Out of Touch (16 page)

“Sarah Duncan, at last, so nice of you to arrange this meeting.”

“Shit.”

“No, but you can call me Tom. And before you get too panicked, your government didn’t send me.”

Sarah tried to catch her breath and restructure her thinking. Part of her was still definitely panicked, but there was something oddly captivating about this Tom person. His eyes were deep, steady, surrounded by dark lashes. As he slouched against the tree the muscles of his arms and even some under his shirt seemed flexed for show. The bangs curving over his forehead had been styled with gel. Men like him only showed up on jungle paths in perfume ads and pornography.

“I guess you’d like an explanation.” He spoke clearly but with a noticeable Asian accent she couldn’t place. “I took Reggie’s bag, because the U.S. government had tagged it. I placed devices of my own on his shirt and trousers; so I could meet up with you later. Then I escorted the bag up the coast, carefully removed all foreign devices, and deposited them in the ocean, well away from where you two departed. I checked your trajectory, saw it confirmed my initial predictions, and caught a plane to Belize City, where I rented a jeep. I would have contacted you last night, except that you were constantly with Reggie, who already knows far too much and has no need to be broadcasting information about me.”

“Do you think you’re the only one who’s found us?”

“The American’s trust far too much in technology. After placing their transmitters during the customs inspection, I don’t think they had anyone keeping a visual watch. I doubt they’ll even trace you to Belize. Of course, any thoughtful person would check your electronic spending history and realize you’ve previously traveled in Belize and would be likely to feel comfortable here. But frankly, most agents are dull cogs who never try to do anything innovative and probably wouldn’t be allowed to follow up anyway.”

“Were you the one following our taxi?”

“What taxi?”

“Before the bus in Belize. Our taxi driver thought we were being followed. He did his best to lose them.”

“What nationality? What kind of car?”

“I don’t know. It had dark windows.”

“Not the U.S., I’m sure. And I don’t think the Chinese are out here. So either your driver was mistaken, or there’s another player. Interesting possibility. But satellite pictures show no one following your bus except me, and they won’t be able to tell the transmitter was in the pack I took. Even if they thought to check satellite pictures of your boat trip, they’d probably lose track of you in the dark hours when you disembarked. No, I think this is as safe a place as we can get until Reggie learns to be quiet.”

“He can learn that?”

“If I’m going to deal with you, I think I’d better teach him.”

“Why are you doing this?”

Tom’s face lit up. He cocked his head a bit to the side and flourished his hand like a model on a game show. “Your prize, should you choose to accept it, is an all expense paid trip to Bangkok, where you would be welcomed as a political refugee escaping persecution for mental differences. In our enlightened domain, we do not believe in conscripting teeps or teeks, although several employment options are available. We’d be satisfied just to keep you out of the hands of the competition.”

“You work for the Thai government?”

“Not officially, but yes. Though I am supposed to be on vacation at the moment. I just happened to be the lucky telepath in Jamaica when the U.S. let slip Reggie’s flight choice.”

“I’d have to discuss it with Reggie.”

“Only after I train him. But I’d rather he didn’t even see me until he agrees to close his mind. Tell him it would probably mean a couple days with me listening to his every spilled thought and slapping his hand until he learns to shut up.”

“That’s really how you do it?”

“You’d rather I use electrodes?”

“Can anyone learn this? Why wouldn’t he want to?”

“Only a telekinetic without telepathy could ask that, which makes you unique. You’d be surprised how much people hate mind readers. The training only works because it’s so unpleasant.”

“I’ll ask him and then come back.”

“No need. I’ll know. If all goes well, leave the back window of your cabin open while you’re at breakfast, and I’ll sneak in. Bringing back some food for me would be a nice gesture. If Reggie says no, I’m sure you’ll both be leaving right away. You’re not stupid, are you?”

After breakfast, Sarah and Reggie approached the cabin slowly. They had muffins and fruit for Tom, and Diana had agreed to pack a lunch they would supposedly take hiking, which they could pick up in half an hour.

Sure enough, when they opened their door, Tom was sprawled out across their bed. Spread out in front of him were the contents of Reggie’s pack. Reggie tensed up immediately.

“Oh really, Reggie, I’d already gone through it for transmitters. And yes, your thoughts are coming out loud and clear. You’re so easy when you’re annoyed.”

Tom stretched the last words and flicked his eyelashes in a dramatic manner. He drew himself from the bed with catlike hauteur and sauntered over to Reggie. Sarah thought Tom was much too large of a presence to be contained inside their room. Despite his stylish clothes, the spy fit better in the rain forest.

“Hold out your hand,” he said to Reggie. Reggie held out his right hand and Tom slapped it with quick, stinging precision. Reggie managed not to pull it back, but Sarah saw the muscles in his face tighten.

Then Tom smiled and warmly shook Reggie’s hand, gently covering the top of it with his left for a moment, as if to ease the sting of his own slap. “I’m Tom. Pleased to meet you.”

“This will really work? Permanently?” Reggie asked.

“I haven’t seen it fail yet. No one likes having their mind read.”

Slap.

“And yes, I’m gay, too.”

Slap.

“Poor liberal California guy. I know your type. I attended Berkeley, you know? I think you’ll learn very fast.”

Slap.

“A stereotype? I’m just doing my part to uphold Thailand’s reputation for something more interesting than biotech. More fun too.”

Half an hour later, Reggie showed marked improvement, or at least he was getting slapped less. Sarah, however, was about to explode. Tom was deliberately provoking and insulting her boyfriend, presumably as part of the training. But Tom did it all in such a smooth and seductive manner, it was easy to believe he enjoyed his work. Reggie showed no objection to being slapped, but Sarah’s brain was wild with instincts to defend him or escape or do something.

So she excused herself to fetch the lunch Diana had promised to pack. The heat outside and the fragrance of rosemary growing in the kitchen window box assured Sarah she’d just left the twilight zone. Stepping into the kitchen was like returning to her right mind.

“You okay, dear?” Diana asked as she opened the refrigerator.

“More than. Your kitchen is a magical place.”

“All good kitchens are. But really now, you look . . . distressed.”

“Compared to when I was a teenager?”

“No, no. Never that again.” Diana laughed and set a bag of food on the table next to Sarah. At a glance, it was clear they would not go hungry. It was also clear the older woman was inviting Sarah to talk, but wouldn’t press.

Sarah reached out to clasp Diana’s arm. “You’re ready to step right in and mother me again, aren’t you? No wonder I came back to this place. But really, all I need is a few quite days. It’s so good just to be here again.”

Diana gave her a quick hug, and Sarah carried the food back to the cabin.

She opened the door to find two grown men wrestling on the floor like boys. Tom’s right hand immobilized Reggie’s left at the wrist. Reggie was half on top of Tom swiping ineffectually with his other hand. Tom was blocking and trying to grab, but he didn’t seem to be attacking. In the instant when Reggie looked up toward the door, Tom pushed straight up and flipped them both over, landing himself on top and managing to pin Reggie’s right arm to the floor. The position was quite sexually suggestive, and Sarah was very glad that her thoughts couldn’t be read.

“Bit noisy if we don’t want anyone to know Tom’s here,” she said.

Tom smiled and shook back his hair like the alpha lion. “There are many roads to enlightenment.”

“He told me I could hit him back if I wanted to. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Yes.” Slap. Tom managed to slap the right hand and re-pin the arm before Reggie moved. “Of course I’d know you were turned on without the thoughts. I’m lying right on top of you.”

Reggie blushed.

Sarah felt her face warm too, but inside she felt sympathetic pain
for Reggie’s embarrassment. “You know, it’s bad enough for Reggie to have you hear his thoughts without you repeating them to me.”

“Bad enough, perhaps, but not nearly as good for conditioning.”

Sarah was ready to object again when Reggie said more quietly, “If he has to know, I’d rather you know too. I’ll stand accountable for my thoughts.” Then in a louder, less serious tone, he glared at Tom and said, “Speaking of standing . . .”

“Are you sure that’s what you want? We could bring her down here, too. I wouldn’t normally do a woman, even in a three-way, but I could make an exception for a teek.”

There was a pause then – Slap. “Such a dirty mind. He was imagining you could –“

“What is it with guys and teek sex fantasies? I don’t want to know, and I don’t want to try it. Now if you two would –“

“Guys? You say that like there were others.” Reggie turned his full attention to her, and Tom raised one eyebrow before easing himself off the floor.

             
Sarah thought back to Howard’s casual insinuations the day she was discovered as a teek. She remembered his lack of action when she escaped from the CDC car.

             
“Tom, was the U.S. looking for anyone other than me?”

             
“A few drug lords, some terrorists, and Elvis. Did you have anyone particular in mind?”

             
“Do you know about others collected at the same time they tried to get me?”

             
“No, were you part of a group?”

             
Sarah wondered how much to tell. She ran away to avoid becoming a spy, well, actually to avoid becoming a slave. Perhaps some exchange of information was not only fair but useful. “I met a family of telepaths a few weeks back. I don’t think they want to work for the government either. Is there any way Thailand could help them?”

             
“If they show up and request refugee status for mental differences, they’ll get it. But we can’t recruit people within U.S. territory. Even I’m not that cocky.”

             
Slap. “Pun on cocky,” Tom said to Sarah.

             
“Oh, the humiliation of having lines I choose not to use heard anyway,” Reggie gave Sarah his best little boy frown.

              At bedtime, Tom made it clear that he intended to sleep close enough to slap Reggie if his thoughts leaked out during dreams. Not that any thoughts had leaked in hours. Tom had grudgingly admitted that Reggie was a fast learner, at least in conjunction with the right teacher. This didn’t stop him from making a play to climb in bed with Sarah and Reggie.

Sarah was exhausted after a day caged in with Tom. He was like a puma: beautiful, strong, and not something she wanted to sleep with. Given the bits of Reggie’s thoughts that had been repeated aloud, it seemed he felt the same. Sarah wasn’t surprised that Reggie also found Tom attractive. Some people just had that kind of charisma, and anyone who wasn’t totally repressed would respond. But she wondered how Reggie really felt after having someone like that read his thoughts. She would have liked some time alone with her boyfriend, to snuggle close and stroke his ego. Instead, they pushed the smallish couch from across the room up next to the double camp bed, gave Tom a blanket and pillow, and tried to go to sleep.

After several rounds of someone shifting position and then the other two rustling around in sympathetic discomfort, Reggie said, “Should we just play cards or something?”

“You have any cards?” Tom asked.

“You have a better ideas? Never mind,” Reggie sighed.

“At least I’m only hearing you speak.”

“Do you prefer that?”

“Other than being able to mimic perfect sexual intuition, hearing people’s random thoughts is mostly annoying.”

Sarah inferred traces of deeper emotion, though Tom’s face was a shadow in the moonlight. It was strange how people opened up in near darkness. “Did you know about telepaths when you were a kid, Tom, before you could hear people’s thoughts?”

“My parents were both teeps. They waited until I was old enough to keep the secret and then told me the same day we had the whole talk about puberty. Completely overshadowed my concerns about being gay.”

“Did they work for the Thai government, too?” Reggie asked.

“A bit. My grandparents emigrated from China and were all high and mighty about independence and family honor. But my parents and I grew up in Bangkok. We’re less idealistic. And better paid.”