Caleb 89 – Shooter.

The guy with the guns slid off to the side of the door, putting his back to the wall just beside it, presumably so he wouldn’t be silhouetted against the door and make for an easy target. He looked around the room.

“You,” he pointed to one of the girls sitting by the window. “Close the blinds.”

I looked at the windows. There were blackout blinds installed for use when the lecturer wanted to present using the projector. For a second she didn’t move, but when he pointed his weapon at her and shouted “MOVE” she stood up and started to obey. The room darkened but it was still light enough to see everything that was going on.

I still couldn’t believe that I wasn’t able to see him with my powers, but was determined not to make the same mistakes I’d made last time. I wasn’t armed, so the option to shoot him wasn’t there, but I still had my non-mental power, TK. There was a lot I could do with that.

However, I still had to maintain my anonymity. I didn’t want to reveal myself to the entire class of students. Dana looked at me a question in her eyes. I gave her a reassuring smile.

“Hi,” said the professor, drawing the attention of the gunman to him.

The girl who’d closed the blinds had retaken her seat.

“Shut up,” said the gunman and then looked around the room. He noticed that some idiot towards the back of the room had his phone out and was recording.

“Everyone,” he said. “Phones on your desks in front of you.”

For a moment nobody moved. Once more he pointed his weapon at a student. “NOW!!” he yelled and people started to move. I placed my phone on my desk, at the same time contacting my girls.

“There’s a shooter in the school,” I sent. “He’s in my ethics classroom. I think he’s alone, multiple weapons and multiple hostages. Call Dianna. Also, he’s invisible to my powers just like Green. Stay safe, I love you.”

I felt fear and concern from all my girls. I’d specifically excluded Arnie and Ness from the send. Neither of them needed to be distracted or upset by this just now. I wanted the other girls to know, firstly so that they could contact Dianna, and also so that they could keep themselves safe.

I looked at the gunman. Despite him being invisible to my Telepathy, Empathy, and Compulsion, I could see his Aura. It spoke of anger, fear, and loathing. Just who the loathing was for, I didn’t know. Whether it was for himself, and the actions he was taking, or for someone or something to do with the school, that had caused him to take the actions in the first place. I had no idea.

My mental powers wouldn’t work, but my TK worked fine. I could have easily taken him down, but I had two priorities right now. First to make sure everyone got out of this situation alive, and secondly to find out exactly how and why he was immune to my powers.

“You,” he said. pointing to Dana. “Collect all the phones and put them on the desk there.”

Dana glanced in my direction again as she rose, and started a route around the desks, picking up everyone’s phones.

“Turn them all off,” he told her.

It took her a few minutes, since there were so many, and they were all different makes and models. Eventually she’d managed, and there was a pile of phones on the desk.

“What next?” asked the professor levelly.

“Next?” he said, “Next I…” he stopped, having not got that far ahead.

“Next I speak to that asshole of a principal.”

“The Dean?” asked the professor.

“Yeah him,” he said. “And tell him exactly why I’m going this. Then, I’m going to show him that I’m not as stupid and useless as he said I was.”

I could never imagine the Dean saying that someone was stupid and useless, but having seen the meeting with Sarah, I could imagine him refusing entry to someone who didn’t meet the academic standard. I wondered if that was what happened here.

I also wondered exactly how he intended to show how ‘not stupid’ he was. I was certain it involved killing some of the students. That was not happening.

Since I couldn’t connect to him with my mental powers, I decided to try Healing. Dianna had said that some people were born without the structures required for mental powers to ‘connect’ and in other cases they’d been damaged in some kind of trauma. I wanted to examine his brain to see if I could see anything in there that would give me a clue.

“Why don’t you…” the professor said.

Almost without warning the gunman brought up his weapon and snapped a shot off at the professor.

I shoved the professor out of the way using TK, the bullet missing him. However, my shove caused him to lose his footing and trip over the small step up to the ‘stage’ his desk sat upon. He fell, banging his head on the edge of the desk, and was rendered unconscious.

I diverted my healing to him, noting he had a small fracture to his skull and a concussion. I fixed both easily but left him, unconscious, on the floor.

There were a few screams in the class, and he turned his gun towards the rest of the student.

“I thought you wanted to make a point to the Dean,” I said. “You can hardly do that if you kill people before he gets here can you?”

He looked at me, pointing his weapon in my direction.

“Shut up,” he said.

I smiled at him. I’d found it. He’d had some kind of accident, some kind of head trauma probably when he was very young. There was a tiny amount of damage to his brain, and I realized exactly how and why he, and possibly Green, had been immune to powers.

I also realized two other things. Firstly, that I could undo it, and make him just as susceptible to powers as everyone else, and secondly that I might be able to do this to other people, and make THEM immune to powers. The ramifications of that thought were, in themselves, mind blowing.

Making him susceptible to powers though, would probably take too long. I went with Plan B. Using my TK, I disabled both weapons.

“I’m guessing the Dean refused you entry, and you’re pissed?” I asked him.

“He told me I should go to the Community College.” He complained. “Said I’d be better suited there, that I was setting myself up to fail by coming here. He as good as told me I was stupid.”

I could well imagine the Dean saying those things. He’d said virtually the same to Sarah. Fortunately, I’d been able to convince him that she had the means to improve.

“Would you mind if I checked the Professor?” I asked. “I think he took a hard knock to the head.”

“I shot him,” he said.

“I saw,” I said. “But did you want him dead? He wasn’t the one who told you you weren’t good enough. In fact, I would guarantee that he would never have said that.”

“Leave him be,” he said. “I’m sure he’s not going to be the only one hurting before the day’s out.”

I’d actually seen the Professor’s eyes flicker. He was conscious, and I could tell he was evaluating the situation. He knew the gunman thought he was down and out, and so was waiting for an opportunity to act.

I measured the distance between the shooter and me. I was something like ten feet from him and seated. He was standing, his weapon in his hand, pointed in my general direction as we spoke. The rest of the class just stared.

“So what’s your end game?” I asked. “When you’ve made your point to the Dean, how do you intend to get out of here in one piece?”

“What makes you think I do?” he asked a grim smile on his face.

“Oh,” I said mildly. “So, this is a suicide mission. You’ll never actually know if you got your revenge or not. You know that FBI and local police will not let the Dean any where near here, don’t you?”

“What do you know about it?” he asked.

Slowly I reached into my pocket and pulled out my ID.

“Because I’m a consultant with the FBI,” I said. “I work with them, and I know their protocols. Already the school will have been evacuated, and a perimeter created around it. Nobody, but nobody, will be coming anywhere near until the SWAT team gets here, which I guess will probably be in another five or ten minutes, depending on where they are. Then once they’re in position, someone will try to contact you. Since there are no phones in here, they might try one of the student’s mobiles, probably mine since they know I’m in here. BUT they’re all switched off – so that’s out.

“Best you can hope for is a sniper’s bullet to the brain, and you’re done.”

“They can’t see me.” he said. “Remember, I closed the blinds.”

There was a note of triumph in his voice.

“Ever heard of thermal imaging?” I asked.

“What?”

“Thermal imaging,” I repeated. “They use the heat of people’s bodies to see through things like closed blinds. They’ll be able to see us, all seated, and you standing there. It will be pretty obvious who the one with the weapons is. I wouldn’t worry though; you’ll probably never even hear it coming.”

I could see the wheels turning in his mind.

“They’ll call your phone?” he asked.

“Most likely,” I said. “If not, they’ll probably work their way through all the phones in here until they find one that’s working. I suspect though, since they know I’m in here, they’ll try mine first.”

“Which is your phone?” he asked.

“It’s somewhere in that pile,” I told him.

He took a step away from the pile of mobile phones.

“Come find it.”

Slowly I stood up, and moved to the desk where Dana had placed everyone’s phone. It took me a couple of seconds to locate mine.

“Turn it on,” he told me.

I powered up my phone.

Now put it on the table.

I decided now was my chance. With a flick of my wrist, I threw my phone like a frisbee. Before he even realized I’d moved, it had shattered against his forehead, alongside a sizeable TK punch. His eyes crossed.

I hadn’t remained still though, I followed the phone crossing the distance almost as fast, and slamming my palm into his gun hand, knocking the weapon free, I drove my fist into his solar plexus bending him double. A cross to the jaw and he was out cold on the floor.

A few seconds more was enough to disarm him completely and turn him onto his face, arms behind his back. I kept a knee in the small of his back to ensure that even were he to regain consciousness he wasn’t going anywhere. I made sure he could breathe easily, and his injuries were not life threatening.

I looked at the rest of the students, who were all still seated, staring at me.

“Shooter neutralized. Can I get a hand in here please?” I sent to Mary, knowing that she’d be the one communicating.

“Would someone please open the door?” I asked. “It’s kind of stuffy in here.”

After a moment, Dana stood, and walked to the door, opening it. She squeaked in alarm, as she came face to face with a SWAT officer.

“FBI - Clear!” I shouted to the officer before they could move. Their eyes fixed on me, where I was still kneeling on the shooter.

“Shooter is down, weapons there,” I pointed to where the Mac10 , pistol, and the other weapons were placed together near the wall.

The team entered cautiously, looking around the room for more threats. I held up my FBI ID.

“We’ll take him.” It was a woman’s voice. I moved out of the way, and they cuffed him.

“Anyone injured?” she asked.

“The professor took a hit to the head,” I said. “I think he’s okay though.”

“I’m fine,” the professor said. “He shot at me, but missed.”

“How did you dodge so fast?” asked a student.

“I tripped,” he said. “I didn’t dodge. Just incredibly lucky.” He looked at me when he said that, having felt my TK push him out of the line of fire.

Another officer picked up both weapons and took them out of the room. I picked up my phone and looked sadly at the smashed screen. He’d had a hard head. Jules was going to be mad at me. This was the second phone I’d damaged in less than a month.

Suddenly I felt someone grab me and before I knew what was going on Dana kissed me full on. We stood for easily several minutes, locked in our embrace, before she released me.

“That’s for saving my life,” she said breathlessly.

“I didn’t,” I started but she shook her head.

“All our lives,” she said. “He was going to kill us all to make his point, and you stopped him.”

I smiled at her. “Gracie would have been upset if anything happened to you,” I told her.

She kissed me again, just a quick peck this time.

“I’m sure she’ll want to thank you too,” she smiled at me.

Someone cleared their throat. I turned to see the entire class staring at us, mouths agape. All the SWAT team had removed their helmets and balaclavas and the woman who’d spoken to me was standing beside me grinning.

“When you have a moment,” she said, “can we take a statement?”

The students started to file out of the classroom past Dana and me. I was surprised when another girl, who I’d barely spoken to outside of the ethics class also came up to me.

“Can I thank him too?” she asked. Dana stepped back with a grin, and I found myself once more in an unanticipated lip lock. It wasn’t nearly as intense nor did it last quite so long, but she wasn’t a bad kisser all things considered.”

She stepped back and smiled at me before stepping out of the room.

“I need to..” I began.

“I’m not kissing you,” a male voice said, “but thanks.” He held his hand out. I shook it. I was surprised to note it was one of the kumbaya crowd who’d actually been involved in the protests to have me removed from school, following my shooting Green. He had the grace to look ashamed.

I was forced to endure several more handshakes, some hugs, and three more kisses before I was able to escape, following the female SWAT officer out to her vehicle. There was a senior SWAT officer standing by the van, talking to Dianna.

They both looked up as I approached.

“You okay?” she asked as I approached.

I nodded. “I need a new phone,” I said showing her the remains of my device.

“EMT’s are checking the perp over,” she said.

“He’ll be fine,” I said.

“We need to get a statement,” said the female SWAT officer. That surprised me. I’d expected her to hand me off to another officer, as all the rest of the students had been. She was insistent on taking my statement herself. When I finally looked at her, I noticed her Aura was a rich purple color. She had ulterior motives.

“What the fuck have you been up to now?” the voice from behind me caused me to turn around.

“Hey Debs,” I said smiling. “What are you doing here?”

“When something like this happens,” she said. “Everyone on shift gets dragged in. I’d not have bothered if I’d known you were involved. Let me guess, you talked him down and convinced him of the error of his ways?”

“Not hardly,” said the SWAT officer. “He hit the perp in the head with his phone, and then knocked him out cold. He saved his entire class.”

Debs shook her head. “You’re full of surprises.” Then she looked at the SWAT officer, and grinned.

“Speak to his fiancée’s,” she said. “Amanda’s the best one to talk to. If you want a piece of him, you have to go through them. It’s well worth it though.”

The SWAT officer looked from Debs to me. Then surprisingly she blushed.

“I wasn’t…” she began.

“Okay then,” said Debs. “You want I should take over and take his statement?”

The SWAT officer looked torn. “No, it’s fine,” she said. “I got it.”

Debs turned to me. “Be gentle with her,” she said. “Her last boyfriend was an asshole.”

“Hey!” said the SWAT officer. “It’s not like that.”

Mary and Amanda chose that moment to pitch up.

They both embraced me, each giving me long kisses.

Debs looked between them. “Damn, I still can’t tell you two apart.”

“I’m Amanda,” said Amanda. Debs grinned at her.

“Natalie there wants a word,” she said. Amanda looked at the SWAT officer quizzically for a moment, and then she grinned.

“Oh yes, that would be fine,” she said.

Another pair of arms slipped around my waist as Jules arrived.

She looked up at me. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m sorry Jules,” I said. “I broke my phone again.” I showed her the offending device.

“So I saw,” she said. For ease of explanation, I’d shared the memory with them all, again aside from Ness and Arnie. I’d do that later.

“I’ll forgive you this time,” she said reaching up to kiss me. “It was for a good cause.”

I spent the next twenty minutes talking to Natalie, telling her what I could about what had happened. Obviously, I left out any mention of powers.

“Can I get your number,” she said, “in case I need any further information?” she added hastily.

I handed her one of my cards.

“Hypnotherapy?” she asked. I nodded.

“I do all kinds of things,” I told her, and saw her become even deeper purple. It appeared that being ‘mind controlled,’ seemed to appeal to her.

I saw people milling around outside the school, the police having evacuated the entire building. My ethics professor was standing by, apparently waiting to speak to me.

“Caleb,” he said as I walked over to him.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m alive,” I said quietly. “Again, thanks to you.” He looked around to make sure we weren’t being overheard.

“I felt you push me out of the way,” he said. “I’d have been shot otherwise.”

“You tripped,” I said, “then banged your head. It’s no wonder you’re mixed up about what happened.”

He shook his head.

“Okay,” he said. “That must be it. Even so, I still owe you my thanks. You took him down, saving my life and the lives of all my students.”

“Most of them are my friends,” I said. “Some of them are assholes, but that’s not a capital offence. Hopefully they’ll grow out of it.”

He laughed at that.

“Don’t bet on it,” he said. “But at least they have that opportunity. They might not if you hadn’t acted.

“SWAT wouldn’t have let him do too much damage. They’d have taken him out the moment he started shooting.”

“He already shot at me,” he said.

“They weren’t here then,” I said. “He’d probably have gotten one or two shots off before he was neutralized.”

“That’s still one, possibly two people shot, maybe dead. Not only that, you saved his life too.” He replied. I looked across the road to see a news van pull up. It was all over now, but I’d no doubt that they’d be talking to everyone and making a fuss.

“I need to go,” I said. “I have a flying lesson in half an hour.”

I made my way to my truck, letting everyone know that I was heading out.

“Dianna wants to talk to you,” sent Mary.

“Is it urgent?” I asked “I have a lesson in a half hour. Can it wait until later? Offer her dinner.”

I felt Mary’s mirth. “You know the way to her heart,” she said. “She says that she’ll see you later.”

I laughed.

When I arrived at the airport, Arnie rushed out to meet me.

“It’s all over the news,” he said. “There’s been a shooting at your school.”

“It’s all over,” I said, sending him the memory of what had gone on.

“Sarah’s okay?” he asked.

“Did you think to ask her?” I asked him, amused.

He looked stunned for a moment. Then shamefaced.

“I forgot,” he said. I saw him internalize for a moment, and then he grinned.

“Sarah says you’re in trouble, with both her and Melanie,” He said.

“What did I do?” I asked them both.

“You left before we could see you,” Melanie said. “By the time we got to where you’d been, you’d gone.”

“I’ll make it up to you both later,” I said. “Dianna’s coming over for dinner, so I’ll make something special.”

I felt a quick conversation between them and Arnie and then Arnie grabbed me, pulling me into a hug.

“They told me to give you a hug from them.” He grinned, then added. “It’s partly from me too. When I saw the news, I was scared for you all.”

“Someone check in with Ness,” I sent. “If it’s on the news, she might see it.”

“Already done,” Jules sent. “She hadn’t seen it, since there’s no TV in the kitchen but she says good job, you’re an asshole, and she’ll see you when she gets home.”

“Why am I an asshole?” I asked.

“For putting yourself in danger,” Jules said. I sighed. I couldn’t do right for doing wrong.

I looked at Arnie.

“So what’s the plan for this lesson?” I asked.

+++++

It was past seven when I got home. There didn’t seem to be any reporters hanging around, not that I thought that there would be. Dianna’s car was parked in the drive, and I pulled my truck into the garage, closing the door behind me. I entered the house through the kitchen, finding everyone excepting Arnie, who’d gone home for the night, in the living room.

Sarah and Melanie both got up and rushed over to me, pulling me into hugs.

“You ASSHOLE” Sarah yelled, her face pressed into my chest. “You left before I could see you.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “But I was due at the airfield. I needed to get going. You knew I was okay; I shared the memory with you.”

“I know,” she mumbled, “But I wanted to see you. To feel you were safe.”

Melanie who had her arms around us both, smiled up at me.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” she said leaning in to kiss me, then she swatted my ass, causing me to yelp.

“Don’t do that again.”

Dianna laughed.

“I’ve said it many times,” she said. “You are a trouble magnet. Of all the classrooms in the school he could have gone into…”

“I heard the shot in the hall,” I told her. “Did anyone get hurt?”

She shook her head. “It was just to make Campus Security back off,” she said. “They’d been following him as a stranger entering the school. When they got too close, he fired at them and then took shelter in the nearest classroom.”

“Which just happened to be ours,” I said. “What are the chances?”

“Almost 100%” said Jules. “If anything is going to happen anywhere near you, you can be one hundred percent certain that it will happen either TO you, or in your immediate vicinity. You seem to have your own personal gravity field for trouble.”

I tried to deny that, but found I had no grounds.

“I got you a new phone,” she said. “I picked It up on my way home. Throw me your old one and I’ll get everything transferred across.”

I pulled out the wreckage of what had been my old phone and passed it to her. She shook her head, and then went to her workshop.

“I spoke to David Mbisi,” said Dianna. “He was suitably impressed by you, and even more so when I told him there was a fifth letter of commendation being added to your file for today’s events. The SWAT commander was most complimentary. I think there’s a SWAT team member that wants to take more than a statement from you too, if you’re interested.”

“He is,” said Amanda. “I’ve got her number. I think she’s coming over for dinner on Saturday.”

I laughed.

“I’m sure I don’t need to share QUITE that much?” I said.

“She’s cute,” said Mary. “And if she keeps her armour on… or at least some of it…”

I raised an eyebrow to her.

“I think she had a control fetish,” I said. “When she saw my business card, she got even hornier.”

“Another Louise?” asked Amanda. I nodded.

“Something like,” I said. “Although I think we’re going to have to be a little more circumspect with her.”

“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” said Melanie.

Jules returned with my new phone.

“You’ve got some messages.” She said handing it to me.

Predictably I’d had emails from the Dean and from Jamie, the counsellor, both of whom wanted to see me in the morning. They’d obviously collaborated since the Dean’s appointment was at eight thirty and Jamie’s was at nine.

I’d also had a WhatsApp message from Dr. Booty Call.

­_I heard what happened from David. He’s also really impressed with your learning hack. Expect some thanks when you next see him. Glad you’re alright. I’m hoping to have a week in the early New Year before I start my next assignment if your invite still stands?”

I showed it to Amanda. She took her number.

“I’ll contact her,” she said with a grin. “Of course it still stands.”

I shook my head.

I decided it would be better for me to answer personally though.­

­_Of course it does. We look forward to seeing you. Let us know the exact dates and if you need to we have a spare room you can use.(as long as you tidy up after)

My phone beeped almost immediately.

­_Asshole.

I laughed, showing the conversation to Amanda.

I sat down in one of the chairs, opposite Dianna.

“So you found someone else immune to your powers,” she said.

I nodded.

“Did you get a chance to investigate?” she asked. I thought about it. I wondered if anyone else examining the guy would be able to glean the same information that I had. I thought it highly likely. I wondered what to tell her.

“No,” I said. “I was more interested in getting out of there in one piece and without revealing my powers. You’ll find that the firing pins in both his weapons are bent, so they wouldn’t have been able to shoot no matter what. That will cause some confusion if that’s discovered since he shot in the hallway and also shot at the professor. I just didn’t want him shooting anyone else. Especially not me.”

“Good enough,” said Dianna after looking at me searchingly for a while. I knew she’d not be able to breach my shields and I’d been taught by Maggie how to control my Aura, so I was fairly certain she couldn’t know I was lying to her.

“Something else I was thinking about recently,” I said to her.

She looked at me interested.

“Harold Bleasedale,” I said. “I took his powers, before I’d had any kind of training. I want to make sure that they haven’t returned, and to ensure that they never can. I didn’t know anything about locking compulsions back then. He could have them back already and be planning his escape, parole, and or revenge. I need to go see him.

Dianna thought about that.

“That’s not a bad call”, she said. “He’s in a normal Jail. Since he was Powerless, they didn’t bother sending him to the one for Power users. If he has got his powers back, then he’ll be dangerous. When do you want to go see him?”

“As soon as possible,” I said. “I need to be certain that he’s no longer a danger to anyone.”

She nodded.

“I’ll put in some calls, and let you know. Now, most importantly.”

“Yes?” I asked.

“I believe you’re making dinner?” she grinned.

+++++

I was outside the Dean’s office by eight thirty the next morning. His secretary smiled at me.

“You’re the talk of the campus,” she said. “Everyone, and I do mean everyone, thinks you’re a hero. You saved all your class and even the guy with the gun, he came out of it with nothing more than a headache.”

“I hope he ends up with something more than that,” I said. “Although I think he probably needs psychiatric help as much as anything else.”

She nodded. “You’re probably right. How someone with those kinds of issues could get hold of weapons like that though…”

“Not legally,” I said. “I don’t think you can buy a MAC 10 legally. No amount of background checks would have helped in this case.”

She nodded sadly. “When I look at the statistics,” she said, “given the number of school shootings, we kind of know that, at some point, it will be our turn. Now we’ve had our turn, and thanks to you it all turned out well. I can kind of breathe easier now.”

I didn’t have the heart to disillusion her, that it didn’t work like that. The buzzer on her desk buzzed, and she smiled at me.

“You can go in,” she said.

I knocked on the door, and at the muffled “Enter” opened it and went inside. The Dean, as usual was seated at his desk. He watched me as I walked across his office.

“Please,” he said indicating one of the seats facing his desk. I sat.

“I wanted to personally thank you,” he began, “for your actions yesterday. I’ve spoken to nearly all the students from your ethics class and they all say the same thing. If it hadn’t been for your quick thinking, and decisive actions, someone, possibly more than one person, could have died.”

I had no answer that wouldn’t have sounded trite, so I stayed silent.

“It’s a small thing,” he continued, “but the Board of Trustees has decided to award you a Presidential Award for Service to the University.” My eyes widened.

“But…” I said.

“I know it’s not exactly standard, but we all felt that some recognition was due, and this was what they came up with. It does come with a $250 dollar award, and a seat for yourself a person of your choosing at the leadership luncheon in May.”

“Thank you,” I said, nothing more erudite coming to mind.

“I have nothing more to add, other than to say if there is ANYTHING that I, or the school, can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“There is one thing,” I said, and he raised an eyebrow.

“As I’m sure you heard, I’ve stopped doing hypnotherapy on campus. After what happened I wasn’t, shall we say, in the right frame of mind to treat students.”

He gave a half smile. “I can’t say that I blame you,” he said.

“However, my two sisters are both State registered hypnotherapists, and were intending to pick up the practice that I’ve ceased. They won’t be doing it quite so much since their academic schedule is far more rigid than mine, but I was going to ask if you could see your way clear to allowing them the use of the room you let me use?”

He nodded. “Of Course,” he said. “Same conditions apply. It will be available to them for as long as they continue to study here, but only for student clients. I’ve also been monitoring Sarah and am pleased to see that her grades have improved markedly from those she came to us with. Given your success with your own studying, and the improvement you’ve helped Sarah make, I’m sure you’d make a great teacher. If you ever find yourself at a loose end for employment, I’m sure we’d be able to find something for you here.”

“That’s very flattering thank you,” I said. “But I’m pretty set on my career.”

“Well bear it in mind,” he said, “and thank you again. I can’t express how much what you did yesterday means to the university. It’s bad enough having had an active shooter on campus but it would have been much worse had any student been injured, or god forbid killed.”

“I’m glad I could help,” I said finally standing up.

“My regards to Rachel,” I said as I made my way to the door. He smiled.

Since it was nearly nine, I made my way directly to the counsellor’s office, and knocked.

“Come in,” I heard her voice. I entered.

Jamie stood up smiling as I entered.

“Caleb,” she said, “thank you for coming.” She indicated one of the chairs in the small informal counselling area of her office. I took a seat wondering what this was about.

She sat and then took a deep breath.

“I know,” she said, “that you don’t think much of me, and I suppose to some degree that’s my fault. I acted completely unprofessionally the last time, I mean when… well you know when I was talking about.

“However, it’s my job as the student counsellor to look after the mental wellbeing of our students here, and nobody can argue that what happened yesterday was a traumatic event. Thankfully, and mostly thanks to you, nobody was injured. A number of students were traumatized by the events, and I have already spoken to many of your classmates.

“I am fairly sure of your answer, but I wanted you to know that if you needed someone to talk to about what happened yesterday, or anything else, I’m here.”

I looked at her. I wondered if she really was badly affected by my Empathic attraction, and thought back to Sarah’s mother. Would it be kinder to give her what she wanted? Would it make life easier for her in the long run?

I had, in reality, less than six months left at the school, and I was only attending a half day a week in any case. I could quite easily avoid her, but was that working for her, or was I just avoiding the issue and leaving her with a problem that she’d have to deal with in my absence.

“Thank you,” I said. “To be honest, it wasn’t much of a problem for me. My mind was too occupied trying to figure out how to stop him, preferably without anyone, including him, getting too badly hurt. I guess my work with the FBI, and the shooting, kind of has me a little emotionally calloused.

“I was glad that I didn’t have to hurt him too badly to take him down, but even more so that nobody in the class got hurt. When he shot at the professor, I was really worried that he was badly hurt or worse. That was my primary reason for acting. If he hadn’t done that I might have waited to see if the FBI negotiator could have made a difference. He was just to erratic and unstable. I didn’t know that he wouldn’t just shoot someone else for an equally nonsensical reason.”

“I also heard what happened after,” she said with a small smile. “What Dana and several other girls did.”

I laughed a little self-consciously.

“Dana and I are good friends,” I said. She raised her eyebrow at me. “I wasn’t overly surprised when she kissed me. The other girls though, that was a surprise.”

“Would it have surprised you that at least one of the boys had expressed an interest in thanking you in the same way?”

“Really?” I asked. I was indeed surprised. Not at all disturbed but wondered who. I hadn’t really been looking nor had I pegged any of my ethics class as being gay or bi. I didn’t ask though, knowing that she wouldn’t tell me even if I did.

“It does a little,” I said. “But not because I would be upset by it, just that I hadn’t thought any of the guys in my class were that way inclined.”

“One certainly is,” she said. “But one other boy is struggling with his feelings toward you. He’s repeatedly told me he’s not gay, but he feels a real attraction to you. It’s causing him some issues. I have to say, I can sympathise.”

“I honestly don’t know what to say about that,” I said. “It seems I have some kind of reputation as a bit of a lothario, at least judging by the rumours that were circulating recently. I’ve certainly not made any inappropriate advances toward anyone. I’m sorry if I’m causing anyone any distress, but I don’t know exactly what I could do differently. I’m hardly ever at the school in any case. I come in for one class, because it’s mandatory attendance, and everything else is done remotely.”

“Nobody is blaming you,” she said. “I just thought you should know.”

“Is there something you think I could do to help?” I asked.

She shook her head.

“I doubt it,” she said. “Even if you were to allow them to express their feelings to and with you, who knows where it would lead. You already have so many lovers living with you. What is it now? Four fiancées and two sisters?

“And one of my sister’s has a boyfriend who stays over some.”

I saw her catch her lip between her teeth.

“And I have no doubt that you all…”

“That’s not really a topic I want to get into,” I said.

She shook her head.

“Of course not,” she said.

She leaned back in her chair.

“Well,” she said. “Some students in your class have asked if you’d be amenable to attending a group session. They would like the opportunity to talk to you, ask you questions, and thank you for saving them. If you’re willing, I think it might help to give them some closure.”

“When you say give them the opportunity to thank me?” I asked.

She chuckled. “I don’t think we’re talking about a gang-bang,” she said. “They just want to talk to you, to express themselves. What happened is a big thing to them. The boys, even the ones I wasn’t referring to earlier, are asking themselves why they didn’t step up and do something. Why is it that they cowered in fear while you were the one to step in and deal with the shooter?”

“And you think that this is a good idea?” I asked.

“I think it will help them,” she said. “I don’t think it will help, or hurt, you. I know they almost all turned against you earlier this year, and you probably think that you don’t owe them anything, but you already showed how good a man you are. You saved them Caleb. You did. People who’d turned against you, you stood up and protected them.”

“I was protecting myself,” I said. “And Dana. She’s a good friend too.”

“And while that’s probably partially true, I think there was more to it.” She told me. “You’ve proved time and time again, with me, Rachel, Melanie, Sarah, and many others, you’re a good man. People don’t always give you the credit you deserve because of your living arrangements, and because they judge everyone by their own standards, but you are. I’m hoping that you will see your way to helping your classmates again, with this.”

“If I say yes,” I said, “when would you want to do this?”

“Your professor has suggested using his session next week,” she said. “He said he’d like to be there too, if you don’t mind. I don’t think everyone will attend, and if you agree he’s going to send out an email to say that attendance is not mandatory, and every student will be credited with the session whether they attend or not.”

“Can I think about it?” I asked.

“Certainly,” she said. “We’d like an answer before the end of Monday though, just so arrangements can be made.”

I nodded. “I’ll let both you and him know,” I said. I stood up. She looked me up and down.

“I’ve been married many years,” she said, “and without doubt he and I have had our ups and downs. Yet I’ve never been tempted to stray, like I am now. I’ll admit I want nothing more than for you to take me to bed and make me feel like I’m certain that you can.

“But that would be wrong, for so many reasons. It would be unprofessional and it would hurt my husband terribly. Somehow, I don’t think it would do any damage whatsoever to your relationship. I’ve seen how your family is with you, and I’m sure that they wouldn’t mind in the slightest. I envy you that.”

“And you’re telling me this because?”

“To say I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry I behaved so unprofessionally toward you, so many times. I transferred my own feelings and guilt for them, blaming you for my own shortcomings. I’m jealous of your family, not just because they have you, but because they have the kind of relationship with you that allows you to be who you are without guilt, shame, or recriminations. I only wish that more people could find love the way that your family have.

“Thanks for coming to see me, and for considering my request. And once again, thank you for what you did yesterday for my students.”

I nodded to her and left her office. My mind a whirl, considering everything she’d said.

I headed for the range, where I knew I had four clients lined up for the day with the first due to arrive at ten.

I was just eating lunch when I got Dianna’s text.

­_Sorry to tell you that your shooter from yesterday died in custody this morning. He hung himself with his sheets in a cell.

I put my sandwich down and re-read the text and wondered just how that made me feel.

Strangely I didn’t actually feel anything. I’d had no relationship with the man, didn’t even know his name, truth be told. That in itself had me thinking. Why had I not even inquired about his name? It was like I didn’t care about him.

Should I have cared?

I considered the scenario, replaying it, but in this case presuming I was armed. What would I have done?

“I’d have shot him”, I thought. “As soon as he pointed a gun at one of the students, I’d have put two in his chest.”

Would I though? I’d already disabled his weapons, would it have been right to shoot him? Surely that would be murder.

Good point.

No, I wouldn’t have shot him. I only shot Green because I didn’t think fast enough to use TK – I had plenty of time yesterday. I could have pulled my weapon knowing that he was unarmed, and told him to put them down. He’d have pulled the trigger, and found that neither worked. He’d then be facing an armed man while unarmed himself.

What would he have done then? I wondered. Suicide by good Samaritan? Would he have charged me and tried to make me shoot him?

That wouldn’t have worked, I’d have simply taken him down as I did in any case.

But why? What was my reason for not wanting to kill him. Was it for him, or for me?

I concluded that I wouldn’t want to kill him not because I cared for him, but because I thought that lethal force was a last resort. If there was any chance of resolving a situation without resorting to it, then that should be the chosen path.

I wasn’t particularly upset that the shooter had killed himself no more, say, than I would be about any other complete stranger dying for whatever reason. That turned my thoughts to Bobbi Frazer. Why had I been so upset to hear of her death? I didn’t know her either. Was it because she was young, female, and pretty? Or was there something else.

Maybe because she was innocent, and my shooter wasn’t.

I picked up my sandwich again and started eating. I had another session starting in ten minutes. If I didn’t eat now, I wouldn’t get the chance. It would be unprofessional to have a half eaten lunch on display during a consultation.

I concluded that the death of my shooter, while sad, wasn’t any of my concern. In some ways it worked to my favor, since there would be nobody for the FBI or any other government agencies to study, at least until they found someone else immune to powers. I had a head start, and I knew just who I was going to use as a guinea pig.

Friday I spent in the air. I’d finally completed all the hours I needed to get my Complex, High-powered, and instrument rating. All that was left was my Commercial and Instructor.

For the most part my commercial required much more flight time. I had about seventy hours on my logbook. I wondered how I was going to get the experience I needed. Danny came up with a suggestion.

“There are companies,” he said, “that ferry aircraft from place to place. A bit like what you did with the Baron. Once you have your full ratings you could do some of that to get your flight time. It might mean some time away from home, but it will get you in the air.

“I know a guy who has a company specializing in moving aircraft. You won’t get any international runs, but there are quite a lot of small aircraft movements around the country, as they’re bought and sold. I wouldn’t normally suggest this to such a new pilot, but you don’t fly like a new pilot, I’m certain you’d be able to do this.”

“Let’s get my instrument rating check ride booked,” I said, “and get all my other certifications signed off. Then perhaps you and I could talk to him?”

“Also?” I said. “Who do you know that teaches rotary wing?”

He looked at me eyes wide.

“You can fly choppers too?” he asked amazed.

“Of course not,” I told him with a grin. “I want to learn.”

He shook his head.

“Come with me,” he said. We walked across the apron, and down the side of a hangar, emerging around the other side, before circling around to where there was a helicopter parked on another apron around the other side of the hangar.

He knocked on the door of an office.

“Danny,” an older guy called as we entered. He looked at me with interest.

“Joe,” he said, “this is Caleb. He’s just qualified PPL and wants to learn rotary wing as well.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said.

“Can you do me a favor, and take him up for a quick pattern,” Danny said. “I’m betting he’s a natural.”

Joe looked at Danny.

“You flown choppers before?” he asked me. I shook my head.

“Trust me,” said Danny.

Joe bit his lip.

“This way,” he said leading me out to the helicopter that was parked on the Apron. It was a Robinson R44, strangely the model Gerry had first learned to fly rotary wing in.

He opened the left-hand door.

“Jump in,” he said. I obliged.

“Mind if I sit in?” Danny asked. Joe shook his head, and Danny got into one of the rear seats. Joe took up the right-hand seat.

I looked around the cockpit, re-familiarizing myself with the controls. I took hold of the collective, and moved it, making sure it was free and moved without issues, and almost instinctively ran through the in-cockpit checks getting the aircraft ready to start.

Joe watched me, biting his lip.

“Okay,” he said as I applied the rotor brake to slow and stop the main rotor. “What gives?”

“I’m just looking to get my license,” I said. “I’ve had training elsewhere, but it doesn’t count toward anything the FAA will accept. So, I have to start all over again.

“What are you twenty?” he asked.

“Twenty-one,” I said.

“And before you ask,” said Danny with a grin, “He works for the FBI, so there’s no need to worry about that either.”

I spent some time talking to the pair of them. I was certain that flight time in a helicopter would be counted towards my Commercial requirement, as long as I completed 100 hours in a fixed wing aircraft.

Things were starting to move along.

+++++

“Don’t forget,” said Amanda as we ate breakfast on Saturday morning. “Natalie is coming for dinner tonight.”

I had forgotten.

“What exactly is the plan with her?” I asked. “Debs said that she’d had a breakup with her asshole boyfriend. What do you think she’s actually looking for?”

“I guess we’ll find out,” said Mary. “If she’s looking for something serious then we can give her a good meal, some decent conversation, and let her go her way. If she’s just looking for some fun, then we can have some fun.”

“And what if she doesn’t know exactly what she’s looking for?” I asked.

“I’m sure that between us all,” Amanda said. “We can figure it out.”

We were in Costco, getting part of our weekly shop when my phone chimed.

­­­_Natalie has cold feet. Would you mind very much if I came with her? – Debs.

I showed it to Amanda, her eyebrows went up.

“Now that’s interesting,” she said.

_Not at all. I returned.

­_See you at seven.

We finished our shop and headed home.

Arnie came over for dinner. He wasn’t flying Sunday, so he was going to stay overnight. Danny apparently had gone on a stag night with one of his buddies, a friend of Joe’s. He wasn’t expected back until late Sunday.

I’d decided to go simple and did a lasagne, with a pana cotta to finish. I would serve it with a simple salad, and no garlic bread. Nobody wanted that much garlic if there was likely to be intimacy afterward. Most people liked Italian. I just hoped that Natalie wasn’t vegetarian. We were screwed if she was. For the first time in forever I’d forgotten to ask.

It was Amanda that answered the door, letting the pair of policewomen in. Both were wearing jeans and T-Shirts, and both had very nice asses, which I noticed as Amanda showed them into the living room.

She took a couple of beers in for them. I was still finishing things off in the kitchen.

I’d put the lasagne in the oven. It would be ready in about ten minutes.

I joined the girls and Arnie in the living room bringing my own beer in with me. Debs and Natalie were sitting side by side on one of the sofas. Natalie had chosen to sit at the end of the sofa, so when Amanda had seated herself next to the pair, she was sitting next to Debs.

“You hear about your shooter?” asked Debs. I nodded. I’d told the girls so they knew too.

“Shame,” I said. “He obviously needed help, but I guess it’s too late for him now.”

“Why do you think he did it?” asked Natalie. “The shooting I mean.”

“I’m guessing,” I told her, “that he’d been refused entry to PSU and wasn’t pleased about it. He said the Dean had called him stupid, but I’m also fairly sure that’s something the Dean wouldn’t do. I’m guessing he said something like – he’d be better off at the community college, and that he was setting himself up to fail.”

Sarah’s head came up at that, and she looked at me.

“That’s what he said to me.” she said.

“He told me,” I said, having not divulged this piece of information, that he was very pleased with your progress. I’m guessing you’ll hear from him before the end of the year. He was so pleased with you, that he offered me a job.”

Everyone laughed at that.

“How does that work?” asked Debs.

“It’s because of Caleb’s coaching,” said Sarah, “that my scores have improved. I guess he figures if he can do that with me, then he might be able to help other students that are struggling.”

I noticed Amanda rolling safety, security, and relaxation over Natalie, and also a little horniness. I was about to object, but then I saw her take Debs hand. I smiled to myself.

“I think dinner is about ready,” I said. “Sorry Natalie, I forgot to ask. Is there anything you don’t eat?”

“It’s a bit late now,” said Debs.

“I could fix her a sandwich,” I grinned. Natalie actually laughed and shook her head.

“As long as it’s edible, I’ll eat it,” she said.

We went through to the kitchen, Natalie still holding Deb’s hand. I caught Amanda’s eye and indicated them, and she grinned and nodded.

“This is the best lasagne I’ve ever tasted,” Natalie said.

“Thank you,” I said. “The chef in the family is working tonight, I just throw stuff together and hope it works.”

“Fuck off,” said Sarah. “You’re every bit as good as Ness as a chef and you know it. Gordon Ramsay told you he’d give you a job if you wanted it didn’t he?”

“Not quite,” I said. But that prompted questions about when I’d met the famous chef, and we had to recount the story.

We finished dinner, and dessert, and had adjourned to the living room. I made coffee and we settled in to chat.

“So,” Natalie asked, after a few moments silence. “How did you meet Debs?”

“Oh,” I said. “Therein lies a tale.”

Debs told the story, from her point of view.

“And so this cocky kid comes up to me and takes my notebook. He writes two numbers on it.”

“What’s that about? I asked,” Deb continued.

“The top number, he told me, is the combination to the phone, in case you forget. It’s important to him so if you find a safe… then he looks at the guy and figures out he has a floor safe in his bedroom and that the combination would be either the first or the last four digits of the number to unlock his phone.

“I thought he was just pulling my chain, but when we searched his house we found a safe exactly where he said it would be, and the combination was the four numbers as he’d said.

“Then I asked him, what about the bottom number? He grins at me, with a twinkle in his eye, and, right in front of all his fiancées he said, ‘that’s my number’.”

“Wow,” Natalie said. “That’s some game.”

“That’s what Steve, my partner, said.”

“And did you call?” Natalie looked at Debs, who flushed but smiled.

“That,” she said, “I think is a story for another time.”

Natalie thought about that for a moment.

“So,” she said, looking at me. “How did you figure out his password?”

“It’s easy,” I said. “People are really easy to read if you know what to look for. I made suggestions of numbers and he simply reacted when I got to the right one.”

“Surely it can’t be that simple,” she said.

“Test him,” said Debs. “Give him your phone and see if he can figure out your code.”

Natalie fished out her phone and handed it to me.

I immediately knew her unlock code, since it was blazing from her mind. It was her date of birth. May sixth nineteen ninety nine. 5699. Not a very secure number but hey.

“Okay,” I said. “You look to me like someone who doesn’t like to fuss with their phone. So your code will probably be the minimum available – four digits. You also asked me twice for my phone number when we spoke, so you don’t remember numbers easily, so I’m guessing it’s a number that’s important to you. Since it’s four figures, I’m guessing a date. Most likely your date of birth.

Natalie flushed.

“Now I know that you have to be at least 21 to be a police officer, but they like you to have at least 2-3 years on the job to be on SWAT…” I was looking intently at Natalie as I said this. “Three years experience which puts you at twenty four. So I’m guessing you were born in 1999. That puts the last two digits at nine nine. Tut tut not very secure.” Natalie colored even more.

“You’re obviously a spring baby, so I’m thinking April, May… ah May so your first digit is five which makes your code something 5 something 99. So are we talking the beginning or end of May? Beginning then. Not right at the beginning though. A little way in. Fifth? Sixth? Ah ok.”

I typed in 5699 and her phone unlocked.

I handed it back to her.

“How…” she said. Looking from me to her phone.

“You might want to change that,” I said conversationally, “It’s not very secure.”

“But how?” she asked again.

“It’s like I said. I read people. It’s not hard if you know what to look for.”

She looked from me to Debs who smiled at her. They were still holding hands.

Then she looked back at me.

“If you read people so well,” she asked. “Why did you invite me to dinner?”

“Because I wanted to help you,” I said, lying through my teeth. “You see I saw something out there, something that you are aware of, but you’re not admitting to yourself. You proved it to me, when you asked Debs to come with you, and by holding her hand pretty much all evening.”

“What?” she said defensively. “I haven’t…”

“It’s okay,” I said. “Because you’re not the only one. I know, for instance that Debs wants nothing more right now, than to kiss you. And you, even though you’ve never been with a girl before, are wondering what that would be like, and are hoping to find out.”

Natalie looked at Debs, her eyes wide.

“I’m not..” she said, clearly lying. Debs smiled at her softly.

“He’s never been wrong that I’ve noticed,” she said. “And he is right that I want to kiss you.”

Natalie sat frozen for a moment, I felt Amanda rolling comfort, safety, and acceptance over her. I grimaced but Amanda just grinned.

“Would that be okay?” Debs asked.

Natalie gave the tiniest of nods, and Debs leaned in.

While they were distracted, we left them to it, moving back into the kitchen and talking quietly.

“I guess we turned Debs on to girls,” Amanda chuckled.

“I figured something was going on with what Debs said to us about Natalie’s last boyfriend. She’s obviously been interested for some time.”

“Quite a while,” said Debs from the doorway. She was grinning at us, still holding Natalie’s hand. Natalie looked flushed and flustered.

“It was nice meeting you Natalie,” I said, knowing that the pair were going to leave and explore their new relationship. “Debs, always a pleasure. Keep in touch, and maybe when you two have figured things out you can come over for dinner again.”

“That would be nice,” Debs said. “But perhaps a little premature. We have some talking and…stuff to do.”

I stood up and walked over to Natalie, and took her free hand.

“Don’t think about what your parents will think, or the guys down the squad room. Make the decision for yourself, think about what will make you happy. Okay?”

Her eyes widened, since she’d been thinking about exactly that.

She nodded slightly, still shaken by the events of the night.

Debs led her out, the door closing softly behind them.