“Well, we can try to revive any of these other guys and get them to talk, if you want, Meg.” Alik said with a slight kick to one of the guy’s boots.
“As much as I want to know, we don’t have time. We’ve got to go. They weren’t planning to kill us, but they didn’t seem to care either way about Dr. Andrews and Cole. Besides, I’m sure the rooms around us heard the fight and someone has called the police. We need to get out of here. Fast.”
“I agree,” Evan said grabbing his bag. “But before we go, lemme check the SUV real quick for explosives, tracking devices, or anything else out of place.”
“Good call,” Alik smiled, appreciating his brother’s mechanical prowess and thinking. Dang, the three of us make a good team.
Chapter 32 Rage Begets Reason
Inside ten minutes we were back on the road. Everyone was beyond hungry again, so we went to a fast-food drive-thru and ordered lots of breakfast tacos. Have you ever had these things? Oh, my gosh, they are flour tortillas wrapped around juicy sausage bits and fluffy eggs with cheddar cheese and served with salsa packets. I’m drooling just thinking about them.
I started chuckling to myself. I never realized how much I’d been missing out in the food department because I lived in a bubble on the ranch all those years. I’m going to have to be careful not to pack on the pounds out here in the real world.
“What’s so funny?” Cole’s voice woke me from my food-filled daydream.
My sheepish grin and accompanying blush were completely genuine. I couldn’t tell him what I was really thinking. So instead I reversed the moment and asked, “So what happened last night? Were you that desperate to sleep in a chair?”
Now it was his turn to blush. “I just thought you needed some real rest,” he looked down at the edge of his shirt and shrugged casually.
“That was very sweet of you. I appreciated it, right up until the thug-fest.” We smiled at each other warmly.
“So…Evan, have I ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?” Alik was grinning at Evan.
“Why no, Alik. Thank you! You know, I noticed when you passed me the last packet of salsa for my breakfast taco this morning. That was very considerate of you!” Evan batted his eyes obnoxiously at Alik, and they exchanged goofy grins.
“Will you two shut up?” I barked. For the next ten minutes or so, I stared out the window and vowed to get my revenge. Stupid brothers.
In a decided effort to change the subject, I asked Dr. Andrews the question none of us had dared ask, but of which we were desperate to know the answer. “So what are we going to do when we get to The Institute? I mean, we know that’s where Dr. Williams is and that’s probably where he’s holding mom. But I can’t imagine they’re just going to open the doors wide and say, ‘Come on in, kids’.”
“Sure they are, Meg. They’ll be happy to have us walk in to the building; the problem will come when we want to walk out.” Evan specified.
“He’s right. We really need to come up with a plan. And we don’t have that much time to formulate it. We’ll be in California by nightfall. Are we going to try to break into the facility? Are we going to walk in there guns blazing? Is there a way to offer a deal? I mean, what do we know about this guy besides the fact that he’s a mad scientist bent on destroying children for his own sick gains?” Alik was thinking outloud.
“All I know about Dr. Williams is pretty much what I’ve already told you. He’s the guy in charge of The Institute.” Dr. Andrews stared at the road in front of him thinking.
“Well, wait a minute. How does he get his funding? Is there no board of directors he has to report to? Shareholders?” Evan’s voice trailed off as he was thinking.
“How about an ethics committee?” Cole added cynically.
“I think he does enough legitimate pharmaceutical business to afford his pet projects like Infinite. As far as I know, he reports to no one except the Food and Drug Administration, and they sure seem to have turned a blind eye to what’s really going on behind those walls,” said Dr. Andrews.
“Why can’t we go to the police or the feds?” Cole asked sensibly.
With a deep sigh, I started to explain, “Listen, until two days ago, I thought I was just a regular kid living with a quirky mom who wanted me and my brothers to live an ‘unpolluted lifestyle that focused on our intrinsic gifts and the development of our intellect’. Needless to say, everything has changed.”