Chapter 15

The sheriff approached the car cautiously, laid down on the curb, and stared up under it. "Mother of God!" he cried. He went to key his microphone then thought better of it. "Barney!" he called, "Tell dispatch to call the state bomb people. I'm quite sure we have a device."
The sheriff stayed there a few minutes more then got up. Approaching Phil he remarked, "I think you'd better order another vehicle. This one's going to be here a while. Bailiffs clear the courthouse! Get everybody out! I can only see two sticks. I don't know how much damage that will do. But I don't want to take any chances. Let's keep everybody a good distance away."
As the judge was being ushered from his office his secretary came out. "A reply to the fax you sent," she announced, with a grimace. "There was only one word printed in very big letters on the sheet of paper.."NO!""
The sheriff took Phil to the diner while they waited. A resort van arrived. Mr. Hatfield climbed out, waited for Phil and the driver to climb in, shut the door and motioned to the driver to leave. He came up to the sheriff. "Will I be able to take the other vehicle after the device has been removed?" he asked.
"I don't see why not!" the sheriff assured. "We've got a half an hour though, before the state police boys get here. Cup of coffee? Cup of tea? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"Nothing too much to discuss," Hatfield remarked, as they headed into the diner. "Everyone is very pleased with Phil's choice."
"But she's so young!" the sheriff objected.
"She's got a sixteen year old body," Hatfield answered, "but the mind of a woman three times her age, and every desire that a mature woman has. Perhaps it is a side effect of her rapid learning. There's something I should tell you," Hatfield continued after they'd got in the booth. "Phil's parents were involved in a secret government project. Phil is not actually their child. She's the clone of a long dead scientist of some renown. But somehow, when they cloned her she got a Y chromosome instead of the one she was supposed to get. They were at a total loss to understand what happened. They put in a male cell and should have producedd a male child. Instead they got a girl. This happened three more times. They wanted to dispose of the mistakes, but the mothers said if they tried they'd raise old holy hell and they had enough evidence to blow the project wide open. But as long as the government let the mothers have the children and raise them they wouldn't release any information. Considering cloning was quite illegal at the time the government conceded.
Don't get me wrong, Phil has no male tendencies, whatsoever, as one woman who tried to...um...introduce her to her type of delight found out! She needs to release her sexual desires. You will be a tremendous stabilizing fact in her life which she needs. But it is also only right for you to know. I will gladly sign the consent papers."
The sheriff continued to stare. "H-how can that happen?" he asked. "How can you put in a male cell and get a female child?"
Hatfield stared into his tea. "You can't!" he answered. "It's physically impossible! But Phil is not a clone of her mother. She has totally different DNA."
"Where are the other three?" the sheriff asked.
"The other three girls who are highly intelligent but nowhere near Phil's level, are still at the school. They're taking advanced courses. One of the four boys is also at the school, who's almost at Phil's level. The other three are scattered about The United States, and have had plastic surgery so they don't quite resemble each other as much as they used to."
"What were these children going to be used for?" the sheriff asked.
"They were going to be trained to be Christian leaders. The government was in hopes of using their great intelligence to stop The Spiritist Movement, to start a counter Christian movement led by children scattered about the country that would eclipse the Spiritist Teachings."
"Who in the hell could have come up with an idiot idea like that?" the sheriff muttered. Mr. Hatfield sat down his cup. "I did," he sighed, "before I realized I was on the wrong side." Now, instead of working against the children I find myself working WITH them. And NEVER in my life was I so sure that I am doing the right thing! The asses would've done it! They'd have killed the babies to cover up their blunder, and their illegal action. Eight beautiful babies! I couldn't do it! I gave the mothers the documents and sent a copy to The First Speaker. A couple of months later I was out of work, no one would touch me. I got a call from North Dakota saying there was a lot of engineering projects that they needed expert help on. They offered a good salary and moving expenses A month later I took the bread and the wine with the rest of my family, and here we are, many years later!"
The sheriff stared out the window. "Would you be offended, sir," he remarked, "if I were to say to you you have my deepest admiration? There are few men like you sir and I wish there were a lot more. My job could be far less difficult."
Hatfield smiled. "I would not be offended at all!" he assured, "As a matter of fact I am honored. Thank you!"
They sat in silence until the bomb crew arrived, then went out to watch them work. About an hour later their leader walked up holding the device.

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