CHAPTER ONE-5
675 Words
Bella’s smile grew as Tommy, an introverted eleven-year-old, recited the alphabet in near flawless French. By the time he reached the end, she was beaming.
“Excellent! You are doing brilliantly, Tommy,” she said.
He blushed and said, “Thanks to you, Miss Bella.”
She looked at her watch and said, “Oops. You have a history class to get to, I believe. And I have a major test this afternoon. See you after Thanksgiving?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He gathered up his books and headed toward the door. He turned, his hand on the doorknob, and said carefully, “Je pense que vous êtes jolie, Mademoiselle Bella!” before scurrying out.
The sentiment made Bella misty.
Two months ago, he was so shy he would barely speak to me at all, she mused. Now he tells me he thinks I’m pretty! For a kid with so many walls built up, it was a huge stride forward.
She placed her books and notepad in her backpack and slung it over one shoulder almost on autopilot, her mind already churning about the Economics test she would endure this afternoon.
Bella walked out into the foyer toward the front entrance, and immediately had the sensation of being watched again. She glanced around but only saw a small group of students heading into the library. None of them were paying her any mind.
Weird, she thought to herself. I swear to God it feels like someone’s watching me.
Trying her best to quell the goosebumps on her arms, she continued out into the sunlight.
From his vantage point at the monitor, Mikel watched her go.
I have really missed you, angel, he thought to himself.
His dreams of her had continued while he had been gone. Father had interrupted the vital progress in his workroom to send him back to Macapa to deal with some personnel issues that had come up at the mines. What was supposed to be a one-week trip had stretched on forever.
Fortunately, he had been able to cover his tracks well. The labor foreman that had become such a pain in the a*s would never be found – Mikel had made sure of that - and his disappearance quelled the uprising. Smoothly doctored maintenance records took care of the rest.
When he returned in February, he had been ecstatic to see that Bella had indeed started as the languages tutor. Without Father’s knowledge he had expanded the security feed to send images to his workroom computer, then set up his terminal for auto-recording. He routinely waded through the security tapes to isolate video of her. Now he could watch his angel all he wanted, in real time or in playback, even when he had to work.
And he was spending more and more time in the workroom these days. The new test subjects he had been working with had developed serious complications; he would have to start completely over with new ones. The frustration at being set back was immeasurable.
Once I find the right mix, we can proceed, my love, he thought as he caressed the close-up still shot of Bella’s face lovingly.
***
* * * *
Adolf leaned back in his chair in quiet contemplation.
He had spent this beautiful November afternoon reviewing student files and had found several promising candidates in this newest batch of kids. Each of them had perfect or near perfect grades in their studies; each of them was tall and blond; and each of them showed interesting scoring results on the psychological testing. Even the ones that stood out as major disciplinary problems would be manageable once Mikel perfected the serum.
He reached for his desk phone and punched in a four-digit number. He waited patiently until his protégé answered.
“Mikel, what is the status?” he inquired smoothly.
“We’re almost there,” Mikel replied. “There’s one small permutation left to overcome, but I’ve just about got it, Father. I want to try one last round of test subjects just to make sure.”
“Of course, Mikel, whatever it takes,” Adolf answered soothingly. “Just get it done.”
Mikel pressed the disconnect button and leaned back, smiling wolfishly. He already had chosen the perfect candidate.
But first he needed to tidy up his workroom.
- Writer
