Dreams of Destiny Pt. 05

“Uh -- I don’t exactly know how to say this, Juan. There was something with my Id in my purse. I don’t know what it is. That is, I mean, it’s a package. I was supposed to deliver this package. A friend of a friend gave it to me. His aging aunt wanted to get some documents to a family member and didn’t trust the mail so he asked if I would deliver them. I didn’t think it was weird at the time. But everything’s been so strange since I got here. I’m starting to think the whole thing was a set up. I don’t know what was in the package. It wasn’t very big.”

“How were you supposed to transfer the package,” Juan asked tersely.

“I was supposed to get a call, about where to deliver it. I did. Last night. That’s why I went to the store. But you followed me and they -- whoever they are -- saw you and bolted. That call when we got back to my room. It was kind of threatening. It was about the package.”

Once Destiny started talking she felt like she couldn’t stop. It was such a relief to have it all out in the open. “I know it sounds like an unusual request, but really, honestly, I thought it was innocent until yesterday when the guy on the phone sounded so sinister. I asked him to come to the hotel to pick it up but he refused. Am I in trouble, Juan?”

“Well, the package was sure trouble,” sighed Juan.

“You knew about it all along?” Said Destiny. “You bastard. You let me worry all last night and today about it, and made me make a confession and you knew about it all along?”

“No. Hold on. I wasn’t sure of your part in it. I knew an American tourist was bringing in a package. That’s why I was at the airport when I met you. You were one of the suspects, and became more likely as events unfolded. I found the package in your purse this morning when I woke up and you were gone. I opened it and took it with me to my uncle’s mansion. That’s part of what my uncle and I were talking about this morning.

“If you hadn’t come clean about your role in bringing it here I was going to have to question you this afternoon. That’s what was decided and that’s why I returned to the hotel. Then I was jumped. The package was taken along with your ID. But we have copies of everything that was in the package, thank God.

“What was in the package?” Destiny asked.

“Some very damning, false intelligence about my uncle’s past. If it gets out and is not adequately refuted, it could be shattering to the presidency.”

“Oh Christ. Why was I selected to be the messenger?”

“I think its Esteban’s way of killing several birds with one stone. He doesn’t want you and I to be together. Making you look like a spy in his camp would certainly have put me off you for good. It could have ended you up in jail for fraud. I’m not sure why he would want that unless he was hoping to play hero and spring you somehow. He’d weaken the government by making my uncle look corrupt and immoral. I’d be besmirched by association, and his political power base would grow by leaps and bounds.”

“Who do you think he was having me deliver the documents to?”

“I don’t know. Maybe some reporter on the make.”

“Christ! What are you going to do now?”

“I’d like to find my damn brother and do unto him as he did to me.”

“You mean kick the shit out of him. Do you think it was him that jumped you?

“Yes. And I’d like to wring his neck. You weren’t in the room when I woke up this morning” Juan said. “Where did you go?”

“I wasn’t gone. I didn’t even wake up until 1:00 a.m.”

“Destiny, I got up, you were not in bed. I left, I went to the president’s mansion for breakfast, I came back to the hotel, you still were not here, and then I got clobbered. Where did you go? You’ve told me everything else. You can tell me.”

Destiny wanted to scream with frustration. “I didn’t leave the room. I didn’t even wake up. I must have got sucked away by my dreams.” Destiny said derisively. “Yes. That’s it. I was in bed but my dreams were so compelling they sucked me away to a ski resort in Colorado, to be raped in a snake pit run by a demon who looks just like your brother, and then to Washington, DC. And now, as you and I are talking, I am sound asleep stuck in an elevator in DC Superior Court.”

Destiny’s eye’s teared for a moment and to Juan’s surprise, the vista surrounding him and Destiny wavered, and, indeed, he saw Destiny curled up in a little ball in a steamy hot elevator somewhere else. For a moment the two realities almost collided. Then the lights in the elevator blinked back on Destiny awoke. The elevator started up.

The island Destiny had no choice, she was sucked through space like a blot of ink. Juan grasped what he could of her at the last possible second, and he too, spilled through the spacial rift. He landed on his feet looking down at the single Destiny that was sitting, astonished in the middle of the floor of the moving elevator. “Well, I’m solid enough,” he said as he checked his hands and arms and body. Then he looked at Destiny.

“You’re different.” He said.

“I’m the real Destiny,” said Destiny.

“What do you mean?” Juan asked. “My Destiny was the real Destiny. You’re, -- her nightmare. What have you done to her?”

“Nothing. She’s me, I’m her.

“And me. What am I doing here? I should be on the island.”

“Well, you’re here now. And I think we’re all overdue for some answers, don’t you?”

The elevator came to a halt at the fifth floor. Destiny and Juan stepped out.

“Yeah, I’d like some answers,” said Juan. “Like how do I get back to the island, and how do I shake my Destiny out of you? What are we doing here, anyway?”

“I wouldn’t let you touch me, much less shake me with that attitude,” Destiny said angrily. I need to find out where John is.” The courtroom clerk should know.” Destiny started down the hall to Courtroom 517. Juan dogged her heels.

“John is my alter ego, Si? So when I meet him, does he become me or do I become him or do we combine into some weird third John creature?”

“How should I know?” Destiny snapped.

“You should know. You’re the one who started all this trouble.”

“That’s not true. And it’s not fair” Destiny said heatedly. This has been going on for longer than any of us can imagine. It’s getting more and more intense every time around. I can’t stop it. I’ve tried. Don’t you think I would if I could? It has to play out. And we have to get it right. If we don’t....”

“Yeah, what happens if we don’t get it right?”

“I don’t know.” She tried to reign in her temper but she was sick of the dream twists, sick of the whole deal, and particularly sick of men. “But, the demon has more power than he has ever had before, so that doesn’t bode, well for us getting very many more chances. He gets stronger every time we loose.”

“The demon is Esteban?”

Yes, and Stephen.

“Esteban’s still on the island. If we resolve things here, we will still have to contend with him on San Angles, won’t we? With me here and the two Destiny’s joined, how are we going to get back to San Angeles Island?”

“Assuming I’d go back with you, and that’s assuming a lot.”

“You have to come back with me.”

“Why.” Destiny asked. “Why did I get dragged into this whole damned thing?”

“I don know. I wish I did. But think for a minute.” He wanted her to calm down a bit. How did you get to the island to begin with?”

“By airplane”

“No you didn’t, you got there through a fantasy.”

“A fantasy? A sexual fantasy?” Destiny was nonplused.

“Yes.”

“So you’re saying that to go back we make up a fantasy? Who gets to build the dream, me or you?”

Juan moved closer to Destiny, letting his heat reach out to her. She could feel the stirring of his desire. Tendrils of sweat began to trickle down her back. Her pulse throbbed in her neck and she was flushed. But she backed off. She resented her surge of sexual desire. She didn’t want to have anything to do with any man for a while, she thought. Not after last night with Stephen.

Juan noticed her discomfort but wasn’t sure where it came from.

They reached Courtroom 517. The judge wasn’t on the bench so Destiny and Juan walked into the Courtroom to talk to Elaine. Elaine was relieved to see Destiny. She’d wondered what happened after Destiny disappeared from the cafeteria the day before.

When she saw Elaine, Destiny suddenly realized that she’d missed her probation review before Judge Ruiz yesterday. Destiny hit her hand against her forehead.Shit. “Elaine, do you have any idea what might have happened to my case yesterday before Ruiz?” she asked, not really expecting Elaine to have an answer.

Elaine surprised her. “Yeah,” she said. “Your friend Dana stood in for you. That was a lucky break. Ruiz would have had your ass if you hadn’t had a stand in”

”Thank God for small favors.”I wonder how Dana knew to stand in for me? Destiny mused.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend? Elaine asked. “Good Lord, don’t tell me that Mr. Youth Division has a twin brother?” She gave Juan a lusty smile. Destiny had to admit that Juan looked impressive with his dark tan and his army regalia. Other than that, he was the spitting image of John Rodgers.

“Elaine, this is Juan Rodriguez. He’s John’s, uh, cousin. He heard that John fell ill yesterday and wants to visit him and make sure he’s all right. Do you know where John, is Elaine? He’s okay, isn’t he?”

“Oh yeah. He’s fine. He’s recovering from that heat spell he had yesterday. They took him to George Washington, Hospital. I went with him.”

“You did? That was nice of you. You seem to be acting as guardian angel these days”

“It looks like you’all need a guardian angel from where I sit. Anyway, John sure was surprised to see me when he woke up. I thought Florida boys knew better than to get over heated like that. He scared half the courthouse women out of their drawers, thinking he’d had a heart attack. We can’t lose him before we have any serious money on who he’ll be stepping out with. My money’s on you Destiny.

Elaine smiled at the memory.

“Oh God, “John had groaned when he woke up. “I must have fainted like a ‘lill o’le southern belle. My macho reputation is in tatters. What ever will the ladies think?” He looked Elaine in the eye. She looked at him very seriously. “How do you feel?” she asked softly.

“Like I died and went through a tornado and was pasted back on my body. But I’ll live, I guess.”

“I almost didn’t get you back. You risked a lot. You must be more careful. This isn’t just about you and Destiny, you know!” Elaine had chided him.

“Damn it all, lady, what the hell is it about?” John asked, frustrated. “I’ve been battered and bounced and bumped along this wheel since forever it seems. Can’t who ever’s organizing things just get it right once?”

“You think it’s that easy dreamer? All things must come to pass. The path you take has many rewards, but is fraught with danger and you must learn as you travel. If you walk the higher planes you’ll have responsibilities and you must take care as you pass. Too many missteps, and back you go to start again, or worse.

Don’t I have anything to say about it? Are we thus denied free will?

“Not in mundane matters. One can always ride a bike, fly a kite, chose a mate, have children, make love, and do whatever one likes in the circle of life. Some lives are bolder than others. Some eras are more important. But the wheel turns inexorably and we are all but specks of dust upon the wheel.

“I’m afraid this is too metaphysical for me. I don’t know what’s been happening, except that me and Destiny and some freak serial killer are caught in a nasty triangle. Actually, the only nasty part is the killer. Kick him out of the loop and Destiny and I will ride off into the sunset happy as yuppies with puppies.”

“And what of Juan and Esteban?” Elaine asked?

“How do you know about them? Who are you?” John demanded.

“I’m a dream guide. I’ve been on this path for a very long time.”

“Why did you reveal yourself to me?”

“It was necessary. The demon has grown much stronger in these dream lines than ever before. He’s never been able to capture Destiny before. That was a very bold step. It will be tragic if she becomes subverted.”

“She won’t be,” John said.

“She could be”

“No. He has nothing to offer her”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know Destiny.” John insisted. “So, anyway, I’m okay now. I can leave the hospital, right? Could you get my doctor and see if we can get me cleared for release? I’d like to get back to helping Destiny rather than discussing her attributes”

“I’ll see what I can do. But don’t leave without the doctor’s permission. You’re health insurance won’t cover this if you leave AMO.”

Elaine left the room to look for John’s doctor.

Shit, this could take hours, John thought. I need to be doing something. Anything. But if I leave without clearance I won’t be able to take my shift tonight. And I can’t sit around doing nothing. I wish I could just go to sleep and dream a solution. John closed his eyes for a short time and surprisingly he did come up with something of a solution.

He entered one of Destiny’s dreams of marriage to Stephen, had the pleasure of shooting the bastard, and leaving the gun with Destiny. He awoke a couple of hours later, refreshed, and feeling better than he had in days. He was unpleasantly surprised to learn that his doctor wanted to keep him overnight for observation. “Why?” he asked. “I’m fine. I was rushing around in the heat and I fainted. It could happen to anyone.”

The doctor muttered about heart rate and electrolytes and blood pressure. Basically John figured out that he’d almost dropped dead for no known reason and the hospital wanted to cover their asses by keeping him under observation over night. John gave a huge sigh of frustration and acceded to their will. He’d catch hell from the captain if he left the hospital without permission and his insurance would throw the bills into his face. He was stuck.

He made use of he time by calling Dr. Phaeton and asking for a new appointment. Perhaps the Doctor could see him tomorrow. John left his hospital room phone number and drifted off to sleep. His sleep was quiet and untroubled. He must have been lightly in sync with Destiny. He watched her break free from the demon and make it back to Washington, DC. He was astonished when Destiny from the island merged with DC Destiny, bringing Juan with her.

How’s that going to play out, he wondered uneasily. Are Juan and I going to merge and become some new creature, part security freak, part murderer hunter, fixated on Destiny for the rest of eternity. What about free will? John thought angrily. Why do we have to paint the same picture again and again?

John tossed and turned dreamily, and rode the waves of his thoughts as the night slowly drifted into dawn.

Then came the final dream. He was more deeply asleep than he’d ever been in his life. He knew the dream was of what was to be, not what could be or might be. The options had been eliminated. It rested on his shoulders.