“Are you sure?” asked Thomas.
“Yeh.”
“How long?”
“Two days now and the storm isn’t helping.”
Silence except the sound of Thomas rubbing his papery beard. “You’re sure you haven’t seen any other signs?”
“None.”
“You’re not just looking for smoke you know. It’s for movement. Trees shaking against the flow of wind—“
“Thomas, I know what I’m looking for.”
“I know. I know. Sorry. I’m just…you know.”
“Yeh,” James said again. “Do we tell them?”
Silence, then Thomas replied, “They have a right to know.”
“What do we say?”
Thomas sighed. “The truth. That it’s been two days since we last saw any sign of the Poachers and we’ve lost track of them.”
“ ‘kay.”
“Who’s up there now?” Thomas asked.
“Henny.”
“ ‘kay. Good. Get some sleep.”
Mevia stared at the ceiling, listening to her struggling breath which, in her ears, was as loud as the storm. Don’t panic, she thought. Maybe the Poachers gave up and decided to go home, but if that was a possibility, Thomas or James would have said it.
Her sleep that night was broken and filled with nightmares, some new, some old, and some more like memories from before she escaped.
Chapter 54
Eli
It took little more than forty-eight hours for the arrangements to be finalized with Captain Bora. All Eli had to do was send him the instructions and they were in business—of course only after he wired his life’s savings to Bora’s bank account so the good Captain could now afford enough pills to stop his heart and then a few more to restart it.
Eli and Kilt decided that Mevia and James would need a new tracking device, a better one, in case theirs malfunctioned or broke in their escape from the island. Who knew what the two of them were facing out there and Eli did not want to take any chances. Bora assured them he could get a device, a better one, and would run the program before handing it off to James and Mevia.
Originally Eli was only going to program the device to have it direct Mevia to the Kradle, however the evening before sending it off to Bora, Kilt had made a comment.
They were sitting in the apartment, of course. Eli was working on the computer while Kilt was watching T.V. munching on some potato chips. As Kilt crunched loudly, Eli tip-tapped on his keyboard, only half-paying attention to his mind-numbing office work.
“Can I ask you somethin’?” Kilt said from the couch.
“Shoot.” Eli didn’t break stride from typing.
“What are you going to do with Mevia once she gets here?” He crunched another chip. “I mean, are you going to keep her locked in your apartment all day like you do me?”
Eli’s hands stopped, he stole a glance at Kilt whose back was to him still watching the show. Eli turned and faced the computer again. “I’m uh…well, I mean, I have some ideas,” he answered.
“Well whatever happens, you’ll have your hands full with that one buddy.” He rustled through the bag and then crunched a mouthful.
“You think?”
“Oh yeah.” Kilt laughed. “She hates the Corporates. Even more than I do. No offense.”
“None taken,” Eli mumbled staring at the screen, the lines of code now swimming before his unfocused eyes. He pictured Mevia shuffling around the apartment in his bathrobe, bored and lonely, waiting for him to come back from work. Shit. Kilt was right. It did not compute.
Why hadn’t he thought of that? He wrapped his hands around his head. You idiot. You’re about to make the same mistake as back at the Training Center.
CRUNCH. “Ohmn man!” Kilt exclaimed, his mouth full. “Thad ‘un may be a wecord!”
How did some chip crunching farm boy that barely knew Mevia, see something that Eli was so blind to? Mevia wasn’t going to come within ten feet of the Corporates, the Slags, the Farms or the Kradle—at least not on her own.
“But I mean,” Kilt called over his shoulder, “you know her better than I do. I’m sure you’ve got it figured.”
“Mmhm,” Eli replied absently, but his insides were churning like a fueled engine. There had to be a way for him to communicate with Mevia after she got off the island, talk some sense into her. She needed medical treatment. She needed a new hand.
He played out the potential conversation in his head but no matter how he worded his reasons, he knew that she’d just come back with a great big ‘no.’ The hard headed little bird.
He’d have to get her inside first before he could do any sort of convincing. Then, he could hire a black market ID Handler come in and do all the necessary alterations. He’d pay top dollar to buy her the works: new fingerprints, eye, hair and skin alterations; clean microchip. Then he’d pay a doctor to preform appendage regrowth therapy off the record—perhaps Hersche knew someone. Once she saw a surgo-bot and had her hand regrown, he would take her around CorMand, show her all the pretty shops, buy her delicious food—hopefully she’d have a better reaction than Kilt.
Yes, this would be the wisest solution for everyone, way better than her roaming the Dead Earth one handed looking for buildings to burn. Mevia never knew what was best for her. The only thing she knew how to do was get herself into trouble and drive Eli crazy.
Eli bowed his head and moved it from side to side, thinking, thinking. He had to bring her in without her realizing it, against her will even. A hired kidnapping? No, too cruel and too messy, not exactly how he wanted to start off their new life together. Could he go get her himself? Maybe but then he’d have to grab and drag her back, which again created the same problem.
The Kradle. He just needed her to get into the Kradle and then the rest would fall into place. Now, what goes in and out of the Kradle? Nothing, except vagrants like his house guest…and…of course!
He opened up a satellite program on his laptop and set it to an aerial scan of Dead Earth. He typed in some perimeters and clicked [Search]. Within a nanosecond the results popped up. Bingo. Drone Graveyard Sector 6. Sector 6 was one of the many graveyards where the Medi-Drones would drag in the shot down, sliced up, or dismembered drones from the battlefield out east. Then the Ambu-Drones would gather them up in giant trucks and bring them back to the Kradle to be fixed or melted down and used for parts.
Eli smiled. Perfect. This graveyard was just ten miles from the shore where Mevia and James would be dropped off. If he could lead them to the graveyard, and into a plane, then he could remotely fly it back into the Kradle, no problem. Genius!
As an added bonus, while the plane was waiting for them, it would blend in quite well with all the other machinery.
He would just need to find a plane that worked, but that wouldn’t be much of an issue. He could monitor their progress and once they got close, he would jack one from one of the nearby runways and fly it there to meet them.
Only one variable remained and that was getting Mevia into the plane. She was smart and suspicious so she might smell a rat.
Eli thought about this for a minute, and decided it was safe enough to bet on her taking the chance and getting in. She would probably be tired, hungry, scared and dying for a break. Besides, she’d be travelling with James and he would insist on following the device in order to get back to his brother.
That gave Eli an even better idea. He could install a stop-loss feature in the program to where it would direct them into the plane and nowhere else. If they tried to skip over it then the device would give an Error command and they’d be forced to go back to the plane.
This could work. This could most certainly work.
Eli re-opened the program for Bora’s tracking device and went to work editing the code. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Kilt wasn’t watching, although the guy probably wouldn’t understand a lick of it.
A few minutes into his work, Kilt spoke again. “By the way, you nev
er did tell me what your big plan was back at the Training Center.”
“What big plan?” Eli asked, still programming.
“With Mevia, when you tried to get her to leave with you instead of me. What was your plan for after you got over the fence?” Then his voice shifted. “Not to bring up a sore subject or anything. I’m only curious.”
“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you a question too. What makes you think that I tried to split up from you? How do you know we didn’t leave together and get caught together?”
Kilt let out a noise. “Because she got in trouble and you didn’t. It didn’t take much detective work to figure that one, buddy.”
“Hmph.” Eli kept his eyes on his computer. “Fair enough.” He paused and considered how to answer the question. “Well, what I was hoping would happen was that we’d run off together, into the woods and, well…live. No factory burnings. No you.”
They were both silent for a little while until there was the shifting of couch cushions as Kilt turned around. “That’s a load of bull if I ever heard one.”
Eli faced him. “Excuse me?”
Kilt tossed a single chip in his mouth and smiled. “You. Living in the woods like a lazy woodpecker. Bullshit.”
“Why? You think you’re the only one around here who can live outside the Kradle?”
“Within this room? Yes. Now,” he held up a finger, “don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a question of your survival skills. Although I’m sure those could use some work, Mister Terry Cloth. What I’m actually questioning is your intentions.”
Eli crossed his arms. “My intentions? Please enlighten me on my intentions.”
Kilt held his hand up as if to appease Eli. “Look, all I’m trying to say is I just can’t see you being happy roughing it up in the wilderness, struggling through fifty plus years of harsh winters, fighting off the bears, the moose, running from drones. It’s hard to envision you living without your laptop for the rest of your life. That’s all.”
Eli frowned and then laughed, but it came out higher pitched than he intended. He cleared his throat. “Sorry. I just find it hilarious that you’ve been in my home for less than a week and already think you know me.”
Kilt shrugged. “I think sometimes you only see what you want to see. And if something isn’t going your way, you peck and tweak until it does.”
Eli rolled his eyes and went back to his computer. “Sure. Whatever.”
The cushions shuffled as Kilt turned back around. “Didn’t mean anything by it, man. If you say you wanted to live in the woods then I believe you.”
Eli didn’t answer. His fingers hovered over the keys, unable to move. This guy could be more trouble than I anticipated. He was going to have to mind his personal firewall around Kilt. The potato picker living on his couch was far more insightful than he gave him credit for.
As a matter of fact, Eli did have a secret plan that did not involve toiling away in the woods for the next fifty years. His plan was to only toil for one year, less than a year actually.
He thought back to his emails with Lucifer. Everything in his plan had been locked in place. It was perfect really. If only he had been wiser and had confronted Mevia differently at the Training Center during their escape. He should have been more clever. If he had only gotten her to ditch Kilt and come with him, then the rest of his plan would have laid out nicely.
His strategy was wait until the dead of winter when life was especially harsh. He and Mevia were used to the temperate environment of the Kradle. When they were especially hungry, cold and miserable, that’s when he would start his convincing. He would tell her about his deal with Eurasia and that they had a life of luxury waiting for them over there. They could be together and happy. He would be a programmer, and she could become whatever her heart desired. “I hear it’s beautiful there, Mevia. And warm. I hear they even have an underground lake getaway beneath their Sphere,” He would have said, and she would have listened. He knew she would. He predicted that after she experienced life beyond the Kradle, all thoughts of destroying the GovCorps would be eradicated. Why would she risk her life if the end result was only more hardship?
Yes, she would see it his way. Eventually, she would have.
He shook his hands out as if drying them and went back to work on the program.
Recently, he had thought about going on a major hacking spree in order to find Lucifer and let him know that he hoped there were no hard feelings about not coming to Eurasia. Eli figured there wouldn’t be too much of an uproar since he never revealed the secrets he had uncovered. By now, all of the Eurasian agents had probably changed identities and new security measures were in place. He was sure of this because in all of his poking around, he never found Lucifer again after his time at the Training Center.
The Eurasians had probably taken Eli’s hack as a lesson learned and moved on with business as usual. He’d probably never hear from them again.
Chapter 55
The next morning after Eli finished his breakfast of fried potatoes he went into the living room where Kilt was laying on the couch, reading.
“Everything is finalized with Bora,” Eli announced.
“Great job.” Kilt didn’t bother looking up.
He had expected a little more enthusiasm from his house guest. “Uh, I sent him the money.”
“Thanks.”
Eli scratched his head unsure why he felt out of place in his own living room. “Well, I’m headed off to work and I’m sorry but I won’t be back until late because I have an appointment with the doctor.”
“Ok. I’ll still be here,” Kilt said sarcastically.
Eli shrugged deciding he was probably just bored hiding out all the time. “Do you want me to bring you home anything?”
“More drywall pie? Thanks but no thanks,” Kilt muttered, his face hidden behind the screen.
“Right.” Eli grabbed his jacket. “See you.” And then he shut the door more sharply than he had intended.
He felt bad leaving Kilt under lock down, but come on; he should at least have a shred gratitude for Eli. After all, he just spent a fortune on getting his brother back.
Eli shoved his hands in his pockets and kept his head down all the way to work.
Later that evening when he arrived at Hersche’s office, he was greeted by his assistant, Dr. Elyse Grayson. She sat Eli on a stool and shoved a cotton tip in his mouth.
“We’re trying a saliva sample today,” said Dr. Grayson. She was short and petite with light brown cropped hair. Her brown, busy eyes were magnified by her red glasses.
“Have you found anything from my blood samples yet?” he asked after she removed the swab.
“Dr. Hersche mentioned that he found something of note.”
“And what’s that?”
“Aluminum Hydroxide.”
“And that is?”
She was stirring the swab around a test tube watching it change from clear to a light pink. “It’s a common compound used in immunizations.”
“Common? So why is it important?”
She eyed him over her glasses. “I didn’t say it was important. I said it was noted.”
“Fine. Why was it ‘noted,’ Elyse? May I call you Elyse?’” He wasn’t quite accustomed to Dr. Elyse Grayson’s cut and dry manners. At least Hersche explained things.
“If you’d like. And it’s noted because according the questionnaire you filled out, you haven’t had any immunizations since childhood. Correct?”
“Correct.” Eli nodded once.
“That’s why then. The compound shouldn’t be so concentrated at your age.”
“And what does that mean?”
“It means that the Aluminum Hydroxide seems to be regenerating itself, which is quite astonishing when you think about it.”
She didn’t look so astonished.
“Astonishing,” he mocked. “Where’s Dr. Hersche?”
“He’s in his office doing some more research on you.”
&
nbsp; “May I go see him?”
“After I’m finished.”
Eli thought he heard a door shutting from the other side of the wing. He was about to make the comment that he thought everyone had left for the day but then Elyse suddenly stuck another swab into Eli’s mouth, this time down this throat. “Aack!” he gagged.
Fifteen minutes later after rounds of saliva, skin and blood tests Eli asked if he could go see the doctor.
“Sure. I think we’re finished here,” Elyse said, removing her gloves.
“Thanks.” Eli slid off his seat, grateful not to be prodded anymore. She wasn’t exactly gentle.
Eli pressed a button, opening the automatic glass door and left the lab. He made a right toward Hersche’s office, but he didn’t get far before he was stopped.
“Eli!” It was Elyse.
He turned around wearily, hoping she wasn’t going to ask him for anymore of his DNA. “What now? You need a urine sample?”
“No,” she said. “You forgot your jacket.” She held it up.
“Oh.” He took it sheepishly. “Thanks.”
She smiled for the first time. “No trouble at all.”
Eli headed back down the hall. He took another right at the fork and was only two doors away when something grabbed his attention.
Hersche’s door was open just enough for Eli to see inside. There was a piece of paper on the floor.
Eli halted in his tracks and stared at the sheet. It was wrong. Something was wrong. If it were anyone else other than Hersche, Eli would not have thought twice.
He ran to the door and swung it open, stopping cold.
Dr. Hersche was alone, sitting behind his desk, keeled over. His arms were crumpled around his head; only his wiry hair was visible, sticking out like grass from a tombstone.
Eli ran to his side. “Dr. Hersche! Doctor!” He grabbed his shoulders. “Elyse! Elyse! Get in here!” Could she hear him from this far?
A moan rose from Hersche.
“Oh god,” Eli gasped. He took him by the shoulders and pulled him upright. Eli’s skin was almost as white as the lab coat.
Children of the Kradle (Trilogy Book 1) Page 34
