Deceived by Heather Sunseri

Author:Heather Sunseri
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: young adult, genetic engineering, paranormal, romance, Science Fiction, selection, human cloning, mindspeak series
Publisher: Sun Publishing
Published: 2016-06-20T04:00:00+00:00

chapter seventeen

Briana

On the third floor of Howard BioTech, we were greeted by a robot that recognized us and called us by name. “Briana Howard and Jonas Whitmeyer, right this way, please,” the machine said in a smooth female voice. “My name is Minerva 3.0, but please call me Minerva.” She had a round head with electronic eyes, a round middle with skinny arms, and a round base atop motorized wheels. Basically, she looked like a metal snowman with lots of fancy buttons.

Jonas raised an eyebrow. “Now this is my kind of greeter.”

“Right,” I said with a sardonic eye roll. “Who needs actual people anymore?”

“People have attitudes, and they pass judgment way too easily. Look how many people have tried to kill us before they’ve gotten to know us. I walk into a place like this…” He gestured to nothing really—just the modern décor of my dad’s high-tech building. “… and the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I begin watching every move a person makes, wondering if they’ll be the next person to want us dead for what we are.”

“At least we can get into the heads of people—most of them, anyway. What do we do if this robot wants us dead?”

Jonas quirked a brow. “And I thought I was the paranoid one.”

“Paranoia could save your life,” Minerva said.

“See?” I said and smiled at Jonas.

We followed Minerva across the white tile floor into a conference room. One side of the room was lined with nothing but glass, offering an amazing view of downtown Portland. I walked toward it, admiring the beauty of the city where I’d spent my early childhood. It had grown so much in the years I was in Kentucky.

“Please make yourself comfortable,” Minerva said. When I turned away from the windows, she lifted a metal arm toward the glass table. “There are folders for each of you with the necessary paperwork for your employment with our company. Dr. Howard will be with you momentarily.”

“Wait a second. My employment?” Jonas asked.

“Yes, Mr. Whitmeyer. Positions of employment have been offered to you both.”

Jonas and I traded looks, then sat and began sorting the paperwork.

“I’m not filling out this crap,” I announced after I had flipped through the papers.

“I can’t complete these,” Jonas said. “I don’t even know if I have a social security number. Or a permanent address.”

“You could always jot down Palmyra.”

He smiled at my sarcasm. “Just Palmyra. No street or zip code.”

“There’d be no need,” I mused with a smile. “Thank you for coming here with me.” I swallowed, realizing I had changed the subject abruptly. “I know you’d rather return to the island.” And probably should, I added silently to myself.

“Red,” he said, but before he could continue, Minerva reentered.

“I’m afraid we have a bit of a problem,” she said as she glided into the room, not stopping until she was at the windows, looking out as if her robotic eyes saw things the same way we did.

I went to the windows and stared at the parking lot below.

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