Alik watched the little boy as he played with the toy cars. Occasionally Danny would reach out to trade cars with Alik, grinning adorably at his buddy. Years of stretching and forced Yoga with his mom had made Alik limber. So much so, that he preferred to sit with his long, muscular legs crossed. His worn blue jeans didn’t stop him from sitting like that now, his muscular forearms draped on his knees as he leaned down to play with the toddler.
Alik loved watching the innocence and wonder in Danny’s face. From the moment they found him, Alik found himself anxious to be with the little boy who had become his littlest brother. Meg didn’t have to tell Alik that there was something special about the child. He sensed the beauty of Danny’s spirit and basked in the glow of it.
Just as he would every time Danny and Alik played on the floor, after a few minutes, the little boy crawled to Alik and curled up in his crossed legs. The tall and slender little fugitive from Williams’ Facility would snuggle into Alik’s safe lap, drape his skinny, pale legs over Alik’s, and settle in for more quiet playtime.
Farrow found herself mesmerized watching Alik and Danny play. Alik’s sound effects and play action made Danny gasp or giggle, laugh or yell. Her heart would clench in her chest at the care Alik showed so easily for people in his life. And there she was, an expert marksman, a trained assassin, a skilled gymnast, deadly at hand-to-hand combat, but when it came to showing Alik how she felt, she felt inept and incompetent.
Farrow sighed deeply, these thoughts pressing heavily on her heart.
Alik looked up from the squirmy little boy in his lap and smiled at Farrow. Her heart instantly leaped in her throat. She smiled back.
Chapter 22 Cole’s Rapid Recovery
Evan and Dr. Andrews only hung around for the first few minutes after Margo was wheeled away before excusing themselves to visit the fourth floor, where Cole had been transferred. He was no longer in the ICU, but had been moved to a regular recovery room. His injuries were healing remarkably well—too remarkably.
Dr. Andrews was worried he was going to draw suspicion and was debating bringing him home to let him finish his recovery there.
Evan and Theo were talking in hushed tones just inside Cole’s door, discussing the matter.
“What did he say?”
“He kept shaking his head in amazement and talked about bringing genetic specialists he knew who are trying to determine a way to create rapid regeneration of tissues.”
“Does he suspect Cole isn’t human?”
“No, I doubt that thought has occurred to him. He seems to think that he does have some genetic or chromosomal abnormality that has increased his ability to heal. They’re going to want to perform a lot of testing on Cole’s blood, on his DNA and chromosomes.”
“And that would be a bad thing,” Evan deadpanned, trying to ease stress.
“Very bad,” Theo nodded in agreement.
“So we get him the heck out of here. Let’s take him home tonight. We can manage his care with two doctors and a medical genius in the house.”
“It’s not that simple. I can’t just force them to release Cole. He’s still a minor and cannot insist on his own release. If I insist on taking him before his doctors formally release him, I would have to answer to police and child protective services.”
Evan leaned back against the wall.
Both were lost in thought.
How can we get Cole home and away from questioning eyes? Evan asked himself and felt an answer right on the tip of his brain, but he couldn’t quite grasp the idea his mind was trying to give him.
“Dad?” Cole’s voice was still raspy from the breathing tube they’d just removed yesterday.
Startled, Theo jumped before moving to the other side of the room to see his son.
“Hey Cole, you’re up.” Theo leaned over his son’s healing face to look into the green eyes he’d gotten from his deceased mother.
“Water?” Cole managed to say.
“Sure thing. Hey, Evan’s here. He came to see you,” Theo motioned to Evan to step out of the shadows and come say hello. It was the first time Evan had spoken to his friend since the day of his accident more than a week ago.
“Hi Cole. I’m glad to see you’re feeling better,” Evan began hesitantly. What am I supposed to say to the guy who tried to kill himself because he saw my sister had chosen Creed instead of him?
“Hey, Evan. Where’s Meg?”
Inwardly Evan groaned. Dealing with emotions was not his specialty. This is where Meg would be helpful…except in this instance, she was the problem.
“Meg’s downstairs with—everyone else. We’re waiting for our mom to get out of surgery.”
Cole frowned, “What happened to Dr. Winter?”
Evan looked over at Theo, wondering if he’d just let the cat out of the bag.
“Remember when I told you they went ahead with the plan to attack the Facility in Germany?” Theo held the straw still so Cole could take a sip of the cool water he’d just brought him.
“Well, Margo was hurt. A bullet hit her spinal cord. They’re trying to see if they can reconstruct the bundle of nerves.”
“Was Meg hurt?” Although Evan knew it must hurt to talk, Cole was determined to hear about his sister.