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Gabby nodded but wouldn’t ents … so to beco" She looked at hietically, but he was deeply relieved that she was doing the talking "He was a Tangent But there’s another Tangent--Kaine--he’s figured out this process that downloads the intelligence of a Tangent into a huical co this is possible for decades A any sense?"
Sarah spoke so calmly, and so matter-of-factly, that Michael looked on in awe He actually thought she had a chance of convincing Gabby Which was a good sign They ht even have a chance with the VNS
Gabby leaned on the table "So all three of you, right here, right now, are telling ent named Michael was … downloaded into my boyfriend’s brain?" She turned and faced Michael "That this … person … is no longer Jax? That Jax was just drained, like a flushed toilet? That’s what you’re telling ain "We don’t knoorks exactly I’ that somehow he’s, I don’t know, stored somewhere I mean, if it can happen in one direction, why not the other? Maybe he’s still … maybe he still exists Who knows, hed, but there was no trace of humor in it "Honestly?" She shook her head and folded her arh "I just don’t kno I can possibly believe all this"
"Just think about Jackson," Michael said "Jax If you really knew him that well … I mean, do I seem like him to you? At all?"
She shook her head "Nope You"So keep talking"
They talked for another hour Bryson got coffee and pound cake for everyone, and they swapped stories, showed her things on Bryson’s old NetPad--even pulled out the ancient NetTab for a while to share soent sightings around the world Michael told Gabby about his old life, about his faht her up to speed on Kaine and what he’d done to theet into the VNS and confront Agent Weber
They talked and talked and talked, and Gabby listened
Finally, as if they’d exhausted the English language, silence fell upon the table Michael waited anxiously to see if they’d been able to convince Gabby
She sighed and put her hands on the table, picking absently at a fingernail "I know this sounds corny, but I don’t care I love"--she faltered, flickered a glance at Michael--"loved Jax I did I do It’s so confusing! You guys have seriously screwed up , and wisely, his friends didn’t, either
"Listen, I don’t knohat I believe," Gabby continued "But I know Jax, and this guy isn’t Jax" She jabbed a thumb at Michael "No offense It’s just that … I can tell he’sYa know? And all those stories you showed ot me freaked out"
Suddenly a cohter; her eyes brightened; her skin see a major decision, and he waited breathlessly to hear it
"I can’t be spotted anywhere near VNS headquarters," she said "Too many people there know et in"