The Golden Couple (The Samantha Project Series, # 2) (37 page)

A throbbing pain filled my head as she talked. I wasn’t sure if it was caused by my stress over the pregnancy news or all the energy I’d expended trying to memorize Drew’s brain waves.
 

“I’m sorry, but could I go back to the room? I have a really intense headache.”

Erik put his arm around me. “What’s wrong? Did you just get this?”

“Yeah. It came out of nowhere. I need to lie down.”

“I’ll have someone take her back,” Alison said. “Erik, you and I will continue with the tests.”

“No. I need to go with her. She shouldn’t be in the room alone.”

“I’ll have Walter sit in there with her. She’ll be fine. It’s probably pregnancy hormones kicking in.” Alison waved for one of the lab techs to come over to walk me back.

I heard Erik in my head.
“What’s wrong, Sam? Are you okay?”

“I don’t know yet. I think so.”

“I’ll go with you. I’ll make something up.”

“No. Stay here. She’ll get suspicious if you go. Just stay and see if you can get more information from her.”

Erik reluctantly agreed. I went back to the room and slept until Erik got back later that afternoon. “Hey, how are you feeling?” He was sitting next to me on the bed. Walter had left.

“I’m better.” I switched to mind-talking.
“Did you find out anything?
 

“No. She made me wear some headset thing. Then I had to repeat these phrases that different people were thinking. It was just like we did earlier. Now tell me what happened to you. Was it just a headache?”
 

“Yeah. I think my brain was on overdrive trying to memorize what Drew said.”

“Well, it wasn’t worth it. The guy didn’t even think anything that we could use.”

“What are you talking about? He said the GlobalLife motto. That’s gotta be it. It’s written right on the globe.”

“Yeah, so it couldn’t be that. It’s too obvious.”

“That’s why I think it’s the right phrase. Think about it. Drew is arrogant. He put the alien genes right in the lobby to prove that his security system was so brilliant that nobody could ever access the vials. And then he puts the phrase that opens it right on the globe, knowing that it only works when
he
says that phrase. I’m sure he loves hearing people read it out loud over and over again, knowing that the globe only opens when he says or thinks the phrase.”

“It’s a good theory, Sam, but I still don’t think that’s it.”

“Well, we have to try something. I don’t know what else to try.”

“When you were listening today, did you hear any other words or phrases that he might use to open it?”

“I’m not sure. He said that phrase about taking the human race to higher plane of being. So that might be it. I need to replay his thoughts in my head. I think I might have to combine words to come up some of the other phrases he says.”

“Well, you need to have several options ready to try. If we ever get a chance to.”

“Yeah, I’m getting worried about that, Erik. Owens said he’d get us access to the globe, but we haven’t heard anything from him. And soon it’ll be too late.”

“We can’t let them move you, Sam. We’ve got to find a way to delay it somehow.”

“They won’t delay it. We just have to get out of here before Sunday. Otherwise, we’re never leaving. Or at least I’m not. I’ll be locked away on bed rest. What do you think Alison meant when she said they don’t need you now?”

“She just meant that they don’t need me for ‘mating purposes’ anymore. But I’m sure they still need me.”

I didn’t agree. It sounded more sinister to me than that.
 

After dinner, I practiced thinking Drew’s words in my head while Erik listened.
 

“You sound just like him, Sam, at least in my head,”
Erik thought to me.
 

“Then we just have to hope that I can figure out the right phrase. And that Owens can get us access to the globe.”

We went to bed, but I didn’t sleep. I kept thinking of the pregnancy. I couldn’t imagine myself pregnant and I definitely couldn’t imagine myself as a mother.
 

The bed moved as Erik tossed and turned.
 

“Erik, are you awake?” I whispered.

“Yeah. I can’t sleep.”

“Me either. I keep thinking about being a mother. It’s so weird. I can’t imagine myself taking care of a baby.”

He switched to mind-talk.
“I don’t think you’ll have to take care of it, Sam. I don’t think they’ll let you see much of the baby. Maybe you won’t see it at all.”

“No. They can’t take the baby. I don’t want our baby growing up in a lab, like—”

“Like I did? Yeah, I know. I don’t want that either.”
I sensed Erik’s anger building as he thought about it. GlobalLife had taken him as a baby. They locked him up in a lab and experimented on him, as if he wasn’t human.
 

“It’s not happening, Sam. I won’t let it. I won’t let this baby grow up in a lab like I did. We have to get out of here, whether Owens helps us or not. No second guesses. No doubts. I need you to be 100% on board with this. You can’t hesitate, no matter what.”

“Okay. So how do we get access to the globe without the guards around and cameras watching?”

Erik sat up in bed.
“Forget the globe! Forget the damn alien genes! I need to get you and our child the hell out of here! We’ll worry about getting the genes later.”

“What? No! You’re almost out of time, Erik. We have to get them!”

“You have almost two years left, Sam. You’ll be able to get the timer turned off by then. I know you will.”

“But we need those genes now! For you!”

“If we can get them in time for me, great. But if not, then—”

“What are you saying, Erik?”

He laid down again and stared up at the ceiling.
“I’m saying that our priority needs to be escaping. We’ve been too hung up on getting the alien genes when we should have been focusing on how to get out of here. Getting the alien genes is way too complicated and risky. We have no idea if we’ll even be able to open that globe. Trying could mean getting caught. We have a way better chance of escaping than getting those vials.”

“We’re getting them, Erik. I’m not letting you—”

“You need the password to open that globe. If I refuse to give it to you, then it’s useless to try opening it by yourself.”

“But Erik, we have all the pieces now! We have to try!”

“We don’t have all the pieces! We have one piece. We’re just guessing about the other one. We won’t have much time to escape, Sam. And I don’t want to waste even a second trying to open that thing unless we’re absolutely sure we can do it. And as of now, we’re not even a little bit sure.”

“We’re getting those vials, Erik. If we don’t, you’ll run out of time. You’ll—”
I couldn’t say it. Letting his timer run out was not an option. At least to me it wasn’t.
“Why would you even consider this, Erik? This is your child, too. You need to be here for him. Or her. And I can’t raise a baby on my own.”

He turned to face me.
“Sam, you know my dad would help you and—”

“Stop talking like that! I’m not going along with your plan, Erik. If you want to run and try to escape, go ahead. But I’m staying behind and opening that globe. If you won’t tell me the password, then I’ll just have to guess.”

“Why are you being so stubborn about this? Do you want to risk being a prisoner here forever? And having our baby raised by GlobalLife?”

“No! Of course not! But I’ve lost enough people to GlobalLife. I can’t lose you, too, Erik. We have to get those genes.”

“We’ll find another way to get them. I still have months before anything happens to me. It’s not like my timer is running out tomorrow. We’ll figure something out, okay?”
He paused.
“Would you just think about this some more? If we try to open the globe we probably won’t escape. Don’t you get that? We can’t risk it. I need you to be safe, Sam. And now we have a baby to think about.”

I kept quiet. I had nothing more to say to him. It was true that trying to get the globe open would slow us down, lessening our chance of escape. But I couldn’t have Erik’s timer run out. I couldn’t let him die.

Early that morning while we were still in bed, someone came through the door. It was Walter. “Mr. Owens has requested to have breakfast with you this morning in the executive dining room. You need to be ready in a half hour. Wear your normal dress attire, not your lab uniforms.” Walter left without waiting for a response.
 

“Sam, Owens is meeting with us. Get up,”
Erik thought to me.

“Yeah. I heard. He better have his part of the plan ready.”

“I’ll talk to him and you listen to his thoughts. I’ll just make small talk about what we’ve been doing in the lab this week.”

We got dressed. Walter walked us to the dining room. Owens was waiting there with Allie’s mom.

“Well, I hear congratulations are in order, young lady,” Owens said as soon as we entered the room.

“Yes. Thank you.” I took a seat at the table.
 

“Eve, I know you have plenty to do to get ready for tonight. I think these two can keep me entertained.” He smiled and stood up, encouraging her to go.

“Oh, all right then. Phone my office when you’re done and I’ll send Walter to come get them.”
 

“Don’t bother. I can walk them back.” Owens waited for her to leave, then sat down with us again. “And how are you two this morning? Tell me what you’ve been up to all week.”

Erik talked while I listened to Owens.

“Do you have what you need to get the vials?”
Owens thought to me as he kept his eyes on Erik.
“Pick up your spoon for ‘yes.’”

I picked up my spoon as Owens glanced over at me.
 

“Are you certain? Put your spoon back down for ‘yes.’”
 

I kept my spoon in my hand.

“We’ve run out of time, Samantha,”
he thought.
“If you don’t think you can open it, we’ll have to forget that part. We’ll have to get the genes later.”

The cameras in the ceiling were pointed right at us, so I tried to act natural. But I had to let him know we weren’t giving up on the globe. “Erik and I have really been working hard this week in the lab,” I said out loud, “and we’re ready to try—” I struggled to find the right words so as not to give anything away.

“Whatever they need us to do next,” Erik said, finishing my statement. “Sam loves a challenge.” Erik kept talking out loud while also listening to Owens.

“Are you sure you want to try?”
Owens thought.
“It could mean you won’t get out of here. And I only have one chance to get you out. If I try again, they’ll suspect you’re getting help.”

Erik gave me his “I told you so” look, trying once again to convince me to give up on the globe. I smiled at Owens to indicate my continued determination to get the genes.

“All right. Then here’s what’s going to happen. I have several people positioned in building security and maintenance. When it’s time, a gas will be released through the ventilation system that will temporarily knock out anyone in the building. It’s the same as that floral-scented gas they pumped into your room the first day you were here except without the scent. After that, I have someone taking down the power for the building and the surrounding area. That means no lights, no security cameras, no locked gates. But the backup generator will kick in within minutes. My guys will try to delay it from coming back on to buy you time, but we need to assume they won’t be able to. That means you’ll have a maximum of 4 minutes to get the genes, get out of the building, and get off the GlobalLife property. After that, you’ll go to the meeting place that I showed you on the map.”

Erik was talking but still heard what Owens said. We both looked at him, wondering when all this was going to take place.

“This is happening tonight at 6 sharp,”
Owens thought.
“We have to get you out of here, Samantha, before they make that announcement. If the Founders find out about the pregnancy, they’ll make sure you’re locked away for good. Being pregnant, you’re even more valuable to them than you were before.”

I wanted desperately to be able to say something out loud to Owens because we still weren’t sure how to get out. The maps we were given showed exits located on the opposite side of the building. It would take too long to get there. So would we use the air ducts? Sneak out the underground garage?
 

Owens continued.
“For your escape tonight, forget about the exits on the map. I want you to simply run out the front door.”

I glanced at Erik, who seemed to be losing confidence in Owens. Run out the front door? Was he crazy? It seemed too easy to get caught.
 

Owens must have noticed the looks on our faces.
“With the power down, you don’t need to worry about the cameras. The doors will be unlocked. The guards will be unconscious. We’ve also taken care of the perimeter guards. You can just run right out. You don’t have time to go out a different way. The power will come back on, locking every exit and you’ll never get out. That’s why you have to work fast. If you can’t get that globe open in a minute or less, forget it. Just run out of the building. Run as fast as you can away from here before the lights and cameras come back on.”

Eve came into the dining room just as Owens was finishing up. “I thought I’d stop by and see how everything is going. These two should really be getting to the lab, if you don’t mind.”
 

Owens got up. “Certainly. We had a lovely talk. Will I be seeing them tonight at the announcement?”
 

“Yes, of course. We have people coming in to get them ready for the event.”

“So we’ll be leaving the lab early today?” I asked her.

“Yes. You’ll be done by 3. Natalie and Kendall will be by your room at 5 to get you ready. Our guests will arrive for cocktails around 5:30. The announcement follows at 7.”