Storiesonline.net
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                               Dreamweaver
                          by Shadow of Moonlite

Copyright© 2008 by Shadow of Moonlite


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Description: As if being a teenager weren't hard enough, Jimmy must now use his gift to help his friend Angela recover from her ordeal, while still helping the FBI catch the man responsible. And then there are the other little problems... Dreamweaver is the sequel to Sleepwalker, many of the same themes apply but most of the sex has been taken 'off screen'. The themes involved are adult in nature and include references to bondage, teenage sex, dominant/submissive behavior, incest, and rape.

Codes: paranormal
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Chapter 1: Summer Vacation

Jimmy

It was just another typical summer day in what was easily the best summer of my life. The southern California sun was shining brightly, the grass was green, and my girlfriends were having a water fight in the driveway. Yes, life was good.

I don't know exactly what started the fight. One minute we were all just washing my truck, the next there were sponges flying everywhere. My truck was a 1991 Chevy step-side. It was a deep burgundy color with a blackout package, fat alloy wheels and tires, and a killer stereo. My friend Rebecca had set me up at a federal auction selling off property seized in drug cases. Rebecca works for the FBI. She also dates my therapist.

I guess I should explain. My name is James Matthews, James to my parents, Jimmy to my close friends, Edward, my middle name, to most every one at school. It's a long story. I met Rebecca about nine months ago. Her sister introduced us ... sort of. I'm sixteen years old and in a couple weeks I'll be starting my second year of high school. Hopefully this year won't be quite as traumatic as last year. Hey, I can hope, can't I?

My freshman year had been a roller coaster ride from day one, literally. The day I registered for my classes had been a day of revelation like no other. That was the day I discovered my gift. I discovered it quite by accident, when I found myself dreaming about something that had happened on the way home after registration. My best friend's name was Mark, and I was hanging out at his house after his mother, Karen, had picked us up from registration and taken us out to lunch. Lunch of course came with a price, and we had been washing her car when Mark's little, well, younger sister, Shannon, had ridden up on her bike. Sibling rivalry quickly reared its head and in the aftermath I discovered two things. First, that Shannon was no longer a little girl and, later that night, that she had a crush on me. As shocking as that revelation was it was dwarfed to insignificance by the method of its discovery. You see, when I relived the events of that afternoon in a dream, they were different, very different. What had been a series of reasonably innocent events now became a teenage fantasy in which I had a starring roll. Only it wasn't my fantasy, it was hers. More specifically, it wasn't my dream, but hers!

That was the night I realized that I had the ability to move around in other peoples dreams. I call it sleepwalking. Apparently it's something I've been able to do all of my life, I just never realized it. Well, as soon as I realized that I must have somehow actually been in Shannon's dream, it made me wonder if I had ever been in anyone else's. The question answered itself immediately as years of memories made it clear that I had in fact been invading my own sister's dreams for years.

Allison is my sister, and from the moment she first came into my life there seemed to be a special bond and attachment between us. We lost count of the number of times our parents woke to find me asleep in the floor of her room. One night when I was sleeping over at Mark's house, Allison had a nightmare and woke our parents with a bloodcurdling scream. But by the time Mom got to her room, she was already calmed down. When Mom asked her what had happened Allison told said she had had a nightmare but that I had come and told her everything was alright. The really strange part was that I had dreamed that night of Allison having a nightmare and me going to comfort her and tell her it was okay.

You may have noticed that teenage girls talk a lot, and after the night I found myself in Shannon's dream, she just couldn't wait to tell her best friend all about this fantastic dream she'd had about finally getting me alone and what a wonderful time we'd had. Apparently Allison had realized what was really happening long before and immediately recognized that I had in fact bridged Shannon, that's what we call it when I sleepwalk into another person's dreams, 'bridging.' Allison realized that I had bridged into Shannon's fantasy and as soon as I got home from school that day she was all over me.

My first reaction was to deny it, after all, it does sound crazy. No good. She told me that she had in fact known about it for years, citing several examples that I couldn't possible ignore, including the nightmare I mentioned, and forcing me to confess what had happened. When I speculated about finding someone to talk to about it she told me point blank that under no circumstances should I tell anyone about it. At first I thought she was nuts but then she pointed out what the likely response to my ability would be with the population at large, and even worse, what could happen if the government should get wind of it. That was enough for me.

The revelation of Shannon's feelings for me came as a bit of a shock, but more shocking still was the realization that the feelings were mutual. This was almost immediately eclipsed by the discovery that she was not my first love and that there was already someone else in my life that I loved even more. When I eventually discussed it with my therapist he said that spending so much of my life in Allison's dreams had built a level of intimacy between us that was virtually unmatched. He was not the least bit surprised to discover that our feelings for each other went way beyond the normal sibling attachments.

Allison is and always will be the person I love most in this world. Shannon is a close second and, as it happens, we share the same feelings for Allison. Shannon cares a lot for me, but if it ever came down to a choice of Allison or me, I don't believe for a second that I'd come out on top. Allison swears she loves both Shannon and me the same, if that's possible, but I don't really care one way or the other; her feelings for Shannon don't interfere in the slightest with her love for me, and even if she did love Shannon more, it wouldn't make me love her any less. So at the tender age of fifteen I discovered that I suddenly had two girlfriends. Girlfriends that had in fact been waiting for me to realize the truth and couldn't wait to consummate our relationships, as a result of which my freshman year was filled with the kind of sex most people can only dream about. In fact, once we decided to tell Shannon the truth about what had happened and what I could do, we had it in our dreams as well, a lot.

I realize that most of the world would take a very different view towards our relationship. Personally, I don't presume to tell other people who they can or should love, so I really don't think they have any right to tell me, or us, either. All I can say is that if your personal morals or values have a problem with us all having sex, whether as individual couples, which we do because it's important to have that closeness, or all together because that's important as well, not to mention fun, then I feel sorry for you and I hope that someday your world view will grow enough for you to deal with it. I don't care if it ever does, but I do hope so for your sake.

The most immediate problem, though, was that we had no idea what to do now that my special ability had apparently grown to the point that I was now bridging other people. The problem solved itself when I asked my psychology teacher some basic questions about dreams and dreaming. Being a trained professional he realized that I was holding something back and that it was bothering me. Being a licensed therapist as well as a teacher, he eventually offered to take me on as patient so that anything I might discuss with him would be confidential to the point of being protected by law. Allison and I discussed the merits of the idea and agreed to take him up on it. It was an offer he came to regret almost immediately after learning the truth. His vision of the Nobel Peace Prize was immediately replaced by his fear of what could, and likely would happen if the wrong people ever got wind of what I could do. All things considered, he took it well and has done his best to help us understand and cope with the changes ever since. Much to his credit he even hung in there when things took a dark turn and I learned that my gift had a terrible price attached to it.

Through a series of very unusual dreams I was introduced to a woman named Rebecca Hampton. Rebecca is an FBI agent. Her sister Amy introduced us, which was scary in itself considering that she introduced us by moving me through a series of dreams. That was really scary because it meant that someone that we didn't know, knew about what I could do and could apparently move me around. It turned out that that's not really what was happening but we didn't know that at the time. If all that wasn't scary enough, we then found out why. It seems that Rebecca was to need my help in a case she didn't even know about; a case that if I didn't help her with, she would die trying to solve on her own. The obvious question was how Amy could know all this. The even more obvious answer was she couldn't. In fact she couldn't possibly know any of this; not that I was alive, or even that her own sister was an FBI agent. You see, Amy had been in a coma for twelve years. Yeah, that kind of shocked all of us too, but she was right about all of it. It seems that a very bad man had been kidnapping, torturing, raping and eventually killing teenage girls, one a year, for the last three years. The locations were so far apart that no one had put them together, they were just unsolved murders.

Amy ... She's the biggest mystery I've encountered since this whole thing started. She's been in a coma since she was eight years old, and can't possibly know anything that's going on. Rebecca was in high school when Amy was hit by the car that put her in the coma, yet somehow Amy knows that she's with the Bureau, knows her future includes running into this killer, knows that without my help she'll die trying to stop him. And how does that work? Rebecca only knows about the case because Amy has me tell her about it, so it stands to reason that if Amy doesn't drag me into it that her sister would have been safe, so why do it? And how come she can move me around but she can't be in the same dream with her sister? The first time I met her I was in Rebecca's dream, studying her, when all of a sudden everything freezes and a little girl in a white dress and bobby socks appears in the chair next to me. Why does it hurt for her to move around on her own but if I'm there it's okay? Why can I bring her into a dream? Actually I'm not sure I do bring her in. I think about her and she comes, most of the time, but it feels like I'm somehow inviting her rather than just reaching out and dragging her in. For that matter I can't find her in dreams the way I seem to be able to with everyone else. Yet even if I bring her into my dream, she can't stay unless I stay there too. Everyone else I can leave behind and it's no different than if I'm there, but Amy is instantly wracked with pain if I leave. I've thought about trying to run two dreams that overlap with Rebecca in one and Amy in the other and then open a doorway between them but I'm almost afraid to for fear of what might happen. And then there is the apparent time limit on how long she can stay in a dream once she's there. It seems to run right at a subjective half-hour. I say subjective because dream time is variable, sometimes things seem to take no time at all, other times you feel like you barely started and suddenly you're waking up. With Amy, everyone seems to know when it's time for her to go, no one says anything, we all just seem to know that it's time. Oh, and I have almost no effect on her at all. The second time I met her was at a beach I created just for the purpose and I tried to change her into a bathing suit so her dress wouldn't get wet. In my mind I pictured a simple, red, one-piece suit that you'd expect to find on any eight year old in the world. The suit came out white with pink trim, just like her dress. Everyone else can change their own clothes in dreams, whether they are in their own or mine. Amy can't. She can move me around but she can't change her clothes - how weird is that? Anyway, like I said, she's a mystery.

Back to how this all started. In one night my youthful innocence was stripped away, shredded, burned, and scattered on the wind. All because I asked Amy if she could tell me more about the guy I need to help Rebecca stop. She said that she couldn't tell me anyting, but that maybe she could show me. (Thank God she actually didn't know any details.) I don't know how Amy does what she does, but at the end of the night I found myself in a small room, a small theater really, watching helplessly as this sick bastard stalked, kidnapped, tortured, raped, and eventually killed his first victim. Worse than that, I felt it. The price of my gift was that I had to see it all from the killer's perspective. I experienced his thrill during the hunt. I experienced his elation, rage, hatred, and lust as he tortured and raped her for weeks on end, and I had to experience his emptiness when he killed her and left her body in a hotel room. That may have actually been the worst.

That was the night I realized that the gift, or ability, or power, whatever you choose to call it, that I had been given had come with a terrible price and a huge responsibility. I dedicated myself that night to stopping this madman no matter what the cost. And that's how I came to meet and eventually work with the Special Agent Rebecca Hampton of the FBI.

Two months ago he kidnapped his latest victim. I don't know if Amy knew in advance or not, and I don't really want to know, but his victim this time was a close personal friend of mine. I spent weeks trying to find her, even enlisting the aid of a character I had stolen from a little boys nightmare.

I never actually met Bobby, but he came to my house trick-or-treating Halloween night and something was obviously wrong. Back then I frequently found myself spontaneously bridging new people I would meet. You'd be amazed what some people dream about. I'd watched a girl from my psychology class storm a mall with some friends and it had looked like Rambo Barbie invading a prisoner of war camp. Bobby's problem was a little more severe. He was having a recurring nightmare in which a beast resembling a werewolf was chasing him. I had stepped in and saved the day by making it all a game of tag; hey he was a little kid and he wanted to be safe, I told him the neighbors porch was base and had the monster chase him there then stop. I made up a name for the monster and as punishment for frightening Bobby, placed him as the boy's personal dream guardian for the next year.

As we were running out of time and options for finding Angela, Allison mentioned that bloodhounds couldn't pick up her trail and I got the wild idea of having Walter — that was the name I gave Bobby's new playmate — try to find her. It's kind of complicated the way it worked out. He actually did find her, but it didn't work out the way we had hoped so I'm not sure if you'd call it a success or not.

Eventually I was able to establish enough of a link with Angela to lead Rebecca to where she was imprisoned, in a house owned by someone named "Kenneth Riley". Of course we didn't find that out until later. Unfortunately, the killer had found out that Rebecca was looking for him and planned for the possibility of discovery. Officially, Angela had died when Riley blew up the house to cover his escape. In truth, we had gotten her out seconds before the explosion and she was now in hiding so that he couldn't find her and finish the job.

Rebecca had me call in a couple of anonymous tips during the course of her investigation in order to justify her involvement in the case. Let's face it; even an FBI agent can't just pull leads out of thin air. The truth was I had been working quietly behind the scenes, in and out of the killer's dreams for the better part of a year, trying to help her establish a reliable profile of his target group in hopes that if we could figure out who his likely next victim might be, we would have a chance to catch him. As an added bonus, it also made me eligible for any reward money that may be available. Even though Angela, my friend and his latest victim, had died, officially anyway, the anonymous tipster had still earned part of the money. Twenty-five thousand dollars to start with; there was more available if, no, when we eventually found this asshole and either convicted him or, my personal preference, killed him trying to arrest him. That may sound a little bloodthirsty but I had no doubts at all about his guilt and I just didn't trust the system to do the job. Short of catching him in the act there was nowhere near enough evidence to get a conviction. He was too slick, his first three kills had been completely devoid of any physical evidence; CSI teams at all three sites had come up empty, and since he had blown up his last one there wasn't much to go on.

I know what you're thinking, but when Kenneth Riley's driver's license photo was shown to his parents back east, they didn't recognize him. Years of family photographs confirmed that it wasn't the same man. So now we had another mystery, and most likely, another murder to lay at the feet of our killer. When we catch him, I have to keep reminding myself that it's 'when', not 'if, ' I hope for the family's sake they can at least get him to tell us what he did with Riley's body.

Part of the reward money for finding Angela had gone to pay for my truck; the rest was sitting in my savings account. Okay, technically it was all sitting in savings but there were two accounts. You see, I couldn't afford to attract any undue attention and since I'd never had a job it would be really hard to explain how I got the truck. So my dad took a loan out to buy it, and then set it up so that each month the loan payment came directly out of one of my accounts. It meant that I would pay a little more than I had to due to the interest charges, but at least the lower insurance balanced it out. Full coverage insurance on a truck like mine is really expensive for a teenager, so it's insured in his name, with me listed as an authorized driver. The savings balanced what I was paying in interest so I didn't actually end up paying any extra. There is an even bigger reward waiting when we actually catch him. Several actually, although the one for Angela's killer is much bigger than for the other victims. Angela's parents were members of the 'Player's Club' at one of the casinos. The casino had sponsored a slots tournament to raise money. There was almost three hundred thousand dollars sitting in an escrow account for tips and/or the reward for catching whoever had killed her. One of the other girls had just over a hundred thousand, the other two totaled about sixty, so all in all, just under half a million 'when' we finally nail the bastard.

So where was I? Oh yeah, the water fight. One minute everything was fine, Shannon was just rinsing the last of the soap off of the truck, the next thing you know a sponge the size of a small football hits her smack in the chest, spattering suds everywhere. My eyes tracked the incoming trajectory backwards and found Allison laughing at the shocked expression on her girlfriend's face as the thick suds began dripping down her tanned and toned stomach.

"Why you little bitch!" Shannon whispered.

I suddenly realized I was between them and beat a hasty retreat back onto the grass as Shannon dropped the hose and went after Allison, who of course did her best to keep the truck between them as she ran away, laughing all the while.

Allison is a perfect five-foot-five, with long blonde hair, grayish-blue eyes, and a smile that could light Times Square on New Years Eve. Shannon is about eight months older, four inches taller and proportionally larger in pretty much every category. She has dark hair, brown eyes, a flawless tan, and a kill shot that will take your head off if you're on the wrong side of a volleyball net and not paying attention.

She's also sneaky. She appeared to be crouching low in order to try and sneak up on Allison, but instead she was actually getting the second sponge out of the bucket. She then moved along the edge of the truck until she was once more on the side with the hose. Ducking down, she forced Allison to stand on her toes to try and keep track of her. As soon as Allison went up on her toes, Shannon bounced back up and pitched a perfect strike with the sponge, catching Allison right in the throat. Before her young friend could react she snatched up the hose and hit the trigger, soaking both Allison and the almost dry truck all over again. Both dissolved into laughter.

"You know Sha', you're getting downright sneaky. I never even saw you pick up the sponge," Allison said as she came around the truck, wiping suds off as she came. "You better rinse me before I spot," she said, turning her back and holding her hands over her head.

Shannon obligingly held the hose and sprayed her gently as she turned. I was enjoying the show while at the same time mentally shaking my head. Shannon may be getting sneaky, but Allison was a grand master at it and I had a pretty good idea what was coming. Sure enough Allison finished and offered to return the favor, and of course Shannon fell for it, handing over the hose. Allison moved in close and using the smallest stream possible began rinsing the suds off of the taller girl, brushing gently with her free hand as she went. Once the front was clear Shannon turned around and, just as I expected, Allison ran her hand gently down the other girls back until she came to the strap on her bathing suit, which she deftly unsnapped. Okay, that part I hadn't expected, Shannon shrieked and pulled her arms down quickly to keep from completely exposing herself. Now came the part I had expected, Allison triggered the nozzle to full, locked it and stuck it down the back of Shannon's bikini bottoms. There's not a lot of extra room in there, if you know what I mean, so the nozzle was pretty firmly held as it released its torrent of, by now, very cold water. Shannon, having her hands full trying to keep her top in place, was at a severe disadvantage as she danced around and tried to dislodge the hose without losing the other half of her suit.

I had been witnessing variations of this all summer from these two. It was usually Allison who started it, not always, but usually; it was their idea of foreplay. Since Shannon was at serious risk of flashing the neighborhood any second, I moved in, grabbed her around the waist to hold her still and tried to extract the nozzle from her suit. It was a little trickier than I anticipated as the mechanism had snagged on the waistband. I had to use both hands, one to pull the bottom of her suit away from her body and the other to try and release the trigger lock so the nozzle would hold still long enough to get it loose from the material. The up side to all this was I got to stare at one of the most perfect asses I had ever seen. It was one of my favorite sights. In addition to the visuals there was the smell. Sun-baked teenager liberally basted in coconut oil and sweat, with just a hint of strawberry shampoo, an olfactory delight to say the least.

Now that I was handling the problems below the waist, Shannon was free to handle the ones above. She carefully repositioned her top and secured the strap just as I finally got the nozzle released from her briefs.

"Thank you, Jimmy. Was it really stuck or were you just enjoying the view?"

I smiled sweetly and replied, "Both actually. It wasn't the best angle so I really couldn't get the full effect, but what I could see was spectacular. I didn't see any damage, but as I said, it wasn't a good angle. Maybe you should have it looked at."

"What a wonderful idea. Do you have time?"

"I always have time for you, but when Allison tries that hard to get attention it usually means she's feeling neglected. Why don't you two go kiss and make up? I'll dry the truck off and then maybe pull it into the garage and wax it. That should kill an hour or so."

Shannon leaned in and kissed my cheek. We're very careful with PDAs. No one knows how deeply we are really involved and we want to keep it that way. Actually my parents know about me and Allison; I suspect that my mom knows about all of it but she is carefully playing 'don't ask-don't tell' with the whole thing. Publicly Allison and Shannon are just best friends and I am just the best friend's brother.

"You're too sweet. I'm a little worried we might be rewarding bad behavior though." She turned to Allison. "She's been a bit of brat lately."

Allison did her best 'little girl in trouble' routine, hands behind her back, head down, biting her lip before saying, "Please? I promise I'll be good." A wicked gleam lit her eyes and a smile just as bad curled her mouth. "I'll be really, really, good."

Shannon rolled her eyes. "Okay, come on."

Allison jumped up and down and then bounced over to kiss my other cheek. "Thanks. Maybe you should just dry it off and then come join us while it cools off. You know you can't wax it when it's hot."

Yeah, it was turning out to be really great summer. I smacked her lightly on the butt and said, "Okay, you two better get going, I need to get that water off before it spots."

They headed off through the garage and I spent a few seconds admiring the view before returning to the task at hand. I would have liked to take more time but I really did need to get the water dried off. In fact, I decided the best idea was to spray the whole thing down again so I had more time to dry it before any one area got too hot. All in all I managed to kill about twenty minutes before I got it into the garage.

Rebecca

I was sitting in my glass walled office trying to figure out exactly what my next move should be. It wasn't a pleasant task. I'd gone over every scrap of data I had and kept coming back to the same conclusion. Finally I got up and walked the short distance to my boss's office.

Samuel Rodriguez, Director of Operations for the Los Angeles office of the Bureau saw me crossing the office and waved me in before I had a chance to knock. We had known each other for years; Rod had been Michael's best man at our wedding. He had been a rock I could cling to six months later when Michael was killed rescuing a kidnap victim. I had been Michael's partner and backing him up at the time. As I sped toward the scene, I heard over the radio as the kidnapper shot my husband, who had stumbled over a trip wire breaking in the door, and left him for dead. After firing two shots into Michael he had calmly turned away, picked up the knife he had dropped and turned back to the bound and terrified girl Michael had come to save. I was still listening as Michael uttered his last words, not a message of love or regret to the wife he knew he would never see again, but a simple "No," as he raised his weapon and shot his own killer in the act of stabbing the girl.

In addition to killing him, the two shots were enough to throw the killer off and the blow meant to pierce the girl's heart had gone just wide enough to miss and puncture a lung instead. The knife was still sticking out of her when I arrived, thirty seconds too late. Thirty seconds that would haunt me for the rest of her life.

Despite our close friendship, Rod and I work well together. By the way, my name is Rebecca Hampton; Special Agent Rebecca Hampton, United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, currently assigned to the Los Angeles Office. Try fitting all that on a standard business card. I specialize in sex crimes. Rod specializes in getting the best efforts out of all of his agents and staff.

Settling into one of the comfortable chairs facing his desk, I started to swing my feet up onto his desk, halting the motion at the glare that was immediately directed my way. Rod was downright anal about his desk. In the entire time I'd worked for him, I'd never seen more than a single sheet of paper, or a single case file on his desk at one time. It was a game I played with him often, if I ever managed to get my feet onto the surface it will most likely mean I need to call for paramedics and begin CPR.

The greeting ritual now complete, I settled comfortably into the chair and waited for him to finish his phone call. I wasn't worried about hearing anything I shouldn't; if that was a possibility he would have had me wait outside. Finally he hung up the phone, leaned back in his chair, and turned to me.

"We found Angela's car," I said. Always start a meeting with your boss on a positive note.

'Angela, ' was Angela Osborne, a five foot-ten inch brunette from San Bernardino. Two year California State Champion in girl's cross country, scheduled to try out for the US Track and Field team this summer before starting her freshman year at Arizona State University in Phoenix in the fall on a full ride sports scholarship in track and field. Okay, technically it was in Tempe but that's like saying Los Angeles when you mean Monterey Park. Look at any map of Southern California and you'll know what I mean. It didn't really matter since she had been kidnapped two months earlier and had died several weeks later as I moved in on the house she was imprisoned in.

That was the official story. In truth, I had carried her unconscious body out seconds before the explosion. Angela's Olympic dreams had actually died some weeks before the explosion, when her kidnapper had damaged her knee to the point that without immediate surgery it would never heal correctly. The required surgery came weeks too late, and even if the damage had been repairable at that point, the two toes they had been forced to amputate to prevent the gangrene from spreading up her leg would have ruined her stride anyway. It would take a few more months of therapy before she could walk without a limp. Months she would spend in a special facility where she would also receive counseling to help her deal with the weeks of rape and torture she had endured before 'dying.' She would also spend many hours learning about her new life. Angela Osborne had died in the explosion. Amber Olsen, on the other hand, had damaged her knee and lost two toes in an automobile accident, and, after several months of recovery, would begin the spring semester in an all-girl's college in Indiana.

"How the hell did you manage that? It's been on the hot sheet for almost two months, I figured it had been through a chop shop by now."

"Why would you think that?" I asked. "You should have asked me. The Pena girl was found in her car after she was killed, McKenzie and Watkins were hotel jobs, so unless he planned to dump Angela in a hotel somewhere, his MO to date says he would keep the car, planning to use it when he was through with her. McKenzie's purse was found in her car after she disappeared. The fact that Angela's car was still missing indicated he planned to use it. Anyway, we caught a break. I'd love to claim credit but essentially 'Kenneth Riley' got a reminder in his mail that he had a payment past due on his storage unit. We're processing all of his mail before it goes into the box, I doubt if he would be stupid enough to actually go looking for any of it but we're sending it through anyway. They send me copies of everything that's not junk mail or magazines. As soon as I got the notice I got a search warrant, opened the door and there it was. We sent a team out to go over it then locked it back up. Again, I don't see him ever coming for it but ... I'm going to check with the family to see if they want it back or not. If they don't then I'll let it go to lien sale just like any other abandoned property. That takes close to six months so it'll buy us plenty of time, if it goes that long we'll 'find' it when the storage office opens the unit for auction.

"Find anything in the car?"

"Actually yes. Apparently he hadn't gotten around to doing anything with the car yet. We found the device he used to knock her out, some fibers, and even a few hairs that we're pretty sure are his. No fingerprints but considering the grease on the steering wheel we figure he was wearing work gloves. I don't think I've ever met a tow-truck driver who didn't. The storage unit was less than two blocks from where he ditched the tow truck. The lab is working on matching the DNA from the hair to what we have. It won't get us any closer to identifying him but at least it'll confirm that it was the same guy."

"Your ID should be here in the morning. I got a call from Washington earlier. Your new partner will be on the seven o'clock out of Dulles in the morning. The plane lands at 9:40 in Long Beach. Eleanor has the information for you."

Sitting up straighter in the chair I asked, "What do you mean new partner? I thought they were just sending someone out to brief us on who and what we were dealing with. What's going on, Rod?"

"What's going on is that a whole shit load of people are now very interested in your killer. Interpol has loaned us their lead agent on The Sandman until we catch him, kill him, or give up. You want to guess what their preference is?"

"Oh shit, don't tell me; they want him alive no matter what it takes."

"You got it."

I stood and began pacing his small office as I answered, "Just fucking great! And I suppose if we do catch him they want him extradited?" One look gave me the answer I feared. "Son of a bitch! I've got four deaths officially linked to the bastard; four girls raped, tortured, and cold bloodedly executed; I think we can safely add the real Kenneth Riley to the list; and they want me to just hand him over for extradition? What the fuck could he have possibly done to top that?"

"They're not saying." He could see me about to blow and held up his hand, "I understand what you're saying, Bex, and before you start shooting the messenger, let me just make a couple things perfectly clear. I don't give a shit what they want him for; none of my people are going to be put at risk to get him for them. They wrote him off years ago; as far as I'm concerned he's our man. Now, officially we are going to do everything in our power to accommodate our guests and help them get their man. Unofficially, I don't want you to so much as break a fucking nail keeping this bastard alive. You are to do your best to take him alive, but if it's him or you, or him or your partner, or a bystander, a beat cop, hell I don't care who it is, if there is an innocent life at stake, you take him out. If it's kill him or let him get away I'll take the heat and apologize to the brass for the unfortunate circumstances. What I don't want is to have to apologize to your sister for letting you get killed because your hands were tied. Do I make myself, unofficially, clear?"

I stared into his eyes for a moment before nodding.

"If you're looking for speculation, given what we already suspect I would guess that there are some high profile unsolved cases, most likely political cases, that are currently leaving black marks all over someone's record. They need someone to parade around for the press to show how diligent and hard working they are."

"The Mounties always get their man," I said.

"Something like that, yeah. Now sit down before you wear a hole in my carpet. You're giving me stiff neck just watching you."

I rolled my eyes and flopped back down in the chair. "Do we have anything on who they're sending?"

"All I know so far is that it's a woman."

"Well at least I won't have to deal with some macho European Uber-cop. Ego I don't need."

"Sometimes you have to take the breaks you can get."

"Anybody asking questions about Jimmy?"

"No reason they would; no one outside of this office knows he exists."

"You know what I mean, Rod. I got a tip the night he killed her. He blew up the house when I got there. I don't think anyone is going to buy that I was really playing cat and mouse with the killer."

"Why not? You played cat and mouse and he tried to catch you when he killed the girl. Sheer luck you didn't get there five minutes sooner. The roses play right into the story."

"They bought that?"

He gave me a raised eyebrow and I knew it was time to go.

There was a light flashing on my phone when I got back to my office, indicating an urgent message; I hit the button and keyed in my code to retrieve it.

"Agent Hampton, this is Doctor Winslow in San Diego and if you have some time this afternoon I would really appreciate it if you could give me a call, the number is..."

I jotted the number on a sticky note and checked my watch. It was just after noon, what were the chances Winslow hadn't gone to lunch already? Right on cue my stomach growled.

"Quiet, you," I muttered as I hit the speaker and dialed the number before picking up the handset.

"Hello."

"Is this Doctor Winslow?"

"Yes, is this Agent Hampton?"

"Yes it is. How can I help you, doctor?"

"Truthfully, I don't know if you can. One thing you can do is forget this call ever took place."

That got my attention. "Okay, we never spoke. What didn't we speak about?"

"Do you know a Detective Mikkelson with the San Diego County Sheriff's office?"

"I wouldn't say I know him. I met him not too long ago at a crime scene. We didn't exactly hit it off. Why do you ask?"

"He's been a patient of mine for about six weeks and I'm afraid if something doesn't change that you may be in danger."

I sat up a little straighter in my chair. "Why would you possibly think that I might be at risk from a fellow law enforcement officer?"

"It's a bizarre case. Stephen came to me about six weeks ago because he was having trouble sleeping. That's not really that uncommon but this was more than simple stress. He claimed to be suffering from a recurring nightmare in which he kept seeing a young woman being tortured and ... assaulted."

"You mean raped?" I asked.

"Yes. At first I assumed it was related to a case he was working but he claimed he had never seen her before the dreams started. He claimed that he was being punished for something he hadn't done."

"Sounds a bit like a guilt complex. I still don't see what all this has to do with me."

"I'm surprised you would use that particular term."

"I specialize in sex crimes, Doctor, and I'm dating a therapist.

"Oh, I see," he said with a chuckle. "That would explain it. I thought the same thing at first but he swore he didn't do anything. I prescribed a sleep aid so he could get some rest but it didn't work. In fact, he claimed the dreams got worse. Now instead of one girl, it was two, and he still swears he's never seen either of them before."

By now I was sitting up very straight and had pulled a scratch pad out of my desk. "That seems to me like it would be a significant change."

"Yes, very serious."

"Did he happen to describe either of these girls, Doctor Winslow?"

"The first one was a blonde girl, five eight or so, athletic, blue eyes; he saw her running track in his dreams. The second was a Hispanic girl, dark hair, dark eyes, around the same height, softball player."

I had two names written on my pad, Diane McKenzie and Maria Pena.

"Do either of these girls sound familiar to you, Miss Hampton?"

"They sound like about sixty percent of the girls in southern California. This is all fascinating doctor, but I don't see what it has to do with me."

There was a pause, "I have your word that you won't repeat any of this or try to use it?"

My interest level went up a couple more notches, "Of course."

"About two weeks ago he admitted to me that he had leaked information to the press regarding a case you were working on; a case involving the death of several young girls over the past few years. He blames you for the nightmares, says you're punishing him somehow for outing your investigation."

In my head I was doing the Rocky dance and high-fiving the crowd at ring side. "He blames me? That makes no sense at all. I did suspect him of leaking the story to the press, not a story so much as just leaking the information that we were watching a girl that had died in your area. Mikkelson was Officer in Charge at the scene. I told him about my case to justify getting a look at the crime scene. He refused. Later I got a copy of a press clipping sent to me by my killer. It quoted an unknown source telling the press that we were watching the girl and why. Whoever tipped the paper, tipped my killer that we were on to him. Later, another girl died. The killer credited the article with tipping him off, so while I can't know for sure, there is a chance that we might have caught him if he hadn't known we were on to him."

"Curious. Did you ever actually accuse him of leaking the information?"

"What would be the point? I made the obligatory complaint through the necessary channels and did my best to work around it. I couldn't prove it so there was no point in pursuing it. I never spoke to Mikkelson personally after the first night."

"Yet he blames you for his nightmares."

"Well, I've been accused of many things over the years, Doctor, a lot of them not nice, some of them were even true, but this is the first time anyone has accused me of witchcraft. You said you're worried that he may come after me."

"I'm afraid I am. Miss Hampton, this is one of the most unusual cases I've seen in a very long time. He's now up to four girls. If something doesn't change soon I may have to put him on administrative leave. I think you know what that means."

"Yes, I do, and while I understand that it's policy, I think it would be more likely to push him over the edge than anything else."

"I would have to agree with you on that; that's why we're not having this conversation."

"I understand. Doctor Winslow, would you mind if I called my friend and asked his advice? I promise not to name any names but I would like his opinion."

"At this point I'd welcome almost any suggestion you could throw out."

"Thank you, I'll call you back and let you know if he has any suggestions." I hung up the phone and stared at the note pad. Mikkelson had blown the whistle to the press about my case and now he was having nightmares about the four girls that had been kidnapped and killed. There was only one possible explanation. Opening my desk drawer I retrieved my Glock, popped in the clip and holstered it. I logged myself out to lunch, picked up my cell phone and headed for the elevator. When I was safely outside I hit a speed dial button and waited for the call to connect.

"You have reached the psychic hot-line, I see rose petals in our future, they are surrounding you on a set of very red satin sheets, a tall, handsome man is..."

I stifled a giggle and interrupted, "We've got a problem."

"Damn! Why do we always have a problem in the middle of my best fantasies? I've been practicing that all morning just waiting for you to call."

"I'm sorry, Bob, really I am. It sounded very interesting and I would love to hear the rest sometime, but right now I need to talk to Jimmy like five minutes ago."

"Okay, I'll see if I can track him down. I'll have him call you."

"Thanks. I need to go see if I can borrow Rod's office."

"That's not good. Anything I can do besides find him?"

"Not unless you can find a way to be there."

"Actually I can. I had him do me a while back. I could have Allison handle the triggers and meet you. Do you actually need me or are you just being polite?"

"No, if you can be there I definitely need you. I'm on my way to the deli, call me back as soon as you find him and we'll set up a time. While I've got you on the phone, do you have any serious plans for the weekend?"

"Oh, the usual, grading papers, porn surfing the internet, that kind of thing. Nothing I can't get out of. Did you need me for something else?"

"I was thinking of taking you to meet Amy."

There was a long pause before he answered, "Rebecca, I can think of nothing I would rather do this weekend than meet your sister. Does this mean dinner with Rod and Selena on Sunday, too?"

"Yeah, I think it's time to meet the whole family."

"I'm honored; I'll try not to make a fool of myself. I'll call you back as soon as I find our boy."

Jimmy

I had just finished parking the truck and was headed for the refrigerator for a cold bottle of water when the phone rang.

"Jimmy, it's Bob, I'm glad you're home. Is Allison with you?"

"Yeah, she's here. So is Shannon. What's up?"

"Rebecca just called, something's happened. She didn't want to talk on the phone. Can you get us all together?"

"Sure, how soon?"

"Maybe thirty minutes; does that work for you."

I thought about what I was missing in the other room and it was a tough decision, but if Rebecca had called Bob to reach me, it had to be important. Rebecca can't call me directly because officially I don't exist; I have an unregistered and untraceable cell phone that the Bureau provided, and paid for, which I use to reach her, but no one can call me on it. Fortunately, she's dating Bob and there's no reason he can't call me... "That should be fine. I'll see you in a half hour."

I hung up the phone, got two water bottles out of the fridge, and went to break the news to the girls that there was to be a change in plans. They were spooned up in my bed when I got there.

"I set my phone to wake us up in an hour," Shannon said. "Come snuggle with us and then we'll help you finish the truck."

I kissed her cheek. "Sounds like a wonderful idea, but it will have to wait. That was Bob; Rebecca needs to see me. Since we're all three here we might as well all go; in fact I think that's what she had in mind. It must be important or she would have waited until tonight."

Allison had perked up as soon as I mentioned Rebecca, by the time I finished they were already up and moving towards the chair where their suits were piled. "This can't be good. How soon?" she asked.

"Bob said thirty minutes."

"Plenty of time; anybody else want a snack first?"

"Just had one thanks," Shannon answered with a smile. "Maybe just some water, which my loving man has already thought of." She looked at me. "Hate to see you miss all the fun; we've got time for a quickie if you want."

I pulled her in close and kissed her. "I would rather wait and take my time." I moved down to nuzzle and kiss her neck. "But if you really want..."

"Mmm," she sighed. "You know me, I always want, but I like it when you take your time so I can wait." She pulled my face back up with both hands and kissed me thoroughly. "Where do you want to do this?"

"I don't think it matters, here or the living room is fine. Just somewhere we can be comfortable. I think we should stay inside though, I don't think it will take that long but I'd hate to wake up sunburned because I was wrong."

"You're so smart," she said, kissing my cheek. She took my hand and pulled me toward the door. "C'mon, before all the good spots are gone."

Allison was just sticking a cup of soup in the microwave when we got to the kitchen. She hit the start button, leaned over the counter, and said, "Dibs on Mom's chair."

"You can have it; I always wake up with a stiff neck if I sleep too long in it. Shannon and I can share the couch. Toss me an apple, would you, please?"

She reached into the bowl of fruit, pulled out a Granny Smith and tossed it to me. "Mom bought bananas, Sha', want one?"

"Sure. You gonna eat all that soup?"

"Nah, we can share. I really just wanted the noodles." She pulled a large yellow fruit from the bowl and handed it over.

I was halfway to the couch when Shannon called me.

"Jimmy, are you sure..." I looked back and she pushed the whole fruit into her mouth so that only the tiny stem was left, then pulled it back out. " ... I can't talk you into that quickie?"

I felt a surge race through me at the sexy sight and just shook my head, "Oh, I'm sure you could, but I'd still rather wait until I can give you my undivided attention, right now I'm a little distracted wondering what's so important that Rebecca needs to actually see me in the middle of the day rather than just having me call her."

"Yeah, no shit," Allison said as the microwave chimed and she retrieved her soup. She scooped a big mound of noodles into a bowl, poured in some broth and handed the cup to Shannon. "Chopsticks?" she asked as Shannon took the cup.

"No thanks, you got most of the noodles; I'll just drink the rest. Oh no you don't! Cyndi will kill you if you spill that in the living room, again, and me if I let you ... Table!" She pointed at the dining room for emphasis.

"Well aren't you miss bossy-britches all of a sudden," Allison replied, sticking out her tongue, but she did go back and sit at the table.

Shannon set the cup down and ruffled her hair before pulling out a chair for herself. "That's my good girl," she said, then jerked her hand back as Allison snapped at her wrist. "Down girl! Don't make me get your leash."

I glanced at the clock. "Time's ticking, ladies; Shannon, did you remember to turn off the alarm on your phone?"

"Thanks for reminding me," she answered, covering her mouth as she swallowed, "Wouldn't do for that to go off before we're done. I'll go do it before I forget. Should we turn the ringer off on the house phone?"

"I'll get it," Allison answered, reaching behind her for the phone on the counter. "Mom keeps hers low enough that we won't hear it, and the one out by the pool is un-plugged. Dad got mad last night when a couple of telemarketers called during dinner."

Shannon used the last of the soup broth to chase the last bite of banana, then stuffed the peel into the cup and dropped them both in the trash can on her way back to the bedroom to turn off her phone. Allison rinsed her bowl and stuck it in the dishwasher before settling herself in Mom's rocker-recliner. I wrapped my apple core in a tissue and set it on the coffee table before stretching out on one end of the couch to wait for Shannon. She was back quickly and, bless her heart, had brought pillows off my bed. She tossed me one and then settled herself on the other end of the bed, stretching her long legs out towards me. I took one of her feet and started massaging it.

"Stop that!" Allison said. "You know that just makes her horny. If you get her started, we'll be late for sure."

Shannon squirmed and bit her lip as I bent forward and kissed her instep before setting her foot back down. Glancing at the clock I saw we only had a few minutes, "Close enough, everybody ready?" The girls snuggled themselves into comfortable positions.

Back when we were trying to locate Angela, we had come up with the idea of using a hypnotic sleep suggestion to allow me to bring Rebecca into a dream immediately if I reached her. Since then we had set up multiple trigger phrases for me and the girls that could be used depending on the circumstances. Bob and Rebecca each had one of their own. Before I could use ours I needed to make sure everyone else was ready. I flipped open my phone and called Rebecca first. She confirmed she was safely in Rod's office. It had become necessary to tell Rod what was going on so now he helped out where he could. In cases like this he let Rebecca use his office and pulled her trigger. I called Bob next.

"Jimmy?"

"Yeah, it's me; everyone else is set, Rebecca is in Rod's office, you ready."

"Ready and anxious, glad we put in the trigger. I'd have a hell of a time sleeping on my own right now."

I spoke Bob's trigger into the phone, "Demonstrable interactive ineptitude,"

I flipped the phone closed and settled myself onto my own pillow, closed my eyes and said, "Black roses don't melt in the rain."

One of the things that we hadn't shared with the others is my ability to overlap dreams and reality, to see in both realms at once. It was a recent development that had manifested just before the end of school. It had proven the critical difference in locating Angela before it was too late. Even as I felt myself slipping into sleep I could see both the girls slump down, instantly asleep when I spoke the hypnotic trigger phrase. It's really weird to be in two places at once; even as I watched them 'go, ' I was already there ahead of them. I can't be sure where they started but they quickly joined me in my office. Seconds later Bob and Rebecca came in together.

Rebecca wasted no time at all, "Glad you could all be here. We have a problem. Jimmy, what did you do to Mikkelson?"

"Who?"

"You remember," Allison said. "He's the guy who outed Rebecca to the press when the Boudreaux girl died."

"Oh, him. I showed up as his boss one night, chewed him out for shooting his mouth off and then made him watch the scenes from my vision of Diane McKenzie's."

"Just McKenzie, none of the others?"

"No, just her."

"And you only went the one time?"

"Yeah, that's hard enough to see even once; I had no doubts about him getting the message so there was no need to go back. Rebecca, what's going on?"

"Less than an hour ago I 'didn't get a call, '" she actually hung air quotes to emphasize her meaning, "from a shrink down in San Diego that works with the local cops when they have issues. Mikkelson has been having nightmares, apparently every night for a couple months, about four young girls being tortured and raped. He doesn't know who they are, swears he has never seen them before, but he described Diane McKenzie and Maria Pena to the shrink in enough detail that I knew who he was talking about."

I could feel the blood draining from my face as she told the story.

"He called to warn me that Mikkelson blames me for the nightmares and that if something doesn't break soon he's going to have to put him on forced leave. He was worried that Mikkelson might snap and come after me."

"How is that even possible?" Shannon asked. "Jimmy only showed him the one girl. We were there; Allison and I went along in 'observer' to watch. Jimmy doesn't trust himself alone with some of these people so he likes to have at least one of us along to make sure he doesn't do anything really bad. We thought it was a terrible thing to do to someone but agreed it was, if not necessary, then at least justified in this case so he understood what we were dealing with and that he was the one responsible if the killer got away because he outed you. Basically we all agreed he deserved it, but that what he got was plenty."

"Wait," Bob interjected. "You said he's had nightmares of four girls. Jimmy, when did you lay this little guilt trip on him?"

"Right after Angela was kidnapped."

"So you couldn't have known any of the details of her torture. And since you never went back, where did those images come from? I can sort of see how you may have inadvertently left behind the images of Maria and Amanda when you ran him through Diane's death, just thinking about it may have been enough to hide the other sets of images in his subconscious, but you didn't know about Angela then. So where did those images come from?"

"Right now I don't care where any of it came from," Rebecca said. "All I care about is putting a stop to it. Jimmy, you've got to go back and fix this. Yes, what he did was wrong, very wrong. But what's happening to him is just as bad if not worse. These visions are driving him crazy; he's afraid to go to sleep. The doctor is worried he could get violent. He may not be my favorite person but..."

I cut her off, "Stop. Enough, I understand what you're saying and you're right; this is wrong. But you have to believe it when I say I didn't mean for this to happen. I just gave him the one nightmare; that was all. It was supposed to be a one-time thing to show him that his shooting off his mouth could be the difference in whether we stopped the killer or not. And that this was the kind of man that was going to be walking around free because he shot his mouth off to the paper. I made him watch my vision of what happened to Diane, the whole thing, but I never showed him the other girls and I certainly didn't show him anything about Angela."

"Then where did those images come from?" Allison asked.

"We'll worry about that later," Shannon said. "Rebecca's right; what matters now is fixing it before officer butt-head loses it and hurts someone, or himself. I think it's safe to say that he's learned his lesson and won't be talking to the press any more, and that was the whole point to begin with so now we just need to stop the nightmares before they drive him over the edge."

We were all nodding in agreement. I caught Rebecca's eye and said, "I'll go tonight."

"Wait," Allison said. "How do we explain it to the shrink that the nightmares just suddenly stopped when he called Rebecca about it? That would seem to encourage the idea that she had something to do with it."

"I think I've got that covered," Rebecca answered. "I told Winslow that I was dating a therapist and got permission to ask him about it if I didn't name any names. I think we just play it up as guilt."

"That is the most plausible explanation," Bob agreed. "He has this overwhelming guilt about what happened and he can't get rid of it. Tell the doctor that I said Mikkelson needs forgiveness, and that the only way to get it is to admit what he did, to you. Assure him that it will all be confidential and that you won't pursue it beyond that point. Tell him to have Mikkelson call you directly and admit what he did. Forgive him and tell him not to do it again. Make sure you use the word forgive. As soon as you get the call, let me know and I'll give Jimmy the go ahead. He may not do it right away so, Jimmy, if you go tonight, only plan to go as an observer unless you hear from me first. Don't fix it unless you hear from me first. Otherwise Allison is right and it will just feed into his idea that Rebecca was somehow responsible." He looked around the room. "Anyone else have anything to add?"

No one did so I let the scene fade and everyone woke up again. I was still staring at the ceiling when Allison stated the obvious.

"I guess this means vacation is over."

Since rescuing Angela and losing the killer I had limited my dream time to purely recreational activities. The only exception was bringing Angela in to see Bob and occasionally to hang out with us at the beach. The people at the center where she was staying had mixed reviews on her progress. It was normal for new people to have good days and bad days, and although they didn't know it, Angela did have a bit of an edge. Where most people in witness protection had to deal with a complete and total separation from their former lives; Angela, Amber now, had the benefit of being able to spend time with at least some of the people she cared for, even if it was only in dreams. She was even getting to the point where she could hug me without shaking, sometimes. Most of the people the government were hiding had the fear of death motivating them, what they didn't have was memories of a month's worth of pain, torture, and abuse.

"Yeah, I guess the party's over and now it's back to the nightly grind," I said. "That's okay though, this shouldn't take that much to fix and I've been thinking I really need to get started on the Vegas problem. I've been feeling a little like we have abandoned Samantha."

"I know what you mean," Allison said, "but I've been worried about how to tell her that Amanda's killer got away."

"Why would you want to lie to her like that?" Shannon asked.

That got my attention and I sat up to look at her. "What do you mean? He did get away?"

"No he didn't. We just haven't caught him yet. I think you're beating yourself up a little too much over that. Maybe we didn't catch him, but we got Angela out before he killed her, and if you think about it, odds are his concentration is not as high because you've disrupted his plans. If that is true you may be able to take advantage of that to reach the guy in the cell again."

"Why didn't you bring that up before?"

"I hadn't really thought about it until you brought it up, but Bob said he thought the killer's control would get better as he approached time to kill and really be impossible to break once we had the girl. Well then, by contrast, since his carefully laid plays went down the drain it figures that he may be a little off balance right now."

"That makes sense," Allison said. "He lost the girl, his base of operations, even his carefully crafted and maintained identity all in one night. It's going to take him time to relocate, re-establish himself and rebuild his life to the point that he can start again. There's a very good chance that all the distractions may leave him vulnerable."

"So you're saying that I should have gone straight after him instead of taking time to relax."

"No!" This time the answer came in stereo. The girls looked at each other, then Allison got up and came to sit on the couch with us. Shannon and I rolled onto our sides to make room. Shannon tucked her feet up so Allison would have a place to sit. Once she was settled she continued, "You needed the time to recover too. You were a wreck. You'd been running yourself ragged the whole time Angela was missing. You hardly slept, and when you did it was just long enough to see if she had shown up yet."

"But I may have blown the best chance I had to really get to him."

"You had other things that needed doing. Like helping Angela get over her ordeal and back in touch with the real world. Yes, you may have been able to do something if you had been able to reach the guy in the cell, but remember, Bob said that the personalities may know about each other. It's obvious the guy in the cell knows at least some of what's going on outside. What if the guy outside knows what's going on in the cell? He may have been watching closer then to see if anything else was wrong."

"That's kind of a stretch, don't you think?"

Shannon laughed. "It's not any more of a stretch than thinking you may have been able to take advantage of something. Let's face it; we really don't have a clue one way or the other so there is no sense in second-guessing ourselves about what we should have or could have done that might have made a difference. Right now let's just concentrate on the immediate problem. What the heck went wrong with officer butt-head?"

"Yes, and why?" Allison added.

"Well, I'm open to suggestions," I said. "I don't have a clue. I mean all I did -- all I ever intended to do was just the one scene, basically to punish him for being an asshole."

"Then where did the other visions come from?" Shannon asked. "I mean, I'm not saying Bob is wrong, but I don't buy you 'accidentally' leaving the images of the other girls floating around waiting to pounce on the guy."

"I don't either," I said. "I was concentrating on the one set and that's all. I knew before I got there what I was going to do; there was no hesitation about what scenes to let him see."

"Then where did the rest come from?" she persisted.

"I don't know, and right now that can't be our first concern; you said it yourself, our first priority has to be fixing the problem."

"Then what's the game plan?" Allison asked. "I mean, let's just assume that it goes our way and he calls Rebecca and apologizes, she forgives him, yada-yada-yada, so what do we do then? How do you go in and fix it? You can't just magically make it go away. It will look too ... I don't know."

"That's okay, I get your point. I think we do the scene the same way we it did the first time. Let it start out as familiar. I don't know which parts he's been re-living but he should recognize it either way. Then we change the scene so that instead of accusing him and offering up punishment we're letting him know that he's done the right thing and he's off the hook. Then we, or rather I, do a little monitoring to make sure he doesn't have any more of those visions."

"Okay, then what?"

"What do you mean 'then what'? It either works or we look for another solution."

"And what if he's not the only one?" Allison asked.

"Oh shit!" Shannon said. "The guy in the SUV?"

"Right," Allison said. "And?"

"That's it isn't it? Unless he's done something with someone else he didn't tell us about."

"What about Frank Watkins?"

"Screw him!" Shannon answered hotly. "That bastard can melt down for all I care."

"No, Allison's right," I said. "We've got to think big picture here. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see him rotting in a rubber room too, but not because I made a mistake. We need to check on him just to verify whether or not there is a problem. Besides I don't want anything happening to him until I've managed to find out everything I can from him, then he can rot, but I still don't want it to be because I screwed up. Those are the only three I have done anything ... punitive to."

"Okay then," Allison said. "If we get the call we go take care of Mikkelson first. If not, then we go check on the others and see what's going on and figure out how to fix it if there's a problem. So, are we going to wax the truck before or after we get that nap we were so rudely screwed out of?"

We did eventually get the truck waxed. Bob still hadn't called by the time the 'rents got home. After dinner Shannon and I did dishes and then Allison and I took her home. Mark was still at work but Tom and Karen, their parents, were home so we got the latest update from Tom's doctors on his cancer. The news was all good, Tom had only one more round of chemo to get through and based on preliminary indicators they expected him to be declared free and clear. It was still too soon to celebrate but it was very positive. The doctors couldn't believe how well he was doing. The minor modifications I had made when he first started treatment were still holding; which meant that he was eating well and maintaining his weight. Of all the things my ability had allowed me to do; only rescuing Angela gave me more pride than the results I had achieved with Tom.

One of the biggest problems for cancer patients is food. Chemotherapy patients had a real hard time eating. The chemical cocktails swirling through their systems ruins the way everything tastes and does awful things to their appetites. As a result, at a time when their bodies need every scrap of energy it can muster, some don't eat at all. No fuel to work with makes it hard for the body to repair itself. It will start by draining what it has available in the form of stored body fat, but it doesn't stop there. Muscle mass drops, nutrients are leached from bone material, anywhere the body can pull from it does. I guess the system figures that if you die it's not going to do you any good anyway so it might as well use it while it can.

Tom was one of the more extreme cases. He had zero appetite and anything you put in his mouth tasted horrible. It was all Karen could do to get him to swallow. He had been dropping weight fast and had no energy at all. One night I had a radical idea.

Allison had been watching what was going on not just in my dreams but in reality as well and come to the conclusion that I was what she referred to as 'subconsciously projective.' She suggested to Bob that I was subconsciously projecting my feelings and emotions onto people I was in physical contact with, and even more so in dreams. She cited several examples and Bob was forced to concede the possibility In dreams, where I was interacting directly with someone's subconscious, it seemed to work as sort of an instant hypnotic suggestion. One night, after seeing Tom looking truly horrible on the way home from treatment, I had a flash of brilliance. I think I must have been channeling Allison because she's the genius of the group. I talked to Bob and he agreed to go along and help me try something. I bridged Tom and implanted two suggestions. First, that chemotherapy was an intense workout and he was always hungry after a treatment. The second suggestion was somewhat trickier. I essentially bypassed his taste buds so he didn't taste his food at all, instead what he experienced was the most vivid memory of how that particular food was supposed to taste. Suddenly everything tasted not only the way it should, but like it was the best he had ever tasted of whatever it was.

This was also how we had implanted the sleep triggers that allowed any of us to go from waking to dreaming in less than a minute. It had been the difference in rescuing Angela. The triggers came with built in safeties. They only worked if the right person said them, they wouldn't work unless you felt it was safe for them to work at that time, and you could cancel them any time you wanted. We only used them when we had to. Usually we just met at night after falling asleep normally.



-------

Chapter 2: Back to Work


"Boy, Allison wasn't kidding when she said vacation was over," Shannon said when we got together that night. We were in the cabana, sitting in the little sunken area with our feet in the warm water, watching the colorful fish swim below us.

"You call this a vacation?" I asked. "I've been looking every night for any hint of where the killer disappeared to; two nights a week taking Angela, sorry Amber, to see Bob, spot checking the other girls on the list just to make sure he hasn't grabbed someone else..."

Allison just had to chime in, "Yes, Amber, get used to it, stop thinking of Angela and focus on who she is now. We can't afford to make a slip about that. As for the rest, I can think of more than a few other things you've been doing. Not that I'm complaining mind you, and I think I can safely speak for Shannon when I say that it was time well spent. Besides, we all needed a break after what happened; you most of all."

"Oh you can definitely speak for me," Shannon said, "and you're right, we did need a break, especially you, Jimmy. It's been nice to be able to just kind of let things go for a while, but truthfully, I have been feeling a little guilty about not getting started helping Samantha."

I sighed. "Yeah, me too. But at the same time I felt like I needed to cut back for a while. After all the pressure of Angela's disappearance..."

Suddenly Allison stood up and shouted, "No damn it! There you go again! How many times do I need to say this; Angela is dead! Stop referring to her in the present tense. It wasn't 'the pressure of Angela's disappearance.' It was 'when Angela died!' Get it through that thick skull of yours. If you don't, you're going to make a mistake and say something at the wrong time. What would happen if you said something like that to Tim? I'll tell you what would happen, either he would think you were belittling what happened or, worse still, he might start to question why you said it like that? Look at me; do you think you could hold up if Tim started asking you questions about what happened? Do you?"

I couldn't look her in eye, and as soon as I turned away she jumped on me again, "See! You can't even look me in the eye when I ask you. There is no way in hell you are going to be able to look her brother in the face and tell him what he needs to believe. He can't know the truth! No one can. So whatever you need to do to get it straight in your head, do it, but bury her! I don't want to hear the name 'Angela' coming out of your mouth again unless we're discussing visiting her grave. Got it?"

Shannon's eyes were huge as she watched Allison berate me, and at the end she too dropped her eyes and looked away, unwilling to look at me. I didn't need to see the tears she was trying to fight back. Allison had made the necessary mental shift immediately, Shannon and I had been lapsing all summer. I took a deep breath and nodded my agreement.

"You're right, it's a bad habit and I've got to get a handle on it before school starts. It's a good thing Tim and I haven't been running together."

"You know that's an interesting point," Shannon said, turning back and changing the subject. Her eyes were clear and there was no sign of the distress of a moment before. Amazing what you can do in a dream. "Why did you stop? I mean running together; I know you're still running in the mornings."

"Tim stopped running."

"He what?" Allison asked. She had been stepping back down into the depression but she stopped suddenly and turned to me. "What do you mean Tim stopped running? You mean like, at all, stopped completely?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I kept waiting for him to call and set something up. I even tried calling him but he didn't return my calls. I ran into Cindy at the mall and she said he just stopped."

"That's not good," Shannon said. "Does Bob know? Did you talk to him about it?"

"No, I really didn't know what to do."

"Well my first thought would be kicking his ass," Allison answered. They were starting to remind me of my parents; sometimes it was like talking to one person in two bodies. "But he's a little too big for me and I love him too much to go quite that far, but slapping him upside the head just doesn't seem like enough. That's one more thing to add to our list of things to do, and it's going to be a long night already." She stepped back out of the pool and walked over to the white board that was suddenly on the wall just inside the door. She pulled a marker down and started writing as she continued, "Okay, first things first; We need to go check on Detective Shithead; just an observation run to see what we're dealing with. I think we've got a pretty good idea but when he finally pulls his head out of his ass and apologizes to Rebecca I want you ready to do something about it and I think that will be easier if you know what you're up against." She actually wrote 'Det. Shithead' on the board next to the number one.

"Then we need to drop in on the guy in the SUV and make sure everything is okay there."

"Do you really think something may be wrong?" Shannon asked.

"I hope not, but I think there's a good chance. Jimmy was plenty pissed off when he went to see him that night." She wrote SUV next to number two. "Then we need to check in with Samantha, let her know what's been going on and that we're ready to get started working on her problem. I'm sure she'll understand. While we're there we can ask her if Frank has been having any problems." She wrote 'Sam' next to number three and then 'Bob-Tim' next to four. I thought she was done but she quickly added a number five and wrote 'Easy' next to it, "And before we do anything else, you are going to take us all to see Elizabeth Street. I don't know what you're afraid of but you've been putting this off for long enough."

I started to say something but she crossed her arms and gave me a 'go ahead, say something stupid' look. I shut up and nodded. She was right, I had been avoiding meeting with Elizabeth "Easy" Street, and I couldn't even say why.

Elizabeth Street had been on Rebecca's top ten list of potential targets for the killer. Before he grabbed Angela, (I guess I can call her that as long as I'm talking about the past, ) he had used Elizabeth to smoke Rebecca out. Detective "Shithead" Mikkelson had shot his mouth off to the press about the FBI watching a girl that had died in San Diego. She had also been on the list. The killer had sent Rebecca a newspaper clipping identifying the article in the paper as to how he knew she was looking for him. We couldn't prove it was Mikkelson but he was the only one in San Diego who knew, and once I bridged him it was no longer a question. The killer had used the Street girl to see how close a watch Rebecca was keeping. Right on cue, hours after the girl had disappeared Rebecca had rushed up to Fresno to start looking for her. If you watch television at all you know that most law enforcement agencies don't even take a missing person's report until someone has been missing for over twenty-four hours. But less than eighteen hours after 'Easy' disappeared, the FBI was already on the scene trying to find her. The killer had actually watched Rebecca working with the local authorities. Street had turned up in an empty house across the street from her home and Rebecca's interview with her had turned up some interesting information.

Elizabeth Street was the only person who knew about my abilities that I had not actually told myself. Through methods I'd rather not go into her, I managed to get a copy of Rebecca's top-ten list. The ten girls that, based on the profile we had put together, were the most likely to attract our killer. Once I had the list, I started visiting the girl's dreams to try and determine if they really belonged on the list or not. Somehow "Easy" had known when I was watching her, checking her out to confirm whether or not she deserved a spot on Rebecca's watch list. Qualifications for the killer's list included college scholarships in sports, good looks, an aggressive attitude, which seemed to go hand in hand with being scholarship material in most sports. All of the girls killed except one had met this qualification and we figured that was a mistake on his part. Her failure in that area had saved her weeks of torture but only by earning her a swifter death.

The last qualification was one that Street met easily. He liked girls with unusual sexual habits. The first victim, Diane McKenzie, had been a serious party girl; she liked a lot of attention. Number two, Amanda Watkins, had been the mistake. Not because of her sex life, although that was not what it appeared to be. Her problem was that she didn't fight at all, but submitted to anything and everything he did. The third girl, Maria Pena, was into presents and according to her sister, whored herself to whoever bought her the nicest gifts. Angela had been number four; she was sleeping with her brother, my friend Tim. The three fighters, Diane, Maria, and Angela, had lasted between three and four weeks each, Angela probably would have set a new record if the killer hadn't been worried about Rebecca finding him. All three had sustained severe injuries as the result of weeks of torture, abuse, and rape. Maria had three broken fingers, a cracked rib, and had dislocated a shoulder trying to get free. Angela had injuries at least as bad by the time Rebecca found her and the killer fled, blowing up the house to cover his escape and 'killing' Angela in the process. I'm sure he had been hoping to catch Rebecca in the blast as well.

As far as unusual sexual habits went, Elizabeth 'Easy' Street, was overqualified. It turned out that her nickname, "Easy," was one she picked out for herself and her reputation was a smokescreen to cover her true purpose. Regardless of the purpose, Easy lived up to her nickname quite well. Male or female, singles or in groups, Easy wasn't shy about who she was or what she wanted.

In truth though, Easy believed she was a personal servant of God Himself and sex was the tool He had given her to do His work. Yeah, I know what you're thinking but she makes a pretty convincing case for herself, I'll tell you about that another time.

Ever since Rebecca had told us that Easy knew we had been watching her dreams and even knew our names, we had talked about going to visit her, but for some reason we never got around to going. I don't recall ever making a conscious choice not to go; we just always found something else we needed to be doing. Now, it looked like the choice was being taken out of my hands. One way or another, I was going. It probably wouldn't be tonight, but it would be soon; and it was pretty much a given that the girls would be going with me. The more I thought about it, the more I agreed that it was in fact a good thing. Meanwhile, we had plenty to do tonight already.

Once I bridge someone the first time it's almost automatic any time I want to do it again. If I need to see a particular person all I have to do is think about them and if they are asleep and dreaming, I can feel them in my head; sometimes even see what dream they are in. Immediately I knew that Mikkelson was not available, for whatever reason he just wasn't reachable. Usually that just means that they are not dreaming yet. I set a 'tickler' of sorts in my head to let me know when he showed up and moved to the next target on the list.

I had encountered Raymond Parry the very first time I took Allison for a ride in my new truck. We were on our way to show it to Shannon and then we were all going out for breakfast. I was about twenty feet into an intersection starting a left turn when a huge black truck ran the light and I had to slam on the brakes. It was one of those big Ford SUVs, I don't remember what they call them; with a lift kit, big all-terrain tires and a 4x4 sticker on the back corner. Even after I hit the brakes, he still had to swerve to miss taking my front end off. As he blew by with his horn blaring I briefly made eye contact. It wasn't much but it was enough that I knew I would have no problem bridging him later. Even as fast as he was going he would have been able to stop in time for the light. Instead he had risked killing me and my sister. As the truck roared away I saw a little head pop up to look back at us out the rear window. He had his kids in the truck! A voice in the back of my brain somewhere screamed that this asshole needed a lesson. I don't generally pay attention to that voice; it tends to be a little hot headed and quick to jump to conclusions, but in this case...

"That was close!" Allison said. I guess I took too long to answer because then she asked, "Jimmy? Are you okay?"

I realized I was still sitting in the intersection staring at his rapidly disappearing taillights; I checked traffic and drove on through the intersection. "Yeah, I'm okay. Can you believe that guy? He could have killed us! The front end of that tank would have come right through your window." I was shaking so bad from the anger that I pulled over just up the street to give myself time to calm down. I took a couple deep breaths, hugged Allison for a couple minutes while I contemplated how close I had just come to losing her, and tried to swallow the rage that had flared up inside me. Finally it subsided and I put the truck back in gear and head off to pick up Shannon and go to breakfast.

Mark was majorly jealous of the new ride. "Dude, I hate you. Here I'm working my ass off, bumming rides from my mom and my friends, you don't even have a job and you swing a ride like this. How do you do it?"

"Actually, a friend of my dad's turned us on to one of those Federal property seizure auctions. Dad took me and it was a great deal so he bought it and now I make payments to him. I think the contract says something about being his gardener until the grandkids graduate from college." Yeah, it was big stretch, the friend was mine, not his, and aside from helping me set up the account to make the payments, Dad's involvement was limited to driving me to the auction and being old enough to actually bid and sign paperwork.

After breakfast we had gone back to our house to hang out for the day. That night Allison and I went to pay a little visit to the driver of the black truck. The first step for me is always the same; I have to learn about my subject. Studying the girls Rebecca was watching had taught me not to go on first impressions. Learning the truth about Elizabeth Street had been a major slap in the face. Now I looked deeper before I made decisions about people. Besides there was always the chance that I was wrong about what had happened. Maybe he had a legitimate reason for almost killing the woman I love.

Raymond 'Scary' Parry had gotten his nickname playing defensive tackle in college. At six-foot-eight and two hundred-eighty pounds, he was something you didn't want to look up and see if you had a football in your hands. He was a good player but he was missing that certain little spark that would have opened the door to the big leagues. Fortunately he was smart enough not to rely on his body to get him through life and had majored in business. Three years after graduation he was running his own warehousing and distribution company and married to the woman who had started out as his secretary. Ten months later she presented him with twin girls and retired to the life of a stressed out home maker. The girls were now five and Daddy dropped them at kindergarten every day on the way to work. Life after football had mellowed Parry in some areas, but other areas made up the slack. He was a solid type-A, highly motivated personality. He didn't ask anything of his employees that he was not willing to do. He expected them to put the same 110% that he did into everything they did. He was as generous with his praise as he was with his criticism; he'd been known to fire people by 11:00, then take them to lunch and rehire them before he got back. His record was firing the same person three times in one day. Now he was married to her so I guess that means he works for her now. All of the aggression everyone thought he left on the football field years ago had actually been gathered up and pressed into a little piece of plastic two inches by three, his driver's license. If there was one place that Raymond Parry had kept and continued to live up to the nickname, 'Scary, ' it was behind the wheel of a car. His loving wife, Christine, rode him constantly on his driving. She worried about letting him drive the girls to school, but since it was on the way to the office it really didn't make sense for both of them to make the drive.

My approach was simple. I just wanted to let him see what could have happened, try to make him realize the risks he was taking not only with his own life, but the lives of everyone else on the road. I let him relive the events of the morning that had led up to the near disaster. He went through his normal morning routine, hitting the snooze button repeatedly until the second alarm clock, the one on the dresser on the other side of the room, went off. Then the race was on; shower, grab a cup of coffee and a piece of toast for the road, and try to get to work in time to spot anyone coming in late. Christine had been up for an hour before he finally dragged himself into the shower, so the girls were already dressed and fed. He lifted them into the back seat of the truck because they couldn't climb up by themselves, the flag dropped and the morning race was on. He rolled through the stop sign at the end of the block, flooring the accelerator to engage the turbo-charger on the big diesel engine and forcing the approaching sedan to brake hard to avoid hitting him. I let the scene progress through the morning drive until he came to the intersection where we had almost met. At this point I made a few changes. This time as I slammed on my brakes and he slammed on his horn while swerving to miss me, a little girl on a bicycle rode into the intersection from the other side. Suddenly Parry was forced to swerve back hard the other way to avoid her. The big truck was never designed with hi-speed handling in mind and the sudden weight shift on the high riding suspension caused the rear wheels to break loose. The big off-road tires just didn't have the necessary grip on the hard, dry pavement. He still might have been okay if he hadn't hit the brakes while trying to correct the slide. Suddenly the truck was going sideways and one of the big tires contacted the concrete island separating the north and southbound lanes. The lift kit meant that the center of gravity was significantly higher than the manufacturer intended it to be and made the truck much more vulnerable to roll over, which it did, the twisting of metal and breaking of glass accompanied by the screams of his two little girls as the truck rolled hard onto its side. As expected we found ourselves back on the beach as Raymond Parry woke up with his big heart pounding in his chest and the echoes of his babies' cries ringing in his ears.

That was it; just enough to get his attention and hopefully get him to take a hard look at his driving habits.

Shannon went with us for the check up trip. We weren't really sure what to expect but nothing could have prepared us for what we found.

Raymond Parry woke slowly, the steady beeping of his heartbeat monitor the first sensation his mind could focus on and identify. Automatically he tried to turn his head to find the source of the sound but the neck brace wouldn't let him turn far enough to see it. Just trying caused a wave of pain that blurred his vision and threatened to send him back into the darkness he had just left. He closed his eyes and focused on riding out the pain. Years of football had taught him how to focus beyond the body's immediate sensations. Finally the wave of sensation passed and he could open his eyes again. His vision seemed somehow different but he couldn't put his finger on what was wrong. It didn't take long to figure out where he was, the various tubes and wires within his limited field of vision, the rails on either side of the bed, all spelled hospital. But how had he gotten here?

It all came back in a rush, the little girl on the bike that came out of nowhere as he swerved to miss the kids in the truck, only in this dream he hadn't quite missed her. He could see the panicked expression on her little face as she disappeared below the line of the trucks hood. The thud of the impact; her helmet, which had not been strapped on but just sitting on her head like a hat, flying away like a Frisbee. Gabby and Tabby's screams mingled with the sound of rubber trying in vain to regain traction as the truck bucked and fought his every effort to control it. The swerve turned into a spin, suddenly he was facing back toward the intersection and he saw the mangled pink bicycle crumpled in the roadway. His eyes tried to find the girl's body but before they could, both tires on the passenger side impacted the center island and the truck went over hard. The world slowed down and he could watch as the truck rolled over the island and the roof was suddenly collapsing, windows shattered and suddenly the screaming changed as one voice cut off, the spin continued and suddenly a second impact changed the motion as the first of the oncoming cars slammed into the truck. His head was whipped sideways by the second impact and then everything had gone dark.

By now his heart monitor was screaming as the memories triggered an adrenaline surge and it fought the drugs in his system. The girls! Where were the girls? A nurse came in to check on him and he tried to ask a question but found that he couldn't talk with his jaw wired shut.

Time flashed forward, the pain was lessened thanks to whatever the doctor injected into his IV. His communication was limited to blinked yes or no responses to the doctor's inquiries. What was wrong with his vision was the lack of depth perception due the fact that he had only one eye left to look through. The neck brace would be his constant companion for the next couple of weeks. If he had been able to see on the left side he would have found out that the cast extended the entire length of his arm and up over the shoulder. The whole thing was suspended from a metal framework attached to the bed.

A week passed and still no one came to see him. Where was Christine? She hadn't been in the truck with them; surely she would have come to see him by now. Finally the door opened to admit someone besides a doctor. A man in his early fifties entered and closed the door.

"Mr. Parry, my name is Hendricks, I'm with the public defender's office, and I have been assigned to represent you. The doctor says it will still be several weeks, perhaps months before you are ready to stand trial. I know you can't answer but I thought you should know the charges against you. You are charged with manslaughter in the death of Tracy Russell, as well as felony child endangerment and negligent homicide in the deaths of your two daughters."

Shock at the lawyers words quickly turned to grief and pain, and tears streamed down Parry's face. His sobs only triggered more waves of pain throughout his body. Ignoring his client's obvious distress the lawyer went on.

"I understand that this is a shock and I do understand but I think it's best to get this part over with as quickly as possible. As I said I have been assigned by the public defender's office because your wife refused to seek adequate counsel for you. Once I was assigned to your case I was immediately contacted by Mrs. Parry's attorney who served me with papers informing you that your wife is seeking immediate dissolution of your marriage. She has requested that you do not attempt to contact her in any way. Your condition being what it is and the fact that you will likely spend the better part of the next several decades in prison makes this rather a moot point but I am required to pass the information along. I will leave a card with your doctor and as soon as you are able to communicate either verbally or in writing he will contact me so that we can start working on some kind of defense. Your insurance took care of the injuries to the three people in the other two cars in the accident. I'll tell you about them when you are feeling more up to it; they're really not important considering everything we have to deal with. The Russells are really the only ones you have to worry about. Your wife has retained separate counsel for the civil suit.

By now Parry's pain and anguish were too much to bear and for the fourth time in two weeks he woke up sobbing in the arms of his wife who had spent the last several minutes trying to wake him from the obvious nightmare. He seemed to be having them a lot lately.

One of the little things I picked up while trying to save Angela was the ability to 'hold onto' someone as they wake. It's like a part of me is pulled along to wherever the dream is originating. In this case I didn't stay long but returned to the beach where the girls were waiting for me. They were sitting on the wicker couch with tears streaming down their faces. I had no trouble understanding what they were feeling. Even watching the nightmare Mr. Parry was living with had hurt. I knelt on the floor and pulled them into a group hug, my own tears mingling with theirs.

Not knowing what to say I knelt there just holding them and trying to figure out what had happened. The relatively minor vision that I had visited on Parry had somehow grown into a something that could only truly be described as a nightmare. I didn't even want to think what Mikkelson was seeing after all this time.

How had this happened? Why had it happened? I didn't really have time to try and analyze it as Shannon stated the obvious.

"We have to fix this."

"You think?" Allison said with barking laugh. "Thank you, Captain Obvious. Fixing it is the least of our problems."

"Our problems?" I asked. "You mean my problems."

"No. You may have to fix it but it's still our problem; and fixing it is going to be, should be, relatively simple."

"Why simple?" Shannon asked.

"He had no problem at all stopping Samantha's nightmares. I don't really see him having a problem with this either. The tricky part is that he has to go in person; I think this is going to require actual interaction. At least I think that he'll have to actually contact Parry and tell him that the nightmares are going to stop."

"With Samantha, he gave her the bracelet," Shannon said, "A physical object that was tied to stopping her nightmares; what can he give this guy?"

"How about a ticket?" I answered with a smile. Allison, always the quick one, grew her own grin and nodded. Shannon looked back and forth between us for a second and suddenly she was smiling too.

"I love you," she said. "You're going to go in as a cop and pull him over before he gets to the intersection, aren't you?"

"I think it's perfect," Allison said, kissing my cheek. "You're so smart."

"Thanks, but if I was really that smart this never would have happened."

"Jimmy, don't beat yourself up over this. Yes, it's bad. It's downright awful. But you had no way of knowing that this was happening. Nothing like this has ever happened before, not even when we did the job on Frank Watkins, and if anyone deserved it, he did; far more than either of these guys. The question is why it happened to them and not to him."

"I have no idea. But I plan on spending some serious time trying to figure it out. You're right though, if this was going to happen I would have much rather it happened to Frank than to these two guys. I just wanted to teach them a lesson; him I really wanted to hurt, actually planned to hurt, just not right away and not like that. My idea of hurting him is ruining his little party once and for all. Hopefully putting him and all his pals behind bars for the rest of their lives."

"I don't see that happening no matter what you do," Shannon said. "Even if you could prove that he was involved in that girl's family getting killed you'd have to prove they all knew about it and even if you could somehow pull that off, I don't see them getting life sentences. Not in today's courts. Maybe long sentences, but nothing like what you're thinking."

"But we have to get them all." I said. "If we don't put them all away the ones that are out will still be free to retaliate against anyone who helped us."

"It's even more complicated than that," Allison said. "Remember when we talked to Bob about abusive situations? He said that many families chose to endure the abuse rather than lose everything by putting their abuser away. Evil as they are, most of these people are the financial life blood of their families. Stopping them is going to put their families in serious straits. Not to mention that some of them, probably several of them, may not be doing this by choice. Remember what Samantha said about Dr. What's-his-name ... um, Hendricks?"

"What?" I asked.

Shannon answered the question for her, "That he was always gentle and caring with her and Amanda and that she thinks he may be being forced to participate. Did you notice that was the same name the lawyer in Parry's dream used?

"Have you noticed that you two are starting to act a lot like Mom and Dad?" I asked Allison.

"You mean finishing each other's sentences, answering for each other and generally talking like one person?" she asked with a smile. "Yeah, I've noticed. I think it's just being so close and loving each other so much." She swung her arm around Shannon's shoulder and pulled her in close, kissing her cheek. "I think it's pretty cool."

I just rolled my eyes and mimed sticking my finger down my throat. That got me shoved over backward, which wouldn't have been so bad except that suddenly the floor behind me was gone and I went straight into the water. As my head went under the surface I activated the new ejection seats I had installed into the couch. Suddenly the roof had two girl shaped cartoon holes in it and my two girlfriends were falling toward the center of the lagoon where I was waiting for them. In mid flight Allison switched to her bathing suit and twisted into very nice swan dive. Shannon also put her suit on but instead of a dive opted for a water slide with a variety of twists and turns. It looked fun so I dropped myself in behind her, grabbed her around the waist and tried to hang on as we sped down toward the outlet and splashed into the warm water.

When we came up Shannon spun in my arms and kissed me. "Thanks, I needed that. It was fun and it's been a tough night."

"Yes it has," Allison agreed. "I think we all needed it."

"We could invite everyone else over to play for awhile." I suggested.

"You're not just suggesting that so we don't have to go see Elizabeth, are you?"

I closed my eyes and opened them again in my room, another little trick I had picked up, and looked at the clock. I reopened my eyes in the dream and said, "No, but it's taken a lot longer than we realized tonight. It's already 3:30. I don't think Parry is going to be going back to sleep, there's still no sign of Mikkelson, and that worries me some but there's nothing we can do besides see how bad it is anyway. Personally I've seen enough for one night. I'll try and fix Parry's problem tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get to at least start on Mikkelson. We still have to wait for him to call Rebecca, if we get through that and have time we'll go see 'Easy' after, if not we'll go see her instead. One way or another, barring any new problems, we'll go see her tomorrow." I caught the look she was giving me and held up my hands, "I promise."

"So is anyone else coming?" Shannon asked. "What about Amber?"

I didn't even hesitate before I said, "That sounds like a great idea." Suddenly there was a shriek from the top of the slide as I dropped her in. A few moments later she splashed down in the middle of the group.

"Asshole, you scared the crap out of me!" she said as she came back up out of the warm water.

I gave her the same response I always use when this happens; I dropped her back at the top of the slide. Shannon popped in behind her, wrapped her arms around her waist and they rode down together. Allison and I were only a few seconds behind them. I added another slide running parallel and the races started. We took turns pairing off. I couldn't help but notice that Amber was very stiff in my arms when I rode down with her. When we got to the bottom she tried to apologize.

"Jimmy, I'm sorry... ," she started to say. It was one of those tragic moments; she was apologizing but it was her eyes that held the pain.

I put a finger to her lips to stop her, "Don't," I said, then shifted my hand to cup her face. "It will come, it just takes time." She leaned into my hand and closed her eyes. "Don't try to force it, wait for it, and it will come, and I can wait as long as it takes."

Suddenly she was hugging me and kissing my cheek. "Thank you, for everything."

Just as suddenly she was gone and there was another shriek from the top of the slide. I turned to see her and Allison shooting down the tube together.

"It's sad," Shannon said, "how one moment she is fine, and the next she sort of shuts down, then she's suddenly fine again."

"I think it's all about control," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"It's okay if she hugs me, like at the end. But when I was just suddenly 'there' holding her on the slide; a part of her still panics even though she knows it's me. She's fine as long as she's the one who initiates it."

"I guess that makes sense. I thought she'd be doing better by now. She's seeing Bob pretty regularly and it's been weeks."

"I don't know that she'll ever really get over it, not all of it anyway. But I was hoping she would be showing some signs of improvement by now."

I realized that they hadn't come out of the slide yet and looked up to find them stopped in the middle. Allison was holding the older girl while she cried. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. I moved them to the bed in the cabana, drying them on the way. I moved Shannon and myself to my office and called Bob to talk to him about what had happened.

"You're right," he said, "she's not doing as well as I had hoped. She is making progress, but ... they don't really have anyone involved in the program who specializes with this type of trauma, adjusting to relocation and being cut off from your friends and family is one thing, but she needs something that, so far anyway, we're just not able to give her."

"I wish there was something, anything that I could do for her ... but this is something dreams can't fix." I flipped open my phone and called Rebecca. "Hi, if you're not busy, I'm at the office going over some stuff with your boyfriend ... yeah, just pick a door." I closed the phone and the door opened, I thought it would be Rebecca but it was Allison who walked in wiping tears from her eyes and trying hard to stop crying. Shannon and I both got up and helped her to a seat on the sofa between us.

As soon as she was seated she threw her arms around my neck and between sobs said, "Oh, Jimmy, we have to do something. We have to find a way to help her ... She's dying, Jimmy, something inside her is just shriveling up and..." the rest was lost in another round of sobs.

Rebecca chose that moment to arrive. She looked at Bob and then to me for explanation, I shook my head and she took a seat next to Bob and waited.

"It's Angela," I heard Bob whisper. "She's not doing well and I don't know what else we can do."

"I know," she answered quietly. "I've seen the reports from the observers and they haven't been promising. She's not doing well. Unfortunately there's just not much you can do in a case like this. All the support and counseling in the world can only do so much. She has to find a way to put it behind her and try to move on."

"I'm sorry," Allison said. "I don't usually get like this."

"There's an understatement if I've ever heard one," Shannon said in a wry tone. "Any other time I'd give you hell about it, but this ... it's all I can do not to cry with you. So let's talk about things we can do something about. Any word from Mikkelson?"

"No, not yet," Rebecca answered. "Anybody want to tell me what's going on with all this?"

"It's my fault," I answered.

"It is not your fault," Allison corrected.

Rebecca interrupted, "You said before that you only showed him one girl, Diane McKenzie, right?"

"Yeah, that's the part I don't get. I only showed him Diane. I don't understand where the rest of the dreams have come from. Are you sure it's our girls that he's seeing?"

"Sure? No, but from the descriptions he gave ... and according to Winslow he's up to four girls now, and we have exactly four that we know of counting Angela so I think it's safe to assume ... you have no idea how this happened?"

Bob interrupted, "His own guilt could very easily be blamed for the escalation. As for the girls ... until we know for certain we can't assume that it's more than a runaway nightmare. It is..." he rose and began pacing behind the couch. "It is possible that even with no further direct contact you may have been feeding him additional fodder for his troubles. Tell me, when you went to see him, were you content with the single vision or did you, even just a little, want to do more?"

"Well, yes, a part of me anyway, wanted to just keep going and drag him through everything I'd had to endure. But I didn't. I swear, it was just the one vision and then we left."

"Oh I believe you, but we don't know the limitations of your ability, and as far as I know the FBI hasn't released the connection between the dead girls." He glanced at Rebecca for confirmation and she nodded her agreement. He returned to sit beside her on the couch. "I don't doubt that the fourth is in fact Angela, but her at least he could have gotten from the news reports. Without seeing the visions you don't how accurate the depictions of her torture are. So just as with the other two ... until you go check on him we won't know for certain."

"He's not the only one," I finally said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"There's another one that got out of hand. Not the same visions or anything like that, but something that started out as a simple bad dream but grew into a serious nightmare."

"How serious?"

"Oh it's bad," Allison said. Now that we were on other subjects she had managed to get a grip on her emotions again. "One thing they have in common is repetition, and my guess would be that the dream just keeps getting worse every time they have it. This one was bad enough, and if it's any indication then I hate to think what Mikkelson may be going through. His have had a lot more time to ... mature I guess."

I recounted both of Parry's dreams; the original and the version that we had seen earlier. Bob was shaking his head before I finished but it was Rebecca that put it into words.

"Damn! Remind me to never piss you off."

"I didn't do it on purpose!" I insisted.

She immediately regretted her flippancy. "I'm sorry. I know you didn't, really I do, it's just ... I mean, I don't think I'd want to risk anything like that. It's like you took his worst nightmare and just kept making it worse. Don't get me wrong, I know you would never do anything like that on purpose, but still, no thanks."

"The big question is whether you can fix it," Bob said.

"Parry shouldn't be a problem. I think I already have his figured out. As far as Mikkelson is concerned, I won't know for sure until I see what's going on but I think your idea of guilt and forgiveness are the key. If he is truly remorseful I should be able to go in and build on that to end it. I might be able to force it to stop but if it's his own guilt that's caused it to escalate then it's now doing so with his consent, at least subconsciously anyway. I may be able to just go in and sort of 'block' it, but I don't know for sure it would work."

"But it worked for Samantha," Shannon said. "Why wouldn't it work for him just as easily?"

"He did it with Samantha's consent," Bob interjected. "Her nightmares weren't voluntary and she wanted them to stop. I think you may be right here, Jimmy. If he is even partially doing this to himself out of guilt, then it is, as you say, consensual on some level and stopping it will need to be a conscious decision as well. Not only will his guilt need to be 'forgiven' but he will have to accept that forgiveness as well. Otherwise it may be only a temporary solution, the guilt would just come back and the whole thing would start over, or pick up where it left off. I think it may be necessary to be a little more proactive. If he doesn't call, isn't willing to call, after his doctor tells him to, then I think maybe you should go back in and reinforce the idea a little. Tell him straight up that this is what he needs. Either way, whether he calls first or not, when you start, you need to stress to him that it doesn't matter whether he feels like he deserves to be forgiven or not. Forgiveness is a conscious decision someone else makes; all you have to do is make the decision to accept it."

"Have you been reading your Bible again, Robert?" Rebecca asked.

"Quiet, you! It doesn't matter where I got it, what matters is that it's true and that he needs to accept it. Forgiveness and grace are freely given gifts from someone else, not because we think we deserve it, but because someone else thinks so. Accepting it is a choice we have to make."

"From the sound of it," Allison said, "I'd think he'd be ready to take just about anything you could throw him. He sounds pretty desperate."

"True enough, but once you reach a certain point it becomes more difficult to take that first step. If he's already past that point then we may need to help him make the effort. It's kind of like someone who's been sick or starved. If they've reached a point where they just don't have the strength to eat, then you have to help them until they are recovered enough to help themselves. As you said, we won't really know for sure until you see him, but I think it's possible he may already be at that point."

"Or maybe he hasn't reached the point where desperation outweighs pride." Shannon said.

"What was that?" Bob asked.

"You're all forgetting, he's a guy; a guy with a badge, a gun, and an attitude. From Rebecca's descriptions, he's an arrogant horse's ass. He's got this huge ego thing going and even though it's bad, it may not be bad enough for him to give up. That's what you're really asking him to do, you know, give up."

"What do you mean?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, you asked Bob if he's been reading his Bible. I don't even know where mine is, but I do remember going to Sunday school, and whenever they talked about forgiveness they almost always were talking about God forgiving us, not us forgiving others. Even when they talked about us forgiving each other they compared it to Him forgiving us. Look at the whole salvation thing, God forgives our sins because it's the only way they can ever be really wiped away. We can't possibly atone for them, so he forgives them. The first step was always that you have to admit that you are a sinner, admit your guilt, and that you can't do anything about it. You have to humble yourself and ask God to forgive you because you have no other choice. Mikkelson may still think that there is another way. I mean, just because he's seeing a shrink doesn't mean he's going to listen to him. He may have been ordered to see doctor what's-his-name. He may not be ready to admit that it's actually his fault and that he needs to be forgiven, or even that he needs help.

"I think I'm just going to do an outline and let you and Jimmy teach all my classes this year. I've wanted to work on my golf game anyway and now I'll finally have time. Allison's right, you are really good at seeing the things we miss. We've all been assuming that it was so bad that he would be desperate enough to reach out when that may not actually be the case. But I still think it may be a good idea to plant the seed. Winslow can bring it up and then when it comes up again in a dream it will be positive reinforcement. It may be too soon to really stop it yet. I'm not saying you couldn't stop it, so far there isn't much you haven't been able to do in a dream, but as Shannon pointed out, he may have to reach rock bottom and give up before it will become a permanent solution. So far all we know is that he's seeing someone, but like she said, he may have been ordered to. He may actually be asking for help, but his ego may still be in the way of accepting forgiveness. Which leaves us right back where we started, you need to go see him and find out what's going on before we can decide what to do next."

"Looks like it's going to be a busy week," I said.

"Oh yeah, vacation is most definitely over," Allison said.

We called it a night after that, I sent Bob and Rebecca to the beach to play with the dolphins or whatever while the girls and I went to the glade and snuggled together until my internal alarm woke me up for my morning run. I've always been a runner; I picked it up from my dad, who has been doing it as long as I can remember. We tried running together for a while when I was younger but our strides and pacing weren't compatible, so I generally ran alone. That had changed last year when I joined the cross-country team at school. That's where I met Tim Osborne and his sister, late sister, Angela. Tim and I had started our summer running together but that had ended when Angela was kidnapped. After the ordeal was over I returned to my usual schedule but Tim kept putting off starting up again. I eventually gave up on him and continued on my own. A decision I was regretting now. I was up to the point where I was running a minimum of five miles every morning, and ten at least twice a week.

I understood why Tim quit; running reminded him of the love he had lost when Angela died. I also knew without a doubt that this was something she would not approve of, especially considering she wasn't actually dead. I had decided Allison was right and it was time to do what I had watched her do the first time I successfully bridged Angela after she was kidnapped. It had taken almost a week and when we finally found her she was in a tiny little windowless room she had created in her dreams for herself; naked, bruised, dirty, and alone. When I arrived I had no clue what to do. It had never occurred to me to ask Bob or Rebecca what my next step should be if I found her, and I never dreamed I would find her in such a despondent state. Fortunately Allison showed up only moments after I arrived. We discovered some time ago that I could actually make keys that would allow others to move around in dreams. I could make them as specific as needed; limiting who could use them, how often they worked, where someone could go, that sort of thing. Both of the girls had lockets they wore that were actually keys which allowed them to come to wherever I was as soon as they entered dream space.

While I had been clueless as to how to proceed, Allison took one look at Angela and seemed to know exactly what was needed. We had arrived invisibly and Allison had me transform her into Angela's likeness and then make her visible while staying out of sight myself. It hurt just watching the scene, I couldn't imagine how it hurt Allison to do it, but it was exactly the right thing. Allison immediately started berating Angela for giving up, kicking her foot to get her attention, then trying to yank her to her feet by her hair when she didn't get up. It certainly had the desired effect as Angela suddenly came to life and started fighting back.

I had decided that it was time to take the tough love approach with Tim as well.

I did some stretching and then climbed in the truck to head over to Tim's house. I knew his parents would be up; his dad left for work shortly after 6:00 AM and his mom always made breakfast and had coffee with him before he left.

It was almost six when I got there and knocked on the door. Mr. Osborne yanked the door open but his look of irritation turned quickly to curiosity when he saw it was me.

"Good morning, Mr. Osborne, I'm sorry for coming over so early and interrupting your day but I wonder if you would mind if I kicked your son's ass?"

"Excuse me?" he said, eyebrows arching. By now Sally Osborne had joined us at the door.

"Well, I hope it doesn't actually come to physical blows, but I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I took a more direct course to get him to think about maybe getting on with his life."

"Oh, Jimmy," Sally said, moving forward to hug me, "would you? I just don't know what to do with him since..." she paused momentarily but then moved on in a stern voice, "Since Angela was killed. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I'm afraid it will be a little messy but ... would you have a medium sized bucket I could borrow?" A grin had been growing on David Osborne's face and was in full bloom as he stepped back and opened the door.

I stood in the hallway as Sally knocked on Tim's door. "Timmy? Timmy, are you going to get up and run this morning? You know school is going to be starting in a few more weeks and I'd hate to have you miss your spot on the team this year because you were out of shape."

"I told you," the terse reply came through the door, "I'm not running on the team this year. Now go away!"

Without hesitation I opened the door. "Get your ass out of bed and get dressed, we're running today."

"Fuck off," he replied without even rolling over.

The chance to do it the easy way had now been officially offered and refused. I walked casually up to the bed and poured two gallons of water on him, starting at his head and working towards his feet. One of those gallons had come from the hose outside; the other had been in the refrigerator over night. Needless to say I got a reaction. He did his best to throw off the sheet that was covering him and jump out of bed at the same time, but the sheet was now very wet and clung to his legs, tripping him as he tried to get up. Hitting his head on the floor didn't help his disposition any. I backed slowly out the door as he scrambled to his feet with murder in his eyes.

"I am going to kick your ass, Matthews!"

"You gotta catch me first, pussy," I yelled back from the end of the hall. I turned to his parents, "This is going to get ugly; don't interfere." I headed out the front door as Tim burst from his room and charged towards me. He was at a serious disadvantage in bare feet and wet pj's as I ran down the street staying just ahead of him. The fact that he had gotten almost no exercise in the last several weeks was quickly apparent. After passing a half dozen houses he gave up and stopped the pursuit.

"You little prick!"

"Ah, what's the matter? Is widdle Timikins out of shape?" He waved me off, turned, and stalked back towards the house.

I quickly ran up behind him and shoved him hard in the back. "Don't turn you back on me, sissy boy!"

He spun around quickly, his right fist swinging for my head in a wide arc. I stepped back and let it fly past then shoved him again as the momentum swung him off balance. He stumbled but kept his feet then turned to me again with fire in his eyes and charged. This was going to hurt. I could have sidestepped, I could have tripped him, I could have dropped into one of those great judo flips you see in the movies where you just roll back, grab their arms, stick your foot in the middle of them and use their own momentum to throw them ten or twenty feet. I could have done any of that, but I didn't ... I stood my ground and let him bowl me over, making sure my arms were free to take some of the impact as he drove us both to the ground. I'd never been much of a fighter and neither had he, but Allison had discovered that we could study in dreams and carry the knowledge into waking life; we did pretty much all of our studying there now. In my case it went further than that. You know all those cool ninja dreams most guys have? You know, the ones you have after watching the Saturday afternoon Kung Fu movie marathons? Somehow I actually learned from the dreams, my body developing the necessary muscle memory to allow me to actually do that stuff for real. This gave me a tremendous advantage and I easily blocked the punches he tried to throw. You can't really do a lot of damage when you're both rolling around on the ground anyway. I grabbed him hard around the neck with one arm and hung on, keeping him too close to really build up any momentum in his blows. The punches didn't last long, growing weaker as the cursing and swearing faded and eventually stopping as he finally broke down and began crying. What began as gentle sobs quickly grew until his body was wracked by convulsive waves.

"She's gone," he cried, and I cried with him; holding my friend as the pain of his loss finally found the release he had been denying himself. My tears were no less real for the knowledge that his beloved sister was actually still alive. I simple let myself cry at his pain instead of her loss. "Oh God, Jimmy, what am I going to do? What am I going to do without her? I feel so lost ... I don't know what to do."

"Well for starters you could get off me before your neighbors get the wrong idea." I said, rolling to the side and pushing him away from me gently. "Then we can get up and talk about it while you buy me breakfast. Then I'm going to go home and have Allison give me a massage before the bruises start to show up."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy."

"Don't worry about it. You didn't do any real damage. Feel better? 'Cause I'd hate to think I went through all that for nothing."

"Yeah, actually I think I do. I really needed to get that out. Thanks."

"That's what friends are for. Besides, you hit like a girl. Not like your sister, thank God, but like most other girls. C'mon, let's get back to your house before the cops show up." I stood and reached a hand to help him to his feet. We walked back slowly to his house under the watchful eye of several of the neighbors to find his parents waiting for us on the front porch looking very apprehensive.

Tim went immediately up to his mom and hugged her hard to him, "Mom, I'm so sorry," he said, tears once more running down his face. "I've been such a jerk to you. Please forgive me."

Sally burst into tears as she hugged him to her. David reached to shake my hand.

"Thank you, Jimmy," the big man said, tears forming in his own eyes as he spoke. "We were afraid we were losing him. It was bad enough losing Angie. I don't think we could have made it if we'd lost him too."

"Like I told him," I said, shaking his hand, "that's what friends are for. Sorry about the mess though."

He let out a barking laugh and wiped his eyes. Sally answered, "Don't you worry about that, it was only water and he needed to clean his room anyway, this will just give him a good reason. Why don't you come in and I'll make you some breakfast?"

"Thank you Mrs. Osborne, but I'm making Tim take me to breakfast so we can talk. Do you mind if he cleans the room after we get back?"

"No, that's okay, you go ahead. It'll do him some good to get out. It'll still be here when he gets back. Tim, you should go put some clothes on before you get arrested," she said, pushing him towards the door. "David, you better get going or you're going to be late for work." She kissed her husband and he climbed into his car and headed for work. She waved goodbye then turned and hugged me, "I don't know how to thank you, Jimmy. I was nervous when you told me you were going to pour water on him. I knew he would be upset, but it scared me to death when he took after you like that. I guess you knew what you were doing though, and it seems to be exactly what he needed. Thank you." I hugged her back and then let her go.

Forty minutes later Tim and I were sitting at the IHOP staring at the remains of our breakfast and sipping on our orange juice when Tim said, "I just realized, you could have totally kicked my ass back there."

"And that would have helped how? I didn't come over to beat you up; I came over to wake you up."

"Good thing considering what you did to Driscoll and Elliott last year, not to mention Brad Russell."

I did my best not to let my face cloud up at the memory of that night. Brad was the quarterback of our high school team and one of Angela's ex-boyfriends. We had gotten off to a bad start and eventually it all caught up one night outside the local mall when Brad and two of his buddies from the football team cornered me in the parking lot. That was the night I found out that I learned more in my dreams than I ever knew. Brad got in the first punch by sneaking up behind me as I was loading some gifts into the back of my car. Driscoll and Elliott had held my arms as he punched me again, this time in the stomach. After that it got ugly. When it was finally over and we all went to the hospital, Driscoll had two broken ribs, Elliott a concussion, and Brad ... I had completely lost control and almost killed Brad that night. Only Allison arriving at the last second saved him, for reasons we still weren't quite sure about I had passed out when she showed up and stopped me. I wasn't actually hurt, but I was unconscious for almost two days. When I came to they had told me it had taken over six hours of surgery to put Brad's arm back together.

"So what am I going to do, Jimmy?"

"Well for starters, you're going to stop behaving like you're the one who died. Look me in the eye and tell me it wouldn't break her heart to see you the way you've been."

"I know, but ... I don't know, it's like something in me died with her. It's all I can do to get up every day knowing she won't be there. You don't, can't understand."

"You're right, I don't. I think I do, but in my heart I know that's a lie. Truthfully, I hope I never do understand, not really."

"I just can't forget what we had, and I feel like until I do I won't be able to move on. But I don't want to forget. Jimmy, she was my world."

"Maybe you need to change your focus. Start thinking about what you can do to remember her instead of trying to forget."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure what I mean, but let me ask you, if Angie was still alive, what would she want for you?"

"What?"

"What would she want? Get out your crystal ball and tell me what Angela would want for your life. Would she want you to be locked in your room rotting away or getting out every day and living your life like she was still here and would be back tomorrow? Would she want you to be happy?"

"Of course she would."

"Then honor that. Do the things with your life that she would want to see you do. Live a life that she would be proud of."

"I don't know if I can. I wouldn't know where to start."

"That's simple enough. Just think about it, set some goals. Nothing too lofty, just start with some small ones. How many times have you seen Cindy since this all started?"

I could tell by the look on his face that I had hit home with that question.

"She came over a couple times, but I'm afraid I wasn't very good company."

"Do you like her?"

"Of course I like her, what kind of question is that."

"Rhetorical mostly; call her up, apologize for being an ostrich, tell her you finally pulled your head out of ... where it's been, that you're sorry for being such an insensitive ass, that you realize Angela was her friend too, and that you want to make it up to her. If she's got any sense at all she'll tell you to go jump off a tall building..." his eyes snapped up from his plate to meet mine, "just kidding. I think she'll understand, and if you do a little sucking up and maybe talk to her a little, she may even go out with you again."

"I don't know if I could..."

"I said go out with you," I cut him off, "not sleep with you. Despite what happened after prom, Cindy's not that kind of girl. You had what, one date after that? She told us that night that it was a one time fantasy thing, which is good, because I think you both need to take it slow and get to know each other a little better, otherwise if something does happen you are going to be flashing back on that night and it might be hard to live up to that kind of expectation. Trust me, the better you know your partner, the better it gets."

"Yeah, I guess you'd know," he chuckled. "Can I borrow your phone?"

"Sure, but I think it would be better if you just went over and talked to her. I could give you a ride."

"I don't know if she works today."

"Well the mall doesn't open for another hour so she should still be home."

"Where have you been? She's not at the mall anymore, she's working for this spa down in Corona."

"Oh."

I gave him the phone and waited as he dialed. Suddenly I felt out of place. "I think I'll go wash my hands and flirt with the hostess for a few minutes." I got up and headed off to the men's room. He must have reached her because he was still on the phone when I came out so I walked over to the hostess station and looked around at the little knick knacks they had out to sell to travelers.

The hostess was a slender black girl about five feet-eight or nine with shoulder length hair, her name tag identified her as Britney.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"No thank you, my buddy had to call his girlfriend and do some major sucking up. I didn't want to sit there and listen to it so I thought I'd come over and flirt with you instead."

She rolled her eyes. "I know what you mean, being a third wheel sucks. Is he calling Cindy?"

"Excuse me?"

"That is Tim Osborne isn't it? I heard he was seeing Cindy Sheppard before Angie ... you know ... how's he doing?"

"He's been having a rough time, but I think he's doing better now. So where do you know Tim from?"

"I run for Colton, I've been breathing Angela's exhaust since junior high. Damn that girl was fast."

"Yeah, I tried running with her a couple times and it was always a humbling experience. I loved watching her pony tail bounce back and forth when she ran though."

"Boys! All you could think about was watching her ass," she said, slapping me gently on the arm.

I smiled and said, "Yup! One of my favorite sights, but I think I'll always remember her best for the way she looked on prom night." My mind slipped back to the first moment I saw her in that plum dress with the lights glittering around her, pulling highlights from every strand of her dark hair.

"Hey, I'm sorry." Britney said, putting her hand on my arm and bringing me back to the present. I could feel moisture gathering in the corner of my eyes and hoped it wasn't too noticeable. "You're Edward Matthews aren't you?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Are you kidding? Brothah, everybody heard about Angie taking a freshman to prom. I didn't understand it until now. Damn, I wish someone would look like that just thinking about me. No wonder she thought you were special."

"She was the special one, not me." I noticed Tim closing my phone and setting it on the table. "Looks like he's done, it was nice meeting you Britney, maybe we'll run into each other again."

"Just show up for the meets, I'll be the one everybody's chasing."

"After meeting you, I can see why. I think I'd like the view myself." I said. I didn't know skin that dark could blush.

"Get out of here you naughty boy. Tell Tim that Britney Cotton says hi!"

I walked back to the table and delivered the message, when I did he turned and waved to her, she waved back and he turned back to me.

"So what's up with Cindy?"

"She works at two. She said if you'll drop me off she'll take me home before she goes in."

"Cool, then we're out of here." I left a tip on the table and he paid the check on the way out.

"So how was everything?" Britney asked as she rang us up.

"Well, the food was ... um ... okay," I began. "The atmosphere only so-so, but I could go on all day about the staff, especially the hostess."

"Hmm... Maybe I should have you fill out one of our comment cards so someone can get back to you about your visit. Just be sure to leave your name and number on the back and I'm sure someone will get a hold of you real soon!" she said with a smile, handing me the card and a pen. I filled it out quickly and handed it back. "Thank you, sir. I will personally see this gets the attention it deserves, sir. You boys enjoy your day. Tim, it was good to see you again. Give my love to Cindy. Tell her to call me if she gets a chance, I lost her phone number when my cell phone got stolen."

As we climbed into the truck Tim said, "Matthews, you should write a freaking book ... you just met the girl, you spent what, five minutes with her, and she already wants your phone number, practically begs you for it. You're disgusting."

"It's a gift," I said with a smile as I started up the truck.

Allison was out by the pool when I got home, laying on the big double chaise catching some early sunshine, topless, and reading one of her favorite books for the thousandth time. I took a moment to enjoy the view, then walked over and kissed her good morning. She moved over a little to make room for me and I stretched out next to her feeling somewhat over dressed. Reaching down I untied my shoes and kicked them off. Much better.

"So where'd you go? You obviously haven't been running."

"Actually I did, just a short jog really, a couple miles. Then I took your suggestion and went over to kick Tim's ass."

"Seriously?"

"Sort of, mostly I just pissed him off then let him take some energy out on me. Nothing serious, I kept him in close enough that he couldn't do any real damage. I may have a couple bruises later, but it was worth it."

"Then it worked?"

"Yeah, we ended up rolling around one of the neighbor's yards, with him trying to pound me into the grass, then suddenly I'm holding him while he bawls his eyes out. I think maybe it's the first time he's cried since she's been ... gone."

"That's great. I can understand why he may have felt like he couldn't really let his feelings out, since no one really knew about their relationship. It's good that he finally got it out. You think he'll move on?"

"I hope so. I left him at Cindy's. She's going to take him home on her way to work."

"So what's the plan for today?"

"I don't really have one. I need to go to the bank; the title for the truck came yesterday and Dad wants me to put it in the safe deposit box right away, but beyond that I don't really have any plans. Did you have something in mind?" I asked, reaching over and cupping a breast.

She put her hand over mine and squeezed. "Always, but right at the moment I was thinking school starts in a few weeks, and hoping you might take Shannon and me shopping. I seem to be outgrowing most of my clothes all of a sudden. I could give you a rain check on the rest though."

"Yeah, I've noticed things seem to be getting a little tight lately. Kind of nice actually ... you'll let me come along if you're trying on anything ... interesting, right?"

"Oh sure, I'll take my big brother into the changing room at Victoria's Secret to try on underwear, I'm sure that won't cause a scene or anything. Not! But since you're going to be dragging us around maybe we could arrange a little private fashion show when we get back."

Sounded like a plan to me. I thought maybe I'd surprise them and spring for a movie while we were out.

Hoping to get in and out quickly I took the rain check and we arrived at the bank just after they opened. There was only one other car in the parking lot; I left Allison in the truck listening to the radio and talking to Shannon while I went inside. Two vans pulled up out front just as I walked in.

My bank is a 'business bank.' They don't really cater to the general public; if you want free checking this is definitely not the place to go. There are only two tellers plus the girl in the little cubicle for business deposits, but any of them will help you if they aren't busy. I don't think I'd ever seen more than six employees in the place at once since I started going there. What really sets them apart is that they make it a point to know their customers.

"Good morning, Edward," Margie said as I walked up to the counter. Margie was everyone's grandmother, somewhere in the indeterminate sixty-ish range, hair gone mostly gray but still showing signs of its darker origins. She was usually dressed in a kind of casual monochrome skirt and blouse combinations with lots of matching jewelry. I thought she might be a supervisor of some kind as the other tellers tend to come to her if they have questions, but then again, maybe she's just been there since they poured the foundation.

"Hi Margie, I just need to put something in my safe deposit box."

"I can help you with that." She locked up her drawer and stepped down to the vault area where she handed me a check-in card. Even though they know you, they still make you go through all the same steps as any other bank would.

I signed in and she led me to the waiting area in the back while she retrieved my box. Only she never came back. Instead a guy in a pair of blue coveralls and carrying an automatic showed up. I recognized the gun as a Glock nine millimeter, the same gun Rebecca carries. The major difference being that this one had what appeared to be a silencer on it. I'd never actually seen a silencer before but that's what they all looked like in the movies.

"Get up, don't do anything stupid, and come with me."

When we arrived back in the main lobby it was to find all of the employees sitting in the middle of the floor with their hands on top of their heads. To make matters worse, Allison was with them. The vertical blinds had all been drawn and the two vans that had pulled in were now parked blocking the front doors. I hadn't noticed before but they were labeled, "Office Recovery Services," and listed themselves as specialists for fire, smoke, and water damage with emergency services available twenty-four hours a day, complete with a toll-free exchange to call.

"This is the last one," my captor said to a second man in overalls watching the people on the floor. The man nodded, stuck his gun into his overalls and walked to a nearby desk where he picked up a roll of duct tape and quickly taped my wrists behind my back. A short piece of tape was placed over my mouth and I was moved to the center of the room with the others.

"Sit," the man said, pressing down on my shoulder to emphasize his point. As I sat down he pointed at Allison and said, "Stand up."

Working quickly he soon had all of us secured and once more seated on the floor. All except for Linda, the newest teller, for some reason he hadn't taped her mouth. At this point he pulled his weapon back out, crossed his arms and leaned on one of the desks where he could see us all. My original captor moved off across the room to help another man who was methodically cleaning out the teller drawers. There was a series of popping sounds from the vault and the sound of metal hitting tile. Glancing at the monitor I saw another man in overalls pulling out safe deposit boxes. As I watched he quickly rifled through the boxes, removing several items, including some stacks of cash. Why would you keep cash in a safe deposit box at the bank? Then he began doing something to the next row.

It didn't take long to figure out that he was placing small explosive charges at certain points around the boxes. He stepped back, pulled a small device from his pocket, did something to it, and then pressed a button. There was another series of pops and he began working his way through the next set. This was not good. These guys were too good. It was a Tuesday morning and unless an armored car had come overnight, they had the entire weekend deposits in their vault. I noticed they all had a similar 'look' about them; short hair, very athletic build, very compact and efficient movements to everything they did, and just kind of oozing confidence. They spoke very little, and when they did it was only the absolutely minimum necessary to get their message across. The fact that they weren't just taking the money and running, but actually taking the time to clean out safe deposit boxes was not a good sign.

The phone rang and it became clear why Linda's mouth wasn't taped as the man pulled her roughly to her feet and over to the desk where he held the phone to one side of her head and the gun to the other.

"This is Linda ... yes, I'm sorry; we had a problem with the sprinkler system ... no, we should be up and running again by tomorrow ... fine, we'll see you then."

He hung up the phone and walked her back over with the rest of us. Something about the scene didn't look right. I glanced at Allison and gave her a questioning look. She glanced at our guard and then back at me. She pointed with her chin, first at the guard, then at Linda, slowly nodded her head, and then shrugged her shoulders slightly. Apparently she too had noticed something.

As I watched, Allison closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She was trying to relax herself and use one of her sleep triggers so we could talk. It only took a second and I saw her shoulders slump and her head drop slightly. I closed my own eyes and concentrated on Allison as I put myself out. Suddenly I was in the glade she had created long ago.

Allison didn't waste any time, "I think Linda's in on it. She was too relaxed answering the phone."

"Yeah I thought so too. That means..."

Suddenly she was gone. I opened my eyes and the guy with the gun had his hand on her shoulder, apparently he had shaken her awake. "I said sit up. Don't make me tell you again, understand?" When she just stared at him he grabbed a handful of hair and yanked her head up and down, "This way means yes," he said, and then repeated, "Understand?"

Rage filled me as she nodded her head. It took an effort but I managed to shove the anger aside as I watched him walk back to his position by the desk. I thought I noticed a bit of a smile on Linda's face as she watched him move back, but I couldn't be sure. Suddenly, she glanced towards me and I quickly looked away. The scene with the phone repeated itself a while later and by the time it was over I was certain Linda was in fact involved. Another series of pops drew my attention to the monitor again and I saw that the other man had made considerable progress. The two working the teller's stations had made a trip out to one of the vans already and were now carrying things out of the vault. There was a vacuum cleaner standing out in front of the door. I guess they wanted to make it look good for whoever may be watching. A shadow moved and caught my attention. I looked around and spotted an outside monitor which showed another man dressed as a security guard outside. Shit, they had even covered the problem of someone walking up and looking in.

Suddenly something tickled my brain and I glanced around to see what had caught my attention, but as soon as I tried to focus on it, it went away. I forced myself to relax, lowering my eyes to eliminate distractions. Most of the others were now looking down at the floor anyway. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a faint movement and glancing that way I saw Linda blow a kiss at our guard and then lick her lips sensuously. Oh yeah, she was in on it. A few minutes later the tickling was back, I closed my eyes and my perspective changed. Suddenly I was hovering over the scene staring down as if I were looking down from a skylight, only my attention was centered on the guard, who was staring at the top of Linda's open blouse intently. There was a rushing sensation of movement and suddenly I was staring out through his eyes at Linda's chest; but the scene was different. Through his eyes there was nobody else on the floor except her, and there was tape over her mouth.

Holy shit! He was daydreaming about her and I had bridged him just like a normal dream. I had bridged countless people over the last year but as far as I knew they had all been asleep. I didn't even know this was possible. At the moment I didn't have time to marvel over the newest escalation as I was more concerned with how I might use this to my advantage? As soon as the thought came into my head the perspective changed again and I was an invisible observer as the daydream started to take on new life.

Linda was now tied up naked on a bed and the man with the gun was pounding himself between her legs. The scene shifted again and now he was untying her. As soon as her arms were free she threw them around his neck and kissed him hard.

"I love the way you do that to me," she said. "Davis isn't half the man you are."

"Maybe not, but I'll be half a man if he ever finds out. Come on, we need to get you dressed in case he comes back early." He untied her legs and helped her off the bed. As soon as she was off she dropped to her knees, grabbed his fading erection and took him into her mouth, sucking hard. He gasped for breath at the sudden assault and looked down to see her kneeling with her hands behind her as if still tied up. Grabbing her head he started shoving himself in and out of her mouth. God she was a hot little piece.

Suddenly the scene changed again and instead of a bedroom he was in a small hut, no longer naked but wearing camouflage fatigues, and instead of playing games with Linda he was trying to force himself into the mouth of a struggling Vietnamese girl, slapping her as she tried to turn her head away. The sound of gunfire in the distance brought a sense of urgency to the scene. His team had been hired on a short-term contract to gather intel for one of the local factions. The girl was a captured enemy informant and they had been passing her back and forth for two days in between torturing her for information. Unfortunately, the enemy had discovered where they were holding her and was moving in, wanting her back or dead before she could be made to talk. How did I know this? Again I didn't really have time to think too much about it, but it was like he was reliving a series of memories and I was getting force fed the original background details along with the images. Too weird.

Suddenly a voice came through the doorway, "Jefferson, we gotta move!"

Stuffing himself back into his fatigues he pulled out a 45, shot her in the head, and then ran from the room. The scene faded as my eyes snapped open to find the people around me screaming against the tape over their mouths and trying to get away from the pool of blood suddenly forming around what was left of Linda's head. Superimposed over the scene was the image of Jefferson running through the jungle being pursued by enemy soldiers. Suddenly two popped out on the trail ahead of him and he was firing again, long hours spent training on the Special Forces field range allowing him to drop them before they realized he was there. Back in the bank, the two men who had run out of the vault when the screaming started died as Jefferson's Glock spit forth muffled death.

The jungle was suddenly quiet, too quiet; Jefferson knew the enemy was somewhere nearby. Tank was down, Booker and Jones were already at the extraction point, Felix was the only one unaccounted for. They had to make pickup in five minutes or they would be left. He crouched in the stand of trees and brush, senses alert for the slightest sound and suddenly there it was; a brush of cloth on wood off to the right.

Jefferson slipped around the tree and peered down into the hollow. A man was struggling on the ground, a garrote wire digging deeper into his flesh the harder he struggled. It was Felix but he was beyond help, all he could offer was an easier death. Opening my eyes I saw Jefferson staring into the vault. As he raised his gun and fired the man he saw as Felix screamed and shot back. Two slugs tore through Jefferson's body and pain exploded through mine, snapping my head up and back. The violent motion caused me to overbalance and I lay panting on the floor of the bank. Even as I fell Allison was already up on her knees and scrambling towards me. Behind her the front door opened as the guard from outside burst in and she froze. The guard took one look at the scene and fled back out the way he had come. Seconds later the van they had been loading pulled away from the front of the bank. Allison reached me and started rubbing her mouth against my fingers. It took me a second to figure out what she was trying to do. I flexed my fingers and she stopped, moving her head slowly until I found the edge of the tape over her mouth. I picked at the edge with a fingernail until I had enough to grip. Once she felt me grip the tape she pulled back hard and the tape peeled partway off before I lost my grip.

"Ow!" she mumbled, then moved her head so that I could reach the dangling end. A second pull tore the rest loose and she was quickly up on her feet and headed for the desk. She knocked the receiver off and yelled, "Do I need to dial nine?" Several people grunted and nodded their heads. She hit the nine and then dropped her ear to the phone so she could listen for the dial tone, then she hit the key pad three more times and bent to listen again.

My head still throbbing, I lay on the floor watching as two of the others tried to duplicate our efforts at getting the tape off their mouths. Suddenly Allison let out a piercing scream and I thought I would faint as the sound send a knife of pain deep into my skull. The scream cut off and she turned around and knocked the phone off on the floor with a loud clatter. As quickly as she could she started opening desk drawers, apparently finding what she was looking for on the third try. She reached carefully into the drawer with her bound hands and then headed back towards the group. She turned to the man I recognized as the branch's operations officer and said, "Stand up and turn around. Okay, I've got a razor blade in my hand and I'm going to try to hold it still enough for you to cut through that tape. Take your time and try not to slit your wrist. I'm sure the police are on the way by now. If there were any of them left they'd be in here already."

It took a while but eventually they managed to work their way through the tape, only nicking his arm twice in the process. Once he was free he quickly freed Allison and she rushed to my side, "Be still. Close your eyes and try to relax." She rolled me carefully onto my back and said, "This is going to sting." Then she tore the tape off my mouth. The pain from the tape was nothing compared to the wave of agony as my head came off the floor and then bounced back down. A red fog swam across my visions and I squeezed my eyes shut against the tears and focused on breathing in and out. Allison moved to sit next to me and pulled my head gently into her lap, stroking my hair and whispering softly to me. I felt myself starting to drift off to sleep.

"No-no," she whispered so softly that no one else would hear. "Stay with me. Don't try to move yet; don't talk, just blink once for yes, twice for no. You did that didn't you?"

I blinked once.

"I thought so. You can tell me about it later ... and you were still with him when he was shot at the end?"

I blinked again.

"I thought so. Now listen to me; your body is reacting to the trauma of being shot. Your mind transferred the pain back with you. You're not really hurt; this is all in your head, just like in a dream. Now close your eyes, focus, and make the pain go away."

What she said sounded both far-fetched and perfectly sensible at the same time. I closed my eyes and concentrated on making the pain go away. There was some resistance at first but then it was as if a warm wave passed over me, starting at my head and washing down to my feet. Where it passed the pain left with it. I opened my eyes feeling suddenly better and started to get up but she held me down.

"No, stay down," she whispered. "We can pretend it was shock and that you hit your head when you fell over, but if you recover too quickly it will be suspicious." Then in a louder voice, "I think you just hit your head, but let's take it slow, roll onto your side and let me get that tape off. Excuse me, could someone hand me that razor blade?"

Margie picked it up off the desk where someone had set it after the rest were free and brought it to her, "I'm sorry, I thought we got everyone. Are you Edward's girlfriend? Is he alright?"

"No, actually I'm his sister. I think he just bumped his head when he fell over. That and the shock, I mean, oh my god, my heart is still racing." She took the blade from the older woman and started carefully cutting through the tape. "I'm Allison by the way."

"I'm Margie; it's nice to meet you Allison. I can't believe we're all still alive. I thought for sure they were going to kill us all."

Allison looked appropriately shocked. "Oh my God! Do you really think so? I thought they were just keeping us as hostages in case something went wrong."

"No, dearie, I don't think so. They didn't seem the least bit concerned about us seeing their faces and identifying them later if they got caught. I think they were planning to kill us all along, but by the time we realized it we were already tied up and there was nothing we could do. If that man hadn't flipped out and started shooting everything ... poor Linda."

"Poor Linda?" I said as Allison finished cutting through the last bit of tape. I pulled my arms apart and around in front of me where I could reach to get the rest of the tape off. "Didn't you notice her blowing him that kiss right before he went nuts? She was in on it. I think they planted her in the bank just to set this all up."

"Do you really think so?"

"Oh yeah!" Allison agreed. "She was way too calm when he had her answer the phone. Nobody is that cool with a gun stuck to their head unless they know it's not going to go off."

Margie looked thoughtful for a moment. "Then I wasn't imagining it when I saw her blow him that kiss. It's amazing the way you two figured that all out. You should think about going to work for the FBI; maybe you could be spies."

I glanced at Allison and she had turned her head down and was fighting hard not to laugh. I smiled at Margie as I climbed to my feet. "The FBI aren't spies, it's actually against the law for them to be involved in anything like that, you're thinking of the CIA, either way, no thanks."

"That goes double for me," Allison added, "this is so not for me. Jimmy, how are you feeling? Are you okay now?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," I answered, "I think it's like you said, I hit my head when I fell, that on top of the shock of all... ,"

She cut me off, "Don't say it! I've been doing my best not to look at it or think about it. Now please, get me out of here before I puke."

"Oh you can't leave," Margie said. "The police will want statements from everybody."

"Right," Allison countered. "Statements they can't take from us because we're minors and our parents aren't here, so all we can do is sit and keep trying not to... ," she shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "No thank you. They can catch up with us later when it will do them some good. I'm not sitting here with this all day, and I'd rather tell my parents myself instead of panicking them, which is what the police will do. Not to mention the press ... I'd get arrested for what I'd do to the first reporter that tried to stick a camera in my face. Just give them our names, address, and be sure to stress that we're minors. Jimmy, pleasepleaseplease take me home." She glanced again at Linda, closed her eyes and shuddered. I took her arm gently and guided her towards the door.



-------

Chapter 3:  Aftermath

"How are you feeling?" Allison asked.

We had just cleared the bank parking lot and were sitting at the light, waiting.

"Me? How are you feeling? Are you really feeling sick or was that just to get us out of there?"

"Mostly that, yeah; I mean, if I think about it too much, or start to picture it in my head, then it kind of builds up. Seeing her lying there with half her head..."

I cut her off, "Okay, enough. Don't go there."

"See what I mean?"

"Yeah, let's change the subject, where do you want to go? Do you still want to go shopping?"

"I'd love to, but I think it would piss off the powers that be, who are going to be plenty ticked off at us already. If we're not at least someplace they can find us ... No, I think our best bet is to pick up Shannon and go back to the house."

"You want to drag her into this?"

The light changed. I made a left and watched the bank sign disappear into the rear view mirror knowing it would never look the same to me again.

"No, but she needs to know what's going on and for once it would be nice if she didn't have to be the last to know. Besides, you know how her brain works -- she might have some ideas, she always does.

We were only three blocks away when I had to pull over to let two oncoming police units go by on the opposite side.

"Just about what I figured," Allison said. "We barely got out of there in time. Five more minutes and we were gonna be stuck there with nothing to do but stare at the walls until Mom or Dad came to get us. They probably would have wanted to separate us so we couldn't talk about it."

"Yeah, like that would have worked, sooner or later we'd have dozed off and then we could talk about anything we wanted."

"On top of that the cops and the FBI probably would have been tossing questions at us all day hoping we would start talking out of sheer boredom."

"Why the FBI?"

"Bank robbery is a federal crime. One of them got away; the feds will manage the hunt."

I thought about that for a second. "What are we going to tell Rebecca?"

"As little as we possibly can. Nothing at all if we can get away with it. She's in LA and occupied with the other case so it's unlikely she'll be involved with this one. I'm sure she'll hear about it sooner or later but unless she knows we were there it won't mean much to her."

I pulled into Shannon's driveway. The garage door was open and Karen's car was gone.

"Just checking. I don't know how she would react if she found out the truth. Allison, I just..."

She cut me off as she opened her door. "Don't. You can tell me later, and by that I mean after the police, later. I don't want you to try and explain it to me because that will make you think about it and try to analyze it and then you might slip and accidentally say something that would sound wrong. We can't take that chance."

I got out and followed her up to the door. She rang the bell, knocked twice, rang the bell again, and then she just opened the door and walked in. If Mark or Shannon were home they would know it was us. Right on cue Shannon met us in the entryway still brushing her teeth. She mumbled something that sounded like "just a minute" and offered Allison a cheek.

Through the sliding door I could see Mark out on the patio cleaning the pool. He looked different somehow but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. As I walked toward the door I realized what it was, he was taller, in fact he was bigger all over, his shoulders were broader, his arms were fuller, and he had let his hair grow out longer than I think I had ever seen it. Suddenly it hit me, this was my best friend, and I hadn't seen him or talked to him in ... weeks? No, it was probably longer than that. He hadn't been around much at family gatherings now that he had a job. And then there was - God help me I didn't even know if he had a girlfriend, much less who it might be. I glanced over at Allison and she fixed me with an intent look while twitching her head in Mark's direction. I got the message, opened the slider and stepped out.

"That is so sad," I said.

He gave me a confused look and said, "Good morning to you too. What's so sad?"

"I just realized I haven't really seen you all summer. Dude, you're getting huge." I walked up to him to emphasize the point and sure enough, he was a good four inches taller than me at least. "We've always been close to the same size -- you were starting to creep up there at the end of school -- but now ... and you're getting all buffed out, I mean, damn, look at your arms. Where have you been working out?"

"Right, like I have spare time for pumping iron. This is just from work. You should try it sometime."

"You got all this from asking people if they want fries?"

"Dude, where have you been? I haven't worked there since school got out. I'm working in a warehouse; I move stuff around. Sure the big orders are on pallets but still, a lot of the orders are put together stuff, one of these, two of those, and I'm their newest trained monkey. So anytime they need someone to fetch and carry, you know who they call"

"Well, it shows, you look good. So what else have I been missing? I don't even know if you have a girlfriend these days."

"Not really, Shari lost interest after I quit. I think she got tired of me never being available. The first couple weeks on the new job, I thought I was going to die. She wanted to hang out all the time but all I wanted to do when I got home was shower, eat, and crash. So suddenly I was single again, but that's okay, I'm banking my paychecks and hoping to pick up something decent to drive soon. If you should suddenly have a mind to dump that truck of yours cheap, let me know."

I laughed and said, "I'll keep it in mind."

We stood silently staring down into the blue water of the pool, watching the vacuum head move back and forth. Finally he spoke again.

"I never really had a chance to say anything before, but I'm sorry about Angela, I know she was special to you."

"Yeah," I said softly, "she ... was." The emotion in my voice covered the break but still, I had almost blown it and said 'is' instead of 'was.' Allison was right, I needed to bury Angela completely until her 'killer' was caught and she could come back.

"How's her brother doing? I heard he was plenty broke up about it."

"He was, still is, but after this morning I think he's going to be okay."

"Why, what happened this morning?"

"I figured out he's been holding a lot in since she died, running away instead of dealing with it. I went over and pissed him off, then let him vent a little. I think he'll be okay now, we had breakfast and then I dropped him at Cindy's so they could talk, she's going to take him home on her way to work. We'll see how it goes from there." I decided it was time to change the subject. "Your mom back in LA with your dad?"

"Yeah, it's test day. He's spending the whole day getting poked, prodded, and having things shoved places I don't even want to think about. Then comes the fun part; waiting for the results. Mom's trying to hide it but she's pretty stressed about it already." He checked his watch and pulled the hose out of the pool. "Time to get ready for work; you and the twins got plans today?"

"Not any more. Allison wanted me to take them to the mall to shop for school clothes but that kind of got shot down. I have to call my dad when I get home; we'll see what happens from there."

"Sounds serious, what happened?"

"There was a problem at the bank. Technically speaking, we should have stayed there, but it's not like they're going to lock us up for bailing out." He glanced at me and I shook my head. "Probably shouldn't say anything else for now. Don't worry, we're not really in any trouble but the police are going to want to talk to us, so until they do I don't think I should be giving out any details."

"Nothing serious," he retorted, "just the police wanting to talk to you about a problem at the bank? The last problem the police wanted to talk to you about involved you beating the shit out three guys. What did you ... never mind, you're right, you probably shouldn't talk about it."

He finished storing the vacuum hose in the little shed then stuck out his hand. "It's good to talk to you again, Jimmy, I hadn't realized how long it's been. You are planning to drive me and Shannon to school, right? I mean, I don't want to be a third wheel or anything, but..."

I took his hand and shook it. "Of course, don't be stupid, and don't worry, you won't be a third wheel. Shannon and I are making sure things don't get too serious. For now, we're just friends who will never have to worry about finding a date or someone to go to the dance with, but we want to make sure we don't rush into anything. She means too much to me to risk losing her because we got carried away."

"Dude, you have no idea how good it is to hear you say that. I had this weird idea the two of you were hooking up and I don't think I could take you banging my sister. Making out is one thing, but she's too young to be doing the nasty, even with a nice guy like you."

"Mark, you know I would never do anything to hurt Shannon. Or let anyone else hurt her either."

He smiled and held out his hand again. "Yeah, at least I don't have to worry about her being safe when she's with you." This time when I took his hand, he pulled me in close and hugged me. "Thanks for taking care of her, and for being there for my mom too. It means a lot to her how much you guys care, it means a lot to all of us." He gave me a firm squeeze and then headed into the house, passing the girls who were headed out as he was going in.

Once Mark had disappeared down the hall, Allison asked, "What was that all about? I'd swear he was almost crying."

I stared intently into her eyes as I answered, "No, I'm sure you were mistaken. We were just talking about some things, catching up and stuff, then he went to get ready for work."

She held my eye for few seconds before nodding. "Right. My mistake. Okay, so let's get out of here; we've got lots to do and we don't know how much time we have so ... the sooner we get home, the sooner we can get started. I left a note for Karen telling her we'd be at our house for the rest of the day."

Pulling into the driveway triggered something, maybe it was the safety of being home, I don't know, but suddenly the reality of what had happened, and what I had done, burst full upon me. I had killed five people. Somehow I had taken over a man's daydream and twisted it into something so real he couldn't tell the fantasy from reality and had killed four people, one of whom had killed him at the same time. I sat there, staring blankly at the steering wheel and not even really seeing it, not knowing what to do next.

"Jimmy?" Allison's voice seemed to drift on the air around me. It took me a second to focus on the source. I looked down and found her hand already resting on my thigh but I couldn't remember it being there before. Following the arm upward eventually led me to her face. It was obvious that she knew what I was thinking, but it was the look on Shannon's face behind her that pulled me back towards reality.

"My God," she said, "what's wrong?"

I shook my head and said, "We need to go inside." Without waiting for an answer I opened my door and climbed out. I heard her pressing Allison for information as I walked around the truck and opened her door. I took her hand to help her out; she didn't actually need help but this was something I liked to do for them whenever we went anywhere. I had grown up watching my dad do it for my mom and seeing how special it made her feel. She stepped out of the truck and into my arms. As I hugged her to me tightly and kissed her neck, I could feel the tears beginning to leak down my face.

"Hey, need a little room here guys," Allison said as she tried to climb out of the truck. I released Shannon and her eyes got wide as she saw the tears. She gave Allison a look but she just shook her head and said, "Inside. Take him to his bedroom and make him lie down; I know you're worried but promise me you'll wait until I get there before you start asking questions. Jimmy, give me your phone. Promise me, Sha; it's important, we can't talk about this here; just take him to his room and both of you get comfortable."

Shannon took my hand and I tried to apologize and explain as she led me through the garage, "I'm sorry, Shannon, I just..." but she cut me off.

"Shhh! Don't talk, wait for Allison." She kissed me and squeezed my hand. "It's okay, I can wait. C'mon." She steered me on to my bed and began taking my shoes off. As soon as they were off, she reached for my shorts.

"I don't think that's what she had in mind when she said to make me lie down," I said, wiping my eyes.

She smiled and pulled my shorts down and off, "In you go. Lie down before the little mommy gets here and spanks us both." As I crawled dutifully into bed, Shannon quickly stripped down to her underwear and climbed in with me, snuggling into my side and resting her head on my shoulder. When I hugged her to me and kissed the top of her head she shifted and lifted her face for a real one. It was a wonderful distraction from thinking about what had happened at the bank so I ran with it.

I like kissing; from the very first time I had kissed Shannon, the night I had invaded her fantasy and discovered my ability, kissing had become one of my favorite pastimes.

Kissing is an amazing thing. It's one of those things that everybody does a little differently, and it's an excellent form of communications; volumes can be spoken in an instant with a simple kiss. Kissing is also the earliest form of oral sex we are ever exposed to. It's amazing to me that most people don't even recognize it as sex, but think about it, what are you doing? You're making love to someone's mouth, with yours. If you have ever gone down on a woman I challenge you to tell me how it's any different. As oral sex, it is also unique in one way. It's the only form of oral sex that both partners can practice at the same time without being distracted by what the other partner is doing. Kissing also engages all five senses on a level that few other activities do. Think about it and you'll know I'm right.

Granted I don't get around much, but so far all the girls I have kissed say I'm really good at it. They say it's because I seem to be focused on what I'm doing. I pay attention, respond to my partner, and I don't get distracted. That part's true; when I'm kissing a girl, really kissing, not just a casual or passing brush of lips, but a real kiss, that is the only thing I'm doing. Apparently that's unusual for guys, especially guys my age. In most cases they're thinking about where they want to go next: where their hands are and where they want them to be, or getting the girl's clothes off and what they will do if they get that far. Even if they're already having sex, the guy seems to be in a hurry to get there again. Hello? Seems to me that if you pay attention to what you're doing you stand a much better chance of getting there. If she's not happy with this step, you're not likely to get to the next one.

Ang ... Amber once told me that how a guy kisses tells a girl a lot about how he is going to be in bed. Is he in a hurry? Does he kiss you gently or hard? Does he respond to your kiss or just rush ahead and trust you to keep up? Kissing a girl will tell you a lot also. Is her mouth tense? Then she's nervous or apprehensive. Is she pulling back? You either have really bad breath or you are doing something she doesn't like. Never rush a kiss unless you are 100% certain your partner shares your sense of urgency. Kissing is great foreplay; I never have to ask what the girls are in the mood for. If they kiss me gently, teasing at my mouth, playing with my tongue; then I know they want me to make love to them. If one of them, most often Allison, starts raping my mouth, then I know I need to start tearing things off and fuck her like I'm mad at her.

I was still lost in Shannon's mouth when Allison showed up. I hadn't even realized she had come in until I felt the covers move.

"Any other time I'd be wanting some of that action for myself, but right now we need to talk and we can't do that here. Everybody get comfortable and let's go someplace more private, and since I missed out on the make out, I get the middle."

I kissed Shannon's nose and slid over to make room for our other lover. Once she was settled and everyone was ready I whispered one of our group triggers and we all dropped into dreamland. Since I

didn't have a venue in mind we ended up in one of our glades. There are two. The original is Allison's. It's a place she created several years ago to relax. The other is an exact duplicate that I made without even knowing it. The rules are different in mine and we usually go there automatically, but every once in a while if I'm not thinking about it we'll end up in hers. A quick check of our rings said it was mine. In Allison's version both of our rings would have been visible when we were touching. In mine Allison's is missing.

"Okay we're here," Shannon said, sitting up. Suddenly, instead of being cuddled up half naked, we were dressed summer casual, you know; shorts, light tops, and sandals, sitting in wicker chairs.

"There's been an escalation," Allison said.

"Yah," I said. "You could call it that."

"Escalation my ass," Shannon said irritably. "There's got to be more to it than that. We've had escalations since the very beginning, but you've never reacted like this. What happened?"

I swallowed hard, suddenly unable to speak.

Allison glanced at me and then looked back at Shannon. "So much for not talking about it until after ... This escalation killed five people."

Shannon was appropriately dumbfounded. She sat for a second with her mouth hanging open and apparently no idea what to say.

"Okay, now that you're sufficiently shocked I'll tell you the rest," Allison said. "It also saved me, Jimmy, and six people who work at the bank. There was a robbery. When we got to the bank, I was on the phone with you, and then the security guy came over and asked me to come inside. You remember that part?"

"Yeah, you said they needed you for something and hung up."

"Well, before I even walked into the bank there was a gun in my back and he took the phone away. Once I was through the door I saw all the staff sitting on the floor with their hands on top of their heads. The security guy told me to sit with the others, shut up, and do what I was told. He never even waited to see if I did it, he just turned around and left. The reason he didn't worry about my compliance is there was another guy with a gun leaning on a desk watching everyone on the floor. His gun had a silencer on it. Pretty obvious what the option was. Mr. Personality tossed him the phone before he left. I'd only been there a few seconds when another guy brought Jimmy down the hall. Once they had us all they duct taped our hands behind us and then taped our mouths. Apparently one of the employees was in on it. Her name was Linda and she's the newest teller. We figured it out after the phone rang and they had her take the call. They hadn't taped her mouth and she sounded way too calm on the phone to be worried about him actually shooting her. Jimmy and I tried to drop out and meet so we could talk but the guy watching us woke us up again as soon as we fell asleep. We sat there for a while longer then suddenly I could see Jimmy was kind of looking funny. The next thing I know the guy with the gun shoots Linda; God that was so gross, one second they were staring at each other like they wanted to do it right there on the floor, the next there's blood flying everywhere, everybody starts screaming around their gags and two guys come running out of the vault. Psycho shoots both of them before they get three steps and then sort of slinks over to the vault, looks down inside and then points his gun at something. Just as he pulls the trigger the guy in the vault shoots him. When the bullets hit him, Jimmy practically went into convulsions on the floor and I knew what had happened."

Shannon's gotten a lot better at this since we started. She doesn't need nearly as much explanation as she used to. Must be hanging around Allison so much, because she doesn't interrupt any more either, just waits until you're through, then asks any questions that came up. She picked up on this right away. She looked at me. "You bridged this guy while you were both awake?"

I nodded. "Sort of. We were both awake but I didn't actually bridge him until he started daydreaming."

"Daydreaming? About what?"

"Fucking Linda," I answered. "Apparently she was hooked up with the guy in charge but the two of them were having an affair."

"And you saw this?" Allison asked. Now that she'd given the part she was sure of she was just as anxious for the details as Shannon.

"Not until I was in. I think I need to show you. Tell me if any of this looks familiar." I closed my eyes and concentrated and suddenly we were back in the bank. I was looking at Allison as the guy with the gun was getting on her about staying awake. I even felt my rage at his mistreatment of her.

"Stop," Allison's voice came from nowhere. "Shannon, did you feel that?"

"Yeah, he's pissed at the way that guy's treating you."

"He's so sweet. But we've never felt anything when he's done this replay thing before. I just wanted to see if it was just me or if you felt it too. Go ahead, Jimmy."

I let the scene move forward and suddenly I felt that tickling sensation and looked at the gunman. There was the rushing sensation and suddenly I was in. Then the view shifted."

"Oh my God," Allison whispered, and I knew she understood.

"What?" Shannon asked.

"Tell you later, just watch."

The vision played out as before, even the points where I was looking out my own eyes with the vision of what the gunman was seeing overlaid on top. I never realized how fast everything had happened before, but suddenly it was over and Allison was in motion. The guard came and went; Allison called 911 and then started freeing us. I waited until she had told me how to make the pain go away then stopped the sequence and we were back in the glade.

"Okay," Shannon said, "just a couple of quick things; why did you scream into the phone and then knock it on the floor?"

"If I'd tried talking they would have asked a bunch of questions, this way they would just ID the number as being a bank and send in the marines. I figured it wouldn't waste as much time. Besides, I needed to get back to Jimmy and get us the hell out of there."

"That's another one: Aren't they going to be pissed that you guys left?"

I responded, "Oh yeah! They'll be plenty pissed, but they really can't do anything to us. If we had stayed they would have wanted statements. We wouldn't have had to answer anything, but it would have looked funny if we hadn't. They couldn't make us talk to them at all unless they called mom or dad first. We could just refuse to talk and they couldn't touch us until our parents or legal guardians showed up. Even then we could have demanded an attorney first or just refused to talk about it, and as minors they couldn't really push the issue. The chances of our being able to tell them anything different than anyone else there is pretty slim. Still, we didn't want to be stuck there all day with them trying to get us to say something. So we left. The bank staff will tell them who we are. They'll also point out that we are kids, so they'll probably be really careful when they come over to talk to us. We canceled the rest of the day so we could be here in case they showed up. If they are mad about us leaving then they really wouldn't be happy if we made them look for us. We're going to need to call Mom and Dad soon either way so we'll have to keep this short. I want to warn them that the police will be coming by; I don't know if we actually need a lawyer present or not."

"We do," Allison said. "We need to have someone explain to them that it would be a really bad idea for our names to be associated with anything that happened, especially in any documents or statements that might be released to the press. They'll need to make sure the bank staff doesn't mention us either. Then we need to make sure the press knows that if our names are mentioned we will take action against anyone that puts the information out to the public. I think Mr. Carruthers would be a good choice; he certainly handled the hotel thing well."

"Girl, you don't miss a trick. So what did you see back there that I missed?" Shannon asked.

"Well, you saw Jimmy bridge the guy, then take over his daydream and turn it into something else? I'm guessing a series of memories because they seemed to be real life actions that he recognized. Basically he was reliving past events and responding as if they were really happening. He was literally lost in the dream, not even realizing that it was a dream and responding like it was really happening. You saw him do all that?"

"Yeah, I watched the whole thing. It was incredible."

"No, you didn't."

Shannon shook her head and looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

"It wasn't Jimmy that did it."

"Okay, I'm lost." She threw up her hands and stared at us.

"Play it again, Jimmy. Not the whole thing, just the part she needs to see. Watch closely, Sweetie. He warned us what was coming before he started."

I played the scene again from the point of his roughing Allison up, invading the daydream; she stopped me right after my perspective shifted.

"Look familiar?" Allison asked.

Suddenly Shannon got it and blurted out, "Holy shit! That's the same thing that happened at the end of the fight with Brad. You were back inside, but the view was weirded out and you couldn't stop yourself. This looked just like that, but that means..."

"That it wasn't me in control. Bob's explanation was good; it made sense even if it was far fetched, but it was still wrong. This wasn't an 'Id' thing, not just a wild fight or flight reaction. Somehow I took over that man's daydream, then picked a series of memories out of his mind and played them back so perfectly that he couldn't tell reality from the dream. I used him to kill four people. I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't been shot by the guy in the vault. Could I have pushed him so far that he would actually have killed himself? Would he have gone outside, killed the security guard then run in front of a truck still thinking he was running through the jungle? I don't know, and I don't want to."

Allison was shaking her head before I even finished, "It doesn't matter what you want. You need to know."

"What? Why do I need to know this? I don't want to be able to do that?"

"Don't you realize what this means?" Allison asked.

Shannon made one of her out of nowhere perfect observations, "Mikkelson."

"What?" I asked.

"Mikkelson,, " Shannon said, "And Parry. Don't you see Jimmy? It's you that's doing both their nightmares."

"I'm not! I couldn't do that to anyone."

Allison put her hand on mine, "You couldn't kill four people either, but something just did, and it used you to do it."

Her words seemed to fall in my chest like trees falling in the forest; tearing through all my arguments, and echoed through my mind when they finally hit. She was right. Someone, or something, had used my ability in a way I didn't even know it could work to kill four people, five if you counted the shooter. Was it unreasonable to consider that the same ... person, being, power ... had done the same thing to Parry and Mikkelson, using my ability to continue the nightmares after I stopped? With this question came the memory of an earlier conversation. It must have shown on my face because Allison caught it immediately.

"I know what you're thinking," she said.

Shannon nodded. "When we came back from doing Mikkelson, you said you were glad we went along because a part of you wanted to keep going."

I felt tears coming again, "Part of me did, and now it's killing people."

"Not necessarily," Shannon said. "It doesn't have to be part of you." Allison gave her an 'Oh, please' look but Shannon shot her down. "No, hear me out, there's precedent here. Amy moved Jimmy around without his knowing it."

"We don't know that." Allison countered, "Amy doesn't play by any of the regular rules. She can move around on her own. She said she's tried to see Rebecca but the scene freezes."

"Yes, but she also said it hurts to do it. The only time it doesn't hurt is if Jimmy does it. I think she's been using Jimmy's power all along, even if she doesn't know it. I'll admit that might be a bit of a stretch but you have to admit the possibility, and if she can, even hypothetically, then you have to accept the argument that someone else can too."

I looked at Allison to see if she had any holes she wanted to poke in the argument. Apparently, she didn't either because when I said, "She's right. It's a valid theory." She just plowed right ahead.

"Either way we're going to find out the truth tonight. While you two were getting cozy I made two phone calls. The first was to Rebecca; she gave me a phone number. Then I called that number and spoke to Elizabeth Street."

"You called Easy?" Shannon asked. "Why?"

"Because she'll be able to see the truth."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean she'll be able to tell us if it's you doing this, or rather a part of you doing this, as opposed to an outside force. I think it's part of you, but what I only think, she'll know."

"What makes you so sure?" I asked.

"Tell me, why have you been avoiding going to see her?"

"I don't know, I just..."

"Don't bother, she's right," Shannon said. "You don't know why, but you just always seemed to find some reason not to go. It makes total sense. She said last night you were afraid of going to see Elizabeth and you couldn't even deny it. It seems pretty obvious now that some part of you knew that she would see something."

"So? What? You think I'm developing a split personality or something?"

Allison looked thoughtful for a moment. "I can't say. I'd like to ask Bob but I don't know if we can take this to him. Now that he's with Rebecca it just seems, not wrong really, but, I don't know, unfair to tell him about it and ask him not to tell her or talk about it."

"I trust him," I said.

"I appreciate that, Jimmy, but this is... , I don't know. Okay, let me just say this and get it out. You said back there that whatever this is, 'Now it's killing people.' It's not killing people, it's protecting you. Whatever it is, both times it's, manifested; you were in immediate serious peril. You know as well as I do that those guys this morning had every intention of killing all of us."

"Well, we can't be sure but... ," she started to jump in but I stopped her, "Okay, I'll concede the point, whether it was true or not, I certainly thought that was the case."

"We don't have to know for sure, we just have to acknowledge that the possibility, or in this case, probability, was that I'm right. Jimmy, what you have to focus on here is not that five people died and that you were responsible, which is not really true but that's beside the point. What you need to focus on here is that seven people, no eight, including you and me, were saved from almost certain death. Personally, in an "Us or Them" type situation like this one, all I care about is staying alive. I don't care who it is or what you have to do, I'd rather live to regret the mistake than to just lie there and be killed."

"Well yeah, when you put it that way I guess it does make it easier to accept what happened."

"I'll make it even easier," Shannon added. "Would you rather have killed those four, or five, people or watched them kill Allison?"

Talk about your rhetorical questions. The thought alone made my blood run cold. Shannon didn't wait for an answer but got up and walked around to my chair. "Thought so," she said kissing my cheek. "Thank you for keeping my baby safe." This time she kissed me much more seriously. "I'd truly be lost without her," she added when she finally came up for air. "Both of you mean the world to me. I can't imagine going through life without either of you, but I don't even want to begin to imagine what hell life would be if I had to watch one of you die knowing that there was even a shred of hope that I might have been able to prevent it."

She flopped across my lap and put her arms around my neck, the chair expanded to make room for both of us.

"So, be honest," Allison said. "Are you okay with this? Not all of it, but just the killing? You understand that it wasn't your fault and that you didn't do it, but that if it hadn't happened we would likely be dead, all of us. I know it sounds like rationalization, but I think it's a correct and justified rationalization."

"Yeah," I said. "I never would have believed I would somehow be able to rationalize killing someone, let alone five someones, but you're right. There was no choice; they would have killed all of us without hesitation. It was obvious that Jefferson had killed before. I just... , I don't know what to do about the rest. I don't even know where to start. I'm hurting people, or being used to hurt people, and I didn't even know about it, and I don't know how to stop it. What if I can't stop it? What if..."

Allison to the rescue, "No, no what ifs; don't even start down that road. That's negative and defeatist and it's not going to help. The first thing we are going to do is wake up, call Mom and Dad and tell them what's going on, then we're going to call Carruthers and find out where we stand. Then tonight, we are going to go see Easy and see if we can get some confirmation on what we're dealing with. Somewhere in there we're going to try and deal with Parry and, if possible, Mikkelson as well. As far as you not being able to stop this from happening again, this is dream stuff, and I haven't seen anything yet that you couldn't do in a dream once you set your mind to it. What we need is information. We only just figured out that something is happening. Now we need to figure out what, or even who it is. Once we have that then we'll be able to look for solutions. For now we, you, need to be very, very, careful anytime you are playing with anyone new. Especially anyone you're pissed off at. In fact, no fucking with anyone you're mad at until we figure this out. Just pretend you're normal and can't do anything but accept it and deal with it."

"That's not enough," Shannon said.

"How so?" Allison asked.

"What has been happening hasn't been intentional on his part; it's been going on without his knowledge or consent. If he gets mad at someone, for any reason, he needs to go in and make sure that nothing happens to them. Just because he started it with Mikkelson and Parry doesn't mean that he has to start it for it to happen. He certainly didn't start it this morning."

Allison looked at her for a second then moved over and kissed her. "You are so smart. I love you."

I expanded the chair into a couch and pulled her down with us for a little group hug and support session. I could have stayed there all day but Allison, ever the practical one, pulled herself free, stood and started dragging Shannon up as well.

"Okay, this is fun," she said, "and I'd love to just stay here all day, but we have a lot to do and no way of knowing how much time we have. So let's get to it and, hopefully, we'll have time for some serious snuggles later."

I faded the dream and rolled to face her. She was just opening her eyes as I kissed her and slipped an arm over her waist to reach Shannon on the other side. Shannon's hand met mine over Allison's hip and our fingers intertwined.

"Better?" Shannon asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay now. Thank you, both of you, for being here."

"Are you kidding?" Allison said, reaching down to grasp both of our hands. "Being between you two is like my favorite place in the world. I just wish we had time to take proper advantage of it."

"You mean like this?" Shannon asked, leaning in and biting at a nipple. She only gave it the briefest of touches but Allison gasped and arched into her. When Shannon pulled back the nipple was already hard. "Or like this?" Suddenly Shannon started tickling Allison, who shrieked and squirmed trying to get away. No chance of that happening as I immediately joined in to help Shannon. Within seconds Allison was curled up, clutching her sides and gasping for air. We took pity on her at that point and let her catch her breath. I leaned over and kissed Shannon, then climbed out over them both and started dressing again. Allison was right. We had a lot to do.

What we didn't have was a lot of time.

I was barely dressed and into the bathroom when the doorbell rang. It was a serious deja vu moment, bringing back memories of last November when I had dreamed of my parents' deaths and awakened in time to save them. Shannon rapped once on the bathroom door and whispered, "Don't come out."

"Wait a second," I said. I quickly washed my hands and opened the door. "See if you can stall for a few minutes while I try and call Carruthers." I gave her a quick kiss and slipped into my bedroom.

Bob had referred us to Carruthers to deal with the fallout from the hotel after my parents almost died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty detector in their room. It had been a wake up call on several levels, not the least of which was to drive home for me the importance of having someone competent available to help with legal matters. We had kept Carruthers on retainer after the smoke cleared.

I could just hear Shannon at the door as I hit the speed dial on my phone. Allison was dressed and sitting on the bed looking anxious so I held out my hand to her. She took it and kissed it, then pulled me down to sit next to her.

It only took two rings before a very professional voice answered, "Cartifson, Carruthers, and Dietz."

"Good morning, my name is James Edward Matthews, you may have me listed under my parents, Richard and Cindy Matthews. I have a bit of a problem; would Mr. Caruthers be available by any chance?"

"Good morning, Mr. Matthews. I'm sorry, Mr. Carruthers is in court this morning; would you like to make an appointment?"

"No, I really need to talk to someone right away. Is there someone else I can talk to? It's kind of urgent."

"If you can give me an idea of the nature of your problem, I'll see if I can find someone for you."

"There is a police officer at my door and..."

"There's an officer at your door right now? One moment please." There was a short pause and she came back on the line, "Someone will be right with you."

Another woman's voice came on the line. "I've got it, Julia. Mr. Matthews, this is Shelley Dietz, how can I help you?"

"Thank you, Julia. Miss Dietz, I have to kind of rush through this. My sister and I were briefly held hostage this morning in a bank robbery and we left before the police got there. Basically we didn't want to be stuck there all day waiting for our parents to be contacted to come and get us. It was a pretty gruesome scene. We expected they would come looking for us sooner or later but we were hoping we would have more time to call our parents and Mr. Carruthers before we had to talk to them."

"I understand. It's Edward, isn't it?"

"Yes ma'am." I had started using J. Edward the previous year for reasons I won't go into here.

"Okay, Edward, let's go talk to the nice officer."

I headed down the hall with Allison trailing behind me, clinging to my arm with her best innocent little waif look plastered over her face. Shannon was still standing blocking the doorway, and arguing with whoever was outside. "I'm sorry, officer, but unless you can produce a warrant I simply cannot help you."

"Okay, I'm almost there."

"Who's your guard dog?"

"My sister's friend, Shannon."

"I like her already, introduce yourself, tell the officer that you have your attorney on the phone, and offer to let him talk to me."

"I'd rather relay the conversation if you don't mind; I want to be able to hear what you are telling him."

"Very well, introduce yourself and we'll go from there. Is he plain clothes or uniform?"

"Uniform," I said. I pulled my hand free from Allison's, switched the phone to my left hand and extended my right to the officer. "I'm Edward Matthews. This is my sister Allison. How can we help you, officer?"

Shelley was still speaking as I introduced myself, "Ask him for a card."

The officer shook my hand and started to speak but I interrupted him.

"Sorry, my attorney said to ask you for a card." I did my best to make it sound like a request and not a question.

"Your attorney?"

In my ear Shelley sounded suddenly cheerful, "Ooh, he did not like the sound of that."

The officer reached into his pocket and produced a business card which he handed to me. I glanced at his name badge and matched it to the card. "Thank you. Yes, I have my attorney on the phone. I figured you'd be coming but was hoping that either they or my parents would be available before you got here. I know we probably shouldn't have left the bank but I just couldn't sit there and look at all that..."

"Jimmy, don't!" Allison said, suddenly slapping her hand over her mouth and turning away. She paused for a second, then turned back and said, "Don't say it." I don't know how she did it but it was an academy award performance, she suddenly looked so white that I actually felt nauseous.

Seeing her obvious distress the officer's voice took on more of a note of concern as he went on, "I understand, Miss, but you really shouldn't have left. We need to get statements from both of you."

"No," Shelley said in my ear. "Tell him he's welcome to arrest you if he feels that's necessary but either way they will have to wait until your parents and possibly your attorney are available before any questioning."

"I'm sorry, officer, my attorney says you need to wait until our parents are available for questioning. She also said that you can arrest us if you feel that it's necessary but either way we're not to answer questions until they are available."

"May I speak to him?" he asked.

"Her," I corrected, handing him the phone.

"This is Officer Shear, to whom am I speaking? Yes ma'am, pleased to meet you, Mrs. Dietz ... sorry, my mistake, Miss Dietz. Yes ma'am, I know. I just go where they send me. As soon as I found out the parents weren't here I knew it was a bust, without a legal guardian present anything they said was pretty much useless anyway, but I had to at least push all the right buttons and hope we got lucky. You know how the DA can be. No, I don't know who's handling it yet, but this is an ugly one and between the DA and the FBI I just want to stay as far from ground zero as I can get. I need to ask that your clients stay here and not discuss the case with anyone until we've had a chance to talk to them though. Is that okay with you? Thank you, yes, here he is." He hand me the phone back.

"Hello."

"Mr. Matthews, unless there is anywhere you absolutely have to go today, I need you to stay home until the police get the chance to question you. Would that be a problem?"

"No, no problem at all. We figured that part out earlier and canceled our plans."

"Great, have you called your parents yet?"

"No, I didn't get the chance."

"Really, I assumed that would be the first thing you did. Why did you call us first?"

"It's a legal problem. My dad's a lot of things, but a lawyer he's not. If I only had one chance to call I wanted to make it count."

"Good thinking. I could have called your parents if necessary."

"I think he wants to talk to you again." Shear had been making the universal reaching motion that everyone uses in those circumstances.

"Miss Dietz? Shear again, ma'am. I was wondering if you could do me a little favor; maybe call downtown and pitch a little fit about me trying to question minors without a guardian present ... Yes ma'am, I just don't want them climbing all over me thinking I screwed this up. Oh nooo, I'm sure they would never think that." It must have been an inside joke because he was chuckling as he handed me the phone back. When I held it up to my ear she was too.

"Okay, we should be good until your parents get home, but if anything else comes up call me right away. I'll leave a message for Mr. Carruthers to call me as soon as he is available and one of us will get back to your parents to schedule a time to meet with the police if they want us there."

"I'll call my dad as soon as we're done here. Oh, one more thing; could someone point out to whoever is handling this whole mess that it would be a very bad idea for our names to be mentioned anywhere where the media might get wind of it?"

"Ouch," she said. "I'll bet Shear's eyes just got about two sizes larger."

I glanced at him. "That would be a yes. Thank you again for your help, Miss Dietz." I closed the phone and put it away. "Is there anything else we can do for you, Officer Shear?"

"Nope, we're good. Just remember that you're to stay here and not talk to anyone about anything that happened this morning," he glanced at Shannon, "until we've had a chance to get your statements, and everything will be fine."

I held out my hand. "Thank you for coming by. I hope we haven't been too much trouble."

He shook my hand as he answered, "Are you kidding, this is a cake walk compared to how I spend most of my time." Then he reached for Shannon's hand, "Shannon, nice to meet you. You did a good job of guarding the door. Do you baby sit? My sister is always looking for a good babysitter."

"Thank you. I have done some now and then but I don't drive so I'm kind of limited. I also play sports during the school year so my schedule can be a little rough, but if she's interested she can call me."

He fished another card out of his pocket and handed it to her with his pen. She started to write on it then stopped and gave him a sidelong look. "You're making that up aren't you? You don't even have a sister. You just want my phone number."

He was a good sport and went along, rolling his eyes as and looking embarrassed as he said, "Okay, you caught me. Yeah, I just wanted your number, you know, the uniform and the badge scare a lot of the girls away and well ... you know ... Nah, I really do have a sister, two actually, but the other one lives in Tennessee. Her name is Karen, Molly is the one here, and she has twin boys that are holy terrors ... oops, probably shouldn't have told you that part. Still want me to give her your number?"

"No problem, I have a brother, Mark, who is Jimmy's best friend and if I've managed to survive the two of them then her two junior hell hounds should be like a vacation."

"Okay, but you asked for it. Allison, sorry to upset you, try not to think about it a lot, and if whoever comes out starts pushing too hard, just throw up on them and they should back right down."

"Oh, aren't you sweet? But what if it's you that comes back?"

"Not likely. I'll probably be off shift by then and since you've already walked all over me they'll probably want a fresh face. Enjoy the rest of your day." With that he turned and walked back to his car.

Dad took the news well when I called him. He asked me for the number Officer Shear had left and made me promise not to mention anything to my mother about what had happened. That was kind of hard since she got home first, but between the three of us we managed to keep the conversation to lighter subjects. Dad had called her at work and told her not to worry about dinner that we would be having company and he would take care of it. He strolled in about fifteen minutes later than usual with two big bags of Chinese takeout. I couldn't help but wonder what he was up to, then I realized that someone was holding the door for him. It turned out to be a young woman, I guessed somewhere in her late twenties. She had that skin that everyone calls olive complexion, though I never understood why, she certainly didn't look like any olive I ever saw. She was wearing a very conservative gray pinstriped skirt suit, a scarf in place of a tie which exactly matched the lighter stripes of the suit, and a belt that almost melted into the top of the skirt. The low heels were the exact shade of gray as the suit. She had long dark hair which she wore straight down her back. She stepped in behind my father carrying a black satchel briefcase that looked like it had seen decades of service.

We were all surprised but my mother showed signs of actual shock. "Richard, you said we were having company; you didn't tell me it was going to be formal."

The woman stepped forward with her hand extended, "You must be Cyndi. Shelley Dietz, I'm with Cartifson, Carruthers, and Dietz, although I'm not that Dietz. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Matthews."

"Nice to meet you too. If you're my attorney and I kill my husband in front of you, can you be forced to testify?"

Shelley chuckled into her hand before answering, "No. Not if I'm your attorney. He didn't tell you I was coming?"

"No, he just said we were having 'company, ' not anything about who it was."

"Actually I'm probably not the company he is talking about. I'm here professionally." She looked at me. "Edward, I presume?" She extended her hand and I stepped forward to shake it. Up to that point she had been very convincing as a professional relaxed in her element meeting new clients. The handshake gave away that she was in fact somewhat nervous. I let it pass for the moment.

"Yes and no. I use J. Edward on most official paperwork. My first name is actually James and I answer to either one. This is my favorite sister, Allison."

"Your only sister, dork. Pleased to meet you, Miss Dietz."

"Okay" Mom said impatiently, "now that we all know each other, would someone like to tell me what is going on, please?"

"Why don't we sit down before everything gets cold," Dad said. "We can talk while we eat. Our other guest will be here in just over an hour. No, Cindy," he stopped her as she headed for the kitchen, "sit down. James, Allison, would you get the necessary dishes please? Miss Dietz, please sit down. Allison will be taking drink orders shortly. Cynthia, in case you didn't catch it, Miss Dietz is with Mr. Carruthers' office, you remember Mr. Carruthers from that little adventure we had back before Thanksgiving?"

"Yes, I remember him, did something happen? Has someone at the hotel been shooting off their mouths? Surely no one here has been talking."

"No, Miss Dietz is here as legal counsel in case she is needed when the police arrive to question the children. Now hold on," he said, cutting her off as she was about to speak. "There was a problem at the bank this morning and the kids were there when it happened."

"A problem at the bank?" she asked blankly. "What kind of... ?" You could see it sink in. "Oh my God, you don't mean... ? Richard Matthews! How dare you keep this from me! How could you? How long have you... , you knew when you called me, didn't you? Damn you, Richard, I had a right to..."

He cut her off, placing his hand on hers, "Cynthia, I know. I understand, but telling you would have served no purpose. The danger was passed, the children were safe, and we were not to talk about it to anyone until after the police arrive to take their statements."

"Mrs. Matthews," Shelley said, "if it's any consolation, I didn't know until earlier this afternoon. When your son first called, there wasn't time to go into any details."

"James called you? Why?"

"Because the police were outside wanting to question them, and they didn't want to say anything until they had had a chance to talk to you, and if necessary an attorney, regarding the fact that they left the scene of a felony before the police arrived. Now, before you say anything, let me assure you that they are in no serious legal trouble. What they did was technically illegal but in light of what happened I don't think anyone would fault them for not wanting to stay."

"Excuse me," Allison said, "we have water, iced tea, milk, or water."

"Just water, thank you," she answered, smiling at the small joke, and then turned back to my mother. "I was on the phone with Edward while he spoke to the officer and we made arrangements to meet with them when you could be present. He handled it very well. Now we can't get into details but we can discuss what to expect when they get here and what they are and are not allowed to do in regards to the children. I spoke this afternoon with the FBI agent in charge. In the interest of minimizing outside knowledge of the children's presence at the bank, the FBI will be taking their statements, not the local police. We have made it very clear, and this was your son's idea, that their names are not to be used in any public documents of any kind. The official police reports will list them as 'Male Minor' and 'Female Minor, ' as will the FBI report that is made available to the press. The copy containing their information will be sealed when the investigation is complete. Now to the important part, your husband promised me Kung Pao Shrimp..."

We talked more and got acquainted over dinner. The Dietz in the firm's name was in fact her grandfather; the satchel she carried had been his and was one of her most prized possessions. Her grandfather was retired but still retained a presence in the partnership. At such time as she earned it, she would be allowed to take over his vacated place in the firm. She figured she should be ready to fill his shoes in about fifty years or so, give or take. The firm specialized in corporate work and did very little criminal law, but Shelley had done a second concentration in criminal jurisprudence in law school so she was handling this particular issue as a courtesy to a client. I gave her most of the credit for how smoothly the evening went. The FBI was in and out in just about forty-five minutes and then we could finally relax. Well, Allison and I could relax. Dad was still in the doghouse big time.



-------

Chapter 4: New Partner


Rebecca

The Long Beach airport is one of Southern California's better kept secrets. Ask almost anyone in America about flying here and they only think of LAX. For almost exactly the same money you can fly into either Burbank or Long Beach and avoid a lot of stress. For one thing, Long Beach in particular is far enough off the beaten path that you don't have nearly the traffic problem getting to it. As a result, I was waiting in the terminal thirty minutes before my new partner was scheduled to arrive. One downside to Long Beach is that most of the parking is off site, and as everyone knows 'the white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only; there is no parking in the white zone.' Not in an unmarked car anyway.

I had no idea how close to schedule the flight was running or how much baggage my guest would be bringing along so I didn't really want to park off site and then have to go back for the car. Besides, I was on duty, I could be called and have to leave at a moment's notice. Okay, it wasn't really likely that anyone would need me badly enough to strand someone who had flown all the way in from Europe at the airport, but it could happen. I opted for the lesser of two evils and parked across the street opposite the service island where all the shuttles picked up passengers headed for local hotels or rent-a-car agencies. As soon as I got out I flagged the nearest cop, explained who I was and politely asked him to relay to everyone that I was meeting someone on official business and that the car would be gone as soon as they arrived.

Sure I could have just parked, flashed my badge and made them live with it but it never hurts to try and be polite when you're breaking the rules. Especially when there is nothing they can do about it. I could have parked on the sidewalk if I'd felt like it and all they would have been able to do is grumble about it. Of course if they made a stink about me parking where I was, I always had that option left anyway. One of the biggest perks is that my ID earns me a free pass into the gate area without being strip searched, and not only do I get to keep my gun but I can actually carry a cup of coffee in with me. The coffee actually caused more of a problem. I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea but someone came up with the idea of putting a Starbucks in the main ticket area. I know, I know, what's so bad about that? Nothing, except that you can't take liquids into the terminal area; thanks to the ingenuity of some of our less public minded neighbors around the globe even a sealed bottle of water was subject to forfeiture at the checkpoint. Now, I've never actually heard of anyone hijacking a plane with a hot cup of coffee, but try explaining that to Homeland Security.

Bypassing the line and stepping directly up to the metal detector I took out my ID and walked through. I actually like this part; it's always a guessing game whether or not the machine will pick up the fact that I'm armed. The Glock won't trigger a metal detector under most circumstances. Depending on the machine sometimes the brass casings of the bullets will, but the gun inhibits the detection field so it's not a sure thing. Being alone I knew I was going to trip the machine; if Paul had been with me I would have given him my keys just to pad the odds. Sure enough the warning chirp sounded loud and clear as I passed through. I immediately flipped open my ID and held it out for the security team to verify; all routine, nothing to worry about, if you're armed and planning to cause trouble, shoot the lady with the badge first because she's got a gun and knows how to use it. I felt so much safer knowing I had the Department of Homeland Security watching out for me. I should have just worn my FBI windbreaker; at least it would have made it easier for my guest to spot me.

The flight landed within minutes of its scheduled arrival time. I stood back out of the way and waited for my contact to find me. I assumed the brain trust in Washington would have given her a picture of me. They must have because within minutes a woman was standing in front of me. If Morticia Addams and Natasha from the old Bullwinkle cartoon show had a love child I imagine she would look like this. She was tall-ish, maybe five-ten, built like a runway model, small breasts, straight hips and all, with long straight black hair ending somewhere in the middle of her back. Take off ten more pounds, lose the tan and she could have been a well aged skeleton, but as it was, she had ... something, because the look somehow worked for her. At first glance I put her age somewhere in the early thirties. She was pulling a medium large carry on bag with a small purse on top and had a garment bag draped over her other arm.

"Rebecca Hampton?" she inquired with no trace of accent.

"Guilty as charged, and you are?"

"Dahrinka Henslith, Interpol Special Assignments, nice to meet you, I only have the carry on so whenever you are ready..."

"Drinka?" I asked, checking to see if I'd heard it correctly. The way she cringed at the pronunciation I knew I had missed it.

"Normally I make you buy the next round if you call me that, but since we've just met I'll let you slide the first time. Da-, there's an 'a-h' in the first syllable, and the rest is the way you would expect."

"Sorry about that, your parents obviously didn't like nicknames. Dah-rinka. I'll probably hit it a little hard until I get used to it, so please bear with me. Can I take one of those bags for you?" By now I had added five years to her age, still in the under forty bracket, but then, she was a woman and you never go past the big four-oh without a really good reason, like a death certificate or being introduced to one of their children who's already over thirty. Funny how that works: As they get older woman are more comfortable with someone thinking they were the town slut that got pregnant at twelve and that's the reason they have a twenty five or thirty five year old kid, than admitting they're over a certain age.

"Certainly," she said, handing me the garment bag. "Thank you."

"I was thinking more of the purse actually."

That got a laugh out of her and the ice was officially broken. Once we got to the car she was all business.

"I assume we will be briefing the rest of your team once we reach your office. How many are on the taskforce?"

I kept my eyes straight ahead and suppressed a grin. "Including you?"

"I am honored. Many agencies do not accept outsiders as 'part of the team' so quickly."

"Two."

A hint of accent snuck out in the shocked reply, "Pardon?" One word; not pardon me, or excuse you, which is a common phrasing error for Europeans not familiar with American English. Sorry, I'm an investigator by trade. I notice these things.

"We're it: You and me. I had a partner helping me with the kidnapping case, but we've sent him back to the geek squad unless or until I have a trail to follow and need him again."

Ooh, got a whole sentence this time! "Incroyable! Ces sont stupides, ils ne savent pas à quoi lis son à faire."

I spent two summers working in French convents during high school. I would have done another tour but by the end of my junior year I wasn't 'qualified' to work in a convent if you know what I mean. In addition to French I can get by in Italian and German, as well as swearing fluently in Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian if I have to; although my throat will hurt for two days, and I can order drinks in Belgian and Gaelic. I know just enough of the King's English to explain why there are no British restaurants anywhere in the world except on the island itself. I found it very interesting that a woman with a British last name and a Slavic first name should slip into French in a situation like this.

"Okay, I just had a high school flashback of Sister Maria smacking my hand with a ruler for swearing in the cafeteria. Let's see, we're idiots who couldn't find a bull in a china shop."

She held a hand up to cover her mouth as she giggled, "Close enough. My apologies but you must understand; the Sandman is not to be taken lightly."

"You're right, I don't understand. None of us do. That's why you're here. To fill in the blanks and either help me catch him or convince the powers that be that we need more people assigned to catching him. As of right now the briefing will be you, me, and Director Rodriguez. We'll be there in twenty minutes so you may as well save it and tell us both at the same time. So tell me about your trip. Did you enjoy Washington?"

The trip devolved into girl talk. She was personable, a good conversationalist, funny when the subject called for it. By the time we got to the office, we were chatting like long lost girl friends and I was absolutely certain that I didn't trust this woman and I never would. Not with anything really important, like my life. I could work with her, share information, do the whole catch the bad guy thing, but I didn't like her, and I would never trust her.

I was a little surprised at the reaction when we walked into the office. It was like one of the old E.F. Hutton commercials where suddenly everyone stops. This wasn't quite that dramatic but it was close. I just rolled my eyes and headed for Rod's office to check in and make introductions. Rod was on the phone when we walked in.

"Fine, I'll be expecting your report on my desk by tomorrow morning. Do you have a line on the one that took off? Good. Keep me informed." Rod stood and faced us as he hung up the phone.

"Director Rodriguez, Dahrinka Henslith, Interpol." I said. Dahrinka stood and extended her hand. Rod shook it.

"Inspector Henslith, welcome to Los Angles. On behalf of the entire agency I'd like to thank you for your assistance in capturing a very dangerous man. Won't you sit down? I've held the morning briefing off pending your arrival. While you will primarily be working with Special Agent Hampton, I do want everyone to know who you are and be familiar with your case in the event you need to call anyone else in for assistance. The same is true for other ongoing investigations. While I do not anticipate your actually being called in to assist I would rather you were prepared. Also, as I'm sure you're aware; an outside perspective can be very valuable. Now that you're here we can get started. Agent Hampton, if you could show our guest around and then meet everyone in conference room one in, say fifteen minutes."

I showed my guest all the important features of the office first; you know, bathroom, coffee pot, emergency exit, and of course, the center of the whole operation, Rod's secretary, Eleanor. We also both took a few minutes to freshen up and use the restroom before heading for the conference room There had been a venti cappuccino screaming at me for freedom since about half way back from the airport.

As I stepped out of the ladies room, my phone rang. The screen was blank which meant it was Jimmy. I had a brief moment of hope that he had found something but it faded quickly. If Jimmy had found something he would have called immediately, and considering his normal working hours, that would have been a lot earlier.

I flipped the phone open and answered, "Hampton."

"Hi Rebecca, it's Allison, have you got a second? I'm not interrupting something, am I?"

"Hello," I answered, glancing either way down the hall to make sure no one was near enough to overhear the conversation. There was no one really close, but it was a high traffic area. "I'm about to go into a briefing but I've got a few minutes, what's up?"

"I need Elizabeth Street's phone number."

That stopped me. "Hang on a second. Let me get to my office. I'm standing in a hallway at the moment." I was already in motion and it only took about thirty seconds to get to the relative safety of my desk. The thick glass walls that made up my cubicle didn't hide much but they did stop sound. Unless someone stuck an amplified mic up to the glass you couldn't hear anything less than a shout from inside. I settled into my chair and reached to unlock the filing cabinet containing the files on my current case. "Okay, I'm good; what's going on?"

"Jimmy's been avoiding going to see her for weeks. I want to call her and make sure she's going to be available tonight. With her schedule you never know."

"That's certainly true. Anything I need to know about?"

"No, I'm just concerned about why he seems to be avoiding her so I'm going to force the issue. There is something else that may come up but it's not really case related so we're going to wait and see if it involves you or not; it's too soon to tell right now."

I gave her the number and made her promise to tell me if anything interesting happened with Jimmy and Elizabeth. That cocky little bastard wasn't afraid of anything in dreams and I couldn't help but wonder why Easy made him nervous. Of course, my one encounter with her had left me a little nervous about her so who was I to judge. Come to think of it, would I want to be alone with her again now that I knew the truth, or at least her version of it? I almost wished I could tag along when they went to see her, but if anything I would just be a distraction. I was still daydreaming when Rod tapped on my door and broke me out of my reverie. Henslith was with him already so I put the file away, locked my filing cabinet, and followed them to the big conference room.

Rod updated everyone on the current status of ongoing investigations as well as informing everyone of a bank robbery that had taken place out in San Bernardino earlier. Details were still sketchy but what had apparently started as a well organized take over style operation had somehow gone wrong, resulting in the killing of most of the robbers by one of their own. Reports from the employees who had been briefly held hostage indicated that one of the robbers had freaked out for no apparent reason and started shooting his accomplices, plus one of the tellers whom they now believed may have actually been working with them.

At this news Dahrinka perked up and started whispering urgently to me. Rod's not big on side conversations at his briefings.

"Inspector Henslith, do you have something you would like to add to this discussion?"

Henslith looked appropriately embarrassed as she answered, "Forgive me, director, I did not mean to be rude, it may be a coincidence but a similar robbery took place in Sicily last spring. A group of five men took over a bank early one morning under the pretense of disaster recovery. One of the group was stationed outside and spoke to several passersby over the course of the morning, informing them that a sprinkler pipe had broken in the ceiling and that they were cleaning up and assisting with data recovery from the damaged computers. Later that evening after the employees failed to return home police were sent in and found the entire staff dead in a back room. They had all been shot once in the back of the head at very close range. Upon inspection of the bank's records it was discovered that one young woman, a fairly new employee was missing from the group. Nothing further was ever discovered. The killers got away with over half a million dollars in hard currency plus almost three times that amount in goods stolen from the safe deposit boxes in the vault. Shortly after that two high profile assassinations took place. It was speculated that the bank robbery may have actually been planned to raise money for those killings. A very large amount of money from the heist had been recovered from one of the assassins following the second killing."

"Were there cameras in the bank?" Rod asked. "Perhaps we could compare the video records to determine if it was in fact the same group."

"May I infer from that statement that these individuals made no effort to conceal their appearances from the hostages?"

"None."

"I have viewed the records from Sicily. I will know if it is them or if it is a... , what do you call it, a copycat?"

"The records will be here this afternoon, along with the employee's statements."

"Only the employees? Were statements not received from all of the witnesses?"

"Besides the employees there were only two others in the bank at the time. Bad luck really, a young man stopped by to put something in a safe deposit box. He left his sister waiting in the car. The outside security guard brought her in. They were gone before the police arrived."

"They were allowed to leave?"

"According to the bank personnel the girl was the one who called 911, then she freed the manager and as soon as her brother was loose, they took off. Said they didn't want to get stuck there all day. Oh, and they were the first ones to point out that the dead teller may have been in on the job."

"Most impressive, yet still, I cannot believe this was allowed."

"The girl was sharp. The kids were both minors and she knew they wouldn't be allowed to leave until their parents arrived. She also knew that the police could not make them give statements until their parents and/or an attorney was present. She pointed out that the bank had their information so the police would know where to find them if and when they wanted to talk to them. The first officers were on scene less than three minutes later but they were already gone. I'll make sure you see the reports and video as soon as they arrive. Any information you can provide that might help us apprehend the one still at large would be appreciated. Meanwhile, I believe you have some information for us on another matter."

He directed his attention once more to the group. "Listen up ladies and gentlemen; Inspector Henslith is on loan to us from Interpol. She has information for us about the serial that Agent Hampton has been after for most of the last year. Following the death of his latest victim, Angela Osborne, we were able to piece together enough information to make a positive identification. Our serial, it turns out, is a professional killer known internationally as 'The Sandman.' Inspector Henslith."

"Thank you, Director Rodriguez," Dahrinka said, stepping forward to take the podium. "First I would like to thank you all for allowing me to participate in your investigations. I know what a serious pain in the ass it can be to work with outsiders. I will endeavor to change your mind and leave you with a more positive attitude if you ever find yourself working with Interpol again. As you are now aware, our quarry is called 'The Sandman', and no, I am not talking about the arch foe of Peter Parker." There were several chuckles around the room. "The name is taken from the darker aspect of the childhood character your parents used to justify the grit in your eye when you awoke each morning. Only when this one visits you, you don't wake up.

"His real name is Rene Kurtz and up until about eight years ago he was an agent of Interpol just as myself." She paused to let that sink in. "Rene Kurtz did a great deal of undercover work in Europe under the name Kienan Reitz. He was so deep undercover that he actually appeared in the wanted files of several European law enforcement groups and the intelligence files of several governments. Eight years ago something went wrong. We got word that his cover had been blown. Regular means of communicating with Reitz were deemed unreliable so another agent was sent in to make contact and extract him. Of what happened next the details for a long time were unknown. What we did know was that Reitz killed the agent and went into hiding. It is believed that he went rogue somewhere along the line. Following his disappearance several other agents that he had worked closely with died, mostly under mysterious circumstances but two were killed publicly. Five years ago we thought we had killed him. He had been tracked to Nice following the assassination of a prominent French prosecutor. The agents that had tracked him were moving in when the boat he was staying on suddenly exploded. There was very little left to piece together and it was assumed he died. Obviously that was not the case. Despite his apparent death we kept watch and for five years it has been quiet. Attempts to hire him have gone unanswered, no sightings, not even rumors. Now suddenly here he is, half a world away masquerading as a model citizen, torturing and killing young girls for no apparent reason. If there were any doubt about his identity the manner in which he made his escape would be enough. It is too like his escape in Nice to be coincidence. The Sandman is your killer.

"Why he chose to come here, I cannot say. Why he changed his life so dramatically? Again, I cannot say; but as to the torture and killing of these girls, it points to a dark and terrible possibility. It is our belief that his past has finally caught up with him. This behavior we believe is a reliving of his past. Some time ago we learned the truth of what happened when our agent went to extract Reitz from his undercover assignment. She was captured by the very men that Reitz worked for. Somehow they knew who she was. They confronted Reitz with the truth, that he was in fact a spy placed in their midst. He, of course, denied it. As a test they set him the task of breaking the girl.

"In case you are wondering, this information came to us from a man who claims he was there at the time. He recently was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor in his brain and has since had an attack of conscience, wishing to make what amends he may before he must face his final judgment; his words, not mine. The agent sent to extract Reitz was a young woman. She and Reitz had worked together before and it was rumored that they had had an affair. Reitz tortured and raped her for eighteen days, made a plaything of her, watching as others abused her sexually like a living blow up doll. Finally, even those in charge grew sick of what they saw happening. That alone should give you some clue as to the nature of the abuse, that such as they would grow weary of it. They determined that no human being could have endured such punishment and abuse for so long when all they need do was denounce their tormentor. All she would have had to do at any time during those eighteen days was admit that Reitz was not who he claimed but a traitor in their midst and it would have ended. She would have still died, to be sure, but it would have been over. Now they had their proof but still they could not let her go. Reitz was ordered to kill her and dispose of the body. After being missing for almost three weeks, she was found in her apartment, cleaned, makeup applied, hair neatly combed, dressed in an evening gown, and quite dead. I can see from your faces that this all sounds familiar. Let there be no doubt, the Sandman is loose among you.

"Your killings point heavily to a breakdown of some kind. We fear that something inside him has snapped. He was a very dangerous man before; only one other has a higher body count on Interpol's most wanted list. We fear what such as he might do if released from the constraints of sanity."

Sam pulled one of the hat tricks he's famous for, "That would be the one you call The Black Queen?" he asked.

"I am impressed, Mr. Director. Yes, The Black Queen is now the most accomplished assassin on our list, but we feel that much of her recent success is greatly due to his being out of circulation for so long. Before the apparent death of the Sandman, she was second. His disappearance has opened doors to her that were closed before. Director Rodriguez." She nodded to Sam, indicating she was through with her part of the presentation.

"Thank you, inspector," he said, stepping forward once more. "Okay boys and girls, there you have it. We've got, have had, a major player in the park for years without knowing it. Personally I think he's still around, hiding out somewhere while he builds a new life for himself. Special Agent Hampton has been and will continue to be on point, but as of now, The Sandman is everybody's "other" case. Talk to your sources; knock on doors, whatever it is you do to put the word out. This guy is bad with a capital B-A-D. Make sure anyone and everyone knows that we want him. We don't care where the information came from. Look the other way if you're not sure of the source. I don't care if you meet in a confessional during High Mass, just get the information. The experts say his fuse is lit. Let's see if we can't put it out before he blows up and takes a bunch more people with him. Let's get to it.

We relocated back in Sam's office and Henslith went immediately on the attack. "Director, Agent Hampton, it is apparent that I have been lied to regarding the source of your information. This has been apparent since before I set foot in Washington. If someone had been close enough to identify this man then this someone would have been dead long before they could have shared the information with you. Why, may I ask, have we been misled in this fashion?"

We knew that question was going to come up sooner or later. Rod and I had discussed it at some length, arguing the point from every angle we could think of.

"The answer to that is complicated. There is no intent to mislead you in any way, inspector. The source of the information is ... obscure to say the least. Let me ask you, do you believe the information to be accurate? Are we in fact dealing with the Sandman?"

"Without doubt, if, the information is accurate."

"I will be as truthful as I can here, inspector, we don't know. Or rather, we're not sure. We have our suspicions, but no real way to confirm them."

"You are joking?"

"No, I'm afraid he's not," I said, taking the burden off of Rod. "Our source contacted me. He claimed to have knowledge of a murder. All he gave me was a name and a general description. I was ready to write it off but when I ran the name it flagged an unsolved case from three, almost fours ago now. That got my attention. Based on the nature of the information provided, we decided that our source is either the killer or an accomplice. In either case, the calls I get are random and untraceable. We assume a secure cell phone because every attempt to back trace the calls has failed. We are leaning towards accomplice based on the fact that until late this spring he, the killer that is, appeared to have no idea I was looking for him."

"But that makes no sense," she countered. "The Sandman always works alone, every successful assassin works alone. They do not trust anyone else not to screw up and get them caught. Historically there have been, from time to time, people who would work together on individual jobs that were simply too big for one to pull off successfully alone, but then it has always been just for the job and they part ways immediately. In over half of the known cases one of the two was killed within a year of the job being completed. There are no known instances of the Sandman working with another."

"Not even the Black Queen?" Rod asked.

"No, she is my second example. They were one and two respectively, now she is one because he was dead. Now, who knows what will happen if we do not catch him? Regardless, to consider him working with a partner for something as complicated as this? No, I simple cannot believe it. It is too involved, too complex to kidnap and imprison someone as he has done. To cooperate over that long a time period would allow too many doubts to creep in. Can I trust him, where has he been, did he do anything to attract attention, anything that might lead someone back to me. I tell you it could not be done."

"Come now, inspector," Rod said, "Haven't there been documented cases of actual couples involved in this sort of business?"

"Yes, but it has always, always, ended with one killing the other. I know of only three historically. Twice one betrayed the other. The last was a truly tragic affair; mutual enemies hired each of them to kill the other. Neither had ever turned down a job, in the end the wife killed the husband, then tracked down the men that had hired them both and killed both of them as well, then took her own life. She detailed the entire event in her diary, which she sent to police along with every bit of information on the criminal organizations that had hired them."

"Very well," I said. "Then based on the information we've given you, and your own knowledge and suspicions, do you have another suggestion?"

"Yes, I do," she said without hesitation. "You see the information that you have provided fits very closely with our working hypothesis of mental breakdown. You have stated that you considered the possibility that the killer himself is in fact the informant?"

"Yes," I answered, "but it made no sense based on his later actions. He kidnapped two girls before taking his latest victim. The first he used to smoke me out, the second to pin me down while he took the girl he wanted all along. Why would he go to such lengths if he already knew who I was?"

"He would not," she answered. "Or rather, the Sandman would not. Rene Kurtz on the other hand, might very well do anything he could to help you." She waited a few moments for that to sink in before continuing. "We are speculating that perhaps The Sandman is in actuality a rogue personality that has somehow taken over Kurtz, and then Kurtz, who was after all an agent of the law, may be fighting to stop him, stop himself. Perhaps there are lucid moments when he can break free, and he uses these to pass along information. It is only a theory. I myself did not believe it when I first heard it, and yet, I cannot help but wonder if perhaps it is possible."

Wow, she was really on it here. Interpol was speculating the exact same answer that we already knew was the truth.

"Why wouldn't he just turn himself in? Why go through the charade of playing cat and mouse with Rebecca for almost a year?"

That stopped her. "I do not know. Remember, it is only a theory. But you must consider that he tried to lure Agent Hampton to her death the night he killed the girl. Perhaps somehow he discovered what the 'other ' was doing and was merely trying to tie up loose ends."

"So what is our next move?" I asked.

"The next move is his. He is somewhere rebuilding as we speak. Recreating himself perhaps, as a new person. Fitting into a new life. How much time we have depends on how much he has left to do. If he is starting from scratch then it may be some time. If, as I suspect he has already done the basic work at some point in the past, then he could be ready at any time. We continue working with what you have already. We must do what we can to disrupt him. It is likely that he has other realities that he can slip into with little effort. Past disguises that he can use. The second girl, the one from Las Vegas..."

"Amanda Watkins?"

"Yes, she was discovered in a casino? Have you discovered how he was able to come and go so readily without being discovered? It is no easy task to move a dead body through such a place without being seen."

"Officially," I looked at her for a moment to make sure she understood my meaning, "we don't have any idea how he did it. Off the record, he hacked the casino's security feeds some time prior to the event and then just waltzed in when he was ready, left her and waltzed back out."

"That is no mean task. Rene was a wizard with electronics. Have you contacted the casino and given them his picture?"

"Of course not. Why would we do that?"

"Because with his picture they may well be able to assist us in back tracing his movements. Perhaps he worked under an assumed name there and that is how he gained access to the areas he needed. It is possible, although perhaps unlikely that he may frequent one or more of the casinos. They have facial recognition programs that may spot him for us."

"They would be more likely to take him out in the middle of the desert somewhere and drop him into a shallow hole. He embarrassed them, not something these people take well."

"True, but you could stress to them the importance of capturing him. Let them know that there are powerful people interested in speaking with him. Perhaps mention that he is a very dangerous man and that you would understand if he were injured during capture but that as long as he was intact when turned over to you that would suffice."

"We play by different rules over here, inspector," Rod sad. "We can't endorse that kind of thing. If it came out that we had sanctioned anything like that it could jeopardize any case we might have against him. He would walk on a technicality and then all our work would be for nothing."

"In which case you would simply extradite him to us to face charges abroad, I assure you he would not walk out of a European court on a technicality."

"Let's see if we can come up with some better options first. Eleanor has the keys to your apartment. Agent Hampton can take you there so you can get settled. It's furnished but if there is anything you need, just ask and we'll try to get it taken care of for you."

"That is very thoughtful of you, director."

"Don't thank me, thank your new partner. She was the one who pointed out that a hotel wouldn't be practical or comfortable if this investigation takes longer than a couple of weeks, and we don't really see it being that simple."

"Then I thank you," she said, giving me a polite nod. "Perhaps we can get something to eat along the way. I am still on Washington time and I simply cannot tolerate airline food."

"No problem, we've got this great little bistro down the street. We can get you a sandwich or something to hold you over and there is a supermarket less than two blocks from the apartment."

Helping Dahrinka get settled took up most of the rest of the day, then I went back to the office to catch up on some paperwork I had been putting off. A lot of agents complain about paperwork and reports but I have always found that if I can find a quiet time when I can sit and work on it without distractions it really helps, especially reports. If I'm not under constant threat of interruption it makes it a lot easier to concentrate and get the events in my head correctly. If I can get them straight in my head it makes it a lot easier to get them down on paper. I was working along merrily when my stomach growled. I glanced at my watch and found that it was already after eight o'clock. I realized I had been sitting at my desk almost without moving for almost four hours and suddenly my back and neck ached. Damn, I was supposed to call Bob an hour ago. I fished my phone out of my jacket pocket and hit the speed dial. I was a little disappointed when I got his voice mail.

"Hey, handsome, where are you? You get tired of sitting by the phone waiting to see if I was going to call? Sorry about that, I got caught up in some reports I've been putting off and lost track of time. It's a little after eight and I'm heading for home, so give me a call if you can. Miss you."

Why did I feel like I was in eighth grade every time I left that man a voice mail? The question brought back memories of my meeting with Elizabeth Street and the things she had said about me. Unnervingly accurate things that no one who didn't know me could possibly have guessed at. Things like my losing someone special and carrying a piece of them around with me. That would be Michael, my one time partner and husband. Or the sorrow and hope that colored my whole world, that would be my sister Amy. Or, and this was the part that was nagging at me right now. That I was in love with someone but hadn't admitted it to myself yet. Did I really love Bob?

I was saved from answering the question by my stomach growling again. I locked everything up and headed for the elevator. There is this great little Chinese place about five minutes from my apartment. How good? They had their own speed dial on my phone. Twenty minutes later I was trying not to drop my dinner or my windbreaker as I unlocked the apartment door. The smell from the little containers was not helping my stomach problem and it was all I could do to not open it up and nibble on the way home, but somehow I managed to contain myself until I got home. It had been a long day and I was looking forward to a little quality time in the tub after dinner. Just me, maybe a glass of wine, and that hunk of a teacher, if I could get him on the phone.

I made it through the door without wearing dinner, tossed my windbreaker on the couch and made a line for the microwave. I took out the little foil packets of soy sauce and put the rest in to reheat, then went to the bedroom to change. I can be a hell of a quick change artist when I need to be. I was just pulling up my sweats when the bell went off. I stepped into my big fuzzy slippers and pulled an oversize t-shirt over my head as I headed back out the kitchen. I don't know how I managed to miss it but I didn't even see the envelope on the table until I was sitting down to eat. Considering it was a nine by eleven manila envelope that wasn't there this morning you'd think I would have noticed it earlier. I must have been more tired than I thought. Once I finally noticed it alarms started ringing in my head.

One nice thing about microwave dinners, they re-heat almost as well the second time.

I set my plate on the counter and stared at the table for about ten seconds, wracking my brain for any reason I might have left a large manila envelope on the table. Nothing came to mind. Shit. I called Rod.

Two hours later the team had finished dismantling my apartment and found ... nothing. Not a fingerprint, fiber, or hair follicle out of place. Back at the lab we confirmed the envelope was spotless. Why was I not surprised? Rod and I stood watching as the tech opened the envelope and removed five 8X10 glossies of me meeting Henslith at the Long Beach airport.

Four of the shots were from different locations inside the airport. The last was a shot of the two of us leaving the terminal.

"Looks like you've got a fan," the tech said.

"That's one word for it," Rod answered. "I want a team at the airport tonight. Bex, I want you to walk them through every step you took. I want every second of video from two hours before you got there until an hour after you left. Take copies of these with you, find the angles, figure out where he was, let's see if we can find him. I want a team on you..."

"No!" I said, cutting him off. "No way,"

"Agent Hampton, this is not open to debate. You have a professional killer stalking you and..."

"And if he wanted to kill me he could have done it by now. That's what this says, Rod. He's just fucking with me. You're looking at this wrong, this is a good thing, it means that he's still in the area, and he's worried enough about what I'm doing that he's watching..."

It was his turn to cut me off; the difference is I hadn't actually raised my voice when I did it. "Yes, and if he gets nervous he won't think twice about putting a bullet in your head."

The last thing I wanted was a shadow, I stood my ground and now it was my turn to raise my voice, "And if he decides to kill me, a bus load of agents lurking in the shadows won't stop him. You heard Henslith, he's a pro, and he's former intelligence. Hell, Rod, he's probably expecting you to put someone on me. What if that's exactly what he wants?"

"Why would he want that?"

"He wants to make a point," the tech offered.

"Excuse me?" Rod asked.

"Sorry sir, but I think she's right. If it were me and you put a tail on my target, I'd kill him just to show you that it was a futile gesture." He turned to me, "Killing the tail would send the message that I could have killed you just as easily and that they can't protect you."

I nodded agreement. "The logical next step would be putting me in a safe house, which gets me off his case at the very least. He's right, Rod, if you're going to put someone on me it better be someone you don't like."

"That's not funny, Bex."

"Yeah, I know, you'd do the job yourself first. Look, this has all been done for a purpose. He wants to see what we'll do, what I'll do. Well, my first choice would be to go home and go to bed but obviously that's not going to happen. Fuck! I was so looking forward to a long soak and a good night's sleep. Call the team and tell them to move their asses, I'll be at the airport." Then I had an evil thought. "In fact, I think I'll go wake up my new partner and take her along."



-------

Chapter 5: Where to begin

The bank job had been all over the news since the police rolled on the call. If Allison and I hadn't made it out when we did it was unlikely we would have been able to stay out of all the pictures and video. It had been a long and stressful day so getting to sleep was no serious obstacle at all. Almost as soon as Allison snuggled into my shoulder I was out, making the transition from asleep in my bed to 'awake' in my hammock in the glade. The first thing I did was feel for tonight's target group. I wasn't worried about Shannon; her key would bring her to us as soon as she got to sleep anyway. Parry and Mikkelson were still missing in action, but then it was still early so this was no real surprise. Also not surprising was that Easy was not available yet either. Allison had asked her to try and be available but her idea of an early night was home by midnight. Amber was sleeping peacefully but I decided to leave her to her own dreams as much as possible unless she started having nightmares about her experience or until Bob came up with some way that I may be able to help her through her trauma.

Allison popped into the hammock next to me, still curled into the same position we had just fallen asleep in. "I love waking up next to you almost as much as falling asleep next to you. So, where are we going first?"

"Well of the local people, Amber is the only one currently available, so how about dropping in on Samantha first."

"Should we test her or just show up?" Allison asked.

"We can do both. I don't think we have to be so elaborate though. We'll just show up and see how she reacts. I've got a lot on the schedule and I want to be free to move on if something more urgent presents itself."

"I'm glad you said it that way. Besides catching Angela's killer, nothing else we have would be more important than helping Samantha, but several qualify as being more urgent. Sam's situation sucks but as far as I know, no one's life or sanity is in immediate danger. So, Sin City, here we come."

It turned out Samantha was dreaming of school so when we arrived we just blended in with the lunch crowd and walked up behind her. I noticed the bracelet I had given her was on her wrist so we were definitely in her dream.

"Is this seat taken?" Allison asked. Samantha glanced at her and started to scoot over then did a double take as she realized who it was. She glanced around quickly but I was standing behind her so she couldn't see me. When she didn't see me she answered Allison.

"No, help yourself, there's plenty of room."

"How about for two?" I asked. She turned slowly and to a casual observer there was no hint of recognition in her eyes.

"Like I said, plenty of room." She turned back to her apple and I noticed she seemed to be watching a group of girls at another table.

Allison sat down next to her and extended her hand, "I'm Alice, by the way. I'm kind of new around here."

Alice is the name that Allison uses when we are with outsiders in dreams. She picked it because it's close enough to her real name that she would be less likely to miss it if someone called her by name to get her attention. She also looked like a girl from my freshman psychology class named Marsha. Shannon has a different dream persona for outsiders as well. She looks like Angela had before her life had been ruined and she'd had to cut off her hair to go into hiding. If she showed up Samantha would know her as Sharon.

"Pleased to meet you," Samantha said, shaking her hand. "My name's Samantha. Is this your first day?"

"Don't be silly, Sam. I know who you are. I just meant it was my first time 'here' at school with you. I think every time has been at your house. How have you been?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. I don't think I've ever met you before."

I reached and placed my hand on her shoulder. As soon as I touched her the bracelet she was wearing changed to her sister's charm bracelet. As soon as it changed she jumped up and threw her arms around Allison. "Oh, it's really you! I'm so happy to see you both. It's been so long." As soon as she jumped up to hug Allison I lost contact and the bracelet returned to its original appearance but she already had the confirmation she needed that it was in fact really us.

"Hello, Samantha," I said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "I'm sorry it's been so long since we came to see you. It's just that it's been a busy summer."

"I know," she said, suddenly very serious again, "and the paper said he got away again. I know that must be hard on you, working so hard like that and then losing him at the last second. But the paper said the FBI almost had him, so your work wasn't wasted."

"I know, but he still got away. He's still running around free and able to do it again to someone else." I couldn't look at her, couldn't meet her eyes.

"Oh my God," she said suddenly, her hand going to her mouth as she spoke. "You knew her. The girl he killed; you knew her, didn't you?"

I'm sure she thought I turned away out of pain, and she was partly right, but mostly I was afraid she'd see the truth if she saw my eyes. Thankfully, Alice rescued me. "We all did. Sucks big time, I mean it would have been just as horrible if it had been a stranger, but it wouldn't have been so personal. That's one of the reasons we haven't been around. We needed time to let things settle and deal with it. We just wanted to let you know that we haven't forgotten about you."

"Forgotten about her?" Sharon's voice came from nowhere. Suddenly she was there with us, she grabbed Samantha's arm and pulled her away from us and then spun her around while hugging her, "As if!" She leaned in quickly and gave Samantha a kiss on the cheek. "How have you been? I've been worried about you. Are you doing okay?"

I couldn't help but look quizzically at Sharon; I'd only ever heard that tone in her voice when she was speaking to Allison. It made me wonder if maybe she was beginning to take, or had already developed, a more serious interest in Samantha and her plight. Before Sam could answer she went on, "And why are you at school? I mean, it's summertime. Don't you get time off during the summer?"

"Actually, I had most of last month off. We're on a year round schedule," Samantha answered.

"Even so, why come here in your dreams? Couldn't you think of some place a little more fun."

Samantha's attitude was suddenly serious again, her eyes downcast. "I had to be sure." She turned and pointed to the table she had been watching earlier. "That girl over there, the one in the plaid skirt, she's going to be punished for disobedience. She talked to someone she wasn't supposed to."

"Oh God," Sharon said, "That's awful. But why put yourself through all this? It already happened so there's no way you can change it here."

"I need to be sure that she didn't do it while I was assigned to watch her. If she did, then I could be punished along with her, because I didn't report it, so I was trying to go over it all again to see if I missed anything."

My mouth was suddenly dry but Allison was almost white. "But if you've been off all month, then this had to be weeks ago, at least," she said. "How could they be thinking it was something you missed from so long ago? Wouldn't they have said something sooner? When did they tell you all this?"

"They didn't. I heard about it from Doctor Hendricks."

"You mean he warned you? Won't he get in trouble?"

"I don't know. I don't know what they do to the men if they break the rules. It could even be a test to see if I will report that he told me. But I will risk it for him because he has always been kind to me, even more so since Amanda died."

"But it could mean you getting punished," I said.

"It could mean that anyway so the risk is the same either way. Please don't worry about me, I'll be okay. I'm sure you have more important things to do."

"No," Allison said, placing a hand on Samantha's shoulder, "more urgent maybe, but not more important. Truthfully, we were sort of forcing Jimmy to take a break after Angela died, to take time to deal with it before jumping in again. But we're ready to get back to work now. One thing we wanted to know is if there have been any problems with your dad. Has he been having more bad dreams, or acting like something may be bothering him?"

"No, not that I've noticed. Mother hasn't said anything to indicate anything out of the ordinary. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing serious, we've just noticed that with a couple other people that Jimmy gave bad dreams, they tended to linger, so we wanted to check and make sure as best we can. I wish we could stay longer, but we've got a couple of other people to see." She stood and moved in front of Samantha, hugging the girl tightly. "But you'll be seeing more of us soon."

Allison moved back and I leaned down to kiss Samantha lightly, "I'll be back for you soon, I promise. However long it takes, I will find a way to stop this." When I kissed her, her hands came up to hold my head, stretching the kiss out.

"I know you will. Thank you."

I popped up a door and said, "If they give you a bad time about not turning Doctor Hendricks in, tell them you thought it was a test to see if you could be trusted." Then we went to the cabana to decide on the next move. I had a pretty good idea where Allison would want to go. Shannon had the same idea.

"So, do I finally get to meet the world's greatest sex therapist?"

Allison laughed and said, "I don't think that's how she thinks of herself, but unless Parry or Mikkelson is available, then yes, I think it's time to go see her. Jimmy?"

"No, neither one is there yet," I took a deep breath, suddenly nervous. "I guess it's time. She's waiting for us."

"Waiting for us?" Allison asked, "What do you mean waiting for us?"

"Duh," Shannon said, "you told her we were coming?"

"I know, but ... Jimmy, I know you can tell if others are dreaming, even where they are, but are you saying you can actually feel, or sense, her anticipation?"

I knew what she was getting at, "Yes, and you're right; this is different than what I normally feel with others, even from what I feel with Amber."

She smiled. "Very good, you didn't even hesitate over the name." She kissed me on the cheek. "I know it's hard but..."

I interrupted her, "But it's important. I know. Thanks for being such a monstrous little bitch about it. I don't know if I could have done it without you. So, do we go see her, or bring her here?"

"Oh, now there's a thought. What do you think, Shannon?"

"Oh, let's have some fun. Water slide!"

I kind of mentally closed my eyes and pictured Easy in my head. Immediately her dream started to take shape in my mind, she was sitting lotus fashion on the big bean bag in her room wearing torn jeans and a spaghetti strapped crop top which did a wonderful job of accenting her breasts. Apparently even this light contact was enough for her to notice me as she suddenly looked up and started to turn to face me. Her eyes met mine and she started to speak, "About time you got he-eeeek!" The word elongated into a scream as the beanbag suddenly dropped out from under her and she fell into a pool of water and then down the slide. I used a larger slide with more water just because she was still in jeans. I could have changed her clothes, but ... one shock at a time. Moments later she splashed down into the warm water of the lagoon. Zeus and Hera, the alphas of the dolphin pod that hung out there, chittered excitedly at her arrival. The three of us popped out seconds later.

"Oh my God, that so freaked me out," she said when we came up for air.

"I hope I didn't scare you," I said.

"At first it scared the crap out of me, but that was just the initial shock. I knew it was you so I wasn't worried. Most slides don't have that much water in them though. It's kind of different with so much; you really move."

"I added more because you were in jeans; more water, more weight, more momentum."

"Yes, I've taken basic physics, thank you." She turned in the water. "You must be Shannon."

"Nice to meet you," Shannon answered. "Why don't you put on your bathing suit before those jeans suck you under? This is Jimmy's place so you have as much control as in your own dreams. Jimmy, this was fun but I think we might be more comfortable talking inside."

Suddenly we were all sitting waist deep in the sunken area of the cabana, the girls, except for Easy, had already dried their hair. She was also still in her wet jeans and crop top.

"Sorry," I said. "If you'd rather we could sit on the couch instead."

"No, this is fine, but I don't have my suit with me. No one told me I would need to pack." She gave me a very interesting grin and said, "Of course I'm not opposed to skinny dipping..."

"Oh my God!" Shannon exclaimed, interrupting her.

"What?" Allison asked.

"I just realized," she said, looking at Elizabeth. "We're already naked to you, aren't we? You don't see our clothes."

I realized it had been a long time since I'd seen Allison blush like that; she turned the prettiest shade of pink as Easy's grin got bigger and she shook her head.

"You're quick. Nope, not a stitch, all I see is you."

Allison recovered quickly, "Well, in that case... ," suddenly she was sitting naked beside me. Shannon immediately lost her suit as well and both looked expectantly at me. Easy stood up and peeled her wet top off and began unsnapping her jeans. Her breasts were very nice, about the same size as Amber's but with larger nipples. She slid out of her jeans to reveal she wasn't wearing any panties either. I noticed she had changed her pubic hair from the images I'd seen of her earlier in the year. Then it had been waxed into a narrow vertical stripe, now it was in the shape of a little arrow pointing the way to heaven. I just rolled my eyes and shook my head as I felt myself responding to all the suddenly visible real estate. I mean, I'd seen her naked in dreams before. Heck, I'd seen her doing all kinds of things before, but that was just observation, this - this was personal.

"We're not going to get any work done tonight," I said.

She giggled and glanced toward my lap. "Why thank you. It's always nice to be appreciated. I'm glad you approve."

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not nice to tease?" Shannon asked. "What's not to approve? You're beautiful. He approved before, the only thing that's changed is that now he's drooling."

Easy leaned over and kissed Shannon lightly on the cheek, "So are you, and it's only teasing if you don't plan to follow through. I can see you all share, and that you all want me, but if you're not into strangers I understand."

"Thank you, Elizabeth," I said. "We're not, but you're not really a stranger, and I think we all have every intention of getting better acquainted with you at the earliest opportunity, but right now we have work to do. Naturally we were surprised when Rebecca told us you could see us. The question is do you see us the way you see other people or is it different in dreams?"

"Different, very different. It's much more intense. I mean, it's hard to explain, I see you, but I don't think I'm seeing just you."

"I think I know what you mean. You told Rebecca that I reflect and enhance Jimmy's glow. Is it different this time?"

"Yes, way different. With all three of you here, if I hadn't already seen you and Jimmy together, I don't think I would have been able to tell you and Shannon apart."

"Can you read us the way you did Rebecca?" Allison asked.

"No way, not like this. It's hard enough just keeping you separated."

"That's what I thought. Sha, can you excuse us for a second. I want to see if it makes a difference."

"Sure, no problem."

Just like that she faded out and was gone.

"Is that better?" Allison asked.

"Yes! Now that it's just the two of you... , it's weird though. I've seen you like this before, but now, it's like part of you is missing, Jimmy too, but... ," she stopped and looked at me closer. "There's something different about you. Something... , I don't know." She moved closer. "Something's happened. There's a, a sadness, but that's not it. I can't tell; I'm sorry."

Shannon popped back in and suddenly Elizabeth staggered and almost fell over. "Whoa! That was intense. It was like all of a sudden someone shined a spotlight in my head."

"I'm sorry," Shannon said, reaching out to steady her. "Next time I'll use the door."

"Thank you." She said, sitting down suddenly. "Wow, talk about intense. It's not just that your glow was back but both of theirs jumped up at the same time. Weird."

"Okay," Allison said, "I want to try something else. Shannon leaving helped you to see us better, this time we're both going to go. First we're just going to move farther way, out on to the beach, then we'll walk back in, I want to see if that makes more of a difference for you. Then we'll leave again, except this time we'll go somewhere else so you are totally alone with Jimmy and see if that makes more of a difference." She got up and kissed me, then took Shannon's hand and the two of them disappeared.

Immediately Elizabeth looked more relaxed.

"I take it that's better?"

"Yes, thank you. She was right; I can see more detail now. Jimmy, I didn't need them to leave to tell that there is a difference. You and Allison alone was enough to tell me that, and being alone with you will make it easier to tell more, but since I haven't really been alone with you before I won't be able to give you any details on what may be different."

There was a knock, then the door opened and the girls walked back in. "Did that help?"

"Yes it did," Elizabeth told her. "Could you do me a favor; step back out and close the door, then open it again."

Without hesitation the girls did as she asked, closing the door and the opening it to come in once more.

"Thank you. I was right. If neither of us can see you then you don't affect what I see, but as soon as you opened the door, your glow impinged and Jimmy's went up. I don't know if it's because he sees you or because you see him, but either way it changes with proximity. It would be interesting to see if you could sneak up on us if we weren't watching."

"Interesting," Allison said. "You can't have had time to get much done, so we'll leave you alone for a while longer this time." Beside her I could see the sudden glint in Shannon's eye and I had a pretty good idea how they were going to distract themselves, either that or she had ideas on how we were going to be spending our time alone.

"I'm curious, Elizabeth... ," I started after they had gone.

"Call me Lizzy, it's a name I reserve for friends, but like Alison said, we're not strangers, although I can't think of two stranger people ever in one place. Let's face it, Jimmy, we're not like other people, we're special, gifted, chosen by God to do His work."

"I don't think most churches would call what we do Godly. Your gift uses sex to accomplish His work, and mine... , well; mine has its own problems."

"Something happened, didn't it?" she asked, looking at me intently.

"You could say that."

"I can see it, now that they're gone. They didn't have to go so far, though I think they won't be missing us very much. Can we move over to the couch?"

"The water distorts your vision?" She nodded. "That's weird. It's not even real water. Do clothes interfere?"

"Only if they're wearing a lot; the more layers, the worse the distortion."

"So watching a lover undress is just as much fun for you as it is for us?"

"Oh, you can't imagine," she said with a grin, but then she grew more serious as she looked at me. She drew in close, beginning to run her hand above me, close but not touching. "You have a deep and abiding love for both of your ladies; they are truly a part of you." Her hand moved a little. "There is another though, this one shrouded in pain and loss, and yet ... not. You're hiding something; you have a strong sense of justice; a passion that burns within you; a flame to rival your love for those close to you, and yet it is darkened; it now causes you pain. There is ... it's gone! It was there! I saw it! For a moment it was as if there was someone else hiding inside you."

Without warning she slapped me hard across the face. Shock and anger flared through me briefly, but I pushed it aside since it was obvious she was doing it for a purpose.

"I knew it! It was there, again, but you... , you pushed it away."

"I was angry because you slapped me, but I knew you had to have a reason so I pushed it away. It's a trick Rebecca taught me to keep myself from letting the things I have to deal with overwhelm me."

"Compartmentalizing. I do the same thing; it keeps me from becoming too attached to those I help."

"You're afraid of falling in love?"

She turned away and I could almost feel the sadness that was in her. After a few moments she answered, "No, not afraid, in fact I dream about it. Not often, but sometimes. It is the price of my gift. Love means ties, ties that hold me back and keep me from His purpose."

I gently took her chin and turned it back so I could look into her eyes. "God would never put such a price on a gift. It is against his very nature to deny his children love." I leaned in suddenly and kissed her gently on the mouth. She returned the kiss, and as it grew I felt a warmth begin to grow in my chest.

"Wow," she said when she broke the kiss. "Now that was a kiss. You're what, sixteen? I'd chalk it up to all the practice you get with those two little hotties you hang around with, but I know better. That's natural talent, and something else."

"What do you mean something else?"

"I'm not sure. Kiss me again."

I leaned forward and gently caressed her lips with mine, nibbling gently at her lips before sending my tongue in search of a playmate. It only took a second for one to show up and we danced together in the ballroom of our mouths to music only we could hear.

"I knew it!" Shannon's voice came from the area of the doorway. I turned to see her glance at Allison and say, "You owe me."

"It's not what you think." I said.

"Really" Allison asked. "She wasn't trying to read you with her other senses to see if she noticed anything out of place?"

Shannon just grinned and said, "That's so not what I was thinking."

Easy absolutely cracked up, practically rolling on the floor, the waves of laughter causing her breasts to do simply amazing things. I just sat back and watched the show as the girls made their way over to us from the doorway. Finally she recovered herself and said, "Allison, you are simply too much. Tell me the truth, was that really the first thing you thought, or did you think we were just making out for the fun of it?"

"I was pretty sure it was research of some kind and you were obviously enjoying it, but I don't have a problem with you enjoying your work."

"Right on both counts," Easy said. "I expressed a sad thought I sometimes have, a realization or rationalization that I came too some time ago. Jimmy said something that contradicted my assumption and then he kissed me."

"Lucky you," Shannon said. "He doesn't kiss many girls. Angela practically had to rape him to get one."

"I'm not surprised. He doesn't seem like a casual kiss kind of guy, not real kisses, not the kind that count. Anyway, the kiss was just so... , oh, indescribable really, but I noticed something just before he kissed me, an elusive something that I had tried to pin down suddenly rushed in out of nowhere. You came in on the second one, and while it was pretty spectacular in its own right it was not the same as the first one. I noticed as we kissed the second time that something was different. Whatever rushed to the table the first time seemed to be hiding this time. It's very weird. Who's Angela?"

"Just a friend," Allison answered. "Jimmy was her prom date."

"Was?" Easy asked quizzically.

"She ... died," I said, averting my eyes.

Easy looked at all of us in rapid succession, a confused expression growing on her face as she did so. "You're lying, all of you, but why? Why lie to me about someone in your past unless... , unless you're trying to hide something." She suddenly looked at me more intently. "That's it, you're hiding something, but why would you be... ? Oh my God! Angela? Angela Osborne? The girl he took? She was your friend. But that means what you're hiding is ... she's alive!" She stood up and stared down at me. "Isn't she? She's alive and you're scared to death that someone will find out. Someone almost killed her. What could possibly be risked by... ? He doesn't know! He thinks she died in the explosion, but that means you'd have to pretend she died -- hide her. Oh no, oh God, please tell me you didn't send her away."

She stared into my face for a second and then dropped her face into her hands. I could only stare as she seemed to freeze in place, not even breathing, then the tremors began and it was obvious she was crying. The girls practically tackled her they were on her so fast, hugging her while stroking her hair and back.

Shannon immediately started whispering softly to her, "It's okay, baby. It's okay, yes she got away but that's a good thing. If just means she has to hide out and make him think she is dead until we can catch him."

"No," Easy sobbed, tears flowing freely down her face. "You don't understand, you can't understand, you've left her alone. You've taken everything that meant anything to her and put it to the torch. Jimmy, you have to take me to her, now, right now, take me to her, please. You don't know what she's going through, Jimmy. I do, I understand. I have to go to her, help her. Please, Jimmy, please let me see her."

I couldn't believe the sudden change in her, the emotional swing, but seeing it I realized, people and emotions were her world; that's what she did, cured emotional problems. Maybe she was right, and maybe she could help. Certainly no one else had been able to.

I've learned not to rely on my own judgment unless I don't have a choice. This was a big decision, but fortunately I had my chief advisors here to help. I glanced at Allison and she nodded slightly when our eyes met. A quick glance at Shannon showed eyes full of tears and an imploring look that almost matched Lizzy's, but this was a big decision, letting an outsider in on the secret of Angela's survival, and I didn't want it made on an emotional level.

I kissed them each on the nearest available cheek or forehead and said, "I'll be back," and then moved to my office to talk to Bob. I didn't even bother calling him, but just pulled him there as I went. He showed up in a pair of cargo shorts, aloha shirt, and Birkenstocks, with a camera around his neck. I didn't even wait for an explanation but jumped right in.

"I need your advice on something. We may have been overlooking a way to help Angela that's been right under our noses all along."

"Really, what's that?"

"Not what, who," I answered. "Elizabeth Street. I think we've been so concerned with keeping the knowledge of Angela's survival a secret that we blinded ourselves to the obvious. We've only been considering people involved in witness protection. As you know, Allison has been after me to go visit Lizzy ever since Rebecca met her. For some reason we never got around to it. Well, we went tonight and as soon as the subject of Angela came up she knew we were hiding something. She knew the official story from the news but she just looked at us and knew we were lying. From there it took all of about fifteen seconds for her to figure out that we had Angela in hiding. Bob, she practically begged me to take her to her. She was in tears by the time she figured it all out. She's at the cabana right now with the girls. Bob, I want to take her. I think it's worth a try and nothing else has apparently worked so we don't have anything to lose. She won't really know where Angela is and even if she did I can't see her doing or saying anything that would result in a leak so..."

He finally held up his hands and interrupted me, "Whoa, slow down there, son. You sound like Allison telling Shannon about a new store at the mall. Okay, you met with Easy and she figured out that Angela is alive and you're covering it up. I guess that's not surprising, I've suspected that at least part of what she sees is a person's aura, so lying to her would be damn near impossible. Tell me, why do you think she can help?"

"That's what she does, Bob, she heals emotions. Sheriff Dobbs, the girl at her school that she said was suicidal, actually she said there were two people, but she only told Rebecca about one. The things she saw and described in Rebecca were all emotional reactions to her life. I've read stories about empaths, but they were all fiction, and they always portrayed the person as being able to feel the emotions of others, even control them. The Mule in Asimov's Foundation books, Foster's character Flinx, others that I can't think of their names. Lizzy sees emotions; sees emotional damage, sees the scars and the cancers that eat at people, and somehow she heals them. Unties the knots. I think she can help."

"You've been giving this a lot of thought."

"No, I haven't. That's why I wanted to talk to you before I did anything. I just realized all this tonight, starting about ten minutes ago, and I don't want to rush into a bad decision."

"You're growing up. She sounds like a fascinating girl, I think I'd like to meet her and..."

The scene changed and suddenly we were back in the cabana. The girls were all snuggled in a pile on the bed with Lizzy in the middle. They were also all wearing matching swim suits.

"I didn't mean right now," Bob whispered as the girls began untangling themselves and sitting up.

Truthfully I was just as surprised as he was. I hadn't moved us.

"You could have knocked," Shannon said with a smile. "Or called and warned us you were bringing company."

I froze Bob and Lizzy so we could talk.

"I didn't know we were coming. We were talking in my office, I was telling Bob why I thought Easy could help Amber when he said he'd like to meet her; suddenly we were here. It's a good thing you all decided to put clothes on."

"We didn't," Allison said. "They showed up at the same time you did; I thought you did it."

"It wasn't me."

Out of nowhere a voice said, "Yes it was."

That took me totally by surprise, I could swear it was Lizzy but when I looked she was still frozen on the bed. I glanced at Shannon to see if maybe it had been her that had spoken. "What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything," she answered. I glanced at Allison.

"I said I thought you sent the swim suits and you said it wasn't you."

"But then you said, 'Yes it was, ' or at least I thought you did."

The voice came again, "I said it," and this time I was sure it was Lizzy.

It was apparent from their faces that neither of the girls had heard that either. Allison was looking quizzically at me. "Jimmy, what's going on?"

I released Lizzy and she sat up. "Thanks, that's a lot easier. It was you. Or at least I think it was you. I've been thinking about what I saw, or thought I saw earlier. There's something inside you, something 'else' is all I can call it, I can't focus on it, it hides from me, but it's there. It's what I felt in the kiss, what responded when I slapped you."

"You slapped him?" Shannon asked in a voice carrying hints of both shock and a little anger.

"It was research, Sha," Allison said. "She's confirming what we already suspected." She looked at Lizzy, "And you're saying this ... something, used Jimmy's power to move him and Bob here, and put suits on us before they arrived?"

"Yes."

"Too weird. But it does explain... ," she let the sentence fade. "So what just happened then? I mean, you froze the scene, but then you acted all weird and turned Lizzy -- do you mind if I call you Lizzy?"

"No, I think I'd like that."

"Thanks, you turned Lizzy loose before we even got a chance to talk about anything."

"You mean you really didn't hear her?"

She and Shannon exchanged looks and it was Shannon that answered, "You mean you did? Jimmy, she was frozen. Her lips couldn't even move."

"I know, it made no sense to me either, but I heard her."

"Weird!" Shannon exclaimed. "What is it, like some kind of dream telepathy? 'Cause that would be way cool."

"I don't think so," I said and froze Lizzy again. "Say something."

"I want to play connect the dots with your two girlfriends." The two girlfriends in question just stood there, obviously waiting for something that wasn't happening.

"Say something else."

This time I put my hands over my ears as she said, "I have these really cool, edible, body paints that I'm just dying to try out."

The sound actually came through muffled just as you would expect. I released her again and said to the girls, "And you didn't hear any of that."

"Nope, not a word," Allison said. "Lizzy, what were you thinking when Jimmy froze you? Could you even tell that he had done it?"

"Yes, I knew he had stopped time for the two of us. As for what I was thinking, I could still hear you talking and I wanted you to hear me."

"Uh, speaking of the 'two' of them, don't you think we're letting this drag out a little too long for Bob?" Shannon asked.

"Oh shit!" Allison said. "Everybody back where you were. Damn, I don't remember... , Jimmy, just put us back."

It never even occurred to me that I could, but I did it anyway, then unfroze Bob.

"Elizabeth, this is Robert, he's one of my advisors. I'd like for you to talk to him about Angela before I take you to see her."

"Very pleased to meet you, Miss Street. Please call me Bob."

"Hi Bob, you a shrink? You look like a shrink."

"Really?" Bob said in a somewhat excited tone, "I must say, Miss Street, you fascinate me. What does a shrink look like to you?"

"Kind of like a human shaped doll house. There are all these separate little rooms, one for each client's secrets and problems with you kind of sprayed on over the top. You're the one Rebecca's in love with."

"Whoa!" Shannon said.

"Whoa indeed," Bob said. "How can you possibly tell that?"

"Duh! I've seen her; you can't hide something like that. You have the same energy and they sort of resonate. I mean, everybody has their own energy, but that part that you share together radiates the same. Does that make any sense?"

"Actually it does. Is that the radiance that you see with Jimmy and Allison? Rebecca said you told her that Allison both reflected and enhanced Jimmy's glow. Is it their bond that does it?"

"Only in part, there's more to it with them, and when you throw Shannon in on top of it, it's like... , I don't know how to describe it. Kind of like staring into a forest fire, trying to see three candles."

"Amazing. So at least part of what you see is people's auras. That's why Jimmy and the girls couldn't keep the truth about Angela from you? You could tell as soon as they said it that it was a lie."

"Not a lie-lie, just that they were holding back and not being completely truthful, and when one of them did it, their shared energy made it resonate through all of them."

"Unbelievable. I think I could be quite content to spend the rest of my life just studying you and Jimmy. Too bad I'd starve to death because I couldn't publish a single word, but still ... Oh well. Jimmy? Girls? I think I'd like to talk to Elizabeth alone for a few minutes if you don't mind."

"There's no need, Bob," Lizzy said quietly. "I know what you're going to ask and it's okay. Yes, I was raped and that's how I know what she's going through. It was the very first time I had sex. I was twelve and I had never even touched myself there before that. It was everything you expect rape to be; brutal, demeaning, frightening, ugly, painful ... It was terrifying. Somewhere in the middle I remember calling out to God for help. By the time he finally let me go and I made my way home I was convinced that God had forsaken me, that I had done something horrible and He had abandoned me. But that very night, after the police, and after I got home from the hospital, I had a dream. In the dream I saw him again, exactly as I had seen him before, but this time I saw inside him. Before I only saw people as shapes of energy and color, but now suddenly the colors resolved themselves into different shades and shapes, and each one meant something else. I woke up that morning very calm, and all the pain was gone. My muscles didn't even ache.

"The next night I had the dream again, and this time it was like a veil was being slowly moved aside and I could suddenly understand what I was seeing. I saw the rage in him, but with it I saw the hurt, and the fear, and that something was eating at him and driving him to do terrible things like what he had done to me, and I cried for him. The third night I somehow knew that I was not the first girl he had attacked. There were two others before me, and I knew I had to help him help himself. The next night I went back where it happened and I waited, I stayed hidden until I saw him, and I walked right up to him. At first I could see he was terrified because there were people around and he was afraid of what they would do if I screamed. But I took his hand and told him that we needed to talk and that if he would sit and talk to me that I would not scream or tell anyone that he was the one who had raped me or the other girls. I told him about the dreams and what God had shown me. I put my hand over his chest and described the things I felt inside of him. As I spoke his fear changed." By now she had that dreamy, far away look people get when they get lost in memories. "It changed to something different and he began to cry, and then to weep, and when I finished he begged me to forgive him for what he had done.

"Just then a priest walked by and saw the man weeping in front of me and asked if there was anything he could do to help. The man got down on his knees and confessed his crimes and his sins to the priest and asked what he could do. The priest told him that God would forgive him if he would only ask, but that he must be sincere, and that it would not excuse him of worldly punishment for his crimes. Just as he said it a police car stopped at the light; the man got up and ask the priest to stay with him, then he walked over to the car and confessed to his crimes. He was arrested, of course; there was a short trial where he confessed in open court and was sentenced to prison. He is still there, but ever since that day he has devoted himself to God's work; the priest brings him study materials. He counsels other prisoners and leads services for them, teaching them. It will still be many years before he is released but he hopes to be ordained so that he may carry on his mission and spread his message to other inmates in other places. He was a wealthy man, but refused to spend money on a defense; instead, he insisted on paying restitution to his victims. He sold everything he owned, paid the court for the attorney they had appointed him, and set up college funds for his victims, plus annuities to cover the cost of any therapy they might need. The fund continues to grow and they get whatever is left in it at age thirty plus any interest the fund has gained. Everything else he donated to the church."

"What about you? Did you get a trust fund as well?" Shannon asked.

"I didn't want one but they made me take it. I just didn't feel right taking it when God had actually used him to open my eyes. He wanted to give me double what the others got because of what I had done for him but I made them stick to the same amount, and it's been sitting in the bank ever since. Well actually it's been in money markets, stocks, mutual funds and a handful of munis, and since college is taken care of it's going to keep right on doing that for a while longer.

"He's not allowed to talk to me, or send me anything, but I send him cards on Easter and Christmas. He prays for me, that God will keep me safe and continue to use me." She paused, looking down at the bed with her legs drawn up and clutched tightly to her chest, she continued, "So there's no need for anyone to leave, I understand what Angela feels. I had God to hold my hand and guide me through the darkness. Right now Angela feels as if she has no one at all. She knows you're out there, but if she were naked in this bed right now with all of you, she would still feel alone, because in her heart she knows it's a dream, and not real." She looked up again and there were tears in her eyes once more. "Please let me go to her."


-------

Chapter 6: Corrective Measures


It was going to be a really long night. I looked at Bob and he just shrugged. "I'm over my head, Jimmy. My only concern is how Angela will take a stranger walking in on her and talking about things no one is supposed to know."

"Oh, I don't want to talk to her," Lizzy said. "Not yet anyway. You're right; it will take some time before she's ready for that. I just want to be there for her for now, be with her, let her get used to my presence, maybe get to know her a little. I was thinking you could just take me in invisibly like you and Allison were when you came to check me out."

"What good will that do?" Shannon said, "How is she going to get used to you if she... ?" Suddenly she stopped and nodded her head. "Oh yeah, the same way you made Jimmy... , got it."

"Thanks, Sha," Allison said. "I was just wondering the same thing, now I don't feel so stupid. You're saying you'll be able to help even if she can't see you?" Lizzy nodded and Allison turned back to the rest of us, "So does this mean she's like, an official part of the team, and we tell her all about keys and doors and all that stuff?"

"Might as well. She knows pretty much everything else already."

"Oh goody," Lizzy said, bouncing up off the bed. "I can't wait for the initiation! Do you do that one at a time or all together?"

"I'm out of here." Bob said, heading for the door at a fast walk. "Call me if you need anything."

"I'm kidding, Bob," Lizzy giggled. "I know they're not ready for me yet. That will come later." She walked over to him and took his hand then stretched up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for coming, and for listening."

"It was my pleasure and privilege," Bob said, lifting her hand and kissing it. "Now, I know you all have a lot to talk about, as well as lots to do tonight," he looked at me for that comment, "so I'll leave you to get started. Like I said, call if you need me." Then he turned to leave, he faded out before he got to the door.

"Hmm, that look said something's happened," Lizzy said, walking back over to me. "It wouldn't have anything to do..." she passed a hand across my chest, " ... with this big cloud of anxiety and uncertainty that seems to be hovering around you, would it?"

Allison answered for me, "There have been some complications in some dreams Jimmy gave some people. They went from being, let's say corrective, to full blown nightmares that wouldn't stop and just keep getting worse. At first we couldn't figure out what might have caused it, then something happened this morning that pointed to some outside force using Jimmy's power, in this case in a way we didn't even know it could work. Was the news in your area carrying a story about a bank robbery where the robbers ended up killing each other right there in the bank?"

"I don't really watch the news, but yeah, everyone was talking about it."

"We were there, Jimmy and I. We saw the whole thing."

"Jesus! You're kidding."

"No, and it happened just like they said. One of the robbers, suddenly and for no apparent reason, started shooting the others, starting with the woman that was their insider working as a teller; the guy in the vault shot back and killed him at the same time. The only survivor was the one guarding the outside,"

"And you're saying there is more to it."

"To put it mildly, yes. Something used Jimmy's power to take over a little daydream fantasy the guy was having, and turn it into something so real that he was convinced he was in a jungle trying to escape enemy soldiers that were after him. He was locked so tightly in the dream that he never even questioned it. The dream itself was overlaid so perfectly that when he shot the enemy in the dream he simultaneously shot and killed his friends in the bank."

"Damn! No wonder you're so upset; and you saw all this happen. Gross!"

"It was worse for Jimmy. I only had to watch what was happening in the bank, Jimmy had to watch the dream that did it, and all he could do was watch. Lizzy, he had to watch while something used him to take over that man's reality and then use him to kill four people. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad, they were planning to kill all of us before they left, but still, can you imagine the damage your gift could do in the wrong hands. You use it to heal, but can you imagine the pain you could cause?"

"Stop, please, don't ever go there. Yes, I've thought about it. There have been temptations, especially at first, when it was new. God brought me through it, but I shudder to think what could have happened if I had given in to the darkness; and Jimmy's gift is so much greater than mine." She shook her head as if to erase a memory. "So now you think it wasn't some outside force but rather what I saw hiding inside him?"

"Yes, I'd like to talk to you more about that, but Jimmy has work to do." She turned to me. "Jimmy, are Mikkelson and Parry around yet?"

I stopped and concentrated and found both of them. I nodded and she continued, "Good, why don't you take Shannon and go see what you can do about correcting those problems. I want to talk to Lizzy, bring her up to speed on everything and answer any questions she may have."

"Uh-oh, Lizzy," Shannon said with a grin, "looks like oral exams are starting."

Allison and I rolled our eyes at the obvious joke, Easy just giggled and said, "Gosh, I hope I have time for a little review before we start, you know, just to brush up." I dropped them both in the lagoon before Shannon and I left.

Raymond Parry was not a well man and his wife Christine was getting worried. He wasn't sleeping nearly enough, and it seemed that every time he did manage to fall asleep the dream would start. Twice this week she had been awakened by the sound of him sobbing into his pillow and begging God to make it stop. He still wouldn't talk about the dream, just shook his head and refused to speak whenever she asked. He just wasn't himself. He had even put his truck up for sale. The girls, usually loud and rambunctious, tiptoed around the house. The only upside was that Ray seemed to be spending a lot more time with them than usual, looking at their latest projects from school with them sitting on his lap, even watching cartoons with them. He also told her how much he loved her two or three times a day instead of once or twice a week. That part was nice, but she'd give it all back to see him get one decent night's sleep.

As usual she was asleep first. By the time Shannon and I got there the dream had already started, Parry was buckled into the front seat and backing out of the driveway. He knew that Gabby's seat belt wasn't fastened right but he couldn't stop the dream to fix it. The big truck cleared the driveway and began the race for the corner, where he rolled through the stop sign to the accompaniment of the horn on that car swerving to miss him. The big truck just rolled on towards its nightly meeting at the light and somewhere deep inside Raymond Parry sobbed and prayed; the same prayer he had prayed every night for weeks, "Please, God, not again." The big truck rolled on; weaving through traffic and picking up speed as if it had a mind of its own. Then, for the first time in weeks, something different happened. He heard a siren. He couldn't tell where it was coming from but a quick glance at all the mirrors show it to be a motorcycle cop coming up fast behind him with its lights flashing and siren blaring. Instinctively he edged toward the side of the road to let the cop by, but instead of passing, the officer slowed and followed him to the curb.

Parry sat stunned, unable to fathom what was happening as the officer removed his helmet to reveal that he was in fact a she; a she with silky, dark hair in a long braid which reached to the middle of her back.

"License, registration, and proof of insurance please," she said as she reached his window. He handed over the requested documents and stared out the front window. "Mr. Parry, I think we both know what happens next if I hadn't stopped you." She said as she began writing out the ticket.

He turned his head suddenly to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. I think you've seen it enough that you could write a screen play of it. The question is, have you really seen it enough to get the message, or do you need more. You do understand that this was done for a purpose, don't you?"

Tears had formed in the big man's eyes as she spoke and then started running down his face as he nodded.

"Step out of the car please, Mr. Parry," she said, stepping back to make room. He quickly stepped down out of the big truck to stand towering over her.

"You see, Raymond, you're a little too big to spank, and you don't respond well to authority. Any other time you'd be really pissed off at getting a ticket, wouldn't you? Especially if I was a guy giving you a ticket."

He had to chuckle at that. "Yes ma'am, I think I would."

"But not this time, why not?"

"Because I'd take a thousand tickets if it meant I didn't have to see that one more time. Please tell me that's why you're here, to make the dreams stop. I've learned my lesson, I swear. I've changed. I'm even putting the truck up for sale. I don't really need anything this big anyway, just don't make me hurt my babies again."

She started to hand him back his paperwork, along with his copy of the ticket saying, "You don't need to sell your truck. I think you've learned the lesson, Raymond, don't you?"

"Oh God, yes!" He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him, holding her tightly and weeping against her, his sobs shaking them both. "Thank you."

She stroked his hair and said, "I don't think I'm the one you really want to be hugging." Suddenly his girls were there and he turned to take them into his big arms, crushing them tightly against his chest like he would never let go.

"I think we'll just let you off with a warning this time, Mr. Parry. Now, you drive carefully out there, okay."

He laughed and took the paperwork back and suddenly she was gone and he was alone on the side of the road with his girls, then this too faded and he found himself awake in bed next to his wife, Christine, who was staring down at him with worry in her eyes.

"It's alright," he said, sitting up suddenly and pulling her in close. "She said she was letting me off with a warning." He pulled her close and began kissing her, it was pretty obvious where this was going so I left and rejoined Shannon at her cabin retreat.

"So how did I do?" she asked.

"Great, I think he'll be okay now, but I'm going to be watching to make sure. You know I have to say, Shannon, you look really sexy in that uniform."

"That's convenient. Since our next stop is a police station, I'm going to be wearing it for a while."

"You'll be invisible so it really won't matter." I opened the door and we stepped into Mikkelson's current nightmare. It only took a second to recognize it; Maria Pena. Of the four girls who had died Maria had lasted the longest. She'd paid a steep price for that record. She was the only one that he had been forced to use 'professional' equipment on. According to Rebecca the odd contraption of bars, braces and restraints had probably been special ordered from a company specializing in bondage paraphernalia and equipment. He got his money's worth with Maria. Several times he'd had to put that hardware to the test, pitting it against Maria's drive and determination to deny him at any cost. Trust me, the cost was really high. The autopsy said she'd dislocated her shoulder trying to get free. According to the killer's memories, she'd done so at least three times, each time getting progressively easier as the damage to the joint increased with no time to heal properly in between. Three broken fingers, busted ribs, she'd put up a hell of a fight. She died anyway, but you had to admire her spirit.

For his part, Mikkelson was doing his best to not watch it, but that just wasn't working. There was nowhere he could look that he couldn't see it, closing his eyes didn't even work, it was like his eyelids were made of glass. And no matter what he did, the sound of her cries echoed in his ears. He couldn't escape the chair, couldn't even cry out, all he could do was watch her pain, hear her cries, and eventually, watch her die.

"Why couldn't we have come in at the end?" Shannon asked.

I absently nodded my agreement as the end approached. As bad as the scenes were they weren't the worst of it. You see, everything Mikkelson had to endure was from the killer's point of view, as if he himself were doing it. Worst of all, just as I had the first time, he had to endure the killer's emotions along with it. The thrill of the hunt as he stalked and kidnapped her, the rage when he abused her physically, the elation when at last he broke her to his will yet again, all culminating in the heady rush of orgasm as he repeatedly raped her, violating her in every way you could imagine, and several that I certainly never would have dreamed of.

Mikkelson was in tears long before it ended, and I prepared to move him to his boss's office to see what we might be able to do about putting a stop to it.

Suddenly the scene disappeared and I was floating in an eerie sort of dark nothingness. Shit. I'd been here before and knew what to expect. In fact, I was glad to be here; it was a place I'd wanted to be for weeks. This was where I watched the killer and got a glimpse into his world. The timing sucked but it was still a good place to be. Mikkelson obviously wasn't in any need of my assistance; he had convinced himself that he could handle all of this by himself. I shook my head that anyone in law enforcement could be so pigheaded. But then, considering how all this started, I guess I really shouldn't have been surprised. I settled myself to wait and see what would unfold.

The visions started slowly, small tears in the fabric of the darkness began to occur, each a window into a memory or, if I was lucky, a doorway to the man behind it all.

A particularly colorful rip caught my awareness and I reached out to stabilize it and hold it open. It seemed easier this time, without the strain that usually accompanied the effort. A glance within showed a scene I had witnessed before. Diane McKenzie having lunch with a friend. I let the vision fade and waited for the next one, this time choosing one of the darker ones. I entered the scene and found that it was again something I had seen before, the view through Maria Pena's bedroom window. Once more I withdrew but immediately seized the next available window, only to find yet another re-run. Something was definitely wrong here. I started to rise and leave but suddenly several tears occurred at once. Without thinking I reached out and was amazed when all four of them froze open, again with very little effort on my part. I was starting to get a very bad feeling about this. I quickly peeked into each one and then closed them all at once while moving myself to Shannon's cabin.

"Where did you go, and what took you so long?"

"I'm not sure. At first I thought... , let's go find Allison, something weird just happened and I want both of your opinions about it." We moved back to the cabana only to find it empty. A quick mental search located Allison and Lizzy on the beach watching the dolphins play and chatting. Rather than just show up I decided to walk out. There was no point in causing one of those flare ups that bothered Lizzy so much, thinking this suddenly made me realize that was exactly what would have happened if the two had been in the cabana when we showed up. I made a mental note to always try to leave a little extra space for Lizzy. I took Shannon's hand and together we walked out to where the other two waited.

"How did it go?" Allison asked as soon as we were within range.

"Kind of weird actually. One minute I was in with Mikkelson confirming just how bad it's gotten. He was viewing Maria Pena tonight. She's about the most violent and brutal of the bunch, not to mention the most material. I was just about to drag him into his boss's office and confront him about what's been happening, the next thing you know, I was sitting in the darkness waiting for windows to open."

"You got in?" she asked excitedly.

"I thought so at first, but then every single window that opened only showed me stuff I'd seen before."

"What's so special about this 'darkness' that you're excited to go there?" Lizzy asked.

"Remember I told you that Jimmy saw all the killings from the killer's perspective?" Allison asked. "This darkness is the only place that Jimmy can get ... live, for lack of a better term, information from him. There is something about his mental make up that prevents Jimmy from bridging him directly, but sometimes he can pick up bits and pieces. It's like sitting in a sports bar late at night with the lights off and someone is turning different televisions on and off so all you see is little bits of what's on."

"All except for one," I added, "which we think is... , she told you we think he's schizophrenic right? Anyway, one particular window seems to lead to where the primary personality is confined. We're hoping that if I can ever get in far enough I'll be able to bridge the primary and hopefully use him to help stop the killer."

"Geez, I knew God had attached a burden to your gift, but I never dreamed it would be so complicated. Mine is pretty straightforward, see problem, fix problem. Sometimes I have a little trouble figuring out the real problem, but at least I can see it." She grinned and added, "And it's not like it always works on the first try. There's a necessary level of rapport you have to establish first. That can take time."

"Yeah, I'll bet you just hate that part," Allison said dryly. Lizzy just smiled.

"Wait," Shannon said. "We were in with Mikkelson, then suddenly you're in the darkness and I'm back at the cabin. Why did you decide to leave?"

"That's just it, I didn't actually decide to leave. You were there; he had just finished the viewing and I was about to recreate his boss's office so I could talk to him when suddenly, just like that, I'm in the darkness waiting to see if we get lucky. No transition, just suddenly Shannon is gone and I'm somewhere else."

"Stop." Shannon held up her hand to stop me. "You were suddenly somewhere else. You mean like you and Bob were suddenly here earlier?"

I nodded my head. I could see in her eyes we were thinking the same thing, but it was Allison that said it.

"Shit. You got played, lover. You got moved somewhere you thought you wanted to be, and then fed a reason to be there."

"Yeah, I did. I got... , distracted from working with Mikkelson. As soon as I got ready to actually do something, I got shoved out of the picture. Sent someplace that would keep me out of the way until it was too late to go back." Even as I said it I knew it was true, and a quickly mental scan showed no sign of Mikkelson. "From the beginning I knew something was different. It was easier to hold the different visions open, not at all like before. At the end I actually held four open at once long enough to look inside of them. That was when I figured out I'd been had. The question is how?"

"No," Lizzy said, "how is pretty obvious. The real question is why. I can think of a couple possibilities, none real promising, one... , downright scary."

Shannon jumped in on that one, "Okay, the how is the same thing that did the bank and moved him and Bob here without him doing it himself. As far as why goes, why don't you just skip the other stuff and go straight to scary so the brunette doesn't feel like she's the only one who doesn't get it."

Lizzy glanced at me, then Allison and back to Shannon. Shannon had no reason to feel alone on this one. "Someone is getting bolder. They've had a couple of successes and are pushing to see what they can do. Specifically what they can do with you. Or, maybe even what they can do that you can't stop."

"You mean like testing to see just how much control they have?" Allison asked.

Lizzy stared into her eyes for a moment then nodded her head. "But that's just a suggestion and I'm still new to all this so I could just as easily be wrong."

I don't think she was wrong but there was really no point in pursuing something we couldn't really prove either way. Shannon couldn't leave it alone.

"That is scary. We don't know anything about whoever is doing this. How do you fight that?"

"I don't know. Why don't you and Allison talk about it while I take Lizzy to see Angela?"

"Okay, but you're just going to observe right?" Allison asked.

"Just an introductory scouting trip, I promise," I said. I kissed them both, took Lizzy's hand, and then moved us to Angela's current dream.

I knew she was having a hard time adjusting to her new situation but I didn't realize how deep the problem went. My first clue was that she was dreaming in black and white, not black and white like in old movies, but black and white as in what the world looks like when there's not enough light. Thick black clouds blocking out the sun before a thunderstorm black and white. Basically her world, at least in this dream -- I knew better than to assume they were all like this -- was gray. Considering the current scene I think it was a good indicator.

It was what I call observation mode. Sort of dreaming in the third person. We all have them; they're the ones where you are actually watching yourself as a character in the dream rather than looking out from the characters eyes. As soon as we arrived I felt Lizzy tense up. I glanced at her and she was carefully not looking at Angela. It was like she needed to work up to it. Watching her eyes I could see her focal point shifting quickly to her and then away again. Her expression was almost one of pain. Each time she looked her grip on my hand became harder.

"Does it hurt?" I asked. Obviously a bad question as she instantly burst into tears again. I didn't say anything but just turned her away so she couldn't see Angela and pulled her into a tight embrace, hugging her and stroking her back. I had switched automatically to the character I made up to visit Samantha and later kept as my stock persona for new people. It was a composite of Angela's brother Tim and a guy from my freshman psychology class named Steve McGuiness. One advantage in this case was that I was taller. At only five foot-eight I'm not a big guy and it's very awkward comforting a girl that's taller than you. Shannon had caught up with me late this spring, leaving Allison as the only one shorter than me. Actually Samantha was a little shorter too, but I had only ever interacted with her in this body so it wasn't something I noticed until I thought about it.

With her face buried in my shoulder, Lizzy whispered, "She's bad, Jimmy; she hurts so much."

I pulled her down onto a bench and sat facing her, holding her hand. "Let's just take a few minutes and talk, that should give you some time to acclimate and get more comfortable. I'm not sure what Allison told you so if you have any questions just jump in. Don't worry, we won't get distracted and lose her. I've keyed the bench to follow her around. It's invisible too, so no one will notice us. The first thing we need to do is not refer to her as Angela. Her name, for now and until the killer is caught and she can go back to her life, is Amber Olsen. It's important to refer to her that way so that we're less likely to make a mistake and mention her in the present tense in front of anyone. Believe me, if you don't do this you will slip, and if you slip in front of the wrong person, well, you get my meaning. Allison had to threaten me to get me to make the adjustment. I'd been slipping all summer. She finally pointed out how bad it would be if I slipped in front of her brother. Considering he is one of my best friends and I spend a lot of time with him I had to get it right."

"I understand," she said. "Angela is dead, Amber is alive. You understand that's part of her problem, don't you?"

"How so?"

"If it's hard for us to keep it straight, imagine how hard it must be for her. The only way is to try and think of her old self as dead, and move forward as this new person. Would you be comfortable thinking of yourself as dead?"

"I see your point. Just like with us, there has to be a clear line of separation, but where we have the clear line of life and death, she doesn't. She can tell herself 'Angela' is dead, but she still feels like herself."

"Yes, and since she just spent so much time trying so very hard to not die..." She looked over at Angela and this time she was able to watch her without apparent pain. "This has really helped, taking time to get used to her like this. Have you noticed she can't get into any of the stores?"

"What do you mean?" The scene we had found Angela in was walking through a large shopping mall. I didn't recognize it, but let's face it, if you've seen one...

"I'll take that as a no. She can't go inside; she can look in the windows but she can't open the doors. She's feeling cut off, like an outsider. Can you let us see what she sees without letting her know that you're here?"

"Let's find out," I said, standing and pulling her up with me. We walked over to stand next to Amber and look in the store window. Everything looked the same until the door opened and a woman walked out, suddenly there was a wash of bright light and brilliant color, like someone had turned on a floodlight inside the store, but it was only visible through the doorway, like the glass of the door and window were heavily tinted but when you opened the door you got the true color. Amber reached for the door to go in but it was suddenly closed again and would not respond when she pulled on it.

"See what I mean?" Lizzy said. "She feels cut off from the world, like she's just passing through, not really a part of it, a visitor. Like watching a baseball game on television. You can see the game, watch all the plays, just like you were there, but the roar of the crowd is just noise, you can't feel the energy and excitement the way you can when you're in the stands."

"What do you see?"

She turned away so I wouldn't see the tears but I knew they were there. "I see her heart break every time she tries to open a door. Did you see that person walk through her?"

As soon as she asked I knew I had seen it but that it hadn't really registered. As I watched, Amber reached out to touch someone and her hand passed through their arm.

"She doesn't feel like a real person," I said.

"Right. Can you keep me like this and go to her?"

"Sure, why?"

"Just a thought I have. I want to see what happens when a piece of her old life comes back."

"Okay." I moved off about fifteen feet where there was just enough of a corner for me to hide behind, switched back to myself, and then stepped out where Amber could see me.

"Hey you," I said casually. I guess I should have remembered to readjust my sight. Suddenly the whole mall burst into color so vibrant that I almost staggered at the sudden visual change. Behind her I could see Lizzy nodding her head.

"Hi!" Amber said, rushing up to hug me. "What are you doing here?"

"Just out and about killing a little time," I lied, hugging her back. "The girls are off chatting about something so I thought I'd drop in and see how you were doing. I see you're getting out a little more, but personally I think you could do a little more." I felt something inside me begin to stir and pulled back a little, just taking her hand and turning to walk beside her. "For starters this place could use a little more light..." I waved my hand and suddenly instead of a mall we were in an open air market and all the stores were suddenly just racks and stands covered by awnings. The sun shone so brightly that I had to reach in my pocket for some sunglasses. " ... and that outfit just doesn't do it." I changed her to a bright yellow halter dress with sunflowers of various sizes strewn all around it. It was sheer coincidence that the two biggest ones exactly covered her breasts. I added a wide brimmed straw hat and sandals to complete the look. One of the sandals was custom fitted with a wide strap that came up exactly through the gap where she was missing the two toes. It was crafted and colored to minimize and de-emphasize the gap while at the same time allowing her other toes extra grip so that it wouldn't slide or fall off as she walked.

"Ooh, I like it," she said, stopping to check her reflection in the large mirror at a shop selling sarongs. She caught the placement of the two big sunflowers and gave me a look. "Nice touch."

"They were last time I checked," I answered with a smile. "I doubt that's changed. You want to know my favorite part?"

"What's that?"

Suddenly there was a strong breeze which almost took her hat away, forcing her to grab at it. Too late she realized the other effect the wind was having as her dress blew up almost into her face, exposing everything south of the border to my view. I particularly liked the way the bright yellow g-string panties contrasted with her well tanned, near flawless, skin. I say near flawless because the scars from her multiple knee surgeries still stood out in sharp relief.

"Yeah, now that's what I'm talking about," I said, behind her Lizzy was holding her hand over her mouth trying not to giggle, but I could tell that she was enjoying the view as well.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Amber complained as the wind died down.

"What?"

"You know what I mean!"

"Oh, you mean I got to look but you didn't? Okay, how's this?" I put my face on a bodybuilder's body, all oiled, bulging with rippling waves of muscle everywhere, and began doing some poses for her. After about the third one she was practically falling down laughing.

"You are too much, Jimmy, but that look is so not you." I switched back to just myself in baggies, a tank top and sandals, and she moved in to once more take my hand and lean in against me as we began walking through the shops.

I gave her hand a squeeze then let go and moved my arm around her waist; she did the same and pulled me close to her side, then reached down, grabbed my butt cheek and gave it a firm squeeze. "Mmm, much better."

I felt something surge within me and pushed it back down before things got too obvious. It's hard to walk casually with a pole in your pants. "Careful back there, you may start something we can't finish."

As soon as I said it I regretted it, feeling her suddenly tense and try to pull away. I held her tightly with the arm around her waist and reached behind me with my free hand searching for hers, then pulling it up firmly around my waist before releasing it. "I'm sorry, sometimes I forget. I've told you before, Amber, when you're ready, I'll be here."

"It's not that," she said. "It's just..." she let the thought taper off and die. I didn't push but let it go.

"She wants you real bad," Lizzy said, suddenly walking on the other side of her. "But there is something holding her back, something she is both afraid of and ashamed of. You're right to say that she needs time. This is going to take a while. Can I have one of those keys Allison talked about? Something that will let me come here whenever I want. Or better yet, can you give me something that will let me bring her to me?"

I froze the scene and looked at her. "What?"

"I said, can you make me a key so I can come see her?"

"No, you asked if I can make a key that would let you bring her to you."

"You can't do that?"

"I don't know, I never tried. I made the girls' keys so they could find me or each other whenever they want, but... ," I stopped to think about the different experiments we had done in the past. Had we ever tried letting the girls move each other? The answer came quickly, no we hadn't, we had experimented with getting in and out of other people's dreams, I had given them keys that allowed them to leave even if the dreamer didn't want them to, as well as doors that always stayed close by, but they had only ever moved to my dream or back to their own, I moved them together initially. "I don't know. We'll have to do some experimenting. Did you have any other ideas that we need to explore?"

"Oh there are several things I'd like to explore," she said with a grin, "but right now I think we better concentrate on Amber. For now, if you can make up a reason to be somewhere else I'd like to spend a little time with her. Maybe then I'll have a clearer idea of what I need."

"Okay, I'll go play with the girls or something."

"Tease."

I rolled my eyes and let the scene move forward. "I met a friend of yours at breakfast this morning, Brandy Cotton."

"You met BC? How is she doing? What's she up to?"

"Hostessing at IHOP. That and looking forward to breathing something besides your exhaust at this year's meets."

"Ha. I'm better at distance but she smoked me on the shorter stuff. She's got gears I only dreamed about."

"I'll let you know. I promised I'd come out and watch her run. She accused me of just wanting to watch her ass."

"Yeah, you and Tim always did like the view better running behind me."

"I'd like it even better if I could run backward fast enough to stay in front of you. Listen, I have to go spend some time with Allison and Shannon. They're plotting this shopping trip and I have to drive so I want a chance to see what I'm in for. I'll try to drop in again later if I there's time, okay."

"Okay, kiss them both for me."

"If I kiss them the way you want to I know there won't be time." She blushed and I moved in closer. "Why don't you just give me a kiss I can pass on to them?" I pressed my lips against hers lightly and waited for her to decide where it should go. I was very happy with her choice of direction as she opened her mouth and pressed her tongue forward in search of mine. We played tag for a few moments and I started to take the kiss to her. Apparently that was a mistake as she started to respond but then shut down, breaking the kiss and pulling away. I decided to pretend I hadn't noticed. "Wow! If I kiss them like that I can guarantee I won't make it back. Enjoy the rest of your night, Princess. I'll see you around." I stepped back and started to leave.

"Hey," Lizzy's voice protested, "what about me, don't I get a kiss goodbye?" I faded from Angela's sight and turned to the newest member of our little group. I couldn't help but notice that her nipples were trying very hard to climb through the material of her shirt.

"I think you enjoyed that kiss almost as much as I did."

"Yeah, it's one of the better perks. I can see the underlying emotions and responses. That kiss was getting practically pornographic, but then something changed and suddenly it just stopped. It was weird, like just when she was getting into it, getting all hot, the sprinkler system came on. That is one frustrated girl right there let me tell you."

"Frustrated how? You mean like horny?"

"Yeah, but that's not it. It's partly that but there is something else that's in the way. Now kiss me and go away for a while. I'll call you if I need you."

I gave her a quick kiss and transitioned to where the girls were. Lizzy's voice actually trailed after me.

"You call that a kiss?"



-------

Chapter 7: Footprints


Rebecca

It had been a pretty good weekend. In fact I think I'd have to say it was the best weekend I'd had since Michael had died. A year, hell, six months ago, I would have felt guilty for even thinking that.

My first week with my new partner had been enlightening to say the least, and I had to admit that Henslith had some pretty good ideas on where to start looking for our man. Contacting Kenneth Riley's former employers had gotten us nowhere. He had not been seen or heard from anywhere since the night of the explosion. Not a single appearance at a single clinic, doctor's office, pharmacy, nothing. He might as well have blown up with the house. His bank accounts were just barely enough to cover the monthly bills for two months if something went wrong. Hardly in keeping with his persona as Kenneth Riley: over fifty percent of his take home was unaccounted for. Checking small businesses in the area placed him as an inconsistent shopper at best. A few people remembered seeing him infrequently in the local restaurants and convenience stores but hadn't seen him in several weeks.

Assuming that he was still in the general area may seem like wishful thinking but when that's all you have, you run with it. If he had truly cut and run then we were wasting our time. Not to mention up the creek without a shred to tell us where he may have fled to. As it was, the flowers he had sent me after I escaped the explosion, and the fact that he followed me to the airport, both screamed that not only was he still in the area, but very close. Henslith assured me that money was not a problem even without Kenneth Riley's income. His estimated worth was somewhere in the low seven figures, you know, two-comma land. We started with the assumption that with his carefully crafted identity blown to hell he had to be taking time to re-establish and set up a new life under a new identity. Getting phony ID in Los Angeles isn't nearly as hard as a finding a good dry cleaner, but finding real quality papers, that took a little more effort. We had people quietly keeping an eye on any of the known high end paper pushers. Knowing our boy's penchant for gadgetry I also took a photo to Dillon and asked him to very, very, carefully keep an eye out for anyone suddenly wanting a lot of video tech.

The problem was that the Sandman knew exactly what steps we would be taking, the signs we would be looking for. He was trained to blend in convincingly. Money was our first target, he would need cash and lots of it to re-establish quickly, you could do it on a budget if you had time but the faster you go the more expensive it became; the old adage that nothing greases the gears like cold hard cash is true. However a federal warrant works pretty well too. We already had a watch on the bank system, looking for large cash transactions. What we were particularly interested in was a large volume of cash coming into a bank from off shore, then going back out fairly quickly. We were also checking out the real estate market looking for single men suddenly buying houses, particularly those putting down a lot of money. That was a long shot. On the one hand, single guys do buy houses, and sometimes they have a lot of cash to invest, but most of those will have just sold their former homes. Unless they were spec buyers looking to flip the house for a quick profit, but fortunately most of those are known and we could eliminate them quickly. He would need a new car but thousands of people buy cars every week in Southern California. Something like ten percent of the new cars sold in America are sold here. Chances are he would go for something used anyway, probably a private party sale, or an out of the way used lot, where IDs wouldn't be checked that closely. Hell, there were places he could flash my drivers license and no one would notice; places were the only pictures they were interested in verifying were dead presidents.

We had our end of week wrap up meeting with Rod at three o'clock Friday to go over all the latest developments in the case. We gave him the ups and downs of the week in one neat thirty minute package.

"Good work, I look forward to hearing about all the progress you're making, soon." He looked us each in the eye. "Very soon. Is there anything else going on I need to know about?"

I hesitated a little too long. He cocked his head to one side, holding my eye without speaking. I glanced at Henslith and she quickly headed for the door with a smile.

"If you will excuse me, Director Rodriguez, I think I need to go polish my badge."

"I was wondering if it would be a problem if I brought a guest to dinner on Sunday?" I said after she was gone.

"You're taking him to see Amy aren't you?"

For some odd reason I couldn't help feeling like I was seventeen years old sneaking back in my bedroom window at three o'clock in the morning only to find my father sitting on my bed waiting for me. Not one of my finer moments but it was one I would always remember. Which did nothing to explain why I felt this way now. Rod wasn't my father, damn it!

"No, I'm not your father."

"Stop that!"

He chuckled. "I've known you too long, Bex. Let me guess ... the bedroom window?"

If I'd been any redder I'd have been bleeding. Rod looked like he was on the verge of having a case of the blistering giggles. Suddenly he stood and got very serious, walked around the desk and pulled the blinds. To anyone paying attention on the outside the look on his face as he closed the blinds would have spelled trouble for me, but when the room was as secure as he could make it from outside eyes he stepped up, hugged me close to his chest, and kissed the top of my head.

"Michael would be very happy that you have found someone. By all means, bring him by. Selena has been dying to meet him, and so have I, for that matter. You can't really count that run by his place to pick up the Osborne girl. I was in and out in like three minutes. But I'm warning you, you better be ready. That woman is going to dragging out her book of wedding invitations so she can help you pick one. That's assuming of course that he passes Amy's inspection."

If Amy had any reservations about Bob, she kept them to herself. The ride down was terrible. The only time I could remember being that nervous was when Sylvia and I got caught with a copy of Playgirl at school. Sister Agnes had been so shocked I thought she was going to faint, but instead she just confiscated it and marched us straight into Mother's. Mother Superior Constance Patrice, affectionately known as Consta-Pracion by all the girls, took it calmly. Sister Agnes fainting would be funny. Mother looking calm scared me to death; there were stories. We waited patiently as she called first my parents, then Sylvia's and invited them to stop by the school to discuss an opportunity for some special education that she had just learned about. "Not to worry," she told both our parents, "the girls seem very excited about it and they are going to stay after school until you arrive. Don't worry, I'll find something to keep them busy ... Yes, five thirty would be fine ... No, it's no trouble at all, I don't mind. God bless you and keep you safe until we meet again."

We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning every blackboard, bathroom, and closet in the school as well as something I was pretty sure used to be a dungeon. When our parents arrived she had us stand off to one side as she greeted our parents and got them seated, offered them tea, and then handed each of them a folder. Apparently she had been busy while we were cleaning. Each folder contained half of the magazine.

"Now this material was brought to my attention this afternoon by Sister Agnes. It seems the girls have been working on some independent study material and she wanted my opinion on whether it might be too advanced for them. So I wanted to get your opinions before I allowed them to proceed with this particular line of study. Please be honest, you don't have to worry about offending me. I know my limitations and I'm afraid this is over my head, so I'm counting on you to guide me in helping these remarkably bright and inquisitive young ladies in their studies.

Thank God my mother didn't get the other half in my folder. I thought Mrs. Polusi was going to faint when she opened Sylvia's folder and found Mr. November, spread out across two pages in all of his tanned, chiseled and exceptionally tumescent glory. I wanted to die.

This wasn't quite that bad but at least in school I knew why I was embarrassed. I tried making conversation a couple times but I just couldn't seem to focus. Bob was nothing if not understanding, sensing my unease and charming his way through a rough situation.

"What is wrong with you? You're acting like you're out on a date and changed your mind but don't know how to break it to the unlucky guy. Relax; this is going to be fine. I promise I won't embarrass you in front of your sister."

My first real surprise came when I tried to direct him to the hotel I usually stay at when I visit. It seemed Bob had other plans and had called around and gotten us a room at a local bed and breakfast. What can I say, it was a lot nicer than the place I usually stayed, with a beautiful view of one of the small local lakes. Mrs. Fields -- yes, that really was her name -- not only served us real home made biscuits with breakfast, but she made a peach cobbler that was to die for.

When we arrived at the hospital, Bob was the picture of professionalism and poise, chatting with, even flirting with, all the nurses, talking to the doctors about Amy's condition and treatment. Even bringing up some experimental treatments he had read about that had been tried with varying degrees of success in other countries. He even told Amy to eat all of her vegetables. Dinner at Rod's was everything I had hoped it wouldn't be, as well as everything I had been warned about. Selena was all smiles and questions and not so subtle hints. She stopped short of asking if we'd set a date, but I kept waiting for the question to come out. All in all the weekend was a huge success. It also turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes I had ever made in my life.

Monday morning we opened up with a bang. After talking it over extensively with Rod we decided to go ahead with Henslith's suggestion to alert the casino crowd in Vegas as to the identity of our man. Not directly of course, that just wasn't done. I had overnighted some information, including a photo that Interpol had provided, to Atlantic City to get the ball rolling. Rico was thrilled to finally have a shot at finding out how his security had been compromised and hopefully nailing the bastard who had dumped a dead girl in one of his hotels. He was also nervous as hell.

"What the fuck is this really about? Why is the almighty 'FB of fuckin' I' all of a sudden handing out information to the dark side? And how the fuck did you get a name and a face on a guy no one's seen? Your only witness got blown up and almost took you with her."

"C'mon Rico, give me a break. I've got a source, he's the one that brought me the case, and he tipped me off to where the girl was. I don't know where he gets his information but so far it's all been good. He got enough on the guy that someone was able to tag him. Rico ... promise me you won't do anything stupid if he shows up, okay?"

"Whoa. Why is it I suddenly get the notion you ain't telling me something?"

"Rico, listen to me. If he shows up, you watch him, and you call every cop you can find, and you stay the fuck away from him. I don't want to have to call Sylvia and explain that you were collateral damage on a case I was working, capisce?"

"Okay, I'd say that about covers the part you weren't telling me. I'll be a good boy. I'll call you if he shows up anywhere, hold on a second..." Apparently someone else had come into the room. "Shit! I knew it. Yeah, just leave the file." Then he was speaking to me again, "Hampton, you are not going to believe this; your boy worked here."

"What? When?"

"Not here-here. Vegas; four and a half years ago. Want to guess where?"

"You're kidding?"

"Nope, ground zero. Get this, hired under the name of Keith fucking Richards. You want to double your money and guess what he did?"

"Oh gee, let me guess? He worked for security?"

"Even better, he helped install the system."

"That would explain how he got around your system when he dumped Amanda. Can you fax me that file."

"Oh, I don't know babe, you know, personnel files are confidential. I could get in a lot of trouble for something like that."

"Okay, I understand. I wouldn't want you to get in any trouble. By the way, did you ever get around to telling Sylvia what really happened at that bachelor party?"

"Damn, Hampton, you ever consider just sayin' please? I don't think I want this on the fax, I'll have Shirley copy it all and overnight it to you. Meanwhile I'll get the word out to the people that count to keep an eye out for your boy. Look but don't touch."

"Thanks Rico, stress that part. Remind Shirley to send me the date for the Bull's fiftieth, kiss Sylvia for me."

"No can do, babe. I'm afraid if I get too close she's going to do something we'll both regret. I think it'll be a while yet before she forgives me."

"What did you do?"

"Hey! Who said I did anything? I didn't do anything we haven't done before. I think she'll be fine once the puking stops."

"She pregnant! Rico! Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't she call me?"

"I don't know but when you call, for God's sake don't tell her I told you! Think up your own reason for calling. If she thinks I spilled it ... I don't even want to think about what she'll do to me."

"Don't worry, Daddy, I'll cover for you. Congratulations. I'll give her a day or two and find a reason to call. So when is she due?"

"Oh no you don't, you didn't hear nothin' from me, ask her. Look, I gotta go before you get me killed. Take care of yourself, Hampton?"

"Take care of yourself, Rico." I closed my phone and put it back in my desk drawer next to my gun and headed for Rod's office to give him the latest news. Henslith was out somewhere on personal business; I could bring her up to speed later. Rod was on the phone so I knocked twice to get his attention. He glanced up but waved me off, apparently it was one of 'those' calls. He held up three fingers and then closed his fist, thirty minutes. It was still a little early for lunch but if I walked slow...

I made it back from the deli in just under forty-five minutes with two pastrami sandwiches. Mine had everything, while Rod's was just meat, cheese, mustard, lettuce, and tomato. He claimed he liked it simple; the truth was the man had an unnatural aversion to vegetables. I stashed my gun back in my desk and met Rod in the kitchen. I had brought back a diet soda for myself, Rod was drinking coffee. Yeah, coffee with a hot pastrami sandwich. Yuck!

"So what's the word, boss man?"

"As you know, Henslith ID'd the group from the bank job as the same ones that did the job in Sicily last year. As a result of that and the outside security guard running back inside in full view of the cameras we've got a pretty good idea who we're dealing with. No one picked him up outbound anyplace within two hundred miles so ... we're trying to pin him down. What about your investigation?"

"Rico says hi. That and he says he'll get the appropriate information to the appropriate authorities, and stress to the other owners that if our boy does show up, they shouldn't try to take him, but I don't give it much of a shot. I said it before, Rod, I think this is a bad idea; too much ego at stake here, if he shows, there's going to be blood."

"I wish I could say I think you're wrong. I'd like to think that these guys are smart enough to take a warning like this to heart. I don't like it either but we need every pair of eyes possible looking for this guy. So, did Mr. Girard have anything else to offer?"

"Well, looks like we figured out how he beat their security."

"Really? Now that is news. What did they find out?"

"They ID'd him from the picture I sent. You ready for this? He help set up the system. Two years before he killed the girl. Probably programmed a back door in somewhere along the way. Wonder how many other places he may have wired just in case he ever needs them."

"This guy is starting to give me a rash. Keep me informed. Maybe we'll get lucky and your source will come up with something."

Jimmy had enough on his plate without me pressing him. Besides, he had never shown any signs of control before when it came to our killer. So far he had been the exception to almost every rule that the kids had come up with for how things worked. Between the two of them, Jimmy and Bob had pretty much accepted the notion that it was something to do with the unique makeup of his mind. Henslith's information played right into their idea that it was some quirk of his particular psychosis that kept Jimmy from establishing the kind of link he seemed to form almost automatically with anyone else. The fact that the only other person so far outside the rules had been in a coma for thirteen years made that idea easy to buy. It also made me wonder if just maybe at some point a breakthrough he made with one would make a difference with the other. I'd never even brought it up to Bob, but deep in my heart I prayed that somehow, someway, Jimmy's gift might some day give me back my sister.

Tuesday morning at Rod's briefing we found we had another problem to deal with. Franklin Abramson, a fairly high ranking member of one of the local dock-worker's unions, had been murdered over the weekend. The local authorities had spent all of Sunday and a good portion of Monday coming to the conclusion that they were out of their league on this one. Recent tensions between the Union and its leadership had turned violent on more than one occasion. There were allegations of financial mis-dealings and some reports of strong-arm tactics, which were attracting serious attention in the press. We had been monitoring things at Washington's request but were instructed not to take any action unless local authorities specifically requested our assistance.

Our victim had died while in his pool house getting ready for church after his morning laps. Heart attack was the obvious choice but they quickly ruled that out based on the fact that he seemed to have almost torn his own throat out trying to breathe. The rash around his throat pointed at some kind of allergic reaction but they had to wait for the coroner's report to be sure. Close, but not quite. He had been poisoned. The list of suspects was as long as your arm; the list of people with access was very short and didn't include any of the suspects unless a member of his security staff had turned on him. The poisoning was the result of a chemical reaction between something in his aftershave and something that had been applied to the collar of his shirt. The shirt had come from the cleaners with six others the previous Friday; the aftershave was over half empty. Eventually the lab came up with a time frame for the tampering. Sometime over the weekend someone had sprayed a solution on the inside of the collars on all six of the freshly laundered shirts and added a small amount of something else to the bottle of aftershave. Whatever had been sprayed on the shirts hadn't so much soaked in as it had formed a film on the inside of the collar. The film contained the catalyst for whatever was in the aftershave. The process took less than three minutes once it started.

The first thing he noticed would have been heat as the chemicals began to irritate his neck. Irritation led to scratching, which only drove the chemicals deeper into his flesh, and that caused the body to react, which caused the irritation to become worse. Almost immediately his breathing became labored, then the swelling started in the softer tissues, constricting his airways. By now the irritation had escalated to a burning itch and he scratched harder. Suddenly his throat closed up completely and he began to claw desperately at it in the vain hope of somehow making it stop choking him and let him breathe.

"I don't get it, sir," Waskoff beat me to pointing out the obvious. "As bad as all that sounds it still doesn't justify getting the bureau involved. I mean, it's been barely 48 hours; they couldn't possibly have even interviewed everyone yet. Why the sudden rush to get us in the game?"

Rod glanced around the room and found most of the troops nodding their agreement. He glanced at me before turning to my partner. "Inspector Henslith?"

Dahrinka stood before answering, "You are correct, Director, six and a half years ago, in Austria, the lead negotiator in a very similar case was killed in exactly this way. The subsequent investigation led to the unmistakable conclusion that he was assassinated."

"Thank you, inspector, and to whom was the credit eventually given."

"The Sandman."

"Thank you again, inspector. There you have it; the lead on this case has a sister in Europe, married to a cop in Austria. As soon as they got the coroner's report he remembered a case they spoke of during one of their visits. He reported it to his boss, got permission to call overseas and got confirmation of the details. You're off the hook, Waskoff; this one is clearly part of an existing case." He stepped away from the podium to pick up two folders off of a nearby table, then stepped forward and handed one to Henslith and the other to me. "That's everything they have so far along with the information on everyone involved with the case."

Two days of interviews got us nowhere. Neither of the onsite security people saw or heard anything. Their video surveillance system looked like a bad joke from a worse movie. Two to three minutes to plot the cameras' movements and a three year old could have ridden a tricycle through without being seen.

Friday morning, right in the middle of the whole thing, I 'didn't' get another phone call from Doctor Winslow informing me that Mikkelson was getting worse. The suggestion had been made that he needed to ask for forgiveness but he was worried that his career would be destroyed if he admitted that he had leaked information on an investigation. I called Bob at lunch and asked him to talk to Jimmy about it and see what he could do. He invited me to dinner and lately that meant spending the night. I accepted and told him I would be out as quickly as traffic would allow. Generally that meant a late dinner. Everything changed when I got back to my office and found a large envelope had been left in the lobby for me. It was standard procedure to have the lab look at anything that was left for us unexpectedly, you can't be too careful in this line of work. Paul was in the lab fixing something for them when I got there; he waited with me while they checked out the envelope. Unlike the one left in my apartment, this one was covered in fingerprints.

They ran all of them and came up with mine, the guard in the lobby, and what was assumed to be the prints from the young woman who had dropped it off. When the guard had asked for her information she had told him that she was just dropping it off for some guy who gave it to her outside. He had told her that he was late for a meeting and asked her to take it in. Since she worked in the building she saw no harm in it and had agreed. Naturally everyone in the building has their fingerprints on file and trust me, she won't be accepting any more packages from strangers. As expected, that accounted for everything we found on the envelope, which gave me a pretty good idea where it had come from. I got some protective gloves and a sheet protector from the tech, promised not to touch the document itself, and moved to a distant workbench with Paul. Inside were several photographs and a note.



Rebecca, 

(Nice to know we were on a first name basis now.)



Just to reassure you that your efforts are not completely in vain, yes, I am still in the area. Beyond that it's has been interesting watching you work. Very entertaining. I hate to be the one to point it out but I'm learning much more about you than you are about me. For instance, I know where your friend Bob is shopping for rings. I guess congratulations are in order. I can understand that you might discuss your work with him up to a point though I have yet to determine how involved he really is. And I'm very curious to discover how the others fit in.

Some things that I feel you need to know:

First, I didn't kill Abramson. Though if I had known someone would try to frame me for it I might have, it was a hefty commission.

Second, your new partner is hiding something from you. I could tell you her secret but you wouldn't believe me. You'll figure it out eventually.

Best of all, you'll be happy to know that I've found a new playmate. The game is different this time. This time she will come to me willingly and you won't even try to stop her when she does.





That didn't sound good at all. I couldn't imagine anyone voluntarily putting themselves in this psycho's hands. That was something to worry about later; for now I moved on to the photographs. One shot was of Bob and me at a restaurant. He had drawn a heart over Bob's head with his name in it. You can imagine how I felt about that, but it was the other two that stopped my heart, they were individual shots, one male, one female, each with a name and a question mark.

"Who are Jimmy and Allison?" Paul asked.



-------

Chapter 8: Do You Want the Good News?

Something was wrong. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something just seemed ... I don't know, off. It had been over a week since I had successfully bridged Mikkelson, discovered just how serious the problem had become and then gotten suckered out of the dream. Since then I had not been able to reestablish a connection with him. He had been unavailable before so I wasn't overly concerned about it but somehow this just felt ... different. On the positive side, Lizzy seemed to be making headway in her observations of Amber. It was surprising how long it was taking. I expected her to be able to figure out what was going on just by looking at her. I guess that was a little much to ask for.

Elizabeth was by far the most fascinating person I had ever met. Shannon, who had wanted more than either Allison or I to meet her, had been more than a little, I don't know if hostile was the word, but defensive just doesn't do it justice, since we finally brought her in. Originally, while not as pushy as Allison had been about us getting together with this mysterious person, she had been excited about the possibilities of sex with her. It had been an interesting year, well, almost a year, since the girls and I had discovered each other and Shannon in particular was seriously into the sexual aspects of our relationship, and while she claimed to be extremely satisfied with both Allison and I, she nevertheless had expressed a sense of anticipation about meeting and getting to know Easy Street. The fact that Easy had made it clear to Rebecca that she was looking forward to not only meeting us, but really getting to know us, if you know what I mean, had sparked something in my oldest girlfriend, something that had burned brightly right up to the point of actually meeting her. Since then...

Allison had confronted her about it over the weekend as we all lay together on the beach. We had just spent several hours, subjective hours anyway; it's hard to keep track in dream time, having a wonderful time in the cabana.

"Shannon," she had said as we all lay naked in the sun, "what's bothering you?"

"Who said anything was bothering me?" Shannon responded, the defensive tone not helping her case.

"Well obviously no one 'said' anything or I wouldn't have to ask," Allison continued, "but something is obviously bothering you."

"More like someone is bothering you," I added, sitting up and looking at her. Allison sat up as well, facing me across a marvelous expanse of feminine real estate. I could have just sat there admiring the view all day. Unfortunately...

"No, I'm fine," Shannon insisted, then suddenly she gasped, her back arching and her nipples almost instantly erect. Startled, I glanced at Allison and saw the smirk on her face.

"Liar, liar! Pants on fire," Allison said as Shannon squirmed, one hand reaching down toward her crotch as if to push something away. Suddenly she slumped back on the sand.

"If I was wearing any! God, that was so not fair. It was like an instant orgasm only not quite, like I was suddenly on the edge but then it just stopped. I didn't even know you could do that."

Allison giggled. "That's what naughty girls get. C'mon Sha', you've been on edge ever since Easy showed up. I don't get it; you've been saying how much you wanted to meet her ever since Rebecca told us about her. You were practically drooling at the thought. Now suddenly it's like someone hosed you with ice water, what gives?"

It was like a cloud passed over her face. "I don't ... I mean I can't ... I don't know, okay. I just ... she bothers me. I'm sorry; she's just not what I expected."

Allison pushed, "Well then, what did you expect?"

"I don't know, I just thought she would ... oh, I don't know what I thought."

"I think I do," I said quietly. They both turned to me. I sat staring out at the water. "You expected her to be what we had described in the dreams. Even after Rebecca told us the rest of the story about her, a part of you wanted her to just show up and start tearing our clothes off and fuck us. Instead she showed up and it was all business, she bent some of the rules and proved again that there was a lot more to her than we had given her credit for. So now, instead of lusting for her, you're actually a little afraid of her."

"I am not!"

Allison was sitting up by now, nodding her head. "Maybe afraid is the wrong word but you certainly don't trust her, and I think I know where it started."

"I..." Shannon sat up and started to answer but Allison held up a hand to stop her.

"You are disappointed about the sex, don't even bother trying to deny that one. You were all excited the first night when they sent us away to get back and catch them in the act. You were just convinced that as soon as they were alone she would start tearing Jimmy's clothes off. When we walked in and they were kissing you were sure it was going to turn into a giant love fest."

Shannon started to say something but again Allison held up her hand. "Then when you found out that she had actually slapped Jimmy, you were pissed."

"She had no reason..."

"You see, that's where you really got lost," Allison said, cutting her off before she could go farther. "She did have a reason. Just not one you understood. Tell the truth, Sha', what was your first thought when you heard she slapped him?"

"I don't know, I mean I guess I..."

"Wanted to pull her hair out?" Allison finished for her. "And before that you were so convinced that they were making out, and they were, but not for the reason you expected. You were just convinced that she was going to seduce him as soon as they were alone. What you don't want to admit is that you were jealous."

"I was not," Shannon complained.

"Yeah, baby, you were," Allison said, putting her hand on Shannon's knee, "you still are. What's really bothering you is that it's not her being with Jimmy that you're upset about, it's him being with her. You want to fuck her so bad you can't stand it."

Suddenly Shannon burst into tears, her hands coming up to cup her face.

"I'm sorry," she said. "You're right, I do, I love you both so much but still I want ... oh god, I want her ... but ... she scares me."

That certainly wasn't what I expected to hear. "She scares you?" I asked. "How, you mean like physically?"

"No," she said, desperately wiping trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"It's her gift that scares you, isn't it," I asked softly.

She was sitting up now, wiping again at her eyes and trying to speak coherently. It was beginning to look like a losing battle. It was a measure of how upset she really was that she was having so much trouble. This was a dream, she could stop crying as easily as flipping a switch if she wanted to, and she knew it. The fact that she couldn't seem to get a strong enough grip told me just how serious this was. I leaned in and kissed her and stopped her tears for her. As soon as I touched her, she grabbed onto me like I was a life preserver.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Really I am, I know it's silly of me but I'm afraid that..." she couldn't finish but just buried her head against my shoulder. I held her for a moment and she finally got it out. "I'm afraid she'll take you away from me."

Stunned is a good word. Surprise just doesn't cover it. From the beginning I suspected that this revolved around Lizzy's gift, but I really wasn't expecting anything like this. The look on Allison's face said she wasn't either

"Take him away? You silly thing, no one could take Jimmy away from you. He loves you, and even if someone could, you'd still have..." She stopped as Shannon dropped her head and the tears came again, then said softly, "Oh."

Climbing to her knees she crawled up behind her lover and wrapped her arms around the both of us, kissed Shannon's hair and whispered, "No one could take me away from you, Shannon. You have to know that. I love you; I'd die without you. I would, I'd just wither up and die." Then she pushed back and came around to sit next to me. "Now tell me what's gotten into you."

A new voice suddenly came from behind us, "Oh god, please tell me this isn't about me."

We all started and turned toward the cabana to find the person in question staring at us. We must have been blocking her view of Shannon or she probably wouldn't have even asked. She stepped closer, moving at an angle so she could see us all better. A sudden sadness washed over her face as she got a clear look at Shannon.

"I waited too long," she said softly, moving toward us. "I'm sorry, Shannon, truly I am. I've been so caught up in trying to help Amber that I've neglected you. Jimmy? Allison? Could you just, like, pop into the cabana for a second? Just for a second, then you can come back. I just need to see her and you two still kind of overwhelm me. Do you mind?"

"Of course not," Allison answered, taking my hand. "How long do you need? Is five minutes long enough?"

"Oh no, nothing like that. Five seconds, ten at the outside. In fact I need you to come right back." She held up her hand as Allison started to ask the obvious question. "I'll explain when you get back, okay?"

Without waiting I popped Allison and I into the little hut, where we sat with our feet dangling in the water for a few seconds before I moved us back to the beach.

"Was that long enough, or do you need more time."

There was more than a little sadness in her voice as she said, "No, I got it. Thanks, Jimmy." She knelt down in front of Shannon and took her hands gently into her own. "Shannon, look at me, listen to me. I'm not here to take anyone away from you. I could never do that. It would go against everything I believe. Do you understand?"

"But he'll fall in love with you, they both will."

"Why would they do that?" Elizabeth asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Because you'd be perfect. You're the perfect lover. You know just by looking at them just exactly what they need, every time. How could they not?"

"Oh Shannon, trust me, it doesn't work like that. Having sex with me doesn't make people fall in love with me. I'm a healer, not a succubus. If anything it's just the opposite. None of my ... I don't know if you can call them patients, but that sounds a lot better than victims. Call them what you will, none have ever try to pursue a relationship once it's over. They don't love me. Once I move on they don't even try to hook up with me again. Fortunately I have some really close friends I can fuck the rest of the time. It's true I've wanted to jump these two from the moment they first showed up, but that's different. They're not broken or even damaged, and it's going to be mind blowing when we do it. That goes for all of you, not just them. I didn't realize, didn't even imagine, that there could be more until I got here and met you too. They glow, you all do. Jimmy more than anyone I ever met, and he gets brighter when Allison is near; when you're both with him it's like staring into the sun. You and Allison glow more when you're together too. Nothing like when you're with him, but much more than when you are alone. You guys are totally different from anyone I've ever encountered and I've wanted to touch that glow since I first saw it. Once I met all of you together, well, let's just say that I'm looking forward to getting a really bad sunburn. But when it's over, nothing will have changed with you. Trust me, it just doesn't work that way."

"I think you're selling yourself short," Allison said. "Don't get me wrong, I understand what you're saying and I know that that's what works best for you, but you're wrong on one point."

Lizzy looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean?"

"They do love you. Not all of them I'm sure, but some do. They're not in love with you, but you'll never convince me that Sheriff Dobbs doesn't love you."

Lizzy got a huge grin on her face and shook her head. "Rusty? Nah, Rusty's in love with someone else; heck, he's getting married in a few months. I'm in the wedding."

"You didn't hear what I said. You're right when you say he's not in love with you, but I'm right when I say he loves you. There isn't much that man wouldn't do for you. I know he'd kill to protect you."

"He's the sheriff, that's his job!"

Now it was Shannon's turn, "No, she's right. It's you who's kidding yourself. We saw him when Rebecca was with him trying to find you. Lizzy, that man couldn't love you more if you were his own flesh and blood. I wouldn't want to be the person who hurt you if he was around."

"You think?" she asked. "Rusty?"

"See for yourself," I said. "It should be easy enough for you to do. Find someplace you can see him but he won't see you. Get a good look at him and then move out where he can see you and walk up to him. See if he changes. I think you'll be surprised."

"I doubt it, but I'll check it out next time I'm home, maybe Dave too." She thought for a second and then looked at me. "Meanwhile, we need to talk." She reached up and took Shannon's face in her hands, placing a light kiss on her forehead and then another on her lips, she said, "I would never do anything to hurt you, Shannon. We'll talk more later, if there's time. If not then I want to make some time, okay, don't let me forget. I don't know how you guys keep up the pace around here with so much to do." She grew a knowing smile. "But obviously you do find time for the important things."

Allison actually blushed before she said, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Amber, but it's kind of personal and I can't share it with everyone right away. If you don't mind I'd like to talk to Jimmy first, maybe even your friend, Bob, and see what they think. Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay, we've got lots to talk about ourselves. Do you mind if we take the cabana though?"

I rolled my eyes as I reached to give Shannon a hand up, kissed them both and sent them on their way. Once they were inside Lizzy said, "You know she was just teasing, don't you. Neither one of them was thinking of sex."

"Yeah, I know. We all like to tease and remind each other just how sexy we think they are, and you never know, just because they weren't thinking it or planning it doesn't mean it won't happen anyway. So what's up with Amber? It sounds serious. How bad is it?"

"I can't fix it."

"You mean it's not a sex thing?"

"Why don't you call Bob? I think you're going to want his input on this and that way we won't have to repeat the whole thing."

"He may be with Rebecca. Is it okay if she comes?"

"I think it would be best if she didn't know about this just yet. She may need to know, probably will need to know later, but I'd rather wait and see what Bob says first."

I was more than a little nervous as I pulled out my phone and called, "Bob? It's Jimmy."

He chuckled. "I would be extremely surprised if it were anyone else."

"Is this a bad time?"

"Jimmy, it's a dream, and even if it weren't, if you took the risk and trouble to call, I'd listen. What's on your mind?"

"Lizzy just came back from watching Amber. She says we need to talk and by 'we' she means all three of us, and in case you're not sure what I mean, just the three of us."

"Really? That does sound serious. Give me a second, and a door." The phone went silent and Bob walked out of the little changing tent that sits on the beach. He was dressed for the occasion, swim trunks, sandals, tank top, straw hat and sunscreen on his nose.

"How did you know we'd be at the beach?" I asked.

"I didn't. The door brought me to the changing tent so I knew it was the beach. If it had been the elevator I would have worn something else. Elizabeth, nice to see you again. So what's up? Is there a problem with Amber?"

"Well, for starters she's very depressed. I'm sure that's no surprise to anyone but that's not even the tip of the real iceberg. It took a while but I now know what the real problem is: guilt."

"Guilt?" I said. "Why would she feel guilty? She didn't do anything. This psycho stalked her, kidnapped her, and then raped and tortured her for weeks. What could she possibly have to feel guilty about?"

"I don't want to tell you what I think just yet. Let me tell you what's been going on and then you tell me what you think. Her dreams have been really erratic. Not that uncommon when you're stressed, and sometimes these little tidbits have a common theme that connects them. Anyway, then the nightmare started..."

"Wait," I interrupted. "What kind of nightmares? Because I blocked the ones she was having initially, if that block is wearing away then maybe I need to rework it a little."

"You can do that?"

"Sure, I've done it several times but usually blocking a nightmare is a temporary solution. Usually the person needs to work through the cause before any real solution can be attempted. At least that's the theory. I've had varying degrees of success with different people I've tried it with. If we know the cause then it's a lot easier. As far as I know..." I stopped myself just before I said Samantha's name, "the one is still doing fine."

"Maybe you can tell me about it some other time," she said. "Twice Amber's nightmare was the same. Both times she was tied up while this guy in a mask fucked the crap out of her. Both times it ended up with her crying and just sort of wallowing in guilt. At first I didn't understand it, but then the next time it changed. It started out with you and her in a car somewhere, and then you were somewhere else. Then you were, like, eating at the mall or something, then she was tied up with the guy in the mask and he was, not so much torturing as tormenting her, if you know what I mean."

"Ooh my lord." Bob said. "I think I know where this is headed, and it explains both the guilt and the inner conflict she has been experiencing. No wonder she's been so depressed."

"I don't get it. It explains what?" I asked. "What are you talking about? Do I need to try and rework the blocks and stop the nightmares?"

"No," Lizzy said softly. "Whatever you did before is working just fine, they're not nightmares."

"Jimmy," Bob said, "when you were with Angela, did she ever express an interest in being tied up, or having rough sex?"

"No, not that I..." I had a flashback of my hand firmly wrapped in her long hair, pulling it as I pounded her from behind.

Bob caught my hesitation and pressed, "What?"

"Prom night; we were at the hotel with Tim and Cindy and it was a real wild night. Cindy had a few fantasies she'd been dying to live out. At one point she and Tim were ... doing something and Angela asked me to do something ... similar but not quite the same..."

"I get the picture, go on."

"Anyway, she wanted me to pull her hair and, you know, really ... she passed out at the end but I thought it was just that thing that Allison suggested."

"She passed out?" Lizzy said. "You mean like, unconscious? You weren't like, choking her or anything right?"

"God no!" I answered. "I could never do anything like that. But sometimes when it gets really intense the girls have a tendency to sort of ... overload I guess, and pass out."

"Allison came up the suggestion that Jimmy is subconsciously projective, affecting the subconscious of people he comes in contact with. In dreams, where he contacts the subconscious directly, it manifests as an instant post hypnotic suggestion. With very impressive results. The most serious manifestation in waking has been a tendency for his lovers to pass out during sex, the theory being that he is actually projecting his pleasure onto them, overloading their pleasure center and causing a temporary shutdown."

"Okay, we have to change the subject," Lizzy said, smiling and shaking her head. I could tell the thought was more than a little exciting to her. "So you thought this is what happened to her but now, Bob, what do you think? Not so much Jimmy's fault as he may have believed?"

"I'm afraid so. Now she's been feeling these urges and she feels guilty about what she perceives as the cause."

"She thinks she's some kind of sicko," Lizzy said.

By now I was feeling more than a little irritated as they seemed to be talking around me. "What are you two talking about?"

"Jimmy, this is going to be very hard to explain," Bob sail. "Are you familiar with the term BDSM?"

"That's a term?"

"Didn't think so. Actually it's sort of an identifier, an acronym if you will although that's a real abuse of the term. BD stands for bondage and discipline. SM is short for sadism and masochism. In erotic fiction it's used to indicate elements that may appear in a story. Other similar terms are dominance and submission. I've heard you and Allison joke about spanking her. I say teasing because Allison does not strike me as being a terribly submissive type. If she were, then her teasing would quickly change to something more serious and she might get more demanding about it."

A light bulb came on and I suddenly didn't like where this was going, "You can't be serious. Angela spent almost a month getting the crap beat out of her by this guy and you're telling me she enjoyed it? That's nuts."

"Oh no, you've got it all wrong, that's not what I'm saying at all," Bob said. "We're not talking about torture here. Torture is, by definition, out of your control, but somewhere inside, part of her liked the sex, liked being dominated, and that is where her guilt comes in." He was getting into lecture mode now. "Elizabeth is right; we have a huge problem here. This is something most people learn over time, under controlled circumstances. There is a huge, and I mean really huge, sub-culture that centers around this area. There are all kinds of rules, guidelines, and most importantly safeguards to insure it doesn't go too far, ever. Angela, Amber now, has been dropped in with no support and no understanding of what is going on. She needs help, professional help, and she needs it fast or she is going to be in real danger."

"She needs a master," Lizzy said.

"You really think so?" Bob asked, looking sharply at her. "Don't you think it's a little soon for that?"

"I don't see how else to even get started explaining it all to her. She needs to know what is going on and that means experience. You think she's going to trust a stranger without someone to protect her and assure her that it's safe?"

Bob looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, "I see your point. It fits with everything else that's been going on with her as well. She needs a rock to cling to, some point to stand on and feel safe, secure, and connected. She's needs to be dropped into the deep end of the pool and know that it's safe."

"There's only one person that she's going to trust."

Bob glanced at me quickly and looked away again. Now I really didn't like where this conversation was going. "You can't be serious."

"You saved her life when no one else could," Bob said. "She knows that you love her and wouldn't let anyone hurt her."

"But that's exactly what you asking me to do, hurt her?"

"No," Lizzy said. "Just the opposite, we're talking about keeping her safe while she learns. You're not qualified to deal with this. I don't think you could do what she wants, what she needs, because you don't understand it. She needs a professional."

"So why do you make it sound like I'm some sort of key player."

"You are. Jimmy, the world we're talking about is all about trust. Who else is she going to trust?"

"Okay, I'm completely lost here. You're telling me that she needs this, that it's what she wants. That I'm somehow a key player in all of it but that I can't really help her. So what am I supposed to be doing?"

"You would be her master."

A glimmer of understanding dawned. "You mean master as in I'm the master and she's my slave?"

They both nodded and Lizzy suddenly had a very hopeful look on her face. "Yes, exactly like that."

"No! I don't want to own her. I don't want to own anybody. People aren't property."

Her face fell and she shook her head. "You still don't get it. Look, why don't we stop here for now. Jimmy, you need to do some research. What you don't understand is that in this world, the slave has control. As her master you have specific responsibilities and obligations. In this case your obligation is going to include 'giving' her to someone else to teach her, and the responsibility of keeping her safe. That is the most important job you are going to have in this whole process. You need to make sure that she understands that she is safe. Until she understands the nature of what she is feeling and accepts that it's not something evil or shameful, her depression is going to get worse. Tell me, since you saved her, has she tried to get close to you, or have you tried to get close to her?"

"We've been close, but it always falls apart. One second she's hugging me and everything is fine, two seconds later she is shying away and trembling if I even touch her."

She was shaking her head. "I knew it. She wants you, but every time she tries she gets these images of what she wants you to do and she is afraid. Afraid that if you knew what she was thinking that you would reject her, so she shuts down, but that's a different sort of pain. Does she seem frustrated or cry when it happens?"

"Some times. The last time was pretty bad. We were playing on the water slide out in the lagoon. The next thing you know she's stopped in a tube crying. Fortunately she was with Allison so she had someone there to hold her that didn't freak her out."

"Jimmy, do you love Angela?" she asked.

I gave her a look. "Of course I love her, and I'm sure that you knew that without asking. Can't you see it as we talk about her."

She smiled. "Yes, actually I can, but I needed you to say it. Do you trust me?"

"Yeah, sure, I guess I do. Why?"

"Because I need to show you that I'm right. Not tonight, but soon. You will have to trust me when I do. For now I think we need to wait until you have had a chance to do a little research. Do you watch CSI?"

"We're not big on television around my house, but I've heard of it. Why?"

"I don't blame you. Most of them are just ridiculous. Some of the science they use is sketchy at best, and as for the parts that are real, why broadcast to the bad guys exactly how you are going to catch them? But there are a couple episodes that will help you. One of the characters that they've run into a couple times; you're going to need to look up episodes involving a character called 'Lady Heather.'"

Bob chuckled and said, "She will definitely do for a starting point. If we're done here I need to go think about this and maybe talk to someone about what needs to be done."

"I don't know what I'm going to tell the girls," I said.

"Jimmy, you can't discuss it with them yet." Lizzy sounded very serious.

"Why not?"

"I could tell you but you wouldn't understand it. Do some research first, then if you still feel like you should talk to them about it, not can talk to them, but should talk to them. Then I'll come along and help you explain."

"You're that sure I won't?"

"I'm positive you won't, but I want it to be your decision. It's very important that it be your decision."

"She's right, Jimmy, until you know what it's all about you need to wait," Bob said.

"Okay, I'll wait. I'm just not used to keeping things from them." I stood up and reached for Bob's hand. "Thanks for coming, Bob. I'll keep in touch." He walked back in to the changing tent and was gone. I reached for Lizzy's hand and said, "Come on, we better go talk to them. I have no idea what I'll say but..."

"Just tell them the truth, Jimmy, just like you always do. I don't think you could lie to either of them anyway. Just tell them that something important has come up and you need to do some research to try and figure out what to do next. Tell them that Bob agreed with me and stressed that it would be best if you didn't talk about it until you knew more."

My biggest surprise of the night was waiting for me inside. It was a little under four feet tall and wearing a pink bathing suit with white trim. It had been months since I had seen Amy. The closer we got to killing time the less she had appeared. As soon as I thought this I wondered if we had overlooked a way to find Angela sooner. Amy seemed to be able to do things I couldn't. She was very much outside the rules we had been trying to establish for my abilities. Now suddenly she was back. Normally I would have just rushed in and hugged her and taken her out to play with the dolphin. It was the tears that stopped me.

She was sitting between the girls with her feet hanging in the water. The girls were doing their best to comfort her but it was plainly not working. As soon as she saw me she shot out of the water and rushed up to me, throwing her arms around my waist and sobbing. Letting go of Lizzy's hand, I scooped her up and walked back toward the girls, sitting her on my lap and stroking her hair.

"Hey now, what's the matter? Why are you crying? Aren't you happy to see me?"

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping her eyes. "It's just that something is wrong! Rebecca is in terrible danger and I don't know what to do."

I glanced at Allison but she just shrugged her shoulders.

"What kind of danger, Sweetie?"

New tears blossomed in her eyes and she hugged me around the neck and cried, "I don't know. I can't see it. I've tried and tried but it's not like before. Jimmy, I'm scared."

"Well I could see that, sweetie, but look, Rebecca is a big girl; a big girl with a gun and lots of friends with guns. And I already promised you that I would watch out for her."

"Excuse me," Lizzy's voice came suddenly from behind me. "Who are you talking to?"

"You mean you can't see her at all?" Allison asked, looking at her quizzically. "Or hear her?"

"Who? There's no one here. I'm not seeing any kind of energy signature at all."

"Too weird," Shannon said. "Is there anything else you're not seeing?"

"What?" I asked.

"I was wondering if she can't perceive her but we can if there might be some other kind of sign, like something missing in the room. You know, like when you walk into a room and that lamp that has always been on the table is missing; you know something is wrong, but it takes you a while to figure out what. I was thinking there might be an 'absence' to her perception where there is something real to ours?"

"God, I love you." Allison said, kissing her cheek and looking at Lizzy for her answer.

For her part Lizzy seemed to be trying really hard to notice anything at all that might indicate either directly or by omission that an eight year old girl in a pink bathing suit was sitting in my lap. I could tell by her expression that it wasn't working. I glanced at Amy to see if she had anything to say. She was staring at Lizzy so I knew that the phenomenon only went one way. After a second she glanced up and caught me looking at her. "She's very special."

Pretty much what I would have expected from an eight year old. In fact I would have been prepared for almost any descriptive adjective she could come up with. Special is one I wasn't ready for.

"Yes she is," I said, "but she can't see you. She can't hear you either."

"That's weird. How come she can't?"

"I have no idea. Is there anything at all you can tell me about the danger to Rebecca?"

"You're not supposed to know."

"So we can't tell her you were here and told us?"

"No, if you tell her it will be bad."

"Hmm. That's going to make it hard to keep an eye on her, but I'll do what I can. Are you okay now?"

"Yeah, but I have to go."

"That's too bad. Zeus and Hera were just saying the other day how much they missed you."

She giggled and said, "Silly boy, you can't talk to dolphins."

"Sure I can, I just do this..." I let out a series of chitters that sounded exactly like a dolphin.

Her eyes got big and she asked, "What did you say?"

"Just something Zeus told me." I winked at the girls over her head.

"What did he tell you?" she said, walking right into my trap.

"He said..." I drew her in close like I was going to whisper in her ear, "That you were ticklish!" and I attacked her ribs.

She squirmed and screamed and did her best to get away, but Allison and Shannon jumped in to help me. We relented after a few seconds and let her catch her breath. She hugged me and then jumped down to hug both the girls, then she took my hand and I walked her to the door, and she was gone.

"Like you didn't have enough to worry about," Shannon said.

"True, but I'd rather know than not know. I don't know what good it's going to do for me to know since I can't tell her anything, but obviously Amy thought it was important."

"Even if it just made her feel better to tell you, it was still worth it." Allison said.

"I hate to interrupt," Lizzy said, "but I still don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, sorry," I said. "Have a seat, it'll take a while to go through it all." Shannon moved toward Allison to make room and then patted the spot for Lizzy to sit next to her, between the two of us. That was a good sign considering how stressed she had been such a short time ago. "Amy is Rebecca's little sister, and she was the one that introduced us, if you can call it that, and got me involved in all this," I began, as the older girl sat down next to Shannon. When she was settled she took Shannon's hand in hers and kissed it softly, then scooted to sit closer to her. Shannon actually blushed. They sat like that while I told her all about the twenty year old woman that had just been sitting in my lap. As expected, her eyes teared up as the tragic tale of Amy unfolded.

"That's so sad. Have you tried letting her see Rebecca through a doorway or something? You know, so that she is with you on one side, but Rebecca is ... I don't know, somewhere else, another room maybe, I don't really know what separates these realities."

I glanced at Allison who only shrugged and said, "We've pretty much left it alone. Every time we've tried to do anything with Amy, it doesn't work out the way we expect. Like her bathing suit. Her regular outfit is a little pink dress with white trim, white socks trimmed in pink to match the dress, and black patent leather shoes. When he first brought her for us to meet her, we were sitting right here and her dress got wet, so she asked Jimmy to fix it. He was trying for a simple red one-piece, but he got that one instead. He can't even leave her here with us without her being in pain. The normal rules don't apply to her so for the most part we just leave it alone. What do you think, Jimmy?"

"It might work but I don't know if it's worth the risk. Rebecca wants to see her sister but I don't think she'd want to see her screaming in pain. I think I'll ask Amy about it next time I see her. She seems to have a good idea of what she can and can't do. Not to change the subject too much, Lizzy, but where are you? I know we've got registration coming up at the end of the week, then school starts on Tuesday. Allison starts the week after."

"I'm in Indiana. We actually started last week. My class schedule was done before I ever got here. I have a liaison that had everything set up before I got here. His name's Ron and he is just a dear. He showed me where everything was on campus, including the location of all my classes, and shortcuts to get around the crowds. Too bad he's gay. Anyway, I'm all set. I've got a photo shoot this weekend. It's primarily for Dave's new calendar but if things go well we may do a second one as well."

"Just be careful," Allison said. "You'd be amazed how many of these small production companies just want to get you somewhere and try to talk you into doing nude stuff that they turn around and sell on the internet. A lot are just glorified scouts for porn studios. Be careful what you sign."

"Oh, Allison, you're sweet. Not to worry, I had all of them checked out, from photographers to set people. This studio shoots for most of the major tool companies, I have to personally approve all the shots, they don't take anything in digital, and I own all the negatives. They have exclusive licensing rights to the shots for five years but I have final say and have to approve what they do with them. I'd make more money if I signed away some of my options but I don't like the idea of anyone getting to use me without knowing what it's for. Dave's wife, bless her heart, insisted I take a personal bodyguard along with me anyway, and they're paying for it. I'd send you a calendar but I don't know where you live."

Shannon popped up and said, "Hey, I want one, so send two. Just send them to Rebecca care of the Los Angeles FBI office. She'll know how to get them to us."

"Okay, it's getting close to time for me to get up so I'm going to go." She stood up and pulled Shannon to her feet then gave her a kiss and a hug, whispering something in her ear that we couldn't hear but that made Shannon blush and squeeze her again before letting her move on to Allison. Allison was already standing up waiting her turn for a hug and kiss as well. The she turned to me. "Remember to do your homework, you've got a lot to learn and time is critical. Don't forget what I said about discussing it." She turned back to the girls. "Jimmy needs to talk to you about what we discussed with Bob. He can't tell you everything and I have to ask you to please not press him for anything else. I know it will be hard but this is very important." She kissed my cheek and faded out.

"I wonder how she knew what time it was?" I closed my eyes and checked the clock in my bedroom. It was just before three AM, and she was two hours ahead.

"Ask her next time," Shannon said. "What's going on with Amber?"

"There's not much I can tell you, really. You know she's been depressed, confused, and feeling alone and that Lizzy's been watching her. Well, she thinks she knows what's really behind it. She told me and Bob and I still don't get it so I have to do some research so that I'll understand. Until I understand I'm not allowed to tell anyone anything. Not even you two. They said I'd understand after I did the research and agree that they were right, but that if I didn't agree that they, well, Lizzy at least, would come along and help explain it to you. I'm sure Bob would come along as well just to make sure we understood."

"What kind of research?" Allison asked

"I'm not really sure where to start. She gave me a couple of television shows to look at first and she and Bob are going to work on some other source material for me."

"What shows?" Shannon asked. They were doing it again. It was like talking to one person in two bodies.

"CSI"

"CSI? She wants you to watch a crime drama to figure out what's wrong with Angela?" Shannon said.

"Not so much what's wrong, but what to do about it." I glanced at Allison, expecting the next question to come from her, but she was standing quietly, looking very thoughtful. She caught me looking and perked up.

"Okay, I'll wait for answers until you're ready. Now, if you don't mind I want to spend some time expressing my affection for this sexy Amazon princess here before she goes away. I'll come find you when I'm done ravishing her, kiss me." I kissed them both and left.

I hadn't had a destination in mind and suddenly I found myself in a very familiar hallway facing a barred window in a locked door. I'd been here twice before but usually I started out in the dark place watching snatches of the killer's memories. This time I had somehow skipped all that and come directly here. It was a chance I didn't want to let slip away, but at the same time I remembered Bob's advice about revealing myself. It was entirely possible that the killer would know what went on here. Testing the environment seemed to be the first order of business. The killer's mind worked differently somehow and there were no guarantees that I would have the same level of control that I enjoyed in other dream environments. When your normal level of control bordered on godhood you tended to take things for granted. Recent complications had made it clear that I had to be more careful. Not that I would consider it a bad thing for this guy to have a mental meltdown but considering that he just might decide to try and see how many people he could take with him, discretion was definitely called for. I made myself invisible and concentrated on getting through the door. My first obstacle manifested immediately, the door was solid and would not let me pass. I quickly discovered the same was true for the floor and walls. Not a big problem by any stretch of the imagination. With a thought I was through the window, another thought took me out under the door, back through the keyhole and while it was a tight fit I managed to enter again through the crack around the door itself.

Unlike on my previous visits, my host was sitting quietly on the sleeping cot, arms draped over his knees, with his head hanging towards his chest. The mask still covered his entire face. If it hadn't been a dream he would have suffocated ages ago. Again, not that this would have been a bad thing, but there was no way to guarantee that he would take his alter ego with him when he went. Since there was no way to guarantee that the mask blocked anything else any better that it did his oxygen supply so I had no intention of just appearing. The cell itself was just what you would expect after years of movies and television. It was this that gave me my direction; after all, what cell is complete without a mouse to keep you company.

"Why are you here?" I squeaked softly.

Immediately his head came up and he scrambled up on the cot against the wall, his head swiveled in search of the source of the voice. "Who's there?"

"No one you need fear to be sure," I said, and again asked, "Why are you here?"

"I am here because I am weak. I am here because one prison is as good as any other, and prison is where I belong."

Interesting. "And yet you try to stop him."

His head jerked away as if I had slapped him, and he seemed to slump on the cot, suddenly looking shrunken and defeated.

"I cannot stop him. I've never been able to stop him, never."

Fascinating, apparently Bob and I had guessed correctly. "Has he always been part of you?"

"Always."

"Even when you were a child?"

"Always, even as a child. Who are you? Why have you come?"

Uh-oh. "Haven't you been here long enough?" I didn't wait for an answer. "Would you stop him if you could?"

He screamed furiously, "What kind of question is that? Of course I would stop him. I've been trying for years, all my life I have tried to stop him!" He collapsed back against the wall, head in his hands, and whispered, "I would give anything to see him die."

I sat quietly for several moments, waiting to see if someone else had been attracted by his sudden outburst.

When no one else showed up I spoke up again, "I may be able to help you, but I need to know how it is you came to be here."

"No one can help. I am trapped here in this silent hell, trapped until someone catches him or kills him. Only then will I know peace. Only then will I be free."

"Does he ever come to check on you?"

"No, I am alone in my misery."

Well that was good news. I closed my eyes and checked the clock in my room. Almost time to get up. "There is nothing more I can do tonight. I will be back as soon as I can."



-------

Chapter 9: New Beginnings


Registration: our high school's version of a three ring circus; fifteen hundred students milling around campus for two days trying to get their class schedule organized. Okay, it's not really that bad. They break the alphabet up into blocks, everyone has a time slot based on their last names, and the time slots are random. It's a two-day event running the full eight hour schedule each day, so they break it up; Juniors and Seniors go the first day, allowing seniors first shot at any required classes they may need to graduate. They draw the different groups out of a hat to assign time slots in an effort try and make it as random as possible. It does make students plan their day if nothing else. Trying to get all of your required classes in an order that allowed you to take the elective classes you wanted was a challenge. Many times you would find yourself in a line waiting to add a class, only to find that the class was full, or not offered at the time you had set aside. Or you may discover upon arriving at the table that there was a prerequisite you needed, either way it was back to the drawing board to try again. You may be forced to drop that shop class you worked so hard to get into because the class available for your English requirement was in that time slot. As this was my second year I was a little more prepared this time. I had my schedule mapped out in my head pretty well and even had room to make changes if necessary. My biggest advantage was that I didn't need to worry about my elective class. I didn't have one.

Bob had already spoken to me about it and set aside space not only for me in the advanced class, but also for Shannon in his beginning class. In addition to this he had slotted me to be his TA for Shannon's class. Sweet! It had taken a little work on his part, first he had to secure a free period for me, something normally only allowed to third and fourth year students, but then also make a suitable argument before the faculty board for why I, a lowly sophomore, should be allowed to take a TA slot normally reserved for upper-classmen. He pointed out that in the ten years he had been at the school he had only ever used a TA once. He also stated that he considered me the brightest and most promising student he had ever had, that he regretted that we did not have any more advanced classes available, and said that the responsibility of working with the first year students would prepare me to pursue college classes concurrently in my Junior and Senior years. Susan, Mel, and surprisingly, Coach Barnes, all endorsed me for the position. Faced with such a diverse field of supporters the administration had no choice but to approve the request. My greatest personal achievement in scheduling was securing a PE class the last period of the day. If there is one thing I hate it's getting all hot and sweaty first thing in the morning and having to rush through a shower. I always worried that I would smell bad the whole day. Besides, if I did decide to go out for a sport, I would already be dressed and ready for practice without having to worry about being late because a class was held over. Coaches were notoriously insensitive to the realities of life.

Since Allison was faced with a boring day alone she asked to tag along and get a little preview of what she was in for next year, so we headed over to pick up Mark and Shannon and all go out to an early breakfast. Shannon and Mark had lucked out and drawn the nine o'clock session. My session didn't start until noon. Rather than all of us trying to cram into my truck, Karen suggested we take her car. I love my truck but I had to admit we were a lot more comfortable in her Oldsmobile. With the seat belt laws we couldn't all have ridden in the truck legally anyway. Being in the first group neither of them had any problem getting the class assignments they were after. It was the later groups that would have the most problem. As I was walking around two different girls I didn't know waved at me. I waved back but really had no idea who they were. I was surprised to see the security staff, nicknamed 'The Goonies, ' in attendance, in fact they had a table set up with information and several were greeting the students and helping to direct them. I spotted Steve Dennis, the 'Head Goonie' at the table and went over to see him.

He spotted me coming over and stood at my approach, reaching out for my hand in greeting, "Matthews! Good to see you again. Welcome back to another exciting and fun packed year. What do you think?"

"Mr. Dennis," I answered, shaking his hand. "I think it's a good start. Get everybody used to seeing you and your people around, talking and interacting with them." I was looking around at the various security people as we spoke. "Yeah, I think you may be on to something here."

"Good, glad you approve. I've got another little surprise for you, here." He handed me a flyer off the table, along with a parental consent form. "Still willing to get arrested in front of the whole school?"

I didn't hesitate, "Absolutely, are they really going to let you do this?"

"It took a lot of convincing and the final concession was the consent form, but yes, they finally agreed. I had Phillip's parents come with me to a couple of board meetings and pitch the idea that if it could keep another child from dying needlessly it was worth trying."

Phillip was the student who had been shot by the police my freshman year. He was one of those lost kids that hung out on the fringes of the gangs, not really in, but wearing the clothes and trying to act bad. Then one day he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time: There was a robbery in the area and the suspect had been dressed very similarly. When the police approached him he had bolted, when they finally ran him down he had turned and reached behind him. After several minutes of running after him the police took no chances; fearing that he was reaching for a weapon the two officers had drawn and fired. He had been reaching for his wallet. Under the circumstances, pursuing what they believed to be an armed suspect, they had been cleared of wrong doing in the case but one of them, a fifteen year veteran who had never before had to fire his weapon on duty, had left the force as a result. The actual robber had been apprehended shortly afterwards but it was too late for Phillip. The subject had come up one afternoon when Steve and I were talking to Bob and this was one suggestion we had come up with. I was to play a part in one of two presentations on what to do when confronted by the authorities.

"Well, I'm glad you pulled it off. I hope it will help. I don't know how receptive a lot of the kids are going to be though. A lot of them may just tune the whole thing out."

"Oh, I think I have just the icebreaker to get everyone in the proper frame of mind and paying attention," he said with a smile. It was one of those smiles that screamed, 'He's up to something.'

"I'll be looking forward to it." Just then Shannon and Allison walked up. "Ladies, I'd like to introduce you to our head Goonie, Mr. Steve Dennis. He heads up our campus security. Mr. Dennis, this is Shannon Davis, she's a freshman this year, and this is my sister, Allison, who is just keeping us company today, she won't be joining us until next year."

Steve shook hands with both of them. "Ladies, nice to meet you both. One word of advice, Shannon, stay away from this character, he's nothing but trouble."

"Tell me about it," she said, shaking his hand. "He and my brother have been thorns in my side since forever. If it weren't for Allison, I don't know how I would have survived without killing one of them. Or both."

"Just for that, you're walking home," I said.

"Uh-uh, we brought mom's car, remember? Mark wouldn't dare. Not to mention what Allison would do if you even tried it. Remember, she knows where you sleep."

We all laughed. "Yeah, I guess it was sort of a hollow threat. You know I'd never leave you stranded."

"Jimmy, you would never leave any girl stranded and you know it," Allison said. "Your problem is everyone else knows it too, so you're kind of at a disadvantage."

"Being recognized as honorable is never a disadvantage," Steve said. "It is often mistaken for one and sometimes people will try to exploit it as a weakness, but it usually backfires. It's very hard to take advantage of an honorable man because everyone else is on his side. Your friend here is one of the better ones we've had in these halls for some time now, and he seems to be contagious. We've benefited greatly from his presence already and are looking forward to having him around again this year."

Allison wrapped herself around my arm, kissed my cheek and said, "My hero," in her best dramatic southern belle. That cracked everyone up and we were all laughing as Mark walked up.

"All set, guys, we need to hit it so I can get to work."

"Mark Davis?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," Mark answered tentatively.

Steve reached out his hand. "Steve Dennis. I've been wanting to meet you, son. I should have known you'd be hooked up with Matthews here. You know David Robertson?"

"Sure, I know David," Mark said, he shook Steve's hand but was clearly still uncomfortable with the whole thing.

"David is my godson, Mark, and I've wanted to thank you ever since you busted his ass last year. You made a big difference in that boy's life by standing up to him the way you did. You really changed the way he looks at things. It's an honor to finally meet you."

Mark was clearly embarrassed by the whole thing. "Well, uh, thanks I guess." Then he turned to us again. "We've really got to get going guys, I'm late already. Mr. Parry okayed me coming in late but I don't want to push it. He gets cranky if the warehouse looks dirty."

"You work for Scary Parry?" Steve asked, suddenly very animated. I glanced at the girls and saw the same surprised look on their faces. "Damn, I haven't seen him in years. We played ball together before he went off to college. He gives you any trouble you tell him Dennis the Menace said to behave himself or I'll come over there and kick his ass. How's he doing?"

"Okay I guess. He's a good man to work for. Tough, but fair."

"He been on you about trying out yet?"

Mark suddenly grew a grin. "Oh yeah, at least once a week."

"Yeah, that's Ray for you. If he was in charge you'd all have classes on football as part of your requirements for graduation. You tell him what I said and see what happens, then tell him to give me a call. I see a barbecue coming up in the near future."

"I will. Nice to meet you, Mr. Dennis," Mark said, shaking his hand once more. He was much more relaxed this time and it showed in the handshake as well as his body language.

The girls and I also shook Steve's hand and said our goodbyes, I told him I'd be back for my session around lunchtime and we headed out. Mark dropped us at his house and left straight away for work. The girls were planning to hang around the pool so I went back by myself to get my classes settled.

I had no trouble getting my classes and actually had one more surprise. Miss Swann was going to be my teacher in Sociology. As soon as I saw her I realized that I had missed another opportunity to introduce the girls to her. Stepping up to the table for my class card I tried my best to brace myself for what I knew was about to happen.

"Good afternoon, Miss Swann," I said, reaching out for her hand. She had been writing something down and hadn't seen me step up, but her head jerked up at the sound of my voice, and she stood up when she saw it was me.

"Jimmy! It's so nice to see you again. How was your summer?"

As she took my hand and shook it, she did one of those 'covering' things people do. You know, where as they take your hand to shake it, they cover them both with their other hand like they are afraid you're going to get away. If anything this just intensified the result as the expected shock ran up my arm and suddenly I felt like all my blood was rushing south. I took a slow breath and did my best to not let it show. "Hectic would be a good term. You know that old Chinese curse, 'May you live in interesting times?' Trust me, I know why they call it a curse."

"Oh come on," she laughed. "It couldn't have been that bad." Then she went on, "Are you going to be in my class this year?"

"Apparently so, that is if you still have room in second period."

"Of course I do, I use Bob's trick of holding out a couple of seats for special students. Welcome to second period Sociology, I'm looking forward to seeing if you have the same effect on my class that you had on Bob's last year. I hear he actually got you cleared as an aide for his beginning class. Congratulations!"

"Thanks, I'm a little nervous about how the upper crust is going to take having a sophomore over them though."

"Jimmy, that's their problem. You just do your job and let them adapt to you, not the other way around. They are going to be faced with this kind of thing all their lives in the business world, better they learn to deal with it now than have it cost them later. In fact, I wouldn't put it past Bob to sneak in a lesson on that. It was nice seeing you again. You better move on though, you're holding up the line and I'm sure you have other classes you need to secure. I'll see you Tuesday."

She shook my hand again. As we had been talking my blood flow seemed to have returned to normal but as soon as she touched my hand again it all started over again. The tingling ran up my arm and all the blood ran straight to ... yeah, there. I took my leave before any obvious problems presented themselves. Susan's touch was one of the great mysteries in my life. According to Bob, she had the same effect on him. I wondered if it was a universal thing or just us guys. Maybe I should ask Miss Jenkins if she felt it too?

I breezed through the rest of registration without a hitch. My Spanish teacher from last year greeted me in Spanish and told me she was glad I had decided to continue. I answered that given the growing percentage of Hispanic people in Southern California I thought it made sense to learn as much of the language as I could. "I'm sure if I lived in one of the Northeastern border states I'd be learning French."

"Si," she replied, "but not everyone looks at it that way. I look forward to having you in my class again, Señor Matthews."

"The pleasure is all mine, Señorita," I said, taking her hand and bringing it to my lips to kiss it softly, "it is a privilege to learn from one so young and beautiful as yourself."

She blushed and pulled her hand away. "It's Señora, as you well know, " she said in an admonishing tone. "And that kind of flattery will get you nowhere in my class."

I smiled and said, "It never hurts to try, and it is not considered flattery to speak the truth, especially one so obvious."

"I begin to see what Angela saw in you." I felt the change in my face and she must have seen it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's okay. I'm dealing with it. It just takes time. I'll see you Tuesday."

As I turned to leave the girl behind me smiled and said, "Hi, Jimmy."

I answered back, "Hi," automatically and then had to stop and look at her again as she stepped up to the table. I had no idea who she was.

Bob had a surprise waiting for me as well; a paper bag with several disks in it. I opened it up and found that they were DVDs of the show CSI, each in a paper sleeve and labeled with an episode number. "Homework already, Mr. Shelby?"

He laughed and said, "I thought you might be able to put them to good use. Besides, I'm a fan of the show and it gave me an excuse to go out and buy the whole series." He got more serious and said, "That's a good place to start. We'll talk more after you've watched them. There are a couple of books I could suggest as well. They're not exactly light reading so be prepared. Fortunately you don't need to read all of them, just enough to get the basic ideas and concepts down. I don't want to seem pushy, but it's important that you do this soon. These are just the beginning. Most of it won't even apply but you have to start somewhere. Some of the other material you are going to need you will have to get on your own. I could get in serious trouble if it ever got out that I gave it to you. This is just a television show so there is not really much anyone could say about it. Let me know when you are ready to move on or if you just want to talk about any of it. See you soon."

I glanced around and no one was paying close attention so I leaned in and asked, "Bob, has anyone been talking about me?"

"No, not that I'm aware of. Why?"

"Girls I don't know have been waving at me. The girl behind me in line for Spanish Two knew my name, but I swear I've never met her."

"Ahh," he said with a knowing grin, "that may explain something else that's been happening." He turned around his sign up sheets and started comparing between the two available class times. "I think maybe you're suffering from a small case of celebrity, look at this." He set the two sheets side by side on the table. I was the first name on the second page and it was full with a waiting list, the first page still had seven slots available. I shrugged and shook my head, not getting what he was talking about. His grin got even bigger, "All day yesterday and again this morning I've had students, specifically female students, coming up and looking at page one then as soon as they flip to page two they sign up. The classes are offered back to back and, there is only one required class that conflicts with either one and it is also offered back to back in the same time slot. So neither class forces you out of a required credit. I will bet you a milkshake, right here and now, that the sign-ups for Mrs. Keith's English Lit classes are out of balance in the opposite time slots?"

"I have no idea what you're getting at but it sounds like you know something I don't so I think I'll pass on the milkshake. Bob, what is going on?"

"Jimmy, you took one of the most popular girls in school to last year's prom, a girl you publicly stood up for against the captain of the football team more than once, and you're currently not known to be dating anyone. You do the math."

Shit. I took my homework and left shaking my head. The sound of Bob's chuckling followed me until the crowd blocked it out.

The girls were still out by the pool when I got back to Shannon's house, so I put on my suit and went to join them. Karen was with them and as soon as I stepped out onto the patio she jumped up and offered to make me lunch. I couldn't help but notice where Shannon had inherited her figure. For a woman pushing forty she was damn good looking. It was sort of embarrassing to be truthful: I'd known her for so long it felt sort of like checking out my mom. I think she noticed me looking because she suddenly glanced at the girls and when she looked back she had a little smile on her face.

"C'mon, let's see if the girls left you anything. I swear I don't know how those two keep their figures. I don't think either of them has gotten any exercise since school let out."

I sat at the breakfast bar as she began pulling things out of the cupboards and the refrigerator. The girls had left about a tablespoon of tuna salad in a container in the fridge and before I could protest the effort Karen was already dicing up some onions and celery to add to it. I had always preferred Karen's tuna salad to my mother's but I'd never actually seen her make it before. Today I learned her secret. As she was whipping it all together she added just a touch of mustard. It was only about a teaspoon but it was the only thing that I could see that was different.

"So that's your secret," I said.

"What? Oh, hell, I forgot you were watching." Suddenly she brandished a spoon at me. "You have to promise you won't tell your mother. She's been after me for years to tell her what I do different."

"What is it with you women?" I asked, laughing. "You're best friends and you won't tell her something so simple. Angela was the same way with her potato salad. Her whole family had been after the recipe forever and she won't tell anyone. Now you expect me to keep the secret from my own mother. You do realize what she'll do to me if she finds out I knew and didn't tell her? The only way I can not tell her is to not ever make it that way myself. Otherwise she'll ask what I did different. That's just not fair."

I noticed she was looking at me with a sad expression for just a second but then the look went away. I suddenly realized I had referred to Angela in the present tense. Fortunately she didn't question it, but just moved on.

"No, that's the best part, if she finds out you know, you just tell her you were sworn to secrecy. Trust me, she'll give you hell but she won't make you tell her. Just be careful not to ever do it in front of her and you can enjoy years of tormenting her in her own kitchen. Seriously, how many things can you make that are better than hers? That she will admit are better than hers?"

I thought about it. "Just pancakes really."

"See? Now there are two things. It's just one of life's universal games, Jimmy; friends play them all over the world." I hadn't noticed but she had been making my sandwich as we talked. She deftly cut it in half and set it on a plate, added a small handful of Doritos and handed me the plate. Scooping up ingredients she opened the fridge and said, "We have milk, water, ice tea, and one last lonely diet Pepsi."

"Milk please."

"Coming right up," she said, bending down to put the veggies back in the crisper. I couldn't help but notice the way the material of her suit stretched when she bent over. I guess I was staring again and this time she caught me. "Not bad for thirty-eight, huh?"

My eyes tracked to the sound of her voice and I noticed her looking back under her arm at me.

Laughing, she stood and grabbed the milk off the top shelf, then turned and set it on the counter. I was blushing about seven different shades of red by now. She quickly filled a glass and handed it to me. "Thanks for noticing, you made my day. With Tom being sick for so long, it's been a while since I felt appreciated. It's nice to know guys still look. Can I get you anything else?"

"Karen, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, it just sort of happened. I never really paid attention before but when you got up out by the pool I couldn't help but notice where Shannon got her figure from. So how is Tom doing? Any word from the doctors yet?"

"No, it's still too soon. We're hoping to know something next week. God, I pray he's alright. I don't know what I'd do without him.

"We all do, Karen. And no matter what happens, you won't be alone."

"Ha!" she laughed. "That's half the problem. The thought of trying to handle those two kids of mine without him just scares me to death." I started to say something but she stopped me. "I know what you're saying, Jimmy, and thank you. I know I can count on all of you to be there for us no matter what."

"Well, it's a moot point; he's going to be just fine, I'm sure of it."

She stepped around the counter and kissed me on the cheek. "Thanks, Jimmy, for everything. Come on out when you're done and you can tell me about your classes."

There are far worse ways of spending a sunny afternoon that being the focus of attention for three beautiful women.

"What's in the bag?" Allison asked on the way home.

"Homework." I knew the answer wouldn't satisfy her but I really didn't know how I was going to explain it.

"Homework? School hasn't even started yet, who gave you... , it's from Mr. Shelby isn't it?" She opened the bag and pulled out a disk. "CSI?" She pulled out the others, "That's right; Bob wanted you to watch these. They're numbered; so you only have to watch some of them?"

I pulled over and stopped, put the truck in park and turned the radio down. "Allison, I told you I can't talk about it, this is just the beginning of some research that I need to do. They said that once I understood that I would agree that I can't talk about it. Not even to you. Allison, I need to ask you to leave this alone until I understand what they are talking about. I promise that once I know what is going on, I will tell you if I can. Can you do this for me?"

She thought for a moment then put the disks back in the bag. "I'm sorry, I won't ask again, promise. It must be important or they would never have asked you to keep it secret, especially from me. Bob knows how much you rely on me. I'll trust his judgment and leave it alone until you're free to talk about it."

"Thanks. My biggest problem is going to be finding time to watch them. I don't have a DVD player in my computer and I don't want to have to explain to Mom and Dad why I'm watching them. Especially these episodes in particular."

"Then maybe it's time to update your computer a little. In fact, why don't you just buy a new laptop, then give me your old PC and then I'll give mine to Shannon. She was supposed to get one for her birthday but then her dad got sick and money's been so tight..."

"I don't know, I mean I know I can afford it, but still. I don't want to get in the habit of tapping the account. It's not like I have unlimited funds. The truck took a lot, and the rest is supposed to pay for Amber's school."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Jimmy, you have a great gift that is going mostly unused."

"Unused? Allison if I had any more on my plate I think I'd go nuts."

"No, that's not what I meant. You have these big projects. Finding this psycho killer is a big job, dealing with the mess in Vegas is going to be even worse, and there are other things that come and go. But you have this massive potential that is going untapped, and I've been thinking that you can do two things at the same time."

"Okay, you've lost me."

"Yeah, it's kind of complicated. You've got this gift, you can move into people's dreams. People you meet, and now, lately, even people you've had almost no interaction with at all. I've been thinking maybe you could use it to do some good and do something for yourself at the same time. In today's society nothing buys freedom like cold hard cash. Look at this truck. Without Angela's reward you wouldn't have the freedom and mobility you enjoy today. You got it for an anonymous tip to a hot line. There are lots of unsolved cases out there, Jimmy, a lot of them with rewards. I'm wondering if studying the cases might be enough to allow you to find the people responsible. If you can find them, and bridge them, you can find the evidence necessary to point the police to them and claim the rewards. That money can buy you the freedom you need to do even more with your gift. Think about the kinds of things you could accomplish if you didn't have to worry about the everyday problems."

I had to admit, her idea did have merit, and my talent had been growing steadily. Could it work as she suggested? Would the desire to find someone be enough to do it? Of course, with the right information I could always put Walter on the trail and let him track them for me. He had found Angela after all, even if it had proven unnecessary in the end. That could be interesting all by itself. "That's an interesting idea, Allison. I hadn't thought about it, but you may be on to something. I'll give it some thought; I certainly could use a new computer. Maybe I'll ask Dad about it."

"Well, of course you have to talk to Dad. You can't just show up with a new laptop out of the blue. Just tell him you need it for research. If he pushes tell him what you told me. He'll understand, but he'll want to know that you've thought seriously about it before you spent that much money."



-------

Chapter 10: Forests and Trees

The conversation with my dad went pretty much the way Allison had predicted. Then I had to start researching what to get. Windows based notebooks pretty much rule the business world, but the academic community has always favored Mac. The Windows models had a ton of software pre-installed, most of which I would never even use. A basic MacBook came with everything I would need and since all the software was controlled by Apple, the system tended to be more stable. The real clincher was my dad suggesting I call Bob and ask if he could get a discount as a teacher. My only issue with that was that it would mean he would have to buy it under his name, which technically was cheating the system a little.

"Not at all, Jimmy," he assured me. "You can actually buy it in your name and still qualify. You are in fact a student. Normally you would order it online and wait a week or so to get the discount but I think it will be a lot easier if we just go over to the college bookstore and see what they have.

Turns out somebody up there likes me; what they had was several units on closeout pending the arrival of the new model for this year. The newer one would have a larger hard drive and a slightly bigger screen but I didn't really think I needed either. I especially didn't need to spend the extra $500 bucks.

One thing I'll say; compared to getting my PC up and running when Dad bought it way back when, the MacBook was a users dream. I only had to register once instead of wading through twenty-seven different user license agreements; just turn it on, plug it into the internet and off you go. I was back to the house by noon and up and running before one o'clock. The largest part of the delay was that the unit had been sitting in the box and needed to be charged up for a while, but even that wasn't a big problem since I was really only using it in my room right away. I don't run into that many things that I really need the internet for and I had managed to go this long with a wired connection, so I really couldn't see trying to talk Dad into the extra expense of a wireless router for something I didn't plan on using that much. I could use the wireless features if I had to go out someplace and needed them, but for now it was everything I needed in one convenient little package.

CSI was a real eye opener. I watched the first three episodes Bob had tagged before dinner, and the last one after. It took me a while to figure out what Bob and Lizzy had been talking about. I was about two thirds of the way through the first episode with Lady Heather when what they had been hinting at finally hit me. Still, it was obvious there had to be more to it, or they wouldn't have been so insistent that I needed to learn and understand. Heck, if this was all there was to it I could have stopped after the first episode. Let me make one thing clear, I'm not a big television watcher, never have been. I find most of the sitcoms border on the retarded and bear no resemblance to life at all. I have never really found that many characters that I felt were really, really, well done by the actors portraying them. Melinda Clarke should be immortalized. Lady Heather has to be one of the most real characters I have ever experienced. She fascinated me, mesmerized me. It was obvious to me why Grissom's character became so enamored of her. I don't know what other material Bob had in mind for me, I assumed it pertains to what they wanted me to do, or thought I should do, but the message they were sending me was pretty clear.

Amber was a submissive, also called a bottom as I learned later.

That was not a bad thing in and of itself, but she didn't know it. Worse, she had discovered it in a bad situation and didn't understand it. What had happened to Angela, the kidnap, confinement, torture, and rape, was beyond horrific. The fact that she had been rescued no more than hours before death was worse. The reality that she had enjoyed any part of it was tearing her apart. On the final night of her captivity I had seen a hint of it and never even realized it. Bound to a bench by a leather and steel collar, cut and bleeding from struggling against the handcuffs, her captor had forced her to orgasm using a vibrator to stimulate her. When it was over she collapsed against the bench, cried and finally, after almost a month of struggling, gave up. I assumed that it was the shame of being forced to experience pleasure under such circumstances. I now knew that I had been wrong. It was shame, that part was right, but it was shame on a different level. She felt ashamed that she had enjoyed it. Some part of Angela craved the domination. The bondage and feeling of helplessness only heightened the sensation for her. I don't believe she enjoyed the torture, especially considering the extent of the damage, but on some level, a part of her had not only enjoyed it, but really gotten off on it, and the guilt was slowly killing her.

Okay, so now I knew what the problem was, so what do I do now? As I said, there had to be more to it than just knowing the problem. I wasn't really that close to being ready for bed so I started making notes about things that stood out in what I had seen. I even went on-line to start looking around for information. Apparently there is a whole subculture out there that I didn't know about. Not surprising considering I'm only sixteen and just getting started. This wasn't exactly beginner's stuff.

In the show, Lady Heather had stressed empowerment. At first that confused me and it took a while for it to filter through. This dark new world that I was supposed to learn about, apparently needed to learn about, was all about trust and control. The weirdest part was that the ... victim if you will, the person being tied up and, not so much tortured, although some times that was clearly the case, but dominated, that was the person in charge! He or she wielded the ultimate control over the situation. With a single word spoken at any time, everything stopped. That was the control, and their knowledge of that power, that control, was a powerful tool, allowing them to push to their ultimate limits. But the trust! How could you trust anyone willing to do that much to another human being? To give yourself over to them and let them do whatever they wished, trusting that if you spoke the safe word, all would stop and you would be released, cared for as necessary, and from what I saw, some of the more extreme cases must have needed medical attention at some point. To trust someone capable of inflicting such pain and damage to stop at the mere exhalation of a single spoken word; that was trust on a level I simply did not comprehend. The thought that Bob and Elizabeth wanted me to somehow be involved with Amber in this way, for the more I thought of it the more it became clear that this was indeed what they were hinting at ... Could I do it? I'm a nice guy; I don't hurt people, not on purpose anyway. Could I tie her up, dominate her, possibly even cause her pain, and have sex with her at the same time?

I practically jumped off the bed as a voice somewhere in my mind seemed to say, "You would if you loved her."

It's not that the voice was loud and screaming at me, it was nothing like that which made me react the way I did, but the knowledge, even the thought that this was true startled me. I settled back down and stared at the computer screen as the screensaver forced a never-ending stream of fractal patterns across the display. How could anyone think of this as love? How could you do this to someone you loved? The answer came on the heels of the question. Isn't that what love is about? Wasn't it doing something for someone else without regard for yourself? If this was the road to bringing someone you love joy, then should you not, out of love, walk that road? If for no other reason than to keep them safe? In all my sexual relations, including the times with Angela, I strove to bring my partner as much pleasure as I could. Just because this particular playground was something I was not interested in for myself, did that give me the right to deny it to my partner even though I knew that deep down it was not only what she wanted, but what she craved?

I really needed to talk to someone. Unfortunately, my usual go-to girl for intelligent conversation and analysis I couldn't talk to. In fact, I now understood why they had said I shouldn't, couldn't, talk about it. It was part of the trust. You kept the secret. This was the kind of thing that got you shunned in polite society, excommunicated from the church, locked up in a ward somewhere and labeled as a freak if word got out. I, along with Bob and Lizzy, knew Amber's secret. I could talk to Bob and Lizzy because they also knew, but no one else unless and until Amber gave me permission to do so. I suddenly realized that somewhere along the way I had made the mental turn, or shift that Allison had been pushing me toward. When I thought of the past, it was of Angela, when thinking of the present and future, I thought of her as Amber.

Trust was everything in this world, to break trust ... if you were the tormentor and your 'victim' spoke the safe word and you did not stop, you would never, ever, be trusted again. In fact, people that trusted you in the past would do everything in their power to see you destroyed. Arrested, tried, convicted, locked up and left to rot for the rest of your life. Which probably wouldn't be long; I don't think you'd last long in most prisons if word got out that you tortured and raped people, and that's what it became if you didn't stop. As long as they had control, it was consensual. If you kept going it wasn't. In most places they didn't care if it was consensual or not, and just being involved in something like this would get you locked up and branded a deviant for life. Great, so now I had to confront Amber with this and get permission to talk to someone and try to figure out how to help her. Was this even something she really wanted? How could I be sure I was reading this correctly?

Again, the question answered itself, prom night we had done a little rough-edged role playing at one point. Angela had enjoyed it so much she passed out. I attributed it to a side effect of my gift, or maybe a part of what makes it work, I don't know for sure. It was something Allison had suggested that Bob had yet to accept but also couldn't refute. She had suggested that maybe I was subconsciously projecting my emotions onto the people I was in contact with and that this was the reason that the girls frequently passed out having sex with me, that I pushed my emotional energy, in this case pleasure, onto them until they overloaded. There were other ramifications but we hadn't come up with a safe way to test them. For now we just accepted the possibility. It was as reasonable an explanation as any other we could come up with. But what if that was not the answer, or only part of the answer? What if Angela passed out because it was just that good for her? I needed to talk to someone; this was not an area that I could afford to make a mistake in. I had to be sure, absolutely sure, that I was right. I really needed to talk to someone.

A check of the clock confirmed that it was still way too early for bed. I was starting to think in circles and every lap was getting a little worse. I needed something to distract myself, take my mind off of all this so it could settle and I could look at it rationally. I realized then just how much I had come to rely on Allison. Just talking to her always seemed to help. She would sit quietly and listen until I was out of words, then she would think for a moment and start asking questions. These always helped to clarify what I was feeling, open the doors that the pressure was holding shut, take away the confusion and pain and let me ... I stopped suddenly in mid thought. Take away?

My mind flashed back through recent history, times of stress, anxiety, and worry; the emotional pain of the visions; of seeing innocent young girls being ... destroyed. Feeling it all from somewhere inside the destroyer's twisted soul. When had I finally pushed away the horror of it? Diane McKenzie was the first. I ran myself sick trying to escape what I had seen and felt. I could barely even begin to tell Bob what had happened; barely get through the basics of what I had seen. After school I had talked to Allison, and she had sat quietly and listened to it all as usual. All of it, the whole story, not just bits and pieces. When I was finished she started the questions, sucking out more details, and I got through it all, and after that I could think about it, look at it objectively ... live with it. The dream of my parent's death: I was frantic when I called the hotel. Afterwards, I had told Allison what I had seen, she had crawled into my lap and held me, and... , suddenly I could think again. All this time I thought she had done it because she was upset. What was I thinking? Of course she was upset, but now I wondered if just maybe there was a lot more to it.

Closing my new notebook I stood up and realized that I had been sitting for a long time. Muscles ached and even my head felt heavy on my neck. I put on a suit and headed out to the pool. Allison was in the living room, reading. She looked up as I came down the hall and I motioned her to come join me. She nodded and closed up her book. I didn't wait but went straight out into the water. Our pool isn't big enough to swim actual laps but you can get a few strokes in end to end and that was all I really needed, just to be able to stretch out and let my muscles remember how they were supposed to feel. I was floating on my back just staring up at the night sky when I felt a wave that wasn't mine. It was followed shortly by a hand stroking my side.

"How are you doing, everything okay?"

I let my feet drop and pulled myself upright, as soon as my feet touched I moved close, slipped my hands around her waist, and pulled her to me. Her arms automatically slid around my neck and her mouth met mine. It was just a slow, intimate kiss, but for the first time ever I consciously tried to focus and put everything I felt into that kiss. I wasn't really sure what I should be doing, but I grabbed onto every pleasurable sensation I was feeling and concentrated on making her feel good. It felt longer but after only about thirty seconds she broke the kiss and pulled away gasping for air.

"I was right," I said. "How long have you been doing that?"

She shook her head like she was trying to clear it and pulled me toward the steps at the shallow end. I sat next to her and waited for her to answer.

"Doing what?"

"You know what I mean, doing that, whatever it is you just did."

"I know, but what is it you think that I just did?"

"I don't know what to call it, but I was thinking about some stuff earlier and it hit me that talking to you always seems to get me through whatever is bothering me. I had passed it off as the usual relief from talking about something, but it's more than that."

"More how?"

"What?"

"How is it more? How is it different from what you thought before?"

"Okay, take the first vision I had of Diane McKenzie. When I talked to Bob I could barely speak, barely think about it without being overwhelmed, I had to give him bits and pieces. But later, when I talked to you about it, I got through the whole thing in one continuous stream, the more I talked the easier it got, you asked questions and pulled out details and it still didn't bother me. Once I started thinking about it there were other times, nothing as obvious as that, but lots of other events. You're somehow taking my emotional overflow, aren't you?"

"Yes. I wasn't trying to be evasive; I just wanted to see how much you had figured out; as for how long ... a long time."

"That whole thing with suggesting to Bob that I was subconsciously projective, what was that all about?"

"It's the truth, you really are. You do affect the people around you, and it's a lot stronger with physical contact. Until now I didn't know if you could do it consciously or not. There were signs starting to appear, I wanted you to have a reasonable explanation before anyone noticed. For one thing it would make you more careful. It's been getting stronger, and if every girl you make love to passes out it's going to attract attention. I really wished it hadn't happened to Angela on prom night. That meant three other people had seen it happen. As we now know, Angela wasn't really a problem, she knew about you already. Not about that, but about the important stuff and if we can trust her with that then this is kids stuff. But Cindy and Tim, especially Cindy, that's different. Girls talk, sooner or later someone is going to ask her about you and she's going to tell them how good you were with Angela."

"I think it may have already started." I told her about the girls at registration and what Bob had said. "Allison, I'm not interested in dating and fooling around. Why would she do that?"

"First off, it doesn't matter whether you do anything or not; rumors tend to take on a life of their own. As to why she would say something ... Jimmy, you're a nice guy. A girl you cared for died and you've been alone ever since. She may be trying to help you find someone and move on. If you do wind up with someone else..." I started to interrupt but she held up her hand to stop me. "Don't say it, you didn't plan to be with Angela, but it happened, and it could happen again. In fact, if Cindy breaks up with Tim, I think she's likely to come looking for you herself. You don't know how tempting the thought of an orgasm that strong is. I know you're not looking but you may have noticed that things have a way of happening around you. All I'm saying is that if you should wind up with someone new, take it easy." She cuddled to my arm and I felt her giggle a little before she continued, "I know it's not in your nature not to give it your best but maybe you should try to hold it to eighty percent or so, and try to stick to healthy partners, you catch a girl with a bad heart you might kill her."

"That's not funny."

"I know," she said, still giggling. "I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea."

"So, how do you do it? When did it start?"

"I don't really know. It was like realizing that you were real in my dreams, I was doing it automatically long before I knew about it. It probably started in dreams. You remember how when we were little you could just come into my room and it would calm me down? It was probably happening then. Everything for me is more intense when it's with you. Eventually I recognized it and started learning to control it. The more I learned and the more I did it, the better I got. I can feel it in other people. Not nearly as strong, but I always know when someone is lying. I also learned to shield against it; that's what allows me to keep my head when things go haywire, I block it out. It's hardest with you because there is just so much. You notice how I tend to sit quietly and wait for you to finish before asking questions?" I nodded. "It's good practice in any case but I started doing it at first because I didn't have a choice. It took everything I had to focus on the emotional load. If I tried to do more it would start to overwhelm me. So I learned to sit patiently and listen and concentrate on absorbing the overflow and channeling it away."

"Away where?"

"Beats me, I don't know where it goes. Once I take it I just sort of let it go and it disappears."

I thought for a moment. "So then what just happened?"

"I wasn't ready for it. It's always been an unconscious thing, you've never actually tried to push it at me consciously before. I didn't even know you could so I wasn't expecting it. Besides, you were touching me so it was stronger, by the time I realized what was happening, it was too late."

"I didn't know I could either, wasn't even sure I was doing it right. Could you have handled it if you were ready?"

"Probably. I don't know for sure. I've never had to deal with so much at once. What I couldn't absorb I could just block out if I knew it was coming." She looked away and I knew there was more.

"Or?"

"Kiss me again. Push as hard as you can."

I leaned in and pressed my lips to her, pushing my pleasure at her. Everything was fine for a few seconds then suddenly I had to pull back as the sensation thundered back at me. It took my breath away and made my head spin.

"Wow, what did you just do?"

"I fed it back to you; think of it as banging on a drum from the inside. Each time you hit it, you get the sound, then the echo, then the next hit adds to those sounds, and they echo some more. You don't have anywhere to send it but back to me, and I just bounce it back to you, which makes it even stronger. It builds up quickly."

"No kidding. You've obviously been playing with this for a while. So how come I still had those major eruptions in dreams when things got ugly?"

She grinned. "No, I haven't, not that last part anyway, but I've thought about it. I knew this would come up sooner or later. I usually don't need to think about it at all. You're pretty automatic and I mostly do it without thinking. I used it a tiny bit a couple of times when we were making love; just to make it more special for you. I don't think I would dare use it when we were just doing it hardcore bunny style, afraid we might explode or something. Same thing with trying to do it in dreams. As you just saw, you're a lot to take in reality; no way would I attempt it in a dream. You're too powerful there. Think of how limited you are doing this here, but in a dream you can plant a suggestion just by touching someone. No thanks."

"Am I the only one you can do this with?"

"It's taken a long, long, time but I can do it a little with Shannon now too. Mostly during sex, just taking her pleasure and feeding it back to her. I think it's because the emotions are already so strong. I haven't been able to make her pass out or anything so you don't have to worry about me stealing her away from you." She bumped me with her shoulder to emphasize she was just teasing. "You're the only one I've found that really projects, consciously or unconsciously. Everyone else is more like ... leakage. I think Elizabeth is going to be like you, not the same, but similar. I won't be sure until it happens, but from her description, her gift works sort of the same way; she gives and receives ... something ... at the same time. I don't think it's what I do, but it's so close it may actually ... I don't know, but I think I want to be alone with her the first time. I'm a little afraid of what might happen with both of you at the same time. What's really weird is that she may actually be able to see it happening. She is so different, I just don't know." She paused for a moment. "Jimmy, don't make this an issue, okay? I've been doing this for a long time, it doesn't bother me, it doesn't hurt me, and it makes such a difference in your life. Please just let me do this for you, okay? Promise me?"

I thought about it for a few seconds before answering. Finally I nodded and kissed her hand and we sat together watching the stars for a while before going in to bed. Tonight, for no reason I could name, I wanted her close. Not for sex, but just to be touching her. Holding her close to me made everything that was going on somehow not so bad. I don't think it was anything she was doing on purpose, but I was more relaxed than I had been in a long time. Weird considering all the crap I was about to go off and deal with. I didn't think I could handle one more crisis or problem.

Never, ever, think that. I think the only thing that could be worse is if you said it out loud.


-------

Chapter 11: Damage Report


Rebecca

This was bad with a capital B.

"You didn't see this," I told Paul, "You don't know what's inside." I put everything back in the envelope and handed it to him, "Hold onto this, and if anyone, anyone,  tries to take it, destroy it immediately. I'll get clearance to take it out without further tests. Wait until you hear from me. It won't take long." I walked back over to the tech on duty. "That envelope does not exist, you are not to log it in or mention it to anyone, you are to remain in this room until cleared to leave, do you understand?"

He stared at me with wide eyes, gulped once and croaked, "Yes ma'am."

I opened the door and looked back before stepping out into the hall. "Lock the door behind me, no one in or out until you are cleared by the director personally."

Rod was in his office on the phone again. He saw me coming and I made sure I caught his eye. He was off the phone by the time I opened his door. Most people would have locked the door behind them and pulled the blinds but I was doing my best to attract a certain level, and type, of attention. I left the door open behind me and whispered, "Yell at me," as I moved toward one of the chairs.

"Close the god damn door!" he bellowed. Out of the corner of my eye I saw several heads turn our way but Rod quickly stood up and stared out at the faces, several of which were turned our way. Just as quickly as they had turned at Rod's outburst they all found something incredibly interesting somewhere else that demanded their immediate attention. Without hesitation Rod stalked to the door and slammed it, then rounded on me. "What the hell do you think you are doing barging in to my office in the middle of a conversation?" He hesitated just long enough to give the illusion that I had started to answer then went on, "I don't care if I was ordering lunch from the corner deli, you will knock and wait for me to tell you when you can come in, do you understand me, Agent Hampton?" He stalked back to the desk and sat down.

By now I'm sure ears were burning all over the office. I rolled my eyes at Rod and gave a couple of silent claps with my hands in front where no one would see. He winked and bellowed, "Well don't just stand there, what's so damn important?" Again he waited just a second, and said, "Sit down, you're going to give me stiff neck, and this better be good."

I sat down and said quietly, "We have a problem..."

Five minutes later we were in the lab and I was showing him the note and the pictures. Rod repeated my instructions to the tech on duty: The envelope, as well as anything inside it, was classified. The logs would show that it had been received, inspected, and passed on to him directly to handle. No mention of Paul's presence was to be recorded anywhere. He then excused the tech so we could talk without attracting the kind of attention we would if we had gone back into his office.

"Obviously he's still stalking you. Do you recognize where the shot of you and Bob was taken?"

"No, too generic, it could be any of several places; I can't even tell if it's inside or out. The background is too blurred. There's no detail to pick out." I looked at the photo again and pointed. "There's not even anything on the table that stands out."

"He chose his shot well. So he knows who Bob is, and he knows you're involved. By the way, I guess congratulations appear to be in order. Try to look surprised when he pops the question." He flipped to the next picture. "Freeman, can you excuse us please? Don't go far."

Paul nodded and headed for the door without comment, but he caught my eye and gave me a questioning look as he went by. I gave him a carefully neutral expression as he passed. I didn't want him to think I was committing to share information with him later, especially since I had no intention of doing so.

Rod waited for the door to close before continuing, "There's a whole lot about all of this that bothers me. For starters, that's not Jimmy. Jimmy is supposed to be sixteen; this guy is in his forties. So if it's not your boy, then who is he? And why does your killer think it's him? And how the hell did he get the name in the first place?"

"I don't know. We're getting into dangerous territory here Rod. You're right, that's not Jimmy, that's his father."

"Shit, and this is his mother?" He asked, holding up the other photo. I nodded. He put the pictures down and began pacing the room.

"Who's Allison, his sister? Girlfriend?"

"Sister. You know her as a golden retriever."

He stopped and reached up to massage his temples with both hands, then stepped to the door and motioned for Paul to come back in. He pointed to me, then to Paul and then motioned us both to be silent. Moving to the desk he took a notepad and started writing.

I want Hampton's phone checked out, can you do it without turning it off? He glanced at Paul who nodded affirmatively. Rod turned back to the pad and wrote, Do it now, I want to know if anything is even a little bit wrong, my first concern is whether or not it has an active bug on it; whether or not anyone can hear what we are saying. If there is, leave it alone. If you find anything else, leave it alone; just tell me what you find and we'll go from there. Rebecca, give him your phone and say something that sounds official and case related.

I handed Paul my phone and he moved quickly to a workbench and started carefully taking it apart. "I think we may have to look into protective custody for all of them. They could be in danger."

"I agree," he said out loud. He pointed to the pad where he had written, I need you to pick a place where you and Bob can go where Paul can meet you and check his phone. I don't really think yours is bugged, I think it's his. Yours would be too hard to get access to, and it's a secure phone so it's almost impossible to tap. "But it may be too soon to jump that particular hurdle, let's see how it plays out. Do you think they are in any immediate danger?"

"Only because he seems to think they are involved. He's reaching here, hoping I'll show him if there's a connection or if he's guessed wrong. Once he figures out they're just acquaintances of Bob's he'll leave them alone. I'm just concerned that he'll jump to the wrong conclusion and innocents will get hurt." I took the pencil and wrote, I'll talk to him privately tonight and we'll figure something out.

Paul was already walking back towards us; the phone was in a couple pieces on the table behind him with wires attached to it. He took the pencil from me and wrote: It's been messed with for sure. The SIM card is wrong, I can't tell you what all it's doing but it's definitely not our card.

Rod nodded and took the pad back. See what you can find out, then put it back together and figure out what kind of tests we can run without alerting whoever messed with it. She'll need a new phone, I'll call Dillon and get one, I don't want anything that anyone here may have had access to. I want a team in my office, as well as hers tonight. I want someone at her apartment and my house no later than tomorrow." He tapped my arm and started writing again. Talk to Bob about taking you out of town this weekend, nothing special, but just far enough away and public enough that the killer will want to see what you're up to, I want Paul to sweep Bob's house.

Out loud he said, "Okay, we'll just play this by the book for now. I hate to use civilians as bait but maybe we can get him to do something stupid. Put someone on them and see what happens. Keep me posted on the details."

Paul nodded and left, I took the pad from Rod and wrote; You know we can't put anyone on the kids.

He took the pad back: Nothing here points to the kids. We'll have someone watch the parents. That will allow us to keep an eye on the kids without attracting too much attention. I understand your concern here, but as it stands he is looking at the wrong people. My biggest fear at the moment is that sooner or later he's going to figure that out. Once he realizes who Jimmy and Allison really are he's going to be even more curious about how they are involved. I think you need to stop using them unless you absolutely have to. On the surface you need to cut all ties. You can still meet in dreams, but no more mention of them on the phone. Your phone being compromised tells us how he found out about them. I'm sure you talked about them with Bob at some point and that made him curious. Setting up one of your middle of the day meetings would have been all he needed to get the names. You need to steer clear of them from now on, publicly at least. I'll have your new phone here this afternoon. Let Paul know where you are meeting Bob and he can meet you there to check out Bob's phone. I don't know how he got to your phone... 

I stopped him from going on, his handwriting gets progressively worse the more he writes so it was getting hard to decipher. I took the pad and wrote, we need to talk, someplace random. I waved at Paul to get his attention. How long before you can tell me whether it's got a passive listener, or if it's only on when I'm on the phone?

He looked around the lab for a few seconds and then motioned me to wait. Crossing to a work bench he started playing with a few gadgets and whatsits, then motioned us over. He punched up a notepad on the computer and typed, "Talk about something."

"So, Rod, what does Selena have planned for the weekend? Can I bring something for dinner?"

"Hampton, you know better than to ask questions like that. My job is to show up on time, that's about it, if you want information; you're just going to have to ask her."

"Come on, Rod. Give me a break. If I call her she'll be planning my wedding inside of two minutes."

"No she won't," Rod said, shaking his head.

"Bullshit. You know as well as I do that woman has been out to get me down the aisle since Michael's funeral. Why should she stop now?"

"Oh, she's not stopping. It's just that she's done with the wedding, she's working on the reception."

"Oh that's just great. I'm going to have to sit that girl down and have a serious talk with her. You think she'd let me off the hook if I promised to let her do Amy's wedding?"

"No, she's been working on that one for years." Paul began typing again so he ended it, "All I'm saying is that if you want details for the weekend you have to talk the person in charge and that ain't me."

Paul had bad news: Some kind of short range listener that records and then burst transmits the data somewhere else. I can't do a lot more without powering it down and running some tests. But chances are whoever did this will know if the phone is tampered with. I'll bet your battery life has gone down.

As soon as he said it I realized it was true. I wrote back: Now that you mention it, it does seem that I'm having to charge it more often.

He nodded his head: Do you remember when that started?

I thought for a few seconds before answering: No. Can you give me something that I can use to block it out temporarily? If I kill it all the time whoever did it will know that I'm on to them; just something that I can use to sort of mask it out when I need to. Have you got something like that?

He nodded again: Yes, but you won't need it, it's not that strong a pickup, just leave it in a desk or in your purse. It's using the standard microphone and it's not designed for any kind of range. Whoever it is is probably having to run it through some serious noise filters as it is. If you had it in the back pocket of your jeans they probably wouldn't hear a thing. You tend to carry it in a front pocket or on a belt clip, when you're in the office it's in the drawer; they wouldn't hear anything then. When you're in the boss's office you set it on the desk or on the table: a nice, hard, reflective surface. They probably couldn't have asked for a better resonator.

This just kept getting better and better. I glanced at Rod. He nodded and stepped up to the keyboard. I need to make a call if we're going to have a phone here for you by day's end. No one should know you have this. Keep it someplace you can get to it if you need it and try not to let anyone see you using it. Freeman, forget the team, I want you to handle this personally. No one else is to know about it. Hampton, Bob is taking you to dinner and a movie tonight, at the Mills. I'll have your new phone in a couple of hours, I'm sure Dillon has something I can get on short notice. Get Freeman the theater number. Get him Bob's phone so he can check it out. As soon as he is done with that I want him to come back and do the office. Tomorrow he's doing your apartment, tomorrow night, Bob's place.

I glanced at him and he gave me a look as he kept typing. Don't look at me like that. You said it yourself, lives are at stake, we have to determine how badly we've been compromised and then we have to decide what to do about it. He glanced at his watch. Damn, I'm never going to make it and get you out of here on time.

Paul tapped him on the arm and he relinquished control of the keyboard. Working quickly he brought up what was playing at the Mills and had me pick a movie and time. I'll wait here for the director to get back, then meet you there and bring your new phone. By the time you have dinner it should be just about right. Better to do Bob's place tonight while I'm so close, I'll still have plenty of time to do the office.

It was a start. Cobbled together as it may have been it was the best plan we had on short notice. Now all I had to do was figure out what to tell Bob, and how. One way or the other I was still going to be carrying my phone. If I suddenly switched phones or stopped carrying mine, it would be obvious. I couldn't risk calling him or the kids. There was too much at stake already. How long before the killer figured out he was watching the wrong two people? For that matter, why hadn't he already? Based on the times most of the calls would have been made it should be quickly apparent that the parents would be at work. That left little doubt about who the calls were actually being made to. The real question was whether or not I could tell them, or even if I should.

I wasn't really that hungry when I finally got to Bob's. He could tell by looking at me that something was up. I had pre-printed a note which simply said, "Trouble. It's going to be a weird night. Don't ask questions until dreamtime, just go along with whatever I say or do. Destroy this note."

I slipped him the note as I kissed him and said, "Mmm, missed you, traffic was terrible and I have to go. Be right back." I left him to read it as I headed off to the little girl's room. I really did have to go. I finished the necessities and returned as he was running the note through his shredder. "Did you decide on dinner? I'm not really that hungry so I'll be happy with popcorn."

"I'm not that hungry either," he answered. "But I think I'll grab a sandwich before we go. Are you sure you don't want one? I picked up some pastrami from that deli we found last time."

"Ooh, really! Okay, you talked me into it. Do you want a whole one or can we share."

"I like sharing; it's one of those critical skills they taught me in kindergarten. Lately..." he grabbed my butt through my jeans, "I like it a lot!"

"Hey now, don't start that or we'll miss the movie. Not that that would be horrible or anything but I'd kind of like to see this one on the big screen and I don't know when I'll get another chance."

We made the movie with plenty of time to spare. Considering the prices we decided we could split a medium popcorn and a bottle of water. As the lights went down Paul went past us for a seat farther down the row. As he passed he dropped my new phone in my lap. About thirty minutes into the movie he went back by, stumbling as he tripped over my feet. As I helped him back up I slipped Bob's phone into his hand and he headed off down the row and out of the theater. About a half hour later Bob had an urgent need to use the restroom, where he recovered his phone and a note from Paul. Paul never actually made it back into the theater. Bob had traded his house keys for the phone and Paul was on his way to see just how bad it might actually be. I read the note on the way back to the house.

"The phone is actually clean. Nothing I can find to say that it's been tampered with. Based on some signal testing I did I think it's likely there is a clone out there and someone is listening in on the calls; probably it's fed to a recorder and checked periodically rather than someone sitting around waiting for him to get a call. I didn't get to the car. Have to do that some other time. I'll be gone by the time you get to the house. Notes will be in the freezer in a pint of Ben & Jerry's. What can I say, I was hungry, I didn't even get popcorn. Call or text me later and we'll go over questions. P"

I showed Bob the part about him not getting to the car so he would know we couldn't talk yet. We chatted about the movie and school starting up again. Once we were back at the house I went straight to the freezer. There were actually two pints, one was Cherry Garcia and it was empty except for several sheets of carefully folded paper. The other was a full pint of my personal favorite, Phish Phood. Yeah, I know it sounds disgusting but don't knock it 'til you try it. If you like Rocky Road, stay away from this stuff or you'll never be content with anything less again.

Paul's note was pretty straight forward and to the point.

"Two cameras: one in the living room, one in the bedroom. These are very similar to what we found in the girls' houses but they also include a full time audio channel. The rest of the place is clean. Audio pickup from the living room camera would be enough to cover most of the living areas. The bedroom would pick up the bathroom but it would be a bitch to filter out the shower noises if you were in there together. If you're yelling back and forth over the noise it would catch everything. Recommend Bob get his car serviced soon if you know what I mean. Off to sweep the office, and don't forget, we have to do your place again soon. P"

So now the question was whether or not we should disable the cameras. On the one hand it would let the killer know beyond doubt that we were on to him. On the other, I'm not that big on doing it for an audience. Paul had marked the locations for us so it was just a matter of deciding what to do. My inclination was to rip them out. I mean obviously we were on to him, he sent me a fucking letter. I needed a second opinion and right now there was only one I trusted. Time to check out Bob's landscaping, and my new phone.

Right off the bat I didn't like it. I've pretty much always had a flip and this was one of those with everything out in the open all the time. You had to actually push a button to get the damn thing to answer, and then another one when you were finished. How stupid is that? You had to manually lock the keypad to prevent it from dialing by itself when it was rolling around in your purse or pocket. I mean, come on, my gun needs a safety, my phone shouldn't.

"Rod, Paul found two cameras in Bob's place. Updated versions of the ones we found before, these had an audio channel the others didn't. His phone is okay but Paul thinks it may have been cloned which would make a lot more sense than tampering. Mine couldn't be cloned so ... I'm wondering if we're going about this wrong. I mean obviously he knows we're after him, so why play around with this stuff. If we leave it, it may still have value to him even if we are careful what we're doing all the time. If we rip them out he loses them and has to expose himself if he wants to replace them. It's not going to get us any closer to him hiding our knowledge. Just thought of something: If he could get to my phone to replace the SIM he may have been able to get enough info to actually clone it. It's not impossible, just difficult."

I waited while he digested that little tidbit. Finally he answered. "It's something to think about but for now let's stick to the plan," Rod said.

"Should I tell the kids they're in danger?"

"Not in danger, no. I don't want to scare them. But they're bright kids. If you tell them someone has been listening to Bob's calls they'll understand the risk. As far as the rest of this goes, I agree, take out what we find and make him work for his intel. Besides, he may decide to have a little fun with you and I don't want anyone dropping video of you and the good doctor on my desk."

"I don't think there is any real danger of that. He never released any of the footage he had on any of the girls, and that computer was loaded with clips. I don't think he really likes to share. That being said, I don't even want to think about the kind of shit I'd have to live with if he did it for spite because I pissed him off. I'll tear them out and take them to Paul. Call it an early Christmas present for my favorite tech. See you in the office."

It didn't take long to pull the cameras out. One was in the smoke detector in the living room, the other in an air conditioning vent in the bedroom. I made it a point to flip him off before I pulled them down. As I was taking them down I remembered something else and pulled out my phone again.

"Paul? It's me. Listen, if these are the same style cameras then he's got a receiver somewhere near by. Do you think we can find it?"

"Probably, but I can't get back out there until tomorrow. The office is crawling. I've pulled two out of your office already. There were two more in the boss's office and several in public areas. I found four in the restrooms. So far it's all audio-only, but someone has been dropping a load of green; these things aren't cheap. I traced the broadcast to the server room. They've been using our own Internet connection to send the stuff out. I'm trying to see if I can trace where it was being sent too. I don't think I'm going to be able to get it done tonight. This had to be someone inside; I don't think Sandman could have just waltzed into our office. Even if he did, that might account for some of the public bugs, but not the stuff on the server. That kind of access is too risky."

"He bypassed casino security in Vegas, Paul. I don't think our system is any more secure than theirs was. If he wanted it bad enough I think he would find a way."

He chuckled, "Good point, I doubt if ours is even as good, much less better."

"I'm staying here tonight. We'll kill the cameras. If nothing else it will give us a chance to talk while the place is still clean."

"It may not be clean. Just because I found those doesn't mean that was everything. I can only find what's turned on. He could very easily have planted something with a remote switch, or even something on a timer. I doubt if he would bother for a camera but a simple bug would be easy to configure. Be careful."

"Thanks for the warning. I'll see you Monday."

At least we got to shut down the cameras, Bob's extra bed is pretty old and not that comfortable. I don't know if it would have survived the night I had planned for it...

I'm a little different; sex doesn't wear me out and make me sleepy. In fact, the better it is the more awake and energized I am. Bob and I had gotten really good together. Which actually posed a bit of a problem tonight as I really wanted to talk to him but it was likely going to be hours before I was ready to sleep. If I didn't wake him up and start over.

"Actually, as much as I would love that, and for the record I really like it when you wake me up like that, I have some rather important work to do with Jimmy tonight. So if you don't mind I'm going to curl up and get to work. I could use one of your triggers but you'd have to find something to do while I'm with Jimmy, this is a patient thing and I'm afraid we can't invite you."

That was surprising. "I thought your 'professional' relationship with Jimmy was just a cover for working together, I didn't realize you were actually 'working' with him."

"Actually I'm working with him to try and help Amber. As you know she hasn't been doing well. His abilities give me options her regular team doesn't have. I can't actually tell you what we're doing, but tonight's work is very important, if it goes well, it could easily be a turning point for her."

"Well that would be a blessing, I've seen the reports and you're right, she hasn't been doing well. She's been showing signs of slipping into a serious depression and they've been considering medicating her."

He shook his head ruefully, "What is it with doctors and pills? Trust me, that's not what she needs. Jimmy's had Easy Street watching her dreams lately and it looks like we may finally have figured out what's behind it. Like I said, we're at kind of a crucial stage and I may be tied up for a while. Why don't you give Jimmy a call when you're ready and we'll see if I can break away?"

As you can imagine Bob has a pretty nice library. I had been working my way through a four part saga for several months now. Whenever I would visit and find myself with time on my hands I could always rejoin whatever epic quest I had left unfinished on my last visit. My favorite place to curl up and read was in what he called a Papa-San chair. I'm sure you've seen them; they're like a big bamboo bowl with a soft cushion that looks like it was poured into it. It sits on a round stand which you can actually turn the chair in to adjust it to your preference. I kissed him goodnight, made myself a big cup of cocoa and settled in. I was over half way through with the second volume when I last left and before I knew it I had gotten sucked into finishing the book. It was well after midnight and I suddenly realized that I was not only extremely tired, but a little stiff from sitting in the same position for so long. A quick stop in the little agent's room so I wouldn't be interrupted later, a couple seconds to get the pillow just right, and I was out.

Ever since I started working with Jimmy my dreams have had more purpose. I was never one of those dreamy-eyed tea party and flowers kind of girls so I didn't do a lot of fantasy stuff even before I met him. Since then I almost always used it to some constructive end. Unless of course Bob and I were together; he had accused me early on of being all work and no play and said that if I didn't learn to take time for recreation I was destined for an early meltdown. Being the caring soul that he is he immediately began finding things for us to do. When we were together I frequently found myself as a movie extra in some feature film, mostly musicals. Sure, we could have been the stars, but so often they are being harried and rushed through their lives for the benefit of the audience. As extras, we got to take the time to enjoy the dance, which we did quite a bit actually. He had us take a few lessons together to get our personal rhythms in sync and then we were off. It was a lot of fun. We'd danced with most of the greats, well, not actually with them although we could have, but we had shared a dance floor with them.

Tonight was all about work so I landed in the office I had dreamed up for work and called Jimmy as soon as I got in, wishing once again that Jimmy could have rigged it so I could call him directly. You know, the way he did it, just yell his name into space and have him hear me. On the other hand it was nice to know the kid had limits. Lately I had been starting to wonder if there was anything he couldn't do in the dream world. Finding Angela in time to save her had been a wild night if there ever was one. I don't know how he does what he does, but I'm glad to have him. He answered on the third ring.

"Hi, Rebecca."

"Hi, Jimmy. Is Bob with you?"

"No he's not my type; I figured he would be with you." I could almost see Bob rolling his eyes at the comment.

"Very funny, asshole, as a matter of fact he is with me, but he's asleep and I need to talk to him; maybe you too, but him first. It's kind of urgent."

"There seems to be a lot of that going around tonight. I think we're about done here for now, I'll send him to you. This is work, right? You're not just after more of his body?"

"One of these days, Matthews," I said threateningly.

"Okay, okay. He'll be there in a second. I'll talk to you later."

I hung up the phone and within seconds there was a knock at the door and Bob walked in. "Hey there pretty lady, your timing is perfect as always. We just finished up and before you ask, it went very well. I think we're on the right track and Ms. Olsen is about to start making major strides forward. How was your book, did you stay up and finish it or quit early?"

He closed the door, walked over to kiss me, then handed me into a chair and sat down in the one facing it.

"I finished it, that's why I'm so late."

"You're not late as far as I'm concerned, like I said, your timing was excellent. So how bad is it. Cameras in my house are never a good thing unless I can make money off of them and I would have used something with better resolution."

I told him about the letter, holding back only the information that he had been shopping for rings. His expression turned grave when I mentioned the pictures. He showed a little bit of relief when I said they were not of Jimmy and Allison, but went right back when he found out they were of Rick and Cyndi.

"How did this happen?"

"Obviously he's been watching me, which led him to you. Somehow he got to my phone. He probably followed us, or me anyway, here to your place and then rigged your house one night when we were out. I told you that alarm system was a joke. Anyway, we're guessing he used caller ID when Jimmy called from his house and then back traced the numbers to get the address. He's already been in my apartment once, so Paul is going to go and see if he may have come back and left me any little presents. The important thing is that so far he doesn't seem to have made the connection that it's the kids, not the parents. That buys us a little time to try and head this off. No more phone calls on unsecured phones. Rod got me a new one because while mine is hard to get to, it is not impossible and this guy is very good. We don't want him to know we figured out about my phone; let him think he got away with something there. The problem is that you can't call me on yours without him hearing it anyway. So from here out we only talk here. If there is an emergency that calling me can actually help, then call, but if it's not immediately critical then it has to wait until we can meet here. Rod's going to put a watch on Rick and Cyndi. That's still closer than I like them to be but I don't see what choice we have."

He thought for a moment before answering, "I think it's a mistake. I'm not the expert here, but I'm thinking that watching them will just make him think he's onto something. Hell, all he has to do is look at a utility bill to figure out they're not Jimmy and Allison. Once he has that, he has the kids and then he's trying to figure out what's so special about them. This guy with unanswered questions is a scary thing." He got up and started pacing. "I don't think he's been in the house yet. He would have figured it out by now if he had. We need to distract him."

"Wow. You took that really well. I think you're right about the house, and needing to distract him. The problem is I don't know how we can distract him at this stage without tipping him that he's looking at the wrong two. The only alternative I can think of is to just cut contact completely. At least anywhere that anyone can see. You can still talk to Jimmy at school; we can get together at night and talk about important stuff. He can keep working on the case; still help any way he wants, but the phone calls stop now. Nothing. I'll give him my new number and if he spots our man on the street he can call, otherwise no.

"Do we tell them?" He asked.

"I don't want to; there is the risk of behavioral changes that would tip him off. Still, I don't think he's really paying that much attention to them yet so that may not be an issue. I also hate to point out just how badly we've screwed up, but since we obviously have and it's put them and their parents in danger, I think we have to, if for no other reason than so that they know to keep their eyes open and not to talk about us, Amber, or anything else related to the case; and especially nothing about anything going on in dreams. If he does get curious enough to bug the house it will mean that he's figured out that it's them, not their parents, and he wants to know more. If we're going to be cutting off contact, then they deserve to know why. I think I can trust Jimmy and Allison to decide whether or not the information needs to be shared any further. I was thinking maybe I should see them next."

"Probably a good idea, I'm guessing between him and Allison they are going to have some serious questions. Let me give him a call though, I don't know what he's doing but it's likely something we can't walk in on."

I did my best not to think how I should take that statement, I had some suspicions that I was working very hard to ignore. I guess I wasn't doing that good a job of covering as he gave me a look and continued.

"I'll just give him the important stuff and if he can break away then we can talk.



-------

Chapter 12: Here we go, again

Jimmy, Friday Night

I drifted easily into sleep and found myself somewhere I had not been in months: hiding in a closet with a young girl. The scene was poised to play out as it always had but this time there were differences. Always in the past I had witnessed this particular dream, or nightmare rather, as a sort of silent movie. I could see, somehow even sense, things that were happening. I always knew when her father was coming down the hall for instance, even though I couldn't hear his footsteps. This time I heard the front door slam, heard the sudden intake of breath from the girl huddled next to me in the darkness, and heard the heavy tread of work boots as he came down the hall. As always he paused before the closet and just as you expected him to turn and leave, a hand shot into the darkness past the rack of clothes to land on a blonde-trussed head and jerk her into the open. I heard her cry out at the sudden pain, the loud sound of his fleshy hand slapping her face, the creak of the bedsprings as he flung her towards it. The quiet sobbing as she began to unbutton her dress.

"Please, Daddy, no..."

I realized suddenly what I was missing. His voice was the only sound I didn't hear. The scene played out in the usual fashion, with tears in her eyes she dropped to the floor and began her task, as his passion rose his patience ebbed until he began thrusting himself into her mouth, stopping only when she began to choke and wretch as his intrusions went too far. Finally he pulled himself away; the girl climbed up onto the bed and spread herself open for him, the pale white lips, still covered only in the fine down of youth, parting to reveal the pink perfection of her inner opening. Climbing onto the bed he knelt between her spread legs, spitting on his hand and wiping it around her opening several times before roughly stabbing first one and then two fingers into her. Eventually he crawled over her, took her thighs in his hands so she could not squirm away, and forced his way into her. Eyes squeezed shut and biting her lip she whimpered silently at the intrusion.

I was suddenly aware of a cold rage building inside me. I knew better than to trust myself alone in such circumstances, so I shoved it away into the little box I had created somewhere inside just for that purpose. Rebecca had long ago taught us the need to compartmentalize, to separate the emotion from the act and remain rational throughout. Had this been anything besides a memory my emotional turmoil would have long since began altering the environment to fit my mood. I would have to be very careful tonight.

"Oh, that is just sick," Allison's voice suddenly sounded next to me. "Is this the same girl you've been seeing all along?"

"What girl?" Another voice out of the darkness asked. Lizzy stepped forward from behind the veil of dresses and jackets. I wasn't sure when I had actually left the closet. I didn't remember ever leaving it before.

"You mean you can't see them?" I asked.

"See who?"

"Okay, that's a no." Allison said. "Jimmy, do we have to stay for the whole thing or can we go?"

Rather than answer I moved us to my office. We appeared just inside the door and Lizzy immediately started checking out the dècor.

"Wow! Nice place you have here." She stroked her hand over the back of one of the couches. "I love leather. My grandmother had an old leather couch where we would sit and she would read to me. We stayed with her for a whole year when I was five. My father was deployed overseas. I lost count of the times I fell asleep on that couch. Someday, when I have a home of my own, I'm going to have a whole room just like this with all leather furniture," she stopped and looked around at the book cases and other furnishings, "and a fireplace ... right there." She pointed and suddenly a fireplace grew out of the wall, shoving bookshelves apart as it made room for itself. Within moments everything had shifted and resettled and you would never know that it hadn't always been there. When it was finished she turned back and said, "I hope you don't mind, I just thought it would look nice."

"It does look nice," Allison said. "In fact it looks perfect. I never even realized that wall needed something, but seeing it there now it seems obvious. I don't know what your plans are but I think I see a bright future for you as an interior decorator."

"Interior designer, decorator still brings up visions of flamingly gay men prancing around the apartment houses in San Francisco singing show tunes. I haven't given it much thought actually. I'm still undecided on a major so I'm just going to be working on the basics this year and see where God leads me. So what was that place you were in and why were you getting so angry?"

"You really couldn't see any of what was happening?" I asked, "Could you hear anything?"

"No, I was just suddenly in this closet and you were looking so pissed I thought it would be safer to stay there. What happened?"

"It's a recurring nightmare," I answered. "Not mine, but one I started seeing last year. There's this little girl hiding in a closet from her dad or step-dad or something. He comes home, drags her out of the closet, and forces her to have sex with him." I glanced at Allison. "This time it was a lot more detailed than it's ever been. I could hear almost everything that was going on. Before tonight it had just played out like a silent movie. This time I heard everything but him."

"Everything but him?" Allison asked.

"Yeah, that seemed weird to me too. I could hear everything else, even his footsteps. I'm pretty sure he was talking but I never heard any of it."

"I guess that explains why you were mad. I don't imagine you enjoy watching someone abused against their will."

I thought it was odd that she phrased it quite that way, but I let it pass. "You could put it that way."

"I have a question," Allison said. "Did you see him push his anger away?"

"Actually I did. It was really weird, though."

"Weird how?"

"Well, normally when I see someone compartmentalize anger it's like watching someone crumple up aluminum foil before throwing it away; It just gets smaller and more compact and then they sort of move it somewhere and it fades away on its own. Or like opening a curtain where you just sort of peel it back and let something else come through the window and wash it away." She looked back at me. "Yours was different, more like once you started pushing it, it just got sucked away somewhere."

"You mean like it was just suddenly gone? Not compacted and stored but just ... sent, or taken away," Allison said.

"Yes. It was very strange, why do you ask?"

"It's just something I've been thinking about. So, I'm guessing you two need to be alone for a while so you can get caught up."

Elizabeth gave her a half hearted smile. "Yeah, actually we do. Not really alone, we'll probably need Bob too. Do you mind?"

I think she was a little bit startled when Alison stepped in, kissed her on the cheek, and said, "Don't be silly, of course I don't mind. It's important or you wouldn't ask." Then she turned to me. "I think I want to go visit Sam. Can you arrange it and maybe send Shannon when she gets here."

"I could but it wouldn't work. Remember, if she sees you but not me..."

"Oh, right. Shoot. Can you take me real quick and then send Sha' after me?"

"Send me where?" Shannon's voice came from the doorway.

"Well," I said, clapping my hands together, "that takes care of that problem. Make yourself at home, Lizzy. I'll be right back." I took Allison's hand and headed for the door, picking up Shannon on the way and then we all three stepped though the door and into the hallway outside Samantha's bedroom door. I knocked gently and within seconds the door opened to reveal Samantha, wearing only her panties. Without even looking to see who it was, she stepped back and knelt with her eyes on the floor.

I stepped inside and reached down to lift her chin. As soon as I touched her the bracelet I had given her changed and she practically jumped into my arms. The girls rushed in behind me for a big group hug. I gave Samantha quick kiss and said, "I can't stay, but Alice wanted to come spend some time with you. Are you going to stay here or go somewhere else? Maybe a park or the beach or someplace you can relax a little?"

"I don't know," she answered tentatively. "It would be nice to be somewhere else, but..."

Shannon stepped up to whisper in my ear, "Adjust one of her charms to be a temporary key and send us all to Allison's glade, or better yet, yours so we all have control."

I pulled back and kissed her. "You are just so smart." I moved us all to the glade, dressing them all in jeans, tank tops, and boots along the way.

"It is so cool that you can do that," Samantha said.

"Yeah," Allison responded. "But maybe shorts and sandals would have been better."

I gave her a wink and then let out a piercing whistle. The girls kind of winced at the sound but within seconds hoof beats could be heard approaching and then three horses came cantering over the hill towards us. "Gotta run. You ladies have fun and I'll be back to see you when I'm free." I snapped my fingers and I was back in the office where I found Lizzy stretched out on one of the long couches with her head pillowed on her hands and a look of blissful contentment on her face. "Enjoying yourself?" I asked.

"Absolutely, but ... we are here to work, so, how are you coming with your research?"

"Far enough that I understand why I couldn't talk to anyone about it."

The look she gave me said she was impressed. "Very good, but are you convinced that I'm right yet?"

"Well, no, but..."

"No buts. You need to accept this completely or you won't be able to trust what comes later. Do you trust me?"

"Sure, even if I didn't I could stop you anytime you did something I didn't agree with, but yeah, I trust you."

"Good, because I need to be you, and you need to be invisible. Can you do that?"

"No problem."

"Good, and can you stay out of sight until I tell you, no matter what happens?" I must have hesitated too long because she took my hand and said, "Jimmy, this is important. It's probably the most important thing you've done since you rescued Angela. I have to know I can trust you to do this. Promise me that once we start you will do as I ask no matter what? Can you do that? If not then I need to talk to Bob and he needs to tell you that it's that important. I was hoping we could skip that step, but if you need to hear it from him, then call him."

As she was talking I made my decision. "No, I'll do it. Whatever you say, I promise not to interfere."

She took my hand and kissed it "Thank you, Jimmy. I know that I'm asking a lot but when we're done you will know it was necessary. Now, take us to that beautiful little lagoon of yours."

The scene shifted, carpeting and bookshelves were suddenly replaced by sand and clear blue sky. A short ways away the crystal blue water lapped gently at the shore.

"This is such a beautiful place ... Oh well, work. Now, how do you normally bring Amber here?"

"Nothing special really. It sort of depends on the mood and what is going on. Last time I dropped her on the water slide but that didn't work out so well."

"Why not?"

"Well, she was a little freaked out at first, then she realized what was happening and she was okay by the time she got to the bottom and found us all waiting for her. Unfortunately, a few minutes later, she was stopped in the middle of one of the slides with Allison doing her best to comfort her."

"What happened?"

"I don't know, one minute we're fine. It almost felt like she was about to kiss me, the next thing I know she goes all paranoid on me, like she's afraid to touch me."

"Right before things went south, did she seem okay to you or out of sorts?"

"She was okay at first, but then she would sort of stiffen up when I touched her, then she was okay again. It's really frustrating, but I'm trying to be patient. I figured she just wasn't comfortable being touched by a guy yet."

"That's a reasonable explanation but I think it's something else. Tell me; after you saved her, did she ever express a desire to maybe ... thank you on a more personal level?"

I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just funny you should put it that way; that's how we got started in the first place. But to answer your question, yes, she did, but she said she couldn't, not yet anyway."

"Not surprising, and back then that may have been the only reason, now I think ... Jimmy, she's afraid to be with you." I started to answer but she held up her hand and kept going, "She's afraid of what she might do. She wants you, make no mistake about that, but she's having these thoughts about what she really wants from you, she's afraid of what you'll think if you find out. That you will think she's sick or something."

"So, I'm guessing you have something in mind to fix that?"

She smiled. "You could say that. I told you before I can't fix this. You're the one who has to do it."

"I was afraid of that. Lizzy, I don't know if I can..." She stopped me.

"I know. You're not ready for that part yet. It's not your fault; you're just young and inexperienced, at least in this. I'm sure those two keep you very busy. This is just outside of your experience."

"But not yours?"

She got that same serious look on her face again. "I am a tool. There have been many things I have had to learn. I go where He sends me and do what He needs me to do."

I couldn't help but think this girl was selling herself short, but I let it go as she continued.

"That's why I need to be you, and you need to be invisible. I can do what is needed. You need to see the truth; that this is what she needs, so that you can be there for her. Jimmy, you are the one she loves, the one she wants more than anyone else. More importantly, you are the only one she trusts. I will be able to explain more about what that means later. When we are ready, I want you to bring her in on the slide like you did last time. That way, she will recognize what's happening and be ready for it. But first we have to get ready, maybe we should go inside for this part."

I shrugged and moved us inside the cabana. I was surprised to find us both naked when we arrived and did my best to not stare at her, honest, I really did, try that is, but she stopped me.

"No, let it happen," she whispered, "I have to touch you, get to know you or I won't be convincing as you. We'll start simple, kiss me." Her hands sort of flowed up across my chest and up around my neck as she pressed her body against me, her lips seeking mine. I waited to see where she would go next but she pulled back and said, "No, you kiss me. I need to know how you would kiss me, not how you would respond to me. Here, let's try this." Suddenly Amber was standing naked before me. "Now kiss me like you would her, like you're going to make love to me and this is just the first step."

It was the most bizarre thing I had ever attempted and very frustrating. She could not only feel, but see, every time I started to think and hesitate. But she was very patient. "No, no. Relax and just let it happen. I am the girl you love, the girl you risked your very life to save and you love me. Show me now how much you love me. Touch me, Jimmy. Put your hands on my body and show me what I mean to you."

Eventually I relaxed and just let myself fall into the act itself. That's when the real frustration hit as she suddenly pulled back. "Okay, I think that's enough. Don't move." She pulled back, closed her eyes in concentration and suddenly there was another me standing naked in front of me. She kept her eyes closed and ran her hands over every part she could reach. "Nice, very nice. Wow, you're in really good shape, nice firm ass, washboard abs, and this..." She ran her hand lovingly over her, my, erection. "Why, Jimmy, what nice equipment you have. I can't wait to see how it feels inside me."

All I could do was blush. Then she opened her eyes again and suddenly we were dressed in matching bathing suits.

"Okay, so you'll be invisible, she won't be able to see or hear you. She won't hear me when I'm talking to you either. I may need you to do a few things for me along the way so pay attention and don't get caught up in watching the sex show. There will be plenty of time for that later. I wish there were a way you could share my vision, because then it would be a lot easier and go faster. Oh well, we'll have to do the best we can without it. Remember, it's important that once we get started you not interfere, okay?"

"We did this part, I understand, no interference."

"Okay, then set up the slide and drop her in. I'll be at the bottom waiting when she splashes down."

It was very strange observing myself again after so long. The last time I remembered actually observing myself in a dream was the very first time I bridged Shannon almost a year ago. Now there I was, watching myself shoulder deep in the blue water as Amber came racing down the slide. At least she looked like she was having fun. Instead of just washing down the slide, she was coming down flat out like you're supposed to, feet together, slightly elevated, body rigid with the weight shifted towards your head so you came down like a surfboard. A few seconds more and she shot out of the end of the tube and splashed down right in front of the other me. I really liked the yellow string bikini too.

"Well, at least you look like you were having fun this time. I figured if I used the same entrance you would realize where you were sooner. Want to go again?"

Then they were both at the top of the slide, me in front and Angela tucked in close behind me, we were on one of those inflatable rafts they used at the waterpark. Everything seemed fine and soon they splashed down again.

"Where are Shannon and Allison?" Amber asked as she stood and wiped the water from her eyes.

"They're working on a special project. I thought maybe you and I could take advantage of the time alone. C'mon, I'll race you to the bottom this time." A second tube materialized running the exact same path and they each dropped in from the top. It was close but Amber had the advantage of weight and the longer torso, so she actually beat me to the bottom. I popped up out of the water behind her and said, "Nope, I think I like it better going down together." Then we were back at the top, only this time I was sitting behind her with my arms around her waist. About half way down I could see that 'my' hands had moved up to cup her breasts. Then they were splashing down again. Angela had a nervous look on her face as she came up, I'm sure 'I' must have noticed but I ignored it and swept in close, sliding my arms around her, pulling her close and touching my lips to hers. She hesitated at first and then kissed me back, or tried to anyway. After about ten seconds she started pulling away again.

"No!" I said. "Damn it, we are not doing this again." I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the beach. As soon as we hit sand we were both completely dry, even our hair and suits. It struck me as odd at the time but apparently 'I' had a reason. One I would find out soon enough. Sorry if this is confusing to read, believe me it was just as confusing living it.

"When are you going to realize that I am not a threat to you and knock this off? I'm tired of this hot and cold crap." I jerked her around so she was facing me. "Now kiss me."

"Jimmy I..."

"Kiss me!" I screamed at her. She jumped at the sound of my voice and seemed to shrink back a little, but she brought her hands up to my face and leaned in to plant a kiss on my mouth. It was just a little thing and when she tried to pull back, my right hand shot up and grabbed her by the hair on the back of her head, jerking her head back about three inches. Now there was genuine fear in her eyes.

This time my voice was hard and cold, "Kiss ... me." Using her hair for leverage I pulled her face close and attacked her mouth with mine. She struggled and tried to pull back, pushing against my chest, first with one hand, then with both. Using her hair for leverage I pulled her away and grabbed her right hand in my left, twisting it slightly and forcing it up over her head. "Fine, if that's the way you want it."

"Jimmy, what are you..." she cut off as a ball gag materialized in her mouth. She reached with her free hand to try and pull it off but I captured her other wrist and pulled it above her head as well. Once they were both over her head a soft silk scarf wrapped itself around her wrists, securing them to the pole that was suddenly behind her.

Watching this all happen was difficult to say the least. On one level the image was deeply disturbing; on another it was extremely erotic. Without further ado, the other me began kissing her captive's neck and squeezing her breasts through the material of her suit. Apparently that wasn't good enough and suddenly I ripped the material forcibly away. Angela gasped as the material parted, her head coming up and a guttural sound that was not fear coming from behind the gag. As my mouth closed on one of her nipples, sucking hard, she gasped again.

Suddenly I heard Lizzy's voice. "Do you see it?"

I did see it, though it was hard to believe. Angela's nipples were as hard as I had ever seen them; her chest and throat were flushed and she seemed to be having a hard time getting enough air.

Again the voice came. "Come closer and see how wet she is." As she said it she ran the palm of her hand over the front of Angela's suit and down across her crotch. Looking closely I could see she was right. I now understood why she had dried them both when we/they had hit the beach: It was so I would be able to see that the suit was once more very wet, but for a different reason. Angela was having a hard time deciding what she wanted to do. It was obvious that she was very aroused, but at the same time she was moving around trying to escape "my" touch.

"Stop that," I/Lizzy said, and suddenly her ankles were bound by more scarves to stakes in the ground on either side of the post. She pulled the crotch of Angela's bathing suit to one side and her fingers began slowly playing around the opening of her sex as she whispered, "This is what you've wanted all along isn't it?" Angela closed her eyes and shook her head in denial. Lizzy shoved two fingers deep into her oily wetness suddenly and her head snapped up and back. The grunt around her gag and her hips flexing against my palm proved she was lying. If that wasn't enough reinforcement her free hand slapped Angela's buttocks hard, causing her to flinch. "Liar, you know this is exactly what you've wanted all along." Her fingers were now moving in and out of the helpless girl at a respectable pace and she was beginning to pant around the gag; her hips were now on autopilot as she sought release. I could sense her getting close and Lizzy slowed down, eliciting a whine from behind the gag. With her free hand, Lizzy unsnapped the strap on the ball and said, "Admit it and I'll let you come." She shoved hard between Angela's legs, bringing another gasp from the girl. "Say it!" She began fucking her hard and fast, her palm slapping against the wetness of her opening.

"Jimmy, oh please, Jimmy, I don't ... Ow!" Lizzy's hand slapped against her ass again.

"Liar! Say it." Another hard slap and now there was a considerable redness forming on her left butt cheek. Another hard smack, and as her right hand landed her left drove deep into Angela's dripping sex.

"Please, Jimmy. I promise I won't..." Smack! Her muscles contracted around Lizzy's fingers.

This time she whispered, "Say it." Her hand landed hard on her ass only this time is stayed there and she used it to press Angela harder against her left hand as she once more began to fuck her hard and fast. The coup de grace was when she moved her/my mouth forward, sucked Angela's nipple and a fair amount of the surrounding flesh into her mouth and bit down hard.

"Yes!" Angela screamed and her body convulsed, muscles spasming uncontrollably around Lizzy's still probing fingers, breath coming in deep wracking gasps as her orgasm rode her. Suddenly her body went limp and she hung from the restraints like a flag on a windless day.

Lizzy kissed her gently on the cheek and stroked her hair before turning to me. "Now do you believe?"



-------

Chapter 13: The Road to Normal


Angela woke to soft sheets and sunshine, feeling better than she had in weeks. "It was only a dream," she whispered to herself.

"It still is," I whispered back.

Startled, she clutched the soft sheet to her chest and started to roll over, only to find that she couldn't because my arms were holding her pinned close to my body.

"Shhh. Be still, everything is okay."

"Oh my God, Jimmy," she said. I felt her body tense as she realized that she was still in the same dream and that everything she remembered had really happened. The tension turned to silent tremors and the tears began to fall.

Lizzy had warned me that this was the reaction I should expect. I stroked her hair and tried to turn her toward me but she jerked away and buried her face in her pillow. Right, like that's going to work in one of my dreams. Suddenly I was on the other side and the pillow she was trying to bury her face in was my chest. I hugged her tightly to me and continued stroking her hair. When she realized what I had done she tried to pull away again.

"Stop that," I said. "Do I have to tie you up again?"

"Let me go. How can you even want to touch me?"

"Why wouldn't I want to touch you, Angela? I love you. Of course I want to touch you. I thought you liked me touching you."

"But..." she tried again to pull away.

"Stop! Angela, listen to me. There is nothing wrong with you. It took a while, but we finally figured out what's been wrong. Now, stop crying and look at me." I kissed her forehead and carefully lifted her chin so that I could see her face. She started to resist and pull away. "Please, Angels, look at me."

Maybe it was the use of her old nickname, the one that only I had used before her life turned dark, before the madness and the pain. "Look at me, Angels; I'm still me, still the same Jimmy. You are still the same beautiful girl I was so honored to go to your senior Prom with." I changed the scene and suddenly we were in the middle of a dance floor, me in my black tux, her in that plum colored miracle of a dress. We were alone, swaying slowly to soft music. "Everything is the same. Except that now I understand what's been bothering you. Listen to me, Angela, there is nothing wrong with the way you feel." I took her face gently in my hands and kissed her softly. It was only a second before she started kissing me back, and for the first time in months, she didn't tense up or try to pull away. I moved us back to the soft bed and held her to me as I made love to her with my mouth. Finally I pulled away and said, "We need to talk. Would you prefer to do it before or after I make love to you?"

"After," she said and melted into my arms.

I love dream time, you almost never have to hurry, and I didn't. An undetermined amount of time later as we lay together lost in the endorphin rush of orgasmic bliss I said, "Come on, much as I'd like to, we can't stay here all night. We've kept them waiting long enough."

She looked at me quizzically. "Who are they?"

"I'll tell you about it in the shower," I said as I climbed out of bed and reached to pull her after me. I had installed a fresh water shower in one corner of the cabana just for the occasion. It was open to the rest of the room so I just pulled her in and the water started. Sure, I could have just cleaned us up in an instant but where's the fun in that? As I began running my soapy hands all over her I said, "They are the two people who have been helping me understand what has been bothering you. One you know, the other is a new person, a very special and gifted healer that I met. She is the one who figured it out. It took a while; she's been watching you for some time. When she had it figured out she came to meet with me and Bob to explain what she'd seen."

"Bob?" she asked. "You mean Mr. Shelby?"

"The very same. Don't worry, he agreed with her diagnosis and the two of them together started working to make me understand. Her name is Elizabeth, and as soon as she figured out that you were still alive she was adamant about seeing you. You see, years ago she was raped and she was very upset that you were having to deal with all of this alone and cut off from everyone you knew. I took her to see you one night and she wept at the sight of you. You know that mall you keep wandering through? She understood all the symbolism of the place and explained it too me. She's been watching you ever since, trying to figure out what it was that was making you feel so cut off, and why you shut down every time I started to get close to you. Here, rinse off and let's get going. This is fun but if we don't get going I'll be doing it all night."

"That's okay, I like it. So, they've been having me watched?"

"No, I've been having you watched, in your dreams where the truth would come out. As I said, Elizabeth is a very gifted healer. I'll let her explain that later. For now, we're going to go and they are going to explain to you that the feelings you've been having are not bad, sick, evil, twisted, or anything else that you've been telling yourself. They are far more common than I ever would have suspected. Many people have them. You just found out that you have them in the worst possible way and had no one to explain them to you." I dried her hair and spun her around. "Hmm, a nice sun dress I think." I materialized a white cotton dress on her over a strapless bra and white thong panties. I dressed myself in shorts and a white tank top and walked her to the door. "Now, I want you to listen to what they have to say. Be open-minded and honest with yourself." I opened the door and we stepped out on to the walkway leading to the beach where Bob and Lizzy were sitting in the shade sipping iced tea. Both of them stood at our approach, Bob stepping forward to take her hand and kiss it gently.

"Nice to see you again, Angela. Especially looking so good, and I don't mean your clothes. You look whole again, young lady, and that is very nice to see after so long. Allow me to introduce Elizabeth Street, another of Jimmy's amazing friends and the one most responsible for putting you back on what I believe is the road to recovery."

Lizzy stepped forward and hugged her suddenly. "It is so nice to finally get to meet you, Angela. We have so much to talk about, but we can do that later. Right now we have to do the lecture thing. Here, sit down." Suddenly there was a couch and she pulled Angela down to sit next to her. I sat on the other side and held her hand as Lizzy continued, "As Mr. Shelby said, my name is Elizabeth Street. Most people call me 'Easy', but special friends, like Jimmy and the girls, call me Lizzy. You can call me Easy for now. Okay, first things first, confession time. That wasn't Jimmy that did that to you on the beach, it was me. Jimmy was there the whole time, watching though. I was showing him the truth that you were hiding all this time. He needed to see it to understand and finally believe what Bob and I have been telling him."

Angela was looking about as white as her dress and starting to shake slightly under my touch. I leaned in and whispered, "It's okay, remember, listen to the whole thing, open mind. I'm right here. I didn't believe it before, didn't understand, I do now, and so will you when they are done. It's okay, I'll be right here the whole time."

"You see, Angela," Bob said. "You're what is referred to as a submissive, sub for short, also referred to as a bottom, and if you are a bottom then the logical question is what's a top? The top is referred to as a dominant. They are two halves of a special relationship. You, the submissive, have a deeply rooted subconscious desire to be dominated sexually. It is the ultimate expression of your sexual identity. Don't freak out, you're not alone, there are a lot of people out there just like you. People you would never even imagine."

"It's true," I said. "There is an entire subculture out there. It's a very hidden world though. People from all walks of life are part of it, some openly, but most not. From the outside it is a very dark and misunderstood world, shunned by the masses because they don't understand it."

"Many, however," Bob took over again, "consider it the only place they can really be honest. You would be surprised at the percentage of the rich and powerful that play in and around this group. The key to this world is trust. When you are inside, you are free to be who you are without fear because when you are outside; no one knows who you are. I can see that you're confused so let me give you a simple illustration. This is an actual person that I'm speaking about. A corporate CEO, responsible for hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars. A ruthless businessman in a world of power and greed, constantly on the watch for any advantage and at the same time, constantly watching his back. That's his life by day. By night he is a submissive, he finds relief from the stress of his life by being tied to a chair with a collar around his neck while a woman beats his ass with a leather strap. You can imagine what would happen if word got out about his lifestyle. And the strap is just the beginning. There are different levels of submission for everyone, what one finds extreme is a slap on the wrist to another. What Easy did to you earlier would be considered entry level at best; barely even foreplay. Here is the important part. You decide. You are the one who decides how far it goes. You see, Angela, this world is all about trust, and the submissive is the one who has the ultimate say."

I could see she was still confused, but at least she wasn't trying to deny any of it. "How? I mean, if he's tied up and she's beating him, like I was tied up before, helpless and ... I mean, how can you say he was in charge. I was tied to a pole, helpless to defend myself."

"No, you weren't," I said. "You could have stopped that any time you wanted to. You're in a dream, Angela, you've been here before, you have control here. You could have stopped what was happening, but you chose not to. Those flimsy little scarves could never have held you here, in a world where you can bend steel with your bare hands. But your submissive nature wanted it to happen, craved it. Angela, it's very important that you understand who you are. You have to come to terms with this or it will drive you insane. That's what's been happening. It's why you've been so depressed. You wanted to be with me - you have since I rescued you, you said so yourself. Now tell me if I'm wrong here. Every time we started to get close you backed off and shut down, not because you didn't want to be with me, not because you weren't ready, but because deep down you were afraid of what you really wanted. You had these visions and memories of being tied up and forced against your will and some part of you craved it, but you were ashamed of those feelings and afraid that I would be ashamed of you for having them. You were afraid that I wouldn't love you if I found out that some part of you actually took pleasure from what happened to you."

She was looking away from me, her eyes pressed hard shut, moisture just beginning to force its way past the lids. I could see the quivering as she started to shake. I gently took her chin in my hand and turned her back to face me. As I did Lizzy wrapped her arms around her and lay her head on the taller girls shoulder. "Angels, there is all the difference in the world between what you want and what happened to you. What he did was rape and torture, what you want is love and understanding."

"And you're not alone to want that," Bob said. "Jimmy is right, what he did is to torture and rape a helpless victim who was powerless to stop him. That's not what we are talking about here. We're talking about controlled environments where your safety is the number one concern, where you can stop any time you want and walk away. And I mean that. Trust is everything in this world, Angela. Now I know this is a lot to take in all at once. I think maybe we need to stop for now and let you do a little thinking, and a little studying."

"Yeah right," I said, "a little studying. I've been doing a 'little studying, ' four hours of DVDs just to get the idea into my head. Hours on the internet and I still barely have a clue. Yeah, a little studying."

"It does seem like a lot," Lizzy said, "but once you have the basics it's a lot easier to understand. Angela, one thing that you have to know and I think this will help you. The reason it was Jimmy that did that to you on the beach, the reason that you let him do that to you, is that you know you can trust him. Tell me honestly, is there anyone else in the world that you would have let do that to you?"

"No," she said quietly. "No one."

"Right. But you let him because you know, deep down in your soul that Jimmy would never hurt you or let anyone else hurt you, don't you?"

"Yes." Her answer came out as barely more than a breath.

"You are right to trust him. But what he, or rather I, did on the beach, didn't hurt you, did it?"

She shook her head, eyes downcast.

"Jimmy would never even have done what I did. Because despite what Bob and I told him, there was a part of him that doubted and would have held back. Angela, what I did was force you both to see the truth. What we are doing now, is helping you both to understand it. The first thing you must learn is the truth of what we are telling you. Who is the first person Jimmy goes to when he needs to talk to someone?" Angela's head snapped up, a panicked expression on her face.

"Right, Allison," I said. "She doesn't know. No one else knows." I could see her relax as I spoke. "When they first started explaining this to me they stressed that I could not talk about it to anyone else. They would not explain why, but said that once I understood the truth that I would understand why and agree with them. They were right. As soon as I realized that they were right I understood that this is your secret and that part of my responsibility is to keep that secret. I can't talk to anyone about it without your permission. Not even Allison. If I were to tell anyone else then I would be betraying your trust, and that is something I will never do. Everyone that knows is here right now and unless or until you give us permission, it will stay that way. We want to help you, Angela. Tell me, after even this little bit that we have covered, do you feel better or worse about what happened before."

"I ... I don't really ... I mean, it's hard to understand all of this, and I'm not ready to accept it yet because I don't understand it but at the same time, what happened before, on the beach was..."

"Wonderful?" Lizzy said with a grin. Angela blushed a deep red color but rolled her eyes and nodded agreement. Lizzy grabbed her face and kissed her. "Thanks! I enjoyed it too. Maybe we can do it again some time." Angela looked at her sharply. "When you're ready. You've got some studying to do first. But before you get started on any of that, why don't you take a walk with me? There are some things I'd like to talk to you about." She stood and then pulled Angela up along side of her. "If you boys will excuse us." She extended her hand to Bob. "Doctor Shelby, a pleasure to work with you."

Bob took her hand, shook it, then kissed it. "The pleasure is mine."

Then she turned and kissed me on the cheek. "Just in case we don't make it back tonight. Thank you for trusting me, I know that was hard for you. Come on, girlfriend, we've got some catching up to do."

Angela stopped and pulled away. "Just a minute, since we may not make it back..." She stepped in and hugged Bob. "Thank you." Then she stepped up to me. There was a strange sort of glow in her eyes. "And thank you, Jimmy, for everything." Then she kissed me gently.

As she started to pull away I grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back to me. Once more she gasped and then her mouth was on mine again, but this time there was a hunger there as she responded to me, chewing at my mouth and searching for my tongue with hers. I held the kiss for a few moments and then released her. She almost stumbled as I let go. I gave her a questioning look and she blushed and smiled shyly, dropping her eyes in embarrassment. Maybe they were right after all. She turned and took Lizzy's arm and I noticed she was looking intently at me, but she turned and they walked off together About twenty steps out Angie turned and looked back at me as if to make sure I was still there and it was okay for her to go. I smiled and shooed her on her way, she smiled back and the two of them moved off together, heads tilted together chatting about things I was not qualified to understand.

"That went well," Bob said. "Better than I had even hoped. Tell me, what prompted you to do that at the end there?"

"I don't know, it just seemed suddenly like it was the right thing to do."

"It was. It was exactly the right thing. Her reaction to that simple contact went a long way to showing her the truth. Whatever you and Elizabeth did earlier must have been a hell of a show. You weren't leaning on her to accept what we were telling her were you?"

"No of course not, it never even occurred to me to try."

"Good because that would have been a bad thing. I'm sure it would have worked but in the long run..."

"It would have been another betrayal of trust." I thought for a moment before I went on. "If I asked her it would be okay. Am I going to have to ask her for everything I do with her from now on?"

"You? No, actually you're not. But I'm afraid that for the foreseeable future you are going to be responsible for everything that happens to her."

"Why me?"

"Sit down, Jimmy. What Elizabeth told her is right; you are the only one she trusts. This world that she's about to discover is usually something people learn about gradually, over time. She doesn't have that luxury. She has a part to play in keeping herself hidden. To that end, this is actually an unbelievable blessing. Nobody ever suspected this kind of thing about Angela. There are damn few people in the world outside of trained psychologists that would believe her capable of doing this after what she went through. The fact that it's a hidden lifestyle for the most part is to her advantage. Angela and Amber are about to become two very different people. I wonder though if she can pull it off. I don't know that she will still be interested in the gentler side of intimacy anymore."

"Yes, she is."

He looked at me for a second and shook his head. "Matthews, you amaze me. So that's what took you so long, I should have known. But that's a good thing. Because it will allow her to carry on a normal life if and when she finally gets hers back. Fortunately college is a freer environment, so Amber's tastes won't really raise that much of a stir. But she's got a lot to learn in a very short time and let's face it; we're not qualified to give her the education that she needs. Elizabeth was good for bringing it out, but I don't think she can pull this off either. What Amber needs is professional help. Someone to teach her about herself, and train her for the role she needs to play."

"But how? You said it yourself, I'm the only one she trusts, and I can't do this."

"No, but you can allow someone else to."

"What? How is that any different?"

"Hear me out. See if you can follow the logic. It's kind of twisted but it is sound and, believe me, it's true. You'll discover that for yourself soon but for now just take my word for it. She needs someone, you are the only one she trusts, therefore, you have to find someone for her, and then you have to give her to them and tell her to trust them. Assure her that she can trust them. If you trust them, she will trust them. Here comes the part you aren't going to like. Elizabeth said it the other night and she was right. If you tell her that she will be safe with them, then she will accept your word and trust them because you are her master and..."

"What?"

"Now hear me out ... because you are her master and you would not send her to them if it were not safe."

"Jesus, Bob! You're telling me that Angela is going to be my personal sex slave!"

"Actually, it would be Amber."

"Either way. Bob I don't do slavery. God, you're talking about turning me into one of those ... things up in Las Vegas, abusing girls and passing them around like party favors, giving them to other people for sex."

"No! Those people are exactly the icons of evil that you imagine them to be. Jimmy, they are not part of the world we're talking about. It's the most basic difference in the world and the one we have to teach Amber. You remember Lady Heather talking about empowerment? You understand that the submissive is in ultimate control. One word and it stops. One word and everyone walks away. That's the difference, Jimmy, choice. Amber will have a choice. Those girls in Las Vegas, Samantha and the rest, they have no choice and that is why it's wrong. Well, that and the fact that they're abusing children. There are no safe words in their world, no escapes. Amber trusts you not because she has to but because she chooses to. Do you see the difference?"

I did see the difference. I still didn't like it, but I saw it. I walked away and thought about what they were asking me to do. I wished more than ever that I had the option to talk to Allison. Just thinking of Allison though made me stop and question myself. What would Allison say? Shit! As soon as I asked myself I knew the answer. Allison would tell me that it was necessary and that I was the only one that could do it because I was the one Amber trusted. She would offer to help me in every way she could, but...

"Damn it!" I swore as I kicked a wicker chair and sent it bouncing across the beach like a rock skipping across a pond. I was a little embarrassed when Easy and Angela watched it bounce by then glanced back toward us. I yelled "Sorry!" and then turned back to Bob.

"You were thinking about what Allison would tell you if she were here, weren't you?"

I glared at him. "Yes! I was thinking about Allison, and yes, she would tell me you're right. I hate this, Bob. I hate everything about it!"

He stepped up, gripped me by the shoulders and stared into my eyes, "And that is exactly why it must be you; exactly why she can trust you as her master. Because you will make sure she is safe. You will find someone to help her because you love her, someone you trust to take care of her just as you would. What would happen if someone you sent her to crossed the line and hurt her?"

He must have seen the sudden flash in my eyes. That wasn't even a question worth asking. I shrugged off his grip and walked away.

"That's what I thought. It would be bad, very, very bad. You will need to disguise her so that whoever you use will not know who she really is. Her secret would be safe enough but you will need to expose your ability to an outsider and if they know who Amber is it would be a simple matter to trace her back to you later. I don't have to tell you that that would be bad."

"No, I understand. Besides, one day Angela will have her life back and it will be up to her who knows."

"See, you're starting to do it already. You're thinking about how to protect her, weighing every option for her benefit. You're going to be just fine, Jimmy. Okay, now for the last bit of bad news."

Great, there was more. I glared at him and asked, "What?"

"You are going to have to go with her from time to time. Learn what it is she wants, because you are the person she is going to want most of all to do this for her. Everything she is about to do, she will be doing out of love for her master."

"You're saying I have to learn to hurt her."

"Jimmy," he said, shaking his head. "Don't think of it as hurting her. I guarantee that she won't think of it that way. She will see it as you loving her enough to give her what she needs. It's twisted logic I'll grant you, but she knows that you don't want to hurt her, don't want to do these things to her. By doing them anyway, and doing them properly, you will be showing her ultimate love, setting aside your own feelings to do this for her."

I sighed heavily. Hadn't I just told myself that very thing not so long ago? I nodded my understanding. Just then my phone rang. That hadn't happened in a while. I fished it out of my shorts. Dream phones are great; they don't even make a lump in your pocked until you need them. It was Rebecca.

"Hi, Rebecca."

"Hi, Jimmy. Is Bob with you?"

"No he's not my type; I figured he would be with you." I saw Bob roll his eyes at the comment.

"Very funny, asshole. As a matter of fact he is with me, but I need to talk to him; maybe you too, but him first. It's kind of urgent."

"There seems to be a lot of that going around tonight. I think we're about done here for now." I glanced at Bob and he nodded agreement. "I'll send him to you. This is work, right? You're not just after more of his body?"

"One of these days, Matthews," she said threateningly.

"Okay, okay. He'll be there in a second. I'll talk to you later." As I closed the phone I suddenly remember what Amy had said about her being in danger. Should I say something to Bob? Was it fair to tell him the woman he loved was in danger but that he couldn't tell her? No, better wait. "Your girlfriend with the gun fetish wants to see you. It sounds serious."

"It is serious. I'm just not sure how serious yet. I need you to find a book. You don't need to read the whole thing, just enough to get a grasp of the characters. It's called Kushiel's Dart, starts with a 'K' and as of now it's required reading for both you and Amber. I'm guessing you are done with the DVDs or you probably wouldn't have been ready for this tonight. Get them back to me and I'll have Rebecca get them to Amber."

"I'll bring them by in the morning. You better get going." I held out my hand to him. "Thanks, Bob. Thanks for telling me the truth, even though you knew I wouldn't like it."

"What else are friends for?" he asked, shaking my hand before walking into the changing tent and disappearing.

Lizzy and Amber were sitting together on some rocks down the beach a ways and were showing no signs of returning anytime soon so I decided to go look in on the girls. I walked through the changing tent and exited into the glade dressed for riding in case I had to look for them. I didn't. They were sitting together on the picnic blanket talking. Apparently they were finished riding because they were all in shorts and light tops. Allison was making notes on her tablet PC. Shannon was sitting on a little bean bag chair with her legs around Samantha's waist and her arms draped over her shoulders, sort of hugging her loosely. On a whim I transformed into a tawny mountain lion and sauntered over towards them. Samantha started when she saw me, but Shannon held on and whispered something to her. She relaxed again and I strolled over and nuzzled Allison's arm with my head, purring loudly for attention.

"Hey," she complained, "I'm trying to write here."

In true cat fashion I ignored her objection and butted harder against her arm, almost knocking her over this time.

"You are such a baby..." But she set the computer down and started scratching my head and ears. I rolled onto my side and put my head in her lap, purring louder. She kept it up for a few seconds and then said, "That's enough for now, go bother them and let me finish this and maybe I'll dream you up a big ball of yarn to play with." She shoved my head off of her lap and picked up the tablet again.

Standing up I flicked my tail at her, almost knocking her over again, then walked the short distance to flop my head in Samantha's lap. At first she was tense but then her bracelet changed and she realized what was going on. "Jimmy?"

"Of course it's him, who else could it be? Notice how the horses didn't even react when he walked up? Mountain lions and horses don't mix."

I was nuzzling her leg and hand pretty hard by now and she took the hint, stroking my head and shoulders. I lay with my head in her lap purring and content until suddenly I as aware of her scent. Apparently my new nose was far more sensitive and having it so close to God's country was ... enlightening. She smelled really nice. A little voice in the back of my head whispered, "Good enough to eat." and I suddenly found myself licking her leg below the edge of her shorts.

Out of nowhere Shannon's voice said, "Bad kitty, you behave yourself," and she cuffed me behind one ear.

I drew my ears back and growled before taking another long lick at Samantha's thigh. I felt more that heard a tiny moan escape with her next breath.

Shannon grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and jerked my head back. "It's not nice to tease."

I grabbed at her arm with both massive paws and shook her loose, then rolled to my feet and stuck my nose in her face, teeth barred and growling. Samantha was watching closely but not actually trying to get away.

"Right, like you're going to hurt me?" Shannon said snidely. "Give me a break." Then she grinned and said, "We both know you're nothing but a big pussy cat."

What could I say to that? I gave her face a gentle lick and nuzzled her neck, purring again.

"You guys are so strange." Samantha said. "I love the way you all play together. I wish I had someone in my life I could play with."

Out of nowhere a big ball of bright blue string, rope actually, went rolling by and I bounded after it. In a flash Shannon transformed into a lioness and came after me, tackling me off the ball and swatting it away, then running after it. I was charging toward her when a black blur came out of nowhere and bowled me over again. She was about my size and stood facing me with her ears laid back and tail lashing back and forth. I glanced at the blanket and Samantha was still there, sitting and watching. I charged Allison and she braced herself, but at the last minute I leaped over her and again tackled the lion sized ball of string. Clawing and snarling, I rolled it on top of me and shoved hard with my legs, the ball sailed a good twenty feet before landing and rolling toward the goal posts I had erected some distance away. The game was on. I was outmatched by my two playmates as they had the advantage of being able to pass the ball. Right in the middle of the second pass a medium sized white tiger intercepted the ball and swatted it back the other way, rolling to her feet in hot pursuit as it rolled on toward the goal. Allison was closing fast, but I tackled her as if she were the ball and shoved her away before bounding after my playmate, who was now wrestling with Shannon for possession of the big blue prize. They were swatting at each other around the ball, each trying to feint the other into a mistake. I timed my charge so that Shannon's back was to me then jumped and landed on top of the ball. Sam rolled quickly to the side and once more the ball was rolling toward the far goal. I couldn't help but notice that Samantha's scent was now on the ball. It was a heady aroma to my sensitive nose and I felt things in odd places start to stir as I turned to face the next charge, leaving Sam to advance the ball. I was still too slow and had barely completed my turn and planted my paws when two furry shapes crashed into me, bowling me over and knocking the wind out of me. The girls had decided to play dirty.

While I lay stunned on the ground they were instantly off after Sam but it was too late. Sam saw them coming and with a final lunge and shove she knocked the ball through the goal posts. I was still trying to get my breath back when she jogged back to check on me, nuzzling my neck and licking my face in encouragement. About that time the big blue ball sailed by with Allison and Shannon in hot pursuit and we bounded after them. The game was officially on. It was a really fun night. The game got progressively harder as we got better at handling our new forms and manipulating the ball. Sam and I were up four goals to two when my phone decided to ring.

It was Bob and he sounded very agitated. "Don't bring those disks to my house, bring them to school with you on Tuesday, instead. Don't call me, don't call Rebecca. Do you know what time it is? Do we have time to get together again tonight or should we..."

His voice cut off as I found myself in my room reaching to shut off the alarm and thinking, "Great, now what?"



-------

Chapter 14: Deductions


What the heck was going on?

That was the question that dominated my mind during my morning run, all seven miles of it. The phone call from Bob couldn't have come at a more frustrating time. Friday night, well, technically, Saturday morning, and suddenly I'm told to stay away and not call? What's up with that? If it weren't for the fact that I knew Bob, and who he had been with when he made the call, I would have been pissed off. As the miles ticked away and I thought more about what it might mean, my thoughts shifted from anger and frustration to paranoia and worry. Something had happened; something that had Rebecca worried about being in contact with me. What could make a senior agent with the FBI that nervous? Could it be Mikkelson? Had he snapped and done something to call attention to his complaints, far fetched though they may be, and drawn unwanted attention to rumors about Rebecca's investigation? Had Rod made an official report sometime long ago that included Rebecca's strange claim of a boy coming to her in a dream and telling her about a madman killing young girls? A strange story which had turned out to be all too true? What other explanation could there be?

One by one the arguments were shot down until I could think of no possible justification except that they were worried about protecting me. The question was, protecting me from what? Or more likely, whom? Did this have anything to do with Amber? That thought held my attention for the last mile. I came to the conclusion that if it had anything to do with Amber it was already too late. In order for someone to link me to Amber they would already have to know about her; know she was still alive. If they already knew about her they wouldn't be interested in me. There was no possible, traceable connection between me and Angela beyond last year's prom. That was the last alternative I could think of to explain the sudden change. I needed more information. Information I now would not have access to until tonight.

Great, just great. The last thing I needed right now was another problem, another mysterious something to suck up more of my time and energy. This gift was getting heavy. It seemed the more I used it the more things went wrong. The more things went wrong, the greater the chance that someone could discover the truth. If the truth ever got out ... My brain was still running in circles as I showered and dressed.

Damn it! What else could go wr ... I stopped myself, not a question I wanted to ask, too much risk I might get an answer. Chances are I wouldn't like the answer if I got one. Forget the reason, what are the ramifications? If it was someone finding out about me, then what were the possibilities? If they were worried about the phones then could the house already be bugged? Who could they be worried about? How would someone have found out? That particular line of thought got derailed as I came out of the bathroom and almost ran over Allison.

"Whoa, where are you? Did you even see me when you got home?" The confused look on my face must have answered the question. "I didn't think so, you walked right by me in the kitchen without so much as a good morning. Did something..."

I interrupted her, not wanting her to say anything that might attract attention. "What? Oh, sorry, I wasn't trying to be rude. I think I was a little more tired than I thought; that run kind of wore me out." I put a finger to my lips and motioned her to follow me. Once we were in my room I opened my laptop and then a text window. Allison waited patiently, well, patiently for her, she hates not knowing what is going on but so far she was doing a good job of holding in the irritation.

"Something's happened, not sure what, there wasn't time. We need to talk, not here. I'll explain later. Any ideas where we can go?" I turned to notebook so she could respond.

She read what I had written and responded, "Breakfast?"

"I want it to be far enough away that we would have a chance to spot anyone following us." That ought to be enough of a clue. Sure enough as soon as she read what I had written her eyes flashed to mine with a questioning look. I nodded affirmatively and took the screen back. "I'm not certain. That's what I want to talk to you about."

She nodded and answered, "Let's make it lunch. It might be a little suspicious if we suddenly just bolted for the door. How about Lake Arrowhead or maybe Big Bear Village? Either is a long enough drive to spot anyone behind us. Wouldn't raise any questions, last big weekend before school ... Hot here, cool there, what do you think?"

"Works for me," I answered. "Wish we could take Shannon but I think until we have a better idea what's up we better not."

She thought about it for a second, "Sucks, but you're probably right. Let's get back out front before anyone wonders where we went."

I had my normal breakfast of toast and juice before starting my regular chores. I made short work of the lawns and cleaned and balanced the pool while Allison cleaned up around the deck and pulled weeds out of the flowerbeds which surrounded it. Then she helped me wash Mom and Dad's cars before we did my truck. It was just after eleven thirty when we pulled out and headed up the mountain. Allison used the visor mirror to try and keep track of the cars that were behind us. Twice, I pulled out into the scenic overlooks and waited for everyone in sight to pass. As they went by, we did our best to jot down the license numbers and descriptions of anything with only one person inside. We then watched to see if any of them showed up behind us again. Yeah, I know it was an amateur attempt to catch someone, and we didn't even really know if there was anyone there to catch, but what else could we do? Finally we arrived at Lake Arrowhead, pulling into the Village parking lot. I let Allison out right away. She took our list and found a spot where she could watch the entrance to see if any of our suspect vehicles should just happen to pull in behind us. It took a few minutes to find a space for the truck. It's a small lot, some of the aisles are too narrow to park easily, and it was pretty full being noon on a holiday weekend.

We wandered in and out of the shops. They're not your ordinary collection of touristy crap; most of them were fairly pricey boutiques sporting specialized merchandise. There are even a few nice galleries with various types of art, from oils to sculpture. Book stores, clothing stores, even a Sunglass Hut. We had a lot of fun reading all the shirts at the Big Dog store. Eventually we ended up on the avenue overlooking the lake itself, this seemed like a very good spot to stand and talk without anyone overhearing us. As we were facing out over the lake, no one could read our lips, or hear what we might be saying unless they were standing right next to us, and we could see far enough in either direction to know if anyone strayed close. So we picked up a couple bags of the cheap duck food all the shops carry and went out to lean on the rail and talk.

"So what's going on?" Allison asked, getting straight to the point.

"I'm not sure. Just before I woke up, Bob called. I was supposed to take those DVD's back to him today, but he said not to come over, rather to bring them to school on Tuesday. That wouldn't have been so serious but he also said not to call him or Rebecca. It's not so much what he said as his tone. There was that feeling of intensity that says, 'this is important.' He was asking if it was too late to get together again when my alarm woke me up. I can only assume that he wanted to get together so he could tell me what's going on."

"That must have been frustrating."

"Tell me about it. Anyway, I thought about what it all might mean while I was running. I kept coming back to the same conclusion."

"They're worried about you." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah, that's where I kept coming back to. What I don't understand is how someone would have found me. My phone is secure so they couldn't have traced a call or looked up a number or anything. It's the one hole in my theory."

"Bob's phone," She said. "Damn. We should have thought of that sooner. We've only seen Rebecca once, so the only way your name could come up is either between her and her boss or her and Bob. Your phone is secure and so is Rebecca's and we know your number doesn't pop up on any screens. I'm not sure if hers is the same or not, but Bob's phone is just a regular cell phone. Either someone cloned it or found a way to tap it, and got your name. Do you know if Bob's home phone is unlisted or not?" She didn't wait for an answer, "If it's not, then anyone can get the number, and if they know where he lives they don't even need it. Tie a caller ID box into his line at any of about a dozen different locations and then wait for him to call our house or for you to call him from home. Back trace the number and they have your address. Shit, Jimmy, this is bad, really bad. We need to know who she is worried about, why, and how close she thinks they are..." She shook her head and tossed some more food to the ducks that were circling in the water below us. "And now we can't even ask until tonight. You do realize what it means if this goes the wrong way?"

"What do you mean?"

"Jimmy, if someone has found out the truth about you, you may need to run, go into hiding or something, at least for a while."

I didn't know what to say so I tossed some more food to the ducks. The silence stretched out for a few minutes.

"So how did your thing with Easy go last night?"

I wasn't prepared for the change in direction so it took me a minute to catch up, "Actually it went really well. It's kind of hard to explain, but we think maybe we've finally figured out what's wrong with Amber, which is great, because now that we know the problem we can work on actually fixing it."

"Must be pretty serious if Easy couldn't fix it."

I glanced at her, not sure if she was being sarcastic or not.

"I'm not trying to be funny or anything, I'm just surprised. She seems to have a real knack for this sort of thing. Whether you buy the whole hand of God thing or not, she's got a pretty impressive record of success."

"She can't fix it because it's not broken."

"Ahh. Yeah, that would make it harder to fix. Any chance you're going to be able to tell me soon or do I just have to try and figure it out on my own."

"I'd rather you didn't try," I said. "Just leave it alone for now. I'll ask her if she would mind my telling you."

"You need her permission to tell me what the problem is?" She was looking at me with a very puzzled expression on her face. "This just keeps getting weirder. Okay, I'll leave it alone for now. One thing though, it might be easier if I just ask her myself, might be less embarrassing for you anyway." She put her hand on my arm, "I want to help, Jimmy. She's my friend too, and if there is something I can do, then I want to do it. If the best I can do is just leave it alone, then that's what I'll do, but I would feel better if she told me that herself."

I thought about it for a few seconds. "I can't make any promises. I'm not even sure if I can go that far. I'm in way over my head on this, Sis. I really don't have a handle on what I can and can't do yet. It's one of those situations where if I'm not absolutely certain then the answer has to be no until I am certain, so for now, that's the best answer I can give you. So what now, did you want to wander around some more or head back?"

"Actually, I was thinking about seeing how much it costs to cruise around the lake on that riverboat thing they have."

"Well then," I said, dropping the last of my food into the water for our quacking friends and holding out my arm to her, "Let's go find out."

She latched onto my arm, laid her head on my shoulder, and we headed for the dock area.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the bright sunshine and cool mountain air. Allison called Shannon to let her know where we were and tell her that she had a boyfriend problem she wanted to talk to her about later. According to Allison, she hesitated just long enough that she knew the message had gotten through. We had weighed the option of calling Shannon or not and decided that using Bob as a starting point, there was little chance that anyone may have traced anything past our house yet. If they had, it would mean that they already knew everything that they thought they needed to from us, and if that was the case we were screwed already. We almost didn't call her at all; no point in having her stressed out too, but when we called home to check in, Mom told us she had called.

Dinner was a quiet event and it must have been obvious that something was on our minds.

Finally Mom just had to ask, "What's wrong?"

I glanced at Allison only to find her already looking to me for guidance. We were on the patio, so figuring there wasn't much chance of anything being overheard; I sighed and said, "We're not sure. Something's wrong but by the time we found out it was too late to get the whole story. My alarm woke me up before I could get any more information."

"Information from whom?" she asked.

I took a deep breath and let it out before answering, "Mr. Shelby."

"Couldn't you just call him and ask?"

"That's part of the problem. He's who I was talking to when the alarm went off. The last thing he said was not to call." I really didn't want to worry them so I took a different track. "We talked about what it could mean and really couldn't come up with a guess that made sense. We could just be taking the whole thing wrong. He may have just had plans with Rebecca for the weekend and not want to be bothered."

Allison jumped right in, "I wonder if he's proposing?"

That pretty much took mom off the subject, "Do you really think so? I mean, they haven't really known each other that long. It's only been what ... eight months?"

"I don't know mom, you should see them together, you'd think they were already married, except they dance a lot."

"They dance?" She asked.

"Yeah, Bob usually starts it, she'll say or do something, or he'll just walk into a room and sort of take her hand and pull her into a clinch, or just spin her for no reason; suddenly there's music and they're waltzing around the room. It's kind of cute but at the same time you want to just throw up."

"It sounds so sweet."

"Yeah, so does chocolate soda, but how much can you stand?"

"Allison! I think it sounds very romantic. Do they do the same thing in real life?"

"How would I know? I've only met her the one time. Don't get me wrong, it is cute and all that, but, I mean, it's like their life is one big musical."

That pretty much got us off the topic for the rest of the evening and we managed to keep it pretty light until time for bed. We were both a little nervous going to bed. Fortunately Allison has this wonderful de-stressing technique.

We woke in the glade, I checked my ring and it was her glade. I did a quick check and confirmed that Bob and Rebecca hadn't arrived, and neither had Shannon. Surprisingly one of my other targets was available. Mikkelson.

"Mikkelson is dreaming, want to go see if we can do anything?" I asked.

"Sure, might as well try and do something constructive."

We transitioned and found him locked in his usual spot, but this time the girl on screen was someone I had never seen before. Watching a young girl tortured and killed is not anything I recommend doing on a regular basis. Mikkelson had been seeing it pretty regularly for some time now, but this one seemed to be really getting to him, it didn't take long to figure out why. This was a new girl, one we'd never seen before. We had come in during the last stages of the killer stalking his victim and kidnapping her, and now it was getting into the torture and rape sequences. Disturbing even on the best of days, but today was worse than most. How much worse? I didn't like Mikkelson, but I had come to feel a little sorry for him despite the fact that he had outed our investigation and alerted the killer that Rebecca was on to him. Still, when the girl on screen started screaming, "No, daddy, please don't hurt me any more," I could not help but feel sorrow and pity for him. I looked at Allison in surprise and then back to the screen. It hit me then, and I realized what else was wrong: This girl was much too young to meet the killer's profile. Looking at her now, everything about her was wrong. Too young, a little overweight, obviously not an athletic type at all.

"Jimmy, do something, you can't let this go on. I don't care if he is the biggest asshole in the state, no one should have to sit through this. Just make it go away; we'll deal with the rest later."

I was totally unprepared for what happened next, "I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? Jimmy, I don't care if he wants to be forgiven or not, just stop it."

"I mean I can't. Allison, I've been trying, I can't ... it's not working ... it's like I'm locked in observer. All I can do is watch; I can't ... can't seem to affect it at all." I was straining hard to do anything at all within the framework of what we were seeing. I concentrated on the scene and fixing an image of it fading out in my mind. Suddenly the screen shut down, and I felt like I had actually moved a switch that had turned that part off. It wasn't much but it was something, I concentrated on switches and more things started changing as I mentally flipped them off. The lights came up, and then the projector died, then...

Suddenly we were back in the glade staring at each other. Allison apparently read my confusion.

"What just happened? Did you move us here?"

I caught her eye and held it as I shook my head slowly from side to side.

"Did he wake up?"

"No, I can still feel him, but it's like there is some kind of barrier there preventing me from going back to him. The good news is he's not in the theater any more. Seems to have transitioned to a more normal dream state, whatever that is..."

"Jimmy, this is getting scary."

"You think? Trust me; I'm just as scared as you. It's like my control is slipping away."

"No," she said, "not slipping away, more like it's met something it can't handle, can't overrule. We need to find out what that something is. Is it something in Mikkelson's mental make up? Is it something we can change on our end?" Maybe he's starting to flip out and the changes are interfering with you?

"I don't think it's him. I've never had any problem reaching him before. It's like something put up a wall around him."

She paused, obviously thinking. "Is that it? Or is it more like playing chess with yourself, you can't really win because you can't really lose,. You know all your moves so you can't really have an objective opponent. It sounds like whatever you are up against knows what you're doing, planning to do, and is a step ahead, blocking you before you can do it. Whatever it is, it's been learning fast, this time it didn't need to distract you to get you out of the way."

I was starting to get a headache, well, not really, but I felt like I should be getting one. Wasn't this the part of the movie where the good guy has a headache? "This just keeps getting worse and worse. Everything I touch goes wrong."

"That's not true, you've helped people. You're making a difference in Amber's life. If anything you're saving her life, again."

I had to look at her, see if there was some hidden meaning to what she had said.

"Don't look at me like that, her depression was getting worse, she was losing the will to live, but if you find the answer, you'll give her back her life. You found a way to save her, and you'll find the answer for this. It may take time, but you will find it." She took my face in her hands and kissed me, "I know you will."

"Thank you, Sweetie."

"You don't need to thank me for believing in you. I love you. Now, I hate to have to say this, but you have another problem."

"Tell me you're joking."

"I wish I was. While you were off doing your thing with Easy and Bob, Shannon and I were talking to Samantha. We've got a deadline."

"What do you mean?"

"New Years Eve they come for Rachel."

"What!?"

"You heard me. Rachel's training starts New Years Eve."

I could feel the tears starting, rage and pain threatening to overwhelm me, bursting upon me suddenly, I screamed at the sky and it went black.

"Jimmy, stop it! That's not helping!"

I couldn't think, letting the rage out just felt so damn good. I'm not sure how long it went on, but suddenly I felt her lips on mine and a glimmer of sanity crept back in. I focused everything I had on the sensation of her lips on mine and suddenly I could think again. With the last of my will I shoved all the rage and pain away. The effort staggered me. Not because it was so hard but because once I pushed it just disappeared. It was too easy; like shoving against a brick wall and finding out it's actually made of paper.

I had nothing left to stop the tears, but at least now they were just normal tears, "I can't do it. I can't do more than I'm doing, can't take on any more. What do I do, Allison?"

When she didn't answer I looked and saw the tears streaming down her face and I knew it was my fault, she was drawing off my hurt, just like she always had, and just like she said, here, in this world, I was too much for her. Instantly my arms were around her, hugging her to me, my lips on hers, giving her back what she had given me. Once more I concentrated on the feel of her lips and felt love blossom inside me like a star. I pushed my love at her with all I had, washing away the pain in a flood of soft, sweet, love.

Finally I felt her body relax against mine and as I held her I knew the truth; I wasn't alone, and as long as I had her I could do anything. I remembered the words the dragon had spoken all those months ago. "Trust your sister's judgment, for she has a rare gift of insight, and trust in the strength of Shannon's love, for truly she has more than she can contain. When you need it, it will always be there." I wasn't alone; I didn't have to face this alone. As long as I had their love, I could face whatever came, maybe I couldn't win, but I could face it, and keep trying. I pulled back and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I love you Allison Ann."

She hugged my tighter and through her tears said, "I know. I love you too. Please don't do that again."

"I'll try. Come on, company's coming. Let's go find out what the hell is going on."



-------

Chapter 15: Complications


I was sitting at the desk, Allison standing behind me when Bob and Rebecca walked in. I had already cleaned us up and wiped all outward signs of what had just happened between Allison and me. As usual, they had met in the lobby and come in together. I didn't wait for them to say anything, "So how bad is it?"

They stopped in the entryway for just a moment before moving to sit down.

"Bad enough," Rebecca said. "An envelope was delivered to my office yesterday. It contained a letter from our friend and several photographs. He had some interesting things to say, but most of them had nothing to do with you or this case. One of the photographs was of me and Bob having dinner. I've known for some time that he's been watching me. I'm not sure why, but it's some game he's playing. He said he's already picked his next playmate, and that this time she will come to him voluntarily and I won't even try to stop her when she does. The other two photos were solo shots, one male, one female; each one had a name on it, your names." She handed Bob the envelope and he passed to me.

I opened it and pulled out the photos and Allison gasped. It wasn't exactly what I expected but it didn't really change much.

"It was Bob's phone, wasn't it?"

Rebecca just stared at me for a moment before answering, "You're amazing. We think so. We're not certain if it was the cell phone or the one in the house, but most likely the cell. I think he figured out he wasn't going to get much from me directly so he decided to go fishing. Paul tested Bob's phone and it's not altered in any way he can identify, but some signal testing suggests that it may have been cloned. Which means he's been listening to our conversations. That's where he got the names. Caller ID wouldn't work on your cell, but it would pick up your home phone number, and then it's a pretty simple matter to find out who lives there, but apparently he hasn't taken that step yet. He took a couple snapshots and waited to see what I would do with the news. If he's waiting then we have a little time before he figures out that he's got the wrong two. You're a little harder to ID, but not impossible. We're hoping that if we cut off all visible communication he may leave it alone. At the least we're hoping we may be able to convince him that you're just one of Bob's brighter students, a runner on his cross country team, and nothing more."

"You really think he'll let it go?"

"I don't know. It depends on how much time he has on his hands. It's a mystery, not who you are but why I'm involved with you. If he has time to start looking at it, he's going to get frustrated really fast because on the surface I don't think there is any way in hell he can come up with a connection. Unfortunately that probably just means he'll try harder. We found two cameras in Bob's house, with audio. Even though we took them out, Paul is not convinced that the place is clean. If he gets more curious he may decide to try something similar at your place, if he hasn't already."

"I thought of that already. Allison and I discussed some of this earlier. Not this exactly, but why the sudden changes. I had already come to the conclusion that we, I, may be compromised. It was the only thing that made sense. As you said, there is nothing to connect me to the case. I agree with your idea of limiting contact as well. Unless it's something really critical, we can't have any further contact outside of dreams. No matter what we do he is going to be nervous once he finds out that I'm 'Jimmy' and not my dad. The fact that I see Bob every day and he can be passing information to me from you will make him wonder. The biggest advantage we have is that he can't imagine what the hell you could possibly be using a sixteen year old kid for."

"There is another way." Allison said. Suddenly all eyes were on her.

"What's that?" Bob asked.

"We can all become best friends. You two can start socializing with our family, come over for barbecues on weekends, that sort of thing. We keep all conversation completely within FBI guidelines, meaning that we discuss nothing more important than how much traffic you had to face getting out here after work. If he bugs the house, we leave it alone, let him hear and see that everything is perfectly normal and we're all just the family next door."

I could see them thinking about it, and then Bob asked Rebecca, "What do you think?"

She thought for a few seconds more, "It could work. If nothing else we should be able to bore the crap out of him in short order. What about your parents? What are you going to tell them?"

"The truth," I said. "At least enough of it to justify what we're doing. I think we'll skip the part about bugs and cameras. Can you show us how to find them?"

"Sure, there are several obvious places you can look but they're getting easier to hide these days. I doubt if he would go to that trouble or expense in your case, not without knowing more first. To start with check the smoke detectors, ventilation ducts, any other stationary fixtures that you wouldn't normally think about. Wall mounted speakers, that sort of thing; concentrate on things that normally collect a lot of dust. That indicates no one pays a lot of attention to them so they won't notice if something changed as long as it's not too obvious. I'll see about getting you some equipment just in case he did decide you were worth the expense. If you find one, what are you going to tell your parents?"

"We don't need to tell them anything," Allison answered. "He already told you he's watching us. If we find anything, then at the earliest opportunity you'll find it and get rid of it. If we told them anything now mom would just be pissed off that anyone got this close. That's not going to help so for now, I say we leave it alone."

"Well, it does settle one question." I said.

"What's that?" Rebecca asked.

"Looks like I'm definitely going to be running cross county again this year. It will give us one more reason to socialize."

"But I wasn't planning on coaching again..." Bob said, but then he shook his head, "never mind. You think Tim will be running again? I heard a rumor that he quit."

"He did. As for whether or not he'll be back, I'm not sure. We had a chat, and I think there is a chance he may come back again. We'll have to wait and see. One thing's for sure, if he does come back, you're going to have to keep an eye on him."

"Why's that?"

"I told him the best thing he could do for Angela was to live a life she would be proud of. She was always on him to run better. He may push himself too hard."

"Thanks for the heads up. If he comes out I'll have a talk with him, let him know that I'll be watching him and that if he looks like he's pushing too hard I'll shut him down."

"Anything else we need to know about?" Allison asked.

I watched Rebecca's face as she thought about the question, it may have been my imagination but I think I saw a fleeting glimpse of hesitation before she said, "No, I think that covers it for now. What about you?"

"Mikkelson is worse."

"I already got," she stopped and hung some air quotes, "or rather, I 'didn't get', that information from his doctor."

"Well, I'm working on it, but I've got to start getting really serious about the Vegas problem as well. I'll still be doing everything I can on this as well, but unless there is something that needs my immediate attention I'm going to be focusing on that problem for a while. Rebecca, I know that you can't be directly involved in this."

"Directly, indirectly, Jimmy, as far as the Bureau is concerned, Vegas doesn't exist."

"If I need information can I come to you?"

"As long as it's nothing that compromises my position I'll get you whatever I can. Did something happen?"

"No, and we're trying to make sure nothing does."

Bob had been quiet most of the time; I guess it's always a good idea to have someone outside the conversation to listen from as close to a neutral perspective as possible. "Maybe what we need is a little bit of both."

"What do you mean?" Allison asked.

"Sorry, still thinking about the first problem. Maybe what we need to do is go back to the way it was before. Jimmy can go and work on ... other problems as he needs to, Rebecca can continue working on the known issues. The pattern before was pretty random, with Jimmy getting what information he could and then meeting with Rebecca once a week or so. If something comes up that requires contact sooner, they both still have secure phones so as long as he can find a safe location, he can call her." He stopped and looked at Rebecca, "You'll have to give him your new number."

New number? Why would Rebecca need a new number?

Bob was continuing, "If for any reason she needs to see you, I'll let you know. We should probably have a few code phrases we can use, something we can say on an open line to let the other know that there is something more serious we need to discuss. Otherwise the two of you work as independently as possible."

"Speaking of independence," Allison said. "I've been giving a lot of thought to something lately and this whole thing really drives the point home. Jimmy may need his on short notice."

"What do you mean?" Bob asked.

"If this blows up, if someone should somehow become aware of who he is and what he can do, he's going to need to disappear. Nothing buys freedom and mobility like cold hard cash."

"You want money?" Rebecca asked.

"No, of course I don't want money, but I would need money. Allison had an idea how I may be able to start acquiring it in case the need should arise."

"Reward money," Allison said. "He's going to start trying to use his gift to maybe look into some unsolved cases, and if he can put the right information together, he'll pass it along through the tip line. However, just like before, he's going to need someone to handle the money."

Suddenly Bob was laughing loud and hard. We all just stared at him until he got control again. Rebecca was looking slightly irritated. "What's so funny?"

"Don't you see?" Bob asked, wiping tears from his eyes. "He wants the FBI to launder money for him." It took a second for it to sink in, and then we were all laughing at the absurdity of the idea.

"You're right," Rebecca finally said, "That is funny. Speaking of rewards, I need to check in again on the rest of the money from the other dead girls, I think you're going to get at least part of it right away." Suddenly, she got very serious, "You're right about the need. If this gets out of hand, and it could very easily, you're going to need a place to go. I'll make some inquiries with Witness Protection, nothing official since we can't tie you to anything without telling them why, but I'll see if I can't get a hole ready for you to bolt to if the need arises. You understand what that would mean?" I saw her eyes slip to Allison for the briefest of glances.

"Yes, but I can see anyone I want any time I want so it wouldn't be like I had to cut all ties and never be seen again. Besides, if anyone figures this out, you're going to need to hide her too. She would be seen as a pretty serious leverage piece. I won't leave and expose her to that kind of risk. See what you can do about getting us some new identities, and make us both at least eighteen." I held up my hand to stop the comment I could see coming. "I know what you're thinking and yes, it can be done. There are twenty year old porn stars running around all over southern California that look younger than her; color her hair, maybe cut it, a little makeup and the right clothes; legal ID, not fake, but real, and they'll believe it. They'll believe it because they want to believe it. If you don't want to do it through channels then point me at someone who can do it and look the other way."

She stared at me for a moment and I held her eye without flinching, "Okay, I'll talk to Rod, one way or the other we'll get it done." She turned to Bob, "I'm going to miss getting to spend so much time with you."

I caught Allison's eye and waited, I could see the wheels turning for a second, and then she nodded.

"Give me your phones," I said.

"Our phones?" Bob asked. "Why would you need our ... never mind." He pulled it out and handed it to me, Rebecca was right behind him with hers. I opened them up and made a show of pushing some buttons on each one, then turned them off and handed them back."

"Power them back up and then type in 011012 and hit send." They looked at me like had antennae growing out of my forehead but they did it. Nothing happened of course.

Rebecca asked the obvious question, "And that did what?"

"Regardless of where you are, all you have to do is call each other and a door will open taking you to the other's dream. If you call Bob, you can go to his dream; if he calls you, he goes to yours. It's not automatic, by making the call, you're basically asking permission to go, it will also get you back to your own dream if something goes wrong. For instance if you're in Rebecca's dream and she gets a phone call in the middle of the night you will go back to your dream when she wakes up."

"Wouldn't that happen anyway?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, but if it didn't happen automatically, where would you go?"

She got a little white, "Oh. So you're just making sure. How long have you been able to do this?"

Bob took the question, "Sweetheart, I don't think right now is a good time for you to be getting more details on what he can and can't do, if you know what I mean."

She nodded, "Point taken. So you're not going to have a problem with us dropping by and getting to know the family better?"

"However you decide to play it is fine," I said. "Just tell us what you want us to do. Believe it or not, we actually enjoy spending time with you guys. If nothing else we could help you work on your dancing."

"Very funny," Bob said. "I guess this is it for now, if nothing comes up, I'll see you Tuesday morning. Try to enjoy the rest of your weekend. Allison, I hope we'll be seeing you again soon."

"Hey come on you guys," Allison said, "We can still get together here whenever we want, and we don't have to be working you know. Come out and play with the dolphins, hit the waterslide, you know, have a little fun. Just remember to change the sheets in the cabana."

The laughter echoed on for a few seconds as I sent them off to the beach for the night. We had work to do and I got right to the point. "So tell me about what's happening with Samantha."

Before she could answer Shannon showed up. "Damn, I thought I was never going to get to sleep. What did I miss?"

We didn't get the reaction we expected, "Damn it! This wasn't supposed to happen. They promised they would keep you safe! Why didn't they figure this out before? If she knew she was being watched then she should have been able to connect the dots. Damn her!"

I waited to make sure she was finished, "Feel better?"

She let out a big sigh and then said sullenly, "Yeah, it just makes me so mad, thanks for letting me vent."

I glanced at Allison and saw her grin matched mine. "You call that venting?" She said. "You should have seen Jimmy before you got here. Now that was venting!"

"Really?" Shannon asked, "The whole dark clouds, thunder and lightning thing?"

"Worse, the sky actually turned black, we're talking no stars, end of the world black. Even I was scared."

"Okay, so what are we going to do?"

We laid out the plan for the immediate future.

"Oh, thank God we're going to be able to start helping Samantha," Shannon said once we'd given her the new game plan. "She hid it well but I could tell how worried she is about Rachel."

"Yeah, I guess she's good at hiding her feelings," I said, "She's certainly had enough practice. Most of the time she's pretending to be little miss meek and mild to her masters." As I said it I wondered if maybe Samantha would be able to help with Angela. She certainly had experience in dominant and submissive roles. Something to consider for the future. "So did either of you come up with any good ideas for where we should start with these assholes?"

"Well, we got the names, general descriptions, and any details she could remember about the people she's been with. Apparently, most of the girls don't know that many people. Not specifically anyway. Some they have names for, some they don't. Some apparently they never see the faces of." Shannon said.

"Yeah, I ran across one of them in her dreams. It was weird, like the guy didn't have a head at all."

"That's Lord Hightower, he bothers me," Allison said.

"Why's that?"

"Because she's never seen his face, which is not that unusual. There are several she's never seen, but in his case it's not because he wears a mask or a hood or anything. She couldn't give me any detail on him at all."

"That is weird. I'll keep him in mind. What about other girls that she knows, or knows about?"

"There are several that she knows because she's spent time with them, not socially or anything but time together with different masters. I got the impression they were at parties or something, social events where the girls were pretty much toys for everyone to play with. Then there are the others in her school that she doesn't know but is assigned to watch and keep tabs on. All told, only about six or seven girls. This group may not be as big as we think." It was a nice thought, wrong, but still a nice thought.

"Not to change the subject," Allison continued, "but is Easy coming tonight?"

"No idea, she may have gone directly to Amber."

She just looked at me, "And?"

"Oh," I closed my eyes and thought about the two of them for a moment, I could feel Amber, but there was no sign of Lizzy anywhere. "No, she's not here yet."

"Didn't she have that photo shoot this weekend?" Shannon asked.

"I don't know, was that this weekend?" Allison answered.

"I'm not sure, that's why I asked. I know it doesn't look like much, but I hear those can really wear you down."

"Well, I'll keep a dream eye out for her in case she does decide to drop in. So what do you think is the best place to start with this whole thing?"

Allison answered, "I think the best place for you to start is to go see Samantha and have her do some replays for you so you can see the people she knows about and hopefully get enough to bridge them. Then you can start working outward from there and building yourself a chart of who's who and who's doing who. Once you get started you should be able to start putting together a pretty comprehensive list very quickly."

"You think so?" I asked.

"Yeah, I mean, once you're in I wouldn't pull any punches at all, I don't care what you have to do, just get in, find out who else they know and move on. If you've got to hurt them a little along the way, that's just fine with me. These bastards could stand a little abuse in my book. Give them a taste of what they are putting these girls through."

"For sure," Shannon added. "I don't care if you have to rip it out of their memory frame by frame and leave them slobbering in their coffee for a few days, these bastards deserve it."

"True," I agreed, "but as much as I would love to fuck these people up, over, around or however, I have to be careful, because a rash of that kind of damage would certainly attract attention. So regardless of how good it may make me feel, I can't do any serious damage right away."

"Well that bites," Shannon said.

"Yeah, tell me about it," I said. "You have no idea how much I'd like to..."

Allison cut me off, "Actually I think I do and I don't think that's anything you want to be giving a lot of thought to right now. We certainly don't want a whole crop of Mikkelson's on our hands, now do we?"

The thought alone was enough, "I love you," I said, turning and taking her suddenly into my arms and kissing her. "You always know exactly the right thing to say so keep me from doing something really stupid. I think I'm still going to want the two of you along to chaperone any meetings, otherwise just hearing her tell me about it may be enough to get me in trouble."

"My thoughts exactly," Shannon said. "So when do we get started?"

"Actually, I'm thinking the sooner..." I stopped suddenly as I felt a tug on my awareness. "Change of plans, can I drop you girls somewhere?"

"That was sudden," Allison said, "What's up?"

"The guy in the cell; I need to go, no idea how long I'll be so..."

"The beach," Allison said, "Can you get Amber there too?"

"Done," I said, and suddenly I was standing in a dark hallway in front of a now familiar doorway. It only took a moment to slip inside.

My cell mate was once more sitting on the small cot, lost in his own thoughts. I wondered how you could remain trapped in a place like this and not go nuts, but then I realized he really was nuts.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

His head snapped up and around, tracking to the sound of my voice. "I am here because I trusted someone, long ago."

"Care to elaborate on that? Maybe if I understood the nature of your prison I could help get you out."

"My prison is a part of me, I can never escape it."

"No, but you may be able to take control again, or at least upgrade the carpet."

He chuckled at my weak attempt at humor, "I'd almost forgotten what it was to laugh, thank you for that at least my friend."

So we were friends, now, that was encouraging; "You're welcome, so answer the question."

"I am here because it is not safe for me to be out among the general population," he began, "since my earliest childhood I have been a bit of a problem ... I had these horribly violent episodes where I would fly into a rage, seemingly for no reason, striking out at all around me. At first they said I would grow out of it, but as I got older it only got worse. When I was ten I was walking home and came across two boys torturing a puppy and the rage exploded within me. I do not remember the details but I beat them so badly one of them had brain damage and almost died, and both have permanent scars. They put me on special medication and it helped, but medicine costs money. A new doctor was assigned to me and he declared me cured. When I was thirteen I had a crush on a girl at school, but she did not like me..." He paused and I had a bad feeling about where this was going.

"When she rejected me I slapped her, and then I slapped her again, and then again. I seemed to lose all control and just kept hitting her, I couldn't stop myself. Then someone grabbed my arm and pulled me away, it was like something snapped inside me, I don't know what happened after that, the next thing I remember was lying in a room strapped to a bed. They said it took five people to subdue me. I was sent to a state home for troubled youths, a children's prison really. Oh, we didn't have cells, but we couldn't leave, and everything we did was watched and controlled. At night we were locked in dormitory rooms, twenty or thirty of us to a room. About a year later they transferred some boys in from another facility. There was one in particular -- Gustav was his name -- he was a year older than me, the nephew of some important person somewhere. He was a brute and had gotten into some kind of trouble that they needed to cover up. The second night he was there he began raping the younger boys, threatening them if they talked. Eventually someone talked. He was warned to behave himself, and moved to another room, my room. His third night there I was awakened by someone grabbing me and shoving my face into a pillow. My arm was twisted behind my back and my sleepers ripped down."

He shook his head as if to shake the memory away. "He outweighed me by a good thirty pounds, but I fought my way free eventually and attacked him, the other boys were terrified, but one of them eventually went for help. I don't know how long he had been dead but I was still beating him when they finally pulled me off. It was clearly self defense but he was some bigwig's darling and they covered up his crimes, allowing no mention of his assault on me or the previous rapes into the official record, and so I was convicted of murder and sentenced to be confined in a state run asylum until I was old enough to move to a regular prison.

"Then one day my parents came to visit, bringing with them a man I did not know. He claimed to be a doctor and said he could help me. He said he worked for a special research division of the government, that they had been successful with cases similar to mine. Since I was a minor he needed their permission to enroll me in the program."

Again he paused before continuing, and I knew that if I interrupted I may never get this far again. After about a minute he finally went on, "All they had to do was sign me into his custody and he would take me to a special center where they understood the nature of my rages and would help me deal with them and learn to function normally."

"It was a lie?" I asked.

"Oh no, it was true. They did know what was wrong, and they did exactly what they said they would. You see they understood my problem very well, they had seen it before, in fact they had teams out searching all across Europe for it."

"You were schizophrenic?"

"Yes, deep inside of me a monster lived, a thing of rage and pain and anger and explosive temper, it was him that they wanted, not me. At first everything seemed as they said it would be. They taught me to control my anger, to manage it and handle it and use it. They taught me to push it aside, store it way, call upon it when I needed it. Then, once I had learned enough, the program changed, they began to push harder and harder, constantly pushing at the borders of our control, driving us to the very brink and then making us swallow the rage and push it away into its little box. Then time started slipping away. Days seemed to disappear. I remember speaking to Deryk one evening, we were arguing about something, but when I approached him the next day to continue the discussion, he said that it had been three days since we argued. Then whole conversations were lost, I spoke to Lucia one day and the next she swore we had never talked. Two days later she confronted me about the very conversation she had denied having.

"Then the training began. The expense of our treatment was to be offset by our service to the government. We would become police officers, special investigators, and more. We were trained to observe. Problem solving was stressed. Working in the most unusual of circumstances -- darkness, bitter cold, even underwater. I remember once being locked into a deep freezer where the only way out was to assemble a gun in the darkness and shoot out the lock on the door. It was a pass or fail, life or death test. I passed, Deryk died. There was martial training of all sorts. We were given files of information from ongoing investigations and asked to form opinions and theories about how the crimes were committed, or how we would go about committing them."

"Was time still slipping away?" I asked.

"Yes, but it was subtler now. Not so much conversations lost but time passing too quickly, hours would pass in a day with no recollection of what you had done with the time. I remember one afternoon in an office, reading a particular file, I would swear it had only been perhaps and hour, but when I walked out to use the toilet the sky outside was dark and only the custodial staff remained.

"And then one day I learned the truth."

"The truth about what?"

"About what I was, about what they had made me. All the time that I thought they were helping me they were unlocking my other. What they taught me, he learned, but there was much more they taught him that I never learned. It was he they were after all along. We had been lied to, they had not helped us deal with our dark sides, they had only taught them to hide better. Le Caches, we were. Versteckten, the Hidden Ones."

"We?"

"I don't know how many others there are, there were three that I had trained with. Deryk died in the freezer, Lucia had been sent away somewhere, Dahrinka was the last of our group. I learned later that Lucia had been killed by a ruthless gang she had been investigating. Years later I would be assigned to the same group. In between, I spent my time working in various undercover positions, and teaching." He hung his head at the last and tears dripped past the mask as if it had eye holes. I waited for him to continue but he softly whispered one word and I was pushed out again, suddenly finding myself on the beach, watching the waves roll slowly onto shore.

It was a name that burned in my head like a brand. I had heard the name before. Angela said her killer used it once.

But who was Katia?



-------

Chapter 16: The Beast in the Box



I expected that if I were to go into the cabana that I would find the girls, but I was not really ready to see them just yet. Sitting on the beach I stared out at the waves and tried to think about what I had just learned. My killer was schizophrenic, as we had guessed; that he was also the victim of some scheme to exploit his condition was news. What kind of people would take such an illness and exploit it? Who would even conceive of it? How would it be done? The care and effort to treat the two separately, keeping them unaware of each other and actually training and teaching them not only individually, but differently. Actually that wasn't quite it: The other, the killer, seemed to be aware of his alternate -- he had said as much, that the other learned what he did ... What exactly had he said, that they had taught him to hide better, to conceal himself? How would they draw him out? How had they gained his trust and taught him his independence?

It took some time to trace the method that I would use. It could be done through code phrases, similar to the ones that we used to drop ourselves into sleep when necessary. They could be hypnotically implanted, triggering the primary personality into a trancelike state; dreamless, so that the subject would not notice a gap in time. They had been careless on more than one occasion. He had noticed several gaps in his life. You would have to be careful, make sure you restored him to the same environment that he was in when you started. I could only imagine what might have happened to cause the delay that day in his office. Would others around him need to know what was going on to help cover the events? Not necessarily. It would be the job of the alternate to recreate the scene in a way credible enough to allay suspicion. And this was the man fate had set me against. No wonder he was so good. The attention to detail was a part of his life, his very existence.

Something else he had said was nagging at me; something that scared the crap out of me to think about. It was time to talk to someone, but whom? It was probably more up Bob's alley than anyone else's, but then, it was something that I hadn't shared with him yet, so bringing it up now would require explanations that I wasn't really prepared to make. A circumstance I found myself in more and more these days. There seemed to be so many conversations I didn't want to have, things that I didn't want to do that I found myself with no choice about. God, why does this have to be so hard? Why does it all have it come at once? Why couldn't I just have one crisis at a time?

Lifting my head I spoke into the surf, "Easy?" I didn't even know if she was asleep, I hadn't bothered to check, but suddenly there she was before me. She was wearing a simple pair of white panties and an oversize t-shirt. Not over-long, but over sized, it hung from her shoulder so loosely it almost exposed a breast, yet still did not reach the top of her underwear.

Despite her attire she was instantly attentive, the worry in her voice apparent, "Jimmy, what's wrong?" She knelt beside me and suddenly seemed aware of her attire. "Sorry," she switched to a bathing suit top and beach wrap, I couldn't be certain but I assumed the other half of the suit was underneath. She really had picked up the tricks of dream management quickly. "Is this better?"

"Thank you, I know it shouldn't matter, after all you see us naked all the time..."

She cut me off, "You're stalling; rambling. Jimmy, clothing isn't important; even less so for me than others, but I have a truer vision than most. What's wrong? I can see your distress, Jimmy. What's happened?"

"I ... I think I know what's happening to me."

"What do you mean? What's happened to... ?" She stopped for a moment and then called over her shoulder, "Allison!"

I was surprised to see Allison suddenly appear behind her, "What?" she paused. "Wow! I didn't know you could do that."

"Do what?" Easy asked. "All I did was call you. You came on your own. Something's happened, Jimmy called me, brought me to him, said he knew what was happening to him. I think I know what he's talking about but you are his most trusted advisor. So I think whatever he has to say you need to hear first hand and at the first speaking."

"Jimmy?" Allison asked, anxiety clear in her voice. Before I could answer she held up her hand, "Wait," she said, and then just as Lizzy had done, she called over her shoulder, "Shannon!"

And just as suddenly Shannon was there, only Amber was with her.

"What the hell is going on?" Shannon demanded. "One minute we're sitting around the hot tub, then wham! You disappear. Then suddenly you're screaming for me. I didn't want to be rude, so I brought Amber along with me. Is something wrong?" Allison just looked at her. "Okay, stupid question. What's up?"

I started to answer when Lizzy spoke up, "Wait." Then she whispered in my ear, "Amber does not need to hear this. It would be best if you would send her away, she is still unsure so be gentle with her, though that is not what she truly desires she will understand considering the circumstances."

I had no idea what she was talking about so I froze the scene. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry; I know this is all still new to you. I probably shouldn't have tried to explain. Look, Amber needs to see you as strong, decisive, a force to be reckoned with. She needs to see you that way so that her trust in you will not be undermined."

"Okay, I sort of got that part, what about the rest?"

"Amber does not want requests and explanations from you, she wants orders. She wants a commanding presence to assure her of the security that she needs to survive. The problem is she doesn't even really understand this yet. So for now, and because there are others around, you need to ask her to leave and wait for you. She would rather you tell her that you have other business which does not involve her and that she should go somewhere else and you will meet with her later."

"She would?"

"No. What she really wants is for you tell her, no explanations, nothing, just order her to leave and wait for you. That's what she really wants, but even she doesn't really understand that yet, but that's okay because you are not really ready to do that yet either. Jimmy, if you ask her later she will tell you that this whole thing made her uncomfortable. She will also thank you for handling it this way in front of others. When she does, it would be a good time to ask her about telling Allison."

"How did you know about me wanting to tell Allison?"

"Jimmy, why do you think I called her? Allison is your go-to girl; the one you talk to first and rely the most on. Of course you want to talk to her. You're in over your head and sinking fast. We both know that, but I can't help you. You have to get a handle on this by yourself, in your own time, and in your own way. Are you telling me you don't want to talk to her, or that she doesn't want to know?"

"As if. Of course I want to talk to her, but I understand I can't until ... Okay, you win, but we're going to need to talk about this again real soon." I unfroze the scene. "Okay, hold on a second. Amber, walk with me." I took her hand and walked across the beach a ways with her.

"I have some things I need to discuss that I can't talk about with you here. Do you understand?" She didn't so much look hurt as much as confused.

"Okay, what do you want me to do?"

I couldn't believe I was hearing this. Easy was right, she wanted me to tell her what to do.

"I just need some time to go over some things. Find a place, somewhere you feel safe and relaxed, and I'll be along shortly." I almost added, "Okay?" to the end but caught myself before it reached my lips.

"Yes." She kissed my cheek, turned and walked toward the cabana.

Considering what we had done there last time I wasn't sure what her expectations were going to be when I got there, but I was obligated to go either way. Right now I had other concerns.

"I think I know what's been happening," I said, as I returned to the girls.

"What's been happening with what?" Shannon asked.

"Mikkelson, Parry, my sudden lack of control, everything that's been going wrong. This hidden enemy that seems to be working against me."

She glanced at Allison, concern written across her face like a billboard. I didn't see any kind of response from Allison but Shannon turned back and said, "It's you isn't it? I mean, not you-you, but something you did, or created by accident, isn't it?"

"I think so."

"Tell me," Allison said, suddenly we were all sitting in the shade under the small awning, in comfortable canvas beach chairs. There were two small tables with drinks set on either side where everyone could reach. "Does this have anything to do with your little trip earlier?"

"Not directly but sort of. I got him to open up and talk about his past, once he got started ... anyway, it was very informative. We were right about him being schizophrenic. What's totally bizarre is how he got to where he is now. His own government was experimenting on him. Apparently he's been this way since childhood, had some violent episodes and ended up in a state run hospital, ended up killing someone there when he was only fourteen. They were about to lock him up and throw away the key when this guy shows up and convinces his parents to sign over custody and that he would cure their son. Turns out they already had a pretty good idea about him. In fact they were looking for people just like him to play with."

"What do you mean, 'people just like him?'" Lizzy asked. "You mean people with multiple personalities?"

"Not just multiple personalities, but people with violent histories. He had already had several incidents including killing someone when they took him away. They told his parents they would be able to help him learn to live with his anger, learn to control it."

"And did they?" Allison asked.

"Oh they helped him alright," I caught her eye and held it. "They taught him to push his anger away, separate it from himself. They taught him to save it and use it when he needed it. Any of this sound familiar?"

"Sure, it's compartmentalization," Shannon answered. "Rebecca taught us about it. You take your strong emotions and put them in a box so they don't get in the way of what you need to do."

"Exactly, only in his case..." I started, but Lizzy finished for me.

"There was something already living in the box."

"Exactly, something that took his rage and pain and violence."

"And you think this is what has been happening to you?" Shannon asked.

"I don't know, but it seems to fit. I didn't start having problems until I got really angry and upset about some of the things that happened."

"But you've never been violent," Shannon argued, "and you've never really shown any hint of ... oh God, the bank."

"Yes, the bank, and what happened with Brad and his goons."

"Wait, you can't have two personalities," Lizzy said.

"Why not?"

"Because I've seen people like that before and you don't look like them."

"What do they look like?"

"It depends; it can look a couple of different ways. Usually it's like looking at two people at once, with one sort of overlaid on the other. Or, like there are lines dividing them into different parts; compartmentalized like you say but in this case, each compartment has a full set of everything; sort of like twins that never separated. You don't look like any of those."

"Maybe he hasn't reached that point yet," Allison said. "Whatever this is, it's only shown itself when it had to, when there was no choice, no other way to get through a situation. It's lashed out at people he was angry at, very angry at. That part we talked about, and both of the cases where it seems to be using his ability are cases when he visited someone he was mad at and did something punitive. Like whatever he did wasn't enough to satisfy it. Other than that it's been hiding, or at least not showing itself. You're not really here, what you're seeing isn't real, it's a dream and you're seeing what Jimmy wants you to see. What if this other ... thing doesn't want you to see it? What if it's using Jimmy's ability to hide itself from you? Remember the first night, when you were alone with Jimmy, you kissed him and saw something, but then it was gone. You slapped him and it came back, but only for a second and it was gone again. It knows you can see it, but it has access to Jimmy's ability, that's what has been causing the problems for Mikkelson and Parry. Now it's using it to mask itself, to hide from you. That has to be it."

"I've noticed lately it's getting easier to push away the anger. Even earlier," again I looked at Allison, "when it sort of overwhelmed me, once I focused on pushing it away it was like, like it went away too easy."

"Like it got sucked up by something?" Lizzy asked.

"Yeah, like I was pushing only there was no resistance."

"You expected to have to fight it into the box but instead the box sort of opened up and swallowed it," she said.

"Exactly," I said.

"You could be right about all of this. Whatever is in that box likes your anger and pain," she said. "Have you been finding yourself more stressed and angry lately? Well, not really angrier, but getting mad quicker? Little flashes of temper that you need to push away?"

"Yes," Allison said, "he has. Of course with everything that's going on he has had a lot more stress in his life. Are you suggesting that it's more than that?"

"Yes. I think whatever it is, is playing with his emotions, pushing his buttons."

"Do you think it's ... feeding on him?" Shannon asked.

"Possibly, but mostly I think it's studying him, learning."

"That would explain a lot," Allison said. It was getting really hard to follow this conversation. The girls had slipped into that one brain, two bodies thing they do. It didn't seem to bother Lizzy but it was confusing the heck out of me.

"Okay, slow down" I said, holding up my hands to stop the conversation. "I think we're kind of going around in circles here. Are we all pretty much agreed that what's going on is a direct result of my shoving all of my anger into a dark hole and slamming a lid on it?"

Allison nodded, Shannon took a little longer but finally she did too. Lizzy still looked a little unsure. "It's not that I don't think that's it, I'm just used to being able to see these things. This ... this is like being blind. I don't know how you do it. Yes, I think that's likely the cause. The question is, what can you do about it?"

Allison looked at me for a moment, then at Shannon, who was looking down at the sand, obviously not sure what to say, finally she turned to Lizzy, "Elizabeth? If you were here, really here, do you think you would be able to see it? Maybe even heal it?"

"See it probably, but I never know about the healing until it happens. Until I can see it, I don't know what it is. If it were anyone else I could probably do it now, here. But him? This thing has his abilities; I don't think I could touch it here, even in the real world I would be a little scared. What if I tried and it got mad? I have too many dark things for it to play with to take that kind of risk."

"I wouldn't let it hurt you," I said.

"But you can't be sure," Allison said. "Look at Mikkelson, now you can't even reach him."

"What?" Shannon asked. "When did this happen?"

"Earlier tonight, before anyone else showed up, we went to see him and he's gotten worse, a lot worse. So bad that Jimmy wanted to stop it regardless of whether or not he wanted forgiveness, just end it and deal with the fallout later. He couldn't. It was all he could do to stop the vision in progress. He finally got it stopped, but he really had to work at it. Then suddenly we're back in the glade and Jimmy can't reach him any more. He can still feel him there but he can't get to him. Okay, so we knew before, or at least suspected, what it was: something inside him, this is just the first working theory on what caused it. I'm thinking we're in over our collective heads here. I think he needs to talk to Bob, as a patient this time."

"I don't know," I said, "I mean yes, I need to talk to someone, a professional, but if he said something to Rebecca ... She's got enough on her mind without worrying about me losing my grip."

"He's a doctor, you're a patient, he can't talk to her about it," she insisted.

"It's not fair to put him in that position. I don't feel right asking him to keep secrets from her."

"Jimmy, it's his job! And hers. You don't honestly believe that she tells him everything that is going on, do you? For one thing it would be illegal. Besides, if he can ask you to keep secrets from us, then I sure don't have a problem asking the same of him."

"You're keeping secrets from us?" Shannon said, looking surprised.

"No," Lizzy interrupted. "It's not that he is keeping secrets from you, it's that the secret he has is not his to tell. Do you understand the difference?"

Shannon looked at her and I could see her mulling the questions over. "Like being oath-bound?" She finally asked.

"Sort of, he just needs permission to tell you."

"Oh, and this was Bob's idea?"

"No, it was my idea," she said, "but Bob agreed with me, and now that Jimmy's done some homework, so does he."

Shannon looked at me, head cocked to one side.

"It's true. Once I did a little studying I understood, and they're right. It's not my secret to tell. So I guess this means I need to talk to Bob about what is happening? We just settled to the idea of not spending so much time together..."

"Quit stalling," Shannon said. "You decided not to spend more time with Rebecca, not Bob. Why are you suddenly worried about him?"

"I don't know," I answered. "I'm just worried about giving anybody this much information about what I can really do." I could see from the looks that they didn't get it. "I have to tell him about everything, including the bank. I know he said it's all covered under doctor-patient but still. I'd be admitting..."

Allison stepped all over it. "To something that nobody can prove and most would write off as a psycho confession. Jimmy, what if what you're feeling, this apprehension, is actually this, whatever it is, worried about what Bob may say? Worried that he may be able to help you stop it?"

I had to think about that for a second, it was quite possible she was right. I was still thinking about it when Allison spoke up, "Take Easy with you. She knows the basics, but it might help if you show her when you show Bob. She may be able to spot something along the way.

"And just what, pray tell, are you two going to be doing while we're bothering the good doctor?" Easy asked with a smile.

"Well, duh!" Shannon said. "School's starting. Volleyball comes before basketball season so we're going to conjure up some competition and get some work in. Now kiss us and get going. I don't know if you've noticed but we seem to be running out of time a lot lately."

I kissed them both and dialed Bob on my cell phone, "Hi Bob. Are you like, really busy right now?"

"No," he said. "Not with anything important anyway."

"Good because I think I need to see my doctor for some advice."

That got his attention.

"Your doctor. In that case, it doesn't matter if I'm busy," he said. "I'm in my office, come right over."

Moments later we stepped into his office, he was a little surprised to see Lizzy with me. I noticed she had changed to jeans and peasant blouse.

"Please don't take this personally, Elizabeth." He turned to me, "Why is she here?"

"Because she needs to know what I am about to tell you and I didn't want to have to go through it all twice. My turn, please don't take this wrong but, Bob, how serious are you about the doctor-patient thing?"

He looked at me like I'd grown a third eye. "This must be serious. Jimmy, as I've said before, the right judge might be willing to risk making me talk. But there are only a handful of those in the country and I can't imagine what you might have done that could be serious enough to even question it."

"Would killing five people qualify as serious enough?"

He actually stood up and walked around his desk to confront me, "You're serious?" He shook his head and started pacing, "You can't be serious." He looked at Lizzy, "Is he serious?"

She just nodded and when he looked back at me I started, "You remember a while back there was a bank robbery?"

"A bank robbery, what could that have to do..." He stopped pacing, "You were there? Rebecca told me about it, said there were two witnesses that they couldn't question because of their age, but she never mentioned you."

"Well, we made it very clear, or rather our attorney did, that our names were not to appear in any official documents that they didn't need to. In anything that is even remotely public we are referred to as minor child one and two."

"But there was video," he pointed out.

"Did she watch it?" I asked.

"No, actually, now that you mention it, she said her partner was assisting other agents on it because there was a similar event in Europe that she remembered. She thought they might be connected. The video proved her out. The same group hit a place in Europe before. Cleaned out the bank then executed everyone inside. They still don't understand what went wrong here."

What he said made me feel a lot better about what had happened. We were right; they would have killed us all. "I happened here."

"What do you mean you happened?" he asked.

I didn't answer, just replayed the scene from the bank. As the scene started playing out I asked Lizzy, "Can you see it?"

"Sure, why?"

"I wasn't sure if you could see it because it's a memory, you couldn't see the scene in the closet so I wasn't sure."

"I could see the scene," she corrected. "I just couldn't see the people."

"Probably because it's your memory instead of someone else's," Bob said. "You can tell me about the closet later."

The scene had been progressing as we talked over it. Then it reached the point where my perspective shifted and I invaded the guys mind, and he whispered, "Jesus." Then the shooting started. When it had happened originally it seemed to take longer, watching it this way, it was incredible how quickly it had actually happened. The vision faded with the guy taking the van and making a run for it. Bob was up pacing again. "You bridged that guy while he was awake," he said, "a daydream was all the foothold you needed, you locked him in his own fantasy so he couldn't get out and kept him there, using him as a tool."

"Sort of, but not exactly," I paused for emphasis, "Bob, it wasn't me."

He nodded his head. "Just like it wasn't you that beat the crap out of Brad and his cronies? I caught that, the perspective changed." He stood thoughtfully for a moment. "I was close to the truth, so close, but still wrong. This was no Id struggling to survive, this was thoughtful and methodical. True it was a survival response, though how it knew your life was in danger is still kind of misty."

"Did you feel anything when he was messing with Allison?" I asked.

"What? Did I feel anything? Why?"

"Allison and Shannon felt my reaction when he started manhandling her."

Lizzy interrupted, "I didn't feel it, but I saw it, you were pissed!"

"And you saw that, even though it was just a recreation?" he asked.

"I wasn't sure she would be able to see it at all," I said. Then I turned to Bob to explain, "I had the dream of the girl in the closet, it was different this time. Anyway, she got there in the middle and all she saw was me getting pissed off. That whole thing was a memory, just like this and she couldn't see or even hear any of it. What was different was that this time there was sound. But I was the only person she saw."

"Fascinating," Bob said.

"It gets even weirder," I said. "She can't see or hear Amy either."

"Really? Now that is a surprise."

"Yeah, I thought so too, but then what about Amy isn't?" I asked.

"True."

The conversation stalled for a moment until Lizzy said, "No wonder you were so upset. God, you must have felt awful."

"I did. Shannon and Allison helped me deal with it, put it into rational perspective. Bob, the reason I'm here is that whatever took me over in the fight with Brad, and again in the bank is doing other things as well. I think it's what is causing the nightmares for Mikkelson and Parry. I got Parry fixed, but Mikkelson has gotten far worse. Allison and I went to check on him. Bob, he's seeing his own daughter in the dreams now."

"Good Lord," he whispered.

"Yeah, that's what we said. Bob, I tried to stop it and almost couldn't. I barely managed to shut it down and then we got shoved out of his dream and back into the glade. I tried to go back but it was like there was suddenly a wall between us and I couldn't reach him no matter what I tried, like something was blocking me. Lizzy has seen ... something, inside of me ... but it appears to be hiding from her. I think it's using my own ability to cloud her perspective so she can't see it."

"And you're thinking that this all points back to something in you causing it. I know we've talked about schizophrenia before; is that what you're thinking?"

"I don't know, but the guy in the cell before, the killer's alter ego, the one we think is actually the primary persona? I've been talking to him and he's been telling me about how he came to be where he is. Bob, from what he's told me, it sounds like he had an alternate most of his life; some doctors that were supposed to be helping him actually drew it out, nurtured it, helped it grow stronger and trained it to stay hidden. They were using it as a hidden agent and something went wrong. Some of what he told me sounded a lot like what is going on with me. This all started shortly after Rebecca started teaching us to compartmentalize our emotions regarding the stuff we were working on. I've been pushing all my rage, anger, and pain into this make believe box inside me. In the killer's case there was something living inside that box, and now I'm wondering if maybe the same is true for me and I've been feeding this ... beast ... that's living there. Whether it was there before or not I don't know, but it seems to be getting stronger and smarter really fast lately. Now, it seems to be using my own abilities against me, and..."

"Whoa!" he finally said. "Slow down here. Man, you are really on a tear with this! Back up for a second and let me catch up. I'm going to assume that you've talked to Allison about this, probably Shannon as well?"

I nodded. "That's why I'm here. We figured we're in over our heads here and it was time to talk to a professional."

"You never told me about the bank before."

"I'm sorry, I know I probably should have, but ... I didn't think it was right to lay this stuff on you and tell you that you couldn't talk to Rebecca about it. I mean, I killed four people..."

"Five, and no court on earth would even look at the case, much less convict you. Granted you had no way of knowing at the time, but in retrospect, knowing what we know now, it was clearly self preservation if not self defense. You could confess in open court and walk out because there isn't a shred of evidence to support your claim. At best the judge may commit you for psychiatric care for being a nut. Jimmy, you saved several innocent lives besides your own, and whatever rationalization you and the girls came up with to justify it in your mind I'm down with, no worries there. As for the rest of it, this is going to take some time to sort out, but Jimmy, you could have come to me with this. I meant what I said about confidentiality. Rebecca and I both know that there are things we can't talk about, we've discussed it and agreed not to ever let it come between us." He turned to Lizzy, "He said you saw something but that now it's hiding?"

"Yes, the very first night, I saw ... something in him, twice but as soon as I saw it, it vanished again. And I've watched him compartmentalize his anger and what's happening isn't normal. I've seen it done before, even in you, but his is acting different. For most people, dealing with anger is like throwing away tin foil. You roll it up tight, compressing it into a smaller and smaller space, and then you toss it out. His isn't doing that; it's like when he pushes it away it moves and then something else sucks it up, kind of like sweeping dust in front of a vacuum cleaner."

Bob looked thoughtful for a few moments before answering, "Well, once again, and as seems too often to be the case with you, Jimmy, I'm stumped. I agree that it sounds like something is working both for and against you, which is odd in itself, and I won't rule out the idea of an alternate personality, but if it's there I don't see how it would consciously manifest. Generally in two disparate personalities it's a subconscious divider that keeps them from knowing about each other. In your case, I don't see how that would work as you seem to have complete control of your subconscious. Okay, maybe not complete control, but since dreams are usually seen as a subconscious manifestation, then the parts you don't have control over would be hard to identify. Which poses the problem of how to resolve the conflict if there is no mental environment; no neutral ground that the other could come forward to without directly conflicting with the primary persona. The scary part is that it sounds like the only available option would be hostile takeover and I'm not even sure how that would go. Regardless of what he may have said I think your friend in the cell may still not be telling you something. My guess is there were subliminal triggers involved; something that triggered the change without alerting the primary to the switch. That's dangerous stuff there. In your case ... I don't know. I just don't know."

"Yeah," I said. "I figure it had to be some kind of hypnotic trigger, like the ones we use, that put the primary in a dreamless sleep so he wouldn't even notice the time lapse. But ... if you don't have any ideas, then this whole trip, laying it all out there for you was a complete waste of time."

The reply came from an unexpected source as Lizzy said, "No it wasn't. You both understand each other better, plus you've at least confirmed that your suspicions may be correct. Never fault an opportunity to confirm or discover the truth. You just never know when that little bit of truth may save your life. For now, we just have to keep watching and see if we can come up with something a little more concrete to work with. Thank you for your time Mr. Shelby. Come on, Jimmy, let's go find something to cheer you up ... or maybe someone." She took my hand and walked me to the door. As we approached the threshold she whispered, "Someplace we can be alone."

The girls were on the beach, Amber was in the cabana ... We stepped out into my version of Allison's glade and Lizzy immediately turned and kissed me. We had kissed before but this was a kiss. You know, a mobile tonsillectomy, call the fire department before something explodes, "Help me, Father, she's trying to suck my soul out through my mouth," kiss. I would like to think I gave as good as I got but you really have to be in the right frame of mind for one of those, and I wasn't. I put up a good fight but I was sure I could do better in a rematch. After an hour or so she finally drew back.

"Thank you," I said, and then just asked, "Why?"

"Several reasons; first of all, you didn't need to show me all that. I want you to know how much I appreciate your trusting me. I know part of you still thinks it was murder; you need to let that go. You've said it yourself several times, it wasn't you, and part of that kiss was for whatever actually did kill them, because heroes deserve to be kissed."

"Heroes?"

"Totally hero. Jimmy, if you had been a cop bursting through the door and saving all those people that's what they would have called it. Well, thank God you were there, because the cop didn't make it on time. If whatever showed up hadn't come, you would be dead along with Allison and everyone there, so yeah, hero! Also, I just thought you needed it. A little reassurance if you will, you've had a rough night. I thought a little therapy was in order, and besides, I've wanted to kiss you like that for some time now."

I wasn't really sure what to say to all that, so I did the only thing I could think of, rang the bell for round two and stepped into the ring. This time I was prepared and I gave a much better account of myself. Somewhere in the middle we sank down onto our knees and that is the only thing that saved us from falling down when we finally broke. I had to sit back on my heels and catch my breath, Lizzy just sort of melted down onto the blanket and did one of those full body stretches that remind you of a cat in a sunny spot, toes pointed, every muscle tight, arms stretched over her head like they were trying to get as far away from her feet as they could, head rolling side to side as she worked the muscles in her neck.

Finally she relaxed and said, "Damn I can't wait to get you inside me. I'm going to have to change the sheets when I wake up, because I just came all over them. I'd do you right here and now, but you still have to go see Amber."

"Well, thank you again, I felt like I really wasn't prepared the first time. I'm worried about what Amber may be expecting."

"Amber doesn't expect; she wants, but she doesn't expect. Don't think you have to fuck her every time you see her to keep her happy; she's still the same girl in most respects, just confused. Just go and let her know that you are finished with what you were doing and then maybe we can all go and do some three on two with your girlfriends. I have to warn you I'm not much of a volleyball player though."

"No problem, they both play basketball as well. Of course I'm not much of a player there, so I'll be counting on you to keep us from getting spanked too badly, but we'll have the advantage of numbers with Amber on our side. It should be fun." I reached for her hand and moved us to the cabana where we found Amber asleep on the bed. I started to wake her up but Lizzy put her finger to her lips, then blew me a kiss and pointed to Amber's sleeping form. I got the message and moved quietly over to her, lowered my lips to hers and gently began making love to her mouth, after a moment I felt her wake and start to draw back. I pulled back so she could see my face.

"Oh, it's you."

"Did I startle you?" I asked.

"Yes, but that's okay, I don't mind. Can I have another one now that I'm awake and can enjoy it properly"

"Of course." I kissed her again, but stopped before the bed caught fire.

"Jimmy, you really should give lessons."

I just rolled my eyes and reached to pull her up, "Come on, we're going to see if the three of us can give the girls a run for their money on the basketball court."

"Sounds like fun." She stood up and headed toward the door.

"Wait," Lizzy said, with just a hint of a pout in her voice, "don't I get a kiss?" The voice was all innocent and girly but something in her eyes told me there was more to this. It only took a second to figure it out as Amber glanced at me.

She could have been looking for my reaction, checking to see if I would be bothered by the suggestion. That would have been a normal enough response, but that wasn't the look I got. This look was that of a child looking for permission or reassurance.

"Do you want to kiss her?" I asked. She glanced at Lizzy, then back at me again and nodded slightly.

Lizzy's voice sounded in my ears, "Make her say it."

"Say it, tell me what you want."

Eyes downcast, unable to meet mine she did, "I ... I want to kiss her."

Again Lizzy's voice came to me, "Make her ask." I glanced at her. "Trust me."

I stood waiting; watching Amber until she looked up, and there it was in her eyes, "Please may I kiss her?"

I nodded and only then did she step forward and kiss Easy lightly on the lips.

It was hard to believe the change in my friend, the once confident, headstrong State Champion now needed my permission to kiss someone. I should have expected it from the research I had been doing but it was still hard to grasp ... that this was my role, and I had no choice but to embrace it or let her continue to flounder. I gave a huge sigh, internally of course, couldn't do it out in the open where she might see it. "What was that? Kiss her like you mean it." This time when their lips met, she kissed her like she had kissed me. I could almost feel the heat from where I stood. "Much better," I said. "Before we go out I need you to do something. Come and sit down for a moment." I pointed to the chair and she immediately sat down, there was a new look in her eyes, this look I knew and I was about to seriously disappoint her.

"Good, in a moment we are going to out and play basketball with two very competitive friends of ours. I need you to be strong and decisive on the court or we're going to get our asses kicked. I need you to stop being Amber the victim in hiding and be Angela the self assured State Champion again for a while. Can you do that?"

She hesitated, "I ... I don't know."

"An honest answer I'm sure, but the wrong one, I need you to be Angela, you can't be standing around the court waiting for permission to do everything, I don't need Amber right now, I need Angela."

"I'll try," she said. I hated myself for what came next.

"I did not ask you to try!" I said sternly, "I need Angela on the court, can you do that?"

She looked slightly taken aback by my tone, but there was something in her eyes that said I was on to something.

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes I can be Angela."

"Say it again."

"I can be Angela."

"Not 'can, ' will!"

"I will be Angela."

"Again."

"I will be Angela"

"Louder."

"I will be Angela!"

"Louder."

"I will be Angela!"

"Who are you?"

"I am Angela."

"Good, now let's go kick some ass." I reached down and pulled her to her feet, switched all of us to matching outfits and we headed out the door. By the time we got there Allison and Shannon were already standing at the top of the key on a hardwood half-court. I spent the rest of the night getting hot and sweaty with four girls. When we finally got too hot, too tired, and too sweaty, we went out and hit the waterslide. As morning was approaching a gong sounded, startling all of us except Lizzy.

"That's my five minute warning. I'm still a couple hours ahead and I set my alarm for seven. This was fun, guys, but I've got a photo shoot to finish. Jimmy, a moment please?"

I popped us into the cabana and asked, "What's up?"

"Nothing, I didn't realize how late it was getting and I wanted to tell you what an amazing thing you did with Angela tonight. Here's my cell phone number, call me later and I'll explain." She gave me a quick kiss and said, "I know how hard this is for you and I want you to know I'm very proud of you." She disappeared in the middle of the next kiss.

I quickly brought Angela back in and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Wonderful. Jimmy, it's amazing. I can't explain it but I feel so..."

"Free?"

"Yes! Exactly, I feel like I'm me again. How did you do it?"

"I can't really explain it, just some stuff that I read coming together in my head. Easy seems to think it was the right solution. You have some studying to do before we can really talk about it, so for now I think we'll just let it be. I need to ask you a couple things though? When I sent you away, did it make you uncomfortable?"

She thought for a moment. "A little yes, not the sending me away part but ... I don't know really, something about the whole thing sort of ... worried me." There it was, just as Lizzy had said.

"One more thing, did Allison talk to you about what is going on?"

"No, she hasn't said a thing."

"She has asked me. As I said, you have some studying to do before you really understand where all of this is going but let me make one thing clear. This is your secret, it is known by three other people on earth at this time, me, Easy, and Mr. Shelby. It will stay that way until either you tell someone, or you give permission to one of us to do so. Allison has asked to know. I told her I would seek your permission to tell her. I do not want your answer tonight. I want you to think about it and give me a decision next time we meet. While you are thinking about it, you are not to consider what you think I may or may not prefer or expect. This is not my decision and I have no part in it, and I promise you that no matter what your decision is I will not be upset or question you at all about it. You will understand this better when you have had a chance to study it more. I know that sounds vague but trust me, you will understand. Okay?"

"I guess so."

"What was that?" I said sharply.

She grinned and said, "Fuck you. Yes, I understand. I'll try to be ... I'll have an answer for you next time we get together."

"Much better," I said, then kissed her. "I love you, have a good day."

"You call that a kiss?" she asked.

God, but it was good to see her like this again. I gave her a real kiss then smacked her hard on the ass and sent her on her way. When I got back to the girl's they were playing mermaid with the dolphins. Have I mentioned what cute tails they have? As soon as I was in the water Shannon swam up and flipped water at me, distracting me long enough for Allison to take my feet out from under me. No big deal, I needed a tail more than feet at the moment anyway. I joined them in the water and we played tag with Zeus and Hera until it was time to get up. Even with a mermaid tail dolphins are a bitch to catch.

I woke feeling better than I had in weeks. Allison grabbed my hand as I started to crawl out of bed.

"What did you do to Amber?"

"Actually, I didn't do anything. Some of the research I've been doing finally gave me an idea. Apparently it was a good one, at least it looks like it was, and Lizzy thinks so. I did ask her to think about letting me tell you. She'll have an answer by the next time we get together."

"Whatever you did, it was amazing. I haven't seen her like that since before this whole thing began. Go run and then I've got a special treat for you. I'd give it to you now but then you wouldn't feel like running."

That sounded very promising and I found I had a little more spring in my step as I headed out for my morning ritual. Since I had started running cross country I had added a few longer tracks and this morning I combined a couple and ran just under ten miles. I actually passed my dad at one point as he was laboring up a small hill; I turned around and ran backwards in front of him for a short ways before continuing on.

"Asshole!" he yelled as I made the top of the rise. I just waved back at him and kept going, thinking to myself that it might be a good day to wax his car.

Allison was still asleep as I headed into the shower but she showed up just as I was rinsing my hair and showed me what a wonderful day it was going to be. I was having trouble walking when I finally made it to the living room.

"That's what you get for teasing your old man," my dad said smugly.

I made a mental note to tease him more often just in case he was right.



-------

Chapter 17: Planning a Life


After breakfast I took a little ride to make a phone call.

"I'm Easy."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the way Lizzy answered her phone. She really did enjoy her nickname.

"Hi Lizzy, how's the photo shoot going? Am I catching you at a bad time?"

"Jimmy, is that you? How come your number doesn't ... oh never mind, I got it. Listen, I've only got a couple minutes, I'm changing for another set and they need me in makeup in five minutes. They want to make me look like I actually work on cars."

"Should I call back later?"

"Jimmy, you can call me any time, and I mean that. But for now I just wanted to talk to you about last night. What you did was not only perfect but I think it opens up a whole new door that will make it a lot easier for Amber to adapt to her new life without feeling like she is losing her old one. Damn! I wish I had more time. Listen, we're scheduled to be finished here about six o'clock so call me back if you get a chance, otherwise we'll just talk about it tonight. Have you gotten started on that book Bob told you to read yet?"

"Kushiel's Dart? No, not yet. I need to go buy it."

"Do you need money? I can charge it online and you can pick it up locally if you want. Do you have a Borders?"

I chuckled to myself, money was not my current problem, "Yes, we're not completely cut off from civilization here, and I'm good."

"I'll just bet you are."

"I mean I don't need money." I could actually feel myself blushing.

"Doesn't mean the rest isn't true ... Okay, try to get started on it as soon as you can. The first half is really the important part, the rest is a good read but you don't need it for this. They're knocking, I have to go, give Allison a kiss for me and call me later."

"Okay, I'll..." the line was already dead. I was really looking forward to getting a copy of that calendar.

I closed the phone and started walking back to my truck. I had been standing in the middle of the park not far from my house. I wasn't sure that the house was bugged, but I wasn't sure it wasn't either. The last thing I wanted to do was draw more attention to anyone involved with either Rebecca or me. If the killer found out I was in contact with one of the girls he had kidnapped it would kill any chance we might have of convincing him that my relationship with Rebecca was nothing he needed to be concerned with. It could potentially even put Lizzy in danger again. That's why I made the call from the park, a nice big open area where I could see anyone getting close and with nothing around me to reflect a voice into a parabolic microphone if someone tried to listen in. Go ahead, call me paranoid. Lives were at stake, and if it were your loved ones in the cross hairs you'd do it too.

I called the house on the way back to truck; I lucked out and Allison answered.

"Hey Sunshine, I have to run to the mall and pick up a book. Do you and Shannon still want to go shopping?" Even as I asked I realized it was a stupid question; do two teenage girls want to go to the mall and shop? I got the expected answer...

"Well, duh!"

"Yeah, it was a dumb question. What I should have asked was do you want to go early and do our chores later or do them first?"

"Chores first, that way we'll be able to come home and play with all our new stuff without having to worry about what else we need to do. I'll call Shannon and set it up. Thanks!"

We had lunch together in the food court and then went our separate ways, me to Borders and them to the nearest sale. I had no trouble finding the book Bob had mentioned. Reading the description on the back left me more than a little anxious about what I was going to find inside. As I had plenty of time to kill I bought the book and then took it and a soda in search of a quiet place to read. I wasn't sure how much time I was going to have so the first thing I did was flip through the first hundred pages one at a time, pausing long enough to capture an image of each in my mind. This was the trick Allison had discovered the year before. Once that image is in your head you can 'read' it in your dreams because your mind has already 'seen' the page. It had saved us untold hours of real time with homework being able to read the assignments in dream time and only having to do the written work when we were awake. I then went back and started reading the book. I put a sizable dent in it before the girls came looking for me. My initial apprehension at the subject matter had faded quickly as the narrative unfolded. The characters didn't really bear any close resemblance to any of us, and at first I couldn't figure out why Bob had suggested it, but soon I started to recognize the underlying themes and realized where he was coming from. By the time the girls showed up I knew I was going to need to scan some more pages before bedtime.

That thought brought me up short. I had watched the CSI episodes already. Why not just replay them for Amber instead of making everyone jump through hoops to get them to her? We could even create a copy of the book for her. I made a note to ask Bob if he thought it would be a better idea for us to study together or separately. As soon as I thought it I realized the answer. She needed the space to come to her own conclusions. If I were there it might influence her.

The girls put on a little fashion show for us back at the house, and then Tom, Karen, and Mark came over for dinner. Something was obviously up, there seemed to be a lot of tension between Tom and Karen. Finally it came out. Tom's appointment to go over the latest test results was Tuesday. They had been trying to keep it quiet, but Karen in particular was starting to unravel. Mark and Shannon were upset that they had not been told and that they would have to be at school while their parents got the news. Tom was actually the most upbeat of the bunch, showing more energy and optimism than we had seen in a very long time. I never did get the chance to call Lizzy back and before we knew it, it was time for them to go. Shannon gathered up her bags and we walked them to the car. I caught Karen looking at me out of the corner of her eye and wondered if she was waiting for me to kiss her daughter goodnight. Allison and I talked about it as we snuggled up for the night but decided there was nothing we could really do one way or the other except be aware of her suspicions and try not to do anything to tip the decision. If she knew, she hadn't said anything. I'd try to keep it that way. Somewhere around ten o'clock we dropped off to sleep, waking in my version of Allison's glade almost simultaneously. That put it around midnight 'Easy-time' so I wasn't surprised that she showed up almost immediately, although I had been hoping to be able to get some time in on the book before diving into any other activities the night may offer. It also meant that Allison was once again left out as Lizzy and I had things to discuss.

"It's okay," Allison said. "Jimmy, you have to stop feeling guilty every time you need space. You've got a lot going on, and depending on what you're doing at any given time, it's almost assured that someone is going to be left out. There are plenty of things I can be doing. Shannon will likely be along any second so I'll be fine. I can always work on my game if I get bored. Go on, the sooner you guys work this all out the happier everyone will be." She kissed my cheek and pushed us both away toward the little brook that flows through. Lizzy and I walked off down the path that suddenly appeared winding through the bushes and along the stream.

"So how was the photo shoot?" I asked, just to break the ice.

"It was awesome. It'll be weeks before we see any of the finished shots but the preliminaries look great. In addition to the stuff for Dave, we did a lot of sponsor stuff and Richard thinks that some of it will sell."

"That would be awesome. I spent most of the afternoon reading; I'm about two hundred pages into the book. I think I've got a pretty good grip on the characters."

"That's plenty far enough. You can stop if you like. That is if you think you've got a handle on what Bob wanted you to get from it."

"I'm to play Delaunay to her Phédre," I said simply.

"Yes, not exactly of course, and though she is not anything like Phédre, your part is the same in any case. You are her master, you care for her, educate her, see to her training and wellbeing. You make sure her needs are met." She looked me firmly in the face; she couldn't see my eyes after all, "All of them."

"I got that. So what were you so excited about this morning? You said something about what I did with Amber last night and how it may really help."

"Yes! It never occurred to me until you did it, but let's get Bob here. I think it will work out really well, but he's the professional here, so I'd like his opinion."

"Lizzy, would it be helpful for you to be able to call him and talk to him without me?"

She thought for a second, "I don't know why I would need to but yeah, I guess it would be nice to have the option."

"Let me see your phone." Turned out she had a Blackberry. I added Bob to her speed dial under B. I also decided to change my dream phone. It hadn't occurred to me before but texting could be useful in this environment as well; much less intrusive to text and see if he or Rebecca were busy rather than to call and interrupt. "You'll come up on his caller ID as well, so he'll know it's you."

"Wow, you can do that to his phone from here?" She shook here head. "Okay, dumb question because you just did, but do you want him to know you can do it from here?"

"I've decided not to hide things from him any more. I'll just ask him not to talk about it. In fact, we'll cover that when he gets here."

"Okay," she said. "I'll just send him a text now instead of calling; that should get his attention."

"Just tell him to pick a door and I'll bring him in."

I watched as she typed in a message, and a few seconds later a door appeared not far from us. Bob stepped out with his phone still in his hand.

"Neat trick," he said. "I think texting around could be helpful. Too bad there is no way to keep text messages secure in real time."

"You can't?" I asked. Hey, I'd never used it at all.

"No, text messages are actually stored on a server before being broadcast to the recipient. There have been cases made in both civil and criminal court involving text messages that were retrieved after the fact."

"So much for getting myself a better phone," I said. "You notice Lizzy came up under your caller ID? The fact that I can affect you, or even just your phone, without actually being present in your dream, is something I'd rather keep to ourselves. There will likely be other things. I would rather you didn't discuss any of them in front of others unless I bring them up, okay?"

"Understandable," Bob said. "Especially with recent developments, I think you and your abilities, new or old, should be on a need to know basis. If Rebecca needs to know, then yes, I think you should be the one to make the decision and tell her, or anyone else."

I nodded and moved on. "Lizzy wanted to talk about something I did with Amber last night."

"Really?" he asked, turning to her, "What happened?"

"He ordered her to be Angela when we were going out to play basketball with Allison and Shannon."

Bob's eyebrows tried to crawl over the top of his head, "And it worked?"

"Yeah, it actually did," she answered, sounding just as surprised as he looked. "He had to be a little forceful with his instructions but he actually got her to be the stronger, more forceful presence that I assume she once was. She actually told him to fuck off when he pressured her on a decision point right before we broke for the night."

"You heard that?" I asked. She gave me a wink and flicked her eyebrows at me. I made a note to be more careful with her in the future. Bob ignored the whole exchange, caught up in what she had said.

"You're kidding!" Suddenly he was pacing. "This could be the solution we need to her problem." He turned to me, "My biggest fear throughout this has been that the trauma had caused a schism and that was why she was struggling so hard with all of this. I've been afraid that it was going to be necessary to actually let a second, independent personality for Amber form. She didn't seem to be able to handle the role-playing that was necessary to be convincing. But this ... damn, I wish she'd had time to get started on her homework, but it'll be days before she even gets the DVDs."

"Actually," I interrupted, "I realized earlier, we don't even have to take them to her, or buy her the book, which I'm about halfway through already by the way."

"That was fast," he said, "I didn't even think you had the book yet."

"Yeah, it surprised me too. I picked it up a little after noon. You know that thing we do so we can read in dreams, just paging through a book so we've 'seen' all the pages, then we can actually read them later? I did that with the first hundred pages, then went back and started reading them. It was like I was actually re-reading them and I flew through them in about an hour and a half. I did the next hundred in just under an hour. As near as I can tell I'm currently doing about three hundred words per minute."

"Amazing," he said. "One of these days I'd like to see how you do with new material here in this environment, but we can do that another time. So how does this affect Amber's need... ? Oh, I get it; you've seen the shows and read the book, so you can re-create them here for her."

"Right, I can set it all up so she can see the shows, read the book, at least as far as I have gotten, and she can probably do it all in next to no time." I turned to Lizzy. "How does any of this make it any different for her?"

She looked at Bob, one of those, 'correct me if I'm wrong looks, ' he nodded and she answered, "I think with a little help she will be able to switch between being Amber or Angela consciously, but the change will be total. You actually got her to do it last night, ordered her to do it. I think with the right kind of reinforcement you'll be able to let her be Angela enough that she won't feel like she is losing herself in the new identity."

I wasn't sure I was following her logic correctly. "So you're saying that she could be completely and totally Amber, publicly, but that when it was safe, like here with us, she could be Angela again if she wanted to?"

"Here, or in the real world, if she thought it was safe to be herself. The clues were there before, the fact that she still wanted to make love to you after I forced her on the beach. She's not completely given over to the submissive behavior. It's there, but I think maybe it's a want, not an actual need."

"That may be true," Bob said, "for Angela. However for Amber it is a need and it will, for that reason, still require that we follow through with getting her trained to the point that she can play the role convincingly."

"So let me see if I have this right," I said. "You're saying that we are going to train Amber to be this willing little sex slave, but that Angela will be able to turn that person on and off like flipping a switch."

"Exactly right," Bob said, I glanced and Lizzy was nodding her agreement. "This is exactly the way most people in this lifestyle manage it, only the opposite. Most people, like that CEO I told you about, hide this dark side away from their everyday lives, but when they are in the safety of this hidden world, they let themselves become this other person, whether dominant or submissive, because they are now safe to do so. Eventually, once it is safe to do so, Angela will likely manage her life the same way."

"But won't that be a problem for her now?"

"Jimmy, it's college," Lizzy said. "You wouldn't believe the stuff I see everyday, and I'm at a pretty conservative institution, trust me, she won't even raise an eyebrow." She stopped and it seemed that something had occurred to her.

"What?" I asked.

She thought for a second more before answering, "Just a little thing that may cause a problem, but I'm sure we'll be able to work it out before she goes off to school. I don't think it's important enough to even bring up and worry about. I'll let you know if it looks like it's going to be an issue as we get closer."

Bob nodded and said. "I see no benefit to waiting, so, Jimmy, set up a place for her to study and let's get her started. The sooner she is able to understand what is happening the sooner she will be able to stabilize her life and move on."

A thought had been stirring around in the back of my head throughout this whole conversation and it finally came forward, "This doesn't change my role in any of this, does it? I still have to be her master, don't I?"

"Yes," Lizzy answered. "Jimmy, the only way she will accept this, for now anyway, is if you tell her to do it. Right now, where she is at mentally, she can't make these decisions on her own. Trust me; this is what is going to happen. She is going to watch the shows, which will give her the basics of the role she is playing and show her that there is nothing wrong with what she is feeling. Reading the book will show her that she needs someone like Delaunay, a master to guide her, to keep her safe, the only difference is that where Phèdre took time to fall in love with Delaunay, Amber will turn to you because she already does. Jimmy, when she comes to you; you must already be her master, no hesitation, no indecision. She has already shown that she thinks of you that way and she doesn't even realize it. Soon she will make a conscious decision to put you in that role. You have to be ready to treat it naturally."

"And if I don't?" I already knew the answer but I had to ask.

"That's a rhetorical question and we all know it," Bob said. "Jimmy, you would never hurt her like that. You know, just from what you've already studied, that this is how it has to be. If you reject her, she will lose all hope. You are the only one she will accept. You've already accepted the role; the difference is that now she will know and understand why she has been behaving the way she has."

I sighed, "I had to ask. You know I don't want to do this."

Lizzy stepped in close, kissed my cheek and repeated what Bob had already told me, "That's why it has to be you."

I sighed again, pushed back the tears I felt forming and turned to face the future, "Amber." I spoke into the air and suddenly she was there. She was a little startled at first but quickly recognized us and knew she was safe. "I have some things for you to see that Bob has suggested will help you understand what is happening in your life, help you adjust. I'm going to take you to watch them. Have you made a decision regarding Allison?"

"Yes, I have," she said, eyes slightly downcast. "You can tell her."

I nodded and spoke into the air again, "Allison," and she was walking down the path toward us.

"Yes, Jimmy."

"Amber is going to be going over the material I have been studying so that she will better understand what is going on. She would like you to go with her. Would you accompany her?"

She stepped forward and hugged Amber. "I would be happy to," then she stood holding her hand waiting for whatever was next.

"Very well," I said and sent them off to my office to watch a little television. There was a set of instructions and two copies of Kushiel's Dart waiting for them.

"I think Allison already suspects," Bob said.

"She's a very bright girl," Lizzy said. "I'm sure she's noticed how you've been treating Amber the last few days. The change on the basketball court may have thrown her but I suspect you're right."

"Shannon's going to want to know," I said flatly.

"One problem at a time," Lizzy said, "once she's through this part, I think you'll find that most of this sorts itself out."

"How so?"

"You'll see. Trust me. Speaking of Shannon, I wonder why she hasn't shown up yet."

"She's probably having a hard time getting to sleep. She found out her dad's appointment to get his test results is Tuesday."

Suddenly I heard Lizzy's voice differently, "Are you sure you want Bob to know everything? Because, if you are, I have something in mind."

I glanced at Bob and he showed no signs that he had heard anything. I wasn't sure how Lizzy did it, but I sort of willed her to hear me and him not to as I answered, "Yes."

This time she spoke out loud, "Then it's a good time to try something new. You're very close to Shannon and you've spent a lot of time with her here, call her."

"What?"

"Call her, just like you called Amber and Allison a moment ago."

"But she's not..." I caught the look in her eye as she stared at me, "Okay ... Shannon?"

It was a very strange sensation feeling Shannon suddenly transition from awake and trying to sleep, to actually entering my dream, but suddenly there she was, curled up on the ground in front of us in one of her long sleep shirts. I was kind of surprised that she appeared asleep instead of awake. I switched her into more appropriate attire, shorts, tank top, and sandals; and that seemed to be enough to wake her up.

"Oh God, I thought I would never get to sleep," she said, sitting up and reaching out for me to help her up. Apparently she was not aware of what I had done. I froze the scene as my hand touched hers and turned to Lizzy.

"How did you know that would work?"

"I didn't, and I don't know that it would work with people you don't know as well, but since you are basically interacting with people's subconsciouses here I thought it was at least a possibility. Her subconscious is still the same whether she is awake or asleep."

"But that means that I may be able to pull almost anyone I know here at any time."

"Yes, if you know them well enough, or maybe even if you want them here badly enough. You'll have to be very, very, careful with it, and make damn sure you know whether or not someone is asleep before you try and reach them. I thought of it after you called me at the photo shoot and it made me wonder what would happen if I was doing something and you called me the way you did at the beach last night. I'd hate to be driving down the road and have you suck me in by accident. You better release them before this drags out any longer."

There were ramifications here that I wanted to discuss but for now it would have to wait. I finished pulling Shannon to her feet and gave her a quick hug, whispering, "I'm worried about him, too."

She hugged me back and I felt a tear trickle down my neck, "Thank you. Where's Allison? I thought she would be here."

"She's helping Amber with something. Was there something you needed to talk to her about? I could bring her back if it's important."

"No, that's okay. In fact, if we don't have anything really pressing to take care of I'd kind of like to just spend some time with you." She glanced at Lizzy and Bob.

"Not a problem for me," Bob said. "Until Amber is finished I don't really have anything else to do here anyway. Elizabeth, lovely to see you again, Shannon, Jimmy," He nodded to each of us in parting and headed out the door that suddenly appeared a little ways down the path.

Lizzy watched until he was gone then turned back to face us again and said, "Shannon, I can see your distress. It's been there all along, but I've tried not to intrude. Someone close to you is sick and you've been worried. It's much stronger now, so I know it's bothering you." She stepped in close and stroked her hand down Shannon's hair and face, coming to rest on her shoulder. "Please let me help you. We don't have to do anything you don't want to, but I was thinking..." Suddenly a massage table appeared on the grass next to us. With her free hand she reached up and wiped a tear from Shannon's cheek. "Please?"

Suddenly tears were flowing freely down Shannon's face and tremors shook her body. She glanced at me, then back at Lizzy and nodded her approval. I stepped in and scooped her off her feet, laying her gently on the table, as I did so her clothing disappeared and a sheet covered her from the neck down.

I stepped back and started to leave but Lizzy touched my hand, "Stay, I want you to help me." Behind me the sound of the brook increased and the plants changed to lavender and lilacs, both giving off strong but subtle fragrances which filled the air around us. Lizzy moved to the head of the table and began to kneel down, as she did the table dropped to maintain a comfortable height. She leaned over Shannon and whispered, "Close your eyes."

As Shannon closed her eyes, Lizzy began to gently stroke her face and hair, applying gentle pressure to certain pressure points as she went. I could see Shannon beginning to relax as she worked on her. A bottle of oil appeared in the air next to the table, Lizzy held out her hand and the oil dripped onto it all by itself and then she began gently stroking Shannon's shoulders. As she did her voice whispered in my ears, "Do her feet." I knew she was using her trick voice and that Shannon hadn't heard it. As I moved to the other end the sheet pulled back and the bottle of oil drifted down to me.

I've given the girls massages before but it was amateur at best. Lizzy looked like she really knew what she was doing. This became more obvious as I started working on one foot and her voice came to me again, this time I could hear the laughter behind her voice, "You're really new at this aren't you?"

Glancing up I met her eyes and nodded.

"That's okay, give me your hands and I'll guide you."

I started to ask what she meant when suddenly my hands started moving by themselves. My first reaction was to jerk back like I'd been bitten. This time she actually sniggered at me, "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. Close your eyes if it helps, but pay attention because I'm going to do one foot and then you are going to do the other one." I closed my eyes and sort of let go. Once again my hands seemed to take on a life of their own. It was amazing to me that she could be working two sets of hands through two separate motions at the same time. Of course it was amazing that she could do it at all, it had never occurred to me that anything like this was even possible. Then she really blew my mind as she began to lecture me at the same time.

"Feel the shape of her muscles, the lines of her strength, feel the soft hollows where they cross and come together, open yourself to the pulse of her energy, the throbbing of her blood flowing just below the surface."

As she spoke the sensations awoke beneath my fingertips. It was an incredible sensation.

"All of our bodies connect to our feet. You can ease the tension in her shoulders by rubbing right here." As she said this she applied more pressure to one particular spot and I could almost feel Shannon sigh as the other set of hands stroked the muscles in her back. Lizzy had pushed her hands under Shannon's back to the wrist and was working the major groupings around her shoulder blades and along her spine. I'd never seen it done that way but it made perfect sense; instead of trying to push down into the muscle, the bodies own weight applied the necessary pressure. Of course, you had to have pretty small hands.

The lesson continued for about five minutes and then it was my turn. "Okay, now we're going to move to the other foot, but before we do, I want you to gently kiss each toe." I thought it was a strange request but I went along with it. There was a noticeable flare of heat in the arch of Shannon's foot as I did it. Then I moved to the other foot and did my best to remember everything I had just done. I guess I did pretty well; Lizzy only had to correct me a couple of times. Telling me when I needed to go softer or firmer in any one spot. As I worked on the second foot, Lizzy moved down and began working on Shannon's arms and hands. Just as she had had me do with her feet, Lizzy kissed each finger and her wrist as she finished.

"Okay, we need to do this next part at exactly the same time. Starting with her little toe, kiss each one, when you get to her big toe I want you to suck the whole thing into your mouth and tease it with your tongue a little. Just for a second then I want you to lick a line down from her toe to her instep and French it a little, really work it with your tongue."

I watched her as I followed her instructions and saw her mirroring my movements on Shannon's hand, kissing each finger and then sucking the girl's thumb all the way into her mouth before licking down across her palm. As we each hit our finishing points I felt a shudder pass through Shannon's body and knew she had just had a small orgasm.

"Oh my..."

Shannon started to say something about it but Lizzy touched a finger to her lips, whispering, "Shhh, be still." Then she rose and moved toward me, and as she did the table rose with her, maintaining the height she wanted. Again she spoke to me alone, "Let me share your hands again, I'm just going to guide you, try to feel your way on your own, just do what I do."

What she did was to start with the ankle on her side and begin working her way up Shannon's leg, working as she went. As I mirrored her motions I could feel the tension leaving her muscles as we moved upward, but another tension was taking its place. I could see Shannon's hands clutching at the sheet as we applied pressure to certain points. As our fingers brushed past her hip another series of tremors shook her gently and a small gasp forced its way from her lips. Our hands stroked around her pelvis and lower abdomen as Lizzy sought out the nerve centers and pressure points around the area. The light sheen of oil was joined by a trickle of moisture gathering on her silky mound. Suddenly she moaned, "Please."

Lizzy smiled at me and as I watched the table split and moved her legs apart, changing to a set of stirrup like formations as Lizzy slid between her legs and blew a gentle stream of air across her suddenly exposed inner surfaces. There was a sharp intake of breath and Shannon bit her lip. Lizzy's voice whispered to me once more, "Move up to her head and massage her breasts. If she opens her mouth again, fill it up with something, but don't get carried away, I don't want you to come until we're finished. She'll let us keep doing whatever we want as long as you don't come."

I am nothing if not cooperative when it comes to pleasing my partners, and Allison taught me a long time ago to follow directions. I moved up and began lightly massaging Shannon's wonderful mounds. Suddenly she arched up hard against my hands, glancing down I saw Lizzy with her tongue buried deep inside her and apparently doing something very interesting with it. On a whim I bent forward and bit lightly at one nipple just as Shannon started to relax back onto the table. Again she pressed upward, but this time her mouth opened and she grunted a loud, "Ugh." I was ready for it and immediately moved my, by now extremely hard cock, to her lips. As I did the top of the table collapsed slowly backward, allowing her head to fall back into the perfect position for me to press forward into her mouth, which I did.

Shannon is the most oral person I know. Granted I haven't been with that many, and it's not a subject that comes up in polite conversation, but there are few things in this world that give her as much pleasure as me in her mouth. She loves Allison more, but when it comes to going down on someone I'm her favorite toy. As soon as I entered, her tongue began massaging the head and shaft as I pressed forward. When I pulled back and let her kiss and suckle the tip, her arms came up to wrap around me, grabbing my ass and pulling me forward again, not stopping until I had slid my full length as far into her throat as I could go. She moaned loudly, sending the most wonderful vibrations over the surface, another tremor shook her body and I almost lost it right there. I looked at Lizzy, her eyes smiled at my obvious distress as she continued to work her magic on Shannon's other lips. Her voice sounded in my head again.

"Damn, I'm going to have to see if she can teach me to do that. I've tried but I just can't seem to make it all the way down."

"It's easier here, no gag reflex. They both learned to do it here before they could manage in the real world." Discussing the mechanics allowed me to ignore the sensation enough to get past the danger point.

"I'll have to try it. You might want to pull out before she bites it off though, I'm about to..." I felt Shannon tense and immediately withdrew as Lizzy pushed her over the edge and she started to convulse on the table. I stood silently, caressing her breasts as she coasted back down.

When she finally showed signs of rejoining reality I bent and kissed her softly, feeling the warm tender glow of love enfold us. I held the kiss for a few moments and when I finally looked up it was to see Lizzy, still kneeling between Shannon's legs, sobbing quietly with her face in her hands.

"Lizzy?" I whispered, but she was gone.

I started to rise but Shannon caught my arm and pulled me back down to her. "Don't," she whispered. "Let her go, you'll only make it worse if you go after her. Stay with me, love me, let me love you, it's what she wanted."

I heard what she said and in my heart knew that it was far truer than she understood. Lizzy had seen our love wrapped around us, and it broke her heart because she thought that love like that was denied her, that the price of her gift was to never know such a love. I thought she was wrong but I knew there was nothing I could say that would change her mind.

Shannon and I spent the rest of the night making love to each other, and it was as wonderful as such a time can be. When we could take no more we just lay in each other's arms.

Even with all that love wrapped around us, I still woke to the echo of a young girl's tears falling far away.



-------

Chapter 18: Moving On


Allison was already awake beside me, she kissed my shoulder and whispered, "Go run, then take me somewhere we can talk."

I ran a quick two miles just to wake up. Mom and Dad were both up when I got back so we invited them to come with us to IHOP for breakfast. Allison and I went to the park on the way back so we could talk. I was hoping Rebecca could get us that information so we could go over the house for bugs soon. We'd already checked all the spots Rebecca had suggested for video, but until we had the right equipment, we really couldn't check for anything that was audio only. Not only did it suck to have to leave every time we wanted to have a serious conversation but it was probably a little suspicious if anyone was really paying attention.

Once we got there, Allison didn't waste any time, "It's no wonder you've been struggling so much, I know you don't like where this is going."

"No, I don't, but it's the only way," I answered. "I'm the only one that can do it. I keep finding more and more things in my life that fall into that category and I'm starting to feel like I'm drowning in responsibility."

"I know, but you love her too much to let her keep suffering the way she has been," she said. "I wish there was some way I could help you with it, but..."

"Well at least now I can talk to you about it. You do understand why I couldn't before, right?"

"Oh absolutely! This was so not your secret to tell. I'm kind of surprised she wanted me to come with her rather than just having you talk to me about it."

"That was my idea. She told me I could tell you, but I thought it might be better this way. Telling you would have been a start, but you still would have needed to go through the same stuff she was to really get a grip on it anyway. She knows how much I rely on you and, I don't know, she was confused, and you wanted to know so you could help ... I thought it would save time."

"I don't know how much help I was; mostly we just sat quietly watching the DVDs and then we sat on opposite ends of the couch reading the same book. I want to read the rest of it by the way, I'm hooked now so either flip through the rest of it and fill in my copy or give me the book so I can read it while you're at school. It was very interesting in a variety of ways. I still haven't figured out what all thirteen houses could possibly be. I can only come up with around eight, but some of those are pretty fascinating. I don't think any of them truly express what's happening with Amber but then it's fiction and this is reality so you can only expect so much. I'm not sure what to expect once she has time to really absorb what's happening. I don't know how well she'll accept this about herself. It's so very different from her life before."

"We talked about it, Lizzy and Bob and me. After what happened Saturday, Lizzy was so excited about what I'd done with Amber, when she told Bob he was really excited too and..."

She cut me off, "Whoa, back up, what happened Saturday night?"

"Did you notice a difference in Amber the other night when we were playing basketball?"

"I'll say I did. It was like she was suddenly a different person."

"She was."

"What do you mean?"

"That's what Lizzy was so excited about, and when she told Bob about it he was even more excited, but then it's his field so..."

"What? You're talking in circles and you still haven't told me what happened?"

"I ordered Amber to be Angela."

"You did what?"

"Before we went out to play with you and Shannon, I told her I needed her to be Angela or we were going to get our butts kicked. It took some prompting and I had to push a little hard, not push-push, you know, no dream tricks or anything, but I kept badgering her like a drill sergeant until she started responding as Angela. Then afterward, when I asked her to tell me whether or not she wanted me to tell you, she started to slip back, saying she would 'try, ' but I demanded that she have an answer next time I saw her. She finally told me to go fuck myself but that she would have a decision."

"Amazing. You did all that with no tricks? No wonder Bob was so excited, this means ... actually I'm not really sure what it means, but it just seems like it's a good thing."

"It is a good thing. The world she's going into is a very dark and private place. If people in the outside world knew what the players were really into it could destroy their lives. So they are all, or at least most, very much like Angela and Amber. One is a real person living in the real world; the other is in hiding and can only come out in the most controlled and safest of circumstances, surrounded by people they know they can trust to keep their secret. Only in Angela's case, the personalities are reversed. Angela is the one in hiding but Amber is the one who wants to be there. If she were a normal person then 'Amber' would only come out when she was in that world. So it's still a little confused."

"I'll say. Maybe if she switched the names..."

"No, I think that would be very bad at this point. She's struggling to keep her identity, to not lose who she is in all of this. Hopefully this will show her that what she is feeling, the desire to be dominated is not just a sick and twisted response to her kidnapping but an aspect of herself that she hadn't discovered. Anyway, Lizzy and Bob think that this will make it a lot easier to handle her life in hiding. Lizzy says that no one will even bat an eye at this sort of thing in a college environment. We haven't really talked about it yet but I think I know what they have in mind."

Have I pointed out how smart Allison is?

"They want Amber to be open about her submissive nature. Totally out of the closet and exposed, but won't that be dangerous for her? If she's out like that people will try to take advantage. She's not going to be in a safe environment surrounded by people she can trust. How are you going to ... Oh, that's it isn't it?"

"What?"

"You're going to be her master. That's why she's been acting the way she has around you. Even before she knew what was going on she was looking to you for guidance, permission even. She's going to be, wants to be, your slave."

"Yeah," I sighed. "Angela doesn't, at least I don't think so, I'm not really sure what she wants, but Amber ... Amber wants that very much. I think Amber wants a master and I'm the only one Angela will consider."

"But how can you do that when she's going to be god knows where going to school."

"I have to find a surrogate, someone I can give her to..."

"Good God, that's so..."

"Yeah, that's what I keep saying, but then I think about it and I know they're right. She is my responsibility until she grows enough to take care of herself, until then she won't feel safe unless I am there to protect her, or I find someone to act in my place and then tell her to trust them. And I have to make damn sure they don't betray that trust or..."

"That will be easy, a few nightmares about what happens if they betray that trust should be enough."

"But I can't do that, because then they would know about me."

"No, not if they never see you. What you need to do is find someone, before they meet her, this is so weird to even think about, and you need to give them a ... vision ... a premonition if you will, about her. Place them in the role of protector and then show them what will happen if they betray that trust."

"How in the world am I supposed to do all that?"

"I have no idea, but we can worry about that later. We have a more immediate problem, two actually."

"Allison, more problems I do not need right now."

"Don't worry; they're not really new problems, just steps you need to be prepared for. First of all, you need to be ready when you see her again. If she's really going to accept and acknowledge you as her master, then she may, I don't know, but she may do something ... submissive, like wolves in the wild, some sign of acknowledging you as her master. You have to be ready to respond to her. Then there is the part you're really not going to like, you have to find someone to train her."

"We already talked about both of those. Bob and Lizzy both made it clear that when she acknowledges me I have to take it for granted, like I've known all along. As for the other part; I've thought about that too and you're right, I don't like it. She is new to this whole thing, she doesn't have the luxury of learning about this world slowly, she has to be able to step into it and be completely convincing. I thought maybe Samantha could help, but..."

"No," she interrupted again. "God no. I mean yeah, she could do it, no question, she has been trained to it, but her situation..."

"Is completely different, I know. I've been over that too, Samantha is not a voluntary player in a fantasy world; she's the reality. I could never ask her to do that to someone else; it would be so very wrong. It would be validating her reality and there is nothing right about what she is going through. I have to find someone else. I'm not sure how but I have to."

"You need Lady Heather."

"Allison she's a fictional character in a television show."

"Jimmy, they got the character from somewhere. They didn't just make her up. Bob already told you that this is a very real world. There have to be places where these people go to play. I wonder if that actress, whoever she is..."

"Melinda Clarke."

"You didn't include the credits in our copy. Anyway, I wonder if she didn't model her character after a real person somewhere. I mean, the character may be more of a caricature because she needed it for a dramatic role, but still, she did such a good job, I have to wonder if she had a coach?"

"But how do I find someone like that? I doubt if they are in the yellow pages."

"Probably not, not around here anyway, but I'll bet they're on the internet, and they don't need to be around here. The hardest part will be convincing them to help you. Even in dreams, you're talking about getting a professional to help you for free. Hardly something they would be motivated to do."

"I'd be willing to pay if there was a way to do it without having it traced back to me. Of course I have no idea what something like that costs."

"We'll worry about that later. You have to find them first. I think you need to make it a priority though. If possible, before Amber comes to you. If you could be ready to take the next step it would go a long way to reaffirming her confidence in you, show her that you're serious about helping her."

"Of course I'm serious about helping her, I wouldn't be doing any of this if..."

"If you didn't love her, I understand that, Jimmy, but she's hurt, and scared, she needs to see it, she wants to see it every time she looks at you, hear it in every word you speak to her, she needs to know that you are there for her, but at the same time you can't make it too easy for her. You have to make her work for it, earn it, or it won't mean anything. She won't be confident enough to pull it off if it's too easy."

"Oh, gee thanks, Sis, no pressure there."

Mom and Dad had apparently decided to go shopping or something because they weren't there when we got home. We spent a large part of the afternoon searching the darker corners of the internet and finding far more than we wanted to know about the world we were exploring, granted we needed to know it, but none of it really put us any closer to finding the person we needed. I flipped through the rest of Kushiel's Dart before time for bed so that I could read it later, and so Allison could read it if she wanted to, but I really didn't have much else to go on. I was more than a little worried about the next step.

Usually I wake up at the beach, or in the glade and meet the girls, tonight I woke in the elevator that we sometimes use to move around between buildings. It was somewhere I hadn't been in quite some time. Taped to the inside of the doors was an envelope. I had seen this particular envelope twice before. Both times they had contained notes to help me with a particular problem. I opened this one and found another note written in the same flowing script as the first two;

Jasmine; The House of Seven Willows, Las Vegas
E.

I stared at the note for some time, wondering again where they all came from. I had assumed before that it was something in my subconscious sending me reassurance but considering what had been going on lately I was no longer willing to trust my assumptions. I sat at my desk and stared at the note for some time before deciding to act. Closing my eyes I changed my appearance to the character I use when working in dreams with strangers, and concentrated on the name.

When I opened my eyes I was sitting in an ornately decorated waiting room. The dècor was tasteful, simple, and very striking. Everything in the room was black, white, or red. Not any red, but the bright, pure crimson of fresh blood. The carpet was a pristine expanse of white pile, deep and luxurious. The walls were alternating panels of white and black cloth; each decorated with a backdrop of willows in black or white depending on the panel, and each was set as an individual display. I was seated on one of two low couches in a red silk-like material. Immediately across from me was a stand holding an exquisitely decorated pair of Katana swords surrounded by smaller weapons, some of which I had never seen before. The stand and sheaths were black; the cord wound hilts in a pattern of black and red.

There were displays of fans, kimonos, and other things I didn't recognize. The most striking design was of two entwined dragons, one black, and the other red, covering the end wall. Instead of my usual shorts and t-shirt, I found myself wearing a short silk robe and sandals, both dyed red to match the room. I was inspecting the two dragons when a panel to one side opened and a young woman entered. She was very beautiful and appeared to be somewhere in her early twenties, her black hair was cut short and framed her face perfectly, and her skin was pale perfection, smooth and unblemished with just a hint of dark color around her eyes. She wore a long dress of white silk with matching slippers. Small fans carved from some black stone dangled from either ear. Her only other adornment was a wide collar of the same deep red around her throat, and I don't mean the collar of her dress. I couldn't tell what it was made of and it would have been rude to stare but while it went very well with the rest of her outfit there was that tell-tale ring of metal where a leash would attach.

She approached with eyes averted, gave one of those half bow-half curtsies you see in the old martial arts films and said, "My Mistress bids you welcome and asks that I attend you until she arrives. How may I serve you?"

"I'm fine thank you."

With a quick movement the dress fell in a pool of white silk at her feet. The color of the dress so closely matched the carpet that only the shadows told the eye where it lay. Had I not seen it fall I may not have noticed it from ten feet away. Almost as quickly she knelt beside me, the dress pooled beneath her, besides the red collar, the pink rosettes of her small nipples were now the only color breaking the monochrome expanse of her pale flesh.

"Is there nothing you desire?" she asked, her eyes now sliding up to meet mine. Staring down into her eyes I saw at last with perfect clarity the difference between this world and the one Samantha lived in. Naked before my gaze, her pose almost identical to the one Sam adopted automatically whenever I visited her, and held until she was certain that it was really me; yet in this girl's eyes there shown a burning desire for me to use her. Samantha's eyes were beautiful but held only emptiness. Staring into this girl's eyes, I knew without question that she would do anything I asked of her. As I watched I saw a small desperation born in the depths as she realized that I would not avail myself of her offer. "Please," she whispered.

My first thought was to reach down and lift her up as I did with Samantha when she assumed this position, but instead I placed my hand upon her head and slid it over the softness of her hair to cup her face. Bending down I lightly brushed her lips with mine, feeling a tremor run through her and as I stood back up I noticed that her nipples were now tight and hard. As I stroked her hair once more her eyes closed and she leaned into the motion like a cat wanting its head scratched. I stood for a moment gently petting her until a second panel opened and another woman entered.

She was taller, about my height, with emerald eyes and a waterfall of black hair cascading to her waist. Her dress was a pale green that matched her eyes with leaves of darker green and small yellow and white flowers patterned here and there around it. If the flowers had not already told me who she was the girl's response made it clear as she went still beneath my hand, eyes once more downcast. But again there was a difference, as her body seemed to vibrate with anticipation and want. This was Jasmine, her Mistress.

"You are James?" she asked in a strong yet pleasant voice. There was no hint of the accent I had expected.

I wasn't sure I liked her knowing my name. When I reached for her hand, her eyebrow rose with it and a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as I bowed and brought it to my lips. "Yes ma'am, and you can only be Jasmine. Or should that be Lady Jasmine? Forgive me, but I did not know who I was meeting or what to expect," I replied, releasing her hand as I stood back up.

"Lady is correct, but you need not be so formal. In truth I didn't know what to expect either," she replied. "I was told only to expect you; that we had a mutual interest and that if I helped you, you would fulfill a desire that has burned within me for some time." Then she turned from me to look at the girl kneeling at my feet.

"You do not find my May pleasing?"

"On the contrary, I find her quite lovely."

"And yet you deny her, and yourself." She stepped back and struck the small gong that stood before the entwined dragons. A gentle sound echoed softly through the room. Before it faded four panels slid open and four more women entered the room, all dressed as May had been in dresses of white silk, black fans dangling from their ears and wide red collars encircling their throats. "Perhaps I may offer you someone more to your taste?"

She stepped to the girl on her immediate left: a slender blonde with her hair pulled back and tied in a simple pony tail at her neck. "This is June," she said and caught the girl's chin with a finger. At the merest touch, the girl turned in place, one hand coming up to release the catch of her dress. By the time she completed the turn the garment had settled into a silken pool at her feet. Her breasts were much fuller than May's with a small silver ring dangling from the left nipple. A narrow stripe of silky hair drew a line to the otherwise cleanly shaved V between her legs. She turned once more, displaying her naked back and a very shapely ass. As she completed the second turn she knelt in the pool of her dress, eyes averted.

"Tanya," she said, pointing to the woman with short red hair next in line. Immediately Tanya released her dress, hesitated for a moment so that I may take in the expanse of her pale flesh, then held my eyes as she began her turn. Her back was a mosaic of color, displaying a scene out of the dark ages: Across her shoulders a woman was held naked over a bench by two naked men, while a third in a dark mask lashed her backside with a short rod tipped with several narrow strips of what must have been leather. The scene was dark except for the red weals that cut lines of fire across her flesh. A thin line divided the scene diagonally from the scene below where the same man was now taking her from behind. The other two stood by watching and obviously waiting their turn as the woman, who now lay across the bench without restraint, awaiting their pleasure with a look of purest ecstasy on her face. Glancing down I noticed a tracery of fine lines marking the expanse of Tanya's backside and I realized that while the woman's body had been rendered in the rounder curves of Renaissance art the face was in fact hers. There was no doubt in my mind that she had modeled the work herself. As she completed her turn I noticed that she sported a full bush of crimson fire that matched the hair on her head. As she knelt she held my eye defiantly.

"Cherise," a mocha-skinned goddess, her hair in beaded corn-rows, dropped her dress and stood before me in a display of shadowed softness. Round full breasts with coffee colored aureoles stood proudly over an expanse of creamy darkness. The tight curls of her pubic hair where shaped into a heart above bare lower lips. As she turned she bent forward, spreading herself open to expose her pink interior which stood out in sharp contrast to the surrounding surface. As she completed her turn and knelt she licked her lips invitingly before dropping her eyes. A glance at the other two showed June still with eyes downcast and Tanya still staring defiantly at me.

The fourth girl was clearly oriental, with a traditional cut to her dark hair and a slim waif-like slimness that the dress did little to hide. Hard points strained at the fabric of her dress.

It had become very clear why I had been directed to his place. Knowing the role I was supposed to play this had to be a test, so before she could be introduced I stepped up to the doll like figure, "And you are?"

Her eyes immediately darted to Jasmine who answered for her, "Ming."

The girl dropped her eyes and reached to release her dress. On a whim I blocked her hand; she immediately dropped it back to her side and was still. I reached with my free hand and released her dress to fall at her feet. She started to drop with it but I caught her chin and bent to kiss her, brushing her lips with mine as my hand rose to caress her breast. She responded to the kiss and shuddered as I plucked at her nipple. There seemed to be a thrill of excitement running through her at the thought that I had chosen her. I backed away and watched the light in her eyes dim as she realized she was mistaken. As I turned from her she dropped demurely to her knees and waited. I moved immediately to Cherise and raised her to her feet with a hand under her chin. She moved like liquid, with no sign of strain. As she reached her feet I leaned in to kiss and caress her as I had Ming. I had never kissed a black girl before. Her lips had a feel and texture unlike any I had experienced before, and I wondered briefly whose experience was providing the sensation; most likely it was her own. As I palmed her large breast, I could feel the nipple harden against my palm. She responded to the intrusion of my tongue with a playful intensity that promised an adventurous union if I chose her. Once more I released her and moved on. She too dropped back to her knees, eyes once more averted.

As I passed Tanya by I saw a new fire flash in her eyes and new color spreading across her face and neck. I ignored her and moved to June. She knelt with eyes still averted but rose smoothly when I reached down and took hold of the small ring in her left nipple, a sharp intake of breath the only outward sign that I was tugging on sensitive flesh. As I kissed her I twisted the ring and her head snapped back and color bloomed on her face as she took a gasping breath. I released her and moved back to stand before Tanya, who stared defiantly up at me as if daring me to touch her. With a swift movement I grabbed a handful of her short hair and jerked her head back. Her eyes never left mine but she strained against the pull. Releasing the tie of my robe I let it fall open to reveal my erection, dragging her head forward until her lips were almost touching it; though she strained against the pull her hands never came up to try and stop me. I kept up a steady pressure, holding her firmly in place until she opened her mouth, then jerking her head back hard enough to overbalance her, and released her as she fell to the floor. She caught herself and when her eyes again found mine there was a different flame burning in them, a naked unrestrained passion that told me I was not ready for what passed as love to this girl. I re-tied my robe and turned once more to face their Mistress.

"This is not why I am here. Is there somewhere we may speak?"

"Certainly," she said with a smile and clapped her hands once. Immediately all five women rose to their feet, sliding the dresses back up as they stood and securing the catches behind their necks.

As they turned to go I simply said, "May" Without hesitation she immediately dropped back to her knees, not an easy trick in that dress but she did it without effort. The other four girls disappeared back through the panels they had entered through and Jasmine motioned me toward the far end where the dragons hung. As I moved forward, May rose and took my arm, guiding me after her Mistress.

Jasmine led me down the hall to a small room. As we approached, May moved quickly past me and opened another sliding panel to admit us, then entered and closed it behind us. Two large cushions sat on either side of a low table and as Jasmine passed toward the far one I stepped close and offered my hand to her. She took it with a small bow of her head and sank demurely down onto the silk covered pillow. As I took my own seat she spoke, "We will have tea." Immediately May bowed and left.

"You seem very at home here for one so young," Jasmine said. "What is it you seek of me?" While there was no accent, the manner of her speech reinforced the exotic feel of her presence.

"It is an illusion I assure you. When I arrived I had no idea what to expect or why I had been sent here. I am very much out of my element, which is one of the reasons I am here. I need to learn."

"But that makes no sense. The House of Seven Willows has a long and respected history."

"Before I arrived I had never heard of it or you."

The panel slid open and May stepped in carrying a tray of dark wood. The porcelain pot and matching cups were exquisite and screamed expensive. May knelt and poured for us both, beginning first with me. I waited patiently for her to finish, and then waited again as she placed a small dollop of honey and a splash of cream in Jasmine's, then stirred it gently before offering it to her. Once she took it I picked up my own cup and bowed my head to my hostess before taking a sip.

"Then why are you here?" she asked after sipping her tea.

May started to rise once more but I stopped her with a touch of my hand. "This is why I am here." I rose to my feet and pulled May along with me, kissed her hand and motioned her toward the door. She glanced at Jasmine who nodded very slightly and then she was gone.

"Lady Jasmine, I am very much in need of your professional help."

She started to answer but I held up my hand. As I did a flash of anger flared in her eyes and was gone.

"Forgive me but if you will please let me explain it will save us time. Would I be wrong if I were to assume that May is one of your more accomplished... , students?"

One eyebrow rose as she answered, "You are far more than the young boy you seem. She is the jewel of the Seven Willows."

"Younger than you know, " I thought, taking my seat once more. "I have a friend who has recently discovered, very unpleasantly discovered, the truth of her nature. She requires knowledge of herself." I stopped and thought for a moment, turning my cup in my hand, "Lady Jasmine, I am not part of this world." I waved my hand around the room. "Yet I find I have been forced by circumstance into the role of her master. If I were truly a master I would not require your assistance." I met her eyes and she nodded her agreement, "But I am forced into the role as I am the only one she trusts. While I do not desire it I cannot turn away from the responsibility, therefore I do the next best thing. I wish you to teach her, help her discover the truth of who she is, and where she fits in this world. I also need you to teach me how to be the master she wants and deserves."

"You are indeed far more than you seem; you must love her very much. What you ask is no small thing. It will take much time and time is a very expensive commodity. The time varies from person to person but the minimum for someone of May's level is one year, and that is if she lives in my house as May does."

"Four months, perhaps five and she must be able to pass in society."

She sat up straighter and stared at me. "It is not possible."

"I have resources that will make it possible."

"It is not possible," she repeated.

I held her eye and whispered, "June." The door opened and the girl entered, dropping her dress and kneeling beside me, eyes downcast. "Cherise, Ming." Again the door opened and within seconds I was surrounded by naked women. "Tanya." The door opened and Tanya entered, dropped her dress, and knelt before me. Only this time her eyes were downcast and averted. Jasmine eyed them all with increased interest.

"This is not what it seems," I said. "We are not in the House of Seven Willows. You are asleep and none of this is real." I snapped my fingers and we were in lounge chairs on the beach, the girls now dressed in bikinis and fanning us slowly with large palm leaves. I snapped again and we were in a hot tub surrounded by snow, once more and we were back in the House of Seven Willows. "Is it possible now?"

I could see the shock on her face, but in her eyes a new light shown. Wheels were turning. "With such power, anything is possible. Who are you?"

I snapped my fingers and we were alone once more.

"James will do, my friend is in hiding with witness protection after spending a month being tortured and raped by a man who now thinks her dead." I told her the story of Angela's plight, her self-loathing at the feelings she did not understand, her need to learn the truth before it destroyed her.

"What you ask is still a great undertaking. Your power is impressive, your use of it commendable. Am I correct in my assumption that I will never actually meet your friend?"

"Never, nor will you see her true form, or even mine."

"Then why tell me?"

"You were highly recommended." I waved my hand around the room. "This world of yours is built on trust; that is something she needs to understand. Until she does she will not be able to move on with her life. She will never be free."

"You seem to know much of my world for one so young and self admittedly naive."

"I have friends who have helped me understand what is necessary if my friend is to survive."

"Indeed, you must love her a great deal to be willing to do so much."

I looked away. "Not the way she desires, but she is a friend. She has been hurt and I must do what I can. If I did not love her I could never do this."

"I will help you, for a price."

"I would never expect you to undertake such a task for free."

"Fifty thousand dollars," she stated firmly

I whistled softly. "That's a lot of money for sleeping on the job."

She smiled. "You ask me to forgo my own dreams."

"True, I will make you a counter offer. There is a group operating in your city, they have taken your hidden world and corrupted it. What you do here by trust and honor, they do by force and coercion, enslaving innocents for their own pleasure."

Fire danced behind her eyes, some of it bled into her voice as she answered, "You are indeed more than you seem. I know of this group. They are an abomination to all who touch my world. It is my greatest shame that I have been forced to help them."

Angels sang in my heart. "Forced how?"

"You know of their leader?"

"No. I'm just getting started on their organization."

"He has certain ... information that would prove very detrimental in the hands of the authorities. It concerns a past client for whom I had helped train a companion, much as you seek for me to do now. Your friend is of the age of consent I assume?"

"Yes."

"His was not. It was before I came to be a citizen here and I do not know how this man gained the information but he has it and that is enough."

"So you are being blackmailed. I suspected that there were members participating under threat."

"I am not a member of their group," she spat. Then her voice softened again, "It was demanded of me at one point but I drew the line and stated that I would take my chances with the court if they pushed further. And now I am trapped by my own involvement, but how do you know of them?"

"Amanda Watkins."

Her eyes widened slightly. "The girl who was kidnapped?" I could see more questions forming and held up my hand.

"Yes, I understand that her disappearance caused quite a stir within the group. Now I understand why I was led to you specifically to help my friend. I became aware of this group through my investigation of Amanda's death. If you watch the news then you know that her death has been linked to two other similar killings. I have been assisting the FBI in the search for their killer. There were things about Amanda's case that didn't fit. When the agent handling the case interviewed her parents it was clear they were hiding something. I was asked to use my gift to find out the truth. That particular truth did little to help the case, but it did open the door to what is happening. The more we learned the more apparent it became that this group is far beyond the reach of our legal system. Their organization is well hidden and apparently very well connected. It has been made clear that unless we could somehow manage to capture all of them at once there would be no hope of success. You know about the family that was killed?"

She nodded and dropped her head; there were tears in her eyes when she looked back up. "They made sure everyone knew what really happened."

"What about the girl that was sold into slavery?"

"What?" Again there was fire in her eyes and anger in her voice. She caught herself and took a breath, but I held up my hand before she could continue.

"That answers my question. As I said, I now understand why I was sent to you. I have already committed myself to stopping this and I think you are meant to help me. How many of these people do you know?"

"Fourteen, but most of those are girls I helped train. Of those truly in power..." I stopped her.

"Leave them to me; I am more interested in the girls for now. Through them I should be able to track the rest down. Did you help train Amanda?"

"Yes, and her sister."

"Do you know of a doctor?"

"Essex?"

"No, him I don't know, I was speaking of Doctor Hendricks."

"Her, Victoria Essex, I don't know Hendricks. Most of those I know I am not supposed to. Contact is limited to a very small number. I have learned of others over time but if that knowledge was revealed..."

"I understand how breaches are handled for the girls, what would happen to you?"

"I walk a fine line already, my value to them outweighing the risk. If the scales should slip too far the other way, I would most likely be killed. There have been two that I know of; in both cases information was released to justify the motives for the killings. One was a murder-suicide; the price for the killer was the lives of his own family. He killed his wife and children, then himself, in order to prevent them from killing his extended family. It was made clear to him that his life and those of his wife and children were forfeit regardless, but that the others would be spared if he would co-operate. What would you do faced with such a decision?"

I ignored the question and moved forward. "I see. Are the adults monitored as closely as the girls?"

"We are watched, I suspect at least one person on my staff has ties to the group but I have not been able to determine who."

"I can help you there. Do you think Doctor Essex is being blackmailed or is she doing it voluntarily?"

"Oh she is willing, very willing. Of course I have no proof either way but in truth I don't know if blackmail would be enough to make her stop. She has been a patron here for years. She is one of Tanya's best customers."

"Do you know who the leader is?"

"I have never seen him but he is called Lord Hightower."

"That's a start. Between Essex and Hendricks I should be able to identify most of the girls. Chances are one or the other has treated them. Unless there is another we don't know about. Are we agreed then on the price of my friend's training?"

"Most definitely, I would train a hundred girls, a thousand if you could put an end to these abominations."

"One is all I require, although when this is over some of the girls may be like my friend, hating what was done to them but still craving it on some level. If this happens, would you be willing to help some of them as well?"

"Statistically there are bound to be a few, and knowing how they were trained it should be fairly safe to help them integrate into a safe lifestyle. Yes, it would be acceptable. But first you must secure their freedom."

"Obviously," I said.

She reached her hand out to me. "Whoever it was who sent you to me, please thank them for me. You are the answer to prayer. I will give you any help I can."

"You said someone told you to expect me. May I ask who?"

"I'm sorry; I don't know who it was."

I had a suspicion, "Let me guess, you got a note," I reached behind me and pulled mine off my desk back in the office, "that looked a little like this."

She took the note and examined it, "Yes, almost exactly, even the same stationery."

"I'm not surprised."

"When may I expect your friend?"

"Soon," I pulled up an image of Diane McKenzie, "her name is Amber, and this is how she will appear. Do you have a cell phone?"

"Yes, but I do not carry it at work. Do you need me to get it?"

"Of course not, just picture it here on the table."

She looked at me strangely but I saw her eyes widen as she looked down to find it on the table in front of her. She picked it up and opened it to verify it was really hers, and then handed it to me. I made my usual show of pushing buttons. "If you need to reach me, I am stored under the name Sleepwalker, or you may ask Amber to summon me."

"Your first mistake; we do not ask, we command. To ask is to lessen you in her eyes. If she is as you say, she cannot afford that."

"I will remember." I rose and reached for her hand. "Thank you for your time, Lady, and your offer of help. I will call on you sometime soon to become more familiar with those others in the group that you know. Until then..." I kissed her hand and moved to the partition, crossing the threshold and stepping onto the beach.



-------

Chapter 19: Many Irons


When I arrived at the beach I found Allison, Lizzy, and Shannon playing basketball. As soon as I appeared Lizzy turned to look at me. The other two followed the motion and spotted me coming across the sand.

"There you are," Allison said. "I was beginning to think we wouldn't see you at all tonight. Where have you been?" She met me at the edge of the court and kissed me hello. Shannon and Lizzy lined up behind her.

I kissed her and Lizzy and then took Shannon aside, "Shannon, I'm sorry but you can't stay for this part, it's about..."

She put a finger to my lips. "Amber, I understand. Allison explained the whole secret thing to me. Why don't you guys go inside and talk and I'll play with the dolphins for a while. Just come and get me when you're done." She hugged me tight and gave me a kiss that made me want to put this little meeting off and do other things, then suddenly I was in the cabana with Lizzy and Allison.

I wasted no time. "I was meeting Amber's new teacher."

Allison looked surprised. "That was quick."

"I had help, and it gets better. Sit down and I'll tell you about it."

"Too weird," Lizzy said once I had brought them up to speed. "So you've been sending yourself messages?"

"I thought so before, but with everything that's been going on lately I'm not sure any more."

"How come you never told me about it?" Allison asked. "Is this how you decided that Mom would be safe with Rachel?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It's also why I told Rebecca the truth about what happened with Brad that night at the mall. I just assumed that I was reassuring myself."

"Well you know what they say about assume," Lizzy said.

"What's that?" Allison asked.

"You never heard that one? Assume makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'," She said, kind of breaking things up with her fingers as she spoke.

Allison giggled, "That's cute." She then punched me in the arm, "And it certainly fits." Then she got serious, "But if it hasn't been you doing it then what the hell is going on? Who else could possibly know what is going on, know even more about it than I do, you tell me ... almost everything." She got up and paced around, obviously thinking.

Lizzy watched her for a few seconds and then said, "You're wasting your time. It has to be him." Allison stopped pacing and Lizzy went on, "It has to be him, Allison, he hadn't told anyone else either, he hadn't said it out loud, he was still thinking about it and the note showed up."

"You're right," Allison said, flopping down next to her on the couch. "I'm being silly..." she threw herself back so she was slouched across the cushions, "but it's just so weird. It is the only explanation that really makes sense." She sat back up. "But it's important to remember that that doesn't mean it's the right one, or even the only one. Just because we can't think of a better one doesn't make this one right. I mean, I've seen Jimmy's handwriting and this certainly isn't it." She held up the note I had shown them. "And then there's the signature. Why E? Edward may be plausible but ... and again I'm not saying you're wrong, but like Lizzy said, let's not 'ass'-ume, that we're right. So when are you taking Amber to the Seven Willows Inn?"

"I'm tempted to take you," I said. "Maybe have Tanya teach you a little respect; it's the House of Seven Willows, and I'll take her when she is ready to go."

Suddenly Allison was sitting in my lap. "You really want to watch some bad girl in leather spank me, or did you want to do it yourself?"

"I'll do it!" Lizzy said enthusiastically and suddenly we were all cracking up.

"You know," I said after the giggling subsided, "I'm never really sure if you're serious when you say stuff like that."

"Neither am I," Allison said with a smirk.

"Then maybe you need to do a little exploring," Lizzy said, suddenly more serious. "I was only half joking when I said that, but so were you. Jimmy's not ready -- although I think it would be far easier for him now that he understands that it's an act of love -- but not yet. I think he's going to need a little time with Jasmine first. But if you get tired of waiting... ," a huge grin spread over her face. "I'll be happy to bend that cute little ass of yours over my knee anytime you want."

I could feel the heat as Allison's face reddened and it wasn't all from embarrassment. I decided it was time to change the subject, "Well, I'll let you two figure that out for yourselves. Meanwhile, I think we've been neglecting Shannon long enough." Without warning I popped us out to the lagoon and we were all four racing down the water slide in our bathing suits with Zeus, Hera, and the rest of the pod cheering us on from the bottom.

Even though we were on different slides I heard Lizzy's voice in my ears, "You are going to tell me the rest of the story about Vegas, right?"

"Do you really want to be that involved?"

"Hell yes, these people have to be stopped. Jimmy, I can help you sort the true bad guys from those being forced to participate better than anyone. They may be able to lie to you, most certainly will lie to you, but they can't lie to me."

I was at the bottom of the slide by now and I broke us into teams, Allison and Shannon on a raft in one tube, Lizzy and me in the other. "I'm afraid of exposing you to them, Lizzy, especially the girls. Am I wrong in thinking that you will probably want to help them when you see them?"

"Well yeah, that's usually how it works."

"That's what I thought." We splashed down seconds before the girls came bouncing out on their side.

"No fair!" Shannon shouted. "You guys outweigh us."

"Are you calling me fat?" Lizzy demanded.

Whatever response Shannon had been ready for, that wasn't it. Suddenly she was looking more embarrassed than angry. Then Lizzy started laughing and she realized she had been had, but she laughed right along with the rest of the team.

"We'll mix it up and see if we can't balance things out a little," I said, "but before we do, Lizzy has asked to help with the Vegas problem. I'm worried about what will happen if she is exposed to the girls."

"I don't understand why you think that will be a problem," Lizzy said.

"Because you can't help them," Allison said.

"What do you mean I can't help them, even I won't know that until I see them."

"What she means," Shannon said, "is that you can't help them. No matter how much you may want to, you can't do anything until we have found a way to stop the people in charge. Anything you did would likely cause behavioral changes. Those changes could get the girls hurt. The wrong changes could get them killed."

"You're kidding, right?" Lizzy said, staring at her for a moment before looking at me and Allison.

"No, she's not," Allison said.

"We could find out," I suggested.

"How?" Lizzy asked.

Allison looked at me. "Images won't work; you'd have to take her there. Lizzy, the only way to find out for sure is to take you to see one of the girls. Will it hurt you to see someone you can help, someone who really needs your healing, and not be able to do it?"

"Well, I'll be able to do it eventually, right? I've had to wait before, I have to get to know the people, sometimes stalk them a little like I did with Rusty until I find the best way to approach them."

"Eventually could be a very long time in this case," I said. "Will it hurt you to see it and know that there may be nothing that you can do for a really long time? That you may never be able to?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "So far there has never been anyone I couldn't help. Some took longer than others to set up; I mean not all girls are into getting intimate with another chick, and it takes a little work to get them to the right place."

I saw Allison trying to catch my eye. "What?" I asked.

"Just wondering something, tell you about it later. I think it would be best if we were invisible for this trip, and since we're just going to let Easy see her I don't think we need to knock."

"We don't," I said. "She's not in her room. She's playing soccer; that should help." We transitioned to the sidelines of a crowded soccer field. Samantha was frozen about fifteen feet in front of us charging a girl bringing the ball up field. I watched closely to see what Lizzy would do. I was surprised to see her staring directly at Samantha, but then I realized it was Sam's dream so maybe she was the only one Lizzy could see. The only people I could be sure she was seeing were the ones that had come with her. I followed as Lizzy started walking slowly towards her, looking intently at her as she got closer. Suddenly she stopped and turned back to face me, breathing hard, like she couldn't catch her breath.

"Lizzy?" I moved closer, reaching out to her and I could see her eyes were closed tightly.

The instant I touched her she threw her arms around my neck, buried her face in my shoulder and whispered, "You were right. Take me away, please!"

As soon as we arrived in the cabana, I was sitting holding Lizzy in my lap, her head still on my shoulder. Shannon stepped up close behind me, reaching over my shoulder to stroke and kiss her head and hair. Allison stepped to the side and began stroking the older girl's back.

"Easy? It's okay, you can open your eyes now; we're back."

It took a few seconds for the shaking to stop, then Lizzy drew away and I let her go. Looking at her face I could see the tear tracks on her cheeks and realized my shirt was wet where she had been pressed to my shoulder. "Oh God, that was awful," she said, wiping her face with her hands. I handed her a tissue as she continued. "From the sidelines there was that haze of competitive focus everyone gets, but as soon as I started moving closer I could see past it." She hugged her arms around herself and went on, "It was like peeling an onion. Every step closer I saw a different layer. She has layers and layers of lies and illusion surrounding her." She shuddered. "Then suddenly I could see past them and..." she started to shake again and Allison wrapped her arms around her, " ... my God, it was like there was no one there. Like an empty shell where a person should be. I think there was something else but I just couldn't get any closer or look any longer. I could feel that emptiness pulling at me, calling to me. I had to get away. You were right, you were all right, I can't be anywhere near those girls. Not if I can't help them. If I had touched her..." She stood shaking her head and pulling Allison's arms tighter around her.

Shannon spoke softly into the silence, "She's probably one of the better ones."

"Oh God, please tell me you're joking."

"No, she's right," Allison said. "Sam has hope, if you'd been able to get close enough I'm sure you would have seen it. She knows we're out here somewhere working to make it better, trying to find a way to help her. Jimmy gave her a bracelet to stop her nightmares. The rest of the girls ... I don't know because she's the only one we've actually contacted so far, but unless there is someone else out there doing something we don't know about, the rest of the girls don't even have that."

Lizzy took a deep breath and pulled Allison's arms away enough to turn and kiss her. "Thanks for being here." Then she turned back to me. "I want to help. Whatever it takes I want to do my part to stop this. Will you let me help, please?"

"Hey, don't make it sound like I don't want you to. I'll take all the help I can get. The fact that you can sort out the people behind all this; help me figure out who's a player and who's getting played will help a lot. Between Jasmine and Samantha we'll have a good base to start from, we'll work our way outward from there. As we identify them I'll have Rebecca get us what information she can on them. That should help us to keep expanding until we have them all. Once we have that, we'll start looking for some way to shut them down."

That effectively killed the night as no one really felt like playing any more.

The first day of school is always an adventure, and no amount of planning can really prepare you for it. This year was no exception. Some things were different: For instance, this was the first time I had ever started school with a girlfriend. Of course since it was a secret and we wanted it to stay that way ... just another day. I was kind of anxious to see what Mr. Dennis had in mind for his little presentation.

Spanish was a real eye-opener. She started the very first class with a pop quiz. Said she wanted to see how much we'd forgotten over the summer. The vocabulary wasn't bad but the grammar was brutal. It did serve its purpose, though. I hadn't paid enough attention to the written forms in the first year. The good news is that I was spot on in my pronunciation.

Susan's class was very interesting, she handed out two books; a textbook and a spiral bound notebook that everyone was to take notes in. It counted for twenty-five percent of our grades so listening skills were going to be critical.

English Lit was ... well, classical literature had never been my style but I guess there had to be some reason they still required us to read the stuff.

I met Shannon for break and showed her all the important things around campus. Well, I started to ... she knows where the snack bar is, and we'll get to the rest later.

Bob's class was going to be fun again this year; we were going to be delving into some pretty interesting stuff. Starting with an in depth look at how we perceived the world around us. In the beginning class he introduced me and told them about our project from the year before. He then gave them the same assignment; meet three people, shake hands, introduce yourself, try to get them to evaluate you.

At lunch it seemed like we had never left, except that now we had Shannon sitting with us. Coach Jenkins was very excited about finally having her on her teams. With the progress Shannon had made she was looking forward to strong seasons in both volleyball and basketball this year, and she couldn't wait until next year when she would have Allison as well.

Geometry was, well, math. PE always started the same. You did the off season stuff so they could plan for later parts of the year, giving the coaches time to work with anyone showing promise.

I met with Mr. Dennis after school to go over what was to happen at the big presentation on Wednesday. My part was pretty simple so it didn't take long, then I took Shannon home to our place to hang out until her parents got home from LA. This turned out to be, by far, the hardest part of the day.

If I had thought of it sooner I might have tried to make plans but by then it was too late. As soon as Allison saw Shannon she gave me a questioning look. It took me a second to realize the source of her concern. One glance at Shannon was all it took and I knew she was struggling with her anxiety over her father and what the doctors may have told her parents. I don't know how Mark was doing; since it was the first day of school, neither had any homework to occupy them, but at least he was at work, with something to do to distract him.

Once we were safely inside, I put my hand on her shoulder and said, "Shannon, he's going to be fine."

Big mistake. She practically fell over as she began weeping, dropping her purse and backpack, and bringing her hands to her face. Allison gave me a scathing look as she put her arm around her girlfriend and drew her down onto the couch, kissing her head as she stroked her shoulders.

"Let it out Sha', I'm here for you baby; just let it out and then we'll beat the crap out of him together."

It sounded horrible but it did earn her a small laugh, "I'm sorry, I tried, really I did. But I'm so scared. What if..."

I cut her off, "No what-ifs, Shannon. There's no point in worrying about it. It won't help either way and it will just make you miserable. Just try to focus on all the fun things we're going to be able to do now that he's better." I thought for a second, "Think about following the ski patrol down the mountain after Mark breaks his other leg."

"Jimmy!" Allison scolded, but even she couldn't repress a chuckle and Shannon was having a hard time figuring out what was causing the next round of tears, laughter or sadness.

Unfortunately this just gave her time to think about what else was bothering her. "What about mom? What will she do if... ," but it was too late, the tears had started fresh and this time she was having a real hard time of it.

After a few seconds I sat next to her, put my hand on her shoulder, "Starlight on the dark side of the moon." She gave a sigh and slumped against Allison.

"Oh, good move!" She said, sliding back a little, "help me stretch her out."

Together we laid her out on the couch where she could rest more comfortably. Allison put a small pillow under her head and then came over to hug me. "Thanks, I don't know why I didn't think of it."

"Truthfully, I don't know if it would have worked for you, she was too upset."

"You pushed?"

"I don't know what I did really, I just wanted her to relax and rest, I touched her because you said it worked better that way, maybe it did. It didn't feel anything like when I tried pushing at you but..."

"Yeah, who knows? I didn't feel anything but then it wasn't pointed at me or anything. So what do you want to do now? I guess we could go join her."

"No, she's just sleeping. No dreams. If she dreams she'll just worry there too. I just put her to sleep."

"How can you be sure?"

"If she were dreaming I'd feel it, maybe even see it."

"You can do that?"

"I think so. It feels like it; like I can feel where she's at and so far she's just kind of floating nowhere. You remember the other night?"

"What night?"

"When we gave her the massage."

"Saturday?"

"I guess. Anyway, Bob and Lizzy ... oh yeah, you weren't there. It was just the three of us. Lizzy was wondering why Shannon was taking so long to join us. I focused on her, and even though she wasn't asleep I could feel her, and somehow I knew she was having a hard time getting to sleep because she was worried about Tom. Lizzy told me to call her..."

"Call her, like on your phone? But how would that..."

"No, call her like I had called you guys in dreams and you just came."

"And it worked?"

"Yeah, it actually did. I could feel her sort of just slip down into sleep and when she showed up in the dream she was asleep in one of her long shirts."

Her eyes got wide, "Wow, that is just..."

"Scary? Yeah, I thought so too. What if I called someone when they were driving or something? We talked about it and Lizzy thinks the only reason it worked is because I'm so close to her, and because we've shared so much, but what if she's wrong?"

"Weird. Okay, let's back up. Forget about that for a second and let's focus on what's happening now. I want to know if you can see or feel where I am if you're awake." She sat in mom's recliner and lay back so she was comfortable. "Now, I want you to trigger me and see if you can tell what happens. Either way, just give it a couple minutes then wake me back up, okay?" She closed her eyes.

I brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead, "Whales in waterfalls." Immediately I felt her slump further into the chair and in my mind I felt her enter her glade, the scene almost superimposed over the living room, like I was seeing them both at once. Just as she was lying in the chair in front of me, she was also laying in the hammock in the glade. Then she stood up and walked over to the blanket, sitting down and seeming to stare up into my eyes. Her lips moved and even though I couldn't hear anything I seemed to understand what she was saying. I shook her gently to wake her, and as her eyes fluttered the scene was gone like a soap bubble hitting a hot sidewalk. One look seemed to answer the question for her.

"You saw me didn't you?"

"That was so weird. What did you say when you sat down on the blanket?"

She looked and held up her hand, "What do you think I said?"

"I couldn't hear anything, not really, but it was like you said, 'Okay, I'm here, wake me up and let's move on to the next test."

"Too weird. Okay, this time I'm going to trigger myself, see if it's any different." She settled herself into the chair and I saw her lips move as she whispered something to herself. Again she seemed to slump further into the chair as her body relaxed, and just as before I saw the scene form around her as she woke up on the beach this time. Once more she sat up and seemed to be looking at me, her lips moving soundlessly. It was a simple sentence and I could read her lips well enough that I didn't have to guess what she was saying, "Can you still see me?"

The next logical step seemed obvious and even though it was me doing it, I was still surprised when the beach disappeared and I could almost hear her shriek as she dropped onto the top of the waterslide. She rode the slide down quickly and as soon as she came out the bottom she looked up and practically screamed at me, "Not funny, Asshole!"

I couldn't suppress a slight grin as I shook her gently awake again. The look she gave me said I had definitely read her lips right the second time.

"You are so going to pay for that." She gave a little huff and said, "Just kidding, seeing if you had any kind of control was the next logical step anyway, but it scared the crap out me. I had planned to do it next time, after we talked about it."

"Sorry, it just seemed like the next step to me too, and I figured why not just move ahead."

"Well, no harm done, I'm just glad I didn't wet my pants here too. So not only can you see daydreams, but now you can actually look into the dreams of other people while you're still awake." She held up her hand as I started to respond, "Maybe not everyone's, but at least the people you are familiar with. Call Lizzy, I want to see if she is someplace where it would be safe to experiment."

I retrieved my phone from my backpack and made the call.

"I'm Easy."

" ... and yet so complex at the same time." I said.

"Jimmy? What's up stud muffin, I wasn't expecting to hear from you until tonight. I'm glad you called though because I wanted to tell you I've got a date tonight so I'll be late."

"Lizzy, you can't be late because you are not obligated to be anywhere, and while we will of course miss you, you are entitled to spend your evenings, and your dreams, anywhere you want."

"Ahh, you're so sweet, but be careful because I have some very definite ideas about where I want to spend some of them. So what's up?"

"We're doing some experimenting on this end. Are you somewhere safe?"

"Actually I am. I was just about to get in the shower. What kind of experiments?

"You know the other night when we were talking about Shannon and I could see her even though she was awake?"

"Yeah."

"Allison and I have been experimenting and I can see her dreams when I'm awake."

"Really! That's so cool. And you did it on purpose, not like the thing with the daydreamer at the bank?"

"Yeah."

"Great, but why call... ? Oh, you want to see if distance makes a difference?"

"Something like that, but also to see if it's just because I'm so familiar with them."

"Makes sense but you have two possible lines of failure and no way to accurately determine which may be the true cause."

I repeated that to Allison, she thought for a second, "Nothing we can do about that except to try again later if we fail. If it doesn't work now, but works later it would be a familiarity thing; if not then it could still be either one, no way to determine if it's the familiarity thing except to keep trying after you've spent more time together. The distance thing we can't get around unless something comes up to put us in better proximity."

I repeated Allison's logic to Lizzy and she found no fault with the deductions so we moved on. Lizzy would hang up and trigger herself while I was focused on her, and I would then call her back, waking her to give her the results one way or the other. I hung up and concentrated on her but nothing happened. After a couple minutes I called back.

"Nothing," I said. "I guess we'll have to wait and try again later."

"Actually it may be something else. Close your eyes and picture me. I'm in my dorm room, lying naked on my bed, I have my hands folded across my chest, just below the finest set of boobs you have ever laid eyes on, my phone is in my right hand on top of my left. The cover on the bed and the pillowcase are sky blue with cloud patterns scattered around them. Got it? Now try again and call me back."

She closed the phone and I pictured her as she had described, then with her eyes closing, her lips moving and her body relaxing again as she dropped off. Still nothing happened and I called her back.

"Okay then, two down. One more thing; put yourself out, then find me, wake yourself back up, and try again. Do you think two minutes is long enough or should I wait longer?"

"No, that should be fine, if I can't do it in two minutes, I can't do it in five either. I'll call you back. Wait; give me an extra minute to explain to Allison what we're doing." It didn't take long to tell her.

"She's really good," Allison said. She kissed me on the neck, whispered one of our private triggers, and moments later I was sitting in my glade. I sat tailor-fashion on the blanket and focused on Lizzy. Almost immediately I could see her lying on her bed as she had described. She glanced at her phone to check the time then looked up as if trying to see me. I could see her lips move.

"Can you see me now?"

I answered automatically, "Yes."

She smiled, blew me a kiss, and closed her eyes.

I woke up to find Allison staring intently at me. "That was quick."

Without answering I focused on Lizzy. This time when I pictured her on her bed something was different. It was difficult to define but somehow I knew that this time I was truly seeing her. I whispered to Allison, "I've found her." I watched as Lizzy put herself under again and this time I could see her transition and the dream taking shape around her.

It was a scene from an old movie; she stood upon a grassy knoll wearing a diaphanous dress of a soft white material which draped over her body like a close-fitting cloud. A light wind pulled the material taut across her bosom, outlining her breasts so closely I could see the dark circles of her areolas. She held forth her hand to me and without thinking I reached for it. You can imagine my shock when I felt her hand in mine and I stepped forward into her dream. No triggers, no transition, I was just suddenly there as if stepping through a curtain.

"You are amazing," She said as she pulled me close and kissed me lightly in greeting.

"How did you know that I could follow you?"

"I didn't, but there seems so little that you can't do where dreams are involved. Once you found me in mine it seemed unlikely that you wouldn't be able to join me. You entered a man's daydream, even if it was only as an observer, without his knowledge or consent, so why wouldn't you be able to come here. You should tell Allison it worked."

I nodded and closed my eyes, opening them again in the living room to find Allison watching me.

"It worked didn't it?" She asked.

"Better than we hoped. Allison, I followed her into the dream."

"Reasonable given what else you've done; give her a kiss for me and tell her I'll see her tonight."

"You could come now."

"No, I want to stay here and watch over Shannon. If anything should come up it would be nice to have someone around to wake you both up. I'll see you both later."

I closed my eyes once more and when I opened them again I was with ... Elizabeth. Given the setting and her attire it seemed wrong to shorten it. She saw I was back and stroked my cheek lightly, brushing her fingers over my lips before kissing them lightly. She kissed me again and this one took on a life of its own, growing stronger and more passionate by the moment. I was a bit overwhelmed, somehow I knew where this was going and I was a bit concerned.

"Elizabeth," I began but she cut me off.

"Why so formal?"

"Somehow it just doesn't feel right to call you Lizzy just now, here, in this place, wearing that dress."

"You flatter me," she said, dropping an elegant curtsy and then pulling herself up on my hand, drawing close again and pressing herself against me, she kissed my cheek and whispered, "Make love to me, Jimmy."

Looking into her eyes, eyes that I knew could not even see my face; I knew that at this moment I would do anything for this woman.

"Elizabeth, I..." The insistent sound of a ringing phone broke the moment, drawing me back to my living room.

"Damn," I heard her say as the scene began to fade.

The last thing I saw was a garden forming and her turning to walk along the newly forming pathway. Allison was already getting the phone. It was Bob. Apparently something must have come up after school or he would have told me in person. Allison made small talk for a minute, asking if he and Rebecca be interested in coming to dinner this weekend, I guess the answer was yes because she ended with, "I'll talk to Mom and one of us will call you back. Shannon said she really liked your class by the way. Okay, here's Jimmy."

"Hey Bob, what's up?"

"Nothing serious, just wanted to tell you what a good job you did today. The authorities are impressed if you know what I mean?"

I knew exactly what he meant, "Are they still giving you a bad time about taking me on as your TA?"

"Not so much giving me a bad time as paying close attention."

"Sorry about that; no worries though, I'll be on my best behavior."

"Great, see you tomorrow then, and it sounds like we may be coming over this weekend."

"Good, you still owe me a hundred grand from the last time we played Life. I'll talk to you later, seems I have all this homework I have to get back to work on..." We both laughed and I hung up the phone.

Allison hugged me and whispered, "Does this mean something's happened and Rebecca needs to see you?"

"That's the only reason I could think of, looks like it's going to be a busy night." I glanced at Shannon still asleep on the couch. Allison followed my gaze.

"Wow, she's really out. Do you think we should wake her up?"

"Probably, otherwise she may have a problem sleeping tonight. I hope she feels better." I knelt next to the couch and kissed her awake. I knew she was awake when she started kissing me back. I pulled back and she stretched like a cat.

"Ummm," she purred. "God, did I need that. I have been so stressed today over this thing with Daddy, thanks for letting me rest." She kissed me again and pushed me back, "Sorry, gotta pee, now."

I let her up and went to put my stuff in my room. I was still a little frustrated about my interrupted moment with Elizabeth. Funny, even after it was over I still couldn't think her as anything else in that setting. Allison followed me down the hall.

"So obviously it worked, you found her and bridged her even though you were awake and she's a couple thousand miles away, but what happened after that?"

"Yeah, it worked. Once I found her in my dream it was easy to find her again. I wasn't expecting the next part though."

"You mean actually bridging into her dream?"

"Yeah, it was weird. I mean I guess it makes sense but still, I never even thought about it, didn't even realize I could, even though I had already done it, sort of, at the bank."

"Done what?" Shannon asked as she came around the doorway from the bathroom. "Did I miss something?"

We brought her up to date on the latest round of experiments. She was suitably impressed and the explanation and questions helped fill up most of time before I needed to take her home, a trip that wound up getting cancelled at the last minute anyway. Mom called just before time to leave and asked me to get a hold of Mark and have him come to our house after work instead. Tom and Karen were coming directly to our house on the way back from LA.

Mark got there just after my folks and a little before his parents, which put the six of us waiting anxiously for the next knock on the door. Finally it came. Dad waived everyone else off and got it himself. When it opened Tom was standing in the door with the biggest grin I'd ever seen on his face. I could just see Karen's arm where she stood beside him. Instantly my dad's body language changed.

"No way!" Dad exclaimed.

Tom nodded his head, smiled, and said, "Way!"

Dad's hand shot forward and grabbed Tom's wrist, yanking him into a big hug and pounding his back. I could see the pained expression on Tom's face, he was still grossly out of shape after all, but the smile never left his eyes and the tears had nothing to do with my dad slapping him on the back. Suddenly the room was in chaos as he and Karen were both mobbed. Tears flowed liberally, male and female alike and no one cared. Once the initial celebration was over we finally let them sit down and the questions started. Shannon just sat in the floor next to her dad's chair, holding his hand and occasionally bursting out in tears again. After a few minutes I moved to the kitchen and made a phone call; then I recruited Mark to come with me to pick up the Chinese food I had just ordered. Sure they deliver but I really needed to get out for a bit. I don't even think anyone noticed we were gone until we walked back in with the bags. It was a late night but a happy one for all involved.



-------

Chapter 20: Bounty Hunter?


Originally posted on: Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:01 pm

Allison and I finally found our way to bed, tired but still floating on the happy feeling of knowing our other dad had beat the odds, and even happier that our friends would not have to bear the loss of husband and father. Tired as we were we still had the strength to celebrate the triumph of life. It was pretty late before I was able to go looking for Rebecca.

As expected I found her with Bob, and using one of my new tricks I scoped out the setting before showing up. They were having lunch at a sidewalk cafè so I put Allison and myself in appropriate costume and just happened to walk into the restaurant they were eating at.

"Hey Jimmy!" Allison said in a loud voice as we entered from the street. "Look who's here."

We did the whole friends meeting ritual: 'fancy meeting you here', 'won't you join us', 'oh we don't want to intrude', 'no, really, we insist.' I guess we took it too far because when I asked, "Are you sure?" Rebecca answered, "Sit down before I shoot you."

We ordered sandwiches and sodas and then I excused myself and motioned for Rebecca to meet me in the back.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I have a case for Raphael Swenson."

"I would say 'cool', but since you're coming to me it's something bad and someone is short on leads. How bad is it?"

"We don't know. Have you been following the news on the little girl that was raped in Palm Springs?"

"I don't watch the news, it's too depressing. What about her?"

"She's the fourth girl raped in the last six weeks; all ten or under, all within a thirty mile radius."

I felt a strong flare of rage but pushed it aside. "Any connection between the girls?"

"Not that we've been able to find. Two of them played soccer but in different cities. This latest one happened during a local tournament, she left to go to the bathroom, came back crying and bleeding.

"A crowd that big and nobody saw anything?"

"Usually it's someone they know, if she didn't make a fuss about going with them..."

"Let me guess, none of the families have mutual friends?"

"Not that they've been able to find. There's twenty grand up for information, fifty for arrest and conviction. At this point anything would help. Maybe you can figure out how he picks them."

"Okay, just send everything you have to my office and I'll look at it later. I've got something for you too. When you get a chance, ask your new partner who Katia is, or was?"

"Katia? Isn't that the name Angela said he used once with her?"

"Yeah, I found the primary persona and I've been talking to him about his past trying to find anything I may be able to use to find him out here."

"Jimmy, you found him! Can't he just tell you where he is?"

"No, he's locked in a cell with no contact to the outside world. Ask Bob, maybe he can explain how it works, I don't think I could put it into terms you would understand, but take my word for it, he doesn't know where they are." As I was saying it I had a thought, wondering if there might be other shared knowledge that we could use.

"What?"

"Nothing, just an idea, I'll let you know if it works out."

She cocked her head and gave me a look.

I rolled my eyes, "I promise. Geez, Hampton, you're as bad as my sister."

"Considering how you feel about her, I'm flattered. I don't pretend to understand your relationship and since what it appears to be is illegal in most places, I don't want to. You seem happy, and I'm happy for you both, but please, don't do anything in front of me that could get me in trouble if I get caught looking the other way."

I held her eye for a moment before nodding. It seemed kind of trivial compared to the other secrets she was keeping about me, but still, I could see she was struggling with it. I was saddened that who I loved made such a difference. We walked back to the table where Bob and Allison seemed to be involved in a very animated conversation about something. As soon as I was close enough to hear Allison, I knew what it was.

"They're sick," she stated loudly, "they're all sick, there is something seriously wrong with them! And you, you should be ashamed of yourself. You're a doctor for goodness sake; you should be treating them, not encouraging them."

Bob was all but falling out of his chair trying to hold in the laughter. Allison is a firm believer that running is a disease, not a sport, and that the only time you should ever run is if something large and with lots of teeth, is chasing you.

"Looks like I got back just in time," I said. "Sis, stop abusing the nice teacher, you're going to be in his class next year." I took her hand and helped her up, "Bob, see you tomorrow, unless something else comes up."

"But I ordered cheesecake," Allison complained as I tugged her toward the door. We stepped through straight into my office. The material from Rebecca was on the desk but before I could get to it the phone rang, not my cell phone, but the one on the desk. I'd never actually had a phone on my desk before now but...

"Hello?"

"Jimmy?" It was Amber. "Can I see you? I know you're probably busy but..."

I interrupted her, "Stop. I am never too busy if you need me. Allison is here with me. Is that all right or would you rather I send her somewhere?"

"No that's okay, maybe she can help, I don't know what..." Suddenly her voice sounded strained.

"Stop that," I said sternly, slipping into the role of master, "You are confused, that is to be expected. When I hang up a door will appear which will bring you to my office." I hung up and sent her the door.

"Show time," Allison said. "I know it hurts, Jimmy, but this is it; you have to be the master she needs, not the friend she used to know. I love you."

The door opened and Amber ... slunk in, I think would be a good description. I went to her and when I took her hand, she grabbed mine like she was drowning. I led her to the couch and Allison started to move next to her but I waived her to the chair instead.

"You've finished the material I gave you?" I made it a rhetorical question.

She nodded.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I didn't hear you."

"Yes, I've finished it."

"And what conclusions have you drawn from this?"

"I need ... someone ... I can't..." The strain in her voice and the tears in her eyes said the rest.

I kissed her hand and in a gentle voice said, "Amber, and Angela, the important thing is that you realize that what you have been feeling is not sick, or twisted, or anything else that you thought. There is nothing wrong with you. You just learned the truth in a very bad way. This actually can work to our benefit in your current situation. It can make it easier for you to hide by allowing you to be Amber without feeling like you have to stop being Angela, do you understand all of that?"

"Yes," she said, eyes downcast and averted.

"Good, now based on what you have learned, what do you need?"

"I don't ... I don't know." There was an overwhelming sense of hopelessness in her voice. She didn't believe that it was possible.

"Yes you do. This is not a story in a book, but put yourself in Phèdre's place. What was Delaunay to her?"

Her head dropped almost to her chest, "He was her master."

"Yes, he was her master, not in the way we have been taught to think of masters, but in a different way. Why did he do the things he did for her? Was it simply for political gain and the furthering of his own ambition and agenda?"

"No."

"No, though that was a part of it, there was more. Did he love her?"

"Yes."

"And she loved him."

Her head came up, eyes glistening with moisture and something else, "Yes."

"Yes, she did." I let go of her hand and stood up, "Now tell me Amber, do you need a master? Do you need someone to watch over you, to guide you, to see to your teaching and training? Not because you are a tool, but out of love and understanding? Is that the kind of master you need?"

She dropped her eyes again, her shoulders shook slightly, and in a whispered voice she said, "Yes"

"What?"

"Yes," she said a little louder.

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I need a master."

"And do you want a master like that; someone to care for you, look out for you, see to your teaching and training?"

This time I didn't need to prompt her. "Yes, I want a master."

"This is not a pleasure house; there is no one here to buy your contract. Here you must ask for what you want."

She looked first at Allison, then back to me; finally she slid to the floor, knelt with her legs folded beneath her, hands in her lap, eyes averted and asked, "Mr. Matthews, will you be my master? Please?"

"Is this what you truly want? Do you really think I love you enough to do this?"

She nodded as she answered, "Yes." There was still doubt in her voice.

"Then look at me, let me see your eyes and ask me again."

She looked up and met my eyes, suddenly there was hope there. "Jimmy, will you please be my master?"

I could see it in her eyes but I had to ask, "If I do this, what will that make you?"

"Your slave," She said in a voice suddenly firm and certain.

"And if I love you enough to accept the role and responsibility of being your master, do you love me enough to accept the role and requirements of being my slave?"

She held my eye steadily and in a voice that no longer faltered said, "I do, I will; whatever you say, I will do anything for you if you will have me."

"You will trust my judgment in all things? You understand that this will include giving you to others for part of your training? Give you to others simply because I want to? That if you displease me I will punish you, or have someone else punish you? That I may punish you for no reason at all but that you are mine to do with as I please?"

"Anything," She said. There it was, the light I had seen in May's eyes now burned in Amber's. She really would do anything if I would do this for her.

"Very well then, I accept." Fresh tears blossomed in her eyes, but these tears were different. I bent and kissed her gently, wiping the tears from her face and stopping more from forming. "Now, I have given this much thought already and what you need more than anything is to become comfortable in your role. This will allow Amber to behave as a proper slave without hesitation and therefore attract no hint of suspicion. I have selected someone to assist you in learning your role. Stand up. What you must focus on first is that you are two people. First and always, you are Angela, a champion, strong, motivated, passionate and loving. Second you are Amber, and Amber belongs to me. The thing to remember above all else is that you decide who you are, no one else. The only exception is that I may tell Amber that I require Angela. I will never tell Angela that I require Amber. Why is that so?"

"Because you say it is so."

"Very good, Amber. Now, answer me as Angela. Why is this true?"

"Because Angela doesn't belong to you?" She answered tentatively.

From out of nowhere a leather strap slapped hard against her suddenly naked ass, causing her to jump and cry out. As fast as they had disappeared her pants were back on again.

I glanced at Allison and she gave me look that made it clear it had not been her either. Regardless of where it had come from it had been the right thing for the moment so I went on; "I said to answer me as Angela. Would Angela have answered with a question?"

She dropped her gaze, "No."

Again her pants disappeared and out of nowhere the strap stung her.

"What was that?"

"No, Master." Her voice was stronger this time, like a child trying to avoid being spanked again.

"Better. Now, again, answer me as Angela. Why would I never tell Angela that I wanted Amber?"

Suddenly she stood taller and her head came up, "Because I'm not your fucking slave and if you want me to do something you should damn well ask me."

"Damn right!" I said. "Angela is my friend and I don't order my friends around. More than that, I love Angela and I would never treat her like that. Would you prefer to finish this part of the conversation as Amber or Angela?"

She giggled and rubbed her ass, "I think for now I'll stick with Angela, I don't know if I can trust Amber to not answer wrong on purpose and I may want to sit down later. So how are you going to know which I am when I show up? You certainly don't want to have to ask me."

"Simple, you decide who you want to be, and dress accordingly."

"You mean, if I want to be me, just show up, but if I want to be your little fuck toy I should dress like one."

"Oh, God, no. Remember, Amber is going to be the public persona until we catch that sorry son of a bitch and string him up by his balls. She can't be running around looking like she's the school slut. My Amber is a very respectable girl, she just happens to be my slave, a position she is so proud of she makes sure that everyone knows she is in fact property by wearing this..." I pulled from my pocket a heavy choke chain similar to those used by trainers on large dogs. The difference being that this one was made of heavy gold links and since it was my dream it was indestructible. I held it dangling from one hand and it suddenly changed shape, becoming a leather collar with gold spikes sticking out of it. I turned it again and it became a finely crafted choker of beaten gold that was so supple that it would hug her neck like a second skin and yet not constrict in the slightest. Regardless of the shape the one thing that stayed the same was the lock. It was in the shape of a small dragon and its tail was the hasp that held the necklace shut.

"This will identify you. As an extra touch the eyes are jeweled and will change to whatever you want them to be to go with whatever you are, or are not, wearing. I've designed it to help you get used to your new self. When you come to me, if you are Amber, wear it. If you are not, don't. In dreams it will always be with you, even if you are naked, simply desire it and it will appear. Put it on and you will be Amber. Take it off and you will be Angela. But know this, once you put it on, it will only come off if I tell you to take it off, or if someone I have entrusted you to tells you to. This is one way you will always know if it is someone I have sent to you. If someone tells you to take it off and it won't release, summon me immediately."

"How do I summon you?"

"Simply call out to me," I took her shoulders in my hands and looked into her eyes, then held up the chain. "May I?"

She nodded and I slipped the spiked collar around her neck. As soon as the lock clicked her body language changed and she dropped her eyes from mine. I took her chin and raised it back up, "Look at me. Amber, if you call me, I will hear you, and God help anyone who stands in the way of my reaching you! Now, are you ready to meet your teacher?"

She dropped her eyes again, "Yes, my Master."

"Very well," I conjured up a full-length mirror and turned her to face it. The image reflected was that of Diane McKenzie from my visions. "Your safety depends on no one knowing who you really are. Even in a dream I will not take any chances that anyone would ever recognize you later and start connecting dots to who you really are. This is how you will appear whenever you are with your teacher." I transformed Allison and myself to our working images and spoke to the mirror. "Lady Jasmine."

Amber's image shattered into a thousand fragments and when it reformed Jasmine stood before me in a long green dress that did wonders for her eyes. The matching nail polish was a nice touch. "You have an interesting way of calling."

"I hope I am not intruding, my Lady, but I would like to introduce you to your new pupil, would you join us?" I extended my hand and reached into the mirror, watching as my hand emerged on the other side. Her eyebrows rose but she went along with it and took my hand. A gentle pull and she was stepping through the glass. I kissed her hand and turned to introduce Allison, "This is Alice, she helps keep me out of trouble."

Jasmine smiled as she did one of the oriental half curtsy things May had done the night we met, "You have my respect already, Alice, I am certain that this must be a full time job."

"It has its rewards," Alice said, bowing politely. "As I'm sure you will agree, no job seems hard if you enjoy your work."

"This is true." She turned to Amber, "And you must be..."

"Am..."

Jasmine's hand slashed across her face, "You are no one until your master gives you leave to speak, do you understand?"

She started to answer but caught herself and looked to me for permission. The gesture was not lost on Jasmine who nodded appreciatively. "Very good. Now, you will address me as Mistress at all times, is that clear?"

"Yes, Mistress."

Jasmine placed one hand upon Amber's far shoulder and the other upon her face opposite where she had struck her, "Your master has entrusted you to my care. He has told me somewhat of your situation and the urgency that your training be accomplished quickly. I promise you I will do everything in my power to help you learn who you are as quickly as possible. Have you chosen a safe word?"

Amber turned to me and I froze Jasmine, "You may speak freely. Allison and I will hear you but she will not."

"I was thinking of using Timothy, but I was afraid it might be a little too..."

"It might at that; I don't think names are commonly used. It needs to be something that is not likely to sound normal in the heat of the moment. How about 'dragonfly'?"

"Thank you, Master." She turned back and Jasmine came back to life. "Mistress, my signale will be dragonfly."

"You,  have been reading Carey," Jasmine said with a smile. "As you wish. You are doing well so far, Amber." She turned to me, "With your permission?"

"Of course, thank you again for the gift of your time. I look forward to hearing of her progress. I also look forward to meeting with you regarding that other matter very soon."

"As do I. Come slave." Without a backward glance she turned and stepped back through the mirror, Amber followed dutifully behind her. I watched as they reached the other side where Jasmine appeared to be introducing her to someone else. I let the mirror pan the room and found May kneeling nearby. I suspected she had been there all along and waiting for her Mistress to return.

"Wow," Allison said as the mirror faded. "What exactly does that collar do?"

"It places Amber in control but lets Angela see and hear everything that goes on. When she goes off to school she has to do this all on her own, I figure she needs to know the part as well as she can. When it's off though, Angela is in control and Amber just goes to sleep until summoned. Eventually it will be Angela controlling both of them but for now I think this will help her ease into the role."

"And that wasn't you with the strap before?"

I shook my head negatively, "No."

"I don't get it. Just when you think you've got this figured out something like this happens. Oh well, what's next?"

"I'm not sure, it's a long list." I concentrated for a second "Why don't we start by checking up on Shannon, she's finally asleep and about to show up here. Beach?"

"Doesn't matter, just pick a place. Once she's here you can let her decide. She's going to be on cloud nine and looking to celebrate. How much joy do you think you can handle?"

"Well, if it gets too much for us, I know someone who would certainly be happy to take the overflow."

"Oh, I completely forgot about Easy. We told her we'd meet with her tonight too. Damn, it is going to be a long night. Oh well, might as well just get everyone together at once. How about you and I go the cabana and then you can bring them over?"

"Works for me," I said as I sat down on the edge of the sunken pool. I was already in my usual swimsuit and tank and Allison opted for a bikini with a knee length wrap. "Before I bring them in, you should know that before the phone rang this afternoon, Elizabeth and I..."

"Elizabeth?"

"You had to be there, I just couldn't think of her any other way at the time."

Allison stared intently at me for moment and a smile curled up across her face, "Then I'm very sorry the phone interrupted. Would you rather go to her now? I'm sure Shannon and I can find some way to occupy ourselves."

"No, it was a special moment and I ... I don't know, it just wouldn't seem the same."

She shook her head, "Wow, she must have been really disappointed when that phone rang, she could see how you feel. You're really falling in love with her aren't you?"

I had to look away, "Allison, I..."

"Oh yeah, you've got it bad. Jimmy, it's okay. I'm not Shannon, I'm not afraid of losing you, I know better. More than that, I know why you are falling for her."

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking back at her.

She giggled and shook her head, "Oh Jimmy, you have this huge 'knight in shining armor' thing going. For you to be so close to someone in so much pain just tears at your heart. You want to make it right. The only people you don't do it with are Shannon and me. This thing with Amber, how you feel about Samantha, and now Easy, all the same thing; there is this thing deep inside you that wants to make it better. It's what makes it possible for you to be Amber's master, because that is what she needs. Samantha is just righting a terribly wrong situation."

"And Lizzy?"

"She thinks she is doomed to never know love. You want to show her that she's wrong."

"You make it sound so ... contrived."

"Oh no, it's real, Jimmy. You couldn't fake it if you tried; it's not in you to pretend about something like that. But enough of this; bring her in first then give me a minute with her, okay? I want to make sure she knows it's okay."

"I'm sure she does, but if that's what you want," I stood up and walked toward the door, calling softly, "Lizzy?"

By the time I opened the door she was halfway up the walk from the beach. I reached out my hand and she took it, drawing close to me as she came in. She was looking at me funny but I let it go as I kissed her cheek and said, "Allison wants to talk to you, I'll be back in a little bit."

She kissed my cheek in return, "Okay."

I released her into the room and stepped out into my office, the folder from Rebecca was on the desk and I sat down and began looking through it. There were pictures of all the girls, including shots of the families. That was a plus; it gave me a bigger base to work from. Two of the girls were Hispanic, one white, and the last from one of the local Indian tribes. I noticed all were from big families. I laid them all out and started just randomly looking at the pictures. After a few minutes of going through them, images began to form in my head.

It took a little while but eventually I realized what was happening. As I went from picture to picture I was getting flashes of their current dream states. Two of the fathers were dreaming of shooting the bastard who had done this. One of the mothers was actually torturing him, and let me tell you, this woman had a hell of an imagination. If he had a choice between being shot down in the street or being given to her ... no doubt in my mind what I'd pick. The girls were all having nightmares. Two were curled up in their parents' beds, one with an older sister, the last lay with her arm draped over the side of her bed just touching the back of a very large dog who lay awake with eyes restlessly searching the room around him, every once in a while he would reach over and lick her hand before resuming his restless watch. As I watched his head came up and turned to face me, a low growl came from his throat and his lip began to twitch. On the bed the girl began to shake slightly so I decided to withdraw. When I did, the image changed; I was still seeing the girls but the view was different. All were seen from a distance going about their normal lives. Again rage flared within me and this time it was harder to push away. Then I found the key. A quick series of images showed the back of several vans and SUV's, all with the little cutouts of mom, dad, kids, dogs, etc, and all with names under the figures. The names were not included in the files but I had no problem figuring out who was who as he read the names on the windows, focusing just a little more on the name of the girls he was after. My hand moved by itself, scribbling four names on a pad; not trying to match them up but just to get them down. The scene shifted and now I was looking down into the crying face of a little girl being violated, then a second...

Black rage boiled within me and the vision began to fade, "Allison!" I screamed. Almost instantly she burst through the door, Lizzy on her heels. I was still struggling to maintain the link. As soon as she was close enough she grabbed my hand and the rage began to fade.

Moments later Lizzy took my other hand, held it to her chest, placed her other hand on my chest and whispered, "Don't push, just breathe." Where her hand touched my chest it felt like a cool breeze blew upon my naked skin even though I still had my tank top on. Beside me I could feel Allison beginning to relax as well. I kept my eyes closed, concentrating on the vision before me. He was a big man; that much I could tell because he towered over the girls. Fortunately for them he had a little dick, so aside from the trauma and shame most of them were not seriously hurt. Even as he spent himself into the last little girl a new image began to take shape. A green van in a supermarket parking lot, mother and three kids piling out, one girl about the right age started away but her mother called her back, as she did the fucker's eyes flashed to the cutouts on the rear window; Pedro; father-icon, Marta; mother, then the kids; Raul, Lupe, Marta, Phillipe, Anise, and Chiquita the dog. His eyes focused on Lupe then slid back toward the girl, she was waiting by the back door and, Yes! There at the bottom of his vision was the license number of the van. This bastard was mine!

Tearing my hands free I pulled out my phone and called Rebecca.

"Hampton."

"Write down this license plate," I gave her the number and a description of the van. "The oldest daughter Lupe is his next target."

"How the hell did you ... You're sure about this?"

"Yeah, I'm sure! Rebecca, I just watched that fucker rape four little girls. Find the van, watch the girl, catch him."

"But how are you going to ID him for the reward?"

"I don't care about the reward! Find him, damn it!"

Suddenly Allison's voice interrupted me, "Jimmy, let it go. Push it away, don't hold onto it."

"I..."

"She's right, Jimmy," Rebecca's voice said. "You have to let this go. We talked about this, remember? Don't make it personal. Was there any kind of common thread?"

I took a deep breath and felt the rage suddenly sucked away, "Yes. They were all middle children, never the oldest or youngest. All the families had those stick figures on the back windows of their cars with the kid's names under them. That's how he got close to them. He pretended he knew the family."

"That's your ticket; call it in with those two pieces of information. When we catch him I'll make sure those things come out. I'll just make sure we have photos of all the vehicles and just lay them out in front of him. Trust me; he'll shit a brick when he sees what we have. Jimmy?"

"Yeah?"

"You're awesome! I know this had to hurt but what you need to focus on is what it means for a little girl named Lupe, and how far it will go to helping these four little girls heal. Don't use Raphael again; let them give you a new ID."

"Thanks, Rebecca. I'm going to have to specify you or you won't have any cause to get involved in the case."

"That's okay; they already invited us to the party. It's my field either way and anonymous sources are just that, anonymous, no one expects me to know them. You did good kid. I'm proud of you, and I can't believe how fast you did this."

"Me either. I'll call in the tip in the morning, and I'll talk to you later about that other thing." I hung up without waiting for her to say goodbye.



-------

Chapter 21: Diving In

"What was that?" Lizzy asked after I hung up with Rebecca.

"I'm not sure yet," Allison said. "I got here the same time you did, remember? I thought the walls were going to explode. From the sound of it and what we saw here, my guess is it was a case that Rebecca asked him to look at. I'd say he found something." She stopped and kissed my cheek, "How am I doing so far?"

"Pretty well," I answered. "We talked earlier about a case she wanted me to take a look at. Partly because there is a sizable reward for catching the guy, but mostly because they really didn't have any serious leads. Four young girls, really young, have been raped out by Palm Springs and I guess they couldn't even put together a decent composite sketch. Probably because of their age, guy likes them young, they were all about ten. I was just going over the stuff, then looking at all the pictures and I started getting images. Flashes from the different people in the pictures, parents dreaming of what they'd do if they got their hands on him, the girls' nightmares, that sort of thing, and then they changed. It took a second but I realized I was seeing images of him stalking them, and I saw how he got their names and information so he could lure them away when he was ready for them. Then it changed again and he was raping one of them, then another ... I got to watch through his eyes."

"Oh jeez," Lizzy said. "No wonder you were so angry."

"Yeah, it was a good thing it was only a memory or it might have gotten ugly. I was so mad I started to lose him, so I screamed for you. After you got here I had to sit through two more before it changed again and I saw him picking out the next one." I paused, running my fingers through my hair and stretching the muscles in my neck and shoulders. I hadn't even realized they were tense until now. Then I remembered where I was and just made the tension go away. "You know those stick figures of their families people put on the back of their cars?"

"Yeah, some of them even put the pets up there. Always seemed kind of lame but then I don't have kids so who am I to judge."

"Well, these people put the names up with them. Anyway, he was eying this new girl and I caught the license number of her mom's van. That was the number I gave to Rebecca. Hopefully it will be enough for her to catch him. I'd hate to think I went through that for nothing."

"Don't worry," Allison said. "She'll get him. All she has to do is watch the girl, seems like it should be pretty easy. She just has to wait for him to make his move and then ... Wham! Meet your new cell mate, Bubba, and I hope he's got a big one, so the fucker can learn what he was putting those poor girls through."

Lizzy was just staring back and forth between us. "You took his anger," she said plainly, still looking intently at Allison. "I can see it in you, fading but still there. How did you do that?"

"I have no idea. I think maybe it started as self defense. Jimmy's projective and over the years I guess I found a way to deal with it. Unless he's really concentrating; then I don't have a chance. Like when he makes love to me, total overload, I lost count of the number of times I've passed out."

Her eyes got wide, "Really? He's made you pass out?" She looked at me again and this time there was a definite hunger in the look.

"Yeah, Shannon and Angela too, I've warned him to be careful if he picks up any more lovers, you know, go easy. Have you ever done it?"

"Passed out? No, but I'm willing to try." Lizzy said with a smile.

Something in the way she said it caught my attention, I glanced at Allison and apparently she'd heard it too. "But you have done it to someone else, haven't you?" Allison pressed her suspicion.

Lizzy's face fell, "Yes, I was careless. My gift..."

"Yeah, but not the way you think." Allison said. "It's probably part of your gift, but I suspect that it's more an outgrowth of it than part of it. You're both."

"What do you mean, she's both?" I asked.

"Plus and minus, she projects like you, but she also absorbs like me. She may not be a true empath, but she's the closest thing either of us is ever likely to see. I'm betting that it's been developing slowly as you learned to use your gift. From what Rebecca told us of how your gift works, you see them, you do your thing, the bad slowly leaves and something else fills the void. Maybe it's just a case of practice making perfect but I'm guessing it's gotten a lot easier to do since you started, and the more you do it, the easier it gets. You did it just now with Jimmy and probably don't even realize it."

"No I didn't."

"Yeah," Allison insisted, "You did. Trust me, I know my limits and I could never have handled what he was putting out there. You took quite a lot of it yourself."

Lizzy clearly wasn't buying it.

"I think she may be right," I said. "I could feel a difference where your hand touched my chest."

She turned her unbelieving gaze on me, "Really?"

"Really, tell me, why did you put my hand on your chest," I grinned, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining or anything. I really liked it..."

Suddenly Allison was laughing, "I don't believe it! You actually made her blush. I didn't think anything could do that."

I rolled my eyes and shifted her onto a stool in the corner with a very tall conical paper hat on her head and kept going, "As I was saying, looking back at it now, it almost seemed like you were completing a circuit of some kind. Did you even realize what you were doing or was it automatic?"

"Totally automatic, I didn't even realize where your hand was until it was over."

"Well, like I said, no complaints here but I think Allison is onto something." I paused before going on, "But that is something we can play with some other time. All that matters right now is that you were there when I needed you and I appreciate that. That and Shannon is going to be here real soon and looking to celebrate. Her dad saw his doctor today for the results from his latest tests and they told him he is cancer free."

"That's wonderful!" Lizzy said, then she got a really worried look on her face, "I don't know if I can take the three of you like that though."

"Excuse me!" Allison called from across the room, "When you get a second, my ass is glued to this stool and the hat won't come off either."

I didn't realize I had gone quite so far, "If I let you go, do you think you can behave yourself?"

"Probably not," she said with a smile, "but I'm willing to try?"

"Okay," I said in my best 'be a good daddy's girl' voice, "Since you were honest I'll let you go, but you better be good or daddy may have to..."

Lizzy interrupted, "Uh, I wouldn't go there right now if I were you." I turned and saw her staring intently at Allison. "She just might take you up on it."

I looked at Allison again and she was beet red. It was starting to look like maybe she was serious about doing a little experimentation. I didn't see her ever going down Amber's road but ... I was definitely going to need to see Lady Jasmine for some training, and soon. I disappeared the hat and released her from the seat but before she could thank me Shannon arrived.

"WhoooHoo!" Came the ear-piercing cry from the doorway, we all turned and there she was, framed in the doorway.

"WhoooHoo!" Allison answered as she dashed across the room to hug her lover. I wasn't far behind, wrapping my arms around them both and hugging hard as they bounced up and down. It didn't take long before tears were flowing.

I glanced back and saw we weren't the only ones crying. Lizzy stood silent, eyes mostly averted, just glancing toward us every few seconds. I gave each of the girls a squeeze to get their attention and pointed with my head when she wasn't looking. The next time she looked away we mobbed her, surrounding her with bodies and arms, taking turns hugging her and sharing our joy. Apparently I had been right; it had been her usual sense of exclusion that was the problem. I still wasn't sure if Allison was right or not, but she certainly seemed to take in our exuberant feelings as she quickly was bouncing right along with us. Finally something seemed to snap and she threw her arms around Shannon's neck and drove her tongue into the younger girl's mouth. Shannon didn't even hesitate, just wrapped her arms around her new dance partner and sounded the bell for round one. I was starting to worry about them setting off the sprinkler system as hands began to roam freely over backs and bottoms. Suddenly Shannon grabbed the bottom of Lizzy's shirt and pulled upward. My first thought was to send them to the cabana but then I remembered what Lizzy had said about the leather furniture. I glanced at Allison, who was looking on in awe at the display. She was oblivious to me as she watched the scene continue to heat up, so I took her hand and nodded towards the door.

"Wow!" She said as we stepped out into the glade. I checked my ring and confirmed we were in her glade instead of mine.

"You can say that again. I'm not sure what I was expecting when we included her, but that wasn't it."

"It's not a problem though, right?"

"Allison, please, don't be ridiculous."

"So, what did you have in mind, a little private celebration maybe?"

I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her, "No plan, but I could be talked into it without too much effort on your part if that's what you want?"

"Jimmy, I always want, but this is good too. So that's what you pulled Rebecca aside at the restaurant for?"

"Yeah, that's why she had Bob call after school. Now, since we have all this free time on our hands how about getting a little work done. When you spoke to Samantha before did she give you any information on the people she knows about?"

"No," She said, shaking her head. "Nothing I think you could use anyway. She had names on a couple other girls, mostly just first names. As for the bad guys, everybody seems to be Lord or Lady this or that, Master or Mistress depending on the situation."

"Okay, I think it's time we sat down with her and started getting familiar with who she knows. Jasmine knows some of them too, including another doctor."

"Really, when did all this come up?"

"The first time I saw her, it's another one of those weird things I can't begin to explain, I was sent to her, and she was told to expect me; not me specifically, but someone who had a mutual interest. That if she helped me, I would fulfill a desire that had burned in her for some time. Want to guess what that was?"

"You're kidding."

"Nope, seems she got blackmailed into helping train a few of the local girls, including, get this, Amanda and Samantha, plus teaching some of their people so now they can do it without her. She wishes now she had taken her chances with the courts. She told me about another doctor, a woman this time, who sounds like a real hard core bitch. One of the girls Jasmine offered me is seriously into bondage and discipline; she has scars all over her ass..."

"What do you mean offered you?"

"Just what I said, offered, as in pick one on the house and ... Anyway, her name is Tanya, this woman is one of her best customers. I'm thinking maybe there is actually a line she can't cross with the girls she has available and Tanya is her outlet."

"That should be obvious; she can't risk physical evidence on one of the regular girls. Nothing you could show the cops that would make them take you seriously. Can't take the risk, mental cruelty and intimidation is one thing, provable physical torture is another. I expect if she was the reason for an investigation it would not go well for her."

"Yeah," I said sarcastically, "It'd be a damn shame if she had to spend a weekend in the chair." The chair was one of the group's disciplinary tools. "Anyway, unless there is another doctor then I'm thinking between her and Hendricks they're going to know pretty much everyone, or at least all the girls. One or the other would be responsible for their checkups and birth control pills. I want to go see Jasmine and see if I can get enough to bridge her, the same for Hendricks. But I also want to get all the information I can on the girls that she and Samantha know. I'm not going to take it for granted that I'll be able to find everyone just through the two doctors. I'll start with the girls they know and work outward. If nothing else it will give me a chance to evaluate each of them individually, maybe eventually get Bob involved to see what kind of help they are going to need once it's over."

"Well, I can't go with you to see Jasmine so why don't you send me to Samantha and I'll work with her while you talk to Jasmine? I'll get Sam's stuff organized for you so you can get started; I'll have her give me visuals on them. That should make it easier for you to bridge them."

"That's actually a good idea. It would certainly save time. You'll behave yourself with Sam right?"

She grinned, "No promises; don't get me wrong, I'll try, but I think if she has me all to herself she may want... , Jimmy, the only person who ever loved her was Amanda, and I think it was far more than a sisterly kind of thing if you know what I mean. I can't guarantee I'll say no. You're the one she wants, but if I'm the one that's there..."

"I understand what you're saying but what do you mean I'm the one she wants?"

"Oh please, what are you, blind? Jimmy, that girl would do anything for you. And I mean anything. Haven't you noticed the way she looks at you?"

"No, not really, and I'm sure it's just that she is grateful that I'm helping, or trying to help."

"I'm sure it is too, but Jimmy, that girl would trade places with Amber in a hot second, and she doesn't need any training. She worships you, and if you actually pull this off and rescue her and Rachel ... She better never find out who you really are or she'll be knocking on your door."

"Get out," I said.

"No, I'm serious, ask Shannon, better yet; if Lizzy can ever stand to be in the same room with her, ask her. I'll tell you right now though; there is nothing that anyone has ever forced that girl to do that she wouldn't do voluntarily for you."

"Whatever, it isn't going to matter though, because she's never going to know. So go see her, don't worry about what may or may not happen - you know it's not an issue for me, then we can finally get started on fixing this problem." I kissed her and sent her on her way, then focused on Jasmine. Walking to the stream, I whispered her name and watched as her face formed in the clear water. I bowed formally and asked, "Do you have time for me?"

She gave a polite bow in return, "Of course."

I walked into the stream, the water forming a staircase a little way from where she sat at what appeared to be her desk. "I hope I am not intruding?"

"Not at all, your slave is with May. She is an interesting young woman, if you had not told me I would think she had begun training some time ago. She is very ... receptive."

I didn't really want to get into the help I had given Amber so I moved on, "I am happy to hear it. I was hoping that perhaps you could give me what information you have on our common enemy, starting with Doctor Essex."

"Any information I have I will gladly share. The sooner you may bring an end to these people the happier the world will be."

Just then my phone rang, it was Allison.

"Small problem, we forgot that we told her not to believe it was me unless you were with me."

"Well that was stupid, I'll be right there." I closed the phone and turned to Jasmine.

"Forgive me, Alice is interviewing someone else and there is a complication I need to deal with, it will only take a second."

I erected a screen between us and let Samantha's room take shape on my side of it. "Sorry about that Samantha, I was in a hurry and didn't think." I touched her shoulder and the bracelet changed. She started to rise but I held her down, the slightest pressure was all it took. "I really have to run. You can hug me next time, I promise." I kissed her hair and let the scene fade. The privacy screen faded with it, leaving me once more alone with Jasmine.

"Please forgive me, Lady."

"Don't be silly, that was amazing. Was she really here? I heard a female voice but..."

"Yes and no. It was more of an overlap than anything else. But I could have just as easily moved it all here."

"As I said, amazing. Now then, where did you wish to begin?"

"Let's start with a visual, if you would picture her for me, just concentrate on your memories of her, different settings, anything at all."

She closed her eyes a moment and a woman appeared standing to one side of the desk. She was tall, all of six feet, with a strong athletic build. Those were about the only positive attributes I could assign to her. Beyond that she was a very plain woman, very little shape, small breasts, and a very masculine facial structure, complete with a nose that looked as if it had been broken more than once. The scene shifted and the woman stood over Tanya's bound form. Tanya was standing, feet shackled to a ... rack of some kind, body bent forward at the waist over a rough surface, her arms stretched out and forward, a ball gag in her mouth. Her shapely ass was a patchwork of red stripes courtesy of the good doctor's flail. The doctor was in a leather halter, heels and what appeared to be a studded leather thong with a large plastic phallus sticking out the front. As I watched she reached and pulled the gag from Tanya's mouth.

"Will you yield?"

Even though the gag was removed Tanya refused to speak, shaking her head vigorously from side to side. The gag was replaced and with no further warning Essex shoved the big dildo deep into Tanya's apparently very wet but very tight opening. Tanya screamed around the gag, her head and body arching up as far as her bonds would allow. Essex began pounding the big dick forcefully into her helpless playmate, the stiff leather and studs had to hurt like hell against those welts but Tanya looked like she was having non-stop orgasms.

The scene stopped and I glanced at Jasmine.

"Because you are new to this world I will explain, that particular game does not have a safe word, but rather stops at the first word the slave speaks without the gag. If she does not speak, the game moves on until the next break and she cannot stop it until then."

"A very advanced game then?"

"Yes, there are not many that would be allowed so much leeway, but I know my sweet Tanya and the doctor pays very well for her services. I could stop it, and have been tempted on two occasions, but Tanya is very insistent that she does not wish to. I honor her wishes. Personally I would prefer the woman never set foot in the building again, but I have no choice. My only consolation is that her time with Tanya is time she does not have with other, less willing partners. I think we both know who those would be."

"Yes, and I hope Tanya will forgive me when I deprive her of this particular pleasure," I said. "I think Essex and the other doctor will be the most important but anyone else, especially any of the girls that you can show me will be a big help."

She showed me images of four men and one other woman that she had personal knowledge of, as well as eight girls. One of them, a girl named Megan, I recognized as the girl Samantha had been watching when we visited her at school, the one who was going to be punished. One of the adults was the faceless man from Samantha's dream. What really struck me as odd was that she seemed to accept him standing there without a face as if it were normal. If he had worn a mask I assumed she would picture him in it, instead there was just this faceless body standing there. She also didn't seem to know his name, only that he was involved.

"What about the leader, I would have thought you'd met him, after all, isn't he the one who blackmailed you originally?"

"Yes, but I never met him."

I stood and reached for her hand and kissed it, "Thank you for your time, please contact me if you require anything, and keep me apprised of Amber's progress."

"Certainly, I think she will do well. Would you like to see her?"

I knew that moments like this, where I was forced to assume the role of Amber's master, would come, and I dreaded them. I did not feel qualified in the least and that as much as anything made me feel uncomfortable with the whole thing ... but she needed me, well, she really didn't need me per say but she needed someone, and for now at least I was the only person she would accept. All I could do was keep reminding myself that to her this was an act of love, and be the best master that I could for her.

"If it will not interfere, then yes, I would like to see her." She started to reach for something and I hurried to finish, "Lady Jasmine," she turned back to me, "before you summon her I want to talk to you about my role. I don't know if I made it clear enough that I am uncomfortable with the role of Amber's Master, it was forced upon me by necessity, and I am doing the best I can for her but I really don't feel qualified. Jasmine, I'm sixteen years old, and I'm in way over my head. As much as Amber needs your help learning who she is, I need your help even more learning who it is she needs me to be. I'm going to make mistakes, this is something I'm sure most learn to do over a lifetime, but I don't have that luxury. What I need from you is to help me learn from my mistakes, not let Amber suffer because of them."

Without a word she nodded and then struck the small gong on her desk. For such a small thing I was surprised at the clear sweet sound it emitted. Within moments the door opened and May entered with Amber trailing behind. May closed the door behind them and then knelt before Jasmine, as she did Amber knelt also, but where May was the picture of fluid grace, Amber looked awkward.

"Mistress?" May inquired, eyes averted, hands folded neatly in her lap.

Jasmine walked around May and inspected Amber.

"May, attend me." Jasmine said and May instantly stood and moved to stand just behind and to the side of her Mistress. Jasmine turned her attention to Amber. "Amber, your posture is terrible, your back should be straight, your shoulders back, do not slouch on the floor like a dog, one day you will sit thus at your master's feet and you must show all the world how proud you are of your position; proud that of all the women in the world, he has chosen you to serve him. Now stand up."

Amber stood, but just as with her kneeling, the motion looked awkward.

Again Jasmine chastised her, "You move like a wounded duck, your physical condition leaves much to be desired. May will instruct you in some simple exercises, you will practice proper movement and posture until you can do it correctly. I will expect to see improvement when next you are brought before me or I will be very displeased with you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mistress," Angela replied.

"May, Amber is not ready to greet her master properly and thank him for all that he has done for her. You will thank him for her, go."

Without a word May moved to stand before me, released the catch of her dress, freeing the material to pool at her feet, I saw that this time she wore a simple black g-string underneath it, the material had barely settled before she was kneeling on it.

"Master," she said, eyes averted. "It is my joy that you are here, may I express my thanks for your time and trouble."

I glanced at Jasmine for guidance but she gave me no hint of what was expected, moving back to her desk to sit and observe.

I glanced back down at May, "How would you thank me?"

Instantly I could see her breasts tighten and her nipples begin to grow hard, she was really looking forward to what may come. "Master it would be my delight to please you in any way you desire."

"It is a small thing I have done; small thanks will be sufficient, you may kiss me."

Without hesitation she rose and moved toward me, behind her I saw Jasmine nod slightly in approval, then she was blocked as May moved in close to me, hands coming up to stroke through my hair and settle around my shoulders, body pressing against mine, I could feel the heat of her through my clothes; feel the hard points of her nipples poking at my chest. Her head was tilted back but she did not try to kiss me, rather offering herself and waiting for me to accept her. One look at her face and I knew that she would happily wait all night. My hands came up around her waist as I bent to meet her lips. They were incredibly soft and once more I marveled that the same seemingly simple act could be so different with each partner. It was so very strange, there was no sense of urgency and yet I could feel her hunger through the simple contact. Then our tongues met and the kiss grew rapidly in intensity. My hands played up and down the softness of her back. She kissed me like she wanted to crawl inside my mouth. Since this was Jasmine's dream I couldn't help but wonder what the real May would be like.

When the kiss had gone on long enough I reached up and pinched her left nipple firmly between my thumb and forefinger. I was expecting perhaps a startled gasp; what I got was a hungry moan and a shudder running through her body. She almost fell when I released her. I caught her and, glancing at Jasmine, saw surprise on her face. Beside her Amber knelt with a look of raw desire on her face. Reaching down I picked up May's dress and held it for her to step into, pulling it up her body, tucking her breasts in when I reached them and stepping behind her to secure the catch when she was once more clothed.

I whispered softly, "If you get the chance, thank your mistress for me." Then taking her hand I walked her back to her Mistress, bowed slightly, "Thank you, my Lady." I then handed her off to Jasmine and she knelt beside her chair as I turned my attention to Amber.

"She is lovely?" I asked.

"Yes, Master, she is lovely."

"She is desirable?"

"Yes, Master."

"You enjoyed watching her with me, seeing her enjoying what should be yours?"

I didn't think it was possible for here eyes to drop further, but they did, taking her posture with them. "No, Master."

"You know that it should have been you?"

"Yes," I thought I detected a hint of a sob in there somewhere.

"Work hard, Amber, obey, learn, and perhaps next time you will not have to watch another taking your place."

"I will work hard, Master." This time I was sure.

I bent and took her face in my hands, turning it up so I could see her eyes. As I expected there were tears flowing down her cheeks, "You can do this. You will do this." I kissed her forehead and released her. There was a new shine in her eyes as they dropped away once more.

I turned to face Jasmine once more, "Thank you for you time and effort, now thanks to you, I have work to do."

"Of course, May, take Amber and instruct her in the necessary exercises." Immediately both women rose and May escorted Amber from the room. As the doorway slid shut Jasmine turned to me, "You handled that very well, I know this is not your true appearance, how old did you say you are?"

"Sixteen."

"Really, I would have guessed much older. Would I be wrong to suggest that you were not ready for May's response to you?"

"That would be an understatement. I get the feeling she wanted more but was happy with whatever I gave her."

"Exactly. The temptation of most new masters is to expect or demand too much, too soon."

"Would she really have done... ?"

"Anything you asked? Yes, out of her love for me, because I gave her to you, she would have done anything you asked, and as long as there was no danger I would have allowed it. However had you taken undo advantage, our conversation now would be quite different."

"Well, I saw it mostly as a disciplinary move for Amber more than anything else; making her watch someone else taking her place."

"You are correct, forcing her to watch someone else take her rightful place, taking her rightful rewards, was very painful for her. Humiliation can be a powerful tool; the knowledge that she has the power to change this will motivate her. Your actions at the end were exactly correct for making that point. I was a little surprised at May's reaction to you though. She isn't even real yet seemed almost to swoon just from kissing you."

Allison was right; I had to be more careful with new people, especially in dreams. "I've been told I'm a good kisser."

"Apparently," she said with a bit of a smile. "I hope the information I have given you will be helpful in bringing an end to this atrocity as quickly as possible. I will of course be available if you need anything but it would be best if Amber did not see you too often. Perhaps once a week, that will give her time and something to look forward to. Be generous in your praise when she shows improvement, but be equally stern in your correction when necessary."

"I'll do my best, if you see me making a mistake, you can just freeze the scene and tell me what I'm doing wrong. That way you don't have to correct me in front of her or the other girls."

"I wasn't aware I could do that, but you are correct, it will be much better that way."

I bowed and left to meet Allison.



-------

Chapter 22: Making a Difference


Allison was waiting in the glade when I arrived; making notes on the tablet PC she used to keep track of things.

"Oh good, you're back," she said as I walked up to the blanket she was sitting on. "I'm starting a chart so we can keep track of who's who and who knows whom. What do you think?"

I examined the chart and saw that she had Samantha at the hub of a group of circles. Surrounding her were other circles containing the names and pictures of her parents, Megan of course, Doctor Hendricks, the man with no face, several other girls and adults, most of the adults didn't have names. Most were connected to Samantha, others, like Essex, were not. Yeah, that was a surprise too; the ones that Jasmine had showed me had already been added.

"It's a good start," I said. "Let's color code the circles, use different colors to identify who is voluntarily participating and who was being coerced. You can add Jasmine over here and connect her to Megan and Samantha." Her computer immediately added the appropriate circles and connections as I spoke, including coloring the circles. The one's we were not certain about remained black, Essex's circle was red as it was clear she was a more than willing player, Jasmine's circle was blue, Hendricks' circle was composed of alternating red and blue dashes because we weren't sure. Samantha may suspect he was being blackmailed but until I could confirm that personally he was an unknown. Allison also left a dark background behind the photos of the ones I had not met with personally, which was most of them. Frank Watkins' circle was lit because while we had not actually 'met' with him, we had no doubt of where he stood. His wife Irene, by contrast was still dark because while she obviously knew what was going on, we really were not sure whether she encouraged the abuse of her own children or simply had no choice. Samantha had told Allison that her mother had frequently encouraged her daughters to cooperate. For instance during the nightly ritual where Samantha welcomed her father home she would whisper encouraging words to Rachel about how wonderful it would be when she was old enough to join in, as well as explaining the necessity of Samantha's 'encouragement' whenever she failed to please her Lord or made any kind of mistake. Punishment was never mentioned and Rachel never saw any of the more violent or painful acts of 'encouragement' that Samantha endured to help her learn the joys of proper service. It was horrifying to learn that little Rachel was looking forward to the day when she would be allowed to participate. She was also constantly reminded that only the most special girls were chosen and that she should never mention to others what she saw. It was all a special secret that only the chosen could know of, and she must never tell anyone, because if she did she would not be allowed to participate. I guess they thought telling her that she and the entire family would be slaughtered like sheep might be going a little too far.

I was staring blindly at the chart wondering what it would look like before it was finished and missed her next statement.

"I'm sorry," I said, shaking my brain back on track.

"I said I think you're going to need to go see her."

I closed my eyes and checked the clock in my room, "It's getting close to time to get up. I'll have to make it later in the week."

"Have you ever considered just synching the clock on your phone to real time?"

I gave her a look, "Have you ever considered not being so damn smart all the time?"

She gave me one of her 'I'm just a little angel' looks, complete with sunshine smile and ghost of a halo over her head. She gave a start when I grew a pair of little red horns out of her head.

"Hey!"

We just had time to kiss and make up before the alarm took me away. Allison woke up just long enough to kiss me before I went out for my morning run. I put my clothes in the bathroom before I left so I wouldn't have to wake her when I got back. Then it was time to pick up Mark and Shannon for school. Shannon had a very interesting expression on her face, but I had to wait until we got to school and Mark took off to say anything.

"So, you and Lizzy okay now?"

She gave a contented sigh, "Yeah, but I don't think I could take her in person. I don't know what it is about her, whether it's her gift or something else, but man, you get her started and she just doesn't stop. If that had been real I wouldn't be able to walk. See you at break."

I had a note in my first period class excusing me to from morning classes and instructing me to report to Mr. Dennis in the auditorium to get ready for the big assembly between Break and Lunch. When I got there I couldn't believe it. They had all the bleachers out and about two thirds of the floor filled with chairs. There was just enough room for the stage they had set up at one end. Behind the stage was a large movie screen. Steve was up on stage with several of the goonies as well as two officers from the local Police Department. I didn't recognize the woman but the guy looked familiar. He turned a little as I walked up the steps and I knew immediately who it was.

"Officer French," I said, reaching for his hand as I approached, "good to see you again."

He looked at me for a second then I saw the recognition dawn, "Matthews, isn't it? Yes, James Matthews, I took your statement after the incident at the mall last spring." He looked back at Steve, "is this our playmate for show and tell?"

Steve just shook his head, "Matthews, is there anybody you don't know?"

I turned to the female officer and reached for her hand, talking to Steve as I stared into her eyes and brought her hand up to kiss, "Yes, in fact I have never had the pleasure of meeting this lovely vision in blue. James Matthews, Officer..." I glanced at her name tag, "Biante? I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly, it's Italian isn't it?" I was fishing hard there, considering the blonde hair and stunningly blue eyes someone had to have married into the name somewhere along the line.

She rolled her eyes and looked past me at her partner, "You put him up to this?"

"My hand to God," French said, raising his right hand, "I had no idea who we were getting, or that he would be such an unconscionable flatterer."

"Flatterer?" I said questioningly. "Officer French, stating the obvious is never flattery. My dear has anyone ever pointed out how that uniform brings out the blue in your eyes?"

"Okay, that's it pal," she said, twisting her hand to grab my wrist and then turning it so that I was forced to spin in place. As I did she pulled the arm up behind me, "You're under arrest for being a threat to every female in the school. You have the right to remain silent..."

A voice from off stage interrupted "Biante, what is it with you and handcuffs? How many times do I have to tell you: you should always ask your partner before you bring out the hardware; sometimes they prefer ropes."

We all turned to find Coach Jenkins crossing the gym floor. Biante stepped behind me as we turned, keeping the grip on my arm and using her free hand on my left shoulder to turn me without applying more pressure, "Better stay back Mel, I'm telling you he's dangerous. I don't know if even you are safe around him. You didn't hear the line of crap he was just feeding me."

Melinda Jenkins is one of the girls' PE instructors; she also coached for both the Basketball and Volleyball teams. "Oh, he's full of it all right, no doubt about that, but you're wasting your time. You'll never make it stick and he's probably enjoying the way you're manhandling him. Never knew you were into the bondage scene Jimmy?"

"Always be open to new ideas Miss Jenkins, it's the secret to staying young." I glanced back over my shoulder at Biante, "Now, I get the full strip search and I get to tie you up next, right?"

Steve and French were doing their best to suppress their laughter as she released me, "In your dreams, hotshot. What are you teaching these kids, Mel?"

"Hey don't look at me; he's got the wrong equipment for any of my classes."

Steve looked at his watch and interrupted, "Okay, this is all fun but we need to run through all this while we have time. I've got to run up to the tech booth and make sure everything is up and running for the big show. You two need to take Jimmy through what to expect. We've got just over an hour before the kids start coming in." He reached for my hand, "Thanks again for volunteering, Jimmy."

"No problem, Mr. Dennis. Anything I can do to make sure we never have another Justin in this school is fine by me." I noticed French's face cloud over slightly at the mention of Justin but I let it go.

The whole thing started off with a video that a black comedian had done, I didn't catch the title but it was something like, "How to NOT get your butt kicked by the cops." It was hysterical but under the humor there was actually a lot of very valid information. Like always knowing who you're hanging around, or driving around with. My favorite part was when they talked about never being in the car with your wife when she was mad at you. The scene showed a guy getting pulled over and as he handed the officer his license and ID the woman starts screaming, "He got weed! He got weed!" After the laughter finally died down Steve stepped up to the podium and introduced himself and all of his staff. They had adopted a uniform for the New Year, yellow polo shirts with "Goonies" on the breast and back in a Halloween green color.

"As most of you are probably aware, we lost two students last year through circumstances that can only be described as tragic. One fell in with a bad crowd, stole a car, panicked when he was spotted by the police and died in the ensuing pursuit. The other was a case of someone panicking when confronted by officers for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Justin was a good kid; but he happened to be in the area that the police were searching for an armed robbery suspect who was dressed in clothing similar to what Justin was wearing. When officers approached him, he too panicked, fleeing the scene with officers in pursuit. After a long foot chase he turned on the officers and reached for something behind his back. After chasing what they believed to be an armed suspect for over a mile on foot the officers, believing he was reaching for a weapon drew their side-arms and fired. We are here today to try and make sure that this doesn't ever happen again. Before we begin the rest of the program I would like to ask you all to rise and bow your heads in a moment of silence for our fallen classmates.

Everyone stood and you could have heard a pin drop in that room for the next sixty seconds.

"Thank you," Steve continued, "you may be seated."

He went on to talk about past problems around the school, and how he planned to address them in the coming year. Starting with the suggestions boxes placed around the campus which would be used for a variety of purposes throughout the year, but that could also be used to drop anonymous tips to the security staff regarding anything that anyone felt needed to be addressed. He then invited me, French, and Biante up onto the stage where we went through a variety of scenarios that may come up in the course of being questioned by officers. It wasn't all nice and peaceful, during several demonstrations I had been instructed to be argumentative or uncooperative. Explanations were made all throughout the process as to why things were done the way they were and how to avoid having a problem if confronted by officers. There were two separate demonstrations on following instructions given from a distance. There was an awful lot of conversation going on as everyone filed out at the end and on through lunch, I could even see some groups acting out some of the scenarios. The whole thing was the topic of discussion in Shannon's psychology class as well.

"It's just not realistic," one guy said, "you don't know what cops are like in the real world."

"Actually I do," I answered, "I've had them at my house taking a statement after my fight at the mall. And last Christmas when I was shopping, one of the mall cops helped diffuse a situation that was on the way to getting ugly with my date's ex-boyfriend."

"Mall cops are pussies," another one said.

"Ooh, now there's the one I've been waiting for," Bob said. "Juan, have you ever been in any kind of interaction with law enforcement where you didn't go into it with a hostile attitude and expecting trouble?"

"What do you mean? I'm not being hostile." Juan answered defensively.

"Perhaps not by your standard but you could hardly call that a positive attitude. One of the things we're going to be studying is body language, and its effect on the people around us." He put his hands on his hips and squared off facing Juan. "On your feet."

"What?" Juan asked defensively as he climbed up from his desk.

"Thank you, you can sit down again." He pointed across the room, snapped his fingers and said, "Mr. Russel, on your feet!" Three rows over a black kid popped up out of his seat. "Thank you, have a seat. Okay, I gave them both the same command, what was different?" The discussion lasted the rest of the period, the consensus was that Bob squaring off on Juan had sent a different message than the casual stance he had adopted when addressing Russell.

"And there you have a basic example of body language in action. I want three examples from each of you tomorrow. You are dismissed."

Geometry and PE were nothing special, I dropped Mark off at work and then Shannon and I headed home to see Allison. We found her in her usual spot on the patio, sunbathing.

"Hi guys, tough day at school?"

"Not too bad," I said, bending down for a kiss. "I got arrested, other than that, nothing special."

"Really? How did that go?"

"Well I was hoping for the strip search, but Miss Jenkins showed up before the nice officer finished handcuffing me."

"And where was I when all this was happening?" Shannon asked. "I didn't see anything like that."

"It was during rehearsal, Mr. Dennis was introducing me to the two officers and next thing I know the blonde is twisting my arm behind me and telling me I was under arrest. I thought about resisting just for fun but then Mel showed up and I lost my chance."

"She must have been cute, were you really thinking about having her tie you up?" Allison said.

"No, not really," I answered. "I'm not sure I could ever trust anyone enough for that. As for the nice lady cop, she was pretty, but you have to keep in mind my other choices were officer French and Steve Dennis. What did you think Shannon?"

"She was okay," Shannon said, "her face was cute, hard to tell on the figure, the bullet proof vest kind of spoils the visual. A little old for my taste," She gave Allison a look, "I like that young and innocent look."

"Really?" Allison asked. "After last night I thought you liked that 'I want to fuck you so bad I can't breathe look.' I mean you and Easy got hot and heavy damn fast last night. How was it, anyway?"

"Incredible. I don't know what it is about her, but..." she gave a shudder, "she's got something."

Allison gave me a quick smile and looked back at her, "I think I know what it is."

Shannon looked confused, "Really? I didn't think you'd ... I mean when did you two... ?"

Allison shook her head, "We didn't, although considering your reaction I think I may have to move her up on my 'to-do' list. No, I think she's projective like Jimmy. She passes it all off as part of God's gift, and I'm not saying it's not, but one way or the other, I think she is."

Shannon thought for second, "That would explain it, I mean it's not like she did anything we haven't done before," she blushed suddenly, "well, not much anyway, but she seemed to know exactly what to do for maximum effect at every move."

"Well, that really is part of her gift, plus I think in addition to being projective she also receives."

"What do you mean?"

"It's hard to explain but after hearing her gift described and then watching her in action, I don't know, it's just my brain trying to find explanations for things. It's the best I've come up with so far and it really doesn't matter anyway, all that matters is that it works. Kind of like the boy-toy here, I don't now how he does it, but I sure like that he does. So, you guys have homework or can we play a little before mom gets home?"

"Ugh, homework," Shannon said. "I mean it's only the second day and I've got history to read, math to do, and a short story for English."

"Actually, Sweetie, you're forgetting one, and I think we can do that one right now. Don't forget, Mr. Shelby wanted examples of body language. Tell me, what does this say to you?" I started rubbing my palm over the front of my pants.

Allison giggled and began rubbing her breasts and pinching at her nipples through the material of her swim suit, "Or this?"

Shannon giggled, "Okay, maybe homework isn't all bad." She sat on the lounger next to Allison and the two of them began unbuckling my belt. I was starting to see advantages to this TA position that I had never even considered.

I wanted to talk to Rebecca about the possibility of getting background information on the people I managed to track down in Vegas, but I guess the thing in Palm Springs was more complicated than we knew because she wasn't around at all that night. We did some preliminary contact work with Dr. Essex and the others that Jasmine had given me. Megan was the easiest since I had two sources on her. Samantha's vision was pretty vague, but Jasmine's was clear enough to work with. Apparently Samantha had never been involved with her one on one, but was only assigned as one of her watchers. It led me to believe that there was at least one other girl at Sam's school because several times Megan had glanced in Samantha's direction but showed no awareness that Sam was watching her. We added a question mark connected to both of the girls' circles on the chart.

Essex was just a hard core bitch all the way around. When we dropped in on her she was dreaming of a girl I didn't know. I could only assume that she was one of the group, a newer one at that as she was shorter with a very slight build. I put her age somewhere around eleven at the most. Her pubic area still had nothing more than light down on it and if her breasts were developing it hadn't reached a visible state yet. Her nipples were hard and erect but not even puffy around the aureoles. This was obviously a fantasy and not a memory and I said a silent thank you to God that it was, and that I had brought the girls with me.

The girl was wearing a cheer outfit. The shirt was pulled up to expose her chest, the skirt bunched around her waist, she even still had her tennis shoes on, only her undergarments were missing. Essex had her strapped into an examination chair with her legs spread wide and her arm buried about halfway up inside the girl, fisting her furiously while the girl screamed. I doubt if a girl that age could even accommodate the intrusion much less survive such a session; and I don't know how you could possibly cover up that level of abuse or the mental trauma to a girl so young. If this was Essex's idea of a fantasy...

The other woman that Jasmine knew was a grotesquely fat thing that just liked having an endless stream of young girls that she could molest to her hearts content. At least she wasn't brutal about it. Her pet fantasy involved three different girls sucking her breasts and crotch while a fourth rode her face. They switched positions until everybody had a chance to get off. It was clear she was a voluntary participant but at least from what I saw, she wasn't abusing them. I was going to have to talk to Bob about her; she opened up a gray area in my mind. Most of these people I just wished a painful and slow death, but something about this one told me that I may need to look deeper into some of them. He agreed when I told him about what we had seen.

"I think you've hit something unexpected here, Jimmy. I would be interested in seeing her past. From the looks of her I'd say the obesity is medical. No idea how she got hooked up in this group or what purpose she serves for them, my first reaction to her is that she discovered early that she was a lesbian but was rejected by the girls she wanted, at least partly due to her size. From your description, she's very careful and considerate of the girls, to the point of making sure they each achieve orgasm at least once with her and allowing them to pleasure each other as well."

"So she's using them to satisfy a craving for attention that she has always been denied?"

"Hey, who's the shrink here? Just kidding, we won't know for sure unless you go back and do a little digging, but I suspect that is exactly the case."

I hit the jackpot with one of the men as well. He was a deputy at the jail where the man whose daughter had turned him in was killed. The instructions had come over his cell phone from a blocked number. He didn't do the actual killing but did arrange for it to be done. I discovered later that he personally killed the rest of the family. The paper Samantha had been shown didn't mention how they had died, but he had clear memories of slitting the girls' throats and helping the mother shove a knife into her own heart. This he did in exchange for killing the daughters in their sleep so they wouldn't suffer, as well as a promise not to go after members of the extended family as well. He used the same knife on all three so that the mixed DNA from the blood on the handle would give the right impression, that being that the mother had killed the girls and then herself. It was clear that the mother knew what was being done to the daughter and the price of her turning her father in. She had met the deputy at the door and after a brief conversation had lain on her bed and cried softly while he killed the two girls, waiting for her turn to die.

Bridging Megan increased my sense of urgency in the case. Following her punishment, which she still had nightmares about, she was depressed and feeling suicidal. Essex had prescribed anti-depressants for her and her father personally administered them twice a day to make sure she took them. My first impulse was to give her some kind of reassurance that something was being done to help her, but I learned a long time ago not to trust my first reactions, I needed to talk to Bob about this one. Maybe even Samantha. It was already too late to do much else so it was Thursday night before I got a chance to get everyone together. Even then, Lizzy had what she called a 'working date' so she wasn't available.

"No, absolutely not," Allison stated emphatically, "Jimmy, you can't show yourself to any of these people. I know it hurts but all you have to do is make one mistake and everything blows up; your cover is blown, that's attention you don't need; the bad guys are alerted to your poking around and most likely would kill whoever you had bridged just to try and keep you from finding out about anyone else. Worst case is a sudden series of accidents in Vegas and we don't have anyone else to look at. No! Totally out of the question."

"You're right of course, Allison," Bob said, "That's all at least a possibility, but what if it can be done without them knowing about it?"

"How?"

"Hypnosis," Shannon answered for him. "Jimmy goes in invisibly, touches them and implants a suggestion. For Megan he wouldn't really need to do anything but give her a little bit of hope to strengthen her will to survive this, maybe even just to suppress the suicidal thoughts."

"Exactly," Bob said. "God I just love being around kids that can think. It's going to be a great year."

"In fact," Shannon continued, "That's how he should handle any interaction with these people. Observation wherever possible, but if you have to interact then no visible presence where it can be avoided, just go in, put them under and pump them for information. Everything happens at a level where there is no chance they will remember it even from a dream."

I still wanted to talk to Rebecca about the background checks but once again she wasn't available. After we broke up and I sent the girls to the beach, I spent a couple minutes with Bob.

"Have you heard from Rebecca at all?"

"No, she called the first day and told me she would be on a stakeout for a while, but that was it. I'm a little surprised that I haven't seen her here but then I've never been on a stakeout so I don't really know what to expect. Maybe she's taking the night shift monitoring whatever it is they are watching."

I let it go but something didn't feel right.



-------

Chapter 23: Another Typical Night

School Thursday was a blur; several classes were trying to make up for the time they had lost the day before so we had extra homework. I didn't see the point since it was only the third full day of school, it's not like we were going to be falling behind. Of course I did the bulk of my studying at night so for me it wasn't a big deal either way. At least it wasn't until I got home and discussed it with Allison.

"You might want to re-think that strategy," Allison pointed out when I got home. She was floating around the pool at the time. "Your nights have been pretty full lately and they're not showing any signs of getting easier. You may have a hard time finding time to study with everything else that's going on."

"Good point, and I'll be sure to point the same out to you next week as well." I slipped into the pool gently so that I wouldn't swamp her, and then ducked under water to finish wetting myself down.

"Thanks, I wasn't ready to get wet just yet," she said as I came back up. "So what's on the schedule for tonight anyway?"

"Well, I'm thinking I want to keep reaching as many new people as I can as quickly as I can, just fill in the chart as much as possible, and then go back for more in-depth looks where we need to. What do you think? Do it quickly and go back, or take more time up front and be sure of what we're dealing with before moving on?"

"Mmm, hard to say, I think the chart will fill in quick enough either way, but I'm more inclined towards spending the time when you can get it. Maybe manipulate the environment a little and see what pops to the surface. You don't know when you'll be able to get to them again so why not make the most of it. Also, if it works out, you may be able to start filling in all the connections as well. Figure out who knows whom within the organization. Even just knowing who is messing with which girls may be of value."

That made sense, except for one little wrinkle, "Sounds good but a lot of the time I'm dropping in on memories instead of actual dreams."

She shrugged, "So those are the ones you tag, move on, and come back to later."

"You are just so smart." I said.

"It's a tough job, but someone has to do it, and you've got too much on your plate as it is. Anything else?"

"Well, I still want to talk to Rebecca."

"Sounds good but don't forget I want you to go talk to Samantha and let her know that we know about Rachel. Maybe talk about her and Amanda as well. Somewhere in there I expect Easy's going to want to see you too. Actually, seeing you isn't what she wants but it's a start. I don't know what it is but every time you two start to get close something goes wrong. I'm starting to think it's a plot to keep you apart." I started to answer but she held up a hand and kept going, "And don't bother telling me it's not a big deal. I already know that but it's pretty plain that you both want each other and where you may just be a little frustrated, she sees it as divine intervention."

"And what about you? I know you've wanted to spend some time with her as well, and you don't seem to be having any better luck than I am."

"Too true, but in our case it's different, the opportunity just hasn't arisen. With you it's almost like every time you get close someone sets off the sprinkler system. Who knows, tonight could be my night to keep her occupied while you and Shannon go sleuthing around Vegas."

"Maybe, but if you get the chance you better take it, I'm going to need her to help me with some of these people. We know we can't trust what I see at face value. I'm glad I had you with me when I found the crooked sheriff the other night; that was a close call."

"Tell me about it, but that's the reason we set it up that way, you shouldn't see any of them on your own, not even the girls. If that had been a real girl Essex was abusing the other night instead of a fantasy you might have had a real problem on your hands."

"Don't remind me."

"I think I'm ready to get wet now, why don't you take me inside and we'll get wet together."

Sounded like a plan to me.

Thursday night was just as full as I expected it to be. I started out by going to see Samantha. It was a conversation I was not sure I was ready for. I caught up with her lying by a pool in a bathing suit. It was a place I would never have envisioned her.

"Well, this is certainly a change for the better," I said as I climbed up the steps out of the pool, I hadn't been expecting to suddenly find myself underwater but it's not like I didn't spend a lot of time in water myself. I pulled a towel out of nowhere and dried myself as I walked over to her. By the time I got there she was kneeling on her towel, eyes downcast and radiating fear at a level I could almost feel. I didn't waste time on preliminaries, but touched her cheek, causing her bracelet to change and said, "It's okay Samantha, it's me."

She relaxed visibly and shook her head, "I am so glad it's you. I knew it was a mistake to come here but I just thought that since it was a dream it would be safe. I told myself it would be alright, but as soon as you showed up my first reaction was to panic. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize; you did nothing wrong as far as I'm concerned. And I warned you myself that I wasn't sure that I was the only one who could do this so your fear is well founded. I think you handled it very well, and that goes for last night as well." I hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Sam, there some things we need to talk about. Things that you need to know, well, maybe not need to know, but things I feel you should know. Some of it is just things that I think you need to know that we know."

"What do you mean? What kind of things?"

"Things like Amanda being Rachel's mother."

She went completely white and started to shake before her hands made it up to cover her face. Without a word I moved in and drew her into my arms. I let her cry against me for a few seconds and then stopped the tears and pushed her back to arms length so she could see my face.

"Samantha, there is no need to cry or be upset about this. Compared to the other secrets in your life, this is nothing and it doesn't change anything. We were just a little surprised when we found out."

"How?" She asked. "How did you find out? Was it some..."

"No, it wasn't anything you did or said. While they were working on the photo album, a few of the pictures triggered other memories and the dreams changed to reflect them. They showed you and Amanda with your father. My friend steered the dreams back to better things but it got her thinking. One thing she noticed was the interaction between Rachel and Amanda. When I asked her if she was sure, she said that there was a big difference between a big sister changing a diaper, and a mother doing it. So don't worry, you didn't give anything away. We were kind of surprised they let this happen though. I mean, they keep you girls on birth control and monitor you so closely, I didn't think anything like this would be possible."

"Doctor Hendricks said it happened because of some antibiotics she was taking. They messed with her birth control. By the time they figured out she was pregnant it was too late to do anything. Rachel's probably the only reason we're still alive."

That shocked me, "What do you mean?"

"Amanda was really rebellious. She'd already been punished a couple times and mom and dad were afraid they wouldn't be able to keep her quiet much longer. Then Rachel came along and they made a deal. Amanda would behave and they would leave Rachel alone. If she misbehaved then Rachel would be punished in her place. That was before she died. The promise died with her. Once Mandy was gone they started getting Rachel ready, having her watch me, all the little things they do to prepare the young ones for what is coming. Mom is pushing hard with Rachel. She wants her started as soon as they will take her. She was so mad when Mandy got pregnant ... she hates her, Rachel that is. Watching Mandy's baby abused like this will be like candy to her. She can't touch her until they say it's time but once she is free to ... I hate to think of what she is going to do to her. That's why it's so important that you stop this before they can get to her. Amanda seemed to think you could, but I don't know, it's just so big, I don't know what anyone could do." She looked up with a panicked expression, "I didn't mean, I mean..."

I waved it off, "No problem, you're right, it is a big job, and I don't know yet what it's going to take to finally put a stop to it. But, Sam..." I held her shoulders and looked into her eyes, "I'm not going to quit, I'm not going to give up, and I will find a way. Right now, this is my number one job. The FBI is handling the other investigation for now, I give them what information I can get but for right now, I'm concentrating most of my effort on this case. None of this stuff that I've told you makes any difference at all, but we wanted to be honest with you about what we knew. Including just how close you and Amanda really were." I released her and skipped right past that before she had a chance to respond, "Now, you're watching Megan at school, but she's not the one watching you, do you have any idea who is?"

"No, how do you know she's not watching me?"

Instead of answering I let the dream change to the one where we met with her at school; the one where she pointed Megan out to us. "Watch, a couple times as you're watching her she looks right at you, but there is no sign or hint of recognition, you're just someone in her field of vision. Her eyes don't flicker around you like she's trying to see who you may be talking to, nothing like that; you may as well be part of the wall. We were watching your memory so we know that this is what you saw, and trust me, your mind sees more than you do. If she knew you, even just knowing who you are, there would be some sign, she has no idea who you are or that you may be watching her. So if you are watching her and she is not the one watching you, then there has to be at least one other person at that school that knows you."

"I don't know, it could be anyone."

"The girl that was killed, did she go to your school?"

"It was before I started there. Mandy never said."

"Well we certainly can't ask. Do you know her name and when she was killed? Might as well tell me what you can about the girl they sold as well." I let the scene change to the one where Frank Watkins and another man were molesting Amanda; this was the scene that I had discovered was actually taken by a hidden camera planted by Amanda's killer. "What can you tell me about this man?"

"He's someone Father knows, they may work together." She giggled. "He's got a little dick, if that helps."

I glanced at her and saw she was smiling.

"Well, I don't think it will help me, but I'm sure it makes your life a little easier."

"Easier for the younger girls maybe ... hmm, I wonder if that's why he likes doing us in the butt?"

"What? Smaller opening, makes him feel bigger?"

She giggled, "Maybe, I don't know, but it makes me wonder."

"Well, if I have my way, his future cell mate is going to be hung like a rhinoceros."

"Put him in with 'The Snake'."

"The Snake?"

"He's one of their trainers; I swear his thing is over a foot long. Thank god it's just average around, not like some of them. I spent a weekend with him learning to deep throat, God it was awful. I couldn't talk above a whisper for days. He'd just keep ramming it in until you got used to it, didn't care if you threw up, he'd just rinse it off, give you some water to rinse your mouth, and then shove it in again. Eventually your body just learns to deal with it. He can go for hours if he wants to, then he just comes buckets, and you either swallow it or drown."

"Couldn't you just spit it out?"

"Waste seed? Never! Oh my God you don't even want to think about it. Amanda told me about a girl that did it once." She kind of shuddered, "Trust me, you don't want to know."

Considering what I already knew about their ideas on discipline, she was probably right, "Sorry I mentioned it. Okay, I've got stuff to do so why don't you just relax and enjoy yourself and I'll be back to see you again soon. I may be bringing someone new with me so don't panic if there is a stranger with me."

I hugged her and jumped back into the pool, landing in my office. I made a few notes and then pulled out my phone and called Rebecca. There was no answer. I paced the room for a few minutes thinking about what it might mean, and the settled myself comfortably on the chair and concentrated on her like I had on Lizzy the day before. With Lizzy I had been able to find her in her dorm room, but for some reason I couldn't find any sign of Rebecca anywhere. I was starting to worry about her.

I made a note to myself to check back later and went looking for someone to accompany me on a few visits to bad people. To my delight, everyone was available, both Shannon and Lizzy had joined Allison at the beach. Since both of the other girls had homework, Allison was looking a little bored.

"Thank God you're here," she said, rolling her eyes. "These two are no fun at all, I swear if I wasn't already asleep..."

"Give me a break," Shannon said without looking up from her book. "It's a dream baby, you can do anything you want, anywhere in the world, I mean, come on, use your imagination."

"Well, if you're really bored I need a chaperone to go visit some strangers. I would like to see if Lizzy can be around the adults or if they're going to give her the kind of problems she had looking at Samantha. I figured I'd take you or Shannon for the girls."

Lizzy put her book down, "Thanks, Jimmy, I appreciate that. I'd like to try again with Samantha but not just yet. What did you want me to do?"

Shannon set her book down and joined the conversation, "We're hoping you'll be able to help him sort them out. We suspect that some are actually being blackmailed as opposed to others, like that other doctor he found, who are just evil and enjoying themselves."

"I must have missed that part," Lizzy said, "I thought there was just the one doctor."

"Jasmine told Jimmy about another one, Hendricks may be being blackmailed, but Essex is just a fucking psycho. You wouldn't believe the fantasy we walked in on, that woman is hard core."

"Hmm, maybe that would be a good test then," Lizzy answered. "I'm pretty much done here. You guys were right; it goes a lot faster in dream time. Anyway, you could take me to see both of the doctors and see what my gift perceives from them. That is what you're hoping for isn't it? That my gift would be able to see the truth rather than just trying to figure it out through the images? Not all of them are going to be as obvious as she was. You're sure it was a dream for her and not a nightmare right? I mean, she could have been having a nightmare about what all this may be turning her into."

"That's a good point," I said. "But I'm pretty sure about this one. It wasn't the only image I saw. From what Jasmine showed me, plus what we saw from her directly ... no, she's seriously into hurting people. I think what she does with Tanya is an outlet for what she wants to do to the girls but can't."

"Hard to believe there's anything they can't do with these girls." Shannon asked sarcastically.

"I'm no doctor," Allison said, "but I don't think a girl that age could survive what we saw, and that's not something you could gloss over or cover up in an autopsy."

"Did you stick around to see how far she went?" Lizzy asked.

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "No thank you, if we hadn't left I don't think I would have been able to keep out of it."

"I was just curious to see if she actually fantasizes about fucking them to death. If she is ... then she needs to be stopped before she loses it and actually does kill someone. I'd like to see her, see if there's some other reason or if she's just whacked."

Allison looked at her funny, "Would it matter? I mean sure I understand about past abuse and all that, but at some point free will is involved here. We're not talking about someone with a drinking problem because they were raised by drunks, or a woman who lets her husband smack her around because her dad did it to her mom, we're talking about a lifestyle that's centered on slavery, rape, and torture. I don't care who did what to her, you can't pass it off as learned behavior. I don't remember reading about freed slaves going out after the civil war and getting slaves of their own."

"No," Lizzy said, not really defensively but not really in an argumentative tone either. "I'm just saying that I've seen things in people before, things that made them the way they were. All you see is their actions, you can't always judge by that."

"I disagree," Allison answered, "It's our actions that argue the strongest for how we are judged. Look at the guy that kidnapped Angela, Jimmy's been talking to his primary persona, learning about him; he knows exactly what happened and even he would kill this guy if he could. At some point you have to be willing to draw a line and say 'no, it stops here. If it's learned behavior then by God, it's not going down to the next generation.'" She was really getting intense now, "This bullshit of letting things just go on and on because it wasn't their fault is just that, bullshit, someone has to stand up and take responsibility, make a conscious decision that they are not going to hide behind the past and do the same things to someone else."

"Don't hold back, Al," Shannon said with a smile, "tell us what you really think."

Allison stopped and looked at her, suddenly bright red. "Well ... what I mean is..."

"It's okay, Sis," I interjected. "We understand. But what we have to be careful of, what I have to be careful of is to not let all this go to my head." I walked away a few feet and turned back, "I can't let the ends justify the means or I become judge, jury, and executioner. No one should have that kind of power, least of all a sixteen year old kid."

Everybody got quiet while what I had said sank in.

"That's true," Allison said finally. "But this is different. Damn it, Jimmy, Rebecca even said there is almost no way to nail these bastards. The manpower to get them all and not miss someone who might then start killing off potential witnesses, you can't hide a group that size, they have people in law enforcement, you bridged that scum sucker who killed..." suddenly there were tears in her eyes. "He killed ... he just walked in and..." Suddenly she was gone and I felt her wake up sobbing against my chest.

I felt something and when I looked down wet spots were forming on my shirt in the dream. That was certainly new.

"Holy crap," Shannon whispered softly.

I ignored her, closing my eyes so I was focused on Allison, I held my arms open and whispered, "Allison." And suddenly she was back in my arms, sobbing gently against my chest. "I know, Sweetie, I know, and I'm not saying I'm going to let anyone get away with this. I am going to stop them, I'm just afraid of what it means, of where it could go if I'm not careful."

"You need someone to keep you accountable," Lizzy said. "You know what can happen if you turn down the wrong road and you're afraid. That's a good thing, Jimmy. But you're the only one that can truly keep yourself in check. Unless there is someone else out there that we don't know about that can do what you do, no one would be able to stop you."

"If Rebecca knew, she would." Allison said.

"That's good," Lizzy said. "But how would she know that it was happening? Would you tell her? Allison? Shannon? If he started going bad, do you love him enough to turn him in?" They started to respond but she stopped them, "Don't answer, just think about it. Think about it hard."

"Meanwhile," I said, taking advantage of the pause, "that's something we don't need to worry about until much, much, later. So how about if we get on with tonight's work." I stepped up and kissed both Lizzy and Shannon on the cheek. "You guys both have homework, so you work on that and I..."

There was a blurring of motion and suddenly I was standing in Jasmine's office. Amber knelt before me, eyes downcast and I could feel her apprehension from where I was. Jasmine stood behind her with May kneeling beside her.

"Forgive the intrusion," Jasmine began. "I am displeased with certain areas of your slave's progress." The look on her face said that this was one of the moments I had been dreading.

"I see," I replied, steeling myself for what was to come. "What seems to be the problem?"

"You recall I instructed her to correct her posture before she came before me again? Apparently she deems this an improvement."

I stepped forward and studied Amber as she knelt on the floor. Her shoulders sagged, her back slumped, her hands were not held in her lap, they merely lay there as if they had fallen from her shoulders and landed in that position. I moved all the way around her, viewing her from every angle and contrasting it to the grace of May's position not five feet from her. Finally I stood before her.

"Explain yourself!" I demanded sternly.

"Master I'm trying, but I get distracted and when I'm not concentrating..."

"Then perhaps what you need is something to remind you." I turned to Jasmine, indicating May with my hand. "May I?"

"Of course. May, attend him."

Without a word May stood, moved forward and dropped once more at my feet. I turned my attention back to Amber. "Stand up." As she began to rise I grabbed her hair and yanked her to her feet. A small cry escaped her lips and she took a gasping breath but that was all. "Look at her, study her, see how it is done, this is what it is to serve. Now face her and kneel." She quickly dropped to her knees once more and I noticed that this time, when she didn't have time to think about it, she moved much more gracefully. "Become her. I will close my eyes and when I open them again I do not wish to tell you apart but for the color of your hair. Do it now!" I closed my eyes and counted to ten and when I opened them again she had arranged herself in a semblance of May's pose.

"Lady Jasmine, if you would make the necessary corrections, please."

Jasmine looked at me quizzically and I knew she was somewhat disappointed in what I had done so far, but she moved forward nonetheless to adjust Amber's position. The adjustments were minor in nature but the results were still clear.

"Now slave, close your eyes, concentrate on how this position feels, memorize every muscle position for in a moment you are not going to want to forget them again." With a thought she was naked from the waist up. She started to move automatically when her clothing disappeared but I yelled, "Be still!" I concentrated again and a shirt materialized around her upper body. Jasmine gasped as it took shape; it was fashioned of diamond in a mesh-work pattern as if the crystals had been grown in a laboratory and the whole thing hovered just about an inch above Amber's skin. That last inch that separated them was filled with long crystal thorns. If Amber failed to hold her position in any way she would receive a very sharp reminder indeed. "Open your eyes."

As she opened her eyes she tried to glance down to see if she was still naked but when she did her body moved and touched several of the little crystal spears. "Ow!" she exclaimed automatically, her body reacting and pulling back, only to contact even more barbs in her response, "Ow, ooh, oh!" Tiny pinpricks of blood were already forming at the contact points and more drops, these of salty water, were forming in her eyes.

"I would suggest you calm yourself and be still." Jasmine said quietly.

Something in the voice got Amber's attention and she began to quiet her movements and concentrate on where she was supposed to be. By the time she finally got it right there were several good sized rivulets of scarlet fluid dripping down her breasts, back, shoulders, and sides. Tears now flowed down her cheeks.

"Very good," Jasmine said. "I suggest you do as your master bade, and concentrate very hard on holding your proper position." Then she turned to me, "Very ingenious, I commend you on your solution. How long will it last?"

I raised my voice, "You heard the question?"

"Yes Master."

"You will wear this shirt, and nothing else, until Lady Jasmine is convinced that you no longer need it. It will appear each time you kneel and remain until you are instructed to stand once more. Also, I am restricting your movement here to only reflect what you can do in reality, so the only way you will be free of your new shirt is to practice while you are awake. If you cannot act properly in life, you will not be able to here. Lady Jasmine, I recall you pointing out that her movements were somewhat awkward as well, would it be helpful to extend the service of this device to include her transitions?"

"No Master! Please, I don't..." The ball gag cut off further comment.

"You were saying?" I continued.

"I think that should handle the problem nicely."

"Very well, if there is nothing further you need, I do have some pressing matters to attend to. May, thank you for your assistance." I faded back out and returned to the beach. Shannon and Lizzy were both deeply involved with textbooks but Allison was nowhere to be found. Suddenly she faded in beside me.

"That was hard core!" She said. "Where did you..."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "You followed me!" I said angrily. "Don't ever do that again. Allison, what happens..."

"Stop!" Lizzy's voice rang out, and then she continued in a more normal voice, "Shannon, could you excuse us for a moment please?"

Shannon looked shocked but she nodded and disappeared, textbooks and all.

"Allison, what Jimmy was about to say is that what happens between him and Amber is strictly between them and it was terribly inappropriate for you to spy on them. That he was angry enough that he almost said it in front of an outsider is completely unconscionable and should show you just how serious a breach it was. Jimmy, how could you let yourself lose control like that? To betray Amber that way?"

We had both gone from self righteous anger to embarrassed silence very quickly.

Allison recovered first, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have followed you, Jimmy, but when you just disappeared like that I didn't know where you had gone so I just used my key to follow you."

"No, it's my fault, I should have thought of this before. I told Amber that if she called me I would come no matter what; I didn't think about what that might mean. I should have seen this coming and adjusted your key to prevent you from following me to her. I'm sorry I was yelling at you."

"Okay, you can kiss and make up later," Lizzy said. "You just both need to remember that anything involving Amber requires that you think before you act. We should probably tell Shannon she can come back now."

"Yeah, no kidding," Allison said. "I'm thinking a little major sucking up may be in order as well."

"No, she'll be fine. Why don't you guys get on with your work and I'll talk to her." She grew a grin and added, "I'll try to handle any sucking up that needs to be done as well. Jimmy, you may want to talk to Amber about Shannon."

I nodded and then faded Shannon back into the scene, "Shannon, I'm sorry but..."

"Don't bother. It was an Amber thing. I know you can't tell me what happened but I'm sure you handled it well, and I'm glad it was Allison that followed you instead of me. I wouldn't have thought to stay invisible and it would look bad if she thought you told me."

"I'm going to talk to her about you next time I see her."

"That's good. It would make it easier. It's kind of weird keeping it all straight though. I mean, you're her master but you have to ask her permission to talk to me. Don't get me wrong, I understand it, but it's still kind of new so I don't really have a grip on it all yet."

What can I say; I was surprised, "How long have you known?"

"I suspected some time ago, but I wasn't sure until you and Easy started getting all secretive about it. Since then I've just been paying attention and sort of watched and seen how things have progressed."

"You suspected?" Lizzy asked. "What made you suspect something like this? Was it something we did, or said?"

"No, not really," she said, looking down shyly. "I'd been doing a little research along that line and it talked about submissive behavior patterns and suddenly I started recognizing the signs in Amber, especially around you, Jimmy. I know there is a lot more to it that I don't understand but it was clear that she was looking to Jimmy more and more for guidance."

"You were researching submissive behavior?" I asked. "Why would you..." Suddenly a light went on and I looked at Allison.

Lizzy reached out and stroked Shannon's cheek, "You wondered if Allison was serious about the spanking, so you went looking just in case. Shannon, that's so sweet. So you've known from the beginning, and you never said anything."

"That was one of the things that gave it away. When you all made it clear that the secret Jimmy was keeping was not his to tell that pretty much settled it. As for not saying anything, it wasn't my secret either. Once I was sure I still couldn't say anything because I wasn't part of it and not supposed to know. It would have looked bad if I had known. She might not have believed that you had kept the secret, that she could trust you."

Allison kissed her and said, "You are amazing, you know that?"

"Do you think Rebecca knows?" I asked.

We all stopped and thought about it, finally Allison said, "I don't think so. She hasn't been spending that much time around us or Amber. If the head cases didn't put it in one of their reports, she doesn't know. But just in case, call Bob and ask him, let's be sure."

The others were nodding so I pulled out my cell phone and made the call. "Hey Bob; hope I'm not interrupting anything. Have you got a second?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Just a question about Amber; Shannon figured it out on her own. Do you think Rebecca may have too?"

"Absolutely not. We don't even talk about her unless something happens. She gets the reports every week but that's about it. It'll be interesting to see what kind of take they have now that she's getting on track. I expect they'll be seeing some improvement real soon. I can't wait to see them in traction from patting themselves on the back."

"Well, that's reassuring, anyway. Thanks."

"That's it? Wow, I feel so ... needed."

"Bob," I said dryly, "think about those times I really do need you and tell me that's the kind of call you want."

"Point taken, no thank you, I'll take the easy ones every time. Call me if you need anything else, otherwise, I'll see you on Monday."

"Oh, one more thing, did you hear from Rebecca today?"

"No, you keep asking me that, why?"

"Has she been to see you here?"

"No, now that you mention it, she hasn't. What is it you're not saying?"

"Bob, I haven't been able to find her since I gave her the tip on Palm Springs."

"Not at all?"

"No, not at all. Bob, as far as I can tell she hasn't dreamed since this started."

"Congratulations, now I am worried. Damn, I can't even call her."

"Well, I'm not worried yet, but I am concerned enough to ask. I'll keep watching for her and let you know the second I find her."

"Thanks."

"What do you mean Rebecca hasn't dreamed since this started?" Allison asked. "Jimmy, it's been three days."

"I know, and there was some stuff I wanted to ask her about, not to mention just being curious about how it's going, but I haven't been able to find her all week. And this doesn't feel like Mikkelson did, it's not like something is blocking me, she's just not there."

"Why don't you try the other thing?" Shannon asked.

"I did, I don't know if I'm just not familiar enough with her or what, but I can't find her out there either."

"It can't be that," Lizzy said. "You've known and interacted with her much longer than with me so the bond should be stronger."

I caught her eye and held it until I was sure she was aware of my stare, "No, it's not."

She made a little 'Oh' with her mouth and dropped her eyes, blushing furiously.

Allison was suddenly laughing, "You did it again. That's twice! Unbelievable."

Suddenly Lizzy was gone and Allison stopped laughing.

"What is it with you and your mouth tonight?" Shannon asked sternly. "She's not a machine, Allison, she has feelings. You know how bad she wants Jimmy. Did you ever stop to think how much it hurts her to live in a world where you can see love but not touch it? Jimmy just told her he really cares for her and you had to go and..." She stopped herself before she said something she might regret.

By now Allison was practically in tears, "I'm sorry," she said softly, "I didn't think..."

Shannon cut her off again, "No, you didn't, and I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

Allison wiped a tear from her cheek and asked, "Jimmy, can you bring her back? The way you did with me before."

"Probably, but I won't unless she wants to come. Excuse me..." I popped into the cabana and focused on Lizzy. She was sitting on her bed in her night clothes, knees tucked up under her chin, tears in her eyes, just staring at the pattern of clouds on her comforter.

"Elizabeth?" I said softly, changing the scene and pulling her gently into a dream version of her dorm room.

She sighed and said, "I knew you would come. Jimmy, I can't come back tonight, okay? I'm sorry, I just..."

I interrupted her, " ... Don't need to explain anything. It's okay. Allison is sorry for what she did. She seems to have a short somewhere; her brain is no longer controlling her mouth. Elizabeth, is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, I'll be alright, you have work to do."

"It can wait. You're more important right now."

"Then would you just hold me tonight, Jimmy?"

"Absolutely."

She stretched out on the bed and I pulled her back into my arms, kissed her forehead, and as I was writing a note to the girls on the sand telling them we would not be back, Lizzy changed the dream and moved us someplace quiet where we could be alone. The moon is a lot warmer than people think, and the view is out of this world.



-------

Chapter 24: Progress


Friday morning; the last day of the first week of school dawned full of hope and promise. Everyone hoped that none of the teachers would assign homework the first weekend. At least Shannon and I had hope; Allison didn't even seem to have that. Sometime during the night she had gotten up and gone back to her own bed for the first time since school had ended. When I asked her about it she said she felt so bad about last night that she didn't feel like she deserved to be in the same house with me, much less the same bed. She felt truly awful about how she had treated Easy, so bad in fact that she vowed to never use the nickname again. That is if Lizzy would ever forgive her; something else she didn't feel she deserved but still hoped for. She made me promise to let her use my phone when I got home so she could try to apologize for her bad behavior. I thought it would be better to wait until we got to bed so she could do it in person but she said that going in person would put Lizzy on the spot to accept her apology and she didn't want to feel like she was pressuring her into it. Either way she had a long day ahead of her. I'll take worrying about homework any day.

As usual my favorite class was my psych class, followed closely by Shannon's. The discussion on body language had led to some interesting experiments. One group was so fascinated by the whole thing they had asked for permission to conduct experiments around campus. The idea had been born out of some of the comments; the one the girls thought was hysterical was the unspoken rules of men's room etiquette. For starters they found the very concept of etiquette in a men's room to be a myth at best. Mr. Shelby actually had to intervene and explain some of the things the guys were talking about. The focal point of men's room etiquette is always the urinals, and little things like how many there are, are they divided, is the room crowded like at halftime during a football game or are you just, say, in a mall or restaurant. He stopped the discussion short at this point and assigned a separate group to put together a presentation on the psychology of men's rooms. Another group was then detailed to do the same with women's rooms. It was going to be a very interesting semester.

Spanish was the only class I actually ended up having homework in over the weekend. Shannon didn't do so well, she had assignments in both math and history as well as being in Bob's group researching the psychology of men's rooms. They had six weeks to come up with a presentation though so she wasn't too concerned about that one.

Allison was practically in tears by the time I got home. She had spent most of the day looking for ways to distract herself from worrying about Lizzy. I did my best to reassure her but when Lizzy didn't answer the phone she burst into tears and spent several minutes crying on my shirt. I knew it was just stress so I carried her outside to the patio and used a cushion from one of our lounge chairs to transform our picnic table into a massage table. I then spent about an hour trying to remember everything I had learned during my time helping Lizzy with Shannon. Eventually she dozed off; I gently finished the massage, and left her there while I went in to get started on dinner. Technically Allison was supposed to be cooking but under the circumstances I thought it might be best to keep her away from open flames, breakables, and sharp objects. Besides, my stroganoff is better anyway. She wandered in about twenty minutes later looking like she needed a couple more hours sleep before she would be ready to face the real world, but she insisted on helping. I let her set the table and was surprised she managed to do it without breaking anything, however she did drop the same fork three times and melted an entire cube of butter trying to defrost it in the microwave. When she burned her hand trying to clean the molten butter out before it had cooled properly, I threw her out and told her to go lie down.

We managed to survive dinner but mom was casting some questioning looks Allison's way before we finished. I thought we were going to make it through the evening until Dad asked her if something was bothering her. Poor guy, he really should have known better; naturally Allison immediately burst into tears. All mom and I could do was roll our eyes as Allison bolted from the room.

"Nice going, Richard," Mom said as she stood up from her chair to follow her daughter.

"What?" Dad said defensively, "she was obviously upset, I asked a simple question."

Mom just shook her head and waved him off as she headed down the hall. Dad of course turned to me for some male sympathy.

Being a guy I of course backed him up, "Don't worry about it, Dad, it's not your fault. She behaved badly last night and really hurt someone's feelings and she's been beating herself up over it all day. She tried to call and apologize but the girl didn't answer. She was probably just busy but ... you just know Allison took it that she didn't want to talk to her ... It's just chick drama, it'll pass. Just not before I put them together in a dream and Allison can cry at her in person. Until then we're stuck with it."

"It must have been pretty bad to upset her like that," He answered. "I don't remember the last time I saw Allison cry like that."

Time for a little guy wisdom; "Well then, maybe she was due?"

He chuckled, "Probably right, but you better not ever let one of them hear you say something like that. That is a one way trip to the doghouse, let me tell you."

I had to smile at that, "Well, just leave a key under the mat for me in case you have company tonight."

He chuckled again, "I'll leave the light on for you. Bring some pretzels; I'll get beer on my way. By the way, don't make plans for Sunday. The Davises have invited us to go to church with them and..."

"Done!" I said without even waiting for him to finish. He looked a little surprised by my reaction. "C'mon dad, God answered all of our prayers for Tom; the least we can do is go to His house and thank Him in person."

He just nodded his head in agreement and about that time Mom came back into the living room. "I don't suppose you want to tell me what that was all about?" she asked. "All I could get out of her was that she hurt someone's feelings and hadn't been able to reach them to apologize."

"Actually, that's it. I'm planning on putting them together as soon as I can tonight so she can cry in person." I glanced at dad, "and then the other girl will cry, and then she'll hug Allison, and then they'll both cry and before you know it everybody is crying and I'll have to put taller stilts on the cabana because they're raising the ocean level ... then the water temperature goes up from all the tears because they are so much warmer. I tell you what; forget about greenhouse gases, THIS is where global warming comes from." I was up and stalking around the living room in full rant by now. "All this crying and moaning and weeping. It's a disaster I tell you, the icecaps are being melted by warm salt water, the floods are coming ... Dad! You better buy us a boat, make it a big one; we're likely to be on it for a while."

Somewhere in the middle, Allison came back down the hall to see what was going on. I watched as she wiped the last of her tears and then stifled a giggle. Mom was rolling her eyes and dad was all but rolling on the floor. As I reached my peak both Mom and Allison picked up throw pillows off the couch and started pummeling me. In no time I was face down on the couch with my hands over my head to ward them off, laughing hysterically the whole time. Eventually they gave up, Mom went back to her chair, and Allison motioned for me to sit up before flopping down next to me, grabbing my arm and leaning her head on my shoulder.

"Thanks, Jimmy, I really needed that."

I kissed her hair and answered, "You're welcome, glad I could help. I just hope I'm not covered in bruises tomorrow."

She shook my arm and whispered, "I'll make it up to you." And she did.

I had a tentative plan for how to handle what was coming. Shannon and I could handle the night's business until Easy and Allison made up. Funny how in this instance I should think of her as 'Easy' when the rest of the time I thought of her as Lizzy. Except for those special moments when only Elizabeth seemed appropriate. I planned to see Doctor Hendricks first and then go from there. I hoped to fill in a large portion of the chart by morning.

Shannon met us in Allison's glade almost immediately. Allison was practically bouncing with nervous energy. "Where is she?" she asked, anxiety heavy in her voice.

"Come on Allison," Shannon answered. "You know she tends toward later hours. Maybe she had a date. Didn't she mention she had a working date a while back? She could be at a party for all we know."

"Jimmy?" Allison asked. "Could you ... you know ... check on her for me?"

I already knew Shannon was wrong but I looked anyway. Lizzy was asleep, walking along a path in a silent wood. Something about it brought to mind the scene I had stepped into with her the other afternoon. It only took a second to realize what it was -- the dress was the same style, something out of an old movie. She had added a garland of flowers to her hair and the effect took my breath away. As I watched she stopped and looked over her shoulder at me, and smiled. It was a shy sort of smile and yet so intimate at the same time. Somehow I had the feeling that she had been saving that smile for me her whole life.

"It's Allison isn't it?" She asked.

I willed my voice to her, "Yeah, she's been really upset all day about last night. She really wants to see you and apologize."

She nodded. "I know. Could you bring her here, please?"

"Of course, but why here?"

"Well, not here, but I want her in my dream for tonight. When you bring her, bring Shannon along invisibly, I don't want Allison to know she is here, but I want her to see for herself that Allison stays voluntarily."

I had an idea I knew where this was going to go, "You think that's what she wants?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Jimmy, she's not really sure but this is not something you can do half way. When she's here I want you to change her key so she can't leave unless I let her. Set it so she can call you if she wants to but that's all."

"So calling me becomes her safe word?"

"Yes, I don't think she'll use it though. Jimmy, I'm not planning to hurt her, at least not any more than she wants me to, but she does want to be punished. I don't think last night was an accident, not completely anyway."

"I understand, and I suspect you may be right." I shook my head as I continued, "Two weeks ago I never would have believed any of this, but now ... I'll bring her. I won't need to bring Shannon, she's already with us and I'm going to tell Allison what you want and make her tell me she wants to come."

I opened my eyes to find the girls staring at me expectantly. I looked hard into Allison's eyes and said, "Allison, Lizzy has asked me to bring you to her."

"You mean," she actually gulped, "into her dream?"

"Yes, into her dream, and once you are there I am going to change your key so that you cannot leave until she lets you."

Her eyes got big and she swallowed hard. "You mean... ," she let it die without finishing.

"Yes. You will be able to call me if you need to, but that is all until she releases you."

"But..." Shannon began but she stopped when I looked at her.

I turned my attention back to Allison, "Is this what you want?"

She dropped her eyes and for a second I wasn't sure, but then she nodded and softly said, "Yes."

I reached out and raised her chin up so I could see her eyes, she tried to avert her gaze but eventually she had to look at me. As soon as I saw her eyes I knew that this was indeed what she wanted. She might never want it again, but tonight, right this moment, she wanted this very much. She had to know if this was really a part of her.

I leaned in and kissed her cheek, "Then go. We'll see you later." I materialized a garden arch off to one side and without a word or a backward glance, she was gone.

"Wow," Shannon said.

"Yeah," I replied with a sigh.

"So she really meant it all those times."

"No, not really, but lately she's not so sure whether or not she was really joking. She wants to find out the truth. I can think of no one better able to help her learn it."

"That's certainly true. Her gift is perfect for this sort of thing." She took my hand, "So where does that leave us?"

"We've got an appointment with a doctor."

"Ooh, I love playing doctor."

"Do you want to go that way? Start out as a patient, talk to him?"

"It might be fun, but I think it's too risky. I think you should just stick to what you and Bob came up with. Go in, hypnotize him and see what information you can get. Leave him with no memory of the visit and move on to whomever else we can get from him."

"Just checking. I agree. It has the advantage of simplicity, quick and to the point. But I want you to come along anyway, just in case I run into anything unexpected. I don't trust my temper."

"Well duh, I thought that was kind of..."

I held a hand up to stop her as I felt a familiar tug.

"What?"

"The guy in the cell," I said. "Damn, I really wanted to get to Hendricks tonight but I can't let this go."

"Take me with you."

I can't imagine the look on my face, "Shannon, I don't know if that's a good idea. I know I can get out, but if anything went wrong I can't be sure of your safety."

"Jimmy, I'll be with you, I'll be fine. Besides, what else am I going to do? Everyone else is busy."

I really didn't think this was a good idea but I really couldn't say for certain that it was any more dangerous than anything else we did. "Okay, but you'll be invisible and only I will be able to hear you." I took her hand and moved us into the hallway outside the cell. Using Lizzy's trick I let her hear me, "It's hard to get in and out; but you can go between the bars in the window, under the door, around the edges, that sort of thing, so if anything happens and your key won't take you straight out, then get out here any way you can and try again."

"Jimmy, you worry too much, and you're wasting time."

I slid through the space under the door and waited but Shannon didn't come. I went back out and she was still standing outside.

"What's the matter?" I asked, "Second thoughts?"

"No, I can't get in. As soon as you started through your hand just slipped right through mine, I tried using my key to follow but it didn't work. This is creepy; on second thought, I think maybe I'll go play tag with Hera and the girls instead."

I sent her to the beach with no more effort than normal and slid back under the door. My host was lying down on the cot with one arm over his face to block the light, apparently sleeping.

I moved under the edge of the cot and asked, "Who is Katia?"

"So you came back, I thought you might not after last time when you left so abruptly."

Left? I didn't leave; I was forced out like he had woken up. "You seemed to be in much pain. I thought it better to leave you alone with your grief. If I was wrong, please forgive me, I did not mean to abandon you."

He sat up on the bunk, "No, you were right. I would have been poor company indeed had you remained. Katia? Oh, my sweet Katia," he said, shaking his head slowly. "Katia was my sunlight. She was the one bright spot in my dark world. They sent her to get me out. My cover was blown; the truth was they had known who I really was all along but I didn't know that, and my superiors certainly had no way of knowing. At first I did not understand why they had sent her, but I have learned much since then. There were trigger phrases that they used to switch us back and forth. If they needed him they had only to get me alone and say the right words, and it would be as if I had fallen into a deep sleep and he would take control. When they were done with him they would use a different phrase to reverse the process. Katia was sent because they had no way of getting me into a safe environment to make the change. They needed someone I would recognize and trust. I trusted her, and to my everlasting regret, she trusted me. You see, something had gone wrong along the way, and the change had already been made. It was a safeguard built in just in case something dire should occur during a mission, my other half is a survivor, trained to do anything he has to in order to survive. He would slaughter anyone that stood in his way with no regrets or second thoughts.

"When Katia arrived, he knew immediately why she was there. As I said, something had gone wrong, but not the way they thought. I had already discovered that they knew who I was all along, and that the person behind their group was a member of my own organization. Very highly placed within the party, and using his position to further his own ends. It was a setup from the very beginning, a way to keep me occupied and out of the way while other things were done that may have tempted someone to use me against him. It is complicated, much politics.

"When Katia spoke the trigger phrase, he laughed and she knew something was wrong, she tried again but he just laughed harder. Out of desperation she spoke the restoration phrase; she could not know that I was already awake but somehow trapped inside my own skull. I could see the panic in her eyes as she realized how much trouble she was in. Then he raped her, viciously, sadistically..."

I could see tears falling past the mask once more, but my mind was racing at the idea of verbal triggers and what they might mean here.

"He took her to those in charge and told them who she was, that she was a spy sent to attach herself to him in hopes of worming her way into their organization. He convinced them that it was crucial that they discover who had sent her. They gave him back to her to break. He..."

I interrupted, "Please, you don't need to tell me. I do not wish you to relive this pain. To drag her through it all again, even in a memory is ... she deserves better. Sit down, rest yourself and we will talk of other things. Tell me, if I could free you from this place..." He sat back on the cot and I crept closer.

"You cannot, there is no way out."

"Perhaps, but surely there is no harm in trying; tell me, you spoke of triggers, were they always the same?"

"No, that I am sure of. They feared that someone would overhear a phrase being used and take advantage of it. They changed with each assignment."

"Like a password?" I asked.

His head came up and around toward me, "Yes, very much like that."

The idea that had been forming in my head was radical, a long shot, but still..."It seems to me they were using you like they would a tool, or machine, turning you on and off as it pleased them. Does this seem right?"

"Yes, very much like that."

"I wonder then if they treated you like they would a computer or other machine; needing each password to set up the next. If this is so, then perhaps there was a master password?"

"Perhaps, but why would they need one?"

"When you first went to them, your other was wild, beyond control, but you, if you could be restored to control, they could work with you until they were ready to try again. Would that not make sense?"

"Yes," he said, nodding his head thoughtfully. "Yes it would make sense."

"The people that you worked for, were they the same people who began your training?"

"No, I did not meet them until the end, when I was transferred into their service."

That was what I wanted to hear; I touched his ankle with my tiny paw and said, "Sleep." Immediately I could feel his body relax. "You are fourteen years old and your parents have just told you the news, they have found someone to help you, he is a very special doctor. They are sad that it means you must go away again, but happy that you will be free from prison; filled with hope that you may someday be able to come home again. You say goodbye and follow the man..."

I spent the rest of the night listening to stories of his earliest days at the center, the doctors he saw, the tests, everything. Eventually I felt a pressure to leave, but this was not the same pressure I had felt in the past, I wasn't being forced out; it was just time to leave. Sort of like how I always knew when it was time for Amy to leave.

"I am going to count to five, when I reach five you will wake and remember nothing since you sat back down on the cot, you will be relaxed and the grief and pain of Katia's death will have faded once more. One, two, three, four, five." I paused as I felt him stir once more.

"It is time for me to go," I said. "But I will return. Tell me, in your mind, how do you think of me?"

"What do you mean?"

"We are creatures of habit, we humans. Around the world, literature is filled with stories of men in prison or marooned and alone, who would have a pet, perhaps a mouse that visited their cells frequently, and in their loneliness and need for companionship, they would talk to it. I was curious if you had given me a name yet?"

He laughed, "You are right, I would not have admitted it, but yes, I have given you a name. In my mind, you are Sebastian, a small gray mouse who comes to whisper to me in my loneliness."

I crept out from under the cot and made myself visible. "Then when you wish to talk some more, think of me and call my name, and unless there is something I cannot leave, I will come, and we will talk some more. And since I now have a name, perhaps you will tell me yours."

"I have no name, not any more, I do not deserve one, but once upon a time I was Rene Kurtz."

"Then as your friend I give you back your name, and when I return, together we will search for a way to make you worthy of it once more. Until then, my friend, farewell." I slipped back under the door and then moved myself to the beach. Shannon was nowhere to be seen but I quickly located her in the cabana. She was reading her history book.

"Wow, what a night." I said.

She practically jumped out of the chair she was sitting in.

"Jimmy, you startled me. If you're going to do the invisible thing try to make it more fun would you, whisper in my ear or something."

"What? I'm not..." Suddenly I realized, I was still a mouse and she hadn't bothered looking for me, just assumed that I was invisible. I scurried across the floor towards her, as she spotted me she jerked her feet up and shrieked, then caught herself.

"Why you... , okay asshole, you asked for it." Suddenly a medium sized calico landed on the floor in front of me.

I transformed into another kitten about the same size and tackled her, rolling us both across the floor and under the chair, then bolted away with her in hot pursuit. As I went under the small table she went over it and jumped me as I came out the other end. We kept it up until we were both exhausted, eventually laying together purring and grooming each other.

"I missed you," She said.

"Mmm, couldn't be helped. I'm sorry you had to be alone but it was a very productive night. I think I made some serious headway tonight. I think I may have found a way to break him free. I need to see Bob and talk to him about it."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I can't do this with Bob, and I missed you too. I can talk to him tomorrow if I need to."

"So Allison never called you either. You think she went through with it?"

"Tsk tsk tsk. You know better than that, Shannon. It's not our business unless she tells us. I think we'll know soon enough but I don't think it would be right for me to ask. But you're a girl, and her best friend; the rules are different for you. I think if you asked her as her best friend and not as her lover ... you know, girl talk, she might tell you, may even be happy to have someone to talk to it about. I'm sure she's going to be a little embarrassed at first if she did go all the way. I don't think she'd be comfortable talking to me about it right away."

"Not likely, but you're right, girlfriends are allowed. Maybe you can bring her over and we can hang out. Mark will be at work. What time is it?"

Thanks to Allison I didn't even have to close my eyes, just imagined a clock on the wall and it appeared, synced to the time on my bedroom clock. "Five minutes to five, almost time to go. Maybe we should go get her."

"You should probably call ahead."

"Good point." I jumped up on the table where my phone was sitting and pushed a button. Shannon jumped up next to me and rubbed her head against my neck.

"I'm Easy," Lizzy answered.

"Are you girls decent? It's almost time to wake up here; actually. Shouldn't you be awake already?"

"Normally yes, but I've been staying asleep cuddling with your sister. We're curled up on the big bed in the north tower."

"Okay, we just didn't want to walk in at an embarrassing moment. You two up for some company?"

"Sure, come on over."

I turned the phone off and together Shannon and I jumped down off the table to land on the end of the bed where they were snuggled under a large down comforter.

"Oh how cute!" Allison exclaimed as we pounced and purred our way up the bed. As I purred and rubbed against her hand I was also reaching out to shut off the alarm in my room. I could run later.



-------

Chapter 25: Revelations


I called Bob around ten o'clock to try and set up a meeting. This was certainly not a conversation I wanted to have on a phone the killer may have cloned, and I didn't want to wait until tonight on the chance that Rene might want to talk some more. Bob wasn't at home so I left a message on his recorder saying that I was from the video store and calling about a late movie return. There is one particular chain that he hates with an unnatural passion so I knew he'd get the message. I finished up my regular chores and was just getting started washing Mom's car when Allison came out in her bathing suit to join me. Several of the neighbors were engaged in similar activities, so we had to behave ourselves. I squirted water at her foot, she threatened me; you know, the typical brother-sister ritual you expect to see. Then we both got started soaping the car down.

"Busy night?" She asked.

"Very. You?"

"Not so much, a very nice night, but not what I'd call busy."

"Really? That's surprising after what Shannon said about their time together."

"Yeah, I thought so at first but then it occurred to me; that's what Shannon wanted. Easy..."

I sprayed her with the hose and she shrieked but then said, "Thank you. Lizzy, would have seen what Shannon wanted and given it to her. Just as she saw what I wanted, and gave it to me. Just as, when the time finally comes, she will see exactly what you want, or rather what you need, and that's what she will be for you. Shannon was right, back when she was all worried about Lizzy stealing you away," she looked at me to make sure I wasn't going to take that wrong and interrupt, "not about that of course, but when she said Lizzy is the perfect lover."

"I'm glad she could make it special for you."

"Not going to ask what happened?"

"Nope, not my business; something I've learned recently. It's not Amber, but it's close enough that it's something you have to want to tell me, not something I'll ever ask about. Shannon will, but that's girl talk and the rules are different."

She stopped and looked at me, "You are so good at this. I don't know two other guys that would understand that."

"That as your lover she can't ask but as your best girlfriend she can? What about Bob?"

"He's the other one I was thinking of. Yeah, Shannon is going to want all the juicy details. She already called to invite me over to spend the night. If you need someone to chaperon you around you better hope Lizzy gets to bed early because I doubt we will. So how did it go last night, did you and Shannon go see Hendricks?"

"Started to, but just as we were leaving the guy in the cell became available so I went there instead. Shannon wanted to come along..."

"You didn't take her did you?"

"Actually I tried, and I got her to the hallway outside, but she couldn't get past the door."

"Really? That's pretty unusual."

"Yeah, I was really leery of taking her in the first place and that cinched it, I sent her to the beach right away after that. She spent the night studying."

"So how did it go?"

"Very well, we talked most of the night. I found out his name, who Katia was, and I got an idea how I might be able to break him out of there. I'm waiting for Bob to call me, then I'm going to meet him somewhere so we can talk. I have some ideas I want to bounce off him. I also want to know if he's heard from Rebecca. I'm really getting worried about her."

"Yeah, me too. It's just not like her. I mean, she's real serious about her work but ... I don't know. There's no real reason to see you until it's over, but I can't believe she went a whole week without going to see Mr. Shelby. Have you thought about contacting Mr. Rodriguez to check on her?"

"Yeah, I've thought about it but then I may have to explain other things. He'd have questions about things he can't know. He knows about the two of them, I'm sure if something happened to her he would make sure Bob was told. So if he hasn't called Bob then we have to assume that she's okay."

"Yeah, you're probably right, but you know what Lizzy said about assume."

Bob called while we were washing the truck. He asked me if I would like to help him pick out some terrain courses for the cross country team to practice on. I told him I had to drop Allison off at Shannon's and that I would meet him at the school. Allison was just finishing drying the truck off when I went back out to give her the news.

"Okay, I'm already packed. I just need to throw something on over this and we can go."

I rolled up the hose and put everything away while she ran in to change and get her bag. She brought my wallet and some shoes and socks for me back with her. I dropped her off at Shannon's and then met Bob in front of the school. I tried to keep an eye on the cars around me but it was tough to do that and drive at the same time. There must be some trick to it. I'd ask Rebecca first chance I got. Well, maybe not first chance, but soon anyway.

"Hey, Jimmy, glad you could make it. Listen I can't believe I'm asking you this but could we use your truck, I forget to get gas and, well, there's really nothing close."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever, get in coach, but you owe me." Really it was just a cover in case his car was bugged. Granted my truck could have been too, but so far, nothing had indicated that anyone had been inside our house and I was pretty confident they would go for the house before the car.

"You already know the tracks we use," he said. "So just kind of cruise around those and point once in a while. We'll stop a couple times along the way to make it look like we're discussing something."

"Well that part should be easy since we will be discussing something. Bob, have you heard from Rebecca yet?"

"No, and before you ask, yes, I'm worried."

"Have you thought about calling her boss?"

"Yeah? And tell him what, that I miss her visiting me in my dreams. As far as he knows that's not possible and I don't think it's a good idea for anyone to know more than they have to."

"Just asking, I came to the same conclusion myself. I'm sure he would have called you if anything had happened to her, so for now we'll just go on the assumption that no news is good news. Meanwhile, I met with the guy in the cell last night and we talked almost all night.

"Jimmy, that's great, so you're making headway."

"To some extent yes, I discovered a few things that gave me an idea, and I wanted to bounce it off you..."

As we drove around I laid out what I had discovered and what I had in mind. We stopped several times to point out different things along the routes we usually used. If anyone was paying attention it would look like we were doing exactly what we had said. We even appeared to be writing down the mileage readings each time.

"So what do you think?" I finally asked.

"I think you're going to be teaching me soon. Jimmy, the rate you pick stuff like this up is staggering, you seem to have this ... intuitive grasp of things that experts study years, decades even, to learn. My biggest concern is force of personality."

"You think the primary has been so beaten down for so long that he just won't have the drive or will to succeed."

"See what I mean, you're doing it again. Yes, that is exactly what I mean. Jimmy, he's still suffering from the pain of Katia's death, not to mention the suggestion of betrayal that she knew his secret and may have been helping whoever was in charge to use him."

"I don't think that was it. I think they told her something when they sent her in, maybe that they had done this by hypnosis or something, but I don't think she knew it in advance, and, I think she genuinely loved him right up to the moment he killed her."

"Really? Why would you think that?"

"Because it's the only reason I can think of to justify going through everything she had to endure when all she had to do was denounce him to the group as a double agent and they would, most likely, have killed both of them immediately rather than risk them getting away. Let's face it, they knew how good he was, they probably were more than a little afraid of him. But she didn't, she knew in her heart that the man she loved was not the one doing this to her, she kept faith and hope that he would find a way to save her, and even if he didn't, she died to let him live. What's that verse in the Bible? 'Greater love has no man than that he lay down his life for another?' or something like that."

"And you think he knows why she did it, because she trusted him to save her, and he now lives with the guilt because he couldn't?"

"Right. Bob, he wants to die, but only if he can take the dark persona with him. Otherwise he probably would have given up ages ago. Let's face it; the dark side in this case is pretty damn formidable."

"Yeah, no kidding. So what do you propose to do?"

"I want to work on wearing down the walls from the inside until they are paper-thin and struggling to stand. Then, when the time is right, wake him up and let him help us fight. If nothing else the experience should really shake up the killer, disrupt whatever he is doing to the point that he may have to focus on the internal struggle and ignore us. We have to be sure we're in a position to take advantage of that. But if we do it too soon the alternate may decide he doesn't really need the original and wipe him out. We'll only get one shot at this so we have to make it count. I've got one other idea that may help but I need to talk to someone else about that. Let me know right away if you hear from Rebecca, otherwise I'll see you tonight."

With Allison spending the night at Shannon's it was going to be very lonely in my bed. I had gotten so used to her being there that I actually had trouble getting to sleep. I guess I could have used one of my triggers but I didn't want to start relying on artificially induced solutions. Bob had warned against that as soon as we discovered we could do it. The brain goes to sleep in stages, the stages are triggered by chemical mixtures, and we weren't sure what the long term consequences of changing that progression would be. Besides, from the sound of things none of the girls were going to be available for a while, Allison and Shannon would be occupied, Lizzy had a date, and Bob was waiting around to see if Rebecca showed up, so it looked like I may have a boring night ahead of me, at least at first. Then I had an idea.

When I reached the lagoon the sun was shining brightly, the sand was sparkling clean, and the water was about as blue and clear as you could want. Just another perfect day. It only needed one thing.

"Zeus, Hera," I called softly. I didn't wait for them but turned toward the little changing tent and thought of Amy. It was only a moment before she emerged, already in her bathing suit.

"Hi Jimmy! Where are Allison and Shannon?"

"Uhm, they should be along later. Allison is sleeping over at Shannon's and you know how girls are ... They'll probably be up half the night giggling."

She giggled and said, "I know! Whenever Sylvia would come over and stay with Rebecca they were always waking up Daddy. He used to get so mad! So what's up?"

"Nothing," I said. "Nothing at all, I just had some free time on my hands and it's been a while so I thought maybe you and I could spend a little time together. That is of course if you don't have anything more important you need to do?"

She giggled again, "No silly, of course not."

"Good, because I invited some friends over to play," I took her hand and started walking toward the water. Out at the breakwater where the lagoon opens to the sea you could see the dolphins swimming in and it looked like they had brought the whole pod. "I hope you don't mind." Before she could answer I switched into my troll suit, scooped her up in my arms and bounded into the water. When I was about waist deep I took her by one arm and one leg and swung her out over the water calling, "One! Two! Three!" And on three I flung her out over the light waves to splash into the crystal water. She of course giggled and screamed the whole time, she would have flailed her free arm but it was busy holding her nose.

Just as she popped up out of the water and yelled, "Do it again!" Hera swam up underneath her, catching her little legs in front of her flippers, and she shrieked as the big dolphin lifted her up out of the water and swam up to me so I could pick her up and toss her back into the waves, and quickly swam back out to retrieve her.

"She's so soft," Amy said when I picked her off of Hera's back again.

"Yes, and she's very strong to carry such a big girl. They are all very strong, and boy can they swim fast. Do you want to see them race?"

"Ooh! Can I?"

I turned and chittered at the dolphins, "Who wants to race?" Suddenly they were doing tail stands, leaping around and chittering excitedly.

"What did you say?" Amy asked in an amazed voice.

"I just asked if any of them wanted to race. I guess they do. Where should they race to?"

"I don't know," she said, shrugging her shoulders

"Hmm. How about this," I pulled a six inch blue ball with white stars all over it out from behind my back, "why don't you pick our first two racers?" She quickly picked two out of the pod and the others pulled back to give them room.

They were both sitting low in the water watching me for a signal, so I pulled my arm back and threw the ball all the way out by the breakers just as Amy yelled, "Go!"

In a flash two dark shapes shot away through the water, we watched and waited and suddenly the ball exploded up off the surface, followed by a sleek gray shape, the dolphin going completely airborne in his effort to show us he got there first. Right behind him came a second gray shape, but he knew he had been beaten so he was just showing off. The first splashed down on his side, the second actually did a little flip in the air, which really excited Amy as you can imagine. The two swam back in; taking turns pushing and tossing the ball back and forth as they came. When they were about twenty feet out, just as one tossed the ball to the other, a dark shape exploded from the water, carrying the ball up on his nose, then tossing it and batting it with his tail as he arced back down into the water. It was Zeus showing off and instantly the rest of the pod exploded in pursuit of the ball, and the biggest game of keep-away you ever imagined was underway. Amy watched the whole thing from her box seat high atop my shoulders.

I'm not sure how long it went on but it was fun while it lasted. Then a familiar voice sounded behind me, "They look like they're having fun."

It felt like Amy was going to twist my head off when she turned to see who it was. "Hi Shannon! Hi Allison! They are having fun, they started out racing but just as they were coming back in the big one stole the ball and then the rest went after him. It's great fun to watch."

"That does sound like fun," Allison said. "Maybe we should join them. What do you say, Jimmy, think we can take them?"

"I don't know, they're pretty fast, and there are a lot more of them."

"Anyone else available?" Shannon asked.

I thought about it for a second and I could feel Lizzy settling herself, then I thought of Amber and found her kneeling in the dark, getting ready for her nightly visit to the House of Seven Willows. I lifted Amy down and set her with the girls. "I'll be right back."

I knew I couldn't leave with Amy there so I just popped myself into the cabana and spoke into the mirror. "Jasmine." It only took a moment for an image to form and the familiar shape appeared before me, "Forgive the intrusion my Lady but I have need of Amber and thought perhaps you would like to take a night off and pursue other diversions."

"I was hoping to speak to you about that. I consider that I am being well paid for my services but I would welcome a break."

"We all need our rest, Jasmine. Anytime you want a night off, just take one. Is tonight enough or would you like the weekend?"

"That would be lovely and I thank you. I wonder though, if I could impose upon you for one small favor?"

"Certainly."

"Could you bring me May?"

My first thought was to say no, that I didn't want to reveal myself to another person, but this was different. If I left May in Jasmine's dream she would be at the woman's mercy. "She is truly yours? What I have seen of her in these dreams is the truth?"

"I swear it."

"Very well, what is May's safe word?"

"Penguin."

I dreamed up a second mirror and focused on May. Though I had never met her I had seen and experienced enough in Jasmine's dreams that I had no trouble reaching her. What I found went a long way toward reassuring that this was okay to do. In her dream she was giving Jasmine a massage. I turned the mirror so Jasmine could see and said, "If you match her dream I can move her and she won't even realize it. If she should at any time use her safe word, she will immediately leave your dream and return to her own." In all the dreams I had never seen her without them, so I made one of May's earrings her key. In her dream Jasmine was turned away disrobing, the room was already the twin to the one May was in and the table already prepared. I started to turn my back but then realized that she may be offended by the gesture. If she had been worried about my seeing her naked she could have used the screen in the corner, or just changed the dream so she was already on the table under a sheet. Of course she didn't have a sheet in May's dream either. Jasmine's body was everything I had expected it to be. I don't know how old she actually was but from the neck down she could pass for a college student. When she had settled herself on the table I restarted May's dream from the beginning and watched as she entered the room where Jasmine awaited her, then reached out and pushed the two together until the two scenes overlapped and then there was only one mirror again. I cleared the image and Amber appeared before me, kneeling carefully in her diamond shirt.

"Amber, attend me."

Without hesitation she rose. I was impressed with how much she had improved although she did still stick herself a few times. I could see each prick reflected in her face but she never cried out. When she stood before me I held out my hand and drew her through the glass. As soon as she was through she dropped once more to her knees, I walked around her once, surveying her position and doing my best to ignore the tiny drops of blood here and there. When I was once more before her I touched her chin and turned her face up so I could see her eyes. "You are doing very well and I am very, very, proud of you." I let the diamond shirt fade away and kissed her tenderly. As I did, I reached up and took off the collar around her neck. As soon as it was gone she reached up and grabbed my head between her hands and drove her tongue into my mouth, turning that simple kiss into something far more intense.

"I love you," she said when she finally broke the contact.

"Thank you," I answered. "I love you too. I thought you might like a night off to be yourself. Besides, we've got company and I could use your help with a little friendly competition we're starting. You swim much?"

"Here and there, why?"

"Oh, no reason," I said and suddenly we were falling into the lagoon in front of the girls and Amy.

"Amber!" Shannon called, moving toward us with her arms out, already reaching for a hug.

"No silly," Amy said. "That's Angela, can't you tell?"

It was strange to hear her say it and the girls and I couldn't help but stare for a moment. She stared back at us for second and then in a voice that dripped condescension, "She doesn't have her collar on."

Angela just laughed and scooped her up into a hug, kissing her cheek as she said, "And aren't you the smart one for noticing?" Then she turned back to me and asked, "So what's this game you were talking about."

"Kind of like a giant game of keep away. We need to get that ball away from the kids out there," I pointed and she looked to see the dolphins still flipping the ball around out in the deeper water.

"Whoa, you want us to steal that ball from the dolphins? And just how are we supposed to keep up with..." She cut off as her legs disappeared and she sank down into the water, her tail bending under her. She looked and saw that the girls and I now sported fins and tails as well, "Oh, never mind." Then she noticed that Amy hadn't changed. "What about her?"

"I'm just going to watch," Amy said. "But the water is kind of deep so..."

"Already got that covered, Princess," I said and suddenly a soap bubble formed around her and she floated out across the water to where the dolphins played. "Ladies, let's go get them!"

Wow! Talk about a workout. If it weren't for the fact that we had hands I don't think we would have stood a chance. That and the fact that you really don't get tired in dreams. Otherwise they would have worn us out in no time. Since it was a dream there's no way of knowing how long we played but it seemed like about an hour before we finally gave up and moved into the cabana. As a parting gift to the pod I rained anchovies from the sky long enough for everyone to catch a few dozen. We were sitting in the sunken area talking and laughing when Bob showed up. He was thrilled to see Amy there: I couldn't remember if they had ever met before, but Amy stood up and greeted him."

"Hello, Mr. Shelby, it's nice to see you again. Thank you for bringing Rebecca to see me."

"It was my pleasure. Have you been a good girl and eaten all your vegetables?"

Amy blushed shyly as she scooted back into Shannon's lap and said, "I got to watch Jimmy and the girl's play keep away with the dolphins."

"Really?" Bob said. "That sounds like it must have been fun to watch. Amber, nice to see you again."

Amy looked at Angela and said, "Why do they keep calling you that?"

"Actually, Amy, they don't know about that yet." I said.

"Oh," she said, blushing slightly as she turned to Angela again, "Sorry."

"That's okay sweetie, it's time they knew anyway." She stood up and stepped out of the water, then turned back to face us again. "Jimmy, would you come here for a moment, please. I'd like you with me for this."

I could see the apprehension in her face as she waited for me. I moved quickly to stand by her, took her hand, and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she answered, then faced the others once more. "I am Angela." She turned away for a second and when she turned back around she held her collar in her hand. She handed it to me and asked, "Please?" Then turned her back and held her hair up out of the way.

As I slipped the collar around her neck I could sense the change in her. As I stepped back she caught my hand and sank to her knees, "My name is Amber, and this is my master."

The girls and Bob were all nodding slightly, I thought I saw a tear in Allison's eye but it was gone before I was sure. Amy just nodded and said, "See? I told you." As she spoke Amber's collar transformed into a simple choker of beaded pearls with a dragon dangling from the front. It was still her collar but just as I had intended, it changed to match her outfit.

We all laughed and I pulled Amber to her feet to come sit with us in the water once more. Suddenly Amy clutched at her head, let out a piercing scream of purest agony and disappeared. Everyone was instantly on their feet, wondering what had happened. I could have told them but at the moment it was all I could do to breath. For an instant I had felt Amy's pain, and at that very instant I felt Rebecca come into the dream. I staggered a little at the shock but Amber caught me.

"Master?"

"I'm okay, thank you Amber. Everything's okay, Rebecca just arrived and the instant she did ... well, you saw. I guess that answers one of the questions I've been wondering about but was afraid to experiment with. Apparently, trying to put the two of them together in a dream is a really, really, bad idea. Rebecca's on the walkway now and fortunately she didn't hear the scream. I'll explain it to her later." Since Rebecca didn't know about our new relationship I pulled Amber to her feet and sat her next to me on the love seat.

Bob was already in motion toward the door. He practically tore it off the hinges opening it. Rebecca was right outside and appeared to have been reaching for the knob. Suddenly Bob grabbed her and hugged her tight against him.

"Whoa," She said. "I missed you too, but please, not in front of the kids."

Bob pushed her away but held onto her arms, "Where have you been? What happened to you?"

"What do you mean, 'where have I been?'" She answered, "I was on a stakeout in Palm Springs, I told you I would be gone for a few days. And nothing happened to me, we caught the bastard this afternoon and I've been in debriefing ever since."

"What he means," Allison said, "Is that you've been gone since Jimmy talked to you on Tuesday. Rebecca, you haven't dreamed since you left."



-------

Chapter 26: On The Case

Rebecca

I couldn't believe how fast Jimmy had locked down the whack job that had been raping little girls in and around Palm Springs. It would have been nice to get an ID but in the long run this was actually better. If I'd had his name I might have been tempted to arrest him and take my chances with the physical evidence we had. This way, I wouldn't be tempted. I'd have the girl staked out and catch the bastard in the act. Well not 'in the act, ' but taking her anyway. That would be enough. With a little careful interrogation, the pictures of the girls' family cars showing that we knew how he worked should be enough to get a confession. Rod was beyond blown away. It was Wednesday morning and we were sitting in his office going over what Jimmy had given me.

"One night! He found him in one night? Just from the case descriptions, no names, just some family pictures, and he nailed him in one night."

"Less than that really, it's hard to say, dream time is very ... different, but it couldn't have been more than a couple hours tops."

He was quiet for a long time. "Rebecca, I know that he's been a great help to us so far, but doesn't some of this scare you just a little bit?"

"No," I said, "In anyone else, yeah, it would probably scare the shit out of me, but I know this boy, I've worked with him for almost a year; spent time with him; met his family. The night I met them Bob and I had to try and convince his parents, especially his mother, to let him continue working with us trying to catch a man who had raped and killed three girls that we knew of. Bob made a very convincing argument: He said that God had given Jimmy a very special gift, out of all the people in the world given it to him specifically. He also suggested that God had placed Jimmy in their care specifically to raise and guide him to become the kind of person that could be trusted with a gift like this. Let me ask you a question, Rod: Can you think of a single person that you would trust with this gift? Bob couldn't, not a one, but especially not anyone affiliated with the government. What about you? Is there anyone you would trust with this?"

I heard the words coming out of my mouth, I even believed them, Jimmy was a good kid. The thought of using his gift for wrong ends was out of his nature. But in the back of my mind I pictured Officer Stephen Mikkelson visiting his shrink because of the nightmares that wouldn't stop, and Raymond Parry lying in a hospital bed dreaming he had killed both of his daughters and an innocent little girl riding her bike to school. Even with these images running silently in the background, I believed what I had said, and sat quietly waiting for Rod to answer.

He was quiet even longer this time.

"Rod? Anyone at all? What about me?"

Finally he shook his head.

"Me either. Rod, I trust Jimmy. His only goal is to help people. He is the only reason Angela Osborne is still alive. Hell, he's the only reason I'm alive. If he hadn't come back for me I would still have been in there when the place blew up. He risked his life to save me; I don't have to tell you that means a lot, but more than that I have never once seen him use his gift for anything even questionable. And since we're on the subject, I was planning to bring this up anyway; he's scared about what's been going on. This thing with the leaks has got him nervous and I can't say I blame him; he wants a safe way out if anything should go wrong, you know, really wrong, for him and his sister. He understands that it takes money to make that happen."

"He..."

I held up my hand, "No, I thought so at first. He doesn't want money from us. He wants to use his gift to work on unsolved cases, specifically those with large rewards attached. That's one of the reasons I took this case to him. He'd just like us to arrange his escape route, not fake ID's but real new identities that will hold up in court. If we can't do it he's asked me to do it through other sources and he'll pay for it. Rod, I understand what he's afraid of, and let's face it, he's got every reason to be afraid."

He nodded, "Yeah, I'll handle it. I have a contact with wit-sec that can get the necessary documentation, record what needs to be recorded to make it hold up. He can leave the photos out so there is no record on file of what they look like. He has full access, fingerprints, dental records, Birth Certificates, the works — he can even give him a credit history. He does deep covers for us when we need it, as well as the CIA, NSA, and probably some groups we don't even want to know about."

"That still means there's a record, a government record, of it somewhere. I don't think that's going to make him feel any better."

"Hampton, who do you think you're talking to here? It's me, okay. If I said I can get it done ... trust me, I can get it handled."

I did a little bow and scrape, "Forgive me oh great one; many apologies, your immenseness."

"Fuck you, now what are you going to need to catch this pervert?"

I laid out my plan for him. I had a tech crew assigned with one of our TNT units. That's Technical and Tactical. It was a van so packed with electronics and firepower that it needed special springs and frame reinforcement to keep it from dragging on the ground. Paul would be my hound, with a driver to handle the van; Henslith and I were going to be spending some quality time together the rest of the week and into the weekend if necessary. Hell, it wasn't like there was anything new going on with our primary case at the moment. Of course, Murphy's Law ... nah, best not to think about it. The last thing I would need is something to happen while we were playing guardian angel to little Lupe.

"Okay, put it together and get rolling, I want you on the road as soon as possible. I'll personally notify you when the tip comes in. Forward your phone to my office, anything else I'll just send to voice mail. Good hunting."

"Thanks boss," I said as I head for the door.

We were just passing through Redlands when I got the call from Rod. Apparently an anonymous tipster had called in with information that he would only share with Special Agent Rebecca Hampton of the FBI. When told that she was unavailable and asked if her boss would do, the information had been given and we were live. The tricky part was getting a trace on Lupe without getting caught. Sorry, can't tell you how I did it, trade secret. That kept her safe for the rest of the day, and when she got home a secret admirer had left a heart-shaped necklace in an envelope with her name on it in the mailbox. Judging from the way it shifted around all night, I'd say she wore it to bed. We did shifts monitoring every movement little Lupe made for the rest of the week and into the weekend. Listening to hours of little girl giggling and fourth grade drama, tensing every time a man's voice sounded within range of the pickup. Saturday afternoon it finally happened.

She was walking home from a friend's house where she had spent the afternoon swimming when a car pulled up and a man's voice spoke urgently.

"Lupe! Thank God I found you. Anise is hurt, your mother is taking her to the hospital, she asked me to come get you and meet them there."

"What happened to Anise?" She asked.

"She was playing with Marta and fell down the stairs, Raul was coming up and caught her so she didn't fall far but they think her leg may be broken, quickly, get in, we have to get you to the hospital right away."

It was a good ploy, the urgency in his voice was contagious, the thought of her sister lying in a hospital bed served to blind her to the obvious question of why it was so urgent for her to get to the hospital, she wasn't the one who was hurt. There was a sound of a car door closing and the lock engaging and we were moving, Paul giving us directions as we moved to intercept them. It didn't take long before Lupe began to question what was happening.

"You're going the wrong way, the hospital is..."

"I know but it's faster if I go this way, I can take the freeway. Don't you trust me? By the way, you look very pretty today." This served to distract her and told us where he was ultimately headed. There were two options for getting onto the I-10 from where he was, and the critical intersection was coming up. If he turned right we'd have him in sight within seconds; left would take a little longer but it was only a matter of time.

"Is that a new bathing suit? I don't think I've seen it before."

"Yes, mama bought it for me because I outgrew my old one."

"Yes, I can see you are becoming a big girl. She'd better take you for a training bra soon or the boys will start to stare."

There was an embarrassed giggle followed by silence.

"Go ahead asshole," I heard Paul whisper; "I'm getting every fucking word on tape."

Suddenly her voice changed, "Hey! What are you ... you're not supposed to touch ... stop that."

"I can't help myself little one, you are just so beautiful..."

Suddenly Paul's voice cut in, "He's not getting on the freeway; he just went by the last access. There's not much else around -- my guess is he's just going for the desert.

The little girl's voice was getting more and more desperate and you could hear her struggling, suddenly there was the sound of tires on gravel and the car slowing down rapidly. A seatbelt released and little hands began trying to open the door but the inside handle was apparently disengaged.

Seat belts strained as I slid the car around the next corner and floored it. It was a straight shot from here to where he was parked with the helpless girl. Fifteen seconds and I had a visual on the car, could see the vague outline of his back as he forced her down onto the seat before him. The audio screamed desperate sounds as I slammed on the brakes; gravel and dust flew as the car skidded sideways to a stop. Henslith was out the door like lightning, I think she actually used the momentum of the stop to propel her forward, popping the seatbelt and opening the door at the perfect moment to allow inertia to carry her out. By the time I cleared my door she was at the door to his car. It was locked and he hadn't realized that we were there yet. Two shots rang out, the back side window exploded, and Henslith screamed for him to get out the car. I rushed to the far side and the girl, my own gun out and pointed between his eyes as I went around. Trapped, he showed us his hands before reaching down and triggering the electric door locks. I holstered my weapon, opened the door and scooped the terrified little girl into my arms, holding her tight to my chest and stroking her hair as she wept.

It happened fast and I'll never be sure if I saw what I think I saw but as she holstered her weapon to cuff the prisoner, Henslith's gun snagged on the edge of her holster and she dropped it. Instinctively she dropped her eyes and tried to catch it. As soon as he felt her move the big man turned and swung at her, catching her across the face with a backhand that spun her around. Rather than fight it she spun with the force of the blow and just for a fleeting instance I could swear I saw a smile on her face before her right foot slammed into his ribcage. I could hear his grunt of pain and as he brought his arms down, reaching instinctively to clutch at the point of impact. Henslith never slowed down, reversing her spin and bringing the leg in tight, only to explode outward like a piston at the exact moment to bring it slamming forward into his solar plexus, the force of the blow driving him back so hard the door buckled and a spider web of cracks appeared in the safety glass side window. Still she didn't let up. Two quick punches and he started to go down, an elbow thrown at his nose sent a fountain of blood into the air and stood him up straight again. I was sure he was out before her foot, coming up in a fast arc caught the left side of his face and sent him spinning down the length of the car to land sprawled in the dirt.

Without a word she recovered her weapon, holstered it in one smooth motion, cuffed the prisoner and finally came around to my side of the car. When she did, Lupe tore herself from my grip and threw her arms around Dahrinka, holding tightly to her, face pressed against her shirt. Sometime during the struggle Lupe's locket had been torn loose and was lying on the floor. While she was hugging Henslith I palmed it, slipped it into my pocket, and replaced it with a twin we had prepared without a transmitter.

"It's okay, baby," Dahrinka whispered. "He won't hurt you again. He won't hurt anybody ever again." She winked at me and then said, "Is that your locket?"

The girl turned and spotted it, her hand going to her neck to verify that hers was missing. Without a word, Henslith picked it up and slipped it back around her neck.

Down the road I saw Paul and Woodstock flying towards us in the van, flashing lights in the distance showed the locals weren't far behind. I popped the trunk on my car and pulled out a spare windbreaker for Lupe to wear over her torn clothes, the reality of her nakedness hit her as I reached to put it on her and she blushed and thanked me as I zipped it up. At least the tears had stopped.

One of the paramedics gave her a quick once over as her partner revived the prisoner, pronouncing his injuries superficial enough that he wouldn't need a doctor and therefore fit to transport directly downtown. Fortunately for him he was already locked in the back of a squad car when another unit arrived with Lupe's mother. I think she would have torn him into tiny pieces right then and there, cops watching or not.

We followed the locals back to the station where Henslith and I each gave statements and Paul burned them a copy of the audio from the stakeout. On the way back to LA for debriefing and more statements, I confronted Henslith, "That was pretty slick the way you baited that bastard into taking a swing at you."

"What do you mean?"

"You dropped your weapon on purpose and gave him an opening."

"What makes you think I dropped it on purpose?"

"Come on Henslith, how many times in your career have you dropped your weapon? I've never even seen a field-rated agent drop a weapon, and especially not while they were holstering it. That's an unconscious move; you've done it so many times you could do it in your sleep without waking up. You wanted to hurt him; you knew I had your back, so you gave him an opening just so you could bust him up. Which was pretty impressively done by the way; you handle yourself pretty well. It's nice to know I won't have to worry about you if our next lead takes us into a biker bar and something goes wrong, but it was still wrong."

"Yes, it would be," she answered. I thought I detected a bit of sarcastic humor in her voice as she continued. "Which is why I would never do such a thing." The emphasis on the word never dripped wrongful indignation but it was the smile when she mumbled, "Sure felt good though," that really said I was right.

Either way there was no way to prove it, and therefore no point in bringing it up to Rod. A part of me envied her for finding a way to get away with it. I'd wanted to do the exact same thing several times in my career, but so far I'd never given in to the temptation.

It was late before I finally closed the door to my apartment. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed but I forced myself to shower first. I skipped my hair but spent a long time luxuriating in the feel of the hot water splashing over me. It was significantly later when I finally lay down and pulled the sheet up over me.

Almost immediately I was walking out of the little changing tent at the kid's beach. No one was in sight so I headed for the cabana. I was just getting ready to knock when the door opened and suddenly Bob was there hugging me tightly to him like this was a deserted island and I was the first human he'd seen in years.

"Whoa," I said. "I missed you too, but please, not in front of the kids."

I knew something was wrong when he didn't laugh. Instead, he pushed me back to arms length and asked, "Where have you been? What happened to you?"

"What do you mean, 'where have I been'? I was on a stakeout in Palm Springs, I told you I would be gone for a few days. And nothing happened to me, we caught the bastard this afternoon and I've been in debriefing ever since."

"What he means," Allison said, "Is that you've been gone since Jimmy talked to you on Tuesday. Rebecca, you haven't dreamed since you left."

All I could do was stand dumbfounded as the truth of her words sank in, my mind flashing back over days of activity and nights ... nights that I had no memory of at all.

"Wait a minute ... what do you mean I ... Oh my god, you're right. I mean I hadn't realized it before now, but now that you mention it, I haven't had a single dream since the night this started. How is that possible?" She looked at Bob, "Is that possible?"

"Well sure, it's possible. There are a variety of different..."

Allison cut him off. "Why don't you let her in the door before you get into lecture mode?"

"Oh, sorry," he said, stepping back to let me in. "As I was saying there are several possible causes, but most of them you don't qualify for. Not unless there is a lot you've been holding back, plus I find the timing a little unusual. Have you ever had this problem before while on a stakeout?"

"No, not that I know of, but I didn't realize it had happened this time until you pointed it out. Were you really worried about me?"

"Not at first, I just assumed you were tied up in your work, but then Jimmy noticed you weren't dreaming at all and asked me about it. Then I started to worry."

"Well, it's nice to know someone worries about me, but it was a wasted effort; it was a boring week. Nothing happened until today, then we caught him before he could hurt her and now we're going to find a dark hole somewhere, drop him in and slam the lid shut. Based on the nature of the crimes, the prosecutor will recommend no bail and if his lawyer has half a brain he'll know that his client is going to be safer in custody than on the street once his name hits the paper. I just hope they have the guts to hang in there and go for serious prison time."

"What do you mean?" Jimmy asked.

"Jimmy, in this day and age, I can almost guarantee the DA will offer him some kind of deal. Remember he didn't rape Lupe; because we got there in time to stop him, and if he pleads guilty to kidnapping and assault in her case he'll still do hard time but nothing like what he'll get if they tie him to the other girls. Four counts of aggravated sexual battery on a minor, it's a long list of charges, all felony counts, if he survived long enough he could die of old age before he breathes free air again. If they are willing to stick it out and go for the whole package."

"But why wouldn't they?" Shannon asked.

"Money; it takes a lot of time and effort to prosecute a case like this. In order to tie the other girls in you first have to get them to identify him, that means a line up if, and it's a big if, the parents are willing to drag their daughters through a case like this. It means delaying the healing process, because it keeps the whole thing fresh in their minds. Assuming they are willing to do that, you now need physical proof, which means DNA testing on all four counts to prove that it was him. Remember we're dealing with reasonable doubt here, emotionally distraught ten year olds being encouraged by their parents to point the finger at someone are not the kind of ammunition you need in court for a case like this. That kind of lab work costs a lot of money, especially when you may have to pay for it twice."

Shannon gave her that classic, head-cocked, confused look, "Why would you have to pay for it twice?"

Bob answered for me, "Because the defense will want independent testing done so he can try and poke holes in the case. Remember the OJ Simpson case?"

Finally Angela spoke up, "So if you catch the guy who did this to me, what are the chances you could actually get a conviction?" As she spoke I noticed she was wearing a choker of shells with a little dragon hanging in the front. It occurred to me that she almost always wore some type of necklace lately. Come to think of it, I seemed to recall most, if not all of them, had a dragon of some kind dangling on them. Maybe I should ask Bob if there was some kind of symbolism there that we should be concerned about.

I took a deep breath and smiled, "In your case, we could get a conviction easily. We've got DNA, fingerprints, the fake identity, drugs in your system matching what he used on the other girls, the fact that we found your car in his storage unit, plus all the video we found on his computer. Even if we didn't have all that, the European authorities want him for something, probably several somethings, and based on what we know about him, those are most likely multiple murder charges. So don't worry, all we have to do is catch him and he goes away for life. In a case like this and based on how dangerous he is, we'd go for the death penalty. He'd most likely die of old age before they got around to executing him but he'd never see the outside again either way. Don't worry Angela, when we get him, one way or the other, he's going away forever. So what else have I missed? What have all of you been up to?"

Jimmy brought me up to speed on developments in the Vegas case as well as his further contact with the killer, including an idea he had for helping to catch the killer by releasing the primary personality.

"I was thinking maybe the next time we get that close, if I can release the other personality he will be too busy trying to keep control to worry about anything else, like killing the hostages or whoever is trying to arrest him."

"It's a good thought, if it works. With this guy I'll take any edge I can get. Confusion and chaos in the enemy camp are always good if you can get them. Anything else?"

"Nothing comes to mind," he answered. Something about the way the girls were not looking at him told me there was more, but if it was something I needed to know I was sure he would tell me.

"Well then, if you don't mind. I'd like to spend a little time debriefing my shrink."

Shannon grinned and Allison practically fell over. I stared for a second, not sure what I had said that was so funny, until Bob leaned over and whispered "de-briefing" in my ear, then suddenly I was fire engine red.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Of course not," Allison said. "Mr. Shelby, would that qualify as a Freudian slip?"

If it was possible to turn any redder, I'm sure I did. Suddenly they were gone and Bob and I were alone in the cabana. It was still weird to see them do that; I hadn't even noticed when Jimmy stopped needing doors and thresholds to transition. Maybe I should pay closer attention in the future. Yeah, the future, right now, I had more important things on my mind.

"So, how much did you really miss me?"



-------

Chapter 27: A Big Step


I moved the rest of us to my office so Bob and Rebecca could have the cabana to themselves.

As soon as we arrived Shannon said, "Debriefing," and everyone dissolved into laughter again. Once we settled down I reached to remove Amber's collar again, "I told you you could take the night off and be yourself, so..." but she pulled away.

"Please don't," she asked.

I almost slipped and let it go but then I snapped at her, "I did not ask you. You have not yet earned your place, take it off, now."

She hung her head and removed the collar. As soon as it was off her head came back up and Angela looked me in the eye. "Does it hurt you to do that?"

Allison answered for me, "Yes, it does. It's very hard for him, Angie. He's not a master and slave kind of guy. He only does it because he loves you and it's what you need to heal and get on with your life. How are you doing with all this? I mean, it's just as new to you."

"Me, I'm doing fine. Now that I understand everything that's been happening, it's like this huge weight has been lifted. I know that this is what I wanted all along." She looked back at me, "I'm just glad I have someone who loves me enough to help me get through it. Most people would have run screaming just at the reality of what I was, what I wanted, but you didn't. You hung in there, all of you hung in there for me, and I love you for it." She let go of my hand and stepped back, "In fact, now that Amber is out of the way, I'd like to express my thanks on a more personal level. Who wants to be first?"

Shannon immediately volunteered - big surprise. I quickly checked that Lizzy was still in session with her current patient so Allison and I went to the glade to prepare for our visit to a certain male doctor we had been wanting to meet.

As soon as we were alone, Allison asked, "What happened to Amy?"

"Rebecca showed up in the same dream. She felt it as soon as I did; you saw what it did to her."

"And you."

"No, mine was a reaction to Amy's pain. I guess that answers the question of trying to get them together in a dream."

"Big time. Jimmy, I'm worried about what Rebecca said about the case in Palm Springs. Do you really think there is a chance he could get away with a slap on the wrist?"

"I was thinking the same thing. I think I may need to encourage him to confess to everything."

"How are you going to do that?"

I gave her a wink and yelled, "Walter!"

A large hairy shape stalked out of the bushes not far away. "Could you give me break with the volume? Try to remember I hear better than you, a lot better." He rose up on two feet and bowed to Allison. "Miss Allison, lovely to see you again." Then he turned back to me, sat down on his haunches, and asked, "What's up? You lose another girlfriend?"

"Nice to see you again too, Walter. No, I haven't lost another girl; I was hoping I could interest you in a little side work. How's Bobby doing by the way?"

"Young Master Robert is doing very well," he answered with obvious pride. "He has come a long way since you first gave him into my care. You should drop in if you get the chance; I think you will be pleased."

"I am sure that he has benefited greatly from your time together, sir. I may take you up on the visit later. Right now ... How would you like a chance to exercise your sense of justice?"

"My sense of justice is as fit and healthy as it has ever been, but what did you have in mind."

"There is someone I'd like you to spend some time with. I'm hoping you can encourage him to confess to his crimes and save everyone else a lot of time, money, headache, and heartache. The heartache would mostly be from his victims. It's going to be very traumatic if they have to go through a long trial."

"It is the price of justice," he said. "The system may not be perfect but one must allow it run its due course if it is to serve its purpose."

"I understand that, but in this case I'm concerned the DA may offer him a deal. I think it would be best if he didn't have that option."

Walter looked at me oddly for a moment, "Really? What is his crime?"

"He raped four ten-year old girls, we caught him in the act of kidnapping the fifth."

Walter's face is a pretty frightening thing to begin with. Don't get me wrong, he's a pretty decent guy as monsters go, but he basically looks like the werewolf Hollywood has always dreamed of. The look that came over him now would have made a lawn gnome wet himself; lips drawn back into a snarl, exposing an impressive array of teeth. Fire didn't actually come from his eyes but you could see the glow. And then of course there was the howl...

"Where is this parody of a man?" he demanded, spittle dripping from his teeth. "Show me this mockery of a human being; I will rend his very soul!"

"My feelings exactly," Allison said. "But I think you really should give him the chance to do the right thing on his own first, Jimmy. After all, they just caught him today." She stepped close to Walter, who still looked like he was ready to bite a redwood in two. "I'm sorry we've upset you like this Walter, can I make you some tea?"

"And I am sorry for letting my wrath get the better of me, my dear. Tea would be lovely." And just like that he was back to his civilized self. All except the eyes, they still gave the impression that smoke should be rolling out his ears any second.

"I'm sorry too, Walter," I said. "I guess I should have discussed it more with Allison before I dragged you into it."

"Do not apologize," he answered. "She is correct of course, he must be allowed the opportunity to confess of his own free will, but I assure you, confess he will. Now, about that tea..."

We passed a few quiet moments together over tea and cakes, Allison and I with porcelain cups, Walter drinking his from a larger bowl in a matching pattern, then we bid him farewell and prepared to return to our plans for the evening. As Walter disappeared back into the brush I realized I had forgotten something earlier.

"Crap."

"What?" Allison asked.

"I was so happy to see Rebecca back, and so distracted by what happened with Amy that I forgot I've wanted to talk to Rebecca about getting some information on the Vegas crowd, starting with doctors Essex and Hendricks. I'm hoping to be able to have her start doing some basic background checks; maybe we can find a common thread to tie them together."

"Now there's a long shot. It looks like they have gone to great lengths to assure that they can't be tied together. Neither one knows the other; they work on different groups of girls. Do you really think there is something that ties them together?"

"Not really, but it never hurts to hope, and while we're on the subject of the good doctors ... Why don't we go pay a visit on Hendricks?"

"Are you sure you got enough of him from Samantha to do it?"

I didn't bother answering. Taking her hand, I concentrated and suddenly we were in hell.

Well, apparently it was Hendricks's idea of hell anyway; he was in surgical scrubs working feverishly to repair a life-sized broken doll. Around the room, which was much larger than the operating rooms you see on television, were life size dolls in all states of dress and undress, all with pieces missing, some bleeding, some with broken limbs, some just sitting and crying, and others just sitting, staring into space with haunted eyes.

"Ho-ly shit!" Allison whispered. "I guess this answers the question of whether or not he's a voluntary player."

"Maybe," I said. "Or he could just be having a nightmare. I know we were just going to ask questions but maybe a little interaction would be better in this case." I concentrated and the doll he was working on came to life and sat up. Hendricks pulled back as she swung her legs over the edge of the table.

"Thank you doctor," She said, then pointed to one of the other dolls. "Can you help my friend?"

"I'll try," he answered.

Together they lifted another doll onto the table and began working on her. In moments she was whole again and the three began working on another. Soon there were four dolls dressed as nurses helping Hendricks at the table while others carried more toward them. They were fixing dolls so fast their hands blurred and in a short while all of the dolls were whole once more. As the last doll stepped down from the table, a group of people wearing robes burst through the door. The dolls screamed and cowered behind Hendricks.

"No!" he screamed. "You can't have them. I won't let you hurt them anymore." He grabbed up a scalpel and slashed at the first robed figure he could reach. Behind him some of the dolls picked up other implements and moved to help him. The hooded figures howled in rage, pulled baseball bats from their robes, and began smashing the dolls. Hendricks fought on but no matter how many times he stabbed at them it made no difference, soon the room was littered with broken dolls once more. As the last doll fell the hooded figures began laughing. Exhausted and defeated, Hendricks dropped his scalpel, fell to his knees and hugged one of the broken dolls to his chest. With tears running down his face he whispered, "I'm sorry, I tried but I couldn't stop them." He looked up and screamed at the hooded figures, "Are you happy now? They're all broken and now there are no more dolls for you to hurt!"

At this the hooded figures laughed even harder. As Hendricks watched they each pulled a box with a bow on it from somewhere in their robes. Inside each box was a naked doll. They dropped the boxes and as each hit the floor it broke open and the tiny figures began to emerge, growing before his eyes into life sized girls, and as one they knelt before the hooded figures and asked, "How may I please you, my Lord?"

Hendricks screamed and started to charge them but suddenly strong chains appeared and began grabbing at him like steel tentacles, he broke them but there were always more and no matter how much he struggled he could not reach the hooded figures.

I glanced at Allison, "I think I've seen enough, how about you?"

"What do you have in mind?" She asked.

"The direct approach." I turned back to the scene and yelled, "Stop!" in a voice that echoed and boomed around the room. Suddenly Hendricks was the only one moving, or trying to: the chains were still holding him as I stepped through the door in my usual disguise. I moved around the frozen figures, carefully stepping over the broken dolls until I stood before Hendricks. "Do you really want to stop this doctor?"

"How can you ask me that?" He answered, still struggling to break free. "Of course I want to stop it!"

"Then why don't you call the police? Surely they would help."

"Hah!" He scoffed, "They'd just kill me, maybe even some of the girls, the rest would deny anything was wrong and then it would go on as before."

"Why would the girls lie to protect them?" I asked.

"Because if they talked they, and their families, would be killed, or worse."

"Couldn't they put them in protective custody?"

"It wouldn't help, not really. There are too many of them. They might get a few, but then the rest would just keep doing what they are doing."

"But once some were safe, wouldn't others come forward?"

"Safe? They wouldn't be safe. Don't you understand? No one is safe."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's been tried, twice. Once a girl turned her father in to the police; he was killed while he was still in jail and the girl, her sister, and her mother were killed that same night."

"I know, they made it look like the mother had killed the girls and then herself, but I know who really killed them."

"What do you mean you know? How could you know unless..." Suddenly fear shown in his eyes.

"No doctor, I'm not with them. And I'm not with the police. Who I am is not important; that I am working to put an end to this is all that matters. I had heard some things about you that suggested you may not be doing all this voluntarily, that maybe you didn't have a choice. Is that true?"

"Yes. But it doesn't matter. You can't help me, or them."

"What if I could get all of them? All at the same time so there was no one to retaliate and scare the rest into silence?"

"There are too many, and no one knows everybody."

"There may not be as many as you think, and I've made a good start already." I pulled the chart out and showed it to him. I had color coded the circles; the confirmed bad guys were in red along with names and pictures, not that there were many of them. So far, just Essex, Frank and Irene Watkins, and the others I had gotten from Jasmine. So far Hendricks was the only one in green. The girls were now in stars instead of circles so you could quickly tell them apart. The girls I didn't have names for had question marks next to their pictures.

He stared at it for a few seconds, "Where did you get this?"

"Here and there," I answered. "You see, all of them know someone, and those someones know someone else. What I need from you..." I pointed at the group still frozen behind me, "Is to tell me who they are. The girls are your patients, the rest are people you know to be involved. I need names and faces for them so that I can fill in more of the puzzle. Eventually I will have them all, and then maybe I can stop this."

"How? Even if you arrested them all..."

"I don't know yet, but I expect I'll have all the help I need when I figure that out. The question, Doctor Hendricks, is whether or not you will help. Do you really want this to stop? Or are you just telling yourself that there is nothing that can be done in order to soothe your conscience so you can go on fucking all these pretty little girls?"

Anger flared in his eyes and he lunged at me, but the chains held him just out of reach, "How dare you! I don't have a choice."

"Just checking, I believe you, Doctor." I released him from his chains and pointed to the people behind me. "It doesn't matter which one you pick, just point at the figure, think of their face and say their names. If you know of any others that are being coerced as you are, please tell me. I know you treat many of the girls, just point to one of the dolls and they will change as well. One thing I'm not sure about, do all of the parents know?"

"Yes, it would be too difficult to hide what is going on if they didn't, especially in cases of ... discipline."

"Yes, I've heard of some of those, as well as some of the training methods. How did you get caught up in this?"

He looked away and closed his eyes before whispering, "My wife." He took a couple breaths before continuing, "I don't even remember what happened. My loving wife Kathy came to me one day and said we needed to get out more. She told me I was working too hard and needed to have a little fun. She told me she was worried that we were falling into a rut. Especially me," his voice took on a bitter tone, "She said she thought I was losing interest in sex and that maybe what I needed was some variety. My first reaction was to think she was having an affair and was hoping to justify it by getting me to fool around. I confronted her about it but she denied it and said I could ask them myself, but that she hadn't slept with any of the other men. She admitted she had fooled around with 'a couple' of the girls, but that was all. I assumed by girls she meant the other wives.

"The truth is I was fine with our sex life, I just wished we'd had more opportunity, but I hadn't been out of medical school that long and I was working hard to get my loans paid off so we wouldn't have so much debt hanging over our heads. I was reluctant at first but she finally convinced me to go. We went over to this house; there were two other couples there and we did the usual; dinner, introductions, just routine ice breaker stuff to make sure we were comfortable with everyone. We did some question and answer stuff, and then we headed home and talked about it some more. Kathy was so horny that night I couldn't believe it. God, she was all over me, couldn't even wait until we got home, she started kissing me while I was driving, half way home she went down on me and I had to pull over or I would have probably killed us both.

"Two nights later was a Friday night and we went back. Everything started out just fine; we had some drinks and hors d'oeurves and the next thing I know I'm waking up in my bed at home the next morning. I passed it off as having too much to drink; even joking about how if I had had such a good time it would be nice to remember it. She said she had just the thing to jog my memory and went to make a phone call. Something about the way she said it bothered me. When she came back I asked her what she meant and who she had called. She said to just wait and I'd see soon enough. I tried to press her and suddenly she got really cold, told me to just shut the fuck up and wait. I couldn't believe her reaction. About an hour later a man I didn't know showed up. He was wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. It seemed really out of place for a Saturday afternoon. I introduced myself and shook his hand but he didn't tell me his name. Then he actually kissed my wife right there in front of me. Naturally I got angry, assuming I had been right all along and that this was the guy she was having the affair with.

Before I could say anything he held up his hand to stop me, saying "Doctor Hendricks, I'm sure you are wondering what the heck is going on so if you will please sit down I will explain everything."

I said, "What do you mean sit down and you'll explain?"

Then Kathy points at the couch and says, "Steven, just sit down and be quiet and all your questions will be answered."

Hendricks hadn't noticed yet, but as he had been speaking the scene had been taking shape around him. He was lost in the memory and just kept narrating over the scene as it played out.

"Then he handed her a disk and she put it in our DVD player and turned on the television. When it started playing I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was me fucking this young girl, not having sex, not making love, just fucking her like a madman. In the ass, no less. I'd never done that to anyone before, I brought it up once when Kathy and I were first married, we'd rented this porno and they were doing it in the film, but she flat refused to even try. Yet, here I was pounding the crap out of this girl I didn't even know. After I finally came, another girl came over and started sucking and licking me until I was hard again; just like that, she didn't even wipe it off first. There was more after that, a lot more, there were three of the girls, all obviously under age and me doing all sorts of depraved things with them. Then the guy starts talking again.

"Now then, Doctor Hendricks, you understand the position this puts you in? Of course you do, you're an educated man after all. What we need from you is simple..."

"How much?" I asked.

His voice took on a heavy edge, "Doctor Hendricks, I know this is all a bit of a shock for you so I will forgive your rudeness this one time, but let me make this clear, do not interrupt me again, is that clear?"

All I could do was stare at him in shock.

"I asked you a question, Doctor Hendricks?" He growled.

"Yes," I answered, "Yes, it's clear."

Then he was all polite and smiling again, "Very good, this is not an attempt to extort money from you doctor. My people require your professional assistance. The girls you were with last night are just normal everyday teenagers and as such they require medical assistance now and then. Routine check ups, school physicals, the odd flu shot, that sort of thing. You will provide these services, you will also provide them with birth control, and monitor them for correct dosages. We know that the wrong dosages can have unfortunate side effects on some girls so you will be required to keep a close watch to make sure they do not gain weight; that can be so hard on a young girl's self esteem you know. There may, from time to time, be more serious problems which may arise. You will perform whatever procedures are necessary. If you require assistance, your wife will be your nurse. Now don't look so glum doctor, this is after all, the reason you became a physician in the first place, isn't it, to help others? And it's not as if you will not be compensated. You may, at any time, before after or during their visits do whatever you like with the girls. You will find them quite accommodating; simply ask and they will do anything you like. Some of them are really quite gifted."

"How am I supposed to hide that in a hospital? I can't have girls traipsing in and out for services and not paying. There are forms, procedures..."

"Well of course not, this will all be done here, in your home. You will need to purchase some additional equipment for course; nothing really we can do about that. Don't worry, we know your financial situation, we will make sure you have access to the necessary funds and you can simply work it off as barter. We'll set a standard fee for office visits and simply deduct them from your balance. The equipment will be yours to keep. As for the girls, well, consider their participation a bonus, a tip if you will."

"What if I go to the police?"

"Then you will go to prison for a very long time Doctor. After all, you are the only one in the video; did you notice it was filmed in your living room? Yes, that was your furniture, I'm sure there are even traces still in the material - fluids tend to soak into fabric and carpeting; very difficult to remove. If you should try to accuse others, they will simply deny any knowledge. Prison is an especially tough environment for pedophiles, Doctor Hendricks. They don't last long. I think the sex is not so different except that you would be on the other end as it were. So I would suggest that you think about it very carefully. When you have made up your mind, simply have Kathy contact me and we can start ordering the equipment you will need. I understand you have a sizable basement? That sounds like just the kind of space you could use for an examination area..."

Hendricks voice faded out and he took a breath before turning to face me again, "There was more, but I think you get the idea."

"Yes," I answered. "I understand. Thank you for sharing that with me, Doctor Hendricks, I can only imagine how painful it must be to have to think about it. Being betrayed by your own wife like that."

"Kathy's betrayal is the least of my pains. It pales in comparison to what these girls are going through. You can't imagine."

I flashed scenes of what I had picked up in my visits with some of the others. I couldn't help but notice his reaction when I flashed up the scene of Amanda from the killer's vision, and again when I ran the scene of Samantha's nightly ritual of greeting her Lord at the end of his day.

Suddenly I heard Allison's voice, "Stop the scene." I froze everything and she went on. "Look at his eyes, he's not watching Samantha, he's watching Rachel." There was a pause as she walked around in front of him, "My God, Jimmy, look at his face! Jimmy, when you start up again, ask him about Rachel, if he doesn't answer run the images of Amanda and Rachel when she was a baby."

"Why, what are you thinking?"

"Jimmy, look at him, that's not lust, that's longing. You know how Rachel so closely resembles Sam and Mandy, but not Frank or Irene. I think Hendricks is the father." She looked hard at his face, "I think she has his nose. God, it totally makes sense, Samantha said he always treats her well, and that he was special to Amanda before she died. Maybe this is why."

I looked at his face and knew that she was right, "I don't need to ask." I let the scene play forward and immediately switched to the scenes of Amanda and Rachel. In moments there were tears in his eyes and then he turned away."

"They're coming for her New Years Eve, Doctor." Yeah it was a brutal thing to do but I really didn't have time to play nice. Hendricks was now weeping openly.

"How did you know?"

"I didn't until just now. I noticed you were watching Rachel instead of Samantha. Any other man would have been watching the girl on her knees. Then there was the look in your eyes. It's how I figured out that Amanda wasn't her big sister but her mother. There is a big difference between a sister changing a diaper and a mother doing it. What happened?"

"She was allergic to an antibiotic I gave her, the reaction wasn't severe but it was enough that I needed to keep her in the basement for three days. She stabilized and I didn't think anything of it. Between fighting the original infection and the rejection of the first antibiotic it flushed her birth control. I had her on shots; they are normally good for three months. We managed to keep her out of circulation for a while but she had to see me twice a week. We made love every time she came. Unless Kathy was here, then she would have to do Kathy instead and then Kathy would watch me fuck her so she could make sure I was treating her like a proper slut. Amanda didn't mind because she knew it was necessary if we were to avoid suspicion.

"Then she missed a period. We chalked it up as a lingering reaction to her illness. When she missed a second one I gave her a pregnancy test and it came back positive. I determined how far along she was and it was apparent I was the only one that could have been the father. We both cried, happy that we had a baby but scared at what it might mean. Amanda wanted us to run away but if we did we knew they would kill her family. Kathy would be safe and Mandy didn't care about her parents, but there was no way to get Samantha to safety. They were never allowed to go anywhere together without supervision in case they decided to make a break for it."

"Samantha told me that if it hadn't been for Rachel they might all have been killed long ago."

"Yes, Amanda was a fighter, she'd been disciplined twice. If she got out of line again they were going to give up. She was reaching the point where she didn't care anymore. Then the pregnancy was discovered; her mother had been monitoring her periods and started watching her carefully. We had been planning to make a break for it, on a weekend when Samantha was sent to one of the members Amanda would sprain her ankle and come here. The girls always take the bus because it would look strange for a parent to drop a teenager off alone on a city street, but no one pays attention to a girl on the bus. Samantha would then take a bus to another part of the city and we would pick her up and head out of state. We couldn't risk the local cops, some of them are involved. But before we could make it work Irene caught the pregnancy and then all hell broke loose. I was called before an inquiry board to explain how it had happened and why we should both be allowed to live. It was touch and go there for a while. The only thing that saved us was the thought of the investigation if a pregnant girl from an upstanding family should suddenly show up dead. So Amanda made a deal."

"I know," I said. "Amanda would stop fighting and be a good little slave if they would agree to leave Rachel alone."

"Yes. I induced labor early so that we could make it look like someone else was the father. That pig that pretends to be her father used to fuck her four or five times a week so he naturally assumed Rachel was his. She's even named for Frank's grandmother. I was afraid of how Irene would react but she was thrilled because now she had a way to control her rebellious daughter. All she had to do was threaten Rachel with an 'accident' and Amanda would do anything she said. After all, Irene watched the baby every day while Amanda was at school. The timing was even perfect. She was just starting to show at the end of school. I induced in mid August and she was back to school with nobody the wiser. Rachel was a small baby anyway so she didn't even have stretch marks. A couple months dieting, wearing baggy clothes and nobody knew anything had happened."

"I understand, Doctor. I knew most of it already, but thank you for filling in the holes." I glanced at the hooded figures once more standing around us. Shall we get started?"

As we had hoped, Hendricks was a wellspring of information. Including the key piece we needed. By the time we had left we had filled in a lot of space on the chart, including the names of several others in the group. The last thing I did was to make Hendricks forget that anything different or unusual had happened in this dream. It was obvious that this was a nightmare he had often so he would remember it as being just the normal version.

It was Shannon that made the connection. It had been right there in front of us all along and we hadn't caught it. We were in the office going over everything when something clicked in her head and she blurted out, "It's him. The one they call Lord Hightower. He's the key."

"What do you mean?" Allison asked.

"Watch," she said. Suddenly the chart floated up off of the computer screen and began reshaping itself as if wrapping around a globe. "Okay, now check it out. See, all the groups connect to the headless horseman."

"Holy shit, Jimmy," Allison said. "She's right. Everyone we know, all of the people you've bridged so far, all connect to him. They don't even know each other, but no matter who they connect to, they all connect to him. He's the only one that all of the girls have been with. He's the key, he has to be."

"If you're right then we have another problem," I said.

"Yeah no one knows dick about him," Shannon said.

Suddenly it was my turn to be brilliant, "Wait, that's not true. Remember when we were first checking Samantha out. She went to see him."

"That's right," Allison said. "The building downtown, what was it, the eighteenth floor? Blue elevator?"

"Are you sure it was the blue one?" Shannon asked.

I just shook my head, "Sama..."

"Jimmy, no!" Allison yelled. "Jesus, what are you thinking, you want to scare her to death. She's not used to this; she goes into slave mode every time someone knocks on her door, even in dreams. Go to her, bring her back. Knock on the door and invite her in, but don't just pop her into an unfamiliar office without warning."

Okay, she made sense. I got up and walked to the door and knocked gently. As always the door opened almost immediately and Samantha was already halfway to her knees by the time it swung all the way open. "It's me Sam." I reached out and stroked her hair, her bracelet changed and suddenly she practically jumped into my arms, hugging me. I kissed her hair and turned in her arms, putting my arm across her shoulders and guided her into the room. As we walked in I changed her clothes to sweats and a tee shirt. "We think we've found the key."

"The key to what?" She asked.

"The key to your freedom." I didn't give her time to ask questions. "Who is Lord Hightower?"

"Who?"

"When I first started watching you; back before I blew up the house and ruined Frank's night, you had a dream about going to see a guy downtown. You were sitting on a bench and ... here..." I replayed the scene from memory.

Samantha sat on a park bench, waiting. She didn't look around or speak to anyone passing by, she just sat. Eventually a man approached her. He stood behind her. Apparently she never saw his face as it was just a blur.

"I am of the royal blood and seek a consort," he said.

"It is my pleasure to serve you, my Lord."

"Wait three minutes, rise and proceed to the 18th floor of the gray building on the southwest corner. You will take the elevator with the blue doors. Push the call button twice, wait one second and press it again. When the door closes you will immediately remove your clothes, fold them neatly and place them on the floor. There will be a blindfold taped to the panel. Put it on. Be quick, I will expect you positioned and ready when the doors open."

I let the scene fade.

"That is Lord Hightower, and that is how everyone sees him. No face, just a blur where his head should be."

"But I don't know him. I don't remember any of this."

"You don't?" Allison asked. "How can you not remember him? Jimmy, how can she not know him?"

"But I don't, I swear it," Samantha insisted. She stared at the frozen scene before her. "But that's me, and if you saw it in my dream, then it must be real ... what..."

I could see her starting to freak out. I placed my hand on her shoulder, "Go back to sleep, Samantha. You were never here and will not remember this part of your dreams; you will wake normally in the morning, refreshed and relaxed." As I took my hand off of her shoulder she disappeared. I pulled out my phone and called my resident psych. "Bob, I have a serious question. Bring Rebecca."

Almost immediately we heard the elevator chime and then they were walking into the office.

"This better be good, Matthews." Rebecca said. But she was smiling so I knew she wasn't serious.

"It is. I need you to run some background checks first chance you get."

"Background checks? What kind?"

"How do I know? Is there more than one kind? Something simple that won't attract a lot of attention. I can give you some basic information, name, picture, I'm sure I can get you addresses too, but I have to bridge them again and dig a little deeper first. I'm looking for a way to tie them together, some common thread to their lives. Most of them are minor players, this one..." I pulled up a picture of Victoria Essex, " ... is a time bomb looking for a place to go off."

"Is that your professional opinion?" Bob asked with a laugh.

"He could show you," Allison offered.

One look at her face and the laugh died on Bob's lips, "Somehow I think I'd rather not, thanks anyway. You were saying."

"Most of all I need to find this building." I pulled a shot of the building Lord Hightower had directed Samantha too. "Specifically I need to know about who and what is on the eighteenth floor."

"What's so special about that building?" Rebecca asked as she was staring at the image. "And the eighteenth floor?"

"Lord Hightower," Shannon said. "We think he's the key. Jimmy, show her the chart.

I brought the image up on the computer and Rebecca saw immediately what we had missed for so long.

"Everyone connects to him," She said, tracing pathways with her finger. "They don't all know each other, but they all know or have had contact with him.

"Right," I said. "Now here is the really weird part. Nobody knows who he is, and, and this is the part I wanted to talk to you about, Bob. No one has seen his face."

"You mean he wears a mask?" He asked.

"No," Shannon answered. "It's like he doesn't have a head; in every vision, of every person we've bridged his head is blurred out. It's like one of the spots they use on television when they are interviewing someone who doesn't want to be identified."

"That is strange." He said.

"It gets even weirder," Allison said. "That building? We got it from one of our earliest visits to Samantha. She went there, met with Lord Hightower, and doesn't remember doing it."

"Excuse me? Are you sure it wasn't just a fantasy?"

"No, it was a memory, I'm sure of it." I answered.

"You know it's really weird talking to you guys," Rebecca said. "It's like talking to one person in three bodies. One of you says something, we ask a question, and someone else answers. We ask another question, and someone else answers. It's hard to keep up sometimes."

I had to smile when I realized she was right. What I had complained about Allison and Shannon doing I was now doing with them. I ran the memory sequence of Samantha's trip but cut it off when she went into the elevator. They didn't need to see what happened after and I knew seeing Samantha stripping would make Bob uncomfortable. "I replayed that whole sequence for Samantha earlier and she swears it never happened." I waited for that to sink in before continuing, "So what do you think, Bob? How could she do all of that, and what came after, then not remember any of it?"

"There are a few possibilities," He said. "It could be trauma, maybe something really bad happened while she was in there..." he glanced at all of us for comments.

"No," I answered. "Nothing any different from what she goes through with anyone else."

He nodded and continued, "Then that leaves..."

Shannon interrupted, snapping her fingers, "Hypnosis. That's it, isn't it?"

Bob nodded, "Yes, but he'd have to be really, really good at it."

"Why?" Rebecca asked.

"A couple reasons: First let's look at Samantha's visit; she spent several hours going there and..."

He looked like he was struggling for a word so I gave him one, "Servicing?"

He frowned but nodded and went on, "Servicing Lord Hightower, cleaning up, and then making her way back home. She would have this huge hole in her day, hours she couldn't account for. A hole in your memory chain like that is something that your subconscious will try to account for. He would have to implant a credible suggestion that would account for the time she spent, something that her mind would accept as natural and normal. With Samantha, or any of these girls, there are probably not a lot of options. I don't think they are allowed to just wander the mall or window shop unsupervised. Second, this seems to be a universal phenomenon. All these people have been in his presence, and none of them remembers his face; even subconsciously. That they could not pick him out of a line-up is one thing; that he does not even appear in a dream; A subconscious recreation of a memory buried so deep she can't remember an event that lasted for hours? That's the equivalent of going to a ball game, watching the whole thing, and then not knowing even what sport was being played, let alone the teams. The skill required for that level of distortion... , and then there is maintaining it? I wonder if you found that building and the bench she was sitting on, if she would remember it? Well, actually, now that you've showed it to her she probably would remember it from..."

"Oh my God," Allison said suddenly.

Everybody looked at her expectantly. "Rebecca, I'm sorry but I have to ask you to leave for a couple minutes, what I have to say..."

Rebecca interrupted, "Is something you think it would be best if I didn't know about. Don't worry about it guys, I understand that there are things you can't or don't want to tell me. Would I be correct if I were to guess this is something about Jimmy's talent that you think would be dangerous for too many people to know, especially people who may be pressured one day to reveal it?"

Allison nodded and Rebecca stood up and walked toward the door. "That's fine, I don't want to know more, for the very reason that I don't want to know anything that I might have to lie about later. Besides, I've heard enough, get me the addresses on as many of them as you can, it will shorten the time on the search if I don't have to worry about looking up the wrong John Smith." She kissed Bob on the cheek and headed for the door.

Allison waited for the door to close before continuing, "No, Bob, she wouldn't remember." She took my hand, "Jimmy, what was the last thing you did before Samantha left?"

"I told her she..." I could feel the blood drain from my face.

"You told her she would not remember any of it or being with us tonight. Bob, you know what Jimmy can do. Could Jimmy implant the kind of suggestion you are talking about?"

It was Bob's turn to turn white, he took a deep breath and his face took on hard lines, but he was nodding as he answered, "Maybe, if he could get her in a dream state, absolutely. In fact it would be much easier to do it there, given the recent events and the escalation to working in daydreams; he probably wouldn't even need to wait for her to fall asleep. You're suggesting that this Lord Hightower has some ability, if not the same as Jimmy's, then at least as strong in its ability to plant subconscious suggestions." He paused and I could almost see the various arguments turning over in his head as he tried to examine them. "I wish I could say I think you're wrong, but it's very possible that you're right. It would fit perfectly with everything you've told me so far."

"Jimmy?" Allison said. "Remember what Hendricks said about how he got into this mess, about not remembering anything from that night?"

Bob cocked his head quizzically and we repeated Hendricks' story.

When we were done everyone just kind of sat around staring at each other for a few seconds before Bob finally said, "You need to be very, very careful."



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Chapter 28: All God's Children



Sunday morning was just another miserable September day in Southern California, sunny, about thirty percent humidity and temperatures expected in the low hundreds. It had been quite a while since we had been to church and our Sunday morning routine wasn't really up to the challenge. Fortunately Tom and Karen knew us well enough to plan for the later of the two service times. Figuring that the greatest challenge would be parking, people trying to leave while others were still arriving, we left early and arrived before the first service ended. It took a while but we did manage to find a couple of spaces near the back of the sanctuary. Getting back out was going to be a chore but then we weren't really in any hurry. Mom and Dad were dressed casually, he in khakis and polo shirt, she in a nice summer dress. Allison had insisted that we dress up for the occasion. She was in a nice dress and heels and I actually had to borrow a tie from my dad again. I wondered if maybe it was time I started looking closer at my wardrobe. The three inch heels brought Allison up almost to my height. It was a different view of her than I was used to and I decided I liked it. If it was possible she was even more breathtaking than usual.

There was a small crowd gathered outside the main entrance, just to one side so they wouldn't block the people coming out. People were chatting, hugging, shaking hands, meeting and making friends old and new. We had only been there a few minutes when the Davises showed up. Tom and Karen were dressed similar to my folks, Mark was wearing slacks and a dress shirt, but no tie, and Shannon and Allison had apparently been planning ahead. They actually had matching dresses. The only difference was that Shannon was wearing pumps so for once we were all about the same height. I shook hands with Mark and Tom, and then kissed Karen and Shannon each on the cheek. Tom was already showing signs of improved health. He was walking faster than I had seen him move in months. Not fast by any means but there was a strength and confidence in his stride that had been missing before. All things considered this seemed like the perfect place to be today. We chatted quietly for a few minutes and then the doors opened and the crowd from the first service emerged. There seemed to be two basic groups, those still carrying the lingering effects of their time with God, and those making a mad dash for the parking lot and freedom. Eventually the doors cleared and the late crowd began to file in. It was an old fashioned chapel with hardwood pews and lots of stained glass. I decided to take advantage of the time to look around a bit so as the others found us seats I wandered around the sanctuary admiring the craftsmanship and dècor. Everything was very well maintained and polished to a high shine. The auditorium was slowly filling up and as I finally headed to my seat something caught my eye. It was a girl - yeah I know, Jimmy noticed a girl, go figure. It wasn't her that caught my eye so much as the people around her. In a rapidly filling room she was like an island. I watched as several groups moved past her, disapproval etched on their faces. There wasn't another person sitting within six or eight feet of her.

She was dressed in black jeans, a black tee shirt apparently pulled over a white one. Her hair was a bright, bright red with just a hint of orange, but you could see the dark roots growing out. She had piercings in her lower lip and right nostril, as well as a barbell stud at the edge of one eyebrow. I couldn't count the earrings in the ear I could see. She seemed oblivious to the scornful stares of the people passing by. I thought she was just looking down and ignoring them but then I realized she was praying. Anger burned hot within me at the thought that these people, these devout children of God, obviously felt she had no place in their church. I walked back over to where everyone was sitting. The row behind us was still mostly empty so I slid in behind them, leaned over and kissed my mother on the cheek.

"This is great and I'm glad we came, save an extra seat, I'll be right back."

She turned towards me and started to ask, "Jimmy what..." something in my expression stopped her and she just nodded.

I walked around the front of the chapel to avoid the crowd. Despite the rapidly diminishing supply of seats, my mystery girl was still holding her own; the seats directly in front and behind her, as well as half the bench next to her were still empty. I tried really hard to keep my face and eyes neutral as I walked up to her. Her head was still down so I simply stood beside her and waited.

After a few seconds her head came up and she noticed me, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't..."

I interrupted her, "No need to apologize, I didn't want to disturb you. Are you saving these seats?"

"No," she said softly, her eyes sliding downward again slightly.

"Well then, there must be something wrong with them because apparently no one else wants to sit here. My family is sitting over on the other side. Why don't you join us?" She looked at me like I had grown antlers, but I just reached for her hand and said, "Please?"

She studied my face for a moment, I think she may have been searching for some sign that she was being set up. Then she took my hand and stood up, pulling a small backpack out from under the bench and slinging it over her shoulder by one strap. I realized then it wasn't a pack but a pack-style purse. I'd seen them in some of the specialty catalog flyers that came in the mail. That was an expensive purse for a young girl to be carrying. She barely came past my shoulder which put her height around five feet; she had a very slight build and delicate bone structure. I pulled her hand through my arm and started moving up the aisle.

As I passed the next row I heard a woman whisper to her husband, "Thank goodness she's moving; can you believe someone coming to our church dressed like that?" I felt the girl tense beside me. I probably should have let it go but something inside me snapped.

I casually turned and stood the girl behind me next to the stained glass window with the Chalice design. "I'll be right back," I said softly, then turned back to confront the whispering woman, and in a not so quiet voice I said, "Excuse me, but this is not 'your church, ' it is God's house and while it's been a while since I have been here, the last time I checked everyone was welcome here." Without another word I turned away to offer the girl my arm once more.

She had the most unbelieving smile on her face as she took my arm. "Why did you do that?"

"Because someone had to and I was there. My name is James by the way, but you can call me Jimmy, all my friends do. What's yours?"

"Phoebe."

We were just reaching our row, "Nice to meet you Phoebe, these are my parents, Richard and Cyndi, our friends Tom and Karen, my best friend Mark, his sister Shannon, and my sister Allison. Everyone, this is Phoebe."

Everyone stood up, the men all shook her hand, Karen and Cyndi hugged her, Shannon practically ripped her arm off pulling her down the row to sit between her and Allison. Phoebe was looking more than a little overwhelmed; I'd almost say she was bordering on panic. I knew if I left them like that Shannon would chatter the whole time and end up getting us thrown out.

"I don't think so. Allison, slide down a little bit would you please." She gave me a wink and slid over to make room. People around us were trying hard not to stare as I slid into my seat between Shannon and Phoebe. Just as I did the music started and everyone surged to their feet.

The hymns were nice but I think I would have enjoyed them better if I'd known the words. I tried to follow along in the hymnal Phoebe had opened but I kept getting lost. About half way through she actually started pointing to the words so I could see where we were. That made it a lot easier. She had a beautiful singing voice, high and clear, and fortunately, loud enough to drown me out. Hey, I don't even sing in the shower.

After a couple of songs a man came forward with announcements and then they took an offering. As the plate made its way closer to us I felt Phoebe reach into an inside pocket of her jacket searching for something. Apparently it wasn't where she expected it to be as she quickly started fishing in other pockets, finally coming up with a crumpled one dollar bill. I watched from the corner of my eye as she said a silent prayer, kissed the bill and dropped it into the plate. The girls and I each put in a dollar and I made a point of not watching as Mark and the 'rents made their offerings. Phoebe was praying again and I took the opportunity to catch Allison's eye. She glanced at Phoebe and gave me a worried look over the girl's head. Something was really bothering this girl, apparently enough to catch Allison's attention. Without thinking I placed my hand on Phoebe's shoulder, bowed my head and said a silent prayer myself:

"Lord, you brought me here today for a reason, but I'm new at this, so I need your guidance, please give me the wisdom to see what needs to be done, and the strength and courage to do it. And whatever you do, please take care of Phoebe. Amen."

As I lifted my head a small voice whispered, "Thank you."

We sang another hymn and then the pastor came out. "Good morning, if you are a guest today I'd like to welcome you, and if you're a regular attender returning, welcome you back,  and commend your bravery." There was a general chuckle as he went on, "If you received your sermon notes on the way in, I would like to invite you to hold them up in the air where I can see them. For those of you that did not pick up notes, don't worry about it, but next week when you come back, if you come back, please look for them in the lobby. If you forget, don't worry, the ushers will bring you a set. For those of you who do have your notes I would like to ask you to please hold onto them until next week, we've had a last minute program change. So please put those away and save them for next week. Now this next part may seem a little unusual in a modern setting but if you brought your Bible with you this morning, please open it to Deuteronomy 14:1, for those of you who are new that's in the front part that we call the Old Testament. It's actually on page two-sixty if that helps." There was another chuckle at this.

Phoebe was looking on as Shannon searched unsuccessfully for the right section. I heard her whisper, "Further back." At which point Shannon reached past me and handed her the book. At first she was startled, not believing that Shannon had given her her Bible.

I think she was worried that she may have offended Shannon, but then Shannon whispered, "I'll never find it in time."

Phoebe found the right section just as the Pastor proclaimed in a loud, strong, voice, "You are the children of the Lord your God. Read that again, 'You, are the children of the- ... are you reading this?" He started over and this time the congregation repeated it with him, "You are the children of the Lord your God. Now let's stop and think about what that says... 'You' is general reference, applied to everyone that believed in Jehovah God. God ... identified the body of His believers as His children. Young and old, rich and poor, slaves and free men, husbands and wives, everyone who believed in Him, He called His children. Now let's skip ahead a few years, let's look at the New Testament, turn to Romans 8:16, and read with me..." He paused to let them find their places. Again Phoebe found it very quickly and held the book where we could all lean in and see it. When the rustling of pages slowed down he began reading again, "'The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.' Does it really say that? The Spirit himself, a full member of the triune Godhead, testifies with our spirit?

"Picture yourself in a court of law, accused and condemned with but one witness on your side. Can you think of a better witness than God himself? Who can stand against His word? And this is the Spirit that proclaims, just as it proclaimed centuries before, that we are the children of God. You may remember these three guys, Matthew, Mark, and Luke? They hung out with Jesus for a few years and eventually they wrote down the stuff they thought was the most important. Don't try to keep up but you may want to write these down. Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14-16, and Luke again in chapter eighteen, verse sixteen, all write about the same event, I think Mark wrote it best but you can read the others later. I'm going to start in verse 13 where it says, 'People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.' Verse fourteen, 'When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth; anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Verse sixteen, "And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." Think about it, of all the things that Jesus said or did during his earthly ministry, all the stories told to them by the apostles while they were traveling around, all three of these guys chose to record this passage. They decided that this event was important enough that it required telling and none of them trusted the other guys to get it right."

There was another chuckle and he went on, "Now let's look at Luke's version a little closer. Starting in verse fifteen, 'People were bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.' Sound familiar? Verse sixteen, 'but Jesus called the children to him and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.' I want to focus on that section for the rest of this morning. Before we begin let us ask God's blessing on our time, Father, what a privilege it is to be called a child of The Living God. To be able to one day stand before you and be called your child. Lord, open our hearts this morning and let us not just hear your word but carry it with us from this place. Amen.

"My question for you this morning is simple. Who are the children in your life? Try not to think of changing diapers, those aren't the children I'm talking about. Who are you hindering? Who are you holding back from the love of God? Maybe it's your boss and you're withholding your respect because he didn't give you that promotion you wanted. Maybe it's your parents because you're still mad at them for not being more perfect. Is it the homeless person on the corner because he needs a bath and won't work even though the sign says he will?"

Without mentioning names or pointing fingers he went on for another thirty minutes about how important it is not to judge the people in our lives by our standards but to try to see them as God sees them, as His children. At several points heads turned our way and Phoebe squirmed uncomfortably, other heads turned to the woman I had rebuked earlier for her treatment of Phoebe. From time to time you could hear an occasional sob and catch a glimpse of an eye being dried. Long before he finished tears were flowing freely down Phoebe's face. I was reaching to untie my tie and give it to her when Mark handed me a handkerchief that Karen had given him. Without a word I passed it to the young girl and looked away as she tried to stem the flow. When at last the pastor stopped to pray, when everyone else was bowing their heads, Phoebe got up, excused herself and left. I was worried at first but then Allison left right behind her. I nudged Shannon and when she saw Allison leaving she went quickly after them. The service ended with another hymn which I didn't even bother to try and follow along with, and then we filed out with the rest of the crowd. I watched for the girls but they were nowhere in sight so we waited outside for them to show up.

I noticed Tom looking past me just as someone touched my shoulder; I turned to find the woman from earlier, and her husband, standing behind me. The woman's makeup was streaked and her eyes were red. Her husband's face was hard to read, but I thought he looked more embarrassed than angry as his wife spoke, "I just wanted to say thank you..." she burst into tears and lunged to hug me, "thank you so very much for being here today. You didn't even know her, did you?"

I hugged her back loosely and answered, "No, I've never even been here before. Do you know her?"

She pulled back and dabbed at her face with a handkerchief, "No," she barked through another sob, "I never bothered to even try. I've seen her here the last couple weeks and I was just sooo upset that someone would come to my church looking like that. Do you know where she went? I'd really like to apologize to her. Did I miss her?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "She left before the end, but I think she may have just gone to the restroom. She seemed upset so my sister and her friend went after her. I haven't seen them since so I guess they're still in there." Just then Shannon appeared behind her, stepping past the woman's husband.

"They're going to be there for a while," she whispered. "Phoebe is hiding in a stall and won't come out. Allison is staying with her. Jimmy, I think she's waiting for everyone to leave."

"This is my fault, I should go apologize," the woman said.

Her husband finally spoke up, "For goodness sake, Claire, let it go. Even if it is your fault, which I'm sure it's not, I doubt that you going in there sobbing and crying is going to help. Now stop this nonsense and let's go, the Johnsons are waiting."

I took her shoulders softly and said, "It's alright, Claire, you apologized, and I forgive you for both of us, because I know she would if she were here. It'll be okay, she's probably just feeling a little self conscious about all the attention."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Don't worry; we'll take care of her. Mom, Dad, you guys go on and I'll bring the girls with me when we get this taken care of." I kissed my mother on the cheek and followed Shannon back toward the sanctuary.

As I was walking away I heard Tom say to my dad, "That's a hell of a kid you've got there, Rick."

As we re-entered the sanctuary we ran into the pastor who was talking to the last few stragglers in the lobby. He quickly thanked them for coming and then moved to intercept me. "I'm glad you're still here. That was a wonderful thing you did this morning. I don't think I've seen you here before. I'm John Keen, senior pastor."

"James Matthews, pleased to meet you Pastor, this was my first visit."

"Well, you should come more often. That was the most inspired sermon I think I've ever preached. No outline, no plan, just a few quick verses that came to mind when Marcus told me what you had done, and what you had said. Where is your friend?"

"Actually I just met her today, and she's currently hiding in one of the stalls in the ladies room, apparently waiting for everyone to leave."

"Really? You didn't even know her? Marcus assumed you were coming to the rescue of a friend. Amazing. Why is she hiding?"

"I don't know, my sister is keeping an eye on her, I was going to send Shannon in to make sure they were alone and then see if I could go in and talk to her. Do you know her?"

"Actually no," he said. "I've seen her here a couple times and I wanted to meet her but she always leaves at the end and is gone before I manage to break away from the crowd. Now I'm wondering if she's been hiding in there the other times as well."

"I'll ask her," I said. "If she'll talk to me, that is. Shannon?" I had seen Shannon duck inside and back while I was talking to Pastor Keen.

"All clear."

"Excuse me Fath ... Pastor." I pushed through the door and moved toward the stall that Allison indicated. I looked under the door and to the casual observer the stall was empty. "Phoebe? It's Jimmy, can I talk to you?"

"Please just go away."

"I can't do that; you see, a long time ago I was named a Knight of the Queens court, and as a knight I cannot I leave a lady in distress."

"You're kidding right?"

"Well, it was in a dream and the Queen was actually a dragon holding my sister hostage, but the rest is true."

I heard a chuckle but she didn't say anything. Still, it was a good start.

"Phoebe, Pastor Keen is wondering if this is where you disappeared to the other times you came?"

There was a pause and then she answered, "Yes."

"Well, your secret is out now, so you can't just stay here all day. Besides, sooner or later, someone is going to come looking for you."

You've heard the expression 'deafening silence'? I glanced at Allison and she was shaking her head slowly from side to side. No one was going to come looking for her. Damn! "Okay, maybe not, but you still can't stay in there Phoebe, and if you don't come out Pastor Keen will have no choice but to call the police. Is that what you want?"

"Nooo," came the sobbing reply.

Allison came and whispered to me, "She's afraid."

I nodded and she moved back, "Phoebe," I said, stepping close to the door and lowering my voice. "What are you afraid of? Maybe I can help."

"No, no one can help me."

I had a flash of inspiration. "Where is your faith, Phoebe?" I asked. "Phoebe, I haven't been inside a church in years. I'm here today because my friend Shannon's father was just declared free of cancer. For us it was an answer to prayer, so we came here to thank God personally. And then I met you. And while you were praying I asked God to help me have the wisdom to know what needed to be done and the strength to do it, and now here we are. Phoebe, please come out and let me help you." I waited and after a moment I heard movement and the door being unlatched. Slowly the door swung open and she came out. As she cleared the door I put my arm around her and guided her toward the lobby, where an anxious Pastor Keen was waiting.

"Pastor Thomas Keen, this is my friend Phoebe. Phoebe, this is Pastor Keen, he's been looking forward to meeting you. Phoebe, I need to make a phone call, and then I need to speak to Pastor Keen for a few minutes. Will you be okay here with Allison and Shannon while I talk?"

She nodded and I stepped outside and pulled out my phone. "Mr. Shelby? Edward Matthews, I need to get a hold of Miss Swann and I was wondering if you might have her number." I'm sure using the name Edward would throw him off but since we weren't sure if his line was secure I didn't want to draw attention to the call. Especially since he was about to give me the phone number of a person not involved in the case. Anyone listening wouldn't know she wasn't involved and I didn't want to give them any reason to pursue the new lead. He gave me the number but when I called it I got her recorder. I hadn't counted on that.

"Susan, it's Jimmy, I hate to bother you on your day off but I've got a little problem..." The line clicked and her voice came on.

"I'm here Jimmy, what's the matter?"

"I've got a not so small problem, I'm not sure just how big it really is but I may need a place to put her for a day or two?"

"Her? Jimmy, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure; I kind of had a problem dropped in my lap. I don't know how bad it really is yet; I'm hoping you can help me buy a little time to maybe sort it out. If I bring her by can she stay with you tonight?"

"Stay with me? Jimmy, how old is this little problem?"

"Younger than me; I haven't asked yet, but Susan she's in trouble and I can't just walk away from her. If you don't want to do this, just tell me and I'll call Melinda."

"Damn. Bring her by; I'll make up the spare room."

"Thanks, Susan. A gentleman may be calling in a few minutes to confirm that I'm really taking her to someone. I don't know why but some people might think that a teenage boy driving off with a younger girl he hardly knows is a little suspicious."

"Jimmy, you are too much. Fine, as long as it's not the police or child services."

"Actually, he's a Pastor." She gave me the address, I told her where I was and she gave me some quick directions, then I hung up and walked back inside. The girls were all sitting together in the back row chatting with the pastor. He saw me come in and excused himself. I cut right to the chase. "Pastor, I don't know exactly what is going on here today but this is no accident. This girl is in trouble and I'm supposed to do something about it. The first word that comes to mind is one that could get you in trouble if we even mention it so I'm not going to use it..."

"Thank you," he said. "I think you're right."

" ... and I'm pretty sure she just put her last dollar in the collection plate."

"It's obvious you have something in mind, convince me."

"I called one of my teachers, she's willing to put Phoebe up for the night and hopefully we'll be able to get her to talk to us about what it is that has put her in this situation. The teacher's name is Susan Swann and if you hit redial on my phone you can call and verify everything I've just told you. I understand that this is very unusual, and that it's not exactly anyone's first call for handling this situation but I'm willing to give you any information you need to trust me."

"Jimmy, I gave up on coincidence years ago. But I do have both moral and legal responsibilities, and I cannot allow the church to be involved in anything illegal. So again, thank you for not using the word we are both thinking. I would like to call your teacher friend, I would also like to make a photocopy of your driver's license, and get your home phone number. In addition I would like for Phoebe to call me in the morning. Then I would like for you to come by tomorrow after school and tell me what is going on."

"Done," I said, shaking his hand and reaching for my wallet. I handed him my license and went in to tell the girls the plan. Since I only had three seatbelts I had to leave Allison at the church while Shannon and I took Phoebe to Susan's. Susan met us at the door, I introduced them, assured Phoebe that Susan was not going to badger her, and promised to come back and talk to her later if she felt like talking. Shannon hugged her and thanked her for trusting us and eventually we made it back to pick up Allison.

"So, looks like we have yet another project to work on," Allison said, once we were alone. "How do we keep getting into these things?"

"Well obviously Lizzy is right and Jimmy is one of God's chosen troubleshooters. So, I personally am never going to church again." Shannon said.

"Won't work, Sha, God doesn't live in a church. Seriously, what are we going to do?"

"Simple," I said. "We're going to take it one step at a time, first I'm going to find out what she's running from, and we'll go from there. Did anyone bother to ask where we're barbequing?"

"Our place," Allison said. "Don't worry, Tom's handling the grill."

We spent a few hours lying around the pool before the phone rang. I braced myself for the sound of my father berating a telemarketer but instead he yelled that it was for me. I picked up the cordless in the kitchen and he hung up.

"Jimmy? It's Susan; Phoebe would like to talk to you, could you come over."

"Sure, do you think she'd freak out if I brought Bob?"

"Probably. Jimmy, I don't think this is a Bob problem."

That said a lot. "Okay, I'll be right over." I was dressed and out the door in just under three minutes.



-------

Chapter 29: Phoebe's Story



When I got there Susan met me at the door and stepped outside to talk to me.

"She's been crying off and on most of the afternoon, but in between she told me what's going on. Her parents were killed two months ago while vacationing in Mexico. She spent three weeks in a children's center, then her uncle showed up for her. She wouldn't say what the problem is but it didn't work out so she ran away three weeks ago. She sold everything she had at a pawnshop and has been living off of it ever since, praying for a miracle. Apparently her parents were religious and she has a very strong faith."

I smiled, "Yes, she does. Do you mind if I talk to her alone for a little bit?"

"No, it's okay. It's you she wants to talk to anyway. If she wanted to tell me something she's had plenty of opportunity. Thanks for coming over." I nodded and went inside; Phoebe was curled up on a bean bag wearing a pair of Susan's pajamas. I was guessing they were Susan's because they were way too big for the girl. She was facing away from me so she didn't see me come in; probably thought it was Susan returning.

I walked over and squatted next to her, "Hi, Phoebe." At the sound of my voice she quickly wiped her eyes and turned to face me.

"Jimmy, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in," she blurted out, still wiping at her face with the long sleeve of the pj's. "I thought it was Susan coming back and..."

"Shhh, don't apologize" I said, catching her hand to stop her for a moment. I took a tissue from the box on the floor and dabbed at the remaining tears, "You're getting your shirt all wet and you'll catch your death of cold in this air conditioning." She gave a barking laugh and then dissolved into tears again. I didn't say anything just sat down next to the chair and pulled her into my lap. She came willingly and when I had her settled I leaned us over so we were lying against the bean bag. I kissed her hair and whispered, "It's okay, Phoebe, tears are good for you. They're one of God's gifts to us; they help wash away the hurts, so just let them out and let them do their job."

I glanced up and Susan was standing just around the corner where Phoebe couldn't see her. I could see some streaks on her face as well. I shook my head at her and she went down the hall into one of the bedrooms and closed the door. As I settled myself against the soft chair and waited for the tears to run their course, I couldn't help but wish I had Allison or Easy there to help. Of course, Lizzy's usual healing methods were out but if Allison was right she could still help. After a while I felt the shaking stop and focused on the girl in my arms again. Her breathing had evened out and I knew she had fallen asleep. No problem, I could wait. In fact, if she stayed asleep long enough it might make things easier. No such luck; even as I thought it I felt her stir against me. At first I thought she was trying to pull away but then I felt her snuggle in a little tighter, take a big breath and let it out in a long sigh.

"Feel better?" I asked softly, kissing the top of her head and stroking her hair.

"Yeah, you were right; I really needed to get it out. I never really had the chance before. I was staying with some friends while my folks were away for their anniversary. One night the police showed up with this woman from the welfare office and told me my parents were dead and that I had to come with them. I didn't want to but they said I didn't have a choice. The people I was staying with tried to protest, they said they would like to take me in and start adoption proceedings. The woman told them they could start whatever they wanted but that for now I still had to go with her. They called me the next day and told me that they had filed the initial paperwork, but that it would take over a year just to get a hearing. Crying in the children's center was a great way to get beat up, and three weeks later my uncle showed up, I'd only met him once before in my life. That was ... five, no six, six weeks ago."

"Well, I'm glad I could be here for you. Phoebe, do you want to tell me why you ran away?"

"No, not really, but ... I guess I have to tell someone sooner or later. They're going to make me go back aren't they..." her voice broke and I felt her start to shake again.

"Phoebe, look at me." I pushed her away far enough for her to look up into my eyes, "I can't answer that unless you tell me what happened. I'm not a lawyer but I do know a couple, I know a few other people as well. I won't lie to you. You're a minor, and they are apparently the closest relatives willing to take you in. Unless you come up with a really good legal reason, yes, they will make you go back. Did something happen, did your aunt or uncle abuse you? Did you feel threatened or in danger?"

"Yes."

"Which part?"

"I felt like I was in danger. My aunt and uncle were ... different when I got there, I mean, they weren't what I would have expected from someone who had lost close family and were taking in their child. They were distant, like they were hiding something. They never talked much when I was around. They told my cousins, Carly and Regina, to take care of me." I could see she was getting into the scene mentally as she thought more about it and concentrating on the facts was helping her to separate the emotions out. "I knew something was going on that they weren't telling me, and then my second day of school I found out. They were having sex, with each other, right there in the living room. I walked in the door and there was Regina, naked on the couch and Carly had her face right ... you know... there and she was..."

"It's okay, you don't need to tell me, I understand. So how did they react when you walked in? How old are they by the way?"

"Carly is a year older than me, Regina is twelve, was twelve, she had a birthday last week ... I missed it."

"So you're thirteen, I thought you were a little younger."

"I was a preemie; I've always been small for my age. What was really weird was they didn't react at all to me walking in on them, like it was no big deal. Then Regina started to breath hard and shake and she was pulling on Carly's head like she was tying it pull it inside her, then she just sort of relaxed and Carly stopped, and then ... then she asked me if I wanted to be next! Well, I freaked out. I mean I'd heard of girls that, you know, like other girls but ... ugh, it still creeps me out just to think about it. I didn't even answer; I just ran upstairs to my room and closed the door. A few minutes later Regina comes in and sits on my bed, she was still naked and she didn't even care, she just sat on my bed and started telling me it's really important that I not tell anyone what I saw. She says they would get in real trouble. She said it like she was really scared."

She stopped and sat staring at the floor for a few moments. I knew there was more and I didn't want her to stop, "What happened next? Did you talk to your Aunt and Uncle about it?"

"No, I was afraid of getting them in trouble. Regina finally went and got dressed, and then she brought her homework into my room. She didn't ask or anything, just flopped on the bed and started pulling things out of her backpack. A little while later I heard the front door open and I started to go see who it was, but she stopped me, saying we had to stay in the room until my aunt or uncle gave us permission to leave. I asked her, 'what if I have to go to the bathroom.' She just gave me this really weird look and said, 'then you hold it until they tell you it's okay to come out.' When I asked her, 'Well what about Carly, why doesn't she have to stay in her room?' She just gave me that look again only this time she looked like she was mad and said, 'Carly is not your concern. She has duties to perform that do not concern you.' The whole thing just creeped me out. The rest of the week was more of the same, except I didn't catch her and Carly, you know, doing it again. I think maybe they were doing it after I went to bed. I had to go to bed at nine o'clock but I would hear things, you know, after I went to bed."

All of this was starting to sound far too familiar to me and I could feel the small hairs on the back of my neck starting to stand up. "What happened next?"

"Well, nothing really happened after that, not right away anyway. Saturday we did chores and Carly had a meeting of some kind she had to go to. She was gone for most of the afternoon, and then the whole family played "Life" and watched movies until bed time. I think Regina may have sneaked into Carly's room because when I went by her room on the way to the bathroom the door wasn't closed all the way and when I looked inside she wasn't there." She paused again for a moment, "Then Sunday morning we got up to go to Church. Jimmy, I've never felt so freaked out in church my whole life, but that place, even the priest, and that bothered me too, most churches don't have priests, they have pastors, except the Catholics and some others, but they called their leader a priest. Jimmy, he scared me. I don't know why, he didn't do anything, or say anything to me, but once when he looked at me, I just couldn't breathe, it was like he was sucking the air away from me. Then he looked away and I was fine again. After the service he came over to see my aunt and uncle and they introduced me, and I didn't want to but I shook his hand and everything was fine."

She stopped and stared at the floor again, and I knew there was more. Not that this wasn't enough but I was afraid to ask the question I wanted to ask. I was pretty sure I knew the answer already and it scared the crap out of me. "There's more isn't there?"

At first I thought she wasn't going to answer, but finally she nodded her head and said, "Yes. Monday after school they were doing it again, and they tried to get me to join in, they kept telling me how much fun it was and how I'd like it if I only gave it a try. Carly tried to kiss me but I pulled away and Regina said, 'Come on Phoebe, lighten up, it's just like kissing a boy.' I could feel myself blush and then they started teasing me, 'Oh my God, ' they actually used the Lord's name in vain, 'Oh my God, you mean you've never even kissed a boy?' I thought if I admitted it they would leave me alone but it was like they were actually excited that one of them would get to be my first kiss. Like I was just going to up and kiss one of them. They hounded me about it until time for their parents to come home and then Carly took me upstairs and stayed in my room with me until they said it was okay to come out. She didn't even get dressed first, just sat there and watched me do my homework, and whispered to me about how she wanted to be my first kiss and please would I kiss her, and she kept touching my hair and stuff. It went on all week; they just kept after me about it until finally I gave in and said I would kiss them. They actually flipped a coin to see who got to go first. Carly won and I thought she was going to do a back flip she was so excited. Then she has me stand up against the wall and sort of presses herself up against me and kisses me. It wasn't horrible or anything, it was like kissing mom or dad, but then she opens her mouth and starts licking my lips with her tongue. 'Come on, open your mouth, you have to kiss me back or it doesn't count. What, like you've never seen a movie that wasn't G-rated? Kiss me Phoebe; I'm not going to bite you. Regina might, but I won't." I still didn't want to but then Regina comes over and pinches my nose shut while Carly grabs my arms and pins me to the wall. Well it was open or suffocate so I opened, and suddenly it's like there is this snake in my mouth, but at least Regina let go so I could breathe. It went on for a couple seconds, her kind of mashing her lips against mine and licking around inside my mouth then she finally let me go and said, 'See, that wasn't so bad, was it. But I'm not counting that one because you didn't kiss me back, so tomorrow you have to kiss me again. For now you can practice with Regina, and you better do better for her because I wasn't kidding when I said she bites." She wasn't kidding either. When I didn't kiss her back, Regina kind of grabbed my lip with hers and sort of sucked it into her mouth and held it there with her teeth. When she finally let go she said if I didn't try harder she would bite it for real. She made me stick out my tongue and then she kind of sucked it into her mouth and played with it with her tongue and then said, 'that's more like it, and if Carly gets a second chance tomorrow then so do I and I'll expect you to do better.'

"Every day after school they made me kiss them; at first it was just against the wall, but then they wanted me to put my arms around them and hold them, then they started running their hands up and down my body, when Regina squeezed my butt I almost bit her tongue off but that just seemed to excite her more. Friday they made me lie on the bed. I knew it was a bad idea. This time Carly was first and she started feeling my ... breasts ... through my shirt, squeezing and rubbing them, and then when it was her turn Regina moved her hand down and started rubbing me ... you know, there. I tried to push her off but she grabbed my hands and bit down hard on my lip. I cried out and she let go and said, 'hold still, ' then she put my hands over my head started kissing me again and this time she slid her hand inside my pants and started to slide it under my underwear. I didn't care what she did to me; I wasn't going to let her touch me there. I started fighting harder and suddenly Carly was sitting on my legs and she started to unbutton my pants and I went crazy, kicking and clawing and I managed to get away and run to the bathroom and lock the door. I knew if I could just keep away from them long enough that they would have to stop because it was close to time for my aunt and uncle to come home. Carly came to the door a little while later and said I had to go back to my room or I would get in trouble and she didn't want me to be punished because of something she did. I knew she was right, so I opened the door and she let me go back to my room. She didn't even touch me. Later, when she came and stayed with me while we waited for them to say we could come out she apologized for what had happened. She told me how much she loved me and wanted to kiss me all the time and how bad she felt that my parents had died. She said she just wanted to make sure I knew they loved me and this was just the best way they knew how to show me, but that it was wrong to try and rush me and would I please forgive her. I knew it was all just talk but I was afraid of what would happen if I didn't say I forgave her. She told me again how important it was that no one knows about it, that we would all get in real serious trouble if anyone knew. That part I knew she meant. Something about the way she said it made me believe that she was really afraid of what would happen if anyone knew.

"I couldn't get to sleep that night, and about eleven thirty I got up to go to the bathroom and get a drink. There was a light on downstairs. There's a spot on the stairs where if you stand just right, you can see the living room reflected in the mirror. Aunt Vivian was on the couch and Carly was, you know, like she did with Regina." She swallowed hard and I could feel the heat of her embarrassment, "And Uncle Duke was, he was behind her and he was pushing his ... thing ... his penis into..." She shuddered. "Their own daughter! Jimmy, they were doing it with their own daughter! I forgot all about the drink and went back to bed. Then later I heard them all come up the stairs, there are two that squeak when you step on them, and I heard Carly go into the bathroom and then a few minutes later she came out and I heard her door close. Something told me I needed to get up, so I went and stood outside my aunt's bedroom door and I could hear them talking. I heard Uncle Duke say, "It sounds like the girls are making progress with her, I think she'll come around soon." And my aunt said, "She'd better, we're running out of time and I was starting to worry." Jimmy, they knew what the girls were doing, it was all some sort of sick plan. I slept in Saturday, saying I didn't feel well. Carly went to her meeting again. Sunday it was back to church and I kept noticing people staring at me. They would look away if I turned but you know how you can sort of feel it when someone is watching you. Twice more the priest looked at me during the message and I couldn't breathe. I did my best to act normally. Monday after school Carly and Regina acted really nice to me and kept saying how sorry they were about Friday, but would I at least let them kiss me, that I didn't have to kiss them back but please? I knew it was all just part of their plan but I didn't know what else I could do, so I let them. That night I woke up to find Regina pulling my covers back and crawling into bed with me. I started to say something but she just said, 'shhh, I promise I'll be good Phoebe, I just want to be near you, please?' I stayed awake most of the night praying to God to please get me away from that place.

"God heard my prayers, Jimmy, that very morning I had my first period. I woke up and my pajamas were all wet and sticky. Aunt Vivian was furious until I told her it was the first time. Then she got all sweet and apologetic. She had Regina go and get me some of her stuff to use until we got me my own, then she asked if I had cramps and I almost said no but then I lied and said yes. I guess it was the right thing to say because she said I could stay home from school if I wanted. I waited until they had been gone for a while and then called my Aunt at work and asked if it would be okay if I watched television. At first she was confused but I told her before if I was sick and had to stay home I wasn't allowed, that mom and dad said that too sick for school was too sick for television. She said it was alright and that Uncle Duke wanted to say hi. I didn't know they worked together but he was right there so he got on the phone and told me he loved me and hoped I felt better. As soon as I hung up the phone I got up and started gathering my stuff together. I didn't have a lot but some of it was expensive. I took everything I could carry that was small, I only took one change of clothes and two extra pairs of underwear. I looked in the phone book and found the address of a pawn shop that was close. There are pawn shops everywhere in Las Vegas..."

I could feel my heart lurch as she said it. I had known it was coming but that didn't make it any easier to hear.

" ... I sold everything, even my necklace that my mom gave me; it had real diamonds in it so I knew it would be worth a lot of money. At first the woman tried to tell me they were fake but I just scooped it up and started putting things back in my pack and she changed her mind. I ended up with just over six hundred dollars and I went straight to the bus station. I didn't even try to plan, just got on the first bus that was leaving. It was headed for San Bernardino. I asked the ticket guy if he could arrange to have a cab waiting to take me to my grandmother's house because she couldn't drive. I gave him an address off of a restaurant flyer that had the addresses of all of their restaurants. I've been praying for God to tell me what to do next. Every day I go to a different laundromat and wash my dirty stuff. My period only lasted two days so at least I didn't have to worry about that. I knew that God was testing me but that if I kept my faith he would deliver me. And he did, because here you are. Do you really think they'll make me go back?"

I was very sure she wasn't going to be going back to her Aunt and Uncle, but I couldn't tell her the real reason. At least I didn't have to lie, "No Phoebe, you won't be going back to them. Phoebe, I have to go make a call. You can stay here with Susan for tonight but that's all. Tomorrow another friend of mine may come by and pick you up. I don't know yet where she is going to take you but it will be someplace nice, and safe, and I swear to you, before God, that you will never have to go back to that place, and those people will never touch you again, okay?"

"Okay. But where..."

"I'm not sure yet, Phoebe, you just have to trust me. I need to go talk to Susan and then I need to get home, but I promise I'll come back and see you before I go. Now, let me up, ow! My arm's asleep, look what you did..." I played it up as best I could... "Ooh! Pins and needles!" I was happy to see that I actually got a smile out of her. I knocked on Susan's door and then led her out back onto the patio.

"Jimmy, you are simply amazing. I can't believe you got her to open up. Did she tell you what happened?"

"It wasn't me that got her to open up," I said. "Susan, this is important, under no circumstances tell anyone, anyone, that she is here." She was looking appropriately stunned as I pulled out my phone and hit a button. "Hi, it's me, where are you?"

"I'm at Bob's place, why?"

I didn't have time for explanations now, "Good. Are you inside or out?"

She paused for a second, "Inside." The way she answered told me she had caught on and this was now a real business call.

"Inside ... are you sure, absolutely sure you're secure? No, never mind that, I'd rather do this in person anyway. We've checked the house as best we can but do you have anything you could bring with you to check our house to make sure if it's clean or not?"

"Yeah, I got some stuff from Paul before I came out so I could sweep this place. We're clean on this end; are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"No, but you guys are officially invited to dinner; I'll call my mom and set it up. Shannon's folks will be there but I think that will actually serve our purpose in the long run. One thing, I'm with Susan Swann right now; Bob can tell you about her. Can you put him on for a second?"

"Yeah, hold on."

"Thanks," I said and waited for him to come on the line. I was staring at Susan, who was rapidly going from worried to scared and starting to turn white. "Bob, I don't have time for details. Something has come up. I'm at Susan's and I need you to tell her that she needs to do exactly what I told her. I'll explain later. I just need you to tell her to trust me."

"Oh Jesus," he said. "I don't even know what it is and I can already tell it's not good. Did you have to drag Susan into it?"

"I didn't know what it was until it was too late. Now it's too late. On a scale of one to ten I'd say it was Amber bad."

There was a pause, "Put her on the phone."

I handed her the phone and she took it like it was going to catch fire at any second, "Bob? It's me, what's going on?" There was a long pause while he said something, and several times her eyes flashed to mine. "Okay, okay, I get it. I'll do what Jimmy says. But Bob, someone is going to tell me what this is all about right? Okay, here's Jimmy."

"Thanks Bob. I've got a couple more minutes here, and then I'll call my mom and make sure she knows you're coming for dinner. Dinner is usually six-ish on weekends but show up anytime you want. We'll find time to talk later, after Rebecca has a chance to go over the house."

"That's fine," he answered. "Should I bring something?"

I laughed, "I'll ask. See you later. Thanks for doing this."

"Jimmy, you don't need to thank me," he said. "If it weren't this important you wouldn't be asking, and if you asked then it was that important. We'll see you later."

"Right, see you later." I closed the phone and put it away, "Susan, I may not be in school tomorrow, I'm telling you this because I don't want you to freak out if I don't show up."

"Jimmy, what is going on?"

"I can't tell you, but don't worry about calling Pastor Keen back tomorrow, I'll be seeing him in person and it won't be an issue any more. How long can you keep Phoebe?"

"What do you mean how long can I keep her? I thought this was just for the night."

"Would it be a problem if I needed it to stretch into two or three nights? I don't think it will go that long but I need some place where she will be safe, and for her safe means no one knows were she is."

"You make it sound like her life is in danger."

I didn't have to say anything, I just looked her in the eye and in a few moments what was left of the color drained out of her face.

"Oh my God, Jimmy, are you serious? But why?"

"No questions Susan, please. I promise that as soon as possible someone will explain what this is all about, but I can't tell you any more right now. Bob told you to trust me; I have to ask you to take this on faith for now."

"Damn it!" She swore. I suddenly realized that I had never heard her swear before. "Damn it to hell, how can people do this to children? She's just a little girl."

I took hold of her shoulders, "Yes, she's just a little girl, and right now we're all the protection she has. I have to go talk to Bob. I can ask him to stop by later if you want. Would that help?"

"Yeah, I think it would. What was that stuff you were talking to Rebecca about, something about a house, and being secure, what was that all about?" I just looked at her again. "Fine, no questions, are you leaving right away?"

"No, I promised Phoebe I would come back in before I left." I was not looking forward to this part. If I had a choice I would rather have taken her to my house, but I promised Pastor Keen that she would be staying here. Besides, he had my address already; if the wrong people showed up and he gave it to them... , she was safer here. The part I really didn't like was that keeping her safe meant that I would have to lie to her. I really didn't want to do that, but until she was safe, really safe, I couldn't tell her the truth. I braced myself and went back inside. She was curled up on the beanbag again waiting for me.

"Hi," she said, "I thought maybe you had forgotten about me."

"Forget you? Not a chance. Listen Phoebe, I have to go or I'll be late for dinner, and I have to meet with some people I know and talk to them about your situation. Until I do that, the most important thing is that no one knows where you are. You're a runaway and Susan could get in real trouble if you got caught here with her. She's a teacher and she's supposed to call the police about kids like you so she could actually lose her job if she got caught. So I need you to promise me, no phone calls, and do not go outside unless the house is on fire, for anything, got it?"

"Jimmy, whatever you say, I'll do. You don't need to explain. God sent you to save me, I trust you."

"Good, because I don't want anything to happen to you, I want you to be safe and for right now this is as safe as I can make you." I kissed her hair, "I won't be back tonight unless something goes wrong but someone may be coming by to talk to Susan. It will be one of her friends, but if they do I want you to go to the room she put you in, close the door and pretend you don't exist. When I leave I want you to go around the house and gather up anything that is yours and put it in your room," I took on a sterner voice, "and fold your clothes, don't just stuff them in your bag."

It got me the response I wanted, she giggled and said, "You're silly. You know, I never really wanted a brother before but if I had to have one, I'd want him to be just like you."

"Wait until you get to know me better, you may change your mind. I have to run, but before I go, can you tell me your Aunt and Uncle's last name, and the name of the church they took you to?"

I called my house as soon as I got to the truck.

Allison answered, "Hello?"

"Hey sis, good news, Mr. Shelby called and he and Rebecca will definitely be able to make it for dinner, I just wanted to pass that along to mom so she doesn't kill me when they show up."

She caught on right away, "That is good news, and it's a good thing you called, after the last time you had friends show up unannounced ... I'll tell her. Anything else?"

"Actually yes, you know Bob, he wants to know if there is anything he can bring."

"Hold on, I'll ask. On second thought, call me back, you know how this phone is and dad's too cheap to buy another one..." She hung up. I waited a couple minutes as I made my way back to the main road. I hate talking on the phone when I'm driving but I had purchased an ear piece to go with my phone so I could drive and talk without having to hold the phone to my ear. I'm not big on government restrictions but I think they should make it illegal to drive and hold a cell phone at the same time. I plugged in my headset while I was waiting at the light and called back. This time Mom answered.

"Hi Jimmy, glad to hear Bob and Rebecca could make it," obviously Allison had told her to play along. "Tom's grilling steaks and we have corn on the cob and salad to go with it, but I know Bob will feel bad if we don't let him bring something, so tell him he can bring some potato salad, or your dad said a six pack of really good beer. You reminded him dinner would be around six-thirty, right? Because you know Tom and your dad, if they aren't here when it's ready they can eat it cold or starve."

I chuckled, "Yeah, no worries, I told him. See you in a little while." I broke the connection and tried not to think too much about how many different things could go wrong.

Bob and Rebecca showed up about a half hour before dinner was ready. What can I say, Bob had this innate sense of timing when it came to social events, must be something about the bachelor life. Anyway, this gave us time to make introductions since no one in Shannon's family had met him before. When they asked what Rebecca did for a living she simply said she was a slave for Uncle Sam. Everyone chatted and made small talk until dinner was ready, and then we all expressed how much we had missed Tom's hand at the grill. Dad was a little put out over this but even he had to admit that this was the best barbecue we'd had in months. Tom was practically philosophical when he started talking about food.

"You know, one thing I have learned since I found out I had cancer is that you have to savor every bite, because you just don't know when it might be the last one you take. I don't know what it is, but for some reason I think I really appreciate food so much more since I started taking chemo and everything tasted like paste. I swear you could have put a perfect piece of filet in my mouth and I would have though a dog had taken a crap there instead. Then one day, I don't know, it was a miracle, but one day suddenly every bite I took tasted like manna from heaven. I think it saved my life. So, all of you, take it from someone who's been there, enjoy the moments, all of them, as best you can, because you just never know when the memory of those moments may be all you have left."

I exchanged a knowing glance with Bob and noticed similar looks being exchanged around the table between those of us that knew what had really happened. Mark said a hearty "here, here!" Bob raised his glass in a toast to the wisdom of experience, "May we learn enough from the trials of others to save us from ourselves!" Everyone clinked glasses and I'm pretty sure I heard a couple of amens just before everyone took a sip. Tom and Karen were feeling particularly celebratory; I think between the two of them they killed the better part of two bottles of wine. Allison and Shannon split a glass, I had my own and Mark, who had taken their car to work after church and then come straight over, was abstaining as the designated driver.

Dad expressed an interest in seeing if they could play their favorite card game with six people, obviously thinking of Bob and Rebecca since they never invited the kids to play. Bob begged off saying it was too hard to tell which end of the cards was 'up'. When Allison mentioned Mario Cart Racing the evening was set. We set up a quick roster for competition and the race was on. One advantage of this plan was that it gave me time to talk to Rebecca alone without anyone being overly suspicious. While Bob and the girls had Mark tied up racing Rebecca went back to Bob's car for her bug sweeper, and then swept the whole house except for my room. It would be kind of hard to explain after all, doing it in front of everyone, but with the 'rents on the patio playing cards and everyone else in my room we had a reasonable shot at getting through it without getting caught. Good news, the house was clean, we could relax. I wouldn't have admitted it before but I had been harboring secret worries about someone seeing me and Allison on the internet somewhere. When she was finished we went into to living room where we could talk.

"Okay, we're clean, now what the hell is going on?"

"What's going on is I'm up to my neck in trouble and sinking fast. This whole day has been about as bizarre as you could imagine. I saw this girl at church this morning; let's just say she stood out by how everyone was avoiding her. Anyway, she was sitting all alone so I went over and invited her to sit with us. There was more to it, but I don't have time for details. Right before the service ended, she grabs her stuff and makes for the door. She'd been crying so the girls went after her to make sure she was okay. We waited outside until almost everyone was gone and then Shannon comes back and tells me she's hiding in the bathroom and won't come out. Shannon thinks she's waiting for everyone to leave. Something about her had been picking at me, so I thought I would go back in and try and talk her out. I ran into the pastor on the way back in, and he confirmed that she had only been coming for a couple of weeks and that he had been wanting to talk to her but she always left before he could get clear. We wondered if maybe she had been hiding in bathroom the previous times as well, waiting for everyone to leave so no one would see her and wonder what she was doing there alone. He agreed to let me go in and talk to her, and I finally got her to come out by saying that if she didn't he would have to call the police."

"Runaway." She interjected.

"We were being really careful about not using the term, but yeah. I called Bob and got the number for one of my other teachers and got her to let her stay there for the night to see if we could get her to relax and tell us what was wrong. Well it worked. Susan called a few hours later and told me Phoebe, that's her name, wanted to talk to me. Rebecca, I'm starting to believe Lizzy about the hand of God thing, guess where she ran away from?"

"Jesus, you're kidding? Vegas?"

"Vegas, it gets better. Her parents died almost two months ago on an anniversary trip to Mexico. She spends a couple weeks in a children's shelter, and then her uncle shows up and takes her to Las Vegas to stay with his family. They've got two other daughters right around her age so it's not a big deal. Until Phoebe comes home after her second day of school to find her two cousins getting it on in the middle of the living room. They act like it's no big deal and try to get her to join in. She freaks and runs for her room. The younger girl comes up a little while later and tells her it's real important that she doesn't tell anyone or they'll get in trouble. Get this, the girl stays with her until after the parents get home, tells her she can't leave the bedroom until they come and tell them it's okay to leave. She asks about the older cousin and is told it's not her concern but that she has other duties to perform. Seems this is a nightly duty that the girls perform on alternate weeks. By now the hair on the back of my neck is trying to crawl up over the top of my head but it gets even better. This goes on for the rest of the week, the girls trying to cozy up to her and make nice. Then the weekend, Carly, the older one, disappears Saturday afternoon for a few hours, some 'meeting' she has to go to. Then Sunday they go to church, Phoebe's a big time church girl despite her appearance but this place just creeps her out, and the priest most of all...

"Priest?" Rebecca asked. "It's a Catholic church?"

"No. The next day the cousins start turning up the heat on Phoebe, finally she gives in and lets them kiss her. Every day they push a little harder until finally they've got her pinned on the bed while one of them is trying to reach down her pants. She freaks and fights them off and runs to hide in the bathroom. Again one of them comes and apologizes and tells her she really has to get back to her room before the parents get home or she'll get in trouble and she doesn't want her to get punished for something they did. It's little sister's week for nightly duties so Carly stays with her until they are given the all clear to come out. Phoebe can't sleep that night and gets up to use the bathroom and get a drink. There's a light on downstairs, she creeps to where she can see and finds Aunt Vivian on the couch with Carly's face in her lap while Uncle Duke gives it to Carly from behind. Phoebe runs back to her room and wants to hide under the bed. She's still awake when everyone finally goes to bed. She sneaks out and listens at the Aunt's bedroom door and hears them talking about how the girls are making progress and that she, meaning Phoebe, should come around soon.

"Now she knows the whole thing is a plot and the parents are in on it. Sunday rolls around and this time Phoebe can feel people watching her, including the priest and now he's creeping her out even more than the first week. She's trying to figure out how to get away from all this. That night, the younger cousin sneaks in in the middle of the night and crawls into bed with her. She started to object but the girl promises to behave; she just wants to be close to her. Phoebe spends most of the night praying for God to get her out of there. She wakes up in the morning to discover that she'd gotten her first period during the night. Auntie is breathing fire until she learns it's the first time. Then she's all sympathetic, when she asks if Phoebe has cramps, she lies and says yes figuring if she's not feeling good they'll leave her alone. It was the right move; they let her stay home alone from school.

"She waits a while then calls her aunt at work to see if it's okay to watch television; her parents wouldn't let her if she was home sick. Aunt says yes and that Uncle Duke wants to say hi. She never knew they worked together but now she knows she's clear; they're at work, the girls are at school, she's got a chance. She gathers up everything portable that she owns; a change of clothes and extra underwear, pawns all the valuables and jumps on the first bus out of town. That was a little over three weeks ago. She's been on her own ever since waiting for God to make the next move."

"Jimmy, this is all well and good but you have no proof. All you've got is one runaway girl; the police won't listen to a word of this."

"It's worse than that, Rebecca. Remember who we're dealing with here, what will happen if she goes to the police?"

"Oh shit."

"Right, they'll kill the family and if possible, arrange an accident for Phoebe. Rebecca, I think it's already too late. I'm betting if you check that there was a great tragedy in Vegas in the last couple weeks and a whole family was killed. I'm also betting they are trying to find Phoebe. If you find out I'm right about the family, and for the record I am right, then I need a safe place for Phoebe to go. How long will it take to find out if I'm right?"

She didn't answer, just pulled out her phone and hit a button, in a few moments someone answered and she started talking.

"Night Watch, this is Special Agent Hampton, I need an immediate report on any major incidents in the Las Vegas area in the last month; specifically, I need to know if there were any accidents reported in which a whole family was killed. Call me back with what you find." Then she closed her phone.

"Oh," I said. "One more thing, I think I may have found the common thread I was looking for. Check out the Church of the Inner Circle. That's where they took Phoebe. I think it's meant to be some sort of apostolic reference, but according to Phoebe, there's nothing holy about that place."

"Jimmy, if you're wrong you're taking a huge risk here and there's nothing you can do to stop them from taking her back."

"I'm not wrong, there's nothing to take her back to, and anyone that comes looking for her is a bad guy. We'd better get back in to the others before someone comes looking for us."

Bob and Shannon had been bumped out after the last race so we slid into their spots. We had just finished our second race when Rebecca's phone went off. I paused the game so she could answer it.

"Hampton." I tried to suppress my anxiety while she listened. Allison asked Mark about how he was doing fitting work in around school, distracting him from what was really going on. After a few seconds Rebecca looked at me, holding my eye just long enough to tell me that I was right. I let out the breath I was holding and felt Shannon take my hand. She didn't know what was going on but it wasn't hard to tell something was up. Rebecca finished up her call, closing her phone and putting it back in her pocket. "That was work, something's come up and I have to leave. Thanks for having us over, sorry I have to cut the night short, Bob, but ... you know how it goes."

She made her way outside to say thank you and goodbye to the parents. As she was walking out she silently mouthed "call me." Mom and Dad walked them out and then went back to their card game. We went back to racing. I lost the next race on purpose and dropped out to go to the bathroom. Three people changes the screen so they went to taking turns with two players at a time. Shannon followed me out on the pretense of getting everyone something to drink. Once we were out of earshot, she asked, "Jimmy, what's going on? Is this about Phoebe?"

"It's a long story and we don't have nearly enough time, but yes. Rebecca is most likely on her way to the office to check on some things and try to find a safe place for her to stay for a while. She's a runaway, but more important is where she ran from."

Her eyes got big and she said, "You have got to be joking,"

I shook my head and said, "We have to get back in there before Mark thinks something is up and comes looking for us." I kissed her cheek and headed into the bathroom.

She got back ahead of me but Mark paused the game as soon as I came back in and said, "You know, you guys don't have to sneak off like that, Jimmy, I told you I'm okay with it."

"Sorry, I guess it was a little silly, but we try not to make out where anyone will see us."

"Yeah well, better in front of me than having mom and dad walk in and catch you. When you go off like that it makes me think you might be doing stuff you think I wouldn't approve of."

I thought about what he was saying and realized that he was right, even though in this case it had been totally innocent. "Mark, I'm sorry. I didn't think, and you're right, if I was in your position I would have the same doubts."

"Okay," he said and started the game back up.

"I just remembered I was supposed to call Tim, I think he wants to start running with me again." I stepped out into the front yard and called Rebecca. "Hi, it's me, what did you find out?"

"You were right. Just over three weeks ago a family of four was killed when their house burned down in the middle of the night. The fire started in the kitchen and they died of smoke before they could get out. The police have listed the fire as suspicious because it looks like the smoke detectors may have been tampered with. And,  they're searching for a third child, a teenage girl that is missing. They want to question her about the fire."

"Damn," I said. "Where are you?"

"Headed to the office, I need to start checking on those other things we talked about and see if I can figure out a safe way to hide her. I can't justify anything official without risking exposure. We don't have nearly enough solid evidence to justify any of this.

"She should be safe enough for tonight; only one other person knows where I took her. I hate to ask, but can you come back out in the morning? I'll need your help to convince him that everything is on the up and up and not to talk about her to anyone. I think the faster we can put a lid on this the better; can you be back out here around nine or ten? He should be in by then and I don't think this can wait until after school."

"I agree, call the church, there is probably a recording giving service times and office hours. As soon as the office opens in the morning call and see what time he will be in and then call me back. Use your phone; I don't want a record of any of this. I'll let you know what I find out. Don't call Bob, wait and tell him tonight."

I hung up feeling as if a huge burden had been lifted. Phoebe was safe, at least for now. How long she stayed safe depended on how fast we could get to Pastor Keen and anyone else who may recognize her. I then called Tim to see if he felt up to running with me. He had been doing some training on his own to try and get his stride back but I wasn't sure if he was ready yet. His mom answered the phone and said he was out on a date with Cindy but that she would leave him a note to call me the next day. I thanked her and told her not to bother, that I would talk to him at school, then hung up and went back inside. The card game outside was breaking up; I guess it had been a big day for Tom and he was a little tired. I went in and told Mark and Shannon it was time to go. Mark glanced at the clock and it was only eight o'clock, but he didn't say anything, just nodded and started putting his shoes back on. We walked them all out to the car and waved goodbye as they pulled out. Mark was driving since Tom was tired and he and Karen had both been drinking.

We all went back in the house and as soon as the door was closed Mom said, "Well, that was interesting if nothing else. Now would you please tell me what is going on? That was all just so you could talk to Rebecca wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was. You may want to sit down; this is going to take a while."

"Well then," Dad said, "before we get started I need to visit the throne room. Don't start without me."

Allison decided it might be a good idea to do the same. Mom went out to tidy up the patio and make sure everything was put away. The last thing I remember was opening the refrigerator to get a bottle of water, when suddenly pain exploded in my chest and I couldn't breathe.



-------

Chapter 30: Life Happens


Images flashed before my eyes, a car entering an intersection, the sound of a horn, and then suddenly a large truck slamming into the car broadside on the passenger side. The truck barely slowed down as the car was thrown violently out of its path, spinning and twisting like a child's toy. Almost instantly something sparked and smoke began billowing from what was left of the car's engine compartment. There was no movement inside the car. Soon the black smoke obscured most of the scene as the flames grew. Through the smoke I thought I saw movement, and then a dark shape emerged carrying a body. It was covered in blood but I knew instantly who it was. I could just make out the dark shape laying the body on the sidewalk before the smoke swirled in and then everything went black again.

I heard my mother repeating my name over and over, and I moved toward the sound; it was like swimming up from a dark pool back into the light. Suddenly I was there and mom was leaning over me, patting my face and still calling my name. Behind her my father held Allison as she cried.

"Shannon!" I said, struggling to sit up, but my mom moved her hand to my chest and firmly held me down.

"No you don't. Jimmy, what happened? I heard you scream Shannon's name and when I ran back in you were on the floor."

I closed my eyes and fought back tears, "Shannon. Oh God, mom, they're dead."

Allison buried her face in my father's chest and wept loudly as he tried to comfort her while staring at me. Mom turned white as a sheet and fell away from me, catching herself against a cabinet door to keep from falling. Her free hand flew to her mouth and then the tears came, and she just leaned against the cabinet and cried. I struggled to my knees and hugged her, my own tears falling on her face as I held her.

Eventually I heard my dad sniffle and then he asked, "What happened?"

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and tried to push the pain away enough to talk. "An accident, a truck lost its brakes and went through a light just as they entered the intersection, hit them almost dead center on the passenger side, it barely slowed down, just threw them out of the way. There's more but you don't ... ugh!" A second wave tore through my chest, I closed my eyes against the pain and I could see paramedics working on someone. I recognized the equipment and knew they were using a defibrillator on her, trying to get her heart started again. One of them hit a button and as her body jerked another wave ripped through me. My vision swam and I seemed to be falling into her. I heard a beep and then it was gone and I was back in my kitchen on my hands and knees, my father beside me trying to help hold me up. The pain faded and I whispered, "She's alive! Shannon's still alive! I have to go..."

I tried to stand, and with my dad's help I finally made it to my feet. He steered me towards the living room and when I tried to turn forced me towards a chair, "You're not going anywhere like this. Now sit down for a minute and try to catch your breath. Allison, bring him a glass of water. Now, Jimmy, you stay there! I'm going to go help your mother but so help me God if you so much as try to stand up I'm going to knock your block off."

He left and I heard him in the kitchen comforting my mom. Allison brought the water, then knelt next to me, and laid her head on my lap, hugging my leg and doing her best not to cry. It wasn't working but she was trying. I lay my hand on her head and stroked her hair gently; still not sure all of this was really happening. In the kitchen my parents were standing together in a mutually supportive embrace, their heads on each others shoulders in shared support. Finally they broke apart and moved into the living room to sit together on the couch across from us.

"Where did it happen?" Dad asked calmly.

"Just past the freeway'" I answered. "The truck was coming down the off-ramp; Mark never even saw it coming. Dad we have to go..."

"No," He said firmly. "If Shannon is alive then we will go see her in the hospital. We are not going to have our last memory be of them in a crushed car. Besides, we can't possibly justify knowing about this until they release it on the news. Now I know that sounds cold, but the reality is that there is nothing we can do for any of them. If Shannon survived then the best we can do is be here for her when the time comes. I'll wait a while and call the house. I'll call several times, and then I'll try their cell phones. If those survived then whoever is on the scene may or may not answer. If they do then they will give me the bad news and I'll ask where they have taken Shannon. Then we can go and see how she is doing. Meanwhile, I think we need to talk about something else. Now, Jimmy, you were going to tell us what was going on earlier with you and Rebecca. Does this have something to do with Angela's killer?"

"No," I said. "It's something else. Another problem I was working on."

"I didn't know you were working on anything else? Does it have something to do with that girl at church? Phoebe, was it?"

My mother interrupted before I could answer, "Is this what you were working on about Rachel and her sister?"

"Yes, and yes," I answered, nodding at them each. "Phoebe is a runaway, but what's more important is where she ran away from. After you left this morning I went back in to see if I could get her to come out and talk to us. I ran into Pastor Keen and talked to him about her first. She's been going there for about three weeks. He tried to talk to her before because he suspected something might be wrong, but she always left during the closing prayer and he got caught up with everyone wanting to shake hands and chat after services. We figured out that she had been hiding in the restroom each week until everyone had left so she could sneak out without everyone seeing her. I finally got her out of the stall by telling her if she didn't come out that he would have to call the police. I don't understand it but something about her was really pulling at me. It was pretty obvious what she was, but as long as we didn't say it out loud we could deny knowing it and Pastor Keen wouldn't get in any trouble. I talked him into letting me take her to Miss Swann's by letting her talk to him, confirm who she was, etc. so he knew everything was on the up and up and that I was really taking her to someone who may be able to help. I gave him Susan's name and number, plus a copy of my driver's license so he would have proof of who I was if anything happened. In addition to that Phoebe is supposed to call him in the morning and I'm supposed to go see him after school. Well, I'm going to be seeing him a lot sooner than that and Rebecca is going with me. Right now Rebecca is at work trying to dig up information on some people. Tomorrow morning she is meeting me at the church so she can talk to Pastor Keen in person. Long story short, Phoebe's life is in danger, serious danger, and we need to erase every trace of her that we can. Part of that is making sure Pastor Keen forgets ever seeing her, me, or anyone else relating to her."

Allison had been doing her usual listening thing, welcoming the change of topic so she didn't have to think about Shannon or her family.

"She ran away from the people in Vegas? How? They monitor everyone constantly."

"When Susan called me earlier I went over and she gave me the basic background information. Phoebe's parents were killed about two months ago. She eventually ended up at her Aunt and Uncle's place in Vegas. There was a family she knows that wanted to take her in but the paperwork and red tape take forever, so for the meantime, they, the court that is, sent her to stay with her closest living relatives. Or at least the first one's who were willing to take her. It just so happens that these relatives are members of a really, really bad group of people that I have been investigating. As soon as I figured out where she was from and who she was running from I knew that she wouldn't have to worry about going back. These people are old fashioned in their problem solving; they take the root and branch approach. I suspected, and Rebecca confirmed, that there was nothing left to go back to. The family died in a fire shortly after Phoebe ran away."

"Jesus Chr..."

I cut him off, "Dad, please don't say that. You're right, but please don't say it, not tonight."

"You didn't tell Phoebe this did you?" Mom asked.

"No, she doesn't know yet, but I'll have to tell her soon, if for no other reason than to justify the need to put her in hiding."

"Why would you need to put her in hiding?" Dad asked. "If the only link she has is dead and no one knows where she is then..."

"Rebecca said the fire was listed as arson and the police are looking for her. These people are very well connected, including the police. At least one person has died while in jail, and according to another source an entire family died while in protective custody. And now they've put Phoebe down as a suspect in a fire that happened after she left town. They want her back so they can make sure she isn't a threat to them. They don't know what she has seen or heard, and from what she told me they are right to be concerned. Anyway, right now my number one priority is her safety."

"But how?" Allison asked. "You still don't have a case and if the police find her they will send her back and arrest whoever has been hiding her."

"I know. We're not sure what we can do yet. Rebecca is looking for options. Meanwhile, Phoebe has provided additional leads that may help us." I paused and dad glanced at the clock.

"I need to make a couple of calls," He said.

Dad turned out to be a pretty convincing actor; he called the house, called Tom's cell phone, and then called Karen's. I guess he got an answer.

"Hello? Who is this? I must have called a wrong number, I was calling a friend and ... I'm sorry, you're who? Why are you ... did something happen, is Karen all right? (pause) Oh my G..." he glanced at me and stopped. "What was that? Her daughter? You mean Shannon? How is she, where did they take her? I see. Thank you, thank you very much." He broke the connection and leaned on the counter. Mom got up and put her arm around him. He turned and hugged her, then wiped his eyes and turned to us. "They sent Shannon to Arrowhead. They said she must have been thrown clear of the accident, but she's still in critical condition, they are trying to stabilize her enough to operate. She had severe trauma to her head but they don't know what she might have hit. They won't know more until later.

"With Tom and Karen dead, Shannon falls to our care. Your mother and I need to go down to the hospital with the custody paperwork or they won't let us anywhere near her. We should probably call the family and let them know what has happened. Cyndi, do you want to come with me over to the house and get Karen's phonebook?"

"No," she said around the tears, "but I guess I have to. Do you kids want to come or are you alright here?"

"I have to stay here," I said. "I have to bridge Bob and tell him what is going on with Phoebe; we're not talking about any of it on any line that may be compromised. My phone is okay, and so is Rebecca's, but we can't be sure about Bob's so I have to do it in person. Besides, he'll need to know about what's happened, and he may be able to help."

"Jimmy, three of your best friends just died," Mom said, "Another one is in critical condition, how can you talk about working?"

Allison wiped her eyes and answered for me, "Because nothing he does will change that, and if he doesn't work, another innocent may die. He's right, this has to be done, and it will give us something to focus on until you have more news on Shannon. Sitting next to her bed worrying isn't going to solve anything. Besides, they probably won't let us see her anyway. Trust me, Shannon would understand, and agree with him. If the situation were reversed I would want her to be doing what she could where it would do the most good, not wasting her time worrying about me. Maybe we'll get lucky and Jimmy can bridge her. You guys go ahead, do what you need to do. Call us if anything changes. We'll take the cordless to bed and one of us will answer no matter what else we're doing. We'll be fine."

They went, and Allison took my phone to make a call. There wasn't much chance that anyone would be available, but we snuggled up and used a trigger to get to sleep anyway, meeting in Allison's glade. The first thing I did was to scan for all the usual people, and then I tried to find Shannon. I felt her but somehow I couldn't get a fix on her. As I was trying, Lizzy showed up, tears already in her eyes, Allison immediately ran into her arms and they wept together for their lover and friend. As I was watching them a wave of dizziness ran through me and I felt momentarily weak, but it passed quickly so I didn't give it any thought, just put it down as after effects of stress. Finally the girls separated and Lizzy came over to me.

"What just happened?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"For a second you looked strange and your energy fluctuated. Are you alright?"

I shrugged and fought back new tears, "No, but I'm about as well as can be expected at the moment. I have a lot of new things going on, some of which I'm probably going to need your help on. I've got a scared little girl hiding out at one of my teachers' houses and very soon I have to tell her that someone murdered her aunt, uncle, and two cousins. They weren't close but they died because she ran away and sooner or later she's going to have to deal with that fact. Even better, the same people are trying to frame her for it and right now she can't even come forward to defend herself from the charge. I've got a lot of new information on the bad guys that I haven't shared with you yet, I thought I might like to take what I have and see Jasmine again, go over it with her as well. See if with what I have she can think of anything else."

Another wave of sensations passed through me, not as strong as before but Lizzy saw it.

"There it is again, are you sure you're okay?"

Now Allison was concerned, "Jimmy, you didn't hit your head when you passed out earlier did you?"

"He passed out?" Lizzy asked, clearly alarmed at the news.

"Yeah, when the accident happened he was in the kitchen, mom was outside and I was in the ladies room when we heard him scream Shannon's name; Mom got there first and found him passed out on the floor. He came to again quickly and that's when he told us about the accident."

"I saw it happen. I was getting a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and suddenly it was like something hit me in the chest and I couldn't breathe." The vision formed around us, not as clear and sharp as usual, but dim and partially distorted. They watched as the car entered the intersection, I hadn't noticed before, but it was good to see that the light was green and it hadn't been Mark's fault. Out of nowhere the speeding truck appeared and slammed into the side of the car, tossing it away like a toy. Then the fire was starting and the smoke obscuring the vision, then the shadowy shape appearing out of the smoke carrying the rag doll form that was Shannon and then turning back to the smoke and disappearing. Then I was fighting my way back to consciousness. The vision faded and we were once more in the glade, my sight still carried that same distortion until I blinked and cleared the new tears away. As I did the weakness returned and I almost fell again.

"There, you did it again," Lizzy said. "Jimmy, you should sit down. I don't think you could hurt yourself falling down here but I'd rather not wait and find out. This was a lot harder on you than you realize. Your energy is really weak. Maybe the cabana would be a better idea, or that office of yours, but you need to sit down."

I moved us to the office but the transition felt different somehow. The girls noticed it too.

"Something is wrong," Allison said. "That wasn't normal. Don't ask me what was different about it but it wasn't right. Before this all started you were going to tell us about what was going on with Phoebe. Maybe you should just do that, it'll take your mind off of Shannon for a while and maybe that will help."

"Who's Phoebe?"

"A girl we met at church this morning," I said. "I'm starting to have second thoughts about what you said to Rebecca about me being specially gifted by God."

Lizzy bowed her head and said softly, "Never doubt His touch on your life, Jimmy. Your burden is heavy, I know, but if you lean on Him, He will always be there."

"Yeah, that's the part I mean. We were at church this morning and there was this girl..." I went through the now familiar narrative from the time I first saw her to the end of my conversation with Rebecca. It helped me not think about Shannon, but I still didn't feel any stronger.

Finally I finished and Allison said, "How are you going to be able to protect her? You have nothing to show the police that will prove any of this. It'll be her word against four bodies that died in a fire they think was set on purpose, by her."

"No," Lizzy said, "that at least you'll be able to prove was not her doing. It happened after she left, you need to find out the name or address of the pawnshop -- in fact, she should still have the receipt. Pawnshops record transactions, the tape and the pawn ticket will both be time stamped showing she was already gone. She didn't come to school that whole week so her absence will be recorded there as well. From your description, her appearance is distinctive enough that people will have noticed her -- you said she asked the ticket agent at the bus station to arrange a cab, so he will likely remember her, plus there will be a record of the call, and in the dispatch log of the cab that she took when she got here. They can't pin the murders on her no matter what they do."

"They're not worried about convicting her," Allison said. "They just want her back so they can make sure she doesn't talk. The fire is not the real reason they are looking for her. And that still doesn't help us hide her. Rebecca still can't do anything officially because officially none of this exists."

"Show her to me." Lizzy said.

I brought an image of her and Lizzy studied her, "Piece of cake. The first thing you need to do is bleach that red out of her hair, then lose the piercings; all of them." As she spoke the picture changed. "It looks like her natural color is brown so color it in a blonde tone. Extensions to lengthen it would help, find a really good make up person and you can hide the marks from the piercing. Change her clothes and dress her as the little church girl next door and she could stop a cop for directions and they wouldn't give her a second glance." The image split and now the two were side by side. "Remember the cops are looking for a runaway. This is how you found her, but even now she doesn't look like a normal runaway. Their image of a girl on the run for three weeks probably looks more like this..." She added a haggard expression, hair and clothes that hadn't been washed. "People see first what they expect, just like when you met her in church, they expected that anyone dressed like that was bad, so they avoided her fearing she was trouble. But now..." the image of the battered girl on the run faded and was replaced by the new image, " ... all you need is a credible story and she's anyone's niece or cousin from out town." She looked at Allison for a second and an image of Allison in a similar dress appeared next to the new Phoebe. "With the right story, she could stay with you. She looks enough like Allison to be a younger cousin."

"She's right," Allison said, looking at the images. "All we'd need is a credible cover story. The hard part would be justifying why she is here during school."

"I'd just change the details and keep to the truth," Lizzy said. "Instead of an accident in Mexico, her parents were killed in a car crash and she came to stay with you."

"The only problem," I said. "Is that all that requires documentation and it will fall apart as soon as they start checking it out. It would never hold up."

"It wouldn't need to unless someone made a mistake, and it doesn't need to hold up very long, just until Rebecca can find a place to hide her permanently. Well, that and a reason to hide her. I wish you could send her back to the people that wanted her in the first place but that is the first place they will look for her. In fact, the police have probably already been there, or at least in contact with them in case she headed that way."

Just then my phone rang and I knew who it was without looking, "Hi, Bob, you're late, you just missed the latest news flash, go to your office and turn on the television, when you're caught up you can join us."

"You didn't tell him about Shannon," Allison said.

"I'll wait until he's here. Maybe by then Rebecca will show up too. I'll need to tell Angela in person, it's going to hurt her pretty bad; she doesn't have that many friends left as it is. Besides, she was the last person to be with Shannon."

"I should be there when you tell her," Lizzy said. "I can help."

"We should all be there," Allison said.

All I could do was nod my agreement. It was a somber moment and naturally Lizzy picked up on it.

"Why don't you set an alarm on the end of what Bob is doing and the three of us can curl up somewhere and just be together for a while, no more talking or planning, but just being."

It sounded like a really good plan. I'm not sure what happened after that. It was like we fell asleep cuddled up on the bed in the cabana and the next thing I knew I was waking up cuddled to Allison in my bed with my alarm blaring next to me. I reached and turned it off but the damage was done and Allison was already stirring next to me.

She stretched and yawned and said, "Why do you even turn that on? You always wake in time for your morning masochism, and when you have more important things you should be doing it screws you up. Are you going to run this morning?"

"That depends. How are you feeling? I could skip it if you want and just stay here with you."

"No, I'm okay. It still feels like my heart is missing but I'm okay. I think maybe Lizzy worked her magic on us while we weren't looking. You go ahead. You'll think better if you don't interrupt your routine and you're going to need that today. I'm going to take a shower and see if I can talk mom and dad into letting me skip school." A note of sadness crept into her voice, "If they'll let me, I'd like to go be with Shannon. If I can't see Shannon then maybe I can go stay with Phoebe while Susan goes to school. I really just don't feel like facing all of our friends at school."

I kept it short, only running five miles. Allison was right, by the time I got back my head was clear and I felt a lot better. The dizziness seemed to have faded but I still felt a lot more tired that normal. Usually a five mile run left me invigorated, but not today. Still, it had given me time to think about what I needed to do today. It was six o'clock when I got out of the shower. I got myself some toast and juice and grabbed the phone book to look up the number for the church. The recording said the church office opened at eight thirty. Even though it was still early I called Rebecca anyway. She must have still been up because she answered right away.

"Hampton."

"It's me; the church office opens at eight thirty."

"I'll meet you there at nine. I'm home catching a nap, a quick shower, and some breakfast, then I'll be on my way. You are not going to believe what I found."

I gave her the address and hung up. Mom was standing with a cup of coffee watching me.

"You seem to be taking this pretty well."

"I had help. Can you call us both out of school today? I have work to do that can't wait and Allison really doesn't want to have to face the kids at school just yet. Is there any chance they will let us see Shannon today?"

"I don't' know. Your father and I are taking the day off, too; there is just so much to do. We're going over to the lawyer's this morning first thing to get as much legal backing as we can. It's stupid but we can't really do much until we have copies of the death certificates. Allison, you can come with us if you want, but it may be kind of boring for the first few hours."

"Then can I have Jimmy drop me at Susan's? I can stay with Phoebe while Susan goes to school. If they are going to let us see her then Jimmy can pick me up when he is done with Rebecca."

Dad's voice came from the kitchen, "Yes, we'll call you both out." Apparently he had come out while I was going through it and just waited instead of walking in and interrupting. "Your mom filled me in on, as you refer to them, the fun people in Vegas. I can't tell you how proud I am of you, son. This thing is so big the FBI can't even touch it and you just dive in and start chipping away at it. We'll do whatever we can to help. Allison can stay with Phoebe while you do your thing with Rebecca, we'll let you know as soon as we can whether or not you can see Shannon."

"I hope you mean it when you say you'll do anything, because we may have a cousin from out of town moving in for a while."

"You don't have any cousins," Mom said, "Out of town or otherwise."

"Yes, but how many people know that? With the right cosmetic changes, Phoebe could pass for Allison's cousin; they are close enough in age, body type, and such that it wouldn't stand out. What we need is a convincing story to explain her being here during school. Like I said, with Rebecca's help it would be easy. Without it ... it's still possible, but it's a lot riskier. I'll call Susan and let her know I'm bringing you over. I can stay with you until time to meet Rebecca. I also need to call Bob and tell him what happened; otherwise he'll worry about why I'm not in school."

"You'll have to tell Miss Swann, too," Mom said. "Otherwise you can't justify Allison being out of school."

"I think I can justify it with just not wanting Phoebe to stay alone, for now anyway. It would be suspicious if she knew too soon."

"You may not have to tell her at all," Allison said. "Turn on the television, a crash like that probably made the news. Bob may even know already, if he does, he's probably wondering if he should call us."

"Sometimes you scare me," Dad said, staring at her.

"Tell me about it," I said as I clicked the remote and the television came on. I surfed over to one of the local LA stations and within just a few minutes the story on the accident came up, complete with footage taken at the scene. Fortunately they didn't show any shots of the Davises, just one of the ambulance taking Shannon away. I turned it off.

"So the names haven't been released, yet. I better call Bob first; he'll know whether or not I should tell Susan the truth." I went to my room to retrieve my phone and made the call.

"Bob, it's Jimmy."

"Hi Jimmy, what's up? And what happened to you last night? By the time I finished 'catching up on the news' as you put it, you were gone."

"It's a long story. Have you been watching the news yet this morning?"

"Of course, you never know when I might pick up a juicy tidbit to abuse my students with, why?"

"Did you see the story on the accident?"

His voice changed, "Yeah, it was running when I turned it on."

"That was the Davises' car, and Shannon was the one in the ambulance."

There was a pause while it sank in, "Good Lord! Jimmy, why didn't you ... never mind, is she okay? Are you guys okay? What happened?"

"I'll tell you about it later. Right now I'm just calling to let you know that I won't be in today. I was thinking about calling Susan and telling her too, what do you think?"

"You might as well tell her, she'll need to take the day off either way. If you tell her now she can set up a substitute."

Why would Susan need to take the day off?

"I know what you're thinking, Jimmy, she has her reasons but I can't discuss them with you. Maybe she'll tell you about it. How much does she know about the girl?"

"Just that she was orphaned when her parents were killed, that she was sent to her aunt and uncle but ran away, and that her life is in danger."

"Damn. She's probably already called out. Jimmy, do me a favor, if Susan feels like talking, listen."

That was cryptic. "Sure, Bob, no problem. I better go; I still want to call her either way. I'll talk to you later." I hung up and called Susan next.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Susan, it's Jimmy. How's your little house guest?"

"Still asleep, I'm taking a sick day and staying here with her, today."

"Susan, you don't need to do that, Allison was going to come over and stay with her for a while this morning. She wanted to be there for Phoebe while you were at work."

"Doesn't she have school?"

"Susan, do you watch the news in the mornings?" I asked.

"Of course, I teach social studies, I need to keep up on current events. Why?"

"The story this morning about the car crash..." I paused to give her time to focus on what she had seen, "That was our friends Mark and Shannon Davis and their parents in the car. Shannon is Allison's best friend, and Mark is — was -- mine. Allison still goes to school with a lot of Shannon's friends and she doesn't feel like facing them just yet. We're going to try and see her later if they will let us. Staying with Phoebe would give her something to do."

"Oh Gosh, Jimmy, I'm so sorry, of course you can bring her over. Jimmy, are you okay?"

"No, not really ... but I've got things to do and that helps. Right now, my primary focus is making sure Phoebe is safe. We'll be over in a little while. And Susan? Thanks for doing all this."

"I'm glad I could help. Now, if you can just keep me out of jail that would be great. See you soon."



-------

Chapter 31 Keeping Busy


Rebecca Sunday Night

It had been a long weekend already and now I was looking at another long night tracking down information on people I had no legitimate business looking at. With Jimmy's latest stroke of luck, I was starting to believe the hand of God thing myself; too many things just seemed to 'happen' around that boy. Things no sane person wanted anything to do with. I kept waiting for him to snap under the seemingly ever-increasing load he was carrying. And I knew for a fact that I didn't know everything. Something was going on with Amber, I didn't know what it was, but she seemed to suddenly be showing signs of improvement. Especially in the last two weeks. She was sleeping better for one thing. The reports I had downloaded from my email and looked at in the wee hours of the morning while Bob was sleeping indicated she had developed an overnight interest in something resembling yoga and meditation. She would sit; kneel actually, for hours in one position, just breathing in and out. Every once in a while she would get up and begin a simple routine of stretching and isometric exercises. She then would do about thirty minutes of exercises that they said were intended to improve balance. Then she would carefully settle herself on the floor again and start over. Whatever it was she was doing was working, suddenly it was like she was a different girl.

Several times it appeared that she had injured herself as small spots of blood would appear on her exposed skin or clothing. She seemed to be wearing less of that lately too. As of yesterday she was down to just a sports bra and French cut panties for her workout. Two of the men on the monitoring team had already been warned about comments they had made. Any more infractions and they would be replaced and disciplinary notices added to their personnel jackets.

The security staff in the lobby was more than a little surprised to see me come strolling into the lobby at ten o'clock on a Sunday night. I signed in, exchanged a few casual words with the guards about late nights and unforgiving government hierarchies, and then took the elevator up to my office. Not surprisingly, there was no one in the office. I woke up my computer and went to get some coffee while it went through all of the security checks and protocols. By the time I got back, it was ready and waiting for me to poke and prod it through the various hoops and dark alleys I would need it to slog through before dawn.

It didn't take long to get the basic background information on the people I was interested in; a little longer to pin down the location of the Church of the Inner Circle. I then spent hours pouring through IRS reports and non-profit audits. The founder and High Priest -- yes he actually called himself a High Priest -- made my skin crawl. Elliott Bastion had existed for all of ten years. He had been born Christian Wallace, a relatively harmless individual, average IQ, graduated high school with a 3.1 GPA and then bailed out in his second year of college. After that his life started getting interesting, very interesting. After the second murder trial he had changed his name and moved west. A casual inquiry into the details of the cases got me nothing. A quick trip over to the department of justice using my bureau ID got me more, a lot more. Why this guy wasn't behind bars was a complete mystery. The first case was good, not really solid, but it should have been enough for a conviction. The second one should have been a slam-dunk. Yet both times the jury had acquitted him. Two eyewitnesses in the second trial had changed their stories on the witness stand, suddenly no longer certain that Wallace was in fact the person that they had seen the night of the murder. That hurt but the physical proofs were still strong enough to convict him on their own, or at least they should have been. In spite of that the jury had unanimously declared him not guilty. At three A.M. I was on my third cup of coffee and still having a hard time staying awake, so I finally packed it in, wrote a quick email to Rod, and headed home to grab a quick shower and, hopefully a nap before I had to meet Jimmy.

Power-napping is an art form I had learned in college and mastered during agent training. I didn't even bother getting undressed, just set the alarm for six, pulled off my shoes and curled up on the bed. A little over two and a half hours later I was awake and staggering toward the shower at the end of a lengthening trail of assorted clothing. Jimmy called while I was getting dressed. After that I made myself eat breakfast and then picked up a very large, very black cup of coffee at Starbucks. I'm normally a mocha kind of girl, or at least a cappuccino, and in the darkest moments a cream and sugar. This one was straight, black, and hot enough to melt the roof of my mouth. Just what I needed after the night I'd just had. The call from Rod took me completely by surprise.

"Hampton, where are you?"

"And good morning to you too, boss. I'm on the 10 freeway headed east, why? Didn't you get my email?"

"Yeah, I got it, I figured you sent it from Bob's place, but then they brought up the night's logs and it said you were here all night."

"Researching some leads. Listen, Rod, not that I don't enjoy your conversation but I'm driving so could you cut to the chase?"

"Thirty seconds after I walked in the door I got a call from Washington, they want you on a plane within the hour."

"You called me just to pull something like that? You are kidding, right?" No answer. "Rod? Jesus, you're serious?! What the hell do they want me for?"

"They didn't say; just to get you on a plane yesterday."

"Shit! Rod, I have to make this meeting. I'm dead serious when I say a life depends on it. It can't wait until I get back. Can you buy me some time? Have Eleanor book me something out of Ontario, it'll save me driving back into LA."

"Hampton, did you hear me. This is Washington, they're not real fond of being kept waiting, and they just flat don't do excuses."

"Rod, please, you gotta buy me some time. It's that important. I shouldn't need more than an hour." There was a long pause, "Rod?"

"I'm transferring you to Eleanor, you will have a reservation before you hang up, is that clear."

"Done. Thanks Rod, I'll tell you what I can as soon as I can."

Jimmy

Phoebe was up by the time we got there, still in her too big pj's, sitting and sipping hot cocoa with Susan. She got up to hug me when I came in. Susan had told her I was coming but not that I was bringing Allison. She hugged Allison and offered to get her some hot cocoa. Allison accepted with a smile and I saw a tear creep into the corner of her eye as the young girl bounced away to the kitchen.

"She looks a thousand percent better," She said, dabbing at the tear with a tissue Susan gave her.

I leaned in and kissed her hair and said, "And she reminds you of sleepovers with Shannon, I know."

She gave a little laugh which quickly dissolved into tears and said, "Yeah, she does." Then she hit me, "Now look what you've done." She blew her nose and Susan handed her a fresh tissue which she quickly used to wipe away the new tears before Phoebe came back. She managed to get the tears but her eyes were red and puffy so Phoebe still noticed.

She was walking carefully so that she wouldn't spill the cocoa when she looked up and saw Allison's face, "What's the matter?"

"I'm just happy because you look so much better today," Allison lied taking the cocoa and setting it on a coaster. "The way you bounced off to the kitchen reminded me of someone who is very special to me. You remember my friend Shannon that you met yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"Her family was in a car accident last night, and they don't know if she's going to make it." Allison dissolved into tears again and Phoebe rushed over to sit by her, tears in her eyes as well. Amazingly, the cocoa made it safely, too.

"Oh Allison, I'm so sorry," Phoebe said, hugging her new friend. "I hope she's okay, I'll pray for her, I promise." She pulled back a little and said in a very serious voice, "But Allison, no matter what happens you have to be strong and believe that this is all part of God's plan; her whole life, and if it is her time, then even her death, all serves His purpose. Besides, it's not like you'll never see her again. She'll be there with Him, waiting for you to come home."

I had to leave; in the face of her faith I felt life a leaf in a hurricane. I believed in God, I told myself I trusted him, but He scared the crap out me at the same time. What would it be like to live with that kind of faith? To leave everything and run because you believed he had told you to? To say a prayer and give away your last dollar, not knowing what the next moment might bring? It gave me chills thinking about it while I waited in the parking lot at the church for Rebecca to arrive. There were only a few cars in the parking lot and I hoped one of them belonged to Pastor Keen. It turned out none of them were his, but that wasn't a problem as he arrived a few minutes before nine. The good news was that Rebecca was right behind him. I waved as he rolled into the parking lot to let him know I was there. Rebecca spotted my truck but parked a ways over. I guess she didn't want anyone to put the two cars together for any reason. I got out and walked toward Pastor Keen, who was waiting for me by a side door. Rebecca caught up with me just before I reached him.

"Good morning Jimmy, I wasn't expecting you until this afternoon. Is this lovely young woman with you?"

"Good morning Pastor Keen, I'd like you to meet Special Agent Rebecca Hampton, FBI, Los Angeles Bureau, and yes, she's with me. As to why I'm here so early, something came up that couldn't wait."

As his eyebrows tried to crawl over the top of his head he extended his hand to Rebecca, "Pleased to meet you, Agent Hampton; surprised to say the least, but pleased none the less. Should I assume that this is about our little mystery girl from yesterday?"

"Pleased to meet you Pastor," Rebecca answered. "Is there somewhere private we can speak to you right away?"

"Certainly, right this way." He guided us through the door and down a short hallway to a small office area where he waved to several people as we went by. "Good morning everyone, Margaret, what time is my first appointment?"

A middle aged woman answered back, "You have a counseling appointment at ten and then lunch with the deacon's board at eleven thirty."

"Thank you, Margaret. Please hold all of my calls, if anyone asks I am in a last minute counseling session." Once we were inside his office and he had closed the door. "Please be seated. Can I get you anything?"

"Yes," Rebecca answered. "The photocopy you made of Jimmy's driver's license and any other notes or records you may have made about Phoebe. I assume you wrote down all of Miss Swann's information somewhere as well; anything at all that documents Phoebe being here, or where she went when she left here."

"Forgive me agent Hampton, but could I please see your identification?"

"I'm sorry, of course you can." She handed it to him and he examined it carefully before handing it back. "Thank you for asking, Pastor, I hate it when people take my word for it. I'll cut right to the chase; Phoebe's life is in danger. I cannot give you any details at this time, but if anyone, and that includes the police, should come by asking about her, you saw her at services but she left before service ended and you don't know where she went. I know that's asking a lot as it cuts the fine line of being a lie but it is essentially true since you don't know where Susan lives. At this moment your name and the name of this church are on a memo to my boss informing him of this meeting and what I am asking you to do. Should something happen you will have the full protection of the FBI for your actions."

"My goodness, it's that serious?"

"Yes, it's that serious," she handed him a card. "Please keep this with you and do not show it to anyone unless absolutely necessary. This next part is going to sound strange, but the only person outside of the Bureau that you are to speak to about her is Jimmy. I say him because if I need something and can't get out here right away I will send him. If you need to reach me, call that number and they will find me, twenty-four hours a day. Unfortunately I have to fly to Washington in a couple of hours and I don't know when I will be back. If you need something and I am not immediately available then I am probably in a meeting, please leave a message and I will either call you back or have Jimmy contact you. If you feel the situations warrants it, call the main number and ask to speak to Director Rodriguez, no one else. If anyone should come around looking for her, please contact me as soon as possible and let me know who it was and exactly what they said. Also, please instruct your staff not to answer any questions regarding her. If they should mention a reason they are looking for her please write it down. If it's the police and they have a warrant, please ask to see it and, if possible, make a copy of it."

"The staff won't be a problem, they don't know anything about her other than she was here. Are you saying the police are looking for her?"

"It is possible," I said. "The people she ran away from died in a fire several days after she fled. The cause of the fire has been listed as arson and they are looking for Phoebe as a possible suspect. We can prove that she wasn't anywhere near there when it happened but the locals won't know that. They will only know that they have been asked to watch for her and pick her up if they find her."

Rebecca nodded as I finished. "Do you have any other questions?"

"None that I'm not afraid to ask," he said, turning to me. "I was glad to meet you yesterday; today I am honored, for the hand of the Lord is surely upon you. I will do whatever I can. Let me start by giving you the things you asked for." He opened his briefcase and pulled out the photocopy of my license; Susan's information was paper-clipped to it, along with a note with 4:00 written on it and underlined twice. He explained the note as he handed it to Rebecca, "Here you are. If you hadn't shown up and your friend Susan hadn't called by four o'clock I was going to give all of this to the police. That's everything I have. If there is anything else you need of me, please let me know and I will do my best."

"Thank you, Pastor," I said, rising and reaching for his hand. Rebecca stood also and he shook her hand again. He walked us out to the parking lot and once he was headed back inside I turned to Rebecca and said, "You got called to Washington?"

"Yes, I have no idea what it's about and even if I did I couldn't tell you, so don't ask. All I know is Rod called me while I was on the way out and said I had to be on a plane within the hour. I got him to push it back and have his secretary book me a later flight. Unfortunately that means flying out of Long Beach so that's where I'm off to next and I need to get out of here. Can you keep her under wraps until I get back?"

"I'll do my best; Lizzy had some ideas so we're going to get started on hiding her in plain sight. I'll tell you about them tonight if I get the chance." Just then another dizzy spell hit and I wavered a little.

"Jimmy, are you okay?"

"Yeah." I took a deep breath and said, "After you and Bob left last night, Shannon's family was in an accident. They're dead and we're not sure about her yet. I've been having these dizzy spells ever since I found out."

"Jesus, Jimmy, why didn't you say something? I can't believe you're even here."

"I'm okay. Allison and I spent most of the night with Lizzy and we both felt much better this morning. Besides, nothing I do will change what happened or mean anything to them, but it can save Phoebe's life. Did you find anything out about the stuff I gave you?

"You were right about it being important. Besides the details on the fire, and not only was it arson but they made sure that we knew it was arson. They inspected what was left of the smoke detectors and found traces of plastic and adhesive residue. Someone taped plastic over them so they wouldn't go off before it was too late. And I think you found your link; I did some checking and besides the late Douglas and Vivian Brooks, The Church of the Inner Circle is also attended by Frank and Irene Watkins, Doctor Victoria Essex, Doctor Steven Hendricks and his wife Kathy. I haven't had time to really dig in yet, but I verified through IRS records that they all give a substantial part of their income to the Church as well. I am very interested in finding out who else supports the ministries there. And, get this, among the items listed as donations to the church is the entire eighteenth floor of a building downtown, which is leased to the church at no charge as living quarters and office space to the church's spiritual leader, one Elliott Bastion."

I wanted to do cartwheels, "Sounds like we really hit the jackpot."

"Yes it does. I'll try and dig a little deeper while I'm in Washington if I get the chance. Listen, Jimmy, I have to go if I'm going to catch my flight. Give my regrets and sympathies to your parents and Allison, and let me know how Shannon's doing, okay?"

I followed her out of the parking lot and headed back to Susan's to see how everyone was doing.

Rebecca

The meeting with Jimmy and Pastor Keen went smoothly, but apparently no one flies non-stop from Ontario to Dulles so the best Eleanor could do was to book out of Long beach; not quite as bad as LA but not a lot better. I bent a few rules, flashed my magic red light a few times and by eleven-thirty I was waiting in the terminal to board my non-stop flight to Dulles, where I would be met by someone in a Bureau car and taken god only knows where to talk about god only knows what. The good news was that Eleanor had booked me into first class so I could stretch out and sleep most of the way, which I gladly did. With time change the flight was almost nine hours. The weather gods smiled down on us and I stepped off the plane at eight-thirty Eastern Time expecting to be taken to a hotel somewhere near the Washington Bureau office. Instead the driver took me straight in to the main temple where I was asked to produce my ID, fingerprints, DNA sample, list everything I had eaten in the last twenty-four hours and the name of my third grade school teacher. Okay, it wasn't that bad, but I couldn't believe all the red tape. Eventually I was ushered into a medium sized conference room and told to wait. Twenty minutes later a very serious looking woman and two men came in. She was about my height, wearing a powder gray dress suit with matching low heels. Her hair was proudly going from brunette to gray and appeared to have been styled to accentuate the fact. Her age was hard to pin down, she could have been anywhere from the mid fifties to mid sixties, but she carried herself like she was still in her forties. One of the men was considerably older, the other was considerably younger, and wearing a suit that just screamed FED at the top of its pinstriped voice. Each was carrying a dark red folder.

When they had settled themselves around the end of the table closest to me, the woman asked, "You are Special Agent Rebecca Jean Hampton, ID # A163780, currently assigned to the FBI's Los Angeles Bureau?"

This was serious. "Yes ma'am."

"Very good, Agent Hampton, despite what it may appear, you will notice the absence of anyone recording minutes; that is because this is not an official inquiry, as far as anyone outside this room is concerned this meeting never took place. What is said in this room is not to be repeated outside of this room, is that clear?"

Shit! "Yes ma'am."

"Very well, Special Agent Hampton, what is your interest in Christian Wallace, also known as Elliot Bastion, and the Church of the Inner Circle?"

"Excuse me?"

"Did you not hear the question, Agent Hampton? I asked..."

"I'm sorry, no, I heard the question; I just couldn't believe I was hearing it."

"Then answer the question, Agent Hampton," said the older man.

"I think he may be involved in something I stumbled across during my current investigation."

"You're currently working on "The Sandman," is that correct? The former European assassin who for some reason has decided to switch to torturing and killing teenage girls?" the woman asked.

"Yes, ma'am. The second girl killed, Amanda Watkins didn't quite fit the profile we had developed. Her father insisted she was pure and saving herself, but based on other intelligence I knew he was lying. Unfortunately my other source is somewhat ... unusual ... so I couldn't confront him. So we took a different approach to try and get confirmation. What we uncovered was a group of as yet undetermined people using their teenage daughters as sex slaves. I don't know yet how large the group is or how long it's been going on but they are very well connected and ruthless about protecting themselves. I have information, unconfirmed, that at least one girl was murdered, along with her entire family, when she reported her father molesting her. He was killed while in a local lockup, the girl, her mother, and her sister, died the same night. It was reported as a murder-suicide by the mother but we were told it was staged to look that way.

"There is another report, also unconfirmed, of another girl who was planning on running but got caught. They say she was sold to someone in the Middle East, we can't confirm that but the source said she was shown a picture of the girl in an "I dream of Jeannie" outfit with a shackle around one ankle. One of the men in the picture was holding a newspaper printed in a language she didn't recognize. Recently, a family was killed when their house caught fire in the middle of the night. The fire has been officially listed as arson and the police are looking for a young girl who was listed as living there but was not home and had not been seen since. Supposedly, they want to talk to her about the fire. In truth, they want to get their hands on her just in case she knows something. The reason I was so late in getting here is that yesterday an asset of mine stumbled across this girl, quite by accident; he didn't know who she was and never dreamed she might be involved in any of this. She was just a girl, obviously in trouble so he arranged a place for her to stay for the night with a woman he knows. The woman called some time later and said the girl wanted to talk to him, so he went back and she told him why she was afraid of being sent back. I think with a little work I can prove that she was several hundred miles away the night of the fire. As soon as he realized what he had, he contacted me with the information he had as well as his concern regarding her safety. He told the woman not to tell anyone the girl was there, no details, only suggesting that she could be in danger. There's more to it but the short version is that he ran into her in church and before he took the girl away he provided information to the pastor both on himself and the woman he was taking her to stay with, he wanted to make sure the pastor knew she would be safe. The woman was to call him today, my asset was to go back and meet with him again this afternoon to talk about the girl and what to do about her. They were very careful not to say it on Sunday, but they both knew they were harboring a runaway and the Pastor in particular could get in serious trouble. Especially if it came out that he released her to a male he hardly knew and something happened to her. I spent the night researching the information I had been given by my asset and this morning we went back to the church, where I told the Pastor that the girl's life was in danger and that if anyone came looking for her to contact me immediately. He gave me everything he had on my asset, the girl, who she was with, everything. It was all in his briefcase paper-clipped to a note that said four o'clock. That was the deadline he had personally set to call the police if they hadn't made contact as agreed. The information I was checking on related to the Church of the Inner Circle; Bastion's name came up while I was checking out the church. The church appears to be the one common link we've been able find that ties these fine, upstanding, bastards together. So far every single one of them that we know of makes regular donations."

The woman interrupted, "You have repeatedly referred to your source as 'my asset.' Are you aware of the Bureau's protocols regarding sources and contacts that are identified as 'assets'? I have read all of your reports regarding your ongoing case, as well as those of Director Rodriguez, and no where in any of these reports do you refer to anyone as an 'asset.' But since you have so referred to him now, I want to know who he is."

Shit! "Perhaps I misspoke. My reference to him as an asset was intended to refer only to his value as a source in my ongoing investigation."

"Not good enough Agent Hampton. You have made, in front of these witnesses, reference to this individual as an asset; furthermore your discussion of your professional involvement with him suggests that you have treated him as such under the definition set forth by the Bureau."

Double shit, I was in deep here and had no idea where to go. Rule one: When in Doubt, Stall for time.

"Answer the question Agent Hampton; who is this asset you refer to? Where did you meet him? Where does he get his information? It is obviously very good information since it led you to the Sandman's trail in the first place, but where did he get it. This is not an individual prone to leaving witnesses around for agents to find and talk to. Now I will ask you again, who is this person?"

I knew I was in deep but now I could feel the icy waters starting to pull me down. I took a deep breath and steeled myself for the plunge. "As you have stated, this meeting never took place so I am not overly concerned about these witnesses. But before anyone takes steps to make this official let me make a couple of things clear. First, I'm not saying another word until I know who you people are and why you brought me here. Second, I cannot and will not discuss this particular source. It was part of the original agreement I made with him when he came to me -- yes, you heard that right, he came to me with the information on the murders. His one condition was that no one knows who he is. He believes, and I agree, that his life, and the lives of those around him would be in grave danger if anyone were to discover him. That was the deal; I made it, I stand by it, and I don't care if the President walks through that door and asks me, I will not divulge that information." I reached in my pocket and pulled out my ID, "And just so you know how serious I am; my gun's at the door, here is the rest. Arrest me and throw my ass in jail or start talking, the choice is yours." I laid my ID on the table in front of them and waited.

They all stared at me and then the younger one whispered something to the other two, they nodded agreement and he stood, pocketed my ID, walked to the door and opened it. Two men in suits immediately entered. "Take Miss Hampton to a holding cell."



-------

Chapter 32: The Long Moments


Jimmy

Now that I had done what I could to keep Phoebe safe, the only thing I wanted to do was go see Shannon. I called my parents to see if they had heard anything yet, but I got voice mail so I figured they were either still with the lawyers or already at the hospital and had turned off mom's cell phone. Dad doesn't carry one; mom didn't either until I got mine, but then she figured it made sense that I have a way to reach them if something came up so they wouldn't worry. They still couldn't call me, but at least I had another option besides leaving a message on the recorder at home. Since it was now just a waiting game I headed back over to Susan's to see how the girls were doing. Whatever else the day may have in store, I thought it might be a good idea to do a little shopping for Phoebe as well.

They were watching 'Little Women' on Susan's DVD player; Susan on the couch and the girls were curled up on the beanbag. They stopped the movie as I came into the living room.

"How did it go?" Allison asked.

"We've done all we can for the moment. I was hoping to get a little more done but Rebecca got called to Washington so she had to leave right away. Phoebe, how are you doing today? You look better, but I know better than to trust my own judgment when it comes to women. Growing up with this one," I jerked a thumb in Allison's direction, "It was a painful lesson." That got me a giggle.

"It's not my fault you're a slow learner," Allison said innocently.

"I'm still a little scared," Phoebe said, "but it's a different scared, you know? I feel safe for the first time in months but I'm still a little scared that I'll have to go back."

I glanced at Allison and she met my eyes and nodded. I turned to Susan, "Susan, this is going to sound strange since you don't know what's going on, but you'll have to wait a while for an explanation." I sat down on the floor opposite them and took a breath, "Phoebe you are as safe as I can make you at the moment, and I'm not done yet but I'm waiting to hear from someone that may be able to help. If it works out then I can do more, but for now we'll just have to do what we can.

"Phoebe, there are some things that you need to know. When I promised you yesterday that you would never have to go back to your aunt and uncle, did you believe me?"

"No," she admitted. "I wanted it to be true but I knew you were just saying it to make me feel better, and that you really couldn't promise."

"If you hadn't told me all that stuff first, you would be right. But when I heard what you had been through I knew it was a safe promise. Phoebe, there is no easy way to say this and I'm very sorry to have to tell you, but your Aunt Vivian and Uncle Duke are dead; so are Carly and Regina."

I waited for what I had said to register. First she looked at me like she was waiting for me to start laughing and say it was a joke. Then she looked at Allison with the same hope. The look on Allison's face told her that she had heard me correctly.

"No," she said, turning back to face me, her lip starting to shake and tears starting to flow. "No, you can't know that, you're making it up." She turned back at Allison and in a desperate voice said, "Allison? It's not true is it? Please say it's not true."

Allison reached for her, tears in her own eyes at the girl's pain, "No baby, it's true. They died a couple days after you left." Then she took Phoebe into her arms and held her as the sobbing started. It didn't last as long as I expected. Then she stopped and sat back up, wiping her eyes, and said, "How ... how did you know? You said you knew it was a safe promise to make. How did you know?"

"Phoebe, I don't think you would be surprised if I told you your Aunt and Uncle were not nice people, would you?"

She shook her head, "No. I saw what they were doing with Carly and Regina, what they wanted to do to me. I mean, I'm sorry they died, but no, they weren't nice people."

"Right," Allison said, taking over the next part, "What you don't know is that they were part of a group of not nice people that live in that area. You know those appointments that Carly went to on Saturdays? She was going to have sex with other people in the group. Your aunt and uncle knew that, and when she was older, probably not much older, Regina would start doing the same thing. The reason you had to stay in your room when your aunt and uncle came home was that every night whichever girl's turn it was had sex with them every night when they came home. It was one of their 'duties' to welcome their parents home each night. If you hadn't been there it would probably have been both of them, but now one of them had to stay with you and make sure you didn't come out and see something they didn't want you to."

"Really?" she asked. "That's sick."

"Before you came," I said, taking over again, "I suspect that other girls came to their house on weekends as well, just as Carly went to other places, and your aunt and uncle had sex with them, and they made Regina and Carly have sex with them, and if any of the girls complained, they could be punished. I'm not going to tell you how they would be punished, but keep in mind that all of this so far has been their idea of treating the girls well."

"But why wouldn't they just tell someone, a teacher or policeman, or even a pastor, or..." Her eyes suddenly got big as a light came on somewhere. "He's one of them, isn't he? The priest at that so-called church they went to. He's one of them."

"We're not sure yet, but we think so," I answered.

"It doesn't surprise me," she said, shaking her head. "But still, why wouldn't they tell someone?"

"You remember when the girls told you that if you told anyone they would all get in trouble?" I asked.

"Yes."

"The truth is they might have been killed. You see others had tried it before. One girl went to the police and told them what her father was doing to her. He was arrested of course, but before anything else could be done, he was killed, right there in jail. And then the girl, her sister, and her mother were all killed that same night." She looked at Allison, and she nodded that I was telling the truth. "Another girl tried to run away, but they caught her. They sold her into slavery somewhere in the Middle East. I'm not really sure where but that's were they think she went."

Allison jumped in again, "Before she ran away, she told a friend of hers what she was planning. I guess her friend was part of the same group of girls. After they caught her they made her tell them who else she had told. She didn't want to, but they finally made her. When they found out the other girl knew and hadn't told them before it happened, they punished her as well. And they made all the other girls watch so that they would know what would happen if they disobeyed the rules."

Phoebe sat quietly, thinking about all that we had told her. "Who is we? You keep saying we, I guess you mean Allison too, but who else?"

"My friend that I asked to check on your aunt and uncle for me? Well, she works for the FBI." Behind her I saw Susan's reaction to that little jewel of information. She knew who Rebecca was from her investigation of Angela's disappearance, and that she was seeing Bob, but I don't think she had realized just how much I knew, and she certainly didn't know about our relationship. "We've been trying to find out who all of these people are. See, the problem is that unless we catch all of them at once... , we're not sure, but we think that the ones that we don't catch are sworn to kill anyone that's left. So, if we catch half of them, the other half would start killing some of their families or friends, and that way the ones that were caught would know that if they talked, their families would die as well. So we have to catch them all."

"But first you have to find out who they all are." She said.

"Right," Allison answered. "And we're still working on that."

"The good news," I said, "is that not all of them are doing this on purpose. Some are being forced to do it, blackmailed or threatened, or their families threatened to make them do things. There is a doctor that takes care of the girls if they get sick or injured or something, and he is being blackmailed. They did something to him, he's not sure what, probably drugs, but he went to visit some new friends his wife had made and they did something and when he woke up the next day they came to his house with a video tape showing him having sex with three girls about your age. They told him that if he didn't do what they said, that they would send the video to the police and he would go to prison. Prison people don't like people who hurt women and little kids; they tend to treat them bad and sometimes kill them. So for now, he has to do what he's told. He does his best to take care of the girls, and he waits and hopes that somehow, someone will find a way to stop them. He really doesn't care any more about prison, but he cares about the girls, and he is afraid of what might happen to them if he goes to the police."

"And these people killed Aunt Vivian and Uncle Duke and... ," she couldn't say the names.

"Well, I don't know for sure, but most likely, yes, and now they are looking for you, because they are afraid that you might know something and tell someone. So we have to hide you. That's why I've been telling you all this, because I wanted you to know how important it is what we're about to do, well, try to do."

"What are you going to do?"

"We," Allison said excitedly, "Are going to make you into a different girl; one that they'll never recognize."

"You mean like plastic surgery and stuff?" Phoebe asked, obviously not thrilled with the idea.

"No, nothing like that, just simple things. We're going to start by coloring your hair," Allison said, "Sorry, no more red, pink, blue ... nothing like that. You're going to be a blonde."

"Hmmm," I said, chin in my hand, looking hard at Phoebe, "I don't know, Allison, she's awful smart for a blonde. Maybe if we suck half her brain out? I could get a long hose..." I was suddenly overwhelmed by pillows as they started grabbing them off the nearby couch and throwing them at me. It was a good sign.

"Then," Allison continued once they ran out of pillows, "we're hoping we can get you some extensions so your hair will look a lot longer. You see, they are looking for a girl with short red hair. If you had long hair we could cut it, but they would expect that and watch for it. But no one would be looking for a girl with long hair because hair doesn't grow that fast."

"But wouldn't they think of extensions?"

"They might, but how would a little girl on the run with only a limited amount of money afford them, or a color job?" I asked. I saw the question forming in her eyes. "Don't worry about the money, we've got that part covered. Now for more bad news, you gotta lose all the hardware." I gave her a look that I hoped said, 'What choice do we have?' It must have gotten across because her face went from rebellious to 'you're right' in about two seconds.

"The best part is you get new clothes," Allison said.

"I get to go shopping?" She asked in an excited voice.

"Sorry," I said, "but no. Maybe later, but not right now. For now, Allison is going to go pick you out some stuff. Stuff with lots of bright colors, and flowers and..."

"Ewww!" Phoebe whined. "Fashion stuff? No way would I wear that stuff."

"Right!" I said. "No way would you wear it..." I left the thought hanging for her to pick up. It didn't take her long.

"This sucks!" she finally said, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging her arms around them.

"Sure beats the alternative though, doesn't it?" Allison asked.

"C'mon Phoebles," I said chucking her chin with my finger, "It's not forever, just until we're sure you're safe, then you can go back to being the cute little punk rocker we all know and love."

She got the sweetest little smile on her face. Allison caught it and asked, "What?"

"He called me, 'Phoebles, '" she said. "My daddy used to call me that."

"I'm sorry Phoebe," I said quickly. "I won't do it again."

"No, that's okay, I don't mind," she said. "It reminds me of the man who loved me most in this world, besides Jesus that is, and just like you; he wanted most of all for me to be safe and happy. I think I'd like it if you called me that."

"Thank you, Phoebe. Now, you girls hustle off somewhere where Allison can get all your sizes and then we'll go pick you up some stuff. I need to call my parents and see if the doctors are going to let us in to see Shannon."

The news from Mom wasn't good. Shannon was in really bad shape. They didn't know how she had survived this long and didn't expect her to make it much longer. They were arguing with the doctors about the wisdom of letting us see her as she was, the doctors were arguing the merits of remembering a better image of her, my parents were arguing for saying goodbye and having proper closure. The jury was still out. I told her I would ask Allison but that I wanted to see her if there was any way possible to arrange it.

"Mom, have you ever colored hair before?" I asked.

"Once or twice a long time ago, why?"

"I'll explain later - I've got some stuff to take care of, but I'll call you back about noon and see how it's going. I really want to see her mom. I will always remember who she was, not what's left. If I'm going to lose her I'd rather say goodbye in person. Do what you can, okay?"

"I will, Jimmy, I know how much she meant to you both, I mean really meant, you understand, I never told your father, or Tom and Karen, but Jimmy, I could see how much you all loved each other, and I will do everything I can to get you both in if that is what you want."

"Thank you mom, that means a lot to me. I'll talk to you later." I walked back into the house and the girls were all checking out several magazines that Susan had pulled from under one of the end tables. The comments were encouraging.

"Yuck!" "Oh my gosh, no way!" "I can't believe people wear this stuff." To which Susan replied, "Hey! I have that dress and I like it." "Sorry." "Brat" "Okay, now that would be hot!" This one was followed closely by a very sarcastic, "Oh yeah, no one would ever recognize you in that! How about this one?" "Ewww!"

"Okay, okay, you've had your fun. We need to get going so we can be done early, so that if they let us see Shannon, this part will already be done. Susan, I'll call you when we're on the way back."

She nodded.

"Phoebe, try not to be afraid, okay."

"I'll pray for courage, and I'll pray for your safety, and I'll pray for Shannon."

"Thank you Phoebe. We'll be back as soon as possible." I turned to leave and just before we reached the door. "I almost forgot, is pizza okay for lunch?" Phoebe's eyes got huge and I won't even try to describe her smile. "I'll take that as a yes. See you soon."

"She is so sweet," Allison said when we were in the truck. "I thought she was going to faint when you said pizza."

"Yeah, that was fun. So, where to first? I have to stop at the bank first but then where?"

"I think we'll keep it simple, it's not like she's going to be keeping the stuff. It's just until we can find someplace safe for her." She laughed, "She'll probably burn them rather than donate them, afraid they'll make some other poor girl wear them. I think I can get everything we need at Target."

"You think two hundred will cover it?"

"You wish. Jimmy, the girl's got two pairs of underwear, only one bra and it's too small, the jeans she can keep but the rest has to go. She needs at least one more pair of jeans, a couple of dresses, shoes, socks ... Then there's makeup, a new toothbrush..."

"I get the picture, so what? An even thousand?" I had to concentrate hard to not let the truck swerve when she hit me. The bank was simple; I was in and out in five minutes with four crisp Benjamins. I hoped I had enough to still get the pizza. Something occurred to me on the way back to the truck. "I had a thought," I said as I was fastening my seat belt.

"Remarkable," she said. "That's two this month! You should see a doctor."

"Ooh, someone's feeling funny today. Seriously, though, let's not get too much today. Let's just stick with the basics, see how well we do with changing her appearance and then maybe have mom or Susan take her shopping if she can pass inspection. They can take her someplace far enough away that she's not likely to be recognized by anyone that's seen her around here. LA maybe. What do you think?"

"I think you're letting your heart get the best of you. Jimmy, I know it kills you to see her locked up like that but now is not the time. Safety first. It sounds nice but..."

"I know," I said with a sigh. "You're right, as usual, I'm thinking with my heart instead of with my head." When we reached the store I hesitated after I shut the truck off. "Allison, I talked to mom. Shannon's bad, really bad. She said they don't know how she survived or what's keeping her alive now. They're arguing with the doctors about letting us see her. The doctors think it would be best to let us remember her the way she was." I hesitated again. "I told her to tell them that I want to see her; that I want to say goodbye in person. She said she understood, and that she knew how much Shannon meant to me, and to you." She turned and looked at me and I nodded, "She said she didn't understand it, but that she knew how much we all loved each other and that if we wanted her to, she would do everything she could to get us in. I told her I would ask. Allison, is that what you want? I will understand if you don't want to."

"Jimmy, how could you even think that I wouldn't want to see her? I would be with her now if they would let me. Wouldn't you?"

"No, I would want to be, but until Phoebe was safe ... no, Shannon would never forgive me if I let something happen to her when I might have prevented it. Come on, let's get this done." It wasn't that bad really. Allison would try things on for me and the things I liked she would buy in Phoebe's size. I went and played video games while she bought the more intimate items and a supply of female products. We stopped by a beauty supply store and Allison told the girl that a friend of hers had dyed her hair red for her boyfriend a while back, but that they had broken up and she wanted to get rid of it and go back to blonde. The woman rolled her eyes, shook her head and then gathered up everything we might need. Then we picked up a large pizza and a two liter bottle of Diet Pepsi and headed back to Susan's. I called as we made the final turn onto Susan's street and she met us at the door. Allison carried the bags and I handled the pizza and drinks. Susan took the Pepsi which made it a lot easier to get the pizza through the door. Phoebe was nowhere to be seen, but as soon as we closed the door she stuck her head out of the bedroom and came out when she saw it was us. She couldn't believe all the bags Allison was carrying were for her, but I had guessed right and she was bouncing around like a puppy behind me as I carried the pizza to the table. Allison set the bags down and Susan brought plates and napkins. Phoebe rushed to fill glasses with ice and then bounced in her chair until we were seated. Yet as excited as she was, as soon as we sat down she reached a hand out towards each of us and bowed her head. I smiled as we all joined hands. Then Phoebe prayed.

"Father I thank you so much for the many blessings in my life. For my parents now in your care, for Aunt Vivian and Uncle Duke, for Carly and Regina, Lord I pray that they knew you and now find peace with you. I thank you for the new friends you have sent to me, and Lord I thank you most of all for the pizza. Amen."

"Amen," we echoed her and I finally reached to open the box. I thought Phoebe would melt into her chair when she took that first bite. After all of that, she only ate two pieces but she savored every bite like it was the best thing she had ever eaten.

Allison couldn't resist teasing her, "If I have to take all those back and buy bigger sizes..." but she couldn't keep a straight face.

"I love pizza," Phoebe said with shy smile.

"No, really?" I asked. "I never would have guessed. Okay, time for the fashion show. Let's see if we got the sizes right. Phoebe, be strong. I promise I won't take any pictures, so no one will ever know it was you wearing these clothes."

She tried on every outfit. Allison told me later that at first the sports bra was a total mystery to her, but Allison told her to do some jumping jacks. "Now picture yourself doing them with these, and she peeled off her shirt and started doing some herself. Of course all I got was a shriek of laughter. Then Allison put on the sports bra. And that was a feat in itself considering it was several sizes too small. Fortunately they stretch. Then she did a couple more jumping jacks and explained the long term affects of exercise and gravity. Phoebe drew the line at walking out into the living room in it.

Then it was time to call mom. The doctors still didn't like it but they had finally consented to let us in providing we promised not to sue for trauma later in life. She had arranged for us to get in shortly after four. I was just hanging up when a wave of dizziness hit. Fortunately, I was already sitting down because it was a bad one. I couldn't understand where these were coming from. Maybe I was coming down with something. I didn't usually catch the different bugs that seemed to perpetually be circulating, but I guess there was a first time for everything. I told Allison and she just nodded, then I hugged her so I couldn't see the tears. Phoebe politely looked away, and then I saw her close her eyes and bow her head.

I'm always nervous in hospitals; I never know what to do around sick people. This trip was the worst I'd ever felt. Maybe it was an offshoot of the dizziness, but I just felt ... I don't know.

Our parents were waiting for us in a room that had been set aside for family members just outside the intensive care unit. We were met by Doctor Spencer, who was in charge of Shannon's care. He briefed us once more on her condition and asked if we were sure we wanted to see her like this.

"Doctor Spencer," I answered, "when I heard that the Davises had been in an accident one of the first things that flashed through my mind was that I didn't even get to say goodbye. These are the people I love most in my life outside of those in this room. I have a second chance with Shannon. When I walk in that room I will see the woman I love lying on that bed, and only her. Yes, I want to do this."

He looked at me for a second and then opened the door. "Right this way." I took Allison's hand in mine, behind me dad took mom's and they followed us down the hall. All around us was the sound of that deafening silence people talk about. I could hear a faint echo of my dad's shoes clicking on the off-white floor. From various locations came the rhythmic beeping of the different monitoring systems. Finally, we were there, the doctor paused before an open door to give us one final chance to change our minds. The man knew his business; my parents didn't go in. My father nodded for us to go on without him as he held my mother and brushed away her tears.

The room was everything we expected and you could hardly make out Shannon's body for all the equipment, wiring, and special devices supporting her various injuries. It didn't matter, this was the girl I loved and I saw what I needed to see. I felt Allison tense beside me, and did my best to concentrate on the love I felt in hopes that she would pick it up and it would lend her the strength she needed. I don't know if it actually helped but she stayed with me as I eased around the bed to where Shannon's arm was exposed for the IV. As we got close she edged in front of me and I gave her as much room as I could in the small space. She moved carefully, and when she was close enough she touched Shannon's hand, gentle sliding her fingers underneath so she could hold her hand.

The doctor's voice pulled us back a little closer to reality, "It's okay, you're not going to hurt her. We've got her in a drug induced coma to try and allow the body to focus all of its energy on healing what it can."

"Do you think there is a chance?" I asked.

"I think there is always a chance. I've seen amazing things happen. But I won't lie to you; I don't know why she's still alive."

Allison stepped back to let me move forward. I reached forward as Allison had, sliding my hand under her fingers, then I bent over and kissed her hand. My vision blurred and I almost stumbled as images passed before my eyes. I saw Shannon lying on a soft bed wearing only a long shirt, asleep. The bed was in a large open area, and as I watched she tried to wake up - I knew she was trying to leave but something was holding her back. As I watched, a shadow passed over her and as it did a new wave of dizziness swept through me. When I could focus again I was on my knees, Allison holding me by my shoulders to keep me from falling over. The doctor was feverishly checking readouts and connections as Shannon's heart monitor ran wild. I heard a commotion in the hall and for some reason I reached out my hand and touched her once more. Almost instantly her heartbeat steadied again, still fast but at least it was a steady rhythm now. I whispered, "Sleep," and in seconds everything had returned to normal and I took my hand away. The doctor had been focused on what he was doing and hadn't seen what I did. As everything settled down he stepped back looking very confused.

"What just happened," Allison asked.

"I have no idea," he responded, then turned to the crash team assembled in the doorway, "False alarm, she's okay." When he turned back to us I was struggling back to my feet, trying to stand without bumping the bed. "What about you? You doing okay."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I guess the emotion just caught up with me all at once. Doctor, I was told she was pretty banged up, if she survives how bad will she be."

"I really can't say," he started hesitantly but my mother's voice came from the doorway.

"Tell him."

The doctor closed his eyes and shook his head then looked at us before continuing. "Her neck and back were broken, one of her ribs punctured a lung, another centimeter and it would have hit her heart. Several internal organs were damaged, her liver is swollen and one kidney was destroyed. She'll never walk; the injury to her spine was too severe. It's too soon to tell about a lot of things. She had severe trauma to the left side of her head, and we won't know the extent of the damage that may have occurred to the brain unless she regains consciousness."

"Pain?" Allison asked.

"Yes, if she regained consciousness now the pain alone could likely kill her. Below a certain point the nerve flow is cut off but there is no way to isolate the pain in the areas still connected, and drugs can only do so much."

Allison squeezed my hand and said, "Thank you doctor. If you took her off of life support how long would she live?"

"It's hard to say, minutes, maybe even hours, but it doesn't matter. This state doesn't allow us to disconnect her; the sanctity of life and all that. If her parents or guardians had been available before we hooked her up they could have prevented it, but once it's done it takes a court order."

"Thank you, doctor," I said, stepping around the table and reaching for his hand, "for all your help and for letting us see her again."

We made the silent walk back down the hall, stopping just long enough to kiss Mom and then we left. Once we were in the elevator Allison asked, "What happened back there?"

"I don't know. When I kissed her hand I had another of those weird visions. She was asleep on a bed in this big, I don't know ... field or plain or something. She was trying to wake up, I could tell she wanted to leave, but something was holding her back. Then a shadow seemed to pass over her and I got real dizzy again."

She nodded, "How do you feel now?"

"I'm okay, a little weak in the knees maybe, but okay."

"Dizzy weak, or tired weak?"

"I don't know, a little bit of both maybe."

"Well, it's been one of those days. Let's see if we can't take it easy and get a good night's sleep and then see how you feel tomorrow."

"Works for me, I could do with a few less hoops to jump through for a change. I don't see it happening any time soon, but there's no harm in hoping. Are you hungry? Maybe we should pick something up on the way home."

"Better call mom and ask, they may be stopping somewhere. I don't see her cooking after a day like this. Jimmy?" She paused before continuing, "Do you want Shannon to make it? Because I'm not sure I do."

I didn't even hesitate; I already knew what she was really trying to ask, "I'm not sure. Yes, but not if she has to live like that. I know I couldn't, so if it ever comes to that..."

"Yeah, me too. I don't ... Jimmy, I hate the thought of losing her, but I hate the thought of her living like that more. I mean, we would still be there for her, but what if something happened to us? I don't think I could trust someone else to take care of her, to love her. The good news is it's out of our hands. All we can do now is wait and pray."

We had the same discussion with mom and dad over dinner and first thing the next morning they were having legal documents drawn up to prevent anyone being in the same situation if anything should ever happen to any of us. There would be no question of pulling the plug. After the last twenty-four hours we all headed for bed early.

Allison and I cuddled close and missed that third pair of arms we were used to. In spite of all that we fell asleep quickly, moving into her glade and the night's workload fell all over us. Being early I expected to have at least a little while to relax but immediately I felt something out of place. I tried to focus on it but I couldn't pin it down. While I was still working on that, Lizzy showed up and distracted me.

"I wasn't expecting you to be here so soon," I said. "Kind of early for you, isn't it?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes, and for that matter it would still be early for you too. But these aren't normal times. I wanted to be here for you and Allison if you needed me so I've been putting myself out every half hour for a while now and just waking back up if you weren't here yet. Third time lucky, I guess, because here you are. And let me start by saying you look like hell. What happened to you today? Your energy is still way down."

"What do you mean?" Allison said sharply.

"Huh? What do you mean, what do I mean?" Lizzy asked. "I mean he looks like he's been run over by a ... bad analogy. He just looks worn out."

"It's been a long day," I said. "It wasn't all bad, we got Phoebe as safe as we can make her and I took Allison to the mall to pick up some different clothes for her and stuff. Once we re-do her hair and find a way to deal with the holes from her jewelry we should actually be able to take her out in public. Rebecca found some stuff out about the people she ran away from, but she got called to Washington before she had a chance to talk to me about it. I'm hoping we can get together tonight and go over it. She did confirm my suspicions about Phoebe's Aunt and Uncle being killed. The whole family was killed a couple days after she ran away."

Allison ignored everything I'd just said and went back to the prior conversation, "Lizzy, you said he looks worn out, and it has been a busy day, plus the stress of everything that's happened, and going to see Shannon, but even taking all that into account, should he look as bad as he does? I mean, from what you see?"

"Well," she said, looking closer at me, "it's hard to say. Everybody reacts differently to stress. Some people more than others. Emotional strain wears harder on the body than most people realize. Negative emotional energy seems to bleed out faster than good builds up. It's easier to blow up when you're angry than overflow with joy if you know what I mean. Twenty minutes of great sex can be shot to hell if the phone rings at the wrong moment. Jimmy's energy is so overwhelming most of the time that I notice the difference immediately if it's off. It could just be the thing with Shannon. Even when you're not together there is a sort of resonance that intensifies your fields. Yours is off too, but nothing like his. Why?"

"I don't know, something just seems strange to me. Even with everything that's going on I don't think he should be this tired. And then there are the dizzy spells. Most of the day he was fine but when we were with Shannon he collapsed again."

"He did?" She turned to me, "What happened? Wait, is Bob around yet?"

"No, not yet?"

"See if you can find him and bring him here."

"What's going on?"

"I don't know, but I'd rather have him in on the beginning if possible, instead of trying to repeat and explain it all later."

I focused on Bob and he was sitting at the table grading papers, but before I could call him I heard Amber's voice calling, "Master?" and instantly I was in Jasmine's office.

Jasmine was standing in front her desk and kneeling beside her like bookends were Amber and May. The only difference was that May wore her white dress while Amber was still in panties and her shirt of crystal thorns.

Addressing Amber I asked in a stern voice, "Why have you summoned me?"

"Forgive the intrusion," Jasmine said, "but I told her to call you. You said if I ever needed to reach you..."

I walked over to Amber, "Did it worry you to call me for such a reason?"

"No, Master," she answered, eyes downcast. "You have given me to her and in your absence she is my Mistress. It is not my place to question."

I froze the two girls and addressed Jasmine, "Is this why you summoned me?"

"Yes. I am simply amazed at how she has grown in so short a time. I wanted to share it with you."

"Then I would not be wrong to praise her at this point?"

"No, she has more than earned it."

"Good, because I really wanted to." I released the others and reaching down took Amber by the chin, and drew her to her feet. I was amazed at the grace of her movement. When she stood before me I got rid of the shirt and walked around her, noting that there was not a hint of red anywhere on her skin. "You show much improvement, I am very pleased and proud of your progress."

She beamed at me, "Thank you, Master." She hesitated, "Master?"

"Yes, Amber."

"Is everything alright?"

"Why do you ask? Is something bothering you?"

"No, Master, it's just ... I feel an ache, in my chest. Not a hurt, but an ache, and you seem troubled."

This was a very surprising twist, but this was hardly the time or place. I weighed the options quickly in my head and decided that I did not need to burden her with the news of Shannon's accident. She had enough problems in her life and few friends; I didn't see any advantage to telling her that she had lost one of them. Not yet anyway. Worrying about Shannon would do neither of them any good.

I leaned in and kissed her cheek, cupping her face in my hand as I did, "I am touched by your concern, Amber, but it is nothing that you need to be concerned with. Focus on what your Mistress has for you and when next I return I will expect a proper greeting from you." I stepped back and turned to May, "Amber has benefited greatly under your guidance, May, and I am in your debt, if your Mistress will permit it I would reward you. Consider what you may desire and consult with her. If it lies within my reach, it will be yours."

She bowed politely and responded, "You are too kind. It is gift enough to be part of helping her find her place."

"I disagree but that is your decision to make. If you should change your mind, please tell your Mistress."

I froze the scene and spoke to Jasmine again. "All I can offer you is news. We have been making good progress and luck may have dropped a gift our way. I can't say anything more at this time but things are starting to happen."

"Good news is its own reward, my young friend, and this news is sweet indeed. May fortune continue to smile on you."

I release the girls, said my farewells, and prepared to leave, as I turned to go Amber called me back, "Master?"

"Yes, Amber?"

"My shirt, Master, may I have it back?"

"It appears you no longer need it. Why would you want to keep it?"

"Two reasons, my Master. First, I am not always so correct in my forms and I would continue until I am as May, without fault. And second..." I saw a tear in her eye as she continued, "It was a gift from you, given in love, and for that reason above all I cherish it. Please?"

Moving swiftly I pulled her into my arms and kissed her passionately for a few seconds. Her arms instantly came up around my neck and she melted into the kiss. When I pulled back I tugged her arms down, held her at arms length and said, "As you wish." Suddenly the shirt was back and she shuddered as it pricked her skin slightly before settling into place.

A tear rolled down her cheek to catch at the edge of her smiling mouth, "Thank you, Master."

I turned around and was back in the glade with Allison and Lizzy. Both stood exactly as I had left them but then Lizzy said, "About time."

Allison looked at her funny, "What do you mean, about time?"

"He's been gone for ten minutes."

Allison looked back at me, "You left?"

"Yeah, I did. I was just about to try and call Bob when Amber called and I was whisked off to Jasmine's office. I guess I froze you two when I left, sorry. You won't believe the progress she has been making. Jasmine is beside herself."

"So where is Bob now?" She asked. "Wait, one thing real quick. Lizzy, how is his energy now?"

"Better, thanks for asking, I wasn't paying attention. The time with Amber must have helped. Like I said, good energy."

"Okay," Allison said. "So where is Bob?"

"Watching television, so if there are no more interruptions..." I paused just in case, and then said, "Bob." In my head I watched him slump down on the couch a little and suddenly a door formed not far from us and he walked in.

"Well, that was weird. I've seen you do it with the others but it's not the same as actually experiencing it. One second I'm wide awake watching television, and the next I'm in the park with two beautiful girls and a nut case. Allison, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay, Mr. Shelby, I'm getting by, thanks for asking."

"Any word on Shannon?"

"Several," I said. "Mostly not good. They don't know how she survived, and they don't know what's keeping her alive. We went to see her today."

He was obviously shocked, "They let you in?"

"My parents are now Shannon's legal guardians. We told the doctor that if it came to the worst we wanted to say goodbye in person."

"That I can understand, but do you want that to be our last memory of her?"

"It won't be Bob, not for me. What I'll remember of today will be that I got to touch her one last time, to kiss her hand and let her know that I love her."

"What worries me is what happened when he kissed her hand," Allison said.

"What happened?" Bob asked.

"He collapsed, again."

"What do you mean again? This happened before, when?"

"When he saw the accident," Allison answered.

"Well that I can understand, I mean that would be a lot for ... wait, you saw the accident, I thought you were at home when..." He stopped to look at me and I nodded. "Wow. Tell me what happened."

So I repeated the story one more time.

"And ever since then you have been feeling weak and having dizzy spells? Any pain?"

"Sometimes, but it's usually just a flash and it goes away. It's the stronger ones that make me dizzy."

"Where is the pain when it comes? Head or chest?"

"Mostly chest," I answered.

"Okay, let's go back to the accident. Who pulled Shannon out of the car? You said you saw someone carrying her, that she wasn't thrown from the car like they said?"

"Yeah, she was still in the car when it finally came to rest and caught fire, but then something carried her out. The smoke made it hard to see and I couldn't make out who it was."

"Wait, the smoke was so thick that you couldn't make out who it was, yet you could tell it was Shannon that they were carrying? What did it look like?" He asked.

"I don't know, all I could see was a shadowy shape carrying her."

"And you were unconscious when this happened?"

"Yeah, what are you guys getting at? I don't understand where you're going with this." I answered.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm trying to get as much detail as I can so I can try and figure out some rational explanation for all this. So far it's not helping. Let's move on to something else. Elizabeth said there was something wrong with your energy?"

"Just that it looked like my energy was low."

He looked at Lizzy, "How low?"

"I don't know, his energy is different, normally it's all I can to do look at him full on without blinding myself, he's weaker, that's all I can say -- Allison too but not nearly as much. It comes and goes. When he went to see Amber it improved, but it's dropped off again since then."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up there. It got better when he went to see Amber, positive energy input for a good visit? I assume it was a good visit?" He said, glancing at each of us.

I nodded, Lizzy shrugged, and Allison said, "Don't ask me, I didn't even know he was gone."

"What? This is too weird. He disappeared in the middle of a conversation, was gone for a while, then came back and you didn't know he was gone? How is that possible?"

"We froze when he left," Lizzy said. "Like he sometimes does when he wants to talk to someone and there are others around he just stops everything so you can talk and then picks back up again. It was like that only it doesn't seem to work the same on me. I don't really freeze all the way; I can still feel time passing and I can still perceive what is happening. What's strange is that this time Allison froze, which was unusual. He normally freezes everybody but her."

"But you didn't do it on purpose?" He asked, looking at me.

"No, I didn't even realize I had done it. If Amber calls me, I go to her, no questions asked, no matter what, I just go."

"You may want to reconsider that. I can see where that could get you in trouble. We'll talk about that later. So he came back and his energy was better, but it's been dropping again." He turned back to me, "Have you had any more dizzy spells since you got back, feeling a lot of stress or anxiety, anything like that?"

"No, not really," I answered.

He looked at me, then at Allison, then at Lizzy. "Then the question becomes..." he floated the question out there for us to look at.

I expected Allison to get it first but it was Lizzy that spoke up, "Where is the energy going?"

"Right," Bob said. "If it's not stress or anxiety and he's not doing anything physically, where is it going?" He looked at me again, "You said when you touched Shannon in the hospital you saw her somewhere else. Could that somewhere have been in a dream?" He asked.

"She's in a drug induced coma, I don't know if she even could dream." I answered.

"I didn't say she was. But you clearly saw her somewhere else. And she appeared to be asleep and fighting to wake up. Then something changed and you lost her. What changed?"

"Well, I didn't really lose her, I can still feel her out there somewhere, I'm still ... connected to her somehow, I just can't pin her down. Maybe it's the fact that she's not really dreaming. I know they think some people in natural comas dream -- they pick up brain wave patterns to indicate they are -- but drug induced comas are intended to take them past that point, so they don't have nightmares about the trauma of their injuries."

"So, she's out there, someplace where you can feel her, but you can't tell where and you can't get to her? Like something is blocking you?" He suggested.

"Oh my God," Allison said suddenly, "I see where you're going with this. Jimmy, is there anyone else you wanted to reach that you could feel but not actually get to?"

"Just Mikkelson," I answered and as I did I understood what she was saying. "Wait, that's crazy. You're saying the same thing that is blocking me from reaching Mikkelson is keeping me from finding Shannon?"

"It makes sense," Lizzy said, nodding her head.

"No it doesn't!" I said. "Shannon didn't do anything, why would this ... this thing ... that's been messing with people want to see her suffer?"

Lizzy gasped and her hands flew up to her mouth. Tears formed and she took a couple quick breaths before saying, "Because it would rather see her alive and suffering than lose her forever. Don't you see, Jimmy? We talked about whatever was doing these things maybe having grown out of that box you stuff all your emotions into. It's acted a couple times to keep you safe, and other than that only acted against people that you have felt strongly about. It loves her, just as you do, but just as with Mikkelson and Parry, it has no sense of proportion, it's all black and white. It loves her, so therefore she can't die. It would explain where your energy is disappearing to, and what's keeping her alive. It's siphoning off your energy and feeding it to her, trying to give her the strength she needs. It doesn't understand what it's doing, but just as it reacted to its need to protect you, it's now reacting to its need for her and trying to save her. Jimmy, you are what's keeping her alive."

I was still trying to digest that when, naturally, Rebecca decided to call. I dug out my phone and answered. "Hi, what's up?"



-------

Chapter 33: In Deep


Rebecca

I was in trouble.

See? I can do understatement as well as the next person. I still have no idea who it was who had dropped me into this dark hole, or why. Sure, they had a legitimate reason; I had refused to tell them about Jimmy. I'd known all along that it may someday come to this, but I had assumed it would be over the Sandman case, not the big dark secret in Las Vegas. Apparently the files on Elliott Bastion and his little church were flagged in the Justice Department computer. I had used my FBI ID code to access the files, so they knew exactly who it was. The question was why? Was it actually possible that the group was this well connected? The idea was, or at least seemed, absurd. Nobody in their right mind would waste this much power protecting their right to shag teenage girls. There had to be another explanation. Other explanations notwithstanding, I was in deep shit and sinking fast. The question in my mind was how far they would go. Let's face it; the FBI did have ways of extracting information from people. They usually stopped short of torture, we outsource most of that to the CIA and wait for the written report to come back, carefully edited of course. But there were a variety of drugs, plus hypno-techniques and the like, that they could and would use if they felt the situation warranted it. As an agent of the Bureau they had signed releases on file authorizing the use of most of these on me if the need ever arose.

I checked my watch, damn, almost midnight local time but still only nine o'clock on the west coast. I really needed to talk to my favorite shrink about the chances that I could prevent them from dissecting my brain and picking out the pieces they found interesting, but it was way too early for Bob to be in bed yet, unless Jimmy needed him for something. Ah, there was a thought. Jimmy had a lot on his plate and gets up early to run. Maybe I could get lucky and reach him, have him get a hold of Bob and get us together.

Not wanting to attract any more attention than necessary I arranged myself as comfortably as possible on what passed for a cot and used one of the triggers Bob had implanted to let me meet with Jimmy if the need ever arose. As soon as I was out I called Jimmy. To my surprise and delight, he answered.

"Hi, what's up?"

I said a quick thank you to God that he was there. "I'm in deep shit is what's up? Can you call Bob for me, get him to put himself under, and then get us together? I need to talk to both of you right away."

"He's already here. We were discussing another problem. Would it be a problem if the girls were here too?"

"No, this concerns everyone so Allison and Sha ... wait," God what was I saying? "You're not talking about Shannon are you? Or has something changed? Is she..." I had a moment of hope.

"No," he said, and the hope died, "I meant Allison and Lizzy."

"That will be fine. Jimmy, I..." I started to apologize for mentioning her but stopped myself, no point digging the hole any deeper. "That will be fine." I said.

"Okay, we'll meet you in the office."

Jimmy

Even as I hung up I transitioned the four of us to the office so we were there when Rebecca opened the door.

"You better all sit down, I need to cover this as quickly as possible." She didn't wait for us to actually sit down. "Jimmy, the first thing you need to do is get a hold of Rod and tell him you need those ID's he's working on for you yesterday. Rod got a call this morning ordering me to Washington ASAP, no mention of what it was about, nothing. Just that I was to report immediately and..."

I cut her off, "Wait a second. I want to try something." I looked at Allison and suddenly a large golden retriever was sitting in her chair. I changed to my 'working' persona and then glanced at Lizzy, "Do you have a particular disguise you want to use?"

"I never really gave it much thought." She smiled and closed her eyes and when she opened them back up, Control Agent 99 from the old Get Smart show was sitting in her chair, "How's this?"

"Well, he certainly won't believe you're who you look like, that's for sure." Rebecca said with a smile.

I thought about going out by the elevator, rather than do this in front of Rebecca, since she had no idea my abilities went this far, but if it worked then she would know anyway. I closed my eyes and concentrated, and then I opened them again in my room where I was still curled up with Allison. Reaching for my phone I quickly dialed Rebecca's boss.

He answered on the second ring, "Hello."

"Mr. Rodriguez, this is Jimmy, where are you right now?"

"Oh shit, this can't be good. Hold on a second," I could hear him moving and then the sound of a door closing. "I'm in my office at home. What's happened, you wouldn't have called me unless it was an emergency?" As he spoke the picture formed in my mind and suddenly I knew I had him.

"Make yourself comfortable, close your eyes, and relax." I waited as he arranged himself on the couch. "Picture an office building. You're in the lobby, walk to the elevator and go inside. When the door closes, press the button for the top floor. Where are you now, describe it to me."

"I'm in the elevator pressing the button to go up."

"Good, watch the panel and count the floors as you go up.

In my mind I could see him in the elevator, phone still in his hand, as he counted, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten."

By the time he reached eight his body in the office was now settled and sleeping, and I was standing invisibly in the elevator with him. When he reached ten I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "When the doors open, you will see an unmarked door across from you, walk to the door and open it."

I stood back and watched as the doors opened and he closed his phone. Then he walked across the hall and opened the door.

"Oh shit," he whispered when he opened the door to find us waiting for him. Allison immediately jumped down from the chair and jogged over to him, wagging her tail in greeting.

"Have a seat, boss, I don't know how much time I have," Rebecca said. He wandered dazedly to the nearest empty chair and as he sat down, Allison sat at his feet and nuzzled his hand to pet her. Without thinking he started scratching her behind one ear. He glanced around the room and when he spotted 99 sitting there he did a double take. He didn't have long to dwell on whatever he was thinking as Rebecca resumed her briefing.

"I found out why I was called to Washington, Rod, and it's not good. It's about my snooping around last night. They met me at the airport, and I figured that because of the time they would take me to a hotel and I'd be briefed in the morning. Wrong. I went straight to ground zero, and when I got there they took my gun and led me straight to a conference room. I waited there for about twenty minutes before three people came in and told me the meeting never took place. They immediately wanted to know why I was interested in Elliott Bastion and the Church. I gave them the basic rundown on what we suspected, and then they started pressing for my source. I had made the mistake of mentioning Jimmy as an asset," she turned to me, "which categorizes you as a particular type of contact and gives you certain protections, but only if I've jumped through the proper hoops and obtained the proper authorizations first, which I hadn't. I told them no and they pushed harder, implied certain things, reminded me I was sworn to uphold certain oaths, and that I was required to co-operate, etc. Basically, they threatened me. I told them I didn't care if the President himself walked in and ordered me to tell them, they weren't getting it because I had promised it to you as part of the deal when you first came to me with the information on the murders. I even stressed that you came to me.

"I'm currently sitting in a holding cell about two levels above hell. My biggest concern right at the moment is how far they may go to get me to talk. Rod, Jimmy and Allison need those ID's as fast as you can get them. Also, there are two more deposits, another sixty thousand dollars total, pending for Raphael Swenson. That should last you for a while, hopefully long enough for some more funds to shake loose. There's twenty-five coming from the arrest in Palm Springs and double that when we get a conviction. Rod, I think it would be best to set him up off-shore."

He nodded his agreement and she went on. "I don't even know who these people are. They wouldn't even give me their names, but they've got to be really high up the food chain to pull this all off. Rod, I don't think they're Bureau but they've got the clout to have a meeting of this kind in our own office and to order me locked up in holding. That's where I am right now. Bob, they've got signed releases to do whatever they need to in order to help me 'remember information' if you know what I mean. Hypnosis, several different drugs, just about anything short of physical torture, and with these three, I'm not sure just how far short that may be. Is there anything you can do here to block me from them hypnotizing me and getting the information they want."

"Excuse me," Rod said, patting Allison on the head and standing up. "I don't want to hear any more of anything that you're about to discuss. I think I've heard everything you really needed me to hear?" He glanced at Rebecca for confirmation. She nodded and he went on, "There are things I need to be doing."

"One last thing, Rod," Rebecca said. "I need a safe place for Jimmy to put the girl. If they have this kind of clout then we need her someplace as far from official circles as possible.

"Maybe not that far," I said. "We've been working on changing her appearance. Fortunately, her normal look is pretty extreme. What we really need is someone to do hair and some minor cosmetics." I pulled up an image of Phoebe when she came to us, and then another one of her in one of the dresses that Allison had bought. "We're thinking bleach the hair and then color it blonde," As I spoke the image changed, "get a real professional set of extensions, and cover up all the holes..." the image changed and I could see that everyone was impressed. "With the right cover story we figure she could walk up to a cop on the street and ask for directions and they wouldn't look twice at her, probably offer her a lift so no one bothered her. The problem is who to leave her with. We were considering keeping her at my house, a cousin from out of town staying with us because of a family tragedy or something, but obviously that won't work now."

"I'll get the story handled," Rod said. "Her mother is a single woman in the military and she's been deployed overseas into an area where she doesn't want to take her daughter. Just tell me who to put down as guardian and I'll have a complete set of documents by noon tomorrow; Medical releases, the works. As soon as possible, get me a picture of her and I'll get you an ID card. Call me in the morning and I'll have a name for her. Try to get the cosmetics done as soon as possible. Bob, I'll call you in a little while with a phone number for a woman to handle the hair and makeup. She's not too far away from all of you and she's done work for the Bureau before on undercover jobs. Doesn't matter if it's the middle of the night, call her, set it up, and take the girl to her. When she's done, I'll need a picture of her, as well as one of Jimmy and Allison for their ID's, digital if possible. A courier will bring you the initial batch of information. Give him the pictures on whatever memory card they are on in a sealed envelope and he'll get them back to me. I'll have the rest of the package delivered to Susan's before the end of the day. Bex, I don't know what you're into with all this, but I'm sure they can fill me in. Whatever happens, I'll do my best to get them away clean and if it comes to it, I'll take care of Amy."

I thought a saw a tear in his eye as he hugged her and I know I saw them in hers when she said, "Goodbye Rod, I hope it's not, but just in case ... Thanks."

He looked back at me, "I'll be expecting your call." I watched as he walked out the door and woke up in his office, where he immediately went to a bookshelf, moved a couple of books and pulled out another cell phone. I returned my attention to the people still gathered around me.

"I didn't know you could do that." Rebecca commented.

"Do what?" I asked.

She started to say something but Lizzy jumped in.

"Wait, don't answer yet," Lizzy said. "Think about it, Rebecca, do you actually have any idea what he just did? No, if you think about it really hard, you don't know what he does, or how he does any of this, do you? That's important to remember because it's not like the people you may be talking to are just going to throw out ideas and ask, 'Can he do this? Can he do that?' They're going to ask you to tell them what he does or how he does it, and when they do you can answer, honestly, that you don't know. As far as you know, all of this is still impossible. What do you think? Can you tell them that and be telling them the truth when you do it?"

She thought about it for a second, and while she was thinking, I casually walked over, touched her shoulder, and caught her eye as she looked at me, "Rebecca, I know you would never tell anyone about me. But I don't expect you to lie for me either. When you leave here tonight, you will forget all of this, you have no way to contact me unless I call you. Robert Shelby does not know anything about me at all. Director Rodriguez has no knowledge of who your source is that you know of. You have no personal knowledge of Phoebe beyond what I have told you and your own investigations; you don't know where she is or what she looks like. You will have no knowledge of any of the other people in this room unless I personally tell you that the snow level in the Amazon basin is expected to reach twelve feet by Christmas. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand." She replied.

"When I touch you again it will be for the first time and you will remember nothing that has happened in between." I pulled my hand off of her and then put it back. With he second touch I could see a change in her eyes. "Rebecca, I know you'll do your best, that's all I can ask. No matter what else happens I won't hold it against you. I knew the risks when we started."

I stepped back and moved to take the seat Rod had recently vacated. As I did Allison nuzzled under my hand for attention and I started petting her.

Rebecca turned to Bob and asked, "So what do you think? Can you do anything to help me keep my mouth shut?"

"I could try implanting a suggestion that would keep them from questioning you under hypnosis, but I don't know how well that will hold up against drugs."

"I'll take anything I can get. How fast can you do it?"

"Well, part of it would be that you would forget being here, you would just wake up back in your cell with no knowledge of the time that has passed. You would just think you had dozed off."

"Fine. Let's do it."

I froze her and we all moved around. Lizzy and I were sitting on the love seat and Allison now had her head on Rebecca's lap instead of mine.

As we were shuffling around Lizzy said, "I guess my little speech was a complete waste of time."

"No it wasn't," Bob said. "Maybe compared to Jimmy's solution, which may be a little extreme but then this is an extreme situation. If all she had to do was pass a polygraph, your idea might have been enough, but these people are playing hardball, so we need a bigger bat. Fortunately, we've got one."

I released her and Bob said, "Okay, all set, as soon as you walk out the door it'll kick in."

"What about if I wake up before I leave?"

"Hmmm, not sure, I didn't think of that."

"Then I guess I better go," she said, rising to leave.

I stopped her, "Before you go, show me the people that are pulling your chain."

"Are you sure? Jimmy, these are not the kind of people you want to play games with."

"Neither are any of the other people I'm currently investigating, if your new playmates are tied in with the Vegas group I need to know. If they are something else, then we need to know that as well. And if they are bad guys and they fuck with you ... they'll regret it long before they ever get a decent night's sleep again." I stepped up close and hugged her, "Thank you, Rebecca, for everything you've done, and if things go bad, I'll keep an eye on Amy for you." By the time I let her go Lizzy and Allison were in line behind me, both back to normal. Hugs were exchanged and my favorite tough as nails FBI agent walked out the door into an uncertain future.

Rebecca

I had no idea what to expect when the door opened and the two goons in suits stepped inside. Then a third suit stepped in, this one was carrying manacles. I knew the routine, I stood with my arms out from my shoulders and my feet shoulder width apart. They started at the bottom and worked their way up. When they were done I hobbled my way out, following the first as the others trailed behind in case I made a break for it. Yeah, like that was going to happen. I couldn't understand why they were pushing so hard for information I didn't even have. I had hoped my bluff about not telling them would be enough. One thing was for sure, this was going to be a long, long, night. At least I knew Rod and Bob would do their best for Amy if this came out bad for me. They led me to an elevator and I quickly discovered that there were actually floors further down, and that, unfortunately, that's where we were headed. When the door opened Ms. Wonderful from my earlier meeting was there to greet me.

"Last chance, Rebecca."

"It's Agent Hampton to you, bitch."

She smiled, "That will be all gentlemen. I'll take her from here." One of them pushed me forward and as the doors closed she took my elbow and pulled me forward.

We walked in silence, well, she walked, I hobbled; fifty feet or so down the hall to an open door. Inside a man waited next to a chair I really wasn't looking forward to sitting in. I looked around to make sure there wasn't a tray of dentistry tools sitting around anywhere. When I was seated and the chest strap securely fashioned he un-cuffed my wrists and moved them to the arm rests, then strapped them into place as well. I did my best to just stare straight ahead and not watch. The last thing I remember was the needle going into my arm.

I woke up in a hotel room with a pounding headache. A quick check produced no indication of broken bones but when I sat up I thought my head was going to split.

"Sorry about that," a calm female voice said. I tracked the voice to a chair across the room and verified that the wicked witch of Washington was still with me. "An unfortunate side effect; take the two red pills in the nightstand and you'll feel better in about thirty minutes."

There was a sealed bottle of water on the nightstand, I cracked the top and took a sip, then opened the drawer and found the two red pills. What was surprising was that I also found my ID, along with my gun and clip sitting next to the small tray the pills were on.

"Surprised?" She asked.

"I see you have the standard issue gift of understatement. Does this mean you are going to tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"Yes, that and much more, starting with my name," she said, crossing to stand before me and extending her hand. "Sandra Atkins, Department of Justice. I'm officially assigned as an aide to a Justice that shall remain nameless. You can call me Sandy if you want."

As if things weren't strange enough already ... The US Marshal's Service sometimes provided people to work directly with judges, but this ... I ignored the hand. "All that shit you just put me through and you work with a Supreme Court Justice?"

"Yes, and before you arrived he personally approved every step in the process. The other two gentlemen you didn't meet with last night are Henry Phipps with the Secret Service, and Conrad Ferris who is..."

"Conrad Ferris?" I interrupted. "As in Retired Attorney General 'Iron-Pants' Ferris?"

"The same, I'm sure you have a lot of questions but I think a lot of them will answer themselves as I go. You're past the hard part already. By the way, I ordered you breakfast. It should be up shortly -- I hope you like your eggs scrambled -- and you'll be happy to know they serve a very good Mocha Latte here. I believe that's your coffee of choice, isn't it?"

"As long as you told them to go easy on the whipped cream. Ms. Atkins, forgive me if I'm not overflowing with gratitude but..."

"Don't worry about it, Rebecca, I don't blame you at all for how you are feeling right now. That's why I didn't leave the clip in the gun." There was a knock at the door and she turned to answer it. "Why don't you freshen up and we can continue over breakfast."

That actually sounded like a really good idea so I staggered into the bathroom to wash my face. There was a brand new toothbrush and a travel sized tube of my toothpaste of choice on the counter. It was probably going to ruin the taste of the eggs but it made my mouth feel better. By the time I got back to the table she had everything laid out and ready. I felt a lot better when that first sip of coffee hit the back of my throat.

"Now then, first of all," she began, "Elliott Bastion, the former Christian Wallace, has been under the closest scrutiny we could get away with for quite some time. Unfortunately, due to the terms set down after the disaster of his last trial we can't get away with much. We've known about the girls, though not who they are, for some time. Some of what you told us, especially the names of some of the players in this sordid little drama were new to us. There are a couple of things that you don't know about and are not likely to discover on your own. The family of the girl that turned her father in we already knew about. The family in the fire hadn't made it back to us yet, but after checking the reports we agree with your assessment. You are also correct about the girl who was sold. She is currently the favored bed-partner of the son of a high-ranking Saudi official. We can't prove it, of course, but we know where she is. If, at some point, we can stop these bastards we'll get her out. For now, pulling her out would likely only result in more deaths. Some time ago we pulled an entire family out, intending to put them in witness protection. Within forty eight hours they were all dead. The father strangled the daughter and his wife before hanging himself in the shower. Bastion and the church have been audited so many times that they filed a harassment suit and now we can't go near them. Two of the auditors were professionals who worked off the books for the FBI, investigating organized crime. Both brought back glowing reports on both the Church and Bastion. Neither could find a single thing to complain about."

That got my attention, "Two auditors looked at the same books and got the same answers? Is that even theoretically possible?"

"Yes, that was our reaction as well. So, as you see, we are in the same boat as you. We know something is wrong, and we even know that it involves the molestation of underage girls. That part we could probably prove without any real problem, but we couldn't pin in it on Bastion and if we can't get him we can't stop the rest. Because of past history, we can't even pursue it without risking innocent lives and a major lawsuit against the government. Not a position we are used to being in."

"So why all the fun and games last night? It was just last night wasn't it?"

"Yes," she said with a smile. "As I'm sure you guessed, Bastion's records are flagged, anytime there is an inquiry we get notified. We drag whoever it is in here and do two things. One, we try to see what information they have that we don't -- so far you are by far our best result in that department -- and two, we determine how far we can trust them. If you had given up your asset we would have noted the information, told you nothing and sent you on your merry way back to Los Angeles, with instructions to stay the hell away from Bastion, the Church, and anything connected to either -- the alternative being arrest and prosecution for interfering with a Federal Investigation. But you refused, so we pushed harder. You're the first to actually make it all the way to the chair. Just so you know; we believe you now. If there was information there it would have come out last night. More importantly for you, is that now we trust you. Congratulations, Rebecca, you just got a promotion, if you want it that is. You'd still be working for the FBI, that wouldn't change, but you would actually be working directly for the Department of Justice, unofficially of course. No ID, no change in benefits, but there are other advantages. You get a raise, but it will be paid to an unlisted account that could not be traced to you. It would then be added to your retirement if you live that long. If you don't make it, it would go to your listed beneficiary. I believe that's your sister, Amy, isn't it? How is she doing by the way? I understand that clinic she's in does incredible work. Their recovery rate is almost twice the average."

"You're very well informed, Ms. Atkins. She is doing well; there have been a couple times over the last year when it looked like she might snap out of it, increased activity in certain areas."

"I read that," she said, and I could hear the interest and a touch of excitement in her voice. "I had plenty of time to catch up while you were sleeping off the drugs we used. Increased cerebral function resembling normal dream activity wasn't it? I did a little web surfing, and learned that in over thirty seven percent of the cases, that led to recovery within six months and fifty six percent within twelve. I hope she proves to be one of those cases, and please, call me Sandy. I'm sorry about last night, but I'm sure you see the necessity given the nature of the type of work we are involved with. We specialize in untouchable people, Rebecca, people like Bastion that no one seems to be able to catch. You'll be amazed at some of the people that only went down through the efforts of people like you and me."

"Well, Sandy, assuming I take you up on all this, what happens next?"

"Nothing. You were called to Washington for accessing secured files without authorization, but when we looked further into it there was a technical glitch that actually left the files open and if you hadn't accessed them, we never would have realized it and plugged the leak. You go back to LA with our thanks and continue with what you are doing. Very shortly you are going to fall in love with a condo you are going to stumble across; very nice place, lots of amenities, including a secure internet connection that will allow you to access things you never dreamed of with total anonymity. You'll use that to communicate with us, passing on what you find out about people like Bastion that we are interested in. If you should stumble upon anything else that you think might warrant our attention you'll let us know. Other than that it will be business as usual. By the way, I'm dying to ask, has your teacher friend proposed yet?"

The rest of the morning passed quickly and in spite of all that she had put me through I actually found myself liking Sandy.



-------

Chapter 34: Good News, Bad News


I called Rod and explained about the mix up, told him I was on the way back and would be in first thing in the morning. I knew Bob would be in class, so I sent him a text message just before we took off, and then I spent most of the trip back trying to get a grip on what had happened. The good news was that my investigation could move forward without having to worry about what to tell the powers that be. I now had authorization to take whatever steps I felt necessary to keep Jimmy safely anonymous. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something still didn't feel right. Something about Bob's friend Susan was picking at my brain. And I remembered going to a church to speak to the Pastor but I couldn't remember what about. It picked at me all the way back to Long Beach.

After the last twenty-four hours I was really looking forward to spending a night curled up with Bob. I called him as soon as I landed to tell him I was on my way. He asked how my trip had gone, and I explained to him that it was all just a misunderstanding about some stuff I was researching for a case. Apparently, I had accessed some secure files that I shouldn't have been able to and it had flagged my ID, but that they had found out it was a technical problem on their end and my action had actually alerted them to the problem. No harm, no foul, and the really good news was that I would be there in about an hour and a half, give or take.

"That's great, I was going to go over and check on Susan to see how she was doing, you mind tagging along?"

"No, not at all. Has she been sick?"

"Nothing serious but she has been out the last couple days. I just wanted to drop in and check on her, shouldn't take long."

"Okay, sounds good to me, but I have to tell you, I'm a little wrung out with flying back and forth cross country twice in two days. I'd like to get to bed a little early if possible."

"Yeah, that can wear you out."

"I didn't say I was tired ... I said I was wrung out and wanted to get to bed early."

"Ohhh! I see, sorry, misinterpreted what you were saying. I don't see a problem with that at all."

"You better not. Okay, enough fun and games, I'm heading onto the freeway. I'll see you soon."

I made it in an hour and twenty-five minutes. We spent a couple minutes saying hello and expressing how much we had missed each other and then headed over to check on Susan. I was a little surprised to find a pickup parked in her driveway since I knew Susan drove a Camaro. I asked Bob about it and he suggested that maybe one of the other teachers had dropped by as well. My level of concern went up when I found three strangers in the house but I figured they must have been concerned students that had dropped in. The youngest one grinned like an idiot when I asked Susan about why they were there. The oldest one was a boy who looked about sixteen and seemed to be in charge, whispering something to the younger of the two girls. I'm not sure what he said, but she quickly excused herself and went in to the bathroom. When she left, Susan excused herself also, saying she had a phone call to make and she would use the one in her bedroom. As soon as they were gone the boy turned to me and said, "So you're Bob's friend Rebecca? I've heard a lot about you. Did you know the snow level in the Amazon basin is expected to reach twelve feet by Christmas?"

My first reaction was that that didn't make sense; I was still recovering from the statement when a flood of memories crashed in on me like I'd opened the wrong door on a submarine. I staggered under the sudden onslaught and if Bob and Jimmy hadn't both been standing right there, I might have gone down."

"Geez Louise! Don't do that! Next time make sure your victim is sitting down. Man, I'm glad I wasn't driving a car. Bob, I'll never tease you about your qualifications in hypnosis again. Listen you guys, when we get together later I have got a lot to tell you." Then I stopped as something clicked in my brain, "Wait a minute, was that Phoebe?" Jimmy nodded and I went on, "Then Rod got you squared away with her cover?"

"Everything is in place," Allison said. "Her new name is Roxanne Templeton and she is..."

"Yeah, I know," I said, interrupting her, "the daughter of an old friend of Cyndi's that got deployed overseas, yada-yada. What about ID, medical release, paperwork, stuff like that?"

"One thing at a time. ID got here about an hour ago. I'll have her show it to you when she comes back out, and it's not an old friend of my mother's, it's an old friend of Susan's. Since she is already involved, Susan agreed to help out and let her stay here. She took today off just so Phoebe wouldn't be here alone all day, and she's taking tomorrow to get her enrolled in school. Unless it's really pressing you can just give us the highlights from your trip, but before you do that there's something else we need to do," He turned and raised his voice, "Roxy, you can come out now." The little blonde girl with the big smile came back; she was looking wide eyed at me but walked straight to Jimmy. He placed his hand on her shoulder, "Roxanne, I'd like you to meet Special Agent Rebecca Hampton of the FBI. She's the one that's been helping me keep you safe."

The little girl stepped tentatively towards me, based on past experience around Jimmy I was expecting a handshake, but at the last minute she lurched forward and wrapped her arms around my waist, squeezing tightly, and just said, "Thank you." After a few seconds she pulled back and offered me her hand, "Pleased to meet you."

I took her hand and shook, "It's very nice to finally meet you as well ... Roxanne."

"You can call me Roxy. Are you going to catch the people that killed Carly and Regina and their parents?"

"Yes," I said, and for the first time since I had heard of this whole problem, I had absolute confidence that it was true. "It may take a while Ph... Roxy, but yes, I am going to catch them." By now Susan had come back out of the bedroom as well. "Hi, Susan, sorry for dropping you in the middle of all the cloak and dagger stuff, and thank you for agreeing to let Roxy stay with you."

"That's okay, she's a wonderful girl. She needs a place to stay, and this way I know she's safe. If you don't mind though, I really don't want to know any more of the details than I already do, unless it's something that is important for me to know. I'm just happy that she's going to be safe now."

"That will be fine, the fewer people that know the details of what is going on, the better. Roxy, you understand how important it is that no one know who you really are?"

"Yes, Jimmy explained it to me. I won't tell anyone. Allison said I'm going to be going to her school so I can take the bus home with her and stay there until Susan picks me up or Jimmy can bring me home, I mean back here." She didn't see it but Susan actually caught her breath when she referred to this as her home. "She says they have a pool and everything, isn't that cool?"

"Well I haven't actually been in the pool, but it looks nice. I'm sure you will have a lot of fun there with Allison. Well, Bob and I have plans, and then I have to get ready to face my boss in the morning, so if you'll excuse us ... Jimmy, call me if anything comes up, otherwise we'll see you later, probably much later." Roxy didn't get it but everyone else did.

Jimmy

After Rebecca left we had spent much of the rest of the night formulating worst case plans. We quickly discovered that we had no idea what to do or where to go that might actually be safe and away from the eyes of the people currently holding Rebecca. I was seriously hoping that Mr. Rodriguez would be able to help if it came to running.

By Tuesday the news of Mark and Shannon's accident had spread through the school. Fortunately, no one knew about my relationship with Shannon. It was bad enough that they knew that Mark was my best friend. All day people would pass me and avert their eyes. Whispers seemed to follow me wherever I went. A surprising number of people would stop me and either tell me they were sorry or ask me how I was doing. I couldn't imagine how it would have been if they knew about Shannon. I'd probably never get another date if word got out that another girl I was seeing had died. I managed to make it through to lunch okay. I ran into Tim on my way and as soon as he saw me he walked up and hugged me. He didn't say anything, just hugged me, and then stepped back to walk beside me until we ran into Cindy, who kissed me and hugged me and cried on me. I did my best to endure it without tears, although kissing her cheek and thanking her took me really close to the edge. She squeezed my hand and then she and Tim walked off to find lunch.

Bob and Mel were quietly supportive. It seemed so strange to be sitting there at the table without Shannon and Susan, who had taken the day off to stay with Phoebe. We chatted about nothing in particular until time to go back to class. Bob pulled me aside on the way and told me that a courier had come earlier in the day and dropped a package with Phoebe's cover information as well as new identities for me and Allison. Allison and I had taken each other's picture before school. The woman who had done her hair and makeup had taken a couple of Phoebe when she was finished. Bob had given both memory cards to the courier and by the end of the day we would have the rest of our documentation. Allison was even getting a driver's license.

"I guess I better take her out someplace where she can practice, just in case she finds herself needing to do it."

"Probably a good idea. Sometime during the beginning class I'm going to give you a manila envelope with papers for you to correct. Your stuff will be inside; don't worry about grading the papers, I already finished them. You'll get the rest after school; driver's licenses and passports with your pictures on them, even a couple of credit cards in your new names. They're billed to the PO box on your paperwork." I nodded and we continued on to class.

A huge weight got lifted off my shoulders at the beginning of the class when he told me he had gotten a text message from Rebecca saying that she was on her way back. Apparently what I had done the night before had worked. It occurred to me that if it hadn't there probably would have been people at the school looking for me already. We were really going to have to work on this whole running away thing, our current plan sucked.

I managed to get through the rest of the day without too much stress, but another massive wave of pain hit me as I was driving home. It was so bad I actually had to pull over for a few minutes before I could go on. I picked up Allison and we went straight over to Susan's to check on Phoebe and go over her new identity. I knew Bob had been out late, taking her to see the woman who had handled the cosmetic changes for her, and we had played with images of what we thought she would look like but I almost didn't recognize the girl in Susan's living room. The grin and the way she bounced up and ran to hug us when we came through the door gave it away.

Allison had always been mature for her age and even though they were only a year apart, there was so much difference between Phoebe and Allison. Bob's explanation was that Allison had matured mentally at a much faster rate because of spending so much time in dreams with me and therefore being exposed and having to constantly cope with things that were beyond her normal age range. Whatever the reason, looking at Phoebe I saw the little girl that Allison had never had a chance to be. Anyone that didn't know Allison would have no problem accepting her as older than she was if they spent any time around her at all. She simply acted older than kids her age. Hell, she acted older than kids my age. It was refreshing to see the energy in Phoebe.

"Phoebe, you look simply amazing." I said. "I almost don't believe it's really you."

"Don't be silly, Jimmy," Allison said, opening the envelope Bob had given me, "That's not Phoebe, that's..." She looked at the paperwork, "Roxanne Templeton. See, says so right here."

We spent the next hour or so going over the cover stories not only of Roxanne but also of her mother, Sheryl, who was an old friend of Susan's. First we went over it together, then we sent her and Susan off by themselves to study it, then we got together and asked them questions about themselves and their past to make sure they could handle any questions that might come their way. While we were quizzing them Federal Express showed up with a package for Susan. Inside were three envelopes. One contained a military dependent ID for Roxanne. I don't know how they did it, given that the picture Bob sent them was only a few hours old, but the girl in the picture, while clearly the same girl, looked about a year younger, and the card itself actually looked like it had spent the last year in someone's wallet. The other two envelopes contained the last of Allison and my new identities. I showed my license to Allison and she gave me a disapproving look; apparently I don't look that good with a mustache. We put it all back in the envelope to go through later. Shortly after that Bob called and told us they were on their way.

"Okay," I said, as I was putting my phone away. "It's going to seem a little strange when they first get here. Rebecca isn't going to recognize anyone but Susan and she'll probably wonder what we're all doing here. Some things need to happen that you guys can't be part of so after she gets here I'm going to send Phoebe to the bathroom for a couple minutes. When I do, Susan, I need you to find a reason to go into your bedroom for a bit. I'll call you," I pointed to Phoebe," when it's safe, and then you can both come back out and everything will be back to normal, okay?"

"Sure," she said with a big grin. "Except my name isn't Phoebe, it's Roxanne, but you can call me Roxy, and you owe me a dollar."

She was right; after all that testing I was the one who had blown the name. I gladly opened my wallet and handed over the bill.

"So your friend Rebecca, she's been like, hypnotized to forget you guys?" Roxy asked.

"Something like that, but she'll remember us when you get back."

"Wow! That is so cool."

Everything went as planned when they arrived. Rebecca didn't recognize us, and of course she'd never met Pho ... Roxy in the first place. She made it clear we still had a lot to discuss, but at least we could relax now that Roxy was finally safe.

Then I nearly wrecked the truck on the way home. Allison actually had to grab the wheel to keep us off the sidewalk. She didn't say anything about it, just waited for me to recover and then limp us on toward home. Once we were in the door she went straight to the telephone and called the hospital looking for Doctor Spencer. She was told he was unavailable, so she left a message asking for him to please call her back. It was only a few minutes before the phone rang and she answered it.

"Hello? Hello Doctor Spencer, I was wondering if there you might have news about Shannon. I see, when," then she glared at me, "twice? Thank you doctor, I know you're doing your best for her, and thank you for taking the time to calling me back." She clicked the phone off, tossed it on the couch and yelled at me, "Why didn't you tell me! What if that had happened in an intersection, or if someone had been walking there, or a kid on a bicycle? You could have killed us! Or someone else! All you had to do was speak up! Bob and Rebecca could have driven us home!" Once she finished the anger quickly faded and the tears started as another emotion took its place.

I moved quickly and took her in my arms, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, Jimmy," she wept against my chest, "I can't lose you too. We have to stop this, but that means..." She dissolved into more tears.

I didn't know what to say. I had spent much of the day trying very hard not to think about all this. About what it meant, I needed to talk to someone but I didn't know who. I didn't want to bother Bob; after everything that had happened he and Rebecca certainly deserved a little time alone. I pressed Allison away far enough to kiss her forehead, then slid my arm around her shoulder and guided her to the sofa. I sat down us down and then pulled her head down into my lap as I once more fished my phone out of my pocket. I dialed and waited. Lizzy answered on the second ring.

"Hello, Jimmy, I've been expecting your call, but we can't do this on the phone. Allison is with you?"

"Yeah, she's right here."

"Okay, I'm ready. Just make yourselves comfortable and take me with you." Then she was gone, no goodbye, the line just went dead.

Allison's tears were already soaking through the leg of my jeans but that didn't matter. I stroked her hair and kissed it lightly, whispered one of our triggers and watched as she settled into sleep. The room around me disappeared as the glade took shape, I was sitting on the blanket now instead of the sofa and across from me, Allison was now crying in Lizzy's lap instead of mine as the older girl stroked her hair and whispered to her softly, "It's okay, baby, it's okay to cry, it's a good thing. Just let it out, let the tears do their job and take away the hurt." It was almost the exact same thing I had said to Phoebe just a few short days before. Then she glanced up at me and said softly, "You understand now what you must do?"

"Yes," I said hoarsely, tears now filling my own eyes and choking my voice, "I have to kill the woman I love."

Allison wailed and tried to bury her face further into Lizzy's lap.

"No," Lizzy said softly, her voice filled with caring and compassion. "No, Jimmy, that's not it at all." She kissed Allison's hair and whispered, "Oh, sweet Allison, my lover, my friend; Jimmy, my strong and gentle sword of God. Shannon is already dead, she died two days ago, but she is trapped here and can't leave, can't find peace. Something is holding her back, and you need to find her and set her free. And you must do it soon, or it will be too late, because keeping her alive is killing you. You must do it tonight, or it will be too late. I have watched your energy fade lower and lower, if you don't do this tonight you will not have the strength, and you will die," Allison sobbed again, "and then Shannon will finally find peace, but if you die, who will be there for Phoebe? Who will save Samantha? Who will Amy play with?"

She continued stroking Allison's hair and said softly, "I know it hurts, baby, but you know it's true, and you know that Shannon wouldn't want this, that if she were here, she would take her own life rather than let you do this." She looked back up at me, "So you must help her, you must find the thing that holds her here, and you must set her free, so that she can rest. It will be the last and greatest act of love you will ever do for her." She kissed Allison's hair one more time and her voice dropped to a whisper, "Tonight, Jimmy, it must be tonight, or all is lost."

The scene faded, we were back in the living room and Allison had slipped into a dreamless sleep. I just stared out the window, not even thinking, overwhelmed totally by what I had to do.

The light faded, the sky grew dark, and still I sat.

"Jimmy?" I heard my mother's voice from nearby and was surprised when I turned and found her kneeling next to me. I realized I had heard the garage door open but it hadn't registered what that meant.

"Jimmy, what's wrong?" I still didn't answer, I knew I should but somehow I couldn't seem to find words. Allison stirred in my lap and I rose as she sat up. Without even looking at my mother I walked slowly around her and moved towards the hall.

I didn't even see my father standing there until suddenly a voice said, "Son?" I just looked at him. I don't know what he saw in my face but he couldn't face it, lowering his eyes and turning away with a pained expression.

Again my mother's voice echoed behind me, "Richard?"

"Let him go Cyndi, I don't know what it is but whatever it is we can't help him."

"What do you mean? Where is he going?"

As my door closed behind me I heard Allison say softly, "He's going to say goodbye."



-------

Chapter 35: The Longest Night of My Life

I closed the door behind me and sat on my bed. Now that I was alone it seemed like my mind finally woke up again and I thought about what I had to do. As I sat there another wave of pain washed through me, but somehow it didn't seem to matter. All that mattered was Shannon, finding her, and freeing her from the thing that held her prisoner in this life. But that thing was me. Or part of me -- how could I stop myself? I didn't have an answer for that one. I'd heard the expression before, I'm sure you have too, but it always seemed so silly, "He went away to find himself."

I remember watching an episode of one of those science fiction shows they run on television once at Mark's house. A man had left his life behind and walked away. When a friend tracked him down and demanded an explanation he asked his friend, "Long or short?" to which his friend replied, "I don't have time for long, so give me the short version." He had simply answered "Walkabout." That's all, just the one word; that was the short version. When his friend pressed for an explanation he told him it was something he had picked up years before that went back to the Aborigines in Australia. They believed that sometimes as you walked through life you would hit a crossroads, a time of decision. Usually you chose your path and walked on. But sometimes if you weren't careful, only part of you would take the path, the other part leaving to go the other way. And over time you would become lost to yourself, until one day you looked and realized that part of you was missing. They believed that the only thing to do was to leave everything behind and start walking, and keep walking until you found yourself, and that when you did, you would sit down and you would talk about what had happened to you while you were apart, and you had to keep talking until there were no words left, because when there were no words left you would look up and there would only be you.

I hadn't even noticed that I had fallen asleep still thinking about what the man had said, until I looked up and saw that I was walking across an endless grassy plain. It seemed to stretch forever. I stopped for a moment to look around, but everywhere I looked was the same. So I just closed my eyes and spun around in place until I had lost count of how many times I had spun, then stopped, opened my eyes and started walking. I don't know how long or how far I walked but finally, in the distance, I saw something on the horizon. I kept walking because I somehow knew that running would not get me there any faster. It was small at first, but as I got closer it grew, until finally it stood before me, towering over my head. It was a castle.

I knew this castle; long ago I had watched it grow out of the horizon in a dream. This time the gates were open and no one was in sight so I just walked in. Eventually I found my way to the steps of the palace and I climbed until I stood before the massive oak doors. As I reached to open one of the doors, they parted, opening away from me and a light shone from within, almost blinding in its brilliance. I stepped inside but instead of the entryway I found myself in a garden with a path stretched out before me. I started down the path and after an undetermined time I came to a pool of clear water. Hanging in the air was a sheet of familiar stationery and a quill.

On the paper, in the now familiar script was written,



No, you cannot save Shannon; nothing you can do will give her back her life. And yes, it must be you, only you can set her free because only you hold her hostage. No, you cannot defeat this enemy, not by yourself. You will require the help of another. You may summon one other to aid you, only one. You must choose wisely, for if you do not you will fail."



"How do I choose? I don't even know what I'm facing, how can I know what kind of help I need?" Don't ask me why I was talking to a floating piece of paper; it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. As soon as I finished the question, the quill drifted over and began writing;



"That is a question I cannot answer. Only you can. For this answer you must look to yourself, look to your heart, your mind, your spirit. Seek your strengths, know them, for in knowing them you will also know your weaknesses, and even though you may not recognize them, when you know your weakness you will know the help you need. But time grows short, and you must decide before you reach your goal or it will be too late. I cannot aid you further. You are already on the path. Now you must reach the end before the end reaches you."



"I don't understand." I said.



"You will, if you are successful, and if you fail it will not matter."



As soon as I read the words, the paper and quill were consumed by silver flames.

I was already on the path? But the path only led to the pool. I walked forward, and as my foot touched the water it parted and the path was revealed. It led down.

"Then down it is." I said and stepped forward into darkness, the water standing like walls beside me. It reminded me of walking under the big aquarium at Sea World. Soon the water was gone, and in its place were walls of gray stone. I stepped forward, and out of the darkness another wall loomed, blocking the way. To either side doorways led off into more darkness. Without hesitation, I took the right doorway and stepped forward again. After a while I came to a wall with two doors. I opened the door on the right and found only more darkness. Opening the door on the left I found myself looking into a now familiar cell. On the cot was a man, except this man had a face; the familiar mask lay beside him on the bed. He looked at me, and I knew that if I took this doorway I would defeat the Sandman. As I started to step forward, something stopped me. It was too easy; this was not why I was here. Closing the door I turned instead into the darkness of the other passage.

Bitter cold engulfed me, the kind of cold that when the wind blows seems to burn your skin. My hands were instantly numb. I tried to summon heat but nothing happened. I tried for a coat but instead the wind seemed to blow harder. Had I fallen so far that I no longer even had this much control? I stuffed my hands under my arms, hugging myself against the cold and walked on.

Suddenly the wind was gone, and I was surrounded by mirrors, and in each was a person. Each person represented something different. My father, a source of strength. My mother, compassion. Mr. Shelby was wisdom, Rebecca my sense of justice. Allison, my first love. I was surprised to see Phoebe kneeling in the glass of one pane, but then I realized she represented my faith. Oh, if only I could have her faith. And then the dark side; Mikkelson, my moral outrage. Parry, irresponsibility. Victoria Essex, unrestrained lust. On and on, they went around the room until finally I reached three panels. One was darkness. In the second stood the image of Lord Hightower, the man with no face. As I looked at him, I knew what hate was. A blind loathing and a desire to destroy welled up within me. Beside him, in the last pane, stood Lizzy. Not Easy, not Elizabeth, but just Lizzy. Why was she here? What did she represent? I looked around the room again, and in each pane I saw a familiar face and I knew what they represented, but when I looked at her I didn't have a clue. What was different about her? Why would she be here, standing in this place for no reason? I stood staring for some time and finally I looked in her eyes, and in her eyes I finally saw and understood, remembering a conversation from months before. A memory replay of her interview with Rebecca at the hospital where she told her, "I see the truth."

Without thinking I reached through the glass and, grasping her hand, pulled her toward me. Suddenly, she was stumbling through the glass and into my arms.

"What the ... Jimmy?" The shock showed on her face. "What the heck just happened? Where are we?"

"I have no idea. In a maze, under a pool, under a castle."

"Oh, shit!" She said. "We're in a labyrinth? This is so not good. How did we get here?"

"Well, I walked. You, I'm not so sure about. This doesn't feel like a normal dream."

"I don't think it is."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I can see you."

"What do you mean you can see me? You always see me. Even when I'm invisible you see me."

"No, I mean I see you. As in blue-gray eyes and brown hair; that kind of 'see you'."

"You don't see the usual stuff?"

"Yeah, I do, that's what's so weird. I see everything. At first I thought it was because your energy was so low but that's not it."

Then it hit me, "It's because of who you are, who you are to me, I mean. What you represent, look."

I pulled her around to face the rest of the room. "Each person here represents something to me, the good and bad aspects of who I am. Strength, compassion, love, hate, envy, greed, lust; as I walked around the room I knew what each of them represented. Until I got to you; I couldn't figure out what you were. Before I came, I was told that I couldn't win this battle by myself, that I could choose one person to help me, but that I only had one chance. The only hint she would give me was to look to my heart, look for my strengths, because in knowing my strength I would also know my weakness. Lizzy, you are what I need to do this. You have to be. You were the only one I couldn't put a name to right away; everyone else I immediately knew what they represented. But with you I didn't. So, for whatever reason, you are the one I needed. Will you help me?"

"Jimmy, don't be stupid, of course I'll help you."

"Then come on. I think we have to hurry." Taking her hand I pulled her with me and stepped into the pane of darkness.

Pain exploded once more in my chest, only this wasn't the same pain. Something had hit me and I staggered back under the blow. Another blow followed, and as I fell back Lizzy's hand was torn from mine.

"Jimmy!" She screamed, not in pain thankfully, but only in fear. "Jimmy where are you?"

But I was too busy to answer. Unconsciously I began blocking the blows and fighting back. Have you ever fought in the dark? Blind and alone, unsure of where the next blow will come from or where it will land? From somewhere a blow struck my head, pain sending fireworks before my eyes, and I fell to my knees. Instantly a weight landed on my back and hands seemed to close around my throat, squeezing until I couldn't breathe.

I was getting weaker by the second, but then Lizzy's voice came again from the darkness, "Jimmy! Jimmy! I can't see you! I need light so I can find her."

Her? Who couldn't she find? I could barely breathe, how did she expect me to ... Shannon! Finally I remembered, whatever else this was, it was a dream. A very strange dream, but still a dream, this was my world damn it! With a thought I shrugged the weight off and surged to my feet. Light flared out from me and the darkness vanished. Well, most of it anyway. Before me, crouched and ready to spring was ... something. If Walter's shadow did a Peter Pan and ran away I guess this is what it might look like. Behind it, Shannon lay asleep on the grass, flowers in her hair and littering the ground in a wide circle around her. The darkness stood between me and the woman I loved. As the rage flared inside of me a sword appeared in my hand and I swung.

Suddenly Lizzy screamed, "No!"

Something hit my arm and the sword went spinning away, then weight slammed into me, bowling me over and back through the dark doorway to land in the hall of mirrors. Somehow I landed on top and knocked the wind out of her.

"Lizzy! What are you doing?"

"Saving your life," she panted sitting up and clutching at her middle. "Jimmy, you don't realize how close you just came to losing everything."

"What are you talking about?"

She lay back down beside me, "Close your eyes. Now, look at Shannon. You were just there; go back and look at her. What do you see? Never mind, just take me with you."

I closed my eyes, and as I watched, the darkness crept toward Shannon. Its shape was now almost exactly what I had imagined it to be, Walter's shadow. As I watched, it crawled toward her and I started to surge to my feet but Lizzy held me back. "Wait, Jimmy, look at it, look at its body language. Haven't you ever seen a dog that's been punished crawl toward its master? Or a nature film of a wolf in the wild approaching its alpha? Watch."

I watched and when it got close it opened its mouth and licked at her face tentatively. It was trying to comfort her. Without warning, Lizzy rolled toward me and pain shot through me as her body seemed to melt into mine, "Now see it through my eyes." The pain subsided, and where the darkness had been, a silver-skinned child knelt and stroked Shannon's hair, tears falling down its face. It appeared to be sexless, no hair, the face a blank slate waiting to be molded. All along its body were bruises from our struggle, one leg bent at an awkward angle. It was hurt.

"Now do you see? That's why it doesn't understand. Think about it, where was it born? In the box where you hid all your emotions away; the strong emotions, the pain, hurt, rage, sometimes even the love, everything that you had to set aside to do the job without destroying yourself. That's all it knows ... and it's still a baby, but Jimmy, that's you, at least a part of you. You can't kill it without killing yourself, or hurt it without hurting yourself. You can't conquer it without destroying yourself. You have to make it understand."

I/we shook my/our head and stood up. As I did, I felt her fall away from me again. When I looked down at her I saw a glowing swirl of energy patterns overlaid in a girl's shape. I closed my eyes and when I opened them again it was just a girl. She smiled weakly and said, "For a while, you will be able to see with my eyes, but only for a while. Goodbye, Jimmy, I can't help you any more. You have to do this by yourself." I nodded and she was gone.

I stepped through the dark door and into the field again, and as I did the child shape leapt clumsily to its feet to stand between us. I could see the sharp red flare of anger, the white hot flare of pain as it struggled to stand. "No," it said. "I won't let you hurt her."

"I didn't come to hurt her," I said softly, "or you."

I walked forward until I only about three feet away, I could see it bracing itself for my attack, but instead I sat down on the ground and crossed my legs. "Come here, I promise I won't hurt you, I just want to talk to you. Please?" I waited but it didn't move. "I could make you, but I'd rather not hurt you any more than I already have. I'm sorry I hurt you before. I'm sorry about a lot of things, but I didn't understand. Now I do, and I want to help you, if you will let me. I can start by making your leg better." As I said it the leg mended and it stood up straight again and I could see the pain subside. "Is that better?" It nodded and I began soothing the bruises, until it stood whole before me once more.

"Now will you sit with me?"

"I'm scared." It moved toward me as it spoke until it stood next to me.

"I know. I'm scared too, and hurt, just like you, come here." The child shape threw itself into my arms and I hugged it tightly to me, then turned it so that it was seated in my lap. "I know you love her. I love her too. But sometimes, when you truly love someone, you have to do what is best for them. Even if it hurts. Look at her." It turned its head away. I hugged it back against me, kissed the back of its head, and turned it slowly back again. "You can't run away from this. If you love her then you have to be strong for her now. She needs us, both of us. Now, this is going to hurt a bit but you need to see it." I showed it Shannon in the hospital, body broken, tubes and wires running from her body into the various machines that were struggling to keep her alive. "That is Shannon's body, those machines are trying to keep her alive, but they can't. She doesn't have the strength. You've been giving her our strength, but it's not enough. Even if it were enough, even if she lived, she would be in pain every moment of every day for the rest of her life. Is that what you want for her?"

I felt it shudder as sobs shook the tiny body. "Nooo," it wailed.

"She doesn't want that either. We can free her from the pain. All we have to do is let her go..."

"But where will she go?"

"She will go home to be with God, and someday when it is our time, we will go to be with Him too, and when we get there, Shannon will be there to greet us."

"Are you sure that's what she wants?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Would you like me to show you? It might hurt, it might hurt a lot." I stood up and setting it on the ground, I took its hand and walked to where Shannon lay, stepping carefully so as not to crush the flowers. When I was close enough, I knelt and placed my hand on hers, "Wake."

She took a grasping breath, her body convulsing with the effort, looked at us with pleading eyes, and whispered, "Please ... please let me go ... if you love me..." and then tears began to fall from her eyes as the pain washed through her. In my arms, the tiny figure spun and buried its face in my shoulder, and wept loudly.

"Sleep my love," I whispered, and Shannon subsided once more. "Now do you see?" I felt the tiny head shake. Looking down, I could see the pain and hurt and an emptiness that was growing inside at the thought of Shannon going away. Then I saw its fear of being alone in the dark once more.

"No," I said. "Never again. I understand now; you are a part of me, and I will never leave you alone like that again, I promise. Whatever comes, we will face it together," I said, and I pulled the chin up and kissed the tiny mouth. I had only intended it to be a quick kiss, the kind you give a child for reassurance, but when I tried to pull away, it was as if our flesh had merged somehow and I could feel the energy flowing out of me and into it, yet somehow I wasn't afraid. It was, after all, part of me. It couldn't hurt me without hurting itself.

One reason I think people close their eyes when they kiss is that there isn't much to see from that close. My current partner didn't even have eyes. Well, not when the kiss started anyway, but as I watched I could see it growing, changing, but into what? The skin took on color and texture; a nose pressed against my cheek and I had to adjust a little to allow room for two noses. Then an eye opened and stared back into mine, I could see fear and wonder in that eye, I recognized it because it was the same thing I was feeling. Hair appeared and grew down to cover the new ears. As with the eyes, it was the same color as mine. That's when I finally realized what was happening.

From the moment I had first seen it, I had dictated its form: At first a formless darkness. Then I had thought it looked like Walter's runaway shadow, and it had taken on that form. I had needed Lizzy's help see past the form to the reality. It was a blank slate. The thing in the box was young, and I didn't actually think of it as a person, but now I had accepted that it was a part of me. I think by doing that I had triggered something that was causing it to change. It was changing to reflect what I perceived.

Finally the kiss ended and we fell together, leaning on one another for support. When I pulled away I was amazed at what I found.

Have you ever wondered what you would look like as the opposite sex? Of course you have, everyone does at one time or another. I didn't have to wonder anymore, because she was right in front of me. It made sense, really. She was my opposite, well, maybe not really opposite, but a different aspect of me. All the things I had cast away from myself she had gathered in. We weren't so much twins as two sides of a coin. I wondered briefly if, somewhere in the back of my mind, I had made her female because I wouldn't have been comfortable kissing a guy. Call it vanity, but I think I made a pretty cute girl. She was my height, of course, same skin, eye, and hair color. Her hair came pre-styled though, a low maintenance cut that kept it from flipping forward into her eyes while she ran, without the need for a braid or ponytail. Is that what they call a wedge -- shorter in the front, tapering to longer hair in the back? By the time you got to the back it was long enough to cover the back of her neck. It reminded me of Tim's hair. I stopped myself from examining further. If I kept going we would be getting into personal areas and even if she was me ... it just didn't seem right to check her out just because I could. Besides, I still had something very important to do.

"Come on," I said, kissing her cheek again, "it's time for us to say goodbye." We stood, and as we did she turned and seemed to step into me just as Lizzy had in the mirror room, and suddenly I felt whole in a way I never had. Like something that had been missing all my life had finally come back to me. The fatigue vanished and I felt like I could climb Everest in my underwear.

"Thank you, Jimmy," a female voice said in my head. It was sort of like what Lizzy did, but I knew the sound wasn't coming through my ears. It was a nice voice, though. 'Better get used to it' I told myself, it's going to be with you for a long time.' The voice answered me back, "A very long time. Now let's go say goodbye."

I turned and stepped back through the dark door but instead of the hall of mirrors I stood in the hospital at Shannon's bedside. "Come," the voice said and people began to appear around us, pulled from their various dreams and some who hadn't even been asleep yet. That worried me for a second but the voice just giggled and said, "Like I would do that."

The room was filling up fast, Allison and Lizzy stood to one side of me, Bob and Rebecca behind them, my parents, Melinda and her partner, Lynn, who had been Shannon's basketball coach for years. Susan appeared with Phoe ... Roxanne clutching her hand, "That was close," the voice said. Finally, the last to arrive, Amber knelt perfectly at my feet in a white dress, small black fans dangling from her ears, and a wide red leather collar.

When everyone was there, I reached out and touched Shannon's hand for the last time. Her body arched against the restraints weakly as her head tried to move. With a thought I blocked the pain and her eyes fluttered open and seemed to sweep around the room, taking us all in. I think she tried to smile but the tube got in the way, and then with a last exhalation her eyes closed again for the final time. As we watched, Shannon sat up before us whole again, she glanced down at herself then looked at all of us, reached out her hand toward me and mouthed, "Thank you." There was a sudden shimmering as if something had passed between us, and then she was gone and only the shell was left, empty and lifeless on the bed. Looking at it like this, it wasn't Shannon anymore; it was just ... not her.

The monitors had begun screaming the moment I touched her hand and the crash team had rushed to respond. They entered the room just as it seemed that Shannon sat up and stopping suddenly, staring at the bed, not sure if they had really seen something or not.

Finally the black mountain in the red scrubs that I recognized as Stuart started forward again. "Come on people, it ain't gonna make no difference this time, but we gotta do it anyway." As they worked feverishly to revive her one more time the others began to drift back to wherever they had been called from. I watched them go, watched as Lynn woke up crying, and rolled over to find Melinda beside her crying as well. They rolled together into each other's arms and cried together.

"She's gone," Melinda said, "Lynn I'm so sorry." Lynn just nodded her head and whispered, "Make love to me." That seemed to be the general sentiment as the scene repeated itself with the others, Bob and Rebecca, even my parents, I ran from that scene fast, let me tell you.

All but one.

I watched as Roxy sat up suddenly in bed, then jumped up and ran to Susan's room, jumping on the bed, and asking a very bleary looking Susan excitedly, "Did you see it?"

Susan wiped away her tears and said, "See what?" She wiped at her eyes again. "Sorry, I had a dream someone died."

Roxy bounced again, "I know, but did you see the Angel? Wasn't it beautiful? Susan, don't be sad for Shannon, she's gone home, she's in heaven! Did you see the Angel?"

Susan just looked at her and wondered how they could have both had the same dream, and if it was really true that Shannon was dead -- and if it was true, why she hadn't seen an angel, or had she? Roxy was so excited it looked like Susan was going to have a long night trying to get her back to sleep.

"Master, I'm so sorry." Amber's voice called me back. When I looked down she was looking up at me with sad eyes.

"Thank you Amber," I said, bending to kiss her hair. Then I lifted her to her feet and pulled the collar from around her neck. The dress vanished and Angela stood before me in night clothes. I reached out quickly and pulled her into my arms as she began to cry.

"Oh, Jimmy. You should have told me," she sobbed.

I kissed her hair once more and said, "I didn't want to tell you that you had lost a friend, you don't have that many left. I'm sorry. I just didn't want to burden you with it. They wouldn't have understood why you were upset, and you couldn't tell them. You wouldn't have had anyone to be there for you."

"That's not true, Jimmy," Allison said. "We still would have been there for her."

"It wouldn't have been the same; she would have needed someone to touch."

The girl in my head spoke up, "I would have been there with her, but I was busy being stupid."

"No, " I answered. "You were busy growing up. I'm sorry it had to be such a painful experience."

"Thanks. People are starting to stare, you better say something."

I looked and she was right. Allison was looking confused; Angela was still wiping her tears and Lizzy ... Lizzy was staring at me with the most curious expression on her face.

"What?" I asked.

She just smiled and shook her head.

It was starting to get crowded around the bed by now, and since Shannon had already left there was no point in staying. "Come on, let's go have some fun." I said. We walked out the door and stepped out onto the beach in our bathing suits. Out in the Lagoon the dolphins were chittering loudly.

"You are going to tell us what happened tonight, right?" Allison asked.

I didn't answer, just dropped us onto the water slide. When we were about half way down Lizzy's voice said, "Yeah, and I'm dying to meet your new friend."

The voice in my head said, "I'd like to meet you too," but I was the only one who heard it.

"Well it's nice to know you like girls instead of boys. I was starting to worry," I said.

"Yuck! It's hard enough to ignore that thing as it is. I don't know how you sit, and I certainly wouldn't want one actually ... ewww!" Her shudder almost came out through me.

I was laughing so hard I almost drowned when I shot out the end of the slide. Allison just stared at me and shook her head like I had lost my mind. "So what do I call you? You can't just be, 'the voice in my head' forever. Do you have a name or do we need to pick one for you?"

"Well, of course I have a name. Isn't it obvious?"

I thought about it for a moment, if I were going to disguise myself as a girl, what name would I pick? "Nice to meet you Jamie."

"Nice to meet you, too. How are we going to explain this to Allison?"

I thought about it, how were we going to explain it? "Looking glass? I'll just show you to her when we reach that part of the story."

"What about Lizzy and Angela?"

"Well, apparently Lizzy already knows. Not everything, but she knows something has happened. She may not know who or what you are, but I'm sure she sees you. As for Angela ... I don't think so, not yet anyway."

"Me either, I was just checking. Maybe if we told Amber first? You think she could accept having a Master and a Mistress that are the same person?"

"Amber will accept whatever we tell her to accept. But I don't think I want to spring it on her tonight. I may not,  we, may not, tell her at all. Tonight I think we just need to relax and get used to it."

"No kidding, Allison just asked you the same question twice."

I turned and Allison was bobbing in the water staring at me. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You seem a little distracted." I heard Lizzy burst out laughing at that, but when I turned to glare at her she was gone.

"Sorry," I said. "It's a long story, I'll tell you about it later, when we're alone."

That was, of course the moment my phone decided to ring. Good thing it's waterproof.

"Hi, Rebecca, I wasn't expecting to hear from you tonight."

"I wasn't planning on calling. Two things, first of all, was that real? I could swear I was standing in Shannon's hospital room earlier. I asked Bob and he said he had the same dream and he wasn't sure either. It didn't feel like a normal dream, and it wasn't the same as when you move us around."

"I don't think we want to go there, just yet." Jamie whispered.

"I don't know if I'm really going to be able to explain any of that, Rebecca, it all seemed pretty weird to me too. It certainly felt weird. Ask Bob if he thinks Shannon may have somehow called us all together to say goodbye. What was the other thing?"

"I'll ask him later, the other thing was Rod just called, he's mad as hell because no one bothered to tell him what the hell is going on! Of course I couldn't tell him on the phone, anyway. Maybe you better call a meeting."

"Well, there goes my night off."

"You're telling me. By the way, was that Amber next to you?"

I ignored the question, "I'll break the bad news to everybody here and we'll meet you at the office. I guess I can kind of understand his point, especially after last night. Everyone else may buy it but he knows what really happened in Washington. See you in a bit." I flipped the phone back where it came from and said, "Bad news, girls, Rebecca's boss is feeling left out."

"Ooh," Allison said, "I forgot about him. Yeah, I'll bet he's pissed."

"I guess this means I'm going back to my cave, then?" Angela asked.

"I'm sorry Angela," I said. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, I guess. It just gets boring is all, I miss people. Maybe I should switch back and just let Amber go back to school."

"Perhaps you could call May and see if she's decided whether or not she wants that reward?" Jamie said.

"Do you really think that's what she had in mind?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think May plays both roles and maybe she would like a play date with Amber."

"Damn, I need time."

"I could go," she suggested.

"You can do that?"

"Hello, have you forgotten how much trouble I've been causing lately? By the way, I may need your help with Mikkelson; I've fucked him up pretty good. He deserved it, but still, now that I'm all grown up, I guess I may have overdone it a little."

"We'll deal with that later. Meet us at the office."

"Save me a seat," she said with a laugh and then she was gone.

I turned back to the girls again, the look on Lizzy's face said she was trying to figure out what had just happened. "Sorry, going over my options, can I speak to Angie alone for a minute?"

They just looked at me like I'd asked a stupid question, kissed me on the nearest available cheek and I sent them to the office.

"Angela," I started. "How are you holding up dealing with Amber and all?"

"I'm fine. You guys were right; a part of me is really enjoying this. I've accepted that."

"I've been helping that along to some extent. You understand that Amber doesn't know about what goes on when you are you?"

"No, I hadn't realized. Since I actually see, and hear, and even experience everything that goes on with her, I just assumed that she did too. I thought that was why I was spending so much time practicing during the day. Of course that may have been boredom."

"Well, you have been doing remarkably well from an outsider's perspective. Sooner or later you are going to need to take over completely. Right now the collar decides who you are, but when you are ready, I'll want you to start deciding on your own."

"No, Jimmy," she said, eyes downcast. "You will still decide. You're not just Amber's master you know." She paused to see if I was going to say something, then went on, "I can be me when you want me to, or tell me to, but ... let's face it, a lot of that was me to begin with. You are as much my master as you are hers; I've come to realize that. Amber isn't another person; she's just a name I use to hide. It's not really Amber doing all this stuff, it's me. So unless you tell me specifically, or I guess correctly, that you want me this way, it's all I can do to not kneel when you walk in the room. This is who I am, Jimmy, this is who I want to be, for you."

"Then I apologize for trying too hard to make this easy for you. From now on the choice is yours, the collar will no longer decide for you. If you want to be Angela around others, that is your choice, unless I take that choice away, but if it's what you want, then you will be Amber when we are alone together or alone with those friends that you have chosen to let know."

"Thank you, Jimmy." I gave her a look. "Thank you, Master."

I let it go, "How do you feel about May?"

Her face lit up, "May is wonderful," she said. "She has been such a help and inspiration. She explains things and it's more like she is reminding me what I already know than teaching me."

"I was serious about rewarding her the other night. And I've decided that you are going to be her reward. What you have dealt with so far is Jasmine's mental image of May, but you will spend the rest of tonight in the real May's service, in her dream this time, and subject to her whim. Your only outlet will be to summon me, and if you do that you had better have a damn good reason or I'm going to be very unhappy with you, do you understand?"

"Yes, Master," she said. It seemed strange to hear it coming from Angela, but we had turned a new corner in our relationship so I had to accept it. "I will go to whomever you choose, but I would consider it a personal reward as well to be allowed to spend time with May."

"Very well," I shifted a mental gear, "Jamie? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, this is way cool. I asked Jasmine and she thinks a night together would benefit them both. She also says that she has trusted herself to May before and will vouch for her personally. I peeked into May's dream and let me tell you, she is desperately devoted to Jasmine. I was thinking of bringing them both here and having Jasmine give Amber to her. What do you think?"

"I think that sounds perfect, except that being in Jasmine's dream would not allow May to do anything to Amber. Bring her in, have Jasmine tell her she is giving her Amber for the night. I'll send Amber to you, and then when May takes her out, have her walk them both back into her own dream."

"Nice. Go ahead and send her, then you better get to that meeting, I'll take care of this and join you shortly."

"Thanks, I'll see you in a little while. I love you." There was only silence so I turned back to Angela. "Okay, I've weighed the choices, and this is what we're going to do. You will go to Jasmine; she will tell May that you are hers for the night. May will then take you out of the office and when you leave you will be in her dream to do with as she will. She will be your Mistress for the night; your safe word while in her care will be 'Master' -- so be careful to address her properly or you will summon me, since that will also be her signal to stop. And if you summon me on accident because you were careless..." I left the implied threat hanging in the air between us. "Go now."

And she was gone.



-------

Chapter 36: Adjustments


I moved myself to the elevator, switched into my working clothes and then opened the doors for Rod to get on. He was a little taken back to see me in the elevator when the doors opened.

"Wow, didn't expect you here. If everybody else is getting on we're going to need a bigger elevator."

"No, everybody else is already there, I had some last minute things I needed to take care of, so I thought I'd just pick you up on the way."

"Weird way to travel," he said. "Listen. While I've got you here I wanted to thank you for bringing back my memories of my father."

"It was my pleasure, Mr. Rodriquez, and I'd like to thank you for being willing to help with everything the last couple days. If it had been necessary to run, that would have meant that they got Rebecca to talk, and then she would have exposed you as well. I'm glad it didn't come to that, but it could have. You knew that was a risk when we asked and you did it anyway. That means a lot to us, to me. If there is something else I can do for you, please let me know."

The doors opened and we crossed the hall into the office. Everyone else was there and waiting for us. Allison was in her bitch suit laying on the couch but she jumped down as soon as we entered, then lay between Ninety-Nine and me as I sat down and Rebecca started telling us about everything that had really happened in Washington.

"Oh, great," Rod said. "Just what I need is you pulling rank on me."

"Rod, the kind of shit we would have to be in for me to ever actually try that with you, pulling rank would be the least your worries. Nothing is changing, except that you now have an extra weapon in your personal arsenal, I have no idea what kind of doors my new position can actually open but as I find out, I'll let you know. Meanwhile, we pick up an off the books account for emergencies like hiding Roxanne, thanks for the quick work on that by the way. I know you didn't use department resources so let me know what we owe you and I'll figure out a way to pay you back."

"I've got that one," I said. "I'll reimburse him. I can afford it and no one has to worry about ever needing to justify the money. If you tried to do it using your new contacts they would wonder how you got it done in the first place. Let's not give them any more to wonder about than necessary for a while."

"But that's your money, Jimmy. You shouldn't have to spend it on official projects."

"I'm not. Officially, Roxy doesn't exist. It's not like I have other uses for that money, and it's money that was generated by bad things happening to people, so spending it to see those things don't happen to others seems like a pretty good cause to me. If all goes well, I'll be able to replace it solving other problems long before I would ever miss it."

I had a sudden tingling sensation all over and Jamie's voice sounded in my head, "Hi, miss me? What did I miss?"

"Just follow along and I'll fill you in later on anything you don't understand." I returned my attention to the current discussion. "So don't worry about the money, I'm not worried about it."

"Not going to work," Allison said.

Everybody looked at her and she rolled her eyes before going on, "Hello! A teenage girl is going to put a hell of a kink in Susan's budget. If you let Rebecca handle it through channels then she can get her a little help. I'm sure witness protection just doesn't drop a kid in someone's lap and expect them to fend for themselves and make do, but if you don't go through proper channels then they won't budget her. Just tell them you were already started on an ID for her and give them what we already have. Sure, they'll be re-doing some of what we've already done, but they won't know that. When they send theirs out, just pick the copies you like best and feed the rest to a shredder somewhere."

"And if they want to place her with a regular WitSec family?" Rod asked.

Bob was all over that, "Then your resident child psychologist stresses how traumatic the continued emotional upheaval has already been for her and that now that she is settled into something resembling normal life it would be better to let her stay where she is. Also, that based on the cover that is already in place it would draw unnecessary attention to the girl if she were moved again."

"Hampton, where the hell did you find these people? You know the Bureau is always looking for people, and they pay bonuses if you bring them a qualified candidate."

I raised my hand, "Sixteen."

Allison followed with a paw, "Fourteen."

Lizzy just smiled and said, "I'm legal but I don't think you want to know the rest." Rebecca just rolled her eyes and nodded her agreement.

Bob just looked at him and said, "Don't look at me, I'm a tenured teacher. You can't afford me."

"Probably true," Rod said, "but at least if you're with us and someone shoots at you, you can shoot back."

"Hmmm ... hadn't thought of that. I'll let you know if I change my mind."

"You do that. I could hook you up with this hot little agent I know in..."

Rebecca glared as she interrupted him "Go ahead, push your luck. I dare you."

He looked like he was thinking about it until Allison suddenly jumped up and hid behind the desk. Then he just shook his head and let it go.

"Must be why they pay him the big bucks." Lizzy said.

"Certainly not for his looks," Rebecca said. "Rod, did anything I need to know about happen while I was gone?"

"Have to check with your partner on that one. Speaking of which, I'm about a week overdue for an update on that situation."

"Unless something turned up while I was gone we're sitting dead in the water. Even Henslith is out of ideas. I wish we could find a way to flush him into doing something, but he seems to have his situation well in hand. He doesn't need money; he sets his own schedule ... What we need is a way to disrupt his life and push him into doing something. But I have no idea what that would be or how to make it happen."

"Can I help" Jamie asked.

"We'll talk later." Then to the group, "Well if we're done here, I was right in the middle of some serious goofing off, it's been a tough couple of days and I'd like to get back to the beach before the sun comes up."

"Now there's a weird statement if I ever heard one," Rod said.

Rebecca just laughed, "Oh boss, that's nothing. You hang around this group and you'll find out what weird really is."

She and Bob were just turning to leave when Lizzy spoke up, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, I can't speak for anyone else, but personally, I'd like to hear about that rock on your finger you've been trying all night to hide."

Bob grew a grin that was so big I thought the top of his face was going to fall off. Rebecca blushed about twenty-seven shades of red and said, "Damn! Rod you can't say anything. If Selena finds out I told you first it'll be a funeral instead of a wedding."

As she was speaking Lizzy was already moving towards her, Allison had the advantage of four legs so she got there first, and suddenly Alice was bouncing up and down hugging Rebecca, ogling the ring and oohing and ahing appropriately. Then she punched Bob in the arm and said, "About time!" Bob rubbed his arm and I'm pretty sure he wasn't faking it, she'd hit me before, and that looked pretty solid.

Allison wasn't even paying attention by now. She was already flooding Rebecca with the usual questions: "Where did he propose? Did he get down on one knee? Have you set a date?" I gave them a break and dropped her in the lagoon.

"Sorry about that, guys. We'll let you get back to whatever you were doing before this came up."

"She's going to make you pay for that," Rebecca said.

"Yeah, I know, but she'll get over it, and we would have been here all night if I hadn't. Congratulations to you both. Bob, are you telling Susan and Mel tomorrow or should I avoid the subject?"

"Not yet. According to Rebecca, Rod's wife has sources the FBI doesn't even know about."

"That's for damn sure," Rod said. "But you wear that rock to work tomorrow and all bets are off and you can face the dragon lady all by yourself. Good night everyone, considering what brought this all up in the first place I hope I don't see you all again soon."

For some reason, Rod's reference to the dragon lady reminded me of something, it was tickling at my brain, but I couldn't pin it down so I let it go. There were a lot unanswered questions about this whole adventure. For now though, I had to go and ingratiate myself with my favorite sister.

"Does that mean it's time for me to come out of the closet?"

My alarm clock chose that particular moment to remind me what a long night it had actually been.

"I guess not."

I was surprised to find her still in my head. I had assumed that it was strictly a dream manifestation. "Well it's nice to know you're still there. I was afraid I'd lose you when I woke up." All I got was silence, and then somehow I knew she was crying. "Jamie?"

"You really meant it last night, didn't you? When I was taking care of Amber, before the meeting, when you told me you loved me. You really meant it? And you really were worried what would happen to me when you woke up."

"Jamie, I don't throw that word around casually. Yes, I meant it, and yes, I was worried about you, I told you I would never shut you out again, never stick you away in the dark alone. I realized later that I might have bitten off more than I could chew with that promise. Now I know I didn't. Just do me a favor and don't talk to me a lot right away. It's going to take me a while to adjust to all this. People are going to think I'm not paying attention to them. Including the one next to us that's wondering if I'm all right because I haven't gotten up yet and she probably felt you crying. It's probably confusing the crap out of her."

I started to sit up but Allison grabbed my arm. "Are you okay? I thought you were doing better but now I'm not so sure."

"I'm great, really. It's just going to take a really long time to explain, maybe after school. I need to go run."

"Okay, but don't forget, Roxy will be here after school."

"Speaking of which, did you tell mom about that?"

"No, I guess I better let her know what's going on. I'll talk to her while you run."

I couldn't remember the last time I felt this good, but I wasn't stupid enough to push it. I knocked out a quick five miles and hit the shower. Mom was waiting for me in the kitchen when I came out for my morning toast and juice.

"Your sister says you had an interesting night, and that you're better now. I'm glad; you really scared me last night. When we got home..." I could hear her voice starting to break and I put my hand on hers.

"I know mom, and I'm sorry. I just couldn't seem to think. I was sort of operating in a fog. I barely remember any of what happened after we got home and I realized what I had to do. Did Allison tell you what was happening?"

"She tried to, I still don't understand any of it, but after last night, the thing at the hospital, after that I'd believe almost anything. That was the most incredible thing I think I will ever experience. And you're sure you're better now?"

"Mom, it would be hard to explain just how much better I am, or even to begin to describe what I went through along the way. I'm still trying to sort it all out."

"You really shouldn't lie to her you know."

I ignored her and moved on, "I still haven't even discussed it with Allison. She told you about Roxy?"

"Another in a long series of unbelievable events that just seem to swirl around your life lately."

"I know, but she's the biggest stroke of luck to fall our way since we first discovered this whole disaster in Vegas. A lot has happened since we found her, things that will make it immeasurably easier for us to work on this. When we first found Roxy, we had to do everything under the radar, no support -- we couldn't even tell anyone what we were doing. Rebecca had to sneak around and try to get us help. If we found her tomorrow all of that would be different now. It boggles my mind to even consider the string of coincidences that led to this. If we hadn't been in the church on Sunday, I never would have met her; if Tom hadn't gotten cancer we wouldn't have prayed for his recovery and needed to be in that church on that day when I would meet a girl that desperately needed my help. All the things that have happened over the last year to shape me into the right person to be there for her and to recognize what I was seeing. And it had to be me, mom, it had to be. Her story would have made no sense to anyone else that she told it to. My brain just runs in circles when I start to think about all the little things that, if any of them had happened differently, we would not be in this position now. If I think about it too much it scares me. Rebecca met a girl a while back, back before Angela was kidnapped, that claimed to be a chosen child of God, claiming that He had given her a special gift. Rebecca blew it off but the girl demonstrated her gift, and let me tell you, she's very convincing. Anyway, she told Rebecca that I was another of God's chosen but that along with my gift God had laid a special burden on me as well. When Rebecca told us all of this we had the same reaction she'd had. But since then I've met this girl. She certainly has a gift, and just like with mine, it would be very dangerous for her if anyone knew about it. Lately I find myself questioning whether she may be right, and it scares me...

"Me too."

" ... I've always told myself I believe in God, in Christ and the sacrifice He made, I thought I had faith. Then I met Roxy, and mom, you've never seen faith until you've spent time with that girl. Now ... Mom I just feel so ... fake next to her."

"I know what you mean. When you first told us about the things that you can do, I told you I spent a lot of time talking to God that night; Jimmy, I've been a closet Christian at best most of my life. But after seeing all the things that have happened this last year... ," she shook her head, " ... and then what happened last night? Jimmy, I believe. I mean I really believe.

"There is not much your father and I can do to help you except to be here for you. But last night I realized," tears started to well up in her eyes, "that there is one thing I can do for you, and that's to pray, not the little mommy prayers I've always tossed off more as a joke, but real prayers, Jimmy, for you, and your sister -- all of you. The first thing I did when I woke up after Shannon went home... ," she paused and blushed a little.

"Second." Jamie giggled.

"Hush you," I told her, but I'd been thinking it too.

" ... was to thank God for taking her, and to pray for you."

"Thank you," I said, and then I stepped around the table, kissed her cheek and hugged her. "I better get ready for school."

I ran into Allison in the hall, headed back to her room with a towel wrapped around her and stopped to give her a quick kiss. I hadn't intended it to be any more than a passing 'good morning' thing but as soon as our lips met she put her arms around my neck and attacked my mouth. Suddenly it was like we hadn't seen each other in years and the kiss got totally out of control. Finally we had to stop and remember how to breathe.

"Wow," she said as she leaned against the wall and tried to keep her towel from falling off. "I just wanted a real kiss; where did that come from."

I had a pretty good idea. "Jamie?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but, God, I feel like I have wanted to do that forever."

"I understand, but we're really going to have to work on your timing." Then to Allison I said, "I wasn't expecting it either. I was just planning a little 'good morning sunshine' thing. I wasn't expecting it, but I do know what happened. It's going to have to be part of that long talk we're having after school. It's too bizarre," I stopped and corrected myself, "wrong word; too special..."

"Thanks."

" ... to try and explain now."

"Okay, but in case you haven't noticed, lately we haven't really had time for long anything."

I moved close and pushed her up against the wall, "Actually, I had noticed it, and I've wanted to do something about it. I think maybe now would be a good time to start making sure we take the time for the important stuff."

She leaned her head against my chest. "Yeah, I think if we just focus on the big stuff the rest will work itself out. Why don't we start by going to bed early tonight?"

"That is exactly what I was thinking. I'm going to go easy at practice and save my strength. I'm sure Bob will understand, after all, we didn't get to do what everybody else seemed to be doing last night."

"We probably could have, but I really would have wanted you for myself, and then what would Lizzy and Angela..." she realized what she was saying, "Hmm, suddenly I'm thinking we missed an opportunity there."

Mom's voice came down the hall, "You two are going to be late for school if you don't get moving"

"Thanks, Mom," Allison called back. She kissed me on the cheek and said, "We'll talk later."

School was much better today. I was still getting looks walking down the hall but it just didn't bother me. When I joined the group at break the topic of discussion seemed to be the strange dreams they had all had the night before.

"Well, on the one hand, it was certainly strange," Mel was saying as I walked up to the table, "but at the same time it was one of those 'moments' in life, you know what I mean, one of those moments you know you will carry with you 'til you die."

"I know what you mean," Susan said. "What was really weird was that we all seemed to have the same dream. It was like she wanted to get us all together and say goodbye."

"You guys too?" I asked innocently. "Allison and I had the same dream, and then when the hospital called this morning and confirmed that she had died, I don't know, it was like I already knew and it was okay." I couldn't resist the next part, "Except for some reason, right after she ... you know, went, I woke up so horny."

"You are so bad. Oh my God, look at Mel's face!"

She was right, Mel was turning several shades of red, and Bob was doing his best not to burst out laughing. Susan jumped all over both of them, "Nice to know I wasn't the only one, but at least you guys had someone to help you out with that part. I woke up to Roxy jumping on my bed wanting to know if I'd seen the Angel take Shannon home."

Bob was suddenly looking particularly serious considering the circumstances, and redirected the conversation immediately "Well did you?"

"Did I what?"

"See the Angel?" Bob asked.

She thought about it for a second, "I'm not really sure what I saw, but right at the end there, when it seemed like she sat up and said 'thank you," just as she disappeared there was this flash of something, like a shimmering blur that passed between us, and then she was gone."

"I saw that too," Mel said. "But I didn't see an angel. Who's Roxy?"

"How sad for you," Bob said.

"What? Are you telling us you saw an angel?" She asked.

"I'm not sure what I saw, but then I'm an old man and my eyes aren't as good as they used to be, who's to say what caused that flash. Who can say what Roxy saw?"

"She saw an angel," I stated positively.

They all looked at me.

"Roxy saw an angel," I said again, "because that is what she expected to see. Because she believes, I mean trust me, she believes, and that's what she expected to see. We saw something we didn't expect to see and can't explain. She saw what she expected to see and doesn't need to try and explain it. Maybe because she believed, the Angel let her see it. Maybe God let her see the angel to reward her for her faith. You guys can argue all you want and come up with your own explanations, but I think... , no, I believe, that Roxy saw an angel, and while I'm not in any hurry for it, if I ever find myself in that position again, I'm going to look a lot closer. See you guys at lunch." I stood up and headed off to class.

As I was walking away I heard Mel ask again, "Who's Roxy?"

Susan began the well-rehearsed explanation about her friend from College but the voices faded out quickly as I walked away.

"You really didn't see the angel?"

I stopped, then realized what it would look like and started walking again. "Does that mean you did?"

"I thought I did, but now I'm not sure."

"Jamie, you saw an angel. Don't ever let the doubts of others sway you from your belief, not even me. Unless someone else can prove to you, not just give a rational explanation for what they think they saw, but proof, then trust your own eyes and ears, and most of all, trust your heart. You saw an angel, and if anything, I'm sad and a little jealous that I didn't."

I walked along in silence and just as we reached the classroom she said, "Thank you, Jimmy."

Roxy and Allison were already in the pool when I got home. We hadn't anticipated the need so she had had to borrow a suit from Allison. Allison told me that she had offered her last years model and Roxy had almost died of embarrassment when she saw it.

"I can't wear that!"

"Why not?" Allison asked. "I know it's a little worn but I wore it all last year and it was fine."

"You wore this in front of other people; in front of Jimmy, and your parents? Allison my old underwear covered more than that whole suit and it had holes in it. I'd die if anyone saw me in that."

"Okay, but I guess that means we won't be getting in the pool."

"Don't you have another one? Maybe a one piece from when you were little that might still fit me?"

"Roxy, you can't tan in a one piece. I've been wearing bikinis since I was seven and trust me, that's a bathrobe compared to some of the suits I've seen. How about if you wore a tee shirt over it for today, and then Jimmy can take you to get one on the way home?"

"Susan's picking me up, but maybe she'll take me."

"Either way. You may have a hard time finding one, though. It's way past swimsuit season, so the only places that might still have them are the real expensive shops, or tanning salons, stuff like that. There won't be much selection."

"I understand, I guess I can try the tee shirt for today, do you have anything in black?"

So that's how I found them, Allison in her suit and Roxy in last year's floss and fluff model with a dark green tee shirt pulled over it. Susan had told me earlier that she would be by around four to pick Roxy up, so I joined them in the pool for a while so we would have some time before she left. Allison kept the greeting to a simple hug. We talked about school, and it seemed that so far the biggest challenge was PE. The idea of stripping and showering in front of so many strangers embarrassed Roxy almost to tears. She was very self-conscious about her body, especially her lack of development compared to most of the other kids. Allison assured her that what she was feeling was perfectly normal, and that she had felt the same way the previous year even though Shannon had warned her about what to expect. She told her not to worry, that despite what it felt like, everyone really wasn't staring at her, and that she had no reason to feel ashamed of her body.

"After all Roxy," I said. "God made it especially for you, I'm sure he had a reason. As for maybe not being as developed as the other girls, don't ever let that bother you. I think the worst thing that can happen to a girl is to be an early bloomer. Sure, they always have guys hanging around them, but if you watch you'll quickly discover that it's not the kind of attention you're going to want. The attention seems nice at first, but after a while, most of them wish they didn't have it."

"We all want to be liked and appreciated, Roxy," Allison said. "I for one would like to be appreciated because I'm a nice person, not just because I look great in a bathing suit. If a boy is going to hang around me I want it to be because I'm fun to be with, or talk to, not because he's trying to look down my shirt, or worse, get his hands under it. That kind of attention I don't need or want." Then she changed the subject, "So what are you and Susan shopping for today besides a bathing suit?"

"Mostly clothes, but I need some stuff for school too. Hey! Maybe you could come with me?" Roxy said excitedly.

"I probably could, and there are some things that I need, but I think it would look a little too suspicious. You're supposed to be the new girl, it's too soon for you to have a girlfriend to go shopping and stuff with. Especially since I'm a year ahead of you."

"But we hang out here, isn't that suspicious?"

"Yes and no," I answered. "It might be a little suspicious but it's explainable. You see, I know Susan; she's a teacher at my school. You need someplace to be after school, but you don't know anyone yet, and my sister happens to go to the same school, so it works out. But coming over after school to hang out until Susan gets home from work is one thing, hanging out together publicly is different. If you and Allison were romping around the mall like best friends when in fact you've barely met, and especially when her best friend just died ... that would be suspicious."

"Oh yeah, I guess that would look a little strange." She paused, and before she could go on the phone rang.

I jumped out and dried my hand on a towel before picking it up. It was Susan saying she was on the way. I told the girls and Roxy went to shower off the chlorine and get dressed.

Allison hugged her before she left and said, "Don't worry Roxy, you'll be fine. And in a couple weeks we'll be able to go out and do things without it looking out of place, then we can have some fun. We just have to be careful for now." I hugged her goodbye and thanked Susan for picking her up and we watched as they drove away.

"So, we've got a little time before Mom and Dad get home. Maybe you can get started telling me about last night while I'm getting things ready for dinner?"

"Actually, I can't," I said. "Part of the explanation you have to see and I need to be asleep to show it to you."

"I'm not an It," Jamie complained.

"Come on, Jamie," I said, "you know I don't think that, but if I say 'her' it's just going to confuse her more. Give me a break here, okay?"

I could almost feel the giggle, "Okay."

"Okay then," Allison said, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me close. "Why don't we skip all that for now and you can help me later. In the mean time I have this other little problem I'd like you to help me with. So why don't we slip out of these wet clothes and..."



-------

Chapter 37: Life goes on


It had been a somber sort of night for the whole family. My mother had spent so much time on the phone at work that her boss had finally told her to just take the rest of the week off. Mom's the corporate secretary for a large independent auditing company. The title is a little confusing; she doesn't do much that you could actually call secretarial work. She's worked for the same company for seventeen years, working her way up as the company grew from a four man operation to now employing over two hundred people in four states. Of the original four, one had retired after another had died of a heart attack, and the remaining two partners, plus my parents, had bought him out of the company. Mom's title was corporate secretary but in truth she was a silent partner holding a thirty percent interest in the company. She had been on the phone all day working on funeral arrangements, plus helping with travel arrangements for the family members that were flying in. Still looming on the horizon were the legal issues. Because Shannon had survived the accident, she inherited. The fact that she never regained consciousness made it a gray area.

After my parents had almost died last year, both families had arranged legally for the other to become guardians of the kids in the event the parents should die. Shannon had virtually become my step-sister when her parents died. Based on the Living Trust that her parents had set up, all of the Davises' life insurance, property, the house, everything fell to Shannon, and now, since she died without a will, to us. If Shannon had died in the accident things would have been different but as it was, well, it was going to be a while before we really knew what was going to happen. I didn't know all the details either way. In the mean time, we had to try and do our best to take care of things until decisions could be made. The funeral was on Saturday, and on Sunday, my parents were going to be sitting down with the family members who attended to try and get a grip on what came next. A representative of the law firm that had drawn up the original paperwork would be coming as well to answer questions. They had made it clear that unless someone felt like spending a lot of time and money fighting a lengthy court battle it was ultimately up to my parents.

The terms of the original agreements were very clear. Everything went into joint trust for the surviving children, to be managed by whichever set of parents survived. This was so the family taking in the orphaned children would not be burdened by the needs of the children, such as medical care. Since their parents were dead, the children would no longer be covered by their employer's health plans, but most of the insurance companies didn't allow them to be added to the guardian's plans either. If, as was the plan, they were legally adopted into the surviving family, then maybe it would be possible. Until then, medical care would be on a pay as you go basis.

Then there was college to consider. As it turned out, they had listed our family as contingent beneficiaries of everything anyway, life insurance, property, the works. I had always felt a little bad about receiving the reward money for the girls that had been killed, especially Angela, since she hadn't really been killed. That was nothing compared to how I felt about inheriting money from people I loved. I'd rather be broke.

For now, there was work to be done. Tomorrow after school, Allison and I would be going over to work on the house. I would do the yard work and clean the pool. Allison would be working on the inside, including cleaning out the refrigerator, and doing any laundry that needed to be done. Roxy had volunteered to help her. Friday morning, a team would arrive from Mom's office to inventory the entire house. Everything would be counted, tagged, and in the case of some items listed for appraisal by a team to come later. On Sunday, family members attending the funeral would be allowed to enter, with an escort, and list anything they may desire in the way of keepsakes, starting with both of the grandmothers, who would identify any items that Tom or Karen may have indicated they wanted a particular family member, brother, sister, niece, or nephew to have, as well as those items that they may have specified they would rather see given to a homeless shelter in Siberia before so-and-so laid a hand on it. Hey, it happens. Some long standing family feud over great grandmother's favorite soup tureen, or something silly like that. Go ahead, lie to me, tell me your family isn't weird.

But for tonight...

Allison and I woke up together in the cabana, still in each others arms. The afternoon's lovemaking had been wonderful and we both wanted to start over again when we finally crawled into bed. It had been a real struggle not to, but Jamie had behaved herself so far, and I felt it might be dangerous to push her too far. Allison wasn't used to me saying no but I had managed to convince her it was important to wait.

"Allison, this is so complicated I can't even begin to explain it. Last night, things ... happened. Things I can't even begin to explain or understand. This is one of them. It's a 'see it to believe it' kind of thing, and you can't see it here."

Inside I was having a completely different conversation, "Jamie? Are you going to behave yourself?"

"What do you mean?" Something in the way she asked it made me nervous. She had that same angelic tone Allison used when she was being just the opposite.



"I mean, you said this morning that you had wanted to kiss Allison for a long time, I just think it would be a bad idea for you to try and rush things with her."

"You don't think she'll like me?"

"No, I'm not worried about that, not even a little bit. But I think you need to take time to let her get to know you. I'm thinking of bringing Bob and Lizzy in to meet you at the same time. Will you trust me and let me do this in my own way and at my own pace? I want to try and explain who you are before I just drop you in everyone's lap, and all they know is who you used to be..."

"Jimmy, that's still who I am, just a more grown up and responsible version."

"I know, that's what worries me, you don't really have that much experience in things like patience and understanding. Your history is a little ... impulsive."



Once again I could almost feel her chuckle. "I'll behave ... well, I'll try to behave, and I'll try not to embarrass you in front of Mr. Shelby, I promise. Now, quit wasting time; shut up and go to sleep."

I focused my attention back on Allison and said, "Whiskers on kittens."

When we arrived at the cabana, Allison stretched and rolled over in my arms, "Okay, we're here, so are you going to tell me now."

I kissed her nose, stretched, and then rolled to my feet and got up, "Yes, but I don't want to explain this six times so give me a second." I concentrated and Lizzy was in her room studying, "Elizabeth?"

Her head came up from the book she was reading, she picked up a pen from the table and closed the book on it, then settled herself. I watched her lips move and then she relaxed back into the chair. There was a soft knock, the door opened and she walked in.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything important, I didn't think to call."

"Oh please, I was working on my economics." She dove onto the bed, rolled Allison over on top of her and then rolled them both back over so she was on top, pinning Allison's hands over her head she then kissed her very thoroughly. "Hi," she said when she finally came back up for air. "Miss me?"

"Yes," Allison said, reaching up with her head for another kiss.

"If they keep that up, all bets are off."

I don't think she actually heard it but just then Lizzy looked over at me, then gave Allison one more kiss before pulling away and letting her up. "We better stop for now; I think Jimmy has some things he needs to talk about. Are we waiting for Bob?"

"Yeah, I was going to call him next."

"What about Rebecca and Amber?" She asked.

"I don't need Rebecca for this, and I'll talk to Amber later."

She nodded and climbed off the bed, then reached to help Allison off as well, "Are we rearranging the furniture or moving to the office? I vote for here."

"You know what this is about!" Allison accused her. "That is so not fair."

"What? You don't like surprises? Better hurry up then, Jimmy, before she pops from the anticipation."

I concentrated on Bob, and he was watching television while grading papers. I didn't think he'd mind. Instead of calling him I sent a dream image of us sitting around the cabana, waiting for him. It took a second and then, just as with Lizzy, his head came up and then he was clearing things away to get comfortable. When I looked back at the girls I was surprised to see the room had taken on the appearance of the image I had sent Bob.

"Experimenting?" Allison asked.

"Yeah, a little. I sent him an image of us waiting for him, this was the image." The cabana was now furnished as a comfortable sitting room, the bed was gone and the transparent cover was now on the seating area in the floor. Bob knocked while I was still looking around -- he would never risk walking in on us, so Allison went to let him in.

"Hello everyone," he said. "That was certainly different, Jimmy."

"Thought I'd give it a try. If everyone will have a seat I'd like to get started right away. I need to talk to you all about last night."

"I was hoping you would," Bob said. "In fact, if you hadn't brought it up by the weekend I was going to. What exactly happened there?"

"He set her free," Lizzy said softly. "He let her go."

"What do you mean, 'he let her go'?"

I didn't give her time to elaborate, but jumped in with my own explanation. "You know that whole problem I was having with Mikkelson and Parry, with something apparently using my abilities? We talked about the idea of second personalities and things?"

"Yes, I know you were worried about the similarities between you and the killer and wondering if somehow you might be headed for a similar problem."

"I'm not worried any more, and I hope to have Mikkelson solved soon. Tonight, if there is time and nothing else comes up, the weekend at the latest. We were right about some of what was happening and also about how it happened. You know how Rebecca taught us about compartmentalizing and ever since then I've been shoving all of my emotional overflow, the anger and pain and stuff, into this little box somewhere? Well, there was something living in the box, and it was sort of feeding on all the base emotions. When I think of what it must have been like to only have all the intense stuff dumped on you it kind of makes me shiver. It was young, a baby I guess you could call it, and it responded to some of what it was getting by lashing out. In very basic ways. Take Brad and his goons for example; very basic response to danger; not the Id you suggested, but a similar emotion-based, black and white solution. Apparently it learned quickly where the bad stuff was coming from, started learning to control more of its environment, this environment, learned it didn't have to stay in the box, and eventually, if Lizzy is right, it started learning to push my buttons a little to get me to feed it more of the emotion it wanted. As a part of me it also shared other things, all emotion based of course, such as my love for Allison; when Parry almost hit us in the truck and I went to punish him, it decided that I wasn't doing enough and, just as it had with Mikkelson, whom I blamed for what had happened to Angela, it escalated the punishment."

"How much longer do I have to be an it?"

"Soon, I promise, just be patient." I answered as I continued talking to the group. "It also felt my love for Shannon. The doctors all said that Shannon should have died in the accident. They couldn't understand what was keeping her alive. Well, I was keeping her alive, sort of. You know how I was having those dizzy spells?"

"Yes," Bob answered. "You commented on them. Are they related somehow?"

"You could say that. As usual, Allison caught on to it first. The thing in the box was trying to save Shannon, it loved her, needed her, couldn't bear to lose her. So it was doing everything it could to keep her alive; actually taking energy from me and somehow feeding it to Shannon to try and keep her going. Not understanding that in doing so it was slowly killing itself and me with it. Last night, with the help of a friend..." I glanced at Lizzy. She didn't get it but I noticed Allison caught the motion. " ... I found them. I almost blew it and killed us all, but at the last moment that same friend stopped me, and showed me the truth. The truth about what was really happening, what I had been dealing with all along, and I realized that this was not something I could defeat, or stop, or even fight. That to do so would never work, this was a part of myself that I had stuffed into a box and then force-fed all the things that I didn't want to face. When I finally saw the truth, I understood what I had done and that it was my responsibility to make it right.

"It's so hard to describe what it was like, but fighting it was not the solution, it was me, this child shape was something that I had made ... So I sat down and talked to it, apologized for hurting it, promised it that I wouldn't hurt it any more, and explained what was happening and why we needed to let Shannon go. It hurt, but then so did I, to think of losing her, but I explained that it's not forever and that it's what she wanted. We cried together and shared an incredible moment, and when that moment was over it was changed. No longer a formless child shape, in that moment of sharing it grew up, this other part of me ... changed." I stood up and walked to the mirror in the corner, carried it over in front of them and set it down, then stepped in front of it so that my reflection would appear; only it wasn't me, but they couldn't see that yet.

"For one thing, it's not an 'It' any more." I looked at Allison, "Allison, if you've ever wondered what it would have been like to have a big sister, here's your chance to find out. Everybody... ," I stepped aside so they could see the reflection wasn't me, " ... I'd like you to meet Jamie."

I reached a hand into the mirror and took her/my hand and pulled her out. It was such a weird sensation; I actually felt her leaving my body as she stepped out of the glass. I wasn't really sure what kind of reactions to expect. Bob's jaw dropped like it was going to come off. Allison's eyes got positively huge and her hands went to her mouth like she was in shock and either afraid to speak, or couldn't.

The most dramatic reaction was Lizzy. She actually fell to her knees and wept openly. She recovered quickly though, wiping her eyes and saying, "I'm sorry. It's just ... oh God, I can't even describe it." She held her arms out to Jamie, "Hug me." Jamie looked just as confused as I felt but she knelt and hugged the crying girl. "You're so beautiful," Lizzy said, brushing her fingers over Jamie's hair, "and I'm so happy to meet you."

Soon Jamie was crying right along with her, and then of course Allison had to join in for a group hug and it was a full blown tear-fest. By now Bob was shaking his head and looking completely lost. I motioned for him to come over by me.

"What?" I asked him.

He shook his head again, "I don't even know where to begin. Just when I think this can't possibly get any weirder, you do something else. So this other ... person, is what was causing all the problems, and then when Shannon got hurt, it was so desperate to save her that it was actually taking energy from you and somehow passing it on to Shannon, trying to somehow give her the strength that she needed to heal? So, the times you were suddenly weak and dizzy..."

"Shannon was trying to die. Allison called the hospital right after one of them and confirmed that the two events had happened at the same time. We called Lizzy, who had apparently already figured it out, because, she said she was waiting for us to call. Anyway, she came and confirmed what we already knew. I was the reason Shannon was suffering, and the only way to stop it was ... I had to kill the woman I loved. At least that's what I thought, but she explained it so that we understood that Shannon was already dead, and that all we really had to do was release her from the pain of this life. I don't remember much about the rest of the evening. I have a vague recollection of my parents coming home and my mom trying to talk to me, walking to my room, and then ... Bob, it was the longest, best, worst, happiest, saddest, night of my life. I lost someone that meant so much to me... ," I could feel tears trying to well up, " ... but in the end, I haven't really lost her at all, and now there's Jamie to deal with. You can't imagine how weird that is. I have a whole new respect for people who say they hear voices."

Bob chuckled, "I can imagine." Then he stopped and shook his head, "No, no actually I can't. Jimmy, this is so extraordinary I just don't know where to begin. You have manifested an alternate personality in a way the just defies every attempt I could possibly make to even begin to describe it. And she was the one living in that box you shoved all your dark emotions into?"

"No, no not really; I mean partly, but not completely. The ... being I guess, was just ... Jamie is what grew out of it when we met. After I accepted it as part of myself, and decided that it was wrong to go on locking it in a box and shoving all my darkness in there for it to deal with.

"In the dream ... I held it in my arms, and talked to it about our love for Shannon. I held it while it wept, and then we cried together at letting her go, I kissed it and when I did it was like we were glued together, I couldn't break the kiss, and it was like it was sucking something out of me, and as it did it started to grow and change, and then it wasn't an 'it' anymore, it was a she, and she was me. Not me me, but a different me. She was afraid at first, afraid that I would put her back into that dark place again, but I promised her that I would never do that again. Bob, she's a part of me, a part I denied and because of that I almost destroyed us both, I..."

He cut me off, "Jimmy, you can't begin to image what you have done. You have done something here ... something that is so ... unprecedented. Something only ever talked about in legends and whispered about by wise men in lonely places. You have met yourself, accepted who you are, embraced who you are. You are a complete person, at sixteen no less. Jimmy, this is the kind of thing old men dream about doing before they die. I can't even begin to imagine what this is going to mean for you."

"Well for one thing, I can now be in two places doing completely different things and have no knowledge of it at all. Last night I had a chat with Angela. There is a change in that whole situation by the way. Angela and Amber are no longer going to be as separate as they were. I arranged a little reward for Amber because of the progress she's made, but it was Angela I sent to collect it. Bob, she has already accepted who she is, and I think she's almost ready to move on with her life. Not quite yet, but real soon. She has embraced all of this, and accepted, not just as Amber but as Angela, me as her master. She is counting on me to guide her, support her, keep her safe, everything. On the one hand it's kind of overwhelming. I'm almost afraid of what's coming. I know I'm not ready for this, but at the same time, I know I have to be. I just hope I can find a way to make it work for her. Anyway, while I was talking to Angela, Jamie was setting things up with Jasmine..."

"Who's Jasmine?" He asked.

"Sorry, I guess we never got around to talking about that, Jasmine is the owner of a place called the House of Seven Willows, and Amber's teacher. She's been helping her learn who she is. Anyway, Jamie was setting things up with Jasmine and May, Amber and May were kind of a gift to each other as a reward for all their hard work. Sorry, May is Jasmine's number one, and has been responsible for most of Amber's training, under Jasmine's direction of course."

"And Amber wanted this?" He asked.

"Amber wouldn't have had a choice," I said. He nodded at this and I continued, "But Angela wanted it, and even if she hadn't, she would have gone if I sent her, and I did. I told her to go, I didn't ask, I told her, and I told her that she would be in May's dream and that the only way out was to call me, and that if she did she better be able to justify the need to me or I would be very upset with her, and she went, and I went to the meeting with all of you, and somewhere in the middle, Jamie came back to me and wanted to know what she had missed."

"Unbelievable."

"Yeah, of course when Jamie went to Jasmine, she went disguised as me. By the way, there is so much more to tell you about Jasmine."

"So she now has all your knowledge, all your abilities, experience, everything?"

"I don't know about all the details. We haven't really had the chance to talk and compare, and I haven't really felt the need. I'm her only source of sensory input in the real world but I don't know what other limitations she may have, or if she gets it all automatically or not. I know she can move around in this world without me, and she is the one who invaded the daydream at the bank, taking me along that time, I'll have to wait and see what her limitations are out there. I don't know if she can bounce around in people's daydreams all the time now, or what? It'd be kind of weird if she could. Not to mention kind of scary."

"Scary, you mean you don't trust her?"

"Well, no, it's not that I don't trust her, but when you look at her history ... Mikkelson, Parry ... you know?"

"Yes, obviously you'll need to talk to her about it. It will be interesting to see. There are other ramifications you haven't thought about."

"There are probably a lot of them; did you have something specific in mind?"

"Only one really jumps out at me." He looked at me very seriously, "How did she get Shannon out of the car?"

Wow! I hadn't thought of that one yet. All I could do was stare at him as the impact of the question sort of ran through me. I glanced back to where all the girls were now sitting and talking. At least the tears had stopped. Allison had a very odd look on her face as she looked at Jamie, I wasn't sure what it meant, but I had a hunch. Lizzy looked my way, and her eyes said she wanted to talk to me. Bob apparently caught the look as well.

"That's a very big question, Bob. One I think we're going to need to explore, carefully. I'm sorry for dragging you away from your evening, but I wanted you and Lizzy to be here so I wouldn't have to keep repeating the story. Thanks for coming. I think I'm going to have a pretty full dance card the rest of the night, so if I don't see you again, I'll see you at school." I shook his hand and then he walked over to the girls.

"Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but I'm going to be leaving. Jamie, it was a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to getting to know you."

He reached out his hand toward her, and Jamie took it and used it to pull herself up, then quickly moved in and hugged him, "Mr. Shelby, it was so nice to meet you. Thank you for everything you've done for us." Then she stepped back and shook his hand.

"My pleasure, and if you ever need to speak to me, please don't hesitate. It's kind of weird saying it, but since you are still a part of Jimmy, then you're still a patient with all the rights and privileges that go with it."

"So I can talk to you and you won't tell him?" That stopped him for a second, but then she smiled and he knew she was pulling his chain.

"Great, I see you got what passes for his sense of humor as well, just what we needed. The answer to that is I don't know. It's not a question that has come up before. I don't even know if it's possible. I guess we'll find out. Again, it was nice to meet you."

When he was gone, Allison spoke up, "So that's where that kiss came from this morning?"

Jamie actually blushed, "Yeah, it was me. It's weird because I've only really been 'me' for like a day, but I felt like I had wanted to kiss you forever. So when Jimmy kissed you I sort of leaned into it a little and, oh my gosh, it felt so good, I only wish I'd had the chance to do it..." She stopped as she realized what she was about to say. I could see the tears following close on the heels of the emotional rush, and fortunately so did Allison.

She hugged Jamie and said, "It's okay, I understand, and I'm sorry too, because you really missed out. But we'll always have our memories, and she kissed Jimmy all the time."

Jamie pulled back, wiping her eyes, and said, "Thanks. Jimmy and Lizzy need to talk, so why don't you and I go see about digging Mikkelson out of the hole I buried him in?"

"What did you have in mind?" Allison asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I'm kind of curious about that myself."

"Nothing special, I think you were all on the right track with the forgiveness thing, I'm sure it would have worked if someone hadn't been working to stop you," she said, rolling her eyes for emphasis. "Meanwhile, I've been thinking about some of the other problems we've got. I think Kurtz may be able to help us stop his alternate. Next time you see him, ask him to look at it like he would if it were a case he was working, see what he would do. Maybe we'll run across something that Rebecca can use."

It was in interesting notion. I stepped over and kissed Allison, "I'll see you later." Then I surprised Jamie by kissing her cheek as well, "You too." Then I gave her a solid slap on the butt, "And try to behave yourself."

She started, "Hey!" Then she glared at me as she was rubbing the spot I had smacked, "Watch it buddy. How'd you like to walk around school with a boner all day? I can arrange that you know."

I kissed her again and sent them on their way, then turned to Lizzy who had been watching the whole thing with a huge grin. "What?"

She shook her head, "Just weird things running around in my head. I was wondering just now if you and Jamie playing around together would be considered narcissism or the ultimate masturbation fantasy? I mean, most of it's not sexual but you are playing with yourself, and you could actually have sex with yourself here. It's just so bizarre. It would give new meaning to the old saying, 'you really fucked yourself.'"

"Very funny, so this whole time you've been thinking up all of the crazy clichès you could to fit this situation?"

"No, of course not. At first, I was just trying to figure out what it was I was seeing. You looked so different last night. Your energy had gone from fading fast to off the chart."

"So what did you see?"

"I'm still not sure. Like I said, you're different, changed, yet somehow still the same. Your glow is different, on the one hand it's very intense, even stronger than before, but at the same time, it's not as overpowering, like it's damped down, or like, even though I can tell it's stronger, maybe I'm not seeing it all. Like some of it is beyond the range of my vision, or like looking at a bright light through a polarizing filter; you can tell it's really intense, but the filter is keeping you from going blind. Jimmy, she's not an alternate personality. When she stepped out of the mirror your glow changed. It wasn't as intense and the pattern was different ... Like part of the pattern was suddenly missing. God it's so weird to think about, but I could see the parts that were missing, the parts of the pattern that is, in Jamie. You know I told Bob that I've seen compartmentalization, and I told you that I'd seen people with multiple personalities, but that you didn't look like any of those. Jimmy ... this is so hard to explain. You are beyond anything I have ever experienced. It's like ... Oh! I can't even describe it. It's like you have two souls."

"Excuse me? You see two ... souls ... in me? How can you see a soul?"

"I can't, not really, but that's the only thing I can think of to describe it."

"But you were there; you showed her to me, showed me that she was a part of me."

"What are you talking about?"

"In the dream where I found her, or what she was before, it was you, your gift for seeing the truth that stopped me from fighting her, stopped me from killing us both, and Shannon too."

"Jimmy, I wasn't there."

"What are you talking about? Of course you were there. You stopped me when I was about to kill the beast that I saw, you tackled me and carried us both back into the hall of mirrors, and then you sort of ... merged with me so that I could see it as you did, not as a beast, but as a child."

"I merged with you? How exactly did that work? Was it like sex, or holding hands or..."

"Wait," I said. "I'll just show you." I called up the memory of the dream, starting with me choosing her to help me; she stopped me when I pulled her out of the mirror.

"Why did you choose me?"

"As I walked around the room I could identify what everybody else in that room stood for. What they represented to me. But when I got to you, I had no idea what you represented. If knowledge is power, then my not knowing meant that you represented a weakness. The instructions said that in knowing my strengths I would also know my weaknesses. So I asked myself what was different about you, what you might represent. I remembered what you told Rebecca at the hospital, that you see the truth in people. You see things that other people can't, and more than anything, I needed to see the truth, I needed you."

"Instructions?"

"What?"

"You said the instructions said that in knowing your strengths, you would also know your weaknesses. What instructions? Who told you that?"

"I'm not sure, it was weird, there was this piece of parchment hanging in the air and..."

"Okay, I'm officially lost, so let's skip that for now. Where did all this happen?"

"You asked me that then, too. It was in a maze, under a pool or pond, under a castle."

"A labyrinth, we were in a labyrinth? How did we get there?"

"I don't remember, I was walking, and I came to the castle," I tried to remember but it wouldn't come. "I met someone ... sort of, it seemed like meeting someone but there was no one there, just this parchment sort of telling me what I needed to know, and then I walked under the pool, and into the maze, and eventually I came to the room with all the mirrors, and that's were I found you. You asked where we were and when I told you, you said, "Oh, shit, we're in a labyrinth!", and then we went into the darkness, and then the beast attacked me. I was getting my ass kicked until you started screaming that you couldn't see. Which now that I think about it, that doesn't make sense either, because you don't see the way we do, so the darkness shouldn't have affected you. Weird. Anyway, then I finally remembered that it was a dream and turned the lights on and that's when we saw Shannon, and the beast. After that I was winning, I had beaten it, I was about to kill it when you stopped me."

"I stopped you? How did I do that?"

"You kind of tackled me and we rolled back through the doorway."

"And then what happened?"

"You showed me that what I was seeing wasn't real, and then you kind of merged into me so I could see it through your eyes, and that's when..."

"I did what?"

"You showed me..."

"No, the other part, you said I merged into you."

"Yeah, it was like..."

"Just show me."

"Oh, okay I guess that would be easier." The scene had frozen when she started asking questions so I moved to the image of the two of us lying on the floor trying to catch our breath. Then Lizzy rolled into me and disappeared.

"Whoa!" she said, and the scene stopped again.

"Tell me about it, it hurt like hell, but then I could see it all through your eyes, the illusion of the creature was gone and..." I let the vision move forward to show her what I had seen.

"That's amazing but, Jimmy, it wasn't me."

"But..."

"No. I don't know who that was or how they did that, but it wasn't me."

This was just too bizarre. "But you knew right away when we came back to the beach; I could tell by the way you were looking at me."

"Oh I was looking all right. It was plain as day that something had changed. At first I thought it was just an aftereffect of the thing with Shannon, which was by the way the most incredible moment of my life. I could swear I saw her sit up out of her body, then there was a flare so bright it blinded me and when I could see again it was like the bed was empty."

"Roxy said it was an angel."

"What?"

"Afterward, I kind of followed everyone home, pretty much everybody woke up crying, and horny. Except Roxy, but she was so excited she ran in to ask Susan if she had seen the angel."

"Hmm, well let me tell you, it wasn't just the ones that woke up that were horny. Anyway, when I looked at everyone else they all looked the same so I ruled out the first solution and started really looking at you. It didn't take long to figure out what it was. I didn't have a clue how it had happened but you suddenly had a girl inside you. I was almost jealous."

"Of me or her?"

"Both, if it had been you inside of her I would have really been jealous," she said with a smile. "So what did Bob have to say while we were all getting acquainted?"

"He was pretty much speechless, didn't know what to say. Except that he couldn't wait to see what kind of effect this had on my abilities. So far the only effect I've seen is that we can be in two places at once and not know what the other is doing."

"Hmm," she said. "I wonder if you don't know, or if you can't know? If you concentrate on Jamie can you tell where she is?"

"She's in the theater with Allison."

"Are you sure you're focusing on Jamie, or are you picking that up from Allison?"

"I don't know, I just..."

Suddenly Jamie's voice sounded in my head, "Hey, do you mind? I'm trying to work here."

" ... Okay, that was Jamie. She just told me to butt out, that she was busy, or words to that effect, anyway. So I guess I can tell if I try. But it's not automatic, actually even when we're together I only hear her when she talks to me."

"Interesting, do you think she ... perceives everything that's going on with you? When you're together I mean?"

"I don't know, I'll have to ask her."

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll both have lots of questions. Meanwhile, what did you think of her suggestion about having your killer look at his alternate as he would a case he was trying to crack?"

"Sounds like a good idea. That's part of what he used to do, analyze ongoing cases. You think he may be able to find something that Rebecca and her partner haven't thought of?"

"No, but he may have access to information that no one else has. Remember when you first told Shannon about Amy and how she immediately suggested that maybe you hadn't asked Amy the right questions? Maybe if we get him working on it from that angle, get him thinking about it ... I mean, there is obviously a link between the two. He knows about the killings, and the killer apparently knew everything about him, so maybe the right questions will stir things up enough for an answer or two to float to the surface."

Just then Jamie and Allison popped back in.

"All done," Jamie said proudly.

"Already? Wow, that was fast." Lizzy said.

"Nothing to it," Jamie said. "Actually, it seemed to take longer, but you know how dream time is; what seems long in one sequence hardly takes any time from another perspective.

"Yeah right!" Allison said sarcastically. "Jimmy, she was amazing. You two have got to work together. It's hard to believe you're really the same person."

"Allison," Lizzy said, shaking her head, "they're not the same person. I mean they may have started out the same, but now ... it's more like they just sort of live together."

"And think together," Allison responded, ticking off points on her fingers, "and walk, and talk, and breathe together."

Lizzy just nodded her agreement, "Exactly." Which totally caught Allison off guard.

"Huh? I just told you all the reasons they are the same person."

"Close, if you really need an analogy, think of them as Siamese twins, they share a body, but they are two separate people." It was obvious Allison still didn't agree with her so Lizzy dropped the bomb. "Still don't believe me ... wait until she goes down on you, then come back and tell me they're the same person."

"Lizzy!" Jamie squawked in a scandalized voice. She was already a bright shade of pink by the time I looked at her, and Allison wasn't far behind her. Lizzy still didn't let up.

"Oh puh-lease! Like you both haven't been thinking about it all night. Give me a break."

"Elizabeth," I said softly.

I almost never call her that, and it stopped her cold. I could see her swallow hard and bite her lip before turning towards me and answering in a very tentative voice, "Yes?"

"Elizabeth, I know you mean well, but you are being very rude." She started to say something but I held up my hand. "Please apologize to Jamie."

Something in my manner and speech must have touched the right nerve, because suddenly she looked very remorseful. With her head down and eyes averted, she turned to face Jamie, then glanced up and said, "I'm sorry, Jamie, that was very wrong of me. Please forgive me."

It was obvious Jamie didn't really understand or know what to say so I said it for her. "Thank you, Elizabeth."

"What about me?" Allison asked.

I looked her in the eye and asked, "Do you feel like you need an apology?"

"Well, no, not really, I mean she's right and all, so..."

"Exactly," I said. "You and Lizzy have history; you know she loves you and that she was just teasing you. Jamie, on the other hand, is new and does not have that advantage. There is a big difference between thinking something was said in love and therefore was just teasing, and knowing that it was. You were not embarrassed; scandalized maybe, but not embarrassed. Jamie was."

Allison gave Jamie a questioning look and after a moment Jamie nodded that I was right.

"Then I'm sorry too," Allison said.

"That's okay," Jamie said. "I understand how you could still think we are the same person. It's all still so new. It's still kind of weird when I think about it, too. I've been me for barely a day, but I feel like I'm sixteen and have actually lived all those years. I remember things that I know I couldn't have really done. I guess I'm kind of like a clone in a science fiction story; created fully formed with all of the memories of the original, but I'm not him, really. Even now, when we're together, I experience all the things he does, but I interpret them differently. You know how they say that you can show a room full of people the exact same thing and they will all see it slightly differently? It's like that. Plus I interpret everything from a female perspective."

"So then, what Lizzy said really does apply? You're like a sixteen year old virgin with lots of experience."

Jamie blushed again, "Knowledge, not experience. A situation I am hoping to change very soon."

"I think I'm going to enjoy helping you with that little problem," Allison said. "I can hardly wait."

"Okay, you guys need to stop," Lizzy said. "My eyes are starting to burn. I swear, the more you think about it the brighter your glow gets. If you keep going, I'm going to have to leave. Besides, you're making me horny."

They were all giggling when suddenly I felt a stabbing pain I my chest. Just as it hit Jamie staggered and if not for Allison catching her arm she might have fallen.



-------

Chapter 38: A Full Plate


"Are you okay?" Allison asked.

"I don't..." Jamie answered. "Suddenly I feel weak ... can't seem to focus..." She almost sounded drunk.

"Jimmy," Lizzy said urgently, "touch her."

I reached out and took her other arm and it seemed to steady her a little more but it could have just been the extra support. Jamie was starting to shake her head as if she were trying to wake herself up.

"Not enough," Lizzy said. She stepped in front of Jamie, took her by the shoulders, shook her to get her attention and said, "Jamie? Jamie, listen to me. You have to go back into Jimmy, right now. Do you understand me?"

It was plain she wasn't hearing what Lizzy said. I could feel her confusion and as it grew I could feel myself starting to get weak as well.

"Jimmy, you have to merge with her," Lizzy said. "Now, quickly."

"But I don't know how," I said. "She did it before."

She snapped her fingers, "Kiss her, just like in the dream; kiss her." She turned Jamie toward me as she spoke and pushed her toward me.

As I pulled her forward she collapsed in my arms, her body limp and the sudden weight pulling us both to the ground. I turned her body and gently lay her on the ground, then pressed my lips to hers. Immediately, I could feel the difference, my own strength was returning and she seemed to be regaining control as well. I broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. The movement was accompanied by a stretching sensation, like our flesh hadn't wanted to let go.

"Are you all right?"

"No," she said tiredly. "Better ... but ... Jimmy what's wrong with me?"

"I think maybe there is a limit to how long we can be apart. Jamie, I don't know how to merge with you? You have to do it."

She smiled, "You're silly, kiss me." She put her arms around my neck and pulled me down to her. As our lips met I felt a rush and suddenly I was falling as she disappeared. I managed to catch myself before my face met the ground, but only barely.

"Sorry about that," she said.

"Better now?" I asked.

"Yes, thanks."

"I'm just glad you were here when it happened. Now we just need to figure out why it happened and see that it doesn't happen again."

"I think Lizzy is right, I've never been away from you that long before."

"That was close," Lizzy said. I could tell from her voice just how concerned she was.

"What happened?" Allison asked. "One second she was fine, and then suddenly it was like she was drunk or something."

"She wasn't drunk," Lizzy said.

"She was dying, wasn't she?" I asked.

"Do you really think so?"

I didn't need to answer, Lizzy answered for me, she didn't even have to say anything, her body said it all. She wouldn't meet my eyes, just stood staring at the ground, and then she nodded. I knew she just didn't want me to see the tears in her eyes.

"I'm glad you were here," I said, folding my arms around her and pulling her close. As I did her arms came up around my neck and she cried softly against my neck. Allison quickly moved beside us, hugging us both and adding her tears as well.

"Me too," Jamie said. "Jimmy, I'm scared."

"You need to be very careful Jimmy." Allison said.

I answered them both, "I know. We're going to be a lot more careful from now on. We need to find out what the limits are and make sure we don't ever go that far again." I stepped over to the mirror and Jamie's reflection stared back at me. "How do you feel?"

"Okay," she answered, her voice seeming to come from the glass. "I don't think I want to come out again for a while though."

"That's okay, I want to try something else right now, see if it will work and if it makes a difference. Trade places with me."

"What?"

I didn't answer, just stepped into the mirror, as I did I could feel her being forced out behind me, or through me, either way, I was suddenly somewhere else staring out of a hole in space at the three of them. I didn't really feel any different, but it wasn't me I was worried about. "How do you feel now? Any weakness?"

She did that thing people do when you ask questions like that, kind of patting and touching herself carefully, "No, I'm okay."

"Need any help?" Allison asked.

Jamie grinned at her and answered, "Maybe."

I said the next part so only Lizzy would hear me, "Push her into the mirror." Jamie was still standing right in front of the mirror, looking at me with Lizzy behind her; she never even saw it coming. Suddenly Lizzy shoved her hard and she kind of fell through the glass. As she did I felt myself forced back out again.

"Good," I said. "Sorry about that, Jamie. First chance we get I want to see if we can set it up so you can do that from a remote location."

"You mean just walk back into you from Jasmine's or someplace?"

"No, I already know you can do that. If we're apart for some reason I want to be able to send someone to you and have them shove you through to me. It's a worst case thing and I don't know if it can actually be done, but I want to find out. And if it won't work then I want to find something else that will. Jamie, I don't want to take a chance of something happening to you like that. Until we find out what the limits are, I think it would be best if you stay with me as much as possible. Short trips like Mikkelson and the thing with Jasmine last night are apparently fine, but when you come back, you come back to me, okay? Promise me."

"Jimmy, you're over-thinking this," Allison said.

"What do you mean?"

"If she is away and something happens you can go in from wherever you are. I don't think it matters which one is 'out' just as long as you are together. It's kind of weird to try and figure out the dynamics, I mean, we can still see you both and it's weird to think that even though I'm seeing you both you are actually merged. I think the mirror is just a symbol for you. Something your mind will recognize and accept. You say you don't know how to merge so you create a ... an interface ... that you can accept. The mirror is like a special doorway, allowing you to do something without consciously understanding what it is you are doing."

I could see Lizzy suppressing a smile, "Go ahead, say it; A window to my soul?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

"What?" Allison asked.

"Lizzy has been thinking about all the clichès that apply to Jamie and me."

"You can tell me about it later, for now I think the important thing is that you two need to experiment and practice merging so that no matter what happens, this won't happen again." She stepped forward and stroked her hand over the mirror's surface. "I finally got the sister I've always wanted, I don't want to lose her."

Jamie didn't answer, but she placed her hand on the inside of the glass opposite Allison's, I could see her eyes start to tear and then she faded away and the mirror vanished.

"I love her so much," she said.

"Yeah, I know. Me too."

My phone chose that moment to ring. It was Rebecca and she didn't bother with pleasantries, "They're looking for Roxy. Pastor Keen called this morning and said that there was a detective at the church asking about her. He was there interviewing the staff before Keen arrived. Several of them confirmed that they had seen her at Sunday services for a few weeks but that they hadn't spoken to her. I suspect he'll be back this weekend looking for her and asking some of the parishioners if they know anything about her."

"I don't see that being a problem," I answered. "We've never been there before so even though I'm sure they'll remember us sitting with her, nobody will know who we are. Keen was the only one with any information and he gave that back. If we don't go back no one will be able to point us out, the trail ends there. All they can assume is that she found a way to move on somewhere else or something happened to her."

"I was thinking the same thing. I just wanted to warn you not to go back there for a while. If we play this right it could easily work out in our favor."

"Anything else going on we need to know about?"

"I got a call from Amy's doctor. Something happened over the weekend and for a second they weren't sure if she was going to wake up or drop dead. Scared the bejesus out of them, but then she settled down again."

That caught my attention but I didn't think I wanted to tell her what I thought might have caused it. "Well, hopefully it was the former. We had a thought here as well. When I get in to see Kurtz again, I'm going to talk to him about how he would go about stopping the killer if it was a case he was working. We're hoping that maybe he can give us some help in that area."

"Well, at this point I'll take all the help I can get. We know he's still in the area but for all intents and purposes he might as well be in Tahiti. Also, the lawyer for our friend in Palm Springs is making noise about our methods; wants to know where the tip came from. Also, he's challenging for a reduction in bail. We knew the no bail was a long shot; most judges won't keep a guy locked up that long. They had him at half a million; the attorney is arguing that it's unreasonable. The DA is arguing that he's a flight risk because he has no real ties to the community; no family, that kind of thing. He's afraid we'll lose him if gets out."

"Ha! Rebecca, no way are you going to lose him. I guarantee it."

"Ah ... I see."

"He can't run far enough, fast enough. I don't care where he goes; I'll still be able to find him."

"You going to add bounty hunter to secret witness?"

"Well, the money might be nice but I don't think so. More like I'd make sure he turned himself in. He's got a much better chance with the court than he will ever have with me. I already know he's guilty." The rest of what she had said finally registered, "What were you saying about them questioning the tip?"

"Just that. They want to know why we seemed to have the girl staked out. We told them the truth, we got an anonymous tip telling us that he was targeting girls in big families, and someone noticed that all of the girls' family vehicles had those stick figures with the names on them. He's going to flip when he finds out we've got audio on the guy. I'm not sure how I'm going to justify the transmitter."

"Why would you need to?" I asked. "I mean, won't they be more worried about the jury hearing what it picked up than how it got there."

"Welcome to the judicial system. If the attorney thinks he's got a shot at getting a judge to throw it out he'll push, and if the judge tosses it then none of the audio would be admissible in court. I don't think it will hurt the case that much; after all, we caught him in the act of kidnapping her. The torn clothes and the connection to the previous rapes should be plenty. I think if nothing else the DA will keep it as a threat for ammo in the plea-bargaining. The attorney is much more likely to roll over than risk the audio coming out in front of a jury. Little girls screaming have a way of making you look bad."

"I'm still not comfortable with the idea of plea bargaining." I said.

"I understand, its only saving grace is the amount of money it saves the government. If it weren't for the number of cases that are bargained, we would be losing cases because we couldn't bring them to trial in a reasonable time. Unfortunately it does mean that a lot more bad guys seem to get off with a slap on the wrist, but sometimes you have to take what you can get."

I bit my tongue and didn't say any more. "Okay, well, keep me posted on all that and I'll keep you up to date on anything I can get out of Kurtz." As I was putting my phone away I caught the time.

"Wow, I didn't realize it was so late. She must have really been busy if she is just now getting to bed..." I stopped as I suddenly realized what I was saying. Lizzy and Allison were both doing their best not to burst out laughing.

I was doing my best not to blush too much. Then a familiar voice said, "Boys!" and I felt myself go darker. Finally Allison took pity and rescued me by changing the subject.

"So what's the latest news from Fed-Town? You were talking about Roxy, weren't you?"

"Yeah, the police were at the church today asking about her. As long as we don't go back we should be fine. The good news is that no one even has to lie about her. All they know is that they saw her around a couple weekends. No one really talked to her, and no one knows us either so they can't tell them who she was sitting with. We're hoping they will think she moved on. I'll have to talk to Susan about it, I'm sure Roxy will want to go to church, but I think Susan better find some place away from here if she's going to take her."

Since I'd already seen Bob and just talked to Rebecca I was a little surprised when my phone rang again. I was even more surprised when I saw it was Jasmine calling. I had added kind of the ultimate caller ID system to my phone. It actually shows me who is calling.

"My Lady, this is an unexpected pleasure, how may I help you?"

"You flatter me. May I speak with you?"

"Certainly, I will be along shortly." I closed the phone and put it away again.

"Jasmine needs to talk to me, you two want to stay here or should I drop you some place?"

They looked at each other, smiled, and then Allison said, "Here will be fine."

Yeah, I guess it was a stupid question. I kissed them both and made a note to knock before I came back.

There was one more thing I wanted to do before I headed out to see Jasmine. I stepped out into my glade and called, "Walter."

A shaggy shape exploded out of the stream, landed with a soggy-sounding thump, and immediately began shaking himself dry. We'd gone over this before so I waited patiently for him to finish.

"Feel better?" I asked when he finally finished.

"Much, thank you."

"You're going to feel even better in a moment. He's all yours Walter."

His eyes lit with an inner fire, "You mean it?"

"Yes, he and his lawyers have decided to get cute. I'm counting on you to change his mind."

It's so weird watching him try to mimic human behavior ... He sort of knelt/squatted and bowed his head like a Knight swearing fealty to his King. The next part made me a little uncomfortable as it reinforced the idea.

"Thank you, my Lord, he will confess his crimes or he will rue his very existence. I swear it."

"Walter?" I said, eying him uneasily. "I'm no one special and certainly nobody's Lord."

"You are both," he said simply. "But as we both have places we need to be, now is not the time to argue the point." Without another word he turned and dove back into the stream, vanishing as he hit without leaving so much as a ripple behind to mark his passage.

Not wanting to barge into Jasmine's office I stepped into the reception area. The room was empty, so I stepped up and struck the little gong to announce my arrival. Almost immediately one of the sliding panels opened and Jasmine stepped through. I suspect it was May opening the door and closing it behind her but I wasn't sure, and it really didn't matter anyway.

"Thank you for coming." She motioned to one of the low couches, "Please, be seated."

"Thank you. Please forgive the delay; I had some business to attend to that could not wait." I sat down and she joined me, leaving a comfortable yet companionable space between us.

"Do not let it trouble you, I understand. Tea?" She offered.

"Please."

The gong sounded again and this time when the panel opened, Amber entered carrying a tea tray. May closed the panel behind her and then followed, moving a small table in front of us for Amber to set the tray on. As soon as the tray was in place both women knelt by their respective masters and began preparing our tea. Apparently, May had remembered how I had taken mine from our first meeting and instructed Amber as to how it was to be prepared. Both worked with swift, confident movements, presenting us with our cups and settling on the floor beside us to await our pleasure.

Jasmine sipped at her tea and then stroked May's hair, signaling her approval. Following her lead I sipped mine and then kissed Amber's hand.

"Leave us," Jasmine commanded, and without a moment's hesitation or even a second glance, both women rose smoothly and departed, Amber following May and then handling the door for her as they left.

"I would not have thought it possible," Jasmine said. "Her progress is astonishing."

"I was just thinking the same thing. You have done a remarkable job with her."

"No, I can take little credit for her progress, and that has nothing to do with modesty. But, regardless of how it was achieved we are now at a point where you must begin to prepare yourself for your role. I suspect this comes much sooner than you might wish?"

I sighed, "Yes, much sooner, I was expecting to have several months, but that is no excuse. What do I need to do?"

We spoke for what seemed like a long time, Jasmine explaining the physical and emotional dynamics of the relationship between Master and Slave. In the end, it would still include much trial and error. I must let Amber serve me, in all aspects of the word. When she served me well, she would be rewarded, when she did not, she would be punished. The hard part for me was adjusting to what classified as reward and what was punishment. One suggestion was to give her to others from time to time in order to discover the limits of her desires.

"You mean Tanya?"

"Tanya?" she said. "No, definitely not Tanya, that would be pointless as Tanya has no desire to dominate. I had more in mind of her as a ... teaching aid. You would spend time with Tanya, and perhaps another, while Amber would observe. Your sessions with Tanya would be scripted, meaning that you would be instructed beforehand in what you are to do. When you have reached a level of proficiency, Amber will take Tanya's place. You will also observe others with Amber -- May of course — and others. Some you will give her to, others you will merely instruct her to pleasure."

"Excuse me?"

"I suspected you would not like that part," she said with a smile. "You must understand that it will be her desire to please you in ways you are not ready to understand. Publicly for instance; say you are at a reception, sharing drinks or conversation in a casual setting, instruct her to fellate you, or even someone else."

"You're kidding."

"Gross!" Jamie said.

"Behave yourself." I told her. "Remember, we're doing this for Amber. Now be quiet, I don't want to insult Jasmine by appearing to not be paying attention."

Jasmine actually laughed, "Oh no, it is quite common, within certain circles of course, and it will touch her on many levels. There will be shame of course, but there will be pride that you are so proud and sure of her that you would allow her to perform for you before others; to show them that she is yours in all ways. I know it is difficult for you to believe, but that is your age and inexperience, trust me when I say this: she will see it as an act of love, and out of love she will do it for you, gladly, even proudly."

I took a deep breath and sighed heavily, "This is your world, Lady, and I will bow to your expertise. And as time permits I will join you here for ... lessons. Would it be permitted or beneficial to bring others that she has trusted with the knowledge of her station?"

"Oh yes, that would indeed be helpful. It will allow her to become accustomed to displaying her role publicly."

"Very well, it's certainly something I need to work on, so we will begin when you are ready. But please understand that there are several matters which may arise without warning to call me away." I rose to leave.

She rose with me, "Before you go, there is one more thing..." the gong struck again and moments later the door slid open and May entered, followed by Amber who closed the door behind them and then came to kneel beside me. "Amber, pleasure your master, fellate him -- May, assist her."

May rose and took the single step necessary to join Amber before me, unfastening her dress as she knelt. I thought it might be a good idea to lose Amber's crystal training aid; they were going to be working very closely after all and I didn't want Amber to be injured when their bodies pressed together. In moments the two of them had my pants open and had begun kissing my rapidly inflating penis wetly. Bowing to the needs of the moment I changed from jeans and a shirt to a light robe. This allowed them much easier access and as Amber sucked the head into her mouth May began sucking at my dangling testicles. As Amber began taking me deeper into her mouth, May moved aside and began stroking Amber's hair. I thought I was going to die when Amber suddenly plunged all the way down, burying her nose in my pubic hair and me deep in her throat. She then pulled slowly off, licking and sucking as she went. As soon as she was clear of the tip, May moved forward and took over, licking and kissing all around my shaft and balls before taking me into her mouth and sucking hard just around the tip. Without warning, she then took me as Amber had, burying me deep in her throat, then she did something new. She started swallowing, massaging the head with her throat muscles. She did this three or four times before releasing me back to Amber's care. They proceeded to pass me back and forth until finally I could feel the spasms beginning. Immediately Amber pulled back and May began stroking my cock with sure movements, pointing me at Ambers face. In seconds, I erupted and sprayed semen all over her upturned face, After the first two explosions had splattered Amber, May moved me so the rest sprayed all over her. Soon it was over and as May released me and licked the last bit from her hand Amber took me into her mouth and sucked the last few drops out, then turned and kissed May, sharing it with her. The kiss was short and then the two began licking each others faces clean, kissing frequently to share the bounty they were harvesting. It was one of the most intensely erotic sights I had ever seen, and I could feel my erection, which had been fading, begin to grow once more.

Not wanting things to get out of hand I changed back to my jeans and shirt.

"God that was incredible. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to do it, but damn!"

"Look at her face," I told her.

"Wow! She really enjoyed that! They both did."

"Yeah, they did, almost as much as we did. Excuse me for moment." I knelt and kissed Amber hard, chewing at her mouth as my tongue played with hers. May started to shift back, but I quickly turned, caught her by the back of her head and repeated the kiss with her. I could feel her surprise but then she melted into the kiss, her tongue wrestling hard with mine. I broke away after a few moments, then kissed them both on the forehead before standing up and turning to face Jasmine, freezing them as I did.

"Your control is admirable for someone so young," she said.

"Thank you. I am not completely without experience. I thank you for the lesson, Lady."

"It is easier to believe what you see with your own eyes. I trust you noticed May's joy in the act was almost a mirror of Amber's?"

"Oh yeah, that was definitely not the look of someone being forced to do something. I wonder if Amber's joy would be as great if I had them repeat the performance on you?"

She gave a start of surprise but smiled, "I believe it would, and perhaps even exceed it, since this would be the first time you commanded her in this way. We could find out."

"Please? Oh please, Jimmy, that would be so hot to watch."

I chuckled as I released the two kneeling beauties, "Amber, please your Mistress." She immediately rose and moved to unzip Jasmine's long dress. "May, you may assist if it is her will."

May's eyes moved quickly to Jasmine, who nodded her assent. I couldn't tell which had made Amber happier, doing me, or doing Jasmine.

By the time we returned to the cabana Lizzy was already gone. A quick check told me that I had been gone longer than I thought. Her alarm had gone off over an hour ago, and my own would be going off before too much longer. Allison was sitting with her feet in the water, reading.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't realize I had been gone so long."

She sighed, "That's okay, obviously it was something big. It's just, usually; I don't have to wait alone." I could see a tear creep into the corner of her eye.

"Please?" Jamie asked, her voice heavy in my head. I didn't need an explanation. We were both horny as hell after watching the show we had just left.

"I know someone that would like to make it up to you," I suggested.

"You're not serious! You would really do that for me?"

"Really?" Allison asked, standing up and flowing into my arms.

I answered both of them at once, "Absolutely, but not here." The next question came in stereo.

"You can do that?"

"Well, I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I don't see why not. Why don't we find out?" I mentally stepped through the mirror and let Jamie wake up in Allison's arms, then pulled out my Spanish textbook and pretended they didn't exist. An undetermined time later my alarm went off and it was my turn to wake up in Allison's arms. I felt remarkably refreshed.

"Thank you." Jamie said.

"You're welcome. You must have had a really good time, I feel great."

"Mmm, I need a nap. I think I'll go find a sunbeam somewhere and pretend I'm a cat."

"Sweet dreams."

"That was really nice," Allison said, snuggling to my side and kissing chest. "Lizzy was so right. I'll never think of you two as the same again." She bit down lightly on my nipple, "I only wish I could have done something for her. Maybe tonight..."

"Maybe, if we get the chance, but it's not necessary, I enjoyed that almost as much as she did."

I passed the message along, "She said it's not necessary, but if we aren't too busy with other things, you're on."

"What about you?"

"Well, I'm not likely to turn you down, but I had a very satisfying night before we got back."

"Hmm, sounds intriguing. Why don't you go run, and then you can tell me all about it while you wash my hair. Just don't make any plans for after school."

"God, this is going to be such a good day," I said as I climbed out of bed. I kept it short so we'd have more time to catch up. She was suitably impressed with Amber's progress.



-------

Chapter 39: The Challenges of Life


Apparently the teachers had gotten together over the summer and decided that Thursday was going to be test day. Even Bob was in on it. The only classes I didn't have tests in were PE and my TA spot in Bob's beginning class. It was not much of a consolation; Coach Barnes announced that we would be starting the Presidential Fitness Test on Monday and Bob informed me that I was responsible for grading the tests from the beginning psych class. The good news was I aced all my tests, including Spanish. I guess technically I cheated because Jamie was checking all my work as I went and caught all my mistakes. Sweet!

I walked with Susan to meet the others at break and told her that she would need to find a church somewhere out of the area to take Roxy to on Sunday. She had already concluded that they shouldn't go back to the same one, but really didn't know where would be safe. Roxy had suggested a church she had heard about up in the high desert. Apparently her parents had attended a conference with the pastor several years before and had hoped that one day they may be able to visit there and see him preach.

Melinda was still struggling with the loss of Shannon and what it would mean to both her Volleyball and Basketball teams this year, "God, I was so looking forward to playing her this year. I really wanted her to try out for my varsity squad in Volleyball. She would have shocked the crap out of most of the league. No one even knew she played."

"Yes, we'll all miss her, she had a very bright future," Bob said. "I was really looking forward to having her in my class this year."

"Really?" Susan said. "Why?"

"Because she was Jimmy's girlfriend and he was hoping she rubbed off," Mel said.

"What?" Susan said, turning to look sharply at me. "How come I'm the only one who didn't know that?"

"We were doing our best to stay off the radar," I said. "As far as anyone knew she was just Allison's best friend. But me rubbing off on her wouldn't have been necessary; Shannon had her own special brilliance. She had a gift for seeing what other people missed."

"That she did," Bob said, nodding his head.

"Between her and Allison I felt like a low grade moron much of the time."

"That's hard to imagine," Susan said.

"Not for me," Mel said. "Lynn has told me many times how bright she was, and according to her, Allison is one of the smartest kids she's ever met. Lynn even suggested having her test to skip a grade but she wouldn't do it. She said she was already one of the smallest girls in her grade and that skipping a grade wasn't going to help. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to compete at all if she moved up. I can see her having a problem in basketball but her future was always limited there. Now that she's taken up volleyball though, I think she should reconsider. Speaking of volleyball, Jimmy, have you given any thought to playing this year?"

"Not really. I mean, I don't have a problem with playing; I just haven't given it a lot of thought. I've kind of had my hands full. I haven't even practiced since school got out."

"Well, you should think about it. Bob says you'll be taking advanced classes at the college next year, I think with a little hard work you could do well. Maybe get into a city league or even a church league for the experience and you could have a legitimate shot at a scholarship by the time you are ready to move on."

"A church league?"

"Oh yes," she said. "Sports are a very popular form of fellowship. They are usually mixed teams and maybe not quite as aggressive but it would still be a great way for you to hone your skills."

"I'll keep it in mind."

"You should keep in mind that cross country practice starts Monday as well," Bob said. "Speaking of which, Tim came to see me this morning, he's going to run this year, but he says he's worried about being out of shape. I told him he has to try out if he wants to run and to call you if he wants someone to run with."

"Good. I'm glad to see he's decided to move forward; did you talk to him about what I told you?"

"Yes. I'm counting on you to keep an eye on him for me. The best I can do is to keep an eye on his times."

"I'll keep an eye on him and remind him that hurting himself is not going to accomplish anything."

The warning bell rang and we all headed off to our various classes. Bob pulled me aside at the beginning of my psychology class and asked me a question that I needed to give careful consideration, "Jimmy, someday Angela is going to be free to reveal herself to her family. You need to give serious thought to how Tim is going to react to the knowledge that you've known she was alive."

"I hadn't planned to tell him, just act as surprised and happy as everyone else once she comes back."

"I was thinking the same thing and it would have worked, before. As we both know, the situation has changed. Considering your new relationship, you no longer will have the option to say you didn't know. And then there are the more ... complex, aspects of your new relationship."

"Damn, Bob. Thanks a lot. That's a tough one." I thought about it for a second. "He's not going to like it one way or the other. Bob, she's chosen her road, and I don't think Tim is master material. I hope when the time comes he can accept that their relationship is over. She would go with him if I told her to but I would never give her to him. Disaster doesn't begin to cover it. Damn! I'm going to need to give this some serious thought. I'm glad you thought to ask the question before it fell on my head. Maybe we could put it on a pop quiz and I could get some ideas."

"Oh yeah, that would go over real well! Maybe you could sell rocks when they stone me. Just for that I'm telling everyone the test was your idea."

"Another test? What is this; did all of the teachers get together and decide Thursday was going to be test day this year?"

"Are you kidding? Teachers agree on something? Congress has a better chance of balancing the budget."

Yeah, I aced that one too.

Allison was doing homework when I got home but took a break to welcome me properly. Then we headed over to the Davises' to get started on the cleanup process. We started with the outside and then talked about Amber's improvement while we were cleaning Mark and Shannon's old rooms. That was a tough time let me tell you. Mom had been there most of the day going through the refrigerator and cabinets to gather up perishables, throwing away anything that was open, organizing the rest for the inventory crew. Most of the boxed and canned stuff would probably be donated to a local shelter.

"Are you sure you didn't, you know, lean on her a little somewhere along the line?" Allison asked as we were stripping the linens from the beds. "Don't get me wrong, I know it's a good thing and all but still, Jasmine's original estimate was months and now in less than a month she's saying Amber's ready to go out in public. That just seems so ... I don't know."

"I know. Trust me; I'm just as shocked as anyone. I swear I didn't put any extra pressure on her anywhere along the line but still..." I had a sudden thought, "hold on a second."

"Jamie?"

"What?" The way she said it I already knew what was coming.

"Oh no, Jamie, you didn't..."

"Well, she hurt so much, and I wanted to help her, and she really wanted it. I'm sorry Jimmy, I didn't know. Was it really so wrong? I mean, she's so happy now..."

"Jamie helped her," I told Allison.

"Oh, I didn't think of that. She must feel awful. Jamie, it's not your fault and we're not mad at you. Jimmy, tell her we're not mad."

"We're really not." I assured her. It still felt so weird having a conversation this way.

"You promise?" came the pouting reply.



"Yes, I promise. It's okay, but we need to talk to Bob about it and make sure. As long as it was what she really wanted and you just helped her with the training. What exactly did you do? Wait ... don't tell me yet. It'll be a lot easier if you can tell us all at once. We'll just leave it for now and we'll go over it with Bob."

"You're not mad?"

"Jamie, I can't be mad about something you didn't understand. Besides, I know that whatever you did you did out of love. I'm sure it will be fine, but I won't be mad at you either way. Just please talk to me before you do anything like that on your own again, okay?"

"Okay. I love you..."

"I know, and we love you too."



"She's pouting a little but I think she'll be okay," I told Allison. "We'll meet with Bob tonight and she can tell us exactly what she did. We'll let him decide if any of it is a problem, but I promised her we wouldn't be mad at her either way."

"Of course not," Allison said. "She didn't understand what she was doing. That would be like punishing a child for picking a flower to give to his mom."

"See?" I asked.

"Thank you."

"Meanwhile, Bob brought up another problem today. Sooner or later Amber is going to be free to re-enter her life. At that point I'm going to have to deal with Tim finding out I knew she was alive. That part doesn't worry me so much as trying to explain that Amber is now my slave."

Allison just stood and stared at me for a while, glancing around here and there as if trying to see the problem from different angles. Finally she seemed to come to some kind of conclusion, "I have no idea how we are going to be able to handle that without really pissing him off. I think he'll be able to accept that she was in hiding and still in danger. That he can forgive you for not telling him but, Jimmy, I don't think Tim can handle who she has become. We need to give this some serious thought. My first thought is to ask her if she would want to try and be with him again, but that goes against the basic tenet of your relationship.

"God, this is a tough one. Jimmy, as her friend you would be helping her get her life back, but that part of her life may not be good for her. As her Master it is your responsibility to decide for her; to protect her from the kind of pain that being rejected by Tim would carry. And if he can't accept her new status then not only would he reject her but he may actually blame you for the change. Damn, this is going to be tough. You should ask Jasmine about this one. Bob and Lizzy are good to a point, but this ... Amber is not who she was, and even though she loved Tim before ... I don't know. I'm sorry, Jimmy, but I can't help you on this one, it's way over my head."

"Actually you already have, just by confirming what I've already been thinking. For now I'm not going to worry about it. When the time comes, I will talk to Jasmine and decide. For now, there is no point in buying trouble. Did you see Roxy at school today?"

The rest of the evening was pretty routine; dinner and homework, followed by a little time relaxing in the pool. I made a point of calling Roxy to check on her and make sure she knew we were thinking of her. She asked if she could come over after school again on Friday to swim, and I went a step further and cleared it with my mom to let her spend the night.

"That was sweet what you did for Roxy, taking one for the team like that." Allison said as we cuddled up for the night. "You do realize that means you're sleeping alone, right?"

"She's worth it," I answered, kissing her nose as I hugged her. "Besides, I still have all night with you anyway. Too bad Jamie can't come out and play."

"You're so sweet."

Allison didn't say anything for a second and I looked to see if something was wrong. I'm not sure if she realized I was watching her or what but she suddenly changed the subject. "So what is the plan for tonight anyway, besides talking to Bob about Amber and all that?"

"I really don't have much of a plan, more like a list of things to do if I get the chance. Vegas is my number one priority right now, but if Kurtz comes available I really have to handle him first just because I don't know when I'll get another chance. Somewhere in there I need to spend some time with Jasmine, partly to talk about how to handle the thing with Tim and partly because there is so much I need to learn about my role as Amber's Master. I'd like to spend a little time with Amy and see if she can tell me anything about what happened the other night. Then there is learning more about working with Jamie..."

"Okay, I get the picture. Am I in there somewhere?"

"Allison don't be silly, I'm counting on you to go with me for most of them, especially Vegas. I can't take Lizzy to see the girls and now that Shannon is gone you're the only one that I can count on to keep me out of trouble, especially with Jamie along."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ooh, I'll bet she didn't like that!" Allison said, trying hard not to giggle.

"Come on now, you both know what I mean. Jamie, you know very well how I react to what goes on up there. And I don't have a little box I can shove all that into any more."

"Yes, you do."

"What? Jamie I promised you I wouldn't do that to you any more."

"It is so weird listening to one half of these conversations," Allison said.

"Yeah? You should try handling both of them at the same time. Excuse me for a minute."

"Jamie, what are you talking about?"

"Jimmy, you promised me you wouldn't stick me back in the box, alone in the dark. But I can still serve that purpose for you. I'm not the ... what I was before, but I still love the dark stuff. Trust me, I can handle it, it won't hurt me. I'll just stick it away in case we ever need to use it."

"You can do that?"

She laughed, "You could say I was born to do it."

"Okay," I said. "Jamie says I can still use the box to tuck the bad stuff away without hurting her. In fact she says she likes it. Probably another reason to have a chaperone along, if I'm already pissed and then push her button, God only knows what kind of damage we'll do."

Allison just laughed and said, "Well it's good to know, I was a little worried about how you were going to handle that. If you couldn't compartmentalize your anger and stuff it would be almost impossible to do this. As for Jamie, I think she can behave herself when she has to. She handled Mikkelson okay and I know she wasn't happy about him. So I guess it's just a question of who is available as to where we start and what order we go in."

"Pretty much, yeah, but I think I want to start with you."

"Me too."

"I think I'd like that," Allison said, rolling on top of me and kissing me passionately.

It was late before we got to sleep. Jamie may not have a lot of use for male equipment but she was certainly interested in the sensations involved in using it on Allison.

"I don't know what she sees in it but if it's half as good for her..."

"Maybe you can try it out next time it's just the two of you" I suggested.

"I don't know, I mean, 'riding along' is okay but I'm not sure I could ... what if I do it wrong?"

I wanted to laugh but I did my best not too, "Oh, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie. You have no idea how funny that sounds." I could feel her getting a little defensive and embarrassed, "But I do understand where you are coming from. Would you like me to talk to Allison about it for you? I'm sure she would love to help you get the hang of it."

"Would you?"

I guess I hadn't done that good a job of suppressing the chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Allison asked.

She didn't do a very good job either. I could feel my body temperature rising as a result of Jamie's embarrassment. Then Allison kissed me and said, "I would be happy to help you learn how to use all the new toys, Jamie." She paused and then giggled, "Wow, this is cool. I get to be your first time all over again. Shannon has got to be laughing her ass off at this." Then she yawned and settled herself in against my/our side and we drifted off together.

The night went rapidly down hill from there as I 'woke up' in my least favorite closet waiting for 'daddy' to get home and molest the girl hiding next to me. This was another of the more advanced sequences where I heard everything except his voice.

Allison showed up briefly but left as soon as she figured out where we were, saying, "No thanks, sorry to bail on you but I really don't need to see this again. Let me know if anything changes. Meanwhile, if you don't mind, send me to the beach and I'll wait for you there."

As always I wished there was something I could do. Jamie felt the same way.

"If only we could figure out who she was, maybe we could generate something we could control." She suggested as we walked down the beach towards Allison.



"No kidding. Whoever she is, this must have happened a lot for her to be so focused on the same scene all the time."

"Yeah, there has to be more to it. Something had to have happened before or she wouldn't be hiding in the closet trying to avoid him. And it's not very likely that it was the only time, there must be more that we're not seeing, before and after. Maybe we should talk to Bob about it, see if there is anything he could suggest?"

"Can't hurt, and we'll be seeing him about Amber anyway so remind me to bring it up. Do we want to talk to him about what happened last night when you were out too long?"

"Jimmy, you promised you weren't going to keep anything from him any more. I don't think there is anything he can do or even suggest, it's not like there are reference materials on us anywhere, but he may be able to come up with some ideas to explain why it happened."



Allison was apparently doing homework while she waited. She looked up as we approached, "Anything new?"

"No, just the same frustrating scene."

"Have you ever waited until it runs out on its own, or do you leave once it gets to a certain point? Since it's changed I mean."

"No, I just leave as soon as I can. I mean, I probably could leave sooner, but I keep hoping that something will be different so I stay until I give up. Why?"

"I don't know, I was just thinking that maybe since it's sort of escalated on its own, at least in detail, which is kind of a subjective 'more', that there may be 'more' more as well. What do you think?"

"I think if you're right I'm going to kick myself for not thinking of it, and if you're wrong I may strangle you for making me sit through it again."

"Seems a little harsh for a simple failed experiment," She said with a smile. "Maybe you could try to fuck me to death instead."

"Maybe I'll just turn you over to Easy again, only this time I won't give you a safe word."

"Ooh, now there is a hollow threat. She couldn't do it. It's not in her nature, she couldn't go that far, couldn't make herself go that far. She'd go farther than her partner might think they want to, but never beyond what they truly desire or approve. She would see the change instantly and stop."

"I'll have to think of something new. Listen, I still have stuff to do with Jasmine, do you want to see Bob before or after I see her? Is there someplace you want to go while I'm tied up? I'm kind of lost for what to do with you without Shannon to keep you company."

"Jasmine ties you up? How come I don't get to?" I glared at her. "I'm kidding! As long as you keep it short you could leave Jamie with me. We could work on our volleyball game. If anything happens with her like before I can always call you and you can either come back or merge from where you are."

"Jamie, does that sound okay to you? You won't be worried about being apart that long?"

"Yes, and we need to do this. I trust you to rescue me if anything goes wrong."

"Okay, that sounds good. Set a timer or something so we can get an idea how much subjective time passes before she has a problem. I wish we had done that when you two went off to deal with Mikkelson. It didn't seem that long to me but I wasn't there so ... maybe if we get the chance, you can show it to me later and we'll see how much time actually passed for you while we were apart." I had decided to experiment with some other things related to Jamie as well. Since she had no problem leaving whenever she needed to, I thought I would try it. "Kiss me," I said, pulling Allison into my arms. A few seconds into the kiss I moved to Jasmine's waiting room, leaving Jamie behind to finish up for me."

"That was sneaky," Jamie said.

"I thought I would try it to see if it would work."

"Well, next time warn me so I have time to get dressed."

I swallowed hard, "You mean ... I'm so sorry, it never occurred to me..." the sound of them both laughing stopped me. "Very funny."

"I thought so."

The trouble was, I would have thought it was funny too, if it hadn't been me. Bob and Rebecca were right, some of the things we said, things that made perfect sense given the situation, sounded really weird from an outside perspective. I rang the gong and waited for Jasmine to take me to tonight's lesson. I was surprised when June showed up to collect me, dropping to her knees in the accustomed position.

"My Mistress has directed me to entertain you while you wait, how may I please you?"

Just what I needed; another test. I took a moment to consider the possibilities. Why had Jasmine sent her? She knew that I was not a casual person since I refused them all the first night; knew that my experience was limited. Why send me a slave? With the question came the answer. I needed to understand how it felt for someone to gift me in this manner. I needed to consider how the slave would feel to be rejected, to consider her needs.

"Such a beautiful gift," I said, reaching to lift her up, kissing her lightly when she stood before me. "Your Mistress is far too kind. Tell me June, how would you please me?"

"Master, it would be my pleasure to please you in any way you desire."

"Really? Tell me June..." I released the catch at her neck and her dress slid to the floor in a pool at her feet, revealing a lacy white g-string as her only undergarment. Leaning in I sucked her right nipple into my mouth, caressing it with my tongue. It grew firm but didn't really get hard until I reached with my hand and tugged on the silver ring in her left breast, then they both popped to attention so fast I swear I could almost hear it. Her back arched towards me and a groan of pleasure escaped her lips. "Besides your obvious physical charms, what else do you offer? Do you play an instrument of any kind?" I pulled back and waited for her reply.

"I play the piano, Master, and I am learning the violin." There was an obvious pride in her tone, but a hint of sadness as well, that I might once more deny us both.

"Excellent, perhaps you would play for me sometime. For now..." I tweaked the nipple ring once more and then kissed her gently, " ... is there someplace private that we can go?"

Without hesitation she led me to a very tastefully appointed chamber, more of a hallway really, with several doors opening out from it. She opened panels on opposite sides, exposing two rooms. One was a traditional bedroom suite with a large four-poster bed as well as a seating area with a small table and chairs. The other room consisted of a low table for refreshment and wide variety of cushions, ranging from small throw pillows up to one the size of a queen size bed. Feeling adventurous I decided on the cushions, indicating my choice by waving her into the room. Not really sure where to go from there, I simply closed the panel behind me as I entered and said, "Seduce me." It was an educational experience. June was no where near Tanya's level but she did like a little pain with her pleasure. I discovered her other piercing a short while later and wondered if it was new, since I had not seen it the first time I met her.

She beamed with pride that I had noticed, "Yes, Master, I only got it two weeks ago. I have only been released from medical restriction since yesterday; you will be my first real experience since I received it."

Received it? "It was a gift then?"

"Yes Master. A client wished to give me something special to remember him by. I can't wait to try it out."

As I said, it was an educational experience.

We were sitting comfortably together sharing a bottle of water when Jasmine arrived with Amber in tow. Amber seemed somewhat distressed to discover me in June's company and I realized that this was to be the second part of the lesson. I froze the scene and spoke to Jasmine.

"Am I correct that her expression is unacceptable? That it is not her concern where or with whom I find pleasure?"

"Very good," she said. "Now you must decide how you will handle it."

"I am out of my depth here, Lady. I must ask your guidance in this matter."

I actually felt Jamie arrive, "What did I miss?"

Shit. I froze Jasmine as well, "Another test, this one in two parts. The first was Jasmine giving me June."



"Damn! Why couldn't I have been here for that part?"

"Yeah, you missed out there, sorry. The second part is more of a problem, look at Amber's face."

"Ooh, not happy. Naughty girl."

"Exactly, I'm asking Jasmine what a proper response would be."



There was a pause before she said, "Jimmy? Maybe you should go study for awhile."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're a nice guy and this sort of thing really bothers you. It's not your fault and you are trying, but I don't know if you're really ready for this yet."



"And you are?"

"C'mon Jimmy, I've got a bitch streak a mile wide. You think I wanted to let Mikkelson off the hook? I probably would have fought you on Parry if the girls hadn't been so upset. I love Amber just as much as you do, and it won't hurt me to do this for her the way it will you; you're just not a punishment kind of guy. Please, Jimmy, let me do this for you? If you want to see it, I'll show it to you later. It will be easier for you after you've seen what it does for her. Talk to Lizzy if you're not sure. You could take her with you, or maybe take Allison along and have her show you what we did for Detective Shithead."

"I didn't know I could take someone in there with me."

"Live and learn. You know that whole dream within a dream thing you used to talk about? It's kind of like that."

"Okay, I'll trust you on this. Wake me up when it's over. One quick question; why did you come when you did?"

"I suddenly felt tired."

"Smart girl, were you and Allison keeping track of time?"



Again there was a pause, "Not exactly."

I couldn't help but smile, "That's okay, we'll try it again later. Good night."

She wasn't kidding about it being very different, I thought of Allison and found her in a beach chair studying. When I thought of bringing her to me it was like moving an actual weight, I felt the strain and apparently she did too.

"Wow!" She said, once she arrived. "That was weird. What just..." she looked around. The view was sort of plain; I hadn't really envisioned any kind of landscape. I thought of the glade and it started to take shape around us, but it was like building it in a bubble, you could see edges in the distance and there was a hint of darkness still behind the sky. "Whoa, totally weird!"

"Yeah, no kidding, Jamie said it would be different. Tell me, was that how it felt when I moved you and Lizzy that time before Shannon died?"

"Kind of, but that was more like slow motion, this was more like being dragged here and stuffed inside a bubble." She looked around. "It is kind of like a bubble, isn't it?"

"I guess, I know it's different, it seems more ... finite, I guess. There is a discernable end to it where normally it looks like a whole separate world."

"Could be perception," she said. "We never really tried finding an end to one of the regular dreamscapes; of course we've never really had a reason to either. For all we know they could all just be bigger versions of this one." She turned back to me, "By the way, did you have a reason for bringing me here"

"Yeah, I needed something to do while Jamie is busy and she suggested that I either study or talk to you. I'm pretty well caught up with all my schoolwork, so I picked you. She said maybe you could show me what she did with Mikkelson."

Allison

We had arrived in the usual scene. Mikkelson was strapped into his seat, unable to leave, move, look away or even close his eyes to shut out the images appearing on the screen before him. Tonight he was back to victim number one, Diane McKenzie. At the moment she was bound hand and foot to a medium size bed, a blindfold over her eyes, still wearing the clothes she was kidnapped in. She was just waking up from the drugs used during her abduction. You could see her terror building as she realized her situation. The disorientation as she realized that the darkness no longer had anything to do with being asleep, but that something was covering her eyes. When she tried to reach and remove it she discovered that she was also tied up. Then the screaming started as she tried to call attention to herself in hopes that someone would help her, never realizing that she was already the center of attention for the last audience she would ever have. The panicked intake of breath when her captor, after waiting for her to give up screaming, made a noise and she realized she was not alone. The moment of hope that somehow, someone had found her. Then he touched her, at first she didn't know what to think, then she felt something against her leg, something cold brushing the skin of her ankle and lower leg as he inserted the shears into the opening of her slacks and began to cut the material.

You could feel Mikkelson's pain as the screaming started again, this time begging and pleading that whoever it was would not do this to her, the crying out to God to deliver her. Eventually he had cut all the way around the pants, inseam and outer leg, all the way to her waist, so that only the thin piece at her crotch held the fabric in place. She froze as he slid the cold steel between her legs, holding her breath until, with a final, single snip; the fabric was free to pull away. You could feel her shame as he made three more quick snips and her most intimate area lay bare before his gaze. Tears flowed, followed by more begging, then swearing, and threats. These stopped when he wadded her panties into a ball and stuffed them into her mouth. She tried to spit them out but he quickly pulled the other half out from under her and stuffed it in behind the first, filling her mouth to the point where it was all she could do to breathe without sucking the material down her throat and choking on it.

Finally, for the very first time, a new voice spoke, "Do we have to watch this again?"

Mikkelson was shocked when he instinctively turned toward the sound and his head actually moved. Diane McKenzie sat two seats away wearing the blue dress she had been found in. Her hair and makeup still looked perfect, the nail polish still shined.

"I'm sorry," Mikkelson said. The shock of hearing his own voice was evident on his face.

"Are you?" A new voice asked.

Mikkelson's head swiveled to find Maria Pena standing in front of the big screen. Behind her the killer was attaching clips to Diane's nipples.

"Yes, oh God, yes," Mikkelson answered, his eyes shying away from the scene playing behind her.

"Then make it stop." Amanda Watkins said from the seat behind him.

"Please Daddy?" His little girl said as she walked up next to Maria and took her hand. "Please don't make us do it again, Daddy."

Tears all but exploded from Mikkelson's eyes as his body shuddered and shook with the force of his sobs. Then he screamed, "I can't! Don't you think I've tried? Do you think I want to sit here, night after night and watch..."

"I can make it stop," Angela's voice cut him off.

Mikkelson's head snapped back as looking up he saw her face now filling the screen.

In a voice dripping with disdain, Angela went on, "I could make it all go away Detective Sergeant Mikkelson. But why should I? I died because of your ego. Because you couldn't keep your mouth shut, the bastard that killed them came for me."

"You don't know that," He said defensively, "he might have..."

"He might have been caught!" She screamed at him. "The FBI was already onto him, they already had a database of potential targets, all they had to do was wait until it was time for him to kill again and they could have caught him. Maybe they wouldn't have, maybe they would, but maybe I wouldn't have had to spend the last month of my life being tortured and raped. Maybe we wouldn't all be wondering who he's going after next. So far we've been lucky; he's changed the game and decided to rub someone's nose in just how impossible it is to catch him. What if he gets bored, Stephen, what if he decides to take his ball and go find another place to play? How long will it take to find him again? How many more girls will have to suffer the way we did? How many more families will have to go through what ours did? How many Mr. Hot-shot Detective? Maybe he'll come for your little girl next, how would you like to lay awake at night and know that everything you've dreamed about here is happening to her for real? Do you like watching him fuck her? Do you like hearing her scream and beg as he stuffs that great big cock up her..."

"Noooo!" He sobbed. "Noooo, please just make it stop. I'm sorry. I was wrong. I'm sorry, oh please God just make it stop! I'll do anything, please, just don't make me watch him hurt her again."

"Anything, Detective? Anything? Will you confess to your crime? Will you tell your boss what you did? Will you call the FBI and the newspaper and tell them that I died because you couldn't keep your mouth shut?"

"Anything," He sobbed, head on his chest.

"Beg me, Stephen; beg me to forgive you, because I don't care about the rest any more. I don't care if they know, beg me to forgive you and maybe I'll let you sleep at night again."

"Please," he whispered. "Please, forgive me. I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head from side to side, "I'm so sorry. I swear, never again, just don't make me hurt them again."

"Get out of here Stephen, crawl back to your bed and when you wake up you better remember the promises you've made tonight, because I won't forget them, and you don't want me to come back again, Stephen, you really don't want me to come back."

Free to move after all these months, Detective Sergeant Stephen Mikkelson fled the small theater as if hell itself chased him. Out the door and down the narrow hallway to the lobby, and when he finally hit the big double doors he emerged, not into sunlight, but into the darkness of his bedroom, where he lay panting and exhausted in the dark and wept for what he had done. And when the tears finally stopped, he prayed that it was really over.

"You think that will do it?" Jamie asked as we watched Mikkelson flee down the hallway.

"Damn girl, that was awesome. I was expecting us to maybe do a little role-playing; maybe a little good cop, bad cop, and let him squirm a little before we let him off the hook."

"That would have been too easy," she said, and there was a certain ... intensity to the way that she said it."He didn't deserve it, why make it any easier than necessary? This he'll remember."

"Yeah, no shit. That was pretty awesome though, the way you let all the girls confront him."

"I figured getting him to apologize to Rebecca was an ego problem for him, but apologizing to and asking forgiveness from the girl that died he wouldn't have a problem with. Plus, suggesting that he was being haunted by a dead girl gets him off the idea that Rebecca was somehow responsible."

"You're good."

"Not really, but I have the benefit of all the time Jimmy spent working with you and Shannon. Shall we go give him the good news?"

Jimmy

"And then we came back," Allison said. "I couldn't believe how fast she fixed it, or how she did it. You know, we spend so much time handling things personally, like you did with Parry, having Shannon go in and give him a ticket, when we really don't have to."

"Probably true, but I think the personal interaction is important. It keeps me reminded that these are people we're playing with, not just imaginary figures. I'm affecting people's lives and I think it's important to not lose sight of that."

"So you disagree with her method?"

"No, not at all, I think she handled it really well, I'm just saying that I prefer to be more hands-on when I can. I think it keeps me focused and more accountable. What she just did is exactly what she did to put us in this situation in the first place; no interaction, just visions. Not her fault, it's what she's used to and it's the only way she's ever done it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that her way is better or worse than mine, but I think that it's important to always, always, have someone around to keep us accountable for what we do. If we had known what she was doing before, then the problem never would have come up. Plus, she just told me that she didn't want to let Mikkelson off. We have to remember that this is all very new to her, and make sure that someone is always with her, to help guide her and keep her from 'reacting' and doing things she shouldn't. She made a point earlier of reminding me that she is still very much 'the beast in the box, ' just a more grown up version. Allison, she's not my opposite, but she is ... the other side of the coin if you will. She was born and grew up on my darker aspects. She gained a lot from me when she grew up, but that is still the core of who she is."

"He's right." Jamie's voice said. We looked around but she was no where to be seen. Then I looked up and it was like she was outside the bubble looking down at us. "You can come out now, Jimmy, we're finished."

"I'm guessing I don't want to ask?" I said, speaking out loud so Allison wouldn't feel left out.

"No, not yet; give it day or so, spend some time with her, then if you want, I'll give you the details. This is going to make that talk with Bob that much more important. I'm at the beach waiting for you."

I took Allison's hand and moved us out of the bubble. In my mind I could feel it burst behind me. I wasn't expecting it and the sensation reminded me how different the whole environment had felt.



-------

Chapter 40: Progress

As we stepped out of the tent and on to the sand, Allison said, "Well that was certainly a lot easier than going in. So, do I want to ask what that was all about?"

"Amber." I answered.

She nodded her understanding as she said, "Ah, yes, I see. Enough said. So, what do we want to do next?"

"Well," I answered as we moved over to where Jamie was waiting for us, "barring unforeseen emergencies, I'd like to talk to Bob about the problem with Jamie and me being separated. It seems odd to me that when she is gone to someone else's dream it's a problem, but when we're just, I don't know, ignoring each other, like just now, it's not."

"It's not just when you're in different people's dreams," Allison said. "We were still in your dream earlier tonight, plus you were together in the same dream, your dream, when she collapsed before. So it's somehow different. There is something else coming into play here." She turned to Jamie, "Did you get tired at all just now, when you were doing whatever it was your were doing and Jimmy and I were tucked away in the bubble?"

"No," Jamie answered. "But then, it wasn't for as long as before either. It wasn't that much shorter but then I don't really feel anything before it happens anyway, there's no real warning."

"Okay," Allison said. "Then that's a good thing, because now you have an approximation of how much time you actually have. 'That long' is okay. A little longer may be okay; the question is, 'how much longer' is a little longer? Maybe you should make yourself a watch or timer or something that's programmed to automatically start when you separate, then warn you when you reach the maximum 'safe' time that you are sure of. Then you can get back together, or at least closer together and monitor how much more time you have."

"That sounds reasonable," Jamie answered. "Do we still need Bob?"

A new voice whispered to me, "Sebastian?"

I looked at Jamie, "Did you hear that?"

She nodded, "Yeah, looks like we've got plans." She turned and kissed Allison on the cheek, "Sorry to kiss and run but we have to go see Kurtz. I reset your key so you can go see Lizzy if you want." She stepped into me, the sensation was hard to describe, "C'mon big brother, let's go see if we can find a way to catch this guy."

Kurtz was actually up and pacing when we arrived. Funny that I was now thinking of us as we when we were together even though it was really still 'me' in reality. What was different this time was that we didn't stop at the hallway but appeared in the cell with him right away. Something else seemed wrong though. I couldn't put my finger on it but something just seemed ... missing.

"You wished to see me?" I said. Immediately his head swiveled toward the sound.

"You came." There was a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Of course, I told you I would."

"Forgive me, my friend, after so long alone, it is hard to imagine someone placing such importance in me."

"I think it's more than that," I said. "I think that after so long with people in your life being more interested in your other, it is hard to believe anyone is interested in you at all. Rene, I don't want to mislead you, my only interest in you is to stop him. To me your life is a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare himself, but I am using you just like everybody else has used you; the only difference is that I am doing so with your knowledge and for a purpose that I believe you support. If we are successful, if we stop him, it means that you will die, but as tragic as that may be; I believe that this is what you want. Am I right to think this?"

"You are right, my friend, oh so very right. If my death is the price of stopping him, then so be it; it cannot come soon enough. So long as that is your goal, I am yours, use me as you see fit, only stop him. That is all I ask."

"Very well, I think we should start using their own training against them."

"Them?" he asked.

"Them," I said. "The ones that did this to you, they trained you in order to train him. So let's see if we can't use some of that training. Rene, if he was not you but some other killer on the loose, how would you stop him?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were a trained analyst. If I brought you the case of an assassin recently chased from his carefully crafted alias, forced into the light as it were, how would you go about stopping him?"

"It would depend on the circumstances. Has he fled to another place?"

"No, he is still in the same area."

"Then there are only two possibilities; either he has a second identity already in place, or he is crafting one." He began to pace again. "I do not think he can have one already in place. Not in the same area. It would require that others know him to be convincing. In another area, yes, but to hide in plain sight requires documentation, residency, employment. All these things mean people that you must interact with convincingly. How long had he been in place before being exposed?"

"Roughly four years, give or take."

"Then he cannot have a second identity so close. He had a job?"

"Yes. He had assumed the identity of a pharmaceutical rep."

"Then he would be known over a large area, within certain circles at least. This would take up too much time to allow for a second professional life; there would be too much chance of conflicting schedules. If that is so, then he has lost his income, which means he is working from his reserves. Still, he may have had enough cash available to survive for some time."

"If he did, then he kept it somewhere else," I said, "he didn't have time to take anything with him."

"You are sure of this?" He asked, turning to look at me.

"Quite sure. Since then the FBI has been monitoring any activity under his former name; banks, credit cards, everything."

He resumed his pacing, "Of course. Then they are surely monitoring for large transactions moving in and out of the area. But there are many ways to move money. I would look for anyone in the area making unusual stock transactions; particularly sales which do not follow their previous pattern or seem out of place. Selling when the market is rising for instance, wholesale liquidations of assets. Or he could be moving money through a third party source. But that is expensive and dangerous, so I do not think it is likely. Generally you must be known before such sources will deal with you. For a high enough percentage they will do it anyway, but it tends to be prohibitively expensive. The higher the amount the higher the commission you must pay." He paused again, "Or he is using another identity and moving the money in small enough amounts to not call attention to himself. What was the name he used?"

"Kenneth Riley."

"There is a clue; he will always use those initials; the opposite of mine. Undercover he used Kienen Rietz, Kronus Ramadi, Karl Reich; always the same initials."

"That is something to look for. But wouldn't Interpol know this? Wouldn't they have provided a list of his known aliases to monitor?"

"Probably, but not necessarily. There are those, were those, in positions of power that may withhold certain pieces for their own interests. There was a larger agenda that I was not aware of, obviously. Whether or not he knew the details I cannot say. I do not know who was behind what I became, but he may."

"So you think he is relying on money coming in from a hidden source?"

"Almost certainly; most likely an offshore account, a numbered account perhaps, something that does not require a name, merely a number and a series of passwords." He stopped suddenly. "I ... there is something ... a man in a gray suit..." he put his hands to his temples in the classic pose of someone trying to massage a memory free.

Without thinking I rushed forward and touched his ankle, "Show me."

His body went rigid and a scene formed around us. A tall man, incredibly thin, very professional in appearance sat at a desk across from us, he handed us a card with a series of numbers on it. There were two other sets of numbers on the bottom, they looked like phone numbers. The mystery man confirmed that as he handed us the paper.

"Here is your account number Mr. Renquist, if you will enter it into the computer you will then be prompted to enter a series of passwords, with these passwords you will be able to access the account via phone or computer from anywhere in the world. This number will work from anywhere in the world, simply check with the local phone company to get the right code for international calls. It is important that you keep your account number and passwords somewhere very safe Mr. Renquist, they are all anyone would need to access the account. They may be changed at any time. Simply call in and give us the account number along with the current series of passwords, then request a password reset. There are only four employees that can reset passwords; one of them is always in the bank, twenty four hours a day. If you should ever forget a password series the only way to access the account will be in person, so be sure to keep track of any changes you make."

I watched as the passwords were typed into the computer, and then stepped back.

As soon as I broke contact the image disappeared and Kurtz swore, "Damn, just for a moment I could swear I saw someone."

I felt an urgent need to be somewhere else. "Don't dwell on it, Rene. It is likely it was his memory, not yours; you don't want to draw attention to yourself by pushing too hard. I must leave for a while. I want to discuss what you have told me with the people looking for him. I hope it will be helpful. Call me if you think of anything else." I slipped out the door and into my office.

"Thank God! I thought you were never going to come out of there," Jamie said.

"Why didn't you say something?"

She didn't answer.

"Jamie? Jamie what's wrong?"

She was quiet for moment before she finally said, "I don't know. Jimmy, I tried to talk to you, but I couldn't make you hear me?"

"What do you mean you couldn't? Wait, you said you thought I wasn't coming out? Weren't you with me?"

"No," she said. "I mean, yeah I was there, but at the same time ... I don't know, it was like I was outside the door or something. I could hear you talking, even see what you saw, but I couldn't seem to make you hear me. All I could do was just sit in the dark and watch."

"What? That makes no sense." I could feel there was something she was holding back. "Jamie? Jamie, you said it was like you were sitting in the dark. Were you ... back in the box?"

I could almost feel the tears falling. "I ... I think so."

"Jamie, I'm sorry. I swear..."

She cut me off, "No, it wasn't your fault. You didn't know." She paused. "Jimmy, it's okay, really. It was important."

"No, it's not okay," I said. "But it's not like we can change it; what were you trying to say to me?"



"Nothing really, you were doing great on your own, mostly I just wanted you to come out. I don't like it in there."

"Well, that I can certainly understand. Jamie, are you okay? You didn't get weak again or anything?"

"No, it was nothing like that. I was still ... with you, I guess, just not 'with' you, if you know what I mean."

"At the end I felt like I really needed to leave, was that you?"

"Maybe, I can't be sure, but I really wanted you out of there bad at the end. It was like something was coming, looking for you. It started when you played his memory and the longer you watched the closer it got."

"Shit! Then I was right, Rene was tapping his memory and it attracted attention."

"I think so. Jimmy, we need to use what we saw, and if we do I think we can solve two really big problems all at once. You know how Allison was saying that you needed cash to be safe if anything went wrong?"

"Yeah."

"We've got his account number and passwords. Let's clean him out, just take everything, then he has no income and maybe he'll have to expose himself and Rebecca will have a shot at him and..."



It was my turn to cut her off, "Wait a second." I pulled out my phone and called Rebecca.

"Hi, it's me. Have you got a second?"

"I don't know," she answered. "What time is it? Of course I have time for you. Hold on, let me find a door..."

The door to the office opened and she walked in. "So what's up?"

"I just came from seeing Kurtz. We talked about how he would go about catching him, the killer that is; if it were a case he was working. He had some ideas, things like disrupting his cash flow."

"We've already been trying that; we can't find where the money is coming from."

"I'm sure you have, but maybe I can narrow your search. For some reason he always uses the same initials."

"Now that is interesting. I don't suppose he gave you a list of aliases?"

"He gave me a few, stuff he had used in the past for undercover work; Kienen Rietz, Kronus Ramadi, Karl Reich; always the opposite initials of his own."

"Well, he's still following the pattern. He worked Vegas as Keith Richards the year before he killed Diane. Helped set up the system for the hotel he dumped Amanda's body in; then he became Kenneth Riley, so the pattern is the same. Hmm, I wonder if the real Riley stayed in Vegas about the same time? I think I'll do a little digging there and see if maybe that's where he made the change. Anything else?"

"Don't tell her about the account." Jamie said.

"Why not?"

"I'll explain later."

I was getting better at doing two conversations at once; there was no interruption in my conversation with Rebecca at all. "He said to look for unusual stock transactions, someone dumping stocks that don't make sense. You know, selling stocks that are rising, that sort of thing. He said the only other options for moving a lot of money was too expensive."

"True. There are people that will move it for you, but they charge big time commissions; the larger the transaction the bigger their percentage. It's understandable considering if they get caught they could lose everything, you'd have to be pretty desperate to do it that way. So far he doesn't seem desperate or hurried about anything."

"What would happen if we found a way to cut off his cash flow?"

"Hard to say, depends on how much we hurt him. If we could get it all he'd be forced to do something. What worries me is what he might do. A lot depends on how many options he has. If he has several and we take out one or two he may decide that it's too hot to continue the game and move. As much as he may be enjoying yanking my chain and watching me dance, I don't think he'd risk actually getting caught. At best he might move out and regroup, then come back. If his line is secure enough, he may have only the one. If we could take that one out ... he'd have to do something."

"What about a numbered account? Would that be harder to track?"

"Depending on the bank, it could be damn hard. A lot of the older ones pretty much thumb their noses at the international community. They made their names by not caring who they work with, guaranteeing total anonymity and security. No names, just numbers; so they never have to worry about things like warrants and subpoenas. Some of them have billions in unclaimed assets drawing interest because the clients are dead or in prison. If anyone were to show up with the right account number and password they wouldn't bat an eye over handing over the money. For the right fees they would simply overnight the money in untraceable bills anywhere in the world."

"Is that the kind of account you had Mr. Rodriquez set up for me?"

"Yes, not quite like that but a numbered account somewhere outside the country. When everything settled down after my trip to Washington I forgot to ask him about it. I don't want the details but he should have your account number and passwords. You should get them from him and then change the passwords."

"Would that be enough? I mean, if he set the account up through any official channels..."

"Jimmy, trust me. Nothing Rod did on this went through any channels that could be traced. Still, I see your point. It might not be a bad idea to set up a different account, and then transfer everything. That would give you a clean start that no one official would know about. After what they put me through in Washington I have no illusions about just how far some people in the government would go to get the information if they thought Rod had it. Changing the passwords should be enough, but if they had the account number, the right kind of pressure, they might be able to get someone to bend the rules enough to get to you. What you really need is a way to transfer the money without a record of the move. But that takes very high-level access. We're talking bank president, eyes-only access. Someone who could make the transaction and then erase the record."

"That's interesting," Jamie said.

"Okay then, I'll get the information from Mr. Rodriguez and see about moving the money to a different account, just in case. I'll let you know if we come up with anything you might be able to use."

Something in her voice said she knew I was up to something but wasn't quite sure if she wanted to know what. "Fine, just try to warn me before anything big happens. If you hurt him there is no telling what he may do and I want to be ready."

"I will, talk to you later." I put the phone away. "What's on your mind?"



"Clean him out. He may have other irons in the fire but chances are that account is where most of his money is coming from. I say we get a hold of Mr. Rodriguez, get the information we need, then set up a couple of accounts, one for our money, and a second one to use for other things. The first thing we use it for is to transfer every penny out of that numbered account."

"Assuming we have the right passwords."

"Well duh. If we don't then we keep looking until we find the right passwords and then do it. He can't hide long without money. Depending on how much he has locally he may be able to survive for a while but sooner or later he'll have to do something."

"True, but in his case, 'something, ' is a big category. He could go back into the assassination game for starters."

"Jimmy, he's not the only contract killer out there, contracts he passes up would be picked up by someone else anyway. Besides, maybe the FBI could trap him with a phony job. Either way, he has to do something. I'm thinking that if his account suddenly comes up empty then he is going to want to find out why and how. They won't do anything for him over the phone without the right passwords. If we changed the passwords when we're done then he would have to go there in person and see Mr. Gray-suit before they would even talk to him. If what Rebecca said is true then they likely won't do anything for him even then. He was warned about securing his passwords, if someone got them and used them against him ... Jimmy, I think people playing this game accept the risks or they don't play. Going there means flying; Rebecca can have his picture in every airport for a thousand miles. The idea is to make him show himself. Nothing else they've tried is working. Kurtz is trying but every time we see him it's a risk. If accessing the other's memories is attracting attention then the risk is going up and your plan of releasing Kurtz when we find him could be ruined before we even get a chance to try it."

"So by doing this you think it will give us more control over things by upsetting his timetable?"

"Yes. Hiding like this has got to be costing him money. Unless he has a solid background and identity already established it would be hard for him to get a job. He's not that young, he would have to have some kind of work background before even McDonald's would hire him, and that's not the kind of job he's going to be after. I doubt if he is even looking. I think he's got something planned and when he's done he's going to move on to greener pastures. Probably go back to killing for a living. Hell, he could have done that already. Ken Riley's job was cover. A lot of people work from home these days. He could buy a place, pretend to be a renter. If he picked a low end neighborhood no one would even notice."

"I don't see him doing that," I said. "He plays with too many expensive toys. A neighborhood like that he runs the risk of someone breaking in. That's not a chance he's likely to take. He likes his privacy too much for that - especially when he has a playmate. I'm a little surprised he hasn't gone after anyone already; just to rub Rebecca's nose in it. This has become an ego game for him. Everything he's doing is to show her that she can't touch him. That he can come and go and do whatever he wants, whenever he wants to, and there's nothing she can do about it. You're right, that requires freedom and as we've already figured out, freedom like that is expensive. But what if it doesn't work? What if he's already changed the passwords?"



"Then we haven't lost anything by trying," She said. "If it does work, I don't think we should tell Rebecca what we did; just that something has happened that should get a reaction."

"Jamie! Are you thinking what I think you're thinking? That we keep his money?"

"Well you of all people should certainly know what I'm thinking; I'm using your brain to do it. Yes, keep the money. Put it aside in case we ever run into another Phoebe or something. Pay for Angela's school, not to mention ours, and Allison's. Sure, the volleyball thing may work out, but it may not, or ... something else could happen and it wouldn't be an option anymore." This last part carried a sense of great sadness with it. I could hear her trying to keep the tears out of her voice. Weird when you consider the whole conversation was taking place in my head.

"I miss her too, Jamie. What you are saying does make sense, even if it does sound like a massive rationalization. After everything that's happened, there is always the chance we may need that money to hide ourselves. Just because we dodged the bullet this time... , that thing in Washington with Rebecca could have just as easily gone the other way. Rebecca said we had about sixty grand in the account but it wouldn't last forever." It occurred to me that I had no idea how long we could live on it. Unless I went and got an actual job then I would eventually run out. If Rebecca had been compromised then I would have lost my source of income. Sure I could still use the tip lines but collecting the money could be difficult, especially if whoever was after me knew that's how I was being funded. Jamie was right, if things ever did go seriously wrong, we would need all the money we could stash.

"What?" She asked.



"Excuse me?"

"You stopped talking to me, you were thinking about something."

"I'm sorry. It just hit me that you were right; if it ever becomes necessary for us to run we would need a lot of money. Okay, let's do it. Considering how he got the money I certainly don't have a moral problem with taking it away from him."

"That's good, because if he ever found out it was us he would have no problem torturing us to get it back, before he killed us that is."

"Now that's encouraging. Do you think we have enough to bridge Mr. Gray-suit?"



"Yes, don't you?" she asked.

"I wasn't sure. I don't feel him but with the time difference he's probably at work. We may have to take a nap later to get to him."

"You'll be in school, I can..."

"No," I said. "Jamie, we don't even know how long you can be 'gone' when I'm dreaming, and if we did there is no guarantee that it works the same during the day when I'm awake. Were you ever out wreaking havoc when I was awake before?"

"Wreaking havoc?" she said indignantly. "I'll show you wreaking havoc!"

I laughed, "You have a better name for it, maybe raising hell? I'll tell you what, you come up with a few alternatives and then we'll ask Allison which one she thinks is most appropriate. Speaking of Allison, maybe we should check in with her before we move on to anything else. I'd like to see if she's come up with anything else while we were gone."

We found them on the basketball court working out with some players they had dreamed up. One nice thing about dreams is that instant transition from hot and sweaty to soft and sweet. Within seconds of our arrival both of the girls were clean, dry, and in bathing suits. Jamie stepped out of me so she could get her own hugs and kisses rather than sharing mine.

"We were beginning to think you two weren't going to show," Lizzy said. "Busy night?"

"Yeah, actually it has been," I said. "I had a ... lesson to attend to with Amber, actually it was a two part lesson, I did the first part and then Jamie took over for the rest."

Lizzy looked back and forth between Jamie and me, and nodded her understanding. "A discipline issue?"

I nodded, dropping my eyes away briefly. She was looking at Jamie when I raised them again.

"I'm sure you handled it well," she said. "How did the rest go?"

"Very well, we met with Kurtz again, got him working on solving his own case, passed along some suggestions he had to Rebecca. Now we're sort of waiting for the next step, whatever that is."

"All work and no play," Allison said suddenly. "You know what they say about that."

"Well," Lizzy said. "As much as I would like to stay and help you fix that particular problem, it's almost time for me to get up." She hugged me and whispered, "You're doing a wonderful job with Amber and I'm very proud of you. She couldn't ask for a better master to guide her through this time of discovery." She kissed my cheek and then she was gone.

Jamie looked from me to Allison and said, "She's got it bad doesn't she?"

"What?" I asked.

Allison just looked at me and shook her head, then looked at Jamie, "Yeah, she does. I think she's been in love with him almost from the beginning."

I really didn't know what to say so for once I did the smart thing and shut up. By way of a subject change I called Bob and we met with him to discuss the time problem with Jamie and me. He was just about as helpful as I expected him to be. About halfway through the conversation she started feeling tired and merged back in. It was kind of interesting for him watching it the first time, but it still didn't help answer any of the questions. His helpfulness didn't improve when we moved on to my future problem with Amber and Tim.

"Jimmy, I was just bringing it up so you would have time to think about it, it wasn't a pop quiz or anything, I can't help you with this one. I think you are right though when you say that you have to make the decision for Amber. However, that doesn't mean you have to be arbitrary about it. You can discuss it with her when the time comes. How much do you know about his relationship with Cindy Sheppard? Does he appear to be moving on? That could be a critical point right there. When Angela is finally free to return it is possible that their feelings for each other will have changed. I'm sure they will still love each other, but I suspect that they may no longer share the same passion. Suffice it to say that they have both been changed by what's happened. Before it reaches that point you may want to discuss with Angela whether or not she is even interested in pursuing a relationship with Tim. Personally I don't think Tim has the qualifications she will be looking for. Tim's a lot of things but he is no one's master."

"We'd pretty much come to the same conclusions all around. We'll keep looking for ideas but for the most part all we can do, the best thing we can do is to wait and see how everything looks when the time comes. Thanks again Bob. See you at school. Um, we don't have a bunch of tests coming up again do we? You teachers didn't get together and decide to mess with Friday too, did you?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. Did you ever talk to Allison about Mel's idea for her to try and test out of eighth grade and move up?"

"Actually we did talk about it," Allison said. "And I am thinking about it. I'm acing all my classes so far again this year. Granted it's the first week but the classes are mostly pretty boring for me. I credit a lot of that to the time I get to study here. I'm going to talk to my mom about it over the weekend and see what she thinks. Miss Hewitt mentioned it to me as well, she regrets losing me from the team this year but she's always known my future in basketball was limited. I'm not ruling it out but we'll just have to wait and see."

Once Bob headed off to wherever it is teachers go in the dark hours before dawn, Allison snuggled up to my side and asked, "So, are we calling it a night or did you want to try and squeeze in one more trip?"

"Well, we've still got about an hour and half until time to get up but that really wouldn't be enough time to get too involved with anyone new. About the only thing we've got time for is to go see Mr. Rodriguez and get the information on where all our money is. Rebecca had him set it up in an off-shore numbered account. We're going to get the information, then see about setting up a different account that no one in the government knows anything about and moving it. I'm not worried about him or anything but after all that stuff with Rebecca it's pretty obvious that there are people that would do whatever it took to get the information from him if they wanted it bad enough."

Allison just rolled her eyes, "Yeah, no kidding, and I think you and your abilities would definitely fall on the 'want it bad enough' list."

"Other than that I don't really feel like I can get much more done tonight. Why? Did you have something in mind?"

"Not really, it's just that tomorrow is Friday, and the funeral is Saturday, so it's going to be pretty hectic. I was hoping maybe we could spend a little time together, just the two of us." She smiled and added, "Just the three of us."

"I think she really means just the two of you. Tell her it's okay if that's what she wants. I can go do my nails or something."

I relayed the message to Allison; she smiled and kissed my cheek, "It's so cool to have a sister who understands these things. Thanks, Jamie. You're coming with us to see Rod, though right?"

I answered for her, "Of course she is. This is something we all need to know about."

I didn't bother finding Rod first, I just went to the lake where he fished with his dad, dropped in a line, and then moved him in. Allison was lying at my feet in her golden coat and collar when he arrived. He was understandably concerned to see us.

"Please tell me nothing else has gone wrong."

"No Sir, nothing is wrong. I just wanted to get the information on the account you set up for me, for us, with all the reward money in it."

"That's a relief. After the last two weeks I don't need any more surprises. How's the girl? Phoebe wasn't it?"

"Careful," Allison said. "She charges a buck if anyone calls her that these days. Roxanne, Roxy to her friends, is doing fine. Public school was a bit of a shock for her, especially PE, but she's working at it. That reminds me, I didn't get a chance to thank you for what you did for her. I know you took a big chance getting involved. If that whole thing had turned out even a little different there would be no way to hide your involvement."

"I wasn't worried about hiding my involvement, and I was prepared to justify it if necessary. If they had been connected to the bad guys, I had statements ready to go out to some people I know, as well as several large newspapers, telling them everything we knew about them. They may have gotten to me, but they wouldn't be able to hide any longer. They would have quickly found themselves running into a lot of suddenly closed doors. Even being mentioned in the same sentence with them would end any politician's career."

"Small consolation if you're dead though," she responded.

"Some things are worth dying for. Your account number is 981-308-6230-ARZ-92344. Your password sequence is tangerine, popcorn, the numbers 7-1-6-8, and rootbeer, no space, all one word. Something else I think you should know; I know it was you at the bank."

I froze and beside me Allison's ears perked up.

"I don't think anyone else knows or could put it together, but I know what you can do and the killer was kind enough to supply your names when he sent the photos to Bex. Doing your ID's gave me your faces in addition to your parents. I'm telling you this so you'll understand how little it actually takes. If you have to run, you need to be more careful. You don't need to worry right now, I'm the only one with details on both cases and without that, and already knowing what you can do, no one would ever make the connection. I don't think it matters, but I wanted you to know that I'd figured it out. It was a daydream wasn't it?"

"Yes," I answered. "He was daydreaming about the woman."

"Does Rebecca know you can do that?"

"No. She doesn't even know we were at the bank. We knew she would figure it out if she saw the reports but since it's not her case ... I don't like people knowing what I can do; it's too dangerous."

"What you can do? Or people knowing about it?"

I looked him in the eye. "Both. What I can do is dangerous? The wrong people knowing what I can do? That's beyond bad. The potential for evil is..."

"Yes, it is, and you're smart to want to keep as low a profile as possible. Do me a favor, move that money and close that account as fast as you can. I don't want any information that may help someone track you down if things go wrong. Jimmy, I hate to say this but you need to continue making arrangements to run. I gave you both identities, use them if you have to, but don't stop there. I want you to start visiting some people I know. Nothing overt, don't expose yourself, but learn how to hide, how to create new identities, then do it. Not just here, but somewhere overseas as well, at least one needs to be out of the country, with a foreign passport. American passports are common but it's what someone will be looking for if they are after you. Don't tell me or Rebecca anything about what you are doing. Bob either for that matter. I'm sure you've figured out by now that the people that would be coming after you don't give a shit about doctor-patient confidentiality."

I stood and shook his hand, "Thank you Director Rodriguez. I'd already figured out that we need to plan for the worst. If this thing in Washington had gone wrong, we would have been caught before we even had a chance to run. Even if we had the chance, we don't know how, and you're right, that has to change. It's too late to do any of this tonight but we'll add it to our to-do list right below catching serial killers and shutting down slavers."

He chuckled, "Cute. But put it higher on the list, before those things." He held up his hand to stop me. "I know what you are thinking. But, you can work on those from anywhere, as long as you are free. If they catch you, you probably won't have a lot of options and those things won't get done anyway. So protect yourself first." He paused. "One more thing, I know this is going to be hard to hear, but it's a lot easier to hide one person than two. You may need to consider splitting up, at least for a while. It will make you harder targets and a lot harder to spot. When you're away, you can get together again. At least you don't have to worry about pre-arranging spots to meet; you can stay in contact here, where it's safe.

"Hopefully this is all information you will never need, but this isn't something you can do at the last minute. Better to be ready and not need it, than to need it and not have it."

Allison licked his hand and rubbed against his leg, then she stepped back and stood up, changing back into herself as she did "Since you know who I really am, I guess I don't need the dog suit any more." She stepped in and hugged him. "Thank you."

He hugged her back and nodded his head. I didn't even bother with a door, but just took us back to the beach. Jamie stepped out when we arrived.

"Damn!" She swore. "I didn't think anybody would be able to connect us to the bank.

"No," Allison said. "We knew Rebecca would figure it out if she saw the report and the tape. Rod just didn't need the tape. Brother and sister, the right age, the right area ... Let's just hope he's right and no one else has enough pieces to put it together."

"They would have to know what I can do before it would even attract attention. No one else has any reason to suspect anything."

"That may be true, but still, weird things have been happening around you for the last year. Carruthers' office knows about the hotel and the bank, because they helped handle covering it up. Your little adventure at the mall with Brad is common knowledge. They wouldn't have anything specific to go on but it would be enough to make someone wonder."

"Oh, thanks a lot, Sis! Just what I needed to think about."

"That's not fair, Jimmy," Jamie said. "She's right, and we do need to think about it. I have an idea; how about if we transfer the money Mr. Rodriguez stashed to Mr. Gray-suit's bank. That gives us a reason to be in touch with someone there. That should give us enough of a link to bridge someone and take the next step."

"What next step?" Allison asked. The alarm clock went off and it was time for me to get up and run.

This was not something I wanted to discuss during daylight hours no matter how secure we thought we might be so I just kissed her on the forehead and whispered, "I'll tell you about it tonight."

"That serious?" She asked, hugging me tightly.

I didn't answer just kissed her again and headed off for my run. Tryouts were next week, as a returning member of the team Bob wanted me to help evaluate the new people. He also wanted me to work with Tim to help him get back in shape. There was no doubt that he would make the team but it was going to take some real work to get him back into competitive form.

School came and went without any real excitement. The only real news was Bob pulling me aside to tell me that Amber's rapid improvement had created another new problem. Her handlers had decided that, barring unforeseen circumstances, she was now ready to assume her new life. The problem was that we were already a month into the new school year at the college she was supposed to be going to, so it was too late to join the fall semester and still months too early for the spring session. So now what were we supposed to do with her? They were working with the school to see what the options were. Moving her wasn't really an issue so much as what to do with her when she got there. She would be living in the dorms when she started school, but that left her no place to go if she moved early. Plus she would need a job to get her through until then. Small apartments tended to be at a premium in college towns, as were part time jobs. That could actually work to her advantage, since it would make her available to work full time for a while. Once she was established she could probably switch to part time to accommodate her school schedule. It really didn't matter whether she worked or not, I had enough money set aside to cover her expenses either way, but she would need the experience. Her academic and athletic path had not been job friendly to say the least. For now all we could do was wait and see what they came up with and go from there.



-------

Chapter 41: ... and On


A funeral is a hard thing to look forward to under the best of circumstances. This one was no exception. The service was a simple memorial with the four caskets, each with a picture of the deceased. Apparently not everyone had been notified of how they had died as several people tried to complain that the caskets were closed. My mother took them aside and explained about the accident and fire. Shannon's could have been open if we had wanted to spend the several thousand dollars for the reconstructionist to try to repair enough of the damage to her face for her to pass inspection with makeup. We'd all been with her when she died and felt no need to go to that extreme. Especially since the other three would still be closed, and locked in case any of the family had a morbid streak. The reception afterward was a different story altogether. It started out somber and serious; we had been warned that it would by Pastor Keen. In the absence of any other religious figures in their lives we had asked him to perform the service and he had agreed. He suggested that we all pick a few anecdotes from our past times together to share. Mark's skiing accident the previous year had been a great one for getting the ice broken. Apparently, such accidents seemed to run in the family. That got the women started on the care and nurturing of the wounded male.

Then there was Tom's mastery on the grill; apparently that was a family legend all its own. That led to someone asking if Karen had told anyone the secret to her tuna salad. A quick glance around the room told me that there were a couple of people that knew about it besides me, and apparently they weren't telling.

"Actually she told me," I said. The most immediate response was from my mother.

"What? She told you, and you didn't tell me! That's it; you're going back to the orphanage tonight!"

After that things went pretty well. My parents spent time circulating amongst the visitors and making sure that everyone understood how the estate was going to be handled. The grandmothers had been briefed in advance and agreed to meet with Mom at our house Sunday morning after church; she would take them over from there, alone. No one else was invited until after the two matriarchs had been through the house. After that each of the family would be allowed to select one or two personal items from each Mark, Shannon, Tom, and Karen, to remember them by. Other items could be tagged by anyone who wanted them and if more than one person wanted the same thing, they would be award by random drawing. The grandmothers were handling the drawings for us and if anyone complained they got nothing.

Lists would be distributed to everyone showing who had drawn what items. If there was something someone wanted that they didn't get, they had one week to trade between themselves. All items traded had to be signed off by both parties. At the end of one week the items would be packed up and shipped to the new owner's home. Anything not tagged as wanted would be disposed of later, either given to charity, or perhaps to a friend or co-worker that wanted something to remember them by. Allison already had Shannon's half of the heart necklace I had given her for Valentine's Day. One of the younger cousins, Aubrey, a girl two years younger than Shannon, asked about it, saying that it was something that seemed very special to Shannon. Allison had taken her aside and talked to her about it.

Allison told me later that Shannon had told the girl that it was from someone special but would never tell her who. Aubrey was certain that it was actually from another girl and that's the reason Shannon wouldn't say. She confided to Allison that she had had a crush on Shannon and that was the reason she wanted it. They talked for some time and then Allison showed her that she had the other half of the necklace. It was a small lie, technically she had the other half of an identical necklace and I had the missing halves of both of them but it served the purpose. Tears and hugs were exchanged, and Allison suggested that perhaps Aubrey would like the antique porcelain doll that had held a special place on Shannon's shelf for as long as Allison had known her. When Aubrey agreed, Allison went off to find both my mother and the girl's grandmother, and then returned a short while later with the news that the item would be tagged for her. Grandma didn't seem surprised but I think the rest of the family was going to be in for a surprise in a few years.

Sunday went without a hitch. Dad shuttled two visiting families to the airport and it looked like we were finally going to be able to relax. I should have known it was too good to last. Around seven PM the cops showed up.

There were two of them. That wasn't so bad, but one of them Allison and I knew from our work on the Vegas problem. I should have known he would be involved in the search for Roxy. He seemed to be the group's chief troubleshooter and I couldn't help but wonder if he had also set the fire that had killed her cousins and their parents. He was in uniform, the one in plain clothes I didn't know, yet. I planned to correct that very soon. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

"Good evening Mr. Matthews," the voice said when my dad answered the door. "I'm Detective Charles, this is Officer Andrews, we're with the Clark County Sheriff's office, I wonder if we might have a word with you?"

"Clark County?" Dad asked. "I've never heard of a Clark County in California."

"Clark County is in Nevada, Mr. Matthews, we're from Las Vegas."

"Las Vegas? What could you possibly want to talk to us about?"

"We're looking for a young girl, a runaway; she was last seen at a church in this area. We talked to some of the people at the church this morning and they remember seeing the girl with your family?"

"That's odd," Dad said. "We've only been to that church once and we didn't really introduce ourselves to anyone, I'm surprised anyone knew who we were." He was still blocking the door so I couldn't see who they were yet. "I'm sorry officers, I didn't mean to be rude, but we've had a long weekend. Won't you come in?"

As soon as my dad stepped aside and I saw who it was I felt a wave of rage flare through me. In my mind I saw a razor-edged knife slicing neatly across the throats of two sleeping girls.

"Bastard!" Jamie screamed, and my own rage suddenly felt like a candle in a forest fire.

It was all I could do to keep a straight face. "Jamie, behave yourself," I warned. "I agree with you a hundred and ten percent but we can't afford to let on that we know anything at all about what is going on, or who he is. We can't do or say anything that will raise their suspicions. Please Jamie? Our time will come."

"Find a way to touch them."

"Touch them?" I asked. "Why?"

"Remember the bank? The only reason I got to him was because he touched you."

"Really? I didn't know that."

"Thank you, Mr. Matthews. Actually, they didn't know who you were, but they recognized your friends, the Davises, from the paper and said they were sitting with you and the girl. We found out you were handling funeral arrangements and that's how we found you. I'm sorry for your loss, a tragic accident."

"Thank you, Detective Charles. Yes, it was a very tragic thing, they died that same night. Tom had been undergoing treatment for cancer and the doctors had just declared him clear. That's why we were in church. We're not really church people but we wanted to thank God personally for answering our prayers."

"I understand. Getting back to the girl, how did she happen to be sitting with your family?"

That was my chance and I jumped on it.

"It was my idea," I said, extending my hand. "James Matthews, pleased to meet you, officers." It was all I could do to make myself touch Andrews. "I saw her sitting alone in one of the pews, no one seemed to want to sit near her, probably just the way she was dressed, but you would have thought she was carrying a contagious disease. I asked her if she would like to sit with us. She agreed but then she got up and left just before the service ended."

"Yes, that's what we heard," Andrews said. "Someone said she was hiding in the restroom and your daughter and the Davis girl were trying to talk her out."

Something in his tone and the way he referred to Shannon really pissed me off, I caught his eye and held it, "Her name was Shannon, Officer Andrews," I said with some heat. "Since you went to the effort to look it up I would appreciate a little more respect when you speak of her."

Oh, he did not like that! I could see it in his eyes and Jamie caught it too.

"Ooh, that pissed him off!"

He held my stare until Charles nudged him.

"I'm sorry," averting his gaze, "I didn't mean to be disrespectful."

"Liar!" Jamie said.

"Jamie..." I warned.

Charles then asked, "What can you tell us about the girl, Jimmy? May I call you Jimmy?"

"I'd prefer James, thank you." Andrews had a semi lost look on his face and Jamie provided me with a look at his current daydream. I saw myself in a chair with my hands handcuffed behind me to the seatback. Then Andrews' fist smashed into the side of my face and the chair tipped over. It was hard not to wince at the image but I kept my concentration on Charles.

"Nothing."

"Excuse me?" He said.

"I said I can't tell you anything. Shannon and Allison went in to talk to her. She was hiding in the ladies room after all, so I couldn't very well go in. Anyway, she said she was waiting for the crowd to clear out. Someone was supposed to be picking her up, but they were going to be a while. She said crowds make her nervous and if the people saw her just hanging around they would think she was up to something. Considering the way they were treating her, I could understand why she would think that. I thought about offering her a ride, but since she was obviously underage I thought it would look bad if she was seen getting into my truck. Then we left."

"That's it, you just left her there?" Andrews asked. As his concentration shifted back to me his little daydream fantasy evaporated.

"What else was I supposed to do?" I tried to look him in the eye but he was looking at Allison. Several times his eyes shifted back and forth between us. At first I thought he was just watching for her reaction but as I spoke his little daydream rebuilt itself.

I did my best to concentrate on what I was saying. "If she was in trouble the church staff was certainly more able to help than I would ever be and if we weren't there she would be free to approach them without attracting attention."

In Andrew's mind I was sitting up in the chair again, blood streaming down my face. He glanced at Allison again and in the daydream she was suddenly bent over the table with her hands behind her and her pants around her ankles as he raped her in front of me. It was getting really hard to concentrate on my answer.

"Jamie, please? I need to focus here." The vision faded and I continued my answer to Charles, "It was obvious she was upset, Detective, but I'm no crisis counselor. You said she was a runaway, seems like a lot of concern sending two officers all the way from Las Vegas to look for her? Couldn't you just alert the local authorities if you were looking for her?"

"Normally yes," Charles said. "But she's wanted for questioning in another matter. We tracked her to this area from a bus stop in Vegas."

"She seemed like a really nice girl; I mean sure she dressed like a Goth princess but you can't go by appearances. After all, anyone can hide behind nice clothes," I held Andrews' eye as I said the last part, then turned back to Charles, "and she sure knew her way around a bible. She even helped me follow along with the hymns. Are you sure you're looking for the right girl?"

Charles glanced at Andrews who seemed to be staring into space again. He was still looking at me but I could tell it wasn't me he was seeing. Fortunately Jamie didn't share his latest fantasy with me.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your evening folks," Charles said, standing up, "especially at a time like this. I'm sure it's been a tough weekend for you. Thank you for your help, if any of you should happen to see the girl again, please give us a call..." he handed my dad a card, " ... or call the local police and let them know. We'd like to get this cleared up as quickly as possible and get her back where she belongs. I'm sure you'll agree the world is no place for a young girl to be out on her own."

"No," I said, shaking his hand again. "It's certainly not. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help. Allison, can you think of anything she might have said to suggest where she was going?"

"No," she answered. "She just said someone would be picking her up later. We," she stopped, closed her eyes as if fighting back tears and went on, "I mean Shannon and I, we figured she was just one of those kids like we see at school, the ones whose parents don't really pay that much attention to what they do and can't be bothered to watch out for them. I mean, just look at the way they let her dress. It hurt to see her being so obviously neglected like that, but, like Jimmy said, what could we do?"

Charles voice softened, "I understand, Miss. Thank you anyway, I'm sorry about your friend." Then he turned his attention back to the whole group, and spoke up, "Good night folks, thank you again for your time."

Dad walked them to the door and as soon as it was closed let out a huge sigh. He then waited a few seconds then moved over to look out the front window. I heard the car start and he watched as they drove away before turning back to us.

"Wasn't ready for that," he said. "I can't believe they are still looking for her, they must really want her bad."

"Yeah, they do," I said. "You handled that really well, dad."

"Me? What about you? I was just kind of floundering through trying to get a grip, but you; you just waded in and took over like you'd been doing it for years, made it look easy."

"It wasn't easy," I said flatly. "Trust me. I don't know anything about Detective Charles, but I had to force myself to even touch Andrews." I could see the question forming in both their eyes, but Allison headed it off.

"You don't want to know," she said, then glanced at me and asked, "Could you excuse us for a minute?" Then she took my arm and pulled me toward the hall.

"It was him, wasn't it?" She asked when we were alone.

"Yes," I said softly, dropping my eyes from hers. "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that; I just didn't want them to use the excuse of not talking to you as a reason to come back later. Now they don't have that excuse."

"So why did you shake his hand?"

"Jamie wanted me to touch him. She said if I hadn't touched the guy at the bank she wouldn't have been able to do what she did there. It worked too, she showed me what he was daydreaming about while I was talking and it wasn't pretty."

"Yeah, I can imagine. Just the way he was looking at the two of us, you he wanted to hurt, me, well ... I feel dirty just thinking about it."

"Yeah," was all I could say.

"We need to tell Rebecca."

"No!" Jamie said and I agreed.

"And that will help how?" I asked Allison. "She won't be any closer to being able to do anything. There's still no evidence to use against him, or them, if Charles is involved."

"I don't think he is."

That was interesting. I passed it along to Allison. "Jamie doesn't think he is. She can explain it to both of us later. In fact, we've got a lot to discuss later, but for now, we'd better get back to mom and dad."

They were talking together in the living room when we got back.

"Are you sure the girl is safe?" Dad asked.

"As safe as anyone can be with these people after her. Even if they found her, unless they were willing to kidnap her by force they couldn't touch her. Her cover and documentation were handled by the FBI. Not to mention the changes we've made to her appearance; I think she could walk up and ask them for directions and they wouldn't recognize her."

He still looked skeptical but Mom spoke up, "It's true. She's been coming over after school to swim and hang out with Allison, and you'd never know it was the same girl."

"Okay, I'll take your word for it. Do you think there is any chance we'll be seeing them again?"

I glanced at Allison and she was already looking at me. "I doubt it," I said. "Pulling Allison into the conversation there at the end pretty much eliminated any excuse they may have for coming back. They had a chance to ask everyone involved any questions they may have had. No one did or said anything that may have been suspicious; we answered all their questions. They'd have to have a really good reason to come back. I doubt they'll be around much longer. With Shannon dead, we were the last link in the chain. There's no way to track her past us to Susan unless someone tells them about her. Pastor Keen is the only other person who knows and he would call Rebecca before he said anything. In fact, he did call her when they showed up at the church the other day. We expected them to be back today, but we never thought they would be able to make the connection to us. Still, I'm betting they will be heading back to Vegas now. The department can't be happy about the cost of them being here in the first place. With no leads left to pursue... , I don't know, I just can't see them sticking around."

"Well, I hope you're right," Mom said. "This is all so ... strange, being involved in this kind of cloak and dagger stuff. And I have to tell you, I feel pretty useless in the whole thing. I don't know how you deal with it all, but I'm very proud of the way you handle things when they come up. It's nice to know we'll have people like you out there watching over the rest of us when we're old and gray." She kissed my cheek. "Well, I for one am just beat. I am so glad this weekend is finally over. I know there is still a lot to be done but..." she wiped a tear from her eye, " ... I think we're past the hard part now. Now I just have to find someone to help get this stuff shipped off to the new owners, have Goodwill pick up the rest, and see someone about putting the house on the market."

"Fortunately," Dad added, "none of that can be done tonight. How about a nice relaxing game of 'Sorry'?"

Is there such a thing as a nice, relaxing, game of 'Sorry'? If there is I'm sure it's not played with your parents, or the world's most competitive little sister.

We spent the rest of the evening abusing each other. Mom wasn't the only one who was tired, the stress of the last week, and especially the last two days, had taken its toll on all of us and we broke up after only one game and headed off to bed. I offered Mom and Dad a night at the beach if they wanted to relax and they took it. Mine tended to get a lot of use with everything that was going on so I made them one of their own. I put them in Mom's dream but keyed Dad's wedding ring to take him out any time he wanted. Once that was done it was time to get to work. The first order of business was to see what was on Jamie's mind.

"What makes you think Charles isn't involved with Andrews and everyone else?" I asked.

"He was too focused," she said. "He was totally concentrated on the fire. And he didn't seem happy about Andrews being there.

I thought about it for a second, "I think maybe there is someone higher up in Vegas PD, someone who assigned Andrews specifically to go with Charles. I'm no expert on police procedures but I don't think it's normal for a uniform and plain clothes cop to work together. I would have expected Charles to be alone or, at best, have another suit with him if he was working with a partner. I'll ask Rebecca about it and see what she says. For now, we've got work to do, and I have a call to make some time after midnight; two, actually."

"You mean like a real, wake up and use the phone, call?" Allison asked.

"Yeah, that kind."

She gave me a questioning look and asked, "Are we up to something?"

"Yes and no, the first part is just what Mr. Rodriguez suggested, moving my money some place that no one in the government knows about. The second part is a lot more complicated, and dangerous."

"Dangerous?" She asked. "Dangerous how, you mean to us?"

"Only if we get caught and I'm calling from my phone so I don't think that's a problem. No, it's dangerous because if it works it's likely to trigger a response; only we don't know what that response will be."

"Jimmy, just say it. What are you doing?"

"Cutting off the Sandman's funding. Or trying to anyway."

She thought for minute before continuing. "You got something out of Kurtz. Does Rebecca know about this?"

"No," Jamie said. "After talking to Mr. Rodriguez about the whole money thing we decided not to give her any details, but from what we did tell her, she knows something is up. We're going to set up an account at his bank, move the money that's in our account there so no one knows where it is. Setting up the account puts us in touch with the bank manager or whatever he is. We're not sure who he is, but he's a bigwig of some sort. He personally set up the Sandman's account. Setting up our account will put us in touch with him, between what we already have and personally talking to him we're hoping to be able to bridge him later and use him to move the Sandman's money to another account we're setting up in the bank that currently has our money. I need to make that call first, set up the second account and tell them to expect a large deposit. We then do the same thing with Mr. Gray, that's the guy at Sandman's bank; we call him that because of the suit he was wearing. Anyway, set up the two accounts, move our money to his bank, then call in and use the password sequence we have to see if we can move Sandman's money to the new account in our old bank. If the passwords we have are no good then we'll have to think of something else, either that or try another way."

Allison must have heard something in her voice, "What other way?"

Jamie took a deep breath and let it out, "Bridging Gray and planting a command for him to move the money, erase the transaction, and forget that he did it."

"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Allison asked. "For him I mean. Aside from what it would do to the reputation of the bank for a bunch of money to just mysteriously disappear like that, but Sandman's going to be pissed as hell and want to know what happened to his money. If your 'Mr. Gray' can't come up with a credible explanation he may decide Gray ripped him off and kill him."

"I know," I said. "If it comes to that then I'm going to talk to Rebecca. Warn her that he may be in danger and let them take steps to keep him safe."

"I don't know Jimmy," she said. "That's still a big risk."

"Well, let's try this and see if it works before we worry about what to do if it doesn't. If it doesn't work, I promise we'll talk about it before we try anything else, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay, that's for later; do we have anything else pressing right away?"

Ah, time for a rhetorical question. "Did you have something specific in mind?"

Something in the eyes of my normally calm and thoughtfully considerate sister changed and I saw a hint of darkness. A part of me cried that all of this, all that I had been going through, had finally touched her. I had been pretty sure I knew where she was going, she just confirmed it.

"I thought maybe we could go and ruin someone's night."

Jamie grew a grin, "Anybody special you had in mind? A certain Vegas cop maybe?"

Allison nodded and just for a moment, the darkness receded and a tear pushed its way to the corner of her eye. I'm sure that in her head she was seeing the same images I had seen earlier, a knife and two dead girls. She didn't want to go on a fishing trip hoping to find more information, she wanted him hurt, and if we happened to learn something along the way that would just be a bonus. I tried really hard to find a reason not to, but I would be lying if I said I felt any different, and I certainly knew where Jamie stood on the question. Still, this was a big step.

"No," I finally said. "No, not like this." They were both looking at me with angry and pained expressions. "I'm not saying I don't want to, but I think it's a dangerous step down a dark road." I made eye contact with each of them. "Let's be clear here; we're not talking about something like we did to Frank Watkins." I held Jamie's eye. "You're not even thinking of something like you did to Parry or even Mikkelson. Are you?"

She tried to hold my eye, but in the end she couldn't, finally turning away and shaking her head.

I put my hands on her shoulders and held her. "Jamie, I understand. I do. I even agree with you. If anyone deserves it, he does. But I think it's dangerous for us to take that kind of responsibility. If we're going to do this then I want someone else involved in the decision. I promise you... ," I reached and put a hand on Allison's shoulder as well, " ... they will pay for what they have done, all of them. I'm just afraid that once we start down this path ... I'm afraid of where it could go without someone to be accountable to."

Allison closed her eyes and turned her face away, but finally she nodded her agreement, or at least her consent. It was obvious Jamie was having a harder time with it, but eventually she just said, "Fine," and walked away.

"Maybe you should just go ahead and talk to Rebecca about it then," Allison suggested.

"I don't think she'll want to be the one making the decision either."

"No, probably not, but she may have a suggestion for where to go next. Either way, I think we need to see what information we can get out of him. If you're worried, then invite her to come along as a chaperone."

"I guess that's an option."

Just then a familiar voice called me, "Master?"

"Damn," Jamie said. "I guess that puts things on hold for a while. I didn't think she'd be ready to see you until at least tomorrow."

"What are you talking about?" Allison asked.

"Amber is calling, he has to go." Jamie said.

"Don't you want to come along?" I asked.

"No, not right away, this is something you need to do. Allison and I can monitor the time and see how long I can stay away. Go, she needs you and she's probably wondering why it's taking so..." Understanding dawned. "Oh, you stopped time for her, didn't you?"

"Of course, as far as she will know, I came as soon as she called. I know this isn't serious or dangerous or anything or I'd be gone already."

"How do you know it's not?" Allison asked.

"He knows, Allison," Jamie said. "We both do. Just like we would know if you called."

"You would?" She genuinely sounded touched by the idea, gazing into Jamie's eyes like she was looking for stars.

Jamie moved close and, starting at her shoulders, stroked Allison's arms gently, "Of course we would, Sweetie, just like we knew Shannon was in an accident." Kissing her cheek lightly, she took Allison's hand and placed it flat between her breasts. "You're in here; we carry a little piece of you with us always." She turned to me. "Don't you have somewhere you need to be?"

I smiled and left. Amber was in her apartment, kneeling calmly, eyes downcast, waiting for me to arrive.

"You called."

"Forgive me master, I..." her voice broke, "I just wanted to tell you..."

"Stop," I said softly. I stepped in close and lifted her chin. The shine in her eyes was more than just tears.

She turned her head and rubbed her cheek against my hand and whispered, "Please?"

I shifted my hand around and, taking a firm grip on her hair, pulled her head back so she was staring straight up at my face, her neck stretched back to the point her muscles were beginning to strain. I then bent and kissed her hard, alternately chewing at her mouth and stabbing my tongue in to play with hers. Her body began to vibrate as she moaned into my mouth. Finally I pulled back and released my grip on her hair. With no sign of strain she resumed her waiting position. I froze her again and called, "Elizabeth."

In a moment she appeared beside me, "Ooh, someone's horny."

"Thanks for coming, I need your help. This is our first time..."

"I understand, it's your first time together as her master and you're not sure what to do. Have you ever heard the acronym KISS?"

"No."

"It's a basic formula for what to do when you're not sure how to handle a problem; it stands for Keep It Simple Stupid."

"Cute."

"It means, don't over-think the problem, and don't go for elaborate solutions until you've tried the simple ones. If your car won't start, try jumping it before you rebuild the engine. The same applies here. Jimmy, you're both new at this, don't go for elaborate role-playing scenarios or anything like that. Start simple; she wants to be dominated, not abused. You don't have to hurt her, just take away her choices."

I had a moment's inspiration, "So instead of having her undress, tie her up and take her clothes off myself?"

"There you go, simple, uncomplicated... ," she flicked her eyebrows up and down, "and fun for both of you." She kissed my cheek and patted me on the butt. "I'd ask to stay but it's your first time and it should be special, you two have fun. I see Jamie isn't with you, do you think she and Allison would mind if I joined them?"

"How did you know she was with Allison?"

She gave me a mocking look, "Where else would she be? Do you think they'd mind the company?"

"No, I think they may like that. Thanks for your help, again."

"No problem," she said with a smile. "Anytime." Then she was gone.

I walked back over to Amber and released her. "Stand up." She quickly complied and I pulled a strip of dark cloth from my pocket. She held her breath as I stepped behind her and tied it over her eyes. By the time I started unbuttoning her dress she was already breathing hard.

And so it began ... Lizzy had of course been right; I didn't have to push any boundaries, the illusion was all that was necessary.

When it was over we lay snuggled together on the bed, sweaty, tired, and even a little sore; which is hard to do in a dream. I kissed her shoulder and said, "I have to go, I have a lot to do. I won't be back tonight."

"I understand, Master. I am grateful that you took time for me."

"I will always have time for your needs, Amber. I may not always attend to them personally, but I will always take time to see that they are met."

"I love you, Master."

"And I love you. I'll give Allison your love." She started to turn toward me but I held her in place. "If you're good, and work hard, maybe next time you can give it to her yourself. Would you like that?"

I could feel a tremble run through her as she answered, "Yes, Master. I would like that very much."

I rolled her toward me, kissed her while caressing a breast before pinching the nipple firmly. She moaned her pleasure into my mouth and I could feel things beginning to stir again so I pushed myself up and climbed out of bed.

"That was fun, " Jamie said.



"You're back? I'm sorry, I didn't even notice."

"You were busy at the time and I didn't want to intrude. You don't mind, do you?"

"No of course not, you live here too. Did you and Allison have a good time?"

"Yes, and then Lizzy showed up, and she's always a lot of fun. So, you understand a little better about Amber now? That being punished last night was a good thing for her?"

"Yeah, I do. Thank you for being there last night; I'll try to do better next time it comes up. I'm not saying I'll be able to do it myself, but I'll at least stay and watch so I can learn. We need to go make some calls. Would you like to kiss Amber goodbye for me?"

"Mmm, I'd love to, but I kiss different than you do and I'm afraid it might confuse her. Maybe next time we have the chance you could give her to me. Eventually we will have to tell her the whole thing, but it would be a good test to see how she responds to being given to a stranger."



"That's a really good idea. I had thought about using Lizzy for that but they've already met." We kissed Amber and left, exiting to the beach first to see how Lizzy and Allison were doing.



-------

Chapter 42: Opening Moves

We found the girls on the basketball court playing one on one. Lizzy felt me arrive as usual and stopped. Allison stopped and followed her gaze.

"Hello pretty ladies," I said. "I have to go do some work so you need to decide whose dream you want to be in until I get back."

Lizzy looked surprised but didn't ask what was going on, "Doesn't matter to me, I trust all of you guys." she said, glancing at Allison. "You wouldn't take advantage and try to cheat so you could win, would you?"

"Cheat to win!" Allison said in an outraged voice. "Her dream; I am going to kick her ass on her home turf."

"Ooh, so confident," Lizzy said with a grin. "Let's make it interesting. First one to fifteen; shirts, shoes and shorts only; you lose something every five points, winner gets to fuck the loser any way she wants."

"You're on," Allison said. "Your ass is mine, girlie, and I'll even spot you the ball."

"God, I wish we could stay and watch!" Jamie said when we woke up. "That's going to be some game."

"No kidding. You can watch while I make the calls if you want."

"Tempting, but I think I'd rather keep up on what you're doing. Besides, I don't think they would have made that bet if they were going to have an audience. Where are we going to make the call from, we don't want to wake the 'rents up."

We ended up in the garage, we could have gone out to the driveway and sat in my truck but that might have been a tad suspicious in the middle of the night. There is a nine hour time difference between California and Switzerland and I wasn't sure what time Mr. Gray actually came to work so we called my bank first. My bank was in Zurich. Based on the dialing codes I think they were in the same country but I couldn't be sure. Once I gave them my account information it didn't take long to set up the second account. The only hitch was they wanted a deposit of some kind to open the account and I didn't want there to be a trail between the two accounts. I informed them that a minimum of ten thousand US dollars would be deposited within twenty four hours and offered them a one thousand dollar security deposit if I didn't make the deposit by close of business the next day. They decided they could make an exception. Then it was time to take the plunge.

The phone number I had put me in contact with a machine asking for my choice of languages. It was a different type of system than we have here in the States; it actually offered the choices in the different languages. The first two I didn't recognize but then it finally said, "For English press three." I pressed the appropriate number, expecting to be transferred to another recording but then a very pleasant woman's voice came on and asked how she could assist me. There was a noticeable accent but she was not hard to understand at all.

"Yes, good morning. I need to speak to someone about opening an account. An acquaintance of mine referred me and told me to speak to the gentleman in the gray suit. He said you would know who I meant."

"Certainly, Sir, could you hold for one moment while I see if he is available?"

"Yes."

The sound of a piano playing softly replaced her and I waited.

"Mr. Osterman is on another call, do you wish to hold or perhaps I can help you."

"Thank you, I don't wish to sound rude, but I was told to speak to him personally. Perhaps you can help me in the future. Whom should I ask for?"

"I understand completely, sir. My name is Holly and I would be happy to assist you in any way."

"Thank you, Holly."

"You're welcome, sir; Mr. Osterman's line is now clear, let me connect you."

The piano music came on again for about five seconds.

"Good morning, this is Heinrich Osterman, how may I be of service?"

"Good morning, Mr. Osterman. Please don't take offense but I need to be sure I am speaking to the right person. I was directed to ask for the gentleman in the gray suit, but many people wear gray suits, could you describe yourself please?"

"I am not offended, sir. In fact I applaud your discretion. You are correct, many people wear gray suits, but not if they are employed by this bank. It is the reason Holly knew immediately who to refer your call too. Here, only I wear gray, as my father before me, and his father before him. How may I help you?"

"I wish to establish an account. Initial deposit will be fifty thousand US dollars to be wired before the close of business today."

"I see, and this is your first account with us?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very good, sir. Will you be registering a name with the account?"

"No."

"I see, traditionally accounts of this nature are opened in person for security reasons."

"I'm calling from the United States, I may one day visit you, but for now this is the best I can do. I didn't ask before, and my acquaintance didn't say, where are you located? Judging from the prefix code I'm guessing you are in Switzerland but then I'm not that familiar with European prefixes."

"You are correct; we are located in Geneva, so that would be a significant trip. We will look forward to meeting you if you should ever choose to visit. You have access to the internet I presume?"

"Yes."

"Then please write down the following numbers. To access our secure server do not use the usual www prefix, simply type the following address." He gave me a numerical address. "A prompt will appear on your screen, at this prompt, please enter the following sequence, 00162674395#93665 and press enter. You will be directed to a disclosure page listing our fee schedules. Once you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to our terms, you will go to a page where you will set up your password sequences. You may use a combination of numbers, letters, words, however you wish. Once that is finished you will receive a new account number. From then on you may use our automated services to access the account at any time via the web, or telephone the bank and speak to one of our associates. The last password sequence is an eight digit number which you will need to key in manually to complete any transaction when speaking to one or our associates. The first two password sequences may be changed at any time using the last to confirm the changes. The final sequence is permanently attached to the account and cannot be changed unless you close the account and open a new one. You understand that password security is your sole responsibility and that the bank will not be responsible in any way if someone should use your password without your consent?"

"Yes, I understand. Thank you, Mr. Osterman? Tell me, how long has Holly been with you, and may I request her as my personal liaison when dealing with the bank?"

He chuckled, "Holly has been with us for two years and you may request the services of any of our staff at your discretion. You may dial her extension at the first prompt using the code two-four-one-seven, and if you will then press pound three she will know that English is your preferred language. Is there anything further I may assist you with?"

"Not at this time. Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Osterman."

I hung up and went back into the house to get started. It only took about fifteen minutes to get the new account set up. I called back in and spoke to Holly again to make sure everything was working with the account then called up my bank and had them transfer all but one thousand dollars to the new account. If everything went well I would transfer the last thousand later in the day. If something went wrong they would take it for holding the other account open. Either way, the account Rod had set up would cease to exist within thirty-six hours. I decided to wait until morning to take the next step. That would put it after noon at the bank and enough time would have passed that no one would think the calls were related in any way.

I checked the clock and it was just after two. I stretched and went to the bathroom before climbing carefully back into bed so as not to wake Allison up. I found her and Lizzy snuggled up together looking very satisfied.

"Who won?" I asked.

"I did." Allison said, looking very pleased with herself. I was a little surprised, Allison was good, but I really had expected Lizzy to beat her. I glanced at Lizzy and she was smiling at me.

"Of course I let her win," she said.

"You are such a liar!" Allison said, reaching to tickle her.

Lizzy grabbed her hands to fend her off, then pulled her in close and kissed her nose, "No, you earned it fair and square. But I want a rematch and next time I'm not going so easy on you."

"Any time you feel lucky, Chickie," Allison answered, kissing her back. Then she turned to me. "I guess this means you're done with whatever you were up to?"

"For now. I've got one more thing to do, but I'm waiting until morning for that. If all goes well, things could get real interesting real fast. I'll tell you about it if it works."

"So what now?"

"I don't know. I hadn't really planned beyond this point, yet."

"I have an idea," Jamie said.

"Is it something you want to come out and share?"

"It's about what we were talking about before, that asshole Andrews and taking big steps. Do you want to talk about that in front of Lizzy?"

"Actually, yes." I addressed the girls on the bed again. "Jamie has an idea she wants to talk about. Lizzy, you weren't there but I'd like you to be in on it. I also want Bob there, so if you don't mind breaking up this little party, I'm thinking the office would be a better setting. Well, maybe not better, but I think Bob would be more comfortable there."

"Rats," Lizzy said. "I was hoping between the two of us we'd be able to lure you into bed."

I don't know what it is about her, but the thought made me blush. Allison started to say something but apparently thought better of it. I moved us all to the office, the girls managed to get dressed on the way. I called Bob as soon as we got there and he arrived a few moments later.

"What's up?" he asked. "You sounded kind of concerned on the phone."

"I am. The cops from Vegas showed up tonight asking questions about Roxy. One of them we recognized. You remember we told you about the girl that went to the cops about her dad and they wiped out the family?"

His face went white, "It was him?" A quick glance at Allison answered the question for him. "That must have been hard."

"Very. We learned something else while he was there. Jamie wanted me to touch him. She said that the only reason she had been able to get to Henderson at the bank was because he had touched me. I managed to shake the cop's hand without throwing up or killing him and she was then able to monitor the little daydream fantasies he was concocting while the detective he was with asked questions. They weren't pretty. I'm not sure, but I'm betting he's the one that torched her uncle's place when Roxy ran away. Bob, I've never wanted to hurt someone so bad in my life. The problem is I know what he did. I have seen his memory, experienced the thrill he got cutting those girls' throats while they slept..." I closed my eyes against the remembered sensation as he thrust the knife into their mother's heart. I felt a touch on my arm and when I opened my eyes, Lizzy was just pulling her hand away, I could see in her eyes that she knew what I was feeling, if not the source.

"Bob, there is virtually no way he will ever be convicted for what he has done. There's no physical evidence to link him to the crime. As far as anyone else is concerned the case is closed. No matter what else happens, even if we eventually find a way to stop these assholes, no one will ever know the truth. I ... we ... wanted to punish him. Not just get the information we need from him, but make him pay for what he's done."

"Why didn't you?" he asked. "There was no one to stop you; no one would know what you did."

"That's why I didn't. There is another reason but I didn't think of it until later. Bob, I was afraid of taking that step. I don't trust myself making a decision like that. I..." He held up his hand to stop me.

"I understand, and that's why I asked the question. You are right to feel this way, right to be afraid of what could happen, where it could go if you ever let yourself start making those kinds of decisions. Tell me, if you had someone you could go to; someone qualified to make those decisions, and they told you it was okay to do it, could you? Could you intentionally send him into the kind of recurring hell that Mikkelson and Parry were in?" I started to answer but he stopped me again. "Don't bother, it was a rhetorical question. The answer is no. You might think it's not, but trust me, I know you, and the answer is no. Jamie on the other hand, would do it in heartbeat. Wouldn't you?" We all turned to look at her and even though she looked embarrassed by the question, she nodded.

"Don't feel bad about that Jamie; it's who and what you are. You can do what Jimmy won't or can't, not without an immediate threat anyway. And it's not that you can't, Jimmy, it would just take a lot more to get you to do it. If you were there and someone was in danger, I think you could do whatever needed to be done, kill if necessary, to protect them. If it was someone close to you -- Allison or Amber for instance, I don't think you would even hesitate. Actually, I know you wouldn't because Jamie wouldn't let you. Even awake, she would seize control and do it. And that's the difference; Jamie doesn't need the extra motivation. It's part of her nature; she was born out of the darker parts of you, the things you couldn't face, the parts of yourself that you denied. I think you both know that at heart she's a very bad girl."

"Bah-ob," Jamie whined. "You're embarrassing me." While I knew what he was saying was true, I also knew that Jamie went to great lengths to not be what she was before.

Bob chuckled. "Don't worry, we still love you. I think you do a remarkable job of handling these kinds of emotional situations given who you are. Or am I wrong in thinking you struggle with this?"

I looked at Jamie but she wouldn't meet my eyes. I took her hand and squeezed it. "It's alright Jamie, we already talked about this."

Finally she nodded, "No, you're right, it's hard. Sometimes, like with this asshole, it's really hard. I want to hurt this guy so bad, Bob. I want him to suffer for what he did." Her voice got stronger as she spoke. "And then I want him to die." She glanced at Allison and Lizzy and blushed. "I'm sorry, but I do."

Allison scoffed, "Don't apologize to me, not for this guy. As far as I'm concerned, you can't hurt him enough."

Lizzy just shook her head, "It's not my place to judge, either you or him. I am just glad that God doesn't give me these decisions. Jimmy, you said there was another reason?"

"It would attract attention," Allison said. "I thought of it too. If these people start mysteriously having nightmares it's likely to tip Hightower off. Bob, do you think, if he's really that good at the hypnosis thing, do you think he could stop the nightmares?"

Bob thought for a few seconds before shaking his head, "I don't know. I know what Jimmy can do because I've seen it. We're only speculating on what Bastion can do. It would be interesting to find out though."

"Bastion? Who's Bastion?" I asked.

"Elliott Bastion, the guy you call Lord Hightower. Didn't Rebecca tell you? That's what got her called to Washington, digging into his past."

"What!?" Allison demanded. "You mean..."

"Allison," I interrupted, "no, she never got around to telling us the details. Since she got back we've been busy with other things. Jamie," I said, pulling her close and kissing her cheek, "time to go back in the closet." I raised my voice, "Rebecca."

She was gone before the door opened and Rebecca walked in.

"What?" Rebecca asked. "You couldn't just call on the phone?"

"Elliott Bastion," I said.

"What about him, did you ... oh shit!" She smacked her palm against her forehead. "I never told you about him, did I? I am so sorry. Here you've been running around trying to get to these assholes and I forgot to give you what I found on him. God I feel stupid"

She sat down. "Elliott Bastion, founder and high priest of the Church of the Inner Circle is a very, very, bad boy. Or at least he used to be back when his name was Christian Wallace. Twice indicted for murder, one case was strong, the other looked like a slam dunk, but somehow he walked on both of them. They still don't know how it happened, but it did and now he's actually filed a harassment suit against the Bureau and we can't touch him unless we catch him standing over a body with blood dripping off his hands. Changed his name after the last case, moved to Vegas and founded the church. Both he and the church have been audited several times, twice by firms that work for the DOJ on organized crime. Not only couldn't they find anything, but one of them actually told him that we sent him and the judge slapped us again. The people that I met with are well aware of what is going on, they even know about the girl that was sold into slavery. If it's ever safe to do so, they will get her back. Unfortunately, as you know, right now that would probably just get more people killed. So they're nipping around the edges, looking for a way to take them down but so far, they aren't having any more luck than anyone else has."

"Do you have a picture of him?" I asked.

"Several." She got up and walked over to one of the bookcases, where she pulled down a file folder and brought it over to me. I opened it up and inside was everything she had on him, including several photographs.

"That was pretty good," I said. "I remember you telling me about your first attempt at this. Did you ever replace that door in your office?"

"Fuck you," She tried to sound tough when she said it, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

I ignored her as I flipped through the pictures, "This should help. If we get to him do you want to know what we're doing?"

She thought about it for a second, "This isn't my case and I'm in way over my head as it is. On the surface, I need to know, but this case is really touchy, and I'm going to have to run pretty much everything through Washington for approval."

"Look at Bob," Jamie said.

I glanced his way and met his eyes. Something was on his mind. Something he didn't want to bring up in front of Rebecca.

I turned back to Rebecca and said, "Okay, I'll try and keep you up to date on what is happening. About that other thing; I'll know in the morning. If everything goes as planned, you may get a reaction."

"You're not going to tell me the plan?"

I held her eye for a second and said, "Not unless I have to. It's something you would be better off not knowing."

"How soon?"

"I'll know in the morning if it works, as far as how soon you'll get a reaction ... no idea. And what it will be is anybody's guess; it depends on how much it hurts him."

"Okay, fair enough. Judging from the look on his face, I think Bob wants to talk to you. Sorry about not giving you all this sooner."

"I understand," I said. "It's been a little hectic lately." She left and as soon as the door closed I turned back to Bob. "What's on your mind?"

"I think there is a solution to both of your problems available."

"Which problems?" I asked.

"Someone to talk to about this case besides Rebecca; about some of the things you are thinking about doing with this case and these people. I get the impression you really don't want her to know about some of it. And if it should become necessary, someone to decide, and even authorize, you to do things Rebecca would not approve of. The kind of things you said you don't trust yourself to decide. Jimmy, I understand your dilemma. You have a very strong sense of justice. That's tempered by the fact that you're a really nice guy at heart. Let me ask you something, if it eventually came down to the only way to stop these people was to kill them, not all of them, but the ones that are doing it voluntarily, like this crooked cop, could you live with that?"

"Absolutely," I said without hesitation.

"I thought so, but if it meant you had to kill them? Or choose which ones had to die? Could you do that?"

That stopped me. Literally I held my breath just thinking about it. Could I? If there was no one else and no way, could I make that choice?

"I don't know. I think I could if it was the only way, but..."

"But only if there was no other way. Allison?"

"Same. I could live with it, but I wouldn't want to be the one making the decision. I just don't think we're old enough to make those types of decisions. If it came down to it, I would make the decision just so Jimmy wouldn't have to do it, but if there was any other choice, I'd let someone else decide."

"Jamie, I don't want you to think I'm leaving you out, but I don't need to ask you. I know you would do it. You're partly the reason Jimmy struggles so much with things like this, he pushed it away onto you a long time ago. I am sure there are other things we'll discover over time.

I had all but forgotten Lizzy sitting quietly watching all of this. "I am so glad God didn't give me your gift. I can see how much you struggle just thinking about it. Well, except Jamie of course, and I am really glad you have her to take some of the load off. Jimmy, if it comes to that, if it ever reaches the point that you know it has to be done, please just let her do it. If it gets that far and there is no choice ... Jimmy, it will hurt you in ways you can't imagine even if there is no choice. It won't hurt her, Jimmy, I promise."

"No," I said. "I couldn't ask her to do something like that, something I wasn't willing to do myself."

I could see her and Bob both starting to say something but suddenly Jamie stood up out of me, "No, leave it alone. We'll work this out between ourselves. Bob, who did you have in mind?"

"Sandra Atkins."

"That's what I thought," Jamie said. "Let me guess, go in under the radar, bridge her and then make her forget the conversation?"

"Yes and no," Bob said. "In the short term, yes, exactly that. But at the same time, this is a person that can be of immense help to you in the future, on many levels. I think you should approach her about some kind of official status."

"What do you mean official status?" Allison asked. "Isn't she exactly the kind of notice we don't want?"

"I'm not suggesting you tell her or show her anything about what you can do. So far Rebecca has presented you as a very credible source of information. It's got to be driving them nuts wondering how you do it. But, at the same time, you have to remember who we are dealing with. These are people that work very high up in the government, so high up they were willing and able to do what they did with Rebecca on a moment's notice and not worry about the consequences. What does that tell you about them?"

"They're more concerned with results," Lizzy said. "It makes sense. The cases that they deal with; she told Rebecca they're only concerned with the untouchable stuff. They won't care how you do it, as long as you get results and, if you do anything provably illegally, that it can't be traced back to them. The key word there is provable, meaning it's not provably illegal or it's not provable that you did it or had anything to do with it, and most of all, that it's not provable that they had anything to do with it."

"Right," Bob said. "These are the kind of people you see in the movies, and read about in spy novels. Officially they don't exist, a lot of the things they do 'never happen'. Everything that goes right is just a fortunate act of circumstance because no one is looking for credit. Anything that goes wrong, they never heard of, including the people involved. If someone they work with gets caught they disavow all knowledge. If they get caught doing something illegal, they'll prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. The people who work for them know this and accept the risks. There would be no possibility of a deal because every agency in the government would be against them. As long as you get results and stay invisible, they will move heaven and earth to protect you; you screw up and get caught..."

"Do you really think they would work with me?" I asked.

"With you? No. With Rebecca's mysterious 'asset', yeah, I think they would. But why don't you ask her yourself? As for the rest, Rebecca said Atkins works for and reports to a Supreme Court Justice. Short of God, there is no higher authority for making these decisions. Not in this country. Then there are the long term issues; what if something happened to Rebecca? Say she got injured in a shoot-out with the Sandman, and you needed someone you could call about something in a case you were working. Something her boss didn't know about, not officially anyway, and therefore couldn't get involved in. Say you ran across another girl like Phoebe. If the right protections and protocols were in place, you could get her into protective custody with a phone call. It will take a while to build that kind of credibility, but it could make all the difference in a bad situation."

"He's right," Allison said. "Jimmy, think about it; if someone found out about your ability and you had to run? You could call yourself in and they would hide you. They wouldn't even know that it was 'you' someone was after, just that a reliable source said you were in danger and needed to disappear. Even if it was someone else in the government looking for you, by the time anyone figured it out, you could be safely out of the country."

I had to admit it made sense. Bob was right, regardless of who said it was okay, I wouldn't want Rebecca to know that I killed someone, or that I had intentionally done something like what had happened to Mikkelson and Parry. Thinking this, it occurred to me that somewhere along the line I had stopped thinking of her as an FBI agent and started thinking of her as a friend. As far as she knew I had never intentionally used my gift to hurt someone and I didn't ever want to give her a reason to think differently.

"Okay," I said. "I'll bridge her and if I'm comfortable with what I find, we'll talk about going further, meanwhile, it's already past time for you," I indicated Lizzy, "to get up. We've all got school but you're going to be late if you don't move it, so thanks for taking the extra time to stay and help with all this, and for your help earlier." I blushed and she gave me a wink, then got up and kissed both the girls on her way out the door. I didn't realize I was staring until the door actually closed behind her and she was gone.

"Bob, I'll see you at school. I'm going to be busy at break but I'll see you at lunch."

"No problem, I'll see you then." He kissed first Allison's hand and then Jamie's. "Ladies, always a pleasure."

Allison

I love my brother, and I'm very proud of how hard he tries to do the right thing. At the time it pissed me off but the more I thought about what he said, about why we shouldn't drag Andrews into hell and slam the lid shut ... okay I still think we should have done it, and I know that Jimmy wanted to do it too. I know it took a lot for him to not do it; I'm the one who held him while he cried after we found out the truth about what happened to those girls. Not to mention struggling to help him deal with the rage that preceded the tears. Of course I now know that a lot of the rage was actually Jamie's, back before she knew who she was and she actually pushed him to blow up so she could feed on the anger. Still, it wasn't all her, and I know how much he wanted to see Andrews pay for what he'd done. So I know how hard it was for him to say no. But he was right, that's a slippery road to walk on. Taking justice into your own hands ... our justice system may have problems but there is a reason it's set up the way it is. Especially when dealing with the extreme cases. Deciding who lives and who dies is not a decision to be made lightly, and it's certainly not a decision for a sixteen year old boy to have to make, or his fourteen year old sister either for that matter.

I'm so thankful that he has Jamie. Sure, she was a pain in the ass before, but now that she's here ... I know how much he is struggling with some of what he's going through. The whole thing with Angela has been a real learning experience for all of us, but I can only begin to imagine what he's going through. Jimmy simply worships women in general. He's like an old storybook knight in shining armor that has been misplaced in time. He never would have imagined that a girl like Angela could have the kind of feelings that she does. Most guys would either run away screaming, or worse, just start dreaming up all the things they could do with their very own sex slave. Before this all started Jimmy fell into the first category, but Angela is his friend, and she needed him. So he sucked it up and jumped in to be there for her. I think somewhere in the back of his mind he thinks that some day she will be ready to move on and he will be off the hook; so not going to happen. He'll try, he'll find her a master to watch over her while she's at school, but she'll only be doing it out of love for him. I don't know what would happen if he were to truly give her to someone else, whether she would finally draw the line or not, but it doesn't matter because he would never do it. He won't trust anyone else to take care of her. And he'll do whatever is necessary to insure her safety and happiness. Just look at what he's doing now. Sure it's only in dreams but he's fucking other women as part of her training. I know it may not seem that way if you're looking at it from the outside, but Jimmy doesn't fool around. He didn't want to sleep with Angela to start with, went to great lengths to avoid it. Now he practically owns her. And don't even get me started on Elizabeth. Those two are so in love I keep expecting hearts to start popping out of the air every time they see each other and neither one of them will admit it. Actually that's not quite right. Lizzy knows that she loves him, but she doesn't believe that he loves her, doesn't believe that he can love her. If that's not stupid enough, not only does Jimmy not believe that she is in love with him; he doesn't even realize that he is in love with her. It's going to be a real shock to them both one of these days.

I have this dim view of the future that keeps running through my head when I least expect it. Jimmy and Lizzy are married, living in this big house somewhere and Amber is their maid. Don't get me wrong, it's not like she is wasting time going to college, she has a job, don't ask me what it is, but she has one, she just lives with them, blissfully serving them as Master and Mistress. I don't know, it's just this weird thought that keeps popping up. The part that worries me is that I don't see myself in the picture anywhere. I just can't picture my life without him, I know he feels the same way and can't picture a life without me, but somewhere in my mind, I am picturing that life, his life, without me. But there's no sense of destiny or foreboding or anything so I'm not worried. I think it's just my mind painting a fantasy based on what I see in front of me. I love Jimmy more than I love life; I didn't mind sharing him with Shannon because I loved her too, and I don't mind sharing with Lizzy for the same reason, but where I could never have given him up for Shannon, I could for her. Don't ask me why, but I could. Of course the fact that I know I could have either or both of them any time I wanted does make it a little easier.

What I am worried about is how much more responsibility he can handle. It seems like no matter what happens more and more is getting piled on him. Diane's murder was bad enough; finding out it was a serial case was worse. But then that led to discovering the truth about Amanda Watkins, and that uncovered what was happening to Samantha and all those other girls in Las Vegas, trying to find a way to solve that problem was already tough, finding out they were planning to come for Amanda's daughter in January just put more pressure on. Now he's got Roxy to worry about, and even though she is as well hidden as she can be, trust me, he still worries about her.

If I had dreamed what it would lead to when I suggested he work reward cases I never would have brought it up. What he went through finding that bastard in Palm Springs ... if finding these people means going through those kinds of experiences every time ... I don't think I could do it; but he will, no matter what case Rebecca hands him, he'll do his best, especially if there is a damsel in distress, or a child. Women and children are his big weaknesses. He'll help anyone who really needs it but if ten men were trapped in a burning building he would get the girl out first. If ten women were trapped in the same burning building he would rescue the baby first because in his mind he believes that that is what the women would want him to do. I can't really argue with that one, I think most women would be willing to die if it meant the baby lived, and the ones that wouldn't don't deserve to be rescued, but then I grew up playing Princess to his Knight so I'm a little biased.

This plan he has to smoke the Sandman out sounds like it could work, but I think he's forgotten that even if he doesn't really know anything about us, this guy does know where we live, and that we are somehow connected to Rebecca. I'm not really worried, per se, but I am a little scared. I guess we'll know soon.



-------

Chapter 43: The Meaning of Fear

Okay, now I'm scared. I know what you're thinking, everybody says that, and you're right. I mean I've been scared before; several times in fact. Like when Brad and his goons ambushed me outside the mall. Skinny little freshman me against three football players, hell yes I was scared. Even before that, when I confronted Brad in the locker room because he was talking shit about Angela. If our star running back, Pat Nesky, hadn't been there I probably would have gotten my ass kicked. Both of those paled in comparison to waking up in the hospital after the fight knowing that I had been seconds away from ending Brad's life when I passed out.

Then there was the fear that gripped me when I realized that our killer had taken my friend for this year's victim, and the fear that I wouldn't be able to find her in time. Going into the killer's house after Rebecca knowing there was a bomb ticking away inside. Staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, complete with silencer, aimed at me at the bank. The pop-pop-pop of explosions as the robbers systematically emptied the safety deposit boxes in the vault and trying to deny the certainty that they had every intention of killing us all when they were through. The fear of what was happening to me when an unknown force took over my body and mind and used me to kill five people in that bank. Realizing that that same unknown force was using my gift to hurt people like Ray Parry. Learning about how Kurtz became a cold blooded contract killer, then inexplicably turned to torturing and murdering innocent young women. Seeing the similarities between what happened to him and what seemed to be happening to me. Sure, that's all scary stuff, right? Sure it is, but fear, real fear, that's different. I never appreciated how different it really could be, until now. I now have complete understanding of what real fear is and what it means to be truly afraid.

Real fear is what happens when you realize that you've just stolen six and a half million dollars from a professional assassin.

My third period English Lit class was a blur. I have no idea what happened. I guess I wasn't much better fourth period because Bob called on me twice and I had no idea what the question was either time.

"Mr. Matthews, are you all right?" He asked after the second time calling on me for an answer and getting no response. "Perhaps you should see the nurse?"

"What? No, I'm fine, thanks. How are you?" There was a general chuckle from the rest of the class, although several of the girls were looking somewhat concerned.

"See me after class please, Mr. Matthews." Just then the bell rang and I almost jumped out of my chair. I didn't realize the period had gone by already.

After everyone else had gone and I was just sitting at my desk looking dazed he approached me, "Jimmy, what the hell is going on? I've never seen you like this. Not even when Shannon died. If I didn't know better I'd swear you were high."

"I'm not, really, I mean..." He held up his hand.

"I know. But that's the point; you can't even tell when I'm making a point. What happened? You seemed fine last night. Is there a problem?" He glanced around, "Is something wrong with Jamie?"

"What? No, she's fine. It's just ... Bob, I think I just did something really, really bad."

"You mean just now, during class?"

"No, at break. You remember I said I had something I needed to do? Well I did it, and it worked, but I didn't realize what I had done until it was too late."

"That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."

"Let me help," Jamie said.

I felt her move forward, but it wasn't like the times before when she shoved me out and took over complete control. It was more like she was sitting next to me.

"What he's trying to say is the last time we saw Kurtz, we talked about ways that he would go about catching the killer if it were his case. Cutting off his funding was a big part of the discussion. While we were talking, it seemed like Kurtz got a snatch of memory from his alter ego but he was having trouble bringing it into focus, we touched him and even though he couldn't make it out, we got the whole thing..."

Bob interrupted. He had been looking at me strangely ever since Jamie started talking. "Jamie is that you?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Your body language changed and you suddenly look more relaxed. Also, you keep saying 'he' and 'we'. Jimmy was saying 'I'."

"Hmm, have to be more careful in the future, but for now. We're both pretty freaked out, but obviously I had a chance to just sit and catch my breath, now it's his turn. As I was saying, we saw the memory of the killer setting up his numbered account. Saw the man that he worked with, the account number, and watched him input his passwords. When we talked to Mr. Rodriguez about our money he suggested we move it somewhere else. That way, if the kind of people that got a hold of Rebecca ever got a hold of him he couldn't tell them where it was. Well, while we were opening up our new account, we opened another one, moved our money, then went back to see if we could move Sandman's money and maybe put a hole in his cash flow. It costs a lot of money to hide the way he is, but we never expected this."

"What?"

"Mr. Shelby," she said, swallowing past a suddenly very dry throat. "We just stole almost six and half million dollars from a professional fucking killer."

Bob's eyes grew about three sizes. He could have been Marty Feldman's brother. He had been sitting on the corner of his desk and he had to stand up suddenly because he almost fell off. "Jesus God! Does Rebecca know?"

"No, she knew we were up to something but we didn't want to tell her what unless it worked. We warned her there may be a reaction, but we weren't prepared for the kind of reaction this might trigger. We were hoping to irritate him a little, not totally piss him off."

"Whoa, back up a second. You took money from a numbered account and moved it to another numbered account, so no one knows who did it. The accounts are anonymous so there is no way for him to find out who did it."

"Bob, do you honestly think he's going to believe that it was anyone but Rebecca?"

"Why would he think it was her? I'm sure he has made other enemies over the years."

"Because it's the 'cop' thing to do. Bob, everybody else thinks he's dead; of course he's going to think it was her. If anyone else had his passwords they would have used them a long time ago. Bob, there's no telling what he might do.

"And you're afraid of what he might do to her?"

"Yes! But not just her. Bob, he knows where we live,  and that we're involved with Rebecca somehow."

"Oh shit, I forgot about that part," he said. The way he said it was almost funny, it was like something from a movie, just casually tossing it off like he drove across town to pick up his dry cleaning and left his wallet at home. He was a little more animated after that. "Well, thank you so much for sharing all that, now I'm scared. Look, you need to warn Rebecca about this. I think you're right and this is likely to generate a much bigger reaction than anyone might have planned for."

"Bob, do you think she'll be upset that we did this? She trusts us and we've never done anything illegal with our gifts before. We don't want to lose her trust."

"Don't worry, you won't. There is a simple way to make sure. Turn the money over. Too bad you hadn't already worked a deal with Atkins; she might even let you keep it. Either way, there are huge rewards posted all over the world for this guy so when they finally catch him you're going to get a big chunk back. Maybe not that big, but still a lot of money and by turning it in you wave a big flag that tags you as a good guy." He checked his watch, "Listen, we're late for lunch and the girls are expecting us, so we need to go make an appearance. I'll come up with an errand for you to do at the beginning of the next class so you can go find a quiet place to call Rebecca. Make sure you use the new phone number. In fact, you don't seem to be feeling well, so why don't you just tell her you need to meet, and then I'll send you to the nurse's office to lie down for a while. Or you could go do all that now."

I thought about it for a second, as I did Jamie slid back and let me take over again. "No, lunch isn't that long and like you said, they're expecting us. I think it might be important to not upset any of the normal routines at this point. I doubt thirty minutes is going to make a difference. Besides, I think I'll feel better if I eat something. Stress is hard on the body; a little fuel at the right time can make a big difference."

"That's Jimmy again isn't it? Weird. Nice to know you've been paying attention in class though, that's so rare these days."

It probably wasn't the best choice but the milkshake did make me feel better. Susan and Mel were talking about Roxy when we got there, reminiscing about the days of their youth and the first time they had had to strip down and shower in front of a whole room full of strangers. The general consensus was that it was one of life's more traumatic moments regardless of gender. Mel shared the fear of being noticed staring at one of the other girls. She had known early that she was gay and was terrified that someone would notice her looking.

"Well at least no one would be able to tell by looking that you were interested," I said. "You didn't have to worry about getting an erection in front of a room full of guys."

"Huh!" Susan scoffed, "you've never had to worry about starting your period in the shower in front of a hundred other girls. Now that is embarrassing. I know, it happened to me and I thought I would die. They were merciless."

"I know what you mean," Mel said. "I've seen it happen a couple times over the years and it's always awful, but Jimmy has a point. Popping a boner in a locker room full of guys could get your ass kicked big time."

"Popping a boner!" Susan giggled. "Mel I can't believe you said that. I don't remember the last time I heard someone use that phrase, and in front of a student."

"Well that's what my brother always called it," Mel laughed. "And I'm not worried about embarrassing Jimmy, he brought it up."

Susan nodded her head, "Well, he certainly is harder to embarrass these days. God, do you remember last year when that girl was stalking him?"

Mel cracked up. "Yes! I swear I'll carry that day to my grave; the look on his face!" She looked at me and asked, "Whatever happened with that anyway? I don't mean to pry, but if you don't mind my asking?"

I did my best to suppress the smile, "We managed to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution to the situation."

That was it for Bob, who had been sitting quietly up to this point. He had to struggle hard not to spit out the coffee he was sipping when he burst out laughing. "Well put, young man! Well put!"

"Oh, Jimmy!" Mel laughed, slapping the table. "You are too much! I'm going to have to remember that one, 'a mutually satisfactory resolution.' That's good!"

"Thank you," I said. "It just came to me. Look, I don't intend for this to spoil the mood or anything, but sooner or later it's going to come out and I don't want you to feel bad about it when it does so I'm going to tell you now. It was Angela." There was instant silence and shock on both women's faces.

"There now, you see?" I said, irritated. "That's just what I said I didn't want to happen. Please, don't do that. My relationship with Angela was very special and I don't want you, my friends,  to ever feel like you have to tip-toe around it. That's why I didn't tell you before and it's why I'm telling you now. I'm past it, it doesn't hurt anymore, much, so please don't let it get in the way."

"No wonder you seem to be so popular with the girls this year," Mel said. "You don't know it, but you've been the topic of several locker room conversations lately. A lot of girls are wondering when you're going to be ready for a new girl friend. There has even been some speculation that you may already have one from another school or something. I almost told one group that you had been close to Shannon."

"Oh God, whatever you do, don't let that out." I said.

"Why not?" Susan asked.

Bob handled the answer, "Susan, think about it. If you were sixteen years old, would you want to go out with a guy whose last two girlfriends died?"

"That's not fair, Bob, neither of those was his fault," Mel said. "Angela was kidnapped by a psycho and Shannon died in an accident."

"We're not talking about fair, Melinda, we're talking about reality. If you were a teenage girl wouldn't you think twice before going out with him? I'll even go you one better. What would your parents think about you going out with him?"

She thought for a moment and finally answered, "Okay, I have to give you that one. We have the advantage of age, experience, and knowing the whole story. They wouldn't, especially the parents. I'm glad I didn't say anything. You should keep in mind though that any girl you pay any kind of extra attention to around here is going to have the rumor mill running wild."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. Just then the bell rang to head back to class. I stood up, "Thanks guys, for understanding and all, I'll see you around." I made a quick stop in the bathroom and then headed off to class. Bob sent me to the office to copy some handouts he had for the class. As I headed down the hall I noticed three guys clustered together doing something. One of them spotted me, glared, and then slammed the locker shut. They started walking toward me down the hall like they were going somewhere and as they past me one of them hit me with his shoulder. It was one of those stupid tough-guy things guys do.

"What an idiot," Jamie said. "Why not just hold up a sign with 'We're doing something we're not supposed to' in big letters. You better get the locker number, just in case."

"No," I said. "Chances are they are watching to see if we check the number. No point advertising we know they are up to something. And if they are we need to be careful about what we do or say because if anything goes wrong, they'll figure it was us that turned them in. He touched me, we can get the number if we need it, or just look at it on the way back; it's the sixth one from the end."

"You sure?"

"I counted them when he slammed it. Like you said, they were being pretty obvious. Better stay away from the suggestion boxes for a couple days."

I told the secretary in the office that Mr. Shelby had sent me to make some copies and asked her to show me how the machine worked.

"Thank you!" She said. I was a little confused at the reaction but she cleared it up right away. "Most of the students just pretend they know everything and try to do it on their own. These are not supermarket copy machines; you can't just push the green button. The smart ones come back and ask, the rest just end up jamming the machine. If they really screw it up and I can't fix it then we have to call a technician and it costs the school two hundred dollars just for him to show up, so thank you so much for asking."

I followed her into the copy center and was surprised at the size of the machines. Two of them were huge.

"How many do you need?"

"There are thirty three in my class, but he'll probably want them for the other class as well, so how about seventy? That way he has a few extras. They're four pages each."

"No problem. First things first, the machines are in power saver mode so they will take a few minutes to warm up. Fortunately we don't have to wait to start programming. Next, carefully, remove the staple from your originals, don't just rip them apart because it damages the paper and a tear can cause a jam as it moves through. Set your originals down and use this to get the staple out." I did as she instructed and she continued. Next, put your originals in the feeder, face up in the order you want them. Okay, stop." She said as I laid the originals face up in the tray. "Any time papers are bound together, even with something as simple as a staple, they can get sort of stuck together. The tiny little edge where the staple went in and out can hold two pieces long enough to try and feed them both at the same time. Then they come apart inside and jam the machine. So always separate your pages before you put them in. Now this machine will collate and staple the copies, but you have to tell it to. That's what this panel is for. It's pretty simple really. I'll watch and you see if you can figure it out."

It was mostly a visual menu. The icons were new but they were pretty self explanatory. It didn't take long to get it set up.

"Very good," she said. "It will take a little longer before the machine is ready, but then it will start automatically and beep when the job is complete. I'm afraid there is not much to do while you're waiting."

"That's okay; I'm just going to sit over here and rest a bit. I haven't really been feeling good this morning."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Now if anything goes wrong, please, don't try to fix it yourself, just come and get me."

"Okay, thank you for you help." As soon as she was gone and the door closed I pulled out my phone and called Rebecca. She didn't answer. Damn. There were several different reasons that might happen, none of them anything I could do anything about. I considered my options for a moment then dialed another number."

A deep voice gave a one word reply, "Rodriguez."

"Mr. Rodriguez, it's Jimmy, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Doesn't matter, what's wrong?"

"I need to talk to Rebecca right away. I tried her phone, the new one, but she didn't answer. This isn't something I can discuss on the old one."

"I see. She's working over at the central court building with her partner on something, which case is this on?"

"The Sandman."

"Oh shit, that can't be good. Anything you can tell me about?"

"I did something. We figured if we could find a way to interrupt his cash flow it would upset his schedule and he would be forced to do something."

"We? You mean you and Rebecca?"

"No. I didn't want to tell her what we were planning unless it worked. Well, it worked, only I think it may have worked too well."

"You found where he's getting his money from? They've been looking for months trying to figure that out, how did you ... never mind, I probably don't want to know."

"I got the account number and password sequences to a Swiss bank account he set up some time ago. I set up an account in another bank and then just moved the whole thing. When I saw the balance I almost stopped but I was afraid we might not get another chance, so I just moved the whole thing..."

"You did all that by yourself? Damn, kid, that's good work, so what's the problem."

"Before I tell you I need you to understand, I don't want to keep the money. I won't lie to you, considering everything else that's gone on lately, I had considered keeping it if this worked. Even now, it's tempting but, I mean, no matter where it came from, no matter where he got it, as far as I'm concerned, it's still stolen; it's not mine. When I asked Bob what I should do he said to just turn it in. If it does what we want and smokes him out and we catch him, there will be plenty of reward money. Plus he thought you guys might want to put together a little thank you for my help."

"No problem, I can help you get it to the right people without risking getting caught. So how serious is this? You sound kind of scared."

"I am scared; you would be too if you'd just stolen almost six and half million dollars from a professional assassin."

His voice changed, "Excuse me? Did you just say six and half... million dollars?"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh shit, that's going to get us a reaction all right. I'll take care of notifying Rebecca, and then I'll set up a way for you to transfer the money. Maybe she can talk to her new friends in Washington and find a way to get you a finder's fee or something. Meanwhile, try not to worry. Those people would die before they revealed details on a coded transaction. There is no way he can trace the money to you or anyone else at this point."

"I'm worried that he may not care. Mr. Rodriguez, he knows where I live, he knows I'm involved somehow with Rebecca. Plus, I'm just afraid he's going to assume that it was her somehow, afraid of what he might do."

"I understand. I'll talk to her about it and see what we can do. But as you say, he does know where you live, and if we do anything obvious like hide you, he may decide that there is more to learn. So we need to avoid drawing attention to you at the same time. Like I said, I'll talk to Rebecca and have her pass along what we come up with tonight."

"Okay, I'll see her tonight. Thanks for your help, sir."

"No problem, call me back if you think of anything else we need to know."

"I will. Oh, one more thing. I'm a little concerned that he might actually go after the bank personnel as well. I got the impression that they don't actually have access to the password files either, but still, it's not like we're looking for a rational response here."

"Good point. You're right about the passwords; in most cases they don't have access to them. These people exist solely on their reputation, so I can't imagine them being willing to ever risk misappropriating a client's money. Even the rumor would be enough to shut them down. Our boy is smart and should know that his piddling little six million isn't enough to tempt them. But as you said, we're not looking for a rational reaction in this case. Give me the name of the bank and I'll have her partner alert the appropriate people at Interpol. We won't tell them why, just that there may be a threat to the bank personnel."

I gave him the name of the bank and then I closed the phone. When I did, I realized that the copier was beeping at me; apparently it had finished the job while I was on the phone. I stuck my phone in my pocket and took the stack of stapled packets out of the bottom bin where they were piled and headed back to class feeling much better.

"Ah, just in time, Mr. Matthews, if you would be so kind as to pass those out for me. I see you made enough for both classes. Good thinking, keep one for yourself as well, and then you can leave the rest on my desk."

"It's handled," I whispered as I set the extra copies on the desk. "I hope."

Getting through the rest of class was tough. Regardless of what Rod had said I was worried, not just about Rebecca, about all of us actually, but mostly about Rebecca. She would be the most likely target when the Sandman found out what we'd done. The worst part was knowing that all we could do for now was to wait.

Rebecca

Rod doesn't call a lot of afternoon meetings -- the morning briefings were usually enough to cover everything going on, so when I got the call from Eleanor I knew something bad had happened. Something like this usually meant a development in someone's investigation which required a tactical solution and that's never good. Henslith and I had been deep in the bowels of the main court complex all morning, cell service in that area sucks beyond belief so Eleanor had had to call over and have someone find us and relay the message. When I called Rod back and he said he wanted me in his office five minutes ago I knew it was bad.

There is a button in the glove box of my car that turns it into a rolling light show. I'd never actually used it before so I wasn't even sure it worked. Apparently it does. I only had to add the sound effects twice on the way back to the office.

"What's up Boss?" I said as we hit the door to Rod's office.

"I got a call from an asset of yours; apparently he couldn't reach you and felt it was important enough to risk calling me instead. After speaking to him, I agree. You know he's been up to something?"

"Yeah, he wouldn't tell me what, only to be prepared. Whatever he was doing, he expected a reaction if it worked out."

"Apparently, it may have worked too well, and reaction doesn't begin to cover what may come next. You've been working on interrupting the Sandman's funding?"

"Of course, are you saying he found something?"

"You could say that, he wasn't prepared for what he found and he wanted me to warn you that you could be in danger. I think he's right, and as of now I'm putting people on both of you."

"Rod we talked about this, he's had opportunity before and not done anything."

"The rules just changed, it's crunch time and I don't want either of you out alone anywhere without backup. I'd prefer to have you both wired as well, but..."

"What?" I demanded.

"Exactly," he continued. "I knew you'd never go for it. Besides, he's too good with tech. I'm afraid he'd pick it up and use it against us."

Henslith decided to join the conversation. "How was this done? For months we have looked for his money trail, with no success at all, and now, out of the blue your mysterious source claims he has not only found it, but also disrupted it. How is this possible?"

Rod shook his head. "Like we told you before, Henslith, we don't know who he is or how he does what he does, but so far, everything he has told us has checked out. There's no reason to doubt him about this, therefore..." He gave one of those classic motions that speak so clearly, here we are.

"We could go on and on about this all afternoon. The bottom line is it's already done and there isn't a damn thing we can do about it except to prepare for the worst. If there is anything you need out of your current ride, get it out now, then turn your keys in to Eleanor and pick up your new ones, as of now, you are both in transport cars until this is over. You will, I repeat will, wear your vests at all times. The only exception is when you are inside this office or inside your respective apartments. Henslith, you have calls to make. I suggest you make them before it gets any later. I suspect you're going to be ruining a few people's nights as it is. Hampton, clean out your car, and then both of you report back to me when you're done, we've got work to do."

My head was spinning as I transferred my field kit to my new car. On the outside it was identical to mine but if you knew what to look for you could spot the differences. Differences like self-sealing run-flat tires, and underbody shielding. The armored panels in the doors and roof didn't show but to the trained eye the bullet-proof glass was a dead give away. It had to weigh an extra five to six hundred pounds minimum. Of course the glass wasn't actually bullet-proof; there is really no such thing as bullet-proof, bullet resistant maybe, but someone can always get a bigger gun. In this case the difference wasn't worth worrying about. If someone were that determined they could pick up a portable rocket launcher or RPG and just blow the whole thing to hell anyway. Sure it's expensive but if you're that serious you can always get the job done. We were counting on someone not wanting to be real obvious about it. Ordinance of that type tends to stand out in most crowds, even in Los Angeles.

Rod hadn't said how Jimmy had done it, just that he had. The only possibility I could think of was that he had gotten the information directly from Kurtz. Without knowing the action you couldn't begin to prepare for the reaction. The fact that Rod was suddenly insisting on this kind of security measures said it was serious. What the hell had he done? One thing was for sure: Jimmy was fast developing a reputation for being a playmaker. That wasn't so bad on the surface but it made it damn hard to keep him hidden. And why hadn't he told me what he was up to? Lately he seemed, different somehow. He'd always been a cocky little bastard but lately it wasn't so much cocky as confident, a lot more confident. Something had changed, but what? The only explanation I could come up with was that his abilities had grown.

I'm certain that there is a lot I don't know about what he can do, and that's a good thing. So far he had pulled off some pretty amazing shit on my behalf. Allison was right; if he wanted to pursue it, he could make himself rich just off of reward money.

But for every good thing I thought of, something bad, some potential abuse came to mind as well. Look at what had happened with Mikkelson? Or that other guy they talked about, the guy in the SUV. I didn't even know the details and they, he really, had managed to straighten it out, but only because he wanted to. What if he hadn't wanted to? Left unchecked, I had no doubt that Mikkelson would have eventually lost it. How many people might he have taken with him if he had snapped? It's not that I liked the guy or felt sympathy for him at all. His record spoke for itself, with hints of abuse and corruption dating all the way back to his earliest days out of the academy. He had narrowly escaped charges at least twice that I knew of.

Great, now I was thinking sympathetic thoughts about poor Mikkelson; the asshole who had outed my investigation to the newspaper and alerted my target that I was after his ass. True, there was no way to prove that it had made a difference, other than the killer's own note, left at the scene of a kidnapping that he had staged just to distract me. No guarantee that I would have caught him if Mikkelson hadn't gone blabbing to the press, but there was a chance, and when someone's life was at stake, I'll take all the chances I can get. I finished up and headed back upstairs to Rod's office, handing my old keys off to his secretary, Eleanor, as I passed her desk.

"Good, you're back," Rod said as I entered. "I was hoping you'd make it back before Henslith so we would have a chance to talk. Jimmy's worried that the Sandman apparently knows where he lives and that he is somehow connected to you. Granted the pictures he sent us were wrong, but he's had time to figure that out as well if he wants. If he has figured out that it's the kids and not the parents, he's likely wondering what the connection is. Now, I assured him that there was no way to trace this back to him, but considering the possible repercussions I can't blame him. What about you? Do you think he's in any danger?"

"You're not going to tell me what he did?" I asked.

"No. You two can work that out between yourselves if you want. Between you and me, I think you should just accept that he pulled a magician out a rabbit's ass and let it go. Bex, you don't want to know what he did. If you take my advice, when you see him, the first thing you tell him is that you don't want to know. He didn't tell you in advance what he was planning because he was afraid of what you might think. The only reason he said anything now was ... let's just say it's a matter of degree, and this turned out to be a lot bigger than he expected. Tell me the truth, Bex, all things considered; do you want to know what he's capable of?"

Considering recent events, that was a no-brainer. I just shook my head.

"Okay then, getting back to my original question, do you think the kids are in danger?"

"No," I said. "Not really. If you're right and there's no way to trace whatever he did back to them, and we don't do or say anything anymore to indicate that he's anything more than one of Bob's more gifted students and that we spend time with him for that reason. If Allison were older, I might be worried about her, but without more information or a really good reason, I can't see him going after the kids."

"You don't think this is a good enough reason?" He asked.

"Again, I don't know the details. Let me ask you; do you think he would believe the kids would be capable of doing whatever it was Jimmy did?"

"No," he said. "I doubt he'll believe you could have done it either but, as Jimmy pointed out, you're the logical choice. I told Jimmy that the worst thing we could do would be to attract any attention to them by putting people on them. Your partner is going to be here soon. Anything you need to discuss with me before we all get together?"

"Not really, unless you think it would be beneficial for me to contact Washington and get us some backup."

"No, it's too soon and it would look bad if you ran to them for help on this so soon after being promoted to the big leagues. Not to mention that we have nothing to tell them. I told Jimmy you'd talk to him tonight and tell him what is going on at our end. Do you want me to put someone on Bob?"

I actually thought about it before answering, "No. I don't think he's the type that's going to go after a leverage piece. Besides, if he's half of what everyone keeps saying he is, he knows I wouldn't go for it. Bob knows it too; we talked about that a long time ago. He made it very clear that if anyone ever tried he would rather be dead than be responsible for someone like that getting away. All he asks is that we make sure that we get whoever is responsible, he actually gave me permission to shoot through him if someone was hiding behind him."

"Damn! That's pretty hard core; you think you could do it?"

"I don't know, and I hope I never have to find out."

"Bullshit," he said, waving my answer off with a flip of his hand. "You'd do it because if the situation were reversed you'd want him to do it."

"Rod, I get paid to take a bullet in a situation like that, he doesn't. Now you ... with you I wouldn't even hesitate. I might even enjoy it."

"I'm touched."

Logistics and contingencies were discussed and argued, emergency plans in case of scenario A, B, or C; that sort of thing. Then all we could do was get on with the routine and wait for the other shoe to drop. There was no way to know how long it would take for him to find out whatever it was that Jimmy had done. I was really hoping that I had gauged his ego correctly; I was betting he would actually call and warn me before he made a serious move.

I hate waiting.

Jimmy

I had practice after school; our first meet was Tuesday against Colton, so Bob had us run two short courses, not more than three miles combined, to work on pacing and finishing. It was almost five before I got home to talk to Allison.

She took the news pretty well.

"Oh my God! Please tell me you're joking?" I just shook my head and she started pacing the room. "Jimmy, this is bad, this is really bad. Jimmy, he knows..."

I held up my hand to stop her. "I know, and when I saw how much it was I almost didn't do it, but I figured I only had one chance, so I took it. As soon as I could I tried to call Rebecca and warn her, when I couldn't reach her I called her boss and he's telling her so they can try to prepare. One thing he pointed out is that, yes, the killer knows where we live, but as far as we know he hasn't taken the time to figure out that it's really you and me that Rebecca is working with, not mom and dad. Even if he has, he couldn't possible know what we are doing, and in his wildest imaginings he would never connect us to something like this. Rod said the thing we have to do now is to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. He'll probably put people on Rebecca to try and keep her safe, we talked about putting someone on to watch us, but it would be really hard to justify. The only other option would be to move us into hiding or something and that would be just like holding up a big red flag telling him there is more going on here than he may have realized. So for now, we're just hoping that if we keep our heads down and don't attract any attention everyone will continue to just ignore us."

"So you think, you believe, that we're safe?"

"Yes, as safe as we can be considering what's going on; safer than Rebecca that's for sure. She's the most obvious one to have done something like this."

"Do you think this is what Amy meant when she said Rebecca was in danger?"

I shook my head, "I've been thinking about the same thing, and I just don't know. It could be, but how could she have known?"

Allison just looked at me and I realized what I had said. "Jimmy, this is Amy we're talking about."

"Yeah, okay, so it was a dumb thing to say, who knows with Amy? It could have been this, it could have been something else that didn't happen, it could be something totally different, there is just no way to tell. Asking won't help this time, we already tried that and she didn't know anything except that Rebecca was in danger. Not why or from whom, just in danger. After what happened that night when Rebecca showed up I'm afraid to try anything new with her."

"No kidding," she said, rolling her eyes. "I can still hear that scream and it gives me shivers just thinking about it. Have you seen or heard from her since?"

"No, nothing, but then I haven't actually tried to reach her either. I don't know what it is lately, it's like there is this mental block."

"I know," she said, nodding her head in agreement. "It's been like this since spring. Once we were solidly on the killer's trail and didn't need her, it's like I never think of her until something happens. When she showed up that day, I realized it had been like forever since we saw her, and ever since then I don't think of her again. When I mentioned it to Shannon, she said the same thing, in fact we both planned to talk to you about it and have you invite her over to play. But then it's like the thought just disappears and you don't even remember talking about her until the next time, then it's the same thing all over again. It's just weird."

"Okay," I said. "My turn, this is Amy we're talking about, what isn't weird?"

There was something picking at my brain, someone else that it seemed I had seen recently that I couldn't remember. I tried to feel my way around it, sneak up on it by picturing the events surrounding it, but it was like the scene got foggy and the harder I tried, the denser the fog got. Finally I gave up. Pulling out my phone I called Lizzy.

"I'm Easy."

"Only to the people who don't know you," I said. "So far I haven't found anything easy about you."

"Ahh," she said. "You're so sweet."

"It's the company I keep. Listen, do me a favor? Remind me later that I want to talk to Bob about Amy."

"Who?"

"The girl you can't see, Rebecca's little sister."

"Oh, her. Why, is something wrong?"

"Not as far as I know, there's just some stuff I wanted to talk to him about and I keep forgetting."

"Forgetting? You? Since when? You're about the most focused guy I've ever met. In fact I've been dying to be the center of your attention for some time now."

"That makes two of us. How's everything going there? Have you heard back from anyone on the photo shoot yet?"

"No, it's still too soon. Should have proofs in about a week though, I can't wait."

"Me either, I want that calendar."

"Jimmy, you know you can see me anytime you want. I'll dress up anyway you want. Want to play mechanic? I'll give you a lube job and oil change you'll never forget!"

I laughed, "I'll just bet you will. Hopefully one of these days the universe will let us, meanwhile, thanks for reminding me, I'm due for an oil change on my truck. I'll see you tonight; try to remember to remind me about Amy."

"OW! Ooh, that hurt! I drop a giveaway pickup line like that and you come back with, 'I need to work on my truck?' Forget it! Just kidding, I'll write it on my hand ... Let's see, 'Talk to Bob about Jimmy's invisible girlfriend.' Got it! See you later, Studmuffin." She blew me a wet kiss and hung up.



-------

Chapter 44: Random Acts

I wanted to call Bob but I couldn't trust his phone, and if the Sandman was as familiar with Rebecca as he seemed to be then he likely knew about Amy and would wonder why we were even talking about her, given her medical status. Calling Rebecca would have been safer; but at the moment I figured she had a lot more important things on her mind. Besides, since she couldn't interact with Amy at all she was likely the last person who may be able to offer insight into what was going on. It was one of those times that my heart truly ached for Shannon; she had always been good at seeing what others missed. It was her special gift and I knew that I would always miss her at times like this when I needed someone to talk to.

Something must have shown on my face because suddenly Allison leaned her head on my shoulder and said, "I miss her too."

I kissed the top of her head and then pulled her down into my lap and hugged her. "So how was school? Wait, wasn't Roxy supposed to come over today?"

She gave me an eye roll, crinkled up her nose and said, "Cramps, she stayed home today. It's only her second period and I guess it's hitting her pretty hard."

"Poor thing," I said sympathetically.

"Tell me about it. What are we going to tell mom and dad?"

"Do you see any benefit to telling them? As far as I can see all it would do would be to stress them out for no reason. If something is going to happen, there isn't much we can do about it, but if they start acting funny all of a sudden..."

"I know; it would attract attention. It was kind of a rhetorical question; I just wanted to see if we were on the same page. C'mon," she said, getting up and pulling on my hand. "We better get dinner started."

It was only Monday and my mother was already having another tough week. She was still looking for someone to ship things to their new owners, plus she had started getting calls from Realtors wanting to list the house. That little development was really pissing her off. She hadn't solicited anyone, they had apparently just seen the obituaries in the paper and taken it upon themselves to call and offer their services. There had also been calls from people offering to take the house 'off our hands' and help us 'avoid the hassles' of selling it. That is, if we were willing to let them have it for about a hundred grand less than it was worth. She really wasn't having a good day.

While I was listening to her I had a thought and decided to make a phone call after dinner.

"Mrs. Parry? Hi, my name is James Matthews, my friend Mark Davis worked for your husband, I was wondering if I may be able to speak to him for a moment?"

"Sure, he's right here, it was so sad what happened to them. I'm sorry for your loss; let me get Ray for you."

"Thank you."

There was silence for a few seconds and then a gruff voice answered, "Hello."

"Good evening Mr. Parry, I'm sorry to bother you at home, my name is James Matthews, Mark Davis was my best friend."

"You have good taste in friends, Matthews, Davis was a good kid. You the one who introduced him to that sissy, Steve Dennis?"

I had to chuckle at that one, "Yes sir, and I can't wait to see the look on his face when I tell him you said that."

He laughed too. "Yeah, I'd like to see that myself. What can I do for you, son?"

"Actually sir, I'm hoping you can help us with a little business problem we're having. My parents are executors for the Davis's estate and we need to ship a bunch of stuff to other members of the family. I was hoping, since you're in the warehouse business, that you might be able to recommend someone for some of the larger items. The little stuff we can send UPS, but some of it is too big."

"Are you thinking of stuff like washers, dryers, refrigerators, that sort of thing?"

"Mostly, yes."

"Thought so," he said knowingly. "My advise is don't waste your time. Appliances are too big and bulky to ship economically. If they're not close enough to haul it in a pickup or rent a truck, then it's going to be cheaper to buy a one new. Packaging and shipping is just too expensive and without the proper packaging they're too easy to damage. If the people getting the stuff can't afford it, then sell the stuff locally and just send them the money to help them out."

"I see, thanks for telling me that, I'll pass it on to my mother. What about things like bed frames and other furniture?"

"Furniture is not really that big a problem; you don't have to worry about dents or damaged circuitry. It's bulky but it doesn't usually require a lot of packaging, just wrap it in plastic to protect the surface and go. I'll have my secretary get you some names and phone numbers. Just call the office tomorrow after school and she'll have them for you."

"I have a meet after school tomorrow; I won't be able to call until Wednesday."

"What kind of meet?"

"I run cross country, sir."

"A runner, eh, you ever think about playing football? Always room for a good runner on a football team. Can you catch?"

"Yes, but I'm not built for football. I'm only about five-eight, maybe one sixty, I think it'd be like a pin ball game with me as the ball."

"Son, you don't have to be big to play football. There have been a lot of great receivers under six feet tall, you just have to work a little harder. How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"Sixteen? Hell, you got plenty of time to grow. Pump a little iron, build up enough muscle to keep from getting hurt and you could do well. You should think about it."

I had to chuckle, "You know, the first thing Mr. Dennis asked Mark when they met was if you had tried to get him to try out. In fact, Mark was supposed to have you call. Did he remember to tell you?"

"Sure did, we're having Steve and his wife over next weekend. We're looking forward to seeing old 'Dennis the Menace' again. It's been a long time. That's another reason to go out son, the kind of friends you make on a football field are the kind you keep all your life. You should think about it? What's cross country going to teach you? How to run away? Football is about meeting your problems head on and finding a way through them. Those are the kinds of lessons that get you ahead in life."

I had to smile, "I'll think about it, sir."

"You do that. Tell you what, you call me back tomorrow night and I'll have that list for you. How'd you get my number anyway?"

I had to lie a little bit about that one, "Mark had your number in his cell phone." That part was true enough, but it wasn't where I'd gotten the number.

"Mark was a good kid and a hard worker; we really miss him around the warehouse. You wouldn't be looking for a job would you?"

Like I had spare time... "No sir, not at the moment, but if I run into anyone at school who is, I'll have them call you, at the office that is. Thank you for your time Mr. Parry."

Mom was thrilled that I had solved her shipping problem. What Parry had said about the bigger appliances caught her attention as well. She made a couple phone calls to the grandmothers and confirmed that the kids who had requested the washer, dryer, and fridge; a younger cousin of Karen's and her husband, had only been married for about six months and were still relying on the laundromat. The refrigerator they had they had bought used and it had already broken on them once, but with her pregnant and off work they couldn't afford to buy a new one. Mom and dad talked about it and decided to just donate the Davis's appliances and then arrange to have new ones delivered to the newlyweds as a late wedding gift from Tom and Karen. The estate could certainly afford it.

Then it was homework and finally I could crawl into bed. Allison and I helped each other work off the last of the nervous energy and stress, and then we headed off to see what the night had in store.

Rebecca wasn't likely to show up for quite some time so we looked for other endeavors. It didn't take long to find them, as we quickly found ourselves in an all too familiar closet waiting for the all too familiar tread of work boots on hardwood. We didn't have to wait long.

"God, what I would like to do to that asshole," Jamie said.

"Hi, where have you been? I don't think I've heard from you since we ran into those morons in the hall at school."

"We'll talk about them later. Don't forget you need to stay and finish this to see if there is anything we've been missing by leaving early. After all, it has changed in other ways."

"Gee, thanks for reminding me."

It turned out she was right and there was more, but that doesn't mean I was happy to stay. After the usual stuff ran out the scene changed; suddenly the girl was several years older, no longer a stick figure, she was taller, and had actual curves in all the right places. As with most girls, her breasts were the most noticeable change. She had gone from nothing to at least a C-cup in the intervening time. Her father, step-father, whoever this jerk was had grown as well, fatter that is. He had also apparently decided to share his perversions. The girl was now kneeling in front of three men, alternately sucking them all and jerking off the ones not currently in her mouth. Eventually they all came within moments of each other, all doing their best to shoot their spendings into her open mouth. They were not very good shots. She never even slowed down but immediately began working to restore their flagging members. I wouldn't have thought it possible but all three of them were fully erect within moments. The next round included them taking turns with her other openings. Apparently they had a special treat in store for her today. Judging from the tears and the way she bit her lip I guessed this was her first experience with anal sex. Preparation had never been dear old dad's strong point and today was no different as they made no attempt to get her ready for such an intrusion. Heck I'd never even done it myself, but I knew you didn't just line it up and slam it in.

My only experience had been watching Tim and Cindy at the hotel on prom night and it had taken them a good ten minutes to get her ready. They had started with one, then two fingers in her to stretch and relax the muscles before he had finally pressed himself into her, not to mention of lot of the lube that she had brought just for the occasion, and even then Tim had gone really slow at first. These assholes just drove in and started hammering away like they'd hit oil and want to pump it out before it evaporated. After the first one at least it wasn't as painful but she certainly wasn't having a good time.

Finally it was over and we could leave.

"Well, that was downright depressing to watch," Allison said once we got to the beach.

"No kidding. All we learned was that the abuse continued for several years at least. There was still nothing to point to who any of them were."

"Have you ever considered the possibility that we're actually seeing his dreams instead of hers?" She asked.

"What?"

"You know, maybe all this time you've had it wrong, maybe it's him having the dreams over and over out of guilt for what he did to her all those years?"

Something about that struck a nerve. "What do you mean all those years?" I held up my hand to stop her from answering too soon. "No, take a minute and think about it, are you saying that based just on what we saw tonight or is there some other reason?"

She paused and thought about what I had asked for a moment before finally saying, "Huh! That's so weird; I hadn't even thought about it but you're right. I just have this feeling that it went on for a long time, and I had it even before tonight."

"Me too," I said. "But it didn't occur to me until you said it. Weird."

"Yeah very, so what now? Do we work on Vegas; wait for Rebecca to show up; go talk to Kurtz about what he thinks his killer self is going to do when he finds out he's been ripped off?"

"I've been thinking a lot about what Bob said, about going to the Atkins woman in Washington, this might be a good time to look into it? What do you think?"

She hesitated for a few seconds before answering. "It scares me. I know it has strong possibilities for keeping you safe, but I just don't like the idea of anyone else knowing what you can do, especially someone in the government."

"Yeah, no joke, but..."

Jamie interrupted before I could finish the thought, "You guys are looking at this wrong."

"Really? Hold on a second."

"Hi, Jamie," Allison said. "Obviously you have an opinion or Jimmy wouldn't have stopped in the middle of a sentence like that. Why don't you come out and discuss it with us? It will make it a lot easier, and besides, I haven't seen you all day and I miss you."

I scooted over to make room and she slipped out to sit between us. The first thing she did was to lean over and kiss Allison on the cheek.

"You are so sweet," she said.

"It's the company I keep," Allison said with a smile, leaning her head on Jamie's shoulder. "I really do miss you, you know. I'm not just saying that."

Jamie put her arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "I know."

As I sat there thinking about how nice it was to have another sister a thought jumped out at me. I rolled it around in my head, debating whether or not to even bring it up. I really felt like I needed to, but would it be better to talk to them about it individually or just throw it out there? Both options had their up and down sides, I wished for a fleeting moment that it had never occurred to me, but I knew that now that it had, I had to deal with it.

"I don't mean to change the subject, but something just occurred to me. Jamie, this is a very unfair question to ask -- I thought about not even bringing it up, even about talking to Bob and Allison about it when you weren't around, but I don't think that would be right either. I even thought about discussing it with you privately but it concerns Allison almost as much as it does me and you."

By now they were both looking at me expectantly and I suddenly found it difficult to make eye contact with either of them. "Jamie, I want you to think about this before you answer, it's something that we can talk about if you want but ultimately the decision has to be yours, and I want you to know that no matter what you decide, I will support your decision. Allison, this is a lot like not being able to discuss Amber with you without her permission. Kind of a secret, Jamie's secret, so it has to be up to her what to do with it. It's something you need and deserve to know about, but you have to decide now, before I bring it up, that you will abide by her decision or I can't tell you."

Allison was already shaking her head about halfway through my little speech.

"You mean whether or not she wants to meet mom and dad?"

"What?" I said. "You mean I've been beating myself up about how to bring it up and you already thought of it?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't tell you for the same reason. I wanted to talk to her about it first, before I approached you with it, let her decide. If she said yes, then it was a question of which one of us asked you; if she said no, then I wouldn't have brought it up at all. You're right, it's her decision, her secret, even though she's been our secret so far, and whatever she decides is how it will be. You're concerned how mom will react, aren't you? Not really dad, but mom."

"Yeah, but we can talk about that later. Jamie, I know it's kind of sudden, but what do you think? Do you want to meet your parents?" I turned to look at her as I asked the question and suddenly she was gone. The last impression I had was of her hands moving up toward her face.

"Jamie?" I called, jumping to my feet. "Jamie, what's wrong?" I glanced at Allison and saw the tears forming in her eyes.

"What happened?" I asked.

Suddenly Lizzy's voice came out of nowhere, "It's okay, she's with me. I'll get back to you when I've calmed her down a bit and figured out what is going on."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't..."

She cut me off, "No, don't try to explain, I'd rather hear it from her directly, but you should know she's not mad or hurt or anything, and she's not upset with either of you. She'll be okay; she just needed someone to talk to. I'll get back to you."

"She's with Lizzy." I said.

"I heard," Allison said.

"You heard her? That's weird, you've never been able to hear when she did that before."

"Maybe she didn't want me to hear before. Or maybe she can only make you hear most of the time but since Jamie is there she can do more. I don't want to go into why that may be; I don't really think it matters. Do you have any idea what Jamie was going to say to us before everything fell apart?"

"No, not a clue.," I said. "I probably should have kept my mouth shut until after we had finished but..."

"But you suddenly were faced with a moral question that had to be dealt with and, being who you are, it immediately became your number one concern and you were more worried about Jamie's feelings than anything as trivial as your own safety if you outed yourself to another person in the government."

"It sounds so stupid when you say it like that," I said.

"Well, on the one hand, it is -- it could have waited and we could have dealt with it later, but on the other hand I'm so proud of you, and I love you so much for being that kind of guy. That you don't even think twice about it, you just automatically do the right thing. Now sit back down and stop feeling guilty for hurting her feelings. You heard Lizzy; you didn't hurt her feelings and she's not mad at either of us. Right now we just need to leave her alone for a while and she'll come to us when she's ready. So what are we going to do while we wait?"

"I don't know, but I need to do something or I'll go nuts sitting around wondering, let's go poke around Vegas, there is always plenty of work to do there."

"Do you feel like you're ready to go after Hightower yet?"

Before I could answer my phone rang. It was Bob.

"Hey coach, what's up?"

"We've got a problem. Susan called a little while ago and..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold that thought; tell us when you get here. We're at the beach." I closed my phone and climbed to my feet, reaching to help Allison who was already starting to get up.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Trouble, come on." We headed toward the little covered area where the changing tent was; Bob came out before we got there. He didn't wait for us.

"Susan called Roxy's teachers to get her homework assignments. One of them mentioned she'd been in the office earlier in the day and there were two cops from Nevada asking about late registrations."

"Oh my God!" Allison said.

"Yes and no," Bob said. "She was just passing through and caught part of the conversation so we don't know how bad it is. It depends on who they were talking to. Without a warrant they shouldn't have been able to get any information on a student. If they did, whoever gave it out would be fired immediately, but if they just showed up and asked if anyone had seen a particular girl, and if they were careful not to identify her as a student...

"Considering the changes to her appearance, I don't think there's much chance anyone would recognize her, but if they got them started talking, then maybe tossed out a casual inquiry about new students enrolling late they could find out enough to know that there is a chance. They leave a card; the usual 'If you think of anything else, please give us a call... ' everyone knows from the TV shows, they may call without even thinking about it. I could be over-reacting here, but they're really pulling out the stops to find her."

"You're right," I said. "I thought the trail pretty much died with us. I expected them to go back home and wait for a lucky break. God, I so don't need this right now."

"What?" Bob asked, suddenly concerned. "Did something else happen?"

"Did something else need to?" Allison asked. "Why does everything have to happen at once? Why can't we just have one crisis at a time? Jimmy, check on Rebecca, see if she's someplace you can call her, if not, then wake up and call her and tell her to get somewhere, we need answers. I want to know if she thinks Atkins is someone we can trust or not."

"No," I said. "I already decided on that. I'm not showing her or telling her about what I can do. She doesn't need to know and Bob is right; she is only concerned with results. Somewhere down the road, if she needed the right result, she wouldn't hesitate to do whatever she had to in order to make me do whatever she needed doing. Bob, I'm about to discuss something I consider both illegal and immoral but that I think ethically may have to be done. I trust you so I'm letting you choose; if you would rather not know..." I left the question hanging in the air.

"Don't be ridiculous, if nothing else I want to stick around so that I can try and talk you out of it if it's something bad. Why don't you just tell me what you have in mind and I'll tell you up front what I think, then you can do whatever you think you need to do."

"I'm going to wake Atkins up and get her involved either way. I'm just going to tell her the girl is in danger, tell her exactly who is after her and see what kind of extreme measures she is willing to take. Andrews is not getting his hands on Phoebe, period. This isn't a decision I want to make, and I'm going to tell Atkins that I don't want Rebecca involved in it either. Hopefully she will do something, but if she won't then I'm turning Jamie loose on Andrews -- Charles too if it turns out he's dirty, but they are not getting her."

My resolve had been growing as I spoke and apparently so had my anger. By the time I was done, dark clouds had begun to gather and there were flashes of lightning on the horizon.

"And if she won't take action and you do?" he asked. On the surface it was a vague question, but I knew what he meant. Would whatever I did attract the kind of attention we couldn't afford?

"I'm not talking about walking in and shooting them, Bob. Nothing Jamie does to them will leave any evidence that anyone can trace. I hope it won't come to that, but if it does, it does. I will not let them hurt her."

"Don't call Rebecca then," he said. "One way or the other, whether it's you or Atkins making the call, she is not going to be comfortable with this type of solution. She'll go along with it as long as they don't ask her to break the law, but she's not going to like it, and she especially won't like you being involved in anything questionable. Can you get to Atkins directly without involving Rebecca?"

"No problem. That's one reason I had Rebecca show us all of them when they were holding her in Washington. I'll just bridge her, get her cell phone number, and call her; that alone should impress the shit out of her. We'll go from there. I won't tell her what I'm going to do, I'll just make it plain that this needs to be stopped and see what she's willing to do about it."

"Sounds like a plan. Jimmy, I don't want to give you the impression that I'm not with you a hundred percent on this. I agree with what you are saying. I just want to make sure you've thought it all through and realize what you're talking about doing. I don't want you to feel guilty over what may happen. These people, especially Andrews, deserve to die. Thanks to you we know the truth of what Andrews has done; the others too for that matter, and I have absolutely no problem with denying any of them a chance for their high priced attorneys to get them off. My only regret is that you may be forced to do it because the system can't or won't. Otherwise you have my unrestrained support on whatever comes, and I will help you deal with any feelings of guilt you may experience as a result."

"Thank you, Bob. I can't speak for what may come later, but there is no chance of me feeling guilty over anything that happens to Andrews. You two better go. I'm going to have to wake up for this and I don't want to have to divide my concentration."

Bob left; Allison just faded to invisibility and then came back after he was gone.

"I thought I might go with you to visit Atkins the first time. You are going to test her a little bit to see if she would pursue you if it came to it, aren't you?"

"No, I'm just going to assume that she would. I am thinking of implanting a subconscious trigger in case I ever need to do anything serious with her on short notice."

She smiled and nodded her head, "You are so smart. Let's go, no telling how long we have before the next crisis comes along."

"Or if someone has already told them too much. Should we take Lizzy and Jamie along?"

"No, leave them alone. Let Easy work her magic, Jamie won't care about the details, you're the only reason she hasn't gone after him already. Let's get to this."

A sleepy voice answered the phone on the fourth ring.

"Atkins."

"Ms. Atkins, I'm sorry to disturb you but I have a problem and I need your help?"

"Who is this?"

"You recently spent some time asking Rebecca Hampton that same question. You had a much better chance of getting the answer from her."

"I see," she said, apparently awake now. "You're her mysterious asset?"

"Yes, and don't bother trying to trace the call, I'm on the secure line. There has been a development that needs to be dealt with and I would rather not involve Rebecca in this; it would damage her opinion and therefore her trust in me. The girl we've been hiding is in danger. Two Las Vegas police officers -- one uniform, the other plain clothes -- have been searching for her. I had hoped the trail was too cold to pursue and they would go home, but they haven't, and they are getting far too close. Apparently they have figured out that someone is hiding her and are now going to local schools asking about late-enrolled students."

"Oh shit, that's not good. Do you want me to arrange to have her moved?"

"That's not my first choice. She's been through a lot and is finally in a stable environment with people that she knows care about her. Can you do anything about the officers searching for her?"

"Not without some kind of charges we can make stick. They're conducting a lawful search even if they are clearly bending the rules."

"Would it help if I told you that one of them gave the order to kill a man in police custody and personally killed both his daughters and his wife?"

"You can prove that?"

"No, of course not, but that does not mean it isn't true."

"How do you know that?"

"How I know is not important, that I know it beyond all certainty, is. He cut the girls throats while they slept and then held the mother's hands on the knife as he shoved it into her heart. He had to have her hold it so that the angle would be right for a self inflicted wound. He used the same knife so that traces of the two girl's blood would be mixed with hers at the point of entry, clearly showing that she had killed them first before taking her own life. The knife used matched the set in her kitchen but was not part of the same set; none of the other knives were anywhere near that sharp."

"Where the hell did you get that?" she asked angrily. "Those details were never released!" Oh yeah, she was definitely awake now.

"Nevertheless, they are accurate, aren't they? And if I know that, then there is the strong possibility that I know more, including who really held the knife as it slid across those girl's throats. It was him, Ms. Atkins. Now, what can you do to help protect the girl, besides uproot her and ship her off to live with total strangers?"

"You said there were two of them; are they both involved?"

"I don't know just yet, but I will soon. I understand that it makes a difference in your options but let's assume for a moment that they are both involved. Can you stop them without risk of exposing your involvement? I am correct when I suggest that your number one concern in this is deniability, aren't I?"

"You seem to know an awful lot about me, Mr... ?"

"No, Miss Atkins, I don't know much about you at all; just enough that I called your cell phone in the middle of the night. What I don't know is how much time I have so, please answer the question; if they are both involved, what can you do?"

"Nothing," she said. "I'm sorry, but I have no evidence of a crime and therefore no legitimate cause to interfere with their investigation. I can question their methods but not without exposing that we are aware of them."

"I was afraid you would say that. I was really hoping that you would be able to help."

"What are you going to do?"

"Deal with it."

"What do you mean deal with it?"

"I will not let them hurt her, Miss Atkins. Not if I can stop them."

There was a pause, "And can you stop them?"

"Good night Miss Atkins. I'm sorry for disturbing you. Hopefully I won't have to call you again, but if it should ever become necessary, I hope you will be able to be a little more helpful."

"Damn," I swore softly as I closed my phone. Allison hugged my side, silently lending me her support and comfort.

"It was a long shot anyway, Jimmy. You didn't really expect her to be able to do anything."

"I know, but I had hoped she would be able to. Come on; let's go see how Jamie is doing. If nothing else, this should cheer her up."

We found Jamie lying with her head in Lizzy's lap, apparently asleep. Lizzy motioned us to be quiet as we approached, signaling for us to sit beside her. As we sat down she whispered, "I'm glad you're here, she should have gone back to you a while ago, I was considering calling you." She stroked Jamie's hair softly as she continued, "I'm sure you wondered what happened. She was a little overwhelmed when you offered to let her meet your parents; that you would be willing to share them with her."

"Why wouldn't we?" Allison whispered. "They're her parents too."

"No, that's just it, they're not," Lizzy said, shaking her head slightly for emphasis. "Not really. Jimmy is her only real parent. I know you think of her as your sister because of the shape he gave her when he accepted her as part of himself, but he alone shaped her. His rage and pain and all the other buried emotions gave her form, and his love defined the rest; that and his love for Shannon. If Jamie had a mother it was Shannon; it was their mutual love for her that brought them together. And then you offered to let her share your parents. She didn't know what to do, what to say, the prospect both touched her and frightened her. I think you should think very carefully about it, and talk to her about it again before you take that step. It is possible your parents may embrace her as you have, but I doubt they will. Your mother in particular may reject her, see her as some kind of twisted parasite that somehow survived when you cast it out and that has now latched onto you to insure its own survival. I know you can't imagine your mother ever thinking that way about someone, but remember, to her Jamie is not real. At best she's like your invisible friend brought to life, and your mother probably won't like that idea."

"Did you tell her that?" Allison asked.

"No, I didn't tell her that, and she didn't hear it just now, but it's something you'll need to consider when you talk to her about it. No, mostly I just let her cry and listened to her as she babbled on about how sweet you both were to always be thinking of her. It was kind of nauseating to tell the truth."

"Lizzy!" Allison hissed in mock outrage.

"I'm only teasing," Lizzy said, giggling. "You know I'm only kidding. I need to wake her up. Jimmy, you should be ready, she's probably going to need to merge right away; I think maybe she has been out too long, but resting like this seems to make it easier." She bent down and kissed Jamie's cheek, "Hey Princess, time to go home."

Jamie's eyes fluttered open and she tried to sit up but it was obvious she was a little disoriented. I saw a hint of panic start to creep into her hers.

"It's okay," I said. "I'm right here. C'mon, let's get you back where you belong." I leaned down and kissed her and, as before, she vanished when our lips met. I'd forgotten about that and it caused me to overbalance and fall face first into Lizzy's lap. I felt my face flush hot as I turned beet red and scrambled to recover.

"Don't rush on my account," Lizzy said with a smile. Allison was almost falling over laughing.

"Sorry about that," Jamie said.

"Are you?" I asked. "You sure you didn't do that on purpose?"

Outwardly I was doing my best to not melt from the heat of embarrassment. Why did Lizzy have this effect on me? I certainly wasn't shy about sex with anyone else.

"No," Jamie said defensively. "Of course I didn't do it on purpose; if I'd done it on purpose she would have been naked before you landed. You know, I think life would be a lot easier if you two would just..." she must have felt something, because suddenly she stopped, " ... sorry."



"It's okay. Really. What about you? Are you okay? We were worried about you when you left like that, but Lizzy told us where you'd gone. Do you want to talk?"

"I'm okay; I just wasn't ready for..."

"I understand. You're not really comfortable with all the nice stuff. Tell you what; we can talk about that later. Right now we have work to do. Bob called earlier. You know Roxy stayed home sick today?"

"Yeah, Allison said she had cramps."

"Susan called to get her homework and one of the teachers told her there were two Nevada cops at the school asking about girls who registered late."



"What?" She said, the cold anger in her voice actually giving me a chill.

"Yeah, I thought they'd have thrown in the towel and been headed home by now, but they're not."

"Jimmy, we can't let them..."

I didn't let her finish. "They won't. We're ending this, tonight, whatever it takes."

"You mean that?" She asked, I could feel her concern for me, but there was a strong anticipation as well.

I didn't bother answering the question, "We'll go see Andrews first, he'll know if Charles is involved or not. It's not that I want Charles to be involved; I don't, but if he is this will be a lot easier."

"Yeah, we won't have to be as careful. What are you planning to do?"

"Depends on what we find when we get there. Jamie, I'm counting on you to help me if I wimp out."

"Jimmy, you'll be fine." She said, waving off the comment. "Yeah, you're a nice guy and all, but not when it comes to protecting the ones you love, or innocents. This isn't like punishing Mikkelson and Parry, this is about justice. Now kiss the girls and let's go kick some ass."

I'd all but forgotten about Lizzy and Allison sitting there. I glanced at them and Allison said, "Oh look, Lizzy, they remembered us." I started to say something but she waved me off. "It's okay, Jimmy, I understand you two had some catching up to do. Is everything okay?"

"Fine," I said. "We're going to go take care of that other matter, why don't you stay here and catch Lizzy up on what's been happening and what we need to do."

"I think I know some of it already," Lizzy said. "I can see your resolve, something has happened and you... , you have to do something you hoped you wouldn't have to, but now that you've accepted that it has to be done..." A single tear leaked from her eye to trickle down her cheek.

I reached and brushed it away, saying, "I'm sorry Elizabeth, but I have to do this."

"It's not that," she said, holding my hand to her cheek. "I know that you have to do it, whatever it is. It's just that this... , thing that you have to do, it's something you can never take back. There is an ... innocence in you, that will be gone when this is done. Jimmy, I am so proud to know you, but I will mourn the passing of that spark. Come and see me when it's done, and we'll talk."

I kissed them both and left Allison to explain.



-------

Chapter 45: And Justice for All


Any second thoughts I might have had before vanished as we made our way through the dreams of the two men. Jamie was really good at planting little bits and pieces to trigger the memories we wanted to see.

I can't say it was good news because a part of me really hoped he wasn't, but Charles was involved, very involved. In fact, he was the one Andrews answered to, the one who had given the order for him to arrange for an inmate to kill his new cellmate. Amazing what you can buy with two cartons of cigarettes and an alibi these days. Charles had approved the plan for Andrews to then go to the dead man's house and slaughter his family. An image of the mother's body had been all it took to get what we wanted there.

"Just do it," Charles had told him. "Nothing fancy, in and out, make it look like the mother killed them and then committed suicide."

Andrews had been disappointed, "You mean I can't..."

"No you can't fuck them first!" Charles said sternly. "Damn it, Andrews, we can't control who does the autopsy, and if they find fresh evidence they'll be suspicious."

"But they already know he was..."

"He's been in jail too long for there to be anything left. No, quick and clean for both of the girls and a single thrust for the mother. I understand that you are disappointed, but Lord Hightower was adamant, appearances are critical on this one. He promised to make it up to you and you know he always keeps his promises."

It only took a little more prompting to discover that Phoebe was to be his compensation. He'd waited a long time for this and he was really looking forward to meeting the little runaway.

After waiting so long, all it had taken was a photograph. He had been promised that once they had her, he could do whatever he wanted with her before she died. Andrews' idea of fun was right up there with Essex's. Only in his case it wasn't just a fantasy. Essex may have dreamed of fucking some helpless little girl to death, but Andrews had actually done it, twice. His fondest memories involved the spasming of a girl's muscles as he sliced her throat while still buried inside of her.

Lord Hightower was a generous man, and he always kept his promises.

It also turned out that Detective Charles had personally set the fire that killed Phoebe's cousins because Andrews didn't have the patience for that sort of job. He had very clear memories of how he had not so carefully taped plastic bags over the smoke detectors before starting the fire. The sloppy job was to make it look like an amateur had done it. He had left the metal ladder under the last one so the investigators would be sure to inspect them early in the investigation. Arson needed to be established as quickly as possible to implicate the missing girl and even though the ladder had melted, a trained investigator would have no problem telling what it was.

It hadn't taken long to get the truth. Jamie really is a bad girl when you piss her off, and she was really, really pissed at these two. We had learned a few other things along the way. One was all we really needed for our purposes; turned out Andrews was afraid of spiders.

Detective Nicholas Charles was awakened suddenly by a man's scream. Sitting up in bed he heard the unmistakable sounds of his partner thrashing around trying to extricate himself from the sheets which entangled him. What he wasn't ready for was the way the man was slapping at himself; he appeared to be trying to knock something off. If he could have seen what Andrews saw he would have understood.

Carl Andrews stood over the sleeping form of thirteen year old Bethany Martinson. In one gloved hand he held an eight-inch boning knife that had been honed to a razor's edge. A latex veterinarian's exam glove covered his hand and arm past the elbow, insuring that none of the blood would touch his clothing. He regretted the necessity of the gloves; he liked the feel of warm blood on his skin, he always had. Looking down at the sleeping girl he was once more disappointed that he couldn't have a little fun with her first, but he understood the need that everything appeared a certain way. Lord Hightower had promised to compensate him for his loss. It wasn't necessary, as Andrews would never have considered taking the chance of evoking his Lordship's displeasure, but it was a comforting thought none the less.

They had asked for a quick, clean job and Andrews took great pride in his abilities. So much so that he was disappointed when the first girl flinched at the touch of the knife, causing the skin to pull and the cut to come out a little jagged and uneven, he would do better this time. Very carefully he held the blade at a shallow angle above the sleeping girl's throat and in one swift movement drew a line across the white skin. Yes! This was the part he liked, a nice clean cut, so fine it was practically invisible. Soon the blood would begin to seep past the edges, a hair-fine line of crimson against the whiteness of her pale skin. Inside the blood would be seeping into her windpipe and then the coughing would start as her lungs tried to clear the intruding fluid. Blood made the prettiest bubbles. He waited in eager anticipation of that first bit of color. Seconds passed and nothing happened. A few moments more and finally something happened, but it was wrong.

Instead of a fine red line stretching smoothly across her throat, a small black something poked through the surface. Then another a little bit further away, these were followed quickly by more and then her throat seemed to explode as hundreds of hairy black legs erupted from the rapidly widening gash.

Dropping the knife Andrews threw himself away from the bed as thousands of spiders scrambled out of the girl's body and rushed across the white sheets toward him. Hundreds ran in a line down the bed as others flowed over the side in a black wave. Scooping up the fallen knife Andrews bolted for the hallway, slamming the door behind him and heading for the master suite, where the girls' mother waited. But when he opened the door, she wasn't there. In a panic Andrews crossed the room to see if she was hiding in the bathroom. A sight out of hell greeted him as he opened the door.

Surrounded in a lacework of white webbing, the face was that of the woman, but the body was a thing of nightmare. A blackened bulbous shape with eight massive legs shifting to keep it upright as it skittered towards him. As it came, a cold, sibilant voice hissed, "You killed my babiessss."

Andrews tried to slam the door but two black legs as thick as his arm shot through to keep it open. Slamming his shoulder against the door did no good and the door was slowly forced open despite his efforts. In desperation he drove the knife through one leg, pinning it to the door jam and turned to flee. The nightmare deepened when he reached the hallway and found the white walls, floor, and ceiling, black with the advancing wave of tiny black bodies, effectively cutting him off from the staircase. In desperation he jumped over the railing, risking the fall to win his freedom. He had only fallen a few feet when he felt the sticky strands begin to tickle at his body as they tore beneath his weight. But the web grew denser as he sank further into it, finally stopping his descent a scant two feet above the floor. He tried to tear the webbing loose but the harder he tried the more it clung to him. Try as he might, he could not tear himself through to the safety and freedom he could see so close nearby. Glancing behind him he saw the first wave of black bodies scurrying across the web-lines toward him. Behind them, on the upstairs landing the bloated black shape of the mother looked on with glee as the tiny shapes of her children began to crawl over his shoes and disappear up the legs of his trousers.

Carl Andrews screamed in fear as he thrashed wildly to free himself from the entangling mass; swatting at his arms, legs, and torso in an attempt to dislodge the thousands of hairy little horrors crawling and biting all over his flesh. Finally, the adrenaline surging through his body woke him up and he realized it wasn't webbing that entangled him but bed sheets. With a violent effort he tore himself free, crashing against the wall of the hotel room.

"Andrews!" Charles screamed, sitting up on the bed and flinging his own covers aside. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Andrews screamed again, this time in horror, as the huge black shape climbed free of the covers on the other bed. The smaller shapes were already running off the near bed in pursuit of their recently escaped meal. Tearing open the nightstand he pulled his revolver from its holster and fired at the huge hairy shape now crossing the space between the beds. The echo of the thirty-eight reverberated around the small room but the black body barely hesitated before resuming its march toward him. Again and again he fired, until it finally fell as the gun clicked at last on the first empty cylinder. Pain pulled his attention back to the black wave chewing its way up his legs and torso, tiny red welts already forming in their wake. He could feel the toxins flooding his bloodstream, knew that paralysis and death would not be far behind. He had to get away. Swatting weakly at the leading edge of the swarming mass he lurched toward the door, but his legs wouldn't respond and he overbalanced, falling heavily to the floor.

Fingers straining for a grip on the carpeting he tried desperately to claw his way to the door. Bloody trails formed where his fingernails ripped out and still he tried to get away. He could feel tiny claws on his back and he flung himself over in an attempt to crush them against the floor.

He felt his muscles beginning to lock as the poison spread and within moments he could only watch as the tiny shapes swarmed over him, biting and stinging as they came. Then they were on his face, in his eyes, ears, nose, and finally in his mouth, hundreds of them trying to force their way into his mouth, cutting off his air supply.

Carl Andrews, veteran officer of the Las Vegas Police department died alone in the darkness of his hotel room. Eight feet away, the thick carpeting was doing it's best to soak up the spreading pool of blood surrounding the body of his partner, detective Nick Charles.

The mind is powerful tool.

Carl Andrews so believed that he was being bitten and stung by spiders that tiny red welts had actually formed all over his body. The medical examiner at first assumed that they were what they appeared to be, bug bites, but closer examination showed no signs of trauma, no matter how minute, to the skin, and toxicology revealed no hint of any foreign substances in his blood. The autopsy showed he had died of suffocation, so convinced that his air was cut off that his own muscles had constricted to close his windpipe. More than anything else the symptoms resembled those of a drowning victim, the body's automatic defenses closing to prevent the intrusion of water into the lungs. It was one for the books, to be sure. What had caused a trained police officer to flip out, gun down his partner, and then just drop dead for no apparent reason? They may never know.

But I would know.

I had forced myself to watch the whole thing. I could have just left and let Jamie take care of it, but I felt it was important that I not run away from what was happening, what we were doing. And this time there was no one else to blame; I had blamed the bank on Jamie, or the thing that later became Jamie. I couldn't do that this time, and wouldn't have wanted to if I could. No, Jamie might have played a big part, the biggest part actually, but it was my decision to kill these two men, and I refused to run away from that fact.

When it was over I knew that Lizzy had been right, and that I had lost something; something that I could never get back. Fortunately, Jamie was there, and she took a lot of the strain; I didn't feel guilty for what we did. I didn't even need her to remind me what I was saving Roxy from. These two deserved to die, needed to die, and no one else could or would do it. I didn't regret doing it; I regretted needing to do it.

Most of all, I regretted losing that piece of myself that had died with them.

"It's done," I said simply when we arrived back in the cabana where the girls were waiting for us.

Allison didn't say anything, just hugged me. Her cheeks were wet when she pulled back. She wiped her eyes and then turned and hugged Jamie.

"Thank you," she whispered, kissing Jamie's cheek. "Thank you for being there to help him."

"You don't need to thank me, Allison; I didn't do it for him. I did it for the same reason he did, because it had to be done and no one else would do it. The only difference is that I enjoyed doing it. I just wish I could have figured out a way to make them suffer more first. I hope that doesn't bother you too much?"

"A girl after my own heart," Allison answered. "No amount of suffering would have been enough, so whatever you could do will have to do. Come on, let's go play with the dolphins, these two are going to need to talk."

"You just want to see me in my bathing suit."

"Uh-huh, and maybe out of it. Is that a problem?"

Then they were gone and I was alone with Lizzy, who had been sitting quietly in the little sunken pool with her feet dangling in the warm water. I sat down beside her and she hugged herself to my side, kissing my shoulder as she did.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said softly. "You were right."

"I know."

"I didn't really feel it, but I knew when it happened."

"Then it didn't hurt?"

"Not at the time, but it hurts now to think about it."

"It will pass," she said, fingers stroking my hair lightly. "Try not to think about it too much. When you do, don't think about the loss, just remember why it happened, and be proud that you were able to face it. Not everyone can. Some never do. Most people have their innocence taken from them, and then they are forced to deal with it. That's how it happened with me. It's a rare person that can stand up and walk away from their innocence; that can give it up because something has to be done and it's in the way. I know it sounds backward, and I know you won't feel the same way, but I'm very proud of you."

"What about Jamie?"

She looked at me quizzically, "Jamie? What about Jamie?"

"Is she okay? I know what I lost. I know that something has changed in me; what about her?"

"She's fine. What you lost -- or more correctly, what you gave away, she never had. You could almost say this is what she was born to do. It was your sense of justice that made it so hard for you to deal with all the things you pushed into her little box, and those are the things that shaped her. This was justice for her, she really was happy to do it. Happy that she could be there to do it so you didn't have to. She is proud to be this part of you. You don't think she's evil because she enjoyed it, do you?"

"No, of course not," I answered. "I know all that, it's just hard sometimes to accept. I don't think of her that way, I think of her..."

"As a person," she said, finishing the thought and making it clear that she understood what I was trying to say. "You don't think of her as just a part of yourself, you think of her as a person. That's why you offered to let her meet your parents, because people should know their parents."

"Yeah."

"Jimmy, there is nothing wrong with thinking or even treating, her that way, but in the end, she is still a part of you. That's why she can't stay away for long, although that seems to be getting better with practice. You could live without her, Jimmy. You wouldn't like it, and you would always feel the loss of her, but you could. The same is not true for her. She will die without you."

"Does she know that?"

"Yes, I do," Jamie said. "Sorry, didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it's been a big night and I was getting tired. I know I can't live without you, Jimmy, but that's okay because there is no one I would rather be with. So you're stuck with me."

"You shouldn't be tired; we've been together all, well, most of the night, especially the last part."

"I don't know why, I was just feeling tired."

"I guess you got your answer?" Lizzy said.

"Yeah. Sorry to ignore you like that. You saw her come back. What's it like, seeing us split and merge like that?"

"Different is about the only way I can describe it. You're a complete pattern; she is too, but hers isn't as complex as yours. When you merge it's like you are somehow 'more' complete. But you don't seem less complete when she leaves." She shook her head, "That doesn't make any sense does it?"

"Not really, no. It doesn't matter though, as long as she's okay, that's all that matters." I raised my voice a little, "Allison, it's okay; you can come back if you want."

The door opened and she walked in shaking her head. "I was afraid of walking in on the two of you ... you know."

"You don't need to worry about that," Lizzy said. "You wouldn't walk in on us unless we wanted you to."

Allison looked at her strangely for a second then moved on. "So you're okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," I answered taking a deep breath and letting it out in a relaxing sigh, "I'm okay. It's not like there was a choice. Not one that I could accept anyway. Now Roxy will be safe, and those two will never hurt anyone again."

"So Charles was involved?"

"Andrews answered to Charles, and Charles answered directly to Lord Hightower. I need to look closer at that information Rebecca put together on the church. Now that I think of it I seem to remember seeing his name in there somewhere." I reached behind me, pulled the file folder off my desk, and opened it. "That's interesting."

"What?" Allison asked, rushing to sit next to me so she could see.

Lizzy was already reading over my other shoulder and answered, "There is a Nicholas Charles listed as a member of the church board, and look at whom else is listed."

There were twelve members of the board. Most of the names I recognized from our various trips around the dream world and from our visit to Dr. Hendricks.

"Interesting," Allison said. "I don't see a single name I recognize that we haven't already confirmed as a voluntary player. Two I don't know, but none of the rest is being coerced. I think we're on to something. Do you think one of them may hold the key to where the blackmail information for people like Hendricks and Jasmine is being kept?"

"I doubt it. I think that is something Hightower controls himself. It would give any of them too much power if they had access to it. They might use it against him. I think that's something we should work on finding out, but not tonight. I'm finished for tonight. I'm just going to lie here," I transferred us all, warm and dry, to the big bed, "wrapped in the arms of my two favorite women in the world. Actually, counting Jamie, that makes three."

We snuggled in close together and before I knew it, my alarm was going off and it was time to start the day. As I climbed out of bed I saw the note I had left myself and realized two things, I hadn't gotten to talk to Rebecca, and we had all forgotten about Amy again. Rebecca I could understand; chances are she hadn't been available until after Jamie and I went off to do our community service, and when we got back we hadn't really been receptive, probably blocking her out so she couldn't get through. But once again, there was no explanation for Amy. We had planned to do something with her, had even called Lizzy and asked her to remind us and still, we all completely forgotten about her. Weird didn't begin to cover it, but then, we were talking about Amy.

There was a lot at stake so I did something I'd never done before, I took my phone with me and stopped to call Rebecca while I was out. I'm not sure why, maybe it was because I was carrying the phone as I ran, but my stomach muscles seemed a little sore, like they were trying to cramp up.

I didn't get my usual response. "Where the hell were you last night?"

"And good morning to you too; I'm sorry I missed you but something came up that I had to take care of. Trust me, I would much rather have not had to deal with it. So where do we stand?"

"Limbo; all we can do is wait. We have no idea how long it will be before he discovers what's happened. Until then, Henslith and I have both grown tails. It's a good thing we've already decided to cut off public contact; I couldn't come near you now anyway. Rod is debating putting someone on Bob."

"How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know. If I and my two tails can't keep him safe then it can't be done. But I'm not there all the time."

"But most of the time you're not there he's at school, I don't see the Sandman going after him at school. I think if he wanted to hurt you he'd kill him when you were there. Or, if you did put someone on him, kill him in spite of the guard, just to rub your nose in it."

"I hadn't thought of that, and you're right, that sounds exactly like what this arrogant jackass would do. I'll talk to Rod when I get to work. I think we need to keep in touch; can you call me back after school?"

"That's going to be tough. We've got a meet after school. We're not allowed to have cell phones with us. I can call you at lunch, then again after the meet. If anything comes up in between you'll have to go through Bob. Of course it would also help if you got to bed at a decent hour. I always know when you're at Bob's, you're both always late."

"Fuck you, you're just jealous."

"Hmpf, I don't think you'd want to compare dance cards. Truthfully I'm worried about the old guy; I'm surprised you haven't killed him already."

"Matthews, I swear to God, one of these days..."

"Yeah I know. Actually I'm glad you brought that up, I've wanted to talk to you about it. I need to broaden my education. Can you point me toward some good instructors?"

"You're kidding right? Jimmy, I've seen you in action, you handle yourself very well."

"Rebecca, the kind of people I suddenly find myself playing with aren't high school thugs. Fantasy sequences and ninja games in dreams are all well and good, but I need to stay alive in the real world. Like you said, you've seen me fight, so tell me, could you take me?"

"In a fair fight ... maybe."

"And in a fight that really mattered?"

She paused, "I'd have to hurt you, probably a lot, but I'd win."

"Against someone like Kurtz?"

"You've made your point."

"Good, because if he comes after me, or my sister, I'm not going to have a carload of FBI agents around to bail me out. If I have to rush to your rescue again..."

"That's not going to happen."

"Are you willing to bet your life on it?"

"There are damn few things in this world I would ever bet my life on."

"I need to learn weapons too."

"What kind of weapons?"

"Just the basics, if someone comes after me with a knife I don't want to freeze. If in the course of rescuing you I need to pick up a gun I think we'd both be happier if I knew which end to hold, how to load it, and I had a reasonable chance of hitting what I was aiming at."

There was a long pause, "Jimmy, are you sure? Don't take this wrong but I don't like mixing guns and children."

"I have no intention of owning one, Rebecca. I just want to be confident that if it ever became necessary I'd know what to do with it. I don't want to ever find myself in that situation, but as I seem to keep finding myself in situations I don't want to be in... , you know what I mean?"

There was another long pause, "Fine, anything else?"

"I'll let you know if I think of anything. Mr. Rodriquez did tell you I want to turn in the money, didn't he?"

"No, he didn't tell me anything except that you managed to screw up that Sandman's income. Don't say anything, let me finish. I don't want to know any more than I already do. Okay?"

That was kind of surprising. "Okay."

"So why don't you? Keep it I mean. You could you know, no one would have known."

"I would know."

"True."

I waited to see if she was going to go on. Apparently not. "Listen, I have to get back, I took a break in the middle of my run to call you. I've got to get back and get ready for school. I'll call you at lunch. I'll be calling on the regular phone. That way you can answer no matter who is around. If it's safe for me to call this one, tell me it's a wrong number, if it's not then tell me you're late for an appointment and I'll try to call you back before we leave for the meet. Actually, I think I'll have Bob take my other phone with him. That way I'm not breaking the rules but it's available just in case. Rebecca, be careful okay? I don't want to have to explain to Amy that I got you killed."

"Why would you want to lie to her like that? Jimmy, no matter what happens, how this turns out, you did the best you could to help me catch this bastard, which is what she asked you to do in the first place. What happens happens and it's not your fault. Now tell me, honestly, truthfully, that you believe that, and make it convincing because I need to know that you understand that it's the truth."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later." It wasn't really an answer, but I didn't think she would believe me if I just said it anyway. Now I was glad I hadn't been able to reach Amy, I might have told her that I'd done something stupid and put her sister in jeopardy. Of course, it was Amy and she probably already knew about it anyway. In fact, this could have been exactly what she was afraid of all along.

Weren't we just asking one of life's great questions? Hadn't Allison asked Bob just last night why everything has to happen at once?

As if my life weren't filled with enough sadness, the day started going further downhill in second period. I noticed something was wrong with Susan almost immediately. Something was bothering her. There wasn't time to talk to her as class was starting, but I made it a point to try and talk to her at break if I got the chance. Unfortunately, Bob and Mel were already there discussing, what else, the sports schedule for the week. Susan was there too, but she wasn't joining in; she just sat quietly, cradling her coffee cup, not really following the conversation, just sort of staring at nothing. She wasn't even drinking the coffee, just holding the cup. I was trying really hard not to stare, doing my best to follow the conversation between Bob and Mel so I would be ready when one of them decided to ask me a question. It was inevitable that one of them would; the only question was which one and where the subject would have wandered before it happened.

Bob was expounding on the strength of this year's cross country team. In addition to me, Tim, and a couple other returning runners, we had picked up a new kid that Bob was very excited about. His name was Byron and he had moved here over the summer when his father had been transferred to one of our local military bases. Since they moved around a lot he had never really gotten into team sports, not as any more than a casual player anyway. Like me, he had started running at an early age because his father did it. The difference was that I hadn't done any competitive running until my freshman year of high school. Byron started running competitively at the age of eight, entering one of those annual five to ten kilometer fundraisers that always seem to be going on. He was the only person under twelve to finish and the only one under fifteen to run all ten kilometers.

The best part was that none of the other local teams had any idea who he was or how good he was. I was looking forward to running with him and Tim both today against Colton. Melinda was still lamenting the loss of Shannon and hoping someone on her girls' volleyball team would suddenly reach deep inside and pull their game up a notch or two.

I was listening patiently when suddenly someone gasped. Instantly all eyes were on me.

I didn't realize that it had been me until Bob asked, "What? Did I say something shocking?"

"What?" I asked, trying hard to flash through the last few seconds of conversation. There was nothing so I decided to just try and bluff my way through. "No, not that I noticed, why?"

"Jimmy, you gasped like you'd seen a ghost or something," Melinda said.

"I did? Sorry, I didn't even realize. That's really weird ... Bob, you're our resident expert, why would I do that?"

"Oh, you're funny. Thanks a lot. Let's see ... You were holding your breath without realizing it; you saw a ghost or something..."

"That's original," Melinda said sarcastically.

"Quiet, I'm thinking. One of the girls in that group over there flashed you when they thought no one was looking; or, your friend the lesbian PE teacher just grabbed your knee suggestively under the table? That's all I can come up with on short notice, either pick one and we can pursue it or change the subject."

"Bob! I can't believe you said that!" Mel complained.

"Really," I agreed. "Like I would actually tell you that she grabbed my knee suggestively. You know me better than that."

"What?" Mel exclaimed, turning to face me. "I did not ... I would never..."

I just smiled back at her, "It's okay, Mel, I won't tell anyone if you don't."

"Why you little..." the bell ringing cut her off and we all got up to head to our different classes. Throughout the whole exchange Susan had never said a word. Something was definitely wrong.

"Jamie, what the hell was that?" I asked.

"I can't tell you, not now, not here. I'll tell you later, I promise. It's bad, but it's nothing you can do anything about now."

There was a pained sort of feeling to her voice. Whatever it was had upset her and apparently she was afraid, no, more like convinced that it would upset me as well.



"Jamie, are you okay?"

"No, not really, but I'll be all right. It's a 'good news-bad news' thing. Don't ask me any more, okay?"

"Okay, how long do I have to wait?"

"Tonight, after the meet, if I tell you now it's going to ruin your day and you need to run well."

"Wondering what you're holding back could distract me."

"Nice try. No. Jimmy, trust me, you're going to want to be somewhere quiet with lots of time on your hands when you hear this."



That pretty much ended the discussion. I breezed through English and Psychology; both classes were just demanding enough to keep me distracted. I called Rebecca right on schedule at the beginning of lunch. She gave me the wrong number code so I hung up and called her back on her other phone. I guess I should have anticipated what came next.

"What the hell is going on? When I got to work I had an anonymous message to call a number I've never even seen before. It was Sandra Atkins. She wanted to know how the hell you got her personal cell phone number. Not you specifically, but my asset. I told her I had no idea but that since I didn't even have it you certainly didn't get it from me."

I knew this would come up sooner or later. "Something came up that needed to be dealt with, I asked her to do something about it."

"What could you possibly need done that she could do but that I couldn't?"

"Rebecca, I need you to leave this alone. You'll find out about it eventually and when you do I think you'll agree that you were better off not knowing. When you find out about it, I would strongly suggest that you don't ask her about it either. It got handled, leave it at that."

I waited through the expected silence as she digested what I had said. Finally she spoke again. "I think I understand. Can you at least tell me what caused it?"

"Two Vegas cops showed up at Roxy's school yesterday inquiring about girls that registered late."

"Christ!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe they're still looking for her. So what did Atkins say? Did she help you?"

"Rebecca, I can't answer that, and if you ask her, I don't think she will either. Personally, I don't recommend asking her, I think you will be much better off and a lot happier if you don't."

"Oh right, like I'm going to leave it alone now. You little prick; you can't dangle a carrot like that in front of me and expect me to just ignore it. You know me better than that."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to lie to you, and I'm answering the best way I can. You should leave this alone unless someone drops it in your lap, which could still happen. I don't think it will, but it's hard to say for sure."

"So it's something big enough that the Bureau may be involved?"

"Rebecca?" I said, leaving the unspoken 'you really don't want to know, ' hanging in the air.

"Okay, okay, I get it; I'm not going to like it. As for the rest, no change, I think calling like this is a good idea though. Call me again after school -- after your meet is fine. I'll call Bob if I need you sooner. It's not like you'll be able to do anything anyway. At most it may be to give you a warning. If we can't talk then, try me back about six, then again before you go to bed just in case. I'm going to be up late anyway, and don't say it! I'm not staying at Bob's tonight so that's not the reason."

"So sorry to hear that, how sad for you both. By the way, have you set a date yet?"

"Have you gotten an invitation yet?"

"I wasn't expecting one, but I guess now I'll watch for it."

"Jimmy! Of course you'll get an invitation, you introduced us. Listen, I gotta go. Looks like Rod is calling a meeting. Talk to you later. Good luck with your meet."

I put the phone away and headed off to find my usual lunch group. Mel was sitting alone finishing up her sandwich as I got there. I felt another twinge in my stomach as I approached. It didn't feel quite like the usual hunger pang but I let it go.

"Finally," Mel said when she saw me walking up. "I was beginning to think you guys all ditched me and went out for pizza."

"You mean Bob and Susan didn't show? That's strange; maybe they thought we wanted to be alone."

"Don't start!" she said. I knew her well enough to tell the hostile tone for what it was, fake. "So what did happen this morning?"

"I'm not sure," I said, shaking my head in confusion. "It just sort of happened. I'm sorry for where it ended up, but I was just so embarrassed that I passed it off to Bob to sort of shift the focus, and then it fell in your lap and..."

She grinned, "Stay out of my lap, you're not my type."

I sighed, "More's the pity."

Since it looked to be just the two of us for lunch I decided it was a good time to discuss something Allison had brought up. "Mel, since we're alone, I need your advice on something. What am I going to do about the rumor mill? I'm really not interested in dating anyone right now, but I don't want to come off as mopey about what happened, or stuck-up like no one else is worthy of me or anything. I really don't know what to do."

She looked around carefully before answering. "You need to find a girlfriend in the same situation."

"I need a girlfriend whose ex was killed?"

"That's not funny, Jimmy," she said. "No, what I mean is you need to find a girl who 'needs' a boyfriend, but isn't really interested in you as a boyfriend."

"Okay, you lost me."

"You need a diversion. If you'd like, I think I can help. I know of a girl who needs someone she can go out with now and then, movies, maybe a dance now and then, group stuff, that sort of thing. I promise you, she won't be a problem, she'll pay for all her own tickets and dinner and stuff, she just needs someone..."

I nodded my head, "To help her hide the fact that she's a lesbian?"

"Exactly. Jimmy, when I was in High School, I dated a gay guy from another school for two years; we're still good friends today. Back then we were both under a lot of pressure to date. Being athletic and reasonably good looking I had two or three guys a week bugging me to go out, and unless your daddy is a preacher or something, you can only say no for so long before rumors start. I'd gotten by telling everyone my parents wouldn't let me date until my Junior year, but I was getting just as much pressure from them. Tony had it even worse; he was a hunk and a half and girls were practically throwing themselves at him. Twice he opened his locker and found some girl had stuffed her panties through the vent slots. One pair was still damp..." she rolled her eyes and grinned, " ... he was so grossed out he could hardly breathe. He slammed the door shut and went to his next two classes without his books. He never did tell me how he got them out. Anyway, a mutual friend hooked us up between sophomore and junior years and both of our problems were solved. We went to each other's games, left early from a few dances, did group activities with other couples and swapped a little spit just for show, that sort of thing. It didn't solve the sex problem but it did take care of the social pressure."

"I don't know, Mel, I'm not big on lying. I don't know if I could do all that."

"It's just a suggestion." She leaned in close and whispered, "This may sound really personal, but maybe you should talk to Allison. Lynn says she seems to be doing pretty well since Shannon died. She may need someone to cover for her if she finds someone new. Maybe you could date her girlfriends?"

I rolled my eyes and whispered back, "Thanks a lot, just what I need, a reputation as a cradle robber!" I leaned back and raised my voice, "I'll think about it, the first one."

"You could always go the other way and look for a girlfriend at another school."

"Melinda," I said. I could see in her face that my using her full name had gotten her attention. "Thank you for your help, but I couldn't do that. If the first option was a lie, this would be worse, to pretend to be interested in someone that has no chance of ever winning my heart..." I shook my head.

"Jimmy, I... , I understand that this is very difficult for you, first losing Angela, and now Shannon. But you have to move on and..."

"That's not it," I interrupted. "I'm not mourning Shannon. I will always love her but I won't sadden her memory by letting her death ruin my life, she wouldn't want that, but my heart is spoken for.

"Mel, my life is ... complicated. Ask Bob about it; he won't tell you why, but trust me, I have my hands full already. My problem is purely social; love I have in abundance. Any new relationship I might have would be purely a pretense. I don't mean to sound smug, but it would be unfair to let any girl think there was a chance of more."

"If I didn't know you that would sound smug ... but I do, so it just sounds sincere. If that is the case, Jimmy, then I suggest you reconsider my first suggestion." I started to answer but she raised her hand to stop me, "Just think about, Jimmy, think about it and then we can talk again." The bell rang and it was time to head back to class.



-------

Chapter 46: First Race


Bob all but ignored me through the beginning class. What conversation we had was limited to meeting for the trip to Colton after school. Then, just as I was leaving he stopped me and said, "Jimmy, I know you're concerned about Susan, but I can't talk about her except to say that she had to leave for personal reasons. Try not to worry about it, she'll be fine. She just needs some time to work through some things."

"Thanks, Bob. I'll see you in a couple hours. We're going to run circles around Colton." I handed him my phone. "Maybe you could hold on to this for me, since I'm not allowed to take it with me."

He smiled and nodded, "And this way you're not breaking any rules, very shrewd. Go on, I don't want you to be late."

I was right about Colton. We ran away from them. When I crossed the finish line I discovered I had my own cheering section. Britney Cotton was waiting for me. She was chatting with Bob near where I was meeting Tim to stretch and applauded as I came in.

"Hi, BC," I said, as I walked around the area, cooling down and shaking out my limbs. My stomach muscles were really starting to ache and I still couldn't figure out why.

She looked at me oddly, "Hi Jimmy. Why did you call me that?"

"Isn't that your nickname?"

"No. There's only one other person who ever called me that."

Oh shit! Think fast... "Yeah, Angela used to call you that didn't she?"

Now she really looked shocked, "Yeah, but how did you know that?"

"I don't know, I hadn't really thought about it, I guess Tim must have mentioned it after we first met."

"Then remind me to scratch his eyes out! Losing to Angie used to always put me in the foulest moods. One day she called me her little Black Cloud, because I was covered in her dust and had such a bad attitude. I swear I wanted to kill her, but then she hugged me and some of the dust rubbed off on her shirt and it was so funny I just had to laugh. After that it was like it was our private joke. She didn't use it when anyone else was around."

"I'm sorry, Britney, I won't do it again," I said, stretching one leg out before me and leaning into an easy stretch. I wished Tim was there, I actually needed the help, because for some reason I was cramping up if I tried to push myself that far.

"That's okay, I think I like it. I hadn't thought about it, but you know, it's sort of like keeping a piece of her, especially since she was so special to you. You need help with that stretch?"

"If you don't mind touching a hot, sweaty, boy, then yeah, I'd love some help."

"Oh no, I like my men hot and sweaty," she said with a smile. She placed her hands on my back and helped press me into a longer stretch. I could swear she was feeling the muscles in my back as she did it.

Tim's voice suddenly came from behind us, "Matthews, you make me sick. Hi Brit, you know that's how he hooked my sister the first time. They'd just met, and she'd trounced us on an eval-run, next thing you know they're on the ground together. You know where that led ... You running this year?"

"Are you kidding?" she asked. "Hell yes I'm running this year, I finally have a chance to win for a change. You're lucky they haven't made the league co-ed or I'd be running your skinny white ass ragged."

"In your dreams," Tim said, settling himself next to me and beginning to stretch out. "How'd you do, Jimmy?"

"Good. No real strain, strong finish, held my wind all the way through. Maybe a twenty second lead."

"Thirty-four," Britney said casually.

"Thirty-four!" Tim said in a surprised voice. "That's really good for such a short race. I ran well and I probably only had ten. How did Byron do?"

"Smoked the poor guy, left him and never looked back. We're going to have a great year." I let my voice grow more serious, "How did you feel today, Tim."

He knew what I was asking, "Good. A little winded at the end. My finish has gone to hell, that's for sure. Otherwise, I think I ran pretty well. It wasn't easy though; I kept wanting to push the pace. I had to focus on my breathing and actually count strides to hold myself down. It's been a while since I had to think so much about form, but all things considered, I'm not unhappy with it."

I nodded and said, "Maybe you need to do some time work. Set yourself a time and distance, and then see how close you can get."

"I hate time work," he groaned. "It's so boring. The only consistent place to run is on the track."

"Yeah, and the scenery sucks," I said. Then I had an idea, "Hey, now there's an idea; Britney can come along and run in front of us, I don't think we'd get bored with that view."

"Hell, no!" Tim said emphatically, putting up his hand for quick high five. "What do you say Brit?"

"And who would keep the view interesting for me?" she asked in one of those tones that only black girls seemed to be able to pull off. Then she stood back and gave us an appraising look. "Don't get me wrong, Tim, but your butt isn't much to look at. Jimmy now, he's got a pretty nice booty for a white boy ... stand up and turn around for me." I stood up and posed, looking back over my shoulder at her. "Now bend over a little... , hmm. Yeah, that's not bad, those shorts could be a little tighter, but I think you'd do. Still, I don't think the team would be happy with me helping out the competition."

"Don't you want to check my teeth?" I asked.

"Never on the first date," she said with a grin. "Maybe next time, but you have to ask me real nice."

We all had a good laugh and I decided that while we were waiting for the last groups to come in, it would be a good time to call Rebecca. The problem was that it was a little too public to be on the phone. After all I wasn't even supposed to have it there. Then I had an idea.

"Bob," I said when we were alone. "Do me a favor and call Rebecca. Use my phone so you don't have to tell her who it is. All you really need to do is find out if there is anything she needs to talk to me about right away. If not, then let her know I'll call her again later. If she does, then let her know I'll call her back shortly."

Cross country isn't really a glamour sport; it doesn't draw much of a crowd until you get to the big regional meets. Today's meet, being early in the season and between two relatively small schools, hadn't drawn too many people. Apparently though, it had drawn just enough to attract trouble.

We were just packing up our stuff to leave when we heard a commotion; a woman's scream and a few shouts of outrage catching our attention. By the time I turned Byron was already gone, bolting across the parking lot in pursuit of two guys running for the open athletic fields beyond, one of them carrying a woman's purse. Without thinking I took off after him, trying to call him back, but it was no use.

I already knew Byron was a good distance runner, but I had no idea how fast he was. I've never really been much of a sprinter myself; given a mile I'm sure I would have caught the fleeing pair. Byron was on them by the time they reached the far side of the first field. They never even knew he was there until he tackled the one carrying the purse, and let me tell you, Ray Parry would have been proud of that tackle.

Now the real trouble started and I was suddenly very glad I had gone after them. Coming in from a blind angle with the element of surprise is one thing, but the second thug had stopped when his partner went down, turning back to kick at Byron and help his buddy up. As the boy stood, Byron jumped to his feet and grabbed the purse strap, trying to tear it from the older boys grip. I was now only about twenty feet away as both boys rounded on Byron, moving in angrily. They hadn't bothered to check if he was alone.

The one holding the purse swung a fist at Byron and he did his best to block the blow, but his hand was still tangled in the purse strap so all he did was deflect the blow slightly, it still made a pretty solid impact on his left cheek. As the boy drew his arm back for second strike I ran in behind him and swept his feet out from under him, drawing a startled exclamation before he landed hard on the ground.

By now his partner had realized someone else was there and turned from Byron to make a grab at me. Ducking under his reach I landed two quick blows to his abdomen, neither hard enough to do real damage but still hard enough that he felt the blows. As I stepped back he swung hard at me but I was already out of range. In anger he stepped forward, arm drawn back for another powerful swing. Spinning in place, my right foot whipped in a tight arc and at just the right moment, shot forward to slam into his abdomen, just below his ribcage. The force of the blow stopped him and drove the air from his lungs. Before he could recover, my left foot came forward in a sweeping roundhouse, slamming into to the right side of his face and sending him spinning to the ground. Before he even hit the ground I was already turning towards his partner. I expected him to be getting up already, but instead I found him face down on the ground with one arm held in a very painful hammerlock by Byron, who was sitting on top of him.

Bob, the other team's coach, and several others had almost reached us by now. Byron waited until they were within about ten feet before releasing his grip and climbing to his feet. As the unknown thug started to rise to his feet, two men grabbed him, pulled his arms behind his back, and started to bind his wrists with one of their belts.

"No," I said. "At the elbows; the belt won't pull tight enough at the wrists; he'll be able to slip out."

The two men glanced at me, then at each other and then moved the loop of leather up to secure his elbows tightly together. With time he could still get free, but not without attracting attention. The coach from Colton had been on his cell phone as he approached; he was now kneeling over the unconscious boy, checking him over. Within a few seconds a campus security car arrived with lights flashing and two officers stepped out to take over. I faded quickly into the crowd and headed towards the parking lot as they started questioning the group of bystanders. Byron was already in the parking lot, getting a hug from the woman whose purse he had recovered. Once she was done hugging him and wiping her eyes, she immediately started berating him for doing such a foolish thing, stressing that he could have been seriously injured by the two if help hadn't arrived. Byron just stood there and took it, nodding his head, then grabbed the hand that was attached to the finger she was waving in his face, and kissed it.

"Yes," he said. "It was a stupid thing to do, and you're welcome."

The lady didn't know what to say so she hugged him again and kissed his cheek and he walked away toward the little bus that was waiting to take us back.

I stepped in behind him, sat in the seat across the aisle, and said, "Nice tackle."

"Thanks. She's right though, it was a stupid thing to do. If you hadn't come along those two would have pounded me before anyone else got close. Thanks for the save."

"Don't mention it. So, why did you do it?"

He smiled and shook his head. "My grandma's purse got snatched one day. It was in a crowded parking lot, people everywhere, and no one even went after the guy. They were afraid of what could happen and didn't want to get involved. I swore I'd never be like that."

"Where'd you learn to tackle like that?" I asked, changing the subject.

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Dude! That was NFL the way you took that guy down. You ever consider trying out for football?"

"I'm too small."

"Bullshit!"

"No really, I tried out for Pop Warner a couple times, and nobody wanted me."

"Idiots. Hey, their loss. Byron, with your speed, you'd be lethal as a wide receiver."

He looked away, embarrassed. "I can't catch."

"That's just a matter of practice."

"I don't like getting hit."

"Then play defense, you can take them down instead. Most of the time you wouldn't even need to tackle them, just keep them from catching the ball, you should think about it."

"Yeah, what about you, I notice you're here, not there."

"I never thought about it really, mostly for the same reasons you mentioned. But I was talking to someone recently; my friend Mark used to work for him. He asked me about it and some of the things that he said really made sense. Like when he said the only thing Cross Country ever taught anyone was to run away, where football teaches you to face your problems head on and find a way to deal with them."

"Kind of deep for a football player."

I laughed, "You think?"

Just then Tim stuck his head in the door. "Jimmy you better get out here. Britney says if you don't she's coming in after you. I don't think that would look real good."

"Be right there," I answered. "Think about it, Byron."

Britney was waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. As soon as my feet were on solid ground she threw her arms around me, hugging hard, and then kissed me solidly on the mouth. No tongue, but it was quite a kiss nonetheless. You know me, I'm all for hugs and kisses, so I just hugged her back and relaxed into the kiss.

"What was that for?" I asked when she finally pulled back.

"Do I need a reason?" She asked defensively.

"Never for me, I like it when girls do that, but they generally have a reason, especially in a public setting."

"Well, you deserved it! That was a brave thing you did."

"Then you're kissing the wrong guy. Byron was the brave one. He's the one that went after them; I just went after him." I stuck my head back in the door and called, "Hey Byron, get out here," then turned back to BC, "If I'd caught him sooner I would have stopped him, but it was too late by the time I got there."

"No kidding. You know I'd heard the stories but I never believed them. It really was you that put the hurt on Driscoll and Elliott last year."

I could feel my face clouding over, Keith Driscoll and Roger Elliott had been the two players with Brad Russell the night he had jumped me outside the local mall. Brad was one of Angela's ex boyfriends and one of the biggest assholes I had ever met. We had hit it off the first time he showed up; Angela and I were on a date, shopping for Christmas presents at the time, having dinner in the food court. A few words had been exchanged and then Mall Security had escorted Brad out so we could finish our shopping. There were a couple other incidents over the year, all culminating in the unfortunate meeting at the mall. That was the first time that Jamie had taken me over, and she promptly beat the crap out of all three of them. I still cringe to think what would have happened if Allison hadn't shown up.

"What?" Britney asked, looking at me with a very concerned expression. "Did I say something bad?"

I smiled back at her, "No," I gave her a quick kiss; "I just don't like to think about it. Not your fault."

"Well, I'm sorry anyway; I promise I won't bring it up again."

Just then Byron stepped out of the bus. His cheek was already darkening and it wouldn't be long before the swelling started to force is eye closed. The eye was already red and bloodshot. I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over next to me.

"Here's the real hero. Stand still, Byron, you're about to get rewarded. BC, he's all yours."

Byron was looking very nervous and confused; Britney just gave me a wink and moved in for the kill. Byron had the typical freshman response to being suddenly up close and personal with an older girl; he froze as Britney wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips softly against his.

When she pulled back I chuckled and said, "Maybe I should introduce you; Byron James, Britney Cotton."

"Pleased to meet you," Byron said shyly. "Very pleased."

"Nice to meet you too, Byron. That was a very brave thing you did," her voice suddenly got harsh and loud, "and if you ever do anything that stupid again I will kick your sorry black ass all over this town! Do you hear me?"

"You gotta catch me first."

"Ooh, you don't even want to go there," Tim said. Byron looked at him like he was insane. Tim shook his head, "Really, she can, I've seen her run. Distance or a sprint, she'll get you either way." Then he grinned, "Of course, if it was me, I don't think I'd be running my best."

"That would depend on why she was chasing me," I added. "If I'd done something as stupid as Byron, I don't think I'd want her to catch me. But if I was sure she didn't want my head on a plate I'd run just hard enough to make it look real, and then let her catch me while I still had enough strength left to enjoy my punishment."

"Smart boy," Britney said. "I'd be really disappointed if you didn't have enough fight left in you to make it worth the chase."

"Trust me, Brit," Tim said. "You wouldn't be disappointed. Angela chased him for six months and she didn't have any complaints."

Byron was looking more and more embarrassed by the moment. It's hard to tell when black people are blushing, but there were enough other signs to tell that he was very uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. Fortunately, Bob was headed our way with the rest of the team so we had an excuse to stop.

"Sorry we abused your guys so bad, BC," I said, taking her hand and kissing it. "It was good to see you again, though. Thanks for coming out. Listen, if you're not busy this weekend, would you like to have breakfast or something?"

"Breakfast?" she asked. Both of the guys were looking at me oddly as well.

"Yeah, it is the most important meal of the day you know, and having it with a pretty girl always puts it right over the top. If it goes well, we can decide if we want to do something else, and if it doesn't then you still have the whole day to forget you saw me."

I could see she was thinking about it and then she said, "You know, that makes total sense. Breakfast sounds nice, as long as we don't go to IHOP."

I laughed, "I can understand that. Actually, I know this great little waffle shop up in Arrowhead. I thought we might go there, and then if we're still speaking we can walk around the village or something."

She rolled her eyes, "You are the strangest boy; it's a date. Somehow that slip with your number on it ended up on my desk, so I'll call you with my address. Or you can give me your cell number?"

"Sorry, I can't give out the number; I'm only supposed to call out. In fact, I don't even know the number."

"You're kidding? Doesn't it come up on the screen?"

"Nope. I'd show you but we're not allowed to..."

She finished for me, " ... bring them with you to a meet. Yeah, we have the same rule here. I'll just call your house, no big deal."

"Great. Then I'll see you Saturday Morning." I leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

Bob picked that particular moment to arrive. "Back off Matthews; just drop the hand, and back away from the hot babe." Then the voice softened, "Good afternoon, Miss Cotton, I hope the boys have been behaving themselves."

"Hi, Mr. Shelby! Of course they're being good; otherwise there would be fresh bruises all over them. Looks like you guys are going to have a great year; you got some serious runners out there. Tim's still a little off his form, but I think he's doing really well all things considered, and if Mr. Byron James doesn't get his sorry self killed first, I think he could have a shot at regionals, and maybe even state."

"That's pretty high praise," Bob said. "Especially for a freshman, and at the first meet of the new year, too. Kind of early for predictions, don't you think?"

"Well, I could wait until everyone else figures it out, but then it wouldn't be much of a prediction, would it?"

"I'll have to give you that one." He turned to me and Byron. "I want you two back in the bus right now. As of right now, you're both suspended." I started to say something but he glared at me and continued, "Fighting is a violation of both the School Rules, and the Regional Athletic Code. I'll file my report with both offices tonight but until they review it, you're on mandatory suspension. The school will notify your parents on when you can come back. I will let you know what the Athletics Board says after I meet with them. Hopefully, we won't have to forfeit the meet. I've given the police both of your names with instructions that they are not to appear in any public reports. You will be identified only as 'stupid black male student' and 'even stupider white male student'. You are not to discuss this with anyone besides your parents; if I hear you have, you're off the team permanently. Tim, round up the rest of the guys so we can get out of here."

It was a quiet ride back to the school. I took advantage of the time to talk to Jamie.

"Thanks for your help back there."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"What do you mean 'what am I talking about?' During the fight..."

She interrupted, "Jimmy, I didn't do anything. You did that yourself. Trust me; you'd know if I'd done it."

"What do you mean?"

A vision formed in my head, it was me coming up behind the first guy again, only instead of sweeping his feet out from under him my foot slammed upward between his legs. The end result was the same, he went down and Byron was safe, but beyond that ... ouch! The scene moved on: the second thug reached for me just as before but again, the outcome was different. Instead of ducking under his arm, I stopped and both of my hands came up, the right catching his wrist at my shoulder and pulling it straight, the left arm coming up hard in a sweeping motion, catching the elbow and forcing it inward. He had two choices, bend over to take the pressure off or have his arm broken very painfully. I don't think he actually thought about it; rather, his body reflexively moved to protect him from the pain. As he bent forward, my right foot kicked upward, toe extended, the solid boney structures on the top driving directly into his face, breaking his nose and mashing his lip against his teeth.

Blood doesn't just explode from people's bodies in real life the way they show it in the movies. If there is a wound that's already bleeding that might work, otherwise, no. There was blood, but it was just what was trapped in his upper lip and nose with nowhere to go. That splattered a little, leaving a red stain on my sock and shoe laces as his head snapped back, the force of the blow standing him back up.

He was lucky that the pressure on his elbow had already been removed or it could have been a lot worse. Not that what came next wasn't worse. My right hand still held his wrist and as I watched I raised it up, turned under his arm and drew it down sharply over my shoulder, breaking the arm. As I released his arm my left elbow shot backward to slam into his face and he toppled to the ground.

"That was the nicer scenario. Do you want to see the other one?" she offered.

"No, I'll take your word for it," I said, mentally shaking my head. "You're brutal."

"No. Brutal is what I would have done before. Before I met you, that is. Even now, there's a lot more I could have done. I like to think I would have stopped before I broke his arm, but I'm not sure. Jimmy, you have to realize, you're nicer than me; a lot nicer. I'm working on it, but it's not automatic for me the way it is for you. You gave that guy two chances to quit or surrender; I wouldn't have given him one at all, I would have just taken him out."

"I believe you. So you're saying I did all that on my own; you're sure it was me?"

"Jimmy, trust me; if there were anyone else living in here, I'd know about it. Yes, it was you. You were right to ask Rebecca about working with some people that really know how to fight. You still have this mad delusion that there is such a thing as a fair fight. The point of fighting isn't to be fair, the point of fighting is to end the fight as quickly as humanly possible so that you don't get hurt. Civilized people don't fight by choice. They try to avoid fighting, but that doesn't mean they can't fight, or shouldn't fight if they need to. Jimmy, you don't start fights. I doubt you ever have; you're just not the type. So if you find yourself in a fight it's safe to assume that it was someone else's idea and you did your best to avoid it. If it's reached that point, and you've exhausted the peaceful options then it's time to fight. If someone has forced you into this position, chances are they are not your friend. So just get it over with. The faster you put them down the less damage you will have to do, or take, in the process. Don't hurt them any more than you need to, in order to do the job, but don't give them a chance to hurt you, either."

"That seems odd coming from you."

"Jimmy, please, don't remind me. I don't have your control, I'm not you, I like hurting people."

"You do? I mean, I was just teasing, I didn't realize..."

"Yes, you did. You were just being you and trying to give me the benefit of the doubt. Don't bother. I'm not proud of what I did to Brad, but the fucker deserved it. I'm just glad Allison showed up when she did. So keep this in mind, I'm not going to sit back and get my ass kicked because you were trying to be a nice guy. If someone corners you into a fight, you damn well better take them down, because if you don't, I will, and if I do it, it isn't going to be pretty."

She flashed an alternate ending to the earlier fight. This time instead of elbowing him in the face to put him down, she had elbowed him hard in the kidney, really hard, then turned and drove a foot down through one knee, and finally, as he dropped to the ground she had kicked him in the throat and watched as he choked and died. I got the message.

My parents were at least understanding -- Allison, on the other hand, was furious.

"What the heck were you supposed to do, just stand there and watch them trash Byron? From what you said, there wouldn't have been enough of him left to make a decent tube of mascara."

"Allison!" Mom said, in outrage. I'm sure she was trying for outrage, but the line was just funny enough that Dad and I were already giggling and she couldn't keep a straight face.

"Well what else would you do with a thimble full of ground up black boy? At least with Jimmy there would have been enough for a good sized tube of tooth paste." Even she couldn't hold back the giggles at that point.

"Either way, dear," Mom said. "With the violence in schools these days, they are taking a very hard line on any kind of fighting. I suspect that several of the board members may secretly want to shake both of your hands, publicly, but on the record they are going to try and maintain the appearance of living up to their zero tolerance standards. Just be thankful they got that punch in on your friend before you arrived, so you have some kind of proof that they started it."

"Speaking of that," Dad said. "How in the world did you do that? I never got around to asking after the incident in the spring, but..."

"My body learns the physicality of my dreams; muscle memory, timing, balance, all of it."

"You learned how to fight by dreaming about fighting?"

"Something like that, yeah," I said. "Come on dad, haven't you ever fallen asleep after a weekend Bruce Lee marathon and dreamed about trashing a roomful of losers?"

"Well, yeah, of course. I think everyone has at one point or the other, but I couldn't actually do it."

"Well, I can. It's like sleep learning. You remember in the spring when I started bulking up a little?"

"Yes. You're mother and I were wondering if you had been lifting weights after school. You're saying that somehow that was..."

"From lifting weights in dreams," I said, filling in the blank for him. "Bob and I were testing a theory he had to explain what happened with Brad and his goons. That was the theory; that I somehow benefited physically from the things I did in dreams. So we did some experimenting and it turned out he was right."

"Too weird," he said. "Any other little surprises? You don't fly or anything like that?"

"Richard," Mom said, rolling her eyes.

I did my best to keep my face straight and not look at Allison. "No, Dad, I can't fly. It would be way cool, but no ... sadly the laws of physics still govern reality. I'm really sorry about this thing today. It never occurred to me that I could actually..."

"Don't apologize, Son," He said, cutting me off. "I don't care if you get suspended, or if they kick you off the team. As far as I'm concerned, you did the right thing, and it will be their loss. I realize I've been saying it a lot lately, but I'm damn proud that you're my son."

Mom came over and kissed my cheek, "That goes double for me, and I guarantee that whoever that woman was, you are both high on her list for Student of the Year."

That pretty much ended the discussion. Even though I was obviously going to have some free time on my hands, I went ahead and did my homework anyway. After that, I spent some time in the pool, and then decided it might be a good time to finish reading Kushiel's Dart. I had already learned everything I could that related to Amber but it was still a good book. Finally, it was time to get to work.

And I thought the day had been bad...



-------

Chapter 47: Sometimes There Just Aren't Words


You know how at the end of a bad day you just can't wait to get to bed so you can make a fresh, new start the next morning? I hope it works better for you than it does for me.

Allison and I woke together in the glade. I checked my ring automatically and verified it was hers this time.

I love waking up with Allison, it doesn't matter if it's in a dream or in reality, it just feels so nice waking up with her cuddled to my side.

"We need to talk," Jamie said. Something in her tone suggested that this was not going to be good news.

"Oh, that can't be good," I said softly.

"What's that?" Allison asked.

"Jamie just said those four words guys hate to hear."

"Really," she said, sitting up and ticking off points on her fingers. "Let's see, 'Fine' is one word. 'I'm pregnant' is two. 'Size doesn't matter' is three, so it has to be, 'We need to talk'. How did I do?"

"Sometimes you scare me," I said. Then I just asked, "What's up, Jamie?"

She stood up out of me and started pacing. I could see there were tears in her eyes. Allison gave me a concerned look and stood up to intercept her.

"Hey! Whoa there," Allison said, stopping her and looking into her eyes. "What's the matter?"

Immediately Jamie hugged her, burying her face in Allison's shoulder and weeping so softly that if it hadn't been for the shaking of her shoulders I wouldn't have known that's what was going on. Actually, the body language would have said something was wrong, the tears just said how bad it was. I mean, this was Jamie we're talking about, tears just aren't her thing. I stood up, moved beside Allison and pulled Jamie away from her and into my arms instead.

"Hey, come on now, it can't be that bad?" I said, kissing her forehead and stroking her hair as she just transferred the hug from Allison to me.

She sniffed and sobbed once and said, "Yes it can. Oh, Jimmy, I couldn't tell you before because you were at school and I knew what would happen."

I pushed her back so I could look at her face. I waited for her to look at me and then gave her a questioning look as I dabbed at her tears with a fresh handkerchief. "Whenever you're ready."

She gave a little coughing laugh and took the hanky from me. "You're not going to like it," she said, dabbing at her own eyes. Finally she just threw it away and said, "Oh, this is ridiculous!" The tears were suddenly gone, her eyes dry, and bright again, but I had been watching and I could still see the hurt hiding deep inside. Still, I waited for her to tell me in her own time.

"You remember what happened at break?"

It took me a second but understanding finally dawned. "Yes, I asked you about it and you said you'd tell me later. Is this late enough?"

"Yes. You know something was bothering Susan; I mean it was pretty obvious, right?"

"Yeah, I'd say it was pretty obvious."

"Jimmy, I swear I wasn't peeking, but she was kind of stuck in this loop of daydream and suddenly I could see it."

"And?"

She didn't answer but suddenly a familiar scene started playing around us; a scene featuring an all too familiar little girl hiding in a closet.

Allison caught it just as fast as I did. "Oh my God," she whispered softly.

Even as the last word passed her lips a loud voice boomed through the house, "Susan!"

The scene faded and I found myself trapped between two extremes. Allison, who was now clutching at my shoulder, crying, and Jamie, who looked like she was ready to burn down the gates to hell itself. Now that she had shared it, her pain had turned to something she could use. From the look on her face, I'd say she really wanted to use it. I reached for her to pull her into the hug with us and she started to draw back from my hand, but I cocked my head and stared into her eyes for a second, and finally she moved forward into my embrace.

I needed the hug just as much as either of them, but more than anything, I didn't want Jamie just sitting on all that emotion with nowhere to let it go. Maybe it's because she's me, I don't know, but I could sort of feel her anger draining away through me. Finally I pulled back a little and they got the message, stepping back so I could talk to them.

"We can fix this," I said.

"How can you be so calm?" Jamie asked. "He knew! All this time, he knew, and he didn't say anything. You know what this means?"

"Yes," I said calmly. "It means we can trust him to keep his word and not betray our secrets, even if he thinks it's for our own good."

Wow! That stopped her in her tracks.

"He's right, Jamie," Allison said, wiping at the last of her own tears. "He couldn't tell us. No matter how much he wanted to. Looking back I think I can see a couple hints that he may have dropped; one in particular."

"Which one's that?" I asked.

"I can't be real specific but I remember him once saying..." She snapped her fingers, "Got it! It was when you were first telling him about meeting Rebecca; he pointed out that what you were seeing was memories and that you couldn't really affect them anyway, but that if you ever found that you could, to tell him right away because it could be very beneficial as a treatment tool. That is what you have in mind, isn't it?"

"Yes, but I'm still not going to be altering memories or anything, all I need to do is recreate the memory as a dream and run it from there."

"Ooh," she said, "good idea! So what did you have in mind?"

"First things first," I said, pulling out my phone. "Bob," I said when he answered, "We need to talk."

He paused for a second, probably digesting my tone. "Oh-kay," he said. "Just send me a door."

"We'll meet you in your office." I closed the phone and turned back to the girls.

"There is a good chance he won't talk about this in front of you."

"No," Allison corrected me. "There is a good chance he won't want to talk about it in front of me. Jamie he won't think twice about because she's still you, but me he may have a problem with." The last line was spoken as we entered Bob's office.

"Why would I have a problem with you?" Bob asked.

Allison did something I'm not sure she had ever done before; she crossed to his desk, hugged him around the neck and kissed his cheek, "Hello, Mr. Shelby. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, hugging her back and looking even more confused than when we walked in. "Are you going to tell me what you're thanking me for?"

"No, you'll figure that out on your own when Jimmy tells you why we're here. Then you'll decide if I'm a problem or not. Either way, I want you to know I understand and I'm okay with it."

"Something happened today," I said.

"You mean besides the fight at the meet?" he asked. "Which I want to talk to you about, by the way. In fact, let me get that out of the way now so I don't forget. Jimmy, what I did today was a formality; you and Byron are going to be just fine. We have to go through the motions so it doesn't appear that we condone student violence but that's all. What Byron did was a very brave thing, a very stupid thing in today's world, but brave nonetheless. There was a time not so long ago that practically any man in America would have done the same thing. I think it says a lot about what we've lost that that's no longer true, but that's not the point. They're not going to punish him for doing a good deed. Just like they're not going to punish you for making sure he didn't regret doing it. It was obvious you were going after him and not after them so no one can accuse you of starting a fight. They had already struck the first blow before you arrived so it was clearly you defending Byron. You'll be out of school tomorrow pending their decision but you won't miss anything. Any tests that any of your teachers had scheduled will miraculously be re-scheduled for the following day, by which time you will both be back in school. Trust me; it's going to be fine. I'm sorry I had to come off the way I did but..."

"I understand, but thanks for clearing it up. Susan is the little girl in the closet." I started to make it a question but at the last decided not to.

He looked at me for a moment, then at Jamie and Allison, obviously trying to decide whether he could or should say more in front of all of us. Finally he came to a decision.

"About time you figured it out. I knew you were close when you started getting sound in the dream. I thought the timing would have given it away."

I thought about what he had said. "You mean because I didn't dream about her all summer but then as soon as school started, the dreams started again? Yeah, I guess I should have seen that. I should have seen a lot of things, but I was so convinced that there was nothing I could do, and so sick of watching it ... I should have paid more attention. I probably could have stopped it, or at least tried to stop it, a long time ago."

"How?" he asked. "Jimmy, it's still just a memory. Unless you've made some kind of breakthrough you still couldn't affect anything."

"Yes and no. I probably can't affect the memory itself, which is a good thing, but I don't need to change it to use it. If I recreate it as a real dream I can then do anything I want with it. The only question now is how to use it to get the desired results -- that being to end the cycle. So you're okay with discussing this in front of everyone?"

"Yes, you already know the truth so I'm not violating any confidence. Bear in mind, though, that I am still limited in that I can't tell you more than you already know. Now tell me, how does knowing the truth change anything? You still don't know the circumstances behind it, or why she seems to cling to it. You understand that she's been holding back the truth as much as possible?"

"Yes," I said. "I mean, I hadn't really thought about it until you said it, but yes, I understand. That's why when it changed at the beginning of the year I could hear her but not him. She's still denying that it's happening to her. The truth is that it's bothering her more and more, and that's why the details are getting clearer."

"Very good. So what do you propose to do about it?"

"Force her to confront it. Show her that she can in fact stop it. Then try to get her to move on."

"That all sounds nice, Jimmy, but I've been trying to help her do exactly that for some time now."

"I understand that, but I have tools available that you don't. How would you feel about helping me fine-tune a scenario that I have in mind for her? I'm just not qualified -- not by a long shot, to do this on my own. I don't want to just wade in and start messing with people's minds or problems. There's too much chance I'd just make things worse."

"I love working with mature, thoughtful, intelligent people," he said with a smile.

"And yet you still work with all of us," Allison said. "That's big of you, Bob, really."

"Very funny. Jimmy, I've been waiting for this day ever since the first dream you had of her. I was hoping, even back then, that you would find something to tell you who she was; something you could bring to me on your own that would allow me to try and use your gift to help her. I would love to help any way I can. The question is do we have time for this right now? I mean, with everything else that's going on, do you have room for another project right now?"

"Well, unless something breaks with Rebecca's case, nothing else I have going on is that critical. Amber is doing very well; so well that we now have the problem of what to do with her until it's time to send her to school. Vegas is kind of in a holding pattern; we're still working on gathering information on all the players, large and small. We're also waiting to see what kind of fallout we might get over what happened to the cops they sent after Roxy. Besides, I don't know about you, but I don't see Susan's problem getting fixed in one visit. It's been going on too long; it's a part of her life. Changing that is going to be a process, not an action. Personally, I don't think we can start soon enough. By my estimate, I'm almost nine months behind already just because it never occurred to me to try this approach. I feel like I've let her down."

"Jimmy, don't think like that," Jamie said. "It's not your fault."

I started to answer but Bob intervened, "She's right, Jimmy. Don't dwell on it; in fact, don't even think about it. There is no guarantee that this will work, so trying it six months ago wouldn't have helped. Not only that, but six months ago you didn't know you could do half the stuff you're doing now. You may, or may not, have been able to then, but since there is no way to know, there is no point in beating yourself up over it. Besides, you don't realize it yet, but you have motivational tools available now that you didn't have before. We'll talk about that later. What did you have in mind?"

I gave him the basics on what I had in mind. Most of it was just taking what they had been trying to do in the past, to the next level. You can talk about doing something, plan it out and role-play the scenarios all you want, but it doesn't mean you'll be ready, or able, to pull it off when the situation arises. For Susan, or anyone else in similar circumstances, this wasn't something you could practice. Many counselors, in situations like this one -- where the abuse came in childhood and lasted for an extended period, would recommend confronting the abuser; using the encounter as an empowerment step. The victim confronting the abuser to say that they no longer feared them, and that they would never let them hurt them again. Apparently that wasn't an option here either.

This was going to be a new experience in dream management for me. I'd taken over or invaded other people's dreams for various reasons. My first attempt at therapy of any kind had been young Bobby, last Halloween night -- and it had worked out pretty well, but that had just been me taking over an existing dream and making some minor changes. Even what I had done with Mikkelson was really just forcing him to relive someone else's memories.

Talking with Bob, I realized that what I had done with Ray Parry came the closest to what I wanted to attempt. Drawing off of a particular memory for my basic framework, then changing it to fit my need. But Parry had been a short memory of a one-time event that I had reshaped. This ... this was a recurring nightmare that had been going on for years; one the dreamer was so familiar with that the slightest variation would be noticed as out of place. My recreation had to be, up to a point at least, perfect. And my point of deviation was well into the sequence, I had to let the original run long enough to be accepted as the normal dream sequence, only then...

In the dream, as in so many before, Susan found herself hiding in the darkness of her father's closet, a frightened little girl praying that tonight would be different...

"Today is going to be different," she'd told herself. Today she would hide in the closet and when he couldn't find her he would just go into the living room and kick off his big boots, put his feet up on the coffee table and eventually pass out when he had drunk enough beer.

She caught her breath as she heard the door slam and the tread of heavy work boots making their way down the hall.

"Suuusaaan!" he called. "Get out here girl." She held her breath and didn't answer.

"Susan!" he called again. "Where are you honey-bunch? Daddy's home! Come here and give your daddy a kiss."

The footsteps drew closer until finally his shadow flickered past her hiding place as he entered the room. She held her breath as he stopped in front of the closet doors. Looking down through the slats she could see his booted feet. She had carefully closed the doors behind her to the same gap that had been there before.

Her eyes pressed shut and her lips moved in silent prayer, "Please go, please go, please, please, ple-eeek!" The last came out loudly as a hand shot into the darkness and landed on her head. Meaty fingers twined in her blonde hair, and a strong arm yanked her towards the light. One of the doors was knocked loose from the track as she slammed into it.

The tears started with the first slap.

He was careful not to slap her too hard; he didn't want to leave any marks that some nosey-ass teacher might spot. Most of the pain was from her hair being pulled as he shook her.

"What are you doing in there? Are you hiding from you daddy? Don't you love your daddy? Your daddy who feeds you and puts a roof over your head. Didn't daddy buy you that pretty dress you're wearing? And now you're gonna go and hide from your daddy? Get that dress off! Now, girl! Don't you make me tell you twice."

"Please daddy, I don't..."

"Take it off!"

With shaking fingers she began unbuttoning the sundress she was wearing. As quickly as she could she stepped out of it to stand in just her white cotton panties.

"Come here," he commanded.

Taking tiny steps, she moved closer. Head down -- fighting the urge to cover her nakedness with her hands because she knew what he would do -- she slunk closer.

"Come on, Baby," he crooned at her. "You know what daddy wants."

"Please, Daddy. I don't want to..." A meaty hand stung her cheek and then he shoved her to her knees.

"You open that mouth again it better not be to talk, now get to it."

Fresh tears falling from her eyes she bent to her task, reaching out her hand she guided him toward her mouth.

Just before her lips touched the swollen head a strange voice said, "Susan, this is ridiculous."

She turned toward the sound to find a strange boy watching her. Strange, yet somehow familiar. She started to answer but he turned away and shouted at the ceiling.

"Susan, stop this! You're not a little girl any more; you don't have to do this. It's not even real. Come on, Susan, haven't you had enough?"

She was still kneeling and staring at him when he finally turned back around.

"Geez! What does it take?" Without warning he stalked toward her, glanced at her daddy, "Put your dick away, asshole, before I rip it off and feed it to you." The strange boy reached down and grabbed her by the arm, painfully hauling her to her feet, and dragging her towards the bathroom. Behind her, her daddy stood as stiff as a statue. When they reached the bathroom, the boy stood her in front of the mirror.

"Look at yourself," he said, indicating her reflection. "Susan, this isn't you."

Suddenly the image in the mirror began to change, growing taller, the body developing, but you couldn't really tell since early in the process a t-shirt had appeared to cover her. In moments, a mature woman looking somewhere in her late twenties, stood before her.

"This is what you look like, Susan. You're twenty-nine years old; you're a teacher, one of the best I've ever met. You graduated top of your class. You need to stop running away from stuff that happened forever ago, things you had no control over and couldn't have stopped if you wanted to. You lived through it. You're a great teacher with a bright future. People look up to you. Get over it and move on. Stop dragging yourself through this. There is no possible purpose to be served. Anything you could have learned from this, you learned a long time ago."

Suddenly she knew who she was, and who he was. Embarrassment set in shortly after.

"Jimmy, I ... I..." she stammered.

"Relax, it's not real. I'm not who I look like. I'm what Bob calls a representation. You created me to help you move past this. It's been bothering you a lot lately. Probably due to the recent changes in your domestic situation, which have triggered significant changes, including a serious kick in the maternal instincts. You're worried about your ability to protect Phoebe, and this... ," I indicated the scene around us, "... is the reason."

"Roxanne, her name is..."

"No lies here, Susan. How are you going to protect her when you can't even stop this?" He took her arm again, turning her back toward the other room.

There in the other room, she saw herself again as a young girl, on her knees, doing ... she turned away.

"No," he said. "No more turning away, it's not going to go away because you ignore it. You have to stop it." He turned her back to face what was happening. The girl was struggling; her father, now aroused to the point he was gripping her head with both hands and thrusting himself into her mouth harder and deeper with every stroke.

"Stop it Susan, you're not a little girl any more, you don't have to do this. If you won't do it for yourself..." Suddenly the image changed and instead of Susan's younger self, sweet, innocent Phoebe, knelt before Susan's father, both of her hands trapped in one of his, tears streaming down her face, desperately trying not to do what he wanted her to.

"No, please. I can't. I don't want to, it's dirty. Ow!" she cried out in pain as he released his grip on her hair and slapped her hard.

"Do it!" he demanded. "You ungrateful little bitch, open your god-damned mouth." He slapped her again and then pinched her nose closed so she couldn't breathe, placing the head of his cock against her lips, waiting for her to finally take that gasping breath for the air she desperately needed. She squirmed and struggled as best she could but his grip was too strong. Finally, she couldn't hold her breath any longer and tried to sneak a little air. As soon as her lips parted he forced himself roughly into her mouth. Releasing his grip he grabbed her head with both hands and forced her mouth further down.

She coughed and struggled, slapping at his legs and trying to pull his hands off of her head, finally biting down on his intruding flesh. With a cry he pulled himself back and slapped her to the floor.

"You little bitch!" Reaching down he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her screaming to her feet, then threw her roughly onto the bed.

"Stop him, Susan. Are you going to stand here and let him do this to that poor innocent little girl? You know what comes next, what he's going to do to her. You're supposed to be protecting her, keeping her safe. How can you just stand here and watch him do this to her?"

He was on the bed with her now, slapping her again as she tried to get away. One hand pinning her to the bed as the other ripped her panties, the last barrier she had left, from her body.

"No!" Susan shrieked, launching herself at the bed. "Stop it! Leave her alone! Daddy, stop it! No more!" She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away from the struggling girl. As she did they both disappeared, and Susan, seeing them disappear, fell sobbing on to the bed. The young boy from school walked over, calmly sat down beside her and stroked her hair.

"See? That's all it takes, Susan. You just have to say no, if not for yourself, then for the next girl that might get hurt. You did good. It will be easier next time, I promise."

Her head turned toward him. "Next time?"

"Oh yes, there will be a next time, Susan, you know there will. Bob told you this wouldn't go away overnight. It's too much a part of you. It will take time, but it will get easier each time, and one day you will do it for yourself instead of for her, and then it will get even easier, until finally, the dreams will stop and he will no longer have any power over you. All of the dreams, Susan, not just this one, but it will take time. How long is up to you, but you've taken a big step tonight, and I promise you, if you hold firm, this will stop, and you will be free." Then the young man simply got up, turned away and was gone.

"You don't understand," she whispered into the silence.

"I understand," a strange voice answered.

From the shadows of the closet where it had all started a man appeared. She didn't know him, and yet something about him was familiar.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Another representation," he said. "You're right -- the kid's good, but he doesn't know everything, and therefore can't understand that there are other reasons you cling to these memories. Susan, it wasn't your fault."

Five simple words, spoken by a stranger cut through her like sharp knives, stabbing at her heart and reducing her to tears. The man moved slowly over and took up the space so recently vacated by his predecessor. Sitting on the bed and stroking her hair.

"It's okay, Susan, go ahead and cry, I understand, and I'll wait. Get it out and then maybe we can talk.

"Go away."

"I can't do that Susan, you brought me here for a reason. You brought me here to help you and until I've done that, I can't really leave. I could go away and you'd forget me in a day or two. But I would still be here and sooner or later you'll still have to deal with me."

"Who are you?"

"I'm not so much a who as a what. I told you, I'm a representation, just like Jimmy was. Only in my case, I represent the man your father should have been. Who he would have been if he had been the man you always wanted him to be. Hell, half the man even. No man can ever truly stand up to the measure his little girl sets for him.

"I'm the man you wanted to love. The father that cared about you, not just what you could do for him. I'm your dad, and I'm here to tell you that my death was not your fault."

"Yes, it was." She said, fresh tears flowing down her face. "If I had just loved you more, been there for you the way you were there for me..."

"Being there for me was never in your job description, Princess. It's the other way around; I was the one who was supposed to be there for you. Instead I took advantage of the fact that you were there for me. I knew how much you loved me, and I betrayed that love and trust in the worst possible way, using you to satisfy my own cravings. But I didn't come here to tell you how sorry I am and beg for your forgiveness."

"Why are you here?" She asked, turning her head under his hand so she could look up at him.

"I wanted to tell you how proud I am of what you did tonight. Susan, what happened to you was terrible, but as bad as it was, the worst thing about it is how it's affected you since then. You don't know how proud I am of what you did tonight; that you finally stood up and stopped being a victim. It's just a dream, and you'll likely forget most of it before you wake up, but it's a start. Jimmy was right, it's going to take a while before it starts to really change, but you took a big step tonight, and I'm proud of you. I hope someday you'll be able to dream about some of the better times we had, and that some day you'll be able to dream about me without being afraid. You deserve to be happy Sue-Sue, maybe now you can be."

She watched as he gently bent to kiss here hair, but he disappeared before his lips touched her. She closed her eyes and wept into her pillow. She often cried when she had these dreams, but this time the tears seemed different.

"Susan, are you okay?"

She looked but there was no one there. Then something touched her and she heard the voice again.

"Susan, wake up."

The scene vanished and she found herself alone in the darkness of her own bedroom, an anxious face staring down at her.

"Are you okay?" Roxy asked.

Susan closed her eyes, stretched, and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she reached for the girl.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she whispered back. "I was just having a bad dream. Did I wake you up?"

"I heard you crying. Is everything okay? My mom used to make me hot cocoa when I had bad dreams, then she would cuddle me until I fell asleep again. Would you like me to make you some cocoa?"

Susan thought about it for moment. "No, it's a school night and you should be sleeping. Besides, I'd just have to get up and pee in an hour anyway."

Roxy giggled, "Yeah, that's true."

She fell silent and Susan could sense an apprehension in her as she sat waiting. She weighed the choices in her head, finally deciding to risk it. "I think I'd like that cuddle though, if you don't mind."

Roxy grew one of her glow in the dark, ear-to-ear smiles. "Okay!" She practically tore the covers off the bed in her hurry to get under the sheet.

Susan smiled as she held out her arm and the girl wriggled and squirmed in next to her, finally settling herself into the curve of the older woman's body. Thinking maybe Roxy needed this just as much as she did, she spooned around the young girl, hugging her tightly. "Mmm, that's nice, thanks Roxy."

"So how did it go?" Allison asked when we returned to the office.

"They were awesome," Jamie answered, stepping out of me. "I wish you could have been there."

"No thanks," Allison answered. "So, do you think it's going to work?"

"I think it's a start," Bob said. "It's going to take time but I think she's on the right track. Jimmy, I can't tell you how much this means. To Susan, and to me. The people you could help with this gift ... it's just amazing."

"Yeah, well, right at the moment I'm more concerned with keeping a few people alive." Just then I actually felt a twinge of pain in my abdomen. Bob noticed the reaction.

"You okay?"

"I think so," I answered. "I've been having these weird flashes of pain, they're like muscle spasms more than anything else, I'm sure it's nothing serious."

Suddenly Bob was looking very clinical. "No, you think it's nothing serious. Have you ever had pains like this before?"

"No, not that I can remember."

"Then you have nothing to base your assumption on. Is the pain localized in any one spot?"

"No."

"Does it radiate outward from any one place? Is there one area that hurts more?"

"No, it's pretty even, just a low, cramping sort of feeling."

"High or low on the abdomen? Where is it centered?"

I placed my hand between my belly button and groin. "Just sort of, here. A little stronger in the middle but it sort of covers the whole area."

"Hmm. Does your skin feel hot in that area? Any nausea?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Curious. If there was any nausea I'd suggest maybe you were in the later stages of food poisoning? I'm not the doctor you need for this. You're out of school tomorrow, anyway; maybe you should go have it checked out."

Suddenly, Allison jumped in, "Bob, could I talk to you for a moment? Privately?"

Bob looked just about as confused as I felt, "Sure."

They moved off together and Allison started whispering something to him. Suddenly Bob glanced my way; he had a startled look on his face. Whatever came next must have been really funny because suddenly I could see him starting to chuckle. Allison said something else and Bob nodded his head and pulled out his phone. He spoke to someone for a few seconds then closed it, nodding his head to Allison. A few seconds later Lizzy walked in.

"Hi everyone," She said, heading straight to where Bob and Allison were standing. "What's up Mr. Shelby?"

"I need your help with a little diagnostic problem we're having. I'm not an MD so it's a little out of my league. Would you mind checking Jimmy's energy for me? See if you can spot anything?"

"Sure, no problem." She turned and looked intently at me. She stared for quite some time, her eyes roving up and down my body. Knowing that she saw right through my clothes I started getting a little embarrassed, which of course caused the usual reaction a boy has when he knows a girl is mentally undressing him. The fact that I knew that was not what she was doing didn't help a whole lot. Finally she was through.

"Well, something's wrong, that's for sure. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this before."

"Thank you," Bob said. "Now, Elizabeth, I want you to keep looking at me. Jamie, dear? Would you mind merging with Jimmy please, just for a moment?"

"Why, what's going on?" Jamie asked.

"Indulge me, please. Just for a moment, and then you can come back out."

"Okay, I guess so," she said and then she stepped into me.

"Do you have any idea what they're up to?" she asked.

"No, none at all, but whatever it is, Allison seems to be behind it and that makes me nervous."

Across the room, Bob motioned Lizzy closer and he and Allison began whispering to her, suddenly she spun around and stared intently at me. After a few seconds she slapped her hand to her mouth as she burst out laughing, nodding to Bob and Allison at the same time. Bob had been smiling before, now he also shaking his head at something... , and then there was Allison; Allison's look was almost indescribable.

"What?" I asked, irritation now pushing back my previous embarrassment.

"You should probably go see the doctor anyway, but I suspect they won't find anything," Bob said.

"What do you mean?" Now I was concerned.

Lizzy walked over, cupped my face with her hand and kissed my cheek. "You'll be fine in a couple of days." Then she giggled again.

"What?" I demanded. "Would someone tell me what the hell is so funny?"

"Love to," Allison said. "You're having your period."

"I'm having what?"

"Actually," Bob said. "You are having Jamie's period."

"Oooh my God," Jamie said.

I was speechless; all I could do was stand there with my mouth hanging open and hope someone would tell me they were joking. No such luck.

"Allison suggested it," Bob said. "Then as soon as she suggested it to Lizzy, she confirmed it. She wasn't sure what she was seeing when it was just you, but as soon as you and Jamie merged, it was obvious. Jimmy, you have a sixteen year old girl living inside you and your body is reacting to that fact."

What do you say to that? Several possible responses were competing for space in my head and trying to be the first one to my mouth, but there seemed to be a short in the system somewhere. Finally I managed to get a coherent, if not terribly intelligent, question out.

"You're serious?"

They all nodded vigorous confirmations, and though they were all still smiling, at least they'd stopped laughing now.

"How is that possible?" I asked. "I don't have the right equipment."

"Jimmy, I'm sorry," Jamie moaned. I could hear the genuine appeal for forgiveness in her mental voice. I ignored her for the moment and waited for Bob to answer.

"Jimmy, I don't need to tell you, of all people, that the mind is a very powerful thing. There have been many cases of men sharing their significant other's physical distress. They're called sympathy pains. The intensity varies depending on the couple, and they are most common during pregnancy, but there have been cases of men who experience symptoms quite similar to their wives each month during their menstrual cycle. You are far more intimately attached to Jamie than any of those men could possibly be to their wives, so when you think about it, this should come as no surprise. Your reaction, that is. I'm a little surprised that she has one at all, but considering how dependent she seems to be on being in contact with you, even here in a subconscious environment, I probably shouldn't be."

"But how can this be happening, I can't possibly even be producing the right hormones."

"Not true," Lizzy said. "Men and women both produce estrogen and testosterone. The proportions are of course vastly different but both are essential to good health."

"Really?" I asked. It was a rhetorical response, it's not like I expected any of them would lie to me about something like that. I didn't wait for an answer either way.

"Okay," I said. "Give me just a second. Jamie, come on out." She stepped out and what can you say, she looked totally miserable.

"Jimmy, I'm..." I cut her off.

"No," I said, putting my arm around her and hugging her close to my side. "Don't apologize. There is nothing to be sorry for. You haven't done anything wrong, and this is certainly not your fault." I turned back to Bob and the girls, "How severe do you think the symptoms could get?"

"Oh right!" Bob said. "Like I'm going to have an answer to that? Give me a break here, Matthews, it's not like this is a common occurrence. Couvade Syndrome is statistically still pretty rare, and most cases have been limited to gestational discomfort. In the more extreme cases there have been men who seem to be having muscular reactions during actual delivery. You'll be happy to know however, that there are no documented cases of any of the men who mirror their wives menstrual cycles spontaneously bleeding or anything like that. At most it's been limited to the more routine symptoms. A little muscular discomfort, maybe some water retention causing them to feel bloated, mood swings, that sort of thing." The grin kept getting wider as he spoke. "I'm sure either Allison or Cyndi keeps Midol or Pamprin around the house just in case, you'll be fine."

"Fuck you!" I said, but my smile wasn't that much smaller than his. Let's face it, this was some funny shit. Of course, it would have been a lot funnier if it had been someone else. I was suddenly very glad Rebecca didn't know about it. I could just imagine her reaction. There was just one more question that seemed to be demanding an answer...

"But why now?" I asked. "Jamie hasn't been here that long. I'd think it would take longer."

Bob just nodded his head as if to indicate it was really good question, "Excellent question. I suspect it has something to do with a very weird social dynamic among women. Allison, are you and your mother on the same cycle?"

"Yep. Have been since about six months after I started. And the answer to your next question is also yes, I started yesterday."

"Really?" Lizzy said. "So did I. I thought it was a little weird, I'm early and that's never happened before. Bob? Do you think it's possible that all the time I'm spending here with Allison and Jamie has altered my cycle?"

"Mmmm, tough to say. But if you've been regular before and now suddenly something's changed ... unless there is something else that's happened to cause it, I certainly wouldn't rule it out. It would be fascinating if that were the case, but then, so much of what goes on here is so interesting anyway, what's one more? So where do we go from here? Do you kids have a plan for the evening? If you don't need me any more..." He left the idea hanging.

"No," I said. "I think we're done here for tonight. Thank you for you help, Bob. I don't know if I would have risked it without you."

"I think you would have eventually," Bob said. "But I'm glad I could help. And I'm especially glad to know that you wouldn't have risked it without consulting a professional first. Okay, then, I'm off. Elizabeth, Jamie, Allison, always a pleasure. Jimmy, I'll call you tomorrow with the news on your suspension. Oh, and don't worry, the Athletics Board isn't going to want to do anything disciplinary on this, if anything they'll be holding you up as a shining examples of the positive role that sports can have in your life. You'll be cleared and back in school by Thursday, so don't get too comfortable."

"No chance of that. I think I'll take advantage of the time though and detail my truck. I haven't waxed it since before school started."

"One more thing," Jamie said. An image formed in the air nearby. "These three were being stupid the other day when you sent us to the copy room. Tell Mr. Dennis they were real nervous about something they were doing in the sixth locker from the end of the hall, the top one."

"And how am I supposed to justify knowing that when I was in class at the time?" Bob asked.

"Oh, yeah. Maybe you could drop a note in one of the suggestions boxes and tell him to keep an eye on the locker? We're staying away from them at the moment because we don't want them to think it was Jimmy that told someone." She let the scene play forward until the part where the moron bumped into me.

"They'll think that anyway," Bob said. "So I might as well drop him a tip. Any idea what they were up to?"

"No," I said. "I could always bridge him and find out but I figured it probably wasn't worth the effort compared to the other stuff I have going, so I left it alone."

"I'll leave that up to you. Meanwhile, I think I've had enough fun for one night, call me if you need anything, and don't forget to turn out the lights when you leave."

"So what is the plan?" Allison asked, after Bob was gone.

"Well, I think the first thing we should do is get out of Bob's office," I said. "You know, just in case he wants to play 'Executive Secretary', with the nice lady from the FBI."

"Really?" Lizzy asked. "I didn't know they were into the whole fantasy role-playing thing."

"Well," I said. "I only have personal knowledge of one scenario, but I would be willing to bet large quantities of money that there are more. I just picked that one off the top of my head."

"So you've been making up little fantasy scenarios that Bob and Rebecca may want to play with?" Lizzy suggested.

"No!" I said. "I mean ... okay they seem to be a little bit more adventurous in their ... free time. It's not like I'm..." I really didn't know how to finish without digging the hole deeper.

Lizzy smiled at my obvious discomfort. "I understand. I'm a little curious though; I wonder if they actually have experienced any of the scenes you've dreamed up. Of course it would be rude to ask and beyond bad to peek, but I'm curious if they may have found themselves in a scene and both just assumed that the other had dreamed it up."

"Well, I'm certainly not going to ask," I said, shaking my head and blushing furiously.

"I'm sorry, Jimmy," she said. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, and I like that you dream up little fantasies for other people. Maybe some day you can dream some up for us. Why don't you make up a list, you never know, one of us may see one we like?"

"Yeah," I said sarcastically. "I'll get right on that. For now, I think I want to see if I can track down the other board members at the Church of the Inner Circle."

"Yes," Allison said, nodding her head in agreement. "And maybe see who they may be considering to take Charles's spot. You know I'm kind of surprised we haven't heard anything about that."

"Allison," I said. "When was the last time either of us watched the news? I'm sure it's out there; you couldn't possible cover something like that up. But since we don't watch..."

"I saw something," Lizzy said. "They weren't releasing names but there was a mention of something that sounded like it could have been them on this morning's news. No names or anything, just that gunshots were reported and the police found two bodies. I guarantee it will be on the networks when they release that they were cops. I'm interested in seeing what kind of spin they put on it."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Are you kidding?" Jamie asked. "One cop guns down another in the middle of the night and then drops dead for no apparent reason? The media is going to have a field day with that. It's going to be real interesting to see how they justify them being here." She sounded almost gleeful at the prospect.

"Do you think they may admit that they were looking for Phoebe?" Allison asked. "I mean, what if they actually put her picture on television or something?"

"Not likely," Lizzy said. "She's a minor so the police wouldn't even mention her to the press. Maybe if they were already charging her, but I suspect they'll pass it off as them being here as part of an ongoing investigation and leave it at that. I'd be interested in seeing who at Vegas PD is the most interested in burying this."

"You think there may be others involved?" I asked.

"I think it's a strong possibility," she said. "Someone had to authorize them to come this far in the first place. They were spending department money; someone will have to answer for it.

Then Allison spoke up, "Jimmy, I think we're going to need to start paying more attention to the news. Starting with this one. Maybe you could bridge whoever they throw up as spokesman and then work backward through him to see who is calling the shots. I'll give long odds it's someone else from the church, maybe not on the board, but tied up with them."

"I don't think that's a bet I want to take," I said. "I think maybe I'll ask Rebecca to have Atkins poke into some IRS records and see who is writing off donations to that church. I think we'll see a lot of familiar names on that list."

"Why not ask her yourself?" Jamie asked.

"Because I don't want Rebecca to think I'm working around her. She's not going to be happy when she finds out what happened to those two as it is. She won't know for sure if it was me or Atkins. If Atkins won't confirm or deny — which I'm sure she won't, then Rebecca will assume it was her. She won't write off the possibility it was me, but she won't want to believe it, not at first anyway. I think eventually she's going to figure it out, but that's for later. Right now, I want her as a buffer between me and Atkins. I don't want to have any more direct contact with her than is absolutely necessary."

"Jimmy, sooner or later you're going to have to go after Bastion," Allison said. "He's the one that's going to have the information on who is being blackmailed and who isn't. Most of the people on that list are just going to be sheep in the flock, we need to find the wolves, and he's the leader of the pack."

"I know, but I want that chart as complete as we can get it before we move against him. If we move too soon..." I shook my head. "I don't want anyone else to die because I made a mistake and moved before we were ready. Let's just stick to the plan, keep filling in the blanks, and see what Rebecca can find out."



-------

Chapter 48: When it All Hits the Fan


Rebecca

My phone ringing before six AM is almost never a good thing. Yesterday when it happened, it was Jimmy calling to check up on me and see what measures Rod and I had come up with to try and prepare for the Sandman's reaction. At first I thought it might be him calling again, but then I realized it was the wrong side ringing.

One problem with having to be available twenty-four-seven is where to keep your phone. Most of the time it's not a problem, cell phones are so common no one thinks twice about seeing one on your belt. Let me tell you, running with a cell phone is a royal pain in the ass. Running with two?

It looks stupid as all hell, but you can run with a phone in your hand. I can't, but it can be done; I've seen it. Running clothes are really only good for two things, running, and tossing something on so you can go to the kitchen in the middle of the night when you have company you're worried about. There are usually no pockets and even when there are, you don't want a cell phone bouncing around, slamming into your body every two steps for five miles. If you've got the body, and the ego, for it, you can wear those spandex bicycle shorts. Some of them even have pockets, but they're really only intended to hold something like your locker key, not a phone. The tension on stretched spandex is enough to keep small items from moving around. A cell phone, even one of the ultra thin models still moves around, and movement equals chafing. A while back I came up with my own solution.

I have a pretty smooth stride, not a lot of jarring unless I'm sprinting or running over uneven ground; neither of which I do in a morning exercise run. Not to brag or anything but I'm better endowed than your average runner and I think the sports bra is the greatest invention in the history of women's wear. That's were I got the idea. Being in the business I get a lot of obscure catalogs containing a weird array of tactical and undercover gear. Some time back I ran across something they were billing as the world's most versatile tactical holster. Yeah, it was just about that stupid. Essentially it was a strip of padded neoprene, the kind used in wet suits and light-duty knee braces, only longer so that it secured around your waist or hips depending on your preference, either over or under your regular clothes. It was wide enough and solid enough that it wouldn't roll up around the edges or slide around. It was intended to be sort of a stretchy utility belt, but instead of little pockets, it had alternating slits that you could slide things through. They alternated large and small and went all the way around so you could mount something just about anywhere. The covering material was also Velcro friendly, so for lightweight items that you needed access to quickly you could just stick them on. The idea was that a small handgun, properly secured in the right sized pre-cut slot, wouldn't fall out while you were chasing someone, but you better not need to pull it quickly either. If you think about it you'll understand why I say that as a tactical solution it was a complete bust, but it did have its uses.

As I said, I have a pretty even stride, and I figured out that if I wear it high on my waist, just below my ribs, it wouldn't move around, much. That changes when you start adding hardware, even something as reasonably light as a cell phone. Two made it even worse... , but ... if you slide the cell phones in on either side of your belly button and then wrap an ace bandage around the whole thing you can keep everything pretty still. Getting to the call before it goes to voice mail is bit of a struggle, the sports bra makes it easier though, at least you don't have to worry about flashing the neighborhood, and it's not like there are a lot of people out at five-thirty in the morning.

I do all of this, strapping myself into all this shit, every morning, just in case my boss decides he needs to reach me. So naturally, the one time something happens that he needs to reach me, a bona fide emergency because that fat Mexican wouldn't drag his lazy ass out of bed this early for anything less, he calls my tail instead! I'm going to kill him, I swear to God, one of these days, I'm just going to ... okay, hurt him, I'm going to hurt him.

So I'm running along, minding my own business, the only sounds that matter in the world are the pounding of my heart, the steady in and out of my breathing, and the rhythmic slap of my running shoes on pavement or concrete depending on where I am at the moment. I never even heard the racing engine as my tail came roaring up behind me. My first warning that anything was wrong was the screeching of tires as they slammed on the brakes and slid to a stop, sideways, across the street just ahead of me. If that wasn't enough to tell me something was wrong, the flashing light on top of the car and the two agents bailing out with weapons drawn certainly made the point.

The one on my side opened the rear door and yelled, "On the floor! Now!"

Considering who was probably the most pissed off at me in the world at the moment I had no problem following that order, even if it was coming from a junior officer. Within seconds I was as low in the car as I could get and pulling the assault blanket over my head. Two doors slammed and we were gone in a cloud of foul smelling blue smoke. The blanket is essentially a very large version of a bullet-proof vest with additional re-enforcing to compensate for the fact that it doesn't have a solid body behind it. In addition to the 'packing' that a vest contained, it was constructed using several layers of Kevlar strips in overlapping web-like patterns.

Once we were moving I started to poke my head out to ask what the hell was going on. That didn't go over well.

"Agent Hampton, I need you to stay under the blanket, please."

"Christ! What the hell is going on guys? Talk to me!"

"I don't know. The director called, said to quote; 'Get her ass covered, now!' He said to have you call in as soon as you were secure."

"Shit!" I said, scrambling to get my phone free. I didn't bother to call the office; no way in hell was he in this early. I could hear the siren going in the background when he answered.

"Rodriguez."

"Rod, it's me, what the hell is going on?"

"Barkley and Simmons are dead."

My heart stopped, I'm sure it did. Barkley and Simmons were the night shift watching Dahrinka's back.

I took a deep breath. "And?"

"I don't know yet, we haven't been able to get her on the phone, I'm on the way to meet a team at her apartment right now, I want you in the house until we find out what the hell is going on. And the first thing I'm doing when I get back is writing you a formal reprimand for disobeying a direct order."

"What? Disobeying what order?"

"Being outside your apartment without your vest on. You going to tell me you were wearing it while you were running?"

Shit, he had me there. Worse, he knew it.

"Damn it, Hampton! What the hell were you thinking? You know who we're dealing with here. That was a stupid fucking thing to do. Being the healthiest corpse in the cemetery doesn't mean shit."

"Can I at least go home and shower?"

"Hampton..." his voice made the name a warning all its own.

"Okay, okay, I'll wear a jumpsuit. Call me when you know something." I closed the phone and lay in the darkness under the blanket, whispering a silent prayer for the families of my slain comrades.

"Ma'am?"

A simple contraction of two syllables into one; a title meant to convey respect to a woman. In this case, a thousand questions pressed into a single sound.

Everybody in this game knows the rules and the risks. You kissed your wife and kids every day before you left because you couldn't guarantee that you're going to be coming home to tell them how your day went. Everybody watched everybody else's back because you don't want to be the one that goes and tells little Johnny and Susie that daddy's not coming home. Facing Michael's parents to tell them their son was dead almost ended my career. I don't know if I would have made it if it had been his kids instead of his parents. Then again, at least with them it was mutual, they were crying at least as much for my loss as I was for theirs.

Part of being there for each other is that you don't sugar coat it. "Barkley and Simmons are dead, no word on Henslith, but she's not answering her phone. Straight to the house, do not pass go."

The house was a sixty year old three bedroom on the edge of South Pasadena. It's on a cul-de-sac with two other houses the Bureau owns. We also own the two two-stories on the next street that overlook the back yard. If a 747 goes down on top of it the neighbors are in for a real surprise. Short of artillery or running a tank into the front door, nothing short of a full scale assault is getting you in without an invitation.

I put on the best fitting jumpsuit they had hanging in the closet over my sweaty underwear. I could shower after they brought me some clean clothes. They also keep a wide selection of ordinance so I picked myself a security blanket to carry around while we waited. I don't care if the place is tighter than Fort Knox; I'm not sitting around unarmed anywhere with someone gunning for me. Rod called back forty minutes after we got there.

"Henslith's gone, no sign of her; doesn't look good. Purse is on the counter, her weapon is on the bed but the clip is missing, and there's water on the floor in the bathroom. It looks like maybe he caught her in the shower. I've got a team on the way over to go over the place."

"What about Barkley and Simmons?"

"Both dead. Barkley was still in the car. Looks like Simmons was outside having a smoke. Both shot at close range; small caliber, two shots each, both in the head, very professional. No one heard anything. Guy delivering newspapers spotted the body. Couple of dogs were lapping up the evidence. Hard to say how long they'd been there. We'll have to wait for the coroner's report. Both of their weapons were still in their holsters, they never even had a chance to draw."

Something didn't sound right, "Something isn't right here."

"Something's not right?" he demanded. "I've got two agents down and an Interpol agent missing, and the best you can come up with is something isn't right!"

"Rod, listen to me. Henslith knows who she's dealing with, she knows what he's capable of; and she knows what it means if he gets her someplace private. I've seen her in action; I may be able to take her but it would be world war fucking three. No way in hell do I walk out the door with that bastard; I'd take my shot and hope I got lucky. Worst case I hope I can hurt him before he kills me, but better that than what he is going to do to me if he gets me alone, and she knows him even better than me."

There was a pause so I kept going. "And why take her at all? He knows just as well what he's dealing with; who she is. He knows if he gives her a chance she's going to kill him or die trying, why risk it?"

"Maybe he figured she's the one who took his money and he wants it back. Did you ask?"

I knew what he meant. "No, I took your advice."

"Good, because you still don't want to know; but take my word for it, it was enough to justify doing something like this to get it back."

"That just makes my point. She would know that. She would know what it would take to get him to take the chance. Know what it would mean."

"Then my only suggestion is that she's counting on you, and your source, to pull off another miracle. I'm sending Waskoff to get you. He'll take you home to change. Evans and Reed are to go in first and make sure your apartment is safe. Pack whatever you're going to need. You're staying in the house until this is over.

"Rod..."

"No!" he cut me off. "Henslith knew what she was getting in to. She's bait for now, probably to draw you out. When he figures out she doesn't know how it was done and she can't get it back, he's going to come looking for you. If he wants you he's going to have to work for you. Bring your car with you; Waskoff, Evans, and Reed will drive escort on your way to the office."

"Fine, I think this is a mistake, but I'll wait and make my arguments in person. Just one thing..."

"What's that?" he asked.

"Be careful, okay, I don't want to have to explain this to Selena and the girls."

There was a pause and I could hear him take a deep breath and let it out. "I'll see you at the office."

Waskoff is normally pretty chatty but it was a quiet ride to my apartment. I gave Evans my key, and he and Reed went in to make sure it was safe. Two minutes to get the all clear and then the three of them escorted me inside. Once we were inside Evans went to check out my car and bring it up. While he was doing that I pulled a carry-on out of the hall closet and started packing.

What do you pack first? For me it was always underwear. Guys seem to go for jeans and shirts first, then just pack the underwear and socks into the nooks and crannies that are left, but I preferred to pack the way I dress, from the skin out. Besides, my underwear is nobody's business and if it became necessary to open my suitcase in front of one of these clowns, I mean, one of my co-workers ... Hey, Murphy's Law is alive and well in the twentieth century. Just because I couldn't think of a reason why doesn't mean it one didn't exist, and I'm not big on tempting fate. The last thing I wanted was one of these assholes gossiping about what I wear under my holster. I was trying to be optimistic so I intentionally only packed for a couple days. If he was making his move ... one way or the other I figured this was going to be over soon.

Evans was waiting next to my car when I came out. The way they handled it you'd have thought they were secret service and I was the president's daughter going on her first date. The car was parked with the engine running and the driver's door closest to the building, open. Evans was on the far side of the car with his gun out and pointed down between his body and the car so he wouldn't scare the neighbors. Reed and Waskoff walked me out, Reed in front, Waskoff behind, but he wasn't worried about the neighbors, his Glock was in his hand, still pointed down, but out and visible none the less. Once I reached the car, they broke off and went to their own vehicles. Evans waited for Reed to pull up in front of me before moving to get into the lead car. By the time he was in, Waskoff had pulled up behind me and the parade started. The lead changed at every major intersection, the car in front stopping in the intersection with lights and siren flashing until the two trailing cars had cleared the intersection, then the chase would pass me as the other car pulled in behind. LAPD was going to be pissed when the phone calls started coming in from the late morning commute crowd.

Sometimes the Bureau's procedures trip over each other. It would have been a hell of a lot faster if we had just driven in like normal people. My phone rang on the way to the office but the caller ID was blank so I didn't answer. I was half way there before I realized I'd left my phone at the house. Rod would be pissed if I made a detour. Maybe if I bought Waskoff a coffee?

Jimmy

Since I had the whole day to myself I decided to make it count. I kissed Allison goodbye before I left and headed out for a fifteen mile run. I rarely run more than five before school and usually don't even go over ten on the weekends. The longest I'd actually made a habit of was twelve. Even so, I was a little more tired than expected by the time I got home. But at least the exercise seemed to help with the cramps.

"I said I was sorry," Jamie said, when I mentioned it.

As I expected, everyone was gone before I got home, so I hit the shower and then dove into a serious detail job on my truck. I started with the interior, vacuuming the carpet, scrubbing the floor mats, cleaning and applying Armor-All to the dash. I even took a small brush and cleaned the fins on the vents, brushing the dirt loose so the vacuum could suck it out. Then I started on the outside, washing it thoroughly, and then using a cleaner wax on the finish. I took a break while that was drying and tried calling Rebecca but there was no answer on either phone. She was either working in a bad area or she was really busy, in which case she didn't need me interrupting her. Fortunately this wasn't anything that could be considered critical information so it wasn't a problem. I went back and got the cleaner wax off the truck before applying the finish coat. It was starting to warm up fast so I pulled it into the garage for this last step so the wax wouldn't dry too quickly. I tried Rebecca again over lunch but she still wasn't answering. Then it was back out to the garage to finish polishing the truck and getting the last little bits of wax out of all the little nooks and crannies it likes to hide in.

The good news was that all this gave Jamie and I a chance to talk. It seemed odd considering the amount of time we actually spent together, but with everything that was going on, we hadn't had a chance to really talk yet.

"So how are you doing?" I asked, just to get the conversation started.

"Okay, I guess," she said. "I'm sure glad I don't have to be out there though! Is everyone always so busy?"

I had to chuckle at that. "I seriously doubt it. I don't know how they could be. I mean, at least they get to sleep at night and just relax. Maybe someday I'll get to see how that feels again. Sure not likely to happen any time soon."

"Tell me about it," she said. "I guess if you don't count the night-time work, you're not really all that busy. Just school really, and, you know, taking care of Allison."



"Hey, don't make that sound so trivial. That's my favorite part!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like it wasn't important or anything, I just..."

"Jamie, it's okay, I know what you meant. So, how much of what is going on do you pick up? I mean, do you get everything automatically or do you have to be paying attention?"

"Everything, unless I'm not with you."

"Speaking of that, how did it feel when you were with Lizzy the other night?"



"What do you mean?" she asked. I thought I detected a laugh in there somewhere, but she didn't say it, so I let it go.

"Well, when we got there, she said you were doing okay but that you would need to go back right away. I was just curious about how it affected you. Were you tired before? I know you were sleeping, or resting, or whatever when we got there, but was that because you were tired?"

"No, not really." She paused for a second. "Huh. You know, now that I think of it, I wasn't tired. I just sort of relaxed, you know, after I cried myself out on her, and then it was just so nice to be there with her, close to her, touching her ... I don't know, it was just, relaxing. I don't know if you could call it sleeping so much as just sort of ... drifting. But then when you got there and I 'woke up' again ... yeah, I really needed to go back."

"I'm glad she could be there for you. About that, did you decide what you want to do?"

"You mean about meeting your parents?"

"No, about meeting 'our' parents."

"I don't know. Lizzy seems to think it's a bad idea. She thinks your ... okay,  our mom, won't like me. That she will see me as some kind of ... I don't know, parasite I guess, like I'm something that's wrong with you. Jimmy, I'm afraid to take the chance. What if she hates me?"

"Let's leave that out of it for a second. Forget about what she, or Dad, may think. I'm only really concerned with what you want. Do you want to meet them? Do you feel like you... , I don't know if need is the right word, but do you feel like you need to meet them? Is it important to you?"

"Jimmy, I ... I mean ... yeah, sort of, but..."

"Jamie? Stop. I told you the other night it was your decision and that I would stand by it either way. Lizzy explained to me that even though they're my parents, and you're a part of me, that they aren't really your parents. She said that if anyone were your parents it was me and Shannon, because I shaped you, and it was my love, or rather our mutual love of Shannon, that brought us together so that you could become who you are. So even though they're my parents, they're not really yours. Is that how it feels to you? Tell the truth, I promise you won't hurt my feelings."



"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise. This isn't about me; it's about you, and what you want."

"Okay, then yeah, that's how it feels. I mean, they're nice and all, and I know you love them ... and I sort of do, but like, not, you know?"

"I understand. So we'll just leave it alone for now. But if you ever change your mind, and don't take that like I want you to change your mind, but if you do..."

"Okay. Thanks, Jimmy."

"No problem. Okay, so there are some things I'm not so clear on. You said the only reason you got the guy at the bank or were able to read Andrews' daydreams that night, was because you had touched them."

"Yeah."

"So how come you could see Susan's without touching her?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you read her at break and we hadn't touched her. Does that mean that you were going from an earlier touch? You know, because we had touched her before? Because if that's the case we should be able to read almost anyone we ever met. Or is there a time limit? Can we only read people we've touched in x-number of hours? Or maybe it's something else altogether."

"I don't know. I never really thought about it until now. How long do you suppose it had been since we touched her until it happened?"



"That's just it," I said. "I don't remember, which suggests to me that it had been quite a while. I thought about it and I don't think we'd touched her at all that day. Do you think it's just a familiarity thing?"

"I guess it could be. We could test it out on Allison when she comes home."

"That's one idea, but I was wondering if maybe it was because you didn't have to actually 'take over'. You know, you didn't have to fight me at the same time. Or it could even be that you're just stronger now than before, you've matured."

"Why, Jimmy, thank you for noticing."

I rolled me eyes and shook my head. "Come on, you know that's not what I meant, and you don't need to fish for compliments, we both know you're beautiful and we both know that I love you."



"I know, but it's still nice to hear it once in a while, and you've been a little busy lately."

"Yeah, no joke, but let's stay on track here..."

"Jimmy, I don't know. I mean, it's not like I know more about this than you do. You've been doing it a lot longer than I have. What do you think? Do you think it's just because you know her better? Or maybe it's because she was so focused on the daydream?"

"It could be that. I guess there's no way to really know except to experiment a little. I guess we could start with Allison when she gets home. We'll have to talk fast though, she's going to want a hug and kiss as soon as she hits the door, and if we touch her it kind of wrecks the familiarity experiment."



I think I felt a giggle in her voice as she answered. "Yeah, but we could always try again later. I mean, it's not like there's a rush and how often do we get to welcome her home? Must be tough coming home from school every day to a big empty house. Maybe we should plan something special for her?"

"Maybe."

"My turn; any idea why no one can seem to remember any of the questions we want to ask Amy all of a sudden?"

I shook my head, "Totally stumped there. It doesn't seem to matter what we try; making notes, trying to remind each other, nothing seems to work. It's like she's hiding somehow."

"Do you think that's it?" She asked. "Do you think it's somehow Amy that's keeping us from asking her questions?"

"I don't know, I guess it's possible. I mean, so far, with Amy, almost anything is possible. Except, apparently, putting her in the same dream with Rebecca."

"Yeah, that was obviously pretty traumatic for her. What's weird is that she even knew Rebecca was there, I mean she was still outside. They couldn't even see each other, so how did Amy know she was there?"

"Well," I said, thinking about something that had come up before when we were discussing the possibility of someone else using my abilities. "One possibility is that Shannon was right and Amy has actually been using my ability all along. Sorry, our abilities, all along. So as soon as Rebecca popped in and we became aware of her, so did Amy. Only in her case it was obviously not a good thing."

"Then maybe what we were getting wasn't so much a reaction to Amy's pain, as maybe feedback. Does that make any sense?" She asked.

I stopped buffing the fender I was working on and just sort of rolled the idea around in my head for a minute. "Actually it does. It all happened so fast that it's hard to say for certain, but maybe there was a split second delay between the time we became aware of Rebecca and then Amy's pain hitting, you could be on to something." Something else occurred to me. "You know, that could explain why she disappeared too; the pain interfered with her connection to me and she lost control of the link or something."

"Weird," she said.

"Amy," I pointed out.

"Yeah, that pretty much says it all. Of course, that's all still just a theory ... Sure would be nice if we could remember to ask Bob about it. Of course we could always ask him while we're awake."

"There is that, of course we don't usually get the chance to have actual conversations that often. Hanging with teachers at lunch is one thing, this is a little more involved, and it's certainly isn't something we could do over the phone."

"Maybe he could come for dinner. The three of us could sneak off into a dark corner out by the pool and talk."

I thought about it for a few seconds before answering. "We could, but I hate to do that around mom and dad. Just doesn't seem right to leave them out like that."

"Hey! C'mon now, when Shannon died, your mom said she wanted to do whatever she could to help you with this. I think she'll be okay with it.

We finished the truck and were just making a sandwich when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

It was Bob. "Something's up, Rebecca needs you to call her."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm off today. Did she say why?"

"No, just that she needs you to call. I have to run, we'll talk later." And he hung up. I glanced at the clock; he was probably just sitting down with Mel and Susan and needed to get off the phone before he got there.

"Oh shit!" Jamie said. "This can't be good."

"Probably not," I agreed. I was already headed out to my truck. I'd left my phone on the front seat while I was working on it.

"Where should we go?" Jamie asked.

"We don't need to go anywhere. If the house was bugged, he would have known how we stole his money. Besides, Rebecca swept it the night we found Roxy. We just need to use the cell phone instead of the land-lines." I closed the garage door and hit Rebecca's speed dial as we were headed back inside.

She answered on the second ring, "Hampton."

"It's me. Bob said you needed to talk to me."

"I didn't think you'd get back to me so fast, I can't talk here, if you know what I mean. Two minutes?"

"Got it, see you soon." I flipped the phone closed and went to grab a bottle of water.

"Worried?" Jamie asked.

"Not so much worried as curious. If it was urgent enough to have Bob call me, then I would have expected her to be at work, or at least someplace she could talk."

"Me too, but like she said, she didn't expect the call until later. Maybe she was planning to be somewhere safe by then."

"That makes sense. Either way, we'll know in a minute." I layed down on the couch and put myself out.



-------

Chapter 49: Things Heat Up

I was surprised to find myself in the living room of a strange house. Rebecca wasn't even there yet. One look around was all it took to tell me something was seriously wrong. I could feel Rebecca coming so I made myself invisible so she wouldn't know I had actually gotten there first. She materialized on the couch in jeans, a black t-shirt, and a bullet proof vest! Shit, something was seriously wrong! She glanced at her attire and I think she was about to change so I popped in before she had the chance.

"That's not a good sign," I said, appearing in the room with her.

Her expression said I was right and she had been about to change so she wouldn't have to explain. This was going to be interesting.

"No, it's not," she answered. "I didn't expect to appear this way, and I was seriously considering changing it before you showed up."

Honesty, always a good start. "Then I'm glad I got here when I did. Rebecca, I think we're way past the point of sugar coating reality. Something serious happened or you wouldn't have called. The fact that you weren't expecting me to call right back leaves it up in the air a little, so let's cut to the chase; how serious is it?"

"My partner is missing. Looks like the Sandman got her some time early this morning."

"I thought Rod had people watching both of you?"

"He did," she said, sighing and shaking her head. "I told him before it was a mistake, that something like this would happen."

It didn't take much to figure out what she meant. I sat in the chair across from her and said, "He killed her guards?"

She nodded. "They never even had a chance to draw their weapons, one was still in the car; the other was standing outside, probably having a smoke."

That made no sense. "The guy in the car I can kind of understand -- it would be hard to draw a weapon effectively in a car -- but a trained agent, in the open?" I had to think about what the scene would have had to look like. "Up close or far away?"

"I know what you're thinking, and you're right; to get them both before one had a chance to draw would be extremely difficult. Up close; two shots each, both in the head."

"And your partner is gone?"

"Purse, ID, weapon, all still in the apartment. Water on the bathroom floor; Rod thinks he got her coming out of the shower. Forensics is still processing the apartment."

"This doesn't make sense." I said.

"I know," she said. "It doesn't add up. Why go after her instead of me?"

"Maybe he figures you'll come after her but she might not come after you? Or that the bureau would try harder for you and he doesn't want that kind of..." I caught her eyes as she gave me a look and realized what I was saying. "No, that doesn't fly either. If anything, taking her puts even more pressure on the bureau, it becomes an international incident."

"Right."

"So what did you need me for?"

"You mean other than to give you a pointless warning to watch your ass?"

I had to smile at that. "Okay, you got me on that one. Thank you for keeping me up to date on the latest developments even though there isn't anything that I can really do with the information. Now, how can I help you?"

"You're welcome and it's not like this puts you in any more danger. Even if it is about the money, she doesn't know how much we're dealing with or who did it. By the way, I want you to seriously reconsider turning that money in."

"Why?"

"Because I get the impression it's a rather large amount and it's likely to generate interest you don't want. Even as an anonymous transfer it's going to light up the board if you know what I mean. Besides, if anything like Washington happens again you may need it to disappear. Trust me; starting a new life isn't cheap, and you may be starting four of them."

"Five," I corrected her.

"Five?" she asked. "Why five?"

"Because once we catch the Sandman, Angela is going to be free to go back to her old life. She may not want to and I just don't see Witness Protection coughing up the money after the threat is gone."

"Matthews, you amaze me. Everything else that's going on, all the shit flying around you, and you're still worried about Angela's future. Jimmy, she's not your responsibility."

I didn't say, "Yes, as a matter of fact she is." And I actually managed to keep a straight face when I answered. "That's the problem; once he's out of the picture I'm afraid she's not going to be anybody's responsibility. I don't want her to fall through the cracks. She deserves a life; I intend to see she has a chance at one. So much for the whole 'by the way' discussion; I'll think about the money thing again before I do anything else. Let's get back to your partner. Were you hoping I might be able to find her the way I found Angela?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"I thought that might be it. The problem is I don't know her, at all. You've mentioned her a couple times but I've never even seen her."

"You hadn't seen those girls in Palm Springs either. Jimmy, I don't know what you do or how you do it, but it seems to be getting a lot easier for you to do it, and now would be a real good time to get lucky. If you can reach her, we can nail this asshole once and for all."

"I'm all for getting lucky for a change, how much time do you have? In case Bob didn't tell you, I'm out of school so I have time but this could take a while. I'm going to want to go over everything you have on her."

"I don't have that kind of time. It's going to look suspicious enough as it is. There are people all over the place. I'm actually pretending to be meditating right now. Considering the day I've had, I don't think anyone would buy a nap. So why aren't you at school?"

"Mandatory suspension for fighting. We were at a meet yesterday when two guys snatched some woman's purse. One of the guys on the team went after them, caught them too. I went after him and saved him from getting his face rearranged. It was totally legit, stupid, but still justified. Anyway, you know the school system's stance on violence. Bob said not to worry about it but the suspension is mandatory pending the higher-ups reviewing it."

"Stupid is right!" she said. "What were you thinking?"

"Me? I was thinking Byron was going to get clobbered if he was alone but that maybe if there were two of us they might just drop the purse and let it go. Didn't work that way; Byron tackled one of them but he couldn't handle even him, let alone his partner. If I hadn't gone after him they'd have creamed him. So I'm at home for the day. In fact, I tried calling you earlier but you didn't answer."

"Well, now you know why, what did you need?"

"I need you to check with your friend Atkins and have her check into who is writing off what donations to that church, an actual list would be nice so we can compare it to what we already know."

"She probably already has it but I don't know if it's something she'll share. Why do you need it?"

"I probably don't actually need it, but I would like to compare it to what we know. I'm particularly interested in seeing who may be replacing Charles on the Board of Directors."

"Charles who?"

"Detective Charles, Las Vegas PD."

"Oh. What brought that up?"

"Lizzy caught a news report about it. We were discussing how they were going to spin it and she suggested we might want to find out who is trying the hardest to keep a lid on it. The truth is department money was being spent pursuing a thirteen year old girl across state lines; someone is going to have to answer for that. I just think it would be ... educational to see who is working the hardest to either hush it up or spin it off."

"Damn, you're good. I'll call Atkins; you may be on to something there."

"Thanks. I think it might be a good idea if I got a second phone, at least temporarily. One that people can actually call me on in case something happens, you know? I mean, things look like they are starting to move pretty fast, if there is something I can do to help I don't want us miss an opportunity because you couldn't reach me."

"Jimmy, I can't get you a phone, not a legit one, without having to explain why."

"That's not what I meant. I'm thinking of picking up a pre-paid phone, something I can just pay cash for, use it, and then throw it away when I'm done or if it starts to be an issue. I'll call you with the number. Be careful, Rebecca, I don't want Amy to wake up to bad news. By the way, where are we?"

"A safe house in Pasadena, a really safe house. We use it for other things as well though, that's why there are people all around. I think the phone is a good idea as long as it can't be traced back to you, and it would certainly make life easier. Just be sure you don't leave any prints on it when you toss it. Call me when you have the number."

I hate waiting. It was still hours before Allison was going to be home. As I was sitting, contemplating my next move I realized that I could do the experiment with Lizzy just as easily as Allison. Even if it didn't work it would answer the distance question. I got her voicemail.

"Bad news, you missed me. If you're calling to sell me something, hang up, I'm a college student, I have no money. If on the other hand you actually have a life and want to talk to me, leave a message." I left a message that I really needed to talk to her and would be calling every half hour.

"She's probably at practice," Jamie suggested. "What did you want to talk to her about?"

"The same experiment we're running with Allison. I wanted to see if maybe she could put together a little daydream and then see if we could pick it up. If it works with her then distance isn't a problem. If it works with Allison but not her, then maybe it is, for daydreams anyway."

"Looks like we're going to have to wait until Allison gets home after all."

"Yeah, looks that way." I kept trying her line every half hour like I'd said I would.

Allison got home first. I was out on the patio and heard her call, "Hi honey, I'm home."

"I'm out on the patio, but don't come out. Answer the phone." I dialed the house number, and she picked up.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"There's some stuff I need to tell you but I need to try a little experiment first. Go in the living room and see if you can put together a good daydream."

"Okay, I don't really think I need the practice, but I'll play along. Okay, I'm in the chair and..."

"No, don't tell me. I just need to see if I can pick it up."

It didn't work. Apparently, for daydreams, proximity played an important part. Damn.

"Okay," I said, as I went in through the back door. "That didn't work."

Allison was sitting in my mom's chair waiting for me. "This better be good," she said. "I've been home for almost five minutes and I haven't gotten a kiss yet. What's going on?"

"Jamie and I were talking about what happened with Susan the other day. Wondering why she could see her daydream without touching her. Now would be a good time to figure out how we did it. Sandman's got Rebecca's partner. I was hoping that maybe I could pick up a daydream from her and be able to find her, or at least try. Of course that would have been after I spent some serious time with Rebecca getting a feel for her, but if I can't get yours from two rooms away I don't think I'm going to have a lot of luck picking hers up from God knows how far away, she's a total stranger."

She shook her head, then got up and came to kneel in front of me, leaning in to hug me, and kissing my cheek. "You're over thinking this. You don't need daydreams."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember Lizzy? You were playing with seeing into dreams while you were awake. You couldn't find her, so you put yourself out, then you found her, then when you came back you could see her dream. You just needed to find her first. You did it the first time the night Shannon couldn't get to sleep. So put yourself out, and go find her. Maybe you can pull her in."

"It won't work."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know her. I've never even seen her before. Rebecca and I are going to get together later and go over it. There's more I need to tell you..."

I spent some time bringing her up to date on everything else that had happened. My phone buzzed in my pocket just as I was finishing. Time to try Lizzy again.

"Trying to reach Lizzy?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Jimmy..." she said, shaking her head. "I was at school and she's a couple time zones ahead. You wanted, needed really, to be doing something. So you've been trying to reach Lizzy to do exactly what you tried to do with me. If Shannon were still alive you would have tried her if I wasn't available. It's part of that whole knight in shining armor thing we talked about. You wanted to be doing something so you were looking for a way."

"Probably right. Anyway, I left her a message that I'd try every half hour. I wouldn't want to just leave her hanging if she's waiting."

She was waiting. "Hey stud-muffin, what's up? It sounded urgent. Why didn't you just nod off and send me one of those visions like you sent Bob?"

I shook my head and looked around for a wall to bang my head on. "Because I'm just cheap labor; you and Allison are the smart ones. I wanted to do some experimenting. Allison helped me out when she got home. It was a bust, but to make matters worse, Allison also pointed out I didn't need to wait. Different suggestion, but same basic end result, me wasting my time."

"Let me guess, she said you were over-thinking something again. Jimmy, that's not good; you only do that when something is really bothering you. The obvious conclusion is that you've got a new problem or something has happened that's upset you. I could use a little nap before I get into my homework anyway, so why don't you get us together and we'll talk about it."

I decided dinner could wait a few minutes and took Allison with me to meet her.

I don't know if she was expecting something or not, but it took no time at all for Lizzy to figure out something was up.

"Well it's obviously something happened."

"That obvious?" Allison asked.

"To me it is," she said. "Which case?"

"Looks like the Sandman grabbed Rebecca's partner, and he killed two FBI agents along the way."

"Shit, that explains a lot, and I think I see why you're over-thinking things again. Extra stress; Jamie's obviously not happy about any of this either, and I think her stress has been piling on top of yours. Sweetie, you need to come and get a hug or something before you explode.

"Yeah, she's pretty pissed," I said. "Come on, Jamie. Come out and talk to us."

"Do I have to?"

That stopped me, "What? Why wouldn't you..."

"She doesn't want to come out does she?" Lizzy said with a giggle. "Oh, you are such a bad girl!"

"What are you... ?" I stopped as it dawned me what she was talking about.

"That's it, isn't it?" I asked Jamie. "All that pent up emotion with no where to go, it's like candy to you."

I could almost feel her giggling, "Well, yeah ... a little."

"I should have known. Come on, out you come." I wasn't sure it would work but I mentally gave her a slap on the butt to prompt her. Oops! It worked a lot better than I expected.

With a startled, "Hey!" Jamie all but jumped out next to me, both hands rubbing her ass through the jeans she was wearing. I thought Lizzy and Allison were going to die laughing.

"Oh! You are so going to pay for that!" Jamie said, rounding on me with fire in her eyes.

"Now, now," Lizzy said. "You two need to play nice. Jimmy, that was very naughty of you, you should apologize." She turned and continued, "Jamie, you know you deserved that, but if it really hurts..." she flicked her eyebrows up and down," ... I could kiss it and make it better for you."

A different redness took over Jamie's face and she bit her lip before answering, "Maybe later, right now we've got work to do." Then she glared at me. "I'll deal with you later."

Allison poked her in the arm and said, "Just don't damage anything important. I don't want to be the one who suffers because you two had a spat. Now both of you," she turned and gave me a look, "kiss and make up."

I stepped up and whispered, "I love you," in Jamie's ear, and then kissed her cheek very tenderly before adding, "Brat."

She blushed appropriately then kissed me back. "Okay, okay, I love you too."

Lizzy grinned and nodded. "That's better. So have you tried to find her yet? What am I saying? Of course you haven't, I only suggested it right before we got here. So..."

"I can't, couldn't actually. I don't know her.

"Oh," Lizzy said. "I just assumed you did. It probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. If he just took her, she's probably still drugged."

"You're probably right, I'm getting together with Rebecca tonight to try and get as much on her as I can."

"So she's counting on you to find her partner?" Lizzy said.

"Yeah, pretty much. Maybe not counting on it, but certainly hoping I can." I said, nodding my head.

"All right then, so there's nothing you can do until tonight," Lizzy said. "I think you should try to relax a little bit. Take your mind off of it for a while, stressing won't help. How much time do you have?"

"Mom and Dad should be home in about an hour, and I've still got to make dinner."

"Plenty of time," she said with a grin. "Allison; he's all yours. Jamie; I think we need to make sure there's no permanent damage from that mean boy hitting you."

I felt much better by the time I had to start dinner. Jamie seemed more relaxed as well, only she wasn't as happy about it.

"Damn that girl!" she said. "Remind me never to go near her again when I'm enjoying a good mad."

"I could spank you again if you think it would help," I offered.

"Hell no! That's how I wound up in her evil clutches in the first place. Besides that hurt!"

"I'm sorry, next time I'll be more careful. I didn't know it would even work so I guess maybe I tried too hard. But you didn't exactly seem like you were in the mood for 'please.'"

She laughed. "No, definitely not."

I told Mom and Dad the latest developments and that I was going to be picking up a new phone so that if anything came up they would be able to reach me right away.

"But then, won't they know who you are?"

"No," I said. "I'm just going to pick up one of those cheap, pre-paid, disposable one's, that way I can just get rid of it when this is over. The good news is that now you'll be able to reach me as well."

"Well, it's not like we have that many things that come up that are so important they can't wait," Mom said.

"Most people don't," Allison said. "That's why they have to push so hard to make everything seem like it's so important and so critical. I mean come on; most people's lives aren't nearly as dramatic as they think, and especially not to everyone else. You wouldn't believe the stuff some of the girls at school talk about." She held her hand up to her head like she was holding a phone and changed her voice to that classic, squeaky, valley girl that everyone rolls their eyes at, "I mean, ohmigod, you just wouldn't believe what I found. Like, I was just cruising through the mall and suddenly there it was. And I looked at Shelly, and she looked at me, and she was like, 'I saw it first!' As if! And even if she did see it first, like I drove, so she wouldn't even have been there if it weren't for me! She is such a bitch!" She let her voice go back to normal, "All this to a girl that was sitting at a table fifty-feet away."

Allison didn't want a phone.

Bob called after dinner to let me know my suspension was officially lifted.

"Good news, Jimmy, you and Byron have been absolved of any wrongdoing in the fight at the meet and both can return to school tomorrow. Susan and Mel told me to say hi and let you know they were proud of you. Coach Barnes wants Byron to come out and talk to him about trying out for the team next year. I'd hate to lose him but that was one hell of a tackle he made on that asshole, not to mention running him down in the first place. With his speed, that boy has serious potential."

I chuckled and said, "I already talked to him about it. He argued that he couldn't catch but I told him that was just a matter of practice. By the time I was through I had pretty much talked him out of every excuse I used when Ray Parry hit me up about trying out."

"Really," Bob asked. "When did that happen? I didn't know you'd ever spoken to him."

"I called him the other night about shipping some of the Davis's stuff out to the rest of the family. I brought up the meet and he jumped all over it. He made some good points and that's why I brought it up to Byron. Like you said, that was some tackle; by the time I was through talking Byron into considering it, I had used up all of my arguments for not trying out myself."

"Well, there goes next year's team. Good thing I didn't want to coach again anyway."



-------

Chapter 50: Complications


Before I went off to see Rebecca that night I checked in with Walter to see how the Palm Springs issue was going.

"My Lord, I am close to breaking him."

"Stop calling me that!"

"As you desire my Lord, we have agreed to debate that issue another time."

I wanted to scream, but I managed to contain myself, "Thank you, Walter, keep me informed and let me know if there is anything you need."

He bowed and left. I spent most of the night going over every image and memory Rebecca had of her partner, Dahrinka Henslith. The scene of her arresting Mr. Wonderful in Palm Springs was educational to say the least.

"Damn!" Jamie said. "And I thought I was a bitch."

"Jamie, you're not a bitch." I said.

"Whatever you say, My Lord."

I bit my tongue and moved on. Of course, moving on got me exactly ... no where. I should have realized sooner that something was still very wrong. When I was working on the Palm Springs case just looking at the images of those little girls had been enough for me to start making connections, yet in all the time I was with Rebecca going over images and memories of her partner I never had so much as a twinge.

Thursday I tried a couple quick trips during the day and still there was nothing. Thursday night was no better, so I took a little detour to check up on the guy who had 'bumped' me in the hall at school and discover what he and his two idiot friends were up to. My first guess would be drugs of some kind; after all it was high school. Whatever it was these guys were obviously amateurs or they would have been better at keeping a low profile.

Shocker, I was right; drugs. The three of them had apparently decided to go into the distribution end of the business. One of them had been contacted by someone who had arranged for them to be supplied with a small amount to get started. They never even met the guy; the arrangements had been made anonymously through a chat room on one of those social networking sites on the internet. Whoever their supplier was, he wasn't stupid, no names were exchanged and the drops were made in the locker they had been so nervous about. The really sad part was that the locker didn't even belong to one of them. It belonged to the leader's girlfriend and she had no idea what they were using it for. Apparently he had gotten her to switch lockers with him right after school started. His locker was actually closer to most of her classes so it worked out to her advantage. Poor kid, if anything went wrong, she was implicated. What really sucked was that all this pointed to someone on staff as the supplier. No one else would have after-hours access to the locker. I would have to be careful.

Cross country practice filled up most of my after school time both days but it's not like I could have gotten much done at home either. Roxy came over both days to hang out with Allison. Susan had convinced her that Allison's old bathing suit was perfectly acceptable for hanging out with Allison after school and that if she was embarrassed about wearing it in front of me that she could put a shirt on over it when I got home. They'd tried buying a new one for her, but this late in the season there wasn't much selection left and she would likely outgrow any one piece by spring anyway. Roxy was very careful to always cover up before I got home but I could tell her tan was improving.

I finally had the names of the last two board members at the Church of the Inner Circle but so far had not found a way to bridge them. I decided to try going through the members I already knew to see if I could trigger a memory. I'd also decided to stop being so damn nice to these people so I let Jamie have a little fun with the oh-so-charming doctor Essex. As she was reliving her favorite fantasy, wrist deep in a screaming twelve-year old cheerleader, the girl's privates suddenly turned into a garbage disposal and ground the good doctor's hand into something resembling chopped sirloin. It was gross but it sure felt good to let that bitch have it. Unfortunately, that was the highpoint...

By the end of Friday night I was convinced that our killer was keeping Henslith drugged intentionally. I talked with Rebecca about it and she told me that so far the FBI wasn't making any progress either. In fact, it seemed like everything had just come to a screeching halt as they hit dead end after dead end. That was definitely not a good sign. The whole thing was taking on that 'calm before the storm' feeling.

There was only one reason I could think of why he would be keeping Rebecca's partner drugged. I wanted to talk to Bob about it but by the time I made the decision it was already too late. I could have called him at home but, at the moment, I had a date. I know that may sound a little shallow with a life quite literally at stake, but I felt like I needed to get away from the whole thing for a little while. Besides, I wasn't getting anywhere anyway.

As it turned out, it was a really good idea. Good and bad really, but then I've discovered that the two always seem to go together in life.

I'd told Britney I would pick her up at seven so we could be to the restaurant before they opened. This place is really popular and it's not very big, so if you're not there early you're going to have some time to kill. They opened at eight and by eight thirty the wait was generally up to at least forty minutes.

I arrived promptly at seven and when the door opened I reached out my hand to introduce myself to the black mountain in the doorway. He had that universal look all fathers with teenage daughters seemed to acquire. The look that said I should behave myself with his little girl because it was taking every bit of his courage and self control to let her out of his sight. The look that said, "My baby is growing up and I don't like it." Still, he shook my hand and gave it back to me still attached to my arm so it could have been worse. Britney wasn't quite ready, go figure, and he invited me in to wait. Once inside I discovered she had a younger brother and sister, much younger, the brother looked about ten and her sister was a couple years behind him. They were eating cereal and watching cartoons when I walked in. Her sister giggled at me; her brother just gave me a disapproving look and went back to eating his cereal.

Her father looked like he was headed out somewhere, but her mother was still in a sweats and a bathrobe, nursing a cup of coffee and looking like she really wasn't ready to be up yet. Britney came in wearing an aqua colored top with long sleeves and a matching belt running through the loops of her black jeans. There was just a hint of color around her dark eyes and she had left her hair loose. I was in my usual jeans and t-shirt, the shirt was a dark navy with the words, "I do my own stunts" across the back. We both had black tennis shoes except mine were court shoes and hers were a simple black canvas deck shoe. She was wearing ankle socks that matched the color of her belt and top, adding a thin line of color when she sat down and the jeans pulled up.

Breakfast was a big hit and Britney was officially in love.

It was called a Peach Melba; a fresh baked Belgian waffle with sliced peaches in a natural glaze, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with a raspberry sauce. According to her it should be renamed, 'Heaven on a plate.'

Britney's a coffee girl and teased me when I ordered hot chocolate for myself. I pointed out that considering the mountain of whipped cream on her caramel mocha was bigger than the one on my hot chocolate she didn't have a lot of room to criticize, and besides, at least mine didn't come with chocolate sprinkles. She still insisted I try it. I held my nose and tried to control my gag reflex long enough to swallow.

We took the riverboat around the lake to kill a little time until the shops opened up. That's when things started going downhill, fast. We were in the Big Dog Store reading the shirts when...



"Jimmy?"

"What's up, Sis?"

"We're being followed."

"Are you sure?"



"Pretty sure," she said. "The question is how to find out for sure."

"No," I corrected her. "The question is what to do when we are sure. We're going to need help." I pulled out my new phone and sent a text to Rebecca.

I think I'm being followed. I'm going to confirm but then what? I'm in Arrowhead.

I returned my attention to my date, taking her hand and pulling her in close, I kissed her cheek, "This is fun, thanks for coming. How about you, you having a good time?"

She gave me a look that said that was a really stupid question. "Okay, I just had like the best waffle on earth and now I'm shopping, what more could a girl want?"

"I forgot to tell you, I got a new cell phone, one I can actually use. How about giving me your number?" I really wanted her number so I could text her if things started looking scary and it wasn't safe to talk.

"Okay," she said. "But it's going to cost you, I want a real kiss."

"You drive a hard bargain."

"I heard the same thing about you," she said with a grin. "Now what about my kiss?"

I was fondly reminded of how soft Cherise's lips had been.

"Mmm," she said as we broke apart. Then she handed me her phone and said, "Just call your phone from mine, then we can store each others numbers, it's easier than actually programming them in, and this way you know you got the number right."

That made sense. It only took a second and I was ready. I had just finished putting her name in when the phone buzzed. I had an incoming text message.

Confirm and get back to me. I need some time. I have to get a hold of Rod and convince him to let me out of my cage without an armed escort.

I sent back a quick 'ok' and wandered over to where Britney was reading the Big Dog boxers. Just as I got there she held up a pair and said, "What do you think?"

Across the front were the words 'Home of the Whopper.'

I smiled and tried not to blush. "I think I'd get arrested for false advertising." Then I picked up a pair of girl's bikini panties that were on the next shelf. "I think these would be better," I said, holding them up for her to read. They were pink and said, 'If you can read this, it's your lucky day!'

"Truer words were never spoken," I said. Now it was her turn to blush. I decided to play a little bit, holding them down in front of her, "Maybe I'll get them for you; it'll give me something to dream about."

She snatched them out of my hand. "Oh sure, I could wear them to your funeral. Which is what it would to be when my daddy saw them and killed you."

"Yeah, no kidding. Let's go check out that little flea market they were setting up on the way in." I took her hand and walked her out to the truck. She wasn't used to guys opening doors for her so it was a little awkward. I thought she was going to kill me when she reached for the door handle on the truck and I slapped her hand and said, "That's my job." But she forgave me when I kissed it before letting her in.

It was a straight shot to the flee market but I needed to see if I really had company or not, so I took a roundabout way through Blue Jay. If you have ever been up there, you'll know how easy it is to make a wrong turn, so I knew it wouldn't look suspicious. Eventually we got to the flea market, and along the way I found the ice skating rink that Christy Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan used to practice at before they were superstars.

We were looking at the chainsaw carvings when Jamie confirmed that we were in fact being followed.

"Bad news."

"Where?" I asked.

"Ten o'clock, the one in the gray hooded sweatshirt."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, he was sitting outside the Bass outlet when we left Big Dog. He was also on the paddle boat. Pull out your phone, face the big window and pretend you're talking to someone, I'll bet he moves closer."

"You think he's alone?" I asked as I pulled out my phone.

"I think so, he got out of the blue Explorer, and he was driving. The windows are tinted, so there could be someone in the back seat, but I doubt it."

Rebecca chose that moment to call so I didn't even have to pretend, much. "Hello?"

"It's me..." I cut her off.

"Oh, hey, what's going on?"

She picked it up right away, "You're not alone, are you?"

"No, I'm up in Arrowhead with this really hot girl I met."

"Got it. Are you sure you're being followed?"

I'd been watching the window as I was speaking and sure enough as soon as I started talking the guy had moved closer so he could hear. He was roughly my height but a little bulkier, dark hair cut short, fair skin but not pale. He was wearing a dark t-shirt of some kind tucked into jeans and a hooded sweatshirt zipped up about half way.

"Yeah, actually I am. Why? What's going on?"

"What's going on is that there is no way to spring me without questions being asked, so Rod is on his way. The good news is he's actually closer anyway. But that still leaves him about an hour away at this point."

Shit. Oh well, nothing that I could do about it. "Okay, great. I'll talk to you later." I disconnected and walked over to where Britney was poking around a display of earrings. She appeared to be looking for something that matched her top and her belt.

I gave her a quick kiss and whispered, "We need to talk, come with me." Then I took her hand and we walked a little bit farther down the row of tables. We stopped at a table selling used CD's and sunglasses and I tried on a pair, looking in the little mirror to see where my shadow was. Yep, he was two stalls back pretending to look at some gym bags. As I was watching him he glanced our way and then did something that really got my heart rate up. Jamie caught it too.

"Oh shit," she said. "Tell me he didn't just look at his watch."

"Maybe he needs to check in with someone." I suggested, I didn't believe it but there was always the chance.

"It's possible, but you don't believe that any more than I do, do you?"

"Nope, we're on a deadline, he's waiting for someone else to show up, same as us. Damn! Who the hell is he?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. We need to get the hell out of here."

"No, we need answers. Let's see what he does if we disappear." I turned to Britney with the glasses still on and asked,"What do you think?"

She gave me a critical look and said, "Not bad, kind of a Tom Cruise-Top Gun look, but I prefer to see your eyes."

"Thanks, I like yours, too." I put the glasses back on the rack and pulled another pair off the rack. "Why don't you try these?" Then I whispered, "BC, we're in trouble. Don't look at me, look in the mirror like you're checking out the glasses; see the guy in the gray sweatshirt?"

"The one with the hood?" she whispered.

"That's him. He's been following us. First on the boat, then he was waiting outside while we were in Big Dog, and now he's here."

"But that doesn't mean ... oh my god! He just looked straight at us."

"Did he look at his watch?"

"Yes. Why? Is that bad?"

"Yeah, that's bad."

"But why? What does he want?"

"I can't explain all of it, but basically, I think he wants me. I have someone on the way to help out but he's still about an hour away."

Her voice and body language both said she was still skeptical, "Jimmy, you're cute and all but are you sure it's you he wants?"

I chuckled, but she had given me an idea. "Now there's an idea ... want to have some fun?"

"What kind of fun? It's not dangerous or anything is it?"

"No, I just need you to distract him for a second. I want you to go get in his face about staring at you, sort of like the scene you did with Byron the other day for being stupid. Either that or pretend that you know him from somewhere. Just try to get him to turn away; he'll resist, but see if you can. Don't worry if you can't because as soon as you start I'm going to start walking away. If I'm right, then as soon as I do, he's going to try and come after me. If I'm wrong then I'll just come back and you can pretend it was all a big mistake." I slipped my keys and phone into her hand where he wouldn't see. "When he comes after me, I want you to go straight to my truck, get in, lock the doors, and start the engine. Then hit speed dial number five, a man will answer; tell him who you are, that I told you to call him; where we are, and that unless something goes wrong I'll call him back in a few minutes."

I paused for a moment to consider the next part. "Britney, this is important, if anyone but me comes up to the truck, get the hell out of here."

"Jimmy, you're scaring me."

"Don't be scared, BC, I'll be fine and I promise, he's going to be doing his best to get away from you as fast as he can. But if I'm wrong, I want you to be safe no matter what, so once he's gone, straight to the truck, okay?"

"Kiss me," she said.

I kissed her and said, "Okay, I'm going to wander over to the next stall, then you do your thing. Can you do this?"

She squeezed my hand. "Yes. Jimmy, be careful okay?"

I kissed her cheek and moved away toward the next stall while she poked through the sunglasses on the table.

She was great and it went down just as I predicted. She just walked right up, looked at him funny, then yelled, "Michael!" and threw her arms around him like he was her long lost brother. As soon as she did I took off toward the end of the row of buildings at a fast walk. I glanced back just as he pushed her away and hurried to catch up. When he did, I took off sprinting for the end of the building. Once I was around the back I stopped and turned things over to Jamie. The sun was now in my face so I didn't have to worry about shadows giving me away.

Within seconds he came around the corner and Jamie whipped my arm out, clothes-lining him while sweeping his feet out from under him. He went down hard on his back and she dropped knee first into his stomach. The air exploded out of him, his head coming up in reaction; straight into her descending elbow. That ended it nicely.

If we weren't certain before and the chase hadn't convinced us, the search would have. All he had on him was a cell phone, the key to the Explorer, a small steel tube with a screw on lid and ... oh joy, a gun tucked neatly into a holster under his left arm. No ID; yeah, big surprise. Opening the steel tube revealed a loaded hypodermic needle.

"Shoot him with it." Jamie said.

"What? I can't do that, what if it's some kind of poison?"

"I doubt it, if he wanted to kill us he wouldn't have been waiting for someone else, but if I'm wrong then he was planning to kill us, so screw him. Either it'll kill him or it will keep him out long enough for Rod to figure out what to do with him." She hesitated for a second. "Do you want me to do it?"

"No, you're right, I got it." I rolled the guys sleeve up and emptied it the syringe into his arm. Then I un-tucked his shirt, wiped the needle down with it and carefully put it in his right hand. To a casual observer it would look like he shot up and passed out.

"Great. Now let's get the fuck out of here!" Jamie said. "Go around the other end so no one sees you coming back."

"Good idea." I suddenly wished I had both phones with me. I could have had BC drive down and pick me up at the other end. Instead I jogged down to the end and then walked casually back to the truck. BC was sitting in the driver's seat looking anxiously toward the far end where I had disappeared. I thought she was going to jump out the window when I tapped on it. She unlocked the door and practically flew out into my arms.

"Jimmy! Oh, thank God you're okay. What the hell just happened?"

"I'm not sure," I said, hugging her, "but we need to leave, right now! Get in." She climbed back in and started to slide across the seat but I stopped her. "No, you drive; I need to call my friend back. Just pretend you don't hear anything I say." I climbed into the passenger side, hit redial and belted myself in while I waited. Rod picked up just as we cleared the parking lot.

"Jimmy?"

"Yeah, it's me. Rod I don't know what the hell is going on but there is guy passed out behind this strip mall with a gun under his arm. No ID, just a gun, a cell phone and a syringe full of something. At least it used to be full."

"Damn, I'm still forty minutes away, flashing lights and sirens don't mean much on mountain roads but I'll be there as soon as I can. If his friends don't get there first I'll take care of him. For now, you get your ass out of there. Do you know where the Souplantation is on Hospitality?"

"Yeah, I've eaten there before."

"Good, go to the big glass building immediately to the west. Park in the back, take everything out of your truck, and leave it there. Go to the mailboxes in the little alcove off the lobby, box four-five-seven; the combination is A-J-C. There will be a set of keys inside; take them and leave yours. The car will be parked in the front somewhere, just hit the button on the remote and it will chirp the alarm from anywhere within five hundred feet. I don't know what it will be, but just take it and go. I want to go over your truck and make sure it's clean. I'll let you know when it's safe to come back and get it. I'll call you back when I know something."

I closed the phone and looked over at Britney. We were just coming up to a turn-out and she pulled in and stopped.

"He had a gun!" she said, shutting off the engine and turning towards me. "Jimmy, what is going on? Why are people with guns following you?"

"I don't know," I said. She gave me a look and I held up my hands defensively. "Honest, I don't. I swear I've never seen that guy before, and I don't know why he was following me, and if I'd even suspected he might have a gun, I wouldn't have let you anywhere near him."

"Well then how did you know he was following you? And who was that you called?"

"The FBI," I said. "I sent a text that we were being followed, so he was already on the way by the time you called."

Shock and confusion were fighting for control of her face. "The FBI? You have a friend with the FBI? And he just dropped everything and came running because you said someone was following you? Boy, who the hell are you?"

Shit! I took a deep breath. "Okay, I actually have two friends with the FBI. One is the woman who was looking for Angela, I met her during the investigation, and now she dates Mr. Shelby. Actually they're engaged, but you can't say anything because they haven't announced yet. She's the one I sent the text to. The other is her boss; that was him we've been talking to. She was tied up and couldn't get away so she called him. As for why someone is following me, the only thing I can think is that someone thinks I'm involved in something she's working on, probably because she and Mr. Shelby are over at the house so often." Yeah it was a stretch but I was making this up as I went. At least it wasn't an outright lie.

"This is too weird," she said. "So like, how did you know that guy was following us, I mean following you?"

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, trying to make it sound like the answer should be obvious. "I'm out walking around with you and some guy is more interested in watching my ass than yours? That's some seriously suspicious behavior. He's either gay, or he's trouble; and either way, I don't want him following me."

She couldn't help giggling but then she got serious again. "Come on, Jimmy, you know what I mean."

I hate lying, but... "Yeah, I know what you mean, I read a lot of spy novels; you pick things up. Britney, I swear, I don't know any more about this than you do. Hopefully my... , friend will be able to come up with some answers. Maybe this guy thought I was someone else. Either way, we need to get out of here. My friend is worried there might be a tracking device on the truck, and considering that guy found us so quickly after we left Arrowhead, I can see his point. Anyway, I'm supposed to drop my truck in San Bernardino and pick up another car."

"Just like that," she said. The shocked look was back, and her tone was somewhere between incredulous and outright disbelief. "Just pick up another car? That's handy. What kind?"

"I don't know," I said. "But I'm hoping it's a Porsche."

Her eyes got big, "You think?"

"Sure, isn't that what all the spy's drive?"

She laughed and slapped my arm. "Boy, you are too funny!" Then she bit her lip. "If it is a Porsche you'll let me drive it, right?"

"What? No I'm not going to let you drive it!"

"Oh come one, Jimmy! Please? I'm the one that distracted him so you could make your move. I risked my life for you."

"What? You did not!"

"Sure I did, you said yourself he had a gun. Pleeeaaasssee?"

I just rolled my eyes. "Fine, you can drive it around the parking lot, but that's all!"

"Yes!" she cried, bouncing in her seat.

"Well don't just sit there, let's go. The Souplantation on Hospitality."

It was a Buick.

"Damn!" she swore when the alarm chirped and she saw what we were getting. "Boy, you need to find some better spy friends to hang with; some with some class."

I held the door for her and she stopped before getting in, put her arms around me and said, "I had a really good time, Jimmy, before ... you know. Thanks for taking me out." Then she kissed me very thoroughly.

"No, thank you for coming," I said, giving her a little peck as follow-up. "I'm sorry we had to cut it short." Then I got serious, "Britney, I'm sorry you got caught up in all this. I had a really good time though, thanks for going out with me. Maybe we can finish it another day."

"I think I'd like that. But next time..." she poked me in the chest for emphasis, "I-want-the-Porsche!"

I laughed, "I'll ask, but I can't promise anything. Do me a favor though, and don't tell anybody about this, okay?"

"As if! If word got out you were a spy, you'd have girls following you around too. And I ain't standing in no damn line for no date."

"At least they wouldn't have guns."

"Don't bet on it, you don't know some of the girls at my school."

I laughed and kissed her again, and then drove her home. If anyone asked why she was coming home in a different car she would tell them my dad needed my truck so we swapped for the rest of the day. Now all I had to do was explain it to my parents, and Allison. It occurred to me on the way home that Jamie was being unusually quiet.

"You okay?" I asked.



"Fine, why?"

"I don't know, you just seemed awful quiet. Everything okay?"

"No, everything isn't okay! Did you feel how soft her lips were? I was afraid if I got too close I was going to start tearing things off the girl."

"Oh, silly me! I thought for a second you were talking about mysterious people with guns and needles stalking us."

"Well, yeah, that too, but she sure was a nice distraction! God I just want to ... umph!"



"Hey, hey! Take it easy, those are my hormones you're messing with. I can't walk in the house with that thing pointing the way!" I paused and then continued, "You're right though, she is hot, but still, it was our first date, so I'm glad you behaved yourself, I wouldn't want to give her the wrong impression."



"You go out with her again she's going to be expecting an impression, a big one."

"You think?"

"Jimmy, she just tried to lick your tonsils."

"Maybe she just likes to kiss."

"Right, and her hand running up and down over your ass was just nerves. I think all the cloak and dagger stuff really lit her fire. Well, stoked it anyway, I'm pretty sure it was already going. You didn't notice her scent changed on that second kiss?"

"You know, you are not helping solve this little problem we have going on here."

"Oh, sorry. Maybe we should talk about guys with guns for a while."



Just then my phone rang so I pulled over and answered it. It was Rod.

"Hey, Rod, what's up?"

"You still got company?"

"No, I dropped her off already. By the way, next time we do this, she wants to know if you can arrange a Porsche instead of a Buick."

He laughed, "Jimmy, that Buick would outrun most of the Porsches in this country."

"I don't think she'd care. So what's up? Any idea who he is or why he was following me?"

"Are you sure he was following you?"

"Of course I'm sure, and even if I wasn't, chasing me around the building kind of clinched it. What I don't know is why."

"Well, it's going to be a while before we can find out, at least until whatever was in the syringe wears off. Probably a good thing you shot him up, with a little luck it will keep him out through the surgery."

"Surgery? For what?"

"For what? Are you kidding? How about three broken ribs, a possible punctured lung, and probably internal bleeding?"

"You're kidding right?"

"No, I'm not kidding. What the hell did you hit with?"

"I'm sorry," Jamie said.

"Liar," I accused before answering Rod. "Nothing, I just put him down as quickly as I could. But I sort of dropped a knee in his middle in the process. I didn't realize I'd hurt him that bad."

"Don't apologize, Jimmy, this guy was definitely not your friend."

"Yeah, I figured that part out, the question is, who the hell is he and why is he after me?"

"One possibility is the Sandman hired him, or, since you said he was waiting for someone, hired them to grab you, but I don't really put much faith in that idea."

"Me either," I said. "If he wanted me he would take me himself rather than risk using outsiders. Besides, why would he want me, unless..."

"Right," he interrupted. "Unless he figured out that it was you Rebecca was working with; you that robbed him of his prize last time. Not to mention you that just ripped him off. I don't see how he could possibly know any of that. If he'd grabbed Rebecca instead of her partner, maybe, but Henslith doesn't know about you. Well, she knows who you are but not that you're involved in any of this, and certainly not what you can do.

"That's good to know but it still doesn't make sense of any of this. Like I said, if he wanted me, he'd do it himself." I thought for a second. "Rod, would you know if they were Feds?"

"You mean Bureau? Sure, prints and photos would be in the database."

"What if they were someone Atkins sent?"

"I see where you're going but I don't see that either. Atkins has no idea who you are and no way to find out." There was a pause. "Oh shit. Unless someone actually got information out of Rebecca when they had her back there and she doesn't know it."

"You think that's it?" I asked.

"I have no idea and no idea on how to find out."

"We can find out," Jamie said. "We'll bridge Atkins tonight to be sure."

"I can find out. Rod, if it is her, how bad is it? How much trouble am I in?"

"If it's her I suggest you jump ship and run like hell, as fast and as far as you can."

"And if I do that, how are you going to catch this guy?"

"Jimmy, unless there's a mileage restriction on that voodoo of yours, you can do your part from anywhere, if you're free. You can't help anyone if you're locked up in some research center being dissected by Doctor Mengele and his friends."

He was right but that didn't help a lot. "Rod, I don't know how to run."

"I know, I'll do what I can for you. If it comes to that, I can get you to some people that can get you out of the country, but after that, you'd be on your own. From there I would suggest you use your talents on some people you can learn from. I can give you a few to start with if it comes down to it. People who are trained to disappear."

"Thanks, but let's hope it doesn't come down to that. Let me know if anything else comes up. How soon do you think I can get my truck back? I'd rather not have to explain this car to my folks, not to mention Allison."

"I can certainly understand that. I'm waiting for someone to take over for me here, watch-dogging your little playmate; they should be here in about fifteen minutes. I'll go straight over and sweep your ride. Say an hour and a half, two hours tops."

"Okay, I'll go to the mall or something. Call me when you're done, or when you think it's safe."

"You sure you want to do that?" I could hear a note of surprise in his voice.

"You already know who I am, considering everything that's going on, yeah, I'm okay with it. If you'd walked up just as that asshole came around the corner it would have really sucked for you to shoot me because you thought I'd ambushed him instead of the other way around. Besides, they obviously know who I am, if not, hopefully, what I can do, no harm in leveling the playing field."

"I'll call you."

I drove to the mall and killed some time at Border's looking through a few books that Jasmine had recommended. I felt bad just paging through so I could 'read' them later, but it wasn't like I could just take them home. Mom would freak.

Finally Rod called and I went to get my truck back. He was parked where he could watch the whole lot. I parked the car back where I had found it and headed into the lobby instead of approaching him. I figured if anyone was watching, why be obvious. He met me inside as I was putting the keys back in the box.

"You're good," he said. "You pick this stuff up quick. How did you know not to come towards my car?"

I reached to shake his hand, "Nice to meet you finally, sir. I just figured why take the chance of someone seeing us. Did you find something?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did. I don't think it's been there long, he probably put it there this morning."

"That's what I was afraid of," I said. "If whoever put it there had been watching the truck to see if I was coming back, they may have seen you messing around with it. They may not have been able to tell, but if I'd just walked up to you, it would have been a dead giveaway. Better to let you come to me. You're better at this stuff than I am, you'd probably know if someone was watching."

"Maybe, it's actually a pretty well concealed area with all these trees around the lot. That's the reason we use it. I killed the transmitter right away. It's a very low power unit, not more than a couple miles range and that's stretching it. Unless they knew where the truck was I doubt if they would have picked up the signal again; easier to just pick you up again at home. You realize this means they know where you live, right?"

"Yeah, a little too coincidental to think he just happened to spot me in Arrowhead. That means he had to already be following me. So how do I tell if they put something else on the truck?"

"I left a sweeper behind the seat. If you can, park in the garage. It won't stop them if they really want to get to it, but it's an extra level of risk. Either way, the unit is pretty easy to use. Worried?"

"Wouldn't you be?" I asked.

"Just checking. I'm glad you're worried; you'll pay better attention that way. Anything on Henslith?"

That was a loaded question. Time to stretch the truth again. "Nothing, I think he's got her drugged. I guess the good news is that means he's probably not torturing her."

"Not necessarily. There are a variety of drugs available that go very well with torture."

"Oh gee thanks, Rod. I feel so much better now."

"Sorry, but like you told Bex, we're past the need for sugar-coating it."

"Yeah, I'd rather just get it straight and know where I stand. Anyway, I'll talk to Bob tonight and see where that gets me. Let Rebecca know if you come up with any ideas and she can pass them along. Two quick things; first, do you have anyone that can handle a drug problem at my school?"

"Yeah, but it would be kind of hard to explain why we were there."

"I know but I don't really have anyone else that can handle it. The problem is I think someone on staff is involved. There are these three losers I ran into one day last week, right away I knew something was up so a couple days ago I took a peek and poked around a little. Someone they've never met is dropping stuff in a locker for them."

"You're right, that does sound like staff, any idea who?"

"No, like I said, they never met. Anyway, these idiots don't realize how bad they're being set up if anything goes wrong; all they see is easy money. It's all really new, though, just since school started so they aren't in too deep yet. I figure if we can get a camera in the locker we'll see who is leaving the stuff."

"That sounds easy enough, how about if I have someone in local narcotics handle it. We'll handle it the usual way, you call in a tip and I'll make a call to make sure they don't have any trouble getting a warrant. What was your other question?"

"Nothing serious, just curious if you had any word on that asshole in Palm Springs?"

"Actually, yes. I got word a while ago; he confessed this morning, all four counts, plus two we didn't know about from before he moved to the area."

Way to go Walter! "Finally, a little good news," I said. "I'll call you if anything else comes up."

"You do that; anytime. As of two days ago, with Rebecca confined, I'm on call for you one way or the other until this is settled. As of today, that includes this problem as well. I'll trust you not to abuse the privilege."

"Does that mean you don't deliver pizza?"

"Don't even think about it, kid. You've been spending too much time around Hampton."

"I still am, hopefully in person again real soon."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I think the only way that's going to happen is if we finish this. In my book that's a really good thing."

"Amen to that, Jimmy, amen to that."



-------

Chapter 51: Looking for Options


We met Bob and Rebecca in my office to discuss the problems I was having finding Rebecca's partner. Lizzy was working so she couldn't be there. No, not like that, working. She didn't need the money but she was getting bored and wanted something to do so she had taken a job at the local pizza place helping college kids get drunk. It had also proved to be a great hunting ground for her other job.

"All I can think is that he's got her drugged," I said. "What scares me is that the only reason I can think of for doing it is to stop me from reaching her. It can't be a familiarity thing because I reached all four of those little girls in Palm Springs, and their parents, just by looking at a bunch of pictures. Drugs are the only thing I can think of."

"I would have to agree," he said. "The only reason I can think of for that is that he knows a lot more than we thought he does."

"That's a scary thought," I said. "Any idea what he may be using?"

"No. I'm afraid pharmacology is a little outside my regular field."

"I mentioned it to Rod, I thought maybe drugs would mean he wasn't torturing her, but he said there were some that went along with torture very nicely. How would that work?" I made the mistake of glancing at Rebecca.

"Hey, don't look at me. I've told you before; we outsource all that to the CIA. I guess I could ask Atkins, she certainly seemed to be up on the all the latest techniques."

"Speaking of that, what do you think the chances are that she's actually working for, or even with, a Supreme Court Justice?"

"She's not," Rebecca answered flatly. "No seated justice would ever even consider being involved in something like this. They'd be more likely to find someone to arrest and try you than have anything to do with it. If it was something they were willing to be involved with they would quit the bench first. But the last time that happened was the Nuremburg trials after World War II. I don't see any of those people giving up a lifetime seat on the ultimate judicial power trip to play with something as potentially disastrous as all this. Personally I think she's a front man for the other two. I think it's Ferris calling the shots, but I also think they have executive support or the Secret Service wouldn't have been there. Of course, none of that is helping us now."

I guess Allison finally figured out Lizzy's voice trick because suddenly I heard her say, "Ask Jasmine," and since no one else reacted I assumed they didn't hear it. It was a reasonable suggestion but it had one particular flaw. Rebecca didn't, and couldn't, know about Jasmine. With that in mind I froze Rebecca so I could talk to Bob.

"Allison suggested asking Jasmine."

He nodded his agreement as he answered, "An excellent idea. If anyone would know about drugs that would enhance the kinds of things this guy likes to do, and keep the girl too disoriented for you to reach at the same time, Jasmine would. You should ask her about..."

"Hold that thought," I said, standing up and walking to an open area. "Amber!" I said, in a commanding voice.

Almost immediately she was kneeling at my feet in the same long white dress that all of Jasmine's girls wore. She even had the same red leather collar fitted snugly around her throat, only hers had a small silver dragon with ruby red eyes dangling from the ring. The only thing missing were the earrings.

"Yes, master?"

"Rise," I said, offering her my hand. She flowed to her feet like water flowing uphill, taking my hand because it was proffered, not because she needed it.

"I see you have found favor with your Mistress," I said. "I am very proud of you."

She dropped a slight bow and said, "Thank you Master, I am happy that I have pleased you. How may I serve you, Master?"

"I need to speak to your Mistress and you'll notice we have company. Do you wish Rebecca to know your secret? Do not consider what you think I may wish, this is your decision. I have no problem with sending her away for a while. She will not question why; she knows we have secrets just as she does. What is your desire?"

"My desire is to please you, but if you have no preference then I would rather she not know."

"Thank you," I said, kissing her hand. "Please ask your Mistress to join us. Simply knock on the nearest door when you are ready. Rebecca will be gone before you return." The slightest pressure on her hand brought her in close enough to press her body against mine. I kissed her cheek and sent her on her way, then returned to my seat and rewound the scene to when I first froze Rebecca.

"Rebecca, I'm going to have to ask you to leave for a few minutes. I have an idea but I can't follow up on it with you here."

"I understand. Can you drop me at, that's at, not in," she said with a glare, "the lagoon?"

"No problem," I said, smiling innocently. "If you get bored try playing keep-away with the dolphins, it's a great workout."

When she was gone Bob said, "Absolutely amazing! I never would have believed it possible in so short a time. How did you do it?"

I smiled, "I'll assume you're talking about Amber, and the answer is; I didn't, she did. Once she accepted the truth that this is not just what but who she wanted to be ... Jasmine couldn't believe it either. I did find out Jamie helped her a little bit as well, but I think that was just what it was intended to be, help. I'm having a hard time keeping up with my role, though. I'm afraid that I'm not doing a very good job as her master."

"In what universe?" Allison asked sarcastically. "Jimmy, you have been everything that girl wants and needs you to be. If there is anything else she wants, it's to be with you more. Other than that she is happy with everything about you."

I glanced at Bob and he was nodding agreement, "She's right. You would need to see her from an outside perspective to truly appreciate it. As for the rest, if you think there is something she wants, ask her. No, let me rephrase that, offer her a reward and let her ask you."

"Thank you both," I said switching to my usual 'working' persona. Allison immediately changed to 'Alice' as well. "Do you have a disguise in mind, Bob? They'll be here in a minute."

"No, I'm good. It's not like she's ever going to see me anywhere else."

"Your choice, just remember that Amber will look like Diane McKenzie when she gets here with Jasmine."

"Ah, good point," he said. "I had forgotten that actually."

Even as he spoke there was a light knock on the door.

"Enter."

The door opened and Amber preceded Jasmine inside, holding the door for her, closing it behind her, and then escorting her to a chair before coming to kneel beside me. As soon as she was settled I rose and stepped over to Jasmine, kissing her hand, and turning to introduce her to the room.

"Welcome, Lady Jasmine, you honor us with your presence. Allow me to introduce one of my mentors..." I indicated Bob, who rose and bowed.

"An honor to meet you, Lady Jasmine."

As she inclined her head and he sat back down, I moved on, indicating Alice. "And you have already met Alice."

"Lovely to see you again, Alice," she said.

Allison rose and dropped a curtsy, "The pleasure is mine, my Lady. Welcome."

"No, thank you all for your hospitality. I am honored to be here. How may I be of assistance?"

I turned to Amber, "Amber, tea please." She rose smoothly and exited. I noticed Jasmine's raised eyebrow as she left.

"Amber's captor has taken another," I said. "He appears to be keeping her drugged in order to prevent me from locating her. Knowing his predilections we were wondering if you may know of any drugs he may be using that would both keep her too incoherent for me to reach her and still not interfere with his own pleasure."

"Then I commend your wisdom in sending Amber away," she said. Then she paused for a moment before continuing, obviously thinking. "There are several that come to mind. They are not commonly used as they are quite illegal in this country; however I doubt that he would take that into consideration. They are also damaging to the body. Prolonged use would almost certainly kill her. Mostly different psychedelic compounds; it is not uncommon to combine several different drugs. Heroin is a popular one...

Anger consumed me in a flash. I took a breath and said, "Jamie!"

"Sorry,"

Apparently I hadn't done a very good job of covering it.

"Your anger is both obvious and justified," Jasmine said.

Two things happened at once, Amber knocked lightly at the door, signally the arrival of our tea, and I felt Lizzy fall asleep.

"You may enter," I said while at the same time sending my voice to Lizzy. "Can you take Amber for me for a while? We're in the middle of something with Jasmine that I don't want her to hear."

"No problem," She answered. "Will this be a social call?"



"Meaning?"

"Wondering if this is a reward, a punishment, or just a visit to keep her occupied."

"Keeping her occupied mostly but let's make it a reward. You will be impressed when you see her; she has more than earned a reward. I don't want her to know that it's you that I'm giving her to, though."

"Done. What's her safe word?"

"Dragonfly. She'll be along shortly."



I returned my attention to the office, where Amber had already prepared tea for Jasmine and was pouring for Bob and Allison. When theirs were ready she quickly prepared mine and brought it to me, kneeling beside me with the proffered cup. Once she was settled I took it from her and sipped it. Bob and Allison stopped mid-sip as they realized that Jasmine had been waiting for me, as her host, to begin. I stroked Amber's hair, bent and kissed her head.

"Thank you Amber," I said, taking another sip before setting my cup down and standing. "Amber, I am very proud of what you have accomplished. I have been giving thought to a suitable reward, and have decided that I am going to give you to a very special friend of mine while I finish up some business here. You will go to her immediately. You will be hers until she releases you or until I send for you. Or you may leave at any time using your signale. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Master." She said. Then she raised her head and met my eyes so that I would know she was sincere when she said, "Thank you, Master."

"You are welcome. Now kiss me and be on your way." I took her hand and raised her once more to her feet. "Jamie? Do you want to say goodbye with me?"

She did and the look on everyone's faces when Amber left said that the kiss had been just as hot as it had felt. Jasmine and Bob were nodding their approval; Allison looked like she was in shock.

Then I heard Lizzy, "Wow, you weren't kidding, I can't believe this is the same girl!"

"It's not," I answered, and then sat back down and returned my attention to the others.

"Jasmine, wouldn't heroin kind of ruin the whole torture aspect for him?"

"Yes and no. To finish what I started to say before the tea arrived; heroin is more common as a tool for long term projects, addiction and withdrawal become tools for behavior modification. Also, the body builds up a tolerance to it quickly, requiring more and more to achieve the desired result. That can be expensive, but still, I cannot rule it out as there are other drugs that, when used in conjunction, would cause her to focus specifically on the physical sensations themselves. They do so by ... what would be a good word... ? Super-charging the nervous system, stimulating both the pain and pleasure centers to the point where the two sensations become blurred. You've been reading Carey, think of the person as a chemically induced anguisette, with every touch burning like fire or soothing like a cool breeze. Orgasm under such circumstances is hard to achieve and impossible to imagine."

She paused, looking into the depths of her tea cup for a moment before continuing, "I saw it once, many years ago and I hope to never see such a thing again. To this day I do not know how she survived. When the convulsions and screaming finally stopped she passed out and I thought her dead. She slept for almost a day and when she awoke she was covered in bruises, the strain on her muscles had been so great that several had torn. It was terrible to see and understand what had been done to her." Her gaze was distant and her eyes had a haunted look. "The worst was yet to come. She cried, wept really, not at the pain, but to have it again.

"I was required to tend her while she healed and during a few lucid moments we talked. She said it felt like touching god and she would do anything to feel it again. The sensations, both pain and pleasure were so intense, and yet, at the same time the drugs would keep her from thinking rationally enough to try to sort them out and deal with any one of them. Her physical injuries meant nothing to her, and she seemed to be in a constant state of arousal, begging me to touch her. It was like she was blind but I know she saw me, deaf though she heard everything I said. Everything functioned normally but every other sensation seemed to be lost in the haze of her reality. I am no psychologist but I don't think that the mind would dream to escape sensations of that type. I would think that they so resemble an out of control dream that the mind may seek elsewhere for a respite. I..."

I cut her off, "Please, My Lady, it is clear this is painful for you, and you need not continue."

From my reading I knew what she was referring to, knew exactly what she was saying. In Kushiel's Dart, the main character, Phedre, was an anguisette, someone touched by the gods whose body reacted to pleasure and pain as if they were the same sensation. There were passages in which Phedre described being so lost in the sensations that she could not fully recall what had happened. It sent a chill down my spine. Like Rod said, we were past sugar-coating this stuff. I took a deep breath and felt Jamie take away my anger.

"Thanks."

"Anytime."

"Thank you," Jasmine said, looking away. "Forgive me for rambling. It is painful, but it is also important that I remember. You see, she was an example, and a threat. At one time she had been an important person, but she angered a very powerful man, he had her kidnapped and sent to my ... he sent her to be broken. Eventually she was given back to him, as a pet. I was seven." She took a sip of her tea before continuing.

"I was raised in what you would call a whorehouse, but to call it such is like calling a milk stool a throne. There was nothing in this house that money could not buy. My father owned it; my mother helped him, and I helped her, tending the girls. Bathing them, caring for their hurts, tending wounds, whatever they required, from a massage to a manicure to changing bandages in places they could not reach. Most were slaves, but not all. The slaves were valuable, the others ... I learned much from them over the years. I learned that pleasure comes in many forms, and I learned that freedom, the right to choose, the right to say no, is the most valuable thing one can ever possess."

There were tears in her eyes by now but she went on.

"That is why it is so important that we stop these ... things, this evil which preys upon the girls of my city. That I have in some part helped them in their work taints my very soul."

I nodded and turned to Bob, "How long?"

"Before he breaks her mind? No way to know. It depends on how strong the subject is; on a scale of one to a hundred, a hundred being someone like Jasmine's girl Tanya that you told me about, someone used to living in the extremes; I'd give any trained agent a starting point at somewhere in the eighty to ninety range just on pure stubborn, mental toughness. From there, it just depends on how hard he pushes. For one thing, he's not using the kind of methods that she's describing. Unless I'm mistaken, what happened to that girl took a very long time. Our guy is after something completely different so his methods while similar ... it's like that milk stool and throne thing she mentioned. As for Henslith, no matter what he's doing, I guarantee she is holding back, or trying to hold back, a tiny part of herself that can stay focused and act if she gets a chance. Sort of an advanced form or compartmentalization, but the act of holding back, even trying to hold back will create more stress and accelerate the process. When you find her..."

"If I find her," I interrupted.

"No, when you find her," Alice corrected me.

"Right," Bob said. "It's a question of how long she can hold out When you do find her, the first thing you need to do, absolutely the first thing..."

I held up my hand to stop him, rising as I did and crossing to Jasmine. "My Lady, thank you for coming, you have been most helpful. We need to discuss some things now..."

She smiled and held up her hand to stop me, "I understand. As with Amber, there are things that I do not need to know. Thank you for the opportunity to serve. Before I depart, there is something I wish to share with you. A curious thing happened today. Victoria Essex came by to cancel her session with Tanya tonight. This has never happened before and Tanya is beside herself with worry. I assured her that everything was alright, but she is still very anxious. I know you have much to do, but I was wondering if I might trouble you to look in on her. I am ... concerned."

"I understand, Lady, and I will make it a point to do so. Tell me, you said it's never happened before. What reason did she give?"

"She apparently injured her arm in some way. There were no bandages, but she had it in a sling and the hand appeared all but lifeless."

I offered her my hand and walked her to the door. When I turned back Allison was back to herself and practically bouncing in her chair.

"Ohmigod! Omigod!" she cried in a gleeful voice. "That has to be from your visit the other night. Jamie, I love you!"

"Okay," Bob said. "Obviously I've missed something."

"Jamie and I were poking around the other night, trying to find the last couple board members for everybody's favorite church. We dropped in on Essex and I let Jamie mess with her. You know that sick fantasy of hers I told you about?"

He gave me a disgusted look and nodded.

"Yeah, that one; well, Jamie turned the girl's privates into a garbage disposal while Essex was wrist deep and it pretty much destroyed her hand."

"Holy Shit!" Bob said, excitedly. "Psycho-traumatic shock from the dream translating to physical paralysis of her hand and arm! Incredible! Jamie, if I haven't said it before, I love you too! I'm not big on physical torture but if anyone deserves it, it's that bitch."

I could actually feel Jamie blushing inside me. I gave her a mental kiss. "I love you too, but you already know that."

"Still nice to hear it," she said. "Are you going to tell them about today?"

"No point, nothing they could do but worry."

There was a knock at the door; almost more a scratch really. I wasn't expecting it but I probably should have been. It was Walter.

"Come in, Walter." I called.

I don't know what I was thinking. Fortunately I had Allison to rely on. She was on the way to the door before he knocked again and opened it just as he finished.

"Walter," she said, kneeling to hug him. "It's so nice to see you again. Sorry about the door, I guess we need to change the knob so you can get in on your own."

"Lady Allison, always a pleasure to see you," he said. "That is very thoughtful of you." Then he turned to me.

"My Lord, it is done."

"Walter," I said in a warning tone.

"No, my Lord, I will not yield this time. The deed is done and it is time to have this out."

Allison was looking very concerned. "What's going on? Why are you two mad at each other?"

"I beg your pardon?" Walter said, turning to her with a surprised look. "I am not angry with your brother, my dear, he simply refuses to acknowledge the truth, and I refuse to ignore it. A simple difference of opinion, which will be settled when he concedes that I am right."

"Perhaps I can help," Bob offered. "Walter of Gyldenholt I presume? Robert Shelby. I've heard a lot about you, it's an honor to finally meet you. What seems to be the problem?"

"A pleasure sir," Walter answered, offering his paw.

"Maybe we can start by making that part easier," I said. "Walter, do you have, or have you ever had a human form?"

"No, My Lord, I have always been as you see me."

I ignored the title for now. "Would you like one? Something you can change in and out of at will?"

"You would make of me a were?"

"Well, sort of I guess, but without the dark side effects. No bloodlust or uncontrollable lunar shifts or anything like that, and your transformations wouldn't be so messy."

"I would be grateful indeed, My Lord. I find lapping tea a most embarrassing thing to endure, especially in polite company." He inclined his head in Allison's direction.

"Would you appreciate it enough to stop calling me that?"

"No," he said sternly. "My form does not in any way alter the truth. You are my Lord, and I will not dishonor myself by thinking of you as anything else."

"But..."

Bob held up his hand to stop me.

"Just a minute, Jimmy. Walter, why do you consider Jimmy your Lord?"

"Because he is."

"I will acknowledge your claim as your right either way, but please, sir, answer the question. Why?"

Walter rose to as proud a position as his form allowed; sitting tall and straight on his haunches with his head raised as he answered.

"Because I owe him my very existence. Do you not see? I was nothing, a formless thing of nightmare given shape; created from a child's wish to fit in. All because some heartless fool suggested to him that a good scare would cure his stuttering. My Lord changed that. In a moment I was transformed from a thing of darkness to a thinking being with a noble and honorable purpose. My tenure with young Bobby is near at an end, and but for My Lord's whim, when that time expires, my purpose, noble or otherwise, will be at an end. My life, my very existence is in his hands. As the one true God is to you, so My Lord is to me. That he formed me from his Christian perspective and recognizes no other God is all that prevents me from looking upon him in that light. He is no God; and I will not worship him, but as a gentleman I acknowledge the debt I owe him and have pledged myself to his service. He is therefore my Lord. Whether he chooses to acknowledge the fact does not alter the truth in any way."

How do you answer that? Bob and Allison were both staring at me, obviously waiting for my response. Damn. I pulled a sword from behind my back and threw it on the floor in front of him.

"I am not your Lord until I accept your service. If you choose to offer me your service, then you know what to do."

"Jimmy, that's cruel, you know he can't..." Bob started, but Allison cut him off.

"Pick up the sword Walter," she said gently.

A huge hairy paw stretched toward the sword and as it closed around the hilt, the paw changed to a hand. The change spread quickly until a man, clad only in a loincloth, knelt before me on his hands and knees, clutching a sword in one hand. In one fluid motion he stood and held the sword overhead as high as he could without sticking it in the ceiling. He was as big as a man as he had been as a monster, over six and a half feet tall. Not massive but muscled like a wolf, long and lean, though the larger plate groups; chest, thighs, and shoulders, did bulge a bit. Despite the size and mass he moved with a smooth grace. His hair was long and black as night, the only hint of color being the highlights when he moved. His eyes were like polished granite, gray with flecks of black that seemed to move around in the iris. I didn't have time to pick out a lot of details for just as quickly as he had stood up; he dropped to one knee, holding the sword across both palms with his eyes averted.

"I offer my Lord my life and my service for as long as it pleases him. Will you have me?"

"I will accept your offer on the condition that it is not as your Lord, but rather as a friend and equal."

"Then it is with deepest regret that I must withdraw my offer, sir. I cannot in honor do that which you ask," he said, gripping the sword hilt in one hand and looking up to meet my eyes.

"Damn it, Walter! I am no one's master!"

He actually smiled up at me, "Tell that to fair Amber, my Lord. If she will acknowledge you as less then I will, but not otherwise." He lay the sword once more across his palms and bent his head once more. "Will you have me, my Lord?"

He had me. I looked at Bob and he just shrugged and shook his head. Allison was even less help, just shaking her head and refusing to give an opinion one way or another.

Suddenly Jamie stepped out of me, taking up the sword from across his palms. "We accept."

All I could do was stare as she handed me the sword, "You can do the honors, but get on with it, we have a lot to do."

I took the sword and touched it once to each of his shoulders. "We accept your service Walter. Now stand up and put some clothes on for goodness sake."

He rose with a toothy smile that reminded me strongly of what he really was. "As you command, my Lord." By the time he stood up he was clothed in tight fitting black leather from head to toe. "My Lady," he said, extending a hand to Jamie, "Serving you is reward beyond price."

"No Walter," she answered, proffering her hand for him to kiss. "Rather your service is a price beyond reward. Nothing we could offer would suffice, so we do what we can. If this is your wish then we grant it gladly and we will strive to always be worthy of your service."

Her response took him so off guard that all he could do was bow. When he rose again, he addressed us both, "What would you have of me?"

"Well, since you're here, perhaps you can try finding someone for me." I pulled up the images of Rebecca's partner and ran through them.

"Who is she?" Walter asked.

"She is an Interpol agent on loan to assist the FBI with catching Angela's kidnapper. She disappeared a couple days ago and I haven't been able to locate her. I was hoping you might have better luck."

He bowed and said, "I will do my best my Lord."

"That is all we can ask," Jamie said. "On your way."

He bowed to Bob and Allison and hurried out the door, shifting to his original form as he crossed the threshold.

I immediately rounded on Jamie. "Why did you do that?" I asked angrily.

"Because he was right," she answered, just as angrily.

Suddenly I heard Lizzy voice, "Jimmy, what are you doing to Jamie?"

I sent her an instant replay of the last few minutes on high speed playback.

"No wonder she's upset. Lover, you need to apologize, immediately. Think about what Walter said about where he came from? Now think about where Jamie came from. You can thank me later; I need to get back to Amber."

And just like that she was gone and I was majorly embarrassed, appalled at what an ass I was being.

"Oh, Jamie," I said, turning and taking both her hands in mine. "I am so very sorry." I raised her hands and kissed them. "Please forgive me?"

She slid her hands over my shoulders and hugged me tightly to her. "Of course I forgive you." Then she turned and disappeared into me again. "It was Lizzy wasn't it?"



"Didn't you hear her?"

"No. She seems to be getting better and better at this. How did she even know something was wrong?"

"I'll ask her later. We've got things to do right now. Nice job on Essex by the way."

"You don't need to thank me, that one was definitely my pleasure."



Allison's voice drawled in sarcastically, "Whenever you two are through..." drawing our attention back to the room.

"Oh, sorry about that, we just..."

"Don't bother, I get it. So where do we go from here?"

"I don't know," I said. "I'm out of ideas for now."

"I'm not," Bob said. "Before Jasmine dropped the bomb about Essex we were discussing what you need to do when you find Henslith."

"I'm sorry, Bob," I said. "I didn't mean to get so distracted. You had an idea?"

"Yes. When you reach her, the very first thing you should do is try to shut off her pleasure/pain response. Just like you did with Tom's taste buds, just turn them off so she can think again. Then..."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Allison interrupted. "Don't you think he'll notice if suddenly everything he does doesn't work? He'll know something is wrong and there is no telling what he'll do next."

Bob thought about it for second, "She's right. How about putting in a switch of sorts? Something she can turn on and off?"

"Risky," Allison said. "If you'd been going through that and had a way out, would you turn it back on?"

"Me? I don't know," Bob said, shaking his head. "I really don't, and I can't be sure of her either, but all things considered I think any option we can give her..."

"I have to agree with Bob," I said. "Give her the option and let her do what she can with it. Maybe something like a dimmer switch so she can sort of dial it down however much she needs to. She's dead unless we find her. That's for later; right now we have things to do."

"I'm guessing that's my que." Bob said. "Call me if you need anything."

"So what's on the schedule?" Allison asked after he was gone.

"You and I are going to see Tanya."

You can't get much past Allison.

"What about Jamie?"

"She has plans."

"That's it, just plans? Jimmy, what's going on?"

I should have known better. "I'll tell you later. Right now, we've got work to do. Jamie? You're going to be good, right? Just what we need to know, and you don't do anything no matter what you find. I'm trusting you to do this by yourself. Promise me."

She stepped out and said, "I'll be good; just what we need to know, I promise. See you soon." And she was gone.

"Well that doesn't sound good. Can you at least tell me who she's going to see?"

"Sandra Atkins. Come on, let's go see Tanya, I've got a hunch. One I really don't like."

"Are you at least going to tell me what it is?"

"No, I don't want to color your perceptions."

I'd spent enough time with Jasmine's image of Tanya, plus a couple of Essex's dreams, that bridging her was no problem, but I was surprised to find her in a classroom playing with several young girls. It was certainly not the setting I would have pictured for someone with Tanya's passions. The classroom was a bit of a surprise all by itself. It was obviously intended to be a Kindergarten class, but everything was covered in bright pink and yellow pillows. There was not a sharp corner or exposed angle anywhere. Looking closer it became clear that there was no way you could possibly hurt yourself, or anyone else, in this room. When your subconscious goes to these lengths to create a safe environment it's usually for a reason; Tanya was running away from something.

Glancing around the room, one of the girls looked familiar, go figure. Time to take a hand; I took over the little girl I suspected to be the key.

"What's wrong, Tanya?"

"Nothing baby?"

"I thought you had to work tonight?"

"I did," she said hesitantly. "But they gave me the night off."

I reached out and touched her hand. Her eyes closed and her breathing slowed.

"Tanya, you need to tell me the truth. Are you afraid because you got the night off."

"Yes." She said.

"Because of Dr. Essex?"

"Yes."

"You don't like her do you?"

"I hate her."

"But she's your best customer."

"I hate her."

"Then why do you let her do these things to you?"

"I have to."

"Why? What will happen if she doesn't do them to you? Will she do them to someone else?"

"Yes."

"Who will she hurt, Tanya?"

"She'll hurt Missy?"

"Who is Missy?"

"My niece."

"And that's why you play the hard games with Victoria? And why you tell Jasmine that you like them?"

"Yes."

"But it's not all a lie, is it? You still like to play them, just not with Victoria?"

"Yes, very much, but not with her."

"You're the one spying on Jasmine aren't you?"

"Yes."

"And if you don't, if you stop, then Missy goes to see Victoria for a checkup?"

Tears were forming in her eyes. "Yes."

"And if Victoria breaks you during one of the games? Or if you tell Jasmine you want it to stop?

She didn't answer but the tears started trickling down her cheeks.

"Tanya, do you like your Mistress."

"I love Jasmine; I would do anything for her."

"Yet you spy on her."

The dam broke and she began sobbing. I kissed her hand.

"She will forgive you, Tanya. I promise. Go back to sleep Tanya, rest, sure in the knowledge that Missy is safe. Victoria will not harm her. But first, why here, Tanya?"

"I love children; I was going to be a teacher."

"Why didn't you?"

"I had to quit school. I can't afford it. Victoria leaves me just enough to pay my bills, no more."

"We're going to make this better, Tanya, but for now you need to forget that we spoke tonight, you went to bed, dreamed of playing school with Missy and her friends, and nothing else happened. Go to sleep now, Tanya."

"So," Allison said. "Tell me again why I was here."

"I didn't know what I was going to find. If it had been something else I didn't want to be here alone."

"Yet you trust Jamie alone with Atkins."

"Jamie works very hard not to let her dark side get away. She doesn't want to disappoint me. I trust her because we both know she's earned it."

"And if she disappoints you?" she asked.

"She won't."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because she loves me."

"Okay, just checking. Now what? Do we tell Jasmine that Tanya is spying on her?"

"Not yet. Jasmine knows someone is watching, so she is careful and no one gets hurt. If something changed, if she suddenly knew who it was, we can't be sure what will happen. You heard what she said before. Her freedom is what she values most. Threatening her freedom is how they got her to help them in the first place. She loves her girls, trust me, when I explain what's been going on with Tanya, she'll understand."

"You want to go check on Jamie? See how she is doing?"

"No, she'll be fine, and Amber is with Lizzy, so she'll be fine. So why don't you and I go to the cabana and then we can be fine too?"

"What a wonderful idea," she said, taking my arm and kissing my cheek. "And when we get there you can tell me all about why Jamie had to go see Sandra Atkins. I can't wait. This is a great plan."

Rats! I was hoping she would have forgotten about my promise to tell her.



-------

Chapter 52: Walking Softly

Sunday was one of those days you loved and hated all at once. You loved it because this is what living in California is all about, and you hated it because as soon as the thousands of tourists in town on vacation went home and told all their friends about it, and showed them all the photographs, a million more people would be moving to Southern California. It was also a bittersweet day for us as a family. Today would be our first weekend barbeque since the Davises had died. Dad had decided it was time to diversify our culinary education as well, starting with me. The opening lesson turned out to be going to the grocery store for steaks and side dishes. Fortunately Allison chose to sacrifice valuable sun-worshipping time to go with me, so it wasn't all that bad.

"Hey," she said. "Next week it will be my turn and you'll have to drive me so this is only fair. Besides, there are some things we need to talk about."

The grocery store is kind of like the mall in that respect. As long as you're not in someone's way they pay no attention to you. You can talk about anything in a grocery store and no one will hear a word as long as you don't say things like 'sale' or 'discount'. As we were cruising the aisles I asked her what was on her mind.

"Well, several things to be honest," she said. The grin on her face left no doubt what she was talking about but then she went on. "But for right now, I think we may have blown it with Tanya last night."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Blown it how?"

"Not so much blown it as just overlooked some things. Jimmy, she said she's been doing all this to protect her niece, Missy. If Missy is one of the girls, then it stands to reason that Missy's parents are involved as well. We forgot to get anything from her on them or Missy. Also, I'm curious how they made a connection with Tanya? So far it's always been immediate family. Tanya isn't involved in the regular sense; she's just taking Essex's abuse to protect her niece. Now that would imply that there is some other connection, either to the group or to Essex personally, don't you think?"

"I don't know, you sort of lost me there, but if I go slowly enough, yeah, it sounds right. So you're suggesting that Tanya is what, an aberration; something different from the norm?"

"Yeah, something just doesn't seem right there. I think you need to go back and talk to her some more."

"Certainly couldn't hurt. I'll add it to our to-do list. Everything else about this group is so closely monitored and controlled ... you're right, and for the record I'm really tired of telling you that all the time." We were pushing the cart together at the time so I gave her a little bump with my hip so she would know I was just teasing. "All of that makes something like this stick out even more. It just doesn't fit the pattern."

"That's what I was thinking. So, what did Jamie find out about Atkins last night?"

"Well, the good news is it's not her that's following me. The bonus there is that means what I did with Rebecca held up."

"That is good news. So is knowing that there are people out there in the right places working to make sure the right thing gets done, even if it means bending the rules a little bit. Of course, at the same time, it's a little scary knowing there are groups in our government that operate on an 'ends justifies the means' basis."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's a good reminder to keep my head down."

"And the bad news?" she asked.

"Nothing you wouldn't expect. She's changed her cell phone."

"Which I'm sure Jamie already got the number to. Anything else we need to know about her new phone?"

"Of course there is," I said with a smile. "It's trapped through the Department of Justice computer system, everything gets recorded. I shocked the crap out of her when I called the first time. She's not used to surprises and that was a big one. Not to mention what happened after the call. They are very interested in me at this point. They'll be recording all the calls and doing sound analysis on everything they pick up.

"And we get around that how?" Allison asked. This was almost identical to my conversation with Jamie while we were running this morning:

"We call the other one," she'd said with a big grin. I know that sounds weird, but we've all done it; you know, it's that 'smiling inside' feeling you get sometimes. Only in my case I get to feel it from someone else.

"She has two," Jamie continued. "One is DOJ, and the other is listed under a fake name on an account in New York. Should really freak her out when you call her on it. I think you need to be a little more serious with her when you call. Tell her we know about the other phone and if they pull any more shit like that we're going to take it personally. Point out that we're trying to help them and that if they want that to continue they need to play nicer. You can point out that since the only other person who's supposed to have the number is her boss that you are not without other resources."

"And did you find out who her boss is?" I asked.

"No," she answered. "I was a good girl; I just got the information we needed. The cell phone sort of came up in conversation along the way."

"What else did you do?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Her innocent little girl tone told me I was right, that she had done something else. The question was what? I ran in silence for a short ways, thinking about what I would have done if it had been me instead of her.

"You implanted something we can use later if we need it. I'm guessing a sleep trigger?"

"I thought it might be useful," she admitted. "If all else fails you can make her forget the conversation, or even pull her into a dream and plant some ideas or thoughts we want to pass along so that they will occur naturally as her own and let her act on them herself."

I gave her a mental kiss on the cheek. "You are such a good girl!"

Mom was waiting for us when we got back from the store.

"You had a call on your new phone while you were gone. She said her name was Britney. I told her you went to the store and left it on the charger. She sounded worried. Jimmy, why would she be worried?"

"Mom, she's a girl, how would I know? Not answering on the second ring would probably be enough." Not really an answer, but not a lie either.

She just rolled her eyes and walked away shaking her head. "We're not that bad. And I thought you said you were just getting it so Rebecca could reach you? Did you get everything your father asked for?"

"Got it all right here," I answered, following her into the kitchen. "Including an extra bottle of sauce and a new fire extinguisher."

"I should tell him you said that," she laughed.

"And I picked up some potato salad."

"Oh good, I forgot to put it on the list. Maybe you could try and talk your friend Angela into giving you her recipe?"

I thought about it for a second and it was startling to realize that Angela would actually give it to me if I told her to. It was also very humbling to know that I could take a secret she held so dear. Last night I had given her to another person like I would loan a CD. Granted it had been to Elizabeth, whom I trust more with Amber than I would trust most anyone at school with a CD, but still, the idea of giving Amber to another to use for their pleasure didn't bother me as much as taking the secret of her potato salad. Somewhere I had turned a corner and not even realized it.

For now I just said, "I'll think about asking her, but personally, I'd rather wait and let her make it for us when we celebrate catching this bastard and giving her back her life." I let my face and voice go serious before I continued. "One thing, Mom, please don't refer to Angela in the present tense, ever, until this is over. No one, not even her family, is supposed to know she is still alive. It took me most of the summer to break the habit. Allison finally beat it into my head by pointing out how bad it would be to say it in front of Tim."

She didn't answer, but her face paled and she nodded. I kissed her on the cheek as I reached for the phone so she'd know I wasn't angry or anything.

"Hi BC, my mom said you called?"

"Hi Jimmy, yeah, she said you were at the store, so why didn't you take your phone with you?"

"You know how it goes," I said. "I forgot to put it on the charger last night and it was about dead. So naturally that's when you would call. If I'd had it with me, something else would have come up and you wouldn't have called until later. Probably while I was in the pool or something and couldn't get to it."

"You have a pool!" she said excitedly. "Damn, I should have started dating white boys sooner. So when can I come over?"

She kind of caught me off guard with the white boy comment; it never occurred to me that I might be the first white guy she'd dated.

I guess I hesitated too long because she suddenly sounded worried, "Jimmy, it's not a problem for me to come over is it?"

"What?" I asked, and suddenly I knew what she must be thinking. "NO! God no! I'm sorry Britney; you kind of threw me with the white boy comment. It never occurred to me that I was the first handicapped guy you'd been out with. No, definitely no problem with you coming over."

"Handicapped? What are you talking about?"

"You know, pigmentationally challenged, melanin deficient..."

"Oh that," she laughed. "Damn boy, you had me worried there for a second, I thought maybe there was something wrong with you, like parts missing or something. So you're parents aren't going to like, freak out because you're seeing a black girl or anything like that?"

"No of course not, why would they do that? Yours didn't freak out that you were going out with me."

"Well, no they didn't 'freak out', but daddy and I had a little talk last night after dinner."

"Well yeah! He's your dad; he's going to have questions about any guy you bring around. But I'm sure none of his questions had anything to do with the fact that I burn in the shade."

She cracked up at that. "Okay, but you know what I mean, some people are still like, stuck in the eighteen hundreds. I just want to make sure there's no problem."

"Well, there is one problem," I said. "Do you have like a burka or something you could wear? Because I'm afraid I might embarrass myself if your bathing suit looks anything like my sisters."

"Shut up!" she laughed.

"Okay, okay, I'll try to behave myself. Can you stay for dinner? My dad is going to make some kind of sacrifice on the barbeque. I'm not sure what but it doesn't matter because you won't recognize it when it's done."

"You got a pool and free food? I'm all over it. Can I bring anything?"

"Besides the burka?"

"Boy, don't make me hurt you."

"Promises, promises ... No, you don't need to bring anything. Do you need me to pick you up?"

"Not unless you want to, I can just use my mom's car."

"Hmm, let me think ... thirty minutes alone in a car with you, each way ... or let you drive yourself? Gosh that's a tough one. Is an hour too soon to pick you up?"

She blew me a kiss and hung up. I told everyone we were having company for dinner and dad decided that we should do charbroiling lessons some other time.

"It just wouldn't be fair to ask company to eat your mistakes."

"Very funny dad, by the way, the hair on your arm is coming back nicely..."

The whole idea of me dating had been a topic of debate when it first came up. Allison and I had already discussed the problem of needing visible boyfriends and girlfriends, and they understood the need although my mom was a little worried, as I was, that it may not be fair to the other party to get their hopes up if there was no chance of a real future. Allison had handled that argument.

"Mom, people would be seriously suspicious if neither of us was dating. I mean, I can get away with it for a couple more years because dad's such an overprotective tyrant, love you daddy," she blew him a quick kiss, "but Jimmy has attracted a lot of attention over the last year. Taking Angela to the prom put him on the social map in a major way and a lot of girls are already showing an interest. If he doesn't have a girlfriend, people are going to start wondering why. You can only do the bereavement thing for so long. And it's not like there's no chance. We're both young, and while we don't think so, there is the chance that this thing with us is just a phase and we'll grow out of it. We'll always love each other, but that doesn't mean that God doesn't have someone else in mind for either of us." Then her voice changed, a strong edge of sadness creeping in, and she said, "Besides, things change, you know..."

It was painfully obvious to everyone what she meant and that ended the discussion.

Britney was ready and waiting when I got there. I shook hands with her father again and informed him that I had invited her to stay for dinner. "I know it's a school night, Mr. Cotton, would nine o'clock be too late to bring her home?"

"Nine o'clock will be fine. Britney? You do have all your homework finished?"

"Yes, Daddy," she said, hugging him and giving him a peck on the cheek. "I love you, see you later."

"I love you too, baby. You be good now, you hear?" The door closed but I'm pretty sure he was watching through the side window as I held the door and handed her into my truck.

I was a little surprised to find that she had slid into the traditional girlfriend spot in the middle of the seat by the time I got around to my side. It was a very pleasant surprise, but...

I took her hand and kissed it and said, "Britney, I appreciate the gesture and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to have you by my side while I drive, but I would be much more comfortable knowing you were safe, so please, I'd rather you were in the seat with the shoulder belt."

She stared at me for a moment before sliding back over and buckling herself in without a word.

I was afraid I'd hurt her feelings. "Britney, I'm sorry but..."

"Jimmy, don't apologize. That was very sweet of you to say that. Most boys just want a girl plastered to their side every second they're together."

"I'm not that insecure," I said. "I'm much more concerned about your safety than that you're going to get away. Besides, I'm a distance runner; that little bit of head start isn't going to be enough for you to get away."

"Oh you think so?" she said, in one of those 'bring it on' voices.

"I know so!" I said, putting the truck in gear and pulling away from the curb. "Because you'll stop before I get too tired to make it worth the chase, and until then, I'll just enjoy the view."

She just smiled and didn't say anything.

"You know you're asking for it, don't you?" Jamie asked.

"Quiet you."

Everyone made her feel welcome right away; Allison by offering her room for Britney to change in so she didn't have to carry stuff in and out of the bathroom, Mom by giving her a big hug when I introduced them. Dad had it the hardest. It wasn't even his fault; all he did was ask her how she wanted her steak. My usually self assured and confident date was suddenly acting very embarrassed and self conscious. You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to see the problem.

I was suddenly reminded of a comment I had once heard someone make - I'm not even sure where I heard it. At the time it was one of those 'in one ear and out the other' things that doesn't even register. I'm not even sure if I had it right, but it was something like, "Money is not important unless you don't have any." Or something like that.

I guess it's normal to take the familiarity of life for granted. I never pictured our family as being wealthy or even well off. Sure, we lived in a nice house, but it wasn't huge or anything. It was in a nice neighborhood and we almost never had problems, heck we hardly even knew our neighbors. There was always food on the table, when Allison and I started doing the cooking we just bought whatever we needed. Even when it was me going to the store I never really paid attention to what it costs. We had steak at least once a week, usually on the weekend when my dad would make his sacrifice to the gods and we would eat what survived the fire. Does it make me arrogant that it never occurred to me that not everyone lives like this? Or just naïve?

"I ... uh, I don't know," she stammered. She had followed Allison's lead and put on a t-shirt over her swimsuit when we started getting ready for dinner and I noticed that she was suddenly tugging on the bottom of it like she wished it covered more. I was completely lost for what to say or do.

I love my dad. I don't know if I've ever really pointed that out. I think it's usually my mom that I talk about when it comes to love and respect. That day I learned just how great my dad really is.

Britney's discomfort was glaringly apparent, and looks were being exchanged all around as we struggled for what to say or do. Not my dad, he just dove right in.

"Well then let's find out. Have you ever cooked over an open flame before?"

"No sir."

"Okay, then we're going to have some fun. Allison, can you get Britney an apron please, I don't want her to get burned if something pops."

"Sure Dad," she answered. "I'll get that old fire fighter suit we bought last time you were teaching someone to barbeque. Jimmy, you should probably call the fire department and put them on standby, just in case."

"Heyheyheh!" Dad said defensively. "Pay no attention to the riff-raff, Britney, you're perfectly safe with me, and unless someone wants their steak seasoned in their mother's flower bed they should keep in mind how dangerous it is to annoy the cook. Now, do you know the difference between rare, medium, and well done?"

Allison brought Britney's apron and dad tied it on for her, then shooed the rest of us away while he started her first lesson. Dinner was delayed a little bit due to the necessity of cooking one steak a little longer to show her the difference that a few extra minutes can make to a piece of meat. We're mostly a medium-rare to medium family but no matter what happened the extra steak was in no danger of going to waste. Britney turned out to be a solid medium-well girl. It wasn't so much the taste as she just couldn't get past the look of a rarer steak. A little pink was okay as long as it wasn't leaking too much. Dad pointed out that her bias was most likely due to the fact that her family ate more chicken than beef and that red in chicken could actually kill you. The same is apparently true for pork.

I found out something else about her over dinner; that girl can really put it away!

"Oh my God," she said, finally pushing her plate away. "That was sooo good, but I am going to bust if I eat one more bite. Jimmy, we're going to have to break up. That waffle yesterday, and now this? It's going to take me fifty miles to burn up all those calories."

"Oh great," Allison said, rolling her eyes. "Just what we need. You know I wondered what you could possibly see in Jimmy. Now I get it, you're one of 'them'," she hung a couple of air quotes around the word. "You've got the disease."

Britney was looking very skeptically at Allison by now, confused that the girl who had seemed so nice before should suddenly sound so...

"You'll have to excuse my daughter," Dad said. "Allison is a firm believer that running is a disease, not an exercise, and certainly not a sport."

"You're sick I tell you!" Allison went on. "There is something seriously wrong with all of you." She put her hand on Dad's arm. "But it's okay, daddy, I know it's not your fault, and there is hope. Just the other day I was reading that they are working hard to come up with advanced new medicines and treatments. Don't despair, help is on the way. Meanwhile, all we ask is that you stay away from the children because it seems to be contagious."

"Pay no attention to her, Britney," I said. "She's just forgotten to take her medication; she'll be alright after I kill her."

Britney just laughed and said, "I understand, my dad is the same way. He gets on me about running but if he doesn't get to the gym at least every other day it's like he goes into withdrawal or something. I'm a little surprised to hear it from you though Allison, you're in pretty good shape for a couch potato."

"I'm not against exercise," Allison said. "I just prefer honest sports, like basketball."

"You play basketball and you're getting on us about running? What, you play in the wheelchair league? Basketball players are always running."

"Well no, but basketball is a real sport," Allison said with a grin. "Honest competition, against real players. You just can't compare that to the unrestrained masochism universally displayed by runners constantly trying to beat themselves in the name of self improvement." Now she put her hand on Britney's arm. "I don't expect you to understand though, you're not well."

All in all it was a wonderful evening. I probably should have left it alone but I was really worried that the economic differences would be an issue. We were about halfway to her house when I made my move, easing the truck into a supermarket parking lot.

"BC," I said. "I don't know how to say this so I'm just going to blurt it out and hope it comes across better than it sounds in my head, okay?"

"Oookaaay," she said, sounding about as confused as I felt.

"I'm sorry for not paying attention," I said. "I guess I just take my life for granted and assume that it's normal. It never occurred to me just how different our worlds are, but I don't want that to be a problem okay? Like ... ever. I know it may sound kind of facetious but, money is like, really not important to me. There, did that sound as totally screwed up to you as it did to me?"

"I think I understand what you're trying to say Jimmy. You didn't realize I was just a po-girl from the hood and..."

"Britney, I don't think of you that way, I..."

"Would you shut up and let me finish please? I let you get your stupid stuff out, now it's my turn. Jimmy, it's not a problem; I'm just not used to it. I didn't really realize who you were either. Trust me; I've been around enough to know that you don't think of me that way. Any more than I think of you as the rich boy from uptown come slummin' around. Besides, it's not like we're poor. Daddy works hard so momma can stay home with Tyra and Benji. Before they ever got married, Daddy made sure my mom knew how strongly he felt about that, and she was okay with it. My real mother ... she only married daddy because she was pregnant, she didn't want kids, she wanted the world on a string. She left daddy and me for some rich guy she met at a club and never even looked back. They were killed in a boating accident about six months later. The divorce wasn't even final yet. I don't really think about it. Usually it's not a problem, but, like you said, we're both dating out of our regular circles. You're the first guy to ever actually invite me to his house for dinner so I wasn't really prepared for it.

"Like I said, we're not poor, lots of places in America we'd be considered rich. And in our own way we are. We have each other and that's worth more than any money. We don't have all the latest and greatest stuff, but we get by just fine. Besides, it's a real motivator to do well and go to college so maybe I can offer my kids something a little better."

"Yeah, I feel the same way. I guess I've just led sort of a sheltered life, and well, you're the only girl I've ever really ... dated."

"Really? I thought you and Angie... ?"

"No, not really. We went out once last Christmas, that's where I met Mr. Wonderful, Brad Russell. We were close but we really didn't date. I think she was kind of burned out on the whole dating thing and if Brad was any example of the treatment she got then I can certainly understand why. Anyway, I was totally blown away when she asked me to go to the prom with her."

"She asked you?"

"Yeah, it was probably one of the most special moments of my life. Of course it pales compared to the actual event. God, she looked so beautiful in that dress, with her hair all shining and... , sorry, got lost in the moment again."

"Don't apologize," she said. "Angie was all that. If I ever decided to switch teams, she's the kind of girl I'd want. It really pisses me off to think the guy who did it got away."

"He didn't get away; we just haven't caught him yet?" I realized what I'd said and looked at her, hoping she hadn't caught it. No such luck. The look on her face said that wheels were turning and pieces were falling into place.

"Oh ... my ... God! That's why you have friends in the FBI isn't it? Boy, who are you?"

"I'm just a guy trying to make a difference, really, that's all. Britney, you can't tell anyone. Promise me you won't say anything, okay. I mean, the last thing I need is people thinking I'm something I'm not. Hell, there are dealers at my school who'd kill me in a hot second if they found out I had those kinds of ties."

"No shit!" she said. "Don't worry, I already told you, your secrets safe with me, but we better get going, or I'm going to be late and you're going to have to explain it to my daddy."

"Okay," I said, starting the truck back up. "Thanks for not saying anything. And Britney, if I'm ever doing anything that makes you uncomfortable, you know, with the whole money thing, just tell me, okay?"

"Just don't go buying me expensive presents or anything. I don't want to feel like I owe you ... you know."

I had just been dropping the truck into gear and I slammed it back into park.

"BC, don't ever think that! You don't ever owe anyone that! Not anyone, and especially never me! If anyone ever makes you feel like that, just walk away and don't look back, because they don't deserve you."

I put the truck in gear and we drove in silence the rest of the way to her house. I walked her to the door and kissed her cheek. "Thanks, I had a really good time."

"Really?" she said, giving me very skeptical look. "I never would have guessed from that kiss. Why don't you try it again?"

"I'd love to, but it's almost nine and I'm afraid your dad is going to open the door and make toothpaste out of me."

She opened the door, dropped her bag inside and said, "I'm home, daddy, I'll be in in a minute." She turned back to me and draped her arms around my shoulders. "You were saying?"

In between lightly brushing her lips with mine I said, "I said ... that I'm glad you came over ... and that I had a really ... really ... good time." Then I moved in for the kill. About halfway through the kiss I guess Jamie couldn't take it any more and moved up to join us. I don't know what she thought had happened but Britney did notice the difference.

"Damn boy! You ever think of doing classes or seminars or something. Where did you learn to kiss like that?"

"It's five percent natural talent and ninety-five percent inspiration from the girl I'm kissing."

She just rolled her eyes and giggled, "You are too funny. That's Hollywood big screen grade, how'd you learn to do that if you don't date?"

"Angie said it's because when I'm kissing it's all I'm doing. I'm not thinking about what's next or anything like most guys, I'm just focused on the kiss."

"Whatever," she said. "I just wish we'd have started sooner instead of waiting 'til the end."

"Me too, you have the softest lips I think I've ever felt. They have kind of a velvety texture, like kissing satin."

Her eyes got big. "Go home," she said, pointing toward my truck. "Right now, just turn around and leave before we both get in trouble."

"Probably a good idea," I said, smiling. "I've got La Verne on Tuesday, don't you start this week?"

"Yeah, we're getting even with you; going to run your girls team into the ground."

"What day?"

"Thursday, you going to come out and watch?"

"I don't know, the bathing suit was hard enough. You in track shorts and a tank top? I don't know if I can take it." I kissed her cheek. "I wouldn't miss it." Then I realized what my life was like lately and added. "Not on purpose anyway, but I've kind of got a lot going on right now. As long as nothing goes wrong, I'll be there." I kissed her again and headed for my truck. She waited until I was pulling away before going inside.

"God that felt good," Jamie said with a sigh. It felt like a cat was trapped inside me and it was rolling in a patch of catnip and purring. "Sorry about that but I just couldn't take any more, and you are so right about her lips; satin. Do you think Allison will be jealous?"

"Allison? Of us maybe, definitely not about her."

I should have known things were going too good. My phone chose that moment to ring. It was Rod.



-------

Chapter 53: Not Again


I opened my phone as I pulled over. A black Mustang passed me as I answered.

"Hey Rod, what's up?"

"Your playmate from Arrowhead is dead."

"What?"

"Don't worry, it wasn't you. Someone got to him in the hospital; we're still trying to figure out how. Jimmy, the fact that they killed him says a lot about just how serious they are. Apparently they couldn't take the chance that he might tell us anything. You need to watch your ass, this shit is getting deep fast. I still can't have you watched without some kind of justification, and since that's attention you don't want it limits how much I can help you."

"I understand. I just don't get it though, there is only one reason that anyone would be interested in me and I just can't see how anyone would know about it."

"I don't either, Jimmy. Not unless we're right about the Washington thing, but for the purposes of this conversation, it doesn't matter. Right now, things like why and how are at the back of the bus. The thing you have to concentrate on is what it means, and it means that some very bad people are expressing an interest in you. What you need to focus on and think about is what you need to do about it."

As he was talking I saw a car turn the corner a block behind me, then pull over and stop. It was far enough back that I couldn't make out a lot of detail but the headlight configuration suggested it was a Mustang.

"I understand. More news; it looks like I'm being followed again. A black Mustang passed me when I pulled over to take your call, just now a car turned the corner a block back and pulled over, I can't be sure but I think it's the same Mustang, any suggestions?"

"If it's following you then it suggests they haven't managed to put a new tracer on your truck yet. If they had they wouldn't have risked being seen again so soon, they would have just pulled over somewhere out of sight and waited for you to start moving again. Could you tell if there was more than one person in the car?"

Just as he asked another car came around the corner, its headlights backlighting the Mustang and exposing two silhouettes.

"Two, another car just turned the corner and backlit them for me."

"Okay, is there a 7-11 or AM/PM nearby?"

"Yeah, there's one a couple blocks over."

"Good. Go to the gas station, put the hose in your tank like you're filling up and try to see where they stop. Did you notice if the car had license plates?"

Have I mentioned how much I love my new sister?

"Paper plates, City Ford," Jamie said.

I relayed the information to Rod.

"Good, go into the station and call 911, tell them your friend's car was stolen yesterday and you think you just saw two guys driving it. Tell them where you are, where they're parked if you know, and then take your time filling up. I'll have that car on the net in about two minutes. The ID number won't match but they won't know that until they pull them over, and that should be all the time you need to shake them, not to mention it will confirm whether or not they were really following you. My money says the car probably is stolen even if it the ID I give them doesn't match, so they probably aren't going to want to be stopped by the cops either way. When you leave, head for the freeway, then call 911 back and tell them you just saw the car again and which way it's going on the freeway. Just keep going and things should get interesting within a few minutes."

I plugged in my headset and headed for the gas station. When I was about a block away, the Mustang pulled away from the curb. I picked up a pint of ice cream for my mom to kill a little time and then took the long way home. Ten minutes later I spotted two California Highway Patrol cars parked on the side of the I-10 freeway. My friend was about a quarter mile back but right after he passed them the two cops pulled out into traffic. I pulled off the freeway at the next exit, got into the left turn lane, and waited. The Mustang pulled in two cars back with one of the CHP units behind him. The light changed and as we started forward the second CHP pulled in front of the Mustang and both units lit up their flashing lights. At almost the same time, a spotlight lit up the whole area and both of the officers jumped out of their cars with weapons drawn.

As soon as the spotlight hit, the guy in the Mustang floored it and drove over the island to get to the on-ramp on the other side, knocking down a street sign in the process. I didn't hang around to see what happened after that. All the way home I was thinking about my options.

The problem now was that I couldn't use the garage without explaining to my parents why I needed it. I took the sweeper Rod had left into the garage in case whoever might stop by later decided to search the truck. I could go over it sometime tomorrow at school. I seriously doubted they had anyone watching me there; the goonies would be all over anyone hanging around like that. I still didn't tell Allison, no point in scaring her any worse than she already was. I was hoping Lizzy didn't have any plans tonight, that way Allison wouldn't be bored. Jamie and I had some serious work to do.

My first stop was to see Rod. I'd gone to bed early so he was still up watching television with his wife. Safe enough; at worst she would tease him for falling asleep. I pulled him into his office between shows. With a little luck we could be finished before the commercials ran out.

It was a bit of a shock to him; one moment he was on the couch, the next he was looking across his desk at me. I was sitting in the chair next to the one Rebecca usually used. I thought he took it pretty well.

"I thought I might be seeing you, wasn't ready for that though, usually you call first. Your two playmates in the Mustang ditched the car out by Banning and disappeared."

"I'm going to try and keep this as short as possible so your wife doesn't realize you fell asleep and wonder. I'm starting to worry about just how serious these guys are," I said. "That's twice in two days, and just so you know, it's not Atkins' people. They didn't get anything out of Rebecca. That means we don't know who these people are. Rod, I need several things from you; people actually. When things looked like they might be going south before you said you could give me some people I could learn from, about how to hide. I think I better do a little studying in case I do need to disappear. Also, I talked to Rebecca a while back about learning to fight, really fight, life or death stuff. I got lucky with that guy yesterday, he thought I was running away and I caught him off guard. I can't count on luck. The fact that they sent two people after me tonight suggests that they are worried about how I got away. I need someone to teach me how to stay alive. Especially if they come at me with some kind of weapon; whether it's a knife or a needle I need to know how to handle it."

"You sure you have time for that kind of training?"

I held his eye, "I'm a fast learner."

He raised an eyebrow and stared at me for moment. I though he was going to ask for an explanation but he just asked, "Anything else?"

"Pursuit driving; how to lose someone if I need to; how to spot someone following me. That was another lucky break tonight. They got careless because they were following a kid. That's twice I've gotten away from them. I don't think they're going to be taking me for granted after this."

"Not just gotten away, Jimmy, you turned the tables on them both times. You're right, after this the kid gloves are likely to come off. What do you need to work your magic or whatever it is you do to get to new people?"

"Whatever you can give me? A name, a picture, every little detail makes a difference. If you've had personal interaction with them it really helps. Just run through some of the memories of your time with them."

He nodded and turned his computer to face me, then began typing. An image came up almost immediately; a man in his mid-fifties with short cut hair and dark eyes, clear complexion, no scars. The view pulled back and he looked like a drill sergeant's worst nightmare. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who looked more 'average'.

"Carter Malloy; advanced hand to hand trainer at The Block, that's an unofficial nickname for our agent training facility in Quantico. Twenty-two years in the field; one of the most dangerous men you'll ever meet. Lost his left hand to a drug dealer. They handcuffed him to a railing in a barn they were using as part of a cocaine pipeline, and then they set fire to the barn. He cut the hand off himself. He can kill you with that stump faster than most men could with two good hands. As part of the introductory lesson he takes on two men with his good hand tied behind his back. He hasn't lost yet."

"I'm going to like this guy," Jamie said. I could hear the anticipation in her voice.

As Rod had been speaking images of Malloy had been flashing up on the screen, including a video clip of 'lesson one.' Rod began typing again and a black man wearing round wire-framed glasses popped up.

"Bart Reston. Logistics and support specialist. Surveillance, tech-ops, ID, you name it. He's the go to guy for anything behind the scenes. He trained Paul."

He typed some more and a third man popped up on the screen. "Wheels. His real name is Wilfred Thurgood Omstead the second. You ever call him that you better be calling long distance from an untraceable phone. If you can drive it or ride it, he can ride it or drive it better. You ever see the second Beverly Hills Cop movie? The opening scene where the bad guys are making a run for it in a truck full of cigarettes and Eddie Murphy is bouncing around in the back? There's a scene in that chase where they spin-out a bus. If you look closely you'll see they watered the road to get it to work. I've seen him do it on dry pavement. Everybody who goes through his course puts $100 into a pot. When you pass the class you get a chance to either follow him or lose him. If you can do either one, you win the pot. Last time I checked there was twenty grand in the pot. He gets to keep whatever is in there when he retires.

"Those three should be about as good a start as you could ask for. Malloy can teach you the basics on most weapons as well. He used to be able to assemble a .45 from a box of parts in a pitch-black room in under sixty seconds. It takes him a little longer now with only one hand."

He paused for a second, clearly debating whether or not he should go on. Finally he made the decision.

"Jimmy, I hope it doesn't come down to this but you can't risk waiting to find out. Go see these guys; work your magic, learn fast. If you have to run, here are three places you can start..."

He showed me a list with three addresses and box numbers. Each would contain an address and a key to a locker or storage facility.

"Jimmy, you're a good kid, and like I said, I hope it doesn't ever come to this, but if it does, my best advice is don't look back."

"Is it really that bad?"

"If it comes to the point you have to use this information, yes, it's that bad. All we know about the people that are watching you is that they are willing to kill their own rather than risk capture. Jimmy, that's all you need to know. It tells you everything that matters. If you have to run, everyone you know, everyone they could possibly link to you would be in danger. No one knows you're connected to me. But Hampton, Bob Shelby, your sister, your parents, teachers, even the girl you went out with tonight would be in danger. I don't know her name but let's call her Amber..."

I met his eyes and knew the name was no accident.

"You only went out with her a couple times, but there is a connection. Depending on who was after you and how badly they wanted you, she would be monitored. Passively or actively depending on how likely they thought it was that you might contact her. If they were given the slightest hint that you had been in contact with her, and that they might be able to get to you through her ... Jimmy, if they thought that killing her would get you to come after them, they might do it. I say might but my gut says would, and they would do it in such a way that you would know it was them. If they knew what happened to Angela, and just how far you would go to save someone you care about ... Jimmy, if they wanted you badly enough, the wrong people would kidnap, torture, and if necessary kill, everyone and anyone that they thought you cared enough about if there was a good enough chance it would get them to you. Now, it's unlikely that whoever this is, is quite that serious, but you don't know that, and for the sake of the people you love, you can't take the chance.

"So if it comes to that, don't look back, because it's not just yourself that you're endangering. The people you love most, have the most connection to, would be in the greatest danger."

What do you say to that? I rose and offered him my hand. "Thank you for all your help."

When he took my hand I put him under and asked, "Are there any documents that you know of within the Bureau that mention me?"

"Just the report from the bank Robbery."

"Where is the video of the Robbery?"

"In the evidence room."

"Is there more than one copy of the tape?"

"No, we took the original from the bank."

"What about the insurance company?" I asked.

"They have requested it back when our investigation is complete."

"Who had direct knowledge of or access to the tape? Has anyone else seen it?"

"The two agents handling the case have seen it, plus myself and Henslith. The clerk in charge of the evidence locker is the only one with access; everyone has to go through her."

"Show them to me." He walked back to the desk and started typing again, quickly moving through images of all three people.

"Has the clerk seen what's on the tape?" I almost asked if she had seen the tape, but that might have gotten me a different answer.

"No."

"Very well, return the screen to where it was before and take my hand. When I count to three you will wake up having just taken my hand to say goodbye; you will remember nothing that has happened between the moment you reached for my hand and waking up. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"One, two, three ... I'll let you know if I come up with anything else. All I ask is that if things go wrong, take care of my family, I don't want them to become leverage pieces."

"I'll do my best."

Time to move on; I got him back just before the next show started. The whole session had taken maybe four minutes.

"Jimmy, we can cover a lot more ground if we split up," Jamie said. "Why don't I go see Malloy while you take a lesson from Wheels? We can share what we learn later."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" I asked. "We don't know how long this will take."

"I'll be okay," she said. "If I feel weak I promise I'll come straight back. Either way you'll still be able to get to me."

"Okay, we'll try it," I said. "Try not to have too much fun."

"You think unrestrained mayhem is my idea of fun?"

"Now there's a rhetorical question!" I blew her a mental kiss. "Off you go, straight back if anything feels even a little funny."

"Love you too."

I set a timer to keep track of how long we were apart and went to spend some quality time with Wheels Omstead. My approach was simple. He was on the run with information that could save several agents that were in danger. Other forms of communication were not available so he had to get there in person. I laid out a wide assortment of vehicles and the race was on. Rod hadn't exaggerated on his abilities. Driving the motorcycle over the top of the Porsche was probably the most fun. Hell on the Porsche, but it was destroyed by the truck that was chasing us anyway. Fortunately the truck blew a tire in the accident so we got away, for the moment. Jamie was going to love this stuff.

My learning curve had gotten a lot steeper lately. It wasn't like merging with Jamie, but I could sort of link myself to my target and learn as they performed the various tasks I set them. Before I was done I had a whole new respect for spatial relations. Apparently, the key to success in this field was knowing exactly where all the players and bystanders, and their vehicles, were at all times; that and knowing your particular vehicle down to the last nut and bolt.

When I talked to her, Jamie said she had taken much the same approach. Setting Malloy up as the last line of defense for a group of children that had witnessed a murder. They were in a small school and the bad guys were trying to sneak in and take the kids out. All outside communications had been cut so it was up to Malloy. She even went so far as to become one of the bad guys so she could fight him one on one. And I thought I had fun.

We were still on a pretty serious dream-induced adrenaline high when we went to see the girls.

"Wow!" Lizzy said as soon as we showed up. "Someone's been kicking ass! And having a really good time doing it."

"That is so not fair!" Allison said. "If you were just playing games, why couldn't I come and have a little fun too?"

"It wasn't that kind of fun," I said. "More like survival training. I glanced at Lizzy and she cocked her head at me.

"What?" she asked.

I ignored the question and asked Allison, "Have you told her about my little adventure yesterday?"

She shook her head no, so I sat down to bring Lizzy up to speed.

"Lizzy, something's gone wrong, very wrong. I took a girl up to Lake Arrowhead for breakfast. You know I've been looking for someone to take the pressure off at school. Apparently a lot of the girls have been wondering when I'm going to get over Angela's death and start dating again. Britney goes to a different school and..."

"And she's hot and even though she's mainly a diversion you really like her..." her eyes got narrow for a second and there was a huge smile on her face when she went on, "and Jamie wants her so bad she can hardly stand it. Sounds like someone I'd like to meet. I get the picture, so what happened?"

"Someone was following us."

Allison rolled her eyes, "Someone with no ID, a gun, and a knockout shot."

"Holy shit!" Lizzy exclaimed. "What did you do?"

"I contacted Rebecca and let her know I was being followed. Then we figured out he was waiting for someone else to show up so we took him out and split. Rebecca is still under house arrest so Rod came instead, he got there a little while later and picked him up. Now he's dead."

Now it was Allison's turn. "What?" she demanded. "What do you mean he's dead? I thought Rod said his injuries weren't that bad."

"They weren't. Someone got to him at the hospital; after surgery, but before he woke up."

She stared at me for a moment before hugging me and saying, "Jimmy, this is starting to scare me."

"Me too, but I'm taking steps; like the lessons Jamie and I just took." I could see the next question coming. "Basically combat training and advanced driver's ed. Jamie can now take out most minor league football teams as long as they don't send both the offense and defense at the same time, and I can do a three-sixty in a stretch limo, on the freeway, at seventy-five miles an hour, starting and finishing in the lanes of your choice. If you don't care which lane I end up in I can probably get a couple shots off at the guy chasing us somewhere in the middle." I smiled, "Not really, but you get the idea."

"Cool. Too bad you can't teach me, there's a guy at school whose ass I want to kick. Fucker pinched my ass twice last week. I wanted to break his arm."

"I can do the next best thing and put him in your dream if you want. You could just play out a scene like you are at school, do a little damage, then wear the exact same clothes and say the exact same thing at school; the deja vu should be enough to make him wonder if the rest would come true as well."

"You really think so?"

"The more details you can duplicate the more it will worry him. Just keep it plausible. No punching your hand through lockers or anything like that."

"It's worth a try."

"Oh, by the way, speaking of Britney, Jamie was worried that you might be jealous. I told her no but..."

"Hell yes I'm jealous," she said, interrupting me. There was enough heat in her tone to get my attention. I was more than a little surprised.

"You are?" I asked. The voice in my head couldn't resist throwing in, "Told you."

"If those lips are even half as soft as they look, then yeah, I'm jealous. I don't suppose she likes younger women?"

"Hah!" I said to Jamie before answering Allison. "Actually they are. As for the rest, the subject hasn't come up. I could steer the conversation in the direction of Shannon and mention how much you miss her, but that would out your relationship. You sure you want to do that?"

"No, probably not," she said with a sigh. "We'll just wait and see. Meanwhile..." she slid a hand down Easy's arm, "It's not like I'm going without."

"You know I will always be here for you, Allison," Lizzy said, "but I understand your desire to have someone you can hold in your arms for real. The warmth and touch are important components, and no matter how much fun we may have here, in your mind you know it's not real." She put her hands on Allison's face and drew her in for a tender kiss. "I wish I could be real for you, sweetie, I truly do."

"Me too," Allison said, kissing her back, "But you're real enough and I'm sure we'll get our chance eventually. Until then, Jimmy gives great snuggles, so I've got the warmth and touch part covered."

She pulled back and turned to me. "So where does that leave us?"

Before I could answer there was a knock at the door.



-------

Chapter 54: Swings and Misses


"Come in Walter," I called.

The door opened and Walter strode in dressed in his black leather outfit. He bowed politely to both of the girls and then dropped to one knee as he faced me, with his head down and eyes lowered.

"My Lord, I have failed in my quest. I fear what you seek is beyond my ability."

"Stand up Walter," I said, embarrassed at his display. "Pull up a chair or something and tell me what's happened."

"Thank you my Lord," he said, but instead of pulling up a chair he switched back to his canine shape and sat on his haunches. "My Lord, I fear that my prior success in finding fair Angela was indeed only because you were with her. I have found not the slightest trace of your missing agent. As a test I tried locating young Bobby, with whom of course I am most familiar. I could locate his dreams without effort. This did not surprise me as he has been in my charge these many months, but to locate him personally was beyond me."

"Then you didn't fail," Allison said. "For you to fail there would have to be at least some chance that you would succeed. Since apparently there was none then you haven't really failed, merely confirmed something we suspected before."

"Milady is too kind," he said, bowing his head in her direction.

"She's right, Walter," I said. "It was a long shot at best, but I have something else I want you to try, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner." I brought up the scene of Kurtz's prison. "This one is trapped in a dream. It's a very unusual case. I can't always reach him, only for short periods of time, lately it seems to be when he wants to talk to me, or possibly, as was the case originally, when his alternate is distracted. I'm thinking that if you can find him then it may strengthen the connection and allow me to access him at will."

"Who is he?" Walter asked.

"He is the alter-ego, if you will, of the man who took Angela and now has Rebecca's partner."

Fire danced in Walter's dark eyes and his lip curled into a snarl. I could just see the hair on his shoulders begin to rise.

"I will begin at once," he said, rising and padding back towards the door.

"Good hunting, my friend, let me know as soon as you find something." I turned back to Allison and realized that aside from a stray comment or two, Lizzy hadn't had much of a part in the night's activities.

"Lizzy, I'm sorry if there isn't much for you to do, if you'd rather be someplace else..."

She perked up a little but something in her eyes didn't look right.

"Oh, way to go," Jamie said, sarcastically.

"What?"

"No, Jamie," Lizzy said with a smile. "He didn't hurt my feelings." I could feel Jamie blushing as Lizzy went on, "I could see your reaction and it didn't take much to figure out what you were thinking. You were afraid I would have the normal 'chick' reaction to what he said - that it was just a polite way of saying I was in the way and he wished I would go somewhere else, weren't you?"

Jamie didn't answer, she just nodded my head and Lizzy went on.

"A normal girl might have, but fortunately I could see the difference, and he was just concerned that I might be bored because what's going on doesn't really concern me. Don't worry about me, Jimmy, there is no place I would rather be than wherever you are, and if it concerns you, then it concerns me. I can see that a lot of this stuff is worrying you, and it worries me too. I think the best way to deal with it is to do just what you're doing, deal with it as best you can. As long as I'm not in the way, I'd rather be here just in case there is something I can do, even if it's just having one more perspective on the problems."

"And we're happy to have you," Allison said. The grin on her face when she said it suggested a double meaning.

Lizzy's blush confirmed it, but she covered it by moving on, "So why did you want Walter to find him anyway?"

"Because eventually I'm going to need him, but if I can't reach him when the time comes then it's going to be a problem," I answered.

"What do you mean, 'need him?'" She asked.

I had a feeling she was really looking for clarity on my part, rather than for the actual reason.

"Elizabeth, the man I'm after is a killer, and he's the best there is, or was up until he dropped out of sight. He's very smart and very capable. I think he would take death over capture without a second thought, and sneaking up on him would be like trying to sneak up on a cat sleeping on a water bed; It may be possible, but..." I gave that universal shrug and went on, "So I need a diversion. Something to occupy him so we have a chance to get in before he just pulls the plug and tries to take as many of us with him as he can. I want to free Kurtz right before we go in, hopefully he can keep the Sandman tied up until the cavalry arrives. But you already know that, we've talked about it several times, so just like the problem with Vegas PD, you're trying to make sure that I'm a hundred percent straight in my head about what I'm doing, aren't you?"

She nodded, averting her eyes.

I nodded back. "I know what I'm doing, or planning to do. I don't think Kurtz can take back control. In fact, that's something I've wanted to talk to Bob about."

"What do you mean?" Allison asked.

"Just wondering if maybe I've been wrong all along and it's really not the alternate in control? What if Kurtz is really the alternate and not the primary? We know he's been ... damaged ... his whole life. What if the lucid persona, the controlled one, is actually the part they had to bring out and teach more control?"

I could see her thinking about it, mulling it over.

"You're right, that sounds like a question for Bob. But even if you're right, while it might explain a few things, in the long run I don't see that it makes a difference as far as what you need to do. It does make it almost a certainty that you are right and Kurtz has no chance of winning. But winning isn't what you need, and certainly not something you would count on. All you're counting on is for him to cause enough of a disturbance to buy you a little time. But Jimmy, that time may be very short, especially if you're right here and Kurtz isn't the primary. You won't have much time, and once you do this you'll have tipped your hand, if you're not in by the time the fight is over, he'll know you're coming."

"I know, that makes the timing even more critical. I need to be certain that I can reach him when I'm ready to use him." I turned to face Lizzy again, "And that's what you're wanting to make sure of, isn't it? That I understand that I'm using him, and not just using him, but using him in the worst possible way you can use another human being. I'm using him like a bullet in a gun, totally expendable as long as he can get the job done. Not as a person, but as a weapon."

I could see a tear forming in one of her pretty eyes. I went to her and took her shoulders softly in my hands, looked into those eyes that I knew could not even see mine and said, "Elizabeth, I do understand, but more importantly, he understands. I promise you, I'm not using him in any way he doesn't understand and approve of. He wants to die, Lizzy. He doesn't trust anything or anyone to stop him any other way. Capture isn't enough because he knows who he is and what he can do, what he has done, even though it wasn't him doing it. He wants to die, Lizzy, but only if he can take his other side with him. It's the only reason he's still alive, the only hope that keeps him going. And he is going to die, Lizzy, one way or another, I'm just trying to give him the best chance to make it mean something."

She gave a shaking nod of her head and the tears broke free. "I know," she whispered.

Suddenly Jamie pressed forward and my arms went around Lizzy, pulling her into my chest as she wept and hugged herself to me. "We need to talk," Jamie said. I couldn't tell if she was upset at all the emotion or just plain angry.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Jimmy, I love you, but I swear sometimes you are such a boy. This is like the thing with Charles and Andrews, she knows it's necessary, she knows it has to be this way, and she also knows that just like with them, it's another turning point; another of those steps we can't take back. She's afraid of what it might do to you." She paused for a moment and I could feel her indecision. "Jimmy, you have to stop lying to yourself."

"What are you talking about? I know it's a big step, but it's a step that I have to take, there is no choice, at least not one that I can see."

"I'm not talking about that. Jimmy, Elizabeth is in love with you."

What happened next was the strangest thing I have ever experienced.

The scene around us froze and began to fade into darkness. As it faded there was a feeling of motion and before my eyes I saw an image of the scene move away and shrink to the size of a basketball. I could feel the wall of the bubble pass through me and the sensation was very similar to that first time I felt Jamie step out of me.

I was alone in the office and as I watched the bubble float away, Jamie stepped out and turned to face me.

"That was impressive," I said.

"This way she won't hear what we say or even know that we have left."

"Are you sure?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I'm sure. Jimmy, it's time you faced the truth about Elizabeth."

"Jamie, we've been over this. Elizabeth doesn't even believe that love is on the menu for her."

"That's true," she said, nodding her agreement. "Lizzy's convinced that you can't love her, that it's somehow not allowed for you to love her. She still hopes that maybe she's wrong, but she accepts that that's the way it is because that's the way it's always worked. Part of her fear is that the price of what you're about to do will make it true; that when it's over you won't be able to love her. But none of that stops her from loving you anyway. Jimmy, she's worried sick about what all this may be doing to you. Be careful with her Jimmy, I think she's more fragile than she lets on."

"Jamie, I know all that. She deserves to be loved, but I can't be the one..."

Suddenly Allison's voice came from out of nowhere, "Oh Bullshit!"

A ghostly image of Allison began fading in and I glanced at Jamie in confusion and she had what can only be described as a truly evil grin on her face. I didn't get to look long as Allison took on a more solid form and moved toward me.

"Jimmy, that's not it and you know it. Yes, Elizabeth loves you, and yes, she believes you can't love her; that nobody can, that it's not allowed. But it's not true. You said it yourself, God would never do that to her. She may not really believe that but you do; you know it's true..." by now she was right in my face and she punctuated the rest of the sentence by poking me in the chest several times as she finished, " ... because you are in love with her!"

"Allison, I..."

"Don't you dare try to deny it!" she demanded. Then her voice softened and she said, "Jimmy, I love you so much, and I know you better than anyone else ever could, even better than Jamie, and Jimmy, I can see it. It's in your body language when she is here, you cover it well, unconsciously probably, I think you do it just so she won't see it. But I do see it, because I see you outside and Jimmy, it's in your eyes and in your voice every time you talk about her." She hugged me before continuing and once again tears were falling on my chest.

"And I know why you're doing it, Jimmy, and you don't need to."

I realized that Jamie was gone and instantly knew she was back in the bubble with Lizzy. This was between me and Allison. Not that it mattered; I wouldn't have known what to say whether she was there or not.

"Jimmy, I love you, I've always loved you, I always will love you, and I know you will always love me. But Jimmy, what we have, as deep and as true as it is, doesn't even compare."

Finally I found my voice. "Allison, that's not true, I don't love her more than I love you. I don't love anyone more than I love you."

She kissed my cheek and pulled away. "I know, that's what makes this so complicated and hard to explain. Right now, you do love me more. But what you have for me has been growing for fourteen years. You've known Lizzy, what?"

I could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

"Hell, it hasn't even been a month," she said finally. "Oh, Jimmy, if you could only see what I see every time you look at her ... God, it just makes me feel so good to see you like that." Her voice got a little harsher. "And it kills me to every time to see you pull back, suck it up, and push it away the way you do. Jimmy, it's okay if you love her. I'm not hurt, or threatened, or anything you might think. I'm happy for you, or at least I will be if you ever get your head out of your ass and act on it. You've been close, you two, a couple times, and something always comes up. Maybe the timing wasn't right, maybe it still isn't, physically, but in here..." she put her hand on my chest, "Jimmy, it's time, and it's okay." She grinned. "She's a very lucky woman, I should know; and you're a very lucky man, because I know what you're getting. Hey, I love her too, but not the way you do, and nothing like how she feels about you. Now, it's time, no more hiding. Go tell her how you feel."

This time it was my own tears falling on my shirt, and I hadn't even realized I was crying.

Allison raised her voice slightly, "Jamie, we're finished here."

Instantly the bubble started to grow and as it reached us I was back in Lizzy's arms, my shirt soaking up the slowly falling tears, my own tears falling on her hair.

I hugged her tightly to me, kissed the top of her head, and whispered, "It's going to be okay, Lizzy."

Allison stepped up close, hugged us both and said, "I think you two need to talk," she kissed us both on the nearest cheek and said, "I'll see you, in the morning." Then she was gone.

Lizzy pulled back and looked at my face as if searching for something, "What did she mean?" Her look changed and she pulled back a little. "Where did Jamie go?"

I realized as she asked that Jamie was in fact gone, she hadn't returned when the bubble dissolved. I felt for her to see if she was with Allison and ran into that same wall that had blocked me from reaching Mikkelson.

Taking Lizzy's hand I stepped back and pulled her toward the leather couch. "Elizabeth, I think we need to talk."

She got a very worried look on her face and said, "Suddenly I understand why guys hate it when we say that. Jimmy, what's wrong? What happened?" She stopped suddenly and said, "You froze me, but how? I've always known when you've done that before; I could always hear you before."

"I know," I said, kissing her hand. "Please, come and sit with me." I pulled her toward the couch and as she sat down I slid to the floor, knelt before her and said, "Elizabeth Street, will you marry me?"

Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking, and you're right; it was a stupid thing to do. I figured that out when I found myself alone and kneeling in front of an empty couch. I'm sixteen damn it, what do you want?

For the first time in a very long time I felt totally and completely alone. It's a feeling I don't like, but then, I don't like crying in front of other people either.

I'm not sure how long it was before Jamie came back, I really wasn't paying attention. She didn't even ask what had happened, just relaxed into me and suggested that maybe it was a good time to catch up on our training.

And I thought learning in the dream with Wheels had been fast. This was all but instantaneous. In fact, I think it happened too fast; like I was on the end of a soaker hose hooked to a fire hydrant five miles away. Sure a lot came through, but I a lot got lost along the way, too.

Jamie felt the same way. "Wow, that was intense. And I thought I had fun. I mean, I did, but still, yours was like a day at Six Flags. I think we should practice some of this stuff."

"Jamie, if we drive like that on the street we'll get arrested."

"I didn't mean out there, I mean like, you know, a little one on one, you chase me, I chase you."

"Jamie, that's a nice idea but there is no way we can lose each other. Not to mention that if we're not concentrating we'll influence the environment and catch up anyway."

"Oh. Well, what if we took turns chasing Wheels around? Or letting him chase us? I'll block for you, and you block for me, so it's a fair chase."

"That's an idea," I said. "And whoever is blocking rides with him. I don't believe for a second that I got everything he had to offer in one trip. We could do the same thing with Malloy, take turns fighting with him, or as him, and see if there is more to pick up. And we still need to go see Reston and learn how to disappear."

My mind drifted immediately to an empty couch. Jamie didn't say anything. She's a smart girl, my sister.

Eventually the alarm went off and I started my morning routine.

I'm sure Allison could tell something was wrong, but she didn't ask. I finally broke down about half way to her school and said, "I asked Elizabeth to marry me."

She didn't answer, just turned and looked out the window.

"Allison?"

She shook her head slightly and looked back at me. I was expecting tears but the look on her face said she was trying hard not to laugh. "God, you are such a boy. We don't have time to get into it right now; we'll talk after school, or tonight."

I was relieved when a quick sweep of my truck turned up no new tracking equipment. I took the sweeper in and left it with Bob for the day. I certainly didn't want to try to explain it if anybody spotted it in my backpack. He knew what it was just by looking at it and didn't say anything, just put it in his desk.

I aced the usual Monday morning quiz in Spanish and made it a point of not only checking in with Susan to see how she was doing, but touching her so Jamie could make sure. So far everything seemed to be going well. After talking to Bob we had decided to actually force the recurring dream on Susan at least twice a week and let her stop it. So far she was doing really well, spotting the dream early and just turning it off. Soon it would be time to take the next step. There was something else there that Bob hadn't, couldn't really, tell me; something that had happened between Susan and her father. Once she had a handle on the abuse I needed to push a little farther and see if I could discover the nature of the guilt that had allowed it to go on for so long. If I didn't find that and deal with it, then there was always the chance that the nightmares would return later.

Melinda was excited at break. Her basketball team had torn up the competition at an early season tournament over the weekend. I picked up the sweeper from Bob after my psychology class and gave the truck a once over before joining everyone else at lunch. I wasn't so much surprised as I was relieved when it came up clean. About half way through lunch I got a really big surprise as Walter came strolling across the commons. I have to tell you, it was really weird to see the huge wolf-like shape padding across the grass towards me. Jamie was just as shocked as I was.

"Weird!" she said.

"You can say that again. Do you think you can talk to him like this or should we go someplace a little more private?"

"No idea. Let's try this and see how it goes. One of us needs to pay attention to the table conversation though; we don't want a repeat of that scene with Susan."

"No kidding," I said with a chuckle. "If I put Mel on the hot seat like that again she's going to kill me."

"Speaking of that, you may want to let her know that we've got the social thing handled for now."

As we were speaking Walter arrived. "My Lords, it is done."

That caught me off guard. Jamie caught it as well and asked the question I wanted to ask, "Lords? Why plural Walter?"

"You are both here, my Lady," he said, cocking his head to one side as if the question confused him. "I would not be so rude as to exclude either of you in a discussion which involves you both."

"Oh," she said. "I guess that makes sense, thank you for thinking of me, that's very sweet of you. You have news?"

"Yes milady, I have found him."

I sat dumbfounded as Jamie stepped out of me and knelt to embrace our shaggy friend. I guess it just hadn't occurred to me that she could actually leave while I was awake. It seemed kind of obvious when I thought about it though.

"Walter, you are just too wonderful." She turned back to me. "I think we're going to need some alone time for this. We need to see if you can really get to him now that we know where he is. We already know I can't go to him, not all the way, and I don't know if I can handle it here with you gone. So I think we better make some arrangements."

There it was again. Another of the possible limitations we needed to explore. Could I leave while I was awake? The answer came on the heels of the question. Obviously I could leave; Jamie had taken me with her at the bank. Did that mean she actually needed me to take over a daydream like that? Another question. Could she handle my, our, body if I was gone? We knew she could do it while I was in a bubble, she'd spent time with Allison that way, but what about if I was actually gone? I needed to start a list. "Okay, I'll talk to Bob on the way to class and see if we can use his counseling office or something."

"Bob just asked you about the meet tomorrow."

"He did? Shit." I flashed back over the last few seconds and managed to remember the question. Just a question about how I felt about the meet. Simple enough but apparently I'd still let a little too much time lapse in between.

"Earth to Jimmy, " Melinda said, snapping her fingers in front of my face. "Come on, Jimmy, she's not that cute."

I let myself focus where I was apparently staring and realized I was looking at a girl from my math class. At least it gave me an easy out...

"Miss Jenkins," I said, turning to face her. "It is my experience that all women are beautiful in their own way, some merely require that you look a little deeper."

Susan rolled her eyes and mimed gagging on her finger. "Oh please," she said. "God, what a line."

"I thought it was pretty good," Bob said.

"Oh come on," Susan said. "No girl is going to fall for something like that."

"You're kidding right?" Melinda asked. "Susan, get real, these are teenagers we're taking about. Most of these girls would think that was one of the sweetest things they have ever heard. Maybe not the 'A' crowd, but most of these girls would get wet just imagining a guy thought of them like that. You know what social pressure is like at this age. That would be modern Shakespeare to most of them."

Time to get the conversation back on track; "Actually I wasn't even looking at her. When Bob asked about the meet, my first thought was hoping Byron didn't get us into any fights this week."

"Ouch!" Bob said, laughing. "Jimmy, that was a cheap shot!"

"Yeah, I know, but it was funny." Everyone was chuckling when the bell rang and it was time to head for class.

"So what really happened back there," Bob asked as we walked away from the group.

"Walter showed up, I need to find a quiet place I can go for a few minutes. I don't suppose you need anything from your counseling office?"

"Whoa! Back up!" he said. "You can't just drop something like that and run past it. Walter showed up? Here? And you could actually see him? Can you ... communicate with him too?"

"Yeah, but as you can see it's a little distracting. I was letting Jamie handle it as much as possible so I could try and keep up with the table conversation; apparently I didn't do a very good job."

"Un-real," he said. "As far as my office goes, it wouldn't matter if I needed something, there's too much confidential information in there, so I couldn't let you in unsupervised either way. I'll see if I can come up with something. Is he still here?"

"Yeah, he and Jamie are walking next to me."

"You do realize how weird that sounds," he pointed out.

"It sounds weird? You should try seeing it."

"There is that," he said.

As we entered the hallway and passed the bank of lockers the morons had been hanging around the previous week I heard Walter growl. It startled me enough that I stopped and looked towards him. He was standing still, staring at the locker, braced as if awaiting an attack. The hair on his shoulders, neck and back was bristled and standing up, his mouth curved into an angry snarl.

"What is it Walter?" Jamie asked.

"The foul reek of corruption fair oozes from yon metal boxes."

"Keep walking Jimmy, you don't want to attract ... shit, too late ... Assholes at twelve o'clock."

I glanced down the hall and there at the far end were the three idiots I had passed in the hall, staring right at me.

"Great, just fucking great." As I started moving forward again, Bob noticed I was missing, stopped, and turned back toward me.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"Yes and no," I said, shaking my head and moving once more towards the classroom.

"Ah yes, that clears things up nicely," he said as we reached the door.

"Long story. Something I stumbled across. Everything that can be done is already being done. I'll tell you about it later. Meanwhile, I still need a reason to be alone somewhere."

"How about the nurse's office? You don't look well; probably something you ate, maybe if you lay down?"

Suddenly my stomach cramped up and I doubled over in pain.

"Jimmy? You okay?" Bob asked, suddenly concerned.

"Too much?" Jamie asked.

"Ow! I'm not sure," I said. "Jesus sis! Take it easy."

"Sorry, I spent some time with Allison and Lizzy talking about periods. You know, cramps and stuff?"

"Yeah, got it, did the subject of 'light days' ever come up?"

She giggled. "Yeah, sorry. Maybe somewhere between there and the first time?"

"Yeah, something like that." The pain lightened up enough for me to stand up straight again and I turned me attention back to Bob. "Sorry, cramps, courtesy of you know who. She took your suggestion and didn't bother warning me before she ran with it. The result was more like she ran me over with it."

"Like I said, you should go see the nurse," Bob said with a smile. "I can spare you this period, take off."

"Thanks." Another wave hit, this one was just strong enough that I didn't have to fake it as I staggered toward the door clutching at my abdomen.

"Perhaps next time I could just bite you?" Walter offered.

"An hour ago I would have turned you down flat, right now, I'm not so sure."

"I said I was sorry," Jamie said, just as we cleared the end of the hallway.

"I know, and I'm kidding, that last one was just about right for being realistic but still short of crippling."

And wouldn't you know who was waiting right outside ... Yeah, the three stooges. My stomach cramps disappeared immediately and I could feel Jamie's anticipation.

"Hey, just the guy we were talking about?" Moe said. I doubt that was his real name but since he obviously thought he was in charge it seemed to make sense.

I pointed to the other two, "Well, that answers the first question, so let me guess, that makes you..." I pointed to the one on my left. " ... Curly? Or maybe you're Larry. Sorry, I always get you two mixed up."

"Oh, so now you're a comedian?" Larry said.

"Please?" Jamie asked.

"Nah, I got this," I said. "Look guys, I don't know who you are, and I don't particularly care. As far as whatever shit you're into, I hope it blows up in your face, soon. Meanwhile, if you don't want me to blow up in your face, I'd appreciate it if you cut out the third grade shit and stay the fuck away from me, okay? Great. Nice running into you again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a life."

I shoved through them and started to walk away. Hey, it never hurts to dream ... I think it was Curly that grabbed my arm.

"Allow me my Lord," Walter said and a surge of energy shot through me as he stood up into me and turned to look into Curly's eyes.

"Release me!" Walter growled.

No seriously, he growled the words; I could feel it in my voice. I think he may have done something with my eyes as well because suddenly Curly looked white as a sheet, his hand dropped away from my arm, and he all but staggered back. Two seconds later we were alone walking toward the nurse's office.

"I can see we have more to talk about than I thought," I said. "Walter? What exactly just happened?"

"My lord?"

"What did you just do?"

"Do, my Lord? I don't understand, I merely assisted you in running off those three miscreants without soiling your attire."

"Yes, and I thank you for that. Walter, you merged with me."



"Certainly, what of it?"

"How did you do it?"

"My Lord?"

"How did you merge with me, I mean, I didn't know you could do that. Jamie does it of course, but she is a part of me, I didn't know it would work with anyone else."



"Did you ever try?" He asked.

I had to stop and think about that one. Had we ever tried?



"Jamie?"

"Got me, I never tried it with anyone else. Damn! Why didn't I think of it before? This could be so cool!"

"Oh God, now you're scaring me. Jamie, no!"

"Aw, Jimmy! C'mon! Please."

"You can try it with Allison when we get home. Not before. Now behave yourself, we're here. We'll talk after we get inside."



It only took a few seconds to get past the nurse. Okay, that and a few abdominal spasms courtesy of Jamie. Once we were inside I put myself out so I wouldn't risk talking out loud in a moment of inattention.

"That's better. Now, Walter, you said you found him, can you take us to him."

"Certainly my Lord." There was a rushing sensation and suddenly we were standing in the hallway outside Kurtz's cell. I slipped into my Sebastian suit and then under the door and there he was, lying on his bunk, apparently asleep.

"Rest my friend," I whispered. "Soon you will need all your strength." I slipped back under the door to where Walter and Jamie were waiting. If all else failed I could wake him up and follow him to his other self. But that would be pointless unless I could be there to act while he was distracting him. Well, maybe not pointless, but it certainly wouldn't be my first choice. I needed another way to find him. But at least now I would be ready when my chance came. For now I moved us to my office.

"You've done well, Walter. Unfortunately I don't really have anything else for you to do at the moment. Is there something you wish to do until we need you?"

"I should return to young Bobby and finish my original duties. Beyond that I would wish only to learn more of this world. Perhaps there are others whose lives may benefit from my meager talents. If you could see the change in young Bobby since you sent me to him, he has grown much through our adventures together and I am honored to know that I played a part in that."

"Then by all means, Walter, look around," Jamie said. "If you need anything or have questions then please come to us. Just be careful, things are not always as simple as they appear. Do not act in haste unless the path is clear. There are others, as you know, whom we turn to for advice. Doctor Shelby for example, feel free to seek his advice if you need it. And try not to get so wrapped up in anything you can't get away from it, you never know when we might need you."

"I will, My Lady." He rose as if to leave.

"Not so fast," I said, raising a hand to stop him. He immediately dropped back down on his haunches and cocked his head at me, listening.

"I'm curious how you came to be here today. I've never known you could move freely outside of a dream environment."

"I cannot, my Lord. At least, I do not believe that I can. But there are always dreams, even when you are awake. You of all people should know this, for you can sense them, even see them. Most are wispy things of passing fancy, others are more solid." His snout curled into the closest approximation of a smile that it could. "Amongst these young people they tend toward certain themes as I'm sure you are aware, and while I can exist in them I am as wispy as everything else. Most do not last long enough to even bother with.

"Your own dreams, on the other hand, are a reality in themselves, no different in waking than sleeping, which is to be expected as you walk in both worlds, so coming to you requires no effort. You may have noticed I became more solid the closer I got."

"Could you merge with someone else besides me?"

He thought for a moment. "I do not know, my Lord. I am your creature, already a part of you, so naturally I can join with you. Of others I do not know. I suspect that if you willed me to I could, but not otherwise."

"Something else to experiment with," Jamie said. "It's a good thing Allison is curious by nature, she won't mind being a guinea pig."

I had a sudden thought. "Walter, do you think you could find Angela? Or Allison?"

"My Lord we have been over this, so far I can only find people here, in this world."

"Yes, but you also appear to walk around in the world, moving through and around people's daydreams. Most of these people I don't know and have never met. I'm wondering if it would be different with someone I am more connected to."

Jamie was nodding her head, "I think I see where you're going here. That it may prove different with someone that you have given a piece of yourself to? But then if that were the case then shouldn't he have found Angela before?"

"Not necessarily," I said. "I'm not talking about someone I've had sex with. My relationship with Angela is different now, very different. I'm curious if that difference is enough. What do you think Walter?"

"I believe I understand what you are reasoning. Fair Angela was your friend, now she is more because she holds a part of you."

"She does?" Jamie asked. "I was just being metaphorical."

"Certainly," Walter said. "If she calls, do you not go? It is that piece of yourself that you have given her which allows her to do this. Others call you, yes, but they require some artifice to do so. With Angela, Amber really, it is different. You are bound together and it is this bond that she uses to call you, and it is this bond that allows you to go to her instantly, no matter where she is, when she calls." He thought for a moment. "My Lord, I believe you are correct. I will seek her out, and I will be very surprised indeed if I do not find her." He rose in man form and bowed first to Jamie, then to me. "With your permission?"

"Of course," I said, rising and extending my hand. "Let us know when you've found her."

Instead of shaking my hand he clasped my forearm in a warrior's gesture. As he did, Jamie stood and offered him her arm, and then walked him to the door. He bowed again and kissed her hand, then shifted to his animal form as he crossed the threshold. She closed the door behind him.



-------

Chapter 55: Night Classes Pay Off


"That was certainly interesting," Jamie said, walking back toward me.

"Very interesting," I said as she merged into me. "I take it you were just as surprised as I was at Walter's little trick?"



"Totally. It never even occurred to me that I might be able to merge with someone else. Of course, we don't know for sure that I can. It could just be because, like he said, he's sort of your creation, but then, so am I, so..."

"Jamie, there is so much difference between you and Walter it's not even worth going into."

"But how do you know that? I mean, you heard what Lizzy said, I can't live without you. Walter said as much the other night when he took oath to us."

"Jamie, trust me, I know. It's like comparing an acorn to an oak tree. Yeah, they have DNA in common but other than that ... Anyway, it's going to be interesting to see if you can merge with someone else, and what you can do while you're merged."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean how much control you have when it happens. You know how you used to take me over before we met?"



"Of course," she said. "Are you wondering if I can do that with someone else?"

"Among other things, I also want to know if merging with someone else can keep you safe if you have to stay away for a while, you know, extend your time limit."

"That would be good to know, but I don't see that it will make much difference. I'd still come back to you if anything went wrong or if I felt weak in any way. It's not like I couldn't get to you if I needed to."

"So far that's been the case, but I'd like to know that I'm not going to lose you if we run into something new and that changes somehow. If that did happen, it would be nice to know that Allison or Lizzy may be able to keep you alive. This is something I'd like to experiment with when we get home."

"Me too, do you think Allison will mind?" She asked.

"Are you kidding, she's going to love it. Like you said, Allison loves to discover new things, especially about us. Come on, class is over, and we've got a quiz in Geometry."

"Angles and planes and lines, oh my!"

The quiz was pretty easy, but if you start getting perfect scores on everything people notice, so I 'missed' two answers just for appearances. PE was a little different. Our regular teacher was out and the substitute broke us up into teams and had us do a round-robin, three-on-three, mini basketball tournament. It was fun enough but I was quickly reminded that I suck at basketball.

"Maybe we should spend some time on the court with Allison and Lizzy," Jamie suggested.

"There's a thought," I answered sarcastically. "That would certainly help us fill up all this free time we have lately."

"There is that. How about we just bridge this year's NBA all-star team and get it that way?"

I was pretty sure she was joking but I answered the question anyway.

"I don't have a problem getting information we need from guys like Wheels and Malloy, that's survival stuff we need to know. Stuff like this, that's just cheating, kind of takes the fun out of playing if you can be the best without even trying."

"Yeah, I guess it would kind of take the fun out of life. Jimmy, when we do find the Sandman, what are we going to do? We can't just tell the FBI where he is without risking him just trying to take as many people with him as he can. At the same time, we can't go with them without exposing ourselves. I don't really like the option that's left."

"Which one's that?" I asked.



"You and me going one on one with the world's greatest killer."

"There is another option."

"There is?"

"Yeah, we can take Rebecca with us, maybe Rod too. He already knows me so that's not an issue. The problem is getting him to go along with it. Just like Rebecca, he's not going to want us exposed, so if we tell him about it he's going to want to go in without us. I don't think that will work. Sandman's going to have that place wired, just like before, we're not going to be able to sneak up on him. This whole operation is going to come down to timing."

"So how are you going to get to him?"

"Well, it's something we have to experiment with but if it works then I'm not, you are."

"Congratulations, you lost me."

"I have to be with Kurtz, to break him out when the time comes. Unless something has changed, you can't do it. Last time we tried, you couldn't get in. Of all the things to discover I can do but you can't, that would have been way down my list. So once we find him, we have to split up. I'm hoping that since we're going to Kurtz on our own this time, maybe we'll be playing by our rules instead of someone else's and I'll still be able to reach you once I'm in. Or that you will actually be able to go in with him and I can do the other part."

"And the other part would be?"

"Try to sneak in, either way; one of us will be with Kurtz watching while the other tries to get in as close as they can. I'm hoping whoever is in the cell will be able to see what the other one sees and Kurtz will be able to spot any security measures that his alternate has installed. The closer we can get without being detected, the better."



"And if we can't sneak in?" she asked.



"Then we go to plan B."

"Do I want to ask?"

"We knock on the door."

"I just knew you were going to say that. Did I mention I didn't like the first plan, back when I thought I knew all our options? Well, just for the record, I really don't like plan B."



"Me either," I said. "And I hope we don't end up there. Let me know if you come up with any other options."

Starting this week, Allison, had basketball practice after school so I was picking her up on my way home after cross country practice. Roxy was really bummed that she wouldn't be able to swim after school any more. We were going to try and have her over for dinner at least one night during the week and for an afternoon on the weekends.

"I see our tail is back," I told Jamie. We were only about two miles from the school so obviously they had been waiting for us.

"Yeah, I was just about to point him out," she said. "The beige Pontiac, three cars back in the right lane?"

"That's him, bet they didn't steal this one."

"Probably not, maybe if we get the plate Rod can find out if it was a recent purchase and who the buyer was."

"Good idea. You think he's got a partner?" I asked.

"You naughty boy, you just want to play. Go for it; let's see if we can smoke him out."

As we came up on the next intersection our shadow drifted into the lane behind us, but he was still two cars back. The light changed and I put my foot on the brake as if I were going to stop. Naturally the car behind me slowed down, and as soon as he did I floored it and beat the light, leaving my playmate stuck in the pack waiting for the next green. I made a right at the next corner and went over two blocks before turning left again to head back in the direction of Allison's school. Two blocks later I watched a motorcycle make a right towards me; he was wearing blue racing leathers with a matching helmet. The knowledge I had gained in my night with Wheels told me the bike was a Yamaha or Suzuki, being the only manufactures to use that particular blue in their recent production years. Chances were this was my tail, and verifying it should be pretty simple.

I reversed the process, turning left and then right again, back onto the street I had started on. Unless the tail guessed that I was messing with him he would have turned further back to try and pick me up again. Without a bug on the truck, the only way he should be able to find me again was if there was a second car near enough to put him back on the right track.

"Motorcycle," Jamie said. I glanced in the mirror and blue boy had just turned to follow us. Before the corner he had been coming the other way. When he followed us through the next turn it eliminated the coincidence factor; around the block is a long u-turn for a bike. I pulled into the next gas station and went inside. Sure enough, the beige Pontiac passed by a minute later. I picked up a soda for Allison and I to split and headed back out to the truck. I had lost sight of the Pontiac while I was paying but when I pulled out it was parked about a block up the street. Jamie got the license number as we went by. I couldn't help but wonder where the bike was hiding. It didn't really matter anyway so I let it go. I didn't think there was much chance they were working three people on me just yet so I ignored them and went on to pick up Allison. She was waiting out front chatting with her coach, Lynn Hewitt. I pulled up and got out to open Allison's door.

"Hey, Miss Hewitt," I said. "How's it going?"

"Jimmy, I told you, it's Lynn, you're not my student. Looks like it's going to be a good year. We're going to have to work at it though; we're weak at center, no real height on this year's team. Did you hear about the tournament?"

"Yeah, Mel said we really kicked ass."

"Well, you won, let's leave it at that. I was there and a couple of those games were a lot closer than Mel probably let on. Now if you hadn't lost Shannon, it would have been a different story." She stopped for a second, realizing what she had said.

"It's alright Lynn, I talked to Mel, and we all saw the same thing. I miss her, but I'm okay with it," I put my arm around Allison, "we both are."

She kind of studied Allison's face for a second before nodding. "Yeah, that was some dream. I don't think I'll ever forget it."

"No kidding," I said. "That's one I'll carry with me my whole life." I blew Jamie a kiss as I said it, then turned back to Allison. "Better get going, you're supposed to be making dinner and I think you forgot to take it out of the freezer."

"Oh crap!" Allison said. Once we were in the truck and moving she turned and asked, "Okay, obviously that was to get us out of there because you watched me taking the roast out, so what's up?"

"Several things, actually; one of them is pretty cool, the other two aren't."

"Okay, bad news first, what are the two bad ones."

"That would be the beige Pontiac about four cars back. The other is his partner on the motorcycle. Not sure where he is at the moment, but I'm sure we'll see him somewhere between here and home."

"Jimmy! This is getting scary. Have you called Rod?"

"No, didn't have time and I thought it might be a little too obvious," I handed her my new phone. "Here, you call him. We got the plate on the Pontiac so he can run it. We're betting it was sold recently and we're hoping maybe he can find out who bought it. Maybe get us a lead on who we're dealing with."

"You ready to try this?" I asked Jamie while Allison was giving Rod the latest information.

"Oh yeah!"

"Rod's going to run the plate," Allison said, closing the phone. "So what's the good news?"

"It's a surprise; think you're ready for it?"

"I like surprises; do I need to close my eyes?"

"I don't think so. Actually I'm not sure if it's going to work or not so bear with me." I put my hand on her arm.

"Off you go," I said, and Jamie slid out and across the seat and disappeared. I couldn't see her eyes because I had to watch the road, but I could feel Allison tense up.

"Jamie?" She asked tentatively. Then she practically screamed, "Oh my God! This is sooo cool!"

"Hey, hey, keep it down," I said.

"Jimmy, this is amazing, it's like ... oh my God!"

She was a little excited.

"Yeah, actually it is. Now the fun part starts, we need to see what else we can do with it. Allison, don't answer for her. Jamie, can you answer me?"

"Yes." I had to trust that it was really Jamie talking since it was still Allison's voice.

"Okay," I said. "What about now?"

The answer came in distorted stereo and took me a minute to sort out as Jamie said, "Wow! I can!" and Allison said, "Holy Shit! I can hear you guys talking in my head!"

"Okay, wasn't expecting that. Jamie, say something and concentrate on not letting her hear."

"You are so smart!"

"Allison, did you hear that?" I asked.

"No, nothing. This is so cool! Jimmy, this is big, really big! Gosh, the things you two are going to be able to do."

"First things first, we still have a lot to work out. Jamie, can you get out again without me touching her?" She didn't answer but suddenly she was sitting on the seat between us. "Okay, back in. Now try again, only this time, Allison I want you to concentrate on keeping her there." It was a few seconds before Jamie was out again and I could tell it had been a strain for both of them.

"You two okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay but I felt like I just played a whole quarter," Allison said. I could hear the strain in her voice.

"What about you?"

"I'm okay, but it was a struggle," Jamie answered.

"So there is a chance that someone may be able to keep you from getting out if they tried hard enough?"

"I don't think so," she said. "I was trying not to hurt her at the same time. I could have gotten free sooner if I had tried."

"Good. That's really good to know. I'm going to tell you to come back, when I do I want you to go back into her instead, but try not to let her know you're there. Just see if you can hide and still stay aware of what's going on." Then out loud I said, "Okay, I think we'll save the rest for later when I'm not driving. Jamie I think you should come back for now, just in case." I watched out of the corner of my eye as she slid sideways into Allison and disappeared.

"Can you still hear me?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Cool, I want you to stay there until we get home, but if anything even begins to feel off, you let me know and come back home, okay?"

"Home? Is that how you think of it, like you're my home?"

"Of course," I said. "Home is where you live. You can leave it for a while, but it's the one place you will always belong, and always be welcome, so yeah, I'm your home."

"But what if I do something horrible while I'm out, will you still take me back?"

I knew what she was asking and I had to think carefully about my answer. "Jamie, I can't promise that. Not without lying. I think I would, but I know there are things that you could do that might change that. I can't think of what they might be right at the moment, but like you said before, you're really not a nice person at heart, so I guess the answer is it depends on what you did and why. Is that a fair enough answer?"

"That was a really good answer," she said. "And it was the right one. If you had said yes automatically I would have argued the point, because you're right, if this was Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West wouldn't hold a candle to what I'd do if there was no one to keep an eye on me." Something in her voice told me just how serious she was.

"Then it's a good thing I'll always be here for you. How are you feeling? Everything all right?"

"Yeah, I'm doing good. Don't worry; I'll let you know if anything changes."

Fortunately that whole conversation didn't take nearly as long to have as it did to write down.

"Walter found Kurtz." I said to Allison.

"Already! Wow that was fast, could you get to him?"

"Yeah, walked right in and found him asleep on the cot in his cell."

"So that's step one?" She asked.

"More like step one hundred with who knows how many thousand to go but at least it's a step forward," I said. "I feel like it's taken forever to get even this far and there is still a lot to do."

Allison took my hand in hers and squeezed it. "Don't sound so discouraged, you're making progress, that's all that counts, and this, this was a big step."

The conversation died and we drove in silence until we were only a few blocks from the house, when our two tails suddenly disappeared.

"Damn," I said.

"What?"

"We just lost our two playmates."

"And that bothers you why?" she asked.

"Maybe I'm just paranoid but when people you know are watching you suddenly lose interest, my first question is why? They've followed me ever since I left school, why stop now?"

"Jimmy, if they followed us any further it would be really obvious. We're apparently headed for home, and there are only two ways in or out of our neighborhood. They fell back because they don't need to follow us any further than this. They may come in later to try and bug your truck again, but for that they would likely wait until after dark anyway."

"Oh," I said sheepishly. "I guess that makes sense. I guess I'm just a little jumpy."

"That's okay, I'll forgive you. Considering everything that's been going on, I can certainly understand you being nervous. So what happened at school?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well something must have happened for you to have figured out that Jamie can merge with someone besides you."

"Oh that; Walter merged with me."

"He did? That's pretty ... hey wait a minute, how could Walter merge with you, at school? Were you ... no if you'd been asleep ... but ... okay, I'm lost. What happened?"

"Yeah, that's kind of how we felt when he came strolling across the commons. We were just having lunch with Bob and Mel and Susan, when all of a sudden there he was walking across the grass towards us."

"And you saw him? How is that possible?"

"Kind of like I see Jamie I guess. Maybe seeing isn't the right word for it. Perceived might be better."

"Whatever. You mean you see Jamie when she's out of you, even when you're awake?"

"Yeah, kind of like seeing you when you're invisible in a dream, and it's just as confusing trying to stay focused too. I have to really concentrate to not answer her out loud, or him out loud in this case. And then there is the problem of not losing track of whatever else is going on. It's a real work out for your conversation skills let me tell you; trying not to answer any of the invisible players, trying to follow two conversations at once and actually participate in them; you can get lost quick."

I thought about parking in the garage but decided there was really no point; if they were going to bug my truck again they would have all night to do it anyway. As the door closed Allison dropped her backpack and pressed herself hard against me, hands going up around my neck and mouth searching for mine.

It was a really hot kiss and it felt like it went on forever. I'm not sure how long it actually went on but suddenly I felt Allison shuddering in my arms and then Jamie came back into me. The sensation was very different this time. It was almost as if she were drunk and stumbling into her room in the dark, knocking things over as she went. Then Allison went limp in my arms and I had to catch her before she collapsed to the floor. Inside I could actually feel Jamie giggle.

"What the hell just happened?" I demanded.

She giggled again and said, "Huh?"

It was obvious I wasn't going to get anything out of her so I scooped Allison up into my arms -- I had to hold her almost painfully tight to keep her limp form from slipping away, carried her over to lay her on the couch and then went back for our backpacks. She was just starting to stir when I got back, stretching in a languorous motion before opening her eyes to look for me.

"Wow," she said finally as her eyes met mine.

"What happened?" I asked.

She stretched again and said, "My guess is you were bad. You left Jamie lurking inside of me and then when you kissed me she couldn't stay hidden. God, that was intense. I thought it was hot kissing you when she was with you and decided to join in; it's a whole different world when it happens inside. Is it that hot for you every time?"

"I have no idea," I said. "I don't know what really happened but it felt like you just had a huge orgasm and passed out."

"Yep," she said. "That was pretty much what happened." She jumped up off the couch, grabbed my hand, and dragged me toward the hall. "C'mon, I need to change my panties anyway, might as well take advantage of the opportunity."

And I thought the kiss was hot! I don't think Allison had ever been that horny when it was just the two of us -- several times with Shannon, but never one on one. Long before it was over it was clear that if I wanted to live very long I was going to need to find her a new girlfriend, no way was I going to be able to handle this level of intensity alone very often. I'd never been so sore in my life! And I had a meet tomorrow, how the hell was I supposed to run like this? If it hadn't been for Jamie I don't think I would have made it. Okay, I might have survived but Allison might have been a little disappointed. I was worn out and torn up long before Allison showed any signs of being ready to stop. Don't get me wrong, I was giving it my all and she was really enjoying my efforts, almost passing out twice. We've all heard the expression sex-starved, I now understand it. I swear it was like she couldn't get enough, and I just couldn't keep up. Thank God my other sister is a lesbian.

Regardless of what you may think, knowing a lesbian, even interacting with one or more on a regular basis does not mean you know them, and it certainly doesn't mean you understand them. I don't have a problem with it, but I've always been confused by the whole thing. I mean, you don't want anything to do with a real penis, but you have no problem with your girlfriend strapping on a fake one and pretending? Mel and her partner are the only two Lesbians I've ever really met, and I don't really know them that well. Having one living inside me hasn't really helped as much as you would think either. Jamie is thoroughly and totally disgusted by the thought of a guy, any guy, poking his favorite appendage into any part of her. For that matter, so am I. I often wonder if I was responsible for that with her -- that the fact that I am so strongly heterosexual influenced her in those moments when she grew to be who she is. However it happened, she is who she is and I guess it really works out that we both like girls -- and let me tell you, she really likes girls! And she really likes the fact that she's got a complete set of functioning equipment she can use whenever she wants.

I could barely walk when she finally turned things back over to me. Allison had finally reached the point of complete and total overload and her body had all but shut down after her last orgasm. Technically it was her turn to cook but ... no way. I left her sleeping in my bed with just a sheet over her while I got dinner started. I checked on her a couple times and thought about waking her up and inviting her to join me for a long shower after I had everything in the oven, but decided I would just let her sleep for a while longer. Truthfully, there was a part of me that was afraid she might want to start up again. So instead I just filled a tub with hot water when I was finished and then helped her into it. She spent a half hour just lying there letting the heat soak into her muscles before she even attempted to actually bathe. She finally came out about five minutes before mom was due home, coming up behind me as I was setting the table, wrapping her arms around and hugging herself against my back.

"Hi," I said. "How are you doing?"

"I may never fuck again."

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"We need to talk."

The chuckle died and I tensed up. She felt the change and kissed my back to reassure me. "Don't panic, it's nothing like that, we just need to figure out what the hell just happened and be very, very, careful not to ever let it happen again. Not like that anyway, not by accident."

I turned in her arms until I was facing her and could hug her back. "So that wasn't completely voluntary, is that what you're saying?"

"Hmm, no, that's not it. Everything I did, I wanted to do. It was the wanting that I didn't seem to have any control of. Once we started ... mmm," she shook her head. "God, it was like I couldn't get enough, I think you could have fucked me in the ass and I wouldn't have cared; may not even have noticed."

I pushed her away and stared into her eyes.

She rolled her eyes at me and said, "Okay, I probably would have noticed, and I'm sure I would have cared later, but at the time... ," she shook her head ruefully, "As long as you were fucking me I don't think I would have complained."

"Scary?" I asked.

"Like you can't imagine," she said, pressing her face against my chest. "Jimmy, I'm so glad you love me so much. It's good to know I can trust you even at a time like that. And just so everyone is clear here ... Jamie? I don't blame you for anything that happened here. There is no way you could have predicted a reaction like that. It wasn't your fault and I don't want you to feel bad about any of it, okay?"

I felt Jamie move over into Allison again. It only took a second to figure out why she had done it as I heard her ask, "Do you really mean that? I mean really, because the first thing I wanted to do was apologize."

"The first thing?" Allison asked, a smirk on her face.

"Okay, the second thing," Jamie giggled. "Allison, that kiss was the most awesome rush, and then when you guys started doing it, mmm, God, I just wanted to fuck you so bad I..."

"Excuse me," I interrupted. "But this is a conversation I really don't want to be a part of. You two can discuss all that later if you want, but right now, I think Allison is right. We need to talk about this, figure exactly what just happened and make damn sure it doesn't happen again, by accident that is. Jamie, are you saying that you were feeling the same thing Allison was? Did you feel out of control?"

"Oh yeah!" She said emphatically. "I know we're going to pay for it tomorrow, and I'm really sorry about that, but once we started, yeah, stopping would have been a real challenge."

"Me too, obviously," Allison said. "God, I am going to be so sore tomorrow," she shook her head again. "So, let's go back to the beginning; you left Jamie hiding inside of me, why?"

"We were experimenting to see if it made a difference in how long she was away."

"And?" She asked. "Anything different? Jamie, did you feel tired at all?"

That's my Allison, right back to business.

"No, I was fine."

"Glad to hear it, but you can't count on that as being anything significant, it was too short a time. If you'd started feeling tired sooner it would have meant it was taking more energy, but it doesn't tell us if you can stay out longer if you're in me. I have a prediction to make about this. It will be different with different people and I'm predicting the biggest difference is going to be with Lizzy."

"Why Lizzy?" I asked.

"I have no idea," she answered. "Just that she's special and I think part of her being special is going to make a difference. We've already seen part of it; remember the other night when Jamie ran to her after you asked about meeting mom and dad? She was out a long time, longer than when she did Mikkelson, with no apparent ill effect."

"That's not completely true," Jamie said. "I really needed to go home when you guys got there."

"Go home?" Allison asked. "You mean as in Jimmy is home?"

"Of course," she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "Home is where you live, where you are always loved, and always welcome. Jimmy is my home." There was a little bit of that dreamy quality in her voice again.

Allison stomped her foot and said, "Stop that! We'll never survive another round." But then she shook her head, grinning, and said, "She was thinking about kissing you again. I appreciate the feelings but she can damn well wait until you can be alone! Or at least wait a couple days until the aches and soreness go away, then maybe we can try it again, carefully, very carefully! If every time is going to be like that was then we're not going to be able to do it very often, but at least we know Jamie is a happy drunk."

"What?" I asked.

"What do you mean 'what?'" she asked. "Didn't you feel her when she first got 'home', as she put it? I sure felt her before she left; she was high as a kite. She may have started out hiding but once the kiss started and she joined in..."

I thought about it and she was right, Jamie had seemed drunk when she came back at the end of the kiss, and practically incoherent when I asked what had happened after Allison passed out.

"Weird," I said. "Okay, so whose idea was that kiss anyway?"

"Mine," Allison said. "I've been wanting to jump your bones all afternoon, the kiss was just intended to be an invitation, but then once Jamie joined in ... And why did you join in anyway, you were supposed to be hiding?" She paused and got the silliest look on her face. "God that feels so weird."

"What?" I asked.

"I can feel her getting all shy and embarrassed. Is it like this all the time for you guys? Can you feel each other the whole time you're together?"

"Unless we're really trying not to, yeah, the emotion bleeds back and forth. Jamie, what were you thinking just now?"

"That that was the first time I've ever kissed you, you know, for real, in the flesh."

"That's not true," I said. "We've kissed lots of times."

"No, she's right," Allison said, correcting me. "You've brother-sister-I-love-you kissed, lots of times, but those are different. For one thing they were always internal or when you were in dreams together. You've kissed other people together and believe me, that's always incredible, but this was the first time she's kissed you, really kissed you, since she was born, and we know what happened that time. This was the first time she's kissed you while inside someone else." Her brow furrowed in concentration.

"What?" I asked. I seemed to be doing that a lot today.

"Just wondering," she said. "The first time you kissed you transformed a formless ball of energy and emotion into Jamie, I was just wondering if this kiss had changed anything. Jamie? Does anything feel different to you?"

There was a brief pause and finally she answered, "I don't think so."

"We'll check it out later when we can see you. Just be thankful you don't have to be sore like we do."

"I'm sorry, guys. I..."

"Stop," Allison said. "I told you before, this isn't your fault, none of us could have predicted this reaction. And as wild and even scary as it was, it was still awesome. I don't regret any of it. I may feel different in the morning when my muscles really start to ache, but not now. I think that first wild time on the patio with Jimmy and Shannon is the only thing that really comes close, and at least then I had Shannon to take some of the punishment. I lost track of the orgasms way before the end. How many times did you come, Jimmy?"

Suddenly I was seriously embarrassed. "I don't know, three, maybe four, but I don't know if the last one counts."

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure anything actually came out. You'd pumped me dry long before that."

"Doesn't mean it doesn't count. That's like saying dry heaves isn't throwing up. An orgasm isn't about gooey stuff flying everywhere or most girls would never have one. It's the release of emotional and nervous energy that the rest of your body goes through. I don't know about you but for me it's like someone is short circuiting my nervous system. What I can't believe is that you managed to keep it up that long. Don't take this wrong but you usually fade pretty hard after the second one."

"I was this time too, but then Jamie took over and it was like getting a fresh start."

"Weird," was all she had time to say before we heard the garage door opening and my mom pulling in.



-------

Chapter 56: What to do?


It was going to be a long night. I had so many things I needed to do I just didn't know where to start. The afternoon's events had helped me to forget my fear and anxiety over last night's apparently disastrous proposal to Lizzy. See, there it is, that's how badly I screwed up, I wasn't even thinking of her as Elizabeth, and if ever there was a time, it should be now, just like it was last night when I stuck my foot in my mouth. As soon as I started worrying about it again, Jamie faded so far back I thought she'd made herself a bubble to hide in. Allison hadn't brought it up either and that's really not like her. Clearly, Lizzy was my problem to deal with. So now where do I go? I could go to my mom, but she was having a hard enough time dealing with my dating Britney and trying to figure out how Allison and I could maintain our relationship in the face of all this, if I told her I was in love with someone else she would immediately assume it was Britney and tell me it was too soon to be talking about love. I didn't even want to think about how she would respond to Lizzy. As far as I could tell, that left Bob. Relationship advice from the perennial bachelor? Of course he had fallen for Rebecca in a major way. Maybe he could help.

"I asked Lizzy to marry me last night."

We were in his office and he was sitting behind his desk, blank faced, staring at me like I'd just proclaimed myself Pope.

"Bob?"

He shook his head as if he was trying to clear it and asked, "What did you just say?"

"I said, I asked Elizabeth Street to marry me."

"Yep, that's what I thought I heard all right, I just couldn't believe it. I'm sorry; I wasn't really prepared for this, not yet, anyway."

"What do you mean you weren't prepared for this yet? Does that mean you were planning to prepare for it?"

"Not so much planning as thinking I better start planning for it," he said.

"Excuse me, Bob, but that sounds like you were expecting it."

"Well, yeah, I guess I was. I mean, I figured it would happen eventually, I just wasn't expecting it to be this soon. What prompted this? Did something happen that I don't know about?"

"No," I said. "Not that I know of. Bob, how could you have been expecting this?

He leaned back in his chair and I'm pretty sure I saw him roll his eyes before his hands covered his face, you know that thing some people do to try and compose themselves when they don't know whether they can actually say something without laughing in your face. They bury their face in both hands and then sort of drag them downward like they're trying to wipe the proverbial grin off their face. It's frequently followed by inane sentences starting with things like, "Well, it's like this..." or "I really don't know how to say this, but..." The other motion you sometimes see is just the opposite, instead of 'wiping the grin off, ' they run their hands up and through their hair like they were trying to find a coherent, sensible answer hiding up there somewhere.

"Oh, Lord, where to begin ... Would you mind if I called Allison, or could you call her for me? That is, if you don't mind my bringing her into this conversation."

"No, I told her already."

"Really? And what, may I ask, was her reaction?"

I thought about it for a moment, trying to remember those moments in my truck as I was dropping her off at school.

"I'm not sure actually; we were on the way to school when I told her, and she got real quiet and stared out the window for a while. I thought maybe she was upset..."

"Understandable, all things considered," Bob said, interrupting.

"Yeah, but when I finally got her to look at me she looked like she was trying hard not to laugh at me. She made some comment about me being 'such a boy' and then said we didn't have time to discuss it and we'd talk later." I guess I've gotten better because I didn't have to struggle not to blush as I said, "We were busy after school and we never got the chance, so now here I am."

"Ah, I see," he said, nodding his head. It looked to me like he was having a hard time not grinning as he said it. "And did you happen to tell her what led up to this?"

I shook my head, "It wasn't any one thing, we were talking about what I'm planning when we find the Sandman and well, things came up in the conversation and next thing I know, Jamie wants to talk privately, which is really hard around Lizzy because she can hear me even when I freeze her..."

"She can?"

"Yeah," I said. "She can answer too. It's a neat trick but that's not the point. The point is it makes it really hard to talk privately. Well, Jamie found a way."

"I'm not surprised," he said. "Go on."

"Anyway, Jamie wanted to talk so she did the privacy thing only it was a bit of a set up because while she had frozen the scene as far as Lizzy was concerned, she had actually brought Allison along with us and was hiding her invisibly so she could listen. And then at one point she turned the conversation over to Allison and then left. Then they both went away so I could talk to Lizzy, only I didn't have any idea what to say, or at least not how to say it. So I just cut right to the chase. Next thing I knew I was alone again feeling like an idiot. So Allison was there at the beginning and knows what happened."

"Well then, I think I'd still like her here if you don't mind." He picked up the phone and gave me a look. He didn't even try to dial a number just waited for her to answer.

I concentrated for a second and knew she was in her glade; I also knew she was waiting for something. I was starting to get the impression they all found this to be amusing in some way and it was frankly starting to piss me off. I glared at Bob and sent Allison a phone to answer with Bob identified in the caller ID window. Okay, maybe it was childish but I listened in on the conversation.

"Hi, Bob. So he came to see you first?"

"Yes," Bob answered, glancing at me. "He's here now and I was wondering if you could join us?"

"Sure, no problem, I'll be there in a second. I love you, Jimmy." In my mind I could see her blowing me a kiss.

Bob just shook his head and chuckled. "Listening in on private phone calls, Jimmy? That's so unlike you. Something must really be bothering you; I can't imagine what that might be."

"Bothering me!" I all but exploded, just as Allison was walking in the door. "Bothering me? Yeah, I'll tell you what's bothering me, I made a complete ass of myself last night and everyone I try to talk to about it seems to think it's funny. I was worried that I'd traumatized Elizabeth last night. She was already upset and, silly me, I thought maybe I'd hurt her feelings and that's why she disappeared on me, but now I'm starting to wonder if she just didn't want to laugh in front of me!"

By now Bob was practically falling out of his chair. By the look on his face I could see he was dealing with a serious internal conflict. On the other hand, Allison, when I looked at her, just had this big beaming smile on her face as she walked up and sat in my lap. She then put her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek.

"Oh, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, you are so funny, and I just love you so much." She gave me another kiss on the cheek and leaned her head on my chest.

I almost dumped her on the floor as I stood up but she managed to get her feet down in time. "What is so damned funny?" I demanded.

Suddenly the floor disappeared and we were all falling into the warm water of the lagoon. Apparently Bob wasn't expecting it either as he was sputtering almost as much as I was when he surfaced. He glanced at me and then followed my gaze to Allison.

"Thank you, Allison, I think I needed that. Jimmy, I'm sorry but it's not often that I get to see you this shaken up and I'm afraid it's been something of a treat for me, probably for Allison too. I know it's not fair to you, but you are usually so damn confident when it comes to interpersonal relationships — with good reason, I will admit; you seem to have this intuitive gift for it, and to actually see you confused like this ... well, enough of this. Yes, I've suspected this was coming," he glanced at Allison. "Obviously Allison has too, and I suspect that if she were alive, Shannon probably would have as well. Of the people close to you, I would say the only ones that didn't expect it were those that don't spend time with you here and have never seen the two of you together. Jimmy, from the moment you two met, there has been a change in you. It's that certain something that poets and authors have been trying to put into words ever since language was invented."

Suddenly we were standing in the cabana and his hands were on my shoulders.

"Jimmy, in all my years as a therapist I have never met two people more perfect for each other, or more in love, than you and Easy. And if you ask me to tell you why I say that I'll tell you I have absolutely no idea, but in my heart-- and after all these years working with every kind of dysfunctional asshole under the sun you can imagine how hard my heart is on such things, I have never seen two people more in love..." he shook his head, "nor have I ever seen two people so absolutely clueless or in downright denial about it as the two of you."

He let go of me and poked a finger in my chest, shaking his head.

"And that, my young friend, is what is so funny. Now, what makes you think you traumatized Lizzy?"

"Don't bother Jimmy, it's not important," Allison said. "You probably did traumatize her but not in the way you think, or even for any reason you could imagine. Right now I think the best thing you can do is to just send me to talk to her -- nothing personal, Bob, but you two are sooo not qualified for this."

"Hey, don't apologize to me! I'd be the last one to argue for this one. Go, by all means; she could probably use someone to talk to. I expect she's probably been feeling the same thing as the boy wonder here all day."

Allison started to say something but then her eyes got big and she said, "Oh my God!"

Bob glanced at me but I just shook my head in confusion so he turned back to her. "What?"

"It just hit me. Bob, do you think that may actually be true?"

"Do I think what may actually be true?"

"That she may actually have been feeling what he has been feeling?" She paused to let that sink in. "Not just today, but maybe other times as well?" She turned to me. "The other night when you and Jamie did the King and Country thing with Walter, didn't you mention that Lizzy knew you had upset Jamie?" She didn't wait for me to answer but turned back to Bob.

Bob was sitting very still and looking very, very, thoughtful, finally nodding his head and answering, "Yes, now that you mention it, I think that is a distinct possibility, but not all the time. There have been several instances, including that one, which support your theory, but if she were sensing his feelings all the time she wouldn't be convinced that he can't love her. Looking at it in hindsight I would have to say that it's sporadic at best, probably limited to times of extreme stress in either him or Jamie."

"But then how could she possibly doubt that he loves her?" Allison asked.

I just love it when they talk like I'm not here.

"That's easy; denial, pure and simple. Actually, if you want to be technical, it's denial born out of avoidance. She's afraid of the pain that she is convinced will come later, so she refuses to believe the evidence before her. I wouldn't be surprised if she actually blinds herself to it, subconsciously anyway, which may be easier than it sounds in her case. They have only ever interacted in dreams and she has told us how he overwhelms her special sight many times, so she's probably used to just glossing over the whole thing, and now she's just using that to blend it in a little so she can pretend it's not real. Besides, he's been denying it too, so maybe he's been masking it."

Allison had been nodding along as Bob spoke, by the time he was finished she had one of 'those' smiles. You know the one I mean, the one that said she was holding something back. Apparently Bob caught it too.

"That grin worries me, young lady, I've seen its like before. What are you thinking?"

"Just that you're probably right, but that I think you may be overlooking something."

"And what might that be?" Bob asked.

Allison just shook her head and said, "Can't tell you, but I'll let you know if I'm right. If I am then I plan to use it as a bargaining point, we'll see. Jimmy, do you want to announce me..." she cocked her head and stared into my eyes, " ... or is she expecting me?"

"Why would she be expect..." I let the question die and focused on Lizzy. She was lying on her bed in her pajamas. Right away I knew something was wrong, Lizzy doesn't wear pajamas, at least, not that I'd ever seen.

"She's hiding," Jamie said. "Don't push, just send ... never mind, I'll do it."

I glanced at Allison and she disappeared from in front of me. In my head I saw her suddenly appear spooned up against Lizzy's back, then the scene went dark and I could feel Jamie putting up a wall.

"No peeking," Jamie said. "Just let her do her thing."

"I wasn't going to peek," I protested.

"I know, but this way you won't be tempted. Say thank you to Bob and tell him we'll be back later, we've got stuff to do and it will help take your mind off of what Allison is saying to Lizzy."

"Thanks for coming Bob, Jamie seems to think I need to be distracted until Allison is done talking to Elizabeth."

"Smart girl, that sister of yours," he said. "Both of them actually, just call if you need me again later, and try not to stress yourself over it, okay? I'm going to go out on a limb here and offer my congratulations now rather than wait. Normally, with someone your age, I would be doing my absolute best to talk you out of this, but in your case..." he shook his head, " ... like I said, I don't know what it is about you two, but I think this is the best thing that could ever happen for either of you. And if... , when, you eventually announce it, I will be happy to argue my point of view to anyone who questions your decision, including your mother, although for her I want to argue it here where she can't actually hurt me."

Just another of many things that I hadn't thought about before I stuck my foot in my mouth, how was I ever going to explain this to my parents?

"Stop thinking and let's go," Jamie said impatiently.

I shook Bob's hand and took us to the beach.

"You seem kind of anxious, so where do you want to go first?"

"Malloy."

"How did I know?" I asked. "Are you okay? I mean, is this training or is it just a way to blow off all the stress and anxiety you've been sucking up from me today?"

Silence.

"So it's a really good thing I didn't turn you loose on the three stooges this morning?"

There was a big sigh and then she answered, "Yeah, probably so. Lizzy was right, that stuff is like candy, but if you let it build up..."

I was impressed. "Jamie, I'm very proud of you. I know how much you enjoy the mayhem and it's nice to see you learning to control it. You're growing up."

"No, Jimmy," she said with a chuckle. "You don't know. You think you do, but you don't, you couldn't, and you don't want to. As far as the growing up part, maybe. I don't know if you'd really call it that, but I don't really want you to know either." The chuckle was gone by the time she finished and I didn't need to ask why. She was afraid; afraid that she might someday do something that I truly couldn't forgive her for.

Something occurred to me that I hadn't tried before and this seemed like the perfect time to try it out.

"Jamie," I said softly, and then I stepped away from her. The sensation was exactly the same as when she stepped out of me and when I turned around she was standing there looking a little shocked.

"Jamie, I trust you, and this is exactly why I trust you, because you're looking for ways to make sure you don't lose it." I took her by the shoulders and held her eyes as I said, "Jamie, don't be afraid of who you are, I'm not. Who you are has saved my life twice already. Who you are is not a bad person." I pulled her in close, hugged her, and said, "Now let's go kick some ass. And remember, I'm refereeing so you're on your own here, no funny stuff."

I was glad it was her getting hit and not me, and I was really glad that it was just a dream. Malloy is everything Rod had said he was, sometimes he moved like he had no bones, but when he hit you there was no doubt. Jamie lost, which told me that it was a really good idea to come back and do follow up work with these guys.

Fortunately most car chases don't involve physical contact so I did better following Wheels than she did going one on one with Malloy. Right up until he showed me that sometimes physical contact is not only necessary, but that properly employed, it can make the difference. Half way through a high speed corner he actually slammed on the brakes and spun out in front of me. His timing was perfect, as was his judgment of my response. By the time I realized I'd been suckered it was too late; his car was in reverse, rubber was burning, and I was being shoved hard into a guard rail, his rear bumper against my right front wheel, crushing the suspension and disabling my car with minimal damage to his.

"We're not doing so well tonight," Jamie observed from the back seat.

"Tell me about it. Let's go see Reston and learn how to disappear."

They say knowledge is power? Bart Reston could make entire people disappear and create them, seemingly, out of thin air. Well, digital air anyway. The physical records, birth certificates, school photo's and the like were a little harder to take care of. It could actually be done, but in most cases it involved doing things that they tried to avoid, like killing people. The best method seemed to be recycling people that were already dead and had no living relatives. Since the government had gone to requiring social security numbers for dependents on tax returns it had gotten even easier. Now anyone that died before reaching an age where a social security number might actually be needed was fair game. Properly handled the only possible way to detect it was to run across someone with a photographic memory who had known the original person and their social security number. The odds of that happening were unbelievably small. How many people with perfect recall end up working for the IRS? A parent might know the now-deceased child's social security number, but most just looked it up every year at tax time. The same method was very popular with the darker side of society as well and I realized that that's exactly what the Sandman had done with Kenneth Riley, only he hadn't waited for him to die first. I wondered if Kurtz knew where Riley's body was buried? His parents were already devastated, finding the body and allowing them to lay him to rest properly could go a long way toward closure and healing.

"Assuming we can do it without getting ourselves killed, we can ask him when we find him," Jamie had said. My first assumption was that she was being sarcastic but then I realized she was serious.

We were just put the finishing touches on a passport when my phone rang.

"Hi Allison."

"Hey handsome, you got a few minutes or are you and Jamie having too much fun?"

I laughed, "Yes, and yes. Yes we've been having fun -- if you call getting the crap beat out of us fun, and yes we definitely have time to talk. Not sure how much time," I checked my phone and was surprised to see that it was almost three o'clock. Time flies when you're having fun, even in a dream. "It's getting kind of late, or early depending on how you look at it, but I'm sure we have plenty of time. Should I bring Bob with me?"

"Up to you, I'm sure he's curious to know what Lizzy and I talked about, but if you'd rather not share all this just yet..."

"No, I already involved him and I value his input, we'll be right there." I closed the phone and stepped into the elevator. Two floors later the doors opened and Bob stepped in.

"Ah, I'm guessing Allison is back?"

"Apparently so, thanks for coming."

"Don't be silly, I'm dying to hear what she has to say."

The doors opened and we stepped out of the little changing tent at the beach to find Allison waiting in the shade for us. She immediately stood up and hugged me, kissed me on the cheek, and took my hand to guide me to a chair. Bob settled himself in another nearby chair and picked up one of the glasses of lemonade.

"So Allison," he began. "I assume you have news for us? How is Elizabeth?"

"She's okay. A little stressed and frazzled but okay."

"And?" he prompted her.

"A few things really; first of all it totally freaked her out when Jimmy popped the question..."

"Understandable, considering..." he began but then stopped when she gave him an exasperated look. "I'm sorry, forgive me, you were saying."

"Thank you," she said before continuing. "If he'd done that 'follow me' thing he does he would have realized that the reason she disappeared like that was that it shocked her awake. I mean totally awake. She couldn't get back to sleep, so she called Father Chris."

"Father Chris?" Bob inquired.

"You remember the night she told us about how it all started with her being raped and how a priest just happened to walk by as she was talking to the guy that did it? That's Father Chris. He's the one who sends study materials to the guy and advises him on his prison ministry. He also delivers the cards Lizzy sends him, unsigned of course because people would freak out and never understand if they knew she was doing it. Anyway, Father Chris knows about her gift and he's like the only person on earth she feels she can really trust. He keeps trying to get her in for confession and convert her but she won't go. Anyway, she called and woke him up and he helped calm her down even though she couldn't really tell him what was wrong. She said he's used to it. The first time she did it-- called him upset and then couldn't tell him why, he told her not to worry about it, that it was no different than discussing something another priest heard in confession. Apparently it can be pretty complicated. Anyway, without going into details she explained that she'd met someone even more special than she was -- another of God's chosen ones, you know the drill, and that he had proposed and she didn't know what to do. He gave her his usual advice. Find a quiet place, pray, and seek the Lord's will. They talked about what a serious step marriage was and how it should not be entered into lightly, all the usual stuff and he told her to call him if she has any questions or concerns. She said it helped but not a lot; said she was still pretty mind-blown when they finished."

"And the other thing?" he asked.

"Things," she said with a smile. "Plural, the first part is guilt, which I expected, the rest..." she looked at Bob and said, "You know that famous quote from President Roosevelt?"

Bob's eyes got wide and he leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees. "FDR? 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself?'" he asked.

Allison just nodded.

"Fascinating, but there still has to be something at the heart of her fear."

"Yes and no," Allison said. "Mostly it's the fear feeding on itself. The causes are the usual intangibles everybody deals with. A lot of it's uncertainty and fear of the unknown, but mostly for her it's fear of being out of control."

"What do you mean, out of control?" He asked.

"Okay follow me here, this gets complicated. When did her gift first manifest?" It was a rhetorical question and she didn't wait for a response. "When she was raped. Can you think of a time more terrifying and out of control that a girl can go through?" Again she didn't wait.

"Now she's always had her gift, her special vision had always been with her, she just didn't understand it, but then, boom, all of a sudden, that very night she has her first vision, or dream, and begins to understand it, and within a matter of days, with no help from anyone..." her body language and tone changed to emphasize the next part, "... just the hand of God touching her; suddenly her gift has changed and taken on new meaning, and given her a purpose."

"You sound a little skeptical about the whole thing," Bob said.

"I know, and I try to keep an open mind but the whole concept of God wanting her to go around healing people by sleeping with them just seems a little out of character."

"That's the church talking," Bob said emphatically. "Don't get me wrong, I think the idea is a little out there myself, but I try to keep in mind that all of our religious teachings have been handed down from centuries past and selectively edited along the way. Particularly with the formation of the Church and the convenient compilation of scriptures that Charlemagne arranged. There were a lot more documents left out of the Bible than actually got put in, many of those documents were then sealed away or outright destroyed. I have more faith than some but I have a hard time believing that we got the whole story. Some argue that God supernaturally arranged for us to get the stuff He wanted us to have, but the whole free will thing still leaves room to argue that he let us do it on our own to see how badly we'd screw it up. So while it may not exactly be scriptural doctrine, I won't discount the possibility that God is a lot bigger than we think and some of the 'mysterious ways' He's been purported to move in may include using someone like Lizzy to solve problems here and there -- or your brother for that matter. Anyway, you were saying... ?"

She didn't even hesitate but picked right up again where she had been.

"Bob, Lizzy's gift has given her almost absolute control of every situation she's been in ever since she learned to use it. Think about it, she can see if something is wrong in a situation and walk away before a problem even develops. She can stand in a room and tell you every lie anyone says. It's no wonder she thinks she can't have love, she's seen how fake everyone in the world is. I mean think about it, Bob; you're a bachelor, a professional man making good money, I'm pretty sure you've seen your share of sharks out there. Is there a line you haven't heard in the last twenty years?"

Bob had to smile at that.

"Even with all your experience I'm sure you've had a couple of close calls; people..." he cocked his head at her, " ... okay women," she said, rolling her eyes, "that sneaked in close before you figured out what was happening and ran for your life. Can you imagine seeing that at the first sign, every time? It's amazing she trusts anyone. And yet she sees people get together and find happiness all around her. What else could she conclude but that love, at least for her, was the price of her gift?

"Then, out of the blue, here comes Jimmy, and she is so totally overwhelmed that all she can see is this brilliant glow. So bright that she can't even see me through the reflected glare. It's a good glow, but she can't read him, she has to try and interpret based on his interaction with other people around her. Something the rest of us have done all our lives, but she's never had to, at least not since her sight developed. Fortunately she can hear us, and eventually she starts to get a handle on it. Then they meet and it's even worse, practically blinding. Again she begins to cope with it, things leak through, I think because it's a dream and he wanted her to see, she actually could, a little anyway. But what she's seeing must be wrong because it's not allowed. He can't love her; it's against the rules, so she writes it off as passion, something she's used to and knows how to deal with.

"Still, he's a great guy," she wrapped herself around my arm and leaned into me a little. "Everything she's ever dreamed of, someone who can understand her because he's gifted too. She sees how pretty much every woman who meets him falls in love with him, not true, but from her perspective it is, because those are the only ones she's seen.

"She's seen the depth of his commitment to those he loves in how he responds to Amber's need. Is it any wonder she loves him? But she can't see him, not really, they've never even met and she's afraid to trust what she can't see..."

"Because the last time she couldn't see she got hurt," Bob said, nodding his head in agreement.

"Exactly," she said. "You said earlier that she is afraid of the pain she's convinced will come later. I think this is a big part of that fear."

"A brilliant analysis," Bob said. "I don't know whether Jimmy has influenced you or if it's the other way around."

I certainly had no doubt, rolling my eyes and saying, "It was her, trust me."

"Either way," he said, waving me off, "brilliant. You two give me such hope for the future. I just hope there are more of you out there somewhere, the last few generations scare me to think about."

"We have to live long enough first," I said. "Allison, I... , Do you really think she's afraid of me?"

"Jimmy, I never said she was afraid of you, she's just afraid." She shrugged her shoulders in a helpless gesture. "And then there's the guilt."

That really threw me.

"Guilt about what?" I asked.

"Remember when Shannon was all freaked out and convinced Lizzy was going to steal you away? Lizzy swore she could never do something like that, eventually Shannon got over it, and of course I knew it could never happen in the first place, but now, in her eyes anyway, it is happening."

"What is?"

"Jimmy, don't be dense," Bob said. "She feels like she's stealing you from Allison, maybe even stealing you from Amber. All that probably makes her feel like she's misused her gift -- her gift from God no less. If that's the case then I'll bet she had a really rough day; far from home with no one to talk to or confide in ... ahh, you said she called her friend the priest to talk. It's too bad Allison couldn't go to her sooner, I'm sure he was helpful but girls..."

Allison interrupted him, "Bob, you don't need to go there, Jimmy understands 'girl talk'. Like you said, for most of this relationship stuff he's like an oracle, but like all oracles..." she shoved me gently, " ... he's blind when it comes to himself. I had hoped I was wrong about what she was feeling. I thought I made it pretty clear to her before that she shouldn't ever worry about me, but ... you know girls, emotion and rational thought don't always go together. As for Amber; that was the best part and it's going to cost her. I couldn't believe after all that's happened I actually had to remind her that Amber's property, she doesn't count."

"What do you mean Amber doesn't count?" I asked angrily. "Of course she counts!"

Bob stared at me, "Jimmy? You're doing it again. You know exactly what she means. Or maybe you don't realize just how deep your relationship with Amber goes. Jimmy, when Amber gave herself to you, she meant it. Unless you give her away -- which we both know you won't, not permanently anyway, she's yours."

Shit. What could I say? He was right and we both knew it. Amber couldn't be more bonded to me if we were married. It was a strange feeling, being so responsible for another human being. I guess it was sort of like what a parent must feel for a child, a severely handicapped child, one that would never be able to live on their own and would always be dependent on you to guide, protect, and provide for them. Suddenly it was a heavy load, but at the same time, I had to admit, there were benefits. Not the least of which was that she loved me absolutely and without reservation. I wasn't the kind of guy that would ask, but I didn't think there was much she wouldn't do if I did ask. Not ask really, but told her to do.

"So you're saying that even if I marry Lizzy, I'll still have Amber there?"

"If you want her there," Bob said. "And you will, even if you..." he stopped and looked at Allison.

I followed his gaze and she had the strangest smile on her face.

"What is it, Allison," he asked.

She shook her head and said, "Nothing. So you both agree that her being upset about Amber makes no sense?"

Bob nodded his head and said, "Absolutely, I hate to use the word property in relation to another human being, but as far as she is concerned, she belongs to Jimmy and she'll go where he goes for as long as he will let her."

They both looked at me and I had no idea what to say. Allison put her hand on mine and said, "I know, Jimmy, as much as Bob hates to use the word, you hate that he's right even more, don't you?"

I couldn't even meet her eyes, I just nodded.

"And he is right, isn't he?"

I glanced up and met both their eyes briefly before looking away and nodding again. It was all I could do to hold back the tears.

"Hey, come on. It's not so bad," Jamie said. "We both know you love her, and she loves you, practically worships you. Would you rather have left her to suffer?"

"No, of course not," I answered.

"Then accept it. You're making the best of a bad situation. As far as Lizzy is concerned, marrying you is like finding a diamond ring at the bottom of a Cracker Jack Box; you're the sweet treat and Amber is one hell of a hidden prize."

I had to chuckle at that.

"What's so funny?" Bob asked.

When I told them what she had said they both cracked up.

"By the way, I told you earlier I thought you were overlooking something and I was planning to use it? Well that was it, the guilt thing in general and Amber in particular. And before you say it, yes, it was taking advantage of her being distraught and not thinking clearly, but I was right and I made a bet with her that you would agree with me, and I won."

"That's not exactly playing fair," I said. "What was the bet?"

"Oh, nothing important," she said innocently. "I just get to name your kids."

"You mean you get to help us..." she was shaking her head and grinning from ear to ear.

"Come on Allison, that's not fair, I never agreed..." If anything the grin was getting bigger.

"True, but you would never go against her and cause her to welsh on a debt..."

"Allison!"



-------

Chapter 57: It's Never That Easy


I had hoped I would have time to go see Lizzy but it didn't work out. Dream time doesn't seem to be strictly linear in its progression. Some things that seem to last forever take almost no 'real' time at all. Others that you think went by quickly seemed to chew up hours. Before I had a chance to see her, my alarm was going off. Somewhere in the middle of my run it occurred to me that I had a new phone and I could just text her. Almost as fast as the idea popped in I shot it down. This was not text or email material. I ran it past Jamie and she agreed wholeheartedly.

"You're right; this is sooo not text or email material. In person would be best, I think a phone call would be okay but only because it's been over a day. Ask Allison if she thinks Lizzy would want to talk about it over the phone or not. I'm inclined to think she won't want to talk about it but would appreciate a call just to check in and know that you're sorry for not making it last night."

"Kind of what I was thinking. I don't have the slightest idea what I'm going to say, but I do know I don't want to say it over the phone. But I'm afraid she may feel like ... I don't know."

"Yes you do," she said. "You're afraid she may feel like you got cold feet and changed your mind. You're afraid she's going to see you as the little boy you feel like when you think about her. That's what you're afraid of. I've been wondering about what Bob said last night."

"Which part?" I asked.

"About how you may have been hiding yourself from Lizzy all this time; I mean, I used to do it, so we know it can be done."

"Yeah, how did you do that anyway?"

"It was easy; I just duplicated your glow with one of my own so it blended together. The only time it didn't work..."

"Was when she caught you off guard," I interrupted. "If she did something that you reacted to, like that first kiss, and then again when she slapped me."

"Yeah, like that. I wasn't really what you would call 'thinking' then. I was more reactionary. But I was also afraid and the fear pushed everything else out so I could hide again. After the first couple times she caught me I just sort of put up a bubble until she was gone."

"So that's where you figured out the bubble trick."

"It was the only way to be sure she couldn't find me."

"So you think Allison will tell me to call Lizzy but try to keep the conversation away from any serious levels?"

"Yeah, something like that."

She was right. Allison said to call Lizzy, let her know that I had wanted to see her last night but that time had run out before I got the chance and see if maybe we could schedule a time to meet later, alone, just the two of us. I called as soon as I got to school, sitting in my truck in the student parking lot where I could have a little privacy. I hate voice mail.

"Elizabeth, it's Jimmy. I was hoping we could talk. If you've got some time free later today just text me when to call ... I'm sorry if I upset you the other night. I guess I..."

Jamie rushed forward. "Lizzy it's Jamie; he's not going to be able to put two sentences together for a coherent voice mail. Throw the boy a bone and let him know when he can meet with you. Love you girlfriend, talk to you later." She blew her a kiss and hung up. "You're welcome. Now let's go before we're late for class."

"Thanks," was all I could think to say.

Most of the day was pretty routine and we smoked La Verne's boy's team in the afternoon meet. Well, the team did. My race was a bit more of a struggle than necessary due to the residual effects of yesterday's marathon session with Allison and Jamie. It wasn't painful per se, but it really messed with my stride and made it hard to stay in a steady rhythm. My opponent had a really strong finish and I would have liked a little bit more of a cushion going into the last half mile. As it was I barely managed to hold him off.

I had hoped that Britney would be able to come but her first meet was on Thursday so I'm sure they were working to be ready. I was looking forward to seeing her run. The meet was at our place and Bob had already informed us that we were expected to attend. Other than an inquiry as to how I was holding up Bob didn't ask or say anything about what else was going on. Walter was waiting for me at my truck to inform me that he had located both Amber and Allison with no problem. Lizzy sent me a message saying she was sorry but she had to work after school so we wouldn't be able to get together until later, but that she was looking forward to seeing me. She suggested somewhere around ten o'clock my time would probably be good and asked me to hug Allison for her.

I blew through my homework and hit the pool to try and unwind a little. It wasn't helping so Allison suggested we try something else. No, not that. Nice idea, but not this time.

"I had an idea," she began. "Do you think that if Jamie merged with me, you guys might be able to teach me some of the stuff you've learned?"

"What kind of stuff?" I asked.

"Stuff like how to fight for real. If I'm there the next time they decide to try and grab you I don't want to be in the way or have you worrying about me. I don't need to be able to kill anyone with a soda straw or anything like that, I just want to make sure that I can hold my own long enough for help to arrive, or even just enough to give me a chance to run like hell."

"I don't know," I said. "Jamie?" I said it out loud so Allison would know what was going on. She couldn't hear the reply but at least she wouldn't wonder.

"Beats me, kiss her and I'll move over and we'll find out."

"Oh no! We're not going there again this soon. You can just walk over by yourself. I'll hold her hand if that will make it easier but that's as far as I'm going!"

"Let me guess," Allison said with a grin. "She wanted you to kiss me to make the transfer? Jamie, it's a nice idea, but I don't think I'm up to the risk just yet. I'm still more than a little sore from yesterday, thanks for thinking of me though."

"Jimmy, it never happened when you kissed her before," Jamie pointed out. "Only when you kissed her with me already inside of her. I thought maybe we should try and pin down the variables so we'd know when we have to be careful."

"Actually that's a good point. Allison, Jamie says it never happened when we kissed before, just when we did with her already inside of you. She was thinking maybe we should try to verify the danger points."

Allison still looked a little unsure. "I don't know, Jimmy. That sounds right and there's a good chance it wouldn't be a problem, but if she's wrong ... Jimmy, I can't tell you how sore I was all day, I had to take my panties off after second period."

"Excuse me, but you weren't the only one sore today. I was the one you were trying to break it off of, remember? Not that I'm complaining or anything, and I may not have been as uncomfortable as you but it wasn't a cake walk today for me either. I had a competition to run in after all."

She was smiling as I spoke. "All the more reason to wait and experiment some other time... , and you damn well better not be complaining." She moved up against me and said, "You can just hug me for now."

I hugged her tightly, bending down to nuzzle and kiss her neck and Jamie made the switch without incident.

"So where can we do this without anyone getting hurt?" Jamie asked.

"Oh," Allison said. "I hadn't thought of that. The back is all concrete and the neighbors would freak if we went at it in the front yard. Aren't there some basic things we could do, just movements and exercises and stuff?"

We moved things around in the living room to make room and then started some basic stuff. We very quickly discovered that the two of them kept getting in each others way; the best Jamie could do was to show Allison the movements and then retreat back out of the way to let her experiment with them. Allison tried to let Jamie be in control but even then she would automatically react to things like me throwing a punch at her and even though it was only a split second, it was still enough to throw off Jamie's attempts at defense.

After the second time I almost hit her I stopped and said, "Okay, hold up, we need to try something else. Allison, do you mind if Jamie puts you to sleep for a couple minutes?"

"No, of course not," she said with a grin. "I like sleeping with Jamie."

I just rolled my eyes and watched as Jamie took over complete control. The change was subtle and if I hadn't been watching I probably wouldn't have noticed, but there were visible signs, body language, balance, things like that.

"Ready?" I asked.

Without answering she started through a quick series of movements to check her control.

"Oh yeah, this is more like it. Still not the same, but a lot better."

"What's different?" I asked.

"Physiology," she said. "We're in better shape, more muscle, longer reach, and our reaction speed is a lot faster."

"Most of that I expected," I said. "Reaction speed is kind of a surprise. Try putting her in a bubble, completely cut-off and see if that makes a difference."

She paused for a moment and I could see the concentration on her face. "Wow, that's a little different."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure, just felt strange, like there was resistance."

A big red flag went up in my brain. "Jamie, did you have any problem putting her to sleep?"

"No, not at all, I just touched her and told her to go to sleep."

"I wonder if that's because she knew you were there and was going along with you. Jamie, do you think you could have done it if she fought you?"

She nodded her head vigorously. "Oh yeah, definitely. The bubble might have been a little harder if she knew it was coming and fought. It's like the system knows something is wrong whether she is aware of it or not. Her mind doesn't want to give up control. You remember when we had her try to keep me from leaving yesterday? It would have been like that; I could do it but if she fought I might have had to hurt her."

"But you could do it, even if she fought?"

"I know what you're thinking, and yes, I could do it. Just like Peterson at the bank, once I'm in I can take over one way or the other. Daydreams are easier because then they going along with it, but if I had to, yeah, I can put them under or even slap them into a bubble. If I do the bubble they'll know something happened because there is an unexplainable lapse in the stream, if you know what I mean."

"I think I do," I said. "If you keep them in dreams it's like diverting the stream around a rock or other obstruction, but if you put them in the bubble it cuts off the flow like a dam. Even though it starts up again, the mind will still know there was a break."

"Exactly."

"Good to know. You should let her out again; she can't learn anything locked in there. I want to try something later tonight."

"Let me guess," she said with a smile. "I get to merge with her and fight you in a dream? Do you think it will work?"

"Which part?" I asked. I was pretty sure I knew what she was asking but I wanted to be sure we were thinking the same thing.

"Do you think she will be able to retain the knowledge after we're done?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought you meant. I don't know for sure, but I think she will."

"That would be so awesome!" she said excitedly.

"Yeah it would," I agreed. "Bring her out, we need to get the room put back together and get started on dinner."

We told Allison everything that had happened while she was in solitary and she was very excited at the possibilities. I noticed a few odd looks from my mom over dinner, so I guess I wasn't doing such a great job of hiding my stress over talking to Lizzy. But she didn't say anything so I guess it wasn't all that bad either. I breezed through my homework and then spent some time cuddling on the couch with Allison reading Kushiel's Chosen, the next book in the sequence I had started when I began studying Amber's problem. It wasn't really instructive in that area beyond a certain point but it was still an interesting story. Allison was reading something from a new author she had found. It must have been good because she kept laughing out loud at some of the passages. It takes a lot for a serious reader to have a physical reaction to a book and I added it to my list of books to read.

Finally it was time for bed and I was so nervous my palms were sweating as I undressed. Allison just laughed and kissed my cheek before taking her pillow and heading towards her old room.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Jimmy, this is a big night and I thought you two might like to be alone, I mean, like totally."

"Allison, you just spent all that time convincing her that she wasn't stealing me but you're letting her chase you out of my bed?"

"Jimmy, she's not..." she stopped and thought about it. "You're right, that's exactly how she'll see it." She tossed her pillow back on the bed, undressed and slid in next to me. Over me actually, she sleeps between me and the wall so I don't have to disturb her when I get up to run in the mornings. As nervous as I was it took no time at all to fall asleep after she cuddled up next to me.

I realized that what Walter had said before was true. While Allison still woke up in a dream, for me it had become something more along the lines of a shift of consciousness, like I was walking from one world to another. In this case I walked into the big bed in the cabana. As soon as I arrived I knew Lizzy was lying restless in her dorm room, struggling to relax and fall asleep.

I left Allison sleeping and stepped outside onto the beach before reaching out my hand and softly calling, "Elizabeth."

I watched as her body let out a huge sigh and her hand was suddenly in mine. It was like a scene out of a movie; we stared at each other apprehensively for moment and then both began speaking at once.

"Elizabeth, I..." I began, just as she said, "Jimmy, I..."

We both broke off embarrassed, she blushed and I swallowed hard before beginning again.

"Elizabeth, I'm sorry if I upset you..."

She reached quickly and placed a finger over my lips to stop me and then with tears in her eyes she pulled my hand up, kissed it and rubbed her cheek on it before saying, "Yes."

I was so worried that I'd made another mistake that my brain took a second to realize what she had said.

"What did you... ?" It still wasn't registering.

"She said YES you moron!" Jamie yelled at me. "Now kiss her before she takes it back!"

"Yes?" I asked, still shocked at the response. "You said yes?"

She smiled and kissed my hand again, "Yes."

I almost ripped her arm off pulling into my arms. Our lips met and time seemed to stand still around us as we kissed. Allison must have been right about Lizzy doing the same thing she did with emotional energy because I could feel the joy bouncing back and forth between us, growing with each rebound. Suddenly it changed and in my head I could feel Jamie almost convulsing.

"Oh God, Oh, oh ... oh God! Ooohh!" She all but screamed out as a violent orgasm seemed to rush over her. I could feel her writhing and twisting inside of me. In my arms I could feel the sensation mirrored in Elizabeth at the same time, and then we just sort of collapsed onto the sand.

We were just lying there, trying to get our bearings again after the sensations passed when a voice behind me said, "What the hell was that?"

I rolled toward the sound and found Allison standing in the doorway of the cabana with an amazed look on her face.

"She said yes," I said with a smile.

"Really?" Allison asked in a sarcastic tone. "No kidding, I never would have guessed. But what..."

She cut off as my phone rang, it was Bob.

"Hey, Bob," I said, flipping the phone open. What's up?"

"I'm guessing she said yes?"

I could feel the color leave my face. "You're kidding?"

"No, I'm not. Listen, Rebecca is with me and I have to come up with some kind of explanation, do you mind if I break the news?"

I glanced at Lizzy and she was glowing like a stop sign, but the smile went all the way up through her eyes. As usual she could hear the conversation and she just nodded her consent.

"No, go ahead. Sorry about the uh..."

He was still laughing as he closed the phone.

"I don't know how far that actually went," Lizzy said, still smiling but in a more serious tone. "But I think the first one we should officially tell is Amber. I'm sure she is feeling very confused right now."

"Of course," I said, standing up and then pulling her up to stand next to me. "Amber."

I was so used to her appearing demurely at my feet I was unprepared for her entrance. Suddenly there was a blur and something hit me, I almost panicked until I realized I that it was only arms wrapping around me and we weren't under attack by giant squid or anything. Just as suddenly she was pulling away and dropping to her knees, eyes dropping down and away.

"Oh, Master! I'm sorry, but I felt your joy, and I was just so happy for you, and I..."

"No Amber, you don't need to apologize. I am glad you shared my joy in this because it is a joy that will continue, and it is a joy that you will share in with me. Rise, I wish you to meet your new Mistress."

Her head snapped up and when she saw Lizzy she practically leaped back to her feet. "Oh my G ... Really! I..."

It was apparent she was struggling with the proper form of expression. Lizzy realized the problem, reached up, and pulled the collar from around Amber's neck. I was surprised for a moment but then realized that I had just named her as Amber's Mistress so she was within her rights. Angela's hand rose to her throat and she stared in wonder at the length of leather in Lizzy's hand. The next thing I knew she had swept in and scooped the smaller girl up in her arms, spinning her around.

"Oh my God! This is so cool! I prayed it would be you." She set Lizzy back on her feet and kissed her before turning to Allison. "I'm sorry Allison; I love you too, but..."

"Don't bother," Allison said, holding up her hand to stop her from gushing any more. "I totally understand and agree. Besides, this doesn't change anything as far as you and I are concerned, does it? I mean really?"

Angela grinned and glanced at me; I just grinned back and shook my head. She turned back to Allison and said, "No, I guess it doesn't." Tears began falling down her face. "I'm so happy I just don't know what to..."

Allison cut her off again, "Well, I certainly have an idea," she said, glancing at Lizzy and me. "With your permission of course -- I'm sure you two have some things to talk about, would you mind if Amber kept me company?"

"Absolutely," Lizzy said, stepping in and putting the collar back on. "Amber, we are giving you to Allison for the night, all the usual rules and conditions apply, she does not know your safe word, you may give it to her or not, it is your choice, but should you speak it after you leave us..."

"I understand, Mistress. Thank you." She paused for a moment and then knelt before continuing, "Mistress, may I kiss you?"

"Of course, Amber," she released my hand and moved to Amber, kissing her gently, then with more force as they got used to each other. I thought Amber was going to explode when Lizzy reached down and began massaging her breast through her dress. There were tears in her eyes again as Lizzy stepped back and there was no doubt-- Amber was very happy as Lizzy drew her to her feet and handed her off to Allison, who surprised us all by attaching a gold leash to her collar. As soon as the clasp snapped shut the collar changed to a band of gold with large pointed spikes sticking out of it. She gave us a wink before leading her new slave away. I had a feeling it was going to be an interesting night for the both of them.

I gave Lizzy's hand a gently tug and said, "Come on, I know just the place." The air shimmered and suddenly she was wearing that diaphanous dress I had seen her in before, with a garland of white blossoms woven into her hair, and we were walking along a stone pathway, through a quiet garden, toward a beautiful gazebo. I stopped just before we reached the steps.

"Just a moment," I said, and then I stepped away from Jamie. "Do you mind?" I asked. "I'd kind of like to be alone for this."

She had a strange look on her face, the same look she had had last night when I had done this, but she quickly smiled and said, "Sure, no problem."

I could feel the bubble forming, the wall moving toward us to take her away when Lizzy suddenly said, "Wait." I glanced at her and could see worry in her eyes as she looked at Jamie. "What is it, Jamie? What's wrong?"

I figured she was feeling left out, "I'm sorry, Jamie, if you'd rather stay..." but Lizzy cut me off saying, "No that's not it. Jimmy, she was afraid. Just for a second I could see her fear." She stepped up and put her hand on Jamie's cheek. "What's wrong, Jamie? Why are you afraid?"

Jamie didn't answer, I could see her looking at me with a pained expression, and there was a longing in her eyes. Then it hit me.

"I know what it is," I said. "You said before that where I could live without her, she would die without me. Jamie is afraid, very afraid that someday she may do something truly awful and I will not take her back. We've seen her step out of me many times, last night I did something I'd never done before; I walked away from her instead of her leaving me." I could see enlightenment dawning in Lizzy's eyes.

I moved in and hugged my sister close to me. "That's it isn't it? My being able to walk away from you scares you."

She hugged me back for a moment and then said softly, "I didn't know you could do that." There was a pause and I felt a wet spot forming on my shirt. "Please don't do it again."

I stroked and kissed her hair and whispered, "I won't. Or at least I'll try not to, if it's an emergency or something then all bets are off, but I'll trust you to understand if that happens."

She laughed a little, "Well, duh. If lives are at stake you do what you need to do."

Lizzy moved in close again. "Jamie, you don't ever need to hide from us. God made you this way for a reason and we love you just the way you are. If something bothers you, please just tell us. You are a part of Jimmy, and now you will be a part of me, your pain is our pain and no one likes to be hurt." She stepped back and smiled. "And now that I've said all that do you mind terribly if I steal your brother away for some time alone?"

Jamie smiled and hugged her. An eye-blink later she was waving up at us out of a miniature version of the garden we were standing in. Then the bubble moved away, drifting off down the path like an over-sized will-o-the-wisp. Just as it passed around a corner there was a flare of light and a cloud of fairies exploded out from the surface and began flitting around the garden.

"I just love her," Lizzy said.

"Yeah, me too -- thanks for catching that, I knew something was bothering her but I never imagined it was that."

We walked through the garden for a small eternity, talking about the future and how to make sure we didn't become a statistic of teenage matrimony. There were the added complications of her need to fulfill God's purpose through her gift. She tried to explain that for her, it was not always a choice. When she was drawn to someone with a serious problem, like Sheriff Dobbs and the girl at her school who was ready to take her own life, she had to act.

I assured her that I wasn't worried about it. I had never been threatened by or had any seconds thoughts about my lovers having sex with someone else. With Amber and Allison already in the mix, it was pretty clear already that ours would be an unusual union.

"What about that pizza delivery boy I saw you with. I wasn't sure that kid was going to survive."

"Ritchey?" she giggled. "He's okay; he just needed a little encouragement, a little kick in the self esteem and confidence to keep him going. That boy is going to go places; I've already got money set aside to invest in anything he so much as touches. He's fine now."

"What do you mean?"

"You know how you being with Angela opened a lot of eyes around school?"

"Ah, I see. Suddenly a lot of girls were wondering what you saw that they didn't?"

"Not a lot, but the right ones. You remember that girl I told you was going to kill herself?"

"Of course, you're saying he's the boyfriend she ended up with?"

She flicked an eyebrow and smiled. "Kind of makes it all worth while when something like that happens." She got serious before continuing, "I've seen lives change, Jimmy, I'm proud to be able to say I've been a part of that change."

"I understand," I said, kissing her hand. I was about to go on when my phone rang. Without thinking I reached and answered it. That should have been my first clue -- that and the fact that the night had been going entirely to well. I should have known better.

Like I said I reached and answered the phone, in my room.

I answered it without thinking, "Hello?"

Reality roared in when I heard Britney's voice on the other end of the line, she was crying, and scared, "Jimmy? Jimmy it's Britney, I..."

Her voice faded away and a man's voice came on the line. The voice was straight out of a bad movie, heavy, with that accent they always use for Russian bad guys and stuff, "We have the girl, do exactly what I say or you will never see her again. First, be very quiet, we would not want you to disturb your family. Do not turn off your phone for any reason. Get dressed, nothing fancy, just throw something on and proceed out your front door. There is a car waiting to pick you up. You have two minutes."

I thanked Allison and Shannon for our long hours of work learning to work simultaneously in reality while still technically asleep and dreaming. It had made the difference in saving Angela before and it was about to make the difference again. Long before 'Boris' had finished his little speech I had already finished one of my own.

I'm not sure where she was but I spoke into Jamie's bubble, "Jamie, go find Allison, get her up and tell her to call Rod and let him know what is going on. Then find Walter and join me." She didn't answer but I felt the bubble pop.

"No problem," I answered. "I'll be out in less than two minutes. Can I ask your name?"

"Do not be smart-ass; you do not need to know my name."

"No," I answered as I pulled on my jeans, "I don't need your name, for now I'll just call you Boris. I'll make you a deal Boris. Let the girl go right now, just tell her it was all a mistake and walk away. Do it now and I'll go easy on you. If she's still there when I get there, I'm going to be very unhappy and you are going to wish you'd taken the easy way out."

Behind me on the bed I could feel Allison scrambling free of the covers and then she was headed out the door to her room to get dressed. I felt Elizabeth take my hand and realized part of me was still in the dream with her. I focused on her for a moment and when I did she gasped and turned away. I guess focusing on her had put enough of me back in the dream for her to see that something was seriously wrong. She couldn't know what it was but along with everything else she must have seen my resolve. When she turned back there were tears in here eyes but I could tell that they were not there because she was sad or hurt.

"Go," she said, kissing my hand. "I love you." And then she was gone.

Boris was speaking again, "So cocky you are for such a runt of a boy. Come to me tough guy, and do not worry, I will not hurt your little friend. Maybe I keep her happy until you get here; I never have a dark one before."

I would have expected a flare of anger but instead my whole body seemed to go still and I could almost feel the chill in my voice as I said, "Listen to me very carefully, Boris. I don't know what you and your playmates want, or why you're interested in me, but whatever it is, that girl is not a part of it. She is an innocent, and I really don't like it when innocent people get hurt. If you harm her in any way, any way at all, you will beg for death long before you die, do you understand me?"

I had him. I don't know if it was because he was with Britney or not, but sometime during the conversation I got a fix on him. In a heartbeat my dream self transitioned to his location. It was obvious why he wasn't afraid-- he was a big boy, all of six feet, probably between two hundred and two-ten and none of it was fat. He was wearing tan Dockers, a dark green polo shirt and black loafers. Obviously not expecting trouble if he was wearing loafers. You didn't risk losing a shoe in the middle of a fight; it might cause you to trip or turn an ankle. Those kinds of mishaps could get you killed. He was sitting on the edge of a table staring down at Britney, who was blindfolded and tied to a chair. I could see the tears running down her face. There were two others in the room. Actually it didn't look like a room, more like a warehouse.

Britney was wearing her running clothes. They must have taken her after practice on her way home. Considering how late it was, her parents must be freaking out by now. In fact, I was surprised they hadn't called me. I mean, calling the boyfriend is the normal response when your teenage daughter didn't come home.

As I watched he reached out and stroked her cheek. She gasped and jerked her head away.

"Uh-uh, Boris, no touching."

As I said it I was pulling the belt tight on my jeans and sitting down on my bed to put on my tennis shoes.

His head snapped up and he grabbed his gun. Across the room the other two came to attention. Oh-yeah, I had his attention now. Realizing what he had done he set the gun down and chuckled.

"I am going to enjoy meeting you, little boy, but I don't think you enjoy it so much."

"No Boris, I'm not going to enjoy it, I'm going to do what needs to be done. You've got it backwards, Boris, I'm not coming to you, I'm coming for you. You, and your two playmates, and anyone else that stands between me and getting that innocent girl home to her family." His eyes snapped to the door and he stood up, turning to survey the room. I saw him swallow hard as I headed for my bedroom door.

As quietly as I could I crept down the hall towards the kitchen. As I passed Allison's door it opened and I handed her my other phone. I could see Jamie's ghostly form standing behind her looking really angry.

When I got to the kitchen I opened our junk drawer. You know, the one you stick all the odds and ends in, every kitchen has one. I had been searching for a pen a week or so earlier and run across a short piece of wire left over from something my dad was doing with the stove. It was solid core two-twenty copper wire. I cut off a six inch piece with the cutters he had conveniently not bothered to put away. He was going to be looking for them one of these days and wonder why they weren't in his toolbox. A quick second with a paring knife and I had the bare ground wire out and slipped it between my belt and jeans on my left hip, trusting the tension to keep it in place until I needed it. There was a folding pocket knife in the drawer and I smiled as I slipped it into my back pocket.

"I'm going out the front door now Boris and your friends are going to bring me to you. How long do you think it will take to get there, ten minutes? Twenty? You have two choices how you use the time; let the girl go, or make your peace with God."

Boris was starting to look seriously nervous; his eyes darting around the room and his hand fingering the gun nervously.

"You do not frighten me."

"Of course not, but you better make sure the safety is on that gun before you shoot yourself and save me the trouble." He dropped the gun on the table like it had bitten him and stepped back, spinning around to see the whole room. I closed the front door behind me gently and headed down the walkway. Two houses down, across the street, a man started walking toward me; I could see the silhouette of another in the car behind him. I met him in the middle of the street and handed him the phone.

"Say goodbye to your friend, so he'll know I've kept up my end."

He looked at me strangely but took the phone, "It's me, I got him. See you in ten." He turned the phone off and tossed it past me into my front yard, then took my arm and steered me towards the car. Once we were there he took me to the passenger side.

"Stand still, hands on top of your head, don't move or I'll have to hurt you."

He patted me down quickly, finding the knife as I expected him to, taking it out of my pocket with a snort of laughter. "Cute, what were you going to do with this?" I didn't answer, just stood quietly waiting for what was to come next. Right on cue he snapped a handcuff on my right wrist and pulled my arm down behind me, then pulled my left arm down and snapped the other cuff on. He then moved me to the back door, opened it and pushed my head down. "Watch your head."

"Thank you," I said, sliding into the back seat. I expected him to climb in next to me, but instead he closed the door and got into the front. In the darkness of the back seat I smiled, retrieved the wire from my belt and quietly began picking my handcuffs, offering up a silent thank you to Rod for introducing me to Carter Malloy as I worked. My right hand was free before we reached the first signal. Now the fun part.



-------

Chapter 58: Now You've Done It


"Are we there yet?" I asked ... again.

"No!" the man in front of me screamed. "Damn it kid I swear to God, if you ask that one more time..."

In the darkness of the back seat he couldn't see the smile in my eyes. "Are we there yet?"

"Pull over Dean," he barked.

The driver ignored him.

"If' he's Dean, does that make you Jerry? " I asked with a smile. "No wait, Jerry was the funny one and you don't seem to have much of a sense of humor. He can't pull over, Jerry, you have to get me there in one piece or someone is going to be very unhappy with you. Are we there yet?"

The other thing they couldn't see was that my cuffs were off and neatly tucked into the crack of the back seat to keep them from rattling. As I did my best to irritate my two playmates I was twisting the copper wire to fit around my finger. It wasn't a pretty ring but this wasn't a fashion show.

Dean pulled out a cell phone and hit a button. "Two minutes." He closed the phone.

"Are we there yet?"

"Are you fucking deaf?" Jerry yelled. "Two minutes! Just keep your fucking mouth shut for two minutes."

Apparently I had been right about the warehouse; we were heading into the commercial section of Colton. I closed my eyes and felt the line connecting me to my dream self pull tight. Soon.

"Are we there..."

Jerry spun in the seat and screamed, "Shut up! Jesus Christ, I swear to God if you don't..."

"Are we there yet?" I yelled back. In the rear view mirror Dean's eyes snapped to mine.

I jerked my eyes to the road ahead, ducked and yelled, "Look out!"

Dean slammed on the brake without thinking; there was nothing there but he didn't know that. As two heads snapped around to the front of the car I popped the release on my seat belt and let the braking momentum carry me forward, twisting my body as I went to bring my right arm up and across my body.

Dean apparently caught the motion out of the corner of his eye and yelled, my other playmate was starting to turn his head but my arm was already coming back, the elbow catching the side of his head and driving it hard into the B-pillar.

Don't feel bad if you don't know what that is, I didn't either until I started studying with Wheels Omstead; it's the vertical cross member between the front and rear doors. It usually has a thin piece of plastic or vinyl covering it for cosmetic reasons but it's still a reinforced steel column and Jerry's head was trapped between it and my elbow, twice. I didn't wait to see the results but was already in motion, punching forward to drive two three-quarter inch copper fangs deep into the side of Dean's neck, aiming for the large muscle about two inches below his ear. He screamed and the car swerved but he kept it under control. Grabbing the shoulder belt I pulled it up around his neck and under the edge of the headrest. A quick yank with my left hand pulled it tight across his throat. I brandished the bloody ring where he could see it, then moved it toward his right eye.

"Both hands on the wheel; and drive to the warehouse." Another tug on the seatbelt convinced him he didn't have a choice. When we were about a hundred yards out I had him stop and turn off the engine. This was when it got tricky, now that he didn't have the distraction of driving. I held the wire fangs against is throat just below where the seatbelt constricted his windpipe, right over the point where I could see his pulse hammering to the accelerated rhythm of his heart.

"I don't want to have to kill you, Dean, and if you don't struggle I promise you will wake up with nothing more than a headache and stiff neck. The bleeding has already stopped by the way, although you may want to make sure you're up to date on your tetanus booster. Now, I'm going to pull the seatbelt tighter and you're going to pass out for a few minutes, do you understand?"

He held my eye for a moment, looking hard. I guess he found what he was looking for as he closed his eyes and gave the slightest of nods, all he could do with the seatbelt biting into his neck anyway. I pulled harder on the seatbelt and his body tensed before he forced himself to relax. Not long after that he relaxed even more, his body doing it's best to slump down in the seat. I checked his pulse and it was a little weak but still there. I didn't want him waking up too soon so I kept the tension on the seat belt as I reached to recover the handcuffs.

Sixty seconds later, two sets of hands were cuffed to the steering wheel; Dean's all the way through and Jerry's just dangling from the chain, convenient that Dean had his own set. I closed the trunk with the keys and both of their guns inside. I had used my shirt to quickly wipe down the guns and any part of the car I may have touched, including the handcuffs and was slipping it back on as I moved toward the warehouse. It didn't take long to find the door they had left unlocked.

Knowing that all three of the bad guys were in the same room I was free to roam around and plan my next move.

Inside the big room Boris was getting restless.

"Jamie, things are going to get interesting here in about sixty seconds. I'd like you to merge with Britney and put her to sleep. As stressed as she is, you'll probably have to stay with her."

"You sure you don't need me?"

"No, I got it."

I put the finishing touches on the surprise I had rigged outside the door, used Dean's phone to send a text message to Rod with the address, and then waited. Right on schedule the horn on Dean's car started blaring. My dream self watched as the two bad guys in the big room with Boris headed outside. Not expecting any trouble inside the building, they crossed the entryway and hit the outer door at a run. The two large rocks just outside stopped the door and they crashed together and bounced back. I was already behind them with the baseball bat I had found in the manager's office. Swinging hard I caught the first one with a solid blow in the upper arm, the force of the blow shattering bone and driving him sideways. He screamed in pain and the gun he was holding flew from his grasp and went spinning across the floor. Without waiting to see if he stayed down I drove the end of bat into the solar plexus of his partner who had spun around to see what was going on. Air whooshed out of him and he did his best not to double over, struggling to bring his gun to bear. Dropping the bat I slapped the gun away, slammed the edge of my hand into his throat, drove my instep sideways down and across the closest knee then grabbed the back of his head as he fell driving my knee upward to meet his descending face. I didn't wait for him to fall. Picking up the bat again, I turned to see what had become of his partner. I found him clutching his broken arm while trying to crawl toward his fallen gun. He was still a couple feet away when I kicked it across the floor and tapped him lightly in the temple with the bat. I was pretty sure neither of them ever even saw my face, at least not long enough to make out any details. A quick search revealed neither was carrying a second gun, though one had a knife, which I used to cut a square of cloth from his shirt. I wiped the knife clean and tossed it out the door into the darkness. Retrieving the two guns I ejected the clips, cleared the rounds in the chamber threw all the ammunition out into the darkness with the knife. I then gave both guns a quick wipe and then threw them towards the far end of the lobby.

Inside, Boris, who had been pacing, finally got impatient and hit a button on his phone. Seconds later Dean's phone began vibrating in my pocket.

Walking calmly across the lobby I clicked the receive button and listened as he shouted, "What in hell is going on?"

"Hello Boris, you sound nervous. You should have taken my advice and let the girl go. Your friend Dean is okay but the rest are going to need medical attention. It's just you and me, Boris. If I give you one last chance to walk away will you take it?"

This was the tricky part. Inside the room my dream self put a hand on Boris' shoulder and I started painting a picture for him.

"I've got two of your people handcuffed to the steering wheel of their car—if you listen closely you can still hear one of them on the horn..." I could feel it starting, " ... these other two didn't do so well. The taller one was still looking for all the pieces of his arm when I put him down. The other one ... well the knee might heal on its own, but he'll be easy to spot walking in a crowd, but that's okay, they're going to have to rebuild his face anyway. Did your cleaning deposit cover blood?

"So here I am, standing in the lobby in my black shirt and jeans, talking to you on your partner's cell phone, and you still think you're going to walk out of this in one piece."

Bingo! Boris had been building the picture in his mind, and with that last little bit the vision took on a life of its own, and as soon as it did, I grabbed it and ran.

"You disappoint me, Boris. I wouldn't think a man like you would need to hide behind an innocent girl. We'll do it your way, but remember, I gave you the choice. As for hurting Britney, you remember what I said before, and that everything else I've told you has already come true. You're the last one between me and her. I'm going to count to five and open the door. Do yourself a favor and don't be there when it opens. Five..."

It really wasn't a fair warning. I had no intention of letting him get away. Boris was in charge; either he was behind the people who were following me -- the people who had kidnapped Britney, or he knew who was. Rod should be well on his way by now and he would make sure no one killed this one. By the time I hit one he was so deep in the dream I had created he never stood a chance.

" ... One," I said and then my dream self whispered in his ear, "Sleep."

Boris never even felt his body hit the floor. As far as he was concerned he was still standing next to Britney's bound and blindfolded form. Across the room the door to the lobby area opened and a teenage boy entered. Since he already knew who I was there was no point in switching to my usual dream disguise.

I closed the door and walked slowly into the room. When I was about ten feet in I stopped and raised my hands, slowly turning in place to show that I was unarmed. The big man's gun never left me from the moment I entered the room.

When I once more faced him, I finally spoke, "You should have left when you had the chance Boris. But I'm glad you stayed. Now you're going to tell me what this is all about, who you are, why you've been following me, and most importantly, who you're working for."

I started walking towards the big man. When I was about five feet away he growled, "That is far enough. Get down to your knees and put your hands on the top of your head."

"No," I said.

I think that's what they call a sneer.

"Get down on your knees now," he growled.

"Or what?"

He moved the gun and aimed it at Britney's right knee. "Now!" he yelled. "Or I shoot."

I smiled, "Shoot who? Walter? You shoot him and you're likely to make him mad, and he's not happy with you already. Are you Walter?"

"No my Lord," a deep gravely voice replied. "I most certainly am not."

Boris' head snapped to the figure in the chair, jumping back as he found Walter's nightmare form staring back at him.

With no apparent effort Walter stood, the ropes binding him snapping and falling away. Boris fired two shots as Walter rose, staring in disbelief as the bullets tore through the hairy flesh with no apparent effect.

"He's all yours Walter." I turned and walked back out.

Inside the warehouse I was actually busy with Britney. I'd had Jamie wake her up as soon as I put Boris to sleep.

"Britney, it's Jimmy," I said as I touched her shoulder.

"Jimmy!" she cried. "Oh my God, Jimmy, no, you shouldn't have come..."

"Shhh," I interrupted, touching a finger to her lips. "Don't be afraid, it's okay, I'm fine and I'll have you free in a minute. Then we'll get out of here." I suddenly regretted tossing that knife out the door. "Just a second," I said. "I'll be right back."

"Jimmy! Please don't leave me," she cried, struggling against her bonds.

"Easy, easy," I said, touching her arm again. "I'm right here; I just need to find something to cut this tape and these ropes with. "Here, this will help." I untied the blindfold, being careful not to pull her hair.

She blinked against the light and then looked around, taking in her surroundings and giving a start when she saw Boris' body sprawled on the floor.

"Jimmy, how did you... ?"

"Doesn't matter," I said, moving to search Boris. I found a small pocket knife and started cutting away Britney's restraints. Once her hands were free I handed her the knife and asked, "Can you do the rest? I need to make a call."

Pulling Dean's phone from my pocket I called Rod.

I was surprised when Rebecca's voice answered, "Hello?"

"Rebecca? It's me. Where are you?"

"Hauling ass down the I-10," her voice faded for a second and I heard her say, "that's our exit." Then she returned her attention to me. "If this fat Mexican doesn't kill us first we'll be there in two minutes. What's the situation?"

"Two in the car out front, two in the lobby; a couple are going to need medical attention but they're all alive. I've got the boss in here with us. He's not going anywhere, but I need a way out of here and we've got to get Britney home. I don't know what we're going to tell her parents. I'm sure they called the police hours ago and..."

"No," Britney interrupted. "They had me call home first and tell them not to. They said that if everything went well I would be home in the morning, unharmed, but that if they called the police they'd kill me."

"I heard her," Rebecca said. "You lead a charmed life, Matthews. Obviously you're dealing with professionals that wanted to keep things quiet as long as possible. No one is even going to know you were involved."

"You're wrong, but we'll talk about it when you get here. Meanwhile, you still need to figure out how to get us out of here, you only have one car and obviously you'll have to stay here for a while to clean this mess up."

"How far is it to your house?" She asked.

"Maybe ten minutes?"

I could hear them talking for a moment.

"Do you want her father to know you were involved?"

"Yes."

"Really?" she sounded surprised. "Then once we've secured your playmates I'll take you to get your truck. Then we'll drop the car off with Rod and you and I can take her home. It would be better if no one knew I was here anyway. We've got some serious talking to do before the night is over; this shit has officially just gotten deep."

"I understand," I said.

"I don't think you do, but we'll add that to the list of things we need to discuss later. We're here, is that guy leaning on the horn part of this?"

"Yeah, his name's Dean. He and his partner brought me. I'll tell you about that later. I need to talk to Britney."

I closed the phone and turned to face my friend. She had finished cutting herself free and was standing picking the tape carefully away from her wrists while she waited for me to be done. As soon as I pushed the button to end the call she stopped what she was doing, flew into my arms, and hugged me tightly. I thought she was doing pretty well but then she began to shake. I put my arms around her and held her, rocking her slightly as she cried against my neck. One of the things we had covered in psychology was the calming effect that rocking had on people and animals.

"Thank you," she said when the sobs had faded far enough to speak. "Thank you for coming. Jimmy I was so scared. I was waiting for my mom to pick me up after practice. I didn't even notice the guy walking up to me but then suddenly there was a gun in my side and the car pulled up and he told me to get in. As soon as I got in they shoved me down in the seat and put this hood over my head. I thought for sure they were going to ... you know" I nodded. " ... but then they brought me here and sat me in this chair..."

I pushed her back a little and asked, "Did they hurt you?" I started working at the tape again while she talked.

"No, they just tied me to the chair and stuff, and then I heard them call my house and talk to my dad. They had me say hello and tell him it was me, then they told him I was safe and that as long as he did exactly what they told him I wouldn't be harmed and they would let me go in the morning. After that they pretty much just ignored me. A while later I told them I needed to go to the bathroom and they walked me somewhere. Ow!" she said as I yanked the tape off of one wrist.

"Sorry, you were saying?"

"I thought they would at least cut my hands loose but the next thing I know I'm being pushed backward into this stall and someone pulls my shorts and stuff down and pushes me down on the seat. I thought I was going to die of embarrassment and it took me forever to go. He didn't get mad or impatient or anything, just stood there and waited. He didn't even go outside, just stood there in the doorway of the stall. I know because when I was done he just stood me back up, dabbed me off with a piece of toilet paper, pulled my panties and shorts back up and then brought me back out and tied me back in that damn chair. He was actually kind of nice about the whole thing. Then it got real quiet for a long time and I wasn't sure what was going on. I got real scared and started yelling and the guy with the accent came in and told me to shut up. Then he told me he was going to call my boyfriend and let me say hello and then I knew it was you they were after. Jimmy, I'm sorry, I..."

"No," I said, stopping her. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Britney, it's me that should be apologizing, for letting you get caught up in this. Britney, you can't see me any more."

"What? Jimmy, you caught them, why can't I..."

"No," I said. "We caught some of them, we still don't know who is behind this or why they are so interested in me. Britney, this was a test."

"What? What do ... Ow! Damn. You could warn a girl you know, that shit hurts!" She rubbed her arm where I had just ripped the last of the tape away. "What do you mean it was a test?"

"He means," a deep voice said. "That they used you as bait." I looked and saw Rod walking toward us from the lobby area. "Hello, Miss Cotton. My name is Samuel Rodriquez; I'm with the Los Angeles Office of the FBI. I didn't catch it all, but I'm guessing young Jimmy here was explaining why you can't see him any more?"

"Yes sir," something in her voice screamed respect and intimidation --I think it's an FBI thing, "but I don't understand..."

"Neither do we," Rod said, cutting her off. "That's the problem. We don't know what's going on. We don't know who these people are or why they seem to be so interested in Jimmy. Before he spotted them in Arrowhead we didn't even know they were following him. Based on what Jimmy found, it was clearly intended to be some kind of kidnap attempt. Unfortunately our only suspect died before we could question him."

Britney shot me a look, obviously shocked to hear someone had actually been killed. I nodded that yes, I knew about it and her eyes got wide before turning back to Rod.

"Don't worry, Miss Cotton, it had nothing to do with anything that Jimmy did to him. Someone just didn't want him talking to us. After that it appears their interest changed. They've been following Jimmy ever since. He spotted them the other night when he took you home and we tried again to catch them. Looking back I think that may have been a mistake because that showed them that we were watching him as well."

Another voice came from the entry as Rebecca joined us. "That's probably why they kidnapped you," Rebecca said. "They figured we were watching him so they had to make him come to them without giving him a chance to contact anyone. Obviously that didn't work."

"You're the one that was looking for Angela," Britney said. "You got Jimmy into all this."

Rebecca glanced at me before continuing. "Not exactly," she said. "It's a long story and I can't tell you most of it anyway, but we don't think that has anything to do with what's happening now. All we know is that for reasons we can't figure out, someone is very interested in Jimmy. Up to now we've been letting things go to try and keep others from noticing and wondering why. That's all about to change. Jimmy?"

I nodded.

"I'm beginning to agree with Bex, Jimmy," Rod said. "You really do lead a charmed life. That little problem at your school blew up earlier this evening. Local PD arrested one of the security people at your school stashing drugs in that locker. A search warrant turned up more drugs at his house. He's being very co-operative at this point which gives us the excuse we need."

"I understand," I said. Shit. "You have people coming?"

"Yes," Rod said. "It would be best if you weren't here when they got here, it would raise questions."

I nodded again. "Alright, let's get going. Britney, Rebecca and I are going to take you home. You're going to need to pack some things."

"Pack? What are you talking about?"

"Miss Cotton, you and your family, are in danger," Rod said. "Whoever these people are, they risked kidnapping you to see if Jimmy would come after you. He did. That labels you as important. It actually would have been better if he hadn't; if he had just left you here I'm sure they would have done exactly as they said and sent you home in the morning, unharmed. So while they did want Jimmy, like he said, this was also a test. They wanted to see if you were important enough to him that he would try to get you back, which apparently you are; and they wanted to see if he actually could get you back, which he did. I would bet you any amount of money you'd care to name that these guys are not calling the shots; they're just doing a job. It's whoever is in charge we have to be worried about, and that means that until we find out who they are and stop them, you, and your family are in danger. Kidnapping is a Federal crime and carries a very stiff penalty; you're a minor, which makes it even worse, and you're female; that's strike three in any courtroom. None of that stopped them. It also didn't work, so they'll have to try something else, or at the very least, try it again. So as of tonight, you're all being placed in protective custody."

"What?"

"Jimmy's family too," Rebecca added. "You'll all be moved to safe locations until the threat is over."

"I'm sorry Britney, I didn't know..." I began.

"Sorry?" she said, cutting me off. "You're sorry? Jimmy, what am I going to tell my parents?"

"The official story is that drug dealers were after Jimmy for helping the cops set them up," Rebecca said. "When they couldn't find him, they grabbed you because you were his girlfriend. An undercover agent followed Jimmy here when he came to get you. Agents raided the building and got you both out safely and you've all been moved to a safe location. It would be best if you didn't tell anyone what really happened. Come on, Jimmy, let's go get your truck and get her home. We've got a long night ahead of us." She looked over at Boris, who was actually twitching on the floor. "Is he going to be okay?"

I closed my eyes and looked inside the bubble. Walter was hunting Boris through the surrounding warehouse district. Boris was scratched and bleeding, doing his best to scramble quietly through the shadows in what was left of his torn clothes. I realized I was going to have to let him forget all this and make up a more plausible scenario for how he got captured. With a thought I put him into a deep sleep.

"Playtime's over Walter, sorry."

"As am I, my Lord," he said, stepping from behind a nearby dumpster. "Creatures such as this brings justification to my creation."

"Glad you enjoyed yourself, but I'm going to have to bury the memory of this and create something reasonable to explain his being captured for when he wakes up. The whole thing may come in handy later though. If I get the chance, I'd like to show you to him later and see if he wets himself."

I returned my attention to the troops back in the warehouse and said, "He should be fine, probably sleep long enough to get him someplace you can talk to him. He's got a strong Eastern block accent, sounds like something out of a bad movie but you won't have any trouble understanding him."

"Assuming he talks at all," Rod said. I looked at him and held his eye for a moment. He raised an eyebrow but didn't pursue it.

Britney was looking confused so I just said, "Remind him what his friends did to the last guy you caught, and that at the moment, you're the only one's keeping him alive. You can always offer to take him to the Hospital."

Rod got a chuckle out of that. I handed him Dean's phone and said, "This belongs to the guy driving the car, you may want to see about getting the calls I made taken out of the system before someone finds out about them. There will also be a record of the call he made to my phone, if you can't get rid of that one, let me know so I can get one with a different number." I took Britney's hand and said, "Let's get you home."

As we were getting into the car she said, "So I guess this means we're breaking up?"

For some reason Rebecca thought that was funny.

Rebecca and I were debating over whether to call ahead and tell the Cotton's their little girl was safe or just knock on the door. On the one hand, at a time like this, everyone dreaded that knock on the door; on the other, we didn't want a scene in the front yard. Suddenly Britney whispered something in my ear and I started laughing. I was sitting in the back seat with her, enjoying what would likely be our last moments together for a very long time.

"What's so funny?" Rebecca asked, eyes on the rear view mirror.

"I was just wondering if it would be easier for me to just use my key and let us in." Britney said.

Suddenly Rebecca was laughing along with us. "Now there's a novel idea. You'll have to forgive me, Britney; we don't often get to rescue the girl in a way that she gets to keep her purse." She pulled out her cell phone and dialed. "This is Special Agent Hampton, I need local PD and a relocation team at the following address in..."

Ben Cotton was halfway across the room by the time the door opened. Despite the lead his wife managed to beat him to his daughter. You hear stories about stepmothers who are jealous of their stepdaughters, trust me, not the case here. Tears were flowing freely before Ben Cotton even hit the pile, wrapping his big around them both and weeping openly. Eventually the pile moved back far enough to allow us to step inside and close the door. Shortly after that we moved to the living room. The noise at the front door had awakened the two younger children, who arrived just as we were sitting down, wondering what all the noise was about.

Britney took the kids back to their rooms while Rebecca introduced herself and began telling them the official version of the story.

It didn't take long for Ben to go from tearful to furious.

"Mr. Cotton, I'm sorry..." I began.

He exploded, rounding on me and yelling "Sorry! You're sorry? You put my daughter at risk! She was kidnapped, Lord only knows what could have happened if the FBI hadn't ... You stay the hell away from my daughter or..."

"No!" Britney's voice came from the hallway. "Daddy it wasn't like that."

"Britney Michelle..." he began.

"She's right," Rebecca interrupted. "My fault, I was rushing through the official version."

"The official version?" Mr. Cotton said, suddenly sound suspicious. "In my experience 'the official version' is what you put out..."

"When you can't tell the truth," Rebecca finished for him. "The truth is we don't know who these people are or why they are after Jimmy. The drug story is plausible and convenient based on a bust at his High School earlier today. It will stand up to the media when they start crawling all over the place. We won't be releasing names so hopefully it will be a while before they figure it out, but you know the media, sooner or later someone is going to figure out who we're hiding. Before I go any further, there is something I think you should know Mr. Cotton, but before I tell you, it's important that it not leave this room."

She stopped and waited until both of Britney's parents had nodded their understanding.

"The truth is the FBI didn't save your daughter, Jimmy did. We got there after it was all over."

When he turned to face me this time, there was a whole new respect in Mr. Cotton's eyes.

"As for staying away from your daughter, he already made that decision. He already told her what I'm about to tell you. Mr. Cotton, until we can figure out who is after Jimmy and why, your family is still in danger. So as of tonight, we're putting you all into protective custody, Jimmy's family too. My next stop is at his house to break the bad news to them. I'm going to have to ask you to stick to the story we've given you if anyone asks."

"What? I can't just leave, I have a job, a family to provide for, I..."

"Benjamin," Mrs. Cotton said softly, placing her hand on his. "Benjamin, you're right, you have a family, a whole family, and you need to focus on that. Come, we need to pack, and then we need to get the children ready."

He stood looking at her for a moment, a shocked expression on his face, but then he dropped his eyes and nodded before hugging her tightly and reaching once more for his daughter.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cotton," Rebecca said. "The relocation team is already on the way and the local police should be outside by now. They'll make sure no one disturbs you. Mr. Cotton, I'm sorry this is necessary but..."

"No," he said softly. "No, my wife is right, we need to just be thankful that we got her back safe. Jimmy, I'm sorry for blowing up at you."

"Don't be," I said. "The truth is I spotted someone following me on our first date. I should have realized then that she was in danger and not seen her again. You were right; I put her at risk, and I'm sorry this has all happened, but I'm kind of new at this."

"Jimmy, you're sixteen, you didn't know that at the time, no one did," Rebecca said. "Come on, we have to go ruin your parent's night." She looked at her watch. "Morning actually."

The Cotton's rose and escorted us to the door. A black and white was parked across the street. Before we left Mrs. Cotton kissed my cheek and said, "Thank you for bringing our baby home safe. I never doubted she would be safe when she was out with you."

I went straight to the truck while Rebecca said a few words to the uniforms across the street, then we headed back to my house. We argued most of the way there. She doesn't like losing.

I was really not looking forward to breaking the news to my parents.

I didn't have to. Allison was way ahead of us and mom and dad were already packed.

"What went wrong?" Mom asked Rebecca. She wasn't happy about the move, about having to put her whole life, work, and everything else on hold for an undetermined about of time.

"We don't know, Cindy," Rebecca said, shaking her head. "We don't even know who they are, much less why they are so interested in Jimmy."

"Rebecca, there is only one reason they would be interested in him and we both know it."

"That's true, but we can't figure out how anyone would have learned of it. The only people outside this house that knew about it were me, my boss, Bob, and Shannon. The only official references to him list him as my anonymous source, and there are no references to what he can do at all. Still, you're right; it's the only reason we can come up with for why someone is suddenly interested in him. Fortunately he seems to have spotted it early enough to keep ahead of them. Unfortunately, every time he gets away it just makes it that much more obvious that he is far more than your average high school punk, and that he's got friends in strange places. A sixteen year old with FBI ties tends to peg the interest meter."

"Where are you sending us?" Dad asked.

"A safe house in Culver City for tonight, then we'll figure out where to send you. The relocation team should be here in about an hour." She glanced at me and I nodded.

This was going to be the hard part and I wasn't looking forward to it.

Before I started my Dad asked, "Any chance there's a high speed internet connection?"

Rebecca smiled, "Internet, cable, satellite, swimming pool, it's actually a very nice place. It was confiscated several years ago from a convicted drug smuggler. We use it for a variety of things, including this."

"Would it be a problem if I used it for work?" He asked.

"No, the connection is secure and we route everything through a series of relays so it's impossible to trace. I'll warn you in advance that all incoming and outgoing email is screened."

"That's fine. That will let me finish up my current work load. I'm sure that if you contact HR and explained the situation they wouldn't have a problem with shuffling my work load and letting me work remotely."

"That will all be taken care of," she assured him, then she glanced at me again.

Mom had apparently caught the glance the first time and was waiting for the second one to confirm her suspicion.

"You're not coming with us, are you?" I could hear it in her voice and when I looked at her I could see the tears already forming in her eyes.

Suddenly I couldn't speak, my throat just seemed to close in on itself and my vision swam as my own tears came.

"Oh, Jimmy," Mom cried through her tears as she swept in to hug me. My dad turned away but I didn't need to see the tears to know they were there. Allison just stood calmly and waited; apparently she had already figured it out and come to terms with it.

"I have some things I need to do that will keep me out of the area for a while," I said, hugging her. "I'll be okay mom, and I'll try to come see you every night, okay. Mom, if it helps, I'm really sorry about all this."

She pulled back, sniffed, and then wiped her eyes with the tissue Allison had ready for her. "No, it's not your fault. You can't be involved with these kinds of things without risk. It was naive of us to think you could. Just be careful, Jimmy, and don't worry about us."

"I will, Mom, I promise." I hugged her again and then went to my room to pack.

Allison had already taken care of the basics; the small carry-on suitcase my dad used on the rare occasions when he traveled on business, was packed and waiting for me. When I opened it up, the new ID papers Rod had had prepared for me after Rebecca's trip to Washington were right on top. My laptop was on the bed next to it with a note on top, "Ask Rebecca if it's safe to use this or if someone may be able to trace you through it."

"Damn, she's good," Jamie said.

"Good thing for us," I replied. "I wouldn't have thought twice about it."

"Me either, you'd think we would after the time we spent with Reston."

"What's the square root of 144?" I asked.

"Twelve, and I see your point; the answer is pretty useless without the question."

"Yeah, and now we have to start asking these questions ourselves. We have to stop relying on Allison and other people to keep us safe. I think maybe you and I need to argue more. Stop accepting that the other knows what they're doing. We need to start looking at every possible way something can go wrong; even if we can't do anything about it, just identifying it and being aware of it could make the difference for us somewhere down the road."

"Jimmy, I'm not even a month old," she pointed out. "I kind of count on you to know what you're doing."



"Just my point; if you want to see your first birthday then you need to stop assuming I do and make sure."

"I'll try."

"I know you will, let's get out of here."

"Wasn't there something you wanted to talk to Allison about privately, you know, before we go?"



"That's not funny," I said.

There was a long pause before she said, "Can we at least get a kiss goodbye?"

"Like she would let us leave without one... , and it's not goodbye, we'll see her every night."

"This sucks."

Apparently the gift for understatement runs in the family.



-------

Chapter 59: Arrangements


After the night's activities I'd decided that a new cell phone was a good idea regardless. He may not have, but there was at least the chance that Boris had passed my number along after he got it from Britney's phone. Not all that stuff you see in the movies is made up. Any normal cell phone can be found if someone wants it found bad enough. Working with the FBI is nothing if not instructional. While the relocation people were taking care of Allison and my parents, Rebecca and I were in the coffee shop of a large hotel two cities away going over my plans and options. While we were talking I was online spending money for the first leg of the trip I was about to start. When I asked her about my laptop she said it was incredibly unlikely that anyone would have managed to get the necessary information to try and trace me through a random internet connection, so it should be safe to use, but that if I was worried, and I should be, that it might be a good idea to pick up something else. She suggested just storing this one somewhere for a while. Once this all blew over and I got my life back I could use it again. Since that wasn't likely to happen anytime soon I decided to have her take it to Allison so she could use it. As long as she didn't connect to an unsecured server, and that wasn't even possible where she was, she would be fine. She agreed to take it by later. We discussed my options for getting something a little harder to pin down; Sandra Atkins name came up but we both decided we weren't ready to trust her that far yet. Instead, she gave me the phone number for a friend of hers named Dillon and suggested I give him a call. Then we moved on to cell phones.

"There is a lot about the cell system that people don't know," Rebecca had informed me. "If you know the electronic ID code of the phone you can actually activate it and have it send out a signal without ringing. That signal can be used to triangulate the location of the phone. Our phones are different; they are designed specifically not to do certain things that other phones do. Also the cell system itself is designed to respond to certain coded information that they send out when they connect. Think of it as having a back door into a computer system. The right password opens the door, you do what you need to do and the door closes again when you leave, then the computer politely forgets you were there."

"Then, if they could get those access codes, couldn't the bad guys do the same thing?" I asked.

"Of course, and many of them do. But the equipment is very expensive, that phone we gave you, even though it may look like every other cheap phone out there, actually cost about four times as much as the identical phone one of your friends at school may have. And of course everything has its limits. There is only so much you can do and if you do the wrong thing, none of that will matter. The reason I currently have a second cell phone is that someone, we don't know who or how, got to my phone and switched the SIM card. The new card carried all the right information to mimic my original and fool the system into thinking it was mine, but it carried a lot of additional instructions as well."

"You think it was the Sandman and that's how he got some of his information?"

"He's the only one we could think of and we still don't know how he did it. He would have had to break into my apartment, or Bob's house, sometime when I was there in order to get the phone while I was asleep. That is one hell of a risk to take."

"Rebecca, he's not known for taking unnecessary risks. That and all the other shit suddenly coming down tells me we've got a new player in the game that we don't know about."

"A new player in the game?" she said. "No. Jimmy, what we have is a whole new game that we didn't even know we were playing. Hopefully now, thanks to you, we have enough players in custody to finally get some answers."

"How long can you hold them?" I asked.

"They kidnapped two minors, not a single one of them had ID, so we still don't even know who they are; put that all together and we've got strong arguments for not releasing them on bail. They're not going anywhere. Not anytime soon anyway."

"Good. Listen, the one called Dean, he was the driver in the car that picked me up. He got off with minimal damage, a scratch really, where all the others all got roughed up pretty good, you may be able to use that against him. You point that out to the others they're going to wonder why. Whoever is in charge may very well decide that he double-crossed them..."

"Which would leave him in a very bad position," she agreed. "He may be willing to cut a deal. Considering what happened to the last guy we caught it wouldn't be hard to convince him that we're the only chance he has of getting out of this alive. Good idea, I'll talk to Rod about it. Anything else?"

"I didn't get a really good look at anybody but the head guy, the one I called Boris. If you spend some time with the others I should be able to bridge them." I gave her stern look. "I don't have to play by the same rules you do when it comes to asking questions."

"And we'll just keep that little bit of information to ourselves. I'll get close to them and we'll talk tomorrow..." she looked at her watch, " ... make that tonight. Want to tell me where you're going?"

"Well to start with I'm going to get Amber enrolled in school and set her up with a place to stay and stuff until winter term starts."

"That school has an on campus requirement for first year students, and she's not even a student yet and it's way too late to get her enrolled for this term, how are you going to..."

"The old fashioned way," I said with a smile. "Just get her on the plane and I'll have everything set up by the time she gets there."

"Kind of short notice, are you sure you'll have time?"

"The basics will be done by the end of the day; by the time she arrives everything will be in place."

"And then what?"

"I'm going to Vegas for a look around."

She whistled, "Whew! That's a bold move. You know you can't count on any assistance from us."

"I'm not planning on doing anything; I just thought maybe I'd check out a new church I heard about."

She dropped me off in San Bernardino so I could borrow the Buick to get to the airport; then she was taking my truck to a storage location to gather dust until we found a way to resolve all of this. I was really going to miss my truck but my time with Omstead and Reston had taught me to look at it as nothing more than a tool. For now, this particular tool had done its job and was going back in the shed until I needed it again.

Somewhere between the escalator and the gate, as I was riding one of those cool sliding walkways they have, the reality caught up with me. My life was over; I had no home and James Edward Matthews no longer existed. From now on, at least for the foreseeable future, my life would be a mosaic of shifting identities and transient stops. I don't even remember getting on the plane. My next conscious thought was of the pressure pushing me into the seat as the plane took off. Settling myself back as comfortably as the seat would allow, I closed my eyes and tried for sleep, but the background noise on the plane was too distracting. Suddenly everything was silent and I was lying in the sun on a very familiar beach.

"Rest, you got us this far, I can handle it until we land,"

"Thanks, sis. I love you."

"I know. Now be quiet and relax. Try not to think too much, I got this."

And she did, she got us landed, rented a car, even got directions to the school. She probably could have handled the drive without me but decided it might be a good idea if I knew my way around in case something went wrong. Showing up without an appointment was always a tricky thing so I made a phone call on the way. No specifics were discussed but I was assured that the Dean would make time for me.

Dean Wallace Wentworth Worthy made my skin crawl. From the moment I set foot on campus and asked for directions to the Dean's office I had been getting strange looks. Apparently no one saw Dean Worthy if they could avoid it. The sidelong glances from the two co-eds working in the outer office didn't do much to relax me. After about thirty minutes of waiting I was ushered into his office and it went quickly downhill from there.

"Eww," Jamie said after shaking hands with him.

"That bad?" I asked.

"Yeah, don't ask me why but I feel an urgent need to take a very long shower under really hot water."

"Great, just what I need. If you get a chance, poke around. This is the guy they set up Angela's cover with; I need to know I can trust him."

"Well, that's easy," she said. "You can't."

"Jamie."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, something a little more solid to go on, but you know I'm right."

"I suspect you're right. I need to know or I wouldn't be asking."

"Mr. Malcolm, I have to tell you this is all highly irregular and completely unexpected. I was told that no one was to know the truth of Miss Olsen's situation besides myself, her handler with Witness Protection, and Miss Forrester, who works for me and will be handling the details of her time with us. And yet, here you are; frankly it worries me. Are you attached to Witness Protection then?"

"No. They have no idea who I am or that I'm here, and I'd like to keep it that way. As for my involvement with Amber, she doesn't know I'm here either."

"But how is that possible? Surely they know that you are funding her education?"

"No. They have been told that arrangements had been made to cover the cost of her education; beyond that they don't know, and they don't care. She doesn't either for that matter. As for how and why, I know who she is and why she's coming here and I am simply here to smooth out the last of the details, nothing more."

It took almost two hours to iron out the details; according to the esteemed Dean Worthy, some rules had to be bent a little bit. As Amber was not actually a student until the winter session she was not technically allowed to live on campus. Her new job in security took care of that. The twenty-five thousand dollar endowment took care of the rest -- especially since it was over and above her regular tuition and housing. Nothing greases the wheels like cold hard cash.

"So where do we stand?" I asked Jamie as we were waiting for the woman from admissions to collect us. The next several hours were going to be all about paperwork.



"He makes my skin crawl."

"Well, since it's my skin, try not to let it actually get out of hand. What did you get?"

"Not much at first but as soon as you mentioned the endowment he started figuring out how he was going to spend his half. Apparently he's into boats."

"His half? It's not like I was going to make a check out to him personally."

"You probably should if you want her secret kept. He figured out right away that this wasn't government money and that you have a personal interest in Amber's future. He has every intention of using that against you, and against her."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying he's really looking forward to getting Amber on campus. And Jimmy, she's not the first."



I could feel a cold anger building inside of me. "This explains the funny looks when we came looking for him.

After spending time with Dean Worthy, Colleen Forester was a breath of fresh air, welcoming me to the school and explaining some of its history as we made our way to her office.

"So, Mr. Malcolm, I take it you will be joining us for the Winter Session?"

"No, actually I'm not. I thought Dean Worthy had explained it to you. I'm here on behalf of a friend. I believe you have an application on file for Amber Olsen? I'm here on her behalf."

An eyebrow rose as she turned to her computer and started typing, "Well, I'm surprised Mr. Worthy even saw you."

"Really, why is that?"

"Well to be frank, Mr. Malcolm..."

"Please, call me David, my father is Mr. Malcolm, and if you call him that, he'll refer you to my grandpa."

"My point exactly," she said. "David, you look like a kid, not even a student, but a kid. Dean Worthy doesn't see students under the best of circumstances, and with the exception of his grandchildren, he never sees kids."

"Really? How old do you think I am?"

"Hmm. Let's see. You're a little shorter than average but obviously in good shape, your appearance is neat and clean, your hair is well kept ... in the right light and with the right ID you could buy your own beer. But if you intend to be taken seriously by someone like the esteemed and honorable Dean Worthy, you really need to dress the part. The polo shirt is okay, but slacks would have been better than jeans, and real shoes, even casual shoes, Birkenstocks even ... but tennis shoes? No one in Dean Worthy's position would take you seriously dressed like that. If you don't mind my asking, how did you get in?"

"I said the magic word," I said with a smile.

"Please?"

"Endowment."

That got me a laugh, "Oh yes, that would certainly be the right word. So, special circumstances aside, I see your friend Amber is scheduled to join us this winter, major undeclared, no sports listed, she seems to be past most of her prerequisites, but I've seen this before, it's amazing how much you lose in that extra six months off."

"It couldn't be helped. She's lucky to be alive and rehab takes time, but she will be ready. One of the reasons I wanted her settled now was so that she could do a little brushing up."

She was looking at me oddly.

"You're wondering how I know about Amber, it's a long story and it would be better for all involved if you just pretend I don't know anything and this conversation never took place. Dean Worthy wasn't too happy about it but he said he would arrange a job in security for her to account for her living on campus before school starts."

She gave me disapproving look. "Yes, I would expect him to come up with something like that. It's a sure way of making sure she has no friends."

I stared hard into her eyes and cut straight to the point. "Are you suggesting that isolated and alone would make her an easier target?"

She didn't answer but she refused to drop her eyes. The combination was all the answer I needed.

"I don't suppose you have any suggestions?"

"Several come to mind. Janitor, grounds keeper, cafeteria, the bookstore..."

"I got the impression those were only available..."

"To students?" she said, completing the thought for me. "Yes, they are, and she is a student, despite what you may have been led to believe. If grad students can hang around for years playing with advanced degrees then certainly she can start a little early. She is after all enrolled, and it's a deferred enrollment, not a late registration. Technically she's been enrolled since July. Finding her the right room mate is generally the tricky part. Many of the students, especially the girls, move around a lot the first few months until they find someone they can tolerate for extended periods of time. Most of us share rooms with brothers and sisters but it's a whole new world learning the quirks and idiosyncrasies of a new roommate, let me tell you. We're all different people and nothing quite brings that out like being trapped in a twelve by fourteen room with someone for a year. Coincidentally, I just had a girl switch rooms today so I have an opening. Very sweet girl, a little wild, but if nothing else she'll make sure your friend meets people."

"Ooh, how convenient..." Jamie said.

"Quiet you."

We chatted amiably as she helped me with Amber's paperwork. With the time difference I'd gotten a later start so it was late in the day before we finished.

"Thank you for your time Mrs. Forrester. I'm sure Amber will be fine in your care."

Something in her eyes... "I'll do my best Mr. Malcolm."

"Oh yeah, she's worried."

"You think she knows something?" I asked.

"Oh I think we're safely past the point of speculation by now. The question is what, and why hasn't she done something about it."

"Going to be a busy night; we've still got a lot to do in LA. Somehow I don't see Boris rolling over for interrogation."

"Hah!" she laughed. "That is sooo not what you're thinking about! Nervous?"

No point in trying to deny it, I knew exactly what she was talking about. "A little yeah, you?"

"Liar! Nervous doesn't even begin to cover it. Can we go now?"

I shook hands with Mrs. Forester and headed for the hotel to check in and grab a shower before heading out for a bite to eat.

The doorman/bouncer looked at me skeptically as he checked my ID but he still let me in. I think his real concern was whether or not my ID would pass inspection if anyone challenged it later. Not that I was worried about it, I wasn't planning on drinking anyway.

The room was packed as I entered, pausing inside the door to let my eyes adjust and hopefully find a place to sit. It was your typical college crowd, loud and rowdy; you could almost smell the hormones on the air, if you could get past the overwhelming ambiance of stale beer.

Suddenly a young woman was crossing the room toward me, a look of wonder on her face. The sight of her set my heart racing and suddenly I felt like I needed another shower.

A voice called out behind her, "Hey, Easy, where you going?"

She ignored it and continued toward me, her eyes seeming to sweep over me from floor to face and back again. By the time she reached me I could see tears forming in her eyes. Or maybe it was the ones in my eyes.

"Hello, Elizabeth."

"Oh my God," she whispered, her hands coming up to her face. "You came. I can't believe you're really here."

"Me either, disappointed?"

"Asshole."

"I love you too."

"I know," she said, smiling and throwing her arms around my neck. She seemed to flow up against me and it felt like a piece of myself that I didn't know was missing had suddenly returned. I hugged her tightly, burying my head in her hair and languishing in the smell of her.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked when I finally pulled back enough to see her face again.

She gave me a look, "Oh please. It was like the sun walked in. Are you going to kiss me soon?"

I blushed and grinned, "I don't know, after last night, do we dare risk it."

"I'll take the chance, maybe if we just keep it short and friendly."

"I don't know if I can do that," I said honestly.

The kiss was indescribable. Fortunately the catcalls and applause brought us back to reality before things got seriously out of hand.

I noticed the girl who had called after her as she came toward me was standing next to her. She was about the same height as Lizzy, with short brown hair, wearing white Capris, a pink short sleeved top, and sandals. Either it was colder in here than I thought or she was really happy to see someone.

"Is this where the line starts?" she asked innocently.

"Carol!" Lizzy said.

"Oh come on Lizzy, I thought kisses that hot only happened in movies. Please, just one? I promise I'll give him back."

"No!" Lizzy answered, exasperated. "Get your own!" She poked Carol in the shoulder with her finger for emphasis.

"What's the matter, Lizzy," Carol said, rubbing the spot where Lizzy had poked her. "Afraid of a little competition?" She reached out her hand to me, "Hi, I'm Carol, and you are?"

"David Malcolm," I answered, shaking her hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Carol."

I was afraid Lizzy might react to the name but she took it in stride.

"Yes, it would be," Carol said, flicking an eyebrow at me, "If someone wasn't being such a bitch about it."

"You know, Carol," Lizzy said, the grin suddenly spreading across her face scared me, I'd seen one just like it on Allison's face many times and it was never a good sign. "You're right! It's not fair of me to keep David all to myself. Go ahead and kiss him, but just remember, I warned you. David..." by now that grin was in full wicked bloom, "don't hold back, give her the real thing."

"Lizzy?" I hoped the desperation wasn't as evident in my voice as it sounded to me.

"Don't worry, David," Carol said. "I won't hurt you, but you may never look at blondes the same again."

"This is going to be fun!" Jamie said.

"This is so not how I saw this night going." I turned back to Carol and asked, "Are you sure? I mean, we just met, I don't even know you..."

"Oh please!" Carol said, rolling her eyes. "It's a kiss, it's not like I'm going to throw you down and fuck you right here in the middle of the room. Bring it on."

I shot Lizzy a semi-angry glance and it was plain that she was looking forward to this. Resigning myself to my fate I moved in, slipped my arms around Carol's waist and bent toward her. She thought I was aiming for her mouth but I turned and started at the base of her neck instead, showering little butterflies up her throat until I reached her chin, which I bit lightly. She gave a little purr as my teeth slid across her skin, and then I moved in for the kill. Our lips met and hers quickly parted to make room for the real party. That was when Jamie moved up to join me. Suddenly Carol gave a gasp and within a few seconds she was attacking my mouth, her body pressing hard against me, her tongue dancing around mine like a stripper on a pole. Her breathing quickly became labored and I could feel her muscles tensing everywhere we touched.

I started to back off but Lizzy was right there whispering, "No-no, don't stop. This was her idea, remember? Let her have it all."

Thirty seconds later I was trying hard to keep Carol's limp body from sliding to the floor. Fortunately Lizzy was there to help. During the standing ovation -- you gotta love a college crowd, we managed to get her to a chair and hold her up until her eyes started to focus again. It helped when Lizzy accidentally knocked over a glass of water into her lap. Suddenly Carol was wide awake and standing under her own power again. It was only water so there was no risk of staining, however those pink panties were really making a statement now. Without thinking I peeled off my shirt and tucked it into her waistband, covering the semi-transparent wet spot now covering the front of her pants. The catcalls started again, from the girls this time, and a couple of them actually whistled. It all turned to laughter as the bartender hit me in the back of the head with one of the restaurant t-shirts they sell. We were all laughing as I slipped it on and we rejoined the table they had left to meet me. There was a guy there waiting for us and he stood as we approached and held Carol's chair for her as she sat down.

I held Lizzy's for her and she kissed my cheek and thanked me as she sat down.

"You're welcome," I said, kissing her back and whispering, "that was mean."

She gave me a wink as I sat down. "Sorry about the water, Carol."

Carol blushed and bit her lip before asking, "Did it show?"

"Oh my God, you're kidding!" Apparently their friend was flamingly gay and made no effort to hide it. "Hi, I'm Richard, and you have to teach me how to do that." He held out his hand. I wasn't sure how to respond.

"David Malcolm, am I supposed to shake that or kiss it?"

Even his laugh was feminine. "Oh Lizzy, you have the most interesting friends. So, did I catch that right? The water was camouflage?"

"Richard!" Carol hissed. "Jeez, just announce it to the room." She turned to Lizzy, still blushing, "Does that happen every time?"

"I'm still doing the statistics," Lizzy said with a grin. "It only happens when he's serious, but so far the numbers are running pretty high. Casual kisses are just kisses."

"So what's the difference?" Richard asked. "There has to be a secret."

"Concentration," I said. "I've been told that it's because when I'm kissing a girl, that's all I'm doing. Not thinking about second base, baseball in general, another girl, or anything else, I'm only thinking about the kiss."

"Really?" Richard asked. He looked seriously introspective for a few seconds, then his eyebrows rose. "I can see where that would make a difference, but how do you do that? I mean, like how can you be that close to someone ... you know, like body part to body part, and like not think about ... or even just compare... ? Damn! I don't know if I can do that."

Lizzy's evil grin returned. "So you're saying that the whole time Carol's rock hard little perkers were drilling holes in your chest you didn't even notice?"

"Lizzy!" Carol hissed.

"Okay, okay," Lizzy laughed. "But I tried to warn you. Just be glad you didn't do that whole 'throw him down and fuck him in the middle of the room' thing. Now that, would have been embarrassing."

Carol going from blush to pale reminded me a lot of me shaking hands with Susan.

"Oh! Don't tease me, you evil bitch!" Richard exclaimed. "Out with it." He slapped the table. "Tell us."

I could already feel the blood rushing to my face. "Elizabeth..."

"Oh, come on now David. We talked about this, it's not your fault they passed out."

Richard was suddenly very quiet and Carol was sitting straight up looking like someone had hit her.

"Did you say, pass out?" Richard asked in a very hoarse whisper.

Carol's mouth was moving but nothing was coming out and the rest of the color had faded. It felt like most of it was rushing to my face.

"So let's order!" Lizzy said, slapping a menu into my chest. "I recommend the jalapeo-bacon-cheeseburger, and I'm dry. Suzie! We need a pitcher, girlfriend! Something diet!"

I leaned in close and whispered, "I'm going to kill you."

She laughed and kissed me, "I love you too. Breathe, Carol, it didn't happen."

Several hours later we said goodnight to Carol and Richard and Lizzy came back with me to my hotel. We talked for a long, long time, but she had school in the morning and I had a plane to catch so around midnight we curled up together and called it a night. All in all it had been a pretty good day.

I should have known better, Allison was waiting for me, well us really, and seconds after we reached the cabana she was knocking on the door. She waited about two seconds before walking in. We both knew it was her so we made no effort to get up.

"Get up, we've got trouble. You need to get Rod and Rebecca here as soon as possible, they're both home waiting for you to work your magic. Hi, Lizzy, sorry to barge in and all."

One look at Allison and Lizzy was already half way out of bed before she finished. I guess a lifetime of habit takes precedent over new skills; she was reaching for clothes that weren't there. I had us both dressed and moved to the office before she realized her panties hadn't fallen off the nightstand.

"Oh," Lizzy said. "Duh. Allison, what's wrong?"

"They wouldn't tell me, they just told me to get you as fast as possible, and you..." she pointed an accusing finger in my direction, "were supposed to get us your new phone number."

"I tossed the old one at the airport and I haven't picked up a new on yet. I was going to get one in the morning. Why didn't you just call Lizzy?"

"Hello?" Allison said sarcastically. "The only place we have her number is in your phone and I figured if you wanted Rebecca to know you were going to see her you would have told her yourself. I don't think she's figured out that Lizzy and Amber are going to the same school, yet."

"Okay, my bad," I said. "But I wasn't expecting anything to come up so soon." I was already feeling for Rod and Rebecca as I moved us to my office. Rod was in his study, lying on the couch reading a book. Rebecca ... wasn't. At the moment she and Bob were ... relieving her stress. I could only assume Bob was staying at the safe house with her for the night. Trying hard not to blush I pulled Rod into the elevator and her into the big bed back at the cabana. Bob was either laughing his ass off or he was going to kill me. The elevator made a quick stop at the changing tent to pick up Rebecca before coming here. I half expected it to stop again for Bob but apparently he knew this was something he couldn't be involved in.

They were still in the elevator when Lizzy said, "Jimmy, I should go, this sounds like official stuff and I shouldn't be part of it. I love you; you too, Allison. If they kick you out, come see me." I felt a ghostly brush of lips and she was gone as the door opened.

"Okay," I said, not waiting, "What the hell happened?"

"Your boy Boris is on the street, that's what happened," Rebecca answered.

"What?" Allison and I both said together. We glanced at each other and she nodded for me to go on.

"How is that possible?"

"Actually he's not out yet, but he will be by mid-morning," Rod answered. "As to how -- diplomatic immunity; at ten thirty this morning I got a call from the State Department asking about a Yuri Khvlek. Naturally I told them I had no idea who they were talking about. Practically before I finished the sentence they had emailed me a picture of your boy Boris and informed me that I am to release him immediately. And before you ask, no, I have no idea how they could have known we had him. We hadn't even started our reports yet."

"What about the others?"

"So far no one has said anything about them. I see your time with Carter Malloy wasn't wasted, everybody that sees these guys wondered how many people we sent in.

"Your boy Dean is our best asset at the moment, he and the other guy in the car were actually private detectives hired to transport you, nothing more. He'll be okay by the way, the concussion wasn't serious. Dean claims they didn't know about your girlfriend, and considering how pissed off they both were when they found out, I'm inclined to believe him. They've already turned over the cash they were advanced up front so we can go over it. They didn't even know you were a minor; apparently they weren't part of the regular surveillance team. Dean claims they had just been commissioned the day before. Instructions were to pick you up at a certain time and deliver you to the warehouse."

"What about the other two?" I asked.

"You picked the right two to take down hard," Rebecca said. "They're both Russian Mafia. The guy with the broken arm has a list of outstanding charges taller than you, including the execution of two federal drug enforcement agents. The other one is just muscle; bad, but nothing like him. Either way, they're not going anywhere. Unfortunately they're not showing any signs of talking either. Considering who they're working for I'm not sure I blame them."

"They're not important," I said. "Boris is the key, do you still have him?"

"Yeah, I told them I wouldn't release him unless the State Department sent someone to escort him back to the Embassy." Rod said, "As for him being the key, he may be, but we're not going to learn anything from him."

"We already have," I said, shaking my head.

"What do you mean?"

"We know that whoever is behind all this has ties to a foreign government, or at least has a highly placed friend that owes them a really big favor. Did the information they sent you on him mention which embassy he was attached to or what his position is?"

Rebecca scoffed, "Yeah, get this; he's a security specialist with the Romanian Embassy."

Time for Allison to pull a rabbit out. "Who called?"

"Excuse me?" Rod asked.

"You said the State Department called, did you ask who contacted them, specifically, local embassy or overseas?"

"Good question," Rebecca said. "Boss?"

"Damn good question. I think I'll push a little and see if we can get a little more out of them. We're not exactly talking about a parking ticket here. Add in the apparent tie to the Russian mob and I think we've got room to make some demands."

"No," I said.

"What do you mean no?" Rebecca demanded.

"It won't work. We've already given our cover story; they'll have something in place, pass it off as a mistake somehow related to the drug thing, maybe toss in some kind of reference to international trafficking. They were ready for this. Let him go, I'll take care of him."

"What do you mean; you'll take care of him?" Rod asked, looking hard at me.

"I mean, I'll get the information we need from him." I turned to Rebecca. "You might want to get a hold of Atkins, tell her what's going on, see if her people have any information on him."

"Are you sure you want that kind of attention?" she asked. "It means bringing your name up to more people in high places."

"That's already happened; my family is in hiding and I'm missing. You don't have to tell her there's any connection to anything else. You made up an undercover agent who tracked me to the meeting and bailed us out; tell her it wasn't an agent, but actually your mystery source showing off again. That should both pique her interest and piss her off."

"Boy, you got a mean sense of humor," Rod said with a laugh. "And if we toss in the idea that he may in fact be hiding you out somewhere it leaves you free to move around and come back any time you want, providing you don't get caught anywhere."

"David Malcolm may get a parking ticket," Allison said. "Jimmy Matthews is just missing, presumably hiding out from drug dealers who already kidnapped his girlfriend and almost got him too. This works."

"And it's not funny any more," I said. "I'm tired of this shit. Just give him back and let's see what happens."

"Okay," Rod said. "Hampton, why is it that every time we get together I leave feeling like he's in charge?"

"I'm sorry, Sir," I said. "I don't mean to come across that way, it's just..."

"Relax, Jimmy," Rebecca interrupted. "He wasn't complaining and he's not mad. He's impressed. Trust me, that's about as close to a compliment as you're going to get."

"Oh," I said, and then turned to Rod, "Then thanks, I guess."

"So, are we done here then?" Allison asked. "Or is there more bad news?"

"I'm done," Rod said. "Bex, you got anything else?"

"No, I'm good. Jimmy, just to be clear ... you do realize how serious this makes it?"

"Yes," I answered. "Not how serious it is, but how serious it could be. If it's that serious, then it's too late to contain and my disappearance becomes permanent. I'm hoping it hasn't gone that far. I won't know for sure until I find out how many people already know, and what it is they know. Just because it got this big doesn't mean that they were told the truth, just that they were told enough of something to get them to commit to the game."

"That boy is too smart to be sixteen," Rod said, shaking his head and walking toward the door. "See you in the morning, Hampton. Nice to see you again, Allison."

"Good night Mr. Rodriguez," Allison called after him. "Thank you again for all your help." Then she turned to Rebecca, "You too."

"I wish I could do more." Rebecca turned to me as Rod vanished through the door. "I didn't know you could do that, usually you call."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I wouldn't have done it but Allison made it sound really urgent. I thought the cabana would be better than..."

She blushed, "I was afraid of that," she said. "Thanks for the detour."

"I didn't mean to..." I started but she held up her hands.

"Don't." She shook her head and walked toward the door.

I turned to Allison and she was blushing hard. "You mean she and Bob were ... you know..."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She grew an ear to ear grin, and then just as quickly lost it. "I wasn't talking about anything, but now that you bring it up... You didn't do it. You and Lizzy I mean."

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Oh let me think, the sun still sets in the west, as far as I can tell all the stars are still in the same place, no major earthquakes or tidal waves reported ... Jimmy, you kissed her last night and practically everyone you knew had a wet dream. I think I would have noticed if you'd actually had sex. Why didn't you?"

"We're waiting."

"Waiting? Waiting for what? Haven't you waited long en ... Whoa! You mean, like ... until you're married waiting."

"Yeah, that kind." Without really thinking about it I had moved us back to the cabana and we were sitting together in the little sunken area, dangling our feet in the cool water.

She stared at me for a second, then shook her head a few times before asking, "How?"

"What do you mean how? We're waiting."

"That's what I mean! How? Jimmy, you two almost spontaneously combusted last night; you gave her an orgasm just kissing her; you gave Jamie and me both orgasms kissing her. Us I could understand, I wouldn't be surprised if you got Amber too..." she looked at me for confirmation and I nodded. She shook her head and continued, "Like I said, I'm not surprised; we're all intimately attached to you, but Bob and Rebecca felt it from wherever they were. They don't know what happened but mom and dad woke up horny and they were going at it when I went to wake them up. How could you possibly wait?"

I thought about how to put it into words. "Our first time was special, right?"

She tsked at me and bumped me with her shoulder, blushing, "Duh."

"And both of our first times with Shannon were special?"

I think that choked her up a little, because she wouldn't look at me and didn't answer, just stared down at the fish swimming below us and nodded.

"Lizzy's never had a special first time. Her 'first' first time was horrible, and after that, well, they may have been a lot of things, but they weren't special like that. She's never made love to someone who truly loved her."

"Sure she has," Allison argued. "What about Sheriff Dobbs? You can't tell me he doesn't love her, you said so yourself."

"He loves her now. But when they actually did it? Uh-uh. He loves her now because of what she did for him. At the time he was just unbelievably flattered that someone, anyone, wanted to do that with him, especially someone her age. I'm talking about someone who knows her and loves her; truly knows her, understands what she can do, not that I really understand what she does but you know what I mean. She's never made love to someone who loved her before. I thought about it, and then we talked about it and she agreed that doing this, honoring that part of our relationship the way God intended it to be, was the most special thing I could do for her. Sexually that is."

She grinned one of her wicked grins as she answered, "No it's not and I should know."

"That may be true, but it was still the sweetest thing I'd ever heard," Lizzy suddenly said, then she faded in on the other side of me. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but I could feel the change in him when you were alone. At first I thought you might want to be alone but then I knew he was talking about me and when he got to that part I couldn't seem to not hear it."

"That's okay," Allison said, getting up and moving over to her. She brushed away a slowly falling tear and then kissed Lizzy lightly. "You don't ever need to feel like you're intruding with us, ever." Then she sat down next to her and said, "Now don't take this wrong, but considering what you normally do for God, doesn't the whole 'as He intended it to be' thing sound a little out of place."

Lizzy laughed, "Well yeah, when you put it like that, it does. But I thought about what Jimmy said and I think it's the perfect way to draw a line separating the parts of my life. I am God's tool, and I am pleased and honored to serve Him as He sees fit. But now I am to be Jimmy's wife, and that is for me alone. If we would ask God to honor our union, then it just seems right that we enter into it on His terms. I think it's wonderful, and while, admittedly, a part of me wants to just rip his clothes off and jump him every time I see him... , I can wait. We both can. Besides, we have you to work it off with."

"Halleluiah! Oh, thank you God!" Allison cried, hands to the sky. "I was so afraid that meant you were both, you know, waiting,  until you were married. So that only applies to sex with each other?"

"Of course," Lizzy said. "I am still God's tool and He still has work for me. I can't just stop doing His will because he threw me the perfect man. Plus, Jimmy's got Amber to take care of and provide for, and a big part of taking care of Amber is sex.

"Besides," she said, sliding her hand up and down Allison's back. "You didn't really think either of us was going to give up tapping that sweet little ass of yours did you?"

"Are you kidding?" Allison said, exasperated. "I was scared shitless that's what you meant!"

"Oh, you poor thing," Lizzy said sweetly while reaching to stroke her face. "Baby, I'm so sorry we frightened you like that. Jimmy love, why don't you go take care of that little matter we talked about earlier and I'll try to reassure Allison that everything is going to be okay?"

"Excuse me?" I said. "I don't think so. In fact, I was thinking maybe you could go..."

"Hey!" Allison said, jumping to her feet. "If I'm going to be in the middle of lover's quarrel, I don't want it to be like this."

The scene jumped and suddenly I was standing naked on the bed in front of Allison, who was also naked and straddling Lizzy's face.

"Oh yeah!" Allison said. "Now this is what being in the middle is about." She leaned forward and took me into her mouth, her moan of pleasure telling me Lizzy was already doing her part. Pulling back after a few seconds, she said, "Oh yeah! I hope you guys fight a lot!"



-------

Chapter 60: Several Next Steps


Wallace Wentworth Worthy; father of four, grandfather of seven, upstanding citizen of the community, was a bit of a scumbag. He was also "that other thing" that Lizzy had mentioned me needing to take care of. We hadn't gotten into any details but I had let her know what Jamie had said and that steps needed to be taken to make sure Amber was safe. She whole-heartedly agreed with that part.

In his twenty seven years at the College 'WWW' had been a professor of English Literature, Department Chair, Student Affairs Counselor, advisor to several fraternities, Faculty Affairs Director, enjoyed several other postings of gradually increasing prestige, and was now Dean for the whole damn place. His favorite jobs had been anything with the word 'affairs' in the title. He was fifty-eight years old and had a real thing for hot young women. As far as he was concerned, his present position was as close to heaven as it was possible to get this side of the grave. He had access to detailed information on every student that came through the grand entrance, including personal, academic and financial information, all of which afforded him tremendous power and leverage which he could exert to his benefit. His preferred benefit being a wide assortment of college girls servicing his various sexual needs. Faced with telling mommy and daddy that she was flunking out of the school they had ponied up twenty-five grand per year to send her to there wasn't much most of them wouldn't do. And that was only one of his angles. For students in special circumstances, specifically those that really needed a job to afford school, he liked to put them in security, as he had suggested with Amber, where they were forced to watchdog their fellow students. This ostracized them from most of their peers and left them with few options for someone to turn to because the dirty old goat wanted them to bend over the desk. Especially since he was always careful to wait until he could catch them in some dereliction of their security duties; covering up for some other girl's being naughty for example, then he could threaten them with the loss of their job, that sort of thing.

In truth, scumbag may be a little strong; he wasn't really being horrible about any of it. He didn't video tape or take pictures, he didn't do physical damage any more severe than a spanking, and that he did by hand so he could enjoy the feel of their flesh heating up under his touch. He didn't even share. But rape is rape, whether you're beating them down or blackmailing them. Things like, "Swallow that or else" and "Grab your ankles or start packing." are still non-consensual in my book.

I was considering just making it very clear that Amber would be the last person on the planet he would ever want to even consider messing with. Just scaring him enough to leave her alone, but poking around in his little nocturnal fantasy world showed that, in his dreams at least, he was already getting a little too friendly with his oldest granddaughter and had designs on the other two. Clearly the corrupting influence of power was taking its toll. For his own good, it was time to take grandpa down a peg or two and redraw the lines in his life. Jamie and I put our heads together and came up with a simple series of recurring dreams, very similar to what she had done with Ray Parry. It would start simple and each time it repeated the path would get a little longer and darker. He would start out by trying to extort money from me to guarantee Amber's secret didn't get out, he would then get caught with a student, once that news broke others would start to come forward, the list would quickly grow to include alumni, and then the lawsuits would begin filing. The girl he got caught with would turn out to have a case of vaginal warts which he would then pass on to his granddaughter, which would lead to an examination by her doctor, who would then inquire who or what may have touched her there to infect her. Amidst much sobbing she would then tell mommy all about the new games that grandpa liked to play. They wouldn't press charges but he would quickly find himself shunned by all of his relatives. It would just be a dream, he wasn't actually having sex with the girl yet, but the result would be the same; unemployed, ostracized by his family ... well, you get the picture, and we were pretty sure he would too. If he didn't I would be very disappointed and the dreams would escalate, getting worse with each replay. If that didn't work then I would start taking steps to make sure that reality quickly started resembling the dream. I couldn't do anything with the warts but I could certainly arrange to have him caught with a student. One way or the other I didn't expect it to be long before he changed his ways. The one thing I did right away was to strengthen his resolve about how wrong it was to play doctor with his granddaughter. A little poking around showed that she was a little hell cat and grandpa wasn't her only physician, but that didn't make it right and it would be better for all involved if she stuck to playing naughty nurse with someone her own age, or at least legal.

A quick visit to Mrs. Forester's dream confirmed that she knew of the Dean's activities, with the students that is, but since he had actually caught her in a long term affair with a female student -- and he actually did have pictures for this one, she couldn't say anything or he would expose her. In her case the girl had actually approached her and both had been quite happy during the girl's last two years attending, they even still kept in touch, but Colleen Forester was very married and her husband was a deacon at their church. That was all the leverage Worthy needed to insure that Forester kept quiet, and that was all he was concerned with. He didn't need money; his wife had died some years before and between her life insurance and being single on a Dean's salary he was very well off. Add to this the near endless supply of hard young college bodies to choose from and Colleen Forester had nothing he was interested in beyond her silence. Of course after I put an end to his little private harem that may change so I figured at some point I should arrange for those pictures to go away as well.

I dropped in on my mom as I said I would to assure her that I was safe and everything was okay. I told her I was out of state arranging some things for Angela and she thought that was very sweet of me. As a precaution I put in a hypnotic block that would prevent her from consciously, or even accidentally mentioning anything about Angela still being alive.

While I was with her I got a curious call from Bob.

"Everything okay?" he asked. "Considering, I mean."

"Yeah," I answered. "About as well as can be expected considering the circumstances, why?"

"Just something Susan brought up today when I told her and Mel about your situation with the drug dealers and going into hiding. Seems Roxy woke her up in the middle of the night again. She was desperate that Susan pray with her for your safety. That was right about the time you were rescuing Britney."

"Well that was certainly sweet of her," I said.

"Yes, but what I was getting at..."

"Is that I seem to have yet another person that I'm connected enough to that she's getting ... I don't know, feedback."

"Exactly. Nothing wrong with it, but I was surprised that it went that deep. You haven't really spent that much time with her and as far as I know, never in dreams."

"No, never here," I confirmed, "but Roxy is different. She has a very strong faith; she was the one who saw the angel take Shannon away after all. She sees me as a gift from God sent to save her and avenge her dead family. She's not showy about it, but she prays for me every day. And I was in danger, after all. It's nice to know I have someone like her in my corner."

Then I went to spend some time with Amber and explain what would be happening in a few days. That she would be leaving to go to school and that I was arranging for someone to care for her there. If she was apprehensive at all about my giving her into the long term care of another, she was careful not to let it show in any way. It made me think that much more of the responsibility I had taken on with her. That she would trust me enough to fly across the country and be at the whim of a total stranger simply because I told her to ... Was there anybody in my life I would trust like that? I doubted it. If Rebecca told me I could trust someone in another state I would be inclined to do so, but that would just be a professional setting, perhaps even working to keep me alive. That was nothing compared to what Amber was accepting. She would be trusting a total stranger as if they were me. If they walked her into a crowded dorm room and told her to strip, she would do it, trusting that person to protect her as I would; trusting them to not put her in that situation if they in fact could not guarantee her safety. It was a heady feeling to know someone trusted you that much, and daunting to think about what it would mean if I ever let her down in that way. Just thinking about it I knew that I could never live with myself if I failed her, so I swore once again that I would never let that happen.

Then it was time to drop in on Boris.

According to Rod, Yuri Khvlek, hadn't said two words since he had woken up in the cell. When informed that someone from the Romanian Embassy would be arriving to pick him up he had smiled but that was all. He sat quietly on his bunk and read the newspaper, twice. Oh, correction, he said thank you when they brought him his meals. Eventually he had made himself as comfortable as possible and drifted off to sleep, secure in the knowledge that he would be leaving in the morning. His dreams tended toward martial scenarios from both training and past life experiences. I didn't bother pushing for memories, I simply took over the current dream and very quickly the little scenario he had been commanding went to hell.

He had been leading a small band invading a seafront town to capture or kill the head of a local drug ring that hadn't wanted to play ball. They had been winning of course, after all it was his dream and being the master tactician that he was, no one could stand against them. Until one of his men had opened the wrong door. All Boris heard was the man screaming before the connection went dead. He sent the closest person available to investigate and make sure no alarms were being raised but that individual never made it to the scene. A full two blocks away he too was attacked. This time there was swearing before the screaming, and something else. A growling sound came over the mic just ahead of what sounded like a large knife cutting through cloth and flesh. It was the growl that got Yuri's attention. It was nothing he could pin down, but for some reason it sounded familiar, and he immediately put out a wide band alert to his remaining troops to drop back. The first two reported in with no incident but the third screamed as he was attempting to give his acknowledgment. This time the growl was unmistakable and you could hear what sounded like teeth tearing flesh. Suddenly the air was split by howling in the distance. The sound came from the direction of the suddenly silent man's last known location.

Suddenly people were on the radio wanting to know what the hell was going on. Then came the sound of machine gun fire and more swearing as another of his men ran into something he wasn't ready for. Apparently this one put up more of a fight; Yuri could hear him struggling with his attacker, hear the sound of large jaws snapping shut, the man screamed as one hand was crushed by the massive jaw, suddenly the screaming faded to a burbling moan and Yuri could almost picture the large teeth sinking into the man's throat. Fear gripped him as the vague memories stirred closer to the surface. Grabbing a heavy machine gun and an extra clip he fled from his impromptu command post and quickly started making his way through the twisting streets and dark alleyways, back to where they have left their vehicles.

Even as he ran he heard gunfire break out in another location. In his earpiece the radio again broadcast the sound of a man dying and suddenly he was the last of his team left alive. The radio was useless weight now so he tore it free, cast it away, and sprinted toward the rendezvous point. With one more street to go he heard the howling behind him. Glancing back he saw a huge shadowy shape bounding through the alleyway toward him at incredible speed.

The car was equipped with a remote start system proximity keyed to the transmitter in his pocket, at fifty feet the engine started, at twenty the door unlocked. Yuri was slamming the transmission into drive before he even considered reaching to close the door. Momentum did the job for him as the car roared away from the curb in a cloud of burned rubber. In the mirror all he saw was thick blue-gray smoke and then finally, about a hundred feet behind him a dark shape exploded into view, charging hard toward the fleeing vehicle. It was black as night, stood four feet at the shoulders and, mother of god! It was gaining on him! A quick glance at the speedometer told him he must be wrong, no dog, or wolf, could run 70 kph. As his eyes returned to the mirror the beast leaped, sailing through the air straight at the rear window. Reflexes took over and he swerved the car into the oncoming lane, which was thankfully empty this time of morning, and the dark shape landed hard on the suddenly clear pavement. Apparently the beast had not been prepared for his landing spot to move and the change of venue caused it to stumble and roll across the pavement. In seconds it was up and charging again but it was too late, the car was now over 120 kph and it simply could not be caught. Yuri smiled as the beast stopped and stared at the receding bumper. His mood quickly changed as the thing seemed to hunch down, sniffing for a scent and then started trotting at a more leisurely pace in the direction the car had fled.

Ten year old Yuri Khvlek started awake in the darkness, looking quickly around to confirm where he was and that there was nothing lurking in the dark corners of his bedroom. It had been the same nightmare again. He was used to it, but it still scared him. It was his grandmother's fault. The old tales she told of the darkness. Vampires were scary, but it was the stories of werewolves that truly terrified him. Perhaps because there were wolves in the surrounding hills and he heard them often growing up. His father and grandfather had taught him the meaning of the different howls that they would hear while sitting around the night fires. He knew when one of the pack found prey; the sound that gathered the pack, transforming it from individual hunters to a single-minded killing machine.

Then it came again, the sound that chilled his blood in his darkest dreams; the howling that was not a pack wolf, but something else. But he was awake, and it couldn't possibly be real, could it? Again he tried to relax and take the deep breaths that would calm his racing heart.

The attempt failed as something crashed through the door downstairs and the house shook. He wasn't sure how he knew it was the front door, but somehow he did. Sound erupted as throughout the house others were torn from sleep. He could hear his father swear, his sisters screaming in fear, the sound of his father's bedroom door crashing open, and the sliding crash of his shotgun locking a round into the chamber.

A shot rang out, the sound of pellets impacting the walls, a lamp breaking; more swearing followed by more shots and a roaring sound somewhere between a howl, a scream, and a growl. There was pain mixed into the scream. Then came a sound that could only be his father screaming in pain; pain and fear. He had never known fear in his father, but he had heard it in himself enough to know the sound when he heard it. With a sickening thud the sound cut off, only to be replaced by the sound of his mother screaming his father's name. Then that scream changed and this time he could almost taste the fear. This time the scream didn't so much end as die. He could almost see the massive jaws clutching at his mother's throat, tearing and rending the tender flesh, allowing the air a way out that didn't vibrate the vocal cords to make that screaming sound. The suddenly in-rushing blood foaming as it was forced out the new holes to drip and spit its way to freedom.

He could barely hear the sound of his sisters crying in their room over the sound of his pounding heart. Now the monster was at his door, massive paws clawing furrows in the wood. Then it happened, the door exploded inward and...

"Hello, Boris," I said, striding into the cell. "We need to talk."

On the bunk, Boris, Yuri, whatever you wanted to call him looked frantically around, verifying his surroundings. In his mind he still held the image of a door exploding and a dark shape bursting into his bedroom. I didn't bother to wait for him to get his bearings.

"Who are you working for?"

"What?" he asked, obviously confused.

I snapped my fingers, "Boris! You need to focus here, I asked you a question and I'm not in the mood to play games. Who sent you after me? Who are you working for?"

Suddenly he was focused and in the moment, remembering again who and where he was.

"I tell you nothing."

I shook my head, "Wrong answer, Boris. Whether or not you are going to tell me is not in question. You are going to tell me. It's just a question of what's going to happen before and after you tell me. I don't like you Boris. The fact that you were watching me, that made me mad. But going after Britney? That really pissed me off. Do you even know why you were watching me?"

"I do job, that is all."

"So you don't know? That's interesting. Who told you to watch me?"

"Who are you to ask me this? I am diplomatic immunity, I answer nothing."

"No-no, you have diplomatic immunity. You really need to work on your English," I said. I let some of my anger into my voice. "Here's the rub, I don't care. Your diplomatic immunity doesn't mean a thing to me, couldn't care less. You could be here under the personal protection of the Pope and I wouldn't care. What I do care about is that because of you, my family is in hiding, and you scared the piss out of someone I care about and now her family is in hiding."

With one hand I reached out and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the cot and pinning him against the wall. His feet scrambled for purchase on the cot but it was like trying to stand on smoke. His hands came up to clutch at my arm and try to peel my fingers away enough to breathe.

"You ruined my fucking life!" I growled at him. "Because of you, I can't see her anymore. Because of you I can't even see my family anymore, and I want to know why! I want to know who hired you to follow me. I want a name, and you're going to give me one."

I dropped him on the cot where he sat gasping for air and went on. "You're attached to the Romanian Embassy; was it someone in your government?"

"You do not frighten me boy, I..."

I slapped him hard across the face. He was so stunned he didn't know what to do, then the rage exploded within him and he lunged up off the cot at me, hands reaching for my throat. Expecting to meet the resistance of a body he overbalanced and fell to his knees when I suddenly wasn't there. The next thing he felt was my foot kicking him squarely in the balls as he was on all fours. He gave a strangled cry, clutched at himself, and rolled on the floor, coughing and trying to catch is breath. I waited until his eyes started to focus again, then touched his shoulder, putting him under.

"Someone hired you to follow me, was it your government?"

"No," he answered.

"Then why are they pulling strings to get you out," I asked.

"They do not know why I was taken; I have other secrets that they fear."

"Do you know why someone was interested in me?"

"No, but I do not question the why of the job, so long as the pay is good."

"What was your assignment?"

"First assignment was to capture you. Our operative follow you to mountain village with girl, he wait for opportunity, perhaps bathroom, but you leave. He track you to roadside marketplace but you escape before backup team arrive. Suddenly he is in hands of FBI. Many questions; why is FBI helping you? How you spot him? Vlad very good and you only schoolboy, how you get away? New orders; boss wishes to know more, test you little bit. I am not happy but more money is to be paid so I do as I am told. You spot new tail, you arrange little problem with police. Close call, we try not to be so obvious next time, but you spot tail again. More testing, you are quite good for young boy. Boss wants bigger test, wants to see what you will do if we take girl. Will you run to rescue, will you not? What can you do?"

"Were you surprised at what I could do?"

"Most impressed, you are very good, much more than we anticipate."

"What were you going to do to Britney?"

"Nothing, the girl was not to be harmed unless no alternative. If all go as planned, she goes home in morning."

"Who hired you?"

Silence. I pushed harder. Sweat beaded on his forehead but he still wouldn't speak. They must receive some pretty serious conditioning; time for plan B. I would have been happier if he had just told me what I wanted to know, but a part of me, and I don't mean Jamie -- although she was looking forward to this too, a part of me was glad it hadn't been that easy.

"Tomorrow morning you are going to be turned over to your embassy friends. You're not really getting away, Boris, someone will be following you. Someone only you can see or hear."

Behind me the door opened and Walter stepped in, dressed all in black leather and with his big sword strapped across his back.

"He will follow you and make sure that you don't tell anyone about me. Not what happened at the warehouse or that you spoke to me here. If you attempt to do so, he will hurt you so that you can't talk. You will still be able to talk about other things, but any attempt to mention me, anything at all and your throat will simply stop working. The harder you try, the harder it will get, until you can't breathe. If you try to write or type the answers he will stop you, only this time the damage will not be so selective. He will damage your hands, cutting the tendons so that your fingers no longer work. Do you understand all of this?"

"Yes."

"Good, we'll talk again tomorrow, and I'll give you a second chance. Now just so you know I'm serious, I'm going to leave a mark on you. You will not remember how you got the mark or anything I have said to you unless you try to tell someone about me, then the mark will appear and you will remember what I have just told you. And then, like I said, we'll talk again, and next time, you will tell me what I want to know or I will stop being nice. This is going to hurt, a lot. But the pain and the mark will vanish as soon as I take my hand away and only come back if you try to talk about what has happened. First the mark and the pain, then if you still try, my friend will hurt you, first your throat, then your hands if you keep trying, do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Good." I slapped my other hand down on his chest and he screamed in pain. In seconds the shirt had burned away and the flesh beneath it was scorched in the shape of my hand print.

Then I released him and it all vanished. The pain was gone, his shirt was once more whole, and he was back to lying on the floor, clutching his balls. The last thing he heard was the door closing as I left.

I had no doubt he would be talking to someone as soon as he was free. It would be interesting to see how much of what I was trying to do would actually work. If everything went well then Boris would stay in a dreamlike state the entire day. Only he would be dreaming he was awake and reacting accordingly. Seeing all the things his eyes saw, hearing all the sounds, muscles responding as they should to move him through the day. Only he would actually be in a hypnotic sleep, which, if everything went as planned would allow him to see Walter following him all day, whether he was wearing leather or fur wouldn't make a difference. Keeping him in a constant dream state that the rest of the world wouldn't notice might be tricky. But then, I wanted them to notice something was wrong with him. I wanted them to see his eyes jump every time he saw Walter, and when he eventually tried to say something I wanted them to see him writhing in agony at the sudden pain in his chest. I wondered if his psychosomatic trauma would be intense enough to make the hand print visible? Time would tell.

"Jimmy?" Lizzy's voice came to me as I was leaving Boris' cell.

"Yes Love?"

"Oh, you're so sweet. Have you got a few minutes to spare?"

"For you? Of course." I transitioned to her garden, where I found her in that diaphanous dress that just seemed so perfect on her, baby's breath and tiny pink flowers woven through her golden hair. What can I say, she took my breath away.

"What's up?" I asked, sitting on the bench beside her.

"I've been thinking about Dean Worthy and what you said. He's one of the people I've been keeping an eye on around campus. I've seen something dark growing in him and from what you said it's probably his temptation for his granddaughter. I'm wondering though if there might be a better way to deal with him."

"What did you have in mind?" I asked.

"Well, for one thing I don't think he's as bad as you or Jamie may think, yet. Like I said, I've been watching him and yes, he's got some issues and they are bad, and they are getting worse, but I don't think they've reached that point yet. He may have been daydreaming about the money you are planning to donate and what he could do with it, but Jimmy, I don't think this is something he's done before. I think he's been on a dark path, taking advantage of girls in bad situations, but I've done a little snooping around and every one of those girls deserved to be kicked out. For the most part they were spoiled little rich bitches that'd spent most of their time partying on daddy's tuition money."

"That still doesn't..." I started but she cut me off.

"I know, it doesn't justify what he's done, and I don't condone it, but I think he's been on the slippery slope and doesn't know how to quit. My guess is that at some point in the past, one or more of these girls came to him and offered him a deal. He got a taste of what kind of power he really had and it's gone to his head, but I think we can stop it without ruining his life. I mean, he's not the Sandman, or one of those assholes in Vegas. These girls are all well over the age of consent and put themselves in a position to be taken advantage of. Yes it's wrong for him to do it but we don't need to take the kind of steps you've had to use on your regular cases."

"So, you think maybe I'm over-reacting?"

"Yeah, I do," she said, tracing a line over my ear with her fingertips and stroking it down my neck. "It's not your fault though, so far everyone you've ever had to 'deal with' for lack of a better term, has required that kind of action. You've never even had the chance to look for different solutions."

"Okay, so what do you suggest?"

"I thought I might give him Amber. You know just order her to him now and then. She'll be here for several years working on whatever degree you decide for her..."

"We," I corrected her. "Whatever degree we decide on for her."

"Of course," she said with a smile. "Whatever degree we decide for her. I'm thinking that we give Amber to Dean Worthy, guarantee her availability, on the condition that he leaves the other girls alone. Perhaps by the time she is finished he may be ready to retire. And I'll just happen to go along once in a while, to give him a little two-on-one thrill and deal with this darker craving he's been developing, divert it into a more healthy release with Amber. I knew he was terribly conflicted about something and I'm guessing it's these feelings he's been having, but if he were to succumb to them and do something... , Jimmy, I don't think he could live with himself. Besides, the experience would be good for Amber as well."

"I see," I said. "So you're thinking, or hoping, that Amber, along with the occasional thrill of watching you and Amber together, would be enough to keep him happy?"

"Yes," she said. "But not just me and Amber, Jimmy. You understand my gift doesn't work that way, I can't use it through her. I have to be with the person to use it."

I nodded my head, "Yes, I understand, I worded that wrong. Sorry."

"Okay," she said. "Think about it, he doesn't need to coerce or blackmail Amber to experience the kind of power rush he's been seeking. He would be her master for their time together. I will explain the rules and the consequences if he breaks them." She had one of those grins on her face by the time she was finished.

"Hmm. Why do I think you are really going to enjoy this part?"

"Oh I am, all of us will, and I think that when I'm through, when we're through, he'll be more than happy with the arrangement."

I stood and pulled her up to kiss her. "As you wish," I said. "I will bow to your experience and wisdom in this, but if anything goes wrong, let me know and I'll deal with it, okay."

"Oh, don't worry; you'll know immediately if anything goes wrong."

I looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Jimmy, if anything were to go wrong, Amber would use her safe word. From what you've told me of what Walter said, and the things that have been happening lately, I think day or night, wherever you were, you would hear her if she cried out to you. And that's what it would be if she were pushed that far, she won't use her safe word unless she really feels the need to be rescued. I pity whoever makes the mistake of pushing Amber to that extreme, because they will not only have to deal with you, but Jamie, and possibly even Walter, although I think that would be something you would decide at the time."

"If I were involved with something so critical I couldn't get away then I might send him instead."

"If that were the case then it would mean lives were in immediate danger, because otherwise you would go yourself, or send Jamie at the very least. I can't imagine anyone not accepting something like that in such a situation. Amber would be mortified, crushed, to think that someone may have died because she broke, regardless of the motivation. It would devastate her to the point she may never use it again, no matter how dire her circumstances, and that would be bad."

I thought about it for a second. "If I did some conditioning ahead of time, plant something in Amber and the Dean that would activate if he ever went too far and she cried out to me, something that would alter their mental state so that they would perceive Walter if I sent him. I think he could be pretty damn intimidating if he wanted to be."

"No doubt," she agreed. "And in a situation like that I'd want him to do more than just intimidate someone; I'd want them hurt, seriously."

"Yeah, but he wouldn't be real."

"Jimmy, if they were in enough of a dream state to perceive him then their mind could very well accept what he does. There may not be physical trauma like Jamie did with that Essex bitch in Vegas, but I think at the very least he could scare the shit out of them, at least until you or Jamie got there to handle it in person."

"I guess when you put it that way; it's exactly what I'm doing with Boris only I've taken stronger steps in his preparation than I would with someone like Dean Worthy."

"Well," she said. "Hopefully we won't ever need to find out. Can you stay, or do you have more to do tonight?"

"I would love to stay, but I really wanted to go and see Samantha, and maybe Doctor Hendricks, just to make sure things are okay before I show up."

"What do you mean? What could be wrong?"

"That's just it," I said. "I don't know, but just because I don't know doesn't mean nothing is wrong. I just want to check on them, look for anything out of place. I was thinking of dropping in and checking out the House of Seven Willows, what do you think?"

"I think you're out of your mind," she said, somewhat exasperated. "No! Bad idea! There is no reason for you to expose yourself like that. Jasmine probably wouldn't even see you. One look at you and she's going to think you're some kid out for a thrill. Then what? You're not going there for sex and that is what they do there. It would look really funny if you just declined and walked away at the end. Besides, what if Tanya saw you? You already know she's the one spying on Jasmine. What if you caught her attention and she passed the information along to someone. I know you're planning on stopping by the church. What if she just happens to be there and recognizes you? Very bad idea."

I smiled and said, "Don't hold back, Lizzy, tell me what you really think."

She blushed and tried to push me off the bench. "You!"

"No, no," I said, grabbing her arms to hold myself up. "You're right, and I'm glad you told me. I'm sure Allison would agree with everything you just said." Now that I had my balance I leaned in and kissed her. "Thank you."

She kissed me back and well, waiting was going to be hard. Even as I was thinking that I could feel a tug. Lizzy felt the change in me immediately.

"What?" she asked.

"Your friend Carol is dreaming of me."

"Ugh, that little slut!" Lizzy said, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation. I knew she was just kidding but there was something in her voice.

"Nice try," I said. "But I think that face says you've got work to do. Am I right?"

She kissed me again. "I am so lucky to have you. Yeah, Carol has some issues I've been trying to help her with. But one of those issues is in the way. She..."

I put a finger to her lips, "I don't need to know. I think a lot of your work is going to fall into the doctor-patient category. If you ever want to talk, or feel like you need to, I'll be here, but don't ever feel like you have to talk to me about it, okay?"

She sucked my finger into her mouth and swirled her tongue around it as she nibbled her way back off.

"Um!" I said. "You're going to make this waiting thing really hard."

She put her arms around my neck and said, "Lover, I plan to make your life just as hard as possible, every chance I get." She kissed my cheek before pulling back. "Now go on, you've got work to do and I've taken up too much of your time already."

"Okay, I've duplicated Carol's dream in one of mine, I'll drop you on my way. If I don't see you sooner, I'll see you in the morning."

"I love you," she said as the scene faded and I found myself in the hallway outside Samantha's room.



-------

Chapter 61: Yes, It Can be Worse


I met Allison in the hallway outside Sam's room before knocking. The door opened and as usual Samantha, naked except for a pair of bikini panties, was on her knees with her eyes averted before the door was fully open. I stepped forward and stroked her hair, her bracelet changed and suddenly she was lunging at me with a ten inch carving knife. Reflexes took over; my hands shooting out with wrists crossed, catching her arm and blocking it out and away, pulling back before she could recover, catching her wrist and twisting violently, spinning her around and causing her fingers to lose their grip on the handle. I kicked the knife away when it fell to the floor.

Samantha cried out in pain as I twisted her arm up behind her back, my free arm coming up around her throat to immobilize her. She tried pulling at my arm to break free and I put more pressure on her arm. Allison was still standing in the hallway, staring in shocked amazement at the scene.

"Ow! Ow! Oh God please stop, Jimmy, it hurts!" And tears began to flow.

I eased up a little on her arm. "I'm sorry Sam, I didn't want to hurt you, but why did you attack me?

"I don't know," she said. "I didn't want to, I just couldn't stop myself."

That didn't sound good. "If I let you go are you going to attack me again?"

"No," she whimpered. "Please, Jimmy, don't hurt me any more. I'll be good, I promise. Please don't punish me."

I really didn't like the sound of that; 'don't hurt me' I could understand, punishment on the other hand had a very specific meaning in her world. I tossed a worried glance at Allison, took a deep breath and readied myself before letting her go.

Damn, I hate it when I'm right.

I hoped she would just relax and begin rubbing her shoulder to relieve the pain and tension from my twisting her arm but instead she spun toward me, both hands coming up, hands twisted like claws as all ten fingers reached for me. I could see the rage on her face.

Suddenly the scene froze and Samantha stood motionless before me.

"What the fuck is going on?" Jamie asked, stepping out of me.

"I have no idea," I said, then raised my voice and called, "Bob!"

"I have a bad feeling about this," Allison said, stepping in quickly and closing the door. "He'll need an entry point," she replied to the question in my eyes.

She was right, almost immediately the door opened and Bob walked in. Even as I turned to greet him I saw a sleep shirt appear on Samantha. "Thanks," I said to Jamie.

"Duh! He would be sooo embarrassed," she said.

"This can't be good," Bob said, taking in the strange room and Samantha's enraged form. "Normally I'd ask what you did this time, but I know your record with women and I just can't picture you ever doing anything to merit this kind of response. Who is she?"

"Samantha Watkins," Jamie said. A quick series of images of previous meetings with Samantha flashed by in what appeared to be a small holographic projection in front of us.

As the images ran Allison said, "Bob, this girl worships Jimmy. She'd trade places with Amber tomorrow if she wasn't worried about her sister. Now suddenly..." her finish coincided with our arrival.

"I see what you mean," Bob said. "Is Elizabeth available?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "I left her working with a friend but I can ask. Be right back."

"Wait!" Jamie yelled before I could disappear.

"What?" I asked, surprised.

Jamie gave a grin I'm sure she had learned from Allison and said, "Think about who she's with and why she's there and tell me you want to walk in on that?"

Bob actually blushed, nodding his head and saying, "Ah, working with a friend. Still, he's seen Elizabeth naked before, they're engaged; I don't think she'd mind."

"It's not Lizzy she's worried about, Bob," I said. "The friend is a girl and I try to make it a point never to walk into a room where people may be naked or ... busy." I turned to Jamie, "Thanks, could you go see if she can break away?" She nodded and disappeared and I turned back to Bob. "Sorry about the other night by the way."

He actually chuckled, "Yeah, Rebecca told me about it when she got back."

I shook my head and said, "Yeah I know, that was stupid and I shouldn't have done it, but Allison made it sound like it was that urgent."

"Heat of the moment," he said. "Besides, it was that important, so don't beat yourself up about it."

Before I could answer Lizzy came in behind him, moving quickly into my arms and hugging me. Because of where we were standing and the rapidly crowding conditions, Samantha was partially obscured and I don't think Lizzy even noticed her.

"Jimmy, what's wrong?" She asked. "Jamie sounded like it was urgent."

She started to turn around but I caught her shoulders and held her. "No, don't turn around yet, Samantha is behind you."

Her eyes got big and I could feel a subtle stiffening where I held her.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice Elizabeth," Bob said. "I hope we aren't interrupting anything. Jimmy said you were working."

"No, I left a copy behind to handle it. She can't heal but she can do everything else."

"You did what?" Allison asked.

Lizzy gave her a funny look and said, "I left a copy behind. You know, a clone of myself, don't you do that?"

"Never occurred to me to try," Allison answered. "We'll have to talk about it later. Right now we've got a problem. Did Jamie tell you anything?"

"No, just that you guys needed me."

"Actually, I needed you," Bob said. "Now I'm not so sure you can help. I take it there is a problem with you and Samantha."

She nodded sadly, "I tried to look at her once and it almost broke my heart. She's just ... it's hard to describe but forget about that for now, what's going on?"

"Jamie," I said, nodding to her.

The little holographic images appeared before us again, running through the greeting moments past and present. The smaller image seemed easier for her to take, but when it got to the current one she jerked away violently.

"What?" I asked. "What is it?"

"I don't know," she answered. "I've never seen anything like it. When she opened the door it was her, but as soon as you touched her it wasn't."

"That's what I was hoping you would see," Bob said, then he turned to me again. "Or at least what I expected you to see. You remember the last time we talked about Samantha, when you told me she didn't remember ever being with Lord Hightower?"

"Yes," I said.

"We talked about him using hypnosis to cover his tracks and that he would have to be really, really, good to pull off what we were seeing?"

"You think he hypnotized Samantha and told her to attack Jimmy?" Allison asked.

"Something like that, yes. Elizabeth, if you can, I'd like you to look at Samantha and tell me what you see? Do you think you can do that?"

Elizabeth didn't answer, just closed her eyes turned slowly around. As she turned I took her hand and she grabbed onto mine tightly with both hands. She took a second to steel herself and then opened her eyes, instantly shutting them again and turning her eyes away.

"Oh God!" she whispered. She steeled herself again and took another quick glance, then spun into my arms, flinging her arms around me and burying her face in neck. I could feel her trembling as she fought with herself not to cry.

"I can't do it," she cried. "I can't ... Oh God, Jimmy, you have to do something."

"Okay," I said, stroking her hair and holding her. "It's okay, relax, just take a deep breath and try to tell us what you saw." I looked past her to see the concern on Bob's face, pain in Allison's eyes, and anger in Jamie's.

Lizzy took a deep breath and turned further away from Samantha. In the air before her a shadow shape formed. "That's what I see," she said. "Or as much as I can show you, the reality is ... When you first came in, it was just her, or at least it was what I saw before. But as soon as you touched her ... this."

"She turned into this?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so, it happened so fast and I couldn't..." I could see she was losing the battle with her tears. " ... I couldn't look long enough to see."

"More like an overlay?" Bob asked. "Like something took her over and is controlling her? Possessing her?"

"Yes, like that!" Lizzy answered between sobs. "Jimmy, you have to help her."

"Thank you Elizabeth," Bob said. "I'm sorry for putting you through that, but that's what I expected. In answer to your question, Allison; yes, I think what we're dealing with is a hypnotic compulsion. It was hidden inside her like an old fashioned trap, just laying there until someone, not just any someone but Jimmy specifically, stepped in it. As soon as he touched her and she knew it was him it took her over, with instructions to kill him."

"This guy is really pissing me off," Jamie said. I wasn't sure if that was actually smoke coming from her ears but the fire in the eyes I did recognize.

"Then you really won't like this part," Bob continued. "Based on what you've told me of Hightower and his little band of perverts, I'm betting he's making her watch."

"You mean..." Lizzy began, shocked.

"Yes," Bob interrupted. "I mean she is trapped inside watching this thing use her body to try and kill the only person in the world that's trying to help her." He glanced at Jamie and me and asked, "How certain are you that this thing can't actually be picking up anything we may say?"

Almost instantly I felt the bubble form and we were all standing in the glade; the scene of Samantha's bedroom floating before us in a sphere about eighteen inches in diameter.

"Wow!" Bob said. "That felt really weird." He looked closer at the bubble, "Is that really me, or rather, us, in there?"

"Yeah," I answered. "Actually, I guess it's more like a copy, like Lizzy said. If I let the scene go it would walk and talk, act and react like you, but it wouldn't be you. So what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking your Lord Hightower is the best damn hypnotist I've ever even heard of. I say hypnotist because I can't think of any other way you could explain what we're seeing. Jimmy, is it even remotely possible that you could somehow make Samantha ... okay, wrong question, I know you could make Samantha forget we were there, but do you think there is any way to make that ... whatever it is, forget?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "You make it sound like it's alive."

"Oh, it is," he assured me. "Not in any normal way we would think of as alive, but as far as anything can be alive in this world, yes, it's very much alive. Think of it as a Trojan virus attached to an email that you opened. Once it's open, it immediately starts monitoring what you do, and at some point it's going to send off the information that it has gathered to whoever planted it. When you touched her, you opened the virus, and unless we can find a way to stop it, it's going to report back. My guess is that there is a secondary compulsion to contact Lord Hightower and tell him what has happened, even if it's only to tell him that the package has been opened. I suspect he's testing you."

"But how?" I asked. "How would he even know that I'm around?"

"Essex," Jamie said. "Damn! This is my fault. There was no real damage to Essex, but her arm didn't work, and the last thing she remembers is that something went wrong in a dream."

"Right," Bob said. "Hightower, probably using hypnosis, set out to correct the damage you did in the dream. This is just speculation, but then he remembered the dream that his faithful follower, Frank Watkins, had of his daughter coming back from the grave to attack him. Jimmy, have you been telling people not to remember the dreams you've appeared in? Specifically ordering them to forget?"

"Some, but not all," I said. "Most of them don't really involve much in the way of contact; it just depends on how much interaction we have."

"Then this likely just went from bad to worse. Somehow, he's become aware of you; my guess is that this isn't the only trap he has set out for you. He's probably been checking around to see just how much you know. Obviously, you've seen Samantha more than anyone else so he left a little surprise for you when you came back. I doubt if he expected it to really work, but now that it's failed it will be interesting to see what he does next."

"What can he do?" I asked.

"That's the problem; we don't know what he can do. The scary thing is that there doesn't seem to be much he won't do, so it just depends on what he wants."

"Do you think Sam knows?" Jamie asked.

Bob thought for a moment before answering. "Well, I think his primary motivation is obvious, he wants whoever is messing with his perfect little world, dead. As for secondary motivations in this particular attack, it's possible he may have explained them. Obviously she was there when he set it up, and even though she was likely under when he did it, what we do know about him suggests that he would want her to know what was happening. It's the same motivation that makes me ninety-nine percent certain that she can see what is going on. He wants to kill her only hope. More importantly, he want's her to see it die. I think Jimmy may be able to reach the information. I hope he can, because if I'm right, then one way or the other this is about to get really ugly.

I could see the wheels continuing to turn as he spoke. "Samantha is in serious trouble. You've given her hope, something these girls are not allowed to have. If you can't stop him he will use her as an example, making sure all the other girls know that she was helping an outsider, and she will be punished, except in this case I'm very much afraid she may be punished to death. He's going to make an example out of her, one strong enough that none of them will ever consider doing anything even remotely like this again."

"Then why bother with this?" Allison asked. "Why not just do it and get it over with?"

Bob nodded as if he had expected the question. "He doesn't have proof. He needs something more concrete to justify it or it will be seen as an act of whimsy, like he made it up to justify punishing her. He can't afford for the girls to get the idea that he might do that. If 'I think you're breaking the rules' becomes enough of a reason..."

"Witch hunt," Allison said.

"Exactly," Bob said. "If you had contacted all of them and they remembered it, he could do it, but you haven't. The others would never believe it possible, even the ones you have contacted would freak if they thought they were being punished for having a dream. I'm glad you asked that question, Allison. Thinking it through, I take back what I said. For now at least, Samantha should be safe enough."

He paused before continuing. "He would have to be very sure of his control to even attempt this. Jimmy, do you think you could break the shell if Elizabeth can't find a way inside?"

"I've been wondering the same thing myself," I answered. "And I'm wondering if it would be safe. You compared it to a computer virus, and I'm thinking that's a good analogy, but if you put that back in biological terms, that makes Sam the host, and the question becomes can you destroy the virus without destroying the host?"

"Can you break the shell without scrambling the egg?" Jamie asked.

"Excellent analogy, Jamie," Bob said. "Looking at it that way, it depends as you say, on how closely the shell is attached." He turned to Lizzy and asked, "Elizabeth, do you think you can look at her long enough to see if there is a way in?"

"The eyes," Lizzy said.

"I beg your pardon?" Bob said.

"I've been thinking about it while you were talking. If he's letting her see what's happening then she has to be looking through its eyes." She turned to me, "I guess it's true, her eyes are the window to her soul."

"Poetic. Now all I have to do is get in without breaking the glass."

"Why don't you just go somewhere else and call her to you?" Allison suggested.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Jimmy, you call people who are awake here and they come."

"People I'm connected to," I said.

"True, but we don't know that's a requirement, and even if it is, you are connected to her. Jimmy, I wasn't kidding when I said Sam would trade places with Amber. I've told you before, there is nothing that girl wouldn't do for you. But either way, what do you have to lose? If it doesn't work you can try the other thing, but this sounds simpler, you know, that whole KISS thing that Lizzy told us about."

I glanced at Bob, he shrugged. "She's right, it's a much simpler solution and we've got nothing to lose by trying it. I'm not sure you have to leave though, we're already 'somewhere else' as far as she's concerned."

I thought about it and looked at Jamie, who also shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, it's worth a shot," I said, turning to face Elizabeth. "She doesn't know you, Shannon's disguise was Angela, so I'm going to disguise you as Amber for now. Bob, I'm just going to make you invisible, I don't want to frighten her by having a strange man here but I still want you available."

"Who are you calling strange?" He asked, then held up his hand before I could respond. "I understand, do whatever you think best."

I nodded and turned to Jamie. She nodded and said, "Let's do this," then stepped into me and together we turned to focus on the bubble again.

I concentrated and watched as it expanded from eighteen inches to about six feet. Don't ask me why but I was more comfortable working with a larger version. I concentrated and the images of the rest of us disappeared from the room, leaving only Samantha behind. A moment later her image darkened as I focused on the shell that Lizzy described. Taking a deep breath I stepped back and tried for one of those 'commanding voices' people talk about.

"SAMANTHA!" I guess I was trying too hard as the sound echoed in the air around us.

Suddenly she was there, kneeling on the grass before us. Bob spun quickly away as she was once more dressed only in her panties.

I put a sleep shirt on her and said, "Samantha," in a softer voice.

"Yes my Lord, how may I please you?"

I started to reach for her but Allison stopped me.

"Wait," she said, moving between us. Without trying to explain, she looked at Lizzy's new character. "Sharon?"

Lizzy had turned away when Samantha appeared, still unable to take looking at her directly for very long, but she smiled and said, "It's her. We won't know more until he touches her."

"Cool," Allison said, then hugged Samantha hard to her. "Oh, Sammy, I am so glad to see you, are you okay?"

"Do I know you?" Samantha asked, standing stiffly as Allison hugged her

"Shit!" Allison said. "I forgot about that. Okay, you can't be sure it's us yet. Here's the deal, turn around and look behind you." She took Samantha's shoulders and turned her so she could see the shadowy image of herself in the bubble. "Okay, that's what happened when Jimmy touched you the first time; do you remember any of that?"

Samantha dropped to her knees and replied, "I don't understand, Mistress, I know no one called Jimmy? I do not know you but that is not important, please just tell me your pleasure and I will do my best, I promise."

Allison looked at me for guidance.

"It's the only way," I said. "Stand back and be ready in case this goes wrong."

Allison took a step back and I moved forward, placing my hand on Sam's head. Her bracelet changed again, but instead of jumping up and trying to kill me, she melted forward, clutching at my knees and sobbing. There was no attempt to even speak, she just held onto me and cried. I glanced at Lizzy; there were tears streaming down her face, and she was already moving forward. I knelt down as best I could with a sixteen year old girl hugging both my knees and wrapped my arms around her. Allison wasn't far behind.

Through the sobbing I could finally make out words, " ... sorry ... I'm so sorry ... I couldn't stop it..." It broke my heart to hear her in so much pain.

I glanced at Bob, scooped Samantha up off the ground and moved us to the cabana. As we left I could feel Jamie leave me.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Take care of Sam, leave this thing to me." Her voice practically dripped violence.

I sat back down in the little sunken pool, Samantha still cradled in my arms and sobbing on my shoulder.

"It's okay, Sam, I'm fine and there was nothing you could have done to prevent it." I kissed her cheek and stroked her hair. "Don't cry, Sam, it wasn't your fault."

"Let me," Lizzy said softly. I could see her steal herself and then she reached out and gently took Samantha's face in her hands, closed her eyes, and leaned in and kissed her, softly at first, then with more intensity. Nothing really vigorous, not even any tongue, but you could feel the way she was focusing on the kiss. In my arms I could feel Samantha starting to relax. Finally Lizzy pulled back, stroking the girl's face with one hand. "Better?" she asked.

Samantha blushed and nodded shyly, reaching a hand to catch Lizzy's as it pulled back. "I love you," she said.

Lizzy kissed her hand and held onto it.

"Jimmy," Allison said. "I hate to ruin the party but I don't know how much time we have left tonight."

As she spoke there was a muffled explosion and the cabana shook. The girls all started, Samantha struggling to sit up out of my arms.

"It's okay, be still," I said, tightening my grip slightly. At the command her training kicked in and she relaxed again. Even as she did, I felt Jamie return.

I released Sam and said, "Okay, you can sit up now if you want."

To the others I said, "That was just a Jamie taking care of that little problem."

"Sam, I'd like to explain everything that's just happened but it won't matter because you're not going to remember any of it anyway. Something has happened, the game is getting more complicated, and for now, it's important that you never saw any of us tonight, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said, snuggling into me again. "You're okay and that's all that matters. I know you'll do your best no matter what. I don't need to know, don't want to know, what you're doing."

"No, but we need to know what you know. So, tell us what happened, everything you can remember about your meeting with whoever put that thing in your head."

Allison had been right, it was getting late, and there wasn't time to get it all, but we got a lot. This time she remembered Lord Hightower. He still didn't have a head, but at this point it didn't matter, we already knew who he was anyway. The last thing I did was to command her to forget ever seeing any of us tonight. As far as she knew, she had had a relaxing night, dreaming of nothing in particular with no interruptions of any kind.

Dragging myself out of bed at what was, on my clock, three o'clock in the morning to go running with Lizzy was hard, but the goodbye shower afterwards made up for it. While we were running we talked about what had happened and how she had managed to actually work with Samantha there at the end.

"If I didn't look at her it was a lot easier. I just didn't let myself focus on her, kind of just looking past her instead of at her. It's not a solution but it's a start."

I dropped her back at school in time to get her books from her dorm room and make her first class then headed into town to do a little banking. The operations officer at the small local bank was a little hesitant to open a joint account in three names with only one of us present, but I assured her that Lizzy would be by after school and Amber would be in the following week.

"And what is your relationship?" she inquired.

I just stared at her.

"For tax purposes," she amended.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm kind of new at this. What exactly are you asking?"

She smiled and said, "The account may draw interest depending on the balance. That income would be taxable and would have to be reported to the IRS. You will receive a statement every year showing the amount of interest that was paid over the previous year. It's then up to you to make sure that the appropriate taxes get paid. If you are filing jointly it's a simple matter. If you're filing individually then it will be up to you to determine who gets stuck paying the taxes."

"Oh, then that won't be a problem," I said, passing it off.

She gave me a curious look and moved on. She seemed a little surprised that I had all of Amber's information readily at hand but none of Elizabeth's. I offered to text her and get it all but she said she really couldn't use any of it until they came in with their identification anyway.

"I'll be leaving town later today and I don't know when I'll be back, is that going to create a problem with setting up the account?"

"Oh no," she assured me. "Essentially I'm setting up the account in your name and before you leave I'll have you sign the necessary documents to add the girls to your account later. This is a little more complicated than most of our transactions but trust me; being this close to the college we see a lot of this sort of thing. Especially at the beginning of term when mommy and daddy are trying to get their babies settled." She rolled her eyes. "I tell you, they would all be so much better off if they would just let the kids deal with it themselves. They're grown-ups for goodness sake, let them start taking responsibility. Look at you for instance, it's obvious you haven't done this before but you're doing just fine. It's not nearly as complicated as some people seem to think. Now then, about your opening deposit..."

"I'll be giving you a thousand dollars today and if you'll give me routing information I'll have more wired in, probably tomorrow."

"Well that's refreshing," she said with a smile. "Usually, student accounts opened after the beginning of term are just enough to get the account open so they can cash their paychecks. Now I'll need you to sign..."

Ah yes, paperwork. A half hour later I was pulling out of the parking lot and headed for the airport and my plane to Las Vegas. Driving off and leaving Lizzy behind had been hard. I had rapidly come to the conclusion that I really didn't like being alone like this. I realized I'd never really been alone before, never had to rely on myself, and certainly never had to do it with so many other people relying on me at the same time. I must have been in shock during the trip out, because this seemed to hurt a lot more.

"You were in shock," Jamie said, when I mentioned it to her. "That's why I took over. You never would have made it through the airport. This is just the truth catching up with you."

"You're probably right," I said. "I think what I remember most is that I don't remember much. Saying goodbye to Allison and our parents ... I don't know, it just doesn't seem real that I may not get to see them again." Time to change the subject.

"So what were you doing last night?" I asked as the take-off pressure pushed me back into my seat in business class. On short notice it was this or something all the way in the back of the plane.

"Just what I said, disposing of Lord Dickhead's little play-toy."

"Have fun?"

"You couldn't tell?"

"Yeah, okay it was dumb question. So what do you think, does this change anything we had planned for Vegas?"

"No, not that I can see. Hey, do we have Jasmine's number?" she asked, changing the subject.

"No, but it is Las Vegas, I'm sure it's listed. Why?"

"We need a gift for Amber. I'm thinking she'll be able to tell us the best place to shop, or at least the best place to not get ripped off."

"Good idea. What are you thinking?" I asked.

"I can't decide between the gold choker and something studded."

"How about if we just ask Jasmine to select something appropriate, have the store hold it for us and we'll pick it up later today. Discreet, anonymous, simple."

"Works for me, think you can figure out that sky phone?" She asked. "Or better yet, do you think you could have that yummy little flight attendant over there come over and help us?"

"Slut."

"Hey, I'll share," she giggled. "Oh wait, that's right, you're a practically married man."

"Ow!" I said, and then got serious. "Do you need to spend some quality time with Allison, or maybe Amber?"

"No, I'm fine; I just wanted to pull your chain a little. Jimmy, I'm so happy about you and Lizzy I can't even express it."

"Really? So how come you disappeared practically the whole time we were alone together?"

She hesitated before answering, "Truthfully, because we're waiting and I don't trust myself. I'm afraid that my feelings, on top of your own may be too much and you'll give in."

"We're waiting?"

"I know what you're going to say, and yes, she sees and treats us as individuals but that only goes so far. I may not love her as much as you do, but I do love her and I want it to be special too, so yes, we're waiting, all of us, and I don't want to screw that up."

"Okay then, let's see if we can play helpless and get a little extra attention." I raised my voice,"Excuse me, Miss?" The young woman in question released her seat belt and started our way. I guessed her at somewhere around five-eight, with the heels she was a little taller than me. She was slender but not skinny, her short blonde hair framed her face nicely, and she had the prettiest eyes. Hazel I think they call it. You know, brown with green centers. I guessed her age somewhere in the mid twenties.

"Oh yeah, work it baby!" I swear she was searching for dollar bills to start stuffing in the girl's uniform.

"Slut." I laughed. "You sure you don't some time away?"

"May I help you?" the girl asked, bending forward just enough to make it interesting but no more.

"I was wondering if you could show me how this phone works, I've never used one before and I need to call ahead to Vegas."

"Actually, the phones are currently turned off until we reach cruising altitude and the captain turns off the seatbelt sign."

I smacked myself on the forehead, "You said that during the pre-flight didn't you? I'm sorry, I should have paid better attention, I guess I was a little..." I paused and moved my eyes to her barely concealed cleavage, " ... distracted." I smiled as my eyes met hers again and was rewarded with a hint of a blush.

"Now who's a slut?" Jamie asked.

I ignored her.

As luck would have it the seat next to us was empty, I popped the catch on my seat belt and slid over toward the window, quickly belting into the new position. "Maybe you could show me now and then I won't take you away from your other duties when they come on."

She smiled very sweetly and slid into the seat next to me. A guy in a business suit on the other side of the aisle gave me a quick thumbs-up then turned away before she could spot him. "Okay, all you need to do..." She walked me through the steps for using the phone and then asked, "What brings you to Las Vegas, do you have friends there?"

"No," I answered honestly. "I have some business coming up there and this is more of a scouting trip."

"Oh," she said. "I thought maybe you were calling someone to meet you."

"No, actually I was hoping to pick up a gift for a special friend while I'm in town. Another friend suggested I call a friend for recommendations on what to get the first friend and where to find it. Only now I'm not sure which friend we were talking about." She chuckled and I went on, "I'm sorry, I just realized I've been terribly rude." I stuck out my hand, "David Malcolm, and you are?"

"Christine Payson, so you're calling a friend of a friend to get a gift idea for another friend. What's the occasion?" she asked, laying her hand in mine and leaving it up to me what to do with it.

I was going to shake it but I knew Jamie was dying to kiss it, so I let her. "Nice to meet you Christine; It's sort of a graduation present. She's been involved in some really intensive special studies and is about to get started having a life again. I'm looking for something she can take with her; sort of showcase her hard work and how special it makes her."

"Well that's very thoughtful of you, there are a lot of options in a place like Las Vegas and I'm sure you'll find something."

"What about you?" I asked. "Is this a regular run for you?"

"Yes and no, I have five different routes I fly, five hops around the country at all hours of the day and night. God I can't wait until I have enough seniority to get on something longer and fixed."

"Ah, so you're headed right back out again."

"I wish," she said. "This is my odd run. Next flight is tomorrow afternoon to Atlanta. Another stimulating night hiding in my hotel room."

"Why would you have to do that?"

"I don't gamble for one thing — nothing against it but I don't make enough money to be able to afford it, the same goes for the shows and, well..." she glanced down at herself.

"Yeah," I said, following her gaze and letting my eyes rove slowly back up to hers, "I guess Vegas wouldn't be the safest place for a girl as pretty as you to wander around alone."

She shook her head, "I tried it the first time I had a long lay-over and I got propositioned three times in the first hour. I thought I would die. No thank you. It's been nice talking to you, David, but I have to go get ready for beverage service, hopefully I can pick up a few tips. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Thank you Christine, I will." I reached for her hand again, shaking it this time. I resisted the urge to slide back over and watch her walk back up the aisle. I think she was surprised when she glanced back and I wasn't staring at her ass. The smile said she was happy about it though.

Information routed my call to the House of Seven Willows. Considering the time I didn't really expect to get anything more than an answering machine, it was still a little early after all, especially for a business like this. I was pleasantly surprised when a woman's voice answered. It turned out to be Cherise and she informed me that Jasmine would not be in until the evening. I left her just enough information that Jasmine would know who had called and said I would call back later, then settled back in the seat, going over the events of the last forty-eight hours and how my life had suddenly changed.

"May I offer you something, sir?" A familiar voice asked. I glanced over and found Christine leaning over the seat waiting for my drink order. She was leaned over considerably farther this time. Since she was obviously inviting the attention I took her up on it.

"Six" I said when my eyes finally strayed back up to hers.

"Excuse me?" she asked, confused.

I leaned in and said, "I think I counted six freckles," then raised my voice, "Orange juice, please."

She blushed and stifled a giggle, "Ice?" she asked, pinching her lips together to keep from smiling.

"Whipped cream?" I countered softly. Her eyes got big. "Or maybe you'd prefer chocolate syrup?" She was getting seriously red now. "Okay, enough teasing. Just the orange juice, please."

"Certainly, sir, one orange juice coming right up."

She was back about two minutes later with my juice.

"Thank you," I said. "If you have a few minutes later I'd like to talk to you about something. Would that be all right?"

"Sure, I've got to go help out in coach, then one more run through here and then I've got a few minutes before we have to pick up the trash."

I pulled my copy of Kushiel's Chosen out of my carry-on and spent a few moments figuring out where I had left off and quickly lost myself in Carey's world of intrigue and deception.

"Refill?"

"What?" I looked up to find Christine smiling down at me. "Oh, sorry... , yes please," I said, closing the book and setting it on the tray table before handing her the empty juice cup.

She brought it back and handed it to me.

"Have you got a moment?" I asked, taking a sip and setting it down.

"Sure," she said.

"Please?" I asked, indicating the seat next to me. She sat down and I said, "Christine, how would you feel about taking me shopping in Vegas?"

"Take you shopping?" she asked.

"Technically I would be taking you, because I'm the one spending money, but I was wondering if you could come along and maybe help me out. The woman I'm supposed to talk to won't be available until this evening, so now I've got a whole day to kill and no idea what to do with it. So I thought I would take advantage of the time and look for some other things. I'm willing to compensate you handsomely with lunch at the food court of your choice." I caught her eye, "Just shopping, Christine, I promise you I have no ulterior motives here."

"Oh god, you're gay aren't you?" She actually sounded disappointed.

"No," I said, shaking my head and chuckling, "I'm not gay, but I'm not looking for a quick roll in the sack either. I'm in a strange city for the first time. I just found out the only person I actually need to be in contact with is not available until this evening and I have a whole day to kill. I've met a very attractive and interesting young woman who is similarly afflicted and I just thought we could spend the day together. No aspirations, no expectations, just kick it around the city, see a few sites, do a little shopping, maybe pick up a souvenir for my little sister, and like I said, I'll even throw in lunch. Of course if you already have a better offer."

She rolled her eyes, "Other offers, yes. Better offers, no, not really. Just a day around town? Nothing else? What if I decide I want more?" she asked in that voice all women have to let men know that while the door may not be open, there is a window of opportunity.

"I'm not the least bit worried or concerned about that. If it comes up, we'll talk about it. If nothing else it should be an interesting conversation. What do you say?"

"You're very strange," she said. "In an interesting kind of way."

"In a good way I hope, so is that a yes?"

"I think it is. Where are you staying?"

"Actually I have no idea; I hadn't planned that far ahead."

"Well, it's your first time, you should make it special, there's so much to choose from; themed hotels like the Luxor or Treasure Island; the old favorites like the Flamingo or Stardust; or you can go for the purely decadent, spoil me rotten, lifestyles places, like Mandalay Bay or the Bellagio, but those are like three hundred dollars a night."

"The Bellagio? That's the one with the fountains, right?"

"Yes, and they are incredible!"

"Well let's stay there."

"Excuse me?"

"I said I'd like to stay there."

"No, you said 'let's' stay there. Let's as in 'let us', plural. David I..."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" I said quickly. "I didn't mean like let's get a room together, I meant like just stay there, not like stay there together. We hardly know each other."

"Good, you had me worried there for a second. Listen, I have to make another beverage run and then it gets pretty busy until we land. How about if I meet you in the gate area after we clear the plane? Or I can give you my cell number and you can call me later, okay?"

"I'll wait in the terminal and we'll work out the details later," I said. I waited for her to leave and checked my watch. If I was lucky I could catch Lizzy between classes.



-------

Chapter 62: On My Own

Lizzy answered on the third ring, "I'm Easy."

"Hi, miss me yet?"

"Oh," she crooned. "You called me, how sweet. What's up?"

"Not much, I wanted to pick up a little something special for Amber, you know something you could give her as a welcoming gift; something that made the right statement."

"Ooh, good idea."

"Jamie thought of it, she thought Jasmine might be able to suggest a good place to shop. Maybe even pick something out and arrange for us to pick it up. No contact that way."

"Oh girlie you are just so smart! I love you, mwah!" she blew Jamie a kiss. "So is that the only reason you called?"

"No, actually, I left a message for Jasmine but I can't reach her until tonight. I though I might do a little shopping while I'm killing time. I found someone to chaperon me around town and keep me out of trouble."

"Is she cute?"

"Cute enough to catch Jamie's eye."

"I know her taste, sounds hot to me, you calling for permission?"

"No, not really ... well, maybe. I mean, I'm not planning to ... I just thought I should tell you."

"You're too funny ... you're worried that she may have expectations, aren't you?"

"I'm more worried she may think I have expectations."

Her voice got very serious, "Jimmy, it's okay if you're feeling a little lost and confused. Your life just got turned inside out and you're feeling vulnerable, but the things you have to deal with don't leave you time to be vulnerable. And you're used to having people you trust, specifically women you trust, around you. You're also the sweetest man in the world and to most women you are just too good to be true, so naturally they don't trust that this is it, they're waiting for the other shoe to drop. You want me to tell her she doesn't have to worry about the other shoe."

I took a deep breath and let out a sigh, "Yeah, I think that's pretty much it."

"Don't worry, lover, I got your back... , and I'm looking forward to getting the rest. I'll reassure her that she is perfectly safe with you. But if she develops expectations of her own; if it somehow ends up there, Jimmy, I want you to know that I'm okay with whatever happens. It's not love, it's just you being nice and sharing yourself with someone who needs you. So, if it comes up don't worry about me okay, just be there for her, if that's what you want, that is."

"I don't see it coming up, but I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I'll call you later if I get the chance. I love you."

I called and got a room at the Bellagio. Christine wasn't kidding when she said it was pricey. Even at a midweek rate it better be a really nice room. I spent the rest of the trip playing the little visual flirting games that men and women have been playing for centuries, and reading my book. I felt a little guilty at first and wondered what Christine would think if she knew I was only sixteen. That reminded me of what Ms. Forrester had said and I made a note that I needed to do something about my wardrobe. If I was going to play a grown up, I needed to look the part. A few minutes waiting around the gate area and Christine was ready to go, waving goodbye and getting some interesting looks from the rest of the flight crew as she headed off through the terminal with me.

"So, did you decide where you were staying?" she asked.

"I booked a room at the Bellagio," I said. "And I have another one on hold until this evening in case you decide you would like to stay there as well." I held up my hand to forestall the complaint I saw forming. "Hear me out."

She subsided and I went on. "If you don't have any objections I just thought it would be a lot easier if we went there for now, otherwise we lose all the time running back and forth. If you want the room, it's yours, my compliments, just to say thank you for keeping me company in a strange city. Or you can always go back to the Ramada if you'd rather."

"You're very confusing, do you know that?"

We were just exiting the terminal and there was a man standing at the curb in front of a black limousine with the hotel's crest on the side, holding a sign which read, "C. PAYSON" Christine wasn't really paying attention so she didn't notice him until I stopped and then she saw the sign.

"How do you mean?" I asked innocently, handing my bag off to the driver.

She gave me one of those looks women use when they think you're up to something, but she handed her bag to the driver as well. "Your signals are all over the place; you're playful and charming, but there is this underlying hint of a very serious person inside. You keep making these classic come-ons but insist you aren't interested in anything other than a companion for the day."

"Oh, I never said I wasn't interested," I said as I handed her into the back seat and then climbed in behind her. "Wow!" I said, as I realized just how much room there was in there.

"See, that's what I mean," she said. "You act like a sophisticated young executive one moment, sure almost to the point of being arrogant, the next you're like a kid riding the elevator for the first time. You've never been in a limo before have you?"

"Nope, first time. Too bad it had to be with you." The shocked expression was exactly what I had expected. "I probably would have appreciated it more without you to distract me, it's nice, but it kind of pales in comparison."

"Oh, nice recovery, very smooth; you see, that's exactly the kind of line I would expect from a guy who was trying to romance me off my feet, but you say you're not interested in that."

"Again, I never said I wasn't interested. I'm a guy, so I'm always interested in that. But it's not a priority for me. I'm more interested in you as a person first; you could say I'm more interested in romancing you on your feet than off. I never was much into baseball, so the whole first base-second base thing never appealed to me. I find it much more enjoyable if you just concentrate on the moment and let the rest take care of itself. If I don't have expectations there's no possibility of being disappointed; takes the stress out of life."

"How old are you?"

"Oh, come on now, you can't tell me you didn't check the flight list. Officially I'm twenty-two, but I find my age varies from moment to moment. Some times I feel much older and other times I feel like I'm still sixteen."

"That's what I mean! One minute you act all grown up and the next, like getting into the limo, you're like a kid on his way to his first prom."

I chuckled and said, "If today were anything like my first prom I guarantee it would be a day you would never forget."

"Wow, usually it's the girl who never forgets it."

"It's a moment I hope never to forget," I said with a smile, and then changed the subject. "So, I've added a few things to my shopping list. For one thing, you're not the first person to think I look younger than I am. A nice woman recently pointed out that I should change the way I dress if I expect people to take me more seriously. My normal look has always served me well enough and I never paid much attention to it before, but apparently my standard look is a little too high school. So I'm hoping you can help me out there as well. I figure in your line of work you see all types of attire so you should be able to help me find something that works without looking contrived. And then..."

It was still barely after eleven when we reached the hotel and check-in wasn't until three, so I pre-paid the room and arranged for the use of a courtesy suite so that Christine could shower and change. We then left our bags with the bellman to be delivered to my room later.

The Vegas strip isn't much to look at during the day, especially at a hundred and five degrees. Fortunately, you almost never have to go outside unless you want to. The casinos realized ages ago that a lot of people were leaving with the money they won and started adding a lot more stores and boutiques to stem the flow of money out of the city. We had lunch first, at a little cafe near Paris. Christine had changed into a nice pair of what appeared to be designer shredded jeans, a loose top and sandals, so the waiter checked both of our ID's before delivering our drinks, I had a glass of red wine and Christine a mango margarita. Then it was time to hit the shops. We took care of my wardrobe first, and I was shortly dressed in khaki pants, a dark green polo shirt and black loafers. I had to admit, it added years to my look. I wore the stuff out and the shop packaged up my old clothes and had them delivered to the hotel for us, along with another pair of pants and two more shirts.

You know what they say about time flying, before I knew it my phone was buzzing at me, reminding me that I needed to call Jasmine. I left Christine in the patio area of one of the many bars with a fresh drink and excused myself to make the call. An unfamiliar voice answered the phone this time but when I identified myself and asked for Jasmine I was put through immediately.

"Lady Jasmine," I said. "Thank you for taking my call."

"It is I who am grateful; I was not expecting to hear from you."

"I was not expecting to call, but Amber's life is moving forward. I wanted to buy her a gift to commemorate the occasion; something that would be special to her and also convey the correct message. I was hoping you could make a suggestion."

"Yes, a graduation gift is most definitely in order but your need for anonymity is great, would you permit me to make selections?"

"I would be most grateful, and please do not consider price as a barrier, I will trust your judgment in what will be appropriate for a relationship at this level."

"Yes, it is far too soon to be lavish, that she must earn over time."

"Would it be all right if I included one item that would only be for special occasions, say going out to an upscale restaurant or perhaps a night at the theater?"

"Yes, that would be very appropriate. How shall I send them?"

"Don't you want to know how I'm going to pay for them?"

There was a moment's pause before she admonished me, "You have learned nothing in our time together?"

I gave myself a well deserved mental slap before answering. "Forgive me Lady, and thank you for your faith. I have a friend in the area that can pick it up and handle payment."

There was a pause, "Would your friend desire to be present during the selection process?"

"Do you think that wise?" I asked.

"I believe that so long as neither of us was directly involved there would be no risk. I could send May."

"My Lady," I answered, surprised. "You honor me beyond words. His name is David Malcolm and he will be staying at the Bellagio tonight through Sunday, his plans for this evening are as yet unknown, I will confirm his availability and get back to you."

"Thank you, you may leave word here. In the event that you require me again, let me give you another number, myself or May will answer at most times."

"Again, you honor me," I said. Fortunately I didn't actually have to write it down. For one thing I had nothing to write with, but then, I had Jamie to remember it for me. This was not a number I could keep stored on my phone. "I look forward to the day when I might express my gratitude in person.'

"That will be a joyous meeting indeed," she answered. "For it will signal the end of a very dark time."

It was fast approaching time for dinner and I was getting hungry so when I rejoined Christine we went back to the hotel to check in and see about dinner. When I got to the desk to collect my key I got a bit of a surprise. As soon as the clerk called up the information, he called the manager over.

"Ah, Mr. Malcolm, and Miss Payson I believe?" I nodded a confirmation and he went on, "Yes, we've been expecting you. Your bags have been moved to your suite along with the packages that arrived for you a short while ago. My name is Sanders, I am the manager on duty, and I will be happy to take you up personally, if you would please follow me."

I noticed Christine looking at me funny and I shrugged to indicate my own confusion. I waited until we were I the elevator before asking, "Is there a problem Mr. Sanders?"

"A problem? No, not at all, it's just that when you were in earlier Miss Glass recognized the blue card in your wallet and brought it to my attention. I checked your reservation and noticed that you had reserved a second room so I took the liberty of upgrading you to a two bedroom suite instead. That's not a problem I hope." He suddenly sounded worried.

The blue card he was referring to identified me as a quality inspector for one of the larger and more prestigious international hotel and resort chains. Everyone in the family had one, even Allison. They had been part of a settlement with the hotel after my parents had almost died as the result of a malfunctioning carbon-monoxide detector in one of their hotels. One of the few things that had gone right lately was that the cards didn't have names on them; just an ID number that the company used to track our activity and reimburse any spending. I'm kind of like the mysterious inspector 13 but I don't leave little numbered pieces of paper in your underwear.

I was going to need to see about having the address information updated if I wanted to be use it in the future. I certainly didn't need to but I could still see circumstances where it may come in handy. I made a note to call the attorney who had handled the settlement and see about getting all of our information updated. After all, we weren't dead, just in hiding. As far as I knew the Bellagio was not part of the company so I was still a little confused but hey, why not?

I gave Christine a questioning glance and she was actually biting her lip. There was a look of childlike anticipation in her eyes. I turned my attention back to Mr. Sanders and said, "No, that will be fine thank you. I hope I haven't put you to any trouble."

"No of course not." The elevator stopped and he motioned us to precede him. "After you."

I took Christine's arm and we stepped out into the wide hallway. Sanders passed us quickly and then led us to a large set of double doors which he unlocked with a key card and flung wide.

The room was ... I think surreal would be a good word. I estimated the size at roughly half the size of my parent's house, and the furnishing probably cost more than the house. There was a climate controlled master bedroom, living and dining areas, a powder room with separate makeup and shaving sinks, his and hers bathrooms; his had a steam shower that doubled as a spa, hers had an absolutely huge whirlpool soaking tub with a padded landing attached that was roughly the size of a queen sized bed. There was a variety of spa products close at hand in each. Christine looked like she had died and gone to heaven.

"If you require anything further Mr. Malcolm, Miss Payson, special services can be reached from the blue button on any of the phones. Will there be anything else?"

"Actually yes, if you have a moment -- Christine, perhaps you would like to freshen up before dinner?" I kissed her hand and she kissed my cheek then practically ran to the bathroom. Sanders waited patiently for the door to close.

"Now then, Mr. Sanders," I said. "What the hell is going on?"

"I'm sorry?" he asked, shocked. "As I said, Miss Glass saw your card and recognized it. You apparently do evaluations for one of the international resort chains and we are happy that you have chosen to stay with us. Forgive me for saying so, but you're young and probably relatively new to this; it's a professional courtesy that is typically extended if the rooms are available. I saw no harm so I made the gesture. Regardless of whether you are here for purposes of an actual evaluation, we want you to remember your stay with us favorably. I think you will find they will welcome the information you may pass on to them. They'll want to know the standard that we, as competitors, set. I do hope I haven't upset you. It's clear from the way you reserved the room that you were trying to keep a low profile."

I thought for a moment. This had possibilities. "No, Mr. Sanders, you haven't upset me. In fact I am wondering if you could help me with a few things. How difficult would it be to set up an account with the hotel?"

"It's a very simple matter; your credit line would be determined by the usual factors. What limits did you have in mind?"

"I'm not interested in a credit line, Mr. Sanders, I was thinking of leaving say ... a hundred thousand on account."

"Ah, I see, in that case it is a very simple matter. Cash, check, or wire transfer?"

"Transfer, I'll have the bank call, whom should I have them ask for? Oh, and will there be any delay in accessing the funds?"

"No sir, all funds will be immediately available upon verification of the transfer. You may have them ask for me, if I am not available they will be put in touch with someone in special services, and you will be notified as soon as the arrangements are complete."

"Very well, you should hear from someone within the hour. Thank you, Mr. Sanders."

He bowed slightly and left. I called the bank in Switzerland and had a hundred thousand wired to Mr. David Malcolm at the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, and ten thousand to the new account in Indiana.

As I closed my phone I heard Christine calling from the bathroom, "David?

I had a feeling things were about to get complicated.

"I'll be right there," I called. What the hell, might as well go all the way. I pushed the blue button on the room phone.

"Special Services, how may I help you, Mr. Malcolm?"

"I was wondering if there were any tickets available for tonight's performance."

"Yes, Mr. Malcolm, we have VIP seating available for both the nine and eleven o'clock show."

"It's been a big day, let's make it nine."

"Would you like them sent up to the room or leave them at will call?"

"Go ahead and send them up. Just leave them on the table; we'll be busy for a while."

"Very good, Mr. Malcolm."

I hung up and headed toward the bathroom.

I opened the door and found Christine up to her neck in suds and things started to stir. I did my best to ignore them.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked from the doorway.

"Yes," she said, with a smirk. "You. In here with me."

"Are you going to behave yourself?" Ignoring it didn't seem to be helping.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I told you Christine, I didn't invite your here for sex, and if all this..." I waved my hand around the room, "has pushed you that way, then I'm sorry." I figured out why it wasn't working.

"You're turning me down?" she asked. There was a hurt look on her face.

I ignored the comment and the look. The other thing I was trying to ignore wasn't going as well and it was getting crowded in my new pants. Someone wasn't helping.

"Promise you'll behave and I'll get in the tub, and, if you keep your promise I have a special treat for you." Then to Jamie, "Stop that!" All I got back was a giggle.

"That is so not fair!" Christine complained. "You are the meanest guy I have ever met. You spoil me all afternoon, then bring me here and practically drown me in luxury..."

"About that, I'm sorry. I didn't know they were going to do this, you do still have your own room but I'll understand..."

"Would you shut up, please?" she cut me off. "Thank you. Yes, I know this wasn't your idea, and I really did believe you when you said you didn't want anything from me, but David, we're here, in this room. I may never get the chance again. I would kill myself if I had to go through life knowing I spent a night in a room this nice, with a really nice guy, and didn't get laid. Please?"

I had to chuckle as I started undressing. I folded the shirt over the back of the chair and sat down to take off my shoes and socks. I was hoping to make it into the tub before things got too ... full.

"Okay, you promise to behave yourself until after dinner and I'll get in the tub, deal?"

"Oh! I hate you! Yes, damn it. I promise to behave until after dinner. Okay? Now get in here!"

I folded my boxers and set them on the seat, picked up my phone and headed for the tub.

"And I already know what I want for desert," Christine purred, the line of her vision leaving no doubt what she meant.

I hit the speed dial and stepped carefully into the tub. As I did Christine reached out and wrapped her hand around me,

"Hey!" I said, grabbing her wrist. "You promised!"

"I just didn't want you to fall," she said with a grin, but she did let go.

In my ear, Lizzy answered in her usual fashion, "I'm Easy."

"I'm in trouble."

"Already? I just can't send you anywhere. What happened?"

"We're at the Bellagio... ,"

"Ooh, I'm jealous," she said.

"I had booked us into separate rooms but they upgraded us to a two bedroom suite... ,"

"Really? Why?"

"Long story; I'll tell you later. Anyway, it's huge, and it's everything you could image..."

"And she's so horny she can hardly stand it," she interrupted. "So what's the problem?"

"Here, I'll let you talk to her, her name is Christine."

The person in question was staring at me and obviously wondering what was going on. She took the phone and tentatively said, "Hello? Hi Lizzy. Oh, thank God! I thought he was calling his attorney or something. Is he this nice all the time?" Giggle. "Yeah, he told me that and I figured it was too good to be true, but then he got us separate rooms so I figured what the heck. Now this happens and ... and now he won't let me touch him!" There was a long pause and she glanced at me as she said, "Really?" Another pause and then, "Yes! And he made me promise to behave until after dinner, and I'm going to be good, but after that all bets are off. I don't know he didn't tell me, but I'm leaning toward a small salad for me and six pack of Viagra for him," she glared at me. "Okay, it was nice talking to you, Lizzy, here he is." She handed the phone back to me and sank down into the tub again.

"What's up?" I asked.

"What are you doing to that poor girl?"

"I'm being good!" I laughed.

"Like hell you are! I told her I was your sister, just so you know."

"You'll have to explain that to me later." I felt a foot sliding up my leg. "I better go, I'll talk to you later, I love you." I closed the phone and slid it across the marble floor and onto the carpet, then settled down into the water, caught her foot and started massaging it.

"I'm being good," she said innocently. "I can't believe you called your sister."

"I thought I might need her to reassure you that I didn't have ulterior motives, what else did she tell you?"

"That you didn't want me to rush into anything I might regret later and that I should trust you. Apparently she thinks very highly of you, she said you would be worth the wait. I hope that's not personal knowledge because that would just be too weird."

Oh the fine lines we must sometimes walk.

"I have never had sex with Lizzy, I promise, although she did help me make love to one of my old girlfriends once."

Her eyes got huge, "Oh my God, you're joking!"

"No, she likes girls and Shannon liked us both so ... Lizzy had her clothes on the whole time though."

She shook her head, "That sounds so hot! But wasn't it weird her seeing you naked?"

"She's a sex therapist, she sees people naked all the time. Did you want to go out for dinner or just order room service? I'm supposed to eat at least one meal a day during my stay."

"What do you mean?"

"The reason for the upgrade is the desk clerk earlier saw my card. I do evaluations for one of the major resort chains, I wasn't here for an evaluation but they did it anyway."

"Okay, room service then. Any restrictions?"

"Nope, anything you want."

"Did you bring the menu?" I started to get up, but she stopped me. "No, that's okay, I'll get it..." She stood up and the water and suds ran in interesting patterns down her body. She had a very even tan except for a set of very small bikini lines. Her nipples were rock hard and trying to pull her c-cups off of her chest. The bottoms of her breasts flared provocatively out below the nipples, not bouncing but moving in interesting ways as she stroked her hands down across her front to wipe off the remaining suds. Her pubic hair was trimmed into a very narrow vertical stripe and she had a tattoo of a butterfly in the crease of her left thigh.

"Oh fuck!" Jamie said and I felt a jolt run through me. Christine had a predatory grin on her face and I realized the game had changed. She was now trying to get me to break and let her out of her promise. I was glad the suds were thick enough to obscure my suddenly rock hard equipment.

"Eleven," I said, adjusting my freckly count based on the recently revealed terrain.

"Nope, you missed a few, but if you behave yourself maybe I'll let you count them again later." She took a towel from the rack, dried her face and walked toward the door, glancing back to watch me watching her ass as she moved away. I slid around in the tub so I could enjoy the view better and she grinned back at me. A few seconds later I heard a sharp intake of breath followed by, "Oh my God! 'O'! You got tickets to 'O'?"

She had the menu in her hand when she came in but she dropped it on the floor next to the tub as she stepped in, threw her arms around my neck and started showering me with kisses. I felt Jamie starting to squirm and kissed Christine back; breaking her rhythm just enough to get a grip on her and push her back a little. "I guess you found your surprise? Happy you decided to wait?"

"Yes!" she said rolling her eyes, suddenly her eyes narrowed and she lunged for the menu, shaking the water and suds off of one hand she opened in up and pulled out one of the tickets. "Oh no you don't!" She dropped the ticket and picked up the menu, scanning over it quickly and then handing it to me. "Pick something or I'm ordering for you." She hit the blue button on the phone next to the tub and waited. "Yes, could I get your lamb chops please, medium rare, and a baked potato with butter and sour cream on the side, and a salad with ranch, and Mr. Malcolm will have..." she gave me a questioning look and I held out my hand for the phone.

"I'll have the bacon-wrapped fillet please, baked potato with butter, a salad with ranch. And could you send up a chocolate soufflé after the nine o'clock show please, extra chocolate sauce on the side? Thank you." I hung up the phone.

"You were going to wait and spring those tickets on me after dinner weren't you. 'Oh I'm sorry, Christine, I would love to let you fuck my brains out right now but we'll be late for the show.' Nice try, but I'm being good and your ass is mine after dinner!" She slid forward and kissed me soundly, her tongue sneaking out to tease around my lips but sliding away as I opened my mouth to play. "What do you think of that?"

"I think I owe you an apology," I said. "You're right, I was being sneaky and it wasn't a very nice thing to do. Maybe I can make it up to you." I slid forward and kissed her, teasing her mouth as she had done with mine, finally sliding my tongue into her mouth as my hand found her breast.

"Hey!" she said. "I thought we were supposed to be behaving?" Her tone clearly said she thought she had won. One hand started sliding down my chest.

"No," I said, pushing her hand back and kissing my way down her neck. "You're supposed to be behaving; I never said I was going to behave." I sluiced water across her chest, rinsing away the suds, bent down and sucked hard at her nipple. She took a gasping breath and arched into me, the hand that had been moving down my chest suddenly on the back of my head.

The tub enclosure had obviously been designed with sex in mind so I slid my hands under her thighs and lifted her up onto the wide surface, then knelt on the little seat between her legs, and began kissing her again. There was no teasing this time; my mouth was hot on hers as my left hand massaged her breast.

"She's all yours," I said, and Jamie rushed forward.

"Don't go away; I need you here to keep me from going too far."

"Don't trust yourself?"

She didn't answer, just began kissing her way down Christine's body, nuzzling and sucking at her fleshy mounds. My perspective changed and I was looking down to see Christine bracing herself with one hand as the other tangled itself in my hair, holding me gently and guiding me on the path of her pleasure. I watched as Jamie moved lower, slipping carefully down off the seat to kneel in the bottom of the tub — I really appreciated that she was being careful not to damage my equipment, she dipped a hand in the water and brought it up to wash away the last of the suds still clinging the Christine's mound, her mouth following the flow downward to explore the edges of her slitted opening. She teased her until the hand on my head became insistent and then finally drove my tongue in to part the fleshy lips to taste the wetness below. Instantly my mouth was flooded with the tangy-sweet taste of her. I was surprised to find that I could taste her from my remote vantage point. Christine gave a shudder and collapsed back onto both elbows, her head back and her chest heaving as the first orgasm took her. Then she lifted her head and watched as Jamie continued to explore her, one hand straying up to tug at a nipple, then she was laying back, eyes closed and both hands working her breasts. This went on for several minutes as the intensity built again. When she spread her legs wide and began humping her hips up to meet our lips Jamie slid two fingers deep inside of her and began playing come hither with her g-spot while attacking her clitoral region with her tongue. In moments Christine's muscles were straining up against my mouth and she looked like she was trying to pull her nipples off.

"Stop me!" Jamie cried out as I felt her start to rise in the water. I dove back into my body, shoving Jamie aside and taking over as Christine's orgasm exploded through her. I licked and kissed and held her as she coasted back down, sliding my fingers free and then running my hands over her thighs, gently stroking upward across her abdomen and lower rib cage. As the last of the tension went out of her, I stood and stepped out of the tub, then dipped my hand into a clear spot and wiped my face before kissing her gently on the lips. Her lips opened in welcome and we shared a languorous kiss.

"We should probably get dressed before dinner."

Her head came up quickly, "No!" Then she lay back down and her hand came up to her head. "Ooh ... shouldn't have done that." She lay there for a moment before trying again. I sat on the ledge next to her and waited in case she needed help up. "Wow, that was the most incredible thing I think I have ever felt. Help me up?"

I stood as she held a hand up toward me and I pulled her gently up into a sitting position. "Mmm, that was so nice. Wait, I said that already. Where were we? Oh yeah, clothes ... no clothes. I don't want to have to work you out of them later; you can wear a robe, that's all. Hand me one, would you?"

I stepped over to the shower and turned the water on. "Rinse off first?"

"Yeah," she said with an explosive sigh. "Good idea." She tried to stand and I caught her before she went down. "Whoa! What did you do to me?"

"Sorry, I got a little carried away," I said, helping her out of the tub and toward the shower. I checked the temperature in the shower and dialed it down a little before pushing her under the spray.

She sucked in air through suddenly clenched teeth but didn't try to get away. Then she kind of stretched and squirmed under the water before backing completely under the shower head to let it run over her hair and face. She stayed there for a few seconds before moving out and wiping the water from her face. "Thanks," she said, stepping aside and gathering her hair to wring the water out. "All yours."

I moved forward and quickly rinsed off. She went back and let the water out of the tub and was waiting for me with a towel as I finished shaking the water off my hair. I almost jumped out of my skin as I was drying my hair and suddenly she started toweling my crotch off. The shower had taken care of the immediate problem but when she started gently blowing air on it things started to perk back up. She planted a little kiss on it and then stood back up.

"Just making sure everything still worked," she said with a wink and then slipped into one of the soft robes, belting it around her middle but leaving it loose enough to still display her breasts if she bent a little.

I smacked her playfully on the butt as she turned and headed toward the living area and then, grabbing another robe and belting it on, I scooped up the menu and tickets from the floor. The menu was in plastic sheets but the tickets had gotten a little wet. I shook off the remaining drops and dried them on the robe as I went. She was sitting drying her hair, one breast bouncing playfully when there was a knock at the door. She stood up and adjusted her robe as I got the door. The waiter entered, left the cart just inside the door, and carried the two salads over, placing them on the table before moving to hold Christine's chair. She took the hint and sat down. He offered fresh ground pepper before returning to stand next to the cart, where he quickly produced a bottle of red wine for my inspection. I glanced at Christine and she nodded her approval so he opened it, poured us each a glass, and then again retired to the cart until we were ready for the next course.

"So what time is your flight?" I asked.

"Twelve-forty," she said. "But I have to check in two hours early."

"I'll try not to keep you up too late," I said. "How is your salad?"

"Excellent, and I plan to keep you up as long as possible."

"I'll do my best," I said.

"You better not, she almost passed out just from the foreplay." Jamie quipped.

"Somehow I can't imagine you ever doing less. So what about you, how long are you here?"

"Through Sunday at least; I'm not sure after that."

"What do you do, anyway? I mean obviously you evaluate hotels but that sounded like a side job."

I thought about what might be a safe answer without lying and finally decided on, "Bounty hunter."

She almost choked on her fork laughing. I handed her her wine glass and she took a sip to help her swallow.

"Oh of course," she said. "Why didn't I see it before? I can so see you taking down some seven foot tall drug dealer."

"I find people, and other things; for dangerous things I let the authorities do the actual work." As I said it I realized that it actually sounded plausible, maybe I should start a company to cover my work? It was something to think about.

"So what, like stolen art work for insurance companies, that kind of thing?"

"If it's lost and there's money to be had, sure."

I signaled the waiter for the main course, then signed the ticket and dismissed him. We chatted about nothing in particular over the balance of dinner. I was careful to keep the conversation from straying too far into personal areas and somewhere along the way discovered that she actually wanted to move up from flight attendant to pilot and was saving money to support herself while she went to flight school.

The conversation stopped when Christine rose and released the belt from her robe and let the whole thing fall in a pool of white cotton softness at her feet. She bent at the waist and kissed me softly, then began showering kisses over my face and neck, working her way lower, pushing back the edges of my robe as she went. Her hands dropped to release the belt and she pulled it open to expose me, then knelt and sucked at my nipples. Working lower she began to kiss and nibble all the way around the base of me, scraping the surface gently with her teeth now and then she settled herself kneeling on the piled robe between my feet and pulled my hips forward until I was perched at the edge of the chair with my legs spread wide. She buried her face in my crotch, breathing deeply to take in the mild muskiness and rubbing the shaft all around her face and hair. Finally she took one of my balls into her mouth and moaned as she suckled and rolled it around with her tongue. Her eyes were closed and it was obvious she was enjoying herself. She repeated the action with the other one and then ran the flat of her tongue from base to crown several times before sucking the head into her mouth. Her eyes were still closed as she now did her best to repeat the rolling action on the head of my cock. A little harder to do but she did an admirable job, rolling her head around to allow her tongue full access to the entire surface. Her hands had been moving non stop over my thighs, stomach, chest, every surface in reach, but now that changed as she sat up straighter to improve her angle and began taking more of me into her mouth while bracing herself on my legs. When her right hand disappeared I knew she was teasing herself as she worked on me.

She sucked hard and then pulled off in a quick motion, causing a loud pop as I sprang free and a smaller one as the suddenly released tension caused my shaft to slap against my stomach. Her right hand returned to stroke my length as she once more went for my balls, this time sucking them both into her mouth. Suddenly she was licking a line up my chest to suck once more at a nipple briefly before kissing me hotly, her tongue a living thing in my mouth. Her hands slid across my chest and then down my arms to catch my wrists. She sat up straight, drawing my hands to her wonderful breasts. I squeezed and pinched as best I could while she controlled the position of my hands. Then she was sliding down again, drawing my hands upward, kissing my palms, licking and sucking my fingers, then drawing them up into her hair as she once more captured the head of my cock in the hot wetness of her mouth. She held my hands on her head as she drove her mouth slowly up and down on my shaft, taking more now than she had before.

I didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what she wanted. I took over the pressure on her head; my fingers tangled loosely in her hair and began guiding her movements, giving the illusion of forcing myself in and out of her mouth. Instantly her hands disappeared, the right going between her legs, the left to her breast.

"Look at me," I demanded and her eyes snapped open to lock intently on mine.

I pulled her head off again and forced her mouth to the base where she immediately began kissing and licking. I pulled her up straighter until my cock rested between her breasts and she used both hands to mash them together around me as best she could. She didn't have the size necessary to really fuck me with her tits but she tried. Pulling her back down I stuffed myself into her mouth and her hands returned to pleasing herself. Twining the fingers of my left hand in her hair I pushed and pulled her up and down, then leaned forward far enough to slap her hard on the ass. She gave a grunt and gasped before driving her mouth even further down on me. I slapped her twice more and felt heat blossom under my hand as her ass reddened. Catching her head in both hands I forced myself deeper, finally feeling her throat convulse as she gagged at the intrusion. I pulled back and searched her eyes for a sign. I found one and on the next pass I forced her head all the way down, turning it slightly so her nose would not be crushed against my pelvic bone.

Sitting down didn't really allow for the full effect so I pulled her off and stood up, shoving the chair back with my legs. The chair caught on the edge of the carpet and fell with a muffled crash. The echo seemed to fit the scene perfectly and I once more forced myself deep into her mouth and throat. When her lips were wrapped around the base I began making quick short thrusts, fucking the last half inch in and out of her. Her tongue was lashing all around the base of my shaft. I pulled her off to catch her breath and repeated the movement, again fucking the depths of her throat. I knew we were both too close to last much longer. I took three long strokes in and out of her mouth and on the last one her hand came up to grip my shaft and she began jerking me rapidly as she sucked on the head. She felt me tense as the trigger was pulled and she pulled back about six inches, eyes squeezed shut, mouth open, her hand a blur on my shaft, and suddenly ropes of white fluid began exploding from me to splash on her face. After the second full blast splashed across her lips she dove forward and began sucking me madly, her hand on the base to keep me from gagging her again. When she finally had it all she pulled back and opened her mouth to show me the pool that had gathered on her tongue. She looked incredibly sexy kneeling there, her mouth full of my cum and the rest slowly flowing down her face to drip on her chest. She held my eye and made a show of swallowing her mouthful. I reached for a napkin and wiped away the blob that was about to drip in her eye, then handed her the napkin. When she took it I caught her wrist, reached for her other hand, and pulled her to her feet. Wrapping my arms around her, I gave her a second to wipe her face and then pulled her firmly against me, grinding our bodies together as I kissed her deeply. Her arms went around my neck and we took our time with the kiss.

"I think we've got time for a real shower before the show," I said when we finally came up for air.

She laughed, "God I hope so. That was fun."

"Yes it was. Thank you. Come on, let's go get ready, I turned her slightly and gave her a last hard smack on the ass, my hand gripping the firm flesh and using it to steer her toward the bathroom. I had her kneel in the shower and washed her hair for her then stood her up and kissed at her neck and chest as she leaned back into the spray to rinse it."

"Keep that up and we'll miss the show," she warned.

I bit a nipple gently before pulling away. "Can't do that," I gave her a quick kiss and stepped out to dry off as she finished rinsing, then held a towel for her, wrapping her in it and hugging her from behind, rubbing my hands over her fleshy mounds through the thick terrycloth. One hand slid down and repeated the motion, rubbing the thick softness of the towel over her nether region. She bit her lip and pressed forward into the motion.

"Mmmm," she sighed, then pulled back suddenly and pushed me away. "Out! Or we're never going to make it. We can play later." She slapped me playfully on the butt and pushed me toward the door. I went to the dressing area to use the other blow dryer and then left a message for Jasmine that Mr. Malcolm would be available at twelve o'clock on Friday afternoon.

The seats were excellent, the show beyond words. It's amazing what the human body can do. Just as amazing for me was spotting June in her white dress, red collar, and black fan earrings, sitting with a middle aged couple a few booths away.

When we returned to the room the blue light on the phone was lit. I called special services and they confirmed that my wire transfer had been completed.

The soufflé was fabulous, and we even had some chocolate sauce left over. Now that she had done such an admirable job of behaving herself all night, Christine felt like she had earned her reward and it was very late before we got to sleep. Along the way I confirmed that there were actually fourteen freckles.



-------

Chapter 63: More Complications


We had long ago determined that distance did not pose a significant obstacle to my gift. Tonight I learned that there is a difference between distance, and proximity.

In my life I had really only ever been close to a few people that I shared dreamspace with; first Allison, then Shannon, and shortly after that Bob and Rebecca. My first indication that something had changed was waking up next to Lizzy instead of Allison. Usually I either awoke alone or cuddled with Allison, tonight I transitioned directly from spooning Christine in the big hotel bed to spooning Elizabeth in the comparatively tiny twin bed in her dorm room. I don't know if she was expecting me but she greeted me almost immediately, grabbing the arm that was draped across her waist and pulling me close against her back.

"Mmm, this is nice," she said. "I was wondering if maybe you weren't coming." She giggled and added, "But then I guess maybe that's what you were doing. Were you nice to her?"

"I was practicing my control," I said. Something was wrong, like the room was out of focus, but that wasn't it either. There was a feeling of unseen motion all around. "Mostly by keeping Jamie reigned in."

"Ooh, girlfriend wanted to play?"

"Christine likes it a little rough, nothing serious, just the illusion of force and a good slap on the ass to keep her focused. Jamie asked me to keep her from pushing too far. Plus making sure neither of us pushed her over the edge."

"Yeah, I can see where that would be a problem, so you gave her what she wanted, satisfied her but didn't overload her?"

"Tried to anyway."

Shadowy shapes seemed to be roaming the walls of the room.

She rolled into my arms, "I'm sure you did your best and I proud of you. That was very... ," she sat up suddenly, "what's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "It's like I'm sensing movement all around us. Do you see anything?"

"No, but I don't see like you do. What do you see?"

"I can't really make it out, I'm not even sure I'm really seeing it."

"Allison!" she called.

Moments later the door opened and Allison walked in saying, "It's about time you... , whoa! What the hell is going on here?"

"So you do see it?" Lizzy asked. "Can you describe it?"

"I don't know, it's like ... you know how you get that sense of motion sometimes, like out of the corner of your eye? Oh wait, you probably don't get that."

"Actually I do, hold on a second. Jimmy, I want you to put us in white room, round, no windows, no furniture, no direct light source, just like we're in one of those panoramic three-sixty movies, like at Epcot."

"I've never been there, but I think I know what you mean, something like this?" I changed the room and now we were surrounded by an eight foot tall wall of white. Immediately the shadows began to resolve themselves against the starker backdrop. There seemed to be a lot of them, overlapping and merging together.

"Wow!" Allison said, staring around the room. "They're people, but it's like they're ghosts. Lizzy, can you see anything now?"

"No."

"I'm not surprised. Okay, I think I know what's going on," Allison said. "Jimmy, close your eyes."

I knew better than to ask questions at this point, I just did it.

"Now concentrate," she said. "What you're seeing is a lot different people's dreams all at once. Picture the space where you saw the killer's visions of the girls before; make this space like that one, make us invisible so there are no distractions, and then see if you can break these into their separate pieces, try to focus on one at a time."

"Okay, I know where you're going," With my eyes still closed I looked at the scene with different senses, and instantly the images were sharper.

"Cool, it worked!" Allison said. "They got clearer."

"They did?" Lizzy asked.

"Yeah, they did," I answered. In my mind I put up a bank of projectors and began assigning a different vision to each one. "Okay, let's see if this works." I flipped them all off.

"What did you do?" Allison demanded. "They're all gone..."

"I know, I know, just wait a second." I picked a projector at random and turned it on. Suddenly an image appeared.

"Oh shit," Allison said.

I turned that one off and another one on, another image appeared. In rapid succession I went through all the projectors and while there was a lot of variation the visions all had something thing in common.

"These are the girls in Vegas," Allison said. "All of these girls are on the chart."

So were the adults. Some were blatant recreations of encounters, others were of the girls watching other girls, twice there were visions of someone being 'punished'. Once it was 'the chair' that Samantha had described, but from the girls perspective. 'The chair' was shear abuse, just a girl suspended in the air being fucked in every available orifice practically non-stop for several days, with only the occasional break while someone mopped the spendings up and she was given food and water.

The other was ... Samantha had mentioned one of the trainers, a man she called 'the Snake' because his dick was so long; they used him for oral and anal training. She had mentioned he seemed to be able to go for hours and when he came it seemed to go on forever and you felt like you were swallowing gallons. Someone, it may have been Shannon, had asked why she didn't just spit it out.

"Waste seed!" Samantha had exclaimed. "Are you crazy?" She went on to mention that her sister, Amanda, had told her about a girl that had been punished for 'wasting seed' and Sam had actually shuddered at the thought, refusing to give us any details. Now I knew why.

Imagine living on it. Imagine being locked in a transparent box and your only source of nourishment was a man sticking his cock through a hole so you could suck him off.

At first she had resisted, but that didn't last long as starvation set in. By the end of the first week she was begging for it. Four, five, six at a time, anything to get that tiny bit of protein into her body. As part of the process they would let her get them right to the point of orgasm then pull themselves away from her and spray the precious fluid on the outside of the Plexiglas enclosure where she would have to watch her only source of nourishment flow away onto the floor, just out of reach. It wasn't long before she was crying and begging them not to take it away. Sometimes they would have several men masturbate and the ones she couldn't reach would shoot off through the holes onto the floor and her only choice was to lap it up.

At first bottles of water were provided to keep her hydrated, but after a few days, when she started to come around, these were taken away and her only source became streams of warm urine. By the end of the second week she would suck on anything that came into the enclosure without hesitation. It didn't matter what it was. A cock, a finger, the handle of the mop they used to clean the floor with. If it fit through one of the holes she sucked it. You can joke about protein content all you want, she was slowly starving to death.

I thought Allison was going to be sick.

I thought Jamie was going to explode.

The scene changed and showed her emaciated form lying in a hospital bed with tubes stuck in her arm pumping nutrients directly into her blood. At first her body rejected the solid food they tried to feed her and they had to retrain her system using baby food and thin soups. These later visions showed her being held by strong arms as she alternately sobbed, slept, or sometimes threw up. I didn't recognize the girl but I now knew whose vision this had been.

"Hendricks," I said.

"Hendricks?" Lizzy asked. "He's the other doctor, right? Rachel's father, the one that helped Amanda and Samantha, what did you see?"

I faded the two of them back into the scene.

"Yes," Allison said, wiping away tears. "It was his dream we were watching, and trust me, you don't want to know. Just be grateful you didn't have to watch." She turned to me, "I think she may be one of the girls they had killed. I don't recognize her from the chart and I don't think it's because we missed someone. We would've had to miss a whole group or someone would have known her." She wiped away the last of the tears and moved on. "Samantha said that Amanda told her about someone who had been punished for wasting seed so it was before her time, otherwise Samantha would have known her and she'd be on the chart."

She turned to Lizzy.

"This is happening because he's in Vegas isn't it?" she asked. "Because there are so many of them so close?"

"I think so, yes." Lizzy said, turning to me, "Have you ever been so close to this many people that you have touched before?"

"No," I said. "I don't get it though. This sort of thing never happened with anyone else, not my mom and dad, Bob and Rebecca, not even Shannon or Allison, and I'm a lot closer to them."

"She's right, Jimmy," Allison said. "As for the rest of us, you specifically set up barriers in your mind for the people you are close too. You notice Sam isn't in any of these? That's because long ago you put up a wall in your mind; a wall with a door that you knock on before you enter her dreams. You made a conscious decision to not see what was happening with the rest of us, you didn't want to intrude. With them, she waved her hand around the room, you wanted information. And now that you are so close, you're getting it whether you want it or not. You can stop it if you want, you already found a way or we wouldn't have been able to view them one at a time where before they were just sort of rushing in. Stop blocking them and see what happens."

I found I couldn't completely reverse the process. Once I had tied them to the projectors my mind didn't seem to want to give up control again. I ended up switching from projectors to an image of television broadcasts and they all rushed together again, the scenes jumbled and blurred together once more. I added a tuner system and now I could run through them like changing channels. It was very interesting to see how my brain forced them into ordered patterns and then seemed to lock them in to that pattern. Now by varying the 'bandwidth' of the tuner I could see as many or as few as I wanted.

"Well, this has all been fascinating, but it's not really getting us anywhere," Allison said. "You went there for a reason, so what's the game plan?"

"Into the lion's den," I said. "I probably should have waited because now I've got two days to kill, then I'm going to church Sunday morning."

"Jimmy, are you sure you want to just walk in like that? I mean, you don't know how open they are to new people, it could be something you can't just walk in to."

"I'm no legal expert," Lizzy began, "but in order to be recognized as a legitimate church I don't think they can have a closed door policy. I think they have to be open to whoever wants to go. They can encourage or discourage actual membership but I think they have to let you in if you show up. Besides turning people away would attract attention that they probably don't want. Are you going to throw down?"

"No, not yet, this is just a scouting trip, but I'm not going to be hiding either. Let's see if I can make them curious."

"Jimmy, these people tend to be a little drastic in their responses," Allison warned.

"I know, but they also just lost two guys in the police department so they have to be more careful. I promise not to attract too much attention, but there is one thing I plan to do while I'm here that may worry them if they find out about it."

"What's that?" She asked nervously.

I pulled out my phone and waited for Bob to answer, "Hey Bob, how's it going? Listen, can you do me a favor. See if you can get Phoebe's pawn ticket from where she hocked all her stuff to get out of Vegas ... Yeah, most of it I don't care about but I'd like to surprise her with her mom's necklace. I'd rather give it to her in person but ... Anyway, send it to David Malcolm, care of the Bellagio Hotel ... Yeah, you should bring Rebecca up. Okay, thanks, talk to you later."

"You're at the Bellagio!" Allison accused.

Uh oh!

"Well yeah, I had to stay some place and... ," I couldn't resist, " ... and it's so awesome! I just reserved a regular room, you know, but the girl at the desk spotted my card and told the manager..."

"What card?" Lizzy asked.

"My family has a special ... arrangement with a particular hotel chain that I'm not allowed to tell you the name of. We evaluate hotels and resorts, both theirs and their competitors. The card is just in case and we're not supposed to show it to the hotel people unless something really goes wrong. Anyway, I wasn't paying attention and she spotted it, the manager upgraded us to a two room suite. God, you have to see this place to believe it. The furniture probably cost more than our whole house."

"Well?" Lizzy interrupted.

"What?"

"Show us the room!" Allison said, exasperated.

"Oh! I get it, duh!" I materialized us just outside the door with Sanders opening it up and walked the girls in.

"Holy ... shit!" Allison whispered.

"Wait, it gets better, check this out." I walked us through the 'his and hers' sink area and back into 'Her' bathroom, the one with the tub.

"Oh yeah baby!" Lizzy said. "Now that's what I'm talking about. Jimmy, you have to bring me here. Allison too if you can sneak her out."

"Did she like it?" Allison asked innocently. She tried to make it conversational but I caught it. I glanced at her and sure enough, there was that smile.

"Now Allison, I want you to know that he was the perfect gentleman," Lizzy said.

"Really?" She asked with a distasteful look, then added sarcastically, "Yeah, I'll bet she loved that."

"Drove her crazy!" Lizzy laughed, then she went into girl-talk mode, "Okay, so first he calls me and tells me he's got this girl to take him around town shopping — some hot flight attendant that Jamie spotted, and he's worried that she'll think it's all part of this big seduction scheme and he wants me to reassure her that he's not like that and she can trust him. You know, he's my fiancé and I trust him, yada-yada."

Allison looked at me, "You picked her up just because Jamie was interested? That's so sweet of you."

I didn't have time to answer as Lizzy kept going. "Yeah, I thought so too. Anyway, by the time he called back things had gotten seriously out of hand and ... well, you know Jimmy, he just can't not be sweet and charming..." she mimed gagging on her finger and Allison cracked up. "Apparently the suite was just too much, and seeing it now, I can understand why. God, just walking on that carpet would make me horny. Can you imagine spending a night in a place like that and not getting laid? I'd never forgive myself. But, you know Prince Charming here ... he's still trying to be Mr. Nice Guy. By the time he called me to bail him out she was ready to kill him. She was nervous at first but I told her I was his sister and she started gushing girlfriend-talk to me. Told me how he originally booked them separate rooms and all that but now he won't let her touch him. Apparently he made her promise to behave herself until after dinner ... what brought that on anyway?" she asked, turning to me. It was nice to see they still remembered I was there.

"She was up to her neck in bubbles and wanted me to get in the tub with her. I didn't want her to rush into anything she might regret later so I was trying to stall things off to make sure she didn't."

"Oh, that makes sense. Anyway, girlfriend was getting desperate, said if she had to wait until after dinner she was just going to order herself a small salad and him a six-pack of Viagra and he damn well better be worth the wait. I assured her he was."

"What I didn't tell you is I had an ace up my sleeve for after dinner," I interrupted. "Special Services got me tickets to the nine o'clock show; I figured that would buy me some extra time. Didn't really work out that way, she found the tickets when she went for the room service menu. I thought she was going to risk breaking her promise so I told her that the promise was she would behave, not me, and I let Jamie at her while I kept things from getting out of hand."

"Jamie wanted to bury the bone?" Lizzy asked.

"Oh yeah, big time. Anyway, it was a really nice night. 'O' was incredible..."

"O!" Lizzy exclaimed. "You took her to see "O"! I would die to see Cirque du Soleil."

Now Allison jumped in, "You took her to a Cirque show! Jimmy, how could you?"

"Well, we were right there!" I said defensively. "I needed to buy some time, I figured that would kill a few hours, she had to be at the airport first thing in the morning. I thought if I played it right I might be able to get out with my virtue intact. I wasn't planning any of this, really."

They both cracked up at that and then Allison said, "Oh yeah, you're going to do all that and she's just going to sleep in the other bedroom. Like that's going to happen. I wish I could be there in the morning, I bet you can't walk. And you said she's a flight attendant? Poor girl has to be on her feet all day."

I started to say something but she held up a hand, "Don't worry, she'll forgive you. Now the important questions? Did you behave yourself?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean you and Jamie didn't put her in a coma!"

"Oh that, no, I was really careful and Jamie had me keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't go too far."

"Good, now the really important question, does she like girls?" Allison asked, sounding hopeful.

I rolled my eyes, "I don't know, it didn't come up. She was a little weirded out that my sister, Lizzy, seemed to know so much about my sexual habits though. I told her Lizzy liked girls and we'd done a former girlfriend together."

"Perfect, are you going to tell her the truth?" Lizzy asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, in the morning when I take her to the airport. I don't want her leaving on a lie."

"You don't think telling her she just spent the night screwing someone else's fiancée will be harder for her to take than a little white lie?" Allison asked. "Oh wait," she turned to Lizzy, "You told the lie, so basically you gave her permission. Never mind."

"Hey," Lizzy said. "I have a better idea, don't tell her, but give her my number before she leaves, maybe she'll want to talk. If she calls then I'll tell her, and then I can find out if she likes girls or not. If you try to explain she'll assume it was all part of some plan, but she'll listen to me."

"Because you're girlfriends?" I asked.

"Heck yeah, I helped her hook up with my brother and he fucked her cross-eyed, we're tight! So show us the bedroom, before and after shots!"

I showed them both beds, first the master bed, the one we were actually sleeping, and would be, waking up in. It looked like something out of fairy tale. The other room was nice but a little smaller. Then I showed them the 'after' view.

"Damn!" Allison exclaimed. "Looks like a war zone! Let's see ... one, two ... I count three condom wrappers; you guys are going to be sore. What's that all over the bed?"

I blushed, "Chocolate syrup."

"Whoo-hoo!" Lizzy exclaimed. "Par-tay!"

"So how did you explain all this to her?" Allison asked. "Didn't she wonder how you could afford it?"

"I told her I was a bounty hunter."

"A bounty hunter?" Lizzy asked. "And she bought it?"

"Well, when she asked it made me I realize that I was going to need some kind of cover story. The way I explained it to her was that I find people, and things, then let the authorities do the actual work."

They thought about it for a few seconds and then Allison said, "You know, that has possibilities, you could totally play on that. Maybe set up a dummy company to run your reward money through, yeah that could ... Oh my god," she suddenly exclaimed, pointing. "Is that was I think it is?"

I followed the line of her finger and saw Christine's vibrator poking out from under a pillow.

"Toys too?" Lizzy said. "Cool! I like her already. Not every girl is willing to break out the hardware on the first tumble; it tends to scare guys off. You go girl!"

"What do you mean, 'toys too'?" Allison asked.

"Oh that's right; you weren't here for that part. Christine likes a little spank-me when she's being naughty." She looked at me, "She want you to pull her hair too?"

I didn't answer, but the blush pretty much said it all.

She changed the subject again. "Did you get a hold of Jasmine?"

"Yeah, she's..."

"You're not meeting her are you?" Allison asked, alarmed.

"No, I wanted to get something for Amber so I called her to make sure it was the right thing to do and see if she had some suggestions. She's sending May to take me ... David that is, shopping."

"She's sending May?" I got it in stereo as they were both just as awestruck as I had been.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. So where do you think I should go next, should I check on some more of the people here and see if Lord Dickhead has laid more traps?"

"Probably a good idea," Allison said. "Lizzy, do you think you could spot one of those, things before it tried to kill him."

"No, if Bob's right then it's a hypnotic compulsion and until it's triggered it's like it doesn't exist. But it might be fun to have Jimmy just disarm them all and see what he tries next."

"I don't know about fun," I said. "But I think it would be a good idea to clean them up so these people aren't walking time bombs. These sorts of things have a tendency to break down over time, kind of like dynamite that's been sitting. At first it needs a reason to explode, but the longer it sits the less it takes to trigger it. What if we solve this little disaster and five years from now they 'think' they met me. They could slaughter an innocent person without even realizing what they were doing until it was over. They'd be sitting in prison for the rest of their lives with no idea why they did it. I think we should spring the traps and see what he does next. If it's a test then we've already either passed or failed with Sam, so there is no reason not to clean up the rest of the mess. He already knows there is a new player in the game so there is no sense in hiding."

"That's why you're going to the church isn't it?" Allison asked. "You want to get a look at him so you can bridge him."

"Yeah, we've gone as far as we can with the chart, it's time to see about shutting this thing down and that can only be done from the top. I'm pretty sure he's the only one who knows everyone involved, and that he's the one with the goods on people like Hendricks. I'd like to be able to take these assholes down without destroying the ones that are being blackmailed. If I can find whatever it is that he has on them, get it away from him ... I don't know, maybe I can save a few of them."

"Jimmy, the court isn't going to let them off because they were set up and trapped into it, even if Hendricks' wife set him up the first time, they'll still consider everything after that an act of free will. They are still going to say he should have come forward and taken the consequences, or at least given the system a chance to deal with it."

"You really think that would have happened?" I asked.

"Are you kidding, he'd be doing twenty years bent over Bubba's bunk because the system won't admit it's own flaws. Either way you look at it, he's going to get burned along with the rest."

"But if I can get the proof away from Hightower..."

"Then someone else will rat him out, they'll make the girl's testify that he had sex with them, they won't allow any mitigating testimony or let them say he had no choice, or what a nice guy he was, anything they do to defend him will be passed off as them being young and distraught."

"She's right," Lizzy said. "They'll spin it so his being nice was just them brainwashed into thinking it was okay because he was a nice guy."

"There has to be a way, but I'm not going to find it out here. Hightower is the key to all this, we already know that, maybe if I can take him down the rest of this will all fall apart by itself."

"Jimmy you're not thinking it through," Allison said. "You remember the family that Atkins told Rebecca about? The ones who tried to get out. The guy who killed his wife and daughter before committing suicide? All while they were in protective custody. Think about what happened with Sam last night."

She waited for me to put two and two together. Suddenly I had four. "You're saying he's buried a compulsion in them all to kill their families and themselves if they are ever caught?"

"Something like that. Look at the girls and their mom that Andrews killed. We wondered how a mother could just let a man into her house knowing that he was there to kill her children, then quietly go to bed and wait for her turn. This would explain it. It also pretty much guarantees that what we suspected before is true. If the shit hits the fan it's going to be a bloodbath. You're going to need to tell Atkins what he's doing so she can have people standing by to try and stop it."

"Shit," Lizzy said. "This is going to be ugly. What can you do?"

Before I could answer there was a knock at the door. "Come in Walter." Damn, I'd completely forgotten about Boris. The door open and six and half feet of lean muscle dressed in black leather strode in.

"Greetings my Lord," offering his hand, he grasped mine firmly in a warriors hold when I extended it. "Ladies," he said kissing each of their hands in turn. As he tried to stand from kissing Allison's she caught his neck and held his head down long enough to kiss his cheek.

"Hello Walter, it's good to see you again." Wow, monsters blush. "How was your day?"

"Dull, milady," he answered and turned to me. "He spent most of the day ingratiating himself to his superiors and apologizing for embarrassing them. He claimed he had received information regarding the capture of a wanted dissident but when he arrived discovered that it was a sting operation by some of America's 'so-called intelligence people'."

"Did you just use air quotes?" Allison asked with a giggle. "Walter that's so cute."

Oh yeah, boy do they blush!

"So you're saying he behaved himself today." I said, rescuing him from Allison's teasing.

"Yes, my Lord, though I do not believe it was by choice. I believe that this was expected and that he is waiting for events to settle."

"I'm sorry you wasted your time, I hope it wasn't too boring."

"My Lord, to have purpose is never a waste of time and I was not bored. It was ... instructional watching the daydreams of another culture; though in truth some themes seem to be universal."

"I can imagine," I said with a smile. "Do you think there is much chance he'll try to contact someone tonight?"

"Fear not, my Lord, though I am here I still maintain a watchful presence in his dreams. In fact I am making it a point to appear in them at odd intervals lest he forget me."

"Good," I said, then thought for a moment. "Why don't you go all the way, see if you can scare him awake, he won't know who or what you are, but if he, or more likely when he, screws up and you show yourself to him, it should scare the bejesus out of him. He seems to have a deep rooted fear of your natural form."

"Yes, from his childhood. His grandmother used to tell him tales of werewolves and such."

"Good, just call if you need me," I said.

"You would answer my summons?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course, why wouldn't I? It's not like you would call me if it wasn't urgent." Maybe I said it a little too forcefully because he bowed his head when he answered.

"Forgive me, my Lord, I meant no disrespect, but it is not common for the master to answer the servant."

"Walter," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder, not an easy feat considering he was almost a foot taller than me. "I tolerate the title of master only because you choose to honor me in this way, but I do not look upon you as a servant, but rather a comrade, and even were it not so, what kind of master would I be if ignored such a call?"

"Put in such terms, a poor one indeed," Walter acknowledged, nodding his head. "And thus am I honored the more to serve you. I shall return to my charge and do as you bid, my Lord. Ladies." He bowed to the girls and left. Shortly after he disappeared we heard a baying cry in the distance.

"Boris is in for a rough night," Allison said, then turned her attention back to me. "And let me guess, you were so preoccupied trying not to take advantage of the pretty young flight attendant that you forgot to pick up a new phone."

Damn, I hate it when she's right. It had completely slipped my mind.

"You know," Lizzy said. "If you went ahead with the idea and established an actual business, you could carry a regular phone and only use the other one when you needed to. You might want to go with a pre-paid one for special projects once in a while, but you'd have a number we could call you on all the time."

"I don't know," I answered. "You don't think it might be a little strange for you guys to be calling a bounty hunter all the time?"

"I think the whole 'bounty hunter' thing is a little over the top," Lizzy said. "Set it up as a recovery service; you find things, and people, just like you told Christine. That's all anyone would need to know."

"Best of all," Allison said, nodding her head, "it would be true. You wouldn't even need to openly work with law enforcement. Insurance companies pay good money for recovering stolen property. Someone grabs a million dollar painting, they're looking at a huge payout, they'd jump at a ten percent finder's fee. But you'll have to be careful laying your trails so it doesn't look too easy. They might suspect you were actually involved. Not to mention that for some jobs you would need to justify getting a warrant to get to wherever the stuff may be hidden. You could handle smaller stuff through the tip lines just like before. This has potential. I think I'm going to do a little research in the morning. I'll just leave you a message at the hotel if I need to talk to you. You can reach me on mom's cell."

"Research on what?" I asked.

"Setting up a corporation; you hear ads for it all the time, especially for Nevada based stuff, so it can't be that complicated. Besides, it's not like I've got anything else to do. God, it is so boring here. Miss Hewitt is emailing me my assignments so I can keep up but other than that all there is to do is hang out by the pool and swim, or watch daytime television, yuck! This will give me something to do."

"Okay, I'll pick up a new phone first thing in the morning and call you with the number."

"Did you notice that the more we talked and started directing things here, the more the local overflow faded out?" Allison asked.

"Not until you mentioned it," I answered, suddenly aware that she was right.

"I'm betting it's still there but you've kind of automatically put up a block to handle it."

I kind of felt around in my head for a second, "Yeah, looks that way. If I think about it it's still there and I can even look at it, but otherwise it's faded to something more like background noise."

Allison cocked her head thoughtfully for a moment and then said, "You know what else seems to have faded. You haven't talked to Kurtz lately."

I realized she was right, it had been days.

"You're right; I haven't seen him since Walter found him for me. I think I'll drop in on him and make sure everything is all right, then Jamie and I are going to play bomb squad with the locals and see if we can disarm anything Hightower has planted."

"How are you going to do that?" Allison asked. "It was easy with Samantha, you just had to call her, but you don't have that kind of connection with the rest."

"It's still worth a try. If it doesn't work then we'll keep track of who we need to try again with later and move on."

"That should keep you busy for a while," Lizzy said. "How about it sis? Want to hang out?"

"Absolutely. Jimmy, can Amber come out and play?"

"Sure, but you don't need to ask my permission if Lizzy is around. She is as much Mistress as I am Master and Amber knows it."

"Really?" Allison asked. "How does that work? I mean, what if you two disagree on something?" She realized what she was saying and said, "Wait, never mind, stupid question."

"No, actually it's a very good question," Lizzy said. "It does come up, particularly in new arrangements, but one is always designated as having ultimate control. A good pair will always work together to make sure the slave is never put in a situation where they may be confused or conflicted in that way. Slaves have been known to leave if it happens too often."

"They can do that?" Allison asked.

"Allison!" Lizzy said, scandalized. "My God I can't believe you asked that. This is modern America, not medieval Babylon; of course the slave can choose to leave."

Allison hung her head, "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, this is still sort of new to me."

"I understand, and I forgive you," Lizzy said. "Just don't ever say anything like that in front of Amber. She is a slave by choice, not by compulsion. Many slaves never change masters but there are some that actually sell themselves at auction. You would be amazed what some people, especially couples will pay. The better trained and more ... willing, the more they can command. If Essex wasn't bleeding her dry, Jasmine's girl Tanya could be fucking rich. A girl like Amber? One that can be switched to a more dominant role on command? Priceless."

"She can?" I asked.

"Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy," Lizzy said in one of those 'weren't you paying attention?' voices. "You've done it with her already. Ordered her to be Angela for basketball and having her actually respond? With correct training, a pair may order her to dominate one of them, or another sub, say as entertainment at a party for instance."

"Obviously there is a lot I still need to learn," I said.

"Not your fault, love. You're still very new at this, and I'm no expert either, so we'll learn together as we help Angela, isn't that what families do? Anyway, for tonight, why don't I take Allison and Amber someplace we can play and you and Jamie go see if you can make the world a safer place?"

I don't know what they did the rest of the night but Jamie and I were busy. We went through the entire chart, finding traps in all but about a dozen people. Either Hightower hadn't gotten to them yet or he hadn't bothered with them for some reason. We tagged them for follow up just in case. It was tricky at first. I didn't think what I had done with Samantha, calling her out of the shell, would be possible with most of the rest. Happily I was only half right. I went to the people I felt the most strongly about first. Starting with Hendricks and I was able to call him out. The next one we tried was the girl, Megan, which Samantha had been watching at her school. I couldn't call her out so we did as Lizzy had suggested; it turned out her suggestion of going in through the 'eyes' of the shell was the right approach.

Bob had been correct in his assumption that Hightower wanted them to watch their hope die. Megan was in a bubble similar to the one Jamie used. But similar in the way a candle is similar to the sun because they both burn. This was nothing compared to what Jamie did, I could tell that just by looking at it, much less touching it.

Megan was in her bubble but at the same time she could see everything that was going on outside, like watching it on a giant movie screen. I'm not sure what purpose making most of them watch served since they didn't really know who I was or what I represented. Maybe it was tied to the compulsion to report back to him. Once we were in, it was just a matter of cutting the shell away, it was only loosely attached, and then we blew it up like a balloon, which made the eye holes big enough to take them out, then we just let it collapse back in on itself. Of course this is all sort of a metaphorical explanation, there's no way I could really explain what we did. The important thing is that it worked. Even more important was that there would be no memory that we had been there at all; the shell would just be gone with no explanation.

Unfortunately this didn't work for all of them.

The pattern became obvious almost immediately. The girls, and the adults who were being coerced, were easy. The voluntary players, like Essex and Frank and Irene Watkins, were a whole different story. The shell wasn't so much attached to a bubble as it was stuck on like a second skin. That changed things dramatically because there was no simple way to cut the shell free. Not only that but it kept trying to reattach itself. We quickly figured out that we could probably get it off but not without them knowing and remembering that something had happened. Even putting them in a bubble first they would still come out with the vague feeling that something was different. They wouldn't know what, but Hightower would have no trouble figuring it out. That didn't bother me since there would be no memory of how it was done.

"That's too easy," Jamie had protested.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"They're willing players, I think they should hurt. I mean, Hightower is going to know we've been here either way, why make it easy on them?"

I had to smile, "You want to hurt them a little?"

"No, I want to hurt to them a lot, but I'm willing to compromise at a little."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Since it's attached like a second skin, how about flaying it off?"

"You mean literally, as in old-world flaying?"

"Well, not the whole one strip at a time, inch by inch, thing but otherwise, yeah, cut a spot and peel it off in long bloody pieces, or just rip it off all at once."

"Are you sure you can actually do that?"

"Oh yeah!"

I thought about it for a second, weighing the possible negatives. All of them having the same nightmare should really make them wonder if they ever compared notes. "The fact that only the voluntary players got tortured should make it clear to Hightower that I know who's who. That should shake him up a little bit. Go for it."

"Yes!" she hissed, pumping her fist. After a second she turned to me. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Jimmy, I love you, now go away. This isn't you and it's a side of me I really don't think you want to see. You know it's there but I don't see any benefit to rubbing your face in it. Please? Go play with the girls or something, okay."

What can I say, we both knew she was right, and I really didn't want to watch this anyway. The occasional blood-curdling scream echoing through the dreamscape let me know she was making progress. On a whim I arranged for Boris to hear the screams as well.

The most interesting thing we discovered was that none of the board members were booby-trapped.

I woke up at my normal time and slipped out of bed to go run. That didn't work so well. Vegas is one of those towns that never really sleeps and I wasn't used to dodging people or waiting for lights to change. I gave up after only about a mile and went back to the hotel. On a whim I checked out the pool and found out that not only was it large enough to actually swim laps in, but at five thirty in the morning it was empty as well. I stripped down to my running shorts and got in a good half hour before heading back up to the room. I wasn't sure if Christine was a coffee person or not, but she was asleep and there was a full coffee service so I started a pot just in case. I ordered some juice sent up for myself and slipped off to the shower. I was sitting in a low chair by the window sipping my juice and thinking about the day when two arms wrapped around me and something, actually two somethings, warm and soft pressed against the back of my neck.

"Good morning," she said, kissing my shoulder. "I was disappointed when I woke up and you were gone, but I found your note. How was your run?"

I kissed her arm as I answered, "Actually it sucked, this area isn't really set up for running, but the pool was empty so I did some laps instead." I tugged her arm and as she moved around I pulled her into my lap. "How did you sleep?

She sighed heavily, "Very well, thank you." Her voice took on a teasing tone as she continued, "I could stay there all day but I was getting lonely in that big bed all by myself. Any chance I could talk you into coming back and cuddling with me?"

I scooted forward enough to get my legs under me and stood up with her in my arms. Her arms instantly wrapped around my neck to secure her balance.

"Relax, I won't drop you."

"You're even stronger than I thought," she said. "Where do you hide all the muscles?"

"I don't like bulk so I work for strength rather than size."

"That's good," she said with a grin. "If you were much bigger we might have issues." She laid her head on my shoulder and said, "Home James."

I carried her carefully though the bedroom door and dropped her on the bed, eliciting an 'eeek' of surprise, then jumped up to pin her down before she could squirm away. Straddling her hips I pinned her wrists to the bed on either side of her head and leaned down to kiss her softly, then holding her wrists I rolled to one side and onto my back, pulling her on top of me, then reached to untie her robe. Her hands were immediately busy with my robe as well and within moments we were both naked again. As I reached up for her breasts she was reaching down for me. She leaned forward to offer me a nipple while lifting her hips clear and pressing my shaft between her thighs. With no hesitation she rubbed me a couple times between her lips, which promptly parted and revealed that she was already quite wet, and then she settled the head in place and rocked slowly back to a vertical position. I wasn't happy about relinquishing the nipple, but the feeling of her hot wetness engulfing me more than made up for it. Then I realized something was missing.

"Christine? Sweetheart, we need protection."

She practically jumped off the bed.

"Jesus!" She cried, rolling to one side. "God, what was I thinking? Thank you!"

"No problem," I answered, rolling to the edge of the bed and retrieving a condom from the nightstand drawer. They kept it stocked with an interesting assortment.

I started to open it but she rolled over close and took it from me. "Here, let me do that, you just lay back and relax." She climbed to her knees and laid the foil packet on my stomach and then began working to restore the rigidity I had lost during the brief distraction. Her technique was simple; she just licked her way from bottom to top a couple times and then swallowed me whole, working her tongue around me as she went. A couple quick trips up and down and I was good as new and a lot wetter. She quickly tore the foil packet and unrolled the contents onto me, her saliva mixed with the lubricant making the job a lot easier. She then tossed a leg over me and lined up the head once more.

"Now where were we?" she asked. I didn't answer, just closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her hot wetness covering me.

"Oh wait, I remember..." she sank slowly down onto my shaft. "Yeah, right there." Once I was fully seated she began moving slightly, not up and down but more grinding herself against my pelvis in slow circles.

"Oh, that feels so nice," She moaned, changing the motion from slow circles to rocking forward and back instead.

We took our time, making slow love to each other, varying the positions any time things started to get too heated and allowing it to cool off before starting again. She had at least one mild orgasm before we reached the point where we both wanted more and pounded each other to a climax that left us both panting on the bed, spent, exhausted, and I was pretty sure, sore once the rush subsided.

"God, I am going to be so sore later," she said, echoing my thoughts.

"Me too," I laughed. "But it was worth it."

We lay quietly for a few minutes, just basking in the afterglow before she quietly whispered, "Thank you," and stroked her hand over my cheek.

I kissed her hand before it drifted out of range and asked, "What for?"

She smiled and gave a little huff. "For everything, for last night, and the show, and for stopping me just now -- you know most guys wouldn't have."

"That's true," I agreed, "most guys probably wouldn't, but a man would. I wouldn't ever want to be remembered as 'some guy' you fucked on a layover, and I sure as hell wouldn't want a child to think of their father that way. As for the rest, the pleasure was all mine, and suddenly I'm starving, so how about some breakfast before you fly back to heaven and leave me."

"You're a class act, David Malcolm, and you're going to make some lucky girl very happy some day." she said, flicking an eyebrow at me. "You're right about the rest, too. I feel like I haven't eaten in days. And for the record, the pleasure wasn't all yours, not by a long shot."

She kissed me again and we rolled out of bed and off to separate bathrooms to clean up, then met in the dining area where I poured her a cup of coffee and myself a fresh glass of juice and we took them over into the morning sunshine to look over the breakfast menu. We ended up splitting a mushroom omelet and an order of pancakes and then it was time for her to get ready. I rode with her to the airport and promised to call her with my new cell phone number later in the day, giving her Lizzy's number to use in the interim. She was a little hurt that I wasn't giving her my number but I explained that due to the nature of my work this one didn't get incoming calls at all and that if I called her with it, it wouldn't show up under caller ID either. We shared a last kiss goodbye in the privacy of the limo and then I walked her as far as security would allow before heading back to the hotel to wait for May. There was a message from Allison telling me to call when I got back in.



-------

Chapter 64: Lessons



"Hi mom," I said when she answered.

"Jimmy!" she said excitedly. "Oh, Jimmy, it's so good to hear your voice. Are you okay, is everything all right? Where are you?" She must have been excited; my parents almost never called me Jimmy.

"I can't really tell you that mom, but I'm okay and things are going pretty well so far. How are you doing? Allison says there's not much to do besides watch Oprah and work on your tan."

"No kidding. It's not too bad though, with everything that's been going on lately I've pared down my workload already. Carrie takes care of most of the things that come up and she can still call me if she needs something." Her voice got more serious, "Jimmy, tell me the truth, do you think this will ever be over? Do you think we'll ever really get to go back or is this just the first step before we have to disappear completely?"

I thought carefully about my answer. "I don't know mom. I wish I could say yes, but I just don't know. Until we can figure out what's going on and who's after me... , I just don't know."

"Then I think I'm going to sell my interest in the company now. I've got two people wanting to buy me out and I'd rather take the money now than wait and lose it later because I don't have a choice."

"But then what will you do if this does blow over?" I asked.

"I have no idea but if I have the money I'll have options. Jimmy? Thank you for being honest with me. Do you need to talk to your sister?"

"Yeah, she left a message for me to call."

"You mean she knows where you are?"

"Yes, and I'll tell her it's okay to tell you, I just don't want to discuss it on an open line."

"Oh, I understand. Here's Allison. I love you."

"I love you too, mom."

"Hi," Allison said. "Everything okay this morning? Nothing fell off?"

"Allison!" I heard mom in the background.

"I'm kidding, mother! Jeez, chill." I couldn't help but cringe. Allison calling her 'mother' was never a good sign. I couldn't help but wonder if it was the amount of time they were suddenly forced to spend together, that along with the stress.

Suddenly Allison asked, "Hey, are you listening?" and I realized I had been lost in my own thoughts and hadn't heard a word she had said.

"Sorry," I answered. "I got side-tracked when you called her mother, that's never a good sign. Are you guys okay?"

She let out a sigh, "Truthfully? No. With you gone and everything else, mom has gone off the deep end with the whole mother bear protecting her cub thing and she's driving me nuts."

"Allison, cut her some slack here, at least you saw it coming. Her life just got ripped out from under her with no warning. She's already making plans for the possibility that she won't get it back. Be there for her, Sis, okay?"

"Easy for you to say," she said and I could almost see her rolling her eyes.

"Allison?" I pushed.

"Okay, okay. I promise I'll try. Now can we move on?"

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to..."

She cut me off, "Don't. You're right, it's stress on both sides and I could be doing more to help. I promise I'll work on it. Meanwhile, you need to see someone about starting a corporation in Nevada. I've been doing some checking this morning and apparently there is nothing to it, the taxes are low and best of all, it takes a court order to get past the corporate wall and find out who you are. And when I say court order I mean someone has to go to a judge with actual criminal charges."

"Wow," I said. "That would be helpful."

"Yeah, no kidding, especially if we do it in layers; set up a corporation, then set up a sub-corporation under that one. You can play employee at the sub-corp without anyone ever knowing that you're really the guy in charge. You don't even have to live or work in the state."

"You're right; there are some definite possibilities here. I could be as mobile as I need to be and have a stable address without having to worry about anyone tracking me down through it. Probably have to come up with another identity to hide behind but still ... It would certainly make life easier if I didn't have to hide all the time."

"Jimmy, if you're using an assumed name technically you're still hiding, but the idea is sound. Hiding in plain sight would have its advantages, and it certainly beats the alternative. You're spending the day with May, right. I'll bet you anything you care to name that Jasmine can refer you to someone to handle all this stuff with exactly the level of discretion you need."

"That's a sucker bet if I ever heard one. Anyone that Jasmine would be involved with would have to have privacy as their number one priority. I was thinking of asking the hotel manager, Sanders, for some recommendations. I figure anyone dealing with the casinos would have to know what they were doing. Oh, and I already opened a checking account. I used Lizzy's address and it's in all three names; I wanted to make sure they would be covered if anything came up. Still, it's going to be weeks before everything comes through; debit cards and all that. Meanwhile I've got things to do that require money; like paying the attorney if and when I finally find one."

"Well at least that part will be easy, just ask both Jasmine and that Sanders guy, and if anyone shows up on both lists then he's your man."

"I'm going to need to come up with a legitimate explanation for where my money is coming from."

"No you're not. Not at first anyway, setting up the corporation is dirt cheap. One of the reasons I think you should go with a referral is that there are so many cheap ads for it, I'm betting they're just advertising the basic filing fee to suck people in and then raping them on the other fees and costs."

"So I don't have to tell them where my capital came from?"

"Well I wouldn't dump a whole ton of money into it right away, just put in enough to give yourself operating capital, find a few people or things; once you start making regular deposits it'll take care of itself. I'd leave the bulk of it where it is for now. Better if no one knows about it."

"I moved some of it already, I..." I caught myself, realizing that this was still didn't qualify as a secure line. "I'll tell you about it later." Just then the room phone rang. "Hang on a second."

I set the cell down and answered, "Hello?"

"Mr. Malcolm there is a young woman here for you."

"Thank you, please send her up."

"Thank you, sir."

I hung up and returned to Allison's call. "May is on her way up, I need to get going?"

"You made her come up, why wouldn't you just ... never mind, I got it. God, this stuff is complicated, isn't it?"

"At first, but it gets easier, at least I hope it does. I love you; I'll talk to you later."

A few moments later that there was a knock at the door. I had a suspicion as to what I would find and it turned out I was correct. May was kneeling in the hallway waiting for me. See, it does get easier.

She was dressed casually in slacks, a light blouse, flat open-toed shoes that looked almost like slippers, and of course, a red leather collar and fan earrings.

"You do your Mistress credit, May. Please come in." I extended my hand to help her up. It was a gallant gesture at best as she laid her hand on mine and flowed to her feet; there was no appreciable pressure on my hand at all.

"You are too kind, sir. My Mistress has asked that you not use my name in public."

"I see," I said, guiding her through the door and walking her to a chair. She surprised me by not sitting in it, but rather kneeling next to it. I knew then it was going to be an interesting day. Not letting go of her hand I turned and sat in the chair.

The real surprise came next.

"So that there is no pretense between us, I know that you are the one my Mistress knows as 'Jimmy' and the basics of Amber's situation."

I was surprised but saw no purpose to denying it. "How is it that you know who I am?"

"Based on what you told my Mistress, you would never betray the situation to another, so David Malcolm could not possibly understand what you need."

"An astute and logical deduction," I agreed. "What else has your mistress told you?"

"My Mistress has instructed me that you are new to the dance," she answered demurely.

"So, in addition to accompanying me, you are to assist in my training today, aren't you?"

"I am honored to guide you on the Master's Path."

"It is I who am honored, a finer guide I could never hope to find."

"The Master is too kind."

"Is there more I should know?"

"Yes, my Mistress keeps few secrets from me; I know all that you have told her. Please do not think my Mistress indiscreet, but she needed to share her thoughts on all that was happening, especially when the pace of Amber's progress became so apparent. My Mistress is a wonder of knowledge, but in order to keep up with Amber's accelerated learning curve she required a slave's perspective. Know without doubt that I would carry these secrets to my grave rather than divulge them. You need not fear the taint of the one you call Lord Hightower either. My Mistress allows no one to be near either of us alone. This is the first time I have been in public without escort in over three years. Usually there are two bodyguards with us at all times when we leave the house. My Mistress takes my safety very seriously for she knows that I am her greatest weakness. She loves me very much and there is not much she would not do if something were to happen to me. She also knows that unless restrained, I would take my own life before anyone had the chance to use me against her,"

I thought about what she had said for a moment before answering, "As I said, a better guide I could not ask for, I welcome any assistance you may offer. I assume that if I were to call you by your name today... ?" I left the question hanging.

She smiled and answered, "Yes, I would not answer."

I nodded my understanding, "By what name should I call you?"

"Your first mistake," she said. "If a name is not given, it is the Master who decides, and the responsibility of the slave to remember and respond. How would you call me, my Master?"

"Are there guidelines or restrictions on the name a Master may give?"

"A reasonable question," she commended me, bowing her head respectfully to me. "Social considerations only; as the Master, you must weigh where and how the name may be used. If I were escorting you to a formal dinner, the name "Bitch" may be inappropriate to the setting, though a slave does not weigh such considerations, she merely obeys. In another setting, such as a private affair or when visiting certain clubs, "Slut" would not be unusual or inappropriate. It depends very much on the setting."

"And if I ask ... if I instruct you to select a name?"

She smiled again, "Once again, a good question. Then the choice falls to me and the responsibility of remembering to you."

"Then you shall be Acacia during our time together."

"Thank you, my Master. How may I serve you?"

"I know that you would not ask and why you would not, but do you wish to know why I chose that name?"

"No, Master, and you are correct that it is not proper to question the name. However, if you choose to share it with me, that is your decision. I will admit to curiosity only because you ask, but the reason is of no importance to me."

"Because it is a beautiful and supple tree," I said. "Slender and graceful to behold, and you are all of these things."

She inclined her head gratefully.

"But also because it is known for its thorns and apparently you are to be the thorn in my side today."

She covered a delicate laugh and said, "It is truly a commendable choice, Master."

"Let's start there; when we are in a setting where the title would attract undue attention, you are to address me as David. If, in such a setting you need to get my attention for instructional or other important reasons, you are to address me as Mr. Malcolm."

"I understand."

"Good. Are there any restrictions that I need to be aware of in normal social interaction, walking down the street for instance?"

"Not unless you wish it so," she answered. "You are free to dictate our interaction in any way you desire. I take it you do not want me kneeling at your feet every time you stop moving?"

I rolled my eyes, "Exactly. While I understand that there will be times when it's different, for the most part -- walking down the street, that sort of thing, I would be more comfortable treating you as I would my girlfriend."

"This is not uncommon," she explained. "In most circumstances a master and slave would go unnoticed as no one knows of their special relationship. I am an exception in that I go nowhere without my collar and fans. I have others for formal occasion and I am proud of my status. These items are known well enough in the area that my station will not be hidden from anyone of consequence. But even without them, if you in fact desired me to kneel at your side and aim for you while relieving yourself in public, I would do so."

"Not for me," I added. "But to honor your Mistress who gave you into my service?"

"For love of my Mistress, yes."

"And are there any other restrictions on our time today that I need to be aware of."

It was a simple thing but spoke volumes. The fact that she locked her eyes on mine and held them as she answered said even more.

"My Mistress has given me to you until you return me to her. I am yours to do with as you wish until that time."

"And she is trusting me to respect that you are her property, on loan for my use, but also in my care?"

"Yes, my Master."

"What is your safe word?"

"Penguin, my Master."

I stood and since I was still holding her hand, she rose with me. I kissed her hand, pulled her arm through mine and said, "Let's go shopping."

The transformation was instantaneous. She bounced on her feet, kissed me excitedly on the cheek and practically dragged me out the door. It reminded me of taking Allison and Shannon to the mall.

My next surprise came when we got in the elevator and she hit the button for the parking garage. The whole transportation thing had slipped my mind. Her car was a very nice Mercedes convertible, red of course, with pale gray leather interior. I held her door and handed her into the driver seat before getting in the passenger side. She pulled a red ball cap on to block the sun and to keep her hair under control, pulling it through the hole in the back so that it hung in a loose pony-tail, and we were off.

Traffic was heavy but not too bad and it didn't take long to spot May's bodyguards following discreetly. As I agreed with Jasmine's precautions I didn't say anything. I knew she wouldn't have said anything about me; as far as they knew they were just doing their normal job at a little greater distance than usual. I'm not even sure that May knew they were there. In just a few minutes we were pulling into a parking structure across town. It wasn't marked as public, but it wasn't a casino either. Apparently she wasn't worried about it so I didn't either. She hung her hat on the shifter and bounced out into my arms when I opened the door, lips pursed and ready. I gave her a friendly peck and squeeze and she held my hand as we walked to the elevator. We hit street level and started browsing the shops; laughing and carrying on like any other young couple in love. Eventually we entered a dimly lit store and at first I thought the power must be out but then I noticed that even though it was on the street, the windows had been completely painted over in black.

The interior was rank with the heady reek of leather; I have always loved that smell. The change in May as we crossed the threshold was just as striking as it had been when left the hotel room. Suddenly she was demure and more attentive, remaining close to me and letting me lead instead of pointing things out. The two employees gave her a cursory glance and immediately ignored her. While that may be appropriate to her station, it wasn't going to help.

"Acacia, attend me," I stepped some distance from the attendant and spoke to her in a low voice. "I require your guidance here, clearly, as a slave you are beneath her notice, but I will require your assistance in making selections."

"As you wish, Master. I know your slave is in hiding, but hiding in front of the crowd rather than lost in it. I will help you make selections that will make the proper statements." She lowered her voice slightly, "Be bold my master, we are safe here. It would be appropriate and acceptable for me to select and even to model for you, the pieces you desire."

"Very well," I said, raising my voice, "let us begin." There were canvas directors' chairs down toward one end of the long jewelry counter and I took a casual seat as May began perusing the various displays.

She selected several items and brought them for my inspection when the girl took them out of the case. The first was a long jeweled chain of black onyx and gold about three feet long. She quickly began explaining its various functions and uses. For discrete occasions it was a waist chain that could be completely hidden under her clothes, but most of the time it could be worn in plain sight -- over a light blouse or dress, or as a necklace of variable length. There was even a special clip that, if you wrapped it around the neck would hold it in the shape of a choker. The dangling end was actually removable and could be hung on the chain at any point. She had been showing me the various options when it suddenly hit me. The dangling end was actually a miniature and highly stylized cat-o-nine-tails with little gold balls on the ends.

She also recommended something more intimate. At first glance I didn't realize what I was looking at but as she began to explain the meaning became very clear.

"It is an alternative to piercing," she explained. They grip the skin tightly, triggering a reaction from the body, which places the nipple in a constant state of arousal." She caught my eye and held it for a moment.

In for a penny... , "Show me." She gave an approving smile, pulled her blouse over her head and folded it neatly on the counter. She had on a dainty white lace bra which she quickly removed as well, folding it and laying it on her shirt. Neither she nor the clerk even batted an eye at the idea, or the reality, of May disrobing in the middle of the store in broad daylight. But then, after all, there were essentially no windows.

The reality of May was no less wonderful than Jasmine's dreams of her. Her breasts were about the same size as Allison's but with smaller nipples.

"The problem with a piercing is that if is not done carefully many times the nerves are damaged or even destroyed, leaving the woman with no feeling, where if it is done properly the nerve is stimulated, and the sensations heightened, by the simplest contact, even just the motion of walking.

"This..." she held up the small clip, " ... is held on by pressure. If my Master would assist me?" she offered me her small breast.

Without hesitation I leaned in and began to suckle gently at her nipple, once it was wet I drew back and blew on it and it popped to attention. I gave her a quick kiss on the lips and said, "Proceed."

"Thank you, Master," she squeezed the body of the little device to open the spring mechanism and fitted it to the base of the flared point. The two pieces of metal bit hard into her flesh but she showed no discomfort. In fact it was pretty clear that she was enjoying the sensation. "The body will respond by swelling the surrounding tissue slightly, which will in turn help keep it in place. You have to be more careful than with an actual piercing as more vigorous movement or twisting can dislodge it." She pulled it out away from her breast and it stretched the nipple nicely. "A straight pull is fine as long as it's not too hard, but if you twist..." she demonstrated and it popped off, her breast bouncing slightly as it returned to its normal position. "It works better with larger nipples; the bigger ones have stronger springs and grip better. When in place," she reattached it and let it dangle, "movement keeps the nerves irritated and the nipple swollen, leaving it displayed nicely." She offered me her breast again and I cupped it in my hand, playing with the tiny charm, and then tickling it with my tongue. Licking or sucking did not dislodge it as long as you didn't get too vigorous.

"I imagine these get swallowed a lot."

"It happens," the clerk said with a smile. "They come with a warning for nursing mothers to take them off before feedings. Another advantage is that if you get a little rough they will pop off without any actual damage. Trust me; having a piercing torn out, even by accident, is not a pleasant experience. I know girls it has happened to. Why don't you show him the chain?" She handed May the black and gold chain and she quickly put it on around her slender waist where it hung delicately after settling on her hips just below her navel. It was a nice accompaniment to the clips and with her slim build the tiny cat hung below the crotch of her jeans, the chain and its gold dangling end drawing your attention to what lie beneath. Immediately I imagined what treasures were hidden there.

She turned so that I could take it all in, then took it off, removed her collar and lay it carefully on the counter, then wrapped the chain around her neck several times, the clerk attached the special clip at the back of her neck and suddenly she had a stranded choker. She displayed it alone at first and then with the little cat attached once more as a dangle. Then she unfastened it, unwrapped a couple coils and let it hang like a regular necklace, the dangling cat resting between her breasts. Another quick adjustment put it back on in full extension once more. It hung from her neck like a tie, the chain bisecting her breasts and the little dangle reaching past her navel. Her final adjustment attached the chain to the twin clips on her nipples, where it hung in a long arc and just begged you to tug on it, which I did to see if it would pull the clips free. It would but the force required was enough that it had to be intentional. I could easily imagine leading her or Amber through the right kind of party by it, which of course was the intent.

I noticed there was a twin in white gold so I had her try it as well. The yellow gold would go better with Amber's darker skin. I had her try several more before settling on one for each of them, yellow gold for Amber and white for May. She blushed very prettily when, after settling it around her waist I told her she could keep it.

"Thank you, Master."

I didn't say anything, just picked her collar up off the counter and helped her put it back on. I wanted to get a set of the nipple clips for Amber but was uncertain as to the size. When I explained this to the clerk I got my next surprise as she peeled off her shirt and shifted her bra to expose a nipple. When I confirmed she was about the same configuration she resettled her bra and selected several in the appropriate size for me to choose from. When I had narrowed the choice to two she took off her bra and began teasing at her nipples.

"Perhaps Acacia could assist you?" I offered.

The girl's face lit up. "The Master is generous," she said and offered herself to May, closing her eyes as May caressed and suckled her to arousal, then attached one of each to her distended nipples. The girl winced slightly at the initial pressure but the way she bit her lip said very clearly that it wasn't because it hurt. She then put her bra and shirt back on to demonstrate what it would look like. "If the bra itself has a little texture to it, it is unlikely anyone would notice the piece itself, but as you can see, the effect remains evident."

It certainly did.

"Thank you," I said. She quickly removed them, I made my choice, and both women put their clothes back on. Then we looked at collars and a variety of restraints and adornments; bracelets, anklets and a set of handcuffs that she could wear together on one wrist as a bracelet. They also came apart so that two people could wear half, signifying the bond between them. I selected several additional items and arranged to have them express shipped to Lizzy so they would arrive before Amber.

"How am I doing so far?" I asked May as we headed back to the car.

"You have handled yourself very well. You do know she would have accepted your help in place of mine?"

"That seemed pretty obvious, but I noticed she was admiring you as well."

"I was not sure you noticed. So you were certain she would accept me before offering my assistance?"

"Not certain, but pretty sure. I don't think anyone working in a shop like that would embarrass a slave by refusing to allow them to obey an order."

"Not for such a simple request, no. As I said, you handled it well."

"Thank you, would you like some lunch?"

She took me to an exquisite oriental place where we sat on pillows on the floor and took turns alternately eating and feeding each other while discussing my legal needs. She was excited that I was considering opening an office in the area and immediately called Jasmine for a couple of referrals. Within minutes I had names for both an attorney and an accountant. Sweet!

We were walking back to the car when Jamie spotted trouble approaching. Two guys lurking in the shadows of the parking garage.

"Thank you, sis. You want them?"

"Oh hell yeah!" We traded places and I found myself shifted to the birds-eye view again.

"You really have to show me how you do that."

"Remind me later," she said just as the first guy put his hand on my shoulder.

"The wallet and the purse, and no one gets hurt."

May turned and backed closer to the car, eyes on me as Jamie said, "Where's the fun in that?" dropped and spun, sweeping his feet out from under him and then rolling to one side before he crashed to the ground. Immediately she stood and closed on his partner, who clicked the trigger on a switchblade and moved forward to meet us. The blade was obviously for show and he had no idea what he was doing, leading with the blade. Just as with Samantha's attack it was easy to block and then catch his arm and twist the knife free. The difference is we had been trying not to hurt Sam, this guy wasn't that lucky. That and it was Jamie in control, not me. She blocked the knife arm the same but only twisted the arm far enough to keep the blade away as she slammed her elbow into his face. I felt his nose break and before his head even started to snap forward again she had raised the knife arm up and away, rotating the wrist outward to lock the elbow and standing him up straight. Grabbing his throat she kicked his knee just hard enough to collapse it, but not hard enough to break it, and shoved him hard over onto the ground, where he lay stunned and gasping for air. The knife bounced away as he hit the ground, ending up about six feet away.

From my vantage point I could see the guy behind us was back on his feet. There was plenty of time but it turned out to not be necessary. As he started towards me, May dropped gracefully to the floor, swept his feet again, and flowed smoothly back to her feet as he crashed hard to the ground once more. Jamie glared at her as she stood back up and then, returned her attention to her two playmates. I watched as Jamie walked over and recovered the fallen switchblade, then drove it point first into a crack next to the one guys head. The size of his eyes as her arm descended made it clear he thought she was going to kill him. Once the blade was firmly planted in the concrete Jamie snapped the blade off and stood up.

"You boys need to find a better line of work; you're not cut out for this sort of thing." Jamie said, and then switched places again, blowing me a mental kiss and I dropped back into control. "Thanks, that was fun."

I put what was left of the broken knife in my pocket to dispose of later and went to hold May's door for her.

"Forgive my intrusion, Master," she said as we drove back out onto the street. "I did not think it necessary but could not risk your safety if I were wrong."

I weighed my options and my feelings before saying sternly, "You risked you own safety for me, normally I would thank you. However your Mistress has entrusted you to me and I would not have wanted to explain to her that you came to harm while in my care. You will not do anything like that again, but look to your own safety first, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my Master," she answered demurely.

Her phone rang and she glanced at me for permission to answer it. I nodded and she retrieved it from her purse and answered, "One moment while I park, please," and pulled into the parking lot of a small gas station.

"Yes, Mistress?" She listened for a moment and said to me, "The attorney has an opening if you would care to see him this afternoon."

"I don't think I'm dressed for an attorney, do you?"

She shook her head negatively. "Do you have something at the hotel?"

In was my turn to shake my head.

"Perhaps we could meet him for dinner?" She suggested. "That would give us time to shop for something more appropriate."

"Works for me," I said.

She made the offer to Jasmine, who said she would call back.

"I'm going to need a bigger suitcase," I quipped.

"If you are to have an office here, why not take a residence instead and work from there. From what you have said, you will not require much actual room, and that would solve both problems."

I thought for a few moments about the normal upkeep of a house and almost shot the idea down, but then decided it wasn't a bad idea. "That's an interesting idea; I'll have to give it more thought. Where would you recommend for we go to find me a decent suit?"

"If we had more time there is a tailor I know in Henderson, but for now there are several places near the hotel that will do."

Jasmine called back and informed us that we had eight o'clock reservations at a place called Aureole. As I was being escorted by May, she had invited the attorney to bring his wife and said that she would send something appropriate for May to wear to the hotel.

The next two hours flew by as May escorted me to a men's clothier and to get my hair cut. The suit had to be taken in somewhat but they assured us it would be ready and delivered to the hotel by six. I picked up a prepaid phone at a kiosk near the hair salon and we headed back to the hotel. I excused myself to attend to natures call; both breakfast and lunch were clamoring for freedom. When I returned to the main room I found May wearing a linen robe and standing next to a massage table.

"It has been a busy day, Master, and you need to relax before your meeting. If it pleases you... ?"

I started to take off my clothes but she stopped me and began doing it herself, kneeling to remove my shoes and socks first. She neatly folded each piece and set it aside before walking me to the table and holding the sheet for me to slide in under.

I started to roll over but she stopped me.

"Face up to begin please, my Master."

I lay back and closed my eyes as she began, starting out with lavender scented oil and working the pressure points around my scalp and face. This she explained was to relax my head and open my sinuses. She spent a solid twenty minutes just working my neck, finding half a dozen hard knots that I hadn't even realized were there. Then she started working my shoulders and back using the same technique Lizzy had used on Shannon, her small hands sliding easily under me to work the major groupings. She must have spent an hour total on my shoulders, back, arms, legs and feet before having me roll over. She started at my feet and worked her way up from there. It was wonderful and I was surprised that I never even became aroused by her touch. Maybe my night with Christine had taken more out of me than I thought. I mentioned it to her, concerned that she may be disappointed.

"True massage is not generally intended to be sexual in nature, but it is frequently used as a sexual device by amateurs and prostitutes, and thus do those who use it in the way it was intended suffer harm to their reputation and integrity though association. However there are massages that are designed to heighten sensual pleasure, if you should desire one I would be happy to show you. For now I would recommend a nap. We have plenty of time before dinner. Also, you will need to drink plenty of water over the next twenty-four hours to flush the toxins that have just been released in your muscles."

"I'm so relaxed I could fall over right here. Why don't you help me wash this oil off and then we can cuddle up?"

"A Master does not explain or ask permission," she correcting me.

"Hmm, and I can't apologize for my mistake, or thank you for correcting me either. Just strip and join me in the shower."

She actually got there ahead of me and adjusted the water before stepping aside to let me in and only then removed her clothes and jewelry -- it turned out the only thing under the robe was her new waist chain, and stepped under the water. She wouldn't let me do anything myself, having me kneel so she could wash my hair, and then stand as she soaped and rinsed the rest. She took care of her own needs as I was drying off and then stood demurely and let me towel her dry. When I was through I tossed the towel aside, scooped her up, and carried her to the bedroom, where I lay her on the bed and pulled the heavy drapes to block out the sunlight. If she was disappointed when I spooned up to her back, holding her gently in my arms, she didn't mention it. We were both asleep in minutes.

I'm not really used to mid-day naps, especially during the week. The good news was that the images that had invaded my dreams the night before did not intrude now. I wasn't sure if it was a sign of my increased control or just that everyone else was awake and either at work or school. I decided to take advantage of the quiet and just rest. Unfortunately there wasn't really any state that I could enter that put my mind at rest. I couldn't just turn off like most people do. Even the girls could just sleep if they chose to and as long as I didn't drag them into whatever I was doing, but to just 'sleep' was apparently an option I had lost somewhere along the way.

I thought of Allison and she was sitting in the shade doing something on the computer. As I was sending her a vision, I realized that that was another thing I needed to do, pick up a new computer. Of course if things went well, I could write the new one off. As soon as I thought it I realized I actually needed two. The one I could buy and write off, but the other one I would need to pay cash for and pick up from Rebecca's friend. While I was distracted thinking of that, Allison had shut down and settled herself so I pulled her in. She faded into my arms in the exact position May occupied in the big bed.

As soon as she was there, she let out a huge sigh and said, "God, I miss this."

"Yeah, me too."

"Oh yeah, you've got it rough, you've been gone two days and woken up with a different woman both mornings. I am sooo jealous."

"Someone needs to get laid." I chuckled.

"Ya think?" she asked sarcastically.

"Allison, you know that there is no one I would rather wake up with than you."

"No one?" she asked teasingly.

"Okay one, but you know what I mean."

"Nice save," she said. "And if I were you I'm sure I'd say the same thing. I was only with her the one time, but God she is nice to hold. Whatever that thing she does is, it works. Must be worse for you though, here you are engaged and you still only get to be with her here, that's gotta suck."

"It's necessary for now. Besides, if I got to spend more time with her that whole 'waiting' thing could go out the window quick. Do you want to see the stuff we bought for Amber?"

"No," she said. "I mean I do, but it's not fair that I should get to see them before she does. We can play show and tell after you give them to her. When are you going to give them to her?"

"I had them shipped directly to Lizzy so they will be there when Amber arrives. Allison, if you want someone to wake up with I'm sure Lizzy would love to see you, so would Jamie, or I could send Amber to you, I know she would like the company as well."

"That would be nice. It's been lonely with you gone. So, why are you taking a nap in the middle of the day?"

"I'm meeting an attorney for dinner and May thought I should rest."

"Oh yeah, forgot about her, am I in her spot?" she asked.

"Don't be silly, she's in your spot. And she's just keeping it warm for you, there's nothing going on."

"Yet," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Jimmy, I know what you're thinking and it's not going to work. When Jasmine gave her to you, did she mention any restrictions, time limits, or anything else?"

"No, but I..."

"Then she is expecting you to accept the gift," she said. "To not do so would be an insult to her and May both."

Damn! I flashed back to that moment just before we left to go shopping. May said that Jasmine had given her to me until I returned her, expecting me to treat and care for as I would Amber. Allison was right, there was no obligation, but there was an expectation, and it wasn't one I could overlook. Jasmine had honored me with her personal slave, her lover, her right hand; if I gave her Amber would I expect less?

I could play with the words all I wanted but when it came right down to it, the word sex went before slave. They were people, they had other uses -- May was also Jasmine's personal assistant, and other lives, but their role as slave was all about the sex. My relationship with Amber, and Jasmine's with May were different in that both women loved their masters and desired nothing more than to serve them, but we were the exception, not the rule. I was being naïve and that was something I could no longer afford to be; time to grow up.

"That hurt to think about, didn't it?" Allison asked. I had all but forgotten she was there. "I'm sorry, Jimmy."

"Don't apologize," I said, kissing her neck and squeezing her against me. "I needed to hear it. I've been hanging onto something that wasn't real. I need to grow up; being naive is something I can't afford, not any more. It cost me my family last time, I don't want to think what the cost would be next time."

"Come on studly, buck up!" she laughed. "There are worse ways to go than being fucked to death and I don't think she's really planning to kill you. Of course if you turn her down that may change."

"Alright, alright, I got the message. Is there anything I need to know before I meet with the attorney; -- any questions I should ask, that sort of thing?"

"No, not really, it seems to be a pretty simple process — maybe not simple, but straightforward, but like anything, there must be a down side or everyone would be doing it. I think we can trust Jasmine to send you to someone you can trust. You'll have May there with you, too. If he was even considering doing anything sneaky, I don't think he'd do it to a referral with her representative present." She giggled, "If you get to bed at a reasonable hour you can tell me about it."

Somewhere in the back of my head a voice was saying that might be a very big 'if'. I gave her the number of my new phone and sent her back to the pool with a kiss and a promise to set some alone time aside for her. We both would have preferred for her to stay but finding her passed out by the pool would have freaked mom out. I was laying there wondering what to do when Jamie popped up with an interesting notion. We were in Las Vegas, therefore gambling was an expectation, but I didn't really like the idea that the odds were all against me.

At which point she reminded me, "Poker isn't gambling."

We'd done a brief section on the psychology of gaming in Bob's beginning psychology class my freshman year. Now that I had a direction it wasn't hard to find a few professional card players catching a little extra rest before going out to the Friday night tournaments. It was instructional; the hardest part was actually not cheating. A moment's lapse in concentration could show me everybody's cards. Jamie and I took turns blocking each other. After a subjective hour we changed it up and made it a purely instructional session, the different players openly sharing their secrets, strategies, and most importantly, how to spot another player's 'tell'; which was a physical sign that indicated when they were bluffing. It could be anything from a blink or an eye motion, a finger twitch, the way they held their head, even a slight change in breathing, but it was the one thing they all agreed on, that everybody had one. Of course since they all knew it, they also all had various ways to disguise it or try to use it to their advantage. Before the afternoon was over I had learned the single most important lesson in poker. You don't play the cards, you play the players.

I woke to May whispering in my ear that it was time to wake up. Not get up, just wake up. Apparently, when she had suggested that I needed to be relaxed for my meeting with the attorney she meant relaxed, and that meant that all possible forms of stress had been dealt with. We needed another shower before dinner.

My new suit and May's dinner clothes had been delivered to the concierge while we slept. Two garment bags arrived while we were in the shower and were hanging inside the door when we finished.

Aureole turned out to be located inside Mandalay Bay, one of the other premier hotels in the area. I was instantly reminded that before anything else, Vegas is a show town, and the restaurants were no exception. The highlight of the Aureole -- that's pronounced 'Or-e-ol' like the bird by the way, regardless of what it looks like, the centerpiece of Aureole was their wine tower; a forty-two foot tower of glass and steel filled with what is claimed to be the most diverse collection of grape juice in the city. The wine was retrieved by their 'wine angels', who flew up and down the tower on wings, okay wings and cables but it was still quite a sight. The food was incredible and I made a mental note to do something terrible to Jasmine at my earliest opportunity. Not only had she made reservations, but she had pre-ordered for us from what they call their 'Celebration Menu'. I don't know why they called it a menu other than it told you what came with the meal. It was sort of like ordering Chinese food where everything comes in large quantities and you all share. Sort of, the only real similarity was that we were all eating the same food. It was a seven course meal served in individual portions, the plates were each a work of art in themselves, and featuring a cross section of dishes I had only ever heard of -- like roasted sea bass, and filet mignon; and several I had never heard of, such as Hawaiian Hamachi and Gnocchi 'Nicoise'. Worst of all she had prepaid for the meal. Since she was not there to argue with there wasn't much we could do, so the attorney, a Mr. Cicarelli and I split the wine and tip.

As I expected, May knew them, but as had been agreed, I introduced her as Acacia and they accepted the name without hesitation, never once calling her by her real name. We discussed the intricacies of filing the incorporation documents and, as Allison had suggested, there were a lot of charges the advertisements didn't tell you about. Still, everything I needed could all be done for around a thousand dollars. It sounded like a lot compared to the "Only $89!" listed on some of the ads but this price included all the necessary documents, filings, newspaper and legal announcements, and follow up consultations for the first ninety days. He was surprised when I offered to pay him in cash, and declined until such time as his secretary had drawn up an actual contract, at which point he would accept half the money with the rest due upon the state approving the venture.

"You're an ambitious young man, David," Tony, short for Anthony, said when we were finished. "I like to see that. Once you're up and running I may even have some work for you. You say you find people as well as 'things'." He hung some quotes around 'things'. "I've got some people I've been looking for to have served for some time now. Process serving can be tricky, even dangerous, but don't worry about that part; I just need to know where I can find them. If you could track them down for me I guarantee it will be worth your while. If you're any good I know some people in insurance that might want to talk to you as well."

"As long as everything is above board, I'll take whatever they want to give me. I'm sure you'll understand when I say I'm not interested in finding anyone for revenge cases, regardless of how they pay."

"That's perfectly understandable, David, and commendable. Are you a gambling man, David?"

"Not really, I never really saw the point when the odds are so obviously against you. They didn't build this place by losing."

"Very true, but if you go into it with the proper mindset, that it's entertainment, you can have a hell of a lot of fun. Are you a people watcher?"

I glanced at Acacia and answered, "Very much."

Tina, Mrs. Cicarelli, blushed and stifled a laugh. Tony almost fell out of his chair.

"Well I certainly can't fault your taste. Acacia is a rare and beautiful woman."

"You've met before then?" I already knew the answer but they didn't know that.

"Come now, David," Tina said. "You would have to be blind to not know that, and I've been paying attention, you don't miss much."

"As I was saying," Tony went on. "If you like to study people, you won't find a better environment. Let me tell you, it is hard to beat a crap table with a hot shooter on a roll; excitement, disappointment, the air so charged you swear you could start your car off of it."

"I hear poker is a good place to study people," I said.

"Sure, if you want to lose your shirt. Poker isn't studying people, it's post graduate work," he went on. "You better already have your master's or those boys will chew you up. Do you play much?"

"We did a short section on the psychology of gaming in my freshman psyche class," I answered.

"Don't let him get you started, David," Tina said. "He's been playing for thirty years and at most he's broken even."

"That's true enough," Tony admitted. "Picked up a hell of a lot of business at those tables over the years though, and never missed a house payment for being stupid."

"Sounds like as long as you don't get stupid you can come out ahead just on contacts."

"Golf courses are good also," Tony said. "You're not likely to make money there and it's not air conditioned but I know people who swear by it."

"Never swung a club in my life," I admitted.

Tina rose and excused herself to the ladies room, I leaned over and instructed May to accompany her, adding, "If the opportunity presents, reacquaint yourself."

Tony and I had another glass of wine and discussed Allison's idea of a sub-corporation as another layer of anonymity.

"Your sister's a smart girl. If you don't want people to know you're really the one pulling the strings there aren't too many better ways to do it."

"If I wanted to develop an interest in poker how would you recommend going about it."

"Oh, ho, ho," he laughed, wagging a finger at me. "For starters you can stay the hell away from any table I'm playing at. You're new in town so my best advice is don't win too much too soon or you'll scare off the real players. Stick to the cheaper tables on Friday and Saturday nights when the weekend wannabees are in town, work your way up slowly."

"Well, I really am new at the game but..." he held up his hand.

"I don't want to hear it, David. Client or not, you sit down at my table I'm going to rip your heart out through your wallet. Wonder what's taking the women so long?"

"I instructed Acacia to re-acquaint herself with your wife. I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? Hell no I don't mind! Good thing I renewed my Cialis prescription, two things that really light Tina's fire are sex in public places and a pretty girl going down on her. If I live through the weekend I'll owe you lunch."

"My pleasure. Acacia has been assisting in my education."

"A finer teacher you would be hard pressed to find. The only thing I can't understand is what you could possibly have done to so ingratiate yourself to her Mistress that she would give her to you."

I certainly wasn't taking that hook.

I spotted the women returning arm in arm. If anyone else noticed how wobbly Tina was I'm sure they would have just assumed that she had had a little too much to drink. Well, almost anyone. I spotted one woman watching her progress with a hungry look in her eyes; she caught me watching her, gave me a wink and lifted her glass slightly in my direction. I gave the slightest of nods and stood up to hold chairs for both women as they rejoined us. We chatted for perhaps thirty minutes and while Tina recovered quickly, she seemed to be getting hornier by the second. Finally Tony rose and extended his hand to me, shaking my hand and giving me his card, with instructions to call Monday.

"Do you wish to find a game, Master?" May asked.

I checked my phone and it was almost ten o'clock.

"Perhaps tomorrow," I answered. "For now I think it is time to test my understanding of my role."

I got a B+, which I considered damn flattering coming from her.



-------

Chapter 65: Moving Ahead



There were reasons I don't usually just show up wherever the girls are, this was one of them. Apparently Allison had taken me up on the offer to have Lizzy or Amber join her, actually she had decided on both. When I arrived at the cabana, Amber was on her back with Allison between her legs sucking, licking, and fingering her toward heaven while Lizzy rode Amber's face. Lizzy was the only one in a position to see me and she quickly put a finger to her lips and then blew me a kiss. How they had gotten here was a very interesting question. But that was something I could worry about later.

I was about to leave and come back later when Lizzy's voice spoke to me. "Don't go, you're just in time. Allison could really use you right about now."

Oh gee, let me think...

Allison was on her knees while she worked on Amber which left her wonderfully rounded, picture perfect little butt sticking up in the air, her very wet, actually dripping, sex beautifully framed between her thighs. Moving carefully I crept up behind her, mentally keeping the bed from sinking under my weight and also kept her from feeling my fingers as I braced myself on her hips. I let everything go just as I started to penetrate her so all she felt was me sliding slowly into her. She froze for just a second, her breath catching, but then apparently she realized what was happening and pushed back until I was completely buried inside of her. I have to say, as busy as I'd been the last couple days it still felt wonderful to be inside of her. She was my first love and this was like coming home.

She ground herself down on me, squeezing my shaft to hold it tightly inside of her, "Oh God, that feels good," she moaned. "Fuck me, Jimmy, fuck me hard!" Then she buried her face between Amber's legs again, grabbing her thighs to hold herself in place. I knew from experience what she wanted, when Allison says hard, she means hard. She was already extremely wet so there was no need to ease into it and I just started letting her have it. Amber responded instantly as the impact of my hips on Allison's ass drove her lips, tongue, and teeth against the older girl's most sensitive areas. Her body's reaction was to pull away but with Allison holding her so tightly she couldn't. Even that slight feeling of helplessness was enough to heighten the experience for Amber and almost instantly the orgasm that had been building in her peaked, causing her to shudder and writhe against Allison's mouth, each additional impact prolonging her pleasure and building toward a second, stronger climax.

Allison's own orgasm was getting closer by the second and she bucked back against me with each thrust, the slap of my balls against her wet parts adding sharp counterpoint to the chorus of grunts coming from the two girls. I glanced up and saw Lizzy had progressed to squeezing Amber's breasts and pinching her nipples. Suddenly it happened, Allison froze, her whole body clenching, the walls of her vagina straining to shut me out. I knew better than to stop, if I stopped I would be either held inside her or held out until it was over, so instead I increased the force of my thrust, forcing myself in and out of her spasming passage with violent intensity.

"Wet your thumb and force it into her butt," Lizzy's voice whispered in my ear. I caught her eye and she nodded vigorously for me to do it. Everything was already wet from Allison's juices so it didn't take much; I just sucked my thumb into my mouth to coat it with spit and then pressed it hard on her opening. As soon as I touched it I could feel the muscles there doing the same dance her vaginal walls were doing, contracting and releasing with each thrust. On the second release my thumb shot palm deep inside her and several things happened at once. For starters her whole body convulsed; releasing her hold on Amber she seemed to be trying to hunch forward into a fetal position, her hands drew in toward her chest, and her anus clamped down so hard around the intruding digit that I was sure she had cut it off and any second now blood would start squirting.

And then she screamed. It was a loud piercing sound and at first I thought I had gone too far but then I recognized it as an amplified version of the high-pitched keening she makes when she cums really hard. I also realized that her hands under her were gripping the comforter, one was visible and I could see her knuckles had gone white. The sound finally faded, she took a gasping breath, and started humping her hips against me again, "Oh god ... oh god ... yes ... harder, Jimmy ... fuck me harder ... Yes!" Her hands unclenched from the comforter but only so she could stretch them out in front of her, where they took a fresh grip and she used the leverage to push herself at me harder as she started to mumble, "More! Oh God, Jimmy make me cum again, fuck me Jimmy." I can always count on Allison if I want someone to talk dirty to me.

It was about that time that memories of my time with Christine pushed me to the next step and I brought my free hand down hard on her ass. The mumbling stopped with, "Ow-ohgod Yes!" the yes coming with the landing of the second slap. With the third she went into full rigor again, her breathing stopped, her face turning red at the lack of oxygen and the only movement the rhythmic contractions of me shooting fountains inside of her. This time I had been trapped at full insertion when both our orgasms hit and it was going to be a while before my own muscles let me move again. I think the only thing that kept her from passing out was the fact that she was already asleep. As it was when her muscles finally let go she just sort of melted down onto the mattress in a heap and I collapsed on top of her, catching my weight on my hands to brace myself up.

Technically, since it was a dream I could have moved if I'd wanted to ... heck, since it was her dream, either Allison or I could have done just about anything we wanted to, but at some point in the past we all seem to have made a conscious decision not to mess with sex in dreams but rather to let everything happen as it would in the real world. It made me stop and think that maybe I was doing that in other aspects as well, hampering myself by placing real world restrictions in an environment they didn't belong in. Had I been unconsciously limiting myself all this time?

"God, I so needed that," Allison said hoarsely, bringing me back into the moment. I kissed the cheek I could see and looked around to see Lizzy leaning against the headboard hugging Amber to her from behind so both could see. Amber's eyes were glued to where my slowly deflating cock was still lodged in Allison's very soggy sex. As I watched, Lizzy whispered something into Amber's ear and her eyes shot to mine.

"Please, Master? May I..." and her eyes went back to our joining.

My time with May helped me read the signs. I collapsed down on Allison, forcing what was left of my erection further inside, then took her firmly in my arms and rolled us both over so she was on top of me. She let out a startled, "Ooh," but I ignored it as I addressed Amber.

"Amber, I don't want the bedding soiled, come here and deal with this."

I rolled a little further until Allison's ass was balanced directly on my abdomen, allowing her legs to open outward without her falling off of me. Instantly Amber was out of Lizzy's arms and between Allison's legs, licking up everything in sight. It must have tickled because Allison started to giggle and squirm, which of course caused me to finally pop free, opening the floodgates. Allison's giggle quickly turned to something else as Amber glued her mouth to her opening and started sucking and licking in earnest.

Suddenly Lizzy's face was over Allison's and the tongue wrestling commenced. Since I had nothing better to do I started playing with Allison's breasts with both hands. It didn't take long before she reached another orgasm. This one wasn't on the same scale as the others but it was obviously still nice for her. Amber relented and drew back, kissing all around her opening as she coasted down once more, Lizzy pulled back as well and then it was just Allison cuddling back against me and sighing contentedly. "I just love you guys."

Naturally that was when the phone rang. I knew without looking who it was. I couldn't reach the phone from where I was but then, I really didn't need to anyway.

"Hello Special Agent Hampton, what can I do for you?"

"Jimmy?"

"You were expecting someone else? You're on speaker, I'm in the cabana with Lizzy, Allison, and Amber and I couldn't reach the phone." I gave Lizzy a wink.

"Couldn't reach the ... Oh, sorry. Listen, I'm really sorry for interrupting anything..."

"You're not; we're just relaxing, what's up?" I assured her.

"What did you do to Khvlek?"

"Who?" I asked.

"Boris, what did you do to Boris?"

"I didn't do anything to Boris, why?" Technically true, if anything had happened to Boris he had done it to himself, with Walter's help and at my instruction true, but I hadn't done anything to him.

"The consulate has been screaming at the State Department all afternoon demanding an explanation. Apparently he had some kind of seizure or something. He's at the hospital being poked, prodded, scoped and explored every way you can imagine and they can't figure it out. According to the undersecretary that called the symptoms resemble stroke but CT scans and MRI both came back negative. The only thing they can find is what appears to be a rash on his chest in the shape of someone's hand."

"Gosh, that's seems so unusual. Why would they think you had something to do with it? Maybe it's some kind of virus, have you checked with the others to see if they are okay, it might be contagious. Maybe they should quarantine him."

"I knew it! You did do something!" she said exasperated. "Damn it, Matthews!" I could almost see her biting her tongue. "Okay, talk to me, what's going on?"

I had to laugh at her tone. I shifted Rebecca to the elevator so she would have a point of reference, dressed Allison and myself, and moved us to the office to meet her, leaving Lizzy and Amber to entertain themselves. Rebecca stormed into the office like she was ready to kill someone, and since that someone was me I decided I needed to defuse the situation, so when she opened her mouth to start yelling at me what came out was a lion's roar. It was hysterical to watch her grab at her throat and glare at me. The clown costume may have been a little much but it did the job and suddenly she couldn't stop giggling.

"So, I guess I don't have to bring out the dunk tank?" I asked with a smile.

She honked her horn at me and I put her back in regular clothes, put her voice back to normal, and said, "Okay, that was fun but before you go off on me I have to ask you, seriously," I paused to let that sink in, "do you really want to know what I'm doing?"

She started to answer but Allison jumped in, "What he's really asking is do you want to know what he's capable of and how he's doing it, or can you be content with knowing what the goal is and that he's getting results?"

I guess between the two of us we managed to slow her down enough to give her time to think.

"No," she said. "Not really. I don't want to know anything that I may have to deny later, but it's not like they're going to polygraph me over this. So what's up with Boris? All you've done so far is tell me I don't want to know what you did, which I don't, but tell me anyway; what's wrong with him?"

"He tried to tell whoever was behind Britney's abduction what happened," I answered. "That triggered a little surprise I left him. You remember when Atkins snatched you and Bob hypnotized you so you wouldn't remember anything about me?"

"Yeah," she answered, eyeing me suspiciously.

"It wasn't Bob," I said.

"Really?" she asked. "You did that?"

"Yeah, and I did something similar with Boris. I left sort of a post-hypnotic inhibitor in him, everything was fine as long as he didn't try to tell anyone about me,  or what happened the night Britney was kidnapped. Without going into the details, as soon as he opened his mouth with the intent to talk about it, he lost the ability to speak. From there I fully expected him to try writing it down and when he did that his hands stopped working. He didn't know it was going to happen because I blocked the memory until he blew it, but now he remembers what I told him would happen and that it happened exactly as I said it would, which is exactly what happened at the warehouse when I told him I wasn't coming to him, but coming for him."

"You threatened him at the warehouse?" Rebecca asked, shocked.

"No," I corrected her. "I made it very clear to him before I ever left my house that he needed to let her go before I got there."

"You got balls, kid," she said. "You didn't really expect him to let her go did you?"

"No, but it never hurts to hope. I gave him a chance. Personally, looking back, I probably let him off too easy."

"Jimmy isn't real happy with Boris and whoever is behind him," Allison pointed out.

"I can understand that," Rebecca said very seriously, holding my eyes with hers. "How unhappy are you?

I put what I was feeling into the look I gave her. "My family is in hiding and I may never be able to be with them again. Britney's family is in hiding just because she went out on a date with me. I'm really looking forward to meeting whoever is behind this."

"You're right," she said, shaking her head. "I really don't want to know any of this. Forget I asked, and if I ever ask again, just remind me that I said I don't want to know, okay? Is there any way they are going to be able to figure out what's wrong with him?"

"They may figure out that it's all in his head, except it's really not, and if they try to fix it it's going to get real ugly fast and your phone isn't just going to ring, it's going to blow up. The good news is there is no possible way they can trace any of this to you. Their experts will tell them that there is no way you could have done something like this without leaving something behind. Not in the short time you had him."

"You better be right," she said.

"I am," I said. "So what about you? Is anything at all happening on your end? You haven't told me if you're having any luck at all finding your partner."

"That's because there's nothing to tell," she said angrily. "Damn it, Jimmy, the only way we found Angela was you being able to reach her. Without that, we haven't had a single fucking lead to go on. Interpol is all over Washington, and you know what they say about shit rolling downhill."

"Eww," Allison said, fanning herself with her hands.

Rebecca couldn't help laughing, "I'm sorry Allison, I thought everyone knew that one. Bad visual?"

"Gross!" Allison said, and then she changed the subject. "So have you and Bob set a date yet?"

"Don't go there," she said ruefully. "If it were up to me, we'd just run up to Vegas and do it, but Selena would kill me and she's my boss's wife so that's out of the question. Speaking of Vegas, Bob told me what you said about getting Roxy's stuff back from the pawnshop. I know you mean well and how much it would mean to her, but I think you should reconsider."

"Why?" I asked.

"Two reasons," Rebecca said. "First of all it will attract undue attention. If the cops traced her that far then they may have already confiscated her stuff. It would have been an illegal transaction in the first place; she wasn't old enough to pawn the stuff legally. Or they could have someone watching the pawnshop to see if she comes back."

"And the second reason?" I asked.

"Eventually we're going to want to clear her of whatever charges they may have cooked up. We may need it to establish the timeline of her leaving Las Vegas and that pawn ticket is part of the paper trail."

"She's right," Allison said. "Any suggestions on how to preserve the paper trail and keep her from losing her mom's necklace?"

"Could you do what you did with me and just sort of tell the pawnshop owner to put it away somewhere and forget about it for a while?"

I had to stop and think about it for a few seconds. "Maybe. As long as I wasn't asking them to do anything that isn't too far outside their normal routine. That may sound strange considering what I'm doing with Boris, but trust me it's different. It's a good idea though, I think it will work. Are you going to hold on to the ticket then?"

"Well, I think having it in the FBI's possession for now could have advantages, don't you? Or we could just leave it with Susan. I had Bob hold off talking to her about it."

Now that that was settled I wanted to get back to the subject at hand, but it was tough subject to discuss and I had to pause before going on.

"Rebecca, do you think he may have killed Henslith? I mean, it just doesn't make sense that he would keep her drugged all this time."

"Maybe he's afraid you'll find him again," she suggested. "We almost had him last time."

"I don't think that's it." I said. "In fact, I don't think he knows about me. If he did and he was afraid I'd lead you to him again and ruin his game then why wouldn't he have just killed me? It certainly wouldn't have been hard. I lived a very predictable life, until recently anyway, and he obviously knows who I am and where I live. I take, or used to take, the same route to and from school most of the time. I'm a cross country runner, heck I ran every morning, all he would have to do is just find a hidden spot somewhere nearby and wait for me to come to him. One shot as I'm running by and his problem is solved. It doesn't really put him in any more danger than he's already in; you already know who he is. This just doesn't make sense."

"Jimmy, he's a whack job who's a few marbles short of a full bag; who knows why he does any of this?"

"He's right though," Allison said. "I mean what he said makes sense. Whack job or not, he's not stupid; if he was afraid of Jimmy, it would make sense to eliminate the threat. In order to be afraid, he would have to know what Jimmy can do. Look at it logically; If he's afraid of Jimmy, then he knows, so if he's not afraid of Jimmy, then he doesn't know, and if he doesn't know then it doesn't make sense to keep her drugged."

"That all sounds reasonable, let's assume you're right, why haven't we found her body? It's been two weeks, if he's got her then he has to have her drugged or you would find her. Not to mention that it would likely be a lot harder to keep a trained field agent captive than an eighteen year old girl fresh out of high school. So either she's dead, or she's drugged." She shook her head at her own reasoning. "Your right, that doesn't sound right, unless he's keeping her drugged for some other reason. I hate to think about it but Bob told me you asked someone about specific reasons to keep her drugged. He didn't tell me who it was or how you know them but it didn't sound pretty."

"It wouldn't be," Allison said. "But I don't think that's it either. Rebecca, I've been doing some studying." Her voice took on a sarcastic edge, "I've suddenly had some free time. It's nothing really serious but just looking at the psychology of serial criminals in general. Now, you're the expert here but from what I've read, there is no reasonable explanation for him taking your partner. She's outside -- way outside, his target group, and if he perceived her as a threat I could see him killing her, but not kidnapping her."

"This is getting us nowhere," Rebecca said, becoming visibly irritated by all this chasing around in circles. "He took her, that's all I can tell you. Does it make sense? Not based solely on his past pattern, no. But he did. It's possible the disruption in the pattern is due to our finding him; the fact that we now know who we are dealing with, but we can't be sure. She represents a threat from his former life." She paused again, then threw up her hands and started pacing. "Damn it! That's just another reason to kill her. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't add up."

"Yeah, I know," Allison said. "That was the part I kept coming back to as well. I guess all we can do is wait and hope we get a break."

It was quiet for a moment before Rebecca said what we were all thinking, "I hate waiting,"

I sent her off to play with Bob.

"So what now?" Allison asked. "Are you going to go check on Walter and Boris?"

"Unless you've got a better idea," I answered.

"No, not really," she paused. "Jimmy, how are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean, how are you doing? Are you okay?" There was a pause and I knew she was waiting for me to look at her.

"Jimmy, I'm worried about you, everyone seems to be forgetting that your life just got destroyed the same as everyone else's. Yeah, my situation has its problems but I'm still with mom and dad, Britney and her family are together, but you, you're all alone. I'm worried about you."

I started to give her one of the easy answers but I stopped myself, thinking about how I really felt.

"I don't know," I finally answered. "I mean, I think I'm doing okay, but then, I guess I haven't really been alone long enough to find out, yet."

She grinned, "Do you think that has anything to do with you seducing that poor defenseless flight attendant?"

"Allison!" I said, affronted. "I didn't..."

"I know," she interrupted me, laughing. "You didn't plan any of that; I just couldn't resist teasing you a little bit. Seriously though, do you think maybe it had something to do with you even opening the door for it to happen? I mean, you've never been one for casual hookups. Up until now, everyone you've ever been with is special to you in one way or another, so tell me; what was so special about ... what was her name, Christine?"

"What do you mean?"

"What attracted you to her?"

"Jamie."

"Jamie?"

"Yeah, Jamie thought she was hot and wanted to meet her."

"And you went along with it just so she could?"

"Well yeah, I mean, it's not like she can meet people on her own, and Christine was, is cute, I didn't see any harm in it."

"Oh, no harm at all," Allison said, punching me in the arm. "Way to take one for the team, big brother. Can I call you next time I find a hot babe I want to hook up with?"

I think my toes were even blushing.

"Okay, I'm done teasing you, for now. I'm sure she's a very sweet and special girl because you really don't do casual. And we both know you weren't planning it; just like you weren't planning it with Angela, and you certainly weren't planning on Elizabeth, and thank goodness you didn't have time to not plan it with Britney, which by the way, if she ever finds out you hooked up with Christine that fast, your ass is toast!"

I started to say something but thought better of it. No, Britney wasn't that kind of girl, but she had made it pretty clear from day one that she was interested, and available. If things hadn't been going wrong every time we got together there's no saying what might have happened. And then there was the whole saving her life thing...

"I think I'm going to go vent at Boris," I said. "Do you want to come along and keep me out of trouble?"

"Wouldn't work," she said, shaking her head. "In this case I'm more likely to be pushing you than holding you back. That fucker and his friends are the reason I'm sleeping alone. If it were up to me we'd start with blow-torching their balls and then decide where to go from there."

Jamie would have preferred I just leave it all to her as well, but this was something I needed to do. I wasn't the cold or cruel type but it had become clear that if I was to have any chance of surviving all of this, it was something I needed to learn to be, and the sooner the better. Of course that didn't mean I hated it any less just because it was necessary, but I had to do it anyway.

Walter was expecting me and bowed when I entered the room, "Greetings, my Lord."

The room in this case was the little cubicle Boris had constructed for himself. The visible representation of how trapped he felt. The first order of business was to recreate the scene in my dream instead of his. Wouldn't want him to discover he had any kind of control by accident. I could have just blocked him but I couldn't be sure it would work. I hadn't run into anybody that could give me a problem in this area yet but that didn't mean one didn't exist. I also wasn't sure how much stress may actually play a part and I wouldn't want to find out by pushing him too far. This way I could be sure.

"Hello, Walter. I trust today was not as boring as yesterday?"

"It was not what you would call exciting, my Lord," he said with a predatory grin. "But it did have its rewards."

"I can see that," I said.

Boris sat stiffly in a plain steel chair behind a very utilitarian metal card table. Apparently in his mind he was already preparing to be tortured and interrogated, and he wasn't happy to see me.

"Hello, Boris, remember me?"

He opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out.

"What was that?" I asked. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? No? Maybe you'd like to write it down?"

His eyes showed a strange combination of anger, pain, and fear.

"I'd like to say you disappoint me, Boris, but this is exactly what I expected to happen. I'm not at all surprised to find you here, like this. What about you? Are you surprised? Go ahead, speak up. No really, try it, you'll be surprised."

He looked at me skeptically before opening his mouth. Even then he looked fearful. Finally he said, "What have you done to me?" I could see the surprise on his face when he heard his voice actually speaking.

"What have I done? I'm surprised at you Boris; yes I know that's not your real name but something about you reminded me of an old cartoon character. What I've done, Boris, is exactly what I said I would do. I told you when you took Britney that I wasn't coming to you, but coming for you. You should have let her go when you had the chance. Later, after the FBI had you, I warned you not to try and tell anyone what had really happened. I told you very specifically what would happen if you tried, didn't I?" I waited for him to answer me. "I suggest you answer me while you still have the working equipment to do so. Didn't I tell you this would happen if you tried to talk?"

"Yes," he said reluctantly.

"I'm sorry," I said. "What was that?"

"Yes," he said in a stronger voice. "You warned me of the consequences should I try to speak of you."

"And didn't it happen exactly the way I said it would?"

"Yes," he answered.

"You tried to talk, and found you couldn't, at that point you remembered something about an additional warning, but you told yourself it wasn't true, didn't you? The voice was a coincidence, you said. It just wasn't possible for this to be happening. I would have thought the hand-print would have been sufficient to convince you, but ... ooh, maybe the voice was real. Show me your hands, Boris."

He had been holding his hands below the table all this time and did not appear to want me to see them now."

"Boris, if I have to keep asking you everything twice it's going to piss me off. Trust me; you really don't want that to happen, so this will be the last time I repeat myself;" I let my voice go cold, "show me your hands."

Reluctantly he brought them out. I had half expected to find them twisted into claws, but instead it was like they were made of Jell-o. His hands hung limply from his wrists, almost quivering with the movement of his arms. He actually had to swing them forward to get them to lay flat on the table, when he put them down they slapped on the surface and lay there. I could see a desperate pain in his eyes as he tried hard not to look at them.

"And do you believe me now?"

He wouldn't meet my eyes but he did nod his head.

"It could have been worse you know? Imagine what would have happened if they had tried to play twenty questions with blink responses. You may have been stuck in the dark with Walter."

From his place by the door I heard Walter growl and when I glanced his way he was in full monster mode with teeth barred and a line of drool hanging down from one fang. Boris cringed away from him.

"Or worse, he may have left your eyes and taken your hearing instead. Imagine playing with Walter somewhere and not being able to hear him coming. No hint of where he may be until he suddenly just showed up. Are you ready to answer my questions?"

"I cannot."

It was what I expected but it was a start at least.

"You said cannot," I pointed out. "Didn't you really mean will not?"

"No," he said. "I cannot help you, or I will die."

"You see, that sounds more like 'will not' to me and that's where the problem comes in; I think you can help me Boris. I think you can, but you won't. Oh, I understand that you're afraid..."

I saw him flinch at the accusation. Yes, definitely a good start.

"I'm sure you're very afraid. You're probably starting to feel like a very small fish in a pond full of very big fish. Why don't you tell me who it is you're afraid of?"

His jaw set in a grim line and he stared straight ahead.

"Okay, we'll come back to that one. How about telling me what you're afraid of? Is someone going to do something to you that's worse than what I've done?"

His eyes flicked to me and away quickly.

"Are they going to torture you, Boris? Is that it? You're afraid of a little pain?"

It was a small thing but I think he actually scoffed at the idea.

"So you're a tough guy? Pain doesn't frighten you? How about death?"

He swallowed like he needed a drink.

"Ah, now we're getting somewhere. You talk and you die, is that it? You're a tough guy Boris, a bad man to mess with. Who could you be so afraid of? You have the protection of your government..."

Again that scoffing sound. I sat down at the table across from him.

"Let me tell you something, Yuri -- see, I do know your name. Let me tell you something, Yuri; there are worse things than death. Just as there are worse things than torture. You're a tough guy; I figure you could stand quite a bit of pain. I imagine that if I simply cut off your hands that would be easier for you to accept, because it's something you would do. But what I've done, to take them away from you the way I have, leaving you to stare at them hopelessly day after day, I'm pretty sure you'd rather I cut them off. So how about this? How would you like to spend the rest of your life with doctors poking and prodding at you trying to figure out what's wrong? Trying to find a reason why your body just seems to be shutting down. Think about spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair with someone spoon-feeding you like a little baby because your arms and legs don't work any more. Think about sitting there for the rest of your life knowing I did this to you and you can't tell anyone what I did, how I did it, or even why I did it. Tomorrow morning you're going to wake up and everything is going to seem normal. But then, right after breakfast, you're going to start losing feeling in your arms and legs."

The rapid breathing told me I was getting to him.

"Don't worry, it will come back, in about and hour, not all of it, you still won't be able to move but you will feel again. How's the chest?"

He screamed as the hand print on his chest erupted in flames. When his shirt caught fire he instinctively brought his hands up, slapping at the flames and trying to tear the shirt away. He didn't even have time to wonder that his hands were working again for as soon as he touched the shirt the fire spread to his hands, engulfing them in black flames. These were special flames just for the occasion, burning without consuming, but they certainly felt like the real thing. By now he wished he still couldn't feel his hands. The screaming got worse as the fire started spreading, up his arms and outward from the mark on his chest until his whole body was engulfed, for a moment he blazed like smoke under a black light, then the flames faded, it appeared that they had gone out, but I knew better. The flames weren't dying; they were just sinking into his flesh. When the last of the flames had disappeared the screaming stopped and he sat gasping for breath.

"It's going to be a long day, Boris, tomorrow night we will talk again. And Boris, this was your second strike, your last warning and final chance; one way or the other, tomorrow will be the last time we talk."

I left Walter with him and walked out onto the beach where I could think. I could feel Lizzy and Amber cuddling together in the cabana and headed that way, whispering in Lizzy's ear that I was headed in. When I arrived Lizzy was sitting in the sunken area smiling and Amber was kneeling about halfway between us, eyes downcast, naked and apparently very happy that I was back. I closed the door and moved to stand before her.

"Hello Amber."

"Welcome, my Master," she replied.

I reached down and lifted her chin so I could see her eyes and said softly, "Rise."

She flowed onto her feet and I moved forward to hug her hard against my body, kissing her neck in that bad habit of mine. She clung momentarily as I pushed her back and I could tell she didn't want to let go. I caught her hand and pulled her toward the pool where Lizzy waited for us.

"Come, we need to discuss your future." I climbed in next to Lizzy and indicated Amber should sit across from us. Once she was settled I began, "As I am sure you are aware, Monday you leave to begin your new life. What have they told you?"

"Only that I am going to be attending a college in Indiana, nothing more."

"Does this worry you?"

Her eyes betrayed her and she looked away.

"It's alright to be concerned Amber," Lizzy said. "Speak plainly; tell us what you are feeling."

"I'm frightened," she said. "I have been alone here these months as I've been recovering from the surgery and learning my cover story, but the FBI has been here to guard me, so I knew I was safe. I'm afraid of what will happen when I leave here." I could see tears beginning to form.

"Amber, look at me," I said. "Who am I?"

"You are my master," she said.

"And when you asked me to be your master, did I not accept the responsibility for your wellbeing?"

"Yes, Master."

"Then how can you think I would let you go into a situation where you would not be safe?"

"But how..."

"I have already made arrangements for you in your new life. When you arrive you will take a taxi to the school, it is a long ride but it has already been paid for. When you reach the school, you will be shown to your dorm room, where you will meet the person into whose care I am placing you for your time there."

"You mean..." she began, eyes searching mine. I could see the fear growing in her.

"Am I giving you away?" I asked.

She could not meet my eyes, but she nodded.

"Would that be a problem? I am your master, am I not? You committed yourself to me with the understanding that this was in fact my right, didn't you?"

Tears formed at the corners of her eyes as she looked down and away, nodding her head again and whispering, "Yes."

"Then what's the problem?" I asked. "Do you think I would send you to someone that I did not trust to care for and protect you as I would?"

"No, Master," she said softly.

"Then you will trust my judgment and honor my decision? Knowing that anything I do for you is done in love and with your wellbeing given first consideration?"

She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and turned back to me, "Yes, my Master. I am sorry for my doubts, please forgive me."

"Of course you are forgiven, Amber," Lizzy said, sliding around and hugging her across her shoulders. "Amber, your progress has been remarkable, Lady Jasmine is beside herself at what you have accomplished, but even after all that, this is still all very, very, new to you. That's why we are discussing it now, because while we understand what you are feeling and make allowances for it, it would be very inappropriate to display such doubts in front of your new master. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mistress," Amber said. "To do so would be to question his trustworthiness, and since you have made the arrangement, it would reflect doubt on you as well. I am sorry, Mistress, Master," she met each of our eyes as she named us, "I know you would never do anything to jeopardize my safety."

"Good," I said. "Now, do you have any questions about what lies ahead?"

"Well, school will already be started and I'm going to be way behind."

"No you won't," I interrupted her. "You're not starting school until next semester, but you were already registered, on a deferred enrollment, so as far as the school is concerned you're already a student, therefore you qualify for a room in the dorms even though you're not starting classes yet. I will expect you to spend sufficient time in refreshing your education that you will not struggle with your classes when they do begin, is that clear?"

"Yes Master. That's another thing; my room ... don't I have to pay for that? For that matter, how am I going to afford school at all, I lost my scholarship."

"Your school is already paid for, including your dorm room and two meals per day at the student cafeteria. Also, you have a part time job waiting for you."

"What? But how? We talked about Witness Protection and they made it clear that they wouldn't pay for me. I never saw him, I can't testify even they catch him, only about what I heard and what he did to me. And they said the program wouldn't pay for things like school; they just hide you and give you a job so you can fit in. I don't..."

"Who am I?" I asked, cutting her off. I was going to need to talk to Rebecca about this; there was obviously a lot I didn't know about Witness Protection. If what she was saying was true then where did that leave Britney? My to-do list was getting longer every day.

"You are my Master, but..."

"Yes," I said, interrupting her again. "I am Amber's master. But before I became Amber's master, who was I?"

"I don't understand."

"I think it might be easier if you were to take off your collar for this part," Lizzy said.

"What? I don't..."

Lizzy interrupted her, "Think about what I am saying and you will."

I could see the wheels turning in her head as her hands came up and she removed the collar. The shift was nowhere near as dramatic as it had been in the past, she still looked confused when she looked at us, but there was a confidence in her eyes that hadn't been there a moment before and she didn't drop her eyes when she spoke.

"Okay, the collar is off," she said, laying it on the floor next to her. "The collar is Amber's because I choose to be Amber rather than Angela?"

I nodded and she continued.

"So based on your questions, what you're saying is that this has to do with who we were before I became Amber and you became my master, is that right?"

I nodded, "Yes. I knew witness protection wouldn't pay for college; Rebecca made that clear from the start. They would pay to place you and see that you had a job to support yourself while you were in hiding but that was all; so I paid for your school."

Her eyes got huge, "You what?" She shook her head like she was trying to clear it and make sure she had heard me correctly. "You paid for my school?"

I nodded; she shook her head again and asked, "How? You're sixteen years old; college costs thousands of dollars a year."

It was a refreshing change to be able to talk to her as Angela at times like this without the burden of being her master.

"I used the reward money I got for the information that led Rebecca to you."

She looked at me strangely, "Why?"

I smiled and shook my head slightly from side to side before sliding forward and laying my hand on her cheek. "Because you're my friend and you deserve a life. I couldn't undo what was done to you, I couldn't give you back what he took from you, but I could give you this."

There was an almost pained look on her face, like she couldn't comprehend what I was saying, and she asked again, "But why? Jimmy, why would you do that?"

"Angela," Lizzy said. "Why did he send me to you to try and figure out what was wrong? Why didn't he run away screaming when Mr. Shelby and I told him what was really going on? Why did he agree to become your master? Because he loves you, silly girl.

"Think about the boy you went to prom with, can you see that boy, as wonderful as he was, doing all that your Master has done for you? I'd never even met him then and I know the answer is no, that boy could never accept the idea of being someone's master -- could not even conceive the idea that you, or anyone, would ever want to be a slave. Yet when Bob and I told him what was wrong with you, and that this was what you needed, he did it. He hated it at first; found the very idea appalling and repugnant, and if there had been another way, any other way, he would have bailed in a heartbeat and let someone else do it. But once we explained that there was no one else that you would place the necessary trust in ... he hated it Angela, he hated everything about it, but out of love for you, he set all that he felt aside and became what you needed, learned what you needed to learn, and stayed ahead of your progress so that when you were ready and made the decision that yes, this was what you needed, what you wanted, that he would be ready. And when you had made the decision, he found you the help you needed to become this person you had discovered living inside of you. It's not really like that but you know what I mean. For love Angela, everything he has done for you, everything he ever will do for you, he will do for love."

After that it was all just tears and hugs and crying as she realized the truth in Lizzy's words. I won't bore you with all the soggy details but behind the tears both Angela and Amber were very happy.



-------

Chapter 66: Loose Ends



Since running wasn't an option, I went straight to the pool when I woke up, leaving a note for May informing her of where I had gone and that I would be back soon. Soon turned out to be only about forty-five minutes. You would think running a minimum of five miles a day would mean more, but swimming uses a lot more muscles, in ways mine were not accustomed to, and it didn't take long before I was feeling every stroke.

Then there was the added distraction of listening to Boris scream. That started about halfway through my swim and it took me a few minutes to push it far enough into the background that I could ignore it. It would cut off on its own in about an hour and the cycle would repeat itself throughout the day.

Even though I was only in the water for about half an hour, I still probably pushed harder than I should have, as I was a little rubber-legged when I got back to the room. May was up and waiting for me, dressed in a robe which turned out, as I expected, to have nothing underneath it.

As soon as I arrived she ushered me into the shower, dropped her robe and began soaping the chlorine from my body. She then dried us both and directed me to the massage table where she spent a good half hour very gently working my muscles. I noticed that today's massage was very different from the one I had received the day before.

"There are many different types of massage, my Master," she said. "What I did yesterday was to seek out points of tension within the muscle tissue. Places where knots had formed. It requires more effort to get them to release, that is why you are sore today."

"But I'm not ... OW!" I said as she pressed a spot harder with her finger.

She ignored my outburst and continued, "What I do today is more preventative, to keep the muscles relaxed so that the knots do not reform. There are other massages that are even gentler; some that require almost no touch at all, and others that would make yesterday seem like a roll in soft grass."

"You're kidding right?"

"No, some are quite intense, but I do not have the physique for them. I would be exhausted long before we were finished and it is not something that you should leave unfinished."

"Dangerous?"

"It can be. I doubt you will ever find out. I do not think you capable of accumulating the necessary stress to require such treatment; especially when you have someone like Amber to assist you in dispersing it. Now, please be silent. Talking distracts you from your objective, which is to relax."

She spent some time manipulating my arms and legs as well; stretching them in ways you really just can't do yourself. Actually, she probably could, but there was no way I could. I was very relaxed by the time she finished, helped me back into my robe, and led me to the main room.

When we arrived I found a cart rolled in front of the window. It was laden with a variety of fruits, a large glass of orange juice and a tea service. When May moved to serve me, I stopped her.

"No," I said softly, intercepting her by placing my hand on her stomach. "Please," I said. "This morning let me serve you."

She bowed politely and took a seat in one of the comfortable chairs. I put a selection of fruit on a plate and set it aside, then had her walk me through how she liked her tea. I even made a cup for myself, saving the orange juice for later, and then sat in the chair next to her and watched the day unfold.

We shared a companionable meal in silence before she finally asked, "Why?" as she refilled both our tea cups.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Why did I want to serve you tea and breakfast, when it is your place to serve me?"

"Yes," she answered simply, handing me my cup.

"Because you are a very special woman and it pleases me to acknowledge that."

"Then I thank you."

"It didn't bother you?"

She smiled, "Only in that I did not know your motivation. Or rather, I was not sure of it. There is nothing inappropriate in it if that is what you are asking. It is nice to be appreciated. My Mistress does this for me from time to time as well. The important thing is that you do it not because you feel I deserve it, for I do not, but rather because it pleases you, because that is what is important to me. Do you see?"

"I do," I said. "Thank you. Now then, what of today? I feel that to keep you longer from your mistress would push the bonds of ... etiquette? I think that would be the right word, though I doubt the general public would think that etiquette applied to this type of relationship."

"Their ignorance is not your concern," she said, brushing the comment away. "If I may speak plainly for a moment, you are a very impressive young man and your Amber is a very fortunate woman indeed. My Mistress commented on the rate of your own growth and maturity as well as Amber's. You must understand that your own development has been no less miraculous than hers. Though I would never doubt my Mistress's word, it was hard to credit the progress that she spoke of. But having met you, I do believe. I wish I could claim more credit for her development. I think I would have liked to meet her."

"Your mistress shared with you how this was done?"

"Yes, as I said, you need not fear..." I held up my hand and she stopped.

"I am not concerned. That your mistress places this much trust in you is enough for me as well. You have met her."

"Forgive me Master, but I am sure I have not."

"I sent her to you one night."

She cocked her head questioningly.

"I wished to reward her for her progress, and since she practically worshipped you for your help in bringing her into herself, I consulted your Mistress and she agreed that it would be a suitable reward. She also assured me that you were quite capable of playing the part of her Mistress for the night. Close your eyes; about five-ten, blonde hair just past her shoulders, a runner's form and tone, but with nice curves, blue eyes..."

She gasped, her eyes flashing open. "I remember! I woke one morning wondering who she was. She had come to me, saying that she had been given to me for the night. Even after my Mistress had told me, I passed it off as just a dream."

"It was just a dream," I assured her. "Just a little more real than most because as much as it is possible, she was actually there, in your dream, not as a figment of your imagination, but as a real, independent person. Had you pushed her to that point and she had spoken her safe word, she would have disappeared. Would you like to meet her again? I know she would like to see you."

"I think I would like that very much."

"I will consult your Mistress," I said. "If she has no objections then I will arrange it."

"I will look forward to her decision. When shall I leave?"

"If it were up to me, probably never," I said. She smiled and bowed her head at the compliment. "You know your Mistress's schedule, when would she miss you?"

"It is a Saturday and weekend nights are long. She will sleep until mid-afternoon. She would be pleased if I were there when she awakes."

"Then you shall be. I have no pressing plans at the moment. Is there something you would like to do before you return to her?"

She looked at me very seriously for a moment, stood and dropped her robe, then knelt in the pool of soft cotton and bowed her head.

"If it please you, I would have you truly be my Master before I leave."

"I think this is your final exam," Jamie said. "Think you're ready?"

"No, but I'm sure we are," I said. "No holding back, agreed." Then to May, "I will do this on one condition."

"Anything, my Master."

"This is not something you have control over. My condition is that this is something you desire, not something you have been instructed to do as part of my training or to test me."

"It is my wish, my Master. Though I will report on it to my Mistress, so in that respect it is a test but not one I have been compelled to."

"Very well, then." I called Special Services and informed them that I didn't want to be disturbed.

Mostly I observed, leaving the actual work, and reward, to Jamie. When it was over we took a long soak in the tub and a short nap before it was time for May to go. Boris stopped screaming about the time things started getting interesting which was certainly a plus; if someone is going to be screaming while I'm having sex, I prefer it to be one of the players, not background noise.

May changed my grade.

The message light was flashing when I got up, so I called down to the desk and was informed that a delivery had arrived for me.

I got one last surprise when I walked May down to her car. Just before she left she opened the trunk and pulled out a small package; it was about two by two and maybe ten inches long, wrapped in bright red silk with a black satin bow.

"My mistress desired to give a gift to Amber."

"We are honored, please thank her for me."

"You do not wish to open it?" she asked.

I thought for a moment about why she would ask and realized that it was a master's prerogative to approve or deny a gift. I could also see where there may be other reasons for at least seeing what someone was giving to your slave. It was not inconceivable that someone may try to lure a slave away with presents.

"If it were from anyone else, perhaps, but from your Mistress, I have no doubts or reservations whatsoever."

"Then it is we who are honored," she said. "May I kiss you goodbye?"

"No," I said. For an instant I thought I detected a flash of disappointment in her eyes. "For I will not call it goodbye, but rather farewell." I took her hand and drew it to my lips. "Until next time," I said, kissing her hand and then pulling her to me and brushing her lips with mine. Her hands went around my neck and Jamie came back out to say goodbye with me. I think we actually brought her, but I detected only the faintest tremor for a sign, so I couldn't be sure.

"Until next time," she said with a demure bow, and then she was gone.

I picked up my package on the way back up. It was a fairly sizable box. When I opened it in my room, I found documents for a complete new identity, including driver's license, birth certificate, passport, and an American Express card. There was a note from Rebecca stating that the reward money for Maria Pena had been released and they had used that as seed money for the new identity. There was some paperwork from a bank I'd never heard of that I needed to complete and send back in, and everything was tied to a PO Box in Phoenix which was prepaid for two years. She had included a card with the combination to the box as well as a forwarding order so I didn't actually have to go there to check the box. Not that I expected to need it.

As exciting as all this was, the best part was that she had sent me a new laptop. Sweet! It was a MacBook Pro, the big brother to my other one, only in black instead of white, and there was a note from Rebecca stating that her friend Dillon had tweaked it so it was safe to use without fear of someone tracing my location through the internet. As much as I wanted to play with it, I had some other things to do first. Starting with a call I'd wanted to make last night but had felt would be in poor taste considering who I was with. Now finally I was alone and could take care of it, but I had to make another call first.

"I'm Easy, but I'm not available at the moment, leave me message." Rats. Oh well, it was worth a try.

"Hi, it's David, nothing important, but I'd love to hear from you if you have time."

I left the number for my new disposable, broke the connection, and dialed again.

"Hello?"

"Hello, I'm trying to reach Christine Payson."

"This is Christine Payson."

"Hi, Christine, it's David Malcolm."

"David! Hi, how are you!?"

"I'm good, you sound surprised to hear from me."

"Well..."

"Yeah, I know, I'm a guy, you don't need to explain."

"David, I'm sorry."

I laughed, "No really, don't worry about it, I understand. Actually, I wanted to call you last night but I was having dinner with an attorney and his wife and I didn't get back until really late. So how was your flight back home? Was your cat happy to see you?"

"How did you know I had a cat?"

"I guessed. Looks like I was right, boy or girl?"

"Technically, neither one, but she used to be a girl."

"Does she meet you at the door or wait for you to find her?"

"Oh my gosh," she laughed, "I can hardly get in the door without tripping over her."

"I can understand that. I think I'd be the same way if you were walking back in my door."

"Maybe we'll find out some day."

I let that one go, "So, you didn't say how your flight was."

There was a pause, "It was okay."

I didn't like the sound of that. "Christine, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, David."

"Christine, it's something or it wouldn't be bothering you. Now you can either tell me or I'll call and turn Lizzy loose on you. Trust me; you don't want me to do that. Now what's wrong?"

I heard her take a breath and let it out, there was that sound in there, you know the one I mean — the 'I can do this and I'm not going to cry' sound. "Hardwick called me a whore."

"Excuse me!" I demanded. "He did what?"

Yeah, there were tears in there now, I could hear them. "He was making fun of me for taking off with you, and when he found out we were at the Bellagio... , I don't know if he heard me talking to Kelly or what, but somehow he heard about it and he called me a whore."

"She's holding back," Jamie said. "There's something more she's not telling you."

"Yeah, I know, I heard it, too."

"Christine, I'm so very sorry this has happened, who is this asshole?" I said.

"It's not your fault," she said.

"It's nobody's fault," I said, "because nobody did anything wrong. Actually, that's not true, he did something very wrong. God, what a dick! Who is he?"

"The Captain."

"The Captain called you a whore! Son of a ... Tell me, did he say all this before he hit on you or after you turned him down?"

"After," she said, and I heard her catch herself, suddenly realizing what I had gotten her to admit. "But he was being a real ass even before. How did you know?"

"Another good guess," I said. "First thing Monday I want you to file a complaint with the airline."

"What? David, I can't do that," she said.

"Of course you can. Christine, that's blatant sexual harassment. Did he do any of this in front of the other flight crew?"

"Just Kelly, and she won't say anything. David they'll fire me."

"Christine, they can't punish you for coming forward, it's illegal."

"I know," she said sarcastically. "But that doesn't mean it can't happen. David, it's my word against his if no one else comes forward."

"Christine, it's the right thing to do. Even if they can't verify the claim, you may not be the only one. Did you feel like he was pressuring you for sex?"

"Not really pressuring, but you know, he said that if I'd do a stranger I met on the plane I should have no problem doing him. Later on I guess he heard we were at the Bellagio and that's when he started saying it must be a money thing. Later he actually asked me..."

"Don't. Christine, what you do on your private time is none of his business. He has no personal knowledge of anything that happened and nothing you could possibly have done justifies him treating you like that. You have to come forward, if for no other reason than to make sure he doesn't do it again."

I couldn't say it but I was already planning to take the necessary steps to get the witnesses she needed to support her case. "Please, Christine, do the right thing: File the complaint. I'll take care of the rest. In fact, don't do anything yet, let me call a couple people first. Where are you Monday?"

We discussed her flight schedule and she agreed to call me in between flights. I gave her the number on my new pre-paid phone to use and then changed the subject.

"I'm surprised Lizzy hasn't called you?"

"Why?"

"She likes to debrief my dates."

She laughed, "Based on what you've told me about her, I'll bet in more ways than one."

I had to laugh at that. "Well yeah, that too, she thinks I have really good taste in women, and that my women taste good," I heard her stifling a giggle at that, "but she's not pushy about it or anything."

I was really debating telling her the truth but I was afraid she'd bolt on me and I wanted this situation with her dick-head pilot handled first. Regardless of whether she ever spoke to me again after she found out the truth about me and Lizzy, this needed to be done.

"So, why Atlanta? I didn't figure you for a southern girl, you don't have the accent."

"Ugh, long story. I'm not from here. I actually grew up in Scottsdale and while it's very pretty here with all the green, the humidity is killing me, and it's just so cold and miserable in the winter, and ugh, don't get me started on the bugs! God, I can't wait until I can afford to move."

"I can imagine. I'm a California boy myself. So how did you end up there?"

"Oh, the usual, I was young and desperately in love," she said in a whispery, fairy tale voice, then added sarcastically, "You know, stupid!"

I laughed as she continued, "It was this guy I met in Flight Attendant school and he talked me into moving in with him, and of course, since this is my natural hair color, I said yes. We worked for different airlines so we only saw each other a few days a month, which of course we spent in bed the whole time. A year later I find out that he's been banging his way around the country every time he leaves. One of the girls even worked for my company, seems they had overlapping layovers every couple weeks in Houston. Anyway, she turns up pregnant and I come home one night to find all of his stuff gone and an eviction notice on the door because we're six weeks late with the rent. It gutted my savings but I got it worked out with the landlord and well, here I am."

"Sounds like your life is one big adventure."

"Oh yeah, non-stop excitement, let me tell you. And now this happens."

"Christine, this is going to work out fine, I promise you. You flying out again tomorrow?"

"Am I ... Hello? Earth to David; we just talked about this, I'm off until Monday, then it's ten days bouncing around the country again. I think my next whole day off is in Salt Lake City. What about you?"

"I'm not sure, right now I'm moving around a lot. I may be opening an office here, though; it's still kind of up in the air."

Her voice got softer. "Well, keep in touch. If it works out that we're in the same neighborhood, I'd really like to see you again."

"I'd like that myself, but maybe next time we should stick to the Ramada and separate rooms so you don't feel like it's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"David! God, you make it sound like I raped you." I knew she could hear me laughing the whole time she was speaking, so I wasn't worried.

"Hardly, but you know what I mean. I don't want you to think I expect you to sleep with me every time you see me. It was nice and I'd love to do it again, but like I told you before, I'm more interested in you on your feet than on your back."

"What about on my knees?" she asked in a sexy voice.

"Mmm, I don't know, that might be a tough one. Listen, it was great talking to you again, but I've got some errands to run, plus I need to see if I can track down my new attorney on a weekend. Otherwise, I won't get to talk to him until Monday. You've got my number; call me anytime. If everything goes well, I think I may have a permanent number you can reach me at soon."

"Okay, take care of yourself, David, and really, thanks for calling. I really wasn't sure you would."

"Yeah, I know, it's that guy thing again. Take care of yourself Christine; I'll get back to you after I talk to my attorney about Captain Asshole." I blew her a kiss and broke the connection, then called downstairs to arrange a car to take me to the pawnshop that was holding Phoebe's stuff. I called Anthony Cicarelli's office from the car and left a message that I needed to speak to him.

An older woman who reminded me greatly of Shannon's grandmother ran the pawnshop.

"How can I help you?"

"I'm just killing time really," I said. "But I've been wanting to pick something up for my girlfriend and a friend said you could get some really good deals in pawnshops so I thought I'd look around."

"What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know?" I said. "It's too early for a ring; maybe a nice necklace or bracelet. Nothing too extravagant but our six month is coming up and she seems to think it's a big deal so..."

"I understand," she said with a knowing nod.

I poked around the various cases and she pulled out a couple pieces for me to look at here and there. I was really just killing time so it wouldn't look suspicious; I already had enough of a fix on her to bridge her.

My phone rang as I got back in the car.

"David Malcolm," I answered.

"David, Tony Cicarelli, I got your message. I would have called sooner but I've been icing my balls all morning, trying to get the swelling down. I thought Tina was never going to stop last night."

"Ouch, sorry about that."

"Hey, don't apologize," he laughed. "I never said I was upset about it. I definitely owe you lunch. So what can I do for you?"

"I don't know, it may not be your line. Do you handle civil litigation?"

"Do I... ? Does Papa Smurf have blue balls? I knew there was a reason I liked you, what do you got?"

I ran down the basic details of Christine's problem. He seemed inordinately pissed.

"She needs to file and give them a chance to do the right thing. If they don't, I need one witness to corroborate and we own their collective corporate asses. As the flight on which the alleged incident took place originated in Las Vegas, we can, in fact, file in a Nevada court. The witnesses are usually the rub. Airlines are tricky. They've been dealing with this issue a lot longer than most industries; we'll know how it's going to go down right away. If they're going to be funny about it, the first thing they'll do is re-assign the entire flight crew to other runs to make it harder for us to get to them for depositions. Flight schedules are confidential, which makes it damned hard to serve subpoenas. It's to protect their people from stalkers and whack jobs, but it really saves their asses in cases like this too."

"Do we have to wait?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if they came in voluntarily and gave statements?"

"They wouldn't be admissible unless it's a legal deposition and we allow opposing counsel to sit in. We'd have to re-do the interviews after the complaint is filed. On the one hand it would be great but if they're willing to come forward when we need them, why do the work twice?" He paused for a second. "On the other hand, if we could submits affidavits as part of the initial filing it would send a clear message that we were serious and had witnesses to support the claim. They may decide they don't want to play. Sounds like you had something in mind, why don't you tell me what you're thinking?"

"I'm just thinking if we presented them with a fait accompli, big word I learned in government class, basically tell them right up front that Christine is ready to file the complaint and we've got statements from the witnesses to back her up, we could offer them a deal to avoid the whole issue."

"I am really starting to like you, kid. It borders on blackmail, but as long as you present it right and don't make demands up front they can't say we're trying to shake them down. Keep the demands reasonable and I think they might appreciate the chance to avoid the kind of attention these issues usually attract in the media. What did you have in mind?"

I laid out the basics of what I wanted and told him I would see about getting him some statements from the people who had witnessed the incident.

"I take it we're going fishing tonight," Jamie said after I hung up.

"Yep, I want to start with Christine, just replay her memory of the whole thing, see who might have been close enough to overhear anything that may have been said, bridge the different members of the flight crew to see what they know, give the ones who witnessed any of it a little push to come forward, then get statements from them next time they're in town."

Just then the phone rang, it was Tony. "David, it's Tony again, I was just thinking. You said she's a little nervous about filing the complaint?"

"Yeah, she's afraid of what they might do."

"Then let's do her a favor for her own good. You're indirectly involved based on the fact that you were the person she was with. His comments to her can also be construed as slanderous to you. Calling her a whore implies that you consort with prostitutes. She told you directly of the events that followed and you filed on her behalf. The definition of sexual harassment has been expanded quite a bit. All it takes these days is you telling me a dirty joke over the phone, if someone walking by overhears it and gets offended, boom.

"We'll file a parallel complaint alleging slander and defamation of character based on the fact that the people he made the comments to had access to the flight manifest and therefore know who you are. At the same time we have the company served we notice the depositions, that's a step or two down from a subpoena but the minimum allowable time by law is forty-five days so they will look really bad if they try to get out of them. More likely they will call their people in for interviews to see how valid our case is. At that time I expect their suits will contact us to see where they stand, and if they try to get funny then we wait for depositions. It really just depends on the airline. Some will try to ignore it just to see if you're serious. Usually though, the first step is to get her in and hear her side of it. At that point they are legally bound to take action one way or the other."

"Sounds too easy, what's the risk?"

"Smart question. Not much, aside from the expense, which could be considerable and unreimbursed if you lose, and a small risk of a countersuit for misuse of civil process — what most folks call "malicious prosecution". So you want to be sure your witnesses aren't going to bail on you, because that would make the whole exercise a waste of your money."

"I'm not worried about that. What do we need to do?"

"I need a sworn affidavit from you laying out the facts as you know them. With that, we're in business and I can get the freight train rolling."

"Can we add that to our list of things to do on Monday?"

"Done and done. Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of, can I ask you something?"

"That's a contradictory statement but I'll let you slide this time, shoot."

"You seemed like you were really mad when I told you what happened."

His voice took on a different quality and I knew without asking that he was no longer speaking to me as an attorney to his client, but as one Master to another.

"David, I am no less affronted by this person's actions than you are. Lady Acacia is far closer to the reality of being a prostitute than your young flight attendant is ever likely to be. Would you ever look upon her in that way?"

"God, no!" I said. "I could never even think of her that way."

"Nor would I, but even if she were, I would never be so callous as to call her a whore to her face. This man is an insult to the species and deserves every bit of what is about to happen to him."

"Thank you, Anthony, for helping to clarify my own feelings."

"You are obviously a very gifted young man, David -- the fact that Acacia was with you at all speaks to that -- but you are still relatively young and understanding is an ongoing process. It would be my honor to assist in your growth. Please feel free to ask me anything."

"Thank you again, Anthony. I'll see you Monday."

Great, so now it's four o'clock on a Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas and I'm alone in a room designed as a rock star's playpen with nothing to do. I think Allison was right; I don't do alone real well.

I killed a few hours getting acquainted with my new laptop and setting up some different email accounts. I settled on four accounts. One I would only use for communicating with my most trusted friends and family. No one else would get that address. The second was for general contact; it gave me an address I could give out and not worry about. The third account I set up just for online shopping. The fourth was just for browsing and checking out areas that wanted an email address to let you look at the whole site. Basically a lightning rod, designed to attract all the attention I didn't want. By the time I was done playing around with that I was starting to get hungry. I was surprised to find that it was after six o'clock and I had been at it for almost three hours. I took a couple minutes to work out the kinks that had formed here and there, and then decided that I should go ahead and give Sanders the full evaluation. Time to check out one of the hotel restaurants. Considering the way I had been eating the past couple days I was gravitating toward a really good salad so, taking my copy of Kushiel's Chosen,  I headed downstairs to check out the buffet.

The variety of soups and salads alone was daunting. I kept it simple, opting for a simple garden salad with meat and cheese to give it a little substance, a couple pieces of a really good dark brown bread, and water. Then I found a quiet corner where I could read and pick at my food. I was about halfway through my salad when Sanders showed up.

"Good evening Mr. Malcolm, I trust you are enjoying your stay so far?"

I swallowed the mouthful I was working on, had a small sip of water to chase away anything distracting and wiped my mouth before answering.

"Good evening Mr. Sanders," I said, rising and offering my hand. "All in all I would have to say it's been wonderful. Without doubt the finest place I have ever stayed. The room is beyond description, the food is excellent, the service seems to be just what you want and nothing more, as much or as little as you desire. I can't really think of a single area I could fault you on.

"Thank you Mr. Malcolm, I'll pass your kind words along to the staff."

"Please do, and even though it had nothing to do with my visit here, I will be submitting an evaluation regarding my stay."

"Thank you again, if there is anything else I may do to enhance your stay, please let me know."

"Well, actually, now that you mention it, and this may seem like a strange request, but do you have any kind of classes on the different games? We did a section on the psychology of gaming back in high school but we didn't touch much on the games themselves. I am an avid people watcher and the gentleman I had dinner with last night suggested that there are few places as good as a busy casino to indulge that particular pastime."

"Few indeed," Sanders said with a laugh. "We have some introductory classes we offer first time visitors. They're not in depth by any standard; they really only touch the basics of the games. Are there any in particular that interest you?"

"Not really, he mentioned craps, but that seems like it would be one of the more complex games."

"Yes and no," he answered. "Craps can be as simple or complex as you choose to make it. It offers everything from a basic pass or no pass, which is whether or not the current shooter will crap out, up to more complicated wagers on individual throws. If you would like I could arrange a tutor for you, someone to take you around to the various games, explain them and even demonstrate the strategies involved. You would be responsible for bankrolling any actual play but it's generally a more economical way to get an education if you take my meaning."

"I can imagine. Beyond their salary they work for tips?"

"Exactly, so it is in their best interest that you do well."

As he was speaking I was surprised to see a vision of Lizzy, sitting in her garden, and somehow I knew she wanted to talk to me.

"Well that's new," Jamie said.

"Yeah, why don't you go see what she needs, I'll finish up with Sanders and be along as soon as I get to the room. Or I can go and you can..."

"Oh, gee, let me think; Sanders or Lizzy? Hmm, that's a tough one... , bye!"

I checked the time on my phone and answered, "I may take you up on that, right now I have a call I need to make. Thank you for your time, Mr. Sanders."

"My pleasure, sir, simply call special services if you require someone later."

I left a tip and headed back up to my room. Once I was safely alone I put myself out and went to see what was up. I found the two of them in the little park Lizzy went to for relaxation. Lizzy stood to greet me as I walked down the path to where they were sitting.

"Hi, sweetie, thanks for coming," she said, kissing my cheek and offering me her hand.

"I hope you're not surprised that I did," I said, kissing her back and taking her hand.

"No, of course not, I was a little surprised that it worked though."

"So were we," Jamie said. "What made you think of it?"

"Just seemed like it made sense," she said. "I started to just call you and ask you, but then I remembered that you see Walter when you're awake, and I'm pretty sure you would hear Amber if she called no matter what, so I thought it was worth a try. I'm very happy that it worked, and I'm even happier that you sent Jamie to keep me company until you could come."

"Speaking of strange things, how did you all end up in Allison's dream the other night?"

"Another experiment" she answered. "My key allows me to go to Amber as well as you, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, first I went to Amber, then I told her to go to Allison and when that worked I used my key to go to her again."

"Hmm, still, I can't believe it worked."

"Things have obviously changed again," Jamie observed. "I'm not Allison but I think I know what happened. If they had asked we wouldn't have hesitated to let them go, so in a way, we allowed it to happen even without knowing it."

Lizzy bent and kissed Jamie on the mouth. "You're so smart!" She drew back and said, "I think I've been missing you," then stroked her hand over Jamie's hair, "I didn't realize what it was, but lately it seemed like something has been missing and now I think maybe it was you. Come see me later?"

The look on Jamie's face I had never seen before and I had to wonder — is that what I look like when I look at Lizzy? If I looked like that then it was no surprise that everyone seemed to know I loved her long before I realized it. If I had ever had any doubts that I may be dragging Jamie into marriage with me, that look would have been all I needed to eliminate those doubts.

"I'd like that very much," Jamie said, pulling Lizzy's head back down for another kiss, this one much more intimate. I got the impression Jamie had changed her mind about waiting.

I waited for them to finish and asked, "So, did you actually need me or were you just experimenting?"

"Both, mostly experimenting but I needed to ask you a favor, too. It's Carol," she said, taking a seat on the bench and sliding over to pull me down between the two of them.

"What about Carol? I know you were working with her, did something happen?"

"No, that's just it; I haven't been able to help her. I knew it would happen sooner or later, I'm surprised it hasn't happened long before this."

"She won't let you touch her?" I asked.

"Not even, not when we're one on one anyway, and it's not something I can do in a crowd. Well, maybe at an orgy if I could get up close and personal with her but I don't really function well as a healer in that environment."

"Too many distractions?"

"Yeah, but not like you'd think; everybody's emotional baggage tends to come out in an intense setting like that, kind of spoils it for me. Anyway, I think someone hurt her, long ago. Like maybe she was molested as a child — probably by an older woman, and it's really messed with her wiring."

"And you're hoping that observation of her unguarded moments might make the difference?"

"Yeah, can you adjust my key?"

"It didn't work?"

Her jaw dropped. "How did you know?"

"You pick this stuff up really fast, faster even than Shannon did. You've been able to do things from the very beginning, things we didn't even know were possible. Like knowing what is going on when I freeze a scene. I figured when the thing with Amber and Allison worked you would have pushed to see if you could go on your own."

She kind of shrugged, "It was worth a try, but no, it didn't work. Was I bad?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be silly, of course not; you would have told me, sooner or later, probably after I caught you somewhere and you had to explain yourself." I stopped for a second and turned to take her shoulders in my hands. "Lizzy, please don't try new stuff like this without checking with me first. You don't understand the risks. When you were with Allison, in her dream, you were with friends, but if you had gotten into Carol's dream you may have been stuck there. You don't have control in her dreams, only your own, or mine, and mine only because I let you."

"Really?"

"Yes," Jamie answered. "Really. If Carol had a nightmare, you could be stuck in it. What if somehow her brain identified you as the woman you think may have molested her as a girl and her fantasy was to kill that woman, slowly?"

"I would have called you."

"And if she just went with 'kill you', and skipped the slowly part? Just shot you or pushed you off a cliff? Lizzy, we're not sure you'd survive. People die in their own dreams, where they actually have control, even if they don't realize it."

"Okay, but I wouldn't have been trapped; my key still allows me to come to you, wherever you are, or Amber."

"And if neither of us were dreaming?"

"Well, with Amber that may be a problem, but with you I don't think so. Like Walter said, you're always connected somehow; you walk in both worlds at once. But I will be more careful from now on and come to you before I try something new. About Amber and Allison -- and this is kind of related, I don't think we were in Allison's dream. I think it was one of yours?"

"Really? Why do you think that?"

"Because I had control, or I think I did. You heard me when I told you what to do with Allison. I don't know if I could do that in hers, and either way I couldn't have pulled Allison into mine." She paused for a moment, "I may be able to pull Amber just because she belongs to me, like I ordered her to Allison." She shook her head. "No, probably not, because I don't think I could reach her without you ... I don't know, we'll have to play with it to see."

"Hmmm," Jamie said. "There is another possibility."

"What's that?" she asked.

"If we are always connected and walk in both worlds the way Walter says, then maybe to some extent our dreams always exist here as well. So when you wanted to get together -- you know how we were speculating that because we would have allowed it, it worked? Maybe it went a step farther and without our even knowing it, we created a dreamscape for you, or at least allowed one to be created. Yeah, we definitely need to play with this. This is some seriously bizarre shit." She turned to me, "I wonder if that's the reason she appeared to us."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," she answered. "I'm wondering if we somehow have a permanent dreamscape that we're connected to and without our even realizing it, we're allowing certain people to access and use it."

"That's a very interesting idea, Jamie," I said. "I'd like to talk to Bob and Allison about it as well and get their thoughts. Maybe we can all get to together later and discuss it. Lizzy, did you want to start with Carol tonight? It's still kind of early, she's not available yet."

"Yeah I know; she's got plans for tonight so it will be a lot later before we'll be able to do it. Maybe if you can just kind of keep a dream eye out for her and let me know when she's ready ... Thanks for doing this for me, Jimmy?"

"Elizabeth," I admonished her. "If it was important enough that you asked for my help then I'm certainly not going to turn you down, and you can thank me if it works, no real point until then."

"So what are you doing tonight?" she asked.

"Nothing really, this is my first actual night alone and I'm kind of waiting to see how it goes. Allison thinks that I'm afraid to be alone and that's why I let everything with Christine go as far as it did."

"She may have a point," Lizzy said, nodding her head. "You're almost never truly alone. If nothing else you always have Jamie with you now."

"Okay, obviously we don't need the phone anymore, at least not for little things like 'I need to talk to you', so just let me know if you need something, and I'll let you know when Carol is available."

"I wish I could call Amber," she said. "I'd like for her to try calling you when you're awake and see what happens. I'm pretty certain that I know, but it would be nice to be sure. I know it's still early so I'll let you go. You should try to get some rest tonight; you don't know what you'll be facing in the morning."

"Oh, thanks for that reminder, I'm sure I'll sleep just fine now."

"Jimmy, you don't sleep at all, I mean not really sleep,  anymore, do you?"

"Funny, I was just thinking yesterday that 'just sleeping' is something I can't do anymore. Even an afternoon nap is just a transition for me."

"Does that worry you?" she asked. "I mean you've been studying this stuff for a long time, you know how important it is for the mind to rest."

"I know," I said. "But this is something I've apparently been doing all my life -- consciously doing for over a year now, and as far as I can tell I'm not experiencing any kind of problems. I think the hardest part for me will be filling up the time. At least I hope one of these days all the different crises will be over and I won't be spending all my nights chasing 'America's Most Wanted Assholes.'"

"I'll drink to that," she said with a smile. "I have much better ideas for how you should spend your nights."

"Mmmm," I said, putting my arm around her and kissing her forehead. "That sounds nice." I moved down for a real kiss and somewhere in the middle Jamie flowed back into me and the kiss started getting hotter so I broke it off. I stood and drew Lizzy up to her feet and kissed her lightly again. "I'll see you later tonight, just call me when you're ready."

I opened my eyes back in the hotel room and lay staring at the ceiling for a few moments.

"Sorry," Jamie said. "Cold Shower?"



-------

Chapter 67: Things Heat Up

I was bored; there was just no other way to put it. Awakening in my hotel room, or more correctly, transitioning back to the room after my conversation with Lizzy, I found I had nothing to do. Looking back at my time in Vegas so far I came to the realization that the whole trip was poorly planned. Granted, it was all very last minute -- I mean, a week ago I was safely living at home with my family, going to school, and only dealing with the darker side of humanity at night. Now I was alone in a strange city spending a ton of money to stay in what amounted to a palace. The only reason I hadn't reached this point sooner was that I'd spent the last two nights fornicating my brains out with two women I'd just met. Don't get me wrong. I don't consider that a bad thing in itself, but in retrospect, the greatest purpose either had accomplished was to keep me too busy to realize that at this particular point in time, it sucked to be me. Of course it would have sucked a lot worse without the six million in the bank but still ... my life was feeling very empty.

Jamie was no help either.

"Allison's right," she said, when I finally brought it up. "You,  we, really suck at being alone; especially bored and alone."

"I didn't realize before how much time school was really taking up. Now that I, okay we, don't have to worry about that five days a week, I'm starting to realize just how much time we have on our hands. And I have no idea what to do about it."

"Me either," she said. "But there isn't much we can do at the moment. Considering what usually passes for excitement in our lives, we should probably be thanking God for being bored. There are too many ways things could suddenly get exciting again and none of them are pretty. After we deal with the current sources of excitement then maybe we can look at ways to fill up the days, but for now, I can live with bored. And it's not like we don't have options. We could catch up on our reading, catch a movie, see a show, even call Sanders up and learn about the traditional ways to lose money in Vegas. That actually sounded pretty interesting, or at least fun."

"Educational at best," I said. "I just don't see the thrill of gambling, the odds are all in the house's favor. You may win a little now and then, but in the long run..."

"God, you are such a wet blanket all of a sudden! If nothing else, we could people-watch, what's the worst that could happen, we lose a little money and have fun doing it? It's not like we're going down there to win. Now come on, let's go before I lock your depressing ass in a bubble and go without you. Who knows, maybe I'll find a little hottie I can bring up here and make you watch."

I had to laugh at that. "Okay, fine, we'll go."

It wasn't that bad actually. Tony had been right; a casino is a great place for people watching. Considering the amount of money people were leaving behind, for the most part they were having a damn good time doing it. Overall, the atmosphere was so positive that if you could find a way to harness the energy you could probably power a good portion of the casino on that alone.

My personal guide, a guy named Greg was very knowledgeable, showing me around the floor and going over the basics of the different games. Their first offer was a girl named Stacy but ... no. She was definitely not the kind of escort I was looking for. I think her chest cost more than my room tab to date and at $1500 per night for the suite that was saying something. I wasn't actually paying that, legally I wasn't obligated to pay more than the regular rate for the two rooms I originally reserved but that's what I was using for comparison. I would definitely say she got her money's worth though; they looked really good on her, but still, not what I was interested in. Jamie maybe...

"As if."

Or not.

Keno bore a striking resemblance to Bingo in my mind, or like playing the lottery only the odds were better because more numbers got pulled. Roulette seemed like about as random as you could make a game, and the odds were never in your favor. Let's see, 38 spaces on the wheel, so the odds are 37 to 1 against you, and if you made your number it only paid 35 to 1. Not a huge margin to the house, but an average five and half percent payback wasn't bad. Heck, my bank didn't pay that on my savings. Of course there were a lot of other bets you could make. The game would be kind of boring otherwise, and no one would play. With Greg as my escort, they actually opened up a craps table for us to use while he taught me the various combinations and strategies. There were several people around that were interested in learning so we spent maybe a half hour playing for free. The bank remained closed and the croupier walked us through mock 'passes' explaining as he went and showing people what they would have won in actual play. After half an hour the lesson was over, the bank opened, and two more people joined the croupier. Essentially he handled the dice and they handled the money, placing players' bets and making payouts, and play began in earnest. It was a low stakes table, minimum bet two dollars, so very quickly the table was packed and the party had started. For the next half-hour I matched Greg's play -- he was using my money anyway -- and we stayed pretty even. Then Jamie started making suggestions and things started getting interesting. I love my sister. After another half-hour Greg was off the clock and gave me back my money. At the time he was up about a hundred and fifty bucks so I let him keep it. Jamie and I were up about three hundred when he shook my hand and wished me luck.

An hour later we were up about eight hundred and they had raised the minimum on the table to ten dollars to attract more serious players. Suddenly it was time to go as a voice I hadn't heard in a while whispered to me.

"Sebastian?"

Maybe what had happened with Lizzy had prepared me for it because I wasn't really surprised to be hearing Rene's call. I had actually told him to call me anytime, but still, the timing could have been better.

"Shit!" Jamie swore. "Go! I'll cash us out and get back to the room."

The world seemed to spin and suddenly I was in a now familiar cell. Apparently since Walter had 'found' him for me, I no longer had to stop at the hallway and then come in under the door; nice to know. I found Rene pacing at one end of the room.

"I thought perhaps you had grown tired of my company," I said after scuttling into my usual spot under his cot. Was it my imagination or was it brighter in here?

"I had thought the same about you," he said.

"It's been a busy time for me; my life has become more complicated."

"I suspected as much," he said. "That is why I called you."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I am not sure, but something has changed."

That couldn't be good. "Changed how?"

"As I said, I do not know, but something ... something is different since last we spoke, a feeling of preparation, more so in the last few days."

"Do you think he is about to take another victim?"

"I believe so..." he said and then hesitated. "And yet, the feeling is somehow different than before."

"Then you knew when he took his other victims."

"Of course I knew!" he barked. "How could I not know? He flaunts his power at me; over and over he makes me relive what he did to her."

Her had to mean Katia. "But this time something is different. Can you tell how it is different?"

"No, it is just a feeling that this time something is different. I thought you should know."

"I thank you, any change in his pattern is important. We suspected that since his last attempt went awry that he may react differently. So far it appears we are correct, not that it has done any good, we still haven't been able to find him, but we feel that now is the most likely time for him to make a mistake that will lead us to him."

"I would agree; now, while his life is unsettled and he must improvise. If he is to make a mistake it will most likely be now, but he knows this also, so at the same time he is more cautious. He will not move until he is certain of his success."

I had a hunch. "When did you first notice the change?"

"It is hard to say, time has little meaning here, but I have had time to adapt. A week? Perhaps more."

Bingo, Rebecca's partner had been taken ten days before. "He took someone ten days ago, could what you are feeling be him torturing her."

"No," he said intently. "No, that I would know. But why would he take someone and not play with them, it makes no sense."

I decided now would be a good time to change the subject. "If he were intensely angry, do you think you would feel it?"

"Yes, most certainly."

"How angry would he be if someone stole from him?"

"Angry," he said. "Very angry -- being trapped so long, living only through me, he is intensely jealous of his possessions, this is why after you have, as you say, interrupted him with his last victim, this is why he would stay rather than flee, he desires to make you pay."

"He had a bank account in Zurich, over six and half million American dollars, it is empty now."

I could imagine his eyes getting wide behind the mask, "How is that possible? He must not know -- if he did, aye, there would be blood in the streets. His wrath would be ... anyone he suspected he would kill."

"Would he kill them off hand or would he try to get his money back first?"

"There is that," he said. "Yes, if he thought it possible, he would try to get the information first, but he would be ruthless in his questioning, no playing such as he does with the girls he has taken. He would desire to punish, and if possible make an example, then take another, and another, until either he had his money back, or he had killed all that he could find involved, and perhaps more.

Shit! Henslith was toast. The question was, how long before he finished with her and went looking for someone else? Rebecca needed to know about this. It wouldn't make it any easier, but at least she would know to expect him to strike again soon.

"Is there anything more that you can tell me?" I asked.

"No," he said. "That is all for now. I will summon you again if I think of something more."

"Thank you. You should prepare yourself," I said. "If our suspicions are correct and he is so obsessed with his revenge and his lost fortune, then the chances of him making a mistake are as high as they will ever be. If this is true, then it may soon be time to break your cage and allow you your revenge.

"Not revenge," he said, "but rather justice. I will meditate and pray that God will bring that day soon, but also that no more innocents must suffer before he is stopped."

"I didn't realize you were a religious man," I said, surprised.

"If you are right, and if we are lucky, then the hour of my death comes swiftly. Nothing I can do will redeem me for my crimes in this life. I make my peace with God that by His grace I may find forgiveness and redemption in death."

"I will say a prayer for you also," I said. "Summon me again if you need me."

Jamie was waiting for me, not in the hotel room, though I'm sure she was there by now, but on the Beach with Allison and Elizabeth.

"So what happened?" she asked as soon as I arrived. We were all sitting in chairs under the canopy.

"He's upset, says something has changed and he's feeling a difference in his other self. Give me a second." I closed my eyes, not to look for anyone but to keep my promise. As I bowed my head I felt a touch on my arm.

"May I pray with you?" I opened my eyes and found Lizzy kneeling next to me.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"There was a peace within you, despite everything else going on, a stillness formed. I have seen it before many times; it is the part of you that touches Him when you pray. I used to watch Father Chris when he would pray and that stillness would fill his whole being. I can't really describe it but I wept with joy every time. Who are we praying for?"

"Rene," I said. "Before I left he said that nothing he did could ever redeem him in life, so he wanted to make peace with God so that he might find redemption in death. I told him I would pray for him."

"I would be honored to pray with you," she said, taking my hand and bowing her head. Allison and Jamie joined her on the sand and I felt really stupid sitting above them so I slid out of my chair to kneel in the sand with them, took Jamie's hand to complete the circle and closed my eyes again. I took a few seconds to clear my mind before beginning.

"Lord, I'm not really very good at this, but..." words seemed to be forming in my mind all by themselves, "thank you, for everything you've done for us. For my gift, for the people in my life to help me deal with it. Thank you for the good things I've managed to do with it, I hope it's working out the way you wanted..." I took a deep breath before continuing, "but that's not what this is supposed to be about. Please, Lord, Rene has done many terrible things in his life, many done beyond his control, and it seems the time may finally be coming when he can finally stop it. Lord, we ask that you grant him the strength and courage to face what lies ahead, and when it is over, we ask that you grant him rest in Your Kingdom, amen."

Before I could pull away, Lizzy's hand tightened on mine and she spoke, "Father, I pray you would grant us all the strength and courage to face this trial, help us seek your will in all that we do, and to know that no matter the outcome, it is all a part of your great plan. I thank you for these others, for Jimmy who will one day be my husband, Allison who will be my sister, and for Jamie, whose very existence is a miracle, a living reminder that all things are possible in you. I thank you for them all, amen."

There was silence for a moment and then Allison said, "I hope you weren't expecting me to follow that."

I had to chuckle at that and Lizzy was giggling as well. We both stopped though, when we opened our eyes and found that Jamie was gone and the other hand I was now holding was Allison's. Worry shot through me but quickly passed as a voice from deep inside me simply said, "I'm okay."

She didn't say anything else, but she really didn't have to. I knew it was Lizzy's words that had sent her away. Jamie is dark person at the best of times. That much love pointed at her is hard for her to handle.

"It's all right," I assured the others. "She just needed to be alone, and I ... need Rebecca. This shit is getting deep." After barging in on them last time, I didn't want to risk it again, so I pulled out my phone and called her instead.

"Hey, Jimmy, what's up?"

"I'm not sure. Are you busy?"

"That doesn't sound good, give me a door. Should I bring Bob?"

"Couldn't hurt."

I moved us to the office and within seconds they were walking in. I didn't wait for them to sit down.

"I think there is damn good chance your partner is dead and things are about to get really ugly."

I watched as Rebecca took a deep breath and her face went dark and professional. "What have you got?"

"I spoke with Rene a short while ago. He said something feels seriously wrong, not like anything he's felt before. It's not the same thing he gets when Sandman snatches a new victim or when he's playing with them. We talked about our hope that since we messed him up with Angela, now would be the most likely time for him to make a mistake. He agreed. We talked a little, he has difficulty with time, but it sounds like this all started about the time he grabbed your partner."

"Oh shit, that can't be good."

"It's not. I asked him how the Sandman would react if someone ripped him off. He said his alternate is pathologically possessive. Said he would kill whoever was responsible as well as anyone in the way. I got the impression that getting it back would not be as important as getting his revenge on the thief. When I asked him specifically about the money, he changed his answer to say that Sandman would torture whomever he had to until he was certain they could not get it back, then kill them and take someone else, and on, and on, until he got the right person."

"Christ on crutches," she said, shaking her head. "This is bad. Rod is going to shit a brick. It's a damn good thing your family is already in protective custody. Bob, you may need to come in for a while as well. Shit, this is going to get bad. And you still can't find him?"

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head. "I can find Kurtz, but I can't get past him to the Sandman, without a link of some kind..."

"Okay, where are you?"

"Still in Vegas."

"You've been at the Bellagio all this time?"

"Yeah, I'm checking out tomorrow though. Not really sure where I'll go but I need to find someplace a little more affordable."

"Yeah, no shit," Rebecca said. "You'll go broke fast in a place like that. Your money needs to last you."

"Well, I'm pretty sure they're going to comp the room anyway, but I don't want to push it."

"They're going to comp you a room at the Bellagio?" Rebecca asked, shocked.

"Actually it's a two bedroom suite," Allison said. I guess she just couldn't resist.

"A suite!" Rebecca exclaimed.

And then Lizzy just had to join in, "Oh ... my ... God! Rebecca, you have to see it! It is incredible!"

"No!" Bob yelled. "She doesn't want to see it!" He glared at me, "Do you have any idea how much I hate you right now?"

Suddenly the women all vanished. I knew where they were; Rebecca was with Allison and Lizzy getting the whole tour. Well, hopefully just the 'before' tour. Someone was playing games because out of nowhere you heard Rebecca's voice saying, "Oh my God!"

I glanced at Bob, "Sorry about that."

He just laughed, "Don't worry about it. That was just for show. I'd hate to see the girls go to that much trouble and not feel like they were getting their money's worth. I take it their reputation is well earned?"

"You could say that, yes," I assured him. "Maybe I could get them to comp it for your honeymoon? They really seem to like me."

"I don't know if they like you that much, rooms like that they generally only comp for high rollers. So what did you do to so endear yourself to them?"

"Well, originally it was supposed to be two regular rooms, but the check-in girl spotted my little blue card and then the manager upgraded me. After that I realized that a casino was a great place to get cash on short notice so I wired myself a hundred grand which they are keeping on account for me."

"Yeah, that would definitely do it," he said, rolling his eyes and nodding his head. "Still, a two bedroom suite is a little much for just the two of us."

"It's your honeymoon, Bob, live a little. Besides, two beds can come in handy. One to sleep and one for, you know ... everything else. And in that suite, nothing short of blood on the sheets even raises an eyebrow. I'm pretty sure I ruined a set the first night. Have to wait and see if it shows up on the bill, but no one said anything."

"Dare I ask?"

"Chocolate syrup."

"You kids grow up so fast these days." Then it dawned on him. "Wait a minute, Lizzy was at school and Allison is under house arrest."

"Long story. I got in over my head and, well..."

"Matthews, I swear you lead a charmed life. You got in over your head and fucked your way out of it? Not one of the 'local girls' I'm sure, that's not your style."

Based on his language something else that had apparently changed was my status with Bob, somewhere in all this I had moved from student to friend. He didn't generally talk like that to students, not even me. It was a good feeling.

"Flight attendant," I said. "I didn't plan it, she was just going to show me around, that's why there were two rooms, but then they upgraded us and well, she still had her own room but she sort of felt like it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and sleeping alone in place like that was not a memory she wanted, so ... one thing led to another."

"You're disgusting," he said.

"You're jealous," I countered.

"That's beside the point."

About that time the scene changed, Bob and I were sitting under the little awning I had started out in and the women were wandering back down the beach towards us. Rebecca looked like she was still in shock.

"They're comping you that room?" Yep, still in shock.

"Well, I'm not sure, but I think they probably will. I'll know for sure tomorrow."

"Jimmy thinks he may be able to get it for us for our honeymoon," Bob said. "What do you think?"

"I think you're taking me to Hawaii like we agreed!" she said, taking his arm in hers. "Let's get out of here before anything else goes wrong. Rod's going to piss himself when he hears what's going on."

"Bob's about to be a very happy man," Lizzy said with a smirk after they were gone.

"The room really affects women that way?" I asked. The next thing I knew the two of them tackled me and I was falling backward into the big bed. I guess it does. Of course, since Lizzy and I were waiting, it was Allison who really got the reward.

An undetermined amount of time later Lizzy reminded me that we still needed to go look in on Carol, so I pulled Amber in to cuddle with Allison so we could spend some time with Lizzy's classmate.

"Are you packed?" I asked Amber before we left.

"Yes, there wasn't much," she said softly. The body language said that this wasn't her being demure in the presence of her master but sadness.

"Hey," I said, touching her chin and lifting it slightly. "And just so we're clear, this is me, Jimmy, your friend talking: None of that. You're alive, I love you and I'm working hard to keep you safe. Lizzy loves you and is very much looking forward to the day when we will all be together; if that is what you want when the time comes. Allison would die for you. Rebecca would kill for you. So would I but I have to be careful who I say that in front of. You're on your way to getting your life back. I know it's hard, but believe it or not, this is actually the easy part. The hard part is what you make of your life from here on. Okay, time to play master again. In two days, less than that even, you will be on a plane to school and your new master. I expect you to work diligently, study hard, and obey your new Master in all things as you would me"

"Yes, Master, and thank you." I knew she was answering to both of the sides I had shown her.

"You're welcome. Now, your Mistress has a friend who is struggling with some issues and she thinks that I may be able to help. Stay with Allison and call if you need us. One of us will come. I love you." I kissed her, then Lizzy did as well and we were on our way.

Carol was definitely going to be a long-term project. We found her wandering through a park filled with happy couples, as well as a few families, all laughing and enjoying each other's company. It quickly became apparent that she was the only single in a world of couples. It went down hill from there. Along the way I noticed that a lot of the guys seemed to sort of glow. I mentioned it to Lizzy.

"My guess is ex-boyfriends or lovers," she said. "She sees other people moving on to happiness, but not her."

"Wow, you were right, she is seriously messed up," I said.

"Yeah, she reminds me of Angela when I first met her."

That startled me and I guess it showed. "No," she said. "I'm not suggesting she's like Amber, I'm just saying that she feels like an outsider, cut off somehow. But Angela was feeling cut off from everything; Carol is just searching for love. I think maybe we should hold off on any real interaction. Can you adjust my key so I can study her the way I did Angela? Just follow her around invisibly for a while?"

"Have you thought about just talking to her about it, here I mean? I mean it sounds like maybe it's something she's ashamed of and has buried, and you just haven't known her long enough that she would consider opening up to you. Not to mention where you think it came from."

"So what do you have in mind?"

"Well, sex has been your working venue in the past, but here, you have a connection that is just as intimate, probably even more intimate, that you can work with. You can touch her here without her even knowing it. Maybe you don't need the sex? While you're studying her, look for a way that doesn't require sex. If that's not possible, if sex is the only way, then you may have to go in as a male. I don't mean to intrude on your area of expertise here, but if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you about it after you've studied her, and see if maybe there is a better, or even just a different approach." She started to say something and I held up my hand to stop her.

"And please don't think this has anything to do with me not wanting you to have sex with her or anyone else..." this time it was her with the hand.

"Jimmy! God, no way would I think that. And if there is a way to do this without having to spread my legs for every problem I run into, trust me, I'm all for it. I love my work, and I thoroughly enjoy it," she flicked her eyebrows at me, "but sex isn't an option for some people. Like I said, I'm surprised it hasn't come up before, but then I've been working mostly with high school kids and for the most part sex wasn't an issue. Most of them couldn't wait, especially the guys. College isn't much different. For the most part it's a much freer environment, guys and girls both eager to try just about anything, so my job has been a lot easier."

"Yeah, I can imagine," I said. "So Carol is the first one you've run into that may actually have a sexual dysfunction?"

She grinned, "Well, Rusty thought it was dysfunctional, but I managed to change his mind."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," I said, flicking her nose with my finger.

"Yeah, I know what you meant, and yes, she's the first one that's been just dead set against making it with another girl. It's weird, you know, because I don't get any kind of homophobic vibe from her. I don't know, maybe God is trying to broaden my horizons and make me look for other ways to serve Him. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Jimmy."

"Hey, I'm going to be your husband, it's my job to help you."

She looked at me dubiously, "I think if you read the text it says the woman was sent as the man's helper, not the other way around."

"I seem to recall some passages later in the book that expanded and defined the roles a little better."

"True. Jimmy, I'm worried about you going to that church tomorrow."

That was a pretty rapid subject change, but I guess it was on everybody's mind, not just mine.

"I know," I said. "So am I, but I don't see another way. I haven't been able to get anything on Hightower through anyone else; the only way I'm going to get to him is to see him. So far this is the only way I've been able to find. Sometimes just a picture is enough, but even after going through all the stuff Rebecca got from Atkins I still couldn't get any kind of a connection to him, even the photos didn't help. I suspect that there's something about him that's keeping me out, and maybe seeing him will make the difference."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then I'll have to come up with something else, but I have to try this first."

She sighed and said, "Yeah, I know. Just be careful, okay?"

"I will, I have to be, too many lives are at stake."

"I know," she said. "I just don't want yours to be one of them."

"Trust me, I don't want it to be either. I've got enough people after me already; at least here I know whom I'm dealing with. We still don't know who was after me before. Speaking of that, I need to go check on Walter and Boris, see if he's ready to play nice or if I have to really get ugly with him."

"Whoever it is, he's obviously afraid of them. You need to make him more afraid of you."

"I know. After today though, maybe he's had a chance to realize just how miserable I can make him. If not, then tomorrow will be worse. What he doesn't realize is that I'm actually going easy on him because I've other things going on. If he doesn't give me what I want tonight then tomorrow is going to be a very unpleasant day, and then..."

"Don't say it," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "I understand what's at stake; he's endangered you, your family, and other innocents. I hope it doesn't come to that either, but you will do what you have to do to make them safe."

I wiped away her tears, "And now he's made you cry. That may be the worst offense yet."

She slapped at my hand, "Go! Silly boy. I'm going to go snuggle with Allison and Amber. I'll start with Carol tomorrow. Come see us again if there's time. I love you." She didn't wait for me to answer, just faded away and was gone. Maybe I needed to modify all the girls' keys; I missed having control over when they bailed out on me. Nah, too much work the other way.

I focused on Walter and stepped into the cell Boris had created for himself. Tonight's cell was the same as last nights; the difference was in Boris himself. He looked older, worn down, tired. I took it as a good sign.

"You don't look well," I said, walking casually to sit across the table from him.

It took a moment for his eyes to track and focus on me. Other than his eyes he wasn't really moving at all. A moment longer and I realized why. He was in the part of the cycle where his arms and legs stopped working.

"Oh, sorry," I said. "I forgot you couldn't move. Try again now."

I watched as he flexed his fingers, I could almost see his strength returning and as it did his self-image improved, the circles under his eyes faded and his overall expression seemed less haggard. He took a deep breath and launched himself across the table at me. I had been expecting something like this and was ready for it, but I didn't even get the chance to try and stop him as Walter intercepted him in mid-leap, his beast form knocking the big man to the floor where he struggled to keep the snarling jaws from his throat.

"Let him up Walter," when he didn't move I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and lifted him away, holding him at arm's length like a puppy. "I said, let him up. Behave yourself or I won't let you play with him anymore, do I make myself clear?"

His form blurred and expanded until I was holding a six foot six mass of muscle by the collar of his leather shirt.

"Forgive me, my Lord," he said, eyes downcast and voice sounding very contrite.

I released him and he retreated to stand by the door. Looking down at the man still huddled at my feet I felt a momentary flash of pity. I got over it.

"I take it from your action just now that you're still not going to tell me what I want to know? I'm getting tired of playing nice with you, Boris." I set the table, which had been knocked over in the sudden struggle, back up, and then took my seat once again. As I sat down I saw his eyes dart to Walter before he struggled to his feet and took his own seat once again. "Did you enjoy your day today, Boris? I got the impression you didn't like the feeling of helplessness that accompanied not being able to move at all. Or was that my imagination? I could arrange for that to be something you look forward to. Talk to me Boris, tell me what I want to know and all this can be a bad memory, less than that even, just a series or unexplained medical issues and dreams you don't remember. Who sent you after me? I want a name."

"I cannot tell you," he said. But there was something different in the way he said it this time.

"Ah, this time it actually sounded like 'cannot' instead of 'will not.' Why is that?"

This time he didn't answer.

"My Lord," Walter interrupted. "If I may, perhaps you are asking the wrong question."

"You think perhaps I am being too direct?"

"Perhaps he does not know the name," he suggested.

"Ah, I see," I said. "Thank you, Walter." I turned back to Boris. "Do you know the name of the person who sent you after me?"

His lips turned white as he forced his mouth shut.

"My Lord?" Walter asked.

I nodded and a moment later Boris's mouth opened. Of course he was screaming in pain as his clothes burst into flames, but it was open. He probably would have been rolling on the floor trying to escape the flames if not for the fact that his body wasn't working again. I waited a few seconds and nodded again. The flames shut off and Boris slumped forward over the table, gasping for breath and sobbing. I grabbed his hair -- yeah, I'd let him keep it though it would normally would have burned off in the first few seconds, and yanked his head up to look at me.

"Do you know the name of the person who sent you after me?"

He still didn't answer but he shook his head negatively.

"Say it," I said between clenched teeth. I let the fire he had just felt appear in my eyes and suddenly he found his voice.

"No, no, I do not know the name." he shuddered and turned his head away. I released his hair and his head landed on the table with a thump.

"Thank you. So you don't know the name, do you have a name for him? Something you identify him by?"

Something in his eyes...

"Her?" I asked.

His eyes flashed in rebellion and I held up my hand toward Walter. There was an instant of panic before he closed his eyes and nodded.

The person behind this was a woman? I had a sudden vision of Sandra Atkins and just how much trouble I may be in. Had we been wrong all along? Had she gotten something out of Rebecca before and managed to cover it up so well that we believed we were safe?

"Have you met her? Or seen her?"

He swallowed hard and I could see he was steeling himself for the fire. I checked the clock on my phone and it was getting toward morning eastern time, almost time for him to 'wake up'. I didn't want there to be any hint that he was actually still dreaming during the day.

"I'm through playing games with you, Boris; I just don't have the time. And apparently I'm just too nice about it. Walter, he's all yours, I don't care any more."

I stood and left. As the door swung closed I heard him scream, "No!" Then the door clanged shut and all sound cut off as I transitioned back to the beach where I sat staring into the waves and wondered what I was turning into.

"You're not a bad person, Jimmy," Jamie said softly. "You're not doing this to hurt him; you're doing it to save others. You already know the kind of person he is or you wouldn't go this far. I would, but you wouldn't. He preys upon the weak. Now he's learning what it feels like to be helpless. I call that justice. Not punishment, not torture, but justice. Trust me, I know the difference."

"I'm worried that I'll forget the difference," I said.

"You won't," she said. "I won't let you."

It only took a few moments to set things up with the woman at the pawnshop. Once that was handled I took a trip to see Christine and run through her memories to see who may have overheard what was happening with Captain Charming. It didn't take much to get her started and soon she was reliving the whole event. That led me on a quick survey of the flight crew, where I quickly discovered that this was going to be a lot easier than even I had hoped. At least two passengers had overhead comments, one of them actually heard my name, as did one of the other attendants, who had also overheard Hardwick telling Christine that the Bellagio was out of his budget but for a blowjob he could take her out in his Porsche. The copilot was outright disgusted by Hardwick's comments and behavior. Getting him to come forward would be no stretch at all. Tony was going to have a field day with this.

I spent the rest of the night in my office, going through the files that Rebecca had given me on the members of the Church of the Inner Circle, and several other files as well. One documented the case of a man who had killed his family and himself while in protective police custody. Another told of a girl who had gone to the police to report what her father had done to her. It told how he had been killed by another inmate while in jail, and how his wife, shamed and humiliated by what had happened, murdered her two daughters in their sleep, and then took her own life. And then there was the family that had died in the fire...

I was looking forward to church for all the wrong reasons.



-------

Chapter 68: The Church


Though the offices were located on the 18th floor of a downtown high-rise, the Church of the Inner Circle itself was located on a two acre facility off Highway 582 between Vegas and Henderson. It was average size for a church, I guess. I mean it's not like I'd been to that many. A little bigger than the one where I'd met Phoebe not so very long ago. Thinking of Phoebe created a cold knot in my stomach as I paid the cab for bringing me out. Probably best not to think about it. I didn't want to look tense or anxious. It tends to attract attention.

The building itself was all white, a mix of old traditional lines and contemporary materials and styling. The first thing that stood out to me was that the windows were set high in the walls, so that unless the floor was elevated there was no way you were going to be looking in or out, but then, most churches used stained glass or something else on the windows of the sanctuary to eliminate outside distractions. Then it occurred to me that maybe I was just being paranoid. Thinking about the churches I'd seen in my life, including the one where I met Phoebe; they all had windows placed high on the walls. Considering the cost of glass in the early days of the church it was probably to protect the glass. Regardless, it still made me want to sit next to an exit in case of fire, or lightning from Heaven, which I considered even more likely, given the venue. The windows off the foyer were set at a more traditional height and were clear glass, providing a good look at the tastefully appointed and well lit lobby.

One thing I noticed crossing the parking lot and again as I stepped inside were the cameras on the light fixtures in the parking lot and the one monitoring the main entrance, oops, make that two monitoring the main entrance. In addition to the one shooting profiles on the way in, there was a second one catching full face shots as well. Three motion sensors in the lobby, shock sensors on the windows, what else ... pressure plates under the carpeting? Seemed like a little much for a house of God. The cameras themselves were well disguised and I never would have spotted them if I hadn't been spending time with people like Reston and Malloy.

There were greeters in the lobby, shaking hands and handing out fliers as you came in. They seemed to know everyone, greeting many by name as they entered. They certainly had no trouble spotting me.

"Welcome to the Church of the Inner Circle, is this your first time visiting?"

Late twenties, athletic build, nice suit, and an ear-piece. No bulge in the jacket but everything else fairly screamed 'security'. Surprised? Not.

I reached out my hand, "David Malcolm. Yes, this is my first visit."

"We're happy you could join us, David," he said, shaking my hand. Strong handshake, definitely security; the handshake wasn't meant to intimidate but it wasn't exactly reassuring either. "What brings you to us today?"

Marketing research? Checking their advertising demographic?

"I'm in town on business, thinking about opening an office locally, and I find I'm not comfortable in most churches, so when I'm traveling I like to look for new options."

"Well, we're glad you found us," he said. "Would you like someone to show you around?"

I nodded, "Sure that would be nice, thank you."

"April?" he called in a voice just a little too stern to be called friendly. Commanding but not demanding.

I turned to find a young girl in a dress Allison might have worn to Easter services coming toward me. She was almost my height and my first guess would have placed her age at close to mine as well. Once she started moving though I quickly dropped it back down. She was willowy and moved with a dancer's grace. The dress was well designed but it was clear her bust had some help as well. Fourteen tops. Long chestnut hair, a beautiful complexion, and when she smiled, perfect teeth. She dropped a curtsy when she reached us, eyes down and averted. "Yes sir?"

"This is Mr. Malcolm, April. He is new with us today, would you escort him please?"

"I am happy to serve," she said. Then she turned to me. "Hello, Mr. Malcolm, welcome to our church. I am April and I will be happy to be your escort, answer any questions, and assist you in any way. I find it's a good idea to show new guests where the restrooms are first, if you will come with me."

She waited for me to move before turning and leading me toward a hallway on the far side of the lobby. "The restrooms are down this hallway, the men's rooms are on the right. A little further on..."

The tour was short and ended back in the lobby in front of a portrait. "This is our founder and priest, Elliott Bastion."

"Priest?" I asked. "Then you are a Catholic affiliation?"

"No, though many assume so because of his title, but the title of priest goes back far beyond the Catholic faith. Many ancient cultures used the title to indicate their holy men. The word 'Priest' is a translation of course, but it is from these ancient beginnings that he takes the title, for he is the chosen of God, sent to lead us in His way, our spiritual leader and one day guide, to the throne and presence of God."

The tour ended at this point and I was surprised when she did not leave.

"Thank you, April, I don't wish to keep you from your family."

"Sir? We are all family and it is my pleasure to escort you, but if you would prefer another... ?"

Thought so, she was my keeper as well. Stay with the nice young man, make sure he doesn't go anywhere he shouldn't; see or hear anything he shouldn't. I wondered how different her replacement would be if I requested another? I also wondered if she would be punished for failing if I did. Not a risk I was willing to take for the sake of curiosity.

"No, no," I assured her. "I just did not expect to have a private guide at my beck and call for the entire visit. What if I have to use the uh..." I pointed toward the far hall.

"Well, I wouldn't follow you in and hold your hand, but I would see that you did not become lost anywhere on your way there or back, as well as making sure that our exit and re-entry did not disturb the service." Music began playing behind the closed doors. "Ah, it's time. Come with me please and I'll help you find a good seat." She laced her arm through mine and started forward. No one seemed the least bit concerned that this young member of their church was so intimately attached to someone they had never met before.

During my tour, while we were waiting, and even now, as we passed into what passed for a sanctuary in this outer circle of hell, I saw many people that I knew from my research into the group, including Dr. Victoria Essex who was dressed in a skirt suit and apparently having no further problems with her arm. Hightower must have somehow 'healed' the psychic trauma of the dream and restored it. Good to know. I also saw Steven Hendricks and his wife looking every inch the happy couple. One thing I noticed was that there were distinct groupings, reminding me of the lunchtime cliques at school. Like those cliques, there was almost no fraternization outside the group. Apparently everyone had their own circle and were expected to stay there. Or was that their own 'inner circle'?

As we entered the auditorium I was immediately struck by several things. One was the relative austerity of the room. For a church raking in the bucks that this one was, I had expected a lot more. The membership wasn't huge, the total in attendance today not more than maybe a hundred and fifty but based on the IRS figures I had seen; the church had to take in several million a year.

The other thing that struck me was that the layout of the sanctuary was ... unusual. I was halfway down one aisle before I realized what it was. The seating was arranged in concentric circles, or rather, half circles outward from the pulpit. It was not glaring by any means, and from floor level you almost had to be looking for it, but then, I was looking for pretty much anything and everything that might be even a little bit wrong.

The music continued for a few more minutes and then the choir came in. The audience grew quiet when they began to sing. For good reason too, they were very good for a small local church group. I think they could perform almost anywhere, though of course this was Vegas and I doubted there were a lot of venues showcasing gospel music. The music itself was straightforward, exactly what you would expect from any church you may visit almost anywhere in the country. Announcements were made and then their 'priest', attired in simple robes came out. I was expecting that creepy feeling that Phoebe had experienced when she was here but I didn't sense anything out of the ordinary. Yet.

The sermon was very simple, again something you would expect in almost any church in America on any given Sunday. Apparently they had been working their way through the gospel of John and were now into the events of the last twenty four hours before the soldiers came for Christ; the Passover meal in the upper room, the gift of communion and how it had changed the structure of the church. Communion always made me think of the Catholic Church for some reason, even though pretty much every Christian church serves it at least a few times every year.

I'll be honest; I have a problem with the Catholic Church, not Catholic people, just the church. And not even the modern church really, but I often wondered — If Jesus had known about things like the Inquisition or the Crusades, would he have waited in the garden for the soldiers? It's funny; I never really understood how hard that must have been until one night when I was watching television. It was that same science fiction show where I had learned what 'walkabout' meant, different episode, but the same show.

There was a young ... monk I guess. Not a priest or anything, just a low level member of some obscure temple in the future. Anyway, he was talking to someone else about how hard that must have been for Jesus, knowing they were coming for him, and why, and he said he wondered if he would have had the courage to remain. In the end it turned out he did. Apparently he had been a very bad person in the past. So bad that they sentenced him to what was, in their minds, the ultimate punishment; what they called the death of personality. At first glance it sounded like the right to lifers had eventually won out, but at best it was a compromise. The body lived but the person died. Highly trained telepaths gathered up everything you were and locked it away in a little box in the mind, and threw away the key. Then another team went in and rebuilt a new personality, and when you woke up, you were someone else, with no knowledge of your former life, like being born again. Apparently the temple took him in, and only one person knew what had happened to him, what he had been. Well, not specifically who he was or what he had done, but that he had been ... rebooted I guess, and given a fresh start. Anyway, someone figured out who he was and wanted revenge for his past. Eventually they found a way to break down the telepathic blocks so that he remembered who he had been and what he had done. They planned to kill him, but they wanted him to remember first. I mean, what's the point of getting revenge on someone if they don't know why? His new self was so appalled at what he had been that he waited for them to come for him, and didn't fight back when they tied him up, tortured, and eventually killed him.

"Hey? What are you doing?" Jamie asked.

Suddenly I remembered where I was and my attention snapped back to the present. I hate it when I do that. It always seems so ... disrespectful to let my mind run off on a tangent like that when I'm supposed to be learning about God. Not that I was really interested in learning anything this particular church taught, but still, it happened a lot when I was in church, and I always felt bad about it when I eventually caught myself.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the whole time Bastion was preaching I noticed that his gaze roamed over the entire congregation and it seemed that at one point or another he made eye contact with everyone. Eventually, he got around to me.

As soon as his eyes touched mine I felt like I was the only person in the room. My chest felt tight and though my first instinct was to look away I found it hard to do so. Then his gaze moved on and beside me I felt April stiffen slightly.

"Fucking weird!" Jamie said.

"Watch your language," I admonished her, "we're in church."

"Get real bro. Remember where we are. God doesn't live here. I doubt He even visits. What the hell was that?"

"I don't know, but it felt a lot like what Phoebe described, and weird doesn't begin to describe it. I felt like he was trying to look inside of me."

"Yeah, and it felt like if he wanted to and tried hard enough, he just might be able to. Be careful Jimmy, there is a lot more to this guy than meets the eye."

"I thought we had pretty much established that before we got here."

"We suspected something was different about him, something in his mental makeup that kept us from bridging him. Now I'm thinking that's not it, or at least not all of it. If he looks at us like that again, don't try to break away, instead try to hold his gaze longer. I want to see what happens."

"Be careful Jamie, we're on dangerous ground here and we don't know what's going on."

"Duh!"

It took a while but eventually his gaze did come back to us. I didn't have to try to hold his eye; he was working hard at holding mine. The pressure was off the chart, like he was trying to climb inside my head or something. Suddenly I felt Jamie exert herself and jerk my eyes away.

"I know how he does it." Jamie said. "Jimmy, we need to get out of here. Right now works for me, but that's a red flag I don't think we should wave. When he starts his closing prayer make for the door."

"And go where?" I asked. "We don't have a car."

"Shit! Okay, use that as an excuse if anyone asks. We left early to call a cab. Damn it!"

"Why are you so worried?"

"Why am I worried?" she asked. "What, are you kidding? Didn't you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"Shit! Jimmy, he was trying to plant a suggestion just by looking at us. If I hadn't been here it probably would have worked."

"You're kidding!" I said, stunned.

"No, I'm not. Jimmy this guy can do hypnosis without any of the usual gimmicks. Just making eye contact is apparently all he needs. No wonder he's so fucking good. Jimmy, he does what you do without even touching his target, and he does it while you're both awake."

"You mean like ... mind control?"

"Call it whatever you want, it certainly explains why they couldn't get a conviction. Remember what Rebecca said about supposed eye witnesses recanting on the stand? Now I know why. He told them to! Jesus, we need to get out of here."

"What was the suggestion he was trying to implant," I asked.

"That you really wanted to meet him. Jimmy, if he can implant a suggestion from across the room, I don't think we want to shake his hand."

"I'm open to suggestions."

She was silent for a moment then said, "Offering! When they pass the plate, slip April a twenty and excuse yourself to use the restroom. Ask her to put it in the plate for you, hopefully she'll stay behind. Even if she doesn't, as soon as we're alone you call the cab company and tell them to haul ass out here. Offer a fifty dollar tip if the driver is here in ten minutes. There should be at least a couple songs after they do the offering, then they'll dismiss. Just hang out in the lobby, if April asks it's so we don't 'disturb' anyone going back in, then beat feet as soon as the cab gets here, but whatever you do,  don't touch him!"

"You're really scared, aren't you?"

"Jimmy, I could piss your pants right now. Crap, he's making another pass our way. Trade me places and watch for the message." Just like that Jamie took control and I was watching from the cheap seats. Moments later Bastion's eyes once more met ours.

Almost as soon as our eyes met a soft voice was whispering to me, "You wish to meet me. Stay and meet me."

Then it was gone and he was looking elsewhere. Again I noticed April stiffen next to me. I watched her out of the corner of my eye and suddenly she glanced at me and whispered, "Isn't he wonderful? You should stay and meet him after the service. He likes to meet all the new people."

"Fuck the offering," I told Jamie. "We're out of here!" I switched places with her again and whispered to April. "I need to use the restroom, but I don't want to miss the offering. If I give you some money would you put it in for me?"

"It's okay," she whispered back. "There is a box in the lobby, I'll take you."

"That's okay," I said, softly. "I'm pretty sure I can find it on my own."

"Please," she said, and thought I detected a hint of fear. "It is my duty."

Shit! Fortunately we were sitting on the end of a row. I slid out of my seat, trying to stay low — you always get looks when you leave in the middle of church. I don't care if you're bleeding from your eyes or going into labor, you get the looks. This was no different, except that I also noticed several looks being aimed at April. Not good. I hoped this wasn't a punishable offense. Nothing I could do about it either way, not now anyway. My first priority had to be getting somewhere safe. With April crouched low behind me, whispering apologies as she went, we made it back up the aisle to the lobby. Immediately I headed for the far hallway and the men's room. Once inside I called the cab company.

"Hi, this is David Malcolm; you picked me up at the Bellagio earlier. I just realized I have an appointment I overlooked on my schedule. I need a car at the Church of the Inner Circle right away." I gave the dispatcher the address off of the church program. "Fifty bucks if you can have a car here in ten minutes, a hundred if he's here in five. I'll be out front." I closed the phone, flushed the toilet for effect, stepped out to wash my hands, and then almost ran over April standing just outside the doorway when I left.

"You're leaving? But you haven't met him yet, you have to meet him, he greets all the new people. Please, you have to stay." There was a note of panic in her voice and I suddenly realized that I knew this girl. She was on the chart and our most recent encounter was when we had exploded the trap Hightower had left inside her. She was thinner than I remembered, her face narrower, and her hair longer, but I knew her.

"Her self image is nowhere near the reality," Jamie said. "Apparently she doesn't perceive herself as pretty."

"She's not pretty," I said. "She's beautiful and we should have thought of that when we were visiting them. I don't know why we didn't notice it before. We saw her first from someone else's viewpoint."

"And if that someone were jealous or didn't see her as pretty either?" Jamie asked. "Actually, I think we got her from Essex, and that bitch hates all these girls."

"Okay, I get your point. We need to watch that in the future though." Then I turned my attention to April. "Yes, April, I'm sorry but I realized I have another appointment that I had forgotten about. Perhaps I can meet him next time."

"He'll be very disappointed."

"So am I," I said. "I really would like to meet him sometime." That at least was true; I didn't tell her the rest of what I was thinking, 'On my own terms and in my own time.' "You said there was an offering box out here?"

"Yes, right over here." She led me back across the lobby to a small, nondescript box with a simple slot in the top and a lock that looked like it was out of a Cracker-Jack box. Obviously it was more for guilt than actual security. Of course, based on what I'd seen, you weren't likely to get far if you tried to rip them off.

"Are you sure you can't wait?" April asked. "It would only take a moment and he will be out very soon."

"No April, I'm sorry but I really can't wait. I'm going to be late as it is. Perhaps next time."

She brightened considerably at that. "Then you will be returning?"

I was about to answer when a horn sounded from the front of the building. Simple design or no, the acoustics were excellent. There was no way you would have heard it from inside the sanctuary. I glanced at my phone for the time. Four minutes.

"Thank you April, for everything," I said, taking her hand and kissing it quickly. "You were a big help, and I hope I'll be seeing you again very soon."

She blushed and curtsied; I ran for my life.

"How the hell are we going to stop a guy we can't even look at?" Jamie asked when we were safely in the cab.

I slipped a Benjamin through the barrier to the driver. "The Bellagio, please."

"Hopefully, while he's asleep." I told Jamie.

Another cab drove by as we were pulling away. He honked his horn and our driver waved back at him. Too late, pal.

"You don't think he'll be able to do his little trick in a dream?" She asked.

"I hope not, or we're in trouble."

"Never hurts to hope," she said. "We'll just have to wait and see. Certainly explains why no one seems to be able to remember Lord Hightower's face."

"Yeah, he tells them not to. I'll bet they don't even realize that Bastion is Hightower."

"Most probably don't," she agreed, "but I'm sure some do, certainly the board members we've bridged."

"I wouldn't be so sure. It would be a lot easier to do it to everyone rather than trying to remember who knows and who doesn't."

"Good point," she said. "Either way, I think we need to find another place to stay like right away."

"I was planning to check out anyway, the question is where can we go?"

"Ask Sanders, or call Tony," she suggested.

"Better make it Tony," I said. "If someone comes looking the hotel may tell them where we went, or even just where they referred us to."

"In this town? I doubt it. But Sanders probably won't be on before we check out so ... the fewer who know the better. Tony it is. Or we could call Jasmine."

"No," I said. "I don't want to risk putting her in trouble. If Hightower found out she was actively involved in working against him... , no."

"I think we need to look into transportation. Cabs and limousines are too easy to trace."

"Yeah, I know. If we're going to set up an office here, even temporarily, we'll need transportation."

Her tone changed dramatically. "Jimmy? Can I have a motorcycle?"

"Oh yeah, I can just see going to meet with clients on a bike!" I laughed. "And don't even try to pull that tone with me; I've been hearing it from Allison since she learned to talk."

"Yeah, but it still works doesn't it?" I could almost feel her flicking her eyebrows at me.

"Not always!" I insisted.

"Yeah, sure it doesn't," she laughed.

"Great, car shopping, that'll be fun."

I'd heard enough from my dad over the years to know haggling over a car deal was close to legalized warfare, especially used cars, and I certainly had no intention of buying one new. I made a detour into one of the boutiques to buy another suitcase and a garment bag for my suit and then picked up a copy of the Sunday Paper in the lobby on my way up; maybe I could pick up something to drive from a private party. I called Tony as soon as I got to my room. He'd given me his cell number in case anything else came up that couldn't wait until Monday.

"Cicarelli."

"Tony? David Malcolm. Sorry to bother you again. I need to change hotels; I'm looking for something I can get a good weekly rate on. Also, I'm going to be picking up a car to use locally so I'm going to need to get insurance on short notice, maybe even today. I was hoping you would have some suggestions?"

"Of course I do, I'm surprised the Bellagio couldn't recommend somewhere though."

"I didn't want them to know where I went if anyone asked."

"Ah, I see. In that case, I'd say the Residence Inn, just off Flamingo, out by the airport. A lot of business travelers stay there. As for the rest, I'll call my agent and have him draw up a binder for you. You'll just need to call him with the details on the car. He can charge it to my office, if necessary. How soon do you think you'll need it?"

"I'm hoping to pick something up today."

"That soon? Listen, if you need something to drive around while you're looking, my daughter is off at school, so you can use her car."

"Thanks, I guess I could have the hotel drop me off. I could even give you a deposit for the bill I'm running up."

He chuckled and said, "Don't worry about it, I can't take any money for the car or it becomes a rental and I have to add a commercial policy."

"How about I just give you some gas money? I feel like I'm taking advantage of you."

"I don't, but if it will make you feel better that's fine. Sounds like you're trying to make a really low profile exit so I'll come and get you. That way, there's no record of where you went. How long do you need?"

"How soon can you be here?"

He paused and his voice was more serious when he answered, "I see. Twenty minutes?"

"I'll be downstairs, thanks for your help."

I called Special Services, told them I would be checking out immediately and asked them to have my bill ready. I was packed and in the lobby in fifteen minutes. The desk clerk handed me a copy of my bill, all eight pages. As I expected the cost of the room itself had been credited off leaving only the balance for room service, including a gratuity, my gambling tutor Greg, and the tickets to O from the first night. I checked to see if they had charged me for that set of sheets Christine and I had made a sundae out of, but I guess they had gotten the chocolate stains out because it wasn't there. I doubled the gratuity, signed for the whole thing to be charged against my house account, and headed for the door. Tony was waiting outside in his car, a dark silver BMW 7-series. He popped the trunk and I dropped my luggage in, laying the garment bag out carefully so the suit wouldn't wrinkle. The front door was barely closed when Tony headed for the exit.

"I am suddenly of the opinion that it may be prudent to draw up an agreement between us so I can legally claim status as your attorney and not be obligated to disclose anything you may say to me. Do you agree, and do I want to know how much trouble you're in?"

"Yes and no, in that order. As to how much, I'm not certain just yet and I'm trying very hard to avoid finding out. And just so you know, official status probably won't get you much more of an answer until I've had a chance to make some phone calls. If you're serious I could start now."

He looked at me for a moment and said, "Make the call."

I pulled out my phone and hit the speed dial for Rebecca.

"Hampton."

"It's me; I need a background check on an attorney in Vegas, Anthony Cicarelli. I'm considering taking him on officially as my corporate and personal attorney."

"Oh shit!" she said. "What happened?"

"I can't go into that right now, he's sitting next to me, but I do have some very important information for your friend Sandy."

"Got it, I'm on it," she said. "I'll call the other phone when I've got something, I'll just ring it and hang up, you can call me back."

"How long?"

"Preliminary stuff, maybe half an hour, longer to really get into it. I'm going to call the Vegas Bureau and see what they have. If anything, and I mean anything looks off then I'm going to give it to Atkins and see what she knows. Are you in trouble? Do you need help?"

"Yes and no, in that order. Call me when you have something."

"I can't wait to get to my office," Tony said. "I'm dying to ask who you really are. May I ask who you called?"

"Ask me after we're legal. As for the rest, I'm David Malcolm, we had dinner the other night, and you're setting up a corporation for me tomorrow. I already told you what I do. This is just a complication from something I'm working on."

"Yeah, you find things. Sounds like you found trouble. I got a parking ticket two years ago, and my wife's maiden name was Salisbury. I pay my taxes on time and I play poker with some very interesting people. And if anything you're into is going to put my family at risk tell me now. You can still use my daughter's car for today but only to look for something else. I'll set up your corporation because I already agreed to it but after that I'll refer you to someone else to handle your affairs and you're on your own. Nothing you could pay me would be worth risking my family. We clear on that?"

"Absolutely. I'm glad to hear you have your priorities in order."

I was already on the road in Theresa Cicarelli's Solara convertible when Rebecca called back; as she had said, the phone rang once and the call dropped. I pulled over and called her back. She didn't bother to ask if it was me.

"Anthony Cicarelli, wife Christina, daughter Theresa, son Richard died three years ago in a boating accident on Lake Mead. Likes to play poker in mixed company. Looks pretty straightforward, you going to tell me what's going on."

"Not even on this phone," I said. "I'll tell you about it later. Thanks for doing this on such short notice. I'm changing hotels at the moment, also looking for something to drive. Tony is setting up my new corporation, he picked me up so there would be no record of where I went, and I'm currently driving his daughter's car while I shop for one of my own. I'll call you later and we can see about getting together."

"Jimmy, you're not exactly instilling me with warm feelings of confidence or security. Be careful, and call me when you're ready."



-------

Chapter 69: Car Shopping


I stopped at a local diner to have lunch and check out the car ads. I was looking for something fairly nondescript, but with good performance and handling. You would be surprised how big that category is. We're not talking road racing machines, but if you had to run, in traffic, low end torque and horsepower were much more important than being able to do a ninety degree corner at a hundred and ten. Freeway was another story, but then, you can't lose a chopper on a long straight road either.

I had three strong possibilities, all mid 90's with low mileage. As long as they had been driven enough to keep the seals from drying out they would serve my purpose. Larger domestic cars being as hot on the market as they always were they should also be cheap. I called for directions while I was finishing lunch and hit the road.

The first one was a Buick like the one Rod had loaned me, but without the supercharged engine and other trick toys the FBI had installed. It had a significant knock in the engine and was leaking transmission fluid so I quickly moved to number two. The second car was out on the north end off of Hwy 95 where the lots were considerably larger. After being in and around the Strip for three days it was nice to be somewhere quiet for a change. I was surprised when I rolled up in front of an older, ranch style house on a half acre parcel, with desert landscaping and a very wide porch running the entire length of the house. There was a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard and an elderly black woman was rocking on the front porch. A tall boy in baggy UNLV basketball shorts was shooting baskets and listening to his I-pod in the driveway. He looked to be about my age, but he had to be six-three at least; tall and gangly, if he kept growing he was going to be a big boy. The height always seemed to come first but by the time he graduated ... The car itself was on the extreme edge of the upper limit I had set myself but the listed mileage made up for it. The thing I most wanted to avoid was paying for a car I was going to have to walk away from on short notice again. Damn, I missed my truck.

The ad was for a ninety-six Chevrolet Caprice sedan. I checked the address to verify I was in the right place, parked in front and walked up the driveway toward the house. The kid ignored me as I walked toward the house. As I hit the sidewalk the old woman got up to meet me.

"Hello," I said. "My name is David, I called and spoke to a young lady a while ago about the car in the paper." I knew this was the woman I had spoken to without even asking. Her voice hadn't really been young, but you can never go wrong referring to a woman that way. Except the early teens; Allison's fourteen and she would hurt you if you tried it on her.

She laughed, a rich and musical sound. "Young man, a lie like that is no way to say hello."

I feigned my surprise, "That was you? Get out of town."

She laughed again and I stepped in and extended my hand, "David Malcolm, nice to meet you Mrs..."

The kid hollered over from the driveway, "Grandma, what time is it?"

"Bobby! Where are your manners? Can't you see I have company?"

He glanced at me, rolled his eyes, mumbled something, and turned back to his shooting.

"Doreen Willets, you can call me Doreen. It's nice to meet you too, David. Please excuse my grandson. You know how kids are these days. The car is in the garage; let me get the key for you." She started toward the door. I stepped ahead of her and held the screen open for her.

As she crossed the threshold the boy called out, "Bring me a soda when you come back out."

She turned and yelled back, "You can't ask me better than that you can drink from the hose."

"I ain't drinkin' from no damn hose!"

"You watch your language boy! Don't you be cursin' round me; I will wash your foul mouth out with soap, so help me." She turned back to me and said softly, "Thank you, David, come on in, everything is for sale, it's not much but if you see something you like, just speak up."

"I take it you're moving?"

"I'm afraid so. My husband, Theotis, up and died on me about six months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that; didn't he have any life insurance?"

"Oh yeah, just enough to plant his tired old bones in a hole. Two weeks later, come to find out he mortgaged my house to pay for his gambling. Thirty years to pay off this house and he went and sold it all down the devil's highway. I love that man, God rest his soul I do, but if he were here right now, I swear to Gawd I would kill him myself. Now I got to sell everything I own and move in with my daughter and that heathen son of hers."

"I'm sorry to hear that Mrs. Willets."

"Nothing for you to be sorry for, and didn't I tell you to call me Doreen?"

"Yes ma'am." I said. I had been looking around as we passed through the living room. It was spacious and neat, the hardwood floors polished to a high shine, and I doubted if a Marine drill sergeant could find dust.

"You have a lovely home Mrs. Wi ... Doreen."

"Thank you, David. Now, where are those keys? Would you like some lemonade?"

"I would love some lemonade, thank you."

The front screen opened and Bobby walked in, letting the door slam behind him, and began dribbling toward the kitchen.

"Don't you be bouncing that ball in my house!" Doreen called from the kitchen.

"It ain't yo house anymore," he yelled back, then mumbled, "old bat." But he did stop dribbling the ball. Ignoring me he went straight to the refrigerator and started looking over her shoulder. "Where the soda at?"

"Would you get off of me, please? You don't need another soda, I'm making some fresh lemonade and you can have some of that or you can have water."

He waited for her to turn away, grabbed a soda, popped the top and headed back toward the door.

"Bobby Caldwell, what did I just tell you?"

Ignoring her he headed for the door. About half way there, he started dribbling again.

"Bobby!"

He shouldered the door open and never looked back.

"I'm sorry, David. I swear, if I were thirty years younger I would put that boy over my knee and whale his behind!"

"Well, when you get ready to do it, give me a couple days notice and I'll sell out Caesar's Palace for the show."

She laughed her musical laugh again, "Oh, Lordy, wouldn't people line up to see that?"

"Yes ma'am, I think they would."

She opened a drawer and handed me a set of keys. "Here, David, you go look at that car and I'll be along shortly with the lemonade."

I took the keys and headed out the front door to the garage. Her grandson saw me coming but pretty much ignored me until I unlocked the garage and the open door interfered with his shooting. At which point he took his ball over to the porch and sat in his grandmother's rocker.

Sweet! The 'Caprice' turned out to a '96 Chevrolet Impala SS. I checked the mileage and couldn't believe it only had 24000 on it. I barely turned the key and the engine roared to life, racing for a moment before settling into a throaty rumble. The engine was a detuned version of the one they used in the Corvette the same year. It was a little dusty but there were no signs of leaks under the car. According to Wheels Omstead this was one of the most undervalued cars in recent history. It was only the second domestic vehicle in history to ever go up in value, meaning that it was valued higher as a year old used car than it was brand new. As I was closing the hood another car pulled up in front.

A younger black woman got out and opened the trunk and called, "Bobby, come help me with this."

She was struggling with something in the trunk and since young Bobby was showing no signs of moving I walked down the driveway to help her.

"Let me help you with that," I offered.

She turned, surprised at my voice and stepped back as I approached. "Why, thank you."

That turned out to be a sewing machine. It was an older model and a little heavier that I expected but it was still pretty easy to manage. "Where would you like it?" I asked.

"Anywhere in the living room is fine," she said. "May I ask who you are?"

"Oh! Sorry. David Malcolm, I'd shake your hand but ... could you get that door for me please?"

"Bobby, get the door."

Again he ignored her and she yelled, "Bobby, get off your butt and get the door, now!"

He rolled his eyes at her but he did get the door; releasing it as soon as I was past him so that it hit me in the back as I crossed the threshold.

"I'm getting a little tired of Mr. Attitude," Jamie said.

I let it go and made my way across the room and sat the sewing machine on the coffee table. Out on the porch the woman I assumed was young Bobby's mother was having words with him. He was pretty much ignoring her, passing his ball back and forth between his hands. As I was waiting for them to finish, Doreen came out of the kitchen with a tray loaded down with a big glass pitcher of lemonade and four glasses of ice.

"Let me take that for you, Doreen." I said, stepping in front of her and taking the tray.

"Thank you, David. Did you get a look at the car?"

"Yes, and I was surprised at how you had it listed, I can't see too many people paying what you're asking for a Caprice, but an Impala in that condition is worth every penny."

"If I put it in as an Impala I'd have every thug, wanna-be-gangsta in Clark County over here trying to talk me down. This way I only get serious buyers. So, are you interested?"

"Are you kidding, I'll take it."

"Oh, thank you Jesus! Regina! David is going buy Daddy's car."

"He is? Well, hallelujah! I was afraid the bank was going to come take it away! Bobby, the door."

"Get it yourself, you ain't doing nothin'," he answered.

"What did you say?" She demanded. "Young man, you better watch your mouth! Now, get out of my way." She shouldered him out of the way and opened the door for me.

Bobby stumbled backward toward the yard, dropping his ball and mumbling, "Bitch."

That was it for me. As soon as I was clear of the door I set the tray on Doreen's chair, walked into the yard and slapped him hard across the face.

"You have five seconds to apologize to your mother."

"What the fu..."

Smack! I slapped him again. "And your grandmother."

He backed away spitting blood; apparently that last slap had caused him to bite his cheek.

"Who the hell you think you are? You can't tell me..."

"Me? I'm the guy who's about to kick your sorry black ass up and down this street if you don't apologize to these two ladies right now."

I'd read in a book long ago that if you slap a woman, she'll cry. If you punch a man, he may cry or he may attack, or he may just ask you why. But if you slap a man, you better be ready because it's an insult to his manhood and he's going to come at you. I had counted on Bobby's apparent age and brash manner, pegging him as not having developed quite that level of testosterone yet. Apparently, I was right. Ever see teenage boys get into it? It generally starts as a shoving match and escalates from there. I had skipped the shoving step, not to mention I wasn't fighting like a man. Men hit with their fists. Unless they considered you too weak; that's where the whole ego thing comes in.

Young Bobby was still back at square one trying to gear up for the shoving match and apparently he had finally gotten there. He stepped forward obviously intending to shove me. Did I mention I was fighting like a girl? As he stepped forward I kicked him hard in the shin. He screamed in pain, dancing back and reaching for his injured leg, and when he did, I stepped in and slapped him again, this time catching him off balance, knocking him to the ground, and skinning the knee of the already injured leg. He didn't even try to get up, just lay there crying and clutching at his leg like it was going to fall off.

"You know, Bobby, you really disappoint me," I said. "When I got here I saw a young black man minding his own business, quietly working on his future, I saw a young man with potential! Now all I see is a stupid nigger about to get his ass kicked because he's too dumb to know when to shut up, and too damn proud to admit when he's wrong. Do you know who these two ladies behind me are? Do you? Let me tell you, these are the two people in this world who care the most about you. You think the rest of this world gives a damn about you? Hell no it doesn't! They do, they want to see you make something of yourself. Your mother wants to see you grow into a man she can be proud of. Now you've got two choices: You can stand up and apologize for being a punk ass ghetto rat, or I can keep slapping you until the black comes off? Now, what's it going to be?"

I stepped forward and raised my hand again. He cringed away, his hands immediately coming up to ward off another blow, and he mumbled something that sounded like, "Isorrymama."

"What was that?" I asked. "I don't think I caught that, say it again."

"I said I'm sorry," he repeated.

"What are you apologizing to me for, I'm the one smacking you around." I grabbed his hand and held it tight as he tried to pull it away. "Now stand up like a man, and tell your mother you're sorry." I pulled on his arm and he scrambled to his feet. I was half worried he might try to take a swing at me so I was ready for it, but he just stood and gave me a half angry, half scared to death look, then turned to face his mother.

The two women in question had been standing slack-jawed behind me since I first left the porch. Judging from the way Doreen was holding her arm, I think his mom may have started to intervene once, but Doreen had held her back.

"Stand up straight," I barked, and then continued in a softer voice, "Bobby, I understand you're angry. Just in the short time I've been here it's obvious your mother is raising you by herself. Where's your father?"

"He left."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said. "I know you miss your dad, and that part of you blames your mom for him leaving because you think she must have done something to drive him away. Bobby, I don't care what problems your parents had, the important thing to remember is that she's the one who loved you enough to stay and take care of you. She's the one who works and puts food on the table. She's the one who worries about you every time you step out that door, whether it's to go to school or just hanging out with your friends. I'm not saying this to talk down on your father. But the fact is you need to give your mom a little more credit for taking on the job of raising you. You need to show a little more appreciation and the simplest way to do that is treat her with exactly the kind of respect that you want others to show you. What I just did to you physically is exactly what you've been doing to her verbally, ever since she got here. Cut her some slack, Bobby. A boy like you is going to be a handful for any woman to raise, especially alone."

As I was speaking more tears had started flowing down his face. Not from the pain in his leg or stinging of his cheek, but from the painful truth I was telling him.

"Momma," he said, choking on the word. "Momma, I'm sorry."

Doreen released her grip on her daughter's arm and Regina rushed to hug her son. Hugging him and pulling his head down where he could hug her back and cry on her shoulder. From that position he saw his grandmother with tears running down her cheeks as well and he tried to pull away but Regina was having none of that, so instead he just held out his long arm toward her and said, "Gramma, I'm sorry I sassed you and..." His words were cut off as Doreen joined the pile. I stepped back onto the porch and poured lemonade into the glasses, then took the small pile of napkins Doreen had brought out and started handing them out.

Doreen took off her glasses and started dabbing at her eyes. "Oh my, David, you are just a wonder. Come here, she moved forward and almost crushed me in a hug. Thank you."

"Yes, thank you," Regina said. "Thank you for giving me my baby back."

"I didn't give him back, he was always there. I just woke him up."

"But how did you know... ?"

"You might say I'm a student of human nature. In the absence of a strong role model, the male looks to the culture for guidance. I don't mean to sound prejudiced but popular black culture is a pretty sorry example. I say popular black culture because I've met enough real black men in my life to know the difference. Bobby wants what all kids want. From the time we are born we are looking for boundaries, and when we find them, we push on them, test them to see if their real. A big part of a father's job is to draw boundaries for his kids, to make sure they know there are limits and to enforce those limits so that the child knows that they are real. Being a single parent, especially a single mother, it's difficult to enforce that all the time. Without the help and support from a strong partner, kids will test and push and look for weakness constantly, and I mean constantly, relentlessly, and if they find a weakness they push even harder to see if they can exploit it. You're his mom; you're the nurturer by design. You just can't be that tough all the time; you're not wired that way. The worst thing I think a parent can do is back down when a child pushes. It lessens you in their eyes, they lose respect for you and once that starts, it snowballs quickly.

"Does that sound right to you, Bobby?" I asked.

"How do I know, I'm sixteen?" he asked. While I had been talking he had pulled out of his mom's bear hug and was just standing, rubbing his face. "Damn, how many sisters you got? You don't learn to slap like that 'less you got sisters you can't hit back."

"If you only knew" I thought. "Just be glad my sister wasn't here, she would have hurt you."

"Damn straight," Jamie said with a laugh.

"And watch your language in front of the ladies," I added. "How long has your dad been gone?"

"He left me two years ago," Regina said. "He said..."

I held up my hand to cut her off. "It doesn't matter what he said, that's between you and him. Does he still live around here?"

"No," she said. "Or if he does no one knows where."

I turned back to Bobby, "You were angry at your dad for leaving but he's not here so you take it out on your mom. That's not fair. You're lucky she didn't do the same to you. You need someone to talk to? About the things you can't talk to your mom about?" The suddenly panicked look in his eyes made me laugh. "No, I don't mean me. It would be best if it was someone you knew, but if you don't have someone, I can make a few calls, and if nothing else I can arrange for you to talk to some of those men I was talking about. But you have to stop listening to whoever it is you've been listening to. That's just others pushing their anger and misery off on you, and you have enough of your own." I looked at his face for a moment and turned to his grandmother.

"Doreen, do you have some more ice? I think maybe I overdid it a little."

"No," she said with a smile. "I think you got it just about right, but I'll get you some ice anyway." She kissed Bobby on the cheek and said, "You drink your lemonade, Bobby, I'll be right back,."

I whispered, "Say thank you," as the screen closed behind her.

"Thank you, grandma!" he called out. He sounded like he really meant it.

"You need to work on that," I said with a smile. "I think you'll find things getting a lot easier if you show the people in your life the respect you want them to show you. Even the ones you don't think deserve it. You having problems with your grades?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" he asked, surprised.

"You don't listen to people you don't respect. Bobby, you may not like your teachers, but think about where they are. They're in your school trying to make a difference. Sure, there are some that are only in it for a paycheck, there always are, but there are always the special ones too, the ones that should be teaching in a prep school for rich, stuck up, white boys."

He laughed, "Man, who the fu..." he stopped himself, "who are you?"

"I'm just a regular guy like you, trying to get by and make a difference. I had a few of those special teachers in my life."

"How old are you?" Regina asked.

"Twenty-two," I answered.

"Damn!" she swore. "When I got here I wouldn't have put you past nineteen. You got that fifteen to twenty-five look going on. You're going to still be getting carded when you're buying Geritol, but you talk like you're my age. What happened to grow you up so fast?" She put her hand on mine. "Did you lose someone close to you? Is that why you know so much about what Bobby and I are going through?"

I couldn't hold eye contact, couldn't even speak at first. A vision of the truck slamming into Tom Davis's car temporarily blocked out everything else, so I just took a deep breath and nodded. Suddenly the hurt disappeared, sucked away like smoke through a sky light.

"Thanks," I said. I felt a ghost of a kiss and a warmth like invisible arms wrapping around me.

"I'm sorry, David," Regina said quietly.

The door swung open and Doreen walked back out with a damp dish towel full of ice, handing it to Bobby and then stopping as she looked at us all just sitting there somberly.

"What did I miss? Y'all look like someone done stole your Christmas. It's too nice a day to be looking like that. Now, David, when did you want to pick up the car? I got a set of transfer papers from the Auto Club, but it will be a while before the title comes from the bank. Is that going to be a problem?"

"No, not at all. Would you prefer cash or a cashier's check? Do you know what the payoff is? I could get a check for the payoff and give you the rest in cash if you like."

"That would be wonderful, David. The note's only about thirty-five hundred; I can call and get you the exact figure in the morning."

"No rush. How about if we do the paperwork now, and I'll bring you back your part when I come back for the car. I've got to get this one back to my attorney. I can just take a cab back."

"I could take you," Regina offered.

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that," I protested.

"Nonsense, it's the least I can do. Look at all the money you just saved me on counseling and therapy for Bobby. Where do you need to go?"

I told her where Tony lived, and she said it would take about ninety minutes there and back depending on traffic.

"Well, then," Doreen said. "You'll be just in time for dinner."

"No, really, Doreen," I argued. "You can't..."

"Are you sassing me? Don't you be telling me what I can and can't be doing on my own front porch!"

Bobby was doing his best not to fall out of his chair laughing.

Doreen bakes a mean chicken, and don't even get me started on her biscuits. Over dinner she and Regina were going over the next step in getting the house ready for sale when something caught my attention.

"Momma, when are you going to clean out daddy's office?"

"Now why do you have to go and bring that up?" Doreen responded. Something in her voice told me this was a touchy subject.

"Momma?" Regina pressed.

"Dishes," Jamie suggested.

"Brilliant!" I replied. "Thanks!"

Pushing myself back I turned my attention to the other bystander in the room. "Hey, Bobby, why don't you give me a hand with these dishes?"

Have to give him credit; he knew an open door when he saw one. He was out of his chair and scooping up leftovers before I cleared my seat.

Over the course of the next few minutes the table got cleared and Doreen dissolved into tears. Passing back and forth from the kitchen I managed to pick up just enough to confirm that I needed to steer clear of this one.

Finally Regina made the offer I was sure she had been leading up to all along, "Momma, why don't you let me do it."

"No," Doreen said, wiping her eyes one more time. "If I know your father there are things out there that..."

"Momma," Regina said, rolling her eyes. "I am not a little girl. I know very well that daddy was just a man. We talked a lot, him and me. I know all about his gambling, and those dirty magazines he used to hide in his file cabinet. I even know where he kept his liquor."

"Liquor! Regina Caldwell your father was many things but he was not a drunk!"

"Oh, momma," Regina laughed, hugging her mother. "Enjoying a drink now and then does not make someone a drunk. Daddy didn't drink much but he did enjoy a little glass now and then."

"And you know this because?" Doreen demanded.

"She knows this because she's been buying him a bottle of Johnny Walker for Christmas the last five years," Bobby said, coming out of the kitchen. "Just like aunt Theresa been buying you that bottle of Sherry. You know, the one behind the big bag of flour."

I love it when black women blush. It's just amazing to watch and they were both lit up like Christmas trees.

"You knew about that?" Doreen asked.

Now it was Bobby's turn to roll his eyes. "Grandma, everybody knew about that!"

By now they were all laughing. Eventually Regina stopped and said, "Seriously, Momma, why don't you let me do the office. You wouldn't know what was important and what was just junk. Maybe I'll find some of those missing files I been looking for. Besides, I don't want you finding nothing that might tarnish daddy's memory."

That sounded like a topic in need of changing. "What kind of work did your husband do?" I asked.

"Daddy was in insurance," Regina answered. "I took over most of his clients when he died. Not that there were many left. He'd been letting a lot of things slide the last few years, and I've been working to reestablish a lot of his old accounts."

"So where is this office?" I asked. "I only saw the two bedrooms off the hall."

"There's three, but the other one is just used for storage. The office is out back, there's a whole separate apartment. He had it built when they put the pool in. He wanted a place he could hide when Momma was mad at him. He and Darrell, that's my ex-husband, and the boys used to watch the games out there."

"Really?" I asked. Wheels were starting to turn in my head.

It was getting late before I finally got out of there and a big part of me didn't really want to leave. It wasn't my family, but it drove home what I had lost and it hurt when I left. I guess in a way it put me in the right frame of mind for the night's work. Any sympathy I might have felt for Boris after a day with Walter evaporated on the drive to the hotel along with the tears.

The tears had been a surprise I was unprepared for, and I had had to pull over and stop for a few minutes as the grief and pain of what my life had become roared through me like a forest fire. It only lasted a few minutes, partly because I didn't want to wallow in misery over things I couldn't change, but mostly because Jamie was taking my emotional pain and storing it up as something else.

"Thanks," I said.

"For what?" she asked.

"Taking that before it got too deep."

"Oh, I didn't take it away; I'm just saving it for later."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Jimmy, in a little bit we're going to be seeing that piece of shit, Yuri Khvlek. I've been keeping tabs on Walter today when you were busy. You're not going to believe it when you see him."

"What do you mean?" Was there an echo in here?

"You'll see, and then we'll talk. Right now let's just get to the hotel, do a couple laps in the pool to relax, take a nice long shower and then we can get to work."

"You know all that isn't really necessary. I don't even need to go to bed to do this stuff any more."

"True," she said, "but it's a hell of a lot more comfortable, and you won't be all kinked up tomorrow. Jimmy, things have been changing fast, really fast. Let's try and hold on to the little pieces of normal we have left, okay?"

She had a point. One thing I was looking forward to was the openness around the new hotel; I know it had only been a couple days, but it seemed like forever since I'd run and I was really looking forward to the morning. But I had work to do first.

She wasn't kidding about Boris, he truly looked like shit. He didn't so much sit in the chair; as huddle in it. He didn't even acknowledge me when I came in; his blank stare seemed to be focused on a particular point of nothing above the center of the table. More than anything he looked like he was in shock. Walter stood at rest just inside the door and he greeted me as I entered.

"Good evening my Lord,"

"Good evening Walter, how long has he been like this?"

"Since the sun set," he said. "Along with ... other things ... I had been using the fire, alternating every hour. I believe he was bracing for its return. He actually wept when it didn't come. I believe he would speak to you now."

One word caught my attention, "Would?"

"Aye, my Lord."

"Not will?"

"I fear it may be some time before he recovers enough to speak. Once he began, he wept until his body gave out. I do not believe he even knows you are here. The doctors have been beside themselves all day trying to figure out what was wrong. It took some time before they were able to stop the screaming. They did not understand that it was a cycle and each time when it stopped they believed they had been successful. Eventually the drugs took away his ability to scream, physically at least. I fear I may have pushed him too far."

Before I could respond Jamie said, "Step out into the hall. We need to talk and I don't want to come out where he can see me."

I moved toward the door, indicating for Walter to follow me. As soon as the door closed behind us, Jamie stepped out and hugged Walter.

"You did not go too far," she said. "You have done very well and we thank you."

He bowed slightly as he stepped back from her embrace, kissing her hand as he did. "My Lady is too kind. I have done nothing you could not have done yourselves."

"If nothing else, you have freed us to be elsewhere. Do not belittle your part."

Then she turned to me and stared into my eyes. As she did memories flooded through me and I experienced again the pain and anguish I had felt in the car on the way back washing through me. My breath caught as I tried to handle the sudden wash of emotions without breaking down again.

"I'm sorry Jimmy, but I know you. You were thinking that maybe we had gone too far? Jimmy, you're a nice guy and I cherish that about you, but this is what you should be feeling."

The same memories flooded through me again only this time they were accompanied by a seething anger at the people who had done this to me, put me in this position in the first place. My mind cleared quickly and I was back in the present with Jamie and Walter, and my only link to finding out who was behind ruining my life.

"You're welcome," Jamie said softly, a tear trickling down her cheek.

I pulled her to me and hugged her tightly. I knew that tear wasn't for anything I had felt, but rather for having to do that to me at all. It hurt her to have to hurt me, even if it was for my own good, and that's what this was; I needed to be reminded of who it was I was suddenly feeling sorry for. She was right, once I got past being all compassionate and remembered who I was dealing with...

"Thank you, Jamie. I love you." Suddenly she faded into me and I was left holding only air. I looked and found that Walter had turned away so Jamie and I could have our little 'moment.'

"You were saying, Walter?

"My Lord, I fear they are close to gleaning the truth. They have connected him to several machines now that monitor his mind as well as his body. For now the drugs in his system mask the truth but I do not think that will last long."

"I understand," I said. "Give me a moment."

"Jamie, if it comes to it, can we put him in a hard bubble, completely cut him off, and maintain it?"

"Yes," she answered. "I figured it might eventually come to this. Making the bubble is actually the hard part and since it's the first time we've done one like this it's likely to take a lot out of us when we do, but yes, I can do it. You may want to keep a power bar handy tomorrow in case it happens at a bad time."

"Okay, what are we going to do with him tonight?"

"Nothing, I agree with Walter; there's no real chance of getting anything out of him until he recovers."

"We'll see," I said, and then went back into the room and walked over to Boris.

Laying my hand on his shoulder I called out, "Boris!"

He jerked so hard his chair actually fell over and he scrambled to his feet. It was an instinctive movement and he was standing in a defensive half-crouch before he knew what had happened. Then it dawned on him that the pain was gone and his body was working once more.

"Feeling better I see," I said. "How does it feel to be you again?"

He looked very confused, "What has happened? Where is this place and why have you brought me here?"

"I didn't bring you here Boris, you did. Don't you remember?" I let all the memories of everything that had happened crash back in at once, and as they did the big man screamed and collapsed to his knees. I dropped a wall back between him and the memory again and waited as he knelt on the floor gasping for breath. Finally he looked up and I could see the fear in his eyes.

"What was that?"

"I think I'd have to call it a nightmare, Boris, what do you think?"

"But so real, it could not possibly be."

"Real?" I asked. "Oh, it was very real, and it's not over yet." I raised my voice and called, "Walter!"

The door slammed open so hard the glass shattered when it impacted the inside wall and what was left hung by one hinge, and there, framed in the doorway was young Yuri Khvlek's worst nightmare.

The werewolf was huge, the black shape all but blocking out the light from the hallway. The glowing red eyes, the gaping mouth filled with fangs that seemed too long for the space. The hand-like paws with the long claws...

Boris backed hastily away, but quickly discovered that the cell wasn't that big and there was nowhere to hide.

"Give him to me!" Walter demanded in a voice somewhere between a roar and a howl. He shouldered his way through the door, dropped to all fours and stalked toward the cowering man.

"Choose, Boris. Tell me what I want to know and I promise this will all go away. I'm through playing nice with you. Tell me everything and the last thing you'll remember is something going wrong at the warehouse. You'll wake up in a hospital, unharmed but wondering how you got there. Or..." I let the memories loose again, " ... for the rest of your life, for as long as you can take it, like this."

"She will kill me."

"Why? You were released to your people almost immediately, she knows that you fear her and that you would not have betrayed her unless forced, and they didn't have you long enough to force you to speak."

He started to answer, but suddenly he threw up his arms in defense and screamed as Walter lunged forward. I caught the great hulking monster by the scruff of his neck and held him just out of reach of the cowering man, the great claws inches from rending his flesh, spittle flying as he lunged and growled in his efforts to reach his prey.

From behind his shielding arms Boris cried out, "The Black Queen! I do not know her name but that is what she is called."

"Walter, sit!" I commanded and the great beast walked casually back to sit beside what was left of the door. I pulled a chair up to the little table that was once more sitting in the middle of the cell and sat down. "Everything, Boris; I want it all. Sit down."

He sat, and between glances at both Walter and me, words began to flow. It was hard to tell whom he feared more; the beast, or the boy holding the beast's leash. Eventually the words slowed and I placed my hand on his. Immediately his head dropped to his chest.

"Have you told me everything?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Is everything you have told me the truth as far as you know?"

"Yes."

I could tell he wasn't holding back, I had broken him and since he had given in he could no longer resist.

"Show her to me," I said.

He shook his head as he replied, "I have never met her, and I am glad of it; to meet her is to die. It is her rule. There are stories ... they say a man who hired her and then broke the rules, having someone watch the target and take pictures. They found him..." He didn't finish, only shuddered. What the hell could she have done that a guy like Khvlek would respond like this?

"I could give you a few ideas," Jamie said.

"No thanks," I answered quickly, and then returned my attention to Boris.

"In a few hours you will awaken, you will be in a hospital and there will be many people wanting to know what happened. You will remember being at the warehouse, waiting for someone, but you will not remember who or why you were waiting for them. You will not remember the details of your capture, only that somehow your group had been over-powered. You will remember being taken to the offices of the FBI and being treated well while you were there. You will remember being escorted to the car they sent to pick you up but from the time the door closed you will remember nothing until you woke up in the hospital. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I was captured, treated well and returned to my people, and then I woke in the hospital."



-------

Chapter 70: The Big Step


Originally posted on: Sun Jun 28, 2009 6:38 pm

It was time. The visit to the church had given me the last piece I needed to finally get serious about cleaning up the problem in Las Vegas. Unfortunately it had also handed me a problem I had not, could not possibly have, anticipated. So now that I had a way to the man himself, I was scared to death of Elliott Bastion. With no idea how to proceed I decided to go back to the basics; time to go see Allison.

I got the response I expected.

"Holy ... Shit!" Allison is usually the level headed one. We had started out sitting in the sunken area of the cabana and now she was up pacing the room.

"That explains everything," she said. "No wonder they couldn't touch him in court, he told the witnesses to change their stories. That shot the first case down. The second time he just told the jury to acquit him. Jesus, Jimmy, this is fucking scary!"

"You're telling me," I said. "If I hadn't been with Jamie I might already be caught. She intercepted the suggestion before it could do any harm, but if she hadn't been there..."

"Jimmy, this changes everything."

"How do you mean? Yeah, it's scary, no doubt about it, but I don't see how it changes..." She stopped pacing, shook her head, and held both hands up. I took it as an interruption and stopped talking.

"Jimmy, no one can help you now."

"What? What do you mean no one can help..." Then it hit me. "Oh, because anyone else he locks eyes with he may be able to control. Yeah, I thought of that, but I figured..."

"No, Jimmy!" she said. "That's not it. Jimmy, you can't even tell them about him."

Huh? "Okay, you have now totally lost me."

She jumped back into the little pool and flopped down beside me, "I'm sorry. Jimmy, call Bob for me, get him to come over, I don't want to have to do this twice."

"Do what?" I caught myself. "Never mind." I didn't bother with my phone; I just made his phone ring. "Bob, we've got a problem and Allison wants you here."

"I see, how soon do you need me?"

"You're not alone?"

"No."

"Rebecca?"

"Jimmy! Give me a little credit."

"Sorry, don't worry about it," I closed the phone, and pulled Bob out of his dream, leaving a twin behind so Rebecca wouldn't know anything was wrong. The question was where to bring him in? What the heck? He was going to be shocked to find himself here as it was, so why settle for only one surprise.

Allison burst out laughing and started kicking her feet uncontrollably as we heard, "Aaahhhhh!" and a loud splash from out in the lagoon. This was followed closely by, "Asshole!"

I popped him into the pool with us, drying him off along the way. "Sorry, couldn't resist."

"Try harder," he said, doing his best not to smile too much. Finally he gave it up, shook his head and said, "You're a dick, Matthews! And I hope if I ever have a son he's half the man you are. You took care of Rebecca?"

"No, she's too old for me, and I don't poach. You're taking care of her; I left a double behind so she won't even realize you're gone."

"You can do that?" He shook his head. "Stupid question; hello, Allison, Jimmy said there was a problem? That's never good and one bad enough to pull me in like this worries me. What's up?"

"We're in deep shit," Allison answered. "Thanks for coming, sorry we had to resort to this but Jimmy went to the church and saw Elliott Bastion, a.k.a. Lord Hightower, today."

"I figured he would, it is the reason he went to Vegas after all. What does... ?" he stopped and looked at her for a moment. "You were saying?"

"He found out his secret."

"On the first visit?" Bob asked, surprised.

"He wasn't exactly trying to hide it," I said.

"I don't follow you," Bob said.

"You know that hypnosis thing he does?" Allison asked. Bob nodded and she went on. "I think we already decided he's at least as good as Jimmy?"

"Maybe better," Bob answered.

"He can do it from across a crowded room, without touching his subject or even speaking to them," I said. "Eye contact is all he needs."

He was speechless, staring first at me, then at Allison, and then back and forth as if waiting for one of us to confirm it was a joke.

I held his eye the next time he looked back at me and shook my head slowly back and forth. "I noticed as he was preaching he was making eye contact with pretty much everyone in the room. You remember how Phoebe described it when he looked at her?"

"Like she couldn't breathe?"

"Yeah, the first time he looked at me I felt like I was the only one in the room. The next time he looked at me Jamie freaked and said we needed to get out of there as fast as possible."

"Why?" Bob asked.

"Because he had tried to plant a suggestion and she said if she hadn't been there it might have worked. The next time he looked our way, we switched places and I actually heard him, or a voice anyway, speaking to me, kind of the way Lizzy does when she doesn't want anyone else to know."

His eyes snapped to mine, "I knew you two were up to something! Jimmy, this is astonishing, astounding..."

"Fucking dangerous!" Allison interrupted. "Bob, what would happen if someone like Atkins found out the truth about him, about how he really got out of those murder charges when they thought they had him cold both times? How he got those auditors to rat them out to the judge? What would happen?"

He didn't even hesitate, "No doubt about it, they'd want him under their control, whatever it took, including amnesty for all the charges they have against him."

"If they could catch him," I said.

"Oh, please!" Allison said. "Jimmy, if it wasn't for Jamie spotting the tail they would have gotten you on your first date with Britney. If they hadn't been so damn curious they could have taken you any time they wanted. A dart from a blind corner, a spiked drink, sleep gas into the house to knock everyone out and you're just gone in the morning when everyone wakes up. Hell, if he needs eye contact, a blind guy in the bathroom with a loaded syringe could probably take him"

"She's right," Bob said. "And once they had him all it would take is a little experimentation to discover if his trick worked through things like glass, mirrors, cameras; after that they can easily avoid eye contact. They could use drugs and other remote techniques until they have the control they need; then he becomes a weapon for whoever holds his leash. All they have to do is get him close enough to whomever they need something from, or whoever they want dead."

"That is why you can't tell them, Jimmy," Allison said. "You can't tell them the truth or he gets away with everything and I don't even want to think about what they would use him for after that."

"But it's still over, either way. They can make him stop it all, isn't that what we want? Isn't that... ?" I couldn't even ask the question because I already knew what my answer would be.

Allison asked it anyway. "Enough? Is it Jimmy? Is it enough? Hell no it's not! Not for me, not for you, and no way in hell is enough for those girls! They deserve justice, damn it, not to be brushed under the rug."

Bob's voice was cold, "They wouldn't brush it under the rug. They couldn't take the chance. Besides, after the threat was removed they couldn't possibly keep it under wraps."

"They'd kill them all, wouldn't they?" I asked.

"Kill them? Jimmy, how dare you suggest that our government would even consider being party to something like that." Oh yeah, I know sarcasm when I hear it. He went on, "You remember that buried murder-suicide thing we talked about?"

"You think he'd somehow trigger them all and they'd do it themselves." Allison said. It was a statement, not a question. "Then if it ever came out they could say it was him and they didn't know about it, which technically they don't, but they would before it happened."

"Unless?" Bob asked.

"Unless," I cut in. "Unless it's automatic if anything happens to him. Fuck ... me! I am so screwed." I dropped my head into my hands and stared down at the little orange fish swimming amongst the coral beneath us. My voice got louder as my anger grew until I was practically shouting by the time my head came up and I finished the question. "How the hell am I supposed to stop this guy if when I do, everybody fucking dies?"

Allison stroked her hand up and down my back, "We'll think of something. Meanwhile, are we all agreed that we can't tell Rebecca or Atkins about what Bastion can do?"

"Yeah, got that," I answered. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek.

"Absolutely," Bob said. "The fewer people who know about this the better. Is there anything else?"

"Ooh, someone's in a hurry," Allison cooed. "Must have been getting interesting before Jimmy snatched you away; she's such a lucky girl."

He was too embarrassed to even look at her.

Allison bit her lip to keep from laughing, "Have you guys set a date yet?"

"Oh, right. Jimmy, talk to your sister about how much trouble I'd be in if I announced that before Rebecca did."

"She knows," I assured him. "She's just pulling your chain. Sorry for yanking you away like that."

"No," Bob said. "This was important; you did the right thing, buuuut ... if you don't mind..."

I didn't bother with the door, just sent him away. Then I turned to Allison, "That sounded a lot like a cry for attention."

"She's afraid," Jamie said.

"Allison?"

"Make love to me Jimmy..."

"Told you."

" ... or just be with me tonight. I miss your arms around me when I fall asleep at night." She gave a derisive sort of snorting laugh. "I'm in a safe house surrounded by federal agents and I haven't felt safe all week. I miss you, Jimmy." Her voice began to change as the emotion got thicker, "And I worry about you. I've cried myself to sleep almost every night since you went away. Huddled in my bed, hugging a pillow, praying I'll wake up and you'll be there. Hold me, Jimmy, please. Make me feel safe."

The tears had reached the point where surface tension was no longer enough to hold them in check and one by one they began sliding down her cheeks. I transitioned us to the big bed, with me on my back and Allison spooned to my side with her head on my shoulder. This was the way we usually slept, or at least how we always started out, except this time Jamie was spooned to her back, leaning on one elbow gently stroking Allison's hair from just above her ear all the way down to her shoulder and on down her arm. It was an amazingly intimate contact regardless of how casual it may have looked from the outside. We were all naked of course, but there was nothing even remotely sexual in any of the contact. Suddenly the weight distribution changed and I felt a new body joining us. I glanced down to see that Allison's lower half had rotated away enough for Lizzy to fit between us. Allison still had my shoulder, but Lizzy's head was against her stomach, just below her breasts, her back pressed firmly to my side and her exposed arm draped over Allison's hips, her hand on Jamie's thigh. The bed had grown to accommodate us all comfortably, it was like a giant had reached down, sliced open the mattress and inserted a new piece with Lizzy on it, then sown it all together again.

As I watched the bed grew a little wider and Amber settled in on my other side in a pose mirroring Allison's, except there was no one else between us; just her breasts pressed into my side, her long legs twined with mine, and her arm across my stomach so her hand could touch Lizzy's hair.

"This is my family," I thought to myself. I felt a moment's regret that I didn't think of my parents as part of it but that passed quickly as the realization of the moment deepened. No one spoke, they all just lay there with their eyes closed, piled like puppies around me, secure in the feeling of touching me and each other. I don't know if you could really call it sleeping — Jamie and I at least were both wide awake, but the rest might as well have been asleep as they lay motionless except for the rise and fall of chests as they breathed in and out.

And while they slept, I lay awake watching the shadow shapes of the Vegas dreamscape dance along the walls of the cabana around us. The ghostly images of dreams, nightmares, and memories drifted around me and every now and then one would swim into sharper focus, moving off the wall to take on that extra dimension in the space above the sunken pool. I recognized several of the dreams, I'd seen them before. It was the girls' memories of times with Lord Hightower. Location and action varied but the headless priest from hell was there nonetheless. Each time it appeared my mind filled in the blank for me, and an even more ghostly image of Bastion's face appeared where before there was only empty air.

I had wanted to speak to Rebecca about the woman Boris had told me was behind turning my world upside down, but right now I had more important things to do. As I watched the images moving in silence around me, I looked down at my sister, huddling frightened against my side; my sister, Allison, scared! And I thought to myself, "I know who you are, you bastard, and I'm coming for you."

"We're coming for you," Jamie corrected me. I glanced at her and found here eyes locked to my own. I don't know if the fire in hers shone in mine as well but it didn't matter, it was there nonetheless. I nodded my head and she went back to gently stroking Allison's hair and arm.

Morning seemed to come quickly after that. Did I mention I hate waking up alone? I quickly dressed and headed out for a quick run. When you run as much as I do, you lose it very quickly if you stop for any length of time. It had been less than a week but still I didn't want to push too hard the first day back so I held it to what felt like about five miles. When I got back I went straight to the big pool, took off my shirt, shoes, and socks and slid in for some quick laps. I had also been surprised at how quickly my body had become accustomed to the different muscle usage. After only a couple days I found that I was comfortable swimming for a much longer time. Swimming after a run also cut down on the amount of stretching I needed to do so even though the overall time I spent was longer, a far greater percentage was spent in actual exercise and less on stretching and cooling down. I thought it was a really good trade off. If only we'd had a bigger pool at the house...

I shouldn't have gone there as it just ticked me off and spoiled my mood. Not the best way to start any day, much less the week. I was halfway through my shower when suddenly it all seemed to evaporate and my mood instantly improved.

"You're welcome," Jamie said. "Don't dwell on it; don't thank me, just let it go and move on. We're supposed to be at Tony's office at nine."

Tony's office, as you would expect for a practicing attorney, was downtown near the court building. It was a busy office, but apparently he had described me to his receptionist.

"Good morning, Mr. Malcolm. Mr. Cicarelli is expecting you, right this way please." She took off her headpiece and escorted me to a small conference room. "Please have a seat, Mr. Cicarelli will be with you shortly. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?"

"Water would be fine, thank you," I said, taking a seat. She returned a few moments later with a small pitcher of water and two glasses, then left again. Tony came in a few minutes later with another young man."

"David," he said, reaching for my hand. I stood and shook his hand. "This is Mark Davis..." it was a real struggle not to react to the name," ... he'll be walking you through your basic incorporation paperwork and then I'll review it with you later this afternoon. Don't worry; it will only take a couple hours for the preliminary work. I've got a deposition in about twenty minutes that's going to take me most of the morning so why don't we meet me for lunch at say ... one-thirty. That will give me time to go over everything."

I had to hand it to Tony: He had the incorporation track down pat. There would be a short delay for the legal machine to chug through the motions, but once it had done its thing, everything would be automatic. He even held a bank of post office boxes that he pre-rented to be available for clients as needed. If the client desired, and I did, the bank account would be open and checks ordered within twenty four hours of the final filing; basic stationery printed and ready to go within two more business days, providing of course you didn't have graphics that had to make it past copyright first. I hadn't given any thought to graphics so I held off on stationery.

After discussing it with Tony, I was going with Allison's suggestion and doing it in layers. A parent corporation, ShaMar Enterprises, Inc. would be the umbrella for everything else. I was pretty sure Allison would appreciate the name. David Malcolm would be working for the subsidiary company, Finders Incorporated. It was more expensive to set up this way but it had the benefit of providing extra security for me personally as well as allowing me to branch out into other areas as needed under the parent company. I could even work for different division using other identities if necessary. Kind of like the company James Bond always worked for when he was on assignment: Universal Exports.

Things were going pretty smoothly, we had finished the incorporation paperwork; Mark and Doreen had finished selling me her car and making arrangements to pay off the loan. Tony and Mark and I had just finished lunch, where Tony had spent a great deal of time confirming that Mark had answered all my questions and completed all the documents. We stopped in at the Bellagio where I got enough money out to handle everything we had done so far, plus leave a nice retainer with Tony's office to cover future business, including drawing up a lease for my new office.

Doreen was beside herself when I called and asked if I could lease her husband's old office. With the built-in apartment it was perfect for my needs. When we got back to the office we got started filing my lawsuit against a certain airline. Tony was a little skeptical at first about what I had in mind but once I explained my goals he laughed and assured me this would be a slam dunk. He would have liked to see me ask for more in the way of damages for both myself and Christine but at the same time he liked my approach.

"I have to say, David, you're an impressive young man. You really don't want anything out of this do you?"

"Of course I do," I answered. "I want that asshole pilot to get what's coming to him, but I don't really want to punish the airline just because he's a dick. I only flew with him once but it was a smooth flight, so I assume he's a good pilot, he just needs to learn to behave himself and have a little more respect for the people he works with, and women in general. I don't want to end his career or anything; I just want to teach him a lesson."

"Well, this should do it. It's a win-win situation all around and they'd be nuts not to jump at the offer, but I can't guarantee they won't take it out on him. He could still lose his job."

"I can't help that," I said. "I'm trusting you to make sure they understand it's not my intention that they should fire him, just that they make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Well, like I said, they'd be nuts not to take it," he said. "I'll get the paperwork started; Mark can take your initial statement; we can probably have everything ready to file by tomorrow. You understand that, depending on how they react, we could be with an extended timeline here? It could all go smoothly, or it could get ugly. If everything plays out it could go very quickly, but if it goes the other way ... The minimum amount of time the law allows for depositions is forty-five days from the time we serve notice. If this idiot was as stupid as you say then it's likely to go well. The other members of the flight crew will undoubtedly be called in and questioned; all we need is one of them to corroborate her statement and we're good. Are you sure this is what you want? I'm sure they'll go for it if anyone comes forward but I have to tell you, you could do a lot better."

"Tony, I'm not doing this for the money. I want Christine protected from retaliation and compensated for what he's putting her through. I'm not after his job but if it happens, it happens, and he brought it on himself so I'm certainly not going to lose sleep over it. He stands to lose a lot more if this goes bad so he should consider himself lucky and take it as a relatively inexpensive lesson. Like you said, they'd be nuts not to jump at a settlement like this. Just be sure to pay yourself a decent fee. I know cases like this are usually paid as a percentage of the settlement, but we're not really going for money so ... Does ten thousand sound fair?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, let me think, I'm going to have about six hours work tied up in this tops ... yeah, I think I can live with that. Besides, there's always the chance they'll be stupid and then I can go for the brass ring. You're sure you can produce witnesses willing to testify?"

"At least two members of the flight crew," I assured him. "Maybe even some passengers but I'd need more information from Christine to be sure."

"Slam dunk," he said. "I'll send Mark in to take your statement."

By three o'clock I was through with my statement and so far it had been a really good day. I should have known better. Have you ever noticed that when things go wrong, they tend to do it all at once? I think the old expression is, "When it rains, it pours?" I have found this to be especially true in my life.

I was about half way through my interview with Mark when my phone rang; it was Rod.

"Hampton's gone."

I was stunned, speechless; it was like I was suddenly in a bubble somewhere. The first sound I remember hearing was my own heartbeat and I couldn't swear that it wasn't just starting up again.

"What?" I asked. "What did you ... hold on a second. Mark, I need to take this call, is there somewhere I can speak privately?"

"No problem," he said. "Just dial zero when you're ready and Janelle will let me know. Take as much time as you need." He gathered up all the paperwork quickly and efficiently, placing everything neatly in a folder as he went, and left quickly, making sure the door closed securely behind him.

I turned my attention back to Rod. "Go to sleep, Rod." I broke the connection, settled myself comfortably and waited until I felt Rod slip into a dream state, then closed my eyes and went to see him, leaving Jamie behind to handle things if anyone should happen to come in.

I skipped the pleasantries as I walked into Rod's office, "What do you mean Rebecca is gone?"

"English suddenly your second language?" he demanded. "She's gone; he's got her."

I just stood there wanting him to take it back. I think he misunderstood my expression as he realized how it had come out. Before he could apologize I waved him off. "It's okay, Rod, I understand. Are you sure it was him? I mean, how could he... ? Tell me this wasn't like Henslith, he didn't..."

He cut me off, "Yes, I'm sure it was him, and no, he didn't kill anyone that we know of. Jimmy, she went to him."

"What!?" I exclaimed. "Rod, that can't be right. No way in hell does she walk into..."

"He's got Amy."

That stopped me mid-rant. That changed everything.

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. "That would do it? How do you know all this?"

"She left me a note, two actually, on the blotter on her desk. The first one said that he had Amy and I should check on the hospital staff. The second one was just two words, 'Find Jimmy.'"

"So she went to him counting on me to pull out another miracle and save her?" I asked.

"Looks that way. Any chance that's actually going to happen? Are you even anywhere close enough to help?"

"Vegas. How long does it take to drive back?"

"Oh, I thought you were still back east setting up Angela's future. She left this morning by the way."

"Did that last week, I'm working on that other problem we're not talking about. Thanks for getting her out of there on such short notice. How did he get Amy?"

"Details are sketchy on that. There was an empty CD case on Hampton's desk. The disk was still in her computer, looks like whatever was on it erased itself as it went, or after it was over, we're not sure. Paul is trying to recover it now. I called the hospital and confirmed Amy was missing. The good news is everyone else is okay. He appears to have rigged something to the air conditioning system to knock everybody out. In any other hospital, people probably would have died just from that, but since these were all coma patients they weren't really affected, other than maybe getting their baths and breakfast late, there just aren't critical activities going on all the time like in a regular hospital. The most serious injuries were two nurses who injured themselves falling, but it was all superficial stuff, just scrapes and bruises.

"He locked the doors and jammed the locks on his way out -- interesting stuff, kind of like epoxy on a stick. Whatever it was he just jammed it into the lock and, from what we can tell, snapped it off. Somehow that motion triggered a chemical reaction. The stuff then filled up the lock cylinder and solidified. According to the monitors, this happened about 3:00 AM. Right in the middle of the quietest and least staffed shift. The gas itself wouldn't have lasted long, but he injected them with something that kept them out the rest of the night. It appears he only injected the staff, not any of the patients. Not surprising really, considering the odds were against one of them picking that moment to wake up and cause a fuss. The first anyone knew of anything being wrong was when two delivery drivers arrived just after six AM. One of them had been delivering to the facility for seven years and never found the door locked. When he tried to call and no one answered he contacted the local sheriff's office.

"Deputies were dispatched and it soon became apparent that something was seriously wrong. There wasn't a single lock on the building you could even get a key into, let alone open. All of the doors and windows were made with wire reinforced safety glass so they couldn't even break in. Eventually they called the fire department in and had them break the glass out of a set of double doors, that got them in, and that's when the shit really hit the fan. They found the first body just around the corner from the door they had broken in through. Naturally, the first reaction was that they were dead, but they quickly discovered that wasn't the case. Emergency numbers had long since been called and supervisory personnel were already on scene so they got right to work on their people. By the time they figured out Amy was missing, and long before they got around to trying to call Rebecca, she was probably already watching the video.

"None of the agents with Rebecca reported seeing the disk, and there was no record of a delivery made to her here, so we don't know how or where he got it to her. Once she was safely inside our office, her tail didn't think twice about her. Shortly after she got here, she made a comment that she needed to get something out of her car and that's the last anyone saw of her.

"Her car was found in a downtown parking garage about an hour ago." He turned his computer toward me and as he spoke a video started playing. "It was parked without a permit and they were just about to tow it when the tow truck driver spotted Rebecca's business card on the dash and called us. We got a team over there right away and started tearing the place apart. Surveillance video in the garage shows her parking the car, and then getting out while still talking on her cell phone. She then stepped to the trunk, took off her windbreaker and gun, took the clip out and dropped them both into the trunk. She opened her shirt and turned in a circle to show she had no hidden weapons or wires. She then buttoned her shirt, dropped both of her cell phones and her keys into the trunk, used her own handcuffs to secure her hands behind her back, and used her shoulder to close the trunk. She then stood facing the wall until the camera was blocked by a white van driven by a man in a long sleeved shirt and wearing a ball cap. The driver got out, walked around the van and was there for maybe a minute before getting back in and driving off. When the van left, she was gone.

"Now you know everything we do," he finally said.

As he was speaking the images he mentioned replayed around us.

"Well the height, hair, and general build are definitely right for our guy," I said. "The van looks like the same one he used before but without the ladder rack and conduit tube on top. Anything else?

"Yes, we're pretty sure we've got the ambulance he used to take Amy. Cocky bastard dumped it in a restaurant parking lot less than a mile from my office. It was stolen from a hospital in Arizona last week and the graphics modified to change the appearance. One of our local EMTs called it in as suspicious because of the Arizona plates and the fact that there were no other drivers inside the restaurant.

"Jimmy, tell me straight, can you find her?"

I looked him in the eye and said firmly, "Yes."

"What if he's got her drugged, like Henslith?"

I shook my head, "Rod, he's just made the mistake we've been waiting for; possibly the biggest mistake of his life, and I'm going to make him pay for it. Finding her is not the issue. The issue is what to do when I do find her. I can't just send you and the SWAT team in after her. He had the last house wired, so we have to assume he'll do something similar this time, and he'd rather die than allow himself to be captured."

"You're sure about that?" he asked.

I gave him one of Allison's looks and answered, "Yeah, and he'd do his absolute best to take as many of you with him as he could."

"So what do you recommend?" He asked.

I didn't answer, just held his eye with mine when he looked at me. After a few seconds he shook his head, "Shit. Jimmy, I can't let you do that."

"I'm open to suggestions," I said. "All you need is a way to find him, then get past whatever surveillance he has set up, get in close enough to take him out before he can kill both women and duck out whatever rat hole he has set up this time. Oh, and try to keep him from blowing the whole place up on his way out, again."

"And you can do all that?"

"Pretty sure, yeah. It's either that or I have to do it the hard way."

"Do I want to ask?"

"Walk up and knock on his door." I said.

"And that would work?"

"We've spent weeks convincing him that I'm nobody important," I said. "If I show up now I'm pretty sure it will pique his curiosity, especially if I tell him I got Angela out before the house blew up."

"You think he'll believe you?" He asked.

"He's got Rebecca there to verify the story, assuming he didn't get it out of Henslith already. I think he'll be interested. If not I could always tell him I've got six million dollars of his money, that should at least buy me a ticket for the full ride."

"Jimmy," he said gravely. "That's not a ride you want to be on."

"True, but it's not a ride he's going to want me on either, he just won't know that until it's too late."

"You're that sure you can pull this off?"

"No," I answered honestly. "But I'll make sure you know where we are before it's too late. All I ask is that you give me a chance and, if it works, get me out without anyone knowing I was there, and if it doesn't, make damn sure he doesn't get away this time. All I care about is that it ends here. I'm going to need to put a few things in order here before I come back. If this all goes wrong, go see Allison, she'll have information for you. Some of it you'll need to pass on to Atkins, some of it you'll have to figure out what to do with when you see it."

"Sounds serious."

"You have no idea," I said. "Personally I hope to keep it that way. I need a place to go when I get there." He gave me the address to a safe house and the code to the lock box. "Thanks." I paused and held his eye. "Rod, I'm going to get her back."

"Or die trying?" he asked.

"No," I said. "Too many other people are counting on me to let that happen." I hoped I sounded more convinced to him than I did to myself.

Rebecca

It was one of those mornings. I had been waiting all night for Jimmy to tell me what the hell was going on that he needed me to run background checks on a Sunday. He'd made it plain that something was wrong; wrong enough that he couldn't talk to me about it on the phone. Considering he had used his secure phone to call my secure phone that was a serious conversation waiting to happen. I figured out that at least part of the reason was that the attorney he wanted checked out was there with him, but there had to be more too it. Factor in that his ultimate goal for the trip was to check up on a guy the FBI couldn't even touch and yeah, I was concerned.

Bob and I had spent a wonderful night together, only the second time we'd had since I had been placed under house arrest, but in the back of my mind I had been expecting Jimmy to call at any time. He had called actually, but he had called Bob instead of me, and then he didn't even do anything. It's amazing how dreams mirror life so often. Naturally it had been the worst possible time to call, and I had to give the kid credit for discretion. Considering what had happened the last time, I was glad he called instead of just showing up or pulling us to wherever he was. From the side of the conversation I heard Bob had made it clear to him that his timing sucked and then the whole thing just went away, like it wasn't that important, but I knew something had happened during the day. It was frustrating. Well, not right away, but later when I had time to think about it. Wondering if I should be worried had worried me all through my morning workout — I couldn't go out and run but the house was well equipped, with a treadmill, Stairmaster, stationary bike, free weights; I was starting to have a real thing for the Bowflex machine and considering checking into one. Still, I was more than a little distracted getting ready for work, but I resisted the temptation to call Jimmy and ask what was going on.

All things considered I probably shouldn't have been, but you can imagine how surprised I was when I opened my car door and found a compact disc laying in the driver's seat. It was in one of those ultra-slim cases, no label, just the disc itself. A closer look identified it as a recordable DVD. The post-it stuck to the top of it didn't make me feel any better: "Watch Me Alone!" Alone was underlined twice. Shit.

I had a brief flashback to the time Jimmy had taken me into the killer's dream to watch the memories of Amanda Watkins' and Maria Pena's deaths. He had made a copy for me to look at later in my own dream. Yes, I know how weird that sounds. The problem was my dream mirrored my reality, and my DVD player wouldn't play a recordable disk. Neither would my home computer. It had been my first real experience in trying to move around on my own in a dream. Actually I guess it's more like getting my dream to change to the place I wanted to be. Getting to my office had been a real adventure because my experience in getting to my office was a very linear series of events. Jimmy could have just created the whole thing in less than an eye-blink, but I didn't have the necessary experience to do it the easy way. It had ended with me shooting holes in my office door because I'd forgotten to bring my keys along. So now, here I was, nine months later, living the reality. Irony squared. Whatever the bastard wanted me to see, he was going to have to wait until I got to the office. But given the circumstances, I don't think he really expected me to take it back inside and hand it over to the security team either. Something told me this was going to be a long fucking day.

My escort assumed his usual position a few cars back in traffic and we made the morning commute without incident. The entire way there my mind was making up different versions of what might be on the DVD. My favorite was the one where he decides he can't live with what he's done any longer, swallows the barrel of a shotgun and repaints the ceiling in an abstract pattern of red and gray with little flecks of white here and there to break up the pattern. Hey, a girl can dream, can't she? Even if I knew it wasn't possible, after all, the DVD made it to my car and that wasn't an easy thing to do. It did confirm that he knew where I was, though. Of course, considering I'd been driving back and forth from the safe house to the office rather than my apartment, Ray Charles could have found me. We weren't trying to hide me, just keep me safe. So how's that working for you, Bex?

My least favorite version of the DVD was a home movie of him raping and torturing my partner. That image had been keeping me up nights already; I sure as hell didn't want to see the reality and compare how close my version was. As I drove I tucked the disk under my vest so no one would notice it entering the building. That's not as easy as it sounds considering I was wearing a dress shirt over the top of it. Thank God for Catholic High School field trips. Sylvia and I could both change clothes in a moving bus under heavy winter coats, without the Sisters even noticing. I was a little out of practice but my shirt was tucked neatly in again before I pulled into the parking garage. I took the vest off when I got to my office. Don't go there; I wear a t-shirt and a bra under the vest. Not that that stopped the catcalls from my coworkers when I started peeling off layers in my glass-walled cubicle. Every once in a while I have this nearly overwhelming urge to flash someone. So far nearly is as close as it's gotten.

I couldn't just pop in the disk without attracting attention, and if he'd wanted everyone to see it I'm sure he would have had it delivered to the office like he usually did; probably wouldn't have bothered with the note either. So, in a truly dazzling display of patience, I went through my normal morning routine; coffee, email -- coffee first of course, there were no new voice mails. I stashed the disk in the top drawer and headed off to morning briefing to find out what glorious distractions Rod had prepared for us kids today. There was nothing that required my immediate attention so I refilled my coffee and headed back to my cubicle.

It was video, which didn't surprise me, why waste a DVD on still shots? It opened with images of the interior of a hospital with everyone going about their various tasks. There didn't seem to be lot of them so I assumed it was either night time or a very slow shift. The scene shifted and there were bodies all over the place. Slumped at desks, lying on the floor, some hanging out of their chairs. Then several cameras tracked a man in dark pants, a blue long-sleeved work shirt and baseball cap, carrying a small case, walking through the area wearing a gas mask. My heart was already beating fast when he opened the case and took out several vials and a handful of syringes. Moving quickly and methodically he began injecting everyone with whatever was in the vials. This was actually a good sign, obviously the gas wasn't lethal, and if he'd wanted them dead it just as easily could have been. No, he didn't want them dead; he wanted them out of the way. Again the video jumped around, tracking his movements from several different angles as he systematically sedated the staff. Something was tugging at my attention as he moved around but I couldn't put my finger on it. Finally he took off his gas mask and, surprise; it was our old friend Kenneth Riley, aka Kienen Rietz, aka; the Sandman. I'm not sure what it was that did it, but suddenly I knew where he was and I could feel tears welling up.

"You bastard!" I whispered. "How could even you stoop so low?" I figured I already knew where this was going so I grabbed a pencil out of my desk drawer and scribbled two quick notes for Rod.

He disappeared into one of the rooms and when he came out he was pushing a bed with an unconscious woman on it. He paused in front of the camera just long enough for me to confirm that it was Amy. Then the video faded and words appeared:

"A message was sent as soon as you started watching this video, answer your phone."

And just like that, my cell phone rang.

"Do not turn off your phone. You are to leave your office and get in your car. Take the stairs; I don't want you stopping at every other floor. If you run into anyone, try to keep the conversation short, I don't have all day."

"The elevator opens into my office; it will look suspicious if I try to take the stairs. I'll take it down until it stops, and if anyone else tries to get on I'll get off and take the stairs the rest of the way."

"Fine, I want to see you pulling out of the parking garage in three minutes, no more."

I tore the top sheet off of my blotter, folded my two notes, one inside the other, wrote Rod's name across the outside note and headed for the door. This was it, crunch time. I was putting my life, and my sister's, in Jimmy's hands. Even though he hadn't been able to find Henslith, I was counting on him to find me and get me back. It was startling to realize that sometime over the last year I had made the mental decision that I would trust him with my life, and I couldn't even tell you when it had happened. I suspected it was a very recent change — less than a week old in fact. I had trusted him for a long time; trusted him to do the right thing, trusted the information he provided. But this ... this was a whole different level, this was the kind of trust that, since Michael had died, I had only put in Rod, because I knew that he would do whatever it took and damn the consequences. But Rod couldn't help me with this. Any help he could provide would have to be given to Jimmy, because this was his show.

I knew in my soul that Jimmy would die for me. He wouldn't casually throw his life away for me — just the opposite in fact, if it came to it that I expected he would sell it dearly and for a very high price, but if it came down to saving me, really saving me, making me safe again, or dying, he wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice himself to save me. He and Rod were alike in that regard, but there was one critical difference, and that difference was Amy. Amy was the reason I would trust Jimmy more, because he would ultimately do what he knew, not thought, but knew I would want him to do. If it came down to saving me or saving Amy then I was in deep shit, because Jimmy knew that I would never forgive either of us if he saved me instead of her. Rod would save me and worry about the consequences later.

I had no illusions as I locked my door and headed for the elevator.

My tail called me from across the room, "Where you going, Bex?"

"I just gotta get something out of my car, be right back."

He nodded to me as I made the elevator and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Rod was going to hand him his ass on a plate for this. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as the doors closed and the elevator descended.



-------

Chapter 71: Into the Fire


When I woke up this morning I had a short list of things to do: see Tony about the corporate filing and Christine's sexual harassment suit; farther down the list was talking to Rod and Rebecca about someone called The Black Queen -- who she was and why she might be interested in me. I had put that conversation off because I knew Rebecca would want to know about what I had learned at the church and why I had needed a background check on Tony on a Sunday. I had confirmed during the conversation that something was wrong and that it was something I couldn't discuss on the phone, not even my phone, but then it turned out that I couldn't tell her anyway and I had blown the whole thing off to spend the night with the girls.

Now suddenly time was my enemy.

Rebecca was drugged; I had no doubt of that. As soon as Rod had started showing me the images, heck even before that, as soon as he had called I had 'felt' for her and she wasn't there. My first thought on seeing the video of her being taken was that I should have confided in her. If I had told her the truth I might already know where she is. All she would have had to do was call out to me and I would have known something was wrong.

"Jimmy, you don't know that," Jamie said. "She's not Amber or Lizzy or Allison. We're friends but I don't know that we've given her whatever it is we gave them, whatever piece of ourselves, of you really, that's necessary for that to work."

"We could have tried," I said. "I could have trusted her more."

I was pacing the conference room in Tony's office trying to decide whether I should finish up here first or head straight back to LA.

"Stop for a second," she said. "Just sit down and breathe, you're not thinking clearly."

I guess I didn't sit fast enough, because she suddenly took control and sat us down, then faded back again.

"You're reacting, Jimmy, letting your emotions get in the way. This is why Rebecca taught you to compartmentalize. You need to set all that aside so you can concentrate on what needs to be done. Think about who it is we're going after; we can't afford to be distracted. Now, first things first, she didn't want you to trust her more. She didn't want to know more about what you could do because the more she knew the more of a danger she became to you. So stop with the self-recriminations. Second, she's sedated or we'd already know where she is, so we have time. Then there's the depressing part. Jimmy, we can talk all the shit we want but there is a damn good chance we're not coming back. God, I can't believe I'm the one thinking logically here, it is so not me. There are other people counting on us. Our family needs to be taken care of. I don't know about you, but I'm not planning on telling them we're going in."

"No, me neither, they'd just worry. Except Lizzy of course, we can't possibly hide it from her and I don't want her to come looking for us while we're busy." I took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm good, thanks for the kick in the ass. Walter!"

"My Lord?" he answered. "I was just about to call you. Yuri Khvlek, the one you call Boris, is dead."

"He's what?" I said.

"Dead, my Lord. As I said I was about to summon you. Someone came to his hospital room a short while ago and injected something into the fluid bag attached to his arm. Shortly after that he ... crashed I think is the term the doctor used, and they were unable to revive him."

"Did you get a look ... never mind, I'll deal with that later, right now I need you here." I pulled him to me and he was already kneeling when he appeared.

"Forgive me, My Lord, I have failed you."

"Get up Walter; we don't have time for this. I need you to find someone." I pulled up the image of Amy from the hospital surveillance camera. "This is Rebecca's sister Amy..." Then an image of a much younger Amy in her white dress " ... this is how she appears here. She's in a coma but seems to move pretty freely around this realm; we suspect she has actually been using my power to do it, but we're not sure. In either case, I need you to find her because if she figures out what is going on she may try to avoid me. This is critical Walter, Rebecca has been taken by the same man that took Angela, but for now at least she is drugged and I can't locate her. My only chance of getting to her before he starts hurting her is through Amy. Go."

Time to get to work. I picked up the phone and called Janelle, Tony's receptionist. "Hi Janelle, it's David Malcolm, could you send Mark back in please, and please tell Mr. Cicarelli that I need to see him as soon as he's free. Please tell him it's urgent. Thank you."

It didn't take long to finish up with Mark. Tony was more than a little surprised at the change in me when he came in. "Must have been some phone call," he said when he saw me.

"Yeah, it was. Tony, something has come up and I'm going to need to leave. In the event I don't come back there are some things I need you to take care of for me..."

Five hours later I was on a private jet to LAX hoping hard that Tony was everything he seemed to be. If not, if he read the information I left him instead of just forwarding it ... Of course if I didn't survive this little adventure it wasn't going to matter. There was one more thing I needed to do.

Fortunately the FBI was spending our tax dollars well; the seats on this plane were almost as comfortable as my mom's old rocker-recliner. Rod had arranged for my transport to LAX. A car and anything else I needed would be provided when I arrived. I had to give them credit, the bureau doesn't mess around. One look at my driver's license and the local agent that had met me at the airport didn't even ask. A couple flashes of the badge later I was escorted to a private hanger with a jet already warming up out front. Five minutes later I was in a long turn westward relaxing into my seat and trying to ignore the money being spent to carry one sixteen year old kid four hundred miles. But considering what was at stake I considered it money well spent. Driving would have taken a lot longer even if Rod told the cops I was coming and they left me alone. It's not like you can do triple digits all the way to the beach even with a get out of jail free card. We are talking about Southern California after all, and sooner or later, traffic evens it all out.

Before the plane even leveled off I was asleep, or as asleep as I ever am — Jamie would keep an eye on things in case there was actually someone on the plane besides the pilot and they had a question. Or if Rod called, you never know. Lizzy was out introducing Amber to the crowd. Fortunately the time difference made it later there and gave them an excuse to leave when I called. It was an abrupt exit to be sure and more than a few heads turned following them to the door. As usual, Lizzy, could tell something was wrong so as soon as she was in the cab she put herself out and came to meet me, instructing Amber before she left to watch and wake her if anything came up or when they got close to the school.

"Jimmy, what's wrong?"

"I'll get to that, tell me about meeting Amber."

She let the scene play out as she told me about it. Amber's plane had landed midmorning and after the initial delay getting her luggage and the long cab ride, she finally arrived around two in the afternoon. Lizzy was in class for another hour but she had already arranged things for Amber. It had been a rush to get things ready between classes but she had pulled it off. The package I had sent her was waiting at the student services office and she had taken it directly to her room, selected a few items, wrapped them up in a box with a sheet of directions and set the package in the middle of Amber's bed.

The next part was her imagination filling in the blanks based on how things turned out.

Amber had arrived and been escorted to her room just like any other student, except most new students don't have presents waiting for them. She was shocked to find the package but took it in stride, assuming correctly that it had been left by her new master. Her instructions were very specific; she was to unpack and put her things away and then strip down to her underwear, it was to be a matching set of bra and thong only, lace trimmed, or else she must be naked. She was to don the waist chain, the black leather collar, and put on the blindfold. She was then to kneel in the center of her bed with her hands cuffed behind her and wait. The last instruction on the page was that she was not to lock the door.

"Jimmy, you would have been so proud of her. She didn't even ask who it was when I opened the door, she just knelt patiently with her back straight and her eyes averted, even though she was blindfolded. I could see she was nervous but at the same time she just radiated pride and love. God I just wanted to jump her right there."

"No doubt," I said. "So then what happened? Did you announce yourself or play with her a little first?"

"Don't be silly," she said. "I played with her a lot; brushing her lightly with my hands, kissing her here and there. She loved it. She didn't have matching undies so she was naked except for the blindfold and chain, which is absolutely beautiful by the way; I just love the little cat on the end. Oh, and the collar, of course. I sucked on her nipples and let her suck on my finger and she was so wet it was running down her leg before I even touched her below the waist. I got her off twice before I let her know I was a girl. Of course, she may have figured it out by the kiss. Heck, she could probably smell me; the place just reeked of hot pussy. Finally, I took off my clothes and moved her so she was lying across the bed with her head back over the side and her mouth open. I figured that position would raise doubts even if she had figured out I was a girl and she would be expecting a cock right up to the moment I sat on her face. She didn't even flinch though, just moaned and started eating me. I was so hot I came in seconds and then I had her sit up again. I unlocked the cuffs and she just moved her hands to the front and laid them in her lap, waiting. I knelt on the bed in front of her and told her to take off the blindfold.

"The look on her face when she saw it was me was indescribable. Oh, Jimmy, if she didn't love you before ... I could see her trying to hold back, but the tears just flowed and, oh god, mine were right behind them. Then I reached and pulled off her collar and she flew into my arms and cried and laughed and kissed me and oh my god, I was so not looking forward to practice. I'm glad the shorts are baggy because panties were out of the question. She came to practice with me, sitting up in the bleachers watching me run my ass off. She had her collar on but no one gave it a second look until we got to Frankie's."

Frankie's was the restaurant / bar / pizza place where I had met her, and according to Lizzy you could have heard a pin splash into a puddle of spilled beer when she walked in holding Amber's leash. Then the whispering and the stares began. Richard was dumbfounded. Carol could hardly speak, and excused herself to the ladies room a few minutes later. Apparently she wasn't the only one; Lizzy had it on good authority that there was a line in both restrooms.

"Okay, you're caught up, now what's wrong?"

"I'm on a plane to LA to go after the Sandman. Lizzy, he took Amy for bait and now he's got Rebecca."

"He took Amy? That no good, chicken-shit-son-of-a-bitch-bastard!" She swore, then she took a deep breath and said, "Well, he's fucked now! There is no way in hell he can hide from you now. He'll have Rebecca drugged, but you're going to use Amy to find him aren't you?"

"I'm going to try," I said. "I'm not sure it will work, but I have Walter looking for her anyway. I'm going to try to wake her up and follow her back to her body. She may not be too happy with the idea, but her body responded that night Rebecca showed up in the same dream. If I have to I'll force them together and see if that is enough."

"Jimmy, it could kill her."

"We don't know that, and right now it's the only shot I have at locating Rebecca before the Sandman starts hurting her. I don't have weeks to track her like I had with Angela. If he knows about the money it's going to get ugly fast."

"Rebecca will never forgive you if..."

"I know, and if I find her and I have to choose, I'll save Amy, but if I can't find her they're both dead anyway so I have to try."

"What do you mean? Rebecca wouldn't have gone to him unless he promised not to hurt Amy."

"True, very true, but when we first met, back when Amy first recruited me for this whole adventure, she told me that without my help Rebecca would die and that without Rebecca she couldn't recover. So if I do nothing they both die and if I can only save one, she lives but never recovers. That's not what I consider an improvement, but, if I can pull it off, they both live."

"Do you really think you'll need Walter?"

"I don't know. Amy will do anything for her big sister, but at the same time, in this world anyway, she's an eight year old girl looking at the possibility of pain and death, it's hard to say."

"I love you," she said. "What can I do?"

"That's it really. Whatever happens, that's enough. I don't need to tell you beyond that. I know you'll take care of Amber either way. Be there for Allison if you can. There is some information I need to leave with you just in case. Rod will make sure you're notified if things go wrong and if that happens then the information I'm planting will move to where you can reach it. If that happens, then I want you to walk away from the rest."

"Jimmy, how can you say that? Walk away from Samantha and those other poor girls? How can you even..."

I cut her off. "Lizzy, you can't help them. You can't even be near them in a dream; to meet one in person would be just that much worse. Just try to protect Allison, because she won't walk away no matter what I say. She'll tell you the important stuff; maybe your gift will be able to help her save some of the girls. If it can, then I'd relocate them as quickly as possible, preferably out of the country but at least out of the state. If it becomes clear that you can't save them then Allison will know what needs to be done. Hopefully it won't come to that, but I don't know if anyone else will be willing to do what it takes to stop it."

"They'd have to die, wouldn't they?"

I took a deep breath and nodded. "We think Hightower has a suicide command implanted in all of them. Murder-suicide in the case of the adults; kill the kids and then kill themselves. On top of that, we suspect that if anything happens to Hightower himself they will all kill themselves. What I am hoping is that if you can somehow get the girls away you can find a way to cancel the suicide command. But it's tricky. We think the command may trigger from other causes as well. After the incident with the girl going to the police there may be an inhibition about law enforcement or a command to kill themselves if they are taken and the truth discovered. It would be tricky because you wouldn't want them to suicide because they got caught shoplifting or something, but based on what I've seen, I'm pretty sure he could pull it off. Anyway, if you can't ... disarm them for lack of a better term, then someone has to kill Bastion, and if we're right then they will all die and it ends here. Either way it will end, it's just a matter of how much blood gets spilled in the process."

"You're sure that's how it has to be?"

"No, but based on what we know about him and his abilities, it seems very likely. The only way to be sure is to test it, and if I survive this mess, I plan to find out soon, but for now ... if you can't save them then the only option is to stop it from spreading any further. It's a brutal and cold hearted solution I know but..."

"No," she interrupted. "I think if you gave those girls a choice they would accept death to keep it from happening to anyone else."

While we had been talking, Jamie had quietly moved over and inserted a bubble into Lizzy's subconscious. When she was done with Lizzy it was a short trip across the seat to do the same thing with Amber. You had to be really careful with Lizzy because she always seemed to know when you were doing something, but Jamie assured me she wouldn't detect this one. If anything went wrong each of them would have half of the password needed to access the Swiss account. My biggest regret with my decision was that if everything went to hell I wouldn't have said goodbye to Amber or Allison.

My next step would be to try and get Amy to help me, but I didn't dare even try it until I was on the ground in LA. Even then I couldn't risk it until Walter found her for me. That way if she ran I would be able to catch her. I think I loved her as much like a daughter as it was possible for a sixteen year old with no children to do, and I was really hoping I wouldn't have to do this the hard way, but in my mind I knew that she was a twenty-two year old woman and in the end it was long past time she faced that fact. I suspected that getting her to face that fact was the key to pulling this off.

"Sir," the pilot's voice came over the cabin speaker. "We're beginning our descent; please fasten your seat belt."

It turned out I didn't need the address Rod had given me; he was waiting for me when we landed. He was already briefing me as I shook his hand and he walked me towards the car. "I've got this car set up especially for you on this. It's got a tracker on it that's programmable to go off when you tell it to. The idea is that you're not broadcasting a signal when you arrive, but you can set it to go off in say, an hour after you leave the car unless you shut it off. That way if you get into trouble we know where to send the marines. And just so you're clear, I expect you to use it. Before we do anything else, there's a box of latex gloves in the glove box. Do me a favor and put a pair on. Then wipe down everything you've touched so far with the cloth in the zip-loc bag. It's got a solvent on it that's designed to break down the oil your prints are made of. Don't throw the gloves away when you're done with them, find a quiet place and burn them. Otherwise your fingerprints are going to be on the inside surface."

"What about the plane?" I asked.

"People already know that we transported David Malcolm from Vegas to LA. I'm having a friend of mine put your prints into his file so from now on, if you leave prints, it's not as Jimmy Matthews but as David Malcolm. So if you ever use your real name and ID for anything, make sure it's not for anything that requires fingerprint verification." He paused before continuing. "There is a nine millimeter in a steel case in the trunk if you want it."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "He'll never let me near him with a gun. You saw what he put Rebecca through before he took her. Not to mention that he's a trained killer and I'm not. If he sees a gun, he's likely to just kill me and eliminate any possibility of my being a threat. Even if he doesn't kill me on sight, he's a hell of a lot better than me; it would be a miracle for me to get a shot at him. If I need the gun I'm already screwed, so why bother?"

"You have no idea how long it takes to teach people to see a gun as a liability. There are a couple other little items in there you may find useful, though, so check them out before you go walking into trouble. Okay, there are no monitors of any kind on this unit except the one. I've got it set for sixty minutes. Is that enough time?"

"Probably, but what's the maximum?"

"It's digital; you can set it up to go off next week if you want."

"Can it be disabled once it's activated?"

"Yes, but it's complicated. The idea was that we didn't want the bad guys to be able to do it."

"Better make it two hours. I don't know how long it's going to take to get in once I find him." Even as I was speaking Walter was crossing the parking lot towards me on all fours. The human form makes it easier for some things, but he still prefers his natural form whenever possible. Seeing that I was busy, he nodded his head once and then sat down to wait.

I returned my attention to Rod just as he was asking, "You're sure you're going to able to find her?"

"Considering the alternative is explaining to your wife why the wedding is off I damn well better."

He had to chuckle at that but then he turned serious again. "You've got your phone; keep in touch and I'll stay close in case you need backup in a hurry. I've got Freeman standing by with a tactical unit, let me know when you're sure and I'll bring them close enough to establish a perimeter."

"No. He's too fond of cameras and he's too damn good with electronics. I'm sure he's got surveillance mounted around wherever he is, not to mention he's probably tapped into the traffic cameras. If he sees you mobilizing in the area he's likely to panic and kill everyone. Wait until the homing signal goes off, if I haven't got it under control by then, then I'm probably dead and it's just a matter of making sure he doesn't get out."

"Damn, kid, you don't miss a trick. Okay, we'll hold back until the homer goes off, but then we're coming in locked and loaded so make damn sure you announce yourself before you come out again. There is a freeway map in the glove box and Thomas Guides in the back seat for LA, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties."

"Okay, I'm not sure how much good they will do me for this, but you never know. One more thing," I said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"You need to have an ambulance standing by for Amy."

He nodded his head and then extended his hand towards me, "Good luck, Jim ... er ... David. See you on the other side. Oh, and speaking of that, if this works out, you're going to be getting a large check from a guy named Rico Girard."

"Sylvia's husband?"

"Yeah, how did you know about him?"

"Rebecca mentioned him earlier this year, and Amy was talking about Sylvia spending the night when she was little and how she and Rebecca would always wake up her dad giggling all night. Why am I getting a large check from him?"

"Because he hired David Malcolm to find Amy when she was kidnapped from one of his hospitals. Plus he's had a hundred grand sitting in a reward account for Amanda Watkins' killer. I called him after Rebecca disappeared and told him what was going on. I wanted you to have credit for finding them. I figured it would do wonders for the credibility of your new company."

I could see pluses and minuses to the whole thing but I really didn't have time to think about it right now. "Okay, and while we're on the subject of what happens later, you need to know that I've already made worst case plans. If I don't make it, contact Anthony Cicarelli, he's an attorney in Vegas, and then contact Amber and let her know what's happened. She'll know what to do from there. Now forget I said any of that because this is going to work."

"Got it; what about your family?"

"Do what you have to do officially but Amber will be taking care of them either way. By the way, have you told Bob she's gone?"

"No, not yet."

"Good. Don't. With a little luck we won't have to." I took a deep breath and then reached for his hand again. "Okay, I'm out of here. Thanks for everything. I'll keep you posted on what I'm doing as best I can."

Rod reset the timer on the tracking unit, all I had to do was flip the switch on my way out and wait for him to show up. Hopefully I would be done with my part and gone long before it activated.

"Don't shed on the seats," I said as I held the door for Walter. I slid in behind him and we drove off into the night. A quick left put us on the 405 freeway heading south. I got off at the next exit and found a quiet spot in the back parking lot of a one of the local hotels, parked and got to work.

"You found her?"

"Yes, my Lord. I am with her now, she knows something has happened to her sister and she is very afraid. I told her I would bring you as soon as I could."

"So she knew you were coming?"

Something in his voice told me he was feeling less than his usual nightmare self. He almost seemed embarrassed. "No, I do not believe so. But she was ... happy to see me."

"Little girls and puppies," I said with a smile. Through the fur it was hard to see if he was actually blushing but something about the way he dropped his head. "I'm glad you could be there for her. I hope she didn't get you too soggy."

"It was my honor, my Lord."

"Yes, she's a very special girl, our Amy. Take me to her."

The scene blurred and I was in a broad meadow filled with flowers. In the middle of the field stood a single large tree, its branches spread out into a wide canopy, providing the only shade in sight. Not that it was hot or anything, but it was a nice touch. From a distance it must have looked like someone had dropped a big green umbrella and it had stuck there. Under the tree were two figures, the larger one laying stoically as the smaller one cuddled to his side and pet his coarse fur. Not far away was a little kid's rocking chair and it reminded me of that first weekend after we met: I had asked her what she did while Rebecca read to her, and she replied that she just sat in a little chair under a tree and listened. I saw Walter's head move, and guessed he had pointed me out because suddenly Amy was up and running toward me.

Without a word I scooped her up and held her as she cried on my shoulder. She didn't cry long, and I set her down as soon as she started to pull away.

"Jimmy, I'm scared."

"I know sweetie," I said, taking her hand and walking back into the shade. I sat down on the cool grass and Amy returned to Walter's side. "Amy, I'm going to need your help to find Rebecca."

"What?" She said, alarmed. "Jimmy, you know I can't ... Last time..."

"Yes, you can," I said, interrupting her. "You've been with her many times, it's just that time freezes and she can't see you. Last time she came when you weren't expecting her. I hope it didn't hurt too bad."

"It did, Jimmy. It hurt a lot."

"I know it did. Amy, do you want to save Rebecca?"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Jimmy, how can you ask me that? Of course I want to save Rebecca."

"Then I'm going to need you to be very brave and listen to me. Amy, you've been here a long time. What's the last thing you remember before being here?"

"What? I don't..."

"Don't remember?" I asked. "Yes you do, but you've been blocking it out. You were at church on a Sunday morning with your family. Your mom and dad were there, so was Rebecca, you were wearing your new dress, the white one with the pink trim, and the white socks that went with it, the ones with the matching pink ribbon threaded around just above the ankle, and your new black shoes, and when you came out of church..." I must have painted the picture well enough because she finally spoke up.

" ... there was a puppy," she said. "He was in the street and there were cars coming."

"And then what happened?" I asked.

"I ran out to save it," she said woodenly.

"And then?"

"And then I was here," she said, turning her face to look at me. I could see something in her eyes; I guess it's what they call a haunted look. There was something in there she didn't want to face.

"No, Amy," I said softly. "What happened when you ran out in the street after the puppy?"

"I don't remember," she said. I could hear a slight shake in her voice.

"No, you don't want to remember, but you do. What happened when you ran into the street to save the puppy?"

She shook her head from side to side; her voice took on more of a note of desperation this time when she said, "I don't know!"

"Yes you do, Amy, you heard something when you ran in the street. What did you hear?"

"No!" she screamed. "No! I don't want to remember! I won't!" She struggled to get to her feet.

"Walter!" In the blink of an eye he was switched to human form, grabbed her and pulled her against his chest. As soon as he touched her the scene around us changed.

It was a postcard image of a perfect spring morning somewhere in small town America. Rockwell couldn't have painted it better. The little church with the bell chiming happily in the tower; people passing out the doors shaking hands with the local priest as they headed off into their week secure once more in the knowledge that God loved them. Small groups forming here and there on the wide, well kept lawn to chat, make plans or just catch up, and there was little Amy Hampton running across the neatly trimmed lawn in front of the church. Rebecca was there, a younger image of the woman that was to come. Her hair was long, really long, hanging down her back well below her shoulder blades but still inches from her waist. Suddenly, she noticed Amy was missing and turned to see where she had gone. There she was, but why was she... ?

Even at this early age, Rebecca's reflexes were amazing, before she even started to scream, her body was already in motion, dropping her bible and sprinting after her little sister. She was about two strides in before the first scream reached her lips.

"Amy, no! Stop! Amy!"

All around the lawn heads started to turn toward the screaming girl, but it was already too late as two new sounds — a blaring horn and the unmistakable scream of tires trying desperately to deny the laws of physics, drowned out the young girl's cries. Then that sickening thud that somewhere in the back of your mind you knew before you looked what it meant. The squeal of a terrified puppy as he fled for his life; the life he owed to the broken body lying in the roadway.

You hear people talk about those moments of silence at times like this, but that wasn't the case this time, as above everything else you could hear Rebecca screaming desperately for her little sister.

"Aiimmee!"

Against all belief the little blonde head raised and looked at the figure sprinting towards it before collapsing back to the pavement.

Suddenly the scream was replaced with a new voice as, here in the present, Amy screamed. The scene evaporated and there was Amy, screaming in agony as she vanished from Walter's arms and reappeared sprawled on the grass, her dress torn, her leg twisted at an impossible angle and blood beginning to seep from the wound on her head. Just as before, she lifted her head once, and then collapsed back to the ground. Blood was already beginning to leak from her mouth and nose.

"My Lord!" Walter cried, scrambling toward her on hands and knees.

"Walter, stop! Don't touch her!" Before me on the grass Amy's body lay broken and bleeding, and if I was correct, somewhere not so far away, her physical body was reacting to the traumatic intensity of the dream. That was both good and bad. Good because it helped build a stronger link between the two parts of her, but bad because it might attract attention. I was walking a fine line here.

"Amy," I said softly.

Her eyes fluttered and tears began to flow as she looked up at me.

"It hurts, Jimmy," she said weakly. "Make it stop. Please, Jimmy, make it stop hurting. I don't want to hurt."

"I know, Amy. I know it hurts and I promise I will make it stop, but first you need to remember. What was the last thing you saw when the hurt started?"

"Becky," she cried softly. "She tried to stop me but it was too late and she was running, and then she was crying and I'm sorry Becky, don't cry, I'm okay and ow! Oh, Becky, it hurts! IthurtsithurtsitHURTS."

The sound took on a life of its own, echoing around us and then fading as her head settled back on the grass and her eyes began to slip shut.



-------

Chapter 72: The Lion's Den


Originally posted on: Sun Jul 12, 2009 6:01 pm

"My Lord, please?" Walter begged.

"It's okay, Walter." I reached out my hand and touched Amy on the shoulder and suddenly she was whole again and she sat up and wrapped her arms around my neck and wept.

"It's okay, Amy," I whispered softly, cradling her against my chest and stroking her hair and back. "It's all gone now. That was a long, long time ago and the pain is long gone."

Walter had gone back to his wolf shape and tears flowed past his muzzle as he gently licked her hand.

Amy noticed the soft touch of his tongue and turned to see him nuzzling at her and weeping at her pain. "It's okay, Walter," she said softly. "It doesn't hurt any more."

"I'm sorry, Amy," I said, "but I think the reason you haven't been able to be with Rebecca was because your mind associated her with the pain from when the car hit you. I don't know exactly why, but for some reason if you stopped time it wasn't real, so there was no pain and you could be with her. But the other night, when she showed up in the dream for real, the pain came back, didn't it?"

"Yes," she said, laying her head on my shoulder and petting Walter at the same time.

"Now, do you know why the pain is gone?"

"Because it was a long time ago?" she asked.

"Yes, because it was a long time ago," I said. I pushed her away enough to stand up and then held her hand as I continued. "It was a very long time ago, over twelve years, and in that time, while you've been hiding here from the pain, you have grown up, and this is what you look like now."

An image of Amy as I had seen her in the video of the Sandman wheeling her out of the hospital took shape before us. Only here I had edited out the image of him. You couldn't see a lot of detail because the sheet covered most of her body. Lack of exercise and a diet designed to prevent her from getting fat had kept her build slight and gaunt, her cheekbones were prominent but you could still see the resemblance to the little girl next to me. They had kept her hair short to make it easier to manage but not in that institutional buzz-cut some do. No, someone had taken the time to cut it so that it framed her face and accented her features and maintained the promise of the beauty she would be when she woke up.

In the dream, Amy moved forward in wonder. "Is that really me?" she asked.

"Yes, that's really you. If you look closely you can just see the scar on your chin, but all in all, I'd say you grew up into a really pretty girl, don't you think?"

"Where am I?"

"Well, you see, that's the problem. This picture was taken in the hospital where you live. But..." I faded the image of the Sandman in, once more pushing her bed toward the waiting ambulance.

Instantly she shrieked and pulled back, hiding behind my leg. "It's him! Jimmy, it's him, the bad man!"

"Yes, Amy, that's the bad man, the man who hurt the girls, the man who hurt Angela."

"Is he going to hurt me, Jimmy? Is that where he's taking me, somewhere to hurt me?"

"No, Amy. He's not going to hurt you, that's not why he took you. You know why he took you, don't you? He took you because he wanted to hurt someone else, someone he couldn't get to. He took you so that that someone would come to him, and you know who I'm talking about don't you."

She began crying again, sobbing against my pants leg and then beating her fists on my waist, "He's got Becky!" she bawled. "He's going to hurt my sister, he took me so she would come to save me and now he's going to hurt her."

"Yes, Amy, he took you so she would come, and he is going to hurt her."

Her crying got louder and I let it continue for a moment before I went on.

"Do you want me to save her, Amy? Because I think I can, with your help. Will you help me, Amy?"

"Yes! Oh Jimmy, please don't let him hurt Becky. I'll do anything," she cried through the tears. "Anything, Jimmy, just don't let him hurt Becky."

I found it interesting that ever since we had met she had referred to her sister as Rebecca, but that since I had forced her to relive the accident, taken her back to that earlier time, she referred to her as Becky. I wondered if that was the same time Rebecca had stopped liking the name. Time to worry about that after I saved her.

"Anything?" I pushed.

"Yes! Anything, Jimmy, I'll do anything."

"You're sure?" I asked again.

"Yes, Jimmy! Anything! Just please save her!"

"Okay," I said. "Then there is a chance. I think I know where he may have taken her. I think he took her to where he is hiding you, and that means you can take me to her."

"But I can't take you to her," she said. "She's not asleep."

"I know, she's been drugged and she's unconscious, sort of like you only different. You're not really asleep either. But you can still take me to her, because she is with you. Remember, that's why he took her. So if you take me to where you are, then I can find her."

"But I don't know where I am," she said. "That's why I'm here."

That was a very interesting statement. Was it possible that one reason she had been in a coma for so long was that in running away from the trauma of her accident, somehow her consciousness had gotten lost? I couldn't help but wonder what Bob would make of that idea. Again, something to think about some other time...

"No, that's only part of why you're here, and you don't actually need to know where you are, all you need to do, is wake up."

"No! No, Jimmy, I can't wake up, it will hurt, it will hurt bad! Jimmy I..."

"Shh, Shh!" I said, putting my finger first to my lips and then to hers. "You said you would do anything, remember? Look at the picture again. Look at your body. Do you see any bandages? Any bruises?"

"No," she said meekly.

"That's because the doctors fixed it all and you healed. Even your leg is better."

"And it doesn't hurt?"

"I promise. All of that faded away a long time ago. But, remember you haven't had any exercise in twelve years, so your muscles may hurt when you try to move, so don't try to move much when you wake up, okay? In fact, it's really important that you not do anything to let him know you are awake until I tell you it's okay, okay?"

"Why?"

"I'll explain as we go, are you ready to go find yourself?"

"I'm scared," she said, holding my hand tightly.

"I know, but I will be with you."

"As will I," Walter said, standing before us in human form once more.

"You will?" she asked, looking up at the mountain of muscle standing before her encased in skin-tight black leather.

"Yes, little one. I will stay with you no matter what." He turned to face me, "If that is alright with you, my Lord?"

"Of course, Walter, I was counting on you to stay with her, she may need your strength before we're through."

"Okay," Amy said.

"Then here we go," I said and suddenly there was a door before us. I held her hand tightly, Walter stood behind her with his hands on her little shoulders. I opened the door into darkness and quickly took us through, feeling Amy tense beside me as the door swung shut behind us. It was dark. Not that stranded in a cave at midnight dark, but rather the black they use on television to show you outer space. You know: pitch black but with indirect lighting.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yes," she whispered in her 'I'm a brave little girl' voice.

"Okay, watch this." Suddenly there was a new light in the darkness, only this light emanated from a single strand of silver, fine as a hair but shining so brightly in the darkness that it looked a hundred times thicker than it actually was.

"Wow!" Amy said. "What's that? Where does it go?"

"Look down, little one," Walter instructed.

Amy looked down and saw the thin line going right into her belly button and she jumped a little. Then, when she saw the line jumped with her, she tried to turn and look behind her to see if it kept going.

"No silly, it doesn't come out your back," I said with a chuckle. "As for where it goes; that is a very special line, it connects you to your body." I was making up the symbolism as I went but all I needed for it to be real was for her to believe it. The silver thread was something I had read about somewhere long ago, either in a comic book a science fiction story where they were talking about astral projection. It didn't matter if it was true; all that mattered was that she believe it.

"It does?" she asked. "But how does it know?"

"It doesn't have to know, it just does, it's been there all along but you just never knew where to look for it. Otherwise you might have found yourself years ago. Touch it."

She tentatively reached out her hand and was surprised that she could feel it tug gently on her tummy when she pushed on the silver strand.

"Pull on it," I instructed. "Just wrap your hand around it and give it a big tug."

When she did, she gave a little shriek and jerked her hand back like it on fire.

"What's the matter?" I asked with a laugh.

"I felt it! When I pulled on it, it pulled on my tummy!"

"Of course it did. You want to see something really weird?" I asked. "Grab a hold and give it a big tug!"

She looked at me dubiously but did as I ask, and when she finally yanked the line she almost fell over as it jerked her forward. Again her hand jerked back. "How is that possible?" she asked. "If I pull on it, it should be pulling on my body, not me."

"It is," I said with a smile. "You are your body so if you try to pull your body toward you, aren't you also pulling you toward your body?"

"Huh? That doesn't make any sense," she said, confused by the logic and unable to take it to the next step.

I laughed, "Don't worry about it, all that matters is that you can use this string to guide yourself, actually pull yourself forward on the search. Now, all you need to do is follow the silver string and it will lead you back to yourself, and hopefully, lead me to Rebecca."

She started walking forward and asked, "Is it very far? How do I know if I'm going the right way?"

"Just walk toward the string," I said. "As for how far it is, the string is about twelve years long, because that's how long you've been gone. But you can make it shorter if you want."

"I can?"

"Yep. All you have to do is want to find yourself, just close your eyes and picture yourself lying on the bed. Go on, close your eyes."

"But that's silly, how will picturing myself make the string shorter?"

"I don't know how it works, sweetie, I just know that it does."

"But..." she began.

"Amy," I interrupted her. "Don't you trust me?"

"Yes," she said.

"Then close your eyes."

She gave one of those classic, 'I'm only doing this to humor you' little girl huffs and closed here eyes. "Okay fine, my eyes are closed."

"Are you thinking of you? You have to concentrate. Remember it's been a long time since you saw yourself so concentrate on the picture I showed you. You're lying on the bed with your eyes closed and your hair all brushed out pretty. Now, take hold of the string and pull really hard."

"This is silly."

"Amy..."

"Fine, but it's still silly."

Silly or not she took hold of the string and pulled hard, only this time she wasn't jerked forward as she had been before."

"See, I told you it was a silly idea."

"Was it?" I asked. Before us was a doorway; a rectangle of light hanging in the darkness, and the silver thread from Amy's navel disappeared into the light beyond where...

"Open your eyes."

She opened her eyes and gasped, "Is that me?"

"Yes Amy, that's you, all grown up. Sort of like Sleeping Beauty, just lying there waiting for someone to wake you up so you can live happily ever after."

"Does that mean you're my Prince Charming?"

"No, in your case the one you've been waiting for is you."

"That's weird," she said, looking at me skeptically.

What could I say, she was right. "I know, but it's still true."

Her voice faded to an awed whisper and she swallowed hard before asking, "What do I do now?"

"Now you wait here, can you do that for me?"

"You're leaving?" she asked, alarmed.

Walter stepped close behind her, once more placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't be afraid, Amy, Walter will stay with you, okay? I just need to see if I can find you now so that I can come and get you both. I have to be very careful or he will know I'm coming and that would be bad. Okay, I'll be right back."

I stepped through the door and immediately I could feel the line between my dream self and my body snap into place. A lot had changed since I'd done this the first time with Angela. That time I had been in constant danger of 'waking up' and losing the connection. This time was better; I could see both places at once with no effort. The problem was I couldn't focus on just one scene.

"Looks like I'm driving," Jamie said.

"Can you feel the line?" I asked.

"No, you're going to have to guide me."

"Great, just what I need; one more thing to concentrate on. Keep it simple, sis, nothing fancy. You just need to get us there, preferably without attracting any undo attention."

"What, no power-slides? God, you are so taking the fun out of this."

"Yeah, whatever, just try not to get us pulled over, okay?"

The problem was I had no idea how far away I was and therefore no idea whether it would be better to take the freeway or surface streets. This was something Wheels hadn't covered in his classes, go figure. I left it up to Jamie to figure out and went back to see what I could discover about wherever it was Amy was being kept.

I quickly discovered that one thing hadn't changed. I was still tied to the person I was using as an anchor, in this case Amy. I could move around her without obstruction but if I tried to move more than a few feet from her physical body my 'presence' if you will, began to fade, and with it, the link that I was following to find her. The two places at once thing I had sort of gotten used to but this time it was three. Depending on where I placed my focus I was with Jamie in the car, Amy's body wherever the Sandman was hiding them, and at the same, in a long dark space with Amy, looking out a doorway at her body. Trust me, it felt even weirder than it sounds. I think the third point may have been what was keeping me from focusing well on any one place, but there wasn't anything I could do about that right at the moment. I had no idea what would happen to Amy if I left her and I really didn't want to find out.

"I think we should take the freeway," I told Jamie.

"Really?" she asked. "Why?"

"Feels like we're a long ways away. The pull is from the northeast; we've changed directions several times already but the pull hasn't changed much, so I'm guessing it's like moving a string that's tied to a fixed point on the other end. The longer the string the less the angle changes when you move your end."

"Northeast?" she said. "Jimmy, he's been keeping a really close watch on Rebecca all this time, do you think he's actually set up somewhere close to her apartment?"

"Jeez, that makes total sense!" I answered. "And the pull is from that general direction."

"Okay then," she said. "Let's start with that and see where it gets us. I'm going to jump on the 105 and then take the 110 north."

"Are you sure that's the right way?" I asked.

"Yeah, I memorized the freeway map Rod left in the glove box while you were off playing hide an seek with Amy."

"Oh."

As we moved east on the 105 I could feel the pull shifting and by the time we made the transition onto the 110 it was almost due north. I couldn't judge the distance but at least we were headed in the right direction. Traffic in LA isn't much better at night than it is during the day, but all things considered we made pretty good time. I did my best to just stay in the background and not interfere with Jamie's driving.

As we drew nearer I shifted my focus to Amy's room. Wherever he was, he wasn't wasting any money on details; except for her bed and the other medical equipment, the room was empty. The only light was from a single lamp aimed at her body. The door was across from her bed and there didn't appear to be any windows. The floor was impossible to make out as the light seemed to fall only on Amy's body, leaving the rest of the room in deep shadow. Had I been there in person I'm sure I could have figured out what I was standing on but ... I didn't think it really mattered whether it was carpet, tile, or even hardwood; it was just a floor as far as I was concerned.

Suddenly the pull changed.

"What just happened? Where are we?" I asked, shifting my focus back to the car.

"We just passed the I-10 and the freeway veered to the right. Why?"

I tried to remember if the pull had changed before this but I couldn't remember sensing anything. If it had moved it was a very gradual change. This was different: we were getting close.

"I think we're getting close, the pull changed. I think it may have been moving all along but it was a gradual shift so I didn't notice it. Now it's back to being almost straight ahead again."

"Okay, try to focus on it, see if it stays dead ahead or if it wanders again," she said. "The freeway takes another turn not far ahead. The next shift should give us a pretty good idea."

"It's moving to the left the farther we go, still mostly ahead but maybe eleven o'clock instead of twelve."

"Then it's either east of the freeway and farther away or it's on the west side and we're getting close. Let me know if it hits ten o'clock."

"Almost there now and ... whoa! We just passed it; already past nine and still moving, we need to get off the freeway."

"Right, I'll just hang a quick left across those other four lanes and we'll go cross-country," she said sarcastically. "Oops, my bad! Forgot about that silly concrete barrier in the middle. Maybe it's time to check out that Thomas Guide."

I knew where the sarcasm was coming from so I let it go. We exited at Orange Grove and headed north; pulling over at the first opportunity and consulting the Thomas Guide for this area. As soon as we turned off and headed north the pull had shifted back toward eleven, but once we started moving again it started moving down again. Somewhere to the left...

I concentrated on the image of the map in my head.

"Take a left on Madeline." As soon as she did the pull shifted all the way to two. "Farther north but still a little west," I told her.

Madeline ended at Arroyo and as we swung right the pull, which had been slowly moving toward three, shifted all the way back to ten again. "We're getting close, real close."

"I know," she said. "I can feel the pull now."

"You can?"

"Didn't I just say that?" she snapped, but then she immediately apologized. "I'm sorry. I'm sort of surprised I couldn't feel it before but I can feel it now. It's really fucking with my head. How are we doing?"

"I think he's in the park."

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"The pull is moving, but the change is too gradual to be in these houses."

"I wonder if the park is open after dark?"

"I doubt it," I said. "Too dangerous, too many places for assholes to hang out and cause trouble. We can probably walk in but the access roads are probably ... left here ... yeah, thought so."

The corner dumped us onto an access road with a very solid looking iron gate pulled across it. Without hesitation Jamie swung to the curb and killed the lights.

"Which way?" she asked.

"Straight ahead."

"Nervous?"

"Hell yes I'm nervous, and don't bother telling me you're not, I can feel your anticipation. Try to tone it down a bit if you can, it feels like I stuck my tongue on a nine volt battery, only this is all over. You're making my skin crawl."

She actually giggled, "Sorry about that." The sensation faded back into the background and as it did the connection to my dream self faded with it. Jamie caught it immediately and stopped. "Okay, not such a good idea; looks like you're stuck with me."

"I like being stuck with you," I assured her. "I didn't mean for you to fade back, I just wanted you to think about something else; pet Christine's cat or something."

I could almost see the smirk. "Somehow I don't think daydreaming about Christine's pussy is going to help the situation."

"Pervert," I said.

"Hey it was your idea," she said and then she got serious. "What do you think? Trigger the timer?"

"Yeah, let's go. You're going to have to get us there on your own; if I focus..."

"Yeah, I got it," she said. "I can feel the link fading every time you focus on me. Don't worry big brother, I'll get us there.

Jamie

It was strange being in charge with Jimmy out running around and scouting ahead, and a little scary; I can't help worrying about him when we're apart and the shit starts getting deep. But I can't do the link thing like he can, that part scares me too. He can always find me, but apparently, I can't always find him. When he's out ... Oh, what am I saying? Suck it up you whiney little...

The pathways were well lit and I was pretty sure there would be security people patrolling somewhere in the area but at the moment there didn't seem to be anyone nearby. After a quick rummage through the trunk, I left the car parked where it was and headed back up the street in search of a more discreet point of entry. The gate was well lit and there was no point having one of the local residents calling me in to the police. I didn't have far to go; about six houses up there was a house with a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard. The porch light was on but there were no lights on inside. I stood for a moment, holding the phone and pretending to be talking to someone, and looked around at the houses across the street to see if anyone was paying attention but the fronts were all dark except for the entry lights. Just as I was about to move into the yard a curtain moved in the house across the street, so I started walking again. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the curtain shift back and then a few seconds later, it opened again. I made a show of putting my phone back in my pocket and continued down the sidewalk. Three houses further up was a car with real estate placards stuck on the side of it. It was on the same side as my little watchman so it would be out of his or her line of sight. I crossed the street, quietly removed the magnetic signs and then stashed them in a bush a couple houses further up, then headed back to the FBI car. I put on a pair of the latex gloves out of the box in the trunk and wiped everything but the steering wheel down. A short drive got me back to the house where I had stashed the signs and I quickly wiped them down as well before putting them on our doors and heading back to the empty house.

I parked in front so my friend with neighborhood watch could get a good look at the car, wiped the steering wheel down and walked boldly up to the door. I made a show of playing with the lockbox and then, using picks from the kit Rod had left with the gun, opened the door and turned on the inside lights. There was a note pinned to the front door so I took it down, waved to the house across the street, and closed the door. The curtains had been left open so I went to the kitchen and looked for the sign-in book. There were cards from several realtors on the counter and at least a dozen entries for today. Flipping to a clean page I tore it out and scribbled a note to Rod — "Somewhere in the Park―straight back and a little right" and then went back out front and pinned it to the front door. Closing the door I headed back into the house, turning on lights as I went. After all, a real estate agent wouldn't wander around in the dark if the lights still worked. There was a sliding glass door leading from the master suite directly into the back yard and in moments I was once more safely moving in darkness.

It was obvious why they were having trouble selling the place - what's the point of being backed up to a park if you can't even see it? A seven-foot block wall cut off the view not only to the park but also to the neighbors. Getting over the back wall was simple enough; they had a ladder set up so people could see the other side.

"This realtor is an idiot," Jimmy said. "It's bad enough that they couldn't see the park, why point out what they were missing? It would have made more sense to emphasize the privacy than to point out the view they were missing. We had the same type of wall around our house, but that was because we had the pool and didn't like to feel like the neighbors were watching us, particularly not mom and Allison while they were sunbathing."

"I'll be sure to point that out first chance I get," I answered. "But I see your point, there were only more houses on the other side of your wall, not a big green playground. I mean, you needed a fence to keep people out of the pool but it would likely have been something you could see through if you didn't have to worry about someone perving on the girls all the time. Especially considering what you and the girls have been doing in the back yard the last year..."

The house was far enough from the nearest pathway that there were no lights to worry about, making it easier to penetrate deeper into the park undetected. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark once more before climbing the ladder and making the drop on the other side.

It was a nice park; the grass was green and springy under my feet without that stiff feel most lawns get in the later summer months because the grass has dried out.

"I wonder what kind of grass they were using," Jimmy mused.

"What? Who cares about the grass?"

"Hey, give me a break. I've been doing the landscaping around my house since I was eight, and I'm damn proud ... was damn proud, of my lawn, thank you very much. Mine was a combination of two different strains of Bluegrass and a drought tolerant Fescue and it held up really well in the summer heat, but at least part of that was that it was kept short and didn't get a lot of foot traffic. I don't need to see this to know it was considerably taller and I was curious what they had come up with to handle the stress."

"Whatever, now would you shut up, I need to focus on not getting caught sneaking up on the bad guy."

The pull led straight toward what appeared to be a reception hall. From the angle of my approach it appeared well lit on one side but dark on the other. Once I got close enough it was easy to see why. The 'front' faced a wide pathway and this was the side that visitors saw. The rear on the other hand opened into a storage area, which housed a variety of tractors and other equipment used to maintain the park. I was surprised there wasn't a light on over the equipment area. It seemed like an easy target, and that tractor looked expensive, which made me think again that there must be roving security here somewhere and encouraged me to move carefully. There was a motion sensor positioned over the door but the way it was angled made it easy to move along next to the building without being 'seen'. Once there, a quick examination showed me where best to bypass the alarm contacts on the door itself. The picks made short work of the lock on the rear door and then we were inside. Just inside the door I located the security panel for the alarm and discovered that it wasn't even active. What the heck was going on?

"Okay, we're in, now come home and watch my back."

I felt him return and tried not to be obvious about the sigh of relief and turned my attention back to the building itself. At first it seemed dead quiet but after being inside for a few seconds the background noise from the city faded enough that I could start picking out new sounds. I could just make out the beep of Amy's heart monitor from somewhere farther inside. There had been a palm-sized flashlight tucked inside the case next to the gun. It had been designed with a thumb wheel switch that allowed you to vary the amount of light, as well as a focusing lens on the front to vary the pattern width as well. Using the lowest setting possible we started checking the various rooms and found Rebecca's bound and unconscious form behind the second door. She was obviously still unconscious and in no immediate danger so we left her there and moved on.

"Something is seriously not right here," Jamie said, stating the obvious.

"You think? My guess is he works for the park and has keys to the place. The question is; why isn't he here?"

"Damn good question," I said. "Here's another one; if he's not here, where is he?"

Two doors farther up and across the hall I found Amy. I stepped to the side of her bed and as I did two things happened; the light over her bed went out and Walter yelled, "My Lord, beware... !"

I lost the rest as there was a soft puffing sound and something hit me in the leg. Funny, all I could think was that it didn't sound anything like what they use on television and in the movies. Turning toward where the light had been I could now make out the dark outline of another doorway. I didn't have time to figure out if it led to another room or just a closet as the world began to spin and go dark.

"Jimmy!"

Jimmy

Everything seemed to be happening at once. As my body collapsed to the floor I heard two voices screaming my name. Amy's voice I had expected but Jamie's came as a bit of a surprise.

My perspective was spinning wildly, as if I were looking up out of a whirlpool as it sucked you down. Then it changed; one moment I was in my body, looking up from the bottom of a deep spinning well, this had to be Jamie's view; the next I seemed to be somewhere else watching my body crumble, then I was standing next to it looking down. When I reached my body again I looked back along the line it seemed that my dream image was fading away, but I knew it was just the opposite. Jamie was fading and if I didn't do something...

Logic said the next shift had to be the view from my position in the tunnel with Amy. Instantly I dove toward where 'I' was standing and the two parts of me that had been in the room crashed together. The fading sensation stopped and I was left looking down at my unconscious form on the floor. At the very edge of my awareness I could hear a panicked scream as Jamie continued her fall into darkness.

Kneeling I reached my hand out and touched my body. There was a moment of vertigo as my hand seemed to pass through my body and somehow out the other side. It didn't look like it went through but it felt like I was reaching down into that well I had been looking up from moments before. Finally I thought I felt her hand grabbing mine. Her screaming changed as her hand closed on mine.

"Jimmy!" she screamed. "Jimmy, don't leave me! You promised!"

"I'm here!" I called back. "I've got you."

I did have her, but I could feel myself being drawn with her into the darkness and struggle as I might I couldn't seem to stop the fall completely. I was pretty sure I knew where the fall ended; for me it ended in true unconsciousness and being completely helpless in a very bad place. My greatest fear was that it didn't end there for Jamie. Something told me that if I lost consciousness I would lose my hold on her.

The strength to stop her fall came from an unexpected source as Walter stepped out of the tunnel and merged with me. The falling sensation stopped and suddenly it felt like I was just holding her hand normally. The well that seemed to have opened beneath her disappeared and it felt like she passed into something resembling a normal state of unconsciousness. Well, normal for everyone else anyway since I didn't seem to even sleep anymore. I wondered whether if I had been in control of my body when the dart had hit if it would be me lying there oblivious to what was happening.

Off to one side, the now familiar shape of the Sandman emerged from the dark doorway; the tranquilizer gun in his hand confirmed who had pulled the trigger.

"Thanks, Walter," I said as he slipped out again and headed back to Amy.

I let go of Jamie's hand to go with him and had to lunge to catch it again as the well re-opened and Jamie once more was falling into darkness. All it took was a touch and she was back but it was apparent I couldn't leave her alone without losing her. Great, I had two choices, sit here and hold her hand until the tranquilizer wore off or slip back into my body where we would both be unconscious. What else could go wrong?

Have I mentioned that's a question you should never ask?

"Jimmy, what's happening to me?" Amy's voice came from behind me. "I feel funny, and I'm getting sleepy."

I shifted around so that I could see back into the opening of the dark tunnel where I had left her and Walter. It was immediately obvious what was happening. Amy was growing up. She already looked taller and appeared to have filled out some. Her shoes were gone, probably disappearing as soon as they got too tight, and the dress, while it hadn't started to constrict her body, looked a couple sizes too small. Even as I watched her face was slowly changing. I couldn't tell how, it was happening too slowly, but I knew that it was happening. It was kind of like watching a flower open. Every time you blinked it was different but you couldn't really see it happening. She was obviously frightened so Walter moved to comfort her, standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

"It's okay, Amy," I said. "Apparently being this close to your body is changing you. I think maybe just as your body was my anchor here, I was your anchor in the dream world. Now that I'm gone, you're starting to slip away again. Don't be afraid, now that you know where your body is, and since you are so close, you seem to be slipping towards it. You are changing from the little girl you were into the woman that you are. It seems to be going slowly but I suspect that when you are done, you will be able to wake up. Amy, listen to me; it is important that he not know you are awake. If you wake up then you're a witness and he can't let you go because you will be able to recognize him."

"You mean I will remember everything? Rebecca said Bob wasn't sure."

Interesting, now that Amy was aging, 'Becky' was Rebecca again.

"I don't know, Amy, but it doesn't matter because he won't take the chance. Whatever you do, keep pretending to be asleep. Walter?"

"Yes, my Lord?" he answered.

"Do whatever you can to help her?"

"But what about you and Rebecca?" Amy asked. "I might be able to help..."

"No!" I said sternly. "Amy, you haven't had any exercise in over twelve years, your body will be too weak to do anything, you will only endanger yourself if you try to help. Amy, listen to me; you have to live. No matter what else happens, you have to live!"

"But..."

"No! How do you think Rebecca will feel if something happens to you now? She would feel like she's wasted her whole life for nothing. Amy, you are the most important thing in the world to her. That man, the bad man? He promised he would not hurt you if she came to him, and she did. If nothing changes, I believe he will keep his word and let you go. Sometime soon Rebecca will wake up and if she thinks he still has you she will go along. But if you're safe, then she is free to do whatever she can to stop him. Amy, if you're safe I'm free to do whatever I can, but as long as he has you, I have to look first at how to save you. Not Rebecca, you. Because I know that's what is important to her. She's my friend, Amy, and I know, in my heart, that she will never forgive me if I let something happen to you because I was worried about her."

As we were speaking the Sandman had laid his gun on Amy's bed, rolled my body over and handcuffed me. Then he got up and returned to the dark doorway. It turned out to be a closet with the door removed. He turned on a light and then returned with every man's favorite fix-it tool, duct tape, and began binding my legs from knee to ankle.

"What if I won't forgive you for letting something happen to her?" she asked defiantly.

"Amy, we both know you would never do that, would you?"

The body was getting older but it was still the little girl inside that cried and said, "No," in a shaking voice. "But..."

Walter interrupted, "My lord, could you not command her to sleep, as you commanded sweet Shannon's father?"

Apparently she heard him, "NO!" She screamed and she started to pull away from him.

"Bring her to me," I commanded.

She was bigger now but still no match for Walter's strength, still she struggled as hard as she could, kicking and scratching at him as he carried to me. Finally they were close enough and I reached out my free hand to her.

"Sleep," I commanded, and she went limp in his arms. Even as I spoke a wave of dizziness swept over me and I could feel Jamie slipping again. Shit! This was a fine time to find new limits; one thing at a time.

"Amy, listen to me; when you return to your body, you will remain asleep until I, or someone else you trust, tells you that it's safe to wake up, do you understand?" I could feel myself being pulled into my body

"Yes," she said in a wooden voice.

Walter leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I am sorry little one, but I did this for you."

"I know," she said in the same wooden voice.

"Thank you, Walter," I said. "Stay with her. Damn I wish there was a way to get this shit out of my system."

"There is," a new voice said. Amy still stood like a sleeping statue, but Walter and I both spun to face the dark tunnel again, and there in the doorway stood a familiar figure.



-------

Chapter 73: Lights, Camera...


"You must heal yourself, James," she said. "And you must do it quickly, for time is shorter than you know."

Beside me Walter had sunk to one knee with his head bowed, "My Lady."

"Rise and do as you have been commanded."

To say I was shocked to see her would have been an understatement but apparently this wasn't the time to go into it.

"How?"

"As your Walter has pointed out to you, and you have discovered yourself, you walk in both worlds. You must take your sister into the other realm where you may heal her."

Taking Jamie into dreamspace made so much sense I wondered that I hadn't thought of it sooner, but at the same time I didn't understand how that solved the problem of the drugs coursing through my/our body. Still, one thing at a time ... closing my eyes I transitioned us both into dreamspace. The last thing I saw before we moved was the Sandman talking on his cell phone.

"You were right," he said. "He found me ... No, I have him. How is this possible and how did you know? No, you are holding something back. I don't know what kind of game you are playing, Dahrinka, but we will discuss this again."

Dahrinka! What the fuck? Then I was in the bright sunlight of the glade, kneeling next to my body. It was very odd looking down at my body and knowing that it was Jamie inside and not me. But then I realized this was no different from looking down at my body when she was using it to kick someone's ass. Beyond her I could still sort of sense the dark room, but I could only focus on one or the other. Apparently without Jamie the old limitations were back in full force, and right now I needed to focus on her.

I had expected Jamie to recover as soon as we got there so I think I was justifiably concerned when she just lay there, motionless in the same position my body had fallen in the other room. But at least the well was gone and I found that I could let go of her without worrying about her slipping away.

"What do I do now?" I asked.

"James, you must put aside this double-mindedness you cling to and believe in yourself. Time and again you have been shown that in this place there is little that is beyond you. Have you not, even recently, asked yourself if you were placing unnecessary restrictions on yourself by holding to the rules of the other world?"

"Yeah, I have, but how..." I realized whom I was speaking to and knew the answer without finishing the question. "You and Walter have both referred to this as a separate realm or world. Does that mean that it's not just something I've created in my head? Not just a fantasy space where dreams overlap?"

"No, it is far more than you have ever imagined and as much as you have done here, with all that you have accomplished, you have not begun to brush the surface of what this space truly is or the potential that it represents. But we do not have time to go into that right now. If you are ever to learn these things you must first survive. As Walter said, you walk in both realms, but it is more than that, much more. You exist in both realms and what you do in either affects both. There is no time to explain further now. Look to your sister, heal her and in doing so, heal yourself. If you survive then we will speak again."

And just like that she was gone and I was alone with Jamie. Now what?

Heal her she had said. But how? I was no doctor, and even if I was, how do you heal a tranquilizer? It was just a chemical reaction in the body, a foreign substance in the bloodstream, I didn't know how to ... I was being stupid.

"Bob!" I called and suddenly he was there.

Just as quickly I sent him back and hoped that it was fast enough to make the difference. It cost me my focus on the other room but I watched as he managed to catch himself before crashing to the floor of the tub, watched as he glared at the empty ceiling for a moment before turning to rinse the shampoo from his hair, turn off the water and sit down? Again he looked up and this time his lips moved in an unmistakable, "Well?"

"Sorry about that," I said as I brought him back in. "I should have looked first."

He looked like he was about to say something when he noticed Jamie lying on the ground. "What happened? Did she stay out too long?"

"She's unconscious. I was shot with a tranquilizer while she was in control and ... it's complicated. Bob, how do I counteract it?"

"Well generally you would use some kind of stimulant but it depends on what kind of drug you're dealing with. Without that you run the risk of a bad reaction. Jimmy, how could you be shot with a tranquilizer? The only people who would do that don't know where you are or did they find you?"

"They didn't," I answered. "Is there another way besides a stimulant?"

"Well yeah, a tranquilizer is just a foreign chemical substance introduced into the body to specifically suppress certain chemical reactions in the brain."

"Like a poison?" I asked. "A poison that only works on one specific system?"

"Not a poison exactly, because by definition poisons are lethal, but it's a good analogy. And if you have the right anti-toxin to break it down ... but you still need to know what you're dealing with."

Suddenly it came to me. "Not here I don't; thanks Bob. I have to go. I'll try and explain later."

I sent him back to the bathtub and immediately knelt next to Jamie. Pulling a syringe out of nowhere I jammed it into her thigh near where the dart had hit and drove the plunger down, emptying the contents into her leg. The reaction was immediate as she took a gasping breath, then sat up, flung her arms around me and wept.

"Oh God Jimmy, thank you. I thought ... thank you for not letting go."

"You're welcome, I love you too, now lay back down, we don't have time for this. We're in deep shit. Go back and play dead until we figure out what's going on here."

And just like that we were back in the dark room. Only now it was a different dark room. At first I thought he had moved Amy's bed but then I realized it was us he had moved. We were in the room with Rebecca now. I wondered what was happening with Amy and instantly I found myself back in the other room where Walter was now holding her apparently unconscious dream-body in his lap watching her slowly grow and change. Now that I had my own body as an anchor point again I was apparently free to move around again. Not far away the Sandman was quickly and methodically wiping down the room for prints. He finished quickly and left, I assumed to repeat the process on the other rooms. It looked like we were going to be leaving. The fact that he wiped down all the surfaces on Amy's bed and medical equipment I took as a sign that she wasn't coming with us. Hopefully that was a good thing.

"Walter," I said. "It appears we may be leaving. Stay with Amy, I don't want to risk losing her."

"My Lord," he responded, fist over his heart and bowing slightly.

Based on what I had just learned, I suspected anyone messing with Amy was going to be in for a real surprise. I didn't know how much he could actually do but ... one more thing to add to the 'Worry About It Later' list. I went back to break the news to Jamie and check on Rebecca. As I was entering the room, a thought crossed my mind and I wondered if I could do for her what I had just done for Jamie? I could tell just looking at her that she was still out. No time like the present to find out. I shifted us to the other side, leaving Jamie to keep an eye on things in the real world.

I plunged my magic syringe into Rebecca's thigh and just as with Jamie, the reaction was almost instantaneous. Only dream-fast reflexes saved me as Rebecca woke up swinging. Two quick blocks and I managed to move far enough out of harms way. I could have just restrained her but at the time I was operating on instinct. Live and learn. Next time leave her tied up, wake her up, then turn her loose.

"Rebecca, it's me."

She was already taking in her surroundings.

"Jimmy! God am I glad to see you. I was afraid it would be like with Angela and I might have to spend a week or two getting my ass kicked before you found me. Can you track me back to where I'm being held? Is there anything I can do to help? Is Rod standing by to come save my ass?"

"Breathe Hampton, breathe."

That caught her up short and she sort of glared at me for second before smiling. "Okay, I deserved that, but seriously, what's the situation, I don't remember anything after climbing in the bastard's van this morning. It was just this morning, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was just this morning. As for the rest; I found you because he had Amy." Tell her the whole story? No, not yet, I didn't want her distracted. "As for where we are. We're both handcuffed in a little room at what looks like a combination rec center and maintenance building in Arroyo Park. Rod is standing by waiting either for me to tell him it's safe to come in or for the tracking unit in the car to go off. Amy is in another room in the same building and, before you ask, yes, she's safe and unharmed. Now for the bad news..."

"Wait a minute," she said, interrupting me. "We're both tied up in a building at a park, with the Sandman, nobody knows where we are, and that was the good news? I don't think I want to know."

"It's a combination of more good and bad," I said. "The bad is that he appears to be getting ready to leave, I'm guessing to move us somewhere else. The good news is I don't think he's taking Amy with us. So when the tracker goes off and Rod gets here, she'll be safe again. The bad news, really bad news, is that this whole thing appears to have been a set up. He knew I was coming, Rebecca, he was hiding in a closet in Amy's room and shot me with a tranquilizer."

"So we're both unconscious. Then how are we having this conversation? I thought you couldn't work through the drugs?"

"I'm not unconscious; I kind of gave myself a shot to counteract the tranquilizer. I brought you here and did the same for you so..."

"You can do that?"

"Well, I did it, so I guess I can," I answered. "I think it's because we're together so I already know where you are."

"Oh, yeah, sorry. So when we go back we'll both be awake. Damn, this is incredible. But we're going to have to be careful. One slip and we're screwed. Wait, you said something about it being staged, what did you mean?"

"I mean, I think we're here, there, whatever, in the park, specifically for the purpose of me finding you."

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Right after he shot me he called someone and said 'You were right, he found me.'"

"What? How could he have known you were coming unless..."

"Right, unless whoever was after me is somehow connected to him. Yeah, I've been thinking about that in my spare time. It gets worse, I think I know who it is."

"Who?"

"Your partner."

"What? Henslith? You're out of your mind, she couldn't..."

"He asked whoever it was how they knew I would find him. When they didn't tell him he said, and I quote, "I don't know what kind of game you are playing, Dahrinka, but we will discuss this again."

"But that's insane, how could she be working with him? He killed two federal agents just so he could kidnap her."

"What if he didn't?" I asked. I really hadn't been giving it all that much thought — I'd actually been sort of busy, but now the pieces were arranging themselves in my head and the picture wasn't pretty. "What if she staged her own kidnapping to make it look like he did it?"

She started to answer but I held up a hand and continued, "Hear me out. You said the two agents guarding her were shot up close, that neither even had a chance to draw their weapon. Maybe they didn't think they needed it. I mean, if Henslith was walking up to them they certainly wouldn't suspect anything was wrong, right? She could walk right up and light the one guy's cigarette for him and neither would even blink. Then there is the apartment. Your guys actually found the dart he supposedly used on her. Sandman doesn't leave clues. He shot both Easy and the other girl last spring and took the darts with him — and they were both in public — but now he leaves the dart in her apartment?"

"But if he didn't take her, then why haven't you been able to find her?"

"What if she's like him?"

"I don't follow you, what do you mean like him? You mean like screws loose upstairs that keep you from reaching her?"

"Not just a screw loose," I corrected her, "but the same screw loose. When I was talking to Rene about all this he told me of his life and how he came to be like this. He talked about his training and when he started to notice things. He mentioned that he wasn't the only one being trained. There were three others, a boy named Deryk who died during a training exercise, a girl name Lucia that was killed by a cartel or something, and another girl named Dahrinka. Rebecca, what if your partner was that fourth person? It would certainly explain why I couldn't reach her."

"That's nuts, Jimmy, she works for Interpol for God's sake!"

"Yeah, she does, and until something went wrong, so did Rene. Remember last week when we were talking with Allison and we couldn't figure out why Sandman would take your partner? No matter how we tried we couldn't come up with an answer that made sense? Maybe that's because he didn't take her."

I could almost see the puzzle snapping into focus for her. "The note! Son of a bitch, the note! That's what he was talking about! It fits! She's been playing us the whole fucking time! No wonder she's the leading expert on the Sandman, she knows him! She's the one that killed Abrams ... He said in the note that it wasn't him; but that someone wanted us to think it was. She duplicated one of his old kills to point the investigation at him. But why would she being trying to catch him if he knows about her?"

"Maybe she wasn't actually trying to catch him but trying to find him," I suggested.

"What?" she asked. "Why would she be trying to find him?"

"Maybe what he's been doing has attracted attention and someone wants him stopped before we catch him and find out the truth."

"But our orders were to capture him, not kill him. They wanted him back alive, not dead."

"Well, maybe somebody wanted him back... , but that doesn't mean everybody did. Rene said someone in their own organization was pulling their strings. What if one group is after answers and the other wants to keep them from finding out the truth?"

Suddenly, Jamie's voice came to me, "Ask her about the Black Queen."

"What?" I asked.

The scene froze and she appeared, "I've been following along. If Rene's alternate was the Sandman and Henslith is like him, what's the name of her alternate? If it's her then I think I know how she found out about us. Well, you anyway, they still don't know about me."

"How?"

"Palm Springs."

"Palm Springs? What do you..." the light came on, " ... Shit! She was drugged! That's why she wasn't dreaming and I couldn't find her, Henslith had her drugged and was pumping her for information. Okay, go away or hide or something."

I un-froze the scene.

"Rebecca have you ever heard of someone called The Black Queen?"

The look on her face said she had.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"Should I take that as a yes?"

"The Black Queen is the most wanted woman in Europe, possibly in the world."

"Oh gee, let me think..." I said sarcastically. "She's an assassin?"

"Fuck!" she swore, shaking her head and stomping away. I don't think she noticed but the sky was actually getting a little dark in reaction to her mood. "Damn! Damn! Fucking Damn!" She turned back to me. "Yes, she's an assassin. She was the number two killer in Europe until five years ago when the Sandman suddenly disappeared. Since then, apparently due to lack of competition, she's number one. But you didn't know that, so how did you find out about her?"

"Boris."

"Khvlek?"

"Yeah. And he's dead now by the way, someone got to him in the hospital and injected something into his IV. I got him to talk, he'd never met the person who hired him, didn't know who they were, just the name — The Black Queen, and he was so afraid of crossing her that it took me days to get the information from him."

"But how could she have known about you?"

"You told her."

"What, no way! I never told her about you. She knew I had a source I wasn't telling her about, there was no way to hide that, so Rod and I told her up front that I had an anonymous source, but I never told her, would never tell her, about you."

"Not on purpose. Remember when you went to Palm Springs, and when you got back we were all worried because you had been gone, not even dreaming the whole time? I think she was drugging you and pumping you for information the whole time. The drugs kept you from dreaming and kept me from finding you."

"No, that's not ... I would have ... I mean we're trained against that kind of stuff."

"Of course you are — in a hostile situation, caught by bad guys, I'm sure you'd put up a hell of a fight, but if someone you trusted slipped you something ... maybe a mild hypnotic just to get your guard down before you ever realized something was wrong. I'm no expert but once you were under they could just tell you to forget the whole thing and even leave behind something to make it easier the next night. She had you for what, four nights? She probably knows about you and Robbie Johnson in the tree house."

Robbie Johnson had been Rebecca's first kiss. They had been hiding in the tree house in her back yard at the time but her little sister had spied on her from an upstairs window. Years later, when I needed something to convince Rebecca that I'd been talking to Amy, she had told me about it.

"Okay, okay. I'll admit this is all possible, and it even makes sense, but if that's all true then what the hell is going on now? Why would she be working with him if she was sent to kill him? Why would she try to frame him for Abrams' murder and then..." she bit her lip. "Shit! She's trying to disappear; just like he did five years ago. She was sent to kill him, but then she saw a chance to get away and she took it. She staged the whole thing to make it look like he got her, even killing two agents in cold blood to make it look like he did it. No one else has ever escaped once he had them, so no one would be surprised if she didn't either. After all, she was number two until he disappeared. Who else could kill number two but number one? But why is she after you?"

"That I still don't know."

"Yes you do," Jamie's said. "She wants what you can do. She wants to be able to kill in dreams. It would make her the perfect killing machine. No one would be safe. She thinks you can teach her, or that maybe she can force us somehow to kill for her."

"Obviously Allison has been rubbing off on you."

"No," she answered. "She rubs off on you, we do other things."

"Not what I meant."

"Duh! Quit stalling and tell her the truth."

"Actually I guess that's not really true," I said. "There is one possibility that's crossed my mind."

"You mean that she's a top ranked professional killer and if she could do what you do, there isn't a single person in the world that she couldn't get to, for the right price that is?"

I just stared at her for a second before nodding my head.

"I was waiting to see if you'd figure it out on your own," she said. "Jimmy, it's exactly the sort of thing you've been worried would happen if the wrong people found out what you can do. The good news is she hasn't told anyone."

"Because if she was planning to turn me over to someone else she wouldn't have needed to disappear?" I asked.

"That and she hasn't told her old friend the Sandman. If it is her and they do go back as far as you say, then I think there is likely something more than just friendly rivalry going on. I think another reason that she disappeared is so that she didn't have to kill him."

"Great, so now all we have to do is get away from the number one assassin, who currently has us tied up and drugged, and then go catch the number two assassin, who we have no idea where she is and no way to track her, piece of cake."

"Well, at least he only thinks we're drugged. We may be able to use that."

"I think we have to wait until we get wherever it is he's planning to take us," I said. "I don't want to start anything while Amy is still close enough for him to use her against us."

"Jimmy, I understand what you're saying, and as much as I appreciate the idea, if we get a chance, we take it. I love my sister but I can't take the chance of them, either of them, getting away. If Henslith is the Black Queen and we get him but not her, she could come back later claiming she had escaped from wherever he had her. We don't have any proof that she's the Queen. It would be our word against hers with whoever is behind her backing her every step of the way. And you can't even bridge her to learn the truth."

"That's pretty good confirmation right there, but what if I can do better. I wonder if Rene would recognize her if I showed her to him?"

"Jimmy, that's a nice thought and I'd certainly buy it, but it's not proof, we could never possibly use it against her."

I had different thoughts about it but I kept them to myself.

We sat there quietly for a few moments and then Jamie said, "Looks like it's time to go, and we've got another problem."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Your little magic trick worked, it's flushing the stuff out, but now I have to pee so bad it hurts."

I heard an echo of the earlier conversation, "You exist in both realms and what you do in one affects both."

I had to chuckle at the thought. Could it really work? If it didn't we were both going to be majorly embarrassed.

"Could you excuse me for a second?" I asked Rebecca. I walked into the restroom I had conjured up in dreamspace to relieve myself.

Jamie reacted instantly, "Jimmy, what the hell are you ... No! You can't! Oh ... my ... God! How did you do that? Did you really just do what I think you did?"

I flushed and exited again. "Yeah, but don't ask me to explain how I did it. How are you feeling?"



"Well, the pressure is gone and I'm starting to get sensation back but I still can't move yet."

"That's probably a good thing. Just like with Amy, we can't let him know you're awake."

"What about Amy?"

"Oh, yeah, you were out for that part. Amy started growing up when we got shot. She's slipping back into her body. I told her to just go on pretending she was asleep, because if she woke up she would go from hostage to witness, and he would kill her rather than risk her being able to identify him later. She wanted to try and help so I put her under and commanded her to stay asleep until I, or someone else she trusted told her to wake up."

"But no one else knows that will work?"

"Yeah, I thought of that too. But it was the best I could do at the time. Now, we need to figure out how to get out of this in one piece. Have you picked the handcuffs yet?"

"No, he took the kit and I don't want to attract attention moving around. Besides, the room is empty, there's nothing we can use. We should have tucked away another piece of wire like we did for Britney. Hey there's an idea..."



I couldn't help but blush at her suggestion. I returned my attention to Rebecca. "Uhm ... Rebecca? Do you wear an underwire by any chance?"

"Do I wear an und ... Jimmy!"

At this point I couldn't tell you which of us was redder.

"I need something to pick my handcuffs with and it's all I can think of that's handy. Come on Rebecca, you think I'm not embarrassed asking? Give me a break here; yes or no?"

She dropped her head into her hands and her shoulders started shaking as she couldn't help but laugh. Finally she looked up at the sky and shouted, "You think this is funny don't you?" Then she looked back at me and continued. "I can't believe this, I'm about to give a sixteen year old kid permission to take my bra off. Yes, I'm wearing an underwire and yes, if we get the chance you can ... God I don't believe I'm saying this ... you can use it to get us out of here. You any good at ... What am I saying; rock stars don't get the action you do. But you better be quick, because we're not likely to have a lot of time and we won't get a second chance."

"Well, quick is something I'm not usually accused of," I said with a grin. "It's going to take both of us though, because I'm going to have to work around your shirt."

"True," she said. "And getting the wire exposed enough to use is going to be tough. It's not really a wire per se; it's more like a strip of metal. The casing is reinforced to prevent injury, there's no way it will hold its shape well enough to punch through the material. You'll have to chew through an end or something."

I couldn't resist, "Really? That sounds like fun, are you sure you want me to take it off first?"

She glared at me but couldn't hold back the chuckle as she said, "One of these days, Matthews. I swear to God, one of these days..."

She shook her head and sighed. "Bob is going to laugh his ass off when he hears I suggested this. Do you think we can practice here?"

If it wasn't for the fact our lives may depend on it, this would have been funny as all hell.

"Rebecca, I'm sorry," I said. "If I could think of another way..."

"Don't!" she said curtly. "But so help me God if I see you so much as smile ... if I think for a second you're enjoying yourself..." She left the not so implied threat hanging and I left it alone.

"The good news is we're probably going to be doing this in the dark so..." I moved us into a small dark room and, starting with us both lying on the floor, began looking for the best way to, pardon the pun; pull this off. The slowest part was unbuttoning her shirt. We tried ripping it open but that was too noisy, especially when one of the buttons hit the door or wall. Unbuttoning it took longer but it was only a few seconds difference.

As if the entire situation weren't embarrassing enough, the best position was with her lying on the floor and me squatting above her, which put my ass or crotch over her face no matter what angle we tried. The top four buttons were all we needed to get enough room to pull it down over her shoulders. She quickly rolled face down and I popped the hooks on her bra. From there the only choice was to pull until the shoulder straps gave out. The snap of the elastic as it popped free stung but she just gritted her teeth and did her best to ignore it. I was working blind, but by the third try I managed to get it without accidentally grabbing one of her boobs. Thankfully, Jamie was behaving herself, or it probably would have taken longer to get past that point.

By the fourth run-through we had it down to about forty-five seconds to get the bra off, but it took a lot longer to get the wire exposed enough to work with. We did end up having to gnaw the material away from one end in order to expose it. After four tries it was still taking almost two and a half minutes from the time we started until the first set of cuffs was off. For some reason it's faster picking your own than someone else's and I was just a little faster than she was but we figured that if he walked in on us, she would have a better chance of holding him off until I was free than the other way around, so we did hers first. Besides, it gave her more time to put her clothes back on.

Jamie thought the whole thing was hysterical but all in all she behaved herself. The only thing she had to say about the whole thing was, "Easy was right, she's got great tits."

"Pervert."

"Takes one to know one," she said with a grin.

While we had been practicing, Sandman had loaded us into the back of his van and heading for, I assumed, his regular base of operations. Either we had been out longer than I realized, or he had the van stashed somewhere close by, because I hadn't seen it on the way in and I didn't think he had actually had time to go get it.

"It was probably in one of the storage sheds out back," Jamie said.

I thought back and there were two large sheds in the maintenance yard behind the building. Either of them would have been big enough to park the van in. I remembered the tractor parked out in the open and now it made sense.

"Good call. I don't suppose you have any idea where we're headed?" I asked.

"No, I was hoping you were doing the eagle eye thing to keep track of the route."

"No, we were busy making sure we were ready to take advantage of our opportunity when it came up."

"I'm not criticizing, but there's nothing stopping you from looking around now is there?"

"Good point, see you in a few..." I returned my attention to Rebecca. "I need to get back and see if I can figure out where he's taking us."

I moved us back to reality and instantly Rebecca faded into unconsciousness again. Apparently there were still limits to what I could do, at least when it came to other people. Certainly it had worked with Jamie, but she was in my body. My 'things to worry about later' list was getting longer and longer. I moved to the front passenger seat to see if I could figure out where he was taking us. I wasn't too surprised to see we were back on the freeway — it was LA after all, there are freeways everywhere. I know LA about as well as I know Cleveland, so I had no idea where we were. Fortunately, freeways tend to have signs and it didn't take long to figure out we were heading west on the 134. A few minutes later we were heading north on I-5. Well, that narrowed it down, but he could still turn off anywhere between here and Canada.

Apparently he wasn't going that far as we exited a few minutes later. A confusing series of turns later we were passing what appeared to be an airport. From the lights and general size it had to be Burbank, it was the only large one in the area. A place near the airport would certainly keep the neighbors from noticing any strange noises coming from your house. Two more turns and we were heading into an industrial area. Great, more warehouses...

Sure enough, within a few blocks he pulled into an empty parking lot, then got out and opened a gate leading to the rear of one of the buildings. The lot beyond the gate was littered with old pallets and barrels, and beginning to be overrun by weeds. He closed and locked the gate behind us before continuing on to stop before a large roll-up door. I was surprised when he pushed the button for what appeared to be a pretty standard garage door opener and the big door started moving up. I didn't think they put automatic openers on commercial buildings. The van moved forward, the headlights lighting up the interior as we passed through the opening. There wasn't much to see, as the space directly ahead was empty, with nothing for the lights to bounce off of and help illuminate the rest of the interior. We stopped just inside the door. With the turn of the key and the press of the button the engine died, the big door closed, and suddenly it was too dark to see my lap. That didn't last long as he opened the door and got out. The door closed and darkness returned, when the echo of the slamming door faded the only sound was the ticking of the engine as it began cooling down.

Fortunately I didn't need light to follow him. He seemed to know exactly where he was going despite the darkness. In less than a minute the lights came up and I knew I was in hell.

Directly ahead the warehouse was empty, no one looking in from the outside would see anything. But off to the side was a bed. That wasn't so bad unless you noticed the frame.

The earliest vision I had of the Sandman in action was Diana McKenzie. The bed was simple, the restraints comparatively mundane. Amanda Watkins was more elaborate but as far as he was concerned, pointless and frustrating. At that point I'd had to wonder if he had picked Maria Pena at least partly out of a sense of frustration following his time with Amanda. Amanda had been totally submissive thanks to her time at the hands of her father and all the other upstanding members of the Church of Inner Circle. She had put up no fight, offered no resistance whatsoever. For a man bent on breaking her to his will it had to have been beyond frustrating. For Maria he had ordered custom-made bondage equipment. A steel framework with straps and attachments designed specifically for the purpose of breaking a fractious subject to your will. Maria's shoulder had actually been dislocated, not once but, according to the pathologist doing her autopsy, several times in her struggles. He had forced her in every sense of the word, and she had fought him every step of the way. After Amanda, it had to have been one hell of a rush for him. Kind of made me wonder what he had seen in Angela. She was tough and a fighter, but nothing like Maria.

The new bed showed me that he was not looking for, or expecting another Maria, but that he was keeping his options open. The frame looked like a regular brass tube framework that you would expect on any antique or reproduction headboard, except that this one was constructed of two-inch stainless steel tubing with quarter inch anchors welded all long the framework; at the head, the foot and every six inches along the side rails, which were height adjustable as well. You could tow a midsized car with that frame.

Not far from the bed was an updated version of the modified weight bench he'd had Angela tied to when I found her. Not far from that... that was not a part of his regular play-time furniture. I'd never seen anyone tortured before but that had torture written all over it; I suspected that somewhere along the way he had in fact found out that he had been ripped off and had made preparations for getting his money back. Either that or he was slipping further and further over the edge.

"I don't care what it takes," Jamie said. "We are NOT getting on that."

"Then I hope you're ready because he's coming back."

"Ready? Are you kidding? Jimmy, we're still tied up! We haven't even had time to try and get loose."

"Then we'll have to wait and hope we get a chance later. Be patient, Sis, remember what we learned from Malloy; don't push a bad position, be patient and pick your opportunity. Chances are he'll move Rebecca first, she's been out longer."

Sure enough, he opened the back door of the van, checked my pulse, then pulled Rebecca out, slung her over his shoulder and headed back across the room. That he wasn't planning on coming back for us right away seemed evident in that he closed the back doors of the van again instead of leaving them open. If he were planning to come back for us right away he would have left them open. I watched as he dumped Rebecca on the bed, un-cuffed her hands and then cuffed them individually to different anchor points on the bed. A switchblade made short work of the duct tape securing her ankles and then these too were secured to the frame using what appeared to be a steel cuff padded with leather and sheepskin. The final touches were the blindfold over her eyes and the ball gag in her mouth.

Instead of coming back for me he moved to a storage box not far away, opened it and began removing and setting up several industrial tripods. Another box yielded a variety of different spotlights and reflectors — the kind photographers use, which he mounted around the area. Then he began setting up several video cameras.

"Jimmy?"

"Yeah?" I answered.

"I think it's getting to be that time. Maybe you should go and make sure Rene is ready. I think we're going to need him."

A couldn't help but feel a pang of regret that I was about to invite a man to his own death but it passed quickly as I reminded myself that this was what he wanted. More than anything else, the chance at redemption, the chance to stop himself, was what he wanted most in this world, in what was left of his life.



"Yeah, I'm on it. I don't know if you'll be able to reach me, but try to call if anything important happens."

"I'll do my best. Jimmy. I love you."

"I love you too, sis. We're going to get through this, we have to, too many people are counting on us."

"Yeah, see you soon."





-------

Chapter 74: Action!

I found Rene kneeling by his cot, praying in a language I didn't understand. I huddled quietly below the bunk and waited for him to finish. I don't know how long it really took, dream time and all that ... but eventually I heard a word I recognized, 'amen', and he began to rise.

"Amen," I said into the silence.

"Sebastian?" he said, turning to face me and sitting on the cot. "My friend, why did you not tell me you had come?"

"You were busy," I said.

"But I was only..."

"It was important," I said, interrupting. "Rene, my friend, have you made your peace?"

"Yes!" he said confidently. "I have spent much time in prayer and meditation. My future is in God's hands. What will come, will come and I face it boldly, for the Lord is with me."

"Then prepare yourself," I said. "Because I know what has troubled you of late. You know that I am working with others to catch you? I know what felt so different to you. He has indeed taken another, but not as a plaything but as a means to an end. He has kidnapped the sister of the agent that I have been assisting, to use her as bait to lure her sister from the safe house she was staying in. Before we go further I must ask you, do you know this woman?"

I created an image of Rebecca's partner. His reaction told me what I needed to know as he leaped to his feet and drew back defensively.

"Dahrinka! My God, Sebastian, what have you to do with her?"

"Then you do know her?"

"Yes," he answered. "Yes, of course I know her, we trained together. For a time I thought I was in love with her, but she..." he shook his head. "She is poison that one. From the beginning there was something cold and distant about her. Even in passion you knew ... there was the sense that she was ... toying with you, studying you. I spoke to Deryk of her once. He confessed to being with her. She had come to him late one night, long after the time we were supposed to be about. She had awakened him and urged him to silence, coaxed him, and mounted him. The thrill of the forbidden act gripped him and he let her take him. She was his first and only lover, for he died shortly after, but even so he regretted allowing it to happen, for it unnerved him the way she watched him throughout the encounter, staring into his eyes, studying him moment to moment, starting and stopping and always watching his eyes, until finally he spent his passion into her. Something in her terrified him, and yet still he could not deny her as night after night she came to him, each time watching him with that dark intensity."

Something about the way he said it told me this wasn't all second hand knowledge.

"And when she came to you?" I asked.

"I was ready for her. Having been warned by both Deryk and Lucia to be wary of her should she come in the night. Unbeknownst to her, Lucia and I had been lovers for some time and I was not unversed in the bedroom arts. Lucia had warned me that she would come, not that she may come, but as a certainty that she would for she had come to both of the others already. First Deryk, then Lucia. Lucia was at first grateful for the attention, finding it satisfying in a way that I was not, though she claimed to care for me and was always generous in her praise when we were together. Still there was a part of her, a separate part in a way, that craved something more, something that I knew I could never provide. Apparently Dahrinka could, speaking to that part of Lucia that I could not and bringing her a gift I could never bear."

"I understand," I said simply.

"No," he said emphatically. "You could not unless you had been with her. I was prepared; warned by Deryk and Lucia, and still, when she came to me ... I cannot describe it, but when she left, she took a part of me with her. It was how she got her nickname, how she became known as..."

"The Black Queen?" I offered, interrupting.

"Lord save you, Sebastian, you do know her!"

"Yes and no," I said. "She was sent to assist in your capture, in your other's capture, but a few weeks ago she disappeared. We thought she had been taken, but..."

"That is not possible!" he swore, coming to his feet. "No! He could not take her unless he did not know it was she. There was a hierarchy among us, and she was the leader. We deferred to her in all things lest we bring punishment upon ourselves."

Now we were getting somewhere! "In all things?" I asked.

"No," he said, his voice changing slightly. I thought maybe I detected a hint of humor in there somewhere. "In truth, not all. She was preferred by those who trained us, because of her insight and grasp of complex situations, especially politics, but still I could best her within certain established parameters. This drove her crazy and sometimes she would fall into the most destructive of rages."

"She hates to lose?"

"Yes, very much."

"And you were better than her?"

"In many things yes, but still she insisted on leading and I had no desire to push the issue. She led well and I preferred not to be responsible for the others."

"But she knew you were better and it irritated her because you both knew it?"

"Yes," he said and now I could hear the smile in his voice even though I could not see it through the mask. "But how do you know her?"

"Apparently, just as you did, she works for Interpol and she was sent to assist in catching you. She was the partner of the woman I work with. When I stole your money they put guards on both of the women in case you tried to retaliate. A few days later her guards were murdered and she disappeared. Due to the circumstances, everyone assumed that you took her. Shortly after that an attempt was made to kidnap me. The attempt failed and we caught one of them, but before we could question him he was killed. After that they apparently decided to study me, watching and testing. Eventually they were ready to try again. They abducted a girl I was seeing and used her as bait. That time we caught five of them. The leader was attached to a foreign embassy and we had to let him go. Well, they had to let him go. I had other methods available and after a few days I finally got him to tell me who had hired him. Normally it wouldn't have taken that long, but he was very afraid of whoever it was. He claimed he did not know her and never to have met her, and I believed him. All he knew was that she was known as the Black Queen and that she would kill him if he talked. Apparently he was right, because he's dead now."

"Yes," he said. "To cross her was a dangerous thing, very dangerous. And you say she was after you, why?"

"Apparently she learned of my abilities. We're not sure but we think she is hoping to be able to learn how I do it or force me to use my gifts on her behalf."

"Is this gift something she could learn?"

"I don't believe so, no. My greatest fear has always been that the wrong people would learn of it. As I'm sure you can appreciate, the potential for harm is..."

"Yes," he interrupted. "Forgive me, my friend, but I have often thought, in the quiet of my prison, that you would be a source of great evil should you desire it."

"I don't need to forgive you for thinking the truth. At any rate, it is now clear that Dahrinka staged her disappearance, arranging for the blame to fall on you. We think that, just as you did five years ago, she has gone rogue and is using this situation to cover her tracks. She has apparently been in contact with your other self, warning him that I would find him so that he was prepared when I did."

"You have been captured!"

"Yes, that is why I came to you. I think the time is near when we will bring this to an end and I wanted you to be ready. I am hoping that freeing you will provide enough of a distraction to allow us to escape and..." I didn't want to say it.

"Kill me?" he asked, filling in the blank for me. "Do not concern yourself with me, Sebastian. I have known since this began that to stop him would mean my death. If killing me would stop him, I would have done it myself years ago, but there is no guarantee that it would be successful. Kill him! If you can indeed free me from this prison, then I will do everything I can to regain control, but one way or the other, you must kill me or, sooner or later, he will take me again. Promise me, Sebastian, promise me you will end my suffering and I will help you."

"You don't need to explain, Rene, I have known all along that this was your desire, and that it was the only way to be sure he is destroyed. I promise if it is within my power, I will end your pain."

"Thank you, my friend."

"Don't thank me yet, but prepare yourself because I believe the time is fast approaching."

"I am ready."

"I wish I was," I said to myself as I returned to the van to see how Jamie was doing.

"You wish you were what?" she asked.

"Ready," I answered. "You're not free; I was hoping you had found something to pick these cuffs with."

"No, it's fucking bare to the walls back here. I'm thinking we need to plan better next time. I was thinking a pair of Mylar picks hidden inside the belt would have come in real handy right about now."

"And they wouldn't trip things like airport scanners. I like it, but it doesn't really help us right now. Sis, we have to be ready when he comes back. We don't stand a ghost of a chance of taking him with our hands tied."

"How did it go with Rene?" she asked, changing the subject.

"He's ready," I answered. "And he confirmed our suspicions about Henslith; she is the Black Queen."

"Great," she said sarcastically. "Just what we needed, not just one of the world's greatest killing machines, but two. We really do lead a charmed life. I think we've got one shot and it all comes down to how much of a distraction Rene is going to be able to provide. Here's what I'm thinking..."

We didn't have that long to wait. The back door of the van opened, as soon as he tripped the release for the second door Jamie kicked hard, driving my legs out from their tucked position, slamming the door open and catching him full on in the face and chest. As the impact drove him back I tore the mask from Rene's face, and the shit hit the fan.

It's hard to describe what it was like, have you ever seen those old black and white movies of the H-bomb tests back in the 50's and 60's? You know how they would show the shock wave hitting a structure and it would just sort of shudder? You could actually see the wave front move past it and then suddenly, WHAM! The whole thing just disintegrated from the force of the blast. It was sort of like that, like I was watching on a camera, safe from harm as the world fell apart around me.

Then I was back in the warehouse, where the Sandman screamed and fell to his knees, his body twitching and shaking. Blood starting to drip from his nose where the door had hit it.

Rene had warned me not to try and help at this point, "Whatever you do, do not fight him at this point. Do not try to help. If you do it will only make his control that much stronger as this is how we were conditioned to respond. The greater the threat, the more he will be in control. If I fail then you may do whatever you will for it will no longer matter to me.

So instead, Jamie slid out of the van and started hopping across the room to where Rebecca was tied up. It took about fifteen seconds just to hop there, and as I turned to reach for the knife the Sandman slammed into me, knocking me to the floor and scattering the contents of the table. I flipped onto my back to try and ward him off with my feet and found myself staring down the barrel of a nine millimeter as he stood frozen above me. I took a deep breath and tried to brace myself as best I could but the shot never came as suddenly he threw the gun away and screamed again, curling in on himself as if someone had punched him hard in the gut. Then his hands went to his head as the screaming continued.

Seeing an opportunity I slid forward and kicked out as hard as I could at the nearest knee. There was satisfying pop and he crashed to the ground next to me, but as he hit the ground his head came up, eyes focusing intently on me and suddenly he rolled forward over my outstretched legs his elbow slamming into my abdomen, knocking the wind out of me. My body instinctively curled around the blow and stars danced before my eyes as his next blow landed on the side of my head. Once more I found myself helpless and defenseless, waiting for death when again he screamed. Before the scream died he had rolled clear and was once more twitching on the floor.

As I lay gasping for air I noticed the knife only a few feet away and began slowly inching toward it, keeping a constant watch on my enemy.

"Okay," Jamie said. "No more hitting the bad guy or doing anything to attract his attention. If he looks at us, freeze and try to look as helpless as possible. Apparently all he needs is the perception of a tangible threat to regain almost total control. As soon as we are helpless again, Rene rushes in and stops him but we're not helping."

As she was speaking his body convulsed and suddenly he was curled up facing away from us. Instantly I rolled over on top of the knife and then froze as the sound of my movement caught his attention and he spun once more toward me. I moaned loudly and made a show of trying to curl away from a blow and suddenly his eyes lost focus once more as the inner battle resumed. As I lay there trying to relax and wait for the next chance to move I started catching images of the struggle going on within him as the two halves battled for final supremacy. Rene wasn't doing well. It was a titanic struggle, resembling one of those Saturday afternoon Kung Fu movies, all blocks and missed punches and kicks except that you could see the strain on the combatants faces. See the pain and blood when a blow got through. Suddenly something changed, perhaps he knew he was losing and decided it was all or nothing, but Rene suddenly went totally on the offensive, forgoing any pretense at defense he landed a flurry of blows on his opponent. Several got through but then apparently his enemy realized what he was doing and tucked in just long enough to look for an opening. It didn't take long before he apparently saw what he wanted and as Rene threw yet another kick at his head he dropped and swept Rene's feet out from under him, causing him to crash hard on his back. The wind exploded out of him and he lay momentarily defenseless at the Sandman's feet.

"Now Jimmy!" Jamie cried. "You have to buy him some time."

Holding the knife in one hand I rolled and pulled my cuffed hands over my tucked feet so that they were now in front of me. Flipping the knife open I made one quick slice through the duct tape binding my feet, splitting it neatly. Before I could do the back Jamie rushed forward and threw us into a roll to the side. As the foot that was aimed at my head sped past my perspective changed and the battle started in earnest.

As she rolled to her feet Jamie slashed through the remaining tape, freeing her legs. My hands were still cuffed but now at least I could move. Without hesitation she threw the knife as far away as she could and dropped into a half-crouch, waiting for him to make the first move. He had the experience but we had the better perspective. I still wasn't sure how it worked, but somehow Jamie was able to take advantage of my outside perspective. She could see the muscles tense as he began to move and was well prepared for the weak kick that came flying toward her head. Even before she blocked it she was moving to duck the second kick that was the intended to do the actual damage.

Maybe facing a sixteen year old high school kid made him over-confident but he was not prepared when she didn't just duck but squatted and kicked hard at the knee that was now holding his weight. It was the same knee I had kicked previously and this time something gave and he went down hard. He recovered quickly but Jamie was already moving to the next attack, stomping hard on the closest hand, trying to make him to lose his balance as he instinctively pulled it back. Instead he turned the fall into a roll, using it to put some distance between us. He surged back to his feet. His balance was off as he now favored the damaged knee and he was shaking his hand in a pained motion. The look in his eyes said he had learned from his mistake and would not be taking us for granted again. Jamie used her cuffed hands to block the crane kick coming straight at her but it was a feint and a fist crashed into the side of my face. Pain exploded above my left cheek and I momentarily saw stars. Hours spent sparing with Carter Malloy told me where the next blow would logically come from and I blocked it automatically, feeling his hand hit the steel edge of the cuffs as my wrists blocked his punch. That had to hurt, slamming your hand into the edge of the hardened steed cuffs.

That gave me time for my vision to clear and I stepped away to buy a little more time and a better view of the next attack.

"Time to try something else," Jamie said, and suddenly my view changed again and I was looking a killer in the eye as he stepped forward for the next attack.

He was choosing a more conventional attach, playing to his strength and my handicap. You can't box with your hands cuffed together so as soon as he threw his first jab I blocked and snapped a kick at his midsection.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

The kick was a mistake, he was ready for it, blocking the kick upward, causing the leg to extend and then sweeping my support leg from underneath me. I did my best to roll with the fall but it still hurt like hell. The kick that caught me in the ribs as I tried roll away hurt even more and I was pretty sure that was a rib breaking. This was not going well.

I managed to roll clear and stand up but he was right there and ready for me. I blocked the punch but it left my damaged side exposed and he kicked hard again at the same spot. Pain exploded through me and this time I knew something had broken.

My vision swam and I was doing my best to keep some distance between us when suddenly he froze, his body shaking violently and in my mind Jamie screamed, "Now!"

Instantly I realized what had happened. I'm not sure how, maybe she used Rene, but somehow Jamie had invaded and was now doing her best to take over or at least block him, allowing me time to do the rest. My side was killing me and it was getting hard to breathe but it was do or die time.

Jamie's words from the day of the fight with the two purse-snatchers came back to me: "You still have this mad delusion that there is such a thing as a fair fight. The point of fighting isn't to be fair, the point of fighting is to end the fight as quickly as humanly possible so that you don't get hurt ... If someone has forced you into this position, chances are they are not your friend. So just get it over with."

Well I was already hurt, and if I didn't end this he sure as hell would, permanently. Saint Malloy, be with me now! Without hesitation I kicked him as hard as I could right in the balls. As he doubled forward I did my best to ignore the pain that transferred back up my leg to my side at the impact, stepped in quickly and kicked downward across the knee I had damaged earlier. There was a very satisfying snap as the joint shattered and he started to go down. Clasping my hands together and holding my breath I slammed my cuffed hands into the side of his head with every ounce of strength I had left. I couldn't hold in the scream as the pain in my side seemed to go off the chart. I'm not sure which one of us hit the floor first but suddenly it was hard to breathe.

The room began to spin slowly and the lights had started to fade when I heard Jamie's voice again, "Jimmy? Please Jimmy ... you promised." Why did she sound so weak?

A familiar voice answered saying, "She is trapped. It took all of her energy to hold him and she does not have the strength to return."

I couldn't seem to find the strength to turn toward the voice. It was getting hard to think.

"How?" I asked.

"She needs a physical path, you must touch him. Hurry, James, or she will be lost."

The thought of losing her triggered an adrenaline surge, keeping me awake and clearing my vision enough to focus on the task at hand. Rene's body was laying face down only five feet away but it may as well have been on another planet as the surge was already fading. I just didn't have enough strength left to move, not without help. Where was Walter when I...

"WALTER!" I screamed. Thank god you don't have to take a deep breath for a mental scream.

Suddenly he was there, not coming, but there, already inside me, his strength filling me. I pressed my hand to my injured side, bracing the area as best I could and prepared to drag myself toward my sister.

"No, my Lord," Walter said as he stepped clear once more. "Rest and I will get her."

I collapsed back to the floor as he left me and watched as he walked to Rene's body, bent and lifted Jamie out; she hung limp in his arms and I feared I may still have been too late. He carried her back and laid her down into me.

I gasped at how cold she felt sinking back into me but even so I couldn't suppress the feeling of joy I felt at her return. "Thank you, Walter, go back to Amy."

"Are you sure my Lord?"

"Go," I said sternly. "She needs you more."

"As you wish my Lord," he said, then he bowed and disappeared.

"Very good," the voice came again. I had all but forgotten my other guest.

I tried to answer but I wasn't thinking too clearly so I tried to speak physically and instead of words a cloud of blood flew out of my mouth and another wave of pain passed through me. Shit, this wasn't good.

"Am I dying?" I asked.

"Yes," she answered. "You are bleeding internally; the broken rib punctured your lung and blood is seeping in. If an ambulance arrived right now it is still unlikely you would survive."

"Can I heal this?"

"Yes, but not here. The damage is too great. For this you must cross over."

"Cross over? What do you mean?"

"You exist in both worlds," she reminded me.

"You mean I can pass physically between the two? But that's..." I was suddenly racked by a fit of coughing. Blood spattered the floor in front of me and stars seemed to be exploding everywhere as a red haze blurred my vision. "Never mind, what do I have to do?"

"For this you require a threshold of some kind."

"A doorway?"

"That works best, but any perceptible line of demarcation will suffice."

I glanced around. I didn't think there was any way in hell I could make the door but I was about to try when something else caught my eye. It was an old building and apparently the slab had been poured in sections. Not two feet away was a groove in the floor where two sections met. 'A clear line of demarcation' she had said, that looked pretty clear to me.

"Okay, now what?"

"Picture the image in your mind, create the space you wish to enter and overlay the two so that the lines match up, concentrate on moving to the other space and then cross over. I will be waiting for you."

"Good," I said. "I'd say it was long past time we talked." I glanced at the line. "Fuck that's a long way!" That caused me to cough and spit out more blood. The coughing hurt like hell.

She smiled; laughter in her eyes. "Suck it up, grandpa." And then she too was gone.

"Grandpa?" I mumbled, and instantly regretted it. I hadn't realized how shallowly I had been breathing. Just that much effort was enough to make me cough again. I was making a hell of a mess on the floor. Gathering my strength I pictured the cabana in dreamspace, lined up the two images and crawled painfully across into the new room.

I could actually feel the change and once I was across I took a deep breath and was relieved when it didn't result in a wave of agony and more blood.

"It can't be that simple?" I said out loud and rolled onto my back, luxuriating in the absence of pain.

"It's not, but you're a special case."

I opened my eyes and lifted my head so I could see her. "Good evening, your Highness. I'd kneel but at the moment..."

"Oh, James," she said with a smile. "You need not be so formal with me; I am pleased to see you again."

In my mind memories were moving around quickly and several pieces that had never made sense started to finally drop into place. The picture they made was startling.

"You're real." It wasn't so much a statement as an accusation.

Brandiy cocked her head, smiled and said, "Of course I'm real. Your sister created me when she was a little girl and then, just as you did with Walter, you made me real."

I shook my head. "Uh-uh. Nice try but I think there is more to it than that. But, conveniently enough, I don't have time to get into it right now." I hopped up to my feet and continued, "My little magic trick earlier worked on Jamie, but when I tried it on Rebecca nothing happened. Well, not nothing, she did wake up here, but when we went back..."

"Yes, as you have discovered, there are limits to what you can do for others. You already knew you were different. You are now beginning to realize just how different. You exist in both worlds; the others only visit, sort of."

"So I can heal myself here and go right back?"

"Yes, and you may want to consider doing that soon, because you are still needed there."

There was something in her voice... "You know something. What aren't you telling me?"

"I'm sorry, James. I was instructed not to say anything further at this time. For now you are on your own again. If all goes well, we can talk more next time." She turned to leave but I stopped her.

"Instructed?" I asked. "Instructed by whom? Who sent you? Please Brandiy, don't make me force it out of you, I don't have time to play these games. Tell me what is going on."

She turned back and now there were tears in her eyes, "No James, I'm sorry, but I can say no more. As for making me, you would not, and I am protected by one that even you cannot overrule."

"And that's who sent you? Please, Brandiy, I need to know. I'm asking you as a friend."

"And it is as your friend that I must say no. Think carefully about what you have learned tonight. As for the rest, I promise, when it is time, you will know. You should go now." With that she turned and disappeared.

"Just fucking wonderful," I said to the empty air. "Just what I need, more mysteries."

Mysteries I could deal with later; I had a promise to keep.

"This is weird." I said to myself as I pictured the empty warehouse in my mind. I overlaid the line I had used with the door to the cabana, opened it and crossed back into the real world.

"I'm alive!" Jamie cried suddenly. I hadn't realized it before but the whole time I was on the other side it was like she was in a bubble. "Jimmy, you did it! You saved me! I love you! I could kiss you, but I don't feel quite up to another field trip right at the moment."

"You're welcome," I said. "I'm glad you're all right, I was worried there for a bit and..."

"What the..." she began in a startled voice. "Uh, don't take this wrong, but didn't we just get the shit beat out of us?"

"Long story, right now we've got work to do. Be ready, I may need you again and don't worry about your energy, you're fine."

"Huh?"

I rolled my eyes and walked across the room to where we had scattered the contents of the table. I pulled two latex gloves out of the box and pulled them on -- no easy task with handcuffs on, maybe I should have taken them off while I was on the other side? A dozen steps took me to where Rene had thrown the gun. Picking it up, I ejected the clip and emptied it of all but one bullet. I pocketed the rest and then took it back and laid it on the ground a few feet in front of Rene's body. I then rolled him over to check on him. He was unconscious but still alive. I fished his keys out of his pocket and took the cuffs off.

As his arm flopped over I noticed the time. Shit, I needed to get out of here. The timer in the car was going to go off any time now. I needed to be there before Rod found Amy. There was no way to explain my absence without telling him where I was. I didn't have a problem telling Rod the truth but this all had to go in a report somewhere and I definitely didn't want anyone knowing I was here. But there were a couple more things I needed to do here first.

It was strange looking down at Rene's body and knowing that it really was him I was looking at, but somehow I could see that he was now in control. I could see him praying as he waited for his body to wake up. Time to take that last step. With a thought I went to visit him for the last time.

"Hello, Rene," I said from behind him. He turned slowly toward me, his every move reflecting the damage I had done to him physically. Apparently healing wasn't something everyone could in their own dreams. As he turned I was surprised to realize that I was looking at both of them. The two halves had somehow merged and become one after a lifetime apart.

"Sebastian," he said in a pained voice. "It is good to see you my friend. How did you know it was me?"

"Does it matter?" I asked. "Rene, I'm sorry about this; sorry it has to end this way."

"Do not be sorry, my friend, for I am not. You have given me everything I wanted in this life. Thank you."

"Will he fight you?"

"No, he knows it is death or capture with no way to escape this time. Capture means going back and he would rather be dead than return to Europe. We both would, so for once our purposes are the same and he trusts me to do what he cannot. What of Dahrinka? What will you do about her?"

"I don't know, but I'm not concerned about her right now. I'm more concerned about you. I have to go now Rene, but before I leave, can you tell me where he buried Kenneth Riley, the man he pretended to be when he killed the girls?"

"I understand," he said weekly. "Yes. Sebastian, tell them that I am sorry for the pain and trouble I have caused. Know that had it been in my power I would have stopped him. Also, you did not get it all, there is another account. Do you have something to write with?"

"It's okay, Rene," I said. "I'll remember."

"Of course you will," he said, chuckling and then wincing in pain. He gave me the name of the bank, the account number and passwords, and the location of the shallow grave where the Sandman had buried Kenneth Riley after murdering him. It wasn't much but hopefully being able to bury their son properly would bring some peace to his parents and the rest of the family.

"I know what the world thinks of me, and I know that you do not want the money, I can see in your eyes that you are not such that would, but please, consider it my dying request. I know that you will use it for good. Now, please go, you should not see this."

I leaned in and kissed him gently on each cheek. "Goodbye, my friend. May God grant you peace."

I left him there, sensing that he was only moments from regaining consciousness and with no doubt that he must finish this journey on his own. Across the room Rebecca was staying very still but I could feel her in my head again so I knew she was awake and had been for some time. This was another new thing that I was going to have to play with. Usually I had to be on the other side to sense someone like this. Allison was going to have a field day with all the new tricks, but that was going to have to wait until later as well. Right now my primary concern was how to get out of here and back to Amy before it was too late. As I was walking toward Rebecca I noticed the line on the floor and the impossible occurred to me. Could it work? Was that what she meant when she said to consider what I had learned? I pictured the other side in my mind and stepped across. There on the floor, not five feet in front of me was a familiar envelope. The note inside simply read:

I knew you would figure it out.

I dropped the note and stepped back across the line. Hurrying over to Rebecca I pressed the keys into her right hand, trusting that she would be able to do the rest on her own. I piled the extra bullets on the floor in front of the bed and hurried back across the line into dreamspace. Immediately, I moved to the dark room in the rec center where Walter stood holding Amy's hand. Apparently, while I was gone she had finished growing up and now she lay on a bed identical to the one her body occupied in the real world.<

"My Lord," Walter said, dipping his head respectfully to me. "I was not expecting you. I trust we were successful in rescuing your fair sister. Will you now wait with us then?"

"Yes."

I looked at the doorway and in my mind, aligned this version with the real one, then stepped through the doorway. When I turned and looked back through the doorway, everything was as it had been except that the light passed unhindered through Walter's form and he cast no shadow.

"Unreal," I said to myself. I glanced in the closet and was relieved to find that he had left both of my phones there when he took us. I guess he wasn't worried about anyone knowing he had me as well. I checked the time and called Rod.

"Rodriguez."

"It's me. Amy's in Arroyo Park, in one of the rec buildings. The tracker is going to go off in about two minutes. That will lead you to an empty house just outside the park. The building is directly behind the house about a quarter mile in."

"And?"

I guessed from the question that he wasn't alone and couldn't ask what he really wanted to.

"She's not here. She's in a warehouse over by the airport. She should just about have herself free by now." Even as I spoke a gunshot echoed through my mind and a wave of peace passed over me. I said a silent goodbye, turned my attention back to Rod and said, "I expect you'll be hearing from her shortly. Try to act surprised when she calls."

"We're on our way," he said and the line went dead.

Rod never made it. About five minutes after hanging up with me, Rebecca called him and he diverted most of the team to the warehouse. He called and told me he was sending a team of agents with the ambulance just to make sure everything went smoothly. I turned on the lights in the building and waited. Looking around I found a ring of keys hanging in the maintenance office. On a whim, I walked down to the gate to see if one of them fit the lock. One did, so I called Rod back, got the agent's cell number and directed them to the gate to let them in. Twenty minutes later Amy was loaded into the Ambulance and on her way to USC Medical Center to be checked out and I was on the way to a hotel. The agents had wanted to take me back to headquarters but a quick call to Rod got me off the hook on the condition that I come in for a statement later in the morning. I promised I would be there, and headed off to find a hotel where I could relax and share some good news.

I had my doubts about making the meeting. In addition to letting Lizzy know I was okay, I had to tell Allison what I had been up to. She was going to kill me.



-------

Chapter 75: Good News


A quick call to information located a Hilton Hotel just off the airport property. It was a damn good thing that my little trip through dreamspace to heal myself had come with dry cleaning or I probably would have been spending the night somewhere decidedly less comfortable; just one more item on my 'WTF' list of things to worry about later.

Looking back I probably should have called first. After all, it was late and I didn't have a reservation. Naturally, the only room they had available was a suite; would that be okay?

"Does it have a bathtub?"

"Oh, yes sir!" she assured me. "Actually, the room has a small spa."

"Perfect," I said.

The rate was only mildly extortionate and I didn't really care anyway. As long as there was enough hot water to fill the tub I was good to go. No luggage, of course. I should have planned better. Granted, I wasn't sure I was going to survive my encounter with Rene's dark side, but still, it would have been nice to have a change of clothes. For a brief moment I considered going to the apartment and picking something up but then I realized that Rod already knew I didn't have any luggage.

Note to self: Always take at least one bag. It doesn't matter what's in it, they'll just assume that whatever they didn't see originally came from the bag.

It was well past midnight before I settled back into the tub. The last step was calling Rod to let him know where I was. Then I closed my eyes, and went to spread the good news. I could feel Lizzy and Amber waiting for me. They were both in Lizzy's bed, but neither was sleeping. Lizzy was restless and Amber was feeling her anxiety and doing her best to be patient. Allison was in her glade, worried. I debated bringing them in all at once or one at a time and decided that one at a time would be best. I moved to the cabana and converted the little sunken pool in the floor to a hot tub for the night so I could continue my soak.

"Elizabeth," I called softly, and watched her lift her head from the pillow, smile, and sigh before relaxing into sleep. Amber's reaction was to smile and spoon closer up against her. I had no doubt that she would be ready to join us shortly.

Lizzy faded in across from me and hesitated just long enough to recognize the setting before she launched herself into my arms, kissing me repeatedly as tears started running down her cheeks. The only way to catch my breath was to hug her so close she couldn't reach my face.

"Hi," I said. "I missed you too."

"Oh, Jimmy," she whispered softly through the sobs. "I love you so much. Are you okay?"

I pulled her back and kissed her forehead and said, "That seems like an odd question coming from you. Can't you tell?"

"I hadn't really tried. It takes a lot to look closely at you. You look a little dim, if you know what I mean, like your energy is down, but not like it was with Shannon. This is more like you did something major and need to recharge. How's Jamie? She didn't come out to meet me or even share the kiss. Is she all right?"

Jamie decided to answer for herself and slid out into the space next to us. Lizzy immediately shifted the hug from me to her, pulling her in close and showering her neck and shoulder with kisses. I couldn't be sure, but for a second it looked like Jamie might actually be tearing up. Nah, must have been my imagination. Finally, Lizzy released her and pulled back.

"You look like hell," she said. "I've never seen your energy so low; are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Jamie replied, then she hugged my arm and added, "Thanks to big brother here. I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I was too weak to get back and he was too busted up to reach me."

"Oh my God!" Lizzy exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Nothing serious," I said. "Just a little one-on-one death-match with the Sandman."

"You did what?" Allison's angry voice said as she faded in standing over the tub glaring down at us. "You went after the Sandman without even telling me!"

Oh yeah, she was pissed! As far as I could see, I had two choices, suck up or die. I turned so I was kneeling in my seat and reached for her hand.

"I'm sorry, Allison. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but I knew you would be worried and then mom would freak out, and it had to be done one way or the other so ... mostly I just didn't want to see you cry. Please forgive me, but I couldn't think of anything I could say to you that wouldn't have sounded like goodbye, and I don't ever want to say goodbye to you."

She sighed, took my hand, and stepped down into the tub with us, then turned and hugged me.

"That was pretty good," she said. "I'm still mad at you, but that was pretty good. You're okay? It sounded like Jamie said you got your ass kicked."

"We did," I said. "If it hadn't been for Jamie we'd probably be dead right now."

"If it hadn't been for him we would be dead," Jamie countered.

"So how bad is it, what are you hiding?" Allison asked. "Are you at a hospital somewhere?"

"No, but we're going in the morning. Rebecca is picking you up and then I'm going to meet you both at the hospital. She's going to introduce us to Amy.

"We're going to Amy's hospital?"

"Not exactly. You see, the reason this all came up is that sometime early Monday morning the Sandman kidnapped Amy as bait to get Rebecca to come to him. Rod called me yesterday afternoon while I was in the attorney's office and..." I stopped and said. "Do you mind if I save that story for later? I'm going to have to tell it to Bob and Rebecca and that way you can all hear it at once. Right now, there's something I want to do. Jamie? Are you staying out for this?"

"No, I don't think so," she said, then slid over to Allison. "I don't think now is the best time to introduce me. Kiss me and we'll talk later, okay? He really did want to tell you."

"I know," Allison said, kissing her lightly, just a sisterly kiss on the lips. "I'm going to hold you to that later thing too."

"Mmmm! Can't wait!" Jamie said. The next kiss wasn't sisterly and then Jamie disappeared.

"So, what now?" Allison asked. "It must be important if you're putting everything else on hold and risking me beating you to death to get you to talk."

I just smiled my best Cheshire Cat grin and said, "Allison, this is going to be a day of surprises; one I think you will remember fondly for the rest of your life. Amber!"

Instantly she was kneeling on the floor next to the hot tub, perfectly poised, eyes downcast, her bearing straight and erect, demure but somehow radiating pride at being there.

"Yes my Master."

"Take off your collar."

Her head came up and she met my eyes questioningly as she reached and removed the collar.

"Does removing your collar change who you are?" I asked when she had it off.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "It changes my name, gives me different options depending on the situation, but it does not change who I am."

She looked at each of us — that alone said a lot; as Amber she would never look to another when asked a question by her Master. Lizzy and Allison were both doing their best to keep their emotions hidden and their faces blank even though both had figured out what I was doing.

I stood and stepped out of the pool, reaching for her hand as I did and pulling her to her feet. Behind me I heard Lizzy and Allison stand as well.

"Angela," I said, looking into her eyes. "I have some good news for you."

"What?" she asked in an uncertain voice.

"He's dead."

She stared at me, looking even more confused. "What? Who's dead? I don't..." Suddenly her eyes got wide and she said, "No, you don't ... you can't mean..." She looked at the girls who were both smiling and nodding and she froze. "I ... oh god..."

Her hands came up to her face and she collapsed to her knees, not in her slave pose but as a girl whose legs just couldn't support her. Lizzy and Allison went down next to her, hugging her and stroking her back and arms. Soon the relief turned to joy as she screamed, "Oh my God! Thank you, Jesus, he's DEAD! Yes!"

Suddenly she bounced to her feet and hugged me, almost knocking me down in the process. "I love you I love you I love you! Oh God, I love you." She pulled back and looked me in the eye.

"Jimmy?" she started then paused, biting her lip before continuing. "Jimmy? Can I see it? Please?"

"Are you sure you want to?" I asked.

"Yes!" she said, nodding emphatically. "Oh yeah, I want to ... Jimmy, I need to."

"Okay," I said. "I can't show you all of it because I didn't see the end, but trust me, he's dead."

I could see all of them wanting to ask the obvious question, so I held up my hand and said, "You'll understand when you see it."

I took her hand and turned us toward the open area, the room was replaced with a view of the warehouse and I ran the scene from just after him tying up Rebecca and opening the back door to the van, all the way through until Jamie took him over and I put him on the ground. That wasn't how he actually died, but I didn't think the method was as important as the fact, so I let the scene fade.

Apparently it conveyed the right message as Angela said, "Yes! Finally!" in an excited whisper.

"That was intense!" Allison said.

Lizzy wasn't saying anything, just nodding her head.

I returned us to the cabana. "Feel better?" I asked.

Angela just looked up at the ceiling, shook her head from side to side, and said, "You just don't know."

Reaching up, I put my hand on her cheek, stared into her eyes when she looked down at me, and said, "Yes, Angela, I do."

As she stared back into my face I could see fresh tears forming and she leaned into my hand, her lips pressed tight together and trembling for a moment before she said, "Yeah, you do," in a voice made husky by the sudden tightness in her chest.

Then she reached for me and I slid into her arms as she wept against my shoulder and whispered, "Thank you, Jimmy. Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome," I answered, and then the girls descended on us for another group hug.

"Make love to me Jimmy," Angela whispered softly. "Please?"

"Any time, Angels -- anytime, anywhere; I will always be here for you. Girls, if you will excuse us for a while?"

"Can I come too?" Jamie asked.

"I think that's a wonderful idea. I think we should make this just as special as we possibly can."

"How special?" she asked. "Me kissing you from inside of her special?"

"No," I answered with a chuckle. "I think that's a special you need actual skin for to truly appreciate. We'll save that for our honeymoon; just to make sure she knows how much a part of our lives she really is. But you're welcome to come if you still want to... ?"

"Duh! Of course I want to, don't be stupid." She blew kisses to Allison and Easy and we took Angela off to the big bed in the Bellagio. Well, the dream version anyway. Jamie stopped off at the Hilton to move us from the hot tub to the bed so we didn't turn into a giant prune, and then joined us for a little quality time together. Okay, a lot of quality time, but dream time is very subjective and what seemed like hours actually didn't take up that much time, which was good because Lizzy and Allison still wanted explanations. These were explanations that neither Angela nor Amber, or anyone else for that matter, would ever have so, even though it was about time for Lizzy to get up, she stayed behind so we could talk. I sent Amber back with instructions to do as much as she could to make sure that Lizzy could be ready quickly when she returned.

Then it was time to face the girls for some hard questions and answers so I gathered us back in the cabana. Allison of course started in on me as soon as I got back.

"Okay," she began. "Let's start with the obvious. You were getting the shit beat out of you, for real, not in a dream. Now, I'm guessing Jamie did something at the end there that saved you but now you're here, looking like you never broke a sweat and..."

"Allison!" Lizzy interrupted. "Jeez girlfriend, slow down, we get the picture, he left stuff out. Okay, so let him explain."

Allison blushed and said softly, "Sorry."

I recreated the scene at the point where I was laying helpless on the floor watching Jamie die just out of reach. I let them hear the unspoken audio as well. The voice came from off screen and I saw Allison stiffen when she heard it. Then I called Walter and he rescued Jamie for me. I stopped everything at the point that I put the keys in Rebecca's hand.

"Holy ... Shit!" Allison said. "All this time it was her sending you notes?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Fuck! And now you can... ," she was shaking her head, still unable to get a grip on what she had just seen. "You healed yourself, in dreamspace ... and when you came back your physical body was healed. Jimmy, how is that possible?"

My first thought was that I had no idea but that I wasn't going to look the proverbial gift-horse in the mouth.

Lizzy answered before I had a chance, "She said it — Walter said something about it before too, but he didn't have it all. Walter said he walked in both worlds, but there's more to it than that. Apparently, he somehow exists in both worlds and what he does here affects, or can affect him, there as well. How, I don't know, but apparently it's true because he's here and let me tell you, he's not hiding anything that I can see. You're not are you?"

I shook my head and answered, "No, I promise, what you just saw is what really happened."

"Then there is a lot more to all this than we ever even suspected," she said. "You just moved, physically, into a world that we have all assumed was strictly a subconscious projection. It explains why your energy is down too. I'm guessing you used up quite a bit healing yourself. Not to mention whatever it takes to cross a dimensional barrier like that, twice. No, three times, you used it to go back to Amy too. You need to keep that in mind because it means that there is, or at least there may be, a limit. Who is the girl?"

"Oh, you are not even going to believe that part!" Allison exclaimed.

Lizzy just looked at her questioningly.

"That," Allison continued, "Is Antoinette Elizabeth Soleil-Montes, and a very long time ago I found out, the hard way, that you don't ever want to call her that. Trust me, don't go there, if you should ever find yourself in a room with her, call her Brandiy, just like it sounds but with an I-Y at the end. Don't ask, because I have no idea how I know the spelling or why she spells it that way, just trust me. And it may have to be a really big room because she normally looks like this."

Suddenly the wall disappeared and a very large silver and pink dragon was lying on the beach outside.

"You're kidding?" Lizzy said.

"No, seriously, when I was a little girl ... oh man," she looked at me for confirmation, "four, maybe five?" I just shrugged and she went on, "Anyway, when I was little, she held me captive one night in the tower of her castle and Jimmy came to rescue me. That's how I found out about the whole name thing. Anyway, we all ended up having tea together after Jimmy wrecked her flower garden storming the castle. Then we didn't see her again until last year, the night my parents almost died. Jimmy took Shannon and me to see her for a little R&R. All I can think is that she's like Walter; she started out as someone else's dream character, in this case mine, but then Jimmy made her real. Apparently very real, because I think she's been the one sending him those notes all this time. You know; the ones in the really neat handwriting, signed with just an 'E'? Jimmy?"

"Yeah, but I think it's even weirder than that, sis. I don't think I made her. I think she's real."

"What do you mean real?" Allison asked skeptically. "Jimmy, she can't be real, she's a dragon."

"So what?" I answered. "In this environment, any of us could be one if we wanted to."

"You mean you think she's like you?" Allison said. "That she can do all the same stuff you can?"

"Apparently more, or where were the notes coming from? They weren't guesses; they were answers to specific questions or problems. She knew what I was thinking about and that the answers she was sending were the right ones."

"Too weird," Allison said.

"Then that was her the night Shannon died," Lizzy said.

"What about the night Shannon died?" Allison asked.

"He never told you?" Lizzy replied, looking surprised. "Jimmy told me that the night Shannon died I helped him. He said he started out in the dream just walking across a big empty plain, and that he ended up in a castle, where he met someone, or thinks he did, only he couldn't remember who, and then he walked under a pool and into a maze, and he ended up in a hall of mirrors. Whoever it was he met had told him that he would need help to free Shannon, but that in order to know the right person he had to know his strengths, because only by knowing his strengths could he know what kind of help he needed, or something like that. Anyway, in the mirrors were people from his life, each representing something to him. He had to choose one of us, the right one of us, to help him. He ended up choosing me and from there we went into this dark place and then all hell broke loose. Apparently there was something in the darkness and it attacked him. Eventually, Jimmy did his dream thing and shed a little light on the whole thing, and he was about to kill the creature that had attacked him only now that I could see — which is weird too because normally I see people just fine in the dark. Anyway, now that I could see I realized that it wasn't some dark, evil beast he was fighting but something else, and stopped him from killing it by tackling him and knocking us both back into the hall of mirrors. Then I somehow let him use my gift — which was a big hint that it wasn't me because I didn't even know it was possible, let alone how to do it. Anyway, he used my gift to see the truth and he went back and found this, thing, that was keeping Shannon alive, saw that it wasn't a beast or monster but something more like a small child and convinced it to let her go, they cried together and then he kissed it and it grew into Jamie and, well, you know pretty much everything that happened after that. Jimmy, do you think it was really her you met in the castle?"

"Yes," I said. "I recognized the castle as soon as I saw it but it didn't really trigger any memories or anything, and when I got inside the layout was different."

"Maybe it wasn't really the same castle," Allison suggested. "Maybe she made it look just familiar enough that you would recognize and be comfortable with it, and the reason you didn't remember her was..."

"It wasn't her," I said, interrupting. "At least not physically. I remember now, there was a piece of parchment floating in the air, and a silver pen that wrote on it in response to my questions, even if I didn't ask them out loud. The handwriting was the same as on all the notes though." The pieces slid together in my head and suddenly four and three made seven. "You're right about the rest though; all this time 'E' was for Elizabeth, not Edward."

"She could have been standing there invisibly, writing the answers all along and you just didn't see her," Allison said.

"But how?" I asked. "I always see everyone. Even when one of you is invisible I still see you."

"True," she replied, "but in those cases it's you that made us invisible so maybe you were unconsciously making it possible to keep track of everyone."

"Or maybe," Lizzy said, "she didn't want you to see her. Jimmy, this girl, woman, dragon, whatever; seems to be able to do what you do. She also seems to know more about what you can do than even you do. Isn't it conceivable that she could hide from you if she wanted to?"

I thought about it for a second before answering.

"Yes," I said finally. "At the end, before she disappeared and I came back to free Rebecca and finish things here, I had been trying to ask more questions, but she said she couldn't answer. I threatened to force her and she all be laughed it off. She said that there was only one person who could overrule me here. I gathered by what she said that whoever that someone is, he or she is who sent her to help me and that they would protect her. So unless she was making that up to keep me from trying, then conceivably there is someone out there even more powerful than me, and if that someone didn't want me to see her, I wouldn't have."

"Does that frighten you in any way?" Lizzy asked.

I thought about it for a second before answering, "No, not really. I mean look at the evidence. Every time she has done something it has been to help me. The note to assure me that mom would be okay with Rachel; the one telling me it was important to tell Rebecca the truth about what happened with Brad. She's the one that sent me to the House of Seven Willows and told Jasmine to be expecting me. So everything she has done, especially the stuff tonight, has been to help or reassure me. Whoever sent her is not my enemy."

"Just checking," Lizzy said. "So, I'm guessing all this is definitely in the 'Top Secret, Eyes-Only, Need-to-know' folder, and we're not going to be sharing it with too many people."

"Oh, I think that's a pretty safe assumption," Allison assured her. "Are you going to tell Bob?"

"I'm going to have to tell him some of it, probably Rebecca too. Not all of it, and I definitely think not about Brandiy, but there are going to be questions."

"Yeah," Lizzy said. "Like how you rescued her without even breaking a nail. You can tell me how that goes later, right now I think I need to get back and get ready for school. I don't want Amber to worry about me being late."

Allison stood up and gave her a hug and kiss goodbye, then I walked her to the door and did the same. I promised I would let her know how things went and then sent her back to bed to start her day. By the time I turned around, Allison, was snuggled into the big bed. She patted the space next to her, beckoning me to join her and we spent the rest of the night cuddled together. I never did get around to telling her about the blood-spatters that had disappeared from my clothes when I healed myself.

The day started awkwardly for me; along with not having a change of clothes I had nothing to run in either, which really messed with my routine. I was on my way back to the room from breakfast when my phone finally rang. It was Rebecca, but the call cut off after the first ring. I took it as a hint and called her back on the secure phone.

"Hi, it's me."

"Did you get any sleep?" She asked.

"I don't actually sleep any more, but I did get some rest. How about you?"

"Are you kidding? I've been up to my ass in this mess since Rod and the boys 'rescued' me. It's going to be probably noon before I'm finished doing all the reports. I'm almost surprised you answered. I figured it was damn late before you got to see your sister. I'm sure she wanted to know what kept you. Plus you're not big on lying, and I figured she'd kill you when she found out. So apparently that's one more miraculous escape to your credit. I don't suppose in all the excitement you told Bob?"

"No, actually I didn't get to him. You can tell him it's over, though of course officially you can't discuss it with him, but I think if nothing else comes up, I can meet with the two of you, and maybe Rod, to go over it tonight. Most of it anyway."

"No doubt, I'm very interested in the details, especially the ones I'm pretty sure you're not going to be sharing. Rod said you left instructions with your attorney before you left Vegas. You should be sure to call him and let him know you're okay, so he doesn't take any steps fearing the worst."

"I hadn't thought of that, thanks for reminding me. Listen, someone is going to have to give Amber the good news. Do you have any idea who's going to be doing the honors?"

"No, but I'll ask. Why?"

"I was hoping maybe you could be the one to do it. Anyone else may be a little surprised at her reaction, or lack of reaction since she already knows. I didn't want anyone getting suspicious. Do you think that would be a problem?"

"No, it should be okay. It's my case and I'm the one who sent her into hiding. Witness Protection will have the final say but I don't see it being a big issue. I'll do what I can but just in case, if you could maybe remind her of how important it is she not let on that she already knows. Do you have any idea what she's going to want to do from here on? I mean she just got there, so maybe she could just come home before she gets too settled."

"No, she'll be staying. She'll probably want to fly home this weekend and see her family again but she'll be returning to school again after that."

"You sound pretty sure of that."

"I am sure. She has started a new life, it will be nice that her family can be a part of it again, but that doesn't change any of it."

"I don't know," she said. "It's been hard on her. Most people in her position only get to dream of going back to their lives and families. She's got the chance to actually do it. I'll be very surprised if she doesn't jump at it."

"I'd ask you if you'd like to bet on it, but I'd only be taking your money, so I won't."

"You know, you always were a cocky little bastard and with all that's just happened I'm afraid of just how big your head is going to get. Now that this case is over maybe it's time I gave you that ass whipping you've needed ever since I met you."

"Hmm, you know, that actually sounds tempting," I said. "A little light sparring might be just what I need to relax and unwind a little. Don't worry though, I promise I'll go easy on you."

"Light sparring!" she said indignantly. "Why you little..."

I interrupted her, "I mean, considering who my last opponent was..." I left the thought hanging for her to fill in.

"I knew it! You're going to have some explaining to do there. The gunshot may have killed him but the condition he was in before he pulled the trigger says pretty clearly he was in one hell of a fight and they're wondering what the other guy looks like. Right now there are a lot of unanswered questions."

"And they're going to stay that way. Can we do the statement before we go see Amy? That would give me one less thing to worry about. Besides, once I drop this car off I'm on foot so maybe I can just ride with you."

"No problem. In fact they've been bitching about it all night. Seems no one thought to disable that sender Rod had installed and it's been tripping alarms in the tech lab. They finally had to shut down the main tracking system because they can't deactivate it remotely. They don't like not being able to keep an eye on the field agents. I'll see you when you come in for debriefing. We can't really talk but ... Here, Rod wants to talk to you."

By this point I was back in my room, and I stretched out on the bed just as Rod came on the line.

"Hey Jimmy, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing pretty well, sir. I take it you're alone?"

"Yes, why?"

"I thought maybe we could talk before the official stuff started."

"I see. Give me a second."

There were sounds of movement and then he came back on the line.

"Okay, the door's locked and I'm on the couch. Are we doing the elevator thing again?"

"That's as easy as anything else. You can turn your phone off if you want, then just close your eyes and picture the elevator. The rest is pretty automatic. I'll see you in a couple seconds."

He didn't answer and I just watched as he turned the phone off and settled himself on the couch. A few seconds later the elevator opened and he crossed the hallway into my office. I thought sitting at the big desk might seem a little... , I don't know, rude I guess, so I was sitting in one of the chairs when the door opened and stood to greet him and shake his hand.

He caught me totally off guard when he pulled me in and hugged me. "Thank you, Jimmy. I don't know what else to say. I don't know how you did it, but that was some miracle you pulled off last night. It's kind of a busy day around the office and I don't know how much time we have, so we better get right to it. There's nothing to tie you to Rebecca's rescue, especially since you were with Amy, so I'm thinking we can chalk it up to her mysterious source. What do you think?"

I had to smile at that as I had been thinking the same thing. "Actually I was thinking the same thing. Turns out we have him in common and didn't even know it. He gave me the lead on where to find Amy. I was moving in on the location when I saw a van similar to Sandman's leaving the area but I was too far away from my car to follow so I went and checked out the building first, figuring if nothing else we could catch him when he got back. Only he never came back. My source checks in with me every hour when I'm on assignment, so when he called again I told him about the van and he informed me he already knew about it and steps were being taken. That was the last I heard."

"Boy, you ever consider doing this for a living?"

I started to list all the reasons that would be a bad idea but he got there first.

"Never mind," he said. "It would never work. There would be too many restrictions on how you work and too many people wanting to know how you got your information. That sounds pretty close to what I had in mind. Here are the questions you're going to be asked when we bring you in..."

We went over the questions and made sure the answers I was going to give would be sufficient, and then I returned him to his office and showered before making the trip downtown. It would have been nice if I'd had a clean shirt to wear. I called Tony on my way down to checkout and let him know everything was okay. He told me that he had already been in touch with the Airline regarding Christine's complaint and was waiting for a call back from their legal department.

Rod was trying to keep as much distance from me as he could, officially, so he had someone else handle the questioning. Their names were Fox and Perez. Fox in particular was really ticked off that I hadn't called the Bureau about the Sandman's van leaving the scene. At the least, I should have called my source sooner rather than waiting for him to call me. I reminded them that I didn't have a way to contact my source, I had to wait for him to call me and that I had no way of knowing if it was the Sandman, only that it was a similar van.

"I was trying to sneak up on an killer, if I was wrong about him leaving and you showed up with a tactical unit he would likely kill his hostages and leave, that or try to take as many of your people with him as he could."

They weren't happy about it but they couldn't argue with my reasoning.

They were even more upset when I couldn't tell them who I had spoken to. I explained that our relationship was strictly a one-way thing; he called me and handled whatever arrangements were necessary, like providing the phone he called me on. When they asked for the phone I told them I was instructed to drop it in a mailbox in the area, which I had done after wiping it down. The two men looked at each other and then Fox had gotten up and left quickly. He came back a few minutes later and whispered something to his partner.

"You won't find anything." I said. "I'm sure he's had it picked up by now. He wouldn't risk a mailman finding it."

"Picked up by whom?" Perez asked.

"Got me," I said. "I just do what I'm told."

"I see," he said. It was clear he wasn't happy with my responses but that there wasn't much he felt he could do about it. "You said you've done other jobs for this person, let's talk about those."

"Let's not," I said.

"Excuse me," he said in a surprised voice.

"This conversation is limited to the events of last night, if you have questions about anything else I'll be happy to show your warrant to my attorney and answer any questions at that time. Otherwise, please limit your questions to the subject at hand. If you have no more questions about last night then I'll be going."

I stood and started to the door. Fox stood and blocked my way.

"You leave when we tell you that you can leave, now sit down!"

Maybe it was just that it had been a long night but I was not in the mood for this shit.

"Or what?" I asked, looking him hard in the eye. "You'll make me? This should be entertaining." I turned to his partner. "Agent Perez, could you excuse us, it's a little close in here and I wouldn't want you to get caught in the crossfire."

I turned and folded up the chair I had been sitting in, stood it against the back wall, and then started to pull the table into the corner.

"What are you doing?" Perez asked, picking up the folder he had been taking notes in.

"Nothing yet, but in a second I'm going to try to leave, then your partner here is going to do something stupid. At which point I'm going to injure him. The video tape you're running on this whole interview will record everything, clearly showing that he was warned in advance that he had no legal grounds to prevent me leaving and that he made the first move, at which point I will only be defending myself so that when he starts crying about me assaulting a federal officer I'll have all the evidence I need and he'll spend the rest of his career getting shit from all his co-workers about being outplayed by a twenty-two year old bounty hunter; not to mention getting his ass kicked by someone half his size. Actually, you know, I think it would be better if we took the table out, it's a little tight in here."

That was when Rod came in.

"What the hell is going on in here? Fox? Perez?"

"Nothing sir," Fox said.

"Then why did Grant just tell me I was needed here? And why is he moving furniture? Perez?"

When Perez didn't answer he turned to me, "Mr. Malcolm?"

"Agent Fox and I had a difference of opinion about the boundaries of questioning, Director. I was about to leave when he suggested that it would not be allowed. I was trying to make sure that no government property was damaged while we discussed it. Agent Perez was just about to leave."

"Smart move, Perez," Rod said and then raised his voice. "Carter! Grant! Get this table out of here. Perez, take your chair, I'll get the other one."

Fox was starting to look a little nervous. "You're kidding, right?" he asked finally.

"Your call, Fox," Rod said. "But I'm making you use vacation time if you miss work. Tell you what; let's move this to the training room. There's less chance of anyone getting seriously injured, and you won't have to watch the reruns for the rest of your life."

"Me?" Fox demanded indignantly. "He's half my fucking size!" There was a short pause and then he added, "Sir."

Rebecca's voice came from the doorway. "I got a hundred on the guest star."

Apparently she had followed Rod and now a decent sized crowd was forming. The betting got hot and heavy fast, but Rod called a halt when someone started suggesting odds.

"All right, all right," he said, raising his hands to try and quiet the crowd. "That's enough. Mr. Malcolm, on behalf of the bureau, please accept my apology for this agent's overstepping himself. As you know, one of our agents was just rescued from a serial killer we've been after for almost a year. I'm sure you can understand it's been an emotional situation."

"I understand, Director. Agent Fox, please forgive me for over-reacting, it's been stressful for me as well. I think I was just looking for a way to blow off steam and took it out on you." I extended my hand and he shook it, but made no effort to admit any wrongdoing on his part.

"Asshole," Jamie said. "You let him off too easy."

The crowd around the door was breaking up and I think it had already been established that we were done, so I followed Rebecca to Rod's office.

"Well this is one for the books," Rod said as Rebecca closed the door behind me. We sat in the two chairs facing Rod's desk and he continued, "I don't suppose you'd like to tell me what really happened in that warehouse."

"I don't know what you mean," I said. "I was with Amy, and even I can't be in two places at once."

He shook his head and said, "I keep telling myself that, but you knew where she was, and that she was safe and would be calling me, which she did not five minutes later."

"I had great faith in her ability to handle the situation. As for knowing where she was, my source called me with the information." Then I turned to Rebecca. "So what did happen at the warehouse?"

"Asshole," Rod muttered as Rebecca began speaking.

"It's all in my debriefing, boss," she said. "It was someone screaming that finally woke me up. It was one of those screams you hear about in horror stories or when firemen talk about people caught in burning buildings. Even with the blindfold it didn't take much to figure out that I was shackled to a bed. After the scream, it got quiet for a couple seconds, and I thought I heard what sounded like hopping but that didn't make sense. Then there was a loud crash. I figured out later it was a table getting knocked over. I heard what sounded like a gun hitting the floor across the room and then the fight started. It was a hell of a fight from what I heard and a couple times in the middle I heard that same scream again. Then it got really quiet for a couple of minutes, and I wondered if they had killed each other or were both just knocked out. A couple times it sounded like someone was coughing up blood and then it would get quiet again.

"A few minutes later someone started moving again so I just did my best to blend into the mattress. I heard whoever it was pop the clip on an automatic. Apparently he emptied it of all but a single bullet because I found the rest in a pile next to the bed later. Someone pressed a set of keys into my hand and then left. I didn't hear any doors open or close, or a car start, but that close to the airport I probably wouldn't have unless it was inside the warehouse. I fumbled around and found the key to the handcuffs and got my wrist free. From there I took off the blindfold and started on the rest. I was just reaching to undo the shackle on my left ankle when I heard something. I looked and the Sandman was sitting up against the back wheel of the van with a gun in his hand and I thought I was dead. He spotted me looking at him, said he was sorry for all the pain he had caused and that if he could he would have stopped 'him' sooner. From everything we know about him I'd say it was Rene Kurtz talking about stopping the Sandman. Then he stuck the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. At that point my heart stopped and I had to lie back down for a second before I finished getting myself free. I stepped on the pile of bullets as I was getting up and damn near fell on my ass. The slide on the gun was locked open, so I knew it was empty and left it for forensics to deal with. A check of the warehouse showed all the doors locked and no one else around. I found his phone in the van, and then went outside to find the address and called you."

It was just about how I had imagined it would go and I nodded as she finished. My biggest concern was that she might get free in time to stop Rene. I would have preferred to wait around and make sure but I didn't have time. I was glad I hadn't had to stand there and watch as he pulled the trigger though.

"So when are we going to see Amy?" I asked. "Are we picking Allison up on the way?"

"I have a medical transport meeting me there in about an hour so there isn't really time to get Allison. I need to get Amy back where she belongs as quickly as possible and Allison's about forty minutes away in the opposite direction. I was hoping she could come and meet her later, is that okay?"

Allison wouldn't be happy, but I couldn't argue it without giving the whole show away.

"She'll be disappointed," I said, "but I'm sure she'll understand."



-------

Chapter 76: A Karma Day?


Normally I hate hospitals. The last time I had been in one had been to say goodbye to Shannon. The time before that I had woken up in one after my fight with Brad Russell and his two buddies. I guess visiting a friend, even a dying friend, beats waking up in one, but still, not generally something I looked forward to; until now. This trip I was looking forward to.

Rebecca used her ID to secure us a parking space that would normally have gotten her towed away and we made our way inside. It was a busy place, the buzz of activity all but drowning out the sounds of suffering humanity. Based on everyone's general opinion of the level of compassion in the modern medical industry, I thought it was a good analogy.

We got directions to the ward where Amy was being housed from the reception desk and quickly got lost. Another inquiry sent us in a totally different direction and got us even more lost than we had been. Rebecca was looking around for someone to shoot when I spotted an older black man pushing a mop bucket. He reminded me of Stuart, the big nurse at Arrowhead Regional who had attended both me and Shannon, only much older and a lot smaller. I stopped him, introduced myself, shook his hand and explained our dilemma. I think it was the handshake that really made the difference. Apparently not many people shook hands with the janitors there. Whatever the reason, he asked me to wait while he put the mop away, and then he personally escorted us to the right area. I shook his hand again and thanked him for his help. The look on the faces of the medical personnel at the nurse's station confirmed their opinion of the janitors. That made me sad but there was nothing I could do about it so I let it go.

Amy was in a room by herself, connected to a new assortment of machines doing the exact same jobs the old one's had been. That pissed Rebecca off and she asked the doctor why they had changed them and where the original equipment was. He explained that for liability reasons they had to use equipment the hospital could vouch for. He said he had no idea where the original equipment had been sent, but that he would have someone check on it right away. Rebecca informed him that the Bureau had a record of every item and that if they could not produce them -- in working condition, they were paying for them, and then she turned her attention to Amy. Walter, who had been standing there holding Amy's hand the whole time, moved off to make room for her.

"Her heart rate is too high," she said, looking at the monitor. "Did you give her something?"

"Excuse me?" the doctor said. He pulled her chart from the end of the bed and looked at it. "No," he said, shaking his head. "Looks like we contacted her regular care providers and she's not on any medication. She's on normal fluids and nutrients, as for her heartbeat, it's fluctuated a little but it's within normal parameters. What makes you think there is something wrong?"

"Thirteen years of experience," she answered.

"I didn't realize you were a physician," He said sarcastically.

"I have a suggestion," I said, trying to defuse the situation before she strangled him with his own stethoscope.

The doctor glanced at me like he'd just realized there was another person in the room, saw a kid, frowned, and ignored me. Fortunately Rebecca had a little more respect for me by now.

"What's that?" she asked.

"She's had a rough couple days and she's in a different environment. Maybe she's a little stressed."

"She's in a coma," the doctor said sarcastically. "She has no perception of her environment, she couldn't possibly be..."

Rebecca cut him off.

"You obviously don't have much experience with coma patients," she snapped. "I suggest you read up. What did you have in mind, David?"

I smiled and said, "Maybe she just needs a little reassurance. She knows your voice from all the times you've read to her. Why don't you try telling her she's safe and that everything is all right?"

She looked at me and I held her eye for a second. Suddenly her breath caught, the color drained from her face, and she whispered, "No."

My grin got a little bigger, "It's worth a try."

She turned back to the bed, took Amy's hand, stroked her forehead and said, "It's okay Amy, you're safe now."

And a miracle happened.

The heart monitor sped up, and Amy's body convulsed slightly as she took a sudden deep breath, her eyes fluttered open and darted around the room. It seemed like she tried to move and was obviously heading toward panic when she discovered she couldn't.

The doctor had been frozen in shock, staring in disbelief, but then it seemed like his training suddenly kicked in as he grabbed the alarm button next to the bed, pushed it three times and began checking Amy's monitors.

Amy was really starting to look stressed and tears were forming in her eyes. Rebecca squeezed her hand and raised it to her lips, kissing it tenderly. That got Amy's attention but she clearly didn't recognize the strange woman standing next to her.

"It's okay, baby," Rebecca said. "Everything is okay."

Fear still shown in the girl's eyes and she tried to speak, but years of disuse had taken a toll. Finally she got out something that sounded like, "Wh-wh-whooo?"

"It's Becky, baby," Rebecca croaked, her voice choked with emotion. "I know I look different, but it's really me, I promise."

Tears were starting to leak down Rebecca's face. She took a moment to glare at me before giving a choked sob and turning back to Amy.

Amy's eyes swept the room, taking in her surroundings and all the strange faces. Finally she spied Walter standing next to me, her eyes locked on him, and her mouth moved. There wasn't much sound but you could see her trying to make the word. There was the W shape and a little 'er at the end. Not only did she see him, apparently she recognized him.

She didn't recognize Rebecca or me, but she recognized Walter?

"Too weird," Jamie said.

"Walter," I said. "She recognizes you, talk to her."

"Yes, my Lord," he said and then turned to her. "All is well, little one," he said, stepping to the end of the bed. "I am here. I know you do not understand but she is telling you the truth, she is your sister, Rebecca, but she has changed much during your long sleep. Listen to her voice, does it not sound familiar? It will be difficult for you to understand but what she will tell you is the truth."

You could almost see the question in her eyes.

"I will be right here, little one." He said without needing to be asked.

You could see Amy's body relax and she turned back to Rebecca, smiled and did her best to squeeze her hand. It was a weak attempt but that would come in time.

"Keep talking," I said. "I think she may recognize that easier than your face."

The doctor had been ignoring me before but now he realized I was still there. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to step outside while we..."

"While you what?" Rebecca demanded angrily. "So far he's been the only one with a sensible suggestion. He won't be in the way." She moved to make room for the nurses, being careful to keep a hand on Amy and stay where she could see her. "It's okay, Amy, I understand you're confused, and I'll explain everything, I promise, but right now we just need to let the doctors check you out, okay?"

Amy glanced at Walter and he said, "You must be brave, little one, and patient, I am right here." She looked back at Rebecca but this time she didn't try to speak, nodding her head slightly instead.

I moved away and came back with the box of tissues I had spotted on the table by the window, handing one to Rebecca.

"I am going to kill you," she whispered as she dabbed at her eyes.

I stepped in and kissed her cheek, "I love you, too." Then I stepped back over by the window. My only regret was that Allison hadn't been here. Aside from the fact that I know she would have liked to be here when Amy woke up, I had hoped to be able to see her again.

I called Rod and gave him the news, both good and bad. Amy waking up meant he had just lost one of his top agents for the near future. Although the fact that her awakening coincided with the end of Rebecca's biggest case was a nice bonus for everyone. He offered to send a car for me, but I told him not to bother, since I really had nowhere to go here anyway I was just going to take a cab to the airport and catch the next flight back to Vegas. His secretary, Eleanor, called while I was still in the cab and told me where to pick up my ticket. First class is nice, even on such a short flight.

The good karma was still flowing when I landed. The local Bureau office had been contacted with my arrival information and had someone meet me and take me to the private lot my car was stored in. I made a quick exit that didn't cost me anything, and the message light was on in my room at the hotel. I called the voicemail number and Doreen's voice informed me that my apartment was ready and dinner was at 5:30 and don't be late. The message said she was baking a chicken and making a big-ole batch of cornbread. I wasn't sure how much 'big-ole' actually translated to, but I got the impression I was going to have to really watch my calories around Doreen.

I was paid through the end of the week but I checked out anyway and took my meager store of belongings to my new apartment. I was pleasantly surprised to see Regina's car in the driveway and a little shocked when Bobby actually came out to help me with my stuff.

"Hey, Bobby!" I called. "How's it going?"

"Real good, Mr. Malcolm. Let me help you with your gear."

"Thanks," I said. "Bobby, I'm not that much older than you, call me David."

"Nah, I don't think so," he said. "Not right away, anyhow. I been thinking about all that stuff you told me; you know, about respect and all. I don't think age have a lot to do with it. You may not be that much older, but what you did for me, that was big, and what you doin' for my grandma? Man, that's just over the top."

"It's a business arrangement, Bobby, I needed a place to stay, she had one available. It works out for both of us." I closed the trunk and he led the way through the house.

"Yeah but you could get a place anywhere, and momma says you're paying way too much for the place. She said you could get yourself a nice condo a dozen places in the city for less. Nah, you're doing this because you want to. You know grandma wouldn't take no help if you offered it, so you found a way to help that she would accept. I'm thinking that's the kind of stuff deserves respect, not the shi..." He caught himself. "Not the kind of stuff the brothers be talking 'bout. I talked to my counselor at school about what you said and the dude 'bout passed out."

He chuckled and went on, "Anyway, you don't mind, I think I'll stay with Mr. Malcolm for a while. Maybe one of these days I'll do something to earn your respect, then we can talk about me callin' you David."

What can I say, I was blown away. "Whatever you're comfortable with Bobby. As for the rest, I'm starting a business -- some condos, and cities, frown on that sort of thing. Plus, I like my privacy and you never know what kind of neighbors you'll get in a condo or apartment.

"Your grandfather permitted this as an office so I don't have to worry about legal issues. It's on residential property so there is no legal problem with your grandmother renting it for me to live in either. Like I said, it works out for both of us. Besides, it comes with a pool. Which I noticed needs to be cleaned. You interested in some part time work?"

"You doin' all this an' now you want to give me a job? Dude, you are out your mind."

"Is that a no?" I asked, holding the back door for him to go through.

"Hell, no," he said. "Just 'cause you crazy don't mean I won't take your money."

"Good," I said. "Have you ever actually done pool maintenance before?"

"No, grandpa had a service, but it's water, man. How hard can it be?"

"Right," I said. "Ask me that again in two weeks."

"Oh, man, don't be saying that! Now you got me worried I'm going to be makin' a fool of myself."

I laughed and said, "Don't worry; I'll teach you, I did it for years when I lived with my parents. It's not that hard as long as you're consistent and stay on top of it."

The pool-house-slash-apartment was really well planned out. It was actually a one-bedroom apartment with an attached office, a small kitchen, and a half bathroom; just a shower, no tub. The 'office' doubled as the living room and also a spare bedroom, with a wall-bed hidden in a compartment behind a set of bookshelves. That part was really cool; you just slid the two center sections out and to the side to get to the bed. There was even recessed lighting behind it so you could lie in bed and read. The 'office' portion had really only consisted of a large desk and the file cabinet that Regina had taken.

I called the local cable provider to see about having a hi-speed internet connection added. The building was already wired for cable, but it was all on Doreen's account, and I needed billing changed and a special modem added.

They told me they could have someone out the following Monday. I was hoping to get it done sooner, but it's not like I used it that much. They offered me one of their 'bundle' plans that came with phone, cable television, and internet at a reduced price and I almost said no, but then I remembered the long term plans I had for the place, so I went ahead and took it.

My moving in had given Regina the chance she wanted to clean out the office. She had spent the morning boxing up and hauling out her dad's files and personal effects, and then, apparently, she and Doreen had spent the afternoon spit-shining the place. No, really, the floor was so clean you couldn't even tell where the filing cabinet had been.

But it looked bare; sterile in a way that even the hotel rooms I'd been living in hadn't. I thought about saying something, but thankfully, I have people around to keep me from sticking my foot in my mouth. Normally it's Allison, but Jamie fills in when she's not available.

"Don't," she said.

"Don't what?" I asked.

"Jimmy, what you're feeling is an absence. You know Doreen's husband used to live here, well, not live really but you know what I mean. When you look around there is nothing left to show that he was ever here. It's like in cleaning they erased the last traces of his existence. You've never really been someplace this ... empty, before, so it feels wrong to you, it reminds you of a hospital, it's sterile, lifeless. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I get it, and you're right, but how did you know what I was thinking? Has something else changed and now you can pick things up even when they are not directed at you?"

"No, but I could sense you were uneasy and I know you, so it wasn't much of a stretch to figure out what it was. All the little things, the way your eyes move around the room like you're searching for something you can't find, stuff like that."

"So by 'don't' you meant..."



"I meant don't mention it to Doreen."

"God, am I that obvious?"

"Let's just call it consistent and leave it at that. Bringing it up to Doreen would just stir up painful memories of her husband. Let it go."

"Thanks, sis."

"Someone has to keep you out of trouble and Allison isn't here."

"She must be rubbing off on you."



"I wish," she said. The sudden flare of lust left no doubt what she meant. "Maybe later," she added. "That will give me something to do while you try not to tell everyone what really happened last night."

"Yeah, no shit. I think we need to talk to her and Bob before I meet with our favorite Feds."

"Oh, you think? Fortunately I'll be there for that part, because at some point you're going to need to tell me all about Brandiy and what the fuck is going on."

"Yeah," I said. "Right after someone tells me; granted I've had more time with her than you have, but obviously there is a whole lot more going on here than we ever dreamed."

"No kidding. Obviously she's the one who's been helping you all along but it's still kind of scary to think about. Jimmy, she knows things."

"I know, but I trust her; and Allison trusts her. What I'd really like to do is get her in a room with Elizabeth so she can get a look at her; Lizzy will know."

"Now there's an idea."

Dinner was everything I had been afraid it would be and Doreen was like the grandma I'd never had.

"Oh, David, have another piece of cornbread, but be sure you save room for dessert."

Dessert! No one had said anything about dessert! I was reminded of Britney after that first barbeque at our house, complaining she was going to have to run fifty miles to burn it all off.

"Oh, you just had to go there, didn't you?" Jamie scolded.

After dinner I took Bobby out for his first lesson on pool maintenance. Theo had kept all the chemicals locked in a steel cabinet behind the apartment. We got the key from Doreen and I started teaching him what the different chemicals were and what they were used for. The first thing we did was clean out the filter system and check over all the hoses and pumps. Then we 'shocked' the pool, which would cause everything to settle so we could vacuum it all out. I gave him the manual on the pump and a list of the chemicals, and told him to come back in two days for his test.

"Test?" He asked. "I gotta take a test?"

"Why would I hire someone if they couldn't do the work? You can't handle chemicals if you don't know what they are or what they do and you should never operate machinery you are not familiar with. So yeah, there's a test. You don't get to start working or get paid until you pass it. Of course, if you'd rather I could just hire a service or do it myself?"

He decided the money was worth the effort and went home to study and do his homework. I read a couple more chapters of Kushiel's Chosen — at the rate I was going it was going to take me forever to finish, and then it was time to get to work.

I was starting early to try and stay ahead of the new people popping in. Everyone was still awake, but Amber and Lizzy were waiting for me so I started there. Actually we started on the water slide but you get the point. After a couple runs, we moved to the little covered area on the beach and sat in the shade to discuss Amber's future, right after I told her to take her collar off.

"So," I began. "Now that all the restrictions are being lifted, who do you want to be?"

I was surprised when, even though the collar was off, she got out of her chair and knelt in front of us. "Who I am is not important. You told me who I am is not dictated by the collar, that it was my decision, and whether I am Angela or Amber, all that matters is that I belong to you, I will be whoever you want me to be as long as I can stay with you."

"The only way that will ever change," Lizzy said, looking down into her eyes, "is if you choose to leave us. I can safely speak for the both of us when I say that we will never give you up any other way. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Mistress," she said, eyes downcast.

Apparently she was serious about the collar not mattering to her and from then on it was only going to be a convenience so everyone else knew who they were dealing with.

"Good," Lizzy said sternly. "Because if you ever, ever, suggest again that we may someday not want you, it better be because you want to be punished, for you will be. Do you remember Phedre's night with Melisande? Should you ever, in my presence, make such a suggestion again, I will break you. Do I make myself clear?" There was a steely edge in her voice that I had never heard before, and I knew that she would do as she threatened and make Amber use her safe word.

"Yes Mistress," Angela replied and even though I could hear the genuine fear in her voice, still there was something else there. Love, for she knew in her heart that it was love that caused Lizzy to speak to her that way.

"See that you do not forget it. Now get up in your chair and let's talk about your future. Do you wish to reveal yourself to your family?"

"I would like to see my parents again," she said. "To let them know that I'm alive and okay. I don't want them to know who I really am though; they would never understand."

"And your brother?" I asked.

"I would love to see Timmy again. We haven't talked about him before. How is he? Is he happy? Has he moved on?"

"He's doing okay," I said. "I had to kick his ass up around his ears but he finally started moving forward again. He even started seeing Cindy again — though God only knows why she puts up with him after all the shit he put her through, and he's running again..."

"Again?" She interrupted, always the clearest indication that this was Angela we were speaking to. "He stopped?"

"Yes. It was too much of a reminder. It hurt too much. But he started again after we talked." I ran the sequence of my early morning visit to Tim. She laughed and cried and was happy at how it came out, stepping over to hug and kiss me.

"Thank you," she said as she moved back to her chair. "I'm so glad you were able to be there for him the same way you were for me."

"That was the morning I met Britney," I added.

"Really," she said with a smile. "And how is my little Black Cloud?"

I couldn't help getting dark when I answered. "Her family is in protective custody, I don't even know where she is."

"What?" she said. "What happened?" Then she caught herself and lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry, I have overstepped myself."

"No," I said. "You have not overstepped yourself. This affects you so you should know the truth. Someone has been after me for a while now. They tried to kidnap me once, but I got away. In their second attempt they kidnapped Britney, in part to see if I could rescue her. They said they hadn't actually intended her harm, and I now believe that to be true, but at the time I had no way to know that. Right now my primary concern is making sure she and her family are not endangered again. My family is in protective custody as well. I'm currently living in Las Vegas under the name David Malcolm, working on a different problem, and trying to have a life."

"You mean..."

I guessed where she was going and interrupted her. "Yes, Allison is in hiding with my parents. We have not seen each other since before I went to meet your Mistress and arrange for your care at school, except here of course. I have recently learned who it is that is after me so I hope to have it resolved soon. Now, let's get back to the issue of your future. We were talking about Tim."

"I would like to see him," she said. "I want to talk to him, try to explain that my life is different, that I'm different. I'm not going to tell him everything though, not right away, he wouldn't understand any better than my parents. In time, I hope Tim will be ready to learn the whole truth, but my parents would never understand."

"Very well, I will see that arrangements are made so that you can see them. Do you want to tell them the truth about my involvement since you disappeared? Do you think they will understand that I knew the truth and kept it from them?"

"I think they will be angry at first, but they will understand. I will explain it to Tim when I talk to him. I will explain to him that I owe my life and my sanity to someone who was there for me throughout the ordeal. He will be grateful that I had someone to be there for me. When he has accepted that and understands that I have changed and moved on then I will tell him that it was you. I think it would be best if he didn't know the whole truth of our relationship yet. That will have to wait. A lot will depend on whether he has really moved on or not. I won't know for sure how much to tell him until I see him and have a chance to talk to him"

"Would you like one of us to be there with you?"

"Are you kidding? I want you both to be there, but I think it would be best if you weren't. I think ... I think this is something I have to do."

"I'm still worried about her safety, Jimmy." Lizzy asked. "Henslith knows the truth; knows she's alive and that it was you that rescued her. She would be a target, someone to use against you, like Britney."

"I'll talk to Rebecca. If she's not tied up with Amy, I'm sure she would love to be the one to take you home again. If she can't do it then maybe Rod can assign someone."

Sensing that the decision was now made, Angela slid to the ground once more and bowed her head. Her collar faded back in as she said, "Thank you, my Masters, I am truly blessed to have you both."

"And we are honored to have you, Amber. You know this will mean revealing who you are at school as well. The publicity of the Sandman's end and your safe return to your family will make it next to impossible to remain in hiding."

"That's not a problem," she said. "Not for me anyway; I don't have a problem with them knowing I'm 'Easy's Piece.'"

"Easy's Piece?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, you haven't been around lately," Lizzy said. "That night I took her to Frankie's on her leash... ? Oh ... my God! It went through the school like wildfire. You cannot believe the number of parties we've been invited to. There have been other 'inquiries', if you know what I mean, as well."

"I can imagine," I answered, and then froze Amber before going on. "I don't like the nickname. It's not a problem but I don't think she should be with anyone who uses it."

"I love you!" Lizzy said, rushing over, throwing her arms around my neck, and kissing me. "I was planning on making the same suggestion. If they don't respect her they don't deserve her, and I don't think you could ask for a better litmus test."

I nodded and returned her to her seat before releasing Amber. "Very well, there are other things we need to talk about, is there somewhere you would like to go?"

Her eyes lit, "Master, could I perhaps return to the House of Seven Willows?"

"Certainly, and just so you know, May has expressed a desire to see you again as well. Now that you no longer need to hide, perhaps we will arrange a trip for you. There are other considerations, but if it could be arranged, do you think you would like that?"

"Very much, Master, thank you."

I dreamed up a mirror, hid Lizzy from view, put Amber in disguise — there was no longer any point in mine, since May had now met me, and called, "Lady Jasmine?"

Her image took shape in the mirror quickly.

"An unexpected honor," she said. "How may I be of service?"

"Your pupil has requested permission to return to your care for the night."

"I am honored, Amber," Jasmine said with a bow. "You are always welcome in the House of Seven Willows. With your Master's permission I would have you tonight as my guest."

"It is I who am honored, Mistress," Amber replied, bowing in return and then turning to me seeking permission.

"Go," I commanded.

She rose graceful as a cat and walked unhesitatingly into the mirror. Jasmine met her with a hug and I let the mirror fade.

"May has asked?" Lizzy said. "She knows the truth?"

"Yeah, she told me when we were together last week. She said Jasmine needed her perspective to keep up with Amber's rapid progress. She also said she would die before she would betray the trust Jasmine placed in her."

"What about Bastion? He could get it out of her."

"Jasmine does not let either of them out of the Seven Willows alone. Two guards are with them at all times. It was a special measure of trust that Jasmine had sent her to me unattended."

"But?" she asked, a question in her eyes.

I nodded. "They did a good job, but I spotted them."

"Good, on both sides. So where do we go from here?"

"Oh, it's going to be a night of surprises, and I think we should go share one of them now that more people are available."

Allison was asleep; she had been for a few minutes but I was holding her suspended until we were done with Amber. Bob and Rebecca were at the little B&B they stayed at when they visited Amy. Amy was back in her room at the center preparing to start the grueling task of learning how to use her body again. I sent a warning to Bob, waited a few seconds, and then opened the door into the changing tent for them. Allison didn't bother with doors anymore and just popped into the chair Amber had left.

"You've been busy," she said.

"What do you mean?" Lizzy asked.

"Seat's still warm," Allison said with a smile. "Amber?"

"Amber," I answered, giving her a confirming nod at the same time. "She's coming home to see Tim and her parents."

"That could be complicated."

"She's ready for it," Lizzy assured her.

"They always think they're ready," Rebecca said, stepping out of the tent. "The reality is almost never what they expect. I'm officially on leave but I already cleared it with Rod to take her out; I figured she would want to go. And I explained about Henslith; you know she's a target right?"

"Already covered that," I said.

"You told her?" she asked, surprised.

"I will not let her walk into danger unaware," I said. "If I had told Britney the truth sooner, she might not be in hiding now."

"I'm not arguing, Matthews, I'm just a little surprised is all." She glanced at Allison. "Did you tell her yet?"

"Tell me what?" Allison asked.

"Amy?" I called softly.

A familiar shape in a white dress stepped out of the changing tent accompanied by an equally familiar mountain of muscle dressed in black leather. Beside me Lizzy stiffened and her hands went to her mouth. Because she was a little behind her, Allison didn't notice until she suddenly started kicking her feet and fanning her face with both hands.

"Omigodomigod," Lizzy said excitedly, starting to bounce in her seat.

"Wait," Allison said. "I thought you couldn't..." then she got it. "Ohmigod! You can see her, you mean..." She spun back and stared at the little girl in the pink dress. "Amy? It's really you?" Tears sprang to her eyes and she jumped out of her chair and hugged the little girl. "Oh baby..." she couldn't go on, just crying and hugging her tightly.

By now Amy was crying as well. "Hi," she said finally then pulled back and looked at me.

I nodded my head and said, "Go ahead, Amy, it'll be fine, I promise."

She took a deep breath and when she let it out the grown up Amy was wearing a larger version of the same dress looking very worriedly down at Allison.

"Don't look at me like that," Allison said. "Just because you're bigger than me doesn't mean anything else has changed. Now hug me before I throw you to the dolphins!"

It looked awkward this time as they both struggled with the size difference but they got through it.

"There," Allison said. "That wasn't so bad was it? Now, Walter, slip into something waterproof and take her out to play with the dolphins for a few minutes while I kill my brother!" She screamed the last part as she spun toward me. "You asshole! I can't believe you didn't tell me! How could you keep this from me?" She grabbed me by the throat and started shaking me. It was all an act and after just a couple shakes she hugged me and gave me a quick kiss. "If you ever do anything like that again..."

"You'll have to get through me first," Rebecca said, leaving Bob's arms and walking forward to hug me. "I've had all day to think about it and I still don't know what to say. You've given me back my sister, nothing I could ever say -- nothing I could ever do,  would be enough. Thank you, Jimmy." She kissed me on the cheek and then moved to hug Lizzy. "You are getting ... by far, the finest man I have ever met. You are a very, very, lucky girl."

"I know," Lizzy said. "But you didn't do so bad yourself."

"Yeah, I know. By the way, I want you all in the wedding. Now that my maid of honor is finally awake, we're setting a date."

"Yes!" Allison said, pumping her fist. "I get a new dress, I get to buy shoes ... Wait! It's not a beach wedding is it?"

"Shopping?" Amy asked, that distinctive little girl sound in her voice.

Lizzy dove right in, "Oh, sweetie, not just shopping, wedding shopping. Hi, I don't think we've met, I'm Lizzy."

"You're Jimmy's girlfriend!" Amy said, her eyes suddenly wide. "Oh, it's so nice to meet you!"

Hugs were exchanged and Lizzy told her, "Now, you're going to have to work hard to get ready for this, but listen to your trainers and therapists, and don't push too hard no matter how tempting it is, okay? Promise me!"

"I'll work hard, I promise."

"And?" Lizzy pressed.

"I'll be good," Amy said, bobbing her head like a little girl in trouble. It was really cute.

I gave her a hug and a kiss and said, "It's so good to see you again, sweetie. You're not still mad at me are you?"

"No," she said shyly. "You were right."

"Good. Now, we have some work to do so why don't you go with Walter and he can help you with your reading, okay?"

"Okay," she said.

Walter took her hand, kissed it and led her back into the tent. They exited under the tree where Amy had spent so many hours listening to her sister read to her over the years.

"I think our Walter is smitten," Lizzy said.

"Is that who she's been staring at all day?" Rebecca asked.

I nodded.

"That is so weird?" Rebecca said. "I've caught her staring into space a couple times and she said she was watching him. I don't know how to tell her he's not real. So how come she remembers him but not anything else?"

I glanced at Bob and found him already looking at me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to release that particular item just yet, so I let it go. I was probably going to have to deal with it sooner or later, though. Definitely going to have to talk to Bob about this one.

"What?" Rebecca asked. "Why are you looking at Bob? She doesn't really see him does she? I mean..."

I froze her and wiped out the last few seconds of the dream.

"We need to talk," I told Bob.

"Apparently about a lot of things," he said then nodded towards Rebecca. "Where are you leaving her?"

"Before I looked at you," I answered. "Places everyone, and..." I released her.

"I have no idea," I said. "I know she didn't recognize either of us and she's been listening to you for years and visiting with me for months ... As for telling her the truth about Walter, I think we can safely save that for later. Right now I think it gives her something to focus on. Just let Bob know if things seem to be getting strange. I think I'll talk to Bobby and see if he would mind letting Walter go a little earlier than planned."

Bobby was the little boy whose nightmare Walter had been a part of originally.

"Whatever," Rebecca said. "I have a lot of questions about last night, but I'm not sure where I should start, or even if I should start. First of all, I know it was you, I know it was. I'm sure I heard your voice when the fight was over. You said something about it being a long way, and then you started coughing -- I know what someone coughing up blood sounds like, I've done it enough myself.

"Jimmy, I saw the preliminary autopsy reports; whoever took Kurtz down took damage, a lot of damage, but you don't have a mark on you. Then there is the time-line; I know I didn't hear a car start or even a door open or close on that warehouse from the time I woke up until after I was free and went outside to see where I was and get an address." She looked intently at me for a moment.

"I know it was you," she said again. "But it couldn't have been you. I..." she took a deep breath, gritted her teeth and let it out. "... don't want to know how you did this. I'm probably better off not knowing, but I'm not crazy, it was you, wasn't it?"

"Yes, Rebecca it was me, and you're definitely better off, far better off, not knowing. The fact that you find it so impossible to consider is a good thing. It will support my statement that it wasn't me. The FBI can wonder all it wants as long as they are not looking at me. Your mysterious source can take the credit again."

"Rod's going to want to know," she said.

"You don't think he'll be content with the results?" I asked.

"Rod doesn't like mysteries."

"That may be true," Allison said. "But in this case, he knows how dangerous the truth is and he'll be working to see that the evidence supports Jimmy's story — not actively of course, he wouldn't do that, but maybe skewing the interpretation. Of course, he won't have to work too hard at it, because there is no evidence to suggest that Jimmy was ever there. I'm betting he'll decide he doesn't want to know either."

"Somebody was there. The two pieces of tape he cut off of his ankles were there and there are fabric traces on them that they could match to Jimmy's jeans. If they can match the DNA from the blood in the warehouse to his..."

"They can't prove that they were my jeans. They could belong to a lot of people. Plus they would need a warrant, and a reason to get one. The same goes for DNA."

"True," she said. "But the tape would have left residue on the pants as well. It may also have lifted other trace evidence that could be matched up; a stray hair is all it would take. My best advice to you is to lose those pants. I don't think anyone would push for a warrant when you were clearly somewhere else, but still, the Bureau doesn't like mysteries. Other people, people like Atkins, are going to see the official reports and wonder why Rod flew you in from Vegas and how in God's name you found Amy so fast. They're going to be curious and they're going to wonder if your mysterious source is the same as mine. Our mystery man is building quite a reputation while at the same time raising serious questions."

"Atkins already knows you share a source," Allison said. "What kind of questions?"

"Like if his intel and resources are this good, why he let things go so long before acting?"

"That seems kind of obvious," Lizzy interjected. "His number one priority, even above saving lives, is maintaining his invisibility. Atkins should have no problem accepting that motivation since she and her group share it. She may be forced to wonder if another agency is out there using the same rule book she is."

I thought we'd beat that horse long enough, "Bob, I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"Don't be," he said. "It wouldn't have benefited either of us and the only thing it would have accomplished is to take time away from finding the women — that and turn me into a nervous wreck. No, I think I was better off not knowing." He turned to Lizzy and Allison. "Did he tell you?"

"He told me," Lizzy said. "There were things he needed done if things went wrong, including making sure Allison was told the truth and that she and Amber were taken care of."

"Sensible," he said, nodding his head. "But he didn't tell you?" he asked Allison.

"No," she answered. "And as much as I wanted to kill him when I found out, just like with you, and for the same reasons, it was better that he didn't." She turned to me, "I think it's time you brought Rod in so we can finish up this part, we've got other things to do."

"We do?" I asked. "Like what?"

"Just trust me, we do."

She was right, as usual, but before I could bring Rod in, Bob caught my eye and nodded towards Rebecca. I took the hint and froze her.

"What's up?" Allison asked.

"I don't know what to make of this," he said. "Or if it's important, but I think you should know; Roxy woke Susan up again last night. I checked and the timing would have been just about right."

"What do you mean again?" Allison asked.

"The night they kidnapped Britney, about the time I went after her, Roxy woke Susan up and said she needed to pray for me."

"Wow!" Lizzy said.

"Wow indeed," Bob said. "If it was one of you, or Amber, I wouldn't think twice about it, but let's face it, you're relationships are much more intimate. Jimmy didn't spend that much time with Roxy, and certainly not the kind of 'quality time' he has with the rest of you."

"Even so," Lizzy said. "I didn't know anything was wrong the first time and this time only because he warned me in advance. Allison?"

Allison shook her head negatively as she answered, "Just the opposite, I knew he was going after Britney, but last night ... nothing, not so much as a twinge of concern. I may have wondered why he didn't come out to play but he does tend to keep a full schedule so I wasn't concerned about it." She shook her head again. "But obviously Roxy did. Freaky."

"I don't know if I'd go that far," Bob said. "Unusual, yes. Unprecedented? No, definitely not. Roxy is a very spiritual person -- I know she prays for Jimmy, and probably you too, every night. Since Jimmy went away I have no doubt that she prays even harder for his protection and safety. There are many documented cases of this type of thing. There was one I remember hearing about where a woman here in the US woke from a sound sleep with an overpowering urge to pray for someone. It was incredibly strong but non-specific. She didn't have any idea who she was praying for or where they were. I seem to recall she looked at a globe or a world map and narrowed it down to a specific country. Years later, she was attending a lecture where a missionary was speaking and he told of a time, years before when he got horribly sick while in a strange country, far from modern medicine. They didn't think he was going to make it -- most people who contracted the illness died, but suddenly, inexplicably, he had recovered. When the woman heard this she stuck around afterward to speak to the man. She described the strange events of that night and how she had found herself praying for someone she didn't know in a country she had never even heard of in the middle of the night. She showed him her prayer journal and it had been the very night that he recovered. Faith does miraculous things."

"Yes it does," Lizzy said softly. Every one looked at her, suddenly reminded that she considered her healing ability, and all of the strange things that I could do, to be gifts of God. There was nothing more to say so I turned Rebecca loose and got on with the evening's entertainment.

"Someday when I'm old and gray I'm going to want the whole story," Rod said. "Don't tell me, I probably won't believe it any more then than I would now, and there is a much better chance of me babbling it when I'm old and senile."

Rebecca chimed in, "I don't think you could get any more..."

"Watch it!" he said, cutting her off. "You need to be prepared, now that your maid of honor is awake again, Selena is going to be pushing for a date."

"We're waiting to see what the doctors say about her recovery," Rebecca said. "Once they've got a solid time frame for when she'll be ready, then we'll decide. If we don't run off to Vegas before then, that is."

"That's not funny, Hampton. Don't even joke about that; not even in a dream. You have no idea the kind of hell I will be in if that woman doesn't get a wedding. You elope, you better keep right on going and find yourself a really dark hole to crawl into. Now, what about Henslith? Do we have any idea what has happened to her in all this?"

I glanced at Rebecca just as she was glancing at me.

"Sit down, boss," she said. "This is going to take a while."

He took it pretty well. "There were suspicions," he said when we had finished. "Before she even came over they suspected her. Too many..."

Rebecca interrupted him, "You knew? Rod how could..."

The look on his face stopped her and he continued, "Too many times she was in the area when the Black Queen struck. They couldn't prove anything but they couldn't rule it out either. Is there any way we can prove any of this now?"

"No, not that I can think of," she answered. "Rod, I... ," she shook her head and let it go. He ignored it and kept going.

"Then pass the information to Atkins. If Jimmy is right she will just try and disappear, but there is the chance that she may 'escape' just to divert suspicion. Jimmy, do you think she may suspect that you know the truth?"

"I doubt it but there is a chance. I worked Yuri over pretty thoroughly before I got it out of him. There had to be outward signs of the stress he was under. If she'd been able to get to him sooner I wouldn't have found out at all, but all he knew was her nickname, not who she was, so I doubt she thinks I know it's her. I don't think she ever suspected that I was in contact with Rene. If she had, she would have warned the Sandman and this might have all turned out very differently."

"Very well," he said. "Then I don't have anything else. Bex, keep me informed about Amy and get me that date as soon as you can. Do that and I'll do my best to leave you alone. Bob, it was my decision not to tell you what was happening."

"We've been over that already," Bob said. "It was the right decision, thank you."

"Okay then," Rod said. "If there is nothing else..."

"I'm curious about what they found at the warehouse," Rebecca chimed in.

"The fiber traces on the tape came from jeans, they're trying to pin down a brand. Chances are there will be adhesive traces on those jeans, but anyone this smart would know to get rid of them." The look he shot me said pretty clearly that if I hadn't done so already I needed to get rid of them as soon as possible. "The really interesting thing was the DNA."

"Really?" she said in a guarded voice. "What's so interesting about it?"

"That depends on how you look at it. You see, they didn't find any DNA at the scene except the Sandman's."

"But the blood, Rod, they fought! You saw the reports. It was a war, it couldn't all be his."

"No kidding? You really think so?" Rod asked sarcastically. "There was blood; two distinct sources, that much they know just from the spatter. But that is all they know. The second blood source, as well as the hair found at the scene, contained no viable DNA they could identify."

"But that's..."

He cut her off. "Impossible? Yes, it is. The boys in the lab are totally stumped on this one. The only way they can think of to explain it is that someone would have had to contaminate every trace of source B without contaminating source A at the same time. Given the proximity and even overlap of the spray patterns they've found, they don't see how anyone could do it, especially not in the time available. It would take days to identify the distinct spatters and treat each one individually. And since there is no evidence of any contaminant anywhere on the floor, they've been forced to conclude that something else had to have caused the degradation of the secondary samples. They don't even have a working theory at this time. Now, if you have nothing further?"

I sent him back to bed, then sent the future Mr. and Mrs. Shelby to a duplicate beach.

"Lizzy?" Allison asked. "Would you mind if I borrow your fiancé for the rest of the night?"

"Allison, don't be silly! Of course not."

"Good," Allison said as a scene started taking shape around us. It was a bedroom and Allison was asleep on the bed. "This is my room; that's me asleep on the bed and I've been assured that there are no bugs in the room. The view is from the door so you have your threshold, I'll be waiting." Just like that she vanished.

"Oh, she's such a smart girl!" Lizzy said. "I forgot all about that new trick of yours. Can you come see us tomorrow night? I know Amber would love to spend some real time with you. I would, too, but right now I think it's safe to say she wants it more. Kiss me, and then you better get going."

This was what Allison meant when she said we had other, important things, to do. Sometimes I hate that she's always right, but not this time. It was a very long night.

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Epilogue

Rebecca had arranged to meet with Angela's family, telling them she had some news she wanted to share in person. I was meeting her at Bob's place; she would take Angela from there and then Lizzy and I were going to Palm Springs for the day. Angela had made it clear that she did not want to spend the night at her parents' house so Rebecca and Bob were going to bring her out to the hotel where we would all have dinner. If Angela felt it was a good idea, I would take her back on Sunday and she would spend another day with her parents before returning to school. I would have preferred to be able to spend the day with Lizzy someplace like Disneyland or Six Flags but, since I was still listed as missing and there was at least a chance that someone who knew me might see me at a venue like that, we would have to save that for another time. Besides, Angela's stress level had been climbing steadily as the weekend approached and I needed to be available in case she needed to get away. I promised her that if she started feeling insecure or vulnerable that all she had to do was call and Jamie would come to stay with her until someone could pick her up.

Rebecca

Usually this was the sort of trip I dreaded. It was always the same; more bad news for the family and the best you could hope to offer was closure. Today I was really looking forward to it. I had Wascoff and Evans scheduled to meet Bob at his place a half hour after Jimmy dropped Angela off. Bob would stay with Angela in my car until time for her to come in. I had a text message typed and ready to send telling him when to send her in. Yeah, it was going to be a little more dramatic than it needed to be, but hey, you don't get to do this very often in this business and I wanted to savor every second.

Tim answered the door when I arrived and took me inside. He introduced me to his girlfriend, Cindy, and offered me a cup of coffee. Mr. and Mrs. Osborne sat together on the couch holding hands. After delivering my coffee, Tim took a seat on the love seat with Cindy. I took a sip of my coffee, ugh, set it down and started.

"This hasn't hit the papers and I wanted to tell you in person before it did. He's dead."

It took a minute for it to register, and while I was waiting I hit the send button on my phone. Suddenly Tim looked away and the parents started hugging. My phone buzzed twice in my pocket, signaling that Angela was on her way up the sidewalk.

"Thank you," Mrs. Osborne said. "I know it may not seem like much but it is good to know that..." She was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Now who could that be?" her husband asked.

Even as he was asking the question the door opened and then closed a moment later. Due to the layout of the house the front door was not visible from the living room.

"What the heck?" He asked, rising to go see who had just barged into his house. He was only about half way to his feet when Angela turned the corner.

"Hello Daddy," she said.

Her dad turned white and fell back onto the couch next to his wife, who if anything was even whiter than he was. Tim and Cindy were just staring dumbfounded. Tim recovered first, standing up and walking to her. I could hear him trying to say something but apparently it wasn't working.

Tears were now leaking from Angela's eyes as well as she said, "Yes, Timmy, it's really me." And then she stepped forward to hug him. Back on the love seat Cindy was crying and Mrs. Osborne burst into a wailing fit and buried her face in her husband's chest.

Tim stood like a statue until Angela was close enough to touch and then rushed to meet her, swinging her off her feet and spinning her around the room, knocking over and shattering a tall floor lamp in the process. Cindy was still crying but there was a smile on her face and the sobs were starting to sound a little giddy as she rose and joined Tim in hugging Angela. She only stayed for a second, kissing Angela on the cheek before heading off to the kitchen. She returned a moment later with a dustpan and a little hand broom. She pulled on Tim's sleeve to get his attention, then jerked her head toward the parents and handed him the broom and dustpan. He glanced at his parents and released his sister to go to them, then reached to stand the lamp back up while Cindy began gathering up pieces of broken glass.

Angela moved quickly to kneel on the floor between her parents, hugging them both and crying softly, her tears mingling with theirs.

"Surprise," I said. Mr. Osborne just gave a barking laugh and glared at me, tears choking him and preventing him from saying what I knew he wanted to say. "Okay, before the happiness wears off and you all realize how pissed you are at being deceived, let me just say yes, I know I have some explaining to do.

"Damn right you do!" her father said, suddenly finding his voice. Strong emotions shift quickly and while it wasn't there yet, you could tell the anger was surfacing.

He would have said more but Angela caught his hand and said, "No daddy, you don't understand. Please, just listen to her before you say anything. Please?"

He looked at her and apparently whatever he saw in her face was enough because when he looked back at me his expression had softened and he just nodded his head once for me to continue.

"Thank you," I said. "The reason we couldn't tell you that Angela was alive is that her life was still in danger. The man -- if you can call him that, who took her was not just a killer, he was a professional killer. Five years ago he was the most wanted assassin in Europe. They thought he had killed himself when they had him cornered five years ago. They were wrong. We still don't know the whole story but before he was an assassin he actually worked for Interpol until something went wrong on an undercover assignment. Again, we don't know everything but apparently something snapped and he went rogue. Apparently, after faking his death he came here to America, where he killed a man named Kenneth Riley, assumed his identity, built a life, and then began stalking and killing teenage girls just like Angela. I actually got Angela out only seconds before that house exploded, but he had fled already and didn't know that. Based on the information we discovered, some from Angela herself; we were able to determine who it was we were dealing with.

"This man, this killer, was obsessive to a degree that is hard to believe. If he had known that Angela was alive he would have done anything he could to find her and get her back so he could finish what he had begun. If he thought, even for a second, that you might know where she was, he wouldn't have blinked at torturing or killing any or all of you to find her. Mr. and Mrs. Osborne, Tim, believe me, if we had told you the truth, he would have known, just by watching you, seeing your reactions, that something was wrong. Your lives, and your daughter's life, would have been at risk. The only choice we had was to let everyone believe that she was dead. She spent the first couple of weeks in a special hospital where she underwent surgery to try and correct some of the injuries she had suffered. Most of the rest of the time she was in a rehabilitation center where she received physical therapy and counseling to try and deal with everything that had happened to her, as well as learning a completely new identity that she would have to live under until such time as the man who had hurt her was eventually either captured and brought to justice or killed. Just a week ago she moved to Indiana to attend school and start a new life.

"There's more to the story but those are the basics. We hid her to keep both her, and all of you, safe."

"Why couldn't you have just assigned someone to watch her here?" Mrs. Osborne asked. "Don't you have people that do that sort of thing?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Not from someone like this. He didn't take being found and forced out of his carefully crafted life very well. He really didn't like it when I said in an interview that I would find him and stop him once and for all. To say the least he was pissed off; he took it as a personal challenge in fact. So personally that he actually began stalking me, broke into my apartment to leave evidence that he was in fact watching me, and broke into my fiancé's house and bugged it so he could keep tabs on me. Once we had identified him, Interpol sent an agent over to assist us in capturing him and she was assigned as my partner. A couple of weeks ago, she was kidnapped and has not been seen or heard from since. There were two agents assigned to safeguard her, they were found dead the morning she disappeared. She was a trained agent with two other trained agents protecting her and he got to her anyway, so no, we couldn't protect her, or you, here."

There was a lot more to that particular story but at the moment only a very few people knew the truth, and that truth had no bearing on this part. Which is good because I would have hated to lie to them about it.

"Now do you understand?" Angela asked.

He wasn't happy by any means, but apparently her father did understand, nodding his head and saying, "I'm sorry."

"No problem," I said. "Now, I'm going to leave you all to spend some time together and then I will be back to take Angela somewhere..." I held up my hand to stop the question Mrs. Osborne was about to ask. "Please, I know what you're going to ask. Yes, she could stay here, but you have to understand the ordeal your daughter has been through, and how vulnerable she feels as a result. Angela, now that you're here, do you think you could..."

She was shaking her head violently 'no' before I finished asking the question.

"She's still trying to adjust to not being surrounded by armed agents twenty four hours a day. She 'knows' he's dead and that she's safe, but it's going to be some time before she feels safe again."

"But you said she was away at school already, how is that any different, at least here she would have her family around her."

"I'll leave that for her to explain," I said, standing up again. "Angela, there will be two agents nearby at all times until I come back for you, but if you start feeling insecure, you know what to do, right?"

"Yes," she answered, standing up and hugging me. "Thank you, for everything you've done. I'll be okay."

"Okay," I said. "And if you change your mind and decide you want to stay here for tonight..." Again I hadn't even finished the sentence before Angela was shaking her head no, a half-panicked expression on her face. I knew this was how the kids had planned it, but the fear looked genuine. "Okay then, call me when you're ready." I turned to her parents. "Don't worry; she can come back again tomorrow if she feels up to it. I know it's hard but trust me, this is going to take time and the best thing you can do is to give her that time."


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The End
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Posted:  2008-02-16
Last Modified: 2009-08-19 / 01:05:31 pm
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