First Meetings
Brad Crawford, was annoyed, and it is very hard to annoy Brad Crawford.
He had been instructed to find a suitable fourth member for his team.
Two had already been selected for him, a child with telekinetic powers, and a teenager who was insane.
Now, Brad was in Germany, hoping to find a fourth member before his time was up and they were chosen for him.
Brad had his own special power, which he often considered a pain in the ass. He was a seer, a person who could see the future, and a fat lot of good it did him.
As the young American made his way down Berlin's crowded streets, he noticed a large white building across the street and was drawn to it.
He caught the attention of a young woman once inside, "Excuse me, but what is this place?"
"This is a therapeutic mental institution. Is there something I can do for you?" The young woman smiled.
Brad nodded, "Is it okay for me to meet some of the patients here?" He inquired.
"Of course! Come with me, most of them will be glad for some company!"
Brad followed the nurse down several halls and into a large room filled with people, the patients and a few other nurses.
"This way, you can meet Alex!" The American followed her over to a young Japanese looking girl who smiled at him.
"Alex has a problem in her brain that left her mute poor thing." The nurse explained.
Brad nodded and began looking around the room before noticing a teenager in the back of the room by himself.
"Who is that over there?" He asked, pointing to the young man.
The nurse glanced over, "Oh, that's Schuldig. You shouldn't talk to him, he's very hard to deal with at times."
Brad was puzzled at this, "Why?"
"Because he resents this place and the fact that we can't seem to help him. He's a schizophrenic and the medication we have doesn't help."
Brad glanced at her, "So you can't make the voices go away?"
The nurse shook her head sadly, "No, we can't."
"I want to meet him."
The nurse's eyes widened in shock, "You want to meet him? What for?"
Brad looked over at Schuldig, "I work for a very rich and powerful company. If I ask them to, they might try to help. With his consent."
The nurse nodded, "Very well, come on." She walked over to him, "Schuldig? You have a visitor."
The young man mover slightly, fire colored hair cascading down his back, and opened dull green eyes.
Brad studied the young man, he was very thin and his eyes had no life in them.
"Well, my name is Brad and I come from America. Will you tell me about yourself?"
Schu nodded. "My name is Schuldig, I was born and raised here. I'm a schizophrenic and I'm undergoing therapy for drug abuse."
Brad's eyes widened with shock and disbelief, "Drug abuse? Why would someone your age take drugs?"
Schuldig looked at him levelly, "To stop all the voices."
The seer cursed at himself mentally for a moment before hearing Schu say something to himself that he couldn't catch.
"What was that? I didn't catch what you said."
Schuldig looked at him dully, "I said that wasn't very nice. One of the voices in my head started cursing."
Brad looked at the teen for a moment before getting a hunch and acting on it, 'Can you hear me Schuldig?'
Schuldig glanced at him, "Yeah, I can hear you. I may be going insane but I'm not deaf."
Brad nodded talking to himself, "Just as I thought, he could be some use to Estet. He could be my fourth member."
Schuldig snapped him out of his musing, "What are you talking about? Are you going crazy too, or do you always talk to yourself?"
Brad shook his head, "No, it's nothing. Would you like to get out of here Schuldig? I might be able to get you out if you want."
The young German stared at him, a slight shine of hope coming into his eyes, "Could you really? I do want out."
The seer nodded and smiled at him, "Let me call my company and see if I can convince them to take you in and I'll be back in a few minutes."
Brad went down to the lobby and used his cell phone to call the Estet leaders. After a few seconds, one of them picked up, "Hello?"
"Sir? It's Brad. I would like to inform you that I think I've found a good candidate for the team."
Brad explained Schuldig, leaving several parts out, like where he met him.
After about fifteen minutes the Estet leaders were satisfied and Brad was allowed to bring the young German with him.
Another half an hour later, Brad and Schuldig entered the Estet main building. Brad left Schuldig in a room with a promise that he would come back and went to find his superiors.
Brad gave them the papers and watched as the Estet leaders looked over Schuldig's history.
"This is not good enough!" One of them yelled. "The child is a schizophrenic! You don't need another mental teammate!"
Brad shook his head, "I don't believe Schuldig is a scitzo. I think he is a powerful but untrained telepath. He could read my thoughts but he doesn't know what he is. The voices in his head are the people around him thinking."
One of the Estet leaders nodded his head, "That would explain why the best medicine for a schizophrenic wouldn't work for him. The voices he hears aren't from his own mind."
Mamo-san, the head of Estet, spoke now, "Bring the child here so we can get a good look at him."
Brad nodded and turned around, walking down the hall to the room he had left Schuldig.
Schuldig looked up from where he was sitting on the bed to see who it was. Seeing it was Brad, he jumped up and ran over to him. "Am I going to stay here with you? Or do I have to go back?"
Brad smiled gently and held out his hand, "The head of Estet, Mamo-san, wants to meet you."
Schuldig reached out and took the hand offered to him and followed behind Brad like a scared puppy, glancing around him in wonder.
Brad led him to the room where the Estet leaders were and went in. They all looked at the red haired German teen up and down as they thought about keeping him around.
Schuldig was calm for a moment before he winced in pain. Brad glanced over at him in worry as he pressed his hands against his head.
Brad watched as Schuldig began clutching his head in pain, crying. The seer's eyes widened when the teen suddenly screamed and dropped to his knees, trembling.
Mamo-san raised one hand and everyone stopped talking as he went down to the red haired teen, who was rolling on the ground in pain.
Mamo-san gently scooped Schuldig in his arms and stood up again. Brad ran over and pressed a hand on his forehead, trying to help sooth the headache away.
Mamo-san handed the teen over, "He's your responsibility now. Make sure he gets the training he needs to block the thoughts of others. Like ourselves."
Brad cradled the crying German in his arms and nodded, before turning and leaving the room.
Schuldig woke up the next morning with a slight headache. Even so, Brad got him out of bed and down to the training building.
"Okay, while you're here you will do as you're told, when you're told to do it. In return, you'll be taught to block the voices out of your head. Deal?"
Schuldig glanced at him, "If you say so. Will you be there?"
Brad smiled at him gently, "Yes, I'll be there. I'll be helping you myself. I'm not leaving you hanging. Okay?"
They arrived and entered the training building. Inside, they were greeted by a older man named Max, Schuldig's telepathic trainer.
Brad stopped Schuldig before they went farther inside and turned to him with a smile.
"I just got word this morning and you are accepted here so...Welcome, to the Estet team, Schwartz.
End