Some Explanations...............

Yesterday was supposed to be rainy, but when I got outside the sun was out. It was a bright, clear day, and warm, the kind of Indian Summery day I hadn't seen in a long time. I felt good. I felt in balance.

Maybe that "in balance" needs some explanation. The one thing transplant recipients and their support staff fear the most is rejection. To prevent that, they're put on anti-rejection medications - which are also classified as immuno-suppressants. I'm on tacrolimus, and it's monitored through periodic blood tests and measured on a numeric scale - the main focus being on the range between 6 and 15. Up around 15, and there's a risk of damage to other organs such as the liver, down around 6 and it's not as effective at preventing rejection. Starting in September, my level bounced back and forth between the two extremes, which required multiple blood tests, and several changes to the dosage. All that is over for now. I am back in balance. I feel good.

I got in the car and headed out on to Rahway Avenue. Up ahead I could see that the light at Freeman Street had turned red so like a lot of other people in my neighborhood I made a quick left on to Martin Terrace (this will let me bypass the light completely). There she was, an older woman heading in my direction. Maybe she came out of Finn Towers, I didn't know. It wasn't important. I looked around. No one.

There was no one else around. No pedestrians, no cars. I had the windows down, and the Flasher on the seat beside me. I had to act quickly, it was a short block. Slowing, I watched her coming on. She was moving diagonally across, probably heading for the sidewalk. We closed the gap. She came up on my driver's side, still in the street. I scanned the area again. Still no one. Point, press, Flash. I sped up quickly and turned the corner onto Ellis Place. Looking in my rear view, there was nothing. No one. Not even a woman crossing the street. I stopped at the sign at Freeman, and made the left. I had some errands to run.

Back in balance and feeling good.

It stayed warm, but the sky did cloud over a few times. I bought some stuff, returned some stuff, and wound up coming back from Edison along Middlesex Avenue (Route 27). I turned right onto Parsonage Road, with the vague thought of going to Roosevelt Park and getting some fresh air and exercise.

I passed through the housing developments, under the train tracks, and came out by the park. There was a woman in a red sweater walking along what I thought was the outside track. I made the right turn onto Oakwood and the next quick right brought me into the park's first parking area. As I drove slowly through I saw parents and their children in the playground, people fishing in the little stream. All thoughts of exercise were gone. My phone chimed. Confirmation Number One.

The road turns in through the retirement home, passed older people on benches, probably watching the younger people in the park and remembering. The road then curves back to Parsonage Road. I could see the woman in the red sweater. She wasn't on a track, but walking along the side of the road at the park's edge, inside the guide rail.

This might get tricky. Parsonage runs uphill, and I could see that side easily, but to my left there's a sharp curve as it dips back under the train tracks. I slowed. My windows were still open. I stopped at the sign. Uphill was clear, and she was getting closer, no one was behind me, but I was unsure of who might pop up from downhill. I was running out of time. She got closer.

I hit the gas, turning quickly onto Parsonage. I took a quick look behind - nothing. Point, press, Flash. I kept going, up to Oakwood again, and stopped at the red light. A couple of cars pulled up behind me. No one was honking horns. No one was yelling. The light turned green, and I made the left and kept going. By the time I'd turned off onto Thornhill, then Gill Lane my phone had chimed again. Confirmation Number Two.

I felt good. I was in balance.

Then Doyle called...................

I was to meet him this morning at Barnes & Noble outside the Menlo Park Mall. I was concerned because his instructions sounded a little "spyish" and besides, he wasn't supposed to be involved with my side of things anymore. Of course, I agreed to meet him.

On the second floor, along the side of the store facing out onto Parsonage Road, there is a gap between the shelves for Fiction and the ones for Graphic Novels. The staff has placed a display of Barnes & Noble Classics here, parallel to the windows. There are 2 chairs between the display and the windows, offering a kind of privacy to anyone sitting there. I picked up a copy of Crime and Punishment and sat down to wait. It wasn't long. Doyle's voice came to me from behind the display.

"Good to see you, Denny. How's it going?"
"What the hell? Are you really gonna hide back there?"
"Sorry. I'm not supposed to be here, but there was something I meant to explain from the last time we met. So just pretend to read your book, and just listen. Don't talk, just nod if I ask anything, OK?"
I nodded.
"Fine. Last time we met - Jeez, must be a month ago, I said it was good that you'd looked a target in the eye. You asked why, and I said I'd explain, but I had to make sure you understood the new changes, so I forgot. With me so far?"
I nodded again, making sure to play my part by turning a page now and then.
"What our Psych people told me was that this was a sign that you'd really bought in to the whole operation. You were now a real part of this. You could target someone, and take them out face to face without any qualms.  These shrinks said that you would have no problems going forward."

He paused. I sat for a while, then, because I thought he might be waiting for it, I nodded.

"You see, I was afraid that the People Upstairs were moving too fast, that you might have second thoughts when they told you what they had planned. I was relieved to see that wasn't gonna happen. I kinda grew fond of you, seeing as how you were my first recruit. I knew you wouldn't let me down."

He said nothing for a few minutes. I turned a few more pages. I probably should have been worried that someone might find us talking like this, but I know Doyle and his precautions pretty well by now.

"OK. Now don't go telling anyone about this little tete-a-tete, OK? I'm not supposed to be here. In fact, I'm in Delaware right now, checking on a possibility. Givings is your handler now. And be careful around her. She was good at taking orders, but I'm not sure how she'll be at giving them, how she'll do setting up this next stage. Watch your back."

He was quiet again. This time for too long. I got up, trying to act casual, and put the book back. I looked around the display case, but Doyle was gone. Figures.

Again, he left me a new set of questions. And a guilty feeling for pretending to read the book in the store. I hate people who do that.

In For a Penny...............

Givings called. This actually happened last week, but it's taken me some time to wrap my head around it. We met at the Menlo Park Mall, outside of Nordstrom's, on the lower level. There are some small cafe tables set up there.

She sat at what one close to the side of the escalators, where there was a semblance of some privacy. She had her back to Nordstrom's and was facing the rest of the mall. I guess she thought I would be coming from that direction, and usually I would considering that Barnes & Noble is in that direction. This time, however, I was running late, so  I parked on the far side and actually came in to her right side. I saw her before she saw me.

She had a haunted look, as if there were something troubling her. She must've felt someone looking as I got nearer, because she turned towards me and lost all expression on her face.

"Mr. O'Neill, please have a seat." All business. "How are you feeling? would you like something to eat or drink?"

She pointed to a small concession stand to the right of Nordstrom's. She had a cup of coffee and a muffin which I guess she'd gotten from there.

"No thanks." I sat. "I'm anxious to get this started. What took so long? I met with Doyle almost 2 weeks ago."
"I know, but this is all my call now. I wanted to make sure you were up to it."
"What do you mean?"
"We monitor your doctor, or didn't Doyle tell you. We knew that your tacrolimus level was elevated, and then you were concerned about you temperature, so we, or rather I, waited until I felt everything was back in sync."
"All right. Thanks, I think. Everything is fine now. Although they don't know what caused the change. Anyway, what's next? Doyle said you were upping the ante."
"Did he explain why?"
"Not really. Just that the People Upstairs were moving forward, wanting to get a 'bigger bang for their buck'."

She lowered her eyes for a minute, picking at her muffin as she gathered her thoughts. She sipped her coffee, then looked up at me.

"That's one way to put it. Lets see, how to explain this?" More coffee, some muffin. "The People Upstairs like the program, but it isn't having a big enough impact. They've decided to approach this problem in two ways - first, they have Doyle setting up similar programs, on a test basis, in neighboring states. How he's going to do this, I don't know. Doyle has moved on, for now. Second is up to me." She paused again, more coffee, but she never took her eyes off me.

I waited her out. I had nothing to say, and no reason to interrupt. I did wish I'd gotten a coffee and something to eat though. I was hungry.

"You read the papers, don't you, Mr. O'Neill? Or at least watch the news on TV?"
"Sure. I like the paper. Why?"
"Recently, we had that mine disaster in Chile. You saw that, of course. How could you miss it. That drew world-wide attention. But how many other disasters happen that are "minor', that don't draw attention outside of their own local area? Do you know?"
I said I didn't.
"Would it surprise you to know that every day, somewhere in the United States - not the rest of the world, just here - somewhere in America there's a local disaster. A fire, an earthquake, an accident, something that only makes the local papers. And in many cases, only for a day or two."
"No. I guess not. I guess random tragedies happen all over."
"Good choice of words, Mr. O'Neill. "Random Tragedies". I like that. I like that because that is what we are going to be testing out."
"What? Are you crazy? I don't understand."
"Easy, Mr. O'Neill. It is really quite simple, as the People Upstairs explained it to me."

"I gotta get some coffee." I got up and went to the concession stand. Anything to calm down. Was I hearing this right? I went back, and sat down. She continued.
"Hear me out, Mr. O'Neill. You've been pretty involved with this program since day one - in fact, you are the program, so far. Let me explain this."
I motioned for her to go on, pretending to sip at my coffee.
"The People Upstairs want to expand on what you've been doing. You see, one at a time, or in your case, three at a time, is a very small impact. They want to increase that, and at the same time, not expose themselves unnecessarily. So they have decided to use these "Random Tragedies" to their own advantage. You have to admit that there is always some loss of life in these events. They believe that they can orchestrate, over a period of time of course, several events in several different areas, that will up the victim count substantially. Do you see?"
I said nothing, at first. I tried to find a flaw in this argument, although I admit I didn't try that hard. It was appalling, yet fascinating at the same time. Finally, I had to respond.
"I get it. I understand what they're saying, but is it possible? Can it be done without being caught?"
"That's where we come in. I have been given the assignment to plan and execute, if you'll pardon the word play, a "Random Tragedy", and they want you to be the one to set it in motion."
"Why me?"
"Because you are already in the field, and we're going to do it here in your back yard, as it were. In fact, we intend to do several, over the next month or two, so we can see if there's any change in how the news media covers them. We're betting that they don't go beyond local."
"What happens then?"
"If the news stays local, we expand to other states. Hopefully, Doyle will have others like you in place. If the News goes national, we stop and reconsider."

She stopped. She was giving me time. She finished her muffin and coffee. I did too.

"Are you in, Mr. O'Neill?"
"You know I am. You wouldn't have told me if you didn't know that I'd do it."
"Of course. Just going through the formalities"
"What happens now?"
"We are finishing preparations for the first target. Once the People Upstairs approve the plan, you will be brought on board. That should take about another week. In the meantime, you still have the Flasher, so feel free to continue using it."
She got up to leave.

"Can I know what, or where, the first target will be?"
"I don't see why not." She walked over to a waste basket and through out her wrappings. She came back. "The first target is the Adam's Towers building a few blocks from your apartment." She walked away.

I knew the building. It was housing for the aged and disabled.

In for a penny...............

ARC 3

Changes......................

This past Saturday, I took the train/bus combo into the Bronx and met up with my brothers. Then we drove up, and spent a few hours with our last surviving aunt. Good people, good talk, good time. Sunday passed uneventfully. Monday, Doyle called.

They knew I had another blood test scheduled for Tuesday - my Tacrolimus level has been fluctuating and I've been back and forth several times - so we agreed to meet this morning in the parking lot of the Rahway Library.

Of course, he was there when I arrived, sitting in one of those dark blue, government-issue sedans.

"Level's up to 16, huh? I wouldn't worry about it. Adjusting your dose should take care of that."
I was stunned at first, but didn't say anything. They tracked me through the implant and always had a way of knowing what was going on. I was surprised that he mentioned it, but I didn't want him to know.

"So, how did the meeting go last week?" I figured I might as well change the subject and jump right in.

He grinned at me. "You have a slow leak in that front tire, you know? I have a can of that inflator stuff in the trunk. You can use that." He got out and walked to the back, opening the trunk. He brought the can back with him. "Here. You know how to use this?"
"Very funny. You know I had AAA come out Monday cause of a flat. How did you know it was a slow leak?"
"Kenny, the kid who answered the call, he's one of us. He did what we told him to." Another not too subtle way of showing me that they  had a very close eye on me.
I set up the inflator, and turned back to him.
"OK. I get it. You keep a close eye on me. I don't really need the reminders."
"I know. Let me ask you something. The last time we met you wound up coming up here afterwards, remember?"
I said I did. I come to this library often.
"Yeah, well, you staged an Event here that time. A Postal worker."
"I know that."
"You stopped. You didn't slow down as you passed his truck, you stopped. Did he see you?"
I started to hedge, but I knew it would be useless.
"He saw me, and I saw him. Looked into his eyes before the Flash went off. What difference does it make?"
"A big difference. Even though it was random, you acknowledged him. It became personal."
"OK. So what?"
"That brings it to the next level. Which is good. It's what we wanted. Though we couldn't predict when you'd get there."
"Why is that important?"
"I'll tell you later. Right now, I need to bring you up to date on the meeting from last week. The People Upstairs are making a move forward and you're gonna be involved."
The inflator was empty. I removed it and threw it in the trunk. "The directions say I need to drive around for a couple of miles so the stuff can coat the interior."
"So we'll discuss this in your car."

We got in, and drove in circles around the parking lot. He continued.

"There are things you need to know about the power structure in the People Upstairs, but I don't have the time now to tell you. What you need to know now is that we're expanding on the original premise. Do you remember what that was?"
"You mean to protect our resources? To reduce the 'drain' on them?"
"Yeah, but we can call a spade a spade now. The original plan called for - as Scrooge put it -a reduction in the surplus population. You were doing that one person at a time, in a random pattern. The People Upstairs want to improve on that."

He paused, gathering his thoughts. I had nothing to say. I couldn't object, because what he said was true.

"There are 2 parts to this," He continued, " The first is that I will be trying to set up similar programs in a few different areas, different states. Of course, finding the right people - people like you, may be difficult. It will also be time consuming. To that end, you'll be dealing with Givings for the foreseeable future."
He looked at me, but I just nodded. No reason to object now. I pulled the car back into a parking spot by his car and turned it off. We didn't get out.

"Givings will be in touch soon. She's narrowing down a range of targets that will give us the biggest bang for the buck."
"What?!?"
"The 2 of you will be carrying out a much larger Event, involving more then 1 target, but it has to be something that's quick, easy, and explainable. That's Givings' job. When she has it picked out, it will be up to you to stage it."
I wanted more information, he couldn't give it to me. He got out of my car.

"Givings will be in touch, sooner rather then later, I think. Meanwhile, you still have the Flasher and are welcome to continue what you've been doing."

He turned to walk away, but stopped short of his car.

"Good luck!"

He got in, and drove away.

So did I.  He forgot to tell me why making it personal was important.

Potential............

Doyle called. We met by the Woodbridge Municipal Building. There's a Memorial to borough residents who died on 9-11 just outside the building, surrounded by some benches. I walked up, since it's fairly close to my place. Nice day our. Doyle was there already.

"Know why I asked you to meet me here?"
"You have something to tell me?"
"No..well, yes..but that's not the only reason. What I'm trying to get at is - why 'here'?"
I gave him the obvious answer. "Saturday was the 9th anniversary of the attack, and you're being sentimental? Frankly, it doesn't work well for you."
"HAH. That's partly it. 9-11 was just Saturday, and it was a tragedy for this country, but do you know why I draw your attention to it?"

I tried to think of some other reason, but drew a blank. I told him so. He just shook his head.

"9-11 created some big changes in how the government looked at it's internal security operations. In short, because of 9-11, the Department of Homeland Security was created, and led, 9 years later, to us standing here discussing it." He actually grinned. It was my turn to shake my head.

Again, I was speechless. He continued.
"To get to the point, the People Upstairs will be meeting next week. They do this every year at this time, and try to lay out the direction our piece of the Department should take in the upcoming year. You are going to be a big part of that discussion."
"You told me about the meeting before. Why meet again?"
"To see how you were doing, and to make sure how important this is. You've done everything they've asked of you. You've actually done better, but you know this."
"I know."
"Well, what you don't know - and I don't have much information on - is what they'll be discussing. How much do you know about the People Upstairs?"
"There are 6 of them, and it takes 4 of them to pass on whatever they are trying to decide on."
"That's pretty much it, but you need to know that they are - or at least were - pretty much split on how to proceed. One faction wants to continue on a small scale, and one wants to escalate. How or why, I don't know. But you need to be ready for whatever happens."

I didn't know what to say. He'd just confused the issue, as far as I was concerned. "You want me to be prepared for something that even you don't know about?"
"Yeah. Put that way, it isn't too helpful, is it? Sorry, but I thought you should just - I don't know - get too comfortable, I guess."
"Thanks for the update. Anything else you can't tell me?"
"Nope. That's it for now. One of us will be in touch after the meeting. Till then, keep up the good work"
He laughed, stood, stared at the Memorial for a bit, then walked away with a look back.

I had nothing to do, so I walked home, got in my car, and decided to visit a few libraries. I headed towards Rahway.

There's a way into the Municipal Complex in Rahway that leads directly to the library. It's off Main Street, and bends around this large sports complex. There was a Post Office truck - actually one of those mini-vans they use - in their back lot. I was in the library for about 15 minutes, but left empty handed. I drove out the same way I'd come in. The Post Office van was still there.

I took out the Flasher, rolled down my window, and approached slowly. No one was around. No other cars passed. The vans window was down, the mail carrier seemed to be sorting through his route. I came up real close, actually coming to a stop. The carrier put down what he was working on and looked at me. I didn't care. Point, press, Flash.

I drove away. The confirm came in as I drove down St. George's Avenue.

Keeping up the good work.

Opportunity, Lost and Found.............

It's been almost 2 weeks since I last heard from Doyle, or anyone that he works with or for. 2 weeks since the unofficial end of Phase 2 - as they called it. It's also the end of August, and almost the unofficial end of the Summer. It got me thinking - everything ends, and what frightens us is that we don't know what happens next. But the end of August means the start of September, the end of Summer means the start of Fall, and the end of Phase 2 means....I'm not sure, but I do know I'll be involved so I'm trying not to worry about it.

When Phase 1 ended back in February, I had no idea of what would happen next, and they even took away the Flasher. Now, I know - one way or another - I'll be involved in whatever happens next, and I still have the new Flasher. I guess you could say that things are looking up.

 Right now I have no assignments, no quotas. I'm freelancing, keeping my hand in. Staying sharp. That doesn't mean that every encounter becomes an Event.

One day last week, I was browsing through the local Barnes and Nobles. Most of the books that interest me - including graphic novels - are on the 2nd floor. They also have chairs, situated at the end of certain rows, facing the windows overlooking the parking lot. As I wandered around, I noticed a man sitting off by himself, in the section overlooking the entrance to the mall. He was alone. There was no one around. I took out the Flasher, and held it down by my leg. I walked slowly around the nearest rack. Still no one. And the angle of the building would keep the flash from being seen from outside. And yet, I didn't do it. I had a feeling that I'd used this scenario before. I didn't want to create any patterns.

Another day, I was in Avenel. Driving down Lord St. towards Denny's. I passed a Woodbridge taxi, and pulled up at the stop sign on Prospect. To my left, there was an old man struggling to put away his garbage cans. There was no one else around. Even the taxi had left. I turned the Flasher over in my hand. I looked at the old man. I drove away. There had been too many Events staged on Prospect recently.

 Later that day, I found myself in the library in Rahway. It's a nice building, and part of the Municipal complex. I was coming down the stairs having finished there, when I noticed a man waiting for the elevator. He was the only one in the lobby. As I came off the staircase, the elevator arrived. I moved closer. The elevator opened. He entered. I had the Flasher in my hand. The elevator closed, and he went up. It was part of the Municipal complex, and I couldn't take the chance of there being cameras around.

This morning, I was in Metuchen and decided to see if I could get to Inman Ave. from Middlesex Ave. I turned left just passed Main St., and headed up. Unfortunately, I hit a cross street and could only go left or right. Since I wasn't sure exactly where I was, I decided to make a u-turn and head back to an area I was more familiar with. As I turned, I saw the man. He was watering his front lawn. I didn't know the street name, but I did know there was no one else around. No people, no cars. I held the Flasher loosely, and lowered the passenger window. I came closer. Still no one. Point, press, Flash. I finished my turn, and went back the way I came. The confirm came 10 minutes later.

Opportunities.

Celebrate..........

Doyle called last night. We met inside the Woodbridge Main Library, in the New Books room because of the chance of rain. There are 2 chairs set off by themselves in the back, and he was seated in one, leaning back, legs stretched out, with his hands behind his head. He sat up as I came in.

"This is purely a social call." He said. "Congratulations!"
"What? Why?"
"Well, your birthday was this past Saturday, right? That's one reason."
"OK. That's true." Doyle always makes me suspicious. "You said 'one', are there other reasons?"
"Come on, Denny . . don't you know what today is?"
I thought about it for a bit, but couldn't come up with anything.
"Other then my nephew's birthday, I can't think of a thing. And I can't see what you'd have to do with my nephew."
He laughed. I think it was a laugh.
"No. We don't have any interest in your nephew. Today is your Anniversary."
"What? What Anniversary?"
"It's been a year since you agreed to help us out with the project. So, Happy Anniversary!"
I took the time to look around the room. There was no one else here. That would be strange except for the fact that Doyle was here. I'm sure he made some kind of arrangement.

"As I recall, I didn't actually agree. You threatened my daughter. I didn't have much of a choice."
"Lets not quibble about it, Denny. Whatever the reasons, it's been a year, and you should know we're very happy with the results. In fact, I understand that one of the People Upstairs spoke to you after that triple you pulled off."
"According to Givings, you arranged that call, so don't play innocent with me."
"OK. True. But that doesn't change things. You've done well this year. Very well. Better then expected, in fact."
"Givings told me the same thing. Do you have anything new to add?"
"Just my congratulations. And something to think about. The People Upstairs like you. They are impressed - as I think has been said before - with how you've handled yourself."
"I've heard that."
"Yeah, well, as of now Phase 2 is unofficially over. You can continue with Random Events if you choose, until around mid-September, but the People Upstairs don't need any other proof."
"Proof of what?"
"Your abilities. The only thing open now is how to proceed. The People Upstairs are divided over how to proceed, which of 2 directions hey should follow. But they're on vacation now, and won't be meeting again until the 15th of September. There's some behind the scenes stuff going on, but I'm not involved, so I don't know what's happening."
"Can you tell me anything about either direction?"
"Nope. But you do play a prominent part in both, so I wouldn't worry about you future. In the short term, anyway."
"What do you mean, short term?"

He got up, stretched, and smiled again.
"Happy Anniversary, Denny."

He turned and walked away. I waited until people started coming in, then left.

Curiouser and Curiouser.....

Not unexpectedly, I got a call last night. Givings instead of Doyle, but that was becoming more common. On my way there, I had a couple of interesting encounters.

I was up early, as usual, so I drove up Rahway to Avenel, intending to go the longer, less traveled route to the Menlo Park Mall. On Avenel, I stopped at a Krauser's to get a couple of lottery tickets. Parking, I noticed that there was a man apparently sleeping in his car about 8 spaces to my right. He was alone, and his window was rolled down. Since it was early, there were very few people around. I could've very easily waited till there was no one and used the Flasher, but it hadn't been 24 hours and I wasn't sure if it would work. I was, however, in a good mood as I continued.

I got to the Mall about a half-hour early so I went out to the Barnes & Nobles to kill some time. They've changed their store layout a little, and the door closest to the Mall proper is now an emergency exit so you can't go in or out that way. When I left the store through the front doors, I turned back to the Mall entrance. No one was around except for one of the Mall workers, polishing some of the marble fronting. He was bent over, in a corner, out of sight from anyone in the parking lot. A perfect second Event, if  I were ready for it. I entered the Mall, and went up to the Food Court.

Givings had chosen a table in the center, in an area were the tables were interspersed with shrubs and trees, providing some privacy to anyone who wanted it. She already had her Starbucks coffee and muffin.

"Nothing for me?"
"You didn't want anything the last time, so I didn't have anything to go on. I can wait until you get something."
"No thanks. I'd rather get this over with. I presume this has to do with yesterday's 'triple play'?"
"The People Upstairs were impressed, and wanted to know the reasons behind it. You know, . . the reasons why you chose each Event, and why you staged 3 in one day."

I knew what she meant. I laid it out for her as simply as possible. From coming across J by accident, to the coincidence of number 2, and the intentional hunt for number 3 to test the Flasher's limit. She sat there nibbling on her muffin and sipping her coffee, and let me tell the whole thing. When I'd finished, she said..

"That actually makes sense of the information we got from the trackers who've been following the implant you have. I need to report this so I have to ask, is that everything? Besides the coincidence of your coming across this J person, were there any other personal reasons for the other 2 Events?"
"None. Didn't know either one of them. Number 2 was an opportunity I couldn't pass up, and I admit I went hunting for 3. But I really didn't know them."
"OK. I believe you." She stood, taking out a cell phone. "I have to call this in right away. I'll be right back."

She stepped away, and turned her back. I could see her, but not hear her. Too bad I couldn't see her face, or that I didn't know anything about body language. After what felt like 15 minutes, she came back and held out the phone.

"He wants to talk to you."

I expected it to be Doyle. It wasn't. It was an older, slightly accented voice I didn't recognize.

"Mr. O'Neill it is a pleasure to speak to you."
"Thanks, I think. Who is this?"
"That doesn't matter. We were curious about your actions yesterday, so we asked Ms. Givings to speak to you. Her report has convinced us, well, me anyway, that you are exactly the type of person we want on this project. Your completing the first phase surprised us, and your handling of the Forrest Event pleased us greatly. Yesterday, you outdid yourself, testing the limits of the Flasher while taking advantage of certain situations was most impressive. We've authorized an increase to $1,500 per Event starting with yesterdays tally."
"Thank you. That's very generous. But I was wondering..."
"Please don't think me rude, Mr. O'Neill, but I'm pressed for time. There are things my colleagues and I hope to accomplish, but we must convince the others that they are worthwhile. Take care of yourself, Mr. O'Neill." He hung up. I held the phone out to Givings.

"Who was that?"
"I don't know. One of the People Upstairs. He wanted to know the particulars about yesterday, so Doyle arranged for this single-use phone and the connection."
"So I get a raise, but no idea what happens going forward."
"Pretty much. Just keep doing the Random Events thing until the People Upstairs make some decisions." She stood, wrapping up what she had left, and stood quietly for a minute or two.
"I don't know what's going to happen going forward. Really, I don't. Whatever it is, you seem to be involved. Take care of yourself, and try not to let them use you. They're good at that."

Before I could reply, she turned and walked away.

I sat for a while but thinking was getting me no where. Anyway, I was getting hungry. Time for a late breakfast.