by Kells, India
“Now, miss, kneel before us.”
“What?”
“You heard us. Do as we say. And you, sir, keep your hands on your knees.” Even if the gun was pointed at her head, Smiley focused on Sully.
Gabrielle didn’t have any choice, not now for the matter, so she knelt sideways, hands and knees on the carpeted floor. The second man got her gun and patted her down for any other weapon. Once satisfied, he sat back down and gestured for her to return to her seat. They did the same with Sully, who didn’t utter a word.
“Thank you for your collaboration. Don’t worry, the ride shouldn’t take too long.”
The more he talked, the more he reminded her of a flight attendant.
She looked around, but there was no indication, no clue as to who these men were. The limousine turned several times in a regular pattern. If they wanted to make them lose their sense of direction, they were doing a great job. Gabrielle calculated no more than ten minutes from the moment they were picked up to the time when the limousine stopped. The door opened and they were welcomed by three men—again, clean cut, long dark coats, threatening weapons.
So, the boss of the bad guys prefers the insurance salesman style over the security/military one. Interesting.
Sully came out first, and when she got out, they stood in front of one of the buildings shown in the satellite photo Lance had found. Sully’s friend had been spot on finding the buildings. Or was it a coincidence they had been picked up? Had they been so sloppy? She doubted it. Something or someone must have given them away.
Smiley pushed them toward the front door. Her eyes were scanning for all possible information she could find. Cameras, exits, number of men—they all registered in her brain, which started rearranging and reorganizing to see a clear way out. Apart from the five bulky men with them, she saw plenty of cameras in the main lobby, in the elevator they took to the top floor, and at the entrance of the penthouse. Strangely, all cameras were pointing to a determined path, either a door or a hallway in the direction of that door. Maybe a crack there. The three men had stayed in the elevator as the door closed. Smiley and Unsmiley kept their guns out, aiming at them as they opened another door leading to a very plush, elegantly furnished living room.
Sully cursed and Gabrielle froze for an instant. At the end of the room, were a wall of windows overlooked the city, Bea and James were bound to chairs … gagged and beaten but still alive. And approaching, his arms wide open with a smile on his face, Simon Feander. She wished she had been wrong, but one look at him was like meeting a blood brother. The admiral’s young and promising son reeked of crazy.
***
“Welcome, friends! I’m so glad you could join our Hungarian party. People you already know are here. Daddy, Bea dear, see who have come!”
At first glance, both Bea and James appeared to be in good health. There was dried blood and a few cuts, but they all seemed superficial. Facing each other, bound with ropes, mouths covered with duct tape, it was obvious they’d been beaten. The face of her friend was cut on the cheek and near the hairline. Blood seeped from a wound near her temple and bruises marked her skin, but she was in better condition than the admiral. It had been a while since Gabrielle had seen James Feander, and the admiral was clearly suffering as he was shallow breathing and slightly bending forward, both telltale signs of a broken rib. His short curly hair was damp with sweat and blood and he had a mean shiner. His eyes were the same as his son’s—focused and hard as steel. So similar in so many ways, and so different to what really mattered.
Bea stared at Gabrielle with intent, doubtlessly wanting to tell her it was a trap. Not a wild guess, there.
Gabrielle surveyed her surroundings and saw the Smiling brothers standing guard close by. Their stance had visibly relaxed but she wouldn’t test it, not without a weapon in her hand, and not with two hostages making easy targets.
Simon was a little older than the last photo she had seen of him. His curly dark hair, so similar to his father’s, was a little longer, too. Where his father had always been short-haired, clean-shaven, and straight as an arrow, Simon was more like a model—a rich, bored hipster with a well-groomed five o’clock shadow, stylized hair, and expensive clothing. His dark gray suit was tailored and both his watch and shoes were worth more than a car.
Simon smiled and Sully tensed. She knew the SEAL was waiting for a sliver of an opening, but until they knew more about the situation and how this was a trap, she silently prayed for him to keep still.
“What a delight to see the surprise in your eyes. Your heads must be bursting with questions! Please, have a seat. Do you want anything to drink? I’m sure I can top the coffee you had earlier. But not the pastries, I fear. They’re incomparable in the city, I must say.”
“Nothing for me, thank you.” Gabrielle kept her voice light. Two could play the pleasant, cultured game. And she knew that when in this state of mind, any excuse was good for him to explode and bloody a room. Sully remained silent, hard eyes on him.
“Very well. Please sit, we have so much to discuss.”
Sully tensed. “No thank you, I prefer to stand.”
In an instant, Simon’s mood swung for the bad. He retrieved a gun from his vest and pointed it at his head. “And I prefer you for you to sit. Or maybe you prefer for her to start bleeding from a head wound.” He changed targets and aimed at Gabrielle’s head.
Without taking his eyes from Simon, Sully sidestepped and came beside Gabrielle, both of them sitting on the white sofa facing Simon. In an instant, the mood changed, all amicable and polite, as he smiled again.
“Ah, how cozy this is. I’m so happy you’re here, two shining stars. The heirs apparent to Beatrice Dante and James Feander. If they would have had children together, you both would have been it. Not that you’re a replicate, you’re better than that, better than them. In my humble scientific opinion, of course.”
“Scientific?” Gabrielle hoped that feeding his ego would buy them time.
“Yes, Bea didn’t tell you? I thought she told you everything concerning her dear James. I studied biology and physics. Both a passion of mine. But both of these fields expand to so many others. Don’t you think?”
Gabrielle leaned back in the couch. By the way Simon talked, they would be here for a while, to hear the full explosion on his ego. He wanted a captive audience and got it. If killing was on the menu, it wasn’t at this very instant. She didn’t want to look at Sully to avoid distracting Simon, but by the restless energy coming from the man beside her, she was preparing for anything.
“I still don’t understand why we’re here today.”
“The future, my dear. We’re writing the future as we speak, every pumping of our heart, every shivering cell in our body is still in waiting for that future.”
Sully leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Poetic, but if you don’t give us a straight answer, we won’t play anymore.”
Simon laughed. “So pragmatic, Navy SEAL, but science is close to poetry as well. To access the impossible, you need to be able to dream, too. Envision what might be. I consider myself brilliant, but other minds developed brilliant ideas even before I was born. The first scientist to have thought of finding a miracle cure for a disease or a way to heal the injured. Maybe that notion would appeal to you, Sullivan. A soldier who has probably seen many of his comrades fall during missions. What if there was a way of healing the fatally wounded? Interesting idea, isn’t it? After the Second World War, scientists from various countries around the world decided to apply their intelligence and knowledge on that problem. The hospitals were overflowing with wounded men, civilians and soldiers alike. Modern medicine was not so modern at that time and people were doomed, most of the time. In between this small period of time before the Cold War, medicine and science made a tremendous jump within this unique laboratory. But politics destroyed everything.”
Simon stood up and paced, restless. “Don’t you see? Those geniuses were starting to study stem cells be
fore we even learned what they were! They grew body parts, found ways of accelerating cell regeneration. True inspiration! When their respective governments took a position on one side or the other of the wall, they continued, with different visions, but the same purpose. When they got separated, some pushed their exploration further, even experimenting beyond imaginable limits to discover a new truth. What if you didn’t need to heal at all?”
Gabrielle folded her arms and said nothing more; the only words she would use to describe his madness wouldn’t help her cause.
“Man, the more you talk, the more I think you should write a book. Science fiction is very popular nowadays.” Sully smirked.
It dimmed Simon’s enthusiasm. He turned and backhanded Sully. The SEAL reacted immediately, but Gabrielle grabbed his shoulder before he could leap at his throat. The metal clicking behind them would drop them dead in a second.
“When I speak, you listen! The woman beside you has more sense than you could ever have, by the way.”
Sully glanced at her and she took his hand in hers. They may be not able to talk, but at least they could communicate a little.
“When you say not needing to heal at all, what do you mean, Simon?”
That did the trick; he was back in his fantasy. “When you buy a car and you smash it, you replace it, don’t you? Why not do the same with our bodies?”
Gabrielle shook her head. “Nonsense. Science isn’t there yet.”
“Not officially, because simple minds wouldn’t be able to deal with such important implications. But in reality, we’re even further than that. The theory was solid; the first and second experimental phases were conclusive. All the entire project needed was to put the teams together again and offer all of these brilliant minds an optimal environment. My dear Gabrielle, as we speak, I could clone you and have a perfect replica of yourself at about twenty-five years old, ready in six months.”
“Impossible …” Unable to truly wrap her mind around what he was saying, fear leapt into her throat.
Simon leaned forward toward her. “Oh no, darling. Cloning had been around for … I don’t know. How old are you, Beatrice?” Simon turned as if waiting for a reply, but laughed as he saw Bea stoically staring at him.
“Right, let me answer that one for you. Miss Bea here is forty-eight years old. Same age as my dear father. So we can say cloning is at least forty-eight years old. As old as its first specimens.”
Gabrielle turned her gaze at Bea and James. Both were looking back, impassive, but their eyes burned with undisclosed information.
“Impossible.” Sully’s voice was low and dismissive, which made Simon smile.
“I thought you would be a hard sell, both of you. And I understand, believe me. I have a realistic, scientific mind, too.” He gestured to the Smileys and one of them disappeared for an instant. Simon seemed so happy and excited; Gabrielle thought he would start skipping all around the room. The guard came back pushing some sort of long cart with a body bag. He turned and left it near the breakfast nook, beside the wide windows overlooking the city.
“Come! Come and see for yourself. I’m not a liar.”
The two Smileys came forward and gestured for them to follow Simon. Sully didn’t let go of her hand and she was glad for it. As they approached, Simon unzipped the bag and a white, lifeless face appeared. Her own face. Gabrielle’s step faltered and Sully wrapped an arm around her. At first she thought her eyes and brain played tricks on her. When she looked long and hard, she still couldn’t believe it.
Simon stepped forward, a beaming smile on his face. “Incredible, isn’t it? And all it takes to create one is a decent amount of blood from the initial subject. I have to say you gave plenty of that in your last mission in Brazil, dear Gabrielle. What turned out to be an unfortunate wound for you became a very conclusive experiment for me.”
“Is she …” Gabrielle couldn’t even utter the words.
“Dead? Of course! We cannot keep all the experiments we create. And I couldn’t keep her alive before you could even agree with my proposal.”
Gabrielle untangled herself from Sully’s embrace, her focus only on the face identical to her own, lying motionless on the table. Of their own volition, her fingers skimmed the cold flesh, the shape and texture she knew so well. At the same time, she felt empty. How should she feel now, after all? Her touch was gentle, but probing. She searched for a trick, make-up, revealing marks of silicone, but couldn’t detect a thing. The woman lying dead in front of her was her.
“Why?” Her voice seemed foreign to her own ears.
“Why not? Humans have always wished to live forever. This is an opportunity.”
“You cloned the body, but even in clones, the soul, the mind, the character would be different. A different individual with different experiences.” Sully came closer, but didn’t touch her.
“That’s where you’re wrong. At birth, the brain of a newborn is flexible, and so open it’s defenseless. Only a matter of technology and skills to make the transfer.”
The words registered strangely to Gabrielle. “Transfer? You mean to transfer the brain?”
Wrinkling his nose, Simon winked at her. “Nothing so gruesome, my dear. A surgery is too risky and the survival rate too low for such an investment. No, when the initial team was dismantled, Swedish scientists decided to sidetrack from their original field of study and map the DNA of the soul. It sounds esoteric, but I can assure you what they found is fascinating. They discovered that all our experiences, all our memories, our knowledge and our emotions affect our DNA one way or another. So when confronted with a fresh and new mind, a similar DNA could be altered to reproduce the same changes, thus replicating the same information, the same character of an individual. All we needed to do was find a way to awaken those sleepy cells.”
Simon rounded the table to face both of them.
Gabrielle looked up at him. “Let me guess, you found the solution.”
He smiled. “Oh yes. A very unusual solution. As the war turned into another, we had dismissed important parts of the puzzle. The Germans may have been beaten militarily and morally, but their scientists were not. And one of them worked on a way to help people suffering from various levels of amnesia. Strange how something so simple can be so complex. The serum doesn’t help the person remember per se, it re-forges the connections of the brain, altering it according to the new DNA. Other scientists tweaked it and it was amazing. Ten years of hard work, money, and experiments for an incomparable achievement. Don’t you think?”
Gabrielle felt dizzy. Her entire being didn’t accept a single thing she had heard or seen. All was impossible. But when she saw herself, lying there, what could she think in reality?
“And what about Beatrice and James?”
“Ah, they’re the granddaddy and grandmamma of the cloning technology. They’re the very products of the initial laboratory. In fact, many of them were replicated, many died, but each surviving child was dispersed through the world. Their DNA is vital to our research. And if they collaborate on this incredible project, their experience, connections, and network would be invaluable.”
Sully took a step back. “How did you come to learn about all this?”
Simon turned to his father. “He told me. I was approached by a man who revealed that my father was indeed a clone. I didn’t believe it at first, so I went to James and asked questions. He admitted everything. He had done his research about who he was and had discovered everything. That’s when he met Beatrice, too. Two peas of the same pod, so to speak. I was just graduating and it blew my mind. After doing some research and finding out the project was still alive and breathing, I couldn’t say no when they approached me. Mutual admiration, it seems. Ten years of my life was nothing if it could help achieve such an endeavor. I had finally found my mission, my own path to glory.”
“That’s when you decided to betray your father, isn’t it? You were not threatened by this organization at all, you enrolled willingly,” Sully hi
ssed through clenched teeth.
Simon opened up his arms wide. “Who better to understand this grand project than me? My whole field of study, even my whole body was the product of this very project. Half of it at least.”
“Great enough to betray James? To jeopardize your country’s safety?” The SEAL’s hiss turned into a growl.
Simon’s eyes were alight with wildfire. Gabrielle knew better than try to understand what was in his head. She needed to gather as much info as possible and get the hell out of here alive.
“So all of this, what is it all for? Surpassing the admiral? Glory? Riches?”
Simon’s smile was bordering on the wicked. “A little of everything. Admiral Feander may be known in elite inner circles, but Doctor Feander will be known to the entire world soon. It is no time to be bashful or modest, don’t you think? I don’t expect you to understand it all. But I know that from all of them, you, dear Gabrielle, are the only one who knows, who understands the importance of pursuit beyond yourself, morals, or even the law. To become more than the mere shell we’ve been born to.”
