Page 14 of Sinner
Gloria’s lips widened, splitting her face in a full smile. Was this woman for real? She twisted and reached up to latch onto Mary’s offered hand. Something passed between them until the sound of a crying baby brought everyone’s gaze to the window where an older woman walked into the room with a screaming infant.
“Right,” Gloria said quickly. “We’re running out of time. I think Mary is right. You are the man for the job. Please join me at the observation window.” With Mary’s assistance, Gloria levered herself out of the chair awkwardly. As they walked to the window, Gloria continued speaking. “What I’m about to tell you mustn’t leave this room. Do you understand?”
Flint could only nod. That twisted feeling in his gut hadn’t left, and at the sight of the child, it pulled and yanked until he felt physically ill.
“We feel the same way about prevention, Mr. Fydler. When I was a child, I was… hard to control. My parents argued a lot. My father pushed me academically, believing my behavioral problems were because my brain needed stimulation, but my mother disagreed. She believed the smarter I got, the more eccentric I would be, and the less I would fit into society. She wanted a normal life for me. Pride turned their marriage into a battleground until my sixth birthday.” She took a deep breath, her sight turning inward. “They argued. So much. It went for hours.You’re the reason no one turned up—You’re the problem! She’d have friends if it weren’t for you…”The tone of Gloria’s voice became tighter, strained as she mimicked her parents’ argument, and then all emotion leached from her voice. “My father shot my mother in front of me, and then he shot himself. Point blank.” Gloria stopped. She put her hand to the window and stared, watching the nun inside placate the baby until its cries softened, and it eventually fell asleep on her shoulder.
Well fuck,thought Flint. That was a shitty childhood. But what did it have to do with anything?
The silence expanded. Flint turned to look at Mary and found she already watched him.
“Ten years ago,” Gloria continued, “I isolated the genome sequence for greed. Once I’d done that, the rest of the deadly sins weren’t hard to find. And then I met Julius. He was devastated after his wife and child were poisoned and together we thought, wouldn’t it be magical if we could stop these sins before they happened? Of course, you know what magic is, don’t you Flint?” Gloria gave him a wry smile. “It’s science we don’t understand yet.”
The room in front of them suddenly filled with children ranging from elementary grade to toddler. All looked similar in features, wide lips, big eyes, darkish hair… features he had no doubt would develop into the painted perfection of their mother. He detected a few lighter splashes of hair color and tanned skin. Who was the father? It didn’t matter. Flint didn’t need to know. He didn’t need any of this.
“Each of these precious children has had their DNA tweaked and modified so they can sense deadly levels of sin. They are the first of their kind. Maybe the last.”
“You’re making super soldiers,” Flint stated. He could feel the heat rising up his neck, the anger prickling his skin. “You’re experimenting on innocent children, forcing them into a life none of them asked for.”
“They’re well looked after,” Gloria started, but then held her tongue. Irritation swam on her features and she avoided his eyes. She stepped away from the mirror, rubbing her belly, breathing deep. Something Flint said clearly distressed her.
“That’s why we’re here.” Mary stepped in. “The Vatican is a major investor and insisted they were the humanitarian representation. We nuns are responsible for the wellbeing of the children. You can see they’re treated well. They’re not harmed in any way. All tests are done by saliva swab, nothing intravenous.”
An older boy smacked a younger boy on the head and snatched his stick of celery back. A fight almost broke out, but the eldest girl, maybe six or seven, stepped in and soothed them all. She was tall and waif-like, like her mother.
“That’s Despair,” said Gloria, back at Flint’s side. “Despite her namesake, she’s always stepping in to keep the peace. It’s the forgotten deadly sin, yet, I believe the most important. Hope is her virtue. She astounds me every time. And those two she interrupted”—she pointed—“Wrath and Gluttony.”
Christ. They didn’t even have real names, like mass-produced products on an assembly line. “They’re not machines, you know. What if they grow up and decide not to be your peace-keepers? What if they want something else for their lives? What if hunting sin wears down on them, twists them, and turns them into the very thing they’re fighting against?”
Both women stared at him.
“That’s exactly why you’re here,” Gloria said simply.
Flint opened his mouth to respond but shut it in confusion. This was all getting too much. Too many variables. Not like a computer system where everything was zeros and ones. Where it had to be either one or the other. This had the potential for chaos.
“Julius has changed,” Gloria whispered. Her words cut through Flint’s confusion with a slice of danger.
“The boss? What do you mean?”
“At the start of this, he wanted to prevent loss of life, but now… now he wants to control the children and use them for his own gain. The bitterness of losing his first wife and child has twisted him into something ugly. I thought making him the sperm donor for these children would give him purpose again, but it’s all messed up now. I was so wrong. He pushed me to make them better, stronger, more powerful than anyone could hope. He thinks he owns them.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “I told him I could give them enhanced abilities to help with their jobs, to give them an advantage over the criminals… but none of the abilities have manifested, and the investors are getting restless. The children’s lives are in danger. If I can’t demonstrate their investment is advancing, they’ll be wiped out.”
“We won’t let that happen,” Mary said, placing a firm hand on Gloria’s shoulder.
“How the hell are you going to stop them?” Flint shook his head in disbelief. “You’re a bunch of nuns and a skinny-ass pregnant woman. I can’t help. I’m not a fighter…. I…”
“I’ll pay you a million dollars for each child,” Gloria blurted out. “To help get them safely to the Hildegard Abbey, where Mary is from.”
“Fuck.” Flint’s gaze shot to Mary. He liked her, he really did, but how could he be part of this? “Fuck. I can’t. I’m just a guy.”
He couldn’t even save one child, let alone many.
The room swayed. He had to get out of there.
