Blind Run

by Patricia Lewin

  He knew where to find the missing children.

  It had been nearly three days, seventy-two hours, since they’d disappeared. With each passing hour, it seemed less likely that Cox’s people would find them. A frightening loss, but Paul had managed to keep his head. Literally and figuratively.

  Thanks to Anna Kelsey.

  Since the Agency had placed her on Haven Island, Cox couldn’t hold Paul accountable for her actions. Such a woman was beyond Paul’s experience or expertise. Even Morrow had admitted that much. But all that could change with one phone call.

  Paul not only knew where Danny was headed, he knew why. The boy had hacked into the facility’s computer system, accessing birth records and God only knew what else. It explained everything: why he’d run, why he’d taken Callie, and where he would go.

  Paul closed his eyes, fear sweeping through him.

  At first he’d prayed he was wrong, but after checking and rechecking his findings, he knew that wasn’t the case. He’d spent the last eight hours going through the system. The evidence was irrefutable. Although Danny had been smart enough to hack his way in, he’d left trails.

  Every time he’d accessed a restricted file, the system made a log entry containing time, date, and user ID. He’d known about the log and figured out how to alter it to hide his tracks, which was why his activities had escaped notice. What Danny obviously didn’t know was that every time the system made a log entry, it also wrote a copy on a WORM (write-once-read-many) device for safe storage. So by the time he physically changed the online log, it was too late, his snooping had been recorded on a nonchangeable piece of hardware.

  It took some time and effort, but Paul had been able to compare the online entry with the WORM version and find the discrepancies.

  Paul knew he should be proud that the twelve-year-old had broken the facility’s state-of-the-art security system. After all, he’d created the child, made him, so to speak. But pride was the last thing Paul felt. Cold, mind-numbing terror was closer to the mark.

  He wanted to scream at the injustice of it. This wasn’t his fault, he wasn’t a goddamn teacher or psychologist. He’d never even particularly liked children and had as little day-to-day contact with those on the island as possible. Someone on his staff should have warned him, someone else should have known the boy’s capabilities. Whether Danny was smarter than they knew or simply more motivated, one of them should have known.

  But Cox would never see it that way.

  Paul dropped his face to his hands and cursed the day he’d met the other man. No matter what course he chose, Paul wouldn’t escape unscathed. If he revealed what he knew, Cox would find the children, but Paul would have to admit that Danny had been hacking into the system for some time—maybe as long as a year. That would be disastrous. Cox’s people would take over, turning the island upside down looking for security breaches. But if Paul kept the information to himself, and Cox found out in some other way, or they found Danny and he confessed . . .

  The intercom buzzed.

  Paul straightened, steeling his voice against the churn of fear in his gut, and pressed the receive button. “What is it, Sheila?”

  “Dr. Bateman called from the infirmary,” said his assistant. “He asked if you could come over right away.”

  “Did he say what it’s about?”

  “It’s Adam.” She paused. “He’s sick.”

  Paul broke into a smile. Why hadn’t he thought of this? He’d known Adam would exhibit symptoms quickly. All Paul had to do was claim that Adam had finally revealed the runaways’ destination, and Cox would have no reason to send his people in here to check for security breaches.

  “Tell Dr. Bateman I’ll be over in a few minutes,” he said, and severed the connection.

  Paul was almost giddy as he made his way to the hospital wing, nodding at the staff he passed on the way. He’d injected Adam with a designer strain of Avian Influenza A (H5N1), which had surfaced in Hong Kong in 1997 and killed a third of those infected. The potency of the virus had been high in its original state, but the strain Paul had used on Adam had been altered to further increase its virulence.

  In part, the injection had been a test to see if the boy’s system would repel the deadly virus. However, when Adam had refused to talk about Danny’s plan, Paul had used it as a weapon, counting on it to make Adam more willing to talk as the illness took hold. Now it didn’t matter whether Adam talked or not.

  When Paul reached the hospital wing, he donned an expression of grave concern and pushed through to the isolation ward.

  Bateman intercepted him before he made it to the boy’s room. “Dr. Turner, thank you for coming so soon.”

  “How is he?”

  “Not too bad yet,”—Bateman followed Paul to the observation window—“but in another twenty-four hours, he’ll be one sick young man.”

  “Fever, cough, sore throat?”

  Bateman nodded. “All the classic symptoms.”

  “I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. Have you run tests yet to verify the strain hasn’t shifted?” In its unaltered state, A (H5N1) showed no signs of human-to-human transmission, but the influenza virus was tricky and could alter itself in unexpected ways. The last thing Paul needed was a pandemic of influenza running through the island. Most of the children would survive, but he’d lose a high percentage of the staff.

  “It’s stable,” Dr. Bateman said, suddenly edgy. “But since we know Adam has no immunity, what is the point of withholding treatment?”

  “He’s strong and may still fight off the infection without interference.” Although Paul had no intention of letting the boy recover. “We need to monitor the progression of his illness.”

  “Yes, but—”

  Paul turned on him. “Are you questioning my judgment?”

  Bateman paled and looked away.

  “I didn’t think so.” Paul smiled to himself, enjoying the other man’s discomfort. It felt good after bowing to Cox and his thugs these last few days. Paul was still in charge here; this was still his facility. “Now, I want to examine the boy, and I’m sure you have other matters to attend to.”

  Bateman backed off. “Yes, of course.”

  Paul watched him scuttle away, then entered the hospital room. Grabbing a stool, he pulled it over to the bed and sat. “How are you feeling, Adam?”

  The boy glared at him and rolled onto his side, giving Paul his back.

  “I suspected you were coming down with something yesterday,” Paul said.

  “I wasn’t sick then.” Adam’s voice was muffled but angry.

  Paul ignored the accusation. “You’re lucky we discovered how sick you were before it was too late.” He sighed for the boy’s benefit. “But I’m afraid Callie’s not going to be that lucky.”

  “I told you I don’t know where—”

  “Oh, I don’t need you to tell me anything, Adam. I know where they went.” He shifted on the hard metal stool, making the wheels squeak, and watched the boy. “And I’ve sent someone to bring them home. I only hope it’s not too late for Callie. If you’d told me yesterday where they went . . .” He shook his head. “I might have been able to save her.”

  Adam turned around. “What’s wrong with her?”

  Paul smiled sympathetically. “I thought you understood. Callie came down with the same virus as you, right before she and Danny ran away.” That much, at least, was true.

  Tears filled the boy’s eyes. “Will she die?”

  “Not only her . . .” Paul felt a particular delight in tormenting this boy who’d given him so much trouble. “But I’m sure she’s infected others by now as well, including Danny.”

  DANNY FELT SICK.

  The TV reporter had lied just like the Keepers. Ethan hadn’t killed anyone, there had been a man with a gun on the balcony.

  Sydney touched his arm. “Danny?”

  They expected him to explain, but he didn’t know anything. Not about gunmen, anyway. All he knew was that he and Callie
couldn’t go back to the Haven. Not ever. But he was afraid to tell them even that much. He doubted they’d believe him, especially after he’d lied to Ethan earlier. Well, it hadn’t been a complete lie. He’d just stretched the truth some.

  “Tell them.” Callie poked him in the arm. “They can help us.”

  Danny wasn’t so sure about that, but he knew he had to do something. If he couldn’t convince Ethan that he and Callie were telling the truth, Ethan would turn them over to the authorities in the time it took to dial nine-one-one. And who could blame him? The reporter had called him a murderer. What did Ethan care if the police sent a couple of kids back to a place where everyone lied and kids disappeared in the middle of the night?

  “We ran away from a place called the Haven,” Danny said. “It’s on an island off the coast of Washington State.”

  “Is it a school?” Sydney asked.

  Danny stole a glance at Ethan. “Well, sort of. I mean, I don’t know exactly.” He turned back to Sydney, who might be their only hope. “We live there and go to school with a bunch of other kids.”

  “How many children are there?”

  “I’m not sure exactly, twenty-five maybe.”

  “There used to be more,” Callie said, “but some of them went away.”

  Danny shot her a warning look. “The number changes.” Six months ago there had been close to thirty of them. Now Danny wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to talk about that. If he did, Ethan and Sydney would think he was lying for sure. “They told us our parents were dead, and that we had no other family.”

  “But they lied,” Callie added. “Danny and I didn’t even know we were brother and sister until he got into the computer.”

  “That’s right.” Danny felt like he was running out of time. “And that’s when I found out that our father is alive.”

  “Whoa,” said Ethan, speaking up for the first time since demanding an explanation. “Slow down a minute and back up. Who are they?”

  “The Keepers. That’s what I call the teachers and doctors and guardians. They don’t like it, but I don’t care. I hate them all.”

  “How long have you lived there?” Sydney asked.

  Danny shrugged. “I don’t remember living anywhere else. None of us do.”

  “Do you remember your parents?”

  “No.” Danny concentrated on Sydney now that Ethan had again retreated into silence. “I figure they brought us there when we were all really little.”

  Sydney frowned and glanced at Ethan. “But there are adults who take care of you, and teachers?”

  “I know what you’re thinking.” Weren’t they hearing him? “We’re not orphans. Callie is my sister and our father is alive. They stole us from our parents.”

  For a moment no one spoke. Then Sydney said, “How can you be sure if you don’t remember your parents or living anywhere else?”

  He’d known they wouldn’t believe him. Adults always thought they knew more than kids. “What else could it be? Our mom and dad wouldn’t just give us away.”

  “Take it easy,” Ethan said. “Let’s say for now that we believe you.” Danny opened his mouth to protest, but Ethan cut him off. “Just bear with me a minute. I’m trying to understand all of this. Callie said you got into the computer system. How did you do that?”

  Danny looked at his sister, who nodded. “I’m good with computers. . . .” He hesitated. Adults never liked it when kids were too smart. “Sometimes when Dr. Turner, the head Keeper, went to the mainland, I’d sneak into his office and use his computer to hack into the system.”

  “Wait a minute,” Ethan said. “You expect me to believe you cracked their computer’s security? How old are you? Eleven? Twelve?”

  Danny rolled his eyes. Was this guy living in the dark ages or something? What difference did his age make? “Oh, yeah, I forgot, you’ve been living out in the middle of nowhere.” Which is where Danny would like to be right about now. “You probably don’t even have electricity, much less a computer.”

  “Look, kid—”

  “It doesn’t matter how he got into the system,” Sydney said, interrupting Ethan.

  “It does if he’s lying.”

  “I’m not lying,” Danny insisted, desperate to make them believe him.

  “He’s not,” Callie said.

  Ethan held up a hand in surrender. “Okay, forget about how you got into the computer. Assuming you did, that’s how you found out about Callie and your father?”

  “That’s what I said.” Wasn’t he listening? “I was searching for my school records, just to see what some of the teachers had written about me.” His cheeks heated at the confession. “That’s when I found out all the other stuff.”

  “Like?” Ethan prodded.

  “Birth records with times, dates, and places for all the kids. Also, parent and sibling names with hot links for more information. I found out about Callie and our father.”

  “What about your mother?” Sydney asked.

  Danny stuttered to a halt, surprised that this bothered him. After all, he’d never known his mother. “I don’t know,” he said. “Callie and I have the same father but different mothers. All the records showed was a woman’s first name.” He hated admitting that he didn’t have all the answers. “I tried to get more information about them but ran into a firewall that I didn’t have time to break.”

  He could have sworn he saw tears in Sydney’s eyes before she closed them briefly and looked away. “I’m sorry.”

  She and Ethan seemed to have run out of questions, and Danny had no idea if he’d convinced them. He thought about all the other kids, his friends, back at the Haven. Would they wonder what had happened to him and Callie? Adam knew the truth, but he wouldn’t tell. So what would the Keepers say? Would everyone think he and Callie had disappeared like . . .

  “Tell them about Sean,” Callie said, as if she’d read his mind.

  “Why? They won’t believe me.”

  “They will.” She turned back to the adults. “Sean’s bunk was next to Danny’s, and they were best friends, the two of them and Adam. Then one morning, Sean was gone.”

  Sydney leaned forward in her chair. “Gone?”

  “Go on,” Callie said to him. “Tell them.”

  He glowered at his sister but didn’t have a choice now that she’d started this. He had to tell Ethan and Sydney the rest. “The Keepers said Sean got sick in the middle of the night, but there was nothing wrong with him when we went to bed. They did something to him.”

  Sydney looked uncomfortable, glanced at Ethan again, then said, “Danny, sometimes children get sick.”

  “No, he wasn’t sick.” Danny didn’t know what he’d do if they didn’t believe him. “And he wasn’t the only one. Lots of others disappeared, too. Mostly the little ones, but sometimes one of the big kids.”

  The room got real quiet, and Danny could tell they thought he was making it up.

  “Sean wasn’t sick,” Danny insisted. “None of them were sick before they went away, but every time the Keepers told us the same story. They said Sean was too sick to stay on the island, and they’d taken him to a hospital on the mainland.”

  Danny saw the doubt on Sydney’s face, but couldn’t tell what Ethan was thinking.

  “Tell them the rest,” Callie said.

  Danny needed no prompting. “I know the Keepers were lying, at least about Sean.” He stopped, looking from one unconvinced face to the other. “Because a few days after Sean disappeared, I saw him. I snuck into the infirmary and he was there.” Danny had been terrified of what the Keepers would do if they caught him. Would he be the next one to disappear in the middle of the night? “They’d stuck all kinds of tubes and needles in him, and he’d looked . . .” right at Danny. For a second, Sean had opened his eyes, and Danny could have sworn his friend had seen him hiding. “He looked real scared.” Something swelled in his throat as he remembered the look on Sean’s face, and that he’d been too scared himself to help.

&n
bsp; Silence hovered in the room.

  “A nightmare?” Sydney said.

  He’d had nightmares about it for weeks, but he’d been awake the first time. “It was daytime.” And the last time he’d seen his friend. “Why did they lie and say they took all those kids to a mainland hospital? And why did none of them ever get well and come back?”

  Again, no one spoke.

  Finally, Ethan pulled out a barstool and sat. “Tell me how Anna fits into all this.”

  Danny took a deep breath. Maybe Ethan believed him. “Anna was one of our teachers.”

  Ethan looked doubtful.

  “She was,” Callie said.

  Danny understood Ethan’s doubts. Anna, the real Anna, the one who’d helped them run away from the island, wasn’t like any of the other teachers. And he had a feeling Ethan knew all about the real Anna.

  “She wasn’t like that in the beginning,” he said, speaking to Ethan now. “I mean, she was different from the other Keepers, but she was nice.”

  “She told us stories,” Callie added.

  “We weren’t allowed off the island,” Danny explained. “We studied geography and everything, but that’s not the same. We didn’t really know what it was like on the outside. Anna told us all kinds of stuff.” She’d convinced Danny she was his friend, their friend, his and Callie’s. But she had lied, too. “I told her about seeing Sean, and she offered to take Callie and me away from the Keepers. She promised to help us find our father.”

  “How was she going to do that?” Sydney asked quietly.

  “That part is easy,” Danny said. “I know where he lives.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  WHERE THE HELL was Morrow?

  Avery Cox pressed the off button on the remote and tossed it onto his desk. He shouldn’t have to get his news from a goddamn television report.

  It had been twenty-four hours since they’d left Haven Island and gone their separate ways, Avery back to Langley, Morrow off to track Kelsey, Decker, and the runaways. At the very least, Avery had expected a progress report by now, but Morrow hadn’t checked in. Now this mess in Dallas, two dead cops and Decker on the run, and it had Morrow’s grimy prints all over it.