Day 50 (The DMT Series Book 2) (13 page)

Cody didn’t reply. He just grappled for the wooden bars, before making yet another futile attempt to put his feet on the ground. Lying there in the dirt for the second time, chewing mud, Cody didn’t feel it was impossible to ever walk again though. He was in fact one hundred percent certain he would be walking again. He had felt it when he had put his right foot down moments earlier. For an instant he had been able to sense the blade of his foot, he had felt the dirt against his naked toes and it had been the most wonderful feeling in the whole world.

He would learn to walk again.

He would learn to see again.

He would heal himself like he had healed everyone else.

And then he would avenge his dad.

He had been an idiot for too long. Believing Alejandro when he claimed that Cameron and Adam had ratted him out to the CIA. There was no way Cameron would have done that. She simply couldn’t have known Cody would offer to lead them out of the camp on the morning the CIA attacked. If it hadn’t been for Cody, Adam and Cameron would also have been in the camp when the CIA struck.

Cody hadn’t been the only target for the CIA. They had all been targets.

No, someone else must have leaked that information to the CIA. Or perhaps Cameron and Adam had been unaware they were being tracked? Either way, Cody was now convinced Cameron was innocent. Alejandro had played him the entire time; persuaded his dad to create a sham-religion, to write down Cody’s dreams and turn them into a Holy Book. Cody had finally been able to read the entire Holy Book when Alejandro was away on his little mission a week back, the mission Alejandro claimed was to set up a new chapter in Uruguay, but Cody strongly suspected had been to commit an act of terrorism in Washington, DC. Cody had politely asked one of the nurses to read the Holy Book aloud for him. And he had been shocked to learn that hardly a single word of the book’s content was something Cody had ever revealed to his father.

The book didn’t contain Cody’s dreams and visions of a different world when he was asleep.

It contained something entirely different.

It was a manual for how one should live one’s life. A book depicting what was right and wrong, moral and immoral. And Cody knew exactly who had authored it: Alejandro. That slimy weasel had managed to create a religion based on Cody’s abilities, but his own ideology.

And suddenly it had all been crystal clear for Cody. The reasons Alejandro was doing what he was doing, and why.

Cody had been so careful with his secret. He had not told a single soul about the origins of his healing powers, not one single soul.

But his dad had.

One evening, back when Marconi operated his drug camp, Cody had overheard Alejandro and his dad discussing creating a religion. And Cody’s dad had revealed for Alejandro the real source of Cody’s powers, the DMT injection. He hadn’t told the full story. Only that a DMT injection based on the golden ratio of Phi had caused five death row prisoners to die, only to resurrect three days later with the power of immortality. Alejandro had cautioned Dr Drecker to never speak about the secret again. A secret only held its power if it remained a secret.

That had been Alejandro’s plan. That had always been his plan; to create a religion with himself as the omnipotent master. Cody was just a necessary puppet to get the religion off the ground.

Alejandro had masterfully convinced Cody that all the prophecies were coming true, that Cody was something special. But it had all been a sham. Cody had realised the very moment he heard the scripture of the Holy Book. Not one single word of it was Cody’s.

How could he be a prophet if none of his words were being used?

36

After having safely escorted Adam and Cameron across the border to Texas, Hugo brought them to one of his cousins. The cousin had lived illegally in the US for almost fifteen years, after his parents had taken him across the border when he was a toddler. Hugo and Diego gave each other a heartfelt hug before Hugo introduced Adam and Cameron.

“The rich Americans,” Diego said.

Hugo smiled embarrassedly and shook his head at the totally inappropriate comment. It was true though, without money Adam and Cameron would still be stuck in Mexico. But somehow Cameron was wealthy. She had organised a money transfer in Bitcoin. It wasn’t as good as American dollars in the hand, but the smugglers hadn’t objected too much. The crims had to keep up with the developments in society, and Bitcoin was a lot better than Mexican Pesos. Even Hugo’s cousin had accepted payment in Bitcoin for the car he was acquiring for them. When Hugo looked at the car he got even more embarrassed. “Is this what five thousand dollars buys us, Diego?” Hugo asked in Spanish.

“Bitcoin fluctuates. It is a risky currency,” Diego replied.

“Don’t give me that bullshit. Give them three thousand back.”

Diego shook his head.

“Don’t embarrass me, Diego. Give them the money.”

“I don’t carry that sort of money around.”

“How much do you have?”

Diego shrugged his shoulder. “Maybe a thousand.”

Hugo knew that meant he had at least two thousand. “Give us fifteen hundred back, and I won’t tell your mama how you tried to cheat your own cousin,” he said in English.

Diego raised both his hands. “OK, OK. I’ll get the money. Just don’t tell Mama.”

Hugo smiled proudly to Cameron as Diego left them to get the cash. Cameron just rolled her eyes.

Twenty minutes later they had full stomachs, a full tank of fuel and were heading north. That’s where Adam had said they would find this Drecker guy they were looking for. “
Hiding in plain sight, always hiding in plain sight.
” The last words of the CIA agent before he had passed out. For some reason Adam had instantly understood what those words meant. Hugo wondered why. Who was this guy Adam and his daughter absolutely had to track down? And why had the CIA agent been after them in the first place? Hugo didn’t feel threatened by Adam though. If Adam had wanted to kill him he could have done that in the cabin. He could have put him in the same unmarked grave as the CIA agent, and nobody would ever have known. Now Hugo had been seen together with Adam and Cameron by both the people-smugglers and his own cousin. There was no way Adam would risk getting rid of him now. The tracks would lead straight back to him.

He stared out the passenger window.

America.

He was finally there.

He had made it.

37

“I need your help,” Cody said.

“Anything you need, Master,” The nurse replied.

It was two pm and Alejandro was over at the bunker eating lunch. Cody wasn’t sure if he could trust the nurse. He wasn’t sure if he could trust anyone. But she was his best bet, his only bet.

“I just wanted to say I’m so grateful for you reading the Holy Book for me last week.”

“My pleasure, Master. Do you want me to start from the beginning again?”

“No. I don’t want you to read anymore. In fact, I don’t want you to tell anyone you have ever read me the scripture.”

“I will never speak of it again, Master.”

Cody took a deep breath before continuing. “I am worried someone may be conspiring to take my life.”

The nurse raised her left hand to cover her mouth. Cody could feel her anxiety hovering in the air. “You must inform Mr Vasques.”

“No,” Cody replied sternly. “I’ve had new visions. Alejandro may be the snake in Paradise. I can’t trust him.”

The nurse started to breathe heavily. “What do you want me to do, Master Cody?” she asked.

“Do you believe in me? Do you truly believe I speak the word of God?”

“Of course I do, Master Cody. You are the Messiah returned, the only true prophet.”

“Then gather a group of my most devout followers. Followers who have no relations to Alejandro whatsoever.”

“How many?”

“Four or five should do.”

“I can do that,” the nurse replied.

“After you have gathered them, I want you to come up with a plan on how I can escape these grounds.”

“Where to, Master Cody?”

“It doesn’t matter where to. I have followers all over the world. If I can only get away from Alejandro I’ll be safe.”

“Is he holding you captive?”

Cody slowly raised his upper body from the bed, before turning his head to face the nurse. Instinctively she approached him. “He is planning to kill me. He is the devil himself,” Cody whispered into her ear.

The nurse stumbled backwards after hearing the revelation.

“This is terrible, Master Cody. We need to get you to safety immediately.”

“No. We have to move slowly so we don’t arouse any suspicion. Alejandro is due to go away again in a few days. By then I will have regained my ability to walk, but Alejandro can’t know about that. When he asks about my progress you have to tell him I’m still struggling. But I promise you that I will be able to walk by myself in four days.”

“How is that possible, Master Cody? You are paralysed from the waist down. It will take months of rehabilitation before you can ever walk again. It’s not even certain you will ever regain the feeling in your legs.”

“Just have faith, my child,” Cody said, and he could sense how the theatrical comment hit home. The nurse would believe anything he said.

38

Adam parked the car in the parking lot outside the shopping centre. “Does anyone need to use the bathroom?” he asked.

Hugo and Cameron both shook their heads. “Why are we stopping here?” Hugo asked. He looked out the window. There was nothing to see. It was three am in the morning, and they had been driving for twelve hours straight. “We should find a motel. Get some sleep.”

Adam nodded. “We’ll do that soon,” he answered, staring at the grey building a kilometre farther down the road. The lights were still on in the entire building.

“Is this it? Is this the place we’ve been looking for?” Hugo asked.

“Yes,” Cameron answered.

“This is the place this Drecker guy is hiding?”

“I wouldn’t say hiding,” Adam replied. “But, yes, this is where he is.”

Hiding in plain sight
. Adam couldn’t believe the balls of the MKULTRA organisation. They had rebuilt the building used to house the death row patients. And this time they had rebuilt it as a genuine hospital.
Hiding in plain sight.

Adam opened the glove box and studied the gun Hugo’s cousin had sold them. Then he pulled out a fat envelope from underneath the gun. “You’ve been a great help, Hugo,” Adam said as he handed Hugo the yellow envelope. “The rest of your payment. A deal is a deal. You’re free to leave now.”

“What if I don’t want to leave?” Hugo asked.

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m in America. I’ve always wanted to come to America.”

“That’s fine, Hugo. I don’t care whether you stay or return to Mexico. You can jump on a train and you’ll be in New York City in a few hours. But you’ve done your job. We don’t need you anymore.”

“You do need me. And I would like to help.”

“I don’t need you, Hugo. And you shouldn’t get any more involved than you already are.”

“What do I have to return to? Working the reception of a sleazy Mexican hotel? No, I don’t want to return to that.”

“We’re not made out of money, Hugo. I paid you handsomely to get us across the border, but that was a one-off. We are square now. Your job is done.”

Hugo shook his head. “I’m not an idiot, Adam. I’ve spent time with you guys. You’re not criminals running from the government. You’re being hunted for something you didn’t do. What it is, I have no idea. But I want to help you.”

Adam laughed. “You’ve known us for just over a week, Hugo. That doesn’t obligate you to help us.”

“Let him stay, Dad,” Cameron interjected.

Adam glanced over at Cameron. And he immediately understood what was happening. He had been afraid this was going to happen at some stage. It wasn’t the prospect of another payday that had caused Hugo to ask if he could help out. Hugo had the hots for Cameron, and it appeared she felt the same way. Adam had noticed small clues the day before, the way they looked at each other, the way Cameron always smiled when Hugo was around.

Adam sighed. He had denied Cameron a lot of things over the last three years. One of them had been to get emotionally attached to anyone, girl or boy. Not that it mattered though, they never stayed long enough in any one place for that to happen anyway. But now it had happened. Cameron was experiencing her first crush – at age nineteen. He considered the situation. Hugo wasn’t exactly ideal boyfriend material; he would probably break Cameron’s heart, and break it hard. But maybe that was what she needed; someone to break her heart so hard that she stayed away from boys altogether. And Hugo was probably the ideal candidate for the job; he didn’t know much about Cameron and Adam, just that they were hiding from someone, possibly the CIA. Adam on the other hand knew a lot about Hugo. He could get Hugo convicted for murder if he wanted to. And he was certain he could persuade Hugo to leave in an instant if it came to it. Hugo didn’t seem to be the kind of guy who would sacrifice his own freedom for a girl, even if that girl was as awesome as Adam’s daughter.

“Ok, Hugo. You win. You can stay with us for a few more days. But I’ve got to warn you: We are going to do be doing things that may put you in harm’s way, and I don’t mean being shipped back to Mexico. I mean real danger.”

“I’m OK with that,” Hugo said.

Cameron just smiled.

The next morning they were back at the parking lot. Adam handed Hugo a picture of Dr Martin Drecker. Cameron had found it on the internet earlier in the morning. It was from an old news report describing how the respected Research Director at New York State University had been killed in a car accident in 2012. “This is what he used to look like. His appearance may have changed since then though. If I’m correct he’ll be a severely incapacitated patient.”