The Spy Is Cast Read Online Free PDF

illusion.”
    I pondered for a few
moments. “I think I’ll be a man. If you’re going to go for
deception, might as well go whole hog. I’ll see if I can be my
husband.”
    “Your ex?” Kane
inquired.
    “No, I’ll be Robert.
The one I actually wanted to keep. That way even if they do figure
out his identity, they can’t hurt a dead man.”
    Kane frowned. “You
were widowed young. The death record said heart attack?”
    “Yeah.” I clammed up
and concentrated.
    “Um,” Kane said.
“Aydan. Clothes?”
    I glanced down at
myself, seeing Robert’s naked body. “Oops. Last memory. Sorry, too
much information.” I waved a hand and Robert’s favourite plaid
shirt and jeans wrapped around me, or, more accurately, around him.
I looked up at Kane. “How’s that?”
    “Fine, I guess. You
certainly don’t look like yourself.”
    I conjured a mirror
out of thin air. For a couple of seconds, my dead husband gazed
back at me before dissolving to leave me staring at my own face in
the mirror. I turned away from Kane. Two years after Robert’s
death, I was mostly okay.
    “Yeah, that was close
enough,” I said when I could trust my voice.
    Kane’s voice was quiet
behind me. “Want to take a break?”
    “No, let me try that
again.” I forced a chuckle. “With clothes this time.” I
concentrated again, turning back to face Kane. “How’s this?”
    I gave a quick
downward glance. Good, I was dressed this time.
    He nodded. “You look
the same as last time. But this is really a little disturbing,” he
added with a crooked grin.
    I laughed, feeling my
body change back as I did. “And it’s really damn hard to maintain.
The instant I stop concentrating, I go back to being myself.”
    “I think that’s good
news.” He gave me the full grin this time, and I laughed and nodded
agreement.
    “Okay, but here’s the
tricky part,” I said. “Now I need to go out of the network, and
then come back through the portal again, being Robert. Can you
stand in the portal and watch for me? I want to make sure I’m fully
disguised right from the first instant I enter.”
    He nodded. “Let’s
go.”
    We left the room and
retraced our steps down the hallway to the virtual exit door. “Back
in a flash,” I told him, and stepped out.
    Expecting the pain
didn’t help. And I’d forgotten how much it really hurt. Some of my
more creative obscenities leaked through my clenched teeth while I
screwed my eyes shut and held my head.
    “Welcome back,” Spider
said when I cracked my eyes open. “Thanks for the vocabulary
update. There were a couple of those I hadn’t heard for a while.”
He was smiling, but his eyes were concerned. “I wish this didn’t
hurt you so much,” he added.
    “But just think of all
the new language you’d miss if it didn’t,” I groaned, straightening
up. I glanced over at Kane’s immobile body, staring into space from
his chair. Still waiting for me in the network portal,
obviously.
    “Okay, let’s see how
this goes.” I concentrated on stepping back into the network,
wearing Robert’s body.
    Kane stood at parade
rest, waiting for me. “Aydan?” he asked cautiously.
    “Yeah. I’m getting
better at this.” I took a few experimental steps. “This feels so
weird.”
    “Tell me about it,” he
said.
    I laughed, and my
simulation vanished. I stretched. “That feels so much better.”
    Kane nodded. “No
offense to your late husband, but it looks a whole lot better,
too.”
    “None taken on his
behalf. Okay. I’m going to try it once more. Here goes.”
    I stepped out again,
managing to restrict myself to some inarticulate groans this time.
I breathed through the pain, straightening slowly.
    Spider nodded
approval. “That looked good on the monitors. You can quit now.”
    “Just once more.” I
rolled my neck and shoulders.
    “Why put yourself
through more pain?”
    “Because if my
simulation slips and I show up looking like me, there’s a whole lot
more pain where that came