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HUGH WAS DONE with his testing. Well, he was as done as he was going to be. Normally, he’d go through everything another time or two but these weren’t normal circumstances and it wasn’t like he was being sloppy or careless. He’d run the DNA reports, analyzed the differences in the genetics of the classes and then did it all again. The results were as expected. They were all related - cousins in a way. They were all descended from the same species. Jason and the Council were going to love it when this information hit the papers. All he had left to do was test his new batch of serum to verify that it was identical to the original. His last attempt had been similar but not identical and that wasn’t good enough when it was the only thing keeping the Trackers from killing everything in their paths.
He put samples of the two serums into the machine and started the analysis. He didn’t fully understand how the serum worked. The Tracker and Handler blood was different than all the other classes. Their base DNA and some other strands were very close but other parts were completely foreign. By testing their blood before and after administering the serum he’d discovered that the serum altered the baseline DNA of both species. It strengthened recessive genes thus weakening dominant traits. He’d never seen anything like it and he’d love to understand exactly how it worked and why but figuring it out would take more time than he had.
He needed to get back to the war effort. He had no idea if they were still winning. The only comfort he had was that Bruno would pull him from this place if everything were going down the crapper. Plus, if he were honest, he wanted to get back to the forest, back to Trinity. He missed her and wanted to talk to her about what he’d uncovered about his biological mother. She had a way of helping him put things into perspective and he was having a hard time understanding how Martha could’ve lived this close to him all these years and not said a thing. Trinity would tell him to ask her and that’s exactly what he should do. What he would do. Jethro should be in the field with the Protective Services, so it’d be safe for him to stop by and talk to Martha on his way back to camp. He could find out what had happened and then move on, either with her in his life or without. He hoped she’d like to start a relationship with him, not mother-son but friends. Why she’d given him up didn’t matter. He’d had Sarah and she’d loved him enough for ten mothers.
He moved to the computer and turned it on. It was time to run through his exit strategy. Tomorrow, he’d meet Bruno and give him the new coordinates and three days later, if he had the serum completed, he’d escape. His body hummed with excitement. Soon, he’d see Trinity. He’d honor his deal with Meesus and return before the auction but he wasn’t going to stay here as her prisoner. Had she told him that was a condition of their bargain, he would’ve refused. As soon as he was back at camp, he’d have Tim take her a note. He grinned as he pulled up the mapping software. Tim wasn’t going to appreciate that job.
He’d already located the cameras and knew how to hack into the system so he’d be able to divert them when he left. There was an older gate by the building that looked like it belonged in the Warehouse district. The area was perfect—overgrown and isolated. He’d do a dry run tonight. He ran the code to move the cameras and turned on the timer virus he’d inserted into the system. It’d open that one, old gate for a few moments, long enough for him to slip through. He had thirty minutes before he needed to be at the gate, a trip that should take ten minutes at most. He’d leave as soon as he verified there were no Guards or Servants anywhere near his path to freedom. He couldn’t risk one of them hearing the click when the gate unlocked and then locked again.
He pulled up the map of the estate and turned on his search for all tracking devices in the area. The house was full, but no one lingered outside. He zoomed to the camera by his exit point and it was at the correct angle—pointed away from the gate. He followed his course backward, checking each camera and his heart stilled as he zoomed in on the lab. Someone with a tracking device was here, in this building. He glanced around. Maybe he should tell Parson and go back to the room. He couldn’t risk running into a Guard or Servant, but he didn’t want to leave without his analysis on the serum. He may have time to wait. He zoomed in closer to determine exactly where the Guard or Servant was.
The dot on the map wasn’t moving. They could be waiting for him, but it was only one device. Jason would send an army to capture him, not one lone Guard. His hand trembled as he zoomed in a little more. He clicked on the dot. There was a number but no name or identification. He turned on the building’s floor plans and his heart stilled and then slammed hard and fast in his chest. It couldn’t be. He took a deep breath. He had to remain calm. He turned the computer monitor so he could see it but Parson couldn’t. He moved across the room. The dot on the screen shifted with him.
The blood pounded in his ears as panic surged through him, telling him to flee, but that wouldn’t do any good. They could find him—anywhere. He had to remove the device. He was a danger to anyone he was around. His breath hitched. If it were a new device, everyone he knew was still in danger. Every place he’d gone would be documented. He had to clear the records. He moved back to the computer and clicked the device. The breath left his chest in a whoosh of relief. It was an old device. Only he was in danger. He glanced at Parson who was busy with his project—well, him and Parson.
He turned back to the computer and stared at that one little dot that could do so much damage. He took a deep, shaky breath. This wasn’t logical. If Jason or the Council knew about this device they would’ve arrested him a long time ago. He took another deep breath, his heart slowing now that capture and execution weren’t looming nearby. He had to think this through. Jackson had scanned him in prison and he’d been clean. The device had to be entered through the skin.
“Bob,” said Parson.
He jumped and Parson snickered.
“Sorry. Too many nights in the forest.” He forced himself to laugh. If Parson found out about the tracking device, the other Almighty would kick him out.
Parson watched him a moment longer and then went back to his work. “Doug told me the beakers weren’t clean enough. He’s a picky sort, but decent. He told me so he wouldn’t have to report it, but you’d better sterilize them good.”
“Okay. Yeah. I’ll get right on that.” He wouldn’t be testing his escape route tonight. He re-adjusted the cameras, deactivated the bug that opened the gate and cleared all traces of his hack into the system before shutting down the computer.
He emptied the garbage and finished cleaning the lab, paying particular attention to the beakers. By the time he was done, so were his tests on the serum. He stuffed them into his garbage bag and headed for the room. Now, before he could even consider leaving, he had to remove the tracking device and that wouldn’t be easy. Writing software and hacking into systems was simple, finding the hardware to build a tracking pinpointer wasn’t. The lab was filled with equipment but he had no idea which machines were used infrequently enough that he could pirate parts.
On top of that, he had to figure out who had implanted it in him. He had many enemies but he couldn’t think of one who’d had access. In order to insert the device, he would’ve had to have been cut. He’d struggled with Bruno at the Howling Hut, but although he’d had plenty of bruises there’d been no tear in his skin. Others at the club had been close, but again, no cut. The only one who’d cut him had been Trinity but she wouldn’t do something like that. He froze—his hand on the doorknob. Meesus. She’d cut him a lot. He’d had scratches, some of them deep, in his back, chest and legs. She’d implanted the device in him. He opened the door and dropped onto his mat. It explained how she’d had no problem locating him even after they’d moved camp. It also explained how The Victor was always waiting when he met with Bruno. The Servant carried a satchel and before Hugh’s arrest a company had been working on a handheld unit to help track runaways. He leaned back, hitting his head against the wall, once, twice. That night with Meesus was going to haunt him forever.