Page 17 of Maverick

They left the office and walked toward the cafeteria, where they knew the others were gathering for a meal. When they walked in, Katelyn was laughing with Ajei and the others.

“Hey,” said Ajei, looking up at Luke. “Oh, oh. I know that look. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, we hope,” said Hex. “We wanted to speak with Katelyn about something.”

“Of course. Anything.”

“Honey, what was the name of the school you attended in Maine?” asked Luke.

“My school?” she chuckled, smiling at them. When they didn’t smile back, she straightened her back. “The Maine School for Girls. Pretty simple. Nothing fancy.”

“And was it a school for gifted and talented girls?” asked Luke.

“I don’t know. I mean, I guess it could be classified as that. We all took advanced courses in math and science, and almost every girl I knew went on to college.”

“And did you keep in touch with any of those girls?” asked Hex.

“No. Not really. I mean, I remember a girl I graduated with calling me about four years ago. She left a voicemail that she wanted to meet for coffee in D.C., but when I tried to call her back her number was disconnected.”

“You never heard from her again?” asked Luke with a serious frown.

“No. Why all the questions about a school I went to more than a decade ago? I was left there from what I understand. I was raised with the other girls from the time I was a baby until I left. We just didn’t stay in touch with one another.”

“Were all the teachers women?”

“No. No, it was a mix of men and women. You’re really starting to freak me out,” said Katelyn. That’s when she saw Victoria walking toward them. She stared at the young girl, tilting her head. She’d met her earlier, and something inside her gave a feeling of déjà vu, but now it was really chiming in.

“You recognize me, don’t you?”

“I-I’m not sure. How could I recognize you?” asked Katelyn.

“Because my parents placed me in that same school when I was an infant. Or at least that’s what I was told. Then, someone offered them more to sell me to someone else, and I was taken from the school. But you used to help out in my preschool class.”

“Oh, my God,” whispered Katelyn. “Yes. Yes, I did.”

“Neither of us were orphans, Katelyn. Our parents were paid to leave us at the school. Mine were just greedier than yours. They sold me to someone else, taking me from the school. I ended up somewhere very different.”

“How could you remember that? You would have been maybe three or four.”

“I’m like you. I see things in my head, and they stick. We both have eidetic memories, even childhood memories. That school was a part of a network of schools that brought together the most advanced minds of children and developed them for their own purposes. Schools like it have been around for decades.”

Victoria looked around the room and saw the person she needed to include in on this conversation. He stood, walking toward her.

“They kept boys and girls separate because that’s how they did it in Russia and in China. We were spared the full experience if we should fail, but others were not.” She turned to look at the man beside her. “Thomas, your mother knew that your father and Russian grandfather would attempt to use you for their own purpose.”

“Who told you that story?” asked Thomas.

“No one. Your name is listed as one of more than two hundred children who have gone missing or were kidnapped from these special schools. I’m on there, Katelyn, Hayes, and the other kids we came with.”

“Wait. Hold on,” said Katelyn. “Are you telling me that Russians ran my school?”

“No. That’s not what I’m saying. The schools were modeled after the old Russian-style schools that trained children to be superior athletes, engineers, scientists, ballet dancers, spies, all of it. The schools we came from were run by the agency.”

“That’s how they knew what I might be working on,” said Katelyn. “I was experimenting with this while at school. It’s been my life’s work.”

“And that’s why my mother refused to allow her father to take me,” said Thomas. “She knew that he would turn me over to a state school in Russia and force me to use my brain for his maniacal plans.”

“So, they don’t just want what I’m working on. They want me,” said Katelyn, looking at the others.

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