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Chapter 33 - Design - Andrew

His fingers were knotted in his father's hair, his feet bumping his chest. 'I'm going back' Evan said and he got off the bus. So hot. His father pulled his shirt over his head. Danielle's voice whispering in his ear turned into a song, '...everything is going to be okay.' And then he was running and jumping. Rocks and boulders and he was over them reaching up...up...up. Then dropped.

"Dad!" Andrew woke with a jerk. His palms pressed against the soft weave of a sheet. His throat was parched and sore.

"It's okay. Shhh." His mom stood at his side, one hand running over his forehead and through his hair, the other clasping his hand.

"I dreamt about Dad." His voice came out hoarse and cracked.

"You did?" she asked softly. She trapped his hand between hers.

He nodded. "We were at the fair, and I was riding on his shoulders. Do you remember that day?"

She nodded and a tear slid down her cheek. She let go long enough to brusquely brush it away but then recaptured his hand.

"Evan!" he remembered. "Where's Evan?"

"I'm here." Evan stepped into view beside Robin. Andrew closed his eyes and laid back.

"The question is why," said Robin. "What made you think this was a good idea?"

"Evan thought it was–"

"Evan, nothing. You two could have been killed. I thought you had better judgment than this, Andrew. After everything we've been through. Your dad–" the words caught in her throat.

"We–"

Anger replaced the torment in Robin's voice. "No. You put Evan's life in danger."

Evan nodded. "I tried to tell him we shouldn't–"

"Don't you dare." Robin turned on him. "You're a big boy too, Evan. You know better."

"I couldn't leave him."

Robin's face softened, but her words still carried the edge of anger. "I know. Brothers. I get it. But you both saw the warnings. You disregarded them right along with Andrew."

Everyone went quiet. The only sound in the room was the soft bleeps of the monitors connected to Andrew.

Robin squeezed Andrew's hand. "You are so lucky to be alive. You have no idea. Pierce is a really good shot."

"I have a pretty good idea of how lucky I am." He closed his eyes, leaned back against his pillow, and then opened them back up. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here. Well, it's one of the places I work. I come here to do security interviews and other things."

"I know, I know. It's classified." He rolled his eyes.

"That's right. It is classified."

"Because the aliens are here?" Evan asked.

"What? No! There aren't any aliens here."

"Are you sure?" he narrowed his eyes and asked suspiciously. "Have you seen every room in this place? Is there an underground bunker? Is it a weapons facility?"

"It's not a weapons facility. It is a research facility. I promise. It's kept secret because of the type of research being done. It's about trade secrets, not national security."

Andrew looked past Robin and saw Jordan and Jinho standing at the door waiting tentatively for a break in the conversation. Jordan chewed her lower lip.

Robin followed Andrew's gaze and waved them in. "Hi, Jordan. I heard you were the one who saved my baby."

"Mom," Andrew grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

Jordan approached the bed, but Jinho lingered by the door. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," he told her.

She reached out to take his hand, and then changed her mind and pulled back to address Robin. "We just wanted to check on Andrew. We won't stay."

Feeling awkward, Jordan went back toward the door, but Robin stopped her. "No, Jordan, stay with Andrew. I have to go to a security meeting. There was a breach in security you know. I'd feel better about leaving him here knowing he's in good company."

She gave a wan smile to Jordan and walked to the door. Jinho softly shut the door once Robin had stepped down the hall.

"You have a bird on top of your head," Andrew said as Jinho walked up and stood beside Jordan.

"It's Aurum."

"It's an Aurum?" asked Evan.

"It's a canary. His name is Aurum."

"Why is it on your head?"

"It's his pet."

"It's not a pet. It's a–"

Jordan sighed loudly and changed the subject. "I took your phone at the cave."

"You did? Why?"

"They don't let us have any connections to the outside. We can only access approved sites. No shopping or social media or chat rooms. It's a total bore living here. You can't even imagine."

"That's cool. Are you done with it?"

"Jordan can give you your phone, but you can't have your memory card," Jinho said firmly.

"My memory card? Why?"

"Because of the info on it. Where did you get it?"

"The memory card? It came with–"

"No, the information." Jinho annunciated all the words and rolled his eyes. Jordan elbowed him.

"The information? You mean the pictures and music?"

"No, the documents about Leslie Carrel."

"Who's Leslie Carrel?" asked Evan. He'd been following the conversation like someone following a volley at a tennis match.

"You really don't know?"

"No, I don't know," snapped Andrew. "Are you going to explain?"

"I really don't think you would understand," Jinho retorted.

Andrew ignored the barb. "Try me."

"It shows that the research being completed by Maverick BioScience–"

"Maverick BioScience is the company that owns the dome." Jordan interrupted.

"I know," Andrew stated. "My mom said she works here, and her paychecks come from Mav Bio."

"Not only do they own it, they direct the research. They–"

Evan snapped a finger. "'Pioneering a healthier planet.' I've seen their commercials. Something about creating corn to make better gasoline so we aren't dependent on foreign oil."

"That's one of the things Maverick does. The research at this facility is about engineering food that will feed an expanding population on a planet being stricken by pollution." Jinho held up the tiny memory card. "But the research on this card is about a woman named Leslie Carrel. Well, that plus something about a specific protein that's being spliced into the crops here."

"Leslie Carrel died," Jordan added.

Jinho nodded.

"Who's Leslie Carrel?" Andrew and Evan asked in unison.

"She's the wife of the man who was shot in the desert. He was a scientist who worked for Mav Bio. The memory card has his research on it."

Andrew looked confused. "But you already know what the research is here."

"We know what the research is supposed to be. Dr. Carrel discovered we aren't engineering what we thought we were."

"What are you engineering?" Evan asked. His face was heating up with excitement. "Are you using alien DNA?"

Jordan rolled her eyes and shook her head in exasperation.

"Foods that kill people," said Jinho. Evan's eyes got larger.

"Like Leslie Carrel," Jordan added.

"Why would they do that?" Andrew asked.

Jinho paused thoughtfully. "Maybe it's not meant to be distributed in our country. Or maybe it is. At the growth rate we are currently seeing in the United States, our population is due to double within the next 80 years. More people mean more pollution, more energy consumption, and fewer places to grow food. Maybe Mav Bio is working on a global plan for population control. Governments would pay big money for that."

Andrew lay back against his pillow. "How did it get on my memory card?"

Jinho shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"I think we should give it to your mom," Jordan said to Andrew. "She works in security."

"That makes sense," Andrew said.

"I don't think so," Jinho said. "I think we should take it to Jordan's mom. I couldn't understand everything that's on the card. Some of it was over my head. Maybe I've just misunderstood."

"Right. No sense in getting everyone's panties in a bunch," Evan said.

Andrew looked at Jordan. She rocked from foot to foot, staring from Andrew's face to Jinho's, and then back again, but finally took the memory card from Jinho.

"She needs to look at the file named 'Argent Summary.' I think she'll understand everything as soon as she starts reading it. The rest of the records seem to be supporting documentation."

Jordan turned to Andrew. "Are you going to be okay? I can go get your mom first if you want."

"I'm good. Evan and Jinho will keep me company. Aguamenti." He picked up a paper cup from the bedside table and held it toward the sink. Jinho frowned, but took the cup and filled it.

"Nice," Evan said with appreciation. "You've got mad powers."

"I had no idea that would work," Jordan smirked. Andrew laughed.

"What's the joke?" Jinho asked looking between them.

"No joke," Jordan replied mysteriously as she walked out the door. "A spell."

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