This room looks to have a combination of security measures.
You’ve got to get out of there, Jonas said. Sandra just stormed past me. She’s headed in that direction. I don’t know how you got inside that part of the lab, but she won’t be happy.
Yes, Lexi, Addison said. Sandra is headed right for you. And she’s moving quickly.
I turned on my heels and walked back the way I came. I could use a Marauder’s Map right about now.
I slipped outside the lab and walked in the opposite direction from where I hoped Sandra would be coming. I shed the lab coat and left it on the floor, then stuffed the ID down my shirt.
“There she is.”
I jumped when I heard the voice of Dr. Barracuda herself. I slowly turned toward her. The young lab tech I had assaulted stood beside Sandra, picked up her lab coat, and began dusting it off.
“Sarah, come with me.” Sandra did not look like she was having a good day. And the lab tech was downright pissed.
I debated internally whether I should make a run for it. Where would I go? “Why?” I asked her. I fingered the ring on my finger. The gun pushed against the small of my back, tucked in my waistband.
Sandra looked sideways at the lab tech. “You may go. If no more little girls attack you, you might make it out alive.”
The woman evil-eyed me as she approached, reached up and snatched the glasses still perched on my nose, then spun on her heels and stalked off.
When she was gone, I redirected my gaze back to Sandra. I had swallowed all fear back in Sandra’s apartment when Jack had looked me in the eye and promised we’d make it out of here.
Sandra’s shiver-inducing grin spread across her face. “You think you’ve got this all figured out, don’t you?”
I cocked my head. “Figured out? Are you kidding me? I don’t think I’ll ever have this all figured out. That wasn’t my intention when I turned myself over to you.”
“What was your intention?
I almost laughed. What was my intention? I didn’t have just one. To do the right thing. To save my best friend. To get Ty and Jonas out of my head forever. To discover enough about this facility and Sandra to escape and live some semblance of a normal life. But instead of confiding all that, I simply stared at Sandra. She looked exhausted, like she hadn’t slept in days.
“What if I told you my dream is to have you, Jonas, and Jack working alongside me? I want you to know what Peter, John, and I created you to do. The three of you are very special, Sarah.”
“My name is Lexi. My dad renamed me when he hid me from you. If he had created me to do something so special, why didn’t he tell me?”
“I can’t answer that.” Sandra actually had the gall to appear remorseful when she spoke.
“That’s because you killed him before he had the chance,” I answered for her.
Sandra placed a hand over her heart, a gesture very similar to one I’ve done many times. “I’m sorry your father was killed. That was unfortunate. But I didn’t kill him.”
“Unfortunate? Unfortunate is dropping an iPhone in the toilet. My father was murdered because he was trying to protect me. You expect me to believe you had nothing to do with it?”
“Yes, actually. I was in a coma by the time your father was killed.”
I blinked. Two, three times. “Then, you ordered him killed.”
“You’re smarter than this, Sarah.” Sandra turned and began walking away from me. “Come with me. I have something you need to see.”
Above me, a voice said, “LAB WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN FORTY-FIVE MINUTES.”
~~~~~
We found the blueprint for the trackers. Jack mindspoke to the group. Lexi, where are you? His voice sounded panicked.
I stared at Sandra’s back as we passed the lab. Jack was not going to be happy. We turned a corner and continued toward the interior part of the building. She scanned her ID at a door, then placed her palm onto a scanner similar to the one I saw outside the control room.
I heard a small click. Sandra pulled her hand back and sucked on her middle finger for a second. She didn’t even flinch. The door slid open.
I’m with Sandra. I closed my eyes and braced for Jack’s response. We’re entering some interior room around the corner from the lab.
Turn around. Run. Do whatever you have to do. Get away from her.
Why?
We were wrong. Addison says you’re entering the main DNA lab right now. The tracker server is located on the other side of that room. I’ve got a list of trackers in front of me and who they’ve been designed for. Lexi, there’s one with your name beside it.
Chapter Thirty-Four
I stopped. Refused to enter the room. “What is this?” You will not make me enter this room. You will tell me now what is inside.
“Your mind tricks won’t work on me. You will come with me now. When we’re done here, you’ll know who was responsible for your father’s death.” Sandra’s voice was one hundred percent calm, like she had no doubt I would follow. But when I hesitated, she added, “Come now if you want to keep Danielle from meeting the same fate as Ty.”
A shiver started at the top of my scalp, moved to the base of my neck, then traveled throughout my body. I had no idea why she was immune to my mindspeak. The woman before me truly was a descendent of the father of lies. Getting close to her was like getting drawn into a forest raging with an out-of-control fire with no chance of escape. She might not have been responsible for my dad’s death, but she had no problem killing those who got in her way.
Yet I couldn’t say no to her. She tempted me with things I desired so deeply, I couldn’t turn away. Sometimes a person had to move forward to find her way out of a scary place.
I walked the few steps through the door. It slid closed behind me, making me flinch.
The room was a semicircle. A larger lab than the one down the hall, but with fewer people rushing about. Sandra and I were separated from lab technicians by a glass wall. Beyond the partition, the techs were dressed in white protective suits, including blue surgical gloves and white hoods over their hair.
This was the DNA lab. I recognized the large machines around the room designed to analyze and store DNA and blood data. Like in the previous lab, the people were rushing about, packing up equipment and preparing to move. A few of the machines were on rolling carts ready to be transported.
“Dr. Whitmeyer.” A young African-American man approached. “The device is almost ready. We have customized it to your latest specifications. It will be ready in plenty of time for you to make the last truck out of here.”
“Thank you, Daniel. Is the main server ready for the switchover? I don’t want the tracker system down for even a second longer than absolutely necessary.”
“The server is ready. There will be very little down time. We’ll only need the hard drive with this last tracker synced to it. Once that’s plugged into the new server, you’ll be operational again.”
The muscles in my neck and shoulders tightened. It wouldn’t matter if I shot up the computers here with a machine gun; Sandra would just continue to manipulate the trackers from the next location. Unless I somehow got my hands on that hard drive—that would slow Sandra down a little while we removed Dani’s and Jonas’s trackers.
“This way, Sarah.” Sandra barely acknowledged the man’s instructions. She continued around the half-circle to another door. This door was equipped with another palm scan and finger prick.
The door opened. And my heart stopped when I saw John DeWeese. Sandra stepped behind me and gave me a shove inside.
“What took you so long?” he asked when he saw Sandra, then he looked at me. “I’m so thrilled you could join us, Sarah.”
Why did everyone insist on calling me by that name? I remained silent and just stared at the centerpiece of the room: an exam table of some sort with leather straps at both ends.
I suddenly couldn’t breathe. Jack, Jonas, and Addison chatted inside my mind about possible ways to ge
t me out of the situation I was now in—a position I had put myself in. I barely listened as I watched Dr. DeWeese type on a keyboard, producing a graphic design of a tracker on a large retractable screen on the far wall. It rotated in different directions in 3-D. I drew in a labored breath. My hand clutched at my throat. Jonas! I finally mindspoke, letting him enter my mind fully.
It’s going to be okay, he whispered. Breathe. I promise I’m going to get you out of there.
What is it? Jack asked.
Don’t tell him that his father is here. It will kill him, I said, speaking only to Jonas. Jack would have to face this sooner or later, but later was better.
It’s your father, Jonas said.
Fine, don’t listen to me. It wasn’t like Jonas ever had before.
“Show her,” Sandra ordered Dr. DeWeese.
“Gladly.” Dr. DeWeese smiled.
A video played on the screen. A movie of my father, Sandra, and John when they were younger. They appeared happy. It reminded me of the picture Jack showed me the night he informed me I had been cloned. Images of the three of them. All smiling. Sandra looking up at the two men as if they were her heroes.
“Sarah,” Sandra began. “I once thought your father, John, and I would cure every disease and injury known to man. We would find a way to promise every human on this earth… well, those with the means…”—she smiled—“…the opportunity to live a long, healthy life.”
I watched the screen change from an image of the three scientists to pictures of brains, neural activity, and DNA mapping. It was picture after picture of their research. Pictures of the goat they cloned. And of Cheriana, Jack’s cloned horse at Wellington.
Sandra continued. “No one would ever question the intelligence of your father, John, or me. Nor would they doubt the intelligence of the original owners of the others’ DNA. What we did was study the most brilliant medical minds of our time. We studied my brain activity. Your father’s. John’s. And many others. We cloned those human beings multiple times, hoping for as many successes as possible. Then, within a control group, we enhanced parts of the DNA and brain that we felt would produce a sort of supernatural healer.”
“Seven of us,” I whispered mostly to myself.
Dr. DeWeese’s face turned toward me. “What did you say?”
“I said ‘seven of us.’ There were seven in the control group.”
“Seven of the control group survived. That’s right.” Sandra smiled. “Oh my God. She knows.”
I tilted my head, studying the monster in front of me. What riddle was she spewing on about now? “I know that you’re the devil.”
“How did you know there were seven?” John asked.
If it was possible for my heart to beat any faster, it did. My eyes went in and out of focus. I willed my heart to slow. “You told me,” I squeaked. “That day we talked at Wellington.”
“No, I didn’t. I told you that I had no idea how many of the original clones had survived.” He cupped his chin. Rubbed the stubble across his jaw. “You have the journals, don’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” This was bad.
Dr. DeWeese tilted his head backwards, stared up at the ceiling, and let out an enormous laugh.
I didn’t see anything resembling humor in the situation. The female voice overhead reminded us, “LAB WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN THIRTY MINUTES.”
Neither Sandra nor Dr. DeWeese seemed the least bit panicked.
“Where are the journals, Sarah?” Sandra asked.
It was my turn to laugh. “Your lab is going to blow up or melt in acid or whatever in thirty minutes. You’ve got me locked inside a high-security room. No one knows where I am. And you think I’m going to hand over the one thing my father left behind to protect me? You both are seriously demented.” I turned to Dr. DeWeese. “Does Jack know what an a-hole his father is? Does he know that you’re behind all this?”
His face fell just a little before he recovered. “My son will understand. It’s time you both grow up.” He inhaled deeply, then took a step forward. He had such a kind face, like Jack, yet when I looked deep within Dr. DeWeese’s eyes, I saw something that was completely unlike Jack. Something profoundly corrupt. “Lexi, my son loves you, and for good reason. You were created for him. To complement him. You both are beautifully cloned to be better than Sandra and me. To accomplish miracles Sandra and I have only dreamed of.” He glanced sideways at Sandra, who smiled. I wanted to puke all over both of them. He continued. “You two could change the world. Join us, Lexi.”
I rotated my shoulders back and stepped toward this vile man. “We are better than you, but not because you altered our DNA to be smarter. We are better than you for a reason that is beyond your understanding. You… you…” I lifted my hand and drilled my forefinger into my temple. “You two are crazy.”
“You haven’t seen crazy,” Sandra said. She no longer had the calm tone she had when we first entered the lab. “You will tell us where the journals are.”
I walked over to a swivel chair in the corner of the room and sat. Though the blood in my veins raged like a mad river after a storm, I willed myself to appear calm. “I don’t think so.” I had no way of getting out of that room without help, and I was not about to hand over the one thing Sandra needed from me. I had meant it when I’d said I would die first. “Question. If you designed us to be these über-healers, how did the other supernatural aspects of our abilities come about?”
Sandra shrugged. “Those were unintended side effects of the genetic manipulation. But a most welcome bonus.” She smiled. “Not the first major scientific breakthrough based on unintentional consequences.”
“You mean you have no idea?” I asked.
“Well, it seems that some of the abilities are extensions of your personalities,” Sandra said. “From what I’ve heard, you, like me, are somewhat of a control freak.” She glanced at Dr. DeWeese. “Therefore, it makes sense that you can manipulate people’s actions with your mind. Jack, like John, is extremely aware of those around him. So, he can get into peoples minds, talk to them, hear them. According to John, he has been very aware of you since the moment he knew you existed. The fact that he can hear your thoughts and communicate with you so easily makes sense. I could go on, but we simply don’t have time.”
Dr. DeWeese wiped his palms on his khaki pants. He was nervous. He had disappeared before the night of the gala. Did Cathy know that he was with Sandra? Was she part of this? Instinct told me the answer to both of those questions was a big fat no.
“I think it’s time you knew who the real enemy is, Sarah. We are not your enemy.” She pointed back and forth between Dr. DeWeese and herself. “You have an opportunity to be a huge part of American history. To be a great service to your country and the world. We want you to thrive, not run from your true destiny.”
“What are you babbling on about now?” I raised both brows.
“We are not the only country developing genetically modified ultra-intelligent humans,” Sandra said. “We were just the first. And the IIA is responsible for assuring that the United States continues to be the best. Other countries have already developed genetically mutated animals and insects that are being used in counterintelligence missions. Spiders, for example, mutated to slip through cracks in the walls with microchips in their bodies designed to spy on important military and political meetings.”
Dr. DeWeese typed on the computer in front of him. A little boy playing in a very dusty street appeared on the large screen. “See this child? He is one hundred percent boy when he’s playing. But when his handlers activate the chip embedded in the center of his brain, he becomes approximately sixty percent robot. The forty percent of him that is human gets him near a group of military generals. The sixty percent of him that is robot records everything those generals say and reports back the location of the terrorists protected by his country… which in turn leads us to launch military attacks at those locations.”
“That genetic
ally engineered boy was created by the IIA,” Sandra said.
“Get to the point,” I said.
“Friends of the United States are willing to pay unbelievable amounts of money for genetically manipulated human beings who can be controlled by a single computer program.” Her voice started to take on an angry edge. “That boy was sold to another country for enough money to fund our future facility for a decade or more.”
I swallowed against the taste of bile that rose to the back of my throat. “You’re running a freak show that grows robotic children so they can be controlled by a computer.” They were growing spies for the international community. “For what? For money?”
“Of course for money. You think the type of medical research and healing miracles we’re working toward comes cheap? You could be a part of this. You and Jack. You would want for nothing.”
Money? She thought I would bow down to her highness for money?
I eyed the computer in front of Dr. DeWeese. “So, that machine controls every person with a tracker?”
“The ones I’m in control of, that’s right.” Sandra looked pleased with herself. “Look how easily Ty got inside your head. And his manipulation was completely from a computer program.” She pointed to the computer Dr. DeWeese had been typing into. “He wasn’t cloned to do so. As you saw, I had complete control over him.”
Well, not complete control, I wanted to argue.
“If I wanted him inside your head, he was inside your head. If I wanted him inside Jonas’s head, who then got inside your head and forced you into a freezing swimming pool, then that’s what happened.”
“All because of the tracker?”
“That’s right.” Sandra was starting to use her hands a lot to over-explain some grand point. “And you’ll be a part of this. A part of something so huge. Or…” She tilted her head side to side. “Or you’ll be eliminated by those who will not risk information about our division of the IIA being released into the world.”
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