The Modified (The Biotics Trilogy, #1) (33 page)

“We have arrived at Young, Malcolm’s office. He is waiting for you inside,” Galileo says, motioning toward the door with his hand.

“Thanks,” I reply, giving him a hug.

“I am feeling that warm and fuzzy feeling, Kenley. This must mean we are friends,” Galileo says, returning my hug.

“Of course we are, silly,” I reply.

Opening the door to Malcolm’s office, I’m immediately surprised to find the room in complete disarray with stacks of papers, all various heights, scattered around the space.

“Excuse the mess, I’ve been doing some research and got a little carried away,” Malcolm laughs as he welcomes me in.

“What kind of research?” I ask confused, still scanning the amount of papers and folders littering the room.

“Well…I’m working on a plan of sorts for our group to strike a crippling blow to the Federation. And in the process, rescue your father,” he replies.

“Wait, you have a plan to help my dad? What is it? I want to help,” I state and feel my hands begin to glow.

“Easy, Kenley. We’ll get to that. You’ve got to be careful with how much you use those things. You don’t want the same result you had back on the Magnus,” Malcolm cautions.

My hands return to normal and I calm myself. “Can I help in any way?”

“Later, Kenley. Right now, I just want to see how you’re holding up. Being the daughter of Dr. Grayson means that your safety is just as important to me as his is.”

“How are you so close to my dad?”

“I was your dad’s head of security during his work on the Magnus project. Before I defected from the Allied Federation, I told your father that I’d be there if he ever needed anything. I owed him a lot, and now I’m repaying my debt. That’s why he sent you all here. So I could keep you, and as many of the cadets I can, safe,” Malcolm explains.

“What exactly did my dad do for you?”

“Sorry, but that’s between me and your father. I’ll have him tell you once we rescue him, how does that sound?” he replies.

“Sounds like I don’t really have a choice,” I state, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“Pretty much,” he jokes followed by a laugh under his breath. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re doing all right. We’ll be heading to dinner in about an hour or so. If you want to go rest up or something, now would probably be the best time to.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll go rest a bit before eating,” I reply and go to exit the room.

Just as I turn the handle and begin to open the door, I hear Malcolm’s voice sound behind me. “Your dad’s a great man. But I bet you already knew that, huh?”

“Yeah, I did. But it’s nice to hear that other people think so too,” I reply and turn to see Malcolm smile at my comment.      

As I walk back to my room, my mind begins to reel with thoughts about my dad, and what he must’ve done for Malcolm. I sigh as I push open the door leading into my room. Landon leaps to his feet from the bed when he sees me enter. His face is relieved, but there seems to be a hint of concern in his eyes. 

“So, what did Malcolm have to say?” he asks, moving closer to me.

“Not much. But he’s working on a plan to rescue my father. So, I guess that’s something, right?”

“Yeah. Hey, you look exhausted. Maybe you should go lie down and rest?” Landon says as he places his hands about my hips.

 “Yeah, I’m pretty freakin’ tired. Will you come lay down with me?” I ask, hoping he will.

Without a word, Landon takes my hand and leads me to the bed. He lies down, pulling me to rest beside him. His arms encompass me as he kisses me gently. His deep blue eyes meet mine and as he pulls me close, I can feel his heart beating rapidly. Closing my eyes, I rest my head on his chest and fall asleep to the sound.

A loud banging rips me from my deep sleep and I jerk my head up, bumping into something solid. “Ow.” Landon’s voice fills my ears, as I realize I hit his chin with my head.

“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“It takes more than a little bump like that to bring me down,” he jokes, massaging his jaw.

“Hey, you two get your butts in gear, it’s time for dinner,” Sam calls from outside the door.

“Our own wake-up call…how special.” Landon grins as he wraps his arms around me.

We reluctantly roll out of bed and meet everyone outside, both of us ignoring Sam’s smirk. We all follow down a metal-walled corridor, and eventually after many winding passages, we end up in a large room with delicious smells emanating from it, making my stomach growl.

I’m surprised at the number of people sitting around the tables filling the room. They all stop eating and stare as Galileo leads us up to Malcolm’s table. There are a handful of people sitting at his table, but one really stands out. She’s beautiful. Her hair is a vibrant red, and her skin is porcelain white. Her radiant smile is directed at Malcolm, who seems to be hanging on every word as she talks. She raises her striking blue eyes and catches me staring at her. A frown line shows up on her forehead as she sweeps our group with a questioning glare. Malcolm turns to look at us after noticing her focus shift to our presence and then whispers something to her. The woman rises from her seat and attempts a smile as we approach the table.

“Ahh, here they are now, our refugees,” Malcolm announces. “Everyone, this lovely lady next to me is Elizabeth,” he continues, putting a name to the redhead.

“So nice to meet you. Please have a seat. I’m sure you’re all hungry after your long trip.” Elizabeth’s smile looks so genuine, but as I look at her eyes they seem wary and suspicious.

We take our seats at the large round table, and I find myself seated next to Elizabeth. Several women bearing trays of food stop at our table and place plates in front of us. My stomach decides to growl so loud that I turn red from embarrassment. Elizabeth lets out a slight giggle. I grab my napkin-wrapped silverware, unwrap it, and watch out of the corner of my eye as she does the same.

“Kenley…may I call you Kenley?” Even though she’s sitting next to me I jump a little at her sudden and abrupt question.

“Yes,” I get out, suddenly tongue-tied.

“Malcolm tells me that your father is a prisoner of the Federation. I know you must be worried, but we both agree that he’s still alive. He’s a vital part of their plan,” she says it so breezily like as if she were discussing the weather.

“I really hope you’re right. But for how long? Can we discuss the plan to rescue him now?” I ask, my hunger forgotten at the thought of my dad suffering at the hands of the Federation.

“We’ll be discussing that later. You need to eat and regain your strength first,” Malcolm interjects, pointing to my plate.

Landon reaches for my hand that’s lying on my lap and gently squeezes it. I turn to him and smile.
Malcolm’s right. I need to take care of myself so I can help find my dad
, I tell myself.

“Oh, and please do forgive the fact we haven’t removed any of your bangles,” Elizabeth states, looking around at all of the other cadets, since Landon and I already have ours off. “It’s not that we don’t trust you…it’s more because your implants can be affected by emotion, and since you’ve been under a lot of stress, we wanted to wait until you were more relaxed, and settled,” she continues explaining casually.

I glance around at our group, and none of them seem to be bothered by what Elizabeth just said. Not even Sam, who I thought would be the first to speak up. I also notice that no one has started eating yet. Malcolm and Elizabeth pick up their forks and everybody else follows their lead. Every once in a while I look over at Elizabeth and see her studying us as we all eat. There’s definitely something off about her.

 “Come on,” Landon says, pulling me along a corridor with a metal door at the end.