The Tip of The Iceberg

Such were the aftereffects of his psychic intrusion or invasion, if you will. Given the current circumstances, however with his heart pumping at the rapidity of a high-speed race car engine causing a surge of adrenaline through his body that cleared his mind instantaneously of any possible deep sleep hangover. Leonard shot up from the bed to a sitting position, intuitively wishing he had a weapon, preferably a gun. On second consideration perhaps it was better he didn't. But he still felt he needed more armament than his psychic ability, which for now abandoned him anyway, temporarily. It was another side effect, one of which would last several days until his body and mind regained equilibrium, and he was again restored to full psychic power. With that being the case, he had no idea whether or not the violent knocking on the door was being delivered by friend or foe. With his sensate ability on hold all he had left with which to resort was reasoning, which in and on its own had its advantages though limited. He deduced that if it were an enemy, knocking on the door would most likely not have been an option. Instead, they would've entered the room under stealthier means and with him none the wiser and perhaps still dreaming, depending upon their intentions he would have either awaken gagged and bound or remained asleep, forever.

On the other hand? Friend?

He had maybe one or two in his limited acquaintances that he could extend such a title and neither of them knew of his current whereabouts. The knocking was ceaseless and demanding. He still had on his shoes; he was fully dressed and presumed he must've fallen out across the bed in a complete state of exhaustion immediately upon entering the room.

And the dream. That dream? Though the details of it was evanescence now in his memory the impression it left upon his emotions remained vivid and haunting and he could not help but contemplate the potential of its deeper meaning which he felt had a basis in reality. Especially since his early teens – more so during and after the experiments supervised under his father - he was not one accustomed to dreaming or at least even faintly remembering when he did. But this one, this dream had a certainty about it, a quality of truth and absoluteness that communicated to him from the mysterious and symbol-laced world of the subconscious. Meanwhile…

He considered the window. Jumping out of it was an option until he remembered he was on the third floor.

Maybe not.

That would have been way too long of a drop to the concrete pavement below without something to either slow his descent or have the agility of a cat with all nine lives in Que.

"Leonard... wake up." The voice beyond the door sounded familiar. Perhaps it was a friend after all? "It's me, Gabriel. I know your there I heard you snoring all the way downstairs practically. Open up, man."

Leonard jumped off the bed, hurried to the door. With the security chain still in place, he then partially opened the door to confirm Gabriel was beyond it. He closed it, unhooked the chain and opened the door again. "Gabriel…" he started, but…

Gabriel doesn't wait for an invitation to enter the room. Dressed in urban army fatigues and sweating he steps inside, and an air of nervousness and urgency accompanied him.

"Miriam, sister of Moses," Gabriel laments, "You do not sleep, my man, you die. I've been standing out there knocking on that door for at least an hour. If it hadn't been for you snoring, I would've presumed you were dead or gone, somewhere."

"Gab…" Leonard again attempts to speak but is overshadowed by Gabriel's apparent agitation.

"Good," Gabriel said. "You're dressed. You slept like that?" Anyway, doesn't matter. We have to go.

"Go?" Leonard said. "Where?"

"Go. Yeah, as in haul ass?"

Leonard held Gabriel by the shoulders. "Calm down, Gabriel and tell me why the urgency."

"I'm calm," Gabriel said, not really looking like it. "I'm calm."

"You sure?"

"I'm calm," Gabriel said promisingly, "but we really should go."

"I don't know about that," Leonard said. "I have some questions. First off…"

"We're buds, right?" Gabriel interrupted. "Friends. Right?"

"Of course," Leonard replied.

"You trust me?"

The inquiry placed Leonard in a dilemma. As Lawrence, whom he falsely pretended to be he was of course supposed to trust his friend. However, he was not Lawrence and being who he truly was trust was something that did not come easy to him, yet not ready to quite reveal that information to Gabriel.

"Of course," Leonard said, convincingly.

"Then let's go," Gabriel urged. "I'll explain in the car."

"Wait," Leonard said, as he went toward the bed and lifted the duffel bag off the floor as well as the car keys from the night table.

"Oh, sorry," Gabriel said, "You won't be needing those."

"What're you talking about?"

"The car keys." Gabriel referred to his watch. "The car of which… should be on its way back to Enterprise as we speak.

"You're kidding?" Gabriel said.

Gabriel reached into his pocket and took out an envelope and handed it to Leonard.

"I made arrangements for the vehicle to be returned to the rental office. You can place the keys in there and drop it in the nearest mailbox. I'll explain everything, but we really need to go."

Who the hell was this Gabriel, really?" Leonard couldn't resist wondering.

Once outside, Leonard, though reluctantly and with much trepidation and suspicion nonetheless adhered to Gabriel's instruction by placing the envelope containing the rental car keys into the nearest mailbox at the corner where the motel was located. They then climbed into Gabriel's white Cadillac Escalade and drove off to a destination, as far as Leonard was concerned, unknown.

Gabriel was one hell of a skillful driver, handling the monster SUV with the alacrity of a chef working a Santoku kitchen knife and with just as much speed. Even in the busy Queens Boulevard traffic they managed to cover ten blocks in what Leonard was certain record time that would make a New York City cab driver green with envy. Surprisingly, they rode the first mile in silence. Given the sudden, unexpected events Leonard's question list grew by the minute. He was not sure where to begin and less sure he really wanted to know the answers and where it all could possibly lead. For all he knew he just may have been sitting right next to his brother's killer. He quickly dismissed his paranoia, reminding himself of the warm, positive vibe he felt upon first encountering Gabriel and – his instincts never lied or had ever veered him off the right course; he never mistrusted them and was not about to start now. It was this he contemplated when he and Gabriel observed an armada of official black government vehicles, emergency lights flashing but sirens silent, speeding down the boulevard on the opposite side of the street. At the sight of it, Leonard felt a strange sense of relief though it rode an undercurrent of uneasiness. Gabriel smiled like someone akin to a juicy secret and even relaxed a bit, slowing down his speed to slightly above legal limit.