“You want to bring her in. Involve her in all this shit?” Gideon challenged. Yet, it was the way he said it that had me concerned. If I didn’t know any better, that was his plan all along.
“I am standing right here. I can decide for myself you jerks.”
Walking over to her, I shook my head. “Donatella, this isn’t some DNA sequence that you can just dissect. This shit, it’s life or death. One wrong move and it is game over. There is no coming back from death.”
“If anyone knows that it’s me, Lorenzo. Whatever is going on has already killed my parents, sister, and best friend. I am tired of people I love dying. If I can do something to stop it from happening to anyone else, I want to help. I’m not asking either of you to hand me a gun but I am asking to help and if that means I stay behind a computer, then so be it.”
Gideon got to his feet. “It’s not that simple Donnie. There are many factions at play here. If any of them got wind about you, you would never be able to show your face again. You would need to disappear. Your life would depend on it.”
“My life is already in danger.”
“But it doesn’t have to be baby. If you let Gideon and I do what needs to be done, you can have a normal life.”
“No, I can’t,” she whispered walking over to the sink. “I’ve never had a normal life. From the moment I was born, I was anything but normal. I never had friends like normal kids. I never went to sleepovers, birthday parties, school dances, anything. My life has been all about knowledge. I’ve read every book I can get my hands on, newspapers, magazines, even the internet. I was six years old when I built my first computer, ten when I hacked the Federal Reserve. My parents didn’t know what to do with me. Nobody did. So, they stuck me in schools. Lots of them. By the time I was thirteen, I had degrees in Bio-Electrical Engineering, Computer Nanotechnology and Medical Gene-Sequencing. I speak seven languages and my first kiss was with you on your brother’s plane. Trust me Lorenzo, I wouldn’t know a normal life if it hit me in the face.”
“But you are still in school. Your studying…”
“I know,” she sighed. “Before my parents died, I planned to take a break and see the world. All I ever knew was a classroom. That’s where I always felt most comfortable but when my parents died, Penny didn’t know what to do with me. I was the one who told her nothing added up and when I explained everything to her, she quickly put it all together. She begged me to stay put. She thought if I stayed in school, no one would look twice at me. I didn’t want to fight with her, so I agreed and never said a word.”
“What?” I asked, not understanding but Gideon did as he moved closer to her. “It was about you all along. The hit on your parents, wasn’t about your parents. It was to get you. Wasn’t it?”
Donatella nodded, tears falling down her face. “I was supposed to be in the car with my parents that day. They wanted me to go with them but I refused. I had a term paper due and the one friend I had set me up with my first real date. I was so excited. I barely finished my paper in time. I couldn’t tell my parents that. They wouldn’t understand. I was always the freak at school. The girl with the big brain. I just wanted a moment of normal. So, when my parents tried to make me go, I ran away from them. When I got back to my dorm, they were gone. I didn’t think anything of it, till Penny showed up and everything changed.”
“Do you know why they want you?”
Donatella looked up and slowly nodded.
“Why?”
“When I was fifteen, I worked with stem cells and their effects with nanotechnology. I came up with the idea that if I could combine the two, that humanity would evolve into a more advanced race. So, I started learning everything I could about DNA sequencing and how to incorporate nanotechnology. It was easy when I found the right sequencing. When I had the right formula, I created a nano-chip that could be inserted into the human body with a simple shot, to awaken the brain. Did you know that the human body only uses ten percent of its brains? If we could harness our brain's potential, the possibilities would be endless. There would be no more wars, famine, death, just peace.”
“What happened to your research Donatella?” I asked kneeling before her. This shit was so far out of my comprehension. I was lost, only understanding every other word. However, I knew that fucking with the brain and technology was bad. Taking away someone’s free will was fucking wrong on many levels.
“The federal government took it.” She said, looking me directly in the eyes. “But they don’t have the formula for the application.”
“What do you mean?” Gideon asked, stepping forward.
“I never wrote it down. My notes are just that. Notes. But the formula, the actual application is in my head.”
“That’s why they want you. Why everyone wants you. If they get you, they get the formula.”
She nodded.
“Oh fuck,” I said, getting to my feet. Looking at Gideon, I said, “We need to get her somewhere safe. Now.”
“Already on it,” Gideon said, reaching for his phone only to stop instantly. Instead of reaching for his phone, I watched as his hand went for his gun. Turning slowly, I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw my brother Giovanni, Salvatore, Antonio and Luciano all staring at me.
“Want to fill us in brother?” Giovanni growled angrily.
Twenty-Three
Lorenzo
“I don’t give a damn!” Giovanni shouted at Gideon. “He is my brother and Donatella is under my family’s protection.”
“And you can’t do anything to protect her,” Gideon shouted back. “She is my cousin. My responsibility. If I have to, I will take her away from here and make sure she vanishes.”
They had been going at it for over twenty minutes now. While I was happy to see my brother take my side for once, I wasn’t so sure that Giovanni was right. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe that the family could protect Donatella. It was that they didn’t understand the severity and all who was involved.