Chapter 17
James
With each step they take down the hall, James’s elation at the kiss transforms into something darker—like panic.
He’s practically vibrating with it. They’re going to find out.
They’re going to kill him. He’s going to die again.
Never have a chance to test his mettle in this future world.
Never again see the strange woman whose face he can’t seem to get out of his head.
Whose lips he now knows are as soft as they look. He can’t die. Again.
What was it like the first time? He can’t remember the plane crash. He’s thought about it a dozen times since waking up in the future. Will the procedure to recycle him hurt? Or whatever tests they put him through after they discover he’s real?
They pass the stairwell, and James considers making a break for it. No. Surely they’re only going to run a few simple tests that he can bluff his way through. Act dumb and, when in doubt, say, I don’t know.
The elevator doors open and Tepin motions for him to enter.
He complies, turning to face the doors as they enter after him.
He stares blankly ahead, trying to blink at his reflection in the shiny doors at regular intervals.
As the elevator descends, he watches Tepin reach into his pocket.
He raises the clear device so he can read whatever is on the screen.
“Did you get the notification?” he asks Corgi.
“No, what is it?” Corgi asks.
The elevator stops on the next floor, and a few other future people enter. James and the inspectors make room. When the door closes, Tepin insistently punches the SAT B button, reminding James of how he did the same that first day.
James can barely hear Tepin’s voice as he leans toward Corgi and whispers, “A manupartner with retained memories escaped the inspectors trying to bring them in. They’re on the run in Sector B. We’re the closest. The team there is calling for backup.”
James’s blood goes cold. Does that mean what he thinks it does?
That they’ve caught someone from the past—someone like him—and they’re going to hunt them down.
On the one hand, it isn’t him, so that is good.
On the other hand . . . he doesn’t want to consider what the other hand holds.
All he can do is hope the person gets away and enjoys their do-over as much as he will his. If he gets out of this.
The elevator stops and the button for SAT B lights up. He compliantly follows the men off into what looks like an oversize single-car garage. In front of them, through the glass chamber they stand in, is a SAT.
“What are we going to do about this one?” Corgi asks, nodding behind him toward James.
Tepin glances at him as if the inspector’s forgotten James is following them. James gives him a dazed grin, like they have addressed him and he’s waiting for instructions.
Tepin waves a hand. “His programming is malfunctioning. Did you see the way he glared at you when you offered to show that woman a few things?”
“She said she selected protective.” Corgi turns around to look at James. “You wouldn’t care if your owner took me up on my offer, would you?”
Absolutely, he would care. Still, he clears the emotion from his face and steals a line from Decci, Jett’s manupartner. “If Kate is happy, then I’m happy.” He hopes it and his stupid smile is enough.
Tepin shakes his head. “He doesn’t appear to hold any stored memories, and that is what we’re supposed to be searching for. Something so minor probably isn’t worth reporting.”
Relief hits James like an avalanche. Keep grinning and this will all be over soon.
“The lady seems to like him. And she’s right about the calluses. ‘Realer Than Real,’ after all. Do you think if I proposed that to Finx, he’d add it to the specification list? I bet they’d catch on. Maybe flawed will be the new trend and they’ll call it the Corgi Adaptation.”
The air in the room shifts and Tepin addresses James again. “Go back to your owner. Tell her you’ve passed inspection and we will send a confirmation report before the day is over.”
James doesn’t need to be told twice. A lightheaded sensation sweeps over him and he’s sure he’s the one going mad when he says, “Kate will be so pleased.”