The longest two days in Juri's life trickled past, slow as a snail in syrup. Those goddamn wily cunning police officers kept him simmering for two whole days without as much as a word, and he was getting ready to pop. Had, in all truth, been ready for a major hissy fit the very next morning, after walking on the proverbial glass the entire evening and night with Salvador. He was mindful of the bugs lurking in the suite they shared, trying to act natural but feeling a nearly overwhelming urge to stay out of the room as much as he could.

Every time the clone opened his mouth, Juri nearly jumped out of his skin, fearing what might come out. Salvador had been required to come and look at the body the following day, and of course Juri had accompanied him. Not that he'd been allowed in, but at least he'd been allowed to stay right outside, anxiously waiting for the clone to reappear. He hadn't manage to get much out of Salvador, who'd just huddled in his arms for a long time, totally silent and bleary-eyed – only that he hadn't ever seen the man before in his life.

Juri didn't know whether or not he should believe it. After all, he knew Calvin had taken the clone to see Orcagna, and even without seeing the body he was sure it was the aging scientist. He didn't want to get inquisitive, though. Far better that Salvador appeared so convinced of it, even if Juri didn't understand how that was possible.

He'd taken Salvador out for walks, all the while staying obediently in the vicinity of Hotel Laguna, and used the opportunity to explain to him why they couldn't talk freely when inside. They'd also been to the restaurant a couple of times, and when having a meal in the suite, they'd mostly been sitting on the terrace. Of course that wasn't a completely safe area either, but at least it was a little better – even if Juri felt something like nausea whenever he happened to glance at the other terrace, only a few meters away.

Salvador had been mostly well-behaved. During the days he was rather quiet, doing what Juri told him to, clinging to the dark man like to a lifeline. The nights were worse. Apparently the first peaceful night had been something of an exception, possibly due to the clone's extreme exhaustion. He tended to wake up several times during the night, and the things he stuttered then didn't even begin to make any sense. Each time it took a while before Juri managed to coo him back into a fitful slumber, and after that he'd waste another few minutes from his time in bed trying to get back to sleep.

Lack of sleep combined with his frustrating inability to figure out what the police wanted, making him edgy and grumpy. And he couldn't even vent that on the blond, blue-eyed cause of all this inconvenience!

On the third day after the eventful night they were suddenly summoned to one of the hotel's numerous conference rooms, where they were greeted by the same incongruous duo: the tall, bulky male officer and his tiny, curvy female partner with those frightfully bright, gray eyes. Juri nodded a curt greeting and sat down, trying not to roll his eyes at the way in which Salvador's narrow hand crept into his for comfort. Sometimes the clone really acted like a child.

"Well, gentlemen, sorry to inconvenience you again." The woman was all business. Juri offered her an agreeable smile.

"Not at all, officers," he said. "You have a case to investigate, after all."

"Indeed. And by now it does really seem that there is only one case."

Juri blinked in surprise. "I'm not sure I follow you," he said warily.

"Well, perhaps you've been wondering what this is all about?" the female officer said in a conversational tone. Juri couldn't hold back a snort.

"Maybe this comes as a surprise to you, officers, but yes we have!" he replied with some affront. "But might we hope to get some sort of explanation now? Because, quite frankly, you've got me completely confused."

"Certainly. You see, we have now got full results concerning the identity of the man found dead in suite 245." The man glanced at the datapad in his hand. "He arrived here six days ago, on the twelfth, and took the rooms he had booked under the name of Michael Osten."

The officer glanced at Juri who merely raised an eyebrow.

"Doesn't ring any bells, sorry," he said. Salvador beside him merely looked blank.

"It appears that he didn't leave his room at all ever since his arrival", the man continued. "Hotel personnel have unanimously stated that he'd expressed a wish not to be disturbed, and they didn't get the permission to enter the room even to tidy it up. Nor did he go to any of the restaurants."

"All this is no doubt very interesting," Juri interrupted. "But what does this have to –"

"We're coming to that, Mr. Lombard!" the woman said. "The body found in the suite was sufficiently close in height, build and age to Mr. Calvin to merit closer inspection. We couldn't rule out the possibility that, despite appearances, there might in fact have been no Mr. Osten staying here."

Salvador's brows drew into a tiny frown but he remained impassive. Juri couldn't fake equal placidity, though, when the pieces finally clicked into place inside his head. His eyes widened.

"You mean – you thought that the dead man might be Mr. Calvin?" he spluttered. Oh why hadn't that occurred to him at all?

Both police officers nodded primly.

"Yes, Mr. Lombard. As Mr. Calvin seems to have vanished into thin air, that was a distinct possibility. And even though Mr. Marquina here claimed that he didn't identify the body, of course he might've been lying."

Juri glanced quickly at Salvador's lean profile. The clone looked like an inactivated android, listening there with a neutral expression on his face, eyes just barely alive. And I can't help wondering how the hell he did that? Juri wondered. Didn't identify the man whom he saw die, and whose death that bastard blamed on him? Well done, anyway...

"However, we've now ascertained the identity of Mr. Michael Osten from suite 245." The tiny female shifted to sit more comfortably in her stiff chair and cocked her head. "Does the name Michel Orcagna say anything to you?"

Juri had barely time to pull a suitably thoughtful frown on his face, then his heart skipped a beat. Salvador had raised his head a little and blinked, as if waking up from a dream. Both officers' eyes were instantly fixed on him.

"Mr. Marquina?" the woman inquired softly. "Does the name sound familiar to you?"

"Orcagna..." Salvador whispered. "Orcagna? No... not Michel."

Juri prayed to all deities he didn't believe in, unable to do anything but stare at Salvador who was looking at the police officers with sincere blue eyes, confusion and uncertainty flickering across his face. Juri didn't need to glance at the officers to know what he'd see: the expression of predators that knew their prey would soon make the decisive mistake. Predators waiting to move in for the kill.

"Claus. Claus Orcagna," Salvador said tentatively. "Do I – do I know Claus Orcagna?"

It was a genuine question. Juri saw the male officer's eyes narrow slightly.

"We don't know," the man said calmly. "Would you tell us? Do you know him?"

Salvador's head sank a little. "Calvin says I know him," he muttered as if to himself. "That I am one of Claus' best friends, that we've known each other for a couple of years. But I... I'm not sure. I can't remember. It feels so... unreal. Like I'd dreamed it all. Sometimes I think I know Claus, but I can't remember so many of those things Calvin says I should."

His hands crept to his upper arms. Juri fought against the urge to touch him, opting instead to sit back and wait in mute horror for whatever would happen next. He couldn't think of anything to do to avert the coming catastrophe without blowing what still might be left of their cover.

"Mr. Calvin said that you know Claus Orcagna," the woman repeated in a friendly tone. "Did you and Mr. Calvin meet his father, Michel?"

Ah – they know the relationship between those two, Juri registered in passing. Salvador nodded dully, fingers tightening around slim arms in unmistakable anguish. His breathing was rapidly growing heavier.

"Yes." It was a sibilant puff of air, nothing more. "We went to meet him."

"What happened?" The officers were now leaning forward, anxious to catch every quiet word from the clone, speaking to him in a low, reassuring tone.

"We... Calvin spoke with him. I – I can't remember it." By now Salvador's voice was a strangled whisper, his fingers digging into his skin through the thin shirt, and then the words came out in a rushed blur. "He – shot him. Calvin shot him... he was dead, and he said it's my fault because I didn't do what I should've. He said it was my fault because I couldn't remember, that I killed him..."

Enormously dilated eyes squeezed shut and the clone slumped in his chair gasping for breath, fingers flying up to claw his face. Juri sprang up and grabbed his wrists, forced the arms apart and hugged an uncontrollably trembling Salvador tightly to himself. The clone's nails sank painfully into Juri's shoulders but then the resistance faded and Juri felt a face snuggle to his chest, erratic breath making a hot batch on his collarbone. Salvador whimpered a little and Juri shushed him gently.

"Sorry, officers," he said trying to look at the twosome behind him, then realized that the woman had got up and was now standing next to Salvador's chair. "I do understand this is important, but he's really not at all well. I think I'd better take him to rest now, please."

"Hurts," Salvador mumbled weakly to Juri's shirt, and the dark man hugged him closer.

"That's all right, Mr. Lombard." The tall officer sounded surprisingly sympathetic. "But we'd still like a word with you, when you have a moment."

"Sure thing," Juri muttered and pulled Salvador on his feet. "C'mon now, Sal, you can lean against me but I need you to walk, you're my size and I can't carry you..."

The clone appeared to be almost blinded by pain, and Juri was grateful when the male officer wordlessly came to help. Together they half carried Salvador to the suite, and Juri dug up the package of prescription painkillers he'd found in the clone's luggage. The package was suspiciously unlabeled and devoid of any identifying marks, and the only reason why he dared handle them at all was that Salvador himself had requested them when a splitting headache had attacked him two nights previously.

The officer raised an eyebrow at seeing the pill but Juri shrugged off the unsaid question and just sat on the edge of the bed, one hand softly rubbing the clone's slim back, until he felt the muscles begin to loosen a little.

"He'll be asleep soon," Juri said quietly to the tall man who'd been standing all the while at the door, arms crossed on his chest. The man nodded.

"Do you think we could talk here?" he asked in an equally low voice. "We could leave the bedroom door open, just in case he wakes up."

"Suits me," Juri sighed. "Or we could sit on the terrace. But I really wouldn't want to leave him alone, even though the pill knocked him out for hours last time."

"I'll just call my partner here."

The officer turned around and disappeared into the other room. Juri sighed and looked down at Salvador's pale face that was clearly beginning to relax into its usual smooth lines. The painkiller was kicking in, and it was doing it really fast. Juri wasn't sure that he wanted to know what those little things contained.

He heard noises from the adjoining living room, waited for another few moments and then left the clone to sleep. Both police officers were there and motioned him to sit down. Juri burrowed into his favorite armchair and looked up at them expectantly.

"Well, it seems clear enough what's happened," the woman said. "According to our information, Mr. Calvin was indeed a Ziroshel Union agent. He was supposed to meet Mr. Orcagna here on some business, and Mr. Marquina's task was to convince the man that he knew his son, no doubt to make him more amenable to whatever this business was about. Mr. Marquina failed, and things got out of hand, badly enough for Mr. Calvin to kill Orcagna. They had a fight about it in their room and Calvin decided to disappear. We cannot fathom why he'd throw such a tantrum as to kick Marquina out of the rooms, but perhaps your taking him in foiled whatever plans Calvin might've had. We're still somewhat unclear about why he chose to leave his companion behind, but we'll have to leave that question aside now."

"Maybe he's going to come and get Salvador later?" Juri suggested helpfully. "He's badly traumatized, anyway. But I still can't understand how Sal didn't recognize the body of this – Orcagna, wasn't it? I mean, he said himself that he'd seen the man."

"The man who arrived here sported a full beard," the tall officer said. "The body found in the suite was clean-shaven, though not too neatly. Why, that we don't know. Probably to make identification more difficult."

Juri nodded, grateful for once to the late Calvin. "So this Claus that he was talking about, he's Orcagna's son? What's up with him? And what could this business be about?"

"Michel Orcagna was an outstanding scientist," the woman said. "A biochemist. And so was his son Claus."

"Was?" Juri repeated. "Is he dead then, too?"

"He disappeared under very suspicious circumstances about two years ago." Her voice was grim. "He was spending some time on TerraFour with two friends, and during that stay he vanished. We've never been able to fully unearth all circumstances pertaining to the incident, but both the Rebellion and the Union have been implicated."

Her partner nodded. "From what we know, the elder Orcagna has remained carefully independent of any political alliances, but his research could well be valuable to a number of parties. We're therefore assuming that Calvin was here to negotiate a deal with him. Possibly he's disappeared because he fears the consequences of such a failure for himself."

Juri inhaled deep, digesting these news. We never knew exactly where and how Claus Orcagna was snatched... so it was here, of all places? Now this could be a real stroke of luck!

"I think I understand enough," he said slowly. "But I can't help feeling really concerned for Salvador. He's far from stable, and even if Calvin might've been in a hurry to save his own skin first, I can't believe he'd feel quite peaceful knowing that Salvador is still around." He chuckled nervously. "What a lucky thing that he didn't know Sal was in my suite... we might both be dead if he had! But I still can't understand how he's been able to act so – well, as if he really were unaware of what happened."

"Well, we all agree that he's been badly traumatized," the woman said, crossing her legs in the chair. "Apparently, so badly that his brain simply refused to acknowledge the events. Such a powerful mental block is by no means impossible, especially if he's been having problems before – as the evidence would seem to suggest."

"Do you think he might suffer from amnesia?" The male officer was lounging against the terrace door. Juri turned to look at him, face brightening.

"That could of course explain it," he said. "If he's been an amnesiac even before Calvin met him, he'd be an easy enough victim, don't you think? Easy enough to brainwash him... except that it didn't work quite as well as Calvin thought."

"You have now spent two whole days with him," the woman said. "What is your impression? Has he said anything to that effect?"

"In fact he has." Juri didn't miss the tiny glance that the two officers shared, and sighed internally in relief. The bugs hadn't been placed in the suite for nothing; no doubt attentive ears had been listening to every shred of information they'd yielded, and now he could milk his confusing nighttime exchanges with the clone for all they were worth. The best part of it was that he wouldn't even have to lie...

"He's not been sleeping too well. Keeps having some very disturbing dreams and waking up several times each night. Then when he wakes up, he says the weirdest things. But when I've tried to ask him about those dreams and such, he never remembers. That really seems to upset him."

The man nodded, looking interested. "Anything else?"

"Troy," Juri said, automatically lowering his voice, mindful of the blond sleeping in the next room. "He keeps talking about someone called Troy, says he needs to find him. But he can't tell me who he is, where he is, why it's so important to find him. Nothing. Once he even called me 'Troy' when I woke him up in the middle of a nightmare."

"Could that explain why he's so fixated on you now? Perhaps you look like this elusive 'Troy' of his?"

Juri closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Goddamn it, I need a new brain.

"Didn't occur to me," he said truthfully. "But I suppose that makes sense."

"What are your plans now?" the man asked.

"Well, I feel sort of responsible for Salvador," Juri confessed. "He definitely needs help, and besides, I – uhh – promised him that I'd help him find this Troy. Of course I don't have any idea what to do, but I guess the first thing would be to get him some professional help. But that depends on when we could go anywhere..."

"Couldn't you do it here?"

"Naturally I could, but –" Juri shrugged noncommittally, "you see, I have some friends I was sort of going to visit after this. Haven't made any reservations yet, which is a good thing if I'll be taking Salvador with me." He debated with himself for a moment and then decided to take the risk. "They're on Jainah. It's a wealthy and populous place, as you no doubt know. I'm sure we could find top-notch mentalists there."

"Indeed." The man examined him for a moment and then smiled almost imperceptibly. "It has also recently detached itself from Ziroshel Union's influence. I'm sure it would be a good choice, for someone who wants to stay away from Union agents."

Juri shrugged again nonchalantly. "I am definitely concerned for his safety," he said, carefully keeping any challenge out of his voice. "And that's why I'd really like to know when we could hope to leave. He needs help, he needs it soon, and we wouldn't reach Jainah overnight, anyway."

"Considering the circumstances..." the woman said, laced her fingers together around a knee, and shot an appraising glance at her partner. The tall man nodded briefly and Juri tensed invisibly in his seat. "Considering Mr. Marquina's mental instability, and that he might be in danger from the Union, we feel that it'd be best if you could leave TerraFour as soon as possible. Especially since you are willing to assist him."

"We have collected sufficient data to wrap up this case," the man chimed in. "In case we still need something from either one of you, we'll contact you before tomorrow evening."

For a few seconds Juri just stared at the officers who were now standing up, then jumped on his feet to bid them farewell. When the door closed after them, he slumped against it and closed his eyes. I don't believe this... we could be out of here within two days!

He spent a while arranging his raging thoughts, then returned to the armchair to do some orderly thinking. Of course the bugs were still firmly in place and could not be forgotten. This could well be a trap, he reminded himself. But at least he could take a look at interplanetary flight schedules...

Outside the entrance of Hotel Laguna, the police officers stepped into their waiting vehicle.

"What did you find out about Mr. Lombard?" the woman asked casually as she sat behind the steering controls.

"That he is indeed Mr. Juri Lombard," her partner replied. "Not very much more. But I did verify that he's never, at no point in his life, worked for the Union."

"I think that's all we need to know," the woman nodded. "That's enough for me – to trust him enough."

"Are we still going to eavesdrop?"

"Oh, leave it on. Just in case they get in danger before they're out of here."

The police vehicle slid away from the hotel.