Free Designed with a Destiny by Elle Davis Page A

her eyes closed as if trying to block out
something painful. Alisha looks questioningly at me, and I shrug my
shoulders.
    "Sooooo…you two know each other?" Alisha
asks the question that already has an obvious answer while the rest
of us hold our breath waiting to hear their explanation.
    "Oh, Bernie and I go way back to our college
days," Lawrence says, not taking his eyes off of her. "We parted
ways when my scientific view of the world didn't sit well with her
and her parent's religious views," he says candidly, and she
quickly draws her hand from his, shoving it in her blazer.
    "So, I take it you kept up your research
after all of these years?" she asks.
    "These kids are a direct result of that
research," he says softly. "What about you? Did you follow your
parents' wishes and join the convent?"
    She shakes her head. "No. I chose a military
career and am now the Director of National Intelligence. His eyes
go wide with surprise as if she were the last person on earth he
would expect to hold such a title.
    "And how does a group of young adults get
the Director of National Intelligence dispatched to their private
home?" he inquires, putting her on the spot.
    "If you had a part in their genetic
modifications, than you probably already know how and why I'm here.
With their talents, they are either considered a threat or an ally,
unfortunately there's no in-between, Lawrence," she says
steadily.
    "Yes-but I'm surprised Bernie—you used to
condemn any behavior that didn't mold itself to the comfortable
confines of your Judeo-Christian principles. Have you since become
receptive to the idea that there are unseen scientific energy
forces that are responsible for bringing about the events in our
lives?" he challenges. Their eyes lock in a silent transfer of
unspoken words, and the corners of his mouth turn up as he fights
back a smile. She seems saddened more than anything by the
conversation.
    "A lot has changed in forty years, Lawrence.
If I only knew then what I know now, I might have made different
choices…been more open to hearing different points of view. I was
afraid—afraid that your ideas would dismantle the very foundation
our family was built on. It’s taken years for me to admit that
maybe my views of the world were incomplete. He nods in agreement,
seemingly pleased that she's come to that conclusion on her
own.
    "Um, Bernie can you give the command to send
the medical team back?" Alisha manages to slip in averting a
full-blown debate on the subject. We follow her eyes towards the
large great room window where two military medics stand on the deck
holding a stretcher, and two more stand by holding automatic
weapons. Bernie's brows furrow as she heads for the door, quietly
slipping out on the deck. Automatically, I remote travel,
accompanying her from my mental advantage point. She wastes no time
in confronting the men and threatens them with insubordination for
disobeying her direct orders to stay in the helicopter.
    "We have been given direct orders from the
Commander-in-chief to get the girl to Area 51, even if it means
using force," one of the military officers says, rubbing the handle
of his automatic weapon nervously. Bernie pulls her cell phone out
of her pocket and glances nervously through the window at the rest
of us.
    "Sir, apparently there's been a mistake.
Elizabeth Kappel is recovering from what was nothing more than a
flu virus," she says, after getting the President of the United
States on the phone. There is a long pause, followed by a string of
yes-sirs, then she quietly says, “You know we can’t force them to
go against their will, Sir.” There’s another long pause before she
delivers a bold warning of her own. "If your men aren’t off this
property within fifteen minutes, I’ll let the kids do what they
need to do to have them removed.”
    ***
    Doing what we need to persuade a team of
military men with automatic weapons to abandon their post turns out
to be more like a circus performance