Thirty Nine
Keith was on board with the plan. Tiana had made sure that they were alone,
suggesting that he go with her to the store for supplies. She had used her influence over him to make
sure she got her way. She knew that she
was irresistible to many men. She had
used it to her advantage in the past, she was sure that she would use it in the
future.
Of course she had not been entirely honest with Keith and
what was about to happen. If he knew the
whole story he would freak out on her, probably pluck Larissa from the lodge
and leave immediately. It would only be
a matter of time before they were picked up by the corporation. Her solution was much better.
They entered the house greeted by Larissa. John was on a couch in the living space. It looked like he was studying something, but
Tiana didn’t get a chance to see what it was before he popped up off the couch
and came to greet them too.
They all carried in groceries and the supplies they would
need for the next few days. Tiana hadn’t
told them yet, but she suspected that they would be at the lodge for at least
three days. That’s what it had felt like
in her vision. She studied John and
Larissa while they helped to put things away.
She was a bit worried that something had happened while she was gone,
that they had connected in some way. She
could see no cords between them, no shared energies of any kind.
Maybe she was losing her touch a bit. They were, after all, on the run. She had let the energy from the chase
infiltrate her senses. Well, it would be
over soon.
She pulled out some pots and pans, getting supplies ready to
make the meal they would be sharing together.
“Can I help?” John asked her.
“No, John, I can handle this.” She replied.
“I’m sure you can handle it.
But you have been on the go for hours now. You didn’t even rest when we arrived. Let me help you.”
She could think of no great excuse to say no. She would need to be alone with the meal at
some point though, to be able to lace the dishes with the herbs required to do
what she wanted later. It would have to
wait. She would just have to find a way.
“Why don’t you chop some vegetables?”
“Great, I can totally chop.” John smiled at her. He turned and grabbed a knife and cutting
board. She watched him for a moment as
he pulled out the vegetables and washed them.
He was, of course, under her spell. She could tell by the way he looked at
her. Her physical form was exciting to
him. He would do what she wanted, when
the time came, she knew that he would help her.
Forty
Larissa and Keith went upstairs after helping unload and put
away the groceries. Larissa felt that
John wanted to be alone with Tiana. She
wasn’t sure why, she figured it was because he was attracted to her, but there
seemed to be something more. She wanted
to talk to Keith, regardless, she had not been alone with him in many days.
She pulled him into her room and down onto the bed to sit
beside her. She sat very close to him,
pressing her body up to his. It felt
good to be close to him, but there seemed to be something wrong. Suddenly she felt as though she were forcing
him. She felt his energy pull away from
her, she felt a wall between them.
“Keith?” She asked, confused.
“Sorry Larissa. I
guess I’m just not in the mood to, you know, fool around.”
“I wasn’t intending for us to fool around, necessarily. I just wanted to be close to you.”
“I guess I am not really in the mood for that either.”
“Oh.” His words were like spikes into her heart. “What are
you saying?”
“I’m saying that our lives are in danger. And this whole trip, well it’s made me look
at things a little differently. And,
well, I don’t feel about you the way that I did before. Things have changed. I’m sorry Larissa.” He
stood up and walked out of her room.
Larissa let out the breath that she had been holding. What had just happened? Had Keith just broken up with her? Though, they weren’t really together, so had
he just said there was nothing between them?
Larissa stood and walked to the window. She stared down at the ground, wondering what
to make of how Keith was acting. She
could see that he was attracted to Tiana, could Tiana possibly be interested in
him back? She didn’t see it. There was an age difference, to start, and
Tiana seemed so sophisticated.
She decided not to dwell on the situation. Keith wasn’t interested in her, and though it
stung her pride, she wasn’t surprised.
She had been looking in the mirror her entire life. Compared to Tiana, she looked like a garden
gnome or something. She hadn’t even
thought about Keith in that way until the day they had decided to trick John.
Shrugging, Larissa decided to go downstairs. Maybe they needed some help in the kitchen.
She headed towards the door but paused, she heard voices
just outside the door. They were
whispering, which seemed strange to her.
“Did you tell her?”
“As best as I could Tiana.
I told her that I wasn’t interested in her anymore”
It was Keith and Tiana.
Larissa felt her stomach drop a bit.
“You didn’t hint to her anything else did you?” Tiana asked.
“I didn’t tell her anything about our plans, no.” Keith
answered.
“Do you think anything happened between her and John?”
“I don’t think so.
Larissa isn’t really that kind of girl.”
“Good. The last thing
I want is for a connection between the two of them to form. We need her isolated if this is going to
work.”
“Are you sure we have to do this Tiana?”
“Of course I am sure.
I saw it in my vision. I know
exactly how things will go moving forward.
I only have one little snag that I need your help with.”
“Anything.”
“There is this potion; I need Larissa to drink it. I was going to put it in her food, but John
is in the kitchen with me and he will see and ask questions.”
“So you want me to give her the potion?”
“Yes. She trusts you,
even if you just broke her heart. She
would accept a drink from you, I’m sure, a consolation drink to show that you
still care even if you don’t want to have anything to do with her.”
“She would never suspect a thing. I’m sure she suspects nothing anyway. She is very trusting.”
“She is. Here, take
it and get a drink for her. I’ve got to get back downstairs and finish
dinner. John thinks I am in the
bathroom.”
Larissa heard the steps as they parted ways. She assumed that Keith went to his room and
Tiana downstairs.
So they had a plan for her.
A plan that she and John knew nothing about. And it required her to drink some sort of
potion. What could they possibly have in
mind?
Larissa felt panic seep into her skin, goose bumps popped
out on her legs and the hair on her arms stood up straight. Did they mean to kill her? Did they mean to somehow take control of her
and… turn her over to the corporation?
Who were they really, anyway? She
had known Keith for many years, but he had obviously been hiding things from
her, what else was he hiding? And Tiana,
where was she from? What was the
Planetary Lightworkers Organization anyway?
For all Larissa knew, it was all made up.
The only person she felt that she could trust was John. He was open and honest about his past, about
the fact that he had worked for her enemy.
She had touched his energies in a way that the other two had not allowed
her to. She had disconnected him from
the evil in his life and reconnected him with himself. She had felt the glow, the love that emanated
from him, all of him, when he was connected.
The loving glow was still there.
She could only hope that Tiana did not have John under some
spell as well as Keith. She was going to
need help to get out of this. What ever
this was.
Forty One
Tiana left the kitchen to go to the bathroom. Not hesitating for a moment, John followed
her. He stayed a few paces behind her,
but she never looked back. Either she
was expecting him to follow her or she was expecting him to stay in the
kitchen, as she had instructed him. She
seemed sure that she would get her way.
He stood at the bottom of the stairs, listening to the
whispered conversation between her and Keith.
He scrunched his eyes in response.
He was right. She was
up to something and she was used to getting her way. She probably thought that he was well within
her control as well. He would wait for
the right moment to tell her otherwise, he thought to himself. It would be a lovely surprise for her.
Hearing the conversation end, he hurried back to the kitchen
to be ready for her arrival. He quickly
chopped the few remaining vegetables that he had left. As she approached he slowed his chopping,
started doing it in a clumsy manner.
“You aren’t finished yet?” She asked him.
“Sorry Tiana,” He smiled up at her, putting on his best
sheepish look, “I guess I’m not that good at chopping. But I am a lot further than when you left!”
He almost laughed when he heard her sigh. She was buying his act. He would watch her carefully to see what else
she had in mind. At least he knew she
could not taint the food if he was there, preparing it by her side.
He had to figure out about the drink though. And Larissa.
If Keith had truly hurt Larissa, John would have to keep an eye on
her. If she were crushed by the end of
the relationship then she would be more susceptible to Tiana’s plan. Whatever Tiana’s plan was.
Larissa walked into the kitchen, a worried look on her
face. Tiana’s back was to her, and she
approached John. She was about to speak
when he put his finger to his lips. He
motioned to upstairs, tugged on his ear and nodded towards Tiana. He hoped she understood. She seemed to because she nodded, though her
face looked confused.
“You look like you could use a drink. I think we all could. Tiana, do you need my help here any longer?”
John said.
“What? Yes, I could still use some help. Have Keith get the drinks.” Tiana said.
“I think Larissa can take over my chopping duties, can’t you
Larissa? I don’t know where Keith is,
but I’d like a drink now. I’ll get right
on it!” John left the kitchen so fast he didn’t allow anyone to argue with
him.
He walked to the bar area in the living room and pulled out
four glasses. He mixed cocktails into
two of the glasses and then made the other two nonalcoholic. He knew that he and Larissa would need to
keep their wits about them.
He turned back towards the kitchen just in time to see Keith
coming down the stairs.
“Oh good! You are
just in time for a drink!” John said, he walked over and handed Keith a
drink. He clinked glasses with him,
“Cheers!” he said.
“Cheers!” Keith said, trying not to look upset. John turned just in time to see Tiana glaring
at him.
This was going to be fun, John thought. He set his glass down and grabbed the other
two. He handed one to Tiana and one to
Larissa. Then he grabbed his glass
again.
“Cheers ladies!” he said.
“Cheers.” They both replied.
Larissa took a sip, realized that her drink had no alcohol and smiled.
“This is delicious John, what did you put in it?” She asked
him.
“It’s sprite, tequila and a bit of lime juice.” He said to
her.
“I can really taste the tequila.” Said Keith. “Have to
admit, it’s not my favorite.”
“Yes, it is quite strong, John.” Said Tiana, “Are you trying
to get us drunk?”
“Just thought I’d loosen us up a bit. It has been a long couple of days. We’re safe, at least for the night, nothing
wrong with having a couple of strong drinks to relax.” John said.
“If you say so.” Said Tiana.
She turned back to her cooking.
“Thanks John. I
really appreciate it.” Said Larissa.
“Yeah, thanks John.” Keith said. John watched as he took another drink and
swallowed hard.
Yep, this was going to be a fun night.
Forty Two
Larissa took another sip of her drink. The sprite and lime made a wonderful
combination, light and crisp. There was
no tequila in her drink. She watched as
Keith and Tiana tried to drink their obviously too strong drinks. She did not know how John knew what he knew,
or what his plan was. Obviously he was
trying to protect her, though, since she had not gotten any alcohol.
She sipped again before picking up the knife to finish
chopping.
“Careful with that knife Larissa” Tiana said, “We don’t want
any accidents here.”
“I think I can handle it.” She replied.
“Well, these are stiff drinks, so if you are feeling at all
woozy just let someone else take over.” Tiana said.
“Will do, Tiana.” Larissa said as brightly as she
could. She had to pretend that she
didn’t know anything was going, she reminded herself.
She quickly chopped up the remaining vegetables, while
drinking her beverage at an even pace with everyone else. She watched the liquid in Keith’s glass
disappear quickly. She couldn’t match
his pace and not have to pretend that she was drink, so she matched Tiana
instead. Tiana still finished her drink
in no time.
“Keith, why don’t you pour this round? Maybe not so strong?”
Tiana said.
“Sure thing Tiana.” Keith gathered their glasses and headed
towards the bar.
Larissa wanted to scream ‘NO’ when he took her glass. She wanted to stand over him at the bar and
see what he did. She wanted to know what
he was putting in her glass, but she couldn’t do any of those things. All she could do was wait. Wait and look for some sort of opening to
perhaps throw out the liquid, or, something.
She wasn’t sure.
Keith brought her glass to her first.
“Here you go Rissa!”Keith said with a slight slur, “I’m sure
you will totally enjoy this.”
“Rissa?” John said, coming up to where they stood.
“It’s Keith’s childish nickname for me. I’ve asked him many times not to use it.”
Larissa said.
“It’s kind of cute.” Said Tiana, “Has a fun ring to it for
sure.”
Keith walked back to the bar and brought John and Tiana
their drinks. He then turned to get his
own. Larissa watched him, still wondering what had happened to him. What had Tiana said to him to get him to do
her bidding?
“I’ve never liked it.
Larissa is my name and that’s what I liked to be called by.” Leaving her drink on the counter, she carried
the knife and cutting board to the sink to wash them. When she turned around she saw that Keith had
set his glass next to hers. Looking at
them, she wasn’t sure which was which.
Something in her face must have given it away.
“Oh, sorry Larissa,
I know this drink is mine, so it’s cool” Keith said.
“Sure. Fine.” Larissa
said. She picked up the other glass but
didn’t take a drink. She glanced at
Tiana who could have been drilling holes into Keith’s head with the look she
was giving him. Larissa could feel the
anger seething off the woman. What was
going on?
She walked past Keith out of the kitchen. She wasn’t sure what to do, so she went to
the living area and sat down. She set
her drink on the coffee table in front of her and stared out the window.
“Mind if I join you?” John said.
“Not at all.” She answered.
She watched as he set his drink down right next to
hers. It was impossible to tell which
was which, unless you were the one that set the drink down. She looked up at him and he winked at
her.
“You know, it’s not that bad outside. There is still a little light. Maybe we should get some fresh air before
dinner.”
“That is a great idea!” Larissa said and stood. She started to walk away from the drinks.
“Don’t forget your drink.” John Said, “I know you enjoyed
the first one.”
“Right, of course.” She replied. She picked up one of the glasses and headed
towards the front door.
“Let us know if you need anything Tiana.” John said, “We’ll
be right outside.”
They walked toward the front door. Larissa glanced back at the kitchen before
she walked out the door and saw Tiana furiously whispering to Keith. He was looking bored and he drained his
glass, turned around and walked away from her.
John shut the front door.
“We’ll just let them have that out shall we?”
“Yes. Thank you for
getting me out of there.”
“Do you have any idea what’s going on Larissa?” John took
her glass out of her hand as he asked and calmly dumped the liquid over the
railing of the porch.
“No. I have no idea
what’s going on. But I got to thinking
earlier. John, I don’t know anything
about anyone that I am here with. I
mean, yet, I have known Keith for a long time, but I have never really cared to
get to know him. He was always this kid
that followed me around. I could never
figure it out. And when the abilities
developed, he was right there. Like he
was waiting for it to happen.”
“Maybe he was.”
“He brought Tiana to me.”
“You didn’t know Tiana from before?”
“No. The same day
that you introduced yourself to me was the same day that I met her.”
“That changes things.
I thought that you were more familiar with her, the way you trusted
her.”
“I trusted her because Keith trusted her. And I thought I could trust Keith because he
told me that I could.”
“And me? Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Why? You know less
about me than either of these two. What
you do know should frighten you. I
worked for your enemy.”
“You worked for my enemy, yes. But I changed that. I saw who you are, really are, and I haven’t
seen that with either of them. Like you
said earlier, I reconnected you. I
didn’t do that work with either of them.
I don’t know who they are, not energetically. And with Tiana’s shield around us, I am not
able to get a clear reading.”
“I’m not sure that Tiana is really shielding us.”
“What?”
“I don’t think Tiana is who we think she is. I think Tiana may be working for the
corporation.”
“Holy crap John. You
know what that means?”
“Yes. It means that
we are in trouble.”
“What are we going to do?”
“We are going to do what you wanted to do earlier. We are going to change things. We have to.”
“Right.”
Before she could say more the door swung open. Keith had refilled his glass and was halfway
through another round. He looked as
though he might fall over.
“Dinner is ready.” He said then turned and walked away from
them.
Larissa and John looked at each other, exchanging raised
eyebrows, and then followed him into the lodge.
Larissa was careful to start acting a little drunk. She started giggling uncontrollably. She also stumbled a bit, but not too much. She pushed her glass at Tiana.
“I don’t think I need anymore, Tiana.”
“I would agree, Larissa.
I think you and Keith have had enough.
Though I could use one more.
John? Would you be a dear and
pour me another drink?”
“Of course.” John said.
He stood and went to the bar to pour her another drink. Larissa watched him pouring, mixing the
contents into the glass. Then she saw
him pick up a half empty vial from the bar.
He looked at it, glanced back at the table and caught her eye.
Then he dumped the rest of the vial’s contents into Tiana’s glass.
He walked back to the table and set the glass in front of
her. She picked it up, took a long
drink, set it down and smiled at John.
“You do make a good drink, John. So well balanced.”
“Thank you Tiana.” John said and smiled.
Larissa stuffed a forkful of food into her mouth to keep
herself from saying anything. Whatever
had been in that vial, whatever had been intended for her, was now in Tiana’s
glass.
Forty Three
“Any reports?” The General asked. He stood directly behind
the person that he was talking to. The
person did not turn around in his chair, just as instructed.
“Yes Sir. The woman
and the boy were spotted getting on a Ferry in Washington State.” The man said.
“Any news about the organization she comes from?”
“None Sir. We have
found nothing. Apparently it was a
shell, a hiding place for a few people.
Those people have all disappeared.”
The General nodded as he took in the information. He looked up and saw Marshal waiting for
him.
“As you were” he said to the man in front of him, he never
saw his face. He headed towards
Marshal.
Marshal was one of the few people in the office that the
General knew by name. Everyone else
existed in his mind as nameless faces, if they had faces at all. He didn’t want to know their names, their faces
or their stories. He didn’t want to know
about families, home lives, hobbies.
Everyone in the office was required to have a completely clear
desk. No personal items.
The General did not want to know who these people were in
case he had to kill them all. Or worse,
had to take away their souls, their connections to themselves. And eventually he would have to do that to
everyone there. If he was lucky, and he
was working hard to be lucky, when the time came he would be allowed to stay
connected to himself. Though he knew he
probably deserved everything that might come to him.
That did not matter at the moment. What mattered at the moment was getting that
girl and if they could, bringing John back in.
He would never be the same, they would have to sever him completely,
maybe even kill him after he was severed.
It was a sad thing to think about, but the General knew he had been soft
with the boy. It was his fault, really,
that this had happened.
“Marshal. What do you
have to tell me?”
“Sir. The Planetary
Lightworker Organization is a shell.”
“Yes, I just learned that from someone over there.” The
General pointed in the direction he had walked from. “Is there more?”
“Of course there is more.” Marshal smiled, “I know who they
are working for.”
“In my office, now.” The General said. They walked quickly to his office and sat
down.
“Tell me what you know.” The General said.
He listened as Marshal recounted what he had learned.
“Are you sure?” He asked.
“Yes. Of course.”
“You are dismissed for now.”
“Yes Sir.”
“And Marshall…”
“Yes Sir?”
“Keep this to yourself for now.”
“Yes Sir.”
Marshal left his office. The General looked out the window of his
office towards the rows of cubicles that stood outside. He looked at all the productive little heads
that bobbed up and down at their workstations.
He would have to report the information that had just been
given to him. The question was, who was
he going to report it to? He had to be
very careful about his next move.
It appeared they had a mole in the organization.
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