Jevic appeared in Jakub's suite. He looked around and found me standing in the sitting room. He ran over and wrapped his arms around me in a fierce hug.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. My tingling came to the rescue."

"What happened?" Jevic asked as he released the hug, then looking me up and down to make sure I was okay.

"Remember what happened at the restaurant? Our heads getting shoved around and finally the plate on your head?" Jevic nodded as he rubbed a hand over his sore spot. "That was the guy I found here getting ready to attack. He has the same power you do. He can turn invisible. He'd tracked Jakub to the restaurant using wrist coms. He was just fucking with us, hoping Jakub would come back. His name is Alexandr and his real objective was to kill Jakub."

"Why was he so interested in killing a murderer?" Jevic asked stoically.

"Do you ever stop being an asshole?" I asked harshly. "Just for once, will you please give me a little consideration. I'm trying to do the right thing here and you're standing in my way. What the fuck, Jevic?" He stumbled back a few steps, obviously shocked by what I said, given the look on his face. "Can you not find it in yourself to believe in me? You know me better than anyone else on this planet or any other planet for that matter and you still question me? I sense something wrong. My tingling senses something wrong. There is something wrong with this whole picture and with Jakub being evil like his father. Thank about it a minute, Jevic. Is Brandon evil because his dad was evil?" A tear rolled down Jevic's face. "I thought not. So pull up your big boy pants up and get with the program. Can you do that?"

"I-I'm sorry, Cameron," he said with a sob. "All I could see was that he wanted to kill you and my dad, the two most important people to me. I was in full defense mode. I never considered that Jakub might be like Brandon."

"I know you're worrying about your dad and about me too. And I understand you being in defense mode. I really do. And I love you so much for that. You're more concerned about me than anything else, but that's clouding your thoughts. I think that's the same with Jakub, but it's anger that clouds his thoughts. I just want you to give me a little credit. First of all, my tingling can take care of me. Second, my tingling and I think something's just not right."

"Okay. Thank you for making me see what you see." He reached out with his arms and I met him with mine and we hugged. I didn't even ask or warn him. I just teleported us back to our suite.

When we appeared, Timmy yelped. His eyes bugged out and he pointed at us. His mouth was fish-like as it opened and closed. I grinned at him and gave him a small wave.

"Hey Timmy." He finally closed his mouth and stopped pointing. He took a big sigh.

"Okay, so you're all fucking aliens who just pop in and pop out whenever you feel like it," he said with a slight grin.

"Actually, I was born here on Earth. My father was born on Earth too. My mother. Now that's another story. She has relatives who live on Kelmar. I get my, uh, popping ability from her." He stared at me a second before nodding his head.

"Okay. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"I'm from Earth and all my relatives are from Earth, but I'm not too sure about Uncle Fred. He's a bit strange," Scott said with a laugh. Timmy laughed too but looked at Scott a little strange.

"I'm from Earth," said Brandon "But the more I hang around these guys the more my brain seems to grow and expand in its capabilities," Brandon said.

"We use a hundred percent of our brains," explained Jakub. "Earthlings use nowhere near that percentage."

"That explains why there are so many stupid people on Earth," Timmy said with a grin. "I guess I must be part alien too because I'm no slouch in the brain department." We all laughed because it seemed Timmy was getting comfortable with the concept that some of us were from another planet and because what he said was just funny. Jakub hugged him tightly.

"Okay, folks. We're rid of Alexandr. Joel and his security team arrested him and hauled him off to jail. So now there's no more imminent threats on our personage," I said.

"Is that even a word? Where did that come from?" Scott asked.

"Come on Scott. Keep up. Expanded minds and all," Brandon said with a smirk.

"Jakub, you and Timmy could stay here if you want to," I suggested then glanced at Jevic. He nodded. "We've tons of room and I'm not sleeping on the couch tonight." Jevic took the opportunity to walk over to Jakub and looked him in the eye.

"I'd like to apologize for my earlier comments. That was callous on my part. I was making assumptions and that's not right. Just because your father was, well, who he was does not make you just like him. I'm sorry." Jakub looked stunned but quickly recovered.

"No hard feelings, cousin. I look forward to getting to know you better. Given that Cameron fell in love with you, you've got a lot going for you. And, since we share the same bloodline, I'd venture to say you're a stellar person, bound for greater things."

"Thanks, cousin. That means a lot." Timmy came up to Jakub and put his arm around him.

"And he's spectacular in bed." We all enjoyed a good laugh. I called room service and asked for the sleeper sofa in the sitting area to be made up and that an order of hot chocolate for all of us be delivered. All six of us moved to the balcony, blankets and hot chocolate in hand and enjoyed the lights of New York and the warmth of the fire pit.

*    *    *    *    *

The next morning, six hungry teens chowed down on room service breakfast. As we were cleaning up, I took the opportunity to speak with Jakub privately.

"Joel has given me one day to make my case," I explained.

"What case are you trying to make Cameron?" he asked with interest.

"That you didn't kill the transport officer."

"But I remember doing it. I'm, I'm guilty. I should be held accountable for that," he said quietly.

"Not if you didn't do it. I'm convinced you're innocent."

"Cameron, the memories of killing Alesky are clear in my head. The motivation for doing it is there too. I don't understand why you're so confident that I didn't do it"

"Call it a hunch. Call it my tingling, uh, my power. I call my power my tingling because that's what I feel in my brain when my power, ah, powers up. My hunch and my tingling agree that there is more than what appears to be. Joel sent me the entire file on the investigation. I plan to go through it line by line today. But, and this is the sticky bit of all this, regardless of what I find, I promised Joel that you would turn yourself in tomorrow."

"Wow! Okay." Jakub took a breath, then looked me in the eye. "I agree to those terms. I don't think you're going to find anything, but good luck."

"Thanks." Brandon and Scott wanted to go sightseeing and Timmy had volunteered to be tour guide as long as Jakub went along too. I encouraged Jevic to join them as I had a lot of work to do. He agreed with a hint of reluctance, but understood my quest. Everybody took turns in the two showers we had and soon they all trooped out the door with Timmy talking a mile a minute about what he was going to show them.

As soon as they were gone, I grabbed a hotel pen and pad of paper and opened my wrist com. I set it for projection mode and opened the first file.

I read the meticulous notes made by the forensics team. They described the body and its position in the cabin with respect to the surrounding area. The accompanying pictures were hard to look at. I had to take a deep breath after looking at the first one. Alesky's eyes were open with a blank stare. I tried to remove my personal feelings and look at the evidence for what it was. I examined each picture. I saw the bruises around his neck. I saw the splashes of semen on his stomach. And I saw his hands. I looked closely at his fingernails in the high-definition photo and noticed something caught underneath his nails. I pulled up the autopsy and scanned for mention of what was caught there, but there was no mention of anything. That was strange. I made a note.

I checked the DNA report and found the semen on Alesky's stomach to be Jakub's. That singular piece of evidence was what tied Jakub to the scene. It was pretty damning. There was no mention of any other DNA being present.

Next, I watched the security footage. I saw Jakub and Alesky come down the companionway and enter the cabin. I noted the time. I continued to watch and noticed a quick shift in the footage. I backed up and watched again. The time stamp had moved forward a full five minutes. That meant that five minutes were unaccounted for. I made another note. I wondered why the investigators didn't take time to mention the time stamp jump or maybe they just missed it altogether.

I opened the autopsy report again and looked at the pictures that were made of the bruises on Alesky's neck. A measuring stick was in the picture supposedly noting the size of the handprints there, but there was no mention of the exact size in the documentation from the pathologist and it was hard to tell from the picture. I made another note. The autopsy went on to document Alesky's rectum. It had taken quite a beating as there were several tears in the tissue. More of Jakub's DNA was found there, a lot more.

I checked my notes. There was material of some sort under the fingernails. There was the five minute jump in the time stamp of the security footage. There was the lack of notation of the exact size of the handprint bruises on the neck. At the very least, more investigating would need to be done given the lapses in the documentation and I had just started my investigation.

I contacted Joel on a hunch.

"Hey Cameron."

"Joel, can you do me a favor? I'd like to know more about Alexandr. Specifically about his powers. I know he can teleport and become invisible. Can you check his records and find out for me?"

"Sure, Cameron. I can make that happen."

"While you're at it, can you find out where he's from and have his home searched? I'd like to have a physician examine him head to toe, but especially his arms. I'd also like to have Elvin examine him for any undocumented powers."

"Cameron, what's this sudden interest in Alexandr?"

"Call it a hunch, but Joel, I've found quite a few holes in the reports you sent me. There's a five minute time lapse in the security footage. There's material under Alesky's fingernails that was never examined and then there is the size of handprint bruises on the neck. That was never documented." There was silence for a moment. "Joel?"

"I heard you, Cameron. Sounds like I need you on my team. I'll look into all of that and have Alexandr examined."

"Perfect. If I run across anything else, I'll let you know." That should convince Joel that something was amiss in the case against Jakub, just like I knew there was. I continued my search through the files.

I re-read the full autopsy report. I re-read the lead investigator's report. I even checked the DNA tests and how they were conducted. I found it interesting that they sent someone from KIS to Jakub's dorm room to get a sample of his DNA from his hair brush. At first glance, it seemed to be a very thorough report. After reading all the details, it saw it for what it was, a rushed, quick to conclusion, not very thorough report with holes like Swiss cheese. That didn't sit well with me. My wrist com indicated a call.

"Cameron, join us for lunch," Jevic said.

"Where are you guys?"

"We're in the Lower East Side! We've been to Wall Street, the top of the Empire State Building, crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and we're hungry."

"Okay, where do you want me to meet you?"

"We're going to Katz's Delicatessen for a mile high pastrami sandwich. It's in the Lower East Side at the corner of East Houston and Ludlow Streets. Just grab a yellow cab. Everybody knows about this place."

"I'm on my way. Save me a seat!"

"Did I mention Timmy's last name is Greenberg? Everybody here knows his family. They're welcoming us with open arms!"

*    *    *    *    *

Even though he didn't react to it, Cameron's analysis of the crime scene files stunned Joel. Afterall, he was the one who signed off on each individual report. He'd personally read each report and didn't find anything wrong with his team's work. With just a cursory look, Cameron had found three major problems that needed to be investigated immediately. He wondered if Cameron would find more and that thought worried him. Joel didn't like to make mistakes, and it bothered him that his team let him down. It wasn't that they were overworked. Murder happened once every few years. Was it lack of experience? Lack of interest? Lack of motivation? What the hell was it? Why was a teenager able to find glaring mistakes that seasoned professionals had missed? No matter how long it took, Joel would find the answers to each of those questions and more importantly, make sure those oversights never happened again.

Joel scrambled into action. He alerted his CSI team and put them to work. They were to re-examine each and every piece of evidence they'd collected. Was every photograph examined thoroughly? Cameron had found more evidence just by looking at the photos. Every single piece of physical evidence was to be examined again. Did they look through the victim's clothes or just bag them and tag them? There could be evidence on those clothes. It'd be a needle in a haystack search, but it needed to be done.

The pathologist in charge of the victim's body got a personal call from Joel who asked about the material under the fingernails.

"The what?"

"There's some type of material under the victim's fingernails. It shows up clearly in the photos. How could something so simple be overlooked?"

"I can't explain it other than I didn't feel it was necessary at the time."

"It's necessary. It's always necessary. I thought you were tops in your field and you're making simple mistakes like this?" Silence. "Get your ass back in there and tell me what's under the victim's fingernails. While you're at it, a detailed centimeter by centimeter measurement of the handprint bruises is considered necessary too. Did you examine the victim's hair? His eyebrows?"

"For what?"

"For fucking evidence! He was strangled. The killer had to be close. The killer might have unintentionally dropped some DNA on our victim. Do I have to do your fucking job?"

"I'll get right on it."

"Damn right you will." Joel angrily cut the com connection. "Not necessary?" Joel exclaimed to himself. "Not necessary! Damn it! It's always necessary!" Joel had worked himself into a frenzy. The pathologist just didn't get it. The victim deserved better.

Joel stopped himself for a minute. He'd kept calling him the victim. His name was Alesky. Joel had even talked to the boy's parents. Yes, this investigation needed to be performed at a professional level, but … it would do them all good to remember that Alesky had been a living breathing person with hopes, dreams and a mother, father and little brother that loved him. Sometimes it's easy to forget. And at all times, it's important to not forget.

Joel took a quick breath. As far as Cameron was concerned, Alexandr was a suspect. How was that possible? Joel hadn't figured that out yet, but Cameron said he and his tingling were convinced. That was enough for Joel to look into it.

Round the clock double guards were assigned to guard Alexandr. No one was getting in or out of that cell. He ordered the guards on duty to wear body cams. There would be no excuses. All bases were to be covered.

Then he turned to the Watcher medical staff and ordered them to do a full work-up on Alexandr, including DNA, measurements of his hands, plaster casts preferably and a thorough examination of his forearms.

He ordered his CSI team to examine every stitch of Alexandr's clothes and all of his belongings. He ordered them to use AI and the AI's electron scanner. It was able to detect foreign particles down to the subatomic range. If even a single strand of the Alexandr's hair turned up, that would be enough to cast doubt on Jakub's guilt. A forensic examination of Alexandr's wrist com would be done as well. Hopefully he forgot to turn off his tracking feature.

Joel contacted Special Agent Svoboda with KIS and asked for a complete workup on Alexandr's life on Kelmar, including his schooling, military service and any special power documentation.

Elvin was contacted to do a powers evaluation on Alexandr. Sometimes people didn't register all of their abilities, even if it was the law. If anybody could determine any hidden powers, it would be Elvin. Thanks, Cameron, for that idea.

Cameron mentioned he found a time stamp jump in the security footage. If that was true then someone with security access tampered with the camera files. That disturbed Joel more than anything else. He accessed the archived footage from the security control room. Then he accessed the footage from in front of the cabin. He played them back side by side in real time from the moment that Alesky and Jakub entered the cabin. This was tedious work, but Joel knew something was there. Cameron found half of the evidence, now it was up to Joel to find the other half.

*    *    *    *    *

Lunch at Katz's Delicatessen was wonderful and it was great fun experiencing a New York City institution. I could barely get my mouth around the huge pastrami sandwich it was so thick, but it was tender and juicy and full of flavor. Well worth it.

I was tempted to contact Joel as we made our way down the sidewalk. Restless would be a good description of how I felt. In fact, I was doubly anxious. First to get back to the files and see what else I could turn up and secondly, I wanted to touch base with Joel to see about any progress. It was then I remembered it'd only been an hour, two at most, since I let him know about my findings. I just needed to give him some time.

Timmy was leading our group with Jakub at this side. Scott and Brandon followed closely behind. Jevic and I brought up the rear. I happened to look up to see something totally unexpected. There was a man with what I thought was a Pulsar Pistol in his hand not fifteen feet away. He was staring directly at Jakub, who was in deep conversation with Timmy. My tingling reached out and surrounded all of us in a protective barrier. The man brought up the pistol, pointed it at a surprised Jakub and pulled the trigger. The pulse of lethal red quantum energy blasted from the end of the pistol, bounced harmlessly off my shield only to hit the shooter in the shoulder.

Jakub grabbed Timmy and jumped back as the shooter grabbed his arm and screamed out in pain. Scott and Brandon moved to shield Jakub and Timmy with their bodies. Jevic was on his wrist com calling for help and I changed my tingling to a containment field around the shooter. He was looking at me with a sneer.

"He's a bully! His father's a bully! They're all bullies! They all need killing!" he screamed. My tingling hit him with a surprising new power that made him speak like he was breathing helium. The result was funny as hell, but was short lived as a security team showed up and took over. They were gone in seconds. The whole thing, from start to end, didn't last more than ninety seconds, but it was enough to get the attention of people on the sidewalk.

"Get in the alley," I directed to my friends when the security team teleported out. Out of sight, out of mind was my thought. There were a lot of people on the sidewalk when the attack came down. We all moved quickly out of sight.

"What the fuck was that?" asked a scared Timmy and he huddled close to Jakub.

"Everything's fine now," I said. Timmy looked at me incredulously.

"I asked what the fuck that was, Cameron. Not if everything's okay. I can see that. Forgive this simple Earthling. This is fucking new to me and it's scary."

"I'm sorry, Timmy. I keep forgetting," I apologized. Then Jakub jumped in putting his arm around Timmy.

"That man was upset with my father and since my father is no longer around, he was holding me responsible for my father's actions, much like that other man."

"That makes no sense. You can no more be held responsible for your father's actions than I can be held responsible for my own father's homophobic beliefs. He's an asshole and I would like to believe that I'm not."

"You're certainly not an asshole, Timmy," Brandon said. "My father was a homophobic, fag killing, alcoholic son of a bitch. As for me, I see a halo around my head every time I look in the mirror." Timmy smiled.

"I can see your halo right now, Brandon." We all had a quick laugh at that.

"We should either move out of this area pretty quickly or just teleport," Jevic suggested.

"Oh, let's teleport. I like to travel like that," Timmy said grinning and clapping his hands together. "Much less walking."

"Okay, where are we going?" Jevic asked.

"Your suite?" asked Jakub.

"Our suite. Let's go," I said and we all teleported or side-teleported out of the alley.

*    *    *    *    *

Joel sat in the command center shaking his head, unbelieving what he'd seen while reviewing the security footage. He'd watched the security office and the gangway outside the cabin on side by side monitors. When the time stamp jumped, Joel noticed an interface being accessed, but no one was there. That led Joel to believe that someone invisible had tampered with the footage. There was currently only one person in custody that had that power, Alexandr.

The pathologist finally got back with the results of the material under Alesky's fingernails. It was skin. A further DNA analysis revealed the skin belonged to a person other than Jakub. That DNA was not on file yet. He also provided exact measurements on the handprint bruises. The size did not match the size of Jakub's hands, which had been approximated from pictures and handprints taken from his dorm.

Perhaps the most interesting thing found by the pathologist was a single hair lodged on Alesky's forehead. The DNA from that hair matched the DNA of the skin under the fingernails.

Joel's CSI team was unable to turn up any evidence of additional DNA on Alesky's clothes. There was evidence of Jakub and Alesky's DNA. Nothing else was found.

The other half of the CSI team found several foreign hairs on Alexandr's shirt. The Watcher medical team examination turned up some small scratches on Alexandr's forearms. They gave Joel an exact measurement of Alexandr's hands and provided his DNA sequence.

The DNA analysis of skin under Alesky's fingernails and the foreign hair found on his forehead matched to Alexandr's DNA.

Joel was putting the finishing touches on the evidence together when Paulik joined him.

"What's all this?" asked Paulik.

"This is the additional evidence in the Alesky murder case."

"Where did you get additional information? I thought this case was open and shut and we just needed to lock up Kibbeth's son."

"That's what I thought too. Cameron came to me with some wild ideas. He met with Jakub and they talked. He convinced Jakub that you're not responsible for your brother's death."

"Thank Triton."

"Evidently, they had a great discussion. Cameron has promised to bring Jakub here tomorrow to turn himself in."

"Okay, so what's up with this new evidence?"

"Cameron wanted a copy of all the files from the investigation. He said he and his tingling were convinced that there is more to the story. So, I gave him a copy of all the files."

"Why in the world would you do that?" asked a surprised Paulik.

"Hear me out," Joel said to which Paulik nodded. "I gave him the files and he found a lot of omissions after just a couple of hours of review. So, I followed up. We've found evidence linking Alexandr to Alesky. Irrefutable DNA evidence," Joel said with a smirk. "Just as Cameron suspected."

"My God," Paulik exclaimed.

"The only thing I'm waiting for is a report from Elvin. He was assigned to work up a thorough examination of Alexandr's powers."

"I can almost see what you're thinking," Paulik said with a smile.

"I'm thinking Alexandr has the power to implant memories making his victim think they are their own. Cameron says Jakub has a vivid memory of killing Alesky. If Alexandr has that power, that would explain Jakub's memory and would make him completely innocent."

"Wow!"

"Plus, there was a time stamp jump in the security footage. Cameron found that, by the way. I checked the footage from main security and found the servers working on their own or someone invisible was there accessing the servers. Guess who has the power to become invisible?"

"Alexandr?"

"Got it in one. With just the DNA evidence, I can safely conclude that Alexandr had physical contact with Alesky. The handprint bruises on Alesky's neck match the size and shape of Alexandr's hands. That combined evidence is enough for me to charge Alexandr with suspicion of the murder of Alesky. I'll be dropping the charges against Jakub.

*    *    *    *    *

We arrived back at our suite and all plopped down on the couches in the sitting area. We were all stuffed from lunch at Katz's and we'd had another encounter with someone out to kill Jakub. I wondered how many more people could possibly be out for revenge for the shit that Kibbeth had done. I glanced at Jakub. He had a look on his face that said he was thinking the same thing.

"I can't believe my father had such a negative impact on so many people. Don't get me wrong. I witnessed his cruel actions. I saw first-hand how he could be mean. I even personally experienced his rage from time to time. At the same time, he could be a real dad to me, loving me as a son. I'm having a hard time seeing both sides of the same man," Jakub said softly.

"I don't have that problem," Brandon started. "My father was an asshole to everybody, me included. He was pig headed and when he started drinking, which was every day, he got mean. The more he drank, the meaner he got. I'm just glad I don't have to deal with him anymore. He's locked away in prison forever."

"He's still your father," Jakub lamented.

"Yeah, that may be true, but that doesn't make me like him. You and I are the same in that respect. We're nothing like the men we called father. We're better than them. We're doing things that help other people. We respect people. Yes, our fathers' blood runs in our veins, but I'd like to think our blood is a better version. Our ancestors were better people, from what I've read about my grandparents. They helped build their communities to make them better. My grandfather was the first chief of the town's volunteer fire department. My grandmother took roses from her garden to her church every Sunday and sang in the choir. She and her friends took meals to people that were sick and watched after their kids while they recovered from their illness. They were good people."

"I haven't even bothered to look up my family's history," Jakub said as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Everybody knows there's a bad apple in the barrel every once in a while. You have to toss them out so they don't contaminate the others. I've tossed my father out. You should do the same." Jakub slowly nodded in agreement.

"Okay, you two have sucked the happiness right out of this room. We need to do something that will bring the joy back. Let's go to 'The Tool Box' and have a couple of blue Shirley Temples and Cameron can yell at the bartender," Scott said with a smile on his face. "Either that or Timmy could take us sightseeing."

"We haven't been to the 911 Memorial yet," Timmy chimed in. "Wait a minute. That's too depressing. I got it. We could go to Times Square or, ooh, even better, Central Park and rent some rowboats. That would be fun. Or maybe Rockefeller Center and tour the NBC Studios or we could go up to the Top of the Rock Observation deck and see the sights. If you don't feel like walking, we could always take the Hop On and Hop Off bus. The top is open air and you can see the city as the bus rolls along."

"We could go to the Shack," Scott suggested. "Timmy would enjoy that."

"A shack? I think not," said Timmy making an ugly face. "Why in the world would we want to go to a shack when we're in the middle of New York City?"

"It's the teen hang out at the Watcher Complex. There's tons of games, plus you can see where we all used to live. It's underwater in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle."

"Now that sounds like a great idea. Do we get to teleport?" asked an excited Timmy.

"I'm still wanted by security," Jakub said sadly. Joel chose that moment to contact me on my wrist com.

"Hey Joel."

"Cameron, I have news about the investigation. All the new evidence that you pointed out has led us to the conclusion that Alexandr is responsible for Alesky's death, not Jakub. We've dropped the charges against Jakub."

"That's awesome news, Joel!" I said excitedly as I looked at Jakub. "We were just talking about coming over to visit the Shack."

"Great! You guys come on over and have fun. Be sure to stop in and see me too. I want to wrap things up with the investigation. Do you still know where Jakub is?"

"Yeah, he's here with me."

"Bring him by so I can officially and personally drop the charges. I also have some news from Elvin I think Jakub will find helpful."

"Okay, we'll be over in a bit." I closed my wrist com and looked at Jakub. He was stunned. Timmy wrapped his arms around him and was kissing him all over his face. Scott and Brandon were all smiles. I looked at Jevic. He was stunned too. I put an arm around his shoulders.

"Repeat after me, Jevic," I said as I looked him in the face. "Cameron is always right. No matter what, Cameron is always right." He finally grinned at me.

"Cameron is always right," he said with a smile.

Timmy was jumping up and down with excitement. His happiness spread out to all of us as we gathered together to teleport.

"Where to?" asked Jevic.

"Let's start at our quarters and go from there," I suggested. Jevic nodded. I would take Scott. Jevic would take Brandon and Jakub would take Timmy. "Jakub, just side along with me." He nodded with a smile.

"Good, because the only place I know is a storage locker."

"Okay, let's go." We teleported directly into our quarters and Timmy ran straight to the window. His nose was glued to the reinforced plexiglass as he watched the fish swim by. Jakub joined him at the window.

"This is so cool," Timmy stated quietly.

"Just wait until you see the rest of the Complex," I said with a grin.

"Shack?" asked Scott. I nodded.

"You guys head on down and take Timmy with you. Jakub and I are going to visit with Joel for a minute then we'll join you." They all left for the popular teen hangout leaving just me and Jakub.

"Ready?" I asked him. He nodded with almost no expression. I knew that once Joel officially dropped the charges, the joy would return to Jakub. "Let's go."

We headed out and made our way to the central part of the Complex. I had always found it to be awe inspiring. Jakub looked around at the grand space. The views of the underwater world were breathtaking. He looked on in wonder as we walked toward the command center. People greeted me along the way and that seemed to impress Jakub. We finally made it to the command center. The heavily secure door recognized me and whooshed open. We walked in and were greeted by Joel's second in command. He grinned and nodded as we headed over toward Joel.

"Cameron, good to see you," Joel said in greeting. "And I take it this is Jakub?"

"Sir," Jakub said in respectful greeting, reaching his hand out for a shake. Joel shook his hand then gestured to the corner where a loveseat and couch awaited. Jakub and I sat in the loveseat. Joel sat next to us on the couch.

"Jakub, I would like to officially inform you that all charges against you have been dropped. I've also heard from KIS, that's the Kelmar Investigation Service. They've talked with your roommate, Dominik. He refuses to press any charges against you. That all adds up to you being a free man."

"Thank you, sir."

"It's actually Cameron you should be thanking," Joel said. That surprised Jakub and he turned to look at me while Joel continued to explain. "I shared all the investigation files with Cameron and he found some pretty startling problems. I ordered a new investigation. All the new evidence pointed to Alexandr as being guilty of killing Alesky."

"I just knew you were innocent," I said with a smile.

"But the memories …"

"They were placed in your mind," Joel explained. "They are the memories of someone else. Alexandr's memories to be exact. I took the liberty of speaking with our powers expert, Elvin. He has recommended a Psych Diver on Kelmar that can remove the memory. I made further arrangements to have him transported here. He should arrive tomorrow." Jakub visibly calmed down. I gently patted him on the back.

"I can't believe it," Jakub whispered. "I just can't believe it." He was shaken by the news. He believed, due to the memory, that he'd actually killed his friend Alesky. The news from Joel shocked him to the core. Everything he believed about that night was false. He, in fact, was not capable of taking someone's life. That was almost a religious experience. Jakub broke down in tears.

*    *    *    *    *

"This is awesome!" declared Timmy. He was sipping on a Swampwater Soda complete with a lemon twist. "Why don't we have these in New York?"

"They probably do, somewhere," said Brandon. "Now come on. I want to show you the Skimmer." He started toward a corner with Timmy in tow.

"What's a Skimmer?"

"It's a kind of transport. They call it a Skimmer because it skims up hydrogen from the atmosphere for fuel. The Watchers use them to get around the plant. The kids use them for competition." They walked up to the Skimmer that was on display.

"Wow!" said Timmy as he slid his hand over the surface of the Skimmer which appeared to be liquid Mercury. "This is so cool. What kind of competition?"

"Art. They use these to create crop circles. Whoever creates the most creative design wins this Skimmer."

"Crop circles? Yeah, right," Timmy said in disbelief.

"It's true. Jevic told me all about it. It's an annual thing. They do it just before wheat crops are ready for harvest."

"I bet the farmers love that."

"It doesn't destroy the wheat. After about two days, the wheat just stands back up on its own."

"Crop circles. Well I'll be damned."

"Come on. There's some 3D games that are only here that will blow your mind. Watcher technology is so far advanced that they've invented games us mere Earthlings have never even dreamed of." Scott and Jevic joined them, sipping on their own Swampwater Sodas. Timmy was given the complete tour of the 'Shack' which he found to be amazing. The 3D games didn't require a headset like the 3D games back on Earth. The game pieces were generated by the Complex interface and swirled around the players as long as they stood in the game area.

Jevic introduced Timmy to his friends. Scott and Brandon knew a lot of people from their time in the Complex. Timmy was quite popular among the Watcher teens as he was an uninitiated Earthling. They all wanted to know about Earth games and how they worked. Timmy, ever the tour guide, told them all about video games Minecraft, League of Legends and Grand Theft Auto. When he tried to explain pinball, he lost the Watcher kids. They couldn't grasp the concept of knocking around a little silver ball.

"Jakub!" Timmy screamed out when he saw him walk into the Shack. Timmy ran over and embraced Jakub in a tight hug. "Are you okay?" he whispered in Jakub's ear.

"I'm fine now, thanks to Cameron." Timmy glanced at me and smiled.

"Jakub is a free, well, he's not in trouble. He can do whatever he wants."

"You were in trouble?" Timmy asked softly.

"Yes, I was in serious trouble that I could have been incarcerated for. A friend of mine was killed, murdered actually. The authorities thought I did it."

"Oh my God," exclaimed Timmy.

"Actually, I thought I killed him too. The man that actually killed him planted the memory of the murder in my head making me think I'd actually done it."

"People can implant memories?"

"Only certain people. Actually, very few people. Anyway, Cameron figured it out and there's a Psych Diver on his way here to remove the memory. I can't wait." Timmy was stunned. All this time, Jakub thought that he had killed someone. And all this time, he thought he was capable of killing someone. That meant that he could have killed Timmy. That thought didn't sit well with Timmy and he took a few steps back from Jakub.

"You, you thought," Timmy stammered. "You thought you murdered someone." Jakub saw the fear suddenly appear in Timmy's expression.

"But I didn't"

"But you thought you did," Timmy said with an accusatory tone to his voice. Timmy hesitated a moment then walked away.

"Shit," Jakub said as a tear fell down his face.

"Let me handle this," I said and started after Timmy. I caught up to him just as he was about to place an order at the bar.

"Timmy."

"Oh no. Don't you even start Cameron. You're as guilty as he is for keeping me in the dark."

"You're right. I am."

"You admit it?"

"What you don't understand, Timmy, is that I knew he was innocent the whole time. My tingling, ah, my powers are just about unlimited. I can make just about anything happen that I want to. I can also read minds and interpret feelings, somewhat."

"Okay, oh great and mighty Cameron. What am I feeling right now?" I reached out with my tingling and was pleasantly surprised at what I sensed.

"You love him."

"W-what?" stammered Timmy.

"Don't get me wrong. You're feeling betrayed. You're feeling used and you're feeling vulnerable right now. And, my tingling tells me that you're falling in love with Jakub."

"You're lying," Timmy stated flatly.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't love Jakub. Tell me right now. But, remember, I can tell if you're lying." He looked stoically at me, not giving away any emotion with his expression. Almost a full minute passed before his expression broke and he looked at the floor. A tear ran down his cheek.

"Okay, you're right," he said softly.

"It's alright to feel betrayed. We did keep something from you. I just didn't want to tell you something I knew in my heart to be untrue. I sensed your feelings for Jakub some time ago. It was right after we were ambushed on the sidewalk leaving the deli."

"So what am I supposed to believe now?"

"Jakub struggled with the false memory. He himself could not believe that he was capable of killing a friend. Yet, the memory lied to him and told him that he did. He wrestled with that for as long as I've known him. In fact, Timmy, you've known Jakub longer than any of us. Tell me you think he's capable of murder." Timmy took a deep breath and looked me in the eye.

"He's kind and sweet. He's thoughtful and generous." I smiled as Timmy told me all of Jakub's good traits that I'd barely witnessed. "He's beautiful. And, he's hung like a horse and a pure beast in the sack."

"That's more information than I needed, but I have one question for you."

"What?"

"What are you going to do about it?" Timmy glanced over and looked at Jakub. He was obviously sobbing while being comforted by Jevic, Scott and Brandon. "Well?"

"This," he stated firmly. Timmy turned and marched straight over to Jakub. He stopped right in front of him and looked into his tear filled eyes.

"I love you," Timmy said. "I love you so much!" He reached out to Jakub and wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly.


On to Chapter Twenty-Five
"Healing"
Back to Chapter Twenty-Three
"Alexandr"
Chapter Index

Jevic's Story Page

I'd love to hear what you think!
Email me at jevic@tarheelwriter.com