He sighed and put the cell phone away. “All right, what do you want to know?”
“Why are they playing twenty-two downstairs?”
“Instead of twenty-one?”
“Duh. Yeah, instead of twenty-one.”
“That’s a long story.”
“You said that already. I assume we have time.” I added, “Or do you need to get to bed early? If that’s the case, I’m afraid you’re too late. The sun will be coming up in about three hours.”
“That doesn’t bother me. I just have to be in bed before dawn. So do you.”
“Why?”
“That’s part of the long story.”
“Great. I love stories. Tell me your story.”
He pointed to the brochures on the table. “Remember the scanner I told you about? How it was designed to read a person’s genetic code?”
“Yes. Was that a lie?”
“No. It does read a normal person’s genetic code. Only that’s not its main purpose.” He paused as if searching for the right words. “It was originally built to identify people who are more than normal.”
“More than normal? Like superheroes or something?”
“The scanner is able to identify people who have an extra set of genes. Genes your average person doesn’t possess.”
“How many people possess these extra genes?”
“It’s impossible to answer that question with a simple number. One in ten thousand people might possess one of the genes I’m talking about. But only one in a million would possess three or more.”
“How many of these genes exist?”
“So far we’ve identified ten.”
“What do they do for the people who have them?”
“Most people who have them don’t even know they exist. They lie dormant and don’t do a thing. But once they’ve been activated, well, they give a person special abilities.”
“Let me guess. Like the ability to win at cards?”
“Yes.”
“So you’re special, Russell.”
“Why the sarcasm? You know it’s true.”
“Forgive me. It’s just that I hate it when a guy starts talking about how special he is. Especially when the same guy keeps ignoring my question. Why are people downstairs playing twenty-two?”
He held up a hand. “I warned you, to properly answer your question, I need time.”
“I assume, since you say I’m connected, that I have one or more of these genes?” I asked.
“That’s right. You have more than I do.”
“Gee whiz, that must make me one in a billion.”
“Jessica. We’re going to get nowhere if you don’t drop that snide attitude.”
“I might drop it if you called me Jessie instead of Jessica.” I paused. “Why do you keep calling me that?”
“It’s your name here.”
“What do you mean, ‘here’? In this suite? In this hotel?”
“Please, if you’d let me continue.”
“No. I need you to tell me where ‘here’ is. If you don’t, I might start screaming, and if I start, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to stop.”
“Just because they’re playing twenty-two downstairs instead of twenty-one?”
“Yeah. You see, I have this small problem when one of the cornerstones of the universe suddenly changes. It makes me feel uncomfortable. And since this is supposed to be Las Vegas, and in Las Vegas they play twenty-one, I want to know where I’m at.” I paused. “Please.”
“All right.” He suddenly stood. “Let’s go in the bedroom.”
I remained seated. “Why?”
“We’re not going to get anywhere unless you open up your mind. Come, we need to go in the bedroom.”
“What’s in the bedroom?”
“A mirror. I want you to look into it.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes. Come.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Duh. You helped kidnap me yesterday. Now you want me to trust you to go in your bedroom.”
“You’re as safe in there as you are out here.”
“I’m not going in your bedroom.”
“I can’t answer your questions without the mirror.”
“Try.”
He paused. “Don’t you feel like you could protect yourself from me if the need arose?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, although I knew exactly what he meant. Just look at what I’d done to Wing, Squat, and Moonshine. Russell was watching me closely.
“Something’s happened to you since you awakened in the hospital. Something that’s told you the answer to my question is yes. So let’s be honest with each other. I know you’re not afraid of me.”
He was right. Instinctively, if it came to a fight, I knew I would be hard to beat. He didn’t scare me.
I followed him into his bedroom. There was a lamp on low by the tall windows that overlooked the Strip, but otherwise the room was mostly shadows. The mirror he was referring to was connected to the main closet. It reached from the floor to the ceiling. He sat on the corner of the bed and told me to stand in front of the mirror and gaze into it.
“What do you see?” he asked.
“Me. The bed. The windows.”
“Can you see me?”
“Not unless I turn my head and look at an angle.”
“Don’t do that. Just stand perfectly still and stare at the mirror and listen to my voice.”
“You’re not going to hypnotize me, are you?”
“I’m going to help you see something you’ve forgotten.”
“What does that mean?”
“For now, drop all your questions and just go along with me for a few minutes. When we’re done, you can ask anything you wish. You can leave if you want, go see your friends. But for now, to get to the heart of your questions, you must cooperate. Okay?”
“Okay. But I’m not taking off my clothes.”
“You don’t have to take off your clothes. Just stare into the mirror. Focus. Tell me what you see.”
“Myself.”
“Raise your right arm. Like you’re about to wave hi to someone. What do you see?”
I raised my right arm. “My arm in the air.”
“Is it your right arm or your left arm?”
“It’s my right arm.”
“But you’re staring at your reflection. Does it look like your right arm or your left arm?”
“It looks like my left arm because in the mirror everything is reversed. But I know it’s my right arm.”
“Because your intellect tells you it’s your right arm?”
“Yes.”
“But when you stare at the mirror, innocently, everything in the room appears to be backward?”
“I would say inverted or reversed.”
“Those are good words, accurate words. Still, the image of you in the mirror is a reflection of who you are. Now let your right arm drop and raise your left arm. What do you see?”
I obeyed his instructions. “My left arm in the air.”
“But you really just see an arm in the air? You have to think about it to know it’s your left arm.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now we’re going to play a little game. You’re going to let the analytical part of your brain slowly turn off so you see what you see without questioning it. We’re looking for innocence here, nothing more. It might take a few minutes to get in this state but we’re in no hurry. All your questions, all your doubts, we can save them for later. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Let your arm fall to your side and relax. Stare at the mirror. What do you see?”
“My face.”
“Good. You’ve begun to focus on your face. Now smile, smile brightly, and tell me, what do you see?”
I smiled as best I could, but it was hard to maintain while I answered. “I see my teeth, my gums, my lips curving upward.”
“Good. Your reflection responds to what you do.
Blink a few times. What do you see?”
“I see myself blinking.”
“See. You’re in control. It can only do what you do. Why? Because it’s only a reflection. You’re what’s real. Agreed?”
“Yes.”
“Wiggle your nose.”
I wiggled my nose.
“What do you see?”
“My nose wiggling.”
“Take a long last look at your face, and a long last look at your body. Soon you’re going to close your eyes. But before you do, you want the image of yourself fixed firmly in your mind. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Study yourself closely.”
“I am.”
“Study your hair, your face, your shoulders and your arms. Let your gaze slowly travel the length of your body, and when you feel ready, go ahead and shut your eyes.”
I started my exam from the top, like he told me to. But I don’t remember exactly when I closed my eyes. At some point I just realized they were shut. A part of me suspected he was trying to hypnotize me, but I wasn’t worried. I knew no one could be hypnotized against their will.
Also, I found the practice pleasant. He had a soothing voice, and it was relaxing to stare into the mirror. Even standing in front of it, with my eyes shut, was calming.
Russell spoke as if from far away.
“You know you’re standing in front of a mirror. You don’t need to open your eyes to see your reflection. You know it’s there, just a few feet in front of you. And you know your reflection is under your control.”
“Yes,” I said softly.
“When you move, it moves.”
“Yes.”
“We’re going to continue with our game. It’s totally safe and you’ll be in control at all times. Now I want you to imagine that your mind is inside your reflection. That the control over your body has moved into your reflection. This is easy to do. Like I said, your reflection is just a few feet away. To all intents and purposes, it’s identical to you. The only difference is everything in the mirror is reversed. Other than that, you are moving your consciousness into an exact replica of yourself.” He paused. “Relax and let your mind drift forward. Let it drift toward your reflection. Don’t think too much about it. Don’t worry if you’re doing it right or wrong. Just let your mind float forward into your reflection and enjoy the sensation of letting go.”
I was surprised how easy it was to obey his instruction. The truth is, I think a part of me did something similar every morning when I brushed my teeth in front of my home mirror. I enjoyed staring at myself, although I had never told anyone before. I was probably afraid they would think I was vain. For me to let my mind drift inside my reflection seemed like no big deal.
Again, his voice seemed to come from far off.
“Do you feel like you have moved into your reflection?”
“Yes,” I heard someone whisper. It was me talking but it sounded like another person, someone nearby.
“Are you comfortable where you are?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Even though your eyes are closed, can you imagine your body standing in front of you?”
“Yes.”
“Can you imagine if you move your right hand, the right hand of your body will also move?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s give it a try. Without opening your eyes, raise your right arm.”
I wasn’t sure, but I felt movement. Yet the movement was effortless. I didn’t have to try to lift my arm, it simply lifted.
“Your arm is in the air,” he said. “It might be your right arm, it might be your left, it doesn’t matter. Did you notice how easily it floated into the air?”
“Yes.”
“It happened automatically.”
“Yes.”
“That’s because your mind is inside your reflection.”
“Yes.”
“Now raise your other arm.”
Again, I felt movement, but no effort, and yet in my mind’s eye I could see both my arms in the air. In my body and in my reflection.
No, wait, that wasn’t exactly true. I saw only one image at a time. It must have been my body I was looking at, since my mind was inside my reflection, looking out at my body. That’s right.
But what difference did it make? They were carbon copies of each other, or reversed copies of each other, to be more precise.
I decided not to worry about it. Just to go along.
“Both your arms are now in the air,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Does it tire you to hold them up?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“They’re just images.”
“Good. And what are you?”
“An image. A reflection.”
“Because you have moved your mind inside the mirror.”
“Yes.”
“How does it feel to be a reflection?”
“Nice.”
“Do you have all of Jessica’s memories?”
“Yes.”
“Perfect. Let’s move on to the next stage. Remember back to last night. You were in this bedroom with Russell.”
“I remember.” And I didn’t mind he called himself Russell instead of Russ. Indeed, it felt more natural, like that was what I always called him.
“You were in this bedroom and you were kissing him.”
“Yes.”
“Then you took off your clothes and kissed him some more on the bed.”
“Yes.”
“Then you thought of someone else.”
“Yes.”
“And suddenly you wanted to be with that person.”
“Yes.”
“What was his name?”
“James.”
“You suddenly felt the urge to see James.”
“Yes.”
“What did you do next?”
“I stood and went to the window.”
“Go on.”
“I started crying. I told Russell I couldn’t do this.”
“Did Russell understand?”
“He was very understanding. He didn’t pressure me. Even though I know he has a crush on me, he respects my relationship with James.”
“How did he demonstrate this respect?”
“He saw I was upset and knew I was thinking of James. He told me to go to him.”
“Was it hard to leave Russell?”
“It’s always hard. He’s attractive and exciting to be near.”
“But you love James more?”
“Yes,” I replied firmly.
There seemed to be a long pause.
“What did you do next?”
“I dressed and left this suite.”
“Let’s follow your every act from right there. Are you fully dressed?”
“Yes.”
“You’re ready to leave Russell’s suite and go downstairs.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go together. You open the door and leave the suite. Do you walk down the hallway to the elevators?”
“Yes.”
“Do you get in the elevator?”
“I push a button and wait for one to come.”
“Good. What do you do next?”
“When the elevator arrives, I step inside and push the button that takes me down to the casino floor.”
“Tell me what you see.”
“The doors slide open. I step away from the corridor of elevators and see the casino stretched out beneath me.”
“Do you see people gambling?”
“Yes.”
“What are they playing?”
“Slots, poker, dice, red queen.”
“Red queen?”
“Yes.”
“You see them playing twenty-two?”
“Yes.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Why should it bother me?”
“What do you do next?”
“I take a taxi back to my room.”
 
; “Who do you find in your room?”
“James.”
“Where is he?”
“Inside, waiting for me.”
“Is he asleep?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Why is he awake?”
“He knew I was going to see Russell.”
“How did he know you were going to see Russell?”
“I told him I was going to see you . . . to see him. We discussed it, James and I.”
“Is James jealous you’re going to see Russell?”
“A little. He knows Russell cares for me.”
“But if it makes James jealous, why do you go?”
“We need Russell’s help.”
“Why?”
“To help us find . . . someone.”
“Who?”
I disliked the question. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know who you’re trying to find?”
“No. Wait. Stop.”
“Shh. It’s all right, we can stop.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re safe. Nothing can harm you.”
“I . . . I don’t know.”
“You think something can harm you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“About what?”
“Why I went to Russell for help.”
“Are you embarrassed that you started kissing him?”
“Yes. But . . . there’s something else.”
“What?”
“I can’t tell you!” I shouted.
I heard my voice rise in volume. At the same time I felt a sudden constriction in my heart. It appeared to come out of nowhere. The sensation made it hard to breathe. It took me completely by surprise. One minute I was looking forward to returning to my hotel room to see James and the next instant my mind was filled with a terrible burden. I could hardly bear it.
“Stop. I want to stop,” I heard myself gasp.
“We can stop in a moment. Why did you go to see Russell?”
“I told you. To get his help.”
“Why did you think Russell could help you?”
“He’s connected.”
“Did he tell you he was connected?”
“No! But he knows people. Powerful people. He can help us.”
“Help you with what?”
The crushing pain increased tenfold. I could hardly draw in a breath. The air could have been choked with smoke.
“I can’t tell you!”
“Can he help you find someone?”
“Yes! No!”