Terregon (Book Two of The Red Diamond Saga)

by Jennifer Janne

  Corinne stared aimlessly at her coffee. “Us. He helped us yesterday.”

  Aaron leaned his chin on his hand as he studied Corinne. “Why do you think he did that?”

  Corinne shrugged mildly, she was not interested in guessing. She was tired, and she saw no point to wondering.

  “And why do you think, there was a bomb on a bus, at exactly the same time that Cori went missing?” Aaron asked lazily as he sat back in his chair. He had been thinking about the events of the day before almost the entire night.

  Corinne began to pay attention to what he was saying. “You think it was a set up?” She asked.

  Aaron's lips spread into a grin. “Give the girl a gold star!”

  Corinne glared at him, but began to follow his train of thought. “So maybe, Conner was taken out of the hospital by whoever took Cori?”

  Aaron nodded. “But what I can't figure out is, why?”

  “Because you were on the bus.” Corinne replied with wide eyes. “Because you weren't supposed to be, and whoever took Cori didn't want you blown to pieces.”

  Aaron nodded as he brushed back his blonde hair. “Which I appreciate. Still, who is this person?” He folded his hands on the table in front of him. “We only ever saw Conner as the one in charge, but obviously there are people higher up.

  The money for his research had to come from somewhere, and the fact that he was able to operate outside of laws and regulations, means they had to have some influence also.”

  Lisa joined them at the table with a plate of bagels. “Whoever it is must be very powerful.” She said logically. “We won't stand a chance.” She said logically.

  Aaron and Corinne both glared at her with irritation.

  “What?” She asked innocently with a mouthful of bagel. “I mean it's true. I'm not saying it's fair.” She pointed out and took another bite of her bagel before she got into more trouble.

  “I don't care who it is.” Aaron said sternly. “I for one am ready to be done with all of it. I am tired of being screwed around with all the time.”

  Corinne nodded in agreement. “It would be nice not to have to be looking over our shoulders constantly. Maybe there's a way we can end it all, once and for all.”

  26

  Although none of the three had heard him make his entrance, there was suddenly another presence in the room.

  “And just how do you plan on doing that?” The stranger asked with an amused smile. He was very tall, and his shoulders were quite broad. His hair was blonde and curled at the base of his neck. His piercing blue eyes were ice cold as they swept over the three at the table.

  Aaron stood quickly, ready to attack the man who had come out of nowhere. “Who are you?” He demanded as he rounded the table.

  “Aaron stop!” Lisa cried out as she saw two distinct red circles dancing on the back of his shirt. Snipers were aiming at him through the kitchen window.

  Aaron froze at the terror in Lisa's voice as Corinne stood up half-way from her chair, ready to do what was needed to protect all of them.

  “Everyone, just relax.” Mr. Reynolds requested as two large men came into the room behind him. “Sit down, let's just talk.” He gestured mildly to the table and offered a friendly smile as he slid into one of the chairs. He reached out and boldly helped himself to a bagel. As he was buttering it Corinne slowly sat down.

  Lisa waited until Aaron sat as well, glaring at the other men in the room who stood behind Mr. Reynolds, their bodies tense and ready to strike anyone who attempted to assault him.

  “My name is Mr. Reynolds.” He glanced between the three faces at the table as he added another pat of butter to his bagel. “You can call me, Mr. Reynolds.” He smiled cheerfully. “I am here to make an agreement with you.”

  He took a large bite of his bagel as all three of the others at the table watched his every move.

  “An agreement?” Corinne repeated. She pulled her robe tighter around her as her gaze shifted from the man at her table, to the men who stood behind him.

  “Yes.” Mr. Reynolds said through a mouthful of bagel. He picked up a napkin and wiped at his mouth. “You see, I am in a position that is not the most pleasant. I have invested a lot of money into a certain project, and then, by no fault of my own of course,” He grinned charmingly. “That project was compromised.”

  Aaron's expression darkened as he realized that the man must be referring to them. There was no other project that would require snipers and armed guards.

  “Now, I understand that you might be less than willing to cooperate.” He said casually and then took another bite of his bagel. He took his time chewing it before continuing. “However, I think you will find that I can be quite convincing.”

  Aaron shook his head as he stabbed his finger against the table top. “There is nothing you can offer that will make me cooperate with a man like you.” His tone was full of disgust as he spoke.

  Lisa nodded, though she did not speak, instead she kept a look out for the red dots she had seen earlier. Corinne was silent as she stared at her own hands folded on the table. Things were beginning to make sense to her, one by one, and she knew what Mr. Reynolds' next words would be before he spoke them.

  “Well I am sorry that you feel that way.” He said as he set his bagel back down. He wiped his hands on his napkins and added. “Aaron, I've heard a lot about you.” He smiled as if he was proud of the young man. “All good things, of course.”

  Aaron lifted his eyebrows and curled his lip as he replied sarcastically. “I'm sure.”

  Lisa kicked his ankle underneath the table. Aaron shot her a withering glare. He would rather have a bullet lodged inside of him than end up in the hands of the “scientists” that had created him.

  Mr. Reynolds laughed heartily. “So much spunk! I love it.” His laughter faded as he leaned back in his chair and surveyed each of the people before him.

  “I thought you might feel this way. So, I asked myself, what would convince these three wonderful specimens that they should work with me?”

  Aaron shook his head. “Nothing.” He said sternly.

  “Well maybe nothing,” Mr. Reynolds agreed. “But perhaps, someone? Or two some ones? Or three?” His voice was teasingly elated as he spoke.

  “What are you trying to say?” Lisa asked, a little lost by his game of words.

  “Cori, Daniel, and Stanley.” Corinne said without raising her eyes. Just when she thought things could not get worse, they had.

  Mr. Reynolds smiled fondly at Corinne. “Yes, you are a smart one, aren't you?” His smile drifted from his lips as he turned his attention back to Aaron. “So now, what do you say?”

  Aaron shrugged as if he did not care. “So you've got a couple of cops and a clone, what does that have to do with me?”

  Lisa was still processing what Corinne had said. “No, no. Stanley he's working.” She said, her voice barely able to reach an audible level.

  Mr. Reynolds had fixed his gaze to Aaron's and was not shifting it as he spoke. “What your sister does not understand Aaron is that Stanley and Daniel have been put into a very precarious position. They have infiltrated the Malita family, a very dangerous group, thanks to my request.” Lisa was hanging on his every word, but Corinne was still just staring at her hands. “And if the three of you do not agree to cooperate with me, and my people, well, Calvin Malita will be getting a tip that he has two undercover police officers working for him.” He abruptly swung his gaze toward Lisa. “Do you have any idea what they will do to those poor men if they discover traitors in their midst?” He asked sharply.

  Lisa did not know for sure, but she could guess. She had seen enough television now to know that crime was a very vengeful trade.

  Mr. Reynolds smiled and nodded. “Yes that's right Lisa, everything that you are thinking, and so much worse. I believe you have gotten quite attached to Stanley, haven't you?” He smiled sweetly. “Perhaps a bit of a romance, your first love?” He teased her lightly.

  Lisa winced
at his words and wished she had never discovered emotions, as the mixture of fear and dread she was feeling made her think she would be sick right there on the table.

  Corinne was still silent. Mr. Reynolds reached over and touched the blonde hair that fell forward as she stared at her hands. She ducked her head away from his touch, but not before he seized a handful of her hair, and tugged hard to force her attention to him.

  “And is this the way you treat the life of your future husband?” He asked with a grave expression.

  Corinne tilted her head in the direction that he pulled to relieve some of the pain she felt. She knew that she could manipulate him if she wanted to, but she had no desire to. In the end he had already won.

  “I'll do whatever you ask.” She said in a defeated tone.

  Aaron watched closely as Mr. Reynolds unwound his hand from the length of Corinne's hair and sat back in his chair.

  “Good. Then can I assume we all understand each other?” He asked calmly.

  Lisa nodded vaguely. She never expected that she could be compelled so easily but she had come to care deeply for Stanley and she certainly did not want any harm to come to him because of her.

  Aaron continued to study Corinne. He knew that Mr. Reynolds had no real sway over him with those he held beneath his control, and yet he now held the two most important people in his life, which meant he was held as well. He hated to give in to the command of someone else, yet, he knew as Corinne and Lisa had discovered, he had no other choice.

  “Aaron do we understand each other?” Mr. Reynolds asked mockingly.

  “Yes.” Aaron said through gritted teeth.

  Mr. Reynolds smacked his hands together with glee. “Good!” He rubbed his palms against each other. “Then we can get started right away.”

  27

  The three were herded into a large black SUV that was waiting out front. Mr. Reynolds followed behind them in a separate vehicle. Corinne knew if she made any kind of move to manipulate the drivers or anyone else that it would be Daniel and Stanley suffering the consequences.

  Her mind was in a fog as she tried to understand how all of this had happened so quickly, her once positively changing life had deteriorated into nothing more than the same fear-filled existence that she had always known.

  Aaron and Lisa were as silent as Corinne as the SUV drove along. Mr. Reynolds had not even bothered to position a guard in the back seat with them, as he knew, they would not dare to take any chances.

  Lisa was clenching her hands together as she tried to restrain her emotions.

  “It's what we should have always expected.” Aaron said quietly from where he sat beside Lisa. “There was never a way out.”

  Corinne tended to agree with him. Her mind drifted back to the first time she had met Aaron, how proud he had been, and yet how contained. So arrogantly she had expected him to simply acclimate to being free, but he had known something all along, that everyone else refused to admit.

  They were created to serve a purpose, and those creators would always own them, no matter what they preferred to think. It was the reason it had riled him to see Corinne insisting that they pretend to be a family. Ultimately they would always be only what their creators allowed.

  The SUV pulled to a stop after not too long of a drive. When they were allowed to leave the vehicle they found themselves standing beside a one story circular building. Its walls were covered with floor to ceiling windows and cameras hovered beneath the roof every few feet.

  There was a large parking lot surrounding it, and beyond it was a thick tree line. Wherever they had ended up was certainly off the beaten path.

  Mr. Reynolds led them inside. Only then did Corinne realize that the windows on the outside of the building were not actually windows. The scenes they showed occurring beyond the windows were just imagery. Inside individual rooms wound around a wide open floor plan that was scattered with desks, high tech computers and devices, and men and women in long white lab coats.

  “Well this looks familiar.” Aaron said dryly as he glanced around. Lisa nodded in agreement and Corinne felt her heart sink further.

  “Now don't look so glum.” Mr. Reynolds pleaded. “No one is here to hurt you. They will evaluate your vital signs and as long as you are kind enough to show them what you can do, everything will go smoothly.”

  He wanted to reassess Conner's original research with some additional testing. As the three were led off in different directions he shook his head in disbelief. He had no idea why Conner had such a hard time controlling them, it was very simple for him.

  28

  Mr. Reynolds left them to the doctors and headed back to his own home. He was eager to find out how Cori's testing was going. Since the young girl was not very vocal, and yet was quite obedient, he had managed to get her to engage in some demonstrations of her abilities.

  He assigned one of his most trusted scientists to test her in his home rather than risk her leaving. While he had been busy obtaining his other projects, he was certain that much had been learned about Cori.

  He was greeted by Brianna who offered him a light kiss and led him to the room where Cori was being tested.

  The young girl looked up as the two entered the room, where she had already completed some of the most difficult equations known and was now demonstrating her precognitive abilities by predicting what card the scientist was holding without seeing it.

  “How amazing!” Simeon said as he observed her responses.

  Cori watched him skeptically she could not figure out what exactly he wanted from her.

  He sat down at the small wooden table with her and dismissed the scientist and Brianna.

  “Cori, I want to talk to you a little bit about our connection.”

  Cori gazed at him without hesitance and waited for him to continue.

  “Do you know what a father is?” He asked gently as he reached out to lightly touch her hand.

  Cori drew her hand back from his touch but not out of fear, more out of uncertainty. Corinne had tried to be affectionate with her, but it was something she still did not understand.

  “Yes. Of course.” Cori said with a frown at being spoken to as if she was ignorant.

  “Oh I know you know the definition of a father,” Simeon said quickly, hoping that he had not offended her too deeply. “What I am asking is whether you know what a father is, emotionally?”

  Cori sighed with frustration at the question. She found it to be very difficult when people asked her how she was feeling, or expected her to understand emotions.

  “What does it matter?” She asked, hoping that he would give her a task or a project that she could find a solution to, rather than continuing the confusing conversation.

  “Because,” Simeon said with warmth in his voice. He reached out and grasped her hand, holding it firmly so that she could not pull it away, but not hurting her. “I am your father.”

  Cori eyed him with such disbelief that he questioned whether he had spoken too much too soon.

  “That's not possible.” She said as she stared at him without blinking. “I don't have a father.”

  “Yes you do.” Simeon said firmly. “And I am it.” He grinned at that. “I know it will take some time to get used to the idea, but I hope you will come to see that I care for you, and that you can trust me.”

  Cori surveyed him closely. She did not know what to say to his revelation. She had never even considered the possibility that she had parents, let alone that anyone would ever claim her as their daughter. Corinne had adopted her, but they both knew that they were not parent and child, their similarities ended at their looks.

  “What do you want from me?” She asked mildly, genuinely hoping he would reveal the truth.

  “Nothing my dear.” Simeon assured her. “Nothing but your happiness.” When he smiled Cori mirrored his expression. If he wanted her happiness, that was what she would offer him.

  29

  Conner was awake. He was staring at the ceiling.
His mind was fuzzy from the sedative. All he could think of was Corinne's energy and how powerful and familiar it had been. Until he had shared energy with her he had never really viewed her as a person more than a project. Now that he had experienced that connection he was more than fascinated by her, he felt compassion for her.

  He caught glimpses of the life that she had lived, and he knew the intensity of her emotions. Not only did he understand her more, but he also began to wonder what Aaron and Lisa felt like inside. He had raised them as science experiments, though he could not help but get more attached than he should have.

  Still he had never thought of what he was doing to them, how he was essentially forming them. As he slowly sat up he recalled where he was and the possible consequences of the decision he had made to not only save Aaron but work together with Corinne to free all of the passengers. Surprisingly, instead of armed guards waiting for him, a younger version of Corinne sat on a chair beside him.

  “Corinne?” He asked in amazement as he stared at her, not able to understand what he was seeing.

  She shook her head faintly, her lips curled into an indifferent expression. “Cori.” She said lightly.

  “But, you look just like her.” Conner said, still stunned.

  “So I hear.” Cori said shortly. She was not one to speak too much unless she had to.

  “Am I still dreaming?” Conner wondered out loud as he started to stand from the bed.

  “Sit.” Cori commanded, and Conner did, though not through his own volition. His body sunk down on to the bed as if his nervous system was directly connected to Cori's voice. When he sensed her energy it was at a higher level than any energy he had ever sensed before.

  “What are you?” He murmured in amazement as he studied every detail of her visage.

  “I don't know.” Cori replied as she kicked her small feet against the floor and shrugged. “What are you?”

  Conner started to stand again, but this time Cori did not speak, instead he was simply pulled back down on to the bed by his own muscles working against him.