The Awakened Pt. 06

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I started to write a recap as it has been since I submitted the last chapter, and realised that it was going to either be so limited as to be pointless or far too long so I stopped. Instead, please read the previous parts of the story or this won't make any sense at all.

As ever, this is a story that very occasionally has sex in it, rather than being an erotic story.

The science fiction aspects are based in the present day and so may be a little tenuous for some of you. I hope that doesn't put you off.

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Kane had been nervous that morning, fussing over what to wear and arriving much too early at the coffee shop. Thankfully a walk down by the river gave him a chance to clear his head and some of that Aldred confidence started to grow in him.

He was settled at a table with a black coffee in front of him and a cappuccino waiting across the table when Jane walked in.

She had changed out of her scrubs and was wearing jeans that hugged her athletic figure and a bulky winter coat that hid her trim frame. She saw him and quickly headed over to the table. He stood up to greet her, his father's oft repeated advice about never shaking hands with a gentleman sitting down or greeting a woman without standing up ringing in his ears.

"Kane! Lovely to see you looking well," she said before kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"And lovely to see you too! Thank you for your help in getting me back home. Those migraines can be debilitating."

"After so much stress in your life, it's no surprise. You managed to find the place then?"

"Yes thanks...well thanks to Google anyway. You didn't tell me it was in a hotel! And that cup is for you and the croque monsieur is on the way."

"You silly, I was only joking!"

"I never joke about food! Plus you've been working a twelve hour shift so you've definitely earned it. Not that you'd know it to look at you - you look great."

She blushed prettily and settled into the seat opposite him.

"Thank you. I hate wearing scrubs any longer than I need to. Plus it's cold!"

"Well I'm sure that we can get you all warmed up...with a coffee and breakfast."

She smiled over her cup, her eyes bright and playful as she took a long sip. They were quiet for a minute as they savoured their drinks. Kane's confidence had left him in the face of this beautiful woman and she looked as though she was waiting for him. He eventually managed to get his brain working.

"Si said that you had a few questions that you wanted to ask."

Her expression wavered slightly before her professional mask slipped into place.

"I have. Quite a lot really but most of them can be answered by you confirming that you don't want to be involved in an ongoing case study or any research work...?"

"That's right. No lab rat stuff I'm afraid."

"I thought as much."

"I did tell the consultant that."

"Who do you think has been pushing me to ask you?"

"And here I was thinking that you just wanted to see me."

"I do!" she said, a little too loudly. "I...I just promised Sharanya that I'd at least ask the question."

"Ah. So she's still under pressure to share details about my mystery recovery."

"A lot of pressure. The medical community hasn't taken kindly to being told about a miracle happening and then not being able to poke and prod it to make sure that it exists. You do know that you could potentially help a lot of people?"

"No, I don't. And nor do you."

She opened her mouth to protest and then closed it again searching for an alternative argument.

They looked at one another both keen for this not to go any further but convinced that the other was wrong. The young waitress took that moment to arrive with their food.

"Two croak mon-sewers?"

They both managed to stifle their laughter at her mangled pronunciation until after the girl had gone. They smiled at each other and then began eating their breakfast.

"I'm sorry," said Jane, "I sometimes let my professional curiosity get the better of me. I did just want to follow up and make sure that you really are OK, particularly after that episode yesterday. So many times I've heard people tell me that they're fine when they're not and I wanted to look you in the eyes when I did."

With her more professional walls down she was almost irresistible. His food forgotten, Kane shifted seats so that he was right next to her. Taking her hand in his, he turned her face towards him so that they were only inches apart.

"And what do you see, doctor?"

He could feel his Aldred side bursting through his normal facade. He could almost feel the waves of magnetism radiating from him. The impact on the doctor was almost instant. Her breathing became ragged, her face flushed and she licked her lips in her desire.

"I...I..."

"I see a very beautiful lady that I would love to get to know a lot better. How about you?"

His aura, combined with his very eager interest made him almost irresistible. She felt the tiniest of orgasms burst within her. Her eyes widened and her hand tightened on his at the unexpected pleasure. Then she leaned in and kissed him, softly but passionately. His hand slipped behind her and her hands held his face as she moaned into his mouth, another small tremor going through her body.

Her eyes were wide with amazement when she finally broke the kiss.

"I'm so sorry Kane, I...I don't know what to say."

"You have nothing to apologise for Dr Beautiful. That is unless you won't agree to see me again. Then I'd have to accuse you of a kiss and run."

She smiled, and then realised that most of the rest of the coffee shop was looking at them as they stared into each other's eyes.

Jane moved away, taking a breath as she got her flailing emotions under control.

"I'd really like that, Kane."

He smiled broadly and moved back to his chair.

"My diary is entirely at your disposal. When's the next break in your shifts?"

"On Thursday...but, oh damn!"

"What?"

"I'm booked to go to a conference in London on Friday at St Thomas's Hospital. I'll be travelling for most of my time off!"

"Well, I do need to see some people in London so I could meet you there if you like? Find a nice place to eat, see a show, maybe steal an extra day for a bit of sightseeing..?"

She looked thoroughly conflicted.

"If this is all a little fast then I can do my best to wait until the following week, but dinner in London is still just dinner."

She smiled, pleased to see that he'd understood.

"You're right of course. Well as long as you're not making a special trip. It would be lovely to see you there. These work trips are always so dull in the evenings by yourself."

They finished their breakfasts and enjoyed getting to know a bit more about each other before Jane had to stifle a huge yawn.

"I'm so sorry.."

"It's me that should be sorry! You've been working for goodness knows how long, have made the effort to come and see me when your body is crying out for sleep and I've been monopolising your time talking about shows we've seen. Let's finish this conversation on the phone sometime and we can organise our London meet up via text."

"Kane, I didn't mean..."

"Nonsense. You'll be fit for nothing if I tire you out. The people of North Devon need you at your very best - I certainly did, anyway."

They left the coffee shop and stood facing each other as they said their goodbyes.

"Well, thank you for breakfast."

"Thank you for the company."

"I'll look forward to seeing you in London then."

"Not half as much as I'll look forward to seeing you."

She blushed again at his directness. Neither of them made a move to leave. He could see that she was unwilling to leave without something more than a handshake and a wave.

"Are you too tired for a kiss goodbye?"

She smiled and shook her head a little sheepishly but it was Kane that stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms and kissed her full on the lips, reinforcing the moment that they'd had earlier. She moaned quietly as she leaned into him, both of them feeling the power of their attraction. It was soft but passionate and full of promise. And slightly too long for ten in the morning on the streets of Barnstaple. He slowly broke the kiss.

"Wow."

"That was quite something."

"You're not making it easy for me to wait to see you again, Dr Beautiful."

"Please, don't. You make me sound like some awful super villain."

"Are you telling me you don't have evil superpowers that have me completely under your control?"

She laughed. "Goodbye Kane. See you in a few days."

"Until Friday."

He watched her walk away, hating her long coat for hiding her curves and willing his erection under control before he turned and headed back to his car.

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Kane struggled mightily with his conscience for the next couple of days. Any normal person would still be mourning the loss of their family, not getting giddy about seeing someone new.

But he couldn't stop himself. He was excited. He got butterflies thinking about Dr Jane Watson. And then he'd go into a tailspin as he realised what he was doing. How could he be doing that?

His alter ego certainly didn't care about his dead wife and he regularly had visions of the old film "Animal House" where a young woman was completely at the mercy of the college guy and a tiny devil appeared on one shoulder and said "Fuck her!" while on the other a tiny angel appeared acting as his conscience.

He thought about cancelling the London trip on a number of occasions but kept coming back to how he'd feel if he did. And he couldn't deny it, however much his conscience thought that he should. In the end he rationalised it by thinking of the good that he was going to be able to do once he was in London. How he would be able to help people once he had proper access to Aldred's companies and the associated money. Plus he needed to see if he could be the aggressor against a brain claw. On his own. And he didn't want to raise any suspicions in the local area if it attracted any attention.

Where better to hide your actions than in London amongst nine million people?

It took longer than he'd hoped to schedule meetings with some of Aldred's old contacts but when you were calling out of the blue and weren't actually Donovan Aldred it required some fast talking.

But Aldred had been connected and had known all the right people. And that meant that Kane could do exactly what he needed to do. He'd need more than a day to finish everything and so he completed his packing and was ready to go fairly early on Thursday morning.

"By the way, old thing," said Si as he was leaving.

"Yes?"

"The National Trust have been in touch and will be doing some work to this place in the next couple of months. I'm going to be moving which means that you're going to be moving too."

"Shit!"

"Yes, not the best of timing is it? I thought I'd have until at least Easter."

"Do you have any plans of where to go?"

"Not really, old chap, I wanted to chat things through with you."

"Well sharing this place with you has been an absolute lifesaver Si. Are you keen to carry on moving from place to place? I'd be more than happy to get our own place - you know that the money side of things isn't an issue. What do you want to do?"

"Let's wait until after your London trip shall we? Find out if Dr Beautiful is as head over heels about you as I think she is and then make your decision."

"It's our decision, Si. We're a team, remember?"

"I know but.."

"Go and work your magic at the local estate agents and see what's out there. Money really is no object. Somewhere with a bit of space but near enough to civilisation when we need it. What do you think?"

"I think you need a PA."

"Ha! You may well be right. Will you take a look around though?"

"Alright. I'll do the donkey work while you live the high life. I know my place."

Si's exaggerated, long-suffering tone reassured Kane that he wasn't serious. As he made to leave, Si called out to him.

"Kane?"

"Yes?"

"At least make one of those wards out by the gate before you go. It could be very handy if you were to encounter a spot of trouble and needed a fast exit."

"You see, Si? What would I do without you?"

"Your own house hunting?" said Si with a raised eyebrow.

Kane grinned and waved a final goodbye as he closed the door. He quickly made the ward by the gate before setting off. As he drove to the station and his train journey to London he realised that he had literally no restrictions on where to live.

Where would you want to live if you had the choice?

Literally any country. On an island. Up a mountain. In the most exclusive part of metropolitan New York. It wasn't something that he'd ever really considered before but the west of England had a lot of the things that he liked and wanted in a place to live. He'd tried London and didn't much care for it. Then again he didn't have millions at his disposal then. Maybe it would be worth getting a flat that he could use when he was there..?

His thoughts kept him occupied most of the way to Exeter. After that he began to focus on exactly what he wanted from his London meetings and how he was going to achieve it.

He had booked a suite at The Shangri-La at the Shard, and had found a table in the heart of Leicester Square in a casino, looking out onto the casino floor. It was nice without being showy and Michelin starred. He wanted Jane to be comfortable. She had agreed to dinner at eight o'clock and they'd decided to meet in Leicester Square near the Odeon as it was easy for both of them to get to.

The journey was painless and the service at the hotel was as excellent as he'd hoped. The view from so high up across London was everything that he'd wanted to share with his wife one day but had never had the chance. It was a sobering moment as he stood there looking across the City of London. He had everything he wanted financially and yet he was permanently on edge because of brain claws and missing his family so much it hurt.

He was feeling faintly maudlin as he travelled to the first of that day's appointments. He was also nervous because he'd been unable to test Aldred's control of other people. He knew what Aldred had done but how much could he do with it? That was unknown.

Johnson, James and Courtney had very expensive looking offices in the city, just off Lombard Street. He was met cordially by the reception team and on confirmation of his meeting he was escorted to a private meeting room. He was served coffee in a paper thin china cup and was joined minutes later by the slickest looking man he'd ever seen in his life.

Edwin James was a founding partner and dressed to meet those expectations. His suit was tailored to within an inch of its life, his hair was probably cut every other day and likely by a stylist in the office. He was tanned, urbane and could have been anything between forty and sixty years old.

"Mr Daniels, what a pleasure."

"Mr James."

"Please...Edwin. A friend of Donovan is a friend of mine."

"Of course...Edwin."

"Now, you asked if we might meet. Is there something specific that I can help you with?"

"You're the executor of Donovan Aldred's will I believe?"

"That's privileged information Mr Daniels, I couldn't possibly comment."

Kane slipped from his body and [reached]. In the physical world Edwin froze, a rictus grin on his face as he leaned forward to sip on his cup of tea.

From Kane's perspective the manatee figure before him seemed to peel open with images, words and sounds available almost as if they were his own. The nodes of information that he had come to use so effectively acted in similar fashion here and helped him navigate the memories. He realised that he had to be very careful as it would only take a small [pull] and he would absorb the man's entire being. Edwin James was more useful to him as a go between.

The man was an open book to Kane. He quickly checked in Edwin's mind to see if this room was recorded before the lawyer's odd behaviour might be noticed, but the sanctity of client privilege was still firmly in place.

Kane sighed in relief, checking the time on the ornate wall timepiece before starting to delve. He rapidly sorted through the nodes of the man's mind for everything Aldred related. He still felt grievously underprepared for this as he had no idea what changes to the man's personality might occur if he changed anything.

The access to facts and figures, the ease of finding information, the control that was instantly possible was far more extensive than he was expecting. Aldred didn't have this access. He had been planting suggestions and dominating people. This...this was something else entirely.

He quickly located the 'Aldred' node that he needed and neatly ensured that James would always have Aldred's best interests at heart. He embedded the need to completely delete any and all mentions of Aldred's less salubrious dealings. He then forced the man to go and get a laptop to falsify evidence that Aldred's will dictated that all his shares, voting options and various properties and assets would be transferred to a shell company that would be set up with Johnson, James and Courtney as the primary directors. Kane would be the sole owner buried behind numerous other layers of corporate ownership.

If any changes were contested and the changes discovered it would only go as far as Edwin James. With his own self-interest paramount, Edwin would make this the most compelling and seamless falsification that he had ever attempted.

Under Kane's instructions, Johnson, James & Courtney would ensure that pressure would be brought to bear as the controlling owner of the key companies. The focus would be to turn those businesses into the 1-1-1 model where 1% of the company's equity, 1% of its product, and 1% of employees' time was given back to the community and to charity. They would be slowly transferred into not-for-profit businesses buying back stock where required to make that happen. This would all take place over the next couple of years and Edwin would maintain secure updates to Kane on a monthly basis.

His other assets would be liquidated as and when it made sense commercially and transferred to new Swiss accounts that would be set up by Edwin James.

After an hour Kane was certain that the embedded changes in the lawyer's mind were immovable. He slowly pulled back and the manatee form stopped producing images and the man on the chair in front of him finally took a sip of his very cold tea.

Edwin almost spat out the cold liquid, his face contorted with distaste. Then, as he'd been prompted to, he looked at Kane with a puzzled expression.

"I do beg your pardon, I must have lost track of time. I have another meeting to get to." He stood, unconsciously gathering up his laptop which he hadn't originally had with him and mentally planning on sacking whoever had brought him cold tea.

"Not at all Edwin. It was...well...thank you for your time."

"Of course, Mr Daniels."

James escorted him from the room. As he did so Kane's instructions ensured that with every step away from the room his own mind was busily wiping the meeting from the man's memory, Kane's presence forgotten even as Edwin turned to walk back up the plushly carpeted steps.

Kane kept his expression blank as he left the building, but inwardly was over the moon with how the meeting had gone.

He was absolutely starving now, having expended significant energy. He strode quickly towards a nearby restaurant that he'd plucked from Edwin James's mind, a small Italian, and proceeded to devour three courses as quickly as they were served.

As he ate he went through everything that he'd planned and was amazed at the control that he was able to have over a person. The careful suggestions and occasional behavioural nudges in the right direction were all that he'd been expecting but this was far more than that. His Aldred memories didn't reflect what he'd just been able to do at all.