Jaya shakes her head as the questions, accusations and arguments begin to fly. "Okay, okay, hold on," she says, "let me get a word in."
"The complex we just left was a U.S. government research facility, specializing in genetics. AIDS and cancer research is performed there, among other types, including research into elite genetics," she states, keeping her eyes on the road. "The studies you were involved in, however, were highly classified. A company that Dr. MacDermott is with is also helping to finance the project, but I'm not sure what company that is. Vanguard is a computer company; I doubt they have much vested interest in elite genetics. At least, as far as I know.
"It was called Project: Daedalus. I was never exactly sure what the end results of our studies were to be, but I can harbour a few guesses...
"I came on almost two months ago. I was hired, I thought, for my expertise in biochemistry. It turns out, I was, in fact, an elite, which I had no idea. Much like Miguel, I have a dependant power, meaning it only works in the presence of other elites. And my power would be instrumental in the studies we performed." She glances back at the others, adding, "They knew about my powers before even I did.
"I took the job, thinking it was just a normal government research job. Once I got there, I found out my contract had some legalese fine print stating that I had to remain at the complex for the term with no outside contact, non-negotiable. And once I found out how deep this project ran, I realised that trying to get out of the contract would be impossible.
"So, while I had more freedom to move about than you did, I was as much a prisoner as you. I was treated well, and I didn't really let it show that I was unhappy there. In fact, I actually wasn't unhappy..." she says, thinking of Michael.
"But, I thought what had been done to you was wrong, which made me realize that what was done to me, though not nearly as bad, was also wrong. That's when I decided we needed to get out of there. You can trust me or not on that, but it's the truth," she says matter-of-factly.
"As for why you seven were chosen, I have no idea, though I'm guessing you were a random sample...sort of. Most of you, from what I've read of you on your files, either recently came into your powers, or have been hiding them for one reason or another. Whether that's coincidence or not, I'm not sure, I wasn’t part of the selection process.
“And Kiro is right, Tyrone, this isn’t a test, I hope that much is obvious to everyone else…” she says, rolling her eyes.
“As for the ‘Death Squads’, I have no doubt they’ll be trying to retrieve us. But I need a clean, well-lit friendly environment, if I’m going to remove these chips from base of your brains without killing or paralysing you. Trenton is less than 4 hours from here, and hopefully we’ll be gone again before they catch up…I hope.
“Clothing and a new vehicle would be nice, but we don’t have time. I’m hoping we can stay clear of state troopers until then. If not…well, we’d best be prepared to deal with local authorities. They probably wouldn’t understand out plight enough to just let us go. But, it would be good to at least try and stay on the right side of the law so they don’t have a legitimate reason to come after us. Don’t you think, Sarah?” she says to the woman sitting next to her with a knowing smile.
“But, yeah, we will need to stop before we get there,” she says looking at the instrument panel. “I didn’t think I’d be fleeing for my life when I left this place, and didn’t have the foresight to fill up the gas tank…”
She looks at Tyrone in the rear-view mirror. "What? Make a call? I don't know if that's a good idea. I realize everyone has family and friends that are worried about them, but this isn't the best time. We need to keep our heads clear."
