The first time I showed it to him, nothing really came of it. But with each subsequent use, he devised more lucrative ways to use that little sliver of my gift. Sometimes between the uses, I regretted showing it to him. Throughout the years, Matt asked me to place those eyes everywhere. At first, I was more than willing to create them. However, as he continued asking for them, I grew tired of dropping them. They made things far too easy, which was something Matt never understood.
Despite the constant slew of arguments, eventually I’d relent. By then, we must have experimented for days as we sought the best way to leverage that aspect of my power. Despite my frustration with the frivolous uses Matt devised, I usually relented simply because of how dear this transformation was to me. While I’d accidentally altered the world around me long before I devised this technique, that initial glass circle was the first conscious use of my gift.
That single instance of forcing my will upon the world crystallized the breadth of my abilities. All these years later, I remembered pressing my hand against a wall when suddenly the portion under my fingertips changed. It was a subtle change, hard to spot unless you were searching for it. The only difference to the wall was an extremely slight discoloration in an almost circular pattern. However, without a paired transformation, the first was useless. Yet when you looked through that second alteration, you could see out of the discolored section of wall, creating an undetectable surveillance camera, which would work no matter how far apart the items were.
As my lips curled into a broad smile, I picked up the camcorder and traced the piece of glass secured to the front of the device. “Yes, I’m using the glass circle thing. Can you think of a better way to get intelligence?”
“Nope. It’s truly the best way to spy on people.”
Closing my eyes, I laid the camera back down, making sure not to dislodge the bit affixed to its lens. While I endeavored to keep my abilities hidden, there were several times when Matt had been close to letting out the source of the interesting tools he’d used. “You haven’t been talking to anyone about any of the equipment I’ve left behind for you, right? Not even indirectly?”
“Are you kidding me?!”
“Don’t give me that,” I said, running my fingers through my hair. “You know how many times I’ve had to stop you from blabbing.”
“You’ve got to be joking. That hasn’t happened in ages.”
“Three months ago isn’t ages, my friend.” It took great effort to keep any tinge of sternness from my voice. Based on Matt’s lack of reply, I must have blended my voice correctly. However, as the seconds continued to tick away, my eyes widened into saucers. “Matt, have you let anything slip?”
“No. No, Marcus, I haven’t been talking to anyone.”
As those words rebounded through my mind, my head swept back and forth. While I couldn’t always tell if he’d been dishonest with me, there were times I was certain he was being honest, at least to me. And this was one of those occasions.
Normally, Matt wouldn’t have objected to my prodding, but given the current circumstance, I shouldn’t have pushed my luck. I’d ducked too many of his calls recently. I should have kept that minor fact in mind. Oh well, there really wasn’t much I could do now except listen and wait for the other shoe to drop.
“You’ve beaten that little fear of yours into my head often enough through the years that it has become one of my own. All your secrets will die with me. And before you have the chance to ask, there is no one in the house, so there’s no chance that anyone is listening in on our conversation.” With a sharp intake of breath, Matt paused as if ordering his scattered thoughts. “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to empty this house when I haven’t had a successful conversation with you in over a week?”
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