by Eden Crowne
Sky saw a gun in her aunt's hand. Something so out of character with her cheerful, energetic personality that at first Sky thought it must be a toy.
It was not.
Holding the weapon ready with both hands, she moved out to canvas the house. When she was satisfied they were safe, Eloise came, sat on the floor by Sky and held her. Alex appeared, followed by the Dachshund. The two of them licked each other in greeting. Perhaps the dead could touch in that ephemeral world of the spirit. Sky hoped so. Hoped that when Tricia's ghost appeared, if it appeared, she could play with Alex just like they used to.
They cried together for a time, Sky and her aunt. Finally, Eloise stood and picked up the blanket Sky had dropped. She wrapped the little dog softly in it, sobbing as she carried her burden out of the kitchen.
Eloise came back and took a deep breath.“We'll bury her in the backyard. Now we have to see about saving your sister. This is both a private and a public matter, you must understand. I have already informed the proper person and tracking is in motion. We are not alone. Come on, Sky. Get up off the floor and tell me everything.”
Sitting at the kitchen table, she haltingly explained the events and every word she could remember of Quill's. Every word except that he had come to the eucalyptus forest that night to kill her. She wasn't sure why, but she felt that should be shared first with Hugo.
Several times Eloise's phone buzzed and she rapidly tapped in texts as she listened. “I think your kidnapper is a clever boy and has already removed Kara's tracking implants and initiated a dampening field around all communications. Satellite feeds will show momentarily what they were driving and which direction they headed initially, though they will have changed vehicles several times at least.”
She pulled Sky to her feet. “Get some fresh clothes. The St. James are deep in this mess. We must talk to Philip.”
Sky drove while her aunt talked and texted. In a matter of minutes, they pulled up at Hugo's house. The Halloween decorations from the lighthearted shopping day she and Hugo spent together brightened the yard. One thing had changed. The cheerful witch by the front walk was wearing a turquoise bathrobe. As they jogged for the front steps, Sky knew it must be Kara's. A reminder from Quill.
Her aunt had the cell to her ear. “We're here Philip, let us in.”
The door swung open and Sky followed her aunt.
Hugo's father stood in the foyer, dressed in gray trousers and a thick black V-neck sweater. His hands behind his back.
He and Eloise stood awkwardly as if waiting for the other to make the first move.
“Do we shake hands? I feel I already know you, Ms. Edwards.”
She reached out her hand, saying. “Eloise. Call me Eloise.”
“Philip. Please.” He grasped her hand warmly with both of his. “Come, I've set out sandwiches in the sitting room. Skylar is as pale as death. She needs to eat.”
Sky hung back. “Tell me what the hell is going on and why you know each other but are seemingly meeting for the first time.”
Taking her arm, he steered her towards the living room. Sky scanned the entryway and the sitting room.
“Hugo,” the Viscount said, correctly interpreting her actions, “will be down presently. I shall endeavor to explain.”
The two women sat on the ornate antique couch. The Viscount put several sandwiches on a plate and handed it to Sky. “You should eat; though you believe you cannot.”
Sky didn't think she could swallow; her stomach thought differently. Once she smelled the bacon and roast beef, it rumbled and twisted in anticipation. After the first bite, she couldn't seem to chew fast enough.
Taking none of the food, the Viscount sat in one of two high-back wing chairs with lions claws at the end of the armrests. “Hugo said he has explained something about your mother's and my work in the lab during the epidemic. You also know that we were, to all intents and purposes, prisoners there. Unable to leave the compound and eventually confined to the sealed building entirely. I fell deeply in love with your mother. In some ways, those were the finest two years of my life. Once the vaccine was finished, the British government demanded my return. Your's agreed on the condition that I go home to England alone. In return, they would release your mother from the facility.”
“There was no guarantee she would come out without a little help,” Eloise poured coffee from a beautiful china pot into flower patterned cups. Handing one to Philip and another to Sky. “The government wanted total control of their intellectual assets. Chaos was closing in. Many labs are still in lockdown even after all this time.”
“Hugo told me. Brain gulags, he called them.”
“What could I do but agree to their terms? Life in the labs was no life at all. Emily deserved more than that. So they separated us.”
Hugo walked into the room. “And then the Home Office married you off to my mother.”
Sky didn't get off the couch and run to him. Mostly because her heart and head were battling over whether to kiss or hit him. Maybe both. His brother had taken her sister apparently to save his and Quill's mother. Damn the St. James.
Walking to the coffee table, he filled a plate with sandwiches and sat in the other wing chair by his father, draping one leg over the chair arm. He had bandages around both hands, a black eye, split lip and a spiderweb of cuts on his forehead.
“Your mother,” he pointed at Sky with half a bacon sandwich. “Was paired with a covert agent, a former NSA man now with the newly empowered Homeland Security. To keep tabs on her. They were married a few months after your mother left the lab to work for the government. Kara was born less than a year later.”
Sky looked from Hugo to her Aunt like they had temporarily gone mad.“My dad was Black Ops. That's what you're saying. You're crazy, he was a corporate lawyer.”
“That was his cover.” Eloise put her hand on Sky's knee. “David worked for the Power Company, just like me.”
“Is Mom a spy, too?”
Philip shifted in his chair. “Your mother is brilliant at mathematics and pattern recognition. Her enhancements after she received the vaccine boosted her abilities exponentially. She works as one of the top analysts in your Federal Government. Her division shares information with other federal departments.”
“And my mother worked for MI-6. Father was matched up with her shortly after his return to British shores. They set up housekeeping. Welcoming two children into the world very quickly. My father, unfortunately, seems to have a tendency for pillow talk.”
“Sinjin!” his father spoke sharply, rising from his chair and confronting his son. “Enough.”
“Why papa? Aren't we all practically family here? Even mother knew you never stopped loving the glorious Emily Murphy.”
Philip St. James flinched as though from a blow.
Hugo leaned forward. “At some point, he let it slip that they had created the plague unwittingly in the laboratory and unleashed it on the world. Also, unfortunately for MI-6, my mother had a nascent attack of conscious. She grabbed my brother and hightailed it for the revolution.”
“She left you?”
Hugo shrugged. “I prefer to give her the benefit of the doubt that she did not want to be burdened by two toddlers.”
“Hugo, there is much you don't know. So much.”
“Then tell me!” He riveted his gaze on the Viscount. “What is it I don't know about my twisted brother and terrorist mother?”
“You mother is not a terrorist. She never left MI-6. She's working for them now, as is your brother. We are here on the same mission.”
Eloise poured herself more coffee. “I didn't know that. My God, Philip. Exactly what sort of game are the St. James playing?”
“Yes, father of mine. What sort of game?” Hugo''s voice had taken on a dangerous edge, his hands clenched tightly into fists.
Sky had had enough. “And does this have any freaking bearing on getting my pregnant sister back?” Sky spoke louder than she intended but barreled on. “I don't care w
hat happened in the labs and with your runaway wife and mom. Screw your family therapy session. What-is-the-plan!”
“The plan,” said a new voice that made them all turn to the entryway. “Is that we go into Moffett Field and by any means necessary, get Helena St. James out. Because if we don't, tens of thousands of children will be turned into monsters.”
“Mom!”
Sky ran and threw herself into her mother's arms, practically knocking her over. “Oh, Mom. Everything is so terrible. I'm sorry.”
Side by side, they moved through the entryway into the sitting room.
“You've got nothing to be sorry for, darling,” she said, stroking Sky's hair and kissing her forehead. “Hello, Philip.”
Hugo's father had one hand outstretched towards her. He swayed a little and Sky got the impression it was taking all his willpower not to come across the room and throw his arms around her mother as well. “My dear, darling, Emily. We've made a mess of things.”
Sky felt her mother give a deep sigh. “What could we have done differently?”
The Viscount shook his head. “Everything, nothing.”
Her mother guided Sky back to the couch, sitting between her and Eloise.
Eloise reached over to hold her sister. “Emmy, I'm so sorry about Kara. You should have told me about Hugo sooner.”
Sky's mother winced as though in pain. “I know. All my calls are monitored out of the base. I couldn't say anything. And besides, how could we protect them from this? The whole situation escalated far too quickly.” She took a shaky breath. “My poor Kara. Oh god, Ellie what have I done to my children.”
“It's not your fault.” Aunt Eloise put an arm around Sky's mom and hugged her tightly.
With a glance at Sky, she said, “You know that it is, Ellie.”
Hugo was watching them intently. He had his feet up on the chair and was hugging his knees.
Sky's mother took a deep breath and spoke to Hugo. “I believe I asked my daughter to stay away from you. By inverse reasoning, that also means you stay away from her.”
He went a shade paler, which didn't seem possible given his pallor already. “In my own defense, this is not entirely my fault. She is a trained soldier and spotted the stealth bikes that set some of this carnage in motion.”
“And you couldn't stay away from her,” her mom added bitingly.
He cast his eyes down and would not meet either Sky's or her mother's face. “And I could not stay away from her.”
Philip St. James came to stand behind the couch, laying one hand on her mother's shoulder. Her mom reached up to grasp it tightly.
“I couldn't tell you about your mother, Hugo. Especially not at first. We learned they were coming for Quentin, he had shown aberrant behavior as they like to call it. So they ran. We fabricated the lies to protect you. Of course, they were captured within the year. Quentin has talents that they were not about to lose. I could not burden a child with such secrets. You could not lie about what you did not know, even under questioning.
Her mother twisted around to look at him. “That must have been hard for you, pretending she had deserted you and Hugo.”
“Hard for him?” Hugo jumped to his feet sending the plate of sandwiches clattering to the ground. The fine china shattered into a dozen pieces. He and pointed accusingly at them. “For him? The Home Office had their claws into me from the time I was six. They like to keep it in the family, you know? Spying You led me to believe my mother was a traitor! Do you have any idea what I had to endure at the Home Office because of that? The humiliations. The doubt. Constantly having to prove my loyalty. You could have spared me that or at least helped me to cope with it. Burdened with secrets? My God, father. I was smothered with shame. Choked.”
“You saw your mother and you saw Quill many times in secret over the years,” his father said calmly. “I am not the only one adept at subterfuge.”
Hugo flushed and turned away, going to stand at the windows overlooking the front yard.
“Helena and I discussed what to do,” Philip moved back to the wing chair and sat. He crossed his legs and smoothed the fine wool trousers over one knee. “She was the trained field operative and had a better chance against the difficulties and dangers ranged against us.” He spoke bitterly, “What did it matter. They got them both in the end. Took Quill's talents and twisted them into knots. He's like a magician, you know. Makes people see things that are not actually there. Some of it is tricks, some of it isn't. He was such a sweet child. Loving and sensitive. Wore his heart on his sleeve, that boy.”
“That boy,” Sky couldn't help pointing out. “Is threatening to kill my sister. He shot my aunt's dog just to make a point.”
He looked instantly contrite. “I beg your pardon. Sentimentality must be set aside. However, all this is relevant to the current story.”
“How?” Sky whined.
“Your mother should explain that. Emily?”
“Undercover, Helena has established herself as a trusted member of the Victims Army. Quill, as a mercenary for hire. Together they made contact with a group looking to import bloodstock from the U.S. Not just clean blood for transfusions, they also wanted treated stock used in the replication of the bird flu vaccine. That is a very specific order.” Her mother reached for the coffee pot and poured a cup for herself. “Pardon me, I've got to have some of this.”
Sky flicked her eyes to Hugo. He was facing them again. 'I'm sorry,' he mouthed silently at her.
She looked away. Sorry, could not cover this.
“Not only that, they wanted more. Much more. At least enough for ten or better twenty thousand doses. That information immediately sent up red flags at the British Home Office. Helena and Quentin were put in contact with a greedy little group of the Home Guard here in the Bay Area.”
“How do you know all this, Mom?”
“A pattern was emerging that took me almost a year to decipher. I contacted Philip when the data started to create a disturbing pattern of treason that went very high up the chain of command on both sides of the Atlantic. Together, Helena, Quill, Philip and I have found this is much worse than blood profiteering. A plot behind the plot. Generic vaccine produced from other bloodstock can lead to aberrations in Negatives that go far beyond the enhancements here in the U.S. Aberrations of such power are extremely useful. A very secret part of the Power Company decided to see if they could replicate the effects at will, not only on Negatives but Positives. They have a new blood plague vaccine that works across all blood types.”
“But that's wonderful!” Sky bounced up off the couch. “It will be amazing. Fantastic!” She looked at the others for confirmation. None of them were smiling.
Hugo's father shook his head. “The new vaccine can save everyone, yet gives the enhanced powers of strength, speed, cognitive ability and health to no one. The usefulness of chemically evolved humans is not lost on governments. Especially when we have so few people left. Old is not old anymore. Even in their nineties, men and women remain healthy and strong. Alzheimer and dementia have been eradicated completely due to the vaccine's side effects. No one wants to lose that.”
Sky's mom took her hand. “They held the vaccine back last year, though it was ready to go. The lock-down labs have instead worked to tweak the genetically enhanced proteins from the European generic vaccine to see if they can get a formula that will lead to enhancements in any blood type. The shadowy 'they' are making sure the blood sent to the Cartel in Europe is equal parts new vaccine resulting in no enhancements and tweaked vaccine that could enhance Positives and Negatives. They plan on tracking a control group of children given the vaccine as they mature to see if the aberrations will manifest as predicted.”
Hugo took up the narrative, coming back to face the group. “The world is going to be repopulated. The Negatives are the new dominant race and the government is okay with that. Global power will once again be subject to the pulls of personal ambitions and greed. They want to be prepared for the next step, tw
enty, thirty years down the line. With this shipment, they seed the ground to see what sort of crop they will reap. Though as usual, America would prefer someone else do the dirty work.”
Philip spoke up. “If their science is right, and I fear it is. The new, refined vaccine will lead to aberrations in nearly every recipient including Positives. Ten thousand children in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East will grow into who knows what.”
“While your government,” Hugo pointed at Sky's mother, “keeps its hand shiny and clean at home.”
“This is an experiment?” Eloise looked appalled. “With the babies born in the coming year as guinea pigs. I've seen a lot in the agency. This though, this is cold.”
“Mom,” Sky turned to face her. “Do you have something to do with this?”
Her mother kept silent, looking at the coffee in her cup.
“Mom?”
“Perhaps, I don't really know. I only saw a piece of the puzzle. Communications with other labs around the country and the exchange of data.”
“I contacted Helena and my wife informed MI-6 of the plan. You understand they could not approach the U.S. Government directly since they did not know who to trust. They sent Hugo and I to back up Helena and Quill. Hugo did not know we were actually all in this together until, I believe yesterday.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Hugo gave him an exaggerated salute.
“It made sense that I come as well.” He made a broad gesture with both hands. “You can see that. The University was ecstatic to welcome me back and what could be more natural than for my teenage son to come along? My real mission was to test the samples Quill smuggled out and see if they did indeed have a new protein/enzyme combination. Hugo assembled a team of freelancers to negotiate on behalf of a supposed client. As did Quill. It would seem more realistic to have several bidders. Both were probing weaknesses of the Home Guard profiteers with the aim of liberating the cargo. Our job as a team is to make sure the adulterated vaccine does not reach the Cartel.”
