“Remind me never to hire that guy to guard anything I care about,” Tommy commented.
“That’s not it,” Jax insisted. “He’s bent. He probably thinks he’s alone and the office is secure. Or maybe he’s been hypnotized to believe they’re the cleaning crew picking up trash.”
“Could you un-hypnotize him?” Tommy suggested. “Get him to see what’s going on right under his nose?”
Jax shook his head. “Too risky. Wilson and DeRon can get ugly. I don’t want that poor guy to end up in the hospital because of us.”
“Yeah, but you’ve got to look after yourself, man,” Tommy insisted. “What if their plan is to wreck the place and get it blamed on you? Maybe they’ve got something of yours to leave on the floor to frame you. Or they hypnotized the guard to say you did it.”
“Or maybe it’s got nothing to do with me,” Jax countered. “They must think there’s something in those files that can help Trey Douglas win the election.”
“But how does that add up to ‘everyone can forget about Jackson Opus’?”
“They’ll be heroes,” Jax reasoned. “And Dr. Mako will stop concentrating on me, and will focus on them and what they can do for Sentia.”
“Why don’t we call the cops?” Tommy suggested.
Jax thought it over. He wasn’t too fond of Wilson and DeRon, but getting them arrested could mean trouble for Dr. Mako and Sentia. Jax resented the way the director had been stringing him along lately, but he couldn’t risk the institute being shut down. It was the only organization that took hypnotism seriously — except for Axel Braintree’s collection of losers.
“We do nothing right now,” he decided. “I’m a witness and you’re my backup. If it ever comes to that, we’ll tell.”
Their bags full to bursting, Wilson and DeRon headed back to the security guard. Wilson spoke to the man, who then got up and went to sit in an open empty file drawer, his legs stuffed uncomfortably in front of him. As a finishing touch, Wilson ordered him to suck his thumb. Laughing uproariously, the two exited the storefront and disappeared down the block, hunched under their burdens.
“What a jerk!” Tommy hissed. “Come on, the least we can do is get that poor guy out of the file cabinet.”
Jax shook his head. “He’s a security guard. He could be armed.”
Tommy was confused. “If he’s got a gun, why didn’t he pull it on the two idiots who stuck him in the drawer?”
“You saw how it went down. He was hypnotized from the start.”
“So? Re-hypnotize him.”
“It’s too risky,” Jax explained. “If you bend a subject who’s already bent, there’s a chance that commands from the different hypnos will contradict each other. Like if I tell him to remember after Wilson’s told him to forget, he might try to do both. That kind of struggle could turn his mind into mush. People have been driven crazy that way — we learned about it in History of Hypnotism.”
Tommy looked haunted. “You know, I was kind of jealous of you because you could bamboozle people into giving you free hamburgers and stuff. But this creeps me out. I mean, the file cabinet’s bad enough. But they could have made him do anything — jump off a building or stick his head in the furnace or chug-a-lug Drano. It’s too much power.”
Jax nodded in agreement. “That’s why you need an outfit like Sentia to study it and make sure it’s used for good instead of … well, you see for yourself what it can be used for.”
Jax heard the words as they passed his lips and wondered if he even believed them anymore.
Principal Orenstein was a cadaverous man with perpetually smeared glasses, so he always seemed to be peering through a fog. “Well,” he said, squinting at the scorch marks on Jax’s sleeve. “I suppose there’s no permanent damage.”
Jax had the grace to look abashed. In the science lab, he’d been struck by more blowback. The vision had been so intense he hadn’t noticed that his shirtsleeve had caught fire from his Bunsen burner. If it hadn’t been for Tommy shaking a bottle of orange soda and shooting a spray like an extinguisher, Jax might have suffered serious burns.
It had been going on all weekend, too. Yesterday, in the plush waiting room of Dad’s Bentley dealership, a PIP image had caught him unawares, and he’d keeled over into the arms of a rapper who’d been there spending the proceeds of his last platinum album. The scariest part was that the visions were definitely getting stronger. If they could make him lose his balance or set his clothes on fire, what was next? Would he wander off the sidewalk in front of a speeding taxi?
“What concerns me isn’t so much the accident itself,” the principal went on, “but when Mr. Morrison tried to help you, you pushed him away and told him to mind his own business. What happens in his classroom is his business.”
There was no explaining this one. “Sorry.” He gazed into Mr. Orenstein’s eyes to make sure the principal understood he was sincere.
“I’m afraid we’ve gone beyond the level of a mere apology, Jackson. You laid hands on a teacher. According to the school’s code of conduct …”
With that, the principal seemed to lose his train of thought. A PIP image bubbled up in front of Jax.
He hypnotized himself looking at me!
“Yes, well,” the principal murmured drowsily, his eyes still locked on Jax’s, “you’re a good kid — one of our best, really. I think we can give you another chance.”
“That would be great —” And suddenly, Jax’s relief morphed into anger. At that moment, he understood his father’s total rejection of his family background. In a way, Jax felt it even more acutely. Dad had to deal with hypnotists, but at least he’d never been saddled with the “gift” itself. Just then, Jax wished he’d never heard of the Opuses or the Sparkses or Sentia or the wondrous Elias Mako. He longed for the days when he thought bent meant crooked.
“What do you mean ‘another chance’?” he blurted. “I pushed a teacher! That’s as bad as punching him in the face! You can’t let me get away with that! You’ve got to throw the book at me….” He wasn’t sure what he was trying to accomplish. Getting in trouble at school wasn’t going to un-complicate his life. But he rejected any special treatment courtesy of this unwanted skill he’d inherited.
“Agreed,” Mr. Orenstein exclaimed. “I’m suspending you for two weeks. And when you come back, I want to see you and your parents in this office.”
At the mention of Mom and Dad, Jax’s will to be punished evaporated. “Maybe the second chance is a better way to go.”
“My thoughts exactly,” the principal concurred.
Jax concentrated on his sneakers to break the link.
“I’m glad that’s settled,” Mr. Orenstein went on. “I hate to see any problem with one of our best and brightest. Tell me, how are you getting along at Dr. Mako’s institute? What was the name?”
“Sentia,” Jax supplied. “To be honest, it hasn’t really turned out like I expected. I don’t think I’m going to go anymore.”
The principal did not approve. “You can’t rob yourself of the opportunity to work with a man like Dr. Mako!”
“Actually, he’s kind of a disappointment, too.” It was the first time Jax had admitted such a thing out loud.
Mr. Orenstein was appalled. “Dr. Elias Mako has devoted his life to New York City education and is an inspiration to every single one of us!”
Jax labored to keep the sarcasm out of his tone. “Yeah, so I’ve been told.”
“Dr. Mako’s circle of associates reads like a Who’s Who. Why, one of the institute’s best friends is Senator Douglas, and now it looks like he may have the Democratic nomination wrapped up. Especially after the scandal about Governor Schaumberg.”
Jax froze. “Governor Schaumberg?”
The principal made a face. “It’s all the usual political skulduggery. It happens so often these days that it’s hardly worth thinking about. What’s important about this is that it’s a couple of weeks before the primary, and it’ll probably sink Schaumberg
and put Douglas over the top. A lucky piece of timing for the senator.”
Jax had a mental picture of Wilson and DeRon scurrying down Forty-Fifth Street carrying Schaumberg’s stolen files in canvas sacks. Lucky timing?
Luck probably had very little to do with it.
Jax went straight from the office to the library, pouncing on a computer to get the latest news. It was true. The governor had issued a permit for a casino in North Carolina in exchange for a large campaign contribution. Schaumberg claimed he knew nothing about it. But even if that was true, the damage was already done. The story was all over the Internet. CNN and Fox were both screaming about it on their live feeds. The papers were planning major headlines. Even if Governor Schaumberg turned out to be innocent, there was no way his name would be cleared by primary day.
Jax couldn’t believe it. Wilson DeVries was a bully and a mean-spirited, obnoxious idiot. But Jax had always assumed that he couldn’t do much damage beyond the range of the handful of unfortunates who got in his way.
Not anymore.
Before he knew it, Jax was out of the building and running for the subway, classes forgotten — not that he could have concentrated on school if he’d happened to be there. At the newsstand on the platform, he bought a New York Post. The front page blazoned SHAME ON SCHAUMBERG in capital letters three inches high.
“It’s good to see you, Jax,” Ms. Samuels told him when he got to Sentia. “Dr. Mako and I felt terrible about the way you left on Saturday.”
In answer, Jax slammed the Post on her desk.
“Yes, I heard,” she told him. “An awful story, but it’s a real break for Senator Douglas’s campaign —”
“Wilson and DeRon did this!” Jax interrupted savagely.
“I’m not following you.”
“I saw those two guys break into Schaumberg’s headquarters and steal the files! Now suddenly this big scandal comes out! No way that’s a coincidence!”
She looked so utterly blindsided that Jax softened his tone. He explained how he’d picked up Wilson’s plan through hypnotic blowback, and had staked out the rendezvous point to see what was going on.
Ms. Samuels was still bewildered. “But why would Wilson and DeRon do such a thing?”
“Don’t you see? They did it to make points with Dr. Mako because he supports Douglas. Wilson’s exact words were ‘Get this right and everyone can forget all about Jackson Opus.’ They did it to turn the spotlight off me and onto them!”
“This is a very serious accusation!” the assistant director exclaimed. “I have to talk to Dr. Mako.”
“Yeah, well, I hope you have better luck than me,” Jax muttered.
“Please wait in the lounge. Dr. Mako will be here within the hour.”
Jax had intended to make a dramatic exit, but the prospect of finally seeing the director changed his mind. Regardless of this sleazy business of Wilson and DeRon and Governor Schaumberg, there was still the issue of Jax’s video and the ongoing bouts of blowback. Only Dr. Mako could advise him what to do about that.
In the lounge, Jax helped himself to a granola bar and sat down at one of the computers to read up on the Schaumberg scandal. The headlines were spiraling out of control: SCHAUMBERG SCHMEAR and KASINO KICKBACK KO’S KANDIDATE. Strangely, there was no story at all about a burglary at Schaumberg’s headquarters, or even passing mention of a night watchman stuffed in a file drawer. It was possible that the governor and his people were trying to let the story fade. The mystery of a security guard with no recollection of a massive break-in would only give the scandal a longer life.
The door of the lounge was flung open, and Wilson burst into the room with his customary brashness. He seemed surprised to see Jax at the computer. “How come you’re so early, Dopus?”
Jax glared back. “How come you are?”
Wilson brayed a laugh. “I couldn’t sit still at school. This is a big day. A humongous day.”
“Oh, I know.”
Wilson’s eyes narrowed. “What do you know?”
“I saw you, Saturday night, you and DeRon. I know exactly what you did and how you did it.”
“You’re lying.” Wilson snorted. But he looked a little less sure of himself.
“I know you guys broke into Schaumberg headquarters. I saw you bend that poor guard and steal those files. And give me the credit to put two and two together and figure out where this big election scandal comes from.”
“You little …” Wilson stormed over to Jax and stood too close. “Have you been spying on me? How could you possibly know where we were going to be Saturday night?”
Jax could feel the violence emanating from his enemy like heat from a furnace, but he did not flinch. “How long have you been at this place, Wilson? Haven’t you noticed that people here can do things? Maybe I’ve got something going on that you don’t have a prayer of understanding. And no matter what you do for Trey Douglas’s campaign, it’s not going to make you a better mind-bender than me.”
Wilson reached out with a meaty hand, but Jax wheeled his chair out of the way just in time. He jumped up and faced the bully, jaw set. “You asked what I’m doing here so early. I’m here to rat you out. Let’s see what Dr. Mako thinks of the way you and your scumball friend operate.”
Jax thought Wilson was going to come after him again. Instead, the big boy threw his head back and laughed. “Dopus, every time I think I’m going to have to beat your face in, you prove that you’re too dumb to be a threat. You want to tell on me to Mako? Be my guest. Who do you think sent us out there to get those files?”
“You’re lying!” Jax roared in a fury.
“Think about it, genius,” Wilson tossed over his shoulder, and he left the lounge.
Jax was stricken with shock. Could it be true that Dr. Mako was the mastermind behind all this? To burglarize a campaign office — and to use hypnotism to do it — went against everything Elias Mako stood for.
Or at least everything he said he stood for.
Of course, that depended on Wilson telling the truth, which wasn’t exactly a slam dunk. But come to think of it, Wilson wasn’t the first person to suggest that Elias Mako wasn’t as pure as his public image. What about Axel Braintree, the head of the Sandman’s Guild? He had tried to recruit Jax to be his spy because he didn’t trust Mako. At the time, Jax had dismissed it as paranoia. And it was paranoid. For example, if the director was dirty, why would a respected presidential hopeful like Trey Douglas go along with his scheming? And yet Douglas was Dr. Mako’s close friend and greatest admirer. Jax and his parents had heard it from the man’s own lips: You’re a lucky young man to have Dr. Mako in your corner. He’s devoted his life to New York City education and is an inspiration to every single one of us.
That sentence had pulled him up short before, but this time he very nearly choked on it. As if in a daze, he rolled his chair back to the computer and opened up YouTube. One by one, he searched the keywords Elias Mako along with the names of the director’s many famous acquaintances. The video clips told the whole shocking story. Without exception, each celebrity used virtually the same words to describe the director of the Sentia institute: Dr. Elias Mako has devoted his life to New York City education and is an inspiration to every single one of us.
No wonder the director had so many powerful supporters. They weren’t flocking to his banner. He was hypnotizing them!
And if Trey Douglas won the nomination and then went on to win the White House, Mako would control the leader of the free world.
Jax was still reeling from this revelation when the door swung wide and none other than Dr. Mako himself stood before him. It would be wrong to say he looked disheveled, but his very expensive suit was slightly rumpled, and his perfect Windsor knot was uncharacteristically off center.
“I came as soon as I heard.” He wasn’t out of breath exactly, but it was clear that he’d made great haste to get there.
For more than a week, Jax had begged for an audience with this man. His every thought
had been to reach the director so they could discuss the undeniable truth that remote hypnotism was possible and that his video was accomplishing it. But now, face-to-face with him, all he could come up with was: “I don’t have anything to say to you.”
It was the first time Jax had ever seen Mako in a state of less-than-complete comfort and control. “Jackson, the only reason I support Trey Douglas is because he would make a fine president. Having a friend of Sentia in the Oval Office would be good for all of us.”
“That means nothing to me,” Jax replied evenly, “because I’m not a part of Sentia anymore. I’m out of here.”
He walked out of the room, down the stairs instead of using the elevator, and through the lobby into the fresh air.
It had never tasted fresher.
“Anyway, the good news is you’ve got your life back,” Tommy commented philosophically.
A bike messenger hurtled by, passing so close on the narrow Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian path that the man’s flapping windbreaker stung Jax’s shoulder.
“Really?” Tommy shouted at the rapidly receding cyclist.
It was the kind of near miss that happened every minute in New York. But lately, Jax had been so wrapped up in Sentia that he’d taken himself out of the bump and grind of living in a city of more than eight million people. A big fringe benefit of quitting Dr. Mako was that his time was his own once again. A walk across the bridge would have been out of the question on a Sentia day.
“Well, I finish my homework before midnight now, so that’s a plus,” Jax admitted. “But I’m still getting blowback from that video I did. I don’t know what Mako’s thinking, but I hope he gets a new hobby real soon.”
“Maybe he has dinner parties and you’re the entertainment,” Tommy joked. “‘Get a load of the guy with the multicolored eyes. They’re blue; they’re green; they’re purple with pink polka dots….’”