Replica

life depended on it.

The second officer returned to the room, carrying another plastic chair. He set that chair down on the prisoners’ side of the interrogation table, then stepped aside so that he and his buddy could flank the door. Chairman Hayes walked over to the single chair on the other side of the table, pulling it back and sitting down.

“I’m ready to discuss terms when you are,” he said, folding his hands on the table.

“Can you walk?” Nate asked, still holding her against him.

Nadia wanted to stay in Nate’s arms for the foreseeable future. The scent of his skin soothed her, and she was so tired of being scared. But the sooner they got started, the sooner she’d get out of here, and she wanted that more than anything in the world.

“I can walk,” she said, reluctantly sitting up straight. “If you’ll give me a hand up.”

She met Nate’s intense blue eyes. There was so much she wanted to say to him, so many things she needed to apologize for—it was amazing how a near-death experience could change a girl’s perspective. She promised herself she would say everything that needed saying, just as soon as they had secured their freedom.

Nadia allowed him to help her up. This time, her knees held.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“That recording must never become public,” the Chairman said, starting the negotiations. “You might be tempted to release it to punish me for the wrongs you think I’ve done you, but the damage that information would do is … incalculable.”

Nate clenched his fists under the table, where the Chairman couldn’t see them. He’d been able to keep his emotions relatively under control in the midst of the crisis, but now that the immediate threat was removed, they threatened to swamp him. He wanted to leap across the table and grab his father around the throat. And the image of grabbing one of the officers’ guns and shooting Dirk Mosely dead held a frightening appeal. It was probably a good thing for everyone involved that Nate didn’t have to handle the negotiations himself, that he had someone calmer and more even-tempered sitting beside him. Instead of responding, Nate said, “Don’t look at me. Nadia’s the one who has the recordings. She’s the one you have to convince.”

He took a perverse pleasure from his father’s obvious chagrin at being forced to negotiate with a sixteen- year-old girl. Nadia was still pale from her ordeal, the dark circles under her eyes still prominent, but her gaze was steady, and Nate knew she was far from broken, despite the spots of blood that dotted her shoulder from her shredded ear. He’d once thought of her as a fragile little thing, always so worried about every little faux pas, but he knew better now.

“Very well,” the Chairman said, turning his attention to Nadia with reluctance. “I am prepared to offer you complete amnesty in return for those recordings.”

Nadia’s lips lifted in a smile, which quickly turned into a laugh. “You’re joking, right?”

“I assure you, this is no laughing matter.”

Nadia contained her laughter, but mirth still sparkled in her eyes. “Then don’t treat me like a child. Amnesty for me, my entire family, and Nate are all givens and don’t even warrant a mention.”

The Chairman did not appreciate being laughed at. Nor did he appear to appreciate Nadia’s tone. Nate had been on the receiving end of that cold glare more times than he could count, and he had to admit that he was occasionally cowed by it. But if Nadia was cowed, she didn’t show it.

“What else do you want?” the Chairman asked.

“Amnesty for Kurt Bishop, to start.”

Warmth swelled in Nate’s chest. He wanted to hug her again. Any other girl in her position might have been glad for the chance to get Kurt out of the way. She didn’t even like Kurt, and yet her very first concern was to demand amnesty for him.

“That can be arranged,” the Chairman said, with a scowl that made it plain what he thought of the arrangement.

“And let’s get something else clear right off the bat. I am not giving you the recordings. Not ever. No matter what you offer.”

The Chairman’s eyes sharpened and he leaned forward on his elbows, gaze boring into Nadia with such malice that Nate couldn’t help putting a protective arm around her shoulders. Both the Chairman and Nadia ignored him.

“If you don’t intend to give me the recordings, then we have nothing to talk about,” the Chairman said. “I will feed you to Thea, shoot this Replica”—he waved a hand at Nate without tearing his eyes from Nadia—“and weather the storm of public disapproval to the best of my abilities.”

Nadia shook her head. “The one and only thing I’m willing to give you is a promise that the recordings will not be released to the public—and that only if the price is right. I’m not stupid enough to hand over the one thing that will keep you from killing me.”

Nate could see by the play of muscles in the Chairman’s face that he was grinding his teeth. His father was a master negotiator—Nate had seen him at work before—but he was used to negotiating from a position of power. He was not used to negotiating with someone who had him by the balls.

“Face it, Dad,” Nate said, unable to resist rubbing it in just a bit. “You don’t have any choice.”

A flush of red fury crept up the Chairman’s neck, and Nate wondered if he was about to have a stroke on the spot. Nate also wondered if he still had the gun he’d been holding earlier—Nate hadn’t been paying attention and didn’t know whether he’d given it back to the security officer or stuck it in his own coat pocket. Maybe he’d better keep his mouth shut. If he pushed his luck too far, his father might lose his temper and shoot him before he remembered why that was a bad idea.

“On top of amnesty for Kurt,” Nadia continued calmly, “I want Dirk Mosely arrested and put away for life.”

Behind the Chairman, Mosely stiffened, as if he had never considered the possibility that Nadia might want his head after what he’d done. But then, Mosely had been underestimating her from the start.

“And lastly, there will be no more human experimentation. I don’t care if Thea refuses to make Replicas or do backup scans. For you to allow our whole state to be held hostage by this damn machine is deplorable.”

“Oh, yes,” the Chairman said in a voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m going to bankrupt my state, starve my people, deprive them of jobs and homes and basic human necessities, all because making good use of the dregs of society offends you.”

Nate noticed he hadn’t voiced any objection to Nadia’s demand to arrest Mosely. The sharply calculating look in Mosely’s eyes said he’d noticed it, too, and Nate kept a careful eye on him. He didn’t appear to be armed— perhaps he didn’t feel the need to carry a weapon deep in the safety of the Fortress—but Nate wasn’t sure.

“If you’re going to arrest Mosely,” Nate needled his father, “you might want to get on with it, and I definitely don’t recommend sitting there with your back to him.”

The Chairman barely spared Mosely a glance. “He is a true patriot. He will do whatever is necessary for the good of our state, even if it turns out to be at great personal cost. But I haven’t agreed to your terms, so he needn’t worry.”

There was an obvious unspoken “yet” at the end of that sentence, and Nate kept his eyes on Mosely. He might be a “true patriot” when it came to sacrificing other peoples’ lives and liberties, but Nate wasn’t at all convinced he would sacrifice his own. Maybe if his father could see how his hatchet man was staring daggers at him behind his back, he’d realize his mistake.

“I have a counteroffer,” the Chairman said. “I will never in a million years find a better, more able security chief than Mr. Mosely, and the livelihood of our nation depends upon the storage of backups and the ability to create Replicas. I’m afraid I can’t give up either one without seriously compromising the welfare of our state, and that I’m not willing to do.” He held up a hand for silence when Nadia opened her mouth to protest. “In return for your silence, I will elevate your father to the Paxco board of directors, effective immediately. You and all of your