Ignite the Shadows

by Ingrid Seymour

  “For all I know next time I try, the agent will take control. Not me.”

  “I knew I was wasting my time trying to help you. You really are dense. Suit yourself.” Aydan turns toward the computer and starts typing again.

  Forcing words out of this guy is like trying to make lemonade out of lettuce. Impossible. I decide to push. “I’ve yet to see any proof that meditation actually works. I’m tired of just taking everyone’s word for it.”

  Aydan looks over his shoulder for a brief moment. “Look, I don’t care what you do. You’ll put us in an awkward situation if you don’t learn to control your agent, but I’m sure we’ll figure out how to … deal with you.”

  “What is that supposed to mean? Are you threatening me?”

  He looks annoyed, as if I’m a fly stepping on his leftovers. “I’m busy. Take your drama somewhere else.”

  A flash of anger makes me imagine my hands around Aydan’s condescending little neck. He’s absolutely infuriating. My arms are stiff rods, trembling with rage. How dare he threaten me? I feel ready to erupt and it takes all my willpower not to launch forward and hit him. Suddenly, the glass of water next to his computer catches my eye. It seems to be vibrating. I blink, feeling my anger turn into confusion. I shake my head. The glass looks perfectly normal now.

  Deep breath, Marci.

  I snap back into the moment and find Aydan staring at me as if I’ve completely lost it. With my anger gone, I remember his threat. It gives me pause, and suddenly I feel like I owe him an explanation for my behavior.

  “How do I know I can trust any of you? I just saw James with Elliot up there. They were practically smooching. For all I know, they play for the same team.”

  Aydan gets up from the chair in one abrupt motion. There’s a coffee stain on his ridiculous medical coat. He seems ready to lash out at me, but he stops short. His eyes lock on a spot above my left shoulder and a satisfied smile tweaks his lips.

  I blink. James is standing right behind me. The double droning in my head didn’t register before. I was too angry to notice.

  “Hello, James,” Aydan says, enjoying the situation way too much.

  “Aydan,” James acknowledges in his deep voice. “Threat of mutiny?” he asks.

  Maybe there’s a geological fault under my feet and soon there’ll be an earthquake. I can only wish the earth will swallow me whole. I bite my cheek, mad at myself. Why do I feel this huge sense of shame when what I want is to go ultra-nuclear on James?

  “Yep,” Aydan says.

  I look over my shoulder to gauge James’s expression. He looks as serious as I’ve ever seen him. I feel like I’ve let him down somehow. I don’t know why I care what he thinks. He should understand my doubts, given the scraps of information he’s offered. I know I promised to trust him, but I still want answers, feel the right to demand them. Yet I fear the idea of James being displeased with me. My stomach complains with the familiarity of this feeling. Suddenly, I see myself as a little girl, eager to make Dad smile. I never could stand it when he was cross with me.

  “How’s meditation going?” he asks.

  I lower my gaze, step to one side, trying to meld into a server rack.

  “Not going,” Aydan says, all trace of his earlier satisfaction gone.

  James nods once, as if that explains my misbehavior. “I see. We’ll have to make it work, Marci. If we can’t, I’m afraid you will become a … liability for us. Do you understand?”

  I can’t move my lips to shape words. Nodding isn’t working either. I think I understand, but I’m paralyzed with fear. He’s deadly serious, and I know it because of the way he looks at me with regret, as if I’m a cute, helpless puppy he’ll have to put down.

  “We’ve trusted you with very sensitive information,” he explains as he meets my frozen stare. “If you refuse to do as we instruct, I’m afraid things won’t … work out.”

  I swallow and manage a small nod, my previous anger suddenly diminished. Not by fear, but by James’s stout confidence and mere presence. He’s the grounding force for this team, and for me it seems.

  “Good. I’m glad we understand each other.”

  Still, the rebellious side of me stirs. All I understand is that he just threatened to kill me. I don’t understand anything else, and it doesn’t seem like that’ll change any time soon. It hardly seems fair, but I don’t dare ask James any questions. For that, I hate him almost as much as I fear him. And yet, I’m befuddled by the fact that I also admire him.

  “Aydan, call a meeting in ten minutes. Make sure she’s there.” James hooks a finger in my direction. Aydan looks displeased but doesn’t argue.

  “Conference room A,” James says.

  Before he leaves, he looks over his shoulder. I follow his gaze to the glass of water by Aydan’s computer. After a moment, his eyes lock with mine and tighten with interest, then he exits without a word.

  “Need a pair of clean panties?” Aydan sneers.

  “Screw you,” I say as I leave his cube and head for conference room A. I don’t want to miss a single word.

  Chapter 33

  I stuff myself in the back corner of the room. Everyone trickles in after me. Kristen, Rheema, and Aydan. There are no chairs, only a few beanbags strewn about. No one sits down.

  When James strides into the room, exactly ten minutes after calling the meeting, he’s not wearing his fancy suit anymore. In fact, he looks nothing like the snooty businessman and more like he just went through a boot-camp makeover.

  A tight t-shirt, cargo pants, belt and boots—all black—make him look like GI Joe incarnate. He walks to the front of the conference room and stands, back to a large dry erase board. His eyes search the room and land on me.

  “Try to keep up, Marci,” he says. “We don’t have time for long explanations, but I’ll fill in where I think it may be helpful.” He clears his throat before continuing. “I’m the owner and president of Zero Breach, a company that engineers state-of-the-art security systems. For the last couple of days, I’ve been on a business trip in London, a trip for which my staff and I prepared for almost a year.

  “Zero Breach and two other worldwide heavyweights staged showrooms for our latest, most advanced security systems. There were many prospective clients there, but there’s only one we really care about and that is AR-Tech.”

  AR-Tech?

  “Assisted Reproductive Technologies,” James explains, anticipating my question. Aydan heaves a sigh. Clearly, this is all for my benefit. Everyone else seems frustrated. “AR-Tech’s clinics in the US have been using our security systems for over two years now. The purpose of the London demos and board meetings was to try to expand our coverage to AR-Tech’s clinics overseas.

  “We felt pretty confident we would be able to negotiate a deal. But the fact of the matter is that we did not. AR-Tech is not interested in going international with us.” The muscles in James’s jaw jump and his gray eyes grow dark. After a slow breath, he continues, “We thought it was a done deal. We’re the best in the industry, so we didn’t see that one coming. Worse yet, they’re also terminating our US agreement.”

  “What?!” Kristen exclaims.

  Everyone exchanges shocked glances. James confirms with a simple nod.

  Kristen starts pacing. “But why?”

  “AR-Tech’s board members offered no real explanation. However, Elliot just paid me a visit and offered one. He said he felt bad.” The last word makes it sound as if Elliot felt no such thing. “He said that the least he could do was explain why the members decided to terminate our contract.”

  “Ha! As if we didn’t know he’s the one calling the shots,” Rheema sneers.

  James gives her a small resigned smile. “He said ‘one breach is not Zero Breach.’ Said they can’t afford to have another clinic ransacked.”

  I’m trying really hard to keep up with the information deluge. The conversation is faster now, as if they’ve forgotten there’s someone clueless in the room. The facts pour int
o my brain and I try to organize them. Something about this whole conversation is causing an itch in the back of my mind, as if a particular piece should be clicking but is not.

  “So what? They’re going to a second-best competitor?” Kristen asks with incredulity.

  “No. He says they’ve acquired their own security company. They’ll be home-growing their own systems.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Elliot says they have a brilliant staff, working tirelessly to come up with a system that can’t be hacked.”

  “Any idea how long we have before they switch over?” Kristen’s still pacing, staring at the floor and looking as if the gears in her brain are on warp speed.

  Impossibly, James’s expression grows ever darker. “At the end of the month.”

  “No way!” Kristen’s voice is so high-pitched it doesn’t even sound like her. “They must have been planning this for a very long time.”

  “It looks that way.”

  “That’s only two days away,” Rheema points out.

  “Great, Rheema. Thanks for the amazing display of mathematical skills,” Aydan says.

  Rheema gives him a rude hand gesture.

  “So, all that work, all those hours were for nothing?” Aydan’s frustration shapes his every word.

  James offers him an inquisitive glance. “Well …”

  “Well what?” Kristen asks.

  James rubs the back of his neck. “It might still be possible to take advantage of the work we’ve done.”

  “How?” Aydan plops on a beanbag, clearly skeptical about whatever James has in mind.

  “I was hoping we could hit Riverbend tonight.”

  Aydan laughs, throwing his head back and holding his stomach in exaggerated humor. “Very funny.”

  “Are you saying it’s impossible?”

  “Pretty much,” Aydan sneers, then gets up and gives a huge yawn, stretching his arms toward the ceiling. “I guess I can finally get some sleep.”

  “How about tomorrow night?” James challenges as Aydan heads for the door.

  “Nope.”

  “Wait,” Kristen says. “Don’t leave. We can’t give up just like that.”

  “Just like that?! There are two different devices I have to trick. I haven’t even started on that. We were supposed to have two weeks to finalize everything. And even if I was able to get it all done, wouldn’t it be a tad obvious if we break in after they terminate the contract and right before they switch over? It would reek of insider job. For all you know, Elliot is baiting you.”

  “Very likely, but we can’t hide forever, Aydan. We knew that sooner or later they would find out we’re here,” James says.

  “Maybe, but I think it’s suicide. They’ll figure out right away that you’re involved, James. And you know what they’re capable of when they feel threatened.”

  “I’m ready to take the risk.” James’s face could be carved out of stone. His eyes are fixed orbs, his expression cold and hard. He means it.

  Aydan shrugs. “Still, it’s not enough time. And what about you, Rheema? Could you pull your part of the plan on such short notice?”

  “Sure can,” Rheema says.

  “I can also get everything ready on my end,” James says.

  “Great. I guess it’s all on me,” Aydan complains.

  “What if I help?” The words sprint out of my mouth before I can stop them.

  Four heads swivel my way. Eight eyes drill holes into my own.

  “Or not,” I say, running a finger along my eyebrow.

  Aydan huffs and gives me a disgusted look.

  Yeah, you too, jackass!

  Why is he so infuriatingly haughty? Man, I could smack him. I can almost see my fist punching him in the nose. I think it’s actually written in the stars and I must be clairvoyant.

  James approaches. “Do you think you could do it?”

  “I … can try.” What else can I say? I haven’t the faintest idea what I just volunteered for.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Aydan looks at James as if he just asked a goose to play a symphony.

  Okay, now I won’t just smack him, I’ll kick him till he sings soprano.

  “No, I’m not,” James says. “It took you hours to hack her computer. I remember your frustration distinctively. And also how self-satisfied you were after you did.”

  “That’s bull,” Aydan says. But he must be lying because he avoids everyone’s glances and his pale cheeks get red.

  Kristen’s mouth twitches as if she’s trying to repress a smile. This couldn’t get any more awkward. Although knowing that my code gave Aydan such fits qualifies as a virtual smack.

  “Marci could work on tricking the in-vitro lab device while you work on the entrance one. We’ve got nothing to lose,” James says.

  At the word “in-vitro”, my heart sputters. Facts fly like hummingbirds across my mind, and then it clicks. Assisted reproduction technologies, AR-Tech, ransacked clinic, in-vitro. They’re talking about breaking into a fertility clinic, a place where couples who can’t have children go for help, a place like the one my mother and father went to become pregnant with Luke and me.

  My knees turn to Play-Doh. I put a hand on the wall for support. Something in my stomach roils, makes me take a hand to my mouth. I wasn’t infected by Mrs. Contreras or anyone else. This thing has been in me before I even had a brain for it to prey on. Even when I was just a handful of cells, I was already a monster.

  God, I never stood a chance.

  Chapter 34

  “Marci, are you okay?” James is right in my face. One of his arms wraps around my shoulder. I’m on the floor. Here we go again.

  “Get her something to drink,” James orders. Rheema runs out at his command, as he deposits me into a beanbag.

  James, Aydan and Kristen kneel around me, concern on their faces. I take deep breaths.

  “Good, good,” James says, squeezing my shoulder. “Breathe.”

  “I’m sorry,” I say, when I find my voice.

  “It’s okay.” He rubs my arms reassuringly and pulls me closer until my head rests on his chest. “Too much pressure?” he asks gently.

  “Um, no.”

  “Were you shadowed?”

  “No.”

  “What happened then?”

  A sigh leaves my lips, taking every bit of humanity I thought I possessed. I chuckle because I don’t want to whimper. Smile when you don’t want to cry.

  “Turns out I was never human,” I say.

  “Here.” Rheema has a handful of my favorite chocolate and a bottle of water. She offers them to me with a smile. “These worked charms on you the last time,” she says, giving me a quick wink.

  “I’m fine. Really.”

  I pull away from James. They all get to their feet and look at me with question marks etched on their brows. I stand and straighten my shirt.

  “I was an in-vitro baby,” I blurt out. “It seems I’ve been a freak since I was just two microscopic cells. I guess I never stood a chance.”

  Wide eyes replace the furrowed brows. Rheema’s jaw hangs loose. Kristen’s head moves from side to side in an almost imperceptible sign of incredulity. James’s astonishment hangs thick in the air. Only Aydan seems to think I’ve said nothing shock-worthy and allows his features to return to his I’m-too-smart-to-lose-my-cool expression.

  “Are you sure?” he asks, looking bored.

  I laugh. What a stupid question. Am I sure I was conceived in a Petri dish?

  “Well, let me see, I was there, so I guess I should remember. Um, funny how I don’t, though. I suppose I’ll have to trust my mom’s word on the matter.”

  Aydan gives me an icy stare. I tell myself it doesn’t bother me and try not to start keeping count of how many times and in how many different ways I’d like to smack him.

  “Look, I’m sorry I freaked. I thought Mrs. Contreras had infected me. It just came as a surprise. That’s all.” I try to shrug it off, try to pretend I’m over it
already.

  “Who’s Mrs. Contreras?” Rheema asks, unwrapping one of the chocolates and popping it whole in her mouth.

  “It’s not important,” I say.

  “I thought it’d be impossible,” James says, still in shock. He steps away, turns his back on me and runs a hand over his shaved head.

  Kristen walks up to him, looking as excited as a kid in Disneyland. She talks a million miles an hour. “I can’t believe it. How do you suppose she’s been able to keep the agent at bay? I always thought in-vitros stood zero chance. I’ll have to run more tests, different tests that take this into consideration.”

  “Hey, I’m right here,” I protest. “Try to remember that as you discuss turning me into a lab rat.”

  Just as I finish saying this, Luke’s face pops in my mind. Like fireworks, questions explode against the dark backdrop of this new revelation. Was mine the only embryo infected as he and I were deposited in Mom’s womb? Or was he also infected and somehow managed to escape my fate? Or better yet, is he immune by some freak genetic reason? I realize that if there’s anyone they should be testing it’s him. Not me.

  Not me?! Could that have anything to do with why that man took Luke and left me behind? My head spins.

  I bite the inside of my cheek. I know I should tell James about Luke right away, but the truth is, I can’t. There is no way I can drag him into this. He’s already been through a lot and probably already hates being part of my family. I can only imagine how he would feel if he found out it’s actually worse than he thinks. I doubt he’d be so filial if he realized half of his new family could inspire a B-rated horror movie.

  At some point, I know I’ll have to tell them about Luke, but not before I, myself, understand all the implications. Bringing my brother into this, when there’s so much I need to learn, would be a terrible judgment call. I have no right to alter his life without knowing where this leads. I just hope Xave or Clark don’t bring up the fact that I have a brother. For once, I’m glad James keeps so many secrets.

  “We don’t have time for tests right now,” James says. “We need to get to work, if we’re to have a chance at breaking into Riverbend by tomorrow night. I’m sure Marci will cooperate later with more tests. Won’t you, Marci?”