Caleb 83 - Intervention

I woke with Dana in my arms. She’d crawled back up my body after finishing ‘her turn’ and laid her head on my shoulder sighing with contentment.

“You okay?” I asked her. She’d looked up at me and smiled.

“I am now,” she’d said. “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.”

“Next time Gracie goes away,” I’d told her, “come over. You don’t need to be on your own.”

“She’s hopefully not going to be doing that so often,” she’d replied. “Occasionally overnight, but this is the first time she’s been away for this long. I’d forgotten how lonely it was all on my own. It’s even worse now because I’m not in the dorms. At least there, there were some people to talk to.”

“Well like I said,” I’d told her, “if it happens again, let us know. At the very least you can come over for dinner some evenings or go with us when we go out.”

“I will,” she’d said. “Thanks.”

I slid out of bed, predictably waking Melanie who was on the other side of me, between the twins. She joined me as we got dressed and went out for our run. Sarah, it seemed, opted to stay with Arnie in their bed.

Everyone was up by the time we’d returned from our run.

“What time do you guys get up?” asked E, still looking sleepy.

“About four,” Melanie told him. “We run every morning.”

He shook his head.

“Did you sleep well?” I asked him and Connie.

“Eventually,” said Connie with a grin. “There was quite a lot going on around us.”

Josh and Louise just grinned while Arnie blushed. It seemed that Dana and I were not the only ones getting intimate last night, since the spare room was between Sarah and Arnie’s, and Josh and Louise’s rooms, I guess they got it in stereo.

I laughed.

We had breakfast and then I drove E and Connie to the gas station and then to his car. I waited until he’d got it started and then took my leave.

“Thanks for last night,” said E. “And for the…” he indicated his head, presumably referring to the Tatarabuela Gonzales.”

“No problem,” I said, “It was good to see you.”

“We should all go out for dinner some time,” said Connie “after you’re back.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “Give us a call after the break and we’ll get something set up.”

I headed back to the house. When I arrived, Ness and Jules were out giving Dana a ride back to her house.

“What time are your parent’s arriving?” I asked Sarah.

“Dad said any time after nine,” she said. “They should be here any time.”

Her statement was just about prophetic since, almost as soon as she said it, I heard a car pull up outside. Looking out of the window I saw Brian getting out of his car. Carrie and Edgar watched, making no move to get out of the car.

“It looks like they want to get going,” I said, and Sarah and Arnie went to the front door and opened it.

“You all ready?” asked Brian as he gave his daughter a hug.

“Sure,” she said. “Let me just get my bag.”

“We’ve got a long drive,” Brian explained, “so we just want to get going.”

“Okay,” I said, a little nonplussed. I thought it a little rude that Carrie and Edgar were staying in the car and not coming in to say hello, but it was their choice.

Sarah came out of her bedroom holding a small carry-on bag.

She went to Arnie, who embraced her. They kissed.

I saw Brian bristling a little at this. I was guessing he wasn’t overly happy with their relationship as it stood, and I wondered if Sarah was going to be in for some trouble while she was away.

“Remember we’re only a thought away,” I sent to her after she finished saying goodbye to her fiancé.

She didn’t answer, but glanced in my direction with a small smile.

Brian didn’t really make eye contact or speak to anyone else in the house. Instead, he picked up her bag and walked her out to the car. I followed to the front door and waved to Carrie and Edgar.

Carrie gave a half hearted wave.

“Hello,” Edgar sent to me as he waved.

Sarah and Brian got into the car, which he’d left running. They were moving almost before the doors were closed.

I frowned.

“What’s going on there?” I wondered to myself as I watched the car disappearing into the distance.

Arnie too looked uncomfortable.

“Tell me that wasn’t weird,” he said.

“I can’t,” I said. “There’s definitely something going on there, but I have no idea what. Sarah’s connected to us so if there’s any trouble, she can let us know.”

He didn’t look particularly reassured by that.

“I guess I should go,” he said.

“Us too,” I said. “Gerry is supposed to be meeting us at the airport. I’ll bet he flew up last night and is probably waiting for us already.”

We loaded up what we were taking with us which, to be fair, wasn’t much. Apart from Melanie, we all had clothing and everything else at the ranch, it was our second home when all was said and done.

The flight to the ranch was uneventful. Gerry was waiting for us, as predicted, and we were in the air within about fifteen minutes of arriving at the airport. Melanie was duly impressed with the jet, and Amanda was just as nervous about takeoff as she had been that first time. I sat with her, having my hand squashed, as we departed.

When we arrived at the ranch, the usual cacophony of barking greeted us as the dogs, led by Terra, dashed towards us. Melanie who’d been first out of the car recoiled in terror.

Jules and Ness, on seeing this, moved toward the dogs and met them a little way from the car. This allowed them to take the brunt of their greeting, and diverted them away from Melanie. Mary and Amanda, once they were out of the car, also helped occupy the dogs.

“Are you okay?” I asked Melanie, who was visibly trembling, now around the far side of the car from where the dogs were enthusiastically catching up with the girls.

“Dogs scare me,” she said. “I’ve had some not so nice experiences with them, had some set on me to chase me away, and stuff like that. When I was younger, I got grabbed by one. Fortunately it only got hold of the coat I was wearing at the time, but it shook me like a rat, and I had to leave my coat behind to get away.

I noted Terra breaking away from the pack. She approached us slowly, almost cautiously. She stopped about six feet from where we were standing, looking up at us, her tail waving gently.

“Melanie,” I said, “I’d like you to meet Terra. She’s my friend and she won’t hurt you, I promise.”

Melanie looked at me, and then at Terra, who stood perfectly still, waiting to see Melanie’s reaction.

I could see Melanie’s fear in her aura, but also her trust in me. She looked at Terra, and then, steeling herself, slowly, reluctantly, held out her hand toward Terra.

Terra moved slowly, giving Melanie every option to withdraw. I expected her to sniff at Melanie’s hand, but she didn’t. Instead, she simply walked up and, lowering her head slightly, placed her head under the hand as she’d done with me so often.

During all this time, her tail wagged gently.

Melanie stroked Terra.

“None of them would ever hurt you,” I told her, as her fingers ran through the short fur on Terra’s head.

I looked up to note the other dogs had stopped fussing around the girls and were watching us. It seemed that they were eager to come say hello to me and Melanie, but were hanging back.

I moved toward them, leaving Melanie with Terra, since she seemed okay with that, and petted the rest of the pack.

After a few moments more, Terra moved away from Melanie, and all four dogs moved back toward the house, leaving us a clear path to where Dean and Cheryl were currently greeting the rest of the girls.

I took Melanie’s hand and we joined them.

“Hey, Pops,” I said as we approached.

“Not a fan of dogs?” he asked Melanie.

“Some bad memories,” she said. He nodded.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “If we’d known we’d not have let them all rush out like that.”

Cheryl, having finished greeting the other girls, turned to Melanie, she held out her arms, and Melanie accepted a hug.

“I’m so happy to see you,” Cheryl said, holding the younger girl to her.

“And how are you?” Dean asked me.

“I think I’m okay,” I said. “I had some really good support, Thanks.”

He nodded, and pulled me into a hug.

“I’m proud of you,” he said. “Not just of what you did, but of the way you’ve dealt with it.”

“I couldn’t have done it without my family and friends,” I said. “You all helped me, a lot.”

“Which is what we’re here for,” he answered, releasing me. “Maybe we’ll talk later about it, if you want?”

“I’d like that,” I said. I turned to Cheryl who took her turn wrapping me up in a hug.

“Are you okay?” she asked, I smiled.

“I am now,” I told her, holding her as she held me, feeling a maternal warmth and protectiveness radiating from her.

“Come on inside,” she said after a few moments.

We followed the rest into the house and took seats in the living room. Ness was already in the kitchen making drinks, and she brought them through a few minutes later.

As soon as we took our seats, Terra sidled up to me and put her head on my knee. I was sitting next to Melanie, who stiffened as Terra approached but relaxed again once she’d sat herself at my feet and I was stroking her head.

“Is it just me?” I said looking at her, “Or is Terra getting a bit tubby?”

“She’s with pup,” said Cheryl. “We’re not sure which of these two miscreants it was,” she indicated two of the other dogs, “but we think she’s about four or five weeks in. We’re guessing she’ll be due around Christmas.”

“Well look at you.” I said ruffling the fur on her head and stroking her ears. She always liked that and pressed her head against my hand, groaning in pleasure.”

Melanie giggled.

After a few moments, I stopped stroking Terra’s head, and she sat with it on my knee for a moment. Then, realizing no more scratches were coming from me, she lifted her head and plonked it on Melanie’s knee, gazing up at the younger girl with huge brown eyes.

Almost without thinking, Melanie started to scratch Terra behind the ears, much to Terra’s obvious pleasure. I smiled to myself, and sat back, sipping at my coffee.

“Fiona and her Mom are coming over tomorrow,” said Cheryl. “I thought it would be good for you to see her face to face, since you haven’t for such a long time, and her Mom has a request for you.

“For me?” I asked.

Cheryl grinned. “Your timing isn’t great,” she said. “10pm on a Sunday night is not always convenient for her.”

I laughed. “She wants me to stop them?” I asked.

“Hell no,” laughed Cheryl. “She just wants to reschedule.”

That raised a laugh all round.

After we’d finished our drinks, we showed Melanie around, taking her up to our bedroom where I noted that more work had been done.

“What did you do?” I asked Dean.

“We merged the two rooms,” he said. “This room just wasn’t big enough for the new bed. We took down that wall, and made it into one room. Now you have all the space you need, and plenty of storage too.”

I looked at the new bed. Like ours at home it was an Alaskan King.

“Jules said that Arnie and Sarah sometimes shared with you. There wouldn’t be enough room if we’d kept your old bed.”

“Sometimes,” I said.

“We’ve still got plenty of other rooms,” he assured me, “if they don’t want to. Besides,” he continued walking me toward the back of the house, where it appeared some construction was going on, “we’re adding a couple more rooms. There are going to be a lot of people here at Christmas”

“So I hear,” I said. “Who is this mystery guest you mentioned?”

“I’m not telling,” he grinned. “You’ll meet them when you come up next. I’d like it to be a surprise for you all.”

“Okay then,” I said. He knew I could pluck the identity of the mystery guest from his mind without a problem, but he also trusted that none of us would do that. That trust was something I loved about him.

“Ness wants to talk to you,” I said.

“I believe so,” he said. “You going to give me a heads up?”

“Nope,” I said. “If you were anyone else, I might ask you to hear her out before you react, but I know you will do that in any case.”

He nodded to me. “You think I might not like what she’s going to say?”

“She’s worried about it,” I said. “Me, not so much.”

“Oh?” he asked.

“Nope,” I said. “I’m not worried at all.”

He shook his head with a wry smile.

“You can be an ass sometimes,” he said. “You know that, right?”

“Only sometimes?” I asked. “I need to try harder.”

He went quiet for a few moments, his face turning serious.

“When you’re ready,” he said, “will you show me what happened?”

Despite the change of subject, I knew instantly what he was talking about. I nodded.

“Later?” I asked. “I think you need to speak to Ness first. Let’s not keep things hanging over her for longer than they need to.”

Unsurprisingly Ness was in the kitchen, preparing lunch, or at least starting preparations. Cheryl and Dean sat themselves at the table. Ness looked at them, then at me. She sighed.

“Now?” she asked. I nodded. I headed for the door, but Ness stopped me.

“Caleb,” she said. “Please stay?”

I shrugged and took a seat on the opposite side of the table to Pops and Cheryl. Ness came and sat beside me.

I told you about our ‘lesson’ with Gordon Ramsay,” she started.

“Just a few times,” said Cheryl smiling. Pops grinned, having sat through several calls where Ness recounted the experience.

“There was something that I didn’t tell you,” she said. “I wanted to talk to you about it face to face.”

“Okay,” said Pops.

“Caleb,” Ness turned to me. “Will you give them the full memory of the day?”

Surprised, it took me a couple of minutes to collate the memory, and then I looked at them both.

“You ready?” I asked. They nodded.

I gave them the memory and watched as they assimilated it.

I saw identical grins from them, as they ‘enjoyed’ the experience, then a sudden understanding washed over Pop’s face. I was certain he knew what was coming. Cheryl, I felt hadn’t made the connection.

“I have a question?” said Pops, surprising Ness and Cheryl both.

“Okay,” said Ness nervously.

“Why,” he began, “are you wasting your time at Culinary School? You should be out there getting experience. That guy said so.”

“I…” Ness stuttered, caught out by this.

“I was going to talk to you about dropping out,” she said, “but I didn’t think you’d be happy about it. I know what you think of quitters.”

Cheryl smiled.

“Ness,” she said. “You wouldn’t be quitting. You already know everything they can teach you. If I remember correctly, Caleb already gave you all the memories from that girl from how he learned to cook. Didn’t she just finish school when he took them?”

Ness nodded. “And I got some more from the head chef at a restaurant who Caleb knows.”

“So what’s your next move?” asked Dean. “Do you have a place lined up?”

“I think I can get a job in a restaurant,” she said. “Not just a waitress or dishwasher, but a real job, in the kitchen, cooking.”

“When do you start?” asked Dean.

“I’m going to go and speak to them when we get back,” she replied. “But it might mean I might have to work over the Christmas break.”

I hadn’t considered that. I frowned, not looking forward to being separated from Ness for that break, if she had to stay and work.

“That’s the nature of the business,” said Dean. “You knew that going in.”

Ness nodded. “I know,” she said. “But it’s what I really want to do.”

“And you know we’ll support you all the way,” Cheryl said.

“Just let me know when you’re ready to start up your own place,” Dean said. “And we’ll talk about making it happen.”

“I need a lot more experience before then,” Ness said.

Dean smiled at her. “I know,” he said. “But it gives you something to work toward.”

Ness looked at her parents, then at me.

“So,” she said finally, “you don’t mind me dropping out of Culinary School?”

“Mind?” Dean asked. “Of course not. If they had anything to teach you, then I might try and persuade you to stay. But, from what I just saw, one of the best chefs in the world just advised you to do just that. Who am I to argue?”

“Aside from that,” said Cheryl, “you’re a grown woman now. It’s your life, so these are your decisions to make. We’ll support you in anything you want to do, and I’m sure that Caleb and the girls would say the same.

Ness looked at me. I nodded.

She looked from me to her parents with a slight look of confusion on her face. I didn’t think that she’d expected this reaction at all. Dean smiled at her gently.

“It’s your life Ness” he said. “We’ll always be here to help and guide you, but in the end it’s up to you. You know that no matter what happens, we’ll always love you.”

Ness stood and, stepping around the table, hugged her mom then her Daddy.

“One thing,” Dean said. “I know that it’s going to be long hours, and hard work, but remember your family. I’ve seen people get pulled into situations where, even when they have down time, still spend it with the people they work with, and neglect their families. Don’t fall into that trap, okay?”

“I won’t,” she said looking across the table from her father’s lap, to me. “I could never do that.”

Ness and I worked together to make lunch. Ness chattering away happily about what she was going to do when she got back, how Tiffany and the others would be shocked at her dropping out, and how she thought her teachers would try and persuade her to stay.

“When are you going to tell them?” I asked.

“That depends,” she said. “When do you think you can get me in to see the chef at Coquine?”

“He has a session booked for the Monday we’re back,” I said. “I could speak to him then.”

“Then I’m going to go in to school Monday and let them know I’m dropping out,” she said. “If your guy is not interested in me then I’ll start looking elsewhere.”

“Why not,” I said, “Email Chef Ramsay, and ask if he’ll write you a recommendation. If you take that and show it to people, they would be far more amenable to at least giving you a trial. What do you think of that?”

“That’s a great idea,” she said. “I’ll do that straight after lunch.”

We were just clearing up after lunch when the dogs all ran to the front of the house, barking. Melanie, who’d been petting one of the dogs, Blue I think, jumped at the noise.

“Sorry,” said Cheryl getting up and walking toward the entrance hall, “They always do that.”

Melanie smiled at her. “They just made me jump is all.”

A few moments later, Cheryl returned with two women. The older of the two looked a lot more relaxed than last I’d seen her. But the biggest change was in the daughter, Fiona.

She must have lost over a hundred pounds and, while she was still a big girl, she looked amazing. Not least because she broke out into a huge smile the moment she set eyes on Ness and the rest of us. The surly, bad-tempered teen was gone and replaced with a sunny, happy, and very pretty young woman. Granted she still had a way to go on her weight loss journey but it was obvious that her life was much different now than it had been all those months ago.

Ness stood up and accepted a huge hug from both Fiona and her mother. Fiona then came over to me and bodily dragged me out of my chair in order to give me a hug. Her mother laughed.

“I can’t tell you,” said Fiona, “how much I owe you. My life has completely changed, and I know it’s just going to keep getting better.”

“I’m glad things are working for you,” I told her a little breathlessly as she crushed herself against me, squeezing my ribs far tighter than was comfortable.

“Put him down,” chided Ness gently. “You’re going to suffocate him.”

“Oh, sorry,” she said releasing me from her hug, and grinning up at me.

“I’ve lost one hundred and seven pounds,” she said. “I’m over halfway to my ideal weight, and it just keeps dropping off me.”

I smiled at her. “Good job,” I said. “Is everything else alright? No unexpected side effects from the weight loss?”

“Not unless you count a pack of drooling guys,” she grinned. “Even though I’m still way overweight, it’s as if they suddenly realized I exist. I’ve been asked out so many times it’s just not funny.” She blushed. “One time, Rose Freeman even asked me out.”

“Rose Freeman?” asked Ness, a look of amazement on her face. “She was one of your biggest bullies.”

“I know,” Fiona said. “Her attitude has changed a lot over the last year. Not just to me, but to everyone. I didn’t even know she was gay while we were at school, but if you remember I told you she came out just after we graduated.”

“So,” said Ness, “anyone lucky enough to get a yes?”

Fiona blushed. “One or two,” she said, “but nothing more than a date so far. I’m saving myself for the right guy. I don’t seem to have a problem with that thanks to my Monday morning wake up call. In truth, I’m not sure that any guy will be able to compete with that.”

“Maybe you should give Rose a call,” laughed Ness. “If a guy can’t compete…”

Fiona quirked an eyebrow at Ness.

“Is it better with a girl?” she asked, looking around at the four stunning women sitting around us.

“Fiona!!” Her mom said. “What kind of question is that. You’re assuming…”

“Not better,” said Ness, “different. It IS better with someone who loves you though. Much better.”

Fiona’s jaw dropped, having not expected an answer. Her mother seemed also to have been stunned into silence.

“Can I get you guys some coffee?” Cheryl asked to break the silence. Both Fiona and her mom accepted. I followed Cheryl into the kitchen to help her make coffee for everyone. After a few moments, Fiona’s mom followed us too.

“Caleb,” she said. I turned to face her.

“Hey,” I said. “How’re things?”

“I’m still not smoking,” she said. “Not had a single craving. Whatever you did to me, it really works. I have some friends who are desperate to know how I did it. Would you be interested in taking on some clients up here?”

“Not really,” I said. “I’m actually cutting back my practice at home too. I just don’t have the time.”

“Oh,” she said a note of sadness in her voice. “That’s a shame.” She paused for a moment.

“That’s not really what you wanted to ask me is it?” I asked her gently.

She looked up at me, her face reddening.

“I…” she began. “It’s just…”

“When would be a good time?” I asked her. “Or I could stop them entirely?”

Her face went even redder “No, no.” she said hurriedly “There’s no need for that, but if I were in a little more control of when?”

“Tell you what,” I said. “How about if I give you a key phrase to say and then, as long as it’s been more than a week since you last used it, and you haven’t had a cigarette in that week, then you’d be good to go?”

She nodded, her face blazing now, “That would be really good,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Okay,” I said. “I could do with checking in with Fiona in any case. We can do both this afternoon if you’re good with it?”

We went back into the living room where Fiona and Ness were still chattering like magpies and the other girls were joining in appropriately. Dean, apparently, had excused himself and had gone into the den, ostensibly to do some paperwork, although I knew full well that Cheryl did all the paperwork for the business. I guessed that he just wanted out of that particular situation.

I took his coffee in to him.

“Tactical retreat?” I asked him as I placed it on the desk beside him.

“There are some things,” he said, “that a father just shouldn’t hear about his daughters, or their friends. I know that we are already way beyond that, but even so…”

“I think you shocked Ness,” I said. “She was expecting you to be against her dropping out of school.”

“And I would have been,” he said, “if I didn’t know she already knew everything that they could teach her. Qualifications like that are only worth the paper they’re on as a starting point. Once you get going on that kind of career, nobody cares if you graduated or not. In some cases, it becomes even more impressive if you didn’t.

“I can see the day coming where Ness Stott, the Michelin star chef, the girl who didn’t even graduate culinary school, will be taking the restaurant scene by storm. She has the skill and, thanks to you, the knowledge. What’s more, she has the determination to do it. With all that, and the backing of her family, she can’t fail.”

“Ness Stott?” I asked.

“I’m assuming you’re going to get married at some point?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, “and no.”

He raised an eyebrow at me.

“I can’t marry them all, Pops,” I said to him. “There are laws against it. Oh yes we’ll have a ceremony, and I’m already thinking about how and when that’s going to happen. Each one of them is going to have the ‘wedding’ of their dreams, but legally…”

He sighed. “I know,” he said. “I just want the best for her, for both of them. I guess I’m still holding on to the ‘norm’ standards. I know you’ll love them both, all of you will. They’ll undoubtedly be loved more than any norm wife could ever hope for.”

“Definitely,” I told him with certainty.

“Then no matter what name she chooses to use,” he responded, “she’s going to make us all proud.”

“Of that,” I told him. “I am sure.”

I went back into the living room. As I entered all the girls, including Cheryl, looked up and burst out laughing. It seemed my timing was fortuitous for whatever they’d been talking about.

I shook my head wondering if it were too late to grab my coffee and retreat into the den with Dean.

Fiona and her mother left a couple of hours later, declining the invitation to stay for dinner. I did spend a few minutes checking Fiona’s compulsions and slightly changing her mother’s, giving her a key phrase that, as long as it was more than a week since she’d last used it, and she hadn’t had a cigarette in that time, would trigger her ‘reward.’ That would give her the control of when, and where, it happened, something that had been missing last time.

After dinner, Dean and I went out onto the deck with our beers. I was a little nervous because I know that he was going to ask if I would show him the events of the night when I shot Green. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to show him, I just didn’t want him to be disappointed in my actions. I know for myself, that there was so much I should have done differently. I didn’t like the thought that he would think less of me.

We sat for a few moments, each absorbed in his own thoughts, as we sipped at our beers.

“Will you show me?” he asked finally.

I’d already cue’d up the memories knowing that he was going to ask. I reached my mind out to his and gently placed the memories. I saw his eyes glaze for just a moment, a sign that he was assimilating the memory.

I’d included spotting the car earlier in the day, to put into context the fact that I’d been unable to feel Green with my powers. I also showed him the aftermath, all the way to giving my statement to the police officer who came to the house.

I waited while he thought about what he now knew.

“I’m sorry, son,” he said softly.

“Pops?” I asked not sure what he was talking about.

“I should have shown you how to clear a room,” he said. “I didn’t for two reasons. Mostly because I never thought that you’d have to do it, at least not before you’d been trained by the FBI, but also because the way WE cleared rooms is very different to the way civilian authorities would do it. Half the time we wouldn’t even go in through a door, we’d go through a wall.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” I said. “If it weren’t for the training I got from you, then I’d probably be dead now. Even now I don’t know what made me chamber a round before going in. I only ever expected to use a weapon to hide the use of powers. It never even occurred to me that they wouldn’t work, and I’d actually have to shoot someone.”

“I’m glad you did,” he said. “And having seen it, I’m even prouder than I was before. I didn’t think that was possible. You saved that young family’s lives. That little girl…who is she? It felt like she means something to you”

I spent the next few minutes telling him about Kirsty and how I’d become an ‘uncle’ to her. He’d seen my memories of the Marshal talking to Maggie about the WitSec situation, so he already knew all about that.

“It looks like,” he said. “you’ve figured things out regarding the shooting. You know that you had no other viable option don’t you?”

“I guess,” I said. “I don’t know that I couldn’t have used TK on him.”

“You don’t know for certain that you could,” he refuted. “Like Dianna said, you only have guesses about the reason your powers didn’t work on him. For all you know he was wearing some kind of device that prevented them. I never came across anyone in the desert that the Psi’s couldn’t affect, but there’s always a first time. You can bet your ass that someone, somewhere, is working on a technological counter to powers. Probably our own government among others.”

I grimaced at that, recognizing the truth of that statement.

“No matter what,” he continued, “every time you go into a situation, you have to be ready to respond, to adapt, and if plan A doesn’t work, then you have to have a plan B, and C, and D, if possible, as well as a plan for getting the hell out if everything goes wrong.

“Despite what you may think, you instinctively had a plan B – you chambered a round, and thankfully plan B worked. Remember that Green put himself in your sights. HE was the one who decided to create and sell his poisons to kids. HE was the one who probably arranged the death of his office manager, and HE was the one who broke into your neighbors house to do them, an innocent family, an innocent little girl, harm.

“You stopped him. You protected that innocent little girl. It’s undoubtedly cost you. You’ll never forget what happened that night, but you need to get past it. Because if you do go into the FBI, there are possibly going to be times where you are going to have to make the same decision again. If you hesitate, you, possibly your team, or some other innocents, are going to suffer for it.”

“I’m going to spend some time thinking about my urban warfare training, including breaching and clearing domiciles. I’ve said it before, you’re a trouble magnet and I don’t want you going into a situation ever again, unprepared. I made that mistake once, and you were lucky not to suffer the consequences.

“Pops,” I said. “You’re not responsible…”

“I am,” he said. “I taught you to shoot. I should have given you the skills to go with that ability. Hell you’ve been out on two jobs for the FBI already. How long did I think it was going to be before you had to clear a building? I’m not sending you out unprepared again.”

“You’ll just have to remember that when it comes to your FBI training, they do things differently. When they finally get around to training you, use their techniques, but you can never have too much training.”

I looked at him for a few moments.

“Thanks, Pops,” I said. He nodded and then stood, pulling me to my feet and into a rough hug.

“I didn’t realise how close it was,” he said. “We could have lost you, and it would have been partially my fault. I’m not taking that chance again.”

I looked over Pops’ shoulder and saw Cheryl standing at the kitchen door watching. I had no idea how long she’d been standing there, but the look on her face told me that she’d heard at least the last part of the conversation.

Pops released me and stepped back. He turned and, spotting Cheryl, nodded, then headed indoors. It appeared our ‘man time’ was over. I picked up my empty bottle and followed Dean in, but Cheryl stepped in front of me stopping me before I could enter the house.

Without saying anything she put her arms around me, pulling me into her, and putting her head on my shoulder. She held me like that for some minutes.

“Please,” she said. “I know you’re powerful, I know that you’re going to work for the FBI, but please, please be careful. My girls couldn’t stand it, I couldn’t stand it, if anything were to happen to you.”

She looked up at me, her eyes wet with unshed tears.

“I will,” I said softly to her. “I promise.”

I’d rejoined the girls in the living room. Pops and Cheryl had apparently gone to bed, for once earlier than me.

“Caleb?” We all heard the send from Sarah. I cheered up immediately.

“Hey you,” I sent back. “How’s the vacation. Where did you get to?”

“We’re at a cabin somewhere in the woods, I don’t even know where.” She sent back. “Mom and Dad thought it would be good to ‘get away’ from everything. All that’s here is trees and nature.”

“Sounds peaceful at least,” I told her grinning. “All that fresh air will do you the world of good.”

“Caleb,” she sent sounding more upset. “They’re trying to talk me into breaking my engagement with Arnie. They want me to transfer to another college and move away from Portland.”

“What?” interjected Amanda. “Why?”

“Mom says that you’re not a good influence,” sent Sarah. “She says she’s going to make sure that I don’t get dragged any further into what she calls your perversity. I don’t know how she’s done it, but she’s convinced John to pay for me to go to school out of state. I don’t even know where.”

“You’re over eighteen,” I told her. “They can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.”

“I don’t know,” she returned. “This feels like an intervention What if they won’t bring me back at the end of the vacation. What if they just take me to wherever they want me to go?”

“Then we’ll just come get you,” I told her, “and bring you home, if that’s what you want. Also remember that you have powers, they can’t do anything to you that you don’t want them to.”

“I don’t like this, Caleb.” she said, “I want to come home.”

“Where are your parents now?” I asked her.

“They’re in the living room. I went to bed early,” she replied.

I looked around the room at my girls, at a loss of what to say. I could simply tell her that we’d go collect her. Finding her would be simplicity itself no matter where they were hiding her. I was more concerned though with how they thought they could make her do something she didn’t want to do. My only thought was that they might be expecting John to intervene. I wasn’t sure if he was powerful enough to Compel her. I knew he wasn’t more powerful than me, but was he more powerful than Sarah?

“Can you hold on?” I asked her. “Find out more about what they have planned. They may just think that they can talk you into going along with their plans for you. Like I said, you’re an adult and they no longer have a say in the way you live your life.”

“Mom’s talking like I’ve been pulled into some kind of cult,” she told me. “It’s like they think they have to ‘rescue’ me from you guys.”

“And is Brian going along with it?” I asked.

“He’s just following her lead,” she replied.

“Okay,” I said. “Keep us updated on what’s happening. In all likelihood it’ll be a lot of talk and you can convince them that you’re happy where you are. If not, you’re only there a week and then you’ll be back. We can see what happens after then.”

“And if they won’t bring me back?” she asked, sounding afraid.

“Then I’ll come get you,” I told her. “No matter where you are. If you want me to, I’ll find you, and I’ll bring you home.”

I felt a warm rush of relief, love, and trust through the connection.

“Have you told your parents about our connection?” I asked her.

“No,” she said. “I didn’t want to let them know that we can talk like this. They took my phone from me almost as soon as we left. They said it was because we needed to get away from the rat-race. It’s locked in the car.”

“Good call.” I told her. “Don’t tell them. Also remember to keep your shields up. Edgar might pass on any information he gets from you. Your shields should be able to keep him from reading you.”

“You think he would?” she asked.

“I have no idea,” I replied. “But always better to be safe than sorry.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Don’t worry,” Mary told her. “We won’t let anything happen to you.” She sent relaxation, trust, and security through the bond to Sarah. I felt her fear relax and she settled down to sleep.

“What do you think?” Mary asked me, when it seemed Sarah had finally fallen asleep. We’d moved to the bedroom and were all snuggled up together in bed.

“It seems strange,” I said. “Why all of a sudden is this happening?”

“Is it all of a sudden?” asked Ness. “We’ve not seen them for ages, we didn’t see their reaction when Arnie went with Sarah to meet them. I’m sure some things slipped out during that time, given some of the questions that he got asked. Maybe this is something that they’ve been planning for a while.”

“An intervention?” I asked. “How can they hope for that to work. They must know that, even alone, Sarah is powerful enough to simply compel whoever to let her go.”

“Unless someone else with power is going to get involved,” offered Mary.

“Who though,” I asked. “John? I doubt that he’d be interested in doing anything like that.”

“I don’t know,” said Mary, “and I don’t like the fact that I don’t know. Maybe we should speak to Grandmother and see what she thinks?”

“We need to figure out where Sarah is first,” I said, climbing out of bed and walking to the middle of the floor. I stretched out my awareness, trying to see if I could determine in which direction she was. I turned around feeling the strength of the connection until I was certain I was pointing in the right direction.

“That way,” I said. Jules pulled up a map on her phone, and came and stood beside me. We orientated it correctly.

“Southwest,” she said “but that’s no real surprise given where we are in relation to where they set out from. Can you guesstimate how far?”

I thought about it, but shook my head. I’d need to be mobile, and triangulate. There are so many other variables that I’d be guessing, not estimating.

“Are you going to tell Arnie?” asked Melanie.

“Not yet,” I said. “If it’s just a ‘talking to’ then they can discuss it when she’s back. They’ll have to figure out how to deal with it. I can’t see Sarah wanting to break ties with her family. But also she definitely won’t want to break up with Arnie. I’m sure they’ll be able to figure something out.

“And if it isn’t?” asked Jules.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” I said. “Whatever happens, they are not going to force her into anything.”

“Well, all we have so far is that she’s out in the wilderness somewhere to the southwest of us, probably Idaho or Utah,” put in Jules. “Given they said they had an eight-hour drive, I’m betting Idaho, but they might have said that to deliberately hide where they were taking her.”

“Are we overreacting here?” I asked. “Could this be just a concerned parent trying to talk reason to what they think of as a wayward child?”

“It could be,” said Mary. “Or it could be something more sinister. Let’s keep an eye on things, and see how things develop.”

I spent a very uneasy night, tossing and turning, worried about what was going on with Sarah and her family. I was certain that Carrie and Brian wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, but I was equally certain that there was something going on. I didn’t know what, and I didn’t like the not knowing.

I was up at four, as usual, and Melanie and I entertained the dogs for a couple of hours. Just after seven Sarah contacted me again.

“Caleb, I’m scared,” she sent as an opening.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Edgar showed me this just now.” She sent, and immediately followed it with a memory.

Carrie was standing in what looked to be a rather basic kitchen making coffee. She made three cups, and also poured a cup of juice, presumably for Edgar. Looking around to make sure she was unobserved, but not worried about Edgar seeing, Carrie pulled a small bottle from her pocket and emptied its contents into one of the cups. She stirred it in, and then picked it up, heading for one of the doors opening off the adjoining living area.

“Sarah,” she called. “Coffee.”

I saw Sarah open her door and take the offered cup, before retiring into what was presumably her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

“Did you drink any?” I asked her.

“No,” she responded “Edgar sent it to me as soon as I closed my door. It’s sitting on my side table.”

“Good.” I sent her. “Do you have a drinks bottle or something you can pour it into?”

“I have a water bottle,” she said.

“Pour some of it into that, and hide it.” I told her. “We may need it later.”

“What about the rest?”

“Throw it out of the window or something,” I told her. “She must have got that from somewhere. And if she thinks you’re going to be drugged, something is about to happen. Get dressed and be ready for whatever they have got lined up for you.”

I woke Mary and the other girls and gave them the memory of our conversation. Mary immediately called Dianna. Concerned parents was one thing, parents drugging their child was something entirely different.

Jules went and woke her parents. Dean and Cheryl came into the living room, both just finishing dressing.

“Do you know where she is?” asked Dean. I shook my head.

“Somewhere Southwest of us,” I said. “I’m thinking either Idaho or Utah, but without being mobile and being able to triangulate, I can’t say. Sarah doesn’t know, and they took her phone from her. All she knows is that she’s in a cabin in the woods somewhere.”

“I’ll get Gerry to prep the Jet. Once we have a location, we can go get her,” he said.

“Someone’s here,” Sarah sent to me, a note of panic in her send. “I can hear them talking.”

“Can we see?” I asked her, and Sarah allowed us the use of her senses. All of us in the bond could see what she could see and hear what she could hear.

We heard a soft knock on her bedroom door. “Sarah,” Carrie’s voice. Sarah didn’t respond, and Carrie knocked again, louder.

Since she still got no response, she opened the door. Two large men and a shorter older woman stood behind Sarah in the living space. Brian was right at the back, looking concerned.

“What’s going on?” asked Sarah.

Carrie looked surprised. She looked at Sarah’s empty cup, and then back at her daughter.

“These people are here to help you,” she said. “Didn’t you drink your coffee?”

“No,” said Sarah. “Since I didn’t want whatever drug you laced it with, I threw it away. Now I want to leave this place. Give me my phone, I’m leaving.

“Now now,” said the older woman, taking a step forward and smiling. “We’re here to help.”

I felt the pressure that the woman brought to bear on Sarah’s shields. She was strong, possibly stronger than Sarah, but Sarah wasn’t alone. She had access to her own power, but also that of Melanie, Amanda, Mary and Mine. Her shields held.

“You get one warning,” Sarah told the woman at my prompting. “If you continue to try and break my shields I WILL strip your power.”

The woman, shocked, looked to the two big guys.

“Boys,” she said. They moved forward to grab the young girl.

They shot backwards far faster than they’d moved forward, crashing into the table that was in the middle of the room behind them.

“I thought you said she had compulsion and telepathy,” yelled the woman at Carrie, “not TK.”

I didn’t hear what Carrie’s response was, because I was concentrating on the woman. Pushing my power as hard as I could through Sarah I grasped her shield and yanked, hard.

The woman screamed as her shield disintegrated, and I was in her mind.

She slumped to the floor, unconscious. The two bruisers were next, and then Carrie, and finally Brian. In less than ten seconds, everyone, with the exception of Sarah and Edgar, were out cold on the floor, and would remain so, until I chose to wake them.

Absently I wiped a trickle of blood from my nose.

“Sarah,” I sent, “go get your dad’s keys and get your phone. If you have a signal there, find out where you are and share your location. If not, take the car, and drive until you do.”

“What about Edgar?” She asked.

“Take him with you,” I told her. “You can’t leave him alone. Just make sure there’s nobody else waiting outside before you go out.”

“I have a signal” she sent after a few minutes. “I’m sharing my location with you all.”

I checked my phone and within a few seconds could see where she was. She was in Idaho, outside of a place called Elk Bend. I looked around and found the nearest airstrip. Lehni County airport.

“Can we land there?” I asked Pops, and he got on the phone to Gerry.

A few minutes later he got his answer.

“Landing won’t be a problem.” he said. “Taking off again will be interesting but Gerry says he can do it. He recommends minimum personnel though.

“Hang tight,” I told Sarah. “We’re coming. We’ll be with you soon.”

Ness, who’d gone into the kitchen, chose this time to come back, carrying a tray of food. She placed it in front of me.

“Eat,” she said. “You might need more strength later.”

While I was eating, Dean left the room, returning a few minutes later. He’d strapped on his Glock, and was carrying a spare weapon and holster for me. He put them down beside me as I finished off the food Ness had prepared.

“We won’t be long,” he told Cheryl.

“Dianna wants to talk to you,” Mary told me, handing me her phone.

“Caleb,” Dianna said. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to retrieve Sarah,” I said. “Her parents tried to drug her and put her in the hands of an unknown power user. That user tried her damndest to break Sarah’s shields and Compel her to do something. Were it not for our bond, I have no idea what she’d have done with her.”

“Where is she?” she asked.

I gave her the location.

“I’ll have a couple of agents meet you there,” she said. “Try not to do anything permanent to the power user. You don’t know what Sarah’s parents told her. She might be a genuine person trying to help.”

“We’ll figure it out when we get there,” I told her. “Are you aware of any power users in that area, perhaps someone working in rescuing people from cults?”

“I’m not aware of any,” she said “but that doesn’t really mean much. I can’t fly down, but a couple of people from the Boise office will meet you. I guess you’ll beat them there, but not by much.”

“We’re leaving now,” I said. “Dean and I are heading out.”

“Be careful,” Dianna said, before hanging up.

We walked out to Dean’s truck and he and I were on our way to the airport. Gerry was already there getting things ready for our departure.

The G500 was ready to go when we arrived. Dean drove straight into the hanger. We jumped out of the truck and walked straight up the stairs into the jet. I closed and secured the door behind us.

“We’ve got immediate taxi clearance,” said Gerry. “Not much happening at this time on a Sunday morning.

We were moving before we’d really taken our seats and, less than five minutes later, we were in the air.

It was a short hop to the airfield, but there was some delay while we found ourselves transport. It took about fifteen minutes before we could scare up a vehicle. It took another thirty minutes of driving until we pulled into the clearing in front of three cabins standing together in the woods. I recognized Brian’s car parked outside, along with what looked like a private ambulance.

As we pulled up, the door to one of the cabins opened, and Sarah peeked out. When she saw me she ran out, and threw her arms around me, tears flooding her cheeks.

“You came,” she said.

“I told you,” I said gently. “I’d find you, and I’d protect you.”

She looked up as Dean joined us.

“This is Pops,” I said. “Ness and Jules’ Dad.”

“Thank you,” Sarah said, moving to hug him too. “Thank you for coming for me.”

He held her to him, as I’d seen him do with his own daughters.

“It’s okay,” he murmured to her. “You’re safe now. We’re not going to let anyone hurt you.”

Just then a dark SUV drew into the clearing. Two men in dark suits climbed out.

“Caleb Stott?” one asked. I pulled out my ID and showed him.

“Agents Davenport and Sterling,” he said. “SA Everson asked us to meet you here. Can you tell us what’s been going on?”

“Are you briefed on the ESP section?” I asked. They both nodded.

“We’re fully up to speed on powers,” he said.

“My sister,” I told him, “Sarah, is a power user. Her parents are unhappy with her life choices and are trying to force her into changing them. So much so that they tried to drug her, and hand her over to another power user for some unknown reason. Unfortunately for them, she was tipped off about the drugging and the power user wasn’t powerful enough to take her down. They are all currently asleep in the cabin. “

“How old are you miss?” asked the agent.

“Eighteen” she said. She showed him her driving permit. He nodded.

“So you’re an adult and able to make your own decisions. Would you be willing to speak to one of our power users, so we can be sure that you’re not under any kind of Compulsion just now?”

Sarah looked at me. I nodded.

“Yes,” she said.

“Let’s go inside,” said the other agent, “and see who we have.”

We walked inside and found Edgar playing with a car, driving it around the floor, and navigating the sleeping people currently laid there.

“Martha?” said the first agent looking at the sleeping power user.

“You know her?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of work with her. She helps rescue and rehabilitate kids that get caught up in cults.”

“I assure you that’s not what happened here,” I said. “Although it may be that Sarah’s parents may have presented such a picture.”

The two agents looked at each other and, taking out some zip ties, secured the hands of all those sleeping on the floor.

“Can you wake them up?” he asked.

“Any preference as to order?” I asked.

“Let’s start with Martha,” he said. “Let’s see what she has to say.”

I removed the compulsion keeping Martha asleep. Her eyes snapped open and she looked around.

She seemed surprised to see the FBI agents, and even more so to find herself handcuffed.

“Agent Davenport,” she said having laid eyes on him first. “What’s going on?”

“We were hoping you’d tell us,” said Davenport. “So far it looks like an attempted kidnapping.”

Martha looked around the room, seeing her boys still snoozing, and Sarah standing over her.

“It was a standard snatch,” she said. “We were told that Sarah there was in the hands of a powerful and corrupt power user, who was compelling to join his harem. Her parents brought her to the cabin, supposedly on a break, and we were going to take her to our facility and remove the Compulsions so she could get away from him.”

“Did you not think to check whether she was, in fact, compelled?” I asked.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m the evil harem master,” I said with scorn. “Also her brother and, finally, the man who’s going to remove your power unless you give me a compelling reason not to.”

“My power?” she said shocked. “You can’t.”

“Don’t test me,” I said. “You attacked my sister and tried to kidnap her. When your power failed to control her, you tried to get your goons there to physically assault her. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t strip your power.”

“Her parents told me you were the one who kidnapped her,” she said. “I was just trying to help her.”

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. Sadly I could see things from her point of view. She’s approached by some worried parents, their child involved in a weird cult of power users and sex. They beg for help and she agrees, using her powers to ‘rescue’ the poor girl from the clutches of an evil power user.

“How about,” said Sarah, “if I show you I’m not Compelled, or tricked, or in any way being made to do other than something I want to do?”

Martha looked at me.

“Can you do that?” I asked. “What powers do you have?”

“Telepathy,” she said. “I’m usually strong enough to negate any but the strongest compulsion users.”

“Are you sure?” I asked Sarah. “She did attack you.”

“Only because she was lied to,” said Sarah. “If she sees the truth, then it may make things go easier.”

“Fine,” I said. “But look only.”

Martha nodded. I used a hint of TK to snip her bindings and she brought herself to her feet, then sat down on one of the chairs by the dining table, rubbing her wrists.

“Please,” she said to Sarah. “Take a seat.”

Sarah sat opposite her.

“Will you please drop your shield?” asked Martha. I saw Sarah’s shield drop and watched as Martha’s power played over her mind for a moment. I watched through the connection also to ensure that she didn’t do anything she shouldn’t.

Martha nodded. “Thank you,” she said. Then she looked at the FBI agent.

“She’s right,” she said. “There’s not a hint of Compulsion or any power changing her thinking. She is in love with a boy, Arnie he’s called, and from what I little I saw he’s not even a power user. She also loves her new family, but there’s no control involved.”

She turned to me.

“I would have seen this,” she said, “once I looked. I would have let her go as soon as I was certain she wasn’t being controlled. I know what you must think of what happened here, but I’m trying to help people, those who’ve been abused and are being controlled by others, whether power users or not.

“I can only go off the information I’m given by the people who come to me for help.”

I thought about asking if she read them to ascertain the truth of their claims, but I know that she wouldn’t. It would be a violation and she was trying to help them, not violate them.

“So what now?” she asked.

I looked at the FBI agents.

“We could conceivably arrest the parents for kidnap,” he said, “Is that the way you want to go?”

I looked at Sarah and she shook her head.

“No,” she said. “It would destroy them and what would happen to Edgar if you did that? He’d end up going into the system.

“Can you release my boys?” Martha asked. “They, like me, were only trying to help.”

I released and woke the pair. They got stiffly to their feet. They’d have some bruises from where they’d hit the table earlier, but other than that they were no worse for their impromptu nap.

They looked from Martha, to the FBI agents, to Dean and I, and finally to Sarah.

“Go wait in the truck” Martha said to them. They nodded once and left. I heard the truck doors open and close.

“May I go?” asked Martha.

“Mr. Stott?” asked one of the agents.

“Stott?” asked Martha. “Caleb Stott?”

“Yes,” I said. “Do I know you?”

“No,” she said. “But you know my brother. Vincent.”

“Vince… Wragge?” I asked. Dean looked interested.

“Yes,” she said. “Of course, I don’t share his name since I married, but he is my little brother. He told me how you healed his leg. I can’t thank you enough.”

“It was the right thing to do,” I said. “Let me introduce you to another friend of Vince’s.” I turned to Dean. “This is Dean Steadman.”

Martha’s eyes widened. And she rushed to hug Dean.

“You’re the one who carried him out,” she said. “He wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you.”

Dean looked embarrassed but patted the older woman’s back.

“Oh my god,” she said. “What happened that put me on the opposing side to you two?”

“Bad intel,” said Dean quietly. “It can happen to the best of us.” He sounded bitter, and I kind of understood why.

Martha nodded. “I’m going to rethink my procedures for taking on clients. Maybe I should be reading those who come to me for help.”

“It all worked out,” I said. “And I’m sure once you got to see what was going on with Sarah, you’d have set things right.”

“I would,” she said. “It’s happened before that parents have not been exactly liberal with the truth, and we’ve taken someone we shouldn’t. Our process is to help them get back to where they need to be, and then counsel the parents to accept that they no longer control every action of their children. Whether they like it or not, if the child has capacity to make their own decisions, they can’t take those decisions away from them.

“Will you be ‘counselling’ these two?” I asked.

Martha looked at the sleeping Brian and Carrie. She nodded. “I think they need it,” she said.

“What would be the best way forward,” I asked her, “in your opinion?”

“If it were up to me,” she said, “I’d have you take Sarah home, and leave me with Brian and Carrie. I’ll make sure that they know that they can’t do what they just did. Whatever you may think,” she said to Sarah, “this was done out of love, however misguided.”

I looked at the FBI agents.

“Would you be okay with that?” I asked.

“That would suit us fine.” Davenport said. “I don’t really want to get involved in this if we can help it. Its reams of paperwork I don’t need and, like Martha said, it wasn’t malice that drove this. There was no intent to harm. They need help to come to terms with what’s going on with their little girl and I can relate. Provided Martha can persuade them not do pull any stunts like this again then I’m happy to leave it with her.

“I know that she’ll let us know if we need to get involved. We’ve played this game before.”

Martha nodded. She obviously had worked with the Boise office in the past.

“Sarah?” asked. She nodded.

“I don’t want them getting into trouble,” she said. “I’m angry at what they tried to do, but I guess, given Mom’s history with your family, I get why she got upset.”

“Okay,” I said. I spent a second altering the compulsions in Brian and Carrie’s minds.

“We’ll get going.” I told Martha. “They’ll wake in about ten minutes. Just enough time for us to disappear. Give me a call if there are any problems.” I handed her one of my business cards. She looked at it and smiled.

“Hypnotherapy?” she asked.

I grinned at her. “Something like that,” I said.

Sarah went into her room and picked up her bag, which she’d packed while waiting for us. We led her outside. Edgar came out to say goodbye.

Sarah hugged him.

“Thank you, Edgar,” she said to him. “You helped save me. If you’d not shown me what Mom was doing, I’d have been taken away.”

“Mom’s scared,” said Edgar, “but she’s wrong. Caleb is a nice man.”

He turned to me.

“Thank you, Edgar,” I said. “Take care of your Mom okay?”

He nodded. Then, completely ignoring Dean, he went back into the cabin.

Dean didn’t seem upset by the snub.

“Let’s go,” he said. “I’m sure there are several girls anxiously waiting to find out what happened.”

We got in the car and headed back to the airstrip.