Chapter 34
You carry my heart in your heart.
The words came from nowhere and repeated themselves over and over in Parker's mind.
Her eyes involuntarily rested on Alec's chest. She stared at him as though she could actually see his heart beating.
"There has to be something we can do," she said as she stepped toward him, "This can't be it."
Alec met her gaze and he understood the panic she felt because he felt it too. Denying Sonia the Domino chip was signing their death warrant. He couldn't, wouldn't let Parker die.
As he stared into her hazel eyes, inspiration flared and he stepped toward her.
"Yes, there is something we can do," he responded, his hands itching to grab and hug her.
He fought the urge but winked at her instead before he walked over to Dr. Yates.
"Dr. Yates, this isn't the final version of Domino, right?" Alec's rhetorical question caught Dr. Yates off guard.
"Uhhmm…no," Dr. Yates replied thoughtfully, "the final was her fifth attempt."
"YES," Alec half laughed, half shouted as he pumped his fist enthusiastically.
He turned to Parker and pumped his fist triumphantly.
"We got her baby," he called to her then stopped abruptly when he realized that he'd called her baby.
"Um, sorry," he offered quickly before he saw that she was smiling.
"Dr. Yates, can I access your archives from this computer?" Alec asked as he made his way over to the computer.
"You can with the code," Dr. Yates offered as he promptly reached over Alec and punched in the ten digit access.
As Dr. Yates stood back and watched over Alec's shoulder, the hacker went to work moving and manipulating a steady stream of formulas and data code.
"Oh, I understand what you're doing. You are an impressive young man. Were you ever vetted by the Institute?" Dr. Yates called to Alec's back. "We keep an eye out for talent such as yours."
Alec smiled sheepishly and nodded his answer. "Heavily, actually, for a couple of years. There was some interest from quite a few agencies until a few minor youthful indiscretions somehow made it to public files when I turned I turned to …um…other pursuits."
"Oh," Dr. Yates said finally.
Parker observed their exchange for a moment then stepped closer to the two men.
"Alec, our time is running out."
Alec didn't turn to her but her reminder hastened his typing.
Parker turned to walk away from them. Something in the situation gnawed at her. It felt too easy.
"Alec," she turned back to face them, "this doesn't feel right. Sonia is meticulous. She thinks of every contingency."
Alec finally turned toward her, "she didn't account for everything. She didn't account for you."
He smiled at her and she understood instantly everything that they'd been through hadn't been in Sonia's plan. Sonia hadn't expected the reaction that Parker would have to Alec. She hadn't anticipated losing control. Parker hadn't anticipated it either but she knew she was changed and Alec's refusal to give up on her was the reason why.
Parker smiled at the thought and was put a little more at ease. Alec turned back to the monitor and entered a few more strokes.
"Done," he said finally and saved the Domino formula to his pen drive, "…and done."
He turned back to Dr. Yates, "Dr. Yates, do you have a transport we could use to resurface?"
The older man's face broke into a smile.
"I have just the thing," he replied and led Parker and Alec out an exit the opposite end from where they had come in.
He stepped onto an indoor dock that housed a small, sleek submarine.
Dr. Yates turned to the pair, "It was Sonia's personal machine," he told them, smiling conspiratorially.
"You," Alec smiled back at Dr. Yates, "are very, very cool."
"Thank you, Dr. Yates," Parker offered sincerely, "I'm sorry if I was…hasty."
Alec's eyes opened wide. Parker apologized. Even old Parker had a difficult time acknowledging her mistakes.
"It's quite alright," he responded, his thick accent tinged with genuine understanding, "I know all too well what Sonia is capable of."
His recounting sounded so personal it sparked Alec's interest, "Did you work with her?"
Dr. Yates nodded slowly, "Sonia is the most brilliant biochemist I've ever worked with, a little obsessive, but brilliant. She was singularly focused on sustainability when we met… then several years ago she just changed. Her focus became…warped. But even in that, her genius went to another level."
Alec and Parker listened intently, holding on to any bit of information that would give them the upper hand against their seemingly omniscient adversary.
"Then about five years ago she finished her work on something she called the Prometheus Protocol. She never discussed it and she worked on it day and night. It was dark stuff; Cessation and reanimation of organic matter, cell manipulation, behavioral modification… dark stuff. And I wanted no part but she was convinced it was the future…the answer."
Parker's hand discreetly shot for Alec's. The act caught them both off guard but he held her hand before she could pull away.
"She stopped confiding in me," Dr. Yates continued, "She stopped talking to me all together. I only got little glimpses into what she was doing because a few of the scientist she worked with were friendly with me but she didn't trust them either. None of them knew the full extent of her work or the work they were all doing for her. Then…" he paused and Parker and Alec realized they'd both been holding their breaths in anticipation.
"…they all started disappearing. All of the men she worked with. Each of them, one by one. I never knew if she'd perfected Prometheus but if her interest in the Domino chip is any indication, her descent into the dark side of science has deepened."
Dr. Yates blinked out of his thoughts and smiled apologetically at the entranced pair, "Forgive me for holding you hostage with my ramblings. Sometimes it's difficult for me to understand how someone can fall so far from their calling. I think that regardless of where Sonia has been and the things she has done, at heart she is a scientist….please don't let me keep you. I pray for all of our sakes you are in time to stop her."
Parker nodded at their new ally and made her way into the small sub. Alec extended his hand to the doctor in gratitude before following Parker and folding his long frame into the tiny water craft.
As they slowly ascended from the dark, murky ocean depths, they were each preoccupied by their own thoughts.
And one looming question- Were they too late?