Lethal Influence Read online

  “What’s this all about?” Kai said, standing up from the cot.

  “Try to open your mind,” said Leo. “But for now, close your mouth.”

  Harrison stepped back and waved at the door. Kai walked over to it and peered out. Leo walked to the bottom of the steps, another man, a stranger, stood right behind him. They blocked the stairs going up. Apparently, he was using the washroom downstairs. He turned and saw two other strange men standing on either side of the bathroom door.

  He hesitated, glancing back at Harrison.

  “Best get on with it,” Harrison said, gesturing at the washroom but not meeting Kai’s eyes. Kai went in.

  When he came out of the washroom several moments later, he saw that two of the strangers were now standing at the bottom of the stairs and Leo had disappeared. Harrison motioned for him to return to the room where he spent the night and Kai moved to the doorway. The room was empty except for a tray of food that sat on the cot. Kai moved in and sat beside the tray, finding that he was suddenly quite hungry. He slipped the tray onto his lap and started to eat the eggs, bacon, and toast, watching as first Leo and then Harrison entered the room, shutting the door behind them.

  “So,” Kai said, talking around the food in his mouth. His stomach growled; he glanced down at it, then back up at his two friends. “What is really going on?” Harrison glanced at Leo and then at Kai.

  Kai raised his eyebrows, shoveling another forkful of food into his mouth.

  “Just listen!” Harrison’s tone got Kai’s attention. Both men’s foreheads were creased with worry lines. Somehow seeing them worried made Kai uneasy.

  He straightened on the cot and looked them both full in the face. “Okay,” he said, setting aside the almost empty plate. “You have my full attention. What’s happening here?”

  Harrison spoke first. “Some of the Trebladores are not what you think they are.”

  “What?”

  “Some of us,” Harrison continued, “who have been Influencing for some time now, think there might be a better way to handle the more difficult humans.”

  “With less-gentle Influence?” Kai said, throwing out the oxymoron he’d coined the night before. It was a paradox. Inconceivable!

  Leo leaned against the wall while Harrison talked. Somehow, though, he made the casual gesture seem agitated.

  “Who are these Trebladores, and what is this better way?” asked Kai. “How can there be a better way?”

  Harrison swallowed and looked toward Leo. He addressed Kai, but kept his eyes on the other Trebladore. “Do you remember when we went to that dogfight in the city? Do you remember what that man did to his dog when he lost the fight?”

  “Of course I remember,” Kai said. He crossed his arms over his chest. Those images had continued to flash in his memory.

  “Well, there are some of us who think that men like that will never be Influenced to change. We think they are beyond help, beyond anything at all. We think that Trebladores need to use harsher methods to force humans to stop the horrible things they do.”

  “What kind of harsher methods? We can’t harm them; we can’t let them know we are on Earth. How do we stop them?”

  “Physically,” Harrison said. He looked at Kai now and his eyes were wary and grim. “We need to make sure they can’t continue.”

  “What are you getting at? What do you mean stop them physically? We can’t just go about tying people down, or,” he looked around and added with a sarcastic tone, “kidnapping them. You would need a whole hotel full of rooms like this one if you did.” Kai waved at the surrounding walls as he spoke and then turned to his two friends. “Trebladores don’t use violence or force. How do you stop them without violating those parameters?”

  “We don’t propose to kidnap the bad guys,” said Harrison with another glance at Leo. Suddenly, he sighed and turned eyes filled with anguish to Kai. “Don’t you ever think that some human beings are hopelessly lost? That no amount of Influencing is going to change who they are or what they do with their miserable, tiny, unsuspecting lives?” He took a step closer, hands outstretched, “Don’t you sometimes wonder what would have happened if the Trebladores had forced Hitler to change his mind? If we had stopped his plans against an entire race, how much better would it have been? We had the resources. We were there, in the room with him.”

  “We tried,” whispered Kai, “but failed.” He looked at Harrison and then at Leo and nodded. “Sure I wonder. I wonder why humans do any of the stupid, cruel, frightening things they do! That’s what makes our work so worthwhile. That’s why they need us. There are so many good humans out there. I firmly believe that those good ones outnumber the bad. I also believe that we have to continue our efforts to Influence those who would do wrong and help them to do right.”

  “What if we had done what so many in the world wanted to do? What if we had assassinated him?” Leo said, his head cocked to the side, the gold fleck flashing in his eye.

  “Assassinated him?” Kai jumped to his feet. “We don’t work that way. We don’t cause physical harm to any humans.”

  “We aren’t allowed to cause harm to any humans, Kai. It’s something that is drummed into our brains and our consciousness from the day we are born. Trebladores have been taught to not cause harm … it’s not bred into us. We can do it.” Leo’s lips closed into a thin line. “It’s not something we want to do, Kai. But it has become something we need to consider as an alternative. There are quite a few Trebladores who see things the way we do.”

  “There are actually Trebladores out there who agree with you? Who want to rebel against the way we do things … have done things … for thousands of years?”

  Leo straightened from the wall he had been leaning against and moved closer to Kai. “We are not only in rebellion, Kai, we are at war.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  They meant to keep him here until he agreed to join them. And now here he was, trapped in a dark hole of a little room at Harrison and Leo’s place. Imprisoned. He had refused to listen to anything else Leo and Harrison had to say. They weren’t at war with the humans; the rebels were at war with the Trebladores and war was something Kai could not condone. So they left him there for the rest of that day, letting him out only to use the washroom, opening the door long enough to bring food. Now it was night again. He wondered briefly if anyone from his house had missed him yet. Was Beth wondering why he didn’t phone? He needed to call her, to hear her voice, to find that tiny spark of sanity that spending time with her gave him. He felt the rush of panic that threatened to take over. He fought it. Didn’t let it override him. Pushed it down with determination.

  Pulling the familiar blue lighter out of his pocket, he flicked the flame on and off and on again, and then sat staring at it. The heat radiated from the tiny flame and, after several minutes he grunted and let it go out.

  He rose and paced the room, fighting to stop his emotions from rising to the surface. This group was rebelling against the Trebladore Society’s plans. A sheen of sweat covered his face. What made them think they knew more than the Elites did? He would not be used for their rebel cause. Nor would he mildly wait out his time in their prison.

  He was getting out. Tonight. Somehow.

  If only there had been a window. Could there be one boarded up? Behind the drywall? He pressed his ear against the wall and tapped. The echo came back evenly throughout the outside wall. He was grasping at straws. They surely had chosen this room in the first place because it was windowless.

  Could he attract the attention of human neighbors somehow? Tapping, clanging–some sort of noise that would make them suspicious enough to investigate. The bed frame was metal. If he undid the screws down the center, he’d have two long metal cymbals.

  Again, the basement would hinder his plan. The sounds on an upper level would perhaps travel far enough, but with concrete and earth to insulate the nois
e, it was hopeless. Harrison and Leo would silence him long before the sound reached human ears.

  Were they keeping guard at the door? No, he’d heard them leave and Kai was sure his captors had gone to their beds on the second floor. Kai had appeared resigned to being locked away. There was no need to guard him. If he could get out of this room, the rest of the house was no obstacle. Perhaps he didn’t even have to worry too much about the noise, but he wasn’t going to count on that.

  The metal frame could serve another purpose. He threw the mattress and box spring aside and examined the frame. He had a quarter in his pocket and he could work the screws loose, but all that took time. Then all he would have would be an awkward metal tool. Why do that when he had fists?

  The outside wall was concrete, but the inside walls were nothing but wood framing and drywall. Kai tapped the walls, looking for the studs. He found a couple and marked them with a gouge of his fingernail. Then he pulled back his fist and punched, going smoothly through both drywall layers. His fist left a neat round hole between the studs.

  Kai looked out on the laundry room. He listened. He smiled at the silence. Then he grabbed the chalky edges of the hole and pulled. Another chunk of drywall, about six inches across, came loose and white dust clung to the hair on his arms. Working to the side and toward the floor, Kai was able to open a hole between the studs large enough for him to fit. He could see the electrical wires running through the studs about two feet off the floor so he stepped up and carefully squeezed through, trying not to breathe the dust that was already making him want to sneeze.

  With stealthy moves, he made his way past the washer and dryer. The dryer was going and the room smelled of mountain fresh detergent. Under his breath Kai whispered, “Glad to see they’re not neglecting their household duties while taking a hostage. Leo!” The guy did have a knack for wardrobe. Wait. Did this mean Leo was still awake in the house, waiting for his laundry?

  He checked the timer on the dryer. Ten minutes until the buzzer would ring. Kai turned back the dial, giving the clothes an extra thirty minutes of drying time. They’d taken his cell phone. He had no idea what time it was, but if there was a chance one of them was still wandering the main floor of the house, he had to be ready … ready to fight. The thought repulsed him. That his hand was throbbing from punching the drywall was just another reason he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

  He ascended the first flight of stairs with only a couple of squeaks. At the top, he listened, and then dared to look. The room appeared empty. There was a light on. He knew Leo was somewhere in the house, waiting for his stupid skinny jeans or his fussy sweater vests to finish their cycle. Kai couldn’t believe that he might owe his re-incarceration to laundry. It was too stupid.

  If the hole he left in the wall wasn’t so noticeable, he could hide behind a couch until Leo went to bed, but it was now or never. Fashionable scarves wait for no man. And Leo would discover his escape.

  Kai looked around. There were windows on this level. He stepped to one and slid back the glass in its metal track. It made a loud clicking sound as it moved. He heard the sound of kitchen chair legs scraping the floor. Someone was coming.

  Kai grabbed a large framed picture from the wall, backed up, and rammed the screen. One side came loose and there was a hole in the center. Kai dove at the opening, loosening the flap further and squirming through, his body suspended half way out the window when he heard Leo’s voice and felt a hand on his ankle.

  Kai kicked frantically at the dark hand holding him. He twisted and his foot came free. He pitched forward suddenly, falling several feet to land with a thud on the soft grass beneath the window. He lurched to his feet and ran, but soon realized he didn’t know where to go. ‘Away’ had been his only plan. Going home was going to Lincoln and Gerald. He didn’t know who he could trust anymore. Any of them could be a part of this new rebel group. His insides seemed to be trembling. It was all so foreign, so distastefully strange. He ran harder to quiet his fears, trying to stamp them into nothing with the force of exertion. His taut, muscular frame found a rhythm as he ran. “Away” would have to do for now.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kai ate an extra large juicy hamburger with a mound of hand-cut fries for lunch at a tiny restaurant hidden between two busy retail stores. The diner had a big front window and he kept an eye out for any of the rebel Trebladores he knew. How many were part of this rebellion was a mystery, however. If he saw any Trebladores, he wasn’t taking chances. He turned and again ensured no obstacles would impede his escape through the kitchen and out the back door.

  Feeling rejuvenated from his meal, Kai left. He headed toward the park. What was he to do? Who could he trust? The concept that any Trebladore could turn against the others and actually organize a group that questioned the methods they’d used for thousands of years was so foreign, so mind-blowingly bizarre, he was having trouble accepting it.

  Growing up he had never heard anyone disagree with Influencing. It was like opposing breathing. How else could they make the changes humanity needed? How else could they encourage those who were headed down a dark and dangerous route to change their lives?

  He wished, for the hundredth time, that he had his phone. He should call Beth and let her know he was busy. She would be wondering why he hadn’t called. He had essentially disappeared two nights ago without a word. He couldn’t ask her to come get him. He had to keep her out of this mess; at least until he sorted out what was going on and what he was going to do about it.

  Kai stopped on the sidewalk to watch a group of children play baseball in the park. They were maybe ten or twelve years old, boys and girls together, laughing and joking and teasing each other. Every one of them seemed to be smiling. The boy at bat swung and connected with the ball. The children in the outfield sprang into motion to catch it. These were just regular human children. How did they turn into the monsters the Trebladores so often had to work with? At what point in their lives did they change from carefree, loving babies to the angry, hateful men and women who intentionally caused harm to others?

  Kai was so wrapped up in watching the children that he didn’t hear the sound of a motor gunning up beside him until it was too late. A van bounded onto the sidewalk. The big side door slid open. Harrison, Leo, and two of the strangers from his basement prison jumped out. Kai started to run but they surrounded him. They each grabbed a limb and lifted him into the air. For a second, it reminded Kai of the ritual of giving the bumps on a child’s birthday. That second passed quickly. “Let go of me!” He kicked and squirmed as they moved toward the van with Kai suspended between them. He got one of his legs free and heard the Trebladore grunt and curse as he clutched at his leg, getting a kick in the stomach before trapping Kai again. They slid him through the sliding door and flung him onto a soft mattress. Then they all jumped in and the door slammed shut.

  Kai rose up on his knees. “You can’t do this. Let me out.” He turned and pulled the handle on the door on the other side but it was locked. His heart raced and his anger built. “This isn’t right! It’s not our way!”

  “Necessary,” said Leo, simply, sitting on the floor of the van, his hands resting on his knees, head tilted to the side as he considered Kai.

  Kai settled on the mattress. His mind swirled. In typical Trebladore fashion they had gone to the trouble of making sure he wouldn’t be hurt in the abduction. A mattress of all things! They all sat in a semi-circle, seeming to fill the space. He couldn’t get by them. A frustrated, helpless feeling washed over him.

  “Where are you taking me?” he said.

  “Somewhere you can’t escape,” said Harrison. He crawled into the passenger seat and looked back over his shoulder at Kai. “Just be patient. We’ll let you out as soon as we get there.”

  “Get where?” Kai asked. When they didn’t answer he said, “Why are you so adamant that I join your little rebellion?” He looked at each of the men surrou
nding him and then back at Harrison. “What do you hope to accomplish? If I don’t agree with you and your ways, I don’t agree. That’s the end of it.”

  Harrison leaned over the arm of his chair and gazed earnestly at Kai. “You don’t understand,” he said. “You are important to the rebellion. We need you to join us. And all we ask is that you stop long enough to hear us out … give us a chance to convince you we’re right.”

  Kai slumped back against the wall of the van, listening to the sound of gravel as it rattled against the undercarriage. They had left the town and were on a back road now.

  Almost an hour passed before the van slowed and turned down another gravel road. This one was lined with tall trees and had a white board fence running along the edge of it. Kai thought he recognized the place. It used to be a resort of some kind, a summer retreat. Yes, he remembered. He had worked here one summer when he was about fourteen.

  The van continued along the winding road until it turned a corner and the building came into view. One large cabin dominated the resort. Kai remembered that it housed the kitchen, the gathering area, the laundry, the dining room, and several bedrooms for the counselors. There was a huge stone fireplace and lots of soft, comfy couches in the main gathering room.

  It was with a certain sense of relief that Kai stepped out of the van. His legs were cramped and his nervous energy was bubbling under the surface.

  “I need the washroom,” he said to Harrison once everyone had crawled from the van. Harrison nodded silently and led him over to the building. Inside, the dining room was set up with chairs and large round tables. They walked around them to the back of the hall. Harrison waited outside while Kai slipped through the door to the men’s bathroom. Inside he found that there were no windows. He was truly trapped. He felt frustration rise and tried to tamp it down. He was not being a true Trebladore if he let emotion overcome him now. He needed to keep his wits about him. He would need them to escape this place.