The Secret (The Scinegue Series Book 1) (16 page)

“For now, it’s imperative that you accept any promotions they offer, and that you do your best to act like you are on board with whatever they tell you.” Billy and Sarah shared a quick look, deciding not to mention his job just yet. “They will ease you into their way of thinking,” Farmer Dan continued, “so you’ll have some time before they ask you to make the commitment to fully join them.”

“What do you think I will be able to do on the inside that no one else can?” Billy asked in frustration.

“In all of the troubling plans that have recently come to light, one name has popped up repeatedly: Eugene Bryant.”

Billy inhaled sharply, surprised that out of all the people who worked for Scinegue he knew the one they were talking about.

“We think it’s highly likely that he has paperwork or files or a record of some type that will lead to the person or persons behind these plans. We believe you’ll have more access than a normal new hire and be able to get into his office and find those names.”

Billy frowned. “What makes you think it’s not just him behind everything? I’ve talked to him and he sounds completely on board with this kind of stuff.”

“He doesn’t have the power necessary to put these plans into motion,” Farmer Dan replied, pulling his hands from the front pockets of his overalls and moving towards the control panel. “He’s just a local manager. It would take someone much higher up to approve the kinds of things we’re hearing about. It would take a Top.”

The reverence in his voice when Mr. Bryant spoke of the Tops flashed through Billy’s mind. He acted as if they could do no wrong. He could easily see him doing anything they told him to do just because they were
Tops
.

He suddenly shook his head with another thought. “I’ve been in Mr. Bryant’s office. We had to go through two security doors just to get there. How on earth do you think I’m going to just waltz into his office and find something useful?”

“Bob has a connection in security. If you have the clearance we expect you will, he should be able to arrange things so you can do just that.” Linda glanced at her husband who stood by the panel next to the door, ready to punch in the code with a worried look clouding his face.

“Linda?”

“Okay, go ahead,” she said, sounding resigned.

Billy and Sarah looked at the door and then each other. They were both so full of questions, but they had to respect the other couple’s concern. Farmer Dan and Linda knew a lot about the company. If they were concerned that it was unsafe to stay in there too long, then so be it, but Billy decided he would find a way to get back in there tonight before they left. He needed to ask one more question.

Farmer Dan emerged from the greenhouse talking about the watering system they had supposedly been looking at and led them to the next greenhouse.

“Here is the seed garlic we told you about.” He picked up a handful of large garlic cloves from a basket and dropped them into a small paper sack, handing it to Sarah. “If you want to keep these pure you need to cover the flowers before they open with some type of bag that pollen and bees can’t get through. Then you can hand pollinate them.”

When Sarah and Billy just looked at him blankly, he laughed. “We’ll cover that kind of stuff in the regular classes. Don’t worry, it’s easy. You just use a small brush to transfer pollen to the flower.”

He led them to their large outdoor garden. Even though it was getting dark, they could see paper bags secured on some of the plants. “We’re trying to maintain some pure species of these plants,” Linda explained. “With all the hybrid species and now the GMO crops, we feel it’s necessary to maintain some plain, untampered seeds.”

Billy and Sarah tried to pay attention to the conversation, but thoughts of Scinegue kept interfering. First Billy’s promotion, then learning that for generations his family had been part of the original company, or at least its’ experiments.

Sarah wasn’t sure if they would have another chance to talk privately with the Browns again that night, but she decided they needed to know about Billy’s new job. She gave Billy’s hand a squeeze to try to prepare him before she said brightly, “Well, my husband got a promotion today which includes a new house, so we’ll have to implement some of your ideas when we start a garden there.”

Farmer Dan and Linda looked from Sarah to Billy, startled. Sarah gave them a big nod. “Yeah, he’s pretty excited about it, aren’t you sweetie?”

“So soon,” Farmer Dan murmured so quietly only Linda heard him.

“Oh, yeah, I can’t wait to really get started.” Billy looked at Sarah for support, but she just shrugged. She had told the Browns what she wanted them to know. Now she wasn’t sure if she should get into more detail or leave it at that.

Linda came to her rescue. “A promotion! And a new house! Congratulations, that must be very exciting for you. Not to try to put in a shameless sales plug here, but Daniel and I would love to help you clear some space and get a new garden started. Just let us know if you’re interested and we can come over and see the area before we discuss prices.”

“Well, it’s really too dark to see much more out here so I guess we should call it a night,” Farmer Dan was saying, and Billy rushed to interrupt him.

“Yes, of course. I just have one more quick question on the watering system you showed us. Do you think I can take another look at it before we leave? Sarah, if you and Linda want to head back to the house we’ll be right behind you.”

All three of the others looked at him curiously but went along with him. “Sure, Billy. We have some flashlights in there. Let’s see if I can answer your question.”

Billy watched Sarah and Linda start along the flower-lined garden path that led to the house before he followed Farmer Dan back into the secure greenhouse. Farmer Dan entered the code that sent out the magnetic blocking signal and grabbed a couple of flashlights off a shelf by the door. He and Billy shined them around the white pipes comprising the watering system for show.

“Well, son, what is it?”

“You worked for Scinegue. I just need to know, will Sarah be safe if I take this job? Or if I don’t take this job? They wanted me to divorce her before accepting the position. Then they changed their minds and said that wasn’t an issue any longer. Do you think they would cause her to ‘have an accident’ or something to get rid of her?”

Farmer Dan turned to him and his eyes were sympathetic. “I really don’t know. Things are coming to a head with that company after they’ve waited more than a hundred years to put their big plans in motion.” He traced the white pipes that lined the ceiling with his flashlight.

“They probably would have acted sooner if Hitler hadn’t taken the ideas to the extreme and raised so much opposition, but it has been long enough now that people are forgetting what happened in Germany. I know Scinegue will be much more discreet about what they do than Hitler was, but it has the potential to be more widely spread than anything the world has ever seen. I say all that just to tell you I can see them going either way with Sarah. She doesn’t meet their exact requirements, but she isn’t physically or mentally handicapped, and they know you won’t be happy without her.”

He lowered his flashlight and met Billy’s worried eyes. “On the other hand, I’m sure they would prefer to have you produce children with another third-generationer to start the fourth generation of their experiment. Sarah could be the end of over half a century of research. I don’t think they’ll take that lightly.”

Although he hadn’t given him a firm answer, Farmer Dan had confirmed Billy’s fears. Sarah would be seen as an obstacle to the company’s goals. How far they were willing to go to get rid of her he could only guess.

I
nstead of going straight home, Billy drove out to the lake. He and Sarah got out of the truck without a word and walked over to a picnic table in a well-lit area.

“I thought we should go somewhere besides the park. If we go there every night they’ll probably install cameras.” Billy sat on the bench beside Sarah so they could both look out over the lake.

“Are you all right?” Sarah asked, pulling her light jacket close around her to fend off the rapidly cooling evening air. “That was a lot to take in at one time.”

“It was pretty shocking, but I’m okay. So much has happened today that I don’t think I even told you they’re planning to move us tomorrow morning.”

Sarah’s eyebrows shot up. “That soon, huh? Wow. I’ve been thinking we should keep our house. Maybe my brother, Ritchie, would be willing to live there for a while so we wouldn’t have to worry about upkeep.”

“That’s fine with me if he’s interested. Why do you want to keep it though, just so we have a place to move back to when this is all finally over?”

Sarah reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Linda gave me this when I was helping her in the kitchen tonight.” She unfolded the paper and laid it on the table.

“She was chatting about preserving what you grow in the garden. Canning, freezing, stuff like that, and then she started writing this list and pressed it into my hand without a word, but she gave me a look like she was trying to impress upon me how important this was. I just glanced over it earlier. It looks like a list of food and supplies for emergency survival.” She smoothed out the paper.

“I was thinking we could add these things to the shelter you and Ritchie dug in the backyard last summer. We’ve never really done anything about stocking it for emergencies, other than those peaches I canned and the bottled water. We won’t exactly be able to hide it at our new house with Maria and her husband there.”

Billy looked down at the list. At the top Linda had written,
You won’t have time to preserve enough food if you are starting now. Buy the things on this list and anything else you need, but keep it all out of sight. Food storage might not be allowed much longer.

“I wonder what she means about food storage not being allowed?” Billy looked over at Sarah, but she just shrugged. “This is a long list,” he commented after reading through it.

Sarah looked towards the lake. “I just wish the Browns would tell us everything they know at one time. I understand their concern about being watched, but the way they just throw us tidbits of information is kind of suspicious.”

“Suspicious?” Billy gave her a puzzled smile.

She looked at him and smiled at her words. “I guess everything that has been happening is making me leery of trusting anyone. All I meant about the Browns is that it seems like they know a lot about what is going on, right?

She waited for him to nod. “So, why don’t they just tell everyone the most important things at the first meeting? Then people could go back to find out more details if they were still interested. At least everyone who goes to them for information would get an overview instead of just a few scary teasers.”

“Like the ‘scary teaser’ that I was basically bred for my genes.” Billy looked out over the smooth, dark lake, contemplating the moon’s reflection on the water.

“I want to fault my grandparents and great-grandparents for being a part of Scinegue, but I can’t. Some of what I’ve heard about the company is good. Growing and providing nourishing foods, encouraging a more thorough education. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s when you learn about their willingness to get rid of people who don’t meet their standards that things get ugly.”

He shifted his weight on the concrete picnic bench trying to get comfortable. “I’m trying to tell myself that my relatives probably didn’t know anything about the darker side of the company. That’s possible, right?”

Sarah turned to look at his profile, sensing his hurt and confusion. “I think it’s very possible, Billy.” She twined her fingers through his. “Different people did different things within the company. It doesn’t mean they were all privy to everything that was going on. Linda and Dan make it sound like they didn’t know anything bad was going on while they worked there.”

He nodded without turning to look at her. “I’m glad my parents didn’t know anything about this. It would be hard to think they willingly produced me just to raise me as a guinea pig. I would spend the rest of my life wondering if they had ever really loved me, or if I was just part of their work.”

He sat quietly, replaying everything the Browns had told them. “I’d like to tell my parents what we’ve learned so far and ask them about their parents and grandparents, but I’m afraid it would cause them that same hurt and confusion. Only it would be worse for them since their parents were knowing participants.”

Sarah rubbed his shoulder before wrapping her arm around his neck and guiding his head down to hers to lean her forehead against his. “I think you’re right. It’s unlikely that they know anything. Right now, it probably would just hurt them. It could even put them in danger. I don’t think we should say anything about any of this unless we ever have a really good reason. Do you agree?”

“Yeah, I can’t think of any good it would do them to know,” Billy wrapped his arms around Sarah, pulling her snug against him, and kissed her slowly. “Let’s go home and enjoy sleeping in our own house for one last night, shall we?”

“One last night for now,” Sarah corrected. “I have a feeling we’ll be back there someday.”

“Do you think you would want to go back after living in a mansion?”

“It’s home, you know? I think it would be just fine after a mansion. I might even look forward to it.” She laughed. “Can you imagine how much walking we’ll have to do in our new house just to get from one side to the other?” Sarah raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes in mock terror as Billy laughed with her.

“I guess I won’t have to use that gym at work much.”

“Or the gym at home,” Sarah added and gave him a playful wink. “I have to say, I am looking forward to trying out that hot tub with you.”

T
he movers had arrived bright and early. Even though it was only lunch time, the large truck parked out front was almost loaded with everything she and Billy had decided to take with them.

Sarah tried calling her brother again and left another message when he didn’t answer. She wasn’t sure if he would want to house-sit for them or not, but it might be nicer for him than the small apartment surrounded by noisy neighbors that he had now. She didn’t have to make a decision about the house today. He would call back when he could, and she would go from there.

Sarah walked from room to room, surprised by the sadness that descended on her. Although they were leaving most of their furniture behind since the new house was already furnished, it still felt bare without their personal effects lying around. This was her and Billy’s first home together. Maybe if the house they were moving into really felt like it was theirs, she would feel differently. Right now it felt to her like they were moving into Billy’s office or something just as impersonal.

She went outside and walked through what was left of the garden; just the cold-hardy crops remained. She would ask the Bensons, their neighbors who raised the chickens, if they wanted to take care of it until they got someone else into the house.

They could either have the produce for themselves or for their chickens if they were interested. She wondered if there was some way to hint to them that maybe they should start storing some extra food for emergencies without sounding corny.

She bent to pull a few small weeds out of habit. She and Billy hadn’t even told their parents they were moving, she realized. That wasn’t too surprising since it had literally happened overnight. She wasn’t sure she was ready to talk to her parents about it yet.

She could just hear her mom. She had always wanted the best for her only daughter, and when she found out Sarah would be living in Scinegue she would be ecstatic. And annoying. Sarah imagined the conversation, with her mom indirectly badmouthing Billy, even as she gloried in the fact that her daughter would finally be living in a house
worthy
of her. Sarah rolled her eyes at the imagined conversation.

She decided
that
was a phone call she was going to postpone. It wasn’t like her parents ever dropped in unannounced. Living out of town, they hardly dropped by at all. She could count on one hand the times they had even been to this house. Billy’s parents stopped by a little more frequently, though. She would remind Billy to let them know they were moving for a while.

Would it just be a while?
she wondered, looking around the yard.
Would Billy really just be able to waltz into the company, find all their dark and dirty secrets, expose them, and then walk away at all, much less quickly?

“Oh Lord, give us strength for whatever we are getting into,” she breathed, overwhelmed by everything she’d learned in the last few days.

“Mrs. Roth? We’re finished.” Sarah looked up to see one of the movers watching her from the back door. “Will you be at the house when we unload or do you want to give us instructions now?”

“I’m going to stop by my brother’s house before going over there,” she decided suddenly. “So if you could just put the boxes in the same rooms they came out of we will unpack everything later.” She paused. “Oh! I guess I do need to be there to let you in, though.”

“No, ma’am. We do all the moves for Scinegue. We’ve already been in contact with your housekeeper and she’s expecting us.”

“Oh, wow. Okay then, thank you.”

‘Your housekeeper’ he’d said. That was going to take some getting used to, having a live-in housekeeper and
butler
? She realized she didn’t know what exactly Maria’s husband did. It doesn’t matter, she reminded herself. It felt like this part of her life wasn’t real and would surely be temporary. Wouldn’t it?

She hurried inside to grab her purse and keys. She hadn’t known she was planning to stop by Ritchie’s apartment until the words were out of her mouth. It wasn’t like him to not answer his cell phone, and she couldn’t help being a little worried.

I
n less than fifteen minutes, she stood before her brother’s door and knocked, not really expecting an answer. So when the door flew open and she was unceremoniously yanked inside, she let out a scream. Her brother, who had pulled her in and slammed the door behind her, put a hand over her mouth to muffle her cry of surprise.

“Hey sis, it’s me. You have to be really quiet, okay?” He nodded slowly until she nodded along with him, then he lowered his hand from her mouth. “Sorry about that,” he whispered. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been trying to call you, and you didn’t answer. I was just worried about you. And apparently I was right to be worried?” she accused with a raised brow.

Although he was her ‘little’ brother, he towered over her, but she wasn’t intimidated by his size. He
was
her little brother. “What is going on here?” She demanded with her hands on her hips, taking in his disheveled appearance and worried frown.

“Shh!” He cautioned again. “Please, keep it down. I’ve gotten tangled up in some pretty weird stuff. I think it would be best for you to just leave. Maybe no one saw you come here if we’re lucky.” He looked out the peephole in the door.

“What kind of stuff, Ritchie? What’s going on?” She brushed past him and sat down on the sagging couch in the living room, figuring it would be harder for him to get rid of her if she was settled in.

Ritchie walked over slowly and sat beside his sister with a deep sigh, their blond hair almost a perfect match side-by-side.

Sarah reached over and grabbed his hand. “Okay, talk to me baby brother.”

“Sarah, I want to, believe me, but I don’t want to get you involved in this.” He gave her a sorrowful look and squeezed her hand.

“Ritchie, you can’t even imagine what I’m already involved in. I don’t think this could be much worse.” She sat forward with a sudden thought. “You’re not into drugs or anything like that are you?”

“Of course not,” he answered, not even sounding offended, just tired.

He gave her a worried look, not wanting to involve her but really needing to tell someone what was going on. “Okay, here’s the thing,” he started abruptly. “Some guy approached me after class last week, asked if I wanted to make some extra money doing computer work for him. I jumped on it. I can always use a little extra cash, you know?” She understood completely, knowing that going to school full time and working when he could didn’t leave him much extra money.

“The guy looked decent. If he had looked like a scary thug or ‘godfather’ character I probably would have given the job a little more consideration before I accepted, but he didn’t. He looked normal and was very professional. He started having me do some basic research. He wanted addresses for people who weren’t in the phone book but weren’t exactly top secret either. I didn’t think it was a big deal, and he paid me a hundred dollars per address.”

His right eyebrow rose towards his hairline. “Sis, these addresses didn’t take me five minutes to track down. I should have been suspicious right then. I just figured the guy was naïve and didn’t realize what an easy job he’d given me. Well, he wasn’t naïve, I was. Naïve and just plain stupid.” His expression was full of self-reproach.

“The next thing I knew he had me hacking into a secure site, ‘just to get some information on this guy who owed him some money and had disappeared’. According to him, anyway. I felt weird breaking into that site, but somehow he had me convinced that it wasn’t a big deal, blah, blah, blah. I guess I thought it was kind of exciting to test my computer skills, to see if I actually could get in.” He stood and started to pace the small living area.

“Ritchie, that can’t be a huge deal.” Sarah watched him as he paced. “Just go to the police, tell them your part in it, but turn that guy in. He took advantage of you.”