About ten minutes later Kyle had finally pinpointed the location of the call and they were back on the road. Within thirty minutes, they had found the property.
The iron gates opened at their approach so they drove forward and pulled up to the front entrance of an imposing building. At the desk, a heavily armed guard informed them that only Kyle was allowed to proceed from that point forward.
"It's ok," he told his friends. "They want me alive. I don't think they would harm their multi-billion dollar experiment."
Foss and Declan reluctantly agreed as Kyle stepped into the elevator. Upon reaching their destination, Kyle was shown into a dark conference room and left alone.
He focused on his surroundings. He could sense the rooms' security cameras. There were also at least a dozen people watching him in close proximity, probably behind mirrored glass somewhere above.
"I know you are here," he called. Why won't you let me see you?" He had known the answer already. They were scientists. They wanted to keep themselves impartial, not to know their experiment as a person.
A voice came over a speaker system. "Your friend is located somewhere in this building. Can you locate her?"
In different circumstances, Kyle would not stoop to humor these cold-hearted individuals. For Amanda, he would do anything they asked of him. He was certain they were counting on just that.
Again, he focused on his surroundings. Sensing each heartbeat until he came to the one he listened to each night before falling asleep. Just as when he was in Zzyx, a holographic diagram appeared within his minds eye. He knew this building, or at least, Adam knew this building. He must have given him the information years ago, knowing he would someday need it.
"Amanda is located in a small room, three-hundred forty seven feet south-west of my current location. I need to take the elevator down two levels, pass through five doors and three hallways. I will come in contact with five people along the way."
He felt several of the heartbeats increase with excitement. One was abnormal.
"Just to let you know, the male who is to my right and has a pacemaker, it is off by .73 milliseconds. At its current rate of deterioration it will fail in eight months, twelve days, four hours and ten minutes."
Now he felt several more of the heartbeats race. The person with the pacemaker's began to beat even faster.
He felt he had performed enough for these people, so he used his abilities to raise the lights within the room. This illuminated the theater seating above him where the members of Latnok sat.
He looked up at them, "I am going to get Amanda, and we are leaving this building immediately. If you want to meet me, you can approach me like civil human beings. I am not a lab rat to be run through courses. You can talk to me in person or I will not cooperate at all."
The lights began to flicker, some of them exploded in a shower of sparks around him. "AND YOU WILL NOT INVOLVE MY FAMILY OR MY FRIENDS AGAIN!" he shouted. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself.
"If any of them are harmed or even contacted, I will do everything within my power to destroy Latnok. I did it to Madacorp I can do it to you as well."
With that, he focused on the locking mechanism in the door and released it. He made his way through the building to where he knew Amanda was located. They must have sedated her because her heartbeat was at rest. He would carry her out of here if he had to. All he knew was that by the end of the night, he would tell her everything. Hopefully, her feelings for him would not change.
Back in the conference room, the members of Latnok remained seated. Silently they watched as Kyle made his way to Amanda, unlocking doors and deactivating alarm systems. They watched with great anticipation as Kyle pondered over a gate that was blocking his way. There was almost a round of applause when he pulled open a control panel and easily manipulated the gates operating system.
Within minutes, he had found her. She was still in her prom dress, asleep on a hospital type bed.
He approached her sleeping form and sat down upon the bed next to her. Delicately he moved a stray strand of blond hair from her face. He placed a chaste kiss upon her lips. Hoping that it would not be the last time he was able to do so.
"Amanda," he whispered, so not to startle her. He stroked her face again, "Amanda, you need to wake up."
Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled. "Kyle?" she questioned as she looked around. "Where am I?"
"You are in Latnok," he said with a re-assuring smile, trying not to upset her. "I am going to take you home now."
"Latnok?" she said as she tried to sit up. "What's Latnok?" she asked starting to sound a bit worried. "What am I doing here?"
"All I can tell you right now is that they wanted to talk to me but, I told them I wouldn't talk under these circumstances. Let's get you out of here and I will explain everything in the car."
Amanda tried to stand up but swayed back down again. "I'm a bit dizzy," she said as she held her head.
"Don't worry," he said as he scooped her up into his arms. "I've got you."
Back in the conference room, the lead member of Latnok switched off the security monitors, "Just as we had anticipated."
All heads nodded in agreement. "The girl may turn out to be just what we need to motivate our subject," said one of the members.
"Shall we activate phase three?" asked the lead member.
Again, all heads nodded in agreement as the cameras switched on again to reveal Kyle carrying Amanda down the hallway, they continued to watch in silence.
As he exited the elevator, Foss and Declan looked worried.
"Is she all right?" they asked.
"She's fine, they must have given her enough sedative to keep her out for the entire night. She fell back to sleep about five minutes ago. Let's just get going, I'll tell you everything in the car.
Declan took the front seat as Kyle kept Amanda in his lap in the back. He was not about to let her go. He had a horrible feeling that his relationship with her would soon be over once she knew the whole truth about him.
Half-way there she awoke again. "Kyle?" she asked as she lifted her head from his shoulder.
"Right here," he said as he gave her a re-assuring hug.
"Who is Latnok?" she asked with a bit more clarity.
"Why don't I start at the beginning," he said as he took a deep breath. "I want you to know everything."
Amanda slid down next to Kyle, looked up at him, and began to listen to his story. She blinked tears away several times. Especially when he told her about the pod, and how he spent the first sixteen years of his life encased in the embryonic fluid, hooked into the Zzyx mainframe. How he learned about life and love from the Trager family. How she was his first kiss and how he had loved her before he even knew what it was.
He sat there and watched as she took it all in. He handed her his handkerchief so she could wipe away her tears.
"Why did you feel that you had to wait until now to tell me all of this," she asked quietly as she looked deeply into his eyes. "Didn't you think I would understand?"
"I was afraid that you wouldn't care about me if you knew who I really was. I still…"
He was cut off when Amanda pulled him down into a heart felt kiss. "Kyle, I care about you because you are the kindest, most caring person I know. You make me feel like I am the most special person in the room, no matter where we are, or who we are with. I am always amazed at the way you look at me. You make me feel so wonderful, so loved. I have always feared that you would stop looking at me like that one day. That you would find something about me that annoyed you or made you care about me less. Here, you have been feeling the same way all along. Talk about irony."
She laughed then kissed him again. "Kyle Trager, all this tells me is that I get the privilege of being your first for everything and that you are even more special that I had ever thought before."
She reached over and smoothed her hand over his flat stomach where he should have a belly button. "You've always been special to me Kyle. I am glad that you have finally told me the entire story. I am just a little disappointed that it took something like this to bring it out."
Kyle started to protest, he wanted to tell her that he was going to give her all the pieces of the puzzle, just in small doses. He had been so afraid of losing her.
"Amanda's eyes brightened as she realized something. "Jessie!" she exclaimed. "She's just like you isn't she?"
Kyle nodded his head, looking embarrassed.
Amanda continued, now very excited, "So the whole stomach thing was…"
He interrupted, "Us figuring out the truth about each other. She is just like me. Her mother Sarah and my biological father Adam Baylin are sort of like us. We were created from their genetic material."
She reached over, hugged him tightly, and kissed him soundly on the lips.
Kyle laughed, "I am glad you understand."
"So Jessie is sort of like your sister, right? I mean you two look so much alike."
"Well, I guess" he chuckled. "Maybe a half sister, I don't know who my genetic mother is. It might just be Sarah. I'll have to ask Adam."
"Oh, Kyle that the most wonderful thing I have ever heard!" she squealed again as she hugged him.
He thought for a minute. "You mean you were more concerned about the fact that Jessie and I might have been attracted to each other, rather than the fact that I was developed in an embryonic pod?"
"Hey, pods I can handle. We all have strange parents, look at my mother. If she could, she would keep me in a pod," she giggled as the image formed in her head.
Kyle laughed and hugged her tighter, relieved that she finally knew the truth about him and that everything between them was still ok.
Amanda leaned her forehead against his. "I love you, Kyle. That will never change, no matter what."
"I love you to Amanda," he said and for the first time since this whole thing started, he relaxed and pulled her close for another kiss.
When she started feeling a bit dizzy from the lack of oxygen she broke the kiss and smiled coyly up at him."
"What is that look?" he curiously asked as he noticed the spark in her eyes.
"Just thinking about all the fun things that I get to teach you. I never imagined that I would be the experienced one in a relationship. It feels pretty good."
Kyle smiled widely as he realized the meaning behind her mischievous smile. Amanda knowing his secret suddenly looked like it was going to be a lot of fun.