Chapter 25: Secrecy of Truth

The easiest way to tell Sally about everything would have been to just share my memories with her, but there were parts of my life I wasn't sure she would be very happy about, like me living with nearly twenty women.

I opened my mouth to try to explain the complexities of what had happened, both between us and during the attack, but someone knocked at the door. We had slipped into the manager's office for further privacy and I was hesitant about letting anyone in.

Whoever was on the other side would have many questions too. Most of those were better left unanswered. The Law of Secrecy of the Mind Magi demanded that the situation be controlled and made to look as mundane as possible. If only my instincts to protect and help hadn't overridden what the law demanded none of the others would be an issue. It would just be Sally for me to worry about.

There were witnesses. Many witnesses. Suddenly, the appearance of the newspaper reporters and news van made sense. They weren't sent to report the opening of my store, they were meant to be witnesses to what I would do when the attack came. The Mind Magi Council would be forced to banish me and whoever was behind the plan would get what they fought for the day before: me out of the way.

"Ral, what's wrong?" Sally asked.

"More than I thought," I answered with a wry smile. My cryptic answer wasn't any better than not answering.

After giving Sally a consolatory hug, I opened the door. Tara slipped in and pushed the door closed. "Mr. Setton, more police have arrived as have medical crews to help with the wounded. A detective is asking to speak with you." She was nervous but in control of herself.

What would I do about the police? If it was Detective Arneson then all was well. He could help cool things off, but we were across town. It wasn't likely that he would be heading up this investigation. In fact I was sure of it. So, what would I tell the police?

Nothing. I couldn't tell them what really happened, they would never believe it and I was tired of proving what I could do. The FBI agents the day before had been bad enough. If I pulled the same stunt with a local cop, then things could turn worse.

Still smiling slightly, I nodded. "Thank you Mrs. Larson. I'll speak to the Detective in here."

She nodded and reached for the door. Stopping she looked back at me. "I'm not sure it's my place to ask, but I have to know..." She swallowed and looked up, "Did I really see you fighting off those gunmen only seconds after they opened fire?"

As I said, a lot of questions that were better left unanswered, but my suspicion was also confirmed. Considering she was going to be the manager of my store, she deserved to know more than anyone other than those bound to me. Vague would have to do for now. "I would like to say it wasn't me Mrs. Larson, but you know what you saw."

She looked at me as if she wasn't sure if I had answered her question or not.

"Let me talk to the police and I will answer any other questions you have when I'm finished. Okay?"

She nodded and slipped out of the office.

I looked at Sally only to find her staring back at me. "Ral, I saw the same thing. How could you have been down there fighting them when you were right there beside me?"

"For the moment, let's just say I'm gifted in ways most people won't understand." I could feel her confusion and curiosity. She would need a detailed explanation and I wasn't sure how she would take it.

Pulling her to me, I gazed deep into her eyes. "I need to talk to the police and placate the press. Then, I'll tell you the whole truth because you deserve that," I said with a flickering glance down at her chest. My mark hovered there still. Nothing had changed. She was still bound to me. The violence had not made that any less real.

Sally caught my glance and looked at herself just as quickly. "Should I get dressed so you won't be distracted?" She had a coy smile but was serious.

"That's actually a good idea. As soon as I'm done here, you and I will need to leave."

She nodded and there was another knock at the door.

Sally, pulled me down for a quick kiss and then opened the door. That simple touch of her lips to mine felt wonderful. It was like kissing any of my other girls but something so much more as well.

The Detective stood back as Sally stepped out. He watched her for a second and then stepped inside the office. I closed the door. Yes, Sally was that distracting.

"Mr. Setton, Detective O'Hara." the Detective looked me over. I was used to people's surprise at my age when they thought of the owner of the store. He was no different.

"Yes, Detective," I answered grasping his hand and giving him a firm shake.

He smiled, "You know how young you look?"

"I am that young," I retorted with a grin of my own. "You had some questions for me?"

He nodded. "Yes, I was hoping to get your account of what happened."

I should have guessed that he wouldn't actually ask me anything first. He wanted to know my rendition of events and would compare that to what others had said.

I leaned against the desk thinking hard. How could I keep the truth a secret? Sure, the reporters knew what happened. They saw what I did. There were probably even photos and video recordings of the event. Somehow, though the attack would be the topic of the reports, my name, my face would show up.

Telling this Detective the absolute truth could have one of two affects: either he would just write down my statement and everyone would ignore it because it was ludicrous, or the police and other agencies would dig deeper. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a group out there that knew about the Mind Magi due to such events, or at least had conclusions about us without proof. Now they would have that.

"Mr. Setton? Are you okay?"

I looked up, giving the Detective a once over. He seemed normal. He wasn't a Mind Magi. "I'm okay Detective. I'm just not sure how much to tell you."

Of course that set off every cop instinct he had. "Then how about telling me what you can."

I nodded. "I saw the attackers pull their guns and I yelled into the microphones, warning the crowd to get down."

"Okay, and what happened next?" He was watching me closely, looking for signs of deceit.

"I ran around the crowd, drawing the attackers' attention from them because I knew I was their target."

"And how, in that space of time, could you possibly deduce that?"

"It was my store opening. I'm the owner. Unless there was someone more important at this gathering, I was certain they wanted me."

He nodded. "And what made you think they would focus all their attention on you?"

"Because this is not the first attack I've suffered. The difference was that the previous attacks were in private. I didn't realize it at the time, but this attack, out in the open, wasn't meant to hurt me but to expose me."

"Expose you? How?"

"Consider the size of the crowd, the chaos, and the bullets flying. Consider how long it would take a normal person to run around that crowd, to navigate past them to get to the gunners. Now, consider how a teenager could bowl over full grown men, men trained in more than guns."

He continued watching me, taking in the details not only of what I said but how I was acting.

"After they fled, which they did instead of pressing the attack and just killing me, I turned my attention to the crowd, to the wounded. Linda Penn had been shot in the back. She was having problems breathing. She would have died if I hadn't saved her."

"I just spoke to Penn. She didn't have a mark on her except for someone's blood."

"That's because I healed her Detective. You see, I was being exposed to the public. Or more specifically, my abilities, speed, strength, and healing, were being exposed. I was being shown off so that others would take those abilities from me."

"You're not making any sense Mr. Setton."

I nodded. I was skipping past details. "I'm not supposed to tell you any of this Detective. I'm supposed to lie and hide the truth. I'm supposed to try to convince you and the twenty some-odd witnesses out there that what they saw, what their cameras captured, didn't happen. It is a secret."

He smiled. "Mr. Setton, are you sure you weren't hurt?"

I could convince him, play games that shouldn't be possible, but I would probably be shot for it. "Has the attack been reported on the news?"

He nodded. "They were making television reports when I came in. I had to wait for some of them to finish before I could speak with them."

"Crap..." Containing the information at the scene would be one thing, but with the reporters having aired what they saw, and possibly my involvement, there would be Mind Magi on the way to find me, to bring me in for the Council to judge.

"What's the problem with that? The news reporters are a nuisance but they can help find the attackers."

"Forget the reporters. You need to find Detective Arneson. There was a break in at the 'W' yesterday, my room, and he was the Detective working the case. These cases are interconnected. He can fill you in on the details."

"This is my case. I'm not handing it over to another..."