Mindtease

Chapter 27

Kirk rubbed his forehead and ran his hand through his long hair nervously. Repositioning his ballcap, he looked at Josh, sleeping like a baby, and continued to drive.

Kirk knew and saw what Josh had...what the now dead Katrina Vega had seen...images of Rowbotham, John X. Roe...and other images, feelings, sounds he did not understand.

It was so...confusing, but also frustrating not to know...or to understand.

Kirk focused on driving, but another nagging thought bothered him.

Joshua.

Josh had been very gentle, precise, and careful in his telepathic linking with Kirk...before it had been...well the difference between a butcher with a cleaver and a plastic surgeon with a scalpel. But that left a mordant thought...

How was Josh, with Kirk's brain and his mind, able to be so...precise? The exactitude. And Kirk had...it had been natural for him to join and link to Josh's mind telepathically. Josh was the master artist, Kirk the aspiring painter...but Kirk had the gift that Josh had developed?

Kirk gulped involuntarily, the past few days they had...relaxed, recreated, and conversated as Josh put it. Josh had said it would take some time for Kirk's mind to organize and process the information. Kirk had wondered, but did not dare ask...in writing into Kirk's mind, Kirk had read Josh's. Yet, did Josh read from Kirk's mind?

Sighing, Kirk continued to drive, glum at the thought of Josh not taking the wheel for several hours...as they drove to their rendezvous.

Rowbotham.

# # #

"Here we are," Josh said pulling into the parking lot of a large campus setting.

Kirk gazed around and then at Josh, dressed in a grey polo shirt, black slacks, dark brown loafers and red socks. Kirk saw Josh gazing at him with the same look of appraisal--dressed in a button up purple shirt, black shoes, cobalt blue socks, and brown khakis.

"So we're graduate students, or friends of a friend..."

"Don't worry Kirk," Josh said, "besides, I'm tired of dressing like a wannabe skater boy college kid."

"So a bit of camouflage to dress as expected."

"Exactly, we will be precisely what they do expect us to be."

Kirk smiled, hearing the sincerity in Josh's voice.

"Okay Josh," Kirk said, "but who are we looking for?"

"A resident here at this nursing home," Josh answered. "Jonas, or Jonah."

Kirk glanced around again, unsure of this bold move, yet admiring the large green, verdant expanse of lawn, and the larger hospital like building with its silvered glass windows and modern, impersonal boxy shape.

Josh patted Kirk's hand reassuring.

"It's okay Kirk," Josh said, "we're...visiting."

"So long as it's a nice place to visit, Josh...but not staying."

"Absolutely, one-hundred percent, definitely, and certainly not."

Kirk laughed at Josh's witticism, and Josh smiled coyly in return as both friends got out of the car.

# # #

They wandered around the campus of the facility, never quite finding a definite way into the main building.

Finally they'd found a sign with arrows, and followed the one that said "Main Reception, Visitors Check-in."

After a few minutes they found their way to a covered walkway that led to a double pair of automatic doors. The first pair slid open, and after the first automatic doors closed with a hiss, the second automatic pair of doors opened.