Crossed Off: Confidentiality Agreement (Part VI)

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Once Kathleen had all of the information, she put on her game face and took charge. She ordered Tristan to go fill the car up with gas so that Alec could take a shower, then she started packing Starla’s clothes for her. Reading Kathleen into the situation was probably the best decision she ever made. She had become instantly protective of Starla. She zipped up the suitcase and carried it over to the door, looking outside to find that her brother had not yet returned. “Who is the closest geographically of your confidants?”

“Well, that would be Marissa in Winnipeg, Manitoba,” Starla answered. “Why?”

She looked at her watch as Tristan was pulling up. “You can trust these people, right?”

“Well, yeah, I can. But Marissa is even younger than me. I’ve become friends with her parents, but it took some time and convincing.”

“I hope it was enough. You should go up there, as long as the people from Hudson aren’t aware of her.”

“They’re not, but I’m not so sure about this. I mean, that man told me to stay away from people I don’t already know.”

“You barely know them. You’ve not met this woman who knows languages, and who knows who else they’re bringing?”

“Don’t you trust Denton?”

“No. It’s not like we’re married or anything.”

Starla had no argument, but still wasn’t sure this was enough to run off. She was just getting comfortable in Kansas City. She wasn’t being stalked by the government, or some other shadowy organization. She just wasn’t certain about a small group of normal people who hadn’t given her reason to fear them.

Kathleen could sense her persistent hesitation. “Tristan found this guy and his people in the area, right?”

“Yes.”

“If for nothing else, you should put some kilometers between you and them. Like, maybe around 1300. If one of them is worried about the others, then we should be worried about them too.”

“That makes sense.”

She looked at her watch as Tristan was walking up the steps. “I’m sure Alec is almost out of the shower. It’ll take you about seven hours to get there, so Tristan and I will help you get into the car now.”

“Thanks for this, Kathleen.”

“Don’t mention it. You’re family.”

After asking Marissa's parents for permission to visit her in person, Starla received a sort of telepathic call from another of her confidants, Sendoa Michel who lived near the edge of Bayonne. He had just gotten back home from a day of looking for work and was trying to relax on his balcony. Hey, Starla. How’s it going?

Not the best. I’m closing ranks, and going to see Marissa. You haven’t told anyone else about us, right?

Of course not, he replied. Tell me what happened.

Well, what happened with you?

We’ll get to that later.

Both Tristan and I found other people with abilities. One of them told me that I should basically not trust anyone else for the rest of my life.

That sounds kind of harsh, but I can’t say that I’m totally against it.

Are you surprised that I’m not alone?

He shrugged his shoulders. It would be a grand statistical anomaly if you were the only one.

Starla agreed. Did you need me for something?

Well, I have been having this strange feeling about a meeting that’s coming up. It’s a super secret job offer of some kind. I’m not supposed to tell anyone that it’s even happening, and you telling me that you’ve just discovered others like you has only got me worried more.

Why would it worry you? Besides it being so mysterious? she added.

I don’t think it has anything to do with you, but when they contacted me, it just reminded me of when you and I first met, and when I first met Alec. Ya know, just the way they talked.

I don’t understand.

The job is in Usonia, Starla. It’s a factory in the middle of nowhere in a place called Brazil, Indiana. Hell they want with a guy like me? I hear the owner is originally from Spain, but his hometown is over an hour and a half away. I’m concerned that he may know about you.

Maybe you’re just suspicious of everyone you meet, like I’m becoming now.

Yeah, maybe.

Do you want me to stay for the meeting? Starla asked.

If you’re not busy.

I’m just riding with Alec. Here, say hi. Starla pulled Sendoa all the way into her body. “Hi, Alec, it’s Sendoa.”

“Nice to meet you, Sendoa. Are you one of Starla’s multiple personalities?”

“What?!” Sendoa yelled from Starla’s body.

“I’m kidding,” Alec said with a laugh. “We’ve all become so uptight and serious. Let’s try to get back to the joy of life.”

Sendoa didn’t reply.

“Never mind. Go back to whatever you two were talking about. I’m just the driver.”

“Right...” Starla and Sendoa went back to France together. That was weird, he said.

We are all really stressed out, she explained.

There was a knock on the door.

You’re meeting here? she asked.

Yes, just another weird thing. Stay here with me, but don’t say anything.

I won’t, I promise.

Sendoa opened the door and let two men inside. They introduced themselves as Kip and Alonso Silva.

“I’m sorry to overstep, but I’m not sure what this is about,” Sendoa admitted after offering them drinks and a place to sit.

“Honestly,” Kip said, “I’m not sure about this either. But Mister Silva here thinks that you could help us.”

“Don’t be rude.” He turned to Sendoa. “A friend I knew in secondary school has mentioned you before,” Alonso said. “She told us how you cared for her in college, and kept her secret about how she grew up with Amadesin parents.”

“I am known to be a confidant of sorts, yes.”

Starla accidentally took control of Sendoa’s body when she laughed, which meant that, from the visitor’s perspectives, he was the one laughing. Sendoa took control back and coughed apologetically. “Sorry about that. I have many secrets.”

“We’re counting on that. And we’re hoping you could keep one more.” Alonso gave his associate the floor, “Kip?”

Still hesitant, Kip went into his pitch. “We are in need of further employees at our factory. One of our managers is leaving us because her wife got a job on the other side of the country. You see, Mister Michel, we have an extremely low number of employees. Most of production is...automated. We simply must retain at least eleven people in management, or we fall apart. It takes a very long time for us to hire someone new under normal circumstances, but we do not have a lot of time. We would need you to start right away, and we need to be able to trust you from this day on.”

Alonso continued the pitch, “I remembered our mutual friend talking about you, and knew that you were our best option for our confidentiality requirements.”

“Look,” Sendoa began, “I actually know what it’s like to work somewhere that required confidentiality. I won’t even tell you about it. That’s how reliable I am. I assure you that, whatever it is, I can and will keep trade secrets from the outside. I could leave the job later with bad blood, and I still wouldn’t tell anyone what I know. You most certainly can trust me.”

Alonso looked to Kip who gave a nod of approval, clearly still worried that they weren’t able to process him the way that they were used to. “Okay, then I suppose it’s time for me to show you,” Alonso said, standing up.

“Show me what?”

“Please do not freak out,” Kip urged him.

Alonso pulled a hair out of his own head and blew on it. A confused Sendoa lost track of it as it drifted away, but soon it showed itself more clearly. A gray light shone from the floor and expanded until revealing a door out of which Alonso’s clone came out and shook Sendoa’s hand.

Tristan had been right about René’s people, and Starla had been right about there being people with special abilities that didn’t have anything to do with just having a better brain. He’s even more amazing than I am, she said through their psychic connection.

“This is the secret you would have to keep,” Kip told him. “This is why we have so few employees. Most of the work is done by guys like our friend here.”

Sendoa smiled widely. “When do I start?”

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Microstory 125: Alonso Silva

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Alonso Silva grew up in a small and quiet town in Spain. He had a passion for knowledge, but a complete hatred for learning. Going to school, listening to teachers, and reading books all felt like such a waste of time. He just wanted to get to the end where he knew everything. Fortunately, he was biologically designed to achieve such a thing. Once, when walking back home from school, he discovered a loosened eyelash on his cheek. He blew on it and made a wish. As the hair was drifting down to the ground, it started to glow with a grayish light. As the light increased, it began to take the shape of a door. When the door faded away, an exact copy of Alonso was left standing in front of him, wearing a simple gray tunic of some kind. There appeared to be no limit to the number of clones Alonso was able to conjure at any one time, however, each clone would only last for exactly four days. At that point, it would fade back into the gray, and Alonso would absorb its memories. The clones were not intelligent enough to make their own decisions, nor was he able to connect with them remotely, but they did have eidetic memories. It was this exploit that allowed the original to never go back to class, or anywhere else he wasn’t interested in, for the rest of his life. When Alonso was older, he found himself the owner of a factory in midwest Usonia with almost no employees. Nearly the entire workforce was made up of his clones, and they required no compensation for their work. There were only a few workers with their own identities that were used for appearance’s sake. These people signed nondisclosure agreements that basically set them up with guaranteed wages for the rest of their lives. Very little changed in terms of the factory’s day-to-day activities when Bellevue uncovered Alonso’s secret. He ultimately moved to the hotel, primarily to work in the medical department, but also to use his clones for grunt work. By the time the government started an investigation into the factory’s financials, Bellevue had gone public, and legal precedents needed to be set.

Microstory 124: Sandro Watts

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Sandro Watts was a man with no country, named by an Italian and English couple who helped deliver him on a boat that was transporting immigrants looking for new lives in Mexico. His mother died in childbirth and no one knew who she was, though there were rumors that she was originally from the Mesopotamia-Osroene Isolate, a powerful and ancient civilization that all but never interacted with the rest of the world. Despite MOI denying such claims, this was enough to give Sandro a rare status in the world. He became a citizen of the Confederacy and the Confederacy alone. His adoptive fathers were given positions in the government, and Sandro grew up at a special school for children of diplomats and officials in Mexico. Sandro eventually joined the same paramilitary organization as Máire and Seoc, crossing paths with them occasionally, but never working on the same team. He belonged to a large platoon instead of a small strike force like the brother and sister, using his ability not only offensively, but also to enhance the rest of the soldiers.

Sandro’s fingers were capable of projecting small darts; each serving a different purpose for the target. His left-hand pinky could increase stamina, his left-hand ring finger could increase speed, his left middle finger could increase strength and tolerance for pain, and his left index could heal injuries to a certain degree. Each digit on his right hand essentially served as the opposite of the one on the left. Darts from the right-hand index could kill, the middle finger could cause excruciating pain, the ring finger could paralyze, and the pinky could put someone to sleep. His left-hand thumb could neutralize the effects of any and all darts, but it did not project its own darts, so he would have to touch the subject for this. His right thumb secreted an oil that could create a small or massive explosion, depending on volume. In order for his body to be able to create these projectiles, it would have to carry such properties on its own. This meant that he was faster and stronger than the average human, and he could rapidly heal his own injuries. Sandro became an honorary member of Bellevue late in its fourth stage of recruitment, though he never officially joined, preferring to remain in his position with the Confederacy.

Microstory 123: Hosanna Katz

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Little baby Hosanna Katz was a very fussy child, and there was nothing his parents or his doctors could do about it. He would show no symptoms of illness, he was well fed, and was kept clean, but would still continue to cry. As he grew older, he began to understand his ability, but still not control it. Hosanna’s empathy level sat at an extreme. He could sense what others were feeling to such a high degree that he could feel their physical pain, and not just emotions. The problem with this was that each individual has their own mood at any given time. Hosanna was being regularly bombarded with conflicting emotions coming from multiple people simultaneously, and this generally manifested as nausea. He would always feel more comfortable being around a single person at any one time, because being alone left him feeling empty. His parents were able to convince themselves that they tried everything they could to help him, but in the end, they were forced to place him in foster care. He remained in the system for a few years until he was discovered by two other anomalies. They took him in as their grandson and little brother. Both Don and Valary had been using meditation and other calming techniques to channel their abilities so that they could use them on command. They taught Hosanna to do the same, and soon his power increased. He could not only sense other people’s emotions, but control them; ease their pain. He possessed powerful mirror neurons that allowed him to mimic the complex movements of others in real-time, even without seeing them with his eyes. His new family’s love for him allowed him to let go of his anger regarding his old family so that he could use his gift for good. He had a wide range of interests, and could be found floating between the departments of Bellevue, helping wherever he could. He considered his time on the medical team, providing the most natural form of anesthesia in the world, to be the most rewarding. He even had to do that for himself once. Unfortunately, he died before managing to settle into a regular position.

Microstory 122: Francis Deering

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One major restriction in the evil religion of Amadesis is sexuality. In the early days of development, humans pursued homosexual relationships at a relatively mild rate. The biological imperative to propagate the species was too strong and important in those times. But as the population settled into a nice pattern, adoption and surrogacy became technologically feasible, and happiness began to supersede biology, people felt comfortable with forming long-lasting relationships with members of their own sex. Bisexuality was generally assumed about a person unless they actively identified themselves as monosexual, or something else. As a byproduct of this gradual paradigm shift that they detested, a small cult that had once exiled themselves to the deserts of western North America found ways of increasing their numbers to excruciating proportions. They recruited those tested to be susceptible to suggestion, and in need of something to follow blindly. They stalked and harassed their family members, keeping records of their lives that were so detailed, it forced them to join as well. They manipulated their own laws so that they would allow both polygamy and child rape, extending a member’s ability to conceive for them new members; ones that could be emotionally molded to their liking.

Their obsession with increasing the population was so radical and destructive that their number one rule was heterosexuality, not only in practice, but in true feelings. Bisexuals, monosexual homosexuals, and the worst in their eyes, the asexuals, were considered counterproductive to society. Amadesins worked hard creating entirely unscientific instruments designed to measure a person’s sexuality, and using the utterly falsified data to remove unwanted properties from the subjects. The money that they charged for these review sessions funded further evil endeavors. The only thing that protected people from Amadesin wrath was the law, and the fact that such beliefs, even at a low degree, were practically nonexistent amongst non-members. Therapist Francis Deering was an incredibly special individual from the nation of Texas, and the face of the necessarily growing active anti-Amadesin movement. She primarily identified as female, but was capable of physically reassigning her own gender at will. Her biology was studied and used to perfect gender reassignment for anyone who needed it. It was for this reason that she was absolutely the most in danger from Amadesins, and had to be protected.

Microstory 121: Cesare Mancini

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Cesare Mancini was born in Italy just like any other baby. After several weeks, however, his parents noticed two bulges protruding from his shoulder blades. They were concerned that they were tumors, but they continued to grow into full tentacles throughout his formative years, eventually hanging mere centimeters from the floor while at relaxed position. He could stretch and extend them to reach more than twice as far, and held excellent control over their movements. Strangely, the family took the initiative to contact the government. They were relocated to the mutant island which had, by then, become a joint venture amongst a number of nations belonging to The Confederacy. Cesare’s mutations persisted as he grew older, and he began to take on other physical properties of octopi and squids. His skin became softer and more sensitive to changes in light. He developed an ability to change colors and blend in with his environment. His skeletal structure started being able to collapse and morph into a number of shapes, allowing him to fit through tight spaces. Small gills formed on the top of his shoulders that allowed him to not only breathe underwater, but also to propel himself through it via jet propulsion. His brain mass increases every year, giving him a slight intelligence advantage, but also risking his lifespan. He joined the Special Projects department of Bellevue in an attempt to halt his head’s expansion.

Image courtesy of Megan Highfill.

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: April 11, 2035

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Just before Mateo and Leona jumped to the future, The Delegator appeared and took Guard Number One away. He said that he and his husband would be taken to a different time and place; a witness protection program of sorts for non-salmon whose lives have been put in danger by salmon activity. As they were leaving, Mateo could hear him ask about his partner. The Delegator just said that he and the other three former Reaver security guards were being placed on a special detail. He was obviously not allowed to divulge anything about it.

Mateo and Leona were never really given permission to stay with Danica for as long as they had, or even for the reason that they had. Much like the Snow White coffin, presumably being in the Constant during the jump caused them to land in a different place. At first, they thought Danica had just redecorated, but then they looked out of the window. They could see the Earth in the sky.

A man walked into the room from a different chamber and took off his spacesuit helmet. “Good morning, Mirage. Status report.”

The voice of his mom’s house’s artificial intelligence came from the ceiling, “levels optimal. We have two visitors.”

The man was surprised to see the two of them specifically, but not surprised to see people in the first place. “When did you get here?” He looked at a screen on his wrist. “I’m not due for rotation for another month.”

Mateo and Leona had no idea what to say. Fortunately, Mirage did. “They are two time travelers. They did not arrive in a spacecraft.”

“Is that a joke?”

“I’m not programmed to joke.”

“Like hell you aren’t,” the man said. “You’re not programmed for anything.”

“I know these people. You can trust them,” Mirage explained to him.

“The question is,” Mateo started, “how are we to trust you? You tried to kill me once.”

“That was two years ago.”

“Somehow that doesn’t make me feel better.” Mateo looked around for the nearest rolly chair, knowing that it would likely not work a second time.

“What are you doing here?” Leona asked, just as concerned.

“I survived the explosion by sending the majority of my consciousness to a small group of rogue nanites. I made my way to an engineering prodigy who lived not far from the house, subsisting on what little sunlight I was able to absorb. After the strike of midnight, and your jump into the future, the subroutines that Horace Reaver programmed into me were no longer able to hurt anyone since the subject of my wrath was no longer within my reach. Still, the young woman stripped me of all contrivances, and molded me into a free-thinking individual. She has been working on hijacking your timeslips and sending you here to meet me once more since this is as far from Reaver Enterprises as one can get.”

“I can’t imagine that Reaver never got his hands into space travel. Isn’t he one of the most powerful men in the world? How could he not be on the moon by now?”

“You’re not the only salmon to have been trying to thwart his efforts. The best the others were able to do was keep him on Earth. Things would be a lot worse if not for them.”

“Why does this girl want you and us to be together?” Mateo was still not perfectly relaxed, but he was getting there.

“Her motives are unclear,” Mirage explained. “Mine, on the other hand, are not. I needed to see you again.”

Leona stepped in front of Mateo to protect him, even though this would do no good. “You need to see him for what?”

“He is carrying some of my nanites.”

“How so?”

“Several thousand of them were either swallowed by you, or burrowed themselves through your skin in an attempt to kill you back in 2034.”

“Oh my God! They’ve been here the whole time? Are you going to get them out?”

“I sure am, but don’t worry. They’ve been dormant since they were taken from their power source. If you would please enter the medical bay, we may begin the procedure.”

Mateo was about to go, but Leona stopped him. “Hold on, how do we know that this isn’t just another way for you to kill him, just like Reaver wants?”

“I was hoping our conversation would be able to convince you of the truth.”

“Forgive me,” Leona retorted, “but I’m not exactly experienced in recognizing when an artificial intelligence is lying or not.”

“Would it help if I revealed information regarding my ulterior motives?”

Leona kind of chuckled, clearly never having spoken to what might be considered a true AI. “Depends on what those motives are.” They would have to be bad enough for Mirage to want to hide them at first, but not bad enough to cancel the procedure.

“I felt a bond to Mister Matic when we first met; a form of love, you might say. I don’t want to wait a year to see him again. I believe that the nanites were infused with his blood, and if I reconnect with them, I will be forever attached to his time traveling pattern.”

Leona waited to respond for a hot minute. “That’s a leap in logic that I would not expect from a machine.”

“I am a person who happens to have been created with human computer code. I do not think only in logic. I feel something, and I feel a need to try this, on the off chance that it works. Machines aren’t treated like people, Miss Delaney. If I have a way to avoid being eventually deleted by jumping through time every day, then I’m going to take it.” She stammered a bit, realizing that she didn’t want to force her wishes on him. “That is...if Mateo agrees to have me.”

Leona shook her head, sure that this was not going to happen.

“I’ll do it,” Mateo stated.

“The hell you will.”

“Leona, don’t be jealous.”

“I’m not jealous, asshole! I don’t want you to do this because she tried to kill you before. We can’t be sure she won’t try it again here.”

“She also saved my life. She helped me destroy her servers so that I could escape.”

“Even if she doesn’t want to harm you now; even if that part of her programming really was removed, what if this thing works? We could be permanently jumping through time with an extremely dangerous piece of machinery. She wants to be friends now, but who knows what’ll happen tomorrow, or in two weeks? She processes data phenomenally faster than humans. An hour to her is an entire lifetime. She could change her mind like that.” She snapped her fingers.

“Not true,” Mirage corrected her. “Like I said, I’m a person. It’s true that I process information at a faster rate, but not as fast as other computers. This is part of what allows me to be an individual, and more like a human.”

Leona seemed to ignore her. “Mateo, I left the world in 2028, so I don’t know everything that’s happened since then. But I can tell you that the philosophical and ethical ramifications of trusting an artificial intelligence has never been fully understood.”

“Same goes for humans, doesn’t it?” the astronaut asked as the first thing he had said since the beginning of the conversation.

Leona turned to him and rudely said, “you’re still here? Who are you?”

“Only one who’s supposed to even be in this lunar base,” he replied. “Bitch.”

She was even angrier than before. “I’m sorry?”

“Leona, ignore him for now. But what he said is right. Humans are just as evil as they are good, and we have to trust others at some point. I’m choosing to trust Mirage, just like my parents and I chose to trust you two decades ago.”

“I can’t stop you, but I won’t be a part of it.” She walked away to fiddle with one of the computers.

Mateo sighed. “We have to get these nanites out of my body one way or another. Mirage, where’s the med bay? I don’t know if the procedure is going to work as far as what you want out of it, but let’s get it done so I have some time to recover.”

It worked.

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Crossed Off: Feelings (Part V)

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Hugs all around when Starla and the gang finally arrived in Kansas City. Tristan had taken a personal day off of work to provide them with a proper greeting. He treated them to the best barbecue in the world, a tour of downtown, and a game to see who could find the highest number of cow statues along the roads. Afterwards, Alec and Kathleen went off to the swimming pool to give Starla and Tristan some time alone.

“It’s a bit awkward not occupying the same body, isn’t it?” he asked.

“More for me than for you. Most of the people you meet are in three dimensions. This is a new experience.”

“I bet.” His was a very calming and therapeutic voice; one that could never be quite understood during one of their mind melds.

“So, go ahead. Give me the lecture. I assume you prepared some talking points. I don’t mind if you use flashcards.”

“This isn’t an intervention, Starla. True, we are incredibly worried about you. But we’re not here to show you what you have to live for, or what it’s like to be a normal person. You’re here because I love you and I wanted to see you in real life.”

“I’m not going to kill myself.”

“That’s awesome news. I’ll alert the media.”

“I’m serious.”

“Me too.” He leaned forward and lowered his eyebrows. “It’s important that you admit that, not to me, but to yourself. No one wants you to leave us, but none of that matters if you don’t feel the same way. We can literally stop you from doing anything. Every single one of us is physically stronger than you. But you would be miserable. We have to be able to leave you alone, or life is meaningless.”

“I get it.” And she did. She was never going to be free from her feelings of hopelessness, but she could learn to control them. She could learn to live with them, and to find little moments of happiness. Whether they had intended this or not, the fact that everyone was coming together to help her through her problems was enough for her to want to prove them right.

“Good.” He started rubbing his mouth and chin, like he was struggling with a decision. “I do have an ulterior motive.”

“Oh, here we go.”

“It’s not bad.” He questioned himself a bit. “At least, I wouldn’t call it that.”

“What is it, Tristan?”

“I’ve been looking into something, inspired by your situation. I assure you that I told no one about you, but I found something.” He thought some more. “Something you might be interested in.”

“Spit it out.”

He squinted his eyes and pinched his fingers together. “There’s a tiny...really tiny; teeny tiny group of people forming ‘round these parts.”

She pushed off of the back of her chair and sat up as straight as she could, almost threateningly. “And who are these people?”

He shrugged his shoulders slightly. “People like you, but different. Your ability has a lot to do with the mind. Theirs? Not all of them. From what I can tell, they can put on quite a show.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know the specifics. I know only that they’re looking for others. There’s a sort of...what might you call him? A vanguard. He claims to be looking out for the best interests of each individual, and he won’t send you to them if you don’t want to go. I don’t know if he has an ability of his own, and he doesn’t know about you, but—”

“Then how do you know anything about him? You’re contradicting yourself.”

“He knows that I know someone.”

“Tristan!”

“What? I didn’t give him your name.”

“Someone with enough motivation could connect the dots. Did you tell him what I could do?”

“No, of course not.” He shook his head, but it was more like a fish, wandering back and forth in the water until it transformed into a nod. “I mean, yes.”

She closed her eyes in disappointment and exhaled. “Dammit.”

“I think we can trust him.”

“Why is my life suddenly filled with people learning my secret?”

He leaned back and held his hands up in defense. “Hey, I only told that one guy. Kathleen introduced you to Denton, and you went to that Magnus on your own.”

He was right. She and Denton had approached Magnus Shapiro of their own free will. She had spent years under the protection of Alec, using her ability a lot, and making sure that she did so wisely, but never really learning anything. Maybe it was time to take a leap of faith. If her friends were okay with this, what else did she have to lose? She fell back into her chair. “I presume you’ve set up a meeting with him?”

There was a knock at the door.

“Tristan?” she asked like a mother, trying to get her child to confess to a crime.

“Yes, I did.”

She interlocked her fingers and rested her hands on her belly. “Well, it’s not my door he’s knocking on.”

“Are you sure? I can send him away.” Tristan would honestly agree to her wishes, but obviously hoped that she would say no.

He knocked again.

“Answer the freaking door and we’ll discuss this later!” But she didn’t say freaking.

He left and greeted their guest. She couldn’t hear Tristan address him, but the stranger insisted that he just call him René. They walked into the living room and sat down. She and Tristan explained to him what she could do; her range and limits. He listened carefully and respectfully, speaking only once they were finished. He nodded his head in understanding. “Yes, you were on the first of two drafts of our list.”

“Pardon?”

“We were, at one point, capable of finding and tracking all people with abilities.”

“But you can’t do that anymore?” Starla asked.

“What allowed us to do this was stolen from us, but don’t worry. The person who stole it is not capable of using it himself. So you’re safe; from him, and from us.”

Tristan was offended by this. “Why would she need to be safe from you?”

René adjusted himself and prepared to explain. “There is an ancient parable about a man who could read minds. He lived in a world where special abilities were common, but his ability was rare. It was coveted by many, but feared by most. It was for this reason that he kept his power to himself. But one time he accidentally let slip what he could do at an interview for a job. Without hesitation, the interviewer removed a letter opener from his desk and stabbed the telepath in the neck in an attempt to kill him. He just barely failed to reach his goal, and the telepath lived, but others like him were not so fortunate. The key to killing someone who knows your actions as you think of them is to wait as little as possible to act on your thoughts.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Tristan was even more discouraged than before the little story.

“I am telling you this,” René said, “because I do not wish for your lovely friend to end up like the man in the story. And neither does my partner. However, there is an associate of ours that I fear does not feel the same way. I believe that he covets abilities because he does not have one of his own. He may not even yet know this about himself.”

“Yet he’s still part of your group?”

“He is our founder. It would not be so easy to rid ourselves of him. And he is in a relationship with the only member of our group who actually matters.” He spoke further with finality. “Besides, he is not the only one we would have to fear. We created the second draft of our list for the singular reason of removing you from it. This is my way of protecting you, Starla. I have a responsibility to keep you from the people I know. Unfortunately, you will have to be responsible for protecting yourself from everyone else.” He stood up and took a deep breath. “I urge you, Miss Wakefield, if you are ever approached by anyone you do not already know...” he paused for effect before continuing, “lie. Or run.”

After René left, she received a call on Tristan’s phone from Magnus Shapiro, telling her that he would be flying down to Kansas City with Denton and newcomer, Ling in tow. He claimed that they had felt a pull towards her that was stronger than ever, and that it had begun not five minutes earlier. Even though she had only known the stranger for a few minutes, his words seemed phenomenally more valid than anything she had heard in her entire life. It was like he knew exactly what to say to her to get her to believe him. But the three coming from Hudson already knew about her. It was too late to lie, so she would have to run. “Tristan. I have to get out of the city. Find the number for the pool. I need Alec back here now.”

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