by Jon Davis
Dana nodded. “We’ve seen a connection between psychic abilities and natural gifts such as that sort. From MRI testing, we’ve been able to figure out that a telekinetic has a strong sense of spatial awareness that’s intertwined with the part of the brain that concerns mathematics. Alex called it a geometric sense.”
I thought about it. It did make sense, in a way. I said, “I felt the wall shatter. And I felt the car, too. So you may be right. Look, if we can figure this out—“
Dana pulled up to the back door of my house. I looked around and realized that we’d come up the drive, and I hadn’t noticed. Putting the SUV in park, she said, “Okay, you go. Sleep. We’re both tired. Vaughn, I won’t kid you that it will be easy. But let me call some friends, my coven. I think they can help in this.”
I looked at her pointedly and asked, “You did do this before, right? Not just with Alex…you said that you’ve trained others?”
Dana fought back a yawn, and said, “Yes. That’s why I’m calling in help. But for now, go in, shower, eat, and sleep. We’ll talk later. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said as I got out and closed the door. I watched her pull away and went in. Mom and Dad were still asleep. Leaving a note on the table that I was home, I grabbed a quick shower and hit the bed. For once, I didn’t dream.
But it took a day and a night of sleep to recover. Strangely, when I awoke, I felt at peace. The pain of Brand’s loss was still there, but it was akin to the feeling of a pulled tooth after days of healing. Instead of feeling grief, I thought more about the good times and less about the loss. There was a moment of regret that I didn’t have my phone that night. But, as tragic as Brand’s death had been, the horror of what happened on Main Street put it into perspective.
Like it or not, there had been a fatal aneurysm in his brain. If Nathan hadn't pushed him to the edge that night, he would have died anyway. I didn’t like it, but I had to accept it. Brand was dead, and it was time to move on. Looking at a picture of Brand, I resolved to do just that. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but if nothing else, yesterday’s insanity brought it home. People died, and we had to go on, or we might as well have died with them.
I found myself chuckling ruefully at the thought. Then I said, “Wow, I hang out with Dana and I get all philosophical. I have to get a life!”
A knock sounded at my door. I looked as it slid open and Dad stuck his head in. He looked surprised that I was already up and half-dressed. He said, “Wow, great timing. I thought I’d have to wake you up. Dana Sinclair is here. She wanted to talk to you—something about helping her out with something today?”
“She does?” I said dumbly. Then I realized what was going on, and quickly nodded. “Oh yeah! Um, is she upstairs?”
He gave me a wry grin and a nod. He said, “Yes, and she’s talking about you and what happened yesterday with your mother. Pretty brave kiddo.”
I felt heat rise in my face. “I just ducked. That’s all. Sorry…”
Dad laughed, but then his smile fell away. I took the moment of silence to finish dressing, but I knew something was bothering him. I threw on a shirt and grabbed a blue jean jacket out of the bottom of my dresser. The old jacket was threadbare, but it would do until I replaced the one I had lost.
Just as I put it on, Dad said, “Not to criticize, son, but this is starting to get repetitive—the memorial, then Jessup, and now this.”
Feeling sheepish, I said, “Sorry, Dad, it’s a lot of bad timing, I swear.”
Dad winced. He said, “No, don’t be sorry, Vaughn! You did well with all those people you saved. I just hope you’re being careful. We don’t want to see you hurt.”
I sighed. “I can’t say I’m sorry about helping people. It’s just that I got caught up in the craziness.”
Dad raised an eyebrow and said, “You aren’t planning to join the Army, are you? You aren’t getting a hero complex or anything?”
“Oh, gods no,” I nearly yelled. Me, join the Army? There wasn’t a chance in hell of me ever doing that! Dad chuckled and visibly relaxed. Was he really thinking that I was going to do something like join the Army?
I said, “Uh, where’d this come from? Why would I join the Army?”
Dad coughed and said, “Uh, because of Kyle. You did have a bit of a hero-worship thing going on when you were growing up with him around.”
Ah. I said, “Yeah, but…um…no, I don’t want to join the Army, Dad. That would be…no.”
Kyle had been like a big brother to me. I loved him like one, and would always remember him that way. When he left for the military, I always felt the loss. I was proud of him, but when he died, I didn’t feel good about the military. I still didn’t. It’s not the fault of the military, mind you, but that was just something I’d never quite gotten past. A part of me always felt they could’ve protected him better, I guess.
Dad said, “So are you still on for Chicago University next year, then?”
I nodded. Dad visibly relaxed. Heading back out of the room he said, “Good. Now you’ll have to find a place to live. But I’m sure we can work out something with finding a new place to live. I have friends I can talk to about it.”
Jokingly, I said, “Wait, can’t you two stay divorced until I graduate from college? It’s cheaper than renting an apartment on my own.”
“Ha ha! Get upstairs and come see Dana!” he said as he headed upstairs. I chuckled. I finished doing my thing with the bathroom and dressing and quickly went upstairs. In the dining room, Dana was talking with Mom. Outside, the sun shone bright against the snowdrifts, but I could see that it was melting on the driveway. Crazy weather.
Mom, who was seated on the other side of the table from the kitchen, looked past Dana and smiled and said, “Well, look who’s up—the hero of the hour.”
You know that red-faced thing I do. It got deeper. I muttered without moving my mouth, “Stop it.”
The chuckles made me feel more embarrassed. I took it in stride and ignored it all. I grabbed a bottle of orange juice out of the refrigerator, and drank it down quick. Dana grinned impishly as she said, “Okay, we’ll be nice. Guess what?”
I raised a brow, glancing at her from the corner of my eye. Dana said, “I got a call from the FBI. They want us at Ryan Technologies. They’re doing the interviews there because they already had a command setup dealing with the Avatar. Care to join me in giving them the low-down on what happened?”
So much for training today. Dana noticed my worried look and gave an apologetic shrug. She said, “I know. Guess they don’t want to wait any longer. But since I have to pick up BJ later, I thought we could all go out for dinner and just relax afterward.”
Turning to my mom, she said, “That is, if you two don’t mind? After that mess, I think we could all use a winding down period.”
My parents looked at each other. I saw a quick look of speculation in my mom’s eyes. And there was a slight smile on my dad’s face. Great, they were thinking that more was going on here. It wasn’t, darn it all! Then a flash of a blonde’s face went through my mind’s eye as I thought about that particular idea. Bah. Was she always going to be on my mind?
Dana caught the look between my parents and laughed. She raised a hand. “Mark, Andrea, swear that we’re just friends. But after all that mess, well, I know I need someone to help with my mad brother. I’m too exhausted to deal with him alone. Vaughn has a good head on his shoulders. Please?”
My dad snorted. “Wow, your brother must be something else.”
Dana sighed. “You have no idea. But honestly, nothing is going on.”
My mom shook her head. She said, “Even if it were, he’s eighteen now. Vaughn is responsible for himself.”
Ouch, that was a shot across the bow. As in, ‘Vaughn, behave.’ My mother made sure I got the unspoken message with a follow up look. I nodded that I’d gotten the hint. I had to be a gentleman. Jeez, some parents, they never trust you until you’re married with seven kids, a yard, and a constantly worked on
house. Oh no, that wasn’t in my plans! I ignored the blue eyes and wavy blond hair in my mind’s eye even as I thought that.
“So should we go now? Like, right now?” I asked. Really, I wanted so much to stay and listen to my parents talk about my romantic life with a girl I liked to look at. Yep, these are my parents. Open to talking about everything. It only took a near hit by an asteroid for them to do it with each other. Go figure.
Dana stood and started to slip on her coat. She said, “As a matter of fact, yes. The sooner we get past this, the better I’ll feel!”
I nodded. I didn’t want to deal with the FBI any more than she did. Hell, I’d much rather have been training today. The sooner she could do something, the better I would feel. With a wave to my parents, we headed out.
Dana started the SUV and said, “I like your parents, Vaughn. They’re very refreshing and levelheaded. That’s nice to see.”
“Thanks. Though, as for ‘levelheaded,’ they’re just getting back together, so I don’t know if you could call them that yet. But I like ‘em.”
Dana laughed. Pulling out onto the road, she said, “Trust me, as parents they’re very good! My parents had issues, too. My dad moved here, after all, while my mom stayed in San Francisco because of her career as a producer.”
I looked at her and said, “Wow, San Francisco. I remember hearing you were from there. That’s a big change, coming here. You grew up there?”
She nodded and continued, “Oh, yes. But after some…well, Dad offered me a chance to start over here. So, while it’s a big change between a city and a town, I actually have enjoyed Riverlite. BJ doesn’t mind it, as it’s a break from his busy life, so it’s not a bad town for us.”
I said, “You know, maybe getting to know you and BJ will be a good thing, after all. I’d like to see San Francisco. I’ve been to a couple of cities, including Chicago. What’s San Francisco like?”
Dana grinned, and I could see her wistful love for the home she’d come from. For the next four miles, she told me about San Francisco and, along with it, a bit about herself. By the time we reached the turnoff to Ryan Technologies, I knew that the city was diverse, filled with good and bad, and that her favorite area to hang out was some area called Russian Hill.
We pulled up to the road’s checkpoint to show our I.D.s. As she came to a stop, she said, “I think BJ would love it if he could give you a tour of the place. As for me, well, I have some memories that I need to get past. But really, it’s where I met Caryn Collins and her wife, Maria Del Gado. They brought me into the circle.”
Some of what she told me sounded a bit familiar. My Aunt Cassie lived in Seattle, Washington, but their lives seemed a lot alike. Both she and Dana were naturists and strongly into what they called ‘ritual magick.’ They each relied heavily on Wicca. But where Cassie did her stuff with what the public saw with Wiccan religion and a general ‘Goddess,’ Dana called on the Earth Goddess—specifically, Gaia.
I asked, “Okay, so how did the coven get into the whole ‘psi training’ thing?”
Dana started to slow down, as we got closer to the turn off to Ryan Technologies. I could see the straight rows of trees they had placed between the highway and the complex. It afforded privacy and a sound break from the highway. And in the summer, it looked like a small forest.
Once we got past the security guard post, Dana continued explaining. “That started back in the last century. The 70s in San Francisco were a time when Wiccan and pagan covens were moving in. My coven felt it was important to find and help the strongly gifted empaths and psychic readers and help control their abilities. Over the years, well, our teaching record has been pretty good.”
I winced. I looked out at the road, taking in the trees. As they were bare of leaves yet, I could see the edges of buildings past them. Ouch, we were going to be there sooner than I’d thought. I said, “Did you train other high-powered psi-gifted people?”
Dana was silent for a moment. Then, as she drove around a sharp curve, she said, “Yes a few have shown up over the years. Psychic abilities are like many other brain-based talents. Music, math, art—every skill of the mind has those who are naturally gifted. Einstein, for instance, in math and physics; Mozart, with music; and those are just two, off the top of my head. Look at Van Gogh, one of the greatest painters in history—certainly he used his gift to the greatest potential an artist can have.”
I looked askance at her, remembering that Van Gogh had been a manic-depressive personality who had killed himself. But she had a point. I nodded and said, “In this case—Alex with his powers—we can consider him the Van Gogh of the psychically gifted?”
She nodded and said nothing more. I waited for her to continue, but stayed silent as we drove past two similar-looking white stone and glass buildings on the right. Each three stories high, with a large sign in front that said ‘Space and Energy Development.’ The next one was longer. It had the same type of sign—wood with gold metallic lettering—which identified the building as the ‘Biology Labs.’
When put together as they were, the two buildings formed a semi-rectangle shape, lined by wide entrances and sidewalks. They were set behind more trees, far back from the road but not hidden. In front, there was a small grove of trees with one large tree in the middle. They obscured the doors to each of the buildings, but I could see people on sidewalks as we drove past.
Then we drove into the parking lot for the main administration building. This was a three-story-high rectangular building with red brick walls and older style sliding windows. I knew that it once had been a halfway house for the mentally challenged and the elderly. After the state closed it, Ryan bought it and turned it into the main office building for his company.
Dana pulled into a space directly in front of the building and turned off the SUV. But we didn’t get out. Dana saw my hesitation. “Vaughn?”
After a moment, I said, “Dana, not to cast doubt…”
She said, “I will teach you, Vaughn. I’m sorry, it’s just that…well, teaching is a personal issue with me. Something happened once…but…yes; I can—and will—train you. Now, shall we go in?”
Nodding, I said, “Okay, well, yes, let’s head in and tell them what happened. At least they won’t be asking what Alex liked for breakfast on Sunday mornings every third full moon, or something.”
She gave me a mock glare, but it broke as she chuckled. “That’s every fourth moon. Come on. Let’s get this over with; I want some time to prepare for BJ’s surprise.”
Opening my door, I gave her an odd look. I asked, “How is it a surprise? You knew he was coming!”
She sighed. “You have to know BJ. He can announce his coming a week in advance, but every time he shows up, it’s a surprise! Gaia, help that boy…”
I grinned at her description of her brother as we went inside through a set of double doors. Right inside was a set of stairs leading to the upper floors and another set of metal double doors. A security desk was set up just prior to both the stairs and the doors. After being passed through by the guard, Dana and I went into the reception area. In the middle of the room was a large receptionist counter that curved around in a wide half-circle between two large hallways. Behind the counter were a half-dozen men and women, standing or sitting at flat-screen computers and talking into microphones. It reminded me of a call center.
Once we introduced ourselves to the receptionist, she made a call. A few moments later, a woman came out from a small office set beyond the reception desk. As she came around to join us, she introduced herself as Anna-Marie Miras, an FBI agent, showing her badge to prove it. Miras had a light complexion and dark hair and was surprisingly shorter than even I was. Until now, I’d thought all FBI agents had to be above a certain height. Asking our names, Miras reached into a valise she was carrying and pulled out an iPad. A list of names, I guessed from a quick glance.
With a friendly smile, she said, “Mr. Hagen, we’re a little shorthanded with most of our agents out in the field. If you
don’t mind waiting, could we question Ms. Sinclair first? I promise it won’t be long.”
I said, “Sure, she’s my ride, after all.”
With an easy smile, Miras said, “Well then, we’ll try to make this easy for both of you. If you’ll each sign in at the front desk, I’ll inform the interviewing agents that you’re here.”
With that, the agent walked off toward the back hallway while Dana and I went to the front desk. The receptionist smiled, though she looked a bit distracted as she handed Dana the clipboard with a pen on it. She returned to talking to someone on the phone.
Dana signed her name on the board. As she did, she said, “What’s your dad’s interview for, Vaughn? He mentioned that he had one today before he went to wake you. Is it with the FBI?”
I gave a slight start. I had completely forgotten about that. I said, “Oh, um, no, it’s some business thing. Because he moved here, he has to do some lawyer stuff and deal with his business in Chicago. It’s nothing big. He wanted to make sure his regular crews had their separation bonuses. And he’s reviewing their records to be certain that they can be hired on with other construction companies.”
“He works in construction?”
I gave a nod as I signed my name on the board. “Yeah. Because he’s here now, he’s closed the business. Though, with the mess from Yama and the Exodus, there wasn’t much he had to do. But he wanted to make sure everyone was taken care of before he started a new business here.”
Dana looked surprised and impressed. She said, “Your father is…wow. You have a very good father. Most businessmen these days wouldn’t do something like that.”
I grinned and said, “It’s just how he is. My parents were major 70s kids who were raised to feel responsible for people. My mom and aunt grew up in one of those New Age communities started in the 70s. My aunt got big into Wicca, and my mom and dad helped people where they could. And they still do. I guess I take after them, after all, given how I reacted to what happened on Main.”
Miras came back then, and, with a gesture toward a waiting area near the front doors, escorted Dana away. Dana gave me a winsome—if sarcastic—smile. I returned it with one of my own. She grinned and shook her head.
