It was certainly hard to sit this one out, especially with Sky in such trouble. But I had no choice with this one. Not being able to walk would just make it impossible. Rock, John, Benson and our new man, Erisman, plus Clarence, went along. Of the girls, Kristina, Angel, Carine, Galyna, Ilda and Astrid, another new member, went along too. I also sent MC and Storm, but I asked Muffin to stay with me. I know she wanted to go and help get Sky, but she sensed I needed her right now, so she curled up with me purring.

Baldwin took me back to the clinic right away once the others left, our part was over. Baldwin almost wanted to go along on this one too, but I told him it would be a little too dangerous to risk his life. Sigurbjorn, Annelie, Tracy, Crystal and Sephira, another new member, stayed behind to help protect me. Right now, Sigurbjorn is giving me my daily massage. “You are much too tense Steve,” she said, “you must relax. You do not need to worry about the others.”

“I know, I am not worried,” I said, “we have a great team and I have full confidence in them. I am just worried about what Sky might have been through already and how it will affect her. I mean, she could be dead already. I do not know if I could handle that.” “You have to stop thinking like that Steve,” said Crystal, who had just come in the room, “it will tear you apart. Sky would not want that.”

“Yes, you are right,” I said sighing, “but it is still hard. And you do not need to stay late, get back to the chateau while it is still daylight.” “No way,” said Crystal, “all of us remaining girls are staying here at the clinic until the others get home. And I am staying right in this room with you. Sky asked me if anything happened to her so she could not be here with you, then she wanted me to stay here.”

“I believe that,” I said, “Sky seemed to know that Carole Ann would get her eventually. That is what she told me. But Carole Ann will not win this time, it is her last game.” “Yes, she needs to be stopped,” said Crystal, “she has hurt, and killed, too many women and girls.” The clinic is so much larger now than it was, with many safety systems built in. The windows are all bullet proof glass, but even still, once it gets dark all the windows are automatically sealed with steel shutters, as are the doors. There are rooms for people to stay, if necessary, like right now. Rock felt more at ease knowing that Annelie would be staying here too.

Meanwhile… “This is some jet,” said Clarence, “I mean, it is huge, it looks like a large hotel room.” “Yep,” said John, “and there are 4 bedrooms, plus these seats open into beds as well, which is where we will be sleeping.” John introduced Clarence to the rest of the team. “These girls are really good?” asked Clarence. “You remember Cindy?” John asked, “well, each of these girls are like that. And they can handle guns, plus each of them has a unique ability which makes this team the best there is anywhere.”

“What about the two cats Johnny,” he asked. “Those cats are well trained to do different jobs,” replied John, “they can sniff out poison in food, sniff out drugs and explosives too. And MC here can pick locks better than most humans.” “A cat that can pick locks,” said Clarence, “that is something I gotta see.” They slept most of the way so they would be fresh for the job. It seemed like a long trip, but now they were landing at the airport.

They were met by two vans; the guys took one and the girls in the other. “Hey, what about weapons Johnny?” asked Clarence. John pushed a button and the walls of the van slid down, revealing numerous guns and other things. “Will ya look at that!” exclaimed Clarence, “this guy you work for, he does not miss a thing.” John just laughed and asked Clarence to pick what he wants. He also gave him a vest to wear, but he said no to that. John did not wear one either then, but the others did.

“There is a place where we can hide these vans so Carole Ann will not see them,” said Clarence, “but it is still close to her building.” It was nearly midnight when they arrived at the tall office building, with a store on the main floor. “We will have to go in the back door and turn off the alarm for the store,” said Clarence, “and once the door is unlocked, we have 45 seconds to turn off the alarm.”

“That will be a job for Astrid,” said John. Carine held MC while he picked the lock on the door, in record time too. Clarence took Astrid to the alarm system panel. Only 40 seconds to go…

To Be Continued.

©2022 Steve McLeod.