by J. B. Tilton
"There are others out there? People with abilities like mine?"
"Some. And we're looking for them. We've run into a lot of dead ends. But we've also found some with genuine abilities."
"That still doesn't tell me how you knew about me? About what I can do?"
"Fair enough. I'm one of those people. Someone with a special ability. We call them special talents. I can see the electromagnetic field produced by living things. A person's aura. And I can also tell when someone is using a special talent by their aura. I noticed that each time you appraised something your aura changed."
"So what kind of ability does your friend have?" Frank asked.
"Actually Richard doesn't have an ability. He's the one who's helping put our little group together. As I told you Homeland Security is looking for others with special abilities. We're working together to find those people."
"I see. So that threat your friend made. About checking manifests and my income tax. He wasn't serious."
"Oh, I have no doubt Richard would do it if he felt it necessary. But at the time I think he felt he could get you to talk just by making the threats. Obviously he was wrong. At least partially. I don't think he seriously intends to audit you or check into your business dealings. Not unless he has a good reason to do so."
"What I told you was true. I don't engage in criminal activities. But some of the people I work with aren't so scrupulous. They might get . . . uncomfortable if the government started checking into them. And I don't want them thinking I was the one who put the government onto them. That could be very bad for my business."
"I completely understand," said Jeremy. "Look, all we're interested in is your ability and how it works. We aren't interested in causing you any trouble. In fact, you could be in a position to help us. I just want to know what your ability is and how it works. That's all."
"No audit? No checking manifest?"
"You have my word."
"Okay. Well, I can't explain how it works. I honestly don't know. I only know that when I touch an object I know everything about it. Where it was made, who owned it, how many owners it's had, that sort of thing. I can even tell sometimes if it's been used in a crime."
"You get all that simply from touching it?"
"Well it's not like I know it was made by John Smith in 1968 or anything like that. But your watch, for example. I know it was made in the late 1600s and it's been passed from father to son ever since. I knew the story your friend told me wasn't the truth. But I couldn't let on to something like that."
"And knowing that it was made by Pierre Cordavanna?"
"It's not the first watch made by him that I've appraised. I've appraised a couple that are in private collections. I knew from the description I got from the watch it was one of his. If I hadn't done those other appraisals I probably wouldn't have known who he was but I did some research on him before."
"What do you mean you knew the description you got from the watch?"
"When I learn information about something, I kind of get this mental image of the information. It's hard to explain or describe but it's like I know what the people and locations look like. I got the description of Cordavanna when I touched your watch. Having had it before I knew who he was."
"And you can tell if it's different people even if the descriptions you get are similar?"
"Sure. I can see it in my mind, so to speak."
"Does this work on anything?" Jeremy asked.
"Well, only inanimate objects. It doesn't work on living things. But, yeah, pretty much anything. And I don't know everything about the object. For instance, I knew the story your friend told me about the watch wasn't true. But I didn't know it wasn't his. It's like I can only get information that's connected with its owners."
"Can you tell where the items have been?"
"Usually. Oh, I don't get a specific address or anything like that. But I can tell what parts of the country – or world – the items have been in. I can even get information if the emotional attachment is strong enough. For example, I know you got the watch from your father after he passed away. You were very young at the time. And the two of you were very close."
"I was about 8," said Jeremy. "It's how I got the limp. We were in a car accident. My parents were killed on impact. I survived but was injured."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."
"You didn't. At least now I can tell Richard what you've told me. I have an idea. Why not come back with me? I think you'll find him a bit more cordial than you did before."
"And why would that be?"
"I'll tell him you've been honest with me."
"And he'll just accept your word on it? How can you be sure I've been honest?"
"It's another aspect of my special talent. I can tell when someone is lying. If I tell him you've been honest, he'll believe me. And we can discuss if and how you might be able to help us."
"I guess it can't hurt to talk to him. Just as long as he doesn't make any more threats."
"He'll have gotten what he wants. No more threats, I promise."
"Okay. I'll follow you. My car is in the parking lot."
"I'll see you back at the house then."
The two men left the diner and headed for their cars.
"You know you could have saved us all a whole lot of trouble if you had just told us this from the beginning," said Scarborough after they had returned to the house. Jeremy had made all the introductions and explained to Scarborough what Frank had told him.
"Well, to be perfectly honest, I didn't know what you wanted," said Frank. "You mentioned Homeland Security and the first thing that popped into my head was Guantanamo. I imagined being sent there and never being heard from again and I've heard the stories of how the prisoners are treated there. I got scared. Do you blame me?"
"What's Guantanamo?" Conrad asked.
"It's a naval base in Cuba," said Scarborough. "It's home to Gitmo, a prison the United States uses to house unlawful combatants against the United States."
"It's a terrorist prison camp," said Janet. "How can you not know about Gitmo? It's been in the news quite a bit because of some alleged mistreatment of prisoners."
"Well until recently I really wasn't in much of a condition to watch television or read a newspaper," replied Conrad. "Most of the time I was just trying to find anything that would stop the headaches."
"In all fairness, Richard," said Jeremy, "Frank has a point. You say Homeland Security and most people think terrorism. After all, it was created as a direct response to 9-11. Can you really blame him for being scared?"
"I guess not."
"Dr. Sloan said if I told you what you wanted you'd leave me alone," said Frank. "He can attest that I'm not involved in anything illegal and nothing to do with terrorists. I just use my ability to support myself, that's all. And I really don't need the hassle of an income tax audit or the problems it can cause with some of my business associates."
"You sure he's not involved in anything illegal?" Scarborough asked Jeremy.
"He told me wasn't and he was telling the truth," said Jeremy. "You might say I checked him out."
"Okay. Well, I guess there's no reason to hassle you anymore about it then. But part of my job is ferreting out enemies of the United States. You weren't very cooperative and I naturally assumed you had something to hide."
"I did. But not what you were thinking. Dr. Sloan says you don't have an ability. So you have no idea what it's like to grow up with people thinking you're some kind of freak or something. You learn very fast not to say anything to anyone about it."
"Hear hear," said Janet. "You can never really understand what it's like unless you have to go through it. Having a special talent gives you a whole different perspective on things."
"Hey, trying growing up with a special talent and being black," said Conrad. "Especially with a talent you can't control and that literally causes you excruciating pain. You wanna' talk about a different perspective?"
"Okay, okay, I get the message," said Scarborough. "My ex-wife used to say the same thing to me. She said unless I had ever been pregnant I couldn't really understand what it was like. So I understand that I can never really understand. But I'm not the bad guy here. I'm trying to stop the bad guys, remember?"
"You said something about me being in a position to help you," Frank said to Jeremy.
"He said something like that to me," said Conrad. "He just hasn't told me what that is yet."
Jeremy looked at Scarborough. Scarborough thought for a moment. They had been sent by Secretary Napolitano to find people with special talents to form a team that could help them fight terrorists. They had found 7 such people, including Jeremy and Janet.
"Well," said Scarborough, "Jeremy, what do you think? We have 7 people. You think that's enough?"
"Considering what each of them can do, I'd say yes," replied Jeremy. "The question is, are they all willing to help? There's really only one way to find out."
"Okay," said Scarborough. "We're still one short. Simon isn't here. I think we should all be together so that I only have to explain this once. And so I only have to answer questions once. It's getting late. What say we all meet back here at 8:00 o'clock tomorrow morning? Then I'll fill everyone in on what Homeland Security is interested in."
"I'm supposed to tape another segment of the show tomorrow," said Frank.
"Trust me, Frank," said Jeremy, "this is more important that telling some woman her treasured heirloom is a fake. Besides, you'll be free to decline if you want and then go back to your job."
"Well, okay. I guess it won't hurt to miss one segment. It usually takes several to put a show together anyway. You said 8:00 o'clock?"
"That's right. I'll explain everything then and answer any questions you have."
"I'll be here," said Frank.
"So will I," said Conrad. "Where else would I be?"
"Fine," said Scarborough. "I'll see you all in the morning."
Scarborough left the house and headed for his car. Janet said she thought she'd go home. She had been helping Jeremy for several days and wanted some "alone time". Jeremy also decided to go to his home for the night. He decided they could all use some private time to sort of relax and recharge before meeting with Scarborough
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Everyone was at the house by 8:00 the next morning. Everyone except Scarborough. It was nearly 8:30 before Scarborough showed. Jeremy had introduced everyone to each other and they had spent the time chatting and getting to know one another. Everyone seemed to get along okay. Even Simon who had hit on Kamalene. She made it perfectly clear she wasn't interested. Finally Scarborough showed up at the house and they all took their seats.
"I'm sorry I'm late," Scarborough started. "But to be honest, I was late deliberately. I figured the 7 of you could use a little time to get acquainted. So that you'll be a little more at ease during this meeting."
Jeremy just smiled at Scarborough. It was a good strategy. Everyone was nervous as it was. It was always easier meeting in a group if the individuals knew each other and were comfortable with each other.
"I'll preface this meeting by saying that what you are about to learn is classified," said Scarborough. "Some of you," he glanced at Jeremy, "are all ready aware of what's going on. For the rest of you, nothing you learn here is to leave this building. We've all ready done thorough background checks on everyone or you wouldn't even be here. And we've determined that none of you are security risks." He glanced slightly at Simon.
"Now. To begin with, you all know who I am. My name is Richard Scarborough and I'm an Assistant Director for Homeland Security. You also know that Dr. Sloan and I have been searching to locate individuals with special talents. What some of you don't know is why. That's what I'm going to tell you this morning."
He then informed them of what Jeremy had learned that day in Secretary Napolitano's office. Of the terrorist with special talents who were becoming more prevalent. And of the inability of "normal" counterterrorist units to deal with the emerging threat. When he finished, he asked if there were any questions. He knew there was going to be a barrage of them.
"So you're saying that there are other people out there – a lot of other people – who have these special talents just like we do?" Conrad asked.
"Well, I'm not sure I'd categorize it as a lot of people," said Scarborough. "But there are more of them than we'd like to see. And many of them are bent on destroy us and our way of life."
"And you want us to form some kind of team to fight these guys?" asked Frank. "Doesn't the government all ready have contingency plans for everything? Why look for ordinary people who have no experience or training with this kind of thing?"
"Because people with special talents are actually rare," said Jeremy. "Kamalene is the first – and so far, only – government worker who has been identified as having a special talent. That's why we've had to go out into the general public and look for appropriate candidates. It's not like there's a database somewhere listing all those with special talents that we can pick and choose from."
"And we're supposed to search out these terrorists with special abilities?" Janet asked.
"Kind of," said Scarborough. "Your job will be to investigate reports of strange or unusual occurrences. People who may be like you. And I'll be honest with you. You may be called upon to help stop terrorists that we've identified as having special abilities. As I said, our normal counterterrorism units aren't equipped to deal with these terrorists. You'd be a specialized unit for a specialized purpose."
"So we'd be working for the government," said Simon. "Would be get to carry a badge and gun like you do?"
"No!" Scarborough said emphatically. "You'd be considered contract workers called in for a specific job. The government has thousands of contract workers they rely on to perform various tasks. Some are very mundane like construction workers and the like. But each has a specific talent and it's more cost effective to hire out some of the work rather than employ people full time for that work. But you would not get a badge or a gun."
"So we'd be getting paid to do this?" asked Wil.
"Yes," said Scarborough. "As I said, you'd be contract workers. So you would be paid for your services. You'd be given a government pay grade rating just like any other government worker. How much you would be paid will be dependent on that pay grade. Naturally some of you would have a higher rating than others. But I can assure you that all of you would be duly compensated for whatever work you do for the government."
"This is going to be dangerous, isn't it?" Janet asked. "I mean, we'll be looking for terrorists. People who want to kill us and destroy our way of life. People who have no problem blowing themselves up to achieve their goals."
"And the 72 virgins they've been promised in heaven," said Simon, smiling coyly.
"Well, that's certainly a possibility," said Scarborough. "I won't lie to you. It could be very dangerous. Depending on the special talent any terrorists we identify have. But I'll also tell you that most of the time the job is pretty boring. A lot of leg work that goes nowhere. And there's a lot of paperwork. But yes there could be times when it's dangerous. That's something you'll have to take into consideration when making your decision."
"What if we decide not to join you?" Frank asked. "What happens then?"
"Nothing," said Scarborough. "You will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement agreeing not to discuss what you've learned here. If you violate that agreement you can be prosecuted for it. But assuming you don't violate it you'll be free to go on with your lives pretty much as they have before."
"Speak for yourself," said Conrad. "My life is all ready different. Thanks to Dr. Sloan."
"So we're not being drafted?" Janet asked.
"The government doesn't draft people for this type of work," said Scarborough. "It has to be voluntary. And I will tell you that you won't be able to tell your family or friends what you're really doing. This is highly cl
assified and very sensitive. You will have a cover story to tell people what you're doing but your true purpose would have to remain a secret within the department."
"So you just show up at our doors one day and say you have a job for us and we're expected to just drop everything and come with you?" Simon asked. "You know, most of us have lives. Most of us make plans. Not to mention how would we explain just disappearing for no reason at all to our bosses?"
"Well, some of you don't have bosses," said Scarborough, looking directly at Simon. "As for the rest of you, it wouldn't exactly be like that. When you're needed you'll be contacted and given the specifics of your assignment. Now it's true we will be expecting you to come as quickly as possible to complete the assignment.