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Our meeting with the feds is today. It would be impossible to not feel a little anxious about it. This is a massive operation that needs to be taken down. We have to balance turning over what we know with keeping some information back in order to not expose Six. Keeping her safe is our top priority. Not that she makes it easy…
We try, knowing we will fail, to get Six to stay home. I even offer to stay with her, enticing her with a hike to one of my favorite secret swimming spots from my childhood. When that doesn’t work, I try reminding her of how much fun the woods can be, asking if the tree burn on her back has completely healed.
She wants to help take down the operation that allowed the atrocities that happened to her, Eight, and so many others to occur. It doesn’t matter if she wouldn’t have existed without it, the torture she went through and the lives of the other test subjects are too heinous to overlook. If there’s one thing they gave her in that lab, it’s a superior mind built for solving problems, and she is bound and determined to make it count.
As we’re all getting dressed, Six keeps running up with different outfits, asking if they look okay. She’s full of excited, nervous energy.
“What’s gotten into you?” I ask her.
She looks up at me with her bright, pale grey eyes. “This is my first time going out in public. I’ve never eaten at a restaurant or been around people other than you all. I’m excited, but part of me is a little concerned about fitting in. I can’t help but worry that it’ll be all too obvious that I don’t belong, and then I’ll blow our cover.”
I consider using that to persuade her to stay home, but I’d feel too guilty. “Six, you’re smarter than the vast majority of the population, you’re kind, you’re funny, and you happen to be drop dead gorgeous to boot. You don’t have to talk or put on a show, and it’s okay to be nervous. He’s a cop, I’m sure he’s used to people acting weird around him.”
“Here, come on,” I say, walking over to the closet with her. I choose a simple but pretty sundress and a pair of converse sneakers. “Perfect.”
“Ohh, you look pretty, Six.” Micah says to her when he comes in.
Bennet doesn’t say much, but stares a little too hard and then has to leave the room. Six looks concerned, looking down at her outfit with a creased brow.
“You look great, Six,” Luis assures her. “Don’t worry about him.”
“Is he okay? Is he upset about something?” She’s too kind to say it, but I think she’s also worried that he might have returned to his unaffected, aloof persona.
“He’s still struggling with perma-boner,” I explain to her with a smirk.
Lukas rolls his eyes, returning his gaze to Six’s skirt. “Perma-boner? Really?”
Pulling a middle finger out of my pocket, I blow him a kiss with it and wink. “Shut up, Sweater Vest. You know you find me endearing.”
“Alright children,” Bennet says upon his return, taking us in. “You know, you all actually clean up pretty well. I’m impressed.”
Given that The Square is on the fancier end of lunch spots, we’re all dressed in slacks and button-up shirts. Well, all except Luis. He’s still wearing jeans and his signature black boots, but the jeans are dark and well pressed, with no holes. His black button-down shirt isn’t tucked in, but he still looks pretty sharp. Bennet, of course, is wearing a full suit. Mr. Coolson actually helped him take it in with some fabric tape and well placed safety pins so his weight loss isn’t so apparent. And the alterations are temporary, so his suit won’t be ruined when he fills back out.
We don’t have the minivan anymore, having left it behind during the BioCere fiasco, so Bennet hires a car. When an actual limousine shows up, I shouldn’t be impressed, but I am, and it’s probably obvious. I have a real urge to stand up and stick my head out of the sunroof, Tom Hanks style.
Note to self, add Big to Six’s movie list.
Bennet is back in CEO mode on the way to the restaurant, discussing what we should or should not divulge during the meeting.
“Anything to do with Six or the ProGen series is off the table. There’s enough other nefarious dealings to warrant taking them down. ProGen was the worst of it, but there’s too much chance of exposing Six and them finding out what makes her special. I don’t trust anyone with that information.”
We are all in agreement there. We spent all morning printing out files worth of evidence for all manner of crimes: from embezzlement and fraud, to corporate espionage and both human and animal testing of weapons and unsanctioned pharmaceuticals. Not one person connected to BioCere will likely see sky outside the confines of a prison yard again.
Six keeps fidgeting with her dress and bouncing her knee. Resting my hand on her thigh, I try to lend her some comfort but just end up turned on, my hand riding up her skirt.
Bennet groans and shifts in his seat. “You can’t do that around me right now.”
Making a face, I remove my hand. “I think there’s an 800-number you can call for that, you know.”
“Pretty sure you can only call that number if you took the little blue pills,” Micah says with a chuckle.
“I wonder if Dr. Franks could help?” suggests Lukas.
“I’m pretty sure all any of us can do is mark it down as a side effect, assuming it was the plasma that is causing it.”
Unable to control my laughter, I snort. “Adley was trying to create an injection to make super-humans, but the whole time he had the true billion-dollar miracle right under his nose: super-boners!”
“I’m not sure anyone would pay for this.”
