They were still setting up when there came a loud confident pounding on the door. Without looking up Doc called loudly, “This is a private group and we are not accepting new members.”

Somehow this made Simon feel good, as if he were part of a private club.

“That’s fine Birdie. Wanna talk through the door, we talk through the door.”

With a start Simon recognized the voice. It was Adam! Simon took a deep breath. He didn’t even know what he was frightened of. Who was Birdie?

Doc answered, “Do we have anything to talk about?”

“Maybe I know some things that might interest you. Me and Sharky.”

What the hell was Sharkes doing here? And since when did Adam dare call him Sharky?

Doc did not sound surprised to hear them outside the door. He called, “I thought we agreed we had nothing to talk about.”

“This will interest you.”

Mitch started to say something, but Doc put a finger to his lips. Mitch shrugged.

The strange silent contest went on a moment longer, then there was a scratching noise from the door. It swung open, and Mr. Sharkes was in front of it, putting a credit card or something back in his pocket.

He had presumably picked the lock, but did not seem at all embarrassed. “Excuse me boys, but Mr. Westin says he has something important to show me. If not, I’ll apologize for wasting your time.”

Doc asked him coolly, “And picking the lock?”

Sharkes grinned at him, a smile that did not reach his eyes. “Huh? It must have been open. You got to be careful with locks and accusations.”

Apparently Doc found him intimidating too. “I will.”

Adam turned to Simon and said, “Report Simon.”

An instant later something was different. Several people seemed to have shifted positions, and the people seated around the table were all staring at him in shock and horror.

Simon was about to ask what had happened, when his intuition started screaming. For the first time in his life he listened to it in a timely fashion. He took a deep breath and addressed Adam as casually as he could manage. “You don’t really understand vulgar sorcery as well as you think you do.”

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The look of shock on Adam’s face told him he’d scored.

Simon had only an instant to follow up and make it seem spontaneous. He turned his head to Mr. Sharkes, forcing himself to meet the man’s gaze while trying to make it look easy. He said, “Don’t buy anything he’s trying to sell you. It’s more dangerous that he’s telling you, and more dangerous than he knows.”

The face of the muscular man in the expensive suit revealed nothing. He did not sound frightened at all when he said, “So you go ahead and tell me.”

Simon had just been guessing and knew precious little, but he continued his bluff. He said, “When the time is right.”

The hard face replied, “See you then.”

It turned to Adam and said, “This wasn’t quite what you led me to expect.”

Without giving Adam a chance to respond he turned and strode from the room, moving rapidly without seeming to hurry. Adam trotted after him, saying he could explain. The other man ignored him.

When they were both gone Doc asked, “Who was that?”

They all knew he didn’t mean Adam. After a few moments of silence Simon replied slowly. “I’ve seen him in Adam’s group recently. Only the past few months, so after you left I guess.”

Most of the table remained silent. Simon wondered what they had seen. He was about to ask when Doc said, “You know what that guy looked like to me? A mob lawyer.”

Simon looked at him in dismay as everything seemed to fit together. Who else would be so interested in a mind control technique that really worked and that earthly science didn’t know how to detect or how to deal with.

Simon asked, “What did everyone else see? I think I lost a few minutes somehow.”

Todd rolled his eyes, and Simon wondered what he was annoyed about now. Didn’t he realize the whole world had just changed?

Doc said, “After Adam said, ‘report Simon’, your voice went sort of flat and unemotional. You summarized everything we had been doing the past few weeks.”

Carlos sounded dazed. He said, “So this shit is real?”

Mitch’s voice sounded almost normal, just a little louder and faster. “There’s so much weirdness here I can’t think about it all at once. For now I want to know why the hell he did that in front of the rest of us.”

Doc shrugged. “I think the Elder advising him, or driving him, is desperate. And wounded enough to have cognitive deficits. All the same, they might have figured, ‘What are they gonna do about it anyway?’”

Todd said, “This is crap. Are all you guys trying to fool each other, or are you trying to fool me?”

Simon looked at him in astonishment. Up until now, it had more or less made sense to believe that. Did he somehow think that Adam and Simon and Mr. Sharkes had set this up as part of the game?

Daisy said, “It just adds to the atmosphere of the game. I know it seems a bit overblown, but there’s probably going to be a lot of it for the next few hours. Want to see us next week?”

Simon swiveled his neck to look at Daisy. Her too? How could she believe that?

Todd nodded. “Yeah I guess.”

Something about his stride convinced Simon that he was angry, but Simon didn’t know why.

When he was gone Daisy said, “If he’s not convinced by now he never will be. I don’t know why.”

Oh.

Simon felt like everyone was looking at him. He glanced around, and discovered it was because everyone was looking at him. He wanted to ask why but he already knew. He had had the dreams.