Chapter #38The New Seniors by: Seuzz   "I'll go back to Westside," you say. "You sound like you want Eastman to yourself."
"No, it's not that," he says brusquely. "I just want you to leave these guys to me. There are lots of good possibilities at Eastman, and I'll be scoring some for us." Still, you demur, and he sighs. "It would be easier if you stuck around as Jessica," Patterson says, "but I'll handle it. Call your double and get him out here."
"Doesn't he have to do what you say?" you ask.
That draws an exasperated glance. "Don't be so pissy, Prescott. You'll be going back to being yourself, at least for a day or two. You'll find a couple of blank masks in the cupboard. The combination is 41-3-32. You can make another copy of yourself. When we get together on Monday we'll rig up that new mask so only you can use it. Then we'll get rid of the old one."
"Will you be letting me use the book?"
His mouth tightens. "I'll be keeping it with me. There's lots of stuff in it I need to study."
"What have you been doing all this time?"
Now his expression is icy. "Just call your dipshit duplicate."
* * * * *
It's a complicated set of changeovers that ensues, and before it can even start you nervously ask Patterson if you can get them done before Joe and Frank's parents get back from wherever they are. "You don't have to worry about them," he says cryptically.
When it's done, Frank Durras is trapped under a mask of himself, and Joe is trapped under Patterson's. Patterson has put Joe's face back on. You're back to being yourself, and the real Jessica is under your mask. All of you, except Frank, return to Westside. "I'll go off and let Jessica out," the Joe-disguised Patterson says. "I'll get that mask back to you tomorrow, but you'll have to hide it or destroy it, even though it won't be useful to anyone except me."
"A pretty good reason to get rid of it," you mumble under your breath.
He seems to catch your meaning if not your words. "We're all equals now, Prescott," he snaps. "Don't give me a reason to keep treating you like a foot soldier." You shrug and kick at the ground. "If you want something to do, go help Tilley with Yumi. Or go make that mask of yourself, then get together with Johansson. You'll find him at Javits's."
"What do you mean?" you ask sharply.
"I told you," he sighs. "Johansson finished his jobs up yesterday. He's senior. He's pretending to be Javits. Get him to explain things to you, since you're being so stupid. I gotta get rid of Jessica now." He makes a face, then sighs and holds his fist out. "You were a real pain to work with, but it all worked out. Thanks." Awkwardly, you return the fist bump.
* * * * *
It's early evening by now, and you feel breathless and worn out and harried and confused. Mostly, you'd just like to go home. But you want to get this "senior level" business sorted out, and you know you won't be able to relax until you do. You call Caleb's phone. "Where are you?" you ask.
"Home."
"Are you sure you're not at Seth Javits's house?"
There's a long pause. "Who says I'd be out there?"
"Patterson. He says you're off pretending to be Javits."
He sighs. "Well, yes, technically. You don't know how weird it is to say that."
A shiver runs up your spine. "So, the guy I'm talking to now is a golem?"
Another long pause. "I guess," he grumbles, "and thanks for reminding me."
"Just being clear on things. Do you have Javits's phone number?" He gives it to you. "Thanks. See you at school tomorrow."
"Really? Won't it be a golem?"
You hang up without answering, which is rude, but it's just a golem. You call Javits. The phone rings quite a while, before he answers with a guarded but impatient "Yeah?"
"Hey man, I'm looking for Caleb Johansson. Is he around?"
These conversations are going to get tedious, what with all the silences that meet your questions. "Why the fuck are you looking for that homo here?"
"Don't bullshit me. You're talking to a senior member of the body swappers' club."
"Patterson?" he says, choking a little.
You cover the phone with your hand as you laugh. "Yeah, sure. I need to talk to you. Can you turn loose?"
"Give me thirty minutes?"
"Okay. Meet me out at the old elementary school by Prescott's house."
* * * * *
"Fuck you," he snarls. "I had to send Cindy home."
"What's the big deal? You can have her any time you want now, right?"
"Not like the mood she was in. We were really getting affectionate, and she wasn't holding back for once."
"There will be other times, dude," you sigh. "Patterson said I should talk to you about all this senior level stuff."
He glowers at you. Seth Javits isn't a big guy, but he's taller than you, and has big shoulders. When he puts his hands on his hips you have the definite impression it would hurt if he hit you. "Fine. What do you want to know?"
"Where's the real Javits?"
"Under a mask, pretending to be me."
"But he doesn't know it, right? Because there's some special goop inside his mask?"
"You got it, so why do I have to explain it to you?"
"Because I wanna know if this is what the whole 'senior level' means. Down at the junior level, we could only sneak around as other people, and couldn't get caught. Are you saying now that we can actually ... replace them with ourselves?"
"Yeah. You get your mask back from Patterson, and it'll have this stuff in it--"
"What kind of stuff is this?"
"The way he explained it to me, it's like a portable golem. It's like this shell made of the same stuff that golems are made of. You put it inside a mask, and then when you put the mask on someone, that shell closes around them and turns them into a golem. Then the mask disguises them as some other person. But because they're a golem, they don't know where they are. And they're under the control of whoever made that golem shell. Or something." He shrugs impatiently. "Patterson used some of my hair when he put the shell inside my mask. I guess that's how come the fake me has to be my slave."
"What happens if you take the mask off them? Do they stay a golem?"
"No, it's not like what we did to Richards. They go back to being themselves. Except they don't remember anything."
You scratch your cheek thoughtfully. "So, you get to be Javits for as long as you want."
"Now you got it. Are we done?"
"Is Javits's mask, like, your property? You own it?"
"No, it belongs to the team. We share them. I picked Javits because, you know, Cindy. Also, you get to use any of the masks that anyone makes. Why didn't Patterson explain any of this stuff to you?"
"He was busy with other things. I helped him out this afternoon, helped him get a couple of Eastman people. I guess we'll have a club meeting tomorrow, and there's gonna be some changes. I think he's moving over there."
"Sweet!" Caleb says. Then his face falls. "Except that'll leave us alone with Black and Lynch."
"Maybe they'll go with him." You suck your cheeks in. "I wish I knew what was going to happen next."
"What happens next is that you get yourself a new face." He waggles his eyebrows. "Cindy is available."
You flip him off. "I need to make a mask of myself first."
"Didn't Patterson set you up?"
"No. I'll probably have to wait until tomorrow afternoon."
He groans. "Then why don't you go home and let me get back to Cindy?"
* * * * *
"So what the fuck happened to you yesterday?" Keith's shrill voice is almost a scream as he punches your locker door with his fist. "Where the fuck were you?" You keep your composure; you knew this scene would be coming. "I waited and I called and I waited and I called, and you never even called me back!"
"Patterson grabbed me for another job."
That catches him short, but only for a moment. "And how long did it fucking take, that you couldn't call me when you were done?"
"Late. Two jobs and then clean up."
He pales. "Christ, what's going on?"
"I'll tell you later. Maybe at the club meeting."
"And what kind of club would have you fuckers as members?" Tilley freezes at the sound of Seth Javits' voice. "Been too long since we've hung out, Tilley," he continues as he grabs Keith. "Let's talk." He winks at you as he drags the hapless Keith through the crowded halls.
* * * * *
But instead of meeting Keith at lunch you go up into the VIP room and look through the cabinets. There are nearly a dozen masks to pick from: Eva and Jessica Garner; Lisa and Geoff; Anthony Kirk and Karl Hennepin; Cindy Vredenburg and Maria Vasquez (the latter a surprise). There are also masks of Keith and Jason Lynch, but those are off limits.
You pick up Geoff's mask. A few days as him, and you could destroy his position so thoroughly that Lisa would totally win that fight. That would be a good deed, as far as you're concerned. But it would be work, and you're tired of that. As Eva or Jessica, though, you could be close to Lisa, and help her, and it would be far more relaxing.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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