Chapter 11

Will and Tina sat in a Westwood Village coffee shop enjoying the first real coffee they had had for months. To passers by they looked like any couple enjoying their morning caffeine fix. Closer examination might have shown an unfocussed appearance to their eyes, if anyone bothered to notice. This was not surprising in light of the fact that their attention was several blocks away, doing a thorough scan of the FBI building on Wilshire. Will was searching for documents or computer screens that might contain the information they sought, while Nine scanned the minds of the building's occupants.

Students from nearby UCLA studied or held long intellectual discussions at surrounding tables, never realizing that the quiet couple at the corner table was spying on the FBI.

Once the decision was made, it had taken a few days to get here. First, they needed money. Getting it was more of an annoyance than a problem. Will bounced them around, individually and as a couple, between Carson City, Albuquerque, Placerville, Blackfoot, Las Vegas, Telluride, and other places where he had found stores that bought gold for cash. By the time they were done, they had well over a hundred thousand dollars, all from small sales that shouldn't raise much more than an eyebrow or two, unless someone happened to notice the number of transactions and the similarity of the sellers. Much of their bankroll was stuffed into plastic bags and left in the cave with the rest of their gear. It was safe enough. The mice and rats that found their way into the cave were not likely to think the money tasty enough to bother with, and there were only two humans in the world who could get into and out of that cave without extensive digging.

Will and Tina had also bought clothing, sometimes in the same cities and towns as their gold transactions, some in other places. They didn't bother with luggage, not when it was just as easy to store things in the cave and either pop back to change or teleport what you needed to where you were.

At the FBI offices, Will quickly scanned computer screens and documents, moving his mind methodically from office to office, top to bottom, searching each floor of the building for evidence of someone who might be working on terrorism. He had just spotted a document in a stack of reports on someone's desk that seemed to come from a department that dealt with terrorism. Now if he could just find the office from which it originated...

Got something! Nine's thought interrupted Will's search. These guys seem to be the ones we're looking for.

Will hitched a ride on Tina's thoughts as she delved into the minds of several different individuals. He got a feel for their location, and sure enough, one of them had authored the document he had already seen. While Nine probed their memories, Will probed their files and scanned computer screens.

Ha! Will 'said, ' as he discovered a report detailing surveillance of a particular residence where the ringleader of the local cell was believed to live.

Got it! Tina thought simultaneously, as she dug the same information out of the memory of the agent who had written the report.

Hey, that's in my old stomping grounds! The former gang member added. I wonder what my homeys would think about having a terrorist in the 'hood.

I don't know, Will replied, but what do you say we see if we can find this guy. Might be easier to locate if we're in the neighborhood. Want to go visit the old homestead?

I don't mind. Tina thought with a feral smile. I'm older, wiser, and a whole hell of a lot tougher than I was when I was a scared little teenager on those streets. Let's go say 'Hi' to my boys and girls.

Only one of the college students nearby noticed the fact that the couple at the next table vanished into thin air. His friends looked at him like he was crazy when he mentioned it. Too much caffeine and too many sleepless nights, they thought.

No one in the East L.A. neighborhood where they appeared would have said anything to anyone even if they had noticed two people appearing suddenly on the sidewalk. Apparently, no one did. They had walked about half a block closer to the address they had come to check out when a young man wearing a bandana around his shaven head stepped out in front of them, his plaid shirt buttoned at the top button only and his baggy jeans looking as if they would fall down any minute.

"What you two want on this block?" he said, one hand reaching for the handgun in the back of his waistband. "You ain't paid the tax, so I got to collect."

"Back up Pablo." Tina said quietly. "You don't want none of what me and my friend got to offer you. Since when you get so tough, huh, Pablito?"

"Tina?" Pablo's eybrows went up to his do-rag. "That you?"

"Yeah, that's me, little cousin." Tina replied. "Now tell those other three to come on out. I ain't kiddin' about us bein' outta your league, homes. This here's serious business we're on and you four ain't got the cojones for it."

"Hey, knock it off with the 'little cousin' and 'Pablito' shit, Tina!" The young man looked nervously around. "I gotta rep to think about! Don't nobody call me that shit no more!"

"They gonna call you 'Swiss Cheese' if you don't let go of that piece and come give your cousin a hug." Tina teased. "You think I can't still kick your bony ass, cuz? Get the hell over here and act like you glad to see me!"

Pablo grinned and gave Tina a heartfelt hug as Will scanned the three other young men who emerged uncertainly from between the houses.

"Damn Tina!" Pablo said, stepping away. "You got strong, Mama! Feel' like you been liftin' for years! Ain't you got nothin' else to do wit' your time in the fuckin' Army?"

"I'm into somethin' else now, Pablo." Tina smiled, "Me and Will here, we're kind of a private army. We're lookin' for terrorists. You notice anything funny goin' on around the old Sanchez place?"

Pablo shrugged, "I know old man Sanchez kicked the bucket about a year ago. Some Arab moved in a few months back, but he kinda keeps to himself. We shook him down when he first moved in, told him he had to pay the tax, and he just paid up. No fuss, no argument, but a few weeks later, when we knocked on his door for another installment, he met us with an AK in his hands, so we don't fuck with him no more."

"Hey, homes!" One of the others called as the three approached, "Who's the chick? How come you act like... Holy Shit! Tina? I knew you couldn't stay away, chiquita!"

"Yeah, it's me, Julio." Tina said, contempt fairly dripping from her words. "Don't go thinkin' I came back for you, asshole. You try to lay one fuckin' finger on me an' I'll take your whole arm off. You got that?"

"Hey!" Julio sounded genuinely hurt. "I thought you liked me! After I took you in and protected you, this is the thanks I get?"

"Yeah, you protected me all right." Tina sounded as if she might take his arm off anyway. "From everybody but your homeys! You lucky I'm after bigger fish this trip, or I'd tear out your balls and feed 'em to you! You never wondered why I left after you made me pull a train with the whole fuckin' gang?"

Tina spat in the dust at Julio's feet.

"You don't talk to me like that, puta!" Julio started toward her, only to run into the iron bar of Will's outstretched arm. "Get out of the way, Gringo, or I'll cut your fuckin' arm off!"

Almost lazily Will plucked the switchblade from between Julio's fingers, folded it back into the handle, and let the gangster watch as, with three fingers, he bent knife and handle into a horseshoe shape.

"I'm doing you a favor, Julio." Will told him. "This is not the frightened teen you took advantage of a few years ago. She can do to you what I just did to that knife without even breaking a sweat, so if I were you, I'd back off and be thankful I'm feeling generous. You have no idea who you're dealing with, and you don't want to find out the hard way!"

"I don't give a shit, man!" Julio acted less impressed than he was. "Me an' Tina, we go way back, an' if she don't want to talk to me, she can tell me herself."

Will shrugged, already knowing from what was in Tina's mind what was about to happen. Try not to make scene, Nine, We want to try to get something out of that guy down the street and I don't want him bolting because the street's swarming with cops. The FBI's got a guy across the street from the house, and he's already noticed our little pow-wow here.

Don't worry, Ten. Tina thought back. I been thinking about this meeting for a long time. I got it wired.

As Julio stepped forward to confront his former girlfriend, Tina turned seductive and slipped her body in close to his. "You think we can still get back together Julio?"

"Sure, baby." Julio grinned triumphantly. "You was always my favorite mujer. See I knew you still liked me!"

"Yeah, baby." Tina said, slipping her hand down the front of his baggy jeans. "But things gonna have to be a little different this time, okay?"

"Sure baby, whatever you say." Julio replied trying to cop a feel over Tina's shoulder.

"For starters, Julie." Tina said, her voice hardening as her hand closed tightly on Julio's most prized possession. "You gonna hafta be the girl this time, Julie. Maybe I'll just rip this off an' make you a pussy. Then you can pull the train with your homeys!"

Julio's eyes crossed comically and his indrawn breath stayed in his lungs for a long moment before he could expel enough to speak. "Hey, take it easy, Tina! I didn't mean nuthin'!"

"I do, baby." Tina's voice turned sweetly seductive again, but her grip only tightened, her enhanced muscles doing permanent damage to her former boyfriend's family jewels. "You ever come near me again, shithead, and I'll tear this off and feed it to you, you got that?"

"Okay! Okay!" Julio squeaked, both hands trying to pry Nine's arm away from his crotch, but having no success.

Tina finally relented, pushing her former boyfriend away disgustedly. It was not a surprise to anyone when, after catching his breath and fondling his damaged equipment, Julio reached for the automatic in his jeans.

With a sigh, Will, who was closer to the gangster, closed his hand over that of the would-be shooter, wrapping up Julio's hand and most of the action of his weapon.

"You're kinda slow, aren't you Julio." He said quietly as his grip tightened on hand and gun.

The others could hear bones and metal cracking as flesh, bones, and metallic parts surrendered to the incredible pressure that Will's enhanced muscles applied. Julio tried to scream, but his lungs emptied themselves silently as he stared at the bloody, shapeless mess that used to be his hand, now permanently molded into the action of the broken automatic.

"Now, go away." Will told him, giving him a slight shove up the street.

On autopilot, Julio staggered away, whimpering, his left hand cradling what was left of his right hand as blood and pieces of metal dripped onto the sidewalk. Occasionally tenderly touching his aching private parts, he whimpered even louder.

Pablo and the others were staring in fear and awe at Will and Tina.

Pablo jumped as Tina leaned over and kissed him affectionately on the cheek. "I guess you're the leader now, Pablo." She said. "You guys might want to consider another line of work. Seems like being in a gang is bad for your health. I'll see you around Pablito."

Let's go, Nine. Will 'told' her. FBI guy is taking far too much interest in our little group.

Around the corner and halfway down the block, they turned into an alley that ran behind the houses. Once out of sight of the street, Will 'moved' them into the old Sanchez house where the single occupant was peeking out at the gang members still on the street, his right hand clutching an AK-47.

Tina was already probing his mind as he turned away from the window. Will silently removed the ammunition from his weapon without removing the false security of the weapon's weight from his hands. The shock on his face was reflected in his mind, which automatically inventoried all the incriminating evidence in the house, as well as all of his connections to the terrorists in his cell. In seconds, Tina had everything she needed from him, and Will, whose mind was linked with hers, quickly 'moved' all of the explosives in the house to their cave.

"Who are you?" The man asked. "Why are you in my house?"

"We have come to show you the error of your ways." Will told him. "You really should read and interpret the Quran for yourself. Your Imams and Ayatollahs are only human, and they have their own agendas. You have been mislead."

"What are you talking about?" Hasim, as Will and Tina learned his name was, asked in bewildered anger. "How dare you accuse my religious leaders of lying to me!"

Will extracted the image and probable location of that very person from the terrorist's mind, and sent his own mind to the other side of the globe, seeking among those that he found. There. That was the one. Digging into the mind of the Mullah, Will extracted the exact thought processes he used in turning irate farmers, workers, and others into jihadists for his cause. Linking Hasim's mind with his own, he showed him, in a way that he could not refuse to believe, how the Mullah had twisted the words of the Quran to make it seem as though Allah wanted his people to kill women and children.