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By the time James saw the TV crew it was too late.
He tried to get away but they were on him before he
could find cover in the crowd.
"Sir," said the interviewer. "I'm Petey
Keen. Tell me what happened." It was a very particular
way of speaking, to phrase a question without apology
as an instruction.
"I don't know," blustered James. "I'm
as mystified as you."
Petey thought quickly. There was something strange
afoot, he knew, and he was certain this man knew something
about it. He looked too evasive to be entirely innocent.
As a student Petey studied drama alongside journalism.
It had helped him to win a job with the station. His
grades for journalism alone would barely have won him
a job back in Ohio, certainly not in Manhattan.
He already had a facility to read people but the acting
classes had refined it. This man was not shocked, he
was hiding something and Petey wanted to find out what
it was.
"They tried to snatch your case. Were you harmed?"
persisted Petey. In the background he heard the wail
of a police siren. There was no time to wait for James'
answer. Petey needed to keep him off balance, to stop
him from getting away before the police took his name.
With an easy smile he took James by the arm. "Sir,
do you live in the city? Is that a British accent?"
"Yes, I work here," James explained politely.
"And yes, I'm British."
"How long have you lived here?" Petey asked,
keeping the tone easy to begin with.
The cops were walking calmly to the litter basket.
They walked around it, inspecting it and wondering what
to do. The men were still struggling to free themselves.
"Let's get a closer look," suggested Petey
politely, and gently ushered James towards the basket.
He knew how to handle a sucker, and he was increasingly
sure he was handling one now.
"No, thank you. I'm more comfortable here,"
James protested. "I'm kind of shaken. In fact I'd
like to leave." The camera was uncomfortably close.
It deftly followed him each time he tried to move away.
Petey smiled. "I don't think that's possible,
Sir. The cops will want to interview you as a witness.
Please step over here." He was impeccably polite
yet very firm, and James could think of no reasonable
argument.
"Did these men say anything to you?"
"No. I just thought they were taking a walk in
the park."
"Have you seen any of them before?"
"No," said James again. "I..."
"Owww," shouted Petey and raised both hands
to his hair. A large hairpiece which covered most of
the top of his head, had come away. In the moment that
he turned to see what had happened, Sue grabbed James,
made him invisible, and lifted him gently into the air.
James had the experience of flying, horribly far from
the ground, but it was over in an instant and Sue set
him down on the path 100 yards away.
"That better?"
"Much," agreed James, though his head was
spinning. Too many things had happened in too short
a span of time. "Thank you."
He looked down at his right arm but it seemed no different
to normal. "Am I still invisible?"
She nodded. "Having fun yet?"
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