Chapter 3: The Fear of Angels

"Did you really agree to what I just heard?" Cate asked her brother after they'd gotten into the car and underway.

"Yeah, he did. I'm waiting to see how this all falls apart," Gail laughed at the mess Alex had just gotten himself into.

"I'm telling you, Alex, if that creep tries anything... ," Cate said, leaving the rest of the threat unstated.

"I'm sure he's not going to ... never mind, I'm not so sure of that, myself," Alex replied.

"If he tries anything with me, you may end up picking his pieces off of the sidewalk below the hotel," Gail warned him in a stern tone, indicating she was serious about her intent, even if she wasn't about the specific threat.

"Hey, haven't you ever wanted to fool around?" Alex asked his sister. "I mean, you have to sit there every night and watch me make love with a string of women. Don't you ever get the desire to try it yourself? You know, maybe spread your wings and 'fly' a little?"

Cate turned and glared at Alex until he winced, then she explained herself. "I've got everything I need right now, and it's only a little bit sexual. The sex is great, but that's not why I'm sticking around. You're turning the world upside down, you're setting up something which will carry on after you for centuries, and you're influencing hundreds of people. Beyond that, no one else can compare with you. Remember, half of what these women get from you is exposure to your energy. If you were making love to them without it, you'd likely be struggling to keep up. But with your energy added to the mix, they're all over you."

"You've got a point there," Alex conceded. "I'm continually amazed everyone responds like I'm a stallion in bed. It just doesn't make sense."

"Oh, it makes plenty of sense. You've never slept next to you. Believe me, there's nothing like it. Why do you think I sleep next to you every night, even on those nights I can't sleep with you."

"So you won't ever date anyone because you wouldn't get your daily fix of Alex energy?" Alex asked.

"Not only that. But say if we ever settled down and you married someone who wouldn't put up with me living with you, in other words, not Chalise or Kitty, then I might try to find someone of my own. But I'd only do it if they understood that you are my top ten priorities. I owe you everything I am, and we have too much riding on you. Even if I'm not able to spend time with you, I'm still going to dedicate myself to figuring out how you tick. Sex with you is just a tiny piece of the bigger puzzle."

"OK, so you aren't interested in dating," Alex summarized.

"Alex, I don't think any of your girls would be interested in anyone else," Cate replied.

"Hey, that's exactly what I'm—"

"Yeah, yeah, we know. You want to maintain everyone's relationships with their families and friends," Cate interjected, finishing the thought for him. "But like I said, what they're getting from you is completely separate from what they get from a boyfriend. You represent the future, power, and you're the closest they'll ever get to divinity. Do you think these people would all be interested in you if you were just a great lay? Hell, no. They are spending this time with you because you bring something major to their ordinary lives. You've given their lives meaning, you've given them something to aim for, and you promise a change from everything they see which doesn't work in the world they currently know."

"So what are you going to do if he tries something?" Gail asked Alex, hoping to get some guidelines from him before anything happened.

"Well, if he tries to force anything on anyone I'll at least throw him out. If he assaults anyone I'll file charges, whether it gets back to me or not."

"What if he ... decides he's interesting in experiencing some bi-angel action?" Gail asked with a grin.

Alex shivered uncomfortably at the thought.

"Don't like it when the shoe is on the other foot?" Cate asked him as she also grinned at his discomfort. Neither one could miss the conflict between his ease with everyone else fooling around with the same sex while he refused to even consider it for himself.

"I've got to admit," Alex replied, "although I'm not anxious to try anything myself, and I've got nothing against gay guys, but there's just something about him I'm not comfortable with.

"So why do you think she vouched for him? Speaking of which, why did you vouch for him, Gail?"

"We saw he was honest in his offer, but there's no telling what he may decide when he gets there," she answered. "You know guys, they think with their penises. And when the pants come off and everyone gets naked, there's no telling what he's liable to try."

"I'll try to watch my step," Alex told them. "I wasn't feeling comfortable about this to begin with. I'm even less comfortable with it now."

Alex and his crew waited at their hotel for the others to catch up with them. Patricia and her band hadn't finished when Alex and the others left, so they would arrive later. That left Lauren, Megan and Ryan. Lauren ran up and hugged Alex, effectively gluing herself to his side, while Megan kept her distance, not wanting to antagonize her boyfriend, Ryan. Alex once again asked himself whether he was making a huge mistake, but he wasn't sure what else he could have done under the circumstances.

"So if all your followers are women, then what's the deal with that Frank dude?" Ryan asked. Alex was preparing to give the standard explanation when Cate spoke up.

"Actually that's an interesting question. We've had a couple of guys who have shown these abilities before, and there seems to be a specific set of circumstances which allow it, but I plan on interviewing him over breakfast tomorrow, just to make sure. Basically it's very, very rare, so he's definitely the exception and not the rule."

Ryan seemed to accept that, even without the semi-scientific argument Alex had been prepared to supply.

"So, Lauren," Alex said, addressing the girl he hadn't really gotten to know yet, "whatever happened to your friend Lisa Grady? She didn't look very convinced about my little tale."

"Oh, no, she wasn't," she answered with a little giggle. "She thought it was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. But we talked, and I described what I'm able to see now and what it meant, and she said she'd reserve her judgment on it until she had some more concrete evidence."

"Smart girl, that. It's always best to doubt, but doubt with an open mind, that makes a big difference," Alex said.

"That's what makes a successful scientist," Cate added. "Never accept anything as it is, but wait for the final evidence before making a decision. It's the ability to disbelieve established wisdom which allows you to make great strides."

"Well, I'm not sure Lisa will ever rise to the level of a great scientist, though she loves to experiment," Lauren commented. Ryan smiled at the weak joke, although Alex wasn't sure he got the point of it. However it reinforced his earlier nervousness about being caught with someone carrying drugs.

"What about you, Lauren, what is it that you do?" Alex asked as they waited for the elevator. Alex and Cate surreptitiously glanced around the lobby to ensure no one was looking for Alex before the elevator got there.

"Oh, nothing special, I'm a purchasing agent for a vegetable processing plant outside the city. Basically, I buy the various vegetables like potatoes and corn, and we process them and ship them off to be sold across the country."

"Ah, good honest work," Alex said, despite the fact he'd never done an 'honest day's work' himself. Alex, like Cate, had focused on school and after school events instead of getting a job, and now it looked like he'd have difficulty staying in any one place long enough to get established in a job.

"There's actually a lot involved in it," she answered. "If you were staying longer I'd offer to give you a tour of the facilities, since there's a lot you may not realize about how the food you eat every day gets produced."

"So you deal with a lot of people, then?" Alex continued, searching for some ability she had which he could capitalize on to help the local community.

"Oh, sure, I'm on the phone all the time," she responded as the elevator doors opened. "Basically it's a glorified sales job, except I'm talking to farms and grocery stores instead of customers."

"Oh," Alex said, at a loss over how to apply that knowledge to his mission. "Do you do any hiring? Any interviewing or evaluating?"

"Not really. I have to talk up the people I speak with, establish good rapport and keep them all on an even keel."

"Oh, so you'd probably be able to run herd on my followers here in the city, then? Make sure they're all doing well, are properly motivated and help anyone having problems with anyone, especially with their family or friends like you might be having with Lisa?"

"Oh, I guess I could do that," she said as the elevator dinged on their floor. "That sounds a lot like what I'm doing now."

Alex was pleased with himself as they entered their hallway. He'd managed to fill yet another position in his organization. "I'll tell you what, since I don't have time to do it myself, could you try to get together with the people you met tonight and see what they could do for the community? If we're going to survive, we've got to pull together and make sure we're productive. What's more, we need to make sure we're all successful, both in our work, our businesses and in our relationships."

"Don't worry," she answered with pride. "I'll manage to find you the best. I'm sure we've got some real talent here, and if someone isn't good at a particular job I'll try to find something else for them to do. I won't let you down."

"I wouldn't think you would," he answered, "I'm sure you'll do a great job."

"Alex has this weird ability to always pick the right person for the right job," Cate said. "He doesn't seem to get it from anywhere, he just seems to always luck into it, but it's been working for him for a while now."

Opening the door, Gail let them into the room. Alex had them sit on the bed while he sat on a nearby chair. Cate took the other chair by the desk while Gail remained standing by the door.

"So, are we going to get started?" Ryan asked, looking both excited and nervous at the same time.

"That's not quite how I operate," Alex explained. "I believe in getting to know people before I get intimate with them. This doesn't work unless I can establish a personal connection with them. I'm not in this for the sex. I've got to find a way to associate with them so they'll open their minds to me, if you will."

"Oh, well lead on then, oh great masterful one," Ryan said with a sweep of his hands. Alex wasn't sure if he was teasing him, being playful or was making fun of him. However he chose to not debate the issue just then.

"I'm curious, Lauren," Alex said, continuing with his previous conversation, "you said something about 'you've come for me' when you first saw me. What was that about? You didn't think I was an angel of death or something, did you?"

"Oh, no, absolutely not," she reassured him. "Actually, my great aunt called me to say you'd be in the city today, and told me to attend Patty's concert specifically so I could meet you. She lives in New Orleans and she explained she was a Watcher and I probably was as well. She also detailed what that meant, what you were trying to do and that I might have the specific traits that you were looking for.

"I thought it was pretty far-fetched, at first, but she's always been pretty insightful so I didn't poo-poo it right off the bat. When I saw the ads for the concert with the tag lines about 'trusting your instincts' it struck a chord with me, so I figured I'd see what you were selling. However I figured you were probably in the band, so I got there early and got up close to the front of the crowd. But I kept feeling myself being drawn back to the far entrance again. Since the whole concert was about trusting your instincts, I figured maybe I'd better listen to mine, so I started following them, and the farther I went the stronger I felt your presence. Then when you walked into the stadium I just knew you were who I was looking for, and when our eyes met and suddenly you started glowing like an angel I knew you'd come for me."

Alex shifted nervously in his seat. "I'm really not an angel. In fact—"

"Hold it right there," Gail warned him from the corner. "You know, for someone who keeps saying he doesn't mind what others believe, you're always quick to tell others what they're allowed to believe in. You know you're the only one who doesn't believe in the existence of souls, don't you?" When Alex hesitantly nodded, she went on. "The others may have differing views on their interpretation of spirituality, but most believe in some form of God. If you really believe in an open movement which allows all faiths, then you've got to allow people to believe in what they choose.

"Despite my own troubles with my church, I still believe that God leads you, and you are unwittingly doing God's work. I'm sure everyone else feels the same thing. Don't belittle our faith by constantly telling us we're wrong.

"Now, I don't mind if you tell people you're not an angel, as it keeps them from overreacting when they first meet you and it provides a nice method of explaining what we know of everyone's abilities, but you've got to reel it in when you're relaxing with people. We understand why you don't believe in God, and we value it because it deconstructs the link between you and organized religion, but don't try to kill our own sense of religious faith."

Alex blinked wordlessly a few times as he tried to absorb Gail's words.

"You know, you're absolutely right. I've been a bit of as ass, haven't I? I apologize to each of you, and I promise I'll try to be more careful in the future. Hopefully I'll succeed if you each help me stick to my promises." He turned and regarded Lauren again. "Lauren, I specifically want to apologize to you. I'm officially whatever you want to think of me as. I have no idea if God is using me, if the spirits are making me dance, or if the fates have it in for me, teasing me by making me lead a religious movement I don't personally believe in, but you're right. I did come for you, just like I came for every one of my followers, including those I find here and on the rest of my trip."

She just smiled at this. "I had no doubt about it. I could tell you were divinely inspired when I first saw you, and the more you talked the more sure I was. You carefully explained how you weren't an angel, and frankly, as popular as the idea of angels is, they're a bit of a dated myth. I'd rather believe that angels are spirits who are called to the Lord, but who are separated from man for whatever reason. I can see you in that role. You are a man, but you've clearly held yourself separate from other men, both in your beliefs and in your assumptions about the world. The only thing is; that kind of angel doesn't need to know they are angels to do the Lord's work. Heaven knows, there's a long list of religious figures who have done some horrid deeds, so being religious doesn't make one any more of a saint than anyone else, so I can understand why God might avoid a religious figure."

"Man, I'm sorry, but I agree with you, Alex," Ryan said, laughing. "This is all too heavy for me. Have we talked enough? You've gotten to know everyone and you've managed to find a job for everyone in the room, besides me, of course. So how about we get this little show on the road. You must know Lauren and Megan well enough by now to do whatever black magic it is that you do so well," he finished, quoting famous rock vocals from a time neither one was even alive.

Alex wasn't sure he liked Ryan's attitude, but he could see his point. Ryan was obviously nervous, both about what Alex was planning on doing with his girlfriend and also about all this talk of Alex's being guided by God. Plus Alex was aware if he didn't do something soon, Ryan was likely to lose patience and bolt, probably taking Megan with him.

"All right, that makes sense. We can get started. But I'll just warn you, I like to take my time. It's hard enough scheduling these events, you really can't rush them."

"Hey, that's fine. I'll tell you what, you start on Lauren and I'll get Megan warmed up for you? How's that?"

For some reason that irritated Alex, but he couldn't really figure out why. He couldn't really expect Ryan to just sit there and watch him make love with his girlfriend without him being involved in some way, and he wasn't actively interfering with anyone anyway, so he just shrugged it off. Instead he reached out, took Lauren's hand, and guided her to the bed.

"You guys do whatever it is you need to do," Cate told them. "I'll busy myself fixing Alex something to eat while I distract myself. After all, watching my brother get naked with a bunch of women isn't exactly something that interests me much."

Alex had to smile at Cate's response, knowing just how much she actually enjoyed doing just that. But he understood what motivated her. It was bad enough not freaking out Alex's girls, but the idea of negatively impacting a potential spouse of a follower just increased the risks, so he understood the need to keep a low profile. He was a little surprised that she and Gail didn't just head to the other room instead of remaining here.

So Ryan and Megan began kissing while Alex did the same to Lauren. Alex noticed Megan's reactions when he wasn't concentrating on Lauren. She'd keep glancing at him, and she seemed ill at ease with Ryan. Again, Alex could understand that. She was feeling torn by her feelings for Alex and for her boyfriend, and she was having to fight a two headed serpent in her own mind as a result. He'd expect her to be distracted for most of the evening. After all, she didn't want to disappoint Alex, but then again she couldn't appear to be too enamored with him either.

Lauren, though, had no such compunction. She was all over him, kissing him enthusiastically, rubbing up against him, and trying to maintain as much skin contact as she could. He had no doubt she'd already talked to the other girls, plus those that Alex had put her in telepathic contact with, but he'd also learned that these women could feel the energy he gave off, and they could figure out the best way to get it on their own.

Alex glanced over while playing with Lauren and noticed that Ryan and Megan were going at it hot and heavy. Megan was already totally nude, and Ryan wasn't far behind. Their clothing was scattered around the bed, and Ryan's hands were busy. But Megan seemed distracted. She actually looked like she was trying to slow her boyfriend down, rather than encouraging him. Alex hoped he wasn't intimidating her, making her feel she couldn't let herself go in front of him. After all, Alex certainly wasn't the jealous sort, and he had no intention of getting between a man and his girlfriend. Well, actually he was doing just that, but he was trying to do it with the least amount of damage, and getting upset with them getting intimate would do more damage than anything else he could think of.

Alex shifted over a little, partially to avoid having to stare at Ryan's junk, as he tried to move a little faster himself by removing Lauren's blouse and bra. As Alex began playing with her breasts, still watching how she responded to his touch, he couldn't help noticing that Megan had gotten Ryan settled between her thighs. However, instead of seeming pleased by his actions, she seemed nervous and pensive.

'Is everything OK?' he asked her mentally.

'What? Oh, sorry, I keep forgetting that you can do that. Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that Ryan is acting oddly.'

'Oddly how?' Alex asked, allowing himself to be distracted from what he was supposedly doing with Lauren.

'Oh, I don't know, ' she responded before she began describing exactly how he was acting oddly. 'Notice how much noise he's making?' she asked.

Actually, Alex had been so focused on Lauran and her reactions to him he hadn't noticed before, but Ryan was making a lot of noise grunting, swearing, and even making slurping noises while going down on his girlfriend. Thinking about it, Alex could understand that, though. He was intimidated by his girlfriend wanting to make love to someone else, a near angel at that. Thus he could see Ryan acting possessively, trying to show everyone that Megan was officially his. Actually, this was almost like hiking his leg and pissing on her to mark his territory. Alex shared that mental image with Megan causing her to laugh, which probably wasn't a very good idea, since it would likely only upset Ryan all the more to have his girlfriend giggling at his sexual performance while comparing him to Alex.

Hoping to move a little faster, and to make up for time lost being distracted, Alex got up and helped divest Lauren of her pants. She then proceeded to remove his clothing as well. However, before they'd progressed very far, Ryan was already moving up, anxious to finish the deal and screw his girlfriend.

As Alex and Lauren got back to sharing his energy between their exposed flesh, Ryan was already humping away beside them, grunting up a storm, telling Megan how hot she was and how she was the finest piece of ass in all of Houston, in fact in all of Texas. Such actions cooled down Alex's own ardor, as he didn't like such obnoxious and overbearing behavior in the bedroom. He believed in sharing experiences and getting to know someone in the most intimate of manners, but it only looked like Ryan was in a race to the finish line. Megan, meanwhile, seemed to be sick of her boyfriend's behavior, but seemed too embarrassed to call him on it. Alex had to refocus his attention or else he'd lose the connection he'd already established with Lauren, which he didn't want to do because he knew it would take a long time to reconnect if he did. However, Alex also quickened his pace, figuring if he took that much longer to finish than Ryan did there could possibly be trouble.

In order to counter the disruption that Ryan was having on Alex's slow approach to lovemaking, Alex started speaking to Lauren telepathically. This did two things: it allowed him to concentrate on her more fully, plus it allowed him to share both his innermost feelings and emotions without having to worry about being out of breath or breaking their kiss. As a result he started to catch up.

"Oh FUCK! Oh Yeah, Oh God, Oh Shit! God you're the best piece of ass. Suck my cum, baby!" Ryan shouted out, further distracting Alex. Everyone tried to ignore him as best they could, but Ryan was obviously trying to garner attention with his outburst. Alex kept working, quietly making slow love to Lauren even as Ryan rolled off of Megan and draped his hand over his forehead.

"Ryan, I can't understand why you're acting like this," Megan quietly hissed at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he insisted. "I'm just showing poor Alex how it's done, since he seems to be having trouble finishing what he started."

"You don't realize who you're dealing with," Megan whispered to him through her teeth. "He could do horrible things to you if he wanted. You have no idea of the power he possesses." She was obviously trying to keep her criticisms between them, but in the small room it was hard to disguise what she was saying, but he wasn't listening to her.

"Hey, if he's a damn angel then he's going to be forgiving, so I've got nothing to worry about."

He then turned to Alex, still making slow quiet love to Lauren. "You're never going to finish if you don't pick up the pace," he observed, watching Alex. "There's delaying orgasm to heighten sensations, but you're just being lazy."

When Alex didn't respond, he just shook his head, looking pointedly at his girlfriend, but she was ashamed to even make eye contact with him. Ryan simply shrugged, reaching over, finding his pants and pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"This is a no smoking room," Gail reminded him.

"So?"

"All we need is to make a negative impression on the hotel staff. We're trying to maintain a low profile. Please don't piss off the people we rely on, OK?"

He shrugged again and dropped the cigarettes on the nightstand, turning to watch Alex and Lauren again.

"Man, I could make love to Megan twice in the time you take to even get started."

Alex didn't respond, looking away from him so he didn't have to react. Ryan shook his head again and rolled over.

"Hey baby, you want anything? I think I'll hit the can and grab a soda."

Megan declined the offer with a visible revulsion over his attitude, but Ryan didn't seem to notice as he walked to the bathroom, his cum coated limp penis bouncing as he walked. Both Gail and Cate had to look away. He didn't even bother to close the bathroom door as he relieved himself. Being a standard hotel room, there was only a central room with a single double bed, a desk with chairs, and a small entrance way holding the microwave and refrigerator holding Alex's supplies, which Cate was fixing.

Finishing, he gave out a very loud sigh of satisfaction, then went to the room fridge where Cate kept Alex's food supplies.

"Hey, you're really stocked here. Thanks man. I guess it pays to be the king, huh?"

"Uh, those are emergency supplies in case my brother needs them," Cate tried to argue.

"Hey, I'm sharing my girlfriend with him. He can at least share a damn soda and some cookies."

Cate just stood there, hands clenched by her side, jaw firmly set and fire in her eyes.

Still nude, his flaccid penis dangling, he stood and put his arm around Cate's shoulder, holding his Coke and cookie in either hand.

"Hey, babe, you wanna get busy?"

"I'm only 15 and a virgin. Try anything with me and you'll go to jail as a pedophile," Cate informed him, exaggerating her age for effect. "I'm only here because my brother needs someone who knows how to treat him if he has a reaction. I'm not interested in any of his sexual shenanigans, so please leave me alone." If looks could kill, Cate would have been the one going to prison with a satisfied expression on her face, but Ryan didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, no harm in asking," he told her before turning to Gail. "How about you, Doll, you want to give it a shot?"

"You touch me and I'll break you in half," she told him in a quiet bone-chilling voice. "The last man who touched me ended up with a dislocated shoulder and a broken pelvis." Cate immediately thought of the advice that Gail had given Alex on how to lie successfully, create a simple but powerful story and give just enough detail to make it believable.

"Oh, you're one of those, huh?" he sneered. "Guess it makes sense, though. You couldn't get much protection from somebody you're schtuppin'."

Gail looked ready to throttle the guy, but he didn't seem to register her reactions either, simply walking to a nearby chair and collapsing on it, popping open Alex's soda and loudly drinking down a good portion of it. He also didn't bother closing his thighs or hiding his limp dick from anyone's view, despite their clear lack of interest in both it and him.

Alex was finding this all just as distracting as the others in the room were. Everyone besides her boyfriend was well aware how Megan was feeling about it. Alex was only able to maintain his focus by keeping up a running dialogue with Lauren, telling her how beautiful she was, how he could tell she was a wonderful person, and how he was glad he could find someone as wonderful as she was to help organize his people for him.

In order to keep Megan from going ballistic, Alex started to include her in his mental communications with Lauren as well, so he started addressing them both. This seemed to appease her, as she turned and watched the interplay of his emotions revealed by his aura rather than the couple making love next to her.

'Alex, please excuse Ryan. I don't know what's up his ass, but he's being a real jerk. He doesn't normally act like this, and I can't understand why he is now.'

'That's OK, Megan. I think I can understand it. He's feeling threatened. I can imagine how I'd feel in the same situation. I couldn't imagine watching someone else screwing my girlfriends or even my sister if they looked at me the way you're looking at me.'

'Still, if he's having an issue with it, he should just say so. He shouldn't be acting like an ass, like a willful child insisting he gets whatever he wants.'

'Give him time, ' Alex advised, even though he found that advice difficult to follow himself. 'I think he can't figure out what he's thinking at this stage. If he had a better grasp on what he's going through I'd expect we could discuss it, or at least settle it like gentlemen with him busting my lip, but it's not as clear cut as that.'

'I think you're giving him too much credit, ' Megan replied, ceasing carrying on about her poorly behaving boyfriend and letting Alex focus on Lauren like he should.