He Is Not Alone

Ring, ring, ring, ring!

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

“What the hell!” I wake up to the doorbell and phone both going off.

The phone can wait. I get up and pull on a pair of pants, my slippers, and a t-shirt and head toward the door. As I leave the bedroom, the answering machine kicks in and it’s the FBI, they are at the front door.

Opening the door, Agent Washington and another man walk past me and into the living room.

“Will, I am Agent Stevens and you have to meet Agent Washington. We are here to ask you to come to Washington to meet with some people. We are very interested in what you can do and would like to ask you some questions as well as perform some tests. We think you might be able to help us with our fight on terrorism and the drug wars. We would like to leave as soon as possible if that is okay?”

“It’s 7 am! Couldn’t this have waited until later?”

“Timing is pretty important. It’s a several hour’s drive and we have a lot of people that will be meeting with you. Some very important people if this all works out, including members of the White House and possibly the President himself. I am sorry for the early start, but this is more important than you could possibly realize. I promise you will be made fully aware of all the details if things work out.”

“Well, I am supposed to meet with the Realtor this morning. I am going to sell the house and was looking to move someplace else. The office doesn’t open until 9 am.”

“Do you think that could wait? You should be back by the beginning of next week. Perhaps then you’ll have a better idea of what the future holds for you.” asks Agent Stevens.

“Okay, let me pack some clothes, get a quick shower and shave. Do you want some coffee while I get ready?”

“No thanks, please hurry. We would like to be in DC by 10:30 at the latest.”

The Lord works in mysterious ways. Just yesterday I was trying to figure out what to do with my life and now I am being rushed into a new phase with no idea what is going to happen.

I quickly shower, shave, and pack. It isn’t much else I have to do.

“I need to call to pick up the mail and look after the place while I am gone. It will just take a couple of minutes then we can leave. Do you mind hitting WAWA on our way? I need to get something to drink and eat.”

I call Sandy’s parents and ask them to look after the place that I will be out of town for a week. Of course, they wanted to know why and I just told them I had an interview. Once out the door, we head to WAWA and my uncertain future.

The WAWA stop is a quick one. I grab a large coffee and a Pork Roll and Egg Bagel and off we go to Washington, DC.

Conversation with Stevens and Washington is kind of limited. They don’t seem to know much and other than some sports talk, I am left sitting in the back of an infamous black sedan, complete with dark tinted windows and no radio. Kind of an interesting trip, we traveled down the Blue Route to 95, through Wilmington, Baltimore and then DC with the red light and blinkers on. Even with rush hour, we made great time. No one travels the speed limit anymore, especially the FBI it seems. I think we slowed down to 55 once or twice the whole trip other than that, 75 was the rule.

Agent Stevens parks out in front of a nice place not far from the Capital building. It is an old Federal period style row home. Outside is all brick with window shutters and a Georgian style paneled front door. The neighborhood is well kept, clean, and quiet.

Agent Washington grabs my bag while Agent Stevens escorts me into the building.

“Mr. Smythe, my name is Don. I work with the FBI on scientific matters. I will be in charge of working with you to help us understand what your capabilities are and how we might be able to use them. These other ladies and gentlemen are here to help test your capabilities. I will report back to my boss with the findings. I apologize for how this will start out, but quite frankly we have never done this before and, well, we are not sure if we believe what we have been told.”

I smile and look at each of the 6 people in the room. Don is a middle-age gentleman with graying hair. He is clean-shaven and my first instinct is that he has a boring job. He doesn’t quite understand why he is here. His clothes are from Sears and JC Penney’s. So, I figure he is pretty low on the totem pole as they say.

Mike Peth is about five-ten, brown hair, slightly overweight, glasses and hearing aids. He is younger than Don; I would say the early 40s at the most. He is a researcher from his name tag.

Next to Mike is Ken Stewart. Ken is close to retirement if not over it. He has silver hair, beer belly, is about average height and apparently married based on the big gold ring on his left hand. His clothing is a little more upscale but still not a leader in any sense of the word. Ken is also a researcher, some kind of computer guy. He is not sure why he is here, but glad to be out of the office.

Janice Rubino is a medical doctor. She is middle-aged and has enjoyed her time as a doctor. She is on the shorter side about 5 feet 2 or so and slightly overweight. Her eyes are bright and she is interested in what we are going to do. Although she has no idea what is in store.

Next to Janice is Karen Smith. Karen wants to be an up and coming starlet and sees this group as a setback. She wants nothing to do with this project and would rather be back in the office where she can keep an eye on things as they develop. She is an attractive lady about mid-30s, five feet 8 inches or so, light brown hair and very trim. Her clothes show where she is spending her money. Everything has a purpose. Low cut blouses to draw attention from the men, stylish shoes and accessories to show the women she knows how to dress for success.

Jack is the ringer in the group. He appears to be disinterested and dresses as if he just came out of Kmart or something. Yet his mind is analyzing everything and everyone. He has an agenda; he also has some inside information that wasn’t shared with the group. He is hoping to make a name for himself.

As I gather information from them before we start. , Agent Stevens and Washington step outside and I’m left to the testers.

“Well, Don, I am sure you, Mike, Ken, Janice, Jack and Karen and I will have a great couple of days together. Although I am not sure what we will need 2 days for, I am here to offer any assistance I can.” I look at each of them as I say their names.

The looks on their faces were priceless. If jaws could hit the floor, 6 of them would have had to have them picked up. Looking over the room, it appears to be a converted living room from the Colonial days. There is a big fireplace on the outside wall. The ceiling is very ornate. The only furniture in the room is a big conference table with 10 chairs. Each place has a tablet and a set of pencils and pens. There is a glass of water for each of us and a couple of pitchers of ice water, one at each end of the table. The only pictures on the walls are of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I pick up a tablet and pencil and write on it that Karen and Ken are going to take a tablet and write their bosses’ name on the tablet and hand the sheets to Don. I hand Don my sheet and tell him to read it to himself. While he is reading it, I have Karen and Ken performs their tasks. Not a word was said. Don is dumbfounded. It was going to be an interesting day.

“Don, why don’t you show the group what has happened. Karen, why did you write down your boss’s name and hand it to Don?”

“I don’t know why I just felt it was something I should do.”

“Ken, why did you write down your bosses, name and hand it to Don?”

“I’m not sure either. The thought came into my head and I did it.”

“So, Don, what do you think we should start with?”

“I, I, I, don’t know. How did you do that? Did the agents tell you who would be here? How did you get them to do what you wrote without saying a word?”

“As you can see this was a simple demonstration. I wrote down what I was going to do and then had the individuals do it. To them, it was their own thoughts and not something I had said to them. I can also read your thoughts and make you perform physical tasks.”

“Let’s start at the beginning...” Over the next hour, I relate to them how everything came about, what I have been able to learn to do and the extent of what I have done.

It was about noon when I finished and we decide to have some lunch while they all try to get a handle on that has happened.

Lunch is prepared in the kitchen, this must be a favorite place for government meetings as the kitchen is a commercial one, all stainless steel with three people preparing all kinds of goodies. Everyone orders without a menu. Either they do this a lot and know what is available or this kitchen staff has a lot of work to do. I order a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and an unsweetened Ice Tea. There is a plate of fresh-baked cookies left on the table. After we all eat the table is cleared and the staff leaves us alone.

I start off the afternoon session, “Folks, I think we need to know what the purpose of this is. What does the government want to accomplish with my help? How will you determine if I am capable of accomplishing this task?”

Don states, “Will, we really do not know what is planned. We were told to determine if you are a fraud, a clairvoyant or something else. So far it seems to be something else.”

“Okay, so who will know what is expected?”

“I am supposed to report our finding to my boss at the FBI. From there they will decide what the next step is. My understanding is you would be given a ticket and sent home as you failed our tests and there was nothing you could help us with.”

As I sit here with the group, some of them clearly have no idea what is going on and the others have no idea what to do next. They want to know what kind of control I have; can they block it. How many people can I control and what are the limits to what I can make people do.

“I want to let you all know that I have already been reading your minds. I know what you are thinking and what you would rather be doing. I hate to waste your time, Karen; I hope that I can prove to you that I am not a fraud and that this group will lead to better things. Ken, you are hiding something, most of the people here had no idea what to expect, but you were told to make sure I failed. I can tell at this time you have no idea how to make that happen, which is good. You will keep me on my toes. Worst case is I make sure you fail.”

After a few minutes of silence, “I know as a group you have no understanding of what I am doing or what I am capable of doing.”

“So, let’s take a field trip tomorrow morning. We will go to a place of your choosing and have total strangers perform a series of tasks that this group decides on. That should provide some indication of what I can do. In the meantime, where will I be staying?”

“I will get you a hotel room reservation and transportation. I think the team and I have some serious discussion to have as well as determining what kind of tasks to perform tomorrow.”

Don leaves and a few minutes later, Stevens and Washington are back. We head off to the hotel.

The Grand Hyatt is a beautiful hotel in the heart of Washington. My room is a suite with a great view of Washington. It is decorated in earth tones. One wall is dark brown and the others are a cream color. The window lights up the whole room. The room has a king-size bed, a desk, and a large flat-screen HDTV. I could get used to living like this.

After getting settled into the room, I go downstairs to see what the rest of the hotel has to offer. There is a nice lounge area. You can tell that this hotel caters to the business class. Most of the seating is arranged for meetings with small tables either between or beside the seating. The bar area is kind of high tech as well as functional with computer workstations nearby and lots of chrome and woodwork.

I spend the rest of the afternoon and evening walking around DC. I have dinner at a Chinese restaurant near the hotel. On the way back to the hotel, I sense that something is wrong. As I approach 9th NW and H Street NW, I can tell I am being followed, time to see what this is all about. This individual is not going to like what is about to happen.

As I connect with him, he is not alone. His partner is following behind me. I can sense that one of them is driving a car. He is very close. The other is coming up behind me. I walk over to the wall of the building next to me and turn around. I can see both of them and I can connect with the driver first. I tell the driver to stop and call 911. I have him tell the police that he is about to rob someone and need assistance at 9th NW and H NW. He tells them what he and his partner are wearing and what I am wearing. While he is talking to the operator, I turn my attention to the other guy; he is looking at the driver like he is out of his mind. I instruct the other man to sit on the hood of the car and wait. He sits on the hood. Several police cars arrive. The officers have no trouble taking the two guys away. As I am explaining things to the officers, Agent Washington comes up to them and I have led away back to the Grand Hyatt.

“Will, what are you doing? You could have been hurt or killed!” states Agent Washington.

“I was not in any danger. Those two had no idea who I was or what I can do. I would have loved to listen to both sides of that phone conversation. Can you imagine the look on the 911 operators face as the guy says he is about to rob someone and needs some help.” I am laughing so hard I can’t continue the conversation.

“So, Agent Washington, where did you come from? Were you following me?”

“I have been assigned to watch you. Until we know what is going to happen, you will be under surveillance anytime we are not in meetings. I’m sorry; we should have told you that.”

I can sense that he is telling the truth and we continue back to the hotel.

The next morning, Agent Washington and I head over the Union Station. Don, Mike, and Jack meet us there. Of course, they didn’t know about the night before and I didn’t say anything.

“So, what is my task this morning?”

“We would like you to have a person we identify sing the National Anthem then have 5 other people at random join in. In addition, we want you to have as many people as a possible stop and listen then stomp their feet and clap when they are finished.”

“I have never tried working with a group. All of my experience so far has been with individuals. I normally identify an individual and work with them. I am not sure if I can do the group aspect. Give me a few minutes to try something.”

In the beginning, when I first started with these capabilities, I could ‘hear’ many people at a time and had to learn how to tune them out. Now I had to work at listening to the group again. I clear my mind and just work on the task at hand. I want everyone to stomp their feet on the count of three.

One, two, three, to my surprise, dozens of people stomp at almost the same time! Another lesson learned.

“Okay, I think we can start. Who is the lucky singer?”

Jack looks around and sees an older lady, walking towards us, in a nice dark blue business suit. He points her out to me and says she is to sing.

The first part of the test is pretty easy. In my mind, I connect with her and the test begins. The woman stops, stands up straight and begins to sing National Anthem. Her voice is about average, but she is singing it loud and clear. I pick out 5 more people. First is a young lady with earphones on and looking at her smartphone. She stops next to the older woman and starts to sing as well. There are three younger men dressed in gang colors and they make up the next group that stops and starts singing. Finally, a transit cop joins the group and the 6 of them sing their hearts out as people begin to gather around. As they near the end of the song, I clear my head and think, “clap and stomp”. Hundreds of people begin clapping and stomping their feet.

Don, Mike, Jack and Agent Washington are in shock. They were sure this would fail.

“What is next?”

Don says, “Have anyone illegally carrying a firearm come to us and turn it over to Agent Washington.”

Again, I clear my mind and command the people before me. Within moments, 23 people come up to us and turn over their firearms. Agent Washington is in shock and calls for help. Within minutes more agents arrive and 23 people are taken away for firearms violations. The test is over.

“I don’t know what to say,” Don says. “We were sure that you were some kind of fake and that these test with total strangers would fail.”

“We need to go back and figure out what to do next. None of us had any clue what you are able to do or what to do with you,” says Mike.

“Has anyone been able to prevent you from doing what you tell them?” asks Jack.

“I don’t know, on a one to one basis, no. Everyone I have had performs a task has done it. In the beginning, it took a few seconds, now it is pretty much instant. I have not tried to get people to do things that would hurt themselves or others. But I am pretty sure they would do whatever I want them to do. As far as a group goes, there may be some that get by, but from what we saw here I would say that as long as I can see them, they will do as I say. I have found that I need to think it in order for people to follow my instructions. If I say it, they don’t seem to pay attention.”

“So, you have to see the person in order for the control to take effect?” says Mike.

“I’m not sure, but I think so. I haven’t tested that yet.”

For the next couple of days, I am left to my own. No word from Agents Stevens or Washington. I rent a car and see the sites around Washington. Saturday morning, I am sitting in Starbucks when Agent Washington shows up.

“Good Morning, Will!”

“Good Morning, Agent Washington! How are things at the office?”

“You would not believe everything that has been going on the last couple of days. When people talk about you, they are getting all starry-eyed. No one can figure out what to ask you first. I am here today to ask you to come into the office for some meetings. I thought I would give you a heads up on what they want to know if that is all right?”

“You do know you are an open book, right, John?”

Agent John Washington smiles, “I was wondering when you would start calling me by my first name.”

“So, they want me to help with the drug wars, terrorism, and the Black Lives Matter group. I thought they disappeared after the flooding in LA.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: A group of black men took it upon themselves to open the floodgates above LA. The wave of water killed about a dozen kids, mostly black, that were playing in the LA River. In addition, it left the city critically short of water for the upcoming dry season. The backlash was something no one thought about. There were scores of people looking for revenge and for a while, it was not a good idea to be black and in a group of other black men.

“They definitely took the quiet path. But some people think they are just biding their time, waiting for the next big black thing to come along and for people to forget about the flooding.”

“Well, I don’t see any problems talking to the folks. It would be nice to do something good with this capability. Let’s go see what they have in mind. By the way, this isn’t more testing, is it? These people understand what I can do and what I am offering, correct?”

“Yes, they understand. As for testing, some of them haven’t met you and only know about your ‘capabilities’ based on the reports. I am not sure they won’t try to test you.”

We arrive at the J Edgar Hoover Building. John takes me past the FBI Exhibit and upstairs to a conference room. This is much bigger than the last one. There are about 30 people in this room and I get a seat at one end of the table. The shades are drawn and the Executive Assistant Director – Michael Steinbach starts off the meeting with a simple statement.

“First I want to thank you all for coming to work on a Saturday. We are here today to see how we can best use Mr. Smythe’s unique capabilities to protect this country and fulfill the mission of the FBI. You have all read the reports about Mr. Smythe, now it is time to determine what actions we should take. Before we begin, Mr. Smythe, do you have any questions?”

“Actually, I have something I would like to do first. I can tell that several of you do not believe what you have heard or read. So, please bear with me. I would like everyone to write down what it is you feel we should do first IF my capabilities are to be believed.”

After a few minutes, they all put their pens down, the room gets quiet. I stand up and have everyone’s attention. So, I clear my mind and tell everyone to stand up, say the Pledge of Allegiance.” The room stands and the Pledge of Allegiance is said. Then I plant in their minds that we should go after Boy Scouts in the US.

With that done I have them sit down again.

“With a show of hands, how many of you think we should go after the Boy Scouts in the US?” Everyone raises their hands.

“Now, I want you all to look at what you wrote. With a show of hands how many of you wrote Boy Scouts?” No one raised their hands.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this was a demonstration of some of what I can do. I can read your thoughts, make individual, as well as a group of people, do what I want them to do. I spoke no words and yet you all did the same thing. Janet, I can tell you are not convinced. Why?” I look at Janet as does everyone in the room.

“I just think this is some kind of parlor trick, no one can make another person do something they are not willing to do in the first place,” states Janet.

“Janet, do you like to dance?” I ask.

“Yes, why?”

“Would you dance for us with Mr. Steinbach?”

“Absolutely not!” she cries!

With a smile on my face, I think and Mr. Steinbach stands up, walks over to Janet and puts out his hand. Then Janet gets up and they begin to slow dance. After a minute, I have them stop.

“Well, Janet, any questions?”

She is really embarrassed and says nothing as she returns to her seat.

“Some of you are wondering how far I can make someone go, as far as I want, including performing acts they would never dream of, which Janet and Mike have just demonstrated. I am sure neither one of them thought that here and now was a good time to dance. I have not tested this, but I am pretty sure I can have them commit murder and even have sex in public. When I was learning about my capabilities I had police officers draw their weapons, unload them and place them on the ground. I have had a mass of people identify themselves as illegal gun owners to Agent Washington and turn over weapons they were carrying illegally and I had two people turn themselves in for attempted robbery. I can read anyone’s mind regardless of whether they know about me or not. The language might be a problem, as I only know English and Spanish. I cannot understand the thoughts of those I do not understand the language of. I am still learning what my limits are. I would like to try whatever I can to help my country. So, the next step is up to you folks.”

Over the next few hours, several conversations take place. Discussions about how to use my capabilities, can we train others, how to prevent being manipulated by me and finally where to go first. I have to say I wanted to try terrorism, but let the group go where they wanted. In the end, it was decided to go after the drug cartel since I could understand and speak Spanish.

The first step was to see what I could do in a real-world situation. I was to head out the West Coast and work at the busiest border crossings, trying to identify drug smugglers. Agent Washington would be my handler. John was not really impressed, but we had become somewhat comfortable with each other and I didn’t mind.

Tuesday morning, John and I board a plane to San Diego. Upon arrival, we head over the border crossing and become familiar with the setup and talk to the agents working that afternoon. It is agreed that we would start our experiment the next morning. On the way to the car, I sense something big is happening.

“John, we need to go back, NOW!”

“Why?”

“Something isn’t right!”

As we get back to the checkpoint, I can feel that someone, someone important is trying to come across the border. They are in a specially built recreational vehicle. It has a false room under the floor. Apparently, they have used this type of transport several times.

As we enter the checkpoint, I find the first agent that I can and tell them what I have sensed. There are several Class A motorhomes returning back to the USA from a trip to Mexico. The third one seems to be the target rig. As we approach, I can tell the driver is very nervous. She is trapped as the traffic is stopped in front of and behind her. I tell the agents that this is the rig to search.

The agents go over the rig from front to back and top to bottom and don’t find anything. In the meantime, the driver was taken to the office. I am confused as I know there is something not right. I can sense that there is someone in the RV still, yet the agents haven’t found anyone. They are going to let the RV go and the driver comes out of the office. As soon as I see her, I know where the person is!

“STOP!!!” I yell.

With that, I run into the RV and tell the agents with me that he is under the bed. It turns out that the fake floor under the bed hides a small place that is hiding the number 2 man for Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Jesus Vicente.

It is several hours before John and I are able to leave. We head to our hotel room and grab a bite to eat.

“You are going to make a lot of enemies, Will,” John states.

“Why do you say that? No one knows about me or what I am doing.”

“With this bust today, it won’t be long before everyone knows about you. People will begin to talk. The agencies will want to brag about the bust and their new weapon against crime. Do you think you can stop those that will come after you?”

“I don’t know. So far, I have been able to handle myself. Maybe we should find a way to stay low key.”

The next morning John and I head over to the checkpoint. My task is to determine who is smuggling and identify them to the agents. It turns out this is a pretty simple task as every driver that is aware they are smuggling is nervous and thinking about getting caught. Problem is there are more smugglers than there are agents. Pretty soon I am asked to stop. There are 40 cars lined up waiting to be examined. No one had any idea that the problem was a big as it is. Sure, they were catching a lot of smugglers each day but the fact that so many of them were getting away was lost on the Border Patrol.

“John, this isn’t going to work. Sure, we are catching a lot of smugglers, but I am only one person and I can’t be everywhere. Even here with just me, the situation is backing up and we are letting probably hundreds of smugglers go because we can’t keep up with what I am identifying. We have to find a way to stop them at the source.”

“I think you are right. I need to talk to the office. I’ll do that after lunch. In the meantime, do you think you can find a way to identify those that have just the big hauls?”

“It will all depend on what the driver knows. It seems that the ones with the bigger loads are more nervous. However, some of the drivers have been doing this for a while and haven’t been caught as they don’t fit the profile that the agents have been trained to look for. Especially the US citizens returning back to the States from business or vacation trips.”

We walk back to the checkpoint to start up again.

“Let’s try something, at the train station in Washington; I was able to have all those that were carrying guns illegally to turn themselves into you. How about I have all those with more than 40 packages, turn on their four-way flashers?”

“That would be cool. Have the smugglers identify themselves as they pull up to the border crossing. I’ll let the agents know what to look for.”

As John goes to inform the other agents, I clear my mind and give it a shot. Instantly 3 vehicles flashers come on: One 18 wheeler, 1 recreational vehicle, and 1 pickup truck. It is going to be a banner day for the Border Patrol.

After lunch, John calls the office and it is decided that we will return to Washington while plans are made to find the bigger fish.