Chapter 36: Pre-Planning Prevents Poor Performance

July 1, 1985

[“I laid low, just raising you kids after that until TJ called me in late 1972.”]

“What happened then?” Bob asked.

“We put together a plan of how Jim and TJ could use my abilities without putting any of us in danger!” Dad smiled brilliantly.

“So, you’re not trying to talk us out of our plan with Tom? It sure sounded like you were trying to scare us out of the idea.” I exclaimed.

“Scare you? Yes, and no. Enlighten you? Definitely.”

“So what’s the plan?” Bob asked excitedly.

“Hold your horses! You can’t have a plan if you don’t know what you have to work with. Let’s get in the pool? We have to prepare first. I need to know what you can REALLY do.” Dad grinned.

We were looking at Dad, wondering about swimsuits.

He laughed, “Don’t even TRY to tell me you guys don’t skinny dip ALL the time. Come on, let’s go! We’ve only got a couple hours of daylight left.”

Chuckling and giggling, we stripped and got in the pool.

Dad said, “First things first. Escape planning. Bob, Linda and Charlie could simply fly away. The rest of us CAN’T! You guys are the pilots. Charlie, you take Greg, since you’re both the heaviest and try to levitate WITH each other. Do it over the pool for now?”

Greg was looking at me half bewildered, half petrified. I started levitating, but Greg didn’t move. I tried mentally lifting Greg, but as he went up, I’d go down.

Bob smirked, “Jamie, if you’d care to join me? Let’s show ‘em how it’s done!”

Jamie giggled and Bob took her hand. He squeezed it a couple times, then they both shot out of the pool and were moving around like they didn’t have a care in the world. After a minute, they soft landed right where they took off from. “Charlie, DON’T try to CARRY Greg. Take his hand, connect mentally and JUST DO IT.”

I took Greg’s trembling hand. We connected and we also jumped out of the water. “Whoa, whoa! Oh shit! Don’t drop me Bud! Stay over the pool dammit, oh SHIT!” Greg was constantly beseeching me.

Soon, AFTER we soft landed in the pool he said, “Hey, that wasn’t so bad. I didn’t doubt my buddy for a second.”

It took 5 minutes before we all recovered our composure and Linda tried it with Mary. She was a little unsteady, but they stayed up for a couple of minutes and soft landed nicely. At least Mary wasn’t freaking out! She WAS giggling and smirking at Greg.

Linda was very thirsty, so we took a break on the bench in the pool while Grace and Ed got Gatorade and iced teas for everyone. I was a little thirsty, but Bob seemed unfazed. For some reason Greg wanted a Gatorade, too.

“You guys need to work on this.” Dad explained, “In a worst case scenario, you may need to fly hundreds of miles as quickly as possible. Get yourselves each a CamelBak and keep it full of bottled water. You’ll always want it when you fly, so you don’t get dehydrated. I’m working on some other things you’ll want too.”

He told us he wanted to surprise us, so we didn’t press him on what ‘other’ things.

When Ed and Gracie rejoined us he asked them, “Are you two ‘all-in’ with these guys?”

“Oh, heck yeah! This is like a dream come true for me,” Ed assured him. Gracie was nodding eagerly.

“So you HAVEN’T really thought this through, have you? Do you realize by knowing these guys’ abilities, YOU’RE in more danger than they are?”

They suddenly froze. “Why is that? We can’t do anything.”

“Exactly! If the wrong people, spell that ‘C I A’, want them, their tactics are sneaky and uncaring. If you don’t cooperate, they won’t hesitate to abduct and torture you! Once they have all the information they feel they can get, and realize you’re of no future value, they will most likely make you disappear.”

Ed was frozen in fear and Grace was stunned. Grace looked around and whispered, “I never even thought about THAT! Charlie told us to never tell anyone, but I always thought that was for THEIR protection.” Ed was nodding slowly.

“And HAVE you told anyone? Anyone at ALL?” Dad looked at her menacingly.

“NO! NO, God no! I thought about telling my sister, but somehow Charlie knew I was thinking that and begged me not to. We’ve NEVER told anyone,” Gracie pleaded, hoping Dad believed her. He touched her hand and smiled, flashing, “She’s good. Now for Ed.”

He touched Ed’s hand and again smiled. “Okay, I know you’re both telling the truth. Good, let’s move on. Let me ask you again, are you both STILL ‘all-in’?”

Ed said, “I guess we don’t really have a choice, now, do we? We can’t un-remember what we already know.”

“Look, Ed, Gracie, we will never abandon you. We would never abandon anyone we love!” I told them emphatically.

“I REALLY wish we could at least communicate like you guys do. I’d feel a lot better if we could at least let you know if something were to happen.”

Dad grinned, “Maybe there’s a way.”

We were all looking at him quizzically.

“I met with some old friends today while you guys were at work. First I talked to Tom Gregory. We’re putting off your press conference till we come up with a better plan. Then I talked to Jim. He’s also concerned about the whole ‘Invisible Man’ thing.

“He said it was fraught with disaster, both for the Police and yourselves. He’s not totally against it however, but insists that both he and Tom be in on the planning if you guys decide to go ahead with it.

“I talked to TJ via payphones. He’ll be flying in tomorrow with some special ‘toys’ so I can sweep your house for bugs. If we find any, we’ll sweep Ed’s house too. He’s intrigued by the idea and offered his help. Finally, I called my old friend Joshua. His name was in the phone book! After a very short phone call we met at the forest preserve where we spent nearly 4 hours catching up on old times. You know that he doesn’t know Bob and Charlie are my kids?”

“You didn’t tell him?”

“Hell no! Look, it might sound cruel, but from here on out, the LESS everyone knows the better. If he finds out you ARE my kids, I’m afraid he’ll REALLY want to restart the program. THAT is a VERY bad idea. He’s already convinced that Charlie’s a catalyst. I am too, now. He just thinks the six of you are a miracle sent from heaven, especially after what you did for him and Ann.”

“So how do we refer to you the next time we see him?” Bob asked.

“You don’t! If he mentions me, he’ll probably refer to me as Jorgenson. If we ever get together, just act like we don’t know each other and let HIM introduce us.” He chuckled, “Just DON’T accidentally call me DAD! And DON’T try and get too friendly with me.”

“Wow, okay,” I said, “Now I get it. We need to memorize this list and never let anyone on it see us do anything they don’t already know about. Right?”

“EXACTLY! Oh, Joshua did give me an idea. Have any of you tried to ‘push’ anyone like that David Keith character could do in Firestarter?”

We were all deep in thought. “No, I don’t think so,” I said.

Linda’s eyes popped open like a starburst. “YES, YOU HAVE Charlie!”

“Who, when?”

“Today! CINDY. That explains it!” she said incredulously.

“I don’t understand? What do you mean?”

Dad was intrigued, “Linda, why don’t you tell me; my boys can both be a little dense at times.” He was smirking at me.

Linda explained how ever since this morning everyone kept saying Cindy was an entirely different person after our meeting. Dad then had me tell him the WHOLE story word for word.

When I finished, he was beaming, “I know you didn’t realize it or do it intentionally, but you DID ‘push’ her. I’ll be very curious to find out how long it lasts, since you didn’t seem to push her very hard. You two keep an eye on her, but don’t say anything. She is now our first experiment. I want to do another. Any volunteers?”

He was looking at Gracie and Ed. Gracie said she would, as long as it wouldn’t hurt.

“Give me your hand for a second.” Dad requested.

She did and smiled while Dad smiled back. “Done.”

He flashed me, “Ok Charlie, say exactly what I tell you. This is going to be slightly traumatic for her. She’s about to relive a time when she was 14 and was skinny dipping with her friend and they were unexpectedly joined by some other friends of hers. She was pretty shy at the time. If Ed tries to snap her out of it, let him.”

I followed Dad word for word. Dad told me not to touch her, but to try and connect with just my eyes. To make it more difficult, the sucker told Gracie to try and avoid my stares. He told us to start.

I was struggling to make eye contact. Dad flashed me to relax and get creative. In the real world, it could be even harder.

In frustration, I put my finger in my nose. She giggled, but I caught her eyes, “Gracie!” I said loudly, while focusing with everything I had. Bingo! In less than a second she was like holding her breath. “Gracie, relax, blink your eyes twice.”

She did.

“When I snap my fingers, you will be 14 years old and swimming with your friend Gale. You will remember nothing of your life after that. When I clap my hands twice, you will be back to normal, as if nothing ever happened. It will be like it only lasted a second. Do you hear me?”

She nodded.

“SNAP.”

Suddenly she froze and began looking around the pool anxiously. “Who are you guys? Where’s Gale? What have you done with her? She started screaming and Ed grabbed her, trying to quiet her down.

“It’s okay Gracie, sweetie, no one’s going to hurt you. I love you!” Ed implored.

“Get away from me you brute!” She pleaded, fearfully pulling away from Ed. “Who are you? What have you done to Gale?”

Dad touched her hand and flashed, “She really thinks she’s 14! Ok, end this Charlie.”

She was shaking, when I clapped twice.

It was like flipping a switch.

Gracie smirked, “What are you guys looking at me like that for? Charlie, when are we gonna start?”

She was dead serious.

With the exception of Gracie, EVERYONE, me included, was stunned. We tried to explain what happened, but she didn’t believe it.

Dad commented, “It’s interesting that Gracie truly believed she was 14. Even more, I expected she would be reliving a memory. It appears the only thing that changed was that she was 14 and everything else was reality as she saw it through her 14-year-old eyes! That’s why she didn’t recognize Ed. She obviously hadn’t met him yet.”

Ed said, “That’s right! She was a senior in High School when we met.”

Bob smirked, “If Charlie had done that to me, with all these gorgeous women, I’d have a boner that wouldn’t quit!”

“Okay, now Charlie is going to try something with Ed,” Dad said.

“Uh oh, like what? After what I just saw with Grace, I’m a little nervous. What if you can’t bring me out of it?” Ed asked uneasily.

Dad smiled, “Don’t worry Ed, you won’t WANT this one to end.”

Dad flashed and told me to say what he tells me. We were going to see if I could ‘push’ Ed to connect with me.

I liked the idea.

Not wanting to prejudice Ed, Dad said nothing to him. I looked into his uneasy eyes. We connected quickly. “Ed, you are going to tell me what I’m thinking. Open your mind and quiet your doubts. You have the ability within you. I’m thinking of a number. What is it?”

“I, I don’t ... ten?”

“Yes Ed! Soon there will be ten of us that can talk this way. What am I thinking now?”

“If I can do this, so can Gracie. Really? Yes! I can hear you Mary! You too Greg! Oh wow! This is amazing!”

I flashed Ed, “I’m releasing my control over you now. You will retain this ability, but nothing else will change. Keep communicating with everyone except me for now. I’m going to get your beautiful wife to join us.”

“Okay Charlie, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. Thank you, buddy.” He flashed.

Gracie bolted into my arms, “I love you Charlie! Ed does too. Can I hug you while you do me?”

I chuckled, “I’d love to ‘do’ you while you hug me. But, let’s get you communicating first!”

Giggling, Gracie said, “You got it!” Still hugging, our eyes connected and I felt our connection. It was different than Ed’s. It was much stronger and deeper. She was communicating within a minute. “Ed”, she flashed, “Can you hear me?”

“Yes Baby! If I couldn’t see that your lips weren’t moving, I’d think you were talking to me!”

Dad asked, “Ed, Grace, are you thirsty?”

They both said they were very thirsty, so I flew into his kitchen and got them each a couple Gatorades. As they were guzzling them, Jamie put her hand on their foreheads. They were almost hot. We had them get underwater, hoping the cool water would help speed the cooling. Shortly, their temperature dropped and Dad asked if they were dizzy or had headaches. They said no and after their first Gatorade, their thirst was nearly gone.

Ed and Gracie were anxious.

Dad said, “It’s probably not something to worry about. If you remember, even these guys got thirsty when they first got started. My concern was, that their abilities developed slowly, over time. Their bodies were able to slowly adapt. You two just had a ‘crash course’ and I was afraid that we may have overloaded you.”

I told them to keep practicing, but to go easy, working their time up slowly.

Dad said, “Back to class! Okay, well, Charlie’s newfound talent is NEVER, EVER, to be discussed with anyone! Ever! Not even Joshua, or ESPECIALLY not Joshua.

“Charlie’s ability to push people is perhaps the most powerful tool there is, next to healing. Absolutely NO ONE needs to know. In a major crisis, it could be a way to get people to do things for him they would never do otherwise. It’s also something the CIA would value above all else. It would also terrify them.”

Linda asked, “You keep saying that our healing is dangerous if it were exposed. Why?”

“Just think about it for a minute. If the world knew you and Charlie could cure any ailment or disease, you would be overwhelmed with requests to help people. There are millions of people injured or sick every day! How would you even attempt to triage who was first? Or 500^th? You would end up killing yourselves trying to save everyone.”

“Oh wow, you’re right! They would never get a seconds’ peace. It would be even worse than the CIA, wouldn’t it?” Greg said, awestruck.

Dad chuckled, “Yes, the CIA would at least let them sleep!”

I thought about it for a moment. Dad was right.

I said, “Sometimes even the most honorable and well intentioned ideas can have disastrous consequences. We really do have to think things through, we should probably not even DO any healing anymore.”

Dad sighed, “That’s up to you, but I’d be dead right now if you hadn’t been there for me. I can’t even suggest that you stop. Just try and minimize your exposure and explain to everyone involved that their cure comes at a price. Their silence. Oh, just so you know, Sarge, Tom’s friend, shouldn’t be a problem. You really did fix his sexual problems. I mentioned that if he ever said anything to anyone, you would reverse the procedure!”

“But we don’t know how to do that.” I said.

“HE doesn’t know that.” Dad smirked.

Greg grinned, “Pops, I LIKE the way you think! I’m just glad you’re helping US.”

Bob agreed, “It’s like terror tactics. Only a little craftier.”

Dad asked, “Bob, have you tried healing?”

“No, Why?”

“If Charlie or Linda ever get hurt again, you could possibly help the other one heal the one that’s injured.”

“Oh yeah, let’s try it!”

Ed grinned, “Need a volunteer?”

Dad said, “Sure. What happened to your leg?”

He blushed, “Well, today at work, I went to kick a cabinet shut and missed. I put a pretty good gash on my shin. It still hurts.”

Dad pulled the large Band-Aid off his shin. It had scabbed over, but the area was still black and blue. Dad pulled off the scab and it started bleeding again. He had Bob and Linda proceed by each putting their hands on his leg.

After 5 minutes, nothing happened, and Ed’s leg was still trickling blood.

I took Linda’s place. His leg started getting warm. The bleeding stopped, but after 10 minutes it was still black and blue. Also, no ‘happy ending’.

Ed said the pain was better, but not gone.

He puckered his brow, “Do you think maybe, please, can Charlie and Linda try?”

Gracie slapped his shoulder, “You just want the ‘Happy Ending’ don’t you?”

Ed gave a lopsided grin.

Linda joined me, “For our team mate, we’ll do anything!”

Within seconds of Linda’s joining me his scab fell off, the bruise disappeared and Ed was moaning and grinning from ear-to-ear. He shot a wad almost 4 feet, landing on the patio table with several more to follow. He had his finger in his mouth trying to muffle his screams.

Afterwards he gushed, “That was, oh my God, the most intense orgasm I’ve ever had! It felt like it started at the base of my neck and traveled like lightning all the way to the end of my pecker. God was that good!”