* * *
The Sushi Palace opened at 9am. We were there by 8:45am. Benny drifted into a parking bay and killed the engine.
At this time only five other cars were present. I recognised one as my mother’s and another as Linda’s. The others were a mystery, but I assumed they belonged to Sushi Palace staff.
“You ready?” Benny asked, swivelling in his seat to face me.
I nodded in response, still not one hundred percent sure I had what it took to go through with it, but determined none the less.
“Listen,” he continued, “I can only bring her in on suspicion right now. But if any of what you say is true it’ll come out in an investigation. She’ll go away for a long time, Jet, be sure this is what you want.”
“It is,” I replied quickly, “Her and my grandmother.”
“You said your grandmother is an Enforcer?”
“Yes.”
“What a shit storm,” he muttered, moving to exit the car.
“Wait.”
He paused. “What is it?”
“Can you…”
“Speak up, Jet, if you have something to say then this is the time.”
“Logical Prediction. Can you do it now? Tell me how my mother will react when I go in there?”
“You still don’t really get how it works. I don’t know your mother, Jet. I can’t say how she will react. I could take a bash at how it might play out, but you would be infinitely more accurate in this case. Why don’t you try it yourself?”
“How?”
“Just…” He shrugged. “Just do it. How do you think you’ll react? How do you think she’ll react? You’ve known her your whole life, haven’t you? Play it out in your head, follow the threads of your life and see where they go, based on what you know.”
“Okay. I’ll try.’”
Logical Prediction. Both Selena and Benny had known with such staggering accuracy how my life would unfold that it boggled the mind. From being an hour early at the Defence Training Offices, to Benny knowing when I would be moving out and looking for a place to stay. Of course, these were not impossible things to guess when one gave it a bit of thought. Selena may have had a feeling my demon would be making an appearance that night, leading to me being understandably eager to return in the morning. Benny might have guessed after my unconventional remodelling of the house that I might be looking for new lodgings. It was, in a sense, fairly logical.
On the other hand Jenny the Assistant seemed to have known coffee would be my Primary Crutch from the very first day I had met her. That was not logical in any sense of the word. But then she hadn’t actually stated this, I had assumed it because of the odd way in which she had offered coffee and then departed the room. This may well have been a combination of an odd sense of humour, coincidence and assumption.
It would be some time before the story of Jenny the Assistant revealed itself. But that was later.
I leaned back in my seat, closed my eyes and found my place of calm. From here I drew up an image of the interior of The Sushi Palace and placed it in the centre of my thoughts, attempting to load in as much detail as I could. The more I focused, the clearer the image became, my Spirit rushing audibly in my ears as it moved to boost the process. Soon the picture was clear enough to resemble a tiny, living world that existed only in my mind’s eye.
So what, logically, would be my mother’s reaction when I stormed into her restaurant with an Enforcer as my ally, looking to make her pay for her crimes? If asked this question previously I would have sworn an oath that there would be tears, confessions, hugs and perhaps even remorse. But then if you had also told me my mother was guilty of not only illegal magic, but was an accomplice to my father’s murder, I would have called you a bald-faced liar. The argument had to be raised as to just how well I knew her. Could she even still be called my mother…?
And what exactly did I intend on doing when I got in there? They deserved it. Of course they did. And at that point in my life it seemed the only thing worth pursuing that meant something. I wanted to kill them. It seemed right, the logical conclusion to an ugly story. They had to pay for what they had done. The flame in my stomach was roaring now, consuming me and scorching my mind.
What was it Benny had said? Like predicting the script of a movie? I could do that; easy. Everyone knew how the film ended long before it did.
I entered into The Sushi Palace, Benny following close behind. My mother saw our entrance and halted in mid-step, a small frown of concern on her face.
“Jet? What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry mother, but I can’t let you get away with what you’ve done.”
Her mouth popped open and then slowly, like the sun sinking below the horizon, her expression changed to one of tortured guilt. “Oh God, I’m sorry, Jet. I’m so sorry for all of it. I’ll go with you.”
With the first few tears drawing glistening lines down her cheeks, she followed us out to the car.
Later, my first visit to see her at the Magical Detention Centre would be one filled with meaningful smiles, looks of humble acceptance and more remorseful tears. She had made some mistakes and she knew it, but at least she was willing to accept the consequences of her actions. It was a long road to recovery, but one she would have been taking with determination.
As the years rolled by I would receive my regular Christmas and birthday cards, plus a monthly letter that explained she was being treated fairly but firmly, as it should be.
Finally when the sentence was served, she would be released and I would at last have my mother back. Maybe not exactly as it was before, but still a family reunited.
That was it. I had performed Logical Prediction. And none too difficult it had been either.
So my mother was still herself after all, still the woman I had loved as a child, still the person who had raised me single handed. Just a little obscured, slightly out of focus, but still her, deep down inside; still human, still my mother. Perhaps I didn’t understand the whole situation as well as I thought. I did not mean to kill her. I meant to save her, bring her back and be a family again.
The flame in my stomach flickered and eased. It was eclipsed by a tiny light, one that spoke of hope and reconciliation. One that told me there could be someone who would miss me when I was gone, who would care if I lived or died.
Suddenly the whole thing seemed a bad idea. I was gripped by a desire to call it off, turn around and leave. If this was how events would play out, maybe I could yet save the situation, avoid her having to spend wasted years in a prison.
“Jet?”
I withdrew from my place of calm and was back in Benny’s car. “What?”
“Did it work?”
I blinked and looked at him, my head swimming as the images faded. “I think so.”
“Alright. Good. Just remember, it’s a very tricky spell. It’s not fool proof. Did you like what you saw?”
“It seemed a nice end to this mess. A happy end, I guess.”
“What more can you ask for?” He climbed from the car and faced the Sushi Palace. “Let’s get this done, then.”
We set off across the parking lot and approached The Sushi Palace side by side.
As the building drew nearer, my Spirit once again awoke and issued a warning.
“There is someone of great power inside,” it said.
“You feel that?” I asked Benny.
“Yes,” he replied, “Who is that?”
“I think it’s my grandmother.”
“She’s very powerful.”
“I know.”
He fell into silence and we soon arrived at the building’s front doors, standing closed.
“I’d like to go in alone for a minute,” I said.
“Jet, that’s a really bad idea. This whole thing is a bad idea. We’re going into a building inhabited by a potentially dangerous Enforcer and a powerful Manipulator. We need back up, Jet. Lots of it.”
“This is my family you’re talking about. They
’re not lunatics.”
He stood staring at the ground. “Okay. Because we’re friends, I trust you.”
“Thank you.”
“Call if anything happens. I’ll wait here otherwise.”
I paused, thinking that I should say something in acknowledgment for a rather bold statement of trust and friendship. Nothing came to mind. “Okay.”
“Good luck.”
I pushed open the doors and stepped into the Sushi Palace. The warning buzz intensified.
Inside the building was dead, a stark contrast to the usual, lively atmosphere that was rather jarring. I looked around and spotted Linda beside two other waiters to my right, busily laying out cutlery on the tables. She turned at the sound of the door and lit up like a thousand watt Christmas tree.
“Hi, Jet!”
“Hello, Linda.”
She approached at speed, her ringed eyes and fatigue lined face falling into focus the nearer she drew.
“It’s so good to see you, Jet!”
“You too, Linda.”
“Your mom said you might stop by!”
“I know.”
“She’s in the back with your grandmother! Should I call her for you?!”
“No. Listen, Linda…”
“I love your grandmother as well! She’s just so sweet!” The word “sweet” was said as she might have been talking about a box of kittens.
“Linda…”
“I wish I was part of your family! Do you think your mom would adopt me?!” She giggled piercingly, trying to make a joke of something I knew she meant with every fibre of her confused mind.
“Linda, listen to me!”
“What is it, Jet?! Is something wrong?!”
“Just listen to me. Okay? Listen for a moment, Linda.”
“Okay!”
“Something’s going to happen now. Something you might not like. But I need you to understand that I would never cause you hurt if I could otherwise avoid it.” It might have been futile trying to reason with her, the same as trying to explain the complexities of the universe to a child. But I had to try.
“What are you talking about, Jet?!” She frowned, declaring that her mind was once again working overtime.
“I think it’s maybe better to face the truth, Linda. Because if you don’t, it has a way of catching up to you when you least expect it. And the longer you put it off, the harder it hits you when it finally catches up. Don’t you agree?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said softly. But her eyes told me that the little wheels in her head were turning.
“I guess it’s not my place to decide for others,” I continued, “because in this world the way that it is, I would not blame anyone for choosing to hold reality at bay for a while...”
“You’re scaring me, Jet!”
“But I think your time of being able to do that is coming to an end, Linda. My mother is going away, and with her gone, I’m afraid your reality is going to change. Do you understand?”
“Going away?! Where is she going?! She never said anything?!” Her voice raised to a sharp trill, tinged with horror.
“And I think maybe it will be better if it’s me that does, rather than a stranger. I’m sorry.”
I reached out and grabbed her, planting a hand on either side of her head and forcing her eyes to look into my face.
“Jet!? What are you doing?!”
“Look at me, Linda! Look at me!”
I had done the same with Clinton, even if it had been only temporary, and knew the same must be possible for Linda; Ambience Tweaking. Similar in style to creating a betting friendly mood in step one of poker, but pushing clarity and truth instead of positive energy.
I gathered up my knowledge of the Manipulation spell my mother had cast, including the truth about The Sushi Palace itself, and kept the information in mind. Then handling the understanding as if it was some kind of physical gaseous substance, I pushed it over onto Linda.
At first she resisted, grabbing at my hands and squirming to break free. But that lasted for only a second. As the cobwebs melted, so too did her resolve.
I finished the process and pushed the influence from her mind, leaving it clear, perhaps clearer than it had been even before my mother’s manipulation. And with this done I released my grip and stepped back, waiting to see the result.