Three days later and one day before the scheduled appointment, Gabriel showed up at the mall while I was shopping for a gift for a friend's birthday. A spring exhibition filled the main hall on the ground floor, and several people walked around the stands that sold artisanal objects.
"I need you to come with me," he said, materializing near me out of nowhere.
He even grinned, so I replied playfully, "You're cute, but you're not that cute."
"On any other day, I might be tempted to take it as a challenge to prove you otherwise, but there's no time. Come on." He took me by the arm and nodded for me to follow him. "This is an emergency. I'm serious."
"Oh. O-kay. Just let me—" I glanced back to where Preston and Robbins were bargaining with a vendor over some leather belts.
"Leave them."
I didn't like the sound of that, but Gabriel was already pulling me towards the elevator and from there to the underground parking, bags still in hand and all.
"Where are we going?" I asked when we got to his car, and he opened the door.
He waited for me to get into the passenger seat first. "I'm kidnapping you," he said and slammed the door.
I inhaled sharply, and after a second of being stunned, I reached for my cell phone.
"Don't bother. I'm blocking your phone." He got into the car on the other side and turned on the engine.
"But … why?" I stared at him like he'd grown a second head.
"I have orders. In my head. I can't not obey them. Believe me, I tried. I don't want to do this. But I can't stop." He gave me a desperate glance from the corner of his eye while we left the parking lot. "So don't try anything. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't guarantee I won't if you force me to."
"Okay," I whispered, my heart racing several miles per second.
He didn't say another word until the car pulled up in front of Astoria Hotel.
"Are you kidding me? I can't check in a hotel with you. The press will know it before we reach the room!"
"The security cameras aren't working, and I'm monitoring all communications." He pulled me out of the car and dragged me inside. "No one will know we're here."
Wonderful. I gulped and struggled to keep up with his long strides while still holding onto my bags.
He already had a key card and led me straight to the room.
I dropped the bags on the king size bed and took off my coat. "Now what?"
"We wait," he muttered, pacing the room.
"For what?"
"Orders."
"Gabriel, what is going on?"
"I don't know!" He ran both hands through his hair in frustration. "I woke up this morning, and all I could think of ever since is that I have to do this." He shook his head, disbelief written clearly on his anguished face.
"Is the chip acting up again?" I took a step in his direction, not quite daring to get too close.
"No, I don't think so. It feels different…"
"Different how?" I took another step.
"It feels …" He inhaled deeply. "It feels like the instructions have always been there. They were just waiting for the right time to be run."
So it was a hit. On me. I found that hard to believe. "Come on, I'm not that important," I said in a weak voice. "Who would want to do that? The people who you work for? Those who cloned you? Who?"
Gabriel raised his shoulders. "I don't know." He paced some more.
"Okay, we'll wait then," I murmured and sat on the bed.
But that wouldn't do. I couldn't wait for him to receive more orders and see if he was going to kill me or not. I had to assume the worst. I fiddled with my bags and pulled out a big cardboard box. I opened it and extracted a heavy crystal vase.
"I think I heard it being hit while in the car." I moved closer to the window and held the vase up as if to inspect it for cracks.
A ray of sunshine got caught in the glass pattern and reflected in Gabriel's eye. He blinked, momentarily blinded, and that was when I acted. I hit him in the head with the vase. The crystal broke, cutting my hands, but the blow was strong enough to make him lose consciousness. He fell over me, and we landed on the thick carpet, his face buried in my stomach and his arms squeezing my waist so tight I could barely breathe.
After taking a moment for my head to clear and estimate the damage caused by the fall, luckily no broken bones, I checked on Gabriel. "Hey … Gabriel?" I shook him, but I got no reaction in return and his grip didn't relax one bit. I touched his head and found a lot of blood on a side. He was out cold.
I groaned and considered my options. I couldn't move. He was too heavy for me to push him off even if he weren't holding onto me so tightly. I could have screamed, but I didn't want to get the police or the press involved. Still, I needed help before Gabriel came back to his senses. He wasn't going to be pleased when he did, if his brain still functioned at all. There was a lot of blood soaking his sweater and my blouse, and it hadn't came from the minor cuts on my hands.
Stretching to the left, I reached for my coat, smearing blood on the white fabric in the process, and I dragged it off the bed and to me until I managed to get the cell phone out of the pocket. With shaky fingers, wiped clean on Gabriel's back so I wouldn't dirty the screen, I turned it on. The signal was strong, but no calls passed through. Damn.
I lay back on the carpet and stared at the ceiling. What else could I do? Several seconds passed before I gathered the courage to type on the screen. Gabriel, are you there?
My heart beat painfully loud while I waited.
Yes. I'm here. What took you so long?
I stared at the message not knowing what to say. I couldn't get to the phone. You're too heavy.
Sorry. I can't move. I'm locked in the render module. I don't know how long I can keep it on. The chip knows it malfunctions so we might get away with it for a while.
Sorry about the head.
It was a good call. Is that blood yours or mine?
Both I think.
Did the vase break?
Yes.
Damn. Is there anything else you can use to stop me if I wake up?
I looked around. Nothing I can get to.
And you're not armed.
No. That thought alone made me sick to my stomach. Gabriel, let me send a message. I promise nothing will happen to you. We can help you.
You have no idea what's in my head.
It doesn't mean we can't try to figure it out.
A long pause.
Gabriel, please. We can't lay on the floor forever.
Another pause, and then, Do whatever you need to stop me.
I considered it, and in the end, I texted Chase. Hotel Astoria. Room 305. Hurry! I pressed send.
Thank you. Now we wait.
If you can't fix it, I want you to remove the chip. This isn't who I am.
I know.
Then we're clear?
Yes.
Promise?
I promise, I murmured the words and ran my fingers through his hair on the side where there was no blood.