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City Streets
#1: Brainwashed!
cover: Two teens on the steps of a brownstone in a run-down part of a city, an older woman's face in the clouds laughing
Allan Smale stood outside a three-story building in the South Bronx district of New York City, a suitcase in one hand and a cola in the other. Beside him, Joe, his older brother by less than a year, glanced at a slip of paper.
"So this is the place, Joe?" Allan asked after taking a healthy swig from the cola.
"Yup," Joe replied. "The place is a dump. I don't know why Granddad left us here after he died. This place gives me the creeps."
"Me too, Jailbird," Allan agreed.
Of the two brothers, Joe, age seventeen, was the taller by about an inch. Both stood over six feet in height, and had dark brown, almost black, hair. Allan's eyes were brown, while Joe's were a piercing gray. Almost unnoticeable above Joe's left eyebrow was a small, horseshoe-shaped birthmark.
Allan climbed the steps to the front door of the building and set the suitcase down in front of the door. Behind him, Joe started climbing the steps. Hesitantly, Allan pressed the button for the doorbell.
A young girl of about ten years old opened the inner door.
"Whadda you want?" she said in a thick Bronx accent. "And if yer from da goddamn insurance agency, yer wastin' yer time! We alreddy tol' ya, we don't fuckin' want inny!"
"Listen to the fuckin' mouth on the kid," Joe muttered under his breath.
Allan ignored his brother. "We're not with the insurance company, kid," he told her. "We're here to see the manager of this orphanage."
"Lookin' fer a handout, huh?" she retorted. "Why I oughta...."
"Just shut up and read this," Joe snapped, shoving the paper against the kid's nose.
"Just a minute." She closed the door. A few minutes later, the door opened again. A redheaded girl only a year or two younger than Allan stood in the doorway.
"You must be our two new residents," she commented. "Please, come on in."
Allan and Joe followed her into the foyer of the building. The inside of the building was Spartan in appearance, but it was apparent to Allan that the building was sturdier than it looked from the outside.
"I'm afraid Miss Harnagorn isn't here right now," the girl said. "I'm Heather. We call the kid who answered the door Runt."
"Cute name," Joe commented.
"I'm Allan Smale. This is Jailbird Joey." Allan smiled.
"'Jailbird,' eh?" Heather's eyes had a mischievous glint to them. "So you're a troublemaker, then?"
Joe smiled. "I try to be."
Joe, Allan thought to his brother, I'm getting some pretty intense vibes from Heather.
Funny, I'm not getting them, Joe thought back. Must be your imagination.
Heather led the brothers up a flight of stairs and down a hallway.
"This is your room, Allan." She indicated a door on the left wall. "Settle in, and I'll be back soon to process you in. Joe, come with me." They left.
Hesitantly, Allan opened the door to the room he was resigned to calling home. Suffice to say, he was not prepared to the sight he saw.
Along all the walls, movie posters from various martial arts films hung. Two swords hung crossed over the only window in the middle of the far wall. A bed sat on each side of the window. The one on the right was made, but the one on the left was a wreck. Laying on the bed on the left was a boy about Allan's age, with long blond hair and piercing blue eyes. The boy looked up and gazed at Allan. For some reason he could not comprehend, Allan felt as if the boy was studying him.
"Hi," the boy said finally. "You must be the new roommate they said I was getting. My name's Josh."
"Mine's Allan." He offered Josh his hand. Josh grasped it in a firm grip.
"Is that all your stuff?" Josh asked, indicating the suitcase. Allan nodded. "Well, the whole right side of the room is yours."
"Do you snore?" Josh asked, breaking the heavy silence in the room.
"Not that I've been told," Allan replied. "Why, do you?"
"So I've been told."
"That's okay. My brother snored so loudly when we shared a room at my granddad's place, that I can sleep through anything now." Allan chuckled.
For some reason he couldn't understand, Allan felt the same intense vibes from his new roommate that he had from Heather. In an attempt to distract himself from those vibes, Allan studied the swords above the window. Josh noted Allan's interest in the swords.
"Like them, roomie?" Josh asked.
"Japanese samurai katanas," Allan commented. "Very fine pieces of handiwork. Where did you get them?"
Josh relaxed on his bed. "Hong Kong, while I was growing up. They were a gift from my sensei when I received my fifth black belt."
Allan gazed at his new roommate. "How many martial arts do you know?"
Josh thought for a minute, then he replied, "Karate, aikido, judo, tai-kwon-do, savate, two forms of kung-fu, and ishan-ryu, as well as training with katanas, sais, nunchuckas, bos, shuriken, morningstars, and other Oriental weaponry."
Allan raised his eyebrows. "And you learned all this by the time you came here?" Josh nodded. "How long have you been here?"
"Less than a year," was Josh's reply.
"I'm not half bad with a sword myself," Allan commented offhand.
"Care to test your skills against me tomorrow in the gym?" Josh asked.
"Sure," Allan agreed. "It's been a while since I dueled with anyone other than my brother."
"What are the stakes?" Josh asked.
"Excuse me?"
"The stakes. What are we fighting over?"
"I'm not a gambler," Allan growled, turning away.
"What's the matter?" Josh teased. "Chicken?"
Allan tensed, then shot around. "Call the shots."
Josh smiled. "You lose, you have to shower with cold water every night for a month."
Allan smiled back. "If you lose, you won't shower for that same month."
Josh grinned flippantly. "I never lose."
"First time for everything, roomie," Allan said.
That night, Heather, dressed in a red lace teddy, crept into Joe's room while he was asleep. Gently, she planted a kiss on his lips.
Joe shot awake. Heather reached over and turned on the light next to his bed. Needless to say, Joe was speechless.
"Wha?!" was all that escaped his mouth.
"I have to get you out of here," Heather told him. "Your life, and that of your brother's, is in grave danger."
"In danger from what?" Joe asked.
Heather glanced up at the ceiling light fixture, rubbing her body against his as she said, "Miss Harnagorn, the owner and manager of this orphanage. She's been known to try and corrupt - brainwash, even - young adults and teenagers into serving her vile ends. Your brother's roommate is one of them. So is yours."
Heather kissed him again, this time slipping her tongue between his lips. When she pulled away, she asked "Will you come?" Joe could only nod weakly.
"Good." She stood up and tossed him a bathrobe from his drawer chest. "Put this on and come with me."
"What about my other stuff?"
"You can come back for it later. I'm smuggling you out of here, and you're worried about your clothes." She shook her hair, her red hair flaming. "Men!"
Heather led Joe down into the basement of the orphanage. After making sure no one was following them, she flicked a switch in the circuit-breaker box. A section of the basement floor rose, revealing an elevator that descended into the New York sewer system.
As Joe stood speechless, Heather moved away from him and opened a cabinet door. From the cabinet, she drew out an assault rifle and a clip of ammunition. It was only when she loaded the first round into the rifle that Joe turned towards her.
"Into the elevator, Joseph." Heather's voice had changed in tone. Whereas the Heather who had invaded his room had a warm, caring quality to her voice, this Heather with the rifle in front of him had none of those qualities. Surprised, Joe stepped backwards, onto the elevator, which quickly descended into the sewers before he could react.
Heather flicked another switch on the circuit-breaker box and said, "'Jailbird' Joseph Smale is to be initiated tonight. Orders from the Boss." With that, she put the rifle away and headed back upstairs.
Joseph Smale writhed in agony. He was being bombarded on all sides with red and white swirling colors, and a voice pounding into his head that kept saying, over and over again, "Harnagorn is your Mistress, your Boss. You will follow her orders. You will follow her cause. You are hers. And you like it."
Finally, the last of Joe's defenses broke. He straightened up in his chair and said, "Harnagorn is my Mistress, my Boss. I will follow her orders. I will follow her cause. I am hers. And I like it." Joe grinned evilly.
Allan Smale sat in bed screaming that very instant. In the other bed, Josh sat up and said, "My snoring ain't that bad is it?"
"It's not you," Allan said. "It's my brother, Joe. The link is gone."
"What link?" Josh asked.
"I've always been able to 'feel' my brother, in my head," Allan explained, a touch of concern in his voice. "Now, I can't feel him."
Josh yawned. "Go back to sleep. He's probably all right." He lay back down on his bed.
Allan fell back onto his pillow. There's something strange going on here, he thought. I'm going to find out what.
Tomorrow.
The next morning, Allan and Josh filed into the orphanage's cafeteria for breakfast. Gazing around the room, Allan gasped when he saw Heather and his brother sitting arm-in-arm together near the far corner.
Joseph, Allan thought, why can't I feel you? He received no reply.
Josh waved a hand over Allan's eyes.
"Hey," he asked, "you awake?"
Allan shook his head and blinked. "Huh?"
"You ain't spacing out on me, are ya?"
"No, not quite. Let's eat." He walked over to the serving counter and picked up a bowl and a small box of cereal. "Some things never change." And then, some things'll always change. He glanced over at Joe.
"Still not 'feeling your link' with him, roomie?" Josh asked Allan.
"No. And I'm gonna find out why."
Allan wandered over to where Joe and Heather were sitting and sat down. Josh came over and sat with them. Despite the lack of any mental link between Allan and Joe, there was no other differences in Joe that Allan could detect.
Later that day, Allan and Josh met in the orphanage's gym in order to settle their bet. Not surprisingly, Joe and Heather followed them into the gym.
Allan lifted his saber in salute. Josh did likewise. Both lowered their swords to a defensive position. Josh thrust first, which Allan expertly parried. Then Allan thrust, and Josh parried. In moments, each was attacking, blocking, and counter-attacking in rapid succession.
"You fight well, roomie," Josh breathed heavily during one of the many pauses in the fight.
Allan smiled. "I had a good teacher." Josh resumed his attacks.
During the fighting, many of the orphans in the gym had been drawn to the fight. Bets were made among the onlookers, with Runt keeping track of who made what bet.
Fifteen minutes into the fight, neither fighter had landed a blow on the other.
"Care to up the ante, Josh?" Allan asked.
"How so?" Josh inquired back.
"Each of us uses not one, but two swords," Allan proposed. "In addition, the ban of not using other skills in the fights is lifted. In short, no rules."
There were several astonished gasps in the crowd. Even Runt, the one with the loudest mouth, was speechless.
"This is totally unheard of," Josh conceded. "Still, this is the first time since my guardian's death that I've fought an equal. I accept."
"Josh'll kill him!" Runt screeched.
"Then my money's on the new kid," a chilling voice said from the doorway. Heads turned, some in fear, towards the doorway. Heather and Runt breathed an "Oh, shit."
"Miss Harnagorn." That name was breathed by several of the orphans nearby. In the doorway stood Laura Harnagorn, a woman in the mid-sixties, wearing a masculine-cut three-piece business suit. Her features were angular, and her short gray hair was cut in a masculine style. She wore an inhuman smile on her lips, a smile that chilled Allan to the core of his being.
"Now you've done it, bro," Joe whispered in Allan's ear as he handed Allan his second sword, a rapier blade.
Why whisper, Jailbird? Allan thought. Why not project, as Granddad taught you. Allan received no reply.
Laura Harnagorn nodded slowly, indicating the two combatants. "Twenty on the new kid," she said, handing a bill to Runt. "Let's see what he's got."
"Ready, roomie?" Josh called. Allan nodded his readiness.
Josh's first attack threw Allan off balance and disarmed him. Allan crouched, as if preparing for a leap. Josh charged, coming in for an attach from above. At the last possible second, Allan dropped to his back and kicked up with both legs, sending Josh flying.
Runt held up Allan's swords and tossed them back into the arena. Josh kicked them out of the air, landed on his feet, and started advancing on Allan.
Allan, on the other hand, had his eyes closed, standing still. In his mind, he saw the swords behind Josh, Josh approaching him. As he concentrated, Allan was oblivious to the shouts and hollering of the onlooking crowd. Allan, eyes still closed, envisioned the swords rising off the ground and towards his hands. As he envisioned this, the swords began to rise and race into Allan's waiting hands.
With lightning speed, Allan attacked Josh and disarmed him in a matter of seconds. Before anyone watching could realize what had happened, the fight was over, Allan with one of his swords positioned over Josh's throat.
"Do you yield?" Allan asked.
"Yes," Josh choked. Allan helped Josh up off the floor.
"What the fuck was that stunt with the swords, kid?" Runt shouted to Allan.
"Just a little psychokinesis my grandfather taught me," Allan replied, "Runt."
Harnagorn crossed the room to where Allan was washing his brow with a damp towel provided by Joe.
"I'd like to see you in my office, after dinner, alone," was all she said before turning to leave. Allan glanced over at his brother and was chilled by what he saw. Joe's eyes had become a colder gray than usual. For the first time in his life, Allan was afraid of his older brother.
The mystery deepens, he thought.
"So, to repeat what Runt so delicately put," Josh asked when he and Allan sat down to eat lunch, "what was that stunt with the swords this morning? And don't give me the answer you gave Runt."
Allan pondered a moment before replying. "What I told Runt was the truth, but not all of it.
"Psychokinetic and telepathic abilities run in my family. All the men on my maternal grandfather's side possess them to one degree or another. For some reason, Joe and I are the most powerful in the family.
"That's not saying much," Allan offered. "My abilities, other than my previous link with Joe, include a psychokinetic 'pull' that draws anything to my hands and a limited telepathy in which I need to make physical contact with a person."
"And these 'abilities' run in your family?" Josh asked.
Allan nodded. "Compared to what you read in literature today, those abilities are slight."
Josh studied his roommate. "So where did you learn to sword fight like that?"
Allan smiled. "My grandfather, the same one who taught me the uses of my powers, served some time in France during World War Two. He learned how to sword fight over there, which he passed on to me and Joe.
"How about you?" Allan asked. "Where did you learn a dozen martial arts forms?"
"My story's not quite as glamorous as yours," Josh said. "I grew up on the streets of Hong Kong, although my parents were Americans. One day, after he caught me red-handed stealing the hubcaps of a car, this old man beat the snot out of me. He took me off the streets and trained me in all the forms of martial arts he knew."
"So how did you end up here?" Allan asked.
"I don't know," Josh conceded. "I received a letter through the courts saying that this orphanage had heard about my guardian's death and was willing to take me in for no cost. Weird, huh?"
"That is weird," Allan agreed. "Now Joe and I were left here by Granddad, mostly because we lived in the northern section of the Bronx. At least, that's the official story. It was the closest orphanage. I'll be out of here in under two years."
"It's not so bad here," Josh pointed out. He grinned. "Where else can you get a barf-burger, and you don't have to pay for it?"
"Who'd want to pay for it?" Allan countered, smiling widely.
"One thing still bothers me," Josh commented a few minutes later. "Why did you use your powers during the fight, and not keep them hidden? You should know that not everyone has them."
Allan contemplated that for a few minutes before answering.
"Maybe it was time to stop hiding."
After he finished eating lunch, Allan entered the orphanage's indoor pool area. He entered the locker room to change into his swim trunks, and overheard several other orphans talking about his sword fight with Josh.
"I'm telling ya, Pete, this new kid - what's his name, Allan - there's something wrong about him," one of them said.
"And what would that be, Mike?" the one called Pete replied. "His talents? You know the Boss is looking for more agents."
"Lower your voice, Pete!" a third chastised him. "You never know if Runt might be listening."
"Look, fellas," Pete said. "I was just talking to his brother, Joe. Harnagorn made him one of us last night. Allan Smale is to be inducted into the club tonight. The dude has a date with the Boss after dinner. No matter what he does before tonight, he'll be hers after she gets done with him."
Brainwashing, Allan thought. Harnagorn brainwashes these kids, to be in her private army or something. They're completely loyal to her. And Joe's one of them.
Allan left the locker room without being seen by the boys and dove into the pool.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Allan waited in the hallway, around the corner from Harnagorn's office. Harnagorn left the office a few minutes later. After Harnagorn had turned the far corner of the hallway, Allan went over to her office door and tried turning the doorknob. It was locked. Allan concentrated, mentally feeling the latch of the door. He moved the latch into its open position and opened the door.
Once inside the office, Allan opened her file cabinet and started thumbing through the files. Inside was one for every orphan. He opened his brother's file. Inside he read a sheet of paper that said:
Joe Smale submitted to the initiation quite readily. If his brother Allan is as easy as he was, I should have no problems using them in my plans.
Allan looked into his own folder and read:
This young man seems to be troubled by an apparent change in his brother Joe. It seems my conversion of his brother has led Allan to slightly distrust his brother, and anyone his brother is associating with. This seems unfortunate, as I may have need of his abilities far sooner than I have expected.
Allan closed the life cabinet and looked on her desk. He discovered a sheet of paper entitled: Presidential Assassination Plan, followed by a list of names and places. Allan was surprised to see his name, his brother's name, and Heather and Josh's names on the list. He memorized every name on the list, then left the office.
Before he went to the orphanage's cafeteria for dinner, Allan sat on his bed and thought about what he'd discovered in Harnagorn's office earlier. Harnagorn brainwashes teenagers, he thought, then uses them in her plots to violently influence the government. I wish I knew more about her, but everyone I ask claims to know nothing, other than she's the owner of this orphanage. That kid Pete called her "The Boss". He also mentioned an "induction". Joe's file said he was "initiated." Mine said I was to be brainwashed tonight.
It won't happen.
After dinner, Allan knocked softly on Harnagorn's office door. He entered when told to, and sat down in a chair. Harnagorn sat at the desk, facing away from it.
"You wanted to see me, lady?" he asked.
"Yes," Harnagorn replied. "I would like to know, does your brother, Joe, share your abilities?"
"He does."
"Perfect. Then I assume he shares your telepathic touch." She turned to face Allan. Allan feigned surprise.
"Don't look so surprised, my boy," she said. "Josh told me all about your little chat at lunch." With a flick of her finger, the chair Allan was sitting in dropped though the floor. It came to rest in a sub-basement of the orphanage. Allan was strapped into his chair and given a shot in the arm. He forced himself to stay awake.
Harnagorn walked into the room where Allan sat.
"Have you ever experienced your brother's mind-touch?" she asked Allan.
"Yes," he replied.
"How did it feel?" she asked.
"Pretty darn good," he replied with a grin.
"This won't."
Electric shocks ran through Allan's body. He jerked uncontrollably. The shocks died down.
"How was that?" she asked.
"I needed that like I need a hole in the head," Allan moaned.
"Continue with the shocks for a few minutes," Harnagorn told one of the technicians in the sub-basement, "then start with the psychedelics. It broke his brother, it'll break him."
That's what you think, shapeless, Allan thought.
At about two in the morning, Allan entered his room and sat on his bed. He looked over at Josh, who was asleep. Silently, Allan stood up and walked over to stand over him. Without waking Josh up, Allan placed his hand over Josh's eyes.
He felt their minds link, and Allan took a tour of Josh's mind. Allan searched Josh's mind for signs of Harnagorn's brainwashing, and found them hiding in a corner of Josh's subconscious.
Allan mentally touched the brainwashed section of Josh's mind, and piece by piece undid the brainwashing.
As Allan was pulling out of Josh's brain, Josh woke up and gazed up into Allan's face.
"You went through the brainwashing, too," Josh whispered. "How did you beat it?"
"Will-power," Allan said, "And a determination to never be anyone's slave."
"So what do we do?"
"We sleep on it." Allan lay down on his bed. "And hope no one catches on to us."