Echoworld

Second one is for me to go directly to your universe and kill this woman myself. A sort of 'last pleasure before I die' thing."

Shaun shook his head in amazement. "You're good. A little bit suicidal, but very ingenious."

She gave him a slight smile. "Thanks. When do we leave?"

"Hold on, I never said we were going to go."

"Yeah, but if you think anything like Shaun does, then you know we're going to go."

He nodded. "You've got me. How's now for you?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

Shaun raised his wrist to his mouth and said, "Eric, Sierra Bravo. Come in." The device hissed something incomprehensible. "There's a change of plans."

A voice crackled back, barely understandable to Wren's untrained ears. "Uh oh. What are they?"

"I'll be having company. We need to travel to Beta, Gamma, and Epsilon, to the echoes of 'Lady' Wren."

"Not going to ask. Three minutes and counting. Over and out."

Shaun turned to Wren. "We need to be standing close enough to each other that the transporter picks us up as a single entity. Hurry; we've only got two and a half minutes or so."

Wren stood up and did as she was told. He smelled nice, and she could feel his muscles beneath his shirt. She didn't completely trust him yet, however. She'd heard strange stories, but this one was by far the strangest. "How is this going to work?" she wondered aloud.

"You can transport directly to your echo, if Eric's willing to do it, which he is." He nervously ran his hand through his hair, making it stand up even more on end.

Wren looked up at him, mischievous glint in her eyes. "Are you sure this whole 'single entity' thing isn't just a ploy to get me close to you?"

He grinned at her. "No."

Time up and they were engulfed in darkness.

"I can't believe Bush won again," the man growled. He was large and balding, drinking strong coffee at the bar-like table in the coffee shop. He was the only customer.

A woman with hair going prematurely gray sat behind the table, rubbing it mechanically with a damp cloth. There were several places where the finish had been rubbed off over the years. "I know. You'd think that we'd learn by now."

The man shook his head. "I knew that they shouldn't have passed that bill. We could be dealing with W. for another 12 years!"

The woman shrugged and stopped wiping the counter. Sticking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she stood and made herself an espresso.

"Hey, Wren. What are you doing tonight? Want to go to dinner?" the man offered.

She turned around and, sipping her espresso, said, "Sorry, Bob. I can't. I have to go to a wedding."

"Really? Whose?"

"Mine."

Shaun and Wren watched the whole scene from behind a corner that connected the main room to the storage.

"That's me?" she mouthed to him. He nodded and put a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet.

"- you're getting married. Who is it?" The man pushed his coffee to the side and, putting his elbows on the table, rested his chin on his hands.

Wren smiled shyly and blushed. "Do you remember me telling you about my reading group? And the instructor?"

"Drew? Sure I remember him. Nice guy. Congratulations."

"Thanks. I'm going to be closing at noon today, so..."

Wren and Shaun slipped out the back door of the pantry. Once out of the alleyway and onto the busy sidewalk, they began to talk.

"What universe is this?" Wren inquired absently, trying to think of any Drews she knew.

"Epsilon. It's the one furthest from reality."

"All right, so maybe I'm not important here.