The Mirror Man, стр. 56
“You are not to speak to anyone at ViMed at all,” Scott repeated for the third time. “Just get in, do your stint with the Meld and get out of the offices as quickly as you can.”
“But what if someone talks to me?” Jeremiah asked. “Am I just supposed to pretend I don’t hear them or something? Ignore them?”
“Keep it as brief as possible, Mr. Adams. And don’t, under any circumstances, say anything that might raise suspicion. Be succinct and then make an excuse to move on. We can’t have you starting any conversations that the clone will not remember.”
“If I am taking his place for this publicity stunt,” Jeremiah said, “it seems to me there will be a lot the clone doesn’t remember.”
“Leave that to us,” Scott said. “We’ll use the Meld for that. We’ll do a quick download after the broadcast. He will remember everything you do exactly as if he’d done it himself. There will be no discrepancy there. But you need to hold up your own end. You can’t do or say anything that might throw him off track. You can’t raise suspicions in anyone. Keep everything simple.”
“So I’ll be taking the Meld twice? In one night?”
“It’s necessary.”
“I still don’t see how you’re going to pull this off,” Jeremiah said. “How do you propose to make the switch?”
“Those details do not concern you.”
“They sort of do. I mean, at least I ought to know where to be, what to do.” He was fishing for some indication that he’d have a chance to reach out to Diana.
“Again, Mr. Adams, that doesn’t concern you. Leave that to me. You need only to do precisely as I ask of you. Nothing more, nothing less. Follow my direction and this will all go smoothly.”
“So you’ll be there the whole time? How’s that going to work? I mean, as far as he’s aware, the clone has never even met you. And suddenly, you’re going to be hanging on him like you’re his best friend?”
“I have already arranged to act as ViMed’s scientific liaison to this endeavor,” Scott said. “I’ll be overseeing everything. But there will be several ViMed executives milling around, as well. Almost your entire marketing team. That’s unavoidable, I’m afraid. You are not to talk with them any more than necessary. A few of them know all about this project, but the great majority do not.”
That surprised Jeremiah. Who else in ViMed, he wondered, was involved in this?
“And I suppose those details don’t concern me, either,” Jeremiah said.
“They do not.” Scott scrutinized Jeremiah for a long moment, as though he were trying to decipher his thoughts. “Remember, Mr. Adams,” he said. “Right up until the moment you take the Meld, I will be right beside you. When you take the drug, I will be close by and I’ll be watching you.”
“But you won’t be there for the actual demonstration?”
“No one will be in the room with you when you take the Meld. No one but you and the doctor administering the drug. As usual, anyone else in the room would risk contaminating the connection. Even the film crew will be working remotely for that portion, and I will be watching from a monitor in another location along with the other spectators. You can be assured I will be paying attention.”
Jeremiah considered trying to get a message across to the doctor under the Meld. Something silent and telepathic. He’d never been able to exert any control when he took the drug with Natalie, though, so he didn’t hold out much hope. Still, he thought, it might be his only chance.
As he spoke, Scott’s left hand began to shake, just the slightest tremor that anyone else might have mistaken for simple fidgeting. Jeremiah knew better.
“There’s no need to be so nervous,” Jeremiah said, allowing his gaze to linger on Scott’s hand briefly before meeting his eyes.
Scott immediately tucked both his hands into the pockets of his suit jacket, his arms stiffening perceptibly in an effort to quell the spasm. It was a gesture no one else might have noticed. Jeremiah noticed.
Chapter 27
Day 148
Jeremiah was still half-asleep and dressed in his underwear making coffee the next morning when he was startled by Brent coming through the front door without knocking.
“What the hell, Brent? Why are you here so early?”
“Good morning to you, too,” Brent called. He laid his laptop on the couch and came into the kitchen, stopping short as soon as he caught sight of Jeremiah. “Whoa,” he said, “you look exactly like him without the beard and the hair. That’s amazing.”
“Well, not really, Brent. He’s my clone, after all.”
“How’s the tooth?”
“Still gone, thanks.” Jeremiah rubbed his jaw. It ached a little, but the swelling seemed to have gone down considerably. “So why are you here at this indecent hour? Did Mel throw you out or something?”
“We’re supposed to monitor the clone for the whole day today,” Brent told him. “It goes on at nine, which gives us just enough time for breakfast.”
“The whole day? What the hell for?”
“Scott wants you to see as much of his day as possible in case there’s anything you’ll need to know once you take his place tonight. You’re to pay meticulous attention—his words, not mine. It’s pretty exciting, don’t you think?”
“I’m all a-tingle,” Jeremiah said.
“I thought you’d be glad to get a chance to go back home for a while.”
“I’m not going home, Brent. I’m going to the office. I’m literally going up twelve floors in an elevator. And I’ve been duly cautioned not to speak to anyone. I don’t see why I have to watch him all day. I won’t be interacting much.”
“I don’t know,” Brent said. “What if he spills mustard on his tie at lunch or something? You’d have to know that, right?”
“Presumably he’d change his tie