The Mind's Eye, page 25
“Fuck me,” he said, as the confession finally came to an end. He couldn’t help but notice that the army of supporters and assistants behind the Senator was a great deal smaller. Men and women who had believed in him had been disillusioned forever. Whoever ran against Hughes in the next election would not lose, even if he had his own scandals to overcome. “What the hell just happened?”
***
Elizabeth watched from the sidelines as Senator Hughes collapsed on the stage. She hadn’t meant to make him collapse, but there had been a sudden unexpected pressure in his mind, throwing her back into hers. A moment later, he’d just crashed down into darkness. She hoped that she hadn’t killed him by accident, although after what she’d seen in his mind she found it hard to care. A world that had nothing but telepaths wouldn’t have such dishonesty in high places. It would be impossible to hide such a mind for long.
Come on, Leo sent. She’d insisted on doing the probe herself, knowing that Leo might well lose control and seriously hurt their target, instead of just humiliating him. It helped that the Senator had been terrified of telepaths, not without reason. His list of crimes seemed never-ending. We have to get out of here.
Elizabeth nodded and led the way out of the crowd. Hundreds of others were leaving, some already using their cell phones to call their resignations into the office. Others – citizens who would have voted for Hughes in the election – looked angry. How could they vote for him now? She wondered if they’d just switch en masse to the other party, or if they’d just stay home in disgust. The general mind tone was full of sudden anger. Hughes would be lucky to be elected to Assistant Garbage Disposal Officer if there was an election tomorrow.
“I expected him to have support from the Telepath Corps,” Leo muttered, as they kept walking. They could already hear the sounds of sirens heading towards the stadium. Someone had probably called the police and suggested that Hughes be taken into custody before his former allies in the criminal syndicates realised what had happened and sent assassins after him. Or maybe someone had realised what had happened and sent the police after the rogue telepaths. “They should have guarded him.”
Elizabeth shrugged, remembering the only Telepath Corps member she had ever met. “They might have had a peek themselves and discovered the truth about him,” she said, thoughtfully. “Hughes clearly decided that telepaths, even telepaths who were supposed to be on his side, were a liability. I think he’s just learned the error of his ways.”
Leo chuckled as two police cars drove past them. Elizabeth sensed the presence of a telepath in one of the vehicles and pulled her own mind inward, concentrating on hiding. The other telepath didn’t notice them, his thoughts intent on something else. There was no way to know what without risking a probe and that would have certainly alerted him to their presence.
“And what will happen,” he asked, “when the Telepath Corps starts peeking into the heads of the people they are supposed to guard?”
Elizabeth smiled. Walking like this, almost as if they were two young lovers, made the world seem almost normal, just as it had been before her powers exploded into life. The illusion was shattered as they walked into a small café and met up with the other three telepaths, led by Valentine. Their thoughts were calmly focused, but glittering with victory. They had succeeded. Their task hadn’t been as dangerous as peeking into the Senator’s mind and forcing him to spill his secrets in front of a captive audience, but it had been richly rewarded.
“Success,” Valentine assured them. “We got everything we wanted from the targets.”
Leo nodded. “And then I am afraid the next step in the plan is for you, Liz,” he said. Elizabeth nodded. She disliked that part of the plan, but it was necessary. Besides, it would keep her away from Valentine for a few hours. “Good luck.”
***
Gary lived for computers. As a youth, his parents had bought him an old Windows machine that had been destined for the scrap heap. Gary had, instead, bought a handful of books on computers and somehow managed to repair and vastly improve the old machine. Other computers followed after his parents realised that he had a talent, each one expanding his knowledge of both computer hardware and software. Gary became a master programmer, cutting his teeth on Linux and other free programs, before expanding outwards into computer hacking and even mischief. He wasn’t political, although he had once helped hack into a congressman’s computer after the man had demanded greater controls over the internet; his only concern was keeping access to his beloved computers. His apartment was crammed with the machines. When he ran them all simultaneously, as he did most of the time, he had to use air conditioning to keep the room cool.
The knock on the door reminded him that the real world sometimes intruded on his existence, an existence that was more in cyberspace than in reality. Given a choice between the cold greyness of reality – where a fat nerd like him would be mocked relentlessly – and the warmth of cyberspace, he knew where he wanted to live. Girls didn’t mock him in cyberspace – one of his proudest achievements was discovering how to unlock the passwords of a hundred different porn sites and spreading them over the internet – and he could have them whenever he wanted. It was so much cleaner than living with an actual girl, or so he told himself. The girl at the door took his breath away.
She was young, shapely and adorable, just like his favourite porno star. When she passed him the small hard drive containing a list of computer servers and passwords, he knew that he was in love. He’d been told, by one of his contacts, that there might be a chance to hack into servers that – so far – no one had been able to access, but they hadn’t mentioned the girl. He would do anything for her. He took the hard drive back to his lair and – feeling nervous at even making a tiny pass at her – beckoned for her to follow him. He expected her to leave, but instead she followed him into the room.
He knew she was impressed because her mouth fell open. Grinning, he sat back down in his chair and picked up the cyber-glove that allowed him to manipulate objects within cyberspace. Very few people could use a glove naturally, but Gary – whose early experience had given him a freakish insight into how computers thought and reacted – had no problems using one. The girl looked suitably impressed as he linked up the hard drive to the computer network and started to examine it. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had given him a virus, but most computer viruses couldn’t thrive on his machine. It would need to be a virus designed specifically for his computer and he had been careful to make sure that no one had the information that would allow them to create one.
The data fell open in front of him and he smiled. He didn’t know how she’d done it – he was sure that it was all her work – but the passwords of some of the most secure databases in the world lay in front of him. The secret databases of the banking sector, the insurance companies, the military-industrial complex, the state department...they were all open to him. He was barely aware of time passing as he started to poke through the internet, slipping through links that led to proxy servers and then into his destination. Secure firewalls that had daunted the most determined hackers fell open at his touch. They could hide nothing from him.
“All you have to do is spread this far and wide,” the girl said. Her voice sounded unbearably sweet in his ear, like the voice he’d ripped from a porn star and used for his alarm clock. “I want the entire world to know about it.”
Gary, who would cheerfully have killed for her, nodded. “Yes,” he promised. He knew that there was no way that a major babe like her would deign to kiss him, but at least he could dream. “I will make sure that everyone knows.”
***
Elizabeth looked up at the wall of computers and fought hard to keep herself from bursting into laughter. It looked like a computer geek’s paradise, which she supposed it was, in a way. Gary seemed to live a twilight existence, having long since hacked into the power companies to make sure that they kept feeding his computers electric power without noticing that they were doing anything of the sort. Valentine had told her that Gary was unlikely to give a damn about politics, but like all such outcasts, a pretty girl could get through his defences with ease.
She looked down at his mind and realised that Valentine had been right. Gary was easy to manipulate, even without telepathy, especially when she looked so much like his dream girl. She’d caught a glimpse of the image surrounding her in his mind and found herself smiling at how pretty she looked. She’d pushed a handful of other commands into his mind while he was distracted, covering her tracks. Even if the Telepath Corps peeked into Gary’s brain, they’d only see the porn star he admired. She wondered if they’d waste time trying to track her down.
The plan was simple enough. The most powerful firewalls in the world couldn’t stop someone who had the right password, the passwords that Valentine and the rest of his team had been systematically pulling out of the right minds. The data that Gary found would be dumped out onto the web, creating a security nightmare for their targets. Even if they managed to wipe it out of the web, no one would ever trust their security again. The damage would be considerable, or so she hoped.
Gently, she touched Gary’s mind and implanted a fantasy, and then left the apartment. She hadn’t realised how warm it had been in there until she walked out, back into the outside world. Gary seemed to live in a hothouse. She would have been surprised if Texas was any hotter. Shaking her head, she went outside and headed back to the meeting point, where the others were waiting. If anyone managed to trace the hacker back home, all they would find would be Gary. Oddly, exposing him like that caused her a pang of guilt. Gary had been a genuine innocent, without any fear of telepaths, or even hatred. All of his emotion was reserved for his beloved computers.
“Hey,” Leo said, as she walked in. He was grinning unpleasantly, his mind flaring with malice. “Take a look at that.”
Elizabeth glanced up. The television had been set to Fox News and the presenter was talking about Curtis Hughes. Leo clicked a switch and the volume came up, allowing them to hear what he was saying. The Senator’s career had come to an end. It seemed likely that he would never be free again; at least once all of the criminal acts he had admitted to committing were proven. She hoped that other political leaders took note. They could all be targeted by rogue telepaths. Maybe they’d see sense...
Or maybe they’d just become more determined to hunt them all down.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Official Washington is reeling today after the shock confession of Curtis Hughes, formerly one of the prime Democratic candidates for the Presidency. Hughes, whose confession was broadcast live to the entire country, claimed responsibility for a multitude of criminal acts and has been taken into custody by the FBI. His angry political workers have deserted him in droves, two of them even going so far as to start a recall election. A spokesman for the Democratic Party pledged a full investigation prior to the DNC.
-AP News Report, 2015
“So,” a voice said. “How are you feeling today?”
Art’s eyes opened and he found himself staring up at a pair of naked breasts. For a moment, he was completely stunned and then he remembered. After handing the mind controller – Henry the Mind Controller, part of his mind whispered mockingly – over to the FBI, they’d gone back to their hotel and fallen into bed together. It had been a long time for both of them and they’d spent half of the night making love.
“Very good,” Art said, reaching for her. Alice came willingly and he felt her breasts pushing against his chest. He sensed her desire as she touched him, feeling the emotions running through her body and mind. “And how are you today?”
She kissed him and, for a long moment, all thought was forgotten. Art could feel her pleasure as he touched her, caressed her and finally slipped inside her, allowing him to ride her orgasms until he reached his own climax. Oddly, he was sure that she could feel him as well, even though it should have been impossible. Perhaps his telepathy had opened up a two-way link between their minds. For a second, he remembered the two telepaths who had merged into one being and almost drew away, before deciding that there was no better way to go. It didn’t happen; when they separated, they separated permanently.
“I think we’d better get a shower,” Alice said, afterwards. She pulled herself off the bed and staggered towards the bathroom. “They want us back in Washington ASAP.”
Art blinked at her, and then reached for his cell phone. It was blinking away with an urgent message, ordering him to report back to Washington and the Telepath Corps as soon as possible. He opened his mouth to complain about her leaving him to sleep, before realising that it would be churlish. Besides, he wasn’t too unhappy about the delay. He was still smiling when Alice left the shower – wearing a dressing gown and her hair down – and ordered him into the shower. He winked at her and held up the cell phone.
“I wanted to make sure that you were all right,” Alice said, by way of explanation. Art remembered the mental conflict with the mind controller and shivered. There didn’t seem to be any permanent damage, but there were gaps and flickers of pain running through his memory. He recalled how the Telepath Corps had used stress-inducing techniques to help awaken new telepaths and shivered. He knew how they felt. “And besides, I wanted to take you to bed.”
Art caught the towel she threw at him and stepped into the shower, troubled. He hadn’t used his telepathy to force Alice into bed, yet there was a quiet nagging doubt. Had he done it unintentionally? The mind controller would have forced her into bed without a second thought, but Art...how could he know if the feelings she had for him were real, or something he had created in her mind? He turned on the shower and felt warm water sluicing him down, washing away the sweat and stains of sex. There truly was no way to know, apart from asking another telepath to probe her mind, and even that might not be conclusive.
You’ll find out when you die, a voice whispered in his mind. You’ll know if you had a lover or if you’re nothing better than a filthy rapist...
Art shook his head angrily and turned off the shower, towelling himself down as he stepped out and studied himself in the mirror. There were no obvious signs of injury caused by the mind controller, although the scars he’d picked up while on active duty still showed clearly. Alice had kissed them all, one by one, and he’d loved her for it. A soldier’s wife had a hard life and far too many marriages and relationships were broken up by the stresses and strains of combat.
“...The New York Stock Exchange is shivering after multiple hacking attacks on various banks and other companies left their secrets open for all to see,” the television said. Art frowned – he hated television in the morning, although it was closer to noon – and stepped back into the bedroom. Alice was sitting on the bed, watching CNN. “It has been discovered that several banks do not have the financial reserves to cope with a sudden run on their money. Furthermore, they have continued to invest in toxic stocks, despite the lessons of 2008. As the word spread, thousands of investors and private citizens have started a run on the banks, demanding their money before the banks run out of reserve cash.”
Art blinked. “What the hell?”
Alice tapped her lips and switched to Fox. “...Been confirmed that a group of rogue telepaths obtained the passwords for the State Department and the Pentagon’s innermost computer databanks and spread the word to the hacker community. In a deliberate repeat of prior politically-motivated hacking, the telepaths have been broadcasting the secrets to the entire world. It may be days before we obtain a complete list of secrets, but highlights known to be on the web include a secret plan to offer sanctuary to Saudi and Iranian telepaths and a military operations plan for withdrawal from Afghanistan...”
“My God,” Art said, in astonishment. “Who did this and why?”
“The Pentagon spokesman, General Harrison, stated that the combined telepathic and hacking attack was an act of terrorism,” the speaker continued. “Whatever the motivations of the key players, they have successfully weakened the United States and embarrassed the country in front of the world. The White House has not yet commented, but sources within the FBI have stated that hunting down and capturing the telepathic terrorist – or terrorists – has become the first priority for the FBI...”
Alice clicked off the television. “I spoke to Washington,” she said, wryly. “They want us back there for a meeting. It seems that the faecal matter has definitely hit the fan.”
Art nodded. He’d been a young Marine during the last financial crisis and could still remember how his parents had come alarmingly close to losing everything. The Marine recruits had wondered if they’d be called out onto the streets to keep the peace, although in the end that hadn’t been necessary and they’d gone to Iraq instead. If it had happened again, with government budgets so tight, he doubted that there could be another bailout. Besides, if the bankers had been taken insane risks again, the country would not be inclined to let them get away with it.
“No arguments,” he agreed. “I take it that they have already arranged for an aircraft?”
Alice winked at him. “How did you guess?”
***
The Telepath Corps had decided not to build a prominent headquarters in Washington, even though all of the other intelligence agencies had their own headquarters near the centre of power. It had been pointed out by various PR experts that most people preferred telepaths out of sight and out of mind – particularly the latter – and having a large and expensive government building would only provide a focus for tension and riots. For the moment, the Telepath Corps was operating out of a CIA installation near Washington, although as the separation between the two organisations got wider, they would probably have to move.
