“Stay alert, my son.”
The words filtered through Wade’s mind. An uneasiness filled his soul. The words from Rachel that morning came to mind. “You are highly favored by the gods. No harm will come to you.” His nerves were comforted by her statements and immediately settled his spirit.
A few minutes later, they pulled up to an eight-foot gate. There was an intercom box on the side. Lil Joe pushed the button.
“How may I help you?” a male voice responded.
“This is Joe Wade. I have an appointment with Dr. Chambers Jr.”
“Dr. Chambers is expecting you at the laboratory. Someone will meet you at the entrance.”
The gate opened and Lil Joe drove in.
“The laboratory?” Wade questioned.
“The Chambers have a number of in vitro fertilization laboratories across the county. They help people have babies.”
“I see,” Wade replied as he looked into the backseat at Monty. He noticed his brother became unusually quiet once they crossed the bridge. His eyes were closed, and his face looked as if he had seen a ghost. “You good back there?”
“There is evil here,” Monty replied.
Lil Joe glanced at him through the rear-view mirror, then looked at Wade.
Wade was looking over the grounds when he replied. “I feel it, too, my brother. I feel it, too.”
A little over a mile up the driveway, a building came into view. It was a long brick structure with white trim outlining the top. It looks like it was one level, but Wade could tell by the foundation there was a basement or cellar. When they stepped out of the vehicle, they were greeted by the man himself, Dr. Bradford Chambers Jr. He extended his hand. The white-haired man looked mild-mannered with his tall, slim body, wiry glasses, and white lab coat.
“Hello Joe. It’s been a while. How is married life treating you?”
Lil Joe chuckled. “Well, I tell you Doctor. I can’t complain. Not one bit.” He looked back. “Dr. Chambers, this is Mr. Wade Tyson and his brother Montrell Tyson. They have a few questions about what you do here.”
Dr. Chambers extended his hand. Wade shook it. Montrell did not. Chambers blinked, then cleared his throat. He reached back. “This is my son, Dr. Bradford Chambers, III. He works with the results of our studies here.”
Bradford III appeared to be a privileged blue-eyed ass. He wasn’t as tall as his father, wasn’t dressed in a white coat, and looked as if he would rather be anywhere other than here with them. Lil Joe and Wade extended their hands and he shook them, but he did not bother to extend the courtesy to Montrell.
“If you will come this way, I’ll be happy to walk you through the labs,” Bradford III said, then walked into the building. “What we do here is help childless couples. Some would consider that honorable. I cannot imagine what questions you would have. The clients who seek our assistance are of the utmost character and intelligence.”
“Clarification of the process would be helpful,” Monty stated.
“Yes, well, I would think someone on your intellectual level would need some explanation.”
Wade and Monty shared a glance.
Wade spoke. “There are five basic steps in the IVF process. To monitor and stimulate the development of healthy eggs in the ovaries. Collect the eggs. Secure the sperm. Combine the eggs and sperm together in the laboratory, and provide the appropriate environment for fertilization and early embryo growth. Transfer embryos into the uterus. You help mothers become pregnant without the benefit of sexual intercourse.” He shrugged. “Of course, that is only what my limited intelligence can understand at this moment. What more can you tell us?”
Bradford stopped walking, turned, then glared at Wade. “Why don’t I show you how that process manifests?”
Monty raised an eyebrow as he and Wade walked into the laboratories.
They toured the facilities for twenty minutes. Wade noticed the same fourteen-millimeter-thick metallic glass was used here as in the clinic. He also noticed they were being watched. The camera system was right in their face for them to know they were being watched.
“As you can see, we have an exceptional laboratory here. In fact, we have been rated one of the top IVF laboratories in the country.” Bradford III raved as they stepped into his father’s office. “We help bring hundreds if not thousands of children into the world. It is our life mission.”
“Please, have a seat. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have.” Bradford Jr. point to two chairs in front of his desk. “Bradford, would you retrieve another chair from the foyer for Joe?”
“No, don’t bother. I’ll just stand here,” Lil Joe replied.
Wade and Monty took a seat.
Bradford Jr. nodded. “Very well.” He looked at Wade. “How can we help you?”
“I’m curious. How do you acquire your donors?”
“We have an in-depth recruitment process to obtain only the top tier of donors,” Bradford III replied. “We are quite selective.”
“I see,” Wade replied. “Where do you find them?”
“Universities, college campuses, any location where education is their focus.”
Monty and Wade turned back to look at Bradford III.
“Do you answer all of the questions asked of your father?” Monty asked.
“Bradford handles the recruitment of candidates for our program,” Bradford Jr. replied. “That is the reason why he is answering your questions.”
Monty and Wade turned back to Bradford Jr. “It was unclear for a minute who was the administrator of this project.”
“Oh, it is more than a project,” Bradford Jr. stated. “This is our lives’ mission, as Bradford stated. This mission began with my father. We represent the second and third generation of scientists committed to bringing intelligent children into the world.”
“How do the clinics play a part in that?” Wade asked.
“Which clinics would those be?” Bradford III asked. “I ask because we have quite a few, all around the country.”
The condescending tone caused Wade to look over his shoulder at the man. To him it seemed the man was having a watershed moment. The anxiety he was struggling to disguise was showing in his eyes. There was something else in his eyes. Gloating, Wade thought. He was inwardly gloating about something.
“Let’s begin with the ones in Bristol, Virginia, to be specific. My investigation shows there have been several,” Wade replied, then turned back to Bradford Jr. “A few that were closed down over the years. Why was that?”
“Security issues. What we do here is of a highly personal nature. Some of the people we assist have security levels in government you could not imagine.”
“What my father is tactfully trying to say is, our clientele is of the highest echelon of the population. We are well connected with governmental officials and financially stable.”
“In other words, you sell babies to those who can afford the cost to participate in your program.”
“No, no,” Bradford Jr. insisted. “We have strict guidance on who we assist in our program. After all, we are the premiere facility in our field and hold our confidentiality agreements in high regard.”
“While I am certain that answered some question asked in the universe, it did not answer the one I asked,” Wade stated. “Was there a breach in the facilities in Bristol and is that’s why they were closed?”
“We do not have breaches in our facilities,” Bradford III declared. “We have security features of the upper echelon of quality. In fact most of our security features are not available to the public.”
“Hence the governmental connections,” Wade looked over his shoulder to ask, “Then how did you obtain them?”
“These questions have gone into an area we should not be discussing. And your attitude is bordering on belligerent.” Bradford Jr. stated. His tone and volume peaked. “This interview is over.”
“We have really just begun,” Wade smirked.
“I said, this interview is over.” Bradford Jr.’s tone was more adamant.
Monty stood suddenly, knocking the chair to the floor. In a booming voice he declared, “The sky is blue with white clouds.”
All eyes turned to Monty. Everyone in the room was stunned to silence for a minute. Bradford Jr. jumped from his chair, staring at Monty as if he had seen a ghost.
“It’s blue,” Monty looked directly at Bradford Jr. and yelled again. His fist balled at his waist.
Lil Joe stood upright from the leisurely position against the wall. Wade jumped up reaching for Monty.
“Monty?” Wade could feel the turmoil coming from his brother. He could feel it in his gut. It seemed all his senses came to attention. The adrenaline in his system began to stir.
Bradford III opened the door, ordering two of his security team members into the office. “Subdue him.”
The men walked towards Monty.
Wade put his hands out. The men stopped immediately. “Do not touch my brother.” Now wasn’t the time, but Wade noticed a bass in his voice that wasn’t there before.
“Take them out of this office. Now,” Bradford III ordered.
Wade’s voice deepened. “My brother will not be harmed.”
Lil Joe walked between Wade and the men. “Let’s just take it down a notch or two.”
“Get out. Now.” Bradford III ordered again.
Wade turned to Monty. Trying to get him to focus, Wade shook him. “Monty, Monty. Look at me.” His voice deepened. He needed his brother to focus. “Monty, look into my eyes.”
Monty’s eyes met his. The sight startled him. Through Monty’s eyes, he could see a young boy who couldn’t have been more than five or six, running through the woods, then through water. He sees a little girl in the boy’s arms; both are wet. It was as if he was seeing this through Monty as a child’s viewpoint. He did not see the boy’s face, only the woods and water as he ran. Then he saw two older boys placing the young boy in the chair. Then he saw Dr. Chambers in Monty’s eyes.
Understanding hit Wade. He was seeing a scene from the past in Monty’s eyes. This man, Bradford Chambers, was a part of Monty’s past. He acknowledged his understanding by slightly nodding his head. “I have you, my brother.” As Monty began to focus, Wade could sense one of the men behind him moving towards them. “Do … not … come … any … closer. I … will … hurt … you!”
The voice was so sinister Wade did not recognize himself talking. In that moment, he knew he could kill if need to protect Monty. “Joe,” his voice was back to his own. “I’m taking my brother out of here. Will you ensure our safety?”
“Damn right, I will.” Lil Joe put his hand on his gun. “Dr. Chambers I apologize for the interruption. I’m going to ask that you tell your men to step down and let us leave.”
“You dare to demand anything after bringing these men into my facilities?” Bradford III smirked. “Take them, and call the authorities.”
The men took a step towards them.
Wade held up his hand with a swish. The force from the movement of his hand knocked the two security men and Bradford III against the wall.
Wade looked down at his hand in astonishment. What in the hell had he just done? Shaking it off, he turned back to Monty.
“I will have you escorted out without incident,” Bradford Jr. stated as he pushed a button.
Wade looked back at the man. There was shock and curiosity, but he did not see malice in the man’s eyes. Then he looked at the man getting up from the floor. Bradford III had the look of pure evil in his eyes. Not the spirit kind, but the human who would make others suffer to gain what he wanted. He was who Wade needed to protect his brothers from.