Seventeen: Ransom Tanager
1060 Words
Seventeen:
Ransom Tanager
I saw her walk to Oliver’s mansion. I wasn’t stupid. I knew that the moment I promised to give her freedom in her dating life, she would go to him. I wanted that. Oliver would keep her distracted, away from the EVOS, and away from the truth. If she had to date someone, I wanted it to be someone that would be able to take care of her. Most important, someone that I could control if I wanted. I needed that. I needed her distracted, because if she wasn’t, I would spend all of my time protecting her. Instead of her, I could focus on finding the truth about the explosion and the EVOS.
When she snuck over to Oliver’s, I went to The West Wing. I found Kathleen in the room that we were keeping Tayen in. “How is she?” I asked.
Kathleen shrugged. “Still unconscious, exactly like you’ve been keeping her. You know, your father would be proud of your ruthlessness.”
I frowned. “I’m not ruthless. I’m nothing like my father.”
“Keeping people against their will? That’s exactly the kind of thing that Richard Tanager would do.”
“Tayen said she thought that Lydia Powell was still alive. That Lydia Powell was the one who kidnapped her and created her. Do you know anything about that?”
She smirked. “Lydia survived? I always thought so. After she found out about Piper, things changed between her and Brian Powell.”
“What do you mean, found out about Piper?”
“Piper was one of the first, after you were created, of course. Then there was a third one.”
“A third one?” I asked.
Kathleen nodded. “They didn’t know how harmful the experiments would be. So, they used their children. At least, Brian and Piper did. I don’t know what Emma Oswin did.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Emma Oswin?” I tugged at the tie that she was wearing. “Oliver’s Mom was doing experiments too?”
She nodded. “Of course, she was. She was always trying to one up Richard after he left her for your Mother. Anything Tanager did, she did too.”
“Not all of the EVOS are Tanager EVOS?”
“There were multiple companies that were in on the experiment. If you believe the rumors, they were a founding member of a secret society.”
“Rosa nigrum?” I asked. “I thought that they were the ones that denied their involvement in anything related to them.”
She laughed. “There’s more than one secret society in the world, young Tanager. They call themselves The Thirteen.”
“The Thirteen?” I said.
She nodded. “The Thirteen richest companies in the world. They deny their existence too. But Emma Oswin and Richard Tanager were members.”
“What are the requirements?”
“Billionaire status,” she explained, “Almost anyone you’ve summered with in The Hamptons is a member or wants to be.”
“So, there could be more than the 100 EVOs that were in the Tanager lab.”
“There’s no way to know how many EVOS there were.”
My mind swirled. If it were just the EVOS from Tanager, I had thought my job to track them down would make things easier. But if there were more, there was no way to know how long it would take to track down the EVOS. Meaning it could take a lifetime and it would never be safe for Piper and me to be together.
“You know I could help you,” she said, “I have contacts. People that would be happy to give me information about the EVOs. Make your life easier. All you have to do is make me an employee of Tanager INC.”
“I won’t let you back in a lab again,” I said.
“Not a lab,” she said, “make me your assistant. That will give me access to the same places that you will have to be at. No one will question it. They’ll think that you’re helping an old family friend get back on her feet. You’ll be lauded as a hero.”
“You went to prison, Kathleen, for illegal experiments.”
“Does that mean I should be treated like dirt the rest of my life? I paid my dept to society. You can call it the prisoner outreach program. Make it out like it’s a charity thing. It would be good PR and lord knows that you could use the PR. Your company hasn’t had the same business since the explosion.”
I hesitated. All of this could have been a ploy for her to escape. “If you betray me Kathleen, I won’t hesitate to kill you. I know the monsters you created. Things that were worse than the EVOS. I won’t let that go unchecked. You have no personal life. You go to and from work. And you live here, on the property.”
She smiled. “Of course, young Tanager. You know…. if you wanted, we could add some benefits to that package. Lord knows that you won’t be getting any from that little Pipsqueak of yours, no matter how much you want it. She’s head over heals for Oliver and she always will be.”
I sneered at her. “I don’t need benefits.”
“Suit yourself,” she said, “but what of my other offer, young Tanager?”
“Help me find the EVOS, and the person responsible for the explosion, and I will grant you your freedom.”
She smiled. “Then, we’ve a deal?”
“We’ve a deal,” she answered. “There’s just one thing you should know before.”
“What’s that?”
“I was Brian Powell’s mistress. We were sleeping together before the explosion happened.”
- Writer
