Chapter 27 #2
Like a merciful master, Kris allows us to break for lunch, but we don’t have much time before we’re to meet my fathers for a briefing.
My hair is still damp after a shower when we rush to the church, wafting the sticky scent of tobacco as Leon puffs on a thin cigarette.
We push open the oak doors, and the open space has been transformed into a war room.
Within the centre of the church, the pews are arranged parallel to the long table like benches.
A large empty whiteboard heads the table, where Rex is tidying up the pieces of his chessboard, while the couches and armchairs are scattered along the outer walls.
Malcolm gestures for us to sit at the long table as we turn to see Roscoe jogging in.
Promptness has never been his strongest suit, but the fact that he is here before the meeting begins is an impressive feat.
Rex unfolds a colossal map which reaches the corners of the whiteboard while pinning the edges with button-sized magnets.
Malcolm pulls out piles of paper, dishing out sheets to us when he asks without looking, “How much do they know about the Eve Project?”
“The basics about me and you guys, but they don’t know the identity of the lead scientist.” I grin, enjoying the secret with Malcolm as we cheekily raise our brows at each other.
“Oh, you’ll love this, then, gentlemen,” he says.
Leon looks at me and mouths, “Who?”, but I refuse to divulge as Rex takes the floor.
“So, we’re in the ultimate phase of planning our first strike. It will happen simultaneously over multiple locations. Within those teams, there will be an infiltration and an extraction squad.”
Roscoe is looking over some paperwork as he casually says, “We’ll be equipped with non-lethal weapons while rescuing women from the R&R facilities.”
Atlas gives a wheezing gasp, breaking into a choking cough as he glares at Leon.
“Woah. Hey, it’s okay,” I say before spinning towards Roscoe. “Is that true?! Are you serious?”
He looks up with a heavy line between his brows, completely unaware of why it would be a problem. “Yeah, we’re expecting four hundred women and children to be extracted.”
Leon says, “It’s just… We believe someone abducted Atlas’s wife and took her to an R&R facility.”
“Sorry, Atlas,” Rex says. “We should probably have started this conversation differently. There are two kinds of R&R facilities. Everyone knows about the voluntary ones. And then there are those we’re targeting.
The government uses these as detention centres, testing women against their will.
They’re usually women who have been labeled ‘troublesome,’ or fallen pregnant before making it to Eden.
Yumiko’s pregnancy made her a top priority, so she’s in one of the most secure centres. ”
Malcolm slides a sheet across the table towards Atlas’s quivering fingers, and Zeke sits beside him, his jaw dropping as he sees the sheet’s contents.
“You were right to assume she had been abducted,” Malcolm says. “We estimate that they are potentially holding thousands of women from the Wilds, outside of the agreed-upon terms of their R&R facility period.”
Atlas’s swelling stare appears from behind the sheet as he turns it to show me and Leon.
Genetic Grading: High. Yumiko Cooper. Twenty-five years old.
Offspring: One. Her details are listed beside a greyscale photo, with her hair chopped to her shoulders, and she glares into the lens, flaring her nostrils with pursed lips.
“The bad news, Atlas, is we won’t be able to acquire Yumiko on this first operation,” Rex continues.
“Unfortunately, you’re not the only Cornerstone soldier missing someone behind those walls.
But … if we execute this well, we expect to perform another two rounds of extractions before the government beefs up its defences. ”
Atlas nods, sniffling lightly as he continues to stare at her photo.
“The good news is, you’re a father.”
I shriek as Malcolm floats another sheet Atlas’s way. He grabs it and cups his mouth, eyes twinkling. Zeke bounces in his seat, throwing his arm around Atlas. “Aww, buddy! Congratulations! Wow! Look at her. She’s beautiful!”
Silent tears stream into his beard as he lifts the sheet to me and Leon.
The adorable Atina Cooper mirrors her mother’s big dark eyes with cherub lips, and her afro is pinched in little puffs on either side of her head.
I look at her birth date, noting she has just turned one. So beautiful. So innocent.
Leon and I gush over Atlas’s daughter as he sits doe-eyed, lost between the photos. The injustice of Miko and her child being detained and kept from Atlas sparks a fury in my chest.
“How did you know about Miko?” I ask.
Roscoe gives a little laugh. “Everlee, we’re the Cornerstone. We know more than President Beckett!”
“Well, when does this happen? The extraction?” I am hungry to help. As if the idea of rescuing hundreds of women isn’t enough, I’m desperate to reunite Atlas with his family.
Malcolm says, “Three weeks. Looking at your training records this morning, you all have a lot of work to do.”
Leon taps the table. “I honestly don’t think you’ll have a more dedicated crew, sir.”
“We’ll work on the finer details over the coming weeks, but we wanted to catch you up.
” Rex leans on the table as he lowers his voice.
“Oh, but the Eve Project… It’s confidential.
Only the highest members of the council know.
We’ll be working more on it when we’ve neutralised the threat of those involved in Everlee’s research. ”
Malcolm looks over his glasses. “The guy in charge of the Eve Project… He will kill Everlee before letting another scientist stake a claim on his own work.”
Rex’s jaw is tight as he says, “We’re working on getting a biologist for you, Everlee, but we’ve hit all sorts of roadblocks. You know he has dibs on any known specialists.”
“Sorry. Who’s he, this guy, the … scientist?” Leon asks, and I bet it’s been itching him since it was first mentioned.
Roscoe grins, leaning back in his chair as he readjusts his baseball cap. “Oh, the God-complex psycho? At the time, he was the nephew of President George Gibson, but you know him better as our current leader, President Bryce Beckett.”