Conspiracy Game
Page 19
“If Briony was adopted, how could they do the same thing to her? Surely he didn’t have this technology before he adopted her out,” Kadan said.
“The parents took Whitney’s money believing he was a grieving husband who had lost his wife. They agreed to educate Briony in the way he wanted and he paid for all medical not only for her but the entire family. Every time she was sick, his doctors treated her. Whitney had access to her the entire time. And I believe he still does. They use his doctor when she’s ill. She has a lot of trouble due to the fact that there’s no respite for her from the continual assault on her senses. Quite frankly I’m surprised she’s survived this long without a breakdown.”
There was a small silence as the enormity of the implications sank in. Ryland pulled Lily into his arms and buried his face against her shoulder. “What impact will all this have on any children?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what he’s done to any of the rest of you. And I sure don’t have a clue what would happen if Jack Norton and Briony Jenkins have a child together. The one thing I can say for certain is that it will affect the baby.” Lily placed both hands protectively over the small rounded evidence of her pregnancy.
“If Ken Norton carries the same genetic code,” Kadan said, “why is it so important to Whitney that Jack, not Ken, meet up with Briony?”
“I’m guessing the pheromone reaction is specific to one man and one woman. I haven’t run across a mention of that in the files yet, but there is no other explanation. Dr. Whitney”-deliberately Lily distanced herself from the man she’d known all her life as her father-“is looking for a second-generation soldier and wants Jack Norton and Briony Jenkins to provide him with one. With their enhanced olfactory systems, the chemistry between them would be zinging off the charts.”
“Well,” Logan said, “he looked to the wrong man. No one controls Jack Norton. He’s a dangerous man and Whitney made the mistake of making him more so.”
“Maybe so, Logan, but if what I suspect is true, he wouldn’t be in control, he’d be at the mercy of his body’s demands-and so would Briony,” Lily explained.
“How is it going to help the Nortons to change skin color when they’re wearing clothes?” Flame asked pragmatically.
Lily sent a small, wan smile in her direction. “I forgot to tell you about the ‘smart’ shirts Georgia Tech developed to monitor soldiers and patients for medical problems. The Natick Soldier System Center in cooperation with Crye Precision developed the MultiCam Multi Environment Camouflage system. Companies have a line of personal clothes as well as combat clothes. The hottest thing is microscopic mirrors sewn into the fabric to reflect the environment around them. You’ll never guess who is testing these clothes.”
“Jack and Ken Norton,” Flame said. “Of course. And Whitney had to pull some strings to make that happen.”
“Whitney seems very adept at pulling strings,” Kadan agreed. “You’re right. He isn’t alone in this.”
CHAPTER 7
“You’re pregnant.”
Briony stared at the doctor in shock. “That’s impossible. I’m on birth control pills. You prescribed them yourself.” She detested the man; the way he looked so reptilian, she often thought scales would erupt all over him at any moment. He had the coldest smile, almost a smirk when he looked at her. She didn’t trust him-had never trusted him. Even as a child, she had wanted to run screaming from the room whenever he entered. When she left the office, she was going to go out to the car and wring Jebediah’s neck for calling him. She’d only agreed to come because she wanted a few answers. This was definitely the last visit she would ever make to Dr. Sparks.
“You’re pregnant, Briony, about eight weeks. Perhaps you forgot to take a pill when you should have.” His shark-toothed smile flashed at her, but never once reached his eyes. “The father will be overjoyed.”
A shadow slid into her mind. Her body went into alert mode-she felt the alarm shooting through her, but she maintained her shocked look and swung her leg back and forth in agitation. “Tony? I’m sure he will. He’s wanted to marry me forever and this will be his big chance. My brothers will all get out shotguns and side with him.”
For the first time his smirk slipped. The eyes grew even colder. “Tony?”
She shrugged, trying to look casual. “One of the tiger trainers. We’ve had a steady relationship for a while now.” She looked him straight in the eye, determined to carry off the lie just to see his reaction, because something wasn’t right and she had a very bad feeling that she was in more trouble than just being pregnant.
Pregnant? Was it really possible? Was he lying to her? She was sick all the time, unable to keep any food down. He didn’t feel as if he was lying, but she never could tell with the doctor, almost as if his mind was shielded from hers.
Sparks cleared his throat. “I thought you told me you couldn’t stand to be touched and doubted you’d ever have a relationship. Has that gotten better?”
She rubbed her temples. Funny, with the doctor she didn’t get pain, but a strange buzzing noise in her mind always persisted when she was close to him. “The exercises helped a lot and I’ve been working with biofeedback and meditation.” That part was true, but no amount of meditation would free her from pain enough to allow a close relationship with anyone other than maybe Jack-and she wasn’t going to ever think about trusting him with her heart again. She tried a small smile, pursuing the lie. “For some reason, when I’m with Tony, it’s not nearly as bad, although I don’t know about marrying him.”
“Will you want to keep the baby then?” Dr. Sparks asked, watching her closely.
She fought back her first reply. Of course she was going to keep her baby-she wanted the baby, even if its father was a complete bastard. She was quite capable of taking care of a child on her own. She shrugged again. “I’ll think about it. I hadn’t thought in terms of having a baby right now-or ever for that matter. My brothers are going to go psycho on me and Tony will lose his mind too, all wanting me to do the right thing and marry, so I’m not going to say anything to anyone until I decide.”
Dr. Sparks turned away from her and opened a cabinet. “Let me know, Briony, and I can certainly help you with whatever you decide. In the meantime, you’ll need prenatal care, just in case you decide you want to keep the child.” With his back to her, he glanced over his shoulder, busying himself with a syringe. “Did any of your brothers come with you? Perhaps if I spoke to them they’d understand that it would be difficult for you to remain in a relationship for any length of time.”
“No, I came alone.” She had no idea why she lied. Jebediah drove her, afraid she’d be too sick to stay on the road, or-more likely-afraid she wouldn’t actually see the doctor. Her eyes were on Sparks’s face as he turned, and her heart jumped with fear. His reptilian features seemed nearly alien, twisting with a kind of fanatical glee as he approached her with the needle. Briony drew back. “What’s that for?”
“Vitamins, for you and the baby. You look a bit pale to me. You don’t want birth defects if you decide that you’re going to have the child after all.”
She inhaled and knew immediately there were no vitamins in the syringe. “Back off, Dr. Sparks, I’m not getting a shot of anything.” She was in danger, every sense on full alert. Adrenaline flooded her body, rushing through her veins with certain knowledge.
“Don’t be silly, my dear; this is necessary and it’s just a small stick. You’ve had stitches and far worse than this.”
“Maybe, but I’m leaving now without a shot. If I need vitamins, I’ll get them the old-fashioned way-over the counter in pill form.”
Dr. Sparks raised his voice. “Luther, will you come in here, please?”
The door burst open and Luther blocked the only exit. He was big, and Briony knew immediately he was enhanced. Maybe it was his scent, but more likely she simply sensed the enhancement in him the way she had in Jack. Briony inhaled sharply and found herself frowning. There was something about Luther that repelled her.
“Sit still, Briony; we don’t want to make this harder than necessary,” Dr. Sparks said smoothly, still smiling at her.
Luther grinned at her.
The ape and reptile, she thought a bit hysterically.
Briony held up her hand as if to ward off the doctor, her gaze on Luther, mind racing to figure a way out of the room. “What exactly is that? And don’t tell me vitamins. What’s going on?”
“I can’t have you running out and getting an abortion. I think we’ll just calm you down until you’re more reasonable.” Sparks stepped closer.
“I’m more than reasonable,” Briony said. “I don’t understand.” She lowered her hand as if in surrender, but kept her gaze on the huge man in the doorway.
“That’s a good girl.”
“Incubator you mean,” Luther said with a little smirk. “I even volunteered to be the donor.”
Dr. Sparks glared at Luther. Briony kicked out hard as Sparks turned his attention from her. She wrenched the syringe from the doctor’s hand as he went down, screaming, clutching at his groin.
The smirk fading from his face, Luther rushed her, leaping over the doctor, his arms outstretched to wrap her close. She was grateful for her smaller size-one that allowed her to perform all kinds of aerial tricks, and to slip through small spaces. She used the gurney to kick off of, going up and over the arm reaching for her, and stabbing at Luther with the syringe. She couldn’t push the plunger to release the liquid-liquid she was certain was a knockout drug-but she managed to complete a full somersault in the air and kick out, going feet-first through the window. She protected the baby with one hand and her face with the other, although her feet pushed most of the glass out onto the street.
She landed in a crouch, and was up and running toward the parking lot. Luther was too big to get through the window, but strong enough to smash the frame out. She heard him swear as he hit the pavement.
“Start the car, Jebediah,” she yelled, putting as much urgency and command into her voice as she could.
Fortunately Jebediah, sitting in the driver’s seat, threw his newspaper, started the car, and pushed open the passenger door.
“Go! Go!” She ordered, gesturing with her hands, running at top speed toward the car. She dove into the seat as he pulled away from the curb. Slamming the door, she glanced back to see Luther racing toward a vehicle with two men in it. He had a gun in his fist and fury on his face. “Hurry, Jeb! He’s coming after us. He’s got a gun.”
Jebediah didn’t ask questions, but reacted the way she knew he would, grim-faced, driving like a pro, turning off the main street the minute he could and taking a back route through narrow streets toward the circus grounds.
“What the hell’s going on, Bri?” Jebediah demanded when they were racing down the highway.
“Sparks tried to drug me,” she said. “I don’t know what he wants, but it has something to do with the baby.” She pressed both hands over her stomach.
He glanced at her sharply, shock written on his face. “The baby? What baby?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“You can’t be pregnant. You’re never with anyone. Where the hell have I been? And why would Sparks drug you for your baby? Look in the small compartment under my seat and get out the gun and ammo. Hurry, Bri.”
“I don’t know, Jeb, but he asked me if you were with me and I had the feeling you would have been in danger too.” Briony found the gun and hastily slammed the clip in. She handed it to her brother. There was a certain comfort in being swamped with his emotions. There was no doubt Jeb loved and wanted to protect her. “Something isn’t right about my adoption and the story they gave Mom and Dad. I think whoever these people are, they murdered Mom and Dad as well.” She kept her gaze glued to the back window. “Because of me.”
“The parents took Whitney’s money believing he was a grieving husband who had lost his wife. They agreed to educate Briony in the way he wanted and he paid for all medical not only for her but the entire family. Every time she was sick, his doctors treated her. Whitney had access to her the entire time. And I believe he still does. They use his doctor when she’s ill. She has a lot of trouble due to the fact that there’s no respite for her from the continual assault on her senses. Quite frankly I’m surprised she’s survived this long without a breakdown.”
There was a small silence as the enormity of the implications sank in. Ryland pulled Lily into his arms and buried his face against her shoulder. “What impact will all this have on any children?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what he’s done to any of the rest of you. And I sure don’t have a clue what would happen if Jack Norton and Briony Jenkins have a child together. The one thing I can say for certain is that it will affect the baby.” Lily placed both hands protectively over the small rounded evidence of her pregnancy.
“If Ken Norton carries the same genetic code,” Kadan said, “why is it so important to Whitney that Jack, not Ken, meet up with Briony?”
“I’m guessing the pheromone reaction is specific to one man and one woman. I haven’t run across a mention of that in the files yet, but there is no other explanation. Dr. Whitney”-deliberately Lily distanced herself from the man she’d known all her life as her father-“is looking for a second-generation soldier and wants Jack Norton and Briony Jenkins to provide him with one. With their enhanced olfactory systems, the chemistry between them would be zinging off the charts.”
“Well,” Logan said, “he looked to the wrong man. No one controls Jack Norton. He’s a dangerous man and Whitney made the mistake of making him more so.”
“Maybe so, Logan, but if what I suspect is true, he wouldn’t be in control, he’d be at the mercy of his body’s demands-and so would Briony,” Lily explained.
“How is it going to help the Nortons to change skin color when they’re wearing clothes?” Flame asked pragmatically.
Lily sent a small, wan smile in her direction. “I forgot to tell you about the ‘smart’ shirts Georgia Tech developed to monitor soldiers and patients for medical problems. The Natick Soldier System Center in cooperation with Crye Precision developed the MultiCam Multi Environment Camouflage system. Companies have a line of personal clothes as well as combat clothes. The hottest thing is microscopic mirrors sewn into the fabric to reflect the environment around them. You’ll never guess who is testing these clothes.”
“Jack and Ken Norton,” Flame said. “Of course. And Whitney had to pull some strings to make that happen.”
“Whitney seems very adept at pulling strings,” Kadan agreed. “You’re right. He isn’t alone in this.”
CHAPTER 7
“You’re pregnant.”
Briony stared at the doctor in shock. “That’s impossible. I’m on birth control pills. You prescribed them yourself.” She detested the man; the way he looked so reptilian, she often thought scales would erupt all over him at any moment. He had the coldest smile, almost a smirk when he looked at her. She didn’t trust him-had never trusted him. Even as a child, she had wanted to run screaming from the room whenever he entered. When she left the office, she was going to go out to the car and wring Jebediah’s neck for calling him. She’d only agreed to come because she wanted a few answers. This was definitely the last visit she would ever make to Dr. Sparks.
“You’re pregnant, Briony, about eight weeks. Perhaps you forgot to take a pill when you should have.” His shark-toothed smile flashed at her, but never once reached his eyes. “The father will be overjoyed.”
A shadow slid into her mind. Her body went into alert mode-she felt the alarm shooting through her, but she maintained her shocked look and swung her leg back and forth in agitation. “Tony? I’m sure he will. He’s wanted to marry me forever and this will be his big chance. My brothers will all get out shotguns and side with him.”
For the first time his smirk slipped. The eyes grew even colder. “Tony?”
She shrugged, trying to look casual. “One of the tiger trainers. We’ve had a steady relationship for a while now.” She looked him straight in the eye, determined to carry off the lie just to see his reaction, because something wasn’t right and she had a very bad feeling that she was in more trouble than just being pregnant.
Pregnant? Was it really possible? Was he lying to her? She was sick all the time, unable to keep any food down. He didn’t feel as if he was lying, but she never could tell with the doctor, almost as if his mind was shielded from hers.
Sparks cleared his throat. “I thought you told me you couldn’t stand to be touched and doubted you’d ever have a relationship. Has that gotten better?”
She rubbed her temples. Funny, with the doctor she didn’t get pain, but a strange buzzing noise in her mind always persisted when she was close to him. “The exercises helped a lot and I’ve been working with biofeedback and meditation.” That part was true, but no amount of meditation would free her from pain enough to allow a close relationship with anyone other than maybe Jack-and she wasn’t going to ever think about trusting him with her heart again. She tried a small smile, pursuing the lie. “For some reason, when I’m with Tony, it’s not nearly as bad, although I don’t know about marrying him.”
“Will you want to keep the baby then?” Dr. Sparks asked, watching her closely.
She fought back her first reply. Of course she was going to keep her baby-she wanted the baby, even if its father was a complete bastard. She was quite capable of taking care of a child on her own. She shrugged again. “I’ll think about it. I hadn’t thought in terms of having a baby right now-or ever for that matter. My brothers are going to go psycho on me and Tony will lose his mind too, all wanting me to do the right thing and marry, so I’m not going to say anything to anyone until I decide.”
Dr. Sparks turned away from her and opened a cabinet. “Let me know, Briony, and I can certainly help you with whatever you decide. In the meantime, you’ll need prenatal care, just in case you decide you want to keep the child.” With his back to her, he glanced over his shoulder, busying himself with a syringe. “Did any of your brothers come with you? Perhaps if I spoke to them they’d understand that it would be difficult for you to remain in a relationship for any length of time.”
“No, I came alone.” She had no idea why she lied. Jebediah drove her, afraid she’d be too sick to stay on the road, or-more likely-afraid she wouldn’t actually see the doctor. Her eyes were on Sparks’s face as he turned, and her heart jumped with fear. His reptilian features seemed nearly alien, twisting with a kind of fanatical glee as he approached her with the needle. Briony drew back. “What’s that for?”
“Vitamins, for you and the baby. You look a bit pale to me. You don’t want birth defects if you decide that you’re going to have the child after all.”
She inhaled and knew immediately there were no vitamins in the syringe. “Back off, Dr. Sparks, I’m not getting a shot of anything.” She was in danger, every sense on full alert. Adrenaline flooded her body, rushing through her veins with certain knowledge.
“Don’t be silly, my dear; this is necessary and it’s just a small stick. You’ve had stitches and far worse than this.”
“Maybe, but I’m leaving now without a shot. If I need vitamins, I’ll get them the old-fashioned way-over the counter in pill form.”
Dr. Sparks raised his voice. “Luther, will you come in here, please?”
The door burst open and Luther blocked the only exit. He was big, and Briony knew immediately he was enhanced. Maybe it was his scent, but more likely she simply sensed the enhancement in him the way she had in Jack. Briony inhaled sharply and found herself frowning. There was something about Luther that repelled her.
“Sit still, Briony; we don’t want to make this harder than necessary,” Dr. Sparks said smoothly, still smiling at her.
Luther grinned at her.
The ape and reptile, she thought a bit hysterically.
Briony held up her hand as if to ward off the doctor, her gaze on Luther, mind racing to figure a way out of the room. “What exactly is that? And don’t tell me vitamins. What’s going on?”
“I can’t have you running out and getting an abortion. I think we’ll just calm you down until you’re more reasonable.” Sparks stepped closer.
“I’m more than reasonable,” Briony said. “I don’t understand.” She lowered her hand as if in surrender, but kept her gaze on the huge man in the doorway.
“That’s a good girl.”
“Incubator you mean,” Luther said with a little smirk. “I even volunteered to be the donor.”
Dr. Sparks glared at Luther. Briony kicked out hard as Sparks turned his attention from her. She wrenched the syringe from the doctor’s hand as he went down, screaming, clutching at his groin.
The smirk fading from his face, Luther rushed her, leaping over the doctor, his arms outstretched to wrap her close. She was grateful for her smaller size-one that allowed her to perform all kinds of aerial tricks, and to slip through small spaces. She used the gurney to kick off of, going up and over the arm reaching for her, and stabbing at Luther with the syringe. She couldn’t push the plunger to release the liquid-liquid she was certain was a knockout drug-but she managed to complete a full somersault in the air and kick out, going feet-first through the window. She protected the baby with one hand and her face with the other, although her feet pushed most of the glass out onto the street.
She landed in a crouch, and was up and running toward the parking lot. Luther was too big to get through the window, but strong enough to smash the frame out. She heard him swear as he hit the pavement.
“Start the car, Jebediah,” she yelled, putting as much urgency and command into her voice as she could.
Fortunately Jebediah, sitting in the driver’s seat, threw his newspaper, started the car, and pushed open the passenger door.
“Go! Go!” She ordered, gesturing with her hands, running at top speed toward the car. She dove into the seat as he pulled away from the curb. Slamming the door, she glanced back to see Luther racing toward a vehicle with two men in it. He had a gun in his fist and fury on his face. “Hurry, Jeb! He’s coming after us. He’s got a gun.”
Jebediah didn’t ask questions, but reacted the way she knew he would, grim-faced, driving like a pro, turning off the main street the minute he could and taking a back route through narrow streets toward the circus grounds.
“What the hell’s going on, Bri?” Jebediah demanded when they were racing down the highway.
“Sparks tried to drug me,” she said. “I don’t know what he wants, but it has something to do with the baby.” She pressed both hands over her stomach.
He glanced at her sharply, shock written on his face. “The baby? What baby?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“You can’t be pregnant. You’re never with anyone. Where the hell have I been? And why would Sparks drug you for your baby? Look in the small compartment under my seat and get out the gun and ammo. Hurry, Bri.”
“I don’t know, Jeb, but he asked me if you were with me and I had the feeling you would have been in danger too.” Briony found the gun and hastily slammed the clip in. She handed it to her brother. There was a certain comfort in being swamped with his emotions. There was no doubt Jeb loved and wanted to protect her. “Something isn’t right about my adoption and the story they gave Mom and Dad. I think whoever these people are, they murdered Mom and Dad as well.” She kept her gaze glued to the back window. “Because of me.”
