The Cure: A Genetic Engineering Thriller

Chapter 12

The days following the news broadcast had been chaotic to say the very least.

But at least there were no riots at the ranch. In fact, it was the complete opposite. Hundreds of people had flocked to the O’Connor residence, leaving gift baskets, handwritten letters, and casseroles of every kind. The plan had worked; the world fell in love with Irene and Reggie, and now, James could sleep better at night knowing he had done everything he could to keep them out of Big Pharma’s line of fire. As long as people continued to show their love and support for Irene, she would be untouchable.

Sadly, there was nothing more they could do for James in terms of protection. It would only be a matter of time before a replacement for Jeff Payne would come knocking on their door, and he would not put them at risk a second time.

“I will say there’s nothing finer in this world than your cooking my love,” Reggie said in between bites, “but I could get used to people dropping off meals every morning.”

“I don’t know what we’re going to do with all this,” Irene giggled. “We can freeze some of it I’m sure, perhaps donate the rest to a local shelter.”

“See, you really are saints.” Melanie waved her fork in the air in disbelief. “I have no doubt in my mind that this plan will stick.”

“Speaking of plans,” James chipped in, “We have some news to share.”

“No, no, no.” Irene’s bottom lip trembled, and it made James’s heart ache. “Don’t you dare say what you’re about to.”

This is what he feared the most. Having to say goodbye to the two most wonderful people he had ever had the pleasure of meeting in his life. He always knew that this day was going to come, but after living under their roof for weeks, he really did feel as if he had become a part of their family. He knew they felt the same way, for Reggie was constantly calling him son, and Irene had been more of a mother to him than his own had been growing up. It was tearing him to pieces on the inside, but he had to put on a brave face. If they even caught a whiff of how much he was hurting, they’d beg him to say, and he wasn’t sure he’d have the strength to say no.

“Darling,” Reggie spoke softly, rubbing circles on his wife’s back in an attempt to soothe her. “We always knew it was going to come to this. He wasn’t going to stay here forever.”

“It’s too soon, there’s still time, we haven’t even figured out…” words tumbled out of Irene’s mouth in no cohesive order. She grabbed her napkin and dug her face into it, sobbing uncontrollably. “You need us.”

“It’s not safe, Irene,” James pleaded. “You know that as much as I do.”

“Fine,” she huffed. ‘I need you. You’re a part of our family now; I don’t want to see you go.”

“We won’t stop being your family just because we walk out that door. We’re doing this to keep you both safe. Big Pharma isn’t going to quit just because you shared your story on national television. That was just to keep them from coming after you. It’s me they want, and they won’t stop at nothing until they get their hands on me, once and for all.”

“All the more reason to stay!” Irene cried.

“Listen to the boy, honey,” Reggie said. “He’s not doing this to hurt you, it’s because he loves you, alright? We have to let them go.”

“I need to go lie down,” she said, standing up so fast her chair squeaked against the wood floor. “We’ll talk about this more tomorrow.”

James sighed, rubbing his temples, unsure how he was going to make this easier on all of them. There was no discussion to be had; he was leaving the ranch, there was no doubt about it.

“She just needs time,” Reggie murmured. “She gave the same speech after every one of our kids moved out of the house. I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but she’ll recover; she always has.”

“We’re leaving tonight,” James confessed. “I’m not sure there’s enough time for her to come to terms with it.”

“I’ll try and talk some sense into her,” Reggie suggested. “Just don’t leave without saying goodbye.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” James nodded.

With only Melanie in the room, James allowed himself a chance to relax. She sat across from him at the table, waiting patiently for him to talk. He knew that he could always count on her now, that they were in this for the long haul. His only issue was where their next hideout was going to be. The ranch had only been a spontaneous place to lay low, what they needed was something more concrete, a place where they could make a real plan, one that didn’t involve breaking hearts or running people off the road.

“Going to your family is out of the question,” he decided. “I don’t want their first impression of me being that I dragged you into some dangerous mission that involved murder and torture.”

“Fair point,” Melanie agreed. “I don’t think my older brother would appreciate that very much.”

“I don’t need another man hunting me down to kill me,” James joked.

Melanie’s face twisted for a moment, and he realized it might be too soon to be making jokes like that. Especially since it was true.

“What about you?” she countered. “Do you have any family that we can trust?”

He thought about it for a second, racking his brain over all the family reunions and making a list inside his head. His parents were out of the question, nor was he willing to reach out to Amelia’s relatives. They had been the closest thing he had to family during his adult life. He had little friends that he could trust with something as big as this, perhaps if Ronald were still around, he would know what to do. A face popped into his head— Curtis Scott. He and James had been close during the early years of childhood and had considered themselves to be more like brothers than cousins. They would go swimming down in the quarry and get covered in leeches, but even so, they never learned their lesson and always went back. One time, Curtis bet James five bucks that he could climb to the top of the tree in his backyard and ended up breaking his arm after falling from a rotting branch. The craziest part was that he didn’t even cry. He found it amusing that his mother was hysterical.

Something happened when they reached middle school. He never really found out what it was, just that Curtis and his family had become estranged, and they ended up moving to Texas. He’d begged his parents every summer to let him go visit his cousin, but they flat out 118 refused. He was ashamed to admit he hadn’t given his long-lost cousin much thought until now.

“There may be someone who can offer us sanctuary for a little while,” he said. “Do you still have internet access?” He pointed to the laptop sitting between them, and Melanie nodded.

“Who do you want me to look up?”

“Curtis Scott, last known address was somewhere in Texas.”

“Let me have a look,” she said. After frantically typing on the keyboard for a few minutes, she turned the laptop to show a recent picture of Curtis. He didn’t look much different; he still had the same curly red hair, tanned skin, and freckled face. He definitely didn’t get his looks from the Scott side of the family, but they were still blood, and he was all they had right now.

“Is there a phone number?”

“Yeah, right here,” she pointed. “Do you want me to call or are you up for it?”

“I can do it,” James said quickly. His hands were shaking a bit as he dialed, and he wasn’t quite sure what he was so nervous about. The worst that would happen is he would say no. After a few rings, someone picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Curtis Scott?” James asked.

“Sure is, who wants to know?”

“It’s me, James. Your cousin. I don’t know if you’ll remember, but we used to—”

“Jimmy!” Curtis hollered so loud James thought for sure all of Custer could hear him. “Gosh darned, I can’t believe it's you! How long has it been? A few decades I’m sure, although I’ve lost count by now.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” James chuckled, the waves of memories of laughing and playing with his cousin flooding back. It was as if no time had really passed between them at all. “Listen, the reason I’m calling you is because my girlfriend and I are on a bit of a road trip and will be passing through Texas along the way, so I thought it no time better than the present but to meet and catch up. What do you say?”

“Are you kidding me! You better get down here real quick! We’ve got a Bunkie on the property that you and your lady friend can stay in, how’s that sound? You’re family, Jimmy, you know you’re always welcome down here in the south!”

“That’s great, I can’t tell you how much this means to us,” James sighed with relief. “It’ll be about two days of traveling for us to get down there, as we’ll want to make a few pit stops along the way, but we’ll be there by the end of the week. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds like I’ll be making a trip to the supermarket so I can have us a welcoming feast!” Curtis bellowed. “We’ll see y’all soon, alright? Can’t wait to meet your girl.”

“Take care, Curtis,” James said, bidding his cousin farewell.

“Well, that was easier than I thought it would be,” Melanie chimed in after the call had ended.

“It’s the southern way of life. Family over everything. It doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past, they’re always there for you when you need them. Curtis is a bit of an odd guy, but I’m sure you’ll get along great. I’m not sure if he ever settled down and found himself a wife, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

“Should we start packing?” Melanie asked.

“I don’t have much, just some clothes, and they’re already in the bags. Maybe do a quick sweep upstairs and meet me on the porch? I’ll go get Reggie and Irene.”

Melanie hopped right to it, and if James didn’t know any better, he thought she had a bit of a spring in her step. Perhaps she was excited about their new adventure, even if it was in the face of danger. There was something about the adrenaline of outrunning a secret medical company that got the blood pumping.

It didn’t take long to get their things packed into the trunk of the Jaguar. With the sun getting ready to set in 121 the distance, their ranch looked as if it were almost glowing. It was a beautiful sight; one James knew he would miss until the day he returned.

“You take care of each other out there,” Reggie said, giving them both a firm handshake and pat on the back. “Don’t be afraid to call us if you need something, or just call because you want to chat, too.”

“Will do,” James smiled.

“I’ve packed you a few meals to take on the road with you.” Irene plopped them into Melanie’s hands, and James’s mouth started to water just by the smell of it. Oh, how he was going to miss her delicious cooking. “No more eating that junk from the gas station. You’ll need your strength if you’re going to go up against these Big Pharma folks.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Now, give me a hug and be on your way, and call us when you get settled. I won’t be able to sleep until I know you’re safe.”

“We will.” Melanie kissed both of the old woman’s cheeks before climbing into the passenger seat. “You ready, honey?”

“For anything,” James replied, giving Irene and Reggie one last hug before getting behind the wheel of his beloved Jaguar. “Let’s see where the road will take us this time.”