Perception

by Lee Strauss

  “I got called into work early. Tell your mom I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  The girl came to a halt when she saw me. A smile crossed her face. “I didn’t know we had company.”

  Her hair was pulled back off her face, and her eyes, the same color as Noah’s, were like chocolate brownies. Like my contacts.

  I surprised myself by thinking the girl was pretty. Could brown-eyed brunettes be pretty? I glanced into a mirror hanging crookedly on the wall and considered my revised image. With this disguise, was I still pretty?

  “Skye, this is Chloe. She’s new to town.” To me he said, “This is my cousin Skye.”

  “They’ve both eaten,” Skye said after welcoming me. “Jonathon, help Noah put Davis to bed at seven, okay?”

  Jonathon nodded and followed her as she hurried outside.

  “She’s a nurse,” Noah said. “She helps take care of my brothers when my mother and I are working.”

  “You have a job?” I meant, outside of stepping in for his mother.

  Noah tilted his head. “Not all of us get summers of leisure.”

  Before I could think of a smart reply, Noah’s head snapped to attention. A woman outside was talking to Jonathon. Noah grabbed my arm.

  “It’s my mom. I don’t think she should see you.”

  He pushed me into the first room off the living room just as I heard Saundra Brody walk in the front door.

  I was obviously in Noah’s bedroom. A double bed was neatly made with a navy blue quilt. A near-empty desk had only a thin e-tablet and computer pen lying on top. An acoustic guitar was in the corner. A digital photo frame hung on the wall and flashed pictures of the Brody family. I pressed the pause tab when one of the whole family appeared. It was taken when Reverend David Brody was still alive, and the family was at a cabin in the woods. Davis was just a baby in Saundra’s arms. Noah was shorter and skinnier, but he still had the mischievous grin I’d seen him flash a few times.

  Seeing how Noah lived, it was hard to imagine that at one time our grandfathers were friends and co-researchers. If only Matthew Brody had been more open-minded, Noah would be hanging out with me and Jackson and the gang, and Saundra wouldn’t be cleaning anyone else’s home for a living.

  It was a small house and I could see into the living room through the crack in the bedroom door.

  The familiar shape of our family’s domestic help stood silhouetted in the sunlight. Noah and Davis both approached her and gave her a hug. Noah asked her if she’d had a good day. Saundra sank tiredly into the recliner and shifted back. Noah brought her a glass of ice tea.

  My throat thickened with emotion. Never in my life had I experienced the familial affection in my own family as I’d just witnessed with this one.

  Saundra closed her eyes, and I could see the dark rings underneath them. Her arms were thin and bony, her breath deep and raspy.

  She was ill.

  Of course she was. That was why Noah had been coming to clean our house for her every once in a while.

  I moved away from the door when I saw Noah approaching.

  “She’s sick,” I said as he entered.

  Noah scoffed. “You’re just noticing that now?”

  “I’m sorry if I’ve seemed insensitive before.”

  Noah puffed through his nose as he sat at the chair by his desk. He propped up the computer pen, little tripod legs snapping out, and turned it on. A virtual monitor projected onto the wall, while a virtual keyboard lit up simultaneously on his desk.

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  Noah flashed me a look like it wasn’t my business, but then he answered me anyway. “Her heart is failing. She was born with a weak heart, so it’s not a big surprise.”

  “But,” I continued, “couldn’t she be cured with stem cell therapy?”

  “You mean embryonic stem cell therapy?”

  I shrugged, “Yeah, whatever.” I’d heard that some uneducated people still had an issue with that. “Why hasn’t she been treated?”

  “She thinks killing one human, big or small, to fix another human, big or small, is wrong.”

  “But...”

  Noah gave me a sharp look. “I invited you here to work on your problems, not mine. Okay?”

  I lowered myself tentatively into a second chair where I had view of his virtual monitor. I understood now that Noah had to come home to take care of his family, which was why we hadn’t just used his ComRing at the food court to work on this.

  Noah spoke to the monitor, “Sleiman Enterprises.”

  I was stunned. “Sleiman? My dad works for them.”

  Noah huffed. “No kidding. Half of LA works for them or one of their many divisions. All of Sol City works for them.”

  “No they don’t.”

  Noah swivelled to look me in the eyes. “You’re pretty naive aren’t you?”

  My back straightened, my emotions ruffled. “I’m not. Just because I don’t agree with you, doesn’t make me naive.”

  “Fine.” Noah turned back to the monitor.

  Yeah, fine, I thought. I just wanted to get done and get home. “What would Sleiman have to do with Liam’s disappearance?”

  “Well, for one thing, there are only a handful of corporations in the US that basically run everything. Agribusiness, energy distribution, science and medicine. The main controllers and distributors of pharmaceuticals.”

  “Drugs?” I said indignantly. “Liam isn’t into drugs.”

  “Maybe not, but Dexter is.”

  “I figured. What’s he on?”

  “Two years ago, Dexter was pushed in front of a transit pod. He was able to scramble out of the way before being flattened, but the pod smacked his foot, breaking all the bones including his toes, ankle and shin bones in several places. By the time his foot had healed up he was firmly addicted to pain killers. He tried to get off them, but it was tough. The cycle of anxiety, palpitations, and nausea kept him from sleeping more than a couple of hours a night and the whole experience threw him into a deep depression. Add uppers, downers and anti-depression meds to his arsenal of painkillers and you have a big problem.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “Yes. And expensive. Insurance doesn’t cover addictive use of prescription meds. Doctors don’t prescribe them either. At least not the good ones.”

  “I don’t get the connection with Liam.”

  “Liam works at Sol City University, right?”

  I nodded.

  “SCU is operated and funded by Sleiman Enterprises.” Noah pointed to the monitor with SLIEMAN’s home page on it.

  “Yeah, I guess I knew that, but Liam is just a researcher. He doesn’t have anything to do with SLEIMAN, at least not directly.”

  Noah clicked on a link that boasted about all of Sleiman’s research efforts.

  “Sleiman controls all scientific research. It’s no longer about researching and discovering new and great possibilities for the good of mankind; it hasn’t been for decades. It’s about money. Sleiman directs the research until it gets the ‘findings’ it wants in order to make money.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “I read the internet news. The information is easy to find if you know where to look.”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “You can’t trust everything you read on the internet. I’ve met the CEO of Sleiman personally. He’s a nice guy.”

  Noah stared at me. “You don’t really believe that Ronald K. Smythe actually cares about the people, do you? Maybe a little bit about GAPs but certainly not about the rest of us.”

  I crossed my arms nervously across my chest. Noah was just jaded. And a conspiracy theorist.

  “Does it matter what I think about him?” I said. “I still don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

  “Sleiman has people on the ground, the underground, actually. Also known as the black market. Someone’s been dealing to Dexter.”

  I was incredulous. “Liam is not a drug dealer!”

  “I’m
not saying he is. I’m just saying that Dexter needs drugs, and Liam works for the company that makes and supplies them. You were looking for a connection between Dexter and Liam, right? So, here’s one.”

  “There’s got to be another connection,” I said. “Or this is the wrong Dexter.”

  I stood, wiping my damp hands on my jeans. “Thanks for your help, but I’ve got to go.”

  “Just let me put Davis to bed and I’ll go with you.”

  “I can find my way back myself.”

  “Maybe so, but this isn’t Sol City. No offense, but you’re not exactly street smart.”

  I hated to admit it, but he was right. And it had gotten dark out. I reluctantly agreed to wait.

  I saw that the reclining chair was empty when I stepped out of Noah’s bedroom. Jonathon already had Davis in the room next door. I glanced in briefly, seeing a banged up set of bunk beds. Apparently Davis and Jonathon shared a room.

  I waited for Noah in the living room, but I could hear him as he read a story aloud. And then something else—a prayer?

  Noah didn’t look up when he left the bedroom and headed straight for the front door. I followed him outside.

  We didn’t say much on the pod trip back to the downtown station, and when I said I could make it back to the gates alone, Noah stubbornly insisted on walking me the whole way.

  Our newly formed relationship was undefined and uncomfortable. I couldn’t wait to walk through the gates and get away from him, but before I did I had to ask one more question.

  “Can you arrange for me to talk to Dexter?”

  “Dexter won’t talk to you about that. Now, if you wanted to go on a date with him...” Noah flashed one of his infrequent but pleasant smiles.

  “I need to–”

  “I’ll talk to him, Zoe. He’s pretty tight-lipped about his love affair with pharmaceuticals, but we’ve been friends a long time. He might open up to me.”

  Noah finally left when I was through the gates and out of sight. I didn’t relax until I was in my pod and had removed the wig and contacts. Looking into the visor mirror, I let out a long sigh. I was blond and blue-eyed again. And safe.

  Chapter 9

  Alison and Paul sat close together at the kitchen table, two half-empty mugs of coffee between them. Partially drawn shades filtered streams of morning light, casting stripes on the tile floor. The patio doors were unopened, and the cool, filtered air made me wish I’d put a sweater on. I entered the kitchen quietly, not wanting to disturb my parents.

  “I can’t believe this is happening again,” Alison said with a tight, constricted voice.

  “What’s happening again?” I said. Alison and Paul startled.

  “Nothing,” Paul said, too quietly.

  I didn’t believe that for an instant. I spoke to the coffee machine, waited half a minute for my sweetened latte to appear, and stirred it slowly. Leaning against the cool white granite countertop, I sipped it as I eyed my parents. They hadn’t moved, nor had they spoken another word.

  What had happened again?

  “Dad, you work for Sleiman. What’s their position on the underground pharmaceutical drug trade?”

  Paul’s eyes fluttered. “What? What are you talking about, Zoe?”

  “I’ve been reading, and I’ve discovered a profitable drug trade is happening on the outside—and that Sleiman is aware of the problem. I’m just wondering what they’re doing to stop it.”

  Paul shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s not really my department.”

  “But you must know something. Maybe the students at the university are–”

  “Are what?” Alison snapped. “Are dealing drugs on the outside? Really, Zoe, we have bigger problems on our hands right now than trying to solve a mythical problem you’ve read on some hacker’s website.”

  She got up abruptly, took her cup and headed outside through the patio door. I told the shades to open and watched Alison through the wall of glass as she collapsed onto a lounge chair by the pool.

  I looked back at Paul but he wouldn’t return my gaze. Whatever my parents knew, they weren’t about to tell me. I’d have to keep digging for answers on my own.

  I headed back upstairs. Saundra Brody was half way up, dusting the rails. She wore a short-sleeved white blouse with a black knee-length skirt. A white apron was wrapped around her waist, emphasizing just how thin the woman was. I paused briefly as I passed her. Saundra gave me a short, polite smile then refocused on her task. I considered her, how she worked hard, even in her frail health. Saundra didn’t know that I’d been to her house, saw how she lived.

  She didn’t know that, in some small way, I envied her.

  Once in the privacy of my room, I tapped my ring and said Jackson.

  It buzzed a couple times, and I worried for a moment that he wouldn’t answer. But then his image popped up.

  “Hi, Jackson.”

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  What’s up? That’s what I’d like to know. “Are you busy? I’d like to come by.”

  “I’m at the lab right now.”

  “So. You take breaks.”

  “Yeah, but you know they’re not crazy about students having non-campus guests.”

  I felt the muscles in my face spasm. “That’s never stopped us before.”

  A pause. “Okay, sure. Come over.”

  “See you in ten.”

  Ten minutes to think about what was happening to us. I climbed into my pod. We were both worried about Liam, but instead of drawing us together, it was pushing us apart.

  I noticed it the day before on Jackson’s yacht. When I’d laid that kiss on him, the first real kiss we’d shared in days, it had felt forced. He’d kissed me back, but after that, we’d refrained from any more PDAs.

  It was probably my fault. I was the one who had pulled away first. I hoped when I got to the lab, we’d be able to close that gap. First thing I was going to do when I saw him was give him a real heart-felt I miss you kiss.

  It didn’t happen that way. When I entered the lab, Isabelle was sitting on a counter-top. She wore a flirty sundress, and her long legs were crossing at the ankles. A pair of expensive sunglasses were propped on the top of her blond head.

  “Hi, Zoe,” Isabelle said too brightly.

  “Hi,” I answered.

  “I thought you weren’t allowed guests?” I said to Jackson.

  Jackson pulled off a pair of rubber gloves. “Isabelle just popped in. Since you were coming anyway...”

  A movement on the other side of the room caught my eye. Mitchell Redding. He was enthralled by something in a Petri dish. I didn’t bother him with a greeting, since he wasn’t exactly the social type. I stuffed my hands in my shorts pockets, and rocked on my sandal heels.

  “What are you guys working on?” I asked.

  “Confidential,” Jackson said. “You know that.”

  “Yeah, I’m getting there are a lot of secrets I don’t know about.”

  “Speaking of secrets,” Jackson said, “where were you last night? You’re getting really hard to track down.” He crossed his arms, no sign of warmth in his eyes. This whole thing was going wrong.

  “Uh, you know what?” Isabelle said, slipping off the counter. “I think I’m going to go.”

  Good idea. This conversation was stressed enough without a spectator.

  I forced a smile. “Sure. See you later.”

  Jackson started fiddling with lab equipment, throwing items into a big, stainless steel sink.

  As I watched, I couldn’t help but compare Jackson to Noah. There was more to distinguish them besides height and coloring. Jackson had everything he could ever possibly want and more. Noah seemed deeply unsatisfied. Jackson was laid-back, although with Liam missing he was more tense. But usually, he was as chilled as they came. Noah was a dichotomy. He was riled up about his perceived injustices, but he also had an inner calm, something that shone when he was with his family.

  Both guys were attractive in their own ways. />
  Wait, did I just think that? Of course, Jackson was gorgeous, but Noah? Yesterday I’d admitted to myself that I thought Noah wasn’t bad-looking, which I supposed could happen once you get to know someone a little. But had he notched up to attractive?

  I recalled how his face lit up when little Davis ran into the room. Noah’s dark eyes were like warm pools of pudding, his jaw was no longer sharp but strong. When he smiled, I could see that his front tooth was slightly crooked. None of my friends had crooked teeth. All were straight, all the time.

  But I liked it—it was cute. And the way his arms bulged as he wrapped his brother in a hug...

  “Zoe?”

  Oh my god. I couldn’t believe I’d just been daydreaming about Noah Brody while standing in front of Jackson!

  I needed help. Or at least more sleep. Even if Jackson and I weren’t a couple, there was no way in a million years I could ever date a natural. For one thing, he’d start aging in his twenties and thirties at double the rate...

  “Zoe!”

  “Oh, sorry.” I forced myself to focus on what was happening right now. “Yeah, I’ve just been really upset about Liam. I think my parents know something but aren’t telling me.”

  I looked at Jackson imploringly. “You’d tell me if you found something out, wouldn’t you?”

  Jackson’s shoulders softened. He took a step toward me. I returned the gesture until I was pressed against his chest, his arms tight around me.

  He stroked my hair. “Of course I would.”

  I took a moment to enjoy his affection, knowing the next thing I said might turn him off.

  “I have kind of a strange question.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I know Sleiman Enterprises is connected to the university and I’m just wondering if they are involved with providing pharmaceuticals to the outside.”

  Jackson pulled back to study my face. “Of course we make pharmaceuticals. That’s common knowledge.”

  “I mean, does it get sold on the outside?”

  “Sure, they’re sold worldwide.”

  “I mean underground. Illegally.”

  “I suppose. That’s an age-old trade. I’m sure the authorities are doing what they can to stop it. But why are you asking? Wait, you don’t think Liam–”