The doctor and his son were staring at each other. They were exchanging unspoken emotions. I saw tenderness, fear and devotion from both of them. They were a lot alike, these two men. How beautiful, to see yourself in your child. I wondered if mom felt like this when she looked at me.
I’ve come to realize in just the last day, that I’m really good at reading people. I mean, I can’t read their minds, I don’t think. I just watch their body language and can read what they truly mean. Being isolated from people, the way I have been my whole life, I just never had a chance to use this skill. Seems like the closer I am emotionally to the person, the less I can read them. How annoying is that? No wonder I’d never noticed this ability!
In front of me, these two men exchanged one final moment before the father spoke.
“All right son, if I go, you go.”
Relief filled both of their faces. Everyone was quiet for a moment before Michelle broke the silence.
“Well, you’re sure as heck not leaving me with that coyote!”
I chuckled to myself as the doctor said, “Good grief! Looks as if we’ll have to rent a small bus to accommodate this motley crew.”
Chapter 21 Bait
Dr. Andrews was on the phone for at least an hour making his calls. I don’t know exactly who his sources were, but I trusted him not to reveal too much while pursuing as much information as possible. I hovered outside his office waiting for him to emerge. When he did, he was pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked very worried.
“Okay, tell me what you know.” I said with a forced calm.
The doctor looked up at me and sighed. “According to my sources, your mom is still in California—a small town outside Los Angeles. Apparently, there was never going to be a conference. She was contacted by someone pretending to be with a legitimate scientific organization interested in her research, but it was all an elaborate lie. She was tricked. They collected her from the airport. My sources think she’s being held by them right now, probably as bait.”
“Wait a minute. Who has her? And bait for what?” I was trying to keep it together, to keep from bursting into tears. The more I focused on the details and kept this at a business level, the more I could help. At least, that’s what I told myself.
“The Institute has her. My guess is it’s all being handled by Dr. Williams himself. Williams is the Chief Executive Officer of The Institute and he’s been looking for Margo for many years now. As for the bait, well they’re holding her because they really want to get you.”
“Me? What do they want with me? I’m just a kid!”
“They want you and your brothers. And no, you are not just regular kids. But you know that, don’t you? I mean, you have to have realized by now that you’re different.” He looked earnestly into my eyes but all he saw was confusion and pain. “She never told you? Any of it? You don’t know who you are?”
“What are you talking about?” I was honestly confused, and my heart hurt so much for my mom being held against her will. It was hard to concentrate on what he was saying to me.
“Let’s get the boys. They need to hear this too. It’s time you three heard the truth.”
Chapter 22 The Truth
Everyone gathered in the living room. The boys looked scared, and I imagined I did too. Alik, Evan and I sat together on the sofa. Cole sat on the floor close enough to my legs that I could feel his warmth. He was trying to be supportive, and I appreciated him for it.
Michelle sat next to Dr. Andrews looking slightly bored. That woman was annoying me more and more by the minute.
“Okay, I’ll tell you what I know, but I don’t know everything. Margo and I attended medical school together. She was there on military scholarship and I was working two jobs trying to put myself through medical school and take care of my wife and young son.” He stopped and looked at Cole with absolute love in his eyes.
“We were assigned to each other as lab partners one semester and were immediately great friends. My wife, Cole’s mom, Jenna loved Margo too. She would often come spend time with me and my family outside of school. Margo was like your aunt, Cole,” he added with a nostalgic smile on his face.
“I was so exhausted from my studies and work that it wasn’t unusual for me to lean on Margo to help me through a class. She was a true friend, honest and loyal. I couldn’t have graduated without her.
“After graduation, her military superiors asked her to stay on though her contract was up. Margo declined their offer. She was determined to get to work on her real goal.