NANOVISION: What Would You Do With X-ray Vision? (15 page)

Daniel listened
intently to Paige’s story, lending her moral support, but didn’t give it a lot
of thought. He was just happy to be heading back home. Hopefully his nightmare
would soon be over and of course he was anticipating his night with Paige.

When they arrived
at the Hyatt Regency, Paige pulled into valet and had the car parked. She then
took Daniel inside where she surveyed the blackjack tables.

Daniel was
perplexed. “So why are we here,” he asked. “I thought we were going to your
friend’s condo?”

Paige snuggled up
to him, looping her arm around his. “Yeah we are, but I was kinda hoping you
could show me what you did earlier today first.”

Daniel wasn’t
keen on the idea. “Paige, I’m not sure. This is a big place. They might not
like it.”

“Oh pooh,” she
countered. “You can’t help it if you have a psychic ability. There’s no law
against it. Besides, we need the money. How much do you have left?”

“I don’t know
− a couple hundred maybe.”

“Yeah, and we’re
going to need gas, food, and a place for me to stay when we get there, and
don’t forget I’m giving up a day or two of work.”

Daniel still
wasn’t convinced and Paige was forced to rely on her feminine wiles. She leaned
in close to his ear and whispered, “Daniel, we’re not robbing a bank, and I do
want to help you, but we’re going to need some extra cash.”

Her hot, sexy
breath was more than enough to send him over the edge.

“Okay,” he sighed
in resignation.

The next couple
of hours were a total blur for Daniel as Paige took control. She led him to a
six deck blackjack table where she sat on third base with Daniel standing
behind her. Her position on the table gave her the most control over the
outcome of each hand, and as the cards were dealt Daniel whispered in her ear,
telling her what to do. At first, the other players on the game were outraged
with her stupid moves. Her play was ludicrous. She was hitting when she should
have stayed, staying when she should have hit and splitting, hell, she was
splitting her cards against tens and aces and everything else−but she was
winning; and for the most part so were they. So everyone went along for the
ride.

The only ones
unhappy were the management. They were losing substantially and couldn’t
understand why. There seemed to be no logic to Paige’s play. She was just damn
lucky, and the luckier she was the more flirtatious and obnoxious she
became−and drunk.

“God, this is
fuckin’ incredible,” she whispered to Daniel, her wine breath wafting up into
his face. “You are amazing. What do you think? Should I bet three hands?”

Peeved, Daniel
looked at the pile of chips in front of Paige. There had to be several thousand
at least. He shook his head. “I think we’ve got enough. Why don’t we cash in?”

“No way!” she
responded. “Come on, we can double this.”

“Paige, we’ve got
plenty. More than enough for gas and food. And I think they’re getting
pissed.” 

“So what!” She
threw the dealer a couple black checks. “Here you go, honey. For your trouble.
I know what’s it’s like to be paid crap.” She waved her half empty glass of
wine, hollering to the cocktail waitress. “Can I get another glass of
Chardonnay?”

More than a
little hot, Daniel leaned over and got in Paige’s ear. “Come on, let’s go,” he
said. “You don’t need any more to drink.”

Paige pulled
away, pouting. “No! Come on, sit here with me.” She patted the empty seat next
to her. “Come on, sit. Come on, honey. We can make a lot more.”

Daniel took in
Paige’s bleary eyes and flushed face. She was swaying back and forth, and it
was more than he could handle−he glared at her. “No! I’ve had enough. I’m
leaving. See if you can do it on your own. I’ll find another way home.”

Without another
word he walked away, leaving Paige alone at the blackjack table. In drunk
indifference she flipped off everyone who was staring at her.

“Fine! I don’t
need this shit!” she shouted. She downed the last of her wine and scooped her
chips off the table, raking them into her purse.

Utterly peeved,
Daniel headed for the nearest exit, only to find himself outside at the rear of
the hotel near the fire pits that overlooked Lake Tahoe. At the moment the
place was deserted. It was dimly lit and damn cold with a layer of snow
covering the ground, but the pit was in full blaze and giving off radiant
warmth. Like a moth to a flame, Daniel headed toward it. He had some serious
thinking to do. After all, he had misread Paige. She wasn’t who he thought she
was. He’d been taken in and worst of all, she reminded him of his Dad.

A few minutes
later Paige found him. She stumbled outside and walked through the snow still
carrying her empty wine glass.

“So, what the
fuck is your problem?” she asked, defiantly.

Daniel looked at
her. “You...” he said. “No, actually it’s me, I guess.” 

“Zzat, so...”

“Yeah... You
know, I may be slow, but I’m not stupid. I know why you brought me here. You
just wanted to make money off of me.” He snorted with self contempt. “Boy, you
must think I’m an idiot.” 

Paige gave him a
smug look. “Welcome to the real world, buddy,” she replied, downing the last
few drops from her wine glass. “We’re all just fish in the food chain.”

“Maybe you, not
me.”

“And when did you
get so damn high and mighty?”

“When I began to
realize you’re just like my father.” 

“Your father?

“Yeah, he had a
gambling problem.” 

“I don’t have a
gambling problem!”

“Are you sure?
Seems to me you’re a dream chaser, just like him. The only time he was happy
was when he was betting. He let everything slip − his life... me −
nothing else mattered but his gambling.”

Paige swayed, her
feet shifting in the snow. “And you think I’m like that?”

“Yeah, I do,” he
replied. “Maybe it’s your drinking or the wild party attitude you perpetuate.
It just makes me wonder−why are you so out of control? What the hell are
you doing? You’re beautiful, but you’re not twenty-one anymore.” 

“You son of
bitch,” she snapped. “Who the hell do you think you are? You don’t even know me
− and I’m not the one who left my friend, dead, in a hotel room of all
places.”

The remark stung.
“Yeah, you’re right.” responded Daniel. “And here I am in Tahoe, running... my
family wondering where I am... why I’ve abandoned them.”

“Well here,
then...” Paige opened her purse and pulled out a wad of cash, the night’s
winnings. She threw it at him. “Take it!” It scattered across the snow.

Daniel kicked it
back. “No, it’s yours. You keep it. I can get more anytime I want.”

“You little
shit...” she cursed, stumbling in the snow as she tried to retrieve the money.
“So, I have a problem, but it’s okay for you to go gamble anytime you want.”

“It’s not a
gamble for me. I know what’s coming − I can see the cards.”

Paige began to
laugh, leering as she got up in his face. “So, just wha-at the fuck does that
mean, ex-zactly... that you can see the cards?”

“I’m really not
blind − I can see through the cards.”

Paige looked at
Daniel in total disbelief. He was dead serious. She then began to laugh,
actually howling at the absurdity of his statement. 

She snickered.
“Yeah, right. Like you’ve got x-ray vision. You can see through shit. Next
you’ll be tellin’ me you can see through fuckin’ walls? God, what a hoot!”

Daniel didn’t
like being laughed at. And Paige was treating him just like those girls did
back at school. “Yeah, that’s right,” he responded angrily. “That’s what I’m
saying. I can see through shit!”

Paige snorted.
She graced him with an exaggerated bow. “Okay, Mister Superman. If you’ve got
x-ray vision − show me. See through something.”

“I’ve seen the
gun you carry in your gym bag.”

Paige snickered
again dismissing his observation. “You could’a checked out my bag anytime and
seen that. Come on, Superman, you can do better than that. Show me what you’ve
got. Tell me what’s in my purse or better yet what’s inside me.”

Raising her hands
skyward Paige began to dance in front of Daniel, laughing sarcastically as she
spun herself around and around. “Come on, Superman,” she taunted, “show me what
you got.”

“Okay,” he fired
back, ripping off his glasses. He looked at her body, studying it−his
eyes changing in front of her.

Paige was taken
aback. She could have sworn she saw his eyes glow an eerie green color, just
for a second, or maybe it was just a reflection from the fire? She turned
around again, the smugness in her tone wearing on her. She didn’t like being
like this.

Daniel’s eyes
stripped Paige down. First she was naked, but this time not quite so appealing
in appearance. Then her skin fell away, revealing her underlayment of muscle
and blood vessels. Next he saw her skeletal frame and internal organs.
Everything looked red and orange and normal. Her heart was pumping regularly,
her lungs moving in and out rhythmically−then he saw something. It was a
small blue-green lump in front of her right lung near her breast. He zeroed in
on it noting its size and position. It looked like a pea. Daniel caught his
breath in surprise. This was unexpected.

Taking a couple
of steps forward, Daniel grabbed Paige by the shoulders, stopping her
cold−their eyes locked. “Paige...” he said, quietly. “You have a small
lump in your right breast.”

Paige didn’t
move. She just stood there reeling back and forth, tears welling up in her
eyes. Suddenly, she slapped him across the face. “You son of a bitch...” she
shouted. “Go fuck yourself!”

Turning away, she
stumbled out into the snow where she fell to her knees sobbing.

Daniel approached
her from behind. “I’m sorry...” he said quietly. He didn’t know what else to
say.

Paige knelt
there, silently nodding her head as she wiped the tears from her face. “How...
how do you know? Is it... is it cancer?”

“I don’t know
− I’m not a doctor. 

“But you see it?”

“Yeah... it has a
different color. Paige, it’s very small, about the size of a pea.”

Paige looked up
and wiped her cheeks. “I’ve been getting some pain there for the last week or
so. I was going to make a doctor’s appointment. Jesus Christ! This is fucking
unbelievable...”

“Yeah,” noted
Daniel as he squatted down next to her. He reached out and touched her on the
shoulder. “Come on, it’s freezing out here. Let’s go.”

Paige nodded in
agreement and got up with his help.

*   *   *   *

The drive to the
Tahoe condo was an experience in itself. Paige was too intoxicated to drive,
and she left it in Daniel’s hands to get them there. Fortunately, Daniel was
not a complete novice behind the wheel. He
had
driven his Dad’s VW a
couple of times back on the dirt roads in Pahrump before the accident. The thought
of that made him smile. It was one of the few good memories of his Dad.

As the two drove,
Paige apologized. “Daniel, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have slapped you.”

“It’s okay, I’ve
been slapped before.” He chuckled, letting it slide.

“Still, I said
some mean things and I shouldn’t have.”

Daniel glanced at
her, giving her a brief smile. “Yeah, me too.”

Pulling into the
underground parking garage beneath the condo, Paige and Daniel made their way
upstairs and let themselves in. Paige flipped on the lights and Daniel was
wowed. The condo was a beautiful four star luxury rental, fully furnished with
all the conveniences, including a fully stocked bar and pantry.

“You’ve got some
nice friends,” he commented.

Paige shivered.
“Damn it’s cold in here. I’d better turn on the heat before we freeze. Why
don’t you start a fire? The switch is over the mantel.”

Daniel complied
as Paige disappeared from view. He lit the gas fireplace, watching as it roared
to life, adding heat and more light to the room. Paige returned a few minutes
later, carrying several blankets and a pillow which she tossed onto the couch.
“I hope this will be okay,” she said, unfolding the blankets. “You should be
comfortable out here. The fire should help keep you warm. And I’ll take you
home tomorrow as I promised.”

Daniel nodded
silently as she made his bed. It was not the ending he had envisioned at the
start of the evening, but after what happened earlier he couldn’t expect
otherwise.

Paige finished
making the bed. “There, that should keep you warm enough.” She patted the
blankets, smoothing them out.

Daniel nodded in
approval. “Thanks,” he said.

Sitting on the
couch, Paige gave Daniel a sorrowful look. “Daniel, again, I’m sorry for this
evening. Things got out of hand and I’m ashamed of the way I acted. I hope
you’ll forgive me.”