Chapter 9 - Hide and Seek

"Our daughter inherited your intelligence." Sydney said with admiration registered all over his face.

The duplication of the IBT was already 95% in progress. Unlike the original, it was more sensitive to track Baby Arm and Ms. Peace even without the use of his cellphone which was of course in the hands of Splash together with the first IBT. He believed that: "No matter how witty a monkey is, still it can be outwitted by anyone."

It was also in his mind that: "An always alert man constantly surpassed a hard-working one."

On the other hand, Splash completely transformed from being indifferent from Sydney to a sweet housemate. She even offered him to include his dirty clothes to her laundry. She also cooked for him. She was also frequently asking him to practice using the first IBT from her home in Siksikan City to the various outskirts not far from it. This request obligingly moved Sydney to be more than willing to be indulgent. As a matter of fact, he had planned to dote on her and their daughter. However, it was still too early to coax her for his own interest. If he was able to wait for three years, there was no problem waiting for the time when she would be favourable with him. No matter how hard for him to suppress his feeling for her, still he had to be prudish. Inch by inch, he started studying the personality of the mother of his daughter. He knew that this lady was a wife material aside from being an excellent mother. In his heart and mind she was too precious to be out of his sight. He would never let her disengage from his life considering that he was allowed by the parents of Ms Peace to stay with them temporarily. For him, their friendly relationship should be well taken care off to avoid break up.

During Saturdays, the three of them appeared to be in a close family tie as they would go sight seeing together in a nearby parks, resorts, and joy rides. Baby Arm was really beginning to be used to their kind of set up, a baby with a father and a mother. On Sundays, he would accompany them to attend Holy Mass that after it, he would treat them to a restaurant. Before going home, they had to purchase goods from a supermarket for a week's consumption. Based on his observation, Ms Peace is beginning to realize that it was not awful to have her child a father. Would she ever have started to let a man subdue her? That still remained to be pondered and observed on.

Splash, on the other hand was beginning to be more confident that she was triumphantly able to win his trust. He did not even try to retrieve his first IBT even once. She was really determined and painstakingly patient to be expertly manipulative in using it. She was even tolerant to the embrace and touch of Sydney whenever she was training her to teleport. As she was a self-reliant person, she had the urge to teleport without the assistance of Sydney. However, she should not display it through her actions. She should stay composed. Excitement and enthusiasm should not be overtly shown. What's more in her mind was to pretend that she had not yet memorized which button should be pressed to a specific purpose. In other words, she had to be tactful in the implementation of her adventurous plan. For her, her closeness to Sydney was never a violation to her self-declaration of anti- intrusion in their lives. Moreover, it would hide whatever she had up on her sleeves. His obtrusive deed to be in her baby's life is something that she could not yet accept whole heartedly. But....this should be hidden in the remotest part of her brain and into the deepest part of her heart.

Monday after lunch time, when everyone at their home in Siksik city she was tempted to set the IBT going to the Heart City of their Hot Pepper Region. Going there by land transportation took a traveler eight hours, back and forth. Just in case she would have pressed the wrong buttons setting up the IBT, she brought with her an identification card and a money.

"God please be with me in my first attempt to use Sydney's IBT."

At 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon Baby Arm's crying caught the attention of Sydney as he wondered why the crying hasn't stopped yet for quite some time. Uncertain if his child was alone, for when he intently listened outside the door, no voice of Ms Peace was pacifying the crying baby.

He knocked. No one answered. Baby Arm continued crying.

He twisted the door knob and found out that it was unlocked.

"Honey, stop crying." He coaxed her gently.

"Daddy, why am I alone? Mommy is not in sight." She stopped crying but her puffy eyes was a proof that her crying was long enough.

"She went out for a while. She'll be back soon. Don't you want me to take care of you?" Sydney caresses her hair while talking to her.

"I thought you were also not at home. You did not come when I woke up." She whined while wiping her tears with the hem of her dress.

"I'm sorry. Maybe, I was still asleep when you started looking for your mother." He said while inspecting the surrounding of the bedroom looking for a trace where his child's mother was.

He comforted Baby Arm by playing horse back riding, piggy back carrying to continue searching for Ms. Peace and the IBT.

" Where does your Mommy keep my bag baby darling?"

"in that drawer" she pointed the lowest drawer of the dresser at the right corner of the bedroom when you entered it.

"Do you want to eat a beef porridge for your snack?" Sydney was trying to suggest that they should get out of the bedroom.

"Yes, daddy."

He watched her fed herself.

"Baby, can I go to the rest room for a while?"

"Sure, Daddy."

He quickly went to the bedroom to look for the IBT in the drawer that Baby Arm told him. His doubt was correct. Ms Peace was using it.

Had his child wouldn't be alone with the maid, he could have tracked her where she teleported. But afraid that his baby would be upset again, he doused off the temptation to look for her. He suddenly realized that there was an immediate need for a rigid testing of his IBT's duplicate.

He was busy tutoring his child when... PLOK!!! Ms. Peace appeared.

She did not bother to disturb the father and the child for she rapidly went to the bedroom to keep the bag.

In the evening, when the sound of silence can be heard, he tested his newly made duplication. At first, he disappeared from the loft bedroom and teleported to a seaport. From there, he set the detector only programmed for Ms Peace and for Baby Arm, set the timer for five minutes... PLOK!!! He's back in his loft bedroom.

Success! He was all ready for the hide Ms Peace was planning, and seek for his plan. He would surely enjoy the game that both of them were unconsciously going to play. If there were those who scurried away in their own hiding place, they too, had it... Only that in a techy way.

However, there is a need for Grand Jim or Granny Reyna to be back home. Either of the two could be relied on to Baby sit his Adrianne May. He tried contacting them behind Ms Peace's knowledge. She furtively talked to them through a mobile phone.

"Mother will I be abusive if I would request you or father to be back home here? Ms. Peace used the IBT last Monday afternoon. She was gone... Perhaps for four hours."

"She did that?". Granny queried.

"Yeah, mother. I am afraid something might have happened to her if she would be confused in using it" He explained intently suggesting that a tight and stern look out should be him.

"Are you sure to find her once she teleports?"

Yes, mother. I was lucky that I duplicated it."

Both Grand Jim and Granny Reyna arrived back home.

Sydney's intelligent guess was correct. Without him knowing it, Splash was teleporting during night time when Baby Arm was in her deepest slumber.

Splash teleported from her bedroom to her apartment in metro commercial city, then back to her bedroom in Siksikan City.

It's time for her to hide and for him to seek..... It would be a wonderful experience if he could have chased him anywhere she would be at.

On the arrival of Splash's parents, she did not hide. However, she preferred to always stay in her bedroom.

She rarely talked to Sydney. Instead she would let her child stay with him as much as possible. She had once again returned to her usual self. She was building a wall between them whenever there was an instance that she could not avoid his presence especially during meal time.

Two months of her leave of absence was over. She decided not to bring her baby and her mother along with her in metro commercial city. She talked to her daughter to set her mind of her absence beside her. She was complacently leaving her child with her parents behind her knowing that Sydney would never attempt to snatch her from them.

The following day, they were expecting her to have her trip going back to where her job was. She was about to board in a bus at 3:00 o' clock in the afternoon. Behind their back, she was already in her apartment sleeping. When she rang them, that was the time that they learned that she used the IBT.

"See, mother and father? She had really the guts to use it by herself." Sydney said in a concerned face.

"I'm afraid she might try a farther place, Sydney. You should had not taught her how to manipulate it."

"I can always find her mother. I duplicated the IBT she had."