Jack and Jill IV
Chapter 25
"Why didn't I think of this before?" Alexis was sure she was losing it on this trip. "Don't move, Dad. Here's the number." She showed it to Jack who made the call and Rick and Kate got to listen to Alexis and someone talk about installing a solar system for the entire roof along with a residential windmill for more power. Battery storage.
He was betting all of the outbuildings would be connected to the main panel so all he needed to do was connect to it and the entire site would have solar and wind power in addition to being connected to the city power.
He needed to know the square feet of roof he had to work with so Alexis told him the square footage of the main house. It was all she had to work with. The roof was all red clay tile except for a couple of the outbuildings that had thatch roofs but he didn't care anything about those buildings.
He wanted to know the service size but she would have to get back to him about that.
He could start in a month and it would take about a month to complete, possibly longer, depending on just where the service entered the house and where the batteries could go. She just had to sign the contract and yes he could eDoc it for her to sign. Half now and half upon completion so she gave him her credit card number and he would use that money to buy supplies and have it shipped in. If the shipment was delayed he was delayed.
Next came the blacksmith. He even knew about the place. They had a horse stable so he wasn't surprised that she wanted a blacksmith shop. He could also start in about a month and it would take him about a month to construct the building and install the system including the exhaust fan. He would find the perfect spot for it.
Looking at the pictures Rick and Alexis saw a problem with the water catchment system.
"It just red clay tiles and no roof gutters for the water to fall into." Alexis rubbed her forehead. She was getting a headache. "Rain is just meant to fall over the side and onto the ground. This could be a problem."
"What about the back patio roof?" Rick questioned. But the picture of it was the same, more red clay tiles. "Don't we need filters and a UV light to kill the bugs so we can drink it? Where is all that going to go? How does it all get connected to the main water line to the site?" Rick had questions that Alexis couldn't answer.
"We do without? See if you can find Storm. Maybe he has an idea," Alexis asked, looking at Kate who was up to search the plane.
Moments later she was back. "Shower. He'll be out in a few."
oOo
Storm only knew of it, not how it worked. Neither he nor Jayne could help. "Maybe we can buy a water truck and let it sit there? Best I can come up with." It was all Alexis had.
"Wait! I'm so stupid. It says right here in the listing. "Its own water source." I'm guessing that means a well and not city water. It may have a septic system and not connected to city waste, either. We better not need to pump it out." Alexis shook her head.
"So everything is solved. We just have to get there is all." Rick relaxed. One less worry to deal with.
"It's says it's an hour from Panama City. So fly in, buy a truck or two, and drive in after filling the bed of each with all kinds of stuff. Like freezers maybe. Then do it again for food. Keep it up till we don't have anywhere to put it and never leave again," Alexis said.
"Works for me." Storm didn't have any trouble with it.
"Me, too," Kate chimed in.
"Me, three," Rick said.
"Why am I always fourth around here?" Jayne was bummed.
oOo
They ate followed by landing in Tokyo and Rick got his new chair that Kate moved him into and got him to try it out. They watched him move around and spin in place. "Not bad. It feels funny using my hand instead of my chin but not bad." He was happy so Kate was even more happy.
They got a new flight crew, stairs to get on and off with, fuel, and twelve heavily armed men in full combat gear so the plane was a lot more full now.
Madam Secretary was watching Kate and Alexis as their armed escort came onboard. "They're here to guard the plane after we land and guard us. No doubt the Russians and the Chinese will have the same. Just pray we don't all start shooting each other.
"Next stop, Philippines for more fuel. Where we're going is still a long ways off. Five hours to Manila and four hours to Thailand. We should arrive about 2:00 pm local time. Hopefully it's not raining," Elizabeth explained. She had to explain. Jack and Jill were essential to all of this. She couldn't leave them or the people with them out of the loop.
"How's the chair?" She knew a new one was brought onboard for Rick.
"Perfect! Tell them thank you, please," Kate asked. "That other one was hurting him."
"We'll be leaving in about an hour and a half. It's just an airbase but if you want out just find a Secret Service agent to escort you. Stretch your legs, get some sunshine," Elizabeth suggested. "There really isn't much here." That said, she left them.
Rick couldn't go so Kate stayed onboard as did everyone else. They were going to get off in Thailand anyway.
oOo
There really wasn't much to do on this plane. It wasn't like it had a movie theater or anything. No real bar since there was no alcohol onboard to be found. If there had been Jayne and/or Kate would have found it by now. The closest anyone had to entertainment was the laptop Alexis had borrowed from somewhere. But even it wasn't much help.
They all went to bed after leaving the Philippines. They were awakened before arriving at Thailand.
The airfield didn't have a control tower or landing lights or really any navigational aide of any kind. The pilots to had to over fly it once to verify the landing strip was free of any obstacles. What they did see were two planes sitting nose to tail on the far end of the runway.
"At least they left us some space to land on," the copilot observed. There really wasn't anyone to talk to except to tell the passengers they would be landing shortly which meant sit down and buckle up.
The copilot called out altitude and speed every few seconds and watched to make sure the pilot didn't land short or too long or they might run out of runway and crash into whoever was out front which to them looked like the Chinese.
"Reverse thrust." The pilot pulled the levers all the way back and applied the brakes.
"Nothing to it." They cruised down the runway and tried to turn on a dime to face the opposite direction. "Last in, first out." He was right where he wanted to be and began shutting down using the checklist.
First out were four of their security detail who secured the area around the plane. They were followed by others carrying a dead body, computer parts, and parts of the alien fighter. They also had copies of Lanie's autopsy translated into Russian and Chinese. Four of each.
Rick's chair got carried out and Storm carried Rick down to his chair and strapped him in. He had his pistol with a suppressor but left it hidden.
"Let the show begin," Madam Secretary murmured and they all went toward what was clearly a large group that were all outside. There really wasn't any choice. Not much else was there.
Each side had an interpreter for each other. They had decided to bring with them only two of their armed escorts since that was what the others looked to have. The rest stayed at the plane.
Madam Secretary began the introductions and introduced everyone save for Jack and Jill who weren't needed yet. The Russians went next and they had four and the Chinese had five.
"YA Ketrin Bekket. Priyatno poznakomit'sya." Kate held out her hand to shake someone's, anyone's. She got one.
"I detect an accent." His English was fair and he had a heavy accent.
"YA provel god v Kiyeve, poseshchaya zanyatiya v kolledzhe. Seychas u menya ne tak mnogo shansov govorit' po-russki," Kate explained.
"Kiev, lovely city. I do not have many chances to use my English, either," he told her.
The Chinese introduced themselves next.
"You didn't tell me you spoke Russian," Madam Secretary whispered to Kate.
"You didn't ask," Kate whispered back.
"We have brought a dead alien body that has not yet had an autopsy for you to perform for yourselves if you like," Madam Secretary offered.
It turned out each had brought an ME to examine any body the Americans had brought with them. Someone had even brought the table and tools to do so.
"Some of the computers and other hardware," Chuck said. "And there are parts of the fighter that attacked part of New York City before it was shot down. You will note the hull was made out of crystals. It was explained to us that this was a defense to prevent lasers from having any practical use," Chuck added.
"U vas yest' kosmicheskiy korabl'," one of the Russians stated.
This told the Americans they had an even larger leak since the President in his speech hadn't mentioned anything about a spaceship.
"We do and don't. It is still presently under water. We estimate that it weighs anywhere from six to eight tons," Dennis told them. "We are still attempting to determine the correct method to raise it in one piece. Once it is secure you and members of NATO will all have access to it. We are not hiding anything. Too much is at stake."
They waited for the translations to finish. "You will all be contacted when the ship is secure. You will all be there when we attempt to open it for the first time," Dennis said. "Take all the pictures you wish."
"Ostalos' desyat' dney," a different Russian stated.
"Regrettably yes. We are still discussing the best way to prevent the Amplitur from attacking us and how best to respond. We welcome your suggestions."
"Nín jùyǒu Weave de réngōng zhìnéng," one of the Chinese said. It told the Americans they both knew more than had originally been thought.
"Jack, Jill, I believe it is time for you to talk," Dennis suggested.
Jill appeared in the middle of the Russians while Jack materialized in the middle of the Chinese. Both sides were initially shocked and weapons were leveled but soon put back down.
Astoundingly for all sides Jill began speaking in fluent Russian while Jack spoke in fluent Mandarin Chinese.
"I can't keep up, sir," the translators the Americans for Russian and Chinese both warned.
"Then we trust Jack and Jill. What choice do we have?" Dennis asked and they all waited.
oOo
"They do not believe that we do not know how many ships and how many men," Jack told the Americans.
Dennis and the others shook their heads. "We don't. Even you don't."
"I am aware of this, however, they insist that we do," Jack said.
"I don't know of any way to prove to them that we don't except to wait for them to arrive." Dennis was at an impasse. "The enemy computer did not contain that information either."
"No, it did not," Jack confirmed. Jack continued talking to them up until the Chinese walked away.
"They insist we know," Jack told them again.
"So they will not help," Dennis stated.
"They say they will attack but only if they are attacked. They will not help," Jack confirmed and vanished.
That left them watching Jill and soon they watched all of the Russians start to walk away.
"Podozhdite, pozhaluysta," Kate asked at least one of them and he actually did.
"We will defend. We will not defend you," he stated and walked away with the others.
"Well this was a bust." Dennis couldn't believe it. He looked at Jill who was still there. "They do understand what's at stake here, don't they? If an Amplitur reaches even one of their generals we will be forced to attack Russian troops."
"They are aware. They believe they can prevent that," Jill confirmed and vanished.
"No vse my lyudi! U nas tol'ko odna planeta," Kate yelled at him. He stopped and looked at her. But she couldn't hear what he told the others. However he was the only one that came back.
"We will be ready. We will not defend another country," he told Kate directly.
"Please? We're not trying to conquer you. Can you at least coordinate with the rest of us so we know what you are doing? Where you are going?" Kate pleaded with him.
"Da." And he turned and walked away.
"Nice work, Kate." She at least got them to do something.
Dennis left the dead body and everything else behind in case they changed their minds.
Chuck had everyone back on the plane and the pilots began the preflight checklist. Then started firing up the engines and went through the next checklist before taking off.
"Where are we going now?" Kate asked, looking at Madam Secretary.
"Back to Tokyo and then home. Eventually all the way to DC," Elizabeth said. "We'll put you on an Air Force Jet and take you as close to New York City as we can get you then drive you home. If we deem it safe enough."
"And Bracken who sent men to our place?" Kate questioned her.
"Oh, damn. I had forgotten about him. Perhaps your penthouse isn't safe enough." Elizabeth looked tired. "We have hours till we're in Tokyo. I think you should discuss what you want to do amongst yourselves. We can arrange to send you where you want to go. Within limits." She squeezed Kate's arm and left her.
oOo
"Stupid Chinese." Alexis plopped down in a chair and fumed. "I mean how stupid can you get?"
"The Russians weren't much better," Storm pointed out.
"I don't understand them. You'd think we were living on two different planets. If the Amplitur get to them we'll have to fight them as well and they have nukes," Kate said. She was frustrated and very tired.
"It's been us versus them for a long time now," Rick reminded her. "Maybe it's harder to not think like that as we believe."
Suddenly Madam Secretary, Dennis, and Chuck entered the area they were in. "We gather you're upset." Chuck waited for one of them to speak up.
"You think?" Kate tried not to yell at him. If someone isn't willing to listen you can't force them. She had already learned that.
"Officially it isn't over yet. We still have over a week to get them to change their minds. It's all part of diplomacy," Elizabeth said.
Alexis shook her head. "I don't think they're interested."
"Never say never, Alexis. It might take them actually fighting to get them to see but it's not over just yet." Elizabeth wasn't ready to give up. "Some people are just too dense. From our perspective the Chinese automatically believe they are superior therefore they don't need help nor willing to offer it. It's their history. But maybe."
"Jack, Jill, we thank you for your help in all of this," Chuck told them knowing they were there even if he didn't see them.
Both of them appeared. "It is our job to represent the Weave. We will continue as long as we are here," Jill told them.
"Well, thanks anyway," Chuck said. "Before we reach DC let us know where you want to go and we'll arrange it."
"We still need to talk about that," Rick mentioned.
"Take your time. It will take us two days to reach DC. We'll be down to six days by then." They all retreated and left them alone till two soldiers walked through to reach the restrooms on this end.
"So where are we going?" Kate queried.
"If your penthouse is still secure – which I can't guarantee since we've been gone – it may still be safe. We have food and can still prevent another episode like the last one or worse," Storm suggested and Jayne nodded.
"We just have to get there. What if there's a riot between both places?" Alexis asked.
"The National Guard should be preventing that," Rick remarked.
"Except they have to cover the entire state and not just New York City, Rick," Kate said. "Though we also have the largest police force in the country." Kate yawned and her jaw popped. "I'm so tired I can't think."
Storm looked at Alexis and Rick. "My big worry is Bracken. If they haven't caught him yet, what if he has new guys just sitting up there waiting for us to walk right into his hands?"
"We have cameras everywhere. Has Jack seen anything the last few days?" Jayne asked which got Jack to show up.
"I've seen nothing." Jack vanished again.
"So it's safe." Then Kate got a faraway look on her face. "What if we just go straight to Panama and just stay there?" she asked. "If that's the plan for the future, why not make the future now?"
"It isn't really ours yet. LAPTOP!" Alexis was up and running to her bed down on the floor to retrieve the borrowed laptop. Then she was back in her seat. It had been hours since she had talked to them so maybe the eDocs were in there somewhere. All she had to do was sign them and arranged for the transfer of funds.
"It's in!" Alexis signed then sent it back to her. Now she needed to get the money sent to cover all the expenses. "Jack! Phone this number, please." She needed to talk to Maria Diaz. Jack converted Alexis's English into Spanish and Maria's Spanish into English.
Maria just wanted to know when they would be there and she would meet them with the keys.
"We plan to fly into Panama City somehow then drive there. Can we call you when we reach Panama City and arrange a time?" Alexis asked and Maria agreed.
"So is that our answer on where we want to go? Land even in DC with them and have them fly us to Panama City?" Alexis inquired.
"I'll find someone and inform them of our decision. Land in DC with them and have them fly us to Panama City, then go shopping. We all need clothes and everything else." Kate got up and gave Rick a quick kiss and went off to find someone. It would have to be Elizabeth, Chuck, or Dennis.
"You two are coming with us. You two are the only security we have." Alexis pointed at Storm and Jayne.
"Some security. One lousy pistol with a suppressor and two spare clips." What Storm felt was naked and he hated it with an enemy fleet headed this way.
"Not necessarily," Jayne said. "Storm isn't the only one who knows someone." Jayne looked at Rick. "You're rich, right? Because this is going to be expensive."
Rick nodded. "Very."
"Just don't get picky on me." Jayne glanced at Storm. What he was thinking wasn't what they did have before having to be lifted out by a Coast Guard helicopter.