Unforeseen Dives – 37b – Confined

<< 37a – Confined

Irina worked in the courthouse and was rarely cast as a phone line between another telepath and a psychic. She handled it calmly, if a little stiffly. Careful to remain out of the way during my mental conversation with the SWAT team leader, she redirected her nerves in a tight grip around my hand.
“Identify yourself.” The SWAT leader ordered abruptly. It rubbed me the wrong way.
“My name is Cassidy Parker, ex-PSI agent.” My reply altered my interlocutor’s attitude. My reputation preceded me again. Good. The guy’s previous tone really irked me.
“Miss Parker, I’m agent Francis.” We performed the mental equivalent to a handshake, which was probably closer to the Japanese bow in spirit. “Is there an immediate menace inside the building?”
“Not as far as I know. No person from the mob got in and we managed to calm down our crowd.” I surveyed my surroundings so the agent could get a mental picture of our situation. Everyone still sat on the floor, waiting for their saviors to reign in the mob.
“Good.” Francis closed the communication for a few seconds. He probably ordered the teams in place. “From the looks of it, it should be over within the hour. It’ll sound worse before it ends.”
“I’ll warn everyone. Good luck.” Agent Francis broke the connection with Irina who instantaneously began to recreate the hive mind. She was getting good at this. A few minutes later, my team of twenty telepaths relayed the information. I added half an hour to the timeline the agent mentioned; I didn’t want to have everybody anxiously waiting by the door come the one hour mark.
There was nothing left to do but wait.
I sat by Rebecca and tried to distract myself by caring for her. She chatted with me a bit while remaining in the mental isolation Ryan fuelled. Her conversation wasn’t enough to tame my mood though. The pain in my back munched on my patience and my feeling of helplessness was killing me.
How did non-readers handle it?
I could usually dive ahead to see the outcome but the whirlpool messing up the courthouse’s future blinded me. Rebecca was too fragile to read the evolution of the situation outside. Ryan was busy keeping her safe. Irina was way too scared and impressionable for me to ask her to eavesdrop on the SWAT team.
Minutes stretched and so did my nerves.
After a while, the pounding on the doors increased; the mob, sandwiched between the building and the SWAT team, looked for an escape route. Everyone around me tensed. I feared the panic might reemerged from under the wobbly lid I put on it. I wasn’t sure I could calm the crowd again. The ones that knew each other hugged closer but overall, nothing happened.
Minutes later, the ruckus receded. People actually tensed more this time around. Finally, a voice resounded through the walls.
“This agent Francis. I’m the SWAT team leader. The riot has been neutralized. We ask you to please exit the building in a calm and orderly fashion.”
Much to my surprise, people actually listened. They rose slowly and scuffed toward the doors at a measured pace. Some headed for side doors to reduce the flow going to the front. All the muscles in my body relaxed. The worst of it was over.
Rebecca felt fine but I refused to put her in the middle of a crowd on an adrenaline down. She didn’t argue. Irina stayed with us. We pulled her through the even and she wasn’t ready to let go of our bond just yet.
I allowed the bulk of the people to exit before we left our place. We had barely risen when a small SWAT team joined us.
“Agent Francis sent us to escort you to safety.”
I nodded. I guess having my life threatened once last week warranted a little extra care. The squad surrounded us and guided us away from the front doors. Ryan and Rebecca walked hand-in-hand to ensure my partner wouldn’t be assaulted by thoughts again. Irina and Agent Jackson came behind me. The four of them created a shield doubled by the four SWAT guys. Quite the escort.
When we approached one of the side doors, Irina froze for an instant, barely enough to raise suspicions, then moved on closer to me. The back of her hand connected with mine.
“He would have told me,” she broadcasted. I didn’t understand. “Agent Francis. He would have told me you had to stay put. That he was sending someone. And they’re all telepaths.”
Before I could mentally curse, the movement of the SWAT in front of me confirmed he picked up Irina’s conclusion in my brain.
I pushed Irina to the ground and kicked the fake-SWAT guy’s hand. Priority one: switch the balance of power by getting the gun. I heard agent Jackson doing exactly the same to another guy. He didn’t ask why; the agent was used to working with a partner who knew things beyond his comprehension.
“Imposters,” I yelled all the same to snap Rebecca and Ryan out of their mental loop. I needed my partner. My adversary punched me. I walked back a couple of steps under the shock. At least, I got him to drop his gun.
Rebecca grabbed my arm, securing our connection. We trained for this. I prompt dived nanoseconds ahead. It was all the advantage I could provide with the whirlpool looming. Rebecca pulled me and I spun on her back to knock another imposter with both feet.
Ryan tackled the last one. I caught a glimpse of their high-speed fight. Two telepaths duking it out was a scary thing. Agent Jackson wouldn’t last long against a telepath though. Irina couldn’t fight but her expression told me she was mentally calling for help.
The analysis took less than a breath. My initial opponent knocked Irina out while I punched my new target again. He motioned for his lost gun but Rebecca was faster and kicked the pistol to the far end of the room.
Ryan could hold his own. Jackson would be killed if we didn’t help.
“It’s basically three against two and a half.” Rebecca summarized with a mental grin. She caught the arm that would have knocked down Agent Jackson.

38a – Trigger >>