Hybrid Zone Revelation, page 36
“In answer to your question,” Olivia started, “we’ve never needed that kind of doctor before. The nanobots pretty much take care of what we need medically. Therefore, there are none within the Organization’s ranks.”
It figured they wouldn’t have any baby doctors on call. Couldn’t the Organization just kidnap someone and force them to do it? My whole posture froze with the question I’d just asked myself. Since when did I think it was okay to kidnap someone and force them to do what I needed?
“Macy?” Miranda chirped.
Okay, maybe I couldn’t outright kidnap someone, but wasn’t there someone, anyone we could convince or bribe?
“Hello. Earth to Macy,” Miranda sang.
I cut my eyes to her when she began snapping her fingers at me. She did know that I was not a baby doctor, right? “Miranda, I don’t know squat about birthing no babies.”
Her breath caught, and then she belted a laugh right in my face. “You sounded just like Gone with the Wind. Should I slap you now? And duh, that’s why I said you needed to learn how to do it.”
Rolling my eyes at her total disregard for my sincerity, I focused my attention on eating…and murmuring in my head. There was a reason I wasn’t an OB doc. All the blood and bodily fluids, and little naked people coming out of other naked people. Whoops, almost threw up in my mouth. Clenching my jaw, I forced myself to swallow. If she thought that I was going to suddenly morph into an obstetrician, she was out of her mind. The only tongs I wanted to use were for salad or turning things on the grill.
The smug look on her face told me that she thought she’d won the argument. But it wasn’t over until she went into labor. I still had time. Though maybe not as much as I would have thought. How could she be showing already? Wasn’t that sort of impossible?
“Now that that’s settled,” Olivia said wryly. “Macy, I would like to take Scout with me, if that’s okay with you? Naturally, we won’t leave until Juarez can install the firewall. And, I feel like he’s already proven himself with the whole illegal rescue operation.”
I see how it was. Me she viewed as a traitor for taking part in the “illegal” rescue operation while Scout was a hero. Talk about a double standard. But she was right about Scout’s competence. And it was my intention to fold the Colony hybrids into the Organization anyway. The distance made me a little nervous, but that was a poor excuse to hold him back.
“Ask him,” I finally said. “I’m okay with it if he is.”
“Already did. He said I had to clear it with you first.”
They were growing up, I thought as I nodded to myself. “Who else are you taking?”
“Camo. I think between the three of us, we can get the job done without too much effort.”
“Camo’s back?”
“Not yet, but I called him. He’s game.”
Camouflage and teleportation. The Consortium would never know what hit’em. No wonder General Hurser was so eager to have an army of hybrids at his disposal. Hmm. I’d have to keep an eye on him. That kind of power had a way of changing people.
“The targets that Garrison has singled out, are they naturally smart or artificially intelligent like us?” I asked.
“I don’t think that’s the right classification,” she frowned. “We’re not robots. Genetically enhanced, maybe? Anyway, that’s the way the inhibitor works. It inhibits DNA that wasn’t part of the original genome.”
Swiveling to face her, I said, “It hasn’t been with them since birth?”
“No.”
Miranda and I exchanged confused looks.
“You mean, one day you could be dumb as a doorknob and smart the next?” Miranda scoffed.
“Not exactly. But the added DNA does allow your brain to make connections not previously attempted. Given time, overall intelligence increases.”
Was she kidding me? “How could you possibly know which DNA to inhibit?”
“We know the sequences to look for,” she shrugged.
We. Meaning Julia, of course. That woman was obsessed with intelligence.
“I’m really hoping the genius genes were hijacked from Julia and not a direct result of her work,” Miranda said.
“That was the impression I got,” Olivia answered.
“Do you believe her?”
“I have no reason to doubt her. She seemed pretty peeved by the whole situation.”
“No reason but a control chip,” I reminded her.
“Right.”
“It seems to me,” Miranda said, “that trying to block DNA that an individual has had access to, for however long, would do more than just inhibit them. That drastic of a change would be detrimental because essentially, you’re causing a brain injury.”
“I agree,” I nodded. “It might be that black and white for non-human DNA because it was never supposed to be there, but human?”
Olivia looked at me, then at Miranda before averting her eyes. “I don’t know,” she said reluctantly. “I understand how it works to stop animal DNA from being utilized, but I’m not sure about the brain. Brain chemistry is tricky.”
“Will the effect be immediate?” Miranda persisted, jamming her spoon into her cobbler as she spoke.
There was cobbler?
“Don’t know that either,” Olivia sighed. “The brain is huge, reactionally speaking. For the animal DNA, the hybrid would go to access the shift, like they always had, and that in itself would activate the permanent lock down. But basing it on cognitive functions? How many thought paths could you take and arrive at the same conclusion? I am guessing it will be a slow downgrade, but that’s all it is, a guess.”
“Garrison sees it as an immediate measure,” I said. “Does he know something you don’t?”
“Doesn’t he always,” she scowled. “Julia and I were the main engineers for the inhibitor, but he had a hand in it too.”
“So, it could do something more than slowly wear the mind down?” Miranda concluded. “Which, by the way, would be awful enough.”
Olivia leaned all the way back in her chair and fixed her eyes on the ceiling. “The conference is in a day and a half. That doesn’t give me much time to go through the code, searching for something I don’t recognize.”
The predicament facing us hung heavily in the air. I didn’t think Garrison was above permanently getting rid of anyone that he felt needed to go. Where was the line between murder and self-defense?
“Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with,” I cautioned. “We both know that Garrison is working a hundred different angles.”
“I know,” she nodded absently.
“I wouldn’t do anything unless I knew for sure what I was doing,” Miranda spat. “This time,” she added quickly upon seeing my disbelieving stare. “People’s lives are at stake. And I, for one, do not want to become one of Garrison’s angels.”
Olivia smiled as she continued to stare at the ceiling. “I’ve been around longer than either of you, and I knew that Millsap was not the whole of the Consortium. I also know that there has never been one good thing to come from them. Every bit of tech they have is stolen in one way or another and cobbled together to form some grizzly patchwork.”
“Like the Furries?” I said.
“Like the Furries,” she repeated. “Do you know how long they live? Six months tops,” she answered without waiting for a response. “The last three months, they aren’t able to shift back to human at all. That’s when they’re the most dangerous.”
“Why would anyone volunteer for that?” Miranda asked.
Olivia turned her face to Miranda. “Who said they did?” She let her words sink in as she returned to staring at the ceiling. “The Consortium’s goals aren’t noble. They have no interest in furthering science, protecting mankind or anything resembling being honorable.”
“They just want to rule the world by force,” Miranda guessed.
“No. They want to rule the world by any means possible. Left unchecked, they’ve got the money and the power to do just that.”
“That makes them a very dangerous enemy,” I said, frowning as my view of the Consortium broadened.
She nodded silently in response. “Well.” She leaned heavily on the table as she stood. “If you ladies have nothing further, I have some code to study.”
Miranda waited until Olivia cleared out before whispering, “What are the chances she’ll actually find something?”
“I don’t know. She was able to whip out the Lindsey inhibitor fairly quick.”
“I guess we’ll hope for the best,” Miranda said, then smacked her lips together like she’d eaten something unpleasant. “I’m really beginning to despise the word best. What it really means is I can’t do what you want.”
“I’m done with maybe.”
“I thought you liked living in the gray.”
“It’s overrated. Sometimes you just want a clear yes or no.”
“Now you’re just talking crazy.”
“It’s my native tongue.”
“You are crazy,” she laughed, causing me to join in.
“The Consortium created thousands of children to use as weapons in their war,” I said after we’d quieted. “That right there lets you know what kind of people we’re dealing with. Whether Olivia finds something or not, I’m good with taking them out.”
Miranda caressed her stomach as she processed what I said. “I’m finding it difficult to muster any sympathy for someone who would engineer children for the express purpose of stocking an army. What kind of mind games, or torture to ensure compliance was lying in wait for their futures?” She shook her head as the smell of anger coalesced around her. “I’m good with it too. Does that make me a murderer?”
“I think it makes you someone with a heart to protect the innocent.”
She was quiet as she considered my answer. Then nodding slowly to herself, she asked, “Want some cobbler?”
“You have to ask?”
“Forgive me,” she apologized. “I momentarily forgot who I was talking to.”
Her return to the table supplied me with the cobbler dish and serving spoon. “Were there no more bowls? Or smaller utensils?” I asked warily, though not refusing either.
“I’m sure you won’t let it stop you.”
I looked at the giant spoon in my hand and shrugged. She knew me well.
“Yum,” I moaned, wiping at the accidental overage on my face. “Do you remember when you were so excited about us coming here and being coeds together?”
“Seems like only last week,” she said dreamily.
“It was. And, I got a say, this is way more work than I bargained for.”
“Saving the world isn’t easy,” she agreed.
“Didn’t we just do this last week?” I griped. “Shouldn’t it be someone else’s turn?”
“Quit complaining. You’re living in a huge, beautiful lodge—”
“Which I can’t find my way around in.”
“Surrounded by majestic mountains—”
“I ain’t got time for no mountains.”
“Then there’s Margaret.”
Okay, that was a plus. “Do you think I still have my job at the university?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“I miss the house in New Orleans, and the life we had there. I thought my life was complicated then. But this…This is complicated.” On impulse, I turned to Miranda and grasped her hand. “If anything ever goes wrong, look for me at our old house.”
“Okay,” she said, drawing the word out. “You want to have a secret handshake too? Maybe a code word?”
“Very funny,” I droned and released her hand.
“What do you think our neighbors would think about us now?”
I laughed at the thought. On our block, we were the normal ones. Our neighbors were a wild hodgepodge of free spirits. Free as in believed in all kinds of weird stuff. When we were in town, we used to meet at Mr. Autin’s house on Wednesday nights to watch the show, Ancient Aliens. Miranda was hooked immediately. Granted, I wasn’t a big television watcher, but this show had enough oomph to keep me engaged. I didn’t know if everything on the show was based on empirical fact, but they did present a bunch of legitimate questions. At least in my mind. To Hazel, it was biblical canon. Man, the rows that took place over crawfish etouffee or boudain balls with Ms. Mary’s homemade buttermilk ranch dressing.
“I miss boudain balls,” I said mournfully.
“I miss the fresh baguettes with the butter that Mr. Autin made from the cow he kept hidden in his backyard.”
Cobbler dribbled out of the corners of my mouth as I laughed around the giant spoon before I could pull it out. “It’s a wonder we never died from some parasitic infection.”
“Nothing short of miraculous,” she agreed while tossing me a napkin.
“I think that our neighbors would say that we’d been abducted by aliens and subjected to experimentation that left us this way.”
“I’m betting Hazel would say that I was the love child of an alien and a human.”
“Seems reasonable,” I joked. Pausing with the tip of the spoon in my mouth, I watched in horrified fascination as her warm ups lost the battle and began a slow roll down her stomach. “Here’s something else entirely reasonable. I think it’s time for you to consider getting some new clothes.” Using the spoon as an extension of my arm, I aimed it at her stomach now on full display.
She looked down and sighed. “Not what I used to dress like, is it?” Grasping the t-shirt, which I was guessing belonged to Cedars, she adjusted it to cover the bulge. “But you’re right. It’s time.”
I could do with ordering some clothes myself. But first, a shower and then everything else on the list, including the items yet to appear. Because I knew they were coming.
“Ouch.”
“Bite your tongue?” Miranda guessed.
“No. Ow,” I moaned, nearly flipping the spoon out of my hand as the jolt of pain lancing through my head repeated.
“Oh my God,” Miranda exclaimed, clutching a hand to her chest as Scout burst into the room. “You guys are going to have to come up with some designated landing pads or something.”
“We got a problem, Doc.”
Ah, the newest item. “What’s wrong?” I asked, squinting up at him from under my hand gripping my forehead.
“Adam, he’s…Just come see for yourself. Meet us at his cell.” Then he disappeared.
Dropping the spoon into the dish, I pushed the chair back quickly, and then hesitated when I remembered Miranda.
“Go,” she said upon seeing me pause. “I’ll meet you there.”
Standing in front of Adam’s cell, I didn’t know what to think. He was caught between various stages of shifting, unable to fully return to one form or the other. As quickly as the shift started in one direction, it reversed itself. There was no doubt he was in agony. Brief pulses of it shot through our bond, causing me to wince periodically. The roars of anger and pain coming from him tore at my heart.
“He’s fighting the programming, trying to override it,” Olivia said quietly.
I could see that. Pulling my eyes from him, I scanned the group gathered in front of his cell. Adam didn’t need everyone watching him like this. “Hey, don’t you have things to be doing?”
Kenny leaned back, finding me around the crowd.
“Now,” I mouthed to him.
“Everybody out,” Kenny barked as he began maneuvering the gang away from Adam’s cell.
Miranda came in as they were exiting. She stopped when she reached me and joined in quietly watching Adam’s struggle. For all of one minute.
“What did you do?” she accused.
“Nothing.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s not nothing.”
“I told him to remember Granny,” I shrugged.
“I’ve heard about Granny. I can’t wait to meet her.”
She might just get her wish. If this didn’t work, I fully intended to bring Granny here.
“I thought his memories of Granny might go far enough back to circumvent the false memory loop they have him on.”
“Looks like it’s working,” Olivia said.
If you called that working. With each second that passed, I could feel his strength waning.
“It’s slowing down,” Miranda observed.
“He’s running out of juice?” Olivia whispered to me.
My nod of affirmation brought tears to her eyes.
In the end, the programming won out, forcing his return to leopard form. For all his fight, Adam laid exhausted on the floor.
“Macy, if there was anything I could do right now, without possibly making it worse, I would. But they’ve done the opposite of the inhibitor. I don’t know what’s involved. Not what they injected him with, not the code.” Hugging herself, she groaned in frustration.
“I know, Olivia.”
“We could tranquilize him again,” she suggested. “Prevent this from happening.”
“No,” I shook my head. “I think he has the best chance of fixing this himself.”
Reaching over, she squeezed my arm. “I’ll check in later.”
“Wow, one moment there, then gone the next,” Miranda whispered. “It’s crazy, this new world we live in. Or great, depending on how you look at it.”
Yeah, it was great. We were all great. If we could just put everything back together again.
“I brought you something,”’ Miranda said.
