Being Grey (Beings Trilogy) (6 page)

I’m going to faint. Burp. Throw up. But I don’t. He brushes his lips against mine and I close my eyes thinking that I don’t want this to ever end. It does, all too quickly and he’s smiling at me as he walks away.

I watch his car drive away and feel a smile starting to work its way up to my eyes.

“Will you get in here you idiot and tell me what happened!”

Ah, the spell is broken by the shrieking of my best friend.

“And then he kissed me.” I know I shrugged the shoulder that time.

“I had to hear all about your knickers stuck in your skirt, which I remember too, before you get to the good part?” She looks a little mad.

“Well that was the chronological order.” Makes sense to me.

We’re in the kitchen naturally reliving the night.

“Chronological! Have you been doing crosswords with your mum again? Ah! Tell me about the kiss”.

“It was just a kiss.” Why can’t I keep my shoulder still?

“It was just a kiss!! What kind of just a kiss? Sloppy, long, slooooooow, tongues?”

Why do I think this would be easier with mum? “It was a brush of the lips, light but slow and over too quickly.”

“Oooh, smooth. I thought Jason long legs would have been a tongue down your throat kind of guy.”

“OK that’s enough. He has plans with the guys this week but I’m seeing him again Friday so plenty of time to work out a plan. Any ideas yet?”

“No. It’s late. Let’s call it a night as don’t forget that Glen got his job so we’re meeting him for dinner tomorrow to wish him luck in his bird watching career. If he wasn’t so career minded I might find him sexy.”

“Good night Poppy.”

“But don’t you think he has that extremely intelligent look that could be sexy? I mean I’d have to buy him new glasses. Maybe we could go shopping…”

Chapter Ten

Stefan has found a great new Tapas restaurant in the Docklands. This is our group at its best. When there’s food on the table and everyone can eat without wishing they’d ordered what someone else was having.

We are meeting Glen for dinner before his first day tomorrow.
Adrian
wanted to meet him too, so we invited him along.

On the ride up, Poppy and I had talked about whether we should tell Glen the truth about us. We know that we all hit it off and he and Stefan have already become good friends. But is he ready to learn the truth about us so soon? There are people with pure
Beings
that know about the ‘Gifted’, but we’ve never introduced one to our group as Glen is the first one we’ve all met together.

We hadn’t reached a decision by the time we got to the restaurant.

With chorizo, peppers, meatballs, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms, croquettes and suckling pig covering the table Adrian raises his glass. “Here’s to Glen and what promises to be a very exciting and rewarding career.”

“Cheers!”

Glen blushed slightly, “Thank you so much everyone, and here’s to me being lucky enough to meet you all so that I have someone to celebrate with.”

I can see Poppy measuring him up for new glasses so I kick her under the table.

But more curious is watching Stefan looking at Poppy measuring Glen up. He looks like a puppy that’s not being played with.

There are a few minutes of us tucking in to the fabulous food before Glen strikes up polite conversation. “So
Adrian
, what exactly is it that you do?” he asks.

We all look up expectantly.

“I mentor people.” Is the matter of fact response.

“Mentor people in what? And how do you know this lot? They don’t seem like the type to need guidance and aren’t Stefan and Annabel a little old for mentoring?”

Wow. What was that? Twenty questions? Is he prying?

“Mmm hmm.” It’s a pretty clever response. If in doubt put suckling pig in your mouth.
Adrian
’s nodding in the way people do with a mouth full of food. It’s a hang-on-a-minute-while-I-eat play for time.

“So tell us again what it is exactly
you
do, Glen.” Annabel asks.

That’s my girl. Turn the conversation around.

“Well I don’t know how much you know about Avian flu,” He starts. Look at us please. How much do you really think? “Well it’s basically an infection caused by bird flu viruses. It’s very contagious among birds
and can make some domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks and turkeys very sick and kill them. To try and be brief, there are strains that can affect humans. The first reported cases were back in 1997 and came from people in close contact with the secretions and excretions of contaminated birds.”

“Buddy, I’m eating here.” Robbie’s not afraid to speak with his mouth full.

“Sorry!” Glen smiles. And there are those dimples. “What I’m trying to do is find a vaccine. Unfortunately flu viruses can become resistant to drugs and with ever changing strains it is a constant battle to keep up. Between Swine flu, Avian flu, your regular seasonal flu, even going back to Spanish flu in the earlier parts of the twentieth century, millions die every year. People think there are more pressing cures needed to be found but I really believe there’s an epidemic
smouldering
right underneath us.”

“Well that’s just chipper isn’t it.” Poppy says as she eats another cherry tomato.

“Sorry, it’s a bit heavy I know.” He’s smiles shyly. Dimples again. “This job is perfect for me. I can now continue my research in a well funded lab. Who knows? I might be the scientist who finds a cure one day!”

His optimism is contagious and his
Being
flares when he’s excited. I wonder how much of it wears off to other people without us being there to help.

He directs the questions back to
Adrian
. “You were saying about the mentoring,” he says, his body language showing true interest. “What do you mentor in?”

Adrian
sighs as he looks at each of us in turn. When his gaze falls on Stefan, he nods sharply once. That was the confirmation that Glen could be trusted. It makes my stomach fall into my feet. “I mentor this amazing group of people to go out and find the most important figures of our future. To look into the very
Being
of people and see the ones that shine. The ones that will make a difference to our children’s future and our grandchildren’s history.”

Whoa, you thought you were heavy Glen.

“Ah.” For someone very smart he’s looking a little dumbfounded now. “So you’re like
Professor Charles Xavier
to his Wolverine?”

Oh boy! Once a geek, forever a geek.

“The people at this table all have a very special ability. They can’t fly, or produce storms. Their gift is very real.”
Adrian
pauses for effect. Now even Robbie has put his fork down. “They can sense immediately upon looking at someone who is good and who is evil. The good ones we help, promote might be a better word, through society.”

 
“Uh huh.”

Yeah, you’ve lost him now.

“And the bad ones?”

“We kill them.” Way to go Robbie. How to spoil good food.

“Ha ha, more Chorizo?” I try to pipe in but I think Glen is still choking on the last piece. His dimples have gone and he is definitely searching around for an escape route right now.

“If you could just kill off all the carriers of Avian flu, wouldn’t you?” Robbie asks.

Finally Glen swallows. He actually seems to be pondering the question.

“I suppose I would, yes. Saving lives is what I hope to achieve. But not through murder, because that is what I think you’re saying here.”

“Murder is a strong word, Glen.”
Adrian
’s voice is calm, almost seductive. “I think what Robbie is trying to say is that man kills for the betterment of man, and has done so since the very beginning. Even now, we are sending our boys and girls to wars in far away countries so that, we at home, are protected. We kill the enemy to protect the ones we love.”

Glen shrugs, “I understand about war.”

Robbie continues, “War against an enemy in another country is one thing. What about the enemies that are right on our doorstep; the enemy who hurt our sisters; the ones who sell drugs to our friends?”

Glen is frowning.

“If you could put all the murderers in the world, all the people who abuse children and spouse’s, robbers, drug lords and rapists in prison would you?”

 
“Well of course.”

“Do you think of them as being an enemy?”

Glen is still frowning, and somewhat floundering too, “Well, yes, I do.”

“And do you think there are enough prison cells in the world to hold every one of the aforementioned beasts?”

“Probably not, no. But you’re talking about vigilantes, taking the law into your own hands. You’re saying that’s it’s your own personal war where people actually die. You kill them? Murder is murder!”

“We’re not murderers Glen. This is a war. And it’s a war that is fought on our doorstep. And it’s an ancient war that has gone on for hundreds of generations. We find these guilty people, and we execute them. We all belong to a hierarchy that has permitted us to carry out the death sentence on people who can no longer seek redemption.”

 
“You said that you know who is good and who is evil? How? And you
promote
the good ones?” Not forgotten but lets change the murdering conversation at dinner time. Good call.

Poppy gives Glen that thousand watt smile. “We just sense the good in people. Like in you, Glen. I can’t explain it but from the moment we saw you on the underground we knew you were destined to do something great. And you got the job to continue your research.”

Albeit with a little help from Annabel’s contacts. Please don’t say anything Annabel I glare at her.

“So don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you.” Duh Poppy, Duh.

Amazingly Glen laughs.

“Besides,” continues Poppy, “there’s far too much food for us to eat without you!”

Glen, Stefan and Robbie leave together shortly after. I know Stefan will keep it cool with Glen.

“Well I think that went very well.”
Adrian
says.

Oh boy.

Chapter Eleven

“Hi Robbie, It’s
Alice
. I wondered if Luke wanted to go to the park? It’s such a beautiful day I need a reason to be outside. Sure, see you then.”

I hang up the phone and check my purse to make sure I have enough cash for lunch and ice cream.

Poppy is still sleeping so I leave her a note and head out.

I catch the train into
Waterloo
and then the tube to
Canary
Wharf
. It only takes me forty minutes so I’m a little early but I’m sure Luke won’t mind.

“Do you want me to buzz you in or shall we come down?”

“Just head on down, I’ll say hi to
Adrian
later.”

A few minutes later Robbie and Luke appear.

“Are you coming with us?” I ask Robbie.