Doubles

Chapter Twenty Seven

Minho

"Is the band doing a meet and greet after the show?"Lydia asked, eyeing the band as they played another song. After seeing Newt's double on stage, the whole gang decided to meet at the back of the crowd to figure out what to do. So far, they've come up with nothing.

   Newt shook his head in response to Lydia's question. "I asked Sonya before we got here. We can't meet them like that."

   "I say we just nab him after the show," Malia suggested. "Before he gets into the car, just grab him and tell him we need to talk."

   "That would work," Minho said before realizing who he just agreed with. He gaped at Malia, her doing the same. Did he really just agree with her of all people???

   "I'm glad you two are actually getting along," Scott said, with a slight roll of his eyes. "But we can't just kidnap him."

   "We aren't getting along," Minho and Malia said at the same time. He glared at her. Speaking at the same time now?? Minho almost slapped himself. Or Malia. He couldn't tell.

   "Min," Newt said, elbowing him in the ribs. "Stay on topic."

   "Fine," he grumbled, shooting one last glare at Malia before turning back to his friends.

   "The show is almost over," Thomas noted, glancing at the stage. "If we're going to do something, we have to think of it fast. We're almost out of time."

   Lydia sighed. "He's right. We need to decide and act now." She gave Malia a look. "And we aren't kidnapping him."

   They started suggesting (useless) ideas but nobody agreed to any of them. Minho was listening when somebody grabbed his arm and slowly pulled him away. He glanced over his shoulder to see Malia and immediately yanked his arm away.

   "What are you doing?" He demanded.

   "We," she started. "Are going to nab the double while the others are busy talking. You heard them, we need to act and none of those ideas were any good."

   "Yeah, but-"

   "We don't have time to argue," Malia interrupted. She gestured to the stage where The Quarrymen had just finished. "Are you with me or not?"

   Minho stared at her for a few seconds, contemplating his options. They did need to act now but he hated it when she made a good point. Unfortunately, it was the only plan that would work.

   "I'm in," he decided, taking the lead this time. He pushed through the crowd, Malia close behind. "But we aren't going to hurt him, alright? Just get him away from the band long enough to explain everything."

   "Deal," she said, following him out the door. Then she whistled and Tate came trotting over, almost immediately. "Lead us to them, girl."

   Tate almost seemed to nod before turning around and running towards the back of the building.

   "How does she know where to go?" Minho asked, jogging to keep up.

   "She's smart," was all Malia answered with, making him roll his eyes. Never a straight answer with this girl.

   They followed Tate around to the back and underneath a gate (over in their case. They couldn't fit through the hole she dug) until they found an old van.

   "This is it," Malia said when Tate came to a stop. She and her coyote seemed to have a silent conversation of some sort before she turned to Minho. "They should be out soon."

   "How do you communicate with her so well?" Minho asked, following her behind a dumpster to hide. "I mean, she's just an animal."

   Tate growled at that and Malia pet her to calm her down. The coyote glared at him but stopped growling.

   "She was a pup when we found each other," Malia answered. "I couldn't speak coyote and she couldn't speak English so we figured out different ways to communicate. Kind of like sign language only different. I can translate most of her actions into words and she understands English better than almost any animal. So you better be careful what you say around her."

   Minho nodded thoughtfully. "That's actually really cool."

   "I know," Malia replied. Then after a pause, "thanks."

   And that's when Minho realized maybe (only maybe, though) they could actually be friends.

   "So what's the plan?" She asked, still crouching down.

   "Wait till they come out of the building," Minho answered, making up a plan as he went along. He was good at that. "Then distract the double, Paul, somehow. Maybe Tate can separate him from the band?" He addressed the coyote when he spoke.

   "She can," Malia translated.

   "Great," he said. "Then we'll grab Paul while Tate keeps the others away. Hopefully that will give us enough time to explain everything. Then-"

   "Wait," Malia said. "They're coming."

   As she predicted, a few seconds later, the door opened and the three band members walked out, talking about the show.

   "Go," Malia whispered to her coyote.

   Tate ran out, snapping and growling like a wild animal. The band immediately jumped back but she was too fast, snapping at Paul's feet and growling to keep the others away from him.

   "That's our cue," she said.

   Minho immediately sprang up, running over to the double and shoving him away. He looked over his shoulder at the others. "We just need to borrow him for a second!"

   "What are you-" Paul started but he didn't have time to finish because Malia shoved him against the wall.

   "We're friends, don't worry," she said, still pinning him in place.

   "Bloody hell," Paul muttered, struggling to get away but to no avail. "Get off me!"

   "Malia stop!" Minho said, pushing her off but making sure the double couldn't run away. "She's right though, we're friends."

   "Like hell you are," he spat. "What do you want with me?"

   "We need to talk to you," Minho answered. "Because you're just like us." Paul gave him a confused look but stopped struggling. He continued. "We know about the dreams you've had. The ones that come true."

   His eyes got wide. "You had them too?"

   "Kind of," Minho answered, glancing at Malia. "It's a long story. One that we hope you'll come hear?"

   "As long as my friends can come," Paul replied. "And you call your bloody dog off too!"

   Malia whistled and Tate came trotting over. "We needed to catch you somehow," she explained.

   "You could've just asked," Paul stated with a sigh.