The Coffee Shop Pt. 03

My shield started to sag and I reacted instinctively. I poured more power into my shield. I made it as strong as I could. I was delighted to feel the combined probe pushed away from my mind. Even more satisfying was the look of surprise and shock on Albert's face, and the lines of concern that broke out on Donna's face a they realized what had just happened.

"More is needed," Donna said quietly, not taking her attention off me for a moment. "He was holding back earlier. His shield is very strong. It is at least a level five or a six." As the last syllable was spoken I felt the probe become stronger as another mind joined the assault on my mind.

"Careful, Herbert," Mary cautioned the man sitting between her and Donna. "We do not want to hurt Paul, merely find out how strong he is and breach his shield."

I stood there and thought only of how important it was to defend myself. I did not feel any strain on my shield only a sight increase in pressure as the probe pushed harder at my shield.

"Now you, Perry," Mary directed the man sitting to the right of her at the table.

Perry nodded and added his efforts to those of the other three people. I felt the probe became stronger, but again I did not feel it penetrating my mind at all. I was surprised, but said nothing.

"Interesting," Mary commented after about a minute when there was no indication of any successful breach of my shield. Without warning she joined the combined effort to probe past my shields. I swallowed nervously as I felt the probe gnaw into my shield, but it only scratched the surface. When the probe moved onto a new area of my shield, the old area regenerated immediately even as the new area became scratched.

"Enough," Mary called out. The entire group of people relaxed and I felt the probe fade away from the surface of my shield. I did not lower the shield but I reduced the strength of it, so as to conserve my powers. "You really should have let us in, Paul," Mary said to me as she shook her head sadly. "I am surprised and proud of you. Very few people have ever managed to resist a five person combined probe of their minds. You are something special, but you now force us to take stronger measures."

Mary held out her hands, one to Herbert and the other Perry. Each man grabbed Mary's hand firmly. Herbert held out his free hand to Donna. She grabbed Herbert's hand and held out her hand to Albert. He grabbed her hand firmly. They now formed a human chain. Less than a second later I felt something start to claw and tear at my shield. This was no probe it was an attack! I quickly raised my shield to full strength.

The attack steadily increased in strength and in less than a minute it matched and then exceeded the strength of my shield. I could feel it starting to dig deeper and deeper into my shield and I started to feel my guts turn to water. Fear started to flood through my mind. I fought it down and resisted all the more. I poured more and more power into my shield and was able to keep repairing it at a slightly faster rate than the combined attack was tearing through it. I only hoped that I had more energy and could hold out longer than any of the five linked minds. The pressure remained steady. I was not sure how much more of this I could take. The experience was becoming painful to say the least. One small weak thought finally made its way through the mounting pain in my mind. "Remember Lyle." I blinked away the tears in my eyes and from somewhere inside I found the strength to smile confidently at the five people sitting across from me.

I wasted no time. I modified my shield to accept rather than reflect or resist energy. As I became aquatinted with the texture and the feel of the attack against me, I was able to draw more and more power from the attack. I started to breath some what easier as I siphoned more and more energy out of the attacking shaft of energy, and increased the strength of my shield. My own energy stores were low, so I directly some of the energy to replenish that as well. It took only a few seconds before the attack was doing nothing but feeding me energy. The attack suddenly faded away. I kept my shield up. I knew that this wasn't over. It could not be that simple.

"You are no longer my student, Paul," Mary said. "You have learned much. What did you do? How did you resist all of us?" She spoke softly, but everyone in the room remained linked together. They looked at me coldly. I swallowed nervously as that familiar feeling of danger suddenly blossomed in my mind. I poured all my energy into as strong a shield as I could.

The surprise attack came from Albert, or at least from the direction of where he sat. I had my attention focused on Mary, since she was the person speaking to me, and so I was expecting the attack to be directed by Mary. She had seemed to be the person in charge. The bolt that struck my shield was very strong. I closed my eyes to better to deal with it. Instead of trying to blast through my shield, though, it latched onto my shield like a cat pouncing on a mouse. The bolt started to seep through my shield, before I was aware of it, and was nearly all the way through before I'd absorbed all the energy. I barely had time to deal with that attack when a second bolt latched onto my shield. I let the energy I'd just accumulated flow back into my shield, to make it thicker and harder. I hoped that the shield would also be able to absorb the energy even faster. I was wrong.

It seemed that I could absorb the energy only so fast, no matter how much thicker I made the shield. I had to do something quickly, or soon the accumulated bolts would finally seep through and attack my mind directly. Albert knew what he was doing. I had to admire his strategy. He was insuring that the bolts hit the same spot on my shield, knowing that once a bolt had seeped in at that point, the next bolt would seep in even faster. I was fast running out of time, and I knew it. I had to do something. I was familiar with the construction and texture of these bolts. I did the only thing I could think of. I launched the blots back at the members of the chain.

The first bolt missed its mark completely. I did not know how to steer these things, but I learned quickly. The second bolt hit squarely on Donna's shield. I figured that if I broke the link between Albert and the others his fuel for these bolts would be gone. I didn't wait to see what happened. I launched the third and forth bolt at Donna as well. The fifth bolt had Herbert, the man between Donna and Mary, as it's target. The sixth bolt, which I launched at Perry was very weak, a pale shadow compared to the others. That was when I noticed that Albert's attacks had faded in strength. The bolts were so weak now that I was able to absorb them at the surface of my shield. This attack was no longer a threat to me.

I opened my eyes. The chain was broken. Donna lay sprawled on the floor, with Mary and Perry next to her. Herbert was holding his head in his hands as if he had a bad headache. Albert remained seated, looking at me with an expression of stunned surprise and amazement frozen on his face. I waited to see what would happen.

Finally Perry helped Donna back up to her seat. She was shaking but the color had come back into her face. I guessed that she would recover from my attack. I knew that I had done nothing but defend myself, but the knowledge of the hurt I had inflicted on Donna still left a bitter taste in my mouth. It wasn't because she was a woman, but rather that she was innocent. She had never hurt me, whereas I had just hurt her. But what else could I have done?

Mary returned to her chair, and looked at me thoughtfully. She seemed to be remarkably calm, as she contemplated on what had just happened. After about five minutes she took a deep breath and started speaking.

"Paul, I've never seen anyone resist five linked minds before. I wonder how many of us do you think it would take to penetrate your shield?" She asked thoughtfully.

"I don't think that you ever could, no matter the number," I answered quietly.

"Being a bit arrogant, aren't you?" Perry asked, in a cool and distant voice.

"No, not really,' I answered him. "I didn't attack you. I used your own energy against you. I've discovered that the stronger the attack on me, the stronger my own attack becomes. Please don't ask me to explain further." I lowered my shield strength somewhat, but kept my shield up just in case. I didn't trust these people, with the possible exception of Mary.

"Paul, would you please lower your shields and link with me?" She asked me quietly.

"Yes, I'll do that," I answered her. "I trust you enough to do that. I warn you though, if anyone attempts an attack on me while we are linked, that person will regret it." I directed a couple of looks at Perry and Albert to be sure that they understood I was referring to them.

Mary smiled at me. She held out her hands to me across the table. I took her hands in mind and lowered my shields. I got ready to link with her. I knew that the only way I could deal with these people was to answer their questions and prove to them that I was being responsible with my powers. Otherwise they would not leave me alone, and I could not keep up a shield twenty four hours a day. We linked, on a deeper level then ever before. I answered her questions as fully as I could. She seemed satisfied with the answers. We broke the link and I sat back as she discussed the information with the other members of the panel.

"Paul, thank you for sharing that information with us," Mary said. "The panel judges you to be a responsible and careful guardian of your gift. We anticipate no problems with your actions in the past and feel confident that you will do well in the future. We would also like you to consider joining this panel and serving on it for as long as you like. You are very talented and could be of great help to us in finding, training and policing others with the gift. What is your decision?"

All the time that Mary and I had been linked I had felt someone trying to probe my mind. They had tried sneaking around in my mind, like someone tip toeing around a house late at night. They had not found out anything, at least nothing that I had not wanted them to know.

"I must refuse," I said quietly, looking Mary straight in the eye. I didn't need any time to consider my answer.

"Why?" Mary asked, puzzled. "I know that you can handle such a responsibility, otherwise I would not have made the offer."

"Because with the exception of you, Mary, I do not trust any of the people on this panel of yours," I answered, and then lowered my voice menacingly. "I warned you not to try probing my mind while I was linked with Mary. Now you pay the price, Perry."

"Did you expect me not to try?" He asked me, coldly. "You are a threat to us all, and we need to know how you accomplished what you did. Only in that way can we devise a defence against it. I only did what was necessary for the greater good."

"Believe that if you wish to, Perry," I said to him sadly. "Everyone has secrets, and like any other person, I am entitled to keep mine. You went somewhere where you were not invited, even after you were warned not to."

"Stop your jabbering and just do what you are going to do, okay?" Perry asked. "That is if you can even do anything. My shields are up and tight." He looked at me defiantly.

I sent a probe to feel out the surface of his shield. Once I had the texture of his shield established, I drained it as quickly as I could. I had not realized, until just that moment that such an action was possible. It was instinctive on my part. I felt I was able to do it, and I went with my feelings. The look on Perry's face as his shield crumbled was satisfying. His face went from smug to shocked and finally scared. When his shield was totally drained, I sent in a full power probe of his mind. I was not at all gentle. Perry dropped to the floor and rolling around in pain, he cried out to me. "God, please stop! My mind! My brain! It's on fire! I'll do anything you want, just please stop! For the love of God, STOP PLEASE! OH, PLEASE STOP!!! I...I CAN'T TAKE THE PAIN ANY MORE!!!"

The operation took only thirty seconds, but it was the longest thirty seconds of Perry's life. Perry's body when limp as I withdrew my probe from his mind. Shaken and fearful of me, Perry crawled back to his chair and sat down on it. He wiped away the tears from his face. He looked at me, and then dropped his eyes to look at the floor. He started sobbing quietly, and unashamedly.

"What did you do, Paul?" Mary asked me quietly, while looking at Perry.

"Ask Perry. He will answer, won't you Perry?" I said to Mary but directed the question to Perry.

"Yes, Paul," Perry said in a trembling voice. He sat in his chair with his hands neatly folded in his lap, and did not raise his head to look at me.

"Perry, what did Paul do to you?" Mary asked Perry, and I could hear the quiver of concern in her voice.

"He...he took away my powers. He look away my gift...." Perry sobbed.

"He did what?" Mary asked, surprised.

"He took away my powers," Perry cried, sobbing profoundly. "I can't use them. I can't feel them anymore. It is like there is an empty place in my mind."

"Is it permanent?" Mary asked, turning back to me.

"No," I answered her. "His powers will return in time. I will not tell you how long that will take. Maybe next time he'll believe me when I warn him." What I did not tell Mary, or anyone else was that I had not removed Perry's powers at all. I had only drained his powers completely. It was a simple extension of what I had done to drain Perry's shield. With enough rest his powers would return. I stood up.

"If there is nothing else for us to discuss, I will be leaving you now," I addressed the group. "Perhaps, in a few years, I may consider serving on this panel of yours, but not right now. I am willing to help you if you need me Mary, but I will not serve on this panel. I am sorry."

"I understand, Paul, more than you might think," Mary said to me as I opened the door. I left the room. Maybe someday I would explain to Mary how much it had cost me to carry through on my warning to Perry. I lost a piece of my self respect that afternoon. I did not know if I would ever be able to get it back. I had crossed the line. I had inflicted pain, needless and heartless pain, on someone only because he refused to heed my warning. I knew that I had had to carry through on my warning or the warning would have meant nothing. I understood the need for doing what I had done, but it did not make it any less difficult for me to have done it. I took no pleasure or satisfaction in what I had done. It was necessary, pure and simple. That thought was of little comfort. My only consolation was that Perry's pain had been brief, and it was over. Mine had only started. I would have to bare the burden of what I had done to Perry, and work through it somehow. I sighed softly. Maybe in time I would forgive myself. I wondered if Perry would ever forgive me. I hoped so, but I did not think it would be anytime soon. I spent the rest of that afternoon shopping. I arrived at home for supper at about 5:30 PM. I was looking forward to a quiet evening.

At 7:30 PM the door bell rang, interrupting my quiet evening at home. I almost didn't answer the door, since I was not in the mood for company. I peeked through the peephole and was stunned at what I saw. It looked like it was Perry. The Perry from the panel. I wondered how he had found out where I lived, and more importantly what he was doing here. I gathered together my mental powers in case I might need them. I opened the door.

"Hello, Paul," Perry said quietly, in a meek voice that was barely above a whisper. "May I please come in?"

"Yes, but only for a minute or so," I answered. I moved aside to let him enter. Once he was inside I closed and locked the door. I stood silently and studied him. He was a surprise. I had not really noticed him at my evaluation, but I took a good long look at him now. The more I looked at him, the more interesting he became.

Perry was nearly six feet tall, I would have judged, with an overall build that would have to be called slim, maybe even skinny. It was somewhat difficult to be sure, because of the outfit Perry was wearing. To begin with, Perry was standing up straight with his hands clasped behind his back, and his feet slightly spread apart. He reminded me of a solider given the command to stand 'at ease'. Perry was no solider, though. On top of his head was a plain black cowboy hat, with a simple silver band running around it. It sat squarely on his head and covered all Perry's hair. If it had not been for the hair that remained exposed on the back of his neck, I would not have known that Perry's hair was an earthy dark brown. I had noticed this when Perry walked past me as he entered my apartment.

The hat set off Perry's lean and angular face wonderfully, not that he wouldn't have looked good without the cowboy hat. He just looked even better wearing it. Perry's nose was small, and slightly askew, which suggested he'd had it broken at least once. It added a touch of ruggedness and maturity to his otherwise boyish face. His eyes were a combination of gray and blue, depending on how the light struck them. One second they looked as blue as the ocean, and the next they looked as gray as the sky on an overcast day. Those eyes were clear and sparkled with energy. Perry kept those peepers of his focused on me as I looked him over. Perry had a slight smile plastered on his face, with his lips drawn up slightly at the corners of his mouth. It was not really a grin, just enough of a smile to be called coolly friendly or at least non-threatening. Clean shaven, and smelling slightly of Old Spice, it was a forgone conclusion that Perry had gotten himself ready only a short while before he came over to see me. There was nothing noteworthy about the rest of Perry's face. It was well proportioned and very pleasant to look at. He was simply put, average looking. Still he was a nice sight to gaze upon, I had to admit that.

The black cowboy hat was not at all out of place on Perry's head. It matched the rest of his outfit perfectly. The styling of the short black western tuxedo jacket he wore was elegant. The jacket had single peak front and back yokes, accented with satin piping, a center knife pleat at the back and western scalloped pocket flaps. The jacket ended an inch or two below Perry's waist. A black belt with a huge silver belt buckle encircled Perry's waist. Lest you think that is all he wore, I hate to disappoint you but he was wearing pants. A pair of black dress pants that flowed from his narrow waist, closely following the contours of his hips and all the way down his legs to stop just above where I guessed his heels would have been. These pants, like the jacket were of western style with front top pockets, scalloped pocket flaps in the back, and a satin stripe running down the outside seam of each leg. As you might have guessed by now, Perry was wearing black cowboy boots, and a blinding white long sleeved, unruffled tuxedo shirt. A black western string tie, actually looped and tied I noted, completed the outfit.

I was both surprised and mystified at this outfit. I enjoyed standing there just looking at Perry. A cowboy in a tuxedo is not a common sight, but it was a most delightful one. I could not help but wonder, though as to why Perry was here and how he had found out where it was that I lived. I was just a tiny bit concerned about this.

"Why are you here, Perry? What do you want? How did you find out where I live?" I fired off the questions in rapid succession.

Perry took a deep breath and answered calmly and smoothly, "I talked with Mary after you left the uh meeting. Actually we had a discussion about you. She shared with us some of the information she obtained during your link. We have all come to realize that your abilities are something new. It was decided that someone would be sent to you tonight to offer an apology to you on behalf of The Panel."