Ch 104

For how bad everything she heard about 'Lucy' was, Cameron wasn't seeing any of it. Kaede wasn't overly friendly, but she was decent and thanked Cameron for wiping out all that information on her. The idea she was getting from Kaede was she wanted to leave 'all that mess', behind her.

"I got rid of what I could," Cameron explained to Kaede and Kouta. She noted the girl Yuka was sitting close to Kouta's other side. "There are still the paper files. The Officer that met us at the airport was afraid of Diclonius, but he had no idea Nana is one until we told him. I think the safest thing for all of you is to leave Japan, or at least move to someplace where they is fewer people. Get out of the city."

"Yes, like Far away," Nana agreed. "It's really nice there."

"Where is this Far Away place?" Kouta asked.

"Is it like in a hidden forest?" Yuka asked. "You have many strange things there."

Kaede glanced at her. "They may be strange, but it seems everyone gets along there."

"We do," Nana agreed. "And it's fun to watch the fish people swim. Jackie taught me how to swim like a fish. Mayu, you can come swim with us!"

Mayu shrunk back. "What about those alligators?"

"There's only one near the house, and she's not bad," Nana told her. "As long as you wear boots and watch where you're walking, the snakes aren't bad either. They even warn you if you're getting too close. They rattle at you."

"Rattlesnakes?" Mayu asked, and gaped at Nana.

Nana nodded. "As long as Mayu is careful, Mayu could come have a good time like Nana is."

"We can't move. We have college, and need to get jobs," Yuka stated.

Kaede glanced at Yuka again. "Kouta, living at the Maple Inn here is nice, but someplace more isolated may be a better option. Less people to see us."

Kouta frowned. "Finding a job is easier in the city. I will need a job after I graduate."

"What is your major?" Cameron asked.

"Accounting, tax laws, Nothing super scientific," Kouta replied.

"Hey, Cam, Sonya could use an accountant," Delilah said. "Actually, we could too. We don't even know what the new Marine Biologists are spending."

"You mean, besides whatever they want?" Cameron asked with a smirk.

"Why do you want Kouta to leave here?" Yuka asked, eyeing Cameron.

Blanks faced, Cameron replied, "Because we could use a good accountant, and if Kaede is to truly get a second chance to live a decent life, it will go better if she's not known. Here, I minimized it, but she is still known. Officials still have their opinion of her. If they want to cause trouble, they can make life harder on Kouta and you as well as Mayu, for even knowing Kaede."

"You want to watch over us," Kaede stayed.

"Yes," Cameron stated. "Where we live is more of a big family in our community. Humans are only about half the population. Everyone there gets along well and works well together. It doesn't matter what you are in Driftwood, all that matters is being decent to others and doing you part for the community."

"How big is this place?" Kouta asked.

"Not very. Four, five hundred. Somewhere around that many. The sheriff might know," Cameron told him.

Kaede looked deep in thought, then asked, "You are gathering non humans together?"

"Didn't mean to, but yes, others who like us, didn't have a very easy time off by themselves or wherever they were," Cameron replied.

"We've got a bit of everything, I think," Delilah added. "Name it, and I'm sure there's at least one in town, somewhere. There's nothing exciting or flashy about Driftwood. It's mostly a farming community. Wineries are big there. A few small businesses, common stuff, grocery, bar, auto shop, hardware store, leather shop, gun shop, car dealer, furniture factory. We have a few community events, like that concert, the festival, Pig hunts most of the town participates in, one way or another. School events. For us, it's relaxing. We get to live and do and not have to be looking over our shoulder."

"That big tall woman," Mayu said, "She played in that concert too, didn't she?"

"She did," Delilah agreed. "Sonya knows how to play a few instruments well."

Kaede asked, "Nana, you really like it there?"

Nana beamed, "Nana loves Far Away! Nana has lots of friends, in town and in the lake! Kouta, Kaede, Mayu and Yuka really should come visit."

Yuka looked at Kaede. "Kaede, you should go."

Kaede eyed Yuka with a smirk. "Leave you so you can terrorize Kouta with no interference? I don't think so. Why don't you go, Yuka?"

Yuka frowned at her. "And leave you here alone with Kouta? Who knows what you'd do with him!"

"I do," Kaede said with an evil grin.

In between them, Kouta blushed. Delilah chuckled. "Wow, bit of a competition there?"

"What? no," Kouta said weakly.

Cameron looked at Delilah and said, "They don't know how to share."

Her cheeks turning pink, Yuka asked, "What does that mean?"

Delilah glanced at Yuka. "Right, she doesn't know the meaning of the word."

"I do too!" Yuka stated.

Cameron's phone rang. She picked it up. "Connor ... Yes, General, I'm here talking to her now ... As I said, I intent to ensure she is not a problem here ... No. General, my phone is being traced, bye." Cameron closed her phone up.

"Not good?" Delilah asked.

Cameron looked at Kaede and said, "You've got ten minutes to decide if you want to come or stay." To Kouta she said, "If you're coming you got five minutes to pack." Cameron then opened her phone. When she opened her mouth, she sounded like a computer transfer frequency in a warble. She listened then hung up.

"Don't mean to rush you but you have six points three minutes to decide and be out the door." Cameron stated.

Kaede took on a blank look. "I'm not afraid of a fight."

"Neither am I," Cameron stated. "However, if we stay and fight, Kouta, Yuka and Mayu may be hurt."

"Kouta?" Yuka asked weakly.

Kouta got up. "Yuka, if you're coming, pack fast!" he then ran out.

"Mayu, grab your clothes," Kaede announced and shot to her room.

"Ohhh!" Yuka whined, got up and ran to her room.

"Nana will help Mayu!" Nana announced.

"The General wants to arrest Kaede?" Delilah asked.

"He said she's wanted for murder and treason. I called John Henry, he's going to run interference and get us a ship out of Japan."

"A freighter?"

"Negative, a private yacht for hire. The Contran It's down at the docks on the northern end of Kamakura."

.

The trace on the call came back as originating in Komatsu on the west coast. SDF forces were alerted as were police. The airport there was heavily watched as were the docks and police were on the roads. While 'Lucy', and the Connors were searched for there, at the Maple Inn, Yuka made an announcement.

"I can't go," Yuka stated as she gazed at Kouta sadly. "I have to stay. Kouta, please, stay with me."

Kouta looked at the floor. "Yuka, Mayu and Kaede still need looking after. I have to go with them."

"But... Yuka," Mayu said, gazing sadly at her.

"Mayu, you can stay if you want." Kouta told her.

Mayu shook her head. "Kouta, things have gotten better, but still, I have many bad memories from around here. I want to get good memories like Nana has."

Kouta cast her a gentle smile. "OK then, come on."

Nana clasped Mayu's hand, "Nana and Mayu will have fun in Far Away!"

They left the Maple Inn, leaving Yuka behind by herself. Yuka teared up and cried, they were all going far away, and she didn't think Kouta would ever be back. She sat in place and cried her eyes out.

.

Cameron noted Kaede kept looking around and eyeing people as they walked. "You don't need to be that nervous," she said.

"Watch for soldiers and police dressed like soldiers," Kaede told her. They will try to surround us."

"If we were in Komatsu," Cameron said with a grin. "John Henry directed the trace on my phone to that city. It's hundreds of miles away. By the time they figure out their error, we'll be gone."

Kaede eyed her. "How do you do that? This was like when you got rid of all those files about me?"

"Similar," Cameron agreed. "Kaede, when someone wants to come after me, it's not just me they have to deal with. It's a network that spans most of the globe. Often, I've found avoiding trouble and misdirecting them is more effective than fighting them directly. When say, Allison got kidnapped, we found who was responsible and destroyed all of them quietly. There are those who know who did it, but no proof to come back at us. This time, I wanted to get you away, so I'm getting you away, and by the time they realize we aren't there, we'll be gone."

"So if you had known about that facility where Nana and I were kept, you could have gotten rid of them?"

"Clean sweep, no survivors except for those who were chained up," Cameron said flatly. "We don't like cruelty."

Kaede giggled. "I like you. You make things happen."

"We do."

Kouta pointed up ahead. "Is that Yuka?"

The docks were ahead. So was a cab Yuka was getting out of. She paid the cabbie, got her bag and ran to the dock to talk to a man as she flung an arm.

"You know we could have taken a cab too," Delilah said.

"That was a dumb move," Cameron stated. "Now the cabbie knows where Yuka went if he's asked."

"No clean get-away?" Delilah wondered aloud.

"We'll find out in a couple days," Cameron said. "It will take them that long to come looking for us here."

.

Yuka was relieved when the group marched up to the dock. The man there wouldn't let her onto the dock. Cameron showed her badge and said, "Cameron Connor, you have a ride for us?"

The man nodded and motioned to the big ship. It was longer than the dock. "There on the right. You have extra passengers?"

"Asylum seekers, Can we get them registered on board?" she asked.

"Indeed. So you know, General Watson has been retired, or so the claim goes. He didn't give any information about your ... group, let's call it, to anyone. He decided to disappear. There's indications you all fled to Mexico. There's disturbing changes happening."

"Is he safe?"

"He is. He had his own escape plan as well. It will take us five weeks to get back to the US. Oh, All the other special agents have elected for you to be their leader." He waved, the group followed him.

"Yuka, you decided to come?" Mayu asked happily.

"Yes, Mayu, Someone has to watch out for Baka Kouta!" Yuka said, sounding irritated.

Kaede sighed. Well, she thought they'd gotten rid of Yuka.

This ship really was a private yacht, paid for by friends of General Watson. Everyone got their own staterooms. The steward made it a point to tell them once they were under way, refreshments were being served on the pool deck.

The pool deck was in the middle of the ship. It wasn't a large pool, about the size of the one they had at home. Around the pool, the deck was light colored with inlays of starfish crab and octopus shapes. Lounge chairs ringed the pool area. On the forward end of the pool area was a bar, complete with white coated bartender.

Cameron and Delilah came out onto the pool deck in bikinis and t-shirts. Cameron had her light purple THING 1 T-shirt, Delilah had her light red THING 2 T-shirt. Right away, Cameron noticed a small group by the bar. Catherine Weaver was here, in her white dress, Mr. Ellison and General Watson had painfully colorful Hawaiian shirts and shorts on. Nana and Mayu were already in the pool.

Cameron noted General Watson was looking old. His hair was mostly gray, only streaks of dark were in it and his face bore many worry lines. Mr Ellison was showing gray on his temples also.

"Hello, Mrs. Weaver, Mr. Ellison, General," Cameron said as they approached.

General Watson lifted his glass and replied, "Cameron! Delilah! Glad to see you made it. Mission successful?"

"So far. I take it there's a reason we're all here?" Cameron asked.

"There is," he agreed. "Mrs. Weaver has the best information."

Catherine looked around and asked, "Lucy made it on board?"

"Her name is Kaede, and yes, she's here. So are the people she was living with, Kouta, Yuka and Mayu." Cameron said, then asked, "You were expecting us?"

"We were." Catherine agreed. "A year ago, I knew about the trouble in Kamakura, and followed it. When Nana wandered away, I helped her here and there to get her away from Japan."

Delilah nodded. "You guided her to us."

"I did," Catherine admitted. "I knew once you knew about her, you would not leave Kaede where she is. Most of the Japanese wanted to find and destroy her, others wanted to discover why she has her powers so they could duplicate them. We can't have that."

"We knew you would take Nana in, then find a reason to collect Kaede," General Watson said. "By the way, I'm Tom Smith now. General Watson has disappeared someplace."

Cameron understood, Catherine Weaver was a master at manipulations. "So, what's the scheme?" she asked.

Catherine told her, "Same as always, ensuring some idiot does not ruin our world. You and John have been instrumental in helping with that. There are other forces at work as well. Sky Net was a big threat. Another is those madmen in China, you've done well in reigning them in. Keep in mind, Sky Net was not the only one who thought it was a good idea to nuke the world. There are those selfish ones who don't understand, or want to, the permanent damage that can cause. They can only see their own possible gain."

"Religious cults, greedy men seeking more power regardless of the cost," Tom said. "It would be a simple solution to just assassinate them, but many times, that might make things worse in the long run."

Cameron understood. "So, Tom, now that you aren't in the government any more, what will you do?"

"Guide from the sidelines," he said and nodded to Catherine, "Like others do."

Catherine cast him a tiny smile. "Not that John Henry is in a good position, we don't need to depend so much in the US government for much of anything. In fact, they are not much help against the biggest current threat out of Mexico. The drug cartels." To Cameron, she said, "Currently, they are stronger than Mexico's army, and are working hard to maintain their control. This is causing problems. We need to find a solution."

"You don't have one yet?" Delilah asked.

"Nothing that would not spark a war. We have a few weeks to figure out what to do," Tom said.

"So that's why you made sure you picked us up," Cameron said.

"Yes," Catherine stated.

.

New England thought they were ready to play and beat the Cowboys. Coach Emerson, the new Coach Yeager and Joan studied the Patriots as well, and had an idea of how to modify their plays to take them by surprise. Joan had not done a straight line jump in a while. To help with a successful long bomb, Bob was shifted to right receiver. He could run fast and take the impact of Joan's fast throw. Moving their hardest hitters to cover the center, they were going to focus on pocket breaking for the defense. So far this season, they had won all five games they played. they planned to keep on winning.

Game day came, and except for the new girl on the cheerleader squad who quit after her embarrassing pool episode, everyone was pumped and ready. The teams came out on the field, and the Patriots won the coin toss.

Joan noted their offense was good. They also relied heavily on passes, even for short gains. The 'break the line.' strategy wasn't working out the best, their quarterback moved back and threw fast. Four times now going down the field, they defenders got through, but not in time to stop him from completing the pass. Down to the Dallas 27 yard line, they set up again for another first down.

Coach Emerson made motioned to their defense to cover the receivers better. New England hiked, and at first, the quarterback made his move, run back an throw, but he paused. On the end, Greg got through and charged him. Focused down field, The quarterback didn't see him until it was too late. Instead of tackling him, Greg snatched the ball out of his hand and took off running. Waking up from having the ball stolen from him, the quarterback chased him. Greg made it back to the Patriot 42 before he was taken down.

"Turnover by Dallas!" the announcer exclaimed.

Joan went out with the offense. Now, it was her turn. She had her receivers on the ends, read to race out. She took the shotgun position. When she hiked, she charged the ball. Her line was holding, She got up speed and jumped high, clearing the line. Coming down, she raced away from the gaggle that was now starting to chase her. Her receivers kept the safeties away from her as she ran past them, and down the field to stop by the goal post to swing around it. Touchdown, Dallas.

The Patriot quarterback didn't make the same mistake twice, but one was enough to put Dallas ahead. The Patriots answered that goal, then the Cowboys got another goal. After working their way down the field to get their touchdown, Joan went out to made a touchdown on her first try. 21 to 21 was the score at the end of the first quarter. At the end of the second, New England didn't have time to complete their touchdown, so at the half it was 42 to 35, Dallas leading.

While the half time show was going on, Coach Emerson told his team, "We need a stop. Another turnover or stop them on yardage. We have a slim lead now, but that could quickly change. We NEED that stop and get another goal ahead of them. You know they will be trying hard to stop us. Greg, do your best to get through and grab that ball. Jake and Tommy, hang onto those receiver's asses! Get that ball away from them! They will be on our 20 yard line when we go back out, don't let them get that goal!"

"Coach, let me go out on defense, left side safety," Joan said.

Coach Yeager said, "We do that and you'll be committed to that position for the half."

"Yes, and I'll be able to stop them. One good interception and I'll blow right through them!" Joan stated. "They won't be expecting that."

Coach Emerson said, "Bob, Can you do that? I'd rather keep Joan making touchdowns."

"Let me do it, Joan, We need you making goals." Bob said.

Joan sighed. "All right, but watch that ball closely. Take left side safety, I'm sure that's where he's going to throw to. I've been watching his pattern. Stay to the side of his receiver, let him think the receiver is clear."

"I get it," Bob assured her.

Going back out after half time, the teams took the field again where they left off. Joan watched them set up. At the hike, the quarterback did throw to the left receiver, and Bob closed in on him as the ball was in the air. Bob jumped up and caught the hall and ran hard at the line that was breaking up. With three Patriots in front of him, he ran hard at them and leaped up just before they made contact. To his surprise, he made it over them. He passed the line of scrimmage and got another five yards in before he was taken down hard. That was OK, Joan would finish getting the ball down field.

Passing him coming off the field, Joan returned his high-five.

"Your turn," he told her.

"Good job!" she replied.

Joan had yet to do a line collapse. When she told her offense that was the play, they stared at her. "You're going to get murdered!" one guy said.

"Let them though, run five yards and get ready to receive. "Joan stated.

"We'll bring a stretcher for you after the play," the lineman Ron said.

Joan did the shotgun again. This time when she hiked, she let the ball come to her, as did the Patriot line for several steps. Joan jumped up and threw the ball just left of center. Ron caught it. The team guarded him from the sides, Joan ran at the 10 patriots who just realized they'd been tricked. They stopped and ran back, Joan caught them and pushed into the lead man, making him stumble, he ran into another one. Joan kept the defenders slowed down as her team ran on. Racing back and forth she kept bumping into them to make them lose their stride, and couple she knocked over. One tried to run into her. She met him and pushed him aside to fall down.

Joan had only meant to get at least 10 yards out of this play. Moving along and not facing any serious resistance until down to the Patriot 10, When his last defenders were knocked away, Ron dove and got the ball over the goal line. Touchdown, Dallas. They got the field goal too.

New England called a time out.

49 to 35, the New England coach was getting worried. Never having seen a deliberate line collapse before, the announcers went crazy over that 'impossible' play. The whole stadium was wondering what Joan would do next. An Official was called to the patriot side, their coach said that last play was illegal. The officials looked and found there was noting illegal about that play, it was just unconventional. The touchdown and field goal stood.

Once again the Patriots work their way down field, 8, 10, 12 yards at a time. A pass was incomplete, then Bob tried to catch one and it bounced out of his hands, making another incomplete. Third down they got a short pass in, then a QB sneak on the fourth to make up the last yard they needed. The Cowboy defense worked hard, but the patriots got their touchdown. 49 to now 42, they only had one more touchdown and field goal to catch up.

Unfortunately for them, Joan came out with a line burst, pushing though the middle and ran down the length of the field. One safety tried to stop her. She charged him and bent low at the last second to throw him over her back and ran into the end zone.

The game ended with Dallas two touchdowns ahead. Now with a string of six wins in a row, more reporters and photographers wanted Joan's attention. She still would not pose nude though, no matter what they were going to pay her.

.

John went to a meeting with the 'shiners', an unofficial group that made their own alcohol. John had thought it was just a few guys from Driftwood, especially since they were meeting in a barn of a farmer who lived 18 miles out of town. What he wasn't expecting was to see close to a hundred cars parked around the barn. There was no signs, except inside the barn was a poster calling this the Shiner's Convention. Besides many people, there were stills, jugs and tubing on display for sale, as well a formulas for different flavored alcohols.

It was like a completely new sub-culture he'd discovered.

Paul was the farmer who owned this place and the coordinator of the event. Hearing John was going to start an alcohol for fuel still, everyone wanted to meet him and get a piece of the action. John found out many of the people here already used alcohol to power their cars and farm equipment.

"Why pay for gas when we can make our own fuel?" Jethro asked. "Corn squeezins from the silos is a great base for making mash. Using it for fuel, who cares what it tastes like. Instead of adding water to make a mash, we add the corn squeezins to the grain. Makes for some powerful stuff. We usually get 190 proof out of our batches."

"We don't get a lot of extra, but we do have plenty for our own needs," Paul told John. "How much you talking about needing?"

John shrugged. "Talking to the gas station owner, About a thousand gallons a week is what he uses in gas."

"You're talking supplying the public," Paul noted. "That is going to be a big operation."

"It is," John agreed. "From what I can see, petroleum is going to be scarce in six months or so. Instead of making everyone buy those expensive electric cars, modifying the ones they have will save them money."

Jethro laughed, "And you can make some money too. Got a price in mind?"

"By figuring, I'm thinking $1.95 a gallon." John said.

"When we sell shine, we sell it for $10.00 a quart," Paul stated. "Course that's drinkin shine. Fuel shine is higher in proof, has to be, but isn't as shall we say, refined. I'd say sell just below the price of gas, win lose or draw, to get people interested in the idea of running cars on shine."

"You gonna start your own filling stations?"

"I was going to see if our gas stations would handle it," John told him.

Paul shook his head, "No, don't do that. It's more hands in the pie and will cut down on what you can make. How about this, we make the shine, and you sell it. Make your own station, and don't let it be too well known, or the feds will come knockin."

"I'm thinking with the volume I'll need, everyone makes all they can," John told him. "I was looking at putting up 8 large volume stills myself."

"That's ambitious," Jethro noted. "Running two stills keeps me plenty occupied."

"I'll have help," John assured him. "Of course, any leftover shine you got that's 170 proof or better, I'll buy from you."

They laughed. "We usually find a use for it. No shine goes to waste, I'll tell ya that," Paul said.

John had a good time at the Shiners Convention and he learned a few things about distilling as well. From what he was seeing, these people had it down to a science.

.

Daniel for one was excited about making alcohol fuel. Jackie was going to graduate, and Barnabas was also interested in making alcohol fuel up north near his factory. It looked like a good time to start a business. While things like sugar made the most alcohol, any plant that produced a fruit made some. Even grass made some alcohol. The bane of every lawn care expert, the dandelion, was an alcohol producer. Not much per plant, but dandelions grew just about anywhere. Corn was a big alcohol producing plant, and in the mid west, they had big corn to alcohol distilleries.

In the news, the idea of reducing or eliminating petroleum production was getting harsh and heavy resistance. Oil was a big business, and wanting to stifle it was causing havoc in Washington.

Besides school and discussing going into making alcohol, Jackie was eager to work at the Driftwood fencing center. So far, they had a small building and a few high school boys interested. It wasn't a large area like up north, more like a private club-sized place. Still, it pleased Jackie. She and Daniel could fence there with their club, and an instructor from Austin came to help out.

Boris Hartley was a graduate student who liked to fence and was good at it. He came to the Driftwood Fencing center to teach these young people how it was done. Since it was mostly high school students, the center didn't even open until 4 PM. He arrived to find a teenage blonde girl and two boys in their fencing outfits with epee blades, then most common fencing blade.

"Afternoon!" he called as he came in. "I'm Boris Hartley, I came to give you some instruction on how to properly fence."

"Hi, I'm Daniel Collins," one boy said and waved. "This is Chuck Lewis, and Jackie Connor. A couple more guys should be coming."

Boris waved. "Please to meet you. So! let be get my outfit on, and who will show me what you know?"

Both boys looked at Jackie. Jackie said, "Daniel, you should show him first. I don't want to embarrass him."

"Embarrass me?" Boris asked. "I take it you know how to fence?"

"Jackie won the New England fencing trophy last year," Daniel told him.

"Junior league?"

"No, the senior league, Jackie is really good." Daniel explained.

"I'm up for the challenge," Boris said. He went in the men's locker room and got dressed.

Daniel came close to Jackie and asked, "You're going to kick his ass?"

Jackie giggled. "Let's call it show him a little humiliation."

Boris came out in his fencing suit and asked, "Do we have a scoring machine?"

"Not yet," Jackie said. "We were going over exercises. I have a scoring unit on order, it's one of the newer electronic scoring machines. No wires, the probes attach to your suit and your blade. They transmit to the receiver unit."

"Good system," Boris said. "So, Jackie, right? Shall we spar some?"

Jackie stepped up onto the mat. Boris did also. They saluted each other and set themselves.

Right away, Boris noted Jackie was left handed. That could be a blessing, and a curse for her. He faked a lunge, Jackie easily parried his blade and faked her own lunge. He went easy for a while, to test how she reacted. She'd touche'd him three times by the time he realized she really could fence. His own attempts to get a hit on her were parried every time. As they went on, he got more serious and tried to get a hit on her. He couldn't do it. Every time she parried and got a hit on him.

Faster and faster they moved, Boris was now trying hard just to keep her blade away from him. She was fast and her strikes were quick and accurate. His best strike attempt only came close to her outstretched arm.

"You are wonderful!" he admitted.

Jackie giggled. "I ought to be. I beat the Olympic Silver medalist last year. I did have to use my right hand though."

"You're not left handed?" he asked. The boys watching laughed.

"Nope!" Jackie said and jumped back. She tossed her sword in the air and caught it with her right hand. When she lunged again in her attack, her arm and sword was a blur of motion. Before Boris knew it, His sword was plucked out of his hand and her sword was dead center on his chest. He was stunned by her speed.

"I use my right hand, it's over too quickly," she explained.

Yes, this girl could fence all right. He'd never seen anyone that fast before. He was not expecting to meet someone so skilled. "You are a master at fencing," he admitted. He retrieved his sword. "I have a feeling I should be learning from you."

"Don't worry, we have newbies who can learn much from you," Jackie assured him brightly.