She then excused herself in order to change and get over to the Visitor’s Center for her meeting with Rafe Santiago who had come up from Colombia to see her. Of course, just as during his previous visit, he had presented himself as being Rafe Smith.
Missy greeted him warmly and had him follow her down a hallway to the same room as before, looking out at the Hudson River. They sat down in the same corner, near the windows. “Thank you for coming, Rafe. I really appreciate this. And, in case I forget to mention it later ... you’re looking good! Helping Carlos run his empire must agree with you.” She gave him one of her brilliant smiles and her eyes were sparkling.
Rafe chuckled and said, “Well, Missy, you’re more gorgeous than ever. Carlos wishes he could have come himself. When I tell him just how beautiful you’re looking right now, he’ll be even more disappointed.” It was true. Her appearance had matured during the past six months and, indeed, that had somehow added to her beauty. “What can we do for you? Your message hinted there were activities in New York which might be a concern.”
“Yes, there’s a coven of witches from Hong Kong who are interfering with things in New York City. Their organization is called Zhu-Gung. Have you heard of them?”
“No, not yet. They are run by witches?” Rafe raised his eyebrows. “Are any of them like you and also a Shifter?”
“Not that I know of. My government friends who monitor supernaturals are not aware of any Shifters in Hong Kong. Only witches. But, those in this Zhu-Gung organization are all criminals.”
“Criminals, huh?” Rafe chuckled. “I’m betting it’s more than just that.” After all, he and Carlos were criminals.
Missy smiled, realizing how that sounded. “When criminals go to war with one another, the collateral damage can hurt innocent people. And, as you know, I abhor those who take advantage of women.”
She had forced Manuel Rodriguez to step down in large part because he had preyed on women. Her government friends were now holding him and Jacques Arbogast in prison; they’d been responsible for kidnapping and trafficking in girls. Candace Axtell had been one of those girls and she’d suffered greatly at the hands of WIJO until Missy and her friends had rescued her.
“You made that very clear when you allowed Carlos to take over in Bogota.”
“I am against taking advantage of anyone and I would rid the world of all criminals if that was possible,” said Missy. “But it isn’t, so I do what I can. This Zhu-Gung organization has infiltrated some of the crime families in New York City. They’ve done that by providing drugs at lower prices and girls from China. They have attacked other crime families in the past and are likely to do that again.”
“How does that …? Oh, wait!” Rafe was just seeing why Missy had contacted Carlos. “They must be the ones Esteban Aparicio was complaining about.” There had been reports of drugs coming in from somewhere else, reducing sales for South America. “Yes. New York. Now I see.”
“Right. I understand Esteban handles distribution for you there. He leaked information to a cop on his payroll which led to the FBI making several arrests. Unfortunately, those arrests were drug dealers who had started buying from Zhu-Gung and that only ended up helping Zhu-Gung infiltrate their people into those same organizations.”
Rafe was surprised at this. “Interfering with the supply didn’t hurt them? Why are they letting Zhu-Gung people in?”
“Zhu-Gung replaced all the drugs grabbed by the FBI right away. And, now they are providing girls as well. So, these organizations are making more money.”
“Why doesn’t your FBI arrest these Zhu-Gung people?”
Missy nodded and said, “They will be. Eventually. But they don’t want any of Esteban’s people getting in the way. Actually, they don’t want any of your people in the way, since Carlos and Esteban go way back and any actions against the competition would surely be sanctioned by Carlos. You and Carlos would no doubt provide Esteban with the people he needed for any such actions.”
Rafe was nodding with a big grin on his face. “There are rules in the way businesses such as ours are run. Obviously, you know that. You are right. If Esteban was not satisfied with those arrests putting a stop to the competition, he will want to deal with them by other means. We need to teach lessons to those who might go against us.”
“And, now you know why I sent Carlos that message. My government friends want to help you teach Zhu-Gung that lesson. Will your people help my friends?”
“Is this because witches are involved?”
Missy’s green eyes began to glow, filling with yellow specks. “Yes!”
“I see. Yes, dealing with witches makes this different. You and your friend Tracy proved there are powers and abilities far beyond what we understand or can handle. Then that witch Arvind Pancholi came down and we saw the way he killed Pablo. What kind of help are you asking us to provide?” Rafe was finally seeing why Missy had wanted the meeting.
“When these witches use violence, based on what they did here and what I’m told they do in Hong Kong, they cause accidents to happen. Things which can be explained without always making it obvious they’re using supernatural abilities. Fires. Loss of electricity. Water damage. When objects are moved because of telekinesis …” Without moving, Missy lifted Rafe and his chair several inches off the ground. “It’s not necessarily obvious to those witnessing that.” She lowered his chair back to the ground and smiled at him.
“Oh, oh! Uhm … you’ve made your point!” exclaimed Rafe, squirming in his seat and looking around. Although there were a few others talking on the other side of the room, no one noticed what Missy had done. “That sure as hell was obvious to me, Missy!” They both laughed. “By the way … whatever happened to Pancholi?”
“The same thing that happened to Richard Hwang, one of the Zhu-Gung witches. I drained their energy as well as their powers. They are dead and now I have their abilities.” Missy wiggled her eyebrows up and down and, again, allowed her eyes to glow.
Rafe stared at her for several seconds. “You’re not kidding about that, are you?” He shivered as he stared into her eyes, mesmerized by the way they were now pulsing with energy. “Okay. Wow. All right. I get it. If you had the time and were willing to just kill them, you could probably go around and do exactly that. I’m guessing what you did to those two was only as a last resort.” He knew she actually went to great lengths in order to avoid killing. Hence, Rodriguez and Arbogast were merely in prison somewhere. “I will explain things to Carlos. Our people will help. Just let us know what you want and we’ll be happy to cooperate.”
Missy smiled. “I do have a plan, Rafe. I’ll be having my government friends provide all their intel to Ben Marchitto in Sal D’Amato’s organization.” She gave him Ben’s contact info. “I’d like you and Esteban to coordinate everything with Ben. He knows I’m a witch and that Zhu-Gung have witches over here. Tell Ben about my plan and see if he can support it. I’m pretty sure he’ll be more than happy to have his people play their part and maybe get some of Ray Mancini’s people as well.” Then she detailed what her plan involved and provided an approximate timeline.
-----
When Tracy sensed Missy was in her barracks and heading towards her room, she was surprised. She’d figured Missy would be too busy with the Afghans to make any visit but, recalling how Missy had that meeting with Rafe Santiago scheduled that day, she guessed maybe that’s why Missy was stopping by. She opened her door when she knew Missy was almost there and said, “Hey!”
Missy entered and said, “Hey, yourself, Tracy. I know Nell is over at Cullum Hall with Ron and figured you might be alone for a while.”
“Sure. How did it go with Rafe? Were you able to convince him to help?”
“Yeah, he’s going to explain the situation to Carlos. He says he’s going to stay in New York with Esteban Aparicio. That’s who Carlos has in charge there. He was with Carlos and Rafe back in Miami.”
Tracy nodded and said, “Will Carlos be sending up any of
his guys?”
“Rafe says, once Carlos hears how things are and about the plan I’m proposing, he’ll have some of his guys come up here later this week. He thinks it will be quite interesting, having them work with some of D’Amato’s people as well as with the FBI, all while not triggering any mob war. He says he wouldn’t want to miss any of that fun, so he’s staying to provide whatever help he can give us, personally.”
“Wow! Sounds like things will be getting very busy. You suggested a plan, huh? Too bad you’re gonna be with the Afghans so much and won’t get to participate much.”
Missy studied Tracy for a couple moments. “That’s why I’m here. You were the one I trusted to be with me when I first Shifted to my spirit form. Since then … I guess it’s been six months now … I’ve had lots of out-of-body experiences.”
“Okaaaaayyyyy …?” Tracy sensed there was something else coming and was already getting nervous.
“Right. Well, I’ve been thinking …” Missy paused with a sheepish expression on her face.
“Oh, oh! I’m afraid to hear whatever this might be!” Tracy grinned.
“All right. Here’s the thing. What if I let my spirit form actually leave my body, without Shifting? You know. Actually leave my body. I’ve done it so much now, I’m thinking that might be possible. I might be able to have an out-of-body experience while my body remains behind. Right here. No disappearance in a shimmer of light. It stays here while I’m away.”
“Fuuuuuckkkk! I mean, that’s fucked up, Missy!”
“Not really. Have you ever heard of Edgar Cayce? The sleeping prophet?”
“I’m not really sure,” said Tracy. “What about him?”
“He was a psychic, a clairvoyant who lived a hundred years ago. He was really famous for inducing himself into trances, during which he supposedly had out-of-body experiences. He’d be there, sleeping, while his subconscious went around doing stuff. Then, when he woke up, he’d give all of these ‘readings’ … revelations about healing people hundreds of miles away, predictions about the future, all kinds of things. Hundreds of books have been written about him. Of course, it’s hard to know what’s fact and what’s fiction. Even so, after what I’ve managed to do in my spirit form … it’s made me wonder.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Sunday, Apr 12, 2020
Tracy grew more and more concerned as she listened to Missy talk about Edgar Cayce. Now she said, once again but without dragging it out, “Fuck!”
Missy laughed and said, “Geez, Tracy! Is that all you can say?”
“I can see where you’re going with this whole ‘let yourself go’ thing, only what happens while you’re gone? You know … to your body?”
“And, that’s why I’m here. I want you to take care of my body while I do this. If I can. I mean, maybe I can’t. But, if I can and I can exist in my spirit form, separate from my body, that’s not an experiment I dare to make all alone.”
Tracy sighed. “And, since I’ve always been there for all your other spooky, risky, out-of-this-world experiments …?”
“Exactly. You were brave enough to be there for me when, for all we both knew, I might have exploded like a bomb. If I hadn’t been able to keep it together, converting my mass to energy … surely that had to have been scarier. That was a much bigger risk. Right?”
Tracy rolled her eyes but realized there was little she could do. Missy had obviously given this latest idea a great deal of thought. She was definitely going to do it. Or, try to do it. Whatever. And, she knew she’d definitely help and support her friend, no matter what.
Missy watched as Tracy resigned herself into a state of acceptance. “You’ll stay with me? Watch me while I do this?” The emotions she suddenly felt flooding through her were overwhelming. Her eyes filled with gold specks and then with tears of joy. Yeah, Tracy was going to have her back. Well … she was going to have her whole entire body, actually. For however long Missy might be away. Wheh! She felt so relieved!
“Does it matter where you do this?” asked Tracy. “I mean … are you wanting to try this right now? Here?”
“Well, your roommate is still busy with Ron and I doubt they’ll be back here any time soon. Go ahead and lock your door. If anyone else comes, you can nudge me. Hopefully, that will bring me right back. In fact, that’s one of the things I want you to do anyway. I need to understand whether my body and my spirit will stay in contact, even when my spirit is far away.”
“Yeah, sure. I get it. You must have lots of questions about all this. Assuming you can even do it.” Tracy was beginning to think Missy might succeed, though. After all, Missy always managed doing whatever she set her mind and her will to doing.
“Good. I’ll lie down on your bed. Just give me a few minutes. If I succeed, I’ll write you a note on that mirror over there. Then I’ll teleport to a few places, see if my spirit form can function the same as before. I won’t be gone long this first time. Then I’ll come back. Hopefully!” Missy grinned as she watched all the facial expressions play out across Tracy’s countenance while she processed what Missy was saying.
Tracy went over and pulled out one of her lipsticks and set that near the mirror. “You just better not fall into some kind of a coma, Missy! I’m going to be worried about that from the moment you scribble on my mirror to the moment you finally return. You know that, right? I mean … how do I explain you being here, in a comatose state? Woe is me, woe is me!”
Missy laughed, knowing if Tracy could joke about it, it was okay.
“I’m not joking!” exclaimed Tracy. “Geez!”
Missy then arranged herself on Tracy’s bed, lying back and putting one hand over the other, across her abdomen. She closed her eyes and began tuning out all her physical senses, beginning with her hands and feet. Slowly, she focused on how she typically felt when in her spirit form. Once she could ‘see, hear and smell’ with her senses, the way she did in her spirit form, and could no longer ‘feel or taste’ anything, she began moving around the room. She’d done it! She looked back.
There was Tracy, watching. And, there was her body, resting. She went over to Tracy’s mirror and, finding her abilities to be much the same as always, she used her telekinesis ability to pick up the lipstick and begin writing.
After finishing the word ‘Success’, which Tracy’s eyes were now growing wide in amazement at seeing, Missy put down the lipstick and teleported over to Cullum Hall. Yep. There were Ron and Nell, lost in some deep conversation, over at a corner table by themselves. She quickly checked on Karen, also there at a different table with Marty, not that far away. They’d probably all come over together, but each couple was now completely engrossed in the small talk so typical between those who have newly fallen in love.
Not wanting to spy on them, Missy moved on. She found the Afghans were now all in their barracks, with several visiting in Huda’s room while others were relaxing in their own rooms. Okay. She whisked herself away to the hotel in nearby Tarrytown, outside the academy, where she’d gone with Mike during her Yearling Winter Weekend.
Pausing outside, she focused to see what she might be able to sense about her body, back in Tracy’s room. It took but a moment of this and she was able to identify where in her ‘mind’ she was aware of her body. Yes! She was able to do this! And, she was able to then actually sense her body.
She could not experience being inside her body but could know where it was. She was completely removed from it, separate from it, but at the same time, she had an awareness it existed. It was in a place she could experience with her mind. And, it was okay. Nothing was happening to it. She teleported back, just to double check that her body was still breathing. All was well. Okay. She’d try re-entering, just to make sure she could do that. There was so much more to learn but, so far, she was finding her ability was all she’d hoped it might be.
Slowly, Missy allowed herself to begin to feel her surroundings. When she knew she had sensations in her fingers and toes, she opened her eyes. She wa
s back!
She looked over at Tracy and smiled. “Hey.”
“Oh, God! Thank the Fates! You’re back. Are you okay? I swear … this was worse than before. I don’t know why. It just was.” Tracy’s eyes began to water.
Missy sat up and said, “Thank you. I know, now that I’m back and all is well, those two words might not seem that big a deal. But, Tracy … the things you do for me are beyond words. C’mon over here.” She stood up and grabbed Tracy in a huge hug. “Thank. You.”
Tracy giggled and said, “Hey, don’t crush my fragile frame, fraught with frivolous feeble fixations, forever fantasizing for forlorn fragments of fortuitous fame and fortune!”
Missy laughed and held Tracy out at arm’s length, grasping her shoulders. “Fuck!”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I just said,” laughed Tracy. She pushed Missy away and sat down. “Okay. Spill. I want details. Tell me everything.”
Missy tried explaining things for several minutes. Then, she gave up. She could see Tracy had processed and accepted things about as much as she possibly could. That had to be enough. Then she asked, “Are you willing to let me go and do this some more?”
“Shit, I know you’re gonna be going and doing all the time now. Damn!”
“True, but I want to know what happens when I’m away and you try to ‘wake me’ up.” Missy did air quotes with her fingers for the words ‘wake me’.
“Ahhh, yes! Of course.” Tracy gleefully rubbed her hands together. “Let the experiments begin!”
Missy again laid down and composed herself. Now that she’d done it once, she was able to easily separate herself in just a few moments, her spirit form leaving her body behind. She had asked Tracy to wait at least thirty minutes or so and to then begin shaking her. At first, that was to be gentle. But then Tracy was to keep on shaking her, gradually getting more and more vigorous so Missy could see how that affected her.
Missy Goes to Hong Kong (Missy the Werecat Book 8) Page 20