Cheating Time (11 page)

"Just hear me out. When Jayden arrived
tonight, he was muddy and soaked from the rain we had earlier. I
told him to go into the bathroom downstairs and strip. While he did
that, I found him some clean and dry clothes. He-he hadn't locked
the bathroom door. I didn't think anything about opening it up so I
could throw the dry clothes in to him and he could get dressed.
When I opened the door, his back was faced my way.
Jesus, Selma!
Someone's been beating him… beating
him pretty bad. I-I can't let him go back. He doesn't deserve
whatever it is that Barone's been doing to him, and I'm not sure he
can help you as much as I'd hoped."

Mom sucked in a deep breath and put her hand
to her mouth. "Oh my God! Why would Barone do that to him? "

Dad shrugged his shoulders.

"You're right. He can't go back. I'll go
myself. I'll be fine," Mom insisted.

Dad shook his head. "No. Carlie and I have a
better plan."

Mom arched her eyebrow, suspiciously
bouncing her gaze from Dad to me before landing squarely back on
Dad.

"I'm going back with you, and Jayden will
take my place getting everyone to the next house… making sure
everything is okay before chaperoning Carlie and Tawney to the
academy.

"He can do it, and you know it. Hell… he was
always better at surviving out in the woods than me, and I'm
military trained. He was born to do it. I need to go back with you
so I can make sure Barone isn't going to do anything stupid. He
needs you so I know he won't kill you, but that doesn't mean he
won't mentally torture you," Dad said.

Betrayed, Mom backed away from us like she
was a caged animal. "I need you to go with Carlie, Sam. I need to
know she's okay."

"Selma, it's been settled. This is what
we're going to do."

Recognizing his military general mode—the
one I'd witnessed minutes ago—Mom saw there was no arguing with
him. After a long few minutes where she thought through all of our
options, she sighed in exasperation, ran her hand through her hair,
and rolled her eyes.

"The two of you are going to be the death of
me. Not Barone.
The two of
you
."

I slid my arm through my mother's. "We'll
all be fine, Mom. We just have to remember to do whatever Dad tells
us to do."

Dad quickly said, "You, young lady, need to
do whatever Jayden tells you to do. I know that will be hard for
you, but that's what I need for you to do, Carlie."

I offered Dad my own sigh and eye roll for
what felt like the millionth time that night. "I got it, Dad. I
said I'd follow your orders, and I will. Even if that means
partaking of Jayden's infamous bug drop soup," I said
sarcastically.

"Why do you keep saying that? He's never
made you eat anything like that." Dad laughed.

I giggled. "I'm here to tell you right now
that he fortified at least one weekend survival soup with bug
protein."

Joining in, Mom shook her head. "He did no
such thing, Carles Enoche. Stop saying that."

"You just don't want to admit you willingly
ate bugs, but whatever helps you sleep through the night, Mom."

We spent several more minutes reminiscing
about Jayden's hardcore survival training weekends. Before long, we
all sobered, silently conceding that our time together was quickly
coming to an end.

Dad finally said what we were all thinking.
"We need to go."

Mom's head bobbed, but she didn't move an
inch. "Carlie, I've updated your and Tawney's MicroPharms. For your
protection, I've overridden its code. There are only two people who
will ever really know your location. Your father and me. There will
be people who think they know where you are, but that is just a
farce meant to keep them from realizing what I've done. I've also
updated it so it will
never
administer a lethal dose of medication to either of you."

Holy hell!

Apparently naïve beyond common sense, the
thought of death by lethal injection, courtesy of my MicroPharm,
had never occurred to me. I contemplated what Mom had said while
the three of us walked hand in hand, me in the middle just like
we'd done when I was little, back toward the barn.

"Let me tell Jayden. I'm not sure how he's
going to take it. Even though he's been brainwashed since birth, he
broke away from his troop and made his way here to warn us. It was
with a whole lot of hesitation that he agreed to go back with Selma
while I led the rest of us to the next safe house. If I ask
him
to totally change plans and
lead you, Tawney, and Gran to the next house, he'll never be able
to go back and pretend he just got lost. Not only will everything
he's worked for will be at risk, but openly disobeying Barone's
order is not something that'll ever come naturally for him," Dad
said.

He's probably afraid
he'll be beaten to death,
I thought sardonically.

As soon as we walked through the barn door,
a very anxious Jayden approached Dad. "Sir, they're an hour away.
If you want to have any sort of jump on Isaiah and his team, you
need to leave now."

Dad took another exhausted breath. I
couldn't help but wonder if that moment in time would be forever
etched in my memory as the last time I'd see him. He'd never looked
so tired. By all accounts, he seemed even more exhausted than his
breath sounded. It was with a quiet reluctance that he'd admitted
to himself that the plan before us was the best one we had, the
best chance at us all being together one day.

There wasn't an optimistic bone in my body.
I instinctively knew that after we parted from each other, our
lives would forever be changed.

We would forever be
separated.

Even if we saw each other again—though I had
serious doubts that would ever happen—we would all fundamentally be
different people, hardened and made cynical by the journeys we were
about to embark upon, the paths we were about to take, and the
decisions we would be forced to make.

If only I'd known just how much I
appreciated the life I had six months ago. The one where my family,
including Jayden, and I were together.

Healthy.

Happy.

Contented.

As if ripping off a Band-Aid, Dad said,
"Jayden, son, there's been a slight change plans. I need to go with
Selma, and I'd hoped you'd agree to go with Carlie, Tawney, and
Gran. You and I both know you can keep them as safe as I can."

"Sir, I thought you and I agreed that I'd
chaperon Professor Enoche back."

"Carlie helped me see the flaw in that plan.
Still, I don't want you to worry. I'll speak with Barone as soon as
I get to the capital. I'll let him know you followed my orders,
that I asked you to make sure my family was safe. Once the coast is
clear, I'll contact you. Then and only then will you escort Carlie
and Tawney to the academy." Dad paused for a few minutes, debating
his next words. "I-I'm even going to speak with Barone about
letting you enroll at the academy. I know you've always wanted to
be more than a
Soldier
, that you've
always wanted to be a writer. This might be your only chance at
that."

My shocked stare jerked toward Jayden at the
same time Jayden's reverent stare jerked Dad's way. Speechless with
the offer, one that only my father would ever make to a Surrogate,
Jayden watched Dad and waited to see if he was going to put
conditions on their deal or tell him at the last minute he'd
changed his mind. He held his breath and I understood perfectly how
much this gesture meant to Jayden, how much he wanted to continue
his education, how much he wanted to become a writer.

I never knew.

My inner conscience took over.
You never tried to find out anything about
him,
she admonished.

Catching sight of me and the way my mouth
had dropped to my chest, Jayden's cheeks reddened. Suddenly, he was
uncomfortable that Dad had shared his hopes, his dreams, and his
aspirations in the presence of anyone.
In my
presence.
Jayden glanced around the barn, making sure he
avoided any and all contact with me.

"Sir, I'm more concerned for
you
than
some dream that I have no right in having," Jayden said after
clearing his throat.

Dad waved his hands as if his safety were
the least of his concerns.

"I'll be fine. If you go back with Selma,
they'll separate you from her first thing. I am her husband.
They'll have a harder time doing that with me. Appearances mean
everything to Barone. The last thing he wants is to have to explain
to his faithful followers that he's keeping a husband from his
wife… especially if that husband is his former Secretary of the
Department of Defense and that wife is his former Chair of the
National Genealogists Committee.

"Conspiracy theories would taint everything
he does and open him up to even more scrutiny, something he can ill
afford right now. I'm pretty sure that's the reason he's been
letting us lay low here on the farm for the last six months." Dad
chuckled cynically. "Of course, the fact that he needs Selma to get
back and continue her research won't harm our chances of getting
most of what we ask for."

Jayden was appalled that Dad was making
light of the situation. "Sir, he might not hurt her, but he'll put
you in front of a firing squad in a heartbeat," he said right
before he caught sight of the horror on my face. He jerked his chin
over his shoulder, signaling for me to leave him and Dad. I was too
shocked to move.

Since time was of the essence and I was
going nowhere, he reluctantly continued. "I-I mean… he'll do his
best to convince everyone you've broken a law, one that comes with
a death penalty. Because he wants you dead, he'll set you up,
making it look like you committed treason or murdered someone. You
know him better than me. You know he'll do it."

Bobbing his head, Dad shrugged.
"Theoretically, I have broken laws. There's a law that says I must
make my whereabouts known to the government. Thanks to Selma, I've
been on and off the radar for six months. It was the only way I
could do things that the DOA would execute me for. I'm not naïve. I
knew the risks when I walked away from Barone's umbrella of
control. There'll be even more risks trying to get back underneath
it." Dad put his hand on Jayden's shoulder and squeezed. "If you
could keep the rest of them out of danger until we've tested the
waters and called you back to the capital, I-I'd appreciate it more
than you know, son."

With Dad's request, Jayden stood taller.
Like me, he wore his commitment to live up to Dad's expectations as
if it were a badge of honor meant to be displayed proudly.

For him, it is.

Jayden turned into the loyal soldier,
snapped his heels tight, looked straight ahead, and saluted my
father. "Sir. There's not an order you could give me that I
wouldn't follow. Sir."

Dad's sad smile was one of sincere
appreciation and absolute respect.

"Thank you, son. My family means the world
to me. You're the only person I'd ever consider trusting them
with."

Everything about the scene before us: the
respect my father had shown Jayden; the obligation the Surrogate
felt; the fact that we were merely minutes away from being
separated—possibly forever—had Mom, Tawney, and me sniffling back
the tears and gulping down lumps. Soon, everyone but Jayden was
gathered around hugging each other desperately. When I glanced over
and saw him standing stoically to the side, I reached my hand out,
intertwined my fingers with his, and pulled him into our circle of
trust, love, and loyalty.

Suddenly, Mom pulled back and said, "Sam, I
blocked Carlie's and Tawney's MicroPharm from Barone's programs. I
need to do the same for Jayden. If I don't, they'll follow them
through him."

Everyone jolted to attention. There was only
one person in the world who could reprogram the MicroPharm chip,
and that was its inventor, my mother.

She grabbed her scanning device and said,
"Carlie, I need you to watch me do this. I've uploaded the
instructions in your MicroPharm—
password
Mommy2020
—but doing it on your own will be a lot easier
on you if you watch me while I block Jayden's chip," she explained
in her most patient teaching voice. The one she always used in her
lab.

Mommy2020.

Mommy2020.

Mommy2020.

I studied her every move while mentally
reciting the password in my head, embedding it thoroughly. It was
easy. Mommy and her favorite number doubled. Still, it made me feel
better to practice my usual memorization exercise.