Marilyn Kaye - Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Control. . Did these kidnappers have any idea how hard it was for the so-called gifted class to use their gifts effectively? Tracey was making progress, but she still had to use her memory, and sometimes her mood just wouldn't let her disappear. Jenna could be blocked by strong people who knew about her gift and had worked up enough power to protect their thoughts. Amanda had to feel pity before she could take over someone's body.

Emily wasn't sure if Ken could call on a dead person or if he had to wait until someone contacted him. Martin had to be bullied and teased before his strength emerged. And Sarah refused to use her gift at all.

As far as she could tell, Charles was the only one in the class who had complete control of his gift- which made her wonder why he hadn't been brought here. It seemed to her that he had the best gift for robbing banks-he could probably make all the money fly out of the bank and into the criminals' hands. And he'd be just as willing to get involved as Martin was-neither of them had any sense of loyalty.

She was pondering this question when Clare spoke to her. "Emily? Are you having a vision?"

"No," Emily replied. "I was just. . you know, thinking."

George looked interested. "But isn't that how you see the future? By just thinking about it?"

Emily squirmed uncomfortably. "Sort of, I guess. But not really."

"Then how does it happen?" Clare demanded.

"I--I don't know."

"Personally," Howard said, "I don't care how she does it, I just want to see her do it."

"Yes," Clare said. "I told you all we wanted to see demonstrations of your gifts. Let's start now." The frosty eyes were on Emily. "With you."

Emily swallowed what felt like a peach stone in her throat. "Now? Here?"

"Yes. I want you to tell us the future of our project."

Emily took a deep breath. She looked at Tracey, and then at Amanda-Sarah, and hoped they'd remember what they hadn't had time to practice. It was mainly up to her, though, and for Amanda's sake, she had to pull it off. "No."

Clare frowned. "What?"

"No, I won't do it. I won't try to see the future, and you can't make me."

Martin stared at her as if she were nuts. "Of course they can! They're in charge, dummy. Haven't you ever heard of torture?"

For a moment, Emily thought the snack she'd just eaten was going to come right back up. Her eyes darted between pretty, glamorous Clare; Howard who looked like a teddy bear; and serious, bespectacled George, who reminded her of a math teacher. Looks could be very deceiving.

Tracey piped up. "They don't have to torture Emily to get information, Martin. They can use Sarah to get it out of her."

Clare's eyebrows shot up. "Is this true, Sarah? I know that you're capable of making people move. Can you make them think and speak, too?"

For a moment, Sarah's face was blank, like she was totally bewildered by the conversation. Emily and Tracey both looked at her, and her expression cleared.

"Yeah, sure. I can make Emily do anything. You want to see her act like a duck?"

"No, that won't be necessary. Just make her see the future of our project and tell us about it."

"Okay," Amanda-Sarah said. Looking at Emily and speaking in a very low voice, she growled, "Listen very carefully. You will do as I say."

If she hadn't been playing a role herself, Emily would have burst out laughing. Amanda sounded like an amateur magician in a school talent show. Somehow Emily managed to keep a straight face and stare right back at her.

"We want to know what's going to happen when we rob the bank."

Martin broke in. "That's banks, plural. Right? We're going to rob a lot of banks."

"That's right, Martin," Clare said, and Emily could almost detect a hint of approval in those steely eyes. "But we'll be satisfied if we can just learn what's going to happen on the first mission."

Emily acted the way she would if she was truly trying to have a vision. She let her eyelids drop lightly to make her surroundings go hazy, and she tuned out all sounds.

A few seconds later, she began to speak. "I see a big room. It's-it's a bank. The Northwest National Savings and Loan Association. There's a long counter, and a few people are standing in line waiting to see the people who work there. Behind the counter, there's a locked door that leads down a corridor and into a vault. Tracey. . Tracey's invisible. She follows a banker through the door to the vault when he unlocks it."

Clare spoke. "Tell us what Sarah is doing, Emily."

"She's. . she's doing something so people can't move. I think. It's hard to see her. She's blurry."

"What does Martin do?"

"He breaks down the door. Behind the door, there's a safe."

"Do you know the combination of the safe, Emily?" Clare asked.

"No, I can't see it. But the banker has gone into the vault to open the safe, so Tracey will see the combination. There's a lot of money in the safe. You're waiting for Tracey, Sarah, and Martin outside in an SUV. You drive away."

"So the robbery is a success," Clare said.

"Yes," Emily replied.

"Thank you, Emily." Clare permitted herself a frosty smile. "Well, we've now seen what Tracey, Sarah, and Emily can do. That just leaves Martin. But we're not going to ask Martin to demonstrate his gift right now. We've been told by a trusted eyewitness about the havoc Martin can create, and we don't want any broken dishes. We'll think of a way he can show us his talents later. Now, you're all free to do as you please this afternoon."

"Can we leave?" Tracey asked.

Clare gave her a chilly look. "No."

Back in the living room, Martin returned to his video game. Amanda-Sarah and Tracey gathered with Emily.

"I think we pulled that off pretty well," Tracey declared.

"Oh, absolutely. We totally fooled them," Amanda-Sarah agreed.

"Not because of you," Tracey stated. "Where did you come up with that silly hypnosis voice?"

"It wasn't silly!" Amanda protested.

Tracey turned to Emily. "How did you keep from laughing?"

Emily shrugged. "I don't know."

"And that was a great story you gave them," Tracey added. "It sounded totally believable, like you were really seeing the future."

Emily tried to smile. "Thanks."

Amanda was still annoyed over Tracey's criticism of her performance. "I think I was very believable. I sounded just like Sarah."

"How would you know what Sarah sounds like?" Tracey asked. "I'll bet you've never had a single conversation with her in your whole life."

While the two of them bickered, Emily crept away. She took a book from the bookshelf without even looking at the title. Then she sat down, opened it, and stared at a page without reading a word. Maybe if she looked like she was engrossed in the book, the others wouldn't bother her. She couldn't let them get too close-they might be able to see how upset she really was.

There was a reason why she'd been able to make her story of the future sound so real. She hadn't made anything up-she wasn't that creative.

It was a very precise and realistic vision-the clearest, most detailed vision she'd ever had. It didn't require any interpretation. It was a real vision of a very real crime. What she'd just told them was exactly what would happen.

It was about three months ago," Jenna told Ken. She had to yell into his ear to be heard, since the crowd was still cheering that last unbelievable basket. "I was with these friends." She hesitated. Just about everyone knew about her reputation, but she didn't want Ken getting the wrong idea about her.

"Well, they weren't exactly friends, just some people I was hanging out with because I had some problems at home, and-"

"Yeah, okay, whatever," Ken said impatiently. "What about the house?"