Stasis (Part 2): Iterate

by E. W. Osborne

  “I’ll hold you to that,” he mumbled. Moments later, he was snoring away.

  By the time she made it to the kitchen, Wesley was packing up the last bag. “Where are you going?”

  “I need to get the data on this Seed downloaded as quickly as possible. The moment he wakes up, we need to hide. It won’t be long before they know we’ve removed this,” he said, shaking a plastic container she normally used for leftovers.

  “Okay, but come right back. Joey is going to be flipping out as it is,” she said, a deep weariness settling into her bones.

  “I can’t promise how long this will take.”

  She checked the time. “As long as you’re back in a couple hours, that should be fine.”

  “I’ll be back when I’m back,” Wesley replied, bristling at the idea of someone keeping tabs on his coming and going. “In the meantime, no electronics. No tablet, no internet, nothing.”

  “I have to call my husband,” she sighed, rubbing at her temple.

  “Sure, I understand. Make sure to shove an apple in your mouth and sprinkle parsley around the plate as you serve yourself up.”

  She fantasized about smashing his head in with a frying pan as he strode out of the kitchen door without so much as a goodbye. She didn’t have much fight left in her. She was starving and desperately needed a few hours of quiet to herself.

  “Take all the time you need. We’ll be here,” she said to the empty room.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  New York City, NY

  June 30th

  THE DAYS LEADING up to the dinner were the most stressful of Christopher’s life. He couldn’t concentrate on a thing. Every waking moment was spent wrapped up in his own thoughts, his imagination on overdrive with all the ways it could go wrong. There were so. many. ways. Everything hinged on his brother who, frankly, had been acting quite unhinged.

  He couldn’t help but run through every possibility, yet again, as he traveled to pick Jamie up from his hotel and take him to dinner. Kristine was running late and said she’d meet them at the restaurant. Thankfully, that gave him a final chance to really hammer Jamie with the details once more.

  “Hey man, you’re looking good,” his brother declared as he climbed into the cab.

  “I scrub up when I need to,” Christopher replied, smoothing the wrinkles in his suit. He was so nervous, he was surprised he hadn’t turned a hideous shade of green. As his brother settled and the car pulled back into traffic, flying uptown faster than he would’ve liked, he dove straight in. “Remember everything I told you?”

  He gave him a good-natured eye roll. “No. The first five times weren’t enough. Of course. We’re good, man.”

  The causal tone in his voice was far from comforting. He could easily forget a tiny detail that might seen innocuous, but to a person like Kristine… well, all it took was a tiny crumb and she’d pick up the trail. There could be a gap in the conversation, a space he’d idly mention that he needed Christopher upstate for more shifts. Maybe he’d mention something about their father’s work. It was one of the biggest nights of his life and the uncertainty of how it was going to play out was killer.

  “You know, I think it’s smart you haven’t told her anything.”

  “Really?” Christopher balked. “You think it’s a good thing I’m lying to my fiancé?”

  Jamie crossed his ankle over his knee and stretched his arms across the seat. “It’s why I never got married. There was never a time I wasn’t a part of the company. I’ve always been a Steele and because of that, I could never trust a woman’s intentions.”

  “That’s cynical,” he replied without thinking.

  “Is it?”

  He tried to backpedal while still standing by his point. “Well, it’s probably different for you, being Dad’s name-sake and all. I kept the name but dropped the ‘e’ at the end. It’s so common anyway… and you probably meet different kinds of women. Kristine is different.”

  His brother’s eyebrow twitched. “If she’s so different, then why haven’t you told her?”

  Christopher opened his mouth to reply but couldn’t find an adequate answer. At first, he didn’t want her to know he was wealthy. Then, it was more about maintaining their relationship without the burden of his family weighing them down. The innocent lie had snowballed into an immovable boulder. Every excuse that sprang to mind made him sound like a coward. Which, I suppose I am…

  Kristine looked absolutely radiant. He’d never much bought into the whole glowing pregnant woman thing, but when he saw her from a distance, there was something truly special about her. She was already waiting at the table when the brothers arrived. The smile that lit up her face as she noticed him approach calmed his fears, if only for a moment.

  “You must be the infamous Jamie,” she exclaimed, rising to hug him. He’d put his hand out to greet her but she pulled him in for an awkward half-hug. She laughed over his shoulder, giving Christopher a little wink. “We’re going to be family, so you might as well get used to hugging.”

  Christopher held out her seat, planting a kiss on her cheek as she settled. “Yeah, Kristine’s family are big huggers.”

  “Yeah, well, at least we don’t kiss on the lips,” Kristine added. “Those families are so strange, aren’t they? I know it isn’t necessarily incestuous, but come on. There’s a certain age when it just gets weird to kiss your mom on the lips.” With a comical gasp, her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh shit. I didn’t even think. Does your family do that?”

  He exchanged a look with his brother and burst into laughter. He was sure they were both visualizing kissing their father, the mental image verging on insanity. Jamie held up a hand of apology as he stopped chuckling. “Sorry, no. Not at all. Mom was appropriately affectionate. Not too much or too little.”

  “The Goldilocks of love, got it. God, I’m sorry,” she breathed. “I’m so nervous. You’re the first of Chris’ family I’ve met.” She smoothed the linen napkin over her lap and looked to him.

  Jamie waved to a waiter on the other side of the dimly lit restaurant. “That’s quite alright. You’re the first girlfriend, let alone fiancé, Gopher has introduced me to.”

  Christopher forced himself to relax into the chair as she laughed. His knuckles ached from clenching them under the table. He had to remind himself that even if Jamie didn’t let something slip, he easily could by acting so damn weird. This is supposed to be a fun night, remember?

  “So I’m the first girlfriend then, huh?” she asked conspiratorially. She gave him a wink and continued, “Must be serious.”

  For a happy-go-lucky guy, he didn’t know how to handle this kind of tension. He was never the sort to lie or manipulate. Every time he felt a little relaxed, a comment or question would send his anxiety rocketing through the roof. The fabric under his arms grew damp. He tried to steer the conversation away from any troubling topics, but it was nearly impossible. The whole point of the dinner was for Kristine to meet Jamie, to feel as though she were folding into the family. There was only so much guiding he could do before she’d catch on.

  The conversation was light until their food arrived. With the distraction of food, Kristine apparently felt comfortable diving into the more gritty details of their family.

  “So, why do you call him Gopher?” She gave him a playful look that said she was digging for dirt, accepting nicknames in lieu of baby photos for the time being.

  Jamie chuckled sadly. “It’s not a very nice reason, if I’m honest.”

  She gasped sympathetically. “Oh no! Big brother stuff?”

  “Unfortunately. It started out as me always yelling at him to go away. Then it turned into ‘go, Christopher.’ And eventually morphed into Gopher.”

  “Awwww.”

  “Yeah, it’s not my favorite,” Christopher tried to laugh with good nature. Jamie didn’t know how truly hurtful the nickname was for him, but given everything else they could be talking about, he was happy to discuss it all night.

  �
��And you two are the oldest and the youngest?” she asked, pointing at them with her fork in turn.

  “Yup,” Christopher replied around a half-chewed piece of steak.

  “And you have a sister?”

  “That’s right,” he replied quickly. Kristine shot him a look as if to say, Could you not, please?

  Jamie picked up on the exchange. “Penelope is a few years younger than me, but what? Ten years older than you?” He wiped his mouth and urged Christopher to reply.

  Of all the topics Kristine could’ve jumped into first, she had to pick the touchiest. “Yup, yes,” he stammered. “She’s almost ten years older than me exactly.”

  Kristine nodded and turned her attention back to his brother. “The age difference between you two must’ve been hard, but you and Penelope. Are you close?”

  The innocent question had a dark and dented answer. Christopher held his breath as Jamie’s eyes turned to the table. Even after years apart, he could read his expression. The tightness to his lips, the slight flare of his nostrils. Maybe it’s because he looks so much like Dad, he considered as he mentally willed Jamie to reply.

  “Not as close as we should be,” was his magnanimous answer.

  Despite her natural inclinations to dig for the deepest truth, she gracefully accepted the answer. “I only have one sister,” she said as she chased a grape tomato around her plate. “Must be nice to have two siblings.”

  Jamie held a forkful to his mouth and said, “Three,” before stuffing his face.

  “Three?” Her gaze snapped to Christopher. His chest constricted so sharply he feared she might think he was choking.

  “Two and a half? I don’t know how you’d count him,” Jamie laughed, unaware or uncaring that he’d dropped Christopher right in it.

  “You never told me about this,” she frowned. He could almost see the wheels whirring behind her eyes, putting pieces of the puzzle together.

  His laugh was forced and fake. “It completely slipped my mind. I met him once, years ago, when he was still a baby. He’s only a half brother.”

  She looked between them, as if hunting for the truth. “Does he live near the city or near your sister?”

  Jamie caught on and tried to smooth things over, which was good. Christopher was ready to kick his shin under the table. “No, no. He’s Dad’s English bastard. We’ve never spoken to that side, especially after Dad died over there.” He gave Christopher a tiny nod as if to say, I got your back, not realizing he’d contradicted yet another story he’d told Kristine.

  “Really, I completely forgot about him,” he insisted, genuinely kicking himself that he had.

  Christopher was ready to hang his head in shame and admit the whole thing. Maybe coming right out with the truth would’ve been better for everyone, but he still had hopes that he’d be able to tell her in his own time, at the right moment.

  He watched her out of the corner of his eye. She’d gone quiet. Never a good sign.

  With all the social grace of a five-year-old, Jamie changed the subject again. “I’m envious of your self-control,” he said, nodding to Kristine’s salad. “I can never bring myself to eat healthy.”

  She put on a polite smile and rested a hand on the small swell of her belly. “I don’t normally, but with the little one on the way, something clicked.”

  Jamie dropped his fork to the plate, the loud clatter hushing the din of chatter for a moment. He gasped, mouth wide, hands flat on the table. “You’re kidding me! I’m going to be an uncle?”

  Kristine looked to Christopher in surprise as she nodded. “That’s right—”

  “Gopher. Man,” he exclaimed, rocking his chair onto the two back legs. “You little devil!” He slammed the chair back into place and flew around the table, hand outstretched. “Congratulations!” He practically shook his whole arm off.

  People from around the restaurant watched the scene with confused but happy expressions, whispering to one another.

  Jamie passed behind him and rushed to Kristine, falling to his knees before her as if he were about to propose. He took both her hands in his and kissed her knuckles. “You’ll make such a wonderful mother.”

  She sputtered out a small thanks, looking up with knitted brows for some kind of explanation. Even Christopher was caught up in Jamie’s sudden exuberance.

  He rose to his feet and addressed the entire restaurant. “I’m going to be an uncle! Champagne for every table.”

  “You don’t have to do that!” Kristine gasped, pulling at his hand.

  “It’s a celebration,” he insisted.

  Christopher sat in utter shock. The restaurant was abuzz, several women coming over to their table to congratulate them on the pregnancy. He couldn’t tell if his brother had planned to make such a scene or if the outburst had been genuine. Either way, it’d pulled Kristine’s attention away from the discrepancies in his story… for now.

  The rest of the dinner went smoothly, happiness flowing as smoothly as all the champagne. Christopher prematurely let his guard down, expecting all the difficult questions had been fielded. Until Kristine casually dropped an atomic bomb of a question over dessert.

  “So, what do you do for work, Jamie? Chris was stingy with the details.”

  His gut clenched again. He braced himself for the worst, fearing in the excitement Jamie had lost track of their agreement.

  His brother took a sip of his brandy before replying apologetically. “Finance. I’m afraid nothing glamorous. And you? I know Goph—sorry, Christopher told me, but all I can remember is it has to do with the internet.”

  “I’m a reporter, actually,” she said with a touch of pride.

  “Interesting! Are you working on anything specific?”

  Inside, Christopher was screaming. Outwardly, he tried to keep his cool and play an interested role in the conversation, looking for any way to steer it from the massive cliff they were speeding toward.

  Kristine pushed her plate away to rest her elbows on the table. “Actually, I’m looking into the cause of the Dreamscape leaks.”

  Jamie abruptly looked way. He traced the lip of the small brandy glass with his forefinger and nodded. “I see.”

  “I was actually the one who broke the story about the catatonic curse.” She beamed at Christopher as she added, “I’m the one who coined the phrase.”

  His brother chewed on the inside of his cheek and forced a smile. “Now that you mention it, I think I have seen you before.”

  “See? That’s great! You’re not even my normal demographic.”

  Christopher jumped in as soon as he could. “But you’re cutting back a bit now, aren’t you? With the wedding and baby and all.”

  “Well, maybe a little, but I have this great new contact. I don’t have his trust quite yet but…”

  He twisted the stained napkin between his hands as he navigated the rough waters. He hadn’t anticipated having to guide her away from Jamie’s touchy subjects. “What I mean is, it’s not like you’ll be doing any major digging into it.”

  She squinted at him. “What else would I do?”

  “It’s just… you’re already tired. You take at least one nap a day. How much could you hope to achieve?”

  While trying to protect himself and his brother, he’d inadvertently wounded her. Her eyes shimmered with tears as she looked away, unknowingly twisting the knife embedded in his chest.

  He dropped his voice, trying to smooth his abrasiveness over. He reached for her hand. “I’m just saying… the honest truth is—”

  “I know what you’re saying,” she snapped. She took an angry gulp of water and slammed the glass down on the table, loudly chinking the side of the plate. “I’m just fucking tired of hearing it.” Hands on the table, she pushed to her feet and paused, meeting Jamie’s eye. “I’m sorry. It was really great to meet you.”

  The brothers watched as she stormed off. Christopher wanted to sprint after her, but knew from experience it was better to let her cool down on her own. He
balanced his forehead against the heel of his hand, staring at a scatter of crumbs on the white table cloth.

  “Well! I’d call that a success,” Jamie chirped.

  Christopher looked up incredulously. “She won’t speak to me for the next two days.”

  “So? Come upstate a few days. She’ll calm down. It’s just the hormones.” He leaned forward and held him with an earnest, almost frightening, gaze. “But if you could get her to back off on her research project, that would be great. I’d really appreciate that.”

  He felt his dinner rising in his throat as he nodded. He stared at the empty door through which the love of his life had just fled. Jamie’s appreciation felt more like a threat, but he understood where it was coming from. “Yeah, sure. I’ll do what I can.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  New York City, NY

  KRISTINE MARCHED out of the restaurant, barely able to keep her tears back before she hit the cool night air. She hated blowing up in front of Jamie like that, in the middle of a fancy dinner, but she couldn’t take it anymore. This side of Christopher had come out of nowhere. The pregnancy and engagement had turned him into this archaic caricature of a husband.

  She looked up and down the street, angrily wiping her face of escaped tears. Part of her wanted to stay out all night, rent a hotel room, ignore his calls and messages just to teach him a lesson. If he thought he could control a fraction of her life, she was ready to teach him a lesson. But she realized, while fun, it would only be petulant and petty. Instead, she climbed into a cab and headed home, planning a different kind of resistance.

  When she’d first concealed Hypnos’ messages as junk mail, she had a thought that she was being a little dramatic. But after that dinner, she was glad for it. Christopher never gave her any indication he’d go snooping through her things, but then again, she’d never seen this side of him before. Who knew what he was really thinking?

  Once home, she reread all the correspondence she’d had with this mysterious informant. The fact she couldn’t vet him made her uneasy, but with very little to go on, she had to follow every lead.