Page 13 of Half Blind

“He is on the autism spectrum,” she repeated. “Someone has taught him how to mask it and to blend in. He shifted, based on the girls coming in, so it wouldn’t be weird for everyone.”

“Weirder than him showing up with the venom of four highly deadly snakes? How the hell did he get it into the country?”

Helen observed Jared’s protectiveness towards the girls. He was an interesting man who seemed rather interested in Lemon, as well as the young man who had paid them all a visit. “Maybe over dinner, if you allow the air to settle for everyone, he or they will share,” she told him.

“That dude does not look like the sharing type,” Jared mumbled.

“Says the pot looking at the kettle and questioning its validity to sit on the stove,” she mumbled back.

“I heard that.”

“Didn’t whisper it, Sir,” she said, almost chuckling, before going to start dinner.

Jared didn’t like it. A Delgado shows up to a farm in the middle of Ohio to deliver supplies to a researcher because of an error on his part but also because of a suggestion on his part. The hackles on the back of his neck were up. A Delgado arriving in person to examine the usage of the material could be a step into indentured servitude for the lady, and it would also be his fault. He moved closer to the barn to see the lab and hear what was being said as well.

Alita looked up as he entered. He noticed she always kept a healthy distance between the young man and anyone else. The questions in his mind only grew by the moment.Bodyguard? A female bodyguard? A female bodyguard to make them look like regular teenagers?

Lemon showed the young man the lab, a very basic setup in the room where she played with deadly toxins. The cabinets were from a big box store, closely resembling the ones in the kitchen in the primary home, but these had locks. A workbench sat in the middle of the floor and had Bunsen burners, tubes, vials, and a centrifuge. Other items were on display that he didn’t recognize, but the kid did.

“I know this must be very rudimentary to your eyes,” Lemon said to Micah.

“Not at all,” he replied in his normal voice. “We still extract the coca from the leaves using gasoline in barns. My personal lab is larger, but pretty much has the same equipment.”

“Your lab?”

“Si, I am the amateur chemist,” he said. “I am to start the interviews for colleges soon and am not certain if I want the larger university or the smaller college with more of the, how do you say,the hands on.”

Lemon nodded and told him, “Larger schools have more resources and funding. Of course, in the smaller schools, you will get more personalized guidance, but it is a fight over equipment and lab hours. May I ask, what is your specialization?”

“I recently secured the patent for a synthetic anti-venom,” he said. “We have lost many workers on milking days. We keep a certain amount on hand for such emergencies, but the smell, the slithering, it makes the skin feel, what is the word,ah si,the crawly.”

“You milk the snakes on your...land?”

“Farm,” he said. “We are farmers.”

“And you farm venom?”

“No, we create a large repository of venoms we sell to your CDC, as well as local centers, villages, and hospitals. My country is full of venomous creatures. However, among other things, we grow coffee, soybeans, corn, and rice,” he said, turning to look at Jared. “I would like the cake.”

“Excuse me?” Lemon asked.

“My stomach is empty. Dinner shall be awhile, and I would like the cake please,” he said, sounding very much like a kid.

“Of course,” Lemon replied, looking at Alita. “Dear, would you like a bite to eat before dinner as well?”

“Yes, please, if it is no trouble,” Alita said.

“I want to ask many questions, but not sure if I should,” Lemon said, noticing the tight bond between the two teens.

“She is my assistant,” Micah said, staring Lemon in the eyes. “My brother, his assistant is a large Norwegian with a patch of blonde hair in the middle of his frontal lobe, and he is roughly the size of a tank. She is deadly, but less conspicuous.”

“Good to know; let’s get you some cake,” Lemon said, smiling at them both. There were more questions, but she held her tongue. She also held her tongue with Jared being a silent sentry and nodded her head in acknowledgement of his soundless support.

Inside the home, the smell of cornbread baking, greens cooking in the Instapot, and neck bones simmering on the stove with potatoes took her back to a childhood and the first of the month. She and her mother always ate well at the first of the month. It was the last two weeks which were a struggle.

Micah and Alita sat in the living room with Ayanna and Bria, chatting about college, dreams, and where they would like to attend university once they graduated high school. They asked questions about where he was from, and he answered honestly about the school systems in South America.

“Are you rich?” Bria asked.

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