Emerald Sky

by David Clarkson

  There was some truth to this method. In the past he had been able to avert many disasters by focusing all of his energy on a desire to do good deeds. Could the same approach help him to find a particular individual? He believed that in time it would, but patience did not rank high on the military’s agenda. They wanted results and they wanted them quickly.

  His mother still failed to respond to his presence. The doctors watching over her had explained that due to the amount of sedative she was being given, it was all but impossible for her to respond to any outside stimulus. Still, Jimmy refused to give up. He thought that if he just kept trying, one day she would wake up and she would be well again.

  With all of the power he possessed he did not understand how it could be of no use to him when he needed it the most. Why he could not use it to help those he loved. It was only when he finally began to realise there was nothing he could do to help his mother that it became obvious to him there was only one who could.

  The colonel had been right all along.

  Jimmy needed to find Emmy Rayne. If she really had caused this mess then it made sense that she was the only one who could fix it. Finding her had to be his number one goal, even if it meant breaking a promise. A promise he had made when at his lowest ebb, to a person who had saved his life.

  ***

  Her priority was to get out of town as quickly as possible. She sold her car for cash. The sale did not make much, but when added to what she had saved from her monthly salary she was able to buy a one way train ticket with enough left over to set her up in a hotel for a couple of weeks whilst she planned her next move.

  Adam promised to stall for as long as he was able. She trusted him to deflect any questions pertaining to her whereabouts and to make the necessary excuses on her behalf. Even if he did talk, there was not a great deal he could say about her. Everything he thought he knew about her had been a lie. With luck, she would be out of the state before anybody even knew she was gone.

  She changed trains at the first stop outside of town. Whilst waiting for her connection she binned her contact lenses and bought a bottle of black hair dye and some scissors, giving herself a bespoke makeover in the station bathroom. With her freshly restored green eyes and new dark crop she felt a lot more confident of retaining her anonymity and the task ahead seemed less daunting. This was not the first time she had started over and she also knew it was unlikely be the last.

  Of course, it would not be easy to give up Alex Rose. Despite the restrictions living that life had placed upon her, she had grown fond of the pretence of normality it brought. It was nice to blend in and not be burdened with the expectations of the world. It had also been good to know people were not constantly whispering about her behind her back. Most of all; it was good just not being on her own.

  The latter was not a problem when she had first taken to the road. Her grandfather destroyed almost everything she ever held dear, but there was one thing even he could not take from her. He could not take away her love. In finding Lucy, she had gained infinitely more than she had lost. For the first time in her young life, she was free.

  Money was not a problem to begin with. She had savings and was able to withdraw enough to sustain them in the short term before her account was seized and shut down. Not that having money was really important anyway. Currency, by its very nature, only has worth relative to its usefulness as a tradable commodity. They had everything they needed and did not have to trade with anybody.

  For those first few months it really had been just the two of them. They travelled around a lot; never getting closer to significant population centres other than in skirting the edges of towns. Where it was possible to live off of the land; they did. Lucy was an expert at catching fish and taught Emmy the finer points of living an outdoor lifestyle. Her ability to hunt and forage for food was incredible (she had the survival instincts of a wild animal). Then every night they would go to bed under a blanket of stars. It was perfect and she never wanted it to end.

  Unfortunately, everything comes to an end. Circumstances soon altered and she found herself once more alone and faced with the necessity of rejoining the real world. She tried out a few different towns and jobs before finding one that was a comfortable fit. Even though Alex Rose had been a lie, Emmy was going to miss her. It was the only time in her life when she had not felt on the peripherals of society.

  By now she knew the story was likely to be all over the news. If Adam stuck to his word, people would assume that she (or Alex rather) had gone into hiding to escape the media attention. They would look for her, but not with any great urgency or concern. To them she was just a small part of a much larger story. Then, when several weeks had passed, she would be reported as a missing person. With no family, friends or ties to keep the search going, it would eventually peter out and Alex Rose would be forgotten forever.

  ***

  Jimmy’s day was strictly regimented, but the routine could be broken under exceptional circumstances. Should he experience one of his visions the men guarding him had been instructed to allow him to follow whatever path this led him on. These unnatural digressions were closely monitored and it was when Esteban was dispatched to check up on one such occurrence that they finally got the lead they had been waiting for.

  Two hours a day were afforded to the young inmate where he could engage in recreational activities such as watching television or listening to music. Usually, he would forego this privilege in order to spend more time with his mother. It therefore seemed strange when the recreation room turned out to be exactly where his latest vision was leading him. Esteban wondered if this was some sort of a trick. Although in his experience, the boy had never been anything less than one hundred per cent open and honest.

  ‘What are you doing, Jimmy?’ Esteban asked. ‘You know there’s a correct time for this sort of thing and that time is not now.’

  The young psychic smiled back at him as if they were old friends.

  ‘There isn’t anywhere I can be that isn’t where I’m supposed to be,’ he replied. ‘You know that, don’t you, Mr Cruz?’

  ‘Very funny. Why don’t you just tell me what you’re doing here.’

  ‘Watching television, I suppose.’

  Esteban glanced at the screen. The closing credits to some daytime soap opera were on. It did not seem to be the sort of programming he would expect a twenty two year old man to enjoy. Although given that the boy’s favourite movie was The Lion King, anything was possible.

  ‘You suppose? Would you mind telling me exactly what it is that you plan on watching?’

  Jimmy shrugged.

  ‘I didn’t think so. How are your senses doing – are you still getting anything?’

  This time Jimmy shook his head. He did not find Agent Cruz to be as threatening as the others who so often interrogated him. For this reason, he felt he could be more laid back in his responses.

  ‘Just as I thought,’ said Esteban. ‘This is another false alarm. You’ve been getting those quite a lot recently. It might have something to do with the monotony of your routine here. If you want, you can stay and watch the TV for a little while longer. I’ll clear it with the colonel.’

  ‘Could you clear it for me to see my mother right now?’

  ‘Not at this moment. The doctors need space to do their work, but the offer stands if you want to remain here for a little while longer.’

  ‘Not really. If I can’t do anything useful, I’d rather just sleep.’

  ‘I understand.’

  Esteban nodded for the guards to escort Jimmy back to his cell. He then picked up the remote for the TV and was about to turn it off when something caught his eye. The News had just begun and the lead story was about a married sports star who had been caught fooling around with a male school teacher. If trash stories such as this filled the news then it meant that maybe people like him were doing their job right. Scandal was hugely preferable to tragedy.

  As the story drew to a close he once more ai
med the remote at the TV, but this time when he stopped it was due to something much more important. The teacher in the story also had a partner and her picture was now on the screen. It was not the clearest image; taken on a camera phone in bad light, but there was something about it that gave him a feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wondered if Jimmy’s senses had not misfired after all.

  The colonel was harder to convince. Before making his suspicion known, Esteban had researched the story some more online and he pulled up the image on a tablet for his commanding officer to see.

  ‘I don’t think this is the same person,’ the colonel said, alternating his eyes from the image on screen to a photograph in his hand. ‘The hair is all wrong for a start.’

  Esteban rolled his eyes.

  ‘Are you kidding me? This woman is wanted in connection with several murders and the wilful destruction of an entire town – do you not think she would have altered her appearance somewhat? Brunette, redhead; it doesn’t matter – that’s her. If she has any sense, which having studied her record extensively - I know she does, she will certainly change her appearance again. We have to move now or we may never get another chance like this.’

  The colonel picked up the receiver to his desk phone.

  ‘Let me make a few calls. I’ll have this woman checked out. If there are any abnormalities then we’ll bring her in. You’ve seen the media circus surrounding this story – do you really want to get involved in that without good cause?’

  ‘We already have more than enough cause. What about the boy – do you think it was a coincidence that he turned on the TV when he did?’

  ‘Did Jimmy himself say this is our girl?’

  ‘No, he’d already left at that point.’

  ‘Then this is your prediction, not his, and you are no psychic, Agent Cruz.’

  Esteban pressed his hands down on the table top, leaning in toward his superior officer.

  ‘Maybe this is just a hunch, but that didn’t work out so bad for you before, did it? I brought you the boy and now if you allow me to do my job, I will go and get the girl too.’

  Before the colonel could reply, a call came through on his intercom. It was one of the guards watching Jimmy’s cell. The boy was on the move again and this time he was attempting to leave the complex.

  ‘Let me go,’ insisted Esteban. ‘I’ll take the boy. All we have to do is head in the general direction and his foresight will do the rest. We won’t get another opportunity like this.’

  The colonel paused for a moment to consider the options. Monitoring Jimmy and using his visions for intelligence purposes was one thing, but actually deploying this asset in the field carried a whole different set of risks. Escape was obviously a concern, but not nearly as great a concern as that of what may happen if Jimmy was exposed publically. It would completely kill the operation. Ultimately, though, Esteban was right. This was the only lead they had and such an opportunity may never come again. With reluctance, he bowed to the pressure placed upon him by the soldier he had not wanted to work with in the first place.

  ‘Okay, you can take the kid, but I also want a full squad backing you up. If there is any doubt as to whether this is our girl, you will stand down immediately. The press are not to be involved in the search for Emmy Rayne – do you get that?’

  ‘Loud and clear, Colonel.’

  ‘Then what are you waiting for, soldier?’

  Esteban nodded and then turned to the door. Just as he was about to leave, the colonel called out to him.

  ‘Oh, and one more thing. You’re leaving here with one prisoner in your custody and I expect you to return with two. If you screw this up, your career is finished. Do you understand?’

  Esteban did not bother giving an answer. A long and distinguished career had never ranked high on his agenda. All he cared about was doing what needed to be done. Besides, with Jimmy in tow, he suspected that whatever would come of this mission, his fate was already sealed.

  Chapter 10

  ‘How much farther do we have to go?’

  ‘It doesn’t work like that. I only see the journey, not the destination.’

  Esteban nodded. The kid had never lied to him before and God knows he had reason to. Jimmy had been taken into custody without access to a lawyer or a phone call. They kept him locked up in a cell at night and for most of the day. Yet from the beginning he had done nothing but cooperate with them in every way. This kid had faith – real faith, and in comparison Esteban could only rue the fragility of his own flawed and hollow convictions.

  ‘So what are you seeing right now?’

  ‘The same as what you’re seeing - an empty highway. The visions showed me when to turn onto this road and they’ll return when it’s time for us to turn off of it. Until that time, I expect my sense to be dormant. The universe is very economical like that. It’s all to do with quantum physics or something.’

  Esteban slammed his foot on the brake, bringing the truck to an abrupt stop. Jimmy’s body went rigid and his heart rate quickened.

  ‘I didn’t see that coming!’

  ‘Cut the bullshit,’ said Esteban. ‘Quantum physics, the universe being economical, you and I both know that isn’t you speaking. I’ve suspected for a while, but only now am I sure.’

  ‘S-sure about what?’

  Jimmy felt vulnerable. He wanted desperately for a sign to guide him, but was still receiving none. Normally, when faced with confrontation there would be danger close behind. With danger being his most powerful trigger, the fact he was without help at least meant that the soldier did not intend to harm him.

  ‘Dr Rayne – I think you know her better than you’ve led us to believe. It was she that told you about the effects of quantum physics on your power, wasn’t it?’

  An ordinary person would pause in order to contemplate a lie before revealing the truth. Jimmy just answered the question as soon as it was asked.

  ‘Yes, although I never really understood most of it. She was the one who taught me to believe I could use my power to help others.’

  ‘This was after you went on the run?’

  ‘Yes.’ He did not like betraying Emmy’s trust, but in agreeing to lead the Americans to her, he had already broken his oath. ‘After I escaped from the town I didn’t know what to do. I spent some time travelling from town to town, paying my way by means of the poker table. Bluffing was never really a problem. I’m hopeless at cards and always have been. But then as soon as I was on the brink of losing everything, I could see all of the other players’ cards. I never lost a hand after that.’

  ‘Sounds like the perfect crime to me.’

  ‘Exactly; it was a crime. Taking money from those people made me no better than a thief. I hated myself for it, but I could see no other way to get cash. It’s not like I could just take a regular job. Even if I had any kind of skills, which I don’t, I knew that once my name turned up on any database they would find me. For a while, I thought about ending it.’

  ‘Suicide?’

  Jimmy nodded.

  ‘Jesus – so what stopped you?’

  ‘That was when I found her. I came across her camp entirely by chance. All I wanted more than anything else was to die and that is where I thought the visions were leading me – to my death. It turned out I was wrong. Instead, they led me to Emmy.’

  ‘And she gave you back your sense of purpose?’

  ‘Yes. She also explained a lot about the changes that I was undergoing. She told me about how she had caused the radiation. She never intended for anything bad to happen, it was her grandfather who used the power they created to do those awful things. He’s the one who’s to blame for what happened, not her.’

  ‘I believe you. The colonel speaks like she poses some terrible threat to humanity, but there’s nothing in her file to suggest that to be true. I’ve often wondered if bringing her in would really be the right thing to do.’

  ‘So why do you continue to help them?’

  Esteban replied onl
y with a solemn look. Some things did not need to be put into words.

  ‘I think she’ll be able to help too,’ said Jimmy. ‘If anybody can bring my mother back, it’s Emmy.’

  As Esteban nodded his agreement, a call came through on the radio. It was the leader of his backup team.

  ‘Agent Cruz, why have you stopped – is there a problem?’

  Esteban placed the receiver to his mouth.

  ‘No problem. We will proceed as planned.’

  He put the truck back into gear and continued along the desert highway. The radius that covered the area where the fugitive was possibly hiding was huge, with only Jimmy’s unique insight to narrow it down. They could be one mile away or they could be one hundred. There was no way for them to know.

  ‘Tell me more about Dr Rayne,’ urged Esteban. ‘It sounds like you are quite fond of her.’

  Jimmy blushed.

  ‘It’s hard not to be. She’s very beautiful, you know.’

  ‘Yes, she is; I’ve seen plenty of photographs to know that to be true. Sadly, I don’t think that you or I would hold much interest to her romantically.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  Jimmy was genuinely puzzled by the remark.

  ‘Never mind,’ replied Esteban, who, given the nature of his business, found the young boy’s naïveté to be most refreshing. ‘Tell me what she was like when you found her – was she alone?’

  Jimmy struggled with the question, as if he could not quite remember.

  ‘Sort of,’ he eventually replied. ‘It wasn’t long after she’d lost her grandfather. She was confused.’

  ‘What is that supposed to mean – was she on her own or not? It’s a simple question.’