Mel continued, “Adam used RTP to stop the car from racing away with Maddie in it. In the process, the car flipped and crashed, killing the driver. Maddie and Paul were in the back seat of the car when it crashed, and they were unharmed, although Maddie was unconscious. Paul climbed out of the car and, impressed by Adam’s ability to quickly master RTP, he proceeded to invite Adam to join the KTP. When Adam refused, Paul pulled a gun and shot at him. Adam used RTP to block the bullet which ricocheted and found its mark by hitting Paul in the head, killing him instantly. So, in a sense, Paul shot himself with his own gun.”
There were more gasps and murmurs. Adam swallowed hard. It was tough for him to hear the story told out loud. It made it seem more incredible. He knew that the events had actually occurred, but he still secretly wished that it was all a bad dream from which he would wake up soon.
“Order,” Mel commanded.
Everyone went silent. All eyes were still on Adam. He wondered if he should say something. Just when the silence began to get unbearable the elderly man that Mel had called Albert spoke.
“Do you have any idea what you have done by killing the leader of the KTP? This is extremely bad. They will retaliate.”
Mel raised his hand and said, “Don’t jump to conclusions so quickly. The strangest thing occurred yesterday after Paul died. Instead of immediately retaliating, the other two armed men backed off and released Maddie and Adam. In fact, they had a civil conversation. One of the men claimed to be Jeremy, the KTP’s second-in-command. Adam, please tell us what Jeremy had to say.”
Adam wasn’t expecting Mel to call on him. He was glad to be offered a chance to speak for himself. This was his opportunity to plead his case, the same case he had spoken about to Mel about on the night they met. He had a feeling Mel knew what he was about to say. He gave Adam an encouraging look.
Adam sat up straighter in his chair, cleared his voice, and began. “We didn’t realize that Jeremy was the second-in-command until he identified himself. He was paired with Maddie’s former caretaker, Ian, whom we recognized right away. From the comments Paul and Jeremy made, I’m convinced that they had been spying on Maddie for some time. They knew Maddie was training me to use RTP, but they were surprised when they saw what I was capable of in person. Hell, I didn’t even know what I was capable of until I was put under the pressure of a life-or-death situation. No one was more surprised than I was.
“I told them that things didn’t have to be the way they were between the KTP and those who want peace. Jeremy agreed. He told me there are also other people in the KTP who agree with me and are willing to talk about a compromise or truce.
“He also stated that many of the KTP members were afraid of Paul and would never have spoken out against him while he was in charge. Jeremy seemed to show no remorse that Paul was dead. He’s in favor of meeting with you all to discuss a peace treaty. However, he did stress that we need to move on it quickly because he also fears that the hostile members of the KTP will try to retaliate soon. He doesn’t know how long he can hold them off. He wants to meet within the week.”
At this, people began shifting in their seats and murmuring.
A plump, middle-aged woman with tight, black curls and the name ‘Wyndolyn’ displayed at the bottom of her screen, spoke up.
“It’s probably a trap. They want to get us together so they can kill us all at the same time. They don’t have any mercy. I’ve never known a KTP member to be peaceful. It doesn’t seem right.”
Many people nodded their heads in agreement.
Adam said, “I agree it could be a trick. No one can know for sure. But I saw the look on Jeremy’s face. He seemed sincere. And the fact that he backed off and didn’t try to harm us makes me believe him even more. My gut feeling is that he is telling the truth. He let us go peacefully. Have you ever heard of that happening?”
The woman stared at Adam in disbelief. Several people shook their heads. It seemed as if some of them were beginning to believe it too. Mel nodded for Adam to continue.
“I believe that a bully effect has been going on for all these years,” said Adam. “The peaceful ones have always backed down when confronted by the KTP. Maddie and I witnessed firsthand that, if you stand up to the KTP, they will back down. This might be our chance to form an alliance, not just for the twelve of you, but for all of the peaceful ones.
“If we show up in force, like Martin Luther King Junior’s marches of peaceful resistance, at a time when the KTP is weakened from the death of their leader, I believe they will back down and listen to our pleas for peace.
“It will take them some time to mourn the loss of their leader and regroup. This might be the perfect opportunity for you all to be able to live in freedom—freedom from the oppression, freedom from having to hide and live under aliases, and freedom from having to wonder every day if and when the KTP will find you and enslave you or, even worse, kill you.
Maybe this is your chance to change things for the better so that you don’t have to live like this. And although you’ve managed to do it well for so many years, you can’t experience life to the fullest unless you are completely free.”
Adam searched the group’s faces to see if he was getting through to anyone. Some
