The Intangibles

by Alexander Astremsky

  The video ended and Max shot another angry look at Eddie. “You’re such an asshole,” was all he could say.

  Eddie snapped. “Blame yourself!” he squealed. “You didn’t warn me!”

  “You’re just an idiot.” Max could hardly stop himself from killing that loser.

  “Okay, guys, no need to argue. Calm down.” Stinger raised his arms like an umpire. “You will get your time to squabble, but not now. Our work isn’t finished yet.”

  Another video started and Eddie’s voice emitted from the speaker. “Okay, I’ll tell you what happened there with Leeza.”

  Max was petrified. He paused the video with a chilled finger and returned the tablet. He tried not to look at Athena, who was curious about what was going on in the video.

  Stinger chuckled, took the tablet, and gave it back to Linda. “So, Eddie has let us in on your secrets, Max. He told us about your invention and even tried to help me turn on your… Switch. That’s what you call it, right?”

  Max remained silent. Now his palms chilled too.

  Stinger looked at him closely and, having received no answer, continued. “We have this on video too. And we can show you, if you want. But I think you believe us, don’t you?”

  Max didn’t say a word.

  “Hmm… And actually, we wouldn’t have bothered you tonight, had your obliging assistant not screwed up along the way. Can you imagine? He got your device locked up with his negligence and said that it’s kind of complicatedly protected against unauthorized access. And supposedly, no one but you is capable of unlocking the device. Is that true?” Stinger put on a theatrically upset face. “And now I would like to kindly beg you, Max, to unlock it. That’s all. Ah, by the way, I almost forgot. You also need to show us how to use this device and impart all the guidelines to us in case we forget. Now, that is all.”

  The room filled with tension.

  “Did I make myself clear?” asked Stinger.

  “That’s not possible,” said Max. “The device is in its testing phase and it is a long way from being complete.”

  Stinger approached Max and extended his hand with the Switch on the wrist. In the other hand flashed the file.

  “I don’t really want to repeat myself. I have a feeling that you are quite a sensible person.”

  Max shuddered. He hesitantly put his finger to the screen of the Switch. Under normal circumstances, this would turn it on, but not now. Exactly as it should. Eddie had activated the lock when he touched the screen.

  “It is locked for twenty-four hours—the security system was activated.” Max glanced at Eddie with disapproval. “This system recognizes the owner by fingerprints. Now I can turn it on in no less than twenty-four hours.”

  “Hey, listen to me, you brainiac!” Stinger said through his teeth. “You unlock it now or my people will come here, and they can hurt you a lot. And her, for that matter.” Stinger glanced at Athena. “I don’t think she’d like it.”

  Max was breathing deeply, trying to cool his mind. He collected himself at last and now he was able to figure out what to do next.

  “Listen, I really cannot do anything now. In fact, if I keep trying, it might simply turn off for good. So, I suggest that we wait for twenty-four hours and then I unlock it and show you how to use it.”

  Stinger scrutinized Max’s face, trying to see if he was bluffing, and suddenly burst into laughter. “Do you really think I’m an idiot?”

  “No, I’m giving you the only possible solution to the problem. There are no other options.”

  Stinger went silent. His eyes were burning with hellfire. Slowly, he moved in on Max. “Is that so?”

  He made a lightning-fast motion with his hand. Max screamed in pain, gripped his thigh, and bent over.

  “Shit!”

  Athena jumped out of the armchair and rushed to him. “Max!”

  “My leg…” groaned Max.

  “Nope, not your leg. Your entire body, rather,” Stinger displayed his file. There was a very thin needle at its point.

  Linda remained where she was; Eddie was swaying back and forth in the armchair and staring into one point in space.

  “My gorgeous, multi-purpose tool,” Stinger kept talking. “Of my own invention. Yes, that’s right, I’m an inventor, too!” With these words, he shot a glance full of pride at Max and laughed. “And my invention is now doing its job.” He pressed something on the file and the blade disappeared, together with the needle, into a fine handle. “Now, inventor, at this moment your body is flooding with a strong poison with a long-lasting action. Its name is complicated and I’m not going to mention it. I am just going to say that this action is neuroparalytic and it will start working in about twenty-four hours. You will slowly lose control of your body. It will become more and more unresponsive and eventually paralyzed.”

  Athena screamed and Max grew chilled as he looked at Stinger.

  “But all is not that bad, my friends,” Stinger said with false cheer. “You don’t think I’m a merciless murderer, do you? No, of course not. I’m not just your executioner, I’m your savior, too.” He raised his tool, which now looked like a simple knife handle. “Here, inside, there’s a vial of the antidote.” He removed the upper part of the handle and took out a small vial of colorless liquid. “So, if we meet again in twenty-four hours and you give me what I want, I will inject this life-saving liquid. And if we don’t… your heart will stop in a couple of days. Heart attack. Now a lot of young men die of heart attacks. Bad ecology, bad lifestyle, you know… So, now I’m your god, and thus attend my commandment: do not try me!”

  He carefully put the vial back and closed the lid, and the thing disappeared into his pocket like a prop in the sleeve of a stage magician.

  His precise and indifferent motions made Max feel uneasy.

  “I got it. I’ll do what you want.” He squeezed the words through his teeth.

  “So, it’s a deal then.” Stinger grinned in satisfaction. “Now, we gotta go. We’ve bothered you enough, haven’t we?” His last question was addressed to Linda.

  She nodded, picked the tablet up from the table, and made for the exit.

  “Same time tomorrow, I’ll wait for your visit, loves. Your assistant will stay with us for now. And, one more thing.” Stinger turned back, “I want you to know that for me it’s really easy to visit your girlfriend… Athena… and inject the same stuff.”

  “It won’t be necessary,” whispered Max.

  “It is, if something goes wrong,” said Stinger, and left the room.

  Eddie slowly stood up and unsteadily, as if he were ill, wobbled toward the door. Max stared at his back balefully.

  Once the visitors had left, Max turned to Athena and grasped her shoulders. “I’m going after them.”

  “No, Max, don’t! It’s dangerous, please!”

  “Don’t worry, darling, I won’t be long. I need to find out where they’re heading. They won’t even know I’m there.” Max was panting. “It’s time to go.”

  He left, and in a minute came back with a bracelet on his wrist.

  Athena was still standing in the middle of the room in total dismay. Max gave her a hug.

  In a New York second, she was alone in the house.

  CHAPTER 7

  The Intangible Stranger

  After an hour, Max still hadn’t come back. Athena wrapped herself in a comforter and sat back in the armchair. Time dragged on and on.

  Suddenly, a rustling sound came from behind her. Athena turned around and saw Max. He was standing in the center of the room and doing something with the Switch.

  “How did it go?” she asked.

  “It’s okay, darling.”

  She walked up to him and put her hands on his shoulders.

  “Let’s go down to the lab, I have to show you something,” said Max.

  “Show me what?”

  “Let’s go!” He took her hand and led her to the closet right behind the kitchen.

  Along the walls of the confined
room were shelves with boxes, jars, and various utensils. Max moved the boxes on one of the shelves and pressed something on the wall behind them. The closet floor began to slide apart, opening the way down to the basement.

  “Does Eddie know about this?” asked Athena with alarm in her voice.

  “Fortunately, he does not,” said Max as he went downstairs.

  Athena followed.

  The lab was brilliantly equipped and spotlessly clean. Fluorescent tubes brightly lit the room. In the center stood a table full of equipment, and along the walls sat shelves with glass doors.

  Max walked up to the table, took a bracelet that was lying on it, and turned to Athena. He touched his wrist and disappeared. In two seconds, he reappeared a few inches before her. She started in surprise.

  “Damn! I can’t get used to your tricks.”

  “Now you.” Max offered her the gadget.

  “No, Max.” Athena drew back. “You know that I can’t.”

  “I do. Look, I need your help now. Those people got what they should not have gotten. I have a plan, but I can’t do it alone.”

  “Max!”

  “Darling,” he interrupted her, “I will set the timer for five seconds only. You won’t even notice it. You’ve seen me do this so many times. Please, don’t be afraid. Trust me. Okay?”

  Athena hesitated a few seconds and then nodded, yes.

  With a smile, Max took her hand and put the bracelet on her wrist.

  “What if I don’t reappear?”

  “Trust me, you’re too valuable for me to risk that. In the last two weeks, I got the materialization fully under control. To the last detail. Just touch here”—Max pointed at the gadget—“Only five seconds, just touch it and try…”

  Athena waited a little, collected herself, and touched the screen as Max had instructed her. That very instant, she disappeared. Her silk robe fell to the floor around her slippers, followed with a clunk by her hair clasp.

  “Damn it!” shouted Max.

  Athena re-appeared in five seconds, totally naked, with messy hair and with the bracelet on her wrist. She didn’t even try to cover her assets. She only furrowed her eyebrows in anger.

  “Is this your ‘under control?’ ‘To the last detail?’”

  “You’re gorgeous in this bracelet!” Max chortled. “Now I see that everything else was redundant.” He burst into laughter.

  She couldn’t restrain herself and laughed too as she picked her silk robe back up and put it on.

  “So how was it? Nothing to fear?”

  “Really bizarre! It felt like I jumped and took off flying. Amazing!”

  “What did I tell you?”

  Athena smiled as she tied up her belt. “Look, can it be done without your pranks? I mean the clothes.”

  “Darling, I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you. I swear. Look here”—he showed her the sensor on the side of the gadget. “You need to push it to activate. The Switch emits a wave that affects any object. In short, you irradiate it with the wave, your clothes in this case, before dematerialization, and voilà, your clothes will also dematerialize. Got it? I just forgot to tell you. Sorry.”

  “I see.” Athena inspected the sensor panel of the bracelet with curiosity.

  “That’s not all,” Max continued. “There’s something else that we’ll need. Wait.”

  He approached one of the drawers and took out a pair of glasses, seemingly normal, though with bluish lenses. “My last project. This will add to your certainty.”

  With these words, he disappeared. Athena fiddled with the glasses and put them on. Now she saw the lab in shades of blue. But more importantly, she saw Max’s shape. He stood right there in front of her, looking like an iridescent hologram. She took off the glasses and all went back to normal. But no Max. She put them back on, and bluish, iridescent Max appeared again.

  “Holy shit!” shouted Athena.

  Suddenly, behind his back swooshed a shadow and then, right from the wall, walked a tall man in a long cloak. Through the glasses, the man was bluish too, just like Max.

  Athena’s face contorted with fear, and she screamed.

  She yanked the glasses off and drew back. Max materialized right away and rushed to her.

  “What’s wrong? Did I scare you?”

  “Max! There is… behind you…”

  He looked back.

  “Someone was there, Max! Put them on!” She handed him the glasses. “There’s a man! He was watching us. Max, I’m scared!”

  Max immediately put on the glasses but didn’t see anyone.

  “Who was it? My father?” Max grabbed Athena by the shoulders.

  “A man was there! He walked right from the wall,” Athena whispered, aghast. “He looked at me! I didn’t have a chance to see him closely… He was…”

  “But you’ve seen my father in pictures! Was that him?”

  Max clenched Athena’s shoulders and started to shake her, but then he snapped out of it and let her go. He fetched a phone from his pocket, swiped a few pictures, and stabbed the screen with his finger.

  “Was it him? It could only be him!”

  Athena looked with confusion at the picture of a smiling man. “I don’t know… Your father was not tall and this one was… No, that’s not him.” She returned the phone and whispered, “Please don’t go. Don’t disappear again! Please!”

  * * *

  When they fell asleep, it was very late. Max kept waking up; he could not relax and he was anxious, even in his sleep. Eventually, at six o’clock, he woke up completely. He was a little dizzy and could hardly get up.

  Athena woke as well from the rustling sound: Max was sitting on the bed and rubbing his temples.

  “Good morning, honey. How are you?” she asked him languidly.

  “I feel kind of dizzy… couldn’t sleep.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “I’ll make us breakfast.”

  Athena got up, put on her silk robe, and walked out. Max remained sitting for a little while. The dizziness was gone, but his body was still lax.

  A cold shower livened him up a bit, and he came down to the kitchen. Athena had already made coffee.

  Max reached out to hug her. Her warmth gave him some strength. He kissed her on the cheek and sat at the table. The first gulp of morning coffee awakened him even more.

  “Darling, I have to go to their place again,” he said, holding the cup.

  “Why?”

  “I need to find out as much about them as possible. I’ll listen to their conversation and find out where he keeps his file… I need to steal the vial.”

  “You wanna steal it? But how?”

  “I will enter their house while intangible and stalk him, until he leaves it somewhere. And then I’ll take it.”

  Max looked resolute, but Athena was still anxious. This morning, the previous night’s events had seemed somewhat unreal, and she didn’t really want to believe that there was something wrong with Max.

  “Okay, then I’m going with you.”

  He sipped his coffee and shook his head. “Not now. I’ll go alone. I don’t want to take the risk…”

  Suddenly, his hand that was holding the cup trembled. He tried to tense the muscles but couldn’t. The cup slipped from his slackened fingers and smashed on the table. Coffee spilled on the tablecloth, creating a growing blot.

  “I think it’s starting,” he said slowly.

  “I’m going with you,” insisted Athena. “You shouldn’t be alone now.”

  Max didn’t say anything. He was rubbing his numb hand. “Perhaps you’re right.”

  * * *

  Half an hour later, they were in the car. Athena was driving and Max was sitting in the back seat and tweaking the gadget. Athena glanced at him now and then through the mirror to make sure he was all right.

  They arrived quickly.

  “Pull over,” said Max.

  Athena killed the engine. They had to walk a couple of b
locks to Stinger’s house. Max didn’t want them to be noticed.

  “Sit here; don’t go out.”

  She nodded. He smiled cheerfully, kissed her on the cheek and activated the Switch. An instant later, Athena was alone in the car. Max disappeared and she still felt his kiss.

  She put on the glasses and looked outside. Max was walking away quickly, or rather his bluish outline was. Athena moved the glasses up and there was nobody on the sidewalk; the street was empty. She put them back on and saw Max again. It was very bizarre to watch him this way.

  He was far away when the bluish silhouette of a man appeared in front of her. It was the same visitor that she’d seen yesterday, the one who had scared her in the lab.

  Athena shrank into the car seat and yanked the glasses off. They hit the steering wheel and almost cracked when she shoved them onto the seat. Petrified, she tried to open the door, but failed. Her heart started pumping madly.

  Eventually, the door opened. Athena got out and leaned against the hood. She took a deep breath and looked around. There was nobody near the car.

  CHAPTER 8

  The Range

  Max closed in on the house. He’d moved while in the intangible state many times and had gotten accustomed to going through doors and walls. Yet still, he sometimes hesitated a little before barriers. This time he moved assertively forward, but his anxiety grew with every second and it was much harder to cope with it. For a brief moment, he halted in front of the large entrance door, and then took another step.

  His intangible body moved through the door. He found himself in a spacious hall.

  A large painting that occupied half of the wall in one of the rooms to the side of the foyer caught Max’s eye. A strong gale at sunset, sanguineous waves, and a sinking ship with screaming people on it. The painting oozed horror and despair. Max looked around. The painting fit the overall style well. There were a lot of antique knick-knacks: statuettes, vases, chandeliers. The objects combined the charm of antiquity and modern high class.