by Dean Jones
“Harvey has sent him back to his room, but I thought I should mention it as you may understand what’s happening more than we do?”
Corey got up from his chair and shuffled around the desk to stand in front of Garrett. “I was afraid this might happen, you have been far too lenient with your methods and he has adapted, more worryingly it may be my own efforts are now blocked entirely in which case my telephone call just now may have been a little…premature” he sighed and moved towards the window.
“I think we need to try something a little riskier than I would like but I believe we could manage it by using our internal camera system.” Garrett was confused.
“What do you want us to do?”
“I have his wife and daughter in a room on the floor below us, they are currently enjoying my hospitality and are fully aware of the role Seth has played in their lives to this point,” he explained. “I intend to show Seth exactly what they think of him in the hope this will have the desired effect I seek.”
“I thought they were dead?” Garrett exclaimed, “We have been telling him this for four days and now you tell me they’re alive?”
Corey looked at him over his shoulder and Garrett saw a tired man he hadn’t expected to see.
“I tell you exactly what I think you need to know,” he barked, “now run along and prepare the cameras, I want him to see them”
Garrett turned immediately and rushed from the room.
Corey returned his gaze to the city beneath him, he had worked so hard for too long to let Seth take it from him.
Seth sat patiently on his bed knowing, when the door opened, he would be ready to attack and make his escape.
The TV turned on and he looked expecting to see the same news story which had been on for days but had to double take when he saw two people sat talking at a table. He got up and walked towards the screen and realised who they were.
“Marcy… Hope?” he whispered. The sound turned up and he could hear their conversation.
“What do you think they’ll do to him, Mum?” Hope was asking.
“I don’t know love, but I think whatever it is he will deserve it,” Seth was confused and wondered who they were talking about.
A third person joined them, and Seth recognised the man who sat beside his daughter.
“We have had a small issue with Seth,” he said, “he believes you will be coming to help him escape from here and will not recognise the pain and suffering you have been through due to his actions and treatment of you.”
Seth’s blood boiled, and he looked closer at the man sitting with his family, he knew him but couldn’t quite bring his name forward in his mind. The buzzing had lessened significantly since he found he could work with the patterns, but it was still in the background.
It was the hooked nose, he was sure it was an unmistakable feature and he should know exactly why this was.
“That’s typical,” he heard his wife claim, “always been selfish, never considered how we felt with his physical violence and abuse of us through the years. I have had it with him why should we ever be interested in seeing him again?”
He saw her place her hand on to Hope’s and could see the tears on her cheeks. His mind exploded, what was going on, how could she say these things about him…. what had happened?
The buzzing increased as panic took hold, he was losing his family and there was nothing he could do about it. All his strength emptied from his body and he dropped to the ground as the camera zoomed in to the faces of his wife and daughter both with eyes red from tears consoling each other… because of him.
“it’s not nice to find out the truth is it Seth?” he spun around to see the same man sat behind him. Either side of him were Agent Harvey and Doctor Garrett both looking strangely satisfied.
“You said they were dead?”
“Ah, you see Seth,” Garrett started, “sometimes a lie is better than the truth, I cannot imagine how you must feel to know how your family feel about you…it must be devastating?”
Seth visibly sagged and the buzzing in his mind became something he was happy to accept, he was tired of fighting and just wanted it all to end.
“What do you want to know?” he asked resigned.
“Oh, I don’t want to know anything Seth, I now have everything I’ve wanted for over a thousand years!”
Breaking Point
Seth lay on his bed and clutched his knees to his chest, the realisation he had lost his family had hit him hard and he was now swamped with images of events where he had beaten his wife and forced his daughter to do things against her wishes.
Rocking on his bed and seeing the things which, at first, seemed alien but were now becoming recognised memories he wept.
Corey entered the room and sat beside him.
“It’s OK Seth, I can make these memories go away,” he said sweetly, “all you need to do is ask.”
Seth continued to rock and Corey smiled at the sight of the man he had tried to break over a thousand years ago now crumpled on a bed in his kingdom wishing for something or someone to take the pain away. Of course, he could end this at any point, but he was enjoying watching the mighty warrior reduced to a snivelling weakling struggling to cope with the pain of his mind and the memories he had put there.
The temptation to seize control of his mind totally had been itching him for the last hour, and in truth, he was slowly giving in to the desire. He tried as soon as he saw Seth break, but the man still had a steel trap of a mind and he was rebuffed instantly and risked reawakening Seth’s subconscious so resolved he should wait a while until he tried again so he could fully drench Seth in desperation and torturous realisations of his creation.
So here he was, waiting for the right time to try again.
Agent Harvey entered the room and stood at the foot of the bed.
“Let us take Mr Goodman and subject him to further interrogation, we still need to know how he did it,” he said in his southern American drawl.
“There will be no more interrogations Agent Harvey, Seth is now under my personal hospitality and as such will not be harmed unless I expressly request it.” He looked up at the American, “do you understand?”
Harvey looked shocked, “my Government has sent me to the U.K. to determine the threat posed by this individual and to elicit answers to the questions on all our lips, can he be used?”
He moved around the bed towards Corey, “I don’t believe you fully comprehend the authority I have in this situation Corey, you are a civilian and this is a U.S. Government operation!”
Harvey attempted to loom over the older man in an effort to intimidate him, but he didn’t know Corey had been the subject of intimidation attempts by greater men than he was, and none had succeeded not even the man crying on the bed beside him.
He looked up to Harvey and considered his response. He had let his control of the man slip and he clearly felt he was now, in some way, in charge of proceedings.
“Agent, at any point prior to this meeting I could have had you removed and lost somewhere in transit between here and wherever I decided to send you. Be under no illusions, your government will do whatever I decide they should, and this includes leaving Seth alone and forgetting they ever heard his name.”
Harvey was aghast, “How dare you insinuate my superiors are at your command, the U.S. Government is inscrutable, the world leader in policy and the only true superpower on this planet!”
Corey smiled at this man and reached into his pocket to retrieve his mobile phone. “I find myself in a remarkably good mood, so would you like to play a little game?”
“A game, what exactly are you talking about?”
“Humour me, Agent Harvey, I am old.” Corey waved his phone.
“OK, fine, what game is it you propose?” Harvey asked.
“Choose anyone in your government, the more powerful the better,” he explained.
Harvey considered him for a moment and then thought about the request.
; “The Secretary of Defence.”
Corey smiled then shrugged as he started to dial, moments later the phone was ringing, and Corey place the call on speaker, so Harvey could hear.
A moment or two passed until the call was answered.
“Secretary of Defence’s office,” the woman said, “how may I direct your call?”
“Ah, please let the Secretary know that Corey called, I don’t have time to spare so he should call me straight back.”
“Yes, Sir, I will let him know straight away.” The lady replied.
Corey hung up his phone and waited. “Count,” he commanded.
Harvey, reluctantly, began to count. When he got to twenty-five the phone rang, and Corey answered it, ensuring it was again on speaker.
“Corey, what can I do for you?” Harvey’s face dropped in amazement.
“I have an Agent Harvey here with me who is part of the C.I.A I believe?” he looked at Harvey who nodded.
“OK, what do you need me to do?” the Secretary of Defence asked.
“Sing a nursery rhyme for me, something short though.”
There was a moment's silence before, “Baa, Baa black sheep have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir three bags full, one for the master and one for the dame and one for the little boy who lives down the lane.”
“that’s excellent, thanks John I haven’t heard that one in a long time.” Corey praised.
He hung up the call and looked to Harvey.
“This is fun, shall we call one more?” Harvey swallowed but thought again.
“The President,” he said smugly.
Corey smiled again, “this one’s easier, I have his personal mobile number on speed dial.” Seconds later the president was on speaker phone.
This time Corey didn’t want a nursery rhyme instead he asked a very specific question.
“Steve, who made you president of the United States of America?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the man answered. “You did Corey.”
“Thank you, that will be all,” and he ended the call. “It seems to me, Agent Harvey, you do not fully understand who I am. What you see is an old businessman who potters around an office building in the centre of London. What you don’t see is the powerful manipulator of world policy.” Harvey was stunned at this turn of events.
Corey smiled and returned his attention to Seth, “leave us, Clarence, go speak to Sarah to ask her for your passport, it’s time for you to leave. I am sure your family is missing you greatly?” He did as he was told, and Corey chuckled to himself.
“Strange isn’t it Seth, all those years ago when we first met we had to use Spae to have a conversation but now I just snap my fingers, and everyone just jumps to my command.”
Seth heard the conversation but wasn’t in the right mental state to fully comprehend the gravity of the revelations. Inside his mind, he was surrounded by images and memories he was afraid of and everywhere he turned a new picture popped up to show something he had done to those he loved.
His subconscious raced from memory to memory searching for somewhere it could hide. It was threatened and needed to get away, so went deeper and deeper into his mind. Further and further back it went until a memory appeared which was untainted.
***
Seth sat beside the tree outside his home and looked out over the fields. He was contemplating his life and feeling truly happy and at peace with the world when he was joined by Mae who dropped beside him with a groan.
“It’s a beautiful world isn’t it Seth?” she asked.
“Yes Mae, it truly is.” He smiled.
“You need to promise me something, Seth, this is important, so I need you to listen very carefully.”
Seth turned and considered the old woman. She had never seemed so serious before and so he did as she asked and focused solely on her.
“In the future, there may be occasions when you find yourself lost and in need of an anchor point to hold your consciousness until you can gather your senses.” Seth looked confused. “Shh, just listen,” she continued. “If this should ever happen you should return, in your mind to this place here and now. Recall all you can you can see now, fix your emotions and attach them to this moment and this conversation. Can you do that for me, Seth?”
He focussed and thought hard about how he currently felt and didn’t take long to find the image of this view and how his life would be. He nodded, having committed this point in his life to memory.
“That’s good my boy, never forget who you are…always remember this time in your life and rebuild from it if you ever need to.” She patted his arm before trying to regain her feet.
***
“Master, please hear us,” came a pleading hiss from the darkness behind this image.
Seth focused again on the voice “who is this?”
“Master!” The Mara cried.
“Mara?”
“Yes, Master, it is us. We have been trying to connect with you, but your mind has been shielded by something we could not penetrate we could only bring your dreams in the hope you would remember and fight back”
Seth considered the words.
“We have spoken to your daughter Master, she gave us instruction to show you dreams of her and her mother to show you how much they love you.”
Slowly the Mara appeared in his mind’s eye and he took them in as if he had never seen them before. He watched the two childlike figures hover and swap sides as they hissed in whispered communication.
“Are you well, Master?”
Seth took in a deep breath and spread his consciousness upwards until he reached the buzzing noise he had become so accustomed to. He examined this intently and saw the swirling patterns of thought energy within it. He stepped back slightly.
“Who is with my physical body, Mara?” he asked.
There was a silence as the Mara disappeared for a moment.
“The man who calls himself Corey is sitting beside your bed, but he is preparing to leave.” They reported.
“Corey?” A sudden recognition flamed in his mind and he saw the hooked nosed Spae worker, who was Meredith’s uncle, sharing his pre-wedding feast with the menfolk in the old forest. Then the image of the man sat with his wife and daughter… “it couldn’t be?” he said.
“Master, what do you want from us?”
“Go to my daughter and tell me if she has the same barrier I have, be quick I am keen to rid myself of this and do not want to jeopardise her safety.”
Seth thought hard about this realisation, it shouldn’t have been a surprise as Spae workers all knew how to step out of time but in the nearly thirteen hundred years he had travelled around waiting for Marcy, he had not come across any who had even the slightest spark of aptitude for the arts.
“Master, we have returned with news. We checked on your wife and daughter and both have the barrier around their mind”
Suddenly it was all making sense.
Seth slowly began to bring himself out of his mind creeping his consciousness past the buzzing barrier which he knew he could shatter at any time he chose but he needed his family safe first and so the less Corey knew the better.
As he reached full consciousness he recalled the conversation he had overheard and knew he would never be safe while Corey lived.
Waking he found himself curled up on his bed alone in the room he had been held in for the last four days.
The door was closed but he knew it wouldn’t be an issue. He looked to the glass and called forth the Mara.
“How many are watching from the room behind the glass?”
“There are two men Master.” They replied.
“Mara, show them what happened to Brian and his group when they tried to take my family away from me.”
There was a cackle of satisfied laughter as the Mara disappeared into the room.
Seth walked to the door, gripped the handle and ripped it open. The men jumped at the sound and went for their radios to report the escape but were sudden
ly overcome with tiredness and fell into a nightmare.
A Cornered Animal
A trip to London had been planned for a while as Seth was keen to treat his family to the five-star sightseeing treatment he felt they deserved. Everything was arranged, and they caught the train from Manchester Piccadilly, first class, and were excited for the week they had ahead.
They hadn’t been back to London since he met with Nicola and he was keen to erase the memory as she had been relentless ever since with two to four stories per week appearing in newspapers and she had somehow managed to get herself on TV as a reporter telling the same stories.
Seth recalled the day with bitter memories and resolved to try to not think about it for the rest of the week.
“Will we go see the palace Dad?” Hope asked.
“Of course, no trip to London would be complete without a visit to the Queen. Pity, she will be out as it would have been nice to catch up.” He smiled.
“You don’t know the Queen you liar,” Hope laughed.
“I have known a Queen and quite a few Kings in my time I’ll have you know…but OK I don’t know the current Queen,” he conceded.
They passed the journey by playing games and munching on sweets. Euston station was its usual hustle and bustle and they picked their way through the throng of people heading towards the escalators down to the underground.
“Oi, where you going?” Hope turned to see her parents at the top of the stairs leading down to the taxi rank
“Are we not using the tube?” She asked.
“Not this trip, I have arranged a car to pick us up and it should be waiting down here,” he pointed his suitcase at the stairs and excitedly she scurried ahead of them.
There was a man at the bottom with a card saying, ‘Goodman Family’ and Hope let out a squeal as she saw the black limo he was stood next to.
“Excellent, well jump in then and I’ll stick the cases in the boot.” The driver helped Seth with the cases and before long they were heading into the city to find their hotel.