Demon at War (The Mike Rawlins Series Book 3)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  Mike shook his hand. “It’s been a pleasure, Coach.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  New Realizations

  Sandy waited amongst the parents and friends outside the Arroyo locker room. She saw the Demon Inc crew walking on the outskirts of the crowd. After momentarily considering walking away rather than be put through anymore weird stares and interrogation, Sandy stayed in place. She didn’t care about anything except being around Mike when she could. When Mike emerged with some of his Arroyo teammates, Sandy waited until all the preliminary congratulations and goodbyes were over, leaving only Demon Inc walking toward the parking lot. Sandy felt a tingling chill just before Mike’s voice spoke in her head. She gasped, nearly tripping into a heap on the cement walkway.

  “What you doing, Sandy girl? I feel you nearby. Don’t speak. Just answer. I’m practicing with this and you did volunteer.”

  Sandy stared at Mike’s back, willing herself to follow. She concentrated on forming a sentence in answer to him. “I want to be near you like we talked about, anytime I can. Denny and your sister had your friends check me out. They’re worried you’re controlling me.”

  “I figured as much. Very good. I got it. Go on home for now. If you’d like, you can help Denny and I move Laura back to her parents’ house, and me into our Demon Inc headquarters. Come on over to my house at eight.”

  “Okay, but I’d… like to hang with you tonight.”

  “No, Sandy. Go get some sleep. I will see you tomorrow morning if you still feel like coming over.”

  “I will, Mike.” The feeling of utter completion she felt streaming through her rivaled anything Sandy had ever felt before. For a moment she considered following anyway, but almost instantly an uneasiness crept over her until she turned away.

  * * *

  Fifty yards ahead, Mike grinned at his controlling of Sandy’s mood. Something had cut loose inside him since the confrontation with Sandy earlier. He felt power surging through him as if he were a tuning fork. Gail gave a startled yelp and let go of his hand. Everyone stopped as Gail rubbed her hand and extended her arm as if relieving a cramp.

  Janis put an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “What’s up, HG?”

  “I guess nothing. I got a shock.”

  “Static electricity probably,” Connie said.

  “Either that or Captain Darkness here goosed her with a mind bolt,” Stan offered.

  Mike laughed with his crew, but knew the jolt had come from him. I’ll have to be more careful of the residuals, he thought, again taking Gail’s hand. He wondered if he could keep the exhilarating scope of what he was feeling away from Demon, knowing instinctively his canine friend would not understand how necessary this new development was to all of them. Demon would think the same thing as Denny - that he’d gone over to the dark side. They were in the middle of an anonymous war, where they’d all be locked away in the loony bin without government backup. Mike knew enough about politics to realize they’d swing with whichever way the wind blew.

  This power was heaven sent. Sandy would be his testing ground. On her own, the self centered twit had nearly authored a cataclysmic Haunt incursion. Mike could feel she had changed for the better. Her emotions in the cafeteria were not faked or forced on her by him. He had felt her naked thought processes. Sandy wanted to be around him because she believed in good and evil. What right did he have not to let her make amends for the idiotic stunt she nearly pulled off; that could have cost his friends their lives, along with possibly everyone in their dimension? Mike’s smile as he walked along with his friends wavered. Jesus, he thought, I better be right about this, because I’m really turning into Captain Darkness.

  “Are you okay, Mike?” Gail asked, as they neared the parking lot. “I wish I could come over tonight, but my Dad and Mom have me on a short leash.”

  “Yeah… I’m fine. It was a long day, and I have to get Laura moved back in with her parents along with Denny and I into Demon Inc. I’ll try and catch up on some sleep tonight.”

  “I wish you’d put that off until Sunday when Jerry and I could help, brother,” Stan said.

  “You and Jer have a big game tomorrow. Don’t worry about crap like us moving the deck chairs on the Titanic. Frodo and I have it handled. Aunty Em and Brandy will make sure of a victory by their presence in the stands. By the way, how’d the engagements go over with the parental units?”

  “Do you have enough space at Demon Inc for more couples, CD?” Janis sighed and asked.

  “Uh oh,” Mike intoned. “Want to talk about it?”

  “Let’s get together for pizza and beer at your new digs tomorrow after the move,” Jerry said. “It’s best we discuss the future under a less stressful environment. Stan and I need to take care of business tomorrow, and then we’ll air it all out on a sleep over.”

  “Denny and I will fix that up. I’m going to have to buy a really good home entertainment system, with a separate screen and headphones for D to watch his stupid ‘Family Guy’. We’re not loaded with furniture to move, so maybe we can shop around tomorrow after we stow away our belongings.”

  “You heard him, Frodo,” Connie said. “Make sure we have entertainment tomorrow night. I’ll bring the Blu-rays.”

  “I have the system components all picked out,” Denny replied. “We had already furnished our headquarters for Laura, so we already have all the conveniences. Mostly, we’ll be moving beds and clothing.”

  The group came to a halt near their parked vehicles at the far side of the parking lot. The mass exodus from the game had already taken place while Mike was still in the locker room. Mike decided to broach the subject no one had mentioned yet. He thought it strange when all of Demon Inc except for Laura attended the Arroyo game, when Stan and Jerry’s college game was on Saturday.

  “It’s not that I didn’t appreciate seeing you all here, but I suspect Frodo and Joanie called in reinforcements on me after I introduced them to my new groupie – Sandy. Is that what this gathering was all about?”

  “Of course,” Janis replied without hesitation. “We all came running the moment we’d heard you went all mind warp on the little airhead cheerleader. Deal with it, Cap. You’re on the edge here. We’re watching you, and we’re all going to get helmets like Magneto in the X-men movies has, so you can’t screw with our brainwaves, you freak.”

  That pronouncement elicited raucous laughter for a few moments.

  Mike nodded. “Good one, Jan. Okay, so how am I doin’?”

  “We gave you a clean bill of health for now, CD,” Jerry answered. “We have to get the girls back early, because of ongoing rounds of disenchantment with the Toad Brothers, which we’ll rehash with you tomorrow night.”

  “How’s seven sound, Mikey?”

  “Great, Stan, we’ll have it all set with entertainment and refreshments if Frodo hasn’t changed his mind about moving into Demon Inc with Captain Darkness.”

  Denny shrugged. “I’m good.”

  “Maybe we could get you to twist our folks a little for us, Cap,” Connie suggested.

  “I’m at your command, Aunty Em. Brainwashed parental units coming up.”

  Joanie gave Connie a push. “Don’t even joke with him about that. He’s dangerous. In a few more days he’ll be mutating into being able to warp minds from long distance.”

  “Gee, Sis, thanks a lot.”

  “See you tomorrow, CD,” Jerry waved and headed for his car with the others following suit.

  Gail said goodbye in an intimate enough way that Denny and Joanie adjourned to the backseat of Mike’s Chevy.

  “Sorry I can’t help with the move tomorrow,” Gail said somewhat breathlessly. “I promised my Dad I’d go to Sacramento with him. He’s meeting someone there on Demon Inc business related to our videos and the SyFy Channel. I’ll fill you all in on it tomorrow night. Am I doing a sleepover, CD?”

  “Not unless you’re giving me the go ahead to mind warp your folks.”

  Gail laughed and gave Mike a final
hug. “Let me get back to you on that, Cap. Bye for now.”

  “Goodnight, HG. I’ll see you tomorrow night. I’ll call you.”

  Gail glanced back before getting into her car. “You’d better. Tell Laura I hope she feels less Moby.”

  “I will.” Mike watched her back out of the parking spot and waved to her as she went by. The fact he did not mention Sandy coming over to his house even surprised him. He could hardly wait until Denny, Joanie, and Laura met with his impromptu moving help in the morning. He figured Denny would put in an immediate order for Janis’s brainwave helmets. As he backed out his Chevy for the ride over to Denny’s house, he waited for commentary from the backseat, but none was forthcoming.

  “No comments?”

  “That was a hell of a game, Mike. Did you formulate part of the game plan?”

  “Nope. I just altered the brains of all the Concord offensive players to not score any points. Then I mind warped the-”

  “We were worried, Mike,” Joanie cut off his sarcastic reply. “Sandy is warped. She may say and do all the right things to fool the gang, but I know you messed her up. You have her actually believing she needs to be with you so you can experiment on her with your mind-freak.”

  “If this is the way it’s going to be, I’m glad I’m moving out tomorrow. Sandy’s going to be just fine. I even invited her over tomorrow morning to help with the move. You can get Laura to give her an examination then too. Laura’s known her for a long time.”

  This time Denny chimed in. “You did? When did you have time to speak to her?”

  Keeping the details vague, Mike answered with facts. “After the game. She wanted to hang with us tonight and I said no. I told her if she wanted she could help us move. I thought you’d both be thrilled about it. Laura can attest to the fact there is no basis for any mind melding accusations, and we can get a little help.”

  “I would like Laura to see her,” Joanie said. “You have to admit you’re getting scary with these changes. Good Lord, Telepathy? What next?”

  “Is that a bad thing? We need all the power upgrades we can get. Every time I mutate as you put it, our chances of survival go up.”

  “I can’t argue with you there,” Joanie admitted. “Can I come over tomorrow night for the get together?”

  “Yes, if it’s okay with Mom and Dad, and Laura is well enough to come so she can drive you home. Otherwise, we can call you a taxi.”

  “Are you going to invite Sandy too, Cap?”

  “I just might, Frodo. Sandy’s changed. She received a close personal introduction to good and evil. Neither of you have had a Haunt inside your damn heads. Consider what that’s like. If she’s doing anything and everything to try and make sure it never happens again, who can blame her? I want her treated with respect.”

  “I… I never thought about it like that, Mike,” Joanie admitted, collapsing back against the seat with a sigh. “It has to be horrifying.”

  “Sorry, brother,” Denny added, clasping Joanie’s hand. “I do have some great news on our Demon Inc fence. Steve kicked in a bonus for them if they finished ASAP. He texted me the fence company had all the materials they needed from a warehouse job that fell through when the company went bankrupt. They started first thing this morning and they only have to come back tomorrow morning for some finishing touches. Steve stopped by this afternoon, and he says it looks amazing. The construction foreman said you’d be able to get the security cards and remotes for the gate tomorrow by ten.”

  “That is outstanding, Den. I’ll send Laura and Sandy over to get you tomorrow morning while I drive to Demon Inc headquarters to acquire our equipment van for the move. I’ll scope out the new fence then too.”

  “Couldn’t I camp out at your house tonight and get an early start packing? I already have all my things boxed and ready.”

  Mike shook his head, glancing in the rear view mirror. “Nope. You need to go be a good son tonight. I’m sending Laura and Sandy over so they have some time together without me around. That way Joanie won’t be claiming I zapped them both.”

  “Your point about having a Haunt in her head has me siding with you on Sandy,” Joanie replied. “Plus, she was the only one out of all those airheads to realize the scope of what she experienced. If any of those others had approached you, you’d have told us. They didn’t. That means they just blew it off like it was nothing. It was like ‘oh well, we got possessed’.”

  “That’s how I figure it too, Sis.”

  One more street and Mike steered in front of Denny’s house. “Get some rest. We have another long day tomorrow, but at least it doesn’t involve Haunts, kidnappings, or drug dealers. It’ll be nice to get together with the gang tomorrow night.”

  “Yeah, it will, Mike.” Denny kissed Joanie. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I had a great time with you tonight.”

  Joanie stroked Denny’s face. “Me too. I’m looking forward to having you with me without the harem.”

  Denny grinned. “You had me most of the day and night without the harem. They didn’t want to do the game with us this afternoon, so I’m thinking lingerie contest soon in the future.”

  Joanie missed grabbing him as Denny scooted out the door with his backpack and closed it. He waved without turning. “He drives me crazy! He’s nice one second and then zaps me the next. I think you need to get him in line, Mike.”

  Mike chuckled as he drove away. “Get him in line? I don’t think so. First, you accuse me of mind rape on everyone, and now you want me to poke around in your boyfriend’s head. Shame on you.”

  Joanie giggled. “I am such a hypocrite. Seriously, I really liked what you said about Sandy. I only doubted you on her because of the stark difference between the way she was and the way she acted today in the cafeteria.”

  “She impressed me. I thought at first when Sandy approached me outside class that it was another ding-a-ling ploy on her part. I had doubts until the cafeteria. It was then I felt the terror lying under the surface she has. I don’t know why the possession nailed her worse than the others, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it did. That thing got her good, Sis.”

  “I’m going to be nice to her tomorrow, Mike. She performed tonight in her cheerleader act without missing a beat. I should have given her the benefit of the doubt when she told us.”

  “We’ll get it worked out, but she has already helped me. You think you freaked at hearing about the telepathy thing. Think about it from my point of view. It’s incredible. Maybe I’ll be able to expand on it to the point I’ll be able to get help or warn the gang without being in hearing range.”

  Joanie reached over to grip her brother’s shoulder. “I can imagine all those positives now, Mike. I’m sorry I gave you such a bad time about being out of control. You still scare me, but I can deal with it.”

  Mike laughed, reaching around to pat her hand. “I’ll earn your trust as I mutate, Sis. Like I said, these new changes have all been positive so far. I know now I can count on you to point out all my moments of doubtful behavior.”

  “Count on it!” Joanie hugged Mike from behind.

  “Hey, look. I guess I get to announce where I’ll be doing press conferences from now on.” Mike pointed as he drove down their street, and saw the news crews haunting the Rawlins’ house.

  Mike parked in the driveway, laughing as his Mom immediately opened the front door and screen, allowing Demon to shoot out to Mike’s car. Demon did a once around the boundary prance, showing teeth, and vocalizing a low warning snarl. It had the desired effect, showing Mike this was not D’s first press corps meeting of the day. Demon joined Mike and Joanie at the car.

  “Good thing you told your Mom to keep me close today, Cap. A few young idiots tried to get romantic with her outside the 7/11 store when she stopped for some milk. That worked out well for them… hey, did you get some kind of upgrade?” Demon sniffed around Mike.

  “I’ll tell you later, D. I have to talk with these people and try to get them off my folks’
back,” Mike answered silently as he walked toward the press gathering. “Listen up. I’m moving over to Demon Inc headquarters tomorrow. We have security gates and fence installed there, so your best bet is to contact Demon Inc’s agent, Steve Corbett. He made sure you all have his contact info. Please contact Mr. Corbett about anything concerning me or anyone in Demon Inc. It’s the only way you’ll get anything.”

  As Mike turned toward the house, he heard Demon growl. Glancing back, Mike saw a tall man with a well manicured beard and hair move toward him. “It’s okay, D. I got it.”

  “Rawlins? Why don’t you cut the act? You want all the publicity for your reality show you can grind out. Playing hard to get will just make enemies. You won’t want us to really start investigating the Rawlins’ family. We-”

  Suddenly, the man spun around and gave his cameraman the cut sign before facing Mike again. “I’m sorry. This is just plain wrong. We’ll contact your agent.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that,” Mike replied, as the man turned and gestured for his cameraman to follow, stunning the rest of the news people. Glad you liked your lovely parting gift, butthead. Mike stared at the others, waiting to see if anyone else wanted a dose. Surprised by the actions of their most vocal cohort, they left too.

  Joanie hugged her brother as Demon did a head shaking, snorting amused acknowledgment. “I can tell how tempting this mind bending is going to get for you.”

  “You don’t know the half of it, kid,” Mike said, hugging her back. “The first thought that came to mind when he threatened us was to make his head explode.”

  Joanie pulled away. “You… you can do that?”

  “No, but I thought of it. Come on. Let’s get inside. I need something to eat. You want a beer, D?”

  “Are you stupid?”

  Mike chuckled. “One beer coming up.”

  Dan and Jenny were waiting for them inside. Dan shook hands with his son. “Great game! How come you didn’t play after the first quarter?”

  “I don’t practice with the team. I have a prima donna agreement with the team and Coach Larkin, but I’m not taking a spot on the team. Helping out with what I see on the scouting videos and pulling off a special play here and there is all I’ll be doing.”