Jesse typed in a series of pass codes, hoping that this was the final series required to get past the last firewall Adam had installed. Hitting return, he glanced at one of the other monitors for the response.
"Aaarrrrgh! Damn it, Adam! I didn't think you were this paranoid!" Instead of green code indicating the security grid was ready for instruction, Jesse was confronted with more yellow text requesting more codes. He gave an exasperated sigh, and focused on carefully reading the encrypted lines of code and entering the proper pass codes at the proper time.
He was getting sick of this. Not even The Rock had such stringent security measures. It had been more than three hours and his eyes and back were starting to hurt, the latter because he'd been standing still for almost two hours, and the former because he'd had to turn the flashlight of half an hour ago when he noticed the light beginning to dim. He still needed the light to get him through the tunnels when he was done, so he'd turned it off, relying on the dim light of the monitors to guide his actions. It was one of the few times he wished that he had active powers like Brennan's or Lexa's so he could create his own light source. Making everything more uncomfortable was the fact that his ankle still hurt, and he was essentially standing on one foot.
Finally, he finished the latest round of codes. Running a hand over his jaw for the umpteenth time, he muttered, "Here goes..." and hit return. Looking over to the far monitor, he gave a shout and slapped his hands together. "Finally! Thank you!" The monitor was displaying a dialogue box within the security system that was open for instruction. He made quick work of disengaging the security grid that covered the door and gave instructions for it to open. In the spacious and hollow caves he heard the echo of locks cycling open. Swiftly he enabled the security pads that had been installed inside and outside the door, then programmed the doors to open with only a specific code he created. He closed the security files, reactivating a few of Adam's firewalls, grabbed the flashlight and the diagram and moved toward the door.
When he reached the open door, Jesse took a deep breath. Even though the vents had been activated, the cool fresh air felt good in his lungs and on his skin. Noticing the darkness, he glanced at his watch. Jeez, 12:30 am. No wonder he was tired; he'd been up since 5:30 am, and a lot had happened today. He quickly stepped outside, closing and locking the door, then engaging the stealth cameo that hid the door, which had been carved into the side of a steep hill in a small glade on the Kilmartin property. Once he had done that, Jesse turned around, paused a moment, then swore.
"Way to
think about details, man," he said to himself, letting his shoulders
slump and shaking his head. He had been so focused on getting
there and getting the grid open, that he forgot to arrange for a pick
up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his comring.
For a moment he pondered calling Brennan for a ride, but then thought
better of it. They were probably already asleep; no one had
gotten much rest the night before. It was only half a mile to the
house, and his ankle wasn't hurting nearly so bad, now that he had it
moving again. Jesse shrugged to himself. The sooner he got
back to the house, the sooner he could take a shower and get some
sleep. Taking a step up the slope, he started back toward the
house.
.
.
"Let me get this straight. There are four categories of mutants: psionic, feral, elemental and molecular. You're a feral, Brennan and Lexa are elementals and Jesse's a molecular. Do you guys have psionic on your team somewhere? You know, just so you have all four?"
Shalimar's face fell for a moment, remembering. "We did. Her name was Emma DeLauro – she was a telempath psionic – she could sense and influence emotions. She, uh, she died last year when Genomex was destroyed." She ran her finger along rim of the coffee mug she held in her hand. "We miss her, but we've moved on. We had to."
"I'm sorry." Katie took a sip from her own mug. She and Shalimar were sitting on the couch in her spacious office. It was the only room in the house, she said, that actually felt lived in. Looking over at the table on the other side of the room, she saw that Lexa and Brennan were childishly arguing over which number the spinner from the game had landed on. She smiled briefly, remembering the numerous times she and Jesse had done the same thing. Brennan and Lexa had used her computer to place orders for some equipment and then settled to play the game, despite her and Shalimar's declinations to play. "Genomex. That was the place that used mutants for more genetic experimentation, right?"
Shalimar shook her head to toss her mane of blond hair out of her eyes. "Yeah. It was also the place where I first met Jesse. Adam and I pulled him out of there about 7 years ago."
Katie considered this, anguished that her brother had been subjected to such treatment. Shalimar had told her about Adam and Sanctuary and the mutant underground, but there was obviously a lot that she still didn't know. "And Father sent Jesse away more than 8 years ago. Do you think that Jesse was there the whole time?"
Shalimar hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "Jesse was there for 17 months. It took him over a month to recover, even with all the advanced medical equipment Adam had."
Katie swore, apparently startling Shalimar, who hadn't heard the young woman swear the entire evening. Noticing Shalimar's look, Katie gave a sigh and settled back into the soft couch cushion. "I knew that Father disliked Jesse, but I never thought he'd do such a thing to his own son."
Shalimar didn't say anything. She knew a bit about fathers not caring properly for their offspring. It disgusted her that Noah could have despised his own son, especially since Jesse was so smart and enthusiastic. She looked up as she felt Brennan approach. He had settled himself on the back of the couch over her shoulder. "Hey kiddies – did you decide if it was a 5 or a 3?"
Brennan glanced over to Lexa, who had settled into a plush chair that matched the couch. Her face was expressionless. He looked back to Shalimar. "Let's just say we called it a draw before it got a little brighter in here." He now shifted his gaze to Katie, whose statement had drawn him and Lexa over here. "Why did your dad not like Jesse?"
"For a lot of reasons, I think. Most of all though, he was always a control freak, and kept getting frustrated and angry every time Jesse had one of his 'accidents.' Then there was the fact that Jesse was grandpa's favorite. Jesse's a lot like grandpa, who was kind to a fault. Father was always a little more ruthless. I'm sure there were a host of other reasons." She paused for a moment, fiddling with her mug. "What exactly happened two years ago?"
"Are you sure you want to know?"
She nodded. "Yeah. It might help me understand why dad suddenly turned over everything to me."
"Well, Jess and I were leaving a night club when he ran into your dad, who, uh, slipped a disc into Jesse's pocket. Later he contacted him and told him that the disc contained information about a suspicious accident at Nexxogen. It turned out that Nexxogen was not only linked to Genomex, but also funded by them. When Noah was fired, he stole the information about the accident intending to use it to blackmail the GSA. They didn't take to kindly to it. Jesse gave your dad the benefit of the doubt, but it turned out that Noah was just using Jesse as a place to hide the dist while the heat was on. Jesse and I managed to save your dad from the GSA and Jesse destroyed the disc. We haven't heard from him since."
Throughout Brennan's account of the events, Katie had been nodding her head, comparing them with the ones she had experienced. "I hate to say it, but I'm not surprised that Father did something like that. I told you he was a control freak. Things always had to be his way. Sometimes I think that he just married my mother so he could get his hands on grandpa's companies. After Grandpa died, that's exactly what happened. But what I don't understand is why he signed over all control to me. I can understand him going into hiding while the pressure was on, but why hasn't he come back?"
"To tell you the truth, I don't know if you'll ever find out," Shalimar said sadly. She reached to put her mug on the coffee table, but froze.
Brennan and Lexa were familiar with the look on her face. "What is it Shal?""Shhh…Someone's approaching the house." Shalimar darted up from her seat and headed down the stairs. The others followed close behind. Once they reached the entryway, Shalimar stopped and gave a relieved sigh. "It's Jesse."
After she said that, the others looked up at the front door just in time to see Jesse phase through it. Katie blinked her eyes a moment, still not used to the idea of her brother being able to walk through walls at will.
Brennan reached out a hand and Shalimar slung an arm around his shoulders by way of greeting. "What took you so long, Jess? You were gone almost four hours. We were starting to worry."
Jesse shrugged. "Adam had installed more firewalls and code than I thought he would. Then I had to walk back."
"Why didn't you call us, man? We would have picked you up."
Again, Jesse shrugged. "I thought you guys might be asleep by now. Plus I needed to stretch out after being still for so long. Hey, first thing we bring down there is a chair, all right?"
Shalimar snickered. "You mean Adam forgot to leave a chair? Sounds like something he would do."
"Yeah, well, next time I see him I'm going to give him what-for about that."
With that simple sentence, Jesse reminded them all that there was still a lot to do, but also that they would be successful. His next sentence, reminded them that there were some more immediate concerns.
"Hey, Katie, do you think it would be possible to get something to eat. I'm starving."