Tool

Chapter Twenty-One

Aurelia shook her head. "Exactly how do you propose Nick and I do that? Just waltz up and hop aboard?"

A slow grin was spreading over Tara's face, and Aurelia suddenly saw her resemblance to her brother. "Yes and no," Tara said. "I propose a couple waltz on board but not Aur and Nick."

Okay, now she was talking in riddles. "Spit it out," Aurelia said sternly. "Enough playing around."

Tara jumped off the bed and paced, excited by the idea that had come to her. "Look, all you need is someone else's number. Someone who's booked on the shuttle. You give their number and take their flight, simple."

Nicholas snorted with laughter. "Right, simple," he said.

"No, listen to me. The best choice would be an elite pair because we have no waiting times for shuttles, and you don't want to hang around the bay waiting to get noticed, right? So I suggest I book myself and a yet-to-be-decided-upon male companion to take a flight down to Earth. Aurelia can use my number. Nicholas, you can use the number of whoever I persuade to book the flight with me. It is simple."

Aurelia immediately spotted the flaw in the plan. "You will then be registered as being on Earth, when in fact you'll be here."

"So?" said Tara, nearly jumping up and down with excitement now. "It doesn't matter to you; you'll already be down there. As for me, why should it matter? I'm here in Lunar and can prove I'm here; I can appear at any government office necessary to prove it. Besides, I'm a Hansen. Who's going to argue with me? Maybe it's a case of identity theft; why would anyone think any different? Guys, this is totally possible . . . I'm sure of it."

Nicholas shook his head doubtfully. "I'm not so sure. Just in case you haven't noticed, I'm a clone. There aren't a whole bunch of clone elites walking around, you know. In fact, there aren't any at all."

Now Tara sat down again on the bed. "People see what they want to see," she said.

"What do you mean?" asked Nicholas.

"Exactly what I said. You wear a uniform, have numbers on your wrists, look a certain way, and you're a clone. Dress you up in funky clothes, do something special with your hairdo, maybe add a little makeup, and you're Elite. Why would anyone look for a clone dressed as an elite? Makes no sense."

"I think she's right," said Aurelia. "As long as you're in the right apparel, no one's going to notice because they won't expect to see a clone up like a ruling classman."

"I am right. Trust me," said Tara. "I've been ruling class all my life, and no one ever questions us, especially Workers. You'll be fine."

"What are you getting out of this?" asked Nicholas, still suspicious.

Tara shrugged. "A bit of excitement in an otherwise boring life? Besides, Aurelia here will owe me a favor."

"Which will be tough to call in if I'm on Earth," said Aurelia.

"I'll figure something out." Tara smiled. "Should I get going and book my flight, then?"

Aurelia saw her into the corridor before coming back to Nicholas.

"I don't get why she's helping us," he said.

"To be honest, neither do I," confessed Aurelia. "But she's helped me before and proven trustworthy, so I see no reason not to trust her now. Anyway, we don't have much other choice, and I like her plan. Nice and simple."

"What exactly do you think we're going to do when we get down to Earth?"

Aurelia had been giving this a lot of thought. "We'll find somewhere to hide," she said.