“The Catalyst Series”
Chapter 07: Big Events in the Big Easy
They headed towards Patricia’s club, since it was getting
near the time for the show. They formed quite an entourage, with Alex, Cate and
Gail, Tina and Amy, the three girls from the apartment, plus Darice, Dave and Peter
in addition to the girls that had made up their little test. Alex was afraid
they were close to reaching parade status, and he hoped they weren’t as obvious
as he was feared they were. Before they got too far, Alex cornered Cynthia, one
of Allison’s renters.
“Before we get too far, I wanted to mention that I might
have someone you’d like to talk to,” Alex told Cynthia. “Valerie told us about
your degree, and I’ve got someone else who is into writing, though hers is more
philosophical in nature, but I thought the two of you would probably hit it
off.” So Alex told Cynthia about Diane Lane at SIU. Of course that led
immediately to a discussion about Alex’s sorority, which the other girls
overheard and joined in. Many of the girls they’d just met were either in
school or had recently finished, although there were a few older ones as well.
“We’d just love to be a part of something like developing
our own branch of the sorority here,” Valerie replied enthusiastically.
“Patricia has told us how you’ve managed to merge your normal classmates in
with the rest of your followers,” she told a surprised Alex, who hadn’t been
aware he’d done any such thing until just then, but he could see how Patricia
could have easily have gotten that impression from the people she’d met at
Alex’s birthday party.
“There’s a lot of work involved in it, but we started it
because it gives our girls a home, it gives them a common framework, but it
also allows you to aid the normal girls who join as well. I see each of the Seers
and Watchers who are a part of the sorority as assisting the other girls with
evaluating who to trust and how to evaluate people,” Alex explained to the
girls.
Cate nudged Alex, who had been busy talking to Valerie and
the other girls. When he glanced at her questioningly, she nodded behind her.
Glancing back he noticed that they had added even more women to their group. He
was sure they’d be likely to attract attention, but he wasn’t sure how else to
handle the situation. He just hoped they wouldn’t create a scene before they
reached the club.
Alex also noticed they weren’t heading to the club where
they’d first listened to Patricia.
“So where are we headed?” he asked Darice.
“Oh, I guess you wouldn’t have known, Patricia booked a new
hall for tonight. As she said, this is a big event for her.” That comment
didn’t help Alex at all, but Cate was just as bewildered when he glanced at
her. So they just followed everyone else, who seemed perfectly comfortable with
where they were going.
There were other tourists around, but being mid-week there
shouldn’t have been that many around. Instead their group seemed to be amassing
more and more people, as additional groups just seemed to bleed into their
group as they continued walking. Alex was starting to get alarmed at the size
of the group now. They turned off St. Louis Street and neared a much larger
club that had a large sign out front that announced “Closed: Private Party”.
As they approached the door a couple of large beefy bouncers
looked up at them, making Alex nervous about age limits for the club. But they
noticed Darice, Peter and David and let them through, though they stopped those
following them. They managed to get Shanna, Tina and Amy through with them,
though.
While the club was not only large, it was packed. Every seat
was filled and there were still a lot of people standing around, packing both
sides and along the back of the hall. Alex was sure if the fire marshal were
aware of the crowd he’d surely close the place down, since the club was almost
certainly over capacity. But the trio of Watcher watchers, as they’d been
referring to Peter, David and Darice, continued to lead them forward. Finally
they came to the only table still open in the entire club. Despite Patricia’s
problem with having Alex in the crowd during one of her performances, the table
was right in the middle, just in front of the stage. There were seven seats, so
Alex assumed the spare seat was meant for Patricia to join them mid-set, but no
one objected when Alex offered it to Shanna. Tina and Amy assured them they’d
join Valerie and her friends standing with the rest of the people there. There
was a real feeling of excited anticipation to the crowd, although there was an
awed hush the entire time they’d been walking in. Once they sat down a nervous
buzz started up around them.
People continued to arrive and blend into the crowd, and a
waitress quickly arrived. However, instead of addressing the girls she came
directly up to Alex.
“Mr. Jennings, sir, Ms. Patty asked me to bring you a Le
Pavillon. It’s her personal favorite. It’s a local red amber beer and I hope
you’ll like it,” she nervously told him, rattling her prepared speech off as if
trying to distract herself. Alex looked for a name tab but didn’t see one.
“And who might you be, sweetie?”
“My name is Stacy, sir. I’ll bring over some snacks,
although the kitchen is closed tonight, and I’ll get drinks for everyone else
as well.”
“Relax, Stacy, everything will be fine. You understand I’m
not—”
“Oh, that’s not a problem here, sir,” she hurriedly
explained. “Ms. Patty said to not let you overdo it, but to make sure I took
care of each of you.”
“Well you’re doing a fine job,” he told her, touching her
arm to try to calm her a little. Instead she blushed and hurried through
getting everyone else’s order. Alex noticed her clutching her arm where he’d
touch her as she hurried away to fill their order.
“She’s got it bad,” Gail told him.
“Yeah, I can see that. I assume she’s a Watcher as well.”
“I think everyone here is a Watcher,” Cate observed.
“Though I’m surprised there aren’t a few Seers as well.”
“No, you won’t see any,” Darice told them. “Patty will
explain it, though.”
People continued to filter in and Stacy brought drinks for
everyone, along with peanuts and fresh fruit which she delivered personally and
placed directly in front of Alex, though he offered it to everyone else. The
lights blinked a few times, signaling the show was about to begin, so everyone
started getting settled. The lights finally dimmed and shortly the curtain
opened featuring a band with one guy, a keyboardist, and three girls, a
guitarist, a backup singer and a drummer. They started up a tune Alex didn’t
recognize but figured he’d probably heard it during his Prom, but hadn’t been
able to focus on it at the time.
Patricia came running in from the side, dressed for some
serious rocking in black leather and a brightly patterned top with a long
scarf, not to mention the necklace from before. She stopped in the center of
the stage and began speaking.
“Good evening ladies and … Alex.” The crowd apparently
thought that was hilarious, but she soon got them under control as she
continued. “I’m sure you’re all aware this is a very special private
show. You’ve each been invited here for quite obvious reasons. There are a
couple of reasons for this show. I’m getting ready to release a new album and
I’m anxious to test out the material, so this is the largest crowd I’ve tried
it out for yet. But mostly this is to show off for someone you all know. A
certain someone who, like Madonna and Cher, needs only a single name. Someone
by the name of Alex,” she shouted as a spotlight shown down directly on Alex.
He had to hold a hand over his eyes for a moment and the
crowd started screaming, then they started stamping their feet. He hesitantly
got to his feet, at which point everyone started going wild. He sat down again
and the noise continued until Patricia, or Patty as she was known on stage, got
them under control again.
“He’s still the shy young man you’ve all heard about, so we
won’t embarrass him anymore. But that’s part of why we love him so much. There
are several things to announce. First, our special ‘Program’ starts tonight.
Those of who have been selected are waiting backstage and they’ll be brought
out later. They were each excited to have been selected. Next, I have a special
announcement.” Here she waited for the anticipation to build a bit before she
continued. “It seems I’ve gotten some special news recently.” She paused again
and the audience shifted nervously. “It seems I’m officially pregnant. And as
all of you know, there’s only one man who could possibly be the father, so the
Madonna of the Angel of New Orleans is expecting her own not-so-virgin-birth,”
she shouted, and the resulting screaming and yelling was even louder than it
had been before.
Alex was shocked to hear this news, and he sunk low in his
chair upon hearing it. He’d wished someone had mentioned it to him beforehand
and he glanced at Gail, however she simply shrugged, holding her hands up in a
dismissive gesture, signaling it had been out of her hands so he simply
groaned. He wasn’t disappointed, he just wasn’t sure finding out the in the
middle of a concert was the most personal way of discovering such an intimate
detail. Still, he was pleased, since he knew she was anxious about becoming
pregnant, though he wondered how it would impact her new recording career.
Surely she’d been planning on touring to help promote the new album they were
planning to release. However Patty didn’t go into that just yet.
“Now, as you all know, I don’t plan on being the last. We
plan on giving Alex plenty of chances to provide my little baby with some
brothers and sisters. And we hope he’ll leave here in a few days with both a
son and a daughter with his own special ‘attributes’,” she said,
insinuating exactly what she meant by attributes. “Now, before we get to that,
here’s the music I’ll be recording soon. Obviously it’s dedicated to Alex, and
it reflects how each of us feels about him, though it’s cleverly disguised as a
series of romantic tunes. The album will be entitled, ‘Light of Our Lives’, and
I can’t think of a more fitting title.” And with that the band started playing
and she started singing the soulful title song, detailing how someone always
enters the lives of expectant women, and how he fills their lives with
expectations, beauty and understanding, as well as providing them with a new
view of life and an understanding of what life is all about.
That was as much as Alex could listen to before it became
too much for him. Despite all that had happened to him he was still a humble
kid, and he really didn’t like all this overwhelming talk about how wonderful
he was. It really troubled him, and he was afraid of the effect it may have on
him if he ever took it seriously. So he reminded himself that everyone only
responded like this because of his abilities, and that it had nothing to do
with him or who he was. However, everyone else at his table, in fact everyone
else in the entire club, was listening intently to every word. For a rock
concert, the crowd was surprisingly quiet as everyone struggled to understand
each and every word she sang as if they were personal messages for each of
them. Alex simply shook his head and sunk even lower in his chair.
Patricia continued singing another six tunes, each one as
laden with subtle but unmistakable references to Alex. Each one making him sink
a little lower in his seat, but there was only so far down he could go. Not
only that, but every time he tried to distract himself by glancing around the
club, he realized that everyone else was mesmerized, either by the performance
or by him.
When the set ended, Patricia and her band exited the stage
to thunderous applause, and Alex relaxed a little more, hoping everyone would
ignore him a little now that they weren’t being reminded of everything he’d
done. Alas, his hope was short lived. While Stacy brought yet another local
beer, a different one this time, several new women clustered around him, either
wanting an autograph or to tell him how much he’d changed their lives.
Finally Patricia joined them and Shanna quickly stood up,
giving Patricia her seat. Patricia took the offered seat, thanking her, wiping
her brow and taking the drink that Stacy handed her.
“So, what did you think?” she asked Alex.
“The music was wonderful, but I think I’d prefer a few more
instrumentals,” he mildly complained, hoping she wouldn’t take it too
seriously. The music and lyrics really were very good, and he was sure
she’d be successful with it. He was also sure no one not already involved in
the movement would associate the lyrics with him. It was clear that Patricia
had spent a lot of time crafting the words so they’d be loaded with double
meanings.
“I’d also have thought you’d have mentioned your pregnancy
to me earlier, say, maybe during dinner?”
“I thought it would be more effective this way. I can’t see
you blush anyway, but at least I can imagine you squirming,” she laughed.
“He was trying to slide out from under his chair,” Cate
unhelpfully told her.
“And Gail, why couldn’t you have warned me? You’re
supposed to be able to see these things,” Alex complained.
“Hey, she talked to me earlier and asked me not to say a
thing when we saw each other. She said she wanted to surprise you. Who am I to
spoil your surprise?” Gail responded, though she was smiling as she said it.
“Geez, some protector you are. I imagine if someone wanted
to stab me in the back you’d hand them a knife if they didn’t bring theirs.”
“A surprise is hardly a knife, though a knife is often
surprising,” Gail told him, making a true but meaningless statement. “But
you’re hardly likely to be badly hurt by a little well deserved attention.”
“Just be prepared, because there’s another big surprise at
the beginning of the next set,” Patricia warned him.
“Should I go ahead and slip out the back now, or do it in
the middle of your presentation?” he asked.
“Alex, you could hardly ‘slip out’ of here,” Cate informed
him. “Everyone in here is watching your every move. Every time you sneeze,
everyone pulls out a Kleenex.”
“So what did you think of the songs?” Patricia pressed.
“Well, I’ve heard them before. Twice in fact. but they are
truly wonderful tunes, and I’m sure your album is going to be a huge success.
When are you supposed to record it?”
“So what did the rest of you think about it?” she asked, not
answering the question, focusing on the others instead. Alex couldn’t blame
her, she had a lot riding on the success of this new album, aside from a bunch
of high school kids, and a handful of adults with a vested interest, no one had
heard these songs before.
Everyone sat and talked and drank for the next twenty
minutes. Stacy kept bringing refills on the fruits, along with a selection of
cookies which Cate kept forcing Alex to eat. He didn’t mind, but he thought she
was getting a little obsessive about it.
Soon Patricia excused herself and returned to the stage,
while Shanna quickly reclaimed her seat. This time, instead of beginning with a
song, she got everyone’s attention.
“All right, now’s the big moment. This is significant, as
all of you know, these women have been waiting for so long, because it’s so
important to all of us, but also because most of you have never seen Alex work
his magic. Now, Alex,” she said, turning to him while shielding her eyes, “I
explained how we’ve picked out several potential Seers over the last couple of
months. I also told you we picked a few based upon who was the most receptive
in their cycles….” she continued. Alex was getting a sinking feeling in his
stomach.
“So this is your big surprise. We’ve been hiding the women
who we’ve picked. They’re ready and are certainly psyched to meet you. They’re
anxious to be mothers, but more importantly they’re anxious to be the mothers
of your children.”
The drummer actually played a drum roll as Stacy led three
blindfolded women from behind the stage. Despite being blind and confused by
the noises in the hall, none of the three hesitated, since they knew exactly
where they were headed. They could have found Alex naked in a whiteout. Stacy
positioned each in front of Alex and everyone at his table moved back, so every
eye was definitely on him now. The three girls were flexing their hands,
apparently dying to rip off their masks and throw themselves at Alex.
“See. Alex, they actually maintain quite a bit of control
over themselves,” Cate quietly whispered in his ear. “They can resist
the impulse to chase you down, they just want to find you as soon as
they can.”
The three girls were close in size, though not necessarily
in physique. There was a tall blonde, a shapely Hispanic and a cute black girl
with an odd hairstyle. It was obvious they each were prepared for this, since
they were each nicely but simply dressed and each wore makeup. It was clear
they each wanted to look their best for him. Alex hated this idea of handing
him three random women for him to impregnate, but he knew it meant the world to
these girls. He supposed he could still get to know them before he did anything
with them. After all, the last thing he wanted was to screw some stranger he
didn’t know to produce a child he’d likely feel unconnected to. He noticed they
were waiting for him so he nodded. When Patricia didn’t continue he realized
she couldn’t see him, so he gave her a thumbs up.
“The first, a pretty blonde by the name of Carolyn Simons,
is from Montgomery, Alabama, and was brought to our attention by Sandy, her
cousin,” Patricia announced. Alex realized she was trying to thank the people
involved, but he found this presentation a little disconcerting. When Patricia
finished the description, Stacy released her blindfold and Carolyn took a quick
step forward before she looked up into Alex’s eyes. She immediately jerked her
head back, but didn’t respond beyond that. Apparently they’d been warned what
to expect.
Alex stood and walked up to her, taking the still confused
girl by the hands and leading her back to the table, where he found that
Darice, Peter and David had vacated, leaving three empty seats. He sat her down
so she could recover, and then turned back to the two remaining girls.
“The next is Kristi Nicholas, from near Monroe, Mississippi.
She was sponsored by her sister, Katie, who was lucky enough to have first seen
Alex when he was here the first time.” Alex noticed the applause as Stacy
loosened her blindfold, which he hadn’t noticed before. Kristi overbalanced a
little as the blindfold came free, but quickly regained her balance as their
eyes met. She didn’t stumble or jerk, but she waved her arms for a minute,
unaccustomed to the many lights she was now seeing. Alex walked up and, after
kissing her on the cheek, guided her to a seat next to Carolyn.
Finally turning back, Patricia jumped right into it.
“The last one is Lekesia Shapiro, from Chalmette, just near
here. She was excited when her niece, Kendasha, informed her and her mother
about our little program.” Stacy pulled the blindfold from Lekesia’s eyes and
she too, jerked back a little then looked momentarily confused after Alex
activated her. Alex took both her hands and drew her forward to the last chair,
then moved around the table until he sat facing the three of them. Cate and
Gail shifted their seats around until they sat on either side of him.
“Now we’ll leave Alex to wine and dine his new girlfriends
in his usual style, while the rest of you enjoy the rest of our set,” Patricia
announced as she and her band began playing.
All in all, Alex thought it was probably a bit of a letdown
for the people assembled, since these women, having been prepared, hadn’t
responded as unpredictably as most of his Seers had in the past. For that he
was thankful, and had to acknowledge that this little presentation, as
embarrassing as it was, was probably beneficial.
As the music played in the background, Alex leaned forward
so the girls could hear him.
“So, Lekesia, an interesting last name you have,” he said,
speaking loudly so she could hear him over the music. Thankfully the music was
also loud enough so the sound of their conversation didn’t travel far. “Not at
all what I would have expected.”
Lekesia blushed, which was interesting to watch in such a
cute little black girl. Her hair was cut in an unusual style, almost shorn on
one side of her face, combed straight over to the other side, with much of it
sticking straight up in the back. She also had pretty makeup, penciled on
eyebrows and an infectious smile.
“My dad was from a Jewish family on the east coast,” she
told him. “He met my mom when he came down for Mardi Gras one year and never
went home. I catch a lot of grief from my friends, but we alternate holidays.
We get Mardi Gras but he gets Passover. Well, he got Passover, I guess,”
Lekesia smiled, remembering the events, telling Alex all he needed to know
about just how close she was to her family. Alex was the last one to complain
about unusual family relationships. What’s more, it sounded like the family was
still close, since the niece had gotten both Lekesia and her mother involved.
He didn’t bother to ask about her father yet, he figured he’d wait until they
knew each other a little better before broaching what might be an uncomfortable
subject.
“So what’s your mother’s name?”
“Her name is Noel. She’s here in the city, but Patricia
didn’t want you to see her until after you they determined whether she might
get a chance at you as well. She’s been talking about having another baby for a
long time, and she sees this as being the perfect chance. When she found out
I’d been selected tonight, she told me she was looking forward to our being
pregnant together.”
“Yeah, I can imagine the fun filled live birth videos,” Alex
teased. “So what happened to your father? Doesn’t he have an opinion about your
mother, uh—”
“No, he died several years ago. We’ve decided whichever of
us has the first male baby will name it after him, Nathan Samuels.”
Alex had been afraid that she might have gotten emotional
about a missing father, but she grinned fondly at the memory of her father.
Alex felt like shit for calling a dead man a cuckold, but she didn’t seem to be
offended by it. “You don’t mind having a baby so young, or your mother having
one so late?”
“I’m actually 17, and I’ll be finishing high school early
next year since I’ve been taking advanced courses. Some of the other women in
the community here have told me they’d help watch the babies so I could attend
community college, so I’ll be able to continue my education. But I’m about the
last girl in my neighborhood to get pregnant, so I won’t be likely to advance
very far otherwise. I figured I’d either succumb to all the players chasing me
or I’d get raped someday, but now, with everyone including me as a Sister, I
think I can get away from that environment. Plus I’ll have a new baby that not
only my Mom and I can love, but everyone else will love him too.”
Alex felt like he wanted to cry hearing how hopeless her life
had been up to this point, that the highest she could aim was to be the last
one of her friends to get pregnant and drop out of school. The fact that she
was graduating early spoke volumes about her dedication and conviction, since
Alex knew Louisiana didn’t have the best education system in the world.
Turning to Kristi he asked, “What brings a beauty like you
to a party town like this?” She giggled, which he thought was generous, since
it was hardly the cleverest line in the world.
“My father came here looking for work. He does lawn services
while my mom does maid work. I help her out to help cover expenses, but I’m
really hoping to attend college. Only we can’t afford much, and there’s the
problem of the school letting me in with my immigration status.”
“So your family isn’t legal?” he asked, immediately
regretting it since the family wasn’t bootleg, what he meant was that they
weren’t legal citizens. Still, he couldn’t hold where she was born against her.
However she didn’t get upset either.
“No, my father snuck across the border in Texas twenty years
ago, and my mother and uncle came across to join him a few years later. They
moved around quite a bit until they found a stable community here. There’s
always a chance we’ll be discovered and deported, but their life in Mexico was
hell. They were dirt poor, there were no jobs, and the crime in the
neighborhood was unbelievable.”
“You know, if you were born here you’re considered a
citizen, so you should be able to attend school here as a native?”
“Really? I’ve always been too afraid to ask about the
details. I’ve been lining up how to get fake documents. Of course, even if I’m
legal, if they find out about my parents they may start asking questions.”
The fact this young woman would trust him so much upon first
meeting him was both fascinating and sad. He wondered if they’d confess such
thoughts within minutes of meeting someone else, but he seriously doubted it.
They were laying everything on the line, telling him their most sheltered
secrets. That showed a high level of trust. He hoped he could live up to it.
“We’ll have to see if someone in the community knows
something about immigration law. It seems to me we could work it out. They
couldn’t prevent your parents from being deported if they ran into problems,
but you should still be able to attend school. Assuming you can get in, that
is.”
“Oh, my grades are good and I’m in a bunch of work/study
programs. I’ve been working really hard and I thought if I couldn’t get into
college I could probably do an internet study course.”
“Hey, what do you know, I’m planning on doing the same. As
you might already know, a few things have popped up in my life that have taken
priority over my attending college.”
“College is important since it opens so many doors,” she
told him. “But I think you’ll have doors open for you for many reasons, not the
least being your friendly personality and forceful nature. Any company would be
happy to have you.”
“Maybe, but I’ll have to see when I get there. In the
meantime I’m going to be studying while I’m traveling, hoping to get some
college credits under my belt. Maybe after I’ve established a larger community
of followers I can look at going to school again.” At this point Alex stopped
and regarded her a little closer.
“So why are you having a baby if getting into college is
such a priority for you?”
Kristi sighed. “Alas, it’s a priority, but it’s not real
likely. I’ll try to go as far as I can, but I’m unlikely to ever finish. I’m
just hoping to learn as much as I can while I’ll probably become a waitress or
something. I know I’m pretty enough to do fairly well, so I’ll do better than
my parents. The fact that I speak without an accent and I know enough to speak
well means I’ll probably do even better.
“But I can do those jobs with a baby. I have my mother and
sister to help babysit for me, plus a lot of the Sisters have told me they’d
watch over my child for me. But mostly, I couldn’t resist the chance to have a
baby that everyone would love so much, and that stood to be as influential and
make as big a mark in the world as you have. I’ll be honest, the chances that
I’ll ever do anything famous are pretty remote, no matter how well I do in
anything. But if I have your son, there’s a chance he’ll be remembered forever.
And even if he isn’t, he’ll still be loved by hundreds of my Sisters.”
“I’ll be honest as well. I was kind of hoping you girls
would be a little older, since I hate to see such young girls limit their
futures so much. But I can see you’re serious in your outlook and you believe in
what you’re doing. What about you, Carolyn?”
“Oh, I’m older. I’m 23 and I’ve finished college. I was
married too, to a wonderful guy. Unfortunately he was killed in Afghanistan
while he was stationed there. We were hoping to have a baby together, but he died
before we could make it happen. I’m still interested in having our baby, in
honor of him, but I couldn’t see going out and dating again and making a
mockery of my love for him. But then I found out about being a Seer and about
getting pregnant by you. It seemed the best option available. I get to have a
baby by a wonderful guy, and I don’t have to diminish Jack’s memory by getting
involved with someone else. I’ve found a wonderful sharing community, almost
like the army wives but even better, and I can see my child will have wonderful
genetic potential based on how well his father has come out.”
“There’s really no reason to butter me up,” Alex teased her.
“You had me at ‘Can I please have your baby?’”
She had the good grace to laugh as well. “Well, I’m very
impressed with each of you,” Alex told them. “I was a little worried about this
meeting. It’s hardly the most romantic or the most intimate. Usually when I
meet new Seers it’s one on one, and we take time to get to know one another
before we jump into bed. Then even after three months I’ve only gotten two of
them pregnant, and even then I only knew one was eligible.”
“Has Patricia and the others explained what being a Seer is
about?” Cate asked, speaking up for the first time.
“In case you don’t know, this is my sister Cate. She kind of
runs my life. She’s my harshest defender, my science advisor, and she helps
keep me on the straight and narrow. This other woman is Gail. She’s an ex-cop
and my personal bodyguard. That’s why she practices looking so mean all the
time,” he joked.
“Yeah, they told us all about it,” Carolyn replied, “but
they said they’d wait to discuss about what the visions mean, since it’s so
hard to explain when you can’t see it.”
“Yeah, it’s much easier seeing actual examples of different
auras,” Gail told them, speaking from experience. “I’ll go over it with you. We
only have a couple of activated Seers here in New Orleans, so Shanna and I can
work with you and we’ll get Allison involved as well. She’s the expert in auras
at the moment.”
“Ohh, can you tell us how to do telepathy with her,” Lekesia
asked excitedly, so they started talking amongst themselves. Alex turned back
to the entertainment, but it seemed to be winding down. He felt bad to have
been distracted during Patricia’s performance for the third time in a row, and
hoped she’d forgive him, but she had set the whole thing up. He tried to
half listen to the final song while the girls talked with the other Seers in
Carbondale, and he applauded when they finished.
This is stupid, he thought to himself, so he stood up and
applauded heartily, which caused everyone else to stand at the same time, which
was made easier by the fact that most of the audience was already standing. But
Alex figured a standing ovation would go a long ways to earning him credit for
missing much of her performance.
Everyone called for an encore, including the new girls he’d
just activated, so Patricia came out and performed one, then bowed and said
they needed to allow Alex to get home, since he’d been traveling all day and he
had such a hard night ahead of him. Everyone laughed and allowed
her to get away. However no one started to leave. Stacy hurried over to him.
“Patricia said she had several things to do tonight, so
she’ll catch you at breakfast tomorrow. She said she trusts you’ll find
something to keep yourself entertained with tonight. She also says if Cate,
Gail or Shanna want to stay with her instead of going home with you they’re
welcome to.”
Cate looked hesitantly at Alex, but Gail jumped in. “My duty
is to protect Alex, so I go where he goes. Besides, Allison has a very nice
living room couch and we’ve stayed there with more people before.”
“Gail is right,” Cate said, following her lead. “I need to
accompany Alex to watch over him and to evaluate the girls. Besides, I’ve seen
him entertain women around the house plenty of times before, so I’ll survive
sharing a huge suite with him.”
Shanna, who had walked up when Stacy did, looked indecisive
but finally made up her mind. “I’m with them. I figure the girls will be
anxious to talk about their new abilities, and I doubt even Alex is going to
finish with all three in one evening, so I’ll join Cate and Gail in the living
room.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but none of these girls is
about to leave before you do,” Stacy informed him. “So if you want everyone to
get home on time, I think you’ll have to get everyone moving.”
Alex looked around at everyone and they were actually all
standing there, waiting to see what he did, so he raised his hands and loudly
announced, “Thank you all for your support and your trust. I appreciate your
efforts and I’m glad we could share Patty’s wonderful performance. Let’s show
her our appreciation, wish her new baby the best future, and then we can all
get the hell out of here.”
Everyone started applauding once again, although the little
group wasn’t sure if they were applauding Patricia or Alex, then Alex turned
and started to walk out, turning just long enough to make hurrying motions with
his hand to the girls. They quickly followed along behind him.
Alex led the way out, the doorkeepers hurrying to open the
doors for them. They’d apparently been watching everything as well. As Alex and
his entourage exited, the street started to fill with people as everyone followed
him out. Alex was afraid they might begin applauding him in the street, but
they acted just like a normal audience leaving a concert hall so he was
relieved.
He stopped long enough to discuss what the plans were, and
whether anyone needed anything before they headed off.
“That’s OK, we had our overnight bags packed and the guys at
the door handed them to us as we passed, so we’re fine,” Carolyn told him.
“OK, we spent all day sitting in a car, and I’ve now spent
most of the night sitting as well, so I plan on walking back and enjoying the
night and the city, so if any of you would like to grab a cab home, feel free,”
he told them. However they told him they’d follow him anywhere, even across
town, so they set out on a casual stroll.
The Watchers from the concert surrounded them as each headed
off in their own direction, although Alex was sure many were simply following
them just to be close to him for a while longer.
As they reached the corner Alex noticed a blind woman across
the street, waiting for the stoplight to change so she could cross. She was
standing holding her dog, who was waiting patiently, however she seemed to be
looking in their direction, which Alex thought odd since she clearly couldn’t
see him. But she glanced in their direction and Alex saw the telltale jerk of
her head that announced when he’d activated someone. Reaching out he grabbed
Cate’s arm and held her still as he came to a stop, waiting to be sure he
wasn’t imagining things. How could he activate someone who couldn’t look him in
the eyes? The poor dog looked up at his or her master with a worried
expression.
The woman, a shortish brunette, looked around a little,
which Alex couldn’t really interpret as anything since he couldn’t see where
she was looking.
“What’s up?” Cate asked. However Alex was too busy watching
the blind woman to reply, so everyone with him started glancing around to see
what he was looking at.
The blind woman bent over and petted her Labrador guide dog,
made him sit, said something to the woman beside her, and then set out across
the street without any assistance. Alex was immediately concerned until he
realized the light had already changed, but she headed across without a care in
the world, walking full speed, skirting around people and stepping around a
wastepaper basket in her way.
Alex just watched her in fascination as she headed towards
them.
“Holy Shit!” Lekesia loudly said.
“Damn, is she really blind?” Shanna asked.
They weren’t the only ones to notice, as everyone around her
started to notice too. The woman she’d spoken to looked in shock at her, then
hurriedly grabbed the dog's bar and rushed after her. The dog yipped, so the
blind woman turned and yelled “Sit!” to him, then continued on. She couldn’t
have known the woman was walking him. He immediately followed her command,
causing the woman following its master to trip over herself.
The blind woman continued, her grand smile lighting the way
before her in the darkening street, her face darting back and forth as if she
was seeing the world for the first time. No one in Alex’s group moved a muscle,
so when she neared them the woman fell to her knees before Alex and cried
loudly.
“You’ve given me the gift of sight. You’ve granted me a
miracle. I’ve been blind since I was three, so I can’t remember ever having
seen before, and now I can see again as if it were full light.” Turning she
called out, “Roger, here Roger” and the dog the other woman was trying to budge
suddenly broke into a run, racing to its master, leaving the other girl trailing
behind.
Turning back, the crying woman took off her glasses and
tried to look at Alex, but couldn’t.
“I don’t know if you’re an angel or what, but if you’ve come
to take me away, I’ll gladly go having seen my world clearly for the first
time. You’ve given me my vision, when I’ve been handicapped for years in a
blind box.”
They were beginning to gather a crowd, which worried Alex,
but it seemed most of it was the Watchers from the concert who were still
following Alex.
“Mattie, Mattie,” cried the woman chasing the dog, which ran
up, jumped on the blind woman and began licking her face, happy for her.
“Roger, Roger, I can see. I can see! Man, the first thing
I’m going to do is take you to the beach and throw a damn tennis ball for you.
I’ve owned you for years and I’ve never been able to toss you a damn ball!”
Alex seemed to snap out of it, so he quickly knelt beside
the woman, Mattie apparently, and tried to reassure her.
“I’m not taking you anywhere. I’m not an Angel, I’m just a
kid with a unique talent. But let’s get the hell away from here because we’re
attracting a bit of a crowd.”
Unfortunately her friend took that moment to arrive,
breathing heavily from chasing after her. “Mattie, what the hell came over you?
That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. What do you think you were doing? You
could have been killed.”
“Francine, oh Francine, I can see you,” Mattie shouted,
looking at her friend. “This wonderful man gave me my vision. I can see
everyone. I can’t quite see everything, but I can see well enough to get around.
Francine, what does he look like? I can’t see him because he looks white like
the sun. At least like I’ve always heard the sun looks,” she said, continuing
to speak loudly, unaccustomed to judging visual distances. Roger took that
moment to begin barking.
“Yes, Roger, yes it’s amazing. It’s wonderful and I owe this
man everything.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Alex insisted. “But I’d
really appreciate if we could take this out of the public venue.”
“What do you mean, Mattie?” Francine asked, waving her hand
in front of Mattie’s face. Mattie’s eyes did indeed track her friend’s hand,
even blinking as the hand approached her face.
“Oh, Mattie, you can see. This is unbelievable. This
is indeed a miracle.” Francine turned to Alex and gave him a big hug. “I can’t
believe what you’ve done for my sister. She’s worked hard to build a life for
herself, but it’s hard getting out and establishing yourself when you can’t see
where you’re going. She’s been brave, and we’re proud of her, but you’ve given
her a whole new life. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Now that she mentioned it Alex could see a family
resemblance between the two women, though they looked more dissimilar than not.
“Please, let’s not make a scene,” Alex tried to tell
them. He glanced around, noticing the Watchers had formed an irregular ring
around them as they watched what happened. “I’m trying to keep a low profile
here. We really don’t need—”
“Are you kidding? I’m willing to shout it to the mountain
tops. Thank you, Lord, for sending this man to me and restoring my vision,” she
called out loudly, which prompted Roger to bark excitedly.
Cate and Shanna decided to get involved then. Cate got down
beside Mattie and tried to reason with her, while Shanna tried the same with
Francine.
“Look, you really need to quiet down. My brother Alex
could get into a lot of trouble if we attract too much attention. He operates
in the shadows. Too much attention and he’ll be forced to disappear. You need
to calm down so we can discuss what happened to you.”
This seemed to reach the woman, and she regarded Cate,
looking not into her eyes but looking her up and down.
“I understand,” she replied simply, allowing Cate to help
her to her feet. “Hush, Roger. The excitement is over.”
“Well I’m not going to forget what you did for
Mattie. You have my vote for whatever it is you’re trying to do, Alex,”
Francine said, kissing him on the lips with feeling.
“I’m glad you feel that way, but there’s a lot to discuss.
It’s not as simple as you may think at the moment. Let’s find someplace we can
sit and talk quietly and we’ll discuss what just occurred,” Alex said, again
trying to get more control over the chaotic scene.
The women allowed themselves to be guided, and Alex and the
others began moving forward again, trying to vacate the area while Alex quickly
scanned the area for a place to teach these two women what it meant to be a Seer.
He noted as the ring of Watchers moved away to give them room, that there were
numerous other people nearby.
“Look, the rest of you need to dissipate. We’re attracting
too much attention, and having this many people surrounding me isn’t helping,”
Alex told the nearest Watchers who’d followed him from the club. The women
quickly began spreading the word amongst themselves and the crowd surrounding Alex
quickly began to fade away.
They’d gone a short distance, rounding a corner so Alex
thought they’d escaped notice, when someone put their hand on his arm.
“Excuse me, sir, could I speak with you please?”
Alex turned and saw an older man dressed oddly, so he
assumed it was a tourist who was simply looking for directions. The man had
white hair and looked quite distinguished, but he dressed quite eccentrically.
Not oddly, he was simply dressed peculiarly formal for the circumstances. He
wore a straw hat, a suit with a tie, and under that Alex could see his colorful
suspenders. The man reminded Alex of someone, but he couldn’t think of who it
might be, since he was sure he’d never met the man before.
“Yes, can I help you?” Alex asked, stopping so they wouldn’t
appear rude and attract yet more attention. He figured they were safe since
they’d moved away from where the scene with Mattie had occurred. She was
currently walking with Roger, her sister clutching her side as Mattie was
glancing around at everyone around her. Carolyn, Kristi and Lekesia were busy
speaking excitedly but quietly together.
“Yes, I’m very interested in finally getting your story,
Alex. By the way, welcome back to New Orleans. It’s been a while.”
It was at that moment that Alex suddenly remembered where he
had seen the face before. He’d never met the man, just as he’d thought, but
he’d seen the face in a small picture by the byline when he was reading an
article about himself in the Times-Picayune Newspaper when he was first in New
Orleans. He realized this was Albert Rodriguez, the man who had effectively
chased him out of New Orleans.
“Thanks, but I’m really not interested in seeing my name in
print,” Alex told him in simple concise terms.
“But you know if you don’t, I’m liable to print all kinds of
things about you which may or may not be true. I’d think you’d want to ensure I
got your precise message out.”
Alex considered that. He had a point. He already knew his
name, which he hadn’t printed, demonstrating he could be trusted with
some things, at least. The fact he was referring to him by name now likely meant
that he’d overheard what had been said a short time ago, which meant he already
had enough material to write enough to embarrass Alex and bring everything he
was doing under intense public scrutiny.
‘Is there a problem, Alex?’ Gail asked him. She spoke
to him telepathically since, as usual, she stood back from him to overview the
surroundings. Alex wasn’t sure how Albert had gotten past her, but he assumed
the crowd of people had hidden him.
‘There is, but I think I’d better tackle it myself. It’s
Mr. Rodriguez, the reporter who was hounding me before. You just stay back and
keep an eye out. I’ll try to deal with him, but be prepared to provide a quick
exit route if I think it’s needed.’
‘OK, boss,’ she replied simply.
“You should know by now that I have no message to promote.
I’m not trying to sell albums or make a name for myself. I’m not trying to
become a household name. I’m simply a guy trying to get by,” Alex told the
reporter.
Cate, realizing what was happening, drew near to Alex,
clutching his arm and standing tall and defiantly beside him, hoping to somehow
defend her brother from this man who had caused him so much grief before. The
other girls, not being familiar with the story or with what was happening,
simply milled about trying to figure out what was going on.
“So you say, yet you continue to perform miracles which
attract quite a bit of public attention. Surely you don’t expect me, a
journalist whose job it is to report on the news of the city, to simply ignore
a major story when one slaps him across the face.”
Alex considered his words, and yes, he did feel like
delivering the selfsame slap Albert was describing. But he also knew that would
only hurt him. He had to address this on his own terms. It was time to stop
running from what he was afraid of.
“Those simple acts of kindness are no one else’s concern. As
you yourself have said, I’m betraying no public trust. I’m not scamming anyone and
I’m not pilfering public funds. What individuals may gossip about me doesn’t
rise to the level of news. There is really no reason for a story about me,
except that you think you can raise a hue and cry from the heavy Catholic
readership of your newspaper,” Alex challenged him.
“Maybe, but you know I’m going to report it anyway, since I
see this as a major event in this city. The fact you just came from such a
large gathering of individuals certainly illustrates how many people this
impacts. If there’s such a large underground movement going on right under the
noses of the average New Orleans citizen, then surely there’s a much larger
organization behind it, Alex,” he replied, stressing the name. “Or should I
refer to you as ‘the Angel Alex’?”
Alex sighed heavily as he considered just how to address the
issue. How could he encourage this reporter to look the other way? Could he
really expect to convince him there wasn’t a story to be told here?
Apparently he had already been following what had been happening around the city.
Alex wished he’d checked out the last several days of the Times-Picayune so
he’d know what he’d already printed.
‘Alex, he keeps touching his ear. He’s listening to
someone,’ Gail advised him.
‘You’re right. He’s got one of those obnoxious Bluetooth
headsets, which means it’s probably via a phone call. It’s small so I missed it
before. That would make sense. I don’t think he actually saw the scene with
Mattie from before, but if someone else he’s talking to had, then he could have
filled him in and called him over to confront me.’
‘Want me to look around for someone else or provide you
with some coverage?’ she asked.
‘See if you can find the guy. We need to know where he’s
getting his information from. We also need to know who’s going to be watching
us if I decide to make a run for it.’
‘Will do, boss-man,’ she replied.
“Alex will do fine,” Alex responded, having finished
speaking with Gail soon enough it wasn’t obvious. “But don’t imagine knowing my
name will buy you anything. It’s only a name I assumed to honor the real
Angel who’s behind all of this,” Alex told him, beginning to imagine a new
approach to the problem. Or at least a way to minimize the danger to himself
personally.
“So you’re telling me there’s another Angel Alex
giving you orders?” Albert asked, clearly unbelievingly.
“Actually yes, but the name is only a shortened version of
her name. She’s actually known simply as Alexandra. As far as I know she has no
last name.” This newest twist on the story got Albert’s attention. As Gail had
told him during her lessons to him on how to lie a while back, keep it simple,
but add enough detail to intrigue the mind so they don’t focus on the
unbelievability of the lie.
“So how do you reach her if she has no last name?” Albert
asked.
“I don’t exactly call her to shoot the breeze,” Alex
replied. “When she wants to tell me something, she simply shows up. No
explanation about why or how, she just walks up, tells me what I need to know,
then she disappears again.”
“She disappears? Like ‘poof’, in a puff of smoke?” Albert
asked him dismissively.
“No,” Alex replied, rolling his eyes theatrically. “She
simply walks off. Yet I’ve never been able to follow her. I tried the first few
times I met with her, but I’ve since given up. She seems to come and go as she
wishes.”
“And what does this Alexandra want from you?” the
reporter asked, still trying to wrap his mind around this newest bit of
information.
“Exactly what you’ve seen. She told me she needed me to
‘reach out to a few select people’. She never explained why. She just said that
I’d know them when I encountered them. You’ve apparently seen an example of
that,” Alex said, including Albert in the lie by incorporating Albert’s own lie
into his own. Alex knew full well that Albert hadn’t seen either his encounter
with Mattie or any of his other encounters, but reporters hate to admit they
only pick up news secondhand from other sources. They all want to believe they
are making the news themselves. Alex felt secure he could use that to
help shift Albert’s eventual stance on the issue.
“So far that’s exactly what happens. I’ll be walking along,
I’ll see someone and suddenly I’ll know exactly what I need to do or say. Often
I have no idea what it is that I’ve done, but I seem to do miraculous things
without even being aware of it.”
“So this mysterious Angel picked you out of a few billion
other people to do her bidding?” Albert asked, still skeptical.
“Not quite. I’m hardly alone. She’s selected a number of
individuals throughout the world. We each have a small area we’re responsible
for. I’ve been traveling over my area for the last few months. There are a lot
of people to reach out to. However I do seem to be unique,” he added, before
Albert could ask him for specifics on who he was trying to recruit and why. Albert
tilted his head, clearly intrigued by the latest tease.
“I’m unique in that I’m the only guy. For some reason she
thought I deserved special consideration. But her mission seems to be
completely female centric. She doesn’t seem to be concerned with men at all.
Perhaps she’s given up on men,” Alex suggested, hoping to trigger either an
argument or a defensive reaction from Albert.
‘Alex, I found the guy. He’s a tiny weasel of a guy
lurking on the plaza across the way. Do you want me to take him out?’ Gail
asked him.
‘Don’t hurt him, but if you could, say, disrupt his
communication, that would certainly help things.’
‘I think I can arrange that,’ she replied.
“Why would she give up on men?” Albert asked, signaling he’d
already bought the premise that Alex was trying to sell him. He was no longer
questioning whether Alexandra existed. Now he was asking specific questions
about her actions. “Aren’t men worth teaching?”
“I’m not sure teaching is what she’s going for. Or at least,
if it is, she figures the message will get out in its own time. I think she’s
going after something specific, though she doesn’t give me any details. I’m a
worker bee, I don’t get full briefings,” Alex told him, once again making
himself sound like a small cog in a larger machine. “But I’m also unique in
another aspect. I’m the only atheist she’s chosen.” At this news Albert cocked
his head with a quizzical expression, while Cate looked at her brother with an
odd expression as well, as she tried to figure out what Alex’s game here was.
“It seems she’s not selling a particular brand of religion.
She’s reaching out to each of the major religions. She’s selected Catholics and
other Christians, sure, but she’s also selected Muslims in the Middle East,
Buddhists in Asia, and myself as the lone atheist.”
“Why would she…” Albert started to ask, apparently trying
to figure out this little puzzle on his own. That was when Alex knew he had him
hooked.
‘Alex, I had a little run-in with some distracted guy
walking along the street,’ Gail informed Alex. ‘I managed to hit him
hard enough to knock his earpiece out of his ear, and before he could get back
to his feet I managed to step on it. I don’t know if it’ll take it out, but
it’s the best I could do.’
‘Thanks, Gail. That’s a good start. Now make yourself
scarce so he doesn’t spot you. Head around the corner and wait for us there.’
She agreed and Alex returned his attention to his current conversation.
“I’m afraid your partner just bumped into someone. Seems he
lost his phone’s microphone,” Alex told him cryptically.
“What?” Albert asked him, not having expected that response.
“As I said, I frequently seem to be able to arrange things
without really understanding how it works. I think something and it happens
even when I don’t know what’s involved in the actions that result.”
Albert shook his head and played with his earpiece for a
minute before frowning and turning back to Alex.
“You’re thinking I’m making all of this up, aren’t you?”
Alex asked, even though he suspected Albert had already swallowed much of it
already.
“Yeah, I’m a reporter. We’re always skeptical,”
Albert replied.
Just then his phone rang. He looked at Alex oddly, and Alex
simply told him to answer it, as it may be important. Figuring his earpiece
might be malfunctioning, he pulled his phone from out of his breast pocket,
where Alex suspected it might have been set to record their conversation, and
answered the call. Since he was speaking into it, Alex could hear at least a
little of what was being said on the other end.
“Albert Rodriguez here,” he answered.
“Tôi hiểu bạn muốn
thảo
luận
về
nhiệm vụ
Alexandra
ở châu Á?” a
feminine voice asked over the phone.
“Who is this?” Albert asked.
“It’s my counterpart in Vietnam,” Alex told him. “She just
said she understood you were asking about Alexandra’s role in Asia.” Alex knew
if he kept his facts simple it would work to his benefit. If Albert remembered
just a little of the conversation, he may be able to confirm he was in fact
listening to actual Vietnamese.
“I don’t speak Vietnamese,” Albert protested.
“Ông nói rằng ông
bắt đầu hiểu
những
gì cô ấy
có khả năng
,”
Alex called out, loud enough to be heard over the phone. The voice on the other
side bid them both a cheerful goodbye and hung up.
“What did you just tell her?” Albert asked. But just as Alex
was preparing to tell him Albert’s phone rang again.
“Hello? Is that you again?” he asked, looking thoroughly
perplexed.
“Pardon me,” responded a distinctly British female voice, “I
was looking for a Mr. Rodriguez about Alexandra’s actions here in the UK?”
Albert look relieved to be talking to someone he could understand.
“Yes, I’m very interested in what she’s doing and the extent
of her reach.”
“Well, I really can’t rightly say much, as I don’t ‘tink
she’d approve of me giving out information too freely, but when she speaks to
me, I jump to it. She ain’t one to cross, if you catch me drift,” Shani said in
a very convincing British accent. I guess it helps that Jamaica was a British
colony and had a British educational system for so long.
“I don’t—” Albert replied, not sure how to respond.
“Well, I’ve got to go. Seems you’ve got another call
coming,” the chipper voice answered before she was gone.
“What’s—” Albert started to ask just as his phone rang
again. Looking defeated he answered the phone and hesitantly asked who it was.
“मैं
समझता
हूँ
कि
आप
सिकन्दरिया
के
बारे
में
पूछ
रहे
हैं
?वह
मैं
कभी
मिले
हैं
सबसे
बढ़िया
जा
रहा
है
मैं
आपको
बता
सकता
है
,” the voice answered.
“What the hell?” Albert asked.
“I believe it’s Hindi, she asked if you were inquiring about
Alexandra, and if you were, that she’s the most wonderful being she’s ever met.
Poor Anila, she’s never been convinced that Alexandra is completely human,”
Alex said with a laugh.
“Say Goodbye, Anila, you know you speak English as well as
anyone else does,” Alex called out over the phone. “Don’t tease the poor man.”
The supposed Anila laughed and bid Albert goodbye. Albert
was still looking shell shocked and hadn’t put his hand down when the phone
rang again. Looking worried he looked questioningly at Alex.
“You might as well answer, otherwise they’ll just find
another way of contacting you. But I promise, this will be the last one,” Alex
assured him.
He answered hesitantly. “هل
تحتاج إلى أي
أكثر إقناعا؟
أنا أقول أن
الإسكندرية
قد أحدث
تغييرا هائلا
في هذه المنطقة
من العالم
.
,” a voice asked in Arabic.
Albert, looking lost, simply held the phone up for Alex to speak into.
“يقول هذا عن
كل ما يمكن أن
تتخذ في الوقت
الراهن، ولكن
هذا سروره
للمساعدة
،
” Alex responded for him, telling Shanna that while Albert
appreciated her concern, Albert had had about as much as he could stand for the
moment. With a laugh she ended the call. Alex was glad she’d been able to slip
away quietly unnoticed when the business with the phone call had started.
“I’m sure, if you try to track the calls, which I’m sure you
will, that you’ll notice they are all from the same general area of the
country, but I can assure you if you try to reach any of them you’ll get no
answer. Again, I don’t understand how any of this works, but when I need to do
something, it just sort of happens,” Alex replied, spreading his hands in a
‘what can I say’ expression.
“I … I think I’ve got to be getting back,” Albert
hesitantly replied. Alex hoped he hadn’t hit him with too much all at once.
After all, he was pretty old and wasn’t up for a lot of surprises.
“Oh,” Albert asked after he’d taken a couple of steps away,
“Is Bobby going to be OK?”
“Yeah, Bobby is fine,” Alex explained, “although the paper
may have to reimburse him for a new headphone.” With a shrug Albert headed off,
so Alex quickly got everyone moving in the other direction. He was thankful
when they turned the corner and found both Gail and Shanna waiting for him.
“I think it’s about time we paid for a cab,” Gail suggested,
and Alex had no objections. That was close enough for him. Now all he had to do
was wait to see how it played out in the paper the next day.
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