Chapter two
Harvey Schlemerman sat at the bar in the Roc's Roost, watching Ruby Thursday do her part in recruiting Hugh Jones to the cause. He sipped an Irish Coffee and scanned the room for any strong emotions anyone was having that might mean trouble. As often happened when he was doing this sort of multi-tasking, he thought about how his life had gone right and wrong over the years.
As a young man in Rhode Island years ago, he had expected nothing more out of life than to take over his father's bookkeeping business when the old man retired. But then he had met a young woman into yoga, meditation and all things mystical and he'd wanted to impress her. He began studying what she was interested in just to have a reason to talk to her, and then found he had a knack for using his mind in surprising ways.
He'd quit the family business, and developed a mindreading and fortunetelling act for a traveling carnival to give himself freedom to learn all he could about magic, mysticism and the hidden power of the mind. He often remembered that as the most fun he'd had in his life. First as Harvey the Amazing, then more successfully as "Chondu the Magician," made up to look slightly less Jewish and more of the "Mystic East.".
Years on the road, performing, studying and practicing what magic he had learned. Looking into the minds of decent people, giving them helpful hints using whatever he could glimpse of their futures. Sending frightening haunting visions into the minds of those with guilty consciences. Lecturing on yoga and performing stage magic with just enough real sorcery to widen the experiences of ordinary people. It was fun. Moreover, it left him wanting to REALLY show people how much potential the average mind had, if you REALLY learned to use it.
Then he had met Nagan and Morgan, and gotten pulled into their plans. It wasn't FUN exactly, but it had been… interesting. Changing a few lives at random was fun, but planning on MASSIVE changes was a true great work to attempt
Ruby's thoughts tended to be too fast for Harvey to read easily. She wasn't technically human anymore and her mind ran far faster than any other he had ever encountered. But Jones was easy to read, all greed and ambition and a hunger for power. The patrons around them were all in their own little worlds.
He also scanned the room for eavesdroppers, spies, and security risks. But once a meddler in the lives of others, ALWAYS a meddler.
One couple in the corner were there having lunch after cheating on their spouses. For old time's sake, Harvey found the old buried memories of why they had originally loved their spouses and cranked them up to maximum. Later on, perhaps at least one of them would try to salvage their marriage.
A teenage girl eating with her family was anxiously tuning out their sniping at each other, wishing she had the courage to do something, ANYTHING to get them all to shut up and at least ACT like they got along. Harvey murmured a quick enchantment to give the girl recurring dreams with the theme "life does get easier when you leave home and go to college." Seeing that she loved music but was being pressured to become a lawyer like her mother, he decided to add a "don't do what your parents want, do what makes you happy" theme to the dreams as well.
Cheering up a depressed teen AND sparing the world another lawyer. That should count as two good deeds for the day…
Suddenly his ears picked up the crashing of glass and the firing of automatic weaponry, as his telepathic senses were flooded with the panic of the patrons and the anger and violent intent of those swinging into the penthouse from above. He recognized the green coveralls and cowls of HYDRA.
A quick count. Twenty four foot soldiers, one officer. Harvey was a mind reader, a hypnotist, a spell caster but honestly not in the "big leagues." When he tried to mind control or stun more than three people at once, he got blinding migraines and tended to faint. He was pretty sure Ruby couldn't handle the remaining 22 soldiers on her own.
Merely snapping one's fingers and having an army of elementals or demons APPEAR wasn't as easy as people assumed. But what Harvey wouldn't give for some golems right now. Or even a few imps.
"Maybe we're lucky and they aren't here for me or Ruby…" the thought.
The HYDRA soldier thinking the most "I'm in charge" thoughts in the bunch stepped forward. "Hugh Jones, you are now the prisoner of HYDRA! None of you interfere or you will be executed!"
"…. Of course." Harvey groaned to himself as he raised his hands in what looked like surrender but was actually preparing to cast "Dennak's Bolts of Bedevilment." Jones was expendable; all the Headman's PLANS were expendable. Just none of The Headmen were.
Harvey screwed up as much courage as he had, which wasn't much. They can take Jones, but if so much as a single gun barrel pointed at Ruby, he would have to act. Who knows, if he hit EVERY person he aimed at AND every single bullet missed him and Ruby AND all the rest of the HYDRA agents had heart conditions AND he could get that teleportation spell to work…
But fortunately all they wanted was Jones. Their easiest way to get billions of dollars in capital and dozens, HUNDREDS of useful pawns in the rich and famous set, and HYDRA took him right out of their grasp.
The HYDRA commandos threw a bag over Jones's head, cuffed his hands behind his back, and threw him out the window into a HYDRA hovercar outside. The commandos followed, shooting several bursts of gunfire into the ceiling.
The hovercar flew off with a HUMMMMMMM….
Silence as the crowd sat in shock. Then the silence was broken.
#$ &%*! Ruby swore.
"#$ &%*-ing HYDRA! #$ &%*-ing AIM, #$ &%*-ing Doctor #$ &%*-ing DOOM! I am SO SICK OF THIS #$ &%*-ing ✴#!
*RUBY, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE…* Chondu the Magician sent to her telepathically. *WE WILL COME UP WITH ANOTHER PLAN, WE ALWAYS DO."
She nodded at the voice in her plastic nanotech mind, and ran over the still-cowering restaurant patrons, heading for the door as Harvey held it open for her.
"We need to come up with a plan to DESTROY anyone who messes with our plans," she grumbled as they ran for the express elevator.
"And a plan to have more firepower. More help on the overall goal for worldwide influence." Harvey agreed.
"How are we supposed to compete?" Ruby stomped her foot in irritation as she stepped onto the elevator, throwing the occupant out. "Don't get me wrong, I'm awesome. You're great. Arthur is a genius. Jerry is almost beyond belief. But come on. AIM, HYDRA, Zodiac, LEVIATHAN…"
"Dr. Doom, Red Skull, Mandarin, Golden Claw…" Harvey listed as the doors closed.
"Magneto, Apocalypse. Mole man, for crying out loud!" Ruby slapped the wall. "Who ISN'T trying to take over the world?"
"We all do get in each other's way. Should we consider some partnerships with any of them? I know Arthur is against it, but…" Harvey shrugged. "We could probably make more of an impact."
"NO. Most of the others are fascists, genocidal maniac power freaks. Nihilists, Nazis or control freaks. Working for them would be worse than giving up and going back to our OLD careers."
Harvey had liked his old career but he understood what she meant. Being a big fish in a small pond was all right for a while. But being the biggest fish in all the oceans was tempting, if you can find away.
As the elevator doors opened at the ground floor, Harvey Schlemerman stood up a bit straighter, and whispered dramatically, "I have an idea…"
"Speak up Harvey, I hate when you get all theatrical. I can never hear you."
"I SAID I HAVE AN IDEA!" he shouted as they ran out through the lobby. "I'll tell you when we meet the others tonight, I want to work out some details!"
Ruby took the first cab at the cab stand, Harvey took the second. She was curious what the magician had in mind. But she knew better than to ask a magician his secrets. Best to just wait and see the show.