CH 38
George Patterson walked around the building he'd been watching for the last two weeks. Officially, this was Kashentech, a Polish company trying to being home-grown high tech to Poland. With a few listening devices he managed to plant in the board room and a few executive's desks as a janitor, he'd send London a few conversations talking about Kaliba and the Sky Net project that was vital.
Unfortunately, trying to innocently get into one of their server rooms to clean, he was caught by the guards. He was interrogated why he tried to get in, then promptly fired. The devices he planted hadn't been found yet and still transmitted bits of information he listened to at his apartment, then send them on to London.
Today, he was taking pictures to identify where these offices and the board room were located. Being just a person on the street and using his small camera, the guards at the entrance gates didn't seem to notice him. He wasn't slow nor did he hurry. He moved along with the other foot traffic and got what he needed.
George walked in to the market to get a few things, then headed back to his apartment. Always cautious, he noted who was around him. He'd yet to see any employees from Kashentech near his place. He went in the front and talked to the older and very busty Mrs. Koch, complimenting her on good she looked. Sucking up to his Landlady never hurt.
Walking up to his third floor apartment, he went to put the key in the door and noticed a bit of wood on the door frame was damaged, like something had pried his door open. An ear to the door, he listened for any noises. Not hearing any, he gave the door a slight push. It opened a crack. The striker for the latch had been torn out.
George walked away, taking pains to be quiet. Someone had gotten into his apartment. If they didn't leave a nasty surprise for him, he would be surprised. He didn't go out the front, but took the back stairs out to the alley. He looked out to see if anyone was in the alley. It was clear. The information he had, he'd already sent to London. The only thing that was new, were his pictures. It was time to return to England.
Sneaking through the alley, George got a half a block away before he came out onto the street and got a taxi to get him to the airport. Arriving, he checked flights leaving Poland. The closest one to his destination he could find and had a seat available was to Amsterdam. He paid for the ticket and went to board his flight leaving in two hours.
At the security station, he had to empty his pockets of metal, Including his camera. He walked through the metal detector and it went off. George was stunned.
"Stand still, Sir," one of the guards said.
George did and raised his arms to the side to get wanded. The wand didn't go off anywhere on his body. The guard made a second pass over him.
Another guard came over with another wand. It beeped by his crotch.
"Sir, please come with me."
George did. He was led in a small room to the side. Inside was a detective. "George Patterson?" the detective asked.
"Yes sir."
"You are under arrest for industrial spying. Guards, cuff him," the detective stated.
George flushed. "Spying? Me? How do you figure that?" he asked and his arms were brought down and the cuffs put on.
"Bring him," the detective said, and went through a door in the back. George was pushed along behind him.
"I never spied on anyone!" George cried. "Look, you're making a mistake, I needed money so I got a job, where's the crime in THAT?"
They walked down a set of stairs and along a hallway.
"I'm telling you, I never spied on anyone!" George cried.
The detective opened a door and motioned George in. The guards pushed him into a room with a single chair in the middle. The walls looked thickly padded as was the door. They sat him down and tied him in place. They all left.
George was getting nervous. Cuffed and tied in place, he tried to tip the chair over. It was bolted to the floor. "Bugger!" he spat. He thought someone would be coming to question him. He waited hours, long enough to get sleepy. It had to be midnight before the door to his room opened up.
A brunette in a tight leather dress and shiny black high heels came in. her face was set in a blank gaze. At first he thought she was wearing a gun belt around her hips with round revolver cylinder holders. Looking closer, he saw she had an odd array of items. A salt shaker was in one, pins in another, a couple folding knives in another, one had rolls of what looked like bandage.
"I didn't do anything," he told Miss S&M.
"Don't lie to me again," she said in a flat tone. She pulled a toothpick out of a holder. Going behind him, she grabbed one of his fingers. He felt something drive up under his nail.
George screamed and wiggled, trying desperately to move. The toothpick was removed.
Miss Sadism said, "George, I will find out everything you know. That was just a little taste of what will happen when you lie to me. Remember, lies equal pain, and I am very good at causing pain. Speak truth and you avoid pain."
"What do you want from me!" he cried.
"Let's start simple. Where is your home?"
.
Kaede had a nice couple weeks at home. Nana and Mayu had graduated and were now working full time at the Inn, taking turns. Kaene had fun playing 'princess' up on a rafter beam, and allowed Kaede to come up and sit on the Royal beam with her to look over her kingdom and read her stories. One being 'The Princes Bride.' The only thing Kaede had to insist on was Kaene use her 'Royal suite' to sleep in. No dozing off up on her beam.
Helping her mother and whichever girl wasn't serving at the Inn with chores, playing with Kaene and long snuggles with Kouta at night, Kaede was in bliss.
Even John had settled down, getting used to horned women and things drifting through the air and the little girl who's 'play house' was a foot and a half wide beam 20 feet in the air, and no one bothered her about it. He helped Kouta out during the day. Kouta was to the point now where his trucks were making long hauls, and needed a dispatcher every day of the week. John took the job on weekends when he wasn't going to school. Cameron went to school with John, and helped Inari also. Full of questions, Inari answered Cameron's questions about how they could do the things they did. Cameron even explained what she was to any of them who asked. Nana thought it was neat that Cameron was a mechanical people.
For Cameron's work, she became Kaede's message taker. Mr. Smith had instituted a code by e-mail. Cameron knew computers, and was good at code reading, so Kaede gave her the task of reading the codes. With John's laptop, it was easy for Cameron to check Kaede's mail and make sure her internet security wasn't compromised.
.
Kaede was up on the 'royal beam', reading the Sneetches for the um-teenth time to Kaene, when Cameron called up from the foyer below.
"Kaede! Mr. Smith send a message."
Kaede looked over the side of the beam. "Be right down after this story. Meet me in John's computer room?"
Cameron nodded and went back to the room on the first floor that Kaede's wedding dress was made in. It was now John's computer room since it had a couple outlets.
Kaene's face scrunched up. "Mommy, do ya have ta go away again?"
"Doan know, sweetie. Me job ain't done yet, so maybe," Kaede offered.
Kaene crossed her arms over her chest and cast Kaede a frown. "Ya should quit that job! Make someone else do it!" she said in little girl anger.
"That's the thing, hon. Nay one else kin do it. Right now, I'm the only one capable. I doan like leavin home either, but it's gotta be done. I'm sorry I haveta go now an then."
"I just miss you, Mommy, and so does Daddy," Kaene said in a pout.
"I miss all of ya too. Hon, I gotta go see what this is about. Kin ya wait fer me here?"
Kaene gave an exaggerated nod and announced, "I'll defend the Royal beam til the Queen returns!"
"That's me girl!" Kaede announced. She hopped off the beam and went to see what this message was.
Cameron had the message up. It looked like a stream of numbers and letters. Seeing Kaede, Cameron read it. "It says, lost contact with agent in Poland. Status unknown. By the information received, have the location of the headquarters for Kaliba. Mission, destroy the location and everyone present. No survivors. Recover agent if possible, otherwise, silence agent and any captors."
"A complete wipe out. This must be it," Kaede noted.
Cameron turned to Kaede. "Yes, we must destroy that place and anyone associated with it."
Kaede raised an eyebrow. "We?" she asked.
"I'm going with you," Cameron stated. "Kaede, I can see and hear farther that you, I know computers and electronics and can identify terminators by sight. I also want to ensure Sky Net and Kaliba is gone."
"I thought your main task was keeping John safe?"
"Destroying Sky Net is part of that," Cameron replied.
Kaede rubbed her chin in thought. Cameron did have a good argument. She could use a pair of long range eyes and ears. Cameron was also good with a gun if the need arose. "Do ya speak Polish?" she asked.
Cameron rattled off a phrase in another language. She then said, "I said, I can speak every major language and twenty three minor languages. Yes, Polish is one of them."
"This ain't gonna be nay walk in the park," Kaede told her. "Nay plane right ta where we're goin. We're gonna hafta sneak in an outta the country. We may spend weeks just gittin there, let alone comin back. Once we're in Poland, we'll be hidin til we git ta the objective. After that, it'll be sneakin out possibly wit everyone lookin fer us."
"It would be best to remain hidden," Cameron agreed. "We will not know who to trust."
"Nay promise ye'll git back in one piece," Kaede added.
"A risk I accept," Cameron replied.
Kaede nodded. "Talk ta John. If he agrees, OK. Ya know yer real important to'im."
"I love John, John loves me. I must do this because I do love John," Cameron told her.
"When John tells me yer goin, we'll git our disguises tagether an git started."
.
The way John was now openly showing affection to Cameron every moment he was with her, Kaede was sure he'd raise a fit and refuse to let her go. When she talked to Kouta that night to tell him of her pending job, he cast her a blank stare.
"Kouta, I must go," Kaede pleaded.
Kouta nodded. "I know. Do what you have ta do," he said sadly.
Kaede felt terrible. Kouta wasn't liking her leaving again one bit. "Kouta…"
He held up a hand to silence her. "Just go save the world. We'll be here when you get back," he said. He then got up and said, "I have to go check something."
Kaede got in bed and waited for Kouta to return. After a while, she fell asleep waiting. He didn't return. In the morning when she got up, Kouta still hadn't come to bed. Getting dressed, she went downstairs looking or him. Inari was starting breakfast when Kaede came into the kitchen.
"Mom, ya seen Kouta?" she asked.
"He left early this morning. Said there was a long haul he didn have a driver fer," Inari told her.
Kaede looked out at the courtyard. It was beginning to dawn on her this 'job' of hers was ruining their marriage. "Was that run taday?" she asked.
"Aye, Kouta said he'll probably be back late tonight."
Damn. Kaede decided right then, this was her last job and damn the consequences.
When John came down with Cameron, he called Kaede to the side and made her promise she'd breing Cameron back, even if she was in pieces. Kaede agreed. She could tell John wasn't happy either.
.
Kaede went shopping with Cameron for wigs, contacts and clothes. They both got straight black haired wigs and dark brown contacts. Cameron picked them out shirt, pants and coats that looked similar to what the current fashion in Poland was for working women. Basically, nothing fancy. Returning to the castle, Kaede also had a couple sets of black pants, shirts socks and shoes. Cameron fit into these also. Kaede had a black wool hat for herself.
"What do we do for passports?" Cameron asked as she packed her things in Kaede's room.
Kaede shook her head. "We doan. We're sneakin in. Nay ID. Nay anything that kin be traced back here. Tear all the size tags outta yer clothes. We gotta be completely untraceable."
"If we're caught, that will be very bad," Cameron said.
"Aye, so doan git caught."
They were as ready to go as they could be. Kaede called Smith's office. The secretary answered.
"I need ta talk to the boss," Kaede stated.
"One moment, please."
Kaede waited a couple minutes before Smith came on. "Yes?" he asked.
"Kaede here. I need very discrete transport to where I'm goin. Bringin some help wit me. Nay matter what, this is me last job."
"You wish to cancel the terms of your employment?" he asked.
"I think I've earned the right ta keep me home. If ya think otherwise, we'll have a problem."
"I see. I will contact you when transport is arranged." *click*
Kaede and Cameron had their things packed. Kaede spent the day with her family while she waited for Smith's call. Cameron did the same with John, spending much time walking and talking together if they weren't sitting and holding each other.
At dinner with everyone but Kouta present, Kaede told them. "This is me last job. I'll go do it because it is important, but there'll be nay more runnin off like this."
Mayu perked up. "After this ya'll be home all the time?"
Kaede winced. "I might be called ta go be a witness at Sarah Connor's trial, but other than that, Nay jobs that take me away from home."
Kaene bounced up into the empty chair beside her. "Good, me Mommy will be home all the time!" she beamed.
.
George Patterson was drenched in his own sweat and tears. Small cuts and spots of blood dotted his clothes. His torturer sat on his lap, arm around his shoulders. Her fingers played with his earlobe.
"George you know what's going to happen if you resist."
"My legs are going numb," he said vacantly.
"Yes, but not completely yet." She gripped his ear lobe and said, "Now, we established you were gathering information on Kaliba, where do you get your information from?"
George braced himself and gritted his teeth.
"George?" she asked sweetly as she pulled down on his ear lobe.
"Ahhhh! … my radio!" he grunted as he tried to tip his head farther down to stop the increasing pain.
"Do you really want me to tear your ear off a bit at a time" she asked.
"Not really. Stop any time you want!" he cried out.
"Only after you tell me the truth. We've been through this before, George. Isn't answering truthfully easier?" she asked. "Last chance."
"Fuck you!" he spat.
"Not until you answer me!" she stated, then yanked down hard, tearing his earlobe off.
George wailed in pain and frustration. The brunette wiped the blood off her fingers on his back, then gripped the top of his ear. "This is going to hurt worse," she said.
"You are one sick bitch!" George spat.
"Why thank you. So kind of you to notice," she said, beaming a smile at him. "Answer or I rip more of your ear off." She gripped hard and pulled.
"God help me!" he cried in a wince.
"The only one who can help you is me, by giving be truthful answers." She pulled up hard enough to deform his bleeding ear.
"All right, all right! I have a small receiver!" he cried.
She let his ear go. "That's better." Reaching into a round holder she got out a wide paper clip and pinched off the bleeding part of his ear where the lobe used to be. "See, You tell the truth, I stop hurting you. A receiver works on picking up signals. What is sending the signals?"
Taking a breath, George whispered "Helen knows."
"Who is Helen?"
Gathering up the last of his courage, George looked up at her and said, "If you want to know go to Hell'en Hunt for it!"
She cast him a smirk. "Cute," she said, then grabbed the top of his ear and jerked hard, ripping it mostly off. A second hard tug pulled off most of his outer ear. While George screamed and flailed, she got a bandage over the remains of his ear.
While George cried, she pushed his head back by his hair and snapped a couple toothpicks for her next target. Holding his head in place, she carefully pried his eyelids fully open and held them open with the pieces of toothpick.
George was breathing in gasps and shaking under her. She held up a small bottle of red liquid. "George, you have to think carefully now. In this bottle is pure Ghost pepper juice. Do you know what that is?"
George squeaked out in his exhales as he stared at the bottle. Warmth under her leg showed he was urinating.
"In case you don't know, it's a very strong pepper. Most people can't tolerate it in their mouths." To demonstrate, she put a drop on his lips.
"Nooo," he groaned out.
"It will most likely destroy the eye I put even a few drops in, and it will burn for a long time after you've gone blind in that eye. Save yourself George, tell me where the listening device is."
"Under the boardroom table," he said in a gasp.
She capped the bottle and put it away, then took the toothpicks out of his eyes. "Wasn't that easy?" she asked in a light tone. She got up off his lap and said, "I'm going to go find it. If I don't, when I return, you loose both eyes. So, you still want me to go?"
George nodded. Now that she got up, blood began to circulate in his legs. His legs stung with prickling pains.
"I'll be back soon, stay there."
She left shutting the door behind her. George broke down and cried.
.
It was after dinner that Cameron found a message in the E-mail, She read it then deleted it and ran to find Kaede.
Kaede finished washing dishes in the kitchen when Cameron ran in. "Kaede, our ride leaves the port of Inverness for Germany at 5AM. The Bonny Traveler is a freighter, the First Mate will be waiting for us to sneak us aboard. We have to be there by 4."
Kaede gaped at her then growled, "Fine! We leave now, we can make it."
Hearing them Inari quickly gave Kaede a hug. "Go, I'll tell everyone."
"Thanks mom," Kaede said, then ran out with Cameron.
Kaede had gotten a little Ford Cortina to help teach the kids to drive and do short trips. With the seats down, this thing could fit in the back of that BMW beast she rented in the states. Sitting nearly shoulder to shoulder with Cameron, Kaede drove out of the courtyard and headed for Inverness.
"This is a small car. The tires are only 14 inches around," Cameron noted.
"Aye, but a tank'o gas will get us ta Inverness and halfway back," Kaede replied.
"Don't hit anything, we'd be crushed."
"If we do, it's every girl fer herself."
.
Driving a little above the speed limit, Kaede got to Inverness at 3:30. She found the port and a place for long term parking. There were only two ships in port. The Bonny Traveler wasn't showing any signs of life. They went aboard.
A man came out of the pilot house. "Ya the two stow ways?" he asked.
"That's us." Cameron confirmed.
"Git in here, got a place fer ya. No noise and doan leave it til I come git ya." he said and motioned them in.
They went in and down a narrow hallway. He opened up a hatch and turned a light on inside. The small room held life jackets and a couple crates. "There ya go. It's a sixteen hour ride, the more ya sleep, the shorter it'll be."
Kaede got in. There wasn't much room and even less after Cameron got in. The man shut the hatch. Kaede did have enough room to lay almost flat, Cameron sat up to give Kaede more room.
"Wonderful," Kaede grumbled. At least she was tired enough to get some sleep. At least it was quiet.
Kaede had just fallen into a deep sleep when she was rousted by a loud rumble that shook their space. Snapping her eyes open, she looked around.
Cameron explained, "They are getting ready to get underway. We're directly above the engine room."
"An we're expected ta git some sleep?" Kaede asked in a sarcastic tone.
"You should try," Cameron told her.
A horn blew. Kaede then felt the ship bump to the side. More engine noise. The engine under them picked up in volume and Kaede felt the vibrations.
This was going to be a fun trip.
.
George was in too much pain to sleep, he hung his head and stared at his knees. He didn't know how long he'd been down here, he'd lost track of time. The door to his room opened. Seeing a long square object, he looked up to find Miss Sadism brought in what looked like a futon edged with a sturdy steel frame. She laid in on the floor then shut the door.
"Good news, George!" she said with a smile. "I found the listening device, and by getting the frequency, we found two others! For making that possible, you get to lay down. See, when you cooperate, things get better for you."
"You're going to kill me, aren't you?" he asked.
"Not if you keep cooperating," she assured him. Squatting down in front of him, she released his ankle cuffs from the chair, then went around behind him and lifted him up. George tried to stand and found he was too weak. She hefted him over onto the futon and sat him down to spread his legs to cuff his ankles to the frame. She then uncuffed one hand from the other and cuffed it to the top frame, then produced another set cuff to cuff him spread eagle on the frame. He tried to resist and found for a woman she was very strong. He felt like a child trying to resist her power.
Kneeling over him on her hands and knees, she asked, "Isn't that better? A little more comfortable?"
"It doesn't suck, yet," he replied. Thankfully, she wasn't wearing her belt of torture devices.
Miss Sadism laid beside him and winked. "But I do, if you are a good boy." she flicked him in the nose. "See how it works? You answer my questions truthfully, you get rewards. If you deceive me, you get pain." In a pout, she said, "George, I would rather reward you than keep putting you in pain. All you have to do is tell me, who is it you report to?"
"London, I don't know who specifically gets the reports. We aren't told that," he said honestly.
"I believe you," she said and stroked his chest. "But there is an organization that does receive them. Who is it you work for?"
George noted that while she was rubbing his chest, his shirt was coming open. Aww shit, she laid him down to have more targets to torture. It figured. "I'm not suppose to tell," he offered.
"Oh, George," she said with a sigh and slid a hand under his shirt to play with a nipple. "You can tell me. In fact, you better tell me."
Fuck, this was going to hurt. "You haven't figured it out?" he asked, thinking of a way to avoid pain.
"I have a very good idea, but I want to hear it from you. You know the rules, George, tell me." she gripped his nipple hard.
"OK, OK! I work for MI-6. I thought you knew that."
She returned to petting him. "I need to verify everything. My boss wants me to ensure I Know all you know. You wouldn't want me to have a nipple ripped off, would you?"
"Actually, I think I'd like to see that," he said honestly.
Miss Sadism grinned at him. "Then if you answer my next question honestly, the first time, I'll let you bite one off. Deal?"
George gaped at her. "Now you're lying! There is no way you'd let me do that," he stated firmly.
"I don't lie," she stated. She sat up and pulled the shoulder straps of her dress down far enough to show the rise of her mounds. She straddled him again. "You tell me the truth, you get to bite off a nipple. You don't, and I bite off one of yours."
"You are friggin outta your tree!" he cried.
"Maybe. But that's what will happen, I promise. So George, you spent all this time spying, endangering your life. What happens next? What is the plan after your MI-6 gets all the information they need. Think hard before you answer," she said in a serious tone.
"Truthfully? I'm not sure. Yes, there's a reason but I really don't know what that is. I only know what I was supposed to do."
"George, you may be missing the chance of a lifetime here," she said firmly. "You know something will happen. A commando raid? Maybe a bomber strike? You know these people, George. You must have some idea."
George took a deep breath. "OK, we're far inland, and I doubt we would shoot a missile or fly a bomber into a foreign country without significant provocation…" he offered.
"A commando raid then?" she asked.
"The best I can think of is contacting the Polish government to do the raid themselves. That way, the UK is not accused of attacking a country we are at peace with."
"That is very logical," she agreed. "Left or right?"
"Ahh left or right … what?" he asked eyeing her.
"Breast," she said and wiggled her chest. "You answered the best you can, so you get a nipple."
"You are a friggin loon!" he stated.
"But an honest one. Pick your prize, George. Make it good, this will be the only time you'll be able to get to do this," she coaxed.
"I got a better idea," he said. "How about if you don't torture me any more? You get to keep your nips, and I can relax. How about it?"
She frowned at him. "I told you the consequences and rewards, George. Did you want me to pick for you?"
"I want you to stop torturing me."
"I promise, you bite one of my nipples off, even swallow it, and I won't torture you any more. Deal?" she asked.
"Why couldn't I be interrogated by someone who's sane?" he asked the ceiling.
"Come on," she coaxed. "I know you hate me for what I've done so far to you. This is your chance for a little payback. Don't you want to hurt me like I've been hurting you?"
Her coaxing voice and the pains in his body made him say, "Ok, give me your right nipple." He planned the chew that thing right off!
She pulled her dress down to expose her right breast. The B cup was well formed, the nipple was hard. She leaned down to put the nipple in his mouth. "This is yours to do what you like with it," she told him.
George did. Lifting his head a bit and sucked as much breast as he could into his mouth. He then clamped down hard and pulled back. He tasted blood and shook his head. The end of her breast came free. Her hand then pushed his head up, forcing his mouth shut and plugged his nose. He swallowed so he could keep breathing. The chunk of flesh was hard going down, but he forced it down. She let go and sat up.
George watched as she pulled her dress back up. "You don't look like you even felt that." he said.
"I didn't," she agreed and her eyes flashed red. "See George, I'm a terminator. I don't have tactile sensors in my skin. The nipple you just ate had a truth serum pill in it. It's long lasting. When it dissolves in two hours or so, you won't be able to lie to me. That means you won't be tortured any more. Isn't that good news?"
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck! He should have known that somehow it was a trick!
.
Kaede was getting a headache from the constant thrum of the engines. The life preservers she had clamped to her ears only dulled the noise a little, making the vibrations from the engines below seem even stronger. Despite the torture, she did drift off in a light sleep now and then. What she wanted to do was bust out of here and scream at the top of her lungs!
After what seemed forever being trapped in the small space and given the headache from hell, the noise died down. The engines rumbled on for a short while longer then stopped.
Kaede pulled the life preservers away from her head to see Cameron sitting in the same place, blank faced. She looked at Kaede.
"That was very irritating," Cameron stated.
"Understatement of the year," Kaede agreed in a grumble.
They waited a while longer and the hatch opened up. "Come on, hurry," the man said. Kaede was eager to scramble out of there.
They followed him topside to see it was dark out. He pointed to a a pair of bicycles on the dock. "I got them for you. In Europe, you can go damn near anywhere on a bike and no one will hassle you," he explained.
It was a good thing they wore pants. "What about crossing the borders?" Kaede asked.
"No problem. As long as you don't leave the European Union countries, you just go. Now go before someone see you," he said and whisked them off with a hand.
The bikes were at least ten speeds and had head and tail lights. Cameron mounted hers. "I'll lead," Cameron said.
They took off, Kaede following Cameron. She had to put some mind power into her pedals, Cameron got up to top gear right out of the dockyard and peddled fast. Kaede used her mind hands to keep up. They moved with traffic though the town and once out of town, they sped up and kept pace with the cars. Getting onto the highway, Cameron sped up even more. Kaede kept up with her. The wind told Kaede they were going at least sixty. Leaned forward and with a mind shield over her face, this wasn't a bad way to travel.
A car pulled up beside them. The driver looked and pointed to his passenger. That guy pumped a fist they took a picture. The car moved on. Cameron got behind it, Kaede followed. Using the car as a partial wind shield, they pushed harder and kept up with it.
Coming to an exit, the car got off. They kept going. Before it was light out, they had moved past Berlin and into some countryside.
Slowing down to get off an exit in a rural area, Kaede helped them stop at the bottom. The sky was lightening into pre-dawn.
"We need to find a place to rest," Kaede said. "I'm beat."
"Yes, I need downtime also," Cameron agreed.
Seeing a barn a ways off in a field, they decided that would be a good place. At a more sane speed they pedaled to the long dirt driveway and went into the barn. There was no animals, but plenty of hay in the loft. They carried their bikes up into the loft with them. Kaede found a spot in the hay and laid down. In no time, she was out like a light.
It was late afternoon when Kaede awoke. She stretched and sat up to find Cameron watching below. Cameron looked at her, put a finger to her lips then pointed at some food in a cardboard box. A tall cup was with it.
Hearing a voice speak, Kaede lifted herself up and peeked over the edge. Below, two men were loading a cart of hay. She pulled back and ate the eggs and ham Cameron got for her. By the time she was done, the men below had loaded their cart. A tractor fired up and left the barn.
Cameron leaned over, watching, then pulled back. "Hurry up, We need to leave before they come back."
Kaede did. She stuff herself, guzzled the orange juice then grabbed her bike to leap off the edge with it. The men were headed out into the field. Cameron and Kaede pedaled back down the drive and onto the road.
They pedaled along at a decent speed, but not blazing. Going along easier, Kaede noted that this was nice countryside. They came to a highway entrance and passed on by to stay heading east on secondary roads. A few times they got whistles from passing motorists. None were abusive or tried to stop them. Like the mate on the ship told them, they passed into Poland without so much as being stopped.
After the sun went down, they again found a highway, this one lead to Warsaw. They went up the ramp and pedaled like demons again, racing for the city. By the time they got to the outskirts of the city and got off an exit to go find a place to eat, Cameron let Kaede know it was 1:35 local time.
Finding a hostel that had an attached restaurant, Kaede had them stop. She was hungry again and the needed a full day to get into the city and find the place they needed to be.
After Kaede ate and Cameron go some nutrition with a Gyro sandwich, they settled into their room. Kaede hit the bathroom and got a much needed shower. Cameron turned the TV on and listened to the news.
Coming out of the bathroom in a T-shirt and panties, Kaede asked, "Any good news?"
"Nothing about us," Cameron told her. "There is a watch for a missing man, a George Patterson was turned in as missing by his landlady. She went to check on him and his door had been pried open. The police found a gun wired to the door. One Officer was injured. A picture of him was shown a few minutes ago."
Sitting on the bed, Kaede asked, "He was abducted?"
"That is what they suspect. The police are looking for him and anyone who has seen him. So far, that is the Land Lady. She said she saw him go up to his room, but he never came down," Cameron explained. Turning to Kaede, she added, "Since the police tripped the trap, it is probable he avoided the trap and is hiding somewhere. All his belongings were still in his room when the police arrived."
Kaede's phone rang. She picked it up. "Kaede."
"This is John Henry. I thought you might like to know that Sarah's trial has been scheduled for December 12th. The prosecution got the earliest date possible."
"Thank you for the information, John Henry. I take it I will be required to attend?"
"Yes. You are on the witness list, as is John Connor and Cameron Phillips. There is a warrant out to serve you the papers to be there."
"Contact Ethan Douglas if ya would, Lad. His Son Samuel if ya can't find Ethan. That's Sarah's lawyer. Tell'im I'll be there. I'll be bringin a terminater with me fer proof they exist."
"It may not be wise to bring a terminator into a court room," John Henry cautioned.
"Unless Mrs. Weaver is willin ta go, I gotta. I need proof Sarah ain't crazy," Kaede said firmly.
"I will ask her … There is a trace on this line, Hang up!" *click*
Kaede hung up and turned her phone off. "Someone put a trace on me phone," she told Cameron.
"It is possible Kaliba knows we're here. We need to go." Cameron stated.
"Aye," Kaede agreed and got dressed then slung her pack on. "Not tagether, either. I'll go find the Kaliba building, I want ya ta look around an see if ya kin find George Patterson."
"He may be dead," Cameron told her. "Where to we meet?"
Thinking of a large, easy to find place, Kaede said, "Long term parkin at the airport, near the lot entrance. Meet me there at One. If ya doan find'im, we'll talk bout it. I'll go turn the key in."
Kaede and Cameron left. Cameron got on her bike and rode off. Kaede turned the key in and showed the man there the address she had to find. He pulled out a map and showed her directions to it.
.
Cameron pedaled into the city, her mind working. George Patterson was spying on Kaliba and got caught. His room was trapped for his arrival and he fled. He wanted to leave quickly. If he knew about Kaliba, he also might have known about terminators. Leaving by car would be too slow. The news didn't mention he had a car. If he did, they would have announced the make model and plate number. That meant a train station or the airport. That was, if a Kaliba agent didn't find him first.
Cameron asked a policeman where the train station was. He pointed her in the right direction and let her know her bike would have to be carried as cargo. She thanked him and went to what she thought was the most discrete and fastest way out of the city.
.
Kaede pedaled along and stopped at an intersection to read the street signs. She pulled out the address and looked at it. Some letters matched but not all. OK, on to the next one. She was thinking she should have brought Cameron with her to read the street signs.
Warsaw was a busy city. Kaede did more walking her bike on the sidewalk, than riding. She ached to just leave her bike and go rooftop hopping. That would give her away though, and who knew if she'd find her bike once she left it behind. They still needed to get back home, and she didn't want to walk it.
Walking along and checking street signs, Kaede was at an intersection checking the signs and saw a group of Japanese tourists ahead of her. They looked like college kids. She walked faster. When she got in voice range, she called to them in Japanese. "Hello? Help please."
A couple young men turned to look and smiled at her. They stopped. The taller one asked, "You are from Japan?" Upon hearing him the whole group stopped.
Kaede hurried up to them. "Yes! I must find an address, but I can't read the street signs."
They laughed. "Neither can we!" the taller one said. He showed her the map he had. "We are getting around by following this map. It shows all the points of interest."
Gazing at her, his friend asked, "Where are you from? We're from Komatsu."
"Yokohama," Kaede told him. "I was hoping to find this address, I'm to meet someone there."
He grinned at her. "You have a strange accent."
"I've been living in Scotland for the last few years. You should hear my English!"
They all laughed. In halting English, the girl by the tall man asked, "You speak English well?"
It was Kaede's turn to laugh. "Nay Lass, me an me family speak Scottish. Ya should come cop-a-squat at our pub if ya wanna have a good time!"
The girl gaped at her. In Japanese she said, "I only caught a little bit of that. Is that really English?"
"Most people not Scots can't understand us Scots," Kaede assured her.
"You settled there?" another girl asked.
"We did. That is where my Father is from. It's a very pretty land, and people there are nice. It's like we have a big extended family. Everyone watches out for each other." As she talked, Kaede realized her Japanese was rusty. "Sorry if I miss speak, I haven't talked in Japanese for many years." She remembered to bow with her apology.
"Want to walk with us, we will help you find your street," the shorter man gazing at her offered.
"Arigato," Kaede said, being sure she pronounced it correctly.
The address she had was in Polish also, so they agreed to help find the proper street.
It was fun with a group to check out street signs and practice her Japanese. The shorter man found the street Kaede was looking for first. Kaede checked, yes it was the right one. They even paused to walk up and down a short ways to get the flow of the numbers on the buildings so Kaede knew which way to go.
The shorter man beamed Kaede a smile and said, "I'm sorry, I seemed to have forgotten to introduce myself. I am Moto Kashira." He bowed to her.
Without thinking, Kaede bowed and said "Kikumura Kaede. Please to meet you." Straightening up from her bow, she noticed the whole group stared at her, their jaws open.
"You … You are Kikumura Kaede?" the shorter man asked.
"Kaede Nokaze," a girl whispered.
"Hai," Kaede said in a huff. "Thank you for helping me. We should part now."
They did, fleeing at a fast walk. Damn it. Her reputation in Japan seemed to follow her like a ball and chain. Kaede went on her way. Well, it was fun while it lasted.
.