CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

"Okay, so we have these two with a paralyzing phobia around authority," frowned Gaspar in disbelief.

"Gaspar, it's real," said Ashley. "I know it's difficult for all of you to believe, but you've seen it before." The men all stared at one another, unsure of what she meant.

"Come on," said Bree. "How many times have we seen children convinced that an adult touching them was okay because it was an adult telling them so? Or a man or woman convincing their partner that the abuse was appropriate and they deserved it. How many times?"

"Hundreds," muttered Tailor. "Don't make it right."

"No. No, it doesn't. Which is the point here. The medications and dosage those young men are on indicate that their anxiety can be debilitating. I don't know if that will help them or not, but whatever you did or said in those classes, Mary, at least made them have a breakthrough of some sort. Otherwise, they would have never stepped forward."

"Maybe, but it doesn't get us any closer to the person who is actually doing this and controlling it all," she said, holding Angel's hand. "What if we actually gave this person what they wanted? What if we asked those young men to deliver an address for me? Not this address, but an address. We could set a trap."

"I think that's awfully risky for them and for us," said Nine. "Besides, they've been removed from the university and are in the care of family right now. We can't use them. It wouldn't be right."

"Neither was them leading two people to their deaths," said Angel.

"Angel, brother, I know. But two wrongs don't make a right, or one right doesn't correct two wrongs. Whatever the fuck the saying is," growled Ghost.

"It's Halloween," said Trak.

All eyes turned to stare at him, wondering if their old friend had finally gone bonkers. He only stared at them.

"Halloween is an unusual time. Strange things happen. People's fears are heightened. I once walked through a haunted maze with a few men in Delta. Grown men that screamed every time something moved."

"A haunted maze," smirked Mary. "I love that! I could tell the class that this is an experiment to see how they handle their fears in a controlled setting. I'd have to get it approved through the university."

"I can handle that," said Gaspar.

"I know everyone's fears. But where would we do this?" asked Mary.

"Down near Pilottown," said Baptiste. "We have water, seaplanes that fly in and out, alligators, swamp, just about anything someone might fear."

"I think one of the girls fears being stared at, along with some other things. How do we do that?" asked Mary.

"It's terrible, but it would be placing her in a humiliating situation with everyone watching her," said Bree.

"God, I hate that. I can't imagine doing that," said Mary.

"I know, but we have to find out if this person tries to take it all to the next level," said Nine.

"He's right. If they fear darkness, we do it at night. If they fear water, we try to choose a day when it's raining or stormy, the bayous are angry. We must do this carefully or create it so that every student feels their fear and, hopefully, overcomes it," said Trak.

"But how do we find the one?" asked Angel.

"The one will be busy watching the others," said Mary, looking at Ashley and Bree. Both women nodded. "The one will be terrified but more terrified to miss the others in their fear. Trak, this is genius."

"I know."

"Trak," frowned Bree, "you can't terrify these kids to death."

"They're not kids. Every one of them is older than we were when we joined the military. They are young men and women who need to understand that there are consequences to their actions, and sometimes, that is death."

"Babe," said Lauren calmly, "I know what you're saying, but all of these kids, young men and young women, aren't guilty of anything other than having a phobia or fear. We can't cause more harm with their psyche than someone already has."

"Alright, so how do we make this happen?" asked Mary.

"I think that you and Noah have to continue to document all the fears so we know exactly what we're dealing with. Try to draw the person out, if possible, but if not, just know that it will happen in good time," said Gaspar.

"The rest of us will find the right location for our haunted island," said Nine.

"I'm sure Pops has an island he isn't using," said Rafe.

"We can't risk someone coming out this way and seeing all of us and our homes," said Gaspar. "That's exactly what we don't want."

"Understood," nodded his brother.

"Tailor, Alec, and Noah. Everyone is afraid of giants, bigfoot, trolls, something," said Ian.

"Trolls? That really hurt," frowned Alec.

"I didn't mean you, big guy," he laughed. "You're going to need to see what comes up on all the phobias, but play that shit up. Use your size to its advantage."

"Anyone play the bagpipes?" asked Mary.

"Bagpipes? Are you serious?" asked Nine.

"Afraid so. I have a young man terrified of bagpipes. I think it stems from his grandfather's military funeral. He thinks when he hears it, it means death."

"I can check with Bull and Amanda. Maybe they know someone," said Nine. "Damn. We could give this kid a heart attack if we don't do this carefully."

"I think it's a matter of weeding them out," said Ghost. "We watch as they deal with their phobias, give them some tools to use before we send them down there. Maybe we can help with their phobias. Either way, we have to try."

"This better look damn scary," said Nine.

"I'll bet a thousand bucks Mama and Ruby can help make it look real," smirked Gaspar. His brothers all turned to stare at him. Gabe shook his head.

"You're goin' to hell for that."