Flash 05: A Friend Indeed

I tapped him on the shoulder to wake him up. He jerked upright and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, then looked up at me.

"Were you here all night?" I asked. He nodded his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, sorry," he said. "I just got started and couldn't stop."

"Trying to impress the boss are you?" I asked with a smile. He laughed at that.

"Well, I did learn an awful lot," he said. "Can I get a cup of coffee or something?"

"Yeah, sure, help yourself," I said. He went to the Keurig and made himself a cup of coffee. "Want some breakfast?"

"No, I'm fine, but thanks anyway," he said. "I got video of the two of them planning to frame me for all kinds of stuff -- they even talked about planting child porn on my computer, then calling the cops."

"Damn," I said. "You made copies of all that, I hope."

"I sure did," he said. "I'm taking it with me when I see Drew tomorrow. By the way, I have an appointment to see him in the morning."

"Good," I said. "Take whatever time you need. Get any sleep last night at all?"

"Not much. Maybe a couple hours," he said.

"Well, why don't you go on home and take the day off," I said. "It looks like you've gotten quite a bit done last night anyway."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Positive," I said. "I'm the boss, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he said with a laugh. "Thanks, boss. I feel like I'm starting to get a handle on things now. At least I know what I'm up against." He gathered his things and stood up. "Thanks again, Cam. For everything."

"Think nothing of it," I said. "Call if you need anything, okay?"

"I will," he said. "Right now, I feel like I could sleep for a week." I laughed and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Go on, get outta here. Get some sleep," I said with a smile. After he left, I pulled out the tablet Max had given me. I fired it up, then set it to hone in on Ross Simpson. I could have connected to his mind, but I wanted a record of his thoughts as well as his actions. When I focused on him, he was sitting at a table with Gloria. His phone had just buzzed.

"Hello," he said, answering the call. He looked at Gloria and put the phone on speaker. "I've got you on speaker. Gloria is here with me."

"Okay," the man at the other end said. I recognized the voice -- it was Jenkins, the man Ross spoke to the previous day.

"What do you have for me?" Ross asked.

"I did a pretty deep dive on Drake," Jenkins said. "He's married, two young children. Used to work for Apex."

"Apex? Isn't that where Bill Collins worked?" Ross asked.

"Yes, it is," Jenkins said. "Anyway, Drake now owns his own company -- Drake Investigative Services."

"So he's a PI?" Ross asked.

"Well, yes and no," Jenkins said.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ross asked. "Either he is or he isn't."

"He doesn't have his PI license yet, but he's working on it," Jenkins said. "You don't need to have a license to own a PI firm in this state. But he does have a permit to operate as an apprentice."

"An apprentice? So, who is he working with?" Ross asked.

"A fellow named Max Burnage," Jenkins said.

"Burnage. Never heard of him," Ross said.

"I haven't dealt with him either, but from what I've heard, he's one scary son-of-a-bitch. Something else. Drake's name came up in connection with a missing person's case, a Chad Wheeler. His wife used to work for Wheeler before she ended up in a coma," Jenkins said. "Cops still haven't been able to find him."

"Wait a minute," Ross said. "Now I know where I've heard that name before. I followed that case. Didn't Drake get a huge settlement out of all that?"

"Yeah, he's currently worth just under a billion dollars," Jenkins told him. "There's one other thing."

"What?"

"I spoke to a retired PI on the phone last night. A fella named Tom Hammer. Went by the moniker of 'Sledge' Hammer," Jenkins said. "He's in a long-term care facility in southern California writing a book or something. Anyway, when I asked him about Drake, I thought he was gonna go into vapor lock. Said the best thing I could do was stay as far away from Drake as humanly possible."

I could tell from the thought bubble at the bottom of the video that Ross recalled the way his chest began to hurt when we were at the condo yesterday.

"Interesting," he said as he mulled that over in his mind.

"I thought so, too. So, you want me to keep tabs on this guy?" Jenkins asked.

"Can you do it from more than 500 feet away?" Ross asked.

"It won't be easy, but I think I can manage that," Jenkins said.

"Alright, do it," Ross said. "Don't approach him, though."

"Got it," Jenkins said. "I'll send you my full report."

"I look forward to seeing it," Ross said. "Good work. Thanks."

"No problem," Jenkins said before ending the call. Ross looked at Gloria before speaking.

"It looks like we have bigger problems than we originally thought," he said. "I'm going to have to rethink some things." A single sentence scrolled through the thought monitor: "Someone is going to have to die after all." I stopped the video, saving it to the tablet.

I looked at my watch, and wondered how long before Jenkins showed up in the neighborhood. I had no idea where he was calling from, so I had no point of reference. I also had no idea what this guy looked like or what he drove. And for all I knew, he was already on his way.

There were other concerns. Would he try to pass himself off as something to get into the house? Or would he be content to sit on the side of the road? There wasn't a lot of traffic out here, and a car sitting on the side of the road watching one particular driveway might get the attention of one or two others who live out here.

I considered my options for a few minutes, then went back into the main part of the house. Ginger and the kids looked at me when I walked in. Their faces all showed concern. I wondered if the kids had any idea what was going on.

"I'm going for a little walk down the road," I said.

"Be careful, Cam," Ginger said. "You're not bulletproof, you know."

"I know," I said quietly so as not to alarm anyone. I gave all three of them a kiss and smiled, hoping to alleviate their fears. Then I walked out the front door and headed for the main road. When I got there, I looked both ways.

Our place sits on the north side of the road, which runs east to west. If Jenkins was coming from town, he would probably come from the east. I turned left and walked down the road for a bit, listening for any traffic. There wasn't much happening this morning, as everyone in the neighborhood who commutes to town had already done so.

I thought I heard a vehicle coming down the road, so I jumped behind the foliage along the road and knelt down, watching to see if anyone would drive by. Sure enough, a black SUV slowly made its way down the road from the east. The driver pulled to the side of the road and stopped, just a few feet from my property line.

I made a note of the license plate and committed it to memory. As I watched, the man inside set up a camera and aimed it at my house, then pulled out a pair of binoculars and surveyed the area. I got as low as I could and crept silently to the driver's side window, which was open. His attention was riveted on my house, which made it a bit easier to creep up on him. I finally made it to his door and stood there for a moment before saying anything.

"You must be Jenkins," I said, causing him to jump out of his skin. He looked at me, shocked and I saw him start for the pistol in his shoulder holster. I flashed my eyes, which caused him to pause. "Don't even think of it," I snarled.

"You must be Drake," he said.

"I am," I told him. "If you're here on Simpson's order, you should know you're violating a restraining order. My property line is right over there," I added, pointing to a spot about 20 feet away. "You know, you should've listened to Hammer when he told you to stay as far away from me as possible. How do you think he ended up in that wheelchair?" He looked at me, shocked.

"How do you..." I interrupted him with another flash of my eyes.

"I'd tell you but then I'd have to melt your brain," I said with a grim smile. His face turned white and I applied just the right amount of pressure to the inside of his cranium. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide and bloodshot and he put his hands to the side of his head.

"Make... it... stop," he said.

"You'll leave us alone?" I asked.

"Yes, I promise. You'll never see or hear from me again," he begged. I released the hold on his brain and grabbed his left hand long enough to download his brain feed.

"Take the gun out, slowly," I said. He obeyed, wondering what I was going to make him do. I could sense the fear in his mind. "Remove the magazine," I told him. Again, he obeyed. "Now, disassemble the weapon. Toss the parts in the back seat. Now!" He followed my orders to the letter, and soon, the pieces of his pistol were scattered in his back seat. I planted a hypnotic suggestion in his brain, then had a brainstorm.

"You know, it's a lovely day, don't you think?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah," he said nervously.

"In fact, I think it would be a great day for a naked drive to the river, don't you?"

"I... suppose so," he said.

"Good. Then strip."

"What?" he asked.

"I said, strip. Now," I commanded. He looked at me funny, then began removing his clothes, slowly. "Faster!" His hands flew as he removed his clothing. "Everything!" He continued to obey, his hands shaking. When he was finished, he looked at me, scared.

"Now, why don't you just take a nice leisurely drive down to the river?" I suggested. He looked at me, scared, then nodded his head. "Well, what are you sitting here for? GO!" I stepped back as he turned the SUV around and headed back into town.

"You are so naughty," Ginger said in my mind as I watched Jenkins drive off. I felt the children in my mind as well and somehow knew they were smiling.

"You know it, baby," I told them. I walked back to the house and was greeted with smiles, laughter and kisses. A couple hours later, I saw a newsflash on television. It seems police had fished a black SUV out of the river after a naked man drove into the water.

Witnesses said the man appeared to be masturbating as he drove. The man was arrested for reckless operation of a motor vehicle, public indecency and lewd and lascivious behavior, the news report said. According to police, parts of a disassembled firearm were found in the vehicle. I went to the office, connected to Ross' mind and saw him talking to Jenkins at the jail.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Ross screamed. "I sent you to check out Drake and... My God, what is that awful smell?" He looked and saw that Jenkins had soiled himself. I was pleased that my hypnotic suggestion worked so well. "Did you just shit your pants? That's disgusting!" Ross exclaimed. Jenkins looked down, embarrassed. "Did you manage to learn anything at all about Drake?" Ross asked, holding one hand over his nose.

Just then, Jenkins began sobbing. I looked and saw that he had involuntarily crapped himself again and smiled. Ross shook his head and turned to the guard.

"Do something, willya?" he asked. "He's already shit himself twice. Clean him up and get a doctor to check him out." The guard nodded his head and spoke into a telephone on the wall. Jenkins looked up at Ross, tears streaming down his face.

"Hammer was right," he said. "Stay away from... him," he added. "You have no idea."

"What are you talking about?" Ross asked.

"He... He can... make you do things. Against your will. And his eyes. My God, those eyes... Stay as far away from him as you can. Don't even mention his name," Jenkins sobbed. Ross stepped back as a medic and two orderlies came into the room, wearing masks and gloves, pushing a wheelchair. The orderlies helped Jenkins into the chair and wheeled him out of the room.

"What happened?" the medic asked. Ross shook his head.

"I don't know," Ross said. "He crapped himself twice, then started blubbering about some guy with weird eyes making him do things against his will."

"Any idea what caused him to defecate like that?" the medic asked.

"No, it seemed to happen right when I mentioned someone's name. But that's not possible, is it?" The medic shrugged his shoulders.

"I've seen some pretty strange things in here," he said. "Maybe it was a reaction to something he ate earlier. Do you know if he takes any drugs?"

"No, I've never known him to take anything," Ross said.

"Interesting. We'll check him out. Maybe call someone in from the behavioral health clinic," the medic said.

"Yeah, do that," Ross said before walking away. When he got to his car, he called Gloria.

"Hey, lover, what's up?" she sked.

"You know I sent Jenkins out to tail Drake, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he went spastic on me or something," Ross said. "Cops fished his SUV out of the river. Said he was naked when he drove into the water. Strange, he crapped his pants whenever I mentioned Drake by name, claimed he made him do things against his will, then went on about his eyes."

"You remember his eyes flashed at the condo, and you said you felt a sharp pain in your chest," she said.

"I remember. I thought it was just a reflection from something. You think Drake did that on purpose?"

"I don't know, but maybe you should back off of him," she said.

"Something about this just doesn't add up," Ross said.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I don't know. Let me think about it some. We'll talk about it tonight," he said.

"You know where to find me," she teased. They ended the call and I made a note to check them out later with the tablet Max had given me. Just then, Ginger interrupted my thoughts to let me know Smith and Jones had arrived. Grabbing the tablet, I made my way to the main part of the house and saw the two aliens examining the children.

"How are they?" I asked when they finished.

"They appear to be very well-adjusted and in excellent health," Smith said.

"Good," I said. "While you're here, I have a question. We've noticed their eyes flashing, almost as if using a code. Is it possible they're communicating with each other?" The two of them conferred with each other, then re-examined the kids, running a device over their heads. They looked at the results, then back at us.

"To answer your question, yes," Jones said. "They seem to have developed their own communication protocol."

"Any idea what they're saying?" Ginger asked.

"No," Smith said. "But we can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, that they love and admire the two of you more than you can possible imagine."

"They told you this?" I asked.

"It is the central basis of all their communication," Smith said with a smile. I looked at the children, and saw them both smiling up at me. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Well, we love them more than they'll ever know," I said. "They're the best things to have ever happened to us."

"That is good to know. They sense that from both of you. They also seem to believe you have something of a singular wit, Cameron. Although I'm not entirely sure why. Might I suggest the two of you begin reading to them," Jones said. "And not from those silly children's books the two of you have wasted so much money on. Their ability to grasp certain precepts and ideas is far more advanced than their unenhanced human counterparts."

"I see," I said, looking at Ginger. "What about their training? When can they start that?"

"The sooner the better," Smith said. "Perhaps you can start including them tonight." I looked at the children before responding.

"Would you like that?" I asked. They smiled and their eyes briefly flashed. That answers that, I thought. We went through our paces with the children observing. Smith and Jones even worked with them for a short time, being careful to not tax them too much.

After they left, we ate dinner, then bathed the kids and got them ready for bed. The kids seemed to like the exercises Smith and Jones put them through, which made me feel better. They were quite tired, however, and went to sleep almost as soon as we placed them in their cribs. We sat down on the couch, exhausted.

"Well, what do you think?" I asked Ginger.

"You mean, about the kids communicating? Frankly, I'm not surprised," she said.

"Neither am I," I said.

"I wish we knew what they were talking about," she said.

"Well, you heard Smith and Jones," I told her. "Maybe we should let them have this, at least for now. I think when they're comfortable enough, they'll let us in on their little secrets."

"You really think so?" she asked.

"I do."

"What about all those kid's books we bought? You think we should get rid of them?" she asked.

"I don't know," I said. "I was kinda looking forward to reading the adventures of the purple dinosaur." She giggled at that.

"Then maybe I'll read it to you one of these nights," she playfully said.

"You'd do that for me?" I asked with a smile. She laughed back. I grabbed the tablet and fired it up. "Wonder what's happening in the old Collins house?" Ginger watched with me as I let the video and thought monitors sync. Then I set the device to record.

Ross and Gloria were laying in bed, naked. Her head was on his shoulder and one of his arms was draped over her.

"Any idea what we're going to do now?" she asked.

"I've been thinking about that all day today," Ross said. "You remember talking about taking Bill out?" She looked at him, a bit surprised.

"Yeah, but you shot that down. Plus, there's that order of protection," she said.

"I've been thinking about that as well," he said. "But that's not gonna be a problem. Did I ever tell you what I did in the service?"

"No, you didn't," she said.

"I was a sniper," he said. "I can take out a target over 1,000 yards away."

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "It's been a while since I've shouldered a rifle, but there's some things you just never forget. At that range, he'll never even hear the shot. One second, he's alive, the next, his head is gone. Just like that." She looked at him, shocked. "Then I'll take out Drake. He'll never know what hit him." I looked at Ginger and saw her eyes widen.

"Is that wise?" she asked. "I mean, it'll take the cops all of about 15 minutes to figure out what you've done." He laughed at that.

"I admit, I need to work out the logistics. Right now, all I have is a germ of an idea," he said.

"What made you change your mind? I don't get it. You said yourself I'll never see anything from Bill's insurance," Gloria said.

"Drew Henson is no slouch," he said. "He's certainly not like that bumbling, half-drunk idiot your ex had representing him before. In fact, he's one of the few family law attorneys who's ever beaten me in court. If he's going through the file, then he'll probably find enough to land me in hot water with the state bar. I could lose my license. And this Drake... There's something about him that just sets me off. You didn't see Jenkins today."

"But you could end up in prison if you kill Bill and Drake," she said. "Then what will I do?"

"I may end up in prison anyway," he said. "Don't worry. You'll be okay. I've made some arrangements."

"What kind of arrangements?" she asked.

"If anything happens to me, you'll be taken care of for the rest of your life," he said, kissing her on the top of her head. I saw what scrolled through the thought monitor at the bottom of the screen: "Either in a Mexican whorehouse or at the bottom of an unmarked grave..."

"Well, thank you for that," she said, returning his kiss. "You're so good to me." He smiled at her as the words, "stupid cunt" flashed across the thought monitor.

"Listen, why don't we take off for parts south, maybe spend a weekend in Cancun or something, help us get our minds off all this crap," he said. "Think your parents could take the kids for a few days?"