by Jeff Hale
“The people can still fight against it, and they have.”
She thought a moment then nodded. “Okay, I see your point. But how does that make us any different? How does that make us illegal?”
“You don’t have to think much for your job, do you? Think about it, Bianca. Seriously think about it. Do we have to respect the rights of the citizens of this country when we are doing our job? No. We don’t. We can abuse and kill suspects and renegades all we want. Hell, we don’t even need proof that they were guilty. Granted, we have all the readings, and usually dead bodies or whatnot, but we still have no concrete evidence in a way that a jury in a courtroom would be able to look at it and know without a shadow of a doubt that the person was doing what we said he was doing. Like right now, there is zero physical evidence linking me to Lenny Marcus’s death, because my daggers are untraceable as far as DNA and fingerprinting, since MAGE enchants them so that they don’t hold evidence.”
“You know, I’m going to bring this up to the Council. Hold on.” Her phone was ringing and she pushed the button on her earpiece. I zoned out so I wouldn’t overhear her phone conversation. I saw no reason to piss her off further by eavesdropping. A few minutes later she pushed the button again. “Good news, you won’t be executed. That was Dan, and he says that you were under undue stress at the time, and were not in your full mental capacity, which is apparent by the energy readings that you were giving off. Do you know what you were doing back there? How much energy you were giving off?” she asked, giving me a fearful look.
I shook my head. “No. I just, went with it, sort of.”
“Well, let me put it to you this way. I personally, as the most powerful fire sorcerer known in our agency, register in as a Seventh Circle Master,” she said, denoting that she had completely mastered seven different magical applications, or spells if you want to define the term, though it didn’t exactly give what we could really do any justice. The term spell, to me, was limited. What we did had more than a singular application. A ‘Fireball’ spell, for instance, meant I could fire off a ball of flame and hit someone with it. But in reality we could launch a ball of flame, a spear of flame, or a jet of flame. Basically we could shoot out a flame projectile in any size or shape we wished within the limits of our ability and power.
“Your power was beyond Master levels!” Bianca continued. “The Council figures that wielding that much energy must have driven you temporarily insane. This is unprecedented. We have got to get you back to HQ and retest you.” Her fingers were clenching and unclenching around the steering wheel in agitation.
“Okay, fine. Whatever needs to be done so I won’t be executed, I suppose. I should probably get back and check on Val as soon as possible too.” I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to be reacting now that I knew I might not die over this. I was probably still in shock.
“Oh, yeah, the cops are there, she’s being remanded to child services for now. We have agents on the scene, doing erasures as needed. Valencia… might be a problem. Child services aren’t letting anyone near her. The one sorcerer that got close enough for an attempted erasure failed for some reason. This could be bad.” Bianca threw a sidelong glance my way.
“Damn. Is there anything we can do about it? Can we get an agent into Child Services?”
“Dan’s working on it. Anyway the tests shouldn’t take too long, they’re just the same readings you get once a year.” She slowed down and started to drive like a sane person, and the rest of the trip to MAGE HQ was uneventful.
The tests were simple. Concentrate on storing and releasing Aetheric energy when they asked me to. It was kind of like a hearing test. Raise your right hand and release energy with it, and then raise my left hand, etc. etc. After that I was told to produce the applications of magic I was familiar with. The tests came out slightly higher than my last. Fourth Circle Journeyman rather than Third Circle Master, which was to be expected since I was working on my fourth application, one to raise or lower temperatures in a given area.
Once I was done, I handed in my report on the situation with Amar to Coleen. I simply walked in, laid the report on her desk and turned to walk out. I was kind of in a hurry. I wanted to leave while I still could.
“Mr. Kerensky, I heard about what happened,” Coleen said as I got to the door.
I turned to look at her. She was standing now and leaning over her desk. I was surprised to see that her hair wasn’t in a bun today, but in a loose ponytail, and she had on a tight, low-cut black t-shirt, and blue jeans.
“Casual day today, it was required,” she said, reading my immediate surface thoughts.
“You should do it more often, you look good,” I told her as I turned towards the door again.
“You did the right thing. I was glad to hear you weren’t going to be executed for it. I was getting a petition ready to bar the execution. Doubt it would have gotten very far but…”
“Really? Thanks. Means a lot. I mean it. I really do appreciate the gesture.” I was honestly taken aback. I had no idea that Coleen would have ever supported me like that, especially if I broke the rules.
“Hey, yeah, no problem. I couldn’t watch you burn for something that anyone would have done in your place. Well, almost anyone. Okay, well, most people would like to think they would do something, but you actually did. And I think, that if you want that promotion and to track down Serena’s killer you should be allowed to… do that… wait… who’s Serena?” Her forehead wrinkled as she frowned and rubbed the back of her hand across it.
“How did you know I wanted to do that? I was keeping that to myself, and I know you only read surface impressions.” I took a step back. Something was off here.
“Oh, um, sorry. I thought that… dammit. Time for my medication, hold on.” She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a prescription bottle and took two pills from it, downing them both with no water. “Anyway. Sorry about that. I’ve been expanding my telepathic capabilities. I can read deeper than just surface thoughts if I focus my mind to it. Unfortunately this left some doors unbarred, and without medication I can’t control it. I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear any of that.” She smiled thinly.
“Thanks, I would definitely prefer if you did. I’ll want to talk to you about it sometime, just not yet. I need to get some things dealt with first. Now…”
“No, Kerensky. We still aren’t having sex on my desk.”
“In your car maybe. Or my apartment?”
“No.”
“Ah, well, anywhere at all?”
“No.”
“Meh, had to try.” I shrugged and headed out the door. I was going to tease Coleen with this every chance I got, unless she asked me to stop. It was becoming an inside joke of sorts, as long as she remained un-offended by it.
When I got home I saw that the police, ambulances, and such had all left. Only a couple of black SUVs were parked nearby and a few forensics people were still picking through the rubble. I just hoped that Dan came through and got an agent into Child Services to erase Val’s memory. If they couldn’t, there were still a couple of options: they could find a way to eliminate her; or they could leave her be and just hope anyone who listened to her would think she was crazy. I didn’t want either to happen and I sighed in worry as I unlocked my apartment door and walked in. I didn’t like it, but it was out of my hands now.
____________________
“Rick? Hey man, you doing okay over there?” Dave asked several days later as I sat on the Wall with a cigarette hanging from my lips, ashes making up over half of it. I had laid low over the past few days, claiming to still be tired after a full weekend of work, which wasn’t far from the truth. Everyone was there that morning and they were all in high spirits since Winter Break was coming up.
I hated the holidays. I always missed Serena the most during them, and of course there was always New Year’s Eve. And this year it was compounded by my worry over Val. At least Jessie had been released so that people wouldn’t ask questions about
her whereabouts. I had tried to contact both Dan and Bianca to get some information about Val, but to no avail. Neither was accepting calls of any sort. Something was going on in the Council, of that much I was sure.
“Yeah. Fine,” I muttered, pulling the cigarette out of my mouth and dropping it to the ground. I lit another almost immediately.
“Dude, you are so not okay,” Dave said as he stopped in front of me. His usual worn-in black denim jeans, and t-shirt took up my view. His shirt read ‘I don’t know what makes you so dumb, but it really works!’ He knelt down and just stared at me for a moment. “Dude, if you need to talk, let me know. Or Nina. Or someone. We heard about what happened with Val. We know she was a friend of yours, even if the rest of us didn’t know her that well.”
“Nah. I’m fine, really. I’m worried about her, sure, but there’s not much I can do about any of it. Like usual,” I said in a low voice.
“Look, man, I don’t know how you’re feeling. Not really. I mean I can try and sympathize with you and all, but I’m not in your shoes, and I would never claim as much. You’ve been through a lot of shit, and now you’ve lost another friend.”
“Wait, what? What do you mean lost?” I asked, sitting up suddenly, giving Dave a confused look.
“Well, I mean she’s with CPS. They’ll probably ship her far away from here. They don’t fuck around when they were in the types of situations she was in. They’ll probably change her name and all that shit and get her adopted fast. You know who her uncle is, right?”
“Yeah. So?” I flicked ashes to the ground.
“You think they want her in the custody of her father’s family after what went down?”
“Good point. Where would she end up?”
“Rumor has it from one of the girls that works as a part time clerk down at the Social Services office that Val’s being shipped to Colorado. Seems some family has already adopted her. Girl says she overheard a couple of people talking about it.”
“Colorado? What the fuck? Why there? Her mom is still around!” I almost choked as I exhaled smoke.
“Who knows. Anyway, just wish her the best and try not to think about it too much.” Dave patted my knee and went back to where Nina sat, putting an arm around her shoulders.
Nina was regaling Jessie, Malcolm, and Kat about some rave where a fight had broken out and the riot police had to come break up the whole thing when half the people there got involved. She glanced back in my direction, a worried expression crossing her face.
It was all fine and good for Dave to tell me to not worry about it when he had no idea about what was really going on. I had to get a hold of Bianca or Dan. I needed to find out if an agent got into Child Services or not. I couldn’t explain it, but I felt a connection to Val that went way beyond friendship. It had always been there, I had just always been nervous about what it could mean. I didn’t honestly think we’d ever be good in a relationship together, but there was something about her.
The week slipped by, and while Terry and his gang of teen thugs were never seen around, there were whispers that they were plotting some kind of revenge against me. I had too many other things on my mind to let it worry me. Kelly’s continued behavior towards me did worry me though. She seemed to always move, maneuver, bend, and twist in just the right ways to accentuate her body whenever I was around. Things like dropping her pencil as she walked into class, just so she could bend over in front of me, have a paper fall from her desk so she would have to lean towards me to retrieve it and give me a view down her shirt.
I could tell she was fishing for me to ask her on a date or something, but I had learned my lesson when it came to that long ago. For all I knew she was baiting me so she’d have a chance to kick me again. Despite me giving her the cold shoulder most days, she still gave me looks and glances that told me in no uncertain terms that she was interested in me, or at least pretending very well to be interested in me.
Friday rolled around, and someone finally got completely fed up with me remaining anti-social and introverted. She didn’t realize that my thoughts were a state over and on the past. She just knew I was upset over something, or several things, and she wanted to make her friend feel better.
“So. Date. Just you and me,” Kat said as she plopped onto my lap and put an arm around my neck.
I gave her a shocked look and resisted the urge to just push her off of me, namely because she’d land squarely on the concrete and it might hurt her. I looked into her eyes and saw the fear there. Not fear of me, but fear of rejection. I could tell she had mustered up a lot of courage to say those six simple words. She was fighting to just breathe it seemed.
She was such a humble person. All her hopes clustered on this very moment. On what I would say. I could feel the warmth of her body next to mine through her blue jeans and Metallica hoodie.
“Why?” I said, my voice still low with apathy as it had been all week.
“I dunno, maybe because I like you? Because I can see you’re upset about something, and I was thinking that maybe you’d want to talk about it in a more private venue? Like. A. Date?” She said the last three words a bit forcefully, emphasizing each one.
“Why me though? I’m sure there’re plenty of guys that would like a date with you.” Kat was a very pretty girl, okay, more than pretty, and I had seen the way some of the other guys looked at her. She could have had a date of her choice with a nod of her head. It still confused me what she saw in me, especially with how much of an ass I’d been to her at times, not to mention the fact that I’d ditched out on the two occasions I had gone somewhere with her.
“You’re cute, and I know there’s a connection between us. Or don’t you like my company? Is it me? Do you not like me in that way? If not, that’s okay. I’ll understand. Really,” she said, her eyes on the ground now, her whole body slumping a little in defeat. She had such a low opinion of her own desirability and it made me wonder just how stupid the guys were back where she came from.
I had a pretty good idea that if I did tell her that I didn’t like her that way that she wouldn’t understand, despite her statement. She was just giving me the opportunity to turn her down and not feel bad.
“No. I was just wondering what you saw in me is all.” I inhaled on a shrug, catching the scent of melons and vanilla.
“You’re a good person. I can tell.” She smiled shyly at me. “You’re upset about your friend, Val, and the chances I have gotten to talk with you, you seem like you’re one of those people that would do anything for the people he cares about.”
“Yeah. No arguments there,” I agreed. Thankfully she had no idea just how far I would go.
“So. Date? I mean, you kinda owe me since you ditched me twice now,” she pressed again, leaning into me a little.
Had to give her points for persistence. Might as well give her what she wanted. I had no reason to say no. I found her extremely attractive, and I felt the same connection she felt. There was something there, no doubt. It reminded me somewhat of the connection I’d felt towards Val, only I was sure this one could go well beyond friendship if I let it.
“Yeah. Sure. Okay,” I said, smiling back at her. I needed a cigarette now, to help calm the nerves I felt beginning to build, but no way was I lighting up while she was right on my lap.
“Really? Yes?” she asked, her voice pitched high in excitement.
I nodded.
“Tonight then? Say five?”
I nodded again. “Where do I meet you at?” I asked.
“Put your address on that, I’ll pick you up.” She plucked a notebook from the backpack on the ground nearby, flipped it open to a blank page and handed me the pen that had been clipped to it. I put my address on it and handed it back. She hugged me, gave me a kiss on the cheek and hopped off me to go tell Nina the news. Great. That’s all I needed was Nina telling everyone else like my personal business was public forum. Time for that cigarette.
The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Kelly wasn’t in class
that day so I was spared her not so subtle hints. I had no idea what she was trying to pull on me, but I didn’t trust it. She claimed to have turned a new leaf and that she wanted to get to know me, that she found me intriguing now, but I suspected she just wanted to get dirt on me to spread local gossip.
I went straight home after school and tried to call Bianca and Dan again. No answer from either of them and I left what seemed to be the hundredth message on their voicemails. Around four o’clock I started to get ready for my date with Kat. Having no idea what we were doing, or where we were going, I decided to dress in my black denim jeans, and a nicer black button-up shirt that had a stylized dragon embroidered on the back.
Kat arrived a few minutes early, but by then I was ready to go anyway. I answered the door and about dropped the cigarette I was smoking at the time. Her own button up shirt was white, and she hadn’t bothered with any of the buttons except for the middle one. Under that was a lacy black bra that looked like it was designed to be paired with the shirt. Her leather pants were black, tight, and laced up the sides leaving bare leg showing, and a pair of black platform pumps gave her another five inches or so of height.
“Ready to go?” she asked, voice shaking slightly. She looked like she was fighting the urge to cross her arms over her chest protectively. She was nervous. Probably just as nervous as I was, and it looked like Nina had played wardrobe fairy godmother again.
“Um… yeah… sure…” I muttered, barely able to talk as I stared at her, almost entranced.
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to.” She turned to leave. She had mistaken my lack of positive answer as me not wanting to go.
“No. I was just…. Wow,” I said as looked at her again, gesturing at her.
Her face lit up and she took my hand. “Then let’s go.”
I followed her down to her car, giving Val’s empty burnt out shell of an apartment a sad glance as we passed it. MAGE had done their spin and the news had reported the whole thing as a freak explosion from the gas lines. I really hoped Val was all right, and I wished that Dan or Bianca would call me back and tell me what they knew. I let out a deep breath as Kat led me to an older white Mercury Tracer.