A Chosen Destiny (The Samantha Project Series #3) (29 page)

Keith got in the car. “Okay, we’re heading out. You guys need anything? I could stop somewhere and get you something to eat. That had to have taken a lot out of you.”

My head continued to throb. “No, let’s just go home.”
 

We got back at 4 in the morning. Everyone was waiting up for us. Colin came over first to give me a hug.

“I didn’t save the world,” I whispered to him.

“I don’t care. I just wanted you to make it home.”

Erik and I spent the next hour telling everyone what had happened.
 

“I’m thinking it had to be GlobalLife who got her,” Jack said. “They probably had security people watching the building. It makes sense given that the genes were being moved today.”
 

Dave considered it. “I was thinking the same thing. So if that’s the case, the genes are probably already headed to Sweden.”

Erik looked at me. “Then basically we did all this for nothing. All that training. All that planning. And then GlobalLife ends up with the genes again.”

“We’ll know more in a few hours,” Jack said. “Rachel is checking in with us around noon. She’ll have GlobalLife’s reaction to this, which should tell us a lot. For now, you guys should get a few hours of sleep.”

Dave decided to stay up and work, so I went to Colin’s room. I was still stressed from what had happened and wanted to be near him.

“Sam, I don’t want you doing this stuff anymore,” he said as we lay in bed. “I know you want to get the genes away from GlobalLife, but it’s too dangerous.”

“I don’t
want
to do this, Colin. I have to. They killed my parents. And tons of other innocent people. They kidnapped and tortured you. They took Brittany and treated her like some animal. And they made me into this—this nonhuman.”
 

“Don’t say that. You’re all human, no matter what they put in you.” He kissed my cheek. “I know they’ve done all these horrible things, but fighting GlobalLife could get you killed, Sam.”

“I can’t let them have that genetic material. I may not be able to stop all the evil things GlobalLife does, but I can’t let them put these genes in more people.”

He sighed. “I figured that’s what you’d say, but I had to at least ask. So I guess this is going to go on for a while. You’re going to keep trying to get those genes?”

“I have to. I don’t have a choice.” I paused, wondering how long I’d be on this journey. “Colin, have you thought about what it will be like being with me a year from now? Or 5 years from now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like the fact that we won’t have a normal life. We’ll always be running or hiding. We’ll never be able to trust anyone. You may never see your family again.”

He didn’t respond.

“It’s just something to think about. We don’t have to talk about it right now.” I rolled over and went to sleep.
 

Dave was knocking on the door just a few hours later. “Sam, are you in there? You need to get up.” His tone was urgent.
 

I raced to the door. “Why? What happened?”

“GlobalLife has Eve. That’s where she was taken last night. They’re convinced she was trying to steal the genes and sell them.”

“How do you know this?”

“I just talked to Rachel. She’s at GlobalLife preparing for a meeting with some of the Founders. During the meeting she’ll be wearing a listening device so we can hear what goes on there. I’m setting things up on our end now. I want you to listen in. Hurry up and get ready.”

“But wait. So you’re saying that GlobalLife picked her up last night?”

“No. It wasn’t GlobalLife who got her.”

“Then who was it?” Colin was standing behind me.
 

Dave sighed. “According to Rachel, it was Owens.”

“But I thought he was out of the country,” I said.

“It wasn’t him personally. It was some men who work for him. They delivered Eve to GlobalLife early this morning.”

“But how did Owens know Eve was there last night? Did Rachel—”

“Rachel swears she didn’t say anything. And given all she’s done for us, it doesn’t make sense for her to tell him. I think Owens found out some other way. He’ll be at the meeting today. We’ll hear what he has to say.”

“So Owens is back in town?” I asked.

“Yes. He flew in late last night. The GlobalLife execs here in New York wanted to meet with him before this meeting. I’m sure GlobalLife is in a state of panic right now. They had enough problems with the Founders losing faith in the project. This latest incident may be the final nail in the coffin.”

“I don’t get it. GlobalLife has Eve. And they have the gene samples. So what’s the problem?”

“No, Sam. GlobalLife doesn’t have the genes. When Owens’ guys dropped Eve off, the box of vials was gone.”

In my sleep-deprived state, I tried to make sense of what he was saying. “Wait, so Owens took them? That means he has all of the alien gene samples. All that exist in the world.”

Dave nodded. “Yes. According to our sources on the inside, GlobalLife doesn’t have any of the alien genes now. So you can imagine the chaos that’s occurring there as we speak.”

“So Owens got everything he wanted. He got the genes from GlobalLife and Eve will get the blame.”

“It worked out well for him. But I still don’t know how he knew about Eve. He had to have been watching her or someone tipped him off. ”

“If GlobalLife doesn’t have the genes anymore, the project will have to end. It’s over.”

“Well, they still have the genetic material they stole from you and Erik.”

I got a sick feeling whenever that topic came up. I was sure my face showed it.

“We’re working on getting that from them, too, honey. Don’t worry about it, okay? Now you two get ready. We’re meeting downstairs.”

I sat back down on the bed. “Why does Owens want that stuff so much? I don’t understand. What is he doing with it?”

“He’s a guy who loves being in control,” Colin said. “Maybe he just wants to be the only person in the world who has it. I don’t think we’ll ever figure Owens out, Sam. He’s just a crazy old rich guy. But at least he helped you escape from GlobalLife.”

“Yeah, but if he hadn’t brought us up to Iceland in the first place, Erik and I wouldn’t have
had
to escape.”

“Let’s worry about Owens later. We should go hear what’s going on at this meeting.”

We met everyone downstairs. Dave had a speaker set up that was linked to Rachel’s hidden microphone. Unfortunately, Erik and I wouldn’t be able to read the minds of anyone at the meeting. After holding Erik and me at the Iceland facility, GlobalLife had installed brain wave scramblers in all of their buildings, assuming that we’d be back there someday.

I heard Rachel’s voice first. “We’ll be starting as soon as we hear confirmation that everyone’s joined the call.” It sounded like some of the Founders were in the room and others were on the phone. There was a long pause and some beeping sounds. “Okay, good. Then I’ll turn it over to Mr. Alistor Loflin, President of GlobalLife Genetics.”
 

Mr. Loflin had replaced Drew Chamberlin, the previous president. Loflin worked out of the Swedish headquarters, but had relocated to the New York office temporarily after Drew was fired.
 

“Thank you for meeting on such short notice,” Loflin said. “I’m sure you’re all anxious to learn what went on last night. But I’m asking you to give us time to investigate this further before we disclose any details. I also request that you remain patient during the investigation and not make any rash decisions. This project involves top-secret cutting-edge science and technology, so we must expect
and
accept complications from time to time. We have been working on this for decades with few, if any, problems. Now that we’re nearing completion, it’s only natural for one or two minor issues to come up.”

I listened to his lies, wondering how GlobalLife could find so many people who were willing to stand in front of an audience and lie to their faces. “Few, if any, problems?” Loflin knew the history of this project. He was aware of all of the people who were sacrificed over the years as GlobalLife tried to make the alien genes work. Did he not see their deaths as “problems”?
 

And what did he consider “minor issues”? I would hardly call the genes being stolen a minor issue. But maybe the Founders didn’t know they were stolen. GlobalLife could have lied. After all, the Founders didn’t even know the genes were sourced from ancient alien remains. GlobalLife told them the enhanced genes were just a proprietary genetic sequence with embedded software.
 

“Where are they now?” I heard a voice ask. I assumed it was one of the Founders. “What happened to the genes?”

“They’re here,” Loflin lied. “Safely stored away.”

“And what about our investment money?” another voice asked. “Did she try to steal that, too?”

“No. Absolutely not. Your money is safe as well,” Loflin said. “We believe Ms. Taylor was only interested in obtaining the genetic material. We’re under the assumption that she had a buyer waiting. Is that correct, Preston?”

I heard Owens clear his throat. “Yes, that’s correct.”

“Preston, I think it’s time you share what you know about Eve,” Loflin said.

“Well, as many of you know, Eve has been an acquaintance of mine for years. She’s a brilliant woman and I’ve always admired her drive and ambition. But it’s that same ambition that led her to this point.” He sighed dramatically. “I became distrustful of Eve months ago. She was acting suspiciously, saying she had to meet with overseas clients, but not revealing who those clients were. I suggested having her followed on my own dime and GlobalLife agreed.”

“So who was she planning to sell the genes to?” someone asked.

“We don’t know yet,” Owens answered. “In fact, we think she may have had several buyers lined up. The important thing to remember is that we were able to stop Eve and regain control of the genetic material before it got into the wrong hands.”

“This is nonsense!” a man exclaimed. “So GlobalLife knew Eve couldn’t be trusted and yet they continued to allow her to work here?”

“It allowed us to keep an eye on her,” Loflin replied. “She knows far too much for us to just let her go. And Preston did an excellent job keeping tabs on her.”
 

“What did you do with her? Where is she now?” I recognized the voice. It was someone I’d met in Iceland, the night of the gala. The man had a Texas accent. It was Orton Wolcott, Owens’ friend from Houston who made his fortune from oil. He’d just recently invested in the project.

“We have her,” Loflin said. “We’re holding Eve here for now.”

“Then I want to see her,” Wolcott said. “I demand to see the woman who nearly compromised our investments. Bring her in here so we can talk to her ourselves.”

“Mr. Wolcott, I don’t think that’s necessary,” Loflin seemed flustered. A low roar started building as the Founders began talking to each other in the room and over the phone lines.

“Everyone, please,” Owens nearly shouted. He waited for the room to quiet down. “I don’t think it’s an unreasonable request, Alistor.”

The room remained silent as Loflin considered it. “All right. Rachel, please call for someone to get Ms. Taylor and bring her down here.”

“Certainly.” I heard Rachel’s heels clicking as she walked to the side of the room to make the call.

Minutes later, someone arrived with Eve. “Ms. Taylor, our guests would like a word with you,” Loflin said.

I expected Eve to refuse to speak. Instead she talked nonstop. “This is not what you think! I didn’t do this! You must believe me,” she pleaded. “I have been nothing but loyal to all of you! And this company. And the project. I would do anything to protect that genetic material. Anything! You know that, Alistor. Everyone at GlobalLife knows that. I’ve proved my loyalty to this project and this company many times.” She paused, waiting for him to agree with her but he didn’t.
 

“Who was your buyer?” a voice asked.

“I didn’t have a buyer!” she shouted. Her voice quieted down. “I swear on my life, I did NOT do this. There is no buyer.”

“It’s all on video, Ms. Taylor,” Owens said. “The security records show that your badge as well as your face, eyes, and fingerprints were used to open the building and the room that holds the vault. You’re one of the few people who have access to the material. We have proof that you passed the various security layers needed to access the vault. And we saw you walking out of the building carrying the material. It’s all recorded if you’d like to see for yourself.”

“But—but I don’t understand. I don’t remember any of that!” Her voice was desperate. “I remember being in my apartment, packing a bag for Sweden. And after that, it’s like I blacked out. I have no memory until I woke up in the car that took me here.”

“You expect us to believe that crap?” Wolcott yelled. The room got silent. “Pardon my language. What I meant to say is that this woman, Ms. Taylor, is feeding us pure rubbish in the hopes of avoiding punishment. But I can see right through people like her. I’m not buying it for a second.”
 

The room seemed to agree as low mumbling erupted again from the Founders. Wolcott continued. “I’m tired of not getting the full story from you and your team here at GlobalLife, Loflin. You told us that the genetic material could never be stolen. And what happens? It’s stolen from one of your own.”

Loflin tried to explain. “No, it wasn’t stolen. We have it here in the—”
 

“And another thing,” Wolcott interrupted, “you keep saying this genetic material is ready to go. That it’s ready to be used on all of us. Ready to be put into our children and our grandchildren. Then why hasn’t the process started? Why do you keep telling us to wait?”

The Founders got even louder. “Yes, he’s right,” a woman said. “You keep telling us it’s ready. Well, is it or isn’t it?”

“I heard that these genes may not even work in people,” a man called out. “The fact that they worked in that girl, Samantha, is just a fluke.”

“I heard that it’s far more dangerous than they’ve been telling us,” another man said. “My investment firm just recently discovered scientific research which showed that genetic manipulation like this isn’t safe. You think I’m putting these genes in my grandchild knowing that?”