Primed: A Kayla Madison Story

Primed Part 18

 EIGHT: SCHOOL PRIME AND THE REAL MCCOY (CONT)

***

Once I was inside, Michael stood up and paced the living room. I shouldn't have been surprised that Michael had beaten me to Dad's house since Jake had taken a more leisurely pace and a longer route to get here.

Dad motioned for me to join them.

I barely had time to sit down before Michael said, "Mr. Wu might be organizing to assert his control in our government. We have reason to believe that he keeps a journal with information that could assist us in thwarting those plans. When you are at Wu's house, see if you can determine where it might be located. Your father and I will determine how to access the journal

"I don't understand. My world's Mr. Wu is a decent guy who takes care of his kids and is well-liked by others in the community. Since Jake and Jacqueline seem similar to their otherworld selves, wouldn't this Mr. Wu be innocent?"

"I understand your hesitancy, but this Mr. Wu is not the same as the person you know on your world..." Michael shut his mouth quickly.

I looked at Michael, my dad, then Michael. "What's going on?"

Dad stood. "Having met both Mr. Wu's, there are large differences between the two individuals. Many of those distinctions have occurred as Mrs. Wu—Prime—has pushed for an ever-increasing power, control, and money from her husband. As such, it would appear that Mr. Wu Prime has developed an insatiable greed not evident from your world's Mr. Wu."

"So, what? Greed doesn't automatically mean that he's bad—just greedy."

Dad paced the room. "Very true, but in this case, there is evidence showing he has acted on his greed over the years to the detriment of our country."

"Well, that's vague." I crossed my arms. "You could say that same thing about many politicians."

Michael sat across from me. "Some of his votes on the council have been beneficial to him and not the greater good. He is known to have numerous landholdings and various companies. However, since they are under a variety of names, we do not know how much he has benefitted from his governmental involvement and influence, but preliminary research confirms it has been substantial."

"How do I know that one or both of you don't have your own grudge against Mr. Wu? He still might be the innocent one in all of this. After all, I really just met you, but I've known one of the Mr. Wu's for a long time. Plus, maybe it's Mrs. Wu's fault, since neither Jake seems to trust their mom."

Dad's forehead lines became deeper as he raised his brows. "Regardless of Mrs. Wu's influence on him, Mr. Wu is the one on the council. If he becomes the new chairman, he will have power to do many things on our world, including jeopardizing the TDT research."

"True, but I still don't think you have any evidence to convince me of Mr. Wu's danger."

Michael stood up and spoke quietly to my dad. I focused on his voice and was able to hear him clearly, "Perhaps we should take her to the chairman's house, so he can share more of the details with her."

"I believe you should. Let's go." I stood and raised my chin in an attempt to look powerful or defiant or both.

Their faces showed they were momentarily surprised that my enhanced senses had kicked in enough that I had heard their comments.

***

The ride over to the chairman's house was filled with Dad and Michael explaining how the Chairman was a bigwig on this world. From what I gathered, there were five regional councils across the country acting as the legislative branch of the government, but positions were inherited, not elected. The council member with most seniority in each region acted as the chairman for that council. Each Regional Council's chairman then had a seat on the High Council, which was like an executive branch and the High Council Chairman was the closest thing they had to a president. So, this guy I was meeting was really important on this world. I hoped I wouldn't do anything to embarrass my dad, Michael or myself.