Dead as in not coming back or waking up.
“No dream,” Jewel said.
Elliot looked at the five people around the table with him. Two he had seen pictures of in the paper last fall when they died horribly.
More than likely his picture would be in the paper tomorrow as well.
Damn, he was dead.
And he could eat and be inside other people. What the hell was going on?
He glanced around at Cathy sitting with that killer, then back at Nancy. “You said we can save people?”
“That’s what we do,” Jewel said.
“That’s why we didn’t cross over like everyone else,” Belle said.
“That’s why the powers-that-be above us, those I call our bosses,” K.J. said, “recruited us. Since we were going to die anyway, they figured we could stick around if we wanted and help others.”
“You mean I don’t have to stay if I don’t want?” Elliot said.
“After you learn everything we are doing,” Jewel said, “you can decide to go on. It will be your choice.”
Elliot wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He was still fighting the idea this was a dream, but he had to find out for sure, or somehow wake up.
“How about we save someone as a test run on this craziness?”
All of them looked puzzled, so he pointed back to Cathy sitting with that killer. “That guy’s she’s with is named Barry Johns.”
“The guy that killed his wife, but no one could prove it?” Belle asked.
“One and the same,” Elliot said. “I think I was hearing Cathy’s thoughts and she doesn’t know who he is. And might be too stupid to care.”
Both Belle and Nancy nodded at that. They must have had some connection back in school with Cathy.
“When she touched Barry’s hand,” Elliot said, “I could see that he had actually killed his wife and another woman back in college.”
“Yeah, noticed that,” K.J. said. “When I touched him while looking for you. Figured there was nothing we could do at the moment.”
“Exactly,” Elliot said. “If what you say is true and we are all dead, what can a bunch of ghosts do?”
At that, all five of them laughed.
“We saved the world before Christmas,” Belle said, “I think we can deal with a twisted murderer just fine.”
“Watch this,” K.J. said, clapping his hands together. “This is just too much fun. I should get some popcorn. Who wants popcorn?”
Jewel just laughed and shook her head at K.J. “No popcorn.”
“You’re no fun,” K.J. said, pretending to pout.
“That’s not at all what Tommy says,” Jewel said, making K.J. blush slightly.
Tommy stood and glanced at Nancy. “You want to back the woman out of this?”
Nancy stood. “Love to. Let me act first. I’ll set the scene.”
Tommy laughed and nodded.
“I’ll get the manager to call the police,” Jewel said, standing as well.
“I still want popcorn,” K.J. said.
Tommy headed for Barry and Nancy for Cathy.
Jewel just vanished.
Elliot had no idea what they were intending, but Belle and K.J. seemed to know and were having fun watching.
“Is he going to go inside of Barry?” Elliot asked, feeling shocked. He had only touched the guy and had felt dirty.
“Memories you get from people pass very quickly unless you want to hold onto them,” Belle said.
“Until you mentioned him,” K.J. said, “I had already forgotten about touching him and learning about his past.”
As Elliot watched, Tommy sunk into Barry and Nancy into Cathy.
Just watching Tommy go inside that slime-ball made Elliot shudder.
Suddenly Cathy slammed her chair backwards and stood, shouting at the top of her lungs, “You’re that killer Barry Johns. You killed your wife!”
She picked up a glass of water and threw it in Barry’s face.
Everyone in the restaurant went silent. Everyone was staring at the scene.
“So what do you have to say for yourself?” Cathy shouted.
Elliot looked at Belle who was smiling. Was this really happening? Nancy was controlling Cathy, getting her to speak.
“Really should have popcorn,” K.J. said, clapping his hands.
“We can control people like that?” Elliot asked.
“You’ll learn,” K.J. said. “Watch what Tommy can do. He’s one of the best.”
At that moment, Barry started to shake and tremble. “I didn’t mean to kill her. I didn’t mean it. Honest. Can’t a guy be forgiven for a mistake?”
Everyone in the restaurant sort of gasped at once.
Elliot was pretty sure he was one of the people gasping.
The silence in the restaurant got more and more intense as everyone, including the staff just sort of froze to listen and watch.
“No!” Cathy shouted. “You killed her in cold blood. It wasn’t a mistake and the only reason you aren’t rotting in jail is because they could never find her body and prove you did it.”
Barry just sat there shaking, seeming to plead with her as if they were alone and an entire restaurant of people weren’t watching and listening.
“I buried her in a nice spot,” he said. “She can see down over the entire city.”
Again about half the restaurant gasped.
Elliot was just flat stunned.
“Please just like me,” Barry said, reaching out his hand. “I’m not really that bad of a man.”
“What about those rumors about your old college sweetheart?” Cathy asked. “Did you bury her near your wife?”
“Side-by-side on a ridge in the foothills,” Barry said.
Once more just about everyone in the restaurant gasped.
Elliot was flat impressed. Tommy and Nancy were making Barry confess to his crimes in a way that was totally believable, spontaneous, and had lots and lots of witnesses. It would even hold up in court if the police found the bodies where Barry said they were. Tommy and Nancy were good. Real good.
“Outside,” Belle said to Elliot, pointing to the windows.
Police cars, three of them with lights flashing were pulling up outside.
“How did Jewel do that?”
“Got inside the manager and had him do the call,” Belle said.
Of course. Same as what Elliot was watching now with Tommy and Nancy.
“I just want you to like me,” Barry said again to Cathy, his voice pleading.
“You confess everything to the police and then maybe we can have a real date,” Cathy said. “With nothing hidden.”
Barry nodded just as the police came pouring through the door and a dozen customers pointed to Barry.
Barry raised his hands over his head and turned to face the police who had their guns drawn.
“Officers,” Barry said, “I want to confess to killing my wife and my college girlfriend. They are both buried exactly two miles up the Benson Gulch Road after the pavement ends on the top of a ridge to the right.”
Then he turned back from the stunned police to face Cathy. “Now will you go out with me?”
“Go to hell, you murdering bastard!” Cathy shouted.
At that, the entire restaurant burst into applause.
Cathy turned and took a bow.
“Wow,” Belle said, “Nancy is good, isn’t she?”
Jewel appeared beside Elliot. “Now watch this.” She pointed back to Barry.
Elliot felt more stunned than he wanted to admit. But as he watched, Barry started to shudder and as the cops grabbed him and put cuffs on him, he broke down into sobs, crying over and over again, “I didn’t mean to kill them. Honest, I didn’t.”
And then he wet his pants.
A moment later, Nancy stepped out of Cathy and Tommy stepped out of Barry.
Both laughed, gave each other a high-five, and headed back to the table as both Cathy and Barry seemed suddenly stunned.
Then Barry
screamed and grabbed his crotch in pain.
“You didn’t?” Jewel asked Tommy.
Tommy laughed. “I did. The guy was a real sicko.”
Jewel just shook her head and kissed Tommy.
Belle hugged Nancy.
K.J. applauded and said, “Told you this would need popcorn. A real passion play.”
Elliot stared at the screaming-in-pain Barry and then turned to face the group. “What did you do?”
“Just made sure that if he ever thinks of sex or killing again,” Tommy said, “his crotch will feel like a thousand bees are stinging it at once.”
“Oh,” Elliot said.
It was all he could think of to say.
“Anyone hungry,” K.J. said, “Stopping bad people always makes me hungry.”
With that, all four of the others laughed and headed back toward the salad bar and kitchen, ignoring all the disruption and police talking to tables of people as Barry was hauled out of the door swearing in pain.
“Don’t worry. You’ll get the hang of all this,” Jewel said.
Then she took Elliot by the arm. “I seem to remember that you were going for seconds a short time ago before your trip to the restroom?”
He nodded. He had been. But that was back when he thought this all a dream.
Now he was fairly certain he was dead. And damn it all to hell, he was still hungry.
SECTION TWO
The First Mission
TEN
FORTY MINUTES LATER the pandemonium in the restaurant had died down. A few police were still interviewing people and four police cars still had their lights on outside, but it seemed like the entire thing was about over.
Jewel had stuck with Elliot and managed to help him get more food. Then they rejoined the team sitting around the big table in the back.
Belle and Nancy sat together facing into the restaurant next to K.J. Tommy sat at the head of the table, and she and Elliot sat facing Belle and Nancy.
Elliot seemed quiet, but clearly aware and the conversation went on around him as he ate, every-so-often holding up a bite of steak or fork full of potato in wonder at how good it tasted.
Jewel knew that the shock of actually understanding he was dead had sunk in. That was just going to take some time to get past. Elliot had the time.
She also knew that pretty soon he would ask to see Deanna and at that point Jewel would have to tell him about Deanna’s tumor. And that she would also be joining them in two months.
Jewel had no doubt that Elliot would want to be with Deanna for the next two months.
If it was Tommy in that situation, Jewel would want to be there as well.
They would figure out a way to help Elliot with some training while he was with Deanna, and then train them both completely together starting in a few months.
“Well, counselor?” Tommy asked Elliot, “Will the police be able to make that stick on dear old Barry?”
For the first time in thirty minutes, Elliot smiled and nodded. “Spontaneous confession, lots of witnesses, and his description of where the bodies are buried should lock him up for a very long time.”
“They got it all on security cam as well,” Belle said, indicating the small cameras up near the ceiling.
“Great job,” Elliot said to Tommy. “Everyone inside the legal system knew he had killed his wife. No one could prove it and all the defense lawyers were silently glad he was never charged so that he didn’t need an attorney.”
“Not a fun client, huh?” Nancy asked.
“He would have been horrid,” Elliot said.
Jewel was glad that Elliot was smiling and talking again. That was a good sign.
Suddenly, the entire place froze except for them. No sound, no movement, nothing.
Jewel knew instantly what had happened. They were between instants of time.
A moment later Laverne appeared right between Tommy and K.J. at the end of the table. She was a tall and powerful woman in a gray suit that shouted both expensive and power. Her hair was pulled back tight, giving her classic Greek face a stark look.
Everyone jumped to their feet and bowed just slightly except Elliot, who looked around stunned at the frozen people and then saw he was the only one sitting. He quickly stood.
Laverne nodded to him. “Nice to meet you, Elliot. I’m sorry about your death earlier this evening, but now glad to have you on this great team. You will make a perfect addition to it.”
Elliot just sort of half-nodded, clearly stunned.
Jewel felt stunned as well.
Elliot had no idea he was facing one of the most powerful gods in the world, a woman hundreds of thousands of years old. The team had worked with her and other gods and superheroes to save the world just before Christmas last year. But after a Christmas visit from her, they hadn’t seen her since.
It looked as if Elliot was going to learn even more on his first day dead.
Laverne turned to K.J. “I’ve got a situation we need your team’s help with.”
“Anything,” K.J. managed to say.
Considering how in awe of Laverne he was, Jewel was impressed he got that much out.
She indicated that everyone should sit down and she pulled a chair over from another table to sit between Tommy and K.J. They moved slightly to give her more room.
“Frozen in another time bubble is a casino robbery going on right now in Las Vegas,” Laverne said. “About a dozen armed men with machineguns took over the casino and have about three hundred innocent hostages.”
Jewel felt her stomach twist into a knot.
“Why isn’t this a police matter?” Tommy asked.
“Normally it would be,” Laverne said, nodding. “But Kronos and the other gods who watch the future events did not see this coming in any fashion. And they have no way of knowing what the death of even a few of those hostages would mean to the future, let alone all of them.”
“None of those people’s time has come, huh?” Tommy asked.
“Not a one,” Laverne said.
Now Jewel was even more stunned. Their direct bosses had always been the time gods who could see varied futures. And her and the team’s goal was to save a certain future. Or it had been before this promotion of the team.
“Are the gunmen demanding anything?” Elliot asked, clearly dropping into legal mode and forgetting his circumstances.
“Nothing,” Laverne said. “It appeared when we froze them in a time bubble that they were within seconds of just killing everyone.”
“Oh, no,” Belle said, covering her mouth.
“No idea at all who is behind this?” Tommy asked.
“It has to be either a god or an escaped Titan or an alien,” Laverne said. “We are sure that this is not real world or money motivated in any fashion. Poker Boy and his team and a dozen other teams are all on this, but it’s going to take time to figure out what caused this.”
K.J. looked at her. “You had a sense of another negative force starting to build, didn’t you?”
“We did,” Laverne said. “It’s why this team will be needed. We just didn’t expect you to be needed so quickly.”
“What can we do?” Tommy asked.
“Poker Boy suggested that your team go into the time bubble in the casino,” Laverne said, “and get in the gunmen’s heads and see if you can both stop them and figure out where they are getting their orders from.”
“We can do that,” K.J. said.
“Hang on,” Tommy said.
He vanished and appeared next to a woman sitting at a table halfway across the restaurant, a piece of steak halfway to her mouth.
He put his hand inside of her shoulder, then shook his head and jumped back. Jewel knew the look on his face. It wasn’t good news.
“We can’t read their thoughts and control them unless they are moving in time.”
Laverne nodded.
“How many did you say there were?” Jewel asked.
“A dozen,” Laverne said.
“How
about having Poker Boy and his team jump inside the bubble and take all the ammunition from the guns?” Tommy asked.
Jewel knew exactly what he was thinking. “Then when you release the bubble, we can be inside some of them as they fail to kill anyone, getting a sense of who is in charge.”
“Great idea,” Laverne said. “Stan, you get that?”
She nodded. “Poker Boy and his team are pulling the ammunition now.”
With that she jumped them all to the edge of the big Living Time Hotel and Casino.
The place was bright and had what seemed like thousands of colors. But nothing was moving, no jackpot bells going off, no people shouting and laughing.
Jewel was stunned at the gunmen. They all wore black body suits and black stocking masks over their faces. They were standing in a large circle around the edge of the casino, all holding what looked like AK-47s, if she knew her guns right.
The guns were trained on a large crowd of people in the center of the room. No doubt that if the gunmen started firing, they would kill a lot of people and more than likely kill each other as well.
That just flat seemed wrong.
“Not the way to kill people,” Tommy said. “They will kill themselves as well.”
“Someone clearly doesn’t care,” Elliot said.
Poker Boy and five others had the guns of the gunmen and were carefully taking the rounds out of them, then putting the guns back in the same exact position the gunmen had them.
Tommy turned to the six of them. “K.J., take the short guy to the right, Jewel, the guy next to him. Nancy, Belle and I will go to the ones on the left of here.”
“What about me?” Elliot asked. “I was trapped in a woman in a woman’s restroom. I think I can spy inside one of these guys.”
Tommy glanced at Jewel.
She laughed. “I think he has a point. Just remember to just step out when you are done.”
“Never forgetting that,” Elliot said.
Tommy laughed and said, “Elliot, take the guy next to Jewel on the right.”
Elliot nodded, looking nervous, but Jewel had a hunch he would be fine.
“We go into the men the moment they lift the time bubble,” Tommy said.
They all spread out, with Elliot going to the guy with the gun beyond Jewel.
Heaven Painted as a Free Meal Page 4