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Chapter One
Dawn
The day I was taken changed my life forever.
They didn’t even let me say goodbye.
When the government came for me, I was in the cell culture hood, splitting another flask of overly sensitive immune cells that I was planning to use in my next experiment. They stormed into the room in their black suits with their official-looking badges and guns on their hips, and they told me that I had to come with them right away. I didn’t even have a chance to finish working with my cells.
They wouldn’t identify what branch of the government they were associated with, but there was no question in my mind that they were quite high up. Maybe they were part of a CIA black site FBI team or the NSA or even some other group way up the ladder that normal people like me didn’t even know about. One thing was for certain though, they meant business.
They’d cleared out my lab and sent my students, technicians, and post-docs home. It was empty as I was led out of my lab and back into the university halls with my very own security detail of at least a dozen different people. There wasn’t another person in sight.
“What do you want with me?” I asked quietly. The government officials circled around me in a protective ring and not a single one of them answered as they corralled and forced me down the back stairwell in silence until we reached the ground floor. The University of Connecticut campus was uncharacteristically quiet on this Wednesday afternoon and I had a feeling it had everything to do with the men and women escorting me out of my lab and into a tinted black SUV. There were at least six other vehicles parked waiting for us and as I was coerced into one of them, the rest pulled up alongside us.
“Where are we going?” I asked again and one of the women stared back at me.
“You will be informed of your new position once we arrive at our final destination,” she said, and I was at least grateful for a human voice.
“How long till we get there?” I questioned, knowing I was probably pressing my luck.
“A few hours. The jet is waiting on the tarmac as we speak,” she answered evasively, and she didn’t say anything more after that.
True to her word, she led me to a small airport that was under guard with soldiers in black-ops gear, all of them with rather heavy-looking assault rifles. There were several heavily armed soldiers surveying the area, but none of them seemed to be focused on threatening or intimidating me. Instead, everything and everyone seemed focused on protecting me.
Once we filed onto the runway, I got a look at the plane waiting for us. It wasn’t huge but its surface was covered in sheets of a strange-looking metal, likely to prevent anyone from being able to see it flying high in the sky. I assumed that it probably interfered with radar, making the aircraft virtually invisible to anyone looking for it.
High level government indeed.
I couldn’t really get another look because I was led onto the plane at record speed.
In no time at all, the plane was up in the air. We were heading to wherever these people decided I needed to be.
I was led to a small table with leather bench seats on either side. There wasn’t any other option but to take a seat, so I did. Then I waited for what would come next.
A tall woman with blonde hair slid into the seat across the table from me. Her austere demeanor spoke to her position and that she wasn’t afraid of anyone or anything. Her hair was slicked back into a bun and not a single strand had fallen out of place on her head. Hazel eyes stared back at me, no nonsense and quite serious. Everything about her was somber and rigid and I knew at once that I was about to speak to one of the leaders of whatever organization had decided that I’d needed to be taken.
“Dr. Lowe, it is nice to finally meet you. My name is Amy Warren,” the woman began.
“It’s nice to meet you, Amy,” I answered carefully.
“Now that we are in a contained airspace, it is safe to speak. What you are about to hear is intel of the highest classified level. It is dangerous information that could spark panic and paranoia throughout the United States, but not only that, it could terrify the rest of the world,” she continued. My ears perked up and my brow furrowed with both confusion and concern.
I wasn’t unused to the idea of keeping things secret. I’d worked in a number of institutions over the years and all of them had differing levels of secrecy. Competition amongst universities and private industries was vast, an underlying issue that I’d experienced in every single place I’d conducted my research. Working for the government would be something very different though. That much was quickly becoming obvious.
“What do you people want with me?” I replied. She ignored my aggressive tone.
“Dr. Lowe, you are one of the most respected stem cell biologists in the country. Not only that, but your work on both transformative mutations as well as your research into genetically modified organisms makes you an asset to the United States government. As such, your experience and especially your profile make you an ideal candidate to help us solve an issue that’s been plaguing the country for several months now.”
“This is a job interview then?”
“No. Not quite. Your cooperation is appreciated, but it is also compulsory. It is your duty as a scientist and as a United States citizen to do your due diligence and complete the task assigned to you,” she replied curtly.
There was zero sarcasm or humor in her tone. She meant every single word and as I looked around at the serious faces around me, I knew that I was going to have little choice in what I had to do next.
“Am I going to be required to do anything illegal?” I questioned. “I won’t take part in anything that might kill someone.” My entire career had been focused on improving the human experience, using my research to help develop potential treatments for cancer, lupus, and especially in the handling of sickle cell disease, and I wasn’t about to change that.
If they’d brought me in to work on weapons, they had another think coming. I wouldn’t have any part of it.
“You won’t be required to kill anyone,” she replied. I noticed that she hadn’t really fully answered my question.
“How did you come by my name and my work?” I asked next.
