Author's ramble- the idea for this chapter came to me when I was writing this chapter so I did a complete rewrite (inspired by the fact the computer I saved my story on is a 6 hour drive away, opps). Anyways hope you like it… especially you Riley.
A/N- right now I am suffering major writer's block and may redo this chapter… warning updates depend on plot bunnies
~~~*~~~
Do you want me to tell you something really subversive?
Love is everything its cracked up to be.
That's why people are so cynical about it...
it really is worth fighting for,
being brave for, risking everthing for.
And the trouble is,
if you don't risk anything,
you risk even more.
--Erica Jong
~~~*~~~
Few Months After Wild Cat
Newborn to 2 nurseries at Genomex
"Mason you have known me for years," Adam said as he walked into the nursery with his friend.
"I just telling you the question have been raised, I mean too many kids are missing."
"And I want to find the parties be hide it. I help found Genomex and I am not going to let some third party persons destroy it." The pair walked passed two of the nurses who were carrying a child on each hip and carrying for the rest of the kids that lay in the cribs filling the whole room
"You don't have to convince me Adam."
"Mason I know that you're my friend but lately I feel like I have to prove my innocents to the whole company." . Adam bent down and began playing with one of the children in their crib.
"Being innocent doesn't always mean you will be viewed as innocence."
"And now I have a shadow wherever I go." Adam said as he picked up the smiling baby and brought him over to the exam table.
"Don't think of my like that. I volunteered to keep an eye on you." Mason replied walking right behind Adam, eyeing his every action
"Thanks, but what am I going to do?" Adam said belting the wigging boy and turning on the scanner.
"Catch the villains stealing the children." Mason leaned against the wall as Adam read the scan and picked up the child and returned him to his crib
"That will be harder than we think. They are clearly framing me but how?" Mason just raised his eye brow at Adam.
"Maybe it is your own actions that show you guilt." Adam stopped in his tracks turning around to face Mason
"I thought you said you believed my innocence. Are you just another GS Agent adding the fuel to the fire? How long before you get the gallows built Mason. How long till you all burn me at the stake for something I would never do." Adam was almost yelling by the end. Mason walked up and put his hand on Adam's shoulder.
"You words say you are but your actions say you're not."
"Mason…"
"Let me finish Adam. You play with the child. See that they are healthy and happy but healthy happy children don't make good soldiers."
"But the years of studies show that children who don't bond to an adult figure as infants grow up to be emotionally unstable. Yes they will be soldiers but fight for what. They won't have families or a country that cares for them. It take more, we have the century old studies that prove that."
"The nurses and caregivers see to that Adam. This is the prefect environment, years of research was use to make sure that Genomex will delver."
"Will it work out Mason? I don't agree with Genomex methods all the time but I am working to change things from the inside. I won't trust anyone outside of Genomex caring for these kids. Their gifts make it impossible. No, whoever is taking the kids is making a huge mistake and risking every life they take and the lives of all the people who have contact with the stolen kids."
"Make sure the high ups know your feelings."
"Everyone knows my feelings Mason."
"Do they Adam? Do they?" Mason looked directly into Adam face doing his best to tower over the other man. "I will leave you now in the watchful eyes of the nurses. You know the rules."
"Don't leave the room with a child and minimal contact."
"Exactly Adam, I'll be seeing you around my young friend."
"Goodbye Mason." With that Mason left the room and Adam to his rounds.
"Hello Kiddo," Adam said as he bent down and began tickling the toes of a one year old boy. His efforts were met by an ear piercing wail. "Kiddo I'm just here to give you your daily check-up everyday you have one." His efforts were met by more wails. Adam went to pick-up the screaming boy but the head nurse scooped up the child while glaring at Adam.
He moved on to the next crib. A bright eyed girl who could have only been a few months old looked up at him. "Well hello cutie. Are you going to let me look at you, unlike your friend over there?" Adam motioned with his head to the crying boy who was now happily playing with the nurse. Adam turned back the girl but he could swear she was now smiling. "Alright now, little trip over to the exam table," he picked up the little girl and walked over to the scanner. "Here we go Cutie." He said as he sat down the baby on the table.
"You're a strange one you know that." Adam looked up from the scans to see the nurse holding the little boy.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh well she never lets strangers hold her, but he on the other hand is friendly to everyone."
"Well she seems friendly to me, aren't you friendly cutie." Adam said tickling the little baby. Adam turn over the child's wrist and recorded the number tattooed there one to the scan.
"She good?"
"Yeah she's fine."
"Good, one of the nurses claimed she saw her floating her bottle a week ago."
"Well it wasn't her."
"How do you know?"
"Her number, P67-TmI: 417_82, shows that she is a Psionic but a telempath and illusionist. She couldn't lift anything with her mind even after her powers come in."
"I though most of the kids had their gifts at birth."
"Not anymore, most of the kids of the ones who got their powers at birth lost control over time. It works better if they slowly coming into play. Besides Psionics have a tendency to go insane the longer they have their gifts." The nurse let out a long breath. Adam turned to face her. "Most these kids will be fine, small changes to improve the final product."
"You make it sound so cold."
'Science tends to be cold."
"But these are warm bodies of live people, children."
"I know, but you can look at the numbers or look at the faces of the 'experiment.' Do you think you can help me with him since this little cutie is done?" The nurse nodded setting the boy down and picking up the girl.
"What do his numbers mean?"
Adam turned over the boy's wrist reading the tattoo that had been there his whole life. "M59-ItIp: 396_81, He is a molecular the 59 one that was made, intangible and impervious, 396 is his id number like you know and 81 is the year he was born. All the numbers are that simple didn't they train you about all this."
"Little bit, we are taught the basic code. What we need to know."
"That's how most of Genomex works." Adam finish strapping down the boy to the table, he was trying to get out of the straps that held him to the table. "Calm down Kiddo." His words of comfort were met by screams. The nurse bent down and whispered some words in the boy's ear. He stopped crying but continued wiggling.
"Will that do?"
"It will have to." Adam replied as he began the scan. He read over the results with the nurse hovering over his shoulder. "His fine too."
"That's a relief. These kids worry me."
"How so?"
"No one should grow up like this… surrounded by cold doctors and treated like…like… one big experiment."
"Their here because it's the best environment we can offer. These kids can't grow up in a normal home with a mother and a father, what happens when their powers come in, what happens if they hurt themselves or others. No here is much safer." Adam turned to the nurse trying to read her and if this was another test. The anger seems genuine but the company was surrounded in lies.
"Call me old fashion but this can't be the best thing for these kids."
"Well I am sorry you feel that way. I know the rumors of what I have been doing here, they're not true. I want to keep these kids safe and right now I feel Genomex is the safest place for most of these kids." Adam replied trying not to make his hints too obvious.
"And what about the kids that are not meant to grow up like this?"
"There's the adoption program, it lets us monitor the kids and make sure that they are still safe."
"Then why don't you put kids into the program?"
"I do when I see a kid I feel should be the in program but I see possibilities in all these kids. Who know what this wiggly guy could do for us one day," Adam said as he picked the boy up off the exam table, for once the kid remained quiet in Adam's arms, "or that cutie in your arms." The nurse shifted the girl in her arms.
"So many kids though and no parents, what will happen to them?"
"They will be raised by Genomex."
"They aren't lab rats, their children."
"I know, I know." The nurse turned and looked Adam in the eyes, he smiled as he bounced the boy on his hip. A smile spread across both their faces.
"My name is Isabel but everyone calls me Isa." Adam smile grew.
"Pleasure to.." but a wail from the boy interrupted him. They managed to switch children as the nurse took the crying boy doing her rounds with him on her hip. Adam watched her walk and then looked down at the girl in his arms. "Well cutie we may have found another one to help us get you out of here." The baby just cooed in his arms as he walked back to the crib and gently placed her down. She closed her eyes the moment he set her down. Adam smiled and began his rounds with the help of the other nurses.
~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~
(three weeks later, Nursery))
Adam couldn't help but smiling as he walked into the nursery seeing Isa standing with of one of the children they were planning on 'losing in a transfer' tonight. It had been all planed out and with Isa and some of Adam's other contacts they would be able to clear out the older half of the nursery and place them into the arms of their new parents.
Isa transferred the boy into Adam's arms and walked over another child. The one year old boy greeted him with the customary wail. The boy closed his mouth for a moment and Adam swore he saw the little boy smile before he began his high pitched crying again. Adam just kept the smile on his face and bounced the boy up and down on his hip as he walked to the exam table. The boy quieted quickly and a smile spread across his face as Adam reached into his protect and handed the boy a small toy as he strapped him down to the table and started the scanner.
"He may have finally started liking you Adam."
"At least he will let me hold him without deafen the entire room, although it took seeing you every day for eight hours and now he will be moving out of here shortly."
"Trust me the whole nursing staff is grateful for this devolvement, although we are going to miss you."
"Well I am going to miss you and the kids. But me and my handy ear plugs will still have all the 12 month and under." Adam said with a smile as he lifted the boy off the table. "Any new developments with the kids."
"Nothing new, as far as I know, but I just got on shift, you might want to ask Marie." Adam placed the boy back down into a play pen that had three other children crawling around in it. Adam turned to walk away when the boy let out a cry. Adam turned around to find him standing at the edge of the pen with his arms raised up. Isa laughed, "Well I would say 396 warming up to you it a new development." Adam laughed as he picked up the little boy and walked over to the head nurse that was now going off shift.
~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~
(the next night, at The Back Door Bar)
"I don't know how it happened," Adam put his hand on Isa shoulder. Tears were falling down her face. She had been crying since she witnessed the van carrying the ten babies for transport to new families be stopped by Genomex agents and the drivers, friends of hers, killed. The kids were now at a new location that no one knew about. She buried her head into Adam shoulder letting the emotions of the past hours pour out.
"It's not you're fault. They were monitoring me non-stop. They had to know I was doing something." Adam wrapped his arms around Isa well scanning the bar for any out of place people.
"But other than it being your idea you had nothing to do with it. It was me and those contacts of yours. Did one of them sell you out?" Isa said turning to face Adam.
"No I trust them all."
"But what if it was them? I saw someone talking to Mason when they caught the van with the children. Who did you work with on this one? Maybe I will recognize the name."
"No you don't know them," Adam paused for a moment and loosed his hold on Isa, "besides you wouldn't need a name you would need a face."
"You're right Adam, I'm just so upset about this being blown." Isa said too quickly for Adam's liking. He nodded trying to clear his head.
"Yeah I am too Isa, listen I need to go back to my apartment and get some sleep before the meeting with the higher ups tomorrow." He gave Isa a quick hug and stood up.
"Bye Adam." With that Adam left the bar without looking back, a determined expression on his face.
~~~*~~~
One ring to find them
One ring to bring them all
And in the darkness bind them
JRR Tolkien
~~~*~~~
there is a point to the last quote, it isn't the fact I have seen the movie 3 times in the past week
Writing has been really hard lately and I am sorry for the lack of updates, I have ideas I just can't seem to get them down on paper…errr... (it took a week to write this little bit)