Chapter 106: Because I Can

Thursday, June 10, 1971

I scanned to see where everyone was. Karla was still cleaning up in the galley. I noted she was reorganizing Kip’s earlier stocking of the pantry. Kip was talking with Penny in the forward part of the Dining Car. I made a mental note to ask Catherine about redoing that area into a parlor area similar to the one in the Observation Car. As it was, it reminded me too much of the seats on a regular train.

Mikeya was in her room, asleep. That caused me to raise my eyebrows because she had told me last night that she wanted me to spend the night with her tonight.

Ileana was in the parlor, with the rest of the girls.

“Hi, beautiful,” I said to her as I entered the car.

“Well, hello handsome,” she said from her seat on the floor, in front of the chair occupied by Abby.

I bent to kiss the top of her head as I asked, “Is there something wrong with Mikeya?”

“She said she hasn’t been feeling well all day, so she just went to bed early,” Ileana replied.

I was concerned, so I scanned, looking for something to fix. My problem was, I couldn’t see anything wrong.

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” I thought to Catherine without checking to see if she was busy.

“Is something wrong, Michael?” she replied a little tersely.

“Mikeya’s not feeling well, and I don’t know what to do,” I told her, realizing that I must sound just like a typical expectant father.

“Well, it’s probably your fault,” she shot back. “I’m on the phone.”

“My fault?” I repeated. I should have known better, but come to think of it, I was a worried soon-to-be daddy.

“She didn’t get pregnant by herself. Why don’t you ask a doctor?” she said brusquely.

Obviously, Catherine was in a hurry to get rid of me.

“I’m sorry, Michael,” she said as she realized she was being short with me. “I’m on a transatlantic call, trying to get entry visas for some of our people from some damned politician in Moscow. It’s very frustrating, not to mention expensive.”

“Have you tried speaking to Count Volkonsky? I’m sure he could be of some help in getting visas,” I asked her.

There was dead silence for a moment, and I assumed her attention was elsewhere, until I began to feel her rising lust. Finally she said, panting heavily, “if ... only ... you ... were ... here...” Then she began to send me erotic images of exactly what she would do, if I were there.

I was immediately regretting I wasn’t there, too.

“Michael!” thought Nicky and Vickie at the same time.

“Cut it out!” Nicky thought. “Not in front of company!”

I suddenly realized they were feeling our passions.

“You really are amazing. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that,” Catherine said. “And I really do wish you were here.”

“Me too,” I told her. “So you think Mikeya is feeling sick because she’s pregnant?”

“Did you scan her?” Catherine asked.

“Yeah, but I couldn’t really see anything that looked ‘wrong’ not like when I scanned you, or David,” I told her.

“Then my guess would be that she’s feeling pregnant, which is not unusual, especially the first time. But you should probably get her checked by an OB/GYN to be sure,” Catherine advised.

“Okay, I’ll do that. Thanks,” I told her. “Sleep tight.”

“Goodnight, Michael,” she replied. “But I don’t know how well I’ll sleep now.”

“Abby, quit that!” Deedee told her little sister abruptly.

“But ... he did it to me!” she whined.

“What do you mean, he did it to you?” Deedee thought to her little sister.

“He caused me to ... to...” Abby stammered, embarrassed.

“I think it’s time for me to explain some things to both of you,” I told Deedee.

Roger and Jessica were coming through the observation car on the way to their rooms.

“Did she reach a decision?” I asked Roger.

“Jessica says she’s willing to try as hard as she can. She’s not sure she can pull it off, but I’m confident that she can. And we’re going to provide her with all the support we can to make sure she succeeds!” Roger said with pride.

“Did you tell her about the ranch?” I thought to him.

Roger grimaced slightly at the quick change in communication styles, but didn’t let on outwardly, “Uh ... not exactly,” he thought back.

“That’s okay. We’ll see how she handles it when it comes up,” I thought to him.

Based on her decision to stay, I asked them to have a seat, since they should probably hear what I was about to tell everyone else. Then I began to tell all of them about waking up from a coma, and losing my memory, but finding out that I had gained a wonderful gift.

As I explained, I gradually transitioned from verbal speech to mental speech. It was so smooth, only Vickie, Ileana, and Nicky caught it at first. Until I looked at Jessica and she realized I wasn’t moving my mouth.

“Oh my god! How ... Oh my god, I could hear you in my ... my mind!” she said out loud.

“Tell her to calm down, Roger,” I thought to him.

Roger caught on quick. He immediately thought to his daughter, “It’s okay Jess. It’s actually kind of fun.”

“Oh my god! Daddy? I could hear you!” she said almost screaming.

“Easy, honey. It’s okay. Don’t scream. Just think. Don’t talk, just think,” he told her.

“You mean you can hear this?” she asked in her mind.

“That’s it, honey. Yes, I can hear you,” Roger replied.

That began a dreary dialogue of testing and trying between father and daughter, as we all sat patiently waiting on them to tire of the novelty of it.

Finally, I interrupted them with, “Roger, since we’re reading her mind, have you ever wondered about your daughter’s sex life?”

“Eee-e-e-k! Don’t you dare!” she cried out loud, covering her face with her hands.

“Jessica!” I said firmly, trying not to laugh at my tease as I waited for her to quit her wailing. “Listen to me!”

She stopped her whining, but wouldn’t look up.

“Jess, honey. You’re acting like a small child. Stop that and look at Michael. He’s trying to explain something to you, and I think it’s going to be important that you understand,” Roger told her.

Jessica sat up slowly. She was sitting on the floor, with her legs bent under her, and her skirt covering her lap and legs, primly. She dropped her hands to her lap, but kept wringing them as she looked at me.

“Miss Skinner, I have other guests, and would like to continue, please.”

“Then why did you ask my daddy if he wanted to know about my ... my ... life?” she said defiantly.

“Because I can. That’s the whole point,” I said.

Jessica looked at me like I had just kicked over her sand castle and ripped off her favorite baby doll’s arm with that statement. And she didn’t like it one little bit.

“Penny, would you bring me an unloaded pistol?” I asked her. “I need to prove a point, but not with a loaded gun, so make sure it’s unloaded.”

“This ought to be interesting,” she thought to no one in particular.

“You think you can do anything you want, to anybody you want to, just because you can read minds?” she challenged.

I waited as Penny entered the car, handing me the unloaded revolver, butt first.

“Be careful, Michael. It’s not a toy,” Penny warned me.

I turned it around and handed the pistol to Jessica, again butt first, so that she had to grasp it by the handle.

“You now have a weapon. You’re angry. And you can hurt me if you choose to squeeze the trigger,” I told her. “So what’s it gonna be?”

“You’re right, I’m mad. But I don’t want to shoot you,” she said.

“Are you sure? Now’s your chance,” I prodded her.

“I’m not mad at you,” she said. “It’s just that I don’t like the idea that you can ... er ... see, I guess you’d say, my private thoughts.”

“I understand,” I told her. “Uh, would you mind handing the gun to your dad? For some reason, it makes me nervous to have you holding a gun this close to everyone. Even if it’s not loaded.”

Jessica looked up in surprise. “I should have known,” she said, as she handed the unloaded pistol to her dad.

“So what’s your point?” she asked, much calmer now.

“My gift is like a loaded gun, in that it makes some people afraid. Either you avoid me, or trust me with it. Since you are going to be spending a lot of time with us, you can’t very well avoid me. So you, Jessica, are in the unique position of HAVING to trust me. Or fail at your assigned task.”

“Oh,” she replied as I saw the gears turning.

“You also have one more option,” I told her.

“And that is?” she asked.

“Agent Lane, the man on my right has a gun. I feel threatened, both for my safety, and the safety of my other guests. Do you have jurisdiction, as an FBI Agent, to arrest him and detain him until we reach Houston? And would you also check to see if he has a permit for it?” I asked her.

Penny looked at me only a moment, before she stepped in front of Roger and pulled her service revolver. I knew that it was loaded, and she knew I was trying to prove a point.

“Please, sir. Place the gun on the floor and raise your hands to touch your head,” she told him. “NOW!”

Roger, startled at first, slowly complied. But when Penny whipped out her cuffs, he became worried.

“Daddy!” Jessica screamed in alarm as she watched Penny attach the cuffs.

“What are you doing, Michael?” Jessica asked.

“That’s enough, I guess. Thanks,” I told Penny.

I nodded to Penny, who stopped and removed the cuffs. Retrieving the unloaded pistol, she looked at me before heading for her door.

“Now do you understand?” I asked Jessica.

Jessica, holding tight to her daddy’s hand, looked at me for a few moments, before answering. I could see she had puzzled it out, but she still need to verbalize it, if just for herself.

“You’re saying I could call the authorities on you, and they would take you away, all because someone handed you a weapon, that you didn’t ask for,” she explained.

I smiled. “You’re getting it,” I told her, encouragingly. “And the only people that would be hurt, are the ones deprived of your father’s or my presence. So now you understand that the trust I’m asking for is a two-way street. The only difference is I chose to trust you, thereby forcing you to trust me. And you can compare your dilemma, to the ones your clients face every day, being forced to trust you. Right Roger?”

“Hey, that’s right. I see what you mean. When our clients choose us, they are forced to trust us to design their project correctly, or it could fail and cost them their lives, or the lives of their loved ones,” Roger said. “So, when you chose us, you were forced to trust us. But when you demanded a faster time line, you were forced to trust us even more, and that’s why you asked if we would keep your confidentiality. I see now.” He repeated himself as he mulled it over.

Roger stood up yawning. “I’m going to say goodnight. You have given me a great deal to think about, young man. I will tell you that company policy is going to be absolute confidentiality with our clients from now on. We want to earn your trust, not command it,” he finished like one of those commercials on late night TV.

“Goodnight, Daddy,” Jessica said as she kissed his cheek. “I think I’m going to stay here for a while ... if they’ll allow me to,” she said the last part to me.

“You’re welcome to stay, Miss Skinner,” I told her.

“Thank you, Mr. Wagner,” she returned with a smile. “Or should I say Prince Michael?”

“I don’t really care, as long as you say it with that gorgeous smile,” I replied.

Jessica laughed. It was a gentle, yet sincere laugh, but it was the most honest thing I had heard from her yet.

“Would anyone care for a snack?” Karla asked as she came in carrying a tray of warm cookies. Right behind her came Kip with a pitcher of tea, and a bottle of milk.

Mother Nature picked that moment to start working on my bladder, so I got up and headed for the bathroom in my stateroom.

“Please excuse me for a moment, I’ll be right back,” I told them. “Security! Guard one of those cookies for me while I’m gone!” I told Kip laughing.

“Ah-aye, Captain,” Kip said, going into a drunken sailor act, complete with a sloppy left-handed salute that made everyone laugh.

“You know,” Jessica thought to herself when I left the room, “I’ll bet he’s a lot of fun to be around. And now that I think about it, he’s been nothing but kind and polite to us. If he could read my thoughts now, I would really be embarrassed. Daddy’s right, I was too quick to judge him. I thought he’d be like all the other sixteen-year-old boys I’ve ever known. They seem to act like idiots most of the time. Especially in front of girls. But he’s smart and good looking, too. I guess he’s what the magazines would call dangerously handsome when he smiles at me like that. Damn! My pussy’s getting wet. I hope it doesn’t leak through my skirt!”

“Don’t we know it. Some days we change clothes three or four times. Just like tonight when he got started with Catherine. It just sends quivers through our pussies,” Nicky thought to her.

“You heard that?” Jessica asked in alarm. “Are you one too?”

“Naw ... Michael is the only one in our family,” Nicky replied. “So far.”

“But, how did you know what I was thinking?” Jessica asked.

“Oh, we all heard you,” Adriana thought to her. “I imagine that Michael even let Abby and Deedee hear as well. He’s prone to just connect everybody and then walk out.”

“He ... he can do that?” Jessica stammered.

“He can do that and so much more!” Amy chimed in. “Like when he’s making love, just about every woman on the train can feel it! It makes me want to ... well, try it, maybe.”

“A-MY!” Vickie cried. “I can’t believe you! I’m so jealous!”

Amy blushed. I couldn’t see her, but I could feel it. They seemed to be getting along, so I decided to jump in the shower. I was still sticky from this afternoon.

“You’re jealous because she wants Michael?” Jessica asked.

“Oh, no. I’m jealous because she doesn’t want me!” Vickie said, giggling immensely.

Of course, this caused Amy to blush even more.

“Well, I’m jealous,” Nicky said. “Tonight was supposed to be my turn, but since Vickie has been acting out all day, Michael will have to take her instead. And now that he’s heard Amy, he’ll probably make me wait again.”

“Wait! Isn’t Michael your brother?” Jessica asked incredulously.