“Gray,” I said as I answered. “This can’t be a coincidence.”
Gray laughed. “You’re right about that, but you still don’t know Jack. That said, how’d you like to learn?”
Chapter 53
“A clone???!!!” I roared. “Are you kidding me?”
“Unfortunately not,” Gray replied. He was dressed, as usual, in a gray suit. I didn’t know his actual age, but he had iron-gray hair that gave me the impression that he was in his sixties. However, despite his apparent age, he wasn’t anyone that I would have considered feeble in any sense.
We were currently in the backseat of a chauffeured SUV, with a soundproof partition between us and the driver. After receiving Gray’s call, I had teleported back home – to a downtown intersection Gray had identified. When I popped up, he was already there in the SUV, waiting, and I had climbed in. He had then proceeded to inform me of why the fake Jim was less of a fake than I’d assumed.
“What’s wrong with you people?” I asked rhetorically. “Not only is it morally and ethically problematic, last time I checked, human cloning was illegal.”
“Murder’s illegal, too,” Gray countered. “Unless the right people give you the green light – such as by, say, declaring war. Then you can blast the enemy to smithereens without anybody trying to slap cuffs on you. They might even give you a medal.”
“That’s different and you know it, but I concede your point. Some higher-up authorized this.”
“That’s usually how it happens.”
I rubbed my temples. “This is all I need right now. I’m already dealing with things most sixteen-year-olds don’t even think about.”
“Oh, yes – you’re engaged to a girl with money, beauty, personality, and powerful political connections. Must be torture…”
I gave him an evil look, but chose to stay on topic rather than respond to his barb.
“So why me?” I asked. “There are plenty of other supers out there who you could have cloned. Why single me out?”
Gray didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he just stared at me with a blank expression, and a moment later the truth dawned on me.
I let out a depressed sigh. “I’m not the only one, am I?”
Gray made a vague gesture in response. “You have to understand the position of the decision-makers. There are a number of supers out there with the ability to destroy this entire planet – or maybe just conquer it, if that’s what they decided to do. Something was needed to keep those individuals in check, should the occasion arise.”
“I get it,” I said with a nod. “Your enemy develops nuclear weapons, so you race to do the same thing.”
“Pretty much.”
“So what, you’ve got clones of every super growing in a lab somewhere?”
“Don’t be absurd,” Gray said, giving me a disparaging look. “Just those who might be considered a global threat.”
“So what does that mean – every member of the Alpha League except maybe Mouse?”
Gray snorted in derision. “Ha! Your friend Mouse is the most dangerous one of all.”
I had trouble hiding my surprise at this. He was absolutely brilliant, but as far as I could tell, Mouse didn’t have any discernable super powers.
“However,” Gray continued, “cloning your mentor hasn’t been possible. There’s some breakdown in his DNA that prevents the process.”
I almost laughed. “So even without knowing what you were up to, Mouse has outsmarted you.”
“I wasn’t up to anything!” Gray forcefully insisted. “Had I known about any of this, I would have tried to stop it. As it was, this program was well under way before it came to my attention. At that point, all I could do was damage control.”
“Yeah, right,” I muttered sarcastically, “’cause you’re a regular saint.”
“You think you’ve got me pegged?” Gray shot back, instantly livid. “You don’t know the first thing about me.”
“I know you love your job and the power it gives you.”
“Wrong,” Gray shot back. “I hate this job. I would have retired twenty years ago if I could have.”
“So walk away. No one’s stopping you.”
Gray let out a frustrated breath. “It’s not that easy.”
“Sure it is. People serve notice to their employers every day.”
Gray rolled his eyes in agitation. “Okay, smart guy, let me paint the picture for you. Suppose that you suddenly get sick of being in the Alpha League – you just want to go out, have a normal life, and leave all this superhero business behind you. But the minute you leave, your powers go to someone else who’s still on the roster, and not necessarily someone you’d personally choose. So maybe your abilities go to your best bud Smokey, or maybe your girlfriend Electra. Or maybe someone you’ve only waved to in passing. Or, if he was still in the League, imagine if they went to your brother Paramount. Not the Paramount you know today, but the guy he was a year ago – the arrogant jerk who went bananas and left a bunch of death and destruction his wake. Knowing all that was possible, do you just leave and don’t worry about what’s going to happen?”
“What are you trying to say, Gray?”
“I’m saying that I know you think I’m some kind of fiend, but some of the guys waiting in the wings are far worse. For instance, I’ve always tried to be respectful, such as giving individuals their privacy and so on. If I retire and certain people step into my role, you’ll never have privacy again. Within twenty-four hours, your house will be bugged, and every conversation you have from that point forward will be recorded.”
“Ha!” I scoffed. “Don’t try to sell yourself as some great humanitarian or protector of the innocent. You’ve done horrid things, like kidnapping my friend Rudi.”
“Your friend is one of the most powerful precognitives in the world,” Gray said. “With her ability to see the future, she helped her parents turn a hundred dollars into sixty million in the stock market in less than three weeks. Impressive, but she was causing all kinds of issues in the world of high finance. Left
