She turned to him once more. "Yes, I do actually. You see, my gift, or maybe it's a curse, allows me to know people rather better than most. You are staunchly loyal and honest. You believe is freedom and justice, and although it sounds trite and corny, you are an honourable man. As a soldier, you will fight for what you believe is right. I, too, will fight for what is right, but it's taken me a long time to get to where I am today."
"Just how old are you?"
"How old do you think I am?"
He regarded her critically for a moment, taking in her slender but very feminine figure, her beautifully manicured and perfect hands, and her lovely face.
"I really don't know, twenty-four?"
"I'm twenty. I should be at University, but I'm serving my country instead. While other students are demonstrating against the bomb or Vietnam, I'm catching soviet spies. But the worrying thing is that even I don't really know what I'm capable of."
“How did you know I was coming?”
“I didn’t. I simply registered you’d arrived and then spoke to my boss.”
“So he’s authorised this meeting?”
“Of course.”
“Say, his name isn’t the same as a famous Scottish soldier, would it?”
She smiled, looking down at her hands.
“Okay, don’t tell me, I’m beginning to see what’s going on here.”
She looked at him again, and he began to experience strange, yet distantly familiar feelings.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been a little unfair to you. Please don’t inform anyone at the embassy about this meeting, I don’t think it’s in either of our best interests.”
“Unfair, how?”
“David, I read minds, amongst other things. Normally I don’t admit what I can or can’t do, but I want us to understand each other. Have you ever wondered why you are so good at what you do?”
“What I do, you mean as a cop?”
“You’re an exceptional detective and investigator. Your success at solving seemingly unsolvable crimes is quite impressive.”
“Just lucky, I guess.”
“No, you’ve a gift too. I can sense it in you. It’s not as developed as mine, neither is it as powerful, but it is there, nonetheless.”
“A gift! The heck you say?”
“You may call it intuition or a hunch, but actually you’ve some special ability.”
“Like?”
“Do you remember that recent case of corruption, fraud and drug smuggling with the General at the centre, Finnegan, wasn’t it?”
His eyes narrowed, this was strictly classified. She smiled at his.
“Don’t you see, what’s in your mind is now in mine?”
“I may see it, but I don’t have to like it.”
“Do you remember the case?” she persevered.
“Of course.”
“Then how come you went to that village on the Cambodian border, the one with the headman with the deformed arm?”
“There was a lead I followed.”
“No, it was a hunch, wasn’t it?”
David frowned as he tried to remember exactly what she was talking about.
“You met the girl in that bar, and then you spoke to the bus driver who had been seen hanging around the warehouse by the docks. Why did you go to that village?”
“Someone must have given me a lead.”
“Yes, you did.”
“I did?”
“Well, to be honest, both the girl and the bus driver did, but not verbally. You picked up the details from their minds, only you didn’t realise it at the time.”
“At the time? Hell girl, I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Amber sighed.
“Then will you trust me to try something?”
“What?” he asked, suspiciously.
“I can help you see.”
“See? Oh, you mean with my mind?”
“Sort of. Will you?”
David looked around the green and tranquil park. This was unreal.
“I guess. What are you going to do?”
Amber closed her eyes, as Howard felt a curious sensation, as if someone was tickling his brain.
Three things happened at once.
Amber opened her eyes and stared straight at him. He suddenly recalled all the small nudges he had picked up during all his investigations, and then he ‘heard’ another human’s thoughts for the first time.
<A bit creepy, the first time, isn’t it?> she asked.
He stared at the girl.
<Don’t fight it; you have a gift, use it.>
Tentatively, he thought a reply to her.
<Is this right?>
<Of course. Well done.>
<Can I do this to anyone?>
<Telepathy? I’m honestly not sure. At the moment I think it will work just with me. But you have a limited screening gifts.>
<Screening?>
<You are a mind reader, not complete minds like me, but you can pick up thoughts about specifics, such as crimes and criminal intentions. Other than that, I think you could develop a little, but with a lot of training and practice.>
David stared at her, slightly shocked and not a little afraid.
<There is no need to be afraid, as you’ve just joined the most exclusive little club in the world.>
Then, without warning, she was gone from his mind.
“See, there’s nothing to it,” she said, with that smile of hers.
“That’s easy for you to say. How long have you known about your gift?”
“Since I was very small, as far back as I can remember.”
“You said it was a curse, is that how you see it?”
She smiled a sad little smile. “Sometimes. In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king, but for ages I couldn’t tell anyone I had an extra eye.”
“Surely some knew?”
“Oh yes, over the years, I made mistakes and people saw me do things. My adopted mother was one of them, but she stepped in and helped me. My real parents died in a car crash when I was very young. I couldn’t really control my gifts, as they were just normal for me, so I decided to get the best protection I could. I went to the government and arranged things.”
“You said gifts, what exactly can you do?”
“That’s for another time. Come on, we’d better get back to your hotel. I expect you’ll want to relax, after all, you had a long journey to get here.”
“I’m fine. Can I buy you lunch, or something?”
Amber stared at the handsome American.
“My last boyfriend graduated from university this year,” she said, startling him by the sudden change in subject.
“Last boyfriend?”
“Greg is a lovely boy, but I couldn’t face lying to him any longer. I had to go abroad so he’d forget me.”
David didn’t say anything, as he rightly sensed she was sharing things with him that she hadn’t shared with anyone else. He sensed an overwhelming sense of loneliness emanate from the beautiful girl.
“I’m not a virgin, you know?” she said, somewhat hesititantly.
David laughed while she looked down.
“I’m making a real mess of this. I’ve never met another, you know?”
“Why don’t you just tell me how you feel?”
She glanced at him with a smile, suddenly looking very young and vulnerable.
“I left school, got good A levels and found that Greg was besotted with me. I didn’t want to go to University, as found that all my friends lived in a different world. It was then that I sort of played around with the local criminals. Then I went back to the boss and said I was ready to go to work.”
“Where did you go?”
“I went to Berlin for a year and a half. It was a crazy place, full of so many people all trying different angles. The Russians and East Germans were mostly trying to get rich. The Americans and Brits were trying to do a job against overwhelming political pressure, while the West Berliners were fed up with everyone. I spent the entire time isolating intelligence agents, helping defectors and identifying double agents. The Russians have a very different culture to us, so it was quite hard to distinguish between corruption to devious espionage tactics, as they blurred the edges terribly.”