Price of a Bounty (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!) (26 page)

The
door opened to reveal the central lab.

“Oh…my…God…”
Alexis turned on the camera as she spoke. She slowly panned across
the room so that viewers would be able to see for themselves.

At
first glance, I guessed this looked like any large hospital room.
I’d only ever been as far as a reception room before because my
father had been denied treatment. Maybe the others recognized the
techno devices throughout the room, but other than a data processor
in the corner, I sure didn’t.

Boxes
that looked like refrigerators lined the wall immediately to our
right, storage for the tissue and blood samples they took from the
soldiers, I guessed. Along the far wall I saw a row of small
machines that projected amplified images onto attached vidscreens.
Mysterious squiggly things split and moved around on the screens. To
the far left were rows upon rows of clear boxes filled with some kind
of fluid. Floating in the fluid, were human babies. Some were as
small as my thumb. Others were as large as a small purse. Many were
moving.

Despite
my ignorance, even I could see that the “genetic screening”
that Ramsey Corps advertised was just a cover. They hadn’t
just crossed the line. They had leaped right over it and sailed far
to the other side.

Dr.
John Maes was drawn to the babies, and I followed a step behind.

“Are
they alive?” I whispered. I moved closer to study the tiny
male and female forms in the clear boxes along the wall. There were
18 of them, all at different stages of development.

Alexis
turned the camera toward John as he turned toward me. She caught him
in the frame, with the containers of babies clearly positioned behind
him.

“Yes,
they’re cloning humans,” he said. “This was outlawed
centuries ago, in every realm.”

Four
exam tables stood in the middle of the room. Two doctors faced away
from us, intent upon whatever or whoever was on the exam table in
front of them. What looked like an adult form was covered with a
blanket on the far table to my right. Tubes and wires connected that
person to even more mysterious medical techno devices.

At
the sound of John’s voice, the doctors turned.

Eberhardt
grabbed Dr. Ross around the neck and aimed a gun at his head while
Raquelle, Murphy and I all pulled our guns and pointed them at the
doctors in the center of the room.

“What’s
that? Who’s there?” It was the voice of a child. He stood on
the exam table so he could see what the excitement was all about.

I
lowered my gun in shock. “Scott?”

Guy
hugged me from behind and whispered, “That’s not Scott.”

“But
it looks just like him from when he was little! I know I was even
younger…but that’s Scott.”

Guy
repeated, “That child is not Scott.” He turned me toward
the figure on the other exam table. “That’s Scott.”

-Guy-

Ending
It

We
had to bring this place down, and we had to work quickly. I started
giving orders.

“No
names,” I said to the others. I was certain the doctors
already knew who Scott and Keira were, and they may have been
familiar with Alexis, but there was no reason to compromise the rest
of the team.

I
nodded to Murphy and gave Keira a little shove in the right
direction. “Secure the doctors. Don’t hurt them.”

I
looked at Alexis. “Get a few more close up shots of the
embryos and fetuses. Then pack it up.”

Next
was Dr. Maes. “Take whatever you need to help her back up her
report.”

Then
for Raquelle. “Get to work on the data processor, and make
sure you’ve got everything. Then infect the server and bring
it down from the inside.”

Finally,
I turned my attention to Eberhardt. “Bring him along,” I
indicated Dr. Ross. Keira finished securing one of the doctors. She
saw where we were headed, grabbed the little boy’s hand and
joined us.

Scott
had been secured to the bed. Wires and tubes connected him to a
variety of medical techno devices. From what I could tell, they were
monitoring his heart rate and temperature, feeding him through an IV
and removing waste with a catheter.

Scott
turned his head toward Keira. The pain in his eyes, so intense…but
he smiled at her. Keira and I reached out at the same time to
release the straps that bound his wrists and ankles. It had been
done to his left hand, so she saw it first. I heard her gasp, but
when she looked at Scott, he shook his head and looked pointedly at
the little boy. The child climbed up the side of the bed and looked
directly into Scott’s eyes.

“Hi,
little buddy,” Scott whispered.

“Hi!”
the boy responded. “Do you hurt today?”

“Oh,
just a little,” Scott lied. “How are you feeling?
Better?”

“Yep!”
he said, then jumped down and ran over to watch Raquelle.

As
soon as the boy was gone, Keira’s face contorted with rage. She
turned to Dr. Ross. “What have you done to him?” She
lifted up her brother’s left hand so we would understand exactly what
she was asking. Scott was missing two fingers.

I
leaned forward and gently helped Scott into a sitting position. The
sheets dropped down to reveal a large gash in his abdomen. When I
looked up, I saw that Alexis had ignored my instructions and was
filming us: Scott’s condition, our reactions and Dr. Ross’s
explanations.

The
doctor backed away, but Eberhardt moved with him. “Calm down.
It’s not what it looks like.”

“It
looks like you’re cutting him to pieces!” Keira hissed.

“We
were ordered to test his limits. He easily regenerated one finger in
just over 24 hours. Now we’re seeing if he can regenerate two
at a time. And just look! He’ll be fine.” Dr. Ross had the
audacity to smile.

“Did
you give them permission to do this?” I asked Scott.

“There
was no choice.”

“What
did they take from inside?” Keira asked.

“My
kidney, for a transplant.” He nodded toward the little boy.
“I’m glad they did that. I just wish anesthesia worked.”

“An
unfortunate side effect,” Dr. Ross mumbled.

The
blood drained from Keira’s face. She pulled out her knife and
moved toward Dr. Ross and Eberhardt. I could see by the look in
Eberhardt’s eyes that he was not about to stop her. The doctor
tried to take another step backward, but Eberhardt restrained him.
This
is barbaric. They’re monsters! But she can’t…

“Keira
wait!” She hesitated. “We need to know more.”

Dr.
Ross tried to explain. “For some reason we have yet to
determine, some of the organs in the clones start to shut down around
age four. We tried transplants, but their bodies rejected them. Due
to so many failures, we even shut down the cloning part of the
program four years ago. That little fellow was the last. But your
brother and you,” he nodded at Keira and smiled. “Your
DNA holds the key. You’re the only ones who have been able to
regenerate. You’ve made it possible for us to pick up where we
left off.” Dr. Ross gestured toward the unborn babies in the
containers. “Their bodies won’t reject the transplants
because genetically, you’re the same.”

“They’re
all us?” she asked. She looked at the babies again. “Me
and Scott?”

“Yes!
The smallest one is even an April.”

Keira
looked at Scott. “Did you know about this? I mean, before?”

“No,
not until…how long have I been here?” He looked again
at the little boy, “None of this is his fault, you know.”

I
held up my hand toward Alexis and her camera. “Turn that off!”

She
did. Finally, she did.

-Scott-

No
Other Way

April
once asked me, “Do you think what Keira does is important?”
Without a doubt, I do. Like April, I often wish there were another
way, but the soldier in me knows that often what we wish for and what
is necessary are two entirely different things.

The
day of my rescue, Keira stayed behind with Eberhardt. While he set
the explosives to take out the lab, she turned off the clone wombs
one by one. We couldn’t take them with us, they never would
have survived, and we couldn’t leave them behind. The inhumane
treatment and testing of human subjects had to stop. So Keira
stayed, and one at a time, she turned off the machines. Eberhardt
told me later how she’d wept for each one in turn. In some
twisted way, they were our children, our nieces and nephews. When
they left the lab, Eberhardt secured the metal door to seal in the
blast.

Prior
to that, Guy suggested that we move the doctors into one of the
examination rooms closest to the entrance, as far from the main lab
as possible. Keira asked why he was sparing them and argued that
they would just pick up their research in another lab somewhere else
funded by some other corporation. Plus, she insisted that Dr. Ross
knew too much and could not be trusted.

While
the rest of the team returned to the main entrance, taking my four
year-old clone with them, Keira and Guy continued to argue in front
of the doctors. Keira could have just kept quiet and later, on her
way out, finished them off without Guy’s knowledge. I think
she would have too, in the past. But she wanted this all out in the
open. She would keep no secrets from Guy. In the end, they reached
a compromise, and Keira demonstrated exactly what she would do should
the doctors choose to continue their research. Dr. Renaldt and Dr.
Grere were then moved down the hall.

The
soldiers at the main entrance had been cooperative. Everyone agreed
that no one must discover their ties to the Resistance. One of the
soldiers suggested that we disable them and restrain them with cable
ties. I knew what he meant, but I was in no condition to help. And
anyway, my main priority was to protect the boy, so Guy led us to the
cars while Raquelle and Murphy took up position, raised their weapons
and fired. It would hurt like hell, but we all knew they would heal
quicker than most.

As
we drove away, the young soldier at the gate finally sounded the
alarm. A few minutes later, we heard the blast.

We
returned to safe house four, but only briefly. Before we went our
separate ways, Guy had words with Alexis. He wanted all footage of
Keira blocked from her show. But Keira once again, disagreed. She
insisted that Alexis be allowed to use the footage, thereby keeping
the truth intact. If the truth would bring down Ramsey Corps, then
that was what she wanted and to hell with any risk to her personal
safety.

In
the days that followed, I had time to recuperate. I also had plenty
of time to think.
Guy and Keira are both headstrong. He tempers
her anger, and she makes sure he understands when stricter measures
are in order. They’re a good match.
I knew Guy would
always let my sister be herself. He’d let her have her say and
let her make her own decisions. He’d ask her the right
questions. He’d continue to be her guide.

-Keira-

Alliance

It
was a Tuesday evening, about 6:00. The atmosphere was relaxed at the
Dry Martini. My jade green cocktail dress set off my eyes and
contrasted nicely with my short, curly, red hair.

“Good
evening, Kendra. I almost didn’t recognize you,” Brody said as
he sat down across from me. “You look beautiful tonight, as
always.”

He
emanated confidence now and was turning out just as we’d hoped.

“Why
thank you!” I smiled.

He
took a sip from his drink and then asked, “Have you been paying
attention to the news?”

I
nodded. “To some of it.”

“Have
you heard about Ramsey Corps?”

I
shrugged. “Didn’t she disappear? And I think I heard
somewhere that her company’s ties with the military have been
severed, but I’m not sure why. Can you explain it to me?”

Alexis
Palamara’s report had not aired in Terene, but it had aired in
many of the other realms. According to April, it was big news in
Mediterra, and Terenian Elite with family in other realms had begun
talking. Their servants listened and shared the news with their
friends and family. It caused a domino effect, so even though most
Terenians had not seen the show, everyone knew about Ramsey Corps.
Palamara’s report had the effect we wanted. It was enough to
bring serious pressure against our Gov. People wanted to make sure
stricter regulations regarding human genetic modifications and
cloning were put in place and strongly enforced.

Brody
explained what he knew. “Apparently, Ramsey Corps went too far
with their genetic studies. There’ve been reports that they were
cloning people. Her disappearance has only added to the controversy,
and the Gov is leading an investigation headed by their top agents.”

“But
isn’t cloning illegal?” I feigned surprise.

Brody
studied me carefully. Then he nodded. “That’s why Ramsey
Corps is in so much trouble, and now Cybonautics is being scrutinized
as well. Ramsey Corps uses many of their products, plus the two
corporations have always been open about supporting each others’
ideals. They even help fund many of the same Gov programs, but…”

“But
what?” I pressed.

“You
already knew all of that.”

I
smiled brightly. “So what if I did? I’m glad to hear
you know all about it. And, it’s been good for you and
CalTech, right?”

“Yes,
problems for one have resulted in problems for the other, and CalTech
has reaped the benefits.”

“That’s
great! Didn’t I say you’d make an excellent CEO? By the way, I’m
sorry to hear about what happened to your boss. Heart attack, wasn’t
it?”

Again,
Brody regarded me carefully and nodded slowly.