Christ Clone (22 page)

'Son, your mother told me how much making the model meant to her. Not just putting the spaceship together, but the time you spent with her. She loved you very much. Do you remember at Christmas when she prayed and asked God to keep us together?'

Travis thought about the prayer while his father continued, 'I think working on the spaceship might be the answer to her prayer. What do you say to us finishing it between us? I know your mother would've liked that.'

Travis thought about what his father had said, and then nodded as he cried and they hugged each other.

The Fab Four watched as Aloysha was put under for another session.
'This is ridiculous,' one of the men said.

'We got more out of him before Viktor took him away; he's obviously fighting us.'

The other three nodded their assent.

'Given time, he'll break; they always do,' the woman added.

'Time is something that's working against us,' another man chipped in. 'I think it's time to expedite these sessions. We need to get the clone's trust back; I think we should reintroduce Viktor.'

The other three looked at him as if he was crazy.

'I don't mean physically. I've given this a lot of thought, and I think we should do some form of video message from Viktor telling the clone that it's all right to talk to us.'

'That all sounds great, but do you think Viktor will go along with any of this?'

'I'm sure the team over there will be able to persuade him.' Once again they all nodded, and they went in to see what Aloysha's dreams would bring that day.

G
ERMANY

For the past twenty-four hours Ansgar had been very cooperative.
They'd told him that for medical reasons it was best he remain awake and active until they got his sleep patterns controlled. Very early on the doctors had explained that he was an exceptional child who, with luck, would have the power to see far into the past. His gift would be used to answer many questions — questions men had asked for centuries — and this was why he was so special. The previous day, the doctors had announced it was time for his gift to reveal itself, so although he didn't understand why he fell asleep during their talks, he was more than happy to help.

He'd been put under three times since they began the treatment, and each time the visions became clearer and stronger.

So far they'd ascertained he had visited or passed through a town called Capurnum. Establishing this piece of information had the team overjoyed. There was no way for the clone to have known about that town unless somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind he had, in fact, been there. He'd also told them that most of the time he either travelled on foot or by donkey. There seemed to be a common pattern to all of his dreams so far — storms and torment followed by serenity and calm.
These points were obviously a lot less startling, but the doctors were nonetheless amazed.

As Ansgar went under once more, both Klaus and the doctor waited with anticipation for what was in store for them this time.

R
USSIA

It had been twelve hours since Aloysha's last session. It had again been a fruitless exercise, and the Fab Four were now looking forward to presenting the new video to him. The team holding Viktor had done a great job; they'd produced a video of the doctor telling Aloysha he was sorry he couldn't be with him, that the company had sent him on a special assignment to a tropical island where a new species of animal had been discovered, and he was to bring it back to evaluate it. He said everything was fine, and he would be in to see him once he returned. He also told Aloysha to cooperate fully with his friends.

Viktor's captors had even managed to rustle up an island backdrop, made from an advertising billboard. If you looked at the video closely enough, you could just make out the travel agent's logo on the corner of the backdrop. Viktor's bruises had been concealed, and he sounded reasonably natural, despite reading from a script.

Out of curiosity, one of the Fab Four had asked how they'd managed to get Viktor to do this.

The reply was, 'Viktor is a broken man; with the right incentive we could probably get him to smile as he slit the clone's throat, if that's what you wanted.'

No more questions were asked.

When he'd watched the tape, Aloysha's eyes brightened. He was happy he would see his mentor again soon, and since Viktor had said it was okay to open up to the Fab Four, he started to tell them some of the dreams he'd been having — even without going under.

Malone came back to Headquarters with his head hanging low. It had been another wasted day. He'd decided he just wasn't cut out to be a private investigator, and should probably hire some professional help.
Daniel, as always, was eager to hear the day's events.

'Well, let me see, I've spent most of the day sitting in the back of a hot, smelly cab, staring at a downtown law office.' They'd both decided, following his near discovery by Dale the night before, they should change tack and see what he did during the day. He certainly hadn't done much at night: some gym sessions, and some DVDs — nothing to warrant Malone staying out all night.

'He went somewhere in a rush this afternoon.'

'What do you mean he went somewhere? Didn't you follow him?'

Malone gave Daniel a discouraged look before explaining. 'I'd been sitting there most of the day without a glimpse of him. He didn't even go out for lunch. So I went to the phone booth to call and make sure he was still in there. His secretary said he'd just left, so I ran right back to the cab. I got there just in time to see him run out of the office block and duck inside a cab. I yelled at my cab driver to "follow that cab", which, I might add, isn't as much fun to say as I thought it would be.'

Malone took a breath and looked embarrassed. 'We followed the wrong bloody cab. We argued about which one to follow — turns out the cab driver would probably have been right.'

With a grin on his face, Daniel shook his head. 'Maybe I should be on the road, and you should learn how to use a computer.'

Malone laughed at himself. 'I was thinking that maybe it was time to hang up my gumshoes.' And then he turned serious. 'I think we need to bring in some professional help; maybe we should get a PI involved.'

'Are you serious?' Daniel asked. He was gobsmacked.

'I'm really not cut out to be a detective, well certainly not surveillance anyway. We'd be able to achieve more with some help.'

'So you intend to go to a PI, and explain why you want a respected patent lawyer followed? Why not go the whole hog, and get your mate
Logan and the SWAT team involved?' Daniel realized he was getting rather dramatic, but it was
their
investigation, and he felt very protective of it. His reaction didn't make much sense to him, but then he wondered how much of this thing did.

Malone seemed to understand what Daniel was feeling. 'Then what do you suggest, my little sidekick?'

Daniel thought for a moment. 'Have you got a driver's license?
What if you got a car and followed him yourself, maybe even changed the car every couple of days to avoid suspicion?'

Malone was stunned. The thought of driving a car again made a shiver run down his spine. 'Yes, I do have a license, but for reasons
I won't go into at the moment I don't think that would be a good idea.'

'Well, what else do you suggest then?'

'I'm not sure, I'm still mulling over the PI idea.'

Daniel looked irritated. 'Well, give me a call when you've come up with a better suggestion.' He flicked off the computer and left the house in a huff.

Malone thought about going after him, but decided he didn't need an argument right now. Instead he took option B, and went into the living room to watch some TV. The recliner hugged him like a long-lost friend, and it wasn't too long before he was asleep.

Malone was banging the table beside his dead wife's body, and he was yelling. The banging got louder and louder until it woke him up.
It took him a few moments to realize the banging wasn't just in his nightmare, but at his front door too. He stumbled out of the chair and shuffled to the door; as he opened it, the door thrust inwards crashing into him. Malone stumbled backwards and hit the floor hard. Two large men stood in the doorway; they moved slowly in and closed the door behind them. They bent down, one on either side of him, slid their hands under his armpits and picked him up. Dragging him backwards into the living room, they threw him onto the couch. Both were big men, faceless meatheads, the types Malone had seen standing at nightclub doors. One of them slapped Malone's face to get his attention. 'We hear you've been visiting a friend of ours, someone who doesn't like to be disturbed.'

Malone wasn't trying to act dumb; he was struggling to wake up from his nightmare, and he also had no idea who their friend was. His face displayed complete bewilderment. He got another slap and he put both hands up to his face. 'Stop, stop! Who are you talking about?'
he burst out.

'Let's just say he's in the legal business. What were you doing there?'
one of them boomed.

Malone realized they were talking about Dale, but decided the dumb act was the best way to go. 'Legal business? Are you sure you guys have the right place?'

He got another slap.

'Wait. Okay, I do know who you mean. We . . .' As he said this, he kicked the guy closest to him between the legs and jumped up. He knew he was about to get a beating, so he took his uncle's advice about taking at least one of them down with him. He swung his elbow into the face of the guy closest to him, unfortunately missing his nose. He then started to swing his fists, managing to get in a few good shots before being dropped. He covered his face and weathered the storm.

The beating didn't take too long. Despite their anger at being duped, the men showed remarkable restraint. Finally they left, breaking some of the furniture as they went, and threatening to return if he was ever seen at Dale's again.

Once they'd gone, Malone's first instinct was to check on Daniel.
He cautiously opened his bedroom door, half-afraid of what he might find. Flicking the light on and seeing Daniel's bed still made, Malone realized the young man hadn't come back. His concern as to where
Daniel was spending the night was overshadowed by the relief that he hadn't been in the way of the two thugs. Malone hobbled to the bathroom to check himself in the mirror. He looked a bit of a mess, but after feeling around his face he decided there was nothing broken. Just some blood, swelling, and bruising. Once he'd cleaned up the blood, he got some ice from the freezer to reduce the swelling. His ribs let him know they'd been bruised when he pulled open the freezer door.
Putting on the coffee, he took a couple of aspirin, flopped onto the couch and waited for the morning to arrive. The visit from the Twins helped Malone to firm up on his next move.

Daniel still hadn't arrived home in the morning. Though mildly concerned, Malone took a cab to the Hertz office and arrived as it opened. He wanted to make an early start. He was sore, but he looked worse than he felt.

A valet unchained the gate and gave Malone an uneasy stare.
Malone just smiled and went into the reception area. The young girl behind the desk winced when she looked up from her booking sheet.

'You should see the other guy,' he joked.

He booked a mid-sized automatic sedan and walked through the car lot to the bay number that matched his form. The burgundy
Ford shone in the sunlight, and after checking the registration, he got behind the wheel. The Ford's new car smell was slightly masked by the aroma of polish, and Malone ran his hands around the steering wheel as he got acquainted with all the buttons, levers, and dials. Satisfied that he knew where everything was, he turned the key in the ignition.
The stereo blasted sound, making him jump; it was some tune he didn't recognize. He switched it off, adjusted the mirrors and, taking a deep breath, slipped the car into drive, released the handbrake, and drove out of the lot. He was immediately greeted by the morning rush-hour traffic, and quietly swore at himself for being impatient and not waiting until later. After only a few minor driving errors and a bit of horn blowing, he made it back home feeling pleased with his success.

There was still no sign of Daniel. I should give Logan a call and ask him to keep an eye out, Malone thought as he made his way to the kitchen. He was about to call Logan when he noticed the flashing red light on his answering machine. When he hit the button Daniel's voice blared out.

'Hey Malone, pick up . . . Anyway, sorry about last night . . . just got a bit angry and stayed at a buddy's place. Don't worry; he's not one of the old buddies.

'Look, he's got a gruntier computer so I'm gonna stay round here and do some more checking. If you need me the number here is . . .'

Happy that Daniel was okay, Malone flicked off the message and went to the coffee machine, filled it and switched it on.

While the filter machine did its thing, he showered. His back, ribs, and left eye felt bruised, and the small cut on his cheek stung as the soap reached it. Thinking about the Twins, he smiled for a couple of reasons. First, how quickly the big guy dropped with a swift kick to the balls, and second, he'd remembered a homework assignment
Mary had done about twins. She'd been asked to write a short story and she'd started it with: 'The twins were identical in so far as they were completely different.'

She was quite young at the time, but it was immediately apparent she wasn't going to be a writer, or so Malone had thought. But her teacher had said quite the contrary; she'd told Mary it was a terrific opening line and that she showed great promise. Mary had gloated about this for weeks.

The steaming hot water felt good though, and he bent his head forward letting the needles of water hit the back of his neck. He towelled himself dry, put on a robe, and went back to the kitchen. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the room; he poured a large mug for himself and moved into the Headquarters room where he studied the whiteboard and the wall as he sipped his coffee. The threats from last night had added fuel to his fire; the links were all there, and today he'd find a way to prove it. He dressed and made his way back to Dale
Galbraith's office.

Stating his intention directly, he said to the secretary, 'Good morning, I'd like to speak with Dale Galbraith, and no, I don't have an appointment.' Malone guessed the young girl was about to say Dale was busy or give him some other kind of brush-off, so he followed with, 'Either you tell him that Mr Malone is here to see him, or I will.' He was intentionally gruff and abrupt. The girl jumped up from her chair and disappeared through Dale's office door.

Malone let out his breath; he hadn't felt like being nasty to the girl, but under the circumstances he thought it the best approach. Dale followed his young secretary out of his office, and recoiled when he saw the damage to Malone's face. Malone noticed his look wasn't one of surprise — more one of shock.

'Come in, Mr Malone. Judy, would you get us both some coffee.'
The girl stared at Malone. 'Now!' Dale snapped.

Malone took a seat before being invited, and pointed towards
Dale's. 'I think you should take a seat, Mr Galbraith, and I hope for your sake that girl isn't off getting security.'

Dale went red at the accusation, but sat low in his seat. He wanted to take control of the meeting, but Malone wouldn't allow it.

'Now shut up and listen. I had a visit last night from two of your bruisers.'

Dale opened his mouth to speak.

'I said shut up!' Malone yelled. As if on cue, Judy came in with the coffee. She placed the drinks on the desk, and held Dale's gaze. He told her everything was fine and she left.

Malone composed himself. 'Like I said, I had a visit from your boys last night, and they asked me, not very politely I might add, to stop coming to see you. Now you told me you had nothing to tell me, so I wondered why they thought I would
want
to come back to see you?'

Malone stared at the lawyer, trying to read his body language. 'I figured we must have missed something on my last visit, so I'm back for you to fill me in; Mr Galbraith. I'm all ears,' he said with a menacing look.

Dale shifted uncomfortably in his seat. 'Mr Malone, I have no idea what you're talking about.'

Malone jumped up and grabbed Dale by the tie, pulling him across the desk; files, laptop, and a lamp all crashed to the floor. With his free hand, Malone yanked Dale's head up by his hair, and spoke into his face at close range. 'Now, I'm tired of playing games with you
Galbraith. We both know you know something, and I intend to find out what it is. You have no idea what things I'm capable of doing to you in order to find out what you know, so I suggest you come clean.'
He virtually spat out the last few words, and then let go.

Dale, red-faced, his tie askew, dropped back into his chair. He was scared. 'It wasn't supposed to . . .'

Suddenly the door burst open, and three security guards rushed in and grabbed Malone. Behind them was Judy, looking pleased with herself.

'Hold on,' Dale called to the guards. He suddenly felt brave. Standing up from behind his desk, he approached Malone. 'Who the hell do you think you are? Coming in here accusing me of things. I guess that's the outcome of the last visit you paid somebody,' he said, pointing at
Malone's face. 'I was going to call you to tell you not to hang around my home like some kind of stalker, Mr Malone. But as for the rest of your ludicrous story . . . I'm a patent attorney, not a lawyer for the
Mob! Now, get him out of here!'

Malone felt the men tighten their grip and start to pull him out.
As he was leaving the room, Malone turned back to Dale, 'Okay,
I'm going, but we both know you're lying. One more thing. I've left instructions with a good friend of mine; in the event I get any other painful visits — or even if I stub my toe under suspicious circumstances
— you'll be getting a visit of your own, this time from the
LAPD. Have I made myself perfectly clear?'

Dale waved him out and dropped his eyes to the desk.

Once outside, Malone raced to his car and got in. With the anger and pent-up aggression gone, his head had cleared and he felt good.
He almost had him, Dale was going to talk, Malone just needed more time alone with him. He reclined the car seat and waited.