Cougars

by Earl Sewell

  “What is this shit called?” Alex asked.

  Travis paused in thought for a moment as he thought of a name for his creation.

  “Cougars,” Travis finally declared.

  “Cougars?” Alex repeated.

  “Yeah,” Travis said as he started walking back to his car. “Oh, and Alex, be careful with that because it’s going to turn the woman into one frisky-ass cat.”

  “Well, all right then. Good looking out, man. I’ll let you know exactly what happens.”

  “How long are you going to be gone?” Travis asked.

  “I’m taking him to South America. I’ll be gone for at least a week.”

  “Cool. I’ll see you when you get back,” Travis said before he pulled off.

  Chapter 21

  Jasmine

  When Jasmine awoke late in the day on Saturday she had never felt so sick and yet so satisfied her entire life. She felt completely dehydrated; her vagina felt raw from the friction of fucking. Her stomach was in knots, she kept having hot flashes, her eyes were sensitive to light and she had a headache. But in spite of how she felt, her body had the nerve to be aching for more sex. She wanted to get another release, but she felt as if there was no more liquid in her body. She searched her bed for Travis but he wasn’t there.

  “Travis?” she tried to call him, but her throat was so dry that it hurt to speak. Jasmine massaged her temples and blinked her eyes rapidly to try and focus. She sat up in bed and the room began to spin. Jasmine immediately lay back down and closed her eyes. She curled up into a fetal position and went back to sleep.

  By the time nightfall had arrived, she awoke again. The room had finally stopped spinning and her headache was gone, but her stomach was still in knots. She sat upright and tried to swallow her saliva, but it was too difficult. Placing her feet on the floor, she stood up and walked directly to the bathroom and flipped on the light switch. But she immediately turned it off because it hurt her eyes. She turned on the faucet, removed a face towel from the cupboard and washed her face. She took a Dixie mouthwash cup and filled it with water. She sipped some water to moisten her mouth.

  “My God. My mouth feels like dry mud,” Jasmine said, finally able to speak. “Travis,” she called for him, but didn’t get a response. She walked out of the bathroom and called for him again.

  “Travis,” she called as loudly as she could. She made her way down the corridor to the kitchen. She saw Travis writing on a notepad. When he saw her, he quickly gathered up his work and zipped up the leather pouch that was near him.

  “What are you doing? Did you hear me calling you?” Jasmine complained.

  “No, I’m sorry I didn’t. How do you feel?” Travis asked as he helped her to sit down at the kitchen table.

  “Exhausted. I feel as if I can barely keep my head up.”

  “That’s because you were such a freak last night,” Travis joked.

  “My ass hurts, Travis. I’m never letting you do that to me again. I think you did it too hard and now my stomach is messed up. It feels like you’ve pushed something out of place.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Travis assured her.

  “No, I don’t think so. I think I’m going to make a doctor’s appointment. I woke up feeling really bad.”

  “No!” Travis yelled. The last thing he needed was for her to go to a doctor and get blood work done. “I mean. Give your body a chance to recover. I’m sure you’ll be fine. Besides, I’m going to take really good care of you.” Travis came up to her and kissed her on the forehead.

  “Travis. What happened last night? Why was it so different? Why was I suddenly squirting?”

  “You know that’s a phenomenon of nature. Some women can do it and others can’t. I’m glad that you can. It’s such a turn-on,” Travis said, stroking her long hair.

  “But it’s never happened before. Why now?” Jasmine searched her mind for the answers to her questions.

  “Who knows, maybe it’s just something that occurs.” Travis said whatever it took to throw her off and keep her confused.

  “How long was I asleep?” Jasmine asked.

  “All day,” Travis said.

  “Then why do I still feel so exhausted?”

  “Could it be because you fucked me all night?” Travis joked.

  “Whatever, Travis.” Jasmine didn’t find his humor to be all that funny. “Could you pour me a glass of water?” Travis filled a glass with some ice water and handed it to her.

  Jasmine gulped the water down. “Give me another one.” She drank nine glasses of water before her thirst was finally satisfied.

  “Listen, babe. I’m going to go into the bedroom and change the bedding. Then I want you to lie down and get some rest. I’ll come in and snuggle up with you later,” he said.

  “Yes, that sounds nice.” Jasmine stood up and shuffled back to her bedroom.

  Chapter 22

  Travis

  Travis didn’t have an ounce of remorse in his body for his involvement with putting toxins in Jasmine’s system. He truly believed that what he’d done was a necessary evil, which needed to be performed for the good of science. He knew the drug’s side effects, but he was confident that once the drug was out of her system, she’d be back to her old self.

  Just as Travis had planned, Jasmine recovered and was back at work by Tuesday of the following week. On her first day, he went to her office and stood in the doorway so he could undress her with his eyes as well as spy on her for any signs of complications.

  “Good morning,” Travis said while leaning against the door frame.

  “Hey, Travis.” Jasmine glanced up from her desk.

  “Are you feeling better?” he asked.

  “Better than I was after Friday night. My stomach is still a little off, but other than that, I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”

  “Good, I’m glad to hear it. You had me worried there for a minute,” Travis lied.

  “Well, thank you for your concern, but I’ll have to talk to you later. I have a meeting with Helen this morning.”

  “Is she going to reinstate the project by any chance?” Travis asked.

  “No, Travis. That project is dead in the water. I thought this issue was behind us.” Jasmine had grown annoyed with Travis’s fixation on that particular experiment.

  “So you have no idea why she shelved this project, right?” Travis couldn’t help it. He wanted her to come clean.

  “I don’t have time for this right now, Travis,” Jasmine said, picking up several folders from her desk. She headed toward him. “Don’t ask me about that project again. It’s not up for discussion.”

  Jasmine was stern and direct with him. She was starting to believe that Travis had a real mental issue that needed to be addressed.

  “Excuse me,” Jasmine said as she moved past Travis and walked down the hallway.

  “Fine, Jasmine. Have it your way. If you want to continue to play dumb about the shit, then you must be punished accordingly. I have something very special for you, my dear. You just wait and see,” Travis uttered as he lowered his eyes to slits. Misguided revenge and ambition filled his heart. He now believed that Jasmine was trying to play him for a fool.

  “I can see right through you, Jasmine. You’re trying to make me look incompetent so that I get fired. But that’s not going to happen and I’m going to make sure of it!”

  TRAVIS WAS NOW WALKING UP THE BLOCK toward his building. Off in the distance he could see flashes of lightning dancing across the sky. The winds suddenly picked up and carried with it the scent of an approaching thunderstorm. Travis quickened his pace as droplets of water began to fall. Just before he reached his building, a man wearing a black suit and dark sunglasses stepped out of a gold Rolls-Royce. Travis had never seen the man and his body language seemed aggressive. Travis’s instincts were telling him he needed to be on guard because something about his demeanor screamed assassin.

  Just as Travis reached his building, the assassin said, “Travis Adams, I need
you to come with me.” The man’s voice was heavy, authoritative, and antagonistic.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Travis sized-up the dude, determining if he could defend himself.

  “Step this way.” He directed Travis’s attention to the gold Rolls-Royce. Travis cautiously glanced in that direction, not wanting to fully take his eyes off of the guy.

  “Come on, Travis, what are you waiting for?” shouted Alex who’d just rolled down the rear window of the expensive luxury car.

  “Alex?”

  “Come take a ride with me, dawg,” Alex said, inviting Travis to join him.

  “Take a ride with you where?” Travis asked as he strolled over to the car.

  “Get in before it starts to rain.”

  Alex opened the car door. Travis ducked inside and got situated on the comfortable leather seats.

  “What’s going on, pimp?” Alex asked. His attitude was upbeat and energized.

  “What a nice car. I’ve never been in a Rolls-Royce before.” Travis was feeling as if he should own a fleet of automobiles of this caliber.

  “Dude, this is a 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe. This bitch here will hit you for half a million dollars. The ride is so smooth you feel like you’re floating on clouds.”

  “I see,” Travis said, running his hands on the soft leather. “So what’s this about, Alex?”

  “You, man. Whatever that shit was that you gave me is off the hook! I let Hatcher try some of it out on his girls and he can’t stop talking about Cougars. He wants to buy a shit load of those pills. I told him that I could hook you two up to talk some business. He’s excited about meeting you. I know he’s serious because he sent me over here to get you in this.” Alex spread his hands out to accentuate the luxury vehicle.

  “So he really liked the effects of Cougars, you say?” Travis asked, smirking with a twisted sense of pride and egotism.

  “I’m telling you, that shit had his girls doing all kinds of freakish shit. Hatcher has already been taking orders for it. Man, once that shit hits the streets—boom! People are going to lose their minds. At least that’s what Hatcher says.”

  “So where is he? I most certainly want to talk over some things with him.”

  “We’re on our way to see him now. Man, if this works out, it will go a long way in helping me clear my debt with him. So please, whatever you do, don’t fuck this up, man,” Alex said.

  “This isn’t about you, Alex. This is about my experiment and my need for more test subjects.”

  “Fuck the test subjects, man! I’m talking about the money we’re going to make from this. Cougars can become more popular than cocaine. Everyone likes to fuck, but not everyone does cocaine.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right. It’s about the money as well. Especially if I can make a profit from my super pill and live in the lap of luxury.”

  “See, now you’re talking. Now you’re starting to think right,” Alex said.

  They drove to a private airplane hangar and then boarded a small jet.

  “Alex, where are we going?” Travis asked as Alex sat in the pilot’s seat.

  “Relax. This aircraft is fully stocked. Check out the refrigerator back there. We’re going to take a quick ride down to Miami. I’ll have you back home around midnight,” Alex said as he taxied the aircraft out of the hangar and onto the runway.

  HATCHER’S HOME WAS GRAND. He lived in a gated community near the boat docks where several major cruise lines departed. Travis and Alex were escorted by a number of men who looked liked they wouldn’t hesitate to kill them and feed their remains to sharks. Admittedly, Travis was intimidated and nervous but somehow willed himself to continue on. He was without a doubt covering ground that was foreign to him, but at the same time it seemed surreal, fascinating, and exciting. Travis moved through a grand foyer and out of a set of glass doors. They walked through the yard and toward a dock where there was a white yacht with a helicopter resting on it. Once they boarded, they went into a well-appointed office where Hatcher was waiting on them.

  Hatcher was without a doubt a very clever and dangerous man, Travis sensed from the moment their eyes met. He was in his mid-fifties, well-built with black-and-gray curly hair. His moustache was pencil-thin and well-groomed. He was dressed in an expensive-looking white suit and had several expensive rings on his fingers. Hatcher looked of Spanish descent and not Irish like his last name McKean suggested. It was then that Travis realized that Hatcher was probably one of many aliases.

  “Fellas, I’m so happy you could make it,” Hatcher said with a slight Spanish accent. “Please have a seat. We’re all friends here.” Hatcher’s eyelids sloped downward as if he’d spent unimaginable time under the blazing hot sun. Both Travis and Alex sat down.

  “I’m so glad you’re here, Travis.”

  Travis cleared his throat, then swallowed hard. Then in his most confident voice, he said, “I’m happy to be here, too.”

  “Alex has told me many things about you. He says you’re like a brother to him. That’s a good thing because I like Alex and I trust him. If he says you’re like a brother to him, then I know that I don’t need to bullshit around. Am I right?”

  “Of course you don’t have to bullshit. This is Travis. He’s cool,” Alex answered with a nervous and shaky voice. Travis had never seen or heard this particular side of his friend’s personality.

  “Excellent. Then let me get right to the point. I like to have my way and I always get what I want. Mr. Adams, the moment you stepped into my Rolls-Royce we became business partners. So if you have any business dealings with anyone else in the under- world, speak up so that I can blow your head off right now.”

  “No. Travis is clean. He doesn’t—”

  “Alex!” Hatcher shot daggers with his eyes. “I was not talking to you.”

  Alex tucked his tail between his legs and remained silent.

  Travis repositioned himself in his seat. He sat up straight and answered, “No, I don’t know anyone in your line of work.”

  “I like you already. You answered the question directly and didn’t give me a bunch of bullshit.”

  “I don’t believe in bullshit,” Travis responded, allowing the vile and monstrous side of his nature to come into full bloom.

  “You have a product that is very unique and special. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world. It is something that we can make a lot of money with. You do want to make a lot of money, don’t you, Mr. Adams?”

  At that moment Travis sold what remained of his integrity and his soul to an agent of the devil.

  “I want money and respect for my work,” Travis said boldly.

  “This is good. I like a man who takes pride in his work. Look at me. Look around inside a small corner of my empire. In this world I am a king with wealth and riches at my feet. I have people who respect me, fear me, and admire me. In many ways, to many people, I am a prophet.”

  “So do you want to talk business or do you want to talk religion. You don’t have to explain your power or importance. I already know that.”

  Hatcher leaned back in his seat, and placed his index finger to his temple. He glared at Travis for a long moment and Travis unyieldingly glared back.

  “Check him,” he said to one of his aides who stepped over and frisked Travis.

  “He’s clean,” answered his henchman.

  “You know from your profession that the drug trade is a billion- dollar business that has two sides: the legitimate side and the dark side; one cannot exist without the other. Pharmaceutical companies spend millions of dollars each year on research in hopes of finding new medicines that will make them a large profit. Those big companies don’t want to find a cure for diseases; they only want to relieve the symptoms. This keeps their customers coming back time and time again. In my business I don’t give a damn about giving people false hope for miracle cures. I give them what they want. I give them the ability to escape from their reality and misery. And you, my friend, have created something that e
veryone will want.”

  “If someone overdoses on it, they will die,” Travis said.

  “So fucking what! You can die taking prescription medicine just as easily as you can illegal drugs. In the end, we all die.” Hatcher let his words linger in the air.

  “You will make Cougars for me and only me. I will distribute it around the world and together we’ll introduce something more powerful than cocaine or heroin.”

  Hatcher snapped his fingers. One of the henchmen placed a large briefcase on Alex’s lap. “I’m going to assign some people to you and Alex. I want you to make me one-hundred-thousand pills. There is a lot of money in that briefcase. It should be enough to get the job done. And Travis, don’t stop working your day job just yet. I have something I want you to do for me.” Hatcher popped his fingers again and another person brought in a bottle of wine and glasses. “Let us drink to our arrangement,” Hatcher said. All three men held up their glasses and toasted to the moment.

  Chapter 23

  Jasmine

  Jasmine stood in the bathroom mirror putting the finishing touches on her makeup. She was waiting on her sister, Lauren, to come pick her up because they decided it was time for a girls’ night out. They were heading to a nightclub for an evening of fun, laughter, and anything else that came their way. Jasmine had decided to wear her sexy blue jeans, which accentuated her behind and long legs. She also had a pair of favorite gladiator high-heeled shoes and a low-cut top. Once she was finished with her makeup, she squirted on some of her most seductive perfume. She then walked into her bedroom and selected a small purse to carry. As she exited her bedroom and descended the staircase, her doorbell chimed.

  “Hey babe,” Jasmine said as she greeted her sister wearing a blue jean miniskirt with a green top and strapless heels. Jasmine looked her sister over and gave her approval.

  “You’re showing off all of your big, sexy legs,” Jasmine said.

  “You’re damn right, I am. I am too damn sexy to just sit around the house being grumpy. Are you ready?” Lauren asked.