THE MOON STONE, Part 2

THE MOON STONE
Part 2

By Hardrive

Several days passed since Danielle’s encounter with the police officer. She used that time she experiment with the Moon Stone and got to know how to use some of its powers. The alien’s gift was amazing and there was much more to learn, but she had other obligations. There were deadlines to meet and several photo essays to produce before the end of the week, so she tossed the stone in her sock drawer and went about her business.

A few days later she was putting the finishing touches on the last article when the doorbell rang. It was the middle of the afternoon and Danielle was still in her underwear. She liked feeling comfortable while she worked so she normally didn’t get fully dressed unless she was expecting company. No one was expected today so she thought it might be a delivery. UPS always rings once and leaves the package on the porch, on this occasion the doorbell rang twice so she knew it wasn’t them.

Slipping on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, she headed for the door but stopped by the window to peek through the curtains. It was a man in a suit and he was carrying a briefcase, so she guessed he was a door to door salesman.

“Whatever you’re selling, I don’t need it.” She yelled through the closed door.

“I’m not here to sell you anything,” came the reply. “I’m with the State Attorney’s Office and I’m looking for Danielle Davis. Is that you?”

Danielle cracked open the door to get a better look. He sure looked like a lawyer in his expensive suit and slicked back haircut, but just to be sure she tried to probe his mind. The scan was unsuccessful. Then she remembered that she’d left the Moon Stone in her sock draw and apparently it was too far away for her to access its power. She was going to have to deal with this guy the old fashion way.

“Let’s see some ID.” She challenged the stranger.

“Sure.” The man said with a big smile and handed Danielle a business card. The card had a fancy gold embossed crest and it introduced the bearer as Paul Holderman, Assistant State Attorney. “May I come in?”, he asked politely.

Danielle was apprehensive. What the hell did an assistant state attorney want with her? Something about this wasn’t right so she gave him back his card and said, “This isn’t an ID. Let’s see something laminated, with your picture and an embedded holographic emblem.”

Paul looked annoyed as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a wallet. Flipping open the folder he held his ID to her face and kept it there until she nodded and stepped aside to let him in.”

“Sorry, but a girl has to be careful.” She said as she pointed to a chair for him to sit. “The world is full of creeps pretending to be what they’re not.” She added as she sat on the sofa across from him.

“Ain’t that the truth. He said in a mocking tone. Then he asked again if she was Danielle Davis. Danielle nodded and Holderman smiled. “You’re just a little itty-bitty thing, Not what I expected at all.” He mused as he opened his briefcase and pulled out a file with her name printed on top.

Danielle couldn’t help but notice that Holderman kept a gun and handcuff in his briefcase. He saw her looking at his gun and said, “My motto is, always be prepared.” Then he opened the file and got right to the point. “A few nights ago one of our patrolmen issued you a traffic summons.”

“Actually he wrote up a summons but decided not to give it to me.” Danielle corrected him.

“Well, that was very uncharacteristic of him. He’s one of our top producers and when he writes a summons he usually issues it.” Looking directly into Danielle’s eyes Holderman asked, “Why didn’t officer McBee issue the summons? Did you give or offer him anything in exchange for his… leniency?”

“No!,” Danielle responded, with a touch of indignation. “What kind of girl do you think I am?” Holderman didn’t answer. “The officer wasn’t feeling well,” Danielle continued, “and I offered to call 911 to get him some help.”

“Yes, he told us that. He also told us that he got sick right after he gave you the ticket.” Holderman stopped to look at Danielle and check for a reaction. He got nothing from her so he continued. “McBee told us that he thinks you made him sick.”

Danielle kept her poker face but she was worried. Could it be this guy knew about the Moon Stone? She considered running to her room to try and get the stone, but maybe that’s what Holderman wanted. The alien warned her that there were people that would try to stop her for using the stone. If Holderman pulled his gun before she could get the stone she’d be at his mercy. Danielle wasn’t sure what this guy’s game was but for the moment he had the upper hand so she was just going to bide her time and play dumb.

“So, what are you saying? You think I gave the cop a colonic? That’s funny.” Danielle said with a smile.

Halderman kept his gaze locked on Danielle. He peered deep into her eyes and waited for her to react. No doubt he was playing some kind of waiting game, hoping to wear her down under the strain. Obviously he’s never sat in a blind for hours waiting for a family of quail to run by. After a half minute of silence Holderman broke eye contact and gave up. Pulling a cell phone from his pocket he pressed a button and walked about 10 feet away before he started talking.

“I’m not getting anything from her.” He told his contact. “I don’t think she has what we’re looking for. Hell, she didn’t even know who I was or why I came to see her. She’s just a dumb kid who doesn’t know anything. I think McBee must have eaten a bad burrito or something. I’m closing the investigation and shelving her file.”

Turning to Danielle, Holderman excused himself for having taken up her time. He closed his briefcase and was about to leave when Danielle asked him to wait. Holding up her hand she told him she had something to show him. Running to her room she picked up the Moon Stone and returned with a big smile on her face.

“Sit down,” she commanded in a voice filled with self-confidence. “Now I have some questions for you. Holderman’s mind went blank as his will evaporated under the influence of Danielle’s overwhelming power. Responding to her command, he sat there like a zombie, his mind an open book just waiting to be read.

“Tell me, who sent you here?”

“I was sent by my boss, Alex Barns, the Attorney General.”

Danielle waited for him to tell her more but Holderman went silent after he answered her question. “So, why did Barns send you to question me?”

“He wanted to know if you have any extraordinary psychic abilities.”

“What?”

“He wanted to know if you have any…”

“I heard you, but I’m not going to play 21 questions. Just tell me everything you know all at one time.”

“My boss is a very rich and powerful man. He’s gotten everything he has by controlling the criminal justice system in this county. He gets a piece of all the fines, fees and payments made to the Courts. He also gets part of the State and Federal funding for Prisons and Community Control.”

“How the hell did he get all that power?”

“He has associates with psychic powers. They know everything about everybody who is anybody in this County. They use that information to blackmail, control, and frighten people into doing whatever they’re told. That includes getting cops to issue unwarranted traffic tickets, judges to exonerate criminals, and the system to put innocent people in jail.”

“Putting innocent people in jail?”

“Well, innocent or only guilty of lesser crimes.”

“But why? Doesn’t it cost a lot of money to keep people in jail?”

“It cost the taxpayers a lot of money but the system itself profits from each person placed into custody. Barns is a facilitator for the system and to that end, he and his associates have set up a net to catch and process people through the system. They prey on the most vulnerable members of society. I’m talking about the poor, the young, the uneducated, foreigners, people who are mentally or psychologically challenged and people that live outside the mainstream. They feed these people into system and provide the system with money, the life blood that keeps it going.”

“And who or what is this system?”

“Almost everyone that makes money, directly or indirectly, from the administration of the criminal justice system is involved. Most of them are honest men and women who believe they are engaged in a worthwhile profession, but in one way or another they all profit from the system and therefore have an interest in maintaining the system. Self interest is a very powerful motivator and Barns and his people use that self interest to obtain the support of these unwitting collaborators that help them maintain the status quo.”

Danielle was horrified by what she heard. “I can’t believe our whole criminal justice system has been usurped by these monsters. But that can’t be true in all cases. This corruption must be an extraordinary situation and peculiar only to places where people like Barns are in control.”

“The entire system is designed to make money.” Holderman continued, “and where there is money to be made there are always people like Barns ready to exploit the situation.