Boy 2.0, page 15
“You keep saying that, but it’s not true,” Coal said.
“You mean Tom.”
“He knew who I was. All this time.”
“Which means he could have told you,” Dr. Achebe said. “But he didn’t. As you say, all this time. Why do you think that is?”
“Maybe you forced him to keep quiet,” Coal said.
Dr. Achebe frowned. “I didn’t know about you. Do you really think that if I knew you were living right under my nose, I wouldn’t have tried to analyze you sooner? You know I’m more curious than that. I had no idea you and Tom were connected, and I definitely didn’t know you even existed until Saturday.” He took out his phone and tapped something on the screen.
“What about the woman in the pictures?” Coal asked. “Michelle Wright. Who was she?”
“I think you’ve already figured that out,” Dr. Achebe said.
“My mother.”
Dr. Achebe nodded. “The one thing we learned for sure yesterday is that you share DNA.”
The confirmation made Coal feel a little dizzy.
“You have my mother’s DNA on file?”
“It’s one of the perks of being a Mirror Tech employee; we keep all those kinds of records for everyone.”
“That’s a perk?” Coal asked. How many people’s DNA had been used in experiments without them even knowing?
“It was your mother’s idea, actually,” Dr. Achebe said.
Coal’s stomach knotted.
“Michelle is brilliant and innovative. She thought of things that the rest of us could never imagine, and even better, she’d figure out ways to execute it. But she doesn’t like to be in charge of anything. She hates dealing with people, doing the stuff that you need to do as a CEO. She likes to be in the lab. She kept great notes, though. I pulled up some of her old ones to take a closer look last night, and I discovered some hidden files. But there are still a lot missing that I’d like to get my hands on.” He sighed. “Of all the people I’ve worked with, she was the smartest.”
“Where is she?” Coal asked. His voice cut out a little on the last word, so it barely squeaked past his lips.
“I don’t know,” Dr. Achebe said. “She disappeared. There are a lot of people who would like to know where she is. She left with some very important research that wasn’t hers to take.” Dr. Achebe looked at the floor for the first time, as if he was embarrassed.
“You mean me,” Coal said. “I’m part of that research,”
Dr. Achebe took a deep breath and looked at Coal again. “I think so. Given that you’re Michelle’s kid and what you’re able to do. I’m also not surprised that she wanted to hide you.”
“Hide me from who?”
“The US government,” Dr. Achebe said. “Not the easiest group of people to work for or to run away from.”
“Why didn’t she take me with her?” Coal asked.
“I don’t know, Coal,” Dr. Achebe said. “I’m sure it’s a lot more difficult to be on the run with a baby.” He paused a moment. “The thing I can’t figure out is how she was able to do it. Make you, I mean. On her own. She was brilliant, but this is beyond. You are . . . well . . . you’re remarkable.”
Coal considered the idea that his mother had abandoned him to save herself. It wasn’t like he’d never considered it over the years. Whatever the reason, he had been left behind. But having someone else say it to him felt heavier. Realer than it had ever been when he imagined it. Like he was a rag being slowly wrung out by hands twisting in two different directions. “I want to leave.”
“Your friends are waiting downstairs for you,” Dr. Achebe said. “Your foster parents have been called. You’ll be back with them soon. We’re waiting for your clothes.”
There was an awkward moment while the two of them looked around the small lab and avoided each other’s eyes. It was like one of those movies where the bad guy is done monologuing, and the trap that he’s set hasn’t gone off yet, so everyone’s sitting around waiting for the BOOM.
“Explain it to me,” Coal said.
“What?” Dr. Achebe asked.
“Everything you know.”
Dr. Achebe tried to pull up Coal’s files. He shook his head when he saw they weren’t there. Then he clicked through to another server and pulled up the files from there.
Coal's stomach tightened and he felt like he might throw up. “Backups,” he said.
“Backups,” Dr. Achebe repeated. He scrolled to a file named with a series of numbers and pulled up a colorful chart with horizontal bars in shades of blue and green, and beneath that was another chart of numbers and letters.
“I don’t know what that is,” Coal said.
“It’s you,” Dr. Achebe said. “Your DNA. This is Michelle’s. You can see the similarities.”
Coal looked closer and did see similarities, matching colors in the same places on the bars, letter-number combinations that repeated across both sets. But he still didn’t understand it, and he didn’t trust Dr. Achebe enough to believe that asking more questions would give him answers. So he just nodded.
“But there’s something strange in your DNA that we couldn’t quite figure out.” He pointed to one of the bars on the chart that was a bright yellow, completely unlike anything else around it. “This isn’t like any human DNA we’ve ever seen.”
“Chameleon?” Coal suggested. “Something with iridophore or chromatophore cells?”
“You really are Michelle’s son,” Dr. Achebe said with a wry smile. “Not chameleon, but it’s a good guess. We thought maybe octopus? They have incredible mimetic capabilities, but it wasn’t that, either.”
“So what?” Coal asked.
Dr. Achebe shrugged. “There’s absolutely nothing like it anywhere. Not on any other earthly creature anyway.”
Coal snorted. “You think I’m an alien?”
Dr. Achebe looked amused. “No, nothing so exotic as that. But it does mean you’re unique. No one but Michelle could pull this off.”
“Why would she do it, though?”
“Michelle swore it was possible for a human being to camouflage. There was no evidence of it in a mammal, but she was certain. Of course, you’re not going to find a lot of people interested in funding long-shot research like that. But research on skin is a lot like research on the linings of organs, and that’s what the Snow White Project was.”
“I thought it was about babies?” Coal asked.
“Research often overlaps in ways nobody expects,” Dr. Achebe said. “Findings from the Snow White Project led to breakthroughs about reversing radiation damage to organs. The military was very interested and invested money.”
“And some of that money went to my mom’s research.”
“That’s right. They could say they were working on necessary medicine, but they were also funding a secret project only they knew about.”
“And Tom worked with her.”
“No,” Dr. Achebe said. “Your mother worked alone. Nobody had access to her research. But of course, research has to be reviewed and reviewed again, and eventually when making people able to camouflage themselves was a promise Michelle couldn’t keep, her military liaison began to lose patience.”
“But she did it,” Coal said.
“Yeah, she did.” Dr. Achebe nodded. “But nobody knew. The project was scrapped. The funding was pulled, and Michelle was supposed to turn in all her research.”
“But she disappeared instead,” Coal said.
“I didn’t even know Michelle was gone until after the military came around asking questions.”
“You never heard from her again?” Coal asked. That feeling of being wrung out had returned. It was hard to focus on what was happening in the room.
Dr. Achebe tentatively put his hands on Coal’s shoulders, as if he was trying to soothe him but was unsure of how best to help. “I truly am sorry, Coal.”
The lab door opened with a soft whoosh.
Doc walked through the doorway with a ferocious look on her face. “Back away, Hunter,” she said. “Now.”
22.
“Candace?” Dr. Achebe said.
Coal looked from one to the other. “You know each other?”
“Coal,” Doc said quiet, but firm. “Come here.”
“Why do all of you know each other?” Coal yelled. “Did you know Tom, too? Did you know my mother?”
“Not now,” Doc said.
“I’ve been answering all of his questions, Candace,” Dr. Achebe said. “I think it’s your turn.”
Doc held up Coal’s backpack and without taking her eyes off Dr. Achebe, commanded, “Get dressed.”
Coal took the bag and shuffled into the corner to put on his clothes under the lab coat. He moved the memory sticks into his pocket, threw the coat on a chair, and then put his backpack on.
“We’re leaving,” she said. “Come on.”
“Wait.” Coal held his palms up “He’s right. You haven’t answered any of my questions.”
Doc shook her head slowly. “We’re not staying here. It can wait.”
“My whole life, everybody thought they knew what was best for me. My whole life, everybody has told me what to do and when to do it.” Coal held on to the straps of his backpack like they were the only thing keeping him steady. “I’m getting answers now. I’m sick of everybody lying. I’m sick of everybody’s secrets. You obviously know more than you’ve told me. So, no, I’m not going anywhere until I know everything.”
“You see, Candace,” Dr. Achebe said. “You tell them the truth and you get them on your side.”
“I am not on your side,” Coal snapped. “You sliced me up without my permission.”
Doc took a step toward Dr. Achebe. “You what?”
“Yesterday,” Coal said. “He took a bunch of samples from me, including blood and some skin.”
Doc pointed angrily in Dr. Achebe’s face. “You realize I can have you arrested for assault.”
“It was a mis—”
“A misunderstanding?” Doc asked.
“A mistake,” Dr. Achebe said. “I was impatient. I should have gotten to know Coal better first. He would have given them to me.”
“That’s really all you care about, isn’t it?” she said. “What you can get. How did you think this was all going to go?”
“I thought I’d finally have some answers. You know Michelle. Now that I know that it’s possible . . . that Coal is possible . . .”
“You don’t know anything,” Doc said.
“I know plenty,” Dr. Achebe said. “I’ve even been nice about it. But I could transfer all of these files.”
“To where? You’d be cutting yourself out. The military didn’t want you involved in the first place. It was Michelle they wanted. What makes you think they would let you be part of their new research?” She grabbed Coal’s arm. “We really have to leave. There aren’t any more answers here.”
Coal pulled away from her. “There are,” he said. “More than you’ve told me, anyway.”
She turned to him, with the stern look he’d seen her give Aaron, Mari, and Hannah. “Coal. We are leaving. Immediately. Hunter Achebe is not the only one who has found out about you.”
“What?” Coal and Dr. Achebe asked together.
“Major Knox is on her way, Hunter,” Doc said. “She’s coming here, and she’s not going to get Coal. The only thing you did was give her exactly what she’s been waiting for, for thirteen years.”
“It’s General Knox now,” Dr. Achebe said. “And I didn’t give her anything. This building has full security.”
“Who made the security, Hunter? Where’d you buy all that equipment? She’s coming here. It’s just a matter of time.”
Dr. Achebe closed his eyes and rocked his head back.
“This is all military stuff?” Coal asked.
“Yes,” Doc said. “If he knows, they know. They’ll be here soon.”
Dr. Achebe went to the wall of windows and looked down to the front of the building. He sighed. “They’re already here.”
The entire building went dark. A collective groan came from the people in the outer room. Doc grabbed Coal’s hand and dragged him out as everyone scrambled to leave. There were confused voices all around them.
“Shouldn’t the emergency lights come on?”
“Is it another false alarm?”
“We need to get out.”
No one paid attention to Doc and Coal as they walked quickly to a heavy metal door that Doc opened with some difficulty. It led to a set of stairs. As the door closed behind them, everything went pitch-dark.
“Put this on,” Doc said. She pushed a pair of goggles into his hands. He put them on and could see. In green. Night vision goggles. “Let’s move.”
“Why should I trust you?” Coal asked.
“It’s your only option right now,” Doc said. “Do you really want to stay here for the US military to find you? I’m sure you can imagine how that would go.”
“The government already knows where I live,” Coal said.
“We’ll worry about that later,” Doc said. “First we need to get out of here.” She stopped a few flights down and went through an unmarked door.
Coal was angry and confused and overwhelmed. But he was also relieved to be pulled along by someone who seemed sure of where they were headed.
The lights in the building began to blink back on one after the other. But they were all dim, like they were running on reserve power. Coal heard people shouting into walkie-talkies coming toward them. Doc turned a sharp corner and pulled Coal through yet another doorway. Then she grabbed the swinging door and made sure it closed with the softest metal click.
Doc moved through a maze of rooms with ease, the entire time keeping her eyes focused on security cameras that were stationed high on the walls.
“This is not the first time you’ve been inside this building,” Coal said.
“No.”
“How far until we’re out?”
“We’re not going out,” she said. “Not yet.”
She guided him down one more level and stopped at a set of double doors with a numerical panel at the side. She entered a code. The panel beeped and flashed red. She entered another. It was the wrong one again. But on the third try the panel flashed green and the door opened slightly. Doc pulled Coal into a room so air-conditioned it was practically freezing. Inside, Coal immediately recognized the tall towerlike metal cases as servers.
“Old style,” he said.
“Hunter likes having a few things that only he has access to.” She dropped her purse and then pulled out a hammer. “Stand back.” Doc took to the servers like someone trying to slay a dragon. Alarms blared around them. She paused and panted, then screamed through another few hits. “Right. Now we can leave.”
They continued down the stairs until they reached the garage. The bay doors were closing.
“Run!” she shouted.
They both scrambled under the doors just as they slammed behind them.
Doc grabbed his hand again and pulled him quickly along, walking fast, but not so fast as to attract attention as they blended into the after-work crowd of people leaving offices and those still spilling out of the Mirror Tech building. They power walked three long blocks before Coal spotted Doc’s minivan. They got in and Doc pulled off.
“What about Aaron and Mari and . . .”
“They’re already at home.”
“How?”
“Jackson got them.”
“But you stayed?”
“I had to get you.”
“Thanks,” Coal said.
“You’re welcome.”
“That didn’t go the way we planned it,” Coal said.
Doc took a deep breath. Not one of her nice, neat yoga ones. This one was all frustration. “You didn’t have a plan at all!” she yelled. “Between the five of you not a single one thought that maybe this was too dangerous, that it would most likely backfire spectacularly.”
“We did, actually,” Coal said. “But we decided to try anyway.”
“Did you even consider what you were risking?” she asked.
“We didn’t think it would be so bad. It’s not like we were stealing things that weren’t mine in the first place.”
“How did any of you think this could work?” she yelled. “A little after-school heist into a building you don’t know, with security guards, passwords, key cards! But the lot of you would simply waltz in, and find everything you needed fast enough to get back home without anyone noticing? Did I get that right?”
Coal opened his mouth to respond, but Doc held up a hand. She didn’t want an answer.
She continued. “I’m sure you think you were clever. I’m sure you think that getting as far as you got was luck. It wasn’t. Hunter must have known you were coming. He let you have fun getting into the building. He let you pull the fire alarm. He let you get inside that lab and he left all the files unlocked so that you could get to them. Hunter Achebe doesn’t leave things to chance.”
“Why would he do that?” Coal asked. “Why not just stop us before we got inside?”
“He wanted to see what you’re capable of,” Doc said. “It was a field test. The military project wasn’t just about programming people so they could camouflage themselves. It was also about making people who were genetically predisposed to be cool under pressure.” She turned sharply down another street. “I’m sure he wanted to see if your mother had gotten that part of the research right as well.”
“I really am an experiment,” Coal said.
Doc shook her head. “Honestly, Coal? I don’t know. I was your mother’s best friend. She told me everything. Even when she wasn’t allowed to. She told me what a spectacular failure the genetic experiments were. If it had worked out, I think she would have said so.”
