Chapter 21
We were in the “war room” two weeks after our mission at the labs, and I was sitting between Jace and Remy. The screen was down and the overhead projector was on. I could tell that whatever Will was briefing us on was of monumental importance. He kept looking at me nervously and then back at his notes.
“As most of you know, we have been looking for Dr. Hazel Cornwall,” Will stated gravely as a picture of a woman popped up on the screen.
I gasped. There was no mistaken who the woman was. The woman was petite and as tall, if not slightly shorter, than me. She was a bit smaller up top but age could have done that to her. She had short, dark, curly hair with grey streaks in it. Her eyes were sad, empty, lifeless but they were the same exact shade of green as my own. I knew she had to be in her early to mid-sixties, but other than the deep lines around her mouth and eyes she had aged well, considering.
“We finally found the facility she was put in, but we were days late. She was signed out of the facility by her-” Will pushed the button and the slide changed. “Daughter.”
I felt the air leave from my lungs. Again, the resemblance was uncanny. Only this woman looked like she could be my sister and not my mother. I couldn’t believe a woman that small could carry five children and have no visual physical side effects to it. What struck me the most in the pictures were her looking so healthy and well-put together. She didn’t look like the high, weary teenager I had seen in Horatio’s vision.
My shock was soon replaced by anger. Who knew how long she had been healthy and clean. She had five children out there. Two she had given up for adoption, Bridgette and Kade, two she had abandoned to ex-boyfriends, Micah and Alex, and then me. I had been taken away by CPS. Did she even look for us? Did she even care that she left Micah and Alex to people who couldn’t care less about them?
I never entertained the idea of her being alive. She had been an addict for at least twelve years. I had thought she would have overdosed somewhere in that time period, especially since she never returned for Alex or Micah.
I clenched my teeth and balled up my fist. Remy reached over and took my hand in his and placed it under the table. Jace looked over at me and frowned. I quickly realized my barriers were down, so I raised them once more.
Will must have been talking for sometime now, but I hadn’t heard a word he said. “Blake?” he asked expectantly.
He asked if you would be capable of doing the mission, Remy gently prodded silently in my head.
I nodded. I didn’t even hear the mission or it’s details, but I’m sure the guys would fill me in.
“Great,” Will looked at me with concern. “You’ll all be leaving tomorrow morning. Pack for cold weather.”
“So, like last month?” Marcus asked dryly. “But with more snow?”
Paul chuckled. “Not quite. We have secured a base for you in the vicinity where they were last seen. It’s part of a resort with cabins, so you’ll be staying there while pinpointing their exact location.”
“Two weeks before Christmas?” Jemmy asked with a frown.
“Better wrap it up quickly,” Will said with a sympathetic smile. “And try to keep it top secret while you’re surrounded by civilians.”
“Why would we be surrounded by civilians?” Terrance asked in confusion.
“It’s a ski resort,” Drake said in surprise as he tapped away at his laptop.
A few of the operatives cheered. “So, skiing is permissible?” Ford asked.
“That would be up to your team leads,” Paul stated. “Some of the planning phases will not require all of your involvement. But keep in mind, I don’t want you out of commission because you decided to take unnecessary risks.”
“We’ll be sending you with some of the techs, too. This will be their first time in the field, and we expect you all to return, safely,” Will added.
“You’re dismissed for the day and expected to meet back here at 0600,” Paul informed us.
I mechanically got up and gathered my bags to leave the room. The guys were all hovering around me with concern. “Blake?” Will called softly.
I turned and walked towards him. “If you’re not up to it, no one will blame you,” Will said without preamble.
“She’s been out there all this time and she didn’t even look for them,” I shook my head resolutely. “I can understand when it comes to me, Bridgette, or Kade; she thought we were in good hands, but not Alex and Micah. I need to see her. I need to ask her why the drugs were more important than her own children.”
“They weren’t,” Mr. Moore said quietly. I hadn’t even noticed him sitting at the desk in the corner, sitting behind a computer. He took off his glasses and sat it on the desk.
I had never gotten the chance to ask him how and when he knew my mother after he got out of the hospital wing. I hadn’t wanted to interrupt his time with his children either. They needed to reacquaint themselves with each other and I didn’t want to intrude.
“Your uncle and I grew up together. We were best friends, even. We lived at each other’s houses. I was also our parent’s first attempts at the experiment. Both of our mothers had fertility issues. They were ecstatic that their experiment worked with me. When we were six and already starting to show signs of the gift, our parents were…avaricious. They wanted to try it again,” Mr. Moore explained with a deep sigh. “They didn’t understand that people shouldn’t be experiments. They didn’t even have all the data on what could possibly happen to us. They gave birth to two more children. You’re mother Miranda and my younger brother Todd.
“Todd was a normal child until he started preschool. Than he started having night terrors. Terrifying night terrors. My sweet little brother turned into a…scared, traumatized four-year-old overnight. My parents had their hands full with him. Mom quit her research to stay home with him all the time.