21 Chapter 19 – Zack – Iteration 144 (2/2)
”I know where they are.”
Her back stiffened. ”You were there? How did you escape?”
”Someone named Ingrid helped me out.”
”Ingrid? Are you sure it was her? Maybe I'll go easy on her for that.”
”Ingrid was a man.”
”Well, she was a woman the first time we met her,” Quebec said.
”I am not Hess.”
In a sudden motion, Quebec swiped her laptop from the table, sending it crashing to the floor. ”You're not Hess? Then why does everyone think you are? Do you think we're stupid?” Her voice grew shriller. ”There are a million different ways for us to identify each other. We know. So please stop the act. Please.”
”I'm sorry, Quebec.” Zack closed his eyes to block out her pain. ”Was he your husband?”
”Husband?” She shook her head. ”Never my husband. Never. Marriage is what these people do to ease their insecurities. They try to bind love in a contract. We never needed that. You chose me world by world, moment by moment, again and again. We've spent lifetimes together. I don't even know who I am without you.” Quebec wrestled herself back under control. ”Who else is with them?”
”Erik. A guy named Drake. I heard them mention someone named Griff, but I never met him.”
”So Erik, Drake, Griff, Ingrid, and Kerzon. I might be able to handle the five of them.”
”I don't think that's a good idea,” he said. ”You're not exactly Rambo.”
”I have enough muscles to pull a trigger. It takes over five minutes to regenerate after a death. If I can surprise them, then my only trouble will be restraining the bodies before they wake up.”
”They were going to bury me in the ground. What if they do that to you? It would be a lot worse than getting on an elevator. And Erik has a few kinks that almost make you want to go underground.” Zack raised his chin. ”I won't tell you where they are unless you promise not to go after them.”
She bent to retrieve her laptop. ”I can find them without you.”
”They're not where you think they are.”
”Then I go back to your trailer and wait for them to pick up their truck.”
”Enough people have been hurt already,” Zack said.
”Your wife?”
”Her name's Lacey. Erik threatened to cut the baby out of her.”
Quebec looked at him. ”Do you love her?”
”I like her most of the time.”
”The baby isn't yours. Observers are sterile.”
Zack shrugged. ”She was pregnant before I met her. What does it matter which body made the baby? Lacey needed someone. Her baby will need someone. Why shouldn't I do something useful while I'm stuck here?”
The hint of a smile played at the corner of her lips. ”What do you see when you look at these people? Do you dream of a better world for them?”
”They make such a mess of their lives,” Zack said. ”But they're happy with it. I don't understand that. I wish I could, but I can't.”
Quebec nodded, serious again. ”Sometimes happiness seems impossible.”
”Promise me you won't go after them.”
”Show me where they are and I promise to stay away.”