Chapter 16 - The General's Lie
For a long moment, nobody moved.
The rain hammered against the wrecked vehicle.
Hale stood in the middle of the road with blood running down his collar.
I looked at him.
"You protected her?"
"Yes."
"From Meridian?"
"Yes."
"Then why did she tell me not to trust you?"
"Because she didn't know what I became."
"What did you become?"
Hale took a slow breath.
"A liar."
Adrian laughed.
"Finally."
Hale glared at him.
"She was going to die."
I stepped forward.
"Who?"
"Eleanor."
"When?"
"Three years ago."
"You said you moved her."
"I did."
"Where?"
"An underground medical facility."
"Why?"
"She had been poisoned."
Victor stared at him.
"By whom?"
"The Secretary's people."
"How did she survive?"
"Experimental treatment."
I closed my eyes.
Every answer opened another question.
"What did you do to her?"
"Nothing."
"Don't lie."
"I didn't hurt her."
"Then why hide her?"
"Because the moment Meridian believed she was dead, they stopped looking."
Adrian shook his head.
"They stopped looking for her."
He looked at me.
"They started looking for you."
Hale nodded.
"That's why I built a wall around your life."
I stared.
"My career."
"Yes."
"My assignments."
"Yes."
"My promotions."
"Yes."
"Every time I thought someone was protecting my career..."
"It was me."
I suddenly remembered the unexplained transfers.
The commander who had recommended me.
The assignment I was supposed to lose but didn't.
The colonel who had once told me I was "untouchable" and then refused to explain why.
I had thought it was talent.
Maybe some of it had been Hale.
"Did you arrange my promotion?"
"No."
"Did you protect it?"
"Yes."
My chest tightened.
"You manipulated my life."
"I protected your life."
"Those aren't the same thing."
"No."
He looked at me.
"They aren't."
Adrian stepped forward.
"The drive."
I plugged it into Blake's secured tablet.
Folders opened.
Medical reports.
Photographs.
Surveillance logs.
Childhood records.
School attendance.
Dental records.
Psychological assessments.
I scrolled faster.
"This is insane."
Victor turned away.
"I knew they tracked you."
"How much did you know?"
"Not this much."
A folder opened.
SUBJECT CALDWELL — AGE 5.
Inside were photographs of me at school.
Then another.
AGE 9.
Another.
AGE 13.
AGE 17.
AGE 22.
I felt violated.
My entire life had been watched.
Blake pointed.
"Look."
A file contained a handwritten note.
DO NOT APPROACH UNTIL ACTIVATION.
"Activation?"
"What does that mean?" I asked.
Hale looked at the screen.
"I don't know."
Adrian said, "You do."
Hale went silent.
I turned.
"What?"
He sighed.
"Meridian was not just studying resistance."
"What else?"
"They were studying loyalty."
"Meaning?"
"Whether a person could be raised under controlled emotional conditions and still independently choose the same values."
I stared.
"You mean indoctrination."
"Yes."
"And me?"
"You were the control group."
My voice dropped.
"So they watched me to see whether I would become like them."
"Yes."
I felt sick.
"Did my mother know?"
"Eventually."
"That's why she disappeared."
"Yes."
I scrolled.
Another folder.
ELEANOR CALDWELL — FINAL TRANSFER.
The date was six days before the accident.
I opened it.
There was one sentence.
TRANSFER SUCCESSFUL.
LOCATION: BLACKRIDGE.
I looked at Hale.
"What is Blackridge?"
His face went pale.
"Where she is now."
Victor stepped closer.
"Then take us there."
"No."
I turned.
"What?"
"If we go there directly, she'll be killed."
"She's my mother."
"I know."
"Then how do we find her?"
Hale stared at me.
"We let them think we're taking you to her."
Adrian smiled.
"A trap."
Hale nodded.
"For whoever is monitoring you."
Blake shook his head.
"That's dangerous."
"Everything tonight is dangerous."
Hale looked at me.
"You have to decide."
"What?"
"Whether you're willing to become bait."
I thought about my mother's voice.
My daughter's? No. I had no child established. Don't add.
My mother's voice.
My daughter.
Don't trust the general.
I looked at Hale.
"What if she was right?"
"Then don't trust me."
"What?"
"Trust the evidence."
He put his weapon down.
"I'll give you access to every file I have."
Victor stared.
"Even the Blackridge access codes?"
Hale nodded.
"Even those."
Adrian laughed softly.
"You have no idea what you're offering."
Hale looked at me.
"I do."
He reached into his coat and handed me a small metal key.
Engraved on it was a number.
My hands went cold.
"What's this?"
"The original room."
"The one that doesn't exist?"
He nodded.
"Room 17 was never a room."
I looked at the key.
"What was it?"
Hale answered:
"A person."
I looked up.
"Who?"
Hale said:
"Eleanor."
The phone in my pocket vibrated.
A new message.
BLACKRIDGE.
THURSDAY.
MIDNIGHT.
COME WITHOUT YOUR FATHER.
I looked at Victor.
He saw the screen.
His face collapsed.
"Don't go."
May you like
I whispered:
"Now I have to."
