Betrayed Read Online Free

on, making brief eye contact with each of the dimly lit doctors on the team, “but perhaps now you can all see why I have been so demanding. Phobosan II is an unequivocal victory, and for that, I commend you all. I only wish you could experience its remarkable properties firsthand, as I have.”
    â€œSir, if I might,” Dr. Glenn interjected, the smile still pasted across his face. “I am a bit concerned about your decision to volunteer yourself as the test subject for the second generation. We really haven’t been able to fully test the drug, and I’d like to—”
    â€œOh, I appreciate your caution, Dr. Glenn,” Loki interrupted, “but I assure you, you are selling yourself short.” He stood up out of his tattered black leather chair and moved closer to the doctor, staring into his eyes with sharp, pointed confidence. “Look at me, Doctor. I think I’m far from a ‘test subject.’ The testing stage is clearly over. No kinks, no side effects, not even any mild side effects. Unless, of course, you consider supreme confidence and total clarity of mind side effects. I’m not even sure you understand how profound a victory this is. We’ve done so much more than just concoct a fearless serum here.”
    â€œWell, sir, I know that right now you may be feeling quite—”
    â€œDoctor, I assure you, you have no idea what I am feeling right now. You might understand if you or your staff had even a fraction of my courage and were willing to take the injection, but I suppose that’s the irony, isn’t it? You’re all too afraid to be fearless.”
    Loki turned from the doctor and took a few steps back from the group to address them more officially. “Now, enough of the congratulations,” he announced. “Let me move on to apologies. Because I owe one to each of you.”
    Loki watched as the faces before him took on varying degrees of confusion. Looking particularly baffled were the two matching faces to his right—the faces of QR1 and QR2—the two remaining genetic clones of Josh Kendall. Of course, their DNA was now the only thing that remained of Josh, as Loki had been forced to terminate the real Kendall. The boy’s feelings for Heather Gannis had led to him to be quite stupidly disloyal, and Loki had been left with no choice but to eliminate him. Normally, having to look at these two identical images of Josh’s face would only frustrate Loki further, but with phobosan II coursing through his veins, nothing so trivial was going to faze him.
    â€œApologies?” QR1 asked with that same insistent tone that had begun to make Josh such a nuisance. “Apologies for what?” Apparently their faces weren’t the only things that were identical. It seemed one could clone an attitude as well.
    But they did have every right to be confused. Loki knew that his staff wasn’t at all accustomed to hearing him apologize. After all, he had always made it quite clear that they were the ones making all the mistakes. But now he had come to realize a certain ignorance in that perception, and he felt compelled to set the record straight.
    â€œWell, for a couple of things, actually,” Loki replied. “First of all, I’d like to apologize for the rather shoddy surroundings.” He opened his arms slightly and referenced the grayish-white walls and the dark, creaky floors of the five-story Brooklyn brownstone. He’d left all the splintered wooden floors unfinished and put in no furniture other than a few absolutely necessary secondhand items.
    â€œI know these are not the kinds of accoutrements you are used to, but I assure you, this is all we’re going to need. We’re not going to be here for very long, and when we leave, that is when we’re going to want to dispose of the furniture and clean the floors of evidence.”
    A few members of Dr. Glenn’s team averted their eyes. The word