Invisible Justice

by Kim Jewell

  By now he deduced Leesha’s power was telekinesis and Sam’s was heightened senses and mental telepathy, so their clinical diagnosis had been carefully documented, serums unveiled and noted, and charts filed for future use. They would continually add to the information as he monitored their progress. This was so very exciting for him – watching his children evolve…

  If his original charts weren’t destroyed, none of this would have been necessary. The searching, the detective work, the hours of rewriting all the medical records. He shuddered with fury as he thought about the original charts, and how they were disposed of. He heard about it shortly after he got out of prison, from an old military bunkmate that followed the matter from the inside for him.

  His only satisfaction was he was able to quickly track down the sergeant responsible for incinerating his ancient, but meticulous documentation. He smiled, knowing that in the end, the sergeant was disposed of in exactly the same way.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sam was in his room that night after dinner trying to concentrate on a paper he needed to finish, but he couldn’t seem to get his mind off the afternoon’s conversation with the girls. He originally thought he and Leesha would get a lot of work done on their research, downloading to each other what they uncovered in the few days since they met in the library. But with Lexi’s addition, and all they needed to tell her, they didn’t get much work done. He hoped they would be able to do more work this Saturday.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Sam was suddenly brought back to reality when he looked up and saw Lexi leaning on his door jam with a hundred questions in her eyes.

  Wow. I didn’t even hear her come upstairs.

  He turned to answer her question, and suddenly realized he didn’t know quite where to begin.

  “Umm… I was afraid you wouldn’t understand. I worried that if you did, it would scare you. I thought you might tell Mom and Dad. I didn’t think you’d believe me. And heck, Lexi, I don’t even have any of the answers to the questions you’d ask.”

  “I almost did tell Mom and Dad. After the scene in my car. I didn’t know what was going on with you, but I knew it wasn’t a headache. I knew you were lying to me – well, not telling me the whole truth,” she added when he glared up at her. “Why don’t you want to tell them?”

  “I guess for the same reasons I just told you. Plus, if we were messed with in the hospital, can you imagine how mad they’re going to be?”

  “Yeah. I guess so,” she paused, thinking. “Did you know this was going to happen to me?”

  “No. Well, not at first. I didn’t put the pieces together – Leesha did. She’s had like a year and a half to think about this, so I think the theory part of this comes easier for her. She’s a lot more rational about the way she’s thinking everything through. Anyway, when we figured out that we have the same birthday, and were born in the same hospital, she’s the one that figured it must have happened when and where we were born.”

  “So that’s how you figured it out?”

  “No,” he laughed sarcastically. “Not even then. She had me doing this research on the hospital – doctors, patients, staff, everything. I put everything I dug up into an envelope. She’s the one that found you on the birth records. I guess she figured that one out too. She’s sharp, that Leesha.”

  “You like her. LIKE her, like her, don’t you?”

  “What? No! No, Lexi. It’s not like that.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Seriously. We’re just partners in this. Hey! You should have seen her the other day in the library! I heard this guy think about snatching a purse from some lady, and all of a sudden Leesha teleports - or whatever she does - the purse right out of his reach. Well, he didn’t see it move, but it was really cool!”

  “That’s kind of a nice thing to do. Did she know her?”

  “Nope. I don’t even think she gave it much thought. It was just kind of an impulse thing to do. He had this dumb look on his face, and we laughed afterwards about lowering the crime statistics.”

  “Huh. I guess you did,” Lexi got quiet again. “Sam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you know when it’s going to happen to me again?”

  Oh man, she’s scared. He sighed.

  “I don’t know, Lex. I wish I could tell you.”

  “How long in between your flashes?”

  “Days. Sometimes two or three, sometimes more than that. I could never tell when the flashes were going to hit – they just blindsided me.”

  “What if it happens to me at school?”

  “Lexi, I think the thing that helped me cope the best was knowing what was actually going on. Once Leesha told me about her experience, and I understood what to expect, it didn’t seem so scary. It doesn’t take the pain away, but I think understanding it helps you get through it.”

  “Okay.”

  “You can come get me at school. Anytime. If it happens, I mean.”

  “Okay,” she still didn’t sound convinced.

  “Look, Lex, I know I’m not the best person to talk to. Maybe you should call Leesha. She knows more about this, and she might be able to explain things better than I can. I’m not good with words…”

  “Sam, you’ve helped. Thanks. You’ve helped a lot.”

  “You’re not alone in this, Lex.”

  “I know. That helps too.”

  “Lex?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I thought I was losing my mind before Leesha found me.”

  She thought about that for a minute. “How long did you deal with it before she found you?”

  “Four days. She found me during my third flash.”

  “Wow. I guess I’m lucky you found me when you did.”

  “I’m not sure either one of us is lucky… We’ll see how this plays out before we decide on the luck thing.”

  “Right. Well, I’ll let you get back to work.” She turned to leave, but he interrupted her.

  “Lexi, did I tell you I can see through walls too?”

  “You can?!”

  “Yep. I can see through pretty much anything now – it’s getting stronger.”

  “You’re a freak.”

  “Speak for yourself… We don’t even know what you can do yet!”

  For the first time in a while, she smiled.

  The rest of the week was pretty quiet. Lexi was pleased that she didn’t have any more flashes, and Sam’s senses remained intact, and he was getting more and more confident that his painful episodes were done.

  He continued to keep tabs on Lexi throughout the school day by peering through classroom walls when she was in close range, and resorting to wandering the halls when she was too far away for his sight to reach. He noticed each day that he was able to reach his eyes out further and through things with more ease. He wondered how long his abilities would continue to strengthen, and dared to hope that his flashes were gone for good.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  As arranged, the gang gathered at Sam and Lexi’s house on Saturday morning at 10:00. The parents left around nine, and were supposed to be gone through dinner time, so they were looking forward to a quiet day to get some major work done. When Leesha arrived promptly on time, they sat in the family room and got straight to work.

  Sam had his research already laid out on the coffee table, and gave Leesha and Lexi the low-down on Drs. Hart, Goldman and Smith. Since nothing was really out of the ordinary, he opted not to spend too much time on dwelling on the information for any of these three.

  “Now, Dr. Blevins is an entirely different story,” Sam started. “I believe he is the man we are looking for. If he’s not the one responsible, I think he’s a good place to start. But I’d bet my college fund that he’s the guy.”

  He proceeded to walk them neatly through his history, starting with his education and experience in the military, his work history, and finally – the part that he had been working up to – his legal troubles, litigation and time in prison.


  “You mean to tell me,” Leesha sat there with her mouth open, “that this dude has a specialty in chemical engineering, experience and training in biological warfare from our very own military, and then just chose to practice in obstetrics?”

  “Yup,” he said as he crossed his arms.

  “And then he just happened to get in trouble with the law for misuse of lab equipment?”

  “Uh huh.” Sam smiled, knowing she was following his exact train of thought.

  “And you can’t find out any other details on the court case?”

  “Nope. I figure the military has it marked TOP SECRET, and therefore not easily accessible unless you’re a high ranking military official. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was working for a special military unit the whole time he was at Sartori.”

  Lexi interjected “Well, that would be hard to prove, wouldn’t it?”

  Sam nodded. “I can’t imagine where you could even start.”

  Leesha’s mouth was still agape. “And you can’t find him?”

  “Nope.”

  “Nowhere?”

  “Not a trace.”

  “Did you try his family?” Lexi asked.

  “His father died ten years ago, his mother is in an Alzheimer’s wing of a nursing home in Phoenix. I’m not sure how far her disease has progressed, but since she’s been there two and a half years – I’m not counting on her for help. No siblings of record. I would think our next step is to try and talk to his staff or peers who worked with him in the past. Meaning, first off, here at Sartori. Don’t you think?”

  They both paused to think, but Leesha was the first to respond. “I think you’re probably right, Sam. I could try and search for him through the internet, maybe tap into some channels you may not have tried. But I think we’ll need to go through these lists of staff members he may have worked with and interview them…”

  Her train of thought was broken abruptly by Lexi’s scream. Both Sam and Leesha looked over to find her curled over on the couch, one hand across both eyes, the other firmly grasping the back of her neck.

  A flash. It’s back.

  Sam was the first to reach her. He grabbed her shoulders, while Leesha sat down at her feet.

  I don’t know what to do for her.

  Luckily for Sam, Leesha was clear-headed and able to talk her through this one today. “I know it hurts, Lex. Just breathe deeply and slowly.”

  She motioned to Sam to switch places with her. He stood at the end of the couch as she took over by her head, rubbing her temples. All he could do was pace and hope this flash was over quickly.

  Lexi just moaned, writhing in pain.

  I can’t stand to watch this.

  He turned his back to face the television.

  “Lexi, listen to my voice,” Leesha comforted. “Just keep breathing. It’ll be over in a minute.”

  He heard her scream again, and turned back around quickly. He looked down at Lexi, her face dripping with sweat, and then in an instant – she was gone. She just vanished.

  What the?

  He looked at Leesha in terror and her eyes were already on his, astonished. He looked back down at where Lexi had been lying on the couch and she almost appeared to flicker back into sight, and then was in full view again. Her eyes were still shut, and she was still being tortured by the pain. She hadn’t moved. Then, in a flicker, she was gone again.

  He looked back up at Leesha, finally finding words. “What is happening to her? Where is she going?”

  “She’s not going anywhere. I’ve still got my hands on her. Come down here, Sam.”

  He followed her instructions, sat down on the couch, waiting for her to reappear. She flickered back into view, and he grabbed her by the ankles, which were kicking with the burning sensation that wracked her body.

  This is torture! I don’t understand…

  He was still wrestling with her ankles when she disappeared from sight again, and all of a sudden the reality of the situation hit Sam and Leesha at the same time as they both continued to hold her. They looked at each other and a slow, knowing smile spread across both of their faces.

  “I can’t believe this!” Leesha shouted.

  “This is so cool!!!” and Sam was suddenly on his feet laughing and screaming, and soon both of them were jumping and dancing around the room like they had just won the lottery.

  They were both too caught up in their celebration that neither one of them noticed Lexi’s flash ended, and she was sitting up in plain view, glaring at both of them.

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU TWO!” Lexi shouted, silencing both of them at the same time. “I’m writhing in pain, thinking I’m going to die in this fire, and you two MORONS are laughing like idiots at me?”

  And with that, she stood up and stalked out of the room. Sam heard her bedroom door slam seconds later. They just stood there, feeling guilty and gleeful all at the same time.

  Mostly guilt.

  “I guess we’d better go explain,” Leesha expression was remorseful.

  “I’ll lead the way.”

  They walked upstairs to her bedroom and knocked quietly on the door.

  “Lexi, we’re sorry,” Leesha started. “I know that really hurt. We weren’t laughing at you, I promise.”

  Sam listed through the door.

  Silence. She’s really pissed.

  “Lex, let us explain,” he tried.

  “NO!”

  “Lex…”

  “Go AWAY!”

  This will get her…

  “We figured out your power.”

  And at that, he heard her jump off her bed and run to the door, which whooshed open, her eyes wide with wonder. “What is it?”

  Both Sam and Leesha smiled like Cheshire cats, and answered in unison.

  “Invisibility.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  After taking about fifteen minutes of pure, unadulterated celebration – now that Lexi chose to join in as well – the gang got back to the task at hand. The focus shifted slightly from research to Lexi, now that Leesha knew what they were dealing with.

  “All right, Lexi, now it’s time for your homework. You need to work on accessing your power and figuring out how to control it. Do you remember, was there anything in particular you were doing or thinking when it happened?”

  “Not really. I didn’t feel any different. I didn’t even know it was happening.”

  “What were you thinking about?” Sam asked, prodding.

  “Well, I was thinking I wanted to get away from the pain. Those flashes suck!”

  They all laughed, agreeing.

  “Your powers should linger for a short time after each flash,” Leesha continued. “The more flashes you have, the longer the ability will stay with you. Let’s try to practice…”

  “Okay. What should I do?”

  “Close your eyes and think about the pain.”

  Lexi followed her instructions.

  “Now imagine yourself wanting to get away from the pain, just like before.”

  Lexi’s image flickered, and then disappeared. Sam and Leesha jumped up and cheered. Upon hearing that, Lexi flickered back, her concentration interrupted.

  “I’m sorry…” she said, deflated.

  “No, Lexi,” Leesha interjected, “that’s really good. You were able to do it on the first try – great job! Can you try again?”

  “Sure.”

  “This time keep your eyes open, and look down at your lap.”

  They were all silent, letting Lexi concentrate on the task at hand. In an instant, she was gone. This time, Sam and Leesha tried to keep their cheers silent, just throwing excited smiles at each other.

  “Lexi?” Leesha asked her. “Can you hear me?”

  “Yes.” They heard her, but didn’t see her.

  “Good. You’re doing it. Now, tell me, can you see yourself?”

  “Yes.”

  Sam spoke up. “So she can see herself, but we can’t see her?”

  “I guess so. L
exi, can you see us?”

  “Yes, I can see you.”

  “Good. Now, are you getting tired by this?”

  “I can feel this draining my energy a little bit.”

  “You’ll get better at it – you’ll get stronger. Try one more thing, then I’ll let you rest.”

  “Okay.”

  “Try standing up and walking somewhere else in the room. I want to see if I can detect your movement.”

  Even Sam, with his acute sight, couldn’t see Lexi as she stood up and moved towards the doorway. He could hear her footsteps though, but as quiet as they were, he knew Leesha couldn’t. She had no idea where Lexi went.

  “Where are you Lexi?”

  From across the room, she answered “I’m right here!”

  Leesha whipped around, startled, and then started to laugh. Then they all started to laugh and Lexi lost her concentration and reappeared. She collapsed into the recliner next to her, still smiling.

  “Wow! That was so cool! You guys really couldn’t see me?”

  “Nope.”

  “No, but I could hear you. I could tell from your footsteps where you were, but Leesha had no idea.”

  “Yeah, I could see that by the shocked look on her face!” Lexi grinned slyly. “I’m definitely going to have to practice that. Imagine all the people I could sneak up on!”

  “I know you’re excited about this Lexi,” Leesha cautioned, “but remember we’re still trying to keep this fairly quiet for now.”

  “Yeah, Lex. Mouth shut.”

  “I know, I know. Buzz kill… You two can spoil a girl’s fun, you know that?”

  “Here’s your homework,” Leesha continued. “This flash lasted about two and a half minutes. I want you to log each one you have, the length of time of each one and then how long your abilities stay with you afterwards. The more detail the better. We’ve already got Sam’s detail – this will be a great addition to his.”

  “I can do that.”

  “On top of that, I want you to test your abilities. I know you can see yourself, but can you tell when you’re invisible?”

  “Yes, my body feels different – kind of, not sure how to explain it… Shimmery?”

  “Shimmery?” Sam asked sarcastically.

  “Shut it, Sam. It’s all I could come up with.”

  “Oh great, working with a brother and sister combo should be a lot of fun,” Leesha rolled her eyes at the pair. “Lexi, you can test your abilities by trying to stay invisible longer and longer. See if you can do it without having to imagine the pain – just do it on command.”