"Okay then, what is the plan?" Maddie asked,
dismissing Mack's smirk.
"Plan?" Jackson asked.
"Yes. You brought me here. Now what?" Maddie
asked.
"The plan is to keep you here and safe until this blows
over," Mack said.
"And then what? I just go home?"
"I hope so," Mack said, frowning.
Maddie didn't have time to contemplate Mack's frown. To
Maddie's surprise, Seth and John Brooks joined them at their breakfast table.
Maddie stared down at her breakfast plate, knowing her face would turn red if
she looked up. How were Seth and John here? Does that mean that Logan is here,
too? Were they a part of this organization?
This
must’ve been what Mack meant by the news of her date being interesting,
Maddie thought.
"Wow, this is surreal! No offense, Mack," Maddie
heard Seth say.
"Trust me, I know what you mean," Mack said.
"Hi," Maddie heard John's rough, yet gentle voice
say.
"Hi," she responded, still not looking up.
"I'm John. This is my brother, Seth," he
introduced.
"I know."
"You do?" Seth asked.
"How?" John asked.
"Um, from work?" Maddie's voice shook as she
looked up, meeting Seth's gaze.
"Oh! That's right. For a moment there, I forgot you
work with our clones," Seth warmly said.
Maddie chewed on her bottom lip then looked back down at her
plate. Somehow this did not seem the time to admit she was close to dating one
of them.
"Seth, John, and their brother Logan, are on my team.
Seth here is one of the best pilots we have," Mack informed her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Madison," John said.
"Maddie,” she corrected, finally looking up at him.
She had not anticipated how she would feel once she actually
met his blue eyes. Maddie froze for a moment, her heart skipping a beat. It felt
like she was seeing him for the first time. The hair on her arms stood on end
as she felt like she had been struck by lightning. A brief moment of surprise
reflected in both of their eyes before they recovered.
John flashed her a crooked smile, showing a little teeth.
"Maddie."
Maddie couldn't help but smile back.
Mack looked over at Maddie, then at John. She raised her
eyebrow then nudged Jackson.
Jackson nodded, seemingly in agreement.
Maddie shrugged, not sure what their silent communication
seemed to be about. She looked around the cafeteria, noticing many people greet
Mack warmly as they passed by the table. Then she noticed that those who
greeted Mack looked at her warily.
"You are the first clone to be here. It's not you. It's
the prospect of coming face-to-face with yourself that's a little
daunting," Mack explained, noticing the look on Maddie's face.
Maddie looked around
the cafeteria with renewed interest and realized there must have been a clone
for every worker in the room. She shuddered at the thought.
"Exactly," Jackson said at her reaction.
"So you've never met your clone?" Maddie asked.
"Of course not. The clones are created so our lives, or
some resemblance of our lives, could continue. We're not supposed to
interact."
"I guess that's true. How did all of this come to
pass?" Maddie asked.
"Are you done with your breakfast?" Mack asked.
Maddie nodded, pushing the tray away.
"Then let's go."
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