by RJ Crayton
“His name is Amadu, and I don’t understand why you’re involving him. Just let him go.”
“He’s an immune, Shonda, and Thoreaux will be so happy with what I’ve given him. This will reaffirm his trust in my judgment, and he will relax his oversight of this facility. We’ll be an SPU he feels is well within his control and that he doesn’t have to worry about. That will give us free rein to finish your vaccine project. To manufacture plenty of it, without raising his hackles.”
Shonda’s face turned dark. “It shouldn’t raise his hackles,” she said. “He’s supposed to want to help his people.”
“You and I both know we live in the world that is, not the one that should be.” His words didn’t seem to reassure her mother. Though, Elaan wasn’t convinced reassurance had been Alex’s aim. He took a fortifying breath before speaking again. “Well, if I can vaccinate my people properly, we won’t be under as much of a threat as other places. We have to do the best we can with what we are given.”
Shonda looked at him with new eyes. “I keep blaming myself, wishing I could have done something differently, but part of me wonders if you ever had any other plan than sacrificing Elaan,” she said, her tone bitter. “You really will be in Thoreaux’s good graces for turning her over.”
Alex seemed offended. “I would never intentionally hurt you, Shonda. My plan all along has simply been to help you. I’m sorry it hasn’t worked as well as I would like, but I have secured your safety, which is more than I can say for the man you actually married.”
Her mother glanced down at her lap, then reached out and patted Alex’s leg. “You’re right. You have always watched out for me.” She sucked in a breath and straightened her posture. She got a steely look in her eyes. “I can live in the world that is. I’ll do this. I’ll be strong and go say goodbye to my daughter. I’ll encourage her to go peacefully and tell her you’ve done everything you can to help her. But you have to promise me one thing.”
He hesitated. “What is it?”
“Promise me that you’ll find out from Thoreaux where Jim is.”
He sighed. “You saw the news report. He’s dead.”
Shonda shook her head. “You know as well as I do that that story was a plant to help keep the SPUs in line. To let them know that the virus could suddenly descend upon them. We both know Jim was doing important work and his expertise would be especially helpful. I don’t think he’s dead. And if you’re taking my daughter from me, the least thing you can do is try to reunite her with her father. Find out where he is and tell her. Tell her before she leaves. Promise me you’ll do this.”
He shook his head. “I can’t promise that.”
Shonda stroked his cheek. “You can.” Then she leaned in and kissed him. Elaan felt the desire to vomit. She closed her eyes and waited until her mother spoke to open them. “Promise me,” Shonda said.
He nodded. “I’ll find out what I can.”
Shonda smiled at him, then embraced him. After a few moments, she released him and said, “I should get to Elaan. She was going to take a nap in her room. But I wanted to at least have dinner with her before she leaves. I can have dinner with her, right?”
“I promised you,” he said, nodding. “And I never break my promises to you.”
They seemed to be getting up to leave the apartment. That was Elaan’s cue. She put the tablet to sleep, returned it to the spot her mother had shown her, and crept out of Alex’s room, closing the door. She hustled into the room she was supposed to be in, climbed in bed, and pulled the covers up.
Chapter 16 - Elaan
Her mother had arrived a couple of minutes later, apparently with Alex in tow. She’d heard them as they moved about the apartment, but no one came into her room initially.
She had a minute to digest all she’d heard. Alex was just as he’d described himself a few minutes ago: ruthless. He’d made her mother choose. Between an alive Elaan and a dead Lijah. That wasn’t really a choice, though. As much as Elaan didn’t like the idea of being experimented on or whatever the hell was happening in Virginia, there had been no indication that she would be killed. One kid dead or both kids alive. The answer was obvious, even to a brute like Alex. He’d had to have known her mother would agree. He probably had settled on this outcome the moment he’d realized who he had in custody. He wanted to impress the man in charge while assuring he had a backup plan — a working vaccine. He could have it all, and he would. She fumed under the covers as she considered whether there was any way around it, any way to escape before Alex had her sent away. Her mother didn’t seem to think there was. And even if Elaan could get out, she wasn’t sure where she’d go.
As she was contemplating her options, there was a knock on the door, and her mother poked her head in. “I need to talk to you about something,” Shonda said. She came inside the room, without waiting for Elaan to respond, and promptly walked over and sat on the twin bed Elaan was lying on.
Elaan sat up, and Shonda whispered, “Do you understand everything?”
Elaan nodded. Yes, she understood, but she didn’t like it. “Will he keep his promise to you? Will he keep Lijah safe?” she whispered back.
Shonda shrugged. “I think so,” she said, still speaking low. “He wants this vaccine to work, so I know he’ll do that part. Everything else is iffy. But admitting he has Lijah won’t win him a huge amount of favors. You’re the one they really wanted. So, I think he’ll try to keep him safe, so he can put up the pretense of being helpful.” Shonda peeked at the door then back at her daughter. “He doesn’t keep cameras in his own suite, but I don’t think eavesdropping is beneath him. I suppose you should yell at me in a minute. Tell me I’m a horrible mother and he’s a horrible person for sending you there.”
Elaan shook her head. “You’re not a terrible mother, but he is a horrible person. And just tell him you couldn’t tell me. Make him do it. Let’s have a nice dinner together.”
Shonda raised an eyebrow at her daughter then smiled. “Alright, let’s have a nice dinner.”
* * *
The dinner went well, just her and her mother. Alex left them alone, saying he had some work to do. Perhaps the work was ratting her out to Thoreaux. Elaan and her mother talked and pretended it was a normal evening. After it was over, Alex came back, looking expectant. He didn’t even bother looking at Elaan.
“So how did things go,” he asked Shonda.
She shook her head. “I thought we could tell her together.”
Elaan stifled a smirk as Alex grimaced at her mother’s suggestion. “Tell me what?” Elaan said.
Shonda looked toward Alex and allowed him to squirm under the scrutiny for a moment, but then she buckled and spoke. She must have thought it was better in the long run not to make him do this unpleasant task. “Elaan,” she said. “Alex has been trying to keep things quiet with you, but one of his people realized you’re wanted as an immune for the Virginia experiment. If someone else told Thoreaux you were here, the entire facility would have been at risk. Alex is sending you and Josh to Virginia, tonight.”
It wasn’t hard to get angry and fume over it. “No, Mom,” Elaan said. “That’s not fair.” She turned to Alex. “You said you were going to keep us hidden.”
“I’ve done my best,” Alex said. “But don’t worry. You’ll be safe. Your father is there. He’ll protect you.”
Elaan’s mouth popped open, and Shonda backed away from him. He seemed more focused on Elaan’s reaction than Shonda’s, but Elaan noticed her mother had a somewhat satisfied look on her face. Had she known already?
“What do you mean my father is there?” Elaan asked. “You said he was dead.”
Alex shook his head. “I thought he was dead. But I made some calls for your mother, just now. I wanted assurances that you’d be treated well, and I was told your father was in fact one of the scientists who’d escaped the Region One ‘incident.’ I’m sure your father will protect you. He wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you, would he?”
/> There was a certain smugness in his voice. A rubbing in of the obvious. She had been with her father in the Region 1 SPU, and he hadn’t managed to protect her from the order that she be taken to Virginia. It seemed unlikely he’d be able to protect her any better now.
Elaan had looked down as she processed his words. She looked up in time to glimpse her mother mouthing “thank you” to Alex, and she suddenly wanted nothing more than to walk over and smack him. She hated him. “My mother may think you tried to help, but I know the truth,” she said. “One day, you’re going to pay for what you’ve done.”
Alex was unfazed by her words. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said, and then he walked away from her, to the front door. He opened it, and standing there were two men in military fatigues, weapons holstered at their sides. Without a backwards glance, Alex said, “You can begin transport.”
Chapter 17 - Lijah
They’d just finished dinner when the guards came in and demanded Amadu and Josh come with them. Lijah wasn’t sure what was going on.
“Where are we going?” Josh asked. But the guards didn’t answer. One simply motioned for Josh and Amadu to follow him.
Both of them looked toward Lijah, as if he somehow knew what was going on. But he didn’t. Yes, he’d had a private powwow with his mother, but she’d given him no clue what was going to happen. Just that she was going to deal with the director. There was no specific mention of Josh and Amadu.
Lijah could offer them no comfort. “Why just them?” Lijah asked the guards. “What about me?”
The guards didn’t respond to that, either. Not directly. One of the men, tall, with close-cropped brown hair and a perpetual scowl, simply said, “We need these two to come now. If I have to come back with additional soldiers, this will be unpleasant.”
With that, Amadu hopped off his bunk and headed out the door. Josh followed, turning back for a last glance at Lijah, and then the door shut. He was alone.
* * *
An hour had passed since Amadu and Josh’s exit. When the door opened again, he expected their return. Only it wasn’t them. It was Natalie. He also noticed there weren’t armed guards outside the door now. It was just her, and she made no attempt to shut the door. She didn’t even look guarded around him. For the first time since he’d met her, she smiled, and her resemblance to his sister was more present than ever.
“You’ve been sprung, Mr. Rhodes,” she said. “Follow me, and I’ll take you to your new room.”
He stared at her, wondering exactly what was going on. Mr. Rhodes. Same name they’d called his mother. Sprung. He was leaving. “Where are the other two guys?”
She gave him a harsh look. “You know I can’t tell you. I’m sure you’ll find out when Dr. Rhodes comes to visit you.” She turned and exited the room, calling “Come on” from the hallway.
In the absence of a better plan, he did what she said. They left the area of the cells, where the word RESTRICTED was emblazoned all over the walls, and headed into an area that was more like the other SPU he’d lived in. Underground hallways that were clammy and drafty. This one seemed to have more residents than the one he’d spent so much time in. They passed several people in the hallways. Natalie nodded to some. A few appraised him but didn’t say anything. They took an elevator down and exited on a floor marked AL4. He followed Natalie down a hall and to a unit. She pulled a key from her pocket and handed it to Lijah. “Here you go,” she said.
He took it from her and stuck the key in and turned the handle. It opened. He pushed the door open to go inside and noticed Natalie turn to walk away. “Aren’t you coming?” he asked. He’d kind of thought she’d explain things to him.
She turned back to him and smiled. “Not right now, but I’ll check in with you.” And then she winked at him before continuing her journey. Surprised, he stepped inside and saw why she’d left so quickly. His mother looked haggard as she sat at a table in the corner of the room. He pushed the door closed and walked over to her. This unit was similar to the SPU he’d lived in. Only, it seemed to allow eating in the rooms. There was a kitchen table, and there appeared to be a small pantry area where you could store food items. His mother had her head in her hands and was very quiet.
“You alright?” he asked, as he approached her.
She looked up and shook her head. “No,” she said. “I have misplayed this, and I’m worried Elaan and Josh will suffer.”
His mother explained to him how Alex sent Josh, Amadu, and Elaan to Virginia with the plan of keeping him safe here, under the guise of Jacob Rhodes. Jenny’s son. She’d figured he’d have less trouble answering to Jacob, as that was his middle name, but it also seemed to go well with Jenny.
He tried not to appear judgmental as he’d listened, but he had to admit to himself that he wasn’t that happy with his mother. She’d let this guy send Elaan away without much of a fight. Even with their dad being there, it didn’t seem like he could be much help to Elaan.
Though, he couldn’t be too incredibly mad. She’d not sacrificed him to Facility One instead. Caldwell seemed intent on the ruse at this point in time. He’d secured ID and badges for Lijah under the name Jacob. He was to work as a lab assistant trainee. He could be in the thick of things and see if his mother’s vaccine fix was working. However, his sister was gone.
“Mom, is there any way we can get her back?” he asked. “And Amadu, too. I mean, he didn’t do anything to deserve this.”
She shook her head, but then whispered, “Not here. Talk to me tomorrow.”
Then, as if she’d never said that, she stood, smiled, and said, “Let me show you around.”
Chapter 18 - Lijah
His things had been returned to him. The bag he’d brought, the one that had traveled with him during his journey from the SPU in Washington all the way to Dahinda and then to the little house in Champaign prior to their abduction. It had been taken when he got here, but now it was returned.
Everything essentially looked the same, but he didn’t have much time to really go through it. He was to report to the lab, to assist Dr. Rhodes this morning. It was such an odd thing, being renamed. The temporary ruse with Willie had felt just that — temporary. This seemed more permanent, and therefore, harder. He’d have to answer to Jacob. His mother would have to remember more than he would. He could simply say Mom as he always did. She had to pause and settle on his middle name.
He wasn’t sure where to go, but his mother said she’d pick him up at eight. It was five ’til. He sat dressed in clothes provided to him by the SPU. They’d come, with his backpack, shortly after his mother left last night. Seemed to be standard issue stuff. Khaki pants, loafers, knit shirt. He looked appropriately normal for this kind of work. He had his jeans in his backpack and some PJs for relaxing.
Though he wondered if relaxing was a good idea. His mother had told him they would talk later about dealing with what had happened to Elaan, Josh, and Amadu. But he wondered if he was being too complacent. Shouldn’t they be doing something more? Or was this something more? If everyone weren’t scared out of their minds about being sick, then there’d be no drive to round up the immunes and do whatever the hell they were doing to him.
He got up and paced the room. He wondered if there were listening devices in here. His mother had intimated as much about the cell. But a cell was one room in a place for people you didn’t trust. This was a housing unit. Seemed unlikely to rig listening devices. But unlikely didn’t mean impossible. Unlikely just meant it wouldn’t make sense in most cases. And he’d learned that people often didn’t make sense.
There was a knock at the door, and Lijah reversed direction on his pacing in order to answer it. It was his mother, flanked by a tall, muscular gentleman who appeared well-groomed. The man smiled. Lijah stepped aside to let his mother and the man in. He’d never met Alexander Caldwell, but he presumed this was him. He closed the door once they’d entered, and the three of them stood around for a moment saying nothing.
Hi
s mother broke the silence. “Alex, this is my son, Elijah. And Elijah, this is Alex Caldwell, the director of the SPU.”
Lijah stuck out a hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Caldwell said, giving Lijah a hard shake. “I’m glad we were able to accommodate you here, Jacob.”
Lijah nodded. Might as well get used to the fake name. “I’m glad as well. I’ll try to make myself useful.”
At this, Alex seemed to relax a little and smiled wider. “It’s nice to see you’ve got a practical attitude. Take things as they come.”
“I try,” he said. “Life is hard enough without bucking against the tide.”
Alex nodded. He took a step back. “It was a pleasure meeting you. I’ll let your mother show you around, and hopefully, I’ll get a chance to talk with you more later.”
With that, Alex turned and exited the apartment. Lijah waited a beat and looked at his mother. “So that’s the director,” he said. “He didn’t seem as bad as Elaan made him out to be.”
Shonda didn’t respond. She sucked in a breath and said, “I’ll take you to the cafeteria for breakfast, and then I’ll show you around the lab.”
Lijah nodded, and followed his mother through the facility to the cafeteria. It wasn’t that far from his apartment, and it was fairly full at this time of morning. He and his mother went through the line, getting cereal and milk, before sitting at a table.
Lijah ate quickly, though his mother took her time. He considered trying to talk here, but it still seemed too open a space. He was waiting for her to finish when he spotted Natalie leaving the line with her own ration for the day. He waved her over and she stared at him a moment, as if deciding what to do, before finally coming.