The River (22 page)

Hawk shook his head. "But this is impossible."

"Actually it's not," Jake said. "Each of us has undergone a cellular and molecular metamorphosis."

TJ frowned. "What's that mean, dawg?"

"It means your bodies have stopped aging," Lawrence replied. "When you crossed, your cells were put on hold."

"And the shot?" Gary asked.

"A cellular rejuvenation serum filled with microscopic nanomachines. If you try to cross back, they'll set one of the nanobots to self-destruct. Like they did to my good friend Arnold Schroeder."

Jake saw Gary flinch.

The man pulled up his sleeve and stared in horror at the small bruise on his arm. "Nanobots?"

"Project Ankh," Lawrence said sourly. "Ankh means
life
. With each injection, the serum slows the aging process. Within the next few hours, you'll start to notice tiny changes. Gray hair will regain its color."

Gary frowned. "I don't have much hair."

"It'll start to grow back. Your muscle tissue will become more firm. Wrinkles will start to fade. Hearing and eyesight will improve. And your age will eventually be suspended."

"I don't wanna be young," TJ groaned. "I just wanna go home."

"When we find a way to eliminate the rogue bots, you'll be able to go home."

"And if we can't stop the bots?" Jake asked.

TJ let out a grunt. "We'll get old real fast and die."

"This place must cost billions to keep operational," Hawk said in awe. "How do they afford it?"

"In this year, most of the Canadian government, the military and the wealthy have paid for the serum," Lawrence replied bitterly. "An '
extreme makeover'
for the rich, powerful and famous."

"Yeah," Jake muttered. "They get to watch while their family and friends wither away from old age."

"What do they want with all of us?" TJ asked quietly.

The answer to that question terrified Jake.

"Your brains," Lawrence whispered. "All of you, except the women and Jake are expendable. We're low on brain stem cells. We have five expectant mothers who are almost to term, but we only have enough serum for the rest of the month and―"

"How do we get out of here?" Jake cut in.

"I don't know. I don't think there is a way out."

"Then we'll have to find one," Gary said firmly.

Jake noticed the sudden spark in the man's eyes. The promise of a challenge, perhaps, because suddenly the introverted computer programmer from Ottawa looked as though someone had lit a fire under him.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

Gary bit his lip. "When I first met you all, I told you I was a programmer. Well, that's not entirely true."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm a force to be reckoned with."

Shit! Could Gary Ingram possibly be one of Paughter's men?

"Actually, I'm the best programmer and hacker in Canada."

Jake's head snapped up. "You're a hacker?"

"That's a spy, right?" TJ asked.

Gary flashed a wide grin. "You could say so. I subcontract out to the Canadian government and the military. There isn't a program I haven't been able to crack. I've even hacked into Homeland Security."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jake asked, his eyes narrowing.

"This trip was my once a year vacation. The only time I get to unwind."

"Well, it's just turned into a working vacation, Gary. What do you have in mind?"

"First thing I need to do is get into the Centre's security system and see if we can just walk out the doors. Of course, the guards will present a challenge. I'll check the video surveillance system. Once I figure out how to jam it or loop it, I'll look for building plans. Floor plans, maintenance, air, heating and exhaust vents."

"Don't forget, the lab's bugged," Lawrence warned them. "Everything you do out there will be on surveillance and audio."

"Whisper mode," Gary winked.

The man was certainly in his element around computers, Jake noted. Especially once they left Lawrence's room and ventured out into the main lab.

"Jake," Lawrence said loudly, for benefit of the audio surveillance. "I'll find Hawk and TJ something to do. Then I'll show you the AQUA-1250. It's the newest cell sorter. We're having some problems installing the software so it's not online yet."

Gary sat down at one of the computers. "I'll look at it―if you can show me how to operate this thing."

The monitor was sleek and compact, and currently disabled. The only other object on the desk was a thin slab of metal. No sign of a keyboard.

"Tap the screen in the center," Lawrence said. "Two times."

Gary did as he was instructed and the monitor lit up, along with the metal slab.

"It's a touch keyboard," Lawrence said, leaning down to demonstrate. "See? Rest your wrists on the front edge and the keys light up. Just type like you normally would. To stop it from recording keystrokes, just take your hands away and the keyboard shuts down. The monitor is also a touch screen. It's voice activated too."

The programmer's eyes widened.

Gary was in heaven, and Jake only hoped the man remembered where they were.

"Work fast, Gary. We don't have much time."

Lawrence showed TJ and Hawk to a long stainless steel counter where he instructed them to use an eyedropper to place a small amount of serum onto several slides for testing. After a few minutes he returned to Jake's side, then led him over to a sleek piece of equipment.

The future cell sorter.

"The technology's unbelievable!" Jake said, awed.

The AQUA-1250 had multiple compartments and functions, accomplishing ten times the job in a quarter of the time it took the machines back in 2005. It even recognized cancerous cells.

"Camera to your right,"
Lawrence whispered.

Jake studied the security camera perched high on the wall near the door.

"Dr. Hawthorne," Gary said suddenly. "I think I see the problem with the cell sorter."

"Can you fix it?"

"I think so but it'll take me about a couple of hours."

Lawrence hesitated as if he were thinking about it.

Finally he nodded. "Okay, go ahead."

Jake released a pent-up breath.

Hopefully their plan would work and Gary would have enough time to get into the Centre's system before security started wondering what he was doing.

"We have to find your other friends," Lawrence murmured, rubbing his strained eyes. "Peter and Francine, was it?"

"Francesca."

Jake hoped that she was all right. Lawrence had no news of the woman. No one seemed to know where she was. Yet, according to VanBuren she was in the Centre…somewhere.

Francesca was a hellcat, he mused. He pitied the men who came up against her. Blackwell and his armed guards would be no threat to her and her fiery Italian temper.

Peter, on the other hand, was just a kid. A smart, young, resourceful kid who would be better put to use than killed. The boy certainly wouldn't be a threat to Paughter or his men. If they were smart they'd try to recruit him. Peter was young enough to be scared and naïve enough to think he had no other choice.

Jake thought of Del.

Thank God she was safe.

His feelings for Lawrence's daughter surprised him, but he wouldn't deny them. Not any longer. He ached to see her, to be reassured that she was all right.

I'm going to get you out of here, Del.

He wished to God that he had never laid eyes on the future.

It's no place for any of us. It's just an accident…waiting to happen.

And according to Lawrence, it had already happened.

Eighteen

R
estless and annoyed, Del stabbed the button beside her bed for the fifth time. Someone had better start answering her questions. The pregnant nurse had been no help at all. Other than telling her that her father was somewhere nearby.

Why haven't you come to see me, Dad?

She heard a sharp, metallic click.

The door opened and Kate's anxious young face peered inside.

"Need something?"

Del scowled. "I want to see my dad."

The girl threw a furtive look over her shoulder, then darted into the room and closed the door.

"I'll let him know. I'm sure he'll visit you when he's able. Why don't you have a nap or read a magazine?"

Del straightened, walking toward the redheaded nurse whose belly seemed even larger than earlier.

"Can you tell me why my door is kept locked?"

Kate stiffened. "We don't want you wandering the halls. You might hurt yourself."

Del's eyes drifted to the girl's stomach.

What was it like to feel life growing inside, to be a creator of another living, breathing soul?

Too bad she'd never know.

"When are you due?"

"Next month."

Kate was farther along than Del had realized.

"Your husband must be very excited."

The girl flinched and fingered her ID tag.

Del's brow lifted. "Boyfriend, then."

Kate's demeanor underwent a rapid transformation. She drew herself up to her full height, a bare five feet, and examined Del with cool eyes. Turning toward the door, she wrenched it open and tossed an angry look over her shoulder.

"I was chosen by a great man. And it's an honor."

With that, Kate slipped from the room.

Del was baffled.
What the hell is going on?

A sharp rap on the door signaled the arrival of someone new, and she held her breath, praying that it was her father.

It wasn't.

A pale-faced man entered the room, his shoulder-length blond hair tied back in a ponytail. He wore a silver jacket over sleek, black dress pants. He had the air of money and power.

Del disliked him immediately.

"Are my friends here?" she demanded.

When the man smiled, it was the kind of smile that attempted to be genuine, but failed. It didn't quite thaw his unfriendly, glacier blue eyes.

"They're being taken care of."

She glared at him. "I want to see my dad. Now."

"All in due time, my dear."

The man's voice was vaguely familiar.

"How are you feeling, Delila?"

"I feel great. Ready to get out of here, Mr…uh…"

The man's eyes narrowed. "Call me Hans."

"Hans," she said, ignoring the sudden bad taste in her mouth. "I expect to see my dad today. After that we'll be on our way."

Hans perched on the edge of her bed.

"That could be arranged. But first your father has to give us some information."

"What kind of information?"

The man sighed heavily. "It seems he's misplaced a file somewhere. One that is vital to our research here at the Centre. If he gives it to us, we'll let you go. All of you."

"Including my dad?"

Hans rose slowly, moving toward the door.

"Here's the deal, Delila. You convince your father to give us the file and I'll let him go…home."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

The man's shoulders twitched slightly. "I'll give you something as a sign of good faith. What do you want? Other than your father, of course."

Del gulped in a breath.

What did she want? That was simple. She wanted the one thing that made her feel safe.

"I want Jake Kerrigan, here in my room…for one night."

The words were barely out of her mouth before she realized how they sounded.

Apparently Hans had the same thought.

"Now what would you two be doing all night long?"

Revolted by the man's lewd insinuation, she crossed her arms and thought of Jake. She had asked for him because he was the one person who might be able to figure a way out of this mess. The one person she and her father both trusted. She had no intention of doing anything with him. Certainly not what Hans was thinking.

But, hell! Let the asshole think what he wants.

"Just bring him here. Then I'll talk to my dad."

With a nod, Hans turned and walked out of the room.

She flopped into a chair.

Bored and lethargic, she flipped through the magazines stacked on the table beside her. She had never even heard of them before. Oddly, the pages were filled with advertisements for beauty products, yet there were no wellness articles, no health tips.

None of the normal
How to Get Rid of Acne
or
PMS in Teens
.

Frowning, she dropped the copy of
Beauty & Brains
on the table.

The magazine opened automatically to a photo of a man in a white lab coat. According to the article, he was working on an experimental drug called
Project Ankh
.

Examining the photo, she let out a startled gasp.

The man in the lab coat was someone she knew.

Her father.

Without warning, the door to her room swung open.

Jake stumbled inside and the sight of him made her eyes water. As soon as the door slammed and the lock clicked into place, she flung herself into his arms.

"I thought you were dead, Jake."

"So did I."

"Where are we? What is this place?"

He took her hand and led her to the chair. Then he began pacing the floor, a grim expression on his face.

"Del, there's no easy way to tell you this. It's 2031."

2031?

"You mean…the year?"

Gingerly, she picked up the magazine.

Her mouth opened and a strangled sound rose from the back of her throat as she read the date on the far left corner of the cover.

February 2031.

She listened in stunned silence while he told her about the crystals in the cave. When he reached the part about Vance Paughter, Hans VanBuren and the mysterious Director of the Centre, her eyes narrowed.

"I've met VanBuren. He's an arrogant prick. What about this Director fellow?"

Jake shook his head. "Not even your father knows who he is. It's not VanBuren, because he mentioned the Director."

"So it could be this Paughter guy. Have you met him?"

"No. And your father hasn't seen him in a year, which is peculiar considering Paughter is a bigwig in the Centre."