Psionic Corps Chapter 1
Last updated on December 23, 2003© 2003 Myr
“Leftenant?”
Ah, one of the Brits. I looked at his rank before replying, “Yes private?”
“The Colonel would like to see you, sir.”
I stood up and he turned to lead me to the appropriate colonel.
We breezed through the outer office and he left me at the door. He was dismissed with a nod and the colonel waved me in. The door was closed behind me. I saluted and stood at attention until he asked me to sit.
“Have a seat Ian,” he invited.
“You wanted to see me sir?” I politely prompted after he had stared at me for a long time.
“The General has decided that we should start examining every boy in every school. He feels that it would be safer for everyone if we find those of you that are talented before the talent becomes a problem. The President and incoming General Smith have agreed and the President has requested that we start at his son’s school.”
I squirmed uncomfortably at that. The colonel just looked at me long and hard again.
My life would have been so much easier if I had been normal. But I wasn’t normal in any sense of the word. I was only sixteen and I was a commissioned officer in the United States Army. I looked like I was fourteen or so on a good day and that isn’t even the start of it either. I’m gay and I’m a psionicist.
As soon as the United States and other NATO governments discovered that psionics were not some fantasy dream, they made an all out effort to study everything there was to know about the subject. They made several important discoveries right away. Everyone that had any usable skill at all was gay and was male. The next discovery was that we didn’t age normally. Surprisingly enough, the United States government kept the secret of what was going on and they managed to do the studies without inflicting trauma on the boys involved. They decided to create a secret division of the army and to put all the boys that showed talents into it. Several secret bills were passed through the Congress to allow this to happen. One bill, however, was very public. The ban on homosexuals in the United States military was lifted, finally following what other NATO countries had already done.
The reasoning behind this was to get as many boys trained in their abilities before the public knew about them so that they could protect the boys and protect the people. I was the one that advanced the fastest through training. We have no real way to gage people’s powers yet, but amongst my peers, I was the most skilled over all, having useable skills in each of the disciplines we had discovered together.
The new orders from the colonel were both expected and dreaded. The President had decided that it was time to start actively searching for all young men that displayed the powers. The President’s choice of his son’s private school was tacit acknowledgement that even his son was to be subjected to the same testing as every other boy.
“We have made arrangements to transfer you to Wesler Academy. Since it is a private school and quite exclusive, they wear uniforms. They have quite an active Army Junior ROTC there. You will be in it. We have given you the rank of Lt Colonel. None of the boys in the school outrank you. Also, effective immediately, you are hereby promoted to First Lieutenant. Congratulations Lieutenant!”
I stood and saluted. He handed me a briefing folder and a note.
“I know how you feel about ‘harvesting’ boys this way. It is safer for them and for the people that the boys with gifts are trained how to use them so that they don’t invade other people’s privacy at the very least.”
“Yes sir. I don’t disagree with that sir. You know as well as I do though that the gifted are a lot more sensitive. The gay teenage suicide rate of the 1990’s and early 2000’s were attributed to untrained gifts running amok. I’m just worried about the potential to abuse the boys that are gifted. There is no doubt that we could be used in a way that runs contrary to this country’s beliefs.”
The man smiled. “We have set down a number of laws that specifically address this issue Ian. We will be helping these boys and I’m sure you will do well in this mission Ian. Good luck.”
I nodded and smiled back at the man who was my mentor in all things army.
I read over the note and went to the depot to speak to the supply sergeant. He ignored me for quite awhile. It was a game that I was well used to.
“What is it boy?” he asked disdainfully.
“Boy?” I asked, a bit of iron in my voice.
The man got up off his stool and walked around the counter to stand towering over me. “That’s right pipsqueak, I said boy. You’re not old enough to be in this man’s army. Especially if you are a fairy.”
A crowd had gathered, consisting mostly of eighteen-year-old privates that this man browbeat daily. I used one of my skills for the briefest of moments to detect one older man observing. It was the colonel and he stayed out of sight. It was yet another test I supposed.
“Sergeant, you are to address me as Lieutenant or sir. Anything else is insubordination, and I won’t have it.”
He poked my chest.
My senses shifted into a hypertime setting that I had trained for. I became aware of every detail around me as his finger approached. As soon as he touched me I reached forward quick as lightning and snapped his arm back the wrong way. I swung forward and around fast enough that I was able to stop him from jerking back and then I slammed him into the ground and held him down.
The privates around me had barely the time to gasp before the sergeant was screaming in pain.
“Private! Get the medics and MPs right now,” I ordered the boy.
His face was blank for a half a moment as he processed the impossible show that had just occurred in front of him and then he hopped to immediately. “Yes sir, Lieutenant.”
The man struggled mightily and almost threw me clear of him, so I punched him hard in the side of the head, causing him to go out like a light. I stood and looked around at all the stunned faces around me.
“Always follow orders and respect your superiors, gentlemen.”
They chorused as one, “Yes, sir!”
The colonel used that as his cue to enter. I turned and stood at attention. He asked for and I gave the explanation for his supply sergeant.
The man woke up as the medics and MPs arrived. The colonel told them coldly, “See to his injuries then bring him to the stockade. He’s under arrest for assaulting an officer.”
The MPs saluted and the colonel ordered me to be on my way.
I collected the material I was sent for and went back to my quarters. I shared them with another one of the Psionic Corps members. Billy was a nice boy, age seventeen, who was very gifted in telepathy and empathy. He was a much stronger telepath then me in non-contact situations, though I was able to beat him in telepathy when I had physical contact with my target.
Billy was on his bed reading his order package. I sent him a mental hello and then sat on my own bed to read my own orders. They wanted me to pose as a student at Wesler Academy. My package included a properly sized AJROTC uniform with appropriate rank insignia and whole ton of badges and ribbons. I fingered the Expert Marksman badge for a moment. Precise body control was a skill I had highly refined. My orders were to infiltrate and determine if any boys had power without exposing myself or wrongly invading their privacy. I was free to protect myself with whatever force I deemed required. I had the rest of the school year to accomplish my mission. They had me assigned in all the same classes as the President’s son. They must have really suspected this boy of being about to bloom into his powers.
For the cover, I was General Smith’s son and he had just been reassigned to Washington to lead a new Special Forces group. In this case, the Special Forces group was Psionic Corps. This was not public knowledge for obvious reasons. General Smith and I weren’t actually related, despite our same last name. After all, everyone was a Smith these days. I was to meet the man later that afternoon and ride into school with him so that he could sign papers. I stood up and changed into my new uniform.
The uniform was a perfect fit and it looked pretty good on me. The two silver diamonds of the AJROTC Lt. Colonel looked good on my shoulders. It even fit perfectly over my required bulletproof vest. The army was taking no chances with any of us and we were required to wear the vest at all times when we were outside of secure areas.
I checked the time and quickly made my way out to the officers club. When I arrived, I noticed the General at his own table. He spotted me and waved me over. I stood in front of him and saluted. He returned the salute sharply and asked me to sit.
“Sir, reporting as ordered.”
“Very good,” he paused, “Colonel. I’ve only been recently briefed on what has been going on lately. I’ve been put in charge of the new division. I was told that you are the best amongst our recruits.”
“Only the best when we measure quantity of powers and not quality of individual powers. A lot of others are far more skilled in their individual powers. I have enough skill to be functional in all the powers we’ve discovered thus far. I’m not sure that is saying too much since there are only about forty of us trained so far though.”
“You’re jacket says that you not only are powerful in psionics, but you are also very smart as well. You graduated high school by age twelve, obtained a bachelors of science degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Psychology by age fourteen, a Masters of Science in Artificial Intelligence by fifteen, completed all the training necessary to be a commissioned officer, and are well underway on your doctorate at the ripe old age of sixteen. And you did all that while training here too. It’s a real shame you couldn’t have gone to the Point though, but that would never have gone over very well I think.”
“Yes sir, and no it would not have sir. Just as well, since I had to train here with all the others with our skill. Most of them would not have done well at West Point. I’m not sure I would have, to be honest, sir.”
“You would have son. You scored exceptional on every physical and mental test the army has. Your last year here under training and helping to train others has been quite useful as well. I will be totally honest with you. I have no idea what to make of all of this, but I want you to know up front that I have no problems whatsoever with your sexuality or any of the like. My youngest son is also gay and he was always my best son. Whoever someone sleeps with is none of my concern. Only that the job gets done.”
“Thank you sir. Do they think that the President’s son has power?”
“I thought you might have caught onto that. The President would like for you to try to make friends with his son. He gave me this letter for you.” The general handed me a sealed envelope.
“Thank you, sir.”
“As soon as you have established some sort of rapport with his son, you’ll be invited to the White House to meet the President. Any questions?”
“No General Smith.”
“Excellent. I’ve noticed that you are an orphan. I requested this role in your cover as your father. My youngest is now eighteen, so a sixteen year old fits right in. You don’t mind do you?” He asked sincerely.
I smiled slightly, “I don’t mind, sir.”
He felt relieved at the response. “Let’s go and sign the paperwork at school then.”
I stood up at the same time he did and he dropped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me close in a fatherly embrace. It sent shivers of something down my spine. It had been a long time since I was shown affection of any sort. It was genuine affection too. The physical contact made my empathy skill fairly buzz.
He must have felt me shake a little. “I’m sorry. Did that bother you?”
“No sir. It’s just been a very long time since anyone has done that.”
“That’s a real shame. You’ve been through a lot young man. Your country needs you in this brave new world. Don’t be afraid to come to me for anything. Ok Ian?”
“Yes General,” I replied, looking him in the eye so he knew that I meant it.
He nodded and put his arm back over my shoulder and walked me out the opposite door to the waiting staff limousine.
As soon as we were in, the limo pulled out. We quickly joined the massive amount of traffic flowing around the Capital. It took nearly an hour to reach the school.
He stepped out and I walked right behind him. We walked in the front door as one of the AJROTC boys was walking by. The general hailed him, “Lieutenant!”
The boy turned and visibly startled before saluting. “General sir!”
“Can you show us to the office please?” the general smiled.
“Yes sir, of course sir!”
The boy spun around and pointed in the direction he was coming from. “It’s this way, sirs.”
We followed him as he led us through several corridors, finally stopping at the main administrative offices for the school.
“Thank you Lieutenant. Be sure to get the appropriate pass from the secretary.”
As soon as the boy had his pass and was on his way, the general made his way to the secretary. “Good afternoon. I’m Robert Smith, and I called earlier about enrolling my son Ian.”
She looked up. “Of course sir. Let me just ring Ms. Walker.”
The aforementioned lady walked out of her office a moment later. She led us to her office and sat us down. The general closed the door just before he sat down.
“Good afternoon General. It was a most unusual request the Secret Service made this morning. They wanted Ian to be placed in all of David Price’s classes. David is an extremely gifted young man, is Ian going to be able to handle the advanced classes?” she asked with a great deal of skepticism in her voice.
The general smirked and indicated that I should answer.
“I won’t have a problem with any class you’re offering, ma’am.”
She now looked as skeptical as she had sounded. “Very well. Your father also requested that you continue your Army Junior ROTC. We are proud of our program here, but you currently outrank every boy in the program. Not surprising, given your father,” she said dryly as if the Lieutenant General of the United States Army wasn’t there.
“Since you appear to have everything well in hand, how about a short tour of the school and my son’s schedule?” the General said. It wasn’t phrased as a request.
The lady looked slightly startled but stood quickly. She handed me a piece of paper with my schedule printed on it without saying anything. Oh joy. What a place for young adults to be trapped.
The tour of the school was fairly brief, but I committed the entire floor plan to memory with little trouble. We were in the hall during two different class changes. Most people were in a school uniform, but quite a few were wearing AJROTC uniforms. They all snapped to attention as we passed in the hallway.
Finally we exited the school building itself and went towards another building. “This is where we house our boarding students. Since you are a sophomore, you are located on the third floor. Each boy gets their own room, but they share a common bathroom. The girls live in that building over there. We do not allow fraternizing in the buildings.”
“That won’t be a problem ma’am. My school work leaves little time for girls.”
“I wish all the young men here were as focused as you Ian,” she replied kindly.
“Ian is a well focused young man. He always has been,” the general said, with a lot of pride in his voice. What was strange was that the general meant what he said.
I looked at him and he smiled warmly at me.
“We need to get back to the base to collect the rest of your things. I have to fly out to Wyoming tonight,” the general said, checking his watch.
“Yes, sir.”
“Thank you for the tour, Ms. Walker.”
“No problem General. Ian, when you get back, just report to the reception desk at the main entrance. They will have your key for you. Make sure you have a picture ID with you.”
“Yes. Ma’am. Thank you for the tour.”
She smiled and we got quickly ushered to where the staff car waited. We climbed in.
“She doesn’t like the military much, does she?”
“That was my impression sir.”
“Did you scan at all?”
“Not consciously. Surface thoughts, as I’m sure you’ve been told, are just there all the time for those with a strong telepathic gift. I’m not going to enjoy my time here. They treat their students as if they were backwards little children.”
“I don’t envy you at all, young man. Let’s get you back to base. They should have the rest of your clothing prepared by now. You’re personal laptop along with several other items have been prepared for you. You will have your service pistol with you, though I expect you to keep it locked up. I still don’t trust those ID locks on the guns. I don’t want anyone getting hurt under my watch. Besides, you can more then handle any problems with other force.”
“Yes sir. I don’t particularly like pistols either. I like a nice sniper rifle, personally.”
“That’s right. You have an expert’s badge in that. I’ll be sure to bring you back to base to go rifling with my sons and I.”
I felt more genuine warmth from him and I felt myself flush slightly. “May I ask a question, sir?”
“Of course.”
“Why do you feel so… caring… for me?”
“We’ve had a lot of similar obstacles in life. The difference is that you had to jump them alone. I had my family when I was your age. You can never beat a family Ian. I just feel something special about you. It doesn’t bother you that I care, does it?”
“No, but I feel it on several levels. Usually I can keep my empathy closed off when I need to, but with you, it keeps opening back up.”
“Like I said earlier Ian, you can come to me for anything.”
“Thanks General,” I replied quietly.
It didn’t take long to collect my equipment and new uniforms. After only about twenty minutes on base, I was back in the limo alone this time heading towards high school.
It didn’t take too long for me to settle in. As soon as I had my uniforms and few casual clothes hanging up and put away, I propped open my door and sat down at my desk. The dorms here were wired with high-speed Internet access, though they had a few ports blocked. I took care of that problem immediately by hacking the router and setting my address to accept everything. I then logged into my personal account at the Pentagon.
Everything I was reading was encoded, thankfully. I didn’t hear the other boy walk in. In fact, I was so tied up decoding my messages in my head, that I didn’t even sense him. I was just startled out of my thoughts when I heard his excited voice.
“You hacked into the Pentagon mainframe! That is so cool!” Fortunately for the both of us, his excited voice was barely above a whisper and only the two of us heard it.
I spun around and caught a hold of his hand and dragged him forward. “What are you doing in here?”
He looked like he was ready to wet his pants and he started shaking and stuttering, “I’m sorry. I knocked, but you were so engrossed with the computer. I… I… didn’t mean to invade your privacy.”
I could feel the genuine regret and terror going through his mind. He honestly thought I was going to beat the hell out of him… or worse. I took a brief moment to look him over. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and was barefoot. He was obviously a neighbor. He had short black hair and piercing green eyes that showed a great depth of emotion.
I let him go and pushed him upright, feeling his nicely developing muscles in the process. “Sorry. I have kind of a hair trigger and I’m not used to getting surprises. As for hacking into the Pentagon… there was no need. I have an account for personal stuff and well…” I pointed at the uniform I was still wearing.
“I didn’t know you junior ROTC guys had those.”
“Most don’t, but my dad is a three-star general.”
“Cool! My name is Danny O’Brien, by the way. I’m your neighbor.”
I extended my hand, “Nice to meet you Danny. I’m Ian Smith, Lt. Colonel, United States Army Junior ROTC.”
“Titles all seem to do good around here, so you should fit in. I’m not sure where you will fall on the social ladder though. The President’s son goes here you know.”
“I’ve heard. What’s he like?”
“He doesn’t live here in residence, they drive him down from the White House every day. He’s a smart guy, but really quiet. He has done a hell of a job driving people away. I guess he doesn’t want people to hang with him just because he’s the President’s son. Know what I mean?”
“Yes, completely. I’m a general’s son and the other boys on base always treated me different,” I replied, sticking with the storyline and being totally honest about being treated differently on base.
“My dad’s only a Congressmen. He’s on the Select Intelligence Committee though. He never talks about it and he travels so much that he put me into boarding here. My mom died a few years ago,” the look on his face was full of pain.
“Sorry about your mom. Your dad sounds like he has a pretty cool job,” I said honestly, knowing that his father had to be aware of psionics.
“Yes. It’s strange sometimes. Whenever I see him he’s always looking at me funny. He even asked if I was gay… and he sounded hopeful that I was,” Danny said, with a distant look in his eyes.
“Are you?” I asked him quietly.
He stared deep into my eyes before replying in just above a whisper, “I don’t know.”
I held his look for a long moment before saying quietly, “I am.”
He looked quite surprised. “I figured your father would be very old school about that sort of thing.”
“He went through that with my older brother. We’re family and he loves us. It’s that simple to him.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
“So… the new kid is a faggot, huh?” a tall, well-built boy asked from just inside my door.
“That’s not a very nice term,” I replied with some steel in my voice.
“Are you a wimp too? And what are you doing in our countries uniform? Oh… that’s right! President Price has decided to let you faggots into the military.”
“Enough,” I said firmly, standing up to my full height of five feet six inches. He had a good six inches on me.
“What are you going to do about it boy?” he demanded as he walked right up to me and towered over me.
“What I should do is teach you a valuable lesson. However, I’m going to simply insist that you leave right now and forget anything you thought you might have heard.”
“Why should I?” he asked poking me in the chest.
“Do it or you’ll wake up getting gangbanged by a squad of horny recruits.”
He took a swing at my head but I caught his fist in mine and twisted his arm forcing him down onto his knees. His eyes showed panic at the unexpected result of his attack and the pain from my grip on his arm.
“I asked you to leave Mr. White. I can force you to do whatever I want. Please acknowledge that you understand that I can do whatever I want to you.”
A hard look came back to his face, “Fuck you, asshole.”
I looked over at Danny who looked ready to wet himself again. “Please go back to your room Danny. Close the door on your way out.”
Danny nodded and swallowed hard before rushing out of the room, the door clicking shut behind him.
I pulled the larger boy closer and maneuvered so that I was ready to take him from behind. “So, you want me to fuck your asshole? I thought you said you didn’t like gay guys?”
He tried to break free, but I held him with an iron grip. “Please don’t rape me,” he begged in a pitiful voice.
I whispered into his ear, “How many times have you heard a boy beg to be left alone and not be beaten up by you?”
He didn’t reply other than to whimper.
“How many times did you listen?” I asked while rubbing my free hand over his ass.
“I didn’t,” he replied pitifully, but honestly.
I let his arm go and moved both hands around so that they were gripping his waist. “Why should I?”
“You’re better than I was,” the boy said after a long time of silence.
“Better then you were Steven?” I asked, having picked his full name out of his surface thoughts when he first entered the room.
“I’m not going to act like that anymore. I can’t. I couldn’t inflict this on someone else again,” the boy let out in a rush.
“I suppose that I’ll let you go then,” I said and he let out a sigh, “but,” I felt him tense up again, “I want to know why you don’t like gays.”
“I… I… I…” he stuttered and stopped.
I let him go completely and turned him around to face me. He wouldn’t look me in the eye. Finally I caught his gaze and held it. “Tell me please.”
Finally after a long time he said in a voice so low, it was barely spoken, “He’ll kill me if I tell. He said he would.”
I could feel the terror welling up in him as his suppressed memory surfaced. I quickly reached forward and placed my hand on his head and I did something I had never done before. I invaded the thoughts of a normal. I discovered quickly that he was normal and he was straight. The mental image of his brother from a few years back went through his mind. The things he did were despicable. I could feel all his old pain coming back. I quickly put him to sleep and took control of his thoughts for a few moments. I locked away what his brother had done to him and I put suggestions in place for him to stay well clear of his brother unless he was with another person that he trusted. This should protect him from future attacks and help him rid himself of the gay bashing. I hoped.
I woke him up and he slumped forward into my arms. I whispered into his ear, “Steven, I’ve helped you with your bad dreams. You need to go out and be that boy you used to be. Make friends and don’t be a bully anymore.”
He leaned back and looked at me with confusion in his soft brown eyes. I watched as the light of intelligence returned and he sat up straight. He looked at me for a long moment before standing up.
“I’m not sure why I came in here Ian. It was a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to Wesler.”
“It was nice meeting you too Steven. Thanks for stopping by to welcome me.”
The boy left with a little spring in his step. I heard him say hello to Danny as he walked down the hall. Danny was back in my room a moment later. The door closed quietly behind him.
“What happened?” he asked nervously as he checked me over visibly.
“I taught him a small lesson in manners. I don’t think he’ll bully anybody ever again.”
“I thought we were so dead. He has beaten up a large number of boys, especially those he thinks might be gay.”
“He won’t anymore,” I said with finality as I leaned back against my bed. Fixing his mind had taken more energy than I had expected.
He sat down next to me and grabbed my hand. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Yes Danny. Thank you,” I dropped my head onto his shoulder as a wave of sleepiness wafted over me.
I woke up a few hours later with my head on a pillow and a blanket covering me. I wasn’t alone. Danny was spooned in behind me and he had his arms wrapped around me in a protective embrace. I let my mind wander to his for a moment. He was dreaming and it was about holding someone safely in his arms. I let myself drift back to sleep.
I woke up again in the morning to a God-awful bell ringing throughout the building. Danny stirred next to me, “That’s the wake up bell. We have sixty minutes to eat breakfast, shower and dress for classes.”
“How fun. At least I got to sleep in today.”
“Sleep in? It’s 6:30!”
“Army life has you going at 5:30 am.”
“That sucks,” he grumbled. “Follow me. We’ll get to the showers first. No one else is as fast at waking up as I am. Well, you are.”
I smiled back at him and searched out my towel and toiletries. I followed him out of my room to the hallway. He was right. No one else was out of his room yet.
I hopped in the shower and took a quick one. He stopped a few seconds after I did. I went back to my room and got dressed. By the time I was out in the hallway wearing my uniform, he was as well. That is to say, he was wearing a school uniform.
He led the way down to the dining hall on the first floor. Kids from other school years trickled in and joined us. A few of the other boys even sat down at our table. Danny introduced them to me. About the time I was finishing a senior came over to me. He was wearing an ROTC uniform as well, though he was only ranked as a Major. It was clear to me that his intention had been to chew me out for something. However, he stopped short when he saw I not only outranked him, I also had every ribbon and badge you could get in the Junior ROTC.
He saluted. “Good morning… sir.”
“Good morning Major,” I replied cheerfully. “I’m sorry I didn’t come and find you last night, but I was getting used to my new barracks assignment, I mean dorm, and just didn’t have the time.”
His discontent seemed to deflate visibly. “That’s quite all right Colonel. No one thought to inform me of a new student in the program, let alone someone so decorated.” His tone asked what his words couldn’t.
“My father is a Lt General, Major. He made me start young and work hard. It’s in the blood, I’d say,” I replied to ease the blow to his ego.
He looked at my nametag, “The same General Smith that just got reassigned to Washington to run a new Special Forces Division?”
“Indeed Major. About this rank thing…” I said while flicking my insignia, “I did earn them. In fact, I was part of a group of boys that went through boot camp last summer. They were extra hard on me because of my father. I don’t want you to think I’m some stepped up air-headed son of a general.”
His head tilted to the side a bit and a half smile formed on his face, “I think I’m going to like you, sir.”
“Good. I think I’m going to like you as well. I’ve already got my commission to West Point, so you can rest assured that I’ll stay out of your way. Anything I can do to help, just ask.”
“When I saw your rank… I thought I was going to have no end of trouble,” the young man replied, honestly all over his face.
“I only give trouble to those that give it to me.”
“A young man after my own philosophy.”
“A pleasure meeting you. I’m sure I’ll see you at drills and meetings.”
“Indeed.” He stared at my Expert Marksmen badge for a moment. “You don’t suppose that you’d be able to help me a bit?” he asked looking somewhat embarrassed.
“No problem. How about some weekend?”
He smiled and nodded. He then saluted again and I returned the salute.
“Do you do that with everyone?” Danny asked quietly.
“Do what?”
“Put people at ease and make them feel as if they’ve known you all their lives.”
“Most of the time. It makes things so much easier when boys our age aren’t prancing about trying to posture in front of others without a good reason.”
“So how do you do it?”
“I’m fairly good at reading people is all,” I managed to say without any irony at all.
He nodded and ate the rest of his breakfast in silence. I ate quickly as well and we were just finished when the bell rang.
“I’ll walk you over to the school. You have your schedule, right?”
“Yes. I have first period Calculus with Rice.”
“You are a smart one. There is only one other sophomore in that class. Dave Price.”
“Funny that,” I said ironically. He looked at me funny.
We split ways in the main corridor as we made our way to class. The only empty seat was next to the Secret Service agent in the back of the classroom. What joy! He looked me over professionally as I approached him.
I sat down and he leaned over to me and whispered, “You’re not caring a weapon are you Lieutenant?”
I cocked an eyebrow at him and shook my head slightly while I said aloud, “The two silver diamonds on my insignia indicate a rank of Lt. Colonel sir. And ROTC students are not issued a sidearm until their final year in college.”
He nodded and watched me closer. I mentally shrugged him off. David Price was sitting two seats ahead of his watchdog. He had the same light brown hair as the President, but he had his mother’s stormy gray eyes. I only noticed those when he turned around to look at us.
I could feel is loneliness even as he turned his nose up in disdain at the two of us. I exchanged a glance with the agent and the man merely shrugged.
This was going to be a hard nut to crack.
The teacher, Mrs. Rice, had me introduce myself. The class was all about derivatives. Not all that hard.
The rest of the morning classes went by quickly and each time the teacher had me introduce myself to the class. Each time I found David Price watching me closer and closer.
At lunchtime, I got my food from the chow line and sat down at an empty table. I was there alone for a few moments before a shadow fell over me. It was US Secret Service Agent Watters. David Price was right behind him.
The boy sat down across from me and asked rather sullenly, “Are you in all of my classes Ian?”
“I don’t know Dave, you tell me,” I replied, handing him my schedule.
The agent sat down right next to me. I could feel him sizing me up again. I picked up a really strong surface thought of him having to draw his weapon on me.
“You wouldn’t make it,” I said simply.
He coughed out the juice he had been sipping and sputtered. “What the hell are you talking about boy?”
“Boy? I’m an officer working for the United States just like you, Mr. Watters. By what right do you call me boy?” I asked glaring at him.
He must have realized the button he pressed because he demurred, “I’m sorry Mr. Smith. I’m not often called upon to deal with ROTC types, even in this posting. What did you mean I wouldn’t make it?” he asked spinning the onus back on me.
“I was just referring to the training that must have been going through your mind with regards to threat assessment. I’m this close to your principal, you have to watch me to make sure that I don’t do anything untoward and if I did, you would have to think of all the ways you could eliminate me as a threat before I could harm David here. I simply informed you that you would be unable to stop me in time if I was so stupid as to try to hurt your principle.”
“Aren’t you arrogant?” the man huffed. David watched on in interest.
“Why don’t you take a bathroom break then Mr. Watters. I’ll gladly watch Mr. Price here and protect him from the bullies in the room. I’m guessing at least one will have the balls to approach if you leave him alone.”
“I can’t do that. My job is to protect him.”
“Actually Mr. Watters, why don’t you take a short hike. I’d be interested in seeing whether or not army boy here is all talk or not,” David told him.
Watters looked at him for a moment, shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the room.
“You need to work on your people skills Dave. Not everyone is going to line up to kiss your ass, simply because of whom your father is.”
“What would you know about it?” he demanded sharply.
“I’m a bit different myself and have always stood out in a crowd. People are drawn to those that stick out. Speaking of which, I believe this is one of your admirers,” I said as a big brute of a boy approached. He was in our calculus class.
“So, where is your bodyguard now, piss ant?”
David pointed at me.
I looked at the young man and asked quietly, “You’re in our calculus class, so you obviously aren’t stupid. Why are you acting so foolish now?”
“Did you just call me stupid?”
“No. I called you foolish, though you are quickly working towards being called stupid.”
He started to make a grab for me and I said cold as ice, “I wouldn’t if I were you.”
“I’m not you, you little shit.”
He grabbed a hold of me and dragged me up out of the chair. I let him pull me up and as soon as I was standing I jabbed him hard in his solar plexus, causing him to crash to his knees gasping for breath.
“Do you want to keep your teeth?” I asked coldly.
His eyes widened in fear and he nodded yes as he gasped.
“Then be a good little boy and lay down on the floor.”
He did so immediately. I was just starting to relax when someone put their hand on my shoulder and started to spin me. It was a bad mistake on his or her part. I used the thrust that the person provided to spin hard and I punched hard into the person’s gut. Oops. I sent a very surprised US Secret Service agent crashing to the floor.
There was absolute silence, which I broke. “Sorry about that Mr. Watters, but you should have known better then to grab someone in combat.”
I looked around as the students continued to stare. I spotted David Price sitting in his seat eating his lunch. “Are you all right?”
“Quite, though I think George is going to have the worst sort of bellyache when he can finally stand up again.”
“He should have known better,” I told David before turning around to help George get up.
There was a commotion as the other Secret Service agent staked out in the school came scurrying into the room. He was followed shortly afterwards by the lady in charge of the school, Ms. Walker.
The agent was checking over Mr. Watters while I was keeping an eye on Dave. He continued to eat like nothing was going on. The bully on the floor finally regained his breath and struggled to his feet.
Ms. Walker looked at him like he was a rat. “You’re coming with me boy. As for you Mr. Smith, I’ll let the Secret Service deal with you.”
I shrugged as she stormed off. I sat back down in my seat and started to eat my lunch. I felt someone approach and I held up a finger. I looked into Dave’s eyes as I said, “Don’t touch me Agent Wilson. Your partner made that mistake.”
The man walked around to the other side of the table so that he was next to Dave. “Command would like to speak with you after school.”
The rest of the day passed quickly for me. I kept getting strange looks all day, but no one said anything. At the end of the day, George Watters indicated that I should follow him to the motorcade area. He climbed into the lead vehicle with David.Waiting for me was a tall man, clad in a black suit, sunglasses and an earpiece. You’d think they did it for intimidation. You would be correct. No one was in sight except another agent standing off to the side.
“Mr. Smith.”
“Colonel, if you please,” I replied mildly adjusting my perfectly straight insignia pin.
“Mr. Smith,” the lead agent started again.
“Lieutenant then, Mr. Michael Duncan O’Conner, United States Secret Service,” I cut him off.
The man started visibly, took a minute to recompose himself again. “Mr. Smith…”
I cut him off again, snapping tightly in a low voice, “Yes. Yes. No. Yes. No. And No. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?”
The man sputtered, obviously not used to talking outside his well-rehearsed speech. He attempted to start yet again, “Mr. Smith.”
I cut him off angrily this time in a low quiet voice for him alone, putting real venom into my reply, “You will address me by the rank I earned or you will not address me at all. Is that understood Mr. O’Conner? Furthermore, I’ve already answered all of your bloody questions. Your thoughts are so repeated and so loud, I’m surprised every boy with power in a five mile radius isn’t trying to kill you.”
His mouth opened and closed three times before he nodded and replied loudly, “I’m glad we’ve come to an understanding, Lieutenant Colonel Smith.”
I smiled, nodded respectively and spun on my heel. I put as much distance between us as I could while still maintaining my dignity.
I was in a foul mood when I entered the lobby of my dorm building. It came is no great surprise to me that there was trouble. Three of the friends of my buddy from lunch were waiting around to greet me. Three-on-one odds were not something I generally went into willingly. Unlike their friend, at least two of these punks moved with some skill. They had obviously been trained in some form of martial arts. They moved with the grace and coordination. Obviously the discipline about defensive fighting was lacking in their dojo.
“Here’s our little army boy now. Be careful boys, he disabled a trained Stupid Service member earlier, you never know what kind of tricks he might have picked up.”
“Is there a reason you’re bothering me?” I asked wearily.
“Our very good friend got suspended for a week because of you.”
“I was only defending myself. I’m not looking for any trouble here.”
“You’ve found some.”
All three of these guys were older and larger then me. I couldn’t take them all out without doing some serious damage to them, or risk revealing some of my more potent skills. It was obvious that they planned on giving me a little bit of a lesson and they were skilled enough to attack me from three directions at once. I decided the best way to handle it was to let them capture me with token resistance and then surprise them.
I ended up bloodying a nose and a lip before I was pinned between the two larger boys. They dragged me to a side room where we couldn’t be seen. They held my arms and waited whilst the third prepared to pound my gut a few times.
I didn’t come off unscathed. I got popped in the eye and that was already swelling shut. I did have a rather nasty surprise in store for them. You see, I was still wearing my mandated body armor. It was delightfully flexible unless there was an impact, which caused it to become rock hard. The guy that was about to slug my gut wasn’t going to like the feeling he was about to get.
I tensed as he started to punch and moved my gut forward into the punch instead of back away from it. The impact of his closed fist against my gut was loud with a crunching sound that could only have been his hand severely breaking. His discipline broke down as he collapsed in front of me wailing in pain. The grip of my two captors loosened enough so that I yanked my arms free, grabbed the back of their heads and slammed them together in front of me. They were both out cold.
The noise attracted the attention of a security guard that happened to be passing by. He ordered me to stand where I was as he squawked into his radio. In almost no time at all, the ambulance arrived to usher my friend with the bad hand away and some paramedics to check out the two thugs and I. A very furious Ms. Walker arrived. If a human could breathe fire, she would be the one to do it.
She got right in my face. “You’re first day here and already you’ve been in two fights!”
“I was defending myself both times, Ma’am.”
“Don’t you Ma’am me, young man! I don’t care who your father is! You’re suspended and confined to your dorm floor for the next three days. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Ma’am!” I stood at attention.
She looked angry enough to say something else, but she must have read my face. I had my limits and she was teetering on the edge. I had been within my rights to defend myself and she knew it.
“Get out of here.”
I went back to my room. My coming in must have alerted Danny next door, because he stuck his head out of his room. He rushed over to me as soon as he saw me. “Oh my God, are you okay Ian? What happened? Why aren’t you in the infirmary? Is there anything I can do?” he let out in a rush.
As soon as he reached me he started tenderly examining my eye and face. “Let me get some ice from my freezer. Go get into something comfortable.”
His tone and the look he gave me brooked no argument, so I slowly complied.
End of Chapter 1
