Chapter 24 – So close but yet so far

Deborah followed the black SUV on ninth avenue for about 15 blocks until it turned into the agency entrance and waited at the door to the Agency parking garage. Claire made a call and a few seconds later, the large steel door started to raise. Deborah was looking left and right as she waited for the SUV to move forward, ready to make a break for it if she needed to. Carlos was still held I place snugly between her breasts, and could feel the vibration of her motorcycle's engine through her body. It was a little warm inside the tube, but not unbearable.

Her black motorcycle entered the garage, following closely behind Claire's SUV. She kept her visor closed and her head down. After pulling into a spot beside Claire, she turned off the engine and popped up her visor, carefully surveying the surroundings. She got off the bike and walked around the passenger side of the SUV and knocked on the window. Claire motioned to her with her finger as she spoke on her phone. After a few seconds, she ended the call and opened the door. “Okay, here's the plan. We're going to go directly to the labs. Orolov is waiting for us.”
“What about Paige?” Deborah asked.
“She's in the building, but I don't know where.” Claire replied. “Is he still okay?” she continued, pointing to her chest.
“He's fine.” she  told her. “How long is this going to take?”
“I don't know.” Claire said.
“Let's go.” she said as she got out of the vehicle. “I have an agent inside waiting for us. He'll get us to the lab.”

Once inside the entrance, there was an tall man dressed in a dark blue suit waiting for them. “This is McBain” Claire said. He's going to escort us to the lab. “Follow me.” he said as he started walking down the corridor, holding his pistol at his side. Deborah was keeping a close eye on her surroundings. She didn't trust anybody. After a few minutes,  they were standing at the entrance to the lab watching McBain enter in his code and the door lock opened. He looked down both sides of the corridor and then motioned for Claire and Deborah to enter the lab.

Once inside the outer lab, Deborah saw Orolov through the glass. He was standing in front of his equipment with his back to them. McBain entered in another code to the main lab and opened the door. Claire entered the doorway, stopping and telling McBain “Nobody enters this facility. Am I clear?”
“Yes ma'am.” McBain answered. 
Once they were inside, Orolov turned around and saw Deborah and said “We meet again.”
Claire looked over at her with a surprised look on her face and said “You two know each other?”
“We've met before.” she replied.
“I see you've been busy.” Claire said, but Deborah didn't reply. She unzipped her jacket and took Carlos from her bra and held the chain up. “I believe you need me and him to make an antidote.”
“Yes.” Orolov replied. “He is inside this tube?”
“Yes.” Deborah said. “I want to make one thing clear. I don't want him harmed.”
“Understand.” Orolov said. “But he is much smaller than the last time I saw him, so it will be a little more difficult. His antibodies are very small.”
“Just do what you have to do.” she said as she unscrewed the top of the container and lowered it to the table. Orolov looked quite shocked as the tiny Carlos slid out of the tube onto the cold steel table and stood up. Looking up at Deborah, then at Orolov, he covered himself trying to keep at least a little of the dignity he had left.

“I must prepare several items.” he told her.
“Okay, just do it as fast as you can.” she replied. “I don't know how much time we have.”
“Understand.” he told her.
Pulling a chair over to the table, she sat down, resting her arm on the steel surface. “It'll be okay sweetie.” she said down to the minuscule form looking up at her.
“What are the chances this is going to work?” Claire asked Orolov.
Stopping what he was doing for a brief moment, he turned his head slightly and replied “He is very small. I cannot be certain.”
She looked at Deborah and said “You went too far Deborah. You went too far.”
“Oh, save it.” Deborah replied sharply.
“If you would have just left him like he was in that hotel room.” she said smugly.
Deborah eyes narrowed and she asked “How did you know about...”
Claire exhaled and her eyes shifted left.
“You had me under surveillance, didn't you?” Deborah asked. 
When Claire didn't answer, she shook her head and said “You fucking conniving...”
“You did this.” Claire cut her off. “You couldn't stop yourself, could you? You had him wrapped around your little finger, didn't you?”
“You don't know what the hell you're talking about.” she shouted back.

Carlos yelled up to Deborah “So they saw everything?”
“No sweetie.” she told him. “Claire here, has a screw loose.”
Folding her arms, Claire smirked and said “Really Deborah. Stop the charade. You purposely made him shrink. And now, we might not even be able to get an antidote.”
“Deborah?” Carlos squeaked.
“Sweetie, just stay calm. Everything is going to be fine.” she tried to comfort him. Looking back up at Claire, she grit her teeth and said “It's taking all my will power to not rip your head off. You're behind this whole scheme and you're trying to make it sound like its my fault.....Please.”
“Listen Deborah.” Claire said.
“No.” she replied, putting her hand up. “I'm not listening to you anymore. There's a bigger agenda here, I know it. I just don't know what it is yet, but after this is over, we're done. Just forget I'm your daughter. The only thing we have in common is the last name.”
Claire stared at her for a few seconds, then started to pace back and forth across the lab. She was about to say something, but figured it was better to just hold her tongue.

Outside the lab, agent McBain was standing guard. He heard footsteps coming from his right. A woman approached and headed for the lab door. “I'm sorry ma'am.” he said as he put up his hand and blocked her path. “I need to get in there agent.” she replied.
“I have strict orders that nobody is to enter this facility.” he told her.
“Listen.” she said, holding up her badge. “I run this program. I'm Paige.....” her voice trailed off. She realized pretty quickly that there was something going on inside the lab that she had to be aware of.
Smiling, she looked at him and said “Fair enough. You have your orders.”
“I'm sorry ma'am.” he said
“No need to be sorry.” she said. “It's nice to see that there are still agents around that follow orders.”
“That you ma'am.” he replied with a nod.
“Can I leave you a note.” she said. “For whoever is inside?”
“Uhh....I guess that would be okay.” he replied.
“Great.” she said. “I have people to answer too, and they will want to know why I can't access my lab.”

Paige took a business card and pen from her jacket pocket and wrote down some words, then proceeded to had it to McBain. “Owww.” he said, pulling back his hand.
“What's wrong?” Paige asked him.
He examined his hand, then look back and was stunned that he had to look up at Paige. She was already a few inches taller than him. His mouth dropped open and he winced in pain as she grew bigger and bigger. Paige shook her head and smirked down at him as he dwindled. “You should have let me in.” she spoke, leaning over him to accentuate the large difference in their sizes. It only took a few more seconds before he disappeared into his clothes which were now in a pile on the floor. She waited for a few seconds and then saw a bulge moving in the white shirt sleeve. The tiny agent emerged from the fabric and looked around. His heart raced at the sight of the enormous corridor. He was afraid to turn around, but couldn't help himself. He looked over his shoulder at two massive feet in black, spiked-heel sling-back pumps. He tried to catch his breath as his eyes followed the massive form skyward. Her hands moved to her hips as she stared down at the tiny man. He was waving his hands and shouting something, but he was just too tiny for her to make out what he was saying, and frankly, she didn't care in the least. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was just another obstacle in her path. McBain could feel the hopelessness of his situation. He knew he was about to get squashed.

Paige wasted no time, tilting her foot on the spike heel, exposing the triangular-shaped sole to her tiny victim. Dumbfounded by her sheer scale, McBain stood still, just looking up at the bottom of her pump. She held it there for a few seconds, then lowered it. With a small crunching sound, he was flattened like an insignificant bug. Paige lifted her foot, revealing a small red spot where McBain had stood, then wiped the sole of her pump clean on his clothes, bent down and gathered them up, wiping up his remains on the floor with his shirt. She stood back up, walked over the door and punched in her code. Inside the lab entrance, she saw Deborah sitting at the table. Her eyes narrowed as she tossed the clothes into a trash bin.

About fifteen tense, silent minutes had passed when Orolov turned around from his equipment. He was about to say something, but his eyes widened and he stared at the door. “What's wr....?” Deborah started to ask as she turned her head to see Paige in the doorway holding a gun. She cupped her hand over Carlos and stood up. He crouched down under the her palm, wondering what was happening. Not able to see, he slid forward to try and get a glimpse of what was happening. Peering through the crack between her pinkie and third finger, he whispered to himself  “Shit!” at seeing Paige across the room. She was a maniac and would certainly kill him if she found him.

Claire had been pacing and was standing at the far end of the lab. She reached around her back and put her hand on the pistol tucked into the hem of her pants. “Why am I not surprised to find you here?” Paige asked Deborah. She took a few steps into the lab, looked left and saw Claire standing there. “Who the fuck are you?” she asked. “Who the fuck is this?” she asked Deborah, turning her head back to her. A little surprised that Paige didn't know who Claire was, Deborah realized that there actually was some amount of truth to Claire's story. “I don't know, she's just some lab assistant.” she told her.
Looking back at Claire for a second, she looked back at Deborah and asked “Lab assistant? She doesn't look like a lab assistant.”
“Ask him.” Deborah replied, pointing to Orolov.
Paige's eyes shifted to Orolov, who, thankfully thought fast and was able to reply convincingly. “Yes, she has been helping me on program for one week.”
“I'll be dealing with you Orolov.” she said. “There's a price to pay for anybody that betrays me.”
“Don't threaten me.” he shot back. “You need me. You all need me. I am caught in middle of crazy program. I do not want to be part of this any longer. This has become very sinister, and I want to be no part of it.”
“Stop your babbling.” Paige told him as she pointed the gun barrel at his face. “You're in this, like it or not. If you want to see your family again, you better do what you've been paid to do.”
Orolov shook his head and grunted, then turned around and went back to what we has working on.

Deborah moved around the edge of the steel table, making sure she kept Carlos out of sight under her hand. 
“So where is that little prick?” Paige asked, scanning the floor with her eyes.
“What makes you think he's here?” Deborah asked.
“Don't fuck with me.” Paige shouted. “You think I'm stupid?!! Where is he?!!”
“I don't know where he is.” Deborah replied calmly, trying to diffuse the situation. She kept her hand over  Carlos, but it was only a matter of time before Paige realized she was hiding him. The tension in the room was thick. Paige pointed her gun at Claire and asked “What about you? Do you know where he is?”
“I just work here.” Claire lied. “I don't know what this is all about.”
“Hmmm...” Paige hummed for a few seconds, still not completely buying that she was a lab assistant.

Deborah looked down at her cupped hand, then back up at Paige, waiting for the perfect moment. With Paige's attention on Claire, Deborah looked back down and moved her hand slightly, about to grasp his small body. “I knew it!!!!” Paige screamed as she lunged for the table with her outstretched hand. Startled, Deborah lifted her hand, exposing the tiny Carlos cowering on the cool steel table. He looked up to see Paige's fist coming toward him. With no other choice, he threw himself off the edge of the table just before her fist slammed down right where he had been hiding. Deborah gasped as she watched him plummet to the floor below, but luckily, he landed on top of her shoe, which broke his fall, then bounced off and tumbled to the the linoleum floor. Scared and disoriented from the fall, he stood up and started running as fast as he could to toward the tables on the other side of the lab. In his haste, he didn't realize that at his current size, that was the equivalent to about a thousand feet.

Paige's eyes widened at the sight of the tiny man making a break for it. She grit her teeth and frowned at him as she straightened up. She pointed her gun right at Deborah's face as she took a few steps toward Carlos. “I see that you two have been busy.” she said in a smug tone. “Just look at him. He can't be more that a few inches tall.”
Carlos looked back and up at the towering Paige as she took another deliberate step forward. Her black pump came down on the floor with her heel clicking loudly. “Paige!” Deborah shouted. “Don't you even think about it!”
“Shut up!” she yelled back at her. “He's too small for anything now. I'm doing you a favor.”
“If you take another step!” Deborah yelled.
“Or what?” she asked as she looked back. Waving the gun barrel left and right she asked again “Or what?”

Carlos had made it about a hundred feet or so at his scale and was out of breath. He was in the middle of the lab floor with nowhere to hide. Stopping, he turned around and looked up at Deborah. He slumped his shoulders and exhaled loudly, feeling like there was no escape. Paige was still pointing her gun at Deborah and taunting her to make a move. Looking around, he could see that it was at least a few hundred feet or more to anywhere he could hide - Paige could cover that in a just few steps.

Paige rotated her torso, lifted her right leg and took a step toward where he was standing. Carlos watched her foot land on the floor about thirty feet away. He thought of running, but didn't move. He had made a grave error in judgment. He should have stayed beside Deborah's foot. Paige's left knee moved forward and her foot lifted from the floor and swung in his direction. He looked skyward at her cold expression, the same expression that McBain had witnessed before was was crushed. He stared at the triangular shaped sole of her pump as it came down on the floor only a few feet away. Craning his neck, he stared up at the unbelievably huge woman that was about to step on him and end his tiny existence.

Paige lifted her right foot from the floor and took aim. He just stood there, closed his eyes and waited. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes to see a fast moving blur to his right. In a bit of a daze, the tiny man saw his love's face land in front of him. She had jumped across the steel table and landed a thunderous blow to Paige's jaw, sending her flying. Before he even knew what was happening, Deborah's giant hand was closing around his tiny body. The pad of her thumb landed on his chest and pressed him into her fingers. “You have to hide while I take care of her.” she whispered as she brought her hand to her mouth. Carlos felt like he legs go weak as her hand moved with incredible speed and within a second, opened. Carlos found himself sliding across the floor at break-neck speed, coming to a stop underneath a piece of lab equipment. His skin was burning a bit from the friction, but other than that, was unharmed. He got up and hid behind one of the casters holding up whatever he was under.

Deborah sprang to her feet and prepared for battle, but Paige still had her gun. She stood up and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. “You fucking bitch!” she screamed, pointing the gun at her.
“Did you think I was about to let you just step on him?” Deborah asked, he fists clenched. “I don't think so.”
Paige pulled the trigger and fired a shot that narrowly missed Deborah's head. Her hands were shaking and it was quite obvious she was becoming unglued. Taking a few steps, she shook her head and mumbled incoherently through grit teeth. “Put the gun down. This has gone far enough!” Orolov shouted at her.
“Shut up! You sniveling prick!” Paige growled.
She stopped a few feet from Deborah and held the gun with both hands, aiming for her head. “You've ruined it!” she screamed at her. “All I needed was him, but now you've ruined it!”
“Put the gun down.” Deborah said calmly. “You're just a pawn in a sick game.”
“Game?” Paige yelled. “You think I'm playing a game?!!”

Claire knew the situation had gotten out of hand and had to act. Holding her gun steady, she said in a strong, calm tone “Opusti pistolet Yuliya.”
Paige held the gun steady. Her eyes shifted left “What did you just say?” she asked Claire
“Vy slyshali menya.” Claire replied.
“How do you know my real name?” she said as she turned and pointed the gun at Claire.
“I know all about you.” Claire replied.
“She's lying.” Deborah told Paige, trying to take the heat off Claire. “Don't listen to her”
Not even looking back, she took a few steps toward Claire and said “You know all about me, do you?”
Claire spoke with an authoritative tone “ Yuliya Muskova. Born 7 June 1972, Minsk. Father, Vladimir Muskova, Officer, KGB and mother Natasha Muskova, Officer, Soviet Army. Joined KGB 1988. Recruited by CIA 1993.”
Paige frowned at her and asked “Who the fuck are you, and how do you know all this?”
“I recruited you.” Claire answered, pointing to herself.
“What?” Paige shouted.

Deborah chuckled, shaking her head and said “This story just gets better and better.”
Looking back, Paige shouted “Shut the fuck up!”
“You better start making sense, or I'm going to unload this clip into you.” she told Claire as she looked back at her.
“I'm the buyer!” Claire shouted. “The twenty million you think you have? It's CIA seed money. It's frozen.”
Paige stared at her, speechless, realizing that her whole plan was crumbling. She had been played.
“Did you really think that we were going to let something like this get out? Just let you sell it to the highest bidder?” Claire asked her.

Paige stood silent, not knowing what t say. Deborah almost felt sorry for her, but knew that Claire had no choice but to tell her. She would have shot Deborah for sure. “Listen to me Paige.” Deborah said. “Put down the gun. It's over.”
She had her head down, and said “Nothing is over.”
“Don't be stupid.” Deborah told her. “She's been lying to me too. Don't play her game.”
“Game?” Paige replied. “Is that what this is? A game?” she said to Claire, tears welling up.
“You're not going to get any sympathy from me, if that's what you're looking for?” Claire told her. “You've been working with Orolov for a long time on this. You had every intention to sell this technology to the highest bidder. We know you've used it on countless people already.”
Looking over at Deborah, Paige asked “So you and that little fucker are plants?”
Shaking her head a little, Deborah stretched her arms in front of her and replied “His name is Carlos Paige, and no, he is not a plant. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm not a plant, at least I didn't know I was a plant until today.”

“Listen.” Deborah continued. “We're going to calm down. You don't want this to get any worse than it already has.”
“Worse?!!” Paige shouted. “How could this get any worse.”
“Just take it easy.” Claire said as she took a step towards Paige. Turning her head, Paige pulled the trigger and fired a bullet into Claire's chest, throwing her back to the floor. “Oh my God!” Deborah gasped. “What did you do!” she yelled at Paige.
“It was an accident! I didn't mean to!” Paige yelped. “It was an accident!!”

She looked at Claire on the floor for a few seconds, then panicked. She ran to the door, punched in her code and fled the lab. “Paige!!” Deborah yelled at her. Still a bit in shock at what they had just witnessed, both Deborah and Orolov didn't move, they just stared at the motionless body of Claire on the floor. “Are you going to see if she is okay?” Orolov said.
Deborah nodded then looked back at him. “Yes, but right now, you have to finish what you started.”
She looked around the floor of the lab near where she had thrown Carlos. “Sweetie? It's okay, you can come out. She's gone.”
The tiny man emerged from his hiding place and looked up at his gigantic love. She took a few steps and then got down on her knees in front of him. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
He shook his head, trying to hide the scrapes on his arms. Deborah place her hand palm up in front of him. He climbed onto her palm and sat down. Like a super-speed elevator, he was lifted and then deposited on the table a few seconds later.
“It''ll be okay sweetie.” Deborah told him.
He looked up at her and smiled nervously, not sure it he would ever get back to his normal size.

Orolov went to another table and returned with a tray filled with some surgical implements. “You're going to be careful right?” Deborah asked. He looked at her as he took a pair of jewelers magnifying glasses and put them on. He nodded and said “Will be very careful.”
He put a piece of white cloth on the table and said “Please sir, would you mind.”
Carlos found it quite comical to be called sir given that he as two inches tall. He looked up at Deborah and she nodded and told him “It's okay.”
He walked onto the cloth and lay down on his back, ready for what ever was going to happen. He looked up at the scientist looming over him and promised himself that, if whatever this guy was going to do didn't work, he was going to ask Deborah to step on him and put him out of his misery.
Orolov picked up a needle and pulled the glasses down over his eyes. He was just about to lean over and attempt to extract the antibodies from Carlos, when both he and Deborah heard a groan from across the room.

Orolov raised his glasses and looked over at Claire, astounded to see her sitting up. She rubbed her neck and coughed a few times before opening her blouse, revealing her vest with a bullet hole in the center. “Jesus Christ that hurts!” she said as she took off her blouse, unzipped the vest she was wearing and took it off. Deborah could see a large red welt just under her breasts. She stood up and looked at them and said “Now she's just pissed me off.”

“I don't believe it.” Deborah said. “I thought you were....”
“Dead.” Claire finished her statement. “Wouldn't you like that.”
“Easy Claire.” she replied sarcastically.
Claire tossed the vest aside and walked over the the table. She examined herself for a few seconds and then said “Where is he?”
Deborah pointed down at the white cloth where he lay. “Oh.” Claire said. “So Orolov, do you think this will work?”
“I think maybe.” he replied. “It would be better if he was not this small, but we try to make the best of situation.”
“Do you need to see a Doctor?” Deborah asked Claire.
Shaking her head, she replied “I've been hit worse that this. I'll be fine. An thanks for comeing to see if I was okay.”

“I am going to take blood sample.” Orolov told Carlos. “I have thinnest needle I could find, but at this scale, it may hurt very much.”
Carlos closed his eyes and said “Just do it.”
Orolov leaned down and carefully lowered the tip of the needle to his pelvis. As gently as he could, he pierced the side of his tiny buttocks with the needle and extracted a few drops of his precious blood. Carlos screamed in agony, holding the spot where a huge needle had just dug into his body. “Oh my god.” Deborah said as she reached down to him with her hand and carefully wrapped him in the cloth, then picked him him and lay him down in her palm. She felt utterly helpless. He was so tiny that she couldn't do anything to help that wouldn't make it worse.
“He's lost a lot of blood.” Claire said. “A few drops at his size are like a few pints at normal size.”
“I don't know what to do.” Deborah said. “I feel so helpless.”
“Do you have some juice or something Orolov?” Claire asked.
He stopped what he was doing and said “Of course.”

He went over to a small refrigerator, opened it and retrieved a bottle of orange juice. “This is all I have.”
“That'll do.” Claire said. She looked around for something to put the juice in and say an eye dropper in the tray in the table. She took a few sucked up a bit of juice and handed Deborah the dropper. “Here sweetie.” she said down to her tiny lover. “Drink some of this so you don't go into shock.”
He lifted her head and licked the tip of the dropper a few times, then lay back.

“You stay here. I have to find that bitch, before she does something stupid.” Claire said. “Wait till I get my hands on McBain. I thought I could trust him.”
“Claire.” Deborah said.
“What?” she asked.
“McBain is probably gone.” she told her.
Claire thought about it for a second and sighed.
“Go easy on her.” Deborah said. “You used her, you know.”
“She will be indited for treason.” Claire replied.
“You set her up Claire.” Deborah said. “Is there's something else going on here I should be aware of?”
“We are not going to have this conversation.” Claire said and she headed for the door. She paused before leaving and said “I can't discuss this with you, even though you are my daughter.”

Deborah looked back at Carlos in her hand. He was asleep. “Did you get what you needed?” she asked Orlov.
“Can't be sure yet. It will take some time.” he replied.
“I'll be right here.” she said, thinking about what Claire was up to.