"Then I'll do it!" Liam told his grandmother.
"And if there are more than just Smith there? I can't imagine even you being able to take on two or more seasoned Masters."
"Huh! I hadn't thought about that. I don't know if I could and I wouldn't want to have to try and fail," he admitted. "I guess, in that scenario, we should all be there."
They decided to wait for the others to return so he and Gran could tell them what they had talked about, and to get their input. When his grandmother got up to go to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea, he decided to take a nap; the past couple of days had been fraught with worry, action, and peril, and he couldn’t seem to get enough sleep to cancel out all the stress he felt. He needed to get some of his strength back, especially if he was going to do what he expected he'd have to. As he closed his eyes and tried to relax, his mind wouldn't let go of things. He saw himself visioning into Smith's house and confronting him, only to sense the presence of other Masters, and knew he was in trouble as none of those presences belonged to anyone he knew. Eventually, however, his body’s need for recuperation outweighed his overactive, fear-laden imagination and he fell into the arms of Morpheus.
He awoke to the sound of voices, coming from the kitchen. He got out of the chair he was slumped in, and walked into the kitchen. Everyone was back and either sitting around the table or standing, eating sandwiches and talking. He suddenly felt hungry.
He asked if he could get something to eat and his Gran got up from the table, told him to sit, that she'd get him something. He sat and listened in on what his father was saying.
"I suggest that Del and Carroll take their vehicles — Scott, you go with them — and head out to southwest Virginia and find a good hole in the ground in case we need it. The rest of us will drive over to Smith's. At some point, he'll sense our presences and we'll need to sense his first. At that point Liam can vision to where he is and do what he can until the rest of us get there to assist."
"And if there are more there than Smith? They'll try to suppress him!" Carol said, worriedly.
"Only if I let them," Liam told her. "Funny, I dreamt last night that there’d be more than just Smith there."
His Gran cocked her head, and an eyebrow, at that revelation.
“If there are more than just Smith, and I feel them attempting to, I'll just revision myself out and back to you all."
"Be sure you do, the second you are in and know more than Smith is there. Do not wait until they're over the shock of seeing you; and don't wait for them to start suppressing," Liam's father warned.
Del looked at Carroll and Scott and said, "If you guys are through eating, maybe we should start getting things organized and start loading up the vehicles."
"May I ask a question?" Scott asked. "Why can't I go to Smith's with my brother and the rest of you?"
"Two reasons," Will told him. "One, these old men will need someone young and strong to help them. Second, I don't want to make you feel bad, but the truth is you haven't shown the ability to bring someone into a vision with you. You've only been able to take yourself and, if things get a bit dodgy at Smith's, then we need everyone there to be full Masters. Sorry."
Scott of course wasn't happy with the answer to his question, but he understood the logic behind it, so he just silently nodded his head in agreement, and got up and followed Del and Carroll out to the cars.
As Liam ate the two club sandwiches his Gran put down in front of him, the others worked out the small details of their planned capture of Smith. Then they had to decide what to do with him.
"Let’s capture him first, and then worry about what to do with him. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and he'll resist, and we'll have to use 'Extreme Prejudice'. Or, as they like to call it at the Agency, ‘Executive Action’, to defend ourselves.”
Liam was shocked to hear his grandmother say that. He knew that meant kill him. He recognized the terms she'd used had often been used in the spy novels he had read. Just what Agency does — did — she really work for? Is — was — she an Intelligence Agent, a spy? He wasn't sure he wanted any part in that option and he prayed Smith would simply surrender after he saw the opposition he would be facing.
It was time to strike. Their freedom, perhaps their very existence, might be at stake. None of them had any ideas as to why they were being hunted, but if Smith and his posse thought they had the tiger by the tail, it was time for the tiger to turn.
They'd packed up everything they'd need if they had to run. They said goodbye to Del, Carroll and Scott, who wished them luck and good hunting, as Liam got into the van with his father and grandmother, Gene, Carol and Drew as well, and began the short drive to Smith's.
"Will, you concentrate on driving. Liam, it's time for you and me to begin reaching out with our minds to locate Smith, if he's at his house," Gran announced.
Liam settled into his seat and began clearing his mind of all thoughts, beginning to focus on Smith's house and his presence. He didn't expect to feel anything right off the bat and he didn't. After a while it wasn't easy, trying to maintain his concentration. In the back of his mind lurked the nagging worry that he may not be up to the task assigned him, and that kept surfacing into his mind.
They were getting close to Smith's house. He still couldn't discern Smith's presence, or anyone else's for that matter, other than those he was with. He looked at his grandmother, who in turn looked at him, their looks acknowledging to one another that neither sensed anything.
He was momentarily distracted by the thought that Smith might not be home. Curiously, they hadn't planned on that contingency. What if he wasn't?
"I have him!" Gran said. "Can you feel him, Liam?"
Instantly returning his attention, he did feel him. "Yes, I can!"
Concentrating harder, he located Smith's presence in the house, somewhere on what he presumed was the ground level, but in what room he couldn't know, not having ever been in the house itself.
"Can you tell if he's upstairs, or down? Can you sense any other Masters with him? I can't tell," she asked.
"Down, I think. And I think he's alone; I can't detect anyone else."
"Nor can I," His grandmother confirmed. "Okay Liam, time for you to go," she told him.
"I've never been in his house. Describe it to me."
"Just inside the front door is a small vestibule, about five feet square, that faces a hallway. On the right are sliding pocket doors that may or may not be open to the parlor, the living room. Down the hall to the left are three bedrooms. Opposite them in the middle is a doorway to the dining room, again with pocket doors. At the end of the hall is the kitchen, single swinging door. I suggest you vision yourself in just inside the front door," she told him. "We're about five minutes out from his house. That'll give you time to find him before we get there. Be careful and don't be over confident. Just because you once managed to overcome him doesn't mean anything He may have been playing with you last time. Remember what I once told you? I don't trust him!"
He closed his eyes and remembered Smith's front door. He imagined what the foyer must look like, and hoped there wasn't anything else there, like a coat rack, chair, or whatever. Just in case, he planned to appear in the center right on the other side of the door.
He saw the entry as he materialized. He quickly looked down the hall and saw no one. As he stepped toward the doors to the right, leading into what his Gran had said was the living room, two men jumped out and grabbed him roughly by the arms. Behind them, stood Smith.
"Welcome, Mr. MacDonald, to my home."
Liam felt Smith's mind ratcheting-up to begin to suppress his own. He stopped struggling against the grip of the two men holding him as he concentrated on repelling Smith. He found it more difficult than he had thought it would, but felt confident he could overcome Smith if he wanted, provided Smith wasn't holding back more ability. Liam quickly had an idea. He decided he wouldn't vision back out, he would only us
e enough of his own powers to check Smith at the level they were at, to make Smith believe he was in control, and to give his family time to get there.
"You didn't expect to find me able to suppress you alone, did you?" Smith asked with a smug grin, confident that he could control this kid, who couldn't possibly be as good as his witch of a grandmother said. "I knew some one of you would probably look for me sooner or later, but I'm surprised they sent a boy to do a man's job! Oh, don't be offended. I'm not discounting the wonderful parlor tricks you've managed to do for everyone’s benefit, and you do show some promise. But, really, I've years more experience and, just for the record, you didn’t stop me from leaving that night of the meeting, I merely pretended so that you would get overconfident, as I see you have,” he lied, hoping to make Liam believe he had more ability than Liam might suspect. “Still, I knew whoever found me would know if there were any other Masters with me, so I enlisted the help of these two gentlemen. They have no abilities of their own, save their physical talents, but I assure you they are quite capable of subduing you most painfully if you resist."
"Why are you after me — us? What have we done to you?"
"Oh, it's not just you. It's all of you! Every single Circle, every single Master, every single Initiate! You see, I've convinced the powers that be that you all have become dangerous to our government, that by being connected with Circles overseas, you are a security risk. We can't depend on your loyalty, that you've secretly been working against our nation by laying the foundation of a World Government, with you in charge, naturally, and using your powers to suppress and control the leaders of every country. As we speak, Circles around the country are being suppressed, subdued, and arrested. It wasn’t easy to convince them, though, after that wonderful job you did exposing my friends Specks and Johnson. Made you some kind of a hero didn’t it. It took a lot to convince the powers that the whole thing had been a ploy on your part to win their trust.”
"You knew Specks and Johnson? And, how are you managing all this without the help of other Masters? And what about you? Why should anyone, or the government, trust you if you say no Vision Masters can be trusted?"
Smith laughed. "Oh, yes, I knew Specks and Johnson. They worked for me! Mere pawns, though their loss and the exposure you gave to our plans were a little of a setback. It was planned to gain control of things gradually, using your generation, through schools throughout the country, to initiate the changes necessary. Thanks to you, we’ve had to modify a few things, but we’ve managed, even if we have been forced to step up the timetable. You see, we have a select, handpicked cadre of Masters who do our bidding in return for future favors. Trust? No one has ever accused the common man of being intelligent. People are like sheep, Liam; they are easily led if you pander to their primitive fears, baser desires or secret prayers, and convince them you're their Messiah. As for the government, the politician’s game is compromise, give and take, and re-election. I've promised to give them what they want, the elimination of a threat I've convinced them is real, and allow them to take credit for it, if I get something in return."
"And what's that?"
"Not what they think, that's for sure! They think that after the dust settles, once we're rid of all of you, that I and my friends will meekly be their servants in return for monetary reward and other special favors. Little do they know!"
"Seems to me your plan has been tried before."
"Oh, and how’s that?”
“Hitler believed the same about people as you do, and he and his Brown Shirts used the same tactics to convince the people and government of Germany that the Jews, Gays, Gypsies, mentally ill and other marginalized groups were a threat to their country and should be exterminated, and got them to proclaim him their Fuhrer, their ‘Leader’. Then he set out to conquer the world. I believe it was called the Holocaust and World War Two."
"Hitler was both mad and a fool! He could have had the world if he had only studied history, specifically Napoleon’s mistakes. I have, and I won't make the mistakes he did." Smith paused. A dark look came over his face. "You little pissant! Here you've been occupying my attention, all the while waiting for the others to come!"
Liam saw Smith's aura brighten and felt Smith exert more power over his mind. Everything went black before his eyes and he couldn’t hear anything. He felt paralyzed and couldn’t move. Suddenly there were flames all around him and he felt the searing pain of heat as every fiber of his body recoiled. This must be what Hell is like! Liam refocused, matching Smith, and quickly the vision he was caught in fell away. He could see Smith again in front of him, and felt Smith redoubling his effort, his red aura blazing. Liam felt himself weakening. He was starting to sweat under the energy he was expending, he was beginning to get a headache, his vision had become blurred and he heard a ringing in his ears. But he sensed Smith was tiring, too. As he tapped his reserve strength, Liam realized that if Smith managed any more than he had already, and he countered him, they might stalemate indefinitely and they both would wind up unconscious, insane, or dead from a stroke. With both of their auras so bright that Liam could no longer see Smith, Liam suddenly felt Smith's strength momentarily wane, and as his own body spasmodically jerked under the onslaught, he took the opportunity to vision out, back to himself, into the van, just as his father pulled to a stop in front of the house.
"He's…in there…with two goons! I kept him…occupied…so he wouldn't… sense you coming…until the last minute,” he gasped.
"Gene, with me, to the back, in case he tries to run!" Liam's father yelled to his brother as he jumped out of the van.
Drew and Gran got out and faced the front door, as Carol looked at Liam and asked, "Are you all right?"
"Yes. Tired. Very. Smith is a lot stronger than I supposed, but I was stronger, just. Come on, if they come out, Gran and Drew may need help!"
Carol bolted out the van's door as Liam struggled to make his body move. He wasn't sure if he had enough strength left if he needed it, but he knew he couldn't just sit there. He had to help take Smith down.
As he stepped down out of the van, he suddenly sensed the presences of more Masters — and not those with him or just Smith! Hearing the roar of a racing engine and the crunch of gravel on the driveway behind him, Liam turned in time to see a black car come to a stop and disgorge four men.
He immediately called out to Carol in warning and threw his mind at the new danger, trying a pre-emptive suppression of their attack on him, Carol and Gran.
However, by alerting Carol he wasn’t fast enough, and the new threat had the advantage over him; their combined suppression attack came directly at him, and he staggered back under the assault. Once again he found himself under someone else’s control, only this time instead of fire and pain he could only hear the deafening screech of what sounded like the demonic screaming of a Banshee, and he felt as if his head would explode. He felt himself losing the battle, his concentration was dissipating quickly. He'd used most of his strength in combat with Smith just minutes ago. To take on four Masters was taking the last ounce of the mental and physical resources he had left. He couldn’t stay focused or keep his eyes open. His heart was pounding so hard that he thought it would rip out of his chest, he could feel his pulse throb in his temples, and his whole body was drenched in sweat. Again, he felt his muscles spasm, and his legs gave out under him as he fell to his knees, hard. He couldn’t keep his head up, it jerked up and down, and side to side, like a Bobble Head. His chin fell to his chest. He felt his nose running, down his upper lip and into his gaping mouth. Salty, his mind registered. It was more than running…almost gushing…and as he opened his eyes he could see a torrent of red, viscous blood running off his chin, dripping and pooling on the ground in front of him. He wasn’t holding them, he knew, in stalemate, and the effort to try and stop them, to neutralize these four experienced Masters in their tracks, was costing him dearly. He was losing. Looking up h
e saw a Barn Owl swoop down in front of him, hovering just above the ground, and then quickly morphing into the shape of a woman. She stood looking at him with a smile on her face. Liam knew what he was looking at. She was his fylgja, and he sensed that whatever else happened, he was not going to die. Suddenly, he felt infused with new power and could feel the attack by the four Masters begin to waver. He managed to stand and raise his head. With his newfound strength, he countered their vision against him. He knew he could now hold them off indefinitely, if not outright beat them. Then, once again, more power came to him, and he felt totally rejuvenated, and the way he was feeling just a few minutes ago seemed a bad dream! How? he momentarily wondered, immediately dismissing the thought and returning his attention to Smith's confederates. His concentration was stronger than he’d ever felt, and he had more clarity of thought than ever before! He could see everything happening around him vividly, it was almost surreal, as if he was having an out-of-body experience. He redirected his attention to the four Masters and decided to give them a taste of their own poison. He projected his thought and watched as they began writhing in pain, clutching their ears with their hands. They were weakening, then two fell to the ground, unconscious, and another was on his knees and had ceased trying. He threw all his power at the last one and, he too, fell to the ground stunned.
Turning to see what might be happening behind him, he became aware that someone was holding his hand. Looking, he saw it was Carol. And next to her, holding her hand, was Drew. Their auras a-shine, both their faces showed they were almost as spent as he was, and both were shocked to see the effects of the physical and mental strain, and blood, on his face. It was then that he knew the source of his extra strength.
"How did you know to..." he began to ask.
Carol interrupted, wiping away at the blood on his face. "I remembered you telling me, that your uncle had told you, that if two Masters worked together, their combined power was exponentially greater than the sum of their powers individually, so I gave you mine."
"And when I saw Carol take your hand, I saw your aura blaze super bright" Drew added, "so I figured it had to come through her, and thought if two were better than one, three had to be even better!"
"Thanks, I don’t know how much longer I could have lasted without you both," Liam told them. Or you, he said in his mind to his now-departed familiar. As he looked beyond them and he saw his father and uncle standing over Smith's two thugs, and his Gran sitting on the ground in front of Smith, also sitting down, apparently trying to have a conversation with him. And standing next to both of them were Carol's father, his uncle Del, and Scott!
"Look!" Liam told Carol and Drew, pointing at where the three were standing behind them. Carol ran to her father as Liam and Drew walked over. Drew gave his baby brother a big hug as Liam asked him, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, maybe about half-an-hour after we left you, I had a real sense that something was wrong, and a picture popped into my mind of you all facing off against a lot more people than you could handle. I told your uncle, and he just kind of stared at me for a moment, and then asked me if I was sure I felt it, or was just worried. I told him I had never felt anything like it before, and he just pulled a uey and sped back here. When we got here, you and Carol, and Drew, were taking care of those four, and your dad and uncle were dealing with those two over there. Del and Carol's dad went into the house to see if there were any more bad guys. I saw your Gran and Smith in a mental duel, so I ran over to him and tackled him. I couldn't think of anything else to do. But, even after I'd taken him down, it didn't seem to faze him any because your Gran still seemed to be struggling against him. Then she reached over and grabbed my hand, and I felt some part of her mind enter mine. I don't know how, but I just felt her reach in and I knew what she wanted, so I just gave her everything I had, vision-wise, and almost immediately Smith said, ‘Ugh’, and fell over. Then she let go of my hand and sat down, and started talking to him."
"You 'knew' we were in trouble, that there were more of them than we expected?"
"Yeah!" Scott exclaimed. "It was the darndest feeling...it was like I could really see it happening in real time!"
Liam, astonished, was about to say, "Looks like Gran isn't the only one in the family that can foresee the future, then", when they noticed the conversation between Gran and Smith had apparently ended and, as she struggled to stand up, both Drew and Scott helped her.
"I'm getting too old for all of this!" she said to no one in particular. "Scott, if you hadn't come along when you did, I may have well lost that battle. Thank you! And you know something? There's a lot more ability in you than you give yourself credit for. When I touched your mind I sensed that you're capable of anything any full Master can do, you just have to allow it to come, and practice more. And you, having prescience! I never 'saw' that with mine. You and I should have a cup of tea, sometime soon, and talk about this," she said with a smile.
"Is that what I did?" Scott said, astounded.
"If Gran says so, it's so," Liam told him.
Glancing over his shoulder to make sure the four vanquished Masters behind him were still incapacitated, Liam turned his attention to Smith. Looking at his Gran out of the corner of his eye, he was concerned.
“Is he safe?"
"Oh, he's quite safe, now. Nothing to worry about, but I'm afraid his brain is quite fried. He doesn't even know who he is or what he's doing here. I'm afraid he'll need custodial care for the rest of his life, poor thing."
"Yeah, that's too bad" Gene said sarcastically as he and his brother walked over to them.
"What are we going to do with him, and the others, Mom?" Will asked.
"Leave them here. His two stooges are no threat, and Smith can't hurt us now either."
"What about them?" Liam asked, indicating the other four Masters.
"We only have two choices, really. Either we can suppress their brains to jelly, like Smith, which would remove them as a future threat, or we can just leave them. What do you want to do, Liam?"
"The smart thing to do is eliminate the threat! It’s what they'd do to us," Gene interjected.
Liam shook his head, disagreeing. "If we do that we'd be no better than them. Leave them."
She turned to her sons. "Find something to tie them up, and then we'll leave." Turning back to Liam, she told him that Gene was probably right, they should eliminate them, but she had to agree with him to leave them. "Maybe if we don't hurt them they'll realize we're just defending ourselves and aren't out to do anyone harm. I'll go talk to them."
Liam and Carol, and the brothers, were left standing together.
“I hope she’s quick about it,” Liam muttered. “I don’t like just standing here; there may be more on their way.”
“We can handle them!” Drew declared.
“We’re all too tired, and if there are more coming we’ve no idea how many,” Carol observed.
Liam looked at the somber faces on his friends. "I'd like to think that this has ended it, but I'm afraid the ‘Fat Lady’ hasn’t sung yet. This battle is over, but the war is still on, and we Scots have another proverb: ‘Better a good retreat than a bad stand’.”
Chapter Twenty Six: Exile
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside only dreams; who looks inside awakes.”