Catnip (27 page)

A crafty look came into Nurmelev’s eyes. “In
fact, you are even more intelligent. You carried on your father’s
research, and yes, we hacked into your computer as well. You also
didn’t know, but I must tell you, without your notes we wouldn’t
have been able to accomplish what we have accomplished. All of it
was done in a very short time with a minimum of pain and a maximum
of success.” He inclined his head ever so slightly. “You have my
respect.”

There was no minimum of pain here, not as far
as the previous victims had experienced. This scheme was nothing
short of monstrous, and Harry felt like choking the life out of
this thing called a scientist. Everything his father had done and
everything
he’d
done, every trial and experiment and note
and scrap of information had been stolen and perverted by this
psycho and his gang of ghouls.

There was no way he’d ever help this nutball
out, no way in hell! Yet, what could he do? He had no way of
contacting the authorities, and the door was impenetrable. The only
way out was controlled by the scientist’s computer and good luck
getting the code word from him.

Feelings of guilt overwhelmed him. He’d been
a part of it and cursed himself for ever having thought up the idea
and felt responsible, for in part he had been responsible for
creating both Ivan as well as his girlfriend. And the bear creature
had in turn been responsible for the attack on the lab in New York
as well as Agent Farrell’s injury and the death of a number of
agents and civilians. Added into the mix were Doug and the hunter.
So much death and he’d been part of it all.

The guilt then turned to resolve. Somehow,
some way, he had to stop this psycho from doing any more damage…but
how? His mind raced over the possibilities and he came up with
nothing. “So what happens now?” he asked.

Nurmelev stared hard at him, and this time
his eyes turned a cold blue color, harsh and unyielding. “For such
an intelligent young person, you can be exceedingly stupid, but I
attribute that to your youth and inexperience.”

A second later, the Russian scientist’s eyes
turned icy. “As I said before, I anticipate greater success. The
groundwork for that success has been facilitated by your arrival.
You will stay here and work with me. I need your genius. Yes, I
will admit to that. I have the training, but at the same time I
know my limitations. I have worked very hard on my research, but am
ashamed to say that my matrix is not complete. I need your help,
and fortunately, you have arrived here.”

“What if I say no?”

A cruel smile played around the Russian’s
lips. He leaned forward and spoke slowly as if to keep the suspense
going. Harry, though, knew what the man would say and his next
words confirmed it. “You have seen what Ivan can do,” Nurmelev
said. “He kills without mercy and what is more, he enjoys it. I
would not wish you to suffer the same fate.”

He paused to wave his hand at the exit and
Harry got a good look at the door. A deep black color, it looked
like a door found in medieval dungeons and had a formidable looking
lock on it. “The door is three inches thick and is made from the
thickest and strongest Black Ironwood around,” the scientist said.
“I had it shipped here from Florida. It is practically bulletproof
and capable of holding an army off.” He pressed a button on the
computer and the lock slid shut.

So much for the escape plan, Harry thought,
and then his attention turned to the cables. They ran from a small
car battery to three gas tanks in the far corner next to the prison
room. This was totally sick! “You rigged this place up to
blow?”

Nurmelev noticed his gaze and nodded. “On the
off-chance that you manage to escape Ivan, please note that those
tanks are filled with hydrogen. This cellar has been wired to
explode, as has the room upstairs. One command sent from my
computer,” he tapped his machine to emphasize his point, “and five
minutes later this place is no more.”

His eyes shone with madness. “Do not try to
escape. It is futile, and I do not wish to kill a brilliant mind
such as yours.”

And now the end game came. “So what am I
supposed to do?”

“Look in the corner,” the professor said and
pointed.

Harry followed his finger to the far corner
and saw his bag sitting next to the wall. “You want me to provide
the matrix?”

Nurmelev snapped his fingers sharply. “Aah,
you understand the situation now, do you not? You will be using my
computer…my notes…everything, and you will do it under my
supervision. You may use your own research if you wish, but your
life belongs to me, so do not ever forget that for one instant. I
found out about your incarceration only recently and I can assure
you, young man, your talent would have been wasted there. It will
not be wasted in my employ.”

He whistled and the door to the holding room
immediately opened. The massive bear loomed in the aperture.
Nurmelev stood up and motioned to the giant. “Take him back to be
with his,” he deliberated on the word, “to be with his
friend
. Do
not
harm either one of them. Cut the girl
down. Understand?”

Ivan nodded and motioned with his paw. As he
walked over, Harry wished he had the strength or at least a weapon
to fight this beast with, but had only his hands and his skinny
body to work with. Inside the room, Ivan looked up at the girl who
dangled from the ceiling, grunted slightly, and slashed at the
cords which bound her. She fell and Harry barely caught her in
time. The bear-man smiled, his fangs flashed, and then he closed
the door. Harry heard the lock slide shut and wondered if he’d make
it out of here alive.

As Harry sat on the floor he assessed his
chances of living another twenty minutes. They weren’t good. The
professor only needed him to find the final part of the equation
and after—he knew what would happen. Ivan would slowly tear him
apart.

He looked at the sleeping form of his
girlfriend and experienced a sense of loss and sorrow at her
condition. He also felt frustrated at his inability to do anything
to help her. As he watched, her body shrank slowly, perhaps another
inch or so, but all the same, the difference was noticeable. He
wondered if she knew the truth about what would happen to her and
then decided not to tell her. Some things had to be left alone.

Anastasia woke up a few minutes after the
door closed. “Where are we?” she asked. She slowly got to her feet
and checked her body for damage. She’d been slightly wounded in the
fight with Ivan, yet as Harry watched, her scratches and contusions
seemed to heal right before his eyes.

“We’re still in the Catskills,” he answered.
“Nurmelev has us. He wants me to work on the formula, the formula
to create more of you.”

She shivered at the sound of his name, and
then her eyes narrowed. A snarl crossed her lips. “You won’t help
him, will you?”

In this situation, the hero’s first
inclination would always be to say “hell no.” Harry didn’t think of
himself as a hero. He was powerless to do anything, and what choice
did he have?

Then the resolve which had left him before
came back and he decided firmly on the
hell no
option. He
wanted to help Anastasia if he could, but right now, he didn’t know
if it could be accomplished—and he knew the scientist wouldn’t
hesitate to kill both of them should he refuse.

Fear also worked against him. He’d never done
anything brave in his life, never won a fight…but at the same time,
his father’s words came back to him.
You can fight back in
different ways.
He decided right then and there he’d die trying
to help Anastasia if he could.

“I’m gonna say hell no, kitty,” he answered
with all the balls he could muster and forced a grin from his
mouth. “We’re gonna get out of here, and when we do, the Mad
Russian’s toast. He won’t touch you again.”

Anastasia smiled at the “hell no, kitty”
comment, and her teeth, white and even, shone in the semi-darkness.
“Thank you.”

Suddenly, she leaned over and kissed him on
the mouth. Her whiskers tickled him…he abruptly shied back, not out
of dislike but of embarrassment, even now. “Uh, dumb question, but
do you love me?” he asked. It didn’t really matter, as he was sure
he’d never make it out alive, but he had to know.

Anastasia nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess I do.
When you held me last night, you didn’t pull away, and when you
look at me, you don’t turn your face away like I’m some sort of a
monster. You never did.”

“I don’t think you’re anything but what you
are,” he answered. “You’re beauti…”

He stopped speaking when she put her paw-hand
to his lips. In the dim light of the room, her expression was
wistful
.
“I know what I am. But when you touch me and talk
to me, I feel that I’m like you. And that’s enough.” She leaned
over and planted another tiny kiss on his mouth.

Harry felt hot all over and it wasn’t due to
the room’s temperature. “If we ever get back to New York or
Portland, do you want to…?” He couldn’t bring himself to mention
the physical act, but she knew all the same.

Anastasia gazed at him steadily. “Yes,” she
answered quietly, “I do.”

They suddenly clung to each other, two people
of very different backgrounds, and Harry remembered what Nurmelev
had told him. Anastasia’s past—what she’d done for a living—it
didn’t matter. She kissed him hard and he returned the gesture. Her
breath tasted sweet and she wrapped her tail around their bodies in
order to keep them locked together. Harry didn’t mind, and right
now, imprisonment or not, he didn’t want this moment to end.

It had to, though, as this wasn’t the time or
place to get romantic in any way, much as he wanted to. Anastasia
moved back from him, a little, yes, catlike smile on her face.
“Uh,” he said, totally flustered, “I’d better look around and see
how to get out of here.”

Her ears suddenly pricked up. “Someone’s
coming.”

A second later the door opened and the
massive form of Ivan stood there, his bulk filling the doorway. Not
a muscle moved in his face, and with a quick flick of his paw, he
motioned for them to follow him. Reluctantly, they trailed behind
him and went over to where the Russian scientist was busily
inputting data into his computer. When they arrived, Ivan grunted
and Nurmelev looked up and smiled at the sight of them holding
hands.

“Ah, you have had some time together and I
see you have also had the time to grow closer during your escape
from the authorities. It is truly touching, but now, young Goldman,
you must put your thoughts of romance aside. You will have your
chance to show me what you can
really
do.” He indicated the
computer and pointed to the chair.

As Harry walked over, the thought of
I’m
sorry, Anastasia,
went through his mind, and reluctantly, he
turned his attention to analyzing the matrix Nurmelev had
constructed. Three molecules, all separately coded with the
relevant DNA highlighted in green, stared him in the face. This
particular equation had to do with increased muscle density in the
subject. He started in on his calculations and began tapping the
keys gently.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the
giant bear-man loom behind his girlfriend. Ivan’s eyes were dull
and focused only on his master. What kind of job had he done before
being turned into Nurmelev’s pet monkey? Probably a leg-breaker for
the KGB or organized crime, Harry thought.

Something else caught his attention. The exit
was open. Why? Perhaps Ivan had gone upstairs to catch his dinner
from the forest, or perhaps Nurmelev had gotten some supplies from
the main room. The wheels in Harry’s mind started turning and an
idea abruptly came through.

Anastasia stood rigidly with her tail coiled
around her waist. Harry gave her a quick wink and flicked his eyes
at the door. She followed his lead, and offered a barely
perceptible nod.

“How are you progressing?” Nurmelev wanted to
know after a few minutes of silence. He sounded somewhat anxious.
“This matrix should be capable of enhancing certain aspects of the
host’s strength and speed.”

“Give me a second,” Harry replied.
Fight
back in different ways.

He quickly typed in a few commands and turned
to the nutty professor after giving his girlfriend another wink and
a slight nod toward the exit. Fortunately, neither Ivan nor the
scientist noticed. The nod meant
get ready.
“Just hit
Enter
.”

Nurmelev hit the button and a loud beep came
from the computer. Startled, he backed up a step. “What have you
done?”

“Hidden the information,” Harry replied, a
grin on his face. “Try finding your code now.”

Nurmelev shrieked. It was the sound of
impotent rage and he raised his arms. Harry let loose with a punch
that staggered the professor and he didn’t know who was more
surprised, himself or the Russian. “You won’t find it,” he
said.

Ivan, sensing something was wrong, took a
step forward. Mistake number one, as Anastasia jumped up and
whipped her tail against the back of his head, which sent him
sprawling. The creature immediately got up and uttered a ferocious
roar. He spread his arms wide and got ready to charge which turned
out to be mistake number two. Anastasia jumped forward and raked
her claws across his face which simultaneously blinded him in one
eye and shredded his face.

As Ivan screamed in agony, Harry grabbed her
hand and they tore out the door, up the stairs, through a very
drab-looking and perfectly normal living room area, and out of the
cabin. Their blind dash to freedom took over the gravel road to the
edge of the forest, and behind them they heard the professor
yelling in Russian. No translation needed—the professor was
ordering the bear-thing to hunt them down.