Project (5 page)

“Wiley, you bumbling old coot. You gave the boy the wrong implant. That one is still in the early experimental stage. We should have done away with you years ago.”

The older doctor’s voice shook with fear. “I’m sorry, Ryan. Please don’t terminate me. I’ll take it out and do it over.”

“Wait!” a familiar voice said. It was Kincaid. “This could actually prove useful to us.
We’ll let the boy carry the G-2 implant for a few days and then bring him in for questioning. Who knows what sort of guinea pig he’ll make?”

“But what about his family? They received the mind-control device. Won’t the boy notice that things are different at home?” asked the man called Ryan.

“Don’t question my orders,” Kincaid snarled. Then he chuckled wickedly. “If the implant works correctly, our little ballplayer will be in terrible agony every time he uses his brain. After a while he won’t even know his own name.”

“Jim.”

A younger, softer voice was calling to him.

“Wake up, Strikeout King. You’re talking in your sleep.”

Jim’s eyes flew open. Maria was sitting on the edge of the bed. “It’s about time you came back. I was starting to get worried,” she said.

Jim sat up and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. “I remember, Maria. I remember everything. We have to call the police. Kincaid is after my family.”

“Calm down, boy.” Maria’s uncle Max stepped up beside them. “How are you feeling after our makeshift surgery?”

“Surgery?”

Max held up a jar with a tiny black spot rolling around in it. He pointed at the new bandage on Jim’s arm. “We took this little beggar out of your shoulder. Apparently it was causing all the trouble.”

“All right!” Jim shouted. “That’s even better; now we have solid evidence. Kincaid will never see daylight again.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that easy.” Max set the jar on the shelf. “Remember what happened to me?” He looked down at his twisted leg. “We’re going to have to take this thing slow and make sure we have all the cards in our favor before we tip our hand.”

“Uncle Max is right, Jim. While you were out we talked it over. You have to go back and pretend that nothing happened.”

“Are you serious? My whole family is under that goon’s control.”

“They’ll be fine,” Maria said. “Kincaid doesn’t seem to want to hurt them. We have to
have more time to collect concrete evidence, more documentation on his plans, enough so that there won’t be any question about his guilt.”

Max helped Jim to his feet. “It’s the only way, son, believe me. Maria’s going to take you back through the mine shaft now. Hopefully no one has missed you. Remember to put on a good act for everyone, including your family … and look for any opportunities to discover more proof.”

Jim leaned against the wall. “Why is Kincaid doing this? Why is he after us?”

“It’s not just your family.” Max led him to the door. “Kincaid has the whole town under his thumb. We don’t know any of the details, but with your help, maybe we can find out what’s going on.”

Jim was reluctant to go. “How can I contact you? I’m pretty sure they have the phone lines tapped.”

“Leave a message at the entrance to the tunnel. Maria will show you where. You’d better go before they realize you’re missing. Those people don’t take interference lightly.”

Maria moved the branches covering the end of the tunnel and spoke in a low voice. “It looks like you’re clear back to your gate.” She turned to face him in the moonlight. “Be careful. If things start to go wrong, get out. We can always come back for your family later.”

Jim squeezed her hand. “Thanks for everything, Maria. No matter how this turns out, I want you and your uncle to know that I really appreciate what you’ve done.”

Maria held on to his hand for a second
more, then let go. “You’d better hurry. Don’t forget, I’ll be checking for your messages.”

“I won’t forget.” Jim arranged the brush in front of the opening. He crouched low and started down the hill toward his house.

The lights were all out inside the houses on his block. He’d been right about his parents’ being unconcerned. They had gone to sleep hours before and had assumed that he had done the same.

Morning came way too early for Jim. It had been days since he’d really slept, and now that was all his worn-out body wanted to do. He had to force himself out of bed so that no one would be suspicious.

He’d barely made it to a sitting position when the door opened. It was his mother, immaculately dressed, with a fake Kewpie-doll smile on her face.

“And how are we doing today, James?”

Showtime
, Jim realized. He contorted his face and glared at her through half-closed lids. “My head is killing me.”

She patted his hair. It reminded him of the way he’d seen her pet his aunt Trudy’s temperamental poodle.

“We’re going to take care of that today, dear. President Kincaid wants to see you down at the laboratory this afternoon at one o’clock. He thinks he might be able to help you. Won’t that be nice?”

Jim’s mind raced. He had to get a message to Maria.

“In the meantime, dear,” his mother went on, “I have to go out. Laura has been instructed to stay with you.”

“I don’t need Laura. I’ll be fine by myself.”

Mrs. Stanton’s face went blank. “Laura has been instructed to stay with you.” She turned on her heel and left the room.

“Great,” Jim groaned. He reached for his clothes.

There was a knock on the door. “Are you dressed? It’s me, Laura. I’m supposed to keep you company this morning.”

Jim pulled his T-shirt on over his head. “No, I’m not dressed. I’ll let you know when
I’m through.” He slid into his jeans, laced up his high-tops, and tiptoed to the window. His room was on the second floor, but if he tied his sheets together—

“I thought you said you weren’t dressed!” Laura stood in the doorway, staring at him accusingly.

“I wasn’t. Besides, who invited you in here, squirt? Get lost.”

“I cannot.”

Jim studied his sister. An idea popped into his head. “Laura, who do you have to obey?”

“My elders. I must obey my elders.”

“What happens if you don’t?”

“Punishment.”

“How old are you, Laura?”

“Eight.”

“And how old am I?”

“Thirteen.”

“So I guess that makes me your elder, doesn’t it?”

Laura looked scared and confused. “I must obey my elders.”

Here goes nothing
, Jim thought. “Laura, I’m
your elder and I’m ordering you to stand in that corner.” He pointed to the one by his closet.

She didn’t question him. Before he could blink she was standing in the corner.

Jim grabbed a notepad and a pencil from his desk.

He ripped off the sheet of paper and stuffed it in his pocket. Laura was still standing rigidly in the corner. A pang of guilt tweaked his conscience.

Don’t worry, squirt. I promise I’ll be right back
.

Jim made it to the tunnel entrance and back without any problem. To make up for putting her in the corner, he let Laura read to him until their mother returned from her meeting.

She found them on the back porch. Her high heels clicked on the cement. “Come, James, it’s time to go.”

“Go where?” Jim held his head and pretended to be in agony.

“Don’t you remember? President Kincaid would like to see you.”

He stood and followed her through the house. “How am I supposed to remember anything with this king-sized headache?”

The new car had leather upholstery. It smelled as if it was fresh off the showroom floor. Mrs. Stanton backed it out of the driveway and drove toward the laboratory.

Jim rested his head against the window and watched his mother out of the corner of his eye. Her expression was blank. Nothing seemed to register. She didn’t say a word all the way to the compound.

She parked the car in front of the business complex. “President Kincaid said that you should go in by yourself, James.”

Jim opened the car door. He stopped and leaned close to her. “When this is all over, I hope you’ll be proud of me, Mom.”

A tiny flicker of emotion flashed in her eyes and was gone. “Goodbye, James.”

He sighed, said goodbye, stepped out of the car, and watched her drive away.

It was time. He turned to face the tall, white building looming in front of him. The glass
doors slid open and a big man with beady black eyes walked up to him.

“You must be Jim Stanton. I’m Dr. Ryan, President Kincaid’s personal assistant. He asked me to escort you to his office.”

Ryan! Jim swallowed hard. That was the name of the third doctor who knew about his implant.
Keep cool
, he reminded himself.
Everything rides on your performance
.

He screwed up his face and tried his best to look as if he were suffering. “I sure hope you guys can help me, Doctor. I’m in a whole lot of pain here.”

“You’ve come to the right place, Jim. Follow me,”

Dr. Ryan led him down the hall to an oak door with
PRESIDENT KINCAID
engraved on a gold plaque. “Go on in, Jim. Make yourself comfortable. The president will be with you in about ten minutes. He’s just finishing up a meeting.”

Dr. Ryan closed the door and left Jim standing in a plush office. Thick white carpet covered the floor, and an oversized mahogany
desk sat in front of the window. Overstuffed chairs and a couch were arranged in front of the desk. A tall filing cabinet stood near the end of the couch.

Jim glanced back at the door and then went to work. There were only ten short minutes for him to find something. He tried the filing cabinet. It was locked. Frantically he searched the top drawer of the desk. Miraculously, a tiny gold key was taped to the inside front of the drawer.

It fit the lock of the filing cabinet.

He thumbed through the files. A large folder marked
PROJECT: A PERFECT WORLD
caught his eye. Quickly he pulled it out and scanned it. It was a report on mind control done by Jefferson Kincaid, containing the names of every person in Folsum who had been used in his project. There was also a binder outlining Kincaid’s plans to set himself up as the dictator of a new country.

“This guy’s nuts,” Jim mumbled.

There was a tap on the window. Jim jumped and nearly dropped the file.

It was Maria. Sammy’s head was poking out
of a blue bag she carried on her shoulder. She held up a pair of bolt cutters and smiled. “I cut a hole in the back fence.”

Jim pushed open the window and helped Maria inside.

He showed her the folder. “I’ve got it, Maria.”

“I hate to burst your bubble, Jim Stanton. But I’m afraid you’ll have to give that back.”

Jim whirled around. President Kincaid was watching him with an amused look on his face. Dr. Ryan moved to the file, jerked it out of the boy’s hands, and handed it to Kincaid.

“I was hoping you were smarter, Jim.” Kincaid laughed and pointed to a surveillance camera near the door. “We’ve been watching you.”

“Let go of me, you big goons!” Maria yelled.

Two men in white coats dropped the struggling Maria in a heap on the floor. Sammy clung to her neck and chattered angrily. She quickly scrambled to her feet, adjusted the strap on her bag, and tried to bluff. “You’d better have a good explanation for this, Kincaid.”

“Oh, I do, my dear.” The president winked at her and clapped his hands. “This is wonderful. I was wondering how I could manage to get both of you, and you made it so easy for me. How considerate.”

Kincaid looked past Maria to the two aides. “You did an excellent job. Wait for me down the hall while I have a chat with our little friends here.”

“What are you talking about?” Maria said, fuming.

Kincaid waited until the aides left the room before he continued. “The operator traced your call. That’s how we knew you had been in contact with young Jim. Then when William Tyler reported that Jim had left his house again this morning—”