Hybrid Zone Revelation, page 20
“Most secrets do have a way of coming out,” Admiral Murdock observed quietly.
The room took a collective breath as each one of them contemplated the possible future before them.
“We’re not necessarily talking about revealing the continued existence of human animal hybrids,” General Hurser said. “This is strictly a medicinal application we’re examining.”
Medicinal? I didn’t think anyone was buying that from him, not with all those visions of super soldiers dancing in his eyes.
“We could stand as heroes to the world,” Trace mused aloud.
Or the worst villains mankind had ever seen, but no one mentioned that. They didn’t have to.
“Well,” the president said. “I think we know what we have to do.” He pushed his chair back and stood up. “Dr. Greer, I’ll be in touch.” He winked at me as he turned to leave.
Garrison stood up and reached to shake my hand. He was smiling like he’d gotten what he came for. “Dr. Greer,” he nodded his goodbye.
General Hurser and Admiral Murdock wanted to talk specifics, but both of them were pressed for time. They left with a promise that I’d meet with them soon. In the end, the only man not to shake my hand was Mallet. He left immediately after the president and never looked back. A perfect imitation of a coward if I ever saw one.
Exhausted by the tense meeting, I collapsed back into my chair. “What just happened?” I asked as I stared absently at the rafters framing the ceiling.
“You promised to handle the rogue situation, create the baddest military the world has ever seen, and orchestrate the revelation of hybrids in a manner that’s all sparkles and fluff,” Reynolds answered glibly.
“Did I do that?” I wondered aloud.
Kenny snorted at me. “One thing’s for sure,” he said. “Mallet hates you.”
Oh yeah, Mallet. Fishing around in my pocket, I found the bullet I was looking for and tossed it to Kenny. “Check out the initials.”
“GM and DTP?” he read. “So?”
“Mallet’s first name is Gene.”
“This from the shooting earlier?” Reynolds asked as he took the bullet from Kenny and examined it.
“Yep.” Turning my head that lay against the back of the chair, I looked at Reynolds and wiggled my eyebrows at him. “Ready to go hunting?”
A slow smile spread across his face. “Oh, yeah,” he drawled.
Chapter 11
“Garrison has a look about him,” Kenny said as we bumped along.
We were squished into the front seat—the only seat—of an old pickup truck that had definitely seen better days and shocks. I didn’t see why we couldn’t borrow some gas for the other truck, but Reynolds had insisted that we leave it where it was and find a safer mode of transportation. Just how this qualified, I wasn’t sure, but I’d let him do all the talking at Wild Bill’s Auto Depot. Translation, you better have tools cause you’ll need’em to make it home. Wild Bill himself was laughing at us as we drove off the lot.
“Do you mean how he acts like he’s watching things unfold as they happen, when he’s actually the one orchestrating the whole thing?” I suggested.
“Yeah,” Kenny exhaled. “Sneaky, that one is.”
“Garrison was the guy who remained mum through most of the meeting?” Reynolds asked.
“Until he wasn’t,” I answered sourly. I couldn’t put my finger on why his presence bothered me so much. The outcome of the meeting had been okay, thanks to his redirection. Better than what could have happened.
“I’d say Garrison wasn’t the only sneak in the room,” Reynolds said. “Some of the questions that President O’Conner asked were clearly leading, like he already knew the score. And what’s up with him being a hybrid?”
“I don’t know,” I confessed. “I’m beginning to wonder who isn’t a hybrid.” And Reynolds was right. The president had manipulated me too. But he didn’t bother me as much as Garrison. Maybe because he was supposed to be the leader.
“Thought you were the one who was supposed to know,” Kenny spoke into the silence that had settled around us.
“I’m working up to it,” I griped. “I will be anyway, once we finally get…back.” I almost said home. If my brain was now registering Organization headquarters as home, things really had shifted. No pun intended. Just wished it didn’t come stocked with so much drama. Speaking of drama. “Hey guys,” I said as I pulled the reporter’s card from my pocket. “I need to make a phone call.”
Kenny glanced down at the card in my hand. “Who is Virginia Redding?”
“The reporter that was at the Colony.”
“You are actually going through with it?” Kenny asked.
“We made a deal.”
“You think that’s wise?” Reynolds asked, looking at me sideways as he drove.
“Wise?” I took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. “It seems inevitable that the existence of hybrids is going to become common knowledge.” I looked down at the card, recalling her interview with Randall and the knowledge of her brother’s recovery. “She has reason to be on our side, and we are going to need people on our side. In any case, I gave my word.”
“You want to contact her without the Organization knowing about it?” Reynolds guessed.
“I’d prefer it that way,” I nodded. “What’s the best way to accomplish that?”
“Disposable phone,” they answered together.
“You can buy them at Walmart easily enough,” Kenny added.
Why he knew that, I wasn’t going to question. But I did have a question for Reynolds. “Do you have any money?” I asked him, because I certainly didn’t. Yet another thing I had to add to my emergency bag.
“How do you think I bought this truck?” he scoffed.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, putting a hand to my chest in mock surprise. “I assumed the price of this mighty fine piece of truck might have wiped you out.”
“I’ve got all we need,” he growled in irritation, as if the possibility of him being low on money was somehow an attack on his character.
“By all means then, good sir, carry me thither to Walmart post haste.”
His eyes cut to me, then back to the road in front of him. “I don’t know what you said, but I’ll get you to the nearest Walmart.”
“That’s all I’m asking.”
“Hmm,” he rumbled deep in his throat.
“At this moment,” I added quickly.
“Now that I can believe.”
Me too.
We used old school methods to locate a Walmart. Reynolds stopped at a convenience store and made Kenny go in and ask. I busted out laughing when he came out of the store wearing a pink “Bama Lover” t-shirt.
“Shut up,” he scowled. “They only had three.” He tossed Reynolds an “I Bleed Red and Cream” t-shirt, and I got “Roll This” with a very rude gesture for illustration.
Pulling the t-shirt on over what was left of my blouse, I fished some safety pins out of the ashtray and pinned my skirt together. From there, it was on to Walmart.
They had a surprisingly large stock of disposable phones. Reynolds bought one to contact Cedars, and I bought a few, including one to add to the emergency backpack, which I also bought. Reynolds carried an awful large amount of cash.
While still in the parking lot, I made the call to set up the interview. She was pleased to hear from me, but hesitant about another face to face encounter. After many assurances and my threatening to forget the whole thing, she finally agreed to a meeting one week from today at a location yet to be determined. I told her I’d email her with the location, and after we hung up, I tossed the phone into the dumpster.
With nothing left to slow us down—not counting the two pee breaks Kenny demanded after inhaling the super sized soda despite my warnings—we were homeward bound. Reynolds drove us to a small airport where Cedars had arranged for transportation in the form of another jet. I couldn’t say we were thrilled by Cedars’ choice, but the plane ride back was surprisingly terror free. I thought the boys would have been pleased by this turn of events, but it just made them more nervous. I tried to persuade them that my life did not entirely consist of one catastrophe after another, but they were not convinced. As a result, the apprehension in that little cabin space we shared was as oppressive as a hundred degree day in Houston right before a thunderstorm broke.
Landing was an immense relief.
We nearly ran each other over trying to exit the plane. After that, we were shuttled from one vehicle to another until I found myself standing alone in the kitchen of Organization headquarters. The clock said it was dinnertime. Well that and the rumbling in my stomach.
Where is everybody, I wondered?
“I believe Miranda is waiting for you in your suite,” Margaret said as she entered the kitchen and saw my puzzled face. “Cedars is working in his, and Juarez is consoling Olivia.” She rounded the island, stopping directly in front of me. Her eyes got real big in preparation for her next statement. “You missed one heck of a row. Yelling and screaming. They almost came to blows.” She shook her head and bit her bottom lip. “I wasn’t sure there would be an Organization left when they were through.”
More drama. Great. I pulled out one of the stools at the island and sat down, letting my chin flop into my hands. “I take it Olivia didn’t win?”
“Not as far as I could tell.”
Margaret seemed relieved by the outcome. I knew I was.
“Hungry?” she asked, her voice strangely muffled.
Lifting my head from my hands, I found her half-hidden by the fridge door. I hadn’t realized she’d moved. “I could eat,” I answered.
“How does beef stew sound?” She poked her head around the door to see my response.
“That’d be great,” I smiled. She was so helpful. As I watched her busy herself fixing me a bowl, I realized, other than that, I didn’t really know too much about her. “Margaret, what is your position around here?”
“Oh,” she giggled embarrassedly. “I’m like caulking. I fill in the cracks.”
Wow. She must be working a lot of overtime lately. “How did you come to be here? At the Organization, I mean.”
She pulled the bowl out of the microwave and set it in front of me. “It all started when Adam rescued me. I was just a little girl. About two or three they tell me.”
She placed the salt and pepper in front of me as I chewed the first bite. Whoa. I never knew stew could taste this good. “What did he rescue you from?” I asked between mouthfuls.
“Apparently, my father piloted a plane which crashed into the nearby mountains. Everyone on board, all of my family, was killed. Adam saved me, gave me nanobots. Without prior approval, I think. Anyway, for some reason, they didn’t take.”
I paused with the spoon halfway to my mouth. “They didn’t take?” I repeated.
“I think Adam referred to it as a natural kill switch. But, they helped long enough to save my life. After that, I never left. Adam sort of adopted me, and the rest is history.”
My mouth gaped in amazement. I couldn’t get the picture of Adam as a father out of my mind. “Adam was your dad?”
“The only one I remember,” she nodded.
“And, you grew up here?”
She nodded again. “It was a great place to grow up. There was never a shortage of playmates. Or food,” she sighed and patted her round stomach. “Now that I’m grown up, there’s not much to do out here but eat. Not that I’m complaining, but I’m not a genius like the rest of you. My options are limited.”
“You’re wrong,” I disagreed, using my spoon to point at her. “You are one of the best cooks I’ve ever met. That’s a genius all on its own.”
“You’re a hybrid. You’re practically starving all the time. Anything tastes good to you,” she said, waiving away my critique.
“That’s not true,” I argued. “Well, the being a hungry hybrid part is, but that’s not it. The way you can switch between genres. And nail each one.” I shook my head in admiration of her skills. “It’s impressive.”
She chuckled in appreciation. “I’ve got a lot of time on my hands to practice.”
“Well, anytime you need a guinea pig, I’m at your disposal.” This was one task I didn’t mind signing up for. “You know you’re options are only limited if you stay here. You could leave.”
“That’s what Adam always says. I know I could. But my family is here.” She lifted her arms and shrugged.
“Tell you what,” I said as I laid the spoon on the edge of my empty bowl. “The next time I go to New Orleans, you come with me. You could open a restaurant in a snap.”
“Guinea Pigs?” she suggested for a name.
“Absolutely,” I nodded. “You’ll have people wrapped around the building waiting to get in.” Picking up the bowl, I scooted from the stool and walked it over to the sink. “Seriously, you should think about what you would like to do. Even if it’s not opening a restaurant.” Turning my back to the sink, I leaned against the counter. “Margaret, did anyone ever follow up on your natural kill switch?”
“I don’t think so,” she said. “Adam’s never said, but I think he broke a lot of rules keeping me here. I’m not sure what the Organization knows as far as nanobots and me goes.” She let go of the towel she’d been picking at. “You’re the only person I’ve ever told. I’d like to keep it that way.”
I nodded at her. “Is there anything I should know about the confrontation that happened earlier?”
She grimaced and looked away. “Tread carefully around Olivia,” she said. “I’m not sure how much more she can take. It’s understandable what with all she’s been through.” She shrugged her shoulders again. “I think you can guess whose side I’m on.”
Same as me, I hoped. Pushing off the counter, I aimed to leave the room, but hesitated as I drew even with her. “I’m sorry about your family.”
“Not your fault,” she smiled. “Anyway, I don’t remember them.”
Nothing much to say to that. Maybe it was better that way and maybe it wasn’t. But I knew from experience that the lack of memories wasn’t a comfort. “Thanks for the stew,” I smiled and began walking again. Her voice stopped me in the doorway.
“Macy,” she whispered, her voice quivering with unspent emotion. “You are going to find him?”
“I am,” I breathed and hurried out of the kitchen before all the doubt in her voice got to me.
I didn’t realize that I had made it to the suite until I was standing in front of the door. Startled that I had found my way on my own, I entered the code and braced for the smell of Adam. It was in the rest of headquarters too, but faint. Nothing like what awaited me here.
“About time,” Miranda complained and switched the television off as I walked in. “Nice t-shirt.”
“Hey,” I greeted her. “How’d you get in here?”
She rolled her eyes at me as I joined her on the couch. “Like the password was hard to figure out.”
Right. I plopped down next to her and stared at the blank television. “I didn’t know we had a television in here.”
“It slides down from the ceiling. The button’s on the remote.” She held it out to me.
We both watched as the screen noiselessly ascended into the ceiling.
“Cool,” I muttered. The absence of the television gave a clear view of the surrounding mountains. Night was quickly replacing the daylight, but I could still make out the white tops. They reminded me of Adam’s teeth.
“What are you thinking?” Miranda asked me.
“That the white mountain tops remind me of Adam’s teeth.”
“They are freakishly white,” she agreed.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, half turning to face her.
“Same old, same old. You?”
“Tired. Numb. Like I’m in a dream.”
We stared at the mountains as the night grew darker. “Cedars is working on the plan right now,” Miranda said in an effort to comfort me.
“Margaret told me there was some big argument earlier.”
“Yes, there was. I think…I hope we finally settled who’s in charge around here.”
“It’s me, isn’t it?” I said glumly.
She snorted at me. “What was your first clue?”
“The state of things.”
“Well, things do have a certain Macy flair to them,” she teased. “But, the gist of it is, that Cedars, supported by Juarez, maintains control, and he has clearly indicated that he is going to follow your lead.”
“I bet Olivia loved that.”
“Oh, no. No, she did not. I’ve never seen her so mad. I thought she was going to punch Cedars and Juarez both.”
I might liked to have seen that.
“So how did the meeting with the president go?”
“Spectacularly,” I deadpanned.
“That bad, huh?”
“No, seriously. They loved me. They’ve hired me to do everything.”
“Everything meaning…?”
“Usual stuff. Save the world, heal humanity, blah, blah.”
“It’s great that we have all this time on our hands.”
I laughed deeply, ending in a long drawn out breath. “Did you look into the papers I gave you?”
“I did, and I found some stuff on Garrison too, I think.” She looked at me and frowned, but didn’t say anymore.
“Well, tell me.” Since he was no longer dead, I would really like to know what he’s been up to.
“Macy, you’re dead on your feet. Take a shower, get some sleep. It will keep till morning.”
