He had quite enough of this impudence. How dare her! Her little display of ungratefulness left a serious mark on his neck. He could barely swallow or talk.
The pain medicines he administered to himself kept wearing off too fast, so he’d just established his own morphine pump. All he had to do was push a little button and a wave of deliciously numbing medicine pumped into his vein. But he had to be careful not to overdo it. He had to maintain all his faculties. After all, he had a lot of work to do, and he needed a clear head to do it.
His personal bodyguards made very short work of Ms. Winter. Considering the injuries she brought on herself, she may very well die before the children arrive. No matter, she was just the bait. The true goal has always been to bring the children home. Once they’re here, he was sure they could be persuaded to embrace their roles.
They had so much catching up to do. So much had happened since they were stolen away and he was anxious to involve them in all his newest ventures. He had great plans for them. Ah, so much to do, so little time.
His group of four collectors had failed him miserably.
He pressed the little button for the second time in five minutes.
But they served a purpose they knew nothing about. No matter. A good general always sends his pawns in first.
The children were coming to him just as he had planned. When they arrived, he would have a welcome home party the likes of which they’ve never seen.
A morphine-induced grin showed jagged, yellow teeth.
The children will see how much they were missed. The gifts he had given those children had been squandered by that wretched woman all these years.
Now, the children would have the long overdue opportunity to thank him for all he did for them.
He was anticipating that moment with great zeal.
Chapter 38 Immaculate
It was late. We arrived in town around 7pm and decided to drive around The Institute to get a feel for what kind of security they may have.
The center building stood seven stories tall and covered one square block, at least. There were four smaller buildings connected to the main structure at its corners. They stood glistening stone-white in the setting sunlight. Blackest windows etched into a symmetrical pattern across the external walls. The entire compound covered four square blocks and was maintained flawlessly.
Every shrub and tree was trimmed perfectly into neat little cubes or spheres. The deep-green grass encircling the buildings looked soft enough to sleep on. There was a stone pebble walking path that snaked around the complex intentionally highlighting the immaculate landscaping, but it was just for looks. There was no one on it except the landscaping crew of guys. They must be out here daily to keep this place so pristine.
An inconspicuous steel rectangular sign was angled near the entrance of the main building. It simply read: The Institute of Neurobiological Studies - Dr. Kenneth Williams CEO.
Oh, yeah, this guy was full of himself and not afraid to plaster his name all over a building that housed horrific and illegal scientific practices. He truly must see himself as exempt from the law, from ethics and from humanity.
Although I didn’t see any security as we circled the complex, Evan did. His trained eyes knew what to look for. He pointed out cameras, could spot “hidden” sensors, and even got an idea what kind of system and guards would be just inside the lobby doors.
“Alik, does this bring back memories?” I asked my brother gently, not sure if coming here had just opened Pandora’s Box.
He pressed his lips together tightly and squinted straight ahead looking like he was really concentrating on the road. I gave him some time to answer. I felt him working through his inner turmoil with the flood of images passing through is mind while collecting the necessary blueprint data we needed.
“Yeah, I remember everything.” He gestured with a nod of his head at the large center building. “The executive suites were on the top floor of that building. Williams’ office should be there. Floors two through six were offices for researchers, developers, assistants, etcetera.”
His blue eyes looked with unrestrained hatred at the smaller building on the southwest corner. “And that’s where they kept us while they worked on their top-secret Infinite Project. That’s where they made the metahumans.”
All three of us stared at the building with our personal degrees of loathing. Being here was going to be harder than I imagined. I could feel my brother’s anguish and it nearly caused me a physical reaction.
I needed to concentrate. It was time for me to try to find mom.