Creed took a deep breath before answering. “Two reasons I know of: One, after the Retribution Match, he knew what I was capable of and two, he has no idea how well-trained those three are,” Creed nodded to the other metas in the room. “If he’d known, he would have sent an entire section after them.”
Margo asked feeling a wave of nausea crash over her. “How do you know they’re trained?”
Creed felt his face flush deeply. Deciding he needed to come clean he confessed, “I saw them spar, once.”
Margo looked deeply into his eyes. “Back in Kansas, at the hospital?”
Creed’s silence was his answer.
“That was you, wasn’t it?” Her face was pale, but her expression was resolved.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry.” His eyes dropped and watched her still steady hands working on his arm with skill and precision.
“What made you stop? You could have finished me right then?” Margo asked the question she had been wondering about for months.
“The pillow—the pillow had Meg’s scent on it. Something about that was like a slap across my face. It woke me up. I couldn’t kill my brother and I—Dr. Winter, I’m not a killer.” Creed’s blue eyes glistened with sincerity and pleaded with her to believe what he was saying. “No matter what Williams’ orders, I am not a monster.”
Creed’s gripping stare unlocked as he looked back down at his arm, veins bulging. “Why didn’t you just run after the hospital—to get away from Dr. Williams?”
“I thought about it, ma’am. I really did. But then I knew he wasn’t done with you. I figured, if I stayed the course and played along, I would have the chance again to—I don’t know, make things right; to see Meg, and help you all. If it wasn’t me, he would have sent someone else, and trust me when I say, the Facility is full of soldiers who would kill without a second thought.”
“So you made sure you were chosen to come after us once we were found?” Margo sat knee to knee with the meta now that she’d finished taking his blood samples. Her hand was methodically rocking the corked vials back and forth keeping the blood inside from coagulating.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Margo stared at the young meta. She knew there was more to the story, but Creed’s body language was ridged now, as though he was unsure whether he had just said too much. And Margo was just as tense, unsure whether to believe him or fear him or both.
28 Margo’s Plan
The blood transfusion went fine, and seemed to be helping Meg’s organs to function, if only temporarily. Alik, being tall and weighing a considerable amount, could give a double-red donation, which basically meant he donated twice the amount of a regular donation. It also meant he wasn’t going to be able to donate again for six weeks.
“Thank God. That bought us some time,” Evan said to himself after checking his sister stats that evening.
Only Margo and Evan were in the lab with Meg. Everyone else was trying to catch up on some sleep. The combination of stress and exhaustion was making everyone feel edgy and raw.
Creed had returned to his hotel to get his things. The grown-ups insisted he come stay in the guest house. The others were behaving as though Creed was accepted as a friend, but Margo was too smart for that. She just believed in the old saying, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” Considering she still wasn’t sure which label fit Creed, staying at the guest house on the grounds made logical sense to her.
Margo had been thinking about Meg’s medical options, as any mother would. She knew she couldn’t just trust Williams to do the right thing, no matter what. She had to think of a way to force him to help without giving up her children.
“Evan, let me ask you something,” Margo said to him in hushed tones, obviously wanting to keep her conversation private. “How far into dissecting your meta blood samples have you gotten?”
“We’ve done a lot of research on it already, mom, but what exactly are you asking?” Evan matched his mother’s hushed volume, although there was no one anywhere within ear-shot of their conversation.
“What I want to know is: How far away are you from decoding the original serum that was given to you three as babies, from the blood?” Her eyes flashed brightly as she spoke.
“We’ve already done that, for the most part, though you know we were working past that and delving into the how and why of the deterioration factor we discovered,” Evan said.
“Well, back up. Do you have the data you need to recreate the serum given to you three?”
“You want me to create the formula?” Evan’s eyes were wide with uncertainty. “Why, mom? How would that help Meg?”
“It wouldn’t help Meg directly, but it would give us bargaining leverage with Williams,” Margo said. “We have the formula to offer in exchange for Meg’s medical assistance. See?” She looked into her youngest son’s eyes pleadingly.