Chapter 7

"Jake!" said the man cheerfully, "I'd like you to meet your mother."

Needless to say, that statement left me a bit confused, but during the few seconds I stood there speechless my mother got up and rushed to me, sweeping me into a big motherly hug.

"Oh, baby, it's been so long, let mommy hold you."

My mother didn't raise a fool, though I suspected at that particular moment she probably didn't remember raising me at all. This guy was obviously one of those talents Phillip had warned me about. It was also obvious that he had done something to her mind. I quickly broke my mother's embrace and, bringing my armor up to full power, stepped in front of her protectively. I may be new at this but I was going to defend my mother – or die trying.

"What the hell did you do to her?"

He sat back in his chair, picked up a small glass filled with an amber liquid and while studying me, took a sip and placed the glass carefully back where it came from. It was almost as though he was trying to decide whether to be annoyed or amused.

"I brought her back."

"Back? Back from where? She hasn't gone anywhere."

"Jake." Pleaded my mother with her hand gently on my shoulder.

"Mom, I don't know what you think you remember, but you haven't been anywhere."

The man tapped his temple with one forefinger. "From in her mind."

"Jake," said my mother again, "it's okay. He's a friend, and this time he's really a friend."

"What do you mean, this time?"

"She's talking about that rat bastard son-of-a-bitch, Phil." The man interjected angrily.

"Phillip? What about him?"

"Only that he's the mother fucker that killed my best friend, your father."

"Slow down!" I exclaimed, more confused now than ever. Everything was happening so fast. "I thought Phillip was dad's friend?"

I directed this at my mother but the man answered.

"I bet the cocksucker never actually said that."

"Alek, please!" said my mother, stepping between us. "Let's give him a chance to catch up. He must be awfully confused."

She took my shoulders and guided me into the chair she had been sitting in when I arrived. She sat down next to me.

"Look, honey, Alek was your father's best friend. They were part of a group that wanted to change the way talents interact with governments. Phillip was among the agents sent to track them down. Your father and two others were killed, Alek and the rest escaped."

As she talked I noticed a difference in her demeanor. There was more authority, a more natural connection between her words and her body language that I hadn't noticed was missing before – but now I could see the difference. Everything about her just seemed more natural. My confusion heightened.

"And Phillip killed dad?"

"Nobody knows for sure." She said staring pointedly at Alek. "You father was killed in the raid."

"I was there Reeny, I saw him."

"Don't call me that. And you don't know what you saw. There was too much going on, you said yourself..."

"He bragged about it Reeny, I talked to a guy who heard him."

"I said not to call me that."

"Oh c'mon, its what we called you back in the day, you always liked it."

"Its what you called me and I hated it." Mother retorted with annoyance that seemed mostly feigned.

"No, I called you 'Teeny Reeny'!" He managed to say before he broke out laughing. "And 'that' you hated!"

Without warning his chair slid away from the table and flipped very unnaturally backwards dumping him on the floor.

I slowly looked over to my mother. I met her gaze and she smiled sheepishly.

"Did I forget to mention that I'm telekinetic?"

Alek put his chair back up and sat down still laughing while I pondered. I was trying to understand and assimilate everything that had just happened. But there was something chewing at the edges of my thinking.

Samantha! She was waiting for me! There was no way I would be able to go through with that now. My mind was spinning too fast. I could call her but, no, the phone wasn't an option, if I were to postpone our consummation, I would have to go over there and do it in person.

Alek finally stopped laughing. I addressed them both.

"Don't go anywhere. I was supposed to back over to Samantha's. But I can't go over there now. So I have to go over there ... and tell her I can't go over there ... Anyway, I'm coming right back and I have a million questions."

I didn't wait for their response but jumped to my feet and ran next door. I let myself in and found her in the living room. The conversation with Alek and my mother couldn't have taken more than five or ten minutes so Samantha must have been a busy girl.

There was a cheery fire coming to life in the fireplace and evenly spaced about the room were about a dozen candles adding their flickering light to that emanating from her Christmas tree. A thick quilt lay on the floor between the fireplace and the sofa. Still wearing the same clothes she had on at the mall, Samantha was seated on the quilt, leaning against the sofa. Her eyes brightened when I entered.

"Is your mother all right?"

"Yes, well, at least I think she is."

"So, who's at your house?"

"Uhm, yeah, about that. I have to go back."

"What?" she asked incredulously, slipping up to sit on the sofa. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's a guy that used to be a friend of my father's. I'm really sorry Sam, but I have to go back. There is so much I've wanted to know ... I won't be able to think of anything else until I find out."

She stood and crossed the room to take me in her arms, laying her head on my shoulder. Feeling her luscious body against mine I almost reconsidered. But I didn't want our first time to be in any way distracted or hurried.

"I understand."

"Why don't you come over with me?"

"I'll stay here. You don't know what you'll find out. Anything you want me to know, you'll tell me. If it's not too late when you're done, come back. Mom won't be home until after midnight so we might still have time."

She pulled her head back to look into my eyes. "I'll be here. I'll always be here. I love you, Jake."

My heart skipped a beat and my breath caught in my throat.

"I love you too." I finally managed, "I won't be long."

Reluctantly I returned home to find out about my father. I was a bit relieved that Samantha had turned down my invitation. I hadn't thought it through and her presence would have made talking about everything impossible. She was watching out for me even when she didn't know it.

I still wondered if what this Alek fellow was telling me about Phillip was true or not. Phillip seemed to be a likable guy. He helped me and promised to leave me alone. I felt I knew him better than I knew this guy – who hadn't been very likable so far.

By the time I sat back down at the kitchen table I was actually feeling a bit angry.

"So tell me, why should I believe your version of things over Phillip's?"

"Jake," said my mother trying to placate me, "he's telling you the truth."

"I'll bet you," said Alek, "he never said that he was your father's friend. He never said exactly who killed your father did he? He's very good at talking around things like that so you never pick up on any lies. Well, I'm not worried about it, I'll say it straight out, I was your father's best friend, When he was killed we were fighting side by side and it was that pompous bastard that killed him."

His eyes flashed with anger.

"Now," he finished, "did I tell you any lies?"

He looked at me expectantly and it dawned on me that he fully expected me to know if he was lying. I tried to put on a poker face but I was too late and he saw my initial confusion.

"You don't ... you don't know. That dumb ass bureaucrat never bothered to find out what you could or couldn't do. That's so fucking typical."

"Looks like school starts tomorrow, honey." interjected my mother. And then to Alek, "Phil did teach him how to meditate so he's halfway there," back to me, "You'll catch on pretty quick. I haven't been able to do anything about it until now, but I have always been proud of how smart you are."

"You've always been ... What happened to you anyway? If you're a talent how could anyone do ... that ... whatever it was?"

"Slow down." She admonished, "I'll tell you everything but give me a chance to answer."

Alek slid the glass in front of her and she took a quick sip.

"First, being a talent is no guarantee that you won't be controlled by another. I'm Telekinetic, being a Psychic, Phillip is far more adept than I am. I was afraid to resist and in a panic I tried to hide. I'm not sure how I did it, but I locked away my true consciousness just before he was able to completely subjugate my conscious mind. At some level I must have been aware because I remember everything that happened, but it seems like a dream. I was saying things and doing things that were ... programmed. I had no free will. The persona I presented to the world was what he wanted me to, nothing more, nothing less."

"But I thought control and personality changes had to be gradual or the person could resist them."

"That's if you want to make changes in a person without totally overwriting their personality." Offered my mother, "I was a robot, a human machine. It's not a pleasant experience and the change in personality is always noticeable to anyone close to the subject, which is why it is seldom done."