Prodigy (Complete)

Chapter Seven

When the taxi arrived back at the jail, everyone jumped out and followed Alex's lead. She had a look on her face that conveyed she was on a mission. Her emotions were mixed because she could quite possibly be meeting her mother for the first time since birth. However, if this turned out to be a dead end, or if her mother did not meet her expectations, it would be incredibly disappointing for her.

Aris and Milo were anxious as well. Milo was perhaps more excited because he too did not know who his parents were. To see someone he knew reunite with their birth parent was very inspirational for him.

Alex approached the main counter by herself as Milo and Aris stayed back. Alex explained to the woman the reason for her visit and showed her the image on her access pod. There was a pause, and then the secretary allowed Alex access to the holding cell. Aris and Milo remained behind.

"So what do you think will happen if this woman turns out to be Alex's mum?" Aris asked.

"I'm not sure, but it would be very important to Alex."

"You know, Milo, this petty rivalry between us is silly. Maybe it's time for you to realize I'm a good guy for her and not be so overprotective of your friend. I understand you're like a brother to her."

Milo did not respond. He could tell Aris was probing for more information as to the exact nature of Milo and Alex's relationship. Either that or he was just trying to get under Milo's skin. Regardless, Milo did not say a word about it.

Alex trailed behind two prison guardians. At the end of a hallway was a large room with several holding cells. After being given some basic instructions to make her visit brief and to not pass anything through the bars, Alex was free to roam. The two guardians remained at a distance, overseeing the entire interaction.

Walking slowly about the room, Alex studied the faces of the detainees who were curiously staring back at her. A few men whistled, but it did not faze her. The majority of them were wondering what a woman as beautiful as Alex was doing in a prison just watching them. They probably thought she was either a student doing a school project or it was bring-your-daughter-to-work day.

As Alex peered into the crowded cells, one person stood out – a woman with an undeniable air of confidence and an unmistakable resemblance to Alex. The woman appeared to be in her early forties and was quite attractive. Alex circled around to get a closer view, the whole time her eyes never left the woman's sight. As Alex approached the bars, the woman took notice of her for the first time. Their eyes met and they stared at each other like they were the only two people in the room. It was as if they both knew a secret that no one else knew.

"Hi, I'm Alex."

"Hi Alex, I'm Mara."

"Mara, I'm trying to track down my mother, would you mind if I did a genetic comparison with you?"

The woman looked a bit perplexed, but allowed for the test. The rest of the detainees crowded around Mara and were interested in what was going on.

Alex gave a voice command into her access pod, which was connected to her arm, and then held it up to the back of Mara's neck. Within seconds, Mara's biological stats came through – her name, age, height, weight, body mass index, and her genetic code. Alex retracted her arm and read the only field that mattered to her – GENETIC MATCH NOT FOUND.

Alex's head sunk low and a wave of disappointment washed over her. The veil had been lifted and reality had set in, giving Alex a much more grounded perspective. She took a moment to reassess the situation and realized how naïve she had been for thinking she could ever find her mother.

About to leave, Alex looked at the woman and thanked her for her time. But something struck Alex as odd. The woman was fighting back her emotions, which was a peculiar response for a complete stranger to have. Puzzled, Alex was unsure what it meant, but became transfixed by the encounter. The woman's eyes became glossy with tears and she bit down on her quivering lip. The expression on the woman's face suggested she was being reunited with a ghost from a long-lost relative.

The guardians walked ahead, preparing to escort Alex to the waiting area, but Alex was still taken aback by the woman's overly emotional response. By now, nobody was paying attention to Mara or Alex anymore, the excitement was over. When everyone was out of earshot, the woman said something that was intended for Alex's ears only.

"Mara Miletus is my pseudonym," she whispered, "before that, my name was Alexandra Gray."

Alex's heart skipped a beat and her eyes immediately welled up with tears. She spun around and was about to jump for joy, but there was a look on Mara's face that told her to stay calm. Not another word was spoken between them – Mara just winked at Alex and smiled. As she did that, a tear squeezed out and rolled down her face. Mara quickly wiped it away. Alex had a look of bewilderment on her face and just stood there for a moment, processing this new information.

"Let's go Miss Gray," one of the guardians said sternly.

"I believe they're talking to you," Mara said.

As Alex walked back to her companions, a million thoughts raced through her mind. Only two thoughts were going through Milo and Aris' heads – they were either going to celebrate or console, but based on Alex's facial expression, they were not sure which one to do.

"So how did it go?" Milo asked.

"It's not her, let's get out of here."

Alex waited until everyone was in the cab and driving away from the prison before she revealed the full story.

"Mara Miletus!" Milo blurted out.

"Who?" Aris said.

"I just remembered the woman's name, it's Mara Miletus," he said with a proud grin.

"Good for you, genius. In case you haven't noticed, we're driving away from the prison where Alex just met the woman, who, as it turns out, is not her mother. So what good does it do us to know her name now?"

"That's not her name," Alex said distinctly.

"I'm pretty sure it is," Milo responded.

"Her name is Alexandra Gray," Alex said firmly.

"Alexandra Gray?" Aris said confused. "Isn't that your name?"

"Yes it is," Alex said.

"So you actually found your mother!" Milo shouted. "That's incredible. What happened in there?"

Alex told them what had happened.

"How do you know she wasn't just messing with you because you introduced yourself as Alexandra Gray? Didn't you do a genetic comparison?"

"I did a gencom."

"And? What were the results?"

"Negative – zero genetic match."

"Okay, so she was messing with you."

"Well, not exactly. I didn't introduce myself by first and last name. I told her my name was Alex."

"In case you haven't noticed, Alex, you're not exactly anonymous," Aris pointed out. "When we were walking in the pyramid the other day, nearly a dozen people knew your name."

"It was her," Alex assured. "Trust me."

"So how do you explain the gencom mismatch?" Aris asked.

"I'm not sure, maybe she altered it in some way."

"So what do we do now?" Milo asked.

"We could always camp out at the jail and wait for her to be released."

"No need," Alex said firmly. "Now that we know my mother's real name and alias, we should be able to find everything there is to know about her."