Chapter 15

Posted: September 14, 2006 - 12:27:22 am

One thing the secret service did start doing. Shortly after they learned what the questioning of the members of congress happened, concerning their real or imagined trips to an other place revealed, they started shuffling. The president, vice president, secretary of state, and the cabinet were constantly moved around. It was funny, really, yet it was also a logical response.

For some reason they assumed that Air Force One was one of the safest places on Earth... or rather, 'over Earth'. Well, maybe it was, from their point of view, but to us, it was another walk in the park. Or, perhaps I should say that it was that easy for Tom.

He grabbed the president, vice president, and all the bigwig executives of the US Government, and placed them in another building he'd had built.

I was not interested in watching this round with the President. I was busy trying to stretch my new ability, and to see where it went, and what it did. So far, I was getting short views of the immediate future.

But, this led to an argument among us. Were my flashes were the most likely probable future, or were they really visions of the exact future. Was the future immutable? Could I change it? Could it be changed at all? Brenda loved talking of "what if" situations. She was a clever girl, was my Brenda!

Our love life was improving dramatically too. Bless the one who designed the human thought process. The more danger Brenda felt that she was in, the more she wanted to have sex. I mean, with the US government looking for us, it was an adventure to go anywhere, or do anything.

Tom had taken to sending members of congress lists of names of 'assistant directors' and 'senior career staff' in the "secret" agencies (CIA, FBI, NSA, etc) that needed firing for disobeying the mandate from congress to leave us alone. They did fire them, too. Already, over a dozen agents and regional directors had been fired from several agencies, for ignoring the higher-up's orders. Disobeying orders was still a good reason for firing someone, even in this country.

God help us, but the ACLU got involved! They tried to get some of these agents reinstated. They lost, but a few had been 'a close thing'.

Later I viewed tapes Tom had made for when he grabbed the President. The President had been reluctant even to speak with Tom. He had a policy of not talking to terrorists. Tom had replied that such was a strange policy, for someone who implementing terrorist policies. Tom asked to please let him know how that double standard worked. From the tapes I viewed of this, the president seemed offended. I wonder why?

The President had asked Tom what he meant. Tom said to look at where the President was. One moment he was in his nice safe office aboard AF-1, and the next, a strange man comes and takes him. Sort of like the way 'government security' worked, yes?

The President was very offended to be placed in the same category as terrorist.

In all fairness to the President, I truly believe he had the country's welfare at heart. But his types of actions, always breed inevitable mistakes. The "suspension of an individual's rights", was one of them.

Tom said that ultimately, he had had a very good time with the President, and with some of his cabinet. Still, I am not sure what the final outcome was, because the President was very adamant. Despite his predicament, he was still blustering. I could not tell from viewing the tapes, which way he would go when he was returned to his point of abduction.

Tom really screwed up their worldview, though. Instead of AF-1, he returned everyone to a mall in downtown Washington D.C.

I guess it was a pointed way of saying, "We can do anything to you. We can put you anywhere we want to."

Tom had again dispensed with his disguise. He said he was tired of pussy footing around with everyone. From now on, attacks or attempts at abduction by the government, were going to be met with disappearing agents and equipment.

While we had the president's attention, Tom also demonstrated some of our abilities. Tom said that while he understood the government's desire that we work for them, the terms they were trying to dictate were unacceptable. Tom told the President point blank, that he would not have minded working for the government, on a case by case basis. But, the government had connived, cheated, lied, broken their written agreements, and tried to bully not only him, but another person as well. His half brother.

Tom told them to get a life, and leave us alone. We bothered no one, and only reacted to attacks.

He then had another thought. This was EXACTLY the same way the US government had treated the American Indian Nations, all throughout history. Not one single treaty the US government had ever signed, had ever been kept. Every single treaty that the government had ever made with the Nations, they had broken.

Actually, when you finally get down to absolute facts, the US government is only marginally better than the rest of the world. The really sad point to all this, is how horribly bad the average conduct of any given government outside the US, truly is.

Tom was no longer surprised by our government's agents, who thought they were "above the law". He was simply saddened.

He explained again about the mythical organization we supposedly belonged to. He claimed that we had more talents to draw on, than the US government had any notion of.

Tom asked how the President would like a weather worker to send typhoon after typhoon smashing not only into the coasts of the western seaboard, but also well inland, further than any such storm had ever gone? It could be done. The same could be done with hurricanes, for the eastern and the central states. On the other hand, we could help out and diffuse those storms from time to time, but we refused to be slaves of the government.

I had asked Tom about the turn around with the President and his cabinet. Why was Tom being a bit placating, now? Tom said he had talked at length with Lord A.S. and had come to understand that these abilities were something any government in the world would want. Sooner or later, someone would grab Tom, and/or us. The solution was to preemptively start removing heads of state, and their intelligence apparatuses, immediately.

Neither Tom, myself, nor Brenda, wanted to do that.

So we talked it over. We came to a consensus. Brenda would help out from time to time with forest fires, by sending rains. She could lesson a storms fury before they hit the coasts during the season, but she did not want to devote her life as "the coastal weather girl". She could take care of drought prone areas, and could make sure crops got watered. Her abilities were effective over hundreds of miles now, weather wise. Her control was getting much better. Her ability to "control" weather was only within a hundred mile radius, though. However, there is a vast difference between affect and control.

She still needed to be on the edge of an area, to control it. If the fire was well inland, she still could not reach the ocean to draw moisture. She had to take it from other places. However, there are lakes, rivers, pools, streams, etc., almost everywhere.

If she was within a hundred miles of the ocean, then it was no problem. She caused the conditions that rapidly drew up moisture from the ocean, then she herded the resulting rain clouds to the area that needed the moisture. She was always careful to resume the natural weather patterns, once she was done manipulating them.

We said there were more, but refused to divulge who and what they were. We were a test group. The directors were, absolutely, going to retain control. The president had pointed out that we were still controlled, in that case.

Tom disagreed. He said the level of control was the controlling of who knew of us, and what we would reveal. The individuals were free to work at whatever they wanted, and were never pressured to perform for anyone.

This, Tom noted, was totally unlike the US government. The way the US treated Tom, and then myself, was as if we were property and not human beings at all.

After that, we let several weeks go by. Tom's computer monitored all the agencies. It reported that the intensity of the search for us was dropping off. Orders were sent that agreements had been reached. All agencies were to comply with this executive, and concurrent congressional order, or face termination immediately.

With dozens of career men and woman already fired, and with the strangulation of funding, the intelligence agencies finally started complying. Still, I was suspicious. After all, this was 'the government', we were talking about. They routinely lied to whomever they thought of as criminals.

It was legal, and a well established routine with them. There was only one way to test it, though. Someone had to turn up very publicly, somewhere, and do something very obvious.

I elected me. I told Tom to send me back to my place, and to then keep an eye on me. I told him I was going to head into the agency that had been my place of employment for so long. I was going to turn in my credentials and offer my resignation. I wanted Tom standing by to take action, in case something transpired that was out of my control.

To say I was nervous, would be using Courtney's "British understatement", to the max. Still, a test was needed. So, bright and early on Thursday morning, Tom teleported me to my place. It was a wreck. The agents had been very careless with my things. I sighed at the thought of the clean up I was in for.

Well, I was going to ask the agency to make good on clean up. They could at least pay for a 'cleaning service' to come in and straighten the place up for me.

Tom had already checked the apartment out, and had disabled the additional listening and video devices that the government had left behind, during my absence. I hoped they didn't mind their toys going missing. I wasn't much worried about it, even though some of them looked to be very expensive indeed. Tom assured me we could give these listening and video devices a good home, and they only needed to be reworked a little to get them into the shape that Tom wanted for them.

One of the first people I ran into when I finished parking my car, was Eric.

"Well, Scott. This is a surprise. When did you get back to town?" he asked curiously.

"You should know. You guys have been watching the place ever since I left. Would you like pictures of them? You could use them for procedural training," I replied with a grin.

He grinned back. Still, he looked a bit nervous.

"I'm sorry for the way things turned out for you, Scott. I really liked you, and you were always straight with me, with us, and with the agency. Well... for the most part, anyway. It's a shame this had to happen," he finished a bit awkwardly.

"Eric, I don't blame you in any way. If I had to have someone to 'watch-dog' my steps and guide me, I could not have had a better man than you. By the way, tell the 'bugging department' that I said thanks for the hi-tech gifts. Those devices they were kind enough to donate to our cause; will be used well, and often. We appreciate any and all donations they and any other agency might make for the advancement of freedom," I replied, still grinning.

We finally made it to the office. Things got quiet, really quickly. I nodded and started cleaning out my desk... or I would have, except my few things were already boxed up. How kind of them. I ran a small device over the box. It reacted. Knowing Tom was silently watching from that 'almost there' place of his, I looked at Eric. He had the grace to look embarrassed.

I looked at the box again. It vanished from view. There were gasps from the onlookers.

"Bugged. No problem. It will be fumigated and returned to me, none the worse for wear. Plus, we have the additional perk of studying the bugging devices in detail. Not that we will learn much that would be new to us. But, this gives us an edge, each time the bugging department volunteers an example of the technology you are using. So, thanks!" I exclaimed with false joviality.

I pulled out my letter of resignation, and handed it to Eric. I also gave him my HS "ID". They had already taken any firearms I'd had from my home. The reasons for that I was not sure of. I reached over and shook hands with Eric.

"It was actually nice knowing you, Eric. I hope we can get together in the future, at some peaceable point in time," I told him honestly.

I turned to go, and was immediately blocked by several people. One of whom, was Theodore Whisper, CIA agent.

"Scott." Whisper said conversationally. "Would you mind staying a while, and talking to us about a few things?"

"Sorry, I have an appointment with a cleaning company to get my apartment straightened up. You might not believe this, but your people seemed to have wrecked it," I replied a bit sourly.

"I am sure we can have that handled for you. It is important that you speak to us, now," he said, trying to cow, me.

"You - are - in - my — way," I said, with very carefully neutral diction.

" Move, or you can be the first casualty of the new hostilities that are about to begin," I added, showing him I was not cowed at all.

"That is not our intent at all," he protested.

"Then act like it. Move the hell out of my way, or I will move you myself," I said, as I gave him a gentle nudge with my telekinetic abilities.

His eyes widened as he felt it. I am not sure that he realized that I had done it. I am sure that no one else had realized, for that matter. He did not know I could and would actually use it against someone...

In fact, I never had. Well, there is always "the first time".

Everyone got out of my way. Eric and I continued on my way to the door. Whisper and his friends were close on our heels. Whisper was still talking and trying to get me to agree to a sit down before I left the building. I listened, but I didn't respond to any of it.

I was actually surprised when I got out the door without any further mishap or other hampering of my leaving the building. I checked my car for bugs. Sure enough, bugged. I drove a short distance from the parking lot. I pulled over and a few blocks away. I stepped out, and Tom did whatever it was he did. He sent my car off to be debugged.

Myself, Tom transported to his place, out in the county. It had remained unmolested this whole time, apparently. Well, his AI computer had blocked efforts to identify this place, and the one in Alaska was still safe also, apparently.

Some people have all the luck.