The Road to Nowhere

About That Night

   Emi was back in twenty-five minutes before she entered with four shopping bags and a bag with Chinese takeout food. She made sure that no one was in the hallway before she entered. It sounded like Kris was still in the shower, so she laid the shopping bags on the loveseat in the suit and went to the small bar in the room. Emiko was driving on adrenaline and anxiety at the moment. She needed a drink to calm herself down. She looked over the selection of small bottles and chose two brandies. Pouring the contents of the bottles into a small tumbler, she made a small silent toast to the fates and took a drink, draining. Half the contents. The dark liquid burned its sweet smoothness down her throat, along with the warmth came a brief release of her tension.

   "Whoa! You good?" Kris asked from the archway that led from the bathroom.

   She looked in his direction and her mind went blank. Half-naked men tend to do that to her. Kris stood there, all chiseled muscles and moist from a hot shower with only a plush white towel wrapped about his waist. Though he needed a decent haircut, he had somehow shaved his face, leaving a hint of stubble on his chin that didn't detract from his handsome face. "I've been running on overdrive since you called. I needed a little something, okay?" she replied, finally snapping out of her lust induced admiration of his physique.

   "Something go down while you were out?" he asked with concern.

   "No. Just not use to the levels of badassadry, you and Jesalyn operate in constantly," she explained as she tried not to gaze at him as a piece of prime steak that she was starving for.

   Kris smirked at her. Emiko Harada was just as bad ass as his sister and he were. Her chosen battleground was the field of mind in specific those who were either confused with their sexuality or others who despise anything other than heterosexual monogamy, "You underestimate yourself. I've been witness to a number of times you've stood toe to toe with people who could beat your ass to a pulp and win just with words."

   "Yeah, I guess, back when we were younger, Jes always had my back though. Now... Not so much." Emi replied with a mournful look.

   He looked at her with concern. Emiko and Jesalyn had always been tight even though she was three years older than Jes. Kris himself had always liked the effect Emiko had on Jes. After he left for the Marine Corps and eventually joining the SEAL teams; Kris worried that Jes would become even more introverted than she already was at eleven. Emiko had been tasked to babysit Jes shortly after he left. Emi brought out in Jes the thing he loved about his sister. Her full throttle zest for life that at times he was envious about. "Okay, You need to get it out, so talk," he said as he opened a box of pepper steak and chopsticks.

   "You playing therapist, now?" Emi sarcastically asked.

   Kris with a mouthful of food nodded, "Who better than the elder wiser brother?"

   "One. Don't talk with your mouthful. It's gross. Two. I'm not sure your capable of understanding..."

   "That you're in love with my sister and your built differently than other people?" he cut her off.

   Emi was stunned into silence. How could he know that she was, what she was? "You're talking out your ass."

   "Classic aggressive response. Try again."

   Kris was apparently smarter than his over beach bum appearance showed, "Okay, wise ass. What am I then?"

   Kris smiled a wide Cheshire sized smile that said Challenge Accepted. "You are what there calling now a days an Intersex person. I believe the old term was Hermaphrodite. Means you're a combination of a man and a women."

   For the second time in two minutes Emi is stunned speechless. "How... how..."

   Kris for effect rotated his right hand as to try to pull the words from Emi, "How could I know? Is that what you are asking?" Emiko nodded as she was still perplexed too much to speak, "I didn't at first. I was in and out after joining the Corps, but certain things added up over time. Then I met a Hot assed woman in Thailand on leave before Nate, Jes, and I started coordinating our leave time. Turns out she was NOT just a woman. Then all the adding up came the answer about you," he explained.

   "What things added up?" she asked still trying to deal with his revelation.

   "Skirts, very loose pants, and the fact you wore boy style swimming trunks."

   "That's it? Really? Just tree things and you guessed what I was." Emi rambled.

   "No. There were other things like you could run off into the trees during camping trips to pee quickly and you trying to discreetly adjust yourself when you had a boner," Kris added with a grin, "but we're deviating from the point. What Happened between you and Jes?"

   Emi looked away from Kris and took a deep breath then nervously let it out, "Two night before she left for the Marines, we got really smashed and we had sex," the revelation came out.

   Kris set his half empty box and moved to Emiko and hugged her from behind. He knew she had been holding back something for years. "Jes freaked out, didn't she?" he asked.

   "Oh, you have no idea," she whispered as tears gently fell from her green eyes," Funny she knew what I was, but I didn't know why it happened at first. She was accepting of it, but she made it clear she wasn't into girls."

   He gently turned her to face him and softly wiped her eyes dry with his thumbs as he cupped her face in his strong hands, "What do you mean, you didn't know why at first?"

   Emi moved away from Kris to sit on the loveseat in the room, "Later, while I was working on my doctorate, I attended a seminar about Psion research."

   "Psion?"

   "Psion's are a rare type of human being that can to things with there minds. Some can read thoughts, some can move small objects, and various other things, "Emi explained, "In my case I can emotionally manipulate people, which is what I figure I did without knowing that night with Jes. I wanted your sister so badly for over a year and that night all my dreams came true. The next morning was, however, a nightmare."

   Kris looked at her compassionately, "But you didn't know you did it until later. Did you ever explain that to Jes?"

   Emiko shook her head, "After that it took almost a year to get her to even talk to me and I didn't want to fuck that up by trying to explain I manipulated her that way. The few times we all been together the last few years were at least casually friendly and I didn't want to create a scene since she and Nate were together."

   Kris smiled softly at the thought of his best friend and his sister together. They were intoxicating to be around to say the least. He couldn't imagine any two people being so right for each other. "I get that, but you're still hurting because you're carrying this deep inside. Unfortunately, right now wouldn't be good. Since Nate and Dad are dead. God she must be a freaking mess. On top of that she thinks I'm dead also. Fuck. How did this all get screwed up?" he started to ramble. The thought of his sister grieving losing everyone made him pissed off, "Where is she anyway?"

   "The last time I was in contact with her she was in D.C. being driven crazy with the inquiry of what happened in Serbia," Emi said, "But I could only talk to her through a secure line that was monitored, and she kept stuff really brief."

   "Sounds like her." Kris chuffed.

   An idea sprung to Emiko's mind as she moved back to the bar to get her phone, "I know how to find out." As she dialed a number, "Come on pick up, Riley"