what?’ Ketty said, her forehead creased with a frown.
‘It’s the Medusa code,’ I said. ‘My dad didn’t leave it for me somewhere. He left it in me.’
Ed shook his head. ‘I don’t get it,’ he said. ‘What d’you mean?’
‘He implanted it,’ I said. ‘It’s not just “with” me. It’s literally somewhere inside my body.’
13: A discovery
I stared at Ketty, sitting on the bed opposite. She wrinkled her nose.
‘Are you sure the code is inside you?’ she said. ‘It doesn’t sound very likely.’
‘I think Dylan’s right.’ Ed paced across the room. ‘It fits with everything we know about William Fox. He was very secretive about his work. He left all his notes with his brother – I thought it was strange that he’d made a copy . . .’
‘But implanting scientific data in a baby?’ Ketty said. ‘That’s really weird.’
‘Not to my dad,’ I said. ‘He was a doctor, remember? He’d already implanted us with the Medusa gene.’
‘How would he have stored the information?’ Ketty said.
I shrugged. ‘Some kind of microchip under the skin, maybe? They do that with pets.’
‘And when they tag criminals, I think,’ Ed said.
‘How do we work out where in your body it is?’ Ketty said.
‘There must be a scar,’ I said, examining my arms.
‘Yeah, but it would be really tiny now,’ Ed said. ‘I mean you were only a baby when he did it, so—’
‘Help me look.’ I tore off my top and twisted round so they could examine my back.
Ketty pored over every centimetre of my skin while I took off my jeans and checked over my legs and Ed stood, blushing and trying not to look, in the corner.
‘It’s no good.’ Ketty sat back after a few minutes. ‘There’s nothing obvious. It’s hard to tell what’s a real scar from, say, an old scratch or a chickenpox mark or a freckle.’
‘It would show up on a scan,’ Ed said.
‘You mean like one of those body-scan machines?’ I said.
‘I think so,’ Ed said. ‘Anyway, it’s our best bet.’
‘But those machines are in hospitals,’ Ketty said with a sigh. ‘I don’t see how we can get access to one . . . unless we tell Geri about it?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘Not yet.’
I knew in my heart that, eventually, Geri would have to know, but I needed time to adjust to the idea that there was a piece of technology hidden under my skin before I let anyone start poking around trying to find it.
‘I don’t want Geri taking over,’ I said, trying to explain.
Ed nodded. Again I marvelled at how much he’d changed. He used to be Geri’s number one fan – a major suck-up in fact. But since Luz died and Geri hadn’t cared about going after the man responsible, I guess he’d realised that the people in charge of the world don’t always help the people who most need it. And he’d certainly got a lot less bothered about doing what authority figures told him.
‘Okay,’ Ketty said, ‘so what do we do?’
‘There’s another option,’ I explained. ‘Harry, the boy who rescued me from the Hub . . . he warned me about Milton and McKenna. His dad was a friend of my dad. We could go to him.’
‘How do you know you can trust him?’ Ed asked.
‘Harry’s dad has always known my dad left a copy of the Medusa code with me and he’s never come after me. I’m sure he would help. Harry gave me his . . . their number.’
As I spoke, I blushed, thinking of that moment when Harry had pressed his number into my hand and the relief I’d felt that I’d have a chance to see him again.
Ketty and Ed didn’t seem to notice.
Ed just nodded. ‘Call him.’
I made the call, waking a very sleepy-sounding Harry.
‘Hey, Red?’ I could hear the grin in his voice as he recognised mine.
‘Hey yourself.’ I explained everything that had happened since I last saw him. I felt a little self-conscious, what with Ketty and Ed being in the room, but once Harry had fully woken up, he sounded all businesslike, which made it easier
‘It’s the Medusa code,’ I said. ‘My dad didn’t leave it for me somewhere. He left it in me.’
Ed shook his head. ‘I don’t get it,’ he said. ‘What d’you mean?’
‘He implanted it,’ I said. ‘It’s not just “with” me. It’s literally somewhere inside my body.’
13: A discovery
I stared at Ketty, sitting on the bed opposite. She wrinkled her nose.
‘Are you sure the code is inside you?’ she said. ‘It doesn’t sound very likely.’
‘I think Dylan’s right.’ Ed paced across the room. ‘It fits with everything we know about William Fox. He was very secretive about his work. He left all his notes with his brother – I thought it was strange that he’d made a copy . . .’
‘But implanting scientific data in a baby?’ Ketty said. ‘That’s really weird.’
‘Not to my dad,’ I said. ‘He was a doctor, remember? He’d already implanted us with the Medusa gene.’
‘How would he have stored the information?’ Ketty said.
I shrugged. ‘Some kind of microchip under the skin, maybe? They do that with pets.’
‘And when they tag criminals, I think,’ Ed said.
‘How do we work out where in your body it is?’ Ketty said.
‘There must be a scar,’ I said, examining my arms.
‘Yeah, but it would be really tiny now,’ Ed said. ‘I mean you were only a baby when he did it, so—’
‘Help me look.’ I tore off my top and twisted round so they could examine my back.
Ketty pored over every centimetre of my skin while I took off my jeans and checked over my legs and Ed stood, blushing and trying not to look, in the corner.
‘It’s no good.’ Ketty sat back after a few minutes. ‘There’s nothing obvious. It’s hard to tell what’s a real scar from, say, an old scratch or a chickenpox mark or a freckle.’
‘It would show up on a scan,’ Ed said.
‘You mean like one of those body-scan machines?’ I said.
‘I think so,’ Ed said. ‘Anyway, it’s our best bet.’
‘But those machines are in hospitals,’ Ketty said with a sigh. ‘I don’t see how we can get access to one . . . unless we tell Geri about it?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘Not yet.’
I knew in my heart that, eventually, Geri would have to know, but I needed time to adjust to the idea that there was a piece of technology hidden under my skin before I let anyone start poking around trying to find it.
‘I don’t want Geri taking over,’ I said, trying to explain.
Ed nodded. Again I marvelled at how much he’d changed. He used to be Geri’s number one fan – a major suck-up in fact. But since Luz died and Geri hadn’t cared about going after the man responsible, I guess he’d realised that the people in charge of the world don’t always help the people who most need it. And he’d certainly got a lot less bothered about doing what authority figures told him.
‘Okay,’ Ketty said, ‘so what do we do?’
‘There’s another option,’ I explained. ‘Harry, the boy who rescued me from the Hub . . . he warned me about Milton and McKenna. His dad was a friend of my dad. We could go to him.’
‘How do you know you can trust him?’ Ed asked.
‘Harry’s dad has always known my dad left a copy of the Medusa code with me and he’s never come after me. I’m sure he would help. Harry gave me his . . . their number.’
As I spoke, I blushed, thinking of that moment when Harry had pressed his number into my hand and the relief I’d felt that I’d have a chance to see him again.
Ketty and Ed didn’t seem to notice.
Ed just nodded. ‘Call him.’
I made the call, waking a very sleepy-sounding Harry.
‘Hey, Red?’ I could hear the grin in his voice as he recognised mine.
‘Hey yourself.’ I explained everything that had happened since I last saw him. I felt a little self-conscious, what with Ketty and Ed being in the room, but once Harry had fully woken up, he sounded all businesslike, which made it easier
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