Jack Watts was standing in a newlywed couple's hotel room, wearing nothing but a wet towel. He had another towel on his shoulder and his four bags were on the floor. His laptop was beeping in its bag to indicate an incoming Skype call. Jack shot a look at the ceiling. Two floors up and several rooms over, an FBI Hostage Rescue Team was poised to come crashing into his hotel room to arrest him, believing him to be the next Unabomber.
He checked in with Porthos. The Great Dane was leading a very nervous Mia west to the next phone they see after crossing at least three city blocks. Jack's laptop kept beeping and he pulled it out of the bag. He had seen the lead FBI agent waiting on the phone for the go-ahead and his laptop had started beeping at the same time, which seemed to him as a strange coincidence. He set it on the bed and crouched in front of it.
He tapped the button and the screen was filled with his mother's face. He nearly toppled over in shock. "Mom! You can Skype!?"
Janice smiled a sad smile. "Hello my son, it's nice to see you, too. No, I can't Skype, but my new friend can. He knows about many things, even these gadgets."
Jack drew a deep breath and slowly let it out. He didn't have time for distractions. "OK, Janice, that's nice and all, but I'm kind of in the middle of something so I'll call you back later...wait! What computer are you Skyping me from?"
"It belongs to my new friend. We met at my prayer circle and he explained things to me-"
"Ok, that's nice, but I've got to go and-"
"He explained your behavior to me and asked me to speak with you."
Jack moved his cursor to end the call and said, "I'll call you back as soon as I can, ok?"
"He gave me this necklace," his mother said, unheeding of the urgency in Jack's voice. "He said you'd know what it meant as soon as you saw it."
Jack squinted at the screen. Janice looked to be very calm and collected. She was wearing a dark green turtleneck, a bit heavy for the kind of weather they must be having in Virginia right about now. A very big crucifix was hanging from her neck on a slender chain. "What?"
"My new friend knows about the taint the Devil has laid upon your soul, Jack. He intends to purge you of it."
Jack frowned. "The fuck you on about, Janice?"
On the screen, Janice looked off screen before leaning forward and holding her crucifix up to the camera. "He says you should look at it more closely. He says you ought to have recognized it by now."
Jack shook his head in bewilderment. He had more pressing matters to attend to than his mother and her new, kooky friends. There was an FBI team upstairs, poised to arrest him and they had backup on the ground floor, probably sealing off all the exits.
And I can't do a thing about it cause they're all wearing the fucking necklaces
...
Pinpricks ran down Jack's face and arms as he took a good look at his mother's crucifix on the screen. Its chain looked exactly like the anti-mentalism necklaces. He couldn't be sure, due to the low resolution and poor lighting, but the sinking feeling in his gut told him that it must be true. "Mom! Mom, where did you get that?"
Janice smiled a warm smile. "You understand. Good." She sat back and gave him a maternal look. "I'm sorry I've failed you, Jack. I truly am."
"Mom! Mom, listen to me! Where did you get that necklace? Who gave it to you?"
"I should have guided you better."
"Mom! Tell me who gave you that necklace!"
"Answer your door, Jack," she softly said. A gloved hand snaked over the keyboard in front of her and the call was disconnected.
"Mom! Mom!" Jack frantically tapped the buttons to reestablish the call to no avail. Whoever was with his mother on the other end wasn't picking up. Jack sat on the bed and buried his head in his hands.
Keep it together, Jack, keep it together. First thing's first! Get out of the hotel and away from the armored people with guns, then you can deal with this shit
.
He made holes in his cloak, inspired by what he had felt in the hotel security man's mind. It took a few tries, but he made it back into the man's mind. He learned that the FBI had cleared his room and reported there was no sign of him.
The lead agent looked like he'd rather be shoveling fresh dung than reporting Jack's disappearance to the person on the other end of the line. He obsequiously agreed to everything that was screamed at him over the phone. As soon as his phone was lowered, however, he began screaming at the hotel security staff, threatening to send them to Gitmo for collaborating with an enemy combatant and impeding federal agents in the performance of their duties.
His rant upset the security man so much that Jack lost the connection to his mind. Jack cracked his neck and checked in with Aramis and Athos in the parking lot. Agents in plain clothes, FBI windbreakers or full tactical gear were frantically setting up on every exit from the hotel, detaining and examining everyone that was trying to leave. At the same time, they were stopping anyone trying to come in. Even the Phoenix police department was being kept at bay.
As Jack looked through the eyes of the dogs, he realized there weren't enough feds to cover every exit. If he got down to the parking lot before the SWAT teams were redeployed there, he had a good chance of getting out. His RV was guarded, but there were only two agents covering each of the side entrances to the parking lot. He could get by them with a little distraction.
His laptop beeped again, making him nearly jump out of his skin. He was receiving another Skype call. He put it in his lap and angled the screen up. He tapped the button and his mother appeared on the screen again. She looked worried. "Jack! Jack, where are you? Why are you-"
"Tell your new friends that I'm coming for you," Jack declared darkly. "And I will be dealing with them depending on how I find you." He shut off the call and clicked a few icons in the application George had put on his laptop to make sure he wasn't traced and that he got no more calls.
He turned off his laptop and put it back in its bag. He pulled out some clothes from his suitcase and dropped the towel he was wearing. The husband politely cleared his throat at the impropriety of Jack's behavior and the young wife blushed before turning away. Neither said anything. Jack jumped into a pair of boxers, a pair of slacks and pulled a T-shirt over his wet hair.
He checked in with Porthos. Mia and he were coming up on the second block since leaving the cafe. At the rate they were going, they'd reach a payphone in five to ten minutes. Jack said, "Squiddleydoodlefluffer," and got into the husband's mind again. He had him chant the word squiddleydoodlefluffer over and over again. He did the same to the wife. He'd need them to make some calls for him and he'd need to wipe their memories after he left.
His first order of business was for the husband to call security again. The man insisted and got connected. He insisted his wife was missing and that someone needed to address the issue. An FBI agent was on the other end of the line and he brusquely ended the call. Jack had heard the agent's words through the husband's mind and he made holes in his cloak in the shape of those words. He felt the minds of three security men through them.
Jack picked the most experienced one and had the man think of a way to get Jack to the parking lot unnoticed. He also made the man think of the word squiddleydoodlefluffer over and over again, so his mind was available to Jack at all times. He had the man point at the screens and say, "Isn't that the guy you're looking for?"
Jack saw through the man's eyes that the FBI agents turned to stare at the screens. The security officer then worked the controls for the camera screens and shut off the feed for the floor Jack was on as he deftly manipulated the FBI agents into thinking Jack was taking one of the stairwells towards the roof. He also shut off the feed to the service elevator and Jack dashed out of the room with baggage in hand and Spot in tow. They took the service elevator to the basement while the security man kept the FBI looking at the highest floors of the hotel and the roof.
Seeing the situation in the security room, Jack had no trouble entering the mind of another security guard. He had the man surreptitiously take one of the FBI radios from the table and leave to go to the bathroom. Jack and Spot made their way through the hotel laundry room and found themselves in the parking lot. They were joined by Aramis and Athos and snuck across the lot towards one of the side exits.
At the right moment, Jack had the security guard in the bathroom order the FBI agents at the exit to go provide backup to the agents guarding the fire escape. He had the other security guard switch off that exit's camera, as well as distract the agents in charge from what was being said on the radio at the same time.
The agents jogged away from the exit and Jack and his dogs ran for it. Jack had never run so fast in his life as he had at that moment. He could feel through both the security guards' minds that the jig was up as the lead agent angrily countermanded the order over the radio. Jack and the dogs were already on the sidewalk outside the hotel. They dove behind a bench and he peeked out to see the two agents stop and turn around. He swung back behind cover as they jogged back to their position.
Jack looked around himself. There were a few people on the sidewalk, but none were interested in him and his dogs crouching behind a bench. He quickly caught his breath and rebuilt his cool.
I'm out! I'm safe!
His joy was tempered by the realization that Mia was still running around the streets of Phoenix scared. He peeked through Porthos' eyes and saw the dog sitting by a public payphone that was five blocks west of the cafe. Mia was stomping up and down the sidewalk, anxiously growling at Porthos to get up and keep going.
Jack had the dog look at the phone and noted the number. He opened up his laptop and loaded a map of Phoenix. He found the location of the payphone and considered things for a minute. He picked a random, out of the way spot and had the husband call the payphone. Jack watched through Porthos' eyes as Mia jumped at the sound of the phone ringing. She hesitated before picking up the phone. She didn't say anything after putting the receiver to her ear.
