Waiting in the Shadows (10 page)

Chapter Eleven

‘We can only sit around here while the Labs at the Centre are in danger!' Ben paced around the room.

Megan nodded. ‘I also feel helpless. What can we do? If Abel cannot find a solution, who can?'

‘Whoever it is, they will have to find one quickly!' Joseph said.

‘We should try and get some sleep now,' Oliver said, getting to his feet. ‘Tomorrow we could phone the Manchester Labs and see if they have any ideas.'

It was late, so the students from the second house stayed the night. The following morning they were up early and set off home across London. As they emerged from the tube in the city centre, Joseph stopped at a kiosk to buy a newspaper.

‘Phew! Look at that!' he said looking at the front-page headlines and photos from the university demonstration. ‘I'm glad we got out in time!'

Sophie had noticed a young man nearby. From his accent she realised he was American. He was with two other young men, while close by were two burly, older men. Bodyguards, so he was obviously someone important. He had glanced across at her, then suddenly stopped talking to his friends and stared at her. He turned and said something to his friends then made his way towards her.

‘I know you, don't I?' he asked. He nodded at all four of them. ‘I do know you, don't I?'

The bodyguards appeared beside him.

‘I think we'd better go, Simon. Your father will be expecting you!' one of them said.

‘Just give me a minute,' he said his eyes fixed on Sophie's face. ‘I know you all, from somewhere, don't I?'

Sophie shook her head, ‘No, I don't think so.'

‘We haven't been here that long,' Joseph said.

‘And we've never been to America,' Megan added.

The young man was wiping sweat from his face; he had turned pale, ‘If only I could remember where I know you from.'

‘Come on, Simon,' one of the bodyguards looked anxiously at him, guiding him towards a black limousine which drew up beside them. ‘You don't look too good. Better get back to the hotel.'

Simon continued to stare at them as he let himself be seated in the car.

Sophie turned to Megan and gave a shudder, ‘That was eerie!'

Oliver looked at them. ‘You know who that was, don't you?' They all looked at him. ‘If I'm not mistaken, that was Simon Armstrong, the son of the US president. He's on an unofficial visit to England, before he starts studying here next year.'

‘Oh, yes. I read about that,' Megan said.

‘He has also made many trips to England to visit the Centre.' Oliver added softly.

Sophie gasped. ‘And he thinks he knows us!'

‘We must phone Celia as soon as we get home.'

‘This is amazing! How could he have any recollection of his time in the Centre before the operation?' Johnny said after Celia had told her of Sophie's phone call.

‘Perhaps his machine was faulty and he began to wake up, as I did,' Keith ventured.

‘There could be many others around the world who also have similar memories,' Dette said.

‘On Monday they are holding the first talks about the American takeover bid,' Celia shook her head.

‘We are in increasing danger every day! We
must
find a way to bring about the closure of the Centre as soon as possible!' Keith's face was grave. ‘How many Labs are free now, Abel?'

‘Nearly eight hundred,' he replied.

‘That's quite a large number. Surely we could all storm the building and free the rest of the Labs?' Isaac said, leaning forward excitedly.

‘We could free the Mature Labs, yes. But what about the developing Labs in the Nursery Ward? There are over two hundred of them at the moment,' Abel pointed out.

‘Couldn't you free those, too?' Isaac asked him.

‘We have never tried arresting the development of the Labs in the Nursery Ward. They are on an accelerated growth programme. We do not know what the results would be if we stopped their development before maturity. They are not like Non-Lab children,' Dette told him.

‘If only the Non-Labs running the Centre could understand how Labs feel!' Leon said.

‘Instead of seeing us as just spare parts!' his brother added.'

‘We need someone important who will listen to us!' Leon continued.

‘Someone with more weight behind them than the people running the Centre!' Johnny said.

‘Maybe that's it!' Ruby ventured.

Everyone looked at her expectantly.

‘It's probably a stupid idea!'

‘Go on, Ruby,' Keith nodded.

‘If the son of the president of the United States has memories of being at the Centre, maybe he can help us?' she suggested.

‘Ruby may have found a solution,' Abel breathed. ‘How can we persuade the president's son to help us?'

There was silence for several minutes which was broken by a sudden cry from Isaac.

‘I've got it! I'm sure it could work!' he shouted.

‘You'd better go and join the others, Ruby,' Isaac said glancing at his watch. ‘Are they all here?'

‘Yes. Sakura, Jade, and Miyu just arrived a few minutes ago,' she said. ‘I do hope it all works out!'

‘It will!' he replied confidently. ‘Just make sure everyone follows the plan; unless I signal you.'

Ruby had just disappeared through the door when Simon appeared flanked by his two bodyguards. The older men positioned themselves by the bar as Isaac stood up and approached Simon with his hand out.

‘Thanks so much for agreeing to be interviewed, Simon!' he shook his hand warmly. ‘You don't know what this means to me! It'll really help my standing with the paper!'

‘And low-key, as you promised me, hey?' Simon gave him a smile.

‘You bet! Beer?' Isaac asked him.

‘A Bud, please. Sorry! I know I'm in England!' He gave a rueful shrug.

Soon the two young men were sitting talking. Led by Isaac's questions, Simon chatted easily about his life in the US and his plans for studying in England A young man approached their table.

‘Hi, Isaac. Didn't know you were up in town this weekend!' he said.

‘Quick visit only, Ben! Maybe I'll catch up with you next time!' he replied.

Simon looked around and blinked rapidly as he saw Ben retreating.

‘I think I've met him before,' he murmured.

‘Well, you were telling me about American football! Not at all like the game we play here, is it?' Isaac continued.

‘What? Eh, no …' Simon's attention was diverted again as twin girls waved across at Isaac before sitting down at a table on the far side of the bar. ‘Their faces are familiar, too!'

‘Have you visited many other places outside London?' Isaac asked him.

‘Yeah, a few places; I went to …' Simon, his eyes on the doorway, had suddenly turned pale.

Isaac looked concerned. ‘Hey, are you OK?'

‘It's
her
!' he whispered, as Sakura, Jade, and Miyu came in. Sakura looked at them and smiled. Isaac beckoned them over. They were followed by one of Simon's bodyguards.

‘You OK, son?' one of them said, glancing around the table. ‘Your mom said if you're not looking too good …'

Simon took a deep breath and nodded his head, ‘I'm fine, just great, Geoff. Catching up with some old pals here!'

With a second glance around the table, Geoff left them to join his partner at the bar.

‘I saw you, sleeping … in that glass box!' Simon whispered to Sakura.

She nodded and put her hand over his.

Simon gave a gasp,' You're not going to tell me I imagined it? You saw me, too?'

‘I didn't see you. I was not awakened then. But we think we know what happened,' she replied.

The other girls exchanged glances and nodded.

‘Where did I see you? When?' Simon asked them. ‘And the others?'

‘We must take you to where it happened,' Sakura told him.

‘It's not a place many … people … know about,' Miyu added.

‘It'll have to be a secret. No one else can know just yet,' Isaac said. ‘Not even them.' He gestured towards the bodyguards.

Sakura looked into his eyes, ‘Are you willing to put your trust in us, Simon?'

‘I
do
trust you. I feel I know many of you,' he gave a short laugh. ‘You know, I've been thinking I've been going nuts these past few months!'

‘No, you're not, but this story may be difficult for you to accept,' Sakura squeezed his hand gently. ‘You were in England on several occasions before you came to study in London, weren't you?'

‘Yes, but I wasn't really aware of much of my surroundings! I was in a hospital in a Medical Centre somewhere north of London,' he shrugged. ‘So I met all you guys then, did I?'

‘We think it is best to go to the Centre to enable us to establish exactly what happened. And to tell you all the things you need to know,' Sakura told him.

The following week Simon set out for the Centre with Sakura, Isaac, and Celia.

‘Tell us about your dreams, Simon, in as much detail as you can,' Celia told him.

Simon slowly recounted his dreams, telling her unlike the other occasions; he had felt calm when he woke from his last dream.

‘I knew I had to find the sleeping girl. And I did!'

‘With a little help!' Isaac pointed out.

‘We heard how you had reacted to meeting the students in London,' Celia told him.

‘You did?' Simon looked around him. ‘Do you all know each other?'

They nodded.

‘And it's all connected to the Centre?' he asked.

‘You must know about the background to the Centre, Simon. This may be difficult for you …' Celia began.

‘I know about it. My dad has some stem cells cloned from my tissue which they use to repair me when I get injured,' he said.

‘There's more to it than that, Simon,' Sakura told him.

‘They don't stop at stem cells; they produce human clones and keep them as spare parts for the humans they are created for. Sometimes more than one copy, like twins or triplets of the donor,' she told him.

Simon gave a disbelieving laugh, ‘What, you mean they create whole body copies of the donors and just pick out the bits they need?'

He shook his head as they all nodded.

‘That's correct,' Celia told him.

‘But why don't these new people just walk out?' he continued.

‘They are kept sleeping,' Sakura said.

‘In those capsules …' Simon whispered as she nodded again. ‘You mean you're one of those …?'

She caught Celia's eye in the mirror and watched her nod. Turning her wrist upwards she gently pulled the plastic strip off to reveal her tattooed code – SAF 24912.

‘Yes, Simon, I am a Lab,' she told him. She gestured around the car, ‘Apart from Isaac, we are all Labs.'

‘Labs?' Simon repeated.

‘Labs – people created in a laboratory, unlike Non-Labs, myself and you, created under normal conditions,' Isaac explained. ‘We decided it might make things a bit easier for you if I came with you today, one of your own kind.'

He took a deep breath, ‘Actually, I'm a bit nervous myself. This is my first visit to the Centre, too.'

Simon sat back in his seat, a stunned expression on his face.

A short while later the car turned off the road and headed along a narrow lane. Suddenly it swung onto a dirt track and soon afterwards drew to a halt. Celia and Sakura climbed out and signalled the two men to follow them. They stood outside a small wooden door almost hidden behind a covering of ivy. Celia spoke on her mobile phone and the door opened to reveal Abel. They entered and the door was closed swiftly behind them.

‘Has he been informed?' Abel gestured towards Simon.

‘Of the basics only,' Celia replied. ‘It's probably better if he visits the Mature Ward before he is given any further information.'

Sakura held out her hand to Simon, hesitantly.

‘Are you ready, Simon? ‘Would you like to look around the room from your dreams?'

He nodded without looking at her.

Abel walked to a large frosted glass door and entered a code into a keypad. The door slid back to let them enter.

The orange glow and gentle humming seemed very familiar to Simon.

Sakura started to walk slowly towards the far side of the room.

‘No, wait!' Simon whispered. ‘Let me show you where I saw you!'

He looked around, his brow furrowed in concentration.

‘Now; I was … here? … No, one row back! Yes!' he walked towards a capsule.

‘I got out of here and walked up this far. Then I turned to the right. I walked back one, two, three rows.'

He pointed to a capsule, ‘You were there!'

Sakura smiled and nodded slowly. She looked around.

‘I remember being awoken, and taking my first steps! It felt so strange, yet somehow familiar …'

Simon nodded. ‘I felt that way exactly!'

‘Yes, a Lab brain is programmed to have the physical skills of a young adult; so though it was a new experience, you felt you had done it before,' Celia explained.

Simon walked around looking down at the sleeping faces. He stopped in front of a capsule and gazed at its occupant.

‘There was a different person sleeping here when I was here,' he whispered. Celia looked away.

‘We must leave now!' Abel told them. ‘A new shift begins in ten minutes and all wards will be inspected.'

Soon they were all in the car heading away from the building.

‘Where are we going?' Simon asked. ‘I don't think I'm ready to return to my London flat and friends just yet.'

‘If you agree, we would like to take you to our house. It's quite nearby,' Celia glanced at his face. ‘I live there with four other Labs and a Non-Lab. We could discuss this matter.'