“As if all of that is supposed to make any sense to me. If they are cats why are they always called tigers?”
“The word tiger conjures up a stronger vision of a fierce animal. That and the fact that it flows nicer off the tongue, I would guess.”
“Whatever. Do we have a chance of getting out of here alive or not?”
I think about that for a few seconds.
“Don’t lie to me. I want to know exactly what we’re in for.”
“I don’t know. That’s the best answer I can give.”
She gets up, knocks on Aileen’s door and goes in. In her place sits her plate. There’s a piece of meat remaining. I eat it and move the plate to the coffee table. The man who cheated and then lost his girlfriend in the restaurant is sitting at a desk staring off in the distance while another man talks to him. The distance into which he stares is actually a photo on the wall of the woman and him together on a beach. The voice of the other man fades into music and the credits begin rolling over the photo.
What a lousy ending. She could have told him to go see a counselor? She didn’t give him a chance.
Aileen and Tanya come out. Aileen sits next to me. It’s a big sofa and there’s room for Tanya to sit on my other side. Instead she looks down at us. Aileen slides over and I scoot the other way. Tanya sits between us. “Alright. Here was my question. Do we have a chance of getting out of here alive? Zach doesn’t want to commit one way or another. What do you think, Aileen?”
“Do you mean do they have intentions of killing us? I don’t know.”
“Do you think McCully was murdered?”
“I didn’t until Zach said he was. He was convincing. Now I don’t know. It all seems too excessive. Why would Victor want to kill anyone, even if they disagreed with human cloning? He’d pay them off and release them from employment. He’s dedicated his life to making things better for people. Granted, he’s an eccentric. But I don’t think he’s a murderer. However, I’ve found that Zach has very good instincts about things. He thought Victor murdered Peter over jealousy.”
“Really?”
Aileen doesn’t know I’ve already told Tanya this.
“From out of nowhere he figured out that Peter and I had been having an affair and that Victor and I had an affair at one time.”
“You certainly bounce around, don’t you?”
I shrink into the seat cushion.
“God! Just let me tell it.”
“I’m not stopping you.”
Aileen blows out air. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been with Victor but he still claims ownership over me.”
“Did Zach reveal this to you before or after you two did your thing?”
A deep sigh. “Before.”
“So knowing that Victor likes to kill men you sleep with, you jumped my husband’s bones anyway.”
“God!” She jumps up and starts to storm away, but after only several paces stops and sways. Without thinking I jump up and grasp her arm. She steadies and her eyes clear. “I’m fine!” She jerks her arm away. “Just got dizzy for a second.” She walks into her bedroom.
When the door closes a bit harder than it should I turn to Tanya. “That went well, don’t you think?”
“Go to hell!” She picks up the plate and goes into the kitchen.
When her bedroom door closes a few seconds later I turn off the television, go lie on my bed and listen to the silence.
Chapter 26
I’m running along a path, frantic. There’s something pursuing me. I look back. I cannot see it or hear it, but there’re shadows that I’m sure are part of it and the shadows dance in the trees. I try to run faster but the path is narrowing, getting thick with roots and vines that I have to jump over or weave around. And then there’s a very small clearing. Tanya and Aileen are there. Aileen is wearing a see-through night gown. Tanya is wearing a worn-out, shabby bathrobe. There’s a rock wall behind them and no exit.
They have something in their hands, something that glints in the light from the moon. The shadows are coming closer, almost upon me. I try to warn the women that something is about to attack us and then I see that they are each holding one of Victor Vandermill’s steel jaws. They have them mounted on their hands and are raising them toward me, at me. The jaws open and close; the long, razor sharp sabre teeth slice through the air with a frightful hiss. The shadows engulf me and I drop to my knees. “NO!” The sabre teeth close around my throat. I shake with fear and weep like a baby.
I awake.
I’m covered in sweat and my heart is racing. I roll onto my back and wait for the dream to fade. Did I scream out loud? Did anyone hear me?
I sit on the edge of the bed and wait for my pulse to slow. My mouth is dry and it feels as though a hurricane went through my hair. I go into the bathroom, drench my head and then towel dry as I walk into the kitchen to find my comb among the things Ulla brought me. I drag that through my hair until it feels somewhat in place and then poke my face into the refrigerator. There’s no beer–only fruit juice, bottled water and something that looks suspiciously like a urine sample. How long has it been since anyone has lived here? I pick the water.
I sit in front of the television staring at my reflection in the gray screen until the water bottle is empty. And then for some reason the door to the apartment grabs my attention.
Is it locked?
Of course it’s locked. Why would it not be locked? There’s probably a guard sitting in a chair just outside as well.
I carry the bottle to the counter and stare at the door. At this point I know I have to check it. It’s kind of like, “Don’t think of a pink elephant.” Until I check if the door is locked I’ll not be able to get it out of my mind.
I walk up to it and turn the knob. It opens. I look out. The hall is empty. Only the edge of the desk where the guard sits is visible. I close the door and return to the sofa. I don’t understand. Why would they leave it unlocked? Or did Ulla do it accidentally or maybe purposely?
I look at my watch. It’s 8:37. I slept a long time. My stomach growls and I wonder if the women are asleep. We need to talk. I go make a sandwich, grab another bottle of water and then sit and eat at the counter. The water doesn’t taste nearly as good anymore. I put it back in the refrigerator and take a bottle of juice, not the one that looks like urine. The sweetness tastes good with the sandwich.
When I finish the sandwich, I screw up the courage and go knock on Tanya’s door.
No answer.
I turn the knob expecting it to be locked. It’s not. The lights are off but there’s light streaming in from the bathroom. Tanya is lying on the bed. “Are you awake?” I whisper. There’s no answer. I back out and close the door.
The sandwich, water and juice did little to alleviate the feeling of something dying in my mouth while I slept. I pick up my toothbrush and toothpaste, notice that the women’s things that Ulla brought are gone, and then go into my bedroom. I can still feel and smell the dried sweat layered on my body and I don’t think that I’m thinking clearly. A hot shower would feel good and then I could wake the women and we could try and have a civilized talk about the meaning of the door being unlocked and if there is a way out of here. I strip out of my clothes, walk over and open the bathroom door. I am halfway in before I realize Aileen is in there wearing nothing but the towel she is using to dry her hair, which is more than I’m wearing. She doesn’t see me as the towel is currently covering her face. I turn to back out quietly when I my bedroom door opens.
He who hesitates, loses. But that occurs to me much too late.
Tanya’s eyes meet mine and then go past me. I look in the bathroom and just as I do Aileen flips the towel up and over to the back of her head. Her mouth drops open.
I close the door.
“Ah . . . it’s not what it looks like.”
Tanya says nothing, but the muscles in her jaw tighten.
“I didn’t know she was in there. I was just going to shower.”
�
�Sure!” She hisses between clenched teeth, backs up and slams the door, leaving me standing in my nakedness.
Chapter 27
. . . a social structure well advanced beyond any feline, or four-legged mammal for that matter, especially in hunting.
–from the journals of Zechariah Price
I am sitting on the sofa watching a basketball game when Tanya steps out of her bedroom. I can feel her glaring at me; I ignore her. She walks into the kitchen and I try to follow the progress of the game even though I have no idea who’s playing. I turn up the volume to mask her sounds. The commentator is screaming, the action is fast, the crowd is wild and the noise is giving me a headache. I don’t care. I deserve the punishment. A cupboard door slams. I punch the up arrow on the remote some more.
“And from the three-point line . . . but NO! He doesn’t make it. Carter gets the rebound, tries to go in, but he’s doubled up. He passes it to Kresggie who is in the air. He shoots and misses but comes down hard on number eighteen . . . Traner. There’s a scramble for the ball as it goes out of bounds. Kresggie and Traner are still on the floor and it looks like they’re both . . .”
Tanya suddenly shuts off the television and stands in front of it. “Do you mind?”
“Yes, I do! I was watching that!” I point the remote but she’s in the way.
“The hell you were!” she screams. “You don’t even like basketball.”
I stand up in an attempt to reach around her with the remote. “I do now!”
She moves away and the television comes on. I don’t know where she goes and I don’t care. I sit back down. The two players are still on the floor; Kresggie is sitting up. There’s a stretcher. I may not like basketball but I’m interested in what happened. Is Traner unconscious or is something broken? Three paramedics are working on him.
“Let’s take a look at that again.” The commentator’s voice is still blasting. The replay begins in slow motion and then stops. “Right here you’ll see where Kresggie’s elbow strikes Traner right in the Adam’s apple. That’s not enough, however.” The tape starts again. “Watch as Traner’s head hits the floor and Kresggie lands on top of him. If he remained conscious, that has got to hurt.” The screen returns to live action. It looks like the paramedics are inserting a tracheal tube. “We just got word from the bench that Traner has . . .”
The television goes off again. Tanya has the power plug in one hand and a huge knife in the other. She is trying to cut it off. I jump and start toward her.
“Don’t even think about it,” she snarls and points the knife at me.
I stop and she returns to cutting off the plug.
She’s so beautiful when she’s angry, I think. She finishes her task, tosses the plug at me—I catch it—and goes into the kitchen. Aileen is standing outside her door, her mouth slack. The knife drops noisily into a drawer.
Tanya comes back. “I don’t give a shit what the fuck you two were planning on doing.” She holds up a hand. “No! I take that back. Actually I do give a fuck but right now I have another priority. I want to get out of here, alive. I want to get back to my children. What in the hell was I thinking to come here to begin with?”
“Mrs. Price.” Aileen’s voice is very controlled.
“You don’t need to call me Mrs. Price, Aileen dear.” Tanya’s voice is suddenly under equal control. “There’s no reason we can’t be on a first name basis. After all, we’re both fucking the same guy!” The last five words rise in volume until she screams the word, guy.
Aileen struggles to remain cool. “Mrs. Price. You’re right. We have more important issues right now, however I think before we can go on, before we can sit down and discuss any action we as a three-person unit should take, we need to get past this. Let me tell you to your face that what you saw in there was not what you think you saw. I take a lot of blame because I failed to lock the other bathroom door when I went in to shower. I do not live where I normally share a bathroom so that never occurred to me. Also, I did not realize he had taken the adjoining bedroom. I would have assumed he would have taken the one adjoining you. He’s a man after all. Men don’t always think. He probably didn’t even realize there was a shared bathroom.”
I shake my head vigorously.
“The timing was unfortunate for you . . . for all of us. Under any other circumstance it would be funny. Nothing happened. Nothing was going to happen. I wouldn’t have allowed it and I am sure Zach would not have either.”
Again I shake my head. Tanya says nothing.
Aileen continues. “You’ve been terribly wronged, but only once. If I have to get down on my knees and beg your forgiveness, I will.”
Tanya still says nothing.
Aileen looks at me. Her aura is calling for me to join her. No way. I’m not moving. She starts walking toward Tanya. When she’s five feet away she stops. They stand eye-to-eye for a time and then Aileen drops to her knees.
“No!” Tanya says. She backs up. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Aileen says up to her.
“You’re right about that. But I’m a woman. I’m always sorry for something. You should understand that.”
“Yes.” Aileen stands up and looks at me. “I certainly do understand that. Can we talk about what we’re going to do about our circumstance now?”
Is she asking me or both of us? I start to open my mouth but realize my jaws have been clamped tight. “Ah,” is all that comes out.
“Just one more thing,” Tanya says.
Aileen looks back at her.
“I would like an apology from him. It won’t fix it, but for right now I might be able to function again.” Tanya starts walking toward me and Aileen steps out of the way.
“I’m sorry.” It barely escapes my dry mouth.
“That’s not enough. I want you on your knees just like she was willing to do. Give me just a small piece of justice.”
“But . . .”
“But, hell! If you want me to consider not seeing a lawyer when we’re out of here you’d better start groveling now.”
Humiliate yourself. It’s better than the knife and the knife’s not far away. With one hand on the edge of the sofa I ease down to my knees and look at the floor. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. Now go find some decent music. We need some noise in here.”
With a sigh of relief I rise to my feet and go analyze the stereo system. I get it on and then look at the array of tapes and CDs. Some are American titles I recognize but many are Spanish or Mexican or whatever. I pick one hoping for Latin and upbeat. We need upbeat right now. I need something to take the shakes out of my legs, something that will maybe realign my neurons or whatever it is in my body that feels totally out of kilter. When I turn around the women are sitting on the sofa. Aileen is on Tanya’s left. Praising myself for choosing correctly, I sit on Tanya’s right.
I clear my throat. “The door is unlocked.”
Aileen leans forward to look around Tanya. “What?”
“The door,” I point to it, “is unlocked. I looked out and there’s no guard.”
“Oh!”
“What does that mean?” Tanya says.
“I don’t know.” Aileen leans back.
“Can we just walk out?”
“There’s a guard at the desk.”
“What about the other direction?” I lean forward. “How do the ladies get from floor to floor?”
“They have their own elevator but there’s no way out from their areas except down here and past the guard.”
“That’s their only way out? What about in an emergency? They’d be trapped.”
“There’s an emergency exit on each floor that leads out onto the area adjacent to them. From there they can get outside into the inner perimeter. Those emergency exits are alarmed.”
I sit back and we think for a time.
I have an idea. “What happens if one of the alarms is set off, let’s say about two o’clock in the morning? Is it a s
ilent alarm?”
“Yes. It’s audible and visual only at the guard stations. There are only two guards on duty at that time. The regular one goes to the door that generated the alarm. The one down here goes up to the main floor and stands by.”
“Hm. If that happens is there a way we can get out of here?”
“Maybe. But if we get out of the building, then what?”
“What if we get caught?” Tanya asks.
“Can’t be any worse than what we have now,” I say.
“How do we know that? They could decide to kill us.”
I look at Tanya. “I thought you wanted to do something.”
“I’m having second thoughts I guess. If we wait it out until Victor and Lance arrive what do you think will happen?”
Aileen says, “I don’t know. We don’t even know for sure that crimes have been committed, or exactly why we’re down here.”
I lean forward and look around Tanya again. “Crimes have been committed. We just don’t know if it’s murder. Smuggling in Mexicans, giving them false citizenship, making up false documents and medical records, not paying taxes. If word got out the FBI and the IRS would be having a joint convention here.”
“Do you think that’s what they’re afraid of?”
“They have to be.” I think for a moment. “There’s at least one more elevator–the one that goes to the vault where Smilodon is kept. It also opens onto this area. Where is that?”
Aileen leans forward again. “It opens into the other lab.”
“The baby lab?”
“If that’s what you want to call it, yes.”
“How far up does it go?”
“All the way, but not to the roof. I guess you could call it the staff elevator, although I haven’t used it in ages. The main elevator is really for clients and access to the helo pad. And of course there is the elevator for the ladies.”
“Staff. Do you mean that the nurses use that elevator, as well as the others . . . ah, Victor, Lance, whoever?”
“Yes.”
“Then there’s another way from one side of the building to the other. That’s a two-sided elevator, meaning you can exit on either side, depending on which door opens.”
Sabre-Toothed Cat Trilogy Page 23