Just Because You're Paranoid..............

It's been over 2 weeks since I spoke with Craig. Over 2 weeks since I've gotten anything besides mail in my mailbox. Over 2 weeks since paranoia kicked in - big time.

When I thought that it was Jones' people leaving me the messages, I wasn't really worried. After all, they were government people - they worked for DHS just like Craig, Doyle, Smith, etc. They just didn't agree with what we were doing with The Project.

 But, of course, it couldn't be them. They'd all been reassigned. There were top-priorities
now, involving real risks and needing experienced field operatives. There was no one to spare to follow me around.

So who did that leave?

According to Craig, the answer was - the subject from Delaware. The one chosen by Jones to participate in The Project. The one who they lost track of - even though he had an implanted tracker similar to mine. The one that Doyle said was probably a psychopath. Craig thought the subject - let's call him "Del", since it's easier - was probably using me to send DHS a message. Del was letting them know he was here, by following me around and commenting on my activities.

Oh Good...being followed around by a psycho. Paranoid much?

I go out every day - rain or shine, hot or cold. Something I've done ever since I recovered from the transplant. I used to enjoy it. Now...not so much. Driving around, I find myself watching the mirrors more intently. Looking over me shoulders everywhere I went. All the fun was gone.

I'd finally had enough yesterday. I was heading towards the Menlo Park Mall.

I started to think,  "Am I being followed now? Is he in the car directly behind me? Or in that white one?"

I couldn't even enjoy browsing at Barnes & Nobles. I found myself staring out the 2nd floor window at the parking lot.

Thinking, "Is h out there? Waiting for me? Is he here?"

"Is he one of these guys?"

I had it bad. And I knew that I had to get passed it.

I went home, left the TV off, and read through these entries from the beginning.

It was therapeutic. I remembered why I continued to do what I did, even though there was no insistence on it. I enjoyed it. And, after all, what did it matter if someone was watching me? He hadn't turned me in. He hadn't taken me out. If there's one thing I've learned it's that there's no sense worrying about something you have no control over. I would just start varying my routine more.

I went to bed and slept well. Until I was rudely awakened.

They've been working on the street outside my apartment. On one level, I understand it. They're putting in those handicap access corners on all the blocks around me, and they do the work early because it's been very hot. But...it's been too early in the morning for that much noise.

I couldn't sleep any longer so after my usual morning routine, I left my apartment to pick up some stuff. I drove to the next corner and found one of the workers replacing the street sign.

He wasn't paying any attention to me, so I just sat there watching him...and looking around. We were the only one's about. When he got down on his knees to work on the base, I took one more look around. Still no one.

Point, press, Flash.

I drove away, glancing in the rear view as he and the sign sagged to the right.

 Let's see what Del does with that, I thought.

I spent the next few hours picking up some food, having breakfast, and making my 6 month doctor's appointment. I was heading home when I decided to arbitrarily turn off Woodbridge Avenue into a development I'd never driven through before. I figured to go a few blocks, make a left, a few blocks, then another left, and I'd wind up back on Woodbridge. It was pretty quiet there. No one around, no other cars moving, until I saw him.

He seemed to be picking weeds out of his lawn. I drove completely around the block and approached him again, slowly. We were the only one's around.

Point, press, Flash.

I looked back when I reached the corner, and saw him lying there. I made my left and headed home.

I was feeling better about things, but I waited until late in the afternoon to check my mail. Nothing in the box.

Strangely, I felt a little disappointed.

Crazy Days of Summer.....

We're into July now, so the year's half over. My family has had a run of ceremonies so far that you might expect from an Irish Catholic clan. Personally, I've passed the 2 1/2 year mark for the transplant, and I'm coming up on my 60th birthday. All in all, everything is good.

We've had a great run of weather this last week and yesterday I decided to drive down to Monmouth County. My car has air conditioning, but I prefer what an old friend of mine used to call "260 AC" - 2 windows, 60 miles an hour. The radio doesn't work, but I have a small, portable one with ear buds and I found a station with some old rock, driving music.  Moving along and feeling good.

I stopped for breakfast in Hazlet, at a Perkins. I know, there's one near where I live, but I used to take my daughter here when we lived nearby. Good times.

I drove down Route 35 for a while just enjoying the day. When I decided to head home, I found myself passing Middletown, so I stopped at their library. I hadn't been here in a while. I noticed that the parking lot was relatively empty, but that may be because it was the Friday prior to the Fourth of July weekend.

You enter through an automatic door into a vestibule, then there's another automatic door into the library. To the left of the vestibule are the rest rooms and meeting rooms. To the right is a small alcove with a window. Seated in the window was an older man playing with his cell phone.

I entered the library and browsed the selection of books-for-sale that they have there. When I came out, I noticed that the guy was still sitting in the window. I turned in to the rest room area and watched him for a few minutes. I noticed that he had his phone plugged into the wall. This seemed odd to me. I keep a charger in the car but it uses the lighter. I never carry my home charger.

 No one came in or out while I was watching. I took out the Flasher. I hadn't used it since I'd gotten that weird note in the mail but now I had the itch.

I walked outside, waited a bit, then walked back in. No one else was around. I waited again near the rest rooms, but no one passed and the guy never looked up from his phone. Must've been browsing some web sites.

I stepped out, looking around. I could see the library desk through the doors, and there was no one there. I walked quickly toward the guy. Looked around again, then..

point, press, Flash..

and I exited the library. I walked back to my car, and sat there for about 10 minutes. No one came running out.

I headed home. Still feeling good.

I grabbed my mail on the way in. It looked like the usual assortment of ads, maybe with some extras due to the holiday. I was mistaken. When I sorted through it, I found brochures from the Middletown Library.

The same day!

I was getting worried. I sent a picture and a text to my contact number. I wanted to speak to someone right away.

About 20 minutes later, I got a message. Craig would meet me in the morning.

......................................................................................................................................................................

I drove over to the Menlo Park Mall early. I had agreed to meet Craig there at 8:30 in the Food Court, way before the stores opened. At that time, there shouldn't be many people about. Even the food shops don't open till 9.

I took the escalator up to the second floor and saw that Craig was there already. It looked like he was the only one there.

I took the seat across from him.
"Thanks for coming, Craig."
"No problem, Mr. O'Neill. It's my day off and I had no other plans."
"I didn't mean to ruin your day off.."
"It's OK. It would've been hard to work something out if I was on duty." He paused. "I understand You've been getting some threatening mail?" It sounded like a question.
"Not threatening, exactly, just..I don't know..strange."
"I heard about the Penney's note, and now you've gotten something else, right?"
I filled him in on everything - the Events at Penney's and the Middletown Library and the stuff I'd found in my mailbox both times.

"Look," I said, "Here's the stuff I got..the calendar note and the brochures. Maybe you can have someone look at them. I don't know..fingerprints, maybe." I handed him a plastic bag. "Mine are obviously on there. My fingerprints, I mean."
"I understand, Mr. O'Neill, but I can't promise anything. The project is off the table for now, so I'm going to have to have these tested on the sly. Fortunately, there are some agents that still feel they should thank you for the Givings situation." He chuckled, then went on. "I have to tell you that Mr. Jones and all of his associates - at least the ones we know about - are all accounted for. Since the Bin Laden kill, and with the 9/11 Anniversary coming up, the whole Department is on high alert. In fact, Mr. Jones is in Washington with Mr. Smith and the rest of the People Upstairs, and so is Agent Doyle."
"So, you're saying that we should rule them out?"
"At least for now, I would think."
"Then who does that leave?"

There was an awkward pause. I looked across at him, and he looked down at the plastic bad I'd given him. Finally, he looked up.

"Agent Doyle has a theory, though there isn't any proof."
"What is it?"
"What?"
"You know, the subject of our.."
"I know who you mean..I ..How? How does he know who I am? Where I live? What I look like?"

Another pause.

:We don't know. Agent Doyle theorizes that since the subject was chosen by Mr. Jones, that it's possible that Mr. Jones provided that information....We just don't know."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Nothing. Agent Doyle believes that if he meant to harm you, he would have done so already. We think he's just having fun. That he's letting us know that he's still out there by toying with you. It makes some sort of sense."
"So, you're saying I have nothing to worry about?"
"No. Well, at least not right now. But you do need to be very attentive to where you are and who's around you. We will try to get you some information on the subject - background, a picture, something - but all of the Project files have been reclassified and locked down. It won't be easy."

"Can you at least tell me what he looks like?"
"Not from personal experience. Agent Doyle says he's an average person - average height, weight, etc. - that he blends in. Sort of like you."
Oh great. I just need to watch out for someone I wouldn't even notice. Just great."
It's the best we can do for now, Mr. O'Neill. I'll pass this on to Agent Doyle, and will be back in touch when I have some information."

He stood, and put out his hand. I shook it.

"Have a good weekend, Mr. O'Neill."

Oh, sure.

What the.............

Recently, I've been thinking of driving up to New Providence. There's a place up there that I wanted to check out. Now, I don't have one of those GPS things - I don't like driving outside my comfort zone - so I found the website for the place I was interested in and wrote down the directions. These were from Google, and had a lot of "slight left turn" steps, so I also used MapQuest for directions, which seemed simpler.

Yesterday started out overcast, but by the time I'd made a few stops it had brightened up. I decided to make the drive right then. Both sets of directions start by me taking Lake to Martine to Park, with a few of those "slight left turns". Neither set of directions mentioned that what I thought would be 3 separate roads were actually 1 road with a few curves. It took me a while to figure out that the different towns I passed through renamed their sections of the road.

When I got to Scotch Plains, I had a problem. Google said to take a road which I couldn't find because it had no street sign, and MapQuest left that turn off it's instructions completely. I did figure it out after a few false moves that kept bringing me back to Route 22 (one of the worst roads in New Jersey), but there was construction and a huge back-up in the middle of the turn. I took this as a sign, and turned around and went home.

Like most people, I check my mailbox when I get home. The mail is usually delivered between 10:00 and 2:00.Yesterday, I got home about 11:30 and saw that the mailman was just getting out of his little truck down on the next corner, so I just went inside.

This morning, since the forecast was for rain, I ran a few errands, and was back about 10:30. I checked my mailbox and found one small, plain, white envelope.

It was completely blank and unsealed. No postmark, not stamp, no address of any kind. Inside was a page from one of those day-per-page type calendars. On the back of the page was written..

J. C. PENNEY'S!?!

 INTERESTING.

... in printed, capital letters.

 

The page was from the weekend and could've been in the mailbox since yesterday. Hell, it could've been there since late Saturday.

I had no idea what this meant, or who it was from. My only guess was that someone from DHS was letting me know that they were still keeping tabs on me. I took pictures, texted them to my contact number, and left a message.

About 20 minutes later, I got a response.

They hadn't sent it.

So now I have to wonder..if they didn't do this then who?

And, why?

On Account of Rain............

Like they say...the best laid plans. We had kind of a heat wave this week so, when the rain passed through yesterday and cooled things off, I thought I'd enjoy a nice ride down to Monmouth County today. I stopped at the local ShopRite first, to see if I could pick up something that I could eat in the car on the way down.

They didn't have anything that appealed to me, so I decided that I'd eat when I got down there. I was no sooner back in the car then it started to rain. I've noticed that the front and passenger side windows leak a little in the rain and this has caused some problems with the electrical system, so I decided to postpone the trip south. I was still hungry, however, and decided to go to the IHOP over by the Menlo Park Mall.

 I had gotten as far as the MetroPark Train Station when the rain intensified. It got so heavy that I had trouble seeing through the windows, so I pulled into the nearest parking lot. When the rain eased up after about 10 minutes or so, I turned around. I ended up having breakfast at the Denny's in Avenel.

It was still early when I finished - around 9:30 or so - and the rain had slowed to a drizzle. I decided to walk off some of the omelet I'd eaten and headed for the Woodbridge Center Mall to get the exercise while staying dry.

The stores, for the most part, wouldn't open for about 20 minutes, but I could see the workers setting up - at the open food counters, or through the shop windows. I wondered around watching them, conscious of where I was in relation to them, and aware of the customers who were starting to trickle in. There was this one guy I saw at the Nestle's Toll House shop on the 2nd level that piqued my interest.

 I hadn't staged an Event anywhere in or near Woodbridge Center in a while, and here was a convenient target. As I got closer, I noticed that he might be too convenient. Both the up and down escalators were close by, as was the entrance to J. C. Penney's. There was no reason to be taking chances.

I took the escalator down, and actually went into Penney's. I had bought something here for my son-in-law for Christmas which went over big, so every now and then I go back to see if they have anything else. The section I headed for was way in the back.

There were fewer people then I expected in the mall, maybe because it was early or maybe due to the rain. It didn't matter. The section I went towards was almost empty. Empty except for this guy.

 Why he was looking at sun glasses on a rainy Saturday morning, I have no idea. Maybe they were on sale. I walked steadily into the section, and circled behind the racks of sun glasses. I started looking around. There was no one else here. Not even sales people. I came up towards the rack of belts to Sun Glass Guy's left. I had a good view of him, and the surrounding area. I also had the Flasher out.

He paid no attention to me. I stood there - pretending to look at the belts - for about 10 minutes. No one else entered the area. And he kept trying on glasses. As he got to the lower part of the rack, I moved around behind him. Still no one else.

When he got to the lowest level, he was squatting. I got close, then..

Point, press, Flash.

He sagged, and I moved out of the section. As I'd hoped, the lights on the racks of sun glasses helped to dissipate the flash. No one went in that section. I walked into the Men's Section nearby, watching, listening. there was no commotion. I went out into the mall, and headed back towards where I'd come in, taking my time, window-shopping. No screaming. No running. No security people.

I exited the mall and got into my car. It was still drizzling.

Not what I had planned, but you have to be flexible.

Arc 5

I Gotta Be Me...........

It's rained, on and off - and pretty heavy at times - almost every day since I last met with Doyle. Kinda suited my mood, since I had a lot of stuff to sort out .First and foremost was the heightened alert level at DHS. As Doyle had explained it, since the Bin Laden kill every able-bodied field agent was being reassigned to proactive roles. Even the People Upstairs would be occupied. This meant that the "The Project" has sorta fallen between the cracks.

It didn't bother me that there would be no one watching my back since Jones and his crew would be off the table too. It didn't bother me that there would be no money coming in from that source, since I'd never touched any of it anyway. It didn't bother me that the test subject from Delaware was on the loose, since I didn't think he knew exactly who or where I was. What I kept coming back to was why had they let me keep the Flasher?
I've come to the conclusion that Smith wants me to continue. I'm also pretty sure that they'll bail me out of any trouble I may get into - legally speaking - because they wouldn't want the Flasher to become known. At least I hope so.

Two days ago, the weather changed. The sun came on strong and the temperatures soared. That can certainly improve one's mood.

I was up early this morning, so I took a ride to the Barnes & Noble store by the Menlo Park Mall and got there just after they opened. I was looking for something specific, and I always start on the 2nd floor. I used one of their terminals to find the section I would need, and then headed down towards the back of the store. I glanced down one of the rows and noticed this older man sitting in one of the chairs by the windows.

Now, I had been to this store Wednesday - just killing time - and seen this guy in the same chair, probably wearing the same clothes, eating the same breakfast, and reading the same book. This is something that - I have to admit - ticks me off. If you want to sit around and read a book without buying it, go to a library. That book he's so callously dropping crumbs in (and probably drippings from his Dunkin' Donut Iced Coffee) will probably wind up back on the shelf for some unsuspecting shopper. Man..I hate that.

I moved into the next row of books - part of the Science Fiction section, and browsed my way towards the window. I had the Flasher in my right hand. I don't usually use that hand, but it was better logistically and my body should block most of the flash from being seen.

I looked around a bit but. like I'd said, it was early so the store wasn't crowded.

I got to the end of the row, then...

point, press, Flash.

He slumped a little as I turned around, exited the row, and walked down to where the book I was looking for would be located. I found it alright, but no longer had any interest in it. From that section, I could see most of the window-side. No one  seemed to take any notice of the old man. I went down to the first floor, exited through the side door, and entered the mall itself. I walked up and down the length of it, taking my time, then went back to Barnes & Noble.

No cell phone confirmation, but also no activity, no emergency service vehicles, no police. I browsed around a little on the first floor, checking out the sale books, and left through the main entrance.

I drove down to Roosevelt Park, just a few blocks away off Parsonage Road, and pulled into the first parking lot I found. I lowered the windows, turned off the car, and just watched the people.

They were walking, jogging, riding bikes, or just sitting. Parents or grandparents watching the kids play. They were out on a sunny, warm, pre-summer morning doing just what they wanted to do.

Just like me.

Hiatus.....

Doyle called. We agreed to meet at the Woodbridge Veteran's Memorial, between the Main Library and the High School. It was early when I got there. The school lot had cars already, so I parked by the library and walked down the hill. It's peaceful there.

I sat on one of the benches, and waited for Doyle. It didn't take long. He came walking up from the school lot.

"Hiya, Denny? How're you doin'?" He was dressed in his best "Men in Black" suit, and he unbuttoned the jacket before he sat down next to me.
"About as well as a sociopath can, I guess."
"Ouch...Look..I deserve that. I didn't explain that too well. You gotta understand that it's a good thing. Everyone I know in this business - everyone good, that is - is a sociopath, in some degree. It's the only way we can do this work. You have to be able to detach."
"Really? You're telling me that you're a sociopath, too?" I smirked at him.
"Denny, I'm some kinda 'path. The shrinks just don't know quite how to classify me. And you, my friend, are a "neo-sociopath". You came to this anti-social attitude later in life, so you maintain control better."
"Gee..I feel so much better." But I'd actually accepted it. I was just giving Doyle a hard time.
He shook his head.

"Anyway, that's not why I asked you to meet me." He looked around. "This is a memorial to the veteran's from Woodbridge who died in wars going back to World War I. Did you know that?"
I didn't answer, since it was pretty obvious from the different memorials. He was leading up to something. I waited him out.

"We're at war, Denny. Have been since 9-11. And with the Bin Laden kill last week, it's only gonna get worse."
"Yeah, I guess so. We'll just have to be extra-vigilant for a while."
"No. Not for a while. For a long time. My people are on high alert, and that's where you come in."
"What? You want me to guard something? I'm not really trained for anything security-related, you know?"
He chuckled. "No. Thanks for the offer, though." He paused....
"Every field agent assignment in DHS is being re-evaluated. Every operation is being re-assessed. Since this operation never got out of the Project phase, it's gonna be scrubbed. Sorry, Denny."
My turn to pause.
"Wow..I guess I never thought that this could happen...I understand, though.." I took the Flasher out of my pocket, and held it out to him.

He pushed it back towards me.
"You don't really understand, kid. What I mean is that we have to pull the teams that trail you, and have been covering you 24/7. We'll also be shutting down the phone numbers you're familiar with. We can't justify them."
I was confused. He continued.
"We will still be monitoring the implant, since we can "hide" it among all the other field agents, but for all intents and purposes you'll be on your own."
"Really? What am I supposed to do now?"
"Mr. Smith still has faith in the Project, but it will really be up to you. You'll have no backup, and we still don't  know what Mr. Jones might do." He gestured towards the Flasher that I still held out in front of me. "Put that away. You might need it, and I wouldn't feel right leaving you without some way to protect yourself, though I have to remind you that it won't work against field agents. What you decide to do with it will be up to you."

I put the Flasher back in my pocket.
"What happens to you, Doyle?"
"I can't tell you, Denny. Even if I wanted to." He grinned. "You know, the "I'd have to kill you" joke."
 He took something out of his inside pocket. A business card. He gave it to me. It was for an attorney.
"If you have any questions in the future , call the number on this card. He's worked with us in the past, and he'll contact us, if necessary. If you get in any trouble because of the Flasher, definitely call him."
He stood up.
"that's all I can do for you now, Denny. I hate to leave things like this, but I don't have a choice."
He stuck out his hand. I shook it. He smiled, nodded, and turned away.

He said nothing as he walked back down the hill.

There was nothing left to say.

 To See Oursel's As Others See Us.....

Doyle called. We agreed to meet early this morning at Alvin Williams Park on the Sewaren Peninsula in Woodbridge. It's a nice, quiet place that early in the morning since it's kinda out of the way. We were to meet in the covered structure closest to the Arthur Kill.

I got there first, or thought I did. I was looking out over the Kill when he came up behind me.
"Just so you know, I've been here about a half an hour, checking out the area, and watching that no one followed you in. How you doin', Denny?" He was grinning. He was dressed casually, but looked liked he'd lost weight.
"I'm good, but I'm sure you know that." We shook hands, and sat on one of the benches, our backs to the Kill.
"Well, we know how you are physically, but I'm talking mentally? You doin' OK?"
"I'm good, Doyle. Really. I know I've been under some stress recently, but it's all over."
"We know about your attempts to contact you local politicians to get some kind of statement for Donate Life Month, and that you haven't been too successful. I gotta admit, we had some concerns, but we didn't do anything because you didn't do anything. Know what I mean?"
"Yeah, I guess so. I didn't run crazy with the Flasher, right?" He looked relieved.
"Right. So now we can talk about some other things." He stood up, and looked out over the Kill and I joined him.

"God, I love the water." Hr said. "It's always had a calming effect on me."
Oh? Do you need to be calm right now?"
"No," He smirked, "Just making an observation.....I'm coming back from Delaware."
Just like that.

"When? Did you resolve the situation down there? I mean, Craig's a good guy, but I am more comfortable dealing with you."
"To answer your questions in order...effective immediately, and No. The situation remains unresolved, but we don't think it's in Delaware any more."
"What? I thought that you were down there to recreate this project. I remember, at first, you sounded optimistic. What happened?"
He paused for a long time.

He stood up straight, stretching his back, then looked right at me.
"Denny, do you know the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath?"
"What?...No...Why? Are you kidding me?"
"No, I'm dead serious, and I didn't really expect you to know." He paused again, and looked around.

"Our shrinks say that it comes down to "Nature versus Nurture". A psychopath is born that way, but a sociopath develops over time, based on how he's brought up. In either case, they are anti-social people, usually with no regard for rules, although they fit in well. And the psychopath tends towards flamboyance and criminality."
"And this has to do with me, how? Are you telling me that I'm one of those?"
"Yes and no. When we started this project, after you'd already gotten Jimmy's heart, our shrinks evaluated you and came up with a variation. They classified you as a "neo-sociopath". Someone who developed the same anti-social tendencies due to current economic/social/political changes and how they affected you."
"And that was OK with them? They didn't think it would be...oh, I don't know...a drawback or something?" I forgot that sarcasm was sometimes lost on Doyle.
"Not at all. In fact, they thought it would be a beneficial trait, and it certainly seems to have been proven to be. You've done very well with things."
This time, I paused. I walked away a little, trying to get angry with this, but I couldn't find a real reason. After all, I knew what I was doing. I turned back to Doyle.

"And you're telling me this because.......?"
"It didn't work so well in Delaware. You see, Mr. Smith brought in the psych people that evaluated you. Mr. Jones demanded that he be allowed to bring his own people in for the Delaware project. Unfortunately, we didn't know then how badly Mr. Jones' choices would work out."

He didn't need to spell it out. I'd stepped all over Jones' toes with the whole Givings mess.

"So you're saying that Jones' people didn't vet out the Delaware subject properly?"
"No. They did not. In fact, our people now think that the subject was a closeted psychopath waiting for a trigger, and we gave it to him."
"Shit. Really? But,.. wait...you can track him, right?" I had a bad feeling about this.
He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
"We lost him. He'd been going on and off our tracking screens for a while, and we thought it was a system's glitch. Now he's just gone, and we don't know how."
"Jeez, Doyle. What do you do now?"
"We wait. And we watch. He was getting sloppy with his Events, but he only has a Type 2 Flasher, so he can't do too much damage in one day. We're on alert. We'll get him."
"OK. So what happens now?"
"In the meantime, I'm back here. We'll continue business as usual. And I'll be working with Mr. Smith to try to do something about the Mr. Jones situation."

He looked at his watch, and turned towards the parking lot. I couldn't think of anything to say. I certainly didn't want to know anything about the Jones situation.

"Take care of yourself, Denny. I'll be in touch."
"You too, Doyle."

He drove away. I stayed in the park, walking around a little, trying to come to grips with things. That's when I saw the lone jogger.

He was on the path that circled the park, and I noticed a large, bushy area up ahead of him, covering the path. I moved diagonally to intercept, the Flasher in my hand. There was no one anywhere near us. We both closed on the bushes. He had headphones on, and his head slightly down watching the path. He didn't see me coming.

Point, press Flash.

He dropped, and I went back to my car, and left the park. I still didn't see anyone around. I drove out of the area, towards Edison. My phone sounded. Confirmed.

I drove out through Avenel, and into Colonia. Along Chain of Hills road, I saw another, single jogger on my right. I slowed, lowering the passenger-side window. Again, the jogger had on headphones and didn't hear me coming. There wasn't another person or car in sight. I came up along side of her.

Point, press, Flash.

I drove on as she slumped to the ground. By the time I got to the Menlo Park Mall, I'd gotten the second confirmation.

It was still pretty early. The only store open was the Barnes & Noble's, and I didn't feel like browsing. As I circled the lot to drive out, I saw this guy doing something in his trunk. I checked my mirrors. No one in sight. I slowed as I passed him, my window still down, and...

Point, press, Flash.

He drooped forward into the trunk. It had brightened up considerably, and I figured that the Flash would be thought to be a reflection, or glare. I headed for home.

Confirm number 3.

I knew what they thought of me, and it didn't matter. I was feeling good. I still did what I did. I knew who I was better then they did, and I was pretty sure, if the time ever came, that I could use that to my advantage.

I guess Robert Burns was right...

"Oh wad some power the giftie gie us...."