Varick's Quest (Devya's Children Book 4)

by Gilbert,Julie C.

  “I don’t,” Darren said, too quickly to be believed. “I’m going to sell that kid to the highest bidder and live the rest of my life in luxury.”

  “What makes you think the highest bidder will let you live?” asked Dr. Carnasis. Bits of new anger focused her. “Once you deliver Nadia, you’re a liability.”

  “You let me worry about that,” Darren said, becoming braver.

  “Think carefully, Darren. If you take this path, you’re probably going to die. If Dean doesn’t do the deed, Varick will.”

  “Shucks, Doc. You’re full of good news today,” Darren commented. He took another step back and adjusted the gun so that it pointed at my Second Momma’s face again. “Now, I want you to slowly undo your seat belt and go retrieve one of those happy little nighttime needles you’re so fond of. When you wake up, we’ll be at our fancy new digs. If you behave, we can even give Dr. Dean a call and see what you’re worth to him.”

  “He won’t negotiate for me,” my Second Momma said, as she followed Darren’s instructions. While the drug in the needle did its work, she added, “We made a promise.”

  Darren waited a few seconds to make sure she couldn’t fight before reapplying her seat belt.

  “You’d better hope Dr. Dean’s willing to break promises, Doc. I don’t like killing, but I will.”

  The drug leveled Dr. Carnasis’s emotions to neutral, and I skipped ahead to the moment she woke up. Nervousness and concern bickered to be top emotion. I got frustrated ’cause the emotions fired to life about five long seconds before Dr. Carnasis woke up. I couldn’t switch the scene until she had a sense of what surrounded her.

  When her eyes finally opened, I pulled the view back and saw she was in a brightly lit basement room with bare walls, a cement floor, and a giant holding cell taking up half the free space. My Second Momma lay on a thin mattress with her left arm handcuffed to the serious-looking mesh wall of the makeshift prison.

  The gurney holding Nadia had been chained to the opposite side of the overgrown people cage. Dr. Carnasis shook herself to drive off the rest of the drug’s effects and wrestled her uncooperative body to a sitting position, craning her neck to check on Nadia.

  “She’s fine,” Darren said. “The machines are blinking green.”

  “You can’t keep her unconscious here.” Dr. Carnasis sounded like she needed some water.

  “Why not?” Darren demanded. “I’ve got a year’s supply of the wonder drug, plenty of food, water, and IV drips. You can keep her in good condition for a few weeks, can’t you?”

  Dr. Carnasis shook her head violently, tossing her messy reddish-brown hair. She peered around as if to take in the entire basement.

  “This … facility … is not equipped for her care. You’ll have to wake her.” She said “facility” like Nana would say “cesspit.”

  Darren frowned deeply but seemed to be measuring Dr. Carnasis’s words.

  “Is that a fact?”

  My Second Momma looked like she was working hard to not scream at Darren. Sighing, she explained, “The lab we were headed to would have had very specific cocktails of nutrient supplements for the IV bags. The bed Nadia would have gone to was specifically designed to prevent bedsores. There would have been a team of scientists and physicians watching over her health day and night.”

  “You’re a resourceful lady. Make do with what you’ve got,” Darren instructed. He tossed a handcuff key through the mesh. “I’ll post Stan out here to watch over you and fetch you food. The toilet’s behind that screen over there. Keep the kid alive. If she dies, I won’t need you.”

  Dr. Carnasis chuckled darkly.

  “If she dies, killing me will be very low on your priority list. The ‘high bidders’ you think are going to bankroll your sunny future will keep you busy enough.”

  “You keep that sense of humor, Doc. I’ll check in tomorrow after making a few phone calls to get a second opinion. If you’re right, I’ll come up with a new plan. Maybe the high and mighty Dr. Dean will have some ideas.”

  Chapter 6:

  Guardian Angel Duties

  ITEM 188: Varick’s third letter

  Item Source: Varick Allard Ayers

  Dear Dr. Sokolowski,

  I sense Danielle’s influence and indignation behind your inquiry about my day-to-day activities. She is miffed because I don’t need to attend classes to perform well on exams. The better part of my life has been spent in the midst of first-rate minds. I’ve been tutored by people holding degrees in nearly every scientific field. More recently, my sister, Nadia, took it upon herself to close some of the educational gaps, especially in the humanities.

  My “guardian angel duties” as you called them occupy much of my time and energy. In current priority order from high to low, my concerns lie with Danielle, Anastasia, Jillian, Michio, the Blairingtons, Malia, the members of the Davidson household, and you.

  Danielle would be the first to deny the idea that serious danger exists for her. I believe the attention embarrasses her. She’s a wonderful person. She doesn’t cling to bitterness, nor go out of her way to pry, but she also cares for her friends and family with a devotion that is truly rare.

  Dr. Robinson assures me that she will do what she can to defend Danielle from the government’s attention. I believe her. Dr. Robinson always was a woman of her word. Though she wasn’t the first to walk away from Dr. Devya’s work, she was the most adamant about making the break complete. Her assurance fails to satisfy me for three reasons. One, there are government entities and envoys with far more power than her, and two, there are other factions interested in controlling me and my siblings. Three, there have been entirely too many traitors of late both within the official government faction—the Guardians—and Dr. Devya’s own people.

  My investigation into Katharos has led me back to Washington, D.C. and no further. This tells me they have much influence, but something about them rings false.

  After Danielle, Anastasia most concerns me. Few within Dr. Devya’s organization know of the sabotage. Parties trading in state secrets at the level we’re talking about still believe her capable of attaining Gifts like Nadia. Advanced training makes Nadia the more attractive target, but she is also the harder target. I would not put it past some mid-level players to pursue Anastasia as a softer, more accessible, consolation prize.

  Jillian’s ability to track people through their dreams also places her in danger, but her family provides much better protection than I can. Mrs. Blairington will not let harm befall her.

  Michio and the rest of Jillian’s family should be safe enough. Dr. Robinson’s handling of the events at the Lehigh Valley Hospital should ensure that Michio’s secret stays secure. His Gifts are useful in their own right, but as he cannot give anybody direct access to Nadia, I believe he is reasonably safe.

  I will address the subject of Malia’s new family and you before attempting to explain my concern for Malia herself. The Davidsons have faced danger before. They are well-integrated in their communities. People will notice if any of them disappear. Much the same could be said for somebody like Danielle, but her youth gives the unseen powers much more creative license when shaping a cover story.

  You also rank among those who concern me, but as you’ve followed my advice, I believe you will be fine. You’re too high-profile and those files are too damaging for people to risk pursuing you.

  Malia has always kept a low profile. She was never paraded before annual review boards as a testament to Dr. Devya’s work. I don’t even think he knows or cares about what she can do. He never showed much interest in her, even during the initial planning stages. What little interest he had perished the day Dr. Robinson left.

  Nadia once explained that each of the original scientists came with their own private obsessions, expectations, and goals. To maintain security and keep things confidential, each project was labeled with the end goal: mind, dreams, soldier, and so on. The mothers—Dr. Paladon, Dr. Carnasis, and Dr. Robinson—did the majo
rity of the genetic work, but they had equal access to everybody’s code. They didn’t purposefully set out to work on their own samples, though it often happened that way.

  Dr. Paladon’s interest in biochemistry paired well with her desire to succeed on the mind project. I find it ironic that a stoic woman like Dr. Robinson had such a keen interest in emotions. Dr. Carnasis was the first to catch Dr. Devya’s vision for a dream project. Dr. Devya made his own modifications to each project that truly interested him, like the dream one, Jillian.

  You would not be the first to point out that their methods were highly unorthodox and even unscientific because they often lacked controls. I don’t know why Dr. Devya kept some projects secret even from his close friends. I believe in one instance he even dosed Dr. Carnasis with a memory-suppressing drug so he could finish the work on Jillian alone. He has much to answer for, but his past motives and transgressions do not rank among my current concerns.

  I pass the days monitoring the situation with Anastasia, checking in with Jillian, Michio, or Malia, and spending time with Danielle. I hope I have answered each question to your satisfaction. Please feel free to follow up as necessary.

  Your servant,

  Varick

  ***

  ITEM 189: Danielle’s fifty-third letter

  Item Source: Danielle Matheson

  Dear Dr. S.,

  I think I like this normal side of Varick. Prior to college, most of my experiences with him were limited to one crisis or another. During the first kidnapping, he was simply another curiosity of Devya’s labs and then a ticket out of there. Since then, he’s played the part of rescuer twice more, once during the first Christy affair and once during the hospital madness.

  At first, I wanted to laugh off your notion of Varick being my guardian angel, but I suppose the analogy works. Karen thinks he’s my new boyfriend. Unfortunately, so does Calvin—that’s Dillan Greenfield, my senior prom date and semi-former boyfriend. I’ve tried to let Calvin down easily, but he’s not taking subtle hints. What do I do? I can’t exactly go into the whole Varick-as-guardian-angel thing without some serious explanations.

  I should probably thank Varick and explain that his protection isn’t necessary, but I sort of like having him around. Is that so wrong? He meets me after each class and insists on teaching me self-defense at the gym. He joins Karen and me for meals most days. He’s even taken us to Halo Farms for awesome ice cream. Freshmen aren’t supposed to have parking permits, so either he stole one or he had Nadia push some paperwork through. I try not to ask questions I don’t want answered. Ignorance can indeed be bliss.

  Okay, so Varick also drove us to the Hamilton theaters to see a chick flick, but it was not a date. I bought the tickets as a belated birthday gift for Karen. She’s super-young, a grade skipper or some such overachiever. I love her as is. The fact that we collectively wandered over to Uno’s for dessert should have no bearing on the discussion. I wouldn’t have mentioned it at all, except that Karen thanked me for letting her tag along on the date. I reminded her of my motives, and she gave me a you-just-keep-telling-yourself-that, sly smile.

  Did I miss something important? I’m usually not quite so confused.

  Dylan and Katy are going to visit me next weekend. I was going to wait until the mid-semester break, but they’ve been hounding my mother for permission to come. In turn, that means Mom’s been on my case for a specific date. I told her they could both spend Saturday with me, but only Katy can sleep overnight. Dylan’s too old to get away with crashing a girls’ night out.

  When I mentioned the sibling visit to Varick, he informed me that he’d been intending to go see Anastasia’s new family anyway. Actually, I believe his exact words were, “As you won’t be needing protection from your kin, I’ll check in with Anastasia and her folks.”

  I’d mentally geared up for an awkward conversation, and Varick somehow sucked every scrap of awkwardness out before it could form. Figures, it would take genetic alterations to make a man with tact, grace, guts, and good looks. I’m kidding … mostly.

  Karen’s met a few decent “chaps” around here, but I think her heart may still lie out in Western Pennsylvania with Connor Daniels. She claims he’s an ex, but her expression argues against the idea. It’s much more fun to delve into other people’s heart matters.

  Returning to the subject of Varick, despite my earlier accounts, we don’t actually “go out” much. Mostly, we take long walks, exercise, experience video games (him by playing, me by watching), or chat over meals. He’s a surprisingly great conversationalist. For the record, I don’t actually hold to the stereotype that soldiers are dumb grunts. Still, Varick’s not a typical anything.

  In a way, his life is tragic. When he’s with me, Varick does a stellar impression of normal. Yet, in certain quiet moments, his eyes shift color with the depths of his concern for problems he won’t share with me.

  Varick spends most spare moments systematically searching for Nadia. The government seems to have “misplaced” her. With Jillian and Varick on the hunt, it’s only a matter of time until Nadia is located. What will they do then? What can I do? Though I hate to admit it, the depressing answer is: not much.

  I do believe I’ve mentioned I don’t do waiting well. At least college affords some distractions.

  The Disconsolate One,

  Danielle Matheson.

  Chapter 7:

  True Despair

  ITEM 190: Jillian’s 93rd post-kidnapping journal entry

  Item Source: Jillian Blairington

  Days and nights are getting kinda blurry. Since finding my Second Momma and Nadia turned out fairly easy, I figured the other searches ought to be about the same. School takes up most of my day, but I check in on Dr. Carnasis and Nadia during my afternoon naps. Nighttime sleep is a good sight better for searching for Dr. Devya and Cora though ’cause most people sleep at night. Prisoners sometimes have their sleep patterns confused, especially if they don’t get to see the sun rise and fall.

  Dr. S. and Danielle both say I need more real rest. Momma even let me take yesterday off from school since I agreed to help her with the boys. I’m glad I did ’cause last night’s dream work was taxing. Dr. S. says that I should describe my day with the boys before getting into the heavy stuff. I’d like to get to the main stuff, but Dr. S. usually gives good advice.

  The day started earlier than I’d hope for on a day off ’cause little kids don’t know any better when it comes to things like sleep being a precious thing. Michio knew I’d spend the day with him, so he woke me up by climbing onto my bed and giving my left arm a good shake. I’m one of those people who wakes up easily, but I pretended to be asleep once I saw the clock still said 6 something.

  “Wake!” Michio ordered. “Feed me.”

  “I’m asleep,” I replied. “Come back at a more decent hour.”

  To my surprise, Michio lifted my left arm and snuggled into a comfortable position. I let myself drift down into a pleasant dozing state until Michio renewed his attack on my arm.

  “Time’s up. Food now,” he chirped in my face.

  I peeked at the clock and saw that it said 7:00. I grunted and made a mental sticky note to be clearer next time. “That ain’t what I meant.”

  “New hour,” Michio announced proudly.

  Sighing, I twisted around so I could get a good grip on his waist and throw him off of me. He laughed and tackled me. I half-rolled to avoid injury. We ended up with me flat on my back and Michio flopped down on top of me.

  “It’s gonna be mighty tough getting up to feed ya, if you keep on crushing me.”

  That got him moving. I got a bony knee stuck in the gut, but Michio’s a light little guy. I shooed him out of my room so I could get dressed and do the other wake up necessaries. Michio waited in the hallway right outside the bathroom building a tower with some playing cards.

  By the time we made it down to breakfast, Momma had Isaac mostly fed. He drooled from his high chair and made random noises
at the three soggy Honey Nut Cheerios spread out on the tray in front of him. I felt sorta guilty for missing the first great food war of the day since I was home to help Momma.

  “You’re up mighty early,” Momma observed, coming over to hug me and kiss the top of my head. I’m probably getting kinda old for such things, but Nana says you never outgrow hugs. “Is there something special you’d like to eat this morning?”

  I started to shrug ’cause I didn’t care what I ate, but I could tell she wanted to do something nice for me.

  “Can I have some biscuits with gravy?” I asked. Momma ain’t crazy in love with cooking, but Nana taught her how to make light, airy biscuits with delicious, creamy gravy. “No sausage, please,” I added quickly.

  Momma chuckled at that condition ’cause she knows it springs from a weird dream I had about TJ—our beagle—trying to eat a whole lawn full of sausage links. As if my thought had summoned him, TJ came tearing through the kitchen and skidded to a stop in the center. I stooped to greet him, but he only whined and danced like he had to go pretty seriously. I opened the back door that leads to the deck overlooking the lawn.

  “Better keep an eye on him,” Momma said, reaching for the flour to start the biscuits. “I already let him out to do business this morning. I think he wants to chase squirrels now.”

  Michio headed for the open doorway.

  “Shoes,” I said, catching hold of both his shoulders. Frantic barking motivated me to move. Slipping my feet into pre-tied sneakers, I exited the house and went to the railing to evaluate the TJ situation. The fool dog was dashing from one side of the backyard to the other over and over, yapping his head off at a pair of gray squirrels.

  “Hush, TJ!”

  If it had been Momma scolding, she woulda called him Theodore James Blairington and he mighta minded better. He ignored me until I scooped him up when he paused beneath a big oak tree. TJ wriggled fiercely to be set loose.

  “Stop that. I ain’t letting you wear yourself out over a pair of silly squirrels.”