A Step to Nowhere

by Natasha A. Salnikova

  The phone went dead. Samantha looked at it for a few seconds without moving then she looked at the guards. They put the guns down, but kept their eyes on her and talked with each other. Now there was a group of five people standing before the entrance to the security area, attempting to leave the building. On all of the faces: confusion, uncertainty, and fear. Samantha looked at her assistant, who was biting the nails on his right hand, clenching the phone and case to his chest, and watching the growing crowd. Samantha’s throat began to tickle, her eyes began to squeeze tightly, but she didn’t understand for a few seconds in that she was crying. That hadn’t happened for about twenty-five years. She had gotten everything she desired during her life. She was not accustomed to being yelled at or treated as some kind of peasant. She had gotten used to everyone following her orders, big or small, not to being pushed from her primary position or being betrayed. Now she cried like a little girl from the insult. With her fists to her eyes, with unfamiliar sounds coming from her throat, she was sure that everyone could hear her and it was humiliating.

  She twitched when somebody touched her shoulders, but it was her assistant, giving her a tissue.

  “How could he do this to me?” Samantha said, wiping her tears and not looking at the man, who wouldn’t understand anything anyway, and who didn’t care. “How could he do this to me? How could they all do this to me? And my dad! He didn’t recognize me! My own dad mistook her for me. It just can’t be. Can’t be.”

  And Samantha cried even harder. Because she couldn’t believe it had really happened.

  CHAPTER 34

  I pressed my back to the window, afraid to take a step forward. If behind the window I didn’t have fear of height; here, with the cold wind blowing at me from all directions, when I saw the abyss ahead, everything was different. It seemed that if I took one step I would fall into the open jaws of an invisible monster, even before I could reach the edge. Yesterday I was on the top of a building, a few of them even, running from one to another, but it wasn’t that high and clouds didn’t touch my head. They didn’t touch my head now, but it sure seemed like it. It was about ten feet to the edge here and a metal fence surrounded the whole perimeter. It looked safe to my eyes, but not to my mind. I felt like everything I had been through during these days had collected in a small ball of fear inside my mind telling me that it was the last step. Now everything was going to be over. For better or worse, but most likely for worse.

  “I can’t,” I said to Ray. My hands and legs were shaking; I couldn’t move.

  “It’s about five meters,” he said, like I had known or cared what he meant. “We need to get to the landing.”

  About ten feet to the edge, safe, I understood that, but my back stuck to the cold glass.

  “Sam.” Ray stretched out his hand to me. “You’re not going to fall. I promise.”

  “I know!” I barked as I looked at the roofs of the surrounding buildings. They seemed like dwarfs compared to this one.

  “Give me your hand.”

  “Another minute. I’m almost ready.”

  “Don’t be scared. It’s safe.”

  “I’m not scared,” I yelled, and grabbed Ray’s hand with a deadly grip, plunging my nails into his skin. He didn’t blink.

  “Let’s go now.”

  Step by step we walked around the corner, leaving the wind behind. I wasn’t scared any more. The area in front of us was big enough for any helicopter to land safely. On each side of the glass door stood two palm trees in pots. A little left of the door there was a table and four chairs under a canopy. I sat down and looked at the sun, which was peeping through the light, tan colored canopy. Here, hundreds of feet away from the ground, everything seemed peaceful. I didn’t want to think that we were in a deadly serious situation. I wanted to lean against the back of the chair and close my eyes, enjoying the sun and fresh air.

  As soon as Ray sat down in the chair next to mine, his phone rang.

  “Hi … Yes, it’s good … Yes … Great … Nothing, just wait. We have a chance to get away. I’ll need you in the corporation then … Yes, and be careful.” Ray pressed the button and put the phone back in his pocket. I looked at him, waiting for him to talk. “It was Ronald. He has gathered some people and is ready to attack, but I hope we can avoid it. I don’t want any casualties. The guys are waiting for my signal, but now we have proof of Bristow’s actions and there’s a chance that everything will go smoothly. Unless he decides to start a war against the government. That’s a different story. He has his command of the army, the President granted him permission, but he doesn’t have the last word.”

  “I hope we won’t need their help. If your wife gets here before we leave…”

  “It doesn’t matter. We’re going to be in the corporation in less than an hour and you can go home. It’s good that everything turned out like this. We don’t have to go through the security area there. We’ll land on the roof. The hallway of transportation is located on the top floor. Everything will be faster than we had thought.”

  “That would be good. What if …?”

  I didn’t finish the question. The approaching roar cut the air. I turned toward the sound and saw the yellow helicopter coming closer.

  “What if he doesn’t believe that I’m his daughter? Do you have a plan B?”

  Ray looked at me.

  “You are pale. Get a grip on yourself, Sam. His daughter could probably look nervous, too. I don’t know how she would act in this situation to be honest. She’s never been in a mess like this. She’s a timid, hothouse flower and has never faced problems bigger then a broken nail.”

  I nodded. The helicopter was getting closer. My heart merged in rhythm with the moving fans. Ray stood up, touched the pocket where, I knew, he had put the gun. I also rose to my feet. The canopy was messed up by the wind, as was my hair. I grabbed it with my hand to keep it away from my eyes. It felt as if my dress was about to be pulled from my body and I could hardly keep my skirt down. My eyes started tearing, but I didn’t want to close them. A few more seconds and the helicopter landed gracefully on the roof, blades slowed down. I saw a young man, the pilot, behind the glass and an older man near him. The older man had gray hair, was slightly overweight, but still good looking. I could see my features in his face. I had seen my father only in photos and that was how he’d look now. If he was alive, but I didn’t know about that.

  The door opened. The pilot jumped out first, followed by the man in black uniform, like one of those who hunted me. Ray rushed to the helicopter and helped Father to get out. My copy’s father.

  No one would understand unless they went through it, how difficult it could be to look at a familiar person and tell yourself that you didn’t know him and he didn’t know you. It was just a genetic copy. I had always wanted to see my father and ask him why he had never been interested in knowing how I was doing. Wasn’t he interested? Didn’t he miss me? Only it wasn’t my father, but his double in front of me.

  He looked worried as he walked toward me. Caring. Her father cared about her – mine didn’t even send a card for my birthday. Why did I have to think about that now? Why did I have to feel pity for myself? I felt hurt; I felt jealous. Her father was a dictator who had killed hundreds of people, but he loved her. Did I want a father like this?

  “Dad!” I stepped to him. “She’s downstairs. I didn’t …”

  The man stopped abruptly and raised his arm, interrupting me with his gesture.

  I noticed Ray plunging his hand into his pocket. He was standing just behind Bristow and the man couldn’t see his movements.

  The man frowned, his face became stern.

  “Daddy, what happened?” I saw Samantha before my eyes. Her mannerisms, her facial expressions. I tried to be her, but … She wouldn’t fool my mom, I was sure of it. Could I convince her father? She wanted to become me, but our roles had changed. Was I good at mine?

  “You!” His index finger pointed in my direction. “You are not my daughter!”<
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  What happened next I understood only after getting into the helicopter, as I replayed the scene in my head. Everything happened too fast.

  The man in black snatched out a weapon, but fell on the ground before he could fire. He pressed his hand to his chest, spilling blood. One more shot and the pilot collapsed followed by Bristow. Time stopped and I didn’t understand that somebody was pulling me away from my place, helping me up into the helicopter, and shutting the door behind me. Ray dropped onto the seat beside me and the blades over my head started to spin. I saw the pilot flat on the ground and blood, spreading around him. I saw the hunter, folded up. I saw the eyes of the man with gray hair.

  The helicopter rose off the ground and up into the air.

  “I just killed Bristow,” Ray said, his voice dry and quiet.

  I looked at him, replaying the event in my head, and started to shake.

  “We are going to the corporation,” Ray said.

  “You know how to work a helicopter,” I said as I clenched my fist, trying to control the shaking. You’re also a good shooter.”

  “Let’s hope there will be no need for more.”

  “You’ve gotten used to killing. People are killed in bunches in your corporation.”

  Ray pressed his lips, his jaw moved.

  “I need to save you,” he said. “I didn’t have many options to choose from. Bristow … You know.”

  “I know. I’m sorry,” I said. “It was not the first murder I’d witnessed.”

  “Don’t think about it.”

  “You killed Bristow. Is everything over?”

  “No.”

  I turned away from Ray and looked out the window. The city, covered in smog, swam under us. It was my first time in a helicopter, but I wasn’t excited by this adventure.

  CHAPTER 35

  Samantha finally calmed down and threw a fourth napkin into the trash can. Her assistant stood nearby, useless. He looked lost in a different reality; it seemed as if he couldn’t understand what was going on or why he was here. He looked like a statue.

  “A different reality.” Samantha grinned.

  She wanted to call her father again and took out her phone, when she noticed that one of the guards was talking over the internal connection. He glanced in her direction, muttering something hurriedly. He looked terrified. No matter what had scared him, Samantha liked it. She stood up and headed to the security area. Her assistant trudged behind. She was going to fire him as soon as all this pard was over. She was going to select the next one extra carefully, so he wouldn’t wet his pants in a critical situation. She probably wouldn’t need one on Planet two. Only, she had to postpone her move there because of this … as they say it … son of a bitch. She had to take care of him first. He was in onis as an observer, but now he was going to get there as an oniser. She would love to see him there. Traitor. How dared he?

  Samantha hadn’t yet reached the security area when one of the guards dashed to her, almost knocking her down. His face reflected such fear that for a second she thought of forgiving him or saying something heartening. It was a moment of weakness and it was so foreign to her. Not one of those who were rude or arrogant to her was going to walk away without punishment. They called her scorfah? Well, they were going to learn how right they had been.

  “Has something happened?” she asked with a smirk.

  “Ms. Bancroft …”

  “Bristow!” she interrupted.

  “Sorry! Ms. Bristow, we are really sorry about all of this.” It was the man who had pulled out his gun first and pointed it at her. “Your father … Mr. Bristow … He said …”

  “We just followed the rules and tried to keep the territory safe!” the second one said. He was white as powder.

  “What about my father? Where are those two?” Samantha looked at the first guard.

  “He’s here. In the building. Your father, Mr. Bristow. Those two … We are really sorry.”

  Samantha stopped him with a gesture when she heard the signal of her phone. She looked at the screen. Her father was calling from his office.

  “So?” Samantha yelled. “Now you know who is who? What do you think …?”

  “Sammy,” her father croaked.

  “Are you okay?” Samantha pushed the first guard away even though he didn’t block her path, and dashed to the elevator, twisting her ankles on the high heels. “What’s wrong with your voice? Where is she? That Scorfah!”

  “They killed my guard and my pilot. They stole my helicopter and they wounded me. Your husband …”

  “What?” Samantha stopped in total shock and her assistant ran into her back. He started apologizing. “Shut up!” Samantha yelled at him. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe anything. Nothing like this could happen. No one died on her side. No one had the right to do this to her.

  “Your husband betrayed you. He’s with her.”

  “I know. Dad …”

  “I want you to call … Kevin. Are you coming here? I don’t … feel well. I …”

  The phone went silent.

  “Dad! Daddy!”

  “Call our family doctor,” she ordered her assistant. “My dad was shot. Tell him to come here immediately!”

  While they were riding the elevator, the assistant called Kevin, her father’s friend and one of the best doctors in the country. He promised to come right away. Samantha was shaking. The situation was out of control and she didn’t know how to act or what to do. She had never felt so desperate. Everything was getting beyond the point of imaginable. It shouldn’t have happened. It wasn’t fair!

  She opened and closed her fists while they were riding up. She wanted to hit her assistant until he stopped breathing. He irritated her, standing behind her back, breathing heavily. She wanted to yell at him, but she knew that if she opened her mouth, she would keep yelling and then start hitting him, kicking him, and demanding that he beg for forgiveness.

  The elevator stopped on the forty-ninth floor and Samantha waited for her assistant to insert the key so they could get to the last floor, but he didn’t move.

  “What are you waiting for?” she hissed without turning to him. She wanted to kill him, seize his neck, choke him. She wanted to hurt him to get rid of the pain growing inside her chest. It was a strange feeling for a spoiled girl, who didn’t know the word “no”.

  “Oh!” There was rustling behind her back. The case fell and the man fell after it. He picked it up and found the key. Still standing on his knees, he stuck the key into the panel and the elevator finally moved. When Samantha exited onto the last floor, her assistant kept standing on his knees.

  “What’s wrong with you!” she yelled, finally letting her emotions go. “You’re such a biy!”

  “I’m so sorry.” He stood up, pushing his hands against the floor and dropping his case once again. “I’m so very sorry!”

  “Idiot! Fool! Stupid ass! Pener!”

  Samantha rushed to her dad’s office noticing the door was half open. She pushed it back so hard that it hit the wall with a bang.

  A man was lying by the table on his back with a huge red stain in the area of his heaving chest. Red handprints were all over the white carpet. The remote, covered in red, lay on the floor.

  This man was her father.

  His face was as white as the carpet, his breathing was spasmodic, and he didn’t open his eyes when his daughter entered.

  “Daddy.” Tears filled her eyes again. It was a dream. It had to be. She was going to wake up and …

  Her father slowly opened his eyes and he turned his head to Samantha.

  “It is you. My daughter. Don’t you worry, Sammy. It’s temporary. I’m not going to die. Is Kevin coming? I couldn’t dial his number. I tried auto-dial, but this pener thing didn’t recognize my voice. I pushed a button for Kevin and got security.” Her father’s face twisted in pain; he coughed. “I’ve never used the inner communicator. I don’t know all the codes and … everything. Then it was you. My phone ...”
Father waved his hand and Samantha looked at the crushed pile of plastic. “My phone saved my life. Your husband thinks he killed me. He’s celebrating too early.”

  “I’ll kill him! I’m sorry, daddy.”

  Samantha took a step toward her father, but she couldn’t approach him. She had never seen so much blood. Everything inside her turned to stone. She didn’t have emotions because she didn’t know how to feel or what to feel about it. Was her father dying? Was that what was happening? He could die? Bristow the Great, her loving daddy? What was she supposed to do? What was she going to do?

  “He’s done something that no one could,” Father said. “He tried to kill me. It’s ironic, if you think about it. I put in the strongest security system known, I threw hundreds of people into onis, and my own son-in-law shot me. Only I’m not going to die. I want you to know this. I’ll dance on his grave, you’ll see.” Then that horrible cough again. “You were so upset when I told you I didn’t trust him. If I hadn’t listened to you and had kept watching him, none of this would have happened. I don’t blame you. He lied to you, too.”

  “Dad, you probably shouldn’t talk.” Samantha slowly came out of her trance.

  “Probably. You’re so pale. They didn’t hurt you, right?”

  “Who?”

  “Our security guys. I saw that it wasn’t you, even from the helicopter. I just couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that on the phone I mistook her … But this connection … Never very clear. She looks so much like you. Even knowing everything about the doubles, it’s still surprising. I realized that she wasn’t my daughter.”

  He really could die. So much blood. Huge, horrible spot on his chest. Red on the edges and black in the center.

  Samantha took another step. She smelled something sweet in spite of the doors being open and the wind blowing out all the odors. Was that how death smelled?

  Father coughed again.

  “Where’s Kevin?” he muttered, barely audible, and closed his eyes.