The Simpatico Series Box Set (3 books in 1)

by Dermot Davis

  “Andrew, stop being such a wuss,” Fiona interrupted. “You sound like you’re some kid that got called into the principal’s office, it’s not attractive.”

  “I don’t want to lose this job, Fiona.”

  “Why stay there if you’re becoming such a scaredy cat that you have to watch what you’re saying all of the time? This is a free country and people died to give us our freedom and the constitution and all of the amendments; the first amendment protects free speech, right?” she asked and sounded like she was a bit hazy on her American history.

  “Yeah,” Andrew answered, sounding weary. “I think it’s the first. Anyway, I guess I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing. Say hi to Gus for me.”

  “I will. He misses you but he’s having way more fun with me because I’m interested in his really cool, old techy stuff,” she said teasingly. “Love you,” she then said breezily.

  “Love you, too, sweetness.”

  Hanging up from Andrew, Fiona spied a cool object and stared at it quizzically. Something that looked like a phone booth that didn’t have a phone, caught her attention. “What’s this thing?” she asked, walking closer.

  “That’s a EMF-shielded booth for advanced thought experiments. We used it mainly for remote viewing studies,” Dowling responded.

  “Wow, hold up,” Fiona said, like he was putting way too much information into his sentences. “It’s a shielded what?”

  “There’s a copper mesh running across all four sides on the insides of the Plexiglas which acts like a Faraday cage to shield the person inside from all electromagnetic radiation and high frequency waves emitted from cell phone towers, TV and radio stations, and what have you,” Dowling explained as he opened the door and allowed her look inside.

  “The high frequency waves affect our thoughts?” Fiona asked, captivated.

  “I believe they do but proving something like that is not my interest. They would have shut me down real fast if that’s what they thought I was doing with donations from the very companies that make and sell those products.”

  “You were studying remote viewing?”

  “The ability to see or visit various geographical areas from a distance, yes,” Dowling answered, looking at the booth like he had many fond memories.

  “I can do that,” Fiona said, like it was a piece of cake.

  “Hearing what Andrew has been telling me about you, I don’t doubt it for a second.”

  “Let me try, let me try!” she asked excitedly, stepping into the booth.

  “Maybe later,” Dowling said. “Let’s have some tea first.”

  Andrew sealed up a box and taped the rec sheet onto the top of it which indicated that the task was fulfilled and the box could be shipped out.

  “That your last box?” Lily asked when she reentered the room.

  “Yep,” Andrew answered like it was a long day.

  “You can call it a day… or maybe night is more appropriate,” she then said as she shifted a few files back into their proper order.

  “Cool,” Andrew said as went for his jacket.

  “You okay to attend a meeting on Friday at 8, downtown?” she asked.

  “A meeting?”

  “Anyone that wants to attend meetings needs to have a sponsor bring them,” she said, sounding like she was too tired to go into any lengthy explanations. “I’m your new sponsor.”

  “I don’t really want to attend—“

  “You don’t have any choice,” she interrupted. “Neither of us have; we just do what we’re told. So, I’ve been told and now you’ve been told,” she said like her job was done. “Friday at 8,” she said as she began locking up the cabinets. “Be there or be square.”

  Chapter 5

  Andrew met Lily in a coffee shop not far from where the meeting was scheduled to take place. When he saw her in a plain sweater and jeans he knew that he had overdressed for the occasion. Looking like a pretty bohemian hipster in her street clothes, Andrew thought to himself that she was exactly the kind of person that he would love to hang out with. “You look different outside of work,” he said when he sat down at the table opposite her.

  “You don’t,” she said and smiled.

  “Yeah, wasn’t sure what the devoted wear to these kind of things,” he said, unhappy with his attempt to sound hip and funny.

  “The devoted?” she asked like that was a bit much. “What do you think we do at meetings? Sacrifice animals to the gods?”

  “Yeah, that would be weird, huh?” he said, wondering to himself why he felt so nervous. “What do you do at meetings?” he then asked.

  “You’ll see,” she said with a smile meant to tease. “There’s a long meditation,” she then said, coming clean, “a guided meditation that usually involves extending your light to shine peace on yourself and outwards to the world. It’s quite beautiful, actually,” she said, smiling as her face filled with radiance. “Each member vows to bring greater peace and light and goodness to the world,” she said, her heart expanding as she spoke. “We stand with the light to fight all darkness in this world and all the worlds.”

  “Cool,” Andrew said, lost for a better retort. “That was not what I was expecting.”

  “What were you expecting, exactly?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, his mind feeling scattered. “Secret society: scheming, plotting, organizing world domination, that sort of thing.”

  “What books have you been reading?” she asked.

  “There’s this guy I know, a guy I met, not a friend, just someone I met,” he said and paused like he needed to get his head straight. “A conspiracy guy, an inmate; he’s in jail for, I don’t know, anyway he thinks, he says that secret societies rule the world or want to or plan to or something, I don’t know.”

  “Are you okay?” she asked, looking at him closer to see if he might be high or something.

  “I don’t know why I’m so nervous,” he admitted. “I don’t know whether it’s having to join this group or whether I might be losing my girlfriend if I join, she’s so pissed with me right now.”

  “Your girlfriend; that would be Mr. Blake’s daughter, I presume,” Lily said, just to be clear.

  “Yeah. Fiona. Her name is Fiona. She’s so adamant against this stuff, this group.”

  “Even though her father is a high-ranking member?” Lily asked, like it didn’t make any sense.

  “It’s a long story,” Andrew said, shaking his head in a futile attempt to clear his thoughts. “I really shouldn’t even be talking about this stuff. Those two goons from corporate or wherever they showed up from?” he asked without forming a question. “Treating me like I was being accused, like I was a criminal or something?”

  “They shook you up pretty bad, huh?” she asked in a sympathetic tone. “If it makes you feel better, they do that to pretty much everyone. It’s what they do and I’m sure that’s how they get their kicks; probably laughing their heads off on their drive back to their office. I’ve heard some folks call them the Enforcers. A pair of thugs in expensive suits, that’s all they are.”

  “The Enforcers,” Andrew said, lightening up. “That’s a good name for them.”

  “You ready to go?” she asked, checking the time.

  “Yeah,” he answered as he took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”

  Lily and Andrew walked two blocks to an old, small office building that didn’t look like it had been very well maintained. Although there was no company logo or signage outside, there was a FOR LEASE sign with a contact phone number draped across the windows of the first floor of the building. Andrew followed Lily to a decent-sized room which looked like it used to be partitioned into smaller cubicle-sized workspaces.

  Fold-up chairs were lined in rows, about ten chairs across with maybe eight rows. About twenty people were already gathered as they took two seats in the front row. Taking a casual look around, Andrew was surprised that the crowd was so mixed and normal looking. Ranging from people in their twenties
to middle-aged, for the most part, they all had friendly faces. He didn’t spot a crazy-looking person among them.

  In some ways, the meeting resembled the DUI meetings the court made him attend following his first court case. There were even a few tables laid out in the back with cookies, coffee and refreshments that looked very familiar. Andrew noticed exactly seven empty chairs were laid out in a curved pattern and faced the room. A table with a decorative cloth placed upon it sat up front between the specially arranged chairs and the rest of the room.

  Expecting the special chairs to be reserved for the higher-ups, he decided to wait and see what would transpire rather than annoy Lily with any more newbie questions. As the room filled up, the lights were lowered and the room became very silent. A door to a side room opened and seven people dressed like monks filed out and stood before the seven chairs up front. Their garments were white and their large hoods obscured their faces.

  A person dressed in a red robe entered from the side room and walked to the table that was covered with the cloth. Andrew could make out that it was a man but, because of the hood and the low lighting, he could not see his face. Once the red monk guy stood before the gathered and raised his arms in the air, the seven monks at the back sat down.

  “Let us merge together our spiritual energies,” the guy in the red robe with the hood said and then sang a note, what sounded like an “Ah,” which everyone in the room sang or hummed along with him. The effect was pretty neat and Andrew joined in until everyone had run out of their exhaled breath.

  “Close your eyes and join me in celebration of your true nature,” the guy said. He had a pleasant, friendly voice and Andrew could feel a change, as if the energy of the room had lightened once everyone closed their eyes and focused within. “Imagine a spark of light in your heart, the essence of your own divinity,” he said softly. “Imagine that spark of light getting brighter and filling your entire being,” he continued.

  As the head guy continued to talk in his soft and friendly voice, Andrew followed along until he failed to hear his voice anymore. Unaware of how truly exhausted he was, with his constant late hours of work, he had fallen asleep. Nudged back to the here and now by a sharp poke in the ribs from Lily, he jerked awake. Having received a look of admonition from his sponsor, he looked around to see if he had been found out. No one else seemed to have noticed or, if they did, they didn’t exhibit much interest.

  He had no idea how long he had been dozing but, judging by his mental grogginess, it felt like it was a pretty decent cat-nap. At this point the guy in the red robe was holding up a photograph of the face of a middle-aged Asian businessman. “Who among us can say the state of this man’s well-being?” he asked.

  “He’s not going to make it,” Andrew blurted out when he got an image of the man’s death in his mind’s eye.

  The entire room fell even more silent with a tension that focused itself upon the reactions of the man in the red hooded robe. Even though he couldn’t see his face, Andrew could tell that the man was staring in his direction with an intense angry glare that felt like a pair of daggers were being pointed right at his forehead. Knowing that he had screwed up royally, Andrew resisted the urge to apologize and say, “My bad, continue on,” or something similar.

  “Thank you,” the man finally said although Andrew could tell that he was saying that merely to save face and move on in the meeting. Again, resisting the urge to say, “You’re welcome,” or indeed anything at all, Andrew remained silent. Looking to his left he could see that Lily was completely mortified; her body position was turned away from him as if to say that she didn’t know him nor wanted to have anything to do with him.

  The meeting ended with some kind of prayer that everyone spoke. Once again, their wishes appealed for peace on earth and harmony to all living things. Deciding not to hang around, and shoot the breeze with her friends or colleagues around the cookie table, Lily put her head down and headed straight out the door.

  “I screwed up, huh?” Andrew asked as casually as he could once he caught up with her outside.

  Seeing her body shaking, from behind it looked like she was sobbing uncontrollably, “Oh, my god, I’m so sorry,” Andrew said, feeling absolutely terrible. “I’ve gotten you in a shiz ton of trouble, I’m so very, very sorry.”

  As she spun around, he could now tell that she hadn’t been sobbing: her body was shaking from her bent-over laughter. “Oh, my freaking word,” she said amidst the laughter and the tears. “That was the funniest freaking thing I’ve ever heard,” she said, reaching into her pockets for some tissues to wipe her eyes. “He’s not going to make it,” she repeated and laughed her head off all over again. “He’s not going to make it,” she said again like she could not believe her ears. Then she laughed again until her eyes watered.

  “That’s about the funniest thing I’ve ever heard, ever, really,” she said, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. “Who knew you were this funny?” she asked.

  “I don’t know why I said that,” Andrew said, lost for an explanation. “I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

  “That’s why it’s so funny,” she said, finally getting a grip on herself. “He was asking for help from those in the spiritual realm,” she said, her body still shuddering like it was going through after-shocks of laughter. “He was asking if anyone in the spiritual realms knew anything,” she said, shaking her head with the incredulity of the moment. “And you go and open your big mouth,” she said, as if disbelieving that it happened. “In all the year of meetings,” she said, grabbing hold of his arm to steady herself. “That’s definitely a first, you big moron,” she said good-humoredly. “You’re a dumb-ass piece of work, aren’t ya?” she asked, slapping him agreeably on his shoulder.

  “I guess,” Andrew answered, smiling and enjoying the camaraderie. “He did ask,” he said, like it shouldn’t be such a biggie.

  “He did ask,” Lily agreed and embraced his arm warmly and playfully as she walked them back towards her car. “You got that right.”

  Andrew liked that he was a big hit with his boss and that she kept hold of his arm while he walked her to her car. At the same time, he felt awkward and maybe even a little bit guilty. If anybody saw them they would probably think that they were an item, the way they were staying close to each other.

  “This is me,” Lily said as she stopped at a parked Japanese import. “Where you at?”

  “I don’t have a car,” he said sheepishly. “I get around by bus.”

  “You get around by bus?” Lily asked like he told her he was actually born on the moon.

  “Yeah, no big deal,” he replied.

  “Nobody travels by bus in LA,” Lily said, looking totally baffled. “Get in,” she then said, opening her car door. “I’ll drop you home.”

  “Nah, I’m good,” he said, staying put.

  “Get in,” she demanded and getting in herself, reached across to swing open the passenger side door.

  Taking a deep breath, Andrew did what he was told and got into her car. “I live not too far from here, actually,” he said, sliding the seat belt across his chest. “My mom’s house is only like five blocks away.”

  “You live with your mom?” Lily asked but instantly regretted it for fear that he’d think she was judging him.

  “Temporarily,” he said and looked out the passenger side window as if to indicate that he wasn’t going to elaborate.

  “Sweet,” Lily said as she looked into her side mirror and pulled the car out into the light traffic. Sensing an awkwardness between them, Lily hit the stereo button. Picking up where she left off on her mp3 player, she hummed along to the music.

  Recognized instantly by Andrew, he smiled. “You like the Stokes?” he asked, sounding like he was surprised.

  “I love the Stokes,” she said, her head bobbing to the beat. “You?”

  “I love the Stokes,” he said, his body moving to the music. “Is this from Travelers in Time?” he asked.

  “This is t
he live version,” she said, turning up the volume. “Blows me away, every time.”

  “Wow, sounds better live,” he said, leaning forward to listen more carefully to the nuances. “I wish those guys would tour the west coast.”

  “They played the Greek like two months ago,” Lily said as if he should have known.

  “Oh, man, totally missed it,” Andrew said like he was bummed.

  “They were amazing,” Lily said, smiling at the memory. “Most bands suck playing live but these cats rock.”

  Joining in on the chorus, Andrew failed to hit the high notes.

  “You shouldn’t sing, dude,” she said, like she was doing him a favor by letting him know. “You should totally not sing.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he said, smiling. “Their lead singer sings like a girl,” he said in an attempt to save face.

  “Yeah, he does, doesn’t he?” Lily agreed, helping him out.

  As they drove through the dark streets of LA, listening to the music they both loved, Andrew looked over at Lily and felt a twinge of attraction, which spooked him. He liked her, no doubt about that; she was cool and gorgeous and possessed all the qualities that he had always found desirable in a girl. Yet, at the same time, he didn’t want to like her; at least not that way.

  He felt confused and it disturbed him. The way that he loved Fiona, he never expected to be ever attracted to another woman. It didn’t make sense to him. How could he be attracted to another woman if he was in love so totally with one woman? Wasn’t it like a thing that if you met “the one” then you didn’t feel anything for anyone else?

  “Oh, here you go!” he said suddenly when he realized that they were close to his mom’s house.

  Braking hard, Lily looked around for where best to park.

  “Don’t bother parking, I can just jump out,” he said, opening the car door.

  “Seriously, I don’t mind—“

  “See you Monday, I guess,” he said as he quickly jumped out and shut the door.