The Switch

They say each person has about seven look-alikes in the world. The chances of running into one of them, however, are so narrow that most never meet their twins. To be honest, some of them are better off that way.

It was a Wednesday morning and nothing was going right. Anna had managed to sleep in and was now riding as fast as she could to get to work in time for a meeting that could change her life forever. Working for an environment-friendly company, she took her work to heart. Today, for the first time, she cursed cars and buses for being run on petroleum because her bike wasn’t fast enough. She rode like the wind, when suddenly a woman came in her way.

She toppled off her bike as the woman was knocked to the ground on impact. Still dizzy from the little accident, Anna got up and rushed to the side of the woman. “Good heavens, I’m so sorry!” she apologised.

“Don’t touch me!” the woman growled and sat up. Anna retreated and noticed the woman’s thick American accent.

She stood up straight and glared at Anna with venom in her eyes.

They stared at each other for the longest time. “Who are you and why the hell do you look like me?” she shrieked.

“ME look like YOU?” Anna was taken aback, “The better question is who on earth are YOU?”

“YOU just hit me with a bike!” she complained, “I have every right to ask you who you are!”

Anna got on her feet sheepishly, “I said I was sorry, come off it already!”

“Come off it? God, you bloody British people think you rule us all!” she exclaimed, “You knocked down a tourist, at least have the common courtesy to give her a compensation!”

“Compensation? You want money? You aren’t even hurt!” Anna replied, exasperated.

The woman glared again and Anna was about to give her an earful, when she got a call.

“Excuse me,” Anna huffed and answered the phone.

“Anna, where are you?” A worrisome voice said on the other end, “The meeting start in five minutes!”

“Damien, I’m so sorry,” She replied, “I’m running a little late here.”

Damien sighed, “Alright, I’ll stall for you. Come soon, okay?”

“Thanks, I’ll be there soon.”

“I don’t want thanks; I want a good old lunch treat.” Damien joked.

“We’ll see about that.” Anna ended the class and turned around to resume her argument with the woman.

She was shocked to find the woman was gone; and so was her bike. “Oh, bloody hell!” she cursed and started to run towards her office.

She was two blocks away from it, when she felt like she was being watched. She began to hurry, a little afraid that she was right. She got into the building safely and dismissed the fear of being followed. “I’m just nervous about today, that’s all.” She muttered and headed towards the conference room.

********

Unfortunately, Anna was right about her being followed. Two men stood across the street and watched her enter the building.

“Are you sure that’s her?” One of them asked. He was tall and tan, white a grey coat and a hat to cover his bald head.

“Positive,” the shorter man, with a messy mop if red hair, replied. “I have a photograph for reference.”

He handed the man in the coat a photograph, which he observed closely. “Good job, Gibbs, we’ll take her in when she comes out.”

“Thank you, sir.”

*******

Karol Evans couldn’t have been happier. She had come a long way from home and now she was finally free of the charges she was running away from. With her newly acquired bike and identity, she could hide away from the law long enough to figure out what her next move would be. Perhaps she would steal the Crown Jewels and place a few in this woman’s house so that they lock her up sooner.

“What was her name, again?” she mumbled as she came to a halt outside a café.

She rummaged through her bag and pulled out the ID she had stolen. “Anna Jameson.” She proclaimed.

“What a terrible name, but it’ll have to do.” She shrugged and ordered a coffee to go.

Two lattés and three phone calls later, she found herself just waiting for the next hour to pass by. A small meeting for a little job offer and a reward she couldn’t refuse awaited her. History would be made and Karol’s remarkable thefts would mean nothing in comparison. It was about time she addressed her true calling; being a hired gun. Finally, she could be what she had always dreamed of.

********

Damien has successfully managed to stall long enough for Anna to reach in time. Although she was a bit haggard in appearance after running for nearly two kilometres in her formals, her presentation won the hearts of the board members. To celebrate her success, Damien demanded a lavish lunch.

“I quite agree!” Susan seconded.

“Alright, alright.” Anna laughed, “Let’s feed you two hungry lads.”

On their way out, two cops came and stood in their way.

“Excuse me, miss.” The taller of the two approached Anna, “We need you to come with us.”

“Me?” Anna replied, astonished.

“Yes, we have a warrant for you arrest.” The shorter man said.

“On what charges?” Susan stepped up.

“Theft.” The cop replied and took Anna away by force.

*******

Karol was taking a casual tour around British Museum, waiting for the right time to make her way for a special tour around Buckingham Palace. A tour that none would know of and she would surely enjoy. Stealing the Crown Jewels was no easy task; she would have to be neat and quick.

“Like murder.” She chuckled.

Her new employer had given her the details of its location, which made her job only too easy. All she had to do was take the jewels, plant the bomb, frame Anna and leave with the country with a ton of money and a new face. It was just another cake walk.

At closing time, she began to stroll towards the palace. She was in no rush at all, the cops would be questioning Anna until later tonight and she probably wouldn’t get to go home.

********

It was hard to tell how long Damien and Susan were waiting at the station to see Anna. Every moment felt like hours, days even. To top it, the wall clock had stopped long ago and no one had bothered to take it down. It was pitch black outside and as cold as death itself when they were finally allowed to meet her. Susan made with the haste and filed a bail plea for Anna, while Damien went to check if she was okay.

“Are you alright, Anna?” he asked with great concern.

“I’m fine, thank you” she replied, “But I’m being framed.”

She narrated the events that took place before she had reached the office that morning.

“So, they just need to verify your identity and where you were when some of her crimes were committed, right?” Damien asked.

“Precisely.”

“Alright, the cops have agreed to let you go home tonight.” Susan came in, “Just a little cross reference with the office and you’ll be free again.”

Officer Gibbs came in and said, “You’re free to go tonight, Miss Jameson. Officer Travis could drop you off, if you’d like.”

“No, thank you, Officer.” Anna smiled, “My friends will take me home.”

While driving back from the station, Damien took an unexpected turn to the right. Anna was a little surprised, but Susan seemed to know what was going on. The car stopped in front of a midnight café, where Damien hopped off with Susan and Anna.

“I thought we were going back to my place,” Anna asked quizzically.

“Well, we spent hours at the station,” Susan explained, “We haven’t had a bit since breakfast.”

“Better late than never, I say!” Damien said and made his way to the counter.

After two rounds of coffee and the entire batch of barbeque sandwiches, the trio decided to head home. Damien dropped the girls to their respective homes and went to the bar for a small drink. The girls, however, were too exhausted to think. Susan opened the door and switched on the light. She staggered back in shock at what she saw. A woman, who looked just like Anna, was sitting on the couch and drinking a cup of tea.

“You’re not Anna.” Susan breathed.

“What’s wrong?” Anna rushed to Susan’s side and saw Karol.

“You.” She said, with malice in her tone.

“Oh, my, my! You’ve only gotten ruder since we last met.” Karol chided.

“What do you want?” Susan demanded.

“I’m just here to give you a little present,” Karol stood up, “A token of thanks for taking the fall for me.”

Karol walked towards them and smiled. Susan gazed in absolute terror at what she saw on the couch.

“Before you ask, those are the crown jewels and yes, the cops will come for you.” Karol giggled, “I left your ID at the crime scene to add a little effect.”

“How could you…” Susan stammered.

“In addition, there’s a little murder that shall redden your ledger further.” Karol walked out, “Sleep tight.”

Susan and Anna didn’t spare a second and began loading the jewels into bags. Anna thought of calling Damien, but Susan said that there was no time. They took out the car and dumped the bags in, speeding off into the direction of the Central Police Station. They didn’t have a single moment to think of the consequences.

Susan came to a screeching halt at the entrance of the station. They took the bags and scrambled into the station and into the office of the Head Officer. Officer Hardy was shocked but judging from the look on their faces, it was urgent. Anna and Susan did their best to explain the situation through their huffs and coughs and Officer Hardy did his best to comprehend it all.

Once they had told their tale, he took off his glasses, pushed back his white hair with his large hand and sighed.

“How am I supposed to believe you if she looks just like you?” he asked.

“Would we be here, with the Crown Jewels, if we wanted to lie?” Anna asked.

“Besides, the cops at the other station can testify for her presence there while the theft happened.” Susan added.

“Alright, let’s see how far your story is true,” Officer Hardy replied, “Where does this woman stay?”

“We don’t know, sir.” Anna replied sheepishly.

Officer Hardy put on his glasses once again and made a call to Buckingham Palace, asking them to check on the Crown Jewels.

“If they really are missing,” he said, “I’ll believe you girls.”

A call came almost immediately, validating part of their story and surging panic through the entire station. Calls were made to airport security, Scotland Yard and even the Transport Police forces.

“We’ll find her and bring her in,” Officer Hardy assured them, “In the meantime, please stay here. Officer Daniel shall keep you company.”

“Of course, sir.” They replied and watched as the police station emptied itself in a mad frenzy.

With each passing hour Anna became more worried. “What if they don’t find Karol?” she asked Susan time and again.

“They will find her,” Susan assured her, “After all; Scotland Yard is on it too.”

Officer Daniel stood at the doorway, smoking his pipe and watching the sun rise. It had been hours since the Crown Jewels had been sent back to the palace and the Police Force was out to find Karol. The sound of blaring sirens shook the two of them out of their drowsy trance.

“I’m doomed.” Anna said miserably.

But to their surprised, in came Head Officer Hardy with Karol in cuffs. Anna let out a sigh of relief.

“We almost lost her,” Hardy told them, “She was at the airport when we spotted her and she gave us much trouble by trying to run away.”

They took the screaming Karol into another room for interrogation and both Anna and Susan were overjoyed. They embraced each other and laughed, relieved.

“Wait,” Anna let go of Susan, “Karol had said something about murder.”

Susan’s eyes widened and one of the bags with the Crown Jewels began beeping loud and fast.

“Run,” Susan shrieked.

And the bomb went off, blowing up the entire station.