Free Mutant Star by Karen Haber Page A

curls.
    Crash!
    Julian heard the sound of crockery meeting stone.
    The woman started at the noise, jumped up, and hurried out of the room.
    The door swung shut behind her.
    As Julian watched, amazed, the window latch moved, and then the window slid open. The man clambered up and over the window ledge. His face was illuminated for a moment in the lamplight. Julian gasped.
    The thief’s eyes were bright gold. And his face was familiar—too familiar. He looked just like Julian’s brother, Rick.
    “Omigod.”
    “Julian, what is it?” Eva Seguy’s voice was loud over the lab headphones.
    The image vanished.
    “My God,” Julian said. He sat up. Shook his head to clear it. “Maybe you should take me off this project. I’m starting to hallucinate.”
    “Get in here now.”
    Eva was waiting for him by the door to her office. She handed him a hypo. “Use it.”
    Julian eyed the red hypo with reluctance. “What is this?”
    “A serotonin booster.”
    “I don’t want it.”
    “The mutant healers gave it to me. Every flare rider needs it occasionally.” She put her hands on her hips. “Come on, now. Don’t be ornery.”
    Julian pressed the hypo against his arm. It hissed and he sighed with relief as the strange aching in his head eased.
    “Now sit and tell me everything.”
    “Eva, you may have to disqualify me from the program.”
    “Oh, really? Let me be the judge of that.” She sat down next to him on the worn blue wallcushions. “Start at the beginning.”
    “I saw a man—some kind of thief.”
    “Where?”
    “Looked like, I don’t know, England or maybe Boston hundreds of years ago. Hard to tell. Anyway, the guy was using telekinesis to rob a rich woman of her jewels.”
    “How could you tell?”
    “I watched him decoy her, then sneak into the house. And he had golden eyes, Eva.”
    “Interesting.” She tapped her foot thoughtfully. “But I don’t see why you want to resign from the program.”
    “No, you don’t understand.” Julian shut his eyes. “The man. He looked just like Rick.”
    “Your twin?”
    He nodded. “I think I’m losing my objectivity.”
    Julian felt the cool touch of her hand on his head. He opened his eyes. Eva gave him a skeptical look.
    “Coincidence,” she said. “You’re making too much out of this.”
    “Eva, I know what I saw.”
    “How could it have been your brother? You said this appeared to be a scene out of the past—maybe two hundred years ago. Use simple logic, Julian.”
    “I know. I know.”
    She stood up and began pacing. “You’ve been one of our most reliable flare riders,” she said. “I need you for this program, Julian. Don’t get spooked by something you saw that you don’t understand.”
    “But—”
    “Of course, if you want time off, you can have it.” She took her seat behind the desk. “There’s not much I can do to stop you. And maybe you really do want to quit the program.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous!” He stared at her, aghast. “You know how I feel about this research.” But not how I feel about you, he thought. Yet.
    A sly smile lit her face. “Good. Just testing. Julian, we’re bound to discover all sorts of disquieting things through this work. I don’t want you to cave in at the first sign of peculiar data.”
    “I understand.”
    “I may have been a little tough on you, but I’m under some pressure myself.” The fluorescent lights cast blue shadows on her elfin face. She looked tired. “I’ve been getting queries from all over about our experiments. Now I’m getting heat from Dr. Dalheim. He wants results. He should know better. We’ve only been at this six months. The program’s funded for another three. I haven’t heard a peep back on any of our grant applications. But the hint’s been dropped: this space is needed.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “That if we don’t come up with something impressive soon, we may be looking for a new home.” She leaned back in her chair. “I don’t want this