Chapter 3
I woke up with a splitting headache. I was puzzled, then I remembered! I was eating supper with Lauder when I felt ill. Damn, drugged! I sat up and immediately wished I hadn't. Nausea swept through me. I silently willed myself better. Slowly at first, then quicker, I started to feel better.
I took stock of myself. I was sitting on a bed. Someone had removed my shoes, socks, and other clothing. I was sitting only in my boxer's. I got up and went through the rooms. It was the same suite they showed me after I first arrived. An hour into the tour we had stopped by here, or a suite like it. A living room with a state of the art entertainment center, a bedroom and bathroom with shower only.
I tried the door. Well, if it had a handle I might have tried it. All that filled the doorway was a metal panel of some sort. As I considered what to do I finally felt completely well again. My ring, watch, staff which I had form changed into a cane, and my cloak were also missing. I looked in the closet. Nothing there. I went back into the bedroom and checked the dresser. Still nothing.
"Ah, Paul. You have awakened a little faster than I had anticipated. I am sorry I was not available to you when you woke up. Speak normally, and I will hear you." Spoke the voice of Lauder from the speakers of the entertainment system.
"What have you done? Why have I been stripped, and why can't I get out of here?" I asked.
"All will be explained. First let me assure you I mean you no harm at all. Soon we will put this behind us and work together." Lauder said then paused.
"Nothing to say Paul?" He asked me.
"Well, I guess I could try to break down the door, or throw some sort of fit, but what would be the point? Besides, I don't feel to well." The last was an exaggeration. I felt almost a hundred percent now.
"Yes, well, sorry about that. I couldn't let you leave though. You are an enigma, Paul. You are probably the oldest man in the world, did you know that?"
I laughed. I couldn't help it. "And you want to know my secret? If I discovered the fountain of youth? Discovered a special drug? Sorry to disappoint you. I have no idea why I am as old as I am." Which was not true. I knew exactly why I was the way I was.
"We took blood samples already. As well as DNA from you." He said.
"I see. Well, good luck with your samples. If you don't mind, I would like to leave now." I said.
"I'm sorry. But I can't let you leave. You're to valuable a resource. If you feel up to it, I will send a team to let you come to my location. Once you eat something, you will feel much better." The speakers said, carrying a voice I was really growing to hate.
"Sure. But I seem to have left my other suit somewhere." I said.
With a laugh, Lauder answered, "We will provide you with something appropriate."
Ten minutes later I watched as the metal panel on my side of the door slide into the door jam. It was now disguised as trim. No wonder I didn't see it before. The door handle turned and the door opened inward. A cover all came flying into the room.
"Please put this on." A voice from outside said.
I checked it out with my second sight. Nothing. I put it on, and was soon on my way to a meeting with Mr. Lauder. A meeting I was sure one of us would regret. I slowed us down with my fake limp. Had to stay in character after all. I arrived with a fake limp, from a supposed twisted ankle from a jogging mishap. That was why and how I brought my staff, now disguised as a cane.
Shortly I was escorted into a room. It was completely glass enclosed. A long table stood in the center. Two guards stood along the wall farthest from me. Mr. Lauder was sitting on the opposite side of the table, close to my ring, watch, cloak, and cane. The woman I had been asked to locate during my so called test was also there.
I was led to a seat and handcuffed in place. I looked at Mr. Lauder.
"Simply a precaution, for your own safety, Paul." Lauder said.
"I see. People fall out of chairs here a lot, do they?" I said, putting a little sneer into my voice.
"Now now. There is no reason to take that attitude. I would like to clear up a few misconceptions and some curiosities if you don't mind."
"I am sure you would. So would I. Which part of the constitution does not apply to me? Or the Bill Of Rights?" I asked curiously.
Lauder waved my question away. "Come now, we are all adults here. We all know how the world works, don't we? Let me tell you what we have. We have your birth certificate. Your original one. You were born in 1865. Went missing until you turned up in 1877. Have assumed various identities since then. You served for 3 years in the army from 1883 to 1886." I tuned him out and concentrated on my spells. I was glad I prepared what I had.
I mentally touched the knot of the first major spell and released it. It flared and I could see it as a wave rolling away from me. Everyone except me paused in what they were doing, then went to sleep. The spell had a radius of 200 feet. It traveled in a full 360 degrees from the center of the initiation, me.
I concentrated on my restraints and they released me. I stood. I grabbed my cane and connected with the energy it held. I concentrated and released a second major spell. It was a spell of my own creation called EMP. Electro magnetic Pulse. Every electrical component in the complex failed. Every computer in a half mile radius was totally wiped with no hope of restoring what had been lost.
I quickly changed back into my clothes which had been folded in my cloak. I put my ring, watch, and cloak on. I felt much better having all my items back. Now it was time to go on some serious offensive. I pulled some energy from my staff, just a trickle really, and woke Lauder.
"Secure yourself at the table with the cuffs." I told him with a bit of compelling in my voice. He sneered at me at first, but found himself moving to the place I had vacated just moments ago. He got a panicked look on his face as he started cuffing his feet. It was a stretch, but he managed to do his hands too. I released the compelling.
"What have you done! Are you insane? Release me at once!" He sputtered.
"Come come, Lauder. We are, after all, men of the world, right?" I said in an amused tone.
"What do you want Mr. Lindsy." Lauder asked in an aggrieved tone of voice.
"My freedom. Since I can't seem to have it with you living, I guess I can always take care of that." I said as menacingly as I could.
"Might I ask how you accomplished what you were able to?" Lauder asked with great curiosity.
"Magic." I replied simply.
Lauder snorted. Obviously, Lauder did not believe in magic, or was unable to recognize the truth when it attacked him. I grinned at him.
I concentrated on yet another spell. I looked at Lauder and released it. It sped to him and struck and sunk into his mind. He moaned, then his face went slack.
"What were your intentions to me, and who else knows about me?" I asked the now Geas laden Lauder.
I listened with a sick feeling as he relayed everything he knew about me, what he was going to have done with me, and what he had done to others. This was one sick bastard. A lot of those working for him were doing so under threat of death. They had implanted devices into the unwilling and promised a very painful death for disobedience. I was unnerved to hear that this facility was under telemetry from yet another location, and when they went off air, a task force would be converging on this place soon. Everything I did was for nothing. Well, not nothing. I did get the names and locations of a lot of forced slave labor, and that's what it was.
I pondered what to do. I got the name of Lauder's boss, and where his office was located in New York City. I gave Lauder instructions, which he would follow. There was no way he could disobey me. I looked at him and left him locked up. I walked out to meet the reinforcements.
I expanded the sleep spell and soon everyone within half a mile of here was asleep. The spell would stay in place until I left, then it would unravel and allow everyone to awaken on their own. It was far more humane than what they had planned for me. I also placed a spell into the computer, hiding it carefully. It would not really activate until they re-programmed this computer.
I left the building and started walking down the long driveway. Far to the southeast I heard what sounded like a helicopter. I take that back. Helicopters. I stood and waited. While I did, I prepped a couple more spells. Since I had all my power items with me, I was not worried at all.
Sure enough a copter swung along and hovered a short distance from me. A spot light shone at me and illuminated me. A very large amplified voice advised me to throw down my arms and to surrender. I saluted them with a gesture that has been most popular in America for some years now. It involved one of my fingers.
An automatic weapon went off, stitching the ground in front of me. This was followed by another demand for me to surrender myself immediately. I was also informed I was in violation of numerous federals laws, and they actually quoted trespassing as one. It really is amazing how the government thinks it can break any law with impunity, but at the same time make others adhere to them religiously, or else.
More helicopters arrived and contributed to the noise level. I grinned evilly. I did a small spell which gave me what I call my great voice. It would carry and be heard over everything within a quarter mile area.
"THOU ART IN VIOLATION OF THE PEACE OF THE NIGHT. BE SILENT FORTHWITH." My voice boomed and I cast my spell. Every helicopter engine stopped and they had no choice but to land. About this time several vehicles arrived at the entrance to the driveway, just a couple hundred feet from me. They stopped too.
Several people got out and I was being covered by a lot of weapons in a short time. I wasn't worried. Besides my cloak which was bullet proof, I had also cast a spell which would protect me from anything they cared to shoot, throw, or fire in my direction.
A man stepped forward and said, "Mr. Lindsy, lets talk about this. You know you can't win this."
So, they knew who I was. Obviously he was one who was privy to the telemetry that had been coming from this facility to where ever.
"THOU SHALT NOT KILL." I boomed and sent a blast of fire from my staff to the first tree at the beginning of the driveway. It burst into flames satisfactorily.
"THOU SHALT NOT STEAL." I blasted the other tree.
About this time, someone started shooting, which kicked off everyone else who had a gun out. So much for trained men. Little twinkles of light flared on my shield and went out as the bullets were turned into energy and absorbed by my shield. The more they shot, the more my shield replenished itself.
Finally someone over there got control and the firing died down.
"As you can see, I am unharmed. You have absolutely no idea what you have done. Do you want me to do to you as you have done to others? As you would do to me?" I asked almost gently. I raised my staff and brought it down sharply, teleporting out as I did so. I found myself back at the airport in New York, where I had arrived from my home yesterday, which is where I wanted to be.
Ok, one more stop. I went out to the cab stand and gave the driver the address I wanted.
"Say, you an actor?" Asked the cabby.
"Why do you ask?" I queried him.
"Well, that staff, and what you're wearing, um, cape? No, not a cape."
"Cloak." I corrected him.
"Right. You look like an actor from the, Lord Of The Rings, maybe." He finished.
"No. Just trying to make a fashion statement is all." I said with a grin.
Twenty five minutes later I was at the place I wanted. I cast a spell and waited. Sure enough, despite it being night and after hours, people were going in and out of the building. I bided my time than went in with someone who pulled the door open for someone else and I followed them in.
It didn't take me long to find the office I wanted. I evaded the security with ease. Not hard when other people are doing there best not to notice you. I found the office I wanted. There were already people within. I opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. The conversation broke off as I had entered.
"Good evening gentleman. I think we need to talk." I said.
"That's him! That's the guy!" I heard one man say.
"Yes. I am he. I am also very pissed off. You people have your nerve." I told the assembled persons mildly.
"See here. Do you know the trouble you have caused? The money spent? The laws you have broken?" This was from a man seated by the window.
"Do you know what a disruption you have made in my life? Do you know you people drugged me illegally? Held me prisoner? Kidnapped me?" I countered.
"If you like, we can go to court. I imagine the people would be astonished to hear what their government does in their name. A lot of illegal things." I continued.
"Mr. Lindsy. I assure you that if we ever went to trial, you would loose." The fat man behind the desk said.
"I don't think so." I pointed at everyone in the room except him, and spoke a word of release. A spell that compelled the truth was now in place.
"Consider. I will be the defense attorney. This man will be the witness I am cross examining." I addressed a thin elderly man with stooped shoulders.
"Sir will you tell the court your name?" I asked.
"John Wallace." He replied, a look of horror on his face.
"Does your office ever break the law?" I asked him.
"Constantly. We could not work as we do unless we did so." He replied with a stunned look this time.
"Ever commit murder?" I asked him.
"Yes. I have." He responded with a very panicked look on his face.
"As you can see, a person who is under a truth spell has no choice but to be as forthright as a judge could want. Imagine what the press would do. Imagine what Congress or the Senate would do if they heard of this organization breaking the law routinely.
"This is only a small sample. I have other abilities too. For example, how would you like all your files transmitted from your computers to all the major newspapers? Every dirty little thing you have in your files open to the public. I don't think you would see the light of day. Computers are so... literal. They follow orders, and I could order yours to do as I say, easily.
"Then there is the matter of what I could do if I really get pissed off. Check out what I did to the facility that was holding me. How would you like me to cast a truth spell on every government worker. It would take a while, but it can be done. Do you think the people would appreciate how you really feel about them, or the law?" I paused, letting this sink in.
So we sat and talked. An hour later we had an agreement. I warned them that I had already set certain things in motion and that if they tried to attack me or even succeeded, they would regret it. Then I told them all that remained were the oaths. Being who and what they were I knew oaths normally would not mean anything. So I had to make sure that they knew this oath had teeth.
I asked them to all stand on one side of the room. I stood on the opposite. I then spoke a few non sense phrases and raised my arms to the sky. What I actually did was call forth a computer program I had created when I was curious about computers a few years ago. I called it Arch Angel.
Shortly, a being shimmered into place between us. It seemingly filled the room. It had wings that brushed the ceiling. It glowed with beauty and power. You could feel it! Hell, I felt it, and I knew they were feeling it too. It was what I thought an arch angel would look like if I had ever met one. It was beautiful to look at.
"We shall swear before this great one our oaths. And the first to break the oath will be destroyed, and his soul sent to burn in hells fire for eternity. Are we agreed?" I asked, trying not to laugh. With terrified looks and a little of awe, the three men and I swore not to betray one another. They swore never to attack me and not to treat me with other than honesty. I swore never to harm them or theirs if they swore similarly.
Actually, it was nothing more than a magical computer interface. But there was no way I was going to tell that to the people assembled in this room. After all, my job was to get the government to leave me alone. In reality, the government did a lot of good, but sometimes I felt they needed reminding they were not the final authority. This would be such a reminder.
"SO MOTE IT BE. LET THE FIRST WHO BREAKS FAITH DIE AND BURN FOR ALL ETERNITY." Said the voice of my computer interface with the voice of doom. It faded away. The three looked at me in shock.
"Now, I will bid you all a good night. I am going home. Remember
your oaths. Break it, and I will know." I said. I bowed and using the
rest of the power in my staff, I teleported to my house, over 900 miles
away. I sagged when I got there. Teleporting that far really takes it
out of me. I felt like I could sleep for a week. I staggered into my
bedroom and was soon fast asleep.