Jenna Black - Replica

Nadia leaned into Nate’s body, more grateful than she could say for his staunch support even as she was mildly exasperated by it. Surely by now he should have figured out that right and wrong had nothing to do with it.

“That’s why we didn’t tell anyone what we did,” Dante said, then made a face. “Well, that and we wanted to cover our asses.”

“The upshot is we’re running out of time,” Bishop said. “If we sit back on our heels and wait for things to shake out, either Mosely is going to learn everything he needs to know from Nadia, or she’s going to meet with an unfortunate end. Not that I’d be heartbroken,” he said to Nadia, “but Nate seems to care about you.”

When Nadia had expressed a similar sentiment to Bishop, she hadn’t really meant it. She was pretty sure, however, that Bishop was dead serious. Nate might have forgiven her for her betrayal, but Bishop hadn’t, and maybe never would.

“So what is it you suggest we do?” Nate asked.

“The only way out is to get Mosely before he gets us. We need to get him to incriminate himself so much that even the Chairman can’t save him.”

“How about telling the world that he stabbed me to death and tried to pin it on you ?” Nate said, but Nadia was sure he already knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

Bishop flashed him a sardonic smile. “Because everyone would take my word for it over Mosely’s,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

“Um, I recorded the last interview I had with Mosely,” Nadia said. “I have a hidden transmitter in one of my earrings.” She reached up reflexively to tug on her earlobe, but of course she wasn’t wearing them now. “I’ve got him making some pretty ugly threats.” She sighed. “But it’s not enough,” she conceded before they could tell her so. “All he has to do is say he didn’t mean it. People might not like his tactics, but no one’s going to be really outraged. Not when he was investigating a case of treason.”

Bishop looked at her like she might be more interesting than he’d originally thought. “You’ve really taken to this spying shit, haven’t you?”

“Are we going to start that again?” she responded. “You have no room whatsoever to throw stones.”

“Cut it out, both of you,” Nate said. “We’ve got more important things to talk about.”

“Mosely isn’t stupid,” Dante said, ignoring the byplay. “I don’t think he’d ever guess you were recording him, but he’s still not going to say anything to you he’s afraid might bite him in the ass. But whatever he’s up to, it’s sanctioned by the Chairman, and the Chairman gets regular reports. I know because I have to send copies of my reports directly to him when I send them to Mosely. He’s watching this case like a hawk, and I’ll bet you Mosely talks to him as freely as you like.”

“What are you suggesting, exactly?” Nate asked in a suspicious voice.

“I’m suggesting we take Nadia’s bugging idea a step further.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a slim, compact case, and Nadia didn’t have much trouble guessing what would be in it. He opened it to reveal a tiny black dot nestled in white foam. A tiny black dot that closely resembled the microtransmitter hidden in Nadia’s earring. There was a moment of tense silence as everyone stared at the harmless-looking dot.

“You want me to plant that on Mosely,” Nadia finally said, unable to keep the quaver of fear out of her voice. Passively recording their conversations was one thing, but planting a bug on him was another entirely.

“No!” Nate said suddenly and emphatically. “Nadia’s been through more than enough already. If you want to listen in on Mosely’s conversations with my father, then I’ll plant the bug on my father.”

“No,” Nadia and Bishop said simultaneously.

Nate looked back and forth between her and Bishop in confusion. If he could see himself, he might not be so confused. The tendons in his neck stood out starkly with his tension, and even under the remains of the powder, she could see the angry flush on his cheeks. Never mind the look in his eyes, which could reduce the unwary to a pile of ash.

“You don’t dare go near your father right now, Nate,” she said as gently as she could.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“He’s not Mr. Sensitivity, but even he would take one look at you and know something was wrong. And I don’t think it’s such a stretch to imagine him figuring out what that could be.”

Nate gave a frustrated grunt. “I know I haven’t exactly impressed anyone with my self-control, but I can do this. I’m a little … stressed right now, but give me a few hours to absorb everything and I’ll be fine.” He made a face. “Okay, not fine. But I’ll be able to fake it better.”

Nadia reached out and took the bug from Dante’s hand. Nate grabbed her wrist to stop her from putting it in her pocket. She closed her fist around the case so that he couldn’t easily pluck it out of her hands.

“I have to do this, Nate,” she said, trying to free her wrist, but he didn’t let go.

“No. If I get killed, there’ll be another Replica, so I won’t be dead dead.”

Nadia’s eyes burned, but she held back the tears that wanted to come. “ This you would be.” She’d liked, maybe even loved, Nate Hayes for much of her life, but the man he’d become over the last few days meant more to her by far than the boy he’d been before.

“I know you want to be the hero,” Bishop said, and there was a slight edge in his voice, “but we have to be smart about this. You suck at hiding your feelings, and you aren’t going to get good at it overnight. I don’t know if even the best actor in the world could act normal around his dad when he knows the old man ordered him killed. If you try it, you’ll give everything away, and you and Nadia and me and Dante will all go down together.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Nate spat, but though the words were angry, the look in his eyes was more hurt.

“Sometimes the truth hurts, but you’ve got to hear it anyway.”

“Bishop’s right,” Nadia said, wishing there was something she could say to make him feel better. “You can’t face your father knowing what you know.”

He turned his ire on her, still holding her wrist. “Oh, and you can face Mosely knowing he’s the one who killed me?”

She raised her chin. “I’ve faced him knowing he would torture me if he thought he needed to, and that he would hurt a couple of innocent children to punish me. I’ve brought a recording device into our meetings knowing that if he found it on me, he would destroy me, and maybe my entire family as well.”

“But he already suspects you!”

“Yes, about that,” Dante said. “When you meet with him, you should tell him at least some of the truth. If he thinks you’re telling him important secrets, he’ll be less likely to wonder what you’re not telling him.”

“I said she is not doing this,” Nate said before she could answer. “Why don’t you plant the recorder on him? He’s your boss after all!”

Dante gave him a look of exaggerated patience. “Yes, he’s my boss. And I’m undercover . If I chat him up or go to the security station, that would ruin my cover. I haven’t talked to him in person since I was given this mission.”

While Nate and Dante exchanged glares, Nadia reached over with her left hand and grabbed the bug out of her right. By the time the staring contest was over, the bug was tucked in Nadia’s pocket. Not that Nate couldn’t find it and take it away from her if he set his mind to it, but maybe the minor slight of hand would help convince him she was capable of doing the job.