“You are looking at one excited lady. My dance moves were so impressive last night that I now have a date with the hottest guy on campus.”
“That’s great, Lindsey. I’m sure he’ll fall in love with you as much as he did your dance moves in no time.”
Lindsey spoke with Matthew for over an hour. She just couldn’t believe that she had impressed him like that on the dance floor. She couldn’t understand where it had come from. “I wasn’t even that nervous. It just flowed through me, you know?”
Matthew asked if she would be getting up on the dance floor again, and she said, “Oh, God no! I don’t know how I did it, but I hope the subject never comes up again.”
The two walked around campus together until Matthew checked his phone and realized that the six o’clock dinner was due to start in ten minutes.
“Oh no. Lindsey, I have to go. I am so late.”
Lindsey thanked him again and gave him a peck on the cheek. Matthew could feel the excitement ooze from her like the sweat off an athlete. He was excited for her too, but he still had his own problems to contend with.
Matthew sprinted back to his car and raced home, sure he would get some nasty looks from Addie when he walked in. The only thing she had asked of him was not to be late, and here he was, pulling into the driveway at six fifteen.
He recognized Ms. Landrum’s car but didn’t see Cameron’s anywhere. Maybe he was running late, too. Matthew darted in the back door, hoping to avoid an awkward entrance, but that would likely be unavoidable.
He snuck through the kitchen and saw Addie, Bryan, and Amanda facing him in the dining room. Ms. Landrum was standing beside a large man who had his back to Matthew. He noticed that the large man had a shiny gold ring on his left hand, and his black suit made him look just that much bigger.
Addie saw Matthew come in and placed her hand on her chest. She said, “I see our son finally decided to join us. Come over and greet our guests, Matthew.”
Sandra Landrum waved at Matthew. “Oh, it’s one of my star students. Let me introduce you to my friend.”
Matthew walked to the side of the large man and was practically blinded by the three gold chains that hung from his neck. The man stuck out his hand and said, “Nice to meet you, Matthew. I’m Evan Elliott.”
If it hadn’t been for the Hathmec, every bit of blood would have disappeared from the face of Matthew Chance. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. This was Evan Elliott. This was Minister Hathmec. Matthew was speechless. Addie broke in. “Mr. Elliott and Ms. Landrum have been seeing each other for a while now.”
Matthew collected himself with some difficulty and said, “It’s very nice to meet you, sir. I apologize for being so late.”
Mr. Elliott replied, “Punctuality is an important trait, but I’ll let it slide this time, especially since I can smell wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen.”
Evan’s voice had that same baritone depth that Matthew remembered from the Minister’s speech. All he was missing was a white suit.
Addie laughed at that, and Bryan replied, “I bet it’s not as good as what Sandra brought with her.”
Matthew could see that everyone was trying to chitchat, but he knew how dangerous this situation could be. He started to ask to speak with Addie for moment, but before he could, the doorbell rang.
Matthew went to the door to see that Cameron was, in fact, also late. “Sorry, man. I hope you weren’t waiting on me to start.”
He walked into the dining room and apologized for being late. He didn’t speak to Evan Elliott and acknowledged Amanda with a quick “Hey, there.”
Addie took the opportunity of Cameron’s arrival to get the family away from their guests. “If I could have my kids and my husband join me, we will start bringing out the food.”
Sandra said, “Oh, I can help you with that.”
“No, you are our guests, and I need the kids to pitch in here,” replied Addie. “Make yourselves comfortable.”
Matthew and Amanda followed Addie and Bryan into the kitchen, which was separated from the dining room by a partial wall. Steven and Ms. Landrum’s son, Scott, were off playing on the computer, so Addie didn’t worry about them.
As soon as the family reached the kitchen, Matthew spoke first. “Is that who I think it is?”
Addie nodded. “We cannot let him see that we have our pendants on. Make sure it’s hidden well inside your shirts.”
“What if he tries to read our minds or pull something from us?” Matthew asked. “He’ll know something’s up.”
Bryan said, “We can’t take them off or he’ll know everything. Without the protection of the Hathmec, he can read our memories.”
Addie put her hand to her chest. “Right. We can’t take them off. But if we don’t give him any reason not to trust us, he won’t feel the need to do anything with his Hathmec.”
Amanda piped up. “What about the picture that looks like the trans-x charm? Should we even bring it up?”
“Absolutely not,” Bryan replied. “We just need to get through this meal without anything bad happening. Just play it calm—let’s just eat, and then let’s get them out of here.”
Everyone grabbed a dish or drinks and made their way back into the dining room. In an aside, Matthew asked Amanda, “Are you and Cameron ok? He barely spoke to you.”
“Let’s just get through this,” she replied.
Evan Elliott saw the various dishes prepared by the Chance family and remarked, “Wow, this looks great. I hope you made some for yourselves, too.”
Everyone laughed and sat down for the meal. Ms. Landrum asked if she should call for the boys and Addie suggested they just let them play. “They won’t like this stuff anyway. Steven ate earlier after practice.”
Ms. Landrum agreed and said that her son had already pigged out, too. “Boys will be boys.”
The first few bites of food had been chewed and swallowed when Sandra Landrum pointed out something she saw in the painting hanging behind Bryan at the head of the table.
“What a lovely picture. I love maritime prints.”
Nonchalantly, Addie explained that it had been a recent purchase and seemed to fit the motif of the house.
Sandra mentioned that the marking on the side of the boat had really caught her eye. “That looks so much like the stone my late husband’s great-great-grandfather used to tell us about.”
“What’s that?” Amanda asked innocently.
“Well, obviously he’s been gone for a long time, but it’s just strange to see something so close to that strange shape in the picture.”
Matthew watched for Evan’s reaction—there didn’t seem to be one. He looked at the painting and remarked, “That’s a weird shape for a stone—”
Cameron interrupted Evan. “It’s not strange. It’s just a bit of a mystery. From what my dad told me, they could never figure out exactly what it was.”
Sandra said, “I’m sure it was some type of metal alloy that they couldn’t check for back then. I think the stranger thing was its dark shade. My guess is that it was stained in some way.”
“My dad told me that it looked like that thing on the painting,” Cameron added. “It looked like crossed arrows, but you could take them apart, like little arrowheads.”
Amanda asked, “So, did your great-great-grandfather hand it down to his children?”
Addie dropped her fork. “Oh, I’m sure our guests don’t want to talk about an old rock all night. Let’s talk about something else.”
“Oh, it’s ok, Addie. A little curiosity is good,” Sandra replied. “We really don’t know what happened to it, Amanda. I don’t think he gave it to any of his children, but who knows. It might be buried in one of his creations for all we know.”
Addie jumped in again. “How did you two come to meet?”
Evan smiled at Sandra and asked if he could tell the story. Sandra agreed. “He tells it better than I do.”
“We met about two years ago after I purchased the Gen
esis Corporation. I’ve done a lot of things in my life. I’ve run clubs, played the markets, and managed other successful businesses, but I’ve never tried to give back like I have since meeting Sandra.”
Sandra blushed. “He’s just being humble. This guy does a lot of wonderful things with his money. With the great deals he makes, he has a lot to share.”
“You must be a good businessman,” Bryan ventured.
Evan replied, “I do well. I seem to have a knack at getting the price that I want for what I want. It’s just a gift.”
Matthew laughed a bit under his breath and thought to himself, “It must be real easy to get people to drop prices when you can control what they do.”
“I’ve built a bit of an empire over the last decade or so, and the purchase of Genesis was originally just another business venture. That’s before I met Sandra, and then we got to talking about the potential advances in immunizations from disease that she had been a part of. It was groundbreaking stuff and the type of thing that I never knew could be possible.”
“What types of immunizations are you looking to do?” Addie asked.
Evan replied, “That’s the brilliant thing about what we’re doing at Genesis. It covers everything. Imagine one shot that will keep all bacteria and viruses at bay. One shot that protects the bloodstream and the nervous system from diseases like cancer and meningitis. One shot that protects against the common cold and the bubonic plague. That’s what we have.”
Sandra interrupted. “Our passions just melted together, and we’ve been with each other ever since. Once I convinced him that this was possible, we were all in.”
Bryan took a sip of wine. “That all sounds amazing, but trying to do it and actually doing it have to be several years away.”
“Well, it was just a dream until about a year ago,” Sandra replied. “Evan’s team in Italy had a breakthrough with a new element. It was amazing what they found.”
Evan continued, “This element can be synthesized into an agent that can be injected into a human. This agent will find and destroy anything in the system that doesn’t belong. We’re not years away from this becoming a reality, we’re days away—and I’m going to give it to everyone in the world for free.”
Addie asked, “What do you mean it’s days away?”
Evan proudly declared that he had gained permission from the US government to begin clinical trials on humans. “We do the launch on Saturday morning. It’s gonna be a huge forum with people from all over the world. We’re going to communicate what we have, and after a few trials, I’m confident that everyone will want this. Who wouldn’t want a shot that would keep them from ever getting sick?”
Bryan asked, “If everyone has this shot, and no one ever gets sick, won’t that cause population problems in the world? Just curious.”
Evan replied, “I think we’ll worry about that once all the disease is gone. Can you really tell me that you wouldn’t want your own kids protected against the worst diseases in the world?”
Addie said, “I think it’s just so great! I can’t tell you how happy I am for the both of you. It sounds like you’re gonna change the world.”
“Would you two like a front row seat?” Evan asked.
Sandra gasped. “Oh, that’s a great idea! Why don’t you and Bryan come to the big reveal on Saturday morning? It starts at eleven.”
“We would love to come to the announcement,” Addie said.
Evan added, “I’ll make sure you get a tour of the complex that morning, too. You’ll love it—it’s top of the line in every way possible.”
As Matthew sat back and listened to Addie, Bryan, Evan, and Sandra discuss this big reveal on Saturday, it occurred to him that all of this couldn’t be a coincidence. What Evan was describing was the shot that ultimately put him in total control of the world. His own carrier stones mixed into an immunization shot that would hit every person on the planet. That was how he did it. He’d used Sandra Landrum to validate the mixture, and now they were less than two days away from the first trials.
The dinner continued, and the small talk went on for what seemed like hours. Matthew and Amanda were no closer to finding the trans-x charm, but Addie and Bryan seemed near giddiness that they were going to the announcement for Evan’s new immunization shot.
The night eventually wound down. As Sandra and Evan eased their way toward the front door to make their exit, Sandra called to her son. “Come on, Scott, we’re leaving! Get the lead out.”
Cameron had already left, using an early class the next day as an excuse. He told Amanda on his way out that he would talk to her later. There was no kiss good-bye, no embrace—it was cold and it was quick.
Sandra’s youngest son came running into the front room with Steven in hot pursuit. She asked Scott if he’d had fun, and he gushed that he had. Steven leaned over, tired from all the running, and without his knowing it, his Hathmec popped out of his shirt. Addie noticed it immediately and ran over to put it back in place. She looked up and found Evan starring at them both.
He said, “Well, I think we can expect great things from the Chance family. Thank you for dinner.”
He started to walk out the door but then turned back before it shut. Addie and Bryan stood still, waiting for the worst. Evan said, “If it’s not too much trouble, could you make sure that Sandra gets that casserole recipe? It was great!”
Addie replied, “Not a problem. Drive safe.” Evan shot a quick smirk in Steven’s direction and closed the door.
Chapter 16
ISSUE OF TRUST
Addie took Steven’s hand and told him to go up to his room. “Get ready for bed, and we’ll all be up in a bit.”
As soon as Steven had disappeared upstairs, Bryan asked, “Did he see it? Did Evan see the Hathmec around Steven’s neck?”
Addie started picking up sticky dessert plates from the dining room table. “I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. He acted a little strange when they left.”
Matthew and Amanda helped clear the table, and Matthew asked, “Did anyone notice if he ever tried to place a carrier stone? If he didn’t do that, he never tried to read our memories.”
Bryan took a quick look out the front window. “We have to assume that he didn’t see it and move along with our plans. We’re getting close. No turning back now.”
“Getting close?” Amanda scoffed. “We just found out that the Landrums have no idea where the trans-x charm is. How is that getting close?”
Matthew chuckled. “I think what our part-time father is trying to say is that he and Addie are close to finishing what they came here to do.”
Addie stopped abruptly. Adopting a calm tone, she asked, “What are you talking about? We all have the same goals here.”
Matthew tossed some forks into the sink and shook his head, frustration and disgust written on his face. “Just cut the crap, Addie. It’s obvious that we were sent back to this particular time for more than just the trans-x charm. What is it? Did Walter have a secondary plan to do something with the immunizations? What’s the plan?”
Addie looked at Bryan, but he was a soldier. He wasn’t about to break protocol and go against Walter’s wishes. Addie couldn’t hide from the question, but she also wouldn’t give in. “We can’t tell you everything that you want to know, Matthew. I can tell you that Bryan and I have been working this with Sandra Landrum since we got here, and we have accomplished a major step in our overall plan. We got the invite to the announcement that we needed. Beyond that, we’re not inclined or authorized to let you and Amanda know the other details of the mission.”
Bryan added, “You, on the other hand, are running out of time to complete your mission, which is to find that charm. I suggest that you worry less about what we’re doing and get back to working on your own task.”
Matthew’s blood was boiling over as he listened to the same nonsensical gibberish that Walter had filled his head with back in 2185. Keeping secrets from the people that you need to trust and not worki
ng in the moment just made no sense to him. “Walter isn’t here. But we are here, and we need to trust each other. If I can’t trust you and you can’t trust me with what’s really going on, then we’re doomed to fail.”
Addie replied, “Some things just don’t need to be broadcast. We have our orders, and you have yours. Everyone keeps secrets, Matthew. Walter knows what’s he’s doing.”
Matthew leaned against the refrigerator. “We don’t all keep secrets, Addie. I trust Amanda. I know what we’re both doing, and I know that we’re both working to find that charm.”
Addie took a sarcastic tone in her reply. “What a joke. You and Amanda don’t keep secrets from each other? What about this morning? Do you know what happened with Amanda last night?”
Amanda shot a stare at Addie that would have melted steel, but Addie didn’t stop there. “What about the bag that Walter gave her? Do you know what’s in that bag? I bet she didn’t let you in on that.”
“Shut up, Addie!” Amanda screamed.
Addie’s tone was stern and low on sympathy. “We all keep secrets for different reasons. It’s just the way things are. The world’s not perfect, and neither are any of us. When you grow up, you’ll understand that. For now, you need to let it go and finish this mission.”
Matthew dropped his head for a minute and could feel Amanda’s eyes piercing his skin. He looked her right in the eye. “Is she right? Are you keeping secrets, too?”
Amanda looked back at Addie but saw that she wasn’t going to be any help. “I can’t explain everything, but what I’m keeping from you has nothing to do with why we’re here.”
Matthew shook his head and started walking to the front door. Bryan stepped in front of him and grabbed his arm. “Where are you going?”
Matthew removed Bryan’s hand. “Oh, I’m sorry, it’s a secret. I figured I should jump in with the rest of the fake family here and start some secrets of my own.”
Addie folded up a tablecloth and said, “Let him go, Bryan. He’s no use to us while he’s having an episode.” She threw the tablecloth to Amanda and said, “Just make sure you make some progress on the whole charm thing. We wouldn’t want to disappoint Walter.”
Last Chance Volume 2 - The Legend of the Hathmec: Planting the Seed Page 23