r at the same time. They wouldn't necessarily have felt the
need to tell John he was wasting his time trying to corral all the pictures. I'm
sure this thought has occurred to John, as well, and that he's checking into who
had access to the pix every step of the way."
Shrugging, Cade sipped again, then said, "Whatever; we can chase down that
end of things later. As I said, you're no longer a secret. You're also
noticeably beautiful and you have distinctive features. Since plastic surgery
probably isn't a realistic option, I'll suggest that we use what's available
downstairs -- a science fiction convention with 25,000 registered attendees --
to toss together a look-alike contest."
After a moment, Mandi sipped her beer, then shook her head as she quietly
said, "You don't look insane, you know. You don't usually sound insane, either.
Did you skip your dinnertime meds or something?"
Chuckling, Cade said, "Maybe I'm just all flustered at being in the same
room with you, Miz Superlady, ma'am."
Mandi returned his grin as his cell phone rang and he answered it. She heard
John instantly ask, "Cade, have you seen Mandi?"
"She isn't in her room?" asked Cade. "I saw her there a little while ago."
"She isn't answering her phone and if she's in there, she isn't answering
her door, either."
"Huh. Got any idea why she'd be avoiding people, John?"
There was a pause before John very quietly said, "We really need to talk to
her, Cade. Is she in your room?"
"The official word is 'no', John, but why don't you come here alone and have
a look? Repeat; alone."
Another short pause ensued, then John said, "Alone it is."
John disconnected and Mandi regarded Cade for some moments in silence, then
said, "You could have asked me before you invited him."
"Do you want to try to find out what's going on? I do."
"Do you think John will know who released the pictures?"
"I think that's not the most important issue right now. Done is done. Now
it's time to try to fix things a bit."
Standing up and pacing, Mandi asked, "The contest? How the hell is a
lookalike contest going to make things better? If anything, it'll call even more
attention down on me."
"It'll call more attention to the superwoman, yes, but it'll only get you
second or third place as a runner-up."
Stopping her pacing and staring at him with open irritation, Mandi said,
"Okay, Ed. It's time to explain wha