Caleb 63 - Trouble

We walked past the fire door to the southwest corner of the bank. I leaned my back against the wall and let my mind roam over the inside of the bank, looking to see how many people were in there, and what I could learn.

There were twelve people in the manager's office. The manager apparently was sitting in his own chair at his desk. He had shown the robber where the safe was and explained that, although he would normally be able to open it during the day, since the alarm had been triggered, the electronic locking system had kicked in and could only be released remotely by the alarm company. I felt the remnants of a Compulsion on him to open the safe, although he was no longer under the control of the power user.

There were two other people in the office that were under his control though, both of whom had been customers in the bank. One of them was standing outside the office, keeping an eye on the security guard, and the other was standing over the eight other people who were sitting on the floor against the wall. He seemed to have a weapon of sorts, maybe a baseball bat, with which he was keeping the other hostages cowed.

The power user himself had a very strange feel to him. I decided that he was mentally ill. His thoughts were disjointed and erratic. He was pacing back and forward in the manager's office talking to himself. From time to time he'd attempt to Compel one or other of the other hostages to do something but his mind was so fragmented he couldn't make it stick. I was surprised that he'd managed to Compel anyone given his current mental state. I reasoned that he'd probably been less agitated at the beginning, but things going wrong had led to his agitation, and therefore his loss of control. The guard and the two other customers must have been particularly susceptible for him to have managed to take, and keep, control of them. The manager had apparently broken free of the compulsion and the user had been unable to Compel anyone else in the building.

I couldn't tell if he had any kind of explosive device or other weaponry. I could simply send them all to sleep, but if I did that, and he had some kind of 'dead man's switch' then I could cause the device, if there was one, to go off.

Ideally, I'd like to get in there and see for myself what the situation was. I didn't know how possible that would be.

"There are twelve people in the office," I told the sergeant. "The manager and eight hostages sitting on the floor. The perp has two other people under his control one of which is watching the hostages. He apparently has something like a baseball bat. The other is standing by the door, watching the guard.

"The perp is mentally unstable. He's struggling now, and may be unpredictable. I can't tell if he has an explosive device, but we do know he's armed."

The sergeant looked at me. "How do you know all this?" he asked.

"Did Special Agent Everson not read you in?" I asked.

"She said something about mental powers," he said. "But I was sceptical. Has he really taken charge of that guard and two of the customers? I thought they were accomplices."

I shook my head. "Not willing ones, although you should treat them as hostiles just now. They will fight with everything they have while he has control of them. I can break his control but he'll know about it and, if he does have a bomb, he may set it off."

"How long have they been in there?" I asked.

"Five hours so far," he said.

"You think he's hungry?" I grinned at him.

"We have a hostage negotiator talking to him," he said. "You think he'll be thinking about food just now?"

I grinned at him again. "Give me a minute."

As gently as I could, I sent a thread into the user's mind. He was completely unshielded. I suggested that he was hungry, very hungry in fact. He wanted pizza, and he wanted it now.

"Let's go back out," I said to the sergeant.

The sergeant nodded, but then put pressed the PTT on his jacket to activate his radio. I couldn't hear what he'd heard since he had an earpiece in and I didn't, but he shook his head, and said "We're coming back now."

"The perp has just told the negotiator he wants pizza," he said.

"Of course he does," I said. "Did I mention I freelanced as a pizza delivery boy?"

"You?" he asked.

"Me," I said. "I'm just a kid remember. Who would be suspicious of a kid delivering pizza?"

We walked back out front and I brought Dianna up to speed, while the sergeant called the local pizza joint and ordered.

It took just under twenty minutes for the pizza's to arrive. The police stopped the delivery at the corner and the young girl driving the car looked at us all with frightened eyes as she got out.

I went over and smiled at her.

"May I borrow your ball cap?" I asked. I was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, which I found comfortable to fly in. The pizza delivery girl wasn't wearing any particular uniform other than a ball cap with the pizza parlours name on the front. She took it off and handed it to me.

The sergeant paid her for the pizzas and gave her a hefty tip.

"I'll expense it," he said when I raised my eyebrows at him. I laughed.

The negotiator called the bank and told them that the pizzas were here.

"Get the delivery driver to bring them in," the perp ordered. "No police."

The negotiator made a token resistance but allowed himself to be bullied into complying with the demand. I picked up the pizzas, put on the ball cap, and headed for the door of the bank.

The guard eyed me as I approached.

"Just a kid," I sent into his mind gently. "Looks like he's still in school,"

He walked to the door and unlocked it, then waved me in with his revolver. I feigned reluctance.

"I was told not to go inside," I said. "Just to hand you the pizzas."

He pointed his gun at me. "Inside now!" he snarled.

Trying to look like I was trying not to look scared, I entered the bank. The door was closed and locked behind me.

The guard walked me over to the partition door and keyed in a number on the keypad. The door buzzed and he pulled it open.

"Go on through," he said. "Office to the right."

I went to step through but then he put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. I looked round at him.

"Leave me one," he said, and took the top box from the stack I was carrying.

I passed through the partition door and went down the short hall, past the man holding the office door open, and into the manager's office.

Inside it was exactly as I expected. There were eight people, a mix of bank employees and customers, sitting on the floor against the wall. A young man in his mid twenties was standing over them holding a bat in his hands. He had his back to me. The manager was sitting at his desk, both his hands laid flat on his desk, while the power user was pacing back and forth. I couldn't see any evidence of an explosive, but I found the manager's pose a little weird.

I walked over to the desk and placed the boxes of pizza on it.

Now I could see what was going on, I could see the threads of Compulsion leading from the power user to the guard, the man at the door, and the man with the bat. Normally those threads were thin and uniform but these threads pulsed and writhed, almost pulsating. I also saw a thread going to the manager. From the outside of the building, I'd thought that he'd thrown off the compulsion but I could see now that he was still controlled, although, again, the thread was wildly fluctuating. I must have looked at him just as the power had failed for a second or two. Now, however, it was back and seemed solid.

I looked at the manager's hands and noticed that a wire went from beneath one of them and snaked over the edge of his desk. The explosive I presumed. The perp had nothing in his hands and since he was dressed as I was, in nothing more than jeans and a t-shirt. I could tell that his only weapon was a revolver that he had currently, for reasons best known to him, stuffed down the front of his pants.

Now I knew the situation, I could take control.

First, I made sure that the bank manager would not be able to move so much as a single muscle. Then I sent everyone in the office to sleep. The perp and the two men falling to the floor. The guard in the front office was also sent to sleep. He fell to the floor still munching on his pizza.

Once I was satisfied that everyone was sleeping soundly, I disarmed the perp and took the bat from the man by the hostages. I used the bat to prop open the partition door and walked over to the guard, turning him onto his side to make sure he didn't choke on the pizza in his mouth. Then I took his gun and walked to the front door of the bank, unlocked it and walked outside.

I was met by the sergeant, who had watched me through the bank window as I walked across the lobby.

"What's the situation?" he asked.

"They're all napping," I said. "You need the bomb squad to go and check the manager. I could see a wire under his hand on the desk. I didn't investigate further."

"What about the other hostages?"he asked.

"All asleep," I said. "They'll wake up in about ten minutes as will the perp. You might want to go secure him."

The SWAT team stormed into the bank and emerged a few moments later dragging the perp, now handcuffed yet still sleeping, out with them. Other officers went in and between them half carried, half dragged out the rest of the hostages. Only the manager, who was still sleeping but held completely still by my TK, was left inside.

One of the bomb squad officers suited up and went into the bank. He was in there less than ten minutes before he came out grinning.

"It's a dud," he said. "No explosives. Just a couple of wires going into a bag under the desk. I couldn't move the manager though. He seems to be welded to the desk somehow."

I released my TK hold on him and woke him up. A few moments later he wandered out of the front door of the bank, looking bemused. A couple of officers went over to him and took him in hand.

Dianna had put a collar onto the perp and he was loaded into the back of one of the dark SUVs.

Looking around, I noticed that the pizza delivery girl was still standing at the edge of the cordon, watching. I wandered over to her.

"Thanks for the loan," I said handing her back her cap. She took it from me.

"You went in there alone," she said.

"They wanted pizza," I returned.

"I'm Laurie," she said.

"Caleb," I replied.

"Nice to meet you." She paused for a moment, as if weighing something up. "Can I get your number?" she asked.

I smiled at her.

"I'm engaged," I said, and she gave a little moue of disappointment.

"Just my luck," she said. "Well, nice to meet you, Caleb."

"You too, I said."

She turned and started walking back to her car. It was only then that I appreciated just how pretty she was, and she had a very very nice rear. I watched with appreciation. When she reached her car she turned to look back at me, and saw me watching her. She gave me a grin as she got in and started the engine.

"You could stay over if you wanted," said Dianna having watched me watching the girl. "I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind."

I grinned at her. "It's a school night," I said and then looked at my watch. Seven fifteen. The whole episode had taken just over an hour.

"Can I get a ride back to the airport?" I asked. "I should be able to get the back end of my lesson in."

Dianna shook her head.

"I'll call by tomorrow to debrief," she said. "I need to know what happened inside."

"Okay," I said. "I'm free all morning up until one, or if you want to come over for dinner tomorrow night?"

She grinned at me again, and I shook my head.

"Agent Peters will take you back to the airstrip," she said. "I need to take this guy in."

Peters was a taciturn man who didn't say two words to me all the way back to the airport. He pulled up by Danny's plane and I got out. I didn't even get chance to thank him for the ride. As soon as I closed the door he took off.

Danny climbed out of the cockpit and walked over to me.

"All sorted?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Okay then," he said. "Let's get back to it."

When I arrived home, I was mobbed by the girls. Dianna had called Mary and let her know what was going on, in case I didn't manage to make it back that night. Rather than describe the entire event, I simply gave them all the memory of my evening, from Dianna's call to my arriving back at the plane to fly home.

"You should have given her your number," Amanda said predictably. "She was very cute."

"That ass," said Louise. And she and Amanda nodded together. I laughed.

Sarah looked at Amanda with a scandalized look on her face.

"Don't you..." she began, but then seemed to remember.

"He needs to share," she said, almost as if explaining it to herself.

"He does," said Mary. "And sometimes we have to persuade him to do it."

Sarah shook her head.

"It's weird," she said. "I know you explained it to me, but it goes against everything I learned growing up. And yet...it seems right. Right for you guys, at least. I'm not sure how I'd feel about it, and I guess I'm glad I don't have Empathy. I'm not sure I could..."

"You don't have to," I said to her pulling her into a hug. "You just have to be happy and find someone you want to be with, when you are ready. I'm going to suggest that you find someone a little better than your last boyfriend though."

"His father called me," she said. "Wanted me to ask you to drop the charges against his son. Said he would make it worth your while."

"Did he now?" I asked. "And did you mention that one of the parties was the US government since it was a government vehicle that he vandalized?"

"I just told him to go away," she replied. "Then I blocked his number."

"Probably for the best," I said. "I don't think he has anything we want."

"He is very rich," she said. "You might be turning down a lot of cash."

"I'll manage," I said smiling at her.

Ness went out into the kitchen and came back with a plate for me.

"Your dinner," she said handing me the plate and some cutlery.

+++++

Tuesday's were pretty unremarkable days for me. I had the morning free and spent it catching up on all my schoolwork. I had three hypnotherapy sessions on campus in the afternoon, one of which was a new client. She was a girl who was more than a little overweight. She came with her friend which was good. What was not so good was that she was deaf. Completely and absolutely.

I sat back in my chair thinking about this. How could I hypnotize a deaf person. I'd never even heard of it.

"Take a seat," I said to the pair, and they both sat.

"You read lips?" I asked, and she nodded. "And do you use ASL as well?"

She nodded again.

"We'll start with lip reading then," I said.

After getting her to read and sign my consent form, I explained that I wanted her to count backward from one hundred, all the while reading my lips. I told her that she'd fall into a deep sleep, but keeping her eyes open and watching me at all times.

She looked a little nonplussed at this, as if she didn't believe me, but she complied, and less than fifteen seconds later she was in a deep 'trance.'

I'd always wanted to learn ASL and this was my opportunity. I was also surprised that I could learn from her how to read lips. That might come in very handy in the future.

During my next session, which was a weight loss repeat session, I decided to take some time to talk to Tatarabuela Gonzales.

I'd been meaning to talk to her for a little while, but just hadn't got around to it. Now I had just short of an hour to kill, so I took the opportunity.

"It's been a while," she said taking the seat opposite mine in the featureless room I'd conjured up.

"It has," I said. "A lot's happened."

"I saw," she said. "And the answer is yes, you can."

"All of them?" I asked and she nodded.

"Melanie, Sarah, and Ephraim are your family, so they are mine too," she said. "Mary and Amanda don't have Compulsion so I wouldn't be able to help them, and Jules and Ness don't have compulsion either. They do have some power but it's weak."

"Empathy," I said. "From their grandmother I think. Jules mentioned it a long time ago, but neither of them seems to be able to do much other than detect when Empathy is used on them."

"They are not training their power?" she asked. "Why not?"

I frowned.

"It's so weak," I said. "It's not worth it."

"How much can you lift with your TK?" she asked me.

"I don't know," I said. "I think around forty thousand pounds."

"And you could do this straight away?" she asked.

"No," I said. "I needed to..." I tailed off as I realized what she was saying.

"They will never be as powerful as Mary or Amanda," she said. "But if they train hard, they may become powerful enough to be able to shield, which will protect them from most wilds."

"What about their longevity?" I asked.

"That is genetic" she said. "They either have it, or they don't. Just because they aren't powerful doesn't mean that they aren't long lived, but it's likely that even if they do have an extended lifespan it won't be as long as yours. Your best bet is to find out how old their grandmother was when she died, and watch their mother and see how she ages."

"Cheryl looks really good for her age," I said, "I'd put her age at closer to thirty or even late twenties than her actual age."

"Then that may be your answer," she said. "Don't get your hopes up, and certainly I wouldn't mention it to them, but with a little luck, you might find those girls last longer than you anticipated. But whatever, get them to train."

"I will," I said. "Thank you."

That evening, when I got home, I told Melanie and Sarah that I wanted to talk with them.

We were just settling down on the deck when Dianna arrived. I'd forgotten she was coming, but it was no problem.

"Caleb," said Dianna as she came out of the house, "that was outstanding work last night. Sergeant Dawson was very impressed. You made a believer of him."

"It wasn't difficult," I said. "I'd have done it from the outside had there not been the suspicion of a bomb. I couldn't tell from out there which is why I needed to go and see for myself.

"Whatever you say, it was well done," she said. "I need to debrief you though."

"Can I just give you my memories?" I asked. "I didn't think last night, but it might have saved you a trip."

"And she didn't remind you," said Ness, coming out onto the deck, "because she wanted to score an invite for dinner."

Dianna grinned at her unabashed. "Are you sure you don't have powers?" she asked.

I laughed. "You don't need to score invites," I said to Dianna. "You know you're always welcome."

"Give her the memory," said Ness. "Dinner's ready in any case."

Swiftly I gave Dianna the memory from the previous night. She nodded as she assimilated it.

"I'm putting you down for a full day's pay," she said. "Since you lost out on your flying lesson, you'll have to book an extra one to make up the time. It's only fair we pay for that."

I shrugged.

"And that pizza delivery girl," she said. "I gave her your number."

"What?" I asked. "Why?"

"Because you and she are probably going to meet up again," she said, "in the not-too-distant future."

I looked at her, expecting further explanation, but she simply gave me a smug grin and refused to say more.

"You're into fortune telling now?" I asked grumpily and she laughed.

"Mark my words, young one." she said in a scratchy voice. "You and she will cross paths again."

"What happened to the user from last night?" I asked.

"He's been admitted to a mental hospital," she said. "It's attached to the Psi prison facility. He's suffering from several mental disorders. Fortunately, his power wasn't overly strong and his illness prevented him really getting to grips with it. From what I can understand, he'd used it with varying degrees of success. Sometimes he got everything he was after and sometimes he got an ass kicking from the people he was trying to control.