		“The Catalyst” Series Book 6
		“Building a Legacy”
		Crumbly Writer All rights reserved © 2013


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14: A Double-Edged Sword

Alex, his sisters and Gini spent the afternoon back at the hotel watching the news. Although there was excitement when Alex returned to the arena since the Seers had already heard about Alex’s fledgling theology, Patty informed him they didn’t want to see him for a while. They were nearing the finishing stages of preparation and she wanted to train Winona on how to use feedback from the Seers stationed in the crowd and behind the stage to better respond to the audience, and they couldn’t do it with Alex distorting their perception of the crowd’s emotional responses. So Patricia insisted he take a hike and visit the more remote areas around the Golden Gate Bridge. However, knowing what Joseph was planning, they decided to watch events as they unfolded on TV.

Although Peter Drexler was a minor reporter from a small organization, the revelations about Mr. Hersokowitz affected so many things—from the employment of thousands of people to the fate of multiple TV show, movies and productions either underway or in the works—a major network agreed to carry the interview live as part of their news program—especially when he promised them the results would be devastating to Mr. Herskowitz’s network.

Despite not wanting to steal Joseph’s thunder, Alex had assured a nervous Reggie Fitzpatrick he’d pulled a minor miracle to keep his network afloat. Reggie kept pushing for details, but Alex just told him to watch along with everyone else.

The live interview was captivating, though not for the reasons Mr. Drexler anticipated. The interview opened with Peter Drexler addressing the camera, explaining who he was, who he was interviewing and why the interview was so important. Peter was so busy with the introduction he didn’t notice the sickly, hunched over Mr. Herskowitz sit up straight. Nor that his hands stopped shaking, his eyes cleared and his lethargy lifted.

“Good evening, my name is Peter Drexler, and I’m pleased to welcome you to my interview with Joseph Herskowitz. For those of you who are unaware of the recent news I published in ‘Variety’, I uncovered reports which cast Mr. Herskowitz’s role in leading his expansive media network into question, and since this impacts so many people, the broadcast network decided it deserved special attention.”

Here Peter finally turned to Joseph and hesitated upon seeing him sitting up straight. He recovered, no doubt assuming Joseph was simply marshaling his strength to appear stronger than he was—something Peter was sure he couldn’t carry off for long.

Although a minor player in an overcrowded field holding a temporary position of interviewer, Peter saw himself as a potential king-maker, or rather as someone who could pull the rug out from under a major studio. He was sure he could capitalize on this situation, convinced he’d be viewed as a legitimate newsmaker and the company sure to come away the winner—the very one negotiating to dismantle the studio—was sure to reward him with some very significant compensation deals. In fact, it was easy imagining him salivating at the thought of Joseph’s demise at that very moment.

“So Mr. Herskowitz, you don’t mind me calling you Joseph, do you? You saw my report this morning questioning your ability to manage your studio’s business successfully, namely that you’ve been funneling money to an unknown cult leader hoping he could heal the nervous disorder you suffer from. This disorder has caused people to question whether you’re able to manage your studio during this difficult transition. Do you have any response to this issue?”

“No, Peter, I don’t mind as I’m eager to address this malicious rumor which clearly has no basis in fact. While I can imagine how it originated, I think I can easily clear up any misunderstandings.”

Again, Peter Drexler seemed surprised by the strength of Joseph’s words and countenance, but shook it off as Joseph continued to answer his question.

“As for my contributions to this so-called religious group, as I’m sure you’re aware, as the head of a large studio it’s my job to entice actors, producers, agents and clients into signing on to a variety of projects. Sometimes I can convince them with an interesting project, sometimes with a powerful script, but other times I have to use other tactics. I’ll admit I’ve frequently helped ease things along by supporting an actor’s chosen charitable causes. The donation you reported—which didn’t have anything to do with any temple or religious organization, by the way—was simply that. I made a donation, under the name of the studio since it was a business move, to an organization I know very little about. While I’ve got no doubt they do very good work, this is the first I’ve heard about their offering any kind of ‘miraculous cures’. Researching the details after your story was released, I learned there is talk of a new temple to be built near San Francisco, but I’ve never had any affiliation with it. However, if this new religion does offer miracle cures, I’d be interested in seeing if they can help ease the medical crisis this country is suffering from, and which the Federal and State governments seem unable to stem.”

There was nervous laughter in the background at his reaction to potential cures, but neither man paid it much attention.

“So you’re saying you’ve never received any treatments from this individual?”

“Absolutely, since I’ve never met anyone from this organization. All I did was to make a single contribution to a charity in Illinois. However, if they’d like to come to my house and help with my blood pressure, I’d be willing to give it a shot.”

“You do realize there have been continued rumors about your health? That you’re suffering from a degenerative nervous disorder that’s slowly removing your muscle control and ability to think clearly, and that this has generated a fear amongst those negotiating to save your studio you may not be in a position to continue to lead.”

“Actually, I hadn’t heard any such rumors before your article appeared yesterday, which is why I was so eager to appear here today, so I could put those rumors to rest right off the bat. There is nothing wrong with me aside from the aches and pains of someone in their sixties.”

“So you’re denying you have a problem with your nerves or your muscle control?” Peter pressed, sure he’d cornered Joseph.

“Absolutely. In fact, if you’d like to arm wrestle, I’d be willing to wager a few dollars on the outcome.”

Needless to say, Peter didn’t take him up on the offer, mainly because he assumed it was disingenuous—that Joseph was in fact too weak to even hold his arm upright, much less wrestle with it. Peter didn’t want to come off looking like he was taking advantage of a man’s illness to humiliate him in a public broadcast.

“Could you please hold your hand upright then? I’ve noticed you’ve kept them hidden so far.”

“No, I’ve got no problems with that,” Joseph said, laughing. Joseph then held both hands up, showing they were both steady as a rock. He then extended them, holding them steady and proceeded to perform some quick exercises to show he had no problems with range of motion. Peter seemed stunned to see him doing what he’d convinced himself was an impossibility for him.

“So you’re saying these ‘treatments’ were successful?” Peter hesitantly asked.

“Again, what treatments? I’ve never had a problem, so I haven’t sought treatment for anything, either from a medical doctor or from someone I’ve never met. Though why I’d see anyone other than an MD for something like that is beyond me.”

“Now look here, I’ve got it from a good source you not only met with the person in question, but he conducted extensive treatments on you.”

“Ah, yes, I suspect I know this ‘source’ you’re referring to. Although I won’t mention his name, he’s been having medical problems of his own which have interrupted his career. That may explain why he’s creating these reports of mysterious illnesses and miracle cures. Let me just say this person no longer works for my studio. Not because of anything he said to you, but simply because he isn’t able to meet the conditions of his legal contract. It seems that not only are his performances impaired, but so are his judgments, no doubt resulting in these spurious comments. But then, I’d have thought you’d do a basic background check on your informant.”

Peter was stymied and so surprised at having the rug yanked out from under him he didn’t know how to continue, resulting in his simply staring at Joseph for several seconds, which on National television can seem like forever.

“Can you prove you don’t have this medical condition? Maybe by showing us your medical records?”

“What medical records? Since I’ve never suffered from this supposed condition, I’ve never had anyone conduct any tests into it. But I’ll tell you what, you still seem hesitant. How about if I give you a quick demonstration?”

With that Mr. Herskowitz reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a few items which weren’t immediately apparent to the audience.

“Many people don’t know this, but I got started in the entertainment industry by working as a street performer in a local public park as a juggler. While I haven’t done it in years, I assume the skills are similar to riding a bike, in that you can pick them up again after a long absence.”

Here Peter smiled, sure Joseph was about to publically embarrass himself, performing an act he hadn’t in years. Instead, Joseph tossed three balls into the air and proceeded to juggle them without dropping one. He then proceeded to add another two balls until he was juggling five at once. He even managed to toss one of them to Peter, who fumbled and dropped it on the ground. Finally Joseph caught the remaining balls and repocketed them.

“Maybe it’s you who should have your nerves checked,” Joseph joked. “That should have been a fairly easy catch.”

Again, Drexler was at a loss. His entire premise had been taken from him and he didn’t know how to proceed.

“Look, being able to do tricks doesn’t prove anything. Can you prove to us you don’t have any current medical problems?”

“How? You know as well as I do you can’t prove a negative. Do you want to spend the next half hour having me perform one silly test after another? Do you want me to walk a straight line? Hop on one foot while holding the other? Take a drug test for you? I’m not going to subject your viewers to such shenanigans, as it wouldn’t prove anything and would only make a mockery of the real reporting you’re pretending to do.

“Instead I’d ask, where’s your proof? Let’s see this single witness to these proceedings. If it’s who I suspect it is, I’m sure his lack of credibility will be apparent to anyone hearing him speak. Do you have any proof of a meeting between me and whoever you might be trying to connect me to? Do you even have evidence I’ve ever made a contribution to some nonexistent temple I hadn’t heard of before yesterday?”

“But clearly it’s an issue in your negotiations to continue financing for the studio. The fact no one thinks you’re capable of fulfilling your commitments is clearly a factor.”

Joseph laughed at Peter’s clumsy attempt to bolster his weak arguments. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to take exception to that. As you can see, I’ve got no problem with arguing my case, and our projects speak for themselves. We’ve got several successful shows and we have multiple movies and acts currently in development which are proceeding fine. In fact, we’re excited about the newest, the relaunch of Diane Kennedy’s concert.”

“But isn’t that an excellent case in point? When she delayed the tour, it was seen as a clear signal she wasn’t drawing enough of an audience to be profitable.”

“Clearly you’ve been talking to the wrong people. Instead, what happened was her backup act took a leave of absence so they could record an album—which we’re producing, by the way. It promises to be quite a success as her act was quite impressive while she was on tour. But as a result of her stepping down, Diane needed to develop a new act.”

“But is—”

“Yes, the new act, one Winona Thomas—who was handpicked by Patty Moore to replace her and has been training with Diane Kennedy perfecting her abilities—is now set to wow the crowds. In fact, if you doubt me, they’re launching a free demonstration concert in the Fillmore here in San Francisco to showcase Ms. Thomas. Bring a news crew and record the concert if you wish, I’m sure you’ll see their act is in no danger of losing their enthusiastic fans.”

Peter glanced around and then started shuffling his papers. Why the network didn’t jump to commercials to save themselves further embarrassment wasn’t clear, but perhaps assuming that, Joseph offered Peter one last out. “Now, just to settle this, would you like to make a wager on a single bout of arm wrestling?”

Unseen by the audience, Joseph’s right eye, the one facing away from the camera, began twitching in an apparent uncontrolled action. Smiling again, sure Joseph was finally reaching the limit of his ability to mask his condition, Peter took him up on it. “This is highly unusual but I’ll humor you. What do you want to risk?”

“How about this, if you lose, you publicly apologize for reporting on my non-existent conditions? If I lose, I’ll voluntarily resign my post and close the entire studio.”

Momentary doubt seemed to cloud Peter’s face as he considered—for the first time—he may have been tricked. But that brief hesitancy evaporated when he considered he could effectively destroy this man in one fell act. Grinning again, he offered Joseph his arm.

It seemed as if Joseph lost his confidence as his whole demeanor changed from teasing and challenging to a more serious tone. He approached this as a serious competition, removing his jacket and rolling his sleeve up.

As the two men locked hands, Alex didn’t need to see any more. He’d engaged in this supposed sport enough to know how it was going to end. Like pull-ups, arm wrestling is hardly a fair competition. With pull ups, short compact men have a clear advantage as taller men are unable to manage more than a couple. Arm wrestling is similar, except here, size matters. But not in the way you’d expect. The musculature of one’s arm hardly matters, rather it’s how tall you are and how long your forearm is. It depends upon the arm acting as a fulcrum. As the longer arm provides a better weight-bearing angle against the shorter one, arm wrestling clearly favors the tall, and Peter Drexler was a rather short man, one without much muscle mass.

“Aren’t you going to watch?” Melinda asked as Alex stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

“I don’t need to, this is going to be a very short contest,” he replied. “I don’t need to watch this misguided man’s public humiliation.”

Even though he wasn’t watching, the collective gasp revealed what was happening. As they started wrestling, Joseph’s hand—with the leverage of his height—bent Peter’s hand back, robbing him of any application of native strength, a process known as ‘hooking’. It would then only be a matter of how long it took Peter to surrender, as he wouldn’t be able to gain any traction. It didn’t take very long, given that Peter looked like he rarely made it outdoors.

“Wow!” Melinda gasped.

“He was a fool to start,” Gini told the girls. “They were clearly unmatched. I used to do that myself when I was in the service. But I knew enough to not wrestle anyone taller than me because it doesn’t really matter how strong you are if you’re not the same size.”

The networks launched their commercials at that moment.

“Hello, Alex?” Reggie Fitzpatrick, Winona’s producer, asked when he called shortly after the interview aired.

“Hey, Reggie. I take it you saw the interview.”

“Yeah, I did. I assume you were responsible for that?”

“Me? Hardly! Poor Mr. Drexler brought that all on himself,” Alex laughed.

“Yeah, but you told me beforehand you’d handled the situation,” Reggie reminded him. “I haven’t had many face-to-face meetings with Mr. Herskowitz, but even I’d noticed he didn’t seem to be on the top of his game lately.”

“No, actually I said it had been handled. I mentioned it to my boss, and she told me while it shouldn’t be an issue, she’d be sure Joseph had plenty of energy for the show,” Alex said, not wanting to tell anyone Joseph had been having an issue.

“Ah, I take it you mean your ‘otherworldly’ friends?”

“Well, I don’t like to drop names, but….”

“Still, I suspect you had a lot more to do with it than you’re willing to admit. This is going to save a lot of jobs and allow a lot of worthwhile projects to continue. I have a feeling many people will owe their continued employment to you, even if they aren’t aware of it.”

“I’m not in the business of collecting congratulations,” Alex said, hoping it would end the conversation.

“If you say so, though I think it’s a terrible way to run a religion. Still, you’ve got a definite believer in me. I had my doubts before, but the fact you told me it wouldn’t be an issue and it wasn’t, especially after you’d first admitted you didn’t know how it would turn out, says a lot about you.”

“Don’t worry, I’m always quick to admit when I have no idea what I’m doing,” Alex laughed.

“Well, I’ll see you after the concert tomorrow night. There may be a spare bottle of Champagne afterwards,” Reggie said before hanging up.

“I don’t think this is wise,” Alex grumbled. “I do best operating out of sight. Standing here in front of thousands is just asking for trouble. If anyone comes looking for me, the whole world will be here to witness it.”

“It’s hardly ‘thousands’,” the ever literal Becky corrected him. “The Fillmore only holds a little more than a thousand.”

“Besides, you know what Patricia said,” Melinda reminded him, “there are many people here who are convinced you’re the only reason this concert is even taking place. Diane Kennedy insisted you be here, and Joseph Herskowitz, Reggie Fitzpatrick and others wanted you here as well.”

Glancing nervously around, expecting to see someone already zeroing in on him, Alex considered everything likely to go wrong. Patricia insisted he remain in the front, directly in front of the stage. She wanted that partly to highlight him for the investors who knew about him, but Diane was hoping if she could keep him there, he’d bring his followers into the concert, promoting the feeling of excitement, rather than taking them out the back.

Joseph’s gambit worked, not only had he dispelled any notion he was too sick to work, but he’d also managed to attract a lot of attention to this little practice concert. Originally intended simply as a test run for Winona and her band, Joseph had morphed it into a full media event. There were several full stationary video camera setups, but they were hardly the extent of the media coverage. Joseph had invited the movers and shakers in the entertainment industry to prove he not only was on top of his game, but that the decision to postpone Diane’s tour for a week had been a stroke of genius. And it looked like everyone was eating it up. Along with the investors Joseph was courting, most of the more influential music critics were here, attracted by Joseph’s claims. The investors, easy to spot as they were all over-dressed for the event, looked pretty uncomfortable. They were hoping to get the studio for a song, making a quick profit by selling its facilities and equipment to the competing studios. Now it looked like there was no way they could succeed, and even worse, they realized the value of the entire studio would now be easily several times what it was two days previously. Not only that, but there were several other investors offering counterbids in attendance as well.

But among the media people, the one music reviewer who wasn’t there was Peter Drexler, despite his personal invitation during Joseph’s interview. It seemed his newspaper, a specialty trade magazine which had gotten him access to Variety, had been horrified so much of his reporting lacked any factual basis, based almost exclusively on hearsay from a disgruntled employee who wouldn’t even defend his claims. While they hadn’t actually fired him over it, they shifted him to another department—probably obituaries—where he couldn’t embarrass them any further. What’s more, they were probably only biding their time until they could let him go without it attracting quite so much attention.

What the studio that broadcast the interview had gotten—and been glad to get it at that—was the exclusive footage of this concert. They’d been so glad to highlight it, in fact, they’d gladly accepted the limitations Joseph had stipulated concerning the length of any broadcast clips. Joseph wanted media coverage, but he didn’t want to give his product away. He wanted fans hungry for both Winona and Patty, and it wouldn’t hurt either him or Diane to be seen as promoting them.

“Don’t worry,” Gini told Alex from beside him, “there are several Seers watching for anyone approaching, so we should have advance warning if anyone comes looking for you. If they do, the Seekers will take them aside and brief them, and if it’s anyone looking to create a scene, I can easily get you out of here via any number of possible routes. We’ve got everything covered.”

“So you say, but I know how they tend to surprise me, so I’m not expecting them to behave as expected,” Alex told her, although he seemed relieved no one seemed to be seeking him out at the moment.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I wanted to say a few words before the concert starts,” Joseph announced after walking onto the stage. “As I’m sure you all know, Diane put her own concert tour on hold in order to prepare a new artist you’ll hear tonight. Both she and Patty Moore saw her tremendous potential and all of us feel it was a wise decision. While many people questioned the wisdom of it, relying upon heedless gossip to justify their position, I think you’ll see just how much better the tour will be once it resumes this Friday.

“Several in the audience have been evaluating investing in this studio. I’m sure this performance will demonstrate not just the strength of this one act, but of our whole roster and the strong dynamic teams developing all of our shows. While I’ve been in negotiations with a few of you, I’m also aware several more are now eager to join the negotiations as well. I’m glad you’re here to see just what you’re investing in. We have not one act, but three set to take off here. Winona will draw people to Diane’s tour, carry on Patty’s torch and boost Patty’s soon-to-be released album.

“Now I’m sure none of you came to listen to me drone on, so I’ll get out of here. But I’ll be talking with many of you either after the concert or in the following days. But for now … here’s Winona Thomas, Patty Moore and Diane Kennedy!”

There was polite applause as Joseph descended the stairs leading away from the stage. He knew he wasn’t the draw here, but he’d applied pressure on his investors to come to a quick arrangement. He’d accomplished what he’d needed to.

Once he disappeared, the stage was quiet for a moment until the curtain drew back and three women strolled out, holding hands, backed by Winona’s band. As the applause began, they each lifted their clasped hands in victory, causing the audience response to rise as well.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you all know me and my work,” Diane said, speaking to the audience while the others stood beside her. “I was disappointed when Patty was unable to continue the tour, but she introduced me to her replacement, and I knew as soon as I met her we couldn’t waste this moment.

“Delaying the entire tour, I spent the next week working extensively with her, aided by Patty as we both worked to teach this complete beginner the techniques which normally take years to develop. It’s been a very intensive effort, but I think you’ll be pleased by the results.” The audience, thinking she was done, began applauding, but she quickly waved for quiet.

“Before we begin, I just want to say one last thing. There’s one person who was instrumental in setting this in motion, aside from Mr. Herskowitz, that is. That young man is here, watching from the front of the stage, and he’s personally responsible for pushing both Patty and Winona to where they are now, as well as generating a new enthusiasm for my work.”

Alex got a sinking feeling in his stomach, knowing what was coming. This was not what he’d come for.

“Now, if you will, would Al… please stand so everyone could thank him for all he’s done?” Luckily, Alex’s name was obscured when the microphone crackled, obscuring the mentioning of his name.

Sighing to himself, Alex stood up straight and plastered a smile on his face as a spotlight swept from the main stage towards him. But in a moment which seemed like Divine intervention, there was a loud pop and the spotlight went out before it hit him. Alex, thankful but not foolish enough to thank a God he didn’t believe in, simply faced forward, hoping those behind him couldn’t see him and no one would think to take a flash picture of him.

‘You’re welcome,’ Patricia said.

‘You did that?’

‘Well, not me specifically,’ Patricia admitted. ‘I’d talked to the lead engineer in charge of the show, and told him how important it was you maintained your obscurity so you could continue to work behind the scenes.’

‘And he bought it?’ Alex asked skeptically.

‘Not at first,’ she admitted. ‘We had to talk a while before I could convince him what you were capable of. But between what he’d heard, everyone’s attitude towards you, your own response to everyone else and a few hints I supplied him about you, let’s just say he “saw the light”.’

After the light had blown, everyone was stunned into silence, which was aided by the fact no one knew who they were supposed to be recognizing anyway. Seeing as very few people could see him, and knowing those nearest had at least seem him moving forward, Alex edged away from his previous position nonchalantly.

“Well, that shows why we needed a practice concert tonight,” Winona announced, stepping into the silence which filled the hall. “It seems we haven’t quite worked all the kinks out of the show yet. But now that we’ve gotten the acknowledgments out of the way, let me say a personal thanks to both Diane and Mr. Herskowitz and get this show started.”

There was, understandably, a rousing chorus of shouts which filled the auditorium, since everyone was eager to hear this new voice everyone was raving about. Diane Kennedy, feeling like she’d been set adrift on stage, tried to gracefully exit as Winona started on one of her signature songs, demonstrating just how different her rendition of Patricia’s song was. However, before she could move aside, Patricia stopped her, holding her hand tightly.

‘Alright, Alex, that’s your cue,’ Patricia said. ‘No one is watching. You need to get the hell out of Dodge while you can. Tonight is about teaching Winona how to use her Seer minions—whom I’ve supplied—to manipulate the crowd, and she can’t do that with you blinding them. So make yourself scarce and let anyone looking for you find you someplace you won’t be observed.’

‘Thanks, Patricia. You saved me once again.’

‘Don’t talk,’ she urged, ‘just GO!’

And so he did. As he fumbled in the dark, Gini grasped his hand and guided him out. Alex had no idea how she could see in the dark as the lights from the stage overwhelmed the little light in the auditorium, but then he assumed she must be using her vision to see everyone’s aura.

Alex never looked back, so he didn’t know how everyone reacted, but he left so quickly he didn’t think anyone else had the opportunity to follow him. Mel and Becks didn’t appear to be with them, and as much as he could determine, no one else seemed to have noticed his disappearance.

The music blared and Winona belted out her song as first Patricia and then Diane joined her. As the audience soaked it up, Gini led Alex out of the dark auditorium without a second’s hesitation. She led him out a stage door, down a side corridor and down a long hall until they approached a single exit, having avoided anyone else the entire trip. But before they reached the door, Gini pulled up short, firmly grasping Alex’s arm.

“Hold on,” she said as she seemed to be concentrating on something.

“What is it?” Alex asked, not knowing what caused her to pull up short.

“I’m not sure. Give me a second,” she said, turning her head one way and then another.

“There’s something wrong,” she told him with conviction. “Stay here. I’m going outside to have a look around. But whatever you do, don’t go anywhere near that door.”

With that, Gini strode away. She hesitated near the exit door and waited as it opened and someone entered, coming into the stadium from outside with no one checking for a ticket or asking who they were.

“Pardon me, you got a smoke I can borrow?” she asked nonchalantly.

“Sure,” the older worker answered, fishing out a recently opened pack and handing her a spare. “Need a light?”

“If I didn’t think to bring a spare pack, do you really think I’d have remembered to bring a light?” she replied with a laugh. He responded in kind, laughing with her as he handed her a small book of matches. With that she headed out the door, the strange man who’d given her the light passing by Alex without a second look.

Standing there, Alex wasn’t sure what to do. Not knowing what had spooked Gini, he didn’t know how to respond. Should he wait there? Wait by the door? Or head back inside where he was well away from this public access? With no one there to offer him any advice, he merely waited where he was, nervously tapping his foot and watching the exit.

“There he is,” someone said from behind him.

Turning, Alex saw two young women approaching, having clearly just come from the concert hall.

“I told you he was out here,” the blonde said to her friend as they both hurried towards him.

“I’m sorry, you don’t have any idea who we are, but we could feel you from—”

“Don’t worry,” Alex said, trying to calm them even while he was anything but himself. “I know exactly what you’re feeling, and yes, I’m the one you’re looking for.”

The two young women were Frieda and Olivia. Frieda was a fresh-faced young thing with slightly reddish brunette hair and Olivia had long flowing blonde hair, pouty red lips and wore a black leather bomber jacket.

Alex found it odd that handling something he’d done hundreds of times, reassuring nervous Seekers they weren’t imagining things and were listening to an unknown ability guiding their actions, actually calmed him. He gave himself into its comforting hands. He stopped worrying about what Gini was doing and simply concentrated on the two girls.

Alex was surprised when the door opened again, but was relieved when Gini appeared. She stopped just inside the door, kicking the soda can propping the door open free so the door could lock as it was supposed to. He stopped speaking and the two girls picked up on his distraction as they too turned towards his approaching security guard.

“What is it?” Alex asked again.

“Can’t really say, but there’s someone outside waiting for you,” she informed him as she ground out her cigarette with her heel on the bare cement floor. “I don’t know who it is yet, or what they want, but I’m going to circle around and approach them from another direction so they won’t see me coming. Just stay here with your friends. I don’t want to have to worry about you wandering around while someone is gunning for you.”

Alex was about to respond but she was already on the way down the hall. So after a moment’s silence, he turned back to the two girls. “As you were saying?”

Though confused by the strange news, they assumed he knew what he was doing, as they could both feel he had enough raw power to handle just about anything.

They continued talking for some time, and Alex basically let himself forget about who might be waiting for him or what they might have planned. But his attention was diverted once again when someone he hadn’t even noticed passing opened the exit door. That in itself wasn’t so unexpected, as he already had his cigarette out as he slipped out the door, but the risk the constant traffic represented was brought into sharp relief when a hand reached out, grasping the door before it could close all the way.

Assuming the worst, Alex stepped in front of the two girls, moving to the side he pushed them back so they wouldn’t he struck by any stray bullets. Alex had faced similar situations before, and he knew he’d handle this one the best he could too.

As the door swung open, a big burly bald guy with tattoos on either arm Alex had never laid eyes on before entered, glanced at them and proceeded to ignore them as he headed for the auditorium. Alex never took his eyes off him, expecting him to turn back with a loaded gun at any moment. The girls, sensing his mood, remained where they were, expecting the worst. But the man, dressed in a plaid shirt and hunting jacket, simply marched past, never giving any of them a second glance. Alex breathed a sigh of relief, but never took his eyes off the man in case he may turn around before he left, but he never did.

“What’s going on?” Olivia asked, her voice, low and soft, trembling slightly.

“Oh, it seems aside from attracting beautiful women so I can reveal what’s happening to them, I’ve got this tendency to draw angry people who want to kill me. It’s nothing to be concerned with,” he hurried to explain. “It’s just a part of the whole ‘Angel of New Orleans’ business.”

“Well, they’ll have to go through me to get to you,” Olivia assured him, meeting his gaze with a steely resolve.

“That goes doubly for me,” Frieda responded. “We can buy you enough time to get away if anyone tries anything.” Neither one seemed the slightest bit hesitant about sacrificing their lives for someone they just met. It was then Alex realized just how much he’d been discounting his followers’ dedication. He knew they were fascinated with him and were willing to give up their lives to do whatever he asked, but he’d never realized that without even knowing what he represented, they trusted him enough to lay their lives down for him. Frieda and Olivia weren’t even Seers who could feel his emotions, but apparently they felt enough to trust him inherently. That realization hit him hard, making him question the appropriateness of his continued ‘aw, shucks’ demeanor. What’s more, he realized he hadn’t been giving his many followers their due. While Alex was facing his own death, he realized these women were sacrificing everything for him, and he needed to treat such reverence much more seriously than he had.

“Hopefully it won’t come to that. Gini knows what’s happening and is taking the appropriate actions. Now, before we get too distracted—”

“Alex!” someone called from the far end of the hall.

Having been dubiously watching the exit, Alex hadn’t been monitoring the hallway. Twisting around, he saw Melinda and Becky hurrying towards him.

“Here you are,” Becky said, sounding exasperated. “We had no idea where you disappeared to. Every day you seem to pick up new abilities. Now you just disappear, suddenly appearing somewhere else.”

“One of Patricia’s Seers—the ones she brought to help Winona with the show—stopped by to tell us where you were,” Becky explained. “But then she ran off, mumbling about something urgent.”

“Someone is trying to kill him!” Frieda announced a bit too loudly.

“Again?” Melinda demanded. “Who is it this time?” she asked, putting her hands on her hip and addressing her brother like it was all his fault.

“I have no idea,” he answered, shrugging even as he glanced at the entrance once again. “I haven’t seen them, and I’m not about to start guessing who may be pissed at me this time. Half the people who tried to kill me I’d never met before, so I’m not counting on recognizing them.”

“I’ve got a good idea who it is,” Becky said sourly.

“There’s no sense guessing, as it’s just as likely someone we don’t know as it is someone we do. Besides, I wouldn’t put it past Dominique to pull something this drastic. Gini is investigating. She’ll tell me what’s happening as soon as she knows.”

“Dominique?” Melinda asked.

“Dr. Ice,” Alex reminded her. Recognition washed over her face as she conceded there could be any number of people wanting to hurt him.

“How do you even know someone is after you?” Olivia asked. “Did someone call in a threat? Did someone come forward? Did they find evidence of a plot?”

“No, so far it’s all cerebral. There’s no direct evidence of anything. Apparently Gini felt something, I’m guessing it was the person’s anger, so she went out to investigate.”

“So we’re just standing around until something happens?” Becky asked, outraged they couldn’t do something, like pulling him to safety or calling the police.

“No, you’re going to explain to Frieda and Olivia what they need to know,” Alex insisted. “Meanwhile, I’ll see if I can get some information.”

Melinda just stared at him, but Becky nodded and took the bull by the horns, asking the girls how much he’d already told them.

‘Hannah, did you have any idea what’s going on?’ Alex asked one of Patricia’s Seers he’d noticed working with her and Winona.

‘Sorry boss, but I can’t say anything now. I’m busy trying to communicate with a bunch of different people, and frankly, I’ve been told not to tell you anything. Gini will tell you what’s happening as soon as we know.’

Alex sighed in frustration, but knew better than to give her a hard time. He’d given the people around him the freedom to do what they felt needed to be done, and Gini probably assumed he’d rush in if he thought his people were at risk. He also acknowledged his getting involved would probably counter what Gini was attempting. In either case, there was no reason to attack Hannah over something she had no real control over. But the fact his people felt safe making their own decisions in a crisis spoke volumes about the whole movement. After all, he would only be here for so long, and they had to cope long after he was gone.

So Alex watched Melinda and Becky explain all the details he hadn’t gotten to yet, as he kept nervously glancing between the exit and down the hall. The minutes seemed to drag out as Alex felt powerless to do anything. His palms were damp and sticky, and it felt like the smoke wafting in from outside was sticking to his skin. He felt dirty, tired and hypervigilant, always glancing between the hallway and the exit. At this point, there wasn’t much he could really add to the discussion with the new girls, so he just bade his time. He hoped no one would be compromised on his account, but also realizing, if they were, it was their own choice which put them there. He could hardly ask these people not to hold him in such high regard. He just had to learn to live up to their expectations.

‘Alex?’ Gini asked.

‘Yeah, what’s the story?’ Alex responded as a wave of relief washed over him. Even though he didn’t know what she wanted, simply having something to do was enough.

‘We’ve got the situation under control. We want you to handle this yourself, so come out into the parking lot. Turn right once you get outside, you’ll see us waiting by a white SUV. But don’t bring anyone else. We really don’t want to cause any more of a scene than we already have by involving the police—which would have involved the media—especially since I’ve pulled a gun on someone and made a citizen’s arrest for something they haven’t even done yet.’

“Pardon me,” Alex said, turning to the girls. “It seems I’m needed elsewhere.”

The women stared at him expectantly, and Melinda started to ask him where he was going but Becky reached out, holding Melinda back. She recognized that as much as they wanted to help, there were some things Alex had to do himself.

Exiting the building and waving the billowing smoke from his face, Alex glanced to his right and saw the vehicle. It was a large SUV parked near the building pointing directly at him. He saw several figures, including the muscular Gini, standing around someone beside the automobile. It was clear the person had been in the SUV and had a clear view of the exit and a clean shot at him. It would only have taken a moment, a quick application of the gas and the heavy vehicle would have run him down. Alex shuddered at the thought there would have been little he could have done to defend himself. He’d likely have been too shocked to respond quickly enough, and even if he disabled the driver, he couldn’t counter the laws of physics in stopping the hurtling vehicle.

As he neared, he got his first glimpse of his would-be attacker. In retrospect, he shouldn’t really have been surprised, but it still shocked him. However, it was her expression which really shook him.

Cynthia McKinsey stood there, glaring at him with a hateful expression, her arms pinned behind her back, held fast by plastic restraints and Gini’s firm hands.

When their eyes locked, it was Alex that reacted, jerking back as much as the many Seers he’d encountered had. He saw something when he looked in those eyes which unnerved him, but it wasn’t her anger. It was something much more profound. He had to shake his head to clear it. He glanced back, but was so disturbed he had to look away again.

‘Have you contacted Rachel or her family yet?’ Alex asked Gini, not wanting to forewarn Cynthia what he planned while he fought to ignore what he’d witnessed.

‘Not yet, we figured you’d want to handle this yourself,’ she answered, noting how disturbed he appeared.

‘Good. That was the right call,’ he assured her.

‘Rachel? I need you outside right away. Bring your sister, Francine, but don’t tell the rest of your family.’

Rachel sounded shocked, probably because she could feel the gravity of his message through their telepathic connection. ‘What’s wrong? Should I bring anything?’

‘No, all you need is a strong will, a firm resolve and a lot of compassion. You’ll see when you get here,’ Alex told her ending the connection before she could ask him any more questions.

Steadying himself, Alex turned to their captive. “Cynthia, I’m sorry it came to this.”

“Fuck you, asshole!” she hissed, leaning against her bindings as if attempting to jump him. She was so angry, so livid, she didn’t even notice the change in Alex’s demeanor. “You poisoned my entire family against me, arranged things so I’d never again be able to relate to my family, and then proceeded to draw my family down a fool’s errand. I’m just disappointed I couldn’t finish what I planned!”

“You can’t appreciate this now, but those aren’t your real motivations. You’ll only understand it over time, but you’re not reacting to me personally. You’ve got what’s essentially an allergy to the BCM energy which first drew your sisters to me. Once I leave town, you’ll start to think clearly again, and you’ll be surprised at how extremely you reacted.”

“It’s not likely,” she growled. “I’ll always want to see you dead.”

“Oh, I’ve no doubt about that,” he responded, frowning but still trying to reason with her. He’d fought down his initial response, although he hadn’t forgotten it, but he couldn’t allow it to flavor how he dealt with her. “The anger this reaction generates is very real and it’s quite visceral, but it’s also quite outsized to the perceived threat you see in me. But I’m not here to lecture you. Right now, you’re incapable of making reasoned decisions about your own care.”

He turned and regarded the two men standing beside Gini and on either side of Cynthia. Both wore the uniforms of the stadium’s security force, but both looked unprepared to be handling something like this.

“Has anyone else been contacted? Have the police been called?”

“No, I wanted to keep this private, but I wanted backup in case things went south,” Gini explained. “But it was pretty cut and dried. I had one of the girls grab these two and had them meet me by an entrance behind her. I had them flank her while I approached her directly. She was so focused on you, or at least on where she expected you to appear, she never even looked in my direction.

“I was afraid if I tapped on the window she’d panic, possibly injuring someone attempting to escape, so I simply yanked the door open and shoved my service pistol in her face. That captured her attention. Once I removed the car keys, she was effectively rendered harmless. For now, at least,” she conceded.

“Very well done,” Alex congratulated her, glad no one besides him had been at risk. “I’m glad we could do this without generating any undue attention. As usual, this isn’t—”

“Alex? Cynthia? What the hell is going on?” Rachel cried as she ran towards them. One of the security people moved to cut her off, but Alex waved him aside, approaching her himself.

“It’s OK. She wanted to hurt me but she wasn’t rational at the time. Her reaction was beyond her control. That said, your family needs to deal with her from now on. But she needs to be kept as far from me as we can manage.”

“But what happened?” Rachel pleaded. “What did she do?”

“I don’t know if anyone told you about how people respond negatively to my energy,” Alex began.

“They told me all about it, but mainly in terms of what to look for whenever anyone approached you. But I never thought to question my own sister.”

“Actually, it’s my fault,” Gini admitted. “I was suspicious of her when she first appeared, as her anger at Alex was apparent from the get-go. Since we’ve never encountered this in a woman before, I never stopped to watch her eyes when she first approached you. I never made the obvious association. I just assumed she didn’t trust you and you’d win her over in time. However, as usually happens in these cases, her anger built over time as she was exposed to more of your energy.”

“It was no one’s fault,” Alex insisted, maintaining as much distance from Cynthia as he could. “None of us thought this affliction could strike women, so none of us were looking for it, even when it should have been apparent just by looking at her. If we can have several male Seekers, then we can certainly have a female hater. It seems the anti-‘S’ gene isn’t restricted to the ‘Y’ chromosome, so we’ll have to be more careful of everyone in the future, even animals since we now know dogs can respond to my energy.”

Rachel and Francine both looked at him questioningly, not making the connection.

“We met someone with a dog at Disneyland,” Alex explained, not wanting to get everyone distracted. “The animal appeared to be a Seeker implying the gene isn’t a recent phenomenon and occurs in more than just humans.”

“But what about Cynthia?” Rachel pressed.

“She hardly looks like our sister any more, she’s so filled with rage,” Francine reflected. “She hardly looks human.”

“It’s the reaction to the BCM. You’ll need to take her somewhere far from here and keep her isolated. You’ll need to scrub yourselves to eliminate any trace of me, and you’ll have to burn your clothing as the BCM adheres to clothing. But beyond that, since she reacts so poorly to it, she may never be the same around you. Since you and your mother are intricately tied to me through our neural link, you each generate more BCM than anyone else, and she may respond to that negatively once I’m gone. So far she’s directing her anger at me, but without me to focus on, her anger is likely to turn against you.

“You’ll have to treat this as a mental condition. There’s a clear physiological cause, but we don’t understand it enough to know how to treat it. Instead you’ll have to consider her unstable and expect her to behave in unexpected and potentially dangerous ways.”

“I knew she didn’t like you,” Rachel said, “but if I thought she’d ever try to hurt you I’d never—”

“Shh,” Alex soothed her. “None of us knew. There was never any reason to suspect anything more severe than cautious skepticism. But now that we know better, you’ll have to treat it as a life-long condition. Even if she seems normal, BCM is known to accumulate, so you’ll never know how she’ll respond to each of you from one moment to the next.”

“Ha, if I’d succeeded in killing you, there wouldn’t be any problem,” Cynthia gloated, her face a mask of undisguised hatred. “I’d have eradicated your hateful energy and no one would ever suffer from it,” Cynthia sneered, clearly undismayed and unrepentant.

“It’s clear I need to be as far from her as I can get. I have someone bringing your mother out. We’ll keep her in the handcuffs since she’ll likely remain violent as long as you’re wearing the same clothes. Gini will give you the keys so you can release her once you get her somewhere safe, but make sure she can’t get loose or get access to it, or else she may do something which will end up putting her behind bars for the rest of her life, or possibly injuring one of you.”

“Do you think we can handle her on our own?” Francine asked, eyeing her sister warily.

“I’ve already had someone contact a business associate, someone who works for a local security firm,” Gini offered. “He’ll be here shortly to help you transfer her. Chances are, you should let him take her with him in his vehicle, since you’re liable to contribute to her instability.”

“With that, I’d better leave,” Alex said. “I’m afraid neither of you will ever see me again, the risk of exposure is just too great for everyone involved. You’ll always be able to contact me whenever you want. As always, if you need our help, just ask and your many sisters will gladly lend their support. The Seekers should be safe in dealing with her, since they don’t really have elevated levels of BCM. Gini, I’ll leave you to handle the transfer. I’ll be inside as far away from here as I can get. But I’ll probably leave soon, assuming no one new shows up. Again, the risk of my remaining is just too high.”

As Alex walked off, he was filled with remorse over having once more effectively destroyed someone’s life through no fault on either his or their parts. His abilities were clearly a double-edged sword which could cut to the quick before anyone was even aware it was too close for comfort.

But more than that, despite playing it down and ignoring what he’d seen when he’d looked into Cynthia’s eyes, it continued to haunt him. What he saw cast her problems into the role of the immaterial. She continued to bug him, but he wasn’t concerned with her future. What he’d witnessed, what he’d realized about the world and his entire universe threatened to turn his entire world inside out, and he needed to seriously evaluate it. There weren’t any easy answers to what he’d encountered and it would likely alter everyone and everything in his movement. It would also forever change him as well.

Alex needed to consider it before he mentioned it to anyone. He also realized he needed advice, even though he couldn’t ask for it. The knowledge he now carried was too vital to risk treating carelessly. It made his impending death only a minor concern and changed the terms of his entire ministry. He now realized why he’d been cast as a religious figure and the implications of that shook him to the bone!

The doubled edged sword indeed cut in both directions, and knowledge could cripple one as easily as a weapon. That one glance at Cynthia had undermined everything he’d told his many followers and could undermine everything he said, or render it all meaningless.

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