by Aimee Laine
“Where’s Lily?” Cael asked.
“She’s in processing.” Her voice shifted to a higher pitch.
“What’s that mean?”
“It means, I had to send her in to keep up the pretense while we figure out what’s going on. It’s coincidental enough that one base talks to the other, and they called over here as I took this guy out last night.” Maggie’s more feminine voice had replaced the deep voice she’d been using. “Sorry I couldn’t authorize your entry until this morning.”
Cael chuckled at the voice which didn’t match the body.
James adjusted so he sat on the edge of his chair. “What does Matthew do?”
“So far, I’ve figured out he’s the head honcho. From what I can tell, he’s actually a good guy with a good motive and a good mission. Kinda like what Charley wants to do now. But then there’s Kevin. And him … I don’t get. And I don’t believe Roy was forcibly separated … not for a minute.”
Cael’s brows shifted to the center. “Huh?”
Maggie waved a Matthew arm in the air. “When we got here, they took Roy away in this big show, but there was this underlying … communication between the two of them.”
“Why would Roy let Lily out of his sight?” Cael asked.
“No idea,” Maggie said.
“What underlying communication?” James asked.
“Strange eye contact. Tones of voices that weren’t dead on realistic. I think it was a setup. That’s why I’m keeping Matthew’s form and chasing after information in the computers first.” Maggie slid paperwork in Cael’s direction. “Didn’t Roy tell Lily to come down here so she could put this place out of business?”
“Yeah,” James said. “He did.”
Cael stood with the pages. “That’s why I wondered over their separation.”
“And remember I said he had a motive for self, too?” Maggie asked.
“Yeah.” Cael and James both said.
“I think it’s more ‘the something he wants for himself’,” Maggie said.
Cael agreed. “But what is that?”
“Her paperwork says pregnant … so maybe the child? Which, by the way, you moron.” Maggie slapped Cael with the back of her hand. “What were you thinking having sex with Lily this week?”
Cael held up a hand. “Whoa. What the hell? How—”
Maggie tapped her temple. “Here’s my theory …” She continued on as if Cael hadn’t responded.
“Because you’re the expert on Lily and me?”
“No, Cael. You want Lily because you love her. I get that.” She shot a glance at James. “But Roy told her, the people who took Leigh want her for her genetics. The only people even remotely scheduled to see her today or tomorrow are Kevin and this Doctor Ontawabe. That’s it. Nobody else. But from the little bit of computer work I’ve done, every person in this facility has weeks worth of plans already scheduled.”
“They’ve been here longer than Leigh?” James asked.
“Could be.” She tapped her chin.
“But you don’t think so,” Cael said.
“Roy’s reputation is ‘all for one and one for Roy’. There’s something more with him and, dammit, I want to find out!”
Cael leaned into the back of the chair. “So where is he?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know. Not a record exists about him here—or Kevin, either. I couldn’t find Roy in all the traipsing I did last night, but like Charley said … he’s always one step ahead. He’s got a plan.” Maggie stood. “And my guess is, he’s just waiting for the moment to put that little plan into place. Kevin said this morning that they only have two days to ‘do’ whatever it is they need to do. Whoever ‘they’ are. That probably means Roy has less time.”
“What’s your vibe, then?” Cael knew Maggie would have one.
She leaned forward. “Roy’s using this place just like he’s using Lily.”
“Aren’t they holding people against their will?” Cael asked.
“Only Lily and, technically, not even her. Signed papers from everyone. There are at least six Mimics here, two pregnant women and three kids … plus Lily.”
“But—” Cael started.
“This ain’t the same kind of place Lily was in when she was young. It’s a lab, yes … but it’s more like a training facility, slash adoption center, slash refuge. There’s a staff of two hundred. Who needs that many people for five residents unless …”
Cael nudged himself forward. “There are more residents.”
Maggie pointed her Matthew finger toward Cael. “Exactly. And I don’t think they’re all Mimics. Who knows what else is going on? Who knows what all those doors lead to—some of them are without windows.” She bent that finger back to herself. “I can’t beat the info out of this guy, so I need your help, James, digging through the records. Like the activities and practices, time in classes—all sorts of stuff … by residents … for years. I’ve barely gotten through the last week of data, let alone the last month’s. There’s something bigger than Roy here, and we need to know what it is. Before we destroy it.”
Cael dropped the papers onto the table. “Roy could easily be in there in another form … just like you are.” He started for the door intent on getting Lily out. “Fuck Roy and this place, Maggie. Let’s just get Lily, get Leigh and go!”
“No, she’s right,” James said. “We need to find out more.”
“By sending Lily into the line of fire? Can you two comprehend what this is going to do to her?”
“She’s a big girl, Cael. She can handle it,” Maggie said.
Between pursed lips, he seethed. No, she can’t. Not without me.
• • •
Several corridors and hallways later, Lily found herself in a small room with a curtain, a bed, and a bunch of hospital-like storage cabinets with glass fronts giving a view inside.
Trays, drawers, lights, the bed.
Stuff she wanted nothing to do with.
She hugged herself, wishing she had Maggie in dog form or even Leigh to hold her hand. God, what I wouldn’t give to have Cael here.
At that point, she’d even have taken Roy. Almost.
Like everywhere within the facility, the door slid into a hidden pocket. A dark-skinned woman in a lab coat walked in. She smiled bright red lips, her solid black hair tied in a tail at the nape of her neck. Green eyes said friendly while the black pants and white shirt said professional.
“Good morning, Miss Crane. How are you?” An upper New York accent capped off Lily’s impression of ‘friendly’.
Lily kicked her legs out from the chair as nerves danced along her skin. “I’m all right.”
The woman set her tablet down, dropped onto the spinning stool that resembled those in every doctor’s office Lily had ever been in and rolled toward Lily. “I’m Doctor Herrick Ontawabe. Most call me Herri for short.” She held out her hand toward Lily.
Reaching for Herri forced Lily to bank the uncertainty and unease flowing through her. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Herri’s smile stayed in place. “I’ll be guiding you through the testing process today. It’ll probably take all day, but I assure you, we’ll take breaks and see to any needs that you have as we go along.” She patted Lily’s knee. “How are you feeling, by the way?”
“Um … good?”
A deep and genuine laugh left Herri’s lips. “No sickness? Overtired?”
Oh, god. “Uh … no.”
“That’s great.” She jotted notes using a pen on a flat computer screen. “I assume this is your first visit?”
“Definitely.”
More writing.
“Well, we’ve got an excellent facility here. I’ll tell you more about it, but I know we’re running behind, so I’d like to get a few physical tests out of the way before lunch, if possible. To start, we need to run our standard blood work.”
A chill ran through Lily.
“Miss Crane, are you okay? Are you cold?”
Lil
y shook her head. “Just a little nervous, is all.” Been down this road before, though the people weren’t … nice.
“That’s natural. All our residents are during this phase. I can assure you, though, once we get through today—” She picked up the papers from the table. “—it’ll all go as smooth as pudding.
Lily breathed a small laugh.
“Now, I need to draw some blood …”
The haze around Lily’s vision grew thick.
“… and we’ll take measurements and set some baselines as well as confirm your genetics—all for privacy protocols, of course.”
Lily swayed as the thought of being poked and prodded against her will brought back a rush of memories. Despite Herri’s calm tone, a gruff, forced, arms-clamped-to-the-tabletop scenario played out.
When Herri pulled out a needle, still in its packaging, Lily’s view blacked out along with all conscious thought.
• • •
James dropped a hand on Cael’s shoulder. “How about Maggie and I do the computer searches, and you go check out what’s really going on and find Lily, make sure she’s okay?”
Maggie-Matthew’s lips curved. “Marlie can give you the grand inner tour. She seems to be Mr. Boss here’s assistant, though I think there might be more there, too.” Maggie shivered as James winged up an eyebrow. “If you find Roy, let’s all have a nice chat with him.”
Cael grinned as he faced James. “That’ll be fun.”
“Chat, Cael. Don’t pound him dead yet,” Maggie said.
“Roy knows what you look like,” James said, “Maybe you should dress down.”
“Down?” Cael ran a hand over his head. “Like, how much down?”
• • •
After waking in the little room to a smiling Herri and a bandaged arm, Lily had simply thanked her for moving forward and walked into the vastness of what Herri called a training room.
Herri escorted Lily between two of the small buildings, no more than eight feet high and, by Lily’s estimate, eight feet wide, navigating her way through another set and a third until they’d reached a place in the middle with a small table and chairs.
There she sat, in a chair, at the side of a desk, in the middle of what she’d termed the big lab.
“I need to get my notes,” Herri said. “Would you like some water?”
“Yes, please.” Without Herri, Lily began her survey of the room, starting with the structure closest to her.
Four walls. One door. One center tube to the roof.
House with no windows?
The area in its entirety couldn’t have been any smaller than an airplane hangar for a 747. Even her floor—view, in the middle of it all, seemed overly large. Small, square buildings, like the first one she studied, filled the space—all of them white with big air vents snaking down from the ceiling and into the center.
What are the things coming down the center?
She did a three-sixty check in all directions. Above her, at least forty feet of empty space interrupted by wires crisscrossing as if held up by air. Around her, hallways and more small buildings, their whiteness giving the area an even larger feel despite the slight claustrophobia from so many walls.
Look above and I can see everything to the ceiling.
Look to the floor and it’s as if I’m stuck in a box of my own.
A movement caught in her peripheral vision. Above, but to the right, over yet another of the what she’d decided to call ‘boxes’, Leigh balanced on a rope, placing one foot carefully in front of the other.
Down the closest hall, a young boy exited one of the rooms in tears, blond curls bouncing all around his little head. A man took the little boy in his arms and rubbed up and down his back, soothing until the tears stopped.
No one had ever consoled Lily. She’d been told what to do, and if she cried, she’d been punished with starvation or some form of detention. Yet when they’d needed a little girl to infiltrate a safe house under the pretense of being kind and sweet, they’d picked Lily, buttered her up with her favorite foods and sweets, and off she’d been flown. Her job done, she found herself back in her jail cell of a clear glass room, smaller than the box she sat next to at that moment. No comforts of home. No people to talk to.
No Cael.
Just like now. No Cael.
A glance down at the Band-Aid she wouldn’t even need in another hour reminded her yet again of those years of unfulfilled aspirations. The smells of antiseptic still made her blood pressure rise, and her ability to simply walk into a hospital required she be in the company of a friend. Herri just going ahead and taking the samples brought a measure of relief, and with it, no memories of the event. That, Lily loved the most. Before, she’d have been strapped down and simply forced.
She never had any idea why they had to be so angry with her all the time. After so many years of asking as a child, she’d given up wanting to know. She’d just ached to be free.
Leigh wobbled up on the rope as she passed over one of the boxes. Though the girl never once looked down, Lily had the sense that Leigh knew she watched.
Herri returned with a cup of water in hand. “Here you go.”
Lily sipped at it, unsure of her next task. She eyed the doctor over her cup. “Are you one of us?” That the question even formed and made it past her lips had Lily scooting back in her seat. Maybe there’s a little Charley influence in you after all.
“No, Lily, I’m not. I’m one of a few people who know because I need to know. I’m sure you’re aware of our privacy policy and strict adherence to it. No one who leaves this facility is allowed to speak about it or its residents. Ever. We’re under court orders. Beyond Top Secret clearance.” Herri held her hand above Lily’s before dropping it on top. “It also goes without saying, but I promise … anything you say to me stays in confidence.”
“Okay.”
Herri tapped her pen against the edge of the tablet. “We’ll run you through a battery of simple tests. I need to see what you can do.”
“I can’t do much, as it is.”
“Nonsense. All Mimics are fantastic shape-shifters. In fact, they’re the most amazing I’ve ever seen of all the supernatural races.”
Huh? Other races? Lily’s curiosity zapped as Leigh fumbled but caught herself. “Not me. I’m not very … good at it.” She sipped more water as a man entered through the center doorway with Marlie.
Short and squat, his large glasses hung halfway down his nose.
An inner worry sent butterflies aflutter again. Every new person did.
“Now, Lily,” Herri said, “give yourself credit. You’re almost sixty-one, and you’re still able to shift, right?”
Marlie directed the man with finger pointing until they started their way around the outer perimeter in Lily’s direction.
“Have you taken any steps to blend?”
Lily shook her head.
“And no pregnancies before?”
Lily bit at her lip and shook her head.
“So, tell me how you use your ability.”
“Um … I don’t really.” In her peripheral vision, the man continued his journey through the room.
“I’ll bet you do … more than you even know.” She tapped on the screen. “Here …” She leaned the tablet in Lily’s direction and pointed. “It says here you’ve been an active member of the FBI. You use …”
Lily shook her head. “I don’t work for the FBI. A few of my … friends … work for it, and I help them, but usually with the visual stuff, like making sure someone has the right clothes for the part. I’m … the props department.”
Herri frowned. “Okay, let’s skip that and go straight to the activities. This is the more fun stuff, anyway.”
A shiver raced through Lily. Fun and tests in the same sentence did not elicit happy thoughts.
The man walking with Marlie approached, both their forms filling Lily’s view.
She met his gaze, though he meandered on.
Herri scribbled s
omething on her pad.
The man kept walking, though he turned toward Lily as he moved and blinked three times. Each reopening of his lids offered Lily a change of eye color: Blue-Purple-Green-Blue.
Cael.
“Okay, in this first building …” Herri said.
Lily tuned her out as Cael and Marlie came to stand at their side, and she had to cough through the snort even as the pressure on her psyche relaxed.
Cael and James often vied for the good-boy-bad-boy role, and Cael often won the choice spot. He must have lost to have added the plastic glasses, pocket protector, stained shirt and full comb-over.
“Sir,” Marlie said, “this is Doctor Ontawabe. She’s at the core of our energy manipulation studies.”
Herri stood and shook Cael’s hand with a smile. “I’m sure you’ll excuse us, but we’re right in the middle of some work right now.”
“Absolutely.” Cael winked at Lily.
Has he come alone? Where’s Maggie? James? Charley? Where’s Wyatt?
“Mind if I inquire as to what these buildings are?” Cael asked.
Herri leaned to Lily. “You okay with a very brief interruption?”
“Yes.” Lily shifted her attention to Leigh up on the wire, giving herself something else to do rather than listen about the testing she’d undergo as soon as Cael left her again. Leigh had made the pass on the rope at least ten times. Why she persisted in going back and forth, Lily didn’t know, but it fascinated her that Leigh could concentrate for so long on it.
“This room is one we use just for basic work,” Herri said. “It’s where we measure the amount of energy needed to transpose something. Take a glob of play dough and stretch it. How much energy does that take? How much energy does a person need to stretch it?” Herri motioned toward the brick box. “That one tests strength. Well, that one and two others. There are certain malleable compounds in which we need to know how they react to other materials in the hands of a person. Nothing dangerous, mind you. All natural. Man-made. Porous, non-porous. Things like that. How it affects the draw of energy, the pull of it, and how it might sap energy. Like a wakeful sleep study.”
