The interviews went well. Leumas selected all that had applied so far, and he was pleased at the number. He still had about a half dozen or so more to go before he was finished. He glanced at his watch to check the time. Edward was still involved with his labor group appointments for another twenty minutes or so.
* * * *
In the outer offices, outside of Leumas’s view from his private corner, Sarah McClendon entered the building for her scheduled appointment. As she surveyed her surroundings, she thought to Greg, ::I'm in. I don't see Leumas anywhere though.::
::He's there. I can feel him,:: Greg said from his location outside the office as he mingled in with the massing crowd. ::Go ahead with your appointment. Just keep an eye out for him. He'll no doubt be near the head guy somewhere.::
Sarah approached a desk where a young woman sat. She wore a volunteer nametag on her blouse that had "Sally" written in bold black letters.
Sarah said politely, "Excuse me, my name is Sarah McClendon, and I am supposed to be interviewed for a volunteer position. Can you tell me where I am supposed to go?"
Sally immediately recognized Sarah's name as the one person she could not get in touch with the day before to confirm the appointment. She also realized that she had forgotten to put the sheet back into the folder with the rest of the applicants. Realizing her mistake, Sally asked Sarah to wait there while she went to check on the interview's progress and to return the application to the folder. Sarah sat in a chair and continued to look around the offices.
::Greg?:: Sarah called.
::I'm still here, Sarah. How are you doing? Any luck so far?::
::No, none yet. But there are so many people in here. He could hide anywhere very easily,:: she thought, scanning the crowd.
::He won't be hiding,:: Greg said confidently. ::He'll be in the midst of everything. He's really running the whole thing, and I can tell that he has influenced most of these people. Not a lot of influence, but just enough to convince them.::
Sally returned to her desk.
"You may go in now, Miss McClendon," she said, smiling at Sarah.
"Thank you, Sally," Sarah said, rising from her seat.
::Sorry, got to go, Greg,:: Sarah thought hurriedly as she headed in the direction Sally indicated.
::You be careful, Sarah and watch yourself.::
::I will. You be careful too, Greg,:: she thought as she rounded the corner. Entering the room, her gaze went to the man sitting at the desk and felt her breath escape. She found herself face to face with Leumas.
"Hello, Miss McClendon. May I call you Sarah? We are very informal around here," Leumas said, smiling a very wide smile at her that gave her the impression that he was not surprised at all to see her. She found it amazing how she lost her ability to communicate because she had found exactly what she had been looking for.
"You lied to us, Leumas!" Sarah said angrily to a startled Leumas, as she pointed her finger accusingly at him. "You said that Earth would be left alone. We refused membership in your damned Council. Remember?" She instantly regretted her harsh words, but her rage over the injustice had taken her over. It dawned on her that Leumas probably still believed that the memory erasure had worked and that her presence at the campaign headquarters may have just been a coincidence. She wished she could take back the words and start over.
Leumas’s congenial smile had completely disappeared as the realization of Sarah's memory wipe failure hit him. He had recognized her instantly, but assumed she would have no recollection of him. What a coincidence, he'd thought at first.
"Amazing!" he said aloud, shaking his head. "In all my time, I have never known the wipe not to work." He looked at Sarah in awed appreciation. "How did you manage to defeat the process?"
She ignored the question, her anger still with her. "Never mind your memory wipe stuff. What's going on here, Leumas?"
He hung his head, and tried to explain. "Sarah, I know you are not going to believe me, but it was not my choosing to come here. I, like you, had no choice in the matter. I was forced into this situation by Copolla." Then he continued defensively. "But since I am here, I am going to complete my assignment as soon as possible so I can go home. If spreading influence so that Edward Samuel will become the next President will get me there, then that is the path I will pursue."
But Sarah had no interest in Leumas’s problems at this point. She wanted answers. "How much of this campaign thing is real, anyway?" she demanded. "Is Samuel doing anything on his own or is that you doing all the mental tweaking?" Sarah pointed to her own head.
"Edward's intentions were always along the lines of this campaign," he replied. "I have just placed a little nudge here and there in the right direction and organized a network of support."
She looked at him skeptically. "There is more to this, I can feel it. Anyway, that's not how it's supposed to work. You are giving him an unfair advantage in the political arena, which goes against your promise."
"Who says it's not the way it's supposed to happen?" he countered, his own anger rising. "Look, this is the way it is. I am going to get this planet headed in the right direction, no matter what it takes. So just accept it. If using Edward Samuel gets it done, so be it."
Sarah watched as he took his eyes from her and looked to see if anyone had overheard their conversation. She assumed he knew that if this type of information got to the media, it could end Edward's campaign. That was something to keep in mind.
"I have some unfinished business back on Zire with Copolla," he began again. This time his voice lower and calmer. "Believe me, I don't want to be here any longer than I have to." He sat down behind the table and massaged his forehead with his hands. "My head…a terrible headache,” he said. "Can you give me a minute please?"
"Of course," she immediately agreed, her compassion kicking in. "Take two," she added. She turned her attention toward the window, her analytical mind formulating more questions to throw at Leumas. As she stood there waiting, she felt something odd happening. Her mind felt as if it was being infiltrated or touched by something or someone.
::You will calm down and be receptive to my—::
::NO!:: she shouted back. ::Get out of my mind!::
Suddenly, Leumas’s head jerked back from where it had been resting on his hands. His face appearing shocked and stunned.
Sarah turned toward Leumas, with slit eyes. "Don't waste your time trying to influence me, Leumas. I seem to have developed an immunity to it. A little leftover benefit from all the mental manipulation you have been performing on us."
Leumas’s face continued to show surprise. Sarah, enjoying his confusion, said, "If you think this is surprising, just wait until you talk to Greg."
Leumas, still perplexed, asked, "What exactly do you mean by that?"
"You'll just have to wait and see," she said, smiling.
Leumas felt an unexplained chill settle over him.
* * * *
Greg felt Leumas’ presence nearby. He didn't know how to explain it, but he just knew that he was there. But there was something else he sensed. Another presence that he did not know, but felt it was alien, also.
He slowly maneuvered his way through the thickening crowd, his senses at a heightened state. It was still hours from the start of the rally, yet the crowd was growing at an amazing rate. Samuel apparently has many followers, he thought. Or was it just Leumas’s doing?
Greg hoped that he would find Leumas before Sarah did. He was very concerned about her safety, and Leumas had turned out to be unpredictable in some instances. Earlier, when they were on Zire, Greg had thought Leumas was a pretty honest and sincere alien. But Leumas had told them Earth was going to be left alone and, in light of the present circumstances, that was obviously a lie.
As Greg became more aware, his senses became more acute, and he firmly sensed Leumas’ presence. However, the other alien presence was still there, and it was very strong now. This added more controversy that they didn't need right now.
"
I just wish I knew what all of this was," he said out loud, causing a stir from the guy next to him.
"Excuse me, fella?" the man standing next to him asked with mild annoyance. "Did you say something to me?"
"No, not me," Greg responded, shrugging and moving off.
Suddenly, the unexplained other mental presence hit him, almost knocking him off his feet. Greg sensed that it was very close. The thought struck him that possibly this other presence had the same intentions that he did, to seek out Leumas. Greg closed his eyes and focused all his mental energy to this other visitor. He immediately experienced a myriad of images, shapes and forms that sped through his mind like a freight train. He wobbled from the instant dizziness, fighting to gain control of the images. He leaned against one of the building's cement pillars for support as the visions came in bits and pieces, like flashes of a movie and a strobe light.
As the images became more focused and clear, his heart began to pound so hard he could hear it in his mind. He fought to calm himself and, as he did so, the images became still. He saw images of a dark-haired young boy and a man who was his mirror image. As Greg concentrated on their faces, he realized it was his father and himself. They were walking along, carrying fishing poles, whistling, happy. Then they were playing catch in the backyard, a birthday party, and glimpses of various other events that had occurred while he was growing up before his father died.
Then the images suddenly changed. Greg now saw a man and a young girl, her raven hair pigtails swinging as they walked along hand-in-hand. He gasped, although he was not truly surprised that the young girl looked amazingly like Sarah. There was no mistaking that hair and that smile. It was a young Sarah, and a man he assumed must have been her father. The man playfully tossed her in the air, then took her his arms, tickling her and making her laugh, the love between them shining on their faces.
Why are these images coming to me now? he wondered, perplexed as he recalled the conversation with Sarah earlier about why they had been chosen to represent the Earth in the UCDW. Is the common link our fathers? he thought. But how?
The other presence was on top of him now. He looked around and his eyes locked upon a stolid figure. The man had his right hand jammed into the pocket of his long overcoat, almost as if guarding something inside that was very precious. Greg let himself slide into this person's aura and immediately felt the non-human thought patterns, leaving no doubt he was definitely not an Earthling, but an alien.
As he slipped deeper into this alien's thoughts, Greg found the answer to why he was there. He was there to locate Leumas, just as he suspected, and his reason was to deliver something special to Leumas. Somehow, Greg felt, or knew, it was something the alien believed would atone for things he had done in the past, misguided things that his anger and hate had blocked from his morality.
Greg felt he had harnessed control of his thoughts, and moved from the pillar to get closer to the alien. He studied the bulging coat pocket, concentrating. He wondered, This thing that the alien has brought for Leumas, what is it? And how does it fit into the grand scheme of things? Greg gently massaged the alien's brain within his mind. He wanted to learn more about its thought patterns, its emotions and, especially, the precious item that would be the last chance in this creature's hope for any salvation.
He closed his eyes as images and information flowed through his mind like a raging ocean. Greg harnessed them, one by one, first seeing the Leader of the Council and his dangerous anger in full wrath, demanding whatever it was that this alien had. He realized that this thing or device possessed indisputable proof that the Leader had made tremendous mistakes in his mismanagement of the Council and Earth. Then he had worsened the situation further by the placement of two agents on the planet, an action not sanctioned by the Council.
Greg drew in his breath, soaking in the information that was being shown to him. The two agents had decided to defect to Earth, not to go back to Zire or to the Leader, Copolla. They settled on Earth and met two Earth women. They fell in love, and produced children, violating the policy strictly forbidden by the Council regarding procreation whereby there is a mixture of different DNA.
Greg suddenly felt as if he had been punched in his stomach and all the air was evacuating for a safer haven. He was shocked when the pieces of the puzzle fell together. Now he knew the truth about why Copolla and the UCDW had selected them. He found it difficult to believe, but he tried to put these thoughts in a back corner of his mind so he could address the matter at hand—the alien and his package for Leumas.
Realizing that he needed the information this alien possessed to complete the puzzle, Greg sensed that the proof was somehow contained in the mysterious item the alien held so securely in his pocket. The image of an information storage device, or computer core, formed in his mind.
Greg also knew the alien would not hand it over to him willingly and, if he didn't act quickly, the core would end up in Leumas’ hands or possibly be destroyed.
He carefully maneuvered closer to the alien form standing only a few feet away and applied some influence to its thoughts. He wasn't too sure of his newfound ability except for what he had done in the airport, so he had no idea if he could accomplish this goal.
Greg directed telepathically, ::Give the core to me! I will see that it gets to where it needs to go. Give the core to me! I will see that it gets to where it needs to go.::
He repeated it several times over, hoping the thoughts had broken through the alien's subconscious. He suddenly realized he didn't even know the alien's name, even after all the tinkering he'd been doing within its mind. Maybe it would make the directive seem more credible, more believable, if he used it. He searched the alien's neural pathways looking for it, grasped it and reapplied it to his influence.
::Give the core to me, Journo! I will see that it gets to where it needs to go.:: He repeated it again. ::Give the core to me, Journo! I will see that it gets to where it needs to go.::
The alien's eyes suddenly turned toward Greg, and he stared into their fathomless darkness as he reiterated the mental chant over and over again.
Journo now took purposeful steps toward Greg.
Chapter Eighteen
ALL THINGS DON'T END WELL
Sarah's attention was suddenly drawn away from Leumas by Greg's voice coming through in her mind. ::Sarah, you need to come out here. I have someone I think can help us.::
::But I'm here with Leumas,:: she responded, quickly.
::I know. Bring him along, too. He will be very interested in what this person has to offer.::
::And if he doesn't want to come along?::
::Don't worry. He'll come. Just tell him one of Copolla's loyal subjects is here and wants to talk with him. Tell him it's Journo.::
At the mere mention of Journo's name, Leumas was more than eager to go with Sarah. Leumas knew the critical role Journo played in Copolla's organization, and knew the alien's hands had dirt and blood permanently smeared all over them. However, he also was greatly interested in finding out why Journo had come to Earth. He quickly deduced there could only be two reasons. He was either here to kill Greg, Sarah or himself, or he was running from Copolla. If it was the latter, Journo could possess a wealth of knowledge that would help Leumas in his quest to go back to the Council and get rid of Copolla. If the former reason applied, he felt for the weapon he had under his suit jacket.
Sarah was amazed at all the people who had gathered since their arrival. It was difficult just to move, and nearly impossible to find Greg. She sent her thoughts to him. ::Greg, we're outside. Where are you?::
::We're to your right, by the large circular pillars. See them?::
::Yes, I see them, but not you. I'll head in that direction,:: she said, grabbing Leumas’s arm to pull him along.
Leumas stopped and looked at her strangely. "You can communicate with him, can't you? Telepathically. That's what you meant by what you said earlier, about talking to Greg, isn't it?"
"Congratulations, Mr.
Leumas. You win the bonus prize," she said sarcastically. Then angrily, she began, "And all because of you. All of your messing around in our heads has created some interesting side effects. Where does it all end, Leumas? Will Greg and I turn into some kind of freaks or something?" Her face had become red with indignation, and she continued, "Will Barnum and Bailey be our next resume stop? You can't go messing around with other people like they are toys or something!"
Suddenly, the file that Leumas had placed on the side in his mind opened and the pieces all came together now. He thought about the information Greta had gotten from Biom and he saw the truth about Greg and Sarah. There was no other plausible explanation. He said pleadingly, "Sarah, you must believe me when I say that I had concerns about all of this all along. Things were not made known to me until after this whole affair had begun." He wrinkled his brow, still thinking. "And some things I didn't realize until just a few seconds ago. If I had known earlier, I would have proceeded differently. Apparently, my suspicions were correct."
"Suspicions about what?" she asked, her anger suddenly replaced by interest as she nodded to indicate their direction toward the pillars where Greg waited with Journo.
He announced suddenly, "You're a hybrid. A mixture of two cultures, one human and one alien."
Sarah abruptly stopped, nearly knocking over one of people in the crowd. "What do you mean, I'm a hybrid?" she asked with angered bewilderment. "What the hell are you talking about, Leumas? Don't you know when enough is enough? Do you think this stuff is funny, playing with people's lives?"
Leumas said calmly, "Your father was an alien, and so was Greg's. Copolla sent them to Earth. While here, they decided to stay. They met two human women and then, well, you know the rest."
Alien Deception Page 20
