Chapter 19: First Night Jitters

While they were waiting for the show to start, Chelsea, Patricia's wardrobe assistant, updated them on what had been happening in the media while they'd been on the road.

"The media is all over that news report from the woman that called Fox news," Chelsea said.

"Yeah, Clara. Somehow she always managed to open a can of worms, despite her best intentions."

"Well, Fox news has been ranting about it, so much so that the other stations are covering it as well. In fact, both Jay Leno and Jon Stewart did bits on her. She's managed to trigger a firestorm of interest about you, but the focus has been mostly on Fox's reaction to it and her responses, rather than on you. The press still doesn't seem to know much about you."

"Well that's something to be thankful for, it's much easier to work in the shadows, away from close scrutiny. The last thing I need is to be the focus of everyone's attention, even if they aren't reporting on me. Just having them referring to me will get more people to notice me and what I do, and eventually someone is going to leak a photo which someone is likely to identify."

"David Letterman did a Top 10 Commandments of the Angel of New Orleans segment, but most of those were just plain silly," Chelsea explained.

"What about Albert?" Alex asked. "Has he responded to the new media attention? Has he released any new information about me? He's the one with the most information about me."

"I haven't heard anything from him lately, but we've only been listening to the national networks while we've been working, so we could easily have missed a lot."

"Well, the most damaging thing he knew about me was my name, and he's already released that, so I guess he can't do me much more harm. Besides, I think he's a fan now anyway. Hopefully he'll spend his time talking about Alexandria rather than me, now."

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you about that, doesn't she mind being identified in the press like you were?"

"Ah," Alex said, taking a second to think up a decent response to the question. "Since she's more divinely connected than I am, she's not as worried about earthly matters. She tends to come and go at will, while I've got to stay here and deal with the consequences."

"I haven't quite figured her out," Chelsea continued. "Patricia has always talked about you, but she's never mentioned Alexandria before. I guess we're all trying to figure out how she fits into what you're doing."

"The key is," Alex carefully explained, further wrapping himself in this fictitious enigma, "is that she's in charge, and she's where I get all of my abilities from. She doesn't stay on earth for long, or if she does, I don't know where she lives. She simply pops in to talk to me or the others from time to time, so she doesn't run the continual risks that I and the other leaders do."

Alex knew he was breaking one of the cardinal rules that Gail laid out when she'd carefully told him how to lie successfully, that of 'keeping it simple'. This story was pretty complex, and it was likely to get even more involved each time he told it. But so far it was useful to keep people from focusing on him, and Alex's focus was on reaching as many people as he could. He couldn't hope to do that if everyone was watching him, so he didn't think the fictional Alexandria would mind if he continued to use her name for a while longer.

But Alex also knew his 'fiction' of Alexandria was important for another reason, it gave those outside of his mission a way of dealing with it. As it was, as news of it spread, people would begin to ask what it was about. That was something no one would be able to answer without explaining about the genetic differences and the abilities that differentiated them, and that wasn't the kind of information that they wanted to give out. By using the story of Alexandria, they allowed those outside of the movement to label it in a handy box marked 'oddball religions' and put it out of their mind. However, without that clear distinction Alex knew those same people would soon be searching for what Alex's increasing number of followers saw in him.

Alex figured this little invention of his wouldn't actually hurt anyone. After all, no one was actually 'preaching' this new religion, and no one was trying to convert anyone to it. He knew that his followers were following him and not Alexandria. Even Chelsea was simply curious about Alexandria's relationship to Alex, she wasn't asking about any further insights into her religious principles. Thus Alex's usage of Alexandrianism helped everyone without really hurting anyone. Alex didn't see any downside to it at the moment, although he was well aware of how it could potentially trip him up if he allowed it to get away from him.

"It seems the other networks are stymied by your followers' refusal to say anything about you. They keep interviewing people in New Orleans, but it seems the only ones talking to them are the tourists or the locals who think they might have seen you. I suspect much of what they are reporting are the intentional misdirects that Peter, David and Darice are setting up for them."

"Yeah, those three have really been working hard for me. They've saved my ass a number of times."

Jordan, Patricia's make-up girl, laughed. "I didn't think angels were allowed to say things like 'ass'."

"Hey, angel's don't, but they don't say anything to us atheistic sub-angels," Alex countered, which caused Cate to crack up. She thought the papers calling Alex the 'sub-angel of New Orleans' was hilarious. Alex just rolled his eyes at her. He thought it was pretty funny too, but he wasn't going to admit it too openly.

The rest of the afternoon was spent worrying about what was likely to happen that evening, since everyone knows all the bugs in plans tend to come out during the initial performance. Gail spent her time chatting up the security people, telling war stories as she prompted them about access points and things to watch out for.

Cate had run across some trouble when she'd wandered into one of the many bar areas. One of the harassed bartenders had chased her off, telling her they couldn't afford to get busted for an 'underage kid misappropriating liquor'. She'd tried to explain why she was there but he wasn't having any of it, so she'd eventually left simply to avoid the continuing lecture the bartender was hell bent on delivering. The club's staff seemed as nervous about what was happening as Alex's helpers were, though they didn't know what Alex or his people were up to.

They ended up getting a quick meal prepared for them in the club's kitchen, which was decent even if the atmosphere wasn't quite what the paying customers received. Still, Alex could see why the club did such a good business. Looking at the performance schedule, he also noticed the acts that Patricia was situated amongst. There were some pretty big name acts.

Finally it was time to prepare for the opening. Alex watched from the back of the auditorium as Patricia and her band ran through their last minute preparations, but when they flashed the lights signaling the doors were officially opening he retreated to the connecting hallway the patrons would have to pass through to access the auditorium. Cate, Jordan and Chelsea were stationed in other parts of the building. Actually, Chelsea was stationed outside to catch anyone trying to reach Alex without having a ticket to get in. Gail was standing beside the doors acting like just another security guard. She wasn't standing near Alex for fear of intimidating anyone trying to approach him, but he knew she could cross the space separating them in record time should the need arise.

Grace, the Seer that Alex had found that morning, contacted Alex as she got near the club. She was one of the first ones to arrive outside, and he directed her to work with Chelsea in trying to identify anyone outside who might be trying to find Alex's energy source. That way they'd be covered if Chelsea had to leave unexpectedly, or if she simply didn't know how to respond to something she encountered. Grace took to it immediately, scanning the crowd, keeping notes, and alerting Alex every time she saw someone who looked like a possible type 1 or 2 entering the club. She also told him she'd arrived with Morgan, so Morgan had agreed to enter the club's bar to do the same reconnaissance work there.

Alex had his own hands full as he tried to evaluate the many people hurriedly passing him. Some scurried into the club to find their seat immediately; some took their time glancing around. A couple stayed in the hallways talking to their friends while they could, while others were waiting for someone to join them. As far as Alex could tell, no one was there looking for him, although he had plenty of false starts, as he'd find himself heading for someone who was looking around with a confused expression only to find the expression disappear when they found their missing friends.

It took a while to fill the auditorium. Grace notified Alex that she'd managed to locate the three girls he'd met earlier in the day, mainly because Alex had told them to look for someone standing outside watching for them. They each volunteered to help as well, so Alex had one help outside while another came in to assist him and the third went in to see if she could find anyone spending more time watching the back of the hall than the stage or the other people. Overall, it was confusing and frustrating trying to identify potential followers as they walked in, so Alex doubted they'd have much luck at it.

The other Watcher they'd encountered came in to see Alex immediately after finding out where to find him from Grace and Chelsea. They were beginning to make a bit of a crowd, so Alex had her make a coffee run just to keep her busy since everyone wanted to help so much.

Soon the lights flashed, so Alex simply faded back against the exterior wall as everyone hurried to their seats to prepare for the show. Gail anxiously watched Alex, since she was farther away from him than she'd been previously, though Alex had no doubt she could cover him should the need arise.

Grace asked him what they should do about coming in or remaining outside. He advised that she should come inside, since her main job as the head of the local community was to meet anyone he identified. He also told her to leave the other Watcher outside and that he'd meet with her later at the hotel. She could help Chelsea, but for now she should get some coffee because she was likely to be standing alone out there for some time during the concert, waiting for random passersby to approach after having felt Alex from nearby while doing other things. Once the music finally started up Cate came in and joined them as well.

"Well, find anyone?" Cate asked.

"Not yet," Alex told her.

"What about all the potentials I warned you about?" Grace asked.

"Most of those were normals who looked confused for other reasons. A few might have been Watchers, but they didn't stick around long enough for me to tell. I'm hoping once the concert starts they'll have enough time to identify where I am."

"Good thinking," Cate agreed. "So now I guess we just wait here."

"Yep, that's the plan," Alex confirmed.

While they waited they enjoyed the music wafting through the walls. Gail continued to chat up the security guard, trying to distract his attention from the group of people hanging around in the hallway. Grace told them about the trouble she'd had with her father when she got home. Somehow he'd figured out something had happened to her, she suspected she'd come in excited and it showed, and he grilled her about it. She told Alex she didn't reveal much, but that she'd insisted that this was something that she had to do, and that she was willing to move out on her own if it was necessary for her to do it. Alex cautioned her, reminding her of how important family was, and how she'd likely need the family's support if they ran into trouble. She agreed in principle, but she was hesitant to bring her father in to meet Alex, thinking he wasn't ready for that yet.

After the music had been playing a little, they each jumped when someone exited the hall, but they watched in disappointment as a single guy walked off to the nearby men's room. However, a few minutes later someone else came out as well. She looked around questioningly, and then focused right in on Alex, her jaw gaping open as she saw him, as if she couldn't believe what she'd been feeling was actually real. Cate hurried over to her, telling her she wasn't crazy and that they'd been waiting for her. She guided her over and introduced her to Alex and Grace.

It turned out she'd felt Alex approaching the city but couldn't find him in time. She'd noticed the ads about "trusting your feelings" and had been curious about it, since she'd had a history of correctly interpreting events based on her feelings, so had decided to attend the concert.

"When I got here, I could tell there was something decidedly different about this concert, but I couldn't tell what it was."

"We were waiting out here to see if anyone looked like they were looking for me, but I guess we missed you," Alex explained.

"Yeah, I assumed the source of the power was the main act, and that I'd know it when she came out. But when Patty appeared on stage I knew she wasn't the one I could feel. Her words all rang true, but I knew I had to find you. I finally got up and tried to follow the sensations, wandering around the back of the theater. It finally occurred to me that you were out here, so I came out and here you were."

"Well, we're glad you finally found us," Grace told her, taking the initiative and directing the conversation after that. The girl, one Devon Montague, was happy to talk to her, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Alex for long.

As she and Grace talked, Alex took the time to look them both over. Devon was a pretty girl with dark hair, but not overly dressed up for a concert, wearing the typical T-shirt. Alex didn't think her eyes ever once reverted to normal size the whole time they stood there.

Grace, on the other hand, was young and thin. Like rail thin, with curly brunette hair and an endearing smile. Alex liked her dedicated spirit, and could see utilizing her as their only Seer in Houston so far, but he was hesitant to give her too much responsibility for his community here if she was going to disappear to college soon.

After a moment, Cate suddenly had an idea, and seeing her expertise wasn't needed for once, snuck off into the auditorium where the performance was going on. Grace excused herself, explaining she wanted to check what was happening outside, which Alex approved of, since if she was outside he'd know what was happening out there. It was a while later, just as the conversation with Devon was starting to wind down, that Cate walked through the doors leading another young girl.

This girl wore a nice outfit with a matching faux pearl necklace/bracelet set that contrasted perfectly with her face. She had longish dark hair, and she imitated Devon with the way her eyes arched when observing Alex for the first time, but she also seemed more down to earth. She was a larger girl, with bigger breasts and a bit more 'oomph' to her than normal. Once again, she wasn't the type Alex would typically throw out of bed, but he knew he was going to have to start somewhere, as he simply couldn't keep up with everyone.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you when you told me your name," Cate said when they joined the group in the lobby.

"Oh, my name is Wilma Mitchner," she told them, batting her eyelashes at Alex before drastically changing her approach.

"So, just what the hell are you, and who are the rest of you?" she asked, not bothering to disguise her curiosity. "I could feel you when I came in, but I didn't know what you were, only that you were strong, powerful and potentially dangerous. I didn't even know that you were human. After the music started I figured out you weren't part of the performance, so I started wandering around, looking to see if I could find you in the crowd. That's when, whatever your name is, found me."

"Cate's my name," Cate told her. "Wilma, I'd like you to meet several people, there's Devon and Sue here," she said indicating the two girls they'd just met. "Outside are two more, Grace and Morgan, probably the two central figures in the burgeoning movement of our people here in Houston," she explained, ignoring the fact that she was neither a Seer nor a Watcher herself. But if Cate couldn't include herself amongst Alex's followers, then who could? "But the one I know you're most interested in is my brother, Alex. Alex is a weird one. He's hard to describe because there's never been another like him before. He has a unique ability to activate dormant abilities in others. He acts like a catalyst, if you will. Those that are drawn to him, like each of you, can inherently feel the power he gives off, but you generally don't trust it because you can't explain it. That's what Patty's tour is about, getting our 'people' to trust their intuition and educating them about what and who they really are."

"Wait," Wilma asked in confusion. "You're telling me I'm not human or something?"

"No, no," Alex hurried to explain. "You're a normal human being, but you have this weird genetic anomaly that gives you some unique abilities. Somehow I can trigger those. Grace can actually see the energy that I give off, the same energy that you were just following."

"It's an energy that Alex somehow taps from another dimension," Cate said, doing what she did best, explaining the unexplainable to unbelieving newbies. "Don't ask us to explain, since we really don't understand it very well and it's all conjecture at this point, but he does this activation thing by creating links between this other dimension, and he creates a similar link in each of your brains. Those links do several things, they give Grace her visions, they allow her to speak telepathically to Alex, and through him to the other women like her."

"Uh, other women like her?" Wilma asked, unable to quite follow what Cate was asking her to swallow.

"There's a whole class of people that Alex affects," Cate explained. "For reasons we'll get to, he only seems to affect women. There are the type 1s, like Grace outside, who we call 'Seers' because they can actually see the energy that Alex uses. Then there are those like you, who we call 'Watchers', because we identify you because you tend to stand back, uncomfortable with your ability to sense others, so you don't believe what you feel coming from Alex is real."

"And what about you? Which are you?" Wilma asked.

"I'm an odd duck," Cate replied. "I've got none of your abilities myself, just like Alex doesn't. But I've got my own abilities that I seem to have gained by being around Alex for so many years. I can't feel the energy he gives off in general, but I can identify His energy, whether it comes from him, or if I sense it in other people."

"Wow, this is all a lot to take in all at once," Wilma lamented. "Are you serious about all this, this stuff about other dimensions, different types of people and telepathic abilities?" Cate merely nodded her head while looking her in the eyes to convey just how serious it was, but the others took a different approach.

"Tell me about it," Devon agreed. "I was pulled in just before you and I'm having trouble accepting it as well, but I can't deny the feelings of power I get from Alex, so I know something is going on, and so far Cate's explanation is the only one that offers any answers."

"So what is it that this Grace person sees?" Wilma asked, which led the various women to start talking amongst themselves. While they were talking, Cate stole around to her brother.

"Wait here, Alex, I'm going to do another recon run to see if there are any more inside."

"Sounds like a plan. And thanks. If you hadn't taken the lead role we'd have been waiting indefinitely out here."

"Yeah, we need to discuss your approach to this, but we'll talk about that tonight or tomorrow. You've got too much on your agenda right now to worry about anything else. Anyway, I'm off. Try to keep this crew from getting into too much trouble."

After his sister left, Alex left the other women alone to discuss their situation amongst themselves. Alex figured it was probably better coming from someone in a similar situation than it was from a complete stranger like him or Cate, although they'd occasionally look up at him whenever a particularly difficult concept to accept would come up, as if they were asking him if it were true. Whenever this would happen he'd just nod, and they'd seemingly accept it just on his say so.

That seemed to be it in the club, just the two Watchers, Devon and Wilma. Cate returned about twenty minutes later and simply shrugged her shoulders. Alex figured it wasn't a big win, but a decent first try for a new approach, and with all the others they'd found on their way in to Houston they had a fair number of new followers.

Alex moved the girls away from the center of the lobby when he noticed the security people and a random usher trying to listen in to their conversation.

'Alex?' a telepathic voice he instantly recognized as Grace's asked him nervously.

'Go ahead. Whenever someone speaks to me telepathically they have my undivided attention. I'll let you know if I can't speak for any reason. What's up?'

'We've got another Watcher outside. She wasn't in the club, but wandered up following you. She said she was having dinner nearby.'

'Hold on, we'll come outside and join you. I think we've found everyone we're going to find in here, and the natives are getting a little restless, ' he answered, glancing at the security guard and usher who were still watching them warily.

"OK, girls, we're heading outside where we'll have some more privacy. I doubt we'll find anyone else in the club," Alex told the talking women. Wilma glanced up at him with concern in her expression.

"But I came to the concert with a few of my friends."

"Well, either go inside, or call them up and tell them you had an emergency and had to leave," Alex suggested. "I don't think we're going to be finishing anytime soon, and I'm not sure we want to include anyone we don't have to at this point."

Wilma decided to run back inside and explain that something came up to her friends. Alex told her to meet them outside, and they left the building to the disappointment of their onlookers. Gail let them leave without her, since none of the onlookers had associated her with Alex's group, and she didn't want to raise their suspicions more than they already were. She figured that now they were merely curious, but if they connected her to the odd group, they'd start talking, and someone might make an unfortunate connection.

Outside they met up with Grace, Morgan and the other two girls they'd met at the hotel. Alex quickly shuffled them away from the club, so no one could eavesdrop on their discussion. Alex introduced the new additions to Grace, and Devon was very impressed to meet 'her first Seer', not realizing Gail, who'd been quietly watching them all along, was one also. Gail didn't like calling attention to herself when she was working.

"Alex, this is Lacy Peterson. She just joined us, and as you can guess, she's been quite interested in meeting you."

"How do you do, Lacy?" Alex asked as he bent and kissed her hand. Poor Lacy almost swooned just from that simple display. She seemed overwhelmed, so Grace and Alex got her to sit down as they began describing her new life to her.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," Wilma said as she hurried over to them, having just exited the club herself. "I told my friends something happened without explaining what it was. I told them I had to get home. They looked worried so they'll probably call me after the concert, but I should be OK until then."

Alex introduced everyone again, including Gail who'd come out when Wilma had, which gave poor Lacy a chance to recover a bit more.

"Grace? You're the one that sees things?" Wilma asked.

"Yeah, I am. I seem to be the only type 1 Seer here," she replied.

'Not quite, there are actually two of us, ' Gail told her, causing her to jump. None of the other girls understood when both Gail and Alex started to laugh, so Cate had to explain it to them.

"Tell us what it's like and what you see?" Wilma asked. "I think we'd all have a better grasp of what we're talking about if we understood what your abilities are. Hopefully that will put our own into a better perspective. So far it doesn't look like we share much of anything with Alex."

Alex and Cate let that slide for the moment, as Grace gave them a full accounting of her experiences and what she saw. Gail telepathically provided her with additional detail as she described it, so she did a good job explaining it.

"An angel?" Devon asked her. "Yeah, that would account for the otherworldly sense of power he has about him. I was a little afraid he might be the devil incarnate, given the immense power I can feel from him, except he feels, I don't know, trustworthy, I guess."

'Alex, can you talk? This is Shani, I just got a panicky call from Lisa, the reporter from St. Louis.'

'Yeah, I remember Lisa. She's hard to forget after what she put us through, ' Alex told her.

'Well, she told me she was traveling and didn't realize her cell phone had died, but when she returned home and plugged it in, she found a message from Albert Rodriguez, ' Shani told him. That got Alex's attention. He'd been waiting to hear if Albert was going to release any new information, since he still had the few remaining pieces to tie him into the new media attention he was under.

'Wait, a reporter didn't notice her phone wasn't working?' Alex asked expressing his doubt about the simple statement.

'She was on her day off and wasn't expecting any calls, so she wasn't surprised when it didn't ring, ' Shani explained.

'OK, go on then?' Alex cautiously replied.

'She said he was calling to warn her about yet another TV special he's doing. Only, because of the delay with the phone, it's going to go live in only another 23 minutes.'

'Damn. I think I'd better be there to listen to this one. I skipped the last one, thinking I couldn't change anything by listening to it, but if he says the wrong thing I'll have to warn Patricia.' Shani gave him the channel it was being broadcast over, apparently one of the major broadcast networks was relaying it live due to the interest in Alex's activities recently.

"OK, people, I hate to break this up, but something has come up," Alex announced to the women surrounding him. None of the girls were aware of what he'd been doing aside from Cate and Gail, who were both used to his receiving odd telepathic messages on occasion. "We need to get back to the hotel. It seems there's going to be yet another news story on me, and I'd like to hear this one. We can continue the conversation there, but I'd like to have a couple of people remain here to watch for anyone else who might show up."

The girls glanced at one another, neither one really wanting to be separated from him, but each wanting to help him out in any way they could. Seeing they couldn't decide quickly, he stepped in and made the decision for them.

"Grace, you're the only available Seer, so why don't you stay and watch out here for anyone who shows up late. Cate, I hate to say it, but you've got the access pass to the club, so you'll have to be the one to keep a watch over what might happen inside."

They both agreed, so Alex headed off leaving the rest of the girls to scurry trying to keep up with his long legged gait. Alex led them back to the hotel, and they certainly made for one crowded elevator on the ride up. They got to the room in enough time to get settled before the show was to begin, Devon turning on the correct channel since she knew the local stations.

The station was making a big deal of the program, mentioning it frequently in lead-in commercials, but they didn't reveal much. Apparently the focus of the show was "Angel of New Orleans: Real or Fake?" Alex was anxious about it, though. He wouldn't mind if the program portrayed him as a charlatan, as that would take the pressure off of him, but it could go in so many directions from here. His primary worry was that Albert might mention his affiliation with Patricia, since that was the last thing he knew about them that he hadn't revealed.

Finally the program began.

"Hello, this is Albert Rodriguez," the reporter familiar to most of Alex's followers said when he appeared, looking comfortable and relaxed. It looked like he was enjoying his new national recognition. "As many of you may be aware, I recently broke the news about the mysterious 'Angel of New Orleans', an individual who claims he's being guided by God to seek out random individuals to help them, despite his own reservations on the subject of God's divinity, and despite the lack of any coherent message to the rest of us. Apparently this message from God is only for a select few. Men don't seem to be wanted at this point, and God doesn't seem to be influenced by what religion you belong to either.