Corinne (Book One of The Red Diamond Saga) (5 page)

Corinne was twisting her wrists back and forth, hoping to get free of the ropes, but all it did was cause the sharp edges to dig into her skin. She had a strange feeling of being watched at all times, and her eyes were fixated on the keypad, as she waited for the door to slide open. When it finally did, it was an older man who walked in this time. He was wearing a lab coat, and his demeanor was a bit friendlier than the woman's had been.

“Can I go?” Corinne asked before the man spoke. “I won't tell anyone about this, I promise.” She turned her pleading eyes on him, but was only offered a grin in return.

“Are you kidding? You just got here.” He reached down to the ropes on her wrists and quickly untied them. Corinne reached up and rubbed her sore wrists as she watched him cautiously.

“What do you want from me?” She asked in a whisper as the man crouched down in front of her. He was handsome in his own way, with thin lips and a broad nose. His light brown hair was thinning on the top of his head, but full at the base of his neck. She could not shake a sense of familiarity. When he reached out to lightly caress her cheek, she noticed a mark on the back of his hand.

She jerked her head away from his touch and he smiled patiently. “I know this is confusing.” He said quietly. He reached down and pulled down the edge of her trousers to reveal the same mark on her hip, only hers was a bright red color, while his had been etched in ink.

“Corinne, you are a very special person.” He explained as she shoved at his hand. “I am sorry that things had to be this way, but you must understand; we had no choice.”

“What are you talking about?” She pleaded. The confusion she felt threatened to bring back the pain that had finally eased in her head. “Who are you?”

He lightly tapped the tip of her nose with an endearing smile. “What matters sweetheart, is who are you?”

Daniel was back at the computer doing more research. This time he was comparing the name Conner with identifying marks and tattoos in the federal database. He found several tattoos that were diamond shaped, but none that exactly mimicked Corinne's. He was just about ready to give up when he pulled up the final photograph. He was shocked to see the identical shape and size of Corinne's birthmark reflected in a tattoo.

The man's name was Conner Mitchell and he had been arrested for battery. The police report detailed a fight outside of a bar. The crime was common; it was the date of the arrest that drew Daniel's attention. It was one day before Corinne's estimated date of birth. The charges had been dropped by the victim and Conner had been released. This man, who gazed out from his mug shot with pure animosity, knew exactly who Corinne was.

Daniel could not find a last known address, but he did find a radical group attached to his police report. Apparently he was a member of a group called The Liberation Force. It made Daniel's stomach churn to think of the kind of whack jobs these people might be. In his experience any radical group was a breeding ground for violence and emotional abuse.

He was able to find an address for the group. What he could not find was any mention of it on the Internet, or any other media source. This particular group appeared to be non-existent and silent about their cause, but he soon found an address and Conner's police report.

He glanced up at the clock and realized that Corinne should have been off work an hour before. He tried her cell again. Nothing.

He frowned and decided to call her supervisor. He knew she might see it as being a bit overprotective, but he was starting to worry. When her supervisor informed him that she had not shown up for work Daniel was certain that something was terribly wrong. Corinne was one of the most responsible people he knew, and she took her job very seriously.

On his way out the door he asked one of his friends on local patrol to be on the lookout for her vehicle. Daniel swung by his house, and then her apartment, with no sign of her at either place. He was growing more concerned by the moment.

When his cell phone rang he answered it quickly hoping that it was Corinne. Instead it was the patrol officer, reporting that they were pulling Corinne's car out of a nearby lake. Someone had spotted it rolling into the water and called it in. When Daniel arrived on the scene he was terrified that he would find her body inside. Instead, to his relief the car was empty.

“You think she was running from something?” The officer asked him as casually as he could.

“No.” Daniel replied as he glanced down at his notepad with the name The Liberation Force staring up at him. “I think someone took her.”

The officer stared after him in shock as he stalked back to his car and squealed away.

The man unshackled her as she peppered him with questions. “What do you mean, who am I?” She asked as she jumped to her feet the moment she was free. He circled her as if she was a wild animal, his dark eyes piercing into hers as he spoke sternly.

“I am not going to treat you like a prisoner. But if you can't keep yourself calm, you will have to be restrained.” He paused as he noted the tension of her muscles and the fury in her expression. “Can I trust you to behave?”

Corinne narrowed her eyes at the man as he watched her. “I want to go home.” She said flatly. “I don't care who you are, or who you think I am, I just want to go home.”

The man tilted his head lightly to the side as grief washed over his face. “Corinne, my darling, don't you realize, you are home.”

The door to the room abruptly slid open and the woman who had evaluated her earlier stepped into the room, followed by another man, who was younger than the first. The woman was in casual clothes now, as was the man beside her.

“This is Lisa, and Aaron.” The older man explained. “I am Conner, and we are certainly not here to hurt you.”

“Then let me leave.” Corinne insisted as she gazed wildly from one face to another. To her they were nothing more than predators, first kidnapping and then imprisoning her against her will.

“It will take you some time to understand.” Lisa said gently, her words still cold when she spoke them, though she did force a smile.

“Perhaps it would be better if we show you.” Conner said as he gestured to the door. “Can I trust you?”

Corinne smiled wryly at the question. She was hearing that word, trust, so often lately and still had very little concept of what it meant. Still she was growing more curious about why she had been taken, and perhaps if she played their game, she could figure out how to escape.

She nodded without vocalizing an answer.

Aaron was not pretending to be friendly. He was openly glowering at her as he folded his arms across his chest. He appeared to be in his twenties, with short blonde hair and eyes as foreboding as his attitude. She sensed only danger from him, and did her best to avoid looking at him.

As she was led out of the room, she stepped out of the cell into a completely different environment. There were several people moving around a large room that was filled with computers and huge television screens that hung from the ceiling. Some displayed news channels, while others were full of numbers, constantly cycling.

“What is this?” She whispered as she stared at all of the equipment, she was certain this place was more technologically advanced than the CIA.

“Research.” Conner replied as he lightly patted her shoulder. “Don't worry; it will all make sense soon.” He led her down a small hallway that was lined with offices. Some were occupied some were not. When they reached a conference room, he stepped inside. Corinne followed, but Lisa and Aaron stayed outside.

“Sit down, please.” Conner said as he pointed out a seat at the table. He sat down beside her and folded his hands casually along the table top. “Corinne when I said you were special, it was more than a compliment.” He nodded his head toward Lisa and Aaron who were watching through the glass windows of the room. “They are special, just like you.”

Corinne sighed heavily as she began to suspect she was involved in some science fiction fantasy. “Look, you have the wrong person. There is nothing special about me.” She started to stand up.

“Sit down.” Conner commanded, and though Corinne did not want to sit, she immediately sat back down in her chair. She was confused by this. She wanted with all of her will to get up and try to leave the room, but she could not get herself to move.

“I am special too.” Conner said with a small smile.

“Am I dreaming?” Corinne asked as she stared at Conner who without lifting a finger was somehow restraining her.

“No sweetheart, you are wide awake. Well,” He paused a moment, and then added. “You will be.”

He nodded his head toward Lisa who stepped quickly into the room. Before Corinne could even think to resist, Lisa had withdrawn a small needle from her pocket and inserted it into the back of Corinne's hand. The needle pinched her flesh and made her wince. The liquid that was spewed into her vein burned as it spread up through her arm.

“Stop!” She cried as she pulled her arm away. “What was that?” She tried to stand again, but found herself still restrained.

“Shh.” Conner begged, as he frowned at her rebellion. “If you just trust me-”

Corinne interrupted him before he finished his sentence. “Trust you?!” She shrieked as she stared at hi m with wide eyes. “Why would I even begin to trust you?” She shook her head firmly. “I am leaving.” She thrust herself up as hard as she could, and despite Conner's attempt to continue to restrain her she was finally able to get to her feet.

“I told you before, you have the wrong person.” She pushed past Lisa and headed for the door of the conference room. Neither Conner nor Lisa tried to stop her. When she swung the door open, Aaron was standing right in front of it, with his arms crossed, and his green eyes glowering.

“Shut up and sit down.” He barked, his expression contorted with irritation. Corinne met his gaze with her own clouded emerald gaze and did not back down in the least. She had encountered much more frightening men in her life, and though this situation was the strangest she had been in, she knew what it was to be held against her will.

“I am leaving.” She said sternly as she started to push past Aaron. His body, though slender in appearance, was impossible to budge. It was as if he was made out of stone when she pushed against him.

Aaron seized her by her upper arms and lifted her right of the ground. He propelled her back into the room and tossed her like a rag doll right back into the same chair she had stood up from.

“Aaron,” Conner warned sharply. “Do not hurt your sister.”

Daniel had arrived at the address for The Liberation Force ten minutes before. He had spent that time peering into dark windows of a large office building. Although there were no lights on inside, and no sign of office furniture of any other hint that a business actually occupied the building, there were several cars in the parking lot. The front door had a sophisticated alarm system on it and all of the windows were wired to it. For an empty building it was protected very well.

Daniel knew there was no way to break in, he would have to go through the proper channels with his boss and hope that they would believe Corinne had been kidnapped. As he reluctantly left the building, he could not shake the suspicion that Corinne was inside of those walls, waiting for him to save her.

Corinne was so stunned by Conner's words that she could not speak at first. He had called Aaron her brother, was that even possible? Now that she looked more closely at him, he did resemble her, right down to the shade of his eyes and the hue of his hair.

“Who are you?” She asked Conner out of desperation.

Conner sighed and let his head fall into his hands. “I am not important Corinne, you are.”

Aaron folded his arms once more and stood beside her as if he was ready to pounce if she moved a muscle.

“We don't need her.” He growled at Conner.

“Yes, we do.” Conner replied sorrowfully. He had seen how well Corinne's life was going. Sure the person he had hired to protect had turned out to be a very dangerous man, but she had a life, with a fiancé who obviously adored her, and a bright future waiting for. If he had not felt it was absolutely necessary he may not have ever have pulled her back in. Unfortunately, she was too important to let slip away into a normal life, no matter how much she longed for it.

“The truth is Corinne; you are part of a very unique family.” He leaned forward in his chair and met her eyes, hoping to hold her attention as he knew this would be hard for her to believe. “Many years ago a group of doctors and scientists discovered a yet unknown gene that occurred in a very small percentage of people. This gene, when allowed to develop, offers a human being access to all of their senses. It disintegrates the barrier between what we believe we are capable of, and what we are physically capable of.”

Corinne slumped in her chair and rolled her eyes at his words. “Next you will tell me I am some kind of superhero.”

Conner shook his head. “No, not at all. You are just like everyone else, the difference is, rather than allowing that gene to be suppressed, we have allowed it to develop within you.” He paused and drew a long breath before continuing. “In order to learn more about this gene, we determined the combination of genetics that caused it. Using the correct genetics, we created some embryos.”

“Created?” Corinne asked with disgust. “Are you trying to say I am some kind of clone?”

Conner laughed a little. “No of course not. You are as human as the rest of us; the only difference is that we made sure you had the right parents. Unfortunately, in your case, and Aaron's, you were taken from us before we had the chance to properly care for you.”

He frowned as he recalled the terror in the young woman's eyes. “Your mother did not understand our purpose; she thought she was protecting you. She escaped with her twins, you and your brother, and she tried to leave you at the local hospital. We almost stopped her then, but she fled with Aaron. We finally caught up with her. Aaron was found hours later on the side of the road.”

Aaron glanced away shamefully. He hated to think of the fact that he was abandoned so carelessly, despite the story of his mother's valiant attempt to protect him.

Corinne suspected that most of the story she was being told was born from this poor man's twisted imagination, but she was very curious about Aaron.

“So you're saying we were like, your guinea pigs?” She asked, playing into the fantasy to see how far he would take it.

“I don't expect you to understand.” Conner said softly, a bit offended by her words. “We just wanted to see how great a human could become, if it were not held back by the ignorance of its own kind.”

“Well.” Corinne said, speaking matter of factly. “You failed humankind with me; I am no greater than anyone else. I can't control people with my mind, and I don't have super strength, and,” She glanced over at Lisa. “I don't know what she does, but I am sure I don't do that either.” She slapped her hand lightly on the table. “So, we're done here.”

When she moved to stand, Conner did not restrain her, and he held up his hand to stop Aaron from holding her down. “You're free to go.” He said lightly. “We had to bring you in the way we did, because no one can know about this place, or our work.

Otherwise, we certainly would have invited you rather than forcing you.” He tapped his fingertips casually on the table. “I had hoped that you would be interested in your past, in your family, but-” He settled his gaze heatedly upon her. “I can see that you are not.”

He gestured to the door. “You are more than welcome to leave.” He shrugged mildly. “Like you said, there's nothing special about you.”

Corinne's gaze lingered for a moment on his, then fell away. She glanced at Aaron, who refused to meet her eyes. If he really was her brother she wanted to know everything there was to know about him. But this entire situation was too strange for her to even begin to comprehend.

She moved slowly toward the door, the entire time, expecting someone to jump up and harm her. Instead she was able to simply open the door, and walk down the hall. When she reached the end of the hall, she saw an elevator. She was about to push the button, when that same sweet smell alerted her. She spun around in time to see Aaron staring at her from the end of the hallway, before rag covered her mouth and nose and eased her into familiar darkness.