Chapter 4

Danny had no idea of how long Caleb would be gone, and even less of an idea about what the alien had meant about his doing nothing to deplete the energy. What he did know was he was somehow back in charge, making all the decisions again. The remainder of Caleb's long list of instructions included details on how to access his money.

One hour after awakening without Caleb's presence, Danny was down at the gym he trained at, putting out feelers in hopes of finding his next boxing match. He was determined to enjoy this newfound freedom of his for however long the opportunity lasted.

Over the course of the next six months, Danny enjoyed himself as much as possible. In that time, he fought four additional bouts, slept with forty or fifty hookers, and went through all of the money Caleb had so painstakingly acquired. This was in addition to all the new revenue his boxing had produced for him.

When he woke up one morning, it was as if a physical clamp had been applied to his brain. He knew, instantly, that the alien life force had returned, and had somehow reinvested itself in him while he was sleeping. His disappointment upon discovering this was immense, and Caleb felt a sense of triumph at having caused it.

"I have returned, Danny. Rather than regretting this, you should welcome the improvement my being here will mean."

"I was doing just fine without you. I was living large too. I'm ranked number twelve now by the NABF. Not that it means squat, but at least I'm ranked by someone. I've been promised a shot at their title if I come to California and take part in the elimination challenge they're putting on there next month. The money sucks, but the last two bouts will be nationally televised. It could be some good exposure for me."

"You had exhausted almost ninety percent of the energy reserves I left here for you. You are fortunate I returned so expeditiously. Another few weeks, and you would have ceased to exist."

"That's what you say. For all I know, I don't need you at all any more. I feel just fine. I sure didn't miss having you sitting in my head."

"Very well. I brought back sufficient reserves this time. All you have to do is ask me to release you from our agreement, and I shall depart immediately."

Danny shivered a little when his senses informed him that Caleb didn't appear to be bluffing. He wasn't sure how he knew this, but he was almost certain that Caleb wanted him to accept his offer. His common sense also told him that Caleb felt there would be advantages to him if he did depart from Danny's body.

"Are you upset because I spent all our money?"

"Do you wish me to release you from our agreement?"

"What happens to me if you leave?" Danny was very worried. In spite of how well he'd been feeling, he could tell that he'd already begun to lose some of his sharpness and energy. It had been for this reason that he hadn't already committed himself to participating in the NABF title elimination bouts. He wouldn't have been worried about one more bout, but the elimination format called for up to four fights, over a twelve week period.

"After I first leave, nothing happens. I'll leave you with the remaining life force energy you had when I first returned. If you pace yourself wisely, you should be able to survive for an additional thirty nine to forty three of your days. If you continue on as you have been though, I'd estimate something just short of twenty more days."

"If that's true, I'd be stupid to accept your offer."

"True. That doesn't mean you might not accept. I'm sensing your reluctance. How about me throwing in enough energy for you to survive for an additional month? Would that entice you?"

"Forget it, we already have our deal! I've still got another fifty two years according to our deal. I want all of it too."

"I tried. Lucky for you, once someone of the KAL has given his promise, nothing but treachery from the other party can prevent them from honoring that compact."

"Did you get enough of that energy thing of yours to give the Feltar's the business when they come here?"

"I am now well equipped for any contingency concerning the Feltarian Fleet. That is now the lesser task that I've been assigned. My superiors are curious to learn more about this new type of energy you've somehow created. It is their wish that I investigate it until I learn how to create a shield such as the one you were able to create. Perhaps you might create another such shield for me now?"

The first thought that Danny had was that he had no knowledge of this supposed energy shield that Caleb had referred to. Not knowing what it was, he had no idea of what he needed to do to recreate it. What he did know, and this was instinctive knowledge, was that it would impact unfavorably on his chances to improve his deal with Caleb if he were to admit this ignorance. Danny was shrewd that way. He knew how to negotiate.

"I'm a little upset right now. Let me think about what you're asking me to do. I notice you aren't all that fired up about sharing any of your secrets with me. How do I know you won't just take my secrets and leave me worse off because of it?"

"I could release energy in the same way it occurred before. Perhaps this shield was a non voluntary response? If you are able to create it independently, you should do so. It might be very dangerous to you if I'm forced to conduct trial and error experiments."

"There you go making those threats again Caleb. I thought you'd learned your lesson by now? How many times do I need to prove to you that you can't get what you want by trying to intimidate me?" For Danny, this outburst was prompted by a combination of fear and anger. He really didn't like anyone trying to bully or intimidate him, but he was also very afraid that Caleb might try those experiments on him, and, inadvertently or not, extinguish his life by doing so.

"That's good, Danny. Hold it right there! This is wonderful, a partial shield. Keep it where it is so that I might study it. No! Bring it back! I still need to examine it."

As soon as Caleb claimed to have observed Danny erecting a shield, Danny's anger fled and nothing but abject fear remained. Apparently, this shield needed anger in addition to fear. Danny was doing all he could now to control his angry feelings.

"If you want to study something in addition, something we haven't already agreed to, don't you think it would be better if we first negotiated my compensation for providing you access to my knowledge?"

Danny could feel Caleb's anger, and his frustration. With practice, Danny was getting quite competent in sensing Caleb's thoughts and moods. While Danny was gaining competence at shielding his thoughts from Caleb, he was also improving his own ability to sense any profound changes to Caleb's emotional equilibrium. He was acquiring useful knowledge of his opponent. This is something he'd trained his whole adult lifetime to be able to do.

"Very well. State your price."

"It seems to me that you owe me some kind of an apology first. An apology for all those things you said about the reasons why you and I can't treat each other as equals."

This got another strong emotional outburst from Caleb. As quickly as his mental tirade began though, it ended. Danny sensed right away that Caleb was on to the fact that he could gain knowledge and advantage from pushing Caleb's emotional hot buttons.