Small white puffs rose from Sara's mouth as she stopped and used her mind to get a fix on her target again. There was no place Jan could hide from her. It was only a matter of time. Even Jan would get tired after a while. Sara started moving again. She didn't want to search for too long. When she did search out with her mind, it left her almost helpless. So she only did it in short burst. Sara got closer. 'There!', she thought as she saw Jan dart between two trees. Then she saw her again. She was almost close enough. As she moved, Sara was careful of every footfall. She checked the ground with the toe of her boot for twigs or dry leaves. They were in a grove of Evergreens, and walking on pine needles was almost like walking on goose feathers.

Sara saw her again, but then Jan doubled back. Sara lost her, but didn't panic. She searched out with her mind. She felt Jan; she was getting closer and in a hurry. Sara stopped searching and opened her eyes. When she did, Jan was nearly to her. It was amazing how much ground Jan's long legs could cover in so short a time. Sara had only lost her for a few seconds, but that had almost been too long... almost.

Jan ran at Sara as fast as she could. Her strong legs chewing up ground, but then she stopped in mid-stride, frozen in place. Sara stood still. She opened her eyes and started to smile. She had caught her prey, but her smile turned to a frown. There was a problem.

Jan could feel Sara's power holding her in place. It was the first time she had felt it so strongly. There was a moment of panic at first, but that moment passed. Jan was going to show Sara that this wasn't over yet. Jan's muscles went from relaxed to flexed and diamond hard in an instant. Quads thickened, and abs defined themselves into 8 deep blocks of muscle across Jan's middle. Her chest swelled as she struggled to pull her arms together Her pecs separated and flexed out from her chest making deep striated cleavage. Cords and veins ran up and down Jan's neck as she strained against Sara.

Sara frowned too. She had caught dozens of people in her mind's web, but never before had anyone even made her have to concentrate to hold on. This was going to be interesting. Jan wanted to fight. Sara was going to make sure the fight was short. She closed her eyes and bore down.

Jan almost lost concentration as the pressure holding her at least doubled or maybe tripled. Sara was so powerful it was almost too much, but Jan wasn't finished. She got control of herself. Anger rose up from deep within. Anger from the thought that Sara believed she could defeat her so easily. Jan was going to let Sara know that this struggle hadn't even begun yet. Jan inhaled deeply, her hard body defying Sara's effort to constrict it. Then Jan let out a roar. Hard jagged muscle erupted from her already flexed body. The seams of her clothes stretched and then popped as her body flexed harder and bigger than before. Jan's arms continued to grow as her biceps and triceps strained and burst with power. Sweat ran down her forehead and her face was screwed in concentration, but she was doing it. Her arms and legs moved. Veins spread across Jan's hard abs as the muscles in Jan's stomach writhed against each other trying to break free. Jan's arms and legs moved as if in slow motion, but they moved.

Sara couldn't believe it. She actually smiled. She was satisfied in a way. There was no way the great Jan Caufield was going to be captured easily, but in the end she would still be captured. Sara squeezed her eyes shut, and her hold tightened again.

Jan felt the power grow. Sara was trying to squeeze her. Jan looked out at the girl holding her. Sara's body vibrated in the crisp winter air. Sweat rolled down her forehead and her breathing was becoming labored. Jan knew Sara wasn't near spent, but neither was she. Jan knew her body had more to give. It was time to show Sara that. A low growl started deep in Jan's chest as she found even more power within herself. Power she rarely had to use. Power that when unleashed was usually fatal to any enemy around. Jan's face turned a bright red as her heart pumped more and more blood to her body to feed the hungry muscles.

Jan's body steamed in the cold night air. Her muscles were hot to the touch fueled with blood and anger. Jan's body shook with power. More stitches popped and muscles bulged as Jan's body continued to move. More and more strength poured into Jan's chiseled body. There was a limit, but she wasn't there yet. Her quads thickened. The heads of the muscles bulged obscenely. Her chest was swollen with blood and power as she continued to move.

The two teenagers were locked in a struggle. One's power was invisible while the other's was on awesome display. Jan's body was beyond perfect and beyond powerful. She was defying the will of a girl who was not used being challenged let alone defied like this. Sara searched deep down to find more strength. She knew there was more to be had, but she had to stay focused. If she let up for even a split second, Jan would break free and it would be all over. She didn't know that it was already all over.

What had looked like a bush shimmered and changed to a woman. The woman crept behind Sara and ran a blade slowly across her throat. Game over.

"That was pretty good", Sara congratulated Alisha as Jan fell back to the ground.

"You liked that, huh?" Alisha's face was all teeth her smile was so big.

"I didn't even feel you when I searched. I figured you weren't in striking distance."

"Nope, I was right there the whole time. I just imagined I was taking a test or something", Alisha told her friend.

Jan had caught her breath and came closer.

"You lured me here didn't you?", Sara asked Jan.

Jan smiled and nodded. "We knew you'd feel Alisha if she moved. She might get nervous or anxious or something. So we decided for her to pick a spot and stay while I led you right to her. And by the way, why'd you take so long. I was dying out there!"

Alisha laughed and handed Jan her coat. "You looked pretty fuckin' good to me." Alisha brought her arms together in a mock crab flex. "I just wanted to see how the fight would go."

Jan, Sara, and Alisha patted each other on the back and climbed into Alisha's new black BMW 645ci convertible and headed back to Atlanta. The three girls had finished their training rotation two weeks earlier and now they trained against each other. They had found out so far that they had to team up to beat one another. Sometimes it took strategy, but they enjoyed using their powers against each other. They had no idea though that for the last 2 weeks of training in the woods they hadn't been alone. A man had lain prone on the top of a hill a mile and a half away logging their every movement and charting their powers. The only equipment he needed was a pencil and paper. He also didn't need anything to read Alisha's California license plate number. She was three miles distant and driving away from him on the dark night, but he didn't write it down. He already had it. It was time for him to get moving now. He closed his composition book and walked back to his own car. He almost had enough information for his bosses to make a decision, but not quite.

A couple of days later in Jan's dorm room at Emory University Jan and Alisha sat watching a movie neither was really paying attention to. They both liked Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant, but for some reason Two Weeks Notice just wasn't doing it for them, and they weren't sure why. Sara came in though and saved the day.

"Guess what I have?", she asked making sure they noticed that she had her hands behind her back.

"I don't know. You're the one who can read minds", Jan replied.

Sara pulled her hands around so they could see. "I have right here in my hand, three round trip tickets to New Orleans! You know what's going on right now don't you?"

"Mardi Gras!", Jan and Alisha both yelled at the same time.

"Yep! I called my cousin and he said we can stay at his place. Get in touch with your professors tomorrow because I have us leaving Sunday and getting back Wednesday night."

Alisha scratched her forehead. "That's three days, hmm, but what the hell! Its worth it. I've always wanted to go to New Orleans. Sin City number two."

Sara frowned. "What's Sin City number one?"

"Las Vegas", Alisha answered quickly.

"I've been to Vegas. I'm not so sure. Once we get back from Mardi Gras you tell me which one is really Sin City."

Sara's cousin was waiting for the three girls when they exited the baggage claim at the airport.

"Avery!", Sara yelled as she went to him and jumped into his open arms. Avery was her first cousin on her birth mother's side. When Sara's step mother had died, it was Avery who had done the best at consoling her. They had always been very close.

"You're lookin good", he told Sara in the accent of a life long New Orleans resident. He leaned over to Sara's ear before Jan and Alisha got close. "You didn't tell me you're friends looked like that. I'm engaged, what are you trying to do to me?" He straightened up quickly as the two girls approached. Avery extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you both. Sara has told me so much about you two."

Alisha's breath almost caught in her throat. Once she got up close out of the glare of the sun she saw that Avery was the very definition of a hunk. He had curly blond hair like his cousin, but kept shorter. He had a wonderfully handsome face and blue-gray eyes that looked like there was more than a little mischief behind that wonderful smile. Then there was the accent. Alisha loved an accent.

"Pleased to meet you too. Sara talks about her cousin from New Orleans all the time." Alisha looked over at Sara. "Your accent is pretty darn cool, Sara, but I think Louisiana has Mississippi beat."

Sara laughed. "Maybe so."

"This ya first time in Nawlins?", Avery asked.

Alisha nodded and laughed. "See! Down here New Orleans is one word."

Avery shook his head. "Get in the car. We have a get down to my loft between parades."

Jan and Alisha had both grown up in cities near lots of water. Jan had grown up around the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean while Alisha had grown up right on the Pacific coast, but New Orleans was different. Here, there were water and waterways everywhere, but instead of the water seeming to be in the way of the city, it was almost like the city was in the way of the water. It didn't help things when the girls actually got into the city itself and realized that in some places the water level behind the canal walls was higher than the level of the road itself. That was just part of being in New Orleans, but it was unnerving to see a huge barge traveling higher than the cars on the street. Avery and his fiancée lived in an old restored warehouse in the Central Business District. The loft was an entire floor of the really long building. Jan, Alisha, and Sara settled into their curtained off areas of the one really large room and got ready to hit the town.

At the hotel across the street someone else was settling in too. He pulled up a chair and looked out the window. He had to squint just a little now to see what he was looking for. He didn't have to squint because of distance but because the walls of the old warehouse had been built nearly 18" thick, but he saw through them. There was not much he couldn't see into or through. There was not much he couldn't see at all. He hoped his judgment of people was as keen as his eye sight, but probably not, but the fact that he was in New Orleans and they were in New Orleans had to be the work of God. He would make contact and soon.

The girls went out that evening with Avery and his fiancée Melissa. The two New Orleans natives showed them the places most tourist knew nothing about. The places that made New Orleans what it was and made Mardi Gras week special. After a cool taste of authentic south Louisiana culture, Avery let the girls loose in the French Quarter. They walked around and took pictures for a while, but soon the sun was down and it was time to go into a bar.

The three girls walked inside, but the word bar didn't do the place justice. This place was a bar/resturant/dance club/good time house. They all smiled at each other and walked up to the bar. The crowd was gathering, but it wasn't stuffed yet.

"Wha y' ladies havin?", the bartender asked never once thinking to ask for I.D.

They looked at each other. "Miller Lite" "Bud Light" "Guinness Stout"

The bartender reached down and pulled up three bottles. Jan paid. The girls took a couple sips before walked away from the bar and sitting at a table.

A band was on-stage warming up for the nighttime crowd. Alisha had never heard zydeco in person, but it was pretty good. She looked over at Jan, who had to lick foam off her upper lip after every sip of her beer. "Look at you over there, ordering a Stout while the rest of us have to watch calories and carbs and all that stuff."

Jan laughed. "No, I just don't like light beers. My dad drinks Guinness from time to time. I like it. I'll just jog the calories off next week."

Sara and Alisha looked at each other and chuckled. "Why, you can't gain weight anyway."

Jan almost choked. "Oh, that's not true. You thought that? I mean nature helps me out, but you guys think I look like this no matter what?" Jan stopped and laughed as she finished her bottle. "When I was about 8 or 9 years old my friend Sandra got a filling in her tooth. It was her first cavity. Well I wanted a cavity in the worst kinda way. So, I ate nothing but candy for an entire month."

Sara and Alisha laughed. "So did you get a cavity?"

"Hell no!", Jan began. "I had a few sleepless nights from sugar rushes, and I gained 4 pounds. Four pounds might not sound like much, but it is when you only weighed 70 to begin with. So yeah, I can gain weight. Plus I had a problem with candy for a while. All my friends thought I was weird because I didn't eat candy again for at least two years, even at Halloween."

The girls shared a laugh and ordered another round. The club was getting full and the party was getting started. It was a Sunday night, but this was Mardi Gras. In a short time the place was really jumping. The girls were finishing their third beers. Jan was about to flag down the waitress, but she didn't have to.

"Excuse me, ladies", a young man said as he slid up to the table. "I noticed that your bottles are getting empty and me and my two friends over there would love to buy you a round of whatever you're havin." He pointed back to his left.

The girls turned their heads. His two buddies were as handsome as their spokesman. If they were as smooth, then this night was going to be alright. The girls slid over to make room as the three guys pulled up chairs. The girls didn't stay at the table long. One by one they ended up on the dance floor. That zydeco was infectious. Jan and her partner, Mike, were first onto the dance floor which was strange for Jan. It didn't matter that she wasn't the best dancer. They couldn't keep their hands off of each other. Mike explored as much as Jan would let him. She let his hands roam more than usual. Between the alcohol, the music, and the guy, she couldn't make herself say no.

Jan had already unbuttoned the top two buttons of her white short sleeve blouse. The bottom didn't really button anyway so there were two buttons holding her shirt on, but she didn't care as Mike twirled her to the music. She was getting hot. Mike loved the sweat from a woman. The lights shined and glistened off her flawless skin. Mike's hands felt Jan's every curve. He could tell that she was an athlete. She was long and lean. Her body was hard and toned, but soft in all the right places, and she had a face that could give a dying man reason to live. Jan fell backwards into his arms at the end of a song. Her deep blue eyes met his smiling brown ones. She couldn't remember being happier. Mike smiled and pulled her close to him as a slow song started. He lead, and was good. Mike was two inches taller than Jan which was good. She rested her head against his shoulder as they danced. She loved the smell of his cologne. He smelled like a man should. Mike had Jan's right hand in his left and his right hand was on the swell of Jan's butt. As the song went on, his hand ventured south, but only for an instant before he pulled it back up. Jan smiled where he couldn't see. At least he was trying to be a gentleman.

Mike lead Jan off the dance floor after the end of the slow song. Both of them needed a breather. Their original table was taken up so they found a booth in the corner. He ordered a couple of drinks.

"You're a lot to handle", Mike told Jan as they scooted closer to each other.

Jan smiled. "I know. You handled it well."

Mike laughed. "You must play sports. You a baller or something?

"I used to play basketball, but not anymore. They wanted me to run track, but I don't think I will."

"Too bad. Don't want to waste a body like that."

A sly smile spread across Jan's face. "So you like what you see?"

"Humph", he started. "I like what I felt."

Jan leaned over to his ear. She could feel the heat coming from her body and the heat coming from his. Both were still covered thinly in sweat. She could feel his body tingle just a bit when she got close. "Want to feel it again?"

Mike turned his head and their lips met quickly. He put his hand to the back of her head and pulled them closer together. His tongue parted her lips, Jan was right along with him. His hands moved then and felt along her body. His strong arms pulled her whole body towards him. Jan didn't resist. She submitted to it. She ran her hands over his back and over his strong shoulders. She ran her hands up his neck and into his hair and around his head. It had been so long. It had been so long since she didn't have to be strong. She didn't have to be right. She could just be a woman. Mike's hand went to her waist, then up and under her blouse. He ran his hand over her tight stomach. He continued up. He loved the feeling of it. He could feel the softness of the skin and female curve of her hips, and he could feel the rock hardness of the muscle beneath all that. It made him want her even more. His big hand cupped Jan's left breast and then he went down and kissed the top of her right breast. He worked back and forth squeezing each of Jan's breast to the very point of where pleasure met pain. Jan's eyes fluttered as waves of bliss coursed through her body. Jan's hands ventured down to Mike's thigh and then back up between his legs. She massaged back and forth using her strong fingers to make sure he got more than a tease. Mike's breathing quickened. Jan's was already quick, and her body was hot. She could almost taste the hormones.

Just then there was light tap on the table. Mike and Jan looked up like two puppies caught in the trash can. "Here ya' go. Take this", the man said and put a ticket on the table.

"What's this", Mike asked.

The man laughed. "That's a voucher young man for a room upstairs."

Mike and Jan's eyes got wide when they realized what he was talking about. "Oh, we're fine. We won't need one, thanks."

The man smiled. "Are you sure, son. That's pretty little lady you got there on y' arm. Might not have her there tomorra night."

Mike looked over at Jan and then back up. "No thanks, Officer, I think we'll be ok."

The police officer smiled and winked. "Don't say I didn't offer."

At the end of the night Jan and Mike went their separate ways. They planned to meet up again the next day, but who knew. He might meet another girl before then and Jan might meet another guy. They didn't call this the Big Easy for nothing.

One man did follow the three tipsy girls back to the loft. He stayed away because he didn't have to be close. He could follow their movements just fine. They weren't moving very well anyway. They almost needed each other for support although the tallest one seemed to be sobering up with each step. Her power really was remarkable. He had observed her drinking at least twice as much as the other two. Her size difference was one factor, but her body must be able to metabolize alcohol that much faster. He had to remember to write that down when he got back to his hotel room.

The next day Jan woke up early. Normally it would have been for her morning jog, but she wasn't going to jog this morning. She was first into the bathroom, and then she got dressed. Avery had said the hotel across the street had great coffee. Jan liked coffee on occasion and this morning seemed like a good occasion. She went across the street and ordered a cappuccino then bought a newspaper. She found a table near the window and tried to relax. She was going to relax all morning. There would be more partying to do. She wondered if she should meet Mike again tonight or maybe find another 'Mike' out there. Jan smiled as she thought it over while drinking her coffee and munching on a bran muffin.

The man came down the stairs. He stopped as he turned the corner and saw her. This was his chance. The fate of hundreds of thousands of people might depend on how he played this.

He walked up behind her. Her hair was tied up showing the sweep of her neck and shoulders. He had always loved that part of a woman. It was innocent and sexy at the same time. She had her long legs stretched out under the table as she sat there. She only wore a pair of cutoff denim shorts that covered very little. Her legs were so toned and perfect. Every line ran perfectly into the next. Even the skin covering them was blemish free and radiant. His eyes ran up her legs one more time before he came closer. Her toes were even perfect. He stopped that train of thought and got down to business. He read over her shoulder as he approached. She was reading the 'World' section instead of 'Living' or 'Style'. That meant he might have a chance. This woman was serious minded. He got closer. She was even more beautiful up close. He hated that he had been lurking in the shadows the last few weeks. He took a deep breath and stood across the table from her.

"Excuse me, can I sit down. I need to talk to you about something."

Jan frowned and looked up. The guy was young, very handsome, and just bit shy of 6'0" with a medium build. He had dark brown hair and gray-green eyes, more green than gray. Jan had always been a sucker for green eyes. If this was his come on line then it was weak, but oh well. She'd give him a chance to redeem himself. "Sure have a seat."

He sat down nervously. "I am not sure how to begin this. My name is Avraham Ben-Ami", he began in slightly accent English. He paused and took a deep breath. "I know who you are, or more accurately what you can do."

All the positive emotions inside Jan went away and her guard came up. She pulled her long legs back in and sat up in her chair. She pushed her coffee cup over to the side and put the newspaper down, then leaned closer to him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I have been observing you from a distance for the past few weeks. You and your two friends have great powers. Just wonderful powers. You're Jan Caufield, born in Baltimore, MD, 11/20/85, you have hyper exaggerated recuperative powers, are very resistant to injury, and have strength several times that of a normal person. Then there is Alisha von Edder, of Los Angeles, CA by way of Grand Rapids, MI, born 09/28/85, she has the power to alter perception in a very realistic and total way to objects and people, effective on humans, animals, and machines. Sara Hewitt, born in Vicksburg, MS, 01/11/86, extremely developed and powerful telekinetic abilities, and also very powerful telepathic abilities including but not limited to thought and emotion sensing and extra sensory perception."

Jan's face didn't change. "You sure know a lot about us. Who do you work for?"

"I work for a government agency of my home country."

Jan sighed and sat back. "You work for the Mossad. The accent is right. The look is right. The information is right, but there is one thing you forgot." Jan reached down into her pocket and slowly pulled out her tan wallet. She laid it down on the table and opened it. "You've been spying on Federal Agents on American soil. You know technically I could arrest you right now."

Avraham sighed. "I had expected that you three would have been contacted by your government and trained, but there was no time to confirm it. At any rate this is more important that some arrest that my government would deny. There is something much bigger going on here. I have been tracking you in Atlanta and it is fate that you three came here to the very city you needed to be in. It is fate that you are here in this hotel. I had already chosen to talk to you, but here you are instead of me having to find you."

"You chose to talk to me!" Jan laughed. "Why would you do that given what you know about us. Sara could kill you from 100 feet away without breaking a sweat. Alisha could make you walk off the bridge into Lake Pochatrain while you thought you were walking into a hotel room, but me... You're right here within arm's reach. Right here where I am at my most dangerous."

Avraham squinted just a little before he spoke. "Your heart rate is normal and your blood pressure hasn't risen. There is no added perspiration on your skin. You aren't near the point of killing."

Jan's expression didn't change, but Avraham realized that he was reading it all wrong. His blood pressure began to rise then. "So you have a little secret yourself don't you, Avi? But you don't understand. Think about how dangerous a person could be if they don't have a long lead in time. They can go from calm to deadly in a flash." She snapped her fingers to make the point.

Avi looked deeply into Jan's eyes and realized that she was telling the truth. If she wanted to kill him, he would have no warning. She could literally break him in half and he wouldn't be able to stop her. "I have come for a good reason. There is a group of mercenary terrorists loose, and we need you and your friends' help to capture them. They are very nearly finished with their plans."

"Why don't you call State? They'd send down a team and take care of it."

Avi shook his head. "I can't. My government won't allow it. This cell is made up of a group of Palestinians who were trained by my government back in the mid 90's. The idea was to have them work from the inside against Hamas and other groups. It worked for a while, but then their loyalties switched and they started working against us. They used our own techniques against us. Everything was good for them until Yasser Arafat died a few months ago. The other Palestinian leaders turned on them because they used to work for us. They were outcasts. They put their services up to the highest bidder. Now they have come here to-"

Jan held up a hand to stop him. "I am on vacation! My friends are on vacation. I didn't even bring my gun. That means, that I don't want to do anything like that. I don't want to fight anyone. I don't want to break anything, and I certainly don't want to kill anyone." Jan paused to get her emotions back under control before she continued. "Do you know what its like to watch the life drain out of someone after something you just did to them? In that instant all the bad stuff they've ever done in their lives means nothing. In that moment when their life drains out, they're just somebody's son, or brother, or husband, or father. Then, I have to remind myself what they did to make me have to kill them. Sometimes I only have to remind myself once, but other times I have to remind myself for weeks! No thank you. This is not my problem. I'm not going to do this just to save the Israeli government some embarrassment." Jan stood up quickly and turned to leave.

"They plan to destroy the city", Avi said quickly. "You explain that to yourself after it happens. Try to clear your conscious of that."

Jan didn't turn back. In her mind she still had every reason to leave, but she knew he was serious. Jan's jaw muscles tightened and released as she fought a battle within herself. Finally she turned around. "Fine. You're right. I can't have that on my conscious, but you're going to owe me."

Avi allowed himself the smallest of smiles. "Of course, the Israeli government will be most generous."

Jan's face went from neutral to menacing. "I don't mean the government. I mean you. You're going to owe me personally. Do you understand?"

Avi swallowed hard. He looked across the table. She was so beautiful and so dangerous. He could almost feel the danger around her as her mood had totally changed. Avi had been a good IDF officer before being recruited into the Mossad. He had been in his fair share of combat. He had grown up with combat, but this woman was danger itself. He saw then that dealing death and destruction was her nature. She only controlled it well. She buried it deep, but it was there inside her whenever she wanted to release her hold on it. Avi saw just the tip of it and could only imagine the rest of the beast that lived deep down in Jan Caufield's soul. He smiled again despite his fear. He had picked the right woman. This might just work after all.

This is a chapter in the ongoing story "Power and Fury"!  Check out the earlier chapters here:

Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Chapter  8 -- Chapter 9

The next installment is online now!! Check it out!!