~
“What is taking so long? I need you to get moving! I must have her back immediately!” Professor Reed screeched, leaping to his feet when Max appeared in his office.
The big man took a seat, unbuttoning his coat with his good hand and settling in with an air of insolence. “I’m glad to be rid of her.”
The old man was so agitated he was practically jumping up and down. “Hire more staff if you need to, but I want her back right away or else–”
“Or else what?” Max asked, a challenge in his voice. He leaned back in his chair.
Reed sat down, struggling for composure. When he spoke his voice was menacing. “You imbecile. What kind of security operation are you running?”
Max was disgusted. “You really are a crazy old coot, aren’t you?”
The professor was taken aback, not used to such blatant disrespect from his staff. He paused for a moment, finally asking, “What about the women? Have you procured them for me?”
Max leaned forward with an evil smile. “There’s been a little change of plans. I’m no longer working for you.”
Professor Reed looked at him incredulously. “Are you serious? Is this about money?”
Max threw his head back with a laugh; he’d been waiting for this moment for a long time. He pulled out a cigarette, lighting it and drawing deeply. He calmly explained to the professor that he’d drained the bank accounts and was going to be leaving, taking Layla and Michael with him.
“You probably should have been a little nicer to that boy. He’s been a big help to me. I know all about how you’ve been running your scams, and now that I’ve got the accounts, I don’t need you at all now … do I?”
The professor gasped as the enormity of his mistake was revealed. “Layla would never betray me …”
“Oh, but she has no choice in the matter. She’ll be working for me now. And you can rest assured that I’ll be putting her talents to much better use than you ever did.”
The professor frantically logged onto his computer, checking his accounts; his face blanched. He reached for the phone with a shaking hand and his eyes flew open with shock when he found the line had gone dead.
Max stood up. “I’m going to need you to stay in your office until we clear out. Don’t worry about the twins,” he snarled. “You won’t be seeing either one of them ever again.” He buttoned his coat and reached over to grind his cigarette out on the desk, nodding towards the big man standing just outside the door. “Joe will be keeping an eye on you for me.”
Max smiled again, clearly enjoying the professor’s shocked reaction. He left the room without saying goodbye.
Professor Reed dropped his head into his hands. He had made a fatal error; he should never have told Max how to avoid being manipulated by the Athena effect. He wouldn’t have needed to know if it wasn’t for the mission to collect Caledonia … And now she was gone forever.
His servant had become his master.
“When you lie down with dogs …” he whispered.
He slid his desk drawer open and pulled out a picture. It was a group photo of the first research subjects smiling happily. They all looked very young, and so did he, standing with a smile between David and Jenny. The thought occurred to him that his entire life’s work had been a waste, and his lips tightened into a thin line.
“NOOOOO …” he screamed, his voice cracking from the effort.
~
Layla was trapped in her room without so much as a new book to keep her company. The help refused to answer questions or make eye contact, and the corridor between her and Michael’s room was locked up tight. She nursed a bruised cheek and hurt feelings, thinking Teddy must really be angry with her to allow Max to get away with treating her so brutally.
Restless, she got up to look out through the bars of her window, wondering if she would have had the courage to climb down like Cali did. Maybe, she thought, if there was a boy blazing with passionate love waiting to whisk her away. She sighed, going back to the couch to re-read one of her old favorites.
A muffled scream echoed throughout the building, and she sat up, straining to listen. She heard a door slam shut, followed by an eerie silence. She frowned, settling back down to return to her book.
Before too long, she was lost in the story.
~
THE END
~
Excerpt from the sequel to “The Athena Effect,” “The Mackenzie Legacy”
~
Caledonia watched his assistant steel herself and cast a cloud of intense blood-red infatuation directly into the volunteer’s eyes, topping it off with a compliant amethyst. The woman in blue looked adoringly at the magician, and he took her in his arms, twirling and dipping her theatrically to the hoots and hollers of the audience. He released her and took a deep bow to delighted applause, exiting the stage.
His assistant led the dazed audience member back to her seat, stopping briefly to send her an unmistakable pop of lemon yellow confusion. The woman took her seat, asking her giggling friends, “What did I do?”
Caledonia was shocked. She had just witnessed the Athena effect in action, and yet this woman was far too old to have been mutated in the womb by Professor Reed’s drug experimentation. How could it be? If she hadn’t seen it with her own two eyes she wouldn’t have believed it. She followed her over to the bar in the darkened lounge.
The woman sat down heavily, motioning to the bartender. “Scotch and soda.” She wore theatrical makeup, and her thick black hair was teased high and piled on top of her head. She looked hard, and even older up close than she did from the stage. She took the tumbler the bartender handed her, lifting her glass to drink with a tired air.
Caledonia studied her profile, trying to make sense of what she’d just witnessed, finally speaking, “I saw what you did. I saw you change her.”
The woman sighed, turning to look up. Her own mismatched eyes mirrored Caledonia’s, flying open in shock and recognition. “Well, I’ll be damned … Where did you come from?” She looked around. “Who are you with?”
“M-my boyfriend,” Caledonia answered, stammering in disbelief as she looked into one golden brown eye and one blue eye, “You have heterochromia …”
“I have what?” she asked, sizing Caledonia up with an appraising glance. She knocked back her drink and motioned to the bartender, “Gimme two more Joe–neat.” She nodded to the stool next to her, “Have a seat. You look like you just saw a ghost.”
~
“The Mackenzie Legacy” is available at all major e-book retailers.
Other books by Derrolyn Anderson:
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“Between The Land and the Sea”
“The Moon and the Tide”
“The Fate of the Muse”
“The Turning Tides”
“The Mackenzie Legacy”
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www.derrolyn.com
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