Part 21 (2/2)
”It seems likely they would, yeah.”
”So she could be from Ukraine, I thought, you know, where they had that big nuke plant blow up whenever it was. It was near some city or something, but Kiev's the capital, so I figured she could have been born there.”
”Your knowledge of foreign affairs is astounding,” I said. ”Okay, that makes sense. Sophia Chekov she is. But you'd better look online and see if you can find some CDs for learning Ukranian. It's not the same as Russian, and she'd better know a few words of the lingo, just the things she would have learned as a little kid.”
”I'll do that for sure.”
”Good. One last thing. You've got to break up with Lisa, the one here I mean. Tonight.”
A long paused followed, then a deep pitiful sigh.
”You're right,” Michael said. ”It would only be, like, fair.”
Later that evening, when Ari was muttering in Hebrew over his laptop as he filed some sort of report-and no, I didn't ask what or to where-I logged onto TranceWeb to pick up my e-mail. I'd set my computer desk up in a corner of the living room, where there was a phone jack for the scrambled DSL. NumbersGrrl, our expert in alternate world theory, had answered my queries. I read that first. She told me that every cell in the human body is replaced roughly every seven years. If Lisa-Sophie stayed here for that many years, eating our food and drinking our water, her substance would, as NumbersGrrl put it, ”come into conformity” with the matter of our world level.
It looked like Walking Stewart was right about those atoms, after all. To be on the safe side, however, she suggested that we try not to let the two Lisas meet.
”Folklore,” the e-mail continued, ”says that if you meet your doppelganger, you'll disappear, and it'll take over your life. Or maybe you'll merge into one person, or maybe you'll both disappear, but it doesn't sound good no matter which. It could just be bulls.h.i.+t-or maybe it's some old kernel of truth.”
I printed out the information for Michael, though of course I removed all the headers and routing information first. Despite all the firewalls on my system and his, I didn't feel safe in sending the message through ordinary e-mail.
I also received a short note from Y, saying that he needed more information before he could set about getting Sophia papers. I sent him her new name and the data on the baptismal certificate. The object of all this activity, Michael, called me later to report that he'd called the our-world Lisa and done the breakup.
”It was gross,” he said. ”She cried.”
”I guess she really liked you. Did she want to know why?”
”Yeah. I told her I h.e.l.la liked her, but that this old girlfriend of mine, she'd moved away, y'know? But now she was back in town.”
”You'd better work out a good story with Sophie.”
”I will, yeah. I just sent her a message by critter mail.”
”Okay. We'll talk more later. Go do your homework.”
Michael laughed and signed off.
Ari wandered into the living room just as I got up from my computer chair to stretch my back. He caught me by the shoulders and kissed me. I reached up and ran my hand through his hair. I loved the way the curls twined around my fingers.
”You look happy tonight,” I said.
”True.” He smiled at me. ”You forgave me for being what I am. I'd love you forever for that alone, even without the tremendous s.e.x.”
I could only stare at him. If I had tried to speak, I would have stammered.
”No need to say anything,” he said. ”But I wanted you to know why I love you.”
He let me go, then turned and walked off down the hall.
Watch it, O'Grady! I told myself. You're melting again. Be careful, or you'll end up really falling for this guy. He's got issues, Mira had said at Kathleen's party. So he did, and so did I, and I could see an emotional train wreck in my future if they ever met head-on.
CHAPTER 10.
I SUPPOSE I FELT NERVOUS ABOUT MEETING CALEB for lunch. I woke up too early on Sat.u.r.day, at any rate, and staggered into the kitchen to make coffee. I'd just poured myself a cup when my cell phone rang. I yelped and nearly spilled the coffee. On the fifth ring I answered it.
”Hey, Nola? It's me, Mike.”
I sighed in relief. ”You're up early for a weekend.”
”Yeah, Or-Something just turned up. It barfed a letter onto my bed. I guess I shouldn't have given it all that strawberry ice cream last night. The barf looked just like-”
”I don't want to know,” I said. ”What was in the letter? Could you read it?”
”Yeah. It was from Sophie. She's kind of upset. Jeez, I hope she can get away after all this.”
”You hope? What do you mean, you hope?”
”Well, she's got to lie to Jose. He's not going to want to let her go. She's in his stable. So I was wondering, like, if you and Ari could come over, when it's time to fetch her, you know? Because if Ari's there with a gun or something, then Jose won't cause trouble.”
”Uh, Mike, just how much trouble are you expecting?”
”Maybe none. I dunno.”
”I thought you said Jose was cool.”
”He is, but he's had a hard life. Seriously. Y'know?”
I did know, which is why the obvious occurred to me. ”Have you thought about buying her from Jose? Trading him the kind of goods the gang can use.”
Silence hummed on the phone for a couple of seconds, before Michael said, ”Hey, that might work! But I don't have a lot of cash to buy stuff with.”
I groaned, but I'd gotten myself into this, and Ari did have a fabulous expense account from his deep cover agency. I figured he could come up with the whole rent if I spent too much of my salary to pay my share. ”I'll front you the money,” I said.
”Cool! Then I can go over tonight and get Sophie to calm down. She's, like, h.e.l.la worried.”
”About these nighttime visits, bro, the ones in the middle of the week. How are you staying awake in school?”
”I've got study hall first period, and I sit way in the back.”
I took this as meaning that he slept for an hour instead of studying. I decided I wouldn't complain about something so trivial, considering everything else my sneaky little junior agent had going on.
”I'll be over tomorrow after ma.s.s,” Michael went on. ”Ari's going to teach me how to shoot.”
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