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"Doppelgänger" by A. Rhea King
Rating: PG CHAPTER 2 Hoshi grabbed Malcolm’s arm. “Look!” she laughed. Malcolm nodded, watching a strange bird float pass by. “I’ve heard silk is horrible for hemming,” someone said, stepping up next to Hoshi. Hoshi turned, staring at the man beside her. He was wearing a hat that shaded his eyes, a baggy suit, sunglasses with large dark colored lenses and his had rusty colored beard was in need of a trim. “Pardon?” Hoshi asked him. He looked at her. “I’ve heard silk is horrible for hemming.” Hoshi smiled. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t sew.” Hoshi turned back around when Elizabeth grabbed her arm. “Look at that one!” Elizabeth laughed. The man started to speak when a hand touched his arm. He turned, staring at the woman that had touched his arm. She was staring at Hoshi, not him. “Wh--“ the man started. The woman roughly pulled him through the crowd to a doorway. She looked back at Hoshi. “She looks like you!” the man said. “I know.” “Who is she?” he asked. “I don’t know.” The woman looked at the man. “Do you have it?” The man handed her a thin envelope and she exchanged it with a thick one. “You’ll be contacted,” she told the man. He nodded and disappeared into the crowd. The woman turned, watching Hoshi. She looked around, hearing someone blow a whistle. She saw policemen pushing through the crowd in Hoshi’s direction. The woman stepped back in the crowd, keeping an eye on Hoshi. # “Hey, loo--” Archer was cut off by a hand roughing turning him around. “Haeri Two Scars, you are under arrest!” Samuel said, shoving a gun into Archer’s face. Archer swallowed, staring at the gun barrel. “What?” His crewmen turned, staring at the policeman. Four gunshots rang out and people in the crowd started screaming and running as more shots followed. Archer pulled back, feeling someone grab his arm. A woman was pushed between Archer and the policeman’s gun by the panicking crowd and Archer looked back to find Nathan had a hold of his arm. “Come on,” Nathan said, pulling back on Archer’s arm. The two turned and ran, following the other six crewmen through the crowd. Archer looked back when he heard another gunshot. Policemen were chasing them and more were joining them as the group ran. “Split up!” Archer yelled to his crewmen. “If we--” T’Pol started. “They’re after only me. Rendezvous at the transporter site,” Archer yelled to the others. “Nathan’s with me. Hoshi, Cutler, go a separate direction. Trip and Travis head straight and Malcolm and T’Pol go left at the next street. GO!” Archer turned to the right and Nathan into an alley. Now that they were free from the crowd the two men were able to pick up speed and lose policemen chasing them. The two turned and found themselves on a waterfront dock. Archer turned, running down the dock. He ran around a corner as a police car slid to a stop. Samuel leapt out behind the door, aiming a gun at the two. Zimmerman leapt out on the other side, aiming his gun at Archer and Nathan. “FREEZE!” the two policemen yelled in unison. Archer and Nathan froze, both slowly raising their hands. “Don’t either one of you boys move!” Samuel ordered Archer and Nathan Gunfire suddenly began raining from all directions. Archer and Nathan dove behind a stack of crates, sinking to the ground. “Sir, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t wanna take Lieutenant O’Malley’s place on this mission!” Nathan yelled at Archer. Archer said nothing, concentrating instead on keeping from getting shot. The shooting stopped. Archer held his breath, hearing quiet talking and a pair of footsteps headed in their direction. A man stepped around the crates and Archer and Nathan instinctively held up their hands when they saw the gun he was carrying. “Boss,” the man said. Nathan and Archer stared at the man. “Boss, come on. We gotta scram before the fuzz get here.” He held his hand out to Archer to help him up. Archer slowly reached out and took the man’s hand. “Boss?” Archer asked. “Yeah, Boss?” “Who-- Who’s Boss? “You is, Boss. You get cold cocked or something, Boss?” the man asked. He peered into Archer’s face with deep concern. “Yes,” Archer answered, figuring it was better to lie right now, “Or something.” “Boss,” someone called. Archer looked toward the voice. Six men dressed in three piece suits like this man stood around the police car and two dead policemen. Five of them held Tommy guns and one was carrying a small handgun. “What you want we should do with the fuzz here, Boss? Dump ‘em in the river or bury ‘em in the dump? The other fuzz are bound ta start lookin’ for ‘em,” one of the five men asked, looking at Archer. Archer stared at the men. “Boss?” “He got cold cocked, fellas,” the first guy said, patting Archer’s shoulder, “I think the Boss is a little balled up right now.” The second guy nodded. He lit a cigar before saying anything else. “We’ll clean it up Boss. Cevin, get Boss back and let Jisyca patch ‘im up. He’s had a wild day.” Archer looked back at Nathan, who looked just as lost and confused as he felt. Archer looked at the young man that took his arm and started walking him toward a car. He assumed the young man was Cevin. “What’s with these old rags, Boss?” Cevin asked. Archer looked down at his clothes. They looked like clothes he’d seen other people wearing today. Archer looked at Cevin, guessing that these people were expecting him to be wearing an expensive suit like they were wearing. “A disguise, Cevin,” the second man said. “Boss was running from the fuzz. Couldn’t you see that?” “Of course! Good thinkin’ Boss,” Cevin smiled when Archer looked at him. “We were told you were dead, Boss. I think Taunyo is planning on moving in on our gigs, Boss.” “Stop jawin’ his ear off Cevin. You’re the driver, not a shrink,” one of the men ordered Cevin. “Nathan,” Archer stopped, looking back. Nathan was staring at the dead policemen. “Yeah. Who is this kid? He looks like a real book-worm,” Cevin said. Nathan looked up at Archer and then Cevin. “He is,” Archer answered, not knowing what else to say, “He’s a friend of mine.” “Any friend of the Boss’s is a friend of mine,” Cevin held his hand out to Nathan. Nathan took it, letting Cevin shake it. “CEVIN!” the other five yelled. “Come on Boss. We need to get outta here before the fuzz shows up here,” Cevin opened the back door of the car for Archer. “Boy, am I glad we found you before them fuzz got you. Heard it cost almost a full mill’ to break out Tomy Four Toes and his gang when sour after that. Sure made it easy for us to get his territory though.” Archer swung his head around to look at Cevin. The pieces of what was happening suddenly fell together at once. He, or the person they presumed him to be, was the boss of what was sounding like a mob. The fuzz, or rather the police, was their enemy. Archer’s stomach tied into a sudden knot. This was a nightmare! “Come on, Boss,” Cevin said. Nathan nudged Archer’s back. Archer got in the car and Nathan sat down in the seat next to him. Cevin shut the door and walked around, getting in. With a slight jolt, Cevin drove away from the murder scene. Archer slowly looked back at the scene and then out the windshield. He suddenly felt like he was on a world far more alien than any world he’d visited since leaving Earth, even if these aliens were human. # “HAERI!” Archer didn’t look around at the voice until he was enveloped in two arms. A woman pushed him back against the car, barely letting him breath as she mauled him with kisses. Archer grabbed her arms and pushed her back, finally able to look at her. She wore a loose flowered dress made of lightweight material with a dome shaped hat and ringlets pasted to the side of her face. “They said you were dead, baby!” she hugged him again. “I’m not.” Archer looked down at Nathan. He was sitting in the car still, staring at the house in front of him. Archer looked at the house. It was really a mansion. It had to be sitting on at least two acres and there were lights on in nearly every room. Dozens of cars were parked in front, but he only saw a handful of men outside, all carrying automatic weapons. “Oh Haeri!” she laughed, batting his shoulder. “You shoulda called as soon as you were in the clear! The boys really thought you’d bought it in that explosion, baby.” “DADDY!” Archer’s stomach dropped into his shoes. Daddy? Archer looked at the front door, watching two little boys running toward him. One looked nine and the other looked eight. They ran up to Archer and threw their arms around him. “Uhhhh,” Archer looked down at the boys. “Hi..boys.” “Boys? You never call them that.” She stepped back, putting her hands on her hips. “He got cold cocked pretty good, Mrs. Swank. Probably just needs some of your doctorin’,” Cevin explained. Archer looked at Cevin, catching him winking at the woman. Archer looked at her. “You’re Jisyca?” “Oh my,” Jisyca reached up, laying her hand on his head. “You don’t remember me? Maybe we should have a doctor look at you, baby.” “No. I..I’m sure I’ll remember everything. Sooner or later.” “It was the explosion. He hit his head fairly hard, ma’am,” Nathan put in. “Oh! And who is this?” Jisyca held out her hand to Nathan. “A friend. Nathan,” Archer said. Nathan shook her hand. She smiled uneasily as he did and quickly pulled her hand away. “Must be from out of town. I’ve never met him before.” “I am,” Nathan said, “From..out of town..that is.” “He is,” Archer replied. “Well, let’s go inside. Dinner is waiting and then we’ll look at that head of yours,” Jisyca sidled up to Archer. “In private.” Archer smiled uneasily. “In..private.” Jisyca slid her arm around his and led him toward the house. Archer looked down as one of the boys took his hand. Archer looked back at Nathan. Nathan was following behind Archer, looking at everything they passed. ‘I’m caught in the mafia!’ Archer cried to himself as he looked back at the front door he was being led to. ‘What the hell kind of world is this?’ # Travis and Trip disobeyed Archer. They stuck with Malcolm and T’Pol. They heard policemen still behind them as they pushed through the crowd, but they were falling behind. “Here,” T’Pol said and they raced into an alley. The four slowed to a stop, panting. “FREEZE!” someone yelled. The four looked back at the policeman at the end of the alley. As one the four spun and ran away from him with T’Pol in the lead. They ran into another alley and stopped short, hearing feet running toward them from somewhere ahead of them. “Lieutenant Reed, Ensign Mayweather, under there,” T’Pol said, pointing to a set of stairs with boxes and trash under it. “I’m not--” Travis started to argue. Malcolm grabbed Travis’ arm and pulled him with him under the stairs. Trip looked up and down the alley for a place to hide, starting to panic. He knew the policemen would be there any minute and there was nowhere left to hide. Trip let out a soft grunt when he was suddenly slammed into the boxes under the stairs with T’Pol’s lips and body pressed against his. Trip wrapped his arms around her, keeping their lips pressed together. The policeman that had ordered them to stop raced past, meeting with four more policemen as they ran around the corner at the opposite end of the alley. “Did you see them?” one of the policemen asked. “No. They didn’t come this way.” “Back track. Check everywhere.” The policemen broke into two groups and one group started back in the Enterprise crew’s direction. Under the stairs Travis and Malcolm pressed into the shadows, both men’s hearts beating in their throats. Two policemen stopped behind T’Pol, staring her back. One cleared his throat. Neither T’Pol nor Trip responded to him. “Uh-hum!” the policeman said. The two still didn’t acknowledge him. The policeman reached out to tap T’Pol’s shoulder and the second stopped him. “These two are so busy cashing, they wouldn’t have noticed a bomb detonating. Come on,” the second said and they continued down the alley. Malcolm watched the two leave. He kept quiet until he couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore and then let out his held breath. Travis did the same thing. “To close,” Travis whispered. “They’re gone,” Malcolm said to Trip and T’Pol. Neither responded to him. “They’re gone!” Travis said and didn’t get any more of a response than the policemen or Malcolm had. Travis and Malcolm looked at each other. Malcolm squeezed out from under the stairs and stood up. He tapped Trip’s shoulder. Trip brushed Malcolm’s hand away, quick to wrap his arm back around T’Pol. Malcolm leaned close to the two of them. “We really need our science officer and chief engineer back now,” Malcolm smiled when the two slowly looked at him. “Perhaps you two could continue this later? I’m sure it will be just as satisfying then.” Trip made a jeering face at Malcolm. T’Pol stepped back, turning so neither Malcolm or Travis saw her faint smile of pleasure before it was erased by her serious nature. “We need to find the location we transported to so we can return to Enterprise,” T’Pol said. “Lead the way, Sub-Commander,” Malcolm said. He paused, waiting for her and Trip to start walking ahead and then added, “Just make sure it’s to the coordinates and not some secluded corner.” Trip and T’Pol both stopped short and looked back at Malcolm. He and Travis both smiled huge Cheshire grins. T’Pol looked at Trip. He shrugged and they continued walking. # Elizabeth and Hoshi could hear the policemen getting closer, their yells echoing down the alley the two were racing down. Hoshi looked back, checking on their distance. “Oh no,” Elizabeth said. Hoshi looked around. A car had stopped at the end of the alley. Inside the driver shoved open the back door. “HURRY UP!” the driver yelled. Hoshi glanced back at the policemen and then looked back at the stranger in the car ahead. She couldn’t make out the person’s face, but she could tell it was a woman. “GET IN!” the person yelled again as they got closer. Hoshi and Elizabeth dove into the car. The force of the car lunging forward threw them into a heap against the back of the seat. Gunshots rang out, several bullets breaking the back window. Elizabeth and Hoshi hit the floorboard together, staying crouched down. The driver turned a sharp right and the back door slammed shut and then the car was speeding away from the scene. Hoshi and Elizabeth looked at each other, neither sure what to do next. Hoshi very slowly sat up, looking behind them. There was no sign of policemen, or the parade, or the other crewmen. The driver swung the car left and into a garage. She jumped out and Hoshi saw her run to the door and leap up, grabbing a rope hanging down. She pulled the door shut and stood beside it. The only light came through the windows on the garage door and two high windows on the right side. Two minutes later three police cars sped by. The woman turned, facing the car, but her face was hidden in the shadows. “What’s happening?” Elizabeth asked, slowly sitting up. The woman disappeared from the door and Hoshi and Elizabeth heard her footsteps coming toward the car. The passenger door was thrown up and the woman leaned in. Hoshi shrank back with a gasp, staring at her mirror image. “Hoshi?” Elizabeth whispered. “No. Orela. You must be Hoshi?” Orela asked Hoshi. Hoshi slowly nodded. “You almost got bumped off, but I find it even more interesting that you two were leached to a dead man. Word is Haeri Two Scars was blown up last night. Wanna give me the low down on how he’s a walking, breathing corpse?” “Ha-Haeri?” Hoshi swallowed, shaking her head. “His names Jonathan Archer. He’s my..uh..” “He’s our boss. Of sorts,” Elizabeth filled in. “So you two are mols.” “What’s a mol?” Hoshi asked. “A gangster dame. Like the two of you.” “Gang--NO!” Hoshi cried out, “We aren’t mols and we don’t have anything to do with gangs.” Orela smiled. “Well, seems we have some confusion here. You’re my twin, but your not. I’m an only child. Your boss who you claim isn’t Haeri Two Scars, looks identical to Haeri Two scars and you claim he’s not a mafia boss but he’s your boss. You ladies have yourselves more confused than I am at this moment.” Hoshi slowly looked at Elizabeth. “She has that right,” Elizabeth commented. # Nathan spun when someone opened the bedroom door. Archer slipped in, quietly shutting the door behind him. In his left fist he was crushing what appeared to be a rolled up newspaper. Nathan turned off the television he’d been watching. “Please tell me you have your communicator, Nathan,” Archer said. Nathan felt himself go pale. “You don’t have yours, sir?” Archer closed his eyes. “No. I lost it somewhere.” “Mine was broken when we dove behind those crates.” Archer opened his eyes. He walked toward Nathan with his hand held out. Nathan fished the communicator out of his pocket and handed it to Archer. Archer stared at the broken communicator. “I don’t suppose you know how to fix these, do you? I can fix tricorders in a heartbeat, but not communicators,” Archer said. “I’ll try. Sir..what if we can’t..” Archer looked at Nathan. “I don’t know, Nathan,” Archer walked to a chair and sank into it. “I have no idea what to do if we can’t reach anyone. What a mess I got us into, Nathan.” “It wasn’t your fault, sir.” Archer offered a smile of thanks, but it didn’t ease his guilt. “We could go to the rendezvous spot, sir,” Nathan suggested, “I’m sure T’Pol’ll be monitoring it.” “I already tried to convince that Jisyca and a couple of the men here to take us back to the parade route, but they all have excuses why they can’t. So that’s not going to work.” Archer frowned. “Do you have any idea how to get back to that dock? Maybe we could find our way back from there. Everything happened in a blur to me.” Nathan opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. “No, sir. I pretty much felt the same way. Everything happened fast.” Archer let his head fall back against the chair. “And it was such a great idea to start with.” Nathan smiled. “It was a great idea. How we were to know you were a mob boss?” Archer shot Nathan a frown followed by a heavy sigh. “Nathan, this house..they have guns in every single room,” Archer told him, “It’s like being in a military camp!” “Do you know who they are? Or what they want? Why do they keep calling you Boss, sir?” “From what I gathered I’m a mafia boss. I mean..not me personally, but the person they think I am,” Archer held up the newspaper he was holding for Nathan to see. “This guy look familiar?” Nathan took the newspaper, staring at Archer’s picture and the picture of his wife Jisyca. “Oh shit,” Nathan sank into a chair. “My thoughts exactly, Ensign. I, I mean he, was killed last night in an explosion. Now they think he’s alive.” “It gets worse, Captain,” Nathan turned and switched on the television. He pointed at it. “Look like someone we know?” Archer stood, walking toward the television. Malcolm’s twin was standing at a podium, speaking to a large crowd. The camera changed angles to show the growing excitement of the crowd as Malcolm’s twin continued delivering his speech. “Turn it up,” Archer ordered. Nathan turned it up. “..and so Ristar forces will continue to launch attacks against Tribual until they surrender. We will vanquish the Ristar allies and bring our new order to this world!” the Malcolm look-alike vowed, “and when we do, President Thompson will be unseated, his cabinet destroyed, and he and his family killed! THIS I PROMISE!” The crowd cheered and chanting ‘General Vignand’ even as he left the podium. “What are the chances that the first planet we come across that has humans has twins of me and Malcolm?” Archer asked. “And who’s to say you two are the only ones?” Nathan asked. “There could be twins of everyone on Enterprise, sir.” “On Enterprise?” someone asked. Both men turned to face the speaker. Jisyca was standing behind them, her narrowed eyes watching the two men suspiciously. “How long have you been standing there?” Archer asked, forcing a smile. “Long enough that I want to know what twins you’re talking about and where is this Enterprise?” “We were philosophizing,” Archer scrambled for a lie, “Nathan was explaining a fascinating theory.” “Chaos theory,” Nathan offered, “The basic concept of chaos theory is that anything can happen from a single course of events or decision and if repeated, then the action created may cause different results. I believe that if that’s true, were we to find the twin of ourselves that exist on the planet, we could then perhaps manipulate that person so we could literally be two places at once and everyone would be on enterprise, or rather, gaining capital.” Archer glanced at Nathan. He hoped Nathan had a clue what he was talking about even if it was a lie. “Not another one,” Jisyca moaned, looking up. “Another one?” Archer asked. Jisyca walked up to him, laying her hands on his chest. “Baby, you have control of over three quarters of the bootleg operations this side of Tribual. Everyone knows you’re racketeering, but so many people are paying to you that no one will ever say anything. You own all the backroom casinos across New Delta. Please, please, don’t go looking at another hair-brained idea for making more scratch. The last time you spent a couple million on some bushwa idea of time traveling before you found out the man wasn’t a scientist and you had to bump him off. While it was a very educational experience for the boys, you don’t need another hair-brained idea, baby. We’re doing just fine. Please. Send him away and let’s get back to business, okay?” Archer stared at the woman in front of him. She was as cold and manipulative as he imagined a mafia boss should be, not a mafia boss’s wife. Could that be a subject overlooked by all the history texts on Earth that he was getting a first hand experience in right now? Archer forced a smile. “We were just philosophizing, sweetheart,” Archer said. “Nathan’s a friend. He’s staying for a while.” “You never told me about him.” “I’m tell you now.” Jisyca sighed, throwing her hands up in the air. She turned, starting for the door. “Fine. But you are not spending any more then five hundred on this philosophy of his.” “Yes, sweetheart. Five hundred,” Archer nodded. “Thousand, baby.” Jisyca stopped, looking at Archer. “No more than five hundred thousand. Not million.” Archer hid his shock. “Yes, sweetheart.” “Come to bed soon. I’m tired,” Jisyca turned and swished out of the room. “That’s one cold..” Nathan stopped. Archer nodded. “Yes she is. I wonder if the couch is comfortable.” Nathan smiled. “There’s a hundred bedrooms in this house. Maybe find a free one?” “I’m thinking the same thing,” Archer walked to the door. He stopped, looking back at Nathan. “Keep your door locked,” Archer whispered, “I don’t trust her.” Nathan nodded. |
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