A Step to Nowhere (28 page)
“All actions went according to the standards,” I whispered. “The video of the execution attached. Video. Of the execution.” There could have been a video of my execution that Samantha would enjoy watching during cold, winter days, while drinking champagne and eating caviar.
“That’s what we need.” Ray copied the card and also hid it in his pocket. “Let’s see what else we can find here.”
Steve went around the lottery building every ten minutes, without slowing down by the gate to minimize possible attention. Neither he, nor Dan, who was wearing black jacket, cap and sunglasses, worried that their car would stand out. Bristow took care of that, depriving everything and everyone of individuality. The road along the building was busy and they easily mixed with the caravan of identical vehicles. During this time, they exchanged only a couple of sentences.
One about Ron and one about Sam. How many people could the first one collect and could the second one get home? Steve didn’t like Dan much, he felt uneasy in his presence even though Samantha’s ex-right hand was a funny and easy going guy. His appearance made people tense. Huge frame, bald head, heavy gaze. You wanted to keep a dude like this on your side and Steve was glad they were fighting for the same cause.
In this period of silence, as in any other time when he happened to be alone, Steve thought about his girlfriend and how his life had changed because of a small mistake. He became a deadbeat. He had to leave his house and his parents. He didn’t have time to show
his
appreciation to Sam for agreeing to help him, but he hoped to do that later. He hoped that everything they had planned would work out and they could return to their normal lives. He then was going to meet Eve and … Actually, he didn’t know what would follow
and
. He didn’t know what he would do if he met her. He just wanted today’s operation to go well.
He was too young to remember details of the events that led to this nightmare. It was eleven years ago and he was eight. He remembered well how happy his mother was. He remembered strolling with her in the park, having picnics on the grass. He had a dog that he played with outside. He had friends and he spent time with them; running, fighting, having fun. He remembered when the days started getting gray like old cotton sheets. When everything he enjoyed started disappearing from his life. He remembered when his dog disappeared. One day his mother came home from a walk and said, not looking at her son, that Jenny ran away. Then the park visits stopped and so did the games with friends. The teachers at school became gloomy and his mother stopped smiling. Sometimes he noticed a smile on her face when he tried to joke, but it was just a colorless reminder of what it used to be. Later he adapted to the new reality, as if it had always been like that. He had gotten used to not trusting anyone, to smiling when his mood wasn’t near the smiling point or when he had a headache. Everyone acted like him. People who tried to be different or tried to resist, disappeared. Sometimes their names flitted in the news where they had been called criminals, but more often there was no information about them and no one discussed their disappearance, fearing to vanish one day themselves.
During his next drive around the lottery building, Steve noticed a black car, sliding through the gate. He recognized it from the television news and other media reports. The only model in the world, bulletproof, made by special order and belonging to the daughter of the most powerful man in the modern world, Samantha Bristow. The name of this Beauty brought fear to the people and so many of them wanted to kill her.
Steve slowed down to take a better look at the car.
“The bitch has arrived,” Dan hissed. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. “Ray, we’ve got a problem … Yes … Okay … Okay.
“What, what, what?” Steve squeezed the wheel.
“Wait. I need to call Ron.” Dan dialed another number. “Ron, it’s me. Bristow’s spawn arrived. How are you doing? … Got it. Pard! Lleh!... Okay, I’m waiting.”
“What?” Steve drove to the shopping plaza and parked by the vegetable store where instead of vegetables they’d been selling liquid, an aromatic mess.
“Ron called everyone he could reach and they are waiting for a signal. He’s going to call as soon as they arrive on the scene. They’re ready to storm at any time.”
“You think Ray would allow it now? When … Sam is in the building?”
“He said we should do nothing before he called.”
“It’s not going to work, right?” Steve could hardly keep himself from crying. He felt hopeless. Only Dan’s presence prevented his tears. He’d had such hopes for this operation. If it failed now, they would never change anything. The people were too scared, Bristow was too powerful. This attempt could become the last one if something happened to Ray. If anyone else tried to protest, it would not happen soon. It meant that he would never see his parents again. Never.
“Stop panicking,” Dan roared, and Steve inhaled air through his nose, exhaling through his mouth. Calm down. He wasn’t a girl to start crying. Calm down and hope for the best. “Waiting for a signal then.”
I saw as Ray’s facial expression changed when he’d answered the call. From the scraps of conversation, I understood that something had happened. Something we hadn’t foreseen.
“Your wife?” I whispered when Ray turned off the phone. “She’s here.”
“She was going to spend the whole day at the corporation and she would let me know about any changes in her schedule.” Ray’s eyes quickly scanned the room.
“What should we do?” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “She’ll know now that you betrayed her.”
“We have to get out of here.”
“No kidding. How are we going to leave?”
“We can’t do it if she’s downstairs. The only exit is there.”
“We can hide somewhere. In one of the offices.”
“Cameras are everywhere. We won’t be able to make a single step unnoticed.”
“What then? Just surrender? No way!” I found a gun in my bag that Ronald gave me this morning.
“You think I will let you shoot the way out?” Ray said. “It’s not happening.”
“No one asked you. Let’s go.” I headed for the door, but Ray grabbed my hand.
“No,” he said. “Ron’s not ready yet. We need a few minutes.”
“Do we have a few minutes?”
Ray snatched the phone/remote from the table and pushed one of the buttons.
“Yes, it’s Mr. Bancroft,” he said. “I just found out that my wife’s double has sneaked into the building … Yes. Don’t let her cross the security area … Skip the panic … I know you are not prepared. I’m calling for help right now … You see her? … Shut up and do what you’re supposed to do! I rely on you!”
“We have a few minutes,” I said when Ray put the remote down.
“If it works,” Ray said. “We’re going to call your father … Her father.”
My jaw dropped. I hadn’t seen my father since I was two and he was always young in my memory, like on a wedding picture from my mom’s album.
“Tell him your double wants to storm the building and you need his helicopter.”
“
I
should say it?”
“Take a deep breath.” Ray dialed a number and gave me the remote/phone. I needed time to prepare, but I only drew as much air as I could into my lungs and tried to convince myself that it wasn’t
my
father. It was a different person. The concept of a parallel universe and doubles hadn’t settled in my head just yet, in spite of the fact that I had met
my
double. In spite of everything that had happened during these two days. All of it still seemed like science fiction.
“Sammy,” the older male voice said in my ear. Ray could hear him too; the phone was put on the speaker. “What are you doing in the main office?”
“Dad,” I said, my voice trembling. Ray mimicked and gestured me through. It looked like he wanted to show me that I was a daddy’s girl: spoiled and smarmy. “We have a critical situation here.”
“What else?” the voice roared. “Are you okay? Who is it now? Hlifian? Those zacry people are not dead yet?”
“I think it’s them, Dad.” It didn’t matter that my voice was shaking. It actually sounded more credible. “My … my stupid double! She’s with them! I think
they
saved her yesterday and now they are here, in the building! Can you believe it, Daddy? She had guts to get in here!”
“It cannot be!” the voice hollered. “I’ll throw everybody in onis! What is going on? Tell me!”
“You didn’t let me explain!”
Ray showed me his two thumbs up. I copied my copy believably.
“Security just called me from downstairs and reported that she arrived with her jackals. She’s in the lobby already. They’re holding her, but I don’t know how long they can last. We are locked in my office!”
“I am surrounded by idiots! No one could predict it? Stop it from happening? Of course they would use her to get inside.”
“I don’t know! Daddy, I need help now. Can you send your helicopter for me? I don’t want to be under fire. I want to get out of here!”
“I’ll organize it immediately. Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you back. Is your spouse with you?”
“I’m here Mr. Bristow.”
“Good. Take care of her.”
The connection disconnected and I returned the phone to Ray.
“What now?
“Now we are waiting.”
“She may also call her father.”
“She’ll do it, but we have no choice.”
The phone/remote rang. Ray looked at the lighted screen and transferred it to me.
“Security. Answer.”
I pressed the green button, looking at Ray.
“Listening. What’s going on?”
“Ms. Bancroft. She’s here … The woman who looks like you. She demands that we let her go inside.”
“I called my father and he’s sending help. You do everything possible to not
let her
in! We need time. How many people are there with her?”
“One.”
“Just one? Stop panicking before I fire you! Don’t let her fool you. Don’t talk to her.”
“Understood.”
“I rely on your loyal service. Wait for help. I’ll call you soon. Don’t do anything without my orders.” I turned the phone off and threw it on the table. My heart was beating in my throat.
“They stopped her; great,” Ray said.
“They mistook her for me.”
“It’s great, great. Let’s hope your father sent the helicopter. Also let’s hope she will not convince him that you’re the imposter.”
“
Her
father.”
“Her father,” Ray agreed. He walked around the room, looked out the window. “Damn! I couldn’t stop it! I want you to believe me!” He looked into my eyes, approaching me so closely it appeared he wanted to kiss me. I took a step back. It wasn’t my Ray and the fact that I didn’t mind his kiss just reminded me that I was an idiot. “Then, at your planet, they were going to kill you. Here or there. They were ready to take a risk and liquidate you because you looked dangerous to them. Samantha didn’t want to wait. Do you understand? I couldn’t do anything!”
“Okay, I understand, don’t yell. It’s done already.” I sat down in the chair and put the gun on my knees. Could I use it if I had to? I could. Yes, I could. I turned to Ray. He frowned, gazing at me. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Okay. We need to transfer the stuff we’ve found.”
We found more recordings from the controller and one of them almost made Ray faint. There were videos of interrogations. Suspects of potential crimes, such as the organization of a revolution, storms, supporting of Hlifian and more, were questioned verbally and tortured as in the middle ages. I couldn’t watch it. If this landed in the hands of the parliament, Bristow wouldn’t enjoy his power much longer.
Ray walked from one corner of the room to another. “We don’t have a lot of people, but they are loyal. Ronald will find a way to give these recordings to the right party. He can do it; he’s the best. Even Samantha knows his name. He’s helped so many irnaners that his name has become denominative.”
“Maybe soon you won’t have any irnaners. Maybe this nightmare will stop.”
“I hope. Sam, you don’t understand what you have done … for all of us.”
“I know. You owe me, even though I didn’t do it for you.”
Ray smiled.
“You didn’t lose your sense of humor. I like it.
“You didn’t see me in my glory. What are we going to do if they get to us?”
“It’s not going to happen.”
Ray checked the memory sticks in his pockets, took the phone/remote, and approached the window.
“The exit to the landing site is in Bristow’s office, but we can get there through the window.” He pressed a button and the window panel drew up. Cold wind burst from the outside. “Ladies first.”
I returned the gun to my small purse, went to the window, and climbed through to the other side, holding onto Ray’s shoulder with one hand, while keeping my skirt in place with the other. I had to take off my heels and go barefoot again.
