A Chosen Destiny (The Samantha Project Series #3) (13 page)

I kicked the back of his seat.

“Okay, most
people
,” he said, correcting himself, “would just give up. Do nothing. Not even try anything.”

“She’s a smart girl. And she isn’t afraid to take risks. Like she said, she does whatever it takes to survive.”

Brittany came out of the bathroom. We all watched as she sat back down.
 

“You don’t have to act so weird around me. I’m fine. Really. Go back to whatever you were doing. I need to talk to Sam.”

Brittany began asking me a million questions about what had happened since she’d been captured. I told her how Erik and I had escaped and how the timers in us were finally turned off. I couldn’t tell her everything with Erik sitting right in front of us. But she’d heard the guards talking about my supposed pregnancy and asked about it.

“Obviously I didn’t believe it,” she whispered. “I mean, you and Erik? You would never do something like that to Colin.”

“I can’t get into it now.” I pointed to the seat in front of me, where Erik was sitting.

She grabbed my arm. “Wait a minute. It wasn’t true, was it? You’re not really pregnant, are you?”

“No. It was a lie.”

“Yeah, okay. For a minute there I thought you were going to say that you were really pregnant.” She lowered her voice. “So why didn’t you tell those people at GlobalLife that you knew they were lying?”

“Because I, uh, I actually did think it might be true. But don’t—”

“What? No way! Why?” Her voice got louder. “What did you two do?”

“Shhh. Please, just talk about something else.”

“But you’re still with Colin, right?” she whispered.

“No, I’m not. It’s a long story.”

“How did all this happen? I wasn’t gone
that
long!”

Erik leaned over the seat. “Sam, can I talk to her now?”
 

“I was kind of wanting to spend some more time with her.”
 

“We can catch up later, Sam.” Brittany seemed eager to talk to Erik.

Erik took my seat and I sat across the aisle next to Colin. “Care if I sit here?” I wasn’t sure if he was in one of his “I hate Sam” moods.

“Go ahead.” Colin was reading a sports magazine that had been left in the seat pocket in front of him.

“Erik said there’s a plane waiting in New York to take you back home.”

Colin looked up from the magazine. “Yeah. Owens set it up.”

“Are you sure you can trust him?”

“What do you think he’s going to do? I know that Owens doesn’t like me, but I don’t think he’ll blow up his expensive plane just to get rid of me. There are easier ways to do that, Sam. Cheaper ways.”

“Yeah, so maybe you won’t be safe when you get home. Maybe he has something planned.”

“I’ll be safe. Don’t worry about it.” His eyes returned to the magazine.

“Listen. I know it’s your decision, but I’m asking you not to go. I need you, Colin.”

“You don’t need me. You have Dave. And your sister.” He paused. “And Erik.”

“It’s not the same. I need
you
.”
 

He kept reading.

“Colin, would you put that down and listen to me?” He looked up again, still holding the magazine. “Please, don’t go back to Minnesota. You’re mad at me. I get that. And you don’t want a relationship with me anymore. I get that, too, even though it’s not what I want. But if your goal is to get away from me, I’ll just leave you alone. You don’t have to go back home. GlobalLife will find you there, Colin. And they’ll come after your parents. Your sisters.”

“They won’t do that. They’re done chasing me. They want you and Erik. And you know, maybe me going home isn’t about you. Maybe I miss my friends and my family. And my last semester of high school.”

“But when will I see you again?”

“I don’t know, Sam. Maybe our high school reunion.”

“That’s not funny, Colin. I may never go back to Minnesota. I’ll probably have to hide out for the rest of my life. Maybe move to a different country. Don’t you get that? We may never see each other again.”

He lowered his voice so Jack and Dave wouldn’t hear. “I don’t want to get into this right now.”

“But there’s no time left. You’re leaving when we get to New York.”

“The plane doesn’t leave until later tonight. And, Sam, we’ve already talked about this. We’re not getting back together.“

“
You
talked about it. I didn’t. You made the decision for both of us.”

“You’ve been doing that for years. It’s about time that I make a decision.”

“If you think I made all our decisions, then it’s only because you told me to. You always asked me to decide stuff. Don’t act like—” I stopped, not wanting to fight during our last hours together. “I’m sorry. Forget that. It doesn’t matter. I just think this is a decision we should talk through together.”

“I’ve already given this a ton of thought, Sam. It’s not like I just decided this after I found out about—” He glanced over at Erik. “I’ve been thinking about this for months. I kept wondering if you’d break up with me before you left for college.”

“Who told you that? Allie?”

“No. Why? Were you really going to do that?” He rolled his eyes. “Of course you were. I was just some high school boyfriend. Someone to do stuff with on weekends.”

“That’s not true.”

He looked at me, knowing it was a lie.

“Okay, it’s kind of true. I used to think that. Like months ago. But not anymore.”

Colin went back to reading his magazine. It was no use talking to him. His mind was made up. I glanced over at Erik and Brittany, who were deep in conversation. Jack and Dave had gone up front to talk to Owens.
 

I could have moved to a different seat, but I remained with Colin for the rest of the flight. Even if he hated me and refused to talk to me, I wasn’t going to leave him if we only had a few hours left together.
 

The plane landed at a small airport. Two limos were waiting: one to take Owens to New York City and one for the rest of us. Owens talked briefly to Jack and Dave, then left.

Erik went up to Colin. “Good luck with everything.”
 

“Yeah, thanks.” The tension between them was thick. I thought Colin might hit him one last time, but Erik walked away.

I grabbed Colin’s arm. “Aren’t you coming with us? You said your flight doesn’t leave until later tonight.”
 

“I’m staying here and waiting for it.”

“But that’s like hours from now.”

“It’ll go fast. Owens said there’s a TV in there. And magazines, books. A vending machine.”

Jack and Dave came up to him. “You’re sure this is what you want to do?” Dave asked Colin.

“Yeah. I need to finish school.”
 

“Well, I wish you’d change your mind, but I can’t force you to stay. We’ll sure miss you.” Dave gave him a hug. Jack and Brittany did the same. Then they all piled into the limo, leaving Colin and me behind.

The scene didn’t seem real. But given the flood of emotions I was feeling, I knew it was definitely real. Panic, loss, and sadness hit me all at once.
 

“I’m not ready for this, Colin. I thought we’d have more time before you left.”
 

He gave me a hug. “Be safe, Sam.” I held on. But he pulled away, then picked up his bag.

“No, wait! I need more time! I’ll go inside with you.”

“You guys need to go.” He pointed back to the limo. “The car’s running. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“I don’t care! I need to talk to you. You know I can’t call you in Minnesota. Please, Colin. I’m asking you again to stay here. You won’t be safe at home. I’ll worry about you constantly.”

He leaned down and gently kissed my forehead. “Goodbye, Sam.”

I grabbed his hand, but he took it back, then turned and walked away. “Colin, don’t go! Just wait!”
 

I felt Dave behind me, tugging on my shoulder. “Come on, Sam. We need to leave.”
 

As we drove away, I watched Colin walk toward the airport building. He never turned back. I knew I shouldn’t read his mind but I did anyway.
 

“Dammit, Sam!”
he thought.
“Why didn’t you fight for me? Why didn’t you fight for us? I can’t hold this thing together by myself anymore. I love you, but I can’t do it anymore. I wish you understood that.”

His words weren’t what I expected. He hadn’t given up on us. He’d given up on me.
 

When we turned onto the main road, I lost sight of Colin. I had to do something, but I didn’t know what. I’d already begged Colin to stay. So what did he mean saying I didn’t fight for him? For us? What else was I supposed to do?
 

Jack and Dave started going over whatever Owens told them, but I didn’t listen to any of it. My mind was back with Colin. I refused to believe that he was gone. I didn’t even cry because I kept telling myself that he would change his mind and not get on that plane.
 

About a half hour later, we arrived at a small house that was similar to the house I grew up in. Probably built in the early 1900s, it had dark wood floors, thick wood trim, and short ceilings.
 

Two of Owens’ security guys were waiting for us when we got there. Both were very large. They stood up straight with shoulders back, like military guys. Jack presented them with a piece of paper that Owens had given him.

One of the guys went up to Dave. “I need the word and the phrase, please.”
 

“The word is ‘scorpion,’” Dave answered. “The phrase is ‘the grass is always greener.’”

“Good. Welcome, I’m Darius,” the first man said. He was bald with dark skin and eyes. He spoke with a deep, clear voice that was pleasant to listen to. And despite his intimidating size, his smile was very warm and friendly.

“And I’m Kendrick.” The other man held out his hand to us. He had a blond crewcut and tattoos along both arms and the back of his neck.

“So you’ll be staying with us?” Jack asked Kendrick.

“Yes, both of us will. So this is the house and there’s a car out front if you need it. Samantha and Erik will be staying down in the basement bedrooms, which are highly secured. Come downstairs and I’ll show you.”

The house looked completely ordinary until I saw the basement, which was filled with computer equipment and big monitors that covered one wall. There were two small bedrooms off to the side. And there was an even smaller room with a steel door that almost looked like a bank vault.
 

Darius motioned us inside the vaultlike room.
 

Jack seemed wary of the room. “That’s all right. We can see it from—”
 

Darius put his hand up, silencing Jack. He and Kendrick went into the tiny room and waited for us. We reluctantly went in and Darius shut the door.

“This is a safe room,” Darius said. “Owens had it installed just last week for Sam and Erik. It’s the only place we can talk in private. The rest of the house is covered in listening devices. We’re in here because we need to tell you something. Kendrick and I are part of the rebel group trying to stop GlobalLife’s genetic enhancement project.”

Dave seemed suspicious. “But you work for Owens.”

“He thinks we do, but we’re actually working undercover,” Kendrick explained. “I can’t go into everything right now. Basically, Darius and I used to be in a special forces unit for the army. On our last mission, we overheard our general talking to a scientist from GlobalLife Genetics about a project to reprogram the human gene code. He called it Operation Elite, some worldwide effort to create a superhuman race. Our general was one of the elite, chosen few.”

“We couldn’t believe what we were hearing,” Darius added. “And we didn’t know how much of the military was involved in this. After that, we didn’t trust our general or any other superior officers. We didn’t know who we could trust.”

“How did you get hooked up with the rebel group?” Jack asked.

Kendrick answered. “I had an old buddy from high school who works in genetic research. I told him what I’d heard. It turns out he already knew about the project and was working with some other scientists to stop it. And that’s when Darius and I joined the cause. My friend told me about Owens’ involvement. So we approached Owens and offered to work security for him so we could keep an eye on him. He always hires ex-military and we both have an excellent record and recommendations.”

Darius checked his watch. “We can’t stay in here much longer. An alarm sends a signal to Owens if the room senses people in here for more than 10 minutes at a time. He’ll think we’re in here because of an attack. So if you ever use this room to talk, always watch the time. There’s a clock right over there.” He pointed to a digital monitor on the wall that had the time blinking in red. “If time’s up, leave the room then go back in. When you shut the door, the timer will be reset.”

“So we can’t talk unless we’re in this room?” Brittany asked.
 

“For now. But later this afternoon, I’m expecting delivery of a device that will disable the recorders in a single room. I haven’t tried it yet, but Rachel assured me that it works.”

“You know Rachel?” I asked Kendrick.

“Yes. And she knows that you’re here. Owens told her. We can tell you more later.” Kendrick turned to Jack and Dave. “Abigail Graceland, a scientist from the rebel group, will be here shortly to talk with both of you about next steps.”
 

“Don’t the outside cameras record people coming and going?” Erik asked.

“Yes,” Darius answered, “but Kendrick and I are in charge of monitoring those. And we erase the files every night. Owens doesn’t see them unless we send them to him.” Darius checked the clock. “Okay, let’s get out of here. I need to contact Owens. He wants confirmation that everyone made it here.”

We left the safe room and noticed a woman on one of the monitors. She was waiting at the back door. Darius went up to get her, then brought her downstairs. Neither one of them made a sound.
 

The woman was in her mid-fifties with short, stylish brown hair and glasses. She was petite and nice-looking, enough so that she caught Dave’s eye. She noticed Dave staring and smiled at him as she walked into the safe room. Jack and Dave followed, shutting the door behind them.