Convincing Elza had been a breeze compared to what Aurelia knew she needed to do next. She called a transport pod and was waiting outside the hospital when it arrived. As she drew up to the security in front of Jonathon's house, she was afraid for a moment that she wouldn't be allowed in, but the Worker waved her through. The pod dropped her off, and she went to the large door, hesitating before she knocked. He'd told her once that she didn't need to knock, but now she felt uncomfortable simply walking into his house.

He came almost immediately and was about to kiss her before he saw the look in her eyes. "Come in, have a drink," he said, turning and walking into the living room.

She waited until they were inside, but once the door was closed she couldn't hold back anymore. She almost spat out the question burning through her since the morning, maybe even since the night before.

"Why didn't you save him?" she said.

He turned, surprised at her vehemence. "Save him?"

"You were there; you saw what was happening. Why didn't you stop them from taking him?"

"I saved you," he said. "I got you out of there."

"Right, but you could just as easily have taken both of us. You're elite—you can do what you want, remember?"

He poured a glass of water, and she noticed his hand was shaking.

"It's not quite so simple, Aurelia. There are limits, even for me; there are things I can and can't do. Even if the only reason I can't is not to create suspicion."

"And there are things you can't do because you don't want to do them," she responded.

"You don't understand." He placed the glass on the table.

"I see that you could have saved Nicholas and you didn't. And I understand that it's better and safer for you to let him be imprisoned and then injected."

"Aurelia!" he shouted, then took a moment to regain control of himself. "I went all the way out of the dome to get you and Nicholas. Why would I have him arrested as soon as he came back in?"

"You left the dome to get me." Aurelia felt the high tremor in her voice, rather than heard it, and knew she was close to being overcome with emotion, but she couldn't stop herself. "You went to get me because you want me, and you're just so used to getting everything you want, aren't you? You've never been deprived of anything, never had anyone say no to you for anything. If you see something you want, you can just take it."

Her heart was beating fast and her stomach shaking inside her.

"Aurelia, I gave you my word."

"And I believed you, but now I find that I can't."

"So what are you saying?" His voice was quiet now, and he wasn't looking at her anymore.

"I'm saying that I can't trust you. I don't know where your motives lie, why or how you do the things you do. I know you didn't save Nicholas, and I think you probably even endangered him. I can't live with that."

She was hanging by a thread now, able to control her emotions only through sheer force of will. He didn't fight her; he simply nodded. She didn't need to say more. She turned and walked out, the door sliding shut behind her. The transport pod was waiting as she had ordered it to do, and she climbed inside. She made it all the way past security before she started crying. When the sobs came, they were loud and wrenching, and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

***

By the time she got back to the hospital, it was over. She'd had her moment of letting her emotions control her, but now she had no choice except to put them to one side. She carried the deep hurt inside her but kept it well hidden. She had work to do and couldn't afford to throw everything away because she was—what? Heartbroken? Destroyed? Both.

She went upstairs and washed her face, the cool water on her hot skin soothing. Now, she needed to get on with things. She could hurt again later. What she really required was Zak, the clone Nicholas said would help her. She needed a place to hide Nicholas, and since Zak had a human wife, it meant he probably knew somewhere safe. It was imperative for her to contact him.

Finally she decided to go to the arena, the only place where she could count on finding him. She cooked up a story about losing a necklace during her tour, and the receptionist gladly called her tour guide to assist.

His eyes showed no recognition when he came down to meet her.

"No," he said. "I'm afraid I didn't see anything, but I'll be sure to contact you if we find your missing jewelry."

She passed the note to him as he shook her hand. Then she walked out of the Arena, legs shaking a little, but she was satisfied she'd done what she could.

He contacted her that evening and agreed to set up a safe house somewhere in the city where Nicholas could stay while . . . while what? That needed to be her next job. What the hell was she going to do with Nicholas once he got out of prison?

She turned the idea over and over in her head but could come up with only one solution. Earth. She felt sure he would argue with her on this, but it was the best plan. She had to figure out how to get him there.

Not much time to plan the trip now. Elza had told her Nicholas was to be released that evening.

"We often move the clones at night," she'd explained. "It's easier on everyone concerned, and there's no need to draw attention to ourselves. Nicholas is to be smuggled out with a group of others." She held up a hand to silence Aurelia, who had been about to ask a question. "You don't need the details. Trust me. It's better if you don't know."

"Okay." Not like she had a choice.

"Once he's in the facility," Elza continued, "it's up to you to get him out. You'll find the testing areas on the seventh floor."

"Fine."

She could come up with no way to get Nicholas out of the hospital without connecting herself to the process. She knew her number would be registered when she went into the testing area. There was no way around it. Once it was recorded, when Nicholas disappeared, it would be obvious who he had gone with. So . . . so what?

Aurelia looked around her quarters, familiar now after only a few weeks. Being a med Worker was all she had ever wanted; being appointed to Lunar Hospital was the best thing that ever happened to her. And now . . . now she was going to sacrifice her dream. So be it. She had worked long and hard, but there were things more important than dreams. Deep inside, she knew she was doing the right thing, no matter the consequences.

Decision made, Aurelia felt empty. She was sure it was the best solution she could come up with—the only scheme she could dream up. There was no point worrying about it; she had to do what she had to do, and for a moment she felt a brief pang of sympathy for Jonathon. Duty overcame personal concerns.

***

She waited in her quarters, pacing the floors anxiously. Zak contacted her first, saying the safe house was arranged. Elza didn't get hold of her until close to midnight, informing her the clones were installed in the facility, Nicholas among them. She even had his room number. Aurelia wanted desperately to say goodbye to Elza, but she didn't dare let her know what Aurelia was planning, so she simply thanked her. There was nothing more to say.

In her med Worker uniform, she attracted no attention at all as she prowled the seventh floor of the hospital, looking for the testing facility. She finally found it in a long corridor and entered her number to get through the locked doors. Inside, she was confronted by a young female med Worker. "Can I help you?" she asked.

Okay, maybe not planning an explanation beforehand had been a bit of an oversight; Aurelia should have realized that even at this time of night, there would be a Worker on the floor. Thinking she could just waltz out with Nicholas had been naïve.

"Er . . . I'm here to get a clone," she said, feeling like an idiot.

To her surprise, the med Worker nodded. "Sure. Is there a particular one you're looking for? Or would you prefer to have a look around and see which will fit your needs?"

Weird. But okay. "Er . . . I'll have a look if that's alright." No point in giving Nicholas's name—and besides, she wasn't even sure if he was registered under his own name, though she presumed he wasn't.

"No problem. Please don't take him out of the hospital building itself, and return him to the facility in the morning," the young Worker said.

Aurelia suddenly realized the implication of what she was being told to do. It sounded an awful lot like the Worker was giving her permission to take a clone for, well, intimate purposes. She felt herself blush.

"Don't worry," the young Worker said, patting her arm. "Lots of the female med staff do it; it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's only natural."

"Oh, of course. Natural. Right." Aurelia could feel her face a deep burning crimson, but she went along with the idea. At least it would mean Nicholas wouldn't be discovered missing until the following morning when she didn't return him.

She walked along the corridor, peering into rooms, trying to look as if she were making a choice. She finally saw him in the second-to-last room on the right. Keying in her number, she opened the door and was glad to see not even a flicker of recognition crossing his face.

"Come with me," she said sharply.

There were six clones in the room, and Nicholas looked at the others as if confused before obeying and getting off the bed he'd been lying on.

"Hurry it up," Aurelia said, as if impatient.

He walked to her and followed her from the room and through the long corridor.

"Good choice," said the young female med Worker as they passed her on their way out.

Nicholas acted the part well, silently obeying her until they were down the stairs, through the yard behind the hospital, and finally outside of the grounds themselves.

"Where are we going?" he asked urgently.

Aurelia hushed him. "Just wait."

She hadn't dared order a transport pod; she wanted no record of where they were going. Zak appeared in front of them a few minutes later, and without a word they followed him through narrow streets. They seemed to be leaving the center of Lunar behind. They walked for maybe fifteen minutes, meeting no one other than the odd late Worker making his or her way home.

Zak stopped in front of a large building and pulled out a key. Gesturing that they should be quiet, he opened one door, then another, which led below into the basement.

"You'll be safe here for a few days," he said, showing them into a small room next to air filtration and heating devices. "Don't make any noise. There's food and water down here, so don't leave until you have to."

Nicholas gripped his hand. "Thanks."

Zak nodded. "You'd have done the same for me."

Aurelia knew he was right, but she offered her thanks anyway.

When Zak left, she finally turned to Nicholas and hugged him.

"Was it really awful?" she asked, pulling away.

"Which part? Being interrogated in a military prison or being a hospital guinea pig?" But he was smiling.

"You didn't really think you were going to be a guinea pig, did you?" she asked, half sure he was joking.

"Nah. As soon as I realized we were being taken to the hospital, I figured you or Elza had something to do with it. I kept my mouth shut and went along with everything until you came to find me."

He sat on the low single bed, stretching his legs in front of him. Aurelia began examining the small room, finding boxes of dried foods and canisters of water as well as a door that opened into a tiny bathroom.

"So are we even now?" she asked, pulling out food and beginning to make something for them both.

"Even?" asked Nicholas, spying something and getting up to look in the food box more carefully.

"Well, You rescued me, and now I've rescued you, so we're even, right?"

"Ha!"

She thought he was laughing at her question, but when she turned to look at him, she found he was holding a can of coffee he'd found in the food box.

"Thank Gods," she said, pressing a button on the no-heat burner that would sonically boil water.

They didn't speak about the future until they had eaten, and both were full with a cup of coffee steaming in front of them. It was delaying the inevitable, but Aurelia figured they both needed this time—a few moments of normality.

"What now?" asked Nicholas, picking up his coffee.

"We get a good night's sleep after a good meal," said Aurelia. "In the morning, we worry about everything else."

"Like how I'm supposed to get the hell out of here?" he inquired, sipping his hot drink.

"Indeed."

She should tell him now about her plans, but she couldn't face the argument she knew would ensue. There would be time enough tomorrow to talk.

"Is Jonathon coming?" Nicholas asked.

Aurelia shook her head, and seeing the look on her face, Nicholas didn't pursue the subject further.

"I'll tell you everything tomorrow," she said, drinking her coffee. "But know that there's a plan."

"A plan to get me out of here?"

"A plan to get us out of here."

"Us?" he asked, putting his cup down.

"Us. I'm going with you."