by Dinia Steel
Leo's expression was one of someone who just had understanding sweep through his mind. “Of course! That does make sense.” Excitedly, he turned to Josephine. “All my life I've been able to see certain strategic ways of looking at combat. For fun once, I took a course in military battles where the instructor gave us each a certain scenario for two armies meeting in combat. The object was to tell the instructor who won the battle and why the opposing army lost. I was always correct in my theory. The instructor thought I was there just to test him. It took some real convincing that I wasn't put there as a joke against him; that I really had no prior knowledge of the battle plans used.” He turned to address Mrs. Archer, “I'd like to try that again, maybe next time?”
“Certainly Leo. All you need to do is remember nothing can hurt you. That it's only a memory.” Mrs. Archer took Leo's hands and patted them in her motherly way.
“I want to hear more about James’ past lives! This is fascinating! Please James! Please?” Josephine was bouncing up and down in her chair, clapping her tiny hands like an excited 5 year old.
James put both his hands up in front of him as though he were keeping Josephine at as distance. “I didn't mean to bust up your party, Mrs. Archer. Let me get out of your hair—”
“No James, please; you stay. I need to get home. I've used up my allotted time anyway. Really. I had only planned on about an hour extra and it's already been almost two.” Mrs. Archer was checking her watch with raised eyebrows. “Text me what your schedules look like for next week Josephine, Leo, and I'll get back to you when I'm free and we'll work from there. Sound good?” She was already on her feet clasping her shoulder bag to her possessively.
Both Josephine and Leo nodded at Mrs. Archer.
After she'd left, they turned to James in unison with expectant expressions.
“What?” James asked looking from one to the other.
“More! We want to hear more about what you've experienced.” Josephine squealed.
Leo just sat there grinning.
“Actually, I have them all written up and posted online on my blog.” He wrote the web address of his personal blog down for them. “I only ask one thing of you both,” James said as he held up the paper with the information on it, “I'd like you both to write down anything you might remember about a past life or death and give it to me, so I can add it to my own research. Ok?” He gave the address to Leo with instructions to share. He then pushed the chair back into the table and made his goodbyes.
“Would you like some coffee Josephine?” Leo inquired as he stood taking his empty coffee cup with him.
“Um, no thanks Leo. No wait. Actually, I'd like some hot chocolate please?”
Smiling, Leo turned and headed towards the coffee bar.
When he returned, he found that Josephine hadn’t been idle. She’d almost filled an entire page of notebook paper with her very illegible handwriting.
“What are you writing?” Leo asked setting the hot chocolate in front of her and sitting himself down once more. He leisurely stretched his long legs out under the table, giving himself the look of someone relaxed and enjoying himself immensely.
“What I remember from our shared experience.” Josephine boasted proudly.
That made him sit up straight. “Well, come on, give!”
Josephine giggled. “Well, ok. Now granted, it's still fuzzy, but the more I concentrate on it the clearer it's becoming. I do admit, it could all be just bullshit, but here…read it for yourself.
Leo grasped the paper and really needed to concentrate to be able to make out any of the words clearly.
Memories of a battle that (the now) Leo and I participated in...
Leo is the general and has planned this battle down to the last possible detail. I am his second in command and it's my job to signal the different factions of our warriors when it's their turn to run into the battle.
Little did we know that the opposing general had the same battle plan, and that he’d far more warriors than we did. He'd convinced the two factions which previously refused to join us. Those factions told us they wanted to remain neutral and out of the battle altogether, but they joined our enemy. We will probably never know why they were turned against us, but ultimately we were defeated after a very long, bitter and bloody battle.
Some of the details of that battle are coming back to me now. I only know for sure that at the last, both Leo and I had our backs together along with about six other survivors. We did not wish to remain alive as captives, so at the last minute, we turned to each other and plunged our swords into the other. It was a pledge we'd made to each other when we were children and we knew we were destined to become warriors. We would never be taken captive and would kill each other first.
When he finished, he put the paper down, and gazed at Josephine. “That's exactly as it happened Josephine. Of course, there are many details of the battle left out, but they’re not really important. No wonder we felt like we knew each other when we met.” He gazed out across the almost empty student union cafe. “Come on. Let's go. Let's talk about this some more and take notes. I know we'll be able to remember more now! Wow!”
Josephine smiled. She’d made other plans for them tonight.
~o0o~
Chapter 12
Fun with Pat and Mike
Reggie
Reggie sat at her desk deep in thought with her laptop in front of her.
It seemed obvious she was a million miles away when she didn't react to her name being called. James stood with his head sticking through Reggie's office door. He'd knocked several times, but since he had an appointment he knew she would be there.
They'd been working very hard on the notes for this past quarter. The individuals they'd picked for the labs and workshops were coming along nicely, but there was one file of notes Reggie had been withholding from James’ attention. He knew it, he felt it, but she was shielding very effectively these days. He would keep prodding and knew that eventually, he would discover what it was. He almost didn't want to know because he'd finally realized just how damaged Reggie really was. He'd gotten small glimpses into her past, but not very deeply. He felt it had to do with her father...William...how he died? Did Reggie feel responsible for her father's death? James didn't know. He couldn't be sure. He felt it held the key to Reggie. She needed love and affection...not just sex. Did she know how to love? Did she understand affection? James didn't think so.
James smiled. “I'm sorry Reggie, I didn't mean to intrude, but we did have an appointment for this time. I've brought my notes. I can come back later, if you'd prefer? Or if you want to talk about it, I'm a good listener.”
“No James. Come in and have a seat. Did you transcribe your notes onto the memory stick as we discussed?”
“Yes, and you're right. It's much easier to transport one of those than my laptop.” He pulled the memory stick from his pocket and laid it on the desk within Reggie's reach.
Reggie retrieved the memory stick and inserted it into the port on her laptop then browsed through the file. “Just give me a minute to see what you've got.”
James sat back in his seat and watched Reggie's face intently. Her face looked so expressive, when her guard was down – even a little. She is so beautiful. You didn't need to be a mind reader when she allowed her face to express what she was feeling.
Reggie glanced up from her computer screen and caught James studying her face. She immediately adjusted her expression to one of total neutrality. “These notes are very good James.”
Praise from Caesar indeed, James thought just to see if Reggie was listening, and he could tell from her expression it worked. He chuckled to himself. “Thank you Reggie and yes our test subjects are that good, if that was your next question.”
“Yes, of course that was my next question, and stop looking so pleased with yourself. It was the next logical question.” Reggie grinned at James. “Josephine and Leo are still our high scorers?” She glanced up and James nodded his head in the
affirmative.
“Our next logical step is to concentrate on them in a lab where I want you to come up with something to put Josephine and Leo through their paces.”
James could feel and hear that Reggie’s emotions were excited about something to do with the a experiment that she wanted to take place that involved a Mike and Pat. It was very faint, but it was there. Why was she hiding this?
Reggie
Damn him and that cocky grin he has when he has caught me. Reggie wanted to lick her lips as she stared at his full pouty lips. She wanted to grab two handfuls of that wild reddish mess he called hair, and drag his face down to hers. She wanted very badly to kiss him. Kiss him hell, I want to fuck his brains out! Stop that. She chided herself. Back to business!
Later that night, Pat and Mike were at Reggie's house sitting in her kitchen just talking.
Reggie was trying to get the twins to let their guards down just a little bit, so she could look into their minds. Very frustrating, but the twin’s minds were closed to Reggie. She'd never encountered that before. Well, I've depended upon my psychic abilities far too much.
She knew she would need all her senses to deal with these two children. Children. Reggie silently scoffed at the word, 'children'. If there were such things as 'old souls' the twins must have shared one. One of these years, I'm going to have to do a study on twins. I wonder if they all are like Pat and Mike...
What a frightening thought.
~o0o~
Chapter 13
More Fun with Pat and Mike
“Well Mike, I already know you can cause someone to feel nothing and to even be blind. I witnessed that the other day. What we need to do now, is to do testing on a larger population to discover what the limits of your gift are; if you even have limits.” Reggie gave him what she hoped was her warmest smile. Since she was being blocked from reading the twins, she couldn't be sure what her expression looked like. Turning to Pat she said, “And you, dear Pat, we need to see how large a population your gift can reach at the same time. If you can pick and choose who receives what.”
Then Reggie had a thought. She would need to lower her mental walls and have each of the twins try their talent on her. The thought of doing this terrified Reggie more than she hoped she was showing. Looking at each twin in turn, she told them, “I'm going to allow each of you to test your talent on me, but I only want you to do it one at a time. So let's start with Pat.”
Pat’s eyes lit up and even before Reggie could lower her mental walls, she could feel something beating on them with a very strong force. In fact, the force was enough to make Reggie wince with what she likened to a headache. This made her think twice about lowering her mental shield, but she wouldn't tell Pat this. No, she wouldn’t reveal this to Pat, or Mike. Pat was indeed very strong. Reggie would need to never allow either twin free reign of her mind. “Very good Pat. You may stop now, please.”
Pat smiled widely at Reggie.
The first true smile Reggie had seen the child show. If she's this strong as young as she is...Reggie turned to Mike, smiling. “Ok, Mike your turn.” She felt absolutely nothing, but she did note her vision seemed to dim a little. But only as though someone just turned down the lights in the room. She chuckled. “So you’re trying to blind the professor?”
Mike nodded enthusiastically.
“Good show Mike!” Reggie felt truly stunned but kept trying not to show it. These twins were demonstrating huge psi powers beyond anything Reggie had thus far come across. Oh, the paper she could write on them alone...but the reality was she needed them for something else and if she wrote about them, it would put a damper on using them for other things.
Reggie's doorbell sounded.
“That must be your uncle here to take you home. How about if I can arrange for you both to stay with me for a few days?”
Both Mike and Pat smiled hugely at her.
“Good! Now let's go talk to your uncle and see what we can set up.”
As soon as she was alone, Reggie started making more concrete plans for using Mike and Pat's psi abilities to her advantage. Maybe she wouldn' be able to make any real money using them, other than the finder’s fee or with the manager's fees she might be able to negotiate.
Reggie went into her study and looked up the number of the individual who'd originally contacted her about the possibility of using psi power to work with different government agencies. This was the same one she'd been given by her contacts in Germany for other agencies not connected to any government that would be willing to pay good money for any psi help she could come up with. “Hello Gustavo Rommon. Yes, it's Reggie Adams.”
“Reggie! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Stefan's voice had an edge she recognized as someone who was trying to think of every possible scenario involving her. Reggie chuckled. “Relax Gustavo. I just wanted to tell you that I think I have a couple of possible candidates for covert work like we discussed the last time I saw you.”
“That's very interesting, Reggie. Can you bring them to Berlin?”
Reggie could also hear what Stefan was thinking. “No that's not possible. These people are underage and their families are very particular as to where they are.”
Silence rang on the other end. Then he spoke. “I don't see how they could be of any use to my contacts then, Reggie.”
“I've thought about that too Stefan. Are there any targets here that might be a good test of their abilities? Of course, we'd need compensation for our time, etc.” Wait for it...
“Hmm, can I get back to you on that?”
“Of course, Stefan. You can reach me at this number. It's a burner phone.”
“Good thinking Reggie. I'll get back to you shortly, and Reggie when will you be getting back to Berlin? I'd love to see you again, and maybe discuss...things.”
Reggie could tell he was smiling. “I don't know Stefan. You can always go through the proper channels for any requests you might have for our other friends. Sorry. I can't act alone on any of those things. In the meantime, let me know what you turn up. I know we can come to some accommodation.”
“Sure. I understand. Can't blame a fellow for trying though. Goodbye Reggie. I'll be in contact.”
She ended the call. Well, things will be getting interesting from here on out. Need to run more tests. Maybe Uncle William will allow me to take the twins out for a meal.
About two hours after Reggie hung up with Stefan, the phone rang. “Hello.” Reggie answered with as much authority as she could muster.
“Reggie, Stefan here. I have a number for you to call. Tell who ever answers I was the one who'd given you the number and that 'you don't need oil to make combustion' they will give you more information.” He disconnected abruptly after he'd given her the phone number.
So, it began.
“Hello. Gustavo Rommon gave me this number and said to tell you, 'you don't need oil to make combustion'.”
“Yes, he said you'd be telling us that. Is your phone secure?” The voice on the other end of the call asked.
“Yes. It's a burner.”
“Good. Expect another call from the individual you'll be working through there in the States. She'll be an old friend of yours from college.”
“Wonderful news. I'm really looking forward to establishing a good line of communication with you and your associates.” Reggie disconnected and smiled.
It wasn't fifteen minutes later when the phone buzzed again.
“Reggie! This is Vivian Jones. How have you been girlfriend? Long time since we talked to each other in college.”
This was the call she was waiting for. The voice sounded melodic and the thoughts behind it were very clear in that this was work and that they were interested in discussing work together. She was relatively close geographically. “Vivian! How wonderful to hear from you. Can we get together for coffee or something?” Reggie enthused.
“That would be wonderful. I'm here in Seattle. Is it too late for coffee?” Her voice sounded
enthused as well.
“Oh! That would be lovely! Let me know whenever you’re ready to meet. Think you can remember what I look like?” Reggie asked.
“Oh, yes Reggie, how could I forget what you looked like?” She laughed. “I'll be the one wearing all pink and four inch heels.”
“So, you haven’t changed your style! Fantastic. Can you call me back soon then?”
“Yes. Yes, within the hour.”
Mentally, Reggie was rubbing her hands together. Oooh, just think of all the money I'm going to make!
~o0o~
Chapter 14
An Old School Chum?
Reggie glanced up from her computer screen as her secretary buzzed her and her office door opened at the same time.
James stood in the doorway with a thunderous expression on his beautiful face. His normally green eyes were a darker green than usual, and his beautiful mouth was in an angry firm line.
Without verbally acknowledging him, Reggie reached for her phone. “Yes,” she answered and listened, “Yes, I can see him standing in the doorway. It's all right. Don't worry,” she reassured her secretary. “James,” Reggie's voice was the exact opposite of James’ expression. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” Of course. Reggie could hear what he was thinking.
Even though they hadn’t spent any time together lately, the telepathic link between them strengthened through their hours of working together on the current research project.
“May I come in and speak with you?” His mental voice, however, was saying, “You damned fool. How could you be so reckless!”
Smiling grimly Reggie answered, “Of course you may.”…“Just what am I being reckless in?”
James came in closing the door behind him, and seated himself stiffly in one of the two chairs opposite Reggie's desk. “You know damned well what I'm talking about. Those two young teenaged children you're working with! They have no training and you're—”
“To begin with James, I really don't know what you're going on about!” Reggie had been expecting James’ visit and this exact reaction ever since she'd worked with Mike and Pat over the weekend. She'd been so elated by the results of her experiment that she's not shielded her thoughts as strongly as before. She was going to play dumb for as long as she could however, to give herself some time before explaining. “You have no right to come storming into my office demanding explanations for actions, for MY actions. You are my student, not my equal!” Yes, a very low blow, but Reggie was hoping for deflection with a hit to his ego.