The Clairvoyant 2

CHAPTER2:

He bent down and with concern splashed over his face he yelled to the people upstairs, "Pete! Call Tsugumi, we’ve got a sick gal here!" He could feel the adrenalin pumping through his body. All the tiredness fell out of him.

"Goddamn it! Pete! Hurry up, will you?" Pete had gone to get Tsugumi, the doc on duty. Rolling his eyes, he took her piggy- back and walked as fast as possible towards the medical wing. Tsugumi, a young Japanese girl who had finished her medical five years ago was fond of Firon. She met Clair carrying Firon mid-way to the training ground and instantaneously took her to cabin. It was decorated with her photos and maps and charts and well, God knows what not. She knew Clair would not leave without Firon so she let him stay outside in the cabin while she readied Firon for examination. She checked the vitals, disturbed, expected. Sighing, she went back to her cabin and sat across from Clair. He was spaced out, tired and worried. Tsugumi took out her prescription note and scribbled something on it.

"I’ll get the medicines for her, you’d better do your thing. That’s all she needs."

Clair nodded and went towards the bed where Firon slept. He settled on the stool and folded his hands in his lap. He began focusing on her…

He saw the room darken…

Felt the only thing remaining was Firon’s thoughts…

Heard his footsteps reach her mind…

The clairvoyant was on his job, reading a mind.

For her sake and his own; she was the key to their mysterious beginning at that facility. Previously Clair alone used to work there. After ‘the incident’, Firon came to know everything and so she had to be made an acquired cause. A cause was a person born with or bestowed with something special. They were not mutants or any of the other species the causes were working to save. No one had any idea how Firon or Clair were found in Australia. They were transported to that facility after a member from the Australian branch recognized them as missing. It was only from Firon’s bizarre dizzying spells that they could get any information about the incident.

It was as if all his being was concentrated on her thoughts. She went on becoming breathless in between but he had to ignore it.

He recalled (um… he saw) himself speak--- "Mr. Doug’s lecture today. They announced it yesterday. I came to know today morning."

She whispered back, "Bull shit! Why didn’t you tell me? What am I going to do?"

"You? Well, you’ll be sitting with me in the cafeteria for the next two hours."---
Instinctively he wiped a tear of her face and probed further.

---Firon said annoyed, "What for?"

"We are going to get kicked out anyways, I’d rather go out with some dignity. You wanna join me, you are welcome, otherwise…" he replied.

A hoarse voice said, "Mr. Clair… if you are done flirting with your partner please answer the question…" Since he was concentrating on her he could see her reactions pre-dominantly. She was blushing with some sort of happiness.

He flared up, "I don’t like her!

She was playing along, "Neither do I!"

The lecturer turned his angry gaze toward Firon and said, "Very well! You shall answer the question as well," looking at Clair he said, "Which lobe of the liver is involved in liver abscesses?"

She glanced at Clair. He was looking at his shoes, the typical way of showing guilt.

"Yes Ms. Firon… which lobe?"

She shook her head.

"Out! Out! Both of you!"---

Clair sighed and then saw the two of them chatting in the café. He saw her freeze as the idiots in suits came in. Then a strange thing happened- one of the women who looked strangely familiar, raised her hand and gracefully caught a soul, it was probably Firon’s, she had no idea about what was going on. Poor thing. He saw the bullet tear through the air and hit her left side. Without a sound, she collapsed to the ground. He heard another gunshot then another and then another and then saw Firon look at him and close her eyes. ---

He pushed her hand away and opened his eyes. He felt dizzy and exhausted. He decided to let Firon relax for a while after which he would talk to her once again about recording her memories….

Tsugumi sat in front of the two young trainees. Her nose was wrinkled with annoyance. Both Clair and Firon sat guiltily.

The doctor in her made her bark out, "Explain yourselves!"

Clair began feebly, "Uh… well, you see, it was like this… uh… Firon and I were in the same college…"

Her eyes narrowed with irritation, "I’ve heard that piece of elocution a million times…. What exactly were you trying to do? Kill your girl friend?"

"SHE- is- NOT- my- GIRLFRIEND!!!"

Tsugumi said frowning, "Yeah alright! Whatever!"

Firon gulped down her words and continued gazing at the excellent flooring of the room. Clair started explaining, "Alright, I’m trying to find out how we both ended up in this place, I mean, both of us like she also?"

Firon looked up, her hair in her eyes. Tsugumi yelled, "What did you expect? Weren’t you told to keep only approved human relations? Who asked you to go flirting with someone who had no idea about this bureau?"

Clair said indignantly, "I wasn’t flirting! And I had no idea I was not supposed to be a human."

Firon continued being audience while Tsugumi and Clair’s fighting match continued for another ten minutes. She breathed in a sigh of relief when both apologized to each other and settled back into their respective chairs.

Tsugumi then turned her attention to Firon, "Enough of training for you both, by the end of this week, you both will submit your final paper which includes every detail. Anyways, your first year here will be marked in the next week. Best if the Board is shown your final papers before that day. Don’t worry, I will be kinder to you if you play by the rules of the AFSC (Agency For Special Causes). Unlike this idiot… who won’t listen to anyone but his own bloodless head…."

She had got Firon’s attention now who asked excitedly, "When do we get our first assignment?"

Tsugumi gave a lopsided smile and said, "Some groups of the other species come every time new causes are included in the agents scroll."

Firon propped a hand under her chin and asked, "Scroll as in… how long?"

Clair elbowed her and said, "I told you it’s a word document on the mother computer…"

"You did not…. Hey! Hey! Stop reading my mind!"

Clair said turning to face Tsugumi, "See, there it is, in the subconscious part of her brain… anyways it is quite small in size…"

He received well deserved beatings for intruding her mind and for being so shameless.

"Well," Tsugumi said, purposely turning away from Clair to show that he was being ignored, "the different species will send their agents, two or three, they’ll go through your profile, which is your last paper. If they think you are the cause required, they are given two days to decide if they want you to work with them."

Firon said quietly, "Why did Clair go for the training for a whole year when he was already on the scroll?"

Clair searched for the words but then true to the fact, he had for no particular reason said yes for the training when they had asked him in the medical unit. Maybe he wanted to stay with Firon, maybe he felt that it was his fault she was made an acquired cause. His fault that she agreed to take on a power that would correspond to him- controlling people’s mind, their thoughts. She must have been so insecure….

Tsugumi cleared her throat and ended the silent void that had hung in the room. "Any questions?"

Firon said, "How many agents are included in the scroll per… year? How long does the training go for the others?"

"The training period is the same… one year. The agents per year are anywhere between 0 to 4"

Firon said, "0-4? That is it?"

Tsugumi nodded as a very old looking woman came inside pushing open the door.

Tsugumi was the only one not shocked at what happened next, the old woman transformed into a youthful maiden with soft golden curls. Tsugumi giggled as she saw the two of them awestruck.

The maiden who had made them drop their jaws said to Tsugumi, "Your compounder! He knows nothing but to flirt with anything that’s female!"

"I programmed him so for the week. Isn’t he irresistibly hot?"

Firon bit her lip; she had noticed the compounder when she came inside. The golden-headed female was right; he had been winking at her vivaciously. Tsugumi realised all of a sudden that she hadn’t introduced her to the two of them. She said, "Guys this is Shade, the head of the spy system at the AFSC…. Shade, these are the…" she passed a proud grin and continued, "The Clairvoyants!"

What? She was talking as though it was something to be proud of. Firon looked at Clair and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged and said, "My stomach’s rumbling! Could we get something to munch on?"

"You are one lucky gal, baby!" said Shade.

They hadn’t had anything since the training session. Both stood up to leave. Firon straightened her top and said politely, "Thank you for helping us out. You’ve been a great guide Tsugumi. Thanks."

Tsugumi felt the gratitude in her voice and nodded, "Anytime, guys."

Tsugumi was their guide. She was supposed to take care of the third acquired cause in the facility. Acquired causes were rare and more often than not came with a package of defects. She recalled quite often how her sister- Shade, had changed her life forever. It was a fairytale upside down. She was introduced into a world of various species where her knowledge entwined with all the other scientists blossomed like anything. She royally completed her medicine, went on to specialize in treating causes, and was currently researching on acquired causes- genetics, recombinant DNA technology etcetera etcetera. That had been six to seven years back. After treating Firon to become an acquired cause, she had pleaded with the Board to allow her to be their guide. She had suggested the name Clairvoyants to them because as a team, they could literally cause serious brain damage, not to mention, if the person would be left alive. Shade had made her believe that causes were different from ruthless assassins. But, her doubts always remained deep seated. She also knew that the Clairvoyants were one of AFSC’s most sought after members. She was handling their papers and health. Next, Shade would allow her to test them on field… but the permission could be granted only if she decided to become a cause herself. No human was allowed on a field where causes worked. And she was no exception.