Youssuf Nadir Alhek stands in the middle of the training room of the seized school. There are a few armed terrorists at the windows, but that is a mere formality. Youssuf is in no danger. His mind can sense the though of whoever is near a radius of two hundred metres. No one can sneak upon him.
It's his bless. And his damnation. Since he was a child, the though of peoples have opened his mind. He matured faster than any other child. The though of his mother, of his father, of brothers and sisters, of teachers and imams, of leaders of the revolt in his hometown disoriented him at first, and then surprised and disgusted him. All the talks and the teaching and the warnings and the praises... most of them false. Anything was said by everyone always with the secret hope for a personal purpose.
And more people Youssuf met, more he grew disillusioned... but the bullets of the Israeli army over his Palestinian village were real, and so, like many of his friends, he choose the revolt. In fact, he was finally finding honesty in the minds of some men and women... the kamikazes that were giving their life for the cause. Not their leader, that were using them like cannon fodders, a mere device for higher political machinations... but themselves, all genuinely believers in a better world.
Youssuf loved them, and tried to follow in their footstep... but his abilities became obvious soon, and although feared, he was quickly regarded as a superior weapon in the War with Israel, America and the western world. It came the training in Pakistan and Indonesia, the first small mission and a few more. And then, this one... his first real mission...
Youssouf knew who would have to meet. Operating in Turkey, it would have triggered NATO answer. And NATO mean Avant Guarde. And Phil Smith, his counterpart in the western world.
Youssuf scans the surround, discarding though after though the mind of pupils, of teachers, of his comrades. Trying to stretch his own limits, he gets small glimpses from the mind of guards positioned behind trees and cars in the streets around the school. But the military operatives, and the Avant Guardists are too far, outside his power.
Youssuf grins. Cowards, they are a bunch of cowards. Even the great Phil Smith don't dare to show up, thinks triumphantly the metahuman terrorist. He stands up, laughing of the smallness of those men, when a piercing though hits his mind. Though forming and changing at a speed rate he never experienced before. They have sent the speedster.
The man grins again, as his hand brings the walkie talkie near his mouth. As soon as his contact with Tobias Christopher's mind becomes steadier, he instantly knows the plan, as he was explained to the meta. Arabic words begins to be shout in the communicator device, and reach the men positioned across the school, ready to shoot, or to bomb, or to execute hostage.
The plan of Avant Guarde is simple, even crude, thinks Youssouf, as it is based over Tobias velocity to enter the school and seize himself, to eliminate the only advantage the terroists have. Fools, thinks the meta, when suddenly he feels a different voice in the head of Christopher, that order to retire. The Avant Guardist in mere instant is away, unreachable by the terrorist mindreader. "Smith!," exclaims Youssuf, "that order was Smith's voice!" Why he gave the order? Did he feel his own mind, his own though, learning he was ready to counteract? Is Smith so much powerful than Youssuf, encompassing the boundaries of his reading ability?
A high piercing scream makes the windows on the south facade of the school to explode inwards. The though of Brianna Fionnghuala, attacking with a jet backpack from north, are suddenly evident to the Palestinian. The experimental devices is of risible autonomy, but allow her to reach for the roofs. From there, he can easily take down the few men put there, that were expecting 'copters, and not a screaming she devil. The rest of the plan unfolds in Youssuf's mind, and he prepares to shouts the orders to counterattack, when the woman change suddenly direction, at the order of retreat, again forming inside of the mind of the Avant Guarde operative from nowhere. Again Smith, assuredly.
What is happening? What are they trying to do? Testing himself? Trying to find the limits of his abilities?
Enough with that non sense. Youssuf takes the radio and barks inside the radio at the officer at the other end. "Are you mad? We'll blow the whole school if you keep doing this stunt".
On the other side, near the officer, stands Danny Hearn. His expression stiff, just a muscle over the neck vibrate for the tension. This is the only possible plan, thinks the Australian. Each Avant Guardist has been taught a different plan for the mission. Phil Smith is the only to know the true plan, which is made with parts of each plan known to the other Avant Guarde operative, and he is enough far from Youssuf to be mind-scanned.
"Drake, go!" Danny yells in his mouthpiece, as Brianna lands safely back among the military forces.
Drake Marshall depart. His attack will come from the sewers. For what he knows, it will be a suicide attack, as there will be no way to pass across the defensive terrorist forces to get to Youssuf. But with his healing factor, suicide missions are the norm for him.
What he doesn't know, is that he will be made to retreat just after a few minutes, when much of the terrorist will divert to the sewers themselves. At that point, Ben Phillips will do the last of the diversion, bringing Youssuf near the broken windows. Dirk Bell will have to kill him and his escort from afar, and then Chance will replace him, in time for the return of most of the terrorist from the sewer hunt. And with Chance posing as the leader, the rest of the mission will be child's play.
Back in the school Youssuf is excited. For two times he got the brief but clear glimpse of the voice of Phil Smith. So what he heard was true. Smith not only read minds like himself, he is also able to talk to minds. Fascinating. And he can't stop to wonder if knowing the secret, he would be able to do it as well.
Two times he gave the orders to retreat. What if...
He has not even the time to wonder. The third attack comes. As he begins to give orders, his second in command start to whine that they have to kill some hostages to give a lesson.
"No! We'll wait!" hisses Youssuf. He is waiting for something big.
Drake Marshall advances in the sewers. Armed to the teeth, he believes to be on the verge of Apocalypse. Instead, the voice of Smith resonates in his mind, yelling him to retreat as of a sudden.
What he experiences rightly after is like a breeze inside his skull. A breeze that takes force and become a strong wind. The biggest headache of his whole life. As he prays that the healing factor would kick in as soon as possible, he runs toward safety. Behind him there should be most of the terrorists, thinks.
But on the surface, in the training facility, Youssuf exults. Through the bridge of Marshall's mind, he has peered inside the head of Phil Smith.
He has seen the power. He has unlocked the secrets of the greatest mentalist of the world, and know the matle has to pass. To pass over himself.
The first to fall is Marshall. What seemed a headache now is clearly an brain-stroke. His knees fall, he vomits. He tries to keep upright but fall in the dirty water. As his mind run to the memory of her baby daughter, a bullet from a single terrorist following him pass through his heart.
The terrorists that should have been in the sewers following Marshall have been diverted to the appointed place for the next strike. It's Ben Phillips to fall next, finding a small army of terrorists where he should have found just a wall to take down with bare hands.
Third and last to fall is Dirk Bell, his position, not secret anymore, destroyed by a mortar shot.
Danny yelss the order to cease the action. His eyes pierce Phil: "You let that one to read your mind, right?"
Smith doesn't answers, biting his inferior lips so hard to make it bleed. The face covered with a mask, Chance was looking to the school. He was able to fake anyone identity, but what use was that with one that could read right into your soul?
Across a continent, in Brussels, the door of the lab where Euro was submitted to more tests, opens all of a sudden.
"Velo?" says Euro, surprised at the sight of his old friend, who has just entered the laboratory.
"Ed. Glad to see you alive. I need you for a mission" he says abruptly.
"A mission? But..."
"No excuse, man. You survived the flight, you are in perfect shape. Prepare for another flight."
