Alice 1 (11 page)

The meeting for sexual fulfillment and
spiritual enhancement is in a lovely little cottage. A nice looking
man in his 30’s led to a room heavy with incense, and Thangkas on
the walls. Yes, I know all about Thangkas. My Tibetan foster
parents and I meditated in front of one every night. The Kalachakra
is my favorite.

KALACHAKRA THANGKA

There was a raised platform covered with soft
blankets in the middle of the room. Perfect for spiritual growth. I
was early as usual and watched the crowd gather. Mostly horny young
guys looking for an easy lay. Some Buddha Grins. A few looked like
they might actually be spiritually motivated.

A woman rang a tiny bell. “We welcome you to our
home. Some of you are old friends, some are new. As always we begin
with a meditation on the spiritual experience of the joining of
Shiva and Shakti. The joining of the lingam and the yoni. The
moment of completeness and liberation. Please close your eyes.
Allow quietness and calm. Allow the world to drift away. To drift
away, drift far away, far, far away.”

And so on. I could hear from the rustling in the
room that most are not too familiar with meditation

“Some are ready for the spiritual journey, for
the joining of Shiva and Shakti, and some are not. I will move
about the room. If I tap you on the shoulder you need a bit more
spiritual development and will be asked to leave. Be not
disappointed. Continue your spiritual journey and return when you
feel ready.”

I could hear her move around the room tapping
people. The room became very quiet. She rang the tiny bell again
and asked us to open our eyes. Two guys and two women were
left.

“The spiritual experience of the joining is all
that is important,” the man began, “dogma and intellectual
discussions only get in the way. You have all moved into a quiet
and peaceful place where a spiritual experience can be
obtained.”

I assumed I would enhance everybody’s spiritual
experience my way by tapping here and squeezing there, but that is
not the way it went. My Tibetan foster parents gave me the finest
moments of my childhood, and in my joining on the platform I
returned to those moments of completeness and liberation.

If you have never had the experience there is no
way for me to share what it is like. How do you share the
experience of listening to Beethoven’s
Ode to Joy
with
someone born deaf?

After half a year with my Tibetan parents,
Christian neighbors began to loudly complain to the Department of
Social Services. The soul of one of God’s sweet children was being
corrupted by Devil worshipers. I was removed, and my spiritual
journey traded for a hard pew in a cold church.

CHAPTER 25

Arlene hasn’t been blushing lately. Too
tired.

Dennis came over just as I finished my bacon and
cheese omelet and was about to enjoy my two delicious chocolate
donuts. I was surprised how glad I was to see him, and unhappy
about feeling glad. Women have hormones too, and a few rare men
know how to take advantage. Fair’s fair I guess.

“Hi, Alice. I’m on my way to my guidance
counselor and can’t stay. My group has asked me to invite you to a
meeting tonight. Can you come?”

“Sure.”

“Good. I’ll pick you up here at 6:45. The
meeting’s not far.”

Ashara skipped over just after he left.

“Hello, Alice.”

“Hi, Ashara. Are you going to steal my donuts
again?”

“Of course, if you let me. What’s the problem,
you don’t like to share?”

“Sure I like to share, and how about sharing who
you are and why you keep popping up in my life.”

“Be very careful tonight on your walk to the
meeting.”

“Why do I have to be careful?”

She snatched both donuts and ran. She’s
really, really fast, and really, really greedy.

____________________

Dennis was five minutes late so we hurried out
the door and over to the elite side of campus. We turned onto a
side street with widely spaced street lights. Something is not
right and I remembered Ashara’s warning.

“The meeting is in the white house over
there.”

Two men came from behind a bush. “Good evening,
Mr. Crowley. Your Devil blood will no longer pollute God’s sacred
earth.” I felt an attack on my heart and countered. Squeezed the
brain stem of the guy nearest me hard, and then quickly squeezed
the other guy. Dennis went down but was still breathing.

I ran to the white house and banged on the door.
“Dennis has been hurt”. Four guys came and carried Dennis back to
the house and called an ambulance. Then went back and got the two
bodies. They will soon be feeding the fishes or nourishing the
nasturtiums.

After the ambulance left, the group asked what
happened.

“I would be dead without Dennis, he took on both
men. I tried to help but wasn’t strong enough.” Tears came to my
eyes. They were real, I like Dennis. “They said his devil blood
would no long pollute God’s sacred earth.”

“It’s probably a Christian group I’ve heard
about,” the older man said. “They call themselves the Holy Warriors
of God and kill people they consider the disciples of the
Devil.”

“Oh, and they called Dennis, Mr. Crowley.”

“That fits. I’m sure Aleister Crowley and his
relatives and followers are very high on their list.”

“Then Dr. Crowley is in danger.”

“Yes. We need to warn his group and begin to
work together. We made a terrible mistake thinking we were enemies.
May we drive you home?”

“Oh, thank you. I’m still a little scared”

It’s odd I don’t regret killing those two
guys. Well, why should I? They tried to kill me and lost. Fair
fight. Well not really, but that was their tough luck.

CHAPTER 26

Karla called the next morning during breakfast
with Arlene and asked me to come to his office at ten.

Dr. Crowley and the white haired man from last
night were there.

“Alice, you know Dr. Crowley and met Dr.
Spengler last night. Dennis is doing well, and will probably be out
of the hospital in a couple of days.

“Dr. Spengler, as you suspected, the two men in
the pictures you took are members of the Holy Warriors of God, from
Plattsburgh, New York. Most likely there are 5 members left here in
Berkeley and they appear to be targeting the relatives of Aleister
Crowley and their friends. The Plattsburgh group may get scared and
go home, but I doubt it. Here are the photographs of the five that
are left. Their leader is the one with an X.

“Gentlemen, Alice is close friends with a group
of Gifted people in Sarasota. Would you object to their coming to
Berkeley as backup? Good. Would you mind asking them, Alice? How
many do you think will come?”

“Four or five when they learn I was
attacked.”

“Ok, gentlemen. Government agents will quickly
find the rest of the Holy Warriors. The heart Squeeze is their
primary attack. Do either of your groups have a counter?”

Neither did.

“Then your best defense is never to be alone. If
attacked, physically attack the attacker. I’ll let you know what
the government agents find, and hopefully we will soon welcome the
group from Sarasota. Thank you for coming.

“Please stay Alice, so you can call your
friends.”

After Dr. Crowley and Dr. Spengler left, Karla
asked if the Glacier Gang was still tough. “I’d bet on them against
the Holy Warriors. Those two guys last night didn’t have a defense
against the Squeeze.”

“Use my secure phone. The reason I’m supporting
this is because the government has been trying to get rid of the
Holy Warriors of God from Plattsburgh for a long time. This is the
best shot we’ve ever had. Over the years the Holies have killed two
of our agents, along with a lot of other people. We can’t prosecute
because there’s never any evidence. Voodoo doesn’t sell well to a
jury.”

The Glacier Gang agreed to come when they
heard I had been attacked and was in danger. It reminded them of
the old days when they were Stephen’s Vigilantes. They called back
an hour later and said they will arrive in San Francisco tomorrow
morning. Karla gave directions to a safe house in Orinda, a cute
little village for rich faculty and administrators just over the
hill from Berkeley.

____________________

The Glacier Gang arrived at noon. Ralph did not
come. The refrigerator and shelves are well stocked with
California’s finest, and we talked with Karla over lunch.

“Our agents have found where the Holies are
staying and monitors are in place. We will soon know their plans.
Here are their pictures. I’ll let you know when we learn more.”

We spent the rest of the day practicing the
Squeeze and reinforcing the defense.

Karla called late in the afternoon. The
Holies plan to attack the Crowley group tomorrow evening at their
weekly meeting. He suggests we arrive just after dark.

____________________

The next morning we practiced attack and defense
and in the afternoon walked around Orinda. Lots of pets and the
Bichon Frise is the most popular. They are bright, loveable, little
white fluffy dogs.

Click
Bichon Frise

Weird history. They were the favorite of Marie
Antoinette and 18th Century French Royalty. The poor Bichon were
guillotined along with their mistresses and masters. A few escaped
to Switzerland, necks intact, hidden under the skirts of loyal
ladies of the Royal Household. That must have been quite a trip. At
least that’s the story we got from a lady who has one.

We left for the Crowleys around six and were all
in place by seven. A few minutes later Karla got a phone call. The
Warriors changed their mind and are going to hit the Spengler
group, also meeting tonight. Karla was suspicious, so David, Betty
and I went to the Spenglers, and Karla, Doris and Ruth stayed with
the Crowleys.

It was too quiet. We went down to the basement,
and bodies were everywhere. When we checked if any were alive the
five Holies came through a side door and attacked. I felt the
beginning of a heart squeeze, countered it, and squeezed the brain
stem of the nearest Holy. Three went down, leaving two. I squeezed
the brain stem of the older guy but couldn’t get past a defense he
threw up and felt my heart squeezed more powerfully then before. It
took effort to counter. Then the fourth guy went down and everyone
attacked the leader.

Dennis, Dr. Spengler and two others were still
alive but it was too late for the rest. We told the Crowleys the
Spengler group put up a tremendous fight. When we got there all of
the Holies were dead except one, and he died soon after we
arrived.

CHAPTER 27

I needed a little getaway time so went back to
Sarasota with the Gang. If I ever settle down it will be with
David, but that day may never come. I like the freedom to do
whatever I want. Skinny Santa was right, I’m a self-centered brat.
My life is down to basics---food, shelter and guys. I dumped that
meaning of life crap and prissy morality long ago.

Yeah, maybe I’m over doing the cynicism a little
because I’m scared. Too many times I’ve lost people I love. So I’m
a super-tough, super-smart kid just underneath the poor little waif
I love to play. Or, am I a poor little waif underneath the
super-smart, super-tough kid?

I called Dr. Crowley the day after I got to
Sarasota. Dennis and one other member of the Spengler group
survived. Dr. Spengler did not.

After a couple of wild and wonderful nights
in David’s bedroom, I flew back to Berkeley. Don’t want to miss any
more class time especially in neuropsychology. I can’t wait to have
a little fun with Dr. Mary Barteau, eminent scholar of the
behavioral concomitants of neurological activity.

____________________

I got to Dr. Barteau’s class early and picked
a front row seat on the side. Twenty-five or so students were in
the room when Dr. Barteau arrived. She’s a dumpy old grandmother,
but

noticed me so hasn’t gone senile.

“And who might you be?”

“Sorry Ma’am, I wasn’t able to come the first
week.”

“Name?”

“Alice Shannon.”

The first slide was the usual front and side
view of the human brain and there were little white dots scattered
around. I brought the Glacier Gang’s printout to compare with what
science has found. She went through the major areas of the brain
and what they did, like the motor strip controls motor functioning.
Duh!

She noticed I was looking back and forth between
the screen and the printout. I should have been more careful.

“That looks interesting, Alice. What is it?”

“Oh, I got it in high school. Teacher
hand-out.”

She glanced at it, made a funny noise in her
throat, and snatched it. She just stood there looking at it without
moving for at least 3 minutes. Then gave it back and went on with
the class. At the end of the hour she asked if I would please stay
for a moment.