Dedicated to Tempest S, who revived my determination to keep writing with a review and reminding me that there is a serious point that still needs to come in.
†~†~†
Even though Alexandra was happily ensconced in her husband's arms there was no guarantee that she would stay there. The Institute was still searching for her, and would probably continue to until something else came up. Of course, Alexandra and Mat could keep running as long as they needed to, since their lifespans were mind-bogglingly long, something that Lisa had been surprised to learn. Apparently there was no record of any Methuselah dieing of old age in the memory of their race. That wasn't to say that they weren't killed by accidents, sickness, or even suicide, but they didn't die of old age.
Lisa took another sip of the divine tea that Mat had brewed. It really was a masterpiece as far as tea went.
Jac's question broke the silence. "What are we going to do now?"
"You don't have to worry about Alexandra and me," Mat said, "but somehow I don't think you were asking about us."
"I wasn't." At the sharpness in his tone Lisa put a warning hand on his wrist.
"Lisa—"
Alexandra broke in. "Jac has every right to be worried. What you have done is not something that will be easily forgiven. Even if the Institute stops chasing us it is highly unlikely that you will ever be able to work in any scientific field again."
When she heard those words her skin prickled sharply and her middle felt hollow. She had known the consequences of her actions, but understanding them and living them were two different things. Her job had been her life since she was a pre-teen trying to decide between general biology and genetics. It was… had been, a part of who she was.
"However, that does not mean that you don't have to have a future. We are quite accomplished at disappearing; it wouldn't be hard to do the same for you."
Her response was somewhat broken by the shock of the realizations that she had been unconsciously trying to avoid. "I assume that we… We would be starting over in another place, with new names and identities. Would we ever be allowed to contact any of our old friends or family?"
Mat looked her in the eye and said, "That would depend on the risk you are willing to take. The safest thing, of course, would be if you cut off all contact and pretended that you never were the people you are now. We," he waved his hand to indicate himself and his wife, "know exactly how hard that can be. Some contact doesn't pose a huge risk, but anything more than a few emails exchanged increases the chances of being found exponentially."
Lisa swallowed hard. "All right. I can accept that, but what about my family? I can't expect them to simply pull up their roots and come with me. My sons have lives and important people of their own; I can't expect them to simply leave all that behind because of one soft-hearted old woman."
Jac started to say something but decided against it, instead taking another gulp from his mug.
The silence in the small kitchen was palatable and grew moment by moment.
After a long moment Mat spoke. "We know someone who could fake identification for you, or, with enough luck and money, he could even fake your death. It wouldn't be easy but such things are common enough in our world."
"I-I would have to talk this over with Jac at least. Give me one day, please?"
"We can't wait that long, but we can afford an hour or two."
Lisa barely contained the desperate sob that tried to escape. She composed herself with several deep breaths; until she was sure she wouldn't burst into tears.
Mat nudged Alexandra's arm and they both quietly removed themselves from the room.
Once she was sure that she was calm enough, (at least externally) she said, "What do you think? It seems that there is a double edged sword hidden in this whole situation."
"What do you think? It's your life we're talking about."
"On one hand, I don't go into hiding. At best I am incarcerated for the rest of my life. At worst, I am secretly killed and forgotten; after they've gotten the information about Alexandra's whereabouts of course. Option two; I go into hiding, becoming a virtual hermit, avoiding familiar relationships at all costs. Three, I change my name, move away, but stay in contact through posts in a forum or something… possibly coded messages or something. Four, fake my death, and risk slipping up and exposing myself. Those are the four options I see."
"There is a fifth."
"What is that?"
"If we bring down the Institute—"
"NO! I will not put you in any more danger than you are already in, and besides, do have any idea how powerfu—"
"It wasn't just luck and good planning that brought us through this. I've seen how your people work, there was something else that kept them busy, and no matter how good of a scientist you are, there is no way you have enough influence to send all the security guards elsewhere while we made off with their prized test subject."
Lisa was silent, both awed by her husbands intelligence and attention to detail… and worried, because she knew that it would be every hard for her to dissuade him now.
†
She was desperate. She was beyond desperate, otherwise there was NO WAY that she would be giving even a moment's thought to this idiocy.
But she was. And she was thinking about it. No. No. No way in hell, no.
But so tempting.
Gck.
†
"I cannot believe I let you talk me into this." She hissed from the passenger's seat.
"But you did, and we're here. Hurry up or you'll be seen."
Lisa grumbled some more but heaved herself out of the car.
Once inside the internet café, one equipped with holograms, of course, she paid the guy at the register for one in a private room.
Once the door was safely locked, Lisa switched on the interference-generator that she had picked up on the way to jam any signals from bugs. It couldn't knock out the security camera or anything connected with wires, but hopefully it would be enough.
She dialed Jacob and prayed that he would pick up.
He did, and after a minimal pause the static cleared and she was looking, once again, at his strangely beguiling face.
"Hello, long time no see. How's life?"
Somehow he managed to change his expression from polite to dead bored without twitching an eyelash. "What do you want? You wouldn't have contacted me unless there was something that you needed and you were either not resourceful enough, in which case I will ignore you, or you need something that only I can provide, in which case I might listen."
Who put hot sauce on his washcloth this morning? Yeesh. "I need to bring down the Institute."
Jacob's eyes widened slightly at that. "And why should I help you? They have been my backers for as long as I have been in this position and before."
"Was I mistaken then, when I saw the glee in your eyes those weeks ago when we finalized our plans to release Alexandra? You wanted to cause chaos in the Institute; you wanted to upset the structure as much as you could, and I will be very surprised if you don't want to cause further upset now.
"I don't really give a damn about your reasons, but I have my own for wanting that place in havoc. So, will you consider it?"
Jacob had definitely been having a bad day, because his expression changed into a devious smirk. "What do you have in mind?"
Deal with the Devil… Lisa pushed aside the whispers of her subconscious. "Make sure that they are in too much chaos to chase after me or Alexandra for as long as it takes for us to disappear. And changing the consistency of the building from stone to gravel doesn't sound too bad either."
Jacob stood silently for several minutes before replying. "Under the condition that you tell me everything that you know about Alexandra, I will give you my help."
Lisa was surprised. She had learned nothing new about her friend, but she wasn't going to tell him that. "Agreed."
"Since we have settled on our bargain, what is your plan of attack?"
***End Chapter 14***
Thank you again, Tempest, for your review and I hope you decide to keep reading despite my atrocious updating habits.
I am still agonizing over the story here since it seems that both my serious writer's blocks seem to have crumbled at the same time, which is a blessing wrapped in a curse since I keep mixing them up and writing this over there and vice versa. *facepalms* Oh well.
Sorry about the short chapter, I wanted to let you guys know I am still alive, also, I apologize for the cliffie, a little. Very little. (I'm ebil, what can I say?)