Chapter Nineteen
Lucas squinted shielding his eyes when the bag was removed from over his head. He was bleeding from the back of his head, he could feel the blood running down his neck. Slowly he opened his eyes and winced at the bright lights, he was nauseated and prayed to the gods that he wasn’t about to throw up.
A bottle of water was shoved in front of his face, and he automatically reached for it, only then realizing at that moment that his hands were free. Taking a few sips of the water, he felt a little better, but his head still felt as if a herd of elephants were stomping across his skull. He looked up and saw Daniel sitting across from him.
“Sorry about your head,” Daniel said to him.
“Why? You're planning on killing me, right? I figured you’d enjoy seeing me in pain.”
“You’re still the same sarcastic bastard.”
“Just do it and get it over with,” Lucas told him feeling defeated.
“So eager to die, are we?”
“Isn’t that the reason you brought me here? Taking me away from my family, just do it now.”
Daniel stared at him for a few minutes then stood to his feet and walked over to him. Lucas didn’t flinch or move an inch. "What do you think about the old place? It surprised me when I found out the government had the place of my conception rebuilt."
"What the hell are you rambling about?"
“The least you can say is thank you,” Daniel said to him.
“Thank you for what? You’re about to fucking kill me, and I’m supposed to thank you before I die. Well, fuck you. How's that for a thank you?”
The slap crossed his face and his head whipped to the side, and for a second, he saw stars, but he didn’t show how much it affected him. Instead, he started chuckling and then it turned into laughter.
“My two-year-old hits harder than you, Ritter,” Lucas said wiping his mouth off on the sleeve of his T-shirt.
“Tell me what you know about Doctor Morgan Leap, Lucas?” Daniel asked backing away.
“What the hell does Leap have to do with me being here?”
“Humor me,” Daniel said resting his gun on his thigh.
Lucas had to think back to what he learned in high school. Christen knew everything about Leap, as a doctor, he found the man interested. Lucas on the other hand, didn’t care.
“Morgan Leap, the doctor who invented the Leap XY Gene Serum, also known as the pregnancy serum. He originally developed the serum because he believed human beings had an inner beast living inside them and wanted to find a way to bring it forward. After he was seen as a quack and a failure, his grant money was cut by the military and he was kicked out on his ass. Years later he went on the world's most wanted list for contaminating the water and air allowing men to get pregnant. He was hunted down and killed.”
“Do you know what happened to his family?” Daniel asked.
“Don’t you mean his cult?”
As soon as the words left Lucas’ mouth, Daniel had him by the throat, pinning him to the floor. “I’m trying not to kill you too soon, but you’re really making it very hard.”
Lucas was gasping for air hitting the ground as he punched Daniel in the stomach seemingly unfazed and much stronger than he remembered. He was starting to lose the fight for his life, and it was getting harder for him to breathe. Daniel released the hold on his neck and stepped back allowing Lucas to catch his breath. Lucas started coughing as he tried to get up but stumbled a bit.Gods, I want this to be over. He was able to finally sit up, forgoing the chair and staying on the floor.
“Why?” Lucas asked when he could speak again. “You said you would tell me before you killed me.”
“That night I got shot I thought I’d really died, but I was saved by someone, I don’t even know who it was. I woke up a few weeks later in an Italian hospital all stitched up. They said I lost a lot of blood and had to find a universal blood donor for me. You remember I told you that I was adopted. I lived a good life and never saw the reason to find my real parents. When I found out that I was considered dead, I decided to take the opportunity given to me. It took me a year and a half to find out about my parents.”
“I still don’t get what this has to do with me.”
Daniel snorted. “I found out that my father was a brilliant scientist who gave the world something unimaginable and they hunted him down and his family and killed them as if they were dogs.”
Lucas gasped hearing he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You're Morgan Leap’s son? How? According to the reports, Seeker agents killed all of Leap’s test subjects.”
“They thought they did, but one got away,” Daniel said with a proud smile. “My father hid when the agents burst in and found Leap’s other lovers. Of course, you know what happened to them. My father waited and when he saw the chance, he ran and never looked back. He couldn’t go to Leap because the authorities were looking for him. My birth father died when I was two years old, and after that, I was sent to an orphanage where I was adopted by the Ritters.”
