After Thought

by P. A. Crenshaw

  Adam screamed, “Maddie!” as he tried to get to his feet.

  The two men jerked him up by his arms and held them behind his back. This was the first time he got a chance to get a good look at them. They both had stunned looks on their faces. One of them he had never seen before, but the other, he realized with a shock, was Ian—Maddie’s caretaker. When Ian saw Adam’s look of recognition, he looked away.

  Adam snarled in his face, “You coldhearted bastard! I will kill you!”

  Smirking, Ian said, “Try it.”

  So, he was a double agent after all, and he had turned Maddie in. Adam struggled to free his arms. He wanted to hurt Ian badly.

  The other man looked confused.

  He said, “Release him.”

  Ian stared at the other man for a few moments. Adam jerked his arm free and ran toward the other car to check on Maddie. The two men didn’t try to stop him.

  As he was approaching the car, he saw Paul climbing out of the shattered window. He didn’t see any other movement.

  With only concern for Maddie on his mind, Adam shouted, “Is she okay?”

  Paul didn’t answer. He was walking rapidly toward Adam. It was then that Adam saw that Paul had a gun in his hand. His dark eyes fixed on Adam, wild and dangerous. Adam stopped in his tracks. With about twenty yards between them, Paul pointed the gun directly at his face.

  “So you’re the new flame in her life?” Paul spat.

  The hatred in his voice was unmistakable.

  Adam ignored his question and growled, “Is Maddie okay? Let her go now, Paul.”

  Paul calmly said, “I don’t think you’re in any position to make demands. I should kill you, but I do find it interesting that you have mastered RTP so quickly.”

  Adam didn’t respond. He was trying to look around Paul at the wrecked car to see if he could spot any sign of Maddie.

  Paul looked back at the car then back at Adam with an evil grin. “My sources tell me you’ve only been learning about Refined Transcendent Power for a few months. Very impressive. She has taught you well.”

  “Paul don’t do this. She doesn’t want to join you and she never will.”

  Paul’s grin widened. “Perhaps you’re right. But now that you’re also a master of RTP, we have something to discuss as well. I was just going to dispose of you out here in the desert, but someone who can master RTP as quickly as you have might be valuable for the KTP. Apparently, you are a natural, and I could train you to do great things. But you’ve seen too much and you know too much. I’ll only give you this choice one time—join the KTP or die.”

  “Maddie and I will never join the KTP,” growled Adam through clenched teeth. “I would rather die than join you.”

  Paul laughed. “We’ll see about that. If you want to save Maddie, you’ll join us. That greatly narrows your choices. If you refuse, I’ll kill you, and then I’ll have Maddie here defenseless, without anyone to protect her. If you join the KTP, I’ll take you and Maddie back to The Order. You’ll both be safe.”

  Adam shook his head and said sarcastically, “Yeah, I’ll take your word for it. For some strange reason, I’m finding it really hard to trust you.”

  Paul feigned being hurt and said, “Oh, so harsh to judge me without even getting to know me.”

  Adam’s anger was starting to boil over. He fought to keep his voice steady as he said, “Like I said, we would rather die than join your Order. I know Maddie feels that way too. So you might as well go ahead and kill me now.”

  The thought of leaving Maddie defenseless was killing Adam inside, but he knew that what he was saying was true. She would refuse Paul’s request, just like she always had, and she would want him to do the same. He tried to think of what Mel and Sancha would do. Would they just stand there, refuse to join, and let Paul kill them? Perhaps, but Adam had already decided he was not going down without a fight. He knew the Keepers of the Peace would disapprove, but he believed it was time somebody stood up to the KTP.

  Paul stood there, watching him carefully. Then he said, “My patience is wearing thin. Make your choice. What will it be?”

  As Adam faced Paul, Ian and the other man stepped back. Still, they stayed closed enough to attack if Paul gave the command.

  Adam repeated coldly, “I already told you my answer. We would rather die than join the KTP.”

  Paul shrugged nonchalantly and said, “What a shame. Such a waste of talent. Have it your way, then.”

  He raised the gun and pointed it directly at Adam. Adrenaline flowed throughout Adam’s body. His heart beat so hard he thought he was going to have a heart attack. He focused his thoughts on surviving so he could save Maddie. He had to save Maddie.

  Adam felt more hatred for Paul than he had ever felt for any other human being. All he could think of at that moment was killing him—to eliminate him. Paul was the obstacle that stood between him and Maddie. Adam focused all of his thoughts and energy on killing Paul.

  He thought about being invincible and envisioned it in his mind. And then he watched helplessly as Paul pulled the trigger. After that, everything seemed to be in slow motion. Adam heard the loud bang of the gun as the bullet came racing toward his head. He braced himself for the impact and hoped it would be quick and painless; at the same time his arms reflexively moved in front of his face in a blocking motion.

  I am invincible. Paul is going to die.

  To everyone’s astonishment, the bullet, which was coming directly for Adam’s head, looked as if it ricocheted off his blocking arms and flew back toward Paul so quickly that he had no time to react, hitting him right between the eyes. He fell to the ground in a heap, blood pouring out of the gaping exit wound in the back of his head.

  Adam stood there stunned for a moment, letting what had just happened sink in. He glanced behind him at the other two men. They were just standing there with shocked looks on their faces and their mouths hanging open. When they noticed him looking at them, their looks turned to fear as they held their hands up in surrender and backed away. Adam took off toward the car to find Maddie. They didn’t try to stop him.

  When he reached the car, Adam could tell the impact had crushed the front driver side. It was clear that the driver was dead. He frantically scanned the back seat and saw Maddie’s still body. He didn’t see any visible signs of blood or trauma, but she wasn’t moving.

  He called through the broken window, “Maddie! Are you okay? Wake up.”

  She didn’t respond.

  He yanked the door open and gently shook her leg. She didn’t respond. He didn’t want to move her too much in case she was injured internally. He gently pushed her hair out of her face and stroked her forehead and cheek.

  He whispered in her ear, “Maddie, baby. It’s me. Please wake up.”

  To his great relief, her eyelids fluttered a little and then she opened her eyes.

  “Adam? What’s going on?” she said weakly. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  Relief flooded through him as he said, “Shhh. Don’t worry about me. Are you hurt? Can you move? We need to get the hell out of here.”

  Chapter 42

  Maddie had been unconscious during the crash, which was probably a blessing in disguise, because she didn’t appear to have suffered any major trauma.

  Adam said, “Do you feel pain anywhere?”

  She thought for a moment and said, “I don’t think so. I think I’m okay.”

  He exhaled the breath that he didn’t realize he had been holding.

  He kept glancing out the window and looking back at the other two men. They were huddled over Paul’s body, checking his pulse and listening to his chest for a heartbeat.

  Maddie sat up and started to get out of the car.

  “Whoa,” he said. “Hold on a minute and let me help you.”

  She still seemed a little groggy. Whatever
Paul had drugged her with was still wearing off. He helped her get out of the car and onto her feet. She looked around, taking in the scene. When she spotted Paul’s body on the ground, she gasped and said, “Oh my god! Paul! What happened?”

  She ran to where he lay.

  “Paul!” she cried. “No!”

  She looked at the two men standing over him and asked in a trembling voice, “Is he dead?”

  They nodded somberly. To Adam’s astonishment, Maddie fell to her knees, put her face on Paul’s chest, and began to sob. That was not the reaction he had expected. He was completely shocked. He then remembered when she had told him that she had never loved anyone like Paul. Maybe she still loved him. Maybe she would always love him more than anyone—more than Adam himself. The self-doubt started creeping back in. Adam wondered if he had just killed the man Maddie loved. He didn’t know what to do. He just stood there dumbfounded and let her grieve.

  After what seemed like an eternity, she turned and looked at Adam, sad and bewildered, and quietly said, “Did you do this?”

  He nodded. She closed her eyes and looked away.

  “It was self-defense,” he said. “He was trying to kill me. He was trying to kill us.”

  She hung her head. Adam felt a pain in his chest, and he thought he was going to be sick. He fought the urge to vomit.

  Ian was standing off to the side, his face a mask as he looked off into the distance. He would not look at Maddie or Adam. Adam figured that Paul must have paid him a huge sum of money to carry this out.

  The other man stood there beside Maddie, apparently not knowing what to do either. He looked at Adam and said, “What Paul said is true. You have mastered RTP in a short amount of time. That’s very rare.”

  Was Adam imagining it or did he hear a hint of respect in the man’s voice? He didn’t know how to respond. Up until that day, Adam didn’t think he had mastered anything. It was only when he was faced with a life or death situation that he was able to summon RTP on demand. He decided to keep that to himself. Not knowing how to respond, he simply nodded.

  The man nodded twice. Adam wasn’t sure what that meant.

  The men didn’t seem like a threat anymore. Adam took a chance and said, “It doesn’t have to be this way, you know.”

  To Adam’s astonishment, the man nodded again and said, “Not everybody in the KTP agrees with Paul’s methods. There are some who would like a more peaceful way of life, who don’t want to force people to be in the KTP or kill people that won’t join. There are some who believe that Refined Transcendent Power should be widespread knowledge used for good, but they are fearful of Paul and will not speak out.”

  He looked at Paul’s body on the ground and said, “Or they were fearful of Paul.”

  Adam said, “There’s got to be a way we can work something out between the peaceful ones and the KTP.”

  The man nodded and said, “There are powerful people in the KTP who would be willing to hear your case. My name is Jeremy. Until just a few moments ago I was second-in-command. We’ll discuss this further at a later time.”

  Maddie looked at Ian and said in a trembling voice, “Ian, how could you?”

  Ian stared at her, unapologetic, but said nothing.

  Adam moved to stand closer to her. Ian looked away.

  She went back to crying over Paul’s lifeless body. Again, Adam wondered if he had made a mistake that would damage their relationship forever. He wondered if he should’ve gone peacefully with them and not fought back. But it was too late now. He couldn’t undo it. It was over. Paul was dead.

  The three men stood there for a moment, no one having anything to say or making a move. Then Jeremy looked back toward the interstate and the cars passing by in the distance.

  He said, “We’d better clean this up before the real law enforcement gets here.”

  Ian nodded. He walked to the back of one of the cruisers, opened it up, and pulled out a tarp. Adam gently tugged on Maddie’s shoulders, trying to get her to let go and stand up. He almost had to pry her hands off Paul’s body. Dazed, she reluctantly stood and blinked at Adam through her tears. She buried her face in his chest and continued to cry while Ian and Jeremy rolled Paul’s body in a tarp and put him in the trunk of the police cruiser. They then focused on the car that was overturned.

  Jeremy raised his hand toward the wrecked police cruiser and the car rose up off the ground, flipped over, and landed upright with a loud thud. Adam had never seen someone use RTP in that way. He was amazed. They gathered up the dead driver’s body in the same manner.

  Again, Jeremy raised his hand toward the crushed car, and the damaged parts of the car seemed to decompress and magically fix themselves. It was like watching a video of the crash in rewind with the shattered glass rising off the ground and forming back into unbroken windows, and the dents popping out as flecks of paint reapplied themselves.

  The blood from Paul’s lethal head injury had magically disappeared. In a few short moments, the scene had been transformed to the way it was before anything had happened. There was no evidence left. No one would ever be able to piece together what had happened.

  Seeing this happen before his eyes gave Adam a new appreciation about what Maddie, Mel, and Sancha had been trying to tell him about RTP of the KTP and how it could be used for evil and illegal purposes. The KTP could make someone disappear without a trace and without ever being discovered by the police or prosecuted. And they had perfected their methods over centuries. Adam shuddered at the thought.

  Without saying another word, Ian got in the driver’s seat of one of the police cruisers as Jeremy approached Adam.

  He said, “I’d like to arrange a meeting between the peacekeepers and the KTP leadership. I think some of our leaders would be interested in what you have to say. They might even consider a truce now that Paul is no longer in power. Some that were afraid to speak out may be willing to listen and compromise. How can I contact you to set up the meeting?”

  Maddie looked at Adam; her eyes seemed to plead for him not to give them any information.

  Adam said, “I am only speaking for myself. I’ll need some time to speak to the others to see if anyone is even willing to meet and make arrangements. Let me contact you.”

  Jeremy studied Adam’s face for a moment and then reached into the window of the cruiser. He retrieved what looked like a policeman’s citation pad and a pen and scribbled something. Then he ripped off the sheet and handed it to Adam. Adam looked at the paper in his hand. Jeremy had written his name and a phone number.

  Jeremy said, “You need to act quickly before the KTP has time to process what went down here today. To say that some people will not be too happy about what happened to their leader is an understatement. They may seek swift revenge. I can only hold them off for so long. So you need to contact me quickly, and we need to set up the meeting as soon as possible.”

  Adam said, “Give me a couple of weeks.”

  Jeremy looked as if that wouldn’t do.

  Adam said firmly, “Five days. I’ll be in touch.”

  Jeremy nodded. Then he turned, got into the other police cruiser, and they both sped away.

  Maddie and Adam stood there for a moment, not believing what had just transpired. They slowly walked back to their car. Adam held the passenger door open for Maddie. She started to get in, but paused and said, “Wait. Please open the trunk. I need to get something out of my suitcase.”

  After rummaging through her luggage for a few moments, she retrieved two New York Yankees ball caps and two pairs of aviator sunglasses.

  She handed one set to Adam and said, “Here, put these on. I know they’re not great disguises, but I had to pack light.”

  Adam watched as she swiftly arranged her hair into a tight bun on the top of her head, then donned the ball cap and glasses.

  Adam never dreamed he’d be in a situation w
here he would have to wear a disguise. He stared at the ball cap and glasses in his hand and then back at Maddie. She stood with her hands on her hips, impatient. He obediently put them on.

  Once he sat in the car, the adrenaline began to subside and the stress of what had just occurred hit him all at once. He was so exhausted, mentally and physically. He just needed to rest.

  “Maddie, I’m going straight to the hotel.”

  She didn’t speak. She only looked straight ahead and nodded. They didn’t speak at all during the ride. Maddie was looking out the window away from him. From her profile he could see tears streaming down her cheeks. Occasionally, he could hear her quietly whimpering or crying. Adam found himself constantly watching his rearview mirror, wondering if the KTP would be coming for them. Images of the bullet striking Paul in the head, his lifeless body slumping to the ground, and blood soaking the ground where his head lay kept running through his mind. He had killed a man today.

  Actually, Adam realized, he had killed two people—Paul and the driver. He had actually used RTP to stop a moving car, ward off a flying bullet, and kill people. Granted, it was self-defense. He was protecting Maddie. Had he not used RTP, they would probably both be dead by now or held prisoner by the KTP. But still, Maddie had taught him, as she had also been taught, to never use RTP for evil.

  But was acting in self-defense evil?

  He couldn’t forget the look on Maddie’s face when she had learned it was he who had killed Paul. It was a look of horror, or fear, or a mixture of both. He couldn’t tell. It was as if she was seeing Adam in a whole new light. She was seeing him as someone who was capable of using RTP to do bad things.