Stephenie Meyer - The Chemist

“I’ll be there in thirty seconds,” Alex promised.

Val rolled her eyes. “Fine, have your little good-bye scene.” She turned and walked through the doors.

“Alex -” Daniel began.

“Wait.”

She took his hand again and led him out the front door, pulling the toolbox with her free hand. He had the big first-aid bag slung over his shoulder. Einstein tried to follow and then whined when she shut the door on him.

They walked down the quiet hall to the elevator. Alex pressed the button. When the doors slid apart, Daniel walked in and she followed, putting one foot across the breach to hold it open. She dropped the toolbox’s handle and reached up to hold Daniel’s face between her hands.

“Listen to me,” she said quietly. “In the glove compartment of the sedan there’s a manila envelope. There are two sets of IDs – passports, driver’s licenses, and a bunch of cash.”

“I don’t look that much like Kevin now.”

“I know, but people age, lose hair. You can toss the glasses, shave, dye your hair back to brown. And if things go badly, you’ll need to do all of that. Then get to the nearest airport. Get on any plane that’s leaving North America, okay?”

“I won’t leave you behind.”

“When I say go badly, I mean that I won’t be around for you to wait for.”

He stared at her with that odd new version of his troubled face.

“Okay?” she repeated insistently.

He hesitated, then nodded.

“Good,” she said, trying to sound like that discussion was closed. She wasn’t feeling the conviction behind his nod, but there wasn’t time to argue about it.

“You stay quiet tonight,” she instructed. “Don’t speak to anyone unless you have to. Think like an underling. You’re just there to drive the car and carry the bags, okay? This is just a paycheck. None of what’s happening means anything to you. No matter what you see, it doesn’t affect you. You have no emotional response. You got that?”

He nodded seriously. “Yes.”

“If things get dicey, it will make sense for you to run. This isn’t your problem.”

“Right,” he agreed, but his answer was less decided this time.

“Here.” She yanked the gold ring from her finger. It was the bigger of the two. She removed his arms from around her and tried it on all his fingers. As with Kevin, it fit only on his pinkie. At least she was able to get it all the way down over his knuckles. Hopefully it wouldn’t look too out of character.

“Be extremely careful with this,” she told him. “Slide this little hatch out of the way if you need to use it. Whatever you do, don’t touch the barb. If you’re not in the act of using it, keep it closed. But if you’re trying to get out, and someone’s in your way, all you have to do is put that barb in contact with his skin.”

“I got it.”

Alex looked into the startling blue eyes, searching for Daniel behind the strangeness of his oddly simple disguise. She was out of instructions, and the feelings she wanted to share with him didn’t seem to have corresponding words.

“I… I don’t know how to go back to my old life,” she said, trying to explain. “I don’t know how to do that anymore, without you. Having you as my liability is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

He smiled just a little bit, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “I love you, too,” he whispered.

She tried to smile back.

Daniel put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her for one lingering second. Then he smiled at her again, unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. She took a step away from him.

“I told you I’d be there when you needed backup,” he said.

The elevator doors closed.

There was no wig involved this time, just a quick trim that left her real hair looking like it had an actual style. A pixie cut; that’s what people called it, she thought. The color was medium blond now, and it lightened up her complexion. It was also flattering to her face shape the way her real hair hadn’t been since… she couldn’t remember the last time her hair had been attractive.

“Seriously,” Alex said. “Did you go to cosmetology school?”

Val applied mascara with a hand as steady as a surgeon’s. “No. I never liked school that much. It always seemed a little bit like prison to me – I wasn’t going to sign up for extra. I just liked playing with my appearance, having a face for every mood. I practice a lot.”

“I think you’ve got a real aptitude. If being the most beautiful woman on the planet ever gets dull, you could open a salon.”

Val flashed her brilliant teeth. “I never thought I would want an actual woman friend. It’s more fun than I imagined.”

“Ditto. Just curious, and you don’t have to answer, but is Val for Valerie?”

“Valentine. Or Valentina. It changes, depending on mood and circumstance.”

“Ah,” Alex said. “That fits better.”

“It’s very me, ” Val told her. “It’s not the name I was born with, of course.”

“Whose is?” Alex murmured.

Val nodded. “It’s only logical. My parents didn’t even know me when they picked a name out. Of course it didn’t fit.”

“I never really thought of it that way, but it does make sense. My mother picked a name for a much more… feminine kind of girl.”

“My parents evidently assumed I would be very boring. I cleared that misconception up pretty quickly.”

Alex chuckled once. As was so often true lately, the laugh carried with it the barely disguised sound of panic. It was nice to talk like she imagined normal people did, to try to forget that this might be the last friendly, mundane conversation she would ever have, but she couldn’t keep her thoughts focused on pleasantries.

Val patted her head. “It’s going to be okay.”

“You don’t have to pretend to have faith in the plan. That’s only for us suckers who are putting ourselves into the line of fire.”

“It’s not a bad plan,” Val assured her. “I’m just not a risk taker. I never have been.” She shrugged. “If I were brave, I would do it.”

“It wasn’t fair for me to ask you.”

“No, it was. I do… care about Kevin. Part of me just can’t believe that what you say is happening to him is actually happening. He’s always seemed so invulnerable. That’s what pulls me to him. Like I said, I’m not brave, so I’m fascinated with people who are. The other part of me…”

Val leaned back for a moment, the little brush with lip gloss on it trembling suddenly. Her face was still perfect, but suddenly it was the doll’s face again. Exquisite, but empty.

“Val, are you okay?”

Val blinked and her face came back to life. “Yes.”

“You’ll leave here, after your part, right?”

“Absolutely. I have lots of friends who can protect me. Maybe I’ll go visit Zhang. I’m sure he’s still stuffy, but he has an amazing place in Beijing.”

“Beijing sounds lovely,” Alex half sighed. If she lived through tonight, she’d do whatever she had to in order to get her hands on a passport. She’d blow the rest of her savings – all of Kevin’s drug money. To be out of the easy reach of the American government sounded like a practical version of heaven.

“If…” Though when was probably more appropriate, Alex thought to herself. “If you don’t hear from any of us by sunrise, go see Zhang. If I can, I’ll call you from a pay phone.”

Val smiled a little. “You have my number.” Her lips pursed. “You know, there’s a guy… I might be able to get my hands on a service-dog vest.”

Alex stared at her for a moment, then felt her face start to crumple. With the new plan, the suicidal plan, there was really no way for Alex to keep Einstein safe.