The Mirror Man, стр. 54
“It would appear we have a situation,” he said. He stood in front of them with an expression that appeared perfectly calm, but Jeremiah could sense a trace of uneasiness in his demeanor.
“Damn right we have a situation,” Jeremiah told him. “That clone is making a mistake. He shouldn’t be taking the Meld.”
“I agree, Mr. Adams,” Scott said, moving farther into the room now. He stood in front of a chair without sitting down. Jeremiah shot a quick I-told-you-so glance at Brent. “We have no definitive data on how the drug might affect the clone. This is untested territory. There is a real possibility that, under Meld, your double may become privy to information he must not have. Whoever takes the Meld with him might see something, as well. The risk is simply too high.”
“Don’t you think,” Jeremiah asked, “that maybe it’s time you considered taking Meld off the market?”
“That is not an option,” Scott said firmly. “Meld and the money it generates are crucial to this project. That must be preserved. At any cost.”
It wasn’t lost on Jeremiah that Scott had not directly dismissed the implication that Meld was dangerous and had been released too soon.
“So, what do we do about it?” Jeremiah asked. “How do we stop this?”
“We don’t,” Scott said thoughtfully. “We can’t. The wheels are already in motion, I’m afraid. But we can ensure that it won’t be the clone who is taking the Meld.”
“How’s that?” Jeremiah asked.
“You will need a shave and a haircut, Mr. Adams,” Scott said with a slight gleam in his eye. “You’re taking a trip.”
Chapter 26
Less than an hour later, Jeremiah found himself sitting on the cold, metal table in Dr. Pike’s office, trying to calm his own heartbeat. He couldn’t believe his luck. He was getting out, if only temporarily, and that impossible opportunity wasn’t lost on him. He had a chance to save Diana. He had a little, slim, tenuous piece of hope. He wasn’t going to squander it.
Pike was to perform a full medical examination to ensure that Jeremiah and the clone were as physically indistinguishable as possible when he went to the other side. While he waited, Jeremiah considered his options. They weren’t many. He was certain Scott would be with him out there, or watching him, at least. They weren’t going to just let him wander. But if he could evade them long enough for a phone call, or if he could somehow slip a message to someone who would relay it to his clone or Diana, he might have a chance. There wouldn’t be time enough to plan anything elaborate beforehand, he decided. He’d just have to keep his eyes open and take any opportunity he could find.
Pike entered the room staring at a computer tablet in his hand. He didn’t even look at Jeremiah as he mumbled a distracted greeting.
“I assume you’ll want to get me on the scale,” Jeremiah said. “I think I’ve lost enough weight on the Dr. Pike diet.”
“Yes, yes,” Pike said, looking up at Jeremiah now and assessing him with a quick glance. “The weight. That is an issue. I think we’ll be able to hide the discrepancy with your clothing. You won’t be there long. We have a more pressing matter right now, I’m afraid.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re going to need a tooth pulled. The clone had a right molar extracted a few weeks ago and we’ll need to take the same tooth from you. I was going to wait on this, but circumstances have changed. It needs to be done today. Right away.”
“What?” Jeremiah asked. “There’s nothing wrong with my teeth!”
“I understand that,” Pike told him. “But this is unavoidable.”
“If I can hide my weight, I certainly ought to be able to hide a tooth,” Jeremiah suggested. “I don’t want a tooth pulled. Can’t I just keep my mouth closed or something?”
“You’re going to be on national TV,” Pike said. “All over social media. And you’ll be scrutinized. We can’t risk it. We can get away with the assumption that the camera adds five pounds. Last I checked, though, it does not add extra teeth.”
“Nice to see all the trouble you people can suddenly handle to get me out of here.”
“We can’t be too careful, Mr. Adams.”
“Right, not when it suits your own agenda, I suppose. Different story, isn’t it, when I want to get out to bury my mother?” Jeremiah stared hard at Pike, who looked momentarily uncomfortable, averting his eyes and shifting his weight from one foot to another.
“This is different, Mr. Adams,” Pike said quietly. “You know that.”
“For you, maybe. Not so much for me.”
“These decisions aren’t up to me,” Pike told him. “If you’ll hold out your left arm, I need a sample of your blood.”
“Sure,” Jeremiah said, holding his arm outstretched. “Take my teeth, my blood. Is there anything else? You want a kidney?”
Pike carried out the rest of the examination in silence, checking and rechecking vital signs and scanning for viral infections with a handheld device that Jeremiah surmised worked something like a Geiger counter. When he stepped on the scale, Jeremiah was pleased to see he’d lost a little more than six pounds, which had him still about four pounds heavier than his double, but one step closer to cheese.
Finally, once Pike was satisfied with the readings, he ushered Jeremiah into an adjacent office that had been outfitted as a dental suite. Jeremiah had been here once before for a routine cleaning.
“Please have a seat, Mr. Adams. I will administer a sedative to put you under, if you like.”
“No,” Jeremiah told him flatly. “Just numb me up. I want to be awake so I can see your face when you yank a perfectly healthy tooth out of my mouth.”
Pike sighed. Fifteen minutes later, Jeremiah