A Chosen Destiny (The Samantha Project Series #3)

by Karpinske, Stephanie

  “Okay, maybe,” I confessed.

  He kissed me and it was just as hot as the night before. He led me to the bed and laid me down. He kissed my neck and slid his hand under my shirt.

  “Colin, we can’t start this,” I whispered.

  “You started it,” he whispered back.

  “People are coming over soon.”

  “They can wait. We have to make up for lost time.”

  “But Dave could come barging in any minute now.”

  He glanced at the clock. “I think we still have time.” He continued.

  I didn’t want him to stop, but I also didn’t want Dave catching us. “No really, Colin. I’d die of embarrassment if he walked in on us. Like literally die.”

  He laughed. “Okay. But we’re finishing this later.” He kissed me once more, then got up and put his t-shirt on.

  “Hey, Colin. I have to ask you this. If you had got on that plane, that would have been it for us, right? I mean, you were so set on going back to Minnesota. What changed your mind?”

  “You did,” he said, sitting next to me. “By driving back to get me. And telling me all that stuff. Being honest. You finally did something that showed me you actually wanted this.”

  “But before that, I told you over and over again how sorry I was and how I didn’t want you to leave.”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t feel like you meant it. And as much as I love you, Sam, I couldn’t spend the rest of my life waiting for you to figure out how you felt about me. But when you showed up at the airport that day, I could tell that something had changed. It was like you’d finally figured out what you wanted.”

  “And I wanted you, Colin. More than anything. But then you ignored all my attempts to get you back. What was that about? You wouldn’t even let me touch you.”

  He laughed. “I had to make you work for it. When you have to work for something, you appreciate it more when you actually get it. And you don’t want to let it go.”

  “Well, it worked.” I wrapped my arms around him. “I’m not letting you go.”

  “Hey, I’ve got something for you.” He went over to the dresser, opening up the top drawer.

  “What could you possibly have—”

  He raced back over, holding a ring box in his hand.

  “No, it’s not that,” he said, seeing the nervous look on my face.

  I took the box and opened it. Inside was a silver ring. I pulled it out and noticed an inscription on the inside. I held it up to the light to read it. “Together we can save the world.” The motto for our second grade science club.

  “It was the Christmas gift I was never able to give you. It was supposed to make you think of me when you went to Stanford in the fall.” He laughed. “Maybe it was stupid. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “I love it, Colin!” I kissed him.

  “It’s all silver. I got it at a jewelry store. But if it’s not your style, you don’t have to wear it. I never see you wear rings, so I wasn’t sure.”

  I put the ring on. It was a perfect fit. “Of course I’ll wear it. It’s exactly my style. But how did you know my size?”

  “I didn’t. But Allie did. She had it sized for me back at Christmas when you and Dave were at the cabin. When you disappeared, I kind of forgot about it. Then when we saw Allie in Minnesota before we left for Iceland, she gave it to me.”

  “I thought you guys were up to something that day.” I looked down at the ring on my finger. “I love it, Colin. Really. It’s perfect.”

  We heard people starting to arrive. I could hear Dave and Abigail talking to them. “I guess I should go. I’m not even sure what this is about.”

  When I went in the living room, people were already discussing the plan to get the genes. Two large men I didn’t recognize were standing next to Dave. Jack, Abigail, and Erik were there as well.

  “Samantha, I’m Keith.” A large older man with a buzz cut shook my hand. “And this is Mitch.” Another large man, this one completely bald, got up and also shook my hand.

  “They’re retired army,” Abigail explained. “They’ve been with us for the past five years or so. They’ve helped us on many missions. Not with GlobalLife specifically, but they’re familiar with this situation. Go ahead, Mitch.”

  I wondered what else this rebel group did. What were their other missions? Abigail never talked about it. Neither did Rachel or anyone else I’d met from the group.

  “Samantha, I was just starting to tell everyone about the security features at the GlobalLife Capital Management building.” Mitch turned to Jack. “Now you’re certain that Eve has access to the vault?”

  Jack nodded. “Yes. In those files, her name was listed as one of the few people who do. So what specific type of security are they using there?”

  “Throughout the building they use retinal scans, facial recognition, voice recognition. All of that. But they don’t have the brain wave fingerprint technology there. Only Iceland and Sweden have that.”

  Dave seemed surprised. “That’s it? Then Eve should be able to get the genes without any problems.”

  “Well, we’re almost certain that they added a new device,” Mitch said. “They applied for a patent on it a few years back. It’s just the type of thing they would use to secure the vault. It’s basically a lie detector on steroids. You go in a small room, almost like one of those old telephone booths, and it monitors your heart rate and breathing pattern as you answer a series of questions. It even takes a blood sample to measure levels of stress hormones. If you answer wrong, the machine reads it as a lie. When that happens, an alarm sounds and locks you in.”

  “What type of questions are asked?” Jack asked.

  “Could be anything. They usually start with the easy stuff, like your name. And from there, the questions get harder and more personal. In fact, these machines work best with the personal stuff. It’s easy to lie about facts that have no emotion attached. It’s not as easy to lie about how you feel about something or someone. We tested a similar device on one of my overseas missions. Worked like a charm.”

  “If Sam and I are controlling her, we won’t know how to answer,” Erik pointed out. “It won’t work.”

  “You can do it,” Abigail assured him. “You just need to practice letting go a little when you’re in Eve’s mind. It’s like easing off on the gas pedal when driving. You just want to give Eve some control of her mind back when the questions are asked. Then you’ll listen to what she’s thinking and answer for her.”

  “That doesn’t sound easy,” I said.

  “We’ll try it later today. You’ll see,” she said.

  Keith and Mitch continued to talk. They showed us schematics of the GBL Capital building, which they had somehow obtained. The vault was hidden in a room straight back from the entrance on the first floor. They said that the last guard left at 8 each night and that the building didn’t have overnight guards because of the many cameras and other security features. They advised us to send Eve there around midnight, when the street in front of the building would be pretty much empty.

  As we went over all the details, I started to get worried. There was so much to remember and so much could go wrong. Erik didn’t seem as concerned, but I think his excitement over taking Eve down was clouding his judgment. Colin sat there quietly listening. I could tell he didn’t like the plan. Brittany stayed in her room. She preferred to pretend it wasn’t happening.

  After a few hours, we took a break so Jack and Dave could show Abigail and our visitors what they’d found in Eve’s files. The rest of us went to the kitchen for lunch.

  As soon as we sat down, Brittany noticed my ring. “Where did that come from?”

  “Colin gave it to me,” I said, admiring it.

  “It was supposed to be her Christmas gift,” Colin explained.

  “Let me see.” Brittany grabbed my hand. “It’s simple, but pretty.”

  “Yeah, it’s exactly my style. Just what I would’ve picked.”

&nb
sp; “Is it supposed to mean something?” Erik stared intently at me. He was not at all happy to hear that Colin and I were back together.

  “It’s not an engagement ring, Erik,” Brittany said.

  “Colin engraved the inside with this thing we used to say as kids.” I took the ring off and gave it to Brittany. “It was the motto for our science club. We used to pretend we were scientists. We were sure we’d find the cure for cancer or solve world hunger.”

  Colin laughed. “Yeah, we liked to dream big back then.”

  Brittany held the ring up. “I can’t read it. What’s the engraving say, Sam?”

  “Together we can save the world.”

  “Kind of sounds stupid when you say it now,” Colin admitted. “It sounded better when we were 8.”

  Brittany handed the ring back to me. “I don’t think it’s stupid. It’s basically what you’re doing now, right? Trying to save the world from GlobalLife?”

  “Yeah, I guess in a way it is.” I slipped the ring back on.

  “So do you think we can really do this, Sam?” Erik asked.

  “I don’t think we have a choice now. But I’m getting really nervous about it.”

  “Then don’t do it,” Colin urged. “If you guys aren’t ready, you shouldn’t do it. If you get caught, they’ll make sure you never escape again.”

  “Yeah,” Brittany agreed. “Maybe you should just let GlobalLife have the stuff. Rachel said it doesn’t even work in other people.”

  “It doesn’t work now. But they’ll find a way,” Erik said. “Maybe they already have.”

  “Erik’s right. We have to do this. I need to stop second-guessing. I have these powers. Now I just need to use them. Besides, we have almost five whole days to practice and get ready.”

  But it still didn’t seem like enough time. Erik and I worked on the mind control exercises all afternoon and into the evening. On Sunday, we practiced getting into the minds of a whole new group of people from the rebel group. Mitch joined us to try to replicate how the GlobalLife lie detector would work. He asked people questions while Erik and I listened to their responses.

  Letting people answer the questions was difficult at first. When I was in their mind, I kept wanting to think the answer for them. But after some practice, I could feel myself pulling back, letting them answer themselves. I did as Abigail said, imagining myself in the car letting off the gas pedal. The imagery helped a lot.

  Later, Mitch started asking people questions that tapped more into emotions and ethics. “It’s much harder to lie when emotions are involved,” Mitch explained. “That’s why this works as a security device. You test people’s loyalty with something like this. It’s not a device you would use on just anyone. GlobalLife developed this for their employees who know top-secret information that can never get out. And for people like Eve who have access to their most valuable assets. GlobalLife will use questions that test Eve’s loyalty to the company and this project. I’m sure she’s already been asked these questions before and passed with flying colors. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have access to the genes. If she answers them correctly again, they’ll know her loyalty still stands and the vault will open.”

  I couldn’t imagine what kinds of questions would prove loyalty, especially from Eve, who didn’t seem like the type of person who could be loyal to anyone.

  We spent the rest of Sunday trying to listen as people answered the emotion-based questions. We were finally getting the hang of it, but neither Erik nor I felt good about it. The mind-control itself was intrusive enough, but now we’d learned to listen to people’s entire thought process. We could feel their emotions as they wrestled with their own ethics. The volunteers agreed to let us do this for the cause, but it still didn’t feel right. By the end of the day, I just wanted to be back in my own head.

  Monday morning, I heard a lot of commotion outside my room. I threw on some jeans and a sweatshirt and ran out to see what was going on.

  “We’re not ready for this. Is she absolutely sure?” Dave was talking to Rachel. Jack and Abigail stood next to them.

  “That’s what our source said. Allie met with her yesterday.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked. “What did Allie say?”

  “What’s all the noise up here?” Erik had come from downstairs.

  “Allie sent us a message,” Rachel explained. “She said her mother is going out of town tomorrow morning. Eve’s going to Sweden. And she’s taking the alien genes with her.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Control

  “Tomorrow?” Erik asked. “What happened to Thursday?”

  “They moved the date up,” Rachel replied. “I don’t know the reason. Allie said her mom’s trip was planned for Thursday, just like Colin said. But now it’s tomorrow morning at 7. She’s going with Emily’s father on the GlobalLife jet.”

  “So we do this tonight or we don’t do it at all,” Erik said.

  Rachel sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. So what do you think? Do you two still want to do this?”

  “Yeah. I’ll do it,” Erik decided.

  Dave looked at me. “Samantha? What do think?”

  “I want this stuff destroyed, so yeah.”

  Abigail came over to us. “Then you both need to go practice some more. Hadley is downstairs. He has everything set up. At 5 o’clock I want you to stop and rest your minds so you’re ready for tonight.”

  Erik and I went downstairs. Hadley, who rarely spoke, had all kinds of instructions and tips he hadn’t shared before. He said Abigail didn’t want to overwhelm us with this stuff all at once, but now that we had no time left he had to speed up the learning process. We worked right up until 5.

  “Remember what I said earlier. When dealing with this woman, you have to set aside your feelings for her,” Hadley instructed. “And, Erik, I know you strongly dislike her.”

  “I hate her,” Erik clarified.

  “Yes, well, if you feel that emotion while you and Samantha are in her mind, this won’t work. Remember, the security device will ask her emotion-based questions. You can’t let your own emotions toward Eve get in the way and cloud her thinking. If you do, she won’t be able to answer correctly.” Hadley looked at me.

  “I don’t like Eve either, but I can let it go for a night.”

  “Good. So, Erik, all you need to do is stay calm and let Sam control her. Your job is to help her keep the connection with Eve going. But, Sam, if you notice that you’re getting emotional or losing control in any way, just hand control over to Erik. Any questions?”

  “I think we’ve got it,” Erik answered. I agreed.

  Hadley left and Jack came down the stairs. “I just wanted to say that if either of you decides you want to back out of this, just say so. You don’t have to do this.”

  “Dad, can I talk to Sam for a minute? Alone?”

  “Sure, son. I’ll be upstairs.”

  “What’s wrong?” I asked Erik. “Are you backing out?”

  “No. But I understand if you want to. You have to do most of the work.”

  “We’ve come this far, Erik. I’m not backing out now.”

  “Okay. I just wanted to make sure.” He started to go upstairs, then stopped and turned around. “Doesn’t it seem like we just did this? Trying to get the genes out of Iceland? Doing all this stuff with brain waves?”

  “Yeah. And I’m tired of it. I’d just like a normal life again.”

  “Good luck with that.” I waited for him to continue up the stairs, but he didn’t. “I’m sure Colin’s not too thrilled about having to live like this forever.”

  I could sense hostility in his tone. “Erik, I feel like you’re mad at me for getting back together with him. But you knew that’s what I wanted.”

  “I’m not mad at you. I just don’t like your decision. We still have this connection, Sam. And sometimes it’s really strong, like today. And even if you’re back with him, our connection will never go away. You can deny it all you want, but I know you s
till feel it.”

  “That connection is programmed into us. It’s our minds connecting and our genes recognizing each other. I get that now. It’s not real. It never was.”

  “None of it, Sam?”

  “Okay, yes. Some of it was real. But a lot of it was manipulated. It has to be. Why else would our feelings for each other get so strong after we mind-talk or have these practice sessions?”

  “My feelings for you are strong even when we’re not doing those things. How do you explain that, Sam? You could blame the software. But that just explains the physical attraction. What I feel for you is so much more than that.”

  I didn’t respond.

  He moved down a step so that we were just inches apart, his face hovering over mine. “How do you explain Iceland?”

  Images of us together in Iceland flashed in my mind. I wondered if he put them there or if I was remembering them myself.

  “What happened between us there was real, Sam.” His eyes locked on mine and he lowered his voice. “I knew how you felt about me when we were in Iceland. I could feel it when I was in your mind. And when we were dancing. And when I held you every night in our bed. I can still feel it now. But you refuse to admit those feelings exist, Sam. And I don’t understand. Why are you fighting this?”

  I backed away. “Just drop it, Erik. I want to be with Colin. I have no doubts about that.” I tried to go past him on the stairs. He wouldn’t let me.

  “But you have doubts about us, right? If you were with with me, you’d always be wondering whether what we had was real or not. You’d always be thinking that GlobalLife won. That’s why you’re back with Colin, isn’t it?”

  I wouldn’t answer.

  “That’s the reason, isn’t it, Sam? GlobalLife wanted us to be together. They wanted their golden couple. And you think that if we’re together, you’re letting them win.”

  “Erik, please don’t talk about this anymore. You’ll find someone else. Lots of people know your secret now. And some of them happen to be really hot girls around your age. Like Brittany? Or Rachel? Well, she might be a little old.”

  “Whatever, Sam. So I have options. But nobody will understand me like you do. And Colin will never understand you like I do.”