Rise of the Transgenics (9 page)

Harry’s first thought was whether the police
would be called off as well, but instead, he asked, “How’s Agent
Farrell?”

“He’s got a broken arm and lacerations, but
he’ll make it.”

Great, he survived the attack. Harry thought
quickly and ran through his list of options once more. Really,
there weren’t many, not since he’d found out the police were
looking for him. “I’m sorry about the two other men,” he started to
say. “They didn’t know about—”

“I know all about them,” Merton interrupted,
and this time his anger came through clearly over the connection.
“If we find out who did this, they won’t last a day.”

“Good luck on that,” countered Harry.

Merton’s voice rose in anger. “You don’t know
how much firepower we can bring, son.”

“Sir, you don’t have any idea of what kind of
damage they can do. One of them’s a cat-girl like Anastasia, and
the other is, I don’t know, like some kind of rhino. I mean, I saw
Anastasia fight them. She might be able to take the cat-girl, but
against that other monster, no way.”

“Come in. We’ll protect you.”

“Have you told the police about me or
Anastasia?”

There was a minute’s pause and then...”No. We
have to keep this quiet.”

Oh, this was too much! First, the FBI thought
he was guilty, and now the police. And no one could know that there
were transgenic beings running around or else the public would
panic. The people were going to panic anyway, he figured. “Come
in,” the Director repeated.

“I’m going to say hell no on that,” Harry
countered. “They’d blow us away on sight. If a cop doesn’t shoot
one of us first, then it’s going to be some nutball vigilante. No
thanks, and besides, the two things that attacked us probably know
we’re out there...”

His voice trailed off as an idea suddenly
occurred to him. “Listen, I have to go, but I’ll contact you
later.”

He hung up just as the Director started to
talk and ran back to the car. Anastasia curled up in her seat with
her hood pulled over her head. As he drove away, she asked, “What’s
the plan?”

“We need a hideout, and I know where to find
one.”

The neighborhood was quiet, with snow lining
the street curbs and blanketing the front yards. Upscale and sort
of posh, this neighborhood in Northern New York located near Inwood
Park defined upper-class respectability, as all the houses were
large, many of the residents owned pricey automobiles, and an air
of prosperity prevailed. “We’re going here?” Anastasia asked. “Is
it safe?”

“It will be.”

Harry didn’t want to say too much as he
parked the car near his contact’s house and got out after telling
his girlfriend to sit tight. “You don’t know who might be
spying.”

No car stood in the driveway, so either it
was inside the garage, or his friend’s parents were out. He trotted
up the front walk and knocked on the door. A second later, the door
opened. A tall, skinny, pale-faced young man with dark straight
hair down to his shoulders opened up and rubbed his eyes.

Wearing a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved
shirt with a picture of two sleeping ponies, he looked like a
gamer’s gamer—and that was what he was. Immediately, his sleepy
look gave way to one of surprise and he exclaimed, “Hey man, good
to see you!”

“I need a place to stay, Jason,” Harry said,
foregoing all pleasantries. With a quick movement, he jerked his
thumb at the car. “My girlfriend’s with me.”

Jason—last name Parham, computer gamer whiz
and anime geek and Harry’s only friend during their junior high
school days—nodded his head agreeably. A slow, curious smile spread
across his narrow features. “This is like déjà vu all over again,
man.”

The last time they’d met, Harry had asked for
refuge just after meeting Anastasia and fleeing FBI headquarters.
Ivan the bear-man had invaded their space, and desperate for a
place to hide out, Harry had come here. Now here he was again in a
similar predicament. “Yeah, it is,” he agreed. “Is it okay?”

His friend’s smile abruptly disappeared as he
looked at the car and a hint of fear appeared in his eyes. “Is, uh,
she still—”

“Yeah, she’s still a cat-girl, don’t call her
Miss Kitty, and we’ll all get along fine,” Harry interrupted. He
stopped and ran his hand over his head. Impatient as he felt, this
couldn’t be rushed, not exactly. “We’re in trouble, and we need a
place to stay, just for one night, maybe. The police—”

“Are after you,” Jason finished off. “Yeah, I
saw a news report on television just a few minutes ago.” He glanced
at the car. “You’d better take that off the street,” he said and
motioned to the garage. “I’ll open up. Hang on a second.”

The door slammed shut. Harry shivered in the
cold air for a minute until he heard the sound of the garage door
opening. He cautiously surveyed the area, then ran to the car and
drove it inside. The door closed agonizingly slowly behind him.

Once the engine died, Harry got out and found
his friend waiting, his body shaking. “Are you going to be okay,
Jason?”

Gulping down air, Jason answered, “I’ll make
it, but...” he stopped for a moment, biting his lip, “She, uh, she
didn’t do it, did she?”

“No, she didn’t, and we didn’t.”

While the question pissed Harry off at first,
he’d sort of expected it. These days, you couldn’t trust anyone,
but he did trust his friend and also felt compelled to set the
record straight. “There were two others, and you do
not
want
to meet them. C’mon, it’s just for a few hours. I don’t have
anywhere else to go,” and he added, “Please.”

Jason signaled his acceptance by awkwardly
bobbing his head. “Lucky for you my folks are visiting my aunt. She
lives in Minnesota, got sick with cancer, so they’re going to see
what they can do for her.” A shadow of anguish passed over his
face. “She’s a nice lady, only around sixty. That’s too young, you
know?”

“Sorry to hear that,” Harry said, thinking
about his own father. The elder Goldman had died from pancreatic
cancer in only six weeks. Stem cell treatment was supposed to be
the newest and biggest kid on the block. It hadn’t worked, and that
was what had started the transgenic experiments, which had
led...here.

“Yeah, it sucks, that’s all I’ll say.”
Jason’s voice was bleak. “She’s my mother’s sister, and my mom’s
really torn up over it.”

Jason shook his head as if to cast off any
talk of illness. He pointed at the door that led inside the house.
“Bring your girlfriend in. C’mon.”

Harry went to the car, opened the door and
gestured with his hand to follow. “Let’s go.”

Anastasia quickly got out, tested the air for
danger with her nose, and then scampered inside the house. “Aah,”
she breathed, once she got inside.

Harry trailed behind, and he had to admit it,
Jason’s place was certainly impressive. It was a large and
well-appointed house with expensive furniture, carpeting, and the
latest in electronic gadgets and toys. Jason waved his arm as if
giving them the guided tour. “Mi casa es su casa,” he politely said
with a tiny bow.

Perching on top of the couch, Anastasia gave
a sigh of relief and eyed the large screen plasma television, which
took up most of the far wall. Harry did as well, feeling more than
a little envious, but his friend had never used the fact that his
parents were rich to lord it over anyone.

“I remember being here,” Anastasia said. She
got off the couch long enough to walk over and pat Jason on the
cheek. “Yeah, it’s a nice place.”

The very touch of her hand caused Jason to
smile somewhat abashedly and after shutting the door, he locked it
and with an ear-stretching grin asked, “Who’s in for pizza?”

After they’d eaten, Harry and Anastasia sat
on the couch. During lunch, Harry had given out as many details as
possible while Jason listened attentively. He said nothing, though,
and after brushing the crumbs off his hands, he went over to his
computer.

He switched it on and started playing a game.
Harry took a deep breath, caught a nod from his girlfriend, and
made his request. Parham responded with, “You want me to do what?”
His eyes grew round as saucers and his voice shook. “Man, I’m good,
but I’m not
that
good.”

“I have to know,” Harry said.

“This is...heavy, that’s all I’m saying.”

Jason’s face wore a dubious look, but anyone
would have been put off by the idea of hacking into the FBI’s
database and searching for clues. During lunch, Anastasia had
suggested that someone in the FBI had given over the secrets of its
transgenic research to the other side. She now repeated her
assertion. “It makes sense,” she said with certainty.

“How do you figure?” Jason asked, busily
tapping the keys to his computer.

He’d upgraded his wares since their last
visit, Harry noticed. Instead of the usual assortment of laptops,
this one was a top of the line desktop model. Their host spoke
without looking over his shoulder. “I mean, not that I trust the
government all that much,” Jason said uncertainly, “but aren’t
those guys supposed to have security clearance and all that?”

Anastasia cleared her throat noisily and
padded over to him. “People are bought all the time,” she stated,
her voice rising in anger. “People sell out all the time. There are
only four people I know who haven’t sold me out. One’s in the
hospital, one of them is sitting on the couch over there. The third
one is standing beside your computer.”

It sounded like an insult had just been
tossed. Jason stopped typing and turned to her, his face now a
mask. “What about the fourth person?”

“I’m looking at him.”

Harry came over to them and said quietly,
“She trusts you and I do, too. It’s just that things have happened
really fast, and we don’t know who else to turn to.”

A few seconds of silence passed, and then
Parham went back to typing as the young couple watched intently.
Only the sound of the keys being tapped disturbed the quiet.
However, a second later, he uttered a sound of disgust and threw up
his hands in frustration. “I can’t get in. There are firewalls
everywhere, and if I try skirting them, they’ll trace me here. We
need an expert.”

“So what do we do?” Anastasia asked.

Once again, Jason turned back to the
keyboard, tapped a few words out, and pressed a button. Mission
over, he leaned back and rolled his head around, and an audible
crack came from his neck. “I just gotta get into better shape.”

“Who did you just email?” Anastasia
asked.

“A person I know,” Jason replied, cracking
his knuckles. “This person isn’t in, but should be back later, so
I’ll try again. My schedule at university gives me a lot of free
time to do stuff at home.”

Pressing a button, he turned off his computer
and started to thumb through a series of game discs. Harry figured
doing stuff at home meant playing the very games being thumbed
through, but wisely said nothing. “So...it’s okay if we stay?” he
asked carefully.

Parham nodded. “My folks will come home
tomorrow, so if you guys wanna crash out for a while, go ahead. You
remember where the rooms are, right? First door to the right is the
shower, and the second to the right is my older sister’s room. If
you want to get cleaned up, go ahead. My older sister’s clothes are
still there, so you can take what you want. I’m going to play a few
hundred games, so you can, uh, rest up.” He pointed at the
stairs.

Anastasia went to the stairwell, but after
taking one step she turned back to softly say, “Sorry about getting
a little angry before. It’s not you. I’m never sure who to
trust...but I do trust you.”

Jason’s face brightened appreciably. “No
problem.”

She disappeared up the steps and called down,
“I’m going to take a shower and get changed, so wait, okay?”

Giving her the thumbs up sign, Harry
fidgeted, worrying his toes into the carpet. He was thinking about
his next move, and when he looked up, he found his friend giving
him a strange smile. “What?”

“Are you and Anastasia...uh...” His attitude
seemed noncommittal, but from the eager sound in his voice, he
wanted the details.

“We’re together, if that’s what you mean,”
Harry answered, feeling slightly put out. He didn’t want to abuse
his host’s offer of friendship, but at the same time, some private
things had to remain private. This was one of them. “I love her and
that’s enough.”

“Cool, just curious was all,” Jason replied.
“I got a girlfriend, too,” he added with a touch of pride.

The latter sentence made Harry arch his
eyebrows. The last time he’d been here, his friend had been a
member of the lonely geek-hearts club. What a difference six months
could make. At the same time, though, Jason had to be a first-year
university student, so maybe he’d gotten lucky.

“Where’d you meet her?”

Jason’s face suddenly turned pink as the line
of questioning shifted. “Oh, uh, I didn’t tell you before, but I’m
going to Hunter College. It’s got a four-year computer science
program, and while it’s too easy, it’s a good way to connect with
fellow gamers. That’s where I met my girlfriend. She’s pretty cute,
too.”

“Does she have a name?”

Before Jason could say anything, Anastasia
emerged from the shower with a towel wrapped around her torso and
called out, “I’m done!” She disappeared inside the guest room.

Harry caught his friend staring and punched
him on the shoulder. “You already have a girlfriend. You said so,
so shouldn’t your eyes be somewhere else?”

Now Jason’s face turned a brighter shade of
pink. “Sorry, man,” he mumbled. “Uh...hang on a second. You’re
gonna need some fresh clothes.”

He disappeared through the kitchen. The sound
of feet tramping down the stairs echoed up to the main room, and
Jason returned a few moments later with a pair of jeans, a belt,
and another long-sleeved shirt.