CHAPTER 13 The Doctor's Betrayal
The helicopter blades continued to roar across the fields.
Dust swirled around the farmhouse like a storm.
Khloe stared through the shattered kitchen window.
Dr. Melissa Crane.
The woman who had held her hand during every prenatal appointment.
The doctor who had smiled every time she heard the baby's heartbeat.
The doctor who had reassured her after every frightening test.
Now she stood outside surrounded by armed men.
Still wearing a pristine white coat.
Still carrying the same leather medical bag.
Only this time...
She wasn't here to save a life.
She was here to take one.
Dr. Crane raised a loudspeaker.
"Khloe."
Her voice was calm.
Professional.
"You've started premature labor."
"You and your baby need immediate medical care."
Khloe felt sick.
"You lied to me..."
Dr. Crane's expression never changed.
"I've never lied."
"You implanted something inside me!"
"I performed the procedure I was instructed to perform."
"You said it was medically necessary!"
"It was."
"For whom?" Khloe shouted.
The doctor didn't answer.
Inside the farmhouse, Harrison quietly shut off the loudspeaker feed.
"No more listening."
He turned to Eleanor.
"Options?"
She looked at the tactical map.
"Very few."
"The helicopter blocks the east field."
"The fake deputies cover the road."
"The tunnel is compromised."
She paused.
"We're surrounded."
Another contraction struck Khloe.
This one brought her to her knees.
Eleanor immediately checked her.
"They're two minutes apart."
Harrison looked toward the window.
"We're out of time."
Outside...
Arthur Sinclair walked toward Dr. Crane.
"Status?"
"Active labor."
"How long?"
"If the stress continues..."
She checked her watch.
"...less than three hours."
Arthur nodded.
"Good."
One of the tactical operators approached.
"What if Cole refuses?"
Arthur answered without emotion.
"He won't."
"Why?"
Arthur looked toward the farmhouse.
"Because Harrison Cole has one weakness."
"Family."
Back inside...
Harrison opened a hidden compartment beneath the farmhouse fireplace.
Khloe frowned.
"There's another tunnel?"
"No."
He removed a heavy steel case.
Inside were legal documents.
Hard drives.
Cash.
Passports.
And a satellite modem.
Eleanor smiled.
"You planned for every disaster."
"I planned for losing."
She looked confused.
"What?"
Harrison closed the case.
"I never build one escape."
"I build a continuation."
He connected the satellite modem.
Within seconds...
An encrypted video call appeared.
Three faces filled the screen.
A federal judge.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General.
And...
FBI Special Agent Rachel Moreno.
Khloe looked surprised.
"You already contacted the FBI?"
Harrison answered quietly.
"No."
"They contacted me."
Agent Moreno spoke first.
"Mr. Cole."
"We intercepted unusual encrypted communications this morning."
"Project Genesis."
Harrison nodded.
"You've heard the name?"
"We've been investigating it for six years."
Silence.
Khloe whispered,
"You knew?"
The agent looked genuinely frustrated.
"We knew the codename."
"We never found the organization."
Eleanor leaned closer.
"What is Genesis?"
The FBI agent hesitated.
Then answered.
"We believe it's a network."
"Corporate."
"Medical."
"Political."
"Not one organization."
"Many."
Arthur Sinclair's face appeared on one of Harrison's security monitors outside.
He stepped closer to the front porch.
Then...
To everyone's surprise...
He removed his handgun.
Placed it on the ground.
Raised both hands.
"What is he doing?"
Eleanor narrowed her eyes.
"I don't believe him."
Arthur called out.
"Harrison."
"I'd like to talk."
No response.
"You deserve answers."
Harrison activated the exterior speaker.
"You've got thirty seconds."
Arthur smiled faintly.
"Your father wasn't killed because of a lawsuit."
Harrison froze.
Khloe looked at him.
"Our father died in a car accident..."
Arthur slowly shook his head.
"No."
"He was murdered."
The words hit Harrison like a physical blow.
Arthur continued.
"He discovered Genesis."
"He tried to expose it."
"He failed."
Khloe felt tears forming.
"Our father..."
Arthur nodded.
"He wasn't your first target."
"He was ours."
Inside the farmhouse...
Eleanor whispered,
"He's buying time."
Harrison knew.
But he also knew one more thing.
Arthur was telling the truth.
Because Harrison remembered something.
The brakes.
His father's car.
The investigation that ended too quickly.
The detective who suddenly retired.
The evidence that vanished.
Pieces he had ignored for twenty years.
Now they fit.
Arthur spoke again.
"Richard thinks he's in charge."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"He isn't."
Harrison stared.
"What?"
Arthur looked almost sympathetic.
"Richard Harrington..."
"...has never been more than an employee."
Silence.
Khloe felt another contraction.
Harder than the last.
She cried out.
Dr. Crane looked toward Arthur.
"We're losing time."
Arthur nodded once.
Then looked back at Harrison.
"I'll make this simple."
"You surrender Khloe."
"I guarantee the child survives."
"You refuse..."
"...and everyone dies."
Inside...
The satellite connection suddenly crackled.
Agent Moreno shouted,
"Harrison!"
"We traced the signal."
"Genesis isn't centered in Philadelphia."
"It never was."
"Where is it?"
The answer came immediately.
"Washington."
Before she could continue...
The video feed cut to black.
The satellite modem shut down.
Every electronic device inside the farmhouse died at once.
Phones.
Lights.
Monitors.
Everything.
EMP.
An electromagnetic pulse.
Someone had disabled every electronic system within range.
Outside...
Arthur calmly picked his handgun back up.
He smiled toward the now-silent farmhouse.
"No more calls for help."
No one noticed...
Not even Arthur...
A lone figure crawling through the drainage ditch behind the property.
Mud covered his prison-issued jacket.
His wrists still wore broken handcuffs.
It was Frank Donnelly.
He had escaped federal custody less than four hours earlier.
Clutched tightly against his chest was a weathered manila folder.
Across the front, in faded red letters, were stamped the words:
PROJECT GENESIS
And inside...
The very first page bore a title that made his hands tremble.
May you like
GENESIS SUBJECT ZERO: KHLOE COLE
End of Chapter 13
