From Within and Without
Chapter Four: Search

Trinity felt a little worn out from the weekend as she slowly climbed the steps of her dorm building, feeling both tired and a little happy for the experience.  She had gone home expecting it to be another terrible weekend, but it turned out to be on of the best.  They all acted, for the most part, like Danielle had never left randomly for four year.  Everyone but Autumn, but no one expected her to act normal.  But still, Trinity had to admit it was nice to have her sister back.  She was close to her brother and all, but the seven year age difference made it hard to relate to each other growing up.

But she was still a little worried by what Danielle had told her, that she had been on the run for the past four years.  That didn’t sound like anything good, since Danielle’s Ability wasn’t all that well known outside of family and close friends.  Having the ability to accurately predict the future tended to bring out people all too eager to exploit you, which the Blanch family quickly learned.  While they had severed ties to the worst offenders, there was still that possibility someone would find out, and then beg to know what the lottery numbers would be.

Which Trinity thought was rather silly.  If Danielle herself didn’t use her Ability in that fashion, why would anyone else assume that she would freely give it away?

Trinity chuckled slightly as she stood by the elevator, too burdened to even think about the stairs.  Her laundry was neatly folded, lovingly by her mother, so her bag didn’t look as heavy, enough though it seemed twice as.  Trinity knew it was just wariness, since Autumn tried to fit in four years of family time in two days.

It was nice to sleep in her own bed for one night, to have a room to herself, and not to wake up in the middle of the night before her roommate was so sound asleep, she was snoring too loudly.  To not have to hear people running up and down the hallways at two in the morning, or hear that one random guy that would blare his stereo at four.  To only have the sounds of the city outside her bedroom, and the mutterings of her parents, up entirely too early on a Sunday, to disturb her.

She was a little sad that she had to give it up today, but she also figured it was for the better.  She had gotten used to Lillian now, and she enjoyed her freedom.  She just couldn’t wait until her parents deemed her old enough to let her get an apartment, sponsored by the school so she didn’t have to worry about a job, or having enough money to pay rent if she did, so she could have complete freedom.

And, if not, then there was always after she graduated that she could look forward to.

It was possibly too late, or too early, for anyone else to be roaming about the building, and no one was getting off the elevator when it finally opened.  She shoved her things into it, and hit the button for her floor.  She actually disliked this elevator, probably a half an century older than she was, and she usually preferred to take the stairs, although she was on the sixth floor.  She would rather be out of breath than falling to her death when the cables gave out, and besides, it was good exercise.  She hadn’t put on her Freshman Fifteen, that was for sure.

She wasn’t expecting Lillian there when she shoved open the door to her room, so she jumped when Lillian greeted her.  “Oh, hey, you have fun at home?” she asked, lounging on her bed, reading what looked like a gossip magazine.

“Oh, yeah, tons,” Trinity said sarcastically as she dragged her things to her side of the room.

“Why are you even carrying that crap?” Lillian asked, not moving a muscle to help.

“Well, because in my experience, people tend to flip out when I start levitating things,” Trinity responded, dumping her laundry bag on the floor by her bed with a thud.  ”And don’t ask why I didn’t use my Ability to make these things lighter without making it look like I was making them float.  That gets complicated, and one moment of distraction, and I’ll give myself away.”

She was starting to realize that it was probably a good thing that she’s been so cautious all these years.  Then again, most people had a low tolerance for people with Abilities, just because they were ‘different’ from them.  But still to have people chasing you because you had an Ability didn’t seem like a very promising future.

“So, was your sister there?” Lillian asked, still not looking up from her magazine.  In fact, she sounded a little bored.

“Yeah, actually, she came down Friday night.  The while crew was there, even Matt and Nates.”

This seemed to interest Lillian, since she put down the magazine.  “Oh, really?” she asked, since, obviously, Danielle was the only Blanch she hadn’t met.  “How’s he doing?”

“Good, I guess.  I mean, she wasn’t hitting Dad up for money or anything.  And she wasn’t complaining about anything.”

“Does she have a job or anything?”

“She majored in Art History in college,” Trinity pointed out, having dug that information out.  “So no, not really.  Nothing stable, anyway.  She’s aiming to be a professional painter.”

“How’s that working out?”

“She apparently has an exhibit opening up in about a month.  I don’t know whose running it, but Danielle got really animated while talking about him, so I guess he’s someone famous?  I mean, I think she can make a career out of it.”

But something Trinity said sparked Lillian’s attention.  “Oh, is he her boyfriend?”

“I...don’t think so,” Trinity answered, giving her roommate a funny look while she was putting away her shirts.

“Does she have a boyfriend?”

“She didn’t say, but from the way she blushed and avoided the subject when Dad brought it up, I want to say yes.”

Lillian clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.  “Your shy, mousey sister has a boyfriend.”

Trinity rolled her eyes.  “She’s also four years older, and hey, I’ll get one eventually.”

“You know...”

“I’m not letting you hook me up,” Trinity said, rolling her eyes.  “If I find someone, it’ll be something I found, and that I found interesting.”  She tried to control her blush a little, since the idea of what she was interested in crossed her mind.  She was surprised that Lillian never caught on to her little crush, but, then again, Lillian deemed people like Irvine Wilson to be ‘undesirable’.  She probably knew, she just chose to ignore it.

Lillian just shrugged before going back to her magazine.  “It’ll be so much easier if you’d just listen to me about this.”

“If I’m not going to go for any guys Sasha tosses as me, what makes you think you have a chance at it?”

“Because I know you better than she does.”

“I’ve now Sasha for thirteen years!”

“Yeah,” Lillian said, peeking out from behind her magazine, “but she doesn’t know you like I do, and she doesn’t know that just catering to your idea that you don’t ‘need a guy to be happy’ is unhealthy.”

Trinity threw her hands in the air.  “I don’t!  I don’t need a guy to validate me!  It’s rather pathetic that girls like you think that the only point in life is to find a guy and get laid every night.”

“Says the virgin.”

“Shut up, okay?  And stop messing around with my love life.  It’s mine, and I can do whatever I want with it.”  She slammed her drawer a little too hard, and caught the glass figurines stilling on top of it before they hit the ground.  Lillian didn’t bat an eye at their floating in the air, but then again, she wasn’t paying much attention anymore.

“Uh huh,” Lillian said, and Trinity sighed, knowing her roommate wasn’t going to take her advice.  The good news was that she only had to deal with her a few more months, and then, hopefully, she’ll be assigned a new roommate next years.  Preferably a butch athlete who just makes fun of Trinity’s girly ways rather than her lack of a boyfriend.

***

The spirits were out in full force that morning.

Amy watched them all, silently, from her position in the subway car. They seemed to be hovering around a good chunk of people there, from all walks of life. The distortions were actually starting to give her a little bit of a headache. It was like her vision was going with the amount of them there were. No one tried to make contact with her, but it was to the point that by the time she arrived at her stop, she forewent her usual coffee for some water and an aspirin.

The fresh air helped, and once she was out on the street, the spirits seemed to thin a bit. Being outside seemed to help. She could always find, or make, room if she needed to. There was no such luck on the subway. She winced as her head throbbed a little more, like there was a vice clamped down on her skull. It seemed concentrated more on her left side than her right.

By the time she arrived at school, the headache had gone down, and she managed to sit through Biology of Aging with little difficulty. It wasn’t the best class to wake up to, but it was only available in that morning slot. As she scrawled notes, she noticed with relief that there didn’t seem to be any spirits around. Not that she minded, it was just...strange.

She quickly revised her statement when she saw a distortion barely visible through the little corridor that led into the classroom proper. A spirit seemed to be hovering by the door, not fully entering the room. Amy couldn’t get a mental image of it, or even if it were male or female. It said nothing and did nothing to suggest it noticed her at all; it was just...quietly standing guard. She pursed her lips. Strange...

“Hey there,” Sergey said, loping up to her. It was after class. She was sitting on a ledge near the building, sipping her coffee. There were no spirits in sight at the moment, though there had been earlier. Thank God, she thought as she looked him over, Irina wasn’t making another visit.

“Hey,” she replied, taking another long drag her coffee. Sergey took a seat beside her.

“What’s the matter?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Spirits are roaming the city again.”

“I...again?” he said, “What are they celebrating now?”

Amy cracked a smile. “I don’t think they’re celebrating anything. They seem too...quiet for that.”

“Maybe they don’t want to disturb other people,” he said, “They’re being considerate – well...not to you, but you can’t help it. Are you okay, solnyshko? Want to talk about it?”

“I’m not upset,” Amy tried to clarify, “It’s just that...the way I see them isn’t like some others do. I don’t just see them like I see you. I see...things...in the edges of my vision...like my eyes are a camera lens, and someone’s just smeared something over a certain spot...”

She floundered, trying to elaborate on something that she’d taken for granted. Sure, her mother understood if she said ‘distortion’, but what would Sergey know? He probably thought there was something wrong with her eyes, and the clumsy way she was describing it wasn’t helping. There didn’t seem to be a way to describe it.

A look of concern was on his face, and that made it worse.

“I don’t see them right away,” she added lamely, “I see that distortion and then, if they decide to show me, I get an impression of what they look like and my mind automatically fills in the blank. But if they don’t tell me, I’m left staring at all these blurs.”

“Oh,” he said, in the way that suggested he still didn’t understand but was willing to leave it be. “I...is there anything you can do?”

“Yeah, take two aspirin,” Amy said, “There’s so many of them I’m getting a headache.”

Sergey frowned. “And none of them have said anything to you?”

“Nope,” she said, almost cheerfully, “They’re all just...standing around. Following certain people around, or hanging around the entrances to buildings...not so many on the walk over here, but once I hit the science buildings I started seeing them all over. It’s weird.”

He didn’t say anything at first, glancing around him, like he was unsure, his brown eyes worried. Amy smiled and shook her head.

“Your babushka’s not here,” she said, “Trust me, if she was, I’d know.”

He smiled a little ruefully. “I almost wish I could see them.”

“No, you don’t,” Amy said, taking a long sip of her coffee, “One of us has to be headache-free or else nothing would get done.”

She grinned, hoping to soothe him. It seemed to work; he learned over and wrapped his arm around her. They sat like that for a long minute, just watching other students hurry by. She leaned his head on his shoulder. It was such a...stereotypical move, yet she didn’t care. The headache already seemed to be lessened.

“Do you like seeing them?” Sergey murmured, “I mean, besides my grandmother. You don’t get...tired of it?”

“It’s all I’ve ever known,” she said, taking another long sip of her coffee, “How can I get tired of something if I think it’s normal?”

He shrugged, and the movement jostled her. She edged closer to him, readjusting her position.

“I don’t know,” he said, “You don’t ever...realize that you’re a minority?”

“I realize it just fine,” she said, “But I can’t change how I see things. I get an idea of how other people see things – no spirits around, I don’t see anything – but unless I somehow magically lose the ability to see them, to be what others call ‘normal’...”

She shrugged as well.

“...I just go about my life and don’t let it bother me,” she finished, “Headaches and stuff are just...part of the job. Who doesn’t get headaches now and then?”

“You just looked upset,” Sergey said, “I don’t like seeing you upset over something like this.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” she repeated, “I’m just wondering why there’s so many of them out here. My mother says the same thing.”

“See, to me that’s you worrying.”

“I’m not worrying,” she assured him, “It’s strange, yeah...but what’s there to worry about?”

“I don’t know,” Sergey said, “I just hope they go away. I don’t want you living off aspirin.”

Amy grinned. “There’s none here now, so don’t worry. They’re all clustered up the road.”

“So I know there’s no one watching us if I do this?”

He bent down and kissed Amy. She set her coffee aside to prop herself up, pushing herself into the kiss. His lips were warm; she could taste whatever he’d eaten beforehand.

“Nope,” Amy said, after they’d pulled away, “No one saw us.”

“Good,” he joked, “I don’t think I’d want anyone spying on us.”

Amy laughed. “No one could ‘spy’ on us with me around,” she said, “No need to worry about that.”

He grinned, seeming to finally relax, and they sat there for a little while longer. Finally, her watch told her now would be a good time to grab lunch if she wanted to be back in time for class, so they wandered off the campus and towards their usual deli.

There were no spirits there.

***

Kris stared at the sad remains of his breakfast. It was still too early for his liking, especially given that it was a Saturday morning, but he was okay with that. He was willing to sacrifice sleeping in on Saturdays when it involved the kids. He glanced at the clock on the microwave. Half an hour left. Their mother usually arrived right on time.

The food was already cold, and he’d eaten what he wanted to. It was time for a shower. One too many times he’d slept in too late, or jumped in the shower too late, and she’d wound up knocking on the door when he was preoccupied. Danielle usually got the door in his absence, which seemed to irritate both mother and father to no end. She wanted to see Kris, as he was the one with custody; he wanted to see the kids right off the bat. It always felt like he never had enough time with them, and he was eager to spend whatever little scrap he could.

He didn’t pay too much attention to the water, and so wound up having a merely lukewarm shower, but he didn’t mind. A little spark of excitement was building in his chest, one that shoved away all thoughts of an uncomfortable shower, and he made a brief note to be cautious. He didn’t need the excitement spreading to everyone in the apartment. Danielle being beside herself would only feed his childish excitement, and it would begin a vicious cycle until someone got fed up...

Kris was in the middle of shaving when he sensed their presence. He couldn’t peg where they were in the building, but there was definite mixed emotions. A feeling of childish joy engulfed him first, and he grinned broadly at his partially-shaven reflection. They were going to see Dani – ah, Sophie. Had to be Sophie. Recognizing who it was didn’t make him stop grinning, although he tried. He couldn’t very well finish shaving like that.

The following two emotions came in shortly after, battling with the joy inside him. One was enthusiastic – less so than Sophie – but with an undercurrent of annoyance. The next lacked any sort of enthusiasm at all; it was a perpetual exasperation with just a tiny hint of...sadness? Kris finally managed to stop smiling, unsure of where Angelina was getting that. He only sensed emotions, not the memories of thoughts behind them, and so, without any context, it confused him.

He managed to finish shaving before they arrived, and it was while he was in the middle of dressing that he heard the knock on the door.

“I’ll get it!” he called from the bathroom, throwing on a t-shirt and rushing towards the door. His hair was still wet, and clung to his head and neck in damp clumps.

Danielle let out a snort, and glanced at the clock.  She was surprised as how late it was, and pretty much threw herself out of bed, hurrying to grab her bathrobe.  “I heard ya!” she called back, slightly annoyed.

Angelina looked stunning, as always, her black hair swept back into a smooth knot. She was trying to seem cheerful, though; there was a smile on her face for the kids’ benefit, but they both knew what she was feeling. He still couldn’t peg the sadness, and that confused him even worse. Her mother had cancer, he knew; had something happened there?

“Hey Angie,” Kris said, a little quietly, “How’s life?”

Angelina smoothed Sophie’s black hair. “It’s been better.”

“I guessed as—” Kris said jerkily. He quickly shut up. Conversations with Angelina were incredibly awkward after the divorce. When you were in love, having the other person know exactly what you were feeling was romantic, sensitive, and better yet, they would know that things weren’t ‘all right’ – but as soon as the honeymoon faded, it felt invasive. Nothing was private. ‘You should be glad I’m not a telepath,’ Kris had once said, ‘That’s invasive.’ It hadn’t been during one of his better moments.

“Your mother?” he said, trying to be sympathetic.

“No,” she said, shaking her head, “Mom’s still in remission. It’s nothing, Kris. Stop—” and she cut herself off, before adding, “Don’t worry about it. And that Takashi...”

“He’s still asleep,” Kris said, “Can’t read thoughts when you’re asleep.”

The thought seemed to comfort her, and the undercurrent of tension, the one that had been making Kris tense as well, faded. He relaxed, crouching down to as close to Sophie’s eye level as he could. She was clutching a pink plastic suitcase, stuffed to the brim with an array of half-naked, frizzy-haired Barbies.

“Hi, Soap,” he said, ruffling her hair, “Hi, Drew. How’s school going?”

He and Angelina were perhaps the only people who called Sophie that. It had been born from her own mispronunciation of ‘Soph’, and, like most nicknames, it had just stuck. It always seemed to aggravate her a little, and the childish anger that seeped into his feelings only made him smile.

“Hi Dad,” Andrew said, with a yawn, “I don’t wanna talk about school now. It’s the weekend.”

Kris laughed. “Okay—”

“Dani?” Sophie demanded, brandishing the suitcase as though it were a weapon, “Dani’s up?”

“Yes, Soap, Dani’s up, but you have to be quiet because Takashi’s—”

Sophie had heard all she needed to, and darted past Kris with a speed he didn’t think possible. A delighted shriek of “Dani!” met his ears. They winced as Andrew toddled in inside. Kris straightened up.

“Do you...er...want to come inside?” he offered.

“Just for a minute,” she said, stepping inside with some hesitation, and he saw her eyes skim over the place. Disapproval. She always thought his ‘new’ living arrangements rather strange, even if she knew the reason why. Sophie had already begun searching for Danielle, the suitcase full of bedraggled Barbies still clutched in her pudgy hands. Andrew had settled himself on the couch. There went any idea of spending the morning with his kids. Danielle would monopolize them if he let her.

“I don’t think he got too much sleep last night,” she murmured, “He was so excited to come over today that he kept himself up...”

“He can sleep a little longer in my room.”

“No, then he won’t take his nap,” she said, heading towards the bathroom, “He knows the routine.”

She ducked into the bathroom just then, leaving him standing near the foyer.

Danielle had just stepped out of the bedroom, carefully shutting the door so nothing that wasn’t above a nuclear explosion would wake Takashi up.  She grinned as she swept Sophie off her feet.  “Hey there, short stuff.  Miss me last weekend?”

“Yes!” Sophie said with all the unbridled enthusiasm of a two-year-old, “Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes!”

“Okay, Soap, she gets the point,” Kris said, “Shhh. You have to be quiet. Takashi’s still sleeping.”

“Takashi can also sleep through an alien invasion of Earth,” Danielle muttered as she walked Sophie to join her brother in the living room.

“That’s not the point,” Kris said delicately, though Sophie wasn’t paying attention, “When people are sleeping, that means to be quiet, even if they sleep like the dead.”

Sophie ignored him still, giving Danielle the sort of starry-eyed admiration reserved for important people. She didn’t even notice that she’d dropped the suitcase in the meantime, and Kris shuffled over to pick it up. 

“Where were you?” she demanded of Danielle, though it was rather difficult for Kris to chastise her. It was Sophie, and she knew how to make full use of the puppy-dog face when she needed.

“I was,” she started to say before glancing at Kris.  She still hadn’t told them where she had gone over the weekend.  “I was visiting some people very close to me.”

Family, Kris guessed, but why hadn’t she said anything about it? Not that it mattered; it was done with. He headed over to the living room, where Andrew had snuggled up on a particularly comfortable bit of couch.

“I missed you,” Sophie said, calming down a little, “I played Barbies with Dad!”

“Oh, the horror,” Danielle said, mocking looking concerned.  “I certainly didn’t see that coming.”  She gave Kris a sideways glance.

“Tired, Drew?” Kris said quietly, not noticing Danielle. Andrew nodded; Kris rustled his hair. As though on cue, Angelina stepped out of the bathroom again, smoothing her hair. Kris glanced back at her, surveying the area. With Danielle in the room now, she wasn’t likely to linger.

“Hello Danielle,” she said politely, though the tension was back. Kris felt his muscles tense unconsciously, and he moved away from the couch. See Angelina to the door, then deal with the children again, he told himself.

“Hello, Angelina,” Danielle said just as politely, not wanting to stay anything.  She made sure not to react to the stiffness in her tone.

“Your mother’s leaving now, you two,” Kris said, “Say good-bye.”

“Bye, Mom,” Andrew said, reluctantly leaving his spot on the couch so she could place a kiss on his cheek. He seemed a little embarrassed by the affection, at least in front of Danielle. Sophie was still glued to Danielle, so Angelina blew her a kiss, and received one in turn, before heading to the door. Kris followed.

“See you Sunday,” Kris said, still trying to figure out that little streak of sadness.

“Sunday,” she said in agreement, slipping into her shoes again, “I’ll be by at the usual time.”

“Are you...going to be–”

“I said not to worry about it,” Angelina said, “Bye, Kris. I’ll see you Sunday.”

She then promptly left. Kris lingered by the door, closing it only as he could feel her emotions ebbing away. He turned back to the small chaos in the living room, inhaling slowly. A two year old and a five year old had boundless energy, and he was going to need some of that to keep up with them. If he even had the chance.

“Come on, Soap, let Dani have some breakfast,” he said pointedly, “You can play later.”

“Yes,” Danielle said as she set the little girl on the ground.  “Play with your father a bit.  Since I missed how you two played while I was gone.”

“You just want to see me get clocked in the eye, don’t you?” Kris said, “For some reason Barbie turns into a ninja whenever Ken doesn’t do what she wants.”

Sophie dragged the case over to the couch, rummaging through the tangled mess of dolls inside. Kris flopped on the couch just as Sophie thrust a shirtless Ken doll at him.

“Of course she does.  That’s just what women do,” Danielle said, grinning slightly as she fished out her cereal.

“I hear tiny thoughts,” Takashi said as he emerged from the hallway.  He took in the scene in front of him, his hand paused as it was running through his hair, which was still sticking up.  ”Oh, joy,” he said sarcastically.  ”I’m going back to bed.”

Danielle snapped her fingers at the empty chair at the table, which already had a bowl filled with cereal.  ”Get your butt over here,” she told him.  ”You’re not sleeping in today.”

Takashi grumbled as he moved to join her, glaring at the kids slightly. Kris glared right back, even while Sophie was trying to grab his attention by smacking Barbie’s face into his arm. Andrew seemed bored by the whole proceeding, and Kris couldn’t really blame him.

While Danielle and Takashi ate and washed up, Kris tried to keep both of his children occupied. The passage of time seemed to wake Andrew up enough, and Sophie was content to play with the dolls for a while, even though it was apparent that she wanted to play with Danielle. He couldn’t blame her for that; Kris was certain Angelina played with her when she got the chance, but Danielle was the only other girl in the apartment. Sophie could only take so much of watching Kris and Andrew play-fight each other with Ken dolls, because after a while it became less of ‘which Ken won Barbie’s heart’, as it did ‘use the Ken dolls as makeshift swords’. It kept Andrew happy, even though the doll’s heads came dangerously close to falling off more than once. Kris liked how the whole thing was going, the rush of amusement he got from it that he was certain didn’t come from anyone else but him, but he wasn’t sure if he could do it every day. 

“Would you stop it?” Sophie shrieked, waving her Barbie angrily.

“Okay, okay,” Kris said, “Drew, stop flinging that around before you hit someone.”

Danielle snatched the Ken doll away from Andrew, tapping him on the head with it.  “Didn’t you bring you’re own stuff to play fight with?” she asked the boy as she pushed Kris off the couch so she would play with Sophie finally.

It was about halfway through the morning when Danielle paused.  “Phone,” she called, since she was too engaged with Sophie to take a break from their ‘game’.  “You’re not going to like it!” she added.

“Oh, thanks for pointing that out,” Kris said as the phone rang. He picked it up without even glancing at the ID. “Hello?”

“Kristóf,” Andrew Fischer, the director of the O.R.G., said excitedly.  “I trust everyone’s with you?”

“I’ve said it before, you can call me Kris like everyone else,” Kris said, “But yes, the whole gang’s here.”

“Excellent.  I could tell because you picked up on the first ring.  I have your new assignment.”

So that was what Danielle had meant. Of all the days to receive an assignment... “Great,” he said, keeping his tone the same despite his irritation at the timing, “I’m all ears.”

“There’s a rouge telepath being hunted down by R.E.V.E.R.A.  We have a general idea of his location, but we, of course, don’t want R.E.V.E.R.A. to know that we know about him.  He’s going to corporate with us, our psychics have seen that much, but it’s going to be a task finding and then talking to him, since he’s wary of everyone.  He thinks everyone is out to get him, and he’s a limited range telepath, so he won’t know your intentions until you’re within five feet of him.  Your assignment is to track and talk to him, and make sure R.E.V.E.R.A. has no idea we have him.”

Kris was reminded of sayings about needles and haystacks. “Sure,” he said, keeping his voice chipper, “Does this telepath have a name? I’ll – we’ll –  need everything you have on this guy if we’re going to find him.”

“Of course,” Fischer said before rattling off a name, description, and last known location of the man.  “And,” he stressed, “we’d like to get to him as soon as possible, before R.E.V.E.R.A. does.”

“No, we’ll wait until they have him before we act,” Kris said, rolling his eyes, “Of course we’re going to try and get to him first, don’t you worry about that.”

“I mean going after him today, Kristóf.”

“Today?” Kris repeated, catching himself, “They’re on to him that much? I mean...” he paused, kicking himself for the words that came out, “Yes. Of course. Today. We’ll get right on it.”

“Excellent.  Keep me post,” Fischer said as he hung up the phone.

***

Trinity loved Saturdays like this.  Lillian had decided to take her hint from the weekend before, and headed out early Friday to go visit her parents in upstate New York.  Her assignments could all wait until Sunday, and the only thing she had to worry about today was getting to the dining hall before the ice cream machine broke again.

She woke later than usual to blissful silence.  Most of the students in her building had been out late the night before, and were all still sound asleep.  Trinity wasn’t really much of a nigh person, and she had gone to be at a reasonable hour, since she had nothing better to do.  She supposed she could have called Sasha and seen if she wanted to do anything, but she just felt like staying in that day.

She took her time getting ready, taking a slow shower just because she could, and enjoying the heat.  She left her hair to air dry, although she knew it would be noon before it was completely dry.  It was going to be a nice day, though, she recalled from the weather forecast the night before, and she knew she would be fine wandering outside with wet hair.  She towel dried the best she could, anyway, just in case.

The only problem she had with living on campus was that she had to eat her breakfast already dressed, unless she happened to have some cereal and milk in the dorm.  She had neither, sadly, and she wanted a real breakfast, anyway.  And she wasn’t like most of her fellow students, in that she would go to the dining hall in her pajamas.  It seemed...stupid to her.  If you’re going to roll out o bed and make and effort to go to the dining hall, why not put on some clothes.

Of course, for all she knew, they could be wearing that.  She never understood the ‘fashion’ of pajama pants.  Give her good old jeans any day.

The dining hall was relatively empty, save for a few early risers like herself.  She piled food on her tray, and then sat at a table in a quiet section of the hall, listening to the murmurs of conversation around her.  It was a peaceful, pleasant day, the sort that it was hard to get stressed over, and it seemed to be off to a good start.

That is, of course, until she started walking back to her dorm, planning her day full of marathons, and reading just for the hell of it.

She knew something was wrong when she started to feel like someone was following her.  She knew she was probably being paranoid, since it was far too early for anyone to be stalking her, but she couldn’t shake the feeling.  She told herself she was just being silly, and told herself not to look.

Would you slow down?  I can’t walk that fast.

Trinity whirled around, knowing she hadn’t had that thought.  She found herself staring at a ten year old girl, her bright brown eyes wide and innocent.  Trinity stared at her for a moment, confused, since she was sure she had seen this girl before.

But the thought that randomly was shoved in her head was just as confusing.  After all, she was a telekinetic, not a telepath.  She shouldn’t be hearing voices in her head.

“Hi,” the girl said cheerfully after a moment.

“Hi,” Trinity said, a little unsure.  “Do I know you?”

The girl laughed.  “I’m your cousin, Missy?”

It dawned on her then just why this girl seemed so familiar.  It had been a good four years since she last saw her cousin, since she didn’t come to New York all that often, and she always argued for staying home when her mother went to visit her brother.  Melissa didn’t look that different from the six year old she knew, but she hadn’t seen her in so long, she forgot what she looked like.

“Did you...um...,” Trinity started, pointing to her head.

Melissa nodded.  “Yep,” she said, smiling.  “It’s my Ability.”

“I’m confused.  How did you do that?”

“Aunt Autumn says I’m a reverse telepath.  That I put thoughts into people’s heads instead of reading theirs.  I don’t know; I’ve always been able to do that.”

“Is that how you got into trouble at your school?”

She stared at her shoes.  “Yeah, I can’t control it that well yet.  Sometimes, when I’m not paying attention, a stray thought goes into someone’s head, and they know they didn’t think it.  They started to get scared of me, so Mom thought it would be best for me to gain control of my Ability before I started middle school.”

“Oh, um.  Does Mom know you’re here?”

Melissa shook her head.  “No, she said you wouldn’t be coming home for a while, and I wanted to see you, since it’s been so long.  You weren’t hard to find.”

“I know, I know, my eyes,” Trinity said, rolling them.

“Yep,” Melissa said, grinning.  “All I had to do with look at people’s eyes as they went by.  Not too many people have two eye colors.”

“Seriously, that’s the only thing you can remember about me?”  Melissa giggled as Trinity sighed.  “How did you get here?”

“The subway, of course.  I studied the trains last night, and decided to come here this morning to see you.”

Trinity glanced at her watch.  Her mother would be frantically calling her soon to tell her Melissa had disappeared.  “Okay,” she said, “come on.”

“Yay,” Melissa said happily, following Trinity to her down.  She explained to the girl at the desk that this was her cousin, that she was ten and that no, she had no identification on her.  Besides which, she wasn’t staying very long, and they just needed to get something from her room.

Right on cue, as Trinity opened her door, the phone started ringing.  She pushed Melissa into the room, shut the door, and dove for the phone before her mother could think something happened to her.  Nevermind she could be at breakfast.  “Hello?”

“Tri!  It’s your mother.  I have some horrible news!”

“That the munchkin sitting on Lilli’s bed is related to me?”

“No, no, you’re....wait, she’s there?”

“Found me coming back from breakfast,” she confirmed.

Autumn was silent for a moment.  “Well...”

“She’s okay,” Trinity told her.  “It might be fun to spend the day with my coz.  After all, I haven’t seen her in a while.”

Melissa grinned at her, kicking her feet since they couldn’t reach the floor.

“Are you sure?  You’re usually not that great with kids.”

“I’ll be fine.  It’s Missy, after all.  She can’t be too much of a handful.  It’s not like she’s six anymore, and trying to play the Telekinetic Game with me anymore.”

“Ha, but that was fun,” Melissa said, smiling slightly.  Trinity glared at her.

“Oh...kay,” her mother said, and she could see her frowning.

“She’s fine, Mom,” Trinity insisted.  “She’s a smart girl.  And it’s not like she doesn’t like in a bog city, anyway.  You can come pick her up if you’re so worried.”

“I might.  We can have dinner.”

“Sounds like a plan.  I wasn’t planning much today, anyway.”

Melissa was grinning at her as she hung up the phone.  “One condition,” she said before her cousin could say anything.  “None of that...pushing thoughts in my head crap.”

“But...”

“By accident is fine, I mean on purpose.  It’s weird, and I don’t like it.”

Melissa pouted.  “No one does,” she said.  “Except Daddy.”

“That’s because Uncle Richard wanted an Ability like my mother’s, and he’s pretending to have one with you.”

She giggled nervously.  “Okay, I’ll try,” she said, still frowning.  “It just makes things...easier, usually.”

“What do you mean?” Trinity asked as she booted up her computer to check to see if there was anything interesting to do today.

“Well, you can usually hear yourself think better than you can hear me in a crowded area.  And also, if we get separated, you can find me easily.”

“How far...how far can you project?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted.  “I caught my dad once at a half a mile away.  But, then again, I have to know the mind to send something.  I mean, like, I couldn’t send you anything that far at the moment because I only talked to you once.”

“Creepy,” Trinity said, shuttering.

“Well, Aunt Autumn did say I was the only one she knew who could do that, and she knows a lot about Abilities, doesn’t she?”

“More than most people,” Trinity admitted.  “Well, we’ll certainly be an unusual pair.  A telekinetic and a telepath who pushes thoughts.”

“We’re not so unusual.  After all, we both have rare Abilities, don’t we?”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing anymore,” Trinity muttered.

***

It was a rather pleasant day outside. He wished he could be spending it with his kids, the kids he got to see only two days out of the week, rather than playing ‘find the telepath’, but these were the sorts of things the O.R.G. asked of him. The thought that they would be saving someone from R.E.V.E.R.A. was a decent motivator, enough to keep him going. He didn’t have much of a clue what he was doing, though; how were they supposed to find one man, presumably on the run, in a city of millions? He could be running out of state for all Kris knew.

Haven’t seen a thing, Sylvester cut in, his normally slicked-back hair looking somewhat out of place, like he’d been running a hand throughout it continually. Your grandmother’s still searching, but things aren’t looking hopeful.

“Great,” Kris said, tipping the remainder of his drink into his mouth. “Sylvester says he didn’t see anything back there. You picking up on anything, Takashi? Any unusually paranoid thoughts?”

“Yeah, like why are those two staring at us?  But, then again, those aren’t unusual.”

“Just relax, guys,” Danielle said in their ears.  “We were told he was going to show up in this area, although it might be a while.  I’m not getting anything at the moment, and you know how reliable Fischer’s psychic can be on time.”  Takashi could almost see her roll her eyes.  “I’m looking, and I’ll let you know when I...ow, good God, would you two knock it off!”

“What’d they do now?” Kris said, while at the same time he said to Sylvester, Can you try and do a sweep of the area again? Maybe this guy’ll have relatives nearby.

I passed a couple spirits, but none of them had seen him. I can try again, but it’s doubtful. They all seemed preoccupied with something else.

“Nothing, nothing,” Danielle muttered.  “They’re just being kids.”

“And yet everyone wonders why I don’t like them,” Takashi pointed out.  “Kids, I mean, not just yours.”

“You don’t like kids because you can’t make sense of their little kiddie minds,” Danielle said. 

Takashi frowned at the confused thoughts that were filtering through his own thoughts.  It wasn’t specifically alarm, but just general confusion.  It was several blocks up, so he couldn’t get a good sense of what was going on, but it was just enough to make him a little suspicious.

“He’ll be wondering through your area in a few minutes,” Danielle said suddenly, breaking through his concentration.  “Sophie, stop, I’m trying to think.  You’ll be able to tell it’s him because three huge guys on on his tail.  He’s...wearing sunglasses and what looks like one of those marshmellow coats, but it’s, like, black.”

“Are they armed?” Kris said. The notion that they might have to fight two against three was not a comforting one.

“Umm, yeah, they are, the usual stuff.  But they’re not going to do anything with witnesses.  They don’t want him that badly.”

“Then what is this for, fun?” Kris snorted, not really expecting an answer, “Thanks. Let us know anything else you see.”

“Well, I didn’t say they weren’t going to put up a fight,” Danielle said slowly.  “Just that they won’t use their guns.  You...might want to remember to duck.”

“I’ll make a note of that,” Kris said, surveying the area. Sylvester, can you skim the area, see which way he’s coming? He hadn’t even finished the thought before Sylvester was gone, and Kris stood a little straighter.

“I got him,” Takashi said, slightly annoyed Kris would use his spirits before consulting him.  “He’s coming in over there.  See that guy who looks overdressed?  That’s him.  All he can think about is finding a very good hiding place.”

“Can’t blame him,” Kris said, as he caught sight of the puffy black coat Danielle had mentioned. He caught sight of the agents a second later. “Look at them. So...what, do you think we’d be okay approaching him? We don’t need him running off, but maybe if we try and act casual...?”

“He’s highly suspicious of everyone,” Takashi said as he started to stand.  “But, of course, he has to be close to read anyone’s thoughts.”

“He’s not going to run,” Danielle said.  “You’ll be able to get just close enough that he’ll read your intentions, and then, well, duck,” Danielle said.  “And hurry back before they tear the apartment up, please?  I can only do so much, you know.”

Kris sucked in a breath before exhaling slowly. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Takashi nodded, and followed Kris at a steady, slow, and unsuspicious pace as they approached the telepath.  He wasn’t all that remarkable, half-shaven and in a bad need of a hair-cut.  He had probably been on the run for a few days, since it usually took the O.R.G. that long to figure out that R.E.V.E.R.A. was after certain people.  His hair, black and slightly oily, stuck to his forehead, but his eyes, which were blue, where scanning the crowd in front of him as he hurried through.  He, too, wasn’t moving that fast, probably not to draw attention to him from the muscular men behind him.  His coat, though, made him stick out very nicely, and Takashi decided, whether it was his own thought or Kris’, that the coat needed to go.  The man himself didn’t seem remarkable, about average height and build.  He wasn’t nervous like most of the others, but just...trying to get away.  And from the way the men chasing him looked, Takashi couldn’t say he blamed him.

“He’s going to stop in front of that store to get his bearings,” Danielle muttered in their ears.  “You can get him then.”

And, almost like magic, the guy stopped in front of an electronics store, staring at the screens in front of him.  Takashi moved to his side, and he jerked a little.  We can help you, he thought strongly.

The guy still looked at him suspiciously, glancing at Kris on his other side.  I’m a telepath as well, he added.

You...you are, the guy asked, sounding unsure, but his mental voice was strong.

Takashi nodded, and the guy relaxed.  I’m Takashi, and that’s Kris.  We’re part of an organization that helps people like us.

Are you going to help me get away from them?

Yes, that’s why...  Takashi couldn’t finish that through because he forgot Danielle’s crucial advice.  He didn’t see it coming, so concentrated on the guy, but one moment he was having a nice conversation, and the next, the back of his head exploded in pain, and his face was falling through the glass in front of him. Kris tried to make a grab for Takashi, hoping to at least catch hold of his shirt, but whatever grip he had was broken by the sudden blow to his head. He fell like a rock, his hands now scrambling to cushion the fall. They scraped against the pavement, but the stinging was nothing compared to his head.

His head still screaming, he managed to roll over, trying to stay low to the ground. One of the thugs was still there, and he aimed a sharp kick to the man’s shins, hoping to at least distract him. The man grunted as his foot made contact, and Kris kicked again, harder this time, struggling to scramble to his feet. There were still two others to deal with, and he swung blindly at one of them, his knuckles glanced off the man’s jaw. Takashi, he thought frantically, where was he? He swung again, but two of them seemed to be closing in, cornering him against the wall.

“Hey! Back off!” he barked at them. A foggy thought had drifted back into his mind. Too many witnesses around, and they didn’t want attention. He would have to make a scene.

“Damn it,” he hissed at the telepath, “Yell! Get people looking–”

He managed to duck that time.

The telepath glanced at Kris and then at the unconscious Takashi lying beside him.  “Hey!” he yelled.  “Hey, hel...”  He wasn’t able to get the last syllable out before he was backhanded into the hall supporting the window.  He caught himself before his head hit the brick, wiping away the blood from his mouth.

Put a thought in their minds, Kris begged Sylvester as he lurched forward, to call the cops or something!

He didn’t even know what the man had said, if he had even heard, having shoved aside every bit of pain to fling himself forward. He crashed into the chest of the man directly in front of him, ignoring the burst of pain in his chest as the two of them toppled to the ground. The only thought was to hold on. They landed in a heap on the pavement, Kris clinging tightly even though the man thrashed and tried to shake him off. That was one down. Kris wrestled with the man, struggling to keep a hold on him even while he was trying to thump on his arms and chest.

“No!” Danielle shrieked through the ear piece.  “Kris, don’t...!”

“What?” Kris said vaguely, throwing himself over, his legs askew. The only thought he had was of now using the man as a human shield, which was interrupted by a sudden, searing pain. He glanced down for a split second, just enough time to see bright red blood welling from his foot, and then swore loudly.

“Kris, you idiot,” Danielle started, before sighing.  “Just...get away from them, and you’ll be fine.  They just blew their cover, so once they realize they can’t get you easily, they’ll run.”

It was a small miracle that Kris even heard her with the swears pouring from his mouth. The sudden whack to his cheek, insult on top of injury at that point, only sent him tumbling off to the side, and he grudgingly let go of the man, allowing himself to crumple onto the pavement. Propping himself up on his hands and knees, unsure if his foot could handle any weight, he tried to drag himself over to Takashi and the other telepath.

“That was...unexpected,” the telepath said, still trying to stop the flow of blood from his mouth.  “Thanks, though.  Do you think he’ll be all right?”

Takashi let out a low moan, but still wasn’t making any attempt to move.  In fact, he was still out cold, blood flowing steadily from the gashes on his face.

Danielle sighed again.  “Am I going to have to call 9-1-1 for you guys?”

“You heard all that and you need to ask?” Kris groaned, using the wall to steady himself. He could put weight on his one foot just fine, but kept the other one tensed, hovering just above the pavement while blood dripped from it.

“Well, I don’t know what state you’re in, if you can call yourself.  Oh well, you’re a dead man anyway, for letting that happen to my boyfriend.  And no, you can’t talk to your father right now!”

“Hey, he didn’t duck fast enough,” Kris groaned, fumbling for his cell phone. He couldn’t remember which pocket it was in. Finally, his hand found it, and he hopped over a little bit to where the other man was.

“Do you think you could pick up him or something?” he grunted as he flipped open the top, “Maybe get him out of the glass? I...don’t think I could support his weight right now.”

“Should we...move him before the paramedics get here?” the man asked anxiously.

“I don’t know,” Kris said, punching in the numbers, “I’m not a doctor. I just don’t want to see him lying in glass. Hang on...”

An operator had picked up, with a very bland ‘What’s your emergency?’ Kris didn’t have time to wonder how someone could sound bored with a job like that, rattling off the place they were at and insisting upon an ambulance. Firefighters would likely come too, or police. He didn’t really want to deal with the police at the moment. His mind was still too foggy to think of a fitting cover story.

“He’s out cold,” he offered unhelpfully, glancing at Takashi. He winced. Painful didn’t even describe half of it. “And I think I’ve got a bullet lodged in my foot, but that’s–”

“Thank you, sir,” the woman said, and after a moment’s more prattle, he was certain she hung up on him. He pulled the cell phone away from his ear, blinking stupidly at it. Now it was just time to play the game of ‘how long until the paramedics arrive’, which was a game he seemed to be playing too often. Leaning against the wall, he glanced at the other man. He still looked rather young, especially to go on the run. No, he thought, his one hand tense, he couldn’t judge. Hadn’t he been paranoid there, too? Ages and ages ago, before the divorce, before the kids...before meeting Angelina, even... He couldn’t remember if he’d ran or not, a testament to the strength of the punches he’d been dealt.

He couldn’t even really feel irritation at the way he just...hovered, Takashi still lying in a heap. Kris sighed, running a hand through his hair; strands fell in his face.

“You okay? If you just got a couple of punches, you got out pretty lucky,” he said, trying to lighten the mood. He offered the man his free hand, “Don’t know if he introduced me yet, I can only hear dead people’s thoughts...Kris Szabó.”

Ah, there were the paramedics. He could hear the wailing sirens getting ever closer.

“You’ll do fine in the O.R.G.,” he added, “You’re not the first in this situation, and you probably won’t be the last.”

Putting as little weight as he could on the injured foot, mostly concentrated on the heel, he steadied himself against the wall, glancing between his unconscious partner and the lights flashing down the street.