The hours ticked by, time advancing a little faster as they got closer to their leaving date. Sometimes they played chess. At others they talked, tried to come up with plans, desperately thought of things they could have missed, risks they'd overlooked. But Aurelia was pleased to see that Nicholas was coming around to her viewpoint. The only chance they had was to get the hell out of Lunar, and the most viable alternative meant Earth.
She smiled as she looked down at his sleeping form. She knew Nicholas was hoping that leaving together might mean their relationship would become something more. Who knew? Perhaps it would. One day she possibly could grow to love him. Not in the same way as she'd loved Jonathon, with a deep, burning knowledge that he was the perfect fit for her. But in a companionable way. Gently, Aurelia stroked Nicholas's face. He was a good man.
Zak came again, bringing more supplies. When he heard of their plan, which Nicholas insisted on sharing with him, he nodded. "I've heard rumors of settlements outside the cities. Who can tell? I might make a break for it when the time comes."
Aurelia knew he was referring to the time when he would be injected, too old to be of any use to the military. She hoped he did make a break for it, that he and his human wife made it to Earth one day.
"When are you leaving?"
Nicholas told him.
"I'll be back to bring you more supplies. You'll need them when you get to Earth. Travel packs, that sort of thing."
"Thank you," said Aurelia. He's a kind man, she thought.
Tara came back one afternoon, a huge bag thrown over one shoulder.
"Don't just stand there, Aur; help me!" she said as Aurelia opened the door to find out what all the noise in the basement was about.
"What is all this stuff?"
"Thought we'd better have a dress rehearsal," Tara puffed, thankfully surrendering one handle of the bag to Aurelia. "So I brought clothes for you to try on and some stuff to help Nick look less clone-like."
Trying on the wild and crazy outfits Tara brought was actually fun. Aurelia nearly wet herself seeing Nicholas in a toga-style garment, and he couldn't speak for laughing when she tried on a dress made of living material that writhed around her body as she moved, tickling her terribly. Finally, Nicholas decided on huge, flowing pants in bottle green with a long, almost transparent tunic on top. Aurelia thought she might as well go all out, and she selected a dress that seemed to be made from small elastic strips covering the important parts but not much else. She hoped the dress would detract attention from her face.
Tara pulled out a metal device and told Nicholas to sit.
"Why?" he said, suspiciously.
"Just do it," the girl ordered.
With smooth, professional sweeps, she shaved through his hair until the military crew cut was gone. Nicholas was left with a head bare at the sides and a square chunk of growth at the top. Tara pulled a bottle out of her pocket and sprinkled something on Nicholas's remaining hair, rubbing it in. Very gradually, the topknot turned a shade of green that matched his pants.
"Not bad," said Tara, standing back to admire her work. "What do you think?"
"I love it," said Aurelia. She knew Nicholas was going to feel self-conscious enough without her criticizing his bizarre coif.
"One more thing." Tara rummaged around and found a makeup kit, quickly circling Nicholas's eyes with dark green and painting a flash of silver gray powder over each cheekbone.
"There," she said, standing back once more.
Nicholas stood and gave a little twirl. There was no denying the fact that he looked very much the part. Aurelia was impressed. There was no way anyone would mistake him for a clone, except for one small thing.
"You've got to be a bit more . . ." she said, thinking.
"Arrogant," supplied Tara. "Gotta have the attitude to match the dress, my friend."
"Exactly," said Aurelia.
Nicholas tried to appear haughty but ended up looking like he had something stuck up his nose, which made Tara and Aurelia and finally Nicholas himself laugh so hard that they wept.
"So I'll come back tomorrow evening for the final performance," said Tara as they sat on the floor and wiped their eyes.
Aurelia nodded. The afternoon had been so much fun that she had almost forgotten they were dressing up to save their lives. She shared a glance with Nicholas and saw he, too, had suddenly been reminded of how serious this all was.
"Thank you, Tara," said Aurelia as the girl was leaving. "Thank you for everything."
The purple-haired woman smiled. "No worries. It's better than hanging on a street corner all evening watching the world go by. Tomorrow, I'll arrange for a transport pod to get you to the shuttle bay."
Aurelia wondered if she was going to her parents' house, was going to be so close to Jonathon, and for a second, she almost told Tara who she was. But there was no point—not so close to their leaving date. So she simply smiled and wished Tara well before closing the door and locking them in for the night.
***
The next day was an agony of waiting. Knowing what was coming and not being able to do anything but sit or lie and wait and wait and wait led to Nicholas and Aurelia snapping at each other multiple times during the day.
Workday's end was coming, and Aurelia sat nervously on the edge of the bed. Nicholas had been quiet for an hour or more, meditating cross-legged on the floor. Now he got up and joined Aurelia. "I want you to know I'm aware everything you've done for me," he said quietly.
Aurelia looked at him; his bright blue eyes were shining, and she laid a hand on his leg. "You're worth it," she said.
"I want you to know that no matter what happens, I'm glad we're trying." He took a deep breath. "And I will look after you."
"You don't need to look after me, Nicholas."
"Yes, I do," he said. "I owe you. Whatever happens, I'm glad we're trying, and I'm glad we're trying together."
She put her arm around him, pulling him into a hug. "Me, too."
There was the sound of the upstairs door opening, and Aurelia looked up. Familiar footsteps echoed on the stairs. Zak knocked once before entering and placing two small travel bags at the foot of the bed.
"It should be everything you need for a few days," he said. "There are travel rations, a spare uniform for each of you, and some med basics. Oh, and you looked great with that hair."
"Thanks. Field kit," said Nicholas, smiling.
"Field kit," agreed Zak.
The second clone stayed with them for a while, drinking coffee and talking. It's nice to have a third person around sometimes, thought Aurelia. But she knew Zak was sticking close to keep their minds off what they were about to do. Finally, he stood.
"I've got to go back to the arena," he said apologetically.
Aurelia smiled as Zak turned to her.
"I see what Nicholas sees in you," the clone said. "I wish you nothing but the best and a safe journey." He quickly and roughly hugged her before turning to Nicholas. "And you, my brother. May all the gods be with you."
"And also with you," responded Nicholas.
The two men stared at each other for a moment before Zak relented and pulled Nicholas into a hug, too. He left without another word, Nicholas turning away so neither of them could see his tears.
They hadn't even had the chance to change positions before the noise came. There was a sharp crackling sound, followed by the thud of something heavy hitting the floor. Aurelia jumped for the door, but Nicholas was faster and held her back. "Wait!" he told her.
The warning wasn't necessary. The door opened, and standing framed in the doorway, stunner held high in his hand, was Jason.
"Going somewhere?" he asked, a grin on his face.
Aurelia was about to run and hug him, grateful he had taken the time to find her to say goodbye, but Nicholas was still holding her, and she couldn't figure out why. Her brain tried desperately to process the conflicting information in front of her. Jason was here. Jason was her friend. But something was off. He was holding a stunner; that was it. But why? Behind him in the open doorway, she could make out the shape of something on the floor. No, not something, someone.
"Your little friend," said Jason, following her gaze. "Dead now, so take it as a warning. I'm perfectly serious."
Aurelia stared at him, her mouth gaping, not knowing what to say or do or think.
"There's no need for anyone else to get hurt." Nicholas pushed Aurelia behind him. "No need at all."
"I agree," said Jason, grinning again. "Don't think I'm not aware of your special skills. So the first thing we're going to do is tie you both up. Take the sheet off the bed and tear it into strips. Not too narrow, now."
Nicholas nodded and did as he was told, leaving Aurelia standing and staring at Jason, her mind finally taking in what was happening. Jason kept the stunner trained on her.
"Surprised to see me?" he asked her.
Why had she never noticed how manic his grin was before? She found herself incapable of talking to him; her eyes kept flickering to Zak's body lying in the basement. Jason sighed and pulled the door but did not take the time to close it properly. Nicholas handed him a pile of sheet strips.
"You first, clone," Jason said. Quickly and efficiently, he tied Nicholas's wrists and ankles, sitting him on the bed, then did the same to Aurelia. "Not too tight?" he asked, almost solicitously. "Don't want to lose circulation, do we?"
Aurelia shook her head. "They're fine,"
Jason stood, satisfied, placing his stunner in his belt now that both his hostages were bound.
"Why are you here?" Nicholas asked him.
"Must get boring in this hideaway with just the two of you," mused Jason. "Missing out on some intellectual conversation? Want to make small talk?" He pulled a chair closer and sat on it, his back to the door. "To answer your question, right now we're waiting for some friends of mine. They didn't want you to leave so soon. In fact, I don't think they want you to leave at all. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to have intellectual discussions with you when they get here. Mostly about the resistance, I think." He laughed, crossing one leg over the other at the ankle and sliding down in his chair, relaxing.
"Wait. You turned us in?" asked Aurelia, shocked.
Again, he laughed. "Of course I did. Faintly amusing how you think your boyfriend would have done it, but it was me all along."
Nicholas blinked but didn't show surprise. Aurelia took her cue from him, trying to stay as calm as he appeared.
"And why would you do something like that?" Nicholas asked him.
"Oh, all sorts of reasons," said Jason airily. "Money, privileges, power. You know, the usual."
As he was speaking, Aurelia caught the click of the upstairs door opening. Gods, it must be Tara. Desperately trying to cover the sounds that the girl was making coming down the stairs, Aurelia coughed, spluttering. "Water," she managed to croak.
As Jason was pouring a glass, Aurelia caught a glimpse of purple in the crack of the door. Tara was smart enough to figure things out. Or at least Aurelia hoped she was.
"Why would you hold us at gunpoint waiting for security to come pick us up when you could have had all the resistance including Jonathon Hansen at your disposal a few days ago?" Aurelia said loudly. She tried to pack as much information into the sentence as possible, wanting to give Tara all she'd need to help them.
She thought she heard a small gasp, but she didn't want to draw attention by looking towards the door. Instead she concentrated on Jason, who was back on his chair.
"You think they'd believe me if I told them Hansen was resistance? No way. Better to prove my trustworthiness as an informant first by handing over a couple of small players, don't you think? So when I turn over the big fish, there'll be no questions, and the rewards will be bigger."
Aurelia chanced a look at the door. No purple. Gods, she hoped that Tara was as smart as she'd given her credit for. Now they just had to keep Jason talking.
"Rewards? You're doing this for profit?" She tried to sound scathing.
Jason glared at her angrily. "You've got no idea," he hissed. "No idea at all. I grew up here in Lunar watching the rich elite kids get everything and me nothing. Watching Earth whizz kids like you walking into jobs I should have had. It's about time the scales balanced out."
So not only did he want money and rewards, but he coveted her job, too.
"You want to be head of trauma," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Right."
His hand reached for the stunner but stopped before he pulled it out. "It just so happens that you're worth more to me alive right now," he said. "But don't count on the situation not changing. As for your job, why shouldn't I do it? I'm a good med Worker, and it's not like you're even in the hospital most of the time, anyway. Busy off doing your resistance work."
Okay, that's actually kind of a fair point, Aurelia thought. She squirmed, trying to get comfortable in her restraints.
"You must have been delighted when Jonathon and Elza told you about their resistance work," said Nicholas, speaking calmly.
Aurelia glanced at him. His face showed that he, too, had seen Tara come and go.
"Like I needed to be told," said Jason. "Like I didn't already have a damn good idea."
The sharp, clear sound of a transport pod door closing rang through the room.
"Sounds like my friends are here." Jason stood. "Hope you're ready to meet them." He beamed his evil grin again, turned, and prepared to open the door as feet clanged down the metal steps to the basement.
As the footsteps got louder, Aurelia turned to Nicholas and shook her head. All this. All this planning. All this for nothing. The steps approached the door.