From the Indie Side (32 page)

Lanie spent the
next morning traveling out to the institute, hoping to find some
reason her husband might have been meeting his assistant out there
if there was nothing going on. Parking in the visitors’ parking lot
again, she walked up past the biology labs and through the library.
Ready to come up with a plan. Lanie had just taken a seat at the
bank of laptops when something heavy hit the window.

Bang.

Oh my
God.

She’d seen
Thomas and the pretty redhead get into his car at the hospital; she
had been bringing Sam and a picnic lunch, hoping to surprise
him.

Looks
like the surprise is on me.

They’d
been walking close to one another and there had been a look of…
passion on Thomas’s face that Lanie hadn’t seen in a while. It had
been months since he’d started to withdraw from her.
It’s not you,
Lanie, it’s my work. It’s so much more demanding than when I was
just another doctor.
On
a hunch she’d jumped straight back into her car and followed them
out on the old loop road, out to the institute.

She parked the
car and waited for him and his pretty assistant to get well ahead
of them before pulling Sammy from his seat. She walked around to
the front of the library and handed Sam a pack of animal crackers
before taking a seat in the bushes. “C’mon Sammy, let’s play
hide-and-seek with the students, see if anyone notices us.” She was
quickly rewarded for playing her hunch: Thomas and Leila were
behind the window just to her left. Leila had looked up at him
then, admiration all over her pretty face. They were just talking,
but they were standing so close to one another.

Too
close.

Leila
reached down, lower than Lanie could see through the window, picked
something up, and handed it to Thomas. Scooting in closer, Lanie
gasped when she saw what it was. The kids had given him that laptop
bag for Christmas. He only used it for his personal stuff, because
he didn’t want it to get worn out or scuffed up at work.
We spent half a day
choosing it. And now she’s just got her hands all over it.
Left it over, did
you sweetheart? Forgot to grab it after you two were
done?

She grabbed Sam
then and ran away before he could see his father and give them
away. She buckled him in and sped off.

Hoooonnnkkkkk.

Oh
shit, I’m on the wrong side of the road.

Too late.

* *
*

The back
of Lanie’s head connected with her chair. “Shhhhh,” said the
student to her left.
Oh, fuck off.
She stumbled to her feet and ran out to her
car.
Won’t
make the same mistake twice.
Pulling out onto the road with studied care, she put
distance between herself and what she’d remembered.

Running
into the house, Lanie headed straight for Thomas’s home office,
looking for proof to throw at him. The offending laptop bag was
sitting in the corner, practically waving at her.
Smug son of a—!
It’s just a bag, Lanie, get a grip.
Ripping it open, she started searching for
something, anything, incriminating. Receipts would be a start, but
she’d accept anything that gave him away, no matter how weak. Her
fingers scraped the edge of a hospital folder.

Why
is he so interested in longevity studies and the environmental
impact of people living longer? Even if he and Leila are… No,
focus, Lanie.

Turning back to
the papers in her hand, she flicked her gaze over the dense text,
studied the many comments in the margins.

It seemed
the consensus was that the planet would be annihilated by its own
inhabitants within the first two hundred years of humans living an
extended existence. “Forget survival of the fittest, it would be
survival of the most brutal and short-sighted: most won’t even care
who could make the world habitable for longer, simply who they
could take for their daily bread.”
Geez, gloomy world outlook alert,
Lanie thought to herself,
certain the inked comment wasn’t Thomas’s messy
scribble.

Brrriiinnngggggg

The papers flew
from Lanie’s hands.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. Karvan?
It’s Frannie from the elementary school. You’ve forgotten to sign
Sam’s swimming form and he doesn’t have his trunks or towel.”

“Oh God, I’m so
sorry…”

“That’s okay,
you’re not the only one. Can you get them down in the next half an
hour?”

“I’ll be right
there.”

Lanie pushed
the papers back into the bag and returned it to its place.

I’ll
be back for you soon. I want to know why you’re so interesting to
my husband.

On her way home
from the school, Lanie received another call.

“Lanie, we’ve
got your test results back. I need to see you urgently. Any chance
you can get in now?”

Spinning the
car around with a squeal of tires, Lanie made a highly questionable
U-turn and sped toward her doctor’s office.

Lanie had
barely taken a seat when the good doctor pulled a familiar-looking
stack of articles from his desk and placed it in front of her.

“So you know.”
The doctor’s voice was flat, grim.

Lanie sat
frozen in her chair, her mouth open as wide as her eyes.

The
doctor tapped on his pager and walked over to the locked cabinet to
pulled out a hypodermic. As Lanie got to her feet, a nurse walked
in.
Jesus,
she’s a tank.

“I’ve got her,
Dr. Lane.”

Click-clack, click-clack

Lanie sat
up slowly.
Where am I?
The
room was a far cry from the clinical doctor’s office she had come
from. The carpet was thick and plush, an undersized but elegant
fireplace graced one wall, and an ornate mirror made the smallish
space seem far bigger than it was. The couch she had woken on was
of the overstuffed and insanely comfortable variety. It took her a
moment to notice the woman sitting across from her. Leila finished
the end of her line before placing her needles neatly in her lap
and smiling at Lanie.

“You’ll need a
drink. The drugs will do that to you.”

As Lanie sipped
from her paper cup, Leila began reciting her opening spiel.

“You will be
given time to make up your mind, but understand this: we do not
allow mistakes. No slips.” Satisfied she’d made her point, Leila
sat down to face her unwilling student. “You can start a new life
out on the colony. Or you can decide that your life, your family,
is too much to give up, too hard to live without.”

“But I have
no—”

“Idea what’s
going on? You know a lot more than you think. It’s just a matter of
time before it falls into place for you. You just wouldn’t leave
well enough alone, would you? But please, allow me to fill in the
blanks.”

Handing her a
single sheet of paper, Leila walked back to her chair by the
fireplace and sat, peering at Lanie as she slowly read, jaw firmly
dropping as she got to the last line.

Oh
God, the cell research, the overpopulation risks. The food sources
for a harsh environment.
It all fell into place.

“So what
happens now?”

“You’ll have to
stay here for a few months—there’s a lot to learn about life on our
sister planet, and you’ll need to be fully briefed.” Walking toward
the windows, looking out over the lush vista before her, Leila
smiled. “I know it’s a lot to take in, Lanie, and I do get what
you’re giving up—I really do. But you’re here now, and while it’s
not ideal, you could choose to make the most of it. What we’ve done
and what we’re doing is amazing. We’re pioneers, Lanie. Surely
that’s worth some sacrifices?”

“
Some
sacrifices, Leila? Some?” Lanie walked up to the younger woman and
pushed her face closer until they were standing nose to nose. “My
children are
everything
to
me. You expect me to just put them aside and jump on your happy
little scientific freak show like they don’t mean anything to me?
What are
you
all
sacrificing? Huh?”

“Be smart,
Lanie. You know we can’t let you go—you won’t be able to help
yourself. Maybe not this year, or the next, but eventually you’ll
spill. Like I said, it’s not the best scenario, but it is what it
is. Make the most of it.”

Lanie snorted.
“You know, it’s ironic that you’re sending me away because I might
spill your secrets. You’re all clearly doing such a bang-up job of
keeping this quiet.”

Leila turned
and walked to the door. “Look Lanie, I know it won’t be easy. I
understand more than you think. But there are others like you that
didn’t walk into it willingly, and they’ve become very happy and
successful.”

“Yippee for
them.”

The door closed
quietly behind Leila as Lanie began to re-read the manuscript for
her new life.

Behind
the two-way glass, Thomas watched his wife’s shoulders
shake.
Why did you
have to keep searching, Lanie? I tried to tell you to leave it all
alone, tried to hide it all from you. We would have been in this
together eventually; I would have found a way. But they’ll never
let you go now. Please, just show them you can put the project
before anything else. Then we can…
Hearing footsteps approaching the door, Thomas
picked up his folders to leave.

Hours later,
Leila walked back into the room, taking note of the paper clenched
in Lanie’s hand. “Do you want to ask me anything?”

A sharp bark of
laughter, and Lanie uncurled her lip enough to ask her only
question. “What’s it going to take for me to go home and forget
this ever happened?”

For a brief
second, Leila looked sympathetic, sad even. “I’m sorry, Lanie. That
just isn’t going to happen.”

Lanie rolled
toward the wall, blocking Leila and her voice as best she could. A
full four seconds before she rolled back to face her tormentor,
voice raised.

“
I
don’t
care
about any
of this.”

Leila’s
tone, usually so calm, now raised to match Lanie’s frustration. Her
eyes were lit with a strange devotion.
Like a priest delivering a sermon
about salvation.

“
How can
you not understand it, Lanie? If this gets out, and if people knew
what we can already do they’d want it—
demand
it. They don’t care that our planet isn’t equipped
to handle the impact, or that our sister planet could be decades,
maybe more, away from being perfected.” Leila’s breathing was
heavy, her voice high. “It’s bigger than you and your needs. It has
to be managed. It’s for the greater—”

“
Good,
yes, you’ve mentioned that.” Lanie folded under the realization
this was a done deal.
She was in or she was out. No grey areas
here.

She
walked to the door, crossed her arms across her chest, and nodded
for Leila to leave. Almost before Leila had fully passed the
threshold, Lanie slammed and locked the door as if it could keep
these
monsters
out of
her space.

So,
Lanie, how much of a life do you want to have, now that you’ve lost
everything?

A low
keening sound came out of her then. Slowly, lowly at first,
steadily rising in pitch until she was completely unhinged;
desperate and angry. She saw her little men, saw herself smelling
their hair, picking out their clothes warm and fragrant from the
dryer, chasing their nude bodies fresh from a bath, all three of
them thundering down the hall.
No nacki nack boys, my boys wear
pajamas.
Lanie clawed at
herself, ripped at her skin and hair, and rolled from side to
side.

Leila hadn’t
returned, although regular meals were left at Lanie’s door like
clockwork. She’d discovered that the couch was adequate for
sleeping on, and made good use of the small bathroom. But there was
nothing to do, and no further contact. Apparently the next move was
hers.

Of course
Lanie had noticed the red button by her door.
Obviously they’re used to
giving people their space until they’re ready to decide.
Well, enough waiting; she was
ready. Pressing the button, Lanie sat back in her chair and awaited
what she could only assume would be the return of her captor’s
messenger. Sure enough, Leila and her perky step soon walked into
the apartment, breezy with a smile arguably bolder than it should
be.

“Two days. The
profiler was dead on.” Leila lifted an eyebrow.

“And what did
they say about my decision? To leave my kids, put this new world
ahead of all else? Where did they decide I’d land on that?”

Walking
back to the door, Leila held it open and beckoned Lanie through.
Two heavyset men stood nearby, almost hiding the smaller form of
Dr. Lane and his ever-present medical bag. A queasy feeling hit
Lanie in the gut. She started to sob and tried to run.
I’m sorry boys, so
very sorry.