Specimen(71)

I follow Riley’s directions to the cabin. It’s early spring, and I can see it clearly between the branches of the trees with their new leaves. I find a suitable spot to land and pay close attention to my airspeed as I approach, dropping to forty knots as I start to descend.

I gradually slow the helicopter, bringing the nose up slightly to decrease airspeed as I adjust the vertical speed with the collective. For a moment, the nose rises high enough that I can’t see my landing site, but I keep moving forward to control drift. I tilt the nose forward and lower the collective until we’re resting on the ground just a half mile from the cabin.

I put on the brake and help Riley out of the helicopter. We jog through the trees until we come to a small rustic cabin nestled between pines. Inside is one large room consisting of a living area and an eat-in kitchen. There are three doorways down a short hall.

Riley places her medical bag down and pulls her laptop out of it. She plugs it into the wall and turns on a wireless network router sitting on the counter.

“There’s a hardline leading to the cabin,” Riley says. “My father used to work here during the summers when the rest of us were out of school. I should be able to access the network from here. I won’t be able to get into the more secured data, but I should be able to find what I need.”

“What do you need?” I ask.

“I have something I want you to see.”

Riley sits down with the laptop in front of her at the kitchen table. She starts it up and clicks through a few files. A video begins to play on the screen.

The recording must be from security footage. In the bottom corner is a date and time stamp along with the letters “MILLS,H,C A1.” The angle is harsh, the camera obviously placed on the ceiling in the corner of an office. Captain Mills is sitting at the desk as Riley walks into the room.

“This is the day before I ever saw you,” Riley tells me. “This was my first day at the medical facility working with the project.”

I nod and look back to the screen as the women on the video begin to speak.

“Congratulations on the promotion,” Captain Mills says.

“Thank you, Captain Mills…uh, ma’am,” Riley says as she sits down on the opposite side of the huge mahogany desk. The furniture is designed to intimidate, and it does its job well. Riley reaches down to straighten her skirt at the knees, takes a deep breath, and looks up into the older woman’s eyes. “It’s a privilege to be a part of such an important project.”

“You know we only accept the very best,” Mills says. “Some would say that getting here is half the battle, but I don’t agree. I expect results from everyone who works on Project Mindstorm, and you have a lot to learn about our processes here.”

“Understood, ma’am.” Riley nods quickly. “I’ve familiarized myself with the protocols, and they aren’t dissimilar from the work I did with the agency over the past three years. Security is tighter, of course, but that shouldn’t be an issue.”

“You’ll spend the vast majority of your time here at the medical center in the lab with your specimen,” Mills says.

“I’m look forward to getting started.”

“The new specimens arrived just this morning. They appear to be a good lot, too. They’re of higher quality than the first half of the batch. I’ve got high hopes for them and for you, Dr. Grace.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Would you like to check them out? If we get down there early, you might get first pick.”

“I’d love to!”

Riley ends the video as the women in the image stand and walk out the door. I look over to her, but she says nothing. She brings up another file, and another video begins to play.

“An hour later,” Riley says softly.

The display shows a large room lined with gurneys. On each rolling table lies a man—naked, shaven, still, and silent. There is a group of people standing by a large computer display in the background, and Riley is clearly visible near the front, walking between the rows of bodies.

“The original eighty-nine of your group.” She points at the screen.

I look carefully until I locate first Isaac and then myself. I see Pike as well, but he’s in the back row and not as clearly visible.

“We’re all unconscious?”

“Yes. This is right before you received your implants.”

I watch Riley stop at my table. She picks up a tablet from a shelf next to me and reads it over. After a few minutes, Captain Mills joins her.

“He’s a hot one,” she says with a laugh.

I can see Riley’s blush.

“Where is he from?”