Daniel called Frank and, after telling him the good news about Rollie, explained that there wouldn’t be any point in bringing Dylan all the way over to the hospital since they wouldn’t be there much longer.

“Would you mind watching him for a while longer?” he asked.  “We’d like to get Rollie home and all settled first.”

“No, we don’t mind,” Frank assured him.  “Or I should say that Sarah won’t mind.  She’s on her own with the kids today since I’m at work.  How about if I bring Dylan to the loft after lunch?”

“That would be fine.  But wouldn’t you have to leave work?  Couldn’t Sarah bring him?”

“Her car’s in the shop.  She’s pretty much stuck at home.  But it’s all right.  I can bring him.”

“Okay, we’ll see you then.  Oh, and pass on the good news to Leo, okay?”

“Sure thing.”

“Hey, did anyone think to bring me some clothes?” Rollie was asking when Daniel returned to the room.

Angie snapped her fingers.  “Oh, darn!  I just knew there was something I forgot.  Gee, Rol.  I guess you’ll have to stay another day.”

Rollie smiled sarcastically.  “You had better be joking, Ange.  Otherwise, I’m going to make you go out and buy me new clothes to wear home.”

“Well, if I get to pick the color of the shirt, it’s a deal,” Angie shot back.

“And what do you mean by that?”

“Rollie, have you looked at your wardrobe lately?  You may look good in black, but I’d sort of like to see you in another color on occasion.  And a plain white T-shirt doesn’t count.”

“I wear other colors sometimes,” Rollie objected.

“You do?  When.  Those pajamas you’re wearing are the most color I’ve seen on you in years, except for when you play ‘dress-up’ for the cops.”

“I like black,” the Aussie said petulantly.

“No kidding.”

Rollie turned to his brother for support but then noticed that the minister was wearing a pale yellow shirt and brown pants.  He sighed.  “Yeah, okay, so maybe I do wear a little too much black.  I’ll go out and buy some neon shirts and checkered pants the first chance I get.”

“I hate to break it to you, Rol, but passion pink just isn’t your color.”

Everyone else laughed, and Rollie smiled, a genuine one this time.  “So, did you bring some clothes for me or not?”

“Yes, I did.  I’ll go down and get them.”

Not fast enough to suit Rollie, his discharge from the hospital was complete, and he was on his way home.  He sat in the passenger seat of the Caddy, soaking up the feeling of the sun and wind on his face.  A part of him was sorry when they reached the loft.  But the happiness of being home soon made him forget that.

“Hey, Blue!” Rollie said to his electronic pet, who was barking and wagging his tail like crazy.  “Did you think I disappeared again?”  Bluey whined in reply.

“Oh, he was definitely concerned, Rol,” Angie told him.  “He kept pacing up and down the floor and staring at the door.  I had to reassure him several times that you were coming home.”

Rollie went into the loft.  He moved slowly and cautiously, careful not to twist or turn in a way that would put a strain on his wound.

“How do you feel?” Daniel asked him.

“Pretty good.  I can tell that my stamina isn’t even close to normal, though.”

“Well, it’s going to take some time to get back up to full speed.”

“Yeah.  Not too long though, I hope.”

There was something about the way Rollie spoke the sentence that made Angie wonder what was on his mind.  “What are you thinking, Rol?”

The Aussie shrugged.  “It’s just something that I’m hoping to be able to do, but I don’t know if I will.”  An almost wistful expression formed on his face.  “I hope I will.”

“What?” Daniel asked gently.

Rollie settled on the arm of the couch.  He didn’t speak for a moment, just studied the floor between his feet.  “It’s just that, um . . . our birthday is in two weeks, and it . . . would be really nice if we could celebrate it together.”

The quietly uttered sentence, spoken with a note of deep longing, tugged at everyone’s heart.  Daniel came forward and rested his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“That would be wonderful, Rollie.  I would love it if we could.  But I don’t know if you’d be physically well enough in two weeks to travel that far.  That’s a long time to sit on a plane.  If you’re like me, being on a plane for just a couple of hours is uncomfortable.  They didn’t make coach seating with guys like us in mind.”

Rollie smiled faintly.  “Yeah, tell me about it.  If I’m in a window seat, my knees are just about in my chest, and if I’m on an aisle seat, I spend half the flight trying to find a way to have both legs out in the aisle without tripping the flight attendants.”  The smiled disappeared.  “If I’m not all healed by then, I think that the only way I could do it is if we flew first class, and that’s not cheap.  What with all the hospital bills hanging over my head, two first class tickets across the country would be pretty hard to swing.  Also, Angie and I really need to get back to work as soon as possible to bring in some money.”

“Rollie, you’re not going to be able to go back to work for a while,” Angie said.  “If you had a desk job or even something that just requires light manual labor, then you could probably go back to work before you’re all well, but our job can be physically exhausting and requires putting in long hours.  You should wait until you’re completely healed.”

“What about this guy who wants to buy your game?” Dingo asked.  “You said that you might be able to work out a deal to get money up front.”

Rollie nodded.  “Yeah, it’s possible, but not for certain.  Besides, that’s not a sure thing.  Once Mister Hampshire calculates how much it would cost to manufacture all the equipment needed for the game, he might change his mind.  We really can’t count on it.”  He gave a sigh.  “I won’t be able to make any plans until I know what’s going to happen.  I might have to get a loan, which I hate the thought of.”

“Rollie, though I love the idea of us celebrating our birthdays together, I wouldn’t want you to put a big strain on your budget.”  Daniel gave his twin’s shoulder a squeeze.  “Even if you can’t be there physically, you can be with me psychically.”  He smiled.  “I’ll even let you get into my head again and have cake and ice cream with me.”

The Aussie gave him a weak smile.  He didn’t express his other concern, his fear that being closed up in a plane for that many hours would bring on an attack of claustrophobia.  But he desperately wanted to spend his birthday with his twin.  It was more than just that, though.  He also wanted to go someplace where he could be under the open sky, where there were birds, and trees and wide open spaces.  No, he didn’t just want it, he needed it.  Even if it was only for a week or so, he needed that kind of freedom to drive the specter of those months as a prisoner out of his mind.

Angie studied the expression on the face of the man she loved.  She could tell that this was a lot more important to Rollie than he was letting on.  She came up to him and wrapped her arm around his waist.

“We’ll figure something out, Rol,” she promised him.

They changed the subject and talked about other things for a few minutes.

“Well, unless you guys need me, I’m going over to Chet’s,” Dingo said a short while later.

“Yeah, speaking of Chet, are you finally going to start work on Monday?” Rollie asked.  Dingo’s first day at work at been delayed yet again when Chet decided that it would be best for Dingo to start on Monday instead of Wednesday, giving the reason that it was the beginning of a new pay period and would, therefore, be easier with the accounting.  Rollie suspected that the real reason was that the big-hearted bar owner had thought Dingo should spend a little more time with his son.

“Yes, I am definitely going to start on Monday,” Dingo replied.  “But I want to go over there this morning so he can help me some more with mixing drinks.”

“Just don’t poison him, Dad.  That would not be a good impression to make on your new boss.”

Everyone else except Dingo laughed.  After a moment, Rollie’s father laughed too, seeing the look of teasing mirth in his son’s eyes.  He’d come close to never seeing life in those eyes again.  It was good to see Rollie laughing, albeit silently, even if it was at his expense.

“I have places to go as well,” Mangela said.  “I will be returning home soon, and there are things in New York that I wish to see before I go.”

The smile in Rollie’s eyes dimmed.  He sighed.  “Yeah, I guess you will have to be going back home, won’t you.  I bet Ukiri and Karingana are beginning to wonder what happened to you.”

“Ukiri and Karingana?” Alex asked, not quite pronouncing the names right.

“My daughters,” Mangela explained.

“Pretty names.  Unusual.”

“Those are their tribal names.  They have other names, those that they use when they are not with the People.”

“What about your wife?  I should think that she would be worried about you, too.”

“My wife’s Dreaming reached its end many years ago,” Mangela told Alex quietly.

“Oh.  I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.  The years she had with the People were good ones.”

After Dingo and Mangela had left, Daniel decided to call his parents.

“Daniel.  We were just about to call you,” Bonnie said.  “We called the hospital and found out that Rollie was released.  Is he home?”

“Yeah.  We just got here a little while ago.”

“I bet he’s relieved to be out of that hospital.”

“Oh, yeah.  Most definitely.  What are you and Dad up to right now?”

“Your father is working on the sermon he’s going to give at the fair tomorrow,” his mother replied.  “I was just about to head over to help some of the people who are organizing it.  They’re going to be setting things up today.  Will you be able to participate tomorrow?”

“Yes, I will.  Rollie’s going to work on giving me a new face so that no one will recognize me.”

Bonnie laughed.  “Well, that will be interesting.”

“Um, would you be able to put off going over to the fair for a little while?” Daniel asked.

“Certainly.  What is it, Daniel?  Is something wrong?”

“No, not really.  Something happened that I need to tell you and Dad about.”

“Oh.  All right.  Do you want us to come over there?”

“No, we’ll come to the hotel.  We’ll head over there now.”

“All right.  We’ll see you in a little while, then.”

Daniel hung up the phone with a slight sigh.

“You’re going to tell them about the mugging?” Rollie asked.

“Yeah.  I really can’t keep it from them.  I hate to think what Dad’s reaction is going to be, though.  He’s been wanting me to take a bodyguard with me wherever I go.  Once he finds out that Alex and I got mugged and nearly shot last night. . . .”

“He’ll freak out,” Angie said.

Daniel laughed.  “Trust me, Angie.  The Reverend Cliff Cooper does not ‘freak out’.  But he will be even more adamant about the bodyguard.  I understand his concern, but I am not going to spend the rest of my time in New York with one of his men acting as my shadow.”  He sighed again.  “Well, I’ll just have to deal with it somehow.”  He looked at Alex.  “Will you be coming with me?”

“Of course.”

“Daniel, do you want me to put together a quick disguise for you to wear?” Rollie asked.  “I imagine there’s a good chance that the press are hanging around the hotel, especially since the ad for the fair came out in the morning edition, mentioning that your father is going to be speaking at it.”

“Hmm.  That might be a good idea.  But it needs to be something that I can remove easily, then put back on.”

A wicked grin curved Rollie’s lips.  “Oh, don’t worry.  It will be.”

Daniel stared at his twin.  “Well, if I wasn’t worried before, I am now.  What have you got in mind?”

The Aussie held up his hands.  “I promise, Daniel.  It’s nothing extreme.”  He got up and fetched his makeup case.  “Come on.  Let’s go upstairs.”

It took a lot longer for Rollie to get up the stairs than what it normally would, and the activity increased his respiration, which caused his chest to ache.

“You okay?” Daniel asked in concern once they’d gotten to Rollie’s bedroom.

“Yeah. I’m all right.  It’ll pass.”

“Maybe you should keep your trips upstairs to a minimum until you’ve healed more.”

Rollie shook his head.  “I need to build up my stamina.  If I baby myself, it’s going to take that much longer for me to get back to full steam.”

“Well, just don’t overdo it.  I don’t want you thinking you have to do a Rocky Balboa and go running up and down the stairs a few hundred times.”

The Aussie grinned.  “Daniel, I couldn’t do that before all this happened, so I sure wouldn’t think I could do it now.”  He set the case down on the bed.  Then he rubbed his hands together with a gleeful smile.  “Come on.  Let’s get to work.”

Daniel glanced up toward the ceiling.  “Heaven help me.”

It was less than fifteen minutes later when they went back downstairs.  Angie was busy showing Alex a program on the computer, so they didn’t notice the twins’ return.  The men walked up to the workstation.

“So, what do you think?” Daniel asked.

Alex turned to look at her fiancé just as he smiled . . . revealing the biggest buckteeth she’d ever seen in her life.  She stared in astonishment for a couple of seconds then started laughing so hard that she was in danger of falling out of her chair.  Daniel turned to his brother.

“I think she finds it amusing,” he said, deadpan, the fake teeth giving him a slight lisp.

“I believe you may be right,” Rollie responded, his face equally impassive.

Alex gasped for breath, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes.  “That’s . . . that’s quite a disguise, Daniel.”  She noticed that he was also wearing long sideburns, and his hair was slicked straight back from his forehead.  The very simple disguise changed the minister’s appearance so much that only someone who knew him well would recognize him, and then only if they saw him up close.

“Rollie wanted me to wear a wig, but I drew the line at the sideburns.”  Daniel held out his arm for Alex to take.  “So, sweetheart.  Shall we go?” he asked, deliberately forcing the air through his teeth on each ‘s’ so that he made a whistling sound.

Alex giggled and took his arm.  “Certainly, you handsome devil you.”

They headed out the door, leaving Rollie and Angie alone.

The Aussie chuckled.  “I wish I could see the look on Cliff’s and Bonnie’s faces when they see him.”

“That would be a sight.”  She looked up at Rollie.  “You should sit and rest for a while.”

Rollie opened his mouth to say that he was all right, then changed his mind.  It wasn’t worth the argument.  Besides, going up and down the stairs had fatigued him a little.  “Actually, there is something I want to do on my computer.  Where’s the bag that you put the stuff from the stand beside my hospital bed in?”

A faint feeling of dread building in her, Angie fetched the bag.  She knew what he wanted from it.  It was something that wasn’t there.  She had forgotten to put the notebook pages and business card back in the drawer.  By the time she remembered, it was too late to sneak them in with the rest of the stuff.

Chewing on her lower lip, she handed the bag to Rollie, then went to where she’d laid her purse.  She could hear the Aussie rummaging around in the bag.

“That’s funny.  They’re not in here,” he muttered.  “Ange, when you cleared out the drawer, did you notice a few sheets of notebook paper folded together?”

“You mean these?” she asked quietly, holding the sheets out to him.

Rollie paused, staring at the pages, then took them.  “Yeah.”  He looked at her.  Almost immediately, she dropped her gaze from his.

“I, um . . . I needed Trent’s business card so that I could call him at home,” she told him in a low voice.  “I snuck it out of the drawer while we were all having pizza.  When I did, those fell out onto the floor and slid under the bed.  I managed to get them later, but I couldn’t slip them back in the drawer, so I stuck them in my purse.  I was going to sneak them back into the drawer this morning.”

“Did you read them?” Rollie asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah.”  Angie met his gaze.  “I’m sorry, Rol.  I know I shouldn’t have, and I was going to tell you about it.  I just--” her apology was stopped by Rollie’s fingers on her lips.

“It’s okay, Ange.  You would have read it eventually anyway.  I did give you permission to read my journal.”

“Yes, I know, but I still shouldn’t have done it, not like that.”

Rollie pulled her into his arms and looked into her eyes.  “I wrote those words about you, Angie, about the way I feel about you and how lucky I am to have you in my life.  I want you to know how I feel about all of this, about the fact that you love me, which is a miracle in itself, the fact that you want to marry me, and the life we’re going to share with the children I hope we’ll have together.”

Angie pulled him closer, pressing her face against his neck for a few seconds.  Then she drew back and met his gaze.  “I want you to know how I feel too, Rol.  Look on the shared drive.  There is a new directory called Angie.  There’s something I want you to read in it.”  She gave him a kiss and withdrew from his arms.  “I’ve got some stuff to do up in the cleanroom.  Call me when you’re done.”

Rollie opened the directory she’d mentioned and found a text document file called Angie001.  Pausing a moment, he double-clicked on the file name.  The proper program was launched, and the file opened.

July 13, 2000
 
It’s been a very long time since I wrote in a journal, not since I started college.  With my busy life at NYU, I lost first the time then the need to put my thoughts and feeling down in words.  I find myself beginning the practice again after all these years because of one thing: Rollie.  Not long ago, he gave to me a precious gift, the privilege of reading his journal.  His journal wasn’t about his experiences or the everyday events of his life; it was about me, about his thoughts and feelings for me.  I can’t say how much it means to me that he would share those intensity private thoughts.  I have read only four entries in his journal so far, but each one has touched me profoundly.  It has given me a look into his soul, into something that dwells within his heart that I didn’t even know was there until a short while ago.

And so, like his journal, this one will focus on one subject: him and the feelings that I have for him.  To start it off, I will go back to a day that will always be one of the most important in my life.

Two years, three months, one week and two days ago, a huge part of my life changed forever.  That was the day I realized that the love of my life, the man I’d want to spend forever with, was the same man who had been right there beside me for fourteen years.  It was the day I realized that I was in love with Rollie.

There was a man named Victor Loubar, an international weapons dealer and assassin and one of the most evil men I’ve ever met.  Rollie had tangled with him on two occasions, foiling his plans both times.  In April of ‘98, Loubar came back again, this time seeking revenge.  Loubar was a master of disguise.  The first time Rollie went up against him, it was after he’d posed as Rollie as part of a plot to steal and sell a top secret weapon called a smart grenade.  When Loubar came back for revenge, he posed as Rollie again.  But, this time, he tried to frame Rollie for murder.  That was going to be his revenge, to see Rollie rot in prison for something Loubar did.  It was a tight frame-up.  Loubar was smart.  He planted just enough evidence that a jury would be certain to convict Rollie, but not so much that people would question why someone as smart as Rollie would make so many mistakes.  And the victim was somebody Rollie had reason hate, the owner of another SPFX company who stole a big movie contract out from under us by lying about things in Rollie’s past.

But Loubar’s plan didn’t stop at framing Rollie.  He planted evidence against me, too, making it look like I’d been an accomplice to the murder.  He wanted to get revenge on me for the part I’d played in foiling his plans the second time.  But, more than that, it was an additional part of his desire for revenge against Rollie.  He knew that it would tear Rollie up inside to see me imprisoned.  Rollie would have blamed himself for it.

Loubar came very close to succeeding.  But, as smart as he was, Rollie was smarter.  And Rollie also had an advantage that Loubar could not have anticipated.  Not quite a month earlier, there was an accident on one of our movies that gave Rollie a concussion--and woke up an ability within him that he hadn’t used since he was a child, the ability to see the future.  Just before Loubar returned for his revenge, Rollie had a couple of visions that, though he didn’t realize it at the time, were a warning about Loubar.  It was Rollie’s brilliance and those visions that enabled him to prove that he was not the killer and show who really was.  He also discovered Loubar’s whereabouts.  Rollie, the cops and I tried to capture Loubar, but something went horribly wrong.

I still get a tight feeling in my stomach when I think about that moment, the moment when I stood there, helpless, and watched Loubar put a gun to Rollie’s head.  He was going to kill Rollie, and both Rollie and I knew it.  I looked into Rollie’s eyes, and all I could think about was that I was going to lose him.
 
But, again, Rollie beat Loubar.  At almost the last second, he figured out the meaning of one of his visions.  He managed to trick Loubar and get away from him.  A few seconds later, Leo was there and took Loubar down permanently.
 
Afterward, when it was all over, it really hit me how close I’d come to losing Rollie, and I suddenly knew that, if he had died, I would have died, too.  That’s when I knew the truth about my feelings for him, when I finally realized that I was head over heels in love with him.

But that was only the day I woke up to that fact.  In truth, I have been in love with him all of my adult life.  It started as a childhood crush, and, unknown to me until that day, grew into a love so deep that I couldn’t find any words in the any language to describe it.
 
I shake my head now when I look back and see how blind I was.  Why didn’t I see it before?  It seems so obvious to me now.  I knew I was attracted to him physically.  I knew that I wanted more than just friendship with him.  I’d been wondering how we would be together ever since I was seventeen years old, for Pete’s sake.  Yet I actually fooled myself into thinking that it was just physical.  I was such an idiot.

Rollie smiled.  He hadn’t known about the crush Angie had on him as a child, and he definitely hadn’t known about the fact that she first started feeling attracted to him when she was only seventeen.  What would he have done back then if he had known?  Probably nothing.  He hadn’t been anywhere near ready to admit his own attraction to Angie.

For two years I performed the best acting job of my life.  I pretended that I was not utterly and completely in love with Rollie.  I really don’t know how I did it.  More than anything in the world I wanted to be with him, to hold him in my arms and kiss him, to make love with him.  I couldn’t tell him.  I thought for sure that Rollie didn’t feel the same, and I didn’t want him to know that his “little sister” was totally in love with him.  It would have hurt too much when he rejected my love, though I know that he would have been very sweet and gentle about it.  Yet, even as sure as I was that he didn’t love me, I still held the hope deep inside that I was wrong, that Rollie would one day show me that he loved me after all.
 
Then, on March 18th of this year, it all came to an end, all my hopes, all my dreams, everything.  On that day, I thought I lost Rollie, that the man I loved more than life was gone forever.  For fifteen of the most horrible weeks of my life, I continued to believe that.  During most of those weeks, I was dead, too.  My body just hadn’t gotten the message.  I lived in a haze of unbearable agony, with no joy, no laughter, no feelings except the aching emptiness in my heart and the pain of knowing that I’d never see Rollie alive again.  The only hope I had left was that I’d be reunited with him in death.  And I wanted that death.  I wished for it every day, hoping, praying that some accident or illness would take me away from this world and into the next, where I could be with the man that I still knew I would love for the rest of my life.

Rollie stopped as the words blurred too much to read.  He blinked away his tears, swallowing painfully.  Waiting until he’d regained some control, he continued.

But then a miracle happened.  Rollie was given back to me.  I could not possibly describe the joy I felt that moment I found out he was alive.  My life had been given back to me.  I cannot thank God enough for that.
 
Rollie has been through so much.  He has suffered more than anyone could truly imagine.  Yet his strength and courage has never faltered.  He is even more amazing and . . . beautiful to me than he was before.  He was cast into the fires of hell and came back out even stronger than he was before, though I have a feeling he believes just the opposite.  He has no idea how incredible a person he is.

It was thirteen days ago when another miracle happened.  Rollie told me that he loved me.  I have wanted to hear those words for so long.  The moment our lips met in our first kiss I felt something unlike anything I have ever experienced before.  It was so much more than a just kiss.  Rollie said it best when he said that it was like we were sharing a part of ourselves with each other.  It was incredible.  And then, a few days later, I found heaven.  I know that sounds corny, but it’s true.  Heaven couldn’t be any better than what I felt when Rollie brought me into the Dreamtime and we made love.  Again, Rollie echoed my thoughts when he said that it was the most indescribably beautiful thing he’d ever experienced, that it was as if we became one person, one soul.  I would never have dreamed that it could be possible to share a connection with someone that was so absolute.  I cannot wait to experience that connection again, only, this time, on a physical level as well.
 
I think that, after all the suffering I went through, God must have decided that I was due for an equal measure of joy, more than equal, in fact.  I was given a third miracle when Rollie proposed to me.  It happened shortly after I thought that I was going to lose him again, when he came so close to death that he stood upon the event horizon of heaven.  In less than a month and a half, we will become husband and wife.  The childhood dreams I had when I first knew him are going to come true.  We’re going to spend our lives together.  There is nothing on earth or in heaven that I could want more.
 
Rollie thinks that he doesn’t deserve me, that I could do better than him.  He has no idea how wrong he is.  How can he not see how truly wonderful a person he is?  How can he not see that nobody could be better for me than him.  Nobody could make me feel the way he does.  He is perfect for me, and I hope that he feels the same way about me.

‘I do, Angie.  You are perfect for me,’ Rollie answered silently.

I do understand Rollie’s feelings, though, since I used to feel something similar.  For all those years that I was attracted to him, I felt inadequate compared to the other women he’s been with, those women with their long legs, big breasts, tall, shapely figures and gorgeous faces.  It never surprised me that I thought Rollie felt no physical attraction to me.  What did I have to offer compared to them?

“My God, Angie,” Rollie whispered.  “They were nothing compared to you.  No woman could compare to you.”

But I now realize that, though I may not measure up to those women physically, I can offer Rollie something they never did, perhaps never could.  I can offer him my heart and soul, everything that I am.  I can give him the rest of my life.  And that’s what I intend to do.  I’m giving me to him, my . . . my songline.  In truth, it has always belonged to him.
 
Rollie says that he wants children.  I want that, too.  I keep seeing in my mind little boys and girls who look like him and maybe a little like me.  I want to feel life growing inside me that Rollie helped put there and watch him be the wonderful daddy that I know he will be.
 
I can see the years before us so clearly, raising a family, our children growing up to have kids of their own.  I see us growing old together, always at each other’s side.  We may never be rich, we may never have the big success in our careers that we might want, but no life could be better than what I will have with him.  It wouldn’t be possible.

Rollie stared at the words on the screen, feeling them burrow deep into his heart.  He looked up at the cleanroom, where he could see Angie at work.  He could feel her up there, not just her physical presence but her songline too, the songline that she’d just told him belonged to him.

Taking as deep a breath as he could, Rollie closed his eyes and focused on that songline.  He reached out to it, embraced it, pulled it close to him, into him, until he could feel only her and the thrumming pulse of her life.

‘Angie,’ he quietly spoke in his mind.  Hoping that she would hear him.

Angie sat before her computer, not really seeing what she was doing.  Her mind was on Rollie and what he was reading.  She hoped that her words could impart at least some small measure of her feelings toward him.  She wanted him to know how much he meant to her and how lucky she felt having his love.

Sighing softly, Angie attempted to concentrate on her project.  Her hands returned to the keyboard--then suddenly froze.  Her breath caught, eyes widening as the most amazing sensation took hold of her.  She felt what she had come to know was Rollie’s songline envelop her.  It flowed through her mind and soul like a warm current of water, washing away everything except the strong, clear presence of him.

‘Angie,’ his voice said in her mind.

‘Rollie?’

She sensed him smile.  ‘Yes.’

‘What’s happening?’

‘I think I’m recreating some part of what we experienced in the Dreamtime, though I can’t psychically feel your body like I did then.  I wanted to be a part of you, Angel.  I want you to really know how much I love you.  Can you feel it, Angie?’

Angie closed her eyes.  Yes, she could feel it, in every part of her being.  It was so strong it almost overwhelmed her.

Tears coming to her eyes, she smiled.  ‘I feel it, Rol.  Can you feel how much I love you?’

‘Yes, Angie.  I feel it.’  Rollie’s mental voice held the equivalent of a tremor.  ‘Come here.’

Angie immediately went downstairs, their connection staying intact.  Their eyes locked upon each other.  Angie came up to him and, wanting to be as physically close to him as possible, climbed up onto his lap.  He pulled her close and nestled his face into her neck.  Then he lifted his head and pulled her lips down to his.  They opened to each other, mouths hungry, but not frantic, tongues mating, then parting in a sensual dance.

The kiss went on until both of them were light-headed from lack of oxygen.  Rollie rested his forehead against Angie’s, his eyes closed as he soaked in the feeling of the closeness of their songlines.  Then he raised his head and looked straight into her eyes.  He took her face between her hands.

“Angie, I want to make something perfectly clear to you,” he said aloud, wanting her to hear this with her ears.  “All the other women I’ve dated couldn’t hold a candle to you.”

Angie’s eyes fell from his.  “I didn’t write that because I wanted you to stroke my ego, Rollie.  I wrote it because of what you said in that journal entry.  You said that you felt like you didn’t deserve me, and I wanted you to see how I had felt something similar, only from the standpoint of my physical appearance.  Now that I know you love me, all those feelings I had don’t matter.  I know that physical beauty is not what’s important.  You don’t love me because of the way I look.  Love is more than that.”

“You’re right, Ange.  Love is more than that.  Even if you were ugly, I’d still love you.  But you need to understand something.  In my eyes, you are more beautiful than anyone I’ve ever known.  You are so much more to me than beautiful.”  Rollie ran his hands over her body, making her respiration increase.  “I cannot tell you how many times I have fantasized about your body.  I can’t count the times I saw your lovely face in my dreams.  You have no reason to feel inferior about the way you look.  You’re perfect just the way you are.  It doesn’t matter that those other women were taller, or had bigger breasts, or longer legs.  You are the woman who has occupied my dreams, and my fantasies,” he looked into her eyes, “and my heart for a long, long time.  You will always be the only woman I want.  You are perfect for me, and I will desire you long after I’m too old to do anything about it.”

Their lips met again, passion rising until Rollie’s injury reminded him of its presence.  His mouth twisted in a half-smile.  “I guess this isn’t such a good idea, huh.”

“No, probably not.  It’s just as well that we both decided to wait until we’re married, though I have to tell you that these next few weeks are going to be agony for me.”

Rollie’s smile became full-blown.  “For me, too.”  His smile faded.  “I don’t want to release you.”

Angie grinned.  “Well, I have no objections to staying right where I am for a few more minutes.”

‘No.  I mean in this way,’ Rollie told her silently.

‘Oh.  Do you . . . do you have to?’ Angie asked, also in her mind.

‘Yes.  It takes some concentration to keep it at this level.  And it’s so strong right now that you’re all I can feel.  It’s overwhelming my senses.’

‘Yeah, mine too.  Can you still feel Daniel?’

‘Um . . . yeah, but only if I pay attention to it.’

Angie gave a mental sigh.  ‘I guess we can’t stay like this.  It would be hard to function.  But . . . can we stay this way for just a little while longer?’

Rollie pulled her close, and they rested their heads on each other’s shoulders.  ‘Yeah.  For a little while longer.’

They sat together in silence, both physical and mental, absorbed in the feeling of each other.  Finally, though, Rollie slowly lessened the connection of their songlines until it was like it was before.  With a sad sigh, Angie got up.

Rollie reached for her hand.  “We’ll do that again, Ange.  Soon.”

Angie smiled and nodded.  “Um, I want to finish what I was doing.  Or, rather, what I was trying to do.  Maybe you should get some rest.  I’ll be back down in about an hour.”

“Okay.”

As Rollie watched Angie head for the spiral staircase leading up to the cleanroom, he had a sudden need to know something.  ‘Ange?’ he called in his mind.

She turned around.  “Yeah?”

A bright smile lit the Aussie’s face.

“What?  What is it?” Angie asked, puzzled.

‘You can still hear me.’

Angie’s eyes widened when she realized that the voice she was hearing was not verbal.  “I can!  I can still hear you,” she said with a happy laugh.  ‘Can you still hear me?’

Rollie grinned back at her.  ‘Yeah, I can.’

‘Wow.  Is this the way it feels when you and Daniel speak telepathically?’

‘Yes.’

A big grin grew on Angie’s face, one that held a touch of wickedness.  ‘This could be fun.’

‘How so?’

‘Oh, it’s just an idea I had,’ she replied vaguely.

‘Uh oh.  Have I good reason to be afraid?’

‘Nope.  I promise.  It’s nothing to fear.’

‘Hmm.  I’m not so sure of that, Angela.’

Angie gave him a mysterious smile, then turned and made her way upstairs.  The Aussie chuckled, wondering what she had in mind.  He guessed that he would find out sooner or later.

Daniel walked with Alex through the lobby of the hotel.  He felt rather odd being there wearing the disguise.  He wondered if Rollie felt the same way the first few times he wore a disguise.  Knowing his brother as he did, he had a feeling that the Aussie hadn’t had any problems with it at all.

The minister was very glad he was wearing the disguise, however, when he saw a group of people wearing press ID’s gathered in a corner of the lobby.  Trying not to look nervous, he and Alex quickly left the lobby and headed up to the Executive Park Suite.  Bonnie answered their knock on the door.  Her eyes widened and her lips parted in shock as she saw her son.

Blinking a couple of times, she stammered, “Uh . . . D-Daniel.  That is a very, um, interesting disguise.”

Alex smiled.  “I said the same thing.”

Daniel grinned.  “Yeah, after she finished laughing herself silly.”

Bonnie smiled.  “Well, come on in.”

As they entered the common room of the suite, Cliff was coming out of one of the bedrooms.  He came to a very abrupt halt when he saw Daniel.

“Who. . . .”  He looked more closely.  “Daniel?” he said in astonishment.

Daniel grinned again.  “Like the new look, Dad?”

For the first time in Daniel’s memory, he actually saw his father rendered speechless.  It only took the televangelist a few seconds to recover, however.

“I’d have to say that it’s, um, very effective.  I almost didn’t recognize you myself.”

“Yeah, and it’s a good thing I’m wearing it.  There’s a bunch of reporters down in the lobby.”

Cliff nodded.  “The hotel management told us about it.  They want to get a statement from me about the fair.”

Daniel removed the fake teeth, which had started to irritate his gums and upper lip.  “Are you going to give them one?”

“Yes, I told them I’d come down in half an hour.  That should give us some time to talk.  So, what is it that you needed to tell us.”

Daniel suggested that they all sit down.  He then started to tell his parents about the mugging.  As soon as he got to the part where the mugger pulled the gun and demanded their money and jewelry, Bonnie gasped.

“Oh my lord!  Daniel, you could have both been seriously hurt.  You are all right, aren’t you?  He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Daniel reached across the space separating them and squeezed her hand reassuringly.  “We’re fine, Mom.  He didn’t hurt us.”

“Your mother is right,” Cliff said.  “You could have been hurt or even killed.  We can thank God that you weren’t.”

“God and Rollie,” Daniel responded.

“Rollie?  How did he help?” Bonnie asked.

“He sensed immediately that I was in danger and called 911.”

“Oh, thank goodness for that.”

Daniel nodded.  He had no intention of telling them the rest of Rollie’s part in the drama if he could avoid it.  When Rollie was helping him with his disguise, Daniel had asked his brother whether or not he wanted Cliff and Bonnie to know about what Rollie had done to the mugger.  The Aussie had replied that, if he had to tell them, then do so, but Daniel could see that Rollie didn’t want them to know.

“So, the police arrested the man?” Cliff asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, thank the Lord, and Rollie, for that.”  Cliff shook his head.  “This is very disturbing, Daniel.  I sincerely wish that you’d had one of my men with you.  They could have protected you.”

“How, Dad?  Your men don’t carry guns.  The mugger was armed.  If one of your men had been with us and tried to disarm the mugger, he might have been shot, along with the rest of us.”

“But if someone had been with you, that man might not have attempted to mug you in the first place.”

“Yeah, that’s possible.  It also might not have made a difference.  The guy was a drug addict.  He wasn’t thinking rationally.”  Daniel sighed.  “But that’s not the real point.  This had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I’m your son.  Alex and I simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  What happened to us happens to thousands of people every year in New York.  People get mugged.  People become the victims of violent crimes.  They can’t all have bodyguards to protect them.”

“But you can.  I can give you that protection.”

“Yes, you can, and I appreciate that you’re worried about me.  But, Dad, when I went to Hope Island, I was starting a life of my own, separate from yours and Cooper Ministries.  Since then, I’ve become my own man.  I’ve learned to rely on myself.  I make my own mistakes, and I accept responsibility for those mistakes and deal with the consequences, fixing them when I can.  When I decided to stay on Hope Island instead of joining your ministry, I chose to continue leading my own life.  I can’t let that change now.”  Daniel looked into his father’s eyes.  “I know you want to protect me because you care about me, Dad, and that means a lot to me.  But you have to let me make my own decisions and go my own way.”

Cliff gazed at his son, all at once seeing the strong, determined, responsible man he had become.  He had changed a great deal from the rebellious youth he had once been.  Cliff found himself filled with pride.  Daniel had found his path in life and was following its course with steps that were straight and true.

Cliff rested a hand on Daniel’s shoulder.  “I’m proud of you, Son.  You’ve learned to take responsibility for your life and have turned into a fine man and a fine minister, whom I’m sure that God takes delight in.”

Daniel’s breath caught in his throat.  His emotions welled up and overflowed in him.  For so long, for so very, very long, he had ached to hear those words from his father.

Daniel blinked back the tears that had come rushing to his eyes.  “It . . . it means so much to me that you would say that, Dad,” he said in a roughened voice.  “I hope that I can keep living up to your faith in me.”

“I’m certain that you will.”

Both Bonnie and Alex smiled happily, seeing father and son come together.

Daniel cleared his throat.  “Well, we should get going.  You’ve got to deal with the press downstairs, and, Mom, you’ve got to get over to the fair.”

“Would you and Alex like to help with setting up?” Bonnie asked.

“We would, but it would be best if nobody sees me with you, and I really don’t want to wear this disguise for the rest of the day.”  He and Alex stood up.  “Give us a call this evening, and maybe we can get together for dinner.”

His parents stood as well.  “That would be nice,” Cliff said.

Daniel put the fake teeth back on, then left the suite with Alex.  Once they were in the car and out of the parking lot, Daniel removed the teeth and false sideburns, then ran a hand through his hair a few times.

“Yuck!” he exclaimed in disgust as he got the gel Rollie had put on his hair all over his hand.  “This stuff reminds me of that gunk Bonita put in my hair shortly after she opened her beauty salon.”

Alex laughed, remembering what Daniel’s hair looked like after the fledgling beautician had gotten through with it.

Daniel wiped his hand with his handkerchief.  “I was thinking we could go back over to that clothing store we went to yesterday.  I’d like to get some work shirts and a few other things.”

“Sure, that would be fine.  It’ll give me the opportunity to get some things for Dylan.”

“First, though, I’m going to stop at a gas station and wash this stuff out of my hair.”

After doing that, Daniel contacted his brother.  ‘Hey, Rollie.  How’s it going?’

‘Fine.  Sooo, how’d things go with your parents?’

‘All right.  Dad reacted just as I expected he would.  But we talked, and everything got sorted out.’

‘Ah, so no musclebound bodyguards will be following you about for the rest of your time in the Big Apple?’

‘Nope,’ Daniel replied.  ‘I wanted to let you know that Alex and I are going to go back to that clothing store to do more shopping.  I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone.  If Frank gets there with Dylan before we get back, will that be all right?’

‘Sure, no problem.  I’ll take Dylan on a tour of the place, then we can take a flight in an F-16.’

‘Excuse me?’

Rollie chuckled mentally.  ‘It’s a program I have for the VR chamber.  It’s a real blast.  I should show it to you sometime.’

‘Sounds like fun.  Just don’t crash and end up back in the hospital.’

Rollie laughed.  ‘I’ll fly carefully.’

‘Okay, we’ll see you when we get back.’

Rollie smiled and turned his attention back to his computer.  A little while later, Angie came down from the cleanroom.

“Rol, I thought of some errands I need to run.  Do you think you can stay out of trouble if I leave you alone for a while?”

Rollie gave her a sarcastic smile.  “Well, it’ll be tough, but I’ll try really hard to, Angie.”

His bride-to-be gave him a kiss, grabbed her purse, and headed out the door.

Silence fell upon the loft.  Rollie realized that this was the first time he’d been alone there since being freed.  He stood up and wandered around the place, checking some of the equipment to make sure it was still in running order.  Then he went to the circular shelving unit that held many of the memorabilia from jobs he’d done in the past.  After a while, his gaze traveled up to the VR chamber.  He stared at it for a long time before ascending the stairs to it.  Opening the door, Rollie looked inside the tiny white compartment.  He remained standing just inside the doorway for a solid minute, then, at last, when inside.  He closed the door behind him and sat in the chair.  But he did not start one of the programs.  Instead, he just sat there, staring at the white walls surrounding him.

Rollie did not know how long he’d been in there when his respiration began to increase.  Sweat broke out on his forehead, and his hands started to shake.  He could feel the walls closing in on him, pressing down like a crushing weight.  He was trapped, trapped.  No way out.

With a gasp, Rollie leapt out of the chair and wrenched the door open.  He fled out onto the landing.  Leaning on the railing, he took deep breaths, ignoring the pain they and his sudden movements caused, his eyes tightly closed as shudders passed through his body.

“Damn, damn, damn,” he cursed under his breath.

Once his legs had stopped shaking, Rollie descended the stairs and went outside.  Running trembling hands over his face, he leaned back against the wall.  He turned his face up to the sky.  What he’d just done was stupid, and he knew it.  He’d just felt the need to find out if he could take being in a small, closed in space.  Well, now he knew.  His reaction to being in the VR chamber had been far worse than he’d feared.  He hadn’t expected it to hit him so hard and so suddenly.

What was he going to do?  He couldn’t work on a set with this kind of disability.  He often found it necessary to work in tight quarters while setting up a gag.  He couldn’t expect Angie or others to take over those jobs.

Rollie thought about what Trent had said.  The claustrophobia could be cured.  There were ways to deal with it.  The doctor had even said that people could cure themselves of it.  Of course, Trent had also said it wouldn’t be a good idea for Rollie to try doing it himself.

Giving himself a few more minutes outside to recover, Rollie went back into the loft and to his computer.  He began searching for information on claustrophobia and the treatments for it.  He’d been at it for about twenty minutes when an odd feeling distracted him.  His eyes left the monitor and went to the door of the loft.  The odd feeling resolved itself into what Rollie could only call a premonition.  He sensed that something was about to happen, something that could change his life.

The feeling continued to rise until it reached a peak.  “Blue, show me the outside camera feed,” Rollie commanded his pet.  The image popped up on the monitor.  About ten seconds later, a car pulled up out front.  A tall, blond man in a suit got out.  Rollie went to the door and opened it just as the man was about to knock.  Startled, the man stared at him for a moment.

“Um, excuse me.  Rollie Tyler?”

“Yes?”

The man pulled out a government ID and showed it to Rollie.  “I’m Agent David Rain, Mister Tyler.  I would very much like to talk to you.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Rollie stared at the man, then at the ID he was holding up.  He did not recognize the name of the agency the badge was for, but something on the ID made him stiffen.  In the upper lefthand corner of the badge was an insignia.  At the center of it was an eagle, a Harpy eagle.

Rollie stepped back.  “Come in, Agent Rain.”

The man stepped past Rollie and into the loft.  He looked around.  “This is a fascinating place.  Your line of work must be very interesting.”

“It can be.”

The agent turned to face Rollie.  “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here, Mister Tyler.”

“No, actually, I know exactly why you’re here.  My friends told me that a government agent was at the hospital while I was unconscious, asking questions about me.”

Agent Rain smiled faintly.  “Ah, I see.  Yes, that was me.  You must also know, then, that certain . . . information about you has come to our attention.”

Rollie gave a short nod of his head in reply.

The agent studied him.  “Would you like to sit down, Mister Tyler?  I know that you’ve only just been released from the hospital.  I’ve been shot myself, and I know that it takes a while before you fully recover.”

Rollie and the agent went into the lounge.  Rollie took the couch, and Agent Rain settled in the chair.

“Before we get to the reason why I’m here, I’d like to say that it is a pleasure and an honor to finally meet you,” Rain said.

Surprised at the genuine note of respect in the man’s voice, Rollie stared at him.  “A pleasure and an honor?”

“Yes, sir.  I’ve read your dossier and quite a few reports about you.  I have come to greatly admire your work with the New York Police Department and the FBI.”

“I see.  I had no idea that the feds were keeping such close tabs on me.”

David smiled.  “Well, considering what you do as a, um, sideline, it would only be natural that we would have some interest in you, but we really haven’t been paying any closer attention to you than what was warranted.”

“Until now,” Rollie said, his voice gaining a hard edge.

“Yes.  Since you already know what brought me here, there’s no point in me dragging this out.  I’m not going to hand you a line of bull, Mister Tyler.  I’ll be straight with you.”

“I appreciate that,” Rollie responded, studying the young agent more closely.  There was something about him, an air of earnestness and honesty that was very rare among people in his line of work.  In spite of himself, the Aussie found himself starting to relax.

“To say the least, what we have heard about your . . . special talents is quite extraordinary,” the agent said.  “We know that you have an amazing ability to see things that are going to happen in the future.  An ability like that would be of great value to us.  It’s a gift that could save a lot of lives, if used properly.”

“But that isn’t the only thing that interests you.”

“No.  In our interrogation of Frederic Carfield’s people, we learned some startling things.  Two of the men we talked to told us of unexplained physical crises suddenly afflicting them.  One man stated that, all at once, he found that he could not breathe.  This man was among the individuals who were using a machine on you that was intended to take control of your mind.  This man recounted how he felt the need to escape from the room, feeling that, if he got out, he would be able to breathe again.  At that exact moment, a group of rescuers--whom we know was made up of Detective Leo McCarthy, Angela Ramirez, your brother, and your Aboriginal friend, Mangela--were waiting outside the room.  They subdued the man, as well as the others inside, and got you out.  Shortly after that, came the second incident.  You were surprised by another man, who pulled a gun.  This man said that, before he had a chance to fire, he experienced an excruciating pain in his head then blacked out.  Now, I will be honest with you and admit that neither of the men could swear that you were the cause of their sudden physical . . . distress, though you were present during both of the incidents.  There is, however, what happened to Arthur Cromwell, whom I know you are aware is actually Frederick Carfield, the man who abducted your brother as an infant.”

Rollie stiffened, alarmed at how much the agent knew.  Seeing, the Aussie’s reaction, David Rain lifted his hand in a calming gesture.

“Please don’t worry, Mister Tyler.  We have no intention of revealing what we know about your brother and his abduction, nor his later adoption by Cliff and Bonnie Cooper.  We would have nothing to gain from revealing that knowledge and much to lose.”

Rollie simply nodded, not ready to trust what the man was saying.

“As I was saying, there is what happened to Arthur Cromwell.  He kidnapped your brother.  From what we learned, we know that it was a mistake.  He believed Reverend Cooper was you.  You, Ms. Ramirez, Detective McCarthy, Detective Francis Gatti, Mangela and your father went to rescue your brother.  You and Mangela entered the house to get Reverend Cooper out.  This resulted in Cromwell holding you and Reverend Cooper at gunpoint in his study.  We got hold of the tape recording that was made of what went on in the study . . . the entire recording.”

Rollie’s tension went up several more notches.  Knowing that the tape recording contained the whole thing about how Rollie could physically affect people, Leo had snuck it out of Evidence and given it to Angie, who had edited out all the stuff regarding that facet of Rollie’s abilities.  She then made a new tape, which Leo put back into the evidence locker.  The original tape was destroyed.

“I see,” Rollie said.

“So, we know what you are capable of, Mister Tyler, or at least a portion of it.  We know that you can physically affect individuals, causing catastrophic and even fatal physiological trauma.  What happened to Cromwell is proof of what you can do.”

Rollie stared at the agent.  “So, I guess we’ve reached the part where you tell me what you want, haven’t we.”

Rain nodded.  “Yes.  But I want to ask you a question first.  Why do you choose to help your friends in the police department?”

Rollie paused, surprised by the question.  “Because I can.  Because it feels good to stick it to the bad guys and help those who need it.  Because Leo’s my friend, and I wanted to help him.”

David nodded, his expression revealing that he’d already guessed the answer.  “That’s why I chose my career, because I wanted to put away criminals and help the innocent in whatever way I could.”

There was such a ring of sincerity in the agent’s voice that Rollie knew he wasn’t being handed a line.

“But it sometimes comes at a heavy price, doesn’t it,” David said, a shadow of pain on his face.

Rollie studied the younger man closely.  “Yes, it does.”

A short silence fell between them.  Then David leaned forward in his chair.  “Mister Tyler, what I am about to tell you is not yet known to many.  I’m sure you noticed the agency name on the badge I showed you.  I also know that you wouldn’t have recognized it.  That is because the agency I belong to has only recently gone public.  That agency is made up of individuals from several other government agencies, including the FBI, CIA and NSA.”

“And what is the purpose of this agency?”

“Well, cooperation and communications between certain departments in the government has not always been what it should be.  Also, each facet of the government has its own strengths and expertise.  The FBI was designed to perform one task, the CIA another, and so on.  This agency I am a part of combines the strengths of all these departments, plus it allows us to get past the red tape between those other departments and get all the data and information we need.  It also gives us a huge resource of manpower since we can get whomever we need from any of the agencies that ours was created from.

“Put in a nutshell, our purpose is to protect the United States and its people, as well as its allies, from any threat, foreign or domestic, and to gather any and all intelligence on possible threats to the U.S.  That threat could be as simple as a mob boss gaining so much power that he becomes a danger to the nation or as far-reaching as a terrorist organization plotting to strike multiple U.S. and allied targets.  Of course, a great deal of what we do is classified, so I can’t tell you about it, but what we’re trying to accomplish is to make it possible to protect the nation in ways that would have been far more difficult or even impossible before.”  David stared piercingly at Rollie.  “And that’s where we’d like you to come in.  There are times when all the intel, all the data we gather through conventional sources isn’t enough.  We need something else, something . . . unconventional.  There have been some recent discussions about using people with psychic abilities.  As I believe you are aware, the USSR’s KGB was very interested in using the talents of psychics and did have some success with it.  That is one of the reasons why Doctor Kessler, whom you know is actually Doctor Vassily Sadovnik, got involved in Cromwell’s plans.  He worked for the KGB on one of their projects involving psychics.”

“I know.  I learned that the same time as I found out who he really was.”

The agent nodded.  “That’s what we figured.  Up until now, the U.S. government hasn’t seriously considered using psychics, partially because it was too unreliable a source for information.  But, every day, our world becomes a more dangerous place to live in.  The threat of terrorist attacks grows progressively stronger, as do other dangers.  We need something to give us an edge, Mister Tyler, and, from what we’ve learned, you have a remarkable and extremely accurate ability to find out future events.  That could prove invaluable to us.”

“All right, so you’ve explained why you’d be interested in my ability to see the future.  Why are you interested in my other . . . talent?”

The younger man smiled.  “Why do you think we’d be interested?”

“Well, it would be pretty handy having someone on the payroll who could incapacitate a person from a distance without the use of a weapon.”

Agent Rain’s smile broadened.  “Yes, it would.”

Rollie’s expression darkened, along with his thoughts.  “And I’d make a very efficient assassin.  I could kill someone and make it look like natural causes.”

The agent lost his smile.  His gaze dropped to the floor for a moment.  “Yes,” he admitted.  Then his eyes rose to meet Rollie’s.  “But we would never ask you to do something like that, Mister Tyler.  I swear it.”

“Are you sure, Agent Rain?  Judging by your age, I’d guess that you are not highly placed in this agency of yours.  How do you know what your superiors have planned for me?”

The two men stared at each other for a silent moment.  Then the agent gave a small nod.  “You’re right.  I don’t know everything that my superiors have in mind to use your skills for.  But, though I am not naive, I’d like to think that we would not stoop to using civilians to do our dirty work.”

Rollie lifted an eyebrow.  “I notice that you don’t try to deny that assassination is something you people do.”

“Like I said, Mister Tyler, I’m not naive.  I know what our government has done in the past to protect our country.  I’m not proud of those things, and I would not choose to be a part of them, personally, but there are times when nasty things have to be done for the benefit of the country.”

“The ends justify the means?”

“Sometimes, but not always.  Mistakes have been made; terrible acts have been committed that shouldn’t have been because someone felt that it was the easiest solution to a problem.  But I’m hoping that this new agency will reduce the need for such extreme actions.”  He paused.  “And I’m hoping that your involvement would help even more in that regard.”

“Or it could just make it easier to know exactly who to get rid of,” Rollie pointed out.  “Let’s say that I did go to work for your agency.  Let’s say that I was able to find out who the leader was for a terrorist group that was planning a strike against the U.S.  What would you do?  Would you arrest him?  I doubt it.  You wouldn’t have the jurisdiction or the evidence to back up your charges.  No, the easiest thing for you to do would be to have him killed, along with any other members of the group that I identified.  Can you guarantee that would never happen?”

David’s gaze again fell to the floor.  He did not answer for a while.  At last, he looked at Rollie.  “No.  No, I can’t make that guarantee,” he admitted in a low voice.

Rollie nodded.  “Which is one of the reasons why I cannot be a part of your agency.  I won’t have any part in murder, even if it is ‘for the good of the country’.”

“No matter what you could be offered in return?” David asked quietly, watching him closely.  “We could offer you a lot, Mister Tyler, anything you want, money, success, security.  You’ve made quite a few enemies over the years by working with the police.  We could do a lot in protecting you and the people you love from them.”

Rollie shook his head.  “With these . . . skills I now have, I could get money and success all on my own, if I chose to do it in that way.  As for security, I am not willing to sell my soul to be safe, and the people I love wouldn’t want me to either.  My answer is still no, no matter what you can offer me.”

David gave a slight nod, an expression of deep respect on his features.  “I admire your principles and convictions, Mister Tyler, but I have to say that I am not surprised by them.  From what I’ve learned about you, I already knew that you are a man of honor and integrity, which is a rare and precious thing these days.  I guessed even before I came here that you would not accept our offer if you believed that you might be put in a position where you would be a part of the . . . darker side of what our government does to keep the country safe, and that’s exactly what I told my superiors.”

Surprised yet again, Rollie stared at the man.  “Then why did you bother coming here if you already knew what my answer would be?”

“That is a question best answered by someone else.  I would like to take you someplace.”  When Rollie started shaking his head, the agent held up his hand to forestall him.  “I assure you, Mister Tyler.  You will be perfectly safe, and you would not be gone for long.  My superiors wish to speak with you, and, for reasons of security, they cannot come here.”

“It has to be now?”

Agent Rain paused.  “No, it does not have to be now, but they are anticipating your presence.  If you have a serious issue about accompanying me at this time, we can schedule the meeting for another day.  It is up to you, but I would prefer it if you would agree to come now.”

Rollie studied the agent closely.  There was something about the man that made Rollie want to trust him, but, after everything that had happened to Rollie lately, his need for caution had increased.  “You are asking me to put a lot of trust in you, Agent Rain.  I have no proof of who you are or what your motives are.  For all I know, you could belong to some organization like Cromwell’s.  You might even be one of Cromwell’s associates.”

David Rain nodded.  “That is a valid concern, and I understand why you would have it.  Obviously, my promise that I am who I claim to be would not be enough, so what would convince you of my sincerity?”

“There’s really only one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Give me your badge.”

Rain stared at him a moment, then silently handed him the badge.  Rollie held it in his hands and focused his ability on it.  Figuring that the past would give him more information than the future, that was the direction he turned in, narrowing the “search parameters” to Agent Rain’s career.  Like short clips from a movie reel, Rollie saw scenes from the professional life of David Rain.  He saw the young man being recruited by the FBI from college.  Scenes from his training flashed by, in which Rollie saw that the man was an expert marksman.  He graduated first in his class.

Rollie saw the young agent with an older man and guessed he was David’s partner.  The ‘movie’ suddenly flashed forward to that same agent getting shot to death by a man whose eyes held the madness of a serial killer.  It instantly moved to David himself being shot by the same suspect while he shielded a teenaged girl with his own body.  Seriously wounded, David nevertheless pursued, then shot and killed the man.  Another jump forward saw him being awarded a commendation for his heroics.

Rollie witnessed more scenes from David’s life with the FBI, all of which showed the agent to be a man dedicated to putting away criminals and protecting the innocent.

All of a sudden, though, the scenes from David’s career faded into something else.  Rollie saw him sitting in a hospital room at the bedside of a young woman.  The woman’s hair, which must once have been a glossy dark brown was now dull and thinning.  Her face, which Rollie somehow knew had been beautiful, was now gaunt and showed the ravages of illness.

“I love you, Stephie,” David whispered as the heart monitor in the room changed to an unending tone.

Shaken by the image, Rollie paused for a moment, then continued with his search.  He saw David and another agent weaving carefully through a house full of booby traps.  The other agent tripped one of the traps, which set off an explosion.  He went flying through the air to land in a twisted heap, both legs gone and his body terribly burned.  After seeing to the downed agent, David continued through the house, rescuing a man and a woman who were apparently hostages and killing the man who’d kidnapped them.  His reward was another commendation.

At last, Rollie saw David standing in a wide lobby.  Upon the floor was the same Harpy eagle insignia present on his badge.  A man came forward and shook David’s hand.

“Welcome to the ANSI, Agent Rain.”

Rollie halted the vision there.  He looked up at the younger man, full of amazement and respect over what he’d seen.

“What?  What is it?” David asked.  “Did you see something in my future?”

“No.  I didn’t look at your future.  I looked at your past.”

“We didn’t know you could do that,” the agent said in surprise.  “But I guess that makes sense.  That would be the only way you could have known about Kessler’s real identity and previous line of work.  So, um, what did you see?”

“Enough to know that you’re telling the truth about who you are.  You used to be with the FBI.”

David nodded.  “I’ve been with ANSI for two years now.”

“Two years?  Why doesn’t anyone know about this agency by now?”

“I was recruited when the agency was in its infancy.  At first, it was kept very hush hush.  It is only recently that it’s started to go public.”  David smiled.  “That badge is brand new.  They were issued only last month.”  He became serious again.  “So, do I let my superiors know that we’re on our way?”

Rollie thought about it a moment longer, then nodded.  He had begun to think about the vision he’d had, of the Harpy eagle asking for his help and the black shadow that was growing larger.

David made a brief call to someone, telling the person that they were on their way.  He and Rollie got into David’s car.  As they drove, Rollie contacted Daniel.

‘Daniel, something’s up.’

‘What is it?’

‘That government man who was asking questions about me at the hospital came to the loft.  I’m in a car with him right now, on our way to talk to his superiors.’

‘Rollie, do you think that’s wise?’ Daniel asked, suddenly concerned.  ‘Are you sure you can trust these people?’

‘I think I can trust this agent I’m with.  He allowed me to touch his badge, and what I saw about his past was pretty impressive.  And there’s something else.  I believe these people are the Harpy eagle in my vision.’

Daniel paused.  ‘So, is there something I can do?’

‘Yeah.  I need you to keep an eye on me.  Do you think you can track my location?’

‘Yes, I think so.  Our connection’s a lot stronger now than it was when I tried to find out where you were being held prisoner.  From what I can tell, you’re getting closer to me.’

‘That’s right.  We’re heading uptown.’

‘Okay, I’ll keep track of where you are,’ Daniel said.  ‘I think Alex and I should head back to the loft.  Frankly, I’m surprised Angie didn’t put up a fight when you went with that guy.’

‘She wasn’t there.  She had to run a few errands.’

‘Rollie, please don’t tell me that I’m the one who’s going to have to tell her what you’ve done.’

The Aussie laughed.  ‘What’s wrong, Little Brother?  Afraid she might kill the messenger?’

‘Something like that.’

‘Well, you can relax.  I’ll be contacting Angie myself.’

‘How?  Are these people going to let you call her?’

‘No, I doubt they’d let me do that,’ Rollie replied.  ‘I discovered that Angie and I can speak telepathically with each other.’

‘You can?  That’s amazing.’

‘Yeah, it is.  But I think we’re both going to be very glad we can, though, right now, I’m not looking forward to hearing her yelling at me in my head.’

Daniel chuckled.  ‘I sympathize with you, Brother.’

‘There is something else I need you to do, though, either you or Angie.  I want you to contact Leo, let him know what’s going on.’

‘Right.  Good idea.’

‘Okay, I’m going to, um, sign off now.  Watch my back, Little Brother.’

‘I will, Rollie.  Don’t worry.’

Preparing himself for what he knew was going to happen, Rollie reached out to Angie.  ‘Ange?’

There was a slight paused before she responded.  ‘Rollie?  Man, you startled me.  This telepathy thing is going to take some getting used to.’

‘Yeah.  Um, I need to tell you something, and I don’t want you to get upset.’

There was a moment of mental silence.  ‘What did you do, Rol?  Did you fall down the stairs or something and break your leg?’

Rollie gave a short laugh.  ‘No, Angie, I didn’t injure myself.  You remember that guy from the government who was asking all the questions?’

‘Yeah.  Did he show up there?’

‘Yes.  I’m with him now.’

‘Just great.  You want me to come back?’

‘Uh, well, you see, that’s what I have to tell you that I don’t want you to get mad about.’  Rollie paused.  ‘I’m not at the loft.  The man is taking me someplace to talk to his bosses.’

There was another silence.  Then came the explosion.  ‘Of all the stupid, idiotic, foolish things to do!  What were you thinking, Rollie?!  This guy could be anyone.’

Rollie winced internally.  ‘Angie, calm down.  He’s legit.  He let me do my thing with his badge.  I saw enough to know that he is on the up and up.  He’s the Harpy eagle, Angie.  Well, not him specifically, but the agency he works for.’

That calmed her down.  ‘Are you sure?’

‘Yeah, pretty sure.  But I’m still not taking chances.  Daniel is keeping track of me.  If something happens, he’ll be able to find me.  He’s on his way back to the loft now.  I also want one of you to call Leo, let him know what’s going on.’

‘Okay, I’ll call him as soon as I get back there.  Rollie, be careful.  Please.’

‘I will, sweetie.’  Rollie noticed that they were pulling into a parking garage.  ‘I’ve got to go.  Love you.’

‘Love you, too.’

David went to the highest level of the garage, where there were very few cars.  Pulling up beside a white panel van, he turned off the engine.

“From here, we’re going to travel in the van,” he said.  “The place we’re going to is top secret.  It needs to be kept that way.”

They went to the van.  The side door was opened by the driver.  Rollie looked inside.  The van had no windows, and a solid wall separated the cargo area from the cab.  Rollie stared at the white metal walls and could already feel himself tensing up.

“Is there a problem?” David asked.

‘You can do this, Tyler,’ Rollie told himself.  ‘It’s just a van.  It’ll take you someplace, then you’ll be let out.  You can stand being in it for a little while.’  He took a deep breath.  “No, nothing’s wrong,” he said aloud.

Rollie and David got into the van.  The Aussie flinched as the door closed.  He sat in one of the seats along the driver’s side wall and took a few more deep breaths.  He felt the van begin to move.

Rollie tried to distract himself by concentrating on other things, building schematics in his head of devices he’d been wanting to make but never had the time for.  But the longer they were in the van, the harder it became not to think about the white walls surrounding him.  Just like in the VR chamber, he began to perspire, his respiration rising.  His hands started to shake.  Rollie closed his eyes tightly, blocking out the sight of the walls.

“Mister Tyler, are you all right?” came David’s concerned voice.  When Rollie didn’t answer, the agent touched his arm.  “Rollie, what’s wrong?”

“I . . . I have to get out of here,” the Aussie said in a tight voice, holding onto his control through sheer force of will alone.  “You have to let me out, now.  Please.”

Daniel stared at him for a moment, then pushed the intercom button.  “Pull the van over.  Quickly,” he told the driver.

Several seconds later, seconds that seemed like years to Rollie, the van came to a stop.  David hurriedly opened the door.  Rollie was out of the van instantly.  He walked away a few paces, then just stood there, trying to calm his body and mind.  After a little while, David came up to him.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t realize.  You’re claustrophobic, aren’t you.”

Rollie turned to him.  “When I was a captive, I was kept on an underground level.  My cell was a six-by-six, white-walled room.  There were no windows anywhere.  For three and a half months, I was kept inside that place, with no view or contact at all with the outside.”

An expression of compassion and understanding filled the agent’s face.  “I’m sorry, Rollie.  If I had known, I’d never have asked you to get into that van.  I’ll contact my superiors and work something else out.”

Just then, an idea came to Rollie.  “No, wait.  There might be a way of solving this.”

“What?”

“There is an Aboriginal technique where I can put myself in another state of consciousness.”

“You mean like meditation?”

“No, not really.  It’s too hard to explain right now.  The point is that I think if I go into that state, I’ll be all right.”

“Are you certain?  I don’t want to put your health at risk.”

“All I can do is try.”

Rollie got back into the van and buckled his seatbelt.  “Wait until I’m under before shutting the door.”

“How will I know when you’re under?”

“You’ll know.”

Rollie closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall.  Calming his thoughts, he slid into the Dreamtime.

David watched as the Aussie’s face grew still and peaceful.  His respiration slowed dramatically, becoming barely noticeable.

“Rollie?  Can you hear me?” the agent asked softly.  There was no reply.  Getting back in the van, he closed the door and told the driver to continue on his way.

Throughout the trip, David kept an eye on Rollie.  The Australian never moved, his breathing staying slow and shallow.  He almost looked like someone in a coma.

Finally, they arrived at their destination.  The van stopped, and the driver got out, opening the side door.  David looked at Rollie.

‘Um, okay.  You forgot to tell me how to wake you up,’ he silently said.  Hesitantly, David shook the Aussie’s shoulder.  “Rollie?  Rollie, wake up.  We’re here.”  Not getting a response, he shook Rollie a little harder.  There was a reaction.  The Aussie’s breathing deepened and speeded up.  His eyes blinked open, and he looked at David.

“We’re at our destination,” the agent told him.

He and Rollie got out of the van.  The Aussie looked about.  They were in what looked like a very large storage area.  “Where are we?”

“We’re in an underground complex.”  An expression of realization spread across David’s feature.  “Damn.  I didn’t even think about that.  Are you going to be all right?”

“Yeah, I think so, at least for a while.  Just don’t put me in any small rooms.”

“We won’t.  And if you start having trouble, let me know right away.”  David smiled.  “There’s at least one thing that should cheer you up.  The walls in the main part of the complex aren’t white.  They’re a warm cream color.”

Rollie smiled.  “That’s good to hear.”

They walked across the room to a steel door.  The Aussie noticed closed circuit cameras on the walls on either side of the door and guessed that there were more around.  He also saw what he realized was a retinal scanner to the right of the door.

“You certainly take your security seriously,” he remarked.

“Yes, we do, but only out of necessity,” David told him.

The agent stepped up to the scanner and bent over it, putting his eye up to the eyepiece.

“Identity confirmed.  David Tobias Rain.  Access granted,” announced a computer voice.

“Are you familiar with retinal scanners?” the agent asked.

“Somewhat.  They’re a lot more foolproof than fingerprint scanners or voice print identification.”

David nodded.  “Well, we’ve got other sensors here as well, and they’re telling the computer that there are two people standing here.  The door won’t open unless you’ve been identified and cleared for access.”

“How’s that going to happen when I’ve never been here before?  Don’t tell me that you scanned my retinas while I was unconscious in the hospital.”

David laughed.  “No, but we do have your fingerprints and your voice print.  Even as we speak, the computer is analyzing your voice and comparing it to what’s in its database.”  He turned to a microphone mounted in the wall.  “Computer, state the identity of the individual with me.”

“Voice print matches that of Roland Nathaniel Tyler.  Please provide fingerprints for confirmation.”

David pulled out a metal wand from a recess in the wall and handed it to Rollie.  “Grasp it firmly, with your fingers spaced slightly apart.”  Once Rollie had done so, the agent ordered the computer to confirm Rollie’s identity.

“Identity confirmed.  Access granted,” the computer stated.  “Please provide retinal scan for future identification.”

David gestured for Rollie to put his right eye up to the scanner, which the Aussie did.

“Retinal scan of Roland Nathaniel Tyler added to database.  Please proceed,” the computer said.  The door opened.

“I feel like I just stepped into a James Bond movie,” Rollie said as they went through the doorway.

The agent chuckled.  “Unfortunately, we don’t have all the fancy gadgets and supercars that ‘Q’ provides 007 with.  Wish we did.”

They traveled down a hallway all the way to the end and entered a room where six people sat around a large round table.  They all stood.

“Mister Tyler, we are very pleased that you’re here,” said a tall, statuesque, forty-something brunette as she shook the Aussie’s hand.

“Yes, we are,” confirmed a red-haired man of about the same age and height.

“Rollie, this is Sandra Reese and Adam Caldwell,” David said.  “They are the heads of our agency.  Sandra was formerly with the CIA, and Adam was with the NSA.”

“There was a third member of our triumvirate, a former FBI agent, but he was seriously injured in an accident recently and had to retire.  We’re still looking for a replacement,” Sandra told Rollie.  She turned to the other people in the room.  She motioned toward an Asian man.  “This is John Wang, head of internal security.”  The man nodded infinitesimally, his piercing eyes examining the Aussie intently.  “The woman there is Lisa Young, who is in charge of our science department.”  The blond woman smiled briefly at Rollie.  “Robin Greenwood here is head of Research.”  The short, dark-haired woman also smiled at Rollie, but it was a far more open smile.  “Douglas Crow is in charge of interagency relations.”  The man, who looked to be of Native American descent, held his hand out, giving Rollie a firm handshake.  “And you’ve already met David, who heads our covert operations.”

Surprised, Daniel looked at the man.  He hadn’t expected someone as young as David to have such a high position in the agency.

Sandra turned back to the Aussie.  “There are others whom you will meet later, if you choose to join us.”

Everyone took their seats.

“All right, I’m sure that David has already told you a little about the agency that we are all connected to,” Adam said.  “It’s called the Agency of National Security and Intelligence, ANSI, and chances are that you’ll be hearing more about it in the coming years.  Until very recently, the agency was kept under wraps, known only to highly placed individuals in the government and in the agencies from which the ANSI was created.  What David hasn’t told you is that the people you see here and the others in this facility are actually part of an inner agency within the ANSI, a special unit.  Unlike the rest of the ANSI, we will remain completely covert, and we answer only to the president himself.”

“And what is it that you do?” Rollie asked.

“Pretty much what the ANSI does, except that we do it in complete secrecy,” Sandra replied.  “You will never see anything on the news about what we’ve accomplished.  No word of our efforts will make it to the public ear.  If any credit is given at all, it will be to the ANSI as a whole.”

“With most decisions, we have complete autonomy and can act on our own,” Adam told him.  “For major decisions and extreme threats to the nation, we take our orders directly from the president.  Now, because we are a secret organization, and because of the lack of red tape that other agencies of this kind have to wade through, we have an unparalleled freedom to act quickly and decisively.  This will be of monumental importance in situations where time is of the essence.”

“All right.  This all sounds like a good idea, but where do you expect me to fit in?”  Rollie asked.  “I’m not a government agent, and I have no desire to be one.  I am a special effects artist who just happens to help the cops and the feds from time to time.  David has told me about your interest in my paranormal abilities and given me a vague idea of what you’d want to use my ability to see the future for, but I need a lot more information than that.”

Sandra nodded.  “Of course.  We expected no less.  But we’d like to make something clear to you first.  Even before we became aware of your psychic abilities, we were very interested in you and your skills.  You have an extraordinary talent for making the impossible possible.  Your brilliant solution to the Wayne Harmon dilemma alone showed us how good you are.”

Rollie shook his head.  “I didn’t do that alone.  I had a lot of help, especially from Angie Ramirez, my partner in Tyler FX.  Without her, I couldn’t have done a lot of the things I did.”

“Yes, we are very aware of Ms. Ramirez’s part in what you have accomplished and recognize the value of her skills.  If you chose to become a part of our task force, she would be added to the team as well.”

“The fact that you do not seek to advertise your exploits with the police made you an even better candidate for our task force,” Adam said.  “As for your paranormal abilities, they are an unexpected goldmine to us, one that we sorely need.”

“Look, as I’ve already told David, I cannot be a part of your agency,” Rollie said.  “I will not be involved in some of the things that you people do.”

Adam smiled slightly.  “Yes, we already guessed that you’d be reluctant to join us.  The truth is that, when David came to you, it was more than just to find out if you might be persuaded to work with us.  It was also a test.”

“A test?”

“Yes.  Everyone here is aware of the . . . unsavory side of the agencies that we all came from.  We know of the illegal, immoral and sometimes cruel acts that have been performed in the name of the U.S. government.  There’s nothing we can do about that.  What we can do is run our unit in such a way that it will not be necessary for us to resort to things like that.  David here was testing you to see what your viewpoint is on that sort of thing and whether or not you would hold to your principles.  You passed the test.”

Rollie looked at David.

“We want people of integrity, Rollie, people who are incorruptible,” the young agent said.  “We found out from the people working for Cromwell what they did to you, what they put you through, and we know that, despite the torture and their attempts at mind control, you refused to give them any information that would cause harm to others.”  He smiled.  “We also know about the false information you gave them regarding the diamond shipment.  That was a very courageous thing to do, one that you must have known would result in great harm to you when they realized what you’d done.”

“I had reason to believe that I was going to be rescued soon,” Rollie explained.

“Nevertheless, you showed a strength of will and unswerving perseverance the likes of which we have rarely seen,” Sandra told him.  “You are the kind of person we want.”

Rollie shook his head.  “Like I said before, I have no desire to work for the government.  All I want is to be an F/X artist.”

“We don’t want you to stop making movies, Mister Tyler,” Adam revealed.  “We are not asking you to join us as a full-time employee.  All we want is for you to be willing to help us when we need you.  We have no way of knowing how often that will be.  All we can tell you is that we will only ask for your help if it is truly needed.”

“And what kind of help are we talking about?” Rollie asked.  “It’s not hard to figure out why you’d want my ability to see the future.  But what about the other thing?  What exactly do you want it for?”

“We can’t answer that question specifically,” Sandra said.  “We don’t know what circumstances might arise where such an ability would be needed.  But perhaps I could give you an example, a hypothetical situation.  Let’s say that a group of terrorists were holding a plane full of people hostage on a runway.  Right off, the rescuers are in a bad position.  If they rush the plane, many of the hostages could be killed.  Even if they could manage to sneak on board, in the ensuing battle, innocents are bound to lose their lives.  But what if there was a way of taking out all of the terrorists without firing a single shot?  What if you could get close enough to the plane that you could knock them all out?”

“I don’t know if I could do something like that,” Rollie said.  “I’ve never tried to affect someone I wasn’t in the same room with.”  Rollie didn’t tell them that, when an Aborigine “pointed the bone,” the target was almost never nearby.  Since he had the ability to do a bone-pointing, there was a good chance that he could affect someone from a distance.

“Well, that was just an example of something we might need your kind of ability for.  The point is that we would only ask you to use that ability to save lives or to prevent a major threat to the country.  We would never ask you to take a life.  You have our word on that.”

“All right, I’ve got another question for you.  What are your intentions for my brother?  I know that you were asking questions about him too, about what was going on between the two of us at the hospital.”

“We have no plans for your brother, Mister Tyler,” Sandra replied.  “We would be very hesitant to involve him in anything because of who he is.  Being the adopted son of Cliff Cooper increases the public’s awareness of him, though he has managed to keep a very low profile since moving to Washington State.  Besides, there is also the fact that your brother is a minister himself and lacks your knowledge, skills and experience.”

“We are, however, very interested in this paranormal physiological connection between the two of you.”  That statement came from Lisa Young, the woman who headed the science department.  “It is quite extraordinary.  I, personally, would love to find out how it works.”

“Okay, we can stop right there,” Rollie said firmly.  “If, and I mean if I was to decide to help you guys out, it would be with the understanding that you are to leave my brother completely out of this.  I don’t want him involved at all.  Is that clear?”

Both Adam and Sandra nodded.  “Yes, we understand, and we agree,” the woman said.  “We don’t expect you to give us an answer now, Mister Tyler.  Think about it.  Discuss it with Ms. Ramirez, if you wish.  Since she would be a part of this as well, you will need to do that anyway.  And, knowing what we do about your connection with your brother, we would not expect you to keep this a secret from him.  All we ask is that you not tell anyone else about us.  That includes Leo McCarthy.”

Rollie shook his head again.  “Leo is my friend, and I trust him.  He is going to know that something is up, and if you know anything about me, you know that I don’t deceive my friends.  If lying to my family and closest friends will be a requirement of this job, then you can forget the whole thing right now.”

Sandra and Adam exchanged a long look, then turned back to him.  “All right, Mister Tyler,” Adam said.  “You can tell Detective McCarthy what you need to.  But please impress upon him the need for secrecy.”

“Leo’s a cop.  He knows how to keep his mouth shut.”

“As for the rest of your family and close friends, if you need to tell them anything, please just refer to us as a federal or government agency.”

Rollie nodded in agreement, saying that, since Francis Gatti was Leo's partner and was closely associated with Rollie and the work he did with the cops, he'd have to know, too.

“Very well, then,” Adam said.  “David will take you back home now.  We appreciate you agreeing to speak with us, especially considering that you are still recovering from your injury.  Because of that injury and because we are aware that you need to get your life back on track after everything that’s happened to you, we want to give you plenty of time to think about this.  We will contact you again in one month.”

Rollie shook his head.  “That’s not going to work out.  Angie and I are getting married on August 26th.  Between now and then, my life is going to be pretty hectic, to say the least.”

David smiled.  “Congratulations, Rollie.”

“Yes, congratulations to both of you,” Sandra said.  “I can understand your need for more time.  I’m married myself and am well aware of the chaos in the weeks before a wedding.  Will you and Ms. Ramirez be going on a honeymoon?”

“We haven’t talked about it.  We can’t lose too much time from work.  Neither of us have made any income for four months now, and there are bills to be paid.”

“Of course.  Perhaps the best way to do this is for you to call us when you’ve made your decision.  We would only ask that you not take too long.  David will remain your contact and can give you a number you can reach him at.”

“There is one other thing,” Adam said.  “Something that we’d like to help you with.”

“What’s that?” Rollie asked cautiously.

“We know that you have been attempting to keep the fact that you are alive and were a prisoner of Arthur Cromwell’s a secret so that you would not be harassed by the press.  Obviously, you have no intentions of staying ‘dead’, but our guess would be that you’d prefer to keep your whole involvement with Cromwell unknown.  Is that right?”

“Yes, I’d like it a whole lot better if I could manage to do that, but I don’t see how it’ll be possible.  The second the press find out I’m alive, they’re going to want to know what happened to me and where I’ve been all this time.  I have no ‘cover story’, nothing I can tell them that can’t be disproved.”

“Ah, but that’s where we can help.  We have the capacity to set up any cover story needed.  For instance, we can plant all the evidence and information required to back up a story that a contract was put out on your life and you were put in the Witness Protection Program, your ‘death’ having been an elaborate hoax to make the people who wanted you dead believe that you had been killed.”

“What about all the people who know otherwise, Cromwell’s employees and associates, the cops who were there when I was rescued, and the people who have been interrogating Cromwell’s men?  I trust the guys who helped get me out of that place, but how can you keep Cromwell’s people from talking?  I’m sure their lawyers already know about me.  Between the cops and some help from one of the FBI agents working the case, we’ve managed to keep a lid on things, but I really don’t expect that to last much longer, especially not after what happened in Mount Vernon.”

“As we said, Mister Tyler, we have a lot of resources,” Sandra said.  “You might be surprised by how much we can do.  We can put a lid on this thing.  The truth is that we have already taken steps to cover up all evidence of yours and your brother’s part in the whole Cromwell case.  In fact, we began doing that very thing shortly after we found out what went on in that complex.  We’ve . . . impressed upon quite a few individuals our desire to keep your part in everything a secret.  We have also talked to the personnel at the hospital where you and your brother were and let them know that they are not to talk to anyone about the case.  In addition, we’ve talked to those at Tisch Hospital who know the truth about what happened to you.  And all of yours and your brother’s medical records have been altered as needed.”

Rollie was silent a moment, shocked by the massive coverup that was already in progress.  That’s when an idea occurred to him.  “Can you also cover up the whole thing about Daniel’s abduction as a baby and the illegal adoption?”

Sandra nodded.  “Yes, we can.”  She smiled.  “We are aware that you have already deleted the computer records of your brother’s adoption through the Carfield Agency, which, by the way, was a very smart move on your part.  We can also remove the paper trail of the adoption.”

“Something else we have also already taken steps to do is cover up the fact that Arthur Cromwell is actually Frederick Carfield,” Adam told Rollie.  “That will break the link between him and what happened to Joanne Carfield.”

Rollie looked at them closely.  “Why are you going through all this effort, and why are you willing to put in more time and effort to cover everything up?  Are you hoping that, out of gratitude, I’ll agree to work for you?”

Adam shook his head.  “We expect nothing from you in return, Mister Tyler.  The truth is that covering all this up would be to our advantage, and is, in fact, quite necessary.”

“How so?”

Sandra looked at him intently.  “Think about it, Mister Tyler.  What would happen if word got out about your incredible paranormal abilities?  You’d be a media sensation.  People around the national would learn of it.  In time, word would spread to other countries.  Now, what would happen if people involved in certain organizations decided that they could use those abilities for their own gain, not unlike the way Cromwell sought to use you?  What if enemy countries decided you would make an excellent spy for them?  In hiding your part in the whole thing with Cromwell and covering up everything regarding your paranormal abilities, we are preventing a possible threat to the country.  Chances are that no one would have any greater success in controlling you than Cromwell did, but, as the old saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Besides, if you did choose to work for us, you’d be far more effective if your abilities were unknown,” Adam added.  He rose to his feet, as did Sandra and the others a moment later.  “Well, I can imagine that you are getting quite fatigued.  Go home.  Rest.  Recover from your injuries.  We will get to work on building your cover story.  Is the fabrication of you being in the Witness Protection Program all right with you?”

“Uh, yeah, that would work,” Rollie replied.  “I guess it’s really the only story that would make sense.”

“When do you plan on announcing the fact that you are alive?” David asked.

“I don’t know yet.  It wouldn’t be until after Daniel goes home.  I can’t wait too long, though I have to be honest that I am not looking forward to all the grief I’m going to go through with getting myself ‘resurrected’.  Dealing with the IRS alone will probably give me a killer migraine.”

Several of the people in the room laughed.

“Well, actually, the cover story of you being in the WPP will be of benefit to you in that regard,” Sandra told him.  “There is a program already in place that aids people who were in the WPP to get integrated back into their former lives if the time comes that they no longer have to live in hiding.  We’ll work with the proper authorities to get you into that program.”

“Thanks.  That would be a big help,” Rollie said, thinking that having connections in high places could definitely come in handy sometimes.

“Just let us know at least a couple of days before the date you choose for the big announcement so that we can coordinate everything with you,” Adam requested.  “We will have to ‘get our stories straight’ to avoid contradictions.”

“Right.”

Everyone shook Rollie’s hand again, wishing him well.  David then led him back to the van.  Rollie escaped back into the Dreamtime for the return trip.  As soon as they were in David’s car, the Aussie contacted Angie.

‘I’m okay, Ange.  We’re on our way back to the loft.’

Rollie sensed Angie’s overwhelming relief.  ‘Thank God.  We’ve all been worried sick.  Leo’s been wearing a trench in the floor.’

The Aussie chuckled.  ‘I bet he’ll have a few choice words for me when I get there.’

‘Probably so.  So, what did those people have to say, Rol?’

‘I’ll tell you all about it when I get home.  There is something I want you to do right away, though.  Check the loft for bugs.  These people seem to be okay, but I still wouldn’t put it past them to stick surveillance devices in the loft to monitor me.’

‘Will do.’

‘I’ll see you in a few minutes.  Bye.’

‘Bye.’

As they pulled up to the loft, David noticed a car he recognized sitting out front.  A small smile curved his lips.  “Looks like Detective McCarthy is here.”  He looked at Rollie.  “But then, that doesn’t surprise me.  I should imagine you contacted your brother as soon as you got in the car with me.”

Rollie just stared at him, not saying anything.

“We surmised from what was on that tape of your conversation with Cromwell that you and your brother can speak telepathically with each other,” David explained.  “We already knew the chances were great that you’d contact him and that he would call Ms. Ramirez.  It made sense, too, that one of them would call Detective McCarthy.”

“So, why didn’t you ask me not to contact Daniel or, at the very least, have me tell Daniel not to let Leo know what was happening?”

“Because that would have made you suspicious.  We are familiar with Detective McCarthy’s record as a police officer.  We know that he is a man of integrity, who is dedicated to his job.  We also know that you and he have been close friends for many years and that he would not reveal anything regarding an association you had with ANSI if you did not wish him to.”

“Then why did your bosses ask me not to tell Leo anything?”  Rollie’s eyes narrowed.  “Was that another one of your tests?”

“In a way.  We wanted to see how you’d react.”

Rollie shook his head.  “I don’t like the way you and your bosses have been manipulating me, Agent Rain.”

The young man’s face turned very serious.  “Not manipulation, Rollie.  We would not do that.  You have to look at this from out viewpoint.  We’re taking a chance telling you about us.  You are presently the only civilian not in our employ or under contract to us who knows about the secret unit of the ANSI.  We’ve had to put a considerable amount of trust in you.  And if you do choose to work for us, we will have to put even more trust in you.  Considering what’s at stake, I hope you can understand why we’d need to make sure of the kind of man you are.”

Rollie thought about that for a moment, then nodded.  “Put that way, yes, I guess I can understand.”

David handed him a business card.  “You can reach me day or night at that number.  If something happens that you think we should know about, call me.”  He shook Rollie’s hand.  “Thank you again for listening to us.  I sincerely hope that you will join our team.”

Rollie got out and watched the agent drive away, then he turned and went inside.

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

The moment Rollie came through the door, Angie was beside him, pulling him into her arms.  She scanned his face.

“You look pale, Rol.  Are you okay?”

“I’m kind of tired, and I’m starting to hurt.  My pain meds have pretty much worn off.”

“Go sit down on the couch.  I’ll get some ibuprofen.”

Rollie sat wearily on the sofa, resting his head against the cushions and closing his eyes, his hand going unconsciously to his injury.

“You really look beat, Rollie,” Daniel said in concern.  “I think we should wait to discuss what happened.”

Rollie was very tempted to agree.  He was pretty tired, and his chest was hurting enough that he was having a hard time breathing normally.  But he felt like he needed to tell them what happened as soon as possible.

Angie returned with the ibuprofen, a large gel pack and a hand towel.  She got Rollie a tall glass of ice water, then put the gel pack in the microwave oven to heat it up.  The Aussie poured out four pills into his hand and took them with a big gulp of the water.  The others did not miss the fact that his hands were shaking.

“I think Daniel is right,” Leo said, worried.  “We can wait to hear what those feds had to say.”

Rollie shook his head.  “I don’t think I could relax right now.  Besides, it won’t be all that long before Dylan gets here, and we need to talk about this before then.”

Angie shook her head.  “Frank’s not bringing him over.  I called both him and Sarah and told them that something had come up, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to have Dylan come over to the loft right now.  Alex went over to get him and take him someplace.”

It was only then that it occurred to Rollie that Daniel’s fiancée wasn’t there.  “I didn’t even notice that Alex wasn’t here.  Boy, I am out of it.”

Angie wrapped the towel around the hot gel pack and gave it to him.  He laid it on his chest, over the wound.  “Thanks, Ange.  Um, did you check for . . .” he waved his hand around the loft, “you know what?”

Angie nodded.  “Yeah, the loft’s clean.  Not a bug in the place, except for the multi-legged variety.”

“Good.”  At that moment, Rollie’s stomach reminded him that it hadn’t gotten lunch yet.  “I’d guess that you guys haven’t eaten yet.”

“No.  We were too keyed up,” Daniel told him.  “How about if Leo and I go get something for all of us, and you can relax here on the couch?  Then you can tell us what happened while we eat.”

“That sounds like a plan,” the Aussie replied.

They all decided what they wanted, and the minister and cop left.  Angie ran back up to the living quarters.  She returned with two pillows.&