– Chapter Thirty-One –
Leigh allowed her hand to travel up to Rachel's neck. Her anger was threatening to take over her completely; she failed to stop herself gripping her twin's throat, applying more and more pressure. She had never seen such fear in Rachel's eyes. The blonde clone grabbed Leigh's hand with her own, forcing all her strength against Leigh to make her move. Leigh gritted her teeth hard when Rachel began to choke, and suddenly, both twins were overcome by tears. Leigh cried out in frustration, let go of Rachel at last, but pulled back her fist as if wanting to hit her.
Rachel flinched at the sudden movement, unable to move with Leigh still pressing her up against the wall. Sickened with herself, Leigh slammed her fist into the wall besides Rachel's face instead, punching it again and again until she felt her bones shatter. It was then that her strength left her. Leigh felt her knees buckle under her own weight, ready to fall to the floor as she cried out in defeat...but Rachel caught her. She held Leigh tightly against her as they sank to the stone floor, ignoring her angry shouts of protest.
"You evil BITCH!" Leigh shouted. "Let go...LET GO!"
Rachel only tightened her grip; tears staining her face. Leigh struggled in her grasp, her broken hand useless in aiding her escape. She instead raised her other hand to Rachel's head, gripping at her hair and pulling hard until it caused the blonde clone to scream out in pain.
Rachel let go of her sister at last, looking hurt and horrified that Leigh would do such a thing. She rubbed the back of her own head in an attempt to soothe the pain, while staring Leigh. Both clones remained on the ground, shaking in shock and anger and fear. Leigh looked completely feral.
"You psycho..." Leigh said under her breath as she forced herself to stand up.
Rachel backed away in fear as Leigh stood over her. She had never felt so much like a scared child. "Don't," she pleaded, though she wasn't sure herself what she was asking of her sister.
"What the hell were you THINKING?!" Leigh bellowed again now, looming over Rachel as she drew nearer and nearer.
"Don't," Rachel said again, but Leigh was beyond reasoning with.
The hairdresser ran at Rachel, grabbed her by the collar and forced her up to drag her across the room, momentarily ignoring the pain in her hand. She was angry; angry at Rachel for causing Aila such harm; angry at Aila for putting up with it for so long, and angry at herself for letting things get this bad...for not seeing Rachel for what she really was...
And yet, Leigh couldn't find the words to express all of this. She forced Rachel back to the ground near the bed, where the massive blood stains lay.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Leigh shrieked.
Rachel's head hurt so much she thought it might split open, and she had had just about enough of this frightening and disturbing behaviour. She sat up straight and pushed Leigh away from her in one sharp movement, unable and unwilling to be treated in such a way. This had all been for Leigh, and Leigh needed to understand that.
"I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!"Rachel fought back now, rounding on Leigh and unleashing the full extent of her insecurities. "YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME! YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE!"
Leigh threw herself at Rachel again, anger transforming her completely, but Rachel was ready this time. She seized Leigh by the wrists and wrestled her back to the ground. The hairdresser sobbed painfully. How could Rachel imply this was her fault?
Rachel forced Leigh back into her arms, her grip stronger than ever. Leigh still struggled, but she was going nowhere. "I'm SORRY," Rachel told her.
"SORRY?!" Leigh shouted back through her tears. "You almost had someone KILLED! And for WHAT?!"
"I-I didn't know!" Rachel said desperately. "I didn't...I-I..."
"You didn't KNOW?! BULLSHIT YOU DIDN'T KNOW!" Leigh screeched, her eyes wide and feral with rage as she somehow found the strength to break away and force Rachel to turn around and look again at the amount of blood on the floor. "How could you have NOT KNOWN?!"
"I wanted information! That's all! D-Daniel he...h-he...I left him in charge, but I THOUGHT she'd BREAK! I didn't know it had gotten this bad!" Rachel said, shrinking back again from both the sight of the blood and the sight of Leigh's enraged eyes.
Leigh couldn't believe what she was hearing. Rachel's words fuelled her fire; her rage like an inferno threatening to consume them both. "You SERIOUSLY live in such a PERFECT FUCKING BUBBLE that you don't even BOTHER to CHECK what your SICK little minions are doing RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE?!" she screamed, again lunging at Rachel to pin her to the wall by her throat.
Rachel gasped and tried to pry Leigh's hand away, before Leigh stepped back and allowed the blonde to fall to the ground. Rachel coughed as her breathing evened out, before she bursting into sobs. Leigh stared down at her with rage mixed with shock, disgust, and even pity.
"Get up," Leigh hissed. Rachel stared up at her twin with wide eyes, not moving from her current position. "GET UP!" Leigh shouted, her eyes growing wild again, making Rachel scramble to her feet as she stared at her sister fearfully.
Leigh glared at Rachel hard. "We're going for a walk. I'm sure Leekie will be interested to hear exactly what you've been up to," she said lowly. The sudden fear in Rachel's gaze told her Leekie didn't know Rachel had been keeping someone prisoner, or at least didn't know all the details.
Leigh knew that revealing herself to Leekie would ensure she didn't leave DYAD, but she held true to what she told Lucas. She was done running. The others could go to Canada without her.
Rat and Katja sat together in numb silence for a long while. Rat had attempted to communicate with Lucas, but he seemed too distracted with the task at hand to say much. Angry tears welled in Rat's eyes, but she fought with herself to stop them falling. Neither herself nor Katja had moved from the table since Leigh last spoke to them.
"Leigh's coming back," Katja muttered some time later, looking to her sister for reassurance. "Right?"
Rat said nothing. It made Katja squirm uncomfortably as they both waited in anticipation for their fears to be confirmed.
"Hallo? Hallo?" Lucas could be heard suddenly.
Rat flinched in her seat at the sudden sound and sat up straight. "Lucas? Yes?" she asked eagerly into the microphone.
"Vee are almost back – Aila... she ez in a bad vay – urgent medical attention vill be needed-"
"Mien Gott," Katja whispered in horror. She dreaded to think what Aila had been put through.
Rat grit her teeth and knew what they had to do, even though she didn't like it. She picked up her phone quickly and dialled Eliza's cellphone, having gotten her number in case they did need a doctor for Aila.
"Hello?" the older woman answered on the first ring.
"Lucas isn't back here yet, but he says we need urgent medical help. How fast can you get over here?" Rat asked, getting right to the point.
"One step ahead of you, honey. Your father stayed home today and prepared an area in our home lab for a medical patient. We guessed your friend might need help. I'll call Lucas and have him bring her there," Eliza said. She gave Rat the address.
Rat nodded numbly, reluctantly grateful for her mother's forethought. She thanked Eliza and hung up the phone before glancing at Katja. "We need to grab everyone's things and relocate to my parents' house. They have the equipment to take care of Aila...God, I'm afraid to see the state of her..." she admitted quietly.
"Me too, schwester," Katja agreed, reluctantly standing to begin gathering everything up. The sisters tossed the clones' personal belongings into various bags and the suitcase, even Leigh's things, before Rat called the dogs to her and attached their leashes.
The journey to the house was made in silence, both clones wrapped up in their thoughts of Leigh and Aila. Was Leigh really leaving them after everything they'd been through together?
The place Eliza told them to go to took nearly an hour to reach through public transportation. It was located in a sheltered wooded area on the outskirts of the city. The house was a fairly large, and old-looking.
"This looks like the house I grew up in back in Geneva," Rat murmured quietly.
The clones made their way up to the door, seeing Lucas's car in the driveway already. Rat knocked loudly, having to wait only a few minutes before an older man with graying hair and glasses answered. Neal Colbert ushered the two inside quickly, closing the door behind them.
"How is she?" Rat asked quietly, looking up at her father as she removed the dogs' leashes and allowed them to roam as they pleased through the house. Charles looked up at Neal, seeming to remember him as his tail wagged back and forth.
Neal looked at Rat and Katja. "I believe she'll live. I just finished cleaning and stitching up the worst of her wounds, and started her on IV pain medications and antibiotics for the few that had started to become infected. She needed fluids badly. When she wakes up, we'll determine if she can eat by herself or if she'll need a feeding tube," he said as he led the two through the house and into a sterile area. It looked every bit like a DYAD laboratory.
Rat nodded. "Is Ian around?"
"No, he's at a camp for another week or so," Neal told her as he led the clones into the back area of the lab.
"Good," Rat said quietly.
"Who ez Ian?" Katja asked.
"My little brother," Rat explained. She didn't want Ian to be around to witness all of this.
In the far corner of the room was a soft hospital bed, where the Scottish clone lay. Bandages covered most of Aila's visible skin, and her hair was matted with dried blood. She was pale and looked far thinner than Rat and Katja remembered. Her arm was back in a sling again. The bed was surrounded by various machines monitoring the doctor's vital signs. Lucas was sitting beside the sleeping clone, but he raised his head and offered a weak smile to his daughters as they slowly approached.
"My God," Rat whispered, shocked. "What the hell did they do to her?!"
Lucas sighed and reluctantly described the way he and Leigh found Aila, and the events that unfolded afterwards. The two sisters were sickened by what happened.
Katja was the first to approach Aila. She sat down at her side, carefully taking the doctor by the hand as she slept. A burning anger grew within Katja for everything that had ever happened. This needed to have an end put to it.
Rat watched her sister with Aila for a while before turning her attention back to Lucas. The German man looked solemn, but Rat swallowed her pride as she addressed him. "Thank you," she told him. "For all you've done."
Lucas was surprised, and it took a few seconds for him to respond. He stood from his seat, gently reached out a hand to pat the hacker on the shoulder, and nodded in acknowledgement. Then, he walked away to allow the clones some space.
Rat watched him go before joining her sister at Aila's side. She placed an arm around Katja as she stood behind her, and Katja remained sitting by the bed, holding onto Aila. Rat wanted to be angry. She wanted to demand they go back and get Leigh; shout and insult the hairdresser for even considering ditching them like this...but was there much point?
Rat let out a sigh of resignation. Four had become three.
A few hours passed since Rat and Katja arrived at Eliza and Neal's house. The sisters hadn't left Aila's side all day, both eager for her to wake up. Neal and Lucas left the clones alone for the most part, giving them the space to process everything that'd happened that morning.
"I cannot believe Leigh would just leave without saying anything..." Katja mumbled as she leaned against Rat for comfort.
Rat nodded, hugging Katja as she did. She didn't want to admit it, but she missed Leigh as well. It never really occurred to her before now how much the hairdresser had come to mean to her as a friend.
"She'll be OK," Rat assured Katja, though she wasn't sure she believed her own words.
Katja blinked and sat up straight when she noticed Aila starting to stir. The doctor let out a low groan and opened her eyes slowly. Her eyes found Rat and Katja and she stared at them, looking confused and out of it.
"Where am I?" she asked, her voice hoarse and quiet.
"Somewhere safe," Katja said, reaching out to hold Aila's hand tightly again.
"I'll go get Dad," Rat insisted as she stood and left the room.
Aila watched her go, looking to Katja for some type of explanation. "Dad?"
"Ja, vee are at Ratty's parents' house," Katja explained. "Vee vill explain...much has happened since you have been avay."
Aila closed her eyes again as she tried to remember what happened. She recalled seeing Rachel in her cell, only to find out it was really Leigh, but she passed out shortly thereafter when the pain suddenly hit her all at once.
Leigh?
"Where is Leigh?" Aila asked, suddenly looking very alert as she stared at Katja with wide eyes.
Katja flinched and looked down at their hands, looking defeated. "She's...she's not coming back...she vanted to stay at DYAD..."
Aila stared at the German as this information sank in, suddenly feeling a rush of anger towards the hairdresser. She'd put up with what she did because she wanted to protect Leigh, and now it seemed like she did it for no reason at all. Aila leaned back again, and when Katja looked up, she was taken aback by the dark anger that had settled in Aila's eyes.
"Fuck her then," Aila muttered coldly, looking entirely unlike herself as she closed her eyes tightly.
"You do not mean that..." Katja said. She was shocked at the doctor's words.
"I do. We'll go to Canada without her."
Katja felt very disturbed to see Aila this way, inwardly convincing herself she was just acting so cold because she'd been tortured. Anyone would be cold and dark after putting up with what Aila had for as long as she did.
Rat returned with Neal then. As the older man looked over Aila's wounds and started asking her questions, Katja pulled Rat off to the side, frowning.
"Vee must keep close eye on doctor..." she murmured before explaining what had happened just before.
Rat blinked, surprised as Katja was at the way Aila had reacted, though she sighed after a minute. "Can't really blame her for being angry, Katja...after what she went through especially...let's just give her time and hope she comes around."
Aldous Leekie sat at a large table in a dark, isolated meeting room with two clones either side of him. Rachel sat to his left, while Leigh took the seat to his right. The hairdresser had forced Rachel to approach Leekie to explain what had happened, and Leekie was so shocked at Leigh's return that he cancelled all plans for the day to tend to the situation.
He was not happy.
It was disturbing to see both clones so shaken, particularly Rachel. He could not get his head around what she had done.
"Rachel," he addressed her, his voice grave, but echoing. "How could you inflict torture on one of our subjects?"
Rachel's eyes grew dark. Leigh kept her gaze on her sister, daring her to try and defend what she had done. "You seriously didn't know?" Leigh shot at Leekie.
Leekie held his hand up to silence Leigh, never once tearing his stare from Rachel. It was clear he was just as unhappy with Leigh as he was with Rachel.
Rachel eventually parted her lips ever so slightly, but remained completely still otherwise. She looked unreal. Unnatural. "I did what was necessary."
Leigh shook with fury, but her throat hurt from all the shouting she'd already done. She kept quiet, resisting the urge to thump the table below her.
"It has never been necessary to cause such harm-" Leekie began, but he was interrupted by Rachel standing up so fast that her chair flew back across the room. The proclone slammed both hands down on the table.
"YOU can't talk! You have done WORSE things, Aldous; don't forget that! You said you wanted me to bring Ashleigh home, and that's exactly what I DID! And may I remind you that I am higher up in this company than YOU are, Aldous, so STOP questioning MY authority!"
Ringing silence filled the room as Rachel's echoing shouts faded to nothingness. Leigh was beyond disturbed to see Rachel losing it in such a way; to see her justifying her decisions to be so cruel. It bothered her even more that Leekie peered up at Rachel curiously, looking quite defeated.
Rachel took a moment to talk calmness into herself. She stood up straight and breathed deeply, her face turning blank once more. "Aila did not die. She will be cared for; I am sure of it."
"She NEARLY died though!" Leigh shouted now, anger getting the better of her again. "You make me SICK! How can you brush this off like it's NOTHING?"
Rachel's eyes found Leigh's. She was sick to death of having to explain herself; of Leigh failing to understand and being so unwilling to let it go.
"Ashleigh, we need to put this behind us now," Leekie grumbled, turning to face the hairdresser. He wore a dark scowl as he watched her. "You are not in a fit enough state to discuss what we expect of you, so you will go to the hospital wing for the time being until you have calmed down. Then we can decide how you can make up for the chaos you've created."
Leigh shot up from the table, eager to get as far away as possible. It would be so easy to shout at Leekie too, but why should she give him that satisfaction? Why should she give it to Rachel anymore, either? She hurried to leave the room and find the hospital. Her broken hand burned in agony, making her feel sick and dizzy as she focused on it. She knew it needed immediate treatment.
"I will take her," Rachel assured Leekie. "We will continue this discussion later."
Leekie watched, exasperated, as the twins left the room, and Rachel escorted Leigh through the building. Both women remained quiet until they reached the hospital wing, where Rachel stepped in front of Leigh to get her attention.
Leigh glared at her.
"You need to co-operate," Rachel warned her, a cold calmness in her voice. "It's the only way to ensure the safety of the other subjects now."
Leigh's sick feeling doubled at these words. She shook her head defiantly. DYAD was NOT going to continue hunting the other clones she'd been on the run with. She would convince them they weren't a threat.
"No," she told Rachel in a rough voice, threatening to shout again. "NO. It's ME you wanted, and I'm HERE! So you're gonna stop ALL of this!"
Rachel faltered for a moment. Then, she nodded, and was unable to resist stepping forward to wrap her arms tightly around Leigh, who felt a wave of revulsion hit her. "Yes," Rachel whispered. "It's you I wanted."
Leigh shoved her away after another moment or two. "Just answer me something," she said carefully. "If you wanted me so badly, why didn't you come to France to meet me yourself? You must have known I'd be visiting Aila in the hospital, so why go to such fucked up lengths?"
Rachel stared. She opened her mouth slightly, but no sound came out. Leigh could almost feel the blank numbness circulating in Rachel's brain at this question, and she shook her head in disbelief.
"You don't even know, do you?" she shot in disgust.
Of course Rachel didn't know. It was all about control with her. It was the only way she knew how to be. She reached out to brush Leigh's cheek with her hand, but the hairdresser hit her away forcefully.
"Fuck you, Rachel," she said with pure venom.
Rachel could only watch sadly as her sister marched through the wing.
"Oh holy fucking shit, are you serious?!"
"Ja," Katja nodded, looking down at Beth on her laptop.
A few days had passed since the clones arrived at Rat's parents' house. Night had already set in, and most everyone else was asleep already, but Katja was restless.
After aimlessly walking around the house for the better part of an hour, she'd decided to get on her laptop to contact Beth for what felt like the thirtieth time in the past week. She didn't know why the detective had been stubbornly refusing contact, but they needed to update her on what had happened. After another half an hour, Beth finally gave Katja a call.
The detective didn't look good. She was pale and had dark circles around her eyes. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were bloodshot, though Katja couldn't tell if this was due to insomnia or alcohol consumption (several empty bottles could be seen in the background).
Beth sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Fuck...I'm glad she's gonna be OK, but damn...those DYAD bastards are sick for actually torturing her. Guess this means more delays in when you lot are gonna haul ass over here."
Katja sighed, looking down at her hands. "Perhaps not..." she said. "I have been zinking...vat if I find a vay to bring Helena and zee samples to you at zee same time? Vould you be able to take Helena down if you knew she vas coming?"
"I'm still suspended," Beth said dryly. "But if she tried to attack me directly, you're damn right I'd take her ass down. What've you got in mind?"
"Vell...it vill be many veeks until Aila is vell enough to travel...she tried to valk earlier and cannot hold her own veight yet; she is still in too much pain. Eliza zinks she may even need a bit of physical zerapy before she'll be able to valk by herself again...so..." she trailed off guiltily. "I zink it might be best to come to you by myself to deliver zee samples..."
Beth stared at her. "Rat and Aila are OK with that?"
Katja said nothing.
"Holy shit...they don't know, do they?"
"Please do not tell zem...look, I vould rather lead Helena to you vith zee hope of capturing her zan stay here vere ve vill be sitting ducks for who knows how long. Zee vorst zey can do is yell at me later, right?" she said, not sure if she was trying to convince Beth or herself. "And also...I need to see your scientist friend, Beth...I hate to admit it, but I do not zink I vill last much longer vith zis illness...I cannot put off meeting her any longer..."
Beth's gaze softened slightly. "Damn...so when are you planning on coming?"
"Soon. I vill find a vay to make sure Helena chases me and zen vee can plan ven exactly to meet up and decide how to capture her."
Beth could only stare at Katja through the screen. Katja was trying to look and sound unconcerned, but her tiredness betrayed her. "I don't know if you're up to this, Katja. Going it alone."
Katja glared up at Beth. "I don't zink you are eizer, Beth."
Beth wavered. She and Katja watched each other numbly through their cameras. "Promise me you'll be careful," Beth said quietly.
If she was truthful, Beth needed someone with her. It would be good to meet Katja. She was close to Alison, but the Suburban clone wanted as little to do with all of this as possible. Her negativity and panicked state of mind did little to lift Beth's spirits, especially as of late.
"I alvays am," Kaja assured her. "I vill get back to you as soon as I can. In the meantime...just...sit tight, Beth."
Beth said nothing. She had had enough of sitting tight and waiting...but how hard could it be to wait just a little longer?
Leigh hadn't slept properly in days. She'd been made to stay in the hospital wing at DYAD, having agreed to let the doctors perform the usual medical examinations on her that she'd been used to her entire life before starting her journey...it was surreal sitting through all of this again. She found it disgusting, and she didn't understand why they needed to do more tests, exactly, but she found herself not caring much anyway.
She wanted to go back to her house, but she knew it was hopeless to even consider it for the time being. There was no way Leekie was going to trust her until they reached some sort of agreement.
Leigh now sat in the same meeting room with Leekie and Rachel they'd been in the day of Leigh's return. It felt like an awful deja vu moment.
"I want togo home," Leigh told them bluntly.
Leekie hesitated before responding. He gripped his hands tightly together across the desk, while Rachel's stare burned into her sister. Leigh refused to look at her, focusing on Leekie instead.
"Understand that we want things to return to the way they were before you left London," Leekie spoke quietly. "But you have caused a lot of damage. You can't possibly know the full extent of it. You should be facing serious consequences."
Leigh grinned coldly. "What, like Aila did?"
Rachel twitched at this comment, and Leigh saw it out the corner of her eye. She resisted the urge to glance in Rachel's direction.
"Ashleigh, I stand by the offer I made when I saw you in Switzerland," Leekie assured her. "We can compromise. But it means you have to give us certain information."
Leigh shook her head. "I'm not telling you shit about the others," she said instantly. "Because I can't. I don't know where they are and I don't know what they're planning to do next. Last time I saw them, we were in France. I left them to come here, alone. It was me you wanted. Not them."
Leekie looked vaguely annoyed. "They run the risk of jeopardizing the experiment more than you already have," he explained as calmly as possible.
"By making other clones self-aware?" Leigh guessed, eyebrows raised. "No. Why can't you leave them be? I'm gonna co-operate, but I'm not gonna help you hunt down my sisters."
Underneath the table, Rachel clenched her fists tightly together at Leigh's words. It irked her greatly she could consider these people her sisters.
"Explain," Leekie urged the hairdresser.
Leigh leaned forward in her seat. "I know who the killer is. I know who she's working for. When I tell you who she is, you'll be wanting to bring her here instead."
It seemed Leigh had succeeded in gaining the curiosity of both Leekie and Rachel, for they both stared at her for a long while, intrigued.
"Tell us," Rachel urged her.
Leigh allowed herself a glance at Rachel before looking back at Leekie. "Her name's Helena. She's a religious extremist. A Prolethean. And here's the best part...she's one of us."
Leigh looked back at Rachel, keeping her gaze steadily on her now. She heard Leekie force a laugh from beside her.
"That's not possible," he said.
"Isn't it?" Leigh challenged him. She turned to face him, eyebrows raised. "You separated me from my sister because a woman named Amelia disappeared; the woman who was supposed to give her child up to the Duncans. You never learned what became of that child. Isn't it a possibility that Helena is that child?"
"That doesn't add up," Leekie said, shaking his head. He'd had people spying on the Proletheans for years. Something like this wouldn't have gone unreported.
"Well do your research, because it's the truth," Leigh shot at him. "Track down Helena and stop her instead of my friends. They'll have no reason to meet other clones and alert them to the dangers then, will they? This was never about ruining your experiments! It was about saving lives, and with Helena out of the picture-"
"There's still the issue of the illness though," Leekie growled, losing his cool now. "I am fully aware they will still go to great lengths to tackle this illness; to save lives, as you put it – and that still means meeting other subjects. I cannot allow that to happen, Ashleigh. Your claims of this Helena character may or may not be true, but even if it is proven, it doesn't change a thing. So I'm going to ask you something, and I expect you to consider your answer very carefully." Leekie held Leigh's gaze, pausing to allow this subtle warning to sink in. "Are you going to co-operate, or not?"
Leigh stared at him. She could feel Rachel watching her, almost pleading silently for Leigh to do as she was told...but the hairdresser wasn't giving up that easily. She'd made it this far disobeying DYAD's orders. If Rachel could get away with bending them to her will; with demanding and insulting and defying to get her way, then Leigh could too.
They were sisters, after all.
Katja sighed, steeling herself up for what she was about to do. She reminded herself why she had to do this, but that didn't make her feel less guilty about doing it. The German woman again checked that nobody else was awake before pulling up Janika's Skype window and sending a message to Helena.
'Call me. We end this now.'
She leaned back in her chair to wait, and thankfully, she didn't need to wait for very long. Helena called her twenty minutes later. The blonde clone seemed to be eating something out of a plastic tub.
"Vee end zis now? Have you decided to accept your fate and die zen, Katja?" Helena asked with a lopsided grin as she ate, twisting a fork around in front of the camera.
"In a vay," Katja said coolly, willing her voice to stay steady. "I vish to issue you a challenge. A game, I suppose. I vant you to catch me. If you do, you may kill me. Zee only rule is you cannot kill anyone else until you kill me."
Helena giggled. "Why vould I vant to agree to something like zat ven I could just kill all of you togezer?"
"Are you saying you can't do it?"
Helena stared for a moment before looking down at whatever she was eating. "You really vant to die so badly that you vant me to find you and kill you?" she asked, seemingly confused.
Katja nodded. "If you can catch me, you vill vin zee game. If you cannot, zen you have failed your God anyvay," she said, trying to provoke Helena as much as possible. "I vill even give you a tip, since I do not zink you vill be able to catch me. I am leaving from London zis very night."
Helena glared at her for these words. "I vill not fail God. I am the original, I am the light," she hissed lowly. "I accept your challenge, Katja. I hope you vill enjoy yourself in hell."
With that, the call ended. Katja released a long shuttering breath. There was no going back now. The German shut down her laptop and packed it away in her bag, before silently going around the house and gathering up her things.
She sighed, knowing there was something else she needed to do before she left. Walking into the bedroom she'd been sharing with Rat, she silently took her sister's laptop and brought it out to the kitchen table.
After again making sure she hadn't woken anyone up, the German used Rat's laptop to record a video message for the other clones to find in the morning. When she was satisfied with it, Katja left the laptop on the table and walked back into the bedroom. She sighed sadly as she saw her sister's sleeping form, silently approaching her to kneel beside her.
She leaned down and kissed Rat's forehead. "Please forgive me. I promise vee vill be back togezer soon...I love you, Regina."
Katja debated saying goodbye to Aila as well, but she knew the doctor was often a light sleeper if she wasn't completely exhausted, and so she said a silent goodbye to her instead.
Katja checked she had everything and left the house before she lost her nerve.
The house would have been silent if it wasn't for the sound of Bianca scurrying through the hallway to scratch at Rat's bedroom door. The small dog managed to push it open with her paw, whining loudly to get her owner's attention. She nudged Rat's hand with her nose and gave a sharp yap.
Rat groaned. The blurry form of Bianca came into view as she opened her eyes and forced herself to sit up. The dog wagged her tail excitedly, eager to get out of the house as she always did in the mornings.
"OK," Rat told her tiredly. The hacker swung her legs off the bed and stood up, yawning, before grabbing her jacket and lazily stepping into a pair of shoes. "Come on then. Let's find Charles too."
Rat couldn't help glancing into Aila's room as she passed, wondering if the doctor had managed to rest. She was amused and slightly touched to see Charles curled up at the end of Aila's bed, watching her carefully. Aila appeared to be fast asleep.
"Come on, Charles," Rat urged the dog quietly. "She'll be OK – come on baby-"
The old dog took his time climbing down from the bed and wandering over to Rat.
The morning air was crisp and sharp with coldness. Rat barely paid attention as the dogs went about their business, instead gazing absently into space as she willed herself to wake up. She then served the dogs fresh water in their bowls upon entering the kitchen, watching for a moment as they happily lapped it up.
Rat made her way back the bedroom then, thinking she could use another half an hour or so to relax. She absently picked up her laptop off the kitchen table and took it back with her, glancing at Katja's bed when she did.
But wait.
Where was Katja? And Rat hadn't left her laptop on the kitchen table the night before...had she? Did she move it again and then forget?
Frowning, Rat set the laptop down on her bed and reached for her phone. Katja hadn't sent any messages. Rat wondered if she'd gone out for some air...but even so, she didn't like her sister going off alone in her condition.
Rat looked up from her phone and slowly noticed items missing from the room, along with Katja's bag. The hacker suddenly found herself very much awake as a sense of panic gripped her heart.
Rat called Katja's number, holding the phone to her ear as she paced around the room.
'The number you have dialled is out of service.'
Rat froze upon hearing these words from the phone. Her heart stopped for a moment. She was unable to stop the paranoia and panic from consuming her. Had someone taken Katja from them in the night? Rat immediately checked her arms over in the light for any sign of needle marks that might indicate DYAD's presence in their room the night before.
She remembered then that her parents and Lucas were all still DYAD employees as well. They didn't have anything to do with Katja's disappearance, did they? Had Rat become too lax in her guard? Was she wrong to trust them after all?
Sitting on her bed, the hacker opened her laptop, and immediately noticed a video file had been left on the desktop. She knew for certain he hadn't left anything of the sort open, and she was almost afraid to see what the video would tell her.
What she didn't expect was to see Katja alone in the kitchen, looking down at the camera with a tired expression.
"Hallo. If you are seeing zis, zen I have already left. Do not attempt to follow or contact me. I vill make contact vith you all again ven zis is over. I have made plans and arrangements to capture Helena once and for all. Vee could not vait until doctor vas better. Time vas running out, and staying still vould have made us all targets..."
"Wait, what?!" Rat whimpered, dumbfounded as she continued to watch the video clip.
"I know you all vill be angry at me, and I promise you can yell at me all you vish ven vee meet back up again. Aila, please do your best to recover, and please try not to stay angry forever. Vee need your light more than ever now. Ratty...I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me for leaving you behind, but you must stay strong and stay vith Aila for now. You both need each ozer to make it zrough zis. Vee vill be back togezer soon. I promise. Please give my zanks to Lucas and your parents for helping us. Vee vouldn't have lasted vithout zem. I love you all so much. I look forward to returning to you as soon as I can. Until zen, Rat especially, keep believing zee future is still bright. Goodbye."
The video cut off then, and Rat could only stare in blank shock as she tried to process what she just saw. Katja actually left them to hunt down Helena by herself? In her condition? Did she not realise how stupid and dangerous and reckless that was?!
"DAMNIT!" Rat screamed as raw hurt and anger settled over her heart. The hacker slammed down the lid of her laptop, not caring about causing it damage. She gave into the urge to sob, ignoring the dogs who had come to see what all the noise was about.
"Rat?"
It was a distant, but urgent voice, coming from the room next door. It told Rat that Aila was awake, and it reminded her there was nothing she could do to bring Katja back. Aila couldn't be left alone...
Rat shot up and bolted from the room, arms shaking as she carried the laptop with her. Wild thoughts consumed her; she could talk to Lucas, or even her parents, get them to stay with Aila, or get them to go after Katja-
"Rat?" Aila said again when the hacker entered the room.
She was looking very concerned. It hurt Rat that she could even consider leaving the doctor behind; that Katja herself had left them both. That Leigh had left them as well.
Rat rushed to Aila, throwing her arms around her and sobbing deeply. Stunned, and confused, the doctor tried to return the gesture, ignoring the stinging pain it caused her injuries. She had never seen Rat like this. What on earth had happened?
In the moment, Rat didn't care. She and Aila were alone now, and Rat couldn't risk leaving her and splitting up their group completely.
Aila was stunned to learn Katja was no longer with them. She even seemed angry. How could she disappear like that so soon after Leigh ditched them? Had they both lost their minds?
The doctor watched Katja's message on the laptop over and over again while Rat repeatedly tried to call the German. She knew it was hopeless, but it was becoming habit quickly.
After some time, Rat threw her phone against the wall in defeat and sighed heavily, shaking as she tried hard to get a grip and deal with it. Katja was gone, Leigh was gone, and Aila was still very much injured. As much as it pained her, Rat knew she had to get herself together and take charge now.
The hacker sighed softly and shifted up to sit beside Aila on the bed, gently coaxing the laptop away from the doctor, who only seemed to grow angrier and angrier every time she watched the video.
"I'm gonna try to get hold of Beth and let her know what's going on..." Rat muttered quietly. She left Beth yet another message she hoped sounded urgent enough that the detective wouldn't ignore it.
Aila made a vague sound of acknowledgment as she eased herself down into a lying position with her back to the Swiss woman. She closed her eyes tightly as grief and anger melded together to create a sickening new emotion she couldn't even name.
She was angry at Leigh for making her endurance of DYAD's torture be completely in vain. The residual anguish from the experience made her feel as if the hairdresser had inflicted even deeper wounds herself with her actions. As irrational as Aila knew it was, she couldn't deny she felt betrayed and abandoned by the one clone she had thought was her closest friend.
She was angry at Katja as well for suddenly deciding she couldn't be bothered staying, and abandoning them both in order to make some last ditch effort at hunting down a killer Aila was sure nobody could capture alone. She said that she didn't want to leave Rat alone in the world again, so why would she take such a massive risk? Katja was going to end up getting herself killed. Aila was almost sure of it. If she didn't, she'd be the luckiest clone in the world.
In Aila's mind, Leigh and Katja were as bad as the countless families she'd grown up with. They had both made her feel safe and worth the effort, only to then leave her out in the cold. It wasn't fair. Leigh had told her once that she had a family now, and Aila wholeheartedly believed her...but now she wasn't so sure anymore.
Suddenly, Aila was pulled away from her ever-darkening thoughts by the sound of a sharp gasp from Rat. The doctor glanced up over her shoulder, taking in the hacker's pale face. She looked shocked, broken, defeated, and horrified all at once as fresh tears made their way down her face, though she didn't seem to notice them as her eyes stayed locked on whatever was on her computer screen.
Aila immediately felt selfish for allowing self-centered thoughts to consume her. Of course she still had part of this makeshift family left. She still had Rat, and she knew they needed to stay together no matter what now.
Katja was right. They needed each other in order to survive. They still had a mission to complete, and even without the others, they needed to keep looking forward.
"What?" Aila asked, trying to sit up even as her body protested moving. The sharp pain made her tremble with the effort to see what Rat was looking at. She was surprised to see Leigh's photograph on the screen along with DYAD's logo – Leigh's file. The sight of it made another pang of raw anger pulsate through Aila.
Looking to Rat for some type of explanation, she watched as the hacker numbly raised her hand to point to something written among the text beside the photograph.
Aila read the word, and suddenly all the anger she'd felt up until that moment vanished into nothingness as a sense of complete detachment came over her. In that moment, she didn't feel angry, or betrayed, or abandoned anymore. She didn't feel anything at all.
She read the word again and again, but somehow she stopped comprehending it as she stared at Rat in blank shock. Rat turned her head to stare back at her, the same look mirrored on her face.
"Aila...Leigh's dead."
On the other side of the city, in her office at DYAD, Rachel Duncan also looked at Leigh's file with tears in her eyes.