by R. E. Rowe
“Black-out bingo, big guy,” Bouncer says.
“That’s enough of a history lesson for now,” Honesti says. “You need to get some rest. No use trying to find Bree and Mack until they stop moving.”
“So I really am the last enforcer who can stop that Dennis kid?”
“Aimee told you?” Honesti asks.
I nod. “Yeah, she did.”
“You have, well, more abilities than you think you do,” Honesti says.
“Dennis and his gang are afraid of you, brother man,” Bouncer says.
“What kind of abilities?” I ask.
“You’ll have to figure that out. We actually don’t know everything. But remember, you did stop an atomic bomb without a gold bracelet.”
“True.” I yawn and my eyelids grow heavy. “You guys don’t sound like accountants.”
“It’s getting late. Get some sleep,” Honesti says. “We will monitor Bree and Mack’s movements.”
I make my way back to the captain’s wheelhouse and fluff up a pillow on a long leather couch in the back, and put the device on a nearby wood table. Honesti and Bouncer hover above it.
“This will have to do,” I say, realizing my feet are going to hang over the edge. “Do I need to recharge your device?”
“No,” Honesti says, hovering next to Bouncer who looks bored out of his mind. “It recharges automatically when it moves or senses light.”
Bouncer makes a face. “Know it all.”
I yawn longer this time. “Wake me if the status changes.”
chapter thirty
A horn blasts.
“What the—?”
“Good morning, Reiz,” Honesti, the six-inch hovering hologram, says. “We were about to wake you.”
I stand and stretch my back, stiffened by the couch. “How long?”
“You’ve been asleep for nearly eight hours,” she says.
Outside, the bright morning sun reflects off an approaching fishing boat. “What’s going on?”
“You have a visitor.”
Another horn blasts, and a man in the boat yells. “Yaee su esa kalan?”
I open a large window and lean outside. “I don’t understand,” I yell back, making gestures with my hands and arms. “I only speak-ee English!”
The fisherman waves his arms. “Ahoy, ahoy!” he says with a heavy Greek accent.
I try to signal to him that everything is fine before realizing the boat owner may have called the police. Oh, crap. People could be looking for this yacht.
“Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Just looking,” the Greek fisherman says. “Thought you not good.”
I’m about to use my newly acquired psychic skills to will him to turn around when I remember Curtis took my bracelet. I hesitate.
The man yells again.
Wait a minute. I was able to turn off the bomb without the bracelet. I needed to relax and calm myself. I decide to try again. I squint my eyes and focus on the fisherman.
“Hey,” Bouncer says, suddenly appearing as a hologram standing next to Honesti. “Constipation?”
I glare at the hologram, and then shift my focus back to the fisherman. “Very funny.”
“Jeez,” Honesti says. “Give the kid a break.”
I try again. Forcing myself to relax. I let out a breath slowly and think I go fish now. Goodbye, handsome young American.
A blank look suddenly washes over the fisherman’s face. “I go fish now!” he shouts. “Goodbye, handsome young American.”
The fisherman reorients his boat in the opposite direction and accelerates.
“I think the kid might be getting the hang of it,” Bouncer says.
“Yeah. Wish I’d known I could do that earlier.” My life would be a whole lot different.
“Nicely done, Reizo,” Honesti says.
I pick up the device causing Bouncer and Honesti to move and hover two feet away.
Studying the display, I press it a few times. An itrack holograph appears and floats near Honesti and Bouncer. “There’s the green dot.”
“I’ve confirmed they stopped traveling ten minutes ago,” Honesti says.
“Where?” I press the display, prompting the map to overlay with labels.
“They’re in London, mate,” Bouncer says in a funny sounding British accent.
I push another button. “London?”
“The one and only,” Honesti says. “London, England.”
“You better go find something else to eat while you can, brother man. I’d recommend a shower too,” Bouncer says. “We’ll sail you back to port.”
“You can do that?”
“Yes, Reiz,” Honesti says. “We’ve established a wireless link with the yacht’s navigation system. Next stop, Malta.”
I decide to listen to them and run downstairs to visit the refrigerator and pantry holding as much food as a small gas station grocery store. After a quick meal and a shower, I return to the captain’s chair.
Before long, Honesti is maneuvering the yacht through the busy harbor, gliding the fancy boat a foot from the edge of the cement dock. I project my thoughts at two people walking on the dock. They both jump aboard the yacht and tie it to the wharf with ropes.
My confidence grows. It takes a moment to get my bearings as I look out over the busy marina. Boats and people are everywhere, people getting on and off ferries, and boats pulling up to the sprawling wooden dock. It reminds me of a busy city’s downtown at five o’clock rush hour.
I grab Ames’s backpack and shove it inside my own along with the mobile device, and then jump onto the dock.
“There’s a taxi,” I whisper, walking towards a small yellow cab waiting in line to pick up customers.
“That should get you there,” Bouncer says inside my head.
As I approach the yellow car, I notice an oddly parked black SUV with darkened windows a block away. The large vehicle looks out of place, but I ignore it.
Bad idea. The SUV slowly rolls toward me. “Honesti, there’s a black SUV coming toward me. I’ve got a bad feeling about it.”
“Warning, Reiz,” Honesti says inside my head. “I’ve picked up a transmission. You’ve been detected.”
“Detected? By who?”
“Move quick, brother man,” Bouncer adds. “No time to waste.”
The SUV suddenly gasses it towards me.
“Ah great.” I bolt toward the taxi.
“Why are you running that way, Reiz?” Honesti asks.
The SUV is closing in faster. “Good point.” I stop, put one hand out, and concentrate.
Turn off now! A white flash from blows the hood off the SUV. The car’s engine turns off. It worked! However, the car is still moving towards me.
Time slows. How do I stop a moving car? I concentrate. Turn right. No luck. It’s still moving toward me. I realize the driver is probably wearing a bracelet to block my thoughts out like Bree had told me. A follower. I notice another taxi idling twenty-feet away with a driver inside.
“Sorry, buddy.” Accelerate toward that black SUV. I close my eyes and yell. “Step on it, now!”
Time speeds up again.
The taxi’s tires screech as it accelerates and rams the passenger door of the SUV, sending both vehicles sideways onto the sidewalk. They slam into the front of a building sending glass shards everywhere.
I run towards another taxi and jump in the front passenger seat. “Airport, fast!” I shout to the driver.
The taxi driver utters something in Greek. “Pew see sed?”
“What?” I take a breath and focus. Drive quickly to the airport!
Instantly, the taxi driver’s face goes blank. He steps on the gas and screeches away from the curb.
When I look back, two guys about my age in white suits are pulling themselves out from the SUV. Followers. They run after my taxi, but we easily pull away.
I look back and salute. “See ya. Wouldn’t wanna be ya.”
“Warning, Reiz,” Honesti says. “I’m detecting an energy pulse
.”
“A what?”
A flash of light slams into the taxi, throwing me against the passenger door. The engine stalls and the cab coasts out of control with no power steering.
“Are you kidding me?” I scream.
The two guys send more bursts of energy exploding into the back of the taxi. The driver jumps out of the car as the taxi continues moving forward.
I grab the steering wheel and jerk it hard to the right. The taxi crashes into a car parked on the side of the road, throwing me forward into the dashboard. It knocks the wind out of me for a second, but I manage to force the door open, get out of the taxi, and hide behind the door.
More flashes of bright light and explosions hit the rear of the taxi, shattering windows. I focus harder, feeling a vibration inside my head, my face feeling red-hot.
The two guys are still getting closer.
I peer out from behind the taxi’s door and will another car a block away to turn toward the guys and accelerate. They both dive for cover behind a parked car as the first car rams into a nearby pole.
The two followers shoot more energy bursts my way, causing explosions to echo all around me. They run towards me and send more bursts. They know what they’re doing. The two are fifteen feet away from my position and quickly approaching. It looks bad. They’re nearly on me. I’m in big trouble.
Honesti and Bouncer scream inside my head, but their screams fade as my anger grows.
Mom . . . Mack . . . Bree.
Time slows. I relax, close my eyes with both palms out, and concentrate like I did with the bomb. I then yell at the top of my lungs, “Enough! Go away! Now!”
A giant white blob shoots out from my open palms like a guided missile towards the two followers. The floating, wiggling glob explodes in a tremendous white flash when it hits them, sending the two guys backwards like rolling tumbleweeds on a windy day. When they finally stop, the two collapse on the street and don’t move.
What did I just do? How did I—?
“I knew he had that in him!” Honesti shouts. “He can do it without a gold bracelet.”
“Move it, boss man, you’re not safe yet,” Bouncer says.
“Hurry!” Honesti shouts.
I peer out from behind the taxi at a crowd of onlookers growing in size. Oddly, none of them appears to have felt the shock wave. I retrieve my backpack from inside the taxi and walk over to the first guy face down on the asphalt.
Sure enough, the dude has on a gold bracelet. I try to pull it off, but it’s fused to his forearm. I find a wallet on him and add it to my backpack. I jog over to the other guy, who is five feet away. He’s passed out too and crumpled against a crushed parked car.
In the distance, sirens approach. Two cars with “Policia” printed in bold, black letters on the hood race towards me.
“More policia are coming,” Honesti says. “Keep moving.”
“No kidding.” I snatch the second guy’s wallet.
Out of the corner of my eye, a ferry moves slowly away from the wooden dock. I push my way through the growing crowd and jump, grabbing a handrail and pulling myself onto the boat.
The policia car screeches to a stop. Two men in uniform jump out of the car.
To my dismay, the crowd points in my direction.
“Oh, man.” I concentrate again. Focus on the two people on the ground. They’re the bad guys.
The policia stop walking. Their faces go blank. They reverse direction, returning to the wrecked taxi and the two passed-out guys.
I focus on the crowd. Watch the policia!
The crowd turns towards the taxi and watches the two uniformed men, ignoring me.
A heavyset elderly man and his skinny, gray-haired wife stand directly in front of me, holding their bags and staring. More tourists and business commuters on the ferry look at me.
I concentrate harder and whisper with intensity. “Look away, everyone. Forget about me.”
It works. The people look away and return to their conversations as if I don’t exist. I sit down in an empty seat as the ferry accelerates.
“Do you realize what you’ve been able to do today?” Honesti asks.
“The bracelet he had on for a short time must have fully activated and entangled his DNA somehow,” Bouncer whispers.
“I don’t think he ever needed the bracelet,” Honesti says.
“Do you know what that means?” Bouncer asks.
“Why were two thugs with bracelets waiting for me?” I whisper.
“They were followers,” Honesti says. “The burst of energy you generated overwhelmed their energy bursts.”
“But how?” I ask. “I don't have a bracelet.”
“Unknown,” Honesti says. “It appears the energy wave you generated impacted only those wearing the bracelets. The wave transformed into plasma, and then into solid particles upon impacting the two followers, but passed through the others in the crowd like a harmless radio wave. Interesting.”
“You think?”
“Just stay focused,” Honesti says.
I realize people are staring with concerned faces. Turn around and forget about me!
They listen and look away.
I remove the two wallets I’d taken from the followers and open them. After a quick count of the cash, I calculate there’s probably enough money to get to London on a regular passenger jet. I inspect the documentation in both wallets. The papers look official. One Russian passport and one North Korean. Each passport has the guy’s picture on it with writing I don’t understand.
“This is getting more confusing by the minute,” I whisper as I study their passports.
Suddenly, my stomach feels as though it is doing backflips, and I break into a sweat. “Ah, man, I feel seasick.” Searching for a bathroom is priority one.
“Breathe deep, tough guy,” Bouncer says.
I take several deep breaths, get up, and move my wobbly legs to the back where there’s a door with a sign of a toilet hanging on it. Just as I reach the back of the boat, the dizziness passes. I sit down in a seat at the rear.
“Are you feeling better?” Honesti asks.
“Yeah, thank goodness. I nearly lost it.”
“You need some time to regain your strength,” she adds.
“I wonder what else I can do?”
“So what? You think you’re Superman or something now?” Bouncer asks.
I don’t feel like arguing so I ignore him. “Any idea where this ferry is heading?”
“Gozo,” Honesti says. “Stay on it and it’ll return back to Malta where you can catch a ride to the airport.”
I make a fist and grind my teeth until my face hurts while rubbing a thumb against my four fingers. I snap my fingers.
A spark flashes.
I snap again, but this time harder. A larger spark crackles, floats in the air, and then disappears as if I’m trying to start up a lawnmower that won’t turn over.
An elderly woman sitting two rows in front of me turns around and stares.
Turn back around. You don’t hear or see anything.
She turns forward.
I continue rubbing my thumb over my fingers and snap again, but this time I focus and concentrate. A large spark lingers in my free hand, glistening as if I’m holding a shimmering candle. I focus harder. I feel static electricity in the air as the spark grows larger and brighter.
I think about the day Aimee died. The ferry’s inside lights flicker and buzz.
“Warning, Reiz,” Bouncer says.
“I am detecting a strong electro-magnetic field growing,” Honesti says. “Locating its position now.”
I ignore her.
“Reiz? It appears to be coming from . . . you,” Honesti says.
The sparkling light transforms into a mushy glob of shimmering silver energy that reminds me of a half-full water balloon, but acts more like a big blob of mercury. It grows in my hand until it’s the size of an extra-large potato. It’s mesmerizing.
I focus harder. T
he silver glob grows larger, crackling and buzzing. More people look back. I quickly project my thoughts and get them all to turn around to face forward.
I hold the energy in my hands and toss it upward slightly above my head as though I’m making a pizza. It wiggles and flattens as it goes up and returns to its original shape as it floats back down. The blob acts like gelatin. It jiggles when I grab it and feels squishy. But it only weighs about as much as a bar of soap.
Now what do I do with it?
I keep the energy in the palm of my hand, holding onto it with my thumb and middle finger. On the same hand, I point my forefinger at a spot on the wall across the cabin and squeeze the glob of energy. A burst of white light strikes the cabin wall across from me. The exact place where I’m pointing!
Only a smoldering black spot remains on the wall.
People turn around in a panic, a lady screams, and a young boy cries. I quickly will them to look away and shut out the noise. They’ll forget what they heard and won’t hear anything else that happens.
With the energy still in my hand, I send another energy burst at a single point.
“Reiz, may I ask what you think you are doing?” Honesti asks.
“Just experimenting.”
I toss the energy from my right hand to my left, and back to my right. I handle it as if it’s an oblong-shaped water balloon filled with maple syrup. The glob floats gracefully when it’s in the air.
I close my eyes and relax. Stop now. I’m done.
The energy glob disappears from my hand in a burst of air that sucks my hair forward toward the place where the energy had just been.
That might come in handy.
I sit back and exhale.
It’s my turn to make new rules.
chapter thirty-one
I walk out of customs at London Heathrow airport into a sea of chaos. Crowds of people wave and shout as they greet people arriving. I stop and look around to get my bearings.
“Need a taxi, young man?” an elderly English man shouts. He’s wearing a black business jacket without a tie.
“Yeah, actually I do,” I say.
“Let me take that for you,” the taxi driver says, reaching for my backpack.
“No, thanks. I can manage.”
“Where to, mate?”
