Flash 04: OJT, Part 02

"Who was that?" I asked.

"His real name was Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. History knows him as Caligula, the cruelest emperor of Rome," she said. "He was a ruthless, wanton killer. Suffered from syphilis. Even killed members of his own family. The stupid fool even declared war on Neptune, the god of the sea. On January 24, 41 AD, he, his wife and daughter were killed by conspirators who wanted to restore the Roman Republic. Stabbed 30 times."

"And you had a hand in that?" I asked, shocked. She looked at me with a smile that reminded me of the Mona Lisa.

"I had a... hand in all that you see here," she said quietly.

"And these paintings captured their last moments alive?" I asked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," she said sadly. "But only their bodies died. The thing that made them what they were -- call it their spirit or soul, if you wish -- remains here, forever locked inside these portraits, condemned to experience their final moments over and over again. I suppose you could say it's a hell of their own making." I looked at Ginger and realized she was just as shocked as I. I looked back at Adrestia.

"Why are you telling us all this?" I asked.

"Because, Cameron Drake, you and Ginger are now part of something much larger than yourselves. And you deserve to know the truth. Not everything is as it seems, you know," she said.

"So you're not really a doctor, then?" I asked.

"Oh, yes, I have multiple doctorates in multiple disciplines," she said.

"So, who are you, really?" I asked.

"Let me show you," she said. Leaning forward, she took my head in her small hands. My mind suddenly exploded with images -- strange images of large dark mountains, lightning and thunder flashing in a sky filled with strange winged beings. I saw a large figure in a robe with a double-edged sword. It was Adrestia.

Beneath her sandal-clad feet were snakes struggling to get out from under her. Around her were people undergoing various forms of punishment. I saw one woman screaming as she sat helpless in a pot of boiling oil with large creatures urinating on her.

Then it hit me. She was timeless, an immortal creature. I reeled as she pulled back from me.

"I have been called many things over the years by many civilizations," she said. "Tyr and Nemesis are but two of the names I have been given by mortals. You may recognize my image as that of Justice, but I am much, much more than that. I am Retribution. Vengeance. And there is no escape for those who fall into my clutches. Caligula and all these others can attest to that." Now I knew why I couldn't download her brain feed. She was literally as old as history itself.

"And Max knows all of this?" I asked, shocked.

"He knows everything," she said. "You see, Max is more than just my soul mate and my lover. He is my rock. He is the one who keeps me sane."

"Are there others like you out there?" I asked.

"There is only one like me," she said. "Just as there is only one like you. But to answer your question, yes, there are others. And you will meet them in due course. There is one part of the gallery I would like to show you now. Please, follow me."

We followed her to a staircase and climbed to the next level. When we got there, she turned to us.

"This is a relatively new section," she said. "So there aren't as many portraits here as below." We walked into a mostly empty corridor and we saw Max hanging something on the wall. Adrestia was right. There were only a couple portraits in this corridor, the first one of a couple in bed looking at each other. It was clear from the portrait they were very much in love with each other. A second portrait showed another couple happily dancing in a ballroom. The third was covered. This was where Max stood.

"I got it up for you, dear," he told her. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you so much, sweetheart," she said. She turned to us. "This is your portrait. I hope you approve." She pulled the cover off and I was shocked. There, in the picture, were two people embracing each other as they lay in a hammock strung between two large palm trees.

As I looked, I recognized the scene -- it was the beach scene I dreamed about earlier. Ginger and I were a bit older, but still in good shape. In the distance were several people playing in the surf. The two of us smiled as we gazed upon each other in the hammock. Looking closer, I saw that our eyes were glowing.

"What do you think?" Adrestia asked.

"It's very nice," I said. "But this hasn't happened yet."

"Yes, it has," she said. "In here," she added, tapping my head with her finger. "And I have every reason to believe it will happen in real life." I looked at Ginger, who smiled as she took in the picture.

"What do you think?" I asked her.

"I love it," she said. "Who are those people in the background? Are those tourists or something?"

"You'll find out in time," Adrestia said. "Now, why don't we go downstairs and have something to eat?" We went downstairs into their dining room and Adrestia pulled a large bowl out of her refrigerator.

"I rarely get to prepare any meals, so I hope you enjoy this," she said as she set the bowl on the table. We each spooned some of what she had made onto our plates and Max poured us each a glass of wine.

"This looks delicious," Ginger said.

"It's a Mediterranean shrimp and pasta salad," Adrestia said. "I hope you like it. I enjoy garlic, so I added a more than normal."

"Anything you make is delicious, dear," Max said with a smile.

"I could serve you a mud pie and you'd say it was delicious," she quipped.

"Probably true," he said. We all laughed at that. We talked as we enjoyed our meal and Max regaled us with stories of the cases they had worked. I could tell they were very much in love with each other. Adrestia told us of a few cases she had worked prior to meeting Max and I found her stories intriguing.

"Let me tell you, I've seen this woman behind a bench, and trust me, you don't ever want to get on her bad side," Max said. Adrestia smiled at that.

"So, you know about every marriage?" I asked. Adrestia nodded her head.

"Yes, it's part of my job," she said.

"Why don't you get involved in all of the problem marriages, then?" I asked.

"Fair question," she said. "I learned early on to be particular about the cases I get directly involved with. I have a strict protocol I use now, so I wait until I'm asked."

"And how would one go about asking?" I asked.

"There are lots of ways," she said. "I have responded to direct inquiries in the past and sometimes still do. Regardless of how it happens, I only get involved when someone asks for justice." She looked at me as though she knew what I was thinking. "In your case, I knew what was going on, but you never asked for help. In a way, I'm glad you didn't."

"Oh? Why?" Ginger asked. Adrestia looked at her sadly.

"Because, Ginger, you and the others might very well have found yourselves on my lower gallery wall," Adrestia said. "And you would not have enjoyed it." Ginger and I both paled at that. "As it happened, the H'tq'uiy stepped in and, well, the rest is history."

"You know about the H'tq'uiy?" I asked.

"I know of them, but I cannot tell you much about them. They're outside my jurisdiction," she said.

"Outside your jurisdiction?" I asked.

"Yes. Earth," she said. "I will tell you this. The H'tq'uiy you know as Smith and Jones seem to be trustworthy. I don't believe you have anything to fear from them."

"That's good to know," I said.

"So, when are you two going back up north?" Adrestia asked Max, eager to change the subject.

"We're going back up week after next," he said.

"Oh yes, the bitch-burning." She turned to Ginger. "Just wait until you see this."

"What's a bitch-burning?" Ginger asked.

"It's a little ceremony to help the students vent their anger before they come back to the real world," Max said. "Get a certain amount of closure. I really can't tell you any more than that, sorry. I'm sworn to secrecy."

"I guess you'll just have to see it when I do, dear," I told Ginger. We finished our meal, said our goodbyes and headed home. I drove in silence, mostly, my mind reeling at what we had learned. Ginger interrupted my thoughts.

"Are you okay? You seem troubled," she said.

"Just trying to wrap my head around everything Adrestia told us today," I said. "I can't help but wonder what it is we're involved with. I mean, that gallery with all those people..."

"I know," she said. "And what she said about me possibly being on the wall of her lower gallery. It scares me just a bit."

"Me too," I said. "Makes me kinda feel like we're living in some sort of Twilight Zone or something."

"You think that picture of us on that hammock will really happen?" she asked.

"It did seem rather nice and peaceful, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did," she said. "Not to mention fun."

"Yeah, I kinda like the idea of making love to you on a beach like that," I said, causing her to giggle.

I didn't have much time to ponder the issue as I had a lot to do before Max and I went back north. I spent the next week setting up a small cluster of servers to hold the brain feeds I had collected, then set up a powerful desktop with the brain feed application for Ginger to use. I also set up a backup device to save everything on a nightly basis.

Once done and tested, I trained Ginger on the application itself and walked her through it with the feed I had gotten from Veronica and Roger. She picked up on it very quickly and I was amazed at how she was able to pick out little details I would have overlooked. I could also tell that giving her this level of access to our work had a profound impact on her. It made her feel needed. More than that, it made her feel -- trusted.

I turned her loose on the feeds and spent time getting ahead on my courses. I also spent time at Max's office finishing up the loose ends of a couple other cases he had on his plate. Smith and Jones came by to check up on us and put us through our paces, and I had my weekly martial arts class to attend.

The night before Max and I went back to Idaho, Ginger handed me a flash drive containing videos she had copied from the two brain feeds. She also handed me a folder containing notes of the things she discovered. I glanced through them and saw that she had organized them all by filename, date and time, with bullet points for each video clip. I was very impressed with her work and hoped it would help Joe's lawyers.

One of the things she found was the exact time Veronica and Roger began their sexual relationship. I knew from my coursework this would be important to Joe's lawyer. If the relationship began after he became her lawyer of record, it could spell the end of his legal career and he could be disbarred. She also copied video of the two of them plotting against Joe.

We got to the camp and settled in. After checking in with the front office, we went to see the lawyer who would be handling Joe's case. He smiled as he thumbed through the documents we gave him. I handed him the flash drive and he glanced through Ginger's notes and executive summary.

"Well?" Max asked.

"I think we have enough here to do the job," the lawyer said. "I see a potential civil and criminal case here. It'll take me a while to put it all together, but this should do the trick."

"How long you think it'll take to work that all up?" I asked.

"I'd say the better part of the month," he told us. "I'll have to coordinate with the authorities in Orange County, of course."

"Good," Max said. "That will work just fine. Thanks."

"No, thank you for getting this to me," the lawyer said. From there, we ate lunch and spoke with John and Gunny Rob. It was good seeing them again and we caught up on things over a beer at the staff lounge.

"Got a question for ya, Gunny," Max said.

"Shoot," Gunny Rob said in response.

"You still looking to get rid of that rock out behind the guest quarters?"

"Yeah, we've been wanting that outta there for a while. Why?" Gunny Rob asked. I wondered where Max was going with this.

"I think I may have a solution, if you're okay with it," Max said, giving me a glance.

"Yeah, sure. Just don't damage anything in the process," Gunny said.

"I don't think that'll be a problem," Max said. "Do you, Cam?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so," I said.

"Good," Max said with a sly smile. When it was time for the bitch-burning, Max and I made our way to a small field behind one of the student barracks. A class of 15 students had prepared a straw effigy, tied it to a wooden pole with wood and kindling piled at the base and attached photos of the women who had cheated and hurt them. I felt Ginger's presence in my mind.

"Are you seeing this?" I asked her in my mind.

"Yes," she said. An instructor stood before the assembled group.

"Winston! Front and center," the instructor commanded. A student ran forward and stood at attention in front of the instructor, who handed him a lit torch.

"Burn the bitch!" the instructor commanded.

"Sir! Burn the bitch! Aye, aye, sir!" Winston yelled in response. He lit the pile of wood, and the fire quickly engulfed the straw figure. The students began chanting, "burn, burn, burn!" As the figure burned, they went wild, pumping their fists into the air, howling and chanting. When the figure fell on the ground, the students danced and chanted and some urinated on the figure. This continued until the figure was reduced to ashes.

"My God," Ginger gasped. "That's so... primitive. So much hatred and anger. Is that what you wanted to do to me?"

"At first, yeah," I responded.

"I'm... sorry," she said softly. I could hear her sobbing. "I'll never, ever hurt you like that again."

"I know," I said, looking at the pile of ashes on the ground.

"I love you, Cameron," she said after a few moments.

"I love you too," I said. After the ceremony was over, Max and I went back to the guest quarters.

"Meet me out back in a few minutes," Max said before we entered our rooms.

"Yeah, sure," I said. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," he said. I went to the bathroom and did my business, then met Max out back by the large rock outcropping. He held two cups of hot tea and handed one to me.

"So, what's up?" I asked when I saw him. He pointed at the rock.

"I wanna see what you can do to this rock," he said. I looked at the rock, which had to be a good six or seven feet high.

"Are you really sure about this?" I asked. He nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he said.

"Alright, but you might want to stand back a bit," I said. He nodded his head and stepped back a few feet. I set my tea down, looked at the rock and recalled the training I got from Smith and Jones. I imagined the rock reduced to a pile of dust on the ground and exercised my eye muscles. I felt the pressure in my head and focused on the center of the rock. All of this only took a matter of a second or two.

My vision turned red, and I knew my eyes would appear to be red from Max's point of view. I released the pressure in my head as I aimed for the center of the large boulder. It cracked, glowed red, then exploded inside, sending bits of rock and dust everywhere. After it settled on the ground, there were only a few piles of rock dust laying on the ground where the boulder had been.

"Oh my God," Max said as he surveyed the damage. "And you did that just with your mind?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Can you control the intensity of this?" he asked.

"I'm getting better at it." We wiped the rock dust off the bench and sat down. He pulled out his cigarettes and offered one to me, which I accepted.

"What about Ginger? Can she do this?" he asked after lighting our smokes. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, but her ability's not quite as developed as mine. Yet."

"And the kids? Ginger told Adrestia about the twins and she told me," he said.

"Don't know yet," I said. "Smith and Jones both say they probably will. We won't know just yet until after they're born."

"Well, it sounds like your life is going to get... interesting," Max said.

"That's one way of putting it," I said.

"Maybe the idea of a tropical island isn't such a bad one after all," Max said after a few moments. I chuckled at that.

"Maybe," I said. "We'll just have to see how things go. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What's that?"

"What's it like being married to an immortal goddess?" I asked. He looked at me for a few moments before saying anything.

"I'd be lying if I told you it doesn't have its unique set of challenges," he said. "But what relationship doesn't have challenges?"

"Good point," I said.

"Tell you the truth, I've never been happier or more content in my entire life," he said. "Sure, we have disagreements from time to time, but we talk things through and we never go to sleep upset with each other."

"But what about her abilities? Don't those ever get in the way sometimes?" I asked.

"We established boundaries with each other a long time ago. She knows I'm a frail flawed mortal human and prone to making mistakes. She's okay with that so long as I'm honest and faithful," he said. "And I'm more than okay with what she can do. In fact, she's saved my ass more times than I care to admit." I absorbed what he said as I smoked my cigarette and drank my tea,

"So, what do we do about Joe?" I asked.

"We did what we set out to do," he told me. "It's in the hands of the lawyers now. The only thing we need to do is get him home safely when he finishes his training. In the meantime, continue to keep tabs on Hammer, Lee and Veronica, in case they decide to take preemptive action."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. We went to bed and left the next morning after apologizing to Gunny Rob for the rock. He laughed and thanked us for taking care of it.

"I'd ask how you managed to do that, but I have a feeling I don't really want to know," he said.

When Max dropped me at the house, Ginger met me at the door, wearing her wedding gown.

"What's this?" I asked.

"I looked at my brain feed while you were gone," she said. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not," I said.

"I wanted to relive our wedding night," she said. "Maybe repeat our wedding vows."

"I like that idea. There's only one problem," I said.

"What's that?" she asked, looking stricken.

"You're more beautiful now than you were then," I told her. Tears fell down her face as she wrapped her arms around me.

"Oh, Cam," she whispered. "I love you so very, very much. Make love to me the way you did that night, please."

"As you wish, my goddess," I told her, picking her up. That night, we made each other's eyes flash multiple times as our bodies merged into their own special space-time continuum.

The next month went by pretty quick. Ginger worked part days, then came home to work with me. I organized things as best I could, but left the details to Ginger, who was far better at that than me. When I wasn't working with Max, I worked through my online courses.

We had our scheduled workouts with Smith and Jones, both of whom heaped praise on Ginger for the progress she had made. They also confirmed what the doctor already told her -- the children were both healthy and developing as they should. I continued taking my weekly martial arts classes, which I found helped me maintain a sense of mental discipline.

Ginger and I also talked a great deal about our situation. I remembered what Max told me at the camp and suggested setting some boundaries. After discussing it, we agreed not to probe each other's mind without an invitation -- unless either of us gave cause to do otherwise. I realized, of course, that if what Smith and Jones said was true -- that our minds and thoughts would be linked as one -- that all of this could be academic.