Chapter Twenty-Five: Kai
Kai stood in the middle of the warehouse waiting. Noah was gone, Red drifted up to the second floor of the warehouse after some comment about how great their plans were, Brandons was tinkering at his table and Jackknife, who was watching him, had pulled a broken piece of a wooden crate off of the floor and was whittling it down with a knife from his belt. The T-Man was nowhere to be seen. Kai glanced around to double check the T-Man’s absence, his hand closing into a fist. He had known better. He thought he had known better.
“Here it is.” The T-Man’s voice came from behind him.
Kai spun around to see the T-Man holding out a small information chip. “Did you think I wouldn’t hold up my end of the bargain?” The T-Man smirked and placed the chip in Kai’s hand. “Brandons, let this kid use your computer for a minute.”
“Right, Danny.” Brandons picked up his handheld and moved to the other side of the warehouse.
In a daze, Kai followed the T-Man over to Brandons’ table and the small computer set up on one end. The T-Man took the chip back and plugged it into the mainframe. Files popped up on the screen.
“What would you like to know first? Your mom’s name? Where you came from? Your name?”
“I want to know about my mom,” Kai said. He leaned forward gripping the edge of the table and held his breath as the T-Man clicked one of the files.
“Your mother’s name was Thirteenth Official Allia Washington,” the T-Man said. The picture of a dark-haired woman flashed to the front of the screen. She had sad, dark green eyes and her mouth was set in a thin line. According to the bio next to her photo, Allia Washington was 58 years old. But on the next line there was a date of death, January 11, 2722, over twelve years ago.
“She’s dead?” Kai had to squeeze the words out around the lump forming in his throat.
The T-Man clicked on another file and it showed a small dark-haired woman walking to a speeder with a lump, like a large package or small dog, under her coat. She climbed inside and for a moment all Kai could see was her head moving. Then the speeder shot up into the air and exploded. Fiery dust and metal shards rained down on the street, most no bigger than a coin.
Kai watched the screen unable to move. His mother was dead. Then a thought occurred to him. He dragged his eyes away from the screen and looked at the T-Man. “How do you know this woman is my mother?”
“Check this out.” The T-Man clicked on another file.
The screen showed an office and looked down on a gentleman sitting behind a desk. It took Kai a moment to realize he knew this office. The wood paneled walls, the flag in the corner and the painting of the stern man with glasses on his nose were all objects Kai had stared at when he waited for Father Merrick to arrive.
“Father, there’s a woman here to see you. An Allia Washington,” a secretary said, from the door beyond the view of the camera. The time stamp on the bottom of the screen was dated December 20, 2721. Three weeks before her death.
The man raised his head and Kai recognized a younger Father Merrick.
“Show her in,” Father Merrick said.
The same dark-haired woman walked into the room and stood in front of the desk.
“Please be seated.” Father Merrick pointed an opened hand at an empty chair. “How can I help you?”
“I heard you take in orphans and care for them,” the woman said.
“I do.”
“I have a boy, four years old, who needs a place to live.”
“I’m sorry. Perhaps you did not understand. We don’t take in children with living parents.”
“I do understand, but I cannot care for him where I live. He is not safe.”
Safe?
“There are many government programs I am sure you could apply for that will give you food, shelter and clothes. I can help you find the ones right for you--”
“I can’t go to the government.” Allia stood up. “You are my last hope.”
“But I cannot take in a child who is not an orphan. Our resources are limited enough as it is.”
“They will kill him.” Allia placed her hands on his desk and leaned over it. Then she spun around and began to pace across the room. “I had a young charge for thirteen years and when she died they promised me that my son would never have to endure what she did. They--they tortured her, with their new experimental treatments and the training they put her through. But she died before they got what they wanted from her. Two days ago, I found a release form for my son to enter into the candidate program and if he does they will push him until he dies or they kill him. I have to get him out before that happens. You must help me.”
Father Merrick dropped his gaze to the desk, his fingers straightened papers. “I can’t. Even if I could make an exception for your son, to go against the Compound is more than I am prepared to do. I’m sorry.”
“Please.” Allia’s voice barely reached the camera.
“I am sorry, truly I am.”
The footage showed Allia leaving, a hand pressed to her face. Then the frame paused.
“If that isn’t enough,” the T-Man said. “Then this will be.”
And before Kai could jump the T-Man stabbed his hand with a small needle. He dropped a speck of Kai’s blood onto a rectangle glass plate with a cable running to the back of the computer. The T-Man clicked several keys. Two screens popped up.
“This is her DNA and this is yours. Notice how many markers you have in common,” he said and then he walked away.
Kai leaned closer. The two profiles had many similarities, too many to deny. Any doubt Kai may have had about Allia Washington being his mother was gone. She was his mother and she was dead.
Then another thought hit him. His mother had killed herself so Father Merrick would take him in. She made it look like she had taken a small boy into the speeder with her when she died so no one would be looking for him. His whole family was dead and in that moment he felt more alone than he had his whole life. At least before there was hope, no matter how small, that he was not alone. Now all hope was gone. He would never walk up to a door where a waiting embrace would greet him.
One by one Kai moved on to each of the files. He found out his official name was Brian Rybert Washington and he was born April 3, 2718 according to the Beta Earth calendar. There was a string of his DNA with sections in a different color showing which strands had been replaced and note on what had replaced it. There were modified strands of whale, elephant, fox and dog DNA and a good amount from someone called GY59324. Each modification was meant to increase different natural aspects: the ability to swim for long periods underwater, oxygen retention, good memory, problem solving skills and a compliant nature.
He clicked on another clip that showed a young boy with dark hair maybe two or three years old sitting on a steel table. The boy cried while a man in a white coat stuck him with needle after needle. In the background Kai could make out the shape of Allia standing by the wall. She stood with her back straight, but Kai could see her right arm spasm when the boy screamed.
There were other files of release forms, financial agreements and test results. There was also a number of the vault where Allia’s ashes were kept. None of these files mentioned who Kai’s father might be; although with the amount of DNA he had that also matched patient GY59324 he suspected there might be a connection. He also discovered that on all his patient files he was referred to as Brian GY62988.
Then another clip caught his eye. It was called Brian Playing in the Nursery. The boy must have been near four years old. He was sitting in a room building a tower of blocks and helping him was a 2 year old girl with white blond hair. The girl would hand him blocks and he would put them on the top of the tower. They smiled and giggled when the tower wobbled. A large woman with a white apron came in the room.
“Caryn, it’s time to go,” the woman said. She opened her arms and the girl ran into them.
They left and the young Brian went back to building the tower. But Kai r
ewound the clip and brought up a close-up of the little girl. She had the same blue eyes and her nose wrinkled the same as Caryn’s when she laughs. Was this why she seemed so familiar, because they had played together when they were young? He wondered if there were clips of her crying on a steel table and how much they had changed her DNA. If his mother hadn’t stolen him away would he be the one walking the streets of Highton for the last time?
“Do you believe me now?” the T-Man asked. He stood behind Kai’s shoulder.
It was a lot to process and Kai realized there was someone he wanted to share this with, someone who would understand. Caryn. That is, if she still was around and would talk to him after all he had said. He popped the chip out and slipped it into his pants pocket.
“It’s going to take me awhile to go through this.” Kai stood and backed away from the computer. He almost tripped on a foot and when he looked up he saw Red staring down on him.
“You’re free to stay here and go through all you want,” the T-Man said. “That is until our guest arrives. Until then I’m afraid I can’t let you leave.”
“What are you talking about?” Kai took a step closer to the T-Man. “We’re done. You got what you wanted and I got what I wanted. Our partnership is over. There is no reason for me to do anything else with you.”
The T-Man smiled and looked up at the ceiling. He shook his head and held out his hands as if this situation was beyond his control.
“You can’t keep me here forever,” Kai said.
“I don’t plan to. After tonight you can go home or wherever you want.” The T-Man motioned for Kai to sit back down.
Red pushed Kai into the chair, ignoring the glare Kai shot up at him. Even though he was in front of the computer, he didn’t feel like going through any more of the files. Instead he watched the other gang members hanging out. Red stayed within three feet of him and looked like he was ready to pounce at Kai’s slightest movement. Brandons fiddled with the gadgets on his table.
Then the front door clanged open and two figures walked in from the night. Kai recognized Noah instantly, but when his eyes rested on the other his heart sank like it had been tossed into quicksand.