Miles Reid, Attorney At Law

[Corwin]

<--->

"Get a load of this!" notes Jenny, after Miles finishes off his call. "So there's this doctor, right? Bruce Tomkins, some high-profile surgeon. He supposedly goes nuts and runs out during some kinda operation, bolts out the hospital and leaves his patient there for the interns to try and stitch up. This guy came on one of those goofy late-night horror shows, you know? One of his colleagues, said Tomkins didn't run at all, but just vanished from the middle of the surgery room."

"He reappeared, I assume?"

"Yep. Funny thing was, Tomkins was meant to be on vacation during the operation. Allegedly," she adds, hastily. "And by all accounts, he was. He got called in his house and acted totally surprised, said he never even went in." She glances at a text document alongside a paused video frame.

"Funny thing was, he was on a forced vacation. Looks like he messed up one of his operations and got sent home for a while. According to the witness- well, it's not a crime, so, uh.. witness will do, I guess. Anyway, it supposedly really tore him up."

"So that makes three," Miles says heavily. "That we know of. In the local area, in recent years." He shakes his head. "How can that be possible?"

"Not that recent. This happened in the sixties," replies Jenny, clicking to a google entry. "And around that time, the hospital increased it's security. The rumour came out on the eighties or so, which is when the show ran."

She frowns. "There's got to be some connecting factor."

"Besides conflicting desires?" Miles asks, nodding in agreement. "Yes, I think the same way. I want to track down the Michael in that other tape, and see if talking to him jogs your memory in some way, or resonates somehow."

"I'm game," replies Jenny, taking another look at the video. "I wonder what's making them vanish out of nowhere, though. We know you can shoot them, but there's something else, too." She taps the screen.

"This Tomkins guy had showed up to work more than once during his vacation, too. The operations went smoothly, so... maybe his double wasn't so bad?"

"If strong emotions cause this, maybe they can work in reverse as well?" Miles theorizes. "Was that last patient in any way different from the others, or connected to the one who he messed up?"

"Lemme check."

Jenny begins to rewind through the video, starting and stopping until the balding interviewee discusses Tomkins' post-vacation appearances. Each patient, Miles notes, was one requring an organ transplant; the last patient required a heart transplant during a time just after when the process had been shown to be possible.

"A repeat of the trauma?" Miles continues to think out loud. "He stopped because he feared the same failure again? Or it made the double aware that it was, in fact, a double by reminding him that the last transplant operation had gotten him suspended indefinitely?"

"Huh. The first operation was done in South Africa during the same year. It's understandable if an unexceptional surgeon wouldn't feel he could do it," replies Jenny, chewing her lip. "So if it seems impossible for the double to... I guess do what it was made to do..."

"So is this what we have to do? Find a way to confront your double with the truth? Something that would disabuse her of the notion that you are a fake, or that would prevent her from killing anyone else?"

"I don't think it's about being a fake," replies Jenny. "I mean, she has to understand that, or be so beyond reason that she simply can't, no matter what we present.

She eyes the video again. "It's not just about killing them. If I had to guess, I'd say it's about getting justice delivered..."

"We can't retry them, however, and she refused to wait for a better chance. Is there another way?"

Jenny shifts in her chair. "At this date, a retrial is impossible," she agrees. "Maybe we could get them on something else? Those guys... I really wanted to think they wouldn't relapse, but in my heart, I didn't believe it. Even if getting them in jail again isn't the justice she's looking for... it'd to be a pretty good job of protecting them for a long time, right?"

"That's what I was talking about," Miles says, frowning. "She outright rejected it, and made it clear she did not think it was justice."

Jenny sighs. "Then I guess the only thing we could do is have them make a confession. Like that'll happen."

"This angle seems hopeless," Miles admits dejectedly.

"Might be better than nothing," replies Jenny, clenching her fists. "But that leaves us with chasing up this Michael guy?"

"If he had nothing to do with this, maybe he noticed something or someone that did," Miles affirms. "We can probably track him through the kid who shot the film of the disappearance. Unless you have a better idea?"

"Maybe check out her other friend, too? The one she was found with at the time of the murder?"

"Sure. Phone directory or Google?"

"How about you use the computer for a bit before my eyes start melting?" replies Jenny, pushing out from the chair with an inadvertant yawn. "Or maybe we could take a coffee break. Fuck, it's like ten o'clock..."

Miles dutifully opens a browser. "Want to call it a day, then?"

"I've pulled all-nighters before," replies Jenny, bravely. "But.. ugh. You think we should? I guess these guys won't like getting woken up at midnight."

"I sincerely doubt they would, yes."

Jenny stretches her arms. "I could use the sleep, too," she admits. "Is that creepy guy ever gonna come back.. actually, who cares, maybe we could just let ourselves out."

"Don't be like that," Miles says, mustering a smile as he stands up. "Let's thank him for his help before we leave."

Geoffery turns out to be studiously watching another video in his lounge. "Did you find anything helpful?" he asks, eyes still glued to the flickering screen.

"Two similar cases," Miles responds. "We'll follow up on them first thing tomorrow morning."

"Concurrence! That's the key to weeding out what's true from what's false!" he exclaims. "I'm afraid I only found one case that seemed that it may be relevant. It wasn't a pretty story, either. A young man, part of a local racketeering network. Shot dead by another man of identical appearance, who was supposedly never seen again."

He produces a VHS tape. "It's all on here."

Miles considers. "She had a headache when thinking of you specifically, Jenny," he recounts. "What about the opposite?"

"I dunno, Miles. Being in jail is inherently bad for you. I've been feeling like shit all week."

"Point." He glances at Geoffery. "If concerrence is the key, then does that mean we have nothing more to worry about after they came face to face with one another?"

"I'm not sure I follow?"

"We want the double to stop appearing," Miles elaborates. "Since she met with Jenny, face to face, does that mean she would not be seen again?"

"Ah. Live in hope! Sorry, I wish I knew."

"I suppose we will see soon enough," Miles decides. "Thank you for your help."

Jenny's fatigue quickly becomes evident, and it is hard to forget that she just spent many hours in jail, where sleep was not a likely factor. She ends up sleeping on the couch at Miles', crashing almost as soon as her head meets the cushions.

Miles finds it just as easy for unconsciousness to claim him. The next thing he knows, though, his mobile phone is blaring in his ear.

"This is Reid," he answers it sleepily.

"Hey, Miles. Guess where I am?"

Jenny's voice is clear and precise; it also sounds a little sad.

"Where are you?" he asks, getting up. However sleepy or tired he is, this is not a time to lounge in bed.

"Not in the morgue," she replies. "Nuh-uh. Even though you hit me, even though she shot me, I'm still here."

"I didn't want you dead," Miles feels the need to state. "And I still don't. I want you to get help, I really do, and for that someone has to stop you." It is a short walk to the living room and the couch Jenny had claimed earlier. "I know you are... another Jenny? You aren't the first person it happened to. But it always ended badly before, and it will end that way with you, too, if you don't realize that you're wrong."

Jenny's not there. Dimly, Miles can hear the shower running.

"Another Jenny? I got it. I got it when I saw her. I couldn't take it. What am I, just some puppet? Some thing that gets to go do what she can't?"

"We don't know," Miles admits. "I care about Jenny, and that goes for any Jenny."

The last time they talked, she told him that it would not happen again. And yet, here she is, if by proxy, and for as long as she remains on the line Miles intends to try and persuade her. "I don't know if you will believe me, but that is exactly why you have to be stopped. You think that you are doing what Jenny wanted but was too afraid or weak to try. But you're wrong. There is a world of difference between not liking a person, or thinking they might deserve something bad happening to them, and between going ahead and taking the law into your own hands. You're not some Dirty Harry. You believe in justice. It's one thing to know someone is guilty, and another to take a weapon and gun them down. That can't possibly be right, and being Jenny, I believe you know this."

"Right? Of course it's right! It's what I want! It's what she wants! They deserve it! That's what I think, that's what she thinks! Dirty Harry? Dirty Harry wouldn't get up when he's killed. Dirty Harry could be stopped. I can't." Her voice turns soft. "Do you know how great I felt when I realised that for the first time? But today, I know better.

"What if everything you thought made you up was just some program? Everything you wanted, everything you lived for, everything was just something someone else made you think? Would you keep following your desires? Or would you turn on them?"

"I don't know," Miles ends up repeating. "The past cases we managed to track down all ended in tragedy. It's not very reassuring, but it's also a great incentive to try for something different. What do you want, Jenny? What do you really want?"

"I want... I want justice!" she replies, the words coming out in a flurry. "And to be myself, to be... what, I wonder? I want her to not exist..." She sucks in her breath. "I can't stand being someone else's dream. If she just wasn't there..."

"Then you would die," Miles says quietly. "It's how it works. Are you fine with that? I think... we can find another way. For you to be yourself, and maybe coexist. Or get back together, or-- or I don't know just yet. But we have a lead, and we know that things go badly if you go that route. It's something the others who went through the same thing didn't have."

"It's fine. I still have two people who need judgement," she replies. "As long as I get rid of them, I don't even need to stay here. If I just break that chain, then it's done..."

There's a burst of static from the end of the line, so loud that it pierces Miles' ears.

He drops the phone before he even realizes that, grimacing.

<--->

[Corwin]

<--->

With the sound of static still ringing in his ears, Miles has only a few moments to wait before the shower ceases. Jenny emerges clad in the clothes she was in yesterday, along with a towel wrapped around her head and whilsting a jaunty tune. "I feel alive again!" she announces, dropping onto a couch and stretching out her arms.

"Had a nice rest for a change?"

"I slept like a brick," she confirms. "And this is the first day of the rest of my jail-free life."

"Congratulations are in order, then," Miles says. His eyes drift to the phone in his hands, and he slowly puts it away. "I hope this doesn't take away from your cheer, but your double just called. It sounds like she is aware of things, now."

"Eh, I knew it was coming. You mean she knows what we're doing?" asks Jenny, crossing her legs with a frown.

"Since we don't know how this, whatever this is, actually works...." Miles shrugs. "For all we know she sees and hears everything you do. But I meant more that she realized she was a double. She doesn't want to die, and can you blame her? It made me wonder, this call, whether we can find a way to help you both. I tried to get her to stop, but you would know her best. Is there a way to persuade her that this quest for justice she is on is wrong?"

"Look, uh, Miles. It's too late for her to just go 'oh, I'm really sorry I killed those guys!'," replies Jenny. "And you know, if she's some kind of crazy version of me, then who knows? I know it's wrong to kill people, so the real question is why doesn't she?" Jenny sighs. "Maybe she gave up her ethics to get some kind of closure to the cases. Or maybe she's just a lunatic. Either way, reasoning with her looks impossible. Hell, can we even call her human?"

"I won't say it's entirely philantropic of me. Do you remember that man who shot himself? I worry about what your double would do if she feels cornered. If we can offer her a way out, that can only be good for both of you."

"She can stop anytime she wants," points out Jenny. "I'll be happy if we never see her again. How much more of a way out can we give her?"

"Maybe she actually can't stop?" Miles suggests. "Maybe it's like an obsession, where you need to replace it with something equally strong."

Jenny wrings her hands. "I'll buy that it's an obsession. I obsessed over it myself- what she's doing really was a fantasy, I guess... I mean, not what she's doing specifically, but the general idea."

"What should our next step be, you think?"

"We need to stay one step ahead of her, at least," replies Jenny. "You know where Chris and Julian are at the moment? 'cos she's gonna go after them however she can."

"I think Julian is in protective custody. Don't know as for Chris. But what could we do against someone who can just disappear whenever she wants to?"

"Is it actually when she wants to?" asks Jenny. "I think it's just when something kills her- no, there has to be at least one other way."

"I don't think I hit her hard enough to kill her with the car," Miles muses. "If it's just whenever she gets hurt, what's to stop her from slamming her head into a wall if subdued?"

"Every instinct in her body screaming at her to not faceplant herself?" Jenny grimaces. "Otherwise, I think we should keep investigating the leads we found last night. There's got to be some kind of common source to it all. I really want to look into that.. Laura, right? There's a lot of story there we don't have."

"And it's the story we have the most leads about," Miles agrees. "Let's go and see that friend of hers who took the video. Maybe he'll shed some more light on things."

"Will Sheffield, huh. You think we should look into her other friend, too?"

"Of course. But he sounds shadier, so how about leaving him for last?"

"I meant her girlfriend," replies Jenny. "She was her alibi, right?"

"Ah! Then yes. Did you track down her current whereabouts?"

"Not yet, but that's what the morning's for! Did you get Sheffield's? Let's have breakfast and then get to work." Jenny whips the towel of her head. "We've got to figure this out before she figures out a way to get at the others guys. The cops won't look after them forever."

Tracking down Eliza Townsfield proves impossible, at least via recent directories and the like. Thankfully, William Sheffield proves somewhat simpler; it seems as though he lives in the outer suburbs. A white picket fence and a large dog greet Jenny and Miles when they reach the address on a picturesque sunny afternoon.

There is absolutely no way to make this less awkward, and so Miles walks up to the fence and looks for a bell. Perhaps even the dog would substitute for one and alert the owners of his presence.

There's no bell on the outer fence, but the dog cheerfully trots up to Miles and begins wagging his tail.

Jenny opts to walk through the outer gate, and rings the bell out the front. It's answered a minute later, and she exchanges a short conversation with an older woman who's lips tighten in dismay at her brief request. She ventures back inside the house, and is soon replaced by a slightly heavyset man with his checkered shirt tucked into his shorts.

"How can I help you?" he asks, sounding rather curious.

"My name is Miles Reid," he introduces himself. "Thank you for meeting with us. This concerns Laura Hartwell."

"We want to know how she was able to disappear," adds Jenny. "Is it a problem to discuss it?"

Will presses a hand against the doorframe. "Disappear. So that video still exists?"

"Among others," Miles agrees. "We don't believe she was guilty, and we are trying to investigate the circumstances of that case."

"It was quite a while ago, and I'm reaching that age where memory begins to fail," replies Will, with a faint grin. "There are some things you can't forget, however."

"People disappearing right in front of you tend to fall into that category."

"Right. It's also something there's no point in telling anyone," he replies, sadly. "Or so I thought." He steps aside from the door. "Why don't you come in?"

Inclining his head in thanks, Miles waits until Jenny has stepped inside before following.

"What did you do right after she vanished?" asks Jenny, as Will leads them to a dining table.

"Panicked. After you see something like that, that's the first thing you do," he replies. "Then you try to come up with an explanation- we didn't- and then you start rationalizing it, or ignoring it. Then, a few days later, someone dies, and you wonder if you could have done something."

"And now, looking back?" Miles wonders. "Is there an explanation you can think of, in retrospect? Was it truly spontaneous, or was there someone involved who might look suspicious now, or who might have had a hand at this?"

"I don't know how to answer right away. When I think back, there was so much that was strange," he replies. "I don't think that was Laura we were with, for certain. Would you say it was some sort of phantom? I know she didn't remember that meeting, or even her new boyfriend."

He furrows his brow. "It was strange how quickly they formed a relationship. We were young, of course, and that sort of thing happens, but nonetheless..."

"And what happened to that boyfriend after she disappeared?"

"We weren't exactly great friends- Laura had asked me to film them as a favour. I remember that I thought she was doing the right thing back then. And, well, I guess I was a bit jealous.. anyway, I didn't see him after that. If anyone would know where he'd taken off to, though, it'd have been Eliza. Apparently they met while they were out one night." He taps his chin.

"I called her that night- she was always staying at Eliza's place, at least when she wasn't around her boyfriend's. But apparently she'd spent the afternoon napping."

"Maybe she was asleep every time this phantom appeared?" Miles suggest, glancing at Jenny.

"Or maybe it vanished because she went to sleep?" replies Jenny, thoughtfully. Will glances back and forth, looking curious himself.

"Could be," Miles agrees. "Did anyone ever try to corellate the two personas? What they were doing at the same time, or anything of the sort?"

"There actually were two Lauras?" asks Will, nodding. "If I hadn't seen evidence myself, it would seem fantastic. But here, in retrospect, it's more like reading an old book."

Jenny blinks. "Er, as far as we go, let's see... the first time we saw her was with Escrivar. When I got home that night, I was all drunk, so I guess I was drifting in and out of sleep."

Miles nods at Will, before helping Jenny with her recollection. "Then, the next evening Robert called me. I bet the cops checked on you that time, just in case."

"That was after I went to prison, right?"

"The late evening of that day that they arrested you, yes," Miles responds. "We couldn't prove the existence of that other at the time."

"We can't confirm she was actually around then, since she didn't appear again until she went after Eddie," replies Jenny. "But.. ah, I can't rely on my memory for exactly when I'm awake or not- hey, do you think she'll call you again?"

"She might."

<--->

[Corwin]

<--->

"If she does, let's check the time," suggests Jenny. "If it's really tied to sleep, maybe that's something we could used. You think there's a way we could use to safely induce a nap?"

"Legal briefs?"

"They're very exciting. They mean I have work."

Miles raises an eyebrow. "Someone else's legal briefs?"

"I'm sure yours are very tedious," replies Jenny, and she turns back to Will. "Ah, sorry. Can I ask about how Laura seemed during the days prior to the incident?"

He starts as he's drawn back into the conversation. "She was restless, I suppose. Prone to outbursts, lashing out. I wasn't really much of a confidant to her at the time- mostly, I had work, so she was normally with Eliza." He taps his lip. "Come to think of it, that prank was Eliza's idea to start with, I believe."

"You don't say," Miles notes. "I would have expected it to be her boyfriend's idea."

"Mmm, no. From what I remember, he was more a passive sort."

"We will definitely need to talk to them both, if we are to get to the bottom of this. Did you stay in touch, perchance? Or have a way of reaching either of them?"

"I stayed in touch with Eliza for a few years, but then she moved somewhere far off and we ended up dropping out of contact." he replies. "Let me check some of my old letters and things, though. Her details might be amongst them."

"We appreciate it."

He gets up, and heads into his study to retrive an old shoebox, with which he soon returns. It's filled with papers and albums, most of which seem in fine condition.

"How bad was Laura's trouble with her boyfriend at the time?" asks Jenny, whilst he begins to search through his papers.

"It wasn't good. She was sneaking out the house at the time. To be honest, it was killing me to watch her put up with him," he explains, setting aside some photos. Jenny seems about to say more, but her eyes stray over towards the images. She picks one up and squints at it.

"Something rings a bell?" Miles asks, looking at the photo over her shoulder.

"This would've come out in the eighties, right?" asks Jenny, putting the photo down. It appears to be a picture of a woman standing in front of a house- no, on closer inspection, the woman bears a strong resemblance. She's a little thinner, perhaps, with slightly longer hair, but the similarity to Sandy is uncanny.

"Yes. That's Eliza," replies Will, glancing at it. "That's her when she just moved in to her old place."

"It cannot be a coincidence," Miles says, frowning. "Do we confront her?"

"Yeah. I mean, there's our linking factor. But look at her! She's got to be in her twenties here," exclaims Jenny, standing up. "It's like she hasn't aged at all! What the hell.."

She pounds the table, causing some crockery to rattle. "Hey! Careful!" adds Will, glancing up. "She was twenty-three back then."

"We know her," Miles says for Will's benefit, "except as Sandy. Jenny, I don't suppose she was pushing you to act in some way?"

"Not at all! I mean..." Jenny purses her lips. "She was always there to listen, and she knew how frustrated I was over some of these cases. It's not like I vented on her like I did you, though."

"Maybe she just decided to help," Miles suggests. "Since she is so helpful, how about we ask her to help us fix this mess?"

"Help? Help? How could anyone?!"

Jenny rests a hand on her chest and breathes in. "Yeah, let's go have a word with her. Let's ask her pretty hard, alright?"

Will leans back, opting to listen rather than venture an opinion.

"How about you?" Miles asks him. "It might be tenuous, but this seems like a link between our cases. If our guess is right, then this woman, Eliza or Sandy or whoever she is, was responsible for all these murders and suffering. Are you interested in confronting her, or would you prefer to forget about that period of your life?"

Will flinches. "It was a long time ago," he explains. "This has to do with all those murder cases lately, doesn't it? Someone responsible for all this is... well, cornering could actually lead to something worse."

He grimaces. "It's not that I think it shouldn't be investigated, but... I have responsibilities, now. And it all seems so fantastic..."

"I understand," Miles says with a curt nod. "Believe me, I do. But we have reason to believe those murders will continue, and might even put the two of us in danger, so we really don't have much choice in the matter. May we borrow this picture of Eliza?"

"I don't mind. It's all old memories now," he responds. Jenny reaches out to take the picture again, squinting at it a moment more before slipping it into her purse.

"Thank you. One way or the other, we should get our answers now."

The tension doesn't leave as Miles and Jenny depart the house, and they're soon back in the car, where Jenny produces her phone.

"I can't believe it. I hired Sandy a few years back," she comments. "I'd like to believe she just wanted to help, but... she's normally so sensible! Moreso than myself."

She thunks her head against the wheel. "And how does it even help me to have a killer with my face? Urgh..."

"Just another thing to ask her," Miles says. "May I see that picture for a moment?"

Jenny obliges. It does indeed appear to look more like Sandy every time he checks it, with only slight cosmetic differences between them. The house is a small but homely-looking red-brick place, with blinders covering the windows and a messy garden beyond the gate.

"I'll get her to meet us at the office," replies Jenny, dialing her up.

Miles snaps a photo with his phone, and then attaches it to a brief email. It might not be much of an insurance policy, but he wants someone to know the truth, even if that someone is a discredited conspiracy theorist. 'Eliza, Laura's best friend. Compare with Sandy, Jenny's humble assistant.'

The concise message is then shown to Jenny, waiting to be sent upon her confirmation.

Jenny nods. "Hey, Sandy? Yeah, I'm feeling alright. Let's call the PD office and get us back on the list, okay? Are you at the office today?"

Miles hits send and listens in on the one-sided conversation.

"Uh-huh. Yeah, sure. This afternoon's fine. Ok, see you then."

Jenny pockets her phone. "We've got an hour. It's probably good that I don't have my gun."

"Words cannot express my relief."

"You're sounding a little sarcastic, there!"

Miles laughs. "I suppose. It would be an utter disappointment to be fighting all along for your innocence, only to have you shoot someone, however deserving."

Miles shakes his head, then. "Do you think we have enough? That surgeon, Doctor Tomkins? We might be able to pay him a visit and show him a picture of Eliza or Sandy, and see if he remembers someone like that."

"I doubt we can find him in like an hour, but I could cancel and we could take a bit more," replies Jenny. "What do we do if she doesn't talk no matter what we bring up?"

Miles doesn't respond right away. "We can't do anything, realistically speaking. We have no real leverage against her. At the most, we could prove she is not who she claims she is? For a normal person, that would be a problem, but for someone like her...." He shrugs. "I want to believe that she was trying to help you in some misguided way, and that by appealing to that we can learn more. I don't see any other options."

"Yeah..." Jenny shifts. "Well, I guess there's no sense waiting around. Coming along, right?" She shoves the key into the ignition and turns the handle. "Either way, I think I'm gonna be out a secretary after this."

"Of course I'm coming," Miles responds, strapping himself in.

They arrive at Jenny's office ahead of time, and there's nobody else present when they head inside to check the premises.

"I'll make some tea," she says, turning on the radio and heading to the kitchen.

"Right. I'll borrow your computer to glance at the news?" he calls over to her, heading for the office.

"Yeah, sure," replies Jenny, tapping in the password before bustling away once more.

Political drivel, business info, the usual war stories... the news doesn't seem to hold anything new, as it would pertain to their situation at a glance. The report will be coming on the radio in a few minutes, according to the caster.

The door to the office swings open again, and Sandy ambles inside with a large leather bag before closing it shut once more.

Miles cannot help but be reassured. In their situation, no news might well be good news.

"Hello," he greets Sandy, turning away from the computer. "It was no trouble coming in today, I hope?"

"Not at all- Miles? Ah, you came with Jenny?" she asks, whilst Jenny seems to find the kitchen very interesting for the time being.

"Yes, we came together," he affirms. "I hope you don't mind, but there is something we need your help with, and I would like to get started right away."

"It's urgent? Already?" she asks, heading to her desk. "Jenny! Are you there?"

"Yeah," calls Jenny, emerging from the kitchen with two cups of tea. "Yeah, I'm here. Hi, Sandy."

"We've tried looking everywhere for a precedent in order to clear Jenny's name," Miles elaborates, "until we finally found one. Oh, you might not think it is one at first glance, but once we dug a bit deeper we realized its relevancy. It is an old case, Sandy, well over two decades. Laura Hartwell."

The chimes from the five o'clock news hum sweetly from the radio, followed by the too-serious voice of the newscaster, babbling about the US' latest foreign excursion.

"Jenny's still going to be facing trial?" asks Sandy, sounding dismayed. "When I heard you were released, I'd hoped it was all done with since they'd caught the real one."

"Yeah, about that. You heard she got away, right? And that she looked just like me?" asks Jenny, before shaking her head. "Anyway, Laura Hartwell. It turned out there were a lot of similarities."

"Ah, a minor misunderstanding," Miles interjects. "I cannot say whether she will still be put on trial. However, that is not all I meant by clearing her name. You see, criminals do not particularly like a situation where it appears that a defense attorney started killing off her clients, and unless we can clearly demonstrate that Jenny was framed, she remains in danger. And then, there is always her double. Doubles... those stories tend to have bad endings. Laura's ended in suicide, and then there was that case where a man shot himself to death. As things stand, we can only draw comfort from the case of Doctor Tomkins, who only lost his practice and reputation, but not his life. This is an unacceptable situation, as far as I am concerned, since Jenny is truly innocent."

"You've been researching similar cases, then?" asks Sandy, tilting her head. "But it was announced on the news that Jenny was innocent. Surely you don't expect some thugs to go after her now..."

Jenny clenches her fists. "True, that's not what we're really worried about," she notes. "But the murderer this time got away. There's still a chance she'll strike again."

"Well, yes... and you're trying to catch her first?"

"We want to understand it, more than anything. Why did it happen? How can the murderer be stopped? Can she be helped?"

"Well... of course she can be stopped! It's just about catching her before she commits another crime," explains Sandy. "The police managed it once, and they'll be ready for her tricks next time, surely?"

Jenny sighs. "Quit the games, Sandy."

"What do you-"

"You know how to answer all those questions, right? You've got something to do with it!" Jenny fishes around in her bag for a moment.

"Are you saying I did it?" asks Sandy, standing up herself.

"We are saying that you look exactly like Eliza," Miles tells Sandy. "And we know no one will believe us. But we still want to know why."

"Eliza?"

Jenny drops the photo on the table, and Sandy glances at it. "This is..."

"Yes, it's Eliza. She was involved in the Laura Hartwell case," replies Jenny, narrowing her eyes. "She's the link. So why don't you tell us what this is all about?"

Sandy's eyes dart between Miles and Jenny's, and she presses her hands on the table. "You... you both really think I had something to do with this all? I.. know it's been a hard week, so maybe you should-"

"Quit it, Sandy! I want answers!"

"We think you help people. If I'm right about this, then why don't you help us?" Miles says. "Sandy, Jenny shot her identical double point blank, and then the double disappeared into thin air. There were dozens of witnesses. This is not going to be written off as stress.".

"I don't really understand. Look, I read about the escape. The news said some sort of weapon was used-"

As Sandy talks, the news cuts in again. "This just in... the murderer behind the recent Langstrom affair has attempted to strike again, attacking Julian Yates in his own home and seriously wounding him, despite police protection. He has been transported to St. Maria's hospital and is in a stable condition. Police have so far refused to comment on the incident, but the shooter has not yet been found..."

"Jenny does not want this!" Miles finally exclaims. "Sandy, or whoever you are-- can't you see that? We have to stop that woman from killing any more people!"

Jenny is trembling, Miles notes, pressing one hand against the wall to remain straight. Her other hand holds a gun, with the nose pointed towards the floor.

Sandy's attention is on Miles, however. "I get it! I get that! But I have nothing to do with it! How could I, I could hardly dress up like Jenny even if I tried!"

"And it's a coincidence that you look like a woman who pushed Laura to act out on her fantasies, and then disappeared?" Miles asks, standing up. "Will there be more coincidences if all three of us go to see Bruce Tomkins?"

He moves towards Jenny as he talks. As long as the gun is pointed towards the floor, he has a chance, but if she tries to raise it he will have to try to stop her by force.

Sandy's eyes trail Miles. "You're asking me insane things. Frankly, I'm.. scared.. to go..."

Her eyes inevitably find the gun, and she stares at it with some intensity. "We know you're responsible," hisses Jenny. "And if you think you're going to get away with it again..."

"Then she will," Miles tells her, stepping on front of her and placing his hands on Jenny's shoulders. "Please. You are not a murderer. We knew from the start that if she denied everything, it was the end for us. I guess I was wrong about her wanting to help you."

"Come on, Miles! Things are actually clear, right here, right now!"

Sandy looks up. "Where did you get that? You didn't have it before," she asks, eyeing the weapon.

Jenny blinks. "Uh..."

"We were just talking about disappearing doubles who cannot be killed," Miles cannot help but point out. "The reappearing gun is just more proof of it, as far as I'm concerned. Not that anyone would believe it, even if they saw it for themselves...."

He refocuses. "Jenny, under no circumstances will I let you shoot anyone. It's not who you are."

"I believe it," replies Sandy, pursing her lips. "Has this happened before?"

Jenny shuffles her feet. "I dunno. I guess I got it out my pocket. Nothing weird about it at all. Do you think there is, Sandy? Feel free to tell me all about it."

The secretary grimaces. "I see. I suppose you'll shoot me if I don't-"

"No, I won't," responds Jenny, flipping the weapon's safety on. "But you seem quite interested nonetheless."

"This happened before, when Jenny's double was arrested and attacked her. The gun just suddenly reappeared, even though neither of them should have had it," Miles contributes, now that the immediate danger seems to have passed. "And, of course, there is the matter of the double, who is just as it sounds. A version of Jenny who believes it is her mission in life to kill her old clients."

"Yes, I see. I understand. Maybe you two should sit down."

Sandy grimaces. "I've never had to explain this before, but seeing as Jenny may have developed a talent, I can hardly let it slide now."

<--->

[Corwin]

<--->

"You should both understand something about incentives- you're both lawyers, after all, and law isn't so different from economics," Sandy is saying. Jenny has managed to calm down enough to sit down at her desk, insisting that any explanations take place in her own office. She sips a cup of coffee and continues to glance at Sandy with hooded eyes.

"Given their own goals, desires, and values, any particular person will have a slew of incentives not to act upon them. Inner and outer conflicts of interest, which act as greater weights upon their decision-making framework than what they really want."

What keeps people in society working together, in other words. The reason anarchy does not reign. Miles nods, foregoing his own drink for the time being as he listens.

"The doppleganger is not limited as thus," continues Sandy. "It is the greatest expression of the heartfelt wishes possessed by the template. It is unbound by second thoughts or internal contradictions, with eyes set only upon his goal. The threat of retribution, likewise, means little to a being that cannot die in the same sense as a human being."

"As a vehicle of self-actualization, it is perfection itself! It will strive to the utmost to fulfill it's goals, and in doing so, it's reason to exist would vanish. It would be the same were it to perceive that fulfillment as truly impossible."

Jenny crosses her arms. "The first is unacceptable," she replies. "It'd be nice to think we could sit back and just let it happen, but that's not right."

"There is a reason, after all, that people don't act upon those... wishes," Miles says, grimacing at Sandy's choice of words. "We are both lawyers, yes. Why do you think that is? Do you really think that causing lawlessness like that is what we really want?"

"Reason itself is a barrier to desire," explains Sandy. "Logically, of course, people cannot act this way en masse. The world would break down. It is... better... for the Earth, on the whole, for the majority of people to suppress their urges and enter the repeatedly life of the worker drone, without any power whatsoever.

"Their only means of self-expression is reduced to a mere choice of what they appreciate amongst the creative works of others, a trend that is likely to continue accelerating as the media's propogation continues."

"Does this even matter?" cuts in Jenny. "Killing people is wrong. It's even more wrong if it's actually some sick fantasy of mine!"

"Of course. Then, the facts." She gestures to Miles. "It would be best if I explained them to him alone."

"If you think Jenny would be calmer by imagining what you are saying rather than listening to it, I believe you are mistaken," Miles responds. "Is there another reason?"

"There is, but I don't think there's a reason to be worried. You can just tell her what you think you ought to later, correct?"

Jenny frowns. "I don't like this."

"It's up to you," Miles tells Jenny. "But if you decide to stay out of this for now, promise to me you won't do anything on your own."

"I'll be right outside. You've got five minutes," replies Jenny, standing up. "Then I want the story, Miles." She turns to the door and walks out.

"It's not wrong to say that this has to do with Jennifer's state of mind," notes Sandy, turning to face Miles. "The search for meaning and the search for a rationale tend to be fruitless. You can't find a reason to exist while you're looking for one."

"What do you mean?"

"The doppleganger and the template share a link. It appears only when the template awakens, and likewise vanishes upon their sleep. Obviously, the death of the template signals the death of them both. The proximity of both the template and the doppleganger in close quarters has an unfortunate effect on the close-minded, wherein the reality before them is rejected on a primal level. If slain, the doppleganger would vanish, only to reappear the next time the template awakens.

"Generally, it appears in some location comfortable to them both- I would assume Jennifer's own apartment, or possibly her parent's house. If she had intimate relations with another, there as well.

"I would theorise that this link is the key to disposing of the doppleganger before it can complete it's objective."

"The link extends not only to physical presence, but to their mental facilities as well; it grows stronger in close quarters, as the unnatural becomes true and the world bends. In this state, a firm rejection from the template and an assertation of her own control could force the doppleganger to vanish. It would be necessary to find a new desire in this situation, a new wish that supercedes that held previously.

"The opposite is also true- an affirmation of her own desires could cause the doppleganger to be absorbed back into the template; if the template can complete his wishes on his own, there is no need for a clone."
Sandy leans back. "Since Jenny appears to have some facility as a magus, there is an element of chance to all of this that I cannot predict, as well."

"So let's see if I get this straight," Miles says, taking but an instant before trying to categorize this. "Jenny's double reappears at places very close to her, emotionally, and only there. She can only appear when Jenny is awake, and should Jenny take a nap, once she woke up from it those places are where the double would reappear, not where she had been previously. Once the double reappears, she would know all that Jenny learned ever since the previous time her double appeared, even if only vaguely. A strong desire from Jenny can supercede the one she unwittingly gave the double, but only if they are closeby, and if I'm there I'll have the mother of all migranes at best."

He frowns. "This raises several questions. The rejection from Jenny when they met in front of the precinct could not possibly be firmer, considering she shot her double at point blank. How is her double still around, then? And you mentioned reabsorbing the double. Can this only be done if Jenny believes that she can and will bring her two other clients to justice? There is also something I cannot quite put my finger on... you mention reabsorbing the double as an option, alongside rejection. Are there adverse effects to not reintegrating with your double?"

"A bullet is unlikely to do the trick- death comes too quickly. The doppleganger must be convinced by her, before expiring. It is it's own being, after all, not simply an extension of Jennifer's soul. Perhaps it could be referred to as her child..."

She muses over the other questions. "In this specific case? Faith in justice would likely be quite helpful, since it obliviates the need for the double. Her true wish can't simply be the preservation of law. It's quite interesting. I have to wonder if she puts on a show for your sake, since it would be very easy for her to simply let the doppleganger do as it pleases.

"I don't believe there are adverse effects that are unnatural in origin, but the psychological effect of knowing that there is a clone of you in the world could be quite serious indeed."

"And you two are mages?"

"For your own sake, you shouldn't pursue this line of thought too far," warns Sandy. "It's sufficient for you to know that much alone."

"Yes, that entire close-minded matter. I'm sure you meant it in the nicest way possible. Can you tell me why Jenny, at least? Why pick her?"

"It wasn't meant as a slight," replies Sandy, frowning. "It's that proceeding would likely endanger your life. As for Jennifer? I perceived the potential for conflict early after taking this position. I liked her for her good heart."

"And then, seeing how she kept on having to defend guilty people, you decided to help even more?"

"I did hope this would be good for her. It should give her the opportunity to re-evaluate her present career." She glances at Miles. "I wonder what yours would have been like..."

"You don't need to wonder overmuch. I'm already reevaluating things." Miles frowns. "So you are... what, immortal, somehow? I'm not asking to endanger my life so much as to lead to something. It just doesn't add up to me that you talked about desire and wishes, yet everything we have managed to track down resulted in death. Murder, most often, but from neglect as well. How should I take it? That you help a great many people, and only a small percentage of them ever turn to that path, or that helping people in your case inevitably leads them to take the lives of others?"

"Perhaps I am," replies Sandy. "I don't intend to divulge any information that is not immediately pertinent to Jenny's situation. However, perhaps she will learn more later in life, depending on what she chooses to do."

"It's uncanny how easy it is for you to brush off an accusation like that," Miles notes. "I'll focus on Jenny, then. You said her powers, whatever they might be, could be a complication? How so? And what do you mean about her choices? Something tells me you mean more than just a choice of career."

"They could be, but I cannot predict how. Her talent may have some effect on the doppleganger, or perhaps the doppleganger itself has some effect on her talent. There's no telling exactly what will happen. As for her choice... well, it will be up to her to to either walk through or close shut the door she has opened."

"And if she does? She gets a letter to Hogwarts?"

"It's always the same," complains Sandy. "Whenever I attempt to discuss this with sleepers, the inevitably pop-culture reference tarnishes the conversation."

"You only have yourself to blame, really. When people are annoyed by another's attitude, they instinctively tend to respond in kind, petty though it is. The question stands, however. What are Jenny's options here, and how safe are they for her?"

"Who knows? It will be up to her to see them and to decide. If you want to know, I suggest you maintain your relationship at it's present level."

"Them?"

"The choices."

"We probably would have had better progress if you just told me you want Jenny to fumble through that on her own," Miles notes with a sigh. "So where do we go from here? I don't suppose you would like to help Jenny reabsorb her double or deal with it in some way?"

"Obviously, I want to watch what happens," replies Sandy. "I've told you what I know that could be of use. You should be careful about what you say to Jennifer, though. It would seem logical to tell of of the means to her double's destruction, but it would pollute her with reason and lessen the necessary emotional impact.

"In other words, it's best if she reaches the goal state with a sort of spontaneity, at least from her perspective."
"Before you ask, I have no way of solving this with a wave of my hand," she adds.

"I wasn't going to. Ah, but one thing is unclear to me still. If I talk to Jenny now, would her double learn of what I say, either now or after she wakes up again?"

"I don't think so... They don't share thoughts on a semantic level."

"So when she talked of having seen their files, it must have been from before the... split?" Miles sighs. "I don't know what to call it. Alright, I've heard enough."

<--->

[Corwin]

<--->

[12:41] With Sandy and Miles soon running out of patience for one another, both of them return to the Jenny's officefront, where the attorney herself is sitting over a cup of coffee, staring into the blackness with angry eyes. "So how did your secret talk go?" she asks, as soon as they've emerged.
[12:45] <Miles> "Bizarre would be a good word for it," Miles admits. "The bottom line is that Sandy believes that every time you wake up, so does your double in a place where you feel very safe, like your home. And if we're there, you can convince her to stop. Well, you have a shot at that, at least."
[12:49] "Convince her? It's that simple?" asks Jenny, rolling her eyes. "Oh, hi, Miss Magic Double, please stop killing people? Uh-huh." Sandy seats herself in the receptionists chair, absently wading through some files. "Maybe I could lie and tell her I killed them already or something! That'll do the trick!"
[12:52] Miles finds himself rolling his eyes in turn. "There's more to it than asking nicely, of course. She's you, to a point. Can you think of something you'd rather do more, if there were no laws or inhibitions? That can be one way to do it. And you can try talking about justice, what it means to you... she hasn't so much as sat down to think about what she's doing since she appeared, since she is so driven by the need to do something. So maybe if you force her to do just that, help her remember why you wanted to serve this cause... that could work, I think."
[13:00] "Justice, huh." Jenny grimaces. "You start off with some idea that you want to fight to put criminals away, or keep the innocent free, and then it all sort of grows naturally from there. Or you're just in it for the money. One or the other." She sighs. "Me to a point. More like, me squared. How'd we even get her to sit down and... huh."
[13:02] <Miles> "That part should be easy. I'm betting on your apartment. As for how we'll get her to stay long enough to listen... that's on you, I'm afraid. Everyone wants to live, I think. And she should know she has no future without you, so if you offer her a chance it might be enough to keep her long enough to try and convince her."
[13:05] "I don't mean to interrupt, but will you still be needing my services after you're finished with all this?" asks Sandy, glancing up from behind the desk. Jenny's gaze whips towards her with a frown. "If you have nothing useful to say, then pack your bags and get the hell out!" she snaps.
[13:06] <Miles> This is one argument Miles has no intention of getting into.
<--->
[13:09] Jenny fumbles the keys for her apartment when they arrive, marching straight on in to get a glance around. "She really was here!" she exclaims, pointing at the kitchen; boxes of sugary cereal stand open on the bench, and assorted clothes lie in piles around the room. "God, it's such a fucking mess..."
[13:10] <Miles> "We'll get it sorted," Miles promises, stepping in after Jenny. "Want to do that while we wait?"
[13:12] "Yeah." She starts getting together her clothes and merging the piles into one enormous swamp of laundry, assinging Miles to the kitchen in the meantime. "So you're gonna stick around for this? Won't it allegedly break your head?"
[13:14] <Miles> "A headache as a result of helping you out?" Miles asks, sweeping the cereal into the waste basket. "It would not be the first time. And you'll need someone to blindly stumble in front of you and take a bullet meant for you if things go badly."
[13:16] "Come on, Miles," replies Jenny, holding up an old pair of trackpants. "When you talk like that, I can't actually tell if you're being serious or not."
[13:17] <Miles> "I'll do what I can to help you. I guess I just can't leave you alone?"
[13:19] "What's with this romantic talk?" The jibe seems half-hearted, lacking the constant edge Jenny is on these days. "If you get shot, it won't solve anything. If I get shot, at least that creepy double will go away."
[13:21] <Miles> "Maybe you'll save me with your magic powers," Miles muses, wetting a towel and starting on cleaning the counter. "You have them, apparently, and all sorts of mysterious opportunities will be open before you."
[13:23] "If it leads to this sort of situation, who wants it?" asks Jenny, pulling out a plastic basket to heavy clothing into. "Only guys would think pulling a gun out of nowhere is something great."
[13:24] <Miles> "It is apparently unrelated to the situation, if we believe Sandy. She did seem surprised when you did that."
[13:26] "It's.. gone somewhere, now that I think about it," replies Jenny, blinking. "I know I didn't hide it anywhere or anything..."
[13:29] <Miles> "Do you think you can do it with all sorts of things, and not just the gun?" Miles asks, pausing momentarily. "If you can somehow make proof appear that would put your double's remaining targets in prison, she might be persuaded that way?"
[13:32] "Who knows? I mean, I don't even actually know how to just pull out the gun," replies Jenny, holding out a hand in the trigger position. "It wasn't a conscious thing, I can tell that much."
[13:35] <Miles> "It can't be that easy, I suppose," Miles accepts, returning to his cleaning. "Speaking of other difficult things, how are you at taking naps on demand?"
[13:36] Jenny snorts. "Bad. But speaking of that... you wanna crash early?" She shifts. "The clone wakes up when I do, right? But who's all there right when they wake up? I think it'd be better if you were awake first, just in case of... you know."
[13:37] <Miles> "I know. It was my intention from the start."
[13:42] "Of course. You're always on the ball," replies Jenny, with a smile. "So you were talking about stuff I'd do if there were no inhibitions or laws, right? Just like if I was, say... unstoppable, unkillable?"
[13:43] <Miles> "As long as it is something that you want to happen. Something you can live with for the rest of your life and not regret."
[13:49] "That's.. kinda hard. I mean, what about you? Nothing springs to mind, right?"
[13:50] <Miles> "Fireman," Miles answers instantly. "Go in even when it's dangerous, whatever the risks to me. And if the worst happens... well, it's not the worst if you return the next morning, is it?"
[13:50] "Have you been thinking about that since this afternoon?" asks Jenny, with an accusing glare.
[13:51] Miles shrugs. "Just came to me. If I spend more time on this, it would probably be a variation on the same theme. Somewhere I can be of use and help people in a very real way."
[13:55] "Yeah, I'm the same. Well, I thought I was. The idea of someone innocent getting thrown in the slammer is pretty pitiful."
[13:57] <Miles> "It is," Miles agrees heavily. "I don't know if I want to return to my job after learning of what happened to others Sandy 'helped' before."
[13:58] "Wanna trade?" asks Jenny, with an impish grin.
[14:00] Miles shakes his head. "I deserve that, after what I asked you that time. Still want to take a vacation somewhere, once we figure this whole thing out? Maybe what I want to do from now on will come to me."
[14:03] "I think we both need a break. But to be totally fair, this is just temporary." She walks towards the counter and stands across from Miles, leaning heavily on the bench. "I don't think incidents like this can so common we need to worry about them. It's pretty zen how it's, you know. Our good, noble hearts push us into this career, and then for the good of that same career, we need to ignore
[14:03] them. When you don't..."
[14:06] <Miles> "You could be right. Hey, do you think this is the only strange incident that was legitimate among the pile of them in Geoffrey's collection?"
[14:09] "The genuine cases of, well, magic- since there's one here, more have to exist," posits Jenny. "He also had several legitimate hits. You'd think from that there's a lot more out there, but without a starting point to investigate from, who can know what's true or false?"
[14:10] Miles nods. "That is what's getting to me. Never knowing when the next crazy story turns out to be true."
[14:13] "I think most must be false," admits Jenny. "I mean, otherwise, wouldn't we know about them better? That's what I want to think." She furrows her brow. "But this is actually pretty hard to expose, and no matter what evidence you have, if it's for something impossible..."
[14:15] <Miles> "And we can't always rely on a splitting headache to tip us off."
[14:17] "I guess it's something to think about? Maybe we could go to Nevada and look for UFOs? Or Salem!"
[14:19] <Miles> "Salem, huh? It's still so strange to think of you as a witch. A gunslinging witch, at that."
[14:20] "A gunslinging witch who has never shot anyone," replies Jenny.
[14:20] <Miles> "Except herself. But you got better."
[14:21] Jenny laughs. "Wanna order pizza? We can pretend we're back in college. I've got a bottle," she remarks, heading towards a cabinet in a corner and opening it up.
[14:22] Miles grins himself. "Sure. I can think of worse ways to spend the afternoon."
[14:23] Jenny pauses. "That bitch!"
[14:23] <Miles> "You don't have a bottle?"
[14:25] "I don't have a bottle." Jenny grimaces. "She's drinking my booze!"
[14:26] Miles snorts. "There's unique incentive for you to make this all work. Take her back, and you might remember drinking it?"
[14:27] "I'm more shocked how she went through all my liqour in just week," replies Jenny, thoughtfully.
[14:28] <Miles> "You think she had help?"
[14:30] "Doubt it. She doesn't clean up her own shit. Well, my shit. It's hers, too," replies Jenny. "You could go through it all if you wanted to get really, really drunk."
[14:30] <Miles> "Which makes sense, considering how she must have felt after you two met."
[14:33] "I mean, if you wanted to get drunk on a daily basis," clarifies Jenny.
[14:34] <Miles> "Alright, now I'm lost. You'll just have to ask her, then."
[14:36] Jenny graciously offered Miles her bed, claiming that she'd just stay on the couch until she fell asleep. She accepted no counter-arguments, and it would admittedly be easier to fall asleep quickly there rather than outside. Despite that, the hours tick away, leaving him to stare at the ceiling in dull frustration. It is about midnight when his mobile begins to vibrate.
[14:38] <Miles> He's not getting any sleepier as it is, so Miles answers the call.
[14:39] "Is it okay if we talk like this?" Jenny's voice, of course, calling from a private number.
[14:40] <Miles> "Of course."
[14:42] "I'm getting that feeling again," she replies. "It'd happen at night a lot. Start thinking like everything's just a dream, where nothing seems that real. Doesn't matter if I'm walking down the street or stuck in a taxi, just kind of begin to fade."
[14:45] Miles nods, propping his pillow to support his back as he sits up in bed. "Somewhat like going to sleep, even if you're not tired."
[14:47] "Yeah, something like that." She pauses, and Miles can hear the sound of ragged breathing. "I want to see you."
[14:49] <Miles> "Where are you?"
[14:51] "Tonight is probably impossible," she responds. "Yeah, I think so. I went to see if you were at your place, but you weren't. I mean, I think I know where you actually are, but..."
[14:52] Miles snorts. "I went to see you, yes. We must have missed each other. I will stay the night, so can we talk tomorrow morning? I think we found a way to fix things for everyone."
[14:53] "Just you," she insists. "I only want to see you. I guess I'll figure out a place tomorrow."
[14:57] <Miles> "Alright. I promise," Miles relents. "I can help you, I think, but you have to promise me something, too. Wait until you hear me out before you do anything else, okay?"
[14:59] "I want to see you," she repeats. "Right now, that's all. So.. tomorrow. Tomorrow," she repeats. The line goes dead.
[14:59] Miles sighs, dropping his phone on the bed beside him. Tomorrow it is.

<--->

[Corwin]

<--->

A faint alarm beeps at the edges of Miles' consciousness, suddenly prompting him to awaken in a morning that light has yet to shine on. Jenny's unfamiliar bedroom seems to loom threateningly around him, shifting in and out of focus whilst his vision settles.

The alarm, morning, Jenny's bedroom-- his mind awakens instantly as those strange and unrelated facts mesh together. Before anything else, Miles should stop the alarm.

His clumsy flailing in a foreign environment nonetheless yields instant results, leaving Miles alone in the soundless darkness.

Miles relaxes at the quiet. Whatever happens, he decided to be there for Jenny. And he needs to be awake and ready and at his most alert for that, whatever good it would do him. For that, he absolutely must be the first truly up.

The time is five-thirty in the morning. No stranger to getting little sleep when there is work to be done, Miles takes only a short time to align his senses to a state that roughly emulates true wakefulness.

Will that room soon shift around him forebodingly? Not a question Miles can answer in advance, and yet one that fills him with unease. He decides to focus, however, and makes a sweep of the apartment for Jenny.

It's quite dark, but Miles can wait for his eyes to adjust, allowing him to perceive Jenny sleeping askew on the couch. Walking on the carpet couldn't wake her, but stumbling over something he misses might do the trick.

His phone is there to provide some much-needed illumination without being bright enough to wake Jenny. And while he's up, Miles decides to make sure that there is no one else in the apartment but the two of them.

The apartment appears to be empty, at least for now. It only takes Miles a few minutes to conduct his search.

There is no sense in further delaying it. After getting dressed and washing his face, Miles sets three cups out on the counter before him and decides to brew fresh coffee.

As Miles is just starting to smell the aroma of fresh coffee from Jenny's appliances, he hears the woman by the bed shift, mumbling something under her breath.

It probably means he doesn't have much time, but their decision has already been made. He ducks out into the living room for a glance at the couch just the same.

Jenny is certainly there, though she doesn't seem to have adopted Miles' swift and total fast awakening. The kitchen is really a kitchenette, within view of the lounge as it is; only the bathroom and the bedroom remain a mystery.

With a bit of luck, his little peace offering would be ready and on the living room table before Jenny fully wakes up.

Two cups are poured in short order, and the third is almost done when Miles' noisy phone begins beeping out an ear-splitting ringtone!

"Reid," he answers it, wincing. The phone lodged uncomfortably in the crook of his neck, he finishes pouring the third cup and heads with them to the living room.

"It's me," says Jenny, sounding strangely alert compared to the prone form on the couch, which is just starting to rub her eyes. "Did I wake you?"

"I was just making coffee," Miles says, arranging the cups on the table.

"Right. Do you want to meet up this morning? I don't think we can wait," she replies, sounding antsy.

"It would be a shame to waste such a beautiful day," Miles agrees, shaking his head at this another example of the best laid plans crumbling at the first contact with the real world. "Where are you?"

"I'm at home," she replies; the sky outside remains dark and cloudy. "Anywhere you want me to be, I'll be there."

Leaving a cup for Jenny as she slowly wakes up, Miles takes the other two to the door. It is a simple matter to open it, throughout which he very carefully does not look back inside the apartment or think about Jenny, still there on the couch.

It is in fact a minor feat of dexterity to hold two boiling cups of coffee whilst opening the door, but it is managed all the same.

Just outside sits the other Jenny, wearing a rumpled miniskirt. She sits with her knees balled up to her chest, and her eyes widen slightly as Miles exits. "I don't remember inviting you over."

"Here you go," Miles responds with, offering Jenny a cup. He takes a sip from his own, stepping out into the corridor and then takes a seat next to her, even as a corner of his mind laments the damage to his freshly-cleaned clothing. "I'm glad you called. How are you feeling?"

"Now that I think about it," she replies, reaching to tug the door shut. "I don't think I've actually felt worse."

"I'm... sorry to hear that," he says, almost wincing at how wooden that sounds.

"It's your fault," she replies, dropping a mobile from her other hand and finally taking the cup. "Everything would've been fine if you hadn't gotten involved."

"I'm sorry you think that way," Miles says, resting the back of his head against the wall. "I'm even sorry if it's actually true. I just want to help both of you, but I don't have some wand I can wave to do it."

"One of us is right. The other is wrong. There's no middle ground here," she replies, setting down the coffee after staring at it listlessly. "Don't you think?"

"Sorry," Miles repeats. "You don't even sound convinced in that yourself. You are both... you. You just want different things, or do different things to get there."

He takes a sip, and a conversation from last night comes to mind. "You know, you asked me what I would do if this happened to me. I said -- don't laugh -- fireman. Say it's true, and there I am, rushing into burning buildings to rescue people and then there is also me, putting criminals away. Does one of us have to be wrong?"

"Different things? Don't you mean opposites?" asks Jenny, moving out from the wall and kneeling in front of Miles.

He shakes his head. "I don't think so. And I guess I evaded there a bit. I think what did you was wrong. But I don't think you're wrong. It's important, that difference. I'm sure you both really want the same thing, but how we get there is just as important as the goal. You just forgot that for a while."

Jenny smiles. "So the means matters? The process must be taken into consideration, even when there's a simple way to bypass all of it?"

"This makes me think back to those days of Ethics 101 and Introduction to Philosophy," Miles muses, cracking a wistful smile himself. "Good times, they really were. Yes, the means matter. But even beyond that, there are other considerations. What are the motives of whoever did this, and can they possibly share your goals, for one?"

"Do you think it matters?" asks Jenny, leaning forward slightly. "After all, I'm here, either way."

It could, but going into that topic may well set them back. Instead, Miles nods slightly. "Here you are, yes. You two can do a lot of good together. I won't pretend to know or understand how it works--" A memory comes unbidden, of the Peter Pan play. 'Clap your hands if you believe.'

"--I guess I just believe in it. Can you take my word for it and do the same?"

"She shot me," replies Jenny, raising a finger. "Right here," she adds, drawing a line towards her chest, covered only by a flimsy shirt.

"She was hardly herself after she was wrongfully accused and placed in jail for several days," Miles responds, not contesting the actual shooting. "She was scared, a gun appeared in her hands all of a sudden, and she shot the person that tackled her to the ground. Since believing is all I can in this situation, I also believe that she wouldn't shoot you now if you just tried to talk things over with her."

He snorts. "And if I'm wrong about that then I'll do something foolish like leap in front of you to take the shot. I guess I'm in the wrong profession, after all."

"Listen to you," she replies, starting to chuckle. "You'd take a bullet for the woman you tried to kill?" She grins. "Honestly, if it was anyone else who wanted to be a hero then, it would've been fine. Then I wouldn't have been so distracted, so frustrated. I wouldn't have started to feel entitled, I think, nor get jealous. I wouldn't have found something else to want in life. It's strange."

She leans towards Miles, pushing him lightly against the door. "But every time I die, I start to like you a bit more."

This time Miles isn't so quick to respond as he had been before. His back is against the door in more than just the literal sense; there will quite likely not be another chance to reconcile Jenny with her double.

"I like Jenny and I want to do all I can to help her," he says finally, nodding faintly to himself in affirmation. "It's just that there are two of you now, and neither is really happy, the way she is. You already have me there for you. Now, you just need each other."

Jenny pushes forward, seeming to insist on having her lips meet Miles' own.

Miles panics, this bringing up far more problems than he can even think of in the moment he has. None of that matter, however, the dominant part of him decides. He likes Jenny, and this too is Jenny. None of what he told her was a lie, and he kisses Jenny, his arms circling around her back.

"Miles? Where'd you go?" he hears, just through the thin door behind him.

Jenny leans back for a moment, with a grin that seems almost predatory. "Now," she says, with her arms tightening against Miles' back. "There's at least one reason that I don't need her, right? Wouldn't she just get in the way? Or maybe..."

"Aside from needing each other to live? Jenny, please, don't do this to yourself."

"I can't help it," she replies, arching her back. "I-"

Miles can hear the doorknob turning, just above his head.

"You need each other," Miles says, and he hopes that both Jennies hear him. He is out of arguments by this point, and there's certainly no time for anything but his honest feelings and trying to convey those to them. "And I'm here for both of you, whatever you need."

"How does that sound to you? Shall we share him?" asks the skirt-clad Jenny, standing up from atop Miles. "But the problem with wanting someone is that that is the last thing you would want to do, isn't it? Looks like once again, though, I've beat you to doing what you want."

The other Jenny seems to be trembling; Miles can't be sure at this point. "Let's take this inside," she says, glancing down at Miles. "You realise we're hurting him? Just by being here?"

Miles forces through a laugh. "The pain is nothing. It's not as bad as before." And it isn't, in the sense that it merely hurts to breathe as opposed to hurting so much he could not string vowels and consonants together in coherent fashion. In fact, he even has enough motoric control left to try and climb back to his feet. "I can still be here for you."

Perhaps it helps that, between the two girls, he can't see all of either one at the same time. Or perhaps Miles is simply growing more used to the impossible.

"Damn right. What did he talk to you about?" wonders the outside Jenny. "What did you talk to her about? Same things as me? We need each other? Try to get along?"

She narrows her eyes. "Like that could happen, right?"

"Don't you dare make light of that," replies Jenny, grimacing. "It's our problem if we can't do something so simple! It's us who's defective, in that case."

"I'm not making light! I was touched! I really was!"

"Is it so hard?" Miles asks, leaning back against the doorframe and keeping his eyes closed. If it helps to not see what is right there before him, then that is one advantage he would take. "Getting along with yourself? Is there a point in competing with yourself?"

"Who's competing?" wonders Jenny; the headache makes it hard to tell exactly which side the noise is coming from, especially with that spinning feeling that doesn't quite go away. "It's not a contest."

"I'm going out to get what I want. What she wants. It's a nice idea, Miles, that we could work together."

"But her way is wrong!"

"See, once again, I got what you wanted. And I'll bet anything-" Miles feels the other Jenny's hand once again claw it's way around his back- "-that you'd never have got half as far as I did. Certainly not any further."

"Anything?" Miles asks, and looks at the Jenny who is holding onto him.

The doppleganger glances up at Miles, looking briefly confused.

"I'll take that bet," Miles elaborates, "on the off chance that it concerns me."

"Yeah. That thing couldn't get as far as I can anywhere," she replies, sounding confident. "Never on her own, and you know it!"

"But Jenny is not on her own," Miles responds, pressing the heels of his hands into his forehead. It doesn't help with the pain or the nausea one bit, but the act does distract him from them for a precious moment. "Since it does concern me, why take me out of the equation?"

"What are you saying?"

"What are you saying?"

The two Jennys sound alternately confused and angry, but exactly which is which is hard to say in the one moment of silence.

"We were talking about a vacation," he says, giving up on trying to tell the Jennies apart as an exercise in futility. "Jenny, why not go on it together and see what happens? We work well together, don't we?"

"There's no way you'd actually settle for just me, huh?"

"It has to be both of us?"

Steadily losing his fight against the impossible taking place right before him, all Miles can say is, "You're both Jenny."

"That's..."

"...probably impossible," the Jennys reply, apparently agreeing for once. One of them starts to laugh after a moment, slowly building up to a hysteric.

<--->

[Corwin]

<--->

What is impossible in a situation like this? Miles feels terrible as a Jenny descends into hysterics, but he can't think of anything to say to her. Only Jenny can possibly help herself, after all.

"Let me get this straight," Jenny is saying. "You're crushing something hard on Miles, here? You actually wanna go on a vacation, think everything would be alright then? God, I was so scared of you, but you're just a little girl inside after all."

"The hell I am! I just-"

"Just what? What's wrong? What happened to justice? Got distracted by a man? I ain't got nothing to worry about, then."

It strikes Miles that it's probably close to the truth. Even if she was created with all of Jenny's memories, there just might be something about learned experiences that doesn't cross over well. Understanding that much doesn't mean he can explain it to anyone else, however, and even if he could he doubts it would do more good than harm.

"I ain't distracted! At least I don't just give up-"

"When did I give up? For one drunken evening after a shitty day? That's a bender, it ain't an excuse to flip out and go kill people! But I know where you're coming from. There's an appeal in that kind of justice. It'd drive the world to hell before it saves anyway, but I still can't say it's totally wrong.

"But is being a lawyer about right or wrong? Maybe that's what the courts are about, but it ain't what I'm about. Not really, when you get down to it. Being a lawyer, it's about..." Jenny hesitates a moment, her tounge catching as she struggles for some words.

"Greater good?" Miles suggests, finding it easier to think about larger concepts than a very real situation right before him that clashes with his very view of reality. "In a way that matters? Working for justice, trying our best, and keeping a system in place that's a hell of a lot more right than wrong. We get civilization and a greater shot at justice than in some Mad Max world, where everyone does what they want with no hangups or checks and balances."

He snorts. "I guess that's what it is for me, if I just look past the now. How about you?"

"System. Yeah, that's it. We're just part of a system, and to be effective we can't be distracted by emotions, or be naive ideas of what right and wrong are. Once we pick our creed, we have to stick to it." Jenny seems to have reached some kind of calm, speaking as though she were simply laying out a few facts for a class.

"What's naive about it? Who's not sticking to it?" shrieks the other Jenny, grabbing Miles by the shoulders in lieu of the real Jenny. "Criminals need to be punished! You think so yourself! It's wrong to let evil go free!"

"Then why are you here? You're wasting time. Time you could be using! You're irresolute, because what you want isn't justice. You want validation! You're me, after all. When I think about it, I can read you like a book." Jenny smiles.

"Aren't you really just trying to show off for his sake? Same as me?"

A phrase as old as it is true comes to mind, and Miles gives voice to it. "Two wrongs don't make a right. If you become a criminal to punish one, isn't that wrong too?"

He takes the hands holding onto his shoulders into his own. "That's not what you should be doing, Jenny."

"But.. I'm not wrong," she replies, starting to tremble. "Damn.. goddamn! I'm not wrong..."

"Jenny...." Miles trails off helplessly.

"You know what you really want, don't you?" he tries again. "In the end, don't you want the same thing?"

Was Sandy wrong about the need for them to accept this? Perhaps she lied for her own amusement. Or maybe it means nothing if he is the one to say it. Frustration wells up, as he feels more helpless that at any other point in his life, and has no clue what to do about it.

"Looks like it," she replies, in a wavering voice. "It's not.. I really thought I had something she didn't. But it looks like no matter what, I get nothing but second-hand feelings and second-hand desires. The hell is that? I thought I'd found something I could really call my own."

Miles can, slightly, feel his headache begin to lift.

"I'm sorry," Miles says quietly.

If his head clearing, it would logically mean Sandy's plan is a success after all, but he can't bring himself to feel good about it.

"Goddamn... I'm vanishing, fucking vanishing. I wasn't shallow, you hear me? I'm not, I'm..."

Jenny's lips are moving, Miles notes, but no more words are coming out, even into the last few seconds when she's surely trying to yell into his face.

It's sad. How could Sandy do something like this? Miles swallows, unable to do more than stare.

"Jesus. She's gone." Jenny sounds strangely flat. "I thought she was gonna just run off in tears or something."

"Would you?"

Jenny sighs. "Not in hell would I have done that today, but a week back..."

"She wasn't lying, then," Miles says, dropping onto the sofa. "Sandy, or whoever she is. She said you could... take her back, or something, if you didn't reject her. Do you... remember anything?"

"What, just like that?" asks Jenny, still staring at the empty doorframe. "I can't say. My mind feels like a mess. I said all that shit, and it applies to me just as much."

She wipes her forehead. "It's not like I really ever cared what happened to those guys. Not deep down or anything..."

"What a mess," he agrees tiredly.

Jenny closes the door and turns around, sliding down until she's sitting just in front of it and curling up behind her knees.

"Did you really like her?"

"I like you, and she was you," Miles responds, owing Jenny a proper explanation. "I needed to stop you from doing something that caused you misery, but I wanted to help you, too. Complicated doesn't even begin to cover it."

"I guess she kinda was. But if I was her, doing what she was doing..." Jenny flexes her palms. "Ah, I get it. She probably wasn't miserable about it until she started talking to you. I think that's what's likely.
"I figured that out because, well, if you weren't around..." Jenny scratches her head. "I probably wouldn't have done anything. Just let her go her way, maybe cheered her on. I know that's wrong, but I think it's the truth."

"It's easy to step out of the way and pretend you're helpless. I see it happen a lot," Miles muses, sighing. "I guess it's not how I am. Do you regret what we did?"

"I don't." Jenny pauses. "Sorry, but I can't feel anything but relief."

He nods. "I can't know what it's like, and I won't pretend to."

"Well, I do have one regret, I guess."

"Really?"

"It kinda annoys me that another girl got to you before me."

Jenny walks towards an armchair and flops onto it, messing up her hair and stretching out. "I don't plan on going nuts, but you mind if I'm a bit less inhibited from here on out?"

Miles snorts, shaking his head. "I very much doubt there is anything short of 'going nuts', as you put it, that I'd mind about you."

<--->

It has been a heady few days since Jenny's doppleganger vanished into thin air, leaving the two surviving lawyers with many questions about their future. Miles discovers a chilly reception awaiting him back at work despite his circumstances, with only Arnold appearing to possess understanding.

It never seemed a better time to take some hard-earned leave, particularly seeing as the news has taken a fanatical intrest in the Jenny case, with all manner of crazy rumors springing up.

"So, about that vacation," asks Jenny, as the two of them take a stroll down a busy downtown avenue. "Where d'ya think we should go?"

"Somewhere far. Some tropical island? As long as it's a change of scenery and a break from the news, all that matters is the company."

"Somewhere nobody knows our names, right?" replies Jenny, looping her arm through Miles' and picking up the pace.

"Something like that," he readily agrees. "It can't hurt to have plenty of sunshine and a beautiful beach, either."

"Well, I got just the place. Greece isn't too bad this time of year," replies Jenny. "See, I found something Sandy left behind in the office."

His lips twitching, Miles asks, "A brochure for Hogwarts?"

"How about a so-called Cult of Apollo?" replies Jenny. "You asked me if I remembered anything, and I guess I remember being really angry at people getting away with evil. God, it's so childish, but there it is."

She twitches. "So I was wondering. Should we go there and maybe try and look into it? I dunno if Sandy left it behind by accident - it was on the floor- or on purpose. But if it leads to other people like her..."

"She said you'll find a way, if you wanted to learn more about your... magic?" Miles muses. "This could be it. I'll go with you if you want to give it a try, and it does make a certain amount of sense. Having a power you have no idea how to control is like driving a car without any knowledge or experience, and having a way to defend against those sorts by fighting fire with fire could come in handy for you, I suppose?"

"Who knows how much bullshit goes on where people can't see?" Jenny shrugs. "Organized crime is bad enough- trust me, I know- but we can make breakthroughs there. Magicians, though? The system can't handle that."

"Unless they have their own system?" Miles theorizes. "This depends on how many are out there. Past a certain critical mass, and a system becomes necessary. For all we know, Sandy was some renegade."

"You think? I was wondering if this was meant to be her PHD project for magic university," replies Jenny. "The thing is, we don't know."

"And you want to find out. Like I said, I'll be there."

<--->