Author note: In case you don't recognize all of the characters:
Gabriel Vaughn (Josh Holloway, Intelligence)
Dr. Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer, House)
Del (NS-5 robot from I, Robot)
Alec McDowel (Jensen Ackles, Dark Angel)
Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier, Downton Abbey)
Cameron Phillips (Summer Glau, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)

Thanks to ok2016 for beta reading this fic!

"We have an opportunity to get a contract, but it won't happen unless you get here," my business partner had called to tell me that morning. "And before you ask, no, it can't be discussed over the phone."

That last bit of information intrigued me, so I put on a business suit and headed to the office, hoping it wasn't going to take long because I had plans for lunch in the city later that day.

"What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?" I asked as soon as I entered the conference room, skipping the introduction part.

The two men facing my business partner rose from their chairs. The one wearing a suit was in his fifties and had a pale complexion. The other one, taller, with short brown hair and wearing a brown leather jacket, looked rather fit, but the fine lines around his eyes betrayed his age, early forties at best.

"We have a piece of equipment that isn't working properly and needs some testing," the man wearing a suit said.

"We don't really do hardware," I told him.

"We believe it's a software problem," he said.

That we could do. "All right. Give the equipment to our team so they can have a look."

"The problem is," my partner said, shoving his hands in his pockets, "the boys took one look at the confidentiality policy and the mile long list of clauses and refused to sign it."

"Oh. May I see it?" I held my hand out. "And what is this about?"

The man is the suit pulled a stack of papers out of his pocket and offered them, saying, "You'll need to sign these first."

My hand dropped without taking them, and I frowned as I tried to figure out what was going on. Our firm wasn't big enough to handle governmental or military contracts so it couldn't be that. "Do you know?" I asked my partner. If he said it was all right…

He shook his head. "They didn't tell me either."

"Then why didn't you send them packing? We don't do stuff like that." I nodded at the papers left lying on the table.

"I thought you might know something."

"Why should I?" I asked, puzzled.

"Care to tell Miss Vision how you found out about our firm?" he addressed the man in the suit.

"We were sent this way by the Mayor," the man said.

Demetrius? This made no sense. He wouldn't risk getting my firm in trouble even if only because he wouldn't live to hear the end of it. "One second…" I murmured and fished the cell phone out of my purse. Since when are you sending clients my way without telling me about it? I texted him.

A text came back right away. Faulty clone.

I almost chuckled. Of course, Demetrius wasn't talking about himself, but despite his vanity and higher goals, he did have a soft spot for clones in need. He'd fought so hard to provide a good life for them in the city that it was almost easier to get a job if you were one. At least the employers could be sure they were healthy and good looking. This was what it had come to…

But this changed things. I narrowed my eyes at the visitors. The man who'd done all the talking so far seemed to be in charge, so I doubted it was about him. I turned my attention to the other man, who stood back, leaning against a cabinet. His green eyes peered back at me.

"You're a clone," I said, though there was a hint of a question in my voice.

"You don't recognize me? I'm hurt." A smile twisted his lips, making dimples appear in his cheeks, which was ridiculous for a man in his forties.

"Sorry, I don't have time to stay up to date with everything that's on TV these days," I replied. He wasn't bad looking, could be any actor on any series, but I had a feeling we might have a problem with his attitude.

"Yes, and you've never been a big fan of Lost," he said.

Yes, definitely an attitude problem. But how did he know that?

"Not to worry, I'm not him." He smirked. "I'm Gabriel Vaughn. I used to work for CyberCom."

CyberCom. Nope, it didn't ring any bell. But he had volunteered his name, and that was a progress. Sometimes with clones, you had to work like they were stray dogs, ready to bite you unless you showed them the right amount of kindness. Okay, let's do this.

"What is your problem, Mr. Vaughn? How may I help you?"

"Gabriel is fine."

I nodded. "Well?"

"I'm still thinking … I don't have all the data yet."

Hmm, still not making much sense. "Look, I have a house full of clones, and they're all living happily at home." More or less. "I'd never do anything to hurt you … if I can't help you, I'll try to find someone who can, and then you'll decide what you want to do."

He just stared at me.

"You either trust me or you don't."

He blinked and shook his head. "Sorry, this is really a pain … I'm done. She'll do."

"Great. I'll let you handle this then." My partner patted my shoulder and rushed out the door. Coward. He'd started flinching the moment I mentioned clones.

"Are you sure about this?" the man in the suit asked.

"Yeah … you can come and pick me up at noon. Miss Vision has a lunch scheduled at one."

The suit guy frowned, obviously not happy with the arrangement, but started for the door. "He'll tell you where to send the bill."

I waited for the door to close before asking, "So, are you a stalker or what?"

"You wouldn't be in a room alone with me if you believed that." Gabriel grinned and pulled a chair. "I have a problem. In canon, I had a chip in my brain that allowed me to connect to the information grid."

"Okay…"

"In this life, I still have the chip, but I don't have a maintenance team."

"And the chip is acting up," I said.

"Yes."

Now we were speaking my language. I pulled a chair and sat down, facing him. "Okay, tell me what happens."

"It's still doing what it's supposed to do, but the render module is activating by itself at random times. It's been doing it for about two weeks now."

"What does a render module do exactly?" I asked him.

"It paints a picture in my mind. A static image, visual only, but I can walk through it."

That sounded rather cool actually.

"I use it often in my work, and it helps a lot. But now…" Gabriel shook his head. "When I use it, I'm still in contact with the outside world. I can hear, feel, and communicate. But when it starts by itself, all the contact is cut off. And I can't stop it. I have to wait for the module to disconnect."

"I see how that can be a problem," I said. "How long does it last?"

"From a few seconds up to a minute or two. It's quite an inconvenience, especially if I happen to be walking in the street. I haven't driven a car in two weeks."

"Any idea what causes the glitch?"

"None." Gabriel shook his head. "I ran all possible cross references, and there's no common occurrence. It's random as far as I can tell."

"Hmm. Okay." I got up. "Let's step into my office and take a look."

"Not here."

"Excuse me?"

"There are seventeen security breaches in this building. I'm not opening myself to such a threat."

I grimaced. "That many?" I had only been aware of six, but I hadn't bothered with them because there was nothing in the building worth going through all that trouble. And no one would have dared to do it. Living with the Mayor had its perks. "Okay, then that leaves my place. I have enough hardware there to make it work, and if it doesn't, we can always go through Del or Cammie."

"Did you name your computers?" Gabriel asked with a smirk.

"Oh, so you don't know everything." I smirked back.

He blinked. "I stand corrected. They're your walking and talking pieces of hardware."

"Well, technically, I think you can pass for their grandfather. But I wouldn't mention that to Cammie. She might kick your ass."

"Roger that." He held the door open for me. "You'll have to drive."

"Of course." I rolled my eyes as I led the way to the parking lot in the back of the building. Now I was his driver too.