– Chapter Six –
Aila didn't sleep for the rest of the night, instead passing time by reading and even logging onto Katja's laptop (after asking permission from the German woman when she'd gotten up to go to the bathroom) to look over news articles.
She decided to finally look up the news concerning the incident back home, and sighed to see the police weren't sure if she was a killer or a kidnap victim at first. They'd later decided Aila was a murderer after apparently recovering DNA from skin under Joshua's nails.
Aila's DNA.
Wait a minute.
Aila reread the paragraph several times before the information really sank in. If the DNA matched hers, then that could mean...
"Holy bloody hell on friggin' FIRE!" Aila gasped, maybe a bit too loudly. She threw her hand over her mouth.
"Sup, Aila?" Leigh groaned sleepily. She rolled over to peer at the doctor from underneath her blankets, having been awake for the last half an hour, but still too sleepy to get up or talk to anyone until now.
The hairdresser reached for the phone lying on the bedside cabinet, but knocked it to the floor when she misjudged its position. "Fuck's sake," she whispered, reaching down to pick it up. The time on it showed it was almost seven in the morning. "Oi, haven't you slept?" she asked Aila warily.
"Mmm, no, but don't worry," Aila said, glancing over at Leigh before looking back to her laptop. "I just read something you guys will wanna hear about when you're more awake..." she added. She was more than a little troubled as she considered the new theory; a theory possibly more disturbing than any other they'd come up with so far.
Leigh rubbed her eyes, sat up straight, stretched her arms, and yawned. "I'm scared to find out judging by the look on your face," she told Aila.
"Yeah, well, I'm just hoping there's been some mistake, because this…this is just…" Aila couldn't seem to find the words to explain what she was reading. She shook her head quietly for a few seconds, leaving Leigh to frown at her in confusion.
"Well what is it?" she asked.
An irritable groan from Katja's end of the bed caught the attention of both Aila and Leigh, and they stared at the wriggling lump underneath the blankets. "Your voices," Katja moaned still sounding half asleep. "Zey hurt my ears zis early."
Aila shook her head as the German woman stuffed her head under a pillow, and motioned for Leigh to come over to the computer. She let Leigh read the paragraph herself, though she had a feeling there wasn't much sinking in this early. They hairdresser looked at Aila for some kind of explanation.
"Yeah? We already know they think you did it…" she said.
"Leigh…they found skin under his nails…that had MY DNA…we never touched his body…" Aila said, watching as Leigh finally understood.
"Y-You don't think that…" Leigh gasped, her eyes growing wider by the second.
"I think it's a possibility…" Aila frowned.
Leigh sat herself down on the edge of Aila's bed and frowned deeply. She stared at the floor and bit her lip. "But…how?"
"I don't know," Aila shook her head as she spoke.
"More importantly, why?" Leigh asked. She looked directly at Aila now, looking slightly alarmed.
"I don't know," Aila said again. This was really getting to be too much.
Leigh absently tugged at her own hair, pulling harder the more she thought about this. If the killer was one of them; if the killer was a clone…could that mean…? "What if it's one of the others we haven't met yet?" she asked Aila quietly. "How do we know it's safe to go meeting them if that's the case?"
"Erm," Aila responded. She took a minute to rub her eyes tiredly, her exhausted brain struggling to think. "We'll speak to Rat. If she's as clever as she says she is, she can help us…find out where these other clones were last seen. The killer last struck in Belgium, aye? That's what Rat said?"
"Yeah, I think so," Leigh nodded as she recalled the hacker saying something about dead clones in Wales and Belgium. She couldn't help feeling guilty about not grabbing their files to warn them.
"So if the killer is one of the others…Aryanna, or Danielle…or even that one in…Canada, was it?"
"Elizabeth Childs?" Leigh asked, eyebrows raised. "Yeah."
"Well if the killer is any one of those, we can try and work out where they last were. If they were in Belgium recently, I suppose we'll have our answer…"
"Yeah, good plan," Leigh agreed. "Great, why do we have to rely on Rat for everything?"
"Do you have a better plan?" Aila asked.
Leigh didn't reply, but just sighed and made her way towards the bathroom for a shower. Aila set Katja's laptop aside, and blinked when she heard a muffled snore rise up from the pillow where the German woman had apparently fallen back to sleep. Aila shook her head and figured they could let her sleep a bit longer.
After Aila and Leigh showered, the doctor sat on the edge of the bed and lightly poked Katja's shoulder. "Oi, Katja. Time to get up, love." There was no response other than an irritable grunt from under the pillow.
"Katja, get up," Leigh snapped a little more forcefully. "We've gotta talk to Rat about this property and some other stuff, and you're the only one she'll sort of listen to."
"Yeah, and we ought to leave this place sooner rather than later," Aila added. "So come on; we've got a busy day ahead."
"Ja…I am up," Katja responded quietly.
Aila and Leigh exchanged glances when Katja remained motionless under the blankets, her eyes still closed.
"KATJA!" Leigh shouted. Katja jumped up quickly. She muttered under her breath in German, which only annoyed Leigh even further. "Just…hurry up; you're gonna slow us down," she complained.
As Katja forced herself out of bed and began gathering her things, Leigh and Aila quickly explained what they needed to talk to Rat about, including what the English and Scottish clones had discovered while Katja had been snoozing.
"Ja, ja," Katja grumbled. "I vill shower quickly. Go ahead and start zee call vith Rat…I vill be back soon."
Katja shuffled towards the bathroom, leaving Aila and Leigh with the laptop. Leigh shoved it towards Aila. "Well I'm not doing it," she huffed childishly.
"Honestly, Leigh," Aila snapped.
"Well do you want me to bite her head off? Because this is the second morning in a row I haven't had tea, and I swear I'll only make things worse if I have to see her face this early on."
"Her face is your face," Aila reminded her bitterly, eyebrows raised. "And my face, and Katja's face..."
"Oh, you know what I mean," Leigh snapped. She got up to make sure all of their belongings were packed and ready for them to leave. "Katja better hurry up. I want out of here already."
Aila made a mental note to get Leigh some tea when they stopped for breakfast. Honestly, she'd been up half the night and hadn't had any coffee yet, and she wasn't going around snapping at everyone. The doctor took a slow, calming breath, and took hold of the laptop to start up a video call with Rat.
After several minutes, there was no answer. Aila frowned and tried again, glancing at Leigh who was sitting nearby looking irritable. The doctor wondered what time it was where Rat lived, having no idea where exactly the hacker was located. Was she sleeping?
Finally, on the third try, the call was answered, and Aila's assumptions proved correct as she took in the other clone's exhausted face.
"What could you people possibly need me for at seven in the pissing morning?" Rat grumbled. She had her head in her hands as she waited expectantly.
Aila frowned, but decided to get straight to the point. "We think the one who's killing clones is also a clone," she said, and Rat raised her head slightly, looking more interested now.
"Really? How do you figure that?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious as she booted up her other computers.
"From a news article that put my DNA on one of the non-clone bodies that I wasn't anywhere around," Aila explained, and when Rat looked like she was thinking of accusing her of something, the doctor quickly added, "and before you say it, you know full well I was in Germany and Austria when the killings in Wales and Belgium happened."
Rat nodded, acknowledging the fair point. "Fine. What do you expect me to do about it? There are hundreds of us all over the world," she said dryly.
Leigh cut in then. "Find out where Danielle Fournier and Aryanna Giordano were during the last two killings," she said in that same matter-of-fact tone Rat often used.
Rat raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, was that an order? Because that sounded an awful lot like an order," she shot, her voice dropping an octave in annoyance.
Aila cut in before Leigh had a chance to. "Please? We need to make sure we're not walking right into the killer's house." She shot Leigh a look to warn her to let it go.
"And Elizabeth Childs," Leigh said when she remembered the Canadian clone. "Please," she added forcefully, biting her tongue.
"Elizabeth Childs?" Rat repeated. She began typing quickly, saying nothing for a moment or two. Then she looked back up at the camera. "She's the one who lives in Canada."
"I know that," Leigh told her. She was trying to keep her voice controlled and cool so as to not annoy Rat more than she already had. "When I was searching for the other clones back at DYAD, those ones in Europe were the only ones I discovered, plus Elizabeth Childs. I know there were more, but I ran out of time and had to get out of there before I could access their files."
"Yeah, well, if the killer is a clone, it could be any one around the world," Rat said matter-of-factly.
"Yes, but if we're planning to meet Elizabeth Childs too, we need to make sure she's not the killer," Leigh explained.
Rat nodded. "Right," she agreed, and Leigh was thankful they finally saw eye to eye on something. She swallowed hard before debating her next words. If Rat had successfully hacked DYAD's systems, it meant she had access to the files of clones all over the world; clones Leigh was unable to gather information on when she sabotaged DYAD back in London.
Just how many clones were there? It was proving hard enough to save the European clones, let alone others around the world. And now, with the possibility of the killer being a clone too, things were starting to feel hopeless.
"Thanks Rat," Leigh said quietly and sincerely. She turned away from the laptop, running her hand through her hair. She wasn't sure she was cut out for this.
Aila frowned at Leigh, not sure what to do to help. Were there really hundreds of them all over the world? How was any of this even possible? She'd heard of large-scale experiments before, but this was ridiculous. How many of them could they possibly warn before it was too late?
"Danielle Fournier has been competing in an ice-skating competition in Russia for the last week and isn't due back in France until next Thursday," Rat said calmly. "And Aryanna Giordano hasn't left Italy as far as I can tell. Unless this data is incorrect, they aren't your killers."
Suddenly, something whined and barked, and Rat turned her attention from the laptop. "What?" she asked, any annoyance on her features slowly ebbing away as she looked at whatever had made the noise. She looked back at the screen. "I've gotta go take the dog for her morning piss. When I get back, I'll look around for any clones that have been reported to engage in violent behavior. I'll call back later on."
Leigh simply nodded, though she wasn't sure if Rat noticed; she seemed too distracted by the dog in her presence. The hairdresser barely listened as Aila and Rat said goodbye and ended the call for the time being, and then waited for Katja to finish getting ready so they could make a move for Switzerland.
Two incredibly long and difficult weeks passed since Leigh, Aila and Katja left the hotel in Austria and made their way to Switzerland. With Rat's advice, the team of clones managed to buy a property, and Leigh even convinced the hacker to access her bank account to give them more funds. Katja was always happy to help by using her savings wherever necessary, but at last, Leigh felt as though she could be more useful now Rat had safely recovered her money for her.
Leigh and Aila were nervous and edgy about their new house at first, both choosing to stay indoors as often as possible out of fear DYAD would come knocking, or even the killer for that matter. Katja, however, took it upon herself to find directions to the nearest stores, and was usually the one to go out with shopping lists and return later with much needed supplies of food, drinks, and any other items the trio needed to survive and live comfortably.
Being in regular contact with a hacker was proving to be useful, however difficult Leigh found it to admit. Rat was able to search for and provide information on any news DYAD had on the hairdressers' whereabouts and recent actions, and so far, the organisation appeared to be struggling to pinpoint Leigh's location, and Aila and Katja's for that matter. Leigh could only hope Katja's family was safe back in Germany.
"Don't vorry about it," Katja would dismiss Leigh's concerns whenever she tried to discuss it with the clones. "My family, zey are strong. I do not see much of zem zese days anyway. It is perfectly believable zat zey vould not know vhere I am or vhat I am up to."
It was the first time Leigh managed to spare a thought for her own family back in London. She had no idea if DYAD were giving them a hard time about what was happening, but Leigh constantly assured herself they had no reason to suspect or harm her mother and father in any way. She hadn't told them anything. They were blameless in all of this.
Meanwhile, Aila was dealing with her own concerns. Once the clones were settled into their new 'home', they were able to slow down and allow the effects of the recent events to catch up with them. Aila was worried of the murder she was accused of, however hard she tried to hide it. Leigh couldn't blame her. How long was it going to be before authorities caught up with them?
Janika had got in touch shortly after they arrived in Switzerland. She didn't tell them much about the situation with Selena, but assured them she had things under control, and promised to keep in regular contact.
So far, the Austrian clone had been true to her word. It brought everyone great relief whenever the blue-haired woman appeared on webcam to let them know she was still alive and functioning as normally as was possible for her. To ensure maximum security, the women sent Janika another phone identical to their own; Katja had purchased them after deciding she could do with one herself, too.
Leigh wasn't convinced Janika would remain safe. The killer clone could show up at her home at any time. She had found the others easily enough, so Leigh couldn't understand why Janika refused to go into hiding.
The entire situation was making Leigh more paranoid by the day, and she only started to realise it when Aila pointed out the hairdresser's new bad habit.
"Seriously, you've been staring out that window for hours on end for the last three days," she told Leigh carefully. "What are you looking for? Rat said this area is DYAD free. She'll let us know if it changes; remember what she said? Whenever DYAD knows something, she does too. I'm sure she'll know if they do something, such as set up base close to where we are, too."
Leigh only grumbled in agreement. She knew Aila was right. This paranoia wasn't going to help, and in any case, they still had work to do.
"Fuck's sake," she groaned tiredly one Saturday evening while slouched over Katja's laptop. "I've been trying to get in touch with this Danielle Fournier for the last three days, but she's not responding at all."
"Aye, well she's a busy sportswoman, isn't she?" Aila tried to reason, shrugging. "I'm surprised she's online anywhere at all."
"She won't even answer her phone," Leigh sighed. She had Danielle's file on the desk before her. "I'm just worried, you know? If she's so popular, she'll be easy for the killer clone to track. I'm surprised she hasn't taken her out already, to be honest."
"Maybe the popularity is making it harder for the killer?" Aila offered. "Maybe it's hard to get close to her? She's gotta have a ton of security, right?" she said, thinking about it. It'd make sense that it would be difficult to get someone that popular alone, or at least in an area where taking a shot would be easy.
Leigh grunted and flopped onto the sofa, feeling restless. Aila eyed her evenly for a moment. "In any case, I don't think it's healthy to be standing in front of windows and pacing around all day every day. You're going stir-crazy," she said, standing and making her way towards the front door.
"Where are you going?" Leigh asked, tilting her head.
"Outside," Aila said simply as she opened the door. "I figure if Katja can go out every day and be just fine, then it's safe enough. I haven't gone for a run in weeks. You're welcome to join me if you like," she added, leaving the offer open as she stepped outside to breathe in the cool evening air.
This place was very beautiful. It was almost dream-like, with flowing green hills and a purple-pink sky dotted with white clouds. The town of Appenzell was starting to become more illuminated as night rolled in.
The clones were within walking distance of the town, but still far enough away that they were reasonably isolated, and they could see for miles around the green hillside. Even though they were still in very real danger, the doctor felt entirely at peace in this moment as she looked out over the hills.
After a few minutes, a reluctant Leigh shuffled into view from the front door. She felt as though she hadn't seen natural light in weeks, and she shielded her face as she stepped outside. Aila spun around to watch her.
"Sod it, you're right," Leigh shrugged, staring down at her own shoes. "I'm letting it restrict me too much. Can't say I've ever gone running before, but how hard can it be?"
Aila smiled. "Suppose we'll find out. You sure?"
"Yeah," Leigh grinned. She closed the door and locked it, and began jogging on the spot, causing Aila to laugh. "Stay indoors any longer and I'll turn into a friggin' vampire like Janika. Let's run!"
Leigh sprinted off at full speed away from the house. Aila stared after her. "Do you even know where you're going?" she laughed.
"No!" Leigh called back over her shoulder. "Just wherever!"
Aila grinned and raced after her, catching up easily from being used to running every day. She was used to running every morning and every evening before she'd been dragged into this whole mess.
The doctor smiled, feeling immensely happy as she ran, feeling the cool air flow across her face and through her hair. For a moment, she forgot about everything that'd been weighing them down as she ran across the paths and the grass.
Surprisingly, Leigh was able to match her for quite a while before they gradually slowed down, laughing at nothing as they did. Both women were grinning widely as they slowed to a walk, looking around the grassy hills. It felt great to be outside without worrying about what might be lurking around every corner.
"That was fun," Aila said, giggling. "I forgot how much I love running."
"I forgot how much I…I need to join a gym," Leigh gasped, out of breath. She was unable wipe the smile off her face. "God, you make me look like a right lazy arse. Most exercise I ever got was walking to the salon for work or chasing Rachel around the corridors at DYAD when we were young." Leigh laughed to herself at the memory.
"Hey you did well to keep up!" Aila assured her, still grinning. "You've done friggin' well to get us as far as you have done. If you didn't go to Scotland and get in touch-"
"Don't," Leigh asked her. She shook her head. "Really. I can't think about what might've happened. Still turns my blood cold at the memory of it…"
"Yeah," Aila agreed darkly, shivering a bit. "God, we were doing so well not to mention anything cloney," she laughed.
Leigh laughed too. "Where'd Katja go anyway? Wonder what she's up to."
"Dunno," Aila shrugged, walking across the grassy hillside. "I think she said something about going into town for something," she said, glancing over at the town that was now fully illuminated in a yellow glow as the area steadily grew darker. The doctor smiled and sat on the grass, looking up as the stars just barely became visible. "This is a nice place. Never in a million years would I have dreamed of ending up in a place like this, even temporarily. Glasgow was so noisy and bright. There was never a chance to lie on the grass and see the stars." Aila lay back fully on the hillside, still gazing at the sky.
Leigh nodded. "Yeah, it was like that in London too." There were so few clouds that she had a feeling that the stars would be clear tonight.
After a while, Leigh found herself lying back too. Neither clone spoke or around twenty minutes as the night grew darker, and the stars brightened. Leigh almost felt completely alone for a while as she became lost in her own mind, with nothing but the sky above surrounding her.
"I've never done anything like this," she admitted eventually when she pulled herself back to reality. "It's weird…just…how different everything is now."
"Aye," Aila agreed quietly.
More silence followed. If it wasn't for the slight chill that was filling the night air, Leigh might have quite comfortably dozed off.
"Do you miss anybody back home?" Aila asked out of the blue.
Leigh glanced at her. "Yeah. Really, it's just my parents…I have friends, but nobody I'm particularly close to."
"Don't you ever feel the need to make contact with your parents? Let them know not to worry?"
"Of course, but it's too risky. DYAD will know if I do. The safest thing is to tell my parents nothing…that way they can't be used."
"True," Aila nodded.
Leigh bit her lip, still staring at the stars. It was amazing how clear and bright they were out here. "You never spoke about your monitor…about Josh," she dared to say. "I'm so sorry, Aila. If he was your friend, it must still really hurt…"
Aila sighed. "Aye…he was, and yeah...I never would have believed it…I almost wonder why he did it. What they had on him, and if he was ever really my friend, or if it was all just pretend."
Leigh frowned but said nothing. She was never too close to her own monitor, and briefly wondered what had happened to him now he'd failed to keep an eye on her.
"What about yours?" Aila asked. "Did you know who it was?"
"Yeah," Leigh said with a nod. "He was nice enough, but he was a junkie. DYAD was bribing him with keeping his habit a secret in exchange for his services."
"Wow," Aila said darkly with a frown. "They really will do anything, won't they…" she trailed off, remembering what Selena had told them as well. She wondered how many monitors even knew about the clones.
The two fell back into a comfortable silence again, both thinking about their own pasts with DYAD. Was there anything they wouldn't do to keep things under control?
"We should probably head back. Don't want Katja to get back and wonder where we are," Leigh said, standing up and offering the doctor a hand. Aila smiled and took it, standing and brushing the stray pieces of grass off of her clothes.
"Katja?" Aila called lightly when the two arrived home, wondering if the German woman was back yet.
"Upstairs!" Katja's voice called from somewhere above them. "Hold on."
The German appeared on the top landing dressed in comfortable pyjamas. She carried her laptop with both hands as she made her way down the stairs.
"Hallo," she greeted the others. "I have been speaking vith Rat."
"Oh," Leigh said simply. She watched as Katja set the laptop down on the dining room table. Rat's face greeted them from the screen.
"Just checking how you're all doing," Rat explained, clearly taking note of the tone of Leigh's voice. "I was just letting Katja know a bit more about some of the others you're planning to meet. Elizabeth Childs is a cop; she never left Canada around the time you lot all met each other, so I highly doubt she's the killer."
"Right," Leigh said, nodding.
"And as for Aryanna," Rat continued, looking as though she was reading something carefully on the screen. "The Italian? She's a mute. I thought you should all know before you try to make contact with her."
"Mute?" Aila asked, surprised. "What happened to her?"
"She was in a car accident when she was five. A really bad one," Rat said, reading off of a screen. "Her vocal chords were badly damaged. She hasn't spoken a word since. Do any of you know sign language?" she asked.
"Um…" Leigh said, looking around at the others, who both shook their heads.
"Well we'll figure that out when the time comes," Rat said dismissively as she scrolled through the database. "As for other clones known for being violent, none of them have left their home countries in the last few weeks, as far as I can tell. Many of them aren't even in Europe, and the worst one is currently in prison."
Leigh nodded. "So we're still at square one," she sighed.
Rat shrugged and nodded. "I suppose. There's not much else I can do. There's no clones that I can see that have followed the travel pattern that coincides with the killings. So it's likely one of three things; she's really good, she's unmonitored, or we're completely on the wrong track."
"Then this killer could be absolutely anywhere, and we have no clue where," Aila concluded.
"Mhmm," Rat said with another nod. "Look, I'll update you as and when I know more myself, OK? If you don't mind, Katja and I were in the middle of discussing other things."
"Other things?" Leigh repeated.
"Never you mind," Rat told her strictly. "Katja…could we?"
"Ja," Katja nodded. She picked up the laptop again and hurried to the staircase. "Later," she said to Leigh and Aila before disappearing into her room.
Leigh frowned. Whatever Rat was keeping from them, she wasn't sure she even wanted to know.
Aila watched them leave and sighed, stretching out on the sofa. She figured she should probably try to sleep, though she didn't know how well that'd work out. Her nightmares had been getting worse recently, and she knew it was only a matter of time before one of the others noticed and said something.
She wondered if there was a way to subtly put in some type of soundproofing in her room so she didn't disturb the others again. Even though she said she'd tell them about her… problem…they'd been so busy getting everything set up that it never really crossed her mind to do so. The doctor glanced down the hall towards her room and debated between going in and waiting until the others had gone to sleep before trying it.
Leigh, who had automatically started pacing again, ran her hand through her hair several times. "Suppose we can try Danielle again tomorrow. Either that or we attempt Aryanna instead. What do you reckon?" she asked Aila.
"Yeah," Aila responded, still staring down the hall at her own bedroom door. "Yeah…"
Leigh shifted towards the living room window after nodding at the doctor's response and carefully pulled back the curtain. Her eyes swept over the land before her for a moment or two before she snapped herself out of it, quickly closed the curtain, and forced herself back to the middle of the room.
She briefly wondered how Rachel would react to all of this. If she was here right now; if Leigh had convinced her to join in and help, what would she suggest? Rat would hate Rachel for sure…she could barely tolerate Leigh. The hairdresser couldn't imagine the hacker's reaction to another clone who was steadily advancing to running the organisation she so clearly despised.
"I'm going to bed," Leigh spoke with a sigh. "Night Aila."
"Goodnight," Aila replied. She waited until Leigh disappeared upstairs, and then slowly rose from the sofa. The doctor checked a final time all the doors and windows were locked, and reluctantly retreated to her room.