Inspiration Point (28 page)

“She means her vision about how to isolate and erase
memories became clear, and she knows how to achieve it.”  I looked in
Dad’s eyes again, and I could see he was much more than a little interested in
what I was saying now.

“That’s right, I was helping Zeke out of bed when we
zapped each other with static electricity, and that’s when it dawned on me how
to erase the memories permanently.”  I looked at my family and thought I
better keep the explanation of the next part as simple as possible.

“I perfected the serum this afternoon, once a patient
is unconscious it can be injected in the part of the brain that stores
memories.  I can isolate the memories and once an electric current passes
through the body it will make the deletion permanent.  As the drug starts
wearing off, you can then implant a replacement
memory.”    

“So we just get everybody here, ambush them and delete
they’re memories – then it’s all over?”  Emin said sounding positive but
clearly over simplifying things.

“It will be a little more complicated than that,” I
confirmed.

“Wait, how much of this have you been able to
substantiate Hayln?”  Dad asked, sounding more like a professor every
minute.

“Everything up to the part where I use an electric
current to make the deletion permanent.  I couldn’t actually do that
without you getting suspicious in the lab.  But I know this will work Dad
– I can feel it.”

“It has to be trialed Hayln, I won’t let you do this
to people, even them, without more testing - it is too dangerous for everyone.”

“I know Dad, and I thought about that too.  We
have Patch, my rabbit,” I explained.

“A rabbit isn’t appropriate Hayln we can’t measure the
results.”

“But over the last couple of days we have been
teaching Patch a performance trick.  If you hold food over his head, he
will sit on his back legs and beg like a dog would for a treat.  He
couldn’t do that before, so we can test it on him and erase that memory.”

“It’s true Dad, that rabbit had no idea what to do a
few days ago,” Emin said.

Everyone looked at Dad waiting for his
recommendation.  I knew whatever he decided would go for all of us. 

“Tell us the rest,” Mum urged.

“Well I have asked Tyler to do some research.  To
find out how many people know about us, what information is being stored about
it and where.  If we're going to do this, we need to get rid of any
evidence.”

“There are a lot of problems with this Hayln,” my
father said shaking his head.

“Give her a chance Professor, look what she has
accomplished today,” Zeke said defending me.

“If it works Dad we could all be safe,” Emin agreed.

“Ethan you know they won’t let us all walk out of here
once you give them what they want.  I don’t pretend to understand how this
whole thing will work, but maybe we should at least think about it,” Mum said
trying to reason with him.

“All I am asking for is some help,” I pleaded with
him.  “Firstly let’s see what Tyler finds out and how many people we are
dealing with.  And then Dad maybe you could help me with my tests on
Patch, so you can see for yourself.  And finally you guys need to find a
way to keep our henchmen from asking too many questions about what we are up
to.  Then, we will see how we stand this time tomorrow – what do you
think.” My voice was hopeful, but I could tell it all hinged on Dad’s
opinion.  He rubbed his temples like he always did when he was stressed
and sighed deeply before he spoke again.

“Alright Hayln, tomorrow will be devoted to your plan
and then tomorrow night we will decide how to proceed.  But we have to be
careful, all of us, I can’t bear to see anyone else hurt.”

Mum reached out and held Dad’s hand and then looked us
all.  “No one will take any silly risks, we promise.”

“Absolutely Dad, we promise nothing stupid, but don’t
forget this could be the answer to our problems,” Emin urged, sounding
positive.

“I truly hope so,” he said softly.  “Now let’s
all get some rest, we have another big day tomorrow.”

We all left Emin’s room as he went to the computer to
get ready to stop our recording on the monitors.  Dad left first, his mind
obviously going over what might happen tomorrow.  Mum walked past me,
kissing me on the cheek.

“Good luck tomorrow,” she said smiling.

I smiled back at her and really hoped that I wouldn’t
let them all down.  No I thought to myself, I was confident I could make
this work – I had too.

Zeke walked me down to my room, not taking his eyes
off me.  He had been fairly quiet in the meeting, only speaking
once.  I was hoping that wasn’t a bad sign. 

“Do you have any idea how amazing you are?” He said
quietly in my ear.

I relaxed immediately and turned to look into his
beautiful eyes.

“You were quiet in there, I was worried I might have
freaked you out,” I whispered.

“Hardly, I just knew it really had to be your family’s
decision, so I let you guys work through it,” he said as he pulled me into his
strong arms. “I know you can do this Hayln, I believe in you – we all
do.”  He leaned in and kissed me with his perfect lips, and I was in
heaven, all be it just for a minute.

“I have to go, that meeting took a while,” he said
with a pained look on his face.

“I know,” I said, completely frustrated.  I mean
was it that much to ask that I could spend maybe half an hour with my boyfriend
without being interrupted.  “But when this is over you owe me our first
date and some
alone
time,” I reminded him.

That brought a smile to his face.  “You won’t
have to ask me twice Hayl’s,” he said as he kissed me one more time before
letting me go.  “You need your sleep now.”  He held the medallion in
his hand that he had given me.  “Sweet dreams Hayl’s and don’t forget I
love you.”

“I won’t,” I said, once again blown away with how
strongly I felt for him. “And I love you too.”

We were both trapped, lost in each other’s eyes for a
few more moments, then he went to his room and I closed the door to mine. 
I jumped back into my bed and told myself to go to sleep.  If there ever
was a day I would need to be brilliant, tomorrow was it.

When I woke I had to remind myself that I wasn’t in a
dream.  I really was going to try and erase someone’s memory today. 
When I say someone I’m not referring to a person of course, but Patch. 
But if I was successful today that would be the next step, and it was a little
scary.

I had a shower and prepared myself before I saw my
family.  If this was going to work, I had to lead the way and show them I
was strong enough to do this.

I headed downstairs to the kitchen where everyone,
including Zeke was already eating.  They all seemed to be in a pleasant
mood which gave me another boost of confidence.  All our hopes hung on
what we could achieve today. 

Mum was the first to leave the table, she went into
the lounge to Davis and Ian.  We all listened as she spoke to them. 
She told Davis she had taken the liberty of washing their clothes this
morning.  She must have gotten them off Ian while Davis was resting. 
She went on to say that they both must take time today for a proper shower once
their clothes were dry.  Up until now both men were just freshening up
each day with a few changes of clothes and a splash of water here and
there.  I could hear Davis start to object, but Mum spoke again.  She
said they could take turns to shower, just as they do in the evenings when they
rest, and that surely we must have proved by now we could be trusted enough for
that.  Davis considered this for a moment and then agreed a little
reluctantly.  Mum thanked him and came back into the kitchen giving us a
wink as she went past.  Well, that would keep them a little distracted,
which was a brilliant start.

Dad rushed me down to the lab where he had what felt
like a million questions for me about my serum.  He mustn’t have gotten
much sleep I thought to myself if he was thinking these questions up all
night.  I answered his questions and then gave him my notes as I got
prepared for today.

I had to move a few things around in the lab so the
men upstairs wouldn’t be able to see everything we were doing.  By the
time I was organized, I looked over to Dad who was seemed impressed by what he
read.  I could tell he was feeling more positive about what we were trying
to achieve.  And after a few more questions he was ready to get started. 
He wanted to do a couple more tests before we brought Patch in.

Tyler arrived not long after that and quickly surveyed
the lab.  I had left the notes to my work near his seat, he picked them
up.  I smiled at him as he opened the folder to find out what we were
working on.  He was quiet while he read, it was hard to tell what he
thought of my work although I noticed his jaw drop at least three times. 
When he finished he joined Dad and I as we finished with the serum.

‘You’ve outdone yourself this time Hayl’s,” he said
lightheartedly.  “So what are we doing today?”

“We’re going to test it on Patch, to make sure I’m
right and go from there.”

“Patch?” Tyler asked a little confused.

“The rabbit,” I answered.  “What about you, did
you do your homework?”

He smiled and moved to put his back to the
camera.  “I told you I wouldn’t let you down, and I haven’t.”

This peaked both Dad and my attention.  We were
relying heavily on what he found out, so we could decide whether we could go
ahead with this.  We both continued to work while we listened to Tyler.

“I spoke to Aunt Maive last night, and I also went to
Christian’s house where Spencer is staying to see what I could find.  I
think it’s fantastic news actually.  There aren’t many people who know
about this.  Since Spencer was kicked out of the government, he's
obviously become a little paranoid.  So apart from his late brother, there
is only Maive, Davis, Ian and me.  I think his greed has definitely worked
to our advantage.”

“Absolutely,” I said sounding a little more
positive.  The less people involved the more likely we could make this
work.

“What about evidence of the project?” Dad said
interrupting my positive thinking.

“That’s a little harder but not impossible, especially
after seeing what you have planned.  Everything is at his brother’s
house.  He has been staying there since he died.  He has all the
files on computer and backups obviously, and there are also hard copies of the
work.”  He spoke a little softer.

“I assume you will need everyone here for this plan of
yours.  So, while you are busy here, I can make sure everything disappears
there.”

“What about people who might have wanted to purchase
the strain, had he started contacting people?” Dad asked, but it was a good
point.

“I can’t see any evidence of that.  I went
through his emails, and I couldn’t find anything.  But once you have him
here, I will have more time, and then I can be more thorough.  I will look
through his phone, and mail as well to be sure.  I will probably also need
to make a trip to Kings Valley and double check Spencer’s home in case he took
anything there.”

“Did he ever bring anyone else around to study you in
the time you have known him, you have to be sure Tyler,” Dad pushed.

“His brother did all the tests on me at his house Professor,”
he said.  I could tell he thought Dad doubted his research, he looked
frustrated.  “I will make sure I find everything Sir, I promise.”

“Tyler I don’t mean to offend you, but if we decide to
do this my whole family is in danger if we can’t get this right.  I won’t
let anyone else get hurt from my mistakes.”  I could tell how stressed he
was from his tone, but from the outside he just looked passionate, nothing for
Davis or Ian to worry about.

“No offence Professor, but my life is at stake too –
I’m not going to stuff it up,” Tyler said confidently.

“Fair enough then,” my Dad sounded convinced. 
“You better go get Patch Hayln, it’s time.”

I suddenly was a bundle of nerves.  This was what
it all hinged on, but I was also excited to see if I was right, so I headed
upstairs.

“I won’t be long,” I said.

As I neared the kitchen, I smelt baking again and knew
that it would be Mum’s attempt to continue to keep the henchman occupied. 
I smiled at myself as I headed to the backyard.  Once outside, I saw Emin and
Zeke playing with the rabbits.  They both looked up as I approached them.

“What are you guys up to?” I questioned.

“Just double checking your test subject,” Emin
said.  “He hasn’t missed a beat with the food.  You definitely have
him trained.”

“I had help,” I said smiling at Zeke.  He looked
so hot in his white shirt with some band logo on it.  It clung in all the
right places.  With a sigh, I came back to reality.  “Make sure you
keep an eye on the henchmen when I head back down, we don’t want any trouble.”

“All under control Hayl’s, your Mum has taken the
first shift, and we are up next, nothing to worry about.”  Zeke said
sounding confident.  “How did Tyler go with his end of the deal?”  He
looked a little apprehensive, and I wondered whether he was still a little
jealous and then I noticed Emin’s expression and I realized they probably
didn’t trust him.