Code, p.10
Code, page 10
Tell her I love her. Mitch realized more with every day how much she meant to him.
“Novak can kiss my ass. That’s what you should tell her to tell him,” Mitch spat.
Russ sighed. “You’ve held yourself together all this time. Don’t lose control for all of our sakes. Think of Lydia. If you go down, we all go down.”
“What do you mean, think of Lydia?” Mitch tugged the belts around Justine to ensure she was strapped in and retook the wheel. They had gotten out of there safely—but barely. He welcomed the reprieve.
Russ flushed when he sank into the passenger seat. “Come on, Mitch. We’ve been working together for a while; I can recognize a co-mance when I see one.”
Mitch snorted. “Co-mance? Never heard of it.”
He furrowed his brow. “You know when your coworker becomes a love interest. Coworker romance.”
“That’s lame.” Mitch stared at the fluffy white clouds in front of him.
“But I’m right, aren’t I?”
Mitch didn’t answer. He felt strange opening up to Russ. Until recently, they had never seen eye to eye on anything. Russ was by the book and Mitch was a free spirit, and Mitch freely admitted he was a prick sometimes.
“Tell Lydia to tell Novak things went as planned. That is all he needs to know.”
Mitch wanted to hear her voice, but he was afraid he might get a bit emotional. He checked the hologram map and leaned back, allowing the autopilot take control.
He didn’t want to think of Tessa, or the creatures, or Rhett, or anyone else. But he did, all the way back to their base.
Chapter Fifteen — The Garden
Ava
My palms twitched after I had breakfast the next morning. It happened every time I ate, but the side effects were shorter. Again, I kept this from Novak.
The reaction caused no pain. It had freaked me out when it happened the first time, but now I spent half my time wondering why this was happening to me. It could be a reaction to the serum meant to sap my powers. Or was maybe my body adapting.
My heart jolted when the door opened. I slid off my bed, expecting Novak or Gene, but I was quite surprised by my visitor, who wore an ISAN gray training outfit.
“Payton? What are you doing here?” I didn’t know whether to hug him or kill him.
He lowered his amber eyes to my hands and my feet, then up to my face.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” I crossed my arms.
Not yet at least.
“I came to take you to shower, then to see your mother.”
At those words, I wanted to kill him.
“You knew she was alive all this time?” My angry voice bounced off the walls. I took a step toward him with my fists rounded, and he retreated a step.
“No, Ava.” He placed out a hand. “I swear I didn’t know she was your mother until today. Mr. Novak never told me.”
Only because he looked genuinely sorry did I yield.
Calm down, Ava. Get him on your side. Payton had been on my team. He had watched my back as many times as I had his.
“Fine. I believe you,” I said in a softer tone.
He eased and gestured to the wall that had closed. “Follow me. Please don’t try anything or I’ll have to push this button.” He showed the same gadget Gene had used on me.
Recalling the pain, I decided to comply and stay quiet.
“Listen very carefully,” he said when we exited the room and turned right.
Cool air and sterile scent accosted me. The corridor was wider and brighter than I remembered. His strained voice was a cue he needed to tell me something, something we’d used on missions together. He planned to give me information indirectly.
I gave a curt nod, my bare feet cold on the tile floor. “How long have I ... I mean, you been here?”
“Recently.” He flashed three fingers by his side then curled them inward.
That meant three days had passed.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked and tugged and yanked Helix inside me.
The map of this facility flickered and died before I could grasp the layout. I couldn’t even do that a day ago, so it felt like a triumph. I had to keep trying.
“You forget so easily. I’m taking you to bathe. There’s nothing there except for the showers and toilet. So don’t bother looking for mirrors. You can’t see yourself. They’re just walls.”
They wouldn’t have mirrors since they might be broken and used as weapons. But the walls ... he was telling me there might be a spy on the other side.
“Fine.” I spoke bitterly to keep up the pretense and kept a steady pace with him down the gray hallway, which reminded me of the ISAN facility I had once called home.
“We’re going to turn right. Don’t think you can escape. I have this, remember?” He held up the gadget again.
Left equals escape. I mentally noted that.
“We’re down at the basement level, so don’t try anything.” He poked my biceps three times.
Three. Three levels?
We banked right to another hallway and stopped.
Payton jerked a chin at an arched entryway. “This is it. There are clothes on the counter to change into. I’ll wait for you out here.”
The small bathroom had four stalls and two showers. I stripped off my pj’s and stood under the warm water. After I washed up, I put on the clothes laid out for me. Loose, gray cotton pants and a button-up shirt.
I slipped my toes into a pair of tennis shoes—soft and fluffy. The most comfortable shoes I’d ever worn. If I weren’t in prison, I would actually love what I was wearing.
“Are you ready to see your mom?” Payton asked when I came out.
“I—it’s been ages.” My voice cracked as I walked beside him at a slower pace. It was unlike me to get emotional with a member of my team, so I was a bit surprised how quickly I opened up to him. “I thought she was dead and now I’m told she’s not. She’s been here all this time. Novak took five years from me and my mother. He had no right.”
Payton couldn’t meet my gaze as he escorted me down another hallway.
“Why are you here?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you be with your team? Last I heard—or should I say last I saw—you were the lead.”
Payton cleared his throat, hands behind his back. We rounded another corner and stopped in front of a sliding door. “Novak sends me here often. I can tell you this because Novak said I could. I can tell if you’re telling me a truth or a lie. It has something to do with your body temperature, which I’m able to gauge. Also, I can soothe a person’s anger. Sadness. Even make someone happy.”
“You can control our emotions?” I parted my lips. I knew about the first, but not the second. “Have you ... have you ever—”
“Never,” he said with conviction. “I never manipulated anyone’s emotions in ISAN. The first power is my strongest. I’m still perfecting the second.”
“Really?” I arched my eyebrows.
“I swear it. Although there were times when I wanted to with Justine, I didn’t.”
“Well, I have to give you credit, because I would have.” I snorted, and then cut it short, reminding myself where I was.
He gave me a tight-lipped smile. Novak couldn’t see us interacting like friends.
“There’s something I need to tell you about your mom,” he went on. “She’s not stable. Most of the time, she’s in a world by herself. She doesn’t seem to distinguish reality and fiction. There were a few times she tried to hurt herself, and that’s the reason I’m here.”
I was suddenly grateful for his gift.
“Mr. Novak, your father.” He hesitated when I rolled my eyes. “I found out today. Sorry.” He lifted his gaze to the upper corner where I assumed a tiny camera was mounted. “Anyway, I’m told to go in with you. You’re a new face to your mom. I mean, you’re not, but she ... You’re grown up. She might not recognize you.”
A part of me wanted to cry. Mom hadn’t become like this on her own. Her husband, who had vowed to love her and protect her with his life, had done this. Payton placed his hand on the square scanner and the door slid open. I inhaled a deep breath and entered.
My eyes were drawn first to the broad, domed ceiling. The painting of the sun and the sky looked so real. No, not a painting, but a hologram image, complete with white puffy clouds. It reminded me of the garden in the West region. In fact, the layout was the same.
Plumes of flowers colored the ground. The smells of roses and honeysuckle hit me in tender spots, of my mother’s garden. Off to the left were vegetables—carrots, squash, and tomatoes. To the right were more flowers—lilies, daffodils, carnations, sunflowers, and even a section of dandelions. A narrow path divided the two halves.
I searched for my mother among the flower beds.
“There she is.” Payton pointed to the far back by the rose bushes and walked toward her.
My pulse thundering, I tiptoed beside Payton so as not to spook her. When I stood in front of a crouched woman, I nearly fell to my knees.
“Hello. You have a visitor.” My voice squeaked out of me.
The woman stood, but kept her eyes on her feet.
I shuddered a blissful breath in recognition, my heart slamming into my ribcage. Not a hologram. Real. She was real. I bit my tongue to suppress a scream.
Oh, Mom. You’re alive. I see you. I’ve missed you so much.
She wore a beige sunhat, like she always had to keep the sun from her face. But there was no sun here. Her attire was simple—loose khaki pants and a baggy T-shirt. What she’d worn at home when she worked in her garden. Her skin was paler without exposure to real sunlight.
“Hi. I’m Ava,” I said. Tears pooled in my eyes and I swiped them away before they could fall.
I hated talking to her if she were a child with my voice high-pitched and sweet, but I didn’t know how else to do this. I couldn’t flat-out tell her I was her daughter. A shock to her system could be traumatic. Everything Payton had told me made me tread carefully.
Payton patted my elbow, encouraging me to continue.
“You have a lovely garden,” I said.
Mom ever so slowly raised her eyes, locked them on mine, and took off one glove.
I went weak at the knees as I sucked in another breath. It took every ounce of my will not to break apart, to embrace her. Her tender beautiful eyes like the moon, her sharp nose, her perfect mouth, her porcelain face, exactly how I remembered. Though her hair was short like mine and I was now as tall as her.
For her to stand in front of me and not recognize me utterly killed me.
Mom, it’s me Ava. Your daughter. Why don’t you recognize me?
“Hello there.” Her gaze extended over me, as if she spoke to someone behind me. “My garden is lovely. Yes. It is. Would you like to see? Come. Come.”
I followed her down a path, Payton beside me. We passed between the tall pink rose bushes. She squatted at the far back corner, picked something up, and showed it to us.
“Dandelion.” She placed it in front of my face. “People don’t like them, but I think they’re pretty.” Her voice dropped lower. “They are the strongest flower. So resilient, as we all must be. Ava, be resilient. Always be resilient.”
I sucked in a breath. Did she recognize me? I thought she might have, but my hope faltered just as fast. She clearly remembered having a daughter, or at least knew the name.
Mom held up the dandelion still pinched between her thumb and forefinger. She placed it front of an imaginary person and said, “Ava. Blow and make a wish.”
The words I recalled so clearly shattered my heart. My eyes burned, throat parched.
“That’s a good girl,” she continued, and then she yanked a red rose. “Red roses symbolize love.” She rubbed the petals against her lips. “So soft. I love roses. I love Ava. I love Victor.” She paused and squinted as if recalling something. “No, not Victor. Victor tells lies. Lies. Lies. Lies. All lies.” She chanted lies as she plucked out the petals and kicked at the daffodils, one flower after the other. Each word getting louder and more indignant.
I backed away, trampling on dirt and carnations as my body trembled. I didn’t know what to do.
Payton rushed to her from behind. He placed his hand over her forehead, the other arm wrapped around her. Not even a second later, Mom dropped her hands. Payton backed away. Mom lowered herself to the bed of sunflowers.
I placed a hand to my mouth and released a long relief sigh. The last thing I wanted was her out of control and hurting herself. But Payton helped Mom so fast. I was grateful.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he said. “This is why I was told to come. Your fa ... I mean Novak has me spend time with her. To monitor her progress. She had never said your name until recently. I think she’s starting to recall the memories Novak erased.”
“He what?” My blood boiled.
Payton flinched and hiked his eyes to the fake sun. “I think I’m going to get questioned for that slip.”
Maybe a slap on the wrist. I wondered if he had done it purposefully. He wasn’t careless like he claimed to be.
“Come. Come. Come to see the vegetables.” Mom stood and waved a hand as if nothing had happened.
As we tailed her to the other side, passing the lilies, I surveyed the perimeter. One way in and one way out.
“Does she have her own room?” I added as we passed a small water fountain.
“Sorry. I can’t disclose that information.” Payton blinked once.
First floor? Or did he mean the basement. Or maybe he meant nothing at all. Getting information was beyond frustrating.
“Look. Look.” Mother pulled out two carrots and used her shirt to wipe off the remaining dirt. She handed Payton one, but when she placed the second in my hand, she gripped it tightly.
Either she didn’t know her strength or she was trying to tell me something.
“Eat now, children.” Mom clapped. “Carrots are good for you. Good for your skin.”
Her words tugged a heartstring. Something she used to say to me when I was little to get me to eat them.
Payton crunched down on the carrot. “Novak is your father, then Justine is—”
“Don’t say it.” I took a bite and pointed at him. When he looked away in apology, I said, “Please don’t remind me ever again, and please keep it between us. People will eventually find out, but I’d rather delay it as long as possible.”
“Sure. I’ll never tell.”
I heard the honesty in his tone. I wished we weren’t on opposite teams.
Mother knelt on the ground and shuffled dirt with a small pitchfork.
A ding chimed on Payton’s chip. “Sorry, Ava, but it’s time for me to take you back.”
“This is too short.” Rage burst out of me. “I want more time with my mother. I know you’re listening. You owe me for what you took from me.”
Another chime from Payton’s chip. “Ava. You need to calm down.”
“Or you’ll what? Make me?” I didn’t mean to explode on Payton, but he was Novak’s messenger.
“Ava, please. Don’t make me do this?” Payton’s plea softened me, if only for a second.
I put my face to his. “Don’t make you do what? You have a choice. I suggest you choose wisely before you end up dead like Novak will be soon.”
I immediately regretted my words. Novak would punish me. No, not me. Someone I cared about.
“Now, now, children. Don’t fight.” Mom rose and wrapped her arms around me and patted my back like she had when I was a little girl.
Oh, God. I nearly collapsed in her arms. Oh, Mom. The warmth of her, the smell of garden in her hair, everything I lost came crashing in on me. Do not cry.
I bit my tongue to keep from sobbing. The ache in my mouth reminded me the pain I would feel if I didn’t cooperate. Payton held the gadget and kept his distance.
“Fine. I’ll leave,” I said when Mom released herself from me and lowered to the dirt.
“Look at this tomato. So red and plump.” Mom tossed one over Payton’s head, forcing him to chase it. Then she yanked me down with her so hard I nearly tipped over. “Look. Beautiful. Aren’t they?”
I shouldn’t be annoyed at her. I should be grateful she was alive, but the fact that she couldn’t recognize me had me exasperated.
When she twisted her wrist, I saw two tiny scribbled words on her skin. Not tattoos. She had written it herself, or someone had.
What did it say? I had to know, but it wasn’t a good idea to grab her arm at our first meeting. But I read the one word she had carefully marked on the dirt with a carrot. That was not a coincidence, nor a mistake.
Help.
Chapter Sixteen — Unwelcome Visitors
Ava
Hope was not all lost. My mother was not lost. Mother had written “Help” in the dirt and even erased the evidence. Someone whose mind was not all there wouldn’t do that.
I had to keep seeing her. I had thought Payton was my key out; perhaps with both of their knowledge of this place, the three of us had a chance.
Then what?
I had to work on getting a glider. Payton. Payton could do it. We could plan and escape when Novak visited other ISAN sites.
I pushed off the mattress when the door whooshed. My shoes thudded on the tile floor. Novak and Gene entered and stood an arm’s distance from me; two evil-minded souls in the small space seemed too much to bear. Suffocating. And intimidating.
Novak and Gene were dressed alike in formfitted suits. Novak had dyed his hair to the original brown and had taken out his contact lenses to reveal gray eyes.
“How was your meeting with your mother?” Novak asked. “I know it wasn’t the reunion you expected but—”
“You poisoned her.” I poked Novak and, surprisingly, he didn’t stop me, so I pushed again. “You poisoned her body. You poisoned her mind.”
Gene gripped my wrists. “Stop. You don’t understand. Dad is trying to fix her.”
I yanked my arms away. “Fix? There was nothing to fix. She was happy. We were happy without you.” I jabbed Novak again, then pointed at Gene. “And you should have stayed dead to me.”
