Deceived

by Heather Sunseri

  We agreed on that much. “After all you’ve done, why are you helping us now?” I asked.

  Addison shrugged. “You and I are a lot alike. Sandra experimented on us both. You’re pissed off. I can relate to that.”

  “I think we’re all a little bit angry.” I closed my eyes tight, feeling slightly dizzy.

  “Some of us more than others. Jack and Lexi, and the other original clones, they weren’t experimented on inside Sandra’s farms. They got to live their whole lives outside the labs. I saw firsthand how Jack was raised. And Lexi…”

  “Lexi saved your life.”

  “Yeah, I know,” she said, regret in her voice. “And I owe her for that. But she was also reckless when she fried Sandra’s brain. We might’ve needed Sandra again.”

  I didn’t share Addison’s opinion that Lexi shouldn’t have lobotomized Sandra, but I couldn’t argue with the idea that Sandra’s brain had held a lot of information I’d love to have. “But why did you follow Bree to Portland? Thank you for saving her from Vance, but…” I shuddered just thinking what would have happened if Addison and I hadn’t been there to protect Bree from Vance when he’d tried to slip that drug into her drink.

  “Bree is different. She truly felt pain when she saw the suffering of the kids on Palmyra, and not just because they were clones of her brother. She took the time to help Tane and Tamati, and she was so sweet to Aleigha.”

  I closed my eyes, remembering how Bree fled Palmyra. She couldn’t get away from me fast enough after my rejection. I had hurt her. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. We would find our way out of this mess, and I hoped I hadn’t ruined the chance she would choose me again.

  I rolled over and pushed up to my hands and knees. Every little movement made my joints ache. “Whatever that asshole injected me with, it infected my entire body. He really meant to slow me down.”

  “Looks like he succeeded.”

  While I stretched out my sore muscles, Addison moved to sit on the sofa in front of me. After a moment she said, “Something’s bothered me since I first visited Howard BioTech.”

  I raised my head to meet her eyes. “Only one thing?”

  She ignored my weak attempt at humor. “I can trace clones’ whereabouts if they’re within a mile or so of me. But when I was inside BioTech, I could track you and Bree, but I couldn’t locate any other clones, although I’m sure they’re there. And that Raven chick can track the exact location of all of us, but even so, she was only able to say that there was a group of clones in Portland. She couldn’t pinpoint their locations the way she could with Bree.”

  “You still think they’re inside Building B?”

  “I have no proof, but yes, I’m certain of it. I think there’s something about that building that scrambles my ability.”

  And therefore Raven’s ability. “You think that’s where Dr. Howard is, too? Do you think he’s in charge of the operation?”

  “I don’t know. If he is, wouldn’t we have seen Dr. Howard in Janice’s or Rai’s mind as they planned what they were going to do next?”

  “Unless something or someone is blocking some of their thoughts.” It was possible the tracker at the base of Janice’s skull prevented me from reading her mind completely.

  “Good point.” Addison held out a hand. “Think you can move now?”

  I tested my strength by pushing myself to my feet. But just as I started to straighten, gunfire rang out, and I dropped back down to my stomach and rolled behind the sofa. Addison scrambled to me, covering her head. Glass shattered and lamps flew from tables. There was nothing we could do but stay pressed to the floor.

  Finally there was a break in the gunfire. Addison made us invisible, and we ran—or limped, in my case—through the kitchen and out the back door.

  I should have known Addison and I hadn’t been left behind to simply recover and walk away. We had been deemed useless, and thus needed to be terminated. The questions now became: How long before they decided Bree was useless, too? Who was ‘they’? And what levels of torture would they use to convince her to hand over the oracle?

  chapter twenty-seven

  Briana

  I woke to blindingly bright fluorescent lighting. Where the hell was I? I turned over and saw nothing but white—white clinical-looking furniture, white floors, a white leather chair. Thankfully, I was wearing the same clothes I’d had on earlier—jeans, tunic, and a short sweater—not some hospital gown. And I didn’t appear to have scars where any major organs might have been removed.

  Then I reminded myself that that’s not what the IIA or crazy scientists ever wanted from us.

  Jonas, can you hear me? I mindspoke only to him.

  Silence.

  I touched my forehead with my cool palm, hoping the sensation would soothe the ache there. It didn’t.

  I rolled out of bed and made my way to the door. Locked. I looked through the window in the door. Outside was a hallway just as bright with fluorescent lighting, but all I could see was another door across the hall.

  Jonas, I mindspoke again.

  Still nothing.

  I began reviewing everything I remembered from before I lost consciousness. The one thing that stood out was that someone other than the IIA wanted the oracle—because neither Janice nor Rai seemed to answer to the IIA.

  I was already pretty sure the IIA had not shot at me and my friends outside the hotel the day Vance was killed. And when I’d overheard Vance on the phone, he wasn’t talking to the IIA.

  But who was it, then? Who wanted the oracle so badly that they were willing to lock me up? Who had Vance been so afraid of, according to Lora?

  The door opened behind me, and I spun around. Janice walked in, wearing a white lab coat, her hands fisted at her sides. “I’m sorry we had to knock you unconscious,” she said by way of greeting. “We knew you wouldn’t come willingly without a full explanation, and we didn’t have the luxury of time.”

  “You got that right. And I’m not budging until you tell me what’s going on. And where’s Jonas?”

  “Jonas is fine. At least he was when we left him. He wasn’t necessary to the task at hand, so we left him behind. Follow me. Your presence is requested.” She turned and walked away, giving me no choice but to follow. “I know you didn’t ask, but Addison was fine, too. We didn’t hurt either of them.”

  Of course Addison was fine. She has a keen knack for surviving the most precarious predicaments completely unscathed. “Am I supposed to be grateful that you didn’t harm my friends?” I asked as I followed her closely.

  “I’m not your enemy, Briana.”

  “Anyone who finds it necessary to knock me and my friends out is my enemy.”

  “As I explained, I’m sorry about that. It was the easiest way to get you here.”

  She led me down a pristine hallway to a stairwell. We climbed one flight and exited into another hallway. This one was wider and looked like the hallways I’d seen inside Howard BioTech. “Are we inside BioTech?”

  “Yes.”

  My own dad had kidnapped me. But he had been taken into custody by the IIA. Hadn’t he?

  I scanned the labs behind the glass. There were more people and a higher amount of activity going on inside these labs than the ones Jonas and I had toured. Had we missed seeing these?

  We turned a corner and arrived at a door with a sign: You are now entering a BSL-4 zone. Janice placed a hand on a screen beside the door, then stared into an optical scanner. The door slid open once her security clearance was verified.

  “We’re inside Building B,” I said.

  “That’s right.” Janice stepped through the door. I didn’t follow. She grabbed my arm, pulling me forward. “You have to stay close since you don’t have the proper clearance.”

  “If this is a BSL-4 zone…” I couldn’t hide the hesitation in my voice.

  “Just because the lab is equipped with the highest level of security, that doesn’t make it an infectious disease lab. That’s just internet ta
lk. It just means the lab is equipped with the highest security technology possible. Security has been improved all around the campus since you last visited.”

  I followed her through three more sliding doors—and then stopped dead in my tracks.

  I wanted to ask, “What the hell is this?” but I stopped myself. I simply stared at what looked like a scene out of an elementary school classroom. There were close to twenty-five kids, all about five or six years old, scattered around a large room, reading, building with blocks, putting on puppet shows. It also reminded me of the children on Palmyra.

  And when I looked closer at the children, I realized why. Apart from differing hairstyles, I realized all the boys looked similar, and so did all the girls. I was looking at a room full of younger clones of Boone and Addison. “The missing clones,” I whispered.

  There were many more than I had expected. Of course, I hadn’t known how long Sandra had been providing clones to BioTech. Apparently it had been a while.

  Rai, the Boone lookalike, leaned against a table across the room and stared at me, smiling like he’d just played a joke on me.

  A very bad joke.

  When I looked at Janice, her expression was unreadable. She swallowed hard, her arms crossed at her chest, and stared at Rai.

  He walked toward us. “What do you think, sis?”

  I wanted to scratch his eyes out for calling me that. “About what exactly?” I asked.

  His grin grew, and he shook a finger at me like I’d made a good point. “They said you were funny.” He turned and gestured to the room. “What do you think about this? First thing that comes to your mind. Tell me.”

  “Who told you I was funny?”

  He turned back to me. “What?”

  “Who told you I was funny?” I repeated. I wanted to know who had talked to my brother reincarnate about me. “My dad? Did he tell you I was funny?”

  “Rai,” Janice said. “Leave us.”

  He smiled again. “Sure thing. See ya later, sis.” He left without answering my question.

  When he was gone, I turned to Janice. “My dad said I wasn’t allowed in Building B. What am I doing here?”

  “Right this way.” She gestured toward a separate room.

  As I followed Janice, I felt many pairs of eyes on me. And though the clones were identical, I recognized two of them: Tane and Tamati. Their blond hair was brighter than the others because they’d only recently been taken from the harsh sun of Palmyra. I stopped and knelt before them. “How are you?” I asked.

  Tane reached up a hand and touched my cheek. When he did, his thoughts flowed into my head. We’re scared. This place isn’t like Palmyra. Mr. Jonas was nice to us. Miss Addison read to us.

  Have they hurt you? I asked.

  Not us. But they keep taking little boys and girls away. Some come back, but some don’t. I could hear the fear in his mindspeak.

  “You need to come right now,” Janice insisted.

  I looked at her. She wasn’t looking at me, but at the door across the room. She twisted her hands in front of her.

  I’m coming back for you, okay? I mindspoke to Tamati and Tane. I promise.

  I stood and faced Janice. “What is BioTech doing to these clones?”

  “You’ll see very soon, but right now, I’ve got two clones who are very sick,” she said. “If you don’t heal them, they’ll die.” She added the last part unnecessarily, because I already knew what was wrong.

  I pushed past her into the adjoining room and saw the sickly children—two clones lying in hospital beds. One was of a clone of Addison, the other of Boone. Their heads were cleanly shaven, and shadows darkened the skin beneath their eyes.

  “Are they paralyzed?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. They haven’t woken up since they got sick. We tried to heal them like the others, but for some reason nothing’s working.”

  I went to the little girl. She looked extremely frail, and her lips were dry. I immediately began scanning her body the same way I had Tane’s back on Palmyra. It didn’t take long to find a lot of infection in her bloodstream. I searched her spinal cord and found no tumors. I found none in her brain, either.

  “I can’t find the source of the infection,” I said.

  Janice’s eyes filled with tears. “You have to.”

  “You should have brought Jonas. His healing abilities are much stronger.”

  “But your father says you’re programmed to cure infection.”

  I stared blankly at her, and I mentally cursed Jonas, Lexi, Jack, Seth—everyone who should have already taught me to use my healing abilities. If I even had healing abilities. The only real ability I’d had my whole life was altering my appearance when it suited me. And even that was wreaking havoc on my head these days.

  I stared at the lifeless clones before me. Anger began to rage through me. I went to the Boone clone and began a scan of his body. I found the same infection. But in this clone I found the tumors, as I had back on Palmyra—they were tiny, and scattered along his spinal cord, just like I’d found in Tane and Tamati.

  But I hadn’t healed Tane and Tamati. Jonas had. I was useless.

  I thought back to everything I’d learned at Wellington. Lexi had told me that when she began to heal, she applied knowledge from our science and anatomy classes to people she was treating. When Jack was poisoned, Lexi used her supernatural healing power to gather the poison, then flushed it away by forcing him to vomit. She had done the same thing when Sandra was retaining excess fluid surrounding her brain. She flushed the substance out of Sandra’s body and used her mind to close up the hole that was leaking the fluid.

  I was equipped to disguise things—and I had recently been able to make things disappear. But could I get rid of something once and for all?

  I returned to the Addison clone and began searching her body again. This time when I traced the infection, it led me to her heart. The heart was weakened, and when I looked more closely, I saw it—a small tumor sitting near the right ventricle. I would have to get rid of the tumors in both children, then flush out the infection.

  Or at least, I would try.

  But not before I got more information. “I can see the tumors,” I said.

  “Good. Now heal them,” Janice ordered. Her stern tone didn’t match the worry in her eyes.

  I walked to her and grabbed her by the lapels of her lab coat. “I’ll try. But you’re going to tell me what’s going on inside this building first.”

  “What? But they could die at any moment.”

  “And their deaths will be on you, not me. I’m not doing a damn thing until you tell me what the hell is going on here.”

  Voices sounded in the next room, and Janice’s eyes widened. “She’ll kill you,” she said, “just like she killed Vance and Lora. You’ve got to heal these innocent children before it’s too late.”

  “Who?” I strained my ears to hear the voice. It was a woman’s, but it was muffled. I grabbed Janice’s shoulders and shook her, trying to get her to focus. “Who killed Vance and Lora?”

  chapter twenty-eight

  Jonas

  Addison and I took an Uber directly to the gate of Howard BioTech. I had no idea how much time we had, but I knew that someone close to Bree had murdered two people and had made sure Bree had both motive and opportunity to commit the crimes.

  If Bree discovered who that someone was, who was to say Bree wouldn’t be the next victim?

  The driver lowered his window and, at my direction, began explaining to the security guard that he was lost. Addison and I were already invisible and climbing out the back window on the opposite side of the car. We stayed quiet until the Uber driver pulled a U-turn and left.

  But we still had to get inside. The gate was rigid steel, with no room to squeeze through. The only way in, even on foot, was to wait for the gate to open for someone with proper clearance.

  So we waited.

  Is this how you get around? I mindspoke to Addison. By waiting for op
portunities like this?

  Yes. And you’d be surprised how often people are willing to overlook strange occurrences. To simply explain them away. Like garage doors suddenly opening. Or house doors mysteriously opening and closing.

  I laughed. Are you telling me that you’ve stayed in random people’s homes without them knowing?

  It’s not like I can walk up and get a hotel room.

  That’s so creepy.

  A few minutes passed, and finally a car approached the exit. As soon as the gate slid open, we darted inside.

  As we jogged toward the two buildings, I mindspoke. Let’s split up.

  Split up? Why?

  I’m going to try to get upstairs in the main building and get the oracle. I figured if someone threatened Bree or any one of us, the oracle would give us leverage.

  I won’t be able to keep you invisible if we separate.

  I’ll take my chances. I’ve got quite a few tricks up my sleeve.

  Addison shrugged. Whatever. It’s your funeral. I’m going to Building B to find the clones.

  We separated, and I waited outside the entrance to the main facility. I didn’t have to wait long before a young woman in a white lab coat exited. Her nametag read Ellie Sands. I quickly slipped inside her mind and took control. Hi, Ellie. I need you to take me back inside this building.

  She smiled at me. “Of course. Where would you like to go?”

  I need you to take me to Dr. Howard’s office.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t have clearance to get there.”

  Take me to someone who does.

  “Okay.” She led me into the main vestibule, then positioned her eyes in front of the retinal scanner beside the inner doors.

  “Ellie Sands, you are cleared for entrance.”

  We walked inside, and Ellie took out her phone.

  Who are you calling?

  “Marla, of course. Only a few people can get into Dr. Howard’s office. She’s one of them.” She put the phone to her ear. “What’s your name?” she asked me.

  Jonas.

  “Jonas is here to see Dr. Howard.” Ellie smiled, then disconnected. She gestured to the elevators. The gold elevator opened as it had the first time I visited the labs. “She said you could go right up.”