The Secret (The Scinegue Series Book 1) (10 page)

Billy took immediate offense and had to bite back the words that wanted to pour out about how she was much more intelligent than this guy, just based on the fact that she knew a person’s worth was based on more important factors than the ones he had just listed. And she wore reading glasses on occasion. So what? Sheesh! They didn’t find her acceptable because of that?

Mentally calming himself he said, “I would also like a chance to review the research that led to the criteria you are using.”

Mr. Bryant’s face hardened. “You want to review the research?” His voice was frigid. “Who do you think you are? The criteria were selected by the Tops, a chosen few who are mentally and physically superior to any of us, and who have full authority to make those decisions.” His anger heightened with each word. “You might have made the cut, Mr. Roth, but you are nowhere near the Tops, nowhere near capable of even reviewing their research!”

Billy was surprised by Mr. Bryant’s vehemence and tried to remain calm himself. “I’m not asking you to let me change the criteria. I would just like to review the characteristics that my wife is supposedly lacking, and see if there is sufficient proof that those traits are dominant and would even be passed down if we had children.” Billy sat back, his mind and heart racing but visibly calm.

Mr. Bryant studied him intently. Suddenly his expression relaxed as he reached a decision. “Very well,” he agreed. “This is actually a good problem to have.
So many people are led around like cattle, doing whatever they are told without researching anything for themselves. That is what will make this process so simple,” he stated reflectively with a sly smile.

“I will try to get you permission to review the files on the criteria. I guarantee you though, the Tops
do not
make mistakes. You are obviously attached to your wife, but believe me, the world that is about to open to you will make you forget her. I think the Tops will be willing to let you review the data because they so want you to become a member of our group. They see something in you,” he looked at Billy for an instant, as if he wasn’t sure just what that something was, “and will do quite a lot to make sure you come aboard willingly.”

“
And if I find reasonable holes in the criteria I can give my input into changing it?” Billy pushed.

“Absolutely not!” Mr. Bryant exploded. “Who do you think you are?” he asked again. “This revival has been underway for generations. Do you really think one comment from you is going to change the movement that has already commenced?”

“You just said you are trying to do away with all of the people willing to be led around like cattle, and then you want me to do just that? That doesn’t make much sense, now does it?”

Blustering a bit, Mr. Bryant finally mumbled that he would have to speak with the Tops and would get back to Billy. He pushed himself to his feet in an apparent rage over Billy's comments, but calmed himself as Billy also stood.

“Forgive me, William,” his words were brisk. “I realize this is all new to you. You don’t understand how everything works yet. Let me assure you that once you have been with the company for a while and have seen the brilliance of the Tops, you will never question their decisions again. They are working for the good of us all and their ideas are capable of changing the world. I will get the data for you to review. You will see that it is not flawed in any way.”

Mr. Bryant led Billy back through the building, walking him to the front doors.

“You have been chosen to become an important part of the company.” His dark eyes bored into Billy’s, his expression was intense. “If you decline our offer we must move on to our next choice very quickly. We have no time for indecision. Good night, William.” He left Billy at the door and headed back down the hall from which they had come.

Billy somehow made it out to his truck and started the drive home. Just a few miles down the road he had to pull over. He started shaking. First just his hands, but soon the rest of his body trembled in brief spasms.

He was terrified not so much by what Mr. Bryant had said, but from the research he and Sarah had done. What they had found seemed to be real, and it was moving forward, with or without him.

T
he spicy scent of Italian food and the sound of the radio engulfed him as he walked into the house. No 80s tonight, he noticed. Sarah had selected a contemporary station with a pulsing beat and was working in time with the music. He stood quietly and watched her wielding a knife with grace, totally in her element as she made quick work of chopping a bunch of fresh green herbs.

She moved easily to the stove, added the herbs she’d chopped and gave the large pot of sauce a stir before catching a glimpse of Billy standing in the doorway. She spun toward him with a startled cry, the spoon clutched in her hand slinging red sauce through the air. She and Billy both followed the arc of the sauce and stared transfixed at the blood-like splatter it made, bold against the white of the tile floor.

Billy closed his eyes and took a deep breath fighting a sudden wave of nausea. For just the slightest moment he had imagined the sauce really was blood. Sarah’s blood.

Sarah rallied quicker than he did. “Wow! What a mess. You have to stop doing that! I didn’t hear you come in. Whew!” She laughed and put a hand to her chest. “My heart is beating like crazy.” Nerves strung tight she searched his pensive face carefully, wanting to ask a million questions but afraid to say anything in case the house really was bugged.

“I’m almost done here.” She turned back to the stove, giving the sauce a final stir before getting a sponge from under the sink to wipe the floor. “The sauce is finished. I just have to layer the pasta.”

Billy gave her a tight smile and nodded, trying to control the pounding of his heart. “Okay. I’ll go change, then maybe we can sit out back for a while?”

“I’d like to go for a walk if you’re up to it. I’ve been inside most of the day, and it’s so nice out.” She’ been making plans all evening and had finally decided a walk would be their safest way to talk.

“Sounds good to me. I’ll be back in a minute.” He strode to the back bedroom glancing around suspiciously; wondering if anyone had been in their house, wondering if it was bugged, wondering what he and Sarah had gotten involved in.

Billy took a quick shower, giving himself a couple of extra minutes to calm down, knowing he was overreacting but unable to shake the vision of Sarah’s blood on the floor. He hadn’t meant to scare her, but he couldn’t help thinking how easy it would have been for someone else to sneak up on her. Someone who didn’t believe she met the proper standards. Someone who thought they were making the world a better place by eliminating her. He pulled on some clean clothes and athletic shoes and ran a hand through his damp hair. He had to find a way to keep her safe, whatever it took.

Sarah layered two pans of lasagna pasta with the delicious meaty sauce she had just made, sprinkling a generous layer of cheese on top. One she would cook tomorrow for dinner, so it would go in the fridge. The other would go in the freezer for an easy meal when she needed something quick, but both would need to sit out and cool first. She was completely at home in the kitchen and was able to work in autopilot mode while her thoughts were torn between what she had learned that day, and a burning curiosity about Billy’s meeting.

Determined not to worry Sarah unnecessarily, Billy did what he could to bury his fears before returning to the kitchen and asking if she was ready to go.

“Almost. Let me just get these dishes dried and put away, then I’ll slip some shoes on and we can go.”

“I’ll finish here. You go get your shoes.” He took the dish and towel from her and leaned down to give her a kiss and a playful smile, trying to lighten both their moods. “By the way, it smells delicious in here. When do we get to eat it?”

He surprised a laugh out of her and she pushed him away gently. “I thought you just ate dinner?”

“That wouldn’t keep me from having a little taste, you know.” His blue eyes were hopeful.

“We are having it for dinner tomorrow. It’s not even baked yet. I don’t think it would be quite what you are expecting.” She laughed again at his disappointed expression and headed to the bedroom for shoes. “I’ll be right back.”

Outside, the evening was pleasant with just a nip in the early fall air. Billy and Sarah walked hand in hand by the car again positioned across the street from them. The two men in it were doing everything they could to look nonchalant, one fumbling to open a newspaper, the other apparently trying to fix or see something under the dash.

“Not too obvious,” Sarah said drily after they passed them.

“Let’s go a little further before we talk,” Billy whispered.

They had only walked about a block when Sarah squeezed his hand. “Don’t look up, but have you noticed the cameras on the electric poles? Have they always been there?”

Billy glanced at a pole as they passed. “Not that I’ve ever noticed. Have you seen anyone doing any work around here lately?”

“No, not that I remember.”

“Let’s just keep walking towards the park and see how far they go.”

“When do you think it will be safe to talk? Do you think they can hear us with those things?” Sarah tipped her head toward one of the cameras.

“I don’t know. I’m sure someone could read our lips if they wanted to. Be sure to look away from the camera when you talk. We’ll just have to be quiet and hope for the best.”

Sarah turned her face away from the camera and towards Billy. “I want to hear everything about your dinner with Mr. Bryant, but I had something interesting happen today, too.”

“Are you okay?” Billy stopped and grabbed her arms, forgetting the cameras for a minute in his concern.

“Shh...Yes, I’m fine, but we don’t need to go to the farmer’s market Saturday. A woman named Linda Brown stopped by today with a basket of fresh produce for sale, and made sure to let me know she was from the farmer’s market and that we have a mutual acquaintance.”

“What did she say?”

“Not much at first. I invited her in and made a big deal over how great her veggies and herbs looked. I even bought some for the sauce I made tonight, and then I asked her if she wanted to come outside and see our garden. She gave me a little knowing smile, then played her part for anyone who might have been listening, said she would love to see our garden and asked if we ever considered selling anything at the farmer’s market ourselves.

“Once we went out back and were away from the house, she started talking a mile a minute.” They paused to let a car pass before crossing the street. “She asked how much I knew, and I told her probably just the basics. She said she and her husband could fill us in if we were able to meet with them. She just wanted to give us some general advice for now.

“She verified that our house is bugged, and that the car across the street is watching us. She also said our phones would be tapped if they haven’t been already, and that our computers are probably being monitored. She pulled a small black connector out of her basket from under the vegetables and told me how to connect it to the computer so it will send out erroneous information, so the websites we visit can’t be tracked. She did warn me not to store anything on the computer that we don’t want anyone to see.”

“What’s she like?

“She’s older than us, maybe mid-fifties, and very sweet, but I could tell she could be very tough if the situation warranted. She and her husband used to work for Scinegue at some point, so they know a lot about it. She said they believed it was a great company at the time. Now, some of the contacts they still have on the inside are telling them that things are changing. And not for the better.

“She and her husband always had an interest in living self-sustainably and a desire to teach others to as well, but they believe it's reaching a point where it will be mandatory for people to be able to provide for themselves just to survive.”

Sarah gave Billy a troubled look. “She didn't come right out and say it, but she made it sound like the public food supply might not be safe—as if the company really is involved in eugenics and might use that as a way to get rid of people they think need to be eliminated.”

She shook her head. “How could this kind of stuff be going on right here in the United States without us knowing anything about it?”

“I’ve heard about it, but it has always been in theory. I don’t think the company has always had this mentality, though. I think they’ve been building up to this point. Mr. Bryant made a point of letting me know things will be progressing very quickly from now on.”

“What else did he say?” Sarah asked with morbid curiosity.

“Finish telling me about the lady who came over first.”

“Linda. Well, there’s not much else other than they would like us to meet them tomorrow evening if we can get away without being followed. She implied that she knows what Bob wants you to do on the inside.”

Billy absorbed that information then started to fill Sarah in on his dinner. “Mr. Bryant took me to a restaurant that’s actually in the Scinegue office building.”

Sarah stepped over a small branch. “I didn’t know there’s a restaurant there!”

“No kidding. Me neither, and I think there’s a lot that we don’t know about the company. They must have some powerful connections with the media to keep things as quiet as they do. I have to say, the food there is amazing. Beyond belief good.” Billy gave Sarah a lopsided grin. “So good I can’t even begin to describe it.”

Sarah laughed. “I get it. The food is good. What did you learn about the company?”

“The food was a big part of our conversation.” When Sarah shook her head and laughed at him again, he continued, “No, really. I started out asking why the food is so good, and Mr. Bryant went from telling me how the seeds are specially selected and growing conditions are perfect, blah, blah, blah, to using that as an analogy—for people.”

Sarah looked up, her eyes wide with surprise. “Really?”

“Yep. Just like that he transitions into how if perfect people are selected and given proper growing conditions and education, they can contribute much more to the world.”

Arriving at the deserted park they each chose a swing. “Do you think it’s safe to talk here?” Sarah asked.

Billy glanced around. “I forgot to look for cameras as we got farther from home, but I don’t see any around here. Let’s just try to be quiet.”

“So, from talking to Mr. Bryant, do you think Scinegue’s intentions are as sinister as we are imagining them, or do they really just want every person to have a chance to be the best they can be?”

“I think sinister is a pretty accurate word.” Billy looked down and kicked the ground lightly with his heel, setting his swing in slow motion. “Mr. Bryant was adamant about starting with a perfect plant, or person. I don’t think they consider anyone that doesn’t meet their expectations worth the trouble of working with.”

Billy darted a look at Sarah swinging quietly beside him. He didn’t want to tell her the rest, but for them, this was probably the most important part. “He said they want me to take a different role in the company.”

“We pretty much expected that from what Bob said, right?”

“He also told me a ‘suitable spouse’ will be chosen for me,” he said quietly, watching for her reaction.

Sarah looked at him sharply.

He rushed on, “I reminded him I already have a more than suitable spouse, but he blew that off. Said you had some flaws and that Scinegue would handle the divorce.”

“Just like that, huh?” Sarah asked with an indignant snort and gave her swing a harder push.

“He tried to leave it at that, but I persuaded him to let me review the criteria they are using to judge people. He said I could look it over.”

“What good do you think that will do? Do you really think that after all of the years this company has put into making up their list of the perfect person, you are going to be able to look at that list and tell them it’s wrong, and they will just believe you and change their whole plan?” Sarah asked in disbelief.

“No,” Billy answered simply. “But it will buy us some more time.”

Billy and Sarah continued to swing for a couple of minutes, each lost in their own thoughts before Billy spoke again. “Mr. Bryant wants me to do my normal job for the next couple of days until they can replace me. He said the ‘Tops’, those are the decision makers in the company, are really interested in me, but he doesn’t know what my new position would be.”

Looking at Sarah he gave her a self-depreciating grin. “I have to admit, it does make me feel kind of good to know they think I have something worthwhile to contribute to the company.”

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, and he just held up a hand and laughed. “I know, I know. Crazy, right? Just being honest, though.”

“Well, I’ve always known how incredible you are. It didn’t take a job offer from some psychos to show me that.” Sarah laughed with him. “But I can understand how you feel,” she conceded, and reached for his hand before sobering. “Guess they won’t be making me any job offers,” she said matter-of-factly, and Billy cut a look in her direction.

She caught his eye and gave him a shrug and unhappy smile. “It’s just weird knowing that there are people who don’t even know me who would be happy if I died.” Billy squeezed her hand in his, knowing she was right but not liking that thought at all.

The sky had grown dark, and there was just a small lamp lighting the park so they decided to return home. Walking back, Billy made a point of looking for any cameras on the electric poles, and noticed they didn’t start until they were almost to their house. He discreetly pointed it out to Sarah. She looked up then shook her head.

“This is all just so crazy. Why did you have to be so smart and perfect and get us wrapped up in it?”

“I’m sorry,” he answered, looking down at the sidewalk. “I would never have gotten involved with this by choice.” He looked her in the eye. “You know I’m going to do everything I can to protect you, right?”

Sarah nodded and sighed before tucking her hair behind her ear. “Sorry about that. I meant for it to be a joke, but it came out sounding pretty serious. I know this isn’t your fault, and I don’t blame you. It’s just like we’ve been thrown into some kind of huge conspiracy, only we aren’t the conspiracy type. Ya know?”