Chapter 2 Not Feeling It

Casino International, Las Vegas, Nevada, December 12, 1970

Albert took a sip from the rum at his side. It ran smoothly down his throat. The icy alcohol dispersed into his entire body as his cells filtered any destructive properties. Albert’s black hair extended down to his shoulders which gave him a much older look, a pirate type of appeal. He was young however, especially compared to the collection of veteran gamblers around the table.

“What are you going to do with all that money if you have to go to Nam?” A gray haired well rounded gentleman asked, on Albert’s right.

Albert turned towards the bearded man who seemed to have come from a Louisiana plantation. In fact he was a wealthy plantation owner. His white overcoat and very small circular silver and black designs on his vest made him stand out among the group. Not to mention his pearl white wide tie, stained with sweat from several hours of playing.

“I’m not sure, but I’ll deal with that if it happens.”

An elderly but rough looking man across the table eyed Albert. “He’s a toothpick; the Marine Corps will eat him alive.”

“Didn’t you say you were a scientist?” A modestly sexy red haired lady asked as she hugged the old man’s arm.

“Yes, I did. In the field of synthetic computer systems. And I call.” Albert said as he flipped over his remaining cards, leaving three kings and a pair of jacks.

The last two players flipped their hands in defeat.

“Mr. Hansen’s hand wins.” The dealer announced as mixture of moans and awes erupted audibly and mentally.

Albert almost smiled as he saw the thoughts of the eldest man. ‘He must be gay or something. He’s not paying enough attention to Elena’s boobs and exposed cleavage.’

‘He reminds me of James, when he was younger.’ Elena thought.

The Louisiana Plantation owner breathed heavily with anxiety. ‘I can’t lose any more money. Please, God, help me!’

‘I’m going to have to keep an eye out for this guy. He doesn’t seem to be cheating.’ A heavy set man in his mid forties wearing a very expensive brown suit thought. One of the players who was taking the opportunity to learn from the masters.

Albert read the thoughts of the two mafia connected players and the other very experienced players trying to figure out how to get out of their losing streak. He wasn’t worried about winning and possibly being a target by the mafia for extortion of some sort. If it had crossed his mind, it didn’t register to him one bit.

They were invested for the most part, and the eldest, James McCormick, was willing to lose all of his budgeted half a million dollars just for the pleasure of the gamble.

Albert was already at $300,000 winnings, which should have been enough for him, but today was the day he would be the ruler of his own destiny. The many statements of a book he recently read kept him motivated to accomplish the goals he had set his mind to.

The long hours at the table started to take its toll as a new dealer started the next round. Claire was in her mid thirties with a pleasant face. Her long brown hair was in a ponytail, and her elegant glasses gave her a sense of an experienced dealer at the high stakes poker table.

Albert concentrated on Claire’s thoughts but it wasn’t like the past several hours. The thoughts were sporadic at best, as if there was a fast forward button and he couldn’t clearly see the video.

Claire dealt quickly as Albert drank water, hoping his mind reading ability got better.

His hand was a strong one, and he knew the initial hand of the other players, but for how long? ‘I need to raise the stakes before I can’t read anyone’s mind’ Albert thought.

Raising and checking brought the pot to $250,000, but to Albert’s dismay, the thoughts of the people around him had completely faded away.

He concentrated on James, Elena, and then on Luther, the plantation owner, since James and Luther were the only ones not folding or simply trying to stay in the game. ‘Nothing?’ Albert thought to himself in alarm.

James stared Albert down. “You don’t seem to be playing like before… I’ll raise, all in.”

Albert thought about James’ initial hand of two queens, and he traded in three cards. Albert had four of a kind, four nines. There were no wilds or jokers, so the odds of him having the better hand was in his favor.

“I fold.” Luther replied.

“I call.” Albert smiled, his unshaven face gave him a roughness and attraction some women admired.

The crowd silently waited after an expressive awe once Albert turned over the last nine of diamonds.

James eyed Albert and nodded as if agreeing to an invisible contract or rite of passage. “I enjoyed it while it lasted. Thank you.” James turned over his remaining cards: four queens.

Albert dumbfounded, stared at the cards and then at the chips moving away from him. “Well, it was a pleasure Mr. McCormick. I was just not feeling it.” He signed and smiled.

Albert didn’t waste any time in leaving the immediate area, but once he got through the crowd and near the roulette tables, he slowed his pace in deep thought.

His room was paid for already, and he still had three hundred dollars in his pocket. So he looked around for a while as if mapping out the casino floor. He went up to his room on the eleventh floor and sat at the head of the bed. His blank stare at the turned off television changed to a tighten jaw as he looked on top of the nightstand.

He grabbed a black book next to the hotel clock. It read: “What Would I Do If I Could Read Minds? by Carl Hawking”. Albert took a deep breath and stood up with the book in hand. He pitched it in the trashcan as he walked up to the room’s front door. Instead of opening the door, Albert disappeared. His phantom like body instantly moved through it. He flew down through the floors as if they didn’t exist. Before long, Albert was floating in front of the casino vault. It was closed at the moment, and it would be opened when money would be counted and consolidated on the routine schedule.

But, Albert floated there for a while, thinking about his own ideas of what he would do next. He had lost all of his savings and income from selling all he had, trying to follow the book of proven ‘Success’.

He flew inside and placed his hands among money stacks. The money mixed in with his phantom like body properties, allowing him to grab bands of money and also making them invisible and intangible. Fortunately, the inside of the vault was lit for him to see, and there was a camera, but Albert’s invisibility gave no warning or evidence of a crime. He approximated three to four hundred thousand dollars and then flew out of the vault and back to his room. He counted and bagged the money in a backpack, checked out, and left Las Vegas, flying invisibly towards California.

Albert made a modest purchase on his own Los Angeles beach front property two months later. The four bedroom home was very elegant, but what made him most happy was the deck and pool facing the ocean. The night salt air brought peace to him as he drank a pineapple smoothie out on the wooden deck with a pile of notebooks on a patio table.

The quarter moon made the ocean glisten as the sound of the waves soothed his thoughts of starting a computer company business. The dreams of the future changed in a matter of seconds as darkness enveloped him.

‘Albert, I need your help. Please come to me before countless people die.’ A young female voice blurted in Albert’s head.

Albert tried to speak, but he couldn’t and found himself outside of his body. ‘Is this a dream? I don’t remember falling asleep.’ Many flashes of memories surprised him, taking him away from the deck and into a pit of sounds, people and places.

Aliens and battles in wars were seen in seconds, nothing distinct popping out at him except Capitol Hill in flames and the sky scorched by a green Sun. He wasn’t sure if the visions were all from Earth, because there were aircrafts and ships he never saw before except in science fiction movies or shows. Rock creatures from what seemed to be hell, fought against him and other people he also never saw before. He blacked out and awoke face first on the deck floor.

The sound of the waves helped bring him back to his senses. His forehead was bruised from hitting the table’s edge and floor, but it was minor since it would completely heal within the hour. Albert got up and looked around as if he was being spied on. There were no people in his view. The neighboring houses were occupied, evidenced by the lights and noise of music in the far distance. “At least I’m not alone.” Albert said, thinking he had experienced an Omega Man apocalyptic event.

Albert touched his smoothie. It was still cold so he couldn’t have been passed out for very long.

‘Please Albert, I need you.’ The female voice said in his mind, but this time he didn’t get dizzy or anything.

“Who is this?”

‘I’m Cassandra Leavan, Queen of the Andromen Empire. The mental visions I gave you will gradually become clear and organized, but what’s important for now is you need to follow that tug you’re feeling in your heart.

“I don’t know you, how do I know you’re not lying?

‘You don’t, but the more you resist this craving you’re feeling now, the stronger it will get. In time you will not be able to function properly, even with your special powers.’ Cassandra replied, making Albert feel as if she was emotionless by her cold tone.

“Well lady, I’ll go only because it seems I have no choice. But you’re going to have to keep your panty on while I make arrangements to leave my new house with a house sitter.” Albert walked inside the house mumbling to himself.

‘You know I can hear every thought you have right now?’

Albert stopped and looked up at the ceiling. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to call you that.”

Albert waited for a response, but nothing. “Hello, are you there?”

Silence.

“Well maybe I did mean some of it.” Albert smiled as he started to lockdown the house and make calls to his few friends.

An hour later, he flew off to the west. The moon was gone, but he could make out the dark water underneath him and the stars above. The LA coastline also gave him a reference of the horizon behind him, but soon there was nothing but darkness below him and a partly cloudy sky with stars above.