“My plan is simple,” Farrow said, seriously. “Send me to Germany. For all Williams knows, I died back on the Big Island. I can easily come up with a cover story about being injured.”
“Wait, Farrow, he’s never going to fall for it. How’s he going to believe you didn’t call him in all this time?” Alik asked, worry pressing the creases in his forehead.
“I’ll tell him a half-truth. I was considering going AWOL during those last couple of days on the island, even before I was wounded. I’ll tell him, I considered deserting because I was angry with him for abandoning me to die in the jungle. He never came for me. It would seem a logical reaction. It’s not far from the truth, really.” Farrow waited while the room thought.
“What will you do once you’re back inside the walls of the Facility, Farrow? How are you going to get to Creed? How would you get him out?” Evan couldn’t keep his barrage of questions to himself any longer.
“Well, I know that place inside and out. I had access to just about every part of it. I know the metas—or more accurately, they know and fear me.” She looked guilty. “I kinda had a reputation. It was my way of surviving life there. No one messed with me. It was one of the reasons Williams chose me as his personal assistant. He respects violence and intelligence, but most of all he respects power. I’m not proud of how I got that reputation, but maybe now I can use it for good,” she looked up hopefully.
“You’re not going alone,” Alik said.
“I agree. We’re going with you,” Evan nodded.
“I am so in,” Meg smiled genuinely for the first time in two months.
All of them turned to look at Margo for her reaction. She was rubbing her temples. Meg knew her mother had a stress headache starting right behind her eyes.
“Mom?” Alik gently prompted.
She didn’t respond for a moment. Slowly she stopped rubbing her temples and looked up. She looked to have aged five years in the last two hours. “I can’t think of any other way. We’re going to have to go in to get him. Farrow is our best bet at gaining access to inside the compound. I wish to God we didn’t have to do this, but I really can’t think of any other way. He won’t expect us to come into his lair; we’re going to need that element of surprise to pull this off.” She leaned forward in her seat and grabbed a pencil and notepad from the drawer in the coffee table.
Cole, who had been quietly listening during much of the conversation, spoke up now, “What if he doesn’t want to escape?”
All eyes turned to look at Cole.
He shrugged, “Listen, I’ll join any game plan you come up with—wholeheartedly. I just need us to imagine the possibility. Meg, you said he doesn’t remember any of us. He doesn’t even remember leaving the Facility. What makes us think he’s going to jump on board when we find him? Farrow, you’ve explained how brainwashed the metas are in the compound—how you were taught to think the outside world only hates and wants to destroy metahumans, right?” He looked to the girl waiting for acknowledgement.
Farrow nodded and sighed sadly.
“So if we show up and say ‘We’re here to rescue you,’ do you think he’s just going to agree and come quietly?” Cole was looking around the room.
“No, he’s not.” Farrow’s voice was crisp with assuredness.
Several people in the room cursed in frustration, including Meg
“You’re right, Cole.” She sat staring at the fluid dripping into her vein, feeling helpless.
“There’s got to be a way to get him out,” Evan blurted.
The room was quiet as they all thought.
Maze whined, sensing their frustration.
Margo finally broke the silence. “Well, we need to take things one at a time. First, we need to get you well, Meg. We wouldn’t be able to do anything tonight anyway. Let’s all think on it.” She looked around the room at her family then added, “And pray about it.”
Her mother leaned over and rubbed her boney shoulder reassuringly. Meg felt a wave of love from her and couldn’t help but look up into her soft dark eyes.
She smiled weakly thinking, thank God these people love me even when I am sick and feel ugly and dark.
Evan turned to her, and checked the I.V. bag. “Meg, I’m going to get you started on meds immediately, okay? I’ll talk it over with the parents and we’ll get a script called in for you. I also think you need a sleep aid. It will help turn off your mind and let you rest. I’m worried about your empath gift triggering itself to seek Williams again. If we get your brain to a relaxed state, then it can heal that much faster and stop recreating trauma for itself.”
She nodded quietly imagining being able to sleep with no nightmares. It had been so long ago, it felt like a different life.