Part 9 (1/2)

THE SECOND ED SLAMMED HIS PARents' bedroom door shut, he began to have second thoughts. He had known this would happen. He shook his head and paced back and forth on his crutches while Gaia eased herself down on the foot of the bed, staring at him the way people stare at dangerous lunatics on the subway. He couldn't let this nervous energy go, though. He had to keep feeding off the adrenaline-no matter how sick it made him, no matter how manic he appeared. He couldn't put this off anymore. Now was the time. Before Gaia went out into the street, quite possibly never to return.

”What is going on?” Gaia asked impatiently. ”We all need to get ready, Ed.”

”I know,” Ed muttered. He kept pacing. The crutches dug into his armpits, chafing his skin. He hardly noticed. ”That's why I need to talk to you.”

”So talk,” Gaia replied.

Nice. Well, he could always count on her to be blunt, that was for d.a.m.n sure. ”The thing is this,” he began. Then he stopped. His face burned with the embarra.s.sment of a five-year-old. Never in his life had he felt like such a toddler. Not even when he was a toddler. The sooner he did it, the sooner it would be done.

”The thing is what?” Gaia pressed.

”This is the thing, I'm so worried about you going out there, Gaia.” He was still procrastinating, but he couldn't help himself. Aside from skating and cracking inappropriate jokes, procrastinating was one of his greatest talents. It was one of the few things he could always fall back on. ”We both know the stakes here. I mean, it's so dangerous, I'm having a lot of trouble letting you-”

”We've been over this, Ed,” she interrupted, but her tone was softer. ”You have to let me go, okay?”

”I know, I know,” he muttered. Finally he stopped pacing and turned to her. ”Look, I know you're going out there to save Sam, and I know you will. And I know what he means to you, and I know this is the wrong to time to say this, but I have to say it, Gaia. I have to. Because what if I don't have another chance to say it? I don't know if I'll see you again, but if I don't, I could never live with myself-”

”Ed, you're babbling,” Gaia interrupted. She smiled and arched an eyebrow.

”I love you,” Ed blurted.

Her smile vanished. Ed's pulse was racing. The sound of it filled his ears. She wasn't reacting. Her expression was utterly blank. Maybe he'd made a big mistake. But no; he'd done the right thing-no matter how painful the consequences. Even if she stood and bolted from the room (which seemed a very likely possibility), he'd freed himself. He'd exorcised the demon. The secret that had been festering inside him was finally out, whether it meant anything to her or not.

”I am in love with you,” he continued, suddenly consumed with a strange, brazen confidence. Maybe it was just that his inner torment had ended at last. ”Not puppy love, not platonic love, not any of that s.h.i.+t. I have been in love with you since the first day I saw you-since the first day you saw me in the chair, and you still treated me like you'd treat any other a.s.shole. And I love you even more now than I did then. And if I see you again after today, I'll love you more then than I do now.”

Gaia started shaking her head. Her face went visibly pale. Her lips parted, standing out in stark red relief against her white skin. ”I should...” The words were hoa.r.s.e, barely comprehensible. ”I should have...”

”What?” Ed pressed. The confidence subsided as quickly as it had appeared-and now anxiety threatened to strangle him. ”What?”

She stared into his eyes. ”I should have run away yesterday. But I couldn't. Because of you. I don't know what I'd do without you. I mean, I don't know what I'd be without you.” Now she was babbling. But her incoherent jumble of words was the sweetest music Ed had ever heard. ”I think that I...”

Ed suddenly realized that he had pitched forward on his crutches so much that he was in danger of falling over. He straightened, every single cell in his body poised to hear her finish that sentence-the sentence that could quite possibly make the impossible a reality, that would even make the danger that awaited them seem insignificant....

But then, something s.h.i.+fted behind her eyes.

”I think that I should get going,” she finished.

A long breath flowed from Ed's lungs. So. He'd been dreaming. Not that he was surprised. It was okay, though. Yes. As long as she could stay alive, Ed could live with everything else. The rest would work itself out later. He nodded and flashed her a quick smile, then turned and opened the bedroom door.

”I don't believe it,” he breathed.

Had he not been in grave danger, had Gaia not just broken his heart for the hundredth time...well, the sight that greeted his eyes would have seemed like some incredible, erotic fantasy come to life. Because standing there, in a small semi-circle in front of the door, were five Gaias. Five carbon copies of the same girl. Clones. The realization sent a terrible chill down his spine. Loki wanted clones, and now he was getting them. It was beyond perverse. There wasn't a word for it.

Gaia appeared at his side. ”You're sure you all want to do this?” she asked the FOHs as they slipped into army jackets and black sungla.s.ses.

”Beats going to cla.s.s,” Megan said.

The others giggled. Even Heather.

Ed swallowed. He'd explained the danger to all of them-as had Gaia-but he had a feeling they hadn't thought much past putting on the outfits. They saw it as more of a game. Which, in the long run, was probably a good thing.

” G.o.d, we kick a.s.s,” Carrie murmured.

Megan grinned at her. ”I am totally keeping these pants-”

”Okay, okay,” Gaia interrupted gently. ”Let's do it.” She hesitated, then took a moment to look each of them in the face. ”I can't thank you enough. You have no idea how much you're helping me. I-I was wrong about you. All of you.”

”What ever,” Megan said with a laugh. ”This is exciting! It's like, so glamorous or something. Like playing spies. I don't know. It's cool.”

Gaia nodded. Her smile grew pained.

Ed's body went numb. They really didn't have any idea what they were about to do, did they? But that was okay. Their ignorance would protect them. Or so Ed desperately prayed. No, at this point, they could only hope that Loki wouldn't hurt somebody who knew nothing. Why would he? It wouldn't do him any good. He watched as Heather handed Gaia the last army jacket and pair of black sungla.s.ses. Then Gaia strode forward and opened Ed's door.

”Gaia,” Ed began. ”I-”

”I'll be back,” she promised again.

And then she was gone.

TOM WAS CERTAIN THAT HE WAS dreaming. He must have fallen asleep while on watch in his car. He jerked upright, biting down hard on the inside of his cheek.

Telltale Clues The pain was real.

He could taste salty blood in his mouth. It sent a surge of joy through him.

Gaia was there: alive and well, not twenty feet away from his parked car. She was standing tall, her long blond hair cascading over her shoulders-dressed in those old clothes she loved so much: the tank top, the ratty army pants, the jacket.... She was real. All he needed to do was hustle her safely to his car.

He threw open the door, then froze. His joy turned to instant horror.

Walking out of Ed Fargo's lobby was Gaia. Another Gaia. Dressed the same way. Then came another. And then another. And then another... until there were six Gaias standing on the sidewalk in a loose huddle. All identical. All dressed in the exact same outfits, with the exact same sungla.s.ses. Tom's eyes narrowed, searching for subtle differences. To his relief, there were a few: the girls were of differing heights and body types. Some were taller than others. Some were more slender. So there was no way... there was no way his twin could have cloned her already. Cloning meant producing a newborn, not a fully developed human being.

Didn't it?

The answer made no difference. He thrust the thoughts aside; they were born of panic and irrationality. Tom had covered every possible base since he'd spoken with Ed. Loki could not have gotten to her yet. This was something else. It had to be something else. Something Gaia had concocted.

And then it hit him.

Decoys.

Of course. His daughter was absolutely brilliant. She was attempting to escape- Without any warning, the six Gaias dispersed. They sprinted toward the intersection and fanned off in six different directions. Instant chaos ensued. The other two black sedans peeled off the curb, nearly cras.h.i.+ng into each other with a loud screech. His colleagues were clearly just as baffled as he was.

Focus, Tom, focus!