Death of Innocence

They had only been sleeping for about 5 hours before a noise outside woke James. Leaping out of bed, he listened closely, but it turned out to be nothing. Shaken, James gently shook Jackie awake, not wanting to startle her.

“We need to get moving sis. The quicker we get there, the sooner we can get back to normal,” he told her when her eyes fluttered open. Getting dressed, they grabbed their things and headed out the door, wanting to get on the road as fast as possible. Finding a restaurant connected to the hotel, they went in, holding hands like any other couple. James allowed Jackie into the booth before he slid in beside her.

“Aren’t you two just the cutest couple?” the waitress said, startling the two of them. “Are you ready to order?”

“Uh… not yet. Can we have a few more minutes?” James asked her. With a smile, the buxom woman left to wait on other customers. The twins quickly made up their minds, and then patiently waited for their waitress to come back.

“Are you ready yet, Hon?” she asked. James ordered for the both of them, while the waitress wrote down their orders. When she left to take the orders back to the kitchen, the pair got more comfortable, leaning back to enjoy the last brief rest they would get before getting back on the road. While they were waiting for the waitress to bring their order to them, the psionic twins discussed their plans silently, wanting to keep anyone from eavesdropping on them. As soon as they got their breakfast, they ate it swiftly, wanting to get started. Leaving a nice tip for the waitress, they paid for their meal and headed to their car. Making their way to the car, James studied his surroundings, hoping to avoid any surprises. Satisfied everything was okay, James opened the car for Jackie, and was about to get in when he decided to scan the car one last time. Finding nothing, they pulled out of the parking garage and headed for I-40.

“Okay sis, we’re going to be in New Mexico soon. I want you to keep an eye out to make sure we aren’t being followed.

“Do you really think they can find us?” she asked.

“Well, the people that own this car are going to be turning it in as missing. I’d bet the people after us will guess who has the car,” he told her.

“I never thought of that,” she told him. Jackie began looking around, trying to follow her brother’s directions. James had always been the more logical of the two, so when he told her to keep an eye out, she took notice. Finally reaching Albuquerque, James began looking for the Interstate 25 exit. Finding it, they turned north, finally pointed to the masterminds behind their parents’ murders. James continued driving until they reached Santa Fe, wanting to stop there to get gas and some food. After getting some sandwiches and fueling up the car, they headed out of town, wanting to find a roadside picnic table to plan out their strategy.

“Okay, when I went through that asshole’s mind at the hotel, I could see a Dr. Atkinson giving the instructions. He is the one we want to find first. We can go through his mind and see if he is the one in charge. If he isn’t we can find out who we need to go after,” he told her. James knew this was going to be hard on his sister, but he could see no other way to do this. If they waited around for the government to make the next move, it could be too late for them to do anything about it. They would need to watch the laboratory to see when the man they were looking for went in. After that, they could work out the plan for getting in. When they were finished eating, they headed back to Santa Fe to get back on the road they needed, wanting to make it to Los Alamos as soon as possible. After an hour, they finally pulled into sleepy little town. They knew they needed to keep a low profile; they couldn’t afford to be seen by someone that might recognize them. Heading to the nearest fast food restaurant, they decided to get a lot of food. It looked like it would be a long night for them, and they wanted to be ready. Once they got their food, they headed for the laboratory; ever watchful for anyone that might be tailing them. When they got to a good vantage point, James opened the trunk to retrieve the binoculars he had picked up at the sporting goods store.

“Okay, we can sit here and watch for him. I can take first watch. We need to do it in 2 hour shifts so the other can rest,” he told her. Jackie laid her head back, trying to nap while her brother took the first shift. James watched the gate of the complex, checking the security as well as watching for the mastermind behind the murders. When his shift was up, James looked over at his sister. Knowing that anything less than three hours sleep was useless, he decided to let her sleep. Watching the people going in and out of the ominous building, James began wondering why anyone would be after his sister or himself. Their parents had protected them, and taught them not to use their abilities around anyone outside of the family. Lost in thought, he almost missed the man he had been looking for.

“Jackie, wake up,” he told her, shaking her gently. Jackie came awake, instantly alert.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

“He just went in, now we need to find a way to get to him,” he told her, his mind abuzz with possibilities. James thought about, then discarded, the idea of, following him home. If there were others in there responsible for their parents’ death, they might as well take care of them, too. They would have to get in the laboratories, but first they had to decide how to do it. Climbing out of the car, James surveyed the scene around him, wanting to see if he could find a way inside the gates. Satisfied that the best way would be to go through the front gates, James drove back into town to get a few more items to help them win their safety and gain some vengeance.

Part 3

James and Jackie straightened their clothes one last time before heading toward the gate, wanting to present a professional appearance. Entering the gate, they were asked for identification. Restraining the giggle she knew would give them away, Jackie watched James give the man two playing cards. James had already used his abilities toconvince the hapless guard the identification cards were real. Once they were past the guards, James and Jackie walked into the building they had been looking for, hoping to find Dr. Atkinson’s office without too much difficulty. James looked around, amazed at the size of the building. It hadn’t looked this big when they were outside. He knew he would need some help finding the office they were looking for. Seeing a man in uniform sitting at the security desk, he asked the man how to find their destination. Walking up the stairs to reach the second floor office, James and Jackie looked around, making sure nobody was paying attention. Finally finding the office the security guard indicated, the twins paused for a moment, knowing when they entered the office; their lives would be affected.

With a shaking hand, James slowly twisted the doorknob, but nothing happened. James tried again, but his efforts yielded the same result.

“I think this box has something to do with it,” Jackie told him. Pointing to the offending box by the door, Jackie showed him the security alarm box they had both overlooked. They were about to give up on getting in the locked office when it suddenly opened, startling the pair. The twins quickly scanned the man’s memories, wanting to see if he was involved in the killing of their parents. Finding nothing, they entered the office, surprised to see a secretary behind a desk.

“May I help you?” she inquired.

“Yes, we need to see Dr. Atkinson. Is he in?” Jackie asked.

“Yes he is. May I ask what this is pertaining to?” the secretary queried. Jackie could see they might never get in with this efficient personal assistant blocking their way. Entering her mind, Jackie quickly paralyzed the woman, and then after finding the button to open the door to the office she pressed it to unlock it. Once they knew the door was unlocked, Jackie kissed James for luck, knowing the man behind that door was dangerous. The pair began striding toward the door, finally getting the chance to confront the man that had masterminded the killing of their parents.

“May I help y…” the professor’s voice trailed off when he recognized the pair in front of him. Before the startled man could reach for anything to summon for help, James froze the man in his tracks, only allowing his body to function to keep him alive. James scanned the man’s memories, wanting to see if there was anyone else involved in the murders, forgetting the original reason for the killings in the first place. Finding nobody else, James was about to get out of the man’s mind, when he found something else. To all outward appearances, they only did research for cosmetics companies, but their real purpose was to investigate psionics and other anomalies. When he had finished going through the evil doctor’s mind, James found some sturdy electrical cord, and then dragged the professor to a column in the room. Tying the man to the column, the pair headed out of the room, stopping briefly to erase the memories from the secretary’s mind. When this was done, they stepped to the door, and upon opening it; they removed the rest of the controls from the woman’s brain. Stepping outside the room, they quickly closed the door, heading to the exit. Knowing the way the temperatures dropped in this desert setting, James searched for the copper lines he knew would be there. When he finally spotted some running to a heater in the corner, James motioned for Jackie to follow him. When they reached the desk with the security guard, James quickly cleared any memories of Jackie and himself from the man’s mind.

“Have a nice day,” the uniformed guard told them as they headed for the doors. James and Jackie headed out the door, wanting to get away from the evil place as quickly as they could. Once they had reached their car, James pictured the gas lines leading to the heater he had spotted in the corner of the building, knowing this would completely blow up the building; James decided to tell his sister his plan, knowing he would need her help in carrying it out.

“There are natural gas lines leading to a heater in the northwest corner of the lab on the bottom floor. If we both concentrate on them, we can blow up the whole building,” he told her. The pair was about to begin when Jackie thought of something else.

“What about the other people in the building? We don’t want to kill any innocent people,” she told him. James thought for a moment, and then using his psionic hand once again, he tripped the fire alarm, knowing the people would evacuate the building. The twins watched the people scramble out of the building, their efficiency impressing James even as he began concentrating on the copper lines again. James concentrated all of his energy toward the gas lines, increasing the heat slowly, but steadily. When Jackie added her own contribution, the pressure began building in the copper lines, until broke. When Jackie created a small spark, there was a loud explosion inside the building. James and Jackie quickly hopped into their car, and began speeding away from the crumbling lab when the sound of even more explosions reached their ears.

Epilogue

James and Jackie returned to their hometown to pick up their parents’ ashes, and then drove away from the village, hoping to lose themselves in another city. Stopping on the way to scatter their parents’ ashes around the pond where their parents had first fallen in love, James and Jackie marveled at the tranquil setting.

“Do you think it’s over?” Jackie asked as they watched the wind pick up the ashes, carrying them away. Standing arm and arm, they enjoyed the peace settling over them.

“Yeah, we killed the professor, he was the one that sent those goons after Mom and Dad,” he answered her. Heading back to the car, James cast a look back at the quiet setting they were leaving. Knowing they might never be here again, the twins tried capturing the sights and sounds in their memory. They slowly walked back to the car, each lost in their own thoughts. Climbing in the car, they decided to find a place farther down the road to camp, and resume their lives.

*Washington D.C.*

“Is the Senator in?” the man asked. The secretary looked at the man. He was a dark man, with black hair and brown eyes. At 6’6” he had a commanding presence. He was carrying a briefcase, the black coloring matching the suit the man was wearing. She had always been uncomfortable anytime she saw him. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something about that man that could be very disturbing.

“Yes, he has been expecting you, Mr. Smith. You may go in,” she told him. When the man walked through the door, the relief she felt was palpable.

“Senator, I have it from a reliable source, our laboratory in Los Alamos was blown up by a couple of kids. A guard at the gate saw them enter, then leave the building just before it blew up,” he told the paunchy senator. Whenever the man saw the elected official, it never failed to amaze him how gullible the American voter was. The senator was a fat, balding man, with his receding hairline only adding to his porcine appearance.

“Do we know who they are?” the man asked, getting to his feet. The senator always hated dealing with the man; evil always seemed to surround the dark man. He’d had dealings with him before, but he never wanted to know any details.

“Yes, we think it’s those twins from Oklahoma. The men that killed their parents were found dead in a hotel there, and the description of the car matches the car that was stolen at that time,” the dark man replied. He hated having to answer to this blustery politician, but he was well paid. Pulling the file out of the briefcase, the man opened it and placed it in front of the senator, showing him the different clues leading up to their identification of the twins. Looking closely at the files, the fat official couldn’t believe these two innocent looking kids could do the things they were being accused of.

“Well, what are we going to need, to restart that lab?” the senator asked, rubbing his hand through his almost non-existent hair.

“We are going to need you to go to the senate appropriations committee to get us the funds to rebuild it, and add about a million so we can take care of those damn kids,” the dark man answered. After what those twins had done to the lab, it was going to take a lot of money to hire anyone to go after them. Word had spread on what the kids had done, and hiring someone was going to be difficult if not impossible.

“Well, I don’t think that will be a problem, but I want to make sure we keep my name out of that other business. It’s an election year and I don’t think my constituents will want to re-elect a man that is involved in something like that,” the senator replied.

“If those kids find out about us, getting re-elected will be the least of your worries. They blew up the building, and Dr. Atkinson was never found. We think they managed to heat up our gas lines until they exploded, but for them to be able to do that, they would have to be very powerful. We can’t take any chances on this one. You may have to get your hands dirty if we ever find them,” the man warned him.

“My hands are already dirty on this already. When I take this to the committee, they are going to ask what happened. What do I tell them?” the portly senator asked.

“Tell them there was a problem with a gas leak that caused it to blow up,” the dark man answered, the loathing he felt for the man in his voice. He knew he had to put up with the pudgy man to get his research facility back.

“What do you get out of this?” asked the chubby man, sitting back in his chair.

“Nothing,” the man said, heading for the door. Walking out the man completed his thought, ‘nothing but the chance to get even.’