Silver Shirts

by Lee Perry

  Lianna looked from her to Catherine, “Can you describe them again?”

  Catherine recounted the disturbing dreams, leading up to her most recent, the night before, “I saw it just as plain as day; I saw Jordan walking through the house, I caught up to her and we lay down on the couch together. Then all of a sudden, I was standing on a wooden deck. I saw the deck…” She closed her eyes briefly and motioned with her hands, “Jordan stood on one side of me and that ping pong table was to my left, and when I saw Jeffers suddenly at my right, I bumped into that table and woke up.”

  “I had talked to her on the phone before she went to sleep and had this dream,” Jordan added, “but I hadn’t yet seen the deck let alone the ping pong table until after she had the dream and called me.”

  Lianna was silent and Catherine began to feel nervous until she felt Jordan’s hand cover hers.

  “Okay.” Dr. Sackette nodded, “I guess there’s no denying it anymore.” She uncrossed her long legs and sat forward in her seat, locking eyes with Catherine, “I agree that it appears indisputable that you are able to access information about this case psychically through your dreams. I think it’s possible your strong feelings for Jordan may have awakened, or stimulated some ability that has lain dormant, or at least unnoticed by you, until now.” She leaned back in her chair and silently regarded them for a long moment before continuing, “It’s not common knowledge in that I do not include this on my bio here… But when I first came to the bureau I was approached by a unique sub-division that researched psychic abilities in people.”

  “Really?” Catherine’s brow furrowed, “You mean, in agents here?”

  “Well, yes, that too, but there have always been agents in all different departments who have consulted psychics with varying degrees of success. I mostly made psychiatric evaluations for persons claiming to be psychic for the sub-division itself.”

  “The…” Jordan searched her memory, “you mean that psychical studies group?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay…” she nodded encouragingly, “and?”

  Lianna shrugged, “So I don’t think this is Catherine’s imagination. I do think there are people who can tap into information… or access reality in a manner most of us can’t.” She turned her attention back to Catherine, “But I think whether or not you choose to develop this… let’s call it an ability for now, whether or not you choose to develop it further, we need to make sure you have some tools that give you a sense of safety and control.”

  An eyebrow rose skeptically and disappeared beneath Jordan’s bangs, “Doesn’t that imply development?” she asked drily.

  “Yes,” Lianna grinned, “but she may choose to interpret these dreams as dreams only and not as a doorway to psychic ability, remote viewing and so on.”

  “I could turn it off?” Catherine asked.

  “Possibly.”

  “So,” Jordan said, “she could potentially do that; see remotely or psychically?”

  Lianna shrugged, “She’s doing it now…”

  “I want to help Jordan any way I can…”

  She turned to her, “Not if this is going to scare you.”

  “And that is my point,” Lianna assured them, “Catherine has to decide whether she wants to proceed… and the fact she has had repeated dreams of this nature implies that she already has, on an unconscious level, at least.”

  “Right.” Catherine nodded, giving Jordan’s hand a squeeze.

  “Then I think we should begin with some exercises so you can remain objectively focused and relaxed if one of these dreams should wake you again. When you go to bed at night, I want you to say, to yourself and Jordan that your dreams may speak to you, not through you… And that you will easily remember them when you wake.”

  “And how do we stop the dreams from scaring her?”

  “Reminding herself each night that these dreams are speaking to her, provides some distance and objectivity.” She looked at Catherine, “You may find yourself standing more on the sidelines of your dreams again, as you did in that one dream when you saw the killer from the side.”

  “That’s right, I was scared when I woke up, but it didn’t last long, I only got really scared last night when I dreamed I was with Jordan, probably because I knew she was there in the victim’s house.”

  “Development of whatever abilities you have will begin there, in giving you the power to understand them and then, if you wish, you can go further, tapping into more information in the things you dream about or see.” Lianna saw Jordan’s jaw set and the steely glint in her eye, “But only you, Catherine, can decide whether you go forward, and if you do, you decide how fast or slow.”

  Her head cocked to one side, “Acceptable.”

  La Jolla, CA

  “YOU FUCKER!” he screamed, red-faced at the glowing message on the screen. “YOU RAT MOTHER FUCKING BASTARD!” Veins bulged in his red face and neck and sweat ran freely, making his hair cling damply to his neck. “HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY FUCKING MONEY, YOU MOTHER FUCK! IT’S MY MONEY, IT’S FUCKING MINE!” He had fallen to his knees and pounded his fist on the carpeted floor while he ranted, and when he finally drew a ragged breath, he burst into tears, slumping until he lay on the floor, sobbing brokenly and pausing every so often to impotently scream his rage.

  Long minutes passed before he was able to stand, soft whimpering sounds still sounding deep in his throat as he stumbled from the room and down the hall, headed for the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face and when he finally shut the water off he abruptly vomited into the sink. Keeping his eyes closed, he turned the water back on and using his fingers, blindly directed it around the basin to rinse the vomit down the drain. Calm down… just calm down now… Whoever hacked you can’t locate you… You’re safe… safe, no one can find us here. Panting, he opened his eyes and stared down at the white porcelain, Granted, this hacker is no slouch since I’ve been working for hours to trace his IP address and I can’t. He grabbed the bar of soap and held it in the water, working it into a foamy lather; I’ve just been chasing the data back to my offshore accounts… He washed his face and when he rinsed the soap away, he ran his wet hands and fingers through his hair, smoothing it back. He stood, looking at his puffy red eyes in the mirror. But is this a hacker? Or is it the feds? The message interface has a reply box… but I don’t dare use it since I can’t hack the fucking origin! He turned off the water and shuffled exhaustedly back to his computer. He stood in front of the monitor, looking over it and through the tall glass windows at the ocean view.

  “So now what?” he asked aloud.

  He closed the browser, wiping it clean then reopened it. He clicked on the bookmark for his Swiss accounts; I’d rather keep these funds in reserve but… The color drained from his face:

  “Your accounts are currently unavailable; please contact this site’s administrator for more information.”

  The message was translated into four additional languages and Jeffers’s hand shook violently, fumbling to close the browser, Oh my sweet god… what’s happening? He reopened the browser, careful to clean it of all identifiers and rechecked his security protocols before navigating to the bank’s FAQ page as a non-user. He searched for the protocol regarding frozen accounts but could only find references to suspicious account activity making funds unavailable.

  “But were they hacked into?” he whispered, his voice hoarse and barely audible, “Or did the feds freeze them?”

  Interpol could be involved for fuck all I know… So I can’t touch this money either until I figure out what the fuck is going on... He clicked the browser closed, And the PLC’s aren’t ready… so I’ll need to create some new offshore accounts and go back on the hunt. He sat wearily in the ergonomic swivel chair and covered his face with his hands, Just be calm, just relax… nothing can stop my momentum now. This is my destiny… I am on a path already forged for me and all I have to do is follow it… He drew a deep, clearing breath and pulling his hands away, began the lengthy proce
ss of creating new offshore accounts in the Caribbean under the name, Henry Fowler. It’ll take nearly everything I have here in the states to establish these… He sat back in his seat while he waited for the confirmation emails, I’ll have to drum up another hundred million… and I’ll have to stay off the grid from now on. He shook his head, dejected, No more plane rides in first class.

  Millburn, NJ

  “My god…” she chuckled, still breathless, “you are just amazing…”

  Catherine could still feel the pleasurable quakes and tremors and she kept her eyes closed until they faded completely. When she finally opened them again, she licked dry lips and planted them briefly on Jordan’s mouth. “Don’t worry;” she murmured playfully, “you’ll eventually be able to keep up.”

  Jordan snorted with laughter and slid to the side, keeping her arms around the petite form, “I’m making progress… slowly but surely.” She wasn’t nearly as seemingly endlessly orgasmic as Catherine, but her climax’s were certainly lasting longer. “Although I am going to need to rest a little before I can attempt that again.”

  Catherine snickered and pressed close for another kiss, “Deal.”

  “And what are you supposed to say before we go to sleep?”

  She shifted her head back on the pillow so she could look up into deep blue, “My dreams are allowed to speak to me, not through me…”

  “And?’

  “And I will easily remember them when I wake up.”

  Jordan planted another kiss on her lips, “Perfect.”

  “Jordan, do you think this is all happening by accident? I mean, my dreaming all this stuff…”

  She took a moment to regard the darkly velvet brown eyes before answering, “You know, when I was still a teen I became aware that there were people who believed life is random and accidental and others who believed it’s destined.” She shrugged, “I didn’t know who was right, but after all this time I’ve come to the conclusion it must be both.” She shifted under the covers, pulling the petite limbs over her long legs, “I think I’ve had lots of moments like that, when it felt like random things were happening on purpose.”

  “You know two things like that can’t actually happen at the same time,” Catherine’s brows arched skeptically, “ just like you can’t hold two opposing thoughts at the same time.”

  Jordan playfully arched an eyebrow back at her, “Really? That’s not what you said is being researched in quantum computer physics. You said they’re studying how one thing can be in two places at once.” She frowned, “Didn’t you? I thought you said a, uh… particle can be in two places at the same time.”

  “I did, but that’s different from...”

  “And then I read that in your computer, uh, binary language, a zero and a one can be both a zero and a one at the same time, and those quantum qubits can simultaneously be a zero and a one and everything in between, right?”

  Catherine looked surprised, “Wow, you really were listening that night.”

  “I can’t remember what it’s called though.”

  “Super Position, it means that objects have no fixed location; they really are in several places all at the same time.”

  “Yes… and for future reference I’d like to point out how difficult it is to learn physics and quantum mechanics during sex.”

  Catherine chortled at the memory, “Yes, that was fun.”

  Jordan felt her pulse quicken at her radiance, “And I can easily think of times in my life that felt simultaneously random and destined; I wanted to be an FBI agent and had no idea how to go about it, then someone helped me find out. Then I met Don…” Her voice faded for a moment and she grinned, “and we became great partners… Was that by accident, on purpose, or both?” She plucked a few errant strands of blond from Catherine’s features, sweeping them to the side, “And then through tragedy, I met you. I love you so much, Catherine, I never thought I could ever be this happy. So when you ask me how it can be possible for you to have a dream where you see a ping pong table at a house I’m standing in three thousand miles away while you’re lying here in our bed…” She shrugged, “At this point, from at least a quantum mechanical point of view… anything is possible, isn’t it?”

  Catherine snorted, “Well, when you say it like that… I don’t mind having a scary dream from time to time as long as I’m having a happy life with you.”

  Santa Barbara, CA

  Jeffers forced himself to remove the sunglasses and baseball cap he wore and tossed them onto the passenger seat. He nervously checked his pockets, feeling for all the necessary items he would need and dried his sweaty palms on his pants before exiting the car. He focused on his breathing as he walked up the long gravel path to the front door and rang the doorbell. He fished the flash drive from his pants pocket and tried to affect a relaxed pose as the door opened,

  “Hey, Raj?” The man nodded and Jeffers added, “Nice to meet you…” He held out his hand, “I’m Joseph; I really appreciate your doing this for me.”

  “No problem…” The man’s Indian accent was notable and he shook the proffered hand and waved him inside. “Your code problem sounds interesting and I understand why you would prefer to have it reviewed personally.” He closed the door behind him, “Please, come to my study.”

  Jeffers nodded, “Thank you, I’m hoping a second opinion will help me decide whether or not I should spend time fixing it or start over.” He spoke as he followed him down a long hallway and into a spacious room filled with sculptures and tapestries hung on the walls. Raj held out his hand and Jeffers handed over the flash drive, “You understand I’ll need to watch as you review this.”

  “Of course.” He took the drive, inserting it into his workstation as he sat down at the desk, “I’ve worked in this capacity before, actually…”

  Jeffers stood behind his chair and pulled latex gloves from his jacket pocket and onto his hands before retrieving the garrote. He quickly encircled the long neck; crossing his hands and pulled the wire hard, closing his eyes when he felt the thin wire slice into the flesh and heard the now familiar sound and feel of it popping through the man’s windpipe. As the body sagged forward, he pulled the weight to one side, guiding it from the chair to the floor and drew a ragged sigh, Thank god that was easy…

  “Raj?”

  A woman’s voice called from somewhere in the house and Jeffers felt his heart thud painfully in nauseating panic. Fumbling with the wooden handles of the garrote, he flipped the handles the wrong way when he tried to uncross the wire and his hands and fingers shook uncontrollably as he worked to untangle it and ripped the deeply embedded wire free.

  “Rajendra?”

  The woman called out to the dead man, sounding much closer as Jeffers scrambled from the floor and hurried to conceal himself behind the door. He gripped the wooden handles tight and when the woman entered and saw the body on the floor, she began to scream. Jeffers stepped from behind the door and when he dropped the wire over her face, she tried to duck away. He pulled his hands together behind her head but the wire caught her across her open mouth and her screams of terror became shrieks of agony as it sliced into her tongue and the corners of her mouth, slicing off her earlobes as it cut into the tough sinewy muscles that connected her lower jaw to her skull. She began to flail her arms and when she slammed back into him, he grabbed her long dark hair and pulling her to the side, threw her face down on the floor. Still gripping her hair, he slammed her head repeatedly into the carpet as hard as he could.

  It felt like minutes passed before she stopped struggling beneath him and he sobbed in exhaustion. Get up… he commanded silently, get up… get up! GET UP! He struggled to his feet and shambling from the room, headed for the kitchen and searched the drawers for a large knife. Lurching down the hall, he resembled a hunched, wild-eyed villain from a B horror movie as he rushed from room to room, looking for more occupants in the house.

  Grateful to find no one else, he hurried back to the study and leaning on the desk, peered
at the screen. His program had loaded and hacked into the dead man’s hard drive and he quickly entered the command to search and access his personal data and locate his banking information. Sweat poured from his scalp and flowed freely down his neck, soaking his shirt as he watched the slow moving progress bar until a window flashed in the middle of the screen,

  “Ready to proceed.”

  “Thank god.” He muttered aloud and initiated the program he had rewritten to transfer funds from the hacked man’s offshore accounts to his new accounts under the new alias, Henry Fowler. A soft moan made him freeze and a small amount of urine soaked the front of his khaki cargo pants. Turning slowly, he saw the woman stir disjointedly on the floor and snatching the knife from the desk, stalked angrily to the woman’s side. Holding the knife in both hands, he turned the blade horizontal so it would slide between the vertebrae and using his weight, shoved the length into her back, over the area where he assumed her heart would be until only the wooden handle was exposed. When her weak struggles and low gurgling moans finally stopped he sat back on his heels and closed his eyes, willing his heart to slow. Just relax… everything’s alright now… As the fear and panic began to fade, he opened his eyes and looked down at the body, his expression gradually turning to disgust. He left the blade buried in her back and pulled his garrote free.

  Bitch. Holding the wooden handles in one bloody gloved hand, he carefully pulled off the other glove inside out. He fished a baggie from his jacket pocket, stuffing the glove and garrote inside before carefully stripping off the other glove and added it to the bag as well. He zipped the bag closed, stuffing it into a large pocket on his cargo pants then fished a new pair of gloves from his jacket and pulled them on his hands. He wanted desperately to scratch at the stubble he’d begun to grow on his face but instead sat at the desk and began transferring funds to his new offshore accounts. He hadn’t engaged Raj in too much conversation regarding his home life when he set up his visit and he berated himself for being so sloppy, Idiot! What if there had been a whole household of people here?