He hadn’t been teased like this in a long time and he was enjoying it too much. He changed the subject because there wasn’t a lot of time left.
“About the universal agreement, can we change it?”
“How so? What are we looking for now?”
“Our initial object was to look for the intruder. Just now, one of those men said it was crucial to find out whether the weapon’s going to the summit. That’s the explosive device and it’s supposed to be in Macedonia, but nowhere near the summit.”
“So you want to find out if the device is...where?”
Jed paused, wondering if the information would contaminate the remote viewing process. She already knew what the weapon was, but locating anything through RV was tricky. A mere suggestion couldsend the viewer on a wild goose chase, looking for something that wasn’t there. He had to be extra careful here.
“Elena, I need you to just concentrate on the missing weapon because I can’t project what I know on you.”
“Hmm. I see your problem.”There were a few moments of silence and Jed could feel her weighing different options. He couldn’t get the thoughts but he saw random images—the man on the bed, the quick flash of the device that she’d seen from the video during the meeting, then back to the people in the room.“I’m going to guess that one of these men is our patient’s handler and monitor. How about I concentrate on what that man over there said, about finding the weapons and Macedonia? We can shift the universal agreement to that man’s next remote view point.”
Jed smiled internally. She’d managed to surprise him at her quick, innovative ideas. She always found a way.
“Can you do it? Two universal agreements, one after another. You’re going to be totally exhausted when we’re finished.”
“I’m doing my job.”
He smiled again. She was in outright mocking mode all right, sarcastically paraphrasing his oft-used words. The woman was still angry at him for what he’d done.
“I’m ready when you are. We have to both mentally think of the agreement at the same time,”she told him.“I remember his name, so it’ll be easier. I’m pretty sure it’s Jonah.”
“Let’s do it,”Jed said.
“What about this place? And them?”
“They’re after what we’ll be finding out next. So we’re one step ahead.”Which would be very good indeed. The international summit in Skopje was going to be attended by some world leaders, some of whom had a few enemies for balking the old Russian system.
He looked around one more time before he closed his eyes to merge his thoughts with Helen’s. This place might look new, but it was also attached to a very familiar old system. Things on the outside might have changed, but old spies and their world didn’t die easily.
Chapter Thirteen
During Elena’s remote-viewing training, the concept of going somewhere using the mind didn’t quite click into place until she found the “vehicle” of choice, her race car, which she’d nicknamed “The Rocket Ship”. Breathing control, check. Relaxation and reaching an altered state, check. Consciously groping for some unknown destination identified only as a universal address—half the class had failed that exercise. Describing the target successfully, whether it was a bag of marbles on top of a building or the inside of a cave filled with bats, tested her senses and belief system. And yeah, half of the class had failed that one.
Those who were left—Elena included—started advanced training under the care of two operatives from the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology. She was introduced to “long-distance remote viewing”, a program focusing solely on operation-based objectives, moving from Point A and B with minimal guidance, the use of a mental trigger, and, most important of all, moving from Point B to A without losing control or information.
The use of a familiar travel or observation device was just a means to an end. To escape the grueling internal war with the belief system, it also became a comfort zone, or an escape hatch, should the surroundings or sensations start to overwhelm. Now, the mental leap of jumping into her vehicle and taking off was a natural extension to her remote-viewing process.
Change gear. Speed up. Focus on the universal agreement.
The mental toll exacted a heavy price. Seventy-five percent of her “class” didn’t complete the course.
Having seen firsthand how a few of those who failed had to deal with the stress, Elena was very aware of the danger of overextending her remote-viewing session. One universal agreement was usually it. She’d never done two, and an unspoken universal agreement that was somebody else’s at that.
She stepped on the gas, adrenaline fueling her excitement. That feeling that had haunted her during and after completing her training—that she was in some state of “becoming”—filled her again, pungent as the sweet smell of strawberries, her senses unfurling in some kind of need that she couldn’t even explain. She stuck out her tongue as if she could taste it.
“Elena.”
Hades’ Southern drawl made her shiver. Strawberry and a chocolaty mudslide. Oh, man.
“Elena, Dr. Kirkland’s reporting a spike in your readings. Are you feeling okay? If you don’t feel right, we won’t continue.”
She smiled, her eyes looking at the speeding space and colors zipping past her race car. Was he showing some concern?“I’m fine. The colors seem brighter this time. Can you see it?”
There was a pause.“No. I can feel your excitement. And I taste strawberries.”
