Chapter 15 The Trance

Wren

I hadn't heard from Magnum since the goodbye hug in the parking lot yesterday morning.

Somehow I'd gotten used to his little check-ins to see if I was okay, but now, nothing.

I knew he was out searching for Gavin, and that was the priority, but after what Stella said about Magnum never getting married to any girl and the way she'd assumed he'd hurt me, I felt like this was who he was.

He'd stepped in to help when the danger was high, but now that I was safe, he'd walked off, just like his brother, and I was alone again. Fine, whatever. Both Beaumont brothers hurt me, and I was back to being on my own. He was back to doing whatever he usually did.

Actually, I wasn't totally alone. I'd spent the night at Stella's place in La Jolla, which was beautiful. She'd made it very comfortable for me even though it was an upscale house in an expensive neighborhood. I was careful not to make a mess and to wipe down the bathroom counters after I'd washed my hands.

I'd even slept pretty well despite some nightmares about Tommy and haunting memories of the phantom gunshots. Today, Monday, she'd helped me put together an outfit to wear into the Knight Security office. Black jeans, a long sleeved pale pink fitted sweater, and a black leather jacket with a pair of ankle boots. It wasn't what I'd normally wear, but I felt like I would fit in better going to the office to meet more superhero commandos.

Knight Security headquarters was located downtown in a large high-rise with a view of San Diego Harbor. She showed me the front office where she worked with Brandy, who wasn't there yet. It was spacious, modern, and elegant. She then took me down a long black corridor to an office in the back. She knocked in a pattern and then swiped a card over a scanner before opening the door.

Inside were three big, rugged guys sitting at computer stations. The walls of the room were lined with monitors showing various locations, including this building outside and inside, Stella's house, and the bakery. Oh my gosh.

They glanced up from their screens but kept their bodies facing forward like they really weren't stopping work for me. "This is Locke, Shadow, and New Guy. This is Wren."

New Guy's head turned all the way toward me then. He swiveled in his chair and stood to face me. My goodness, he was tall. He looked quite a bit older than me, but it was hard to tell. An Asian guy with big shoulders, a thick brow, some pock marks on his cheeks, and really intense dark eyes. "Kanekoa Makiloku," he said with either a Hawaiian or Polynesian accent. "Kane for short," he added without the accent. Wow. He was really impressive.

"Wen Li Song. Wren for short." I also said my name with an accent at first then the more Americanized version after.

His lip twitched, and he nodded stiffly.

"Vander called him in as a contractor because he specializes in tracking gang activity on the dark web." Stella offered up his bio even though no one had asked her .

Kane squinted at her, and his brows drew together. "I've already scanned your phone and laptop, and I'm up to speed on what you've done so far." He sat back down at the station he'd been working at when I walked in.

"Oh, uh, I haven't done anything."

"You're Scarletdragon01?"

I winced hearing the name I'd chosen to use on the dark web. "Yes."

"And Sweetsong21?" Ugh, so embarrassing.

"Yes. That was the handle I used to read the messages from them, so they probably know that's me."

"Right. I saw that. So Scarletdragon was actually closer than you thought. You'd made contact with Kenny's gang and received an invite to join his server."

"I did?" All I'd ever seen there were rejections and failures to connect. I didn't know I was anywhere close to breaking through.

"I'll show you. Have a seat." He wheeled over a leather chair for me, and I sat next to him. He started pulling up a bunch of code that I could barely read because it was moving so fast. He highlighted a message. "Right here. This is the invite for Scarletdragon to join his server. He thinks you're a buyer. You just needed to accept it, and you were in."

"Oh, cool. What next?" I asked.

"You like computers?" he asked me.

"Mmm-hmm. I was studying computer science in college."

"You're good. Don't give up." He had a very deep, rich voice, and his compliment caused heat to rise in my cheeks .

That was the first time anyone had ever told me I was good at computers. I knew I had an interest in it, but I'd never successfully programmed anything, unless you counted the few video games I'd designed. In the real world I'd been successful at nothing, and my adventures on the dark web had mostly been a disaster. "Can you show me more?"

"Okay, so this is the list of handles associated with his gang. You recognize any of them?"

I scanned the list quickly. "No. Wait. Cryptkeeper. That's Gavin, Mag's brother."

The other two guys stopped and shared a look with Kane. "You sure?" he asked me.

"I mean there could be more than one Cryptkeeper." I shrugged.

"So this was the guy that was threatening to ransom Kenny Zhao?" One of the other guys asked me, Locke, I think.

"He was planning to, but he said he wasn't making any progress."

"Let's see if we can find some proof of that." Kane started tapping his keys and scrolling through code.

"Will you show me how to do it?" I asked.

"Sure. I'll just talk you through what I'm doing. First, we're going to decrypt what we have from Kenny then we're going to set up a parallel account that mimics his to see how it would look if it were running correctly. That will help us see what software we might need to get through his defenses."

I sat next to him for most of the morning and tried to follow along. He talked less and less, and I lost track of all the steps. He asked me a few questions about Gavin that I didn't really know the answer to, and around midday, my stomach started to growl. Fiona had said she would be in the office if I wanted to drop by for lunch, and I needed a break. So I stepped away and asked Stella where Fiona's office was located.

Stella brought some sandwiches, and we joined Fiona at the end of a different hallway for lunch. Her office was the opposite of the tech room. There were no screens at all, lots of live plants, and warm shades of green and taupe on the walls. She had soft, cushy couches, and she didn't even have a desk. It was set up like a living room with a coffee table in the center.

We chatted during lunch and then Stella excused herself saying she had to get back to the front desk.

"What's on your mind, Wren. I can tell you want to ask me something." Fiona clasped her hands together as she sat opposite me on the couch.

"I've been thinking about how you mentioned hypnotherapy."

She nodded.

"Does that really work? Like do you really hypnotize people?"

She leaned back and smiled. "It's not like you would think or maybe you've seen where people go into a trance and have their minds controlled like robots. It's more of a heightened state where your brain is more receptive to healing. You remain in control, but you also surrender to the process to facilitate the purpose. "

It sounded really interesting, and I wasn't averse to the idea if it could help me. "So, like what would be the purpose if we tried it?

She picked up a notepad and a pen. "What is your biggest fear that you want to work on?"

I hadn't really put labels on all the anxiety I was feeling. "Mostly I'm afraid of being at the party and everyone will look at me. The dress is... intimidating. It doesn't cover my arms." We shared a look that told me she'd seen the marks. "I'm worried that they won't believe Mag is Gavin, or he'll get hurt trying to protect me."

She listened attentively and wrote a few brief notes. "I understand. It sounds terrifying to me to face all of that alone." She was good at this, her voice was rich with compassion and empathy.

"I have confidence in Magnum and his team, but I'm worried that I'll do something to blow his cover and put him in danger."

"Those are all very valid concerns." She took my hand in hers. "And since you only have a few days to work on it, I think hypnotherapy might help. Since all those worries are focused on the one event, I would recommend some kind of visualization to assist you in collecting your fears in one place and then disposing of it or destroying it."

I liked that idea. "Like a trash can?"

"If that works for you. Or maybe some kind of cleansing with water or fire."

"Ooh, I'd love to burn it down," I said with a little too much enthusiasm .

She laughed. "We could do something where you are safe on an island of water, and you toss your worries through a ring of fire."

"What if there was a fire breathing dragon that could just incinerate them?" I'd always loved dragons for some reason I couldn't explain.

"That works too. We'd make it your dragon, friendly to you, and it could defend you against all the eyeballs and threats looking at you when you imagine yourself at the party."

"And Magnum too. I want my dragon to keep him safe."

"Great idea." Her eyes lit up like she was as excited as I was to conquer this.

"When can we do it?"

She looked at her watch. "Tomorrow at this time works. Today I have an appointment after lunch. All the new hires come through here."

"I met a new guy named Kane just now." The image of the big Polynesian tech guy came back to my mind. He was very serious about his work but was nice enough to take the time to teach me.

"Yes. That's him. He's a temp contractor right now. They're not sure if they're going to offer him a position yet, so they just asked me to screen him."

"He seemed pretty normal to me. At least compared to Magnum and his friends. Much more sociable and a lot less scary."

She chuckled. "Normal is subjective and outward appearances can be deceiving. These guys are so well trained in pretending to be what they are not, it's difficult to get down to the truth."

"True. I get that sense from Mag. So much going on there, and I don't even know the tip of the iceberg yet."

She nodded knowingly. This was veering into gossip, and I was sure she had professional rules she had to follow regarding that. I didn't want to get her in trouble.

"I'll come back tomorrow at this time and we'll try it."

"Sure. See you then."

"Thanks."

***

The next day, after an intense morning in the tech room with the team, I went to Fiona's office at lunch time again. It had been more than two days since I'd seen or heard from Magnum.

"How are you doing at Stella's?" she asked me after inviting me into her office and exchanging greetings.

"Okay."

"Still worried about the magic show on Valentine's Day?"

"Yes." I'd also been having recurring jumpscares where I heard the phantom gunshots and breaking glass at the bakery, but I figured it all stemmed from the fear of the event.

"I was thinking about it, and I wondered if it might be more powerful if you were the dragon and you blew the fire that incinerated your fears."

"Ooh. I love that."

"Let's do it. "

She had me fill out several forms and answer a bunch of introductory questions that really forced me to think about how I was feeling when I'd been carefully trying not to dwell on it for a long time. I was very nervous by the time she dimmed the lights and turned on calming music. I closed my eyes and the gentle scent of sandalwood incense filled the room. She explained the steps we'd take to put me into a trance and gave me ample time to relax. I didn't think I would be able to be hypnotized, but the combination of her confident voice, the scents in the room, and my desire to overcome my fear, helped me to release control.

Within a short time, I felt like I was hovering in a weightless dream state above the room.

"Good. Now imagine you are standing inside Kenny's mansion. What do you see?"

"There's a magician's box in front of me on the stage. Blue lights are shining down on it." My heart began to thump as I anticipated what would happen next. "The box is scary."

"Yes. Now imagine you are a giant red dragon. You can spew large streams of fire from your mouth with just a breath."

"Okay." I'd always imagined my dragon was black, but I went with her suggestion of a red dragon with thick scales and sharp fangs.

"Now, take a deep breath in, and on your exhale, burn that box."

I did as she said, my lungs filling with hot air, opened my mouth and imagined my breath streaming out in a wave of fire. Flames engulfed the box, and it transformed into a pile of ashes. "I did it."

"Excellent," she said calmly.

Suddenly, Tommy was there.

"Oh no."

"What is it?"

"Someone is here." Tommy had his gun drawn and pointed at the stage. The red dragon tattoo on his neck glowed like hot metal. He aimed the gun at someone standing where the box used to be.

"Take a deep breath and blow it out at him. You can do it."

"I recognize them."

"Who?"

A couple clinging to each other in fear.

My parents.

I completely lost touch with Fiona's voice as Tommy aimed his gun at my parents. My dad turned in front of her to shield her.

"No!" I screamed, but I was too late.

Pop-pop-pop-pop . Glass shattered at my back, and my parents collapsed to the floor in a heap. "No! Mommy! Daddy!" Blood flowed from their lifeless bodies onto the floor.

My heart shattered with that glass. My life ended with theirs when they went down.

He shot my parents. Tommy shot my parents. They died on the floor of the bakery.

It was him.

I was hiding behind a box. I was just a child.

He left and my parents bled to death on the floor .

I ran to my grandfather. He grabbed me and told me I couldn't tell anyone about this. " You must forget this. Your parents were not killed. They were sick and died of illness ."

" You're lying. You lied to me ."

I'd always known he'd lied to me, but I'd been too terrified to say anything.

That was it.

We never talked about it again.

I burst out of my hiding spot and started running.

I clawed at the door. " Let me out ."

"Wren." I vaguely recognized Fiona's stringent voice. "It's okay. I'll help you. Please, sit down again."

"No! I'm never going back."

"You can't leave like this. You're not fully alert." She held my arms, but I struggled to break free.

"Let me go!" I fumbled to find the doorknob.

"Please sit down, and we'll talk about it."

I could never talk about this. My grandfather warned me not to tell anyone.

"Wren?" Magnum's voice reached me through the haze.

"Magnum's here," Fiona said. "Is it alright if I let him in?"

Suddenly, I wasn't in the bakery or the mansion. I was in Fiona's office at Knight Security. I grabbed her arms. "Oh no."

"Give her a minute, Mag," she said to the door.