Special Talents (4 page)

"I can assure you, doctor," said Napolitano, "the office of Homeland Security is not in the assassination business. Our job is to identify and deal with threats to the United States. We don't train assassins."

"In all fairness," said Scarborough, "there may be instances where it will be necessary to kill a suspected terrorist. Sometimes it can't be avoided. It's just the nature of the job. But as the Secretary said, that's not our intention."

"Our intention?" questioned Jeremy. "I thought you were an Assistant Director for the F.B.I.?"

"Assistant Director Scarborough is being reassigned to my office," said Napolitano. "After your visit the other day I thought you might be more comfortable working with him than with someone you didn't know. Effective this morning Mr. Scarborough now works for the Office of Homeland Security as an Assistant Secretary. You will be working directly with him and he will report directly to me."

"I see," said Jeremy. "Well I must say that does put my mind a little at ease."

"Technically I'll be in charge," said Scarborough. "That's a tenuous position at best. I don't have any special talents. But it will be my job to make sure that any operations we perform comply with any applicable laws. And as the Secretary has said, I'll answer directly to her."

"Okay," said Jeremy. "Anything else?"

"We will, of course, have to be made aware of whatever special talents the people you find have," said Secretary Napolitano. "They will also be the standard oath of loyalty, polygraphs every six months, that sort of thing."

"Absolutely not," said Jeremy. "No polygraphs. Gaining these peoples' trust is going to be difficult enough without subjecting them to a polygraph every six months. There are a lot of people, myself included, that don't trust polygraphs. They aren't admissible in court and mistakes can be made with them. And as I said earlier, many of these people have something they don't want made public. As a psychiatrist I can't in good faith expect my people to be subjected to something that could force them to reveal things that could be detrimental to them."

"It's standard practice, Jeremy," said Scarborough. "All federal agents go through routine polygraphs. It helps weed out any who might be disloyal or who might be on the verge of suffering a nervous breakdown or something like that."

"I understand that and that's fine for normal agents. These are hardly going to be normal agents. Some people are just naturally nervous taking a polygraph and that can give false readings. These people will be doubly so. They're trying to stay out of the limelight. And you're asking them to do something that might force them to reveal their deepest, darkest secrets. Without any guarantees that they'll be kept confidential."

"You'll be learning those secrets," said Napolitano.

"And I'm covered by doctor-patient privilege. They'll know I can't reveal what they tell me no matter what. A polygraph examiner isn't under the same restrictions. If you're going to ask these people to risk their lives for their country – something they haven't chosen voluntarily up to now – you're going to have to make some concessions to them. If there is a problem with any of them, I can let you know. You won't need the polygraphs."

"Under the circumstances," said Napolitano, "I suppose routine polygraphs can be dispensed with. But if there is sufficient reason to suspect one of them of something they'll still have to submit to a polygraph. It's standard procedure and considering what they will be capable of doing I consider it a necessary precaution."

"Well," said Jeremy thoughtfully, "I suppose I can't disagree with you there. But I'll have to have a say in what questions are asked. Just to make sure you aren't delving into areas that could potentially harmful to them."

"That seems fair," said Napolitano. "Is there anything else, doctor?"

"No, I don't think so," said Jeremy. "And after due consideration I believe I'll accept your offer, Madam Secretary. I'll need a few days to put my affairs in order, though. I need to find someone to take over my classes and I'll also need to find an appropriate therapist to handle my patients."

"Of course, doctor," said Napolitano. "Welcome aboard. There is one question I have for you right now, however. I've wanted to ask you since we first met but I didn't think it appropriate until you agreed to join us."

"How am I able to tell if someone is lying," said Jeremy.

"You know," said Scarborough, "that's a question I wouldn't mind knowing the answer to myself. You never would explain when we were in college. Only some vague explanation about being able to see it in their eyes or something. But I've always wondered how you could be so accurate about it."

Jeremy took a deep breath. Ever since he had decided to accept Secretary Napolitano's offer he knew he'd have to explain it. Explain something he had spent virtually his entire life trying to conceal. Now he had no choice. His secret was about to come out.

"Well," Jeremy began, "to be honest I can't explain how it works. I really don't know. But for some reason I was born with the ability to actually see the electromagnetic field that living beings generate. We've known about it for a long time and with the right equipment we can even see it and photograph it. But I seem to have a natural ability to see it. I call it electromagnetic vision."

"That's incredible," said Napolitano. "You're talking about a persons' aura. I've heard of people who claimed to be able to see a person's aura."

"In all truth most of them probably can't see it," said Jeremy. "I have no doubt there may be those who can. But like so many other things there are going to be a lot of fakes and charlatans making that claim."

"So you just look at someone and see their aura?" Scarborough asked.

"Not exactly. When I was younger I had no control over it. And if I overuse it, it can cause some serious headaches. And I've also learned that while I have a headache I can't use it. But I have learned to control it so I can turn it off and on, if you will."

"What does it look like?" Porter asked.

"Pretty much like what you see using the special equipment I mentioned. It's sort of a field that surrounds the person of different colored lights."

"And this tells you if the person is lying?" Napolitano asked.

"Sort of. You see, when a person is deliberately being deceptive, their aura changes. I can't really explain the change. I only know I can detect the change. Now it doesn't tell me what they're being deceptive about or what the truth is. Only that they aren't being truthful."

"Sort of like a human lie detector," said Napolitano.

"Much more accurate. Like I said, polygraphs can be wrong. If someone is nervous, it can skew the results. The change in aura is more accurate than that. In addition, there are people who can control their physical responses which will alter the results of a polygraph. You can't control your aura. So I can instantly tell if someone is lying."

"What about Jenny Cartigan?" Scarborough asked. "You knew she was sick. Not even her doctor knew that. Was that because of her aura, too?"

"Yeah," said Jeremy. "When a person is physically ill, it affects their aura. I was able to see that in Jenny. I can't tell what the illness is but I can tell with a certain degree of accuracy how serious it is. Jenny was an undiagnosed hypoglycemic. It's a very dangerous condition if not treated. Luckily I was able to 'see' that and she got the help she needed. I wonder whatever happened to her."

"I imagine an ability like that can be quite useful as a psychiatrist?" said Napolitano.

"Not to mention it can be quite useful during an interrogation," interjected Porter.

"Well, as I said, overuse of it causes me headaches. I try not to use it unless I have to. But it does have another application that might be useful to us. Something that will help identify the people we're looking for."

"What is that?" Napolitano asked.

"Well," said Jeremy hesitantly, "I've also learned that it can help me identify people with what you call special talents. Their aura is different when their talents are active. I can see the difference. But there are a couple of drawbacks to it. First, I can't tell if the person isn't using whatever ability they have. Their aura looks just as normal as anyone else's. Second, I don't know what their ability is. Just that they have one."

"Now that could be quite useful," said Porter. "It will help us to identify potential candidates who do and don't have special talents. We could even use it to possible identify terrorists with special talents."

"Like I said," said Jeremy, "it only works if they're using their special talent at the time. Which means I would have to know – or at least suspect – that they have one and are using one. And I don't know what they are. Just that they have one."

"Have you been using this electromagnetic vision during our meetings?" Napolitano asked.

"To be honest, yes. I wanted to be sure none of you were being deceptive with me. Especially people in your line of work have to keep so many secrets that it often becomes necessary to hide the truth. I wanted to make sure that what you were telling me was honest."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of someone being able to tell if I'm lying," said Porter. "Sometimes lives can hang in the balance if you reveal too much."

"I understand that General and you can rest assured that whatever I learn I'll keep in the strictest confidence. Besides, so far you've all been very up front and honest with me. And I promise not to use it again unless I have reason to suspect you're being dishonest."

"Well, I suppose that's one of the assumed risks when we work with someone who can do what you do," said Scarborough. "By the way, Jenny is very healthy and happy. I saw her a couple of years ago. She's married and has three children. And because of your ability to see her illness her hypoglycemia is well under control."

"That's good to know," said Jeremy. "Now, as I said, I'll need a few days to put things in order. Say about a week. After that I should be free to begin looking for these people you're interested in."

"I think that will be acceptable," said Napolitano. "And to get the ball rolling, so to speak, I think we have our first candidate. Kamalene here is one of the few people we've identified as having a special talent."

The woman wearing the work uniform stood up and walked over to the Secretary's desk. During the entire exchange she had sat quite silently in the back of the room. As she walked over to the desk Jeremy noticed that her body language indicated she was a bit nervous.

"This is Kamalene Alania," said the Secretary. "She's one of the maintenance supervisors here in this building. And she's very good at her job. She helps keep the equipment running very smoothly."

"Miss Alania, it's a pleasure to meet you," said Jeremy, standing to shake her hand. "You're Hawaiian, aren't you?"

"Yes, doctor, I am," replied the young woman. "How did you know that?"

"Please call me Jeremy. If we're going to be working together there's no need to stand on ceremony. I've had a couple of Hawaiian patients. I recognized the name. So, what sort of special talent do you have?"

"Madam Secretary, if I may?" questioned Kamalene, indicating a remote control for a large television that sat in one wall.

"By all means," said the Secretary, smiling slightly.

Jeremy watched as Kamalene used only the index finger of her right hand to touch the remote control. As if by magic the television suddenly came on. Jeremy watched as the channels on the television began to change one after the other. In addition, he noticed that the volume on the television would go up and down as if of its own accord.

"I'm not sure what you'd call it," said Kamalene. "But I can seem to control any mechanical device simply by touching it. It doesn't matter what part of it I touch. And I can also identify if a piece of equipment is broken or malfunctioning. Like you I can't identify what the problem is only that there is a problem. But I have a degree in mechanical engineering. Just knowing there's a problem can often let me know what needs to be fixed."

"Well, I can see why you work in the maintenance department," said Jeremy. "I would imagine an ability like that comes in quite handy in your line of work."

"Well, it does have its' drawbacks," said Kamalene. "Like trying to explain how I knew what was wrong with something when there wasn't any indication there was even a problem."

"So, what do I call you?" Jeremy asked. "Kam? Kammy?"

"I prefer Kamalene. I really hate those nicknames people used to give me growing up."

"Well, I can certainly identify with that. People used to call me 'Jerry' when I was growing up. I never cared much for it. Kamalene it is then."

"Kamalene has agreed to join the team, assuming you're agreeable," said Scarborough. "She all ready works for Homeland Security so it was only necessary that we identify her as having an ability. She's the first – and so far the only – person on the list of approved candidates."

"Approved candidates?" questioned Jeremy.