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Chapter 2

It was all about focus, Rachel thought to herself as she scanned updates in the subject reports on her computer. She didn't like the 'c' word either. She was looking for relevant information, right now, anything that might pertain to Sarah Manning's 'unique' qualities. She'd considered, on her morning run, whether to ask to be transferred to recruiting in another area, but she knew that was stupid. Making any request of that kind was dangerous; it would arouse suspicion in all the wrong places. And besides, there was nowhere for her to be transferred to. She was one of a kind, and she had a one of a kind task. She had to be in close connection with the Dyad institute, she had to be near Cosima, who was more special than anyone seemed willing to comment on, and she had to find Helena and sort out these religious nutters… And then there was the child, of course.

In a way, she was bait. And she knew it. She was bait for Sarah, because she was interesting, and bait for Helena because she was a… She was one of the identicals. She didn't mind being bait for Sarah. Or Helena, really - she felt very safe and protected. She didn't like Leekie, though. He was necessary, but the Cormier girl had been wise to move on from him. Rachel had a horrible feeling Leekie's sights were now set in her direction. But it didn't really matter, she told herself firmly. He could dream on. She wasn't his property.

She found herself staring at Sarah's file. It was big, there was a lot to look through, despite the patchy monitoring and questionable nature of some of the information. Sarah was leaving, now, or trying to, with her foster brother and her daughter. A part of Rachel wished that she could let them go, but that was impossible. And they wouldn't be safe, anywhere, no matter where they went. Sometimes Rachel thought her employers controlled the whole world.

Free will was important. The truck would break down, Siobhan had seen to that. Rachel's hand hovered above her phone. She picked it up.

"'ello?"

Sarah's gruff answer made Rachel catch her breath. She recovered herself quickly.

"You can't get away. If you come here now, we'll keep you safe. All of you."

"How did you get this number?"

"Sarah-"

"Who are you?"

It was a strange question.

"You know who I am," Rachel replied, but she knew that wasn't what Sarah had meant.

"Just leave me out of it," Sarah said. She was about to hang up.

"For Kira," Rachel said softly.

"Leave her out of it too."

The line went dead. Rachel had known it wouldn't work, but she was still disappointed. She didn't like what came next. She pressed her intercom button.

Paul appeared like the puppet he pretended to be.

"I need you to bring in Sarah Manning."

Paul nodded.

"You don't think you'll do it. But you will, Paul, because you know she's in danger unless she's with us. Her daughter, too. And the brother, just make sure he isn't harmed. There have been far too many casualties already."

Paul nodded again.

"By tonight," Rachel told him. She watched the almost imperceptible changes in his expression which continued even as he left the room. Whenever that door opened she thought of Sarah coming in through it…

Looking over Helena's records from the hospital where she had last been seen took up most of Rachel's afternoon. She wondered how much of her work was real. She was sure they had other people looking into everything as well, whole teams of them, sworn to secrecy with a mixture of violent threats and sizeable paychecks. But she also knew her orders meant something, at least in the little world of the Dyad institute here, and they had been important in London too. Everything had been so very different in London, though…

She and Sarah had spent their early years within a few miles of each other. Rachel wasn't sure why she found this quite so frustrating. They had only been children, and they most certainly wouldn't have been friends. Perhaps she was jealous of the freedom of Sarah's upbringing. Despite the danger, the darkness she'd heard about, Rachel longed for memories of excitement and adventure.

She drummed her fingers on her desk. Paul was late. She'd had an uncomfortable visit from Leekie, then a brief conversation with a distracted Cosima. She'd eaten the sandwich she'd prepared for herself that morning, and taken her blood sample for the week, couriering it to the lab to be checked for everything under the sun. She wanted to go home and finish her book. She didn't want to think about Sarah-

Her phone started ringing. She glared at it, then answered.

"Rachel Duncan," she said formally.

"They're here. Now what?"

It was Paul. Rachel thought for a moment.

"Is Felix with you?"

"Yes. He refused to leave them."

"Good. Take him and Kira to the safe house. I'll make sure Siobhan gets there, too… The incident at the birdwatchers… At least it proves she puts the child above all else. She'll keep them safe. I want to see Sarah before she goes there, too. I have a feeling she'll want to talk to me as well."

"You're damn right I wanna talk to you," yelled Sarah as she stormed into the office. She threw Rachel's desk out of the way; Rachel shrank down in her seat as Sarah leaned over her.

"What the bloody hell d'you think you're playing at?"

"We'll keep her safe, Sarah, and you know it," Rachel answered, struggling to maintain her composure.

"I can take care of my own daughter."

"I had no choice." It slipped out before Rachel could stop herself, a tiny hint that she didn't agree with everything she had done, that maybe she hadn't wanted to do it. Sarah froze, hand half raised ready to strike the proclone bitch. She put her hand down and stepped away. Rachel let out a breath she had been holding and resumed her upright posture. Sarah just looked at her.

"You're just a doll, a fucking puppet or something. You don't control shit."

"I want to help you, Sarah."

Sarah's mouth unfurled into a sardonic smile.

"Really? You do? Well that's just great then, isn't it? Why don't you come back to the house where you've sent my kid and we can all have a bloody tea party? Until you have her shipped off to be a lab rat, that is."

"I would never let Kira be taken from you."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I don't believe you."

Rachel stood up and took a tentative step towards Sarah. She reached out a hand, almost as if to touch her, to take her hand.

"I…" She didn't know what she was saying. She didn't know anything. All that they'd told her, all that she had believed, seemed to be crumbling around her. She wasn't better than Sarah, or the other women. She wasn't even their equal. They were all trying, they were all fighting, while she let herself be manipulated and controlled.

In the end she didn't say anything. She bent down awkwardly to pick the phone up off the floor and held the receiver to her mouth.

"Please send someone to escort Ms Manning to the safe house," she said quietly. Paul appeared in her doorway less than a minute later. Rachel said nothing, she just watched them leave together. She wished she could tell Sarah not to trust Paul, but it wouldn't do any good. And Paul wasn't a bad person, he was just mixed up with… Some very bad people.

The phone rang. Rachel answered it.

"Congratulations. You found her."

The faceless voice, leading her, praising her, controlling her…

"Thank you."

"Your speech for the meeting with the Sunrise institute tomorrow has been revised. It's been delivered to your home."

Rachel sighed inwardly. She would have to learn it tonight, then.

"Do you have anything else to report?" the voice asked.

"No," she said, trying not to sound irritated or stressed.

"And you're feeling okay?"

That was the strange thing. The voice was distant, but deceptively friendly, strangely emotive. The voice… Cared.

"I am attending my weekly psychological and medical examinations. I am not aware of any negative findings."

"Good. I'll be in touch. Goodnight, Ms Duncan."

"Goodnight."

She hung up the phone, leaving it on the floor. The mess would be gone when she returned tomorrow. She found her purse and jacket and left the building. Her car was already waiting for her outside; her driver, Mark, opened the door for her and she slid down onto the soft leather, closing her eyes as Mark closed her door, shutting away the outside world.