Ransom X

  *****

  Wagner closed the folder, both disturbed and fascinated by its contents. She was in her rental car now, as the coffee shop had closed hours ago. The street lamps were buzzing with an electric hum as the light poured out into the last wave of early morning darkness.

  She pulled out a cigarette and put it to her perfectly drawn ripe persimmon lips. Wagner inhaled, and let the familiar drug creep into her body. She had grown up on a nicotine and caffeine cocktail, and her body called for the mixture like a security blanket. She carried two emergency cigarettes in a tin that used to contain mints. Why two? A logical question, but Wagner knew herself well enough to know that if she needed one of something, then in reality she needed at least two.

  Wagner wasn’t going to sort it all out before ember met filter, so it made no sense to go over and over in her mind. That didn’t stop her, however.

  It was impossible to tell if the bureau had studied Legacy in an effort to produce more agents like him, or to isolate him and keep the disease from spreading. It was certain that his particular specialty had great value in a world of secrets. He found ways to unlock the human mind that mirrored a chess master taking apart a computer opponent with his creativity. The rules are fixed, the board is set, and it made no sense that he could do things with the pieces that nobody else could, This, however, was the case with Legacy.

  His cognitive function was described as similar to the way regular people process auditory information. His brain was always on, processing ideas the way that most people process incoming sounds. Information coming in on random vectors, at different volumes and pitches flooded his senses. It was a system that needed almost no actual input to perpetuate.

  In the section on his methods, the writer of the report had included a brief background on behavioral science as it crosses into human psychology. Most people process ideas more like the sense of sight. We look at something, decide what it is, what it represents, and move on to the next “image.” Thoughts are most often contained somewhat like a field of vision.

  The doctor went on to explain that Legacy could concentrate on a single thread of logic, but like a person in a crowded bar, there were background streams of information are incoming all the time, his conscious mind was constantly sifting other information. It made him seem hyper perceptive at times, and distracted at others. His mind was tuned to the human voice like no other instrument the doctor had ever encountered – mentioning that Legacy was probably controlling the report he was preparing by giving out only the side of himself that the bureau wanted to see.

  The report ended with a cautionary addendum. “He has convinced me in no uncertain terms that his release of the young spy Anna was nothing but a rookie mistake. Which begs the question, why would I be so certain of only one fact in a report that raises more questions than answers. I have made an excellent career of trusting my judgment” the next part was highlighted, making it the only part of the report that everyone had read, “therefore it is with great pains that I break from it and follow a hunch. Legacy is hiding something about Anna, and I believe he would hide nothing short of traitorous conduct. If Legacy ever developed an agenda counter to our goals, I don’t believe I nor anyone with “planar” two-dimensional thinking would ever be able to detect Legacy’s three-dimensional intersection with our world. This makes him a unique danger to our objectives, at least in the abstract. He should be moved to a place that limits his access to information and never drawn back into the mainstream.”

  The accusation, and the fear of the unknown must have resonated with the people who read the report, because it was dated a week before Legacy was reassigned to the cold case division in Alexandria.

  Wagner could see her breath in the crisp pre-morning air. A list of names followed – the people who had read the report former director Mitchell, Director Doorner, Deputy Bailey, Special Forces Commander Evans and one name that she didn’t recognize, Therisa Kale.

  Legacy had been branded a traitor, and because of his special acuity at manipulating the truth, they would never be sure. Now, they were pulling him back into the mainstream because the potential reward outweighed the risk.

  The sun was beginning to float into the atmosphere of the eastern sky, just free of the illusion of being supported by the land, when Wagner slid the report under Bailey’s door. She went straight to the office and waited. Wagner knew that Legacy would arrive at nine, and even though he was potentially the most dangerous man in the whole universe, she expected that he had totally forgotten the fact that Wagner was supposed to meet him almost ten hours earlier at his house. He entered and nodded distractedly. It had undoubtedly slipped his mind.

  Who the hell was he?