Inspiration Point (34 page)

“This guy weighs a ton,” Emin complained.

“Hey Hayl’s, feel free to delete a few more memories
if you like.  I was thinking maybe how to go to the toilet or something,”
Tyler joked.

I attached all the monitors to him, double checking
all his readings.  He was ready to go.  I had a few more minutes
before finishing with Ian and realized we hadn’t organized how the rest of the
evidence Spencer had would be destroyed. 

“We still have to get rid of the files and paperwork,”
I said to everyone. 

“Aunt Maive and I were going to go over and do those
ourselves.  We just wanted to make sure everything was alright here
first,” Tyler said.

“We should be fine now Tyler, it will be a little
while yet before I’m done,” I reassured him.

“If you think you will be alright for a while Evelyn,
I would like to go with Tyler and Maive, to make sure we don’t miss anything at
his brother’s house,” Dad asked Mum softly.

“Are you sure Hayln won’t need you?” Mum said in a strained
voice.  Dad turned to me to see what I thought of the idea.

“I will be fine here, and I think the more thorough be
can be the better.”

“I have been thinking about that actually,” Maive
said.  “Tyler mentioned the computers, back-up’s, emails and mobiles, but
I remembered that he also has a safety deposit box in Kings Valley.  I
think we should check his pockets to see if he has his keys on him.”

Zeke was the closest to him and went through his
pockets.  He pulled out a mobile, his wallet and a set of keys.  He
tossed the keys over to Tyler who went through the set.

“This could be it,’ he said showing Aunt Maive.

“That looks like the one,” she agreed.  “Are we
ready to go then?”

Dad gave Mum a kiss on the forehead before he went to
leave.  “I will come back after we finish at Christian’s house. 
Tyler and Maive will continue on to Kings Valley, to go through Spencer's
things there. I won’t be long, but call if you need anything.”

“We’ll be fine,” Emin assured him, taking Dad’s place
next to Mum holding her hand.

The three of them left the room, and I told Emin and
Zeke to grab Ian and Davis’s phones and wallets.  “Make sure there is
nothing left about us or Spencer anywhere – not even a phone number.”

They went to work while I took my place next to Ian to
implant his memory.  I hadn’t practiced this part at all, so I had no idea
if it would work.  I knew the effects of the serum would still be
penetrating his brain and would allow his memories to be manipulated.  It
was a relatively straightforward idea, but I had decided to say the replacement
memory out loud to Ian, while recording it at the same time.  Then I would
continue to replay the recording to him until the effects of the serum had
entirely disappeared.  I pressed record and then started speaking to Ian
slowly.

“When you wake up in your house you will remember
spending the last few days alone deciding what to do with your future. 
You have decided not to waste your talent, and you want to get some proper
training.  You don’t want to be involved with criminals anymore.  You
will avoid all contact with anyone involved in illegal dealings.  You want
to get an honest job.  You will enroll as a mature aged student to get
your qualifications.  You want to make these changes straight away and
start your new life.  You deserve better than this old life, and it is
time to change it now.”

I stopped the recording, put his headphones on and put
the player on repeat.  As I walked over to Davis, Mum held out her hand to
me.

“That was a considerate thing to do Hayln.  If
that works, you will have made his life a lot happier, he would appreciate
it.” 

Mum spoke softly and looked a little pale, which was
to be expected I suppose after being shot.  I quickly grabbed a rug from
upstairs and put it over her and then started my injections on Davis.  It
went as smoothly as it did with Ian and then I passed the two currents through
his body.  Once his pulse rate returned to normal we moved him next to Ian
and brought Spencer onto my bench.

“Was there much on their phones?” I asked while I
waited to do my implant on Davis.  Emin had finished with one of the
phones and was starting another.

“Hardly anything on Ian’s,” Emin said.  “No text
messages and only Davis’s phone number.  Which is now gone of course.”

“There was a bit more on Davis’s,” Zeke said. 
“But it’s nearly all deleted.”

“Was there anything about a sister?” I asked.

“There are a few text messages from a Beth Davis,
which I think is his sister.  She seems to think he is a bodyguard. 
Why?”

“The detail will help with the memory I
implant.”  I said as I set up to record Davis’s memory.

“So do you want me to delete these messages to and
from Beth?”

“No leave them there it will give me something to work
with,” I said smiling at him.  I sat down next to Davis and pressed
record.

“You have spent the last few days in this motel
room.  Things haven’t gone well since you were discharged from the
military, but it is time to change that.  You have been using prescription
drugs over the past month, and you decided to stay in Cape until you were over
your cravings.  You don’t know anyone in this town.  The drugs will
leave you feeling confused about what has happened over the past week or
so.  You no longer need any drugs, and you want to go and spend some time
with your sister, Beth.  You want to have a better life that includes your
family.  You want to make an honest living.  You never want to hurt
anyone again.  You want to avoid any contact with dishonest people from your
past.  You need to act on these things immediately.”

I put his headphones on and turned his recording onto
repeat hoping that these implants would work.  Now it was time for
Spencer’s procedure.  The boys had him set up on the table, ready to
go.  I double checked the monitors and started with the injections
straight away. 

I knew I needed at least two hours with the implant
recording for Spencer’s memories.  I started on the injections, his
procedure was more intricate because of how long he knew about us.  I had
known before tonight that there was no way I would be able to completely block
his memory of my father out.  Rather I would have to give him different
reasons for knowing him while erasing Tyler, Maive and I from his memory. 
I had spent nearly an hour with Spencer’s injections, and I was ready to pass
the two currents through his body.

I double checked the machine and ran the first
current.  He reacted much the same as other two men.  I suddenly felt
a little bit of relief that this was nearly over.  I then ran the second
current and heard the heart rate monitor go crazy.  I quickly turned the
current off and returned to his side.  Zeke was beside me in a flash, but
neither of us quite knew what to do.  I quickly read his statistics out to
Mum hoping that she would be able to help me in some way.

“You could have accidentally induced a heart attack
Hayln,” Mum replied weakly.

“What do I do?” I said in a panic.

“Just keep an eye on his vitals, if his heart stops
you will need to CPR.”

I had to admit that I did consider for a moment if I
would even want to conduct CPR on Spencer if his heart stopped.  It would
have solved a lot of problems if he wasn’t around.  And just as I felt
guilty for hoping this man’s life would end his pulse rate started to
slow.  I did feel relief as his heart and blood pressure returned to
normal levels, and I was glad I didn’t have to make that decision.

His vital signs had completely returned to normal, and
we all waited together until it was time to do his implant.  We heard
movement upstairs, and I was relieved to see Dad return.  He had an
enormous milk crate full of papers.

“How did you go?” We both asked at the same time, he
smiled and signaled for me to go first.

“Davis and Ian’s procedure went without a hitch,
Spencer gave us a bit of a fright, but he has settled down now.  His heart
rate went berserk after I passed the current through him.”

“His age probably worked against him there,” Dad said
looking at all the monitors.  “What about the implants?”

“Hard to tell yet, I only have Spencer’s to do in a
few minutes.  What about you, how did it go at Christian’s?”

“Everything is either destroyed or in that box,” he
said with a relieved look on his face.  He sat back down next to Mum
checking her wound.  “There was a lot more research done on Tyler than I
had anticipated.  I thought it might be a good idea to go over their work,
which is why I brought some back.  There is no evidence left there
now.  Tyler and Maive are on the way to Kings Valley, they said they would
call once they were done.”

“This is nearly over,” Mum said softly. 

“Not long now Evelyn, just rest and it will be over
soon,” Dad said kindly before getting the boys attention.

“Could you boy’s start taking those monitors out of
the lounge and get rid of the cameras?  I would like our home back to
normal as soon as possible.”

“What do you want us to do with all the equipment,”
Zeke asked.

“You boys decide, I just don’t want it here anymore,”
Dad answered.

“Cool, let’s chuck it on eBay,” Emin said.  He
and Zeke left the room laughing. 

I thought to myself that I must remember to ask for a
cut of the profits.

I wanted to get started on Spencer’s implant, but I
had to check something with Dad first.  “I needed to ask you something
Dad, about Spencer’s implant.”

He came over to where I stood with the recorder ready
to finish this procedure.  “His memory of you goes too far back, so I
don’t think I have a choice but to include you in part of his new memory.”

“I agree Hayl’s, what did you have in mind?”

“I'm going to give him our DNA strain that we separated
as we intended to do initially.  I'm also going to tell him it was his
brother’s creation, and that he brought it here for you to double check before
he took it to the next stage of testing.”  I paused, a little anxious
about what his reaction might be.

“I like it Hayln, it will even give me a reason to
keep in touch with him, to make sure the implant works.”

“Well, let’s finish this then,” I said as I reached out
to hold his hand, took a deep breath and pressed record.

“Since you left the government, you have been helping
your brother with his research.  You were trying to perfect a DNA strain
that would make humans resistant to most viruses.  You were both inspired
to start this study because of your brother’s illness.  After years of
research your brother thought he had perfected the strain, but he passed away
before he could do his final tests.  You remembered meeting a scientist
from Cape years ago named Ethan Knox.  You decided to take Christian’s
research to him so he could confirm whether you had both achieved your
goal.  You trust Ethan Knox, and you are grateful that he agreed to go
over the research.  The last week or so you have been trying to come to terms
with your brother’s death.  The days feel confusing since his passing, but
you are getting yourself together.  You want this discovery to be a legacy
to your brother and not be exploited by anyone.  You want everyone to
benefit from your work, not just the rich, it is what your brother would have
wanted.  Once Ethan gives you the results you will ask him who to contact
to help you take the research to the next level.  You will then leave Cape
to make your brother’s legacy a reality, remembering that you can always
confide in and trust Ethan Knox.”

I smiled at Dad – it was done.

“Well done Hayln, now all we can do is wait,” Dad said
as we walked together to sit by Mum.  She was sleeping soundly.

“You know, if you hadn’t of reacted so quickly, the
wound would have been a lot worse,” he said quietly as he held her hand.

“I somehow knew where the bullet would hit, and I just
reacted.”

“Well thank you.  I don’t know what I would do
without her.  I know we have been apart for years, but the last week or so
has proven to me that I will never love anyone else the way I love her.”

“I know Dad,” I laid my head on his shoulder.  “I
think she might feel the same.”

We sat together watching Mum for a long while. 
The boys came down when they were finished upstairs.  Even they seemed as
if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

“Everything is back to normal Dad, would you like to
move Mum?” Emin asked.

“I’d like her to stay close by until this is finished,
just in case there is a complication.  It’s only a precaution of course,
but it would make me feel better.”

Emin didn’t argue with him, he just wanted to know
what was next.  Dad explained that Ian would have to be taken to his
house.  When we checked his license we discovered it was only a few minutes
from Tyler’s place.  Davis would be taken to a motel, and Spencer would be
taken back to Christian’s house. 

We decided to get Tyler to check on Ian tomorrow by
knocking on his door and asking for directions.  Hopefully then we will
know if his implant worked.  While Dad was out with Tyler and Maive, he
arranged for a motel to be booked in Davis’s name.  He paid the manager
extra to tell him he'd been there over a week if he asked, and to ask him where
he was going when he checked out.  Dad said he would drop over there
tomorrow so see what happened before he goes to visit Spencer.