by John O'Riley
“We accept your gesture of good faith. We in turn will not make any move against you,” Julie said.
“Thank you.” Sharon rose from her seat. “That is the reason for this visit.”
She and Kevin strode for the doorway. Sharon abruptly halted and turned to throw Emily an apologetic look.
“I’m very sorry for your stay at Psi-Tech. Our policies are changed now. We would never do that to you again,” Sharon said.
“All right,” Emily said in a noncommittal tone.
Sharon and Kevin wordlessly filed out of the building. Julie, Jeremy, and Emily remained in the conference room to discuss the unexpected meeting.
“She was able to block me out when she was talking about making no move against us,” Julie said.
“I got through to her surface thoughts. Psi-Tech considers it a risk to attack anyone who is part of the psychic network at Phoenix Enterprises. To make sure they avoid any confrontations, they are going to avoid killing any telepaths in Washington state but all others are fair game,” Jeremy said.
“She is such a liar,” Emily said furiously. “I hate her!”
“I also sensed that she’s in a psychic network somehow,” Jeremy said.
“That’s impossible,” Emily said. She remembered some information that she’d foreseen in the distant future but hadn’t documented for Psi-Tech while a prisoner working for them. “There was a theory that empaths might be able to link. That would be the only explanation for why Kevin is still alive if he really is a multipath.”
“If they have their own network, they may expand their power base to the point that they could possibly move against us in the future,” Julie said.
“I haven’t seen any hint of that but I haven’t looked ahead for more than a few years. Everything changes too much to see events with any degree of accuracy for farther than that,” Emily said.
“How strong a precognitive is your mother?” Julie asked.
“From the ability she’s discussed with me, I would guess she’s about a level four or five,” Jeremy said.
“If she becomes part of the network, she’ll be a lot stronger. When were you going to try that?” Julie asked.
“Late this afternoon if there’s time,” Jeremy said.
“Why don’t you go ahead and set up an appointment with her? This is just as important as the work we’re doing for our clients as she has the potential to assist us in generating greater revenue in the very near future,” Julie said.
“I’ll be sure to schedule her in then,” Jeremy said.
“Thanks.” Julie smiled briefly before leaving the room.
“I guess we’d better get back to our office and start helping out with the phones,” Emily said.
When they returned to their office, they set their phones to available which caused them to immediately ring. Emily received call after call for the entire afternoon and clear to the evening. The majority of the callers were powerful telepaths from areas as far as Portland, Oregon wanting help in controlling the side-effects of their abilities. Emily had two options to give them. The first was to sign them up for a class that helped them discipline their thoughts and develop mental shields which were successful for those whose abilities weren’t too strong. The second option was to link with the psychic network at Phoenix Enterprises. Linking with the psychic network would immediately give them complete control of their talents and allow them to live normal lives. The downside was that some people didn’t like the idea of being linked to strangers. Part of Emily’s job was to reassure them that they could easily shield their minds to keep their thoughts private and that no one could eavesdrop. Julie charged a very affordable fee for joining the network but waived the fee if the participant wished to work for Phoenix Enterprises.
No one had been interested in relocating to the center for work but surprisingly, almost everyone wished to become part of the psychic network. Emily supposed that the reason for this high level of interest from the callers was that it was an easy and cheap fix for their current predicament. This was going to expand their psychic network exponentially. Emily wondered how long it would last. Even though the office closed at five, most of the employees continued to answer the phones and schedule appointments until late in the evening. Jeremy had returned to the office and helped with the scheduling so she hadn’t had a chance to ask him if he’d succeeded with adding Kate to their network.
“The answer is yes,” Jeremy said right before Emily could ask.
“That’s terrific!” Emily exclaimed.
“She can telepathically communicate to members in our network. We’ve been talking back and forth for the last couple of hours,” Jeremy said.
Emily reached out with her mind to search for her mother. She found her and performed a telepathic knock.
“Emily, it’s so good to hear from you. I didn’t realize how much fun this would be,” Kate said.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying this, Mom,” Emily said.
“It’s been a blast,” Kate said. “There’s still pizza in the main dining area. I’m here now if you’re ready for dinner.”
“I’ve been ready a couple of hours ago,” Jeremy interjected.
The room had several other members munching on salad, chicken, or pizza. Emily and Jeremy grabbed some pizza and joined Kate at her table.
“You guys have created an impressive facility considering it was done in about a week,” Kate said.
“You’re right. Everything’s happening so quickly,” Emily said. “Nothing is the same as I foresaw it. It’s all different now.”
“And that’s good,” Kate said. “The future you saw was bleak. It’s good to have a brighter one on the horizon.”
“I can’t tell you how good it is to see you in person. Even though I had planned my escape from Psi-Tech for years, I didn’t think I’d ever have this opportunity,” Emily said.
“I can’t tell you what a profound sense of joy and relief I felt when I found out you were alive. It’s such a terrible burden when one of your children passes on,” Kate said.
“There should be a law against that type of thing,” Emily teased.
“Yes, there should be.” Kate laughed at her daughter’s unexpected humor.
Emily spoke to her mother for quite awhile before retiring for the night. She had no difficulty falling asleep but dark precognitive visions plagued her dreams. Psi-Tech’s future changed rapidly as it somehow gained advantages in its power. Emily couldn’t discern any specific details as the outcome shifted too rapidly. She sensed that someone was causing drastic changes in the future. Obviously, Psi-Tech had an extremely powerful precognitive working at the company. Kevin’s image flashed in her mind a couple of times. In one vision, his eyes were black like Jeremy’s when he was using his ability in a major way. Of course, Emily already knew that Kevin was a multipath because of his visit to the center. Somehow, it seemed Kevin was part of the threat that caused the future of Psi-Tech to alter so drastically.
Emily woke up abruptly and checked the time. It was shortly after five. She sensed that her life was in danger but had no idea where the threat lay. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as panic gripped her. She turned on the lights, grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen so she could jot down as much information as she could remember about her vision. Unfortunately, she knew very little. She tried falling back asleep but the troubling sense of danger loomed over her. Emily finally gave up on going back to bed. She took a quick shower, dressed, and made her way to her office downstairs. She typed a report and submitted it to Julie and her brother. Emily looked over the calendar to see the appointments that were already made and wondered if it was possible to keep up on them.
Emily tried to look ahead in the future to see if she could discern specific important events that would lead to Psi-Tech’s altered future. Unfortunately, she couldn’t glean anything useful. Julie arrived unexpectedly which made Emily realize how much time had passed as she glanced over at the clock that showed it w
as a little after seven.
“I didn’t realize you were such an early bird,” Julie said.
“I had nightmares,” Emily said.
“Yes, I saw your report,” Julie said gravely. “Nathan sent me a report with the same vision. Unfortunately, he didn’t see any details that we could track. He had a couple of brief impressions of Kevin like you did. Kevin was working with somebody it seemed but he couldn’t get an image.”
“I didn’t see that report,” Emily said musingly.
“He copied you,” Julie said. “Have you checked your email recently?”
“No, I haven’t. I’ve been trying to get more details and lost track of time.” Emily glanced down and saw that she did indeed have an email from Nathan, the only precognitive in her department. “Thank you for letting me know.”
“Of course,” Julie said. “Breakfast has arrived if you’re hungry. It’s going to be a long day.”
“Yes, it is,” Emily agreed.
“I’d like for you to set aside short periods of time where you will be unavailable for calls so you can focus on Psi-Tech’s future to try and determine what’s going on over there,” Julie said.
“Sure.”
“And tell Nathan to do the same thing. I know that we’re completely booked up but I’ve got a bad feeling about your visions,” Julie said.
Chapter 14
Rose gazed sightlessly out the window of her room as she sat motionless in the chair. She spent most of her waking hours in this position. Her eyes focused and she sat up straighter. She took stock of her surroundings then rose to her feet and crossed the room. She pulled out an envelope, a pen, and a sheet of paper from the pile she’d stashed underneath the bed. She had used her ability to make one of the orderlies give her these supplies then forget that he’d done it. She wrote a brief message for George Hendricks to let him know that his psychic network had the ability to link with telepaths and that it would greatly benefit him to advertise to help those telepaths who suffered from abilities that were too strong to control. Phoenix Enterprises didn’t yet have the resources to advertise outside their local area but Psi-Tech could create television commercials across the entire country. They would achieve unspeakable power in a very short period of time and were no longer threatened by the telepaths.
At the end of the letter, Rose signed with a backwards R next to an infinity symbol which was how she’d been communicating anonymously to George Hendricks for a couple of years. She had given him enough advice to earn his trust and hopefully he would jump on the information she provided in this letter. All of her carefully laid plans would come to fruition soon. There were a couple of threats that had popped up but she could take care of them fairly easily. First, she needed to get this letter in the mail. Rose folded the note and sealed it an envelope with George Hendrick’s address. She used her electrokinesis to shut down the power in the entire facility which would prevent any surveillance cameras in the hallway to record Rose’s apparent lucidity. She stepped toward the door which opened of its own accord and happened to find Ken. She immediately flooded his mind with a powerful stream of psychic energy. He froze and stared at her in horror. He tried to escape but couldn’t. He was the most resistant out of all the staff members at the facility to her mind control.
Rose wished she would have found an easier target. She concentrated on his mind until she was certain that he was under her complete control.
“Take this letter and immediately put a stamp on it then take it to the drop box outside. Don’t let anyone see you do it. Once you come back inside here, you will forget we had this conversation and that you mailed the letter,” Rose said forcefully. “Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Ken said.
“Go,” Rose ordered.
She watched Kevin walk away before returning to her room and closing the door. She felt her consciousness leaving Rose’s body and knew her visit would end soon. She quickly surveyed the room to make sure she hadn’t left any clues to what she’d done then sat down in the chair. When her consciousness seeped away, Rose’s gaze lost focus and she hunched forward slightly.
Chapter 15
Business over the last couple of days had dropped off considerably at Phoenix Enterprises as Psi-Tech had launched a heavy advertising campaign to attract new telepaths to their psychic network. Emily had been flabbergasted when she’d first heard the news but her visions now made sense regarding Psi-Tech’s new improved status in the future. They already had several large facilities in three different states and enough money to advertise everywhere in the country. If Julie, Jeremy, and Emily couldn’t think of a way to increase their own network soon, there would be no way to compete. Emily already believed it to be a hopeless cause but her brother was determined to find a solution. Now that business had dropped off, Emily had more time to study Psi-Tech’s future. Unfortunately, she had learned very little as events kept altering drastically.
Somehow, Psi-Tech must have gotten hold of a powerful precognitive that knew exactly how to change events that benefited their company. In several years, it looked like Psi-Tech would actually seize control of the government. Emily hadn’t realized the senior management was quite that ambitious. She was currently working in her office with Jeremy seated across the room at his desk. She could feel his concerned gaze on her and looked up to smile reassuringly.
“Don’t worry,” she said.
“I can’t help but worry,” Jeremy said. “I’m getting a sense that you’re somehow in danger.”
“We all are,” Emily said.
“Something’s wrong,” Jeremy said with alarm.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s Nathan,” Jeremy said.
He could sense a disturbing ripple emanating from Nathan’s position in the psychic network. He telepathically alerted Julie who asked him to meet her at his office. Emily followed Jeremy down the hall to Nathan’s small, tidy office. He was slumped forward against his desk unconscious. A powerful disruption suddenly exploded around Nathan’s position in the psychic network. Jeremy didn’t sense the same effect coming from his sister until she began to pass out. He caught her before she collapsed and Julie burst into the room. She quickly took in the situation and knelt beside Jeremy to get a closer look at Emily.
“What’s going on?” Julie said sharply.
“Some sort of psychic disruption,” Jeremy said slowly as he tried to puzzle out the cause of this dangerous phenomenon.
“Can you help them?” Julie asked.
“I don’t know.” Jeremy frowned at his sister with concern and tentatively reached out with his mind to ascertain her condition. “She has some sort of shield around her. I can’t get through without possibly hurting her.”
“We should get them to the hospital,” Julie said.
“No, they would be in danger there,” Jeremy said as his intuition kicked in. “They were both attacked at a psychic level.”
“Psi-Tech,” Julie said sharply.
“I believe so. It’s the only explanation,” Jeremy said.
“It must be because of their precognitive abilities,” Julie said musingly. “They’re perceived as a threat because they might be able to discover what’s going on at Psi-Tech.”
“I’m going to get Emily back to her room and see if I can find a way to help her,” Jeremy said.
“Good idea. I’ll have Nathan brought to his room as well,” Julie said.
Jeremy carried his sister to her room and found Kate waiting for them. Apparently, Julie had informed her of what had happened. Unshed tears welled in Kate’s eyes as she took in Emily’s condition.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Kate whispered with anguished despair.
“She’s going to be fine,” Jeremy said reassuringly.
He gently laid Emily on her bed as Kate anxiously hovered nearby.
“How do you know that?” Kate asked. “It’s like I got her back for a week and when I finally get to see her, she’s dying.”
Kate blinked at him in surprise and nodded slowly. “Yes, I see it too. I guess there is an advantage to being a precognitive.”
“Definitely,” Jeremy said.
“Julie thinks this is an attack by Psi-Tech,” Kate said shakily. “How can we protect ourselves?”
“I don’t know. We should take a moment to try and see if anything like this is going to happen within the next couple of days. I’m not good at pinpointing precise events like that so I’m not sure how effective I’ll be.”
“Okay.”
They lapsed into silence which dragged on for quite awhile before Jeremy gave up.
“I don’t see any attacks and it looks like they’re both going to wake up on their own,” Jeremy said.
“Yes, that’s what I see. But how do we know that there aren’t attacks that we just aren’t seeing?” Kate asked.
“There’s no certainty but I can safely say the likelihood is minimal,” Jeremy said.
“I’ll watch over Emily if you need to get back to work,” Kate said.
“I really should,” Jeremy said reluctantly.
Even though work had dropped off, scheduling was still very tight and they couldn’t afford to lose any clients to Psi-Tech. At the end of the day, Jeremy tried to one more time to see what was causing the future to alter for Psi-Tech. He focused his will on seeing the details but they remained elusive. His pupils dilated until there was only a sliver of color in his eyes and the temperature in the room plummeted. His hands flew over the keyboard as he searched online for random key words that flashed in his mind. He was no longer tapping into his precognitive ability but had turned to his intuition. He blinked in surprise when he found several listings for psychic research companies. They were located in California, New York, and New Jersey. Jeremy clicked on the company based in California called Psychic Parallels. This company hadn’t received any press attention and had started up yesterday. Somehow, these new companies were linked to what was happening with Psi-Tech. Julie unexpectedly entered the room and strolled over to him.