Mindsiege (Mindspeak #2)(66)
I stood up straighter and thought about the other clones and kids inside the IIA facility. She was creating an army of clones—raising them like caged animals to do exactly what she trained them to do. Little workhorses she could manipulate with these small gadgets. “Sandra’s too arrogant to realize that I’m nothing like her. I’ll never help her.” I would never join her cause.
If you turn yourself over to Sandra, you might not be given a choice.
~~~~~
“So, do you think it’ll work?” I asked Jack, unable to hide the worry from my voice.
Jack rubbed the stubble on his chin, and analyzed the MRI pictures Jonas and I had stared at for over an hour. “It might. But Lexi—”
“You don’t think Georgia will risk the seizures, do you?”
“It’s not that. If she thinks she might be saving a life, Georgia will do whatever we ask her to do.”
Jack’s admiration for Georgia cut right through my heart. Not in a jealous way. I knew Jack respected the other clones and what they were willing to do for each other—the clones he knew well, anyway. But I wasn’t like that. I wasn’t sure I’d ever sacrifice my own life for others. Or use these abilities created by the devil herself. “You’re scared I won’t follow through with it, aren’t you?”
He whipped around. His eyes found mine instantly. “What? No, of course not.” He stepped up to me and placed a hand on my cheek, heating my entire body with a look that came close to tearing me apart at the seams, so much so that I had to look away. “Don’t look away,” he whispered. When I looked back, he continued. “I know you’ll save Addison and Dani as soon as you know how. And as soon as it’s safe. We know too little, though. What if it’s riskier than anything you’ve done so far?”
“It won’t be. I’m stronger.” Jonas taught me to pocket my thoughts. I was stronger. It had to be enough, because I was out of time.
“What if removing the tracker weakens you? What if someone sees you at The Farm?”
There was that. And the thought of Sandra capturing me for her own mad-scientist uses frightened me to my core. While Jack attempted to convince me that he thought I could do it, I had my doubts—but I wouldn’t let him see those. “I can do this. Especially if I have help.”
“Wow. Did that hurt?” He leaned in and kissed me. “I’m not sure I’ve ever heard you admit you needed help.”
“Har har,” I scoffed, but wrung my hands in my lap at the same time. “So, do you think it could work?”
The door flew open behind me. Jonas’s voice was in my head instantly. Absolutely not!
Well, that answers the question of whether I could keep him out of my head. I turned. Jonas’s face was a deep shade of red. I kept my voice calm. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
“Dramatic? You haven’t seen dramatic. Did you tell him?”
I cringed, closing my eyes tight. Please don’t, Jonas.
“Tell me what?” Jack asked.
“Tell him, or I will.”
I rotated my shoulders back and stared up the nine or so inches into Jonas’s eyes. Fury met fury. I inhaled and let out an exaggerated breath. “Fine.” I turned back to Jack. I reached out and linked my fingers with his in order to block Jonas out.
“Say it out loud,” Jonas ordered.
Jack raised his eyebrows. He stood taller. The muscles in his arms tightened, bracing for what I had to say.
Fine. “Jonas thinks Sandra figured out how to project supernatural mind abilities through these small tracker devices, but she needs me in order to replicate healing powers. He’s afraid Sandra will be able to custom-design these trackers with all kinds of special powers—and then have complete control over whoever is implanted with them. In other words, Sandra wants to play God.”
Jack’s eyes iced over. His expression hardened. You weren’t going to tell me this, were you?
There was nothing to tell. It’s one hundred percent speculation on Jonas’s part. I am no miraculous healer.
Bullshit! Jack boomed inside my head. You’re exactly what Sandra cloned you to be. It all makes sense.
Pulling on his hand, I urged him to look at me. “I have to do this. I have to go to The Farm and find Addison before it’s too late. Jonas thinks one computer server controls the trackers. If I can find the machine that gives Sandra and the IIA access to innocent minds with these tiny implants—I can shut down her entire operation. I have to try.”
“Why go there first? Why not remove Dani’s tracker first before you risk entering the devil’s lair?” Jack asked. His fingers stretched wide at his sides then rolled into fists.
I glanced down at my hands, then back at Jack. “Because if I extract Dani’s first, Sandra will know. I don’t even want to think about what she’ll do if she realizes I’m a threat to her entire operation of tracker clones. She can kill any one of them with a few keystrokes. But if I can shut down that server—”
“And exactly how do you plan to do that? Do you know anything about computers?”
I was hoping to take a fire axe to it. “I haven’t worked that part out, yet.”
He stared at me for what seemed like an eternity before turning to Jonas. “What do you think about this crazy plan? Surely you’re not on board with this.”