. They faced one another like gunfighters, each daring the other to make the first move. Under Kathy's baggy top was an ominous bulge about the right size for a handgun. As the woman's hand moved towards it, Claire raised the rifle.

"Don't do it," Claire warned but the woman paid no attention.

Karl's heart hammered furiously in fear as the blonde woman came closer. The girls stared at the figure, mesmerized and unable to respond but Kathy stood defiantly in the face of the approaching menace. Every instinct told him that this was not going to end well and when the stranger's weapon flicked up, he tried to issue a warning. Kathy writhed under a hail of bullets, large bloody patches appearing across her blouse.

"No," Karl bellowed, hardly able to comprehend that Kathy could be taken from him so soon after Claire's loss.

The children screamed in horror as they witnessed the devastation that the fusillade wrought. Kathy attempted to lift her arm to fend off the salvo but the bullets almost severed the limb at the elbow. The barrage suddenly ceased and Karl whimpered in fear as he waited to become the next casualty, but their attacker simply stood and stared at the bloody corpse sprawled out across the ground.

"You've killed her!" Hailey screamed hysterically. "You've killed her. You didn't need to do that."

"Get a grip Hailey," Claire snapped. "You don't know what she was."

"She was Dad's friend," the girl whimpered. "You've killed her, Mum."

Karl was thunderstruck, having just witnessed the murder of his girlfriend. He heard the attacker exchanging angry words with his daughter but was still too stunned to react. Claire sensed Karl's confusion and desperately attempted to reach through to him.

"Karl. Karl," she demanded forcefully. "Snap out of it. It's me. It's Claire."

The mention of his wife's name finally drew his attention and he studied the stranger more closely. Recognition dawned instantly.

"Smoke," Ruth cried in horror. "What is she?"

Hearing her distress, Karl turned to see his daughter standing over Kathy's ruined body and lifting up the partially severed arm.

"Ruth, no," he exclaimed, desperate to shield the girl from the grisly sight. He followed her gaze to the mass of data fibres emerging from the bloody stump.

"Keep away from her," Claire shouted, frightening the teenager into retreat.

"It's gross," Hailey exclaimed.

Karl was even more deeply affected, doubling over and retching violently. He couldn't understand how he'd been so badly deceived and the thought that he'd developed feelings for Kathy was almost too much to bear.

"I'm sorry," Karl sobbed woefully, "I didn't know."

"No," Claire sympathized. "She was good. I'll grant them that."

"Syntel?"

"It would have to be."

"There may be others," Karl warned frantically.

"There was another Infiltrator and two Hunter Killers. They're all dead."

Claire bent down, reached into Kathy's belt and withdrew a Weston pistol. Karl groaned in dismay.