Amber touched him on the arm.
“Thanks. You know you just have to come to me when you’re ready.”
She stroked his face with one gentle finger and walked into the hall without a backward glance. Wearily he followed, bringing her suitcase. If she was like this at sixteen, what the hell would she be like at twenty?
The next two weeks were the most effective that the team had yet experienced. Amber’s test scores changed beyond all recognition. She still held back, particularly her ability to change, but allowed the tests to go far beyond everything she had previously undertaken.
Simon Haddow was astounded at the girl’s abilities. Her gifts caused them to rewrite the tests, as she found the originals so simple as makes no difference. John Beecham took so many blood samples from her, that Amber felt that if all else failed, she could always get a job as a pincushion.
She had limitations, almost to her relief and satisfaction. Knowing one’s limitations is the key to achievement, so it was crucial for her to know hers. The main one was of fatigue. Using her gifts wore her down. The more physical and strenuous the task, the harder it became. Simple mind reading was relatively free from stress, but as soon as proactive manipulation, levitation, physical exertion or telepathy was involved, she’d tire quickly.
The other was of task management. She could read more than one mind at once, to a shallow level, but in the main, she could only undertake a single task at once. As soon as she was distracted, her abilities were severely impaired.
She discovered that her jumps were not really jumps, but teleportation. Once she realised that, her ability improved, as she was bound by the psychological barriers of limiting what she thought she was able to do. The child under the bus had been saved because her jump was literally an instantaneous movement and not a rapid jump through space.
She found her development as interesting as the scientists, and for a while put thoughts of Matthew away for a while. Matthew was relieved to see her completely absorbed by her work with the team, and spent the time discussing the future with the Brigadier.
“What happens after she leaves school, sir?”
“Is she university material?”
“Academically, certainly, but I anticipate she won’t have the patience with student life.”
“How so?” the Brigadier asked, frowning.
“She is sixteen going on twenty-five. If I recall, students spend eighty percent of their time sleeping, fifteen percent drinking and five percent working. I don’t see Amber fitting in with that way of life.”
“She might surprise you, Matthew.”
Matthew smiled ruefully. “She constantly surprises me, sir. That’s part of her charm.”
The Brigadier walked over to the window and looked out.
“I have to confess, I feel rather like professor Frankenstein at times. I fear we may have created a monster that we can’t control.”
“She’s hardly a monster, sir.”
“She may look like an angel, but think of her powers, man. What would happen if she became mentally unstable or irrationally angry with us? Could you control her if she didn’t want to be controlled?”
“No, but then the same would go for anyone.”
“I accept that, but no one else could manipulate their way out of any situation they find themselves. Imagine, the ability to manipulate their way out of a high security prison, or even into the Prime Minister’s office at 10 Downing Street.”
Matthew smiled at the picture of Amber strolling into Harold Wilson’s cabinet meeting.
“It’s not funny, Major!”
“Sorry, Brigadier, I was just thinking of Harold Wilson’s face as Amber strolled in when he’s in mid argument with a drunken George Brown.”
Even the Brigadier smiled slightly.
“The problem is, she could do it.”
“The question is, though, would she?”
“Well, what do you think?”
“I think Amber is a good soldier. She’ll do what she’s told, as long as she understands the reasons and believes it’s necessary.”
“Soldiers just do what they’re told, you know that?”
“With respect, sir, they still have to believe in what they’re doing. Even Brigadiers understand that, sir.”
The Brigadier permitted himself to smile again.
“Can you be sure she’s a good soldier?”
“Sir, I’d stake my life on it.”
“One day, my boy, you may have to do just that!”
It was on the Wednesday in the second week when things came to a head between Amber and the good Major. They’d studiously avoided each other in the previous ten days. Or rather, Matthew had found much to do that kept him away from wherever she happened to be. It was a particularly delightful July evening, so, after dinner, Matthew made his way to the gazebo by the lake.
He liked this spot, as it gave him a sense of peace that he found nowhere else. He’d sit and read or even write some bad poetry, but he didn’t have to deal with anyone else. The team were all academics or scientists, and as such, were not really his kind of people. He dealt with them more than ably in a professional capacity, but he found them hard work socially.
He sat in his favourite spot and pulled his book out. He was just settling down and finding his place when he heard some gentle splashing. He looked out over the lake and saw ripples at the far side. Standing up, he made his way to the edge.
“Hello Major, come on in, it’s wonderful!”
He smiled. “Hello Amber, how’s it going?”
“Fine, except you’ve been avoiding me.”
She was swimming breaststroke towards him. Suddenly, she up-ended and dived. In that brief moment, as he watched her feet disappear, Matthew noted she was naked.
“Shit!” he muttered, under his breath.
She surfaced in a wreath of bubbles, standing waist deep in the water.
She swept her long hair back from her face, oblivious that her breasts were exposed. Or, perhaps she wasn’t.
“Oh Amber,” he said, despairing of their predicament.
“Don’t ‘Oh Amber,’ me, Matthew. I’m a big girl now, or hadn’t you noticed?”
“That’s the problem, and well you know it.”
She laughed and tried to splash him, but she was too far away from him.
He returned to the gazebo, opening his book again. She swam to the edge and lay in the shallows looking at him. She looked like a delectable water nymph, so Matthew felt himself becoming aroused.
“Good book, Matthew?”
“I’m not sure, no one lets me read it.”
She giggled and stuck her head under water, blowing bubbles. He looked at her curvaceous back and behind. As he did so, he felt his erection stir in his trousers. She was just so delectable. Yet she was also only sixteen!
She came up and laughed at him, as they both knew she was aware of his feelings for her.
“If I was drowning, would you jump in and save me?”
“If you were drowning, you know I would.”
She stared at him with a naughty smile on her face.
“I’m drowning!”
“Behave Amber.”
She shuffled back into deeper water.
“I’m drowning, Matthew!”
Matthew looked down at his book, but unable to focus on the page.
He glanced up and saw nothing, not even a ripple. He stared at the surface for a while, but of the wayward girl, there was no sign. He waited as the seconds crept past like treacle-covered blobs.
He started to become alarmed, knowing that she was teasing him. Gradually the doubt crept in. What would happen if she had cramp or a blackout?
He stood up and placed his book on the seat.
“Amber! Come on, girl, stop mucking about,” he shouted. Still the lake surface was like a mirror.
“Bugger!” he said and walked towards the water’s edge.
“Amber!”
He sat down and tugged off his shoes, knowing she was teasing him and that he was allowing her to do so. Still, at the back of his mind there was a doubt and fear she may be in danger. He didn’t want to lose her.