The striped shadows from the blinds cut across the wooden table, dividing the brown envelope between us. The coffee shop was dead silent. The only sound was the low hum of the refrigerator and the distant wail of a police siren outside. The smell of roasted coffee beans and floor wax hung thick in the chilled air.
Adrian stared at me. His eyes were wide, the pupils dilated in the dim light. The arrogant smirk was completely gone.
“What do you mean I’m not your brother?” he whispered. His voice cracked. “We have the same face. We have the same blood. Mom and Dad raised us together until the accident.”
“Mom and Dad raised me,” I said. My voice was steady, but my hands were gripping the edge of the table so hard my knuckles turned white. “You were the backup. The insurance policy.”
I tapped the envelope. “The DNA test in there isn’t just a paternity test. It’s a genetic sequence analysis. You don’t have a belly button, Adrian. You never noticed because you always wear high-waisted pants. You don’t have an appendix. You heal from cuts in three hours.”
Adrian’s hands started to tremble. He looked down at his own hands, then back at me. The color drained from his face, leaving him looking pale and sickly under the warm pendant light.
“That’s a lie,” he stammered. He took a half-step back, his chair scraping against the floor. “You’re trying to drive me crazy. You’re trying to make me think I’m a monster so you can lock me up.”
“I’m trying to save you,” I said. I leaned in closer. The shadows deepened across my face. “The corporation that cloned me died in a fire ten years ago. But their assets were bought by a private military contractor. They’ve been tracking your biometric signature for six months. They know you’re awake. They know you’re here.”
Adrian’s mouth opened and closed. He looked like a trapped animal. The identical twin I had resented for a decade was suddenly just a scared, confused man.
“Why are you telling me this?” he choked out. “Why didn’t you just let them take me?”
“Because you’re the only family I have left,” I said softly. “And because if they take you, they’ll use your DNA to make more of us. I’m not letting them clone my face again.”
The coffee shop door chimed.
Adrian flinched. He looked toward the entrance. Two men in dark suits walked in. They weren’t looking at the barista. They weren’t looking at the other customers. They were looking right at our table.
“They’re here,” I said. I stood up. I grabbed the brown envelope and shoved it into Adrian’s chest. “Take the ticket. Go to the airport. Use the passport. Don’t look back.”
Adrian didn’t argue. He didn’t try to fight me. He just grabbed the envelope, his hands shaking violently, and bolted toward the back exit.
I sat back down at the table. I picked up my coffee cup. The two men in dark suits walked up to my table. They didn’t look angry. They looked disappointed.
“Where is Subject B?” the lead agent asked. His voice was flat, echoing in the quiet shop.
I took a sip of my coffee. I looked at the empty chair across from me, the striped shadows casting long, jagged lines across the wooden table.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” I said. “I’m just having coffee with myself.”