Sanctify
Chapter 18 - Delicate

Hayden knew Jenna could fight and had witnessed some other Shadows created from Noriko in action before. Everyone knew they were scary and quite capable, despite their size, but he hadn’t thought it was because of their Origin. In truth, Hayden had believed the power of engineering and building such Shadows from Origins. He never knew Origins could possess such abilities of their own. But being so shamefully and completely trapped by a girl of his junior, he felt very thankful that they were alone.

With his free hand, he slapped the ground. “I give! Hey, stop it,” he surrendered.

Noriko smiled, giving his arm an extra twist before she let him go. She stood and stretched her arms and legs. Hayden stood and stretched, glaring at her, “You’re more capable than you look.”

Noriko nodded, “Thanks. And I was beginning to think this body wasn’t as useful.”

“Oh, it’s useful alright,” Hayden grumbled, stumbling over to the tray of sandwiches. He grabbed one and swallowed it with the tea.

Noriko looked over and frowned, “Can I have some?”

“Yeah,” was all Hayden replied before downing another one.

Noriko took three triangles before walking over to the bed to look over the documents. Hayden sighed and joined her, still munching away. She sat with her back against the bed, her sweat still on her body. Hayden noticed it and looked away, shuffling papers around. “Diane lived by The Grove?” Noriko asked, looking over a map.

Hayden nodded, “Yeah. She said she liked the activities,” he added, putting her cup of tea in front of her. He looked over at her again and added, “You might want to take another shower.”

“I’m alright,” Noriko replied, picking up the cup of tea. She took a sip and Hayden noticed her swallow before replacing the cup on the ground. “We used to eat at Du-Par’s and the staff all knew us,” Noriko shared as she moved through the documents and frowned, “When did Professor Egas pass?”

Hayden flipped through the pages before pulling up a single folder. He opened it and turned it right side up for her, “Diane moved over there and her boyfriend lived close by.”

“Topher? Gosh, it’s been ages,” Noriko sighed, and then frowned, looking through the files. “Where is his file?” she asked, looking up at Hayden.

“He passed about a year ago,” Hayden replied softly.

Noriko’s body jerked as she heard this. Eyes wide, she asked, “How?”

Hayden shrugged, “The details aren’t very clear. All we know is that, he died and Diane did a tailspin before she disappeared.” Hayden’s breath caught as Noriko closed her eyes. It was unlike anything he had ever seen but he knew better than to leave her alone.

Drip… drip…

Hayden reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her body shook as she cried. Hayden moved aside the papers and spread his legs, pulling her into his embrace. He couldn’t explain why he did it, but it felt right. Her body relaxed slowly as he made circles on her back. He could tell her brain was travelling a mile a minute but something about it made him curious about her.

Hayden pulled away when he felt her lean against him. He swallowed and looked around the room, hoping to distract whatever stray thought wandered through his body. It puzzled him, having these feelings. He’d never had them before. Even Jenna didn’t stir him so easily. He wondered if it had something to do with the fact that Noriko was an Origin. The devotion Jenna displayed towards Noriko was strange, but not completely unheard of according to the scientists from the Silence Program.

It was true that Origins had unique and complex systems integrated with their DNAs and were believed to be the result of experimentation in the in vitro studies, but Sanctus had taken everything that linked them to such information during his earlier days of glory. From what Hayden knew, the only person that might have that information was Dr. E. And yet, somehow, the girl before him seemed a likely candidate, too.

Jenna paced, putting together the information as Oren tapped into the database kept in the Dane-Hawkins reserves. As he sifted through the files, Dr. E poured herself another glass of tea and waited for them to verify her information. Soon enough, Oren pulled the logs from the memory of the building and whistled low, “Dr. E is telling the truth. This was the birth place of the Silence Program,” he added, moving the information to make room, “You probably know this place because of the deeper memories you have from Noriko.”

Jenna sighed and turned to the smiling Dr. E, “Well, now that you believe my story, can we get on with it?” Dr. E waited but her patience was being tried.

Jenna held up a hand, “Wait. If you knew all this, why didn’t you tell us sooner? Why didn’t you tell Noriko before Hayden took her to the Towers?” Jenna reached for her gun, “What are you hiding?”

Dr. E shook her head, “I’m not hiding anything. Dad wanted to give her the best chance, which was why he worked so hard to make sure everything happened accordingly. He wants her to choose it for herself,” she added, taking a sip of the steaming beverage. “If it’s not her personal choice, then I die with the blueprints. Not to mention,” she added, replacing her cup on the table, “she wasn’t supposed to wake up for another 10 years. Technology is ready, kinda, now, but not completely.”

Oren turned on the holographic screen and moved things so as to present them properly to Jenna. “From what I can tell, it looks like Noriko may have been a direct descendent to of original Dane-Hawkins. I mean, the timeline and situation fits perfectly. They got curious, developed it, and had a kid in the PEG. After that,” he moved the documents and pulled up photos of Noriko in her youth, “yup, it’s all here.”

Jenna frowned, “There’s no need to survey and watch her so carefully if she’s not their pet project, right?”

Oren frowned, “Not really. I mean, from the notes of Wesley Dane, it seemed like he wanted to keep and raise the baby as his daughter. But when Maria’s ex-flame appeared –” Oren stopped and then turned to Jenna, who waited for him to continue speaking.

“Well?” Jenna asked after a moment, where Oren seemed to need a moment.

Oren swallowed, “Jordan Christensen was dating Maria last before she broke up with him to concentrate on her project with Wesley Dane. And when Jordan found out about the baby, he threatened to expose the child’s true lineage, so Wesley and Maria put the child into the foster system.”

Jenna felt herself pale. “Then, the child was Noriko?”

Oren nodded, “Jordan Christensen was accused of murdering Maria, a crime of passion, and her lover some years later but was never convicted due to lack of evidence.”

Dr. E sighed, “There was ample evidence, he just bought his way out of the consequences. And then,” she chuckled to herself, “he went crazy.”

“Trying to replace the kid?” Oren asked, searching for more information.

Dr. E stood and walked over to open two files, “It’s more than that.” Jenna and Oren looked over and Jenna felt her body run cold. Dr. E concluded with a wistful gaze, “Wesley Dane and Maria Hawkins used their DNA to forge Noriko. Before completing her in the tube, they added ramifications of their own so that she would be compatible with almost anything.”

Jenna touched her temple, “Which was why so many people wanted to study her and, also, why so many Shadows could be cloned from her.”

“With so many different capabilities,” Dr. E nodded, pulling out genetic charts the two genii had used. She smiled, pointing to the familiar strand that even Jenna recognized, “This is the one Dad found while researching them. Everything was carefully planned, from them to him and him to me. But it ends with me,” Dr. E clarified firmly, “because after her, there should be no more.”

Oren nodded, “Wesley Dane and Maria Hawkins would do something like that.”

“Which is why Sanctus wants this information so badly. He wants to create his own line,” Jenna finished, kicking herself for not seeing it sooner.

“I guess you can count is as a way Jordy wanted to seek forgiveness for what he did to his ex and fellow colleague,” Dr. E sighed.

Oren shook his head, “What does Sanctus have to do with Jordan Christensen?”

Dr. E looked up as Jenna slowly stated, “Unless, Sanctus is Jordan Christensen?”

“Looks like you’ve got it figured out,” Dr. E nodded, turning to look up at the great ceiling of the mansion, “I’ve managed to keep this baby off the grid for as long as I could before people came looking. I would have continued to for as long as I needed to, for the sake of returning everything to Noriko, the heir to the Dane-Hawkins research and estate.”

Jenna shook her head, “This is not possible.”

Oren sighed, sifting through more files, “It’s all here. Lady May, Hayden, even Diane and Topher have a file.” He frowned and pulled out another, “Who is Mavis? Was he ever collected?”

Dr. E smiled, “He’s special. He was created to be her guardian, so Dad said. But he ended up failing and marrying another woman. And they had a kid,” she smirked, “who became an Origin and his Shadow was named Hayden.”

Oren frowned, “So Mavis wasn’t a clone?”

“Nope,” Dr. E smiled, “He was the first genetically altered human. I think it was the last project Wesley Dane managed to complete before his sudden death.”

Jenna stumbled and looked up at Dr. E, “Hayden?”

Dr. E nodded, “It’s written in his DNA. He’s made to love Noriko,” she added, “he can’t help it.” Dr. E pulled down a file and a younger photo of Hayden’s popped out, “Think of it as fate, if it makes you feel better.”

Jenna stood very still. “I left my Origin with my worst nightmare.”

Oren rolled his eyes, “Maybe she hasn’t awakened so much yet.”

“Oh no,” Dr. E winked at them, “her libido ought to be perfectly healthy. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were already at it.” Jenna grabbed the communicator but only heard the sizzle of static. Dr. E giggled to herself and added, as if an afterthought, “Shame she can’t have kids. They’d be quite cute.”

Jenna dropped the communicator. She turned to Dr. E, “My Origin can’t have children? I thought that was just a Shadow effect.”

Dr. E licked her lips, “Technically, she’s a genetically mixed Shadow of Dane and Hawkins. So, you’re right, female Shadows are barren and males are impotent.” She pursed her lips, “I wonder if that really makes their drives lower.” Oren looked away and Jenna was silent. Somehow, the conversation had taken a turn for the worse and Jenna felt, suddenly, very uneasy.

Michel looked around his bedroom and sighed. Of all times to be locked in a bedroom with a large bed, and he didn’t have his girl with him. He’d waken a few times after a sweet dream and the shower hadn’t helped. He missed Jenna and wondered if she missed him. It wasn’t a strange thought, but Hayden seemed overly interested in her all the time, and Oren wasn’t such a terrible looking dude. In fact, Michel was sure Jenna could have picked any guy better than him. And yet, she confessed to liking him.

Michel laid back on his bed. He shifted his thoughts to the Diem and felt his heart squeeze. It worried him that she was so helpless and in such pain. All of the usual protocols were useless when it came to helping her. She had no way of getting out, and Uncle seemed to be the one running things, thus making it next to impossible for Michel to do any reconnaissance work, despite being in the Towers.

Michel sat up and remembered watching Rayner rearrange the cables in the room below. He wondered if his coordination was correct but the need to move overwhelmed him. So Michel moved to the window and looked around to confirm that they were, indeed, in the penthouse. The only layer above where he stood was the roof, which had many satellites and systems to ensure total privacy for the occupants of the Towers.

Michel reached around the window and found the nail that clipped it shut. He grabbed at it, using his nails to pry it out, slowly and painfully. But, when it finally fell to the ground, Michel opened the window and found the freshness of the air calming. He sighed and knelt so that there wouldn’t be any chance of falling out by accident or on purpose. He looked around and wondered if he could reach the next window down. The streets below had few cars but there was, also, nothing to grip for his climb. He pulled his head back in and shut the window. Shoving the nail back in place, he hurried into the bathroom. Once inside, he checked that window. There had to be a way out.