Her Only Son

by Shawna Platt

  She rushed through the clinic doors and headed straight toward the nursery. No one seemed to question her being there. She walked down the hall that lead to the nursery and tried to act normal. She knew the security cameras were recording her every move.

  She pushed the button located next to the nursery room door and a few seconds later, it opened. She walked in to find Sorina and another man waiting for her. She shot a cautious glance in Sorina’s direction.

  “Don’t be alarmed, Kinsey. This is my father, Dr. Conrad Westcott, and he’s going to help you get out of here with Ryker.”

  Kinsey looked at him and nodded. She saw Ryker on a small bed and rushed over to pick him up. She cradled him against her chest and looked at Sorina.

  “What now?”

  Conrad spoke. “We don’t have a lot of time, so let me explain what’s going to happen here. You must do exactly as you’re told.”

  Kinsey agreed.

  “In a few minutes, you’re going to leave the nursery and head back to the living quarters, where Stella will take you to the airport.”

  Kinsey looked down at her son. “What about Ryker?”

  “He’s going to leave with me.”

  Kinsey shot him a confused look. “How are you going to manage that?”

  “Just listen. I’m going to give Ryker a sedative that will enable me to place him in my medical bag…”

  When Kinsey gasped, he held up a hand and continued.

  “He’ll be fine. The bag is big enough for him and I’ll place an oxygen tube in his nostrils.” He held up a small canister then placed it in his bag. “No one will question me when I leave and the sedative will keep Ryker asleep so he doesn’t cry.”

  He reached out and took Ryker from Kinsey. She reluctantly handed him over.

  “Then what?”

  Conrad placed Ryker on a small bed and injected the sedative. Ryker let out a small cry, but quickly quieted down as it took hold.

  Sorina handed Kinsey a bag. “This is full of formula, bottles, and diapers. You should be able to breastfeed, so use that to your advantage. If not, you’ll need the formula and bottles.” She also handed her an envelope. “This should be enough cash to get you somewhere safe, but don’t stay in one place too long unless you know you can trust who you’re with.”

  “How do I get Ryker back?”

  Conrad finished placing him in his bag and turned to Kinsey. “I’m going to meet you at a restaurant by the airport.” He handed her a piece of paper with a name and address on it. “Once Stella drops you off at the airport, you get to this location,” he tapped the paper, “as soon as you can. I’ll be waiting for you there.”

  He reached in his pocket and handed her a cell phone. “This is a non-traceable phone. Make sure you turn yours off and dump it at the airport.”

  “All right.” She placed the phone in her pocket.

  Sorina quickly put a surgical glove on, grabbed a syringe off the counter, and handed it to Kinsey. Kinsey took it and looked at Sorina.

  “What’s this for?”

  Sorina took it back. “Part of the plan. I’m giving you a half hour to get as far away as you can. Then I’m going to inject myself with this sedative. Since your fingerprints are on it, it will look like you knocked me out and took Ryker. There are no other babies in the nursery and I’ve made sure to relieve all nurses.”

  “But they’ll see me leave the nursery. I won’t have him with me.”

  “No, but you have those,” Sorina pointed to her bags and Kinsey understood.

  Conrad zipped his medical bag, with Ryker inside, and headed for the door. “I have to leave before you, Kinsey. Please, trust that Ryker will be safe with me until you get to the restaurant.”

  Kinsey didn’t like the idea of Ryker being zipped up in the bag, but she had no choice. She nodded as tears filled her eyes. Conrad hugged his daughter and left the nursery.

  Sorina gave Kinsey a hard stare. “We’re risking a lot for helping you escape. You need to understand it must look like you did it on your own.” She held up the syringe.

  “Are you going to remain working for the program?”

  Sorina shook her head. “No, I’m not, but I’m not willing to risk my reputation as a doctor over something I knew nothing about.” She walked over and took Kinsey’s hand. “Remember, once you leave, you’re on your own. Do not try to contact either of us.”

  “I won’t. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

  “You’re welcome.” She gave Kinsey a brief hug. “You have to go now; you’ve been here long enough.”

  “So I just walk out?”

  “Yes. Just walk out and go meet Stella in front of the living quarters. She’ll take you to the airport. You know the plan from there.”

  Kinsey took a deep breath and left the nursery.

  Conrad Westcott pulled up to the main gate and presented his ID card. The guard scanned it and gave it back.

  “Visiting your daughter today?”

  “Yep. She’s quite the busy lady. If I want to see her, I have to pay a visit once in a while.”

  He glanced down at his medical bag that was sitting on the passenger side floor and noticed a small nudge from the inside. Stay quiet, little one.

  He returned his attention to the guard. “Well, you have a good day.”

  “You, too, Dr. Westcott.”

  He smiled and drove through the front gates.

  Stella was waiting for Kinsey when she got to the front area of the living quarters.

  “There you are. Are you ready to go home?”

  Kinsey tried not to look nervous and gave her a smile. “You have no idea.” She placed her bags in the back seat and slid in beside them. Moments later, they were pulling through the main gates.

  Back in the nursery, Sorina was biding her time, waiting for the right moment to inject herself with the sedative. After that, she would sound the nursery alarm. It had to be this way and she hoped Kinsey would be far enough away that she would have a fighting chance.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Brice was waiting at the Chicago airport for his 5pm flight back to Nevada. He had to get back to Kinsey and help her escape with Ryker. He risked a call to Sorina.

  She saw his name come up on her phone and became angry. Where have you been? She knew she wasn’t going to be able to answer it. She couldn’t risk the call being monitored.

  “I’m sorry, Brice, but you’re too late.” She let the call go to voicemail.

  Kinsey was trying to maintain the conversation Stella was attempting to have, but it was more than she could handle.

  “Stella, I’m sorry, but I’m not up for talking right now. I hope you understand.”

  Stella glanced at her in the review mirror. “Are you feeling all right? You look a bit flushed.”

  “Yes, I’m fine, thank you. I could just use some quiet right now.”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  Stella started humming to the song on the radio and Kinsey laid her head against the seat. Just breathe, Kinsey. Ryker is fine.

  She decided to use the time to map the restaurant where she was supposed to meet Conrad and add some important contact numbers to her new phone. She held it close to her lap, hoping Stella wouldn’t see it.

  Stella pulled up to the drop off curb at the airport and Kinsey all but jumped out of the car. She shot a quick “thank you” to Stella and headed inside. She would circle around and come out another door, then head to the restaurant to meet Conrad.

  She made a quick stop in the restroom. While she was in the stall, she powered off her cell phone, removed the battery, and wrapped them in toilet paper. She lifted the lid to the sanitary disposal glued to the side of the stall and placed her phone and battery inside. She wadded up more toilet paper and placed it on top for extra padding. She rushed out the door and headed for the restaurant. She had to get to her son.

  Sorina leaned against the counter in the nursery holding the syringe. She hated what she was about to do
. The last thing she wanted was to put Kinsey and Ryker in danger, but there was a part of her that knew she had to protect herself as well. Kinsey was strong and Sorina hoped she’d put enough distance between them so she’d have a chance.

  She blew out a breath and plunged the syringe into her forearm. She tossed it on the floor and quickly took off her glove and threw it away. It wouldn’t take long for the mild sedative to get into her system. She walked over to the alarm button by the door and pushed it. This was the point of no return. Security would be here in a matter of minutes and an all out manhunt would be issued for Kinsey.

  Kinsey spotted the restaurant sign a half block away and quickened her step. She assumed Conrad was already waiting for her and panic set in when she didn’t see him. She raced around the side of the restaurant, thinking he may have parked in back to remain hidden as much as possible. Relief set in when she saw him standing by his car. She walked up to him, trying to stay calm. He opened the door and she saw Ryker swaddled in a small duffle bag.

  “How is he?”

  “He’s just fine, but we don’t have a lot of time, Kinsey.”

  She reached down for the bag and he touched her arm.

  “Listen to me carefully. Get a cab, they run along this main street regularly, and get to a hotel so you can remove Ryker from the bag. Make sure you remove the oxygen device as well. He’ll be waking up in about an hour and will be hungry.”

  Kinsey gave him an impatient nod and reached for the bag again.

  “Don’t stay at the hotel long. It’s only a matter of time before they start looking for you, and mark my word, you’ll need to stay under the radar when they do.”

  “I understand.” She zipped the bag and carefully lifted it off the seat.

  “Do you have any idea where you’re going? Are you going to be able to carry everything?”

  “Yes, I do, I just have to get there. And I have no choice, once I get Ryker out of the bag, that will be one less to carry.”

  “I wish you the best of luck, Kinsey. You have a lot of courage to try and pull this off.”

  “There is no try. My only option is to make it happen. Our lives depend on it.”

  He took a step back and watched her walk away.

  Back at the clinic, all hell was breaking loose. Word quickly spread that Kinsey had escaped with her son and most of the participants were secretly rooting for her to make it. The entire compound was on lockdown.

  Sorina was resting in a treatment bed when her father returned. For appearance sake, Sorina had security call him and ask him to come back. He played the concerned father and questioned how security could allow this to happen. One of the main security guards pulled him aside.

  “You were here earlier, weren’t you?”

  “Yes, I was. I came to visit my daughter, but didn’t stay long. She had work to do.”

  “Security tapes show Kinsey Garrick entering the nursery while you were still there.”

  “Yes, that’s true. She came to the nursery, she claimed, to see her son before she left the program. My daughter gave her permission to do so.”

  “Didn’t you find that odd? Participants don’t usually visit the child they’re about to leave behind.”

  “I did actually and I questioned Sorina about it. She assured me it was fine, that what Kinsey was experiencing was normal. Just because the participants don’t visit their child before leaving, doesn’t mean they don’t want to. Kinsey simply had the courage to ask.”

  “Well, obviously, she had more on her mind than a simple visit.”

  “Obviously, but everything was fine when I left.”

  “Well, she wasn’t about to attack your daughter with you there, Sir.”

  Conrad nodded. “I suppose not.”

  “Your daughter’s lucky. She could have been seriously hurt.”

  “Let’s just be thankful she wasn’t.” He paused. “So what’s happening now?”

  “Hakon and some of his men are in a private meeting with some of the security team. I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes right about now.”

  Conrad made a face. “No, definitely not. I’m going to check on Sorina. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

  “You got it.”

  Hakon’s fury was on full blast in the security room.

  “How in the hell does a participant walk out of here with a baby and you buffoons not notice?”

  “Sir, you can check the security cameras yourself. She doesn’t leave with the baby.”

  The guard played the recording of Kinsey’s visit to the nursery. They showed her entering the nursery and a short time later, Dr. Conrad Westcott leaving; then a short time after that, Kinsey leaving.

  “You see, Sir,” he pointed to the screen, “Ms. Garrick is not carrying the baby.”

  Hakon told him to freeze the video and he leaned forward, studying it. After a moment, he slapped the guard in the back of the head.

  “You fucking idiot! Her bags! The baby was in one of her bags!”

  The security guard looked at the bags Kinsey was carrying and realized it could be possible.

  “Sir, we had no reason at the time to suspect anything was wrong.”

  Hakon paced the room. “Why the hell was she allowed into the nursery to begin with?”

  “You’d have to ask Dr. Sorina Westcott, Sir. She’s the one who approved it.”

  Hakon stood for a moment, still studying the frozen video. He turned around and marched to the door. “That’s exactly what I intend to do.”

  Conrad and Sorina were alone and talking quietly in her treatment room.

  “So, did Kinsey make it to the restaurant?”

  He hushed her and simply nodded. “We will not discuss this right now.”

  A few moments later, Hakon stormed into her room and quickly advanced on Sorina.

  “Would you like to explain to me why in the hell you allowed a participant to visit a baby before exiting the program?”

  Conrad stood up and stepped between Hakon and Sorina. “You will back away from my daughter right now, Hakon. She’s one of the victims here.”

  “Well, she wouldn’t be a victim if she would have properly done her damn job!”

  Sorina defended herself. She wasn’t about to back down to Hakon again. Whether he knew it or not, if she had anything to do about it, his reign of power was close to ending.

  “Almost all the participants want to visit the child they gave birth to before leaving the program. This is a natural desire. Kinsey was not the first person to ask and I figured there was no harm to allow her to see him. She’s been a valuable team member here at the compound.”

  “Well, obviously, you were wrong.”

  She pushed herself off the end of the treatment table she’d been sitting on and stood toe to toe with him. “I was wrong about a lot of things. You’ll have my resignation letter tomorrow.” She pushed past him and left the room, with her father close behind.

  Hakon bellowed at her as she left. “I don’t need you, bitch! I can hire another one just like you.”

  As she walked down the hallway, she muttered under her breath, “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

  Hakon returned to the security room and ordered everyone on the security team to meet him at his main office in fifteen minutes. He pulled out his phone and made a call as he walked out.

  “Keith? Where the hell are you?”

  “Hello to you, too, Sir. I’m on assignment, like you requested.”

  “Well, your assignment can wait. That bitch Kinsey Garrick escaped the compound with government property and I want her located.”

  “Government property?”

  “The child! Somehow she got out of here with the child! I need you back at the compound right now!”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He disconnected the call and laughed out loud. “Well, well, Kinsey, look at you. About time someone took this bastard on.”

  Kinsey wasn’t aware of it, but she’
d just won the support and protection of Keith Anderson. His only hope was that he would be able to find her first. For now, he would play the game. If he was going to help Kinsey, he needed to be included on inside information, and lucky for him, his current assignment wasn’t far from the compound.

  Stella sat in a chair across from the security officer. She heard about Kinsey’s escape with her son, and since she was the one who drove her to the airport, she was currently under suspicion.

  “You drove Kinsey Garrick to the airport, correct?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “And you didn’t notice that she had a baby with her?”

  “I’m sorry to disagree, but Kinsey did not have a baby with her.”

  “The baby was in her bag. You didn’t hear anything?”

  “No, I didn’t. If she had a baby stuffed in her bag, I think I would have heard it. Babies cry, you know.”

  “I don’t like your tone.”

  “I really don’t care. I’m telling you, Kinsey did not have a baby in her bag when I drove her to the airport.”

  “There’s no other way she could have pulled it off. What are you hiding? Are you covering for her?”

  “I assure you I’m not. I realize everyone around here thinks I’m a joke, but I’ve always loved and supported this program and would do anything to participate. Why would I do something to cause any problems?”

  The security guard questioning her sat back and relaxed a bit. He knew Stella was telling the truth. Everyone knew she wanted to be a participant, but couldn’t, and she did everything she could to help out in other areas. She was loyal to the program.

  “All right, Stella. You can go.”

  She rose out of the chair, her anger starting to show. “You know, I’m really disappointed in Kinsey. How could she do this? Doesn’t she realize how special it is to be chosen?” She shook her head and walked away.

  An hour later, Hakon was heading a security meeting in his office. Keith walked in just as the meeting was starting. He’d never seen Hakon so angry and it secretly made him happy. Hakon paced the front of the room, shouting orders.