Mind Control

Reunions

"Juliet and George Campbell are rumoured to have very strong ties to the alusive head of the Seven Hands. They are trusted associates of Dr. Williams and Dr. Lynch. Juliet Campbell studied political science in the University of Guelph, while George Campbell has a Masters in economics from Harvard University..." 

I stare up at William, unable to comprehend this new information. Julie and George didn't have university educations, as far as I knew. They didn't know how to operate a computer properly. And they sure as hell didn't have ties to an international criminal organization. 

"William," I say slowly. "Where is Drew?" 

"Why do you care?" he asks sharply. 

"Because he's my friend and he has the right to know this just as much as I do," I frown. 

"Okay," he sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I'll page someone to bring him up here and we can gather around the fire with hot cocoa, telling scary stories and cuddling," 

"William," I glare, ignoring the sarcasm. "What are we going to do?" 

He igrnores me and calls someone, telling them to bring Drew up to his office. I sit down on one of the chairs in front of his desk, mulling it all over in my mind. After a few minutes, Drew strides in. 

"What the hell is going on?" he demands, his eyes searching the room before resting on me. 

"Your beloved aunt and uncle are most probably the ones behind your troubles," William explains. "The Seven Hands aren't what they say they are, and your best bet is with us," 

"What?" he huffs angrily. "George an-" 

"I thought that too, okay!" I jump up, aggravated. "But we were wrong. They have strong ties with the Seven Hands, they studied at universities, they know how to handle weapons, and everything we knew about them is a lie," 

"Lydia," he starts. 

"No, don't," I frown. "I am sick and tired of this. I want to be done with this entire ordeal so I can study law at Princeton, and I don't have to see another gun for the rest of my life," 

"And that is what I need to ask you. Is there any common word, expression, place, object, or anything at all that your parents have repeated to you? Any common motif?" William interjects. 

"No idea," I frown. "We went through this already. Through a bloody lie detector," 

"When did you two meet?" 

"When we both ran away from our kidnappers," Drew replies. "Our parents used to take us camping at the same location," 

"Wait, who kidnapped Drew?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows. 

"The Seven Hands," he answers. "When they discovered that you wouldn't cooperate, they decided a different alternative," 

"Waiting until we made ourselves known," I say slowly. "They knew we would eventually go to Julie and George," 

"The place!" William yells, clapping his hands together. 

"What?" 

"The camping place, it's probably there!" William shouts. "The research is there! Do you know the name?" 

"Well, ye-" 

"Then what the hell are you guys waiting around for? Get changed and meet me out front," William jumps again and runs out of the room, shouting obscenities into his phone and flailing his arms around wildly. 

--- 

"William, slow down," I say. "We'll get pulled over," 

"Lyd, if they've already broken this many laws, I doubt speeding will hurt them," Drew points out. "I am wondering, however, why there are ten cars with us?" 

"They aren't meant to look like they're with us. It's reinforcement, in case we encounter anyone, which we shouldn't. All our networks are heavily encrypted and almost impossible to get through," William explains. 

"Almost. That's always what they say in the movies, and the hacker always wins," I mutter. 

William looks at me from the side. "This is hardly a movie," 

I laugh and look out into the window. We're flying past the gorgeous scenery and private beaches, with the sun behind us. Listening to the waves crashing against the shore and the vibrations of the car as we speed down the highway, I roll my head back and drift away.