Weekends were dedicated to receiving guests – so long as Kashmira had energy. Last Saturday, Melissa had gone over the plans for the upcoming battle. This coming weekend, Mac and Wolf would drop in on Saturday. Mac would offer to help Kashmira with her breathing when she was singing and then the three of them would sing a little. Mathias was there every weekend. Sunday was always reserved for Kashmira and Mathias to be alone in case Saturday had been too stressful for her.
All in all, Doc was optimistic that he'd gradually be able to improve Kashmira's health. Granny was optimistic that she'd gradually be able to introduce Kashmira to the family, and in doing so, help her learn some social skills as well.
# # # # # # # #
As far as Winnie was concerned, her agreement to not interfere in Mathias' and Kashmira's budding romance did not extend to ignoring conversations regarding Wilizy operations. She couldn't participate in the weekend operational briefings because Mathias might take offense at her being there. That didn't mean that she couldn't place a discrete drone in the upper corner of Wilizy/Asia's living room. When Winnie heard how bad Kashmira's health was, and how Doc was faced with a no-win situation, Winnie decided to do some research.
She started by digging out the medical book that she had obtained in her TiTr trip to Vancouver several novels ago. The medical book was about arthritis and gave no insight into what Kashmira was suffering from. As near as she could tell, Kashmira's health condition was in the field of gastrointestinal disorders. None of the books that she had on hand from when she was looking into being a vet were appropriate. However Stanford was a short flight away. That would be the Stanford with the security test that would keep her out of the building unless she took a genius physicist with her. That made her choice of time-travel partner easy.
Hey William, she messaged as she flew invisibly over the satellite compound.
What's up, Winnie?
How'd you like to invent an artificial stomach? It'll have to be hush-hush.
That might be difficult, Winnie. Stomachs make a lot of digestion noises.
William always took things far too literally.
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Chapter 35
El Pervertido and El Patrón met on Monday morning as usual. Kashmira's profits had continued to increase.
William and Winnie returned from Stanford very quickly. As in before they even went down. When Winnie explained that all of the organs in Kashmira's digestive system might be compromised, he just shook his head.
"There's no point in flying to Stanford, Winnie. I could create an artificial stomach in time. It would be a mechanical substitute and my biggest problem would be in having her body accept the substitute. They used to have artificial organs early in the 21st century. But replacing everything in her body's cavity would be like building a mechanical robot with flesh for arms and legs. It's too much, Winnie. I'd need years. The solution, if there is one, would have to involve the use of biological tissues, not mechanical replacements."
"Where would I learn about these biological tissues?"
"I have no idea, Winnie."
Winnie decided to holiday in Toronto. During the day, she spent her time in the University of Toronto library. At night, she watched Lylah. She saw no signs of Lylah having any interest in women, or in men either. When she wasn't helping Dreamer with her basketball, Lylah was attending class or studying. If she were a lesbian, she was hiding those interests very well indeed
# # # # # # # #
El Patrón's guards should have taken lessons from Lylah. They weren't very good about hiding their interest in a certain three wealthy men in Maasin City. Keep in mind that El Patrón's success in intimidating and threatening was achieved by being visible. His guards were hired because they were big, husky thugs. So when Ramón told his security forces to follow three wealthy men around during the day and evening, that's what they did. Follow them around. From spitting distance. Needless to say, they were spotted immediately.
The three men under surveillance did what any three men would do who had suddenly acquired a quartet of four armed menacing thugs. They increased their own security forces to protect themselves. When Ramón reported that the subjects under investigation were now reacting to El Patrón's men by adding more armed guards, El Patrón's obvious reaction was to... you guessed it... increase the number of his surveillance guards. By the end of the week, each of the three wealthy man would have to walk through the city inside a tight square of six of his men, all facing out, and all with hands on their weapons. Around them would be six other men, all facing in, and all with hands on their weapons. At least half of these forces would be walking backwards at any given time. One stumble and there'd be blood on the streets. It probably wouldn't be noticeable given what else was on the streets, still... certain people were beginning to wonder about El Patrón.
With eighteen guards employed to watch three wealthy men, Ramón assigned the rest of El Patrón's guards to unearth where Kashmira was earning her money. These men were juvenile thugs who Ramón had picked off the streets in his neighbourhood to serve El Patrón. They knew how to swagger. They didn't know how to subtle. What they did instead was make the rounds of every expensive brothel in the city. To ensure that Kashmira couldn't escape, they performed a coordinated entry. On the third of three shrieking whistle blasts, these ten men would surge through all the entrances to the brothel under investigation, pound up the stairs to the first floor, kick each bedroom door open, and peer in. Then they'd go up to the next floor and repeat.
By the end of the week, Maasin City's locksmiths were enjoying a record business week. The brothels? Not so good a week. The city's powerful politicians, high ranking Guardia, and wealthy men had all developed an aversion to sudden whistle blasts to the point where they'd flinch when some kid in a street whistled for a bicycle cab.
Nobody caught even a glimpse of Kashmira.
# # # # # # # #
Speaking of Kashmira, she had enjoyed a good week health-wise. By the end of the week, she needed only eleven hours of sleep and she could manage two tablespoons of food every two hours during the day. Her weight was stable. She worked on her bots during the day and helped with the meals without being prodded. Granny had reservations about resuming PE classes, so Momaka introduced Kashmira to some gentle stretches that were the beginning of a martial arts program. One evening, Stu offered to give her cooking lessons, but she declined. "I don't want to be a servant when I get older," she said.
"What do you want to be?" Stu asked.
"I'm thinking of becoming a prostitute," she replied. "I'll move up to madam when I'm older."
Since this comment had been made at the dinner table, Granny's head was leaning over to accept a forkful of food. Her head jerked up in response to Kashmira's career choice and she needed Doc's help to stop choking on the piece of chicken that had slipped down her throat. By the time Granny was able to breathe without coughing, Kashmira's face was set in an inscrutable mask that was almost as good as Stu's. Except for the tiny twitch in her lower lip.
Naturally that was the perfect opening for Momaka to tell everybody what was happening in Maasin City. Stu and Momaka gave a demonstration on how guards were walking backwards while others were walking forwards, hands on the weapons. That prompted a Kashmirian giggle.
No wonder Mathias' eyeballs twanged, Granny messaged Momaka.
"How much am I earning now?" Kashmira asked.
"Your profits continue to rise." Momaka replied.
"When can I have my music table?"
"There's quite some time to go unfortunately."
# # # # # # # #
That weekend, Kashmira spent a few hours with Mac who came up for another visit. Doc had warned Mac not to overdo the singing lessons, but Kashmira actually looked like she was getting stronger as the day went on.
Singing makes people feel better, Mac messaged Doc. Any chance of getting that music table earlier than planned?
 
; No.
Perhaps music practice in the afternoon instead of PE?
Sounds like a plan.
On Sunday, Mathias was allowed to take Kashmira on a short trip lasting no more than two hours so that she could eat before she left and then eat again on her return. They chose to go to neighbouring Indonesia, specifically Brunei. Most of the settlements that had been on that coast were all submerged now, but the people of Brunei had coped by resettling inland. Mathias and Kashmira found a small town, sat under a tree, held hands, and watched the people.
"They look happy," she said.
"They do."
...
"They aren't poor, are they?"
"Doesn't look like it. They have nice clothes. They aren't wearing rags like the poor people do in Maasin City. They have nice homes. Not shacks."
"My father told me that the poor people in Maasin City are happy wearing rags and living in shacks. Is that true?"
"No. People aren't happy being poor. Pablo's family isn't poor, but they worry all the time about how they'd eat if your father kicked them off his property. The poor people in Maasin City are always desperate to find enough food for their children."
"Is that why the families in his neighbourhood like my father so much? Because of how he helps them with free rent?"
"Kashmira, Pablo's family don't like your father. Nor do any of their neighbours. They hate your father and all the other wealthy people in the city who steal all the money and leave none for anybody else."
...
"Mathias, I'm falling asleep. Could you take me home in your sling?"
I mention this return trip, not because of anything that might have happened in the close confines of a single sling holding two people who by necessity had to snuggle together in a semi-reclined position. Kashmira fell asleep with her head on Mathias' chest and her arm around his waist. Mathias put his arm around Kashmira to hold her close – strictly in case they ran into unexpected turbulence. When they reached the ship, Doc had to rouse Kashmira and he gave her one of Stu's nibblies. She recovered her energy after that, had a normal supper (for her), stayed up, listened to the conversations flowing around her, and went to bed at her new, normal time. I mention this return trip because of what Kashmira had asked Mathias.
"Could you take me home?"
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Chapter 36
Back we go to North America and specifically to the former Slave Ranch #4 in Montana. Wizard was standing next to Yuri while Wolf fiddled with some dials on an electronic panel.
"It's ready," Wolf announced. "I'll turn on the power now. It will probably take about 10 minutes before it rains."
"Can you tell me what's going on?" Yuri asked.
"In general terms, yes. I won't talk about the underlying science – that has to remain a Wilizy secret. If you try to look inside any of the components to the system, or if you allow anybody else to, we'll be notified and we'll take the entire irrigation system away. If you try to take a sample of the electronic hose, it will self-destruct and we will take away the entire system."
"Wizard explained that. I agreed to the terms. I only want to know enough about what's happening so that I can tell you what's happening if something goes wrong."
"Some of the water from your river is being diverted so that it flows through this big titanium container. Inside the container is a solar-powered heat unit that will convert the water into water vapor. That's why you can only irrigate your fields in the daytime when you have direct exposure to the sun for power."
"The water vapor rises into your electronic hose."
"Yes. Think of it as a regular hose but one that has electronic walls that prevent the water vapor from disappearing into the air. The electronic hose is heated so that the water vapor remains a gas and the water vapor that is coming into the hose keeps the other water vapor moving. As the water vapor approaches the end of the hose, it condenses into very tiny drops of water which become a light mist as it exits the hose."
"And I can position the end of the hose with this panel?"
"Yes. A map of your ranch is built into the control system. Indicate the place in your ranch where you want to water your crop, push the green button, and everything happens automatically. You also need to set a time to stop irrigating."
"And this electronic hose stays up in the air when it's not being used?"
"Yes. We placed visible markers on the walls of the hose so that you can see where it is and so that birds won't blunder into it."
"How far away from the titanium tank can I irrigate?"
"With this system, about 100 yards as you asked for. All of the Chicago peach trees that you planted last week are within its range. If you want to expand your irrigation further from this intake tank, we'll have to install some heat boosters to keep the water in vapor form. Or you can set up a separate system with an intake further down the river."
"What's the maximum range I can have on a single system?"
"We haven't established that yet" Wolf responded. "Your ranch has the prototype and we'll be experimenting with it here."
Wizard explained. "That's why we're giving you your irrigation system for free. As part of our separate agreement, you're giving us first call on the food that your farm produces at market price minus 10%. We'll provide the labour to harvest your crops."
"Sweet deal for me. Water plus a guaranteed buyer for my crops."
"Sweet deal for us too," Wizard replied.
"It's raining over all of the trees," Yuri observed.
"Yes, the end of the hose moves gently through an arc to irrigate the entire designated area."
"Rain in Montana whenever I want it. I can't believe it."
# # # # # # # #
Later that day, Wolf and Wizard were alone and watching the irrigation system at work.
"Any problems, Wolf?"
"No. It's working like a charm. We still have to calibrate how many heat boosters we put into the system and how we can keep the water vapor moving when we are in long distance mode. That'll take some experimentation."
"What's the maximum distance that we can move water vapor?"
"William says that he could irrigate this ranch with water from the Pacific Ocean if he wanted to."
"Holy kangahoopdedoodle."
"That's what we said too. Do you own the water rights yet?"
"Yes, provided that we demonstrate that the system will work."
"Which you can now do."
"I have a demonstration scheduled for next week."
"How big an area will the state government give us to market and sell our water services?"
"We can sell to all the ranch land in the state of Montana. We have to negotiate a definition of ranch land still."
"Holy kangahoopdedoodle."
"That's what Dreamer said, but this is only the beginning."
"What's better than kangahoopdedoodle?"
"Kangahoopdedoodle-doodle-dum?"
# # # # # # # #
Meanwhile in Chicago, Benedikta Ekelund was sitting in a prison cell facing a murder charge. Some fishermen had snagged a body that had been hidden in garbage bags and dropped into Lake Michigan. The prosecutor declined to say how this body was tied to Bean.
Bean denied the charge against her but refused to say anything more. A doctor came by one morning and took some blood. Bean saw the two burly men accompanying him and decided not to resist. She did notice that the two guards were not wearing prison uniforms. They had black uniforms and body armour. A small crest on their sleeves read simply, Save the USA.
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Chapter 37
Let's yo-yo back to the Philippines. It is Monday, September 23, and Ramón has just warned his boss that he wouldn't like what he saw when he looked inside Kashmira's bag of money. "She's earning more plus it looks like she has four favorite clients now, not three."
El Patrón responded angrily as Ramón had expected. However he had a di
fferent interpretation of the increase in her income than what Momaka had intended. He didn't believe that there would be four men who would be foolish enough to cuckold him. He believed that Kashmira was entertaining these three men more often. But not in a brothel. A brothel would mean that she'd have to share her profits with a madam and that business arrangement would eventually reach El Patrón's ears. She was either working out of a room in a high priced hotel, or her customers had rented one of the city's few high scale condos and were sharing her and the costs. Finding Kashmira's bedroom would take more men.
Ramón went through the homes of the neighbourhood around the mansion, conscripting boys between the ages of 12 and 16 into his security force. He left them unarmed, for now. To ensure that the three rich éstupidos knew that he had more men now, El Patrón told Ramón to put red caps on his entire force. The young teenagers would be mixed with the experienced guards.
Half of his men were sent out to search every room in the local hotels. When the mayor told El Patrón gently, but firmly, that this wouldn't be allowed, El Patrón asked to see the hotel guest lists instead. Again, he was rebuffed. So El Patrón established a line of five men in front of each high-end hotel's main entrance. Any man who looked wealthy was turned away. This did not go over well with the important men who were using the hotel to visit their mistresses. If they had been asked, the mistresses may have applauded El Patrón's actions, but they weren't asked. Powerful men began scheduling meetings behind closed doors. But those closed doors were not inside high-end hotels where they might be seen by red-capped thugs.
The other men in El Patrón's security force were tasked with searching high-end condos. They didn't have to worry about hotel owners and their pesky complaints. Each detail of five red caps waited for a resident to enter the building and they followed in afterwards. They'd race up the stairs to each floor, kick in a door, search, kick in the next door, search, etc. If it had existed, the Association of Maasin City Locksmiths would have considered sending El Patrón a gift of thanks.
On Wednesday morning, a breathless boy pounded on El Patrón's front door to tell Ramón that he had seen La Señorita near the church. She was wearing her shiny pink/green skirt. Several blasts of some air horns later, Ramón had gathered El Patrón's forces at the back of the cathedral where Kashmira had been seen walking with some foreigners.