by Jill Cooper
I can see her profile and her pretend smile. It angers me and disheartens me all at the same time. She’s frozen, but I don’t know how long that’ll last, so I find a hiding spot behind a vending cart where she won’t spot me, and push play on time.
Everyone comes to life in an instant and no one is the wiser, unaware that anything has happened to them at all. I tuck my hair into my hood and wait. Cassidy emerges from the restaurant and turns her head to blow a kiss at the other Lara. With a roll of her hips, she saunters off. She walks with such confidence and precision, it startles me. I remember how she’d looked back in the cage.
I’d seen the terror. The tears.
Somewhere that woman is lost inside of her. I just have to find her. Bring her out.
Creeping out from my hiding spot, I follow Cassidy down the street. I’m careful not to follow too close behind, to avoid the risk of being caught. When she turns left down a street littered with Italian restaurants, I wait to follow her.
It’s a good thing too, because standing under a red canopy I can make out Cameron. He’s here too. Cassidy goes right over to him and Cameron takes her hand and kisses her fingers. Then she leans in and they share a tender moment. As real as anything I’d ever seen.
Distant relative or not, he’s a pervert. A sick son-of-a-bitch. I’m going to make him pay for what he’s done to her. To all of us. But it seems I’m going to have to wait, as they step into the restaurant for what I’m guessing is dinner. Cameron ushers her in, his hand on her lower back right above her ass.
As if he owns her.
I squat down in the shadows, getting comfortable as I unzip my duffle bag. It’s a good thing the other Lara had thought to pack me granola bars. I’m going to be here awhile.
****
When they leave the restaurant, I’m surprised when they part ways. Cameron goes to a waiting car and Cassidy heads towards me, on her way home—or so I guess. I slink further back into the dark and I press up against the brick wall of another restaurant.
There’s a whiff of whiskey as she walks by and true to the scent, I watch her stumble slightly as she rounds the corner. Cassidy’s had too much to drink and that can only work to my advantage. I grab something from my duffle bag before hurrying to follow her.
For a few blocks, she goes straight, but then she crosses the street, turning left. We’re close to a gas station, but she walks past it, fluffing her hair. Cassidy continues for a few more blocks then she turns left again. The road is residential, lined with brownstones. She slows down as she reaches one of the houses. Maybe it’s her home, but when she leans over a planter making a gagging noise, I’m pretty sure she’s just going to be sick.
She grabs onto the planter, but nothing comes from her mouth. If it had, I would have heard it. No, she grabs something and I realize Cassidy’s been playing me. She’d known she was being followed the whole time.
When she spins, her electrical sticks are glowing in the dark, I lift my hand and freeze time. Cassidy moves as if she’s running through molasses. Her face is frozen in a scrunch of anger, her mouth open to yell. Eventually, she’ll get to me, if I let her.
I stick my taser against her side and slowly her face morphs in pain. I allow time to speed forward to normal and Cassidy falls onto the ground. “You bitch!” Cassidy screams at me and struggles to get back up.
I stuck her again—this time against her neck— Cassidy falls back and her body convulses. Funny, I thought that only happened in the movies, but then I realize that something else is wrong. The electrical current must have triggered something else. Her head bangs against the sidewalk and I realize she’s having a seizure.
I drop to the ground and cradle her head on my lap to keep her steady. “Easy,” I whisper and stroke her hair back, “Easy, Cass…easy.”
She’s gagging on her tongue and I depress it the best I can. I hold her face firm, but gently. “Hang in there. It’s going to be okay.”
Cassidy’s eyes blink slowly and a tear drips from one of them, “No…” she shakes her head and then her eyes close again. Her body needs rest and now I don’t know what to do.
I had almost forgotten why I’d come. Luckily, my duffle bag isn’t that far. I’m able to reach it and grab the time-travel suppressor I need. It's small, like a metal patch, and I fix it on the back of her neck, right beneath her port. My fingerprint is its master. She won’t be able to get it off unless I remove it for her.
But now, I need to move her. I need to take her somewhere Cameron won’t find her.
A car turns the corner and its headlights blind me. Squinting, I raise my arm to shield my eyes. With a squeal of breaks, the care stops and then someone exits. “Get her inside.”
Another Lara is here; she grabs Cassidy’s ankles and helps me lift her. I notice that the other Lara is dressed just as I am. We slide Cassidy into the back of Donovan’s car. We slam the doors shut and get in the front. I really wish I was driving, but I don’t want to argue with myself.
“How did…”
“I’m you. You’re me. Let’s not think about it too much.” Lara backs out of the alley and I wonder where we’re going. What we’re doing. “I have somewhere we can take her. Don’t worry.”
“We do? I mean, you?” I almost laugh, but then I squeeze my temple as a rush of pain fills my brain. It’s so bad even my legs squeeze tightly together.
A memory flashes in my vision. I’m standing in Delilah Chase’s office again. She’s ushering me out the door. “Just one more thing,” I smile as I say, “I need somewhere safe to take my niece. Somewhere Cameron won’t think to look.”
Delilah thinks for a moment and then gasps. “Ahh, I have just the place. It isn’t even in the city. Some office space I haven’t gotten rid of in Somerville.”
Somerville. Perfect.
I don’t know when I’d gone back and talked to Delilah, but maybe it doesn’t matter. “Somerville,” I say as I glance over at the other Lara.
She only smirks and grips the steering wheel.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The middle of the night drive to Somerville takes us twenty minutes. We spend the trip chatting up a storm. By the time we enter the city, Other Lara and I are both starving. “Where does Donovan think you are?”
“I left one of us with him. He can’t figure out what’s going on. He has to get on that plane with his dad tomorrow. We can’t have things deviate too much from what happens in the future.”
That information takes a while to sink in. “How many of us are there? Three?”
Lara smirks. “For now. We need one to go through the motions. Live our life. Check on Dad. Go to school.” She makes a face and then I make a face.
That other Lara really seems to get the short end of the stick.
“Can we all come back together and merge as one?’
“When this is over, I hope so. It’s going to be one hell of a headache.”
That was almost worth saying again.
We park the car in an underground garage. Luckily, there’s no security around. Together we lift Cassidy and get her into the elevator. By the time we get to Delilah’s office, Cassidy is moaning, as if she’s going to wake up.
“Quick,” I whisper as Other Lara unlocks the door and we head into a diminutive office lobby. Off to the right is a smaller office with a glass window. Inside I can see a foam mattress and a stash of granola bars that would make Quaker envious. As we lay Cassidy down on the mattress, I give the other Lara a look.
“I did this, so you can stop looking at me like that.” Once we’re outside again, she closes the door and locks it up tightly. “Also, I reinforced the window. It’s unbreakable from the inside. She’s safe and secure.”
“All this time travel…the TTPA is going to catch us.”
She shrugs as if it isn’t a big deal. How can it not be a big deal? “You deemed it worth the risk. There are three of us now. That means even if one of us gets caught…”
Was I always like this? S
o pigheaded?
I sigh. “But if the other Lara gets caught, Donovan and the family will find out. If they find out, Cameron finds out.”
Other Lara nods. “That won’t happen. I’ll sacrifice myself first,” she hands me the keys to Cassidy’s prison, “Stay here. Get her on our side. I’m going to return the car so Don never knows.”
“And then?”
“Then I’m going to merge back into you…or the other you, maybe. I think I like her better.” Other Lara smirks at me as she heads out of the office and I’m left dumbfounded.
Wow, what a smart ass.
****
Cassidy still flits in and out of sleep. I watch her unmoving body from the window and I worry. In the future, she has never had any seizures…that I know about. So, what had Cameron done to her? With a sigh, I cross my arms and walk through the lobby. I make sure the front door is locked. I draw the blinds down tightly on the windows, so no one can see in.
The sun is beginning to rise. A new day is starting, and out there is another version of me, living my life. Two Lara’s, with two different missions, but we both want the same thing. A future where we can live our lives in peace. And one in which both Dad and Delilah are alive. I am just beginning to wonder if I can secure that future for me.
Or am I securing it for someone else?
Scary thoughts. Big thoughts and it makes my stomach uneasy. Other Lara spoke of sacrifice, but what if I am the one who needs to sacrifice everything? Does it matter which version of Lara Montgomery is allowed to survive? Because I kind of think it does matter and I really, really want it to be me.
But if I fade, will my consciousness continue on in the other? As if my individual choices don’t matter?
Big questions for another day. From inside the small corner office comes the sound of knocking.
Cassidy’s awake.
Chapter Twenty- Four
Cassidy
I don’t know where I am or how I got here.
Everything looks different from last time. There’s a blue mattress on the ground. I’m kneeling on it and I can feel it. Really feel it. It’s soft to the touch like it’s real, but nothing is real in the cage.
Nothing.
Except, this doesn’t look like the cage. It looks so normal; as if it’s a regular room. There’s a pile of granola bars on the ground and I’m so hungry. My stomach is growling and my mouth is as dry as sand, but Mr. Kincade… He hasn’t told me I can eat yet. He hasn’t told me what to do. This is all new. Scary.
What to do? What to do?
Hungry. Do I give in?
My head hurts so bad; I am blinded by the pain. Why does it hurt so badly?
I crawl along the ground and feel along the wall. When I come to a door, I gingerly press on it, but it won’t budge. I’m locked in. Why should I be surprised?
I knock softly on the door. “Hello?” My voice is hoarse as I call out. “Hello…hello…can someone help me, please? “Cameron?”
Mr. Kincaid, where is he?
I cringe as a memory of what must have happened fills my mind. I see her menacing, scowling face. The one I am supposed to stop. The one who wants to kill me.
Crane.
She has a taser in her hand. A taser and she hurts me. She hurts me badly. What if she has me? What if somehow, she’s managed to capture me? Mr. Kincaid will be so angry if I let that happen before I follow through with our plan to kill John. Hurt Lara before she hurts me. I don’t know why she cares so much.
Why can’t she just leave me alone?
The door unlocks and I scoot back to the mattress like a crab. A darkened silhouette enters the room. I can’t breathe as I make out her face in the dark. It’s Crane. She’s here and she holds a…paper cup?
My teeth chatter together as she crouches down beside me. She’s far enough away that I can’t touch her. “Get away from me,” I order her, the fear rising like acid in my mouth, “Let me go, Crane!”
“I thought you might be thirsty. You had a big ordeal tonight.” She offers me the paper cup, but I won’t touch it. I won’t. Anything she offers me is poison. I remember the things she has done to me. I remember how she has hurt me.
“Okay then,” Crane puts the cup down on the floor beside me, “You might change your mind later, right?”
“I won’t take anything from you.” I turn my head and duck it low, onto my shoulder so she won’t see how my lip quivers. Crane can’t see my fear. If she does, I know she’ll hurt me. I know she’ll torture me, as she’s done before.
Cameron saved me from her. He did. I know he did, but even he terrifies me. Even he…I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I don’t…
Crane tries to stroke my hair and I jerk my head away from her. “Don’t touch me.” My teeth clench tightly and I fight off a hot wave of tears.
Her hand drops to her side and that surprises me. “I’ll try again later then, maybe. If you’re hungry, you should try eating something.”
“I won’t eat anything. I’ll die in here first. And then you’ll be sorry,” I laugh as I roll my head back against the wall. “You’ll be sorry because he’ll come for me. He’ll make you bleed for doing this to me!”
Crane walks away, but she stops at the door. “You know, Cass, he kept me in a cage once, too. I know how confused you are. I know what you’re feeling.”
My face twists and I can’t stop screaming at her. “Liar! Liar!”
She leaves me, the door slamming shut behind her. I wrap my hands around my ears and I rock back and forth. Lara Crane was a liar. She can’t be trusted.
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
So why am I crying? Why is my heart breaking?
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lara
Cassidy has been far more damaged by Cameron than I had even suspected. Maybe even more than I had feared. The strong, independent woman I had once known no longer exists. The fearless assassin who had killed Delilah and my father is nothing more than a façade. Really, she is a broken, destroyed woman.
I need her help to stop Cameron, but I don’t know if I can get to Cassidy; really reach her, before time runs out. Either the TTPA would catch on to what I am up to, or Cameron will realize she is missing.
If I am going to do anything, I have to do it soon. Real soon, but I don’t want to reach Cassidy with pain and fear. I want to reach her with compassion and love. Real love, not the kind that Cameron is filling her head with. Watching her through the window, her distress is palpable. She rocks back and forth, changing positions every few seconds.
With no time to waste, I go back to see her, bringing a stack of magazines under one arm and a brown bag lunch. As soon as I enter, Cassidy backs up against the wall. She hugs her knees into her chest as I draw closer.
“Brought you something to eat and something to read.” I place them beside her, but I try not to get too close. I had seen how she’d flinched when I had nearly touched her hair earlier. There’s no reason for me to upset her too much, especially if she always expects violence from those around her.
Cassidy glances at it. “I can’t travel in time anymore. When I try, it hurts.”
“I couldn’t have you going back and trying again. I want to talk to you. Spend some time with you.” At the foot of the mattress, I crouch down to make eye contact, but it’s a struggle.
She doesn’t look at the same spot for long. “Why? Because you want to hurt me again?” Cassidy asks.
“Cass, I’ve never hurt you before. I know you think I did—.”
“So, I don’t know my own mind, now?” Cassidy shakes her head and rests it on her arms, “Just go away! Go away. I don’t want your magazines or your food.”
“Mind if I leave it here anyway? I got one of your favorites. Turkey with cranberry mayo.”
Cassidy flinches and lifts her head. “How’d you know that? I’ve never told you anything. I wouldn’t.”
“You told me once.”
Cassidy shakes her head.
“It w
as a long time ago for me, but for you, it never happened. And won’t. But we sat in a rowboat. As friends. You helped me fix a problem and we spent a long night in the wilderness,” I laugh, “cold and hungry. You told me about all your favorite foods and I told you about my mom’s turkey chili. It’s the only thing she can make.”
Cassidy’s jaw grinds side to side. “We were never friends.”
“Because you hate me?”
“Because you hate me.” She rests her head back down on her arms and I’m afraid of pushing her. So, I leave.
But she doesn’t touch her sandwich. Not for the longest while, but by the time dinner rolls around, I hear the crinkle of the paper bag. A smile unfolds on my face, but I don’t go in to gloat or talk. I just sit in the quiet and through the plaster wall, I listen to the pages of the magazines flip.
It’s six o’clock. Another night is about to fall and I wonder what I’m up to. What is the other Lara doing that I should be doing? Is she sitting in her bed talking to Donovan on the phone? Is she wishing him a good night while secretly wondering what it is I’m doing?
And what will we do when this is all over? If I manage to fix it all, will I forget everything that Donovan has done to get us to this point? Was I blameless?
I didn’t know the answers to any of my questions. The only thing I can do is focus on what is coming and deal with it, one thing at a time.
****
Close to eight o’clock p.m., I bring Cassidy a mug of hot chocolate. It seems friendlier than coffee somehow. I place it on the floor beside her, and she refuses to acknowledge me. Maybe she needs more time to talk. I’m restless and disappointed as I make my way to the door, but her voice rings out.
“What did you mean when you said you were in a cage once?”
My hand against the door, I stop in my tracks. “A few years ago, I was kidnapped and put in a cage because of my time travel abilities.” I go over to the mattress and sit beside her.