Control Group 5

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"We need to work faster." Dimitri had gone back to his car, driven it home, and ran to the park in the dark, meeting me under a crisp, starlit sky. Funny how we only felt safe in wide open places.

"Why don't we just go to Bio-Loom? I'm pretty sure I could hack past their security system."

Dimitri gave me a suspicious glance.

"What? My Dad might have taught me a few things. Before he went to jail."

Dimitri shook his head, a rueful smile on his face. "Somehow, I think the Corporation might be a bit above the level of tech your dad was breaking through."

I smiled a half smile. "Yeah, you might have me there."

"I think our best bet is to follow the garbage truck. I've scooped out the Bio-Loom office, the one listed in the directory, and it's pretty small. Nothing large enough to have the kind of warehouses they need for tech they deliver. And the garbage truck itself. Not to mention that disappearing black car. They must have another warehouse somewhere. And the only way we're going to find it is to follow them too it. Maybe then we'll try out your security system hacking skills."

I popped an eyebrow up. "So you're will to risk it if we have a lot to gain? Fair enough, I suppose. Well, then, when's the next meeting?"

As if on cue, Dimitri's phone buzzed. He slipped it from his pocket, looking at the message on his screen. "Tomorrow."

I started. "Tomorrow? That's strange. There have, like, never been back-to-back meetings before. Once a week, sometimes. But two days apart?"

"Whatever the Coproration is after, I'm pretty sure they just bumped up their schedule."

I shivered with uneasiness. What were they up to? Why find kids to voluntarily play with technology they could barely imagine? Why let anyone play with technology that was so cutting edge it killed people? We're guinea pigs." The words came out in a whisper. "We're not just testers, we're guinea pigs. Real lab-rats. Human trials that would be forbidden."

Dimitri looked at me, his eyes somewhat sad: he'd figured this part out already.

"What if we told? Went to the media or something?"

Dimitri shook his head. "There isn't enough information. Enough proof. Maybe if we find the lab. If we find records, or more tech or something. Until then, we're stuck. Look at the doctor, he didn't have much on the Corporation but he was killed anyway. It's dangerous, Raya. We have to be careful. We know that they kill. They've done it before."

"I know." I took a deep breath, watched someone walk under a distant streetlight. My palms were clammy; they always were these days. My toes were cold. It was like my body couldn't keep up to my mind, to everything that was going on. "So, we stick with the plan."

Dimitri reached out, grabbing my hand in the dark. His skin was dry, warm. "We do. We'll get through this. We'll get through this and take them down. I promise."

The plan was for me to get there early. I'd been missing a fair amount of school so it wasn't unusual for me to miss a full day. I took a thermos of coffee and made a bologna sandwich from stale, week-old bread and the dregs of the mustard jar. I'd need to remember to go grocery shopping when all this was over.

Dimitri showed up about the time fifth period would have started. He brought cokes and mars bars. I was thankful for the sugar rush. Sitting still on roof in autumn wasn't the warmest place to be. He slipped an arm around my waist, kissed me. I hadn't been expecting it.