Freak of Nature (13 page)

“Not a bad idea.” Lucas tried for ambivalence, but his voice sounded strained to Kaitlyn.

With a quick nod, the guard walked in the opposite direction.

“So much for that hiding spot,” Kaitlyn said sadly.

“We’ll just have to find another.”

Kaitlyn was suddenly flooded with sadness.
Even if it is only for one more day…

Chapter Sixteen

M
r. Harrington strolled into the laboratory on a wave of expensive-smelling cologne. “Who’s up for paintball?” he boomed, breaking the silence so abruptly that Professor Adams jumped at his desk. “I need to stretch my legs, and we should try out the new equipment.”

Kaitlyn bit the inside of her lip and looked down at her sneakers to keep from smiling. She loved the rare chances she had to roam in the woods, and playing a true sport instead of staged tests. This only happened when the highly competitive Harrington was around.

“I’m game,” Lucas said from behind his desk. He snuck a peak at Kate and their eyes met across the room.

“How about you, Adams?” Harrington asked with a smile.

The professor chuckled, holding up both hands. “I think I’ll pass this time. My old body can’t keep up with you youngsters. Last time we played, I had bruises for a week. I’m sure Quess would be interested.”

“Call her. Some of the guards are going to join us as well.” Harrington turned to Kaitlyn, sizing her up. “They like a challenge.”

Adams picked up the phone to call his granddaughter as Lucas asked, “Teams or individual?”

“Individual,” Harrington answered with a wolfish smile.

Lucas groaned. Kaitlyn always won when they played individual.

“Let’s get suited up.” Harrington rubbed his hands together in front of his face. “Kaitlyn, no body gear for you.”

She nodded. They would have the camouflage to help them, and her pale skin would be like a beacon in the sunlight, giving them somewhat of an edge.
Theoretically
, she thought with an inward grin, her hard drive already computing the odds.

Half an hour later, the players gathered in the foyer, and they made their way outside and deep into the property. It was a crisp fall day and the sun shone brightly through the bare tree limbs above them as they came to a stop in the area they used for paintball.

After defining the boundaries, Dr. Harrington laid out some basic ground rules.

“Okay, it’s a free-for-all. Everybody against everybody. If you’re hit and out, move to this area.” He pointed at a spot on the map. “Once there’s only one person left, they’re the winner. We'll have a three minute ‘get in place’ period, then we’ll start. Any questions?”

Heads shook. A few of the guards had smiles in anticipation of the fun.

Harrington clapped once. “Spread out. Three minutes. Go.”

There was a mad scuffle as the guards jostled each other and then ran off into the forest, but Kaitlyn calmly walked into the nearest grove of trees and stopped. Crouching down, she watched the internal clock in her head count down three minutes as she closed her eyes and focused on the sounds around her. Her built-in tactical computer worked through several different strategies based on her knowledge of the area and her assessments on all the various players and what they might do given their backgrounds, physical fitness, injuries, and even attitudes she had observed in the past.

Before the three minutes were up, she had decided on a course of action. Not necessarily the most tactically sound, but given her enhancements, it would be a good test of how much of an advantage she really had. A slow smile spread across her face. She loved the hunt.

Right on the mark, she opened her eyes and took off running at full speed through the shrubs and the trees. She had a mental image of where targets might be, and that image refreshed dozens of times a second as she took in more sights and sounds. They couldn’t have made it too far in three minutes.

A sense of calm engulfed her body. She was in her element.

Without breaking stride, she started to engage. One at a time, she took out the enemy.

The targets didn't even hear her coming before they felt the sharp sting of paintballs splatting against them. A couple of times, someone
saw
her before she shot them, but of all the eight other people playing, only one of the guards came remotely close to hitting her, sort of a ‘spray and pray’ style attack when he thought she would expose herself in a gap between some trees.

After a session lasting only nine minutes, Harrington decided to lay out a handicap for Kaitlyn for the next session.

"Well that was interesting. And painful,” Harrington said. “Lets see if we can prolong the next game just a bit. Kaitlyn, I'm going to pair you with Quess. She's your principal who you have to protect. Lucas, you'll be a principal as well, with Tim, Jimmy, and Cal on your team. I'll be the third principal with Craig and Terry on my team. If you're hit, you're out. If your principal is hit, your whole team is out. Three minutes to get set. Questions?"

Again, no one said anything, and the teams moved away from each other into the woods.

“What are we going to do?” Quess asked eagerly.

“Not get shot.” Kate smiled.

Quess nodded, gripping her paintball gun tightly with both hands.

Kaitlyn ran an analysis on her friend, noting the bead of sweat at her hairline and the pinch between her brows. “You’re nervous.”

Quess laughed. “Don’t do that!”

“Don’t be nervous.” Kaitlyn grinned. “Either way, if we win or lose, this will be fun. Let's go."

“I have to say, it’s pretty awesome how badass you are,” Quess muttered as they moved forward.

Kaitlyn didn’t respond, but at times like this, she almost enjoyed her new body.

With the new team configuration, the second session lasted more than twice as long, twenty-one minutes, but the outcome was the same. Lucas's team lost a member to an early engagement with Mr. Harrington's team before they broke contact and sprinted away, but after that, Kaitlyn made short work of the other two teams.

Instead of running, this time Kaitlyn moved silently forward through the brush with Quess positioned about one meter to her right rear. Every minute they would stop, crouch, and Kaitlyn would take in the sights, sounds, and smells around her, updating her internal tactical "map" and changing direction or the speed of their movement.

She was crouched at the top of a hill, listening when she heard the crack of a branch in the distance. Kaitlyn motioned for Quess to lay prone behind a tree and cover her. Studying the most likely avenue of approach, Kaitlyn maintained her crouch and waited.

After only a few minutes, she saw the first member of Harrington's team, Terry, cross perpendicular to her position about forty meters away. Not wanting to squander her chance to take out the entire team at once, Kaitlyn waited until she had all three members identified and tracked, then in rapid succession, she shot each one in the chest. Engagement time: three seconds. She heard a few slang words mumbled as they made their way off the playing grounds.

She repeated the same tactic with Lucas's team, again waiting until the three remaining members were in sight. Right before she fired, a brief thought flashed through her mind:
I wonder if Lucas will be upset that I shot him?

Lucas looked up and grinned shaking his head.

Kaitlyn returned the private smile, before she moved onto the next target.

Once everyone was back at the start point, Harrington wrapped up the game. "While I enjoyed that immensely, it's time I get back to the lab. I don't think I'm alone in not wanting to be shot by Kaitlyn anymore?"

Several of the guards looked over at Kaitlyn, nodding in agreement as they murmured their admiration.

Harrington surprised Kaitlyn by draping his arm around her shoulder. “I couldn’t be more proud. You are simply incredible.”

She wasn’t sure why they were so impressed. She was programmed to be this way.

Chapter Seventeen

“W
here are we going?” Kaitlyn whispered as they crept past another cluster of brick buildings obscured by darkness.

Quess smiled mysteriously. “You’ll see…”

Kaitlyn had never been to this side of the compound and couldn’t help but wonder what Quess was up to. The young girl had pulled her from her room after dinner and acted like they were stealth bombers sneaking through the compound as they ducked behind walls as employees passed, unaware.

Tomorrow was the big day. Kaitlyn’s ‘unveiling,’ as Harrington liked to call it. As much as she enjoyed spending time with Quess, she was really hoping to see Lucas alone.

Now, outside in the cold, dark evening, they flitted beneath the orange circles of lamplight, Quess encouraging Kaitlyn to move faster.

“Why are we in such a hurry?” Kaitlyn said with a chuckle.

Quess skidded to a stop, gazing up at a large brick building with no visible windows and ignored the question.

“This way.” Quess grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door.

Kaitlyn did a scan of the outside of the building: All clear. The door screeched against the concrete, and then they were inside.

Inside, it appeared to be a large, dimly lit warehouse. Aisles and aisles of metal shelving were filled with food and other supplies, but a thermal scan proved they were alone.

What in the world is Quess up to now?

They zigzagged through the aisles toward the back of the building where a Jeep was parked at the open loading dock, parked halfway into the building. Lucas jumped out of the vehicle and swung the back door open.

Just the sight of him caused a flush to spread across her face as her body temperature climbed several degrees.

“Get in. We don’t have much time.”

Without hesitation, Kaitlyn climbed into the back of the Jeep. Lucas covered her body with a soft blanket. Kate lifted the blanket and peered out.

“What about Quess?”

Quess looked down into the back of the jeep. “I’m just an accomplice this time. Stay safe, Kaitlyn.”

Kate nodded and pulled the blanket back over her head.

“Be still. We just have to make it through the guard gate. If we get caught let me take the blame, don’t harm the guard.” The back door clicked into place and moments later, the engine came to life and they rolled slowly down the road. Kaitlyn’s senses were on high alert, listening for any sign of danger.

Seven minutes later, the Jeep stopped. She could hear the window roll down. “Hey, Matt. Long day?”

“The usual. We’ve been doing random checks of vehicles. Lucky you, you’ve been flagged. Step out for a minute, will you Lucas?”

“Since when?” Lucas asked.

“Started this morning. Hop out, will you?

“”Look, it’s been a long day, man. I just want to get home,” Lucas said smoothly.

Kaitlyn’s breathing remained steady, and her mind raced to figure out the best course of action.

“Out of the car, Lucas.”

The door opened, and there was a thump as Lucas dropped to the ground. “Ridiculous,” he muttered under his breath.

“Pop the hood,” the guard barked, all business.

Kaitlyn heard the thump as the hood opened, and a moment later, Lucas muttered, “Satisfied?”

Kaitlyn tensed, expecting the guard to demand that Lucas open the back door. She had been warned not to harm the guard, so her computer kicked into gear, searching for an alternative.

“Not yet.” The hood slammed shut. “Open the back, and then I’ll do a quick sweep underneath.”

Kaitlyn listened as their foot steps echoing on the concrete. The door swung open. Stillness settled over her. Through the blanket, she saw a flashlight swoop over her.

“How long are they going to do this nonsense?” Lucas asked, distracting the guard.

“Who knows. They said it would be random.” The door slammed shut.

“Can I go now?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah, man. See you tomorrow. Just following orders.”

“I hear you. It’s just annoying. I’ve been here twelve hours and ready to call it a night.” Lucas shut his door and started the engine.

“Take it easy,” the guard yelled as the Jeep rolled forward.