The Book of Masks (Vol. 4)

A Fairy Tale for Jack

Previously: "The Hand-Off" 

"Can we get Leah out here, get the switch done," you ask, "before, uh, Gordon wakes up?"

"No," beta-Philip replies. "But—"

"Then what's the point?" You're too stressed to want to add more stress on top by making a switch of your own tonight. "We'll just do it tomorrow."

Beta-Philip glances over to where Gordon, in Jack's clothes, is sprawled on the ground next to the minivan. "We can't leave Gordon here alone," he says. "When he wakes up, he's going to—"

"I can handle him," you snap. "I don't have to be Leah for that. I can do it like this." You gesture at yourself.

The others exchange a glance, and beta-Philip frowns.

Cindy leaps in to help. "I'll stay here with Jenny," she says in a cooing voice, and puts her arm through yours. "I want to get acquainted with Jack anyway."

A snicker runs between beta-Carlos and beta-Mike.

"Okay, we'll finish up here," beta-Philip says. "You two consult out how you're going to handle Jack." He cocks his head. "Maybe you should drive off and pretend to come back—"

"We'll figure something out," you retort, and wheel to pull Cindy after you.

* * * * *

You take beta-Philip's advice this far: You drive off the school grounds and back to town, where you park at the McDonald's. But you and Cindy have come up with no better idea than to "wing it" by the time beta-Philip texts to say that he and the others have completed the switch and are taking off. Don't be slow getting back to the school, he warns you.

So with a deep breath and an anxious glance between you, you and Cindy turn back toward Westside.

There are only two cars next to the gym when you pull back into the lot: Gordon's vintage VW Bug, and Jack's cherry-red minivan. Both appear to be deserted when your headlamps pick them out.

You park next to Jack's, but leave the motor running as you crane your necks, glancing about. No one. You shut off the car, and with another uneasy glance at each other, you and Cindy get out. Shadows lay deep against the side of the gym. You sidle over to the door and try it. It's locked. "Okay, looks like we have to send out a search party," you say.

Then Cindy squawks at something behind you. You wheel in time to see a shadowy figure take off down the side of the gym toward the school.

You and Cindy glance at each other—it's like neither of you want to do anything without the other's agreement—then run off after it.

"Hey!" you shout after the fleeing figure. "Hey!" It's very dark on the other side of the gym, and you can just make out a darker smudge in the dark as it gallops off ahead. "Don't run, we just want to talk!"

Whoever he is, he must be in a panic, for he turns into a dead-end between the arms of two of the school wings. Breathlessly, you tumble up join him.

Of course (as you should have known it would be) it's Jack. He's pressed up against the school with his back to the wall.

"Jack!" you gasp at him. "What were you running for? Jack?"

"Hey, what's wrong, buddy?" Cindy says.

You reach out to grasp his arm. For a moment you are able to hold him, and he shudders.

Then he breaks past you, nearly bowling you over, and races back off the way he came. "Jack!" you holler.

"Oh, Jesus, he's really gonna hurt himself," Cindy cries. Together you run after him.

He takes off in the direction of the athletic fields, and you and Cindy both slow down, for fear of twisting your ankles in the dark. "Oh, fuck," you groan.

"You should have gotten into Leah's mask."

"That's Gordon! He doesn't know Leah from—! He's freaked out, that's all!"

"Well, where's he going?"

"You think I know?"

You glance down, realizing you've got your phone in your hand. Almost you swipe it so you can send a text. But then you have a better idea.

"Come on." You nudge Cindy. "Let's go back."

"But—"

"He's gotta come back for his car," you point out. "We'll wait for him there."

* * * * *

So that's what you do. You move your car around to the front of the school, where it won't be seen, then sneak back around to where the other two cars are still parked. The minivan is unlocked, and you and Cindy creep into it to wait in the back.

It's a long time, and you have to put beta-Philip off with a tell-you-later-now-shut-up text when he pokes you to see what's doing. While you're waiting, two figures slip out of the gym. One is small and demure, the other tall and hulking. They are shadows swimming inside the deeper shadows against the side of the gym as they pass in front of you, but you think you catch "Gordon" glancing over at the minivan before he and Chelsea get into the VW Bug and drive away. "I can't wait to hear how that went," Cindy says.

And it's another ten minutes or so—long enough for you get extremely worried—before you feel Cindy grip your arm. She points. Another figure is sidling up to the minivan from the direction of the athletic fields.

You are holding your breath as it edges around the back.

You are sitting behind the driver's seat, and you wait until the driver's side door opens before you jump out. Jack Li, halfway in and halfway out of the cab, lurches around to gape at you.

"Jack!" you exclaim. "Will you please not run away? We came up here to find you!"

His jaw works, but he doesn't say anything. But neither does he scamper off again.

"Have any of the guys been up here yet?" you ask him. "Jack?" you repeat when he doesn't answer.

"Um?" he says in a quavering voice.

"Are you the first one up here?"

"Yeah?" he croaks.

You pretend to let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, then let's get out of here," you tell him, "before Gordon or Steve or someone like that shows up."

Jack makes a yipping noise, and out of the corner of your eye you see Cindy giving you a puzzled look.

"Yeah, come on." You touch Jack on the arm. "Let's go back to town. Meet up at Panera so we can talk about it. You know where that is, right?" you add when Jack only stares back at you.

"Mm-hmm," he says.

"Well then— Cindy, can you take my car and meet us up there?" You hold your keys out to her. "I'll ride with Jack."

Cindy glances between you and the transformed Gordon Black, then nods. After she's gone, you gently press Jack into the driver's seat. "I'll fill you in on what you missed," you tell him.

What that is, you're not sure, but the promise of something that sounds like answers is enough to get the new Jack Li to (slowly) crawl behind the wheel of his new ride. You hurry around to get into the other side.

* * * * *

It's a flimsy and badly explained story you buffalo him with, when you're at the bakery with him and Cindy.

First, you explain that he was summoned up to the school to meet with Carson Ioeger, James Lamont, and Will Prescott as part of some Carson-and-James plot against Gordon Black and Chelsea Cooper. That is to give him a preview of what he should "remember" tomorrow when he's settled into Jack's memories, for that is exactly the story you had your beta give him.

Second, to explain your own presence at the school, you tell him that you (Jenny) found out about this plot; that you hurried up to the school to head it all off; and that you brought Cindy along in case Gordon needed some sweet-talking to stop him from punching someone's head off his shoulders. Cindy, bless her, plays along, and rattles off a couple of stories about how brutal and thuggish Gordon is, and how likely he is to badly hurt anyone he gets his hands on. Jack only stares as he listens to this, so you have no idea what it's doing to Gordon to hear himself described as a brute and a thug and very nearly a killer.

Last, to cover what happened next, you tell him that it turned out to be a "snipe hunt" that Carson and James perpetrated against him and Will, and that they had no intention of showing up. You say nothing about Carlos and Mike and Philip showing up, though, because it seems best to pretend you know nothing about them being there.

And how does Jack take it?

Numbly. Silently. With a shifty expression and a light of fear behind his eyes. You affect not to notice, and prod and squeeze him reassuringly as you explain how narrowly he escaped one of Carson and James's dangerous pranks.

His phone goes off a couple of times during the talk, but he only glances at the screen before putting it away without answering.

You top off the evening by suggesting that he "go home" and stay inside, lest he get lured out for any other "ambushes."

He nods, and finally speaks a couple of words of his own when he says he has to visit the restroom.

"You think he's going to be okay?" Cindy asks while he's gone. You can only shrug.

He is away for a very long time, but his brow is clearer and he looks a little more relaxed when he returns. His voice is still tight, though. "Thanks for coming to find me," he tells you. "I'm gonna take off now."

And with that abrupt farewell, he lurches stiffly from the restaurant.

"It's not even nine o'clock yet," Cindy says after he's gone. "You could still try for your second beta."

Next: "A Second Chance at Leah Simmons" 

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"Table of Contents (Vol. 4)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 4)"