Indigo Incite (The Indigo Trilogy) (11 page)

“A few
different people…some good, some not so good. Do you have time to talk? My name
is Sarah, by the way.”

Grace
glanced at the time on her cell phone and saw that she still had an hour before
her flight would board. It was then that the realization hit her. She hadn’t
come to the airport for a band trip; she had come to meet Sarah. “Sure,” Grace
said. “I think we should talk.”

Sarah
returned to the restaurant so that she could excuse herself from her travel
companions while Grace waited inside a nearby bookstore and inattentively
flipped through a magazine. Sarah found her a few minutes later. Together, they
found a quiet bench where they could sit and talk.

Grace
explained how she had seen Sarah in her dream and how she had eventually
decided to come to the airport. Then she blinked in speechless, confused awe
after Sarah finished her story. When her brain was finally able to formulate
words, Grace looked at Sarah and said, “I’m coming with you.”

Sarah
frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Yep. No
one ever has to know. I wonder how difficult it would be to get my ticket
switched.”

“Hmmm, I
don’t know. I know that airlines often make special exceptions for people in
cases of funerals and things like that….Let’s go find out.”

*****

“This
ticket is nonrefundable.” The ticket agent tapped her red, polished
fingernails, impatiently, on the computer keyboard. Her tight, severe bun
revealed a hint of gray roots, and the dark circles under her eyes said that
she was tired of working and had little patience to deal with demanding
passengers.

Grace
cast a worried look toward Sarah, who patted her arm in reassurance and then
faced the ticket agent with an air of authoritative confidence. “I know that,
Ma’am, but surely there is something that you can do. My sister isn’t asking
for a refund, just a destination change. A ticket to Arizona has to cost a lot
less than a ticket to Florida. Our grandfather just passed away, and we need to
get to Arizona to be with our family.”

“Well,
we do make exceptions when there is a death in the family, but we would need to
get your parents’ approval to change the ticket. Give me just a moment. Let me
go speak with my supervisor.”

The
ticket agent strode toward the end of the long counter and spoke with another
woman who scowled and appeared less than thrilled to deal with another problem.

“I hope
this works, Grace. That lady doesn’t look too friendly.”

Grace
eyed the supervisor, who frowned and shook her head while the ticket agent
spoke to her. “Don’t worry. I can convince her. Along with hearing prophetic
voices in my head, I can also influence others.”

“What do
you mean?”

“Shh,”
Grace whispered, “they’re coming back. Just continue to play along.”

When the
stocky supervisor approached the counter, it became apparent that the days of
tall, skinny flight attendants were long gone. The bulging, shiny gold buttons
of her navy blue jacket appeared ready to pop. The ticket agent stepped back to
allow her supervisor to take over. Sarah glanced at Grace with a look that
said,
Are you sure about this
?

Grace
smiled with reassurance. It had been a while since she'd had used her special
talents to influence someone, but she was confident that it wouldn’t be too
difficult.

“Girls,
I understand that your grandfather has passed away. I’m so sorry for your
loss,” the supervisor began.

As the
memory of her own recent loss flooded her emotions, a surge of tears reached
her eyes, and she allowed them to flow freely. Her apparent inability to speak
would allow her time to focus her energy on the supervisor.

With an
unwavering, rigid stare, the supervisor continued, “But this is a nonrefundable
ticket, and with that comes strict guidelines. Now, we do make exceptions for a
loss in the family, but we will need your parents’ consent to change the
ticket.”

“I
understand that, but our parents aren’t here,” Sarah told her. “They flew to
Arizona to be with our grandfather before he passed away.”

“Perhaps
we could talk to your mother or father on the phone.”

While
Sarah kept her talking, Grace began to channel positive energy toward the
stocky woman behind the counter. The woman’s defensive aura slowly faded and
then gradually grew warmer. When her aura visibly reached out toward Grace, she
knew that she had a solid connection with the woman’s energy and was ready to
speak.

She eyed
the supervisor’s nametag. “Donna,” Grace began, “please, is there any way that
you can help me?” She wiped away a tear. “The next flight to Arizona leaves
soon, and we need to get there to be with my family. My sister is over eighteen.
Can’t she act in place of my mother?”

Grace
continued to pour on the positive energy, and the supervisor’s mood seemed to
visibly transform. Her stern scowl was replaced by an expression of soft
concern.

Donna
turned to Sarah. “You’re over eighteen?”

“I’m
twenty. Would you like to see my ID?”

With a
surprising smile, Donna said, “No, that’s not necessary. Let’s see what we can
do to get everything arranged for you.” Her fingernails clicked on the
keyboard, for a few moments, and then she said, “It looks like our flight is
almost full, but I was able to get you seats next to each other.”

A few
more clicks of the keyboard and Donna handed Grace the revised ticket off of
the printer. “Your flight boards in thirty minutes, ladies. My condolences to
your family.”

“Thank
you.” With a sincere smile, Grace accepted the ticket.

As soon
as they were out of earshot from the ticket counter, Sarah turned to Grace.
“That was amazing. What did you do back there? It’s like that woman’s mood
shifted from night to day.”

“It’s
something that I learned to do when I was little. When I realized that I could
see auras, I learned everything I could about them. Auras are a reflection of a
person’s energy. I discovered that energy is something that can be manipulated,
and energy has a direct connection to a person’s mood and thoughts. So, with a
little practice, I learned how to manipulate a person’s mood.” Grace shrugged.
“It’s simple, really.”

Sarah
laughed. “Okay. If you say so.”

*****

Seated
in the hard, black, vinyl chairs, next to the boarding gate, Sarah recounted
everything she knew about Eddie and Liliana. Then, she went on to describe her
experience with the black car that had followed her on the road to Granite
Falls.

Grace
bit her lower lip and looked around nervously as though she would recognize the
potential kidnappers if she saw them. “Do you think that the people who
followed you will come after you again?”

Before
Sarah could respond, they were interrupted by a woman in a bright purple
sweater. “There you are, dear! Who’s your friend?” she asked, indicating Grace.

Sarah
looked up and smiled at their visitors. “Hi there! Bonnie, Chuck, this is
my…cousin, Grace. She’s flying down to Arizona for the family reunion. We
weren’t supposed to be on the same flight, but since our flight got canceled
last night, and we got laid over, our paths ending up crossing after all, so we
get to fly down together.”

“Well,
isn’t that nice,” said the heavyset, balding man, Sarah had introduced as
Chuck. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Grace.”

Grace
shook his outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“We flew
in last night from Seattle,” Sarah explained to Grace. “We were supposed to
catch a connecting flight last night at ten, but it was cancelled, so they
switched us to the first flight out this morning.”

Bonnie
groaned and shook her head. “Looks like we aren’t having the best travelling
luck. Take a look at the board; looks like our flight has been delayed, again.”

Grace
eyed the departure board and saw that their flight was indeed delayed for an
additional two hours. “Well, Sarah, I’m glad that your flight was cancelled
last night. I guess everything happens for a reason, huh?” With raised eyebrows
and a look that said,
Who are they
? she glanced inconspicuously from
Sarah, to her two traveling companions.

Sarah
peeked at the couple in question. They were momentarily occupied with a
disagreement about the weight of a certain carry-on bag. She rolled her eyes
and smiled.

“Bonnie
and Chuck happened to be leaving for the airport when I was, and they were kind
enough to give me a ride. As luck would have it, they were actually heading for
Arizona, too. So I’ve had the pleasure of their company on this trip.”

Grace
glanced at the couple. Their auras consisted of an oddly tinged hue she
couldn’t quite place, but she chalked it up to their argument and flared
tempers with each other.

They
continued to argue about the necessity of items in the woman’s large, flowered,
carry-on. Grace turned away and pretended to scrutinize the flight departure
board. The momentary distraction allowed her time to mask her impending
laughter. With regained composure, she turned back to Sarah and smiled. “It
sounds like you found each other at the right time. That certainly was lucky,
wasn’t it?”

“Wasn’t
it though?” Sarah returned the knowing smile.

“Is
someone going to meet you girls at the airport when you get to Phoenix?” Chuck
asked.

“Um, no,
I don’t think so,” Sarah told him. “I think we’ll just rent a car and head up
to Flagstaff. The rest of our…family is already up there.”

Bonnie
nudged her husband. “We should give them a ride. It seems silly for them to
rent a car when we could just drive them.”

“That’s
not a bad idea,” Chuck said. “What do ya say, girls? How would you like to put
up with us for a little while longer? We’d be happy to take you up north, once
we get to town. That’ll save you a little bit of money, at least.”

Sarah
glanced at Grace, who returned the look with an expression that said,
They’re
your friends, not mine.

“Um,
that’s really kind,” Sarah began, “but…we wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.
It’s a long trip, and I’m sure the last thing that you’re going to want to do
is drive three hours out of your way. Didn’t you say that you live in the
Phoenix area?”

“Yep,
but it wouldn’t be an inconvenience at all. Our daughter lives up in Flagstaff,
and we had planned to go up there for a little visit. It’ll be the perfect
excuse. We wouldn’t hear of you renting a car when we can take you. So it’s
settled then. You just get to put up with us for a little while longer. Isn’t
that great?”

“That’s…great,”
Sarah said with a forced smile.

“Great,”
Grace responded with an inward sigh.

*****

Grace
watched Bonnie and Chuck, who stood up ahead, already in the boarding line.
Though undeniably annoying, they seemed sweet enough; and yet, something about
them seemed peculiar. Luckily, they were seated at the rear of the plane, and
she and Sarah had been assigned to the front, so they would at least have
privacy to talk, away from the couple.

Grace
squinted in concentration as she continued to observe them. In a controlled
battle for energy, their auras shifted back and forth during their continued
argument. While both sets of auras were mostly red, which complemented their
argument, their auras were also rimmed with a large amount of gray. She found
this discovery to be puzzling because gray indicated dark thoughts or unclear
intentions, and it seemed to be contradictory to the bubbly personalities they
had displayed.

“Sarah,
do you trust them?”

The
ticket agent called for the next group of passengers to board, and Sarah turned
to her as they took their place in line. “Bonnie and Chuck? Yeah I mean, they
seem harmless enough. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t
know.” Grace squinted at them, again. “I agree. They do seem harmless. It’s just…something
about their auras doesn’t seem right.”

“Maybe
it’s just because they’re mad at each other…you think?”

“Maybe…I
don’t know.” Grace shook her head. “Just be careful what you say around them.
I’m sure they are nice enough, but right now it’s probably safe to assume that
we shouldn’t trust anyone.”

“I agree
with you there. Until we know what this whole thing is all about and we know
who’s after us, we probably shouldn’t trust anyone.”

From
somewhere nearby, a man called out, “Hey, Henry, you there?” The voice sounded
vaguely familiar, but Toby couldn’t place it.

“Yeah,
I’m here. Go ‘head,” came a garbled reply, over what sounded like a
walkie-talkie.

“It
looks like the boy’s starting to wake up. Just wanted to let you know.”

“Thanks,
Jesse. I’ll send Ashley down with a tray from the kitchen. Come up and see me
when you’re done and we’ll talk.”

“Sounds
good. Will do,” the man, who must have been Jesse, responded.

Toby
recognized the voice; he had spoken with him on a few occasions and could
picture what he looked like. Stylishly dressed, he was a muscular, built man of
African-American descent. Toby guessed him to be in his early twenties. The
last time they had spoken, he had surreptitiously coerced Toby into providing
the identities of other uniquely gifted individuals. Toby had worried that once
the individuals were identified and located, they would end up no better off
than he was now—locked up and held captive. Somehow, Jesse had persuaded him to
use his psychic abilities to provide the names; after that, Toby had shut down
and refused to talk.

His eyes
remained closed as he lay on the hard, uncomfortable bed and listened to Jesse
and the voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie, discuss him. He had tried
to pretend that he was still asleep, but obviously the man knew that he was
waking up.

Toby
slowly turned his head to look at the man, who was leaning against a desk near
the door.

“How
long have I been here? Where am I?”

“Two
weeks. And where you are is of no concern, right now. You are…here.” He
indicated the room with a sweep of his hands.

Toby
looked around; except for the desk, a single chair, and a bed, the room was
bare. With the exception of a small, attached room, which he remembered was a
bathroom, it was a prison cell.

“
Two
weeks
! Are you kidding? How did I lose that much time?”

“You’ve
been…in an altered state of mind.”

“An
altered
state of mind? That’s putting it mildly. So, now what? Why am I awake now? Or
maybe I’m not really awake. Are you just a figment of my
altered
state
of mind, too?”

Jesse
set the walkie-talkie on the desk, folded his arms, and smiled. “No, this is
all very real.”

“So why
have you decided to talk to me now?” Toby sat up in bed. He realized too late
that this move was a mistake and closed his eyes; his hands immediately cradled
his pounding head. Even with his eyes closed, it felt as though the room was
spinning, and he decided that it would be best to lie down, once more. He
didn’t drink, so he had never experienced a hangover, but he imagined that this
was what it would undoubtedly feel like.

When the
pain had somewhat subsided, he gradually opened one eye and then the other. He
slowly turned his head on the flat pillow and looked at Jesse, who eyed him
carefully.

“The
headache is typical. It should go away soon. It’s just a reaction from the
sedatives. You’ve been out for…a while, but you should feel normal in a few
hours. I imagine you’re probably hungry. Ashley’s going to bring you down some
lunch.”

“Why
now?” Toby asked again. “I’ve been here for two weeks. Why have you decided to
talk to me now?”

“Well,
we tried once. Do you remember? You provided us with a list of names. You were
a great help.”

Toby
sighed. It was his fault that his brother and several others were now in
danger. “Yeah, I remember.”

“After
that, you didn’t show much interest in talking with us, so we thought we’d give
you some time to cool off. If you’re willing to hear me out and listen to what
I have to say, I think you’ll find that this place isn’t as bad as it first appeared.”

“Not as
bad as it first appeared? You mean there’s another way to view getting kidnapped
and held against my will?”

“Actually,
there is. I was once in a position similar to yours, and once I was able to see
the big picture, I realized how fortunate I really was.”

“
Fortunate
?
That’s not exactly the first word that comes to mind.”

“Give me
a chance to explain, and you might see things a bit differently. At least try
to keep an open mind, okay?”

“Yeah,
whatever.” Toby shook his head, but the movement caused immediate pain, and he
placed a hand over his forehead and groaned.

“Hey,
Ashley,” Jesse spoke into the walkie, “when you bring lunch down for my friend
here, could you bring him a couple of ibuprofen, as well?”

There
was a brief pause, and then a girl’s voice crackled back in response, “Not a
problem, Jess. Anything else you need?”

“I could
use a bottle of water. Would you mind?”

“You got
it. I was just on my way down. I’ll see you in a minute.”

“Thanks,
Ash,” Jesse responded. Then he turned to Toby. “Now then, I’m sure you have a
thousand questions. Let me explain why you’re here, and then you can ask
whatever questions you have. You at least willing to listen?”

“Yeah…I
suppose.”

Jesse
nodded. “Good enough. To begin with, I know you’re wondering why you’re here.
I’ll try to explain as succinctly as possible. There’s a special group who’s
been commissioned to study people like you…and me. We are, what they call,
Indigos.”

“Indigos?
What does that mean?”

“It
would take a long time to explain, and I will explain it all to you in great
detail, later. Simply put, for now, ‘Indigo Children’ is a term that’s been
coined to describe people who are born with a difference in their DNA. This
difference allows them access to parts of the brain that are usually untouched
by most people, and thus provides them with special abilities.

“The
people who have…relocated you, here, want to study your DNA and learn why you
have special abilities. More importantly, they want to discover the extent of
your powers and learn what you can do.”

“But
why? Why kidnap me? They were already going to take me to some special school.
Couldn’t they have just studied me there?”

Jesse
stared, unblinking, at Toby, and in a moment, the answer silently floated into
his mind.
Think about it, and you’ll see that you already know the answer
.

Toby
furled his eyebrows in confusion. “They want to keep it a secret?”

Why
do you think that is?
Jesse asked, silently.

Toby
considered the little he knew of the people who had taken him. They had created
a pretense of a school for the gifted so they would have the opportunity to
kidnap him. Jesse had said it himself; these people wanted to discover what
they could do with his powers.

“Is it
like some secret agency with the CIA or something?” Toby asked, perplexed. “Do
they want to use our gifts to spy on others?” The smile and lack of response
from Jesse told him that his guess must be fairly close to the truth.

He was
about to inquire further when a knock at the door interrupted the conversation.
Jesse swiped an ID badge across a screen and the door slid open. He noticed
there was no handle.

A petite
girl, about eighteen or nineteen, with bright red hair entered the room. She
set a large tray on the desk and picked up a small, clear plastic cup and a
water bottle. She offered him the bottle and a sympathetic smile. “Here ya go.
This should help.”

He sat
up, slowly, as she proceeded to dump two white pills from the cup into his
outstretched hand. “Thanks.”

“I brought
the other water bottle there for you,” she said to Jesse, indicating the tray
on the table. “Call me if you need anything else, okay?”

“I will.
Thanks, Ashley.”

With a
swipe of her own ID badge, Ashley left, and they were alone once again. Jesse
lifted the silver dome cover from the plate and peered inside. “Looks like
grilled ham and cheese and a cup of soup. Tasty. Why don’t you come enjoy it
while it’s warm? We can talk while you eat if you like.”

“I am
hungry,” Toby admitted. He stood carefully; his legs shook slightly as he made
the four-step journey to the desk and sat.

After he
had taken a few bites, he glanced at Jesse, who was still leaning against the
wall and appeared to be playing a game on his phone.

“So am I
right? Is it the CIA or something like that?”

“Something
like that.” His captor looked up from his phone. “We’re called the IIA, short
for Indigo Intelligence Agency. I guess you could say our agency is like a
second cousin to the CIA, but we’re the black sheep of the family. There aren’t
many outsiders who know of our existence.”

“Why is
that?”

“Well,
basically because we do things that aren’t considered the ‘norm.' The agency is
a little…unorthodox. It’s an off-shoot of the CIA. We help gather information
when requested, but we also have our own agenda.”

“So why
kidnap me?”

“They
were going to take you to our school, just like they do with most of the other
kids they’re interested in, but when Cecelia and Frank took you, they
discovered rather quickly that your gifts are much more intricate than they had
anticipated. They decided that it would be best to bring you straight here so
that we could start working with you. What they didn’t foresee was that you
wouldn’t want to readily cooperate.”

Toby
snorted under his breath. “And why should I? Why would I want to cooperate with
someone who kidnapped me? Why do you do it?” He looked at Jesse. “I mean, it
sounds like you’re a lot like me. Why do you work for them? What’s in it for
you?”

“I
understand your skepticism. I was suspicious when I first met them, but I came
around quickly, and I’m sure once I explain everything, you will too.”

“Explain
it then, because right now all I see is a group of people who want to exploit
my powers and hold me hostage.”

“Acknowledged.”
Jesse crossed his arms and ankles and leaned against the wall. “That is one way
to look at it, but just keep in mind, there are always two sides to every
story.

“They
found me when I was seventeen,” he continued. “I had been living in an
impoverished neighborhood in Chicago, and I’d just graduated high school a year
early. I’d been counting my days until I could move away, but the problem was,
I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t have money to go to college, but I sure as
hell didn’t want to stick around there and find a job, even though I hated the
thought of leaving my momma and my brother.

“After I
agreed to work for them, they sent me to college, and after that, I was trained
with the CIA. Once my training was complete, they brought me here, and I’ve
been working for them ever since. Considering where I came from and where I
could have ended up, I can’t complain. It’s a good gig. And though I admit some
of their methods might be a little dishonest at times, their intentions are in
the right place. As far as I can see, they want to use our gifts to find the
bad guys and stop them. They’ve always treated me real good, so I can’t
complain.”

“You
came here willingly though.
This
was not my choice. I had to leave my
twin brother.”

“Yeah,
that was unfortunate, but they’re trying to rectify the situation. They’re
trying to find your brother as we speak, and when they find him, they’ll bring
him here."

“Yeah,
speaking of bringing him here, what’s that all about? That list of names that
you had me create for you…You’re trying to bring all of them here? Why kidnap
them? Why not recruit them, too?”

“They
have their reasons. Ideally, they would recruit them or, if they’re under age,
send them to one of our schools, but it’s not always practical. They aren’t
always willing to wait until the kids are eighteen, so on occasion they deem it
necessary to relocate them.”

“
Relocate
?
You mean kidnap?”

“Well,
it’s all in the terminology, I guess. They try not to see it that way.
Kidnapping holds a negative connotation. We like to think of this more as
a…lifetime opportunity.”

“Lifetime
opportunity…right. So, the list of names that I provided—everyone on the list
has a unique gift? It’s worth the risk to
relocate
them?”

Jesse
nodded. “Yes. We have trackers who have been watching them. They’ve listened to
their thoughts and have sensed their powers—powers that would be very valuable
to the agency.”

“Wait a
minute. Do you mean that those people on the list were already under your
radar? I didn’t identify them for you after all?”

“Oh, you
identified them all right, but it was more like an affirmation to see if you could
identify the same people we had already identified. We wanted to see if you had
the potential to be a tracker.”

An
immense sense of relief washed over him. He had thought it was his fault that
his brother was in danger. He was curious then about something Jesse had said.
“Tracker? Is that what you are? Do you go out and track people down?