Wednesday, February 15th, 2017
Brathay How, Cumbria
08:37
Most had barely rolled out of bed and they were getting themselves sorted for breakfast.
For the two flight crews, it had been a long night . . . morning . . . whatever. Almost the moment they had entered the house, Lynn had guided the four of them to a table where full fry-ups awaited their hungry stomachs. Other than the adults, very few of the younger members had any idea that an operation and been thrown together and executed on the far side of the country. The first to awake had been Harper and Kaitlin. The two girls had sensed trouble – actually, they had smelt the gunpowder – and they had been swift to discover that there were three new people in the house. In fact, the three visitors were asleep in the bedroom normally occupied by Natasha, Keira, and Cassie. The two girls were, therefore, not overly surprised to find Keira, Trevor, Kate, and Charlotte eating breakfast in the morning room while still wearing their flying boots, if not their flight suits. The two girls sat down across from Charlotte and Kate.
"Your second Vengeance mission, huh?" Harper grinned.
"Gets the adrenalin flowing doesn't it," Charlotte admitted between forkfuls of bacon, eggs, and beans.
"Yes, Harper, it was successful," Keira grinned.
"It was amazing," Kate admitted.
"It was so, so," Trevor added nonchalantly.
"The three upstairs?" Kaitlin asked.
"You found them, did you," Cassie chuckled. "Nothing gets by you, Kaitlin."
Kaitlin grinned.
"Lara Cockburn, Mackenzie and Isaac Morley," Cassie explained. "They were attacked at their home, early hours. They had a Predator living with them who alerted us and kept them alive until we got there. We'll be seeing her tonight."
Kaitlin and Harper scowled. They had both seen how young one of those upstairs was and that was bad in their young eyes – you did not go after somebody so young. Harper knew exactly who it was, having met them all just a few weeks before, and the thought of what they had been through, sickened her. More and more began to appear as the smell of food overcame sleep. Charlotte and Kate vanished upstairs for a shower and some sleep. Keira and Trevor followed soon after for the same.
There were many questions, but Katlin and Harper fended them off with ease . . . and with a few threats of physical violence thrown in for good measure.
..._...
Later that morning, after the majority had vanished for the day's activities, a five-year-old boy awoke.
At first, he was scared as he did not recognise where he was, but then everything began to come back to him. He looked around and he saw his sister . . . and he saw Lara. Everything was okay, he thought, but then he worried about his Lily . . . and what about Hillary? The boy slipped out of the bed and he found a toilet where he did his business then washed his hands. As he stepped out of the toilet, he found a girl waiting for him.
"Hello, Isaac, you remember me?"
"Harper, wasn't it?"
"Yes, that's right. I have your clothes here, all clean and dry. How about we get you washed and then we'll find you something to eat, okay?"
The boy nodded as Harper guided him into a large bathroom where the boy was swiftly stripped and pushed into a hot shower. Harper stayed with Isaac to ensure that the boy did not get into any trouble. Part way through the shower, Diana pushed open the bathroom door and she waved in Mackenzie.
"There you are!" Mackenzie grinned.
"I needed the toilet," Isaac said defensively.
"Hello, Harper," Mackenzie said. "Diana found me on the landing and said you were with my brother."
"I have your clothes here, too," Harper said. "If you can get Isaac out of the shower, you can get one, too."
Diana laughed as Mackenzie wrestled her brother out of the shower and into a towel. Mackenzie pulled off the borrowed oversized T-shirt which she had slept in and dumped it on top of the one Isaac had worn.
"You know what happened to us?" Mackenzie asked Harper as she washed herself.
"Yes, and I'm sorry," Harper replied.
"It was really scary," Isaac piped up.
"I'll bet it was," Harper said as she helped the boy to get dressed.
..._...
It was past eleven o'clock by the time Mackenzie and Isaac joined up with a much-refreshed Lara and all three then headed downstairs for some food.
All three were provided with plates of bacon, sausages, eggs, baked beans, mushrooms, and fried tomatoes by Alexandra. They sat in the morning room and ate heartily with Harper and Diana to keep them company. Once they had eaten their breakfast and drunk a load of tea, Isaac smiled up at Alexandra.
"Thank you, ma'am."
"What a sweet little boy," Alexandra replied with her own smile.
"He is not sweet," Mackenzie corrected.
"No way!" Lara admitted.
"Hey!" Isaac complained.
"Ignore them, Isaac," Alexandra chuckled. "They're just girls."
"Girls are yucky!"
Lara laughed.
..._...
A short while later, Diana found Isaac following her.
She thought the boy was cute, so she left him be. However, he followed her down to the gymnasium where she sat down on a bench.
"You walk funny."
"You talk funny," Diana countered.
"So, do you," Isaac grinned. "I'm an American, so I talk different."
"I walk funny because I have no legs," Diana explained.
Isaac returned a very disbelieving look and Diana laughed – she was used to it.
"I lost both legs in a car crash, last year – see?"
Isaac's eyes grew wide as Diana pushed down her joggers to reveal her legs – or lack of legs.
"Wow!" Isaac exclaimed. "That's so weird!"
"I suppose it is," Diana considered with a chuckle.
Isaac insisted on staying with Diana while she trained, lifting a few very small weights of his own.
That same morning...
Cockburn Hall
10:30
"Hello?"
Hillary looked up to find a DPD delivery man standing in the porch and gazing through into the flooded grand reception hall.
"Burst pipe," Hillary commented as he sloshed through the water in his wellington boots.
"Package for a Lily O'Brien."
"That's me!"
The DPD man looked up as a young girl worked her way down the stairs which were strewn with ropes and equipment.
"What happened?" the man asked, not buying the burst pipe explanation.
"I just woke up and I simply hated everything about the place," Lily stated in a perfect imitation of Lara's accent.
"Right...," the DPD man commented, not buying Lily's explanation either as he held out his computer for a signature,
Lily signed and the man went on his way.
..._...
The previous evening, she and Hillary had returned to Cockburn Hall to find the place in quite a state.
Water was pouring through the shattered roof and dead men were scattered around the landing and grand reception hall, not to mention at least three bodies dangling like Christmas decorations from the roof. Hillary was not amused by the state of he building he normally kept in pristine condition.
"This is going to take some tidying up!"
"We're going to need a few body bags, too," Lily added dolefully.
"And I thought that Miss Lara made the worst mess," Hillary commented drily. "Dear me!"
"Us Predators have to try and outdo mere mortals, H."
Hillary chuckled as he made for the nearest broom closet.
..._...
A few minutes later, the police began to arrive in force.
The entire area became a sea of blue lights as far as the eye could see. It appeared like every police vehicle for a hundred miles had turned up. The top brass had also turned up which had included the Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, and the Deputy Chief Constable to muster their troops.
"Is Miss Cockburn here?" the Deputy Chief Constable asked.
"No," Lily responded.
"And you are?"
"None of your business," Lily responded, glaring at both senior police officers.
"Look, young lady," the Deputy Chief Constable said coldly, "If you impeded our investigation, then you would get yourself in a lot of trouble."
"I have nothing to say..." Lily began.
"Ma'am, phone call," a police sergeant commented as he handed over a mobile phone to the Chief Constable.
"Who is it?" the Chief Constable asked irritably.
"The Home Secretary, ma'am."
"Oh, hell!" the Chief Constable muttered as she took the mobile phone. "Yes, sir."
The conversation appeared to be slightly one-sided and Lily tried not to grin as she saw the senior police officer's eyes flit over in her direction several times. By the unhappy comments uttered by the police officer, Lily assumed that she was being read the riot act by the Home Secretary concerning the security level surrounding Lily and Vengeance. Finally, the call ended.
"Yes, sir – of course, sir. Thank you for your call."
"Miss O'Brien, we will do our utmost not to get in the way, but we do need to ask you some questions, however, I now understand the security implications surrounding this incident. Have no fear, we are on your side, young lady," the Chief Constable said with a decidedly warmer than expected smile. "Now, could you, please, walk us through the events of last night?"
"Of course," Lily replied. "We'll need to start in my bedroom..."
Brathay How, Cumbria
11:40
Lara awoke to find herself very much alone.
After dressing, she made for the sounds of voices and the smell of coffee. After negotiating the first floor, she found a wooden staircase heading downwards. At the bottom, there was a roaring fire in a fireplace. There were voices coming from beyond. Through an open door to the left of the fireplace, she found a large open room with a kitchen beyond. Sitting at a table were Isaac and Mackenzie with a young girl she remembered to be Harper, and two others. Another girl sat on a couch tapping away on a tablet.
"Good morning, Lara!" a voice declared, and Alexandra waved the girl to a spare chair at the table. "Hungry? Coffee?"
"Er, yes, please..."
"I'm Alexandra Perrin, Lady Cockburn, and this is Diana, Harper, and Jordan – everyone else has gone out for the day. Over there is Naomi."
Lara was then mobbed by Issac and Mackenzie before they went back to their pens, pencils, and paper where they were busy drawing. Lara sat down in a daze – the previous day had been mad. Firstly, she had turned eighteen – yay! – then she had spent the morning signing various bits of paper, filled with small print, before she had then taken on her formal title of the Lady Lara Cockburn and possession of the entire Cockburn conglomerate, Cockburn Holdings Limited. Then had come a small, but personal, birthday party that evening . . . before...
Lara was surprised to find a massive plate before loaded with bacon, eggs, sausages, and a whole pile of other foods. A large mug of hot coffee appeared and was placed down beside the plate along with a knife and fork. After applying a generous coating of Ketchup and HP sauce, Lara dug in, shovelling down the amazingly tasty food. She ignored the watching eyes, not looking up again until she had cleared the plate and downed the coffee. Finally, she felt awake and a lot more human.
"Thank you, Alexandra."
Beside her, the three girls and the two boys were happily digging into bacon sandwiches for their lunch.
"No problem, Lara – still hungry? More coffee?"
"No, thank you."
"Hello, Lady Cockburn, my name is Jasper Collins," a voice said as a tall man entered the room and sat down on a couch by the windows overlooking the gardens. "I work for the Security Service and I am here to help you get back on track. For my sins, I also look after the activities of wayward Predators and of Vengeance."
Jordan scowled. "We are not all wayward," he commented.
"Yeah, right!" Diana stated for the record.
Harper said nothing as she grinned broadly.
"You're a Predator?" Lara asked Jordan.
"Yep!" the boy responded.
"Jordan only has one leg," Isaac threw in. "Diana has none. Harper has legs, I think."
"Yes, I have legs," Harper confirmed.
"There's a girl with no hand, too," Mackenzie added.
"Mr Collins..."
"Jasper."
"Jasper . . . can you tell me why last night happened, who they are, and why they are coming after me?"
"Yes, Lara, we can. I would like to say that you are out of danger, but the men who attacked you were most probably just hired guns. We believe that they were intending on kidnapping you. As you are very much aware, you suffered during your captivity. During that time, you were marked with a symbol, yes?"
Lara was very aware of the small dragonfly shapes which had been tattooed onto her body during her eight weeks of captivity – not that she could remember the actual act. She was also very aware of the probing which her body had endured during those eight weeks. She was very aware of how every orifice had received the attention of several men with some orifices being serviced at the same time as another. She had been introduced to forced oral sex as well as anal sex – the last being a first for her, and probably the very worst. Having a man's cock in her mouth while another was in her arse had appalled her. Despite her bravado while naked in front of others, such as Hillary, she had only done it to try and push past the horrors which she had endured.
"The dragonfly."
"That is the mark of the Russian Mafia – more specifically, the Solntsevskaya Brotherhood. I will admit that what they have spent trying to recover you, so far, will have most probably exceeded your value as a sex slave, but somehow, they were able to identify that you are a part of the English Aristocracy. Using you for sex may not, now, be the ultimate reason for abducting you. Ransom would seem the most likely, however, the fact that you escaped in the first place, would be seen as 'loss of face', and demonstrating that no matter who you are, you would be hunted down, would help to prevent anyone else from doing the same. I would expect you to have been subjected to some extreme sexual activity, including torture – basically, they would have abused you until you had died . . . most probably on film so that they could sell your death onwards for those who enjoy such a thing."
"You mean that I am nothing but a piece of meat to them," Lara responded after two minutes of thought. "They just want to fuck me until I died . . . with a bit of BDSM thrown in for good measure."
"In a nutshell," Jasper agreed.
"Will they come after me again?"
"Yes, most probably."
Lara slumped back in her chair at the thought that she might spend the rest of her life as a hunted person.
Cockburn Hall
17:10
It took almost six hours to satisfy the police.
Lily had walked them through the events of the previous night, twice. By that time, the gruesome decorations on the landing and in the grand reception hall had been removed and the forensic teams had taken their fill of the evidence. The Chief Constable had promised to arrange security for the hall while it was being repaired. Hillary would stay behind to supervise the rebuilding wile Lily would head across country to re-join Lara. It took less than an hour for Lily to clean her motorcycle, and by a little after six, that night, she was heading in a south-westerly direction towards the Lake District on the far side of the country.
Lily had a lot to think about and she knew that she would need to talk with Lara upon her arrival.
Later that night...
Brathay How, Cumbria
21:40
It had been a tiring ride, but Lily was relieved to have arrived at her destination.
Jasper was waiting at the front door and he waved at Lily as she parked her motorcycle alongside the Range Rover. Her limbs ached from the long ride and it took her a moment to flex her leg and thigh muscles. Lily pulled off her helmet and she grinned as Jasper welcomed her into the warmth of Brathay How.
"Good ride?" he asked.
"Not bad."
"No speeding tickets?"
"Not a one," Lily smiled as she savoured the warmth.
"Lara and the kids are in the living room awaiting your arrival," Jasper said as he took Lily's rucksack and leather jacket.
Lily followed Jasper's directions and she soon found herself in the living room where she found Isaac and Mackenzie playing a card game on the floor while a miserable-looking Lara sat on a sofa.
"Hi, guys!" Lily said and she was promptly flattened by the two youngsters.
"Lily!" Isaac exploded.
"Lily, thank God!" Mackenzie added.
The teenager and the two youngsters hugged for what seemed like a millennium before they broke apart.
"I missed you," Isaac said.
"Me, too," Mackenzie added.
"Have you both been good?"
Isaac grinned enormously.
"Yeah, right!" Lily laughed.
..._...
Lily was shown a bedroom and after being welcomed by every Predator in the house, which took a while, she went for a long shower to sooth her aching, sweaty, worn out body.
The hot water felt so amazing on her skin. It took a while, but eventually, the smell of sweat, gunpowder, and death had been swept away to gurgle down the plughole. Lily felt much more human – well, almost; Lily O'Brien had not felt totally human since August 8th, 2011 . . . the date she had been taken for Urban Predator, stripped and humiliated. While she had hoped that after Atlanta she would not need to fight and kill, she knew that she had a responsibility to Mackenzie and Isaac, as well as Lara, who had taken them all in. The thirteen-year-old girl knew that her life could never go back to what it was when she had her own family, but now, she had a new family as well as new responsibilities. One of those responsibilities soon appeared as she pulled on a T-shirt for bed.
"Hello, Isaac."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, Isaac, I'm fine," she told the boy.
"That's good."
The boy looked around for a moment before he returned his gaze to Lily. The boy then lurches forwards and he wrapped his arms around Lily's waist.
"Night!" the boy called out as he released Lily and bolted out the door.
"Night, Isaac," Lily chuckled.
Before Lily could climb into bed, Lara entered.
"I'm sleeping in here, too," she said. "I spoke with H and he said that it's going to be a little while before we can go back to the Hall."
"It was a bot of a mess," Lily admitted. "I'm sorry your home got wrecked."
"It's your home, too, Lily," Lara pointed out. "A home for Mackenzie and Isaac, too."
"How are you holding up, Lara?"
"I don't know, really," Lara admitted. "It's been an eye-opener; I can tell you. People died. People tried to kill me."
"Welcome to my life," Lily commented as there came a timid knock on the door.
"Hello?" Lily said and she grinned as Mackenzie appeared.
The nine-year-old looked very worried as she came to sit on the bed beside Lily. The youngster wore a similar T-shirt to Lily, and she pulled it over her knees as she pulled her legs up under her bottom. The girl then leaned against Lily who wrapped her left arm around the girl.
"You're safe, 'Kenzie."
"I know. It was all so scary. I thought we might lose you. I thought I might lose Isaac. We're always going to be together, right? You, me, Isaac, Lara, and Hillary?"
"Yes," Lara responded. "Cockburn Hall is your home."
"We feel safe with you and Lily – Hillary, too."
By the time Lara was changed and had returned from the bathroom, she found Lily in bed and either side of the girl was a child, fast asleep. Lara grinned as she slipped into her own bed.
"What could I do?" Lily chuckled as she laid down to sleep.
Lily was asleep mere seconds after her head touched the pillow.
..._...
Unlike some others, a couple of dozen or so feet away.
A group of not-so-tired youngsters were gathered to hear a little more about Rylee's trip home which appeared to be a very popular subject.
"It all went so fast," Rylee explained to all those gathered as she sat on her bed with Simon. "I felt like I was a parcel being passed from pillar to post after we entered the UK. I spent about two hours sitting in the HM Customs building while my entry into the UK without a passport was arranged. Then we drove north to somewhere on the M4 where I sat in a police station for two more hours. Finally, this man picked me up and he told me that I was going home. 'Going home?' I asked. 'Yes,' he replied. I had no idea where home was – no matter how much I strained my mind, I couldn't remember. 'Where?' I asked. 'Yorkshire,' the man – he was MI5 – told me."
"You had a Yorkshire accent, back when you were first taken," Simon said. "It was so strong, you could chisel concrete with it, but you lost it after about two months. But it's back now!"
"Aye, I be a Yorkshire bairn!" Rylee grinned.
"It does come and go," Harper pointed out to general laughter.
"Flippin' eck!" Rylee smirked. "Anyhow, back t' story. Well, the man put me in this flippin' crap Ford Focus, and we motored up the M1 to Leeds. Things began to feel a little bit familiar as we headed north. To be honest, I felt nothing, inside. I felt no longing to be home. It had been so long, and I could not even remember what my home looked like, let alone what my own mother looked like. Then we pulled up outside a house – it was kind of familiar, but that was it. I thought I might have felt nervous, or something, but no, I still felt nothing. Then the guy knocked on the door and my mum opened the door – it was weird, somehow, I knew who she was, but I didn't feel excited or anything."
"She was like a zombie, to be honest," Rachel commented. "But I was so glad to have my little girl back."
"Mum!" Rylee growled as her cheeks turned pink.
"I know, I promised not to embarrass you."
Simon then gave his Rylee a sneaky kiss on the cheek which caused a round of wolf-whistles and Rylee's cheeks to go directly from pink to red.
"Come on, you three, we need to get to the airport," Rachel commented as Keira appeared.
"Have fun," Electra offered darkly, and Rylee suddenly felt concerned for her well-being.
"Oh, we will," Harper responded, just as darkly.
Rylee definitely felt worried about what was about to happen.
The following day...
Thursday, February 16th
After breakfast, the majority headed out, except for Jasper, Cassie, Lily, Mackenzie, Isaac, Lara, Jordan, Diana, Naomi, and Charlotte.
They were all heading out into the Lake District for a day of fun. After ten minutes, Cassie indicated right and pulled into the centre of the road where she waited for a gap in the opposing traffic.
Then, with a roar, the Land Rover Defender 110 accelerated off the main road and up the narrow road which was not much wider than the vehicle was. Cassie, though, was very much in control of the vehicle as she continued up the road. Beside Cassie, Lily was looking out the windows at the beautiful surroundings. Despite leaves missing from deciduous trees and plants, it was a stunning sight as they headed deeper into the Lake District. Behind Lily and Cassie, Mackenzie and Isaac were having a great time doing the very same thing. For the two Americans, it was a first seeing such amazing surroundings. In the vehicle behind, another Land Rover Defender 110, Lara sat beside Jasper who was driving – she too was enjoying the beauty of their surroundings. Behind them, Jordan, Diana, and Charlotte were also studying the landscape. Diana loved the sight of the towering mountains, the steep hills, and the fells. They drove in a south-westerly direction, along the A593, enjoying the views. After almost an hour, they entered the small lakeside village of Coniston which sat on the shores of Lake Coniston.
Understandably, Isaac could not wait to get down to the water. The boy raced across the stony shore in his black wellingtons, eager to splash in the cold freshwater lake. Hot on his heels, Mackenzie shrugged off any pretence at being grown up as she ran after her little brother. Together, they both splashed into the frigid water, scattering the ducks who were bobbing about searching for food. As the quacking water birds scattered before the raging five-year-old, Isaac laughed happily, his trousers getting wetter by the minute as he splashed through the water. Mackenzie was enjoying herself just as much as she picked up small rocks and she threw them into the water, the nine-year-old squealing happily each time the rocks plunged into the water and sent a great surge of water upwards. Japer, Cassie, Naomi, Lara, and Lily watched the two youngsters having fun while Jordan, Diana, and Charlotte moved closer to the water, all three looking to have some fun.
Then Mackenzie dropped a big rock in the water, soaking Charlotte who screamed as the cold water soaked through to her skin.
..._...
Charlotte glared at the girl four years her junior.
Mackenzie just giggled as she dropped another rock in the water, soaking Charlotte even more.
"You little...!"
Mackenzie ran off laughing, splashing water everywhere as Charlotte charged after her. Diana shrugged as she reached under the water with both hands and she picked up the largest rock she could handle. Then, with all her strength, she threw the rock towards where Jordan was watching Charlotte chase Mackenzie around the stone-strewn shore of Lake Coniston. He never saw the rock, but he heard it impact the water just a foot from where he stood and the deluge from the water splashed him all up his left side. The thirteen-year-old boy spun to see who had thrown the rock. He saw Diana failing miserably to look innocent - in fact the eleven-year-old was giggling – and he grinned fiendishly as he too reached beneath the frigid waters.
"No!" Diana screamed as she splashed out of the water and ran for cover behind Cassie and Naomi.
Cassie was having none of it as she jumped out of the way, pulling Naomi with her.
That same time...
About eleven miles to the north
and over three thousand feet up
Helvellyn
Not far below the peak of the third highest peak in England, Amber Dawson was wet, frozen, and very miserable.
Her feet ached. Her back ached. Her legs ached. Her thighs ached. Her aching body was only eclipsed by her misery as rain dripped off the peak of her hood. Her foul weather gear kept parts of her dry, but her hands were cold despite the gloves, and her face was going numb from the ice-cold rain which felt like it had come straight from a glacier. The girl trailed behind everyone else as she slogged forward, her boots slipping on the slushy snow which covered the mountain. It seemed that the other children were having the time of their young lives, but not so Amber, who felt alone, abandoned by all.
"Hey, Amber . . . what are you doing all the way back here?"
Amber recognised the voice from her left and she took a moment to respond. She was still struggling with having a Royal Princess so close, let alone on speaking terms. However, Amber figured that she would just have to get used to Princess Mary as she was not going away, it seemed. Then another body joined her, to her right.
"You okay, Amber?"
It was a boy's voice – Ewan.
"I'm fine, thanks," Amber replied. "Just a little wet and cold."
"It's bloody cold!" Mary groaned. "My feet are freezing and my legs ache."
Amber grinned, glad to see that someone else was suffering too.
"It's so cold," Ewan commented, "my dick has shrivelled up to nothing."
Amber and Mary burst out laughing and both girls forgot how cold they were for a few moments as they teased the fourteen-year-old boy.
Four hours later...
Brathay How
Amber was finally able to feel her toes.
She sat on a wooden bench with Princess Mary on one side of her and Kate on the other. Across from her, sat Olivia. Each wore a fluffy white towel draped loosely around their otherwise nude bodies.
"I have never been so cold," Kate complained.
"Or wet," Olivia groaned.
"I thought I was the most miserable," Mary stated, "until I saw Amber."
All four girls laughed as they enjoyed the heat of the sauna. For the first time, probably ever, Amber felt like she actually had friends. She thought that she had been suffering alone, but no, almost everybody had hated the climb up Helvellyn. Maybe she had a future, she thought. There were times where she thought of herself as strange, but when compared with almost every other child there, she actually felt very normal. She knew – or she thought she knew – why they were the way they were, but that did not change the fact that she did not belong. Her mind was in turmoil and she knew what she was supposed to be doing, but her time with other children her own age was beginning to change her outlook on life. What might her controller think about that little bit of information, should they ever find out?
They would never find out . . . ever!
..._...
At dinner, that night, there were many hungry stomachs to be filled.
They would not be disappointed as thick vegetable soup began to sate the hunger from a day of almost constant exercise. Alexandra was very pleased to hear little chatter as the hungry youngsters all but licked the bowls clean before eagerly looking around for their next course. Freshly cooked, home-made, steak and kidney pie was doled out with mounds of new potatoes and garden peas. Lynn laughed; it looked like none of them had eaten in weeks the way they shovelled the food down. Alexandra was very pleased to see the appreciative smiles as forkfuls of pie were forced into mouths. Kaitlin's cheeks were filled with food as she chewed and chewed, her jaw working overtime. The adults were just as hungry and they ate the same fare, just as eagerly. Whilst the youngsters drank Coke, the adults enjoyed cold beers from the fridge as well as cold white wine for the womenfolk.
Jasper took the time to use his people-reading skills to check each face to see if there was a problem, but there were none. Isaac was not amused by the kidneys in his pie, but he was made to eat them by his big sister who had decided that she liked kidneys. Kaitlin was missing her partner-in-crime, Harper, but was making up for it by coaxing Charlotte and Jake to do bad things. Cassie was watching and one glare put a stop to whatever it was that the three youngsters were planning, and they returned to their food.
Desert was spotted dick with lashings of thick, creamy custard. Some had never tasted spotted dick before, and the curious youngsters poked at it before sampling the crudely named suet and dried fruit pudding. There had been many giggles when Alexandra had identified the pudding, not to mention, several crude comments from the girls concerning 'dicks' which resulted in a lot more giggling from all ages – even from the older girls who should have known better. However, it allowed everyone to have a good laugh – even some of the borderline immature adults.
"I see Olivia has no trouble getting dick down her throat," Diana commented rather loudly, causing Cassie to almost choke on her custard.
"No, she's well experienced," Charlotte responded, causing much laughter.
Olivia blushed a deep red but got in the last laugh.
"At least my boyfriend has a good-sized dick, unlike some," Olivia stated with a nod towards Jake.
Charlotte blushed pink and did not respond.
..._...
As expected, the youngsters began to feel very tired after their day of exercise, followed by a massive hot meal.
"You did that on purpose!" Kaitlin accused Cassie and Alexandra.
Cassie grinned, knowing that they had foiled Kaitlin's attempts to cause trouble as the little girl was having immense difficulty keeping her eyes open.
"We didn't force you to eat the food," Alexandra pointed out with a chuckle.
Jake led Kaitlin towards the stairs, guiding her onwards to her bed. It only took another twenty minutes to get them all into their own beds with the younger children falling asleep almost instantly. The older ones hung in a little longer, but not much, before they too succumbed to sleep. That just left the tired adults who settled down to another beer and an hour of relative peace and quiet. It had been a difficult week, dealing with so many unruly and downright obnoxious youngsters. Not to mention a real emergency at the beginning of the week.
"There are days when I wish that I'd never heard the word 'predator'," Cassie mused. "Those children really take a lot out of you . . . but they give you it all back as love."
"Yes, they do," David confirmed. "I love having a daughter – no offence to Craig, but Kate has changed our family in more ways than she knows. Okay, she can be a bitchy handful, but I've got no problem with that."
"I love having Charlotte around, and so does Richard," Alexandra commented. "The young girl is a breath of fresh air; I can tell you."
"You trying to say something, mother?" Cassie grinned.
"Charlotte is not scared of her own shadow. Charlotte is happy to try out new things without worrying about non-existent consequences," Alexandra replied, giving her no-longer-youngest daughter a wink.
"I thought someone was following me and I got scared – I had no idea it was just my shadow, okay?!" Cassie growled with considerable embarrassment.
"She screamed loud enough that they must have heard her in Aberdeen," Alexander chuckled. "I will admit, she was only seven at the time and so timid it was ridiculous. Sarah and Richard, of course, enjoyed winding the little girl up and she run off crying and screaming. They both thought it was funny, especially Sarah who used to push things a little too far."
"Me and Sarah did not always see eye-to-eye," Cassie admitted.
"Siblings rarely do," Lynn laughed. "My sister and I were always trying to out-bitch the other – my poor mother suffered somewhat."
"At least Kaitlin and Naomi are friends," Jasper pointed out. "And Jake is also a great boy."
"Yes, they three of them are wonderful and irreplaceable," Cassie admitted. "Kaitlin is slowly developing her personality – hopefully in a good way.
"That'll be the day!" David laughed.
The following morning...
Thursday, February 17th
Her Royal Highness, the Princess Mary, awoke to a sharp pain in her stomach.
That sharp pain actually turned out to be a little pain on her stomach. That little pain was a certain little girl called Kaitlin. That little girl had some strange habits, one of which was the unsettling ability to suddenly appear, seemingly out of nowhere, to then annoy the hell out of whoever was there. In Mary's case, Kaitlin had obviously decided that it was Mary's turn to be annoyed to hell and back. Mary looked up into the face of the grinning girl.
"What do you want, Kaitlin?"
"Would it count as treason if I were to try and kill a Royal Princess?" Kaitlin responded.
"Yes, it would," Mary confirmed as she pushed Kaitlin off her stomach and then sat up in the bed. "What are you up to?"
"I'm trying to see how many laws I can break before I turn twelve," Kaitlin grinned.
"Okay," Mary said, humouring the girl. "What laws have you broken so far?"
Kaitlin smiled broadly as she began to count off crimes on the fingers of her left hand.
"Okay, we have murder. We have grievous bodily harm..."
"Wilful destruction of police property," Charlotte threw in from the other side of the room where she too was just sitting up in bed.
"Forgot that," Kaitlin stated. "Theft, carrying a concealed weapon..."
"You're nuts, Kaitlin," Scarlett threw in from her bed.
"I suppose I am," Kaitlin conceded, "but no nuttier than any of you three."
"She's right," Charlotte considered.
Mary and Scarlett laughed as they scrambled out of bed to get dressed. Kaitlin headed off to go find someone else to annoy. However, she was intercepted by Andrew and Cassie.
"Who are you terrorising this morning, honey?" Cassie asked.
"Me?" Kaitlin asked defensively.
"You look so guilty it's scary," Cassie pointed out.
Kaitlin simply shrugged.
"You just woke us all up," Charlotte explained as she walked past.
"Your beauty sleep wasn't working, and we haven't got all year for you to sleep on it," Kaitlin responded.
"Can I hurt her, please?" Charlotte asked.
"Of course!" Cassie responded.
Kaitlin's jaw dropped open just before the eight-year-old girl fled down the stairs.
Author's Note: The activities of Harper, Rylee, and Simon continue in Chapter 384: To Kill Hit Girl of my other story: Forsaken.