Part 4

(One hour earlier)

Harriet stared at the page and wished her brother were home. He'd be able to explain the problems to her. The new teacher sure couldn't. Ever since her old math teacher had been picked up, she'd been lost. The new guy had such a strong Indian accent she didn't understand hardly anything he said. She'd been doing okay though, until Freddie started this new job. He made things seem so simple, and only had to explain things to her once for her to grasp the new concepts.

He came home so tired though, and she hated to ask him for help when he was already doing so much. Sighing, she picked up her pencil and flipped back a few pages. Was it the secant she was supposed to use, or was it something else? The co-secant? The pounding on their apartment door was a welcomed interruption.

The doorbell rang twice, and the pounding started again. Harriet dropped her pencil, and left her homework open on the table. The doorbell rang three more times before she got to it. "Harry, please! Open up, I know you're home!" It was Kitty from upstairs, but she checked the peephole anyway before she opened the door. When she did, Kitty practically jumped in, wrapping her arms around Harriet's neck. "They took them. They took Patty and Mel, but they wouldn't take me." She broke down into tears.

Harriet kicked the door closed and led her hysterical friend into the living room. She was wearing the same school uniform as Harriet, but no shoes or socks. Her blouse was unbuttoned, and a couple of the buttons were missing. She wasn't wearing a bra underneath and her C-cup breasts jiggled with each sob. Her mascara was smeared, making her look like a raccoon. "Hold on Kitty, what happened? Who took your sisters?"

Kitty looked at her like she didn't understand why she'd even asked. "Didn't..." She sniffed, trying to get herself under control. "Didn't you see the news? There were two pickups tonight. Mom was at one of them. The marines came to get my sisters. They took them. They took them, but they wouldn't take me. They wouldn't even give me a test drive."

She hadn't been raped then. "I think I know how you feel. When our parents got picked up last year, it was pretty hard."

Kitty shrugged, twisting her hands together. "Yeah. Yeah you'd know about that. You had Freddie though." She took Harriet's hands in her own. "I don't have anybody Harry. I don't have anybody at all. Do you think...." Kitty's eyes pleaded with her. "Could I stay with you guys?"

There wasn't any question, Kitty was her best friend. "Of course you can. I'm pretty sure Freddie won't mind, and if he does we can talk him around." She stood, pulling on Kitty's hands. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." She led her classmate into her bathroom. They had three, so she got one to herself, with a door connecting it to her room. Harriet got a washcloth from her cupboard and wiped the makeup off Kitty's face. "You don't need this makeup anyway, even Freddie thinks so."

"He does?" Kitty looked thoughtful when she nodded in response. "He doesn't have a girlfriend does he?"

"What? Do you like him? I have caught him looking at you." Kitty didn't say anything, just grabbed the ends of her shirt and tied them off under her breasts. She looked just like one of the naughty schoolgirls from that cable show, 'Pickup High'. She looked at herself in the mirror, then met Harriet's eyes, winked and sashayed into the bedroom. Harriet followed her. "Spill it. Are you in love with Freddie or something?"

Kitty sat on her bed and patted a spot next to her. "Sit down Harry, please." Harriet did, it looked like Kitty was about to cry again. "I can't do it. I almost said yes, but it wouldn't be right. I'd do my best to love him, I can tell you that."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's going to retest in a couple of months, right?"

"Well yeah, I told you that."

"You know I'll do just about anything to get picked up. I told you some of the stuff I already did." Kitty blushed; Harriet didn't blame her. Some of those things had sounded exciting, others painful and a few disgusting. "You remember that I was at a pickup and the guy I was with didn't take me even though he'd promised? You don't think Freddie would do that. Do you?"

Harriet shook her head. "He'd never do anything like that, but what about if you aren't with him? They do pickups at colleges sometimes." She looked hard at her friend. "Why should he take you if you don't love him?"

Kitty looked back at her. Her eyes seemed hopeful. "That's why I asked if he has a girlfriend. If he's in love with somebody else, there isn't any reason to take me." She grabbed on if Harriet's hand in both of her own. "Is he in love with anybody? He'd tell you if he was, right?"

"I think so."

"Freddie's a nice guy, and it's not like I'm in love with anyone else. I don't want to die, Harry. I won't say anything to him if you don't want me to, but Harry, I don't want to die." Tears ran down her checks as she repeated her plea.

Harriet hugged her. "I'd love to have you with us, but I don't know if he'll even be able to take me. We hardly go anywhere together. It's like what happened with you tonight, but worse. They won't send marines to pick me up, even if he saves me a slot."

Kitty wiped her eyes. "I think I have a way. They make special pickups for kids. If I'm pregnant with Freddie's baby, they have to come for me. If you're with me, then they can pick you up too. All your brother has to do is tell them where we are."

"You'd do that?"

"I'll do anything Harry. He can try me out first if he wants." She blushed bright red, but kept looking straight into Harriet's eyes. "You can try me out first if you want."

That set Harriet's world on end. Her mouth was suddenly dry, and she was very aware of her hands on Kitty's smooth arms. "You're serious? You mean you'd..." She just couldn't finish.

"I mean I'll do anything. It's not like I'm a virgin anywhere. Those other guys made me do things with girls. I kind of liked it. I told you that Harry. You're my best friend. Freddie's the nicest guy I know. If you two want to do those things with me, you can." She must have sensed something, because she put her hands on Harriet's waist, and leaned in to kiss her.

Harriet was surprised at how nice it felt. Maybe even a little nicer than the kisses she'd gotten from some of the boys at school. Kitty kissed her way down Harriet's neck. It felt so good that she didn't even notice when Kitty unbuttoned her shirt and slid it down her shoulders. She did notice when her bra came off. "Wait." she gasped. "I don't think I'm ready for this." She wanted it, she really did, but she wasn't ready to have her best friend turn into her lover without thinking things through. "We've got time, lots of time." She took Kitty's hands in hers, moving them away from her breasts. "It's not that I don't want to, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for this." Kitty looked a little scared, probably afraid she'd pushed too hard and ruined things. Harriet leaned forward a little and kissed her soft lips. "How about if we go get some of your things and bring them back here."

So they did. They found a couple of bags in Kitty's apartment, put in a couple days worth of clothes and stuff in them, and carried them downstairs. Kitty nearly left her schoolbooks behind, but Harriet demanded she bring them. They sat together at the kitchen table doing homework until Harriet's phone rang.

She'd left it in her backpack, and she had to dig for it. It was Freddie. "Hello?"

"Harriet! Grab the photo albums and meet me downstairs."

"Freddie? What's going on?"

"Harry, for once just do what I say. Get the pictures and meet me downstairs."

Harriet looked over at Kitty as she walked toward her room. "I've got someone here..."

"Who is it? You got a new boyfriend?"

"No, it's Kitty, from upstairs. Her mom got picked up tonight, and the marines picked up the twins an hour ago. I told her she could stay with us tonight, she's all alone now." She switched to a whisper. "She tried to get them to take her, but they wouldn't."

"Bring her too."

"Freddie, what's going on?"

"Trust me, I'll be there in five minutes and you two need to be waiting for me with your CAP cards when I pull up." He hung up on her.

What in the hell was going on? If he'd retested already, she'd have been sure that he'd gotten some advance warning of an extraction, but she knew he hadn't. She realized she was checking to make sure her CAP card was in her wallet. It was, so she dropped it in her backpack and ran into the living room.

Kitty followed her. "What's going on?"

Harriet grabbed the photo albums off the shelf and stuffed them in her backpack. "Do you have your CAP card?"

"What?"

"Show me your CAP card." Kitty reached into a pocket on her uniform skirt, and showed the big 5.0 in the middle of her card. "Hang on to it. I've got some sandals you can use by the door. Go put them on."

"But what's going on?" She protested. She kept the card in her hand and slipped the sandals on her feet though.

Three minutes after the phone call, they were waiting on the sidewalk out front. Kitty got a couple of wolf whistles from some guys hanging out in the parking lot, but they both ignored them. They were only there for about sixty seconds when Freddie pulled up. He rolled the window down and yelled. "Get in the back seat."

Harriet pushed Kitty in first, and then sat next to her, with the backpack between them. Freddie had the car moving before she got the door shut. She couldn't wait any longer and yelled "What's going on?"

"Hush." The tires screeched as he pulled out on the street and turned west, heading for the edge of town. "You both have your CAP cards?" They told him they did. "Good. Here's the deal, we have about twenty minutes to get to a pickup." She started to talk, but he rolled right over her. "Listen. I got picked up already. I know I always said I'd never ship as a concubine, but Chrissy's so sweet and kind and just so nice all the time. I didn't mean to say yes when she asked me, it just came out. The thing is, I retested there. I got a six point seven, so I have two slots."

"You mean..." Kitty exclaimed, and then shut up when Harriet gave her a look.

He put a headset on. "AI, I have with me my sister Harriet, and Kathy Parker. Can you read their CAP cards?" he paused for a second before continuing. "Can you confirm if Kathy's mom and sisters are going to Spindrift? Great, thanks." He looked at Harriet in the rear view mirror. "Harriet, you want to come with me as my concubine? I'm going to set up a household with Chrissy, I think you'll like her."

"Yeah, sure." It was just that easy to give up everything. Well, if she couldn't trust her brother, she couldn't trust anyone.

"Kitty, your mom and sisters were taken by a guy named Ray. He's a marine and is going the same place as me. I can't guarantee you'll be able to see them, but you might. It will be up to Ray. Do you want to be my concubine?"

"Are you serious? Yes, of course, but why me?"

"Why not? I know you, I like you, and you're my sister's best friend. I'm not in love with you, I know that because I'm in love with Chrissy, but I'd like you to come with us."

The rest of the drive he babbled about how wonderful Chrissy was. He really must be in love, he'd known the girl for all of three weeks and he'd totally fallen for her. Fallen hard enough that he'd agreed to be her concubine. He'd always said he'd never be anyone's slave; that it was better to stay and fight.

Kitty looked pretty nervous by the time they got to the run down apartment complex. She was trying hard not to let the others see it, but Harriet could tell. She grabbed her friend's hand and held it. That seemed to settle her down.

Freddie slipped brass knuckles on his right hand,and then pointed to a set of stairs. "Go up those stairs, turn left and it's the second door. Don't knock on it. Don't make any noise; just walk right past and lean up against the wall. Go on, I'll be right behind you."

She grabbed her backpack and headed for the stairs, trying to act as if she belonged there. Kitty followed her, dragging her feet to keep the flip-flops quiet. Freddie drove the car around the corner and shut the engine down. It wasn't long before he ran up another stairwell, carrying a pizza box. As he walked past them, he put a finger to his lips. He knocked on the apartment door. Someone opened it far enough to rattle the chain. Freddie looked through the crack at whoever it was and held up the pizza bag. "Chrissy sent this."

The door closed, the chain rattled, and then it opened wide. A dark haired boy of about twelve or thirteen put out his hands to take the pizza. "So she didn't get picked up then?"

Freddie didn't pen the bag. "You're Paul, right? Your mom and little sister are here?" The boy nodded. "I'm here to pick you up."

Paul looked behind him nervously. "You're not a marine."

"Fleet Auxiliary, I got picked up with Chrissy, and they sent me to come get you. Special permission to pick up your mom too."

"They shoulda sent the marines," the boy muttered. "I guess you have to come in."

Freddie waved for them to follow, and stepped inside, nudging Paul ahead of him. Harriet stepped through the door, backpack dangling from one hand. There was something wrong, she could feel it. She didn't need to tell Freddie, she could tell he knew. He tossed the pizza bag on the couch and held his weapon ready. From the next room she heard a woman's voice. "You can't do this, it's wrong."

"Shut up bitch, I'm trying to save your life." The guy must have seen Freddie, because he started yelling. "Where's the marines? Get them in here or I'll cut her throat." There was a scream and a smack. "Get off me bi..."

Zap. Freddie shot whoever it was with the device on his hand. He ran into the room. Harriet moved up and peeked through the doorway into the kitchen. A man and a little blonde girl lay on the floor. Freddie knelt over the girl. "Get me a cloth or some paper towels, quick." An older woman who looked like she might be the girl's mother grabbed some off a roll and handed them to him. He took them from her and pressed them to the girls shoulder. "She'll be fine, she's just stunned. Hold this right here." He looked at the guy, then at a woman and girl huddled in the corner by the fridge. "Who is this guy?"

The girl spoke. She was maybe a little younger than Harriet. "My stepfather. He heard about cousin Chrissy getting extracted and dragged us here. He thought he could make the marines take us, too."

"And your mom tried to stop him." He looked at Kitty who'd joined Harriet in the doorway. "Kitty, bring that pizza bag here. Harriet, go make sure that door is locked." She did and when she got back, he was talking to someone on his headset. "Don't you ever take any extras?" He looked at the woman and girl. "What does Chrissy say to that? Yeah that's fine." He took the box from Kitty and pulled a metal cylinder out of it. He set it in the middle of the floor and pushed a button recessed into the top. It unfolded itself, transforming into a ring on the floor.

"All set?" Freddie asked whoever was on the other end. "Right I'll ask them." He looked at the woman holding the ten-year-old girl. "Molly, Chrissy is offering you a place as her concubine, do you want it?" The woman nodded. "You have to talk so the AI can hear you."

"I'll go with her."

"Heather, the AI will let you and your daughter Megan come as spares. You'll stay in Chrissy's pod on the way out. You won't have a sponsor, so when you get to Spindrift you'll work for the Civil Service. That probably means a brothel unless you are pregnant or nursing."

Heather looked revolted by the idea, but although Megan didn't look happy, she nodded. "It's better than being eaten by lizards. You said spares, right? So that means we can get someone to claim us sometime?"

Freddie listened to someone on his headset before answering. "It's possible, sometimes sponsors will trade concubines in if they don't get along, and if a sponsor retests or a dependent takes the CAP test and gets a six point five or more then they go to the Civil Service to get concubines."

"I'll go" Megan said. "Come on Mom, you too, I don't want you to get eaten by lizards."

Heather shook her head. "It's just not right."

"Mom!" Megan grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Do you want me to be there alone? It you're there, you can teach me what to do, so I can get a nice guy to pick me."

"I'll go. I just wanted better for you."

Freddie spoke into the mike. "Is that everything? Okay, good." He took the little girl from her mother and stood up. "Everyone line up between the terminus and the door, we've got about thirty seconds. When we get there, I'll take Paul and Wanda here to medical, the rest of you have a briefing to go to. Chrissy will be waiting for us. You can just follow her." He waved them into position, the boy in front, with Harriet bringing up the rear. "Go!"

Paul took a step forward and vanished. The others followed him. Kitty hesitated, so Harriet gave her a little push, and then followed. The transporter gave her a really strange feeling, just for an instant, then it was gone. She found herself standing next to Kitty. All the others were clustered around a pair of girls. One was short and blonde, wearing a blue uniform and thick glasses. The other was tall, wearing only an ugly gray shift. Freddie appeared behind them, and the shorter of the two ran over and hugged him, looking concernedly at the little girl in his arms. "You're sure she's okay?'

"She'll be fine, Baby. It's just a little cut, and she got caught in the stinger beam. The AI says that ten minutes in a medtube and she'll be fine." He nodded at Harriet and Kitty introducing them. "How about you send Gina with me and Paul to medical, and when we're done there, Gina can take the kids to our pod, I'll meet you in the briefing room."

The short blonde girl nodded. "Hurry, okay?" and stood on her tiptoes to kiss Freddie's cheek. He carried the little girl down one of the corridors, and Chrissy sent the tall black-haired girl and Paul running after him. She grabbed her mom's CAP card, and then came over to the teenagers. "Give me your CAP cards, then follow me please. We need to clear this room for the next extraction."

She took Kitty's hand and the two of them followed the others to a room with a low stage at one end. Chrissy politely asked them all stand against the wall while she went over to one of the marines and talked with him.

Kitty leaned in close and whispered in Harriet's ear. "I don't care how nice Freddie thinks she is, if she tells me to jump, I'm gonna ask how high on the way up."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you see her eyes Harry? That girl is hard as nails. She's all 'please' and 'thank you', but underneath..."

"But, you heard how nice she was to Freddie..."

Kitty shook her head. "He's done everything she asked him, besides she's sweet on him. We're not Freddie though. I'm going to sta...." She cut off as the girl came back.

She exchanged hugs with her mother and the other two. The other woman turned out to be her mother's sister. Now that she was watching closely, she could tell that Chrissy was holding back something, keeping herself under tight control. It took a while to figure it out. What clued her in was Percy, a kid she knew from school. He walked in with his mother, a big fat woman who must have weighed two or three times what he did. Another woman was with them, not quite as big, carrying a baby. At a guess she was his sister. Percy was scared and trying to hide it. That explained Chrissy, the older girl was terrified.

People filtered in until the room was about half full, then the marines started the briefing. The first thing they did was make all of the concubines strip naked. Kitty didn't seem to have a problem with that, but it was harder for her. At least there were so many other naked bodies that not many people looked at her. Chrissy had a whispered argument with her mom before the older woman did what she was told. Percy had much the same problem. His sister started as soon as they were told to, but his mom had to be yelled at by one of the marines before she complied.

Freddie came in shortly after they played a recording of some woman getting spaced. His eyes passed over most of the naked flesh, and when he saw her, he looked away, but his gaze lingered on Kitty. That earned Kitty a jealous glare from Chrissy; quickly hidden when Freddie's eyes found the blonde girl and he smiled at her. He was in a uniform that matched Chrissy's now, and he stood next to her, taking a couple of CAP cards from her hand when she offered them.

The briefing wasn't quite over when Freddie came and got them. "Grab your clothes, I kind of like the way they look. We're going to medical." The technician hustled them in and out of the tubes, and shooed Freddie away when he stopped to kiss Chrissy on the way out. She was waiting for her mom.

Their room was on the second floor of the pod. The grav lift was unsettling, Kitty even screamed when it whipped her up through the hole in the ceiling. Forewarned by that, Harriet managed to keep her mouth shut when it was her turn. "Okay," Freddie told them. "This is the bathroom for you to use." It looked pretty standard, toilet, shower sink and mirror. "And this is your room. You two are going to share. You can decorate it, ask the AI for help and submit your designs for approval." He walked over to an opening in one wall and pulled out a pair of the ugly shifts. "Put these on." He actually turned his back for them to dress.

It only took a second to pull it on, then she ran over and hugged her brother. "Thank you for coming to get me Freddie. I love you."

Kitty was right behind her, but she kissed him hard. "I'll do anything you want, anything at all. I belong to you now." Freddie looked a little surprised, but after a moment, he kissed her back, his hands squeezing her ass.

Suddenly, he stiffened and stepped back. "You two stay up here, don't come downstairs until we send for you. It will probably be in the morning. If you get hungry, just ask the AI."

The two of them watched him walk away and vanish down the lift. They looked at each other then, surprise and fear clear on Kitty's face. "She's here. He wanted me, I could tell, but he wants her more."

Harriet hugged her friend. "It's gonna be okay." She felt a little strange, all the stories implied orgies in the pods after pickup. She'd been dreading doing it, but wanted to see it. It looked like they weren't going to be involved at all. "You know, we don't have to worry about homework anymore." She shut the door and led Kitty to one of the beds. Having someone else touch her turned out to feel much better than doing it herself, and Kitty's tongue felt heavenly.