Sidekick Returns (29 page)

Should I start there? With how much I missed her? Or maybe I should tell her about how hurt I was? I mean, yeah, I screwed up, but I thought we were closer than one mistake. Which then lead me to how mad I was. Oh, and I was mad. I closed my eyes and exhaled. No point starting there. More than anything else, I just wanted things to be normal between us again. I'd say whatever it took to get us to that place.

‘I'm glad you're here,' Jenny said, breaking my thoughts. ‘I mean, I'm glad you got in the car.'

I nodded, then paused a moment before saying, ‘You're taking me to him, aren't you?'

Jenny turned her face from the road to look at me. She nodded once then turned back.

‘Well, I hope he let you design my jail cell.' I looked out my window. ‘You know what I like.'

‘It's not like that. And you know it.'

I chuckled. It was an ugly sound.

‘If you really believe he's going to lock you away in some dungeon,' she snapped, ‘then why did you get into the car?'

Tears filled my eyes. ‘Why do you think?' My father's words at the museum had never been far from my thoughts. He had said my sister's life depended on me.
I always get what I want, Brianna
.

Jenny's eyes filled, mirroring my own.

‘I just don't get it,' I said, struggling to keep my voice even. ‘I get that I screwed up, but that's it? I just get one chance with you?'

Jenny said nothing.

‘And how can you stay with him knowing … knowing what he did to our mother?'

A muscle at her jaw flexed.

‘Is it worth it?' I pressed, voice gaining force. ‘Everything he's done for you?'

Still nothing.

Hot anger flashed over me. ‘Tell me! Is it worth it?'

She spun her head to look at me, eyes flashing. ‘Yes! Is that what you want to hear? Yes!'

I closed my eyes, sending tears streaming down my face. ‘I know it was hard, but you were perfect the way—'

‘God! Shut up, Bremy!' Suddenly Jenny yanked the wheel hard to the right. Horns blared as we clung to the turn rocketing us towards a tunnel. I gripped the dash as Jenny accelerated us underground. Once we were under the concrete dome, she backed off the gas. ‘The tunnel should interfere with reception. I need to talk quickly.'

My eyes darted over her face. ‘Wh … what?'

‘I'm staying with him, so that I can stop him,' she said quickly. ‘But it's good to know I had you so easily fooled.'

‘What? I don't underst—'

Jenny punched the gas, and we hurtled forward, the wall lights blending into a solid stream.

‘He's working on something bigger than you can possibly imagine. I need to get enough proof to give to Pierce so we can expose him.'

Vertigo swept my body. I brought a hand to my forehead. ‘Pierce?'

‘I have to do these treatments,' she said, voice flat. ‘I need him to trust me.'

‘I don't understand. I can't—'

‘You can help me, Brems.' Her voice softened. ‘We can do this together … as equals.' I met her pleading eyes with my own. The car seemingly leapt out of the tunnel into the glittering lights of the city.

‘You're not anybody's sidekick.'

Jenny brought a finger to her lips, but said, ‘Just hear what father has to say. Do it for me.'

I collapsed back into my seat, mind spinning. Everything was happening so fast. I couldn't keep up with all the developments being thrown at me. I had never in my life felt so off balance. I didn't know who was with me or against me … who I could trust. More anger swept over me. It was exactly what
he
wanted. I was a rat scrambling through a maze, while my father loomed over top, watching, controlling everything.

We didn't say another word the rest of the drive.

From the city streets, Jenny steered us to the highway, which led us to roads through smaller towns, then by fields, and finally to a forest. She stopped the car at the dead end of a dirt road. The Aston Martin's headlights illuminated two steel doors dug into the side of a hill, surrounded by trees. We both got out of the car, and I followed Jenny as she walked towards the doors. She took a card out of her pocket, but before she could swipe the keypad, I threw my arms around her and hugged her for everything I was worth, and then a little more. We stayed liked that a few moments, before she whispered, ‘I know.'

I leaned back. ‘Do you?' She touched my cheek with her fingertips and nodded, sending tears once again spilling down my face.

She pulled back, and I wiped a hand over my wet cheeks. Once her card had activated the keypad, she leaned forward, and a beam shot out, scanning her eyes. The doors then made a loud clunk and swung back into the hill.

‘Ready or not,' she whispered.

I followed her through the entrance into a sloping concrete tunnel that, I could only assume, led to Hell. The tunnel itself was large enough for a truck to drive through, but, at the moment, it was deserted, and each one of our steps echoed down into the darkness.

‘It was a secret government bunker,' Jenny said. ‘St. James Industries bought it back in the seventies. In a nuclear attack, the facility could have housed several hundred people for years.'

The tunnel seemed to go on for miles and got colder with every step.

‘How do we get in?' I asked, eyeing the seamless walls.

‘Here.' Jenny moved to a blank spot on the wall. What the hell was she doing? She placed her hand on the smooth, concrete surface, and a palm scan suddenly beamed to life. A moment later, the outline of a door appeared.

‘Whoa,' I said under my breath.

‘Ready?' Jenny asked.

‘Not in the slightest.'

‘We can do this.' She pushed the door open, and I shielded my eyes against the glaring white light that poured out from within.

Chapter 43

When I could finally see, I was stunned by the sight of a crazy, big facility, bustling with scientists in white lab coats. Dozens of honeycombed labs were sectioned off with glass, all connected by thin roads buzzing with gleaming golf carts.

‘I'm totally disappointed,' I said struggling to talk over the heartbeat in my throat. ‘I really thought St. James Industries' secret lab would be underwater. Or at the very least, have one of those volcanos with a skull carved into it.'

Jenny let out a small laugh. ‘Well, hold off your judgment a little longer. You haven't seen the dungeons yet.'

‘Seriously?' I asked, wide-eyed. She smiled bigger.

‘Not funny.'

‘Come on,' she said, walking ahead. ‘We're up here.' I followed my sister down one of the pathways between honeycombs, staring into the small labs. It all looked very normal and science-y, but I was totally expecting, any minute, we'd come across a lab with a mermaid in a tank or a chained werewolf. It had that kind of vibe.

I jogged a few steps to catch up to Jenny. ‘Um, do you think that maybe you could fill me in on why I'm here now?' I asked, while mentally rehearsing the route we were taking.

Her face tensed. ‘He wants to talk to you.' I so hoped this conversation didn't involve a straightjacket and something in a syringe. ‘I'm not going to let him hurt you,' Jenny said. ‘Trust me.'

She led me into a hexagonal-shaped room, larger than the others, and teeming with scientists. A few stopped to look as we entered, and I did not like the expression on their faces. Anticipation. A few were practically drooling.

‘Why are they staring at me like that?' I whispered to Jenny.

‘I think it's that you're fresh blood, like, literally,' she said, grimacing a little in commiseration. ‘You've got my DNA written all over you.'

I looked back around at all the scientists. Well, I refused to be intimidated. I hopped up on one of the long white counters and cleared my throat loudly. ‘You're all going to die horribly. You know that, right?'

They froze.

‘If James Bond doesn't kill you, your fearless leader will.' I pointed at a photo of my father mounted on the wall. ‘It will be some demonstration like,
Oh, look at my new laser pen that turns people into petrified mummies
or something, and then he'll fire it at … you!' I said, pointing at a random scientist. The young man startled a wee bit.

‘… Just to be all cool and evil.' I finished with some warning jazz hands.

The group stayed frozen. Well, maybe not completely frozen. A few were giving me the slow blink.

‘Mark my words. That's how it will go down.' I stopped to pick at a fingernail. ‘You should probably run while you still have the chance.'

Nobody ran. So frustrating. They were just as bad as the Bremy-lemmings back at the float. I sighed. I couldn't save anybody.

‘Brianna.' The voice sent chills down my spine. ‘Please, stop scaring the help.'

Chapter 44

I jumped to my feet and whirled around.

‘Well, somebody should tell them the truth,' I said after a breath. ‘At least they can't say I didn't warn them.' My father stood in a doorway, wearing a dress shirt rolled at the sleeves and grey slacks. The look of the outfit was casual, almost friendly. The look on his face was not.

He nodded. ‘I see, Brianna the Truth Teller. It has a certain ring.'

I dug my fingernails into my palms. God, every time I saw him now, I felt floored, stunned, like I was on some TV talk show for an ambush reunion with my attempted murderer. Every single time.

I dug my nails in deeper. My fingers ached with the strain. My father may have had his reasons for wanting me here, but I had my own. I didn't get into the car just because Jenny asked me to, not entirely. I had another agenda. ‘Where's Ryder?'

‘All business and no play?' my father asked, making a quiet
tut tut
sound through his teeth. ‘That's not like you, Brianna.'

‘You know nothing about me,' I snapped.

‘Brianna—'

‘Father stop,' Jenny said.

He raised an eyebrow at my sister.

She held his gaze. ‘You know she hates it when you call her that.'

A moment passed. ‘You're right, my dear,' he said, moving to pat her hand. ‘You're right. It's time for new beginnings for all of us.' He looked back to me. ‘That's why I will answer your question.'

I kept my mouth shut, and waited.

‘Ryder is here. She is alive and well, although currently in a medically induced coma.'

I took a step towards him before I was able to catch myself. ‘What is it you want from her?'

He shook a finger at me and smiled. I waited again. It was clear we'd have this conversation on his terms. ‘I don't think you realise the esteem I hold for your beloved Ryder,' he said. ‘That's why I brought her here. You see, I want to know what makes Ryder so very special. After all, she certainly succeeded in one area where I have failed. She earned your loyalty.' The word hung heavily between us. ‘So I brought her here to find out.'

‘What exactly does that mean?'

‘Tests. DNA sequencing.' He brought his hands together and leaned back against a desk. ‘We tried a few times to observe her fighting techniques in a controlled setting, but she went through sparring partners rather quickly, and then there was the issue of her escape. For now, we've found her to be most useful in a vegetative state.'

I nodded, resisting the urge to lunge for his throat. ‘But that's not all you did to her, is it?' He raised his eyebrow again in question.

‘That wasn't Ryder I saw at the float.'

My father smiled with something genuine in it—I almost want to say warmth, but his temperature rarely went much above frigid. ‘Very good, Brianna.'

Blood rushed from my body. ‘I'm right? You …' I looked to my sister. She looked away. ‘What have you done?'

My father walked over to a desk, pressed a button on a phone and said. ‘Bring me Test Subject 824.'

Tense moments passed as we waited. I knew what was coming, but a big part of me couldn't believe it. Just then I spotted her, dressed in a white hospital gown, walking down the corridor between labs, men in white coats on either side. Ryder … but not Ryder.

The trio entered the room.

‘Impressive, don't you think?' my father asked me.

I couldn't speak. My eyes trailed over the woman before me. Saying
doppelganger
was one thing, seeing it was quite another. She looked exactly like Ryder, right down to the scarring on the side of her face. Her neon blue eyes were vacant though. ‘Did … did you chip her?'

I felt my father tense. ‘We have temporarily suspended our brain chip technology program. I'm sure you can imagine why, Brianna.'

I swallowed. Bart had found a way to hack the technology of the chip, making it possible for us to override the program's commands. ‘She is medicated, not chipped,' he offered. ‘We've had some problems with her compliance. She's been exhibiting some bizarre behaviours. We wanted to sow the seed that Ryder was becoming incompetent, not crazed. She's served her purpose though. The city is ready to accept alternatives.'

‘Jenny,' I murmured.

‘Indeed.'

‘Thank you,' my father said to the men. ‘You can take her back to her room.'

‘How did you do it?'

‘Surgery. Gene influence,' my father said with a dismissive wave. ‘She already looked quite a bit like your Ryder, but we were able to direct the sequence of her DNA expression using Ryder as a map to further the process. The scarring on her face, however, well, the technology behind that was a little more rudimentary.'

I rubbed my forehead. ‘Just when I think you can't get worse …'

‘Enough of this,' my father said. ‘Jenny, my dear, would you mind leaving us for a moment?'

I could see the struggle on my sister's face, but eventually she gave a single nod. ‘I'll be right outside.'