“Perhaps it would be better if we show you.” Conner said as he gestured to the door. “Can I trust you?”
Corinne smiled wryly at the question. She was hearing that word, trust, so often lately and still had very little concept of what it meant. Still she was growing more curious about why she had been taken, and perhaps if she played their game, she could figure out how to escape.
She nodded without vocalizing an answer.
Aaron was not pretending to be friendly. He was openly glowering at her as he folded his arms across his chest. He appeared to be in his twenties, with short blonde hair and eyes as foreboding as his attitude. She sensed only danger from him, and did her best to avoid looking at him.
As she was led out of the room, she stepped out of the cell into a completely different environment. There were several people moving around a large room that was filled with computers and huge television screens that hung from the ceiling. Some displayed news channels, while others were full of numbers, constantly cycling.
“What is this?” She whispered as she stared at all of the equipment, she was certain this place was more technologically advanced than the CIA.
“Research.” Conner replied as he lightly patted her shoulder. “Don't worry; it will all make sense soon.” He led her down a small hallway that was lined with offices. Some were occupied some were not. When they reached a conference room, he stepped inside. Corinne followed, but Lisa and Aaron stayed outside.
“Sit down, please.” Conner said as he pointed out a seat at the table. He sat down beside her and folded his hands casually along the table top. “Corinne when I said you were special, it was more than a compliment.” He nodded his head toward Lisa and Aaron who were watching through the glass windows of the room. “They are special, just like you.”
Corinne sighed heavily as she began to suspect she was involved in some science fiction fantasy. “Look, you have the wrong person. There is nothing special about me.” She started to stand up.
“Sit down.” Conner commanded, and though Corinne did not want to sit, she immediately sat back down in her chair. She was confused by this. She wanted with all of her will to get up and try to leave the room, but she could not get herself to move.
“I am special too.” Conner said with a small smile.
“Am I dreaming?” Corinne asked as she stared at Conner who without lifting a finger was somehow restraining her.
“No sweetheart, you are wide awake. Well,” He paused a moment, and then added. “You will be.”
He nodded his head toward Lisa who stepped quickly into the room. Before Corinne could even think to resist, Lisa had withdrawn a small needle from her pocket and inserted it into the back of Corinne's hand. The needle pinched her flesh and made her wince. The liquid that was spewed into her vein burned as it spread up through her arm.
“Stop!” She cried as she pulled her arm away. “What was that?” She tried to stand again, but found herself still restrained.
“Shh.” Conner begged, as he frowned at her rebellion. “If you just trust me-”
Corinne interrupted him before he finished his sentence. “Trust you?!” She shrieked as she stared at hi m with wide eyes. “Why would I even begin to trust you?” She shook her head firmly. “I am leaving.” She thrust herself up as hard as she could, and despite Conner's attempt to continue to restrain her she was finally able to get to her feet.
“I told you before, you have the wrong person.” She pushed past Lisa and headed for the door of the conference room. Neither Conner nor Lisa tried to stop her. When she swung the door open, Aaron was standing right in front of it, with his arms crossed, and his green eyes glowering.
“Shut up and sit down.” He barked, his expression contorted with irritation. Corinne met his gaze with her own clouded emerald gaze and did not back down in the least. She had encountered much more frightening men in her life, and though this situation was the strangest she had been in, she knew what it was to be held against her will.
“I am leaving.” She said sternly as she started to push past Aaron. His body, though slender in appearance, was impossible to budge. It was as if he was made out of stone when she pushed against him.
Aaron seized her by her upper arms and lifted her right of the ground. He propelled her back into the room and tossed her like a rag doll right back into the same chair she had stood up from.
“Aaron,” Conner warned sharply. “Do not hurt your sister.”
Daniel had arrived at the address for The Liberation Force ten minutes before. He had spent that time peering into dark windows of a large office building. Although there were no lights on inside, and no sign of office furniture of any other hint that a business actually occupied the building, there were several cars in the parking lot. The front door had a sophisticated alarm system on it and all of the windows were wired to it. For an empty building it was protected very well.
Daniel knew there was no way to break in, he would have to go through the proper channels with his boss and hope that they would believe Corinne had been kidnapped. As he reluctantly left the building, he could not shake the suspicion that Corinne was inside of those walls, waiting for him to save her.
Corinne was so stunned by Conner's words that she could not speak at first. He had called Aaron her brother, was that even possible? Now that she looked more closely at him, he did resemble her, right down to the shade of his eyes and the hue of his hair.
“Who are you?” She asked Conner out of desperation.
Conner sighed and let his head fall into his hands. “I am not important Corinne, you are.”
Aaron folded his arms once more and stood beside her as if he was ready to pounce if she moved a muscle.
“We don't need her.” He growled at Conner.
“Yes, we do.” Conner replied sorrowfully. He had seen how well Corinne's life was going. Sure the person he had hired to protect had turned out to be a very dangerous man, but she had a life, with a fiancé who obviously adored her, and a bright future waiting for. If he had not felt it was absolutely necessary he may not have ever have pulled her back in. Unfortunately, she was too important to let slip away into a normal life, no matter how much she longed for it.
“The truth is Corinne; you are part of a very unique family.” He leaned forward in his chair and met her eyes, hoping to hold her attention as he knew this would be hard for her to believe. “Many years ago a group of doctors and scientists discovered a yet unknown gene that occurred in a very small percentage of people. This gene, when allowed to develop, offers a human being access to all of their senses. It disintegrates the barrier between what we believe we are capable of, and what we are physically capable of.”
Corinne slumped in her chair and rolled her eyes at his words. “Next you will tell me I am some kind of superhero.”
Conner shook his head. “No, not at all. You are just like everyone else, the difference is, rather than allowing that gene to be suppressed, we have allowed it to develop within you.” He paused and drew a long breath before continuing. “In order to learn more about this gene, we determined the combination of genetics that caused it. Using the correct genetics, we created some embryos.”
“Created?” Corinne asked with disgust. “Are you trying to say I am some kind of clone?”
Conner laughed a little. “No of course not. You are as human as the rest of us; the only difference is that we made sure you had the right parents. Unfortunately, in your case, and Aaron's, you were taken from us before we had the chance to properly care for you.”
He frowned as he recalled the terror in the young woman's eyes. “Your mother did not understand our purpose; she thought she was protecting you. She escaped with her twins, you and your brother, and she tried to leave you at the local hospital. We almost stopped her then, but she fled with Aaron. We finally caught up with her. Aaron was found hours later on the side of the road.”
Aaron glanced away shamefully. He hated to think of the fact that he was a
bandoned so carelessly, despite the story of his mother's valiant attempt to protect him.
Corinne suspected that most of the story she was being told was born from this poor man's twisted imagination, but she was very curious about Aaron.
“So you're saying we were like, your guinea pigs?” She asked, playing into the fantasy to see how far he would take it.
“I don't expect you to understand.” Conner said softly, a bit offended by her words. “We just wanted to see how great a human could become, if it were not held back by the ignorance of its own kind.”
“Well.” Corinne said, speaking matter of factly. “You failed humankind with me; I am no greater than anyone else. I can't control people with my mind, and I don't have super strength, and,” She glanced over at Lisa. “I don't know what she does, but I am sure I don't do that either.” She slapped her hand lightly on the table. “So, we're done here.”
When she moved to stand, Conner did not restrain her, and he held up his hand to stop Aaron from holding her down. “You're free to go.” He said lightly. “We had to bring you in the way we did, because no one can know about this place, or our work.
Otherwise, we certainly would have invited you rather than forcing you.” He tapped his fingertips casually on the table. “I had hoped that you would be interested in your past, in your family, but-” He settled his gaze heatedly upon her. “I can see that you are not.”
He gestured to the door. “You are more than welcome to leave.” He shrugged mildly. “Like you said, there's nothing special about you.”
Corinne's gaze lingered for a moment on his, then fell away. She glanced at Aaron, who refused to meet her eyes. If he really was her brother she wanted to know everything there was to know about him. But this entire situation was too strange for her to even begin to comprehend.
She moved slowly toward the door, the entire time, expecting someone to jump up and harm her. Instead she was able to simply open the door, and walk down the hall. When she reached the end of the hall, she saw an elevator. She was about to push the button, when that same sweet smell alerted her. She spun around in time to see Aaron staring at her from the end of the hallway, before rag covered her mouth and nose and eased her into familiar darkness.
19
When she awoke she was lying on something hard and cold, with slats. It took her a few seconds to recognize it as one of her favorite park benches. When she slowly opened her eyes, her head hurt with the same pain she had experienced before. Luckily it was evening, and the park was not well lit.
Carefully she sat up, reaching to touch her forehead lightly. Her mind was swimming with the recollection of what she had just experienced. She had no idea what to think of Conner, or the possibility that she had a brother, and maybe more family that she was not even aware of. She did not have long to think about it, as her cell phone began ringing immediately.
20
Daniel had been denied a search warrant for the building he suspected Corinne was in. He was not allowed to barge in based on a hunch, and though he was furious about it, his hands were tied. He spent hours sitting outside of the building, trying to come up with a way to get in. It was too secure for him to sneak into.
Though there were cars still in the parking lot he did not see anyone enter or leave the building. Finally he had decided to try Corinne's cell again, on the off chance that he could hear it ring inside of the building.
“Hello?” Her trembling voice answered on the fourth ring.
“Corinne?” He asked as he sat forward in the driver's seat of the car.
“Yes.” She replied breathlessly. “Oh Daniel, I am so glad to hear your voice.” The sound of it brought tears to her eyes and when she told him where she was he began to drive toward the park. He listened to her weep into the phone until he reached the park. When he arrived, she was on her favorite bench, the phone still in her hand, her body wracked with sobs.
Daniel wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He kissed the top of her head she wept against his chest.
“I'm so confused.” She whispered. She could only tell him that she had been taken by people who claimed to be her family. She could not bring herself to explain the whole story, knowing that it would be as unbelievable to him as it was to her. “Please just take me home.” She murmured.
Daniel nodded as he held her tightly. “Of course I will,” He whispered, his voice cracking with the gratitude that he felt for being able to touch her again.
After settling her into his bed, he sat beside her, running his fingers through her long blonde hair. She had filled in as much as she could on the car ride home. He kept asking if she was certain they had not hurt her. She mentioned she was drugged twice, and injected with something, but that she felt okay other than the pain in her head.
He filled in some information for her as well, about the doctor that had declared her ineligible for adoption, and the little boy that had been abandoned on the roadside, and the name of a radical group that he believed was responsible for abduction.
“But they were scientists and doctors.” She argued as she sniffled.
“So they said.” He replied coolly. He knew how dangerous a belief could be; after all, it was his job to convince others to believe he was not a police officer, but that he was a criminal as well.
“But what about their special abilities?” She asked as she turned over in the bed to look up at him.
“They drugged you Corinne.” Daniel said gently. “You were probably too weak to stand, and you're not exactly very hard to lift.” He poked her side softly. “You are tiny.”
She crinkled her nose at that, but as she thought about it, she began to agree with him. It made more sense to think that she was drugged, weak, and her imagination had allowed her to believe what they wanted her to.
Daniel had tried to convince her to go to the hospital and have a toxin screen run to see what she had been drugged with and what they had injected her with, but she had insisted that she had enough of doctors and nurses. She just wanted to sleep, in his arms.
“I'm sorry I wasn't there.” He whispered sorrowfully as he lay down beside her. It killed him to think that someone was able to snatch her off the street, and he had no idea for hours that she was even gone.
“You're here now.” She whispered back and reached up to gently caress his cheek. As she gazed up at him, so amazed by the sight of him, after facing the possibility that she might never see him again, she felt a strange undefinable sensation warm her.
It was not an emotion exactly, nor was it a thought. It was a sense of security, as if all of the sudden, the world was not herself, and other people. All of the sudden, the world was herself, Daniel, and other people.
“I trust you.” She murmured with surprise. Daniel stared down at her with similar surprise.
“You don't have to say that.” He offered gently.
She responded with a stunned smile. “But it's true.” She leaned up and kissed him softly.
21
The next morning as she inhaled the scent of coffee brewing for her in the kitchen, Corinne woke up to an entirely different world. At first she thought it was because she had discovered what it was to trust. But as she sat up in bed, and glanced around the room, she realized it was something more.
Where her sight had sometimes been fuzzy before, everything was perfectly crisp and clear. She could not only smell the coffee brewing, she could hear every drip of it. Beyond that, she sensed Daniel sitting at his computer at his house across the street. She could see the website he was looking at. But she had not left the bed, in the bedroom, with the bedroom door closed.
He was searching for links between The Liberation Force and genetic scientists. He had already come across a few connections. The more he read and learned the more he wondered if the information Corinne had shared with him might have some truth to it.
In the bedroom Corinne shivered at the sensations she was experiencing. Was she hallucinating? Ho
wever, at the same time, it was as if her body had been asleep for years, and was finally waking up. Her senses were sharp, and her intuition was working over time.
She knew that the coffee would be too strong from its smell, and that the neighbor's dog had gotten loose because she could feel the anxiety coming from next door, and the sensation of freedom coming from the dog. All of the sensations at once were very overwhelming.
She wondered if perhaps the drug was still affecting her, or worse, if she was losing her mind. When Daniel knocked on the door she asked him to come inside. She did not realize that he had not knocked yet, but was just about to.
“Hey.” He said as he offered her a cup of coffee. “Are you alright?”
He asked with concern as he noticed the tension in her features.
“I'm not sure.” She replied as she ran her hands across her face to try to calm herself. When he wrapped his arms around her, the love that she felt coming from him, soothed her immensely. She had always known that Daniel was fond of her, but she had never understood how deeply he cared for her, until she felt it, pouring into her.
“I'm scared.” She whispered beneath her breath, too quietly for him to hear. He did not have to hear her words to know that she was afraid, from what he had been reading that morning, he was afraid himself.
“I think we should just go.” He said firmly. “Let's just buy tickets somewhere, and get away from all of this.” He gazed down into her eyes, hoping that she would agree.
“Daniel, I have work and-” She protested, but he interrupted her before she could make another excuse.
“Corinne, these people are dangerous. I don't know why they let you go, but I don't think they are going to stay out of your life for long.” He frowned as he added. “I could not protect you from them before, I am not sure I can now.”
Corinne nodded into his chest as she rested against it. “Maybe you're right.”
“I'll make the arrangements.” He said and kissed her softly on the cheek. When he left the room she brushed back the blanket and looked down at the diamond birthmark on her hip. She ran her fingertips along it as she wondered, could everything Conner had said have been true?
Corinne (Book One of The Red Diamond Saga) Page 5
