"The bathroom, Wade?" Wade closes the door behind them. "*This* is where you want to talk?"
"It always worked when I wanted a private phone conversation back home," she insists. Wade crouches under the towel rack and sits down cross-legged. "Don't have to worry about anyone barging in, right?"
He smiles slightly, opting to sit against the door. "What's so private you don't want the others to know about it?"
"She was terrified, Quinn."
"Kate?"
Wade rolls her eyes. "Yes, Kate. She knew I wasn't the Wade she knew...the one that knows her brother. She probably knows you aren't her brother."
He hoped to hear something more than this. More about Kate's relationship with this world's Quinn. "Wouldn't she have figured that out by the fact I'm not home? Not to mention, I didn't know my double would know her when we first met. It shouldn't be hard to deduce..."
"Look, I know two things. Kate Mallory is aware two people she cares about are in the city limits, yet they don't behave like they normally do. If you ask me, that alone is like waking up and finding yourself stuck in 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' and we all know how that ended..."
"Are you sure?"
Wade scowls. "Come on, it's a classic. How could you not know how it ended?"
"Who said I was talking about me?"
"Oh, I see. So you honestly think there are people out there that have absolutely no idea what happens in that movie?"
Quinn nods, but stops immediately when he remembers he's not supposed to be doing that nodding stuff in this story. "But don't say that too loud, or it's only a matter of time before we get to slide into *that* storyline."
"Good point. I hate when we slide into rip off worlds," Wade comments. "But forget about that for the moment. The other thing I'm sure of is that our doubles must be doing something covert. Why else would Kate be so paranoid?"
"You can't be serious."
"From 'Body Snatchers' to paranoia isn't a logical progression to you?"
Quinn laughs until he glances at Wade. He struggles to regain his composure. "Where'd you come up with this one?"
It would be nice if he could *pretend* to take her seriously. "If you were in her shoes, and ran into your sister, who didn't seem to know you, wouldn't you find that odd?"
"Sure."
"Suppose you heard from your sister later and she insisted she never saw you? That the incident didn't happen?"
He stares blankly into Wade's eyes. By the way she's looking back, she expects him to come up with a specific answer. Great. Which one? Too bad he can't read minds like his double's sister. If he had that power, he'd just get into more trouble. Of course! "The cops...she should have called the cops on us."
"At minimum." Wade leans her back into the wall. "But the whole time she accused me of not being Wade, she never drew any attention to herself. To us. Isn't that a bit odd to you?"
Quinn nods. "If she was as scared as she appeared, why didn't she want to get help?"
If only Wade had an answer for that. She rather liked the girl. Hopefully she'll get a chance to talk to Kate again. The girl has insight far beyond her years. Part of it due to the mind reading, but that can't be the only thing. Wade knows she's intrigued by some of the things Kate vaguely mentioned. Like that whole thing about not liking Quinn... "How was she with you?"
"What, when I met her?" His eyes focus of Wade's deepening glare, and doesn't bother waiting for an answer. "She seemed...a bit distracted, I guess. Surprised to see me."
"Was she nice?"
"Yeah." That seems like a strange question. "Why wouldn't she be?"
Wade smiles. "From what she told me, sounds like she hates your guts."
"My sister?" Quinn realizes he shouldn't be personifying his double's life onto himself, but he can't help it. He always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling. "You must be mistaken. Maybe she was talking about the Professor."
Laughing, Wade wonders if she'll ever get a chance to talk to Kate again. If just for the chance to tell her about this conversation. "It's a pretty safe bet she can distinguish you from him. Just the way I think she subconsciously could tell you from her brother."
"What?"
"Think about it. That first slide you did...the one you thought was a bust? You assumed that was *your* basement because at the time you had no reason not to. Even when you saw signs you had traveled to a parallel world, you refused to believe it because such things couldn't be possible, according to your mindset." Wade cracks her knuckles. "How much do you wanna bet Kate did the same thing?"
Quinn grins. "Of course. I was behaving strangely to her, so she behaved strangely back." It bothers him that Wade believes Kate could hate him. He can't imagine what could drive him to any sort of sibling rivalry. Particularly with a sister so much younger. Why would his double here let a girl nearly ten years younger than him treat him with complete hostility and disrespect? As an adult, there's no reason he should have to put up with it. Even growing up, why wouldn't he tell on her?
"Wait a sec," he amends, "when I completely absorbed what was going on, I tried to explain it to him because I expected him to listen. Then when I found out about my double who interacted with both you and him, I called you two over to try to explain what happened."
"And?"
"Who did Kate call about us?"
****
Opening the gate to his house, Quinn still can't figure out if he should ring the doorbell or not. He hasn't spent more than a few weeks here since moving out years ago, yet Mom sees to it everything is just as he left it when he last visited. Sometimes he feels like a guest, other times he feels like this is truly his home. If he were a guest, Kate would be on better behavior with them. Or avoid him completely. Quinn's not sure he'd like to see her do either. He sets his suitcase on the porch and rings the doorbell.
Amanda Mallory opens the door and smiles. "Quinn! Why are you ringing the doorbell like you're a stranger?"
"Hi, Mom." Quinn puts his arm around her. He lifts his bag as his mother holds the door open for him. "Sorry this was so last minute on my part."
She shakes her head. "Nonsense. I would have been more than willing to have picked you up at the airport if you had let me."
"I wanted to get a car, anyway. No need for me to expect you to drop everything for me while I'm here." Quinn walks to the kitchen, and retrieves a glass from a cabinet. "Why is it so quiet?"
She glances at her son, noticing a slight smirk on his face. "Yes, Kate's actually found something better to do than sit at home every afternoon watching talk shows."
"A boyfriend?"
"Don't I wish," she sighs. "Kate's been working at a little grocer downtown..."
He smiles. "I know. You told me."
"Oh." Amanda shrugs. "Her bosses have nothing but glowing praise regarding her work."
Quinn coughs. "We can't be talking about the same Kate who thought she'd 'help' me by rearranging every single item in the basement in alphabetical order."
"Hard to believe, isn't it?"
"I hope they don't let her rearrange stock." Quinn opens the freezer, and grabs an ice tray. "How did she take hearing that I was coming home?"
Mrs. Mallory sighs. "It could have been worse, but I'm sure any day now she'll grow to be as proud of you as I am."
"I'll settle for her to stop acting like she hates me." He turns on the faucet and fills his glass.
"Your sister does not hate you," she insists.
Quinn nods. "Sure, Mom." Why can't his mother be realistic about this for once? Her denial about certain things bothers him. Particularly those involving Kate. Can't be healthy for his sister much, with no one else in the house to filter Mom out for her. "What surprise do you think she has for me this trip?"
"She told me to give you this if you got in before she did." Amanda picks up a large, wrapped basket on the counter, and hands it to him.
He examines the package. Shaking it a bit, Quinn then puts it up to his ear.
His mother glares at him. "Quinn Mallory!"
"There's nothing wrong with being careful," he notes with mock seriousness. Aware she might begin lecturing him at any moment, Quinn sets the basket down and tears at its wrapping. Once his eyes focus on the numerous local delicacies encased in the clear cellophane, guilt fills his soul. He removes a small card tied to the basket's handle.
Mrs. Mallory carefully observes him read the card. "What does it say?"
"Let's see." He opens the card. "'thought you might want to take a little bit of home back with you, Big Brother. Love, Kate.' She knows I hate it when she calls me that," Quinn grumbles as he sets the card down next to the basket. He half wonders if the fruit is plastic. When Mom isn't around, he might open it to check. Better than when he actually wants something out of it.
"And *you* know she means well. I'll have you know she paid for that herself, and I certainly didn't tell her to go and buy you such an expensive gift, either. She did that on her own. I certainly wouldn't spend that kind of money on someone I didn't care about!"
Quinn nods, knowing full well it isn't worth the energy to debate the issue with her. He walks towards his suitcase, and picks it up. "Anyway, the plane flight has me beat. I think I'm going to head down to the basement and relax."
"I'll call you when dinner's ready," Amanda adds.
"Thanks, Mom." He opens the basement door and walks down the stairs. Setting his bag down, Quinn lets out a blood curling scream.
****
[You'd think Michael would have reminded us he called us immediately after she called him.] Megabyte taps his foot. No, he shoves his hands into his pockets. Or maybe Megabyte's checking his watch. Smoothing his hair? Who knows? He could be doing all of those...not necessarily in that order, of course. But all these attempts at describing his actions digress from the important part, Megabyte's mindtalk with Adam about the far more glamorous Watcher than Greer Lewis, Wade Welles. [Shall I tell her, or do you want the honors?]
Adam smiles nervously. [Go ahead, Megabyte. You can't complain I never give you a chance to.]
[Very funny,] he retorts. "Michael told us you are relatively open minded, Wade." Megabyte waits for her to nod before continuing. "First off, we are *not* Pre-Immortals or anything like that."
She laughs. "Choosing to start with that has me intrigued, to say the least. So what are you? Besides 'not Pre-Immortals', of course."
"We call ourselves Tomorrow People," Megabyte states. "The next stage in human evolution. We are mostly like you, except we have been blessed with certain abilities."
"Like the ability to teleport," Adam interjects.
Wade smiles. This is incredible. She remembers something in Greer's file about hanging out with some Pre-Immortals. It all makes sense to her. Including why Michael thought they could help. "Did he think this is what was going on here? That maybe I was one of your kind?"
"For about five minutes. He changed his mind when I wouldn't stop laughing." Adam shakes his head, remembering the way Michael reacted in turn. Self control could have been better utilized on his part. "The general rule is that our kind are drawn to the same place when they break out. You aren't born knowing how to teleport. It's something you have to learn. You couldn't teleport long distances like that and not be aware of doing it."
She understands Adam's logic in doubting this as a possible explanation. "What else can your kind do?"
Megabyte shrugs. "Some of us have unique abilities, like Adam here has healing powers, and my friend Kevin has some psychic abilities. We're telepathic, too. "
"But we can't kill," Adam adds. "Not even to save ourselves. Which would make us lousy Immortals."
Lousy...to say the least. Wade smiles. "What would happen if a Tomorrow Person did become Immortal?"
"Years of therapy, I guess." Megabyte snickers.
Adam can't help but notice how relaxed Wade has become. "Anything else we can tell you?"
"Not really," Wade admits. "I understand why he sent you. Why you actually came is another story."
"It sounded like you could use some help," Adam acknowledges.
"That I could. Still doesn't explain why you wanted to, though." She picks up the folder from the desk. "My problem is virtually contained in this file."
Megabyte smiles. "Don't open it then."
"Don't be smart." Adam glares at him.
"It's okay, Adam. Laughing about it all is a relief." Wade opens the file and removes a glossy 8" by 10" and places it carefully on the desk in front of the two teens. "This is the picture that came from San Francisco. It's been through every test possible, and it is authentic."
The girl in the picture does look like Wade. Adam can see how distressing it would be to be caught by film somewhere you knew you weren't. He doesn't see why anyone else would care, though. "Who's the man allegedly in the photo?"
"The man in the photo is the Immortal I'm assigned to watch."
Megabyte frowns. "Is it really that big a deal to come into contact like that?"
"To Hurley it is." Wade recognizes their blank looks. "He's the Admin here. He'd like to get me out of here any way possible. Which is why when he stormed in waving this around. I figured he orchestrated it as an excuse to get me out of here."
"Is that the main reason you want this straightened out? This Hurley guy?" Adam senses there's something more going on.
Wade shakes her head. "It isn't just that."
"What is it, then?" Megabyte wonders what more there could be to all of this.
****
Quinn doesn't know whether he should laugh or cry. He hears his mother's footsteps coming down the basement stairs. If history truly does repeat itself, she'll do more than enough overreacting for the both of them.
"What's wrong, Quinn? With a holler like that, you'd think the place finally decided to swallow you up!"
That's something he figures both Kate and Wade would like to see happen to him. Quinn sighs. "Mom, just look what your daughter did to the place." Gesturing at his cluttered surroundings, Quinn makes a pass at a neon pink wall, careful not to trip over the Radio Flyer he uses at times to lug generators and batteries around the room. "It's dry," he notes, touching the wall's surface. "You don't just repaint a room overnight without anyone noticing."
She doesn't know what to say. When she last came down there it looked normal to her. It would have been hard to miss walls this color. "I don't know when she did this, but you can be sure she'll be repainting it. She'll be lucky if she leaves the house before her eighteenth birthday!"
"Come on, Mom. Kate likes getting grounded. She's weird that way." He picks up a pair of pliers from the table. "I give her credit for being creative, though."
Mrs. Mallory raises an eyebrow. "I don't see where you find fluorescent walls creative..."
Quinn shakes his head. "Not the walls. The redecorating."
"What redecorating?" In her eyes, the place looks like the same mess it always does.
"She rearranged things, and at first I couldn't figure it out. Until I remembered how she likes to insist there's always order in what looks to be disorder...then I realized what she did."
She laughs. "I always categorized that as a feeble attempt to justify her messiness. You were far too smart to bother with anything like that."
"But she's serious. And pretty smart, if you ask me. What she did here was arrange everything by color...and those groups in the order the colors appear in the spectrum. If she filtered even half the energy she spends making me miserable into something productive, she could go very far." Quinn sets the pliers down, and clears off a portion of the table.
"Quinn, it never ceases to amaze me what a diplomat you can be when it comes to your sister." Mrs. Mallory shakes her head and climbs the stairs.
****
Rembrandt sits up in bed, yawning. His head still hurts, but the pain doesn't bother him quite as much as it initially did. Not so much because the pain has lessened as because he got used to it. That weird feeling...kind of a tingling, or a numbness...throughout his body is still there, but it too is somehow a bit more bearable. As luck will likely have it, he'll become completely adjusted to these things just when it's time to slide out of here.
Climbing out of bed, he stretches as he kicks a pile of blankets on the floor. He looks around. The Professor is still asleep, but Wade and Q-Ball are gone. The time on the clock tells him it's early, but not. If they went anywhere, they would have left a note somewhere. There's no note he can see.
Walking to the patio, he pulls back the curtain. The sunlight shining through the glass startles him and his eyes squint while searching for the two. They aren't out there. The patio's empty. Sighing, he closes the curtains and turns around to see Arturo sitting up, rubbing his eyes.
Arturo yawns. "Good to see you up."
"I'm looking for the others. Any idea where they went?"
"Probably out for a bite to eat," Arturo decides. "What time is it?"
Rembrandt yawns. "Why didn't you look at the clock next to the bed?"
"Come to think of it, I did." Arturo still can't remember the time, though. It's a good thing he's having this troubling conversation with Rembrandt than Wade, since she'd make some comment about something being wrong with his head.
"Still not like either of them to leave without saying something or leaving some kind of note for us."
"It isn't likely to be anything to concern ourselves about." Arturo rises, and stretches. "I take it you are feeling better?"
"Not really," Rembrandt replies. "Just grown accustomed to it is all."
"Mr. Brown, are you saying you feel precisely as you did when this ailment struck you, with the only difference being you have learned to live with it?"
Rembrandt nods. "Basically."
"Astounding. Simply astounding. I'd give my eyeteeth to learn more about this ailment..."
"I tell you," Rembrandt responds, "all we gotta do is find my double. I'm positive he suffers from it too."
****
Kate sits in the break room at the grocer. She wants to understand or at least absorb the events of the last few days. It didn't scare her with Quinn as much as it should have. All this business of people not being who they appear to be sounds like something out of a bad horror movie. Maybe that's why Quinn's coming home. Not to visit, but to work.
Even if that's why he's coming home, big deal. She could drag these impostors down into his beloved basement and he still wouldn't listen to her, or acknowledge that she could outperform him in something. That she could at least be worthy of his respect. Granted, her basement stunts and other practical jokes may not be the greatest way to gain his attention, but if he's going to ignore her anyway, Kate figures she might as well have some fun with him in the process.
Her head really hurts. She wonders if the migraines will go away after her first mortality. That would be nice. Her friend Gretchen swears it's probably hormonal and nothing birth control couldn't fix. Kate smiles, remembering how well that went over with dear old Mom. Somehow Mom turned *that* conversation into a lecture about the Twinkie Diet Kate prefers over 'real food'. Kate wishes someone would understand that if she's going to live forever, she might as well live on the foods with similar shelf life.
"Having a rough day?"
Kate looks up to see her supervisor, Anthony. She wishes he had a son her age. Not only because he resembles a fortyish Robert Redford, but because he's the only guy who actually seems to listen to her and treat her with respect. Her head hurts too much to bother determining why he's here with her. She hopes it's because he's taking a break too.
She lifts her head off the table. "I got a migraine."
"Would you like to go home?"
"Yes and no."
He smiles. "Oh?"
She blinks. "My brother's home today. I pulled a pretty mean practical joke on him and I know he and my mom will be on my back about it."
"I can loan you a handkerchief to use to declare a temporary truce until you feel better..."
Kate laughs. "That's okay. I suspect threatening to throw up will work just as well. But is it okay to go? My relief doesn't..."
Anthony shakes his head. "Don't worry. We'll manage."
"Can I ask you something?"
He nods.
"Why did you come in here?" Kate wonders if 'normal' people get this paranoid when they can't figure out a person's motives by using devious techniques like mind reading.
"I was on my break, and saw you in here looking like Hell. Thought something might have upset you. Thankfully, you're just sick."
"Gee, thanks." Kate gets up, and grabs her backpack.
Anthony stands and pats her on the shoulder. "Actually, I thought it had to do with that girl that came by."
****
Wade considers leaving her office chair to pace, but she's positive it would make the two teenagers nervous. She must learn more about their supernatural abilities. Unfortunately, now isn't a good time to do it. "I'm worried about the situation on Quinn's end." Asking Quinn about these Tomorrow People might be worth looking into when he gets back and this current mess resolves itself.
"I'm not sure I understand," Adam acknowledges. "Is this colleague of yours in trouble as well?"
"No, Quinn went back to San Francisco to investigate for me. He had vacation time coming, so he took it and went to see his family while he was at it. Thing is, there's someone passing himself off as Quinn running around that city as well." Wade sighs, toying with the photo allegedly of her and the Immortal she's assigned to.
Megabyte wants to grab it from her so she'll knock it off. It's distracting. "Does he know?"
Wade nods. "His *sister* ran into this fraud. That's what worries me. Until we know of an agenda, we can't stop whoever or whatever they are. If they can be so bold as interact with family, and be convincing at it..."
Adam senses Wade's growing exasperation over the situation. "What time do you leave for the day?"
She glances up at a clock on the wall. "About a half hour ago. I'd better get going, or Hurley'll get suspicious."
"We'll visit San Francisco and see what we can find." Adam rises from his chair.
"Please drop in on Quinn tomorrow. That is, if you wouldn't mind," Wade inquires.
Megabyte nods. "As long as he doesn't."
Laughing, Wade takes one of her business cards and scribbles on the back of it. "Believe me, if you tell him I sent you, he won't mind one bit."
Adam accepts the card from Wade. "Where's the best place to drop in on you?"
"Wherever. Just don't *teleport* into this place."
"I can just imagine what they'd do to us suspected PreImmies if we did something like that," Megabyte comments.
Adam laughs. "Would it be safe to teleport out?"
"You mean, now?" Wade is taken aback. It surprises her these two trust her enough. Under the circumstances, it really shouldn't. "I don't see why not. As long as the coast is clear..."
Megabyte stands, and extends his hand to Wade. "It was nice meeting you. Hopefully next time we see you, it'll be with good news." Never hurts to be polite to someone like her. Maybe she has a younger sister back in San Francisco he could get himself introduced to sometime in the near future.
Wade nods. "I certainly hope so."
"Don't worry," Adam adds. "You've got a lot of people looking out for you regarding this."
Wade smiles, and watches in awe as the two teenagers disappear in a flash of bright light.
****
Kate notices the burgundy rent-a-car in the driveway immediately. Mainly because it happens to be parked precisely where *she* parks. She opts to park to the left of the vehicle. Once she exits her car, a quick glance at her parking job makes it clear there is no more than two inches between the two vehicles. She decides to deal with moving her car later. That should give it a chance to annoy her brother first.
If she opens the door, and beelines to her bedroom, maybe neither he or her mother would notice she came home. Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for her basement redecorating. Normally she wouldn't care, but her head can't take it today. She hates having migraines. They seem to be more frequent, but she knows it's just because of all the weird weather changes this year. Maybe if she moved someplace without sun they'd never happen. What a concept - never having headaches. Knowing her luck, it would take moving to Siberia or the North Pole to do it. But if she lived in either of those places, she'd never have to see her family again and worry about things like how to avoid them.
She quietly opens the front door and tiptoes up the nearby staircase. No sign of either of them. Good. It's not like Mom would expect her home at this hour, anyway. A sigh of relief escapes her lips when she reaches her closed bedroom door. Once she opens it, she wants to cry.
****
Hurley shouldn't overreact. That's what his peers tell him. To their knowledge, Rembrandt Brown hasn't even attempted to get involved in the Game. All the Fort Mason people had to say was she should be more careful. Easy for them to say. They don't have to work with her regularly and listen to her claims that he's got to be the most boring entertainer out there with his lack of social life. Wade never wants to do her job properly, and telling her to "be more careful" won't change that.
There's got to be a way to get the girl out of his hair. Something not only respectful, but something that would convince the Organization that Wade Welles has had enough chances to prove herself and doesn't deserve another. Hurley would love nothing more to see her departure and see things around here return to the state they were before her arrival.
Sure, Quinn Mallory could be a problem. Quinn has found pleasure in coming to the girl's aid ever since he met her. Hurley misses the way the young man was...so eager to make his father proud by following in his footsteps. One of the most promising researchers for the Organization stateside, and the kid let it crumble since falling under Wade's influence. Hurley knows whatever he does, it's got to be something that would alienate Mallory from her as well.
It would need to involve at least someone else within the agency, in order to find the most appropriate means for removing Welles. Someone she doesn't know, who could quickly gain her trust if need be, in order to take care of this "situation". Considering this, Hurley realizes there's no way it could be someone working in this country. Whoever she doesn't know, Mallory probably does. He's not nearly as versed with branches outside of the US. No, that wouldn't work either, because such a person would know how unethical Hurley's willing to be to remove this thorn in his side. Who would be fool enough to do this deed and do it right, on top of it all?
A smile grows across Hurley's face. He knows the perfect individual for the job.
Wade bangs her head against the bathroom wall. "Oh, no...."
"What?" Quinn leans towards her, hoping this will help him hear her. "You know who Kate would have called about this?"
She points her index finger at herself. "Me. The Wade Welles in New York, that is."
It's getting messier and messier. If she's right about their work being covert in nature, then having his double's sister calling that Wade about having coffee with her...wait a second. Their work...their doubles' work. "That's it!"
"What's it?"
Quinn smiles broadly. "If our doubles work together, what do you suppose we do?"
"Do I want to answer this?"
He glares at her. "Computers. We worked with computers, remember?"
"I get it." Wade grins. "We should be able to break into any work records because we would likely use the same passwords."
"Yep."
"One problem. All we know is that they are in New York." Wade sighs. "Explain how we're going to find them."
----------
Kate walks over to her bed. "Quinn, what the hell are you doing in here?" She glares at him, lying on her bed reading some dumb physics text. She yanks the book out of his hands.
He shrugs. "Beats trying to do anything in the basement."
"Get out!"
"Why am I the bad guy? I haven't touched anything of yours!" Quinn notices her lip quiver. He hopes she's faking. She shouldn't be the one crying when he didn't redecorate her sanctuary the way she regularly does with his.
Kate sits down on her bed. She doesn't want to cry. After all, it's not going to help her head. But she doesn't feel like fighting it either. Even if it means him seeing her sob like an idiot. So she does. "Please leave. I'll fix the basement if you do. Please, Quinn? I'll do anything you want..."
Now he feels guilty. "We can declare a truce if you want to talk..."
"I'm tired of talking. I'm even more tired of listening. What I need now is sleep." Kate sighs, and then snickers softly. "The only times you ever want to talk to me are the rare times I don't feel like talking."
Quinn can't help but smile. "Migraine?"
"That's the least of it."
"Thanks for the gift...basket. Assuming the food's real, that is." He makes a point to whisper. She first got the migraine diagnosis as a kid. When they hit her back then, she'd practically curl up into a ball and just sob until the pain stopped. Ironically, those were the times she didn't seem to mind him being around. As a teenager he hated himself for wishing those migraines on her whenever he wanted confirmation that deep down she doesn't always hate his guts.
Kate wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. "It is. I spent as much time and money on that as I did your basement. Yin and yang."
"But you'll return it to its previous state?"
"Yep. How did you have your things arranged before?"
He gasps. "You don't know?"
"I don't understand your organizational systems, which is why I have that need to fix them."
Quinn reaches to the night stand and hands his sister the Kleenex box. "I don't understand mine either. Just concentrate on the walls. And avoid Mom until you're feeling up to spar."
She groans. "That's terrible."
"Never professed to be a comedian, either." He smiles slightly. "There are a lot of things I want to talk to you about...that's why I was waiting here for you. But they can wait." Rising from the bed, Quinn musses Kate's hair up. "Get some rest, Sis. We'll talk later."
As Quinn walks out of the room, closing the door behind himself, Kate growls. She can't believe him sometimes. He's so full of it. "We'll talk later," she mumbles, mocking her brother's tone with her. "Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it."
----------
Adam jolts upright. Upon noting the multitudes of flashing lights, he deduces he must have fallen asleep in the spaceship. Normally he prefers the tent he erected a few feet away on the beach. At least there he gets some sense of time via the sunlight. In the mostly submerged ship, it's impossible to tell day from night. Without the others around, he could easily lose track of time...forever.
Thank goodness for the time display on his pager.
The more time he spends around Watchers, the more he wonders about his kind. True, Kevin sensed the arrival of Lisa before it happened, and even Adam recalls that he knew Lisa's name prior to an introduction. It doesn't seem fair that these Immortals can sense others like them instantly, yet Tomorrow People can't. As it stands, they don't seem to know a future break out before it happens. He didn't know about Megabyte, nor did Kevin...and they were friends beforehand. Adam opts to request a cup of tea from the spaceship. All of this continues to bother him, and between that and these mysterious clones, more sleep isn't likely. It drives him mad thinking he could meet one of his kind within...the next twenty-four hours, probably, and never be the wiser about it. The waiting is the hardest part.
Two bursts of light startle Adam. He squints a bit to determine the identity of the people teleporting in. Not that there's a lot of choices. Adam keeps hoping one day a flash of light will be Lisa accepting her abilities for good. Instead he sees two males in matching school uniforms. "Kevin! Where were you?"
The young adolescent sighs. "I couldn't pop out. My mum..."
"Adam, who cares?" Megabyte shakes his head, and proceeds to remove his uniform. "I told him what was up, and he's here now. While I couldn't get through to Lisa, I think we can manage without her for this."
Adam sips his coffee. It bothers him that Lisa would shun them all the way she's been doing. He doesn't like to show it to them, but that doesn't make her rejection of her kind any less painful. "The three of us are enough."
Kevin paces. "I've never been to San Francisco..."
"This isn't a vacation, Kev." Megabyte turns his attention to Adam. "I still think this whole thing is a big deal about nothing."
"I know. But we promised Michael. And Wade." Adam smiles slightly.
Megabyte snickers. "That's another thing. There's one person, if not more, running around looking like her...and this is a *problem*?"
Adam shrugs. "Maybe not now, but the day I hear about more than one of you in existence..."
"Very funny, Adam."
----------
Kate nervously scans the hallway as she knocks on her brother's door. He can't be up yet. Okay, maybe he could. Just as long as he's in his room and *not* the basement yet. It's got to be too early for that.
Opening the door, Quinn is surprised to see Kate standing there. He looks at his watch. "Shouldn't you be at school by now?"
"I know, I know. You can spare me the lecture." She shrugs. "We need to talk."
"You need to get to school."
She groans. "Could you quit the big brother routine for once? How often do I actually seek out your companionship? It isn't everyday that I want to talk to you!"
"Mom will have a fit if you cut and I'm even remotely involved."
"Quinn, you *promised*." Kate's disappointment disturbs her. She figures it shouldn't faze her at this point in life. He's always been full of it. She hoped that now things were really going to be different. Instead, he still treats her like she's ten. "Weren't you the one who said you wanted to talk yesterday? I can't believe that here I am to talk to you, just like you wanted, actually listening to you like a good little sister should..."
Laughing, he pats her shoulder. "I was almost starting to believe you until the 'good little sister' part."
She whacks his arm. "Shut up, Quinn! This was getting so good I actually was starting to believe myself! Don't interrupt me when I'm having a moment like that!" Not a smile emerges on Kate's face, for things as sacred as guilt trips should always be taken seriously in her book, no matter how ridiculous they sound. That's what she's gathered from watching her mother over the years. "Now, where was I...oh, yeah. Here I am, trying to make up for years of hostile behavior I've directed at you so I can earn Brownie points with my shrink and you're making it mighty hard when all you do back is prove how right I am when I call you the single biggest jerk I've ever known who wonders why he can't score chicks like Wade when he won't even respect the chicks he's related to!"
He hates it when she does this. Asking for outrageous things from him and lecturing him on top of it like he's in the wrong. Mom hoped she'd outgrow it, but it isn't looking likely. "When do you get back today? We can talk then. Really."
"Don't you even want to know what it's about?" There's got to be some way to get his attention outside of taking a weapon to him. Kate's sure of it. Chasing him around the house with her foil would be fun, but Mom certainly would ground her until she was onto her twenty-first mortality. She smiles coquettishly, hoping he might think she wants to tell him something ridiculous like Wade confided her undying love for him and decide to talk.
Quinn smiles. "Of course I do. *Once* you get back from school."
Kate glares at him. "Fine. Just don't be surprised if I decide to tell everyone I run into today that...that you're evil and must be destroyed!"
"I'm quite scared," he acknowledges with a stoic expression.
She smiles wickedly. "*Especially* all those people passing themselves off to be you and Wade!" Kate storms out of Quinn's room.
Quinn runs after her. "Kate! Wait!" He stops when it becomes clear she has no plans to acknowledge him.
Arturo groans. "We are *not* going to find your double, Mr. Brown! End of discussion!"
"Professor," Rembrandt begins, "come here for a sec." He gestures toward the hallway.
"What is it?"
Rembrandt points to the bathroom door. "Isn't that a light shining under the door?"
Kneeling to get a closer look, Arturo nods. "It appears to be."
"You don't think the two of them are in there, do you?" Rembrandt's smile widens. He leans against the door with his hand cupped around his ear to listen in.
Arturo can not believe this grown man with him is acting like a school yard boy where maturity is concerned. "There's only one way to find out...but I can't say that I care to learn the answer." Shaking his head, he walks back to the main room.
"Hey!" Rembrandt pounds at the door. "Anybody in there?"
"Yeah," Wade and Quinn collectively respond.
"*What* are you doing in there?" Rembrandt reaches for the doorknob, but the door opens instead.
Quinn gets up from the floor, and walks to Wade, helping her up. "You don't want to know."
Rembrandt laughs. "That's what the Professor said."
Wade rolls her eyes. "We think we might know how to fix things here."
----------
Quinn swears he can still faintly smell the burnt rubber from Kate's tires mingling with the fragrant clippings in the yard. He sits on the porch steps silently, having determined there are eighty-seven distinguishable markings within the two steps below. Part of him insists he should get up, mainly because their gardener is bound to wonder why he's been sitting here the last half hour.
Jake is wondering just that. "Was there something you were planning on doing out here?"
Shrugging, Quinn fishes his memory for a plausible answer. "Not really. I was considering oiling the fence like Mom wanted me to..."
"Took care of that sometime last year."
"Figures." If he doesn't think of something to do until Kate gets home, he's going to drive himself crazy.
Jake nods. "It was Kate's karate kicks to it that did it. She would mess with it for hours and all that squeaking was more than your mother could stand."
That really figures. Normally Quinn would laugh a bit more about it, but he doesn't want to spend the rest of the day dwelling on Kate. Particularly on what she said about another him...and another Wade. "I'd better get going."
"Where you headed?"
Quinn shrugs. "The hardware store. I need to pick up some paint."
----------
Hurley hangs up the phone with a large smile across his face. Perfect. It's just a matter of time before everything is set into motion. His only regret is not having thought of it sooner. If he had, that problem manifested in a girl by the name of Wade Welles would have been a much shorter one.
Ideally, she'll be history before Quinn returns from his vacation. That way, he'll be far too late to pull an amazing rescue to salvage her career. Quinn will be forced into returning his attention onto his research, the way it was before she ever set foot into this office.
He sighs as he sinks into his desk chair, a victorious relief washing over him. Dorian better not let him down.
----------
Megabyte sighs. "So Adam, what's the plan?"
"I think we should split up," Adam suggests.
"Split up?" Kevin doesn't like this plan. It means he'll either end up stuck with Megabyte or alone. He's not sure which he dislikes more at the moment. Megabyte may be his friend, but all that ever happens when the two of them are together is trouble.
"Guess he slept during the part of the movie where everyone splits up and gets killed," Megabyte jokes.
Adam ignores the remark. "Megabyte and I were the ones who went to see Wade, and she asked us to see this Quinn fellow. She said he's rather cautious, so we should probably see him without you."
"Then why did you call me? I could get into trouble for missing school," Kevin complains.
"Besides," Adam consoles, "it's better if he doesn't know about more of us than necessary."
Megabyte can't believe this. If he knew Kev was going to be like this, he wouldn't have bothered dragging him along. And if Kev goes back and someone asks where he is this could be a nightmare. Kevin's one lousy liar.
"You can try to find...his sister!" Then again, Megabyte realizes he's not one to talk about such things at the moment.
"Quinn's sister, Megabyte?" Adam stares at him quizzically.
"Wade said she had an encounter," Megabyte reminds him. "And Kev does better with kid sisters than I do, right?"
Adam glares at the redhead. "We don't even know her name."
Shrugging, Megabyte decides to retrieve a cup of juice from the ship's controls. "We know her last name...it starts with an M. Ma...Mallory. That's it. Besides, you two are the ones who love the wild goose chases."
This might be the most pathetic display Adam's ever seen from him. It's rather entertaining, but he feels guilty about letting Megabyte go on like he is. "I guess you're right. Kevin, try the schools."
"If I don't get anywhere, I'm going to sightsee." Kevin teleports out before either one can object.
"I hope we got the easier gig," Megabyte acknowledges.
Adam laughs. "If not, we know who to blame."
With that, the two teens vanish in separate flashes of light.
----------
"You know what I don't understand?" Megabyte walks beside Adam down a residential San Francisco street. Seems like they've been walking forever. Serves them right for teleporting into the nearest secluded spot to this Quinn guy's house - they ended up materializing what felt like a million blocks away. Too bad they couldn't have this happen in some city that doesn't have a problem taking foreign currency so they could take a cab instead of all this walking.
Adam sighs. "If I let you say it, will that be the end of it?"
"Hey, it's obvious Wade isn't thrilled about us being involved. So why are we here looking for this Quinn guy?"
"She wouldn't have given us the address if she didn't want us to go there." Adam glances at the numbers stenciled on the curb.
"What makes you so sure she meant that?" Megabyte looks at Adam, and observes the brunette's smile widen. "Adam, you didn't..."
"I couldn't help it." Adam feels his cheeks flush. "It was the only way to determine what her objections were."
Megabyte rolls his eyes. "So you decided to eavesdrop on her thoughts. Despite all your lectures to me, Kevin, and Lisa, you went and read her mind for no good reason."
Adam shrugs. "Don't you want to know?"
"Of course I do!" Megabyte laughs. "Since you already went ahead and did it..."
"She is distressed about all of this. I think it got her in a lot of trouble with the Watchers. It isn't that she doesn't like us. In fact, she finds us both rather attractive..."
"Oh, *really*," Megabyte interjects.
Adam smiles. "She kept wishing we were older. But the reason she objected to our help is she honestly doesn't see how a couple of teenagers could get a handle on something she can't. Michael's going to hear it from her about sending us to see her without warning."
Megabyte gestures at the blue corner house across the street. "That's the house."
"Hopefully he'll be more understanding," Adam comments as he approaches the gate. He lifts the latch and opens it for himself and his friend.
"Well, we can always go and read his mind to figure out the best things to tell him."
Adam glares at him. "Shut up, Megabyte."
"Yes, Sir."
---------
Kate sits under a tree just about the banks of Lake Merced, her foil laying beside her. That way, if the cops happen to come through to chase out the bums, she can play crazy better. Quinn always said she didn't have to 'play' crazy. All she had to do was open her mouth. He's lucky he still has his head after comments like that. Course, he stopped saying it to her face when she was five and cried for an hour afterward. Dad was so mad he even locked up all of Quinn's stuff in the basement for at least a week. Quinn was so scared of getting into more trouble he let her get away with murder for a good month rather than tattle.
Too bad he's not still twelve. Hopefully school won't call Mom today. She hates that random calling system the school has for catching cutters. Knowing her luck, Quinn will tell on her and then she'll have to listen to Mom go on about what a rotten kid she is. Today, Kate feels like nodding in agreement. The only thing worse than feeling this insignificant is knowing who started it.
She'll show them, though. Once her first mortality hits, then Quinn will be at *her* mercy. Even if she couldn't tell Mom or Gretchen about it, she could rub Quinn's nose in it. Kate's almost positive he could lose everything if his sister was a known Immortal. It would be ideal if she could hit her first mortality now...nope, she takes that back. Puberty for the rest of eternity could prove even worse than dealing with her brother.
Only thing is, Wade said that for some reason, self-inflicted wounds don't count for the first one. Kate wishes she knew whether or not that was true. Sometimes she gets the feeling Wade tells her whatever works best for the moment, which isn't necessarily the truth about Immortality. Part of her wants to read Wade's mind and find out, but whenever the topic comes up she can only hear Wade verbally. Maybe she's afraid to know the truth if it does vary from what Wade's said. Shouldn't matter. At least with Wade, any lies are for a good reason. None of this Immortality business would matter if the tables were turned. Why couldn't Quinn be the one stuck at home with Mom, while she got to chase around these supernatural beings? Kate sighs. She knows it's because she's the youngest. Wade explained it all to her at some point, but she doesn't remember the details. It's nice with Wade, because she doesn't mind telling Kate things Quinn won't. Wade never treated her like she was too young to know the truth.
But now there's that *other* Wade who wants to lie and 'protect' her from the truth. It scares her. Maybe it's like that Stepford movie, and Quinn reprogrammed Wade's mind! That would explain why he wasn't all that upset about the basement, because he achieved his goal. Of course, then the best test on that Wade would have been *the* question. If the answer had been a longwinded speech about her undying love and devotion to him, then there would be no question that Quinn is behind all of this.
That doesn't explain why there'd also be another Quinn.
Arturo glances at the bed, where Quinn and Wade focus their attention on a laptop computer. "Any luck, you two?"
"No, Professor. Seems our doubles blocked out remote access to any of their files." Quinn rolls over, trying to avoid hitting Wade in the process.
Rembrandt sits at the sole table in the room, drinking a glass of water. "You've been trying for hours. It was worth a try. Besides, thanks to Quinn's double, you've got yourselves a sweet little computer..."
"It's going back before we slide," Wade corrects.
"What happened to 'today'?" Quinn looks at her with a smile.
She sighs. "It was worth a try."
"When you take it back," Rembrandt begins, "could you do me a favor, Q-Ball?"
Quinn nods. "What do you need?"
"Coffee. Maybe some will help my head."
Wade laughs. "Grasping at straws, Rembrandt?"
"Girl, I've tried everything else. You could say I am desperate at this point. I wanted to find out what my double did here to get so famous..."
"Your headache must be subsiding for your thoughts to be wandering back to that," Arturo muses.
"Leave him alone, Professor." Quinn doesn't want either of them wandering back to this debate. "I wasn't in a hurry to go, but I don't mind going now for that. I kind of wanted to get out of here for a bit, and that's as good a reason as any." He turns off the computer and closes it. "Anything else for me to get while I'm gone?"
----------
It's cool in New York for this time of year. Just like it usually is back home. Wade catches herself thinking about home a lot these days. Ever since that stupid picture. The worst part of all is she really misses Quinn. Without him around, Hurley's been beyond unbearable. Quinn usually gets Hurley off her back. Wade smiles. That's why Quinn went home for his vacation. To get Hurley off her back about that stupid picture.
For the time being, Wade wants to keep her distance from that office. All she does there is think about it. She knows she's just being paranoid. It would be nice if she could teleport like those boys she met yesterday. What was it they called themselves? Tomorrow People. Like that song. She forgot to give them her address. No, she meant to not give it to them. They might decide to teleport into her house when she was...when she wasn't expecting them.
It would be nice to go from city to city in the blink of an eye. She could go and visit Michael for a couple of hours, and then teleport back here. Talking to Michael would make her feel better. Why she needs a pep talk is beyond her.
Wade sighs. She can't be feeling great if she's honestly ready to fork over her hard earned money to walk this dumb revival show for the umpteenth time. 'The Life and Times of Rembrandt Brown'. She wonders how long this man's ego is going to let this go on. If he's so set on keeping up his fame, why can't he do something that gets him interacting with other musicians? He could orchestrate some tribute compilation where a truckload of current performers cover his hits. Chris Isaak covering 'Cry Like A Man'. It wouldn't have to necessarily be him. She'll settle for any guy that beautiful and rich, with eyes only for her. Wade sighs, praying that her Immortal hurries and finds himself something new to entertain himself with for her sanity.
The last time Hurley insisted she see the show again, Wade almost tried to get out of it by swearing she could recite Rembrandt Brown's entire life history and Watcher file in her sleep. Realizing he likely would call her on it, Wade decided to keep her mouth shut. She is sure she can recite every last line of dialogue and sing along note for note with every number. It usually takes her weeks to get it out of her system. It's the only thing she does to her knowledge that drives even Quinn crazy.
Her purse rings. Wade opens her bag and digs for her cellular phone. It's a good thing she hasn't gotten around to getting a ticket yet. Another distraction would be welcome. She removes her phone, and opens it. "Hello?"
"Wade, where are you?"
The soft voice on the other side sounds almost like Kate Mallory. Wade's never known her to ever speak soft like this. It's generally not in her nature. "Who is this?"
"Kate Mallory of the Clan Mallory."
Wade giggles. That girl will probably die in anticipation of the aftermath of her 'first' mortality. "There's no such person in our files." How Kate's managed to remember all these little details about both the Immortals and the Watcher organization is enough of a mystery to her.
Groaning, Kate mutters, "Fine. I'm Maia Katherine Mallory of the Clan Mallory."
"There's nothing wrong with your name."
"You know, I'd probably think that if my name was Wade Welles."
Wade laughs. "Has Quinn driven you crazy already?"
"He accomplished that about fifteen years ago. Where are you?"
"Oh, I never answered that, did I?" Wade finds it an odd question. "I was just about to buy a ticket to my *favorite* Broadway show..."
"You're in New York?" Kate's voice sounds slightly panicked.
Wade pauses. She thinks she can hear Kate wheezing, but to her recollection, Kate doesn't have asthma. "Kate, are you okay?"
"You've got to make him listen to me, Wade. You've *got* to. I don't know what they want with me...and I don't know why they keep lying to me..."
"Kate, slow down." Wade knows the kid is crying, and she wishes she could be there in person. "I take it this has to do with your brother. Am I right?"
Gasps can be heard over the phone line. "Yeah. But also you."
"Me?" Wade blinks. "What about me?"
"Not *you* you. The you that's been bothering me at work."
Wade drops the phone. Kneeling to retrieve it, she sighs. "Kate, are you still there?"
"Uh huh."
"Are you trying to tell me you've seen me in San Francisco?"
Kate sighs. "Yeah. You wanted to know about you and Quinn."
"Oh, my God..."
"It gets worse," Kate continues.
Wade isn't sure she wants to know, but this is her career possibly on the line. "How?"
"You *wanted* Quinn." Kate resumes her sobs.
----------
Megabyte is still laughing over Adam's slip in the supposed Tomorrow People Moral Code while ringing the doorbell. A petite woman answers the door. Megabyte smiles. "Hi, we're here looking for..."
"Kate?" The woman smiles broadly. "She's not home yet."
Adam shakes his head. "Are you Mrs. Mallory?"
"Why, yes." Noting the taller teenager's Australian accent, she looks at the two, and doesn't recognize either of them. The redhead would have been hard to forget with that head of hair. "The two of you aren't looking for my daughter?"
"No...your son, Quinn." Megabyte pauses, now curious about this mystery daughter.
Mrs. Mallory opens the door, ushering Adam and Megabyte in. "It's really a shame you aren't friends of Kate. She needed young men like you a few months ago when she insisted there wasn't a prom date to be had in all of San Francisco!"
Snickering, Megabyte surveys the kitchen decor. "Where's Quinn?"
"In the basement as always." She opens a nearby door, and hollers, "Quinn! Company!"
"Send them down!"
She shrugs. "Well, you kids heard him."
"Thanks, Mrs. Mallory." Adam opens the door and leads Megabyte down the basement stairs.
The smell of fresh paint overwhelms Megabyte. "Uh, Quinn?"
"Who is it?" Quinn puts down his paint brush and approaches the stairs. He doesn't recognize the two teens. Maybe they are new recruits. Can't imagine who else they could be if they are looking for him.
Adam extends a hand to the taller, lanky brunette. "My name's Adam, and this is my friend Megabyte..."
"What are you doing?" Megabyte can't help but notice the mostly neon pink wall and its scattered sections of gray.
Quinn sighs. "My kid sister's idea of a homecoming. The two of you must be working out of Fort Mason. Am I right?"
"Fort Mason?" Adam inquires.
"With your Australian accent, it's either that or you're just a long way from home." Quinn turns toward the redhead. "I'm guessing you're from the North East based on yours."
Megabyte nods. "Vermont. That's pretty good."
"I'd trade it in a second for a useful skill." Sighing, Quinn looks around for someplace for his guests to sit. He can't locate more than two chairs -- across the room from each other. "I'm not sure if you'd rather sit or stand."
Adam shrugs. "It doesn't matter."
"We're here about Wade," Megabyte acknowledges.
Quinn's relaxed posture immediately stiffens. "I don't care what anyone says about that situation. Wade hasn't set foot in this town in years."
"You don't understand..." Adam begins.
"I've known Wade for years. I know how she operates on the field. She wouldn't be that careless."
Megabyte isn't sure what to say. While he should tell Quinn they aren't Watchers, he can't help but want to know the details both Michael and Wade glossed over. "We're not who you think we are."
[How do you know that?] Adam remarks telepathically.
Quinn looks at Megabyte. "How do you know what I think?"
Megabyte can feel Adam's glare. [I haven't been reading his mind. It's so obvious by what he's saying that he thinks we're Watchers.] "We're not with the Watchers."
"Then who are you?" Quinn stares directly at the young redhead.
-----------
"Kate, that isn't funny." Wade can't believe this kid would call her long distance to play a practical joke.
"It isn't supposed to be funny. Think I like finding out that the only truly sane person I've ever known has probably been turned into one of my stupid brother's lab experiments?"
Wade checks her watch. The show hasn't started yet. Rats. "I don't follow you."
"When I talked to you yesterday, you thought you had an answering machine."
"I understand that you saw me. What I don't understand is why Quinn..."
Kate growls. "Wade, does he ever listen to me? I could have discovered the single gene responsible for Immortality, and he wouldn't care. No matter what I do, he prefers to ignore me than listen."
"Where are you?"
"A pay phone."
Wade walks toward the ticket counter. "When are you getting home?"
"Never, if I'm lucky."
"Kate, listen to me. I'm going to call Quinn in a little while. If he's still blowing you off when you see him, I'd pay a visit to Fort Mason and see just how he likes being on the receiving end on people not listening to you."
The smile across Kate's face reflects into her voice. "That is beyond evil. Why didn't I ever think of that?"
"It's the last place a Pre-Immie like yourself would want to be," Wade acknowledges.
Kate sniffles. "I guess. But it isn't like I haven't been there before. Dad took me there a couple of times."
"Really?"
"I was really young at the time, two maybe?"
Wade doesn't understand why Kate is determined to become an Immortal. As it stands, the girl's already an unsolved mystery. "I'd better go. I'll call him during intermission."
"Thanks," Kate replies. "Whatever you do, don't sing to him."
"I won't. I'll call you back tonight, okay?"
"I'd like that. Thanks again, Wade. Bye."
Wade puts the phone back into her purse. She removes a few bills from her wallet and approaches the ticket counter to buy her ticket.
Her thoughts wander to Kate's obscure memories. Wade gasps. She completely forgot to warn Quinn about those boys who came by. Adam and Megabyte. He's going to have a fit.
----------
A knock on Hurley's office door resonates through the room. "Come in," he hollers.
"It's been a long time, Michael." The younger man smiles cordially before extending his hand to Hurley.
Shaking his hand, Hurley returns his smile. "Yes, it has. Please sit," he adds, gesturing to the two chairs in front of his desk, "as we have a lot to discuss."
Dorian nods. "Your phone call left me quite intrigued, to say the least."
"I thought it might be of interest to you, Kerr," Hurley acknowledges.
"I can't imagine what would motivate you to extend an invitation to me. Especially after the last time we met like this."
"Let's try to forget that..."
"You told me I wasn't cut out for this sort of thing," Dorian reminds him. In the young man's eyes, there's no sense in getting his hopes dashed again.
Hurley sighs. "Perhaps by completing this assignment, you'll prove me wrong."
"You mean you decided to give me another chance? After all this time?" It's hard not to be skeptical about Hurley's pitch. Not only because of the strange nature of it, but largely due to the nature of the source.
Hurley's face shows little reaction to the questions. "All you need to do is complete this project successfully and I'll be more than convinced of your ability to perform within the Organization."
With the graveness of Hurley's voice, Dorian feels like he's about to become some sort of hired henchman. "So, what is this assignment? You don't expect me to commit myself to your plans without knowing the details..."
"Of course not. It's a rather simple job. I just need you to move Wade Welles out of the Watchers."
----------
Quinn lifts the cardboard container slowly, not wanting to spill any of the hot drinks on himself. He should have dragged someone with him to help. There's a big difference between getting Rembrandt something and getting all of them something. Rembrandt's not well, while the others are just being lazy.
He sighs. It's a good thing he decided to get some fresh air. He's starting to think like Wade.
"Hey, Quinn."
He turns around and nearly drops the tray. Considering how hard he's been trying to avoid his double's sister, he doesn't seem to be doing a very good job of it.
Kate grabs the edge of the cardboard. "Since when did you start drinking *that* much coffee?"
Oh, boy. How is he going to explain the four cups to her? "Um...I didn't. One's mine, and...two are for Wade. She had a rough night."
"The other one?" Kate's more than aware this is not her brother. It took no mind reading to figure it out. Her Quinn wouldn't waste his energy trying to justify his actions to her.
He thinks she might have been crying. Red eyes and sniffles could also be allergies for all he knows about her. "For you." Quinn hands her the one he ordered, hoping they share similar tastes.
Her eyes light up. Even if this isn't her brother, she sure could be talked into taking him as a replacement. "Is it the way I like it?"
"I hope so." In Quinn's opinion, that's got to be the understatement of the day.
She nods. Taking a sip, she makes a face and shakes her head. "What is this?"
Sighing, Quinn is almost embarrassed to tell her. "Chocolate raspberry with a shot of vanilla and a shot of caramel."
Kate laughs. "No, it's not. Taste it." She offers him the cup.
Quinn momentarily hesitates before accepting a drink. "You're right. It's a Latte. I'm sorry." He's sure he didn't ordered one of those.
"There's no need to apologize. It wouldn't be the same here if they got the orders right." Kate senses Quinn is still bothered about it. "I'm actually surprised you remembered that's how I like it."
Her comments relieve him. "I'm sure you wouldn't be interested, but I was wondering if maybe you'd have some time to sit down..."
"For coffee? Here?"
Adam wishes he could find a way to put Quinn at ease. All they want to do is help Quinn and Wade straighten things out with the Watchers. "We're friends of Michael Gardner." He hopes the mention of their mutual acquaintance will help, especially since Quinn knew Michael courtesy of their shared employment background.
"Really?" Quinn isn't sure what to make of these kids. This Megabyte kid insists they aren't with the Organization. Maybe not *yet*.
"Quinn, could you please give us a chance? He asked us to look into this situation with Wade because he thought we could help prove the whole thing is a mistake." Megabyte turns toward a nearby table and picks up a stopwatch.
"Don't touch that!" Quinn snatches the watch from Megabyte.
Some reaction to have over a watch. This Quinn guy is certifiable. Megabyte wonders how much of it has to do with the paint fumes here in the basement having nowhere to escape. "Sorry."
"It may look like an ordinary watch to you, but it's part of an experiment I've been working on this vacation."
Adam knows Megabyte will have a fit if he knew what Adam's planning to do. But unless they want to let Michael down, they need to find out *how* to gain Quinn's trust and respect.
"I said I was sorry," Megabyte repeats.
Quinn scowls as he carefully places the stopwatch on his work table. "Why would Michael send the two of you to see me if you're not even in the Organization?" Why should he stress out about all of this anyway? Wade doesn't seem to care much about it anymore. If she did, she would have called by now.
"Wade told us to see you. Went on and on about how grateful she is that you would sacrifice your vacation to help her." Megabyte notices Quinn's face brighten.
[Megabyte! You're reading his mind, aren't you?] Adam taps his foot as he glares at the redhead.
Smiling, Megabyte knows the perfect comeback to Adam's mindtalk. [How would you know?]
Adam is aware Megabyte has just caught him. "Michael sent us to her first. Neither of them have elaborated..."
"Nor have either of you." Quinn glances at the teens. He senses they are leaving out some large amounts of information as well. Something about these two feels odd, yet familiar. It could be that they're PreImmortals, but his instincts insist it's just because they are as impossible as Kate.
Megabyte smiles. [We've got to meet this Kate.]
[She certainly sounds interesting,] Adam acknowledges. "What would you like to know?"
Quinn shrugs. He picks up his paint brush along with two clean brushes and hands one to Adam and one to Megabyte. "Let's start with your painting skills."
"You had to ask," Megabyte grumbles.
----------
"Yes!" Wade grins at the notebook computer's flickering screen and jumps off the bed to get Rembrandt's attention away from the television. "Rembrandt! I did it!"
He sighs. "I'm happy for you and all, but could you please quit the yelling?"
She pats him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry. I just can't believe I finally did it!"
"The only thing more unbelievable is that you went back for another computer after returning the first," he insists.
"Believe me, they won't complain if I find out everything there is to know about my double!" Wade grabs his elbow. "You have to come see it..."
"I've had women drag me to bed, but I never suspected this was your style!"
Wade groans. "I'd be showing it to Quinn or the Professor if either of them were around..."
"Between you and me, I think the Professor really wanted to figure out his place in this world." Rembrandt shrugs. "Must be hard to see the three of us top him this world as the topic of conversation."
"Come on, Rembrandt. You and I both know he left because he was sick and tired of listening to you go on and on speculating about your double." She laughs.
He glances at the screen, and reads the screen to himself. "What's Big Apple Archivers?"
She shrugs. "Beats me. Must be some kind of cataloging service."
"How'd you find it?"
"Quinn and I were trying to hit computer stores in New York, since that was what we did out here. This isn't a computer store. I found it by searching my user name. Seems my double's e-mail address is somewhere on the pages and it showed up on the search engine." Wade runs her finger across the track ball on the keyboard, and clicks a button. "I'm hoping I can find out more about the company by browsing their pages."
A small rectangular box pops up on the screen, demanding a password. "What did you click?"
Wade shakes her head. "Just the name, because the pointer indicated a link...this is bizarre! Most passwords aren't over eight characters, and this one will take up to twelve?"
"Think you could crack it?"
----------
Adam dips his brush into the paint can at the edge of the table. The newspaper scattered across the floor crunches under his feet as he approaches the wall. "Why not make your sister do it?"
"If I wait for her to do it, I'll be waiting until the millennium. Besides, she's got school and work to keep her busy at the moment." Feeling their doubtful stares, he adds, "It's the least I can do to keep busy this vacation."
Megabyte understands Quinn's logic to some extent. With Millie, sometimes it's not worth the energy to fight with her. But if his sister pulled a stunt this big, Megabyte certainly would demand she return things to normal. "What more can you tell us about Wade's appearance in San Francisco?"
----------
"You seriously want to sit with me?" Kate wonders how much this guy wants her to believe he's Quinn. He's doing a lousy job at the moment of behaving in a realistic matter towards her. She must admit that it might be a lot more pleasant than spending time with the real one. "I don't mind. But what about Wade's coffees?"
"That's what microwaves are for." Quinn gestures to an empty table just outside the shop's entrance. "How's that?"
Kate nods. "Fine." Walking towards the table, she sits down in the chair nearest to the door. It seems odd to her that he's so cordial. No one's that nice to a sibling unless they want something. Who is she kidding? No one's that nice to *anyone* without an ulterior motive. "So, what's up?"
"You tell me." Quinn pulls the other chair away from the table and sits. He removes one of the drinks from the holder and takes a sip.
She scowls. "Don't get smart with me."
"And here I thought you already *had* all the answers." Quinn smiles. It would have been nice to have a sister like her back home.
"You can't be serious." Kate shifts uncomfortably in her chair. "I remember when I was four and you tried to sell me to one of Mom's friends."
Quinn laughs. He can just imagine pulling a stunt like that as a kid. Mom always said he was such a handful growing up that she couldn't imagine raising another one like him. "Where is that coming from?"
"You wanting me as a sister. You've never so much as liked me. I don't buy it."
"Kate, I never said anything about wanting you as a sister, or not wanting you as one for that matter."
She doesn't know what to say. Quinn never questioned this before. It's hardly the first time she's done it. He just never paid attention before. How ironic it's the impostor who would notice her as more than just the dumb kid sister. "Are you sure?"
Quinn can tell she's uncomfortable with the change in the conversation. It catches him off guard. He figured that his double had to know about Kate, but she sure isn't acting like he does. "Look, maybe we should both come clean right now. I'm sure we're both keeping things from each other that should be out in the open."
"Such as?" Kate refuses to tell this guy anything. Even if he really is her brother. Especially if he's her brother.
What should he say first? Quinn isn't sure. He needs to gain her trust without freaking her out. Not an easy task. "I know you can read minds, for starters. And I know you know I'm not your brother."
****
"Look, I'm sure you kids mean well, but I'd better check with her first." Quinn looks at Adam, then at Megabyte. Their scrutinizing stares are making him nervous. It's not like Wade to send strangers to see him without warning. He's not sure if she ever sent anyone to see him before, warning or not. "It would make me feel a lot more comfortable. You must understand the position the two of you are putting me in..."
Megabyte shakes his head. "Sorry, can't say I do."
"If it will put your mind at ease, call her." Adam tries to sound patient to the increasingly agitated host. While Adam doesn't understand why Quinn is so reluctant to trust them, there might not be enough time to squabble about it. "We only want whatever's in her best interests, just as you."
"Thanks. It should only take a minute." Quinn puts down his paintbrush and scrambles to locate the phone under the mess.
Megabyte resumes to the painting half-heartedly. "Why are we doing this again, Adam?" He emphasizes his hushed question with a mild glare.
"To give him an excuse to talk to her," he quietly replies between brush strokes.
Megabyte stops his paint brush against the wall. "I meant why we're here to begin with."
"Oh," Adam responds. "I suppose the best reason in your eyes would be that getting on Wade's good side now could only benefit us in another five years." He smiles.
"That's my kind of reason," Megabyte acknowledges with approval. He turns around to see Quinn fumbling with the phone receiver, dropping it on the table, then the floor, before successfully dialing eleven numbers. "I certainly can't understand his place in her world," he mutters.
"Come on, Megabyte. They just work together."
Quinn's voice drowns out their conversation, calling out Wade's name into the receiver. He stops his cries cold when he realizes her voice on the other end is the one on the voice mail at office. Hanging up, he chastises himself for not calling her cellular first and dials another set of numbers. No answer. He puts down the phone with an exaggerated sigh.
"No luck?" Adam turns his attention away from the wall, towards Quinn.
Shaking his head, Quinn approaches them. "She must be working. It's the only time she turns her phone off."
Adam nods sympathetically. "Would you mind if I made a suggestion?"
"What kind of suggestion?" Quinn knows better than to answer before hearing the question. Unless it's Jeopardy. Either way, one still comes before the other.
"One that will hopefully be in Wade's best interests," Adam notes.
----------
Dorian blinks. He couldn't possibly have heard right. Why would Hurley want to get rid of her? She certainly did her job well enough. Anytime he attended an appearance of Rembrandt Brown's outside of that Broadway revue deal, he always spotted Wade somewhere off in the background. Inconspicuous, of course - unless someone was looking for her.
Someone like him.
"Can I take your silence as an acceptance?" Hurley glances at Dorian, hopeful.
It doesn't make any sense. "Define what you mean by 'moving Wade out' as that is rather ambiguous."
And he wonders why no one came to his defense over his appropriateness for the Watchers years ago. Hurley sighs, frustrated. "I don't care *what* you do, or how you go about doing it. All I care about is never having to deal with that girl again. I want her out of the Watchers. Clear enough for you, Kerr?"
Dorian understands why Hurley called him. Why the man assumes he'd be perfect for the assignment. Revenge is always the best motivation in matters of this sort. "Isn't Quinn still around?"
"He's on vacation, so he shouldn't be a problem."
"It's not like I'm scared of him, Hurley. Just wanted to remind you he's libel to jump ship if she's forced out, and even I know he's very good at his work...I mean...the safest thing to do is get her out by getting her to do it on her own will."
Hurley stares at the younger man. This isn't what he had in mind, but Kerr brings up a good point. Mallory is valuable, and he has the legacy factor in his favor. The level of dedication the boy has had would make it far too noticeable if he were to leave out of the blue. Welles would likely convince him to stay on if she left for her own personal reasons rather than what she would interpret as a grandiose bureaucratic conspiracy forcing her out.
Dorian taps his fingers on the desk. "I believe I have an answer for you. If you're ready to hear it, that is."
----------
"Crack it?" Wade ponders Rembrandt's question momentarily. She doesn't want to give anyone false hopes, especially herself. Her original game plan was to get this thing back before Quinn or the Professor found out she charged another one. "It would take some time," she remarks, disappointed. "Although, if it's asking for *my* password, I should be able to guess it." Typing in a set of letters, Wade holds her breath until a large exclamation point flashes on the screen, declaring her password guess 'invalid'. She sighs.
Rembrandt sits down on the bed next to her to get a better view of the small screen. He reads the error message and laughs. "That's your password?"
She blushes. "It's not supposed to show it like that, even if it's wrong..."
"But you actually used that as your password?" He snickers, shaking his head. "Does Q-Ball know it?"
"Are you nuts? I'd never hear the end of it if he ever found out...which is why you aren't going to tell him!" She glares at him to emphasize how serious she is.
He smiles, and pats her back. "Does his father know you're after his beloved son?"
"Oh, shut up!"
Rembrandt isn't about to. This is probably the most fun he's had this slide. "You know who'd have a problem with it? Hadji. When a girl comes between two best friends..."
Wade shoves him hard. "I mean it, Rembrandt! How do you expect me to figure out what the password really is if all you do is contemplate my guesses?"
"All right," he mutters. "Can't even ask you about Bandit?" Seeing her glare more than answers his question. "This password...maybe it's not an employee password, but a general one."
"I *know* it's a general one!"
"Sorry, I didn't know. That would mean it would be set up by whoever designed the page, right?"
She smiles. "Right. And that might not be me..." Moving the track ball again, she centers the pointer on the words 'web page developer' and reads the link at the bottom of the screen. "Quinn. His double maintains the page."
"Either you wait for him to get back, or you try to figure out what he'd do." Rembrandt turns his attention from the screen to her and grins.
Wade rolls her eyes. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Far more than my headache, if that's what you mean." He winks at her.
"But it's not about what Quinn would do. It's about what *this* world's Quinn would do." Wade stares at the screen, unsure where to start. She opts to begin with the password he was logging in with earlier, but no luck. Racking her brains for anything he ever mentioned of having significance to him. One after one, none of them are significant. Nor does Rembrandt bother to laugh at Quinn's corny password.
Rembrandt watches her growl at the screen in frustration. "If I suggest something, promise not to hit me?"
"I suppose."
"Type your name."