Pelliccia (Book1) (2011 Sci-fi Watty Awards Winner)

Chapter 11

“Slow down, we don’t want to get pulled over.” Joey nagged from the passenger’s seat.

“I’m going the speed limit and cars are still passing us.” Jennifer replied. “You are starting to sound like my mom.”

“Well sorry, I just don’t want to end this before we even get out of the state.”

“Ok, fine, I’ll make sure we get pulled over in Wyoming. Does that make you feel better?” She teased.

“A little bit.” He smiled just long enough for Jennifer to catch a glimpse of it.

It always melted her heart to see his sweet smile. He was the kindest guy Jennifer had ever known. Sometimes she wished she wasn’t so logical about everything and could open herself up to him, but she could never do that. What if he didn’t feel the same way? She would never feel comfortable around him again and that was unacceptable. So she decided it was best to hide her feelings in the deepest darkest corners of her heart and never reveal them to anyone.

If this trip didn’t involve so much one on one time with Joey she would never have gone through with such an absurd rescue attempt. Logically thinking though she is underage and rescuing Sara is a very good excuse as to why she is involved in grand theft auto so when they do eventually get caught the Judge should go pretty easy on both of them. The worst would probably be a couple of weeks of community service which could be even more time spent with Joey.

Jennifer did miss Sara a lot though. She really wished they had more information like maybe an address or a grid coordinate would be nice. Anything would be better than what they had. She wasn’t even sure how they were going to cross the Canadian border without passports or getting caught. She had thought that far but couldn’t see any way other than hiking through the middle of nowhere. She tried to tell Joey but he was convinced they could drive across somewhere that wasn’t being patrolled. She went along with it, but only because it’s Joey and for Sara’s sake.

“We are almost to Wyoming now.” She said. “I think we should stop and rest. I’ve been driving all morning.”

“Ok, that’s a good idea. Pull out at the next rest stop.” Joey replied.

Jennifer looked out across the horizon. The sun had just cleared the mountains to the east. It was a beautiful day for running away with a beautiful boy.

            **************

“Johnny! It’s great to see you!”  Steve shouted in the lobby of Whitehorse international Airport.

“It’s been a long time Steven. How have you been?” Dr. Bucur smiled and greeted his old colleague.

“I’ve been ok. But that’s not important. How is Sara doing?” He asked anxiously.

Dr. Bucur’s smile faded and he sighed. “We should talk in the car. It’s about a two hour drive from here to the lab and there is a lot I need to tell you about.”

“John,” Steven repeated looking sternly in his eyes. “Is she ok? Is she better now?”

“She’s is fine.” He assured him. “Her cancer has been completely removed. However there are other things you need to know. But not here, in the car.”

Steven relaxed, but just a little bit. He was very concerned about what these other things were that involved his one and only daughter.  Steven had lost his wife to cancer 14 years ago. When he had heard his daughter had cancer he was going to do everything in his power to make sure he didn’t lose her as well.

He had worked in an experimental program at Fort Meade with Dr. Bucur for a few months before the government scrapped the program. He was on the programming team where he programmed firmware in microscopic nanites that were supposed to be injected into humans and they would fix different ailments that the nanites found in the host.