فصل 15

Chapter 15: Jim Hatch

Timepiece Ranch

After my practice session with Gervaso I knocked on my mother’s door. She answered, smiling as soon as she saw me. “I was just thinking about you.” “I need to ask you something,” I said.

“Of course,” she said. “Come in.” As I stepped into the room she said, “This sounds serious.” “It is.”

She closed the door, then looked at me, her arms folded at her chest. “What is it?” “Is there something going on between you and that Joel guy?” “Something?”

“You know.” I hesitated and she tilted her head. “Romantic.” She thought for a moment, then said softly, “I don’t know.” “What does that mean?”

“Just what I said. We’re close friends. I care about him. I don’t know where it’s going.” I suddenly felt defensive. “You care about him? How long have you even known him?” “I’ve known him longer than you think,” she said. “You’ve met him before, you know.” “I have?”

“When you were four. He helped us move from Pasadena to Idaho.” “How did you know him?”

“Anna, Joel’s sister, worked with your father at the hospital. Shortly after your father died, she disappeared. She had told Joel about the Elgen and told him that if anything happened to her he should help us hide.” For the first time in my life I realized that all our moving around wasn’t just about me. “So you’ve known about the Elgen since I was born?” “Of course. It was a company your father was working with. The MEI was something we thought might change the world, not the way Hatch does, but for the better. James Hatch worked with your father. In fact, we had him over for dinner.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Dr. Hatch was in our home?” My mother nodded. “We called him Jim back then. He came over to the house once for a barbecue.” I was speechless. It was like hearing my mother was in a book club with Hitler. “You barbecued with Dr. Hatch? The man who kidnapped you and tried to kill me?” “He wasn’t trying to kill anyone back then. In fact, you weren’t even born. I was thirty-six weeks pregnant when they placed the MEI in the hospital. I gave birth to you the next week.” “Then why didn’t you recognize him in the parking lot at PizzaMax?” My mother smiled. “It had been almost fifteen years. He’s changed a lot since then. And he was wearing sunglasses.” “This is unbelievable,” I said.

“Believe it or not, Jim Hatch was a pretty normal guy. He brought me flowers in the hospital when you were born.” I struggled to process this. “What was he like?” “He was a little insecure, but hardworking and very ambitious, which isn’t always a bad thing. I don’t know why he turned out the way he did. I think he got caught up in something that took him over. The lust for power can do that.” “He’s insane now,” I said. “And evil.” “Maybe. But he wasn’t back then. It’s easy to place people in black-and-white categories of good or bad, but the truth is there’s a lot of both in all of us.” “You’re nothing like Hatch,” I said. “Neither am I.” “You’re right. There’s one big difference.” “What’s that?”

“Love.”

“He loves himself,” I said.

My mother shook her head. “No. He feeds his hunger, but that’s not self-love, just selfishness. Deep down he must hate himself or he could never be so cruel. When people do things contrary to their own moral foundation, they either feel guilty and change or try to break down the foundation of their belief.

“Jim Hatch has tortured and killed people. Unless you’re a sociopath, the only way to do things like that and still live with yourself is to convince yourself that the end justifies the means.” I just sat quietly thinking.

“And, Michael, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m not going to do anything foolish.” She stepped closer. “I’m glad you came over. I wanted to talk to you about something too.” I looked up at her.

“I’m afraid.” She breathed out slowly. “Afraid and conflicted. And I don’t know what to tell you to do.” She put her hands on my shoulders. “I’m terrified of you going to Taiwan. I feel like any mother must feel sending a son off to harm’s way. If the reasons weren’t so important, I’d never let you go.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Part of me is so proud of you that I’m without words. The other part . . .” She wiped her eyes. “I’m still your mother. I’m supposed to protect you.” I bowed my head. I didn’t know what to say.

“It’s not fair that you’ve been placed in this position. You’re so young.” “Alexander the Great was only sixteen when he ruled the world,” I said. “And Joan of Arc was only seventeen when she led the French army.” “And she was nineteen when the English burned her at the stake.” “Maybe not the best example.”

“One of the last things your father said to me before he died was to keep you safe. I haven’t done a very good job at that.” She looked me in the eyes. “I wonder if he would be disappointed in me.” “Is it better to be safe and worthless, or valuable and in danger?” “Now you sound like your father.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

She slowly shook her head. “No. It’s not. But what do you want?” “It doesn’t matter what I want.”

“It always matters,” she said. “Do you want to go to Taiwan?” “And face the Elgen? No. But I have to.” “No, you don’t. You’ve already risked enough. Let someone else do it.” “Who?”

She looked at me for a moment, then put her arms around me. “When did you become so strong?” “When they took you,” I said.

“Just promise me that you’ll always come back.” “I promise,” I said. We both knew it was a promise I couldn’t make.

After a moment she kissed my forehead and stepped back. “Is there anything I can do for you?” “There’s one thing,” I said. I hesitated. “It’s a little complicated.” “Whatever you want,” she said.

“It’s not for me. It’s for Taylor.”

She smiled. “Just tell me what to do.”