The Golden Couple (The Samantha Project Series, # 2)

by Karpinske, Stephanie

  “Just think about it, Sam. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “Well, what would you do if your genetically-enhanced girlfriend was being chased by powerful people who would kill anyone who stood in their way?”

  “If I loved her, I would risk everything for her. If she told me to stay home, I’d go anyway. I mean, I barely know you and I would do anything—” Erik stopped.

  “What did you say?”

  “Nothing. Never mind. I’m done with my relationships 101 lecture for today. Want to play a road game?”

  “Sure.”

  We spent the next few hours spotting license plates and making words from the letters. “CCA,” I said, reading the plate of the car in front of us. “Let’s see, that stands for the Calico Cat Alliance.”

  Erik shook his head. “Nope. Not good enough. Try again. Here’s one. HLA.”

  “Hairy Lions Anonymous,” I said in a serious tone.

  Erik laughed. “That was a little better.”

  “Hey, let me try,” Brittany said from behind us. “That red truck over there. HAS. Hmm, that stands for Hot And Sexy. I should have that license plate. Or actually, Erik should.” Brittany leaned up and started rubbing Erik’s shoulders. I rolled my eyes then glanced at Erik, who seemed to be enjoying it way too much.

  “That feels good, Brittany. My back is killing me after sitting in this van for hours. I’m used to working on the farm all day.”

  “That’s why you have these huge muscles.” Brittany moved her hands up and down his biceps.

  The scene was making me ill. I turned to look out the window. I was no longer interested in the road game.

  “Erik, get off at the next exit,” Jack instructed from the back of the van. “We’ll get some gas and see if they have a pay phone. We’re getting close to San Francisco. I need to call Paul and get directions to his place.”

  “Do they even have pay phones anymore?” I heard Colin ask Jack.

  “Of course they do.” Jack sounded annoyed. “You kids and your dependence on cell phones.” We all started to laugh. “It’s not funny. You’re all too dependent on technology.”

  “Calm down there, old man,” Erik yelled back at him. “Remember, you’ve got two technologically-advanced people up here. We could take offense to that.”

  “What do I always say about technology, Erik?” Jack yelled back.

  “Just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD,” Erik answered as if he’d heard it a thousand times.

  Erik drove into a gas station that looked like it was built in the fifties. And sure enough, right in front of the station was a public telephone.

  “Look at that! It has a cord and everything,” Erik kidded. “It should be in a museum. Wish I had the camera.”

  “Pump the gas, son,” Jack said, shaking his head.

  Everyone got out of the van while Jack went to use the phone. It was almost sunset. Fields of grapes surrounded us on both sides. It was quiet and peaceful. Much better than the chaos of Southern California.

  Colin walked toward the grape fields, looking out at the setting sun. I followed him.

  “Hey,” I said, trying to see if he would acknowledge me.

  “Yeah.” It was an acknowledgment but not a warm one.

  “You’ve been quiet for hours.”

  “I’ve been sleeping. And thinking.”

  “What about?” I knew the answer but figured I’d ask anyway.

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Listen. I’m sorry about what I said earlier. Can we please just talk about this?”

  Colin remained quiet as he gazed at the sunset.

  “I was just trying to protect you, Colin. I was trying to give you a normal life. I didn’t want you to give everything up for this stupid life that I’m stuck with now.” I paused. “But I realize that I can’t make that decision for you.”

  I waited. He wouldn’t respond.

  “Look at me, Colin.” I turned him toward me. “I want us to be together, okay? I do. But being with me is dangerous. So that’s why I told you to stay behind. I didn’t want you involved in this. I can’t deal with you getting hurt again. Or worse. GlobalLife almost beat you to death. They almost killed you with those drugs. And I can’t stand to think of that happening again.”

  “And how do you think I feel, Sam, knowing that they implanted this … this thing in you that’s programmed to kill you? Do you really think I can just go back to school? Back to basketball practice? Hang out with the guys, knowing that you’re gonna die soon? How could you even think I’m that type of person? After all these years? After all I’ve done for you?”

  I was sure my speech would end with hugs and forgiveness. Instead, it ended with silence and no resolution. Colin walked back to the van. I was left alone, afraid that nothing I could say would ever fix this. I’d pushed him away in the past but this was too far. I’d said too much. I’d described a future without him in it. And Colin had had enough.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Paul’s House

  “Sam, we’re leaving. Come on.” Erik was calling me from the van. I got inside to find Jack in the driver’s seat and Erik beside him. Brittany was in the second-row seat with her headphones on. I crawled to the seat behind her and sat next to Colin. He had his back to me, staring out at the now dark sky.

  Erik glanced back, noticing Colin. “Still fighting?” he thought to me.

  “No. I think we’re done fighting,” I thought back. “I think we’re done period.”

  “I want all of you to listen up.” Jack’s voice filled the van as if on loudspeaker. “Erik, tell Brittany to get those headphones off.”

  Erik jabbed Brittany’s leg. “What?” Brittany removed one side of her headphones.

  “The commander has instructions for us,” Erik joked. “Listen up.”

  Jack ignored his comment. “This friend of mine that we’ll be staying with. His name is Paul. Paul Jacobs. He worked with me at GlobalLife years ago. But unlike me, he actually resigned and took a new job.”

  “Instead of just disappearing one day and taking a lab subject with you?” Erik kidded.

  “Anyway, when Paul was at GlobalLife he had access to highly secret technology. Because of that, he was convinced that they were monitoring him after he left. Bugging his phone. Following him. He was so paranoid he went into hiding for a while. He’s better now, but still, he’s kind of a nervous guy.”

  Jack turned on a light in the van to check a piece of paper that he had scribbled directions on. “He lives outside of the city. He tries to live off the grid, like Erik and I did, but not to the same extent. He does have a cell phone but uses it just for work. Same with Internet access. As I told you, he’s now a professor of genetics at Stanford. His research area is cancer prevention. But he knows about the genetic manipulation done at GlobalLife all those years ago. That’s why he left.”

  “So then he knows about me,” Erik added.

  “Well, no, not exactly,” Jack replied. “I sort of left that part out.”

  “You’ve been in contact with him all these years and he doesn’t know about me?”

  “Well, at first I wasn’t sure if I could trust him. He was still working at GlobalLife after I took you, Erik. I couldn’t be certain that he was really on my side. As the years went by, I was confident he was one of the good guys, but I didn’t want to risk talking about you over the phone. You can’t be sure who’s listening, even on those ancient landline phones.”

  “Isn’t he gonna be freaked out seeing me? And finding out about Sam?”

  “No. Nothing surprises this guy now. He’s seen too much over the years. And because of that, he tends to believe a lot of conspiracy theories. He might mention a few while we’re there.”

  “Like what?” Erik asked.

  “Things like the existence of robotic soldiers trained to kill without human oversight. Government mind control. Rigged elections. Stuff like that. But he’s a good guy. And he’s doing us a huge favor, s
o I need all of you to be sure and thank him. He could get fired if the university found out we were using their lab.”

  Jack pulled off the interstate onto a side road. It was very dark and the road wound back through thick trees. We finally arrived at a small brick house lit only by a single outdoor light. Jack searched for a number on the house. “Yes, this is it. Everyone out.”

  The man must have heard the van outside because he was waiting for us at the front door. “Jack, so good to see you again.”

  Jack shook his hand. “Paul. It’s been too long. Good to see you, too.”

  Paul was short and thin with long, wavy gray hair and black-rimmed glasses. He had on jeans and a light blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His look was part hippy, part professor.

  “Come in. All of you.” He motioned us inside. “So, Jack, tell me who these young people are.”

  “Well, this is Samantha and her boyfriend, Colin,” Jack said pointing to us, “and over there is Sam’s twin sister, Brittany.” Jack walked over to Erik. “And this young man is my son, Erik.”

  Paul looked puzzled. “Your son? You don’t have a son. Who is he really? Your nephew?”

  “No, he’s my son. Well, not my biological son.” Jack waited for Paul’s response. The rest of us stood awkwardly around the room.

  “And how long have you had this son?” Paul asked slowly.

  “Fourteen years. Well, he’s been with me longer than that, but—”

  Paul went over to Erik, then looked back at Jack. “You’re not telling me that this boy is the same boy who—”

  “Yes, that’s what I’m telling you,” Jack interrupted.

  Paul didn’t seem that surprised. “How did you manage that, Jack? And how did you keep him from being found all these years?”

  “It’s a long story. We can discuss it later.”

  “So, Erik, you’re okay?” Paul asked. “No side effects?”

  “Um, not that I know of.” Erik looked at his dad.

  “He was fine once I got him out of there. He does have abilities, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

  “Fascinating.” Paul studied Erik again, like he was an experimental breakthrough.

  “Well, should we get our things from the van?” Jack asked, eager to change the subject.

  “Yes. Certainly. Get what you need. Are you hungry at all? Because I made some dinner. I wasn’t sure if you’d already eaten.”

  “Oh, that’s very kind, Paul. You didn’t need to do that.”

  “Nonsense. I never have guests. This is a special treat for me.”

  We gathered our things from the van and brought them into the living room. Paul was clearing off a table for dinner. The table was covered in stacks of files, which Paul neatly set aside on the floor.

  The home was older, probably built in the forties, with dark wood floors and thick wood trim. Built-in cabinets filled with books lined one wall. From the living room, I could see two bedrooms down the hall and a bathroom. The house was very clean and orderly. Brittany scanned the room for a TV, but there was none.

  During dinner, Paul told us about his work at Stanford. Being a science enthusiast, I loved hearing about his research. “My dad was also a genetics professor,” I told Paul. “He was doing research on cystic fibrosis.”

  Paul’s interest piqued. “How interesting. Where does he teach? Maybe I’ve heard of him.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I still had a hard time telling people that my parents were dead. I looked over at Jack for help.

  “Sam’s father passed away a few months ago,” Jack explained. “Her father used to work at a university in Minnesota.”

  Paul became flustered. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Samantha.”

  “I should probably tell you about Sam and explain why we’re here.”

  Jack described the whole story about me, leaving no details out. I worried that he was telling Paul too much, but Jack seemed confident that we could trust him. When Jack got to the part about why we needed the lab, Paul’s mood seemed to darken.

  “You can try slowing the timer like that, Jack, but I don’t think it’s going to help much.”

  “I’m sure it will work. I built a model, a very sophisticated computer model, and adding Brittany’s DNA to Sam’s DNA slowed the timer. It disrupted it. It should work the same way for Erik.”

  “That may be true for your model, but I’m not confident that it will work in real life. I know you have knowledge of genetics, Jack, but you’re really more of a software expert, wouldn’t you say?”

  Jack seemed offended. “Well, yes. But I do know a great deal about genetics. I have a degree in it.”

  “I’m not discrediting that at all, Jack. And I mean no offense. But your job at GlobalLife was on the software side. And, well, I work in genetics every day.” Paul could sense he was hurting Jack’s ego. “None of that matters. The point is that we can try what you’re saying, but you need to be aware that there’s little chance that it will work the way you want.”

  I suddenly felt sick. If what Paul was saying was true, I had less than two years to live and Erik had mere months. Jack had been sure the procedure would buy us several more months, maybe even years. And with that extra time, we would find a way to shut off the timer for good. I’d convinced myself of it.

  “Well, let’s not talk about what-ifs just yet, Paul,” Jack said. “We won’t know until we try. So when do you think we can get in and use the lab?”

  “Unfortunately, not until Friday. Some grad students are working in the labs 24/7 this week trying to finish up a project. They have to be done by Friday morning. After that, it’s all yours.”

  “Oh, that’s quite a delay. Could we at least test some DNA samples from that boy we believe to be Erik’s twin?”

  “Certainly. In fact, I can do that for you tomorrow. Just give me the sample.”

  “Would you mind if I came with and did it myself?”

  “No, I don’t mind at all. I understand.” I could tell that Paul trusted few, if any, people, so Jack’s request wasn’t at all unreasonable to him.

  “So what are the rest of us gonna do for three days?” Brittany asked.

  Jack shot her a look. She was not acting grateful as he requested but sounded more like a child, upset that she wasn’t being entertained.

  “You’re going to prepare yourselves for whatever we might encounter after this,” Jack said sternly. “Do scenario planning. For example, what happens if we have another incident like we had at Dana Point? That was a close call and we weren’t prepared for it.”

  “We can do that,” I said before Brittany could protest.

  “And Erik, I want you to keep helping Sam practice her abilities.”

  “Okay,” Erik said.

  Jack got up. “Well, it’s been a long day. We should get to sleep.”

  “Yes, of course,” Paul said. “I was thinking the girls could sleep in the side bedroom. I set a couple cots up for them. You men will have to take the sofa out here and put some sleeping bags on the floor. Sorry, but it’s all I have.”

  Everyone went to bed. In the morning, after Jack and Paul left, the rest of us took turns getting ready in the one and only bathroom. Brittany went first and then sat outside on the back porch listening to music. Colin went next, which left Erik and me alone in the living room.

  “So what do you think after hearing what Paul said last night?” I asked Erik. “Do you think your dad’s idea to slow the timer won’t work?”

  “I don’t know what to think. I mean, Paul seems smart but he also seems a little crazy. Did you check out his books? Half of them are about conspiracies. I think he really believes that stuff. And he lives out here alone in the woods.”

  “Excuse me, but now you sound like me when I first met you. I thought you and Jack were lunatics, remember? The way you lived off the grid. No city services. No Internet. No cable TV.”

  “Okay, maybe I shouldn’t judge. But I trust my dad more than Paul, and if he sa
ys it will work, then that’s what I believe. What do you think?”

  “I think Paul has a point. Having something work in a computer model doesn’t mean it will work in real life.”

  “Well, I’m not gonna worry about it. We’ll find out soon enough.”

  Erik got up and glanced down the hall, checking to see if the bathroom door was still closed.

  “So I talked to Colin last night,” he said, sitting down again.

  “About what?”

  “About you. Geez, Sam, what the hell else would we talk about?”

  “I don’t know. Sports, maybe.”

  He laughed. “Okay, just so we’re straight. If Colin and I talk sports, I’m not gonna report back to you.”

  “Yeah, whatever. So what did you say?”

  “I asked him what was going on with you guys. I said that he seemed pissed off at you.”

  “And what did he say?”

  “That he’s pissed off at you.” Erik smiled, knowing that I hated it when he didn’t provide details.

  “Come on, Erik.”

  “Okay, okay. He said that you asked him to move on with his life. That you don’t need him.”

  “No! That’s not at all what I said. I told him—”

  “He said you want to be there for him when he needs it, like when he was so sick the other day. But then you don’t let him be there for you, like now with this whole timer thing.”

  “And those were his words?”

  “I paraphrased, but basically, yes. Listen, Sam, Colin’s still mad at you. But after hearing my dad tell our whole story again last night, Colin wants to be there for you more than ever. So let him.” Erik paused. “Unless that’s not what you want. And if it’s not, then you need to be honest with him about where you see this thing going between the two of you. I would want to know that.”

  I sat there trying to take in what Erik had said. He was right about being honest with Colin. But I was confused and wasn’t sure what to tell him. Even though I loved Colin, I was starting to become less confident in our future together. And Erik was the reason for that. When Colin came back into my life, I thought my feelings for Erik would go away. But they didn’t. And how could I commit to Colin when I was still so hung up on Erik? When I still got so jealous seeing Brittany flirt with him? If I’d never met Erik, I’d have no problem committing to Colin.