Chapter 4

November 30, 2014:

Carol's flight was due in at 6:40 PM, and since I knew traffic around DIA would be insane, I left early.

On the way, I couldn't stop thinking about that warning from Donald. But the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced Austin wasn't going to hand me over to his NSA buddies until he had more information about what I could and couldn't do. I was sure that, when Janet told him about the moratorium, he would have taken her word that I'd continue with the testing, once they could promise more assurances. Neither of them had any way of knowing what I knew, and I was hoping that would give me time to think and plan.

A three-car pile-up on I-70 brought eastbound traffic to a standstill just west of I-225. I tried calling Carol to let her know I was going to be late, but she didn't pick up. I found her waiting on the curb in front of the baggage pickup area when I finally arrived a little after seven.

I double parked and jumped out to put her luggage in the back. "Sorry I'm late! There was an accident on 70. I tried to call you but I guess your didn't hear it."

She gave me a big one and said, "Not your fault. I had to turn my phone off for the flight and I forgot to turn it back on. I was just getting ready to call when you pulled up."

As I pulled away from the terminal, I asked, "Care to stop some place for dinner? I don't feel up to cooking and I'm betting you don't either."

She reached over and rubbed my crotch. "What I want is to get home and crawl into bed, and not alone, mind you. We have some lost time to make up for."

"You've definitely got my attention, young lady, but there's something we need to talk about first. How about that Korean restaurant on Havana? I feel like abusing my gut with something hot and spicy."

She gave me a soft punch on the shoulder, "You saying I'm not hot and spicy enough for you?"

I laughed, "You're hot and spicy enough for any six men, but that doesn't fill my stomach. So, what do you want to eat?

"Korean's good."

After we got settled in the corner booth of the tiny restaurant, Carol took my hand and asked, "OK, what's so important that I have to put my libido on hold? And this better be good!"

There was a couple in the next booth, so I lowered my voice and leaned toward her. "While you were gone, I was contacted by one of, uh, the people. He says Frank Austin is on NSA's payroll."

She leaned back, looking confused. "What? Chuck, that can't be right! Austin is the one who made such a big deal about us keeping our heads down."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that. Since I communicated with this guy, I've been online and verified that Austin was at Boston College at the time three of our people went missing. According to my source, they all consulted with Austin at one time or another. I think the man just wants to make sure nobody else is in on our little secret. The more people who know about me, the more likely someone will raise a stink if something happens to me or if I turn up missing. He wants to keep my ESP thing as quiet as possible. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that may be putting you and Jeff at risk, too. I have to say, Carol, there's something about Austin that's been bugging me from the first minute I met him. I've never really trusted the guy."

She agreed with that part of it, "Yeah, he is kinda creepy, but what about Janet? Do you think she might be in on it, too?"

"My sense is that she's not, but I have no way of knowing without coming right out and asking her. For the time being, I don't think that's such a hot idea. Until we know for sure, I think it's best to consider her as one of the bad guys. Anyhow, I'd like you to get ahold of Jeff and have him meet us for a strategy session. I'm still waiting to hear back from the guy who gave me the the warning."

The lady who owns the restaurant brought us a pot of green tea and poured two small cups. When she went back into the kitchen to get our dinners, I said, "Carol, I feel bad about laying this in your lap before you even make it home, but I think we have to be extra cautious now. It may not be nearly as bad as I'm making it out to be, but until we know for sure ... better safe that sorry, right?"

She lifted my hand to her lips and said, "Well, whatever's going on, you know I've got your back, don't you?"

I kissed her knuckles in return. "Yeah, I know that. That's why I love you so much."

On the way home from the restaurant, Carol called Jeff. He said he'd come over about 5:30 the next afternoon.

I carried her two suitcases into her apartment and laid them on her bed to be unpacked. She promptly took them off and began peeling off my clothes. I got the idea and followed her lead.

She grinned and asked, "Had enough of the hot and spicy yet?"

"No, Ma'am, not nearly enough! I'll have you know I even passed up an invitation to try out some ESP sex a couple of days ago, just so my libido would be screaming for satisfaction when you got home." I didn't think it wise to mention our exhibitionist neighbor on the third floor.

She gave me the 'evil eye' as she unbuckled my belt and unzipped my trousers. "Remind me to give you the third degree about that after I've worn down your resistance! I'm not about to play second fiddle to some etherial Okie tart!"

"Why, Carol Alton!" I kidded, fumbling between her tits to unclasp her bra, "I do believe you're jealous!"

She shove my pants and underwear to my ankles and eyed my rapidly expanding dick. "You seem to forget that I'm Latina, Mr. Duncan. We're known for our fiery tempers and our unwillingness to share the goodies, you know."

The breakup fight with her late husband flashed through my mind. "No, mi amor, no me he olvidado!"

She giggled and ran her tongue up the underside of my cock as she stood. Within seconds, we were stripped naked and ready for action. She pulled me over to the bed by my dick, sat on the edge, opened her legs wide and said, "Now, put this thing were it belongs!"

She was clearly in a high state of excitement, because she was practically dripping, and I easily filled her pussy with three or four gentle strokes. Once I was in as far as I could go, she commanded, "Now hold still and just feel that! You can't tell me psycho-sex feels anywhere near this good!"

I had to laugh, "Psycho-sex? I love that term! Can I borrow it?"

"You can borrow it, but you can't employ it!"

"Mm, we'll see," I joked. "Anyway, how would I know how it feels? Are you forgetting that I said I passed on the invitation?"

She squeezed down hard on my dick. "Let's keep it that way, shall we?"

"But then, for all you know, I could be doing both at the same time."

She reached down and grabbed by balls with one hand and smacked me hard on the side of my butt with the other. "I want to hear you in my mind right this instant, you Lothario, you! I know you can't be in two minds at the same time!"

I entered her mind and corrected her thinking, "That's not strictly true, but it's close enough." She let go of my balls and I began to move slowly in and out, kissing her face while pushing the thought, "Ahh! There's nothing like fucking with a woman's mind and her body at the same time! Double the pleasure, double the fun!"

In answer, she thought, "I'm happy with just your body. Do you suppose you could go just a little faster? And harder?"

"Whatever my lady wishes!"

December 1, 2014:

When I got to the office, I decided to begin some 'just-in-case' preparations with my boss, Bill Waterman. I met him in the hallway and asked if he had a minute.

"For the man who keeps our collective heads above water? Any time, you know that. Let's step into my office."

I followed him in and took the chair beside his desk. "Bill, I have a big favor to ask."

"Shoot!"

"How would you feel about me doing the bulk of my work off campus for a while? There's almost nothing I can't manage on my computer except personal and personnel meetings. I could schedule those as needed."

"Hell, Chuck, you know I trust you to do your job, however you want to accomplish it. Can you tell me why you need to be away from your desk?"

"Well, it's nothing definite, yet. I'm anticipating a need to travel may crop up in the next few months and I just want to be sure I have your blessing if I have to be gone for long stretches. I'm sorry, but I really can't give you the details of why, right now."

He sat back and looked at me for several seconds, trying to read my face. "Sounds awfully mysterious, Chuck."

"Yeah, I'm sure it does. I wish I could tell you more, but it would be a violation of a trust if I did. Sorry."

He nodded. "OK. I know you're too good a man to violate a trust, and I trust you to live up to your responsibilities with us. If you have to be out of the office for an extended period, I'd like you to check in with me by phone or e-mail fairly frequently. You'll need to do it with Julie, too. You know how fast things can change around here."

"Of course. Like I said, It's not for certain I'll have to do this. I just wanted to be sure it was OK with you if I did. I'll give you as much warning as I can."

"Just keep me in the loop." He chuckled and added, "I can already imagine the gossip around the water cooler, if you don't show up for several days running."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be spicy."

"No doubt."

When I got back to my office, I asked Julie to hold my calls, locked the door, closed the blinds and turned down the lights. I was going to try to initiate my first long-distance contact. Always before, I opened my mind to find the contact already waiting for me; now I needed to go searching. Ellen promised it was no different than what I'd already done, but I wouldn't be convinced until I'd actually accomplished it. I was reaching out about two thousand miles.

I got comfortable in my chair and closed my eyes. As soon as my mind opened, I was looking at swirls of colors of all shades and levels of brightness. I was thinking 'Donald' and looking for his signature color. Several times, I thought I saw it and tried to focus my mind in that direction, but each time, it slipped away.

Suddenly, I sensed him, then saw his color; the reverse of what I expected. Almost immediately, he was in my mind.

I was surprised at that. Seems like I learn something new every time I venture into this thing. "Uh, right! I'll wait to hear from you."

He was gone. I sat up and took a sip of coffee, feeling very proud of myself for passing the distance milestone. Then I wondered how he'd detected me if his mind wasn't already open. After a little thought, it soaked in that communication between we special people shouldn't be any different than me pushing into other people's minds like I'd been doing all along. The only difference was distance, and I'd already been assured that was irrelevant. I wondered if those of us in possession of this special capability weren't already connected in some way.

And I wondered about sensing him just before identifying his color. That seemed backward. As I reviewed my history with extrasensory phenomena, I recalled that it was me who decided to employ colors as an aid to identifying the presence and intensity of mental signals. Colors didn't initiate contact, they just categorized it! I probably didn't need that tool at all. My ability to sense and find a mind was probably no different than Ellen's or Donald's.

I was gazing at a painting on my wall, pondering this when, as loudly as if he were standing beside me, Donald made contact.

"Chuck!"

I jumped, startled out of my reverie. "Donald. I've had some thoughts about Austin. Do you have any new information for me?"

I thought, That'll be interesting, if Carols goes with me.

I forgot Donald was still on the line. I sensed his laugh, "Not to worry, Chuck. Ellen may be a little rough around the edges, but she's a class act, all the way."

"I'm anxious to meet her. Do you know where we're staying?"

"No details yet. I'll be in touch this week. And in spite of your being under the radar so far, I'd advise you to not get cocky. Keep your head down!"

"Message received and understood, Sir!"

He was gone.

All right, I thought, Looks like I'm going to meet my kindred spirits!

Jeff was already there when I got home, and he and Carol were having coffee in my living room. He stood when I came in the door.

"Hey, Chuck."

"Jeff, thanks for coming. Did Carol explain what's going on?"

"A little bit, but no details," Carol interjected. "I thought I'd leave that up to you."

"Sure." I tossed my jacket on the couch and poured myself a cognac. "Anybody else?" I asked, holding the bottle up.

"Yeah, thanks," Jeff said, holding out his coffee cup for a splash.

Carol passed.

We got comfortable and I dove right into the plan I'd been cooking up in my brain all day. "Jeff, as I'm sure Carol has already explained, we have it on good authority that Dr. Austin isn't acting in our best interests. Plans are already in the works to address that issue, but what we need to know is if Janet Christy is playing any role in Austin's schemes. I don't think she is, but we have to be sure. I've been working on a plan to find that out and it's going to require your assistance, if you're willing."

Jeff sipped his laced coffee and nodded, "You know I'll do what I can, Chuck. How can I help?"

"I need you to meet with Janet and ask her some specific questions while I get into her mind from the back door and poke around a little bit. The questions are designed for two purposes; to get her thinking in a certain direction, and to distract her while I get into her mind without her sensing me. Will you do that?"

"Yeah, I'll do it. What's the pretext for the meeting and what questions do you want me to ask?"

"That's what we need to decide."

Carol asked, "Jeff, what, exactly, did Dr. Christy say to you when you met with her?"

He tried to recall their conversation. "Well, she pointed out that talking to anybody about Chuck's ESP could lead to some unexpected problems. She said there were people and agencies out there who would consider him either very valuable as a resource, or possibly dangerous to their political aims. She pointed out that it was extremely important that I not breath a word about Chuck to anybody, not even my wife." He took another sip. "That's about it, really."

I asked, "Did she mention who any of these people or agencies were?"

"No, not by name. I just assumed she was thinking CIA, or something like that. Personally, I thought it was all a little far-fetched, but I didn't say anything."

Carol asked, "And she didn't threaten you with any consequences if you spilled the beans?"

"No, nothing like that. She was very polite."

I took a sip of my cognac and said, "OK, that's very helpful, Jeff. Here's what I'd like you to do, if you're willing. I'd like you to ask Dr. Christy to meet with you, and ask her specifically if you and your wife are in any danger from these unnamed persons who might be interested in my abilities. You're not going to be caught in any lies, because I'm pretty sure you're already concerned about that possibility. That question is going to get her thinking about security issues and that's when I plan to be in her mind to try to determine what her association with Austin is."

Jeff considered my request for a moment, then nodded his agreement. "That shouldn't be too tough. And you're right, it has been weighing on my mind, some. When do you want me to do this?"

"Do you think you can arrange a meeting for tomorrow?"

"I can try. How will you know when to get into her mind?"

"I plan to be in your mind until you ask her the question. Are you OK with that?"

He grinned and said, "Not really a problem, but if you see any strange stuff in there, I'd appreciate it if you keep it to yourself."

I assured him, "I won't be turning over any rocks. I'll just be concentrating on what you see and hear."

He took out his cell phone, found her office number on his list and punched the speed dial. After a long wait, he smiled and spoke, "Dr. Christy? Hi, this is Jeff Romero. I was wondering if I could drop by your office sometime tomorrow to talk to you about this Chuck Duncan thing ... No, it won't take long. I just have a couple of questions ... Maybe I could catch you at lunch ... Great! Thanks, and I appreciate it. I'll see you about noon, then ... Bye!"

I reached over and patted his knee, "Good work, Jeff. Are you working tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but I can take off for an hour or so, if I need to."

"How about if I pick you up outside the Health Science Center at 11:30 and drive you over to the UC Denver building? I can wait in my car while you meet with her."

He stood to leave. "Works for me. I sure hope this gets you the information you need. And I sure hope Dr. Christy isn't in on any funny business."

"Me too, Jeff. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"No, thanks. I'm sure Karen's already got supper on the stove. I better be going."

I showed him to the door. "I really appreciate your helping me with this, Jeff. I owe you a big one."

We shook hands. "Any time, Chuck. Hell, you're almost family. See ya tomorrow. Bye, Carol."

December 2, 2014:

It went off just as we planned. I let Jeff off at the front entrance and drove over to the lot to wait. I rode his mind as he ascended the stairs and walked down the hall to Janet's office. She smiled as she greeted him and asked him to have a seat in her tiny, cluttered closet of an office.

When he asked her, straight out, if she thought he and his wife were in any danger, I slipped out of his mind and into hers.

She seemed legitimately concerned about his fears. "I really don't think you are, Jeff. At least, I hope there's no danger. We don't even know if there's any actual threat. We just thought caution was important, considering that Chuck is such a unique resource. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it."

"Yeah, well, when we talked last time, you seemed really worried about me telling someone; like it would be a major disaster if I did."

"Well, I'm sorry if I caused you any anxiety, Jeff. That wasn't my intention. I just wanted you to know how important it was to keep it to yourself. I'm sure you can appreciate our need for security."

"Oh, sure, I get it! Um, well, I guess that's all I wanted to ask you, Dr. Christy. Thanks for your time."

"Any time, Jeff. I hope I cleared up your concerns."

"Guess I better get back to work. See ya"

I was convince she had no knowledge of Austin's association with the NSA, because there wasn't even a flicker of a thought of him or of the agency when she heard the question. As Jeff walked out her door, I announced myself. "Janet?"

Surprise followed by a short delay, "Chuck? Is that you?"

"It's me. Sorry for the surprise. Can you come to my place for dinner tonight? It's important."

"Um, I'm teaching a class at the medical school until seven. It'd probably be eight before I could get there. Is that OK?"

"Perfect! Carol and I will have dinner waiting for you. See you then, and thanks."

Carol prepared her awesome salmon tarragon, scalloped potatoes and asparagus for dinner. Janet arrive a little after eight, and I greeted her with a glass of white wine. We sat at the dining room table and talked as Carol brought in the food.

She asked, "Can you tell me what this is all about, Chuck. My imagination has been working overtime all afternoon, wondering what was so important."

Carol set our plates in front of us and sat across the table from me. "Hope you like it, Janet."

"It smells wonderful, Carol. Very nice wine, too."

I asked her to hold her questions until after dinner. I didn't want all Carol's great cooking to go unappreciated, and I was afraid what I had to talk about might be an appetite killer.

Half an hour later, as Carol cleared the table, I began, "There are some things you need to know, Janet. First of all, I'm not at all unique in my abilities. There's a network of us all over the world, according to those I've already been in contact with."

Janet put her napkin down and gaped at me. "You can't be serious!"

"I'm very serious, Janet. I discovered it by accident a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I've bumped minds with several people around the U.S. and Canada who have assured me that, not only are there lots and lots of us, there have always been people of our kind, throughout history. We just do a very good job of keeping it quiet."

She sat there stupefied. Finally, she found her voice. "This is just so hard to imagine! We've been researching this forever, and we've never turned up any credible evidence until you showed up!"

"Actually, that's not so. Frank Austin knows about us, and has for a long time, now."

Shocked, again! "He has? Why wouldn't he tell me that, if it were true?"

"Because he's paid not to tell you. The only reason you're involved in his program right now is because I came to you first."

"Well, what possible reason would he have to keep it to himself? He's been looking for evidence of mental communication for decades now. This would be his shining accomplishment! It's his raison d'etre!"

"Janet, Frank Austin doesn't work for himself. He doesn't even work for the University, really. He's an agent for the NSA, and they fund all his research. Their job is intercepting and spying on any and all modes of communication. What I and many others can do is the most unique and undetectable method of communicating there is. They want to own that. Our concern is that, any of us they can't control, they'll destroy, so no one else can."

She took a big gulp of wine. "How can you possibly know that, Chuck? NSA has to be one of the most secretive agencies in the world. They sure as hell don't publicize their resources and agendas!"

I didn't think it wise to mention our lady on the inside. I just went with the circumstantial evidence. "Some of our people disappeared after consulting with Dr. Austin when he was at Boston College. He's the only common link between those disappearances."

I pushed my chair back and picked up my wine glass. "Come into the living room and I'll give you all the gory details. We're hoping to convince you to be an ally."

We hashed over questions and answers for two hours, and, as expected, she refused to just accept my word for it. I could hardly blame her for that. What made her start to turn the corner was when I told her about Donald and his assurance that there would be no record of me or any testing done on me in the University main frame. He knew that Austin wouldn't have allowed Janet to enter any of the data. I suggested that, if she tried to access my records by name or case number, she'd either be blocked or she'd find nothing there.

When she left to go home, she said, "You make a pretty credible case, Chuck, but I'm not buying into it until I've had a chance to do a little digging on my own. I have no reason to think you'd deceive me, but maybe you don't know all the facts. I'll let you know what I find."

"That's all I ask. Of course, Austin must never know about this conversation."

"Of course not."

I took her hand and begged, "Janet, please be very, very careful! People have disappeared over this thing!"

"I can take care of myself," she assured. "Don't worry about me, OK?"

December 7, 2014:

Catching up on my log. I made contact with Donald again. Arrangements for the meeting in Columbia, Missouri are all set for the 15th of the month. Carol is coming with me, and Donald says that's not a problem, since several attendees will have their significant others in tow. They probably have a few issues in common, considering what and who they live with. We'll be staying at the Hilton, where a block of rooms has already been reserved. Ostensibly, we're an entrepreneurial investment group, meeting to discuss new technology coming down the pipeline; something that just happens to be right up my alley.

Tomorrow, I'll let Bill know that I'll be out of town for a few days, and that I'll take my MacBook with me to stay current on my work.

It's a sunny day, and this morning, Carol and I walked two laps around the park, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather, then we had an early lunch at the little natural foods cafe on Colfax. She said she had some shopping to do at the Cherry Creek Mall, and took off as soon as we got home.

I lazed about the apartment doing nothing in particular, and decided to pay a short visit to Kevin to see if he'd made any progress with his sister. He wasn't at home, but I found his mind without any difficulty. He was doing some Christmas shopping with his mom at Sears; or rather, he'd been dragged along to serve as a pack mule. He was bored and irritated.

When I nudged his mind to think about Dannie, he jumped willingly, thinking pleasant thoughts about her. That made me assume things were better between them. A little more probing of his mind told me they'd been getting together on a fairly regular basis, circumstances permitting, since his declaration of sexual independence. It seems she'd retreated from her dominant position, and agreed to not make unfair demands of him in exchange for some regular fucking. I hoped they had a good supply of condoms.

I felt like I'd done a good thing, and that my work was done. There would be no more intrusions on the Kevin and Dannie story.

I'd not made contact with Janet since the night she had dinner with us. I was hoping she'd get back to me quickly but she hadn't. I was feeling edgy about what she might have turned up, so I connected with her, mind to mind. Apparently, she'd gotten spooked and was waiting for me to initiate contact because she was afraid to use her phone or drive over. The emotion I sensed when I slipped into her mind was deep concern, if not outright fear. Something had happened.

"Janet, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Chuck? Thank god, you're finally here! I've been waiting for three days!"

Her near-panic caused my heart rate to pick up a little. "Tell me what's happened."

"I may have tipped our hand. God, I'm so sorry, Chuck!"

"Take a deep breath and relax, Janet. Just tell me what happened."

There was a delay while she tried to organize her thoughts. Then, "Well, you were right about those files. There aren't any, as far as I can tell. I tried every way I could think of to access Frank's data, but there's nothing there. I thought he might have come up with some obscure file name, so I made up a plausible story for why I needed access and asked him if I could log into them. He asked me what I needed, and I said I wanted to look over the FMRI images. He made up a flimsy excuse about them not showing anything of value and said he'd deleted them, which is, of course, absurd! Well, I got angry and shouted at him. I said he had no right to destroy any records pertaining to your case, and that if he wouldn't allow me access to his computer files, I wanted a printout of everything that remained of your test results. He just turned and walked away without saying another word."