Dawn of Tears - 25. A Mission to the Middle-East

Note to Readers: The sands of the Middle-East run red with the blood of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Israelis, Iraqis, Iranians, Saudi-Arabians, Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis, Yemeni, and many other nations as well. Like no other place in human history, this regions has been the focal point of more wars, more bloodshed than any other. American blood was rarely shed in the area until the mid-1980's when a series of low-grade conflicts involving oil brought our country firmly into the region's politics. The U.S.S. Stark was heavily damaged in 1987 by two Iraqi cruise missiles, and 37 sailors died.

Since those 37, thousands more Americans have died in that region for various reasons. During the time of the Crisis, nearly forty-thousand soldiers died as they were cut-off from reinforcements by the Crisis. As America continued to recover, and we gained back strength, we began to take a more pointed look at that region, and to deal with them using a far different approach than we had once before.

It was kind of funny how being on this plane always made me feel more at home than anywhere else ever did. Recently, I was assigned a house in the Presidio and I had lived in a house just off-campus at Harvard, but it was here on the plane that I felt most at home. I don't know what a psychologist would make of it, but I think it was because it was here that I felt safest, surrounded almost exclusively by my circle and a few trusted others.

Besides the thirty-two members of my circle (Martha Ellington and Nadine Grass had been added when they resigned their commissions and stayed on my staff as civilians), there were only the three pilots (Colonel Haywood and his crew had transferred and the plane was now flown by Lt. Colonel Snelling, Major Davenport and Captain Harrington) who were not part of my circle on board. On this trip, there was no pretense of sending 'diplomats' from the State Department.

The plane had gone through some renovations while I was attending Harvard and now looked a little different on the inside. There was no longer any 'Operations' cabin. The separating wall had been removed, as had the cabins that had been in that area. The center area of where that cabin had been was changed to an entertainment area with a table, a large flat-screen television on the wall (connected to the plane's DVD collection as well as the satellite receivers), and additional twinned seat/beds for the additional members of the circle.

The VIP cabin on the right side of the plane that included my cabin, a connecting guest cabin, and the main conference room had been expanded by about four feet allowing a larger conference table that could seat eighteen around its more circular shape. The security office had also been expanded slightly to allow whoever was on duty there more breathing room. The guest cabin had been changed as well. Now it was a working administrative office that would have made any technology lover slobber. Three VIP cabins on the left side had also been removed. The two private cabins that remained were were up next to the communications shack . These two cabins were for any 'VIP guests' we might have on board at any time. The extra area had been used for more of the tubular seat/beds that Martha, Paul, Nadine, Darby, Knight, and the enlisted Air Force crew that were also bonded to me all shared. The rear 'Guest' cabin for news crews and minor guests on our flights went unchanged. It seated eighteen people and was currently empty.

"Okay, we have our full crew aboard." Martha was saying as we sat at the new conference table. Nadine, who now had a new prosthetic arm to replace her lost arm, was busy working on her laptop while Martha talked. Knight and Darby, dressed in the dark slacks, white shirts, and dark ties they always wore now were rifling through several folders making sure they had all their files in place, and Paul was frowning over a set of documents that likely held threat assessments at each of our destinations and files on everyone who would be boarding the plane as we traveled. "The new pilots are settling in nicely and seem quite happy they won't have to hot bunk in the cabins below-deck. They've fit well into our routines and I don't think we'll have any problems with turf issues on the enlisted crew like we were starting to see with Colonel Haywood."

That had started to become a problem, and was one of the reasons the old pilots had all been 'promoted' and transferred. Normally, enlisted aircrew members were under the authority of the pilot in command of the aircraft, but since they were bonded to me, their first loyalty was to me. That had started to cause some problems over time with Colonel Haywood, who did not know of my abilities. The new pilots had all served in the Air Force, and then retired into civilian life as airline pilots. During the Crisis they were recalled to active duty. So far, the only airlines to operate again were small turbo-prop planes that offered local commuter service. A full airline was restarting soon, equipped with engines like those on this plane that burned far less fuel than past engines, but the jobs for pilots were still scarce as the airline struggled to refit planes with the new engine. They were happy to be flying, and working, and the fact that the aircrew wasn't assigned directly to them was a minor annoyance none of them wanted to push.

"The kids from the school are being flown to Atlanta." Nadine said in her contralto voice. She was frowning slightly. "The cover story is that they're going along to observe real world interactions in a crisis situation. Alan and Jennifer were the two that published the thesis on crisis handling that caused such uproar last month. Their hypothesis on how the Great Oil Crisis should have been handled has been quoted at least ten times in the last few broadcasts about the current situation so our bringing them along won't seem too unusual."

"I still don't like it." Paul said, his dark suit coat hanging over the back of his chair and his tie loosened. He'd much prefer fatigues to the Secret Service suit. "We've never even contemplated using other gifted before and this could blow the pot wide open. Plus, the whole idea of hiding the school in the open was supposed to help make you and Henry appear to be more normal, not set the others into the same category as you two."

"We all know that plans don't always work exactly as we had hoped." I reminded him and he just nodded slowly. "Besides, Henry and I are never going to be thought of as normal. The best we can do is to show we are not unique, that others are as smart as we are. It keeps us from being easily called 'freaks of nature' as Bob Baker was trying to do last year. Now, who are you assigning as their escorts?"

"I'm putting four people on them in rotating shifts." Paul said. "Since all the Utah boys are now certified and on the Service payroll, I'll be pulling them fully into your detail. Losier, Davies, Carrolls, and Kevins are all going to watch Jennifer and Alan."

"Jimmy is going to act as their personal assistant." Darby added from the other side of the table. "He's wanted more responsibilities and I think he's ready for this."

"How are we handling Neil this time around?" I asked, referring to the youngest of my bonded.

"Same as always." Martha answered with a smile. "I've adopted him legally now and since I'm going with you, and his older brother is here, I couldn't think of anywhere safer for him. The accounting's being taken care of so his food and 'costs' of being here are all being paid from the trust fund you set up. That way the CCN won't complain. We've already prepped the documentation of that and I'll hand it to their reporter who comes on board when he sounds like he's going to run a story on it. It doesn't hurt that NBS just ran another story on how well your family takes care of these friends of yours. Most people just look on it as another sign of how 'generous' all of you are."

"I don't like the number of guests we're picking up either." Paul added, frowning at some more files. "We've got that Genevieve woman again, with her four crewmen. We've got Peter Rockdecker from CCN with his four crewmembers, and five print journalists. That pretty much fills up the Guest cabin. Some of the men, especially Hollings, are pissed because the weight room is so crowded with extra food stuffs that they can't work out.."

"I am too." I said with a smile. I'd been working out for over a year now with Hollings and my body showed it, filling out nicely. Henry and I had both been voted the two best looking heartthrobs last summer (he'd beaten me by one percent) and every time we met some girl our age there were rumors we'd gotten girlfriends.

"That brings up the issue with Jennifer." Nadine said with a smile, as if reading my thoughts. "The President's worried about all the stories starting about you and Henry not having any dating life. If rumors start up that there's something between the two of you, we're not to discredit them. When you come back and she goes back to the school, we'll leak that the two of you dated for a bit but didn't 'hit it off' and were now good friends. She's already been briefed and agreed to work with us on that. There'll be a few appearances together, but nothing that would be 'scandalous'."

"If I have to." I groaned and they all laughed at me. They knew where my true preferences were, especially since all of them had been in bed with me at one time or another. That was one area where I was a normal teenager and my sex drive was just as bad as any other teenager in the world. The biggest difference was that I had thirty-two people in my circle to choose from, ranging from fifteen year old Neil to thirty-year old Martha Ellington (although I'd only been with her once, and she was now all but married to Paul Connors within the circle).

"Just be nice to her." Nadine chided me. She was the most motherly towards me of all the people in my circle. "This is the first time since you got her out of that Utah cell that she's been anywhere besides the school. Her and Alan both just had their fourteenth birthdays and they're excited about this trip according to Tim. Hell, from what he told me everyone there is excited about you and Henry taking some of them along."

"I wish I was so excited." I commented, reflecting on the dread with which I'd viewed the images coming through the satellite feeds. Riots in every major port city along the Persian Gulf was not an image the world relished on September 12th, and it had only taken dad two hours to finish his meeting with his cabinet and Congressional leaders before he announced in a news conference that I was being dispatched for emergency negotiations with the Ayatollah. Then, the reports had started coming in of the Mexico situation and dad had announced Henry would be heading there tomorrow morning.

"Well, you have a little more time to prepare than Henry does." Paul pointed out.

I had to nod in agreement. "Yeah, but Henry's going to deal with people who are begging to be administered by the United States. I'm going to deal with people who call us the devil and want us destroyed."

"You're also going with much more support than Henry has." Paul pointed out. "The Enterprise Group will reach striking distance about the time we hit the Indian Ocean. The reinforced air squadron in Basra is at full capacity and we are back up to forty thousand troops in the southern Iraq region with another ten thousand British troops to assist. Not to mention you have the ace card up your sleeve, the nukes."

"Then why are you so worried?" I pestered him and he frowned.

"There's also a few million people rioting in the port cities and they'd love to tear you apart." Paul admitted and I smiled.

"Good thing for me I have you guys then." I said and he nodded.

"I talked with the Secret Service Chief." Paul said with another grin. "We'll be wearing desert uniforms once we leave the US, not these monkey suits. Full gear, with rifles as long as we are over there and I couldn't be happier. It's the first time he's let us do that, and I'm going to feel a lot better with the heavier firepower."

"Okay, so have we gotten any word yet on exactly where we're going and who we are meeting first?" I asked and Martha looked down a bit.

"No, the Ayatollah hasn't responded to your dad's request for a meeting yet." Martha replied. "State thinks he's stalling, trying to appear to have the upper hand. If he hasn't responded by the time we reach the Suez airspace, we'll divert to Haifa and you'll 'consult' with our allies there. That should set them on edge enough to clear up problems. Egypt is still stalling on airspace fly over permission as well, but we know they pretty much listen to the Ayatollah anyway."

"What about fighter coverage?" I asked and Paul pulled out another file.

"We'll have planes from the Eisenhower escorting us from about three hundred miles west of Gibraltar until we approach the mid-point of the Mediterranean." Paul answered after a moment of looking. "All the planes will refuel at that point from air tankers. Then they'll escort us either to Israel or to the Suez. Then planes from the Diego Garcia airbase will meet us and escort us to the Indian Ocean where the Enterprise air wing takes over while the Diego planes return home."

"That's a lot of fuel." I stated and he smiled before shrugging slightly.

"No one is going to complain except CCN." Martha stated with a rueful smile. "If they didn't complain, then people would probably worry we weren't doing enough to keep you safe."

"They really do fill the role of loyal opposition, don't they?" Nadine said and we all chuckled. It was becoming a regular joke. We'd announce something and people would tune into CCN to see if they were protesting it, and if they were, people would relax in the knowledge we were doing our job.

Weird!

"Remember when they ran that story about you having cheated on your school work?" Knight asked with a wide smile. That really had been funny.

Two weeks into my first, last, and only semester on the actual Harvard campus, CCN had run an expose on charges by Professors that I was a fraud. They showed several blacked-out faces and distorted voices saying they were convinced the professors that had tutored me had actually prepped me for my tests and given me the answers before hand, and that my current teachers were being pressured to do the same. Then, they'd run a few similar stories from Yale Professors about Henry.

Henry and I stormed the office of our respective University Presidents the next day. We demanded an opportunity to refute the claims, and the result had been oral examination boards to be conducted testing us on our coursework from our private tutoring. The boards were held two days later, and on the demand of CCN televised as special broadcasts. They were done at the same time, on purpose, and covered by both the national networks (who interrupted their scheduled programming for this). For the first time in recent memory, Harvard and Yale cooperated with each other by asking their questions in alternating order between the two campuses so the viewers basically got to see Henry answer a question and then I answered a question. We were told "acceptable" or "unacceptable" after each answer. One hundred questions were asked to each of us, and we both received perfect scores. All the professors chosen for the panels were among those that were critical of us, and they tried hard to stump us, but failed.

About two weeks later, a new game show debuted in America where a panel of professors would ask contestants very hard questions, and the person with the most correct answers would receive prize money. It was still the number one rated show in America, and the only strong revenue producer of CCN.

"I remember." I stated after the laughing had died down. "Speaking of which, I still need to work on my Master's Thesis."

"I know, and you'll have plenty of time on the flight." Martha said with a slightly irritated tone. I was now working on a Master's Degree from Yale while Henry was working on a Master's degree from Harvard. We had no real classes. They were accepting our work as government officials as part of our credits and requiring us to do certain readings and hold videoconference meetings with our 'Advisors'. We both also had to do a thesis before we got our degrees, and if anyone thought it was easy, even for us, I'd most likely shoot them. Our goals were to have PhD's from Stanford by the time we were eighteen.

"So what else do we have to do here?" I asked and Martha grinned.

"You're done." She said. "We still have some things to go over, but you really don't need to be here for that."

"Good, see you when we land in Atlanta." I said as I stood. I headed into my cabin, which hadn't really been changed much. There was now a bookcase on the wall opposite my desk. A large flat-panel television would swing down from the ceiling in front of the bookcase if I needed to use it and had a camera attached for videoconferencing too. Other than that, the cabin was unchanged. The bookcase was filled with books that I used for my studies, or liked in general. There were a few mementos from my first family's home now decorated the top of the case, like my baby bottle in its gold box and clear plastic lid. Special rails kept everything from shifting and falling off in flight. My desk was fairly neat, a few pictures of my old and new family carefully positioned on it, as well as a group picture of my circle. A laptop computer was nestled in brackets in the middle, and I pulled up my thesis notes when I sat down. I also pulled a huge book out of one of the drawers and resumed the research I'd been doing earlier, taking careful notes to use as my reference material.

"You still working on that damn stuff?" Neil's voice startled me slightly. I hadn't heard my youngest bonded enter the cabin; I'd been so immersed in my studying.

"Yeah, I am." I said with a smile. I could feel his slight irritation as he sat down in one of the chairs bolted to the floor in front of my desk and he started swiveling it in short arcs. "What's got you so antsy?"

"Oh, just Kevins and Killmer arguing again." Neil said as he shook his head in exasperation. He had light blond hair and blue eyes that sparkled in almost any light.

"Let me guess, you guys were doing your bible study again and he came along and started teasing the group." I said with a slightly irritated sigh. Kevins was always a testy man, prone to bar fights before he bonded to me, and was as agnostic as a person could be. Despite the changes in them since they'd bonded to me, all of the Utah boys, and Roger Killmer, who shared their commitment to the Mormon faith, often held bible studies together and always prayed before meals and as a group together. Most of the people in the circle just smiled and left them alone, but it always seemed to irritate Kevins. One thing I'd noticed was that if the group didn't have Killmer with it, he usually left them alone. I'd already come to my own conclusions on why that was, but kept my mouth shut.

"Yeah, Roger was leading us this time and Kevins came up from the weight room all pissed already because he couldn't work out and he went off on Roger real bad." Neil said with that irritated tone. "It's bad enough that I really don't want to do them all the time, but it only makes it worse when he does that. Them two are still arguing about it so I just left and came in here."

"If you don't want to go, why do you still go?" I asked him. "You know I don't make any of you do, or not do, stuff like that."

"It's just that Brian wants me to do it with him." Neil said softly. "We don't get as much time together as I would like so it's just something more I can do with him."

"Why don't you get as much time together as you like?" I asked in confusion. "We're all together a lot as it is."

"He's always doing security stuff." Neil said. "They won't let me do that since I'm still too young, so I'm always being sent off to study with someone or run errands or something."

"Sorry, Neil." I said.

"It's okay, Dylan." Neil said, stopping his swiveling and smiling. "It could be a lot worse. You could have chosen not to bond me and then I wouldn't have been around here at all."

"Hey, I promised you I'd let you choose." I defended myself quickly.

"Yeah, but I was wondering…um…" He stuttered, blushing and I knew what this was about.

"Are you horny again?" I asked with a smirk and he blushed even more.

"Actually, I was more wondering if you might be?" He asked as a response and I knew what was going through his mind. Every time he felt insecure about his place here, he would always come and seek me out. When some people felt insecure, they sucked their thumb, bit their nails, or did something else like that. When Neil felt insecure, he serviced me and felt better.

"I could use a little attention." I answered him, swinging around slightly. Neil didn't hesitate at that point, but was coming around the desk, dropping to his knees and unzipping me quickly. That was the good thing about being a teenager. I never had problems getting excited when it came to the merest hint of sex. A few minutes later, though, Mike Darby came into the room with some papers for me and frowned as he saw what was going on.

"Jesus!" He swore, startling Neil who looked up for a moment before going back to his business. "It's my night tonight!"

"Oh shut up." I told him with a wave of my hand and a slight growl. "You know you won't be bored."

"I better not be - here!" He growled in mock anger, coming further into the room and throwing the papers lightly on the desk. "These requisitions need your signature before we land in Atlanta and you better not get any stains on them."

"We won't." I assured him. Darby, ever the lover of sex stood there watching for a few minutes.

"Hey kid, why haven't you ever fooled around with me?" Darby asked, breaking the near total silence.

"Because you always call me 'kid', Mike." Neil said, taking a moment to pause and answer.

"Later, Darby." I said and the man smiled wickedly before leaving. The interplay between the people in my circle was interesting. They really were like a big family, with some people closer to each other than others, some disliking each other while still caring about each other. It wasn't like a brothel where sex was constantly going on, but when we were alone, not having to worry about others seeing what was going on, it wasn't uncommon for us to walk around and see two or more people having sex.

Not everyone had sex with each other, and some didn't have sex with other members of the circle at all. It was something that was their own choice, and something that the others didn't intrude upon or force. The only real expectation of privacy was the nights that people shared my cabin with me, since those nights were considered 'private bonding time' with me and whoever was there.

Most of the people I'd bonded had been totally straight before being brought into the circle. That experience changed most of them, so that they were to one extent or another more bi-sexual, but several of them only expressed that with me, while others were a lot less picky in the gender of their partners. Nor did the night with me always involve sexual activity (although it usually did with me being a teenager and having a warm body in bed with me). Martha Ellington and I never had real sexual intercourse, just the orgasm she experienced when I bonded with her (and no penetration had been involved). With her, on the nights that she spent with me, she cuddled me in an almost motherly embrace, as did Nadine Grass, and we often just talked about how we were feeling, or even the weather until we went to sleep.

This was also why we were bringing the people from the School with us on these trips. Henry and I frequently conferred with each other on how we managed our circles, sharing problems and how we had solved them. We ran them in pretty similar methods, the main difference being related more to the personal difference between us than anything else. It was a good system, that kept our bonded people relatively happy, and functional in their relationships with each other as the psychologists at the school remarked several times when they examined all of us. Those psychologists had remarked repeatedly that our circles operated as large, well-adjusted families with only the normal problems inherent to any social group.

Only a fool would refuse to accept that the kids we were training, who shared our gifts, would one day bond other people. In fact, it was something that we had to presume if they were to function in any capacity within the government, although we had plans to make sure their circles were much smaller than what Henry or I had, and that those bonded to their circles were all bonded willingly; not by forced choice of bonding or death, or unwittingly, or by mistake as had happened with several of mine. In fact, the psychologists had begun to develop profiles of potential bondees within military or law enforcement ranks that would fit well into the potential lifestyles of the students at the school. Some time in the next two years, Jeremy and Tim (the only person besides us who had a living bondee) would bond one or two more people to them, and work on bringing about a healthy circle like what Henry and I had. Then, others would be selected so that by the time the students turned eighteen, they'd be surrounded by small circles of people they'd known and grown comfortable with over several years.

Neil left a little while later, leaving me very satisfied and he much more reassured that things were right in his world. He'd left saying he had his own homework to finish and have transmitted off by fax to his teacher back in San Francisco. I'd insisted that everyone who wasn't eighteen earn a high school degree, and he was the last to still be working on a full high school degree. Jimmy had finished his far ahead of schedule thanks to tutoring by my Harvard professors. He had thirty-two people, including me, who would all willingly tutor him and never once had been stuck without help on anything he was studying. He was also still more determined than ever to become a pilot so that one day, as he put it, 'We won't have to depend on outsiders for our flying.'

I continued working on my thesis, something that was also more important than just for my Master's Degree. To anyone who didn't know about Dad's ultimate plan, it sounded like a strong argument for representative democracy and the separation of religion from public governance. 'Why Religion-Based Governments Fail' definitely didn't sound like a document that would be a cornerstone piece for people who would seek to transform the secular America into a Christian-based autocracy. It had been my idea for this topic of my Master's study, and after discussing it with the Trio (Dad, Senator Crawley, and Admiral Fullard), and with Henry, they had all agreed it was an excellent idea. Henry's topic "Global Trade and National Sovereignty" was another topic of interest in dad's plans for the future that was now less than four years away.

My work on the thesis was just in the beginning stages, no more really than research into past religion-based governments that were successful but ultimately failed. Ironically, the most numerous governments that fit into my studies were Islamic-based and so I was also studying intensively the regions and culture to which I was now being sent. It was also an irony that Mexico was also going to be a centerpiece of Henry's study. Dad, who was very much involved with our lives and knew these facts, had obviously factored this information into making his decision to send us to these spots, as well as the fact that I was being sent to where the military threat was the greatest.

I wouldn't be wearing a military uniform on this trip though. I was going as a civilian representative of my government, fully credentialed and empowered by Congress and the President. My uniform, with its gold 2nd Lieutenant bars would remain safely in the wardrobe. Both Henry and I, upon earning our degrees had received full commissions as 2nd Lieutenants in the US Army Reserve. We were the youngest commissioned officers in the history of the United States. No, instead of a military uniform, I'd be wearing a civilian suit with the threat of dad's nukes in my back pocket.

It was dark in Atlanta when we landed. Normally, even such a short trip would have required me to disembark and give a speech with the local Governor and Mayor, but this time we were on the ground for less than forty-five minutes as the new passengers were loaded after having passed through metal detectors and searches, their baggage and equipment fully searched by hand, and our fuel and water tanks topped off. Jennifer and Alan were both shown into my cabin, the first of our guests to be allowed on onboard, and sat down in the two chairs on the other side of my desk. I could tell they were both very nervous, staring around with wide eyes.

Jennifer had long, straight strawberry-blond hair and green eyes. She was shorter than Michael Rogers by about an inch (which made her about 5'5) and thin. She had on a medium length black skirt, a blue blouse and a pair of nice shoes. Alan was taller, just a little shorter than me, a medium, undefined build and brown hair with brown eyes. The thing that really made him stand out though was his large nose that had a big bump in the middle. I remembered he'd been offered to have it surgically fixed, made smaller, but he had refused. He said his family all had big noses, and since that was all he had left of them, he'd keep it that way.

"Neither of you have been on a plane since you got to the school, have you?" I asked them and they both shook their heads, looking down suddenly. "What do you think?"

"It's a lot nicer than I remembered it being." Jennifer said. "We didn't see much before but it looks nicer than it did, and bigger."

"That's because all of you were in the back." I said with a smile. "Now you're up here with the rest of us. Did they show you the two cabins you'll be staying in?"

"Yeah, they did." Alan said. "They're a little small, but I think it'll be cool. I've got two windows I can see out of from there."

"I like mine." Jennifer said. "We never had our own television at the school, and the air force lady said it had DVD and even a satellite connection so it'll be fun to watch what I want to watch."

"I'm glad you both like them." I said, suddenly wondering exactly what I wanted. Things had been rushed setting this up, and the decision to include them had been almost accidental. How much had they been told? "What have you two been briefed on for this mission?"

"Um, they just told us we were going with you to help you out on something." Alan said first.

"They said we were to do what you told us to do, that you alone had authority to tell us to use our powers, and that this was an important test of our education." Jennifer said.

"Doctor Rhodes wasn't happy about it." Alan added. "She wanted to come up here and talk with you about it and maybe make you change your mind about taking us. She thinks we're not ready yet."

"I see." I said slowly, and for a moment Alan looked worried. "No, you're not going back to the school just yet. According to Jeremy and Tim, you're two of the more advanced, mature students at the school. They told me you are better prepared, mentally and physically than any of us were when we started a couple of years ago."

"Greetings passengers and guests." The pilot's voice interrupted me and I stopped to let them listen. I was use to these pre-flight speeches by now, but it was their first time hearing them and I wanted them to enjoy the full experience. "This is your pilot and plane commander, Lt. Colonel Snelling speaking. I'm joined in the cockpit by Major Davenport and our back-up pilot Captain Harrington. I'd like to welcome you aboard Air Force 3 as guests of Mr. Dylan Jacobs. We are currently preparing to taxi onto the runway and will be lifting off in approximately ten minutes. All crew are directed to prepare for take-off and passengers are to take your seats and fasten your seatbelts. I'll speak to you again once we are at our cruising altitude."

"Now, where were we?" I asked when the pilot had finished and found both of them smiling. A knock at the door sounded and the crew chief (and Head Stewardess) Mary Collins poked her head in.

"Dylan, we all buckled up in here?" She asked with a smile and I nodded as Jennifer and Alan figured out their seat buckles and fastened them. I'd fastened mine when the pilot was speaking. Mary just nodded and left, closing the door behind her.

"I guess I should tell you that if we crash to duck your head between your legs, if we lose cabin pressure, masks will drop from the ceiling and to put one on yourself first, and all that other stuff, but if you really want to know, ask someone while we're in the air and they'll tell you." I said and they laughed. "Okay, back to the topic at hand, why you are here. What it boils down to is that we think you're ready to start thinking about life after school. Both of you have expressed an interest in working for the government directly and Henry and I believe that it is time for you to see how we operate. Your role here is to observe how I work in a real mission environment and how those bonded to my circle work with me and with each other. Any questions so far?"

"So we're not actually going to be doing anything?" Jennifer asked in a very neutral tone.

"You're going to be learning." I told her. "As for actually being expected to use your abilities, no, you are not going to be expected to do anything. The rules remain very much the same as at the school, no use of power against any person, and minimize physical contact with non-bonded people. However, you are going to make contact with unbonded people, and it will be good exercise to learn to keep your abilities in check throughout daily life. You'll also be in an environment where you will see a large circle working together. You can see how they interact, the problems that occur, and how things work on a regular basis. You've met some of my bonded before, but over the next few days you'll get to meet all of them. Watch them, observe them, and if you have questions at all, ask them. They know you're here to learn, and I think you'll find them happy to answer your questions. If something you ask is uncomfortable for them, they'll tell you that and I ask you not to push them after that. If something goes really, really wrong and you're faced with a life or death situation, you are allowed to use your powers to protect your life or the life of any American on this plane."

"I hope you don't get upset when I say I'm relieved to hear that." Alan said. "I was not looking forward to actually using my abilities. I'm still a little uncomfortable with the ethics thing."

"That's another reason why you're here." I said. "I don't use my abilities in most situations, but there are times I do. I want you both to feel free that when we have privacy, and I'm not in a meeting, that you can challenge me on anything you see me do, or to discuss the ethics of it. We're all in this together, and we can all learn from each other."

"I do have a question about something that's been bugging me." Jennifer said as the plane began to roll, and the pilot told the crew to prepare for take-off.

"Ask away." I said as the two of them gripped their chairs nervously. I couldn't help but smile at their apprehension on take-off. She was quiet as we turned onto the runway and began to accelerate, looking out the windows as we reached take-off speed and lifted into the air.

"This is so cool." Alan said with a broad smile that Jennifer shared. "We're like sitting here in this cool office and talking about stuff while the plane's lifting into the air. I thought the plane would be like that room we were in the first time or the other one on the other plane, you know, regular airline seats, but we're not."

"The Guest cabin is for people who aren't part of our team." I told him with a smile, yawning to pop my ears. "You're both part of the team, even if you're just here to observe, and that means you sit up here with us."

"That's kind of what my question was about." Jennifer said, also yawning to pop her ears. She looked real serious now. "What are we exactly? When we were kidnapped and they tried to brainwash us, they wanted to make us tools, weapons. You and Henry obviously work for the government and we're being trained to, so is that what we're expected to be as well?"

"That's something we're struggling with." I admitted after taking a nervous breath. "I think that you can understand how easy it would be for one of us to misuse our abilities. The government doesn't want that to happen. I'll be honest, there was serious thought about just killing everyone except Henry and I, but neither us, nor dad, the President, would allow that. I'm not going to lie to you, all of us will be watched very closely, and that includes Henry and I, and anyone who misuses their ability will face swift action."

"You mean they'll be killed." Alan stated with a big frown.

"It depends on exactly why they did what they did, but I think it is safe to say yes." I answered in complete truth. "If I used my powers on my dad, and say Senator Crawley discovered it, I could expect a bullet in my brain. But, that's something I will never do."

"So we're pawns, our abilities at the control of your dad and his cronies?" Jennifer asked with a hint of anger.

"No, we're people, human beings." I answered. "I have no idea how a President other than dad would handle this, but I do know that he believes God has put every one of us, gifted or human, on this planet for a reason. He also believes that we have the capacity for good or evil, and that it is up to us to choose. That is why ethics is such a big part of the school, to make sure that we know what is right or wrong, and we can make the right decisions when the time comes."

"What if I don't want to serve the government?" Jennifer asked. "What if I want to do something like…be a doctor and I maybe use my ability to keep patients calm when they're freaking about something?"

"Does that fit within the ethics?" I asked her. "There's nothing saying you have to be a part of the government. You can expect to be watched all your life, but that doesn't mean you will be forced to do anything, or work for the government. As for using your abilities on a patient, it would again depend on the situation. Let's say someone you're about to operate on gets up, grabs a knife and threatens to harm people. Using your ability to get him to drop the knife wouldn't be a questionable action at all, but what about using it to make someone quit smoking?"

"Smoking can kill, but the person isn't putting themselves or others in immediate danger." Jennifer reasoned out. "The knife situation, that's immediate danger. But what about, say, a suicide survivor?"

"Survivor?" I clarified. "If they aren't in immediate danger and say you put a control on them to keep them from committing suicide while in the hospital being treated?"

"It might be okay if you limit it to while they're in the hospital, getting help." Jennifer thought aloud. "But not if you tried to make it permanent. They have to be able to decide for themselves eventually."

"But what about while they're seeing a psychologist?" Alan queried. "That's being under treatment, isn't it?"

"But part of out-patient treatment is supposed to be about learning to live their life on their own again and not about being controlled like in the hospital." Jennifer shot back quickly. "In the hospital, they can tie you down so you can't hurt yourself, that's part of the treatment, and a mental control is no different really than being tied down, and it's even more humane because they can have more freedom, get more adjusted to life. However, when they're out of the hospital, it's to get them back on their feet and living again, so the control would have to be removed to allow them to do that."

"A very valid point." I said. "I think that most people would agree with that as well, Jennifer. That's the whole point of ethics. Do you guys have discussion like this at the school?"

"No, they just tell us what is and isn't ethical." Alan said with some disgruntlement, and I agreed with him. This was something I'd bring up with dad and Henry. They should be holding situational ethics discussions, led by doctors. I know that Henry and I would often hold these debates, including this very debate, with dad and the rest of the Trio.

"We'll have to fix that." I stated aloud. "Henry and I hold these debates with dad a lot, and they help us understand things better."

"That's a good idea." Jennifer said. "A few of us have talked about it when we could, but Dr. Rhodes discourages us from thinking about ethics beyond what they tell us."

"Which is a big mistake." I stated firmly and they nodded. "Well, that's why you're here, and in a less controlled environment. Remember, you're learning, but so are we and I'm not afraid to take careful looks at what we're doing and see if it can be done better."

"With your bonded, can we touch them safely?" Alan asked. "Sometimes I still lose control when I touch someone who's not one of us, and I'm scared of touching people sometimes. It's one of the things that worry me about finishing school."

"You can touch them, and if you slip up, just apologize." I answered after thinking for a moment. "Make sure to apologize immediately. If they think you're trying to control them or anyone else, their orders are to take you to me instantly, and as you've been told there's no way to control a person bonded to another. It won't work."

"I won't do anything like that!" Alan said in a horrified tone and I nodded my head in agreement. I noticed the plane had finally leveled off, and as expected the speakers came to life with the pilot's voice again. They both looked upwards with smiles on their faces and I wondered if I'd ever been so fascinated with the workings of a flight.

Yes, I had been at first.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Lt. Colonel Snelling again." The pilot's voice sounded definitely cheerful. "I hope that you're enjoying the flight so far. I know that things are rushed for many of you, so I'll give you a little bit of information on our flight plan so far. We're currently at 32,000 feet and heading east over the Atlantic Ocean. We'll be on this path for a while, making only a minor adjustment to course and altitude to avoid a storm brewing about four hours ahead of us. In about eight hours we'll be approaching the island of Gibraltar where we'll be escorted by navy fighters, so if you see lights out the windows, don't be alarmed. We'll fly east over the Mediterranean from there and rendezvous with a tanker plane to refuel. We'll announce that refueling because you'll need to be seated during that process for safety. If you've never seen one done before, we'll have the plane's televisions and sound systems send pictures from our fuselage cameras and you can hear the radio chatter as it takes place.

"We'll be serving dinner here in about an hour. Our crew chief, Sergeant Mary Collins and her team should begin cooking soon. Refreshments should be available soon as well in the Guest cabin. Please turn in your menu selections as soon as possible. Airmen Michelle Terry and Sarah Jensen will be rotating duty as Stewardess for the Guest Cabin and our other passengers already know the routine. If you need some assistance, just push the call button on your seat and a crewmember will be there as quickly as possible. Phones and fax machines in the Guest cabin are turned off at this time for security purposes. If you need assistance with contacting someone or transmitting a document, let a crewmember know and we will provide whatever assistance we can. Your seats have televisions connected to the plane's entertainment and satellite systems for your enjoyment. Access to the Operations and VIP cabins forward are restricted. If you need assistance, please contact a crew member and we will assist you. Our final destination has not yet been confirmed, and we will let you know as soon as we can. The cabin will remain dark for the next six hours, but once we pass over into sunlight it will be returned to normal lighting in order to help you adjust to local times. Thank you and enjoy your flight."

"We don't even know where we're landing yet?" Jennifer asked in surprise.

"What's this about picking our dinner?" Alan asked at the same time and I laughed.

"We know where we're going, but getting there is still being worked out." I said. "That's the State Department's job and they've got plenty of time to do it for us. As for dinner, we don't get the selection they do in back. We have a basic meal rotation to make things easier when we have guests aboard. Tonight is steak night I believe. If we're lucky Mary got some shrimp to go with it."

"Sounds good to me." Alan said with a smile and Jennifer shrugged.

"So, what do we do while we're flying?" She asked.

"I'd suggest you get to know the members of my circle a little better." I told her. "The only areas off limits to you are the communications shack, the cockpit, the Guest cabin, and both of the lower galleys. You're free to come and go between the VIP cabins and the Operations area. We keep those doors open all the time now. If you want to see me, just check with the Security Officer to make sure I'm available."

"Okay." Jennifer said while Alan nodded.

"Now, I believe they've assigned Jimmy to work with you two as your assistant while you're with us." I said, standing up and they also stood. "I'll introduce him to you and he'll give you a rundown of our routines here, how to do stuff like get something to drink, the coffee pot rules, and believe me when I say they take those very seriously. He'll also show you how to work the televisions and DVD selector and some other things. We can play up to ten movies at one time, but with this many people you might have to wait for your own movie. There's also little things that might take some getting use to while you're here."

"Like what?" Alan asked and I smiled.

"Oh, like how to pretend you're not seeing things that are usually private." I said with a grin and they both blushed furiously. "That's one thing you might want to remember about a bonded circle. Privacy becomes almost non-existent, especially in a setting like this. It's also why the Guest Cabin is kept locked and there's a privacy curtain that is kept closed whenever anyone enters or leaves that cabin. There's also a door that slides closed and is kept locked between the VIP area and the communications shack. That keeps the pilots from seeing anything they're not supposed to. If someone from outside the group comes in, there's a light that is turned on to let everyone know there's outsiders here."

"Aren't we outsiders?" Jennifer asked as we passed through the Security office and into the conference room.

"No, you're cousins." Jimmy said as he moved towards us from where he'd been standing, obviously waiting. "Hi, I'm Jimmy and I've been assigned as your assistant to help you guys out."

"Hi." They both said, shaking his hand hesitantly, but he took theirs confidently, and I noticed they relaxed at how confident he'd been in touching them. Personal contact was something kept to a minimum at the school, and I realized that a good idea would be to have everyone from the school spend time with Henry and I before they left, so they'd get more comfortable with it, another lesson learned.

"So what's this about us being 'cousins' and not outsiders?" Alan asked Jimmy, who smiled at getting a question about his comment. He loved being able to explain things to others.

"It's how we, Dylan's circle, see the others like him and their bonded." Jimmy told them with a bright smile. "You see, the circle is like our family. Most of us have blood family, but now they're sort of like a secondary family. Our first family is the circle. We're brothers and sisters of a sort. The others, like Dylan and their bonded like Henry's group are like cousins for us. Related, but not directly like we are in Dylan's circle. Still, you're not outsiders like people who aren't gifted or bonded at all."

"That makes…sense." Jennifer said with a nod.

"Yeah, a bit." Alan agreed with her.

"C'mon, let me show you around." Jimmy said and they followed him out the door. I would have been lost in thought about Jimmy's statement except Paul came in, directing Kevins and Killmer ahead of him. Both of them looked like they'd actually come to blows and I groaned. Usually, Paul handled any problems between people, but if it got serious, he brought it to me.

"What happened now?" I asked Paul who grinned very evilly at me.

"These two started arguing as soon as we got to cruising altitude and Kevins decided to punch Killmer. It went on from there before they got separated." Paul said in an angry tone and I groaned. Now, both of them were looking at the floor and wouldn't face me.

"You two follow me." I said, heading back into my cabin. They followed, still looking abashed as I led them inside. I didn't sit at my desk though. Instead, I stood by the large bed that filled the other side of the cabin. They stood near the desk, waiting for me to tear into them.

"You know, I've got a headache now, don't you?" I asked and they both looked even more abashed.

"I'm sorry Dylan." Kevins said in a tone that he never used with anyone else, almost apologetic.

"I didn't want to…" Killmer said also in a soft tone. I looked at them closely for a few minutes, studying them. Kevins was slightly taller, and bigger built than Killmer and had brown hair and eyes while Killmer had that pale blond hair and green eyes like some of the boys that had come from Utah. Like them, he'd been raised devout Mormon, and that faith was part of Kevins dislike of them as a group. However, he'd only take it to this extreme with Killmer. Killmer was a sweet guy, never provoking and I wondered why Kevins always got riled up around them.

"Shut the door and tell Jones I don't want to be disturbed." I said and Killmer rushed to do it before Kevins could. He then came and stood in the exact same spot he'd left while Kevins glared at him. Oh, yes, I think I was right.

"Strip." I ordered and they both stared at me in confusion for a moment. "I said I want you both stripped down, standing nude in front of me. Do it."

They both hurried after that, stripping down to nothing quickly, piling their clothes behind them. I noticed them both sneaking looks at each other while they did it and I breathed a sigh of relief. Now they both faced me, looking in my face and blushing slightly. I noticed how smooth and pale Killmer looked and how tanned and scarred Kevins was. They formed a contrast that didn't leave me unaffected, but I pushed my sudden desire down. I didn't want Darby any more upset if he walked in again.

"Now kiss." I told them and they moved towards me. I put my hand up. "Not me, kiss each other."

They stopped in surprise at that, and I saw them suddenly become very nervous. Killmer even shuffled his foot a little and I almost laughed as they looked at each other. I wasn't controlling them directly with the bond. If they really didn't want to do this, they could tell me so, but neither did of course. They stepped closer, but hesitantly and, to my surprise, it was Killmer who actually started the kiss. I heard Kevins moan softly and the kiss instantly became very passionate from both of them. They'd wrapped their arms around each other and I almost laughed, ruining the moment. When they did end the kiss, they looked at me rather sheepishly.

"You can use my cabin until dinner's ready." I said with a smile and walked past them as they looked at me in surprise. Paul was waiting in the conference room, sitting down and drinking some coffee while looking over a file. He looked up at me with surprise at my entering alone.

"You didn't leave them alone in there to fight it out, did you?" He asked me with a little bit of worry.

"I'm smarter than that, Paul." I said in a teasing tone. "I made them kiss and make-up. I think they're probably getting a bit closer right now."

"I was hoping you'd do that." Paul snorted with a smile on his face. "I've been talking to them alone about how they feel about each other, but they couldn't get past 'he pisses me off!' and I was getting tired of it all."

"I think we all were." I said and we both laughed.

Yep, we were a family all right, with all the problems that happened in families. Of course I wondered if they thought of it as incest when they slept with each other. For some reason though, I never bothered to ask. It seemed like it was something between them, not me and I wouldn't poke into it when I didn't really need the information.

Besides, I had other things to worry about, like how to negotiate an end to riots that were producing a shortage of oil without using nuclear weapons or giving away things that we needed.