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was hard to break. Then I realized Hess knew I normally carried a gun. H e couldn't completely discount the possibility that I might have managed to bring one through the gate with me. Maybe I could pull off another bluff. I stuck my hand deep into my pocket, went to the door and flipped the lock, then stood aside.

The door was flung open with a bang. Hess strode into the room, accompanied by two of his henchmen. Not hesitating for a moment, he head ed straight for me. His eyes darted to my hand, hidden inside the pocket of my jacket.

Cursing, he tried a quick disarming maneuver. I saw his plan in his mind a split second before he executed it. I moved as he did, anticipating his every action. There was a blur of motion and I was behind him, holding him in a grip designed to shatter fingers if he attempted to break it. He didn't. Instead, he shouted to his cohorts.

"Cover him, and get the girl. Quick"

One of the agents ran around the side of the room toward Rita, the other dodged behind me. I braced my body against his attack and took a deep br eath to steady my concentration. My mind leapt into high gear. Time slowed to a crawl as I explored the quantum possibilities and probabilities. A million possibilities flashed before me in an instant. I made a tremendous effort and seized upon one as most advantageous. In the midst of my mental gymnastics I became aware of Rita's mind supporting mine, helping me decide.

Time stopped. For an infinity that lasted less than a heartbeat I faced my attackers. Sneers of triumph were frozen on the faces of Hess's hench men. Then an earthquake rocked the room as my mental powers exploded into action. I spun as if in a whirlwind. Abruptly, everything went still again. Hess and his two henchmen lay tangled up together in a heap in front of me. My head pounded.

I looked down at my hands and saw they were shaking. I had changed reali ty, rewound Hess's entrance. Instead of rushing me, Hess had tripped on t he carpet as he came in the door. His two henchmen had gotten their feet tangled up with his.

The three of them collapsed into a heap, their guns flying out of their hands and landing at my feet.

I shivered with relief. I'd used quantum mechanics and the uncertaint y principle in ways I didn't begin to understand with my conscious mind. But somehow

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my Seconder powers had accessed the situation, and given me what I needed.

"Oh, Lee!"

Across the room, Rita stared at me, wide-eyed with pure amazement. I turned and forced a smile. I didn't want her to know how much I'd scared myself. Such powers were almost inhuman. I remembered the invitation of the entity and shuddered. Forcing that fear from my mind, I bent to pick up one of the guns.

It was a relief to have the weight of a weapon in my hand again.

"We're in control of this room at least," I said, pointing it at the three men who were untangling themselves from their heap. "No sudden movements there," I added to them, as Hess shot me a venomous look.

My nerves were on edge. It took an effort to keep my hand from shaking.

For one thing, I was worried that in shifting time I might have created a whole new world-an alternate universe of my own devising. When you start messing with quantum mechanics, very strange things can happen. According to theory, I'd created a new quantum pathway that left us in new situation, but in the same world as we had started. I thought.

The three men had managed to untangle themselves, but they were still on the floor, looking confused and shaken. Good, I wanted them that way.

"Stay where you are. Don't move," I ordered.

They quit moving, but Hess lifted his head and glared at me with the hat red and fear of an animal caught in a trap. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Easy enough," I said, as if throwing men and guns around a room w as an everyday occurrence. "Now, slowly get up, and make yourself comfortable on a lounger over against the wall, so we can talk."

Hess began getting up in a peculiar fashion. Rita shrieked a warning.

"Lee! He's-"

Crouching over, Hess reached for his spare gun hidden in an ankle holste r.

My mind was one step ahead. Without thinking, I fired through the pocket of my jacket. I was a very good shot with a pistol. The bullet went through hi s hand and into the fleshy part of his leg.

"Oh, goddamn!" he screamed. "You sonofabitch!!"

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"Yeah. I'm a real bad ass, aren't I?"

I reached down and yanked him to his feet, and placed the muzzle of the gun to the side of his head. He blanched, but there was still some fight in him.

"Maybe you can kill me, Lee, but you can't get away. The agency co ntrols this estate. Make it easy on yourself before you get into a lot of trouble."

He gritted his teeth as the pain from his wounds began to register, but I felta surge of hope in his thoughts. At the same moment I heard voices outside the door. I took a second to gauge the number and positions of the other agents outside.

Turning my head, I smiled at Rita.

"Hold the fort, sweetheart. We're going to be gone a minute."

I concentrated again. To my delight, I found it easier this time now that I knew it was possible. My brow furrowed as I visualized the outcome I wanted. The world twisted around us. Hess and I stood behind four men and women with guns drawn.

As I caught my breath, I realized they were debating whether to break into the room after hearing the shot.

"Behind you," I said.

They whirled around, astounded expressions on their faces as they saw me standing behind their boss with a gun pointed at his head.

"How-"

"There's no exit from in there. He couldn't have-"

"Mister Hess! Are you all right?"

"He's fine," I told them. "Now shut up, put your guns away, and let us reason together." I bumped Hess' temple with the muzzle of my gun. "Right, Mister Hess?"

I'll give Hess this much, he kept his voice calm despite having a gun shoved to his head. "Do as he says. He's learned some new tricks."

"Open the door, and go into the bedroom," I commanded.

Rita's eyes opened wide as she saw me enter behind my latest captives , with my gun pointed to Hess's head. The agents appeared dumfounded as they huddled together near the foot of the bed. They had no idea how I had pulled off the trick.

Actually, I had no idea myself; I only knew I could do it, not how.

"Sit down, all of you. But first, I would appreciate it if you put your firearms on 132

the dresser over there, one by one, please."

I watched closely as they each walked over to the dresser and disarmed.

Rita moved over to stand guard beside what turned out to be quite a pile of v arious armaments, while I kept my gun pointed at Hess. Looking glum, the last agent to disarm rejoined his comrades in the huddle. A swift mental touch confirmed that they were willing-well, resigned, maybe-to sit quietly for a while. I s hoved Hess into a chair against one wall of the room and glared down at him.

"So what did you think you were about to do?"

His face was pale, but his glittering eyes revealed a mind hard at work.

"I'm an agent, Lee. I work for the government. I follow orders. The powers yo u displayedthe last time you visited Earth terrified the politicians. They want you brought under control so they can learn what you're capable of."

I gave him a fierce grin. "Bringing me under control isn't going t o be easy, Hess."

He relaxed slightly, and grinned himself. "I can see that. You've learned some new tricks while you were in the Nexus."

"I've managed to stay ahead of you, anyway."

It was my turn to sneer. I wanted to gloat, to flaunt my new powers in front of him, to make their guns vanish, and maybe their clothes, too. A need to humiliate these lesser creatures who had dared to defy me filled my heart. I caught Rita staring at me with a shocked look, and reined in my emotions. With an effort, I.

turned my attention back to Hess.

"Why did you renege on our agreement? Damn it, I can't be coming b ack here every other day to get you back on course. I've got other things to d o. And you have really pissed me off by threatening my woman."

For the first time he looked frightened. "I wasn't going to hurt you-or Rita.

You're both far too valuable."

I touched his mind and caught a glimpse of his intentions. "Oh, no, you were going to hold us at gunpoint, then drug us up so we couldn't fight ba ck with our newfound mental powers. I suppose we'd have spent the rest of our lives drugged to the teeth in some government institution."

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His eyes flashed with defiance. "It's the best way to control some one like you."

"You're damned lucky I only wounded you instead of putting a bulle t through your head."

"I didn't renege," he said, throwing a nervous glance at the other agents.

"The government decided it wasn't politically expedient to give out too much information about you Seconders at once."

"In other words, the powers that be don't want the electorate to know there are people on this planet that they can't control."

I was astounded at my own rage. The human race stood at the threshold of its greatest evolution ever, and these petty bastards only cared about protecting their position.

"It wasn't my decision; I follow orders."

"That's what they all say. And besides, you're lying." I knew from touching his mind that he'd urged the politicians to bring us under control, hoping to get a promotion, and to hell with the lives it might affect. "You goddamn freak!"

He started to rise from the lounger despite his wounded leg. His face twisted in rage, as he realized that I knew his every thought. A sharp crack split the air as I put a bullet into the lounger beside him. Rita screamed and the agents jumped.

Hess flinched and eased back down, staring daggers at me. I held the gun steady on Hess while I pondered my next move. I'd thought the Seconders on Earth wer e safe the last time I'd left for the Nexus. I had to do something that would guarantee their safety for sure this time before I dared to leave again.

Reaching out, I touched Rita's mind. We conversed telepathically whil e the NSA agents stared at us, wondering what we were up to. Outside the door, footsteps pounded down the hallway. A beefy man burst into the room, his fists up as if ready for a fight.

"Lee!" He spotted the gun in my hand, and lowered his fists while a big grin stretched across his face.

"Hi, Carl."

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Relief swept over me. Carl was Messler's old chief of security, and he'd become mine after I inherited Messler's wealth. I was glad to see him. He could watch the government goons while Rita and I got our plan rolling. I nodded to the pile of guns on the dresser.

"How about you help yourself to one and keep these guys covered for m e?"

Carl looked embarrassed as he grabbed a gun from the pile. "You sure you don't want to fire me first? I should never have let these agents tak e over-they caught me completely off guard."

I shrugged. "If it's anyone's fault it's mine. I was stupid enough to trust the word of a government agent." A delighted look appeared on Carl's face as he pointed the gun at Hess. "How'd you know I was back?"

"I didn't. When these agents found out you were here they escorted the Seconders to their rooms and locked them in. I heard a gunshot. So I bro ke out, and came looking for the action."

"Glad to see you." I clapped him on the shoulder and turned my att ention to Rita. "What do you think? Will our plan work?"

She smiled at me, her big dark eyes bright with the shining optimism that never failed to boost my spirits. "Ignorance is what feeds fear. People might not like the truth about us at first, but in the end they'll understand we're not out to harmthem."

"Okay. Let's do it."

Rita turned to a side panel and began bringing the main computer and wal l screen unit in the bedroom fully on line. I watched as her flying finger s set it up to take continuous dictation with full video and sound. We had decided I wo uld be the one to speak. My words would be recorded by the computer and simultaneou sly broadcast to the web worldwide. With the reputation I had established as a web journalist before I had to go into hiding as a Seconder, my words would carry credibility-enough to ensure other reporters would investigate and find out the full truth for themselves.

"Greetings to everyone listening to this web cast in the United States of America and around the world," I began. "I am Jackson Lee Stuart. Many of you 135