11-15-2017, 01:27 PM
Marcus adopted a commiserating look. The man had been patiently waiting. He probably felt as if his life were on hold. He knew the feeling, waiting on the status of applications. Now that he thought about it, the last time had been waiting on the results of his application into the Sigma program. And he was willing to admit he'd become restless.
Malik had hunted a lot those months. A lot. Enough that a frisson of fear lanced through him. He was always careful. But you could never plan for everything. All it would have taken was one mistake. Or someone to notice them. The Chicago PD was swamped and from what he knew, no enterprising young detective on the make had put things together- not enough to detect the pattern in the murders that had occurred. The victimology, timing and methods of death were different enough that the standard AI's that the PD surely used to flag possibly related crimes had not made the connection.
A person, though, could have used his intuition. Gone with his gut- the essence of unpredictability. In hindsight, it was possible Marcus was subconsciously trying to burn all his bridges. Go out with a bang. And perhaps- perhaps- it had been a subtle message to Andre. He paused. No. It couldn't have been that...could it? Of all people, though....yes, Andre might have been the one to put it together. He knew some of the victims himself. Perhaps he suspected. Perhaps that was why he'd ignored Marcus' offers to come to the CCD.
He marveled at his fortune- or luck. Or fate. He'd gotten away with it. The universe had had more in store for him than a standoff with the police. He had no illusions how that would go. He would take as many with him as possible.
Strange. Very strange. Here, though, he felt so much safer. None of his victims were connected to him or each other. None of it was personal, at least not in that way. Still...when the time came and he went out again, he'd have to take extra precautions. Not just Oakland's force mask. It had screamed to him what it was- what Oakland was- and he had torn it away with the force to reveal the man underneath. Perhaps something more conventional was needed. At least until he figured his way around creating weaves no one could see. That imaginary term still called to him. Yet another thing to work out. In th meantime, though, surveillance evading facial wear might be best. Other things. He'd need to do some research.
But James needed his attention now. His smile had remained and he was effusive in his apologies. "I can understand your frustration. I'm sure you understand the precautions. Your healing was nothing short of miraculous. But there was still concern that the Ascendancy-"
he did not mention himself, but it would be understood all the same- " might need further healing. The, ahh, nature of the healing is so new and alien to us that we feared your being unavailable should you be needed at a moment. The Ascendancy's health affects everyone."
He could almost imagine the disappointment that the man might feel. He waited a moment to allow it to sink in. He needed the man to feel despair before throwing him a lifeline. "Still, I think time has shown that this new type of 'medicine' works well enough to not require any followups. We still view you as an ally and resource we'd like to call on. At the same time, we understand you'd like to go about your life. I had meant to call you in in the next couple of days, as I have already spoken to the Ascendancy about this. The Consulate is willing to release you to your own custody- with the understanding that you not leave the country- while you train others in your manner of channeling."
He raised a finger preemptively. He knew the man demurred when he'd asked- nearly begged, playing every angle he knew- for this teaching. "I understand this may not be what you want. I know that. But what you do can help too many people. We need you, Mr. Jensen. The people need you. You have been the Samaritan, willing to help a stranger as your neighbor. We are now asking if you would do us one more kindness and teach other Samaritans. They are out there."
He pulled his desk around and pulled up the list he'd prepared for the meeting he'd originally planned. "The registration has given us a pool of thousands of channelers with numerous abilities. It might interest you to note that not a small percentage have followed your example and used their divine gift to help others. On a small scale, surely. Nothing as spectacular as what you can do, nor as effective, from what we can tell. Still..."
He let the words sink in, allowing Jensen to see the list- last names redacted, but descriptions of their abilities intact. " But with people like this, I imagine it would be easier for you to teach. They are further along than I would be if I took your training. Imagine the help that could be offered. The number of people in the world you could minister to, at least indirectly."
He sat back and let things settle. "I know it's not exactly what you asked for. But would you be willing?"
He hoped the man didn't say no. He had other angles to take. But this was the best one. With the implication that once the training was done, he would be free.
Malik had hunted a lot those months. A lot. Enough that a frisson of fear lanced through him. He was always careful. But you could never plan for everything. All it would have taken was one mistake. Or someone to notice them. The Chicago PD was swamped and from what he knew, no enterprising young detective on the make had put things together- not enough to detect the pattern in the murders that had occurred. The victimology, timing and methods of death were different enough that the standard AI's that the PD surely used to flag possibly related crimes had not made the connection.
A person, though, could have used his intuition. Gone with his gut- the essence of unpredictability. In hindsight, it was possible Marcus was subconsciously trying to burn all his bridges. Go out with a bang. And perhaps- perhaps- it had been a subtle message to Andre. He paused. No. It couldn't have been that...could it? Of all people, though....yes, Andre might have been the one to put it together. He knew some of the victims himself. Perhaps he suspected. Perhaps that was why he'd ignored Marcus' offers to come to the CCD.
He marveled at his fortune- or luck. Or fate. He'd gotten away with it. The universe had had more in store for him than a standoff with the police. He had no illusions how that would go. He would take as many with him as possible.
Strange. Very strange. Here, though, he felt so much safer. None of his victims were connected to him or each other. None of it was personal, at least not in that way. Still...when the time came and he went out again, he'd have to take extra precautions. Not just Oakland's force mask. It had screamed to him what it was- what Oakland was- and he had torn it away with the force to reveal the man underneath. Perhaps something more conventional was needed. At least until he figured his way around creating weaves no one could see. That imaginary term still called to him. Yet another thing to work out. In th meantime, though, surveillance evading facial wear might be best. Other things. He'd need to do some research.
But James needed his attention now. His smile had remained and he was effusive in his apologies. "I can understand your frustration. I'm sure you understand the precautions. Your healing was nothing short of miraculous. But there was still concern that the Ascendancy-"
he did not mention himself, but it would be understood all the same- " might need further healing. The, ahh, nature of the healing is so new and alien to us that we feared your being unavailable should you be needed at a moment. The Ascendancy's health affects everyone."
He could almost imagine the disappointment that the man might feel. He waited a moment to allow it to sink in. He needed the man to feel despair before throwing him a lifeline. "Still, I think time has shown that this new type of 'medicine' works well enough to not require any followups. We still view you as an ally and resource we'd like to call on. At the same time, we understand you'd like to go about your life. I had meant to call you in in the next couple of days, as I have already spoken to the Ascendancy about this. The Consulate is willing to release you to your own custody- with the understanding that you not leave the country- while you train others in your manner of channeling."
He raised a finger preemptively. He knew the man demurred when he'd asked- nearly begged, playing every angle he knew- for this teaching. "I understand this may not be what you want. I know that. But what you do can help too many people. We need you, Mr. Jensen. The people need you. You have been the Samaritan, willing to help a stranger as your neighbor. We are now asking if you would do us one more kindness and teach other Samaritans. They are out there."
He pulled his desk around and pulled up the list he'd prepared for the meeting he'd originally planned. "The registration has given us a pool of thousands of channelers with numerous abilities. It might interest you to note that not a small percentage have followed your example and used their divine gift to help others. On a small scale, surely. Nothing as spectacular as what you can do, nor as effective, from what we can tell. Still..."
He let the words sink in, allowing Jensen to see the list- last names redacted, but descriptions of their abilities intact. " But with people like this, I imagine it would be easier for you to teach. They are further along than I would be if I took your training. Imagine the help that could be offered. The number of people in the world you could minister to, at least indirectly."
He sat back and let things settle. "I know it's not exactly what you asked for. But would you be willing?"
He hoped the man didn't say no. He had other angles to take. But this was the best one. With the implication that once the training was done, he would be free.