An Enemy Scheme's (Page 26)

~~~(POV: Dannon Mayer)~~~

~~~(Location: Mayer Ranch, Umatilla County, Oregon)~~~

~~~(Date, Time, Year: May 24th, 11:21 AM PST, 2022)~~~

~~~(Current Age: 21 years)~~~

I walk back into the house and take off my work boots. Regular chores and maintenance of the ranch are done. Leaving me a Tuesday to myself. I look toward the broken TV in the living room and remember what happened yesterday.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen her outburst in rage. Mom is having a tough time with all of this.

Congress should be in the middle of their meeting. Since our TV is broken, there isn't a way for us to see any visual updates via the news channels. Our phones still work, and based on that, I can say Mom isn't going to watch.

She's not a big phone person, and neither am I.

Speaking of her, she's not actually here right now. She's meeting some friends for lunch at a diner in town. I'm really glad she's not isolating herself anymore on my account. She's spent too many years of her life doing that.

I make my way upstairs and change into some clean clothes. Once I'm finished, I hear my phone go off. I'm not usually one to get texts besides from Mom. So I pick it up and see that it's from an unknown number.

[Hey, Dannon! It's Mark Jones from Jones Family Diner. I'm sorry for personally reaching out to you, but your Mom is here with some of her friends. I look after my customers, and I think someone is watching your Mom. Thought you should know.]

It's a strange text to get out of nowhere. I don't know how a random person got my number. This feels fishy to me. If Mom's in trouble, she'll scream or yell for me.

There isn't a reason for me to race down there for what feels like a setup. Strangely, the military doesn't seem involved. I don't hear anything from the buildings across the street. Still, maybe I should head down there and check it out.

Not wasting any time, I make my way outside and lift off the ground. No need to rush, so I don't break the sound barrier. Instead, I gently fly through the clouds into town. This will be the first time I'm using my powers in the public eye with my normal clothes on.

Once I'm over the town, I slowly descend and find Jones Family Diner, landing outside in the small parking lot. People walking around the area stop and pull out their phones, taking pictures or recording me.

Instead of going inside, I use my X-ray vision and search the diner, seeing if there are, in fact, any people of suspicion. The man who owns and runs the diner is standing at the front counter. After a few seconds of searching, I don't find anything.

This feels like a misdirection, but Mr. Jones himself isn't up to anything. He's a regular worker. He doesn't have a wire or an earpiece.

"To whoever is watching or listening to me right now. I don't take kindly to my Mother being used to draw me places."

While I don't hear or see any listening devices nearby or in the general area. I don't underestimate the US government or private powers with the capital to do something like this.

As I'm about to take my leave, the front door to the diner opens, and Mom comes out laughing with her friends.

"Yeah, I can't believe I got away with that! I'm surprised he never figured it out."

I wasn't listening to her conversation with her friends, but from the sounds of it, they were reliving some stories from before she had me.

Once they were halfway down the small steps that led into the diner, she and her friends noticed me, putting an end to the conversation. Mom gave me a worried look, knowing that I wouldn't be here if it weren't something important.

"Sorry, I think my son needs something. I'll talk with you guys later."

She quickly dismisses herself, and on her approach, her two friends look at me and give nervous smiles. Before leaving for their cars too. My attention falls back on Mom as she stops in front of me and looks at me with concern.

"What's the matter, sweetie? I know you and that's not a look that says something good."

Since she's not in any danger and nothing around the area is suspicious, there are only a limited number of explanations. Either the man or men who looked suspicious are gone now, or this is an elaborate plan.

I smile down at her, and she eases a bit seeing that. I could tell her and make her worry, but I don't know if that's a good idea. Knowing the danger will help her stay vigilant, though, so telling her seems like a better idea.

"I got a text from Mark Jones, the owner of the diner, telling me that some strange men were watching you. I decided to come to and see if there is any credibility."

She looks at me with confusion and then turns to look through the glass front door of the diner. She walks inside and makes her way to the front counter. Instead of just waiting outside, I follow her in.

As I entered the diner, all the conversations and voices went silent. There wasn't a sound except for the soft footsteps of my Mom's shows. 

I stand behind her as she looks at Mr. Jones. His features show a nervous and stressed look. He's a man in his late 40s, and I know from passing remarks that he has a rather large family. Not all of them live in the area, though.

"Mark, did you text my son saying that someone was watching me and being weird?"

The man's face gains complete confusion. Just that genuine reaction alone tells me he doesn't know what she's talking about. His heart rate, blood pressure, and adrenaline all say there is no deceit.

Even his breathing is normal and even. All these things together tell me he has nothing to do with this. Instead of answering right away, he pulls out his phone and opens his recent texts.

"I don't know where this is coming from, Eloise. But I don't have Dannon's or your number in my phone."

While they're talking, I pull out my phone and open the text message. I see the number it was sent from. Since his number is visible from his recent texts, I compared the two numbers, and they don't match.

"The numbers don't match."

The confused conversation they're having ends as they both look at me. I hold my phone up to Marks and compare the two numbers for them to see. Realizing that someone used Mark's identity to draw me here.

Mom unconsciously takes a step closer to me and starts to look around the diner. Mark doesn't look thrilled that someone is imitating him, either.

"Someone's messing with me..."

The words leave my lips slowly. I'm thinking about all the possibilities. I have a feeling this incident is connected to Mr. Adkins and Mr. Jackson. Whoever they're working for is testing me or something related to me.

"Sorry for bothering you with this, Mr. Jones. You've been an unwitting party in someone's attempts to mess up or get to me."

He releases a nervous chuckle and then a small sigh. Rubbing the back of his head as he does. He's a rather easygoing man.

"Don't worry about it, kid. I'm sorry you're dealing with this kind of bullshit. It must not be easy."

That it isn't.

Mom follows close behind me as we exit the diner. I can only imagine what's going through her head. Someone is watching and tailing her. Stalking her, essentially. 

We both get into her car, and she pulls out of the parking lot and onto the road. As we're driving down the street, a group of construction workers are directing traffic.

Once we reach our turn, we're told to halt.

These are the moments I'm glad I can fly everywhere. The construction worker signals us to come, but as we're in the middle of the intersection, the roar of a huge truck takes my attention.

The world slows down instantly for me. A massive dump truck barrels at us. I step out of the car and calmly walk to the other side, Opening Mom's door and gently pulling her out. As I slowly float into the air, time starts moving faster again.

In the next second, the car is slammed into and goes screeching down the road with the dump truck. 

"Ahh, what the hell!?"

Mom doesn't know what just happened, so she's a bit disoriented and scared.

Someone targeted my Mother.

And I'm not happy.

"What's going on!? Are you okay!!?"

She inspects like a worried Mother does. I slowly float back down to the ground and land with my left foot first. I let my Mom go, and she stands next to me. Staring at the car she's been driving since I was 13 years old.

All around us, there are people recording on their phones. 

"Someone just tried to hurt you..."

The sheer anger and hate in my voice can't be hidden. I've never felt this way in my entire life.