Caim

by T. S. Simons

  'We have seen no sign of anyone in pursuit,' Cam told them. 'Illy checked.'

  'Can we try to access their systems?' I asked Bridget.

  'I have some idea,' she admitted. 'They likely changed protocols after we absconded, but I have some clues. The patterns and such. I set them up.'

  'Illy can help too. I'm sure Tadhg would assist if needed,' Cam said, looking at me, worry lines etched in his face.

  'I need to know,' I replied, looking at him and ignoring our guests. 'Do they have her, or did they just plunder her for her genetic material and leave her to die?'

  'I don't know,' Jorja said. 'But likewise, I need to ask. These girls are likely your blood. Your nieces, if not your daughters. What role do you want to play in their lives? Do you want us to leave? Do you… want… them?'

  I had given that matter a lot of thought as I had sat beside the loch. Louis was not my biological child, but he was my son. Kendra was Cam's biological daughter, but she wasn't his child.

  'I would like to see them grow up,' I intoned, enunciating each word, 'in a loving, stable home. But they are not mine. That home is with you. If you choose to stay here, and I can see them sometimes, that would be okay. One day, when they are old enough, I want them to know all of it. My sister, where they came from. But you are their family, the only parents they have ever known. I could never take them from you. And no. I don't want you to leave.'

  Relief washed over both of their faces as they both slumped in their chairs, the release softening their features.

  'Let's see about finding you somewhere of your own to live,' Cam suggested kindly.

  'You can't possibly want to leave the girls,' I sputtered incredulously upon hearing their announcement. 'They are so young, and we will be gone for months. Ocean travel is the only way. There is no way we can travel via one of the antipodes without them knowing of it.'

  Luca, around his daughters, was a teddy bear. A hulking military-hardened man of six feet, six inches, I had watched him take down several men single-handed when we were travelling to new communities. A formidable opponent, yet around his children, he turned into mush. Those girls batted an eyelid, and they had him — hook, line, sinker. Cam and I had watched as they had ridden him like a pony, served him mud-cake at a make-believe tea party, plaited his hair and dressed him up with scarves and ribbons. He was putty in their rather manipulative hands, and he knew it.

  Illy was the bad cop. Despite being tiny in stature, she had a booming, commanding voice. She was the parent who disciplined them, put them to bed, made them brush their teeth and eat their vegetables. We would regularly see her raise her eyebrows at Luca across the table, expecting him to co-parent when one girl did or said something inappropriate. Instead, he would drop his chin and dissolve, unable to tell them off. Allison, known to all as Ally, was the ringleader. Small like her mother, and intelligent well beyond her years, she was cheeky and conniving, but with such a mesmerising smile that no one could stay angry with her for long. Summer was the muscle, taller and more solid in build, and the one who often got caught, even though it was evident that Ally had put her up to it.

  'They are six,' Illy responded curtly. 'They will be fine. Thorsten is even younger. You are leaving yours. Why is it any different?'

  'I know, but this is my sister. I need to go. You don't.'

  'We do.' Illy was resolute. 'You are the family we chose. Family are the people who love you, even when you don't love yourself. We do this together.'

  The sense of relief washed through me as I leaned over to hug her, my muscles softening. This would be much easier with Luca and Illy along, especially as Illy had lived on Auckland for the first few years. She was familiar with the layout and operations, which would be invaluable.

  'Thank you,' I whispered, fighting back the tears. 'This means more to me than I can say.'

  Since we had deactivated the antipodal point on Lewis, Illy had steadily become the sister I had lost. My best friend and confidante. The person I trusted most, aside from Cam. We shared our laughter, tears, and dreams. If I needed to bitch about someone and know it would never be repeated, Illy was my person. After I had lost Katrin, I had never had a female friend. But I loved having someone on my side, who knew the real me and loved me, in spite of it.

  'Our pleasure,' Illy smiled at me. 'Now, I estimate Auckland Island to be about 15,000 nautical miles from here. How fast can the Eurydice go?'

  'Not fast enough.' Mentally calculating the distance and speed, I said, 'If we took a larger vessel from Edinburgh and could run it at thirty knots, we could probably do it in around three weeks.'

  'Yes, but we know from experience we use about a litre an hour at that speed. We would need to stop and refuel a hell of a lot,' Luca said. 'Even a few years ago, the places we could access clean fuel were becoming limited. We need to plan this carefully, know how fast we can run her. Stop at larger ports that likely still have reasonable stores.'

  'We do,' I said. 'We will need to run her slower, which is more economical. In places, we can. But on a larger vessel, we can only travel around 1500 miles without refuelling.'

  'What is the longest leg?' Cam asked. 'Africa to Kerguelen if I recall?'

  'It is. But we can't stop at Kerguelen. They will alert Auckland that we are coming.'

  'From South Africa, or perhaps even Mauritius, surely our best bet is to head to Freo,' Illy suggested.

  'Free-oh?' The quizzical look on Luca's face was priceless.

  Illy laughed in her charming, lilting manner. As one of the few non-Australians in Roseglen, Luca still struggled with Aussie slang. Di especially loved to tease him with colloquialisms and Aussie rhyming slang, which she would drop randomly in the middle of a conversation just to gauge his reaction.

  'Fremantle,' she spelled out with a cheeky grin. 'A large port near Perth on the West Australian coast. And one with yachts, if I recall correctly.'

  'There is a large yacht club in Fremantle,' I confirmed. 'Several, actually. I've been there for sailing competitions and regattas. We should be able to get fuel. Also, any spare parts we might need. It is an excellent choice.'

  'Can we get from Africa to Fremantle on one tank?' Luca asked.

  'We would need to travel slowly across the Indian Ocean,' I mused. 'But I don't see we have a choice. There isn't much in-between. Nowhere where we can refuel. Not without being seen.'

  'Don't we have an even bigger problem?' Cam asked. 'They will see us coming. Weeks before we get there, they will know we are on our way. It isn't like there are fleets of vessels out there anymore. They will soon spot us.'

  'I'm onto that,' Illy replied with a grin. 'I sent a coded message to Tadhg, and I am waiting for his response. Between us, I am fairly sure he can either cloak us or position their satellites so they won't see us coming.'

  'How will you do that across the Indian Ocean?' I asked Illy, amazed.

  'Not us. Tadhg. If he tracks us either with a beacon or one of the satellites he controls, then he can ensure that their satellite misses us in their sweep. It won't be hard. Just think, one boat in the enormous Indian Ocean is a microscopic speck. Unless they know we are coming, they are unlikely to spot us. Think of those passenger planes that went down in the ocean in our lifetime. They were impossible to find. They shouldn't see us if we are careful and avoid communities that might alert them to our movements. The bigger issue is getting home, especially if they know we have visited. But again, Tadhg has offered to help in any way he can.'

  Cam nodded. 'Thank goodness for Tadhg.'

  'Do they use drones?'

  'They do, but only when looking for something in particular. Drone range is also limited, most under ten kilometres.'

  'Sunny, what about a more basic camouflage?' Luca said, looking at Illy thoughtfully.

  'What are you thinking?'

  'Painting the upper surfaces of the boat blue, so it isn't as visible from the sky.'

  'That makes sense,' Cam admitt
ed. 'Kind of like those houses in Switzerland with grass roofs. Bombers couldn't see them from the sky as they blend in with the landscape. If we paint the vessel blue, it will mostly blend.'

  'That is an enormous bloody job,' I replied in disbelief. 'And a lot of paint.'

  'Let's get some helpers then. There are paint stores in Stornoway. If it was stored properly, there is no reason it isn't still usable. Besides, we only need to paint the top deck.'

  Part of me was horrified. It was vandalism to splash paint over a multi-million dollar vessel. But equally, I was pleased to think that it might afford us a little protection from the spying eyes of Clava and Auckland. Making a silent promise to return the Eurydice to her former pristine white state upon return, I followed Cam to the sheds.

  Sorcha stopped me with a wary look as I headed home the next day after hours of supervising painting crews and loading the Eurydice. Luca had suggested that an uneven job was actually better than a perfect paint job, as it would blend in with the moving waves better. Probably just as well. Most people were slapping it on, and there was quite the party with music and free-flowing beer.

  'Illy told me about your mission. Do you want us to look after the kids?'

  'That would be wonderful.' I had wondered how I was going to ask them to care for our four. Popping over after dinner one night and dropping that bombshell wasn't exactly ideal. Cam and I hadn't left Lewis since we last went to Newgrange. After our return, I had vowed never to leave again. But last time we only had Louis and Katrin. Now we had Xanthe and little Thorsten too.

  'But between our four and Illy's girls, how will you cope?'

  Sorcha grimaced at the thought of six additional children. 'We will probably split them between our place and Fraser's. Isla takes no nonsense. I can't see that Jacinda would cope with Illy's monsters, and yours would be happier with us.'

  As a mother of four, Isla had the control of a seasoned regimental sergeant major. Sorcha also tolerated no foolishness from the children. In many ways, I felt she would have been a better candidate for the military than Illy. But Jacinda's children, Aroha, Kara and Rangi, were quiet, compliant children. Nothing at all like Kat, Ally and Summer. Jacinda would never cope with needing to yell to have instructions acknowledged, and the constant battle to get them to do anything without an argument.

  'Freyja, I have something I need to ask.' Sorcha spoke haltingly, making me look up at her from where I was connecting the bike to the charging port in the shed.

  'Anything,' I said, and meant it. We could only make the journey to find out the fate of my sister because of Cam's. If we had any doubt that Sorcha and Di would care for our family, this trip wouldn't be possible.

  Sorcha looked at me, assessing something. I closed the shed door and turned to her.

  'What is it?'

  'If you find the lab,' she said, her usually powerful voice dropping to a whisper, 'and there is a sample there labelled Tomori Hajime, and you have a way to carry it… can… can you bring it back?'

  I furrowed my brows in confusion. It took me a moment to realise what she was saying.

  'Tom? Sam's dad?' I asked softly. I had never heard his full name.

  She nodded gravely.

  'Destroy it, or bring it back?'

  Sorcha tossed her long red plait dismissively.

  'Di and I have spoken at length, and we feel that if there is a possibility that we can give Sam a full brother or sister, then we should at least try,' she said, so quietly I couldn't believe it was Sorcha speaking. 'But transporting cryo-preserved samples is not that straightforward, so you may find that you can't.'

  'Done.'

  'Who knows?' A wry smile crossed her face, 'In your absence, we may decide that it isn't what we want to do. I'm not getting any younger. But I don't want the option taken away, if you know what I mean. If there isn't a sample, or it doesn't work, then at least I will know for certain. But I can't live knowing that I had the chance and did nothing. Tom was a good man, and he was a wonderful father. I owe him this.'

  'I understand. I will do everything I can for you.'

  'Maybe there is something I can do for you,' Sorcha continued.

  I looked at her quizzically. 'Besides caring for six additional children for several months?'

  'We would always have done that. We will curse you and complain, but we would always support you. You know that. What I mean is… if she is there… your sister. I can give you something… to end it. Quickly and painlessly.'

  Struggling to keep control of my face, I froze. I hadn't thought that far ahead. I was still hoping that they had taken a sample from her in Melbourne, and she had died all those years ago. But I recognised the logic in what Sorcha was saying.

  Sorcha was studying me in that cool, assessing manner of hers.

  I nodded grimly. 'I would like that.'

  'Consider it done.'

  'Sit,' Illy ordered, startling me. From the serious look, I suspected where this was going.

  'We need to tell you what we learned. Thanks to Bridget's intel and Tadhg's skills, we hacked their servers again, and we are fairly sure we know where she is,' Luca said, after checking that we were alone and none of the children had crept back inside.

  'Kat? Where?'

  'There is a facility at the edge of the settlement. A laboratory, I guess you could call it. But inside, there are twenty-five patients.'

  'Patients?' I questioned, trying to keep my voice low, despite my heart pounding so loudly I thought it would burst from my chest.

  'Specimens is how they are described,' Illy corrected. 'Katrin is listed as number seventeen. We don't know for sure it is her, or just what they took from her. The labelling is sufficiently vague. But you need to be prepared, Frey. The terminology in the records, combined with the small number of staff we can see rostered to the facility around the clock, indicates it is likely to be actual people.'

  I lifted my chin, feigning confidence. 'Are you sure? We can't exactly go roaming around in the dark, checking every building. Jorja says that Auckland has a significant settlement. Clava did.'

  'Auckland is not dissimilar to Clava. But I spoke with Nasir and Magali today using the COFDM so that we couldn't be overheard. They remember this building too. It is at the far edge of the township, in the medical zone. As you may have recalled from Clava, all the medical buildings are together, the educational buildings co-located and so on. But none of us ever went inside this particular building, nor were we told what it contained. We all asked, of course, but were told top secret or some bullshit. I'm fairly sure I was told storage facility when I asked. It is the only building that none of us have seen inside, even doctors like Magali and Nasir. They are hiding something significant there.'

  'What about Jorja?' I asked softly. 'Has she been inside?'

  'I didn't ask,' Illy said. 'We can't trust anything she tells us. I didn't know either of them well when we lived there. She has no loyalty to me. Don't be fooled into thinking she is telling you everything.'

  Cam and I had liked Jorja and Bridget when we stayed with them at Clava. But now… We accepted a lot of events that had occurred were beyond their control, but we still weren't entirely sure of their allegiances. They had come here to tell us about their girls and the other children of the same egg donor. But could we trust them? If Illy didn't, and she was a very astute judge of character, then we would be well advised to follow suit.

  We spent the next week preparing for our departure. We were quite open about what we had learned, and everyone we spoke to was shocked to hear that there were back-up genomes. While they had known of the isolated communities in Australia since Cam went to get Sorcha, many questioned if samples were taken whilst they were unconscious during the testing phase. Sorcha, Di, Cam, and I were all processed in Melbourne, but we had no way of knowing if the Edinburgh processed residents had also had genetic samples taken.

  Luca, Isla, and Fraser described their testing as similar, includi
ng waking from the full-body scan, Isla with the same cramping as me. Before being offered her role, Illy had undergone far more invasive testing, but with consent.

  Lewis residents treated Jorja and Bridget cautiously. They were strangers and had appeared in the middle of the night with children who bore an uncanny resemblance to my own, although we had said nothing about their parentage to anyone outside of Roseglen. No matter how it appeared, that they were here with good intentions, we had thought the same of Angus once. Cam and I spoke at length about what to tell the children, but in the end, we told them a sanitised version of the truth. All under ten, we didn't want to scare them, but there was no other logical explanation for why we would be away for so many weeks. Louis, understandably, was distraught, but held it together for his siblings, although Cam and I worried about the anxiety simmering beneath. Knowing his mother had gone out there and never returned was a terrible burden for a young child.

  Jorja and Bridget temporarily moved in with Aidan while Cam arranged for an old farmhouse to be renovated for them at the end of our valley, a few kilometres from our own. Isla still would not speak to them, although Di, Fraser, Jamie and Jacinda were pleasant enough. In time… I thought. She will come around. The vehemence of Isla's reaction had surprised me. While she had four children and was adamant that she would have no more, she hadn't relaxed at all since they had arrived. I had tried to talk to her, but she had clammed up, refusing to speak about them.

  'I'm worried about Isla,' I confided in Cam as we cleaned up after dinner, the children all in bed. 'She won't leave the house. She is so scared of Bridget and Jorja.'

  Cam shrugged before responding. 'Can you blame her? I suspect it is the combination of being kidnapped herself to be a slave, combined with what she thinks may have happened to your sister, that terrifies her. She has been scared since Illy told us about the selective breeding program. Now here they are… with those girls as proof.'