Project 99 (Perfect Human Book 1) Page 9

  Is that really the cause of her death? Doug asked. He thought about the man who jumped off a building earlier this week and the man who burned himself to death. Not much was known about either of these men, but he had the sinking feeling their deaths weren’t accidents. Maybe they pulled their triggers, but something had to convince them do it.

  He found another article that had come in the box. It was about genetic chimeras and how they were being used to help the Bradley Institute. The article had been written only twenty years ago, but as Doug scanned through it, he saw that this had been done well before he was born. These chimeras allowed their bodies to be used for science. Each project had been created using a different chimera.

  “So who is the one that created us?” Doug asked. “Where am I going to find them?”

  Everything this article said made sense. A chimera was their best bet on being created. That chimera would probably have the X and Y chromosomes to make men and women. He knew a little bit about genetics and heard about chimeras before.

  He backed out of the driveway and thought about where they were going to go next.

  Chapter 13 – Pam

  Pam didn’t have very much time to do a lot of research after the initial meeting. As soon as she got home, she had to get back into schoolwork. She had two papers that were due at the end of this week and a test. She was trying to find the time to think about everything else, but other things were coming in first. She was glad that her ex-husband was coming over to get the children. It would get them out of the house long enough for her to have the meeting. She popped in some pigs in the blanket in the oven and let them bake while waiting for everyone.

  Rusty Rochford, her ex, usually came on time to get the kids. They disagreed about a lot of things, but they both loved their children. They wanted to make things work for them. Pam had no time to start dating other men and she had a feeling Rusty hadn’t found anyone either. They weren’t as close anymore, but they were civil. She got along with Rusty now that they were separate instead of together. Things had been fine with them until a few years ago when Rusty cheated on her with a younger woman. It was the typical type of scenario. He claimed he wasn't thinking straight, it was the alcohol, and he didn't know what he had done until it was over. He also claimed to love Pam and was sorry for everything that happened. He swore that the other woman meant nothing to him. Yet Pam couldn't get past what went down. She couldn't keep looking him in the eye and acting like nothing was wrong. For themselves and the sake of their children, they filed for a divorce. Now things were much better. Both of them were doing much better and the kids still got a chance to see their father once in a while. Rusty may not have been husband material, but he was still a good father.

  The more Pam thought about this, the worse she felt. She hated keeping secrets from people, but she needed to know more before she said a thing. She certainly wasn’t going to involve her children in this. If she was in danger of some sort, she didn’t want them to be in trouble too. This was supposed to be kept between her and the rest of Project 99. Nikhil was going to pick up Misty and bring her over to Pam’s place. She told the children that they could play upstairs until their father came to get them. She checked up on them a few times to make sure they were all right.

  “Be good to each other.” She reminded them. “I have people coming over and you got to be very polite. Daddy will come get you soon.”

  “Yay!” They both exclaimed as she gave them their snacks.

  “Don’t spill anything, okay?” She started to make her way downstairs. “And no running around!”

  As soon as she had delivered them their food, everyone started coming in. She got them all situated in the living room. Her place was much bigger than Nikhil’s and there was plenty of room for everyone to sit down. She pushed all the children’s toys away and showed them where they could hold the meeting.

  "All right, help yourselves to some snacks. I made pigs in a blanket_"

  "Pigs in a blanket? What are we, ten?" Ash rolled his eyes.

  Pam ignored that. "Well, my kids wanted them for breakfast today. So I made those and I've also got some pita chips with humans for those of you who don't eat meat. If you want something sweet, I've also got some cookies and ice cream. Forgive me, but I do live with a seven year-old and a five year-old. They picked the flavors out."

  "Thanks for letting us meet at your place, Pam." Nikhil said. "I know my apartment is way too small to fit everyone."

  "Hey, you're in luck. My ex is coming over to take the kids out for the day." Pam said. "I tried talking to my mother about where I came from, but she didn't have much information. She said it was hard for her to get pregnant at first, but then it happened."

  "That's what my mother said too." Jackie said. "She claimed that she needed help and she got it. When I asked her who helped her out, she said it was a birthing center. She doesn't remember the name of it though."

  "I wouldn't be surprised if the Bradley Institute or Genexis is behind this." Misty said. "Do you think there's a way for us to go to either of those places? Maybe two of us could pretend to be a couple that needs help with giving birth."

  "That's exactly what I was thinking." Nikhil said. "The only way we can really get into these places is by pretending we need something. Two of us have to be able to go in and pretend to be a couple."

  Ash gave them a look. "Don't look at me. I'm not the type of person to go there."

  "I was actually thinking someone a bit older."

  "I'm too old." Pam held up her hands. "I don't think they'd believe me if I told them that I was trying to get pregnant again."

  "No, I was looking at someone in their twenties." Nikhil turned to Ren and Crystal. "Do you two think you can pretend to be a couple?"

  Ren sat up in his chair. "Oh! I... I had no idea you were referring to me. Would they even consider someone like me?"

  "I don't see why they wouldn't. They claim to see everyone regardless of age, gender, or race." Nikhil held up the pamphlet. "I doubt they will do anything to you. The first meeting is apparently just a consultation. They'll talk to you, tell you what they'll do, give you paperwork to sign, and then send you home with more information."

  "What if they want to do a urine test or something? What if they want sperm?" Ren asked. "What if they examine me?"

  "I doubt anyone will examine you. A consultation is usually just that; a consultation. If they do ask for sperm, I am prepared." Nikhil said.

  "How so?" Crystal asked.

  "You'll see. I'll get your fake IDs made and give you some new identities as soon as I come up with them. Anyway, I have your story. Crystal is the one trying to get pregnant and Ren is her concerned boyfriend. You've been trying to have a baby, but it's very difficult for you. That's why you went to the Bradley Institute."

  "Sounds simple enough." Ren said. "I still have no idea what you mean when you say you have some sperm prepared."

  Misty cringed in her chair. "Ew. I think I know what he means."

  Before anyone could say anything, the doorbell rang and Pam was grateful. For once, she was happy that her ex-husband had come on time. "Hang on one second, everyone. Let me just get the kids to my ex and we can come back to this conversation later. Whatever you do, don't mention sperm in front of my children."

  She left the group to call her children down and answer the door. "Kids! Dad's here!"

  Opening the door, she found Rocky standing there. He nodded at her. "Hey, you."

  "Hey, yourself. You look like you have some company."

  "I do and it's a long story." Pam rubbed her forehead. "I've been very stressed out for the last couple of days."

  "Why? Is school giving you a hard time?"

  "No, school's fine. I know I'm studying chemical engineering and it's a lot of work, but I'll live. It's just some other personal stuff." Pam said, listening to the kids scrambling upstairs. "Anyway, they should be down soon. Thanks for taking them out tonight
. I know they've been anxious to see you."

  "Hey, I'm anxious to see them... and to see you."

  She held up her hand. "Don't. We're not in the same position we used to be in. We're living different lives now. What happened has happened. Nothing you say is going to change that."

  "Yeah, I know. It's all because of me." Rusty sighed. "Pammie, you know that I_"

  "Rusty, I don't want to talk about it." She cut him off. "Just take the kids and bring them back home by eight, okay? You can feed them dinner if you want. I don't have anything except for leftovers and I think they're tired of those."

  "Don't worry. I'll keep my eye on them." Rusty promised as Aiden and Adriana came down to hug him. "Hey, you two! Ready for some fun?"

  "Yay!" Both kids exclaimed as they ran into his arms and nearly knocked him down. Pam chuckled at the scene.

  "Have fun, everyone!" She waved them off as Rusty put them in the car. "Behave, okay? Remember, no junk food! Bring them back by eight!"

  "I got it under control, Pam!" Rusty waved at her before starting up the car and pulling out of the spot. Pam waited until they were gone out of her sight before closing the door behind her. There was a part of her that wanted to tell Rusty what was going on, but what could he help with? He probably knew as much as she did about the Bradley Institute and Project 99.

  A part of her felt that the children would be safe with Rusty for now. He was innocent in all of this mess. No one would come after him to get to her. She kept thinking about this as she went back to the room where everyone else was.

  "You okay, Pam?" Crystal asked.

  "Yeah, I am. I just keep thinking about all of this. I got really lucky compared to a lot of other people in Project 99. I was able to have children, something a lot of people can't have. It just makes me wonder if my children are going to get involved in this."

  "What makes you think that they'd get dragged into this?" Doug asked.

  "Well, aren't you concerned that your family might be affected?" Pam asked. "I know your kids are much older and can handle themselves. Still, I've got a little feeling inside that we don't really know what we're up against. Okay, we are experiments. They are trying to control us. What do we do? We're not strong enough to fight an entire group of these people. I have never hurt anyone in my life. I don't even spank my kids. I couldn't even hit my ex-husband after he cheated on me! How can you expect me to bring down an entire company?"

  "You're not going to do it alone." Crystal assured her. "I know it's a lot to take in. Hell, I'm still trying to figure all this out. I haven't been able to ask my parents for the truth, because I'm afraid of hurting them. I mean, I don't care that I was born through in-vitro. I'm not going to be mad at my parents for that. I just want to know why they went to the Bradley Institute. Surely, they must have heard about some of the problems people had."

  "Maybe they didn't." Ren said. "Maybe they didn't care. They just wanted their perfect baby."

  "None of us are perfect though." Misty said. “We all have our issues.”

  “Oh, don’t get me started on issues. I do think we need to check this place out. Yeah, it will be scary going in with fake IDs, but hopefully, they won’t test us or anything. Maybe we can dig a little deeper.”

  “Great.” Nikhil clapped his hands. “I’ll make your fake IDs tonight and hook you up with an appointment tomorrow. Sound good?”

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this.” Crystal said. “I really hope it works.”

  “So do I, Crystal.” Pam sighed. “So do I.”

  Chapter 14 – Crystal

  Crystal was nervous at the idea of going into the Bradley Institute and lying about everything. She had never used a fake ID before. She had never even entertained the thought of being pregnant. She wasn’t old enough to think about marriage, let alone having children. Inside, she was still a child. She hadn’t finished college yet. Deep down, she had a lot of the same concerns that Ren had. What if the consultation did include a test? What was she going to do? What if they found out she wasn't who she claimed to be?

  So far, she hadn't had a chance to sit down and talk with her parents about all this. She didn't even know where to start. The others had tried to get information from their families, but didn't end up with much. All they knew was that there were complications when they were born and those problems were fixed. They didn't know how the doctor fixed them or who did it, but things were fine. That was why they never thought about it again.

  "All right, here are your fake IDs." Nikhil handed them over. "You are now John and Andrea Weiss of Houston. You came from Texas because you heard about the great things that the Bradley Institute did. You've been trying to have a baby, but something is not working. You're concerned that you might be infertile."

  "Oh, man, this is going to be tough." Ren murmured. "I'm just crossing my fingers that they don't ask for any samples right now."

  "I doubt they will. They claim that they are just going to talk to you and that's it." Nikhil promised. "We will be waiting in the distance. Don't try to do anything that can draw attention to you. Just play it cool."

  Crystal sighed and looked at Ren. "Here goes."

  He nodded and took her hand. "Come on, honey. Let's try to make a baby over here."

  They went up to the front desk where a receptionist was waiting to greet them. Ren found himself frozen and unable to speak so Crystal spoke for him. "Hi, we wanted to schedule a consultation today if possible. My husband and I wanted to talk to someone about having a baby."

  "Of course." The woman nodded. "I just need you to fill out this paperwork." She handed them both a clipboard. "I'll also need your IDs so I can make a photocopy. You are very lucky today."

  "And why is that?" Ren asked, handing over his fake ID.

  "Well, Dr. Chang is here today."

  Crystal looked up from her paperwork. "Dr. Evan Chang? I thought he was_"

  "Oh, no." The woman laughed. "I'm talking about his niece. Dr. Rosemarie Chang is around to answer your questions and help you with anything that you need. It's been tough on her after her uncle died, but she's brought this company back on its feet again. I promise you that she will help you in any way that she can. If you want, you can have a seat over in the corner as you fill everything out. I will check up on her and see if she is available to talk. If not, they'll definitely be someone else who can answer any concerns you have."

  "Thank you." Ren nodded, going over to the corner. "We definitely have a lot of concerns."

  Crystal led him over to the corner as the woman went to make copies of their IDs. "We definitely have a lot of concerns? That's the best you can come up with?"

  "It's a spur of the moment thing." Ren shrugged. "I am freezing up over here. I don't do too well in places like this. They're going to ask me questions that I'm going struggle with answering." He began to breathe normally. "Oh God, I'm a wreck."

  "It's okay." Crystal squeezed his hand. "Truth be told, this place is giving me the creeps too. I'm scared they're going to find out about us or maybe they already know."

  "How could they already know?"

  "If we are experiments of this place, they would probably know more about us than we know about ourselves." Crystal finished filling out her paper. "All right, I'm going to turn this in. Are you finished with yours?"

  "Huh? Oh, yeah!" Ren handed his paperwork over. "I'll just wait over here."

  "Thanks." Crystal took the paperwork and headed back to the front desk. As she was walking, she looked at all the pictures on the walls and the TVs. There were so many people talking about how great the Bradley Institute was and how they had changed lives. It was a little unnerving to walk around there.

  "Here you go." Crystal handed the papers to the woman in the front. "Do you need anything else from us?"

  "No, this should be good." She handed her two colored bracelets. "One of those is for you and the other is for your husband. It doesn't matter which color you choose to
wear. One of you will go on a tour with Dr. Chang to see the facility. The other will go to a lecture that will be held in a different room. Both of these things will take about an hour. You will meet up with each other back here. Now if you can just have a seat, someone will come get you."

  "Thank you for the explanation." Crystal nodded.

  She went back to where Ren was waiting for her and handed him an orange bracelet. "Wear this. Apparently, you and I are going to be separated for an hour. One of us gets a tour and the other gets a lecture."