Sometimes The Best Thing Is To Relax

I spend my days pouring over the journals that were left behind. I've gone through them all and have been going through them again looking for any small detail that I may have missed. I've already passed along the information for finding this castle that I saw in my dream. I gave my followers all the information that I had including an attempt to recreate the tapestry that I saw with the map on it. The only thing they've been able to come up with so far is that they are certain that it is not located in the United States. They've begun expanding their search into Europe and Asia hoping that it's one of the old castles still standing.

They've also assured me that if they find it, they have a way to get me there with as few issues as possible. Essentially, they're going to smuggle me into another country. They know what they need to do.

As I sit at the desk I look over the journals one more time. I've dove into them three or four times now but I keep seeing the same thing. I'm not finding anything new. But that doesn't mean that today is going to be boring. I hear a commotion in the main entryway. A few people are being rather demanding. The rats from the church are standing up against two german shepherds. I can't hear what they are saying but they are not happy. I send out a ping to identify who they are. To my surprise, they're armed and in uniform. My followers are doing their best to keep them back. I'll need to intervene before this gets bad.

I stand up from the desk heading to the door to the office. I walk through to hear the voices a clearer. They all seem quite upset but my people are doing their best to keep their cool. The conversation grinds to a halt as I turn the corner. The two standing there are MPs. Their helmet and armbands are glaringly obvious.

I keep a friendly smile on my face as I approach the group. The two MPs do not look happy to see me but I've never seen a happy MP in my life. The two followers step aside to let me through. They both do their best to treat me reverently as one speaks up, "Sir, these people are here to speak with you but I fear their intentions are… not on that level." I just nod as I address the men, "What can I help you two with?"

"Red Welch, we are here because you are being charged and court-martialed."

"For what?"

"For sharing confidential information with non-authorized parties."

"For me to be court-martialed, don't I have to be an active, reserve, or discharged service member?"

"Yes."

I got 'em! "Well, I am not an active, a reservist, or a discharged service member. In fact, according to the United States Government, I don't exist anymore."

If they move forward with this, then someone somewhere had to admit that I was not scrubbed from every record and that I was denied assistance as a service member in need meaning that everything that happened to me from Havana onward is someone's misconduct. If they decide not to pursue this further, then I walk away. They both look conflicted but I know they have their orders. But there is also one more issue. I have been using this church as a place of amnesty. They can attempt to remove me from it and end up breaking military law themselves.

One takes one step forward. Both of the rats to my sidestep between him and myself. His partner moves to unholster his weapon. "Everyone knock it off!" I'm not worried about anyone doing anything but I detest that these two walked in thinking they can bully their way into anything while not knowing anything. I'll bet this is like the military base where they never told them anything.

I'm not in the mood to play around either. I drop the illusion on my tails to show these idiots that I'm not here to be messed with. The sudden appearance causes both of these dogs to step back. "They sent you two to deal with me but I'll bet they never told you what you were dealing with or the real danger that they put you in. I don't want to be bothered. I just want magic users to not have to live like they currently do. Instead of sending you to try and intimidate me, why doesn't whoever sent you come find me themselves? Take that message back with you."

I move my paws to shoo them away. They don't seem pleased. Are they going to walk away or choose to fight? Everything in life is made of decisions and consequences. If they chose to go ahead with the orders that they've been given then… I guess as a soldier I understand what they have to do. Then the decision falls to me to cooperate or fight back. I've done so much fighting already. I don't want to shed any more blood.

I can't lie to myself. I am kind of curious about how they are going to do this. I was wiped from every system they had to cover up that we were conducting a mission that we shouldn't have been doing. If I show up in a military court before a judge, how will they play that? The decision to leave me behind led me down this path I've taken. Their decisions are what has brought this to the surface.

They trade one more glance before the one to my left steps forward. "We are ordered to arrest you." Both the rats being to step forward before I stop them. I move them both to the side to address them, "We need to pick our fights and this is not one of them. I'll be fine. Let the others know what's going on." They both look confused. There is no sense in making this worse than it needs to be.

I move by the two of them putting my extra tails back into an illusion state. I hold out both my arms, palms up, looking at both of them, "I only ask that you let me be comfortable at least." Neither looks like they were expecting this. The one to my left steps forward while his second keeps his paw on his firearm expecting this to be a trap. Both cuffs click as they honor my request. The MP on the left grabs me by the shoulder to direct me outside. His partner walks in front of us to a dark van that is parked out front. The back is opened up as they load me inside. The two take their seat in the front. As we roll off I look out the window at the two rats looking on with concern. I try to smile at them but I know these tinted windows won't allow them to see inside.

As we being to take off down a highway I tap on the cage to see how sturdy it is. It budges slightly to the tap. It won't go anywhere unless I mess with it. I look around the interior and look behind me as best I can. I'm not doing anything wrong other than being a nuisance.

"Can we turn on the air? It's a bit toasty back here." Neither responds as they continue to look forward. I tap on the cage again, "Not going to turn on the AC?" Still no response. OK, then I'll just have to make it to where they want to. I exhale letting the air in the vehicle slowly warm up. I just slowly let the heat rise to not draw suspicion. I look at them as the two of them begin to open their mouths to pant. Finally, one of them breaks and turns on the AC. I let the heat dissipate naturally enjoying the bit of breeze that they allowed.

There's something about the ethical treatment of prisoners. I don't think that climate control counts. I also think that abducting someone from what they consider a haven is very wise. The air beings to circulate around the cabin of the vehicle. The temperature begins to even out. The dogs start to even out as well. Until I being to amplify the chilling effect. The temperature continues to drop to an uncomfortable level for these two. The air is turned off but the frost has already started to form on the inside of the windows.

The dog in the passenger seat looks back at me as I sit quietly. They turn the heat back on to bring the temperature back up. I could continue to mess with them but I'm already pushing my luck.

"Let me ask you two something. Since I was blacklisted and burned because of a mission that went bad. Do you think they'll give me a trial or do you think they're just going to hide me somewhere to have me killed?" Neither answered. I'm not surprised. This whole situation is hinky. I was nothing. I don't exist or at least not on paper. I wonder how they'll prosecute a dead man. Or how they're going to kill a dead man.

I do wonder where they are going to take me. I don't know if there is a military installation nearby. The only one that I know of who would want to see me would be in Florida. I'm almost certain that we are not going to make that trip in this vehicle.

There's not much that I can do here. I promised myself that I would behave and see where this would go. What I did not promise myself was subject myself to the actions of others. The traffic on the highway seems to have tapered off to nothing. It's odd. We're still in town and this should be crowded. I'm not the only one who thinks this is weird. The dogs in the front have also taken notice.

The passenger turns around banging on the cage, "Hey! What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. I've been sitting back here."

"Where is everyone else?"

"I couldn't tell you."

They're both on edge. This is unusual. It should be during the peak hours of the day. I can see traffic off to the sides of the highway. But we are the only vehicle heading in either direction. They're doing their best to keep their cool but I can feel the panic in the air. I'm also trying to keep myself as at ease as I can. This is rather unsettling.

The long road of emptiness finally reared its secret. Two individuals were standing in the middle of the road far enough away that no one could make out who or what they were. I squint to try and see what's going on. One looks bulky while the other looks thin in build. The thin one releases a small flash of light into the bulkier body before the bigger of the two punches the highway. A series of stone pillars appear on the highway. The driver slams on the brakes too late. The breaks lock up as they try to stop but we were going too fast.

He cranks the wheel slamming the side of the vehicle into the pillars and bringing us to an abrupt stop. I slam into the door with some serious force. I'm rattled but nearly as bad as the front two. My section of the vehicle was pushed between two pillars. The driver's side went right into the center of one of them. The vehicle crumpled around it pinning the driver in place. His passenger is trying to operate but he's been rattled hard.

I see the two men walk around the pillars to the far side of the vehicle. They're talking to one another. The soundproofing of the vehicle makes it hard to hear what they're saying. The rear door across from me is nearly ripped from its hinges giving me my first good look at the two. The bulky one looks like an American grizzly. His partner looks like a sun bear.

The larger's voice is gruff, "Hey! He is in here!"

"Well get him out!"

He starts to crawl into the vehicle reaching for me. I push myself back into what corner I can. "Don't freak out on me. We're here to get you out." Awesome, they nearly killed me to save me. I look down at the handcuffs sitting on my wrist. I put my thumb over one of the keyholes and pop the one before doing the same with the other. They're a simple lock mechanism that would have been able to be broken at any time. But I decided to play along.

I wave off his attempt to grab me. I'm still shaken up but I'm not helpless. He moves out of my way allowing me to leave the vehicle. His partner breaks out the window to the passenger seat. "Alright, we kill these two so they don't follow and we get him somewhere safe." I bark at him, "No!" They both look confused. "No, they were just following bad orders from someone else. Do either of you know healing magic?" The sun bear nods. "Make sure they'll live."

Now they look completely confused. These two kidnapped me, broke the law, and I'm going to let them walk away. I know where the problem lies and it's not with these two. But at my order, even reluctantly, he produces a warm glow on the two of them. Some of the scrapes and scratches close up. Anything internal will become non-life threatening.

I reach into the glovebox looking for something to write with and on. Naturally, they have a few pencils and a pad of paper. I leave a simple note for whoever finds them. A date and location of where they can find me next. I'm going to call out whoever ordered this and they're going to face the consequences of their actions.

I can think of one place where I would be able to take on anything they throw at me while minimizing the impact on any surrounding persons. But I'll have a week to prepare for that. These two bears escort me from the highway back down to the street level. It's not long before the local news picks up the story about the car accident. The details were a bit twisted. I'm not sure if it came from incorrect reporting from the news station or if the military came in and gave them an altered report of what happened.

It was nice that they left my name out of it. However, one section of the report did damage. They asked their audience "is this the beginning of a new type of crime where these 'mages' will use their powers to attack others?" If this fear is able to spread… It's as simple as it can be. People will be afraid and demand action. This is why mages were forced to hide in the first place. There will always be bad actors on both sides.

Mages may act out to spread fear that they are more powerful and those who are afraid should cower before them. This will give magic users freedom at the expense of the everyday people living under the thumb and threat of violence. I do not want that.

On the opposite side, if media outlets and governments are able to spread their fear to the people, this will cause a call for action against magic users such as laws being passed that make the use of magic illegal. They'll be able to round up and imprison users legally but once again suppress magic users.

This is the delicate balance I was worried about. Both sides need to see the advantage of having the other. The world still needs to function. Non-magic users are still needed to make the world turn. Magic users can contribute to them by teaching them skills and giving them the knowledge to make everyday life easier. New technologies should be spurred by releasing this information out there. Technology and magic are both saying the same thing but in different languages.

Magic doesn't need to be feared. It does need to be respected though. It can be dangerous but so can technology. Technology has created weapons of war for as far back as recorded history can tell us to be wielded by willing or coerced. Magic has been used for the same but so far it requires the same willing or coerced participation of an individual. Two parallel lines that have never interacted with one another. I need to get my face out there again. There are plenty of places that are running these stories day and night. I don't think it would be hard for me to go to them and agree to talk to some of these stations. I just have to choose my words carefully.

I do not doubt that the well of information has already been poisoned. The best thing that I can do is stick to my mission statement. Make sure that it's not twisted around. Show that I mean business and that this path is the best path for everyone going forward.

I say goodbye to my impromptu escort. They both thank me for coming forward and allowing them to be more of themselves. I'm glad to hear that but their methods were not what I had hoped for. I direct them to the church in case they want to know more and also ask that they please use their powers for productive purposes.

I appreciate that they rescued me from the MPs but the method that they used did some serious damage. They seemed to understand what I'm telling them. I got a sincere apology from both of them with the promise to keep their noses clean. But when they heard through the grapevine that I was picked up by two suspicious individuals they knew that they needed to act. I guess my church contacts are more effective than I first thought.

Since I was picked up at the church, I should move again. I have access to my funds, I should hit a local branch, get some cash, and use that to move somewhere else. I need to get to California. I have a meeting in a week that I cannot be late for. I am also going to need the equipment we had set up moved with me. That should be easy. The followers at the church always seem ready to spring into action.