Ansuya could read the man’s expression and his words. One could be luck, but two narrow escapes meant a pattern, which meant there was more here than they were telling him. Perhaps the suits outside thought that he had built a rapport with them and could pull some incriminating statement from them when they were here together, in a somewhat ‘safe’ environment.

  The elder smiled warmly and pushed her pheromones at the man. She had laid the ground work during her interrogation sessions with him. Now it was time. “Well, like, you know it was all so crazy, right? I mean talk about your crazy vacations!”

  Simmons couldn’t sense what Ansuya was doing to him, and his ego refused to believe that he was having his mood, his emotions, and his attitude subtly manipulated. He returned the woman’s radiant smile and nodded, “Yeah, I know, crazy vacation but that’s just it. It’s almost too crazy.”

  Ansuya nodded, “I know right?! Like, I mean, I expect to lose a purse or something on vacation, maybe get a little drunk and have a fling, maybe lose a few other things too,” she winked at Simmons, “he was worth it though.” She said wistfully as she turned her gaze upward. She shook her head and looked right at Simmons, “I bet you’re probably just as tired as we are. And I mean, come on? How could we have known about any of this stuff? I’m still in my college master’s program!” She giggled a bit for emphasis, “At least I would be if I hadn’t dropped out to travel.”

  “You are all just kids after all,” Simmons said looking around at the group. The people in this tent were so young. Ansuya was really pretty and way too bubbly to be anything other than what she said. These kids had just found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. It didn’t feel right holding them here against their will. He had checked their social security numbers himself. They were all United States citizens.

  “Oh god, I can’t wait to get a shower,” Ansuya said throwing her hair over her face running her fingers though the soft dark waves of her long hair just bouncing with volume. “You have no idea how much time it’s going to take to get this mess straight. I mean you’ve taken a shower, haven’t you?”

  Simmons shook his head and sort of stuttered at the question, “No, no I haven’t. I’ve been here the whole night just like you.”

  “Well at least you can go sometime, looks like we’re going to be here for a while.” Ansuya tossed her hair over her back. “I mean, does it make me a bad person to want to walk around without being treated like a criminal.”

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  Aceso’s pack remained quiet as they watched the effects of Ansuya take hold over the officer. The man was not weak willed, nor was he likely to just let them walk out of this tent. Ansuya was working and none of them wanted to interrupt the elder.

  Simmons shook his head, “No, you’re not a bad person.” He looked at the room of young adults. “None of you are bad people. You just got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He looked helplessly at the group.

  But Ansuya gave him a winning smile of encouragement, “Oh, like I totally get it. It’s not even your job to decide what happens to us, is it?” She looked at him squarely in his eye and the bubbly college girl persona was gone. Ansuya brought to bear all the poise and dominance of her voice and features in a display of absolute control and power. “But you don’t have any more questions for us, do you. And since that is the case, as far as you are concerned, we can go, can’t we.”

  William could see Simmons struggle with this last bit. It may have been too much too soon. The man cocked his head to the side then seemed to be arguing with himself as he looked at the beautiful woman and then at the others. He looked over his shoulder back down the small tunnel that separated the waiting tent from the tent with the two suits.

  He slowly nodded, “As far as I’m concerned, you’re free to go.” He stood up and slowly made his way back through the tunnel. Without looking back, he muttered while shaking his head, “I just wish that was my decision to make.”

  After he had disappeared down the tunnel Ansuya turned to Katherine, “Well, Sage you heard the man.”

  Katherine easily picked up on the verbal queue from the elder. She hid a half smile and quickly found the membrane between this reality and that of the Whyte Plain. She ran her mental fingers along the surface of it and pushed.

  The two suits rushed into the waiting tent a few moments later, dragging Simmons with them. The tent was empty. They scrambled around, looking for any tears or holes in the tent where the suspects might have gotten out. There were none.

  One of the suits turned to Simmons, “What in the hell did you tell them?” The suit was still calm and controlled, even after losing track of material witnesses to a mass murder and possible mutiny at sea. It was as if nothing could faze this man. It unsettled Simmons just a little bit; the pure cold that radiated from him, no emotion, no mistakes.

  Simmons stuttered for a moment, “I…I didn’t tell them anything. They’re just kids that were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “What did you tell them,” the suit asked again, calmly.

  Simmons eyes searched the floor as he tried to think of what he said, “I think…the last thing I said to them was ‘As far as I’m concerned, you’re free to go.” The suit regarded him carefully as Simmons threw up his hands in defense, “But I know I said that wasn’t my decision to make. I didn’t do anything.”

  The suit let his eyes roam over the waiting tent one last time. They had set up cameras in here for just this reason. They would go over the footage and find out what happened. If Coast Guard Commander Simmons had had anything to do with the witnesses’ slash suspects escape, then it would be him that would pay. For now, though, he had time. And forensics hadn’t finished their tests yet.