A Chosen Destiny (The Samantha Project Series #3) (27 page)

“Let me see.” Brittany grabbed my hand. “It’s simple, but pretty.”

“Yeah, it’s exactly my style. Just what I would’ve picked.”

“Is it supposed to mean something?” Erik stared intently at me. He was not at all happy to hear that Colin and I were back together.

“It’s not an engagement ring, Erik,” Brittany said.
 

“Colin engraved the inside with this thing we used to say as kids.” I took the ring off and gave it to Brittany. “It was the motto for our science club. We used to pretend we were scientists. We were sure we’d find the cure for cancer or solve world hunger.”

Colin laughed. “Yeah, we liked to dream big back then.”
 

Brittany held the ring up. “I can’t read it. What’s the engraving say, Sam?”
 

“Together we can save the world.”
 

“Kind of sounds stupid when you say it now,” Colin admitted. “It sounded better when we were 8.”

Brittany handed the ring back to me. “I don’t think it’s stupid. It’s basically what you’re doing now, right? Trying to save the world from GlobalLife?”

“Yeah, I guess in a way it is.” I slipped the ring back on.

“So do you think we can really do this, Sam?” Erik asked.

“I don’t think we have a choice now. But I’m getting really nervous about it.”

“Then don’t do it,” Colin urged. “If you guys aren’t ready, you shouldn’t do it. If you get caught, they’ll make sure you never escape again.”

“Yeah,” Brittany agreed. “Maybe you should just let GlobalLife have the stuff. Rachel said it doesn’t even work in other people.”

“It doesn’t work
now
. But they’ll find a way,” Erik said. “Maybe they already have.”

“Erik’s right. We have to do this. I need to stop second-guessing. I have these powers. Now I just need to use them. Besides, we have almost five whole days to practice and get ready.”

But it still didn’t seem like enough time. Erik and I worked on the mind control exercises all afternoon and into the evening. On Sunday, we practiced getting into the minds of a whole new group of people from the rebel group. Mitch joined us to try to replicate how the GlobalLife lie detector would work. He asked people questions while Erik and I listened to their responses.
 

Letting people answer the questions was difficult at first. When I was in their mind, I kept wanting to think the answer for them. But after some practice, I could feel myself pulling back, letting them answer themselves. I did as Abigail said, imagining myself in the car letting off the gas pedal. The imagery helped a lot.
 

Later, Mitch started asking people questions that tapped more into emotions and ethics. “It’s much harder to lie when emotions are involved,” Mitch explained. “That’s why this works as a security device. You test people’s loyalty with something like this. It’s not a device you would use on just anyone. GlobalLife developed this for their employees who know top-secret information that can never get out. And for people like Eve who have access to their most valuable assets. GlobalLife will use questions that test Eve’s loyalty to the company and this project. I’m sure she’s already been asked these questions before and passed with flying colors. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have access to the genes. If she answers them correctly again, they’ll know her loyalty still stands and the vault will open.”

I couldn’t imagine what kinds of questions would prove loyalty, especially from Eve, who didn’t seem like the type of person who could be loyal to anyone.
 

We spent the rest of Sunday trying to listen as people answered the emotion-based questions. We were finally getting the hang of it, but neither Erik nor I felt good about it. The mind-control itself was intrusive enough, but now we’d learned to listen to people’s entire thought process. We could feel their emotions as they wrestled with their own ethics. The volunteers agreed to let us do this for the cause, but it still didn’t feel right. By the end of the day, I just wanted to be back in my own head.

Monday morning, I heard a lot of commotion outside my room. I threw on some jeans and a sweatshirt and ran out to see what was going on.

“We’re not ready for this. Is she absolutely sure?” Dave was talking to Rachel. Jack and Abigail stood next to them.
 

“That’s what our source said. Allie met with her yesterday.”

“What’s going on?” I asked. “What did Allie say?”

“What’s all the noise up here?” Erik had come from downstairs.

“Allie sent us a message,” Rachel explained. “She said her mother is going out of town tomorrow morning. Eve’s going to Sweden. And she’s taking the alien genes with her.”

“Tomorrow?” Erik asked. “What happened to Thursday?”
 

“They moved the date up,” Rachel replied. “I don’t know the reason. Allie said her mom’s trip
was
planned for Thursday, just like Colin said. But now it’s tomorrow morning at 7. She’s going with Emily’s father on the GlobalLife jet.”

“So we do this tonight or we don’t do it at all,” Erik said.
 

Rachel sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. So what do you think? Do you two still want to do this?”

“Yeah. I’ll do it,” Erik decided.

Dave looked at me. “Samantha? What do think?”

“I want this stuff destroyed, so yeah.”

Abigail came over to us. “Then you both need to go practice some more. Hadley is downstairs. He has everything set up. At 5 o’clock I want you to stop and rest your minds so you’re ready for tonight.”

Erik and I went downstairs. Hadley, who rarely spoke, had all kinds of instructions and tips he hadn’t shared before. He said Abigail didn’t want to overwhelm us with this stuff all at once, but now that we had no time left he had to speed up the learning process. We worked right up until 5.
 

“Remember what I said earlier. When dealing with this woman, you have to set aside your feelings for her,” Hadley instructed. “And, Erik, I know you strongly dislike her.”

“I hate her,” Erik clarified.

“Yes, well, if you feel that emotion while you and Samantha are in her mind, this won’t work. Remember, the security device will ask her emotion-based questions. You can’t let your own emotions toward Eve get in the way and cloud her thinking. If you do, she won’t be able to answer correctly.” Hadley looked at me.

“I don’t like Eve either, but I can let it go for a night.”

“Good. So, Erik, all you need to do is stay calm and let Sam control her. Your job is to help her keep the connection with Eve going. But, Sam, if you notice that you’re getting emotional or losing control in any way, just hand control over to Erik. Any questions?”

“I think we’ve got it,” Erik answered. I agreed.

Hadley left and Jack came down the stairs. “I just wanted to say that if either of you decides you want to back out of this, just say so. You don’t have to do this.”

“Dad, can I talk to Sam for a minute? Alone?”

“Sure, son. I’ll be upstairs.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked Erik. “Are you backing out?”
 

“No. But I understand if
you
want to. You have to do most of the work.”

“We’ve come this far, Erik. I’m not backing out now.”

“Okay. I just wanted to make sure.” He started to go upstairs, then stopped and turned around. “Doesn’t it seem like we just did this? Trying to get the genes out of Iceland? Doing all this stuff with brain waves?”

“Yeah. And I’m tired of it. I’d just like a normal life again.”

“Good luck with that.” I waited for him to continue up the stairs, but he didn’t. “I’m sure Colin’s not too thrilled about having to live like this forever.”

I could sense hostility in his tone. “Erik, I feel like you’re mad at me for getting back together with him. But you knew that’s what I wanted.”

“I’m not mad at you. I just don’t like your decision. We still have this connection, Sam. And sometimes it’s really strong, like today. And even if you’re back with him, our connection will never go away. You can deny it all you want, but I know you still feel it.”

“That connection is programmed into us. It’s our minds connecting and our genes recognizing each other. I get that now. It’s not real. It never was.”

“None of it, Sam?”
 

“Okay, yes. Some of it was real. But a lot of it was manipulated. It has to be. Why else would our feelings for each other get so strong after we mind-talk or have these practice sessions?”
 

“My feelings for you are strong even when we’re not doing those things. How do you explain that, Sam? You could blame the software. But that just explains the physical attraction. What I feel for you is so much more than that.”

I didn’t respond.
 

He moved down a step so that we were just inches apart, his face hovering over mine. “How do you explain Iceland?”
 

Images of us together in Iceland flashed in my mind. I wondered if he put them there or if I was remembering them myself.
 

“What happened between us there was real, Sam.” His eyes locked on mine and he lowered his voice. “I knew how you felt about me when we were in Iceland. I could feel it when I was in your mind. And when we were dancing. And when I held you every night in our bed. I can still feel it now. But you refuse to admit those feelings exist, Sam. And I don’t understand. Why are you fighting this?”
 

I backed away. “Just drop it, Erik. I want to be with Colin. I have no doubts about that.” I tried to go past him on the stairs. He wouldn’t let me.
 

“But you have doubts about
us
, right? If you were with with me, you’d always be wondering whether what we had was real or not. You’d always be thinking that GlobalLife won. That’s why you’re back with Colin, isn’t it?”

I wouldn’t answer.

“That’s the reason, isn’t it, Sam? GlobalLife wanted us to be together. They wanted their golden couple. And you think that if we’re together, you’re letting them win.”

“Erik, please don’t talk about this anymore. You’ll find someone else. Lots of people know your secret now. And some of them happen to be really hot girls around your age. Like Brittany? Or Rachel? Well, she might be a little old.”

“Whatever, Sam. So I have options. But nobody will understand me like you do. And Colin will never understand you like I do.”

I shrugged. “That’s okay. It leaves a little mystery in the relationship.”

He placed his hand under my chin, forcing me to look at him. I felt his energy go through me, filling me with warmth.
 

“Think about it, Sam. If you really want to be with me but are refusing to because of GlobalLife, aren’t you still letting them win?”
 

His touch made my heart race. I hated the way he could get to me like that. And I hated that he was bringing up things that I was trying so hard to put aside. I pushed his hand away and attempted to go up the stairs, but his arm caught me around my waist. He drew me into him, making my heart beat even faster. “Sam. Just think about it.”
 

“We’re done talking about this, Erik. We need to get upstairs.” He hesitated, then finally let me go.

We went to our separate rooms and took a short nap. The house was silent. Nobody wanted to disturb us. At 7, Colin came in my room.

“Sam, it’s time,” he said, waking me with a kiss. “They want you to eat before you go.”

“Okay, tell them I’ll be out in a minute.” I felt a knot forming in my stomach as I stood up.

“This is probably the last time we’ll be alone together before you leave. Don’t you want to say goodbye without everyone watching?”

“We’re not saying goodbye, Colin. Because nothing’s going to happen to Erik and me tonight. GlobalLife doesn’t even know about this. Everything will go as planned and I’ll be back in a few hours. I’m not even worried about it.”
 

He put his hands firmly on my shoulders and waited for me to look at him. “What happened to that promise you made about being honest with me?”

I nodded and hugged him tight for several minutes. As scared as I was, I had to keep telling myself that this night would go well. I couldn’t let myself consider the possibility that GlobalLife could take Erik and me again. But I knew it could happen. We would be right outside their offices. They could have heard about the plan. There could be a mole in the rebel group.

Colin and I went to the kitchen. Erik was eating some cereal and toast. It looked like a good option. Carbs fuel the brain, I thought. And my fragile stomach couldn’t handle much more than cereal.

Rachel was there, going over the plans. “We’ve let Allie know what to expect. She doesn’t know specifics, but we told her that her mom may be acting strange tonight and that she’s not to interact with her or try to stop her from leaving.”

“Allie won’t be involved, right?” I asked. “She won’t get hurt?”
 

“No. She’ll be safe at home. Keith will be driving you there tonight. He’ll be here shortly. When you get to the city, you’ll go by the GlobalLife Capital Management building just to make sure the guards are gone. Around 11:30, you’ll park in front of Eve’s high-rise. That’s when you’ll enter her mind. Make sure she brings her security badge to access the building. We asked Allie to set it on the table by the door. Once you get Eve out of the building, you’ll get her in the car that Mitch will have waiting out front. He’ll take Eve to her office and you guys will follow in the other car. Eve will go inside, get the genetic material, and then Mitch will be waiting to pick her up and take the vials. He’ll drive her back to the apartment with you guys following again. Make sure Eve’s in the apartment before you leave her mind. After that you’ll head home.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Erik said.

Jack and Dave, who’d seemed optimistic leading up to this, now looked very concerned. They kept their eyes on us, as if they might not see us again. It only made me more nervous.
 

At 8, Keith arrived with the car. We went over the entire plan again, detail by detail. After that it was time to leave. Brittany gave Erik and me a quick hug, then ran off to our room and shut the door. She hated people seeing her show emotion. Dave, Jack, and Colin tried to act like it was no big deal, reassuring us it would go well.