Mimics of Rune 02- Surrender

by Aimee Laine

  “Why?” James and Cael both asked.

  Maggie smiled.

  “Because if they go to take DNA, they’re going to know it’s not hers.”

  “We won’t let them,” Cael said.

  Charley repositioned herself next to Cael and ran a hand along his arm. “If you can get out on time, it’s feasible. If you can’t, or if it lasts longer than Thursday, the entire plan could explode in front of us. There is only one real Lily.” Charley had always been the voice of reason; she hadn’t lost that with her final change. That Charley didn’t know everything about Mimics had surprised Lily, but then again, Charley had spent her last hundred years in the service of the government, and keeping secrets had been her trademark.

  “Yeah, and on Thursday …” Maggie swiveled her chair around. “They’ll probably be taking some other samples, if you know what I mean.”

  “No, Maggie, I don’t,” Lily said.

  The pat on her leg suggested Maggie didn’t mind knowing more than the rest of them. “That’s cute, Lily. I love being smarter than all of you.”

  Yup. Knew it.

  “You’re a bigger pain in the ass, too.” Cael chuckled, though the sound came out forced.

  “The true test of whether their genetic mix-’em-up is going to work is to produce with it. Better yet, don’t take your DNA and his DNA and inject it … mix it. Create a new life. A child.”

  Up and down, trembles took hold of Lily’s arms and legs.

  “Harvest eggs—either through the girl or you—probably you first since the sample size is far greater with an adult Mimic.” Maggie flicked her nails against her palms. “My guess? Roy wants you, Lily, because he doesn’t want to spill his seed in a cup with a few magazines. He wants to try for the real deal.”

  Confusion muddled Lily’s thoughts. “But he said he planned to get back at them. He’s been hurt by this, too.”

  Maggie shook her head. “No. You said, he said, you would want to get back at them. You could make it all stop. You. He’s playing both sides of the fence. No way he’s gone soft and altruistic. Not Roy Marlow. Nope. Power, prestige, money, whatever. He found Leigh. That led him to you. If he says ‘they’ want you for your DNA, he wants something more.”

  “We’re not going to let that happen, Lily,” Cael said.

  “There’s one way to make sure it doesn’t.” Maggie tilted her head toward Charley. “Blend with someone. Then your genes are all washed up, and no matter what you do with them or how much they torture you for them, they ain’t gonna get any.”

  Lily stared up at Cael.

  • • •

  Cael clenched his fists listening to Maggie. Despite the fact she’d been right on so many levels, he still ached to punch the smugness off her face. How she and James had hooked up and created such an amazing boy as Chase, eight years before, Cael would never know. She irritated the piss out of him.

  The biggest problem lay in the fact he needed her to get all the answers and strategize.

  Charley’s expression fell every time Maggie added more. As the oldest of them all, Cael had assumed she knew the most, when, in reality, she’d been the most closeted of any of them, keeping herself secreted away and carefully choosing who she worked for and when. He’d never been prouder to know that—whether she’d been one-upped by Maggie in the knowledge department or not.

  Charley leaned into Wyatt, the fulfillment of her life reflecting in their solidarity. “I think Lily should do this.”

  “What?” Every person in the room asked it at the same time.

  “Jinx,” Maggie said. “You owe me a Ferrari.”

  Cael raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  Maggie shrugged. “It’s Chase’s thing. He was doing it on the trip all the time. Every time you say something at the same time as someone else—oh, forget about it. He only wanted soda or chocolate. I figured I’d take the game up a notch, but clearly you all have no funny bones in your bodies.”

  “Why in the hell do you believe Lily should be herself?” Cael stormed to the door and back, ignoring Maggie. “Why, Charley?”

  “Because I think she’s the only one who can outtalk Roy. He’s a brick wall except when Lily’s in front of him, and then, he spouts off knowledge like a spigot on high.”

  “But … I didn’t even interpret what he said right.” Lily’s brow drew tight. “I’m not good at that kind of … stuff.” She shifted toward Maggie. “What if you—”

  “Lily …” Charley took Lily’s vacated spot. “You can do this. At least until Thursday, you have to draw Roy out—get him to talk more. Be his confidante. Listen to him. Let him show off and get him talking.”

  “Charley—” Cael started, but she waved him away.

  “He’ll talk to you. Maggie can pretend to be you, but she doesn’t have the memories to draw on, and that’s where Roy took that conversation. You both have a background that none of us can even remotely come close to understanding. If he’s lying, you’ll start to see the cracks. If he’s telling the truth, you’ll pick up on it.”

  “You can’t expect her to go through that again,” Cael said. “That’s torture.”

  Charley held up a hand. “I agree with Maggie that Roy’s probably playing both sides, but he’s made it very clear how he’s going to know it’s you, Lil.”

  “I don’t know if I can deal with this again.” Lily’s eyes filled.

  Every time she cried, it broke a little piece of Cael’s heart. His chest tightened, and his heart beat at a furious pace in his chest. He longed to gather her up, hide her somewhere safe and keep her from being used—from being hurt.

  “He’s got a plan for himself,” Charley began, “and he’s working a plan for someone else. We just have to be ready for all the possibilities. And, honey, I want you to think about something. If they planned to get DNA from Leigh? They’ve probably already taken it.”

  A tear fell over Lily’s lid.

  Cael had already considered that fact. No way whoever had her would wait. Roy had used it as a ploy: ‘Come with me, and I’ll get you your family member back … unharmed … around your birthday’. What hid behind his ultimate purpose worried Cael more. No one but Lily could convince Roy of her background.

  Cael handed Lily the ring box. “What’s the message inside?”

  She revealed the same stone they’d seen in Savannah, one that had torn Cael’s heart in two and had him making a five hour drive in three and a half to ensure her safety. Lily pulled it out, dropped it into Charley’s hand and dug at the blue velvet lining. It popped out with a small click.

  Underneath, a one centimeter, square USB drive rested on the bottom.

  “Wow, that’s small.” Lily handed it to Cael, who passed it to James.

  Maggie rose and paced to the bookshelf and back as James attached it to the computer. She tapped her chin as she walked. “What is our ultimate goal here?”

  “To get Leigh out,” Lily said as Cael said, “To keep Lily safe,” merging with James’s answer of, “To give Roy a taste of his own medicine,” and Charley’s, “To stop this ridiculous project.”

  “Clearly, everyone’s priorities are different.” At Cael’s indrawn breath, Maggie said, “Hear me out.” She trekked back across the lush, burgundy carpeting. “Roy’s going to lead you right to the facility. Straight to Leigh, right?”

  “It could be yet another trap,” Cael said.

  “Not could be. Will be.” Maggie swiveled in the chair. “Remember, he has a reputation. So he can lead us all there, but Charley’s right, Lily has to go in.”

  Even as his mind accepted that Maggie spoke sense, Cael beat his fist against the wall. “No.”

  Maggie gripped the edge of the chair. “I’ll go with her.”

  “They only want her to go,” Charley said.

  Maggie opened her mouth, but Lily butted in. “Please not as a mouse, Maggie.” Lily closed her eyes tight. “I can’t.”

  “I can be whatever you want. Anything but a snake. I refuse
to be associated with those scaly things.” She shivered until her hair shook. “Anyway, I’ll go in with her, figure out what’s what and report back. By midnight on Wednesday, I’ll have a way to get Lily out and replace her with either myself or Cael since, clearly, James is of no use in this situation.”

  “Oh, I’ll be of use.” He pointed a finger at Maggie, even though his gaze stayed fixed toward the computer screen. “I’ll be monitoring every breath and every movement of our people on the inside.” Colors and lines dotted the screen as James tapped at the keyboard.

  “What can I do?” Charley turned to Wyatt.

  He held out a hand, and she moved to him, his arms wrapping around her, connecting the two of them. As much as it hurt Cael to see Lily pained, Charley’s inability to help—as she had for the sixty years he’d known her—bothered him just as much.

  “Eyes and ears.” Maggie tapped her temple. “You’ve still got your photographic memory. Anything I can get a picture of, you check it out. When roles are switched, you’re going to have to direct traffic, so to speak. If anyone thinks I’m not Lily, since I won’t be, then we’ll have really big problems.”

  A small smile cracked Charley’s lips. “I can do that.”

  “Yeah, I barely got through with Tony pretending to be Angela. Thankfully, the guys who abandoned me on his doorstep told them my memory would be a little shot. Little did he know.” A small giggled escaped Lily, and with it, tension unfurled from Cael’s shoulders.

  “We’re going to need some seriously hidden tracking devices for this kind of operation,” Wyatt said.

  “We’ve got them. If you recall, we used a few of them on Charley in Montreal.” James winked at Charley before tapping the screen.

  Wyatt closed his eyes and smiled.

  Montreal had been an interesting project.

  “They better be good, wireless and on the exact same spot for anyone who might play the role of Lily,” Maggie said.

  “All right, message is up.” James swiveled the monitor outward. “It’s a map, a set of directions and a few x’s and o’s for you, Lil.”

  “Oooh, he’s a real romantic.” Maggie wiggled wide-palmed hands in the air.

  The printer beeped and jerked as whatever hid on the drive transformed into a solid piece of data for the group. “Five copies coming up.” James slipped the first from the printer and handed it to Lily.

  Cael sat next to her again and read over her shoulder.

  My dearest Lily,

  Apologies for the formalities and covert operation, but it’s imperative that you and I complete this mission together. All arrangements have been made. You need only meet me at the bus station in the city.

  Bus station? Roy with all his money picked a bus station?

  I’ll take care of everything from that point.

  Our transportation departs at exactly eight p.m. Monday night, and we’ll have an overnight trip to make our arrival. Come as you are. All your needs will be taken care of.

  Where the hell does he think he’s taking her?

  Bring an open mind, too.

  I look forward to partnering with you in this venture. The ring is yours. I hope you’ll wear it.

  All the best,

  Roy

  James handed Cael the map. It only detailed the bus station with a red ‘x’ over the second-to-last door on the building.

  “Hey guys?” Cael studied the maps as he realized the location of the buses came very near the police headquarters. Wounds from a previous project still festered. “You all okay with keeping the cops out of this and handling it ourselves?”

  Every voice in the room said, ‘yes’.

  • • •

  Thankful when Charley called for a break, Lily rose and walked to the living room.

  Max sat with Chase on the couch, showing him how to play video games, while Tony and Angela leaned their heads against one another. In the kitchen, Evelyn stood chopping onions.

  Lily headed straight for her.

  “Your Sophie’s been showing me where everything is,” Evelyn said.

  “Good. What’cha makin’?” Lily inhaled the fresh onion and cilantro flavors permeating the room, relaxing at the normalcy of the activity as she took a seat on a barstool.

  “You’re tense.” Evelyn slid the green and white pieces into a bowl. “Anything I can help … with … in the grand scheme of things?”

  “Unfortunately not, but we think we’re closer to finding Leigh.”

  She stopped, her gaze fixed on Lily. “What do you mean?”

  “I have to leave tomorrow night. Actually, we all do. But not you guys. You’ll stay here with Sophie and Stuart.”

  Evelyn waved the knife. “That one’s a funny guy. He’s been explaining to Tony more about your kind … my kind, I guess. He said it only flows through the mother’s line.”

  “And it’s really strong through yours—ours.” From my grandmother to you, you to me and on. A pang hit Lily’s heart. Her mother may not have given her up, but she’d bet money her grandmother had.

  “But I never got any of it? And not Angie, either?”

  With pursed lips, Lily shook her head. “It skips generations sometimes. Leigh would be the next since you didn’t show any signs, Angie.”

  “People tell me I’m spry as a mid-seventies woman. Maybe that’s a little of the genes?”

  Lily’s lips pulled to the right until a smile bloomed. “Could be. I like knowing that my Mom and I share more than just good looks.”

  Evelyn laughed, a full and hearty sound that lifted weight from within Lily.

  “So, will you stay until I get back?”

  “I don’t think I have a choice if you’re going to get Leigh. You’re sure there’s nothing we can do? We could work with the police.”

  Lily tapped the counter. “Actually, I have to tell you … we’ve had some misgivings with the police here. I know they’re involved, but for this little venture, we need to keep them out.”

  Evelyn narrowed her eyes.

  “And I need you to convince Tony and Angela that it’s in the best interest of us all to do that.”

  “To not bring in the group that’s supposed to take care of us? Isn’t that a little … wrong?”

  “No.” Charley answered and took the seat to Lily’s right. “We can do so much more. Mimics were designed for this kind of work. It might be genetics that give us our ability, but it’s history that has us in the position that we are.” She turned to Lily. “I think I failed you and James and Cael.”

  “What?” Lily’s heart lurched. “What do you mean?”

  A small head shake accompanied Charley’s sigh. “I made you work for the government when, in reality, we could have done anything we wanted.”

  “Now listen here, young lady …” The forcefulness in Evelyn’s voice made Lily and Charley both turn toward her. “I’ve been watching you around here, and I know these folks put their faith in you. Why would you have doubts like that?”

  A small smile tugged at Charley’s lips as her eyebrow rose and lowered.

  “You did what you knew to do, Charley.” Lily snuggled in for a hug. “You’ve always done that, and we’ve never complained. You kept us safe. You kept us together. You did it right up until the last possible moment, even.”

  “Last possible moment?” Evelyn asked as she stirred.

  “There are some … let’s call them ‘forks in the road’ for Mimics,” Charley said.

  “And this is something that Leigh will have to deal with?” Evelyn spooned some of the salsa onto a chip and held it out.

  Both Lily and Charley bobbed their heads.

  “It’s not something she’ll have to worry about for a long time, though.” Charley took the chip and bit. Her eyes closed as if she’d tasted a piece of heaven. “Oh, this is amazing.”

  Lily took the second one offered.

  “My own secret recipe.” Evelyn offered them both a light chuckle.

  “This must be where you get y
our talents, Lil.” Charley took another chip as Wyatt joined her, his arms snaking around her upper shoulders. “You gotta try this.” She popped the morsel into his open mouth.

  “So you like to cook, Lily?” Evelyn asked.

  “Like to?” Wyatt asked with a smirk. “The woman is a master chef.”

  Evelyn’s lips curved. “I like knowing that I’ve had an influence, even though I haven’t been around.”

  Lily agreed with the sentiment and hoped she could get through Thursday and have more of the same—a normal life with a normal mom and a normal family.

  18

  By eleven that night, Cael had been fitted and disrobed of his James-Bond-like spy-wear, as had Maggie and Lily; it would all be replaced in the morning.

  He followed Lily to her room where she dropped onto her bed, flat on her back.

  “Lil? Can I … stay?” Cael didn’t wait for an answer, just closed the door and locked it. Worst case, he’d leave. Middle case, he’d fall asleep holding her in his arms. The best case caused a quickening in his groin.

  She leaned up to her elbows. “You want to stay in here? Aren’t you the ‘everybody get some sleep’ guy?”

  He laughed at her mimicked tone. “Lay back down. We have one more thing for you.”

  Instead of staying put, she rose until seated.

  Cael flopped down next to her.

  “What do you have?” she asked.

  He opened the box, wishing the ring he’d bought could have been inside, but knowing that moment would not have been a good one to propose. Then again, one kiss shouldn’t have convinced him she’d say ‘yes’, either. Instead, he held out Roy’s ring box—the very one Cael didn’t want Lily to wear or have any part in.

  “James added some … stuff … to this.” It pained him to have to ask her to wear it, but the silver strips he’d added to the inner wall of the ring would allow them to track the wearer. “If you wear it, we’ll know where you are all the time.”

  “But we have all the rest of these …” She pointed to her hair.

  “I know. It’s just another … option.” Precaution. Lily’s hesitation brought a smile to Cael’s face. “You don’t have to.”

  “Do you want me to wear it?”