Project Renovatio (11 page)

“In Greece?” Dayla sat quietly for a moment. “Where’s my dad?”

Rana locked the door and leaned against it. “He lives in Scotland. Some scientists took the best genes from him, and they took the best genes from Mom, and they combined them to make you. They designed us to be really smart, strong, and healthy.”

Levin made eye contact with Dayla in the rear view mirror. “Do you think it worked?” He winked at her, and she giggled.

“Yeah,” she said through her giggles. She didn’t ask any more questions for several minutes. “Is that why Brent is your brother, too? Because he has the same dad as you?”

Rana smiled. “That’s right. And you know what? You probably have other brothers and sisters too. You might even get to meet them.”

Dayla didn’t respond, and Levin checked the mirror. She stared out the window.

That was as much as she needed to know about Project Renovatio.

Chapter Seventeen

As Levin drove out of Las Vegas the next morning, he received a phone call from the police. He smiled, nodded, and said, “That’s wonderful news”–the opposite of how Rana expected him to react to anything the police had to say.

Her heart swelled, hoping for good news. The instant he ended the call, she asked, “Did they find her?”

He shook his head. “They processed the blood from the living room. It all came from a single male subject.”

Male subject
? She sat up straighter. “So it wasn’t Mom’s.”

“Exactly.” He glanced out the side window, blinked rapidly and exhaled.

“And it means she fought them. Go Mom!” Tears welled in Rana’s eyes.

“Why are you crying?” Dayla asked.

“Because I’m relieved. And proud. Mom’s probably not hurt, and she can hold her own. She just needs to sit tight until we find her.” Rana smiled at her sister and ruffled the girl’s hair. Dayla scowled and fixed her hair.

They arrived in San Diego in time for lunch and stopped at a fast food place. When he finished eating, Levin stepped outside the restaurant to call Scott and find out where he should go. He re-entered looking confused.

“Well?” Rana asked through a mouthful of French fries. Dayla climbed around in the restaurant’s play area.

“Remember the building we first went to last time? That’s where Mom sent the letters. Scott said it was empty, but now they’re using some of the space for the genetic testing. We’re supposed to return to that building.”

“Huh. Kinda seems like we’re walking into something, doesn’t it?”

“Well, yeah, we’ll be walking into a building.” Levin smirked at her.

“Ha ha. I mean, we’re just letting Scott tell us where we should go. What if that isn’t smart?”

“I think we can trust Scott. He said he’d meet us there.”

She stared at him. “Okay.” Her gut told her something wasn’t right, but she didn’t argue with her brother.

****

Fifteen minutes later, Levin drove towards the industrial area where they last found the building. He had a moment of déjà vu when he pulled up to the booth housing the same grumpy guard. Levin even offered the same greeting. “I’m here to meet Scott Miles.”

The guard referenced his clipboard. “Go right when you get into the parking lot. You’ll enter through those doors.” He pointed.

“Thanks.” Levin raised his window and drove into the lot. As he parked, he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “This doesn’t feel right.”

“I thought the same thing.” Rana sat up. “What should we do?”

Levin pulled his phone from his pocket and called Scott.

“Levin. Are you here?”

“Yeah. We’re in front of the building. Does anything inside seem fishy to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure.” He pressed his lips. “Something just feels off.”

“I wouldn’t worry. Brent, Daniel, and Jeremy are here with their siblings. The repeat performance of talking to the guard probably made you unsettled.”

“Jeremy’s there?”

“Yes. He arrived after we last spoke.”

Levin sighed. “All right. We’ll be in shortly.” He ended the call.

“So?”

“So, we don’t have another option. All of our brothers are here. The note said to follow them. I don’t see another way of finding Mom.” He examined the building.

“Levin, what’s wrong?” Dayla asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

****

They entered the building and walked into a small room containing four elevators. One of them opened, and Scott stepped out.

“Hi, Levin.” He shook Levin’s hand. “I pulled some files for us to look at. They’re in a room upstairs.”

“Thanks, but I’d like to talk to our brothers first.”

“Sure. I can take you to them.” He entered the elevator. Levin and his sisters followed. The building had three floors and a basement. Scott pushed the button for the third floor.

“Daniel said the Project paid for him and his sister to come here,” Levin said, more as small talk than as a push for information.

“Yes. I’m surprised you didn’t get a letter. I can’t figure out why you didn’t.”

“Maybe they used our missing mom to get us here,” Rana quipped.

The doors on the opposite side of the elevator opened, and Scott led them down the hall. He entered what looked like a conference room: it contained three couches, some chairs, a refrigerator, a coffee table, and a TV. Levin’s brothers and their siblings occupied the space. Scott walked across the room and sat on the couch next to a teenage boy with tan skin.

Brent smiled and approached them as they stood in the doorway. “Levin. I’m h…h…happy you’re here. Hi, Rana.”

“Hey, Brent. I just got your email yesterday. It’s good to see you.”

Brent waved a tall teenage boy with lighter brown hair over to the group. “This is mmmm…my b…brother, Isaiah.” Isaiah shook hands with the three siblings, who introduced themselves. “We stayed in a mmm…motel last night. Mmm…maybe you guys can stay there, too.”

Levin nodded. “Yeah, maybe. We haven’t figured out where we’re staying yet.”

Brent grinned.

The group entered the room. Levin walked with his sisters to his other brothers. They each introduced themselves and their siblings to Rana and Dayla. Dayla’s face brightened when Daniel introduced her to Janie. They sat together in one of the chairs and flipped through the books Dayla brought in her backpack. Soon, the girls were laughing and sharing about their schools and friends.

Levin approached Jeremy at his first opportunity. “Can I talk to you alone?”

“Sure.” Jeremy turned away from him. “Scott, can Levin and I use the empty room across the hall to have a private conversation?”

“Yeah. There’s no furniture, though.”

“That’s okay. We’ll sit on the floor,” Levin said. The men walked to the other room and sat against the wall farthest from the door.

Levin started right away with his concern. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

“I’m sure you are. My family received the same letter that Daniel’s and Brent’s families received. I wanted to bring Eliot here for the testing.”

“I figured. I really want to know about…” He paused to scan the room, saw nothing, but leaned in and dropped his voice to a whisper anyway. “I want to know about your fiancée.”

“Yes. Renee. We are doing well. We haven’t had any interference from the Project. My mom hasn’t even stopped talking to them.”

“That doesn’t make sense. My mom wrote a letter cutting off communication, and some guys from the Project kidnapped her a couple weeks later. I sent my girlfriend to Arizona because they threatened her.”

Jeremy’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks. But now I’m confused. Our mother is still missing. We’re here because the Project left clues for us, and the last one said to follow my brothers. So here we are.”

“I don’t know what to say. That’s terrible. Can I do anything to help?”

“I don’t think so. I guess we can go back to the others.” Levin dug his nails into his palm. Doing nothing instead of having his mother sever communication with the Project meant he could still be with Maggie.

The men rejoined the group. Scott had left the room.

“Scott said to wait here and someone would come get us when it’s time for the testing,” Daniel said.

“We’re not here for the testing.” Levin stared out the window. “I need to look around. Rana, stay here with Dayla.”

Levin walked through the short hall and found each room empty. He turned the other way and found more empty rooms and a restroom. With nowhere else to go on that floor, he returned to his siblings.

“This is the only room with anything in it,” he said.

Daniel peered down the hallway. “Weird.”

****

Everyone waited for over an hour, but the time passed quickly for the newly acquainted siblings. No employees came to the room. Rana grew impatient and left her place among the other teenagers to talk to Levin.

“Why are we still here? We should look for Mom.”

“I know. I just don’t know where to start.” Levin pursed his lips. “Maybe the three of us should search the rest of the building ourselves.”

“Anything’s better than sitting here waiting for nothing to happen.” She turned to the chair where Dayla and Janie sat. “Come on, Dayla. We’re going for a walk.”

The siblings walked into the hall, but this time they returned to the elevator. The second floor appeared identical to the third floor: empty rooms, a bathroom, and one room with furniture. Another group of people waited in that room. Rana peeked in, and Jason made eye contact with her. She gasped.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she entered the room. Besides Jason, she didn’t recognize anyone. Levin and Dayla stood in the doorway.

Jason rose from the couch. “My sister and I came here for genetic testing. After you left my house the other day, my mom went through the mail from last week and found a letter about it.”

“You know I came to your house?”

“Yeah. She told me.”

“Is she here?” Rana scanned the room again.

“No. She couldn’t get off work.” He picked at his fingernails. “She told me about Project Renovatio and why she had me. I wondered if I’d see you here.”

Rana got the impression he had more to say. “What do you think about the Project?”

“I’m angry. My whole life until now has been a lie. I don’t even know my real father.”

“Your mom said you thought her husband was your father. Maybe you can still think of him that way, since he raised you?”

“I dunno.” He sighed. “My real father is some Scottish guy I’ll never meet.”

“He’s Scottish?” Rana closely analyzed Jason’s features, then looked at her sister. “Dayla, come here a second.”

Dayla left the doorway and walked to Rana, who grabbed the girl’s shoulders and positioned her beside Jason. Levin entered the room and stood next to Rana.

“Oh, my gosh.” Rana brought her hand to her mouth. Dayla and Jason shared eye shape, hair color, height, and even freckle distribution. “This is too bizarre.”

“What?” Jason asked.

“I think you two have the same father.”

Dayla and Jason faced each other. Jason squinted a bit. “Huh. Mallory, come here.”

A younger girl approached the group. Jason positioned her next to Dayla. The girls bore strong similarities as well.

“Mallory and I have the same father,” Jason said.

“Um, wow. So I guess this answers the ‘will we ever go out’ question, seeing as you’re my sister’s brother.” Rana giggled awkwardly.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Jason laughed. “Wow. That sounds really bad. You don’t…” he pointed from Rana to Dayla, “…have the same father too, do you?”

“No. My father is Greek.”

A smile took over Jason’s face. “Good. I was about to puke.”

Rana laughed.

Levin cleared his throat, breaking the awkward pause. “Well, this has been educational, but we need to go.” He motioned for the door.

“You’re here for the testing, right?” Jason asked.

Rana shook her head. “Did your mom tell you why we went to your house?”

“Yeah. She said something happened to your mom.”

“Right. We think she’s here.”

“Really? I hope you find her. You know,” he turned his attention to Dayla, “everyone in this room has the same father. Know what that means?”

“You’re my brothers and sisters,” Dayla said with such a matter-of-fact tone that Rana laughed.

“Right.” He faced Rana and Levin. “Can she meet them?”

Levin nodded. “We’ll keep looking around and come back for her when we’re done or when we find something. Do you want to do that, Dayla?”

Dayla smiled at Mallory. “Yeah. That sounds fun.”

“Okay. We’ll see you later.”

Dayla and Mallory walked to a table where Mallory had sprawled pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Rana followed Levin into the hall, hoping their search would be short-lived.