“So? Did you want to talk?” I asked, trying not to smile. On one hand I felt bad for the induced pain (go figure), on the other hand – he really looked funny. Where was all his power and pride?
He glared at me with such reproach that I lost any desire to laugh, but I still considered my little revenge fair. I would repeat it without a second thought.
“That’s what you did to my heart,” I said.
He nodded. Color slowly returned to his face. After a few seconds he straightened up, then put his hands on his knees and looked at me, lowering his head.
“It hurt,” he said.
“I noticed.”
“Can we not go back to it? No repeats?”
Now I did smile. I suspected the smile was malicious, because my friend crossed his hands over his friend. He didn’t say anything else as if he waited for me to start. We looked at each other for some time even though I wanted to cast my eyes downward, give up. I hated myself for it. I talked about being honest in front of myself, but it didn’t apply to others. Sometimes it was better to die than let another person know about your weakness. Especially when this other person used your sincerity and walked over your feelings in kersey boots. That was why I couldn’t stand the silence any longer and started to talk first. He probably expected that, but it was easier for me to hate him when I talked.
“What happened to Alexis?”
“He’s in onis. For now.”
“He got there because of you.”
“You can’t make me feel worse than I do already. Sam, I’m sorry. I couldn’t prevent any of this. I couldn’t. Believe me.”
I folded my arms on my chest and smiled. The cat appeared from nowhere and jumped on my lap. I was grateful to have something to switch attention to and ran my hand over his soft back.
“I’ll tell you what’s really going on here.”
“Go ahead.”
“Thanks. The corporation belongs to me, only formally. In reality, Bristow has owned it for a long time. I led the invention program that developed the mechanism for transportation to the parallel universe. I’m not a scientist as you understand, but I was always interested in science. I should thank my parents for that. They always supported me in all my adventures and they presented me with funds to organize a laboratory and gather the best specialists. We created a lot of new products and made a good profit. For example—a universal remote. Of course, it’s a small bird compared to the transportation hallway, but its introduction into everyday usage presented people with a quantity of convenience.”
“I have to agree with that. You can use it to let someone go to the bathroom or to electrocute a disobedient. Cool stuff.”
“I know what happened,” Ray said. “That man doesn’t work for the corporation anymore.”
“Why?” I raised my eyebrows. “You shouldn’t let go such an efficient employee because of me. He just did his job. Something his boss ordered him to do.”
“You’re very kind and fair.”
“You noticed? But only one person can make sarcastic remarks here. In this case—it’s me.”
“I agree.” Ray raised his hands. “Talking about the remote,” he bent to the table and picked up a rectangle thing with buttons. “They are all different and have different designations. You don’t have to worry about all of them having an electrical charge.”
“Trust me; it’s the last thing I worry about. I’m not even interested in how it works.”
Ray returned the remote to the table.
“Let’s talk about the hallway,” he said. “I want you to know that we didn’t create it for the sake of making money. We have all been enthusiasts, travelers. We traveled to your planet to learn about another life, culture. At that time, our planets didn’t differ that much. I mean, they were different, but the politics on our planet hasn’t been so bad. Then I proposed to the woman I loved.” Ray took a pause, gazing at me expressively. I kept stroking the cat and waited for the rest of the story. “By that time, I was almost broke. I invested everything in the program and my parents stopped sponsoring me. They also had a difficult time with my father’s illness. I sold the rights for the remote because I needed finances and I’ve lost everything with time. I have to admit—I’m not a great fantasist. The program was in jeopardy. Then Samantha offered me her father’s help. He had this idea of a corporation and I thought it could work. He promised that I would remain in control and make the decisions. He told me that he was interested only in the scientific aspect of the program. After three months, after the deal had been sealed, I understood what had happened but it was too late. Actually, not exactly like that, I’m getting ahead of myself. At the very beginning, when Bristow just started selling trips, it wasn’t bad. We created detailed strategies for travelers; rules, directions. The corporation began to receive huge amounts of money. It made our heads spin, but it felt good. Then Bristow started to talk about permanent placement or work placement of our people on Planet Two, to help travelers. He didn’t talk about planting somebody there secretly as an agent. He talked about replacement.”
I clenched my teeth and put the cat down on the floor. I didn’t want to hurt the animal, plunging my nails in his hide.
Ray sighed, followed the cat with his gaze to the kitchen.
“I was against it. You can believe me. I was categorically against this idea. I thought it was inhumane. Invasion and placing our people like this would be disastrous. No one has listened to me. Bristow hinted that I could become one of his enemies. He hated me. He would be glad to throw me in onis. Samantha protected me, but how could she go against her father? I tried to pull her on my side, set at odds with the old guy, but soon I understood that she was on his side all along. Nothing and no one could make her choose me against him … I loved her. Madly.”
I wanted to ask about now. Didn’t he love her now? I kept it to myself. Even though this question interested me the most, we were talking about something different.
“I was ready to do anything for her,” Ray almost whispered. “We …” He looked at me, pausing, put his head down for a second then looked back at me. “We replaced one of the leaders in your government. Then we installed the hallway in a convenient place and transferring became easy. Of course, a lot depended on the traveler. Some of them wanted to stay, some tried to contact their doubles. For those cases, we had hunters and they stopped the attempts before it was too late.
“What happened to that man?” I asked.
“What man?”
“The one you replaced in our government? I don’t even want to ask you who it was.”
“He …” Ray scratched his head. “He’s still alive as far as I know. I don’t know where he is though.”
“I see,” I said. “What then?”
“Things started developing faster than I was able to control. Bristow—is a genius. Evil genius. If he wasn’t a maniac, I could admire his ideas. First he set up a trip to Planet Two as a lottery jackpot with a huge amount of money on top of it. The whole family of the winner could go on a trip. That wasn’t all. If they wanted to, they could immigrate to your planet, with the corporation’s help. They were promised housing, documents, biography. The replacements had started. More and more rich people were ready to give away their millions for the opportunity to leave our planet. Bristow has done everything to make life here lleh … hell and make his bank account grow.”
“You’ve been killing our people,” I spat out with anger. “You’ve been killing them, so your people could take their place. You even organized the whole block for their murder. How wonderful. Why don’t you kill the doubles at home? Why do you transfer them here?”
“They keep doubles here for some time … In case any problems occurred there. We can’t learn and comprehend everything. The doubles give us tips on how to get out of the situation in exchange for freedom.”
“You are lying scumbags. That block is for murdering us. You just …”
Ray sighed again and ran his hand through
his hair.
“Eris is more for our people,” he said, so quietly I could barely hear him.
“What does that mean?”
“It means … It means the biggest and deadliest snet I conceal.”
I didn’t understand what he meant. They had a special prison for criminals against the government. Onis. People were put there and almost all of them stayed for good. “What does it have to do with the corporation?”
“The lottery winners don’t go to your planet,” Ray said. “They go to the killing block. Even on the table, the executioners tell them they are being injected because it’s the only way to get to the parallel universe. They are already expected on the other side. No one knows, but the employees, how the hallway works. We can say any lie and people will believe. The winners of the jackpot are killed. All of them.”
My mouth dropped. And I’d thought there was nothing more to surprise me.
“The money goes to the lottery fund … Bristow’s account. The news shows another winner going to Planet Two. They even show the reports from there if the doubles are found.”
“Why?” I rubbed my arms, covered with goose bumps. I couldn’t sort in my head what he was saying.
“Because Bristow wants their money for himself and not to spend it on their trips.”
“You supported it.”
“I did everything,” Ray said in a cold voice, “that was expected of me.”
“Okay.” My teeth gritted. “Then your wife decided that she’s too big for this place. She needed to grace two planets with her presence.”
“You could say that, but I should explain more. My wife …” Again I could hear a sigh. I heard banging of dishes in the kitchen, and Dan, begging his cat not to jump on the table. Reality and fantasy, everything was under one roof. “It wasn’t like my wife changed, and yet she did. Her self-confidence exceeded all reasonable limits. Also her appetite. She suddenly decided that she can do anything she wants. She decided that there were no limits for her.”
“I noticed that.”
“Sorry.” Ray covered his face with his hands for a second. “I saw her treating you rudely, and then Dan. But it had to be that way. We couldn’t let her suspect anything. Your life was on the map.”
“My life. You go against your wife to save me. Interesting. Let’s not skip pace. What was next? Did she send you to watch me?”
“We have a team of spies and psychologists. Their work is to watch and study people who are going to be replaced. Their life story, relationships, habits, gestures. Everything. We sent two groups to study you and … Ray. The one you’ve known. I was supposed to move to your planet, too.”
“You shouldn’t have met me.” I pulled my knees under my chin and wrapped my arms around them. I felt cold even though it was warm inside the house.
“I shouldn’t have. I controlled the spies. I went to your planet to settle the last details, but …”
“You saw me and realized that you were head over heels in love with me. Just stop lying.”
Ray smiled.
“It’s almost the truth.”
I sneered and pretended his words irritated me. I couldn’t possibly believe any of them.
“In reality, I didn’t want to replace my wife’s double. I didn’t want Samantha to take anybody’s place. I needed to stop her. Only I couldn’t do it at that moment. Spies and hunters were around, keeping an eye on you. The information about your every step was delivered not only to me, but to Samantha also. I couldn’t stop the process. I wanted to meet you, learn more about you personally. But when I actually met you …”
He looked at me and I held his gaze. I didn’t melt, didn’t run on the floor like an ice cream. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms on my chest. I was an impregnable fortress.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ray waved, “I don’t ask forgiveness for using your feelings or pretending to be another person. I deserve to be quartered for that.”
“I agree. What’s next?”
“Next, you found the phone and everything went faster than it had been planned.”
“You couldn’t warn me?” I asked with a mocking smile. I hoped that smile was mocking.
“First of all, you wouldn’t have believed me. If you did believe me, I couldn’t change anything. Samantha found out about the phone fast, but the informants didn’t tell her about our meeting. They didn’t know it wasn’t part of the plan. I was the only one knowing all the details. Samantha sent the hunters. They would get anyone from the underground. I could only organize your escape here. Fake your death … Unfortunately, Alexis didn’t execute our plan well. The body of the liquidator was discovered too soon.”
“The executioner? Did he kill him?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t feel bad.”
“I can understand that.”
“You said your wife died.”
“Partially it’s true.” Ray stopped talking; thinking. “I didn’t want to go into all the details and present myself as a scumbag. I wanted to have an avenue of retreat. So I could beg for forgiveness later. I’m a bastard, I know. But if she went to your planet … she wouldn’t come back.”
“You would kill your wife?” I wanted to laugh. Ray just kept his gaze on me. “I don’t believe you. Another lie.”
“We won’t find out now.”
“I hate you,” I whispered.
“I know,” he answered.
We fell silent again, reducing each other to ashes.
“What now?” I demanded.
“My wife and my father-in-law already know that you didn’t get to onis. Samantha trusts Dan completely and she won’t suspect him. They think that Hlifian people attacked the car, took you over, and captured Dan. For now, hunters haven’t picked up his trail; people will notify us if that occurs.”
“Why don’t they just check Dan’s house.”
“Officially, he lives in a different place. No one knows about this house.”
“They found me two times. What’s different now?”
“It was a different situation. You were running in plain sight. Cameras are everywhere in the city along the roads. Of course they found you. Now you’ve just disappeared. I hope to transfer you back soon. Maybe even today.”
“That would be good. I don’t want to be an annoying guest. You’re hospitable, I can’t complain, but I miss my home. Why is Bristow still alive? I bet there are plenty of people desirous of his demise.”
“Sorry, but it’s a naïve question.” Ray produced a soft smile and I wanted to kick him again. For this smile and these words. “On your planet, not everyone likes your president. Probably some people want to kill him, but not everything’s so simple when a man represents power. Absolute power.”
“So, no one knows what is really happening to the winners.”
“Of course not.”
“I wouldn’t call them winners though.”
“I agree.”
“What about the President?”
Ray shook his head, but I saw a different expression in his eyes.
“What if he found out? I remember you told me that Bristow had elevated himself over the president, but he is still the official leader of the country. The President. Would he support the murder of his own citizens and not do anything?” I felt my face burning and couldn’t understand why I was so fumed. It was not my planet. I was going to leave soon and never come back. It was not my business. I still kept talking, now with less enthusiasm. “They have to have some documents about this process. I mean, the winners and their ensuing murder. Some kind of account or report? Somebody must have taken care of that.”
Ray didn’t answer, but looked at me thoughtfully.
“Ray?”
I startled and turned to the voice. Steve was standing in the threshold with a bottle of pochin.
“Sorry I interrupted,” he said.
“It’s okay.” Ray’s voice sounded absently.
“We just received information that your wife
entered the building of the Corporation - A Step to Another World.”
“Thanks. Guys, come here,” Ray said.
“Dan! Ron! Ray’s calling!” Steve yelled. He walked into the living room and sat with me on the couch. After a couple of seconds, Dan joined me and Ronald sat down in the chair across from us.
“Sam has an interesting idea.” Ray nodded in my direction and I raised my eyebrows. “We have been talking about the occupation of Bristow’s mansion for some time. We need an army to take it by storm.”
The guys didn’t say anything, just nodded. I was quiet. They actually had Napoleon’s plans and they shared them with me. I was in the center of a revolution. Wow. No one ever knew what surprises life could bring.
“We want to assassinate Bristow,” Ray said matter-of-factly. “Only in this case the lottery would move to … his daughter and we would be persecuted for this crime.” He turned to Ronald. “We could change our strategy to The Lottery building. We can avoid the murder.”
“I don’t think I understand,” Dan said as he stroked his cat. The animal climbed on its owner’s neck and looked like a white, purring collar.
“Here comes Sam’s idea.”
“I didn’t offer any ideas,” I protested.
“You had a good idea.” Ray smiled again. “Actually it’s brilliant. We have been thinking about all kinds of methods to physically eliminate Bristow and haven’t looked for evasion. You, an outsider, looked at it … well, from the outside, and asked logical questions.”
I shrugged. Yes, I’m a genius, use my genius brain.
“Bristow has to have the documented testimonies of the winners’ murders,” Ray continued. “Maybe Samantha has it, I can’t say for sure. The controller records everything connected to the executions of the winners and doubles from Planet Two. There should be documentation on the replacements. I haven’t received any of it. My work was … and is – to control employees. Bristow is hands on. He should have the bank’s invoices proving money transfers from winners to his accounts. There could be more, but I don’t know everything. As I’ve said already, only he and his daughter have been initiated into all the actions of the Lottery and The Corporation. If we succeed in getting the documents proving Bristow’s dictatorship and deliver it to the public, the President will have to act in response.”
A Step to Nowhere Page 20
