Chapter 25 – For Bigger or Smaller

Deborah lay Carlos down carefully on the table. She pulled the cloth away from him a bit so she could see his tiny chest moving up and down, which brought her a little comfort knowing he was still alive. Staring at him for what seemed to be an hour, the door opened, breaking her concentration. Claire walked in with two agents following her. “What the status?” she asked, matter of factly.
“Nothing yet.” Deborah replied. “Where is Paige?”
“That's not my main concern right now.” Claire replied as she walked past her towards Orolov, who was looking into a microscope. “Where are we Orolov?” she asked him. Without looking up, he replied “Separation of antibodies is taking time. Nothing yet.”
“What does that mean?” she asked. “Give me something.”
Straightening up, he said “I have not started antidote preparation yet. Separating antibodies from blood is very difficult because of scale.”
“So what does that mean?” she asked him.
“It means it is taking much more time.” he said. “I don't know what else I can tell you. I have not even started on her blood yet.”
“Just make it quick Orolov.” she told him.
“Make it quick.” he mumbled. “We are not working on Cadillac. We are dealing with very complex biology.”
“I got it.” she said, raising her hand.

She started to pace back and forth, obviously something was on her mind. “What's going on Claire?” Deborah asked.
“Nothing.” she replied.
“Give me a break.” Deborah said, almost shouting. “Tell me the truth for once in your life!”
Claire turned to her and nodded a little, then walked over to the agents near the door and spoke quietly to them. The both exited the lab and stood guard outside the door. She walked back, pulling a chair over to the table then sat down.
“Remember the call I got at the hotel?” she asked Deborah.
“Vaguely.” Deborah replied.
“About the CIA Deputy Director?” Claire continued.
“Okay.” Deborah said.
“Well the story is true. I just met with the secret service and they confirmed it.”
Deborah just stared at her for a few seconds. “You're talking about the guy that Paige glued to his wife's toe?” she asked.
“Yes.” Claire replied. “It was her that noticed him.”
“She noticed him?” Deborah questioned. “Wasn't he...”
“Tiny?” she completed Deborah's question. “Yes, he was very tiny from what I was told.”
“How in the hell did she free him without killing him?” Deborah asked.
“I don't have the whole story.” Claire replied.
“So you need the antidote, or it's you ass then.” she asked with a smirk.
Claire didn't answer. She got up and started to pace again.

Deborah shook her head and said. “It never occurred to you that this would get out of control like it has, did it?”
“It's not out of control.” Claire replied. “You don't need to worry.”

Orolov interrupted their conversation and told Deborah “I need to get blood from you.”
“So you have his antibodies?” Claire asked.
He just nodded, then proceeded to take a small sample of blood from Deborah's arm. Holding a cotton swab on her arm where he had taken blood, she looked at Claire and said “You're up to something Claire.”
Claire folded her arms and said “Just drop it, will you.”
“You know what? I don't care.” she told her. “I just want to get him back to normal and get out of this circus. After that, you can forget you know me.”
“This will all blow over.” Claire replied.
“I'm sick of the secrets and lies.” Deborah shot back. “I'm moving on.”
“Moving on to what?” Claire asked sarcastically. “This is all you know.”
“Don't think you know me.” Deborah told her. “You really don't know me at all.”

It took another hour before Orolov sat down at the table beside Deborah and said. “This is antidote.”
Deborah held her hand out, but he quickly pulled away and said “It is important that only small very amount is used.”
“What do you mean?” she asked as he handed her the vial of clear liquid.
“Antidote will reverse the compression of cell material, but you must understand that using too much at one time - cells could explode.” he explained.
“So how much and how long will this take.” she asked him.
“Could take, maybe ten, maybe twenty days?” he said. “Maybe more. I cannot give exact times. Every person's biology is different.”
“How much do I give him?” she asked.
“Start with small drop. I would say half a milliliter, or less.” he said.
“So an eye dropper's worth?” she asked.
“Yes. But, use small drop to start. This is not exact science, unfortunately.” Orolov told her.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Claire asked.
“I cannot be one hundred percent certain. This has not been done before, so we are breaking new ground.” Orlov told them both. “If we don't try, we will never know.”
“We have nothing to loose.” Claire said.
“Nothing to loose?!!” Deborah snapped at her.
Rolling her eyes, she shook he head and said “Look at him Deborah. What are you going to do, just leave him like that?”
“Of course not.” she replied, shaking her head a bit. “But don't talk like he's nothing.”
“Well now's the time to try it.” Claire replied, pointing down to Carlos, who had awoken and was standing on the table.
“What's going on?” he asked Deborah.
“Nothing sweetie.” she told him. Reaching down, she stroked his chest with her fingertip and said “We have the antidote ready.”
“Really?!!” he yelped. “Give it to me!”
“Tell him Deborah.” Claire said.
“Tell me what?” he asked, looking around at all of them staring down at him. When they didn't answer, he yelled “Tell me what?!!!”

Deborah looked down at him and said “There's no guarantee that this will work.”
“Just give me it, would you!” he yelled. “If it works, it works!”
“Okay.” she said. “Okay. I'm just worried about you.”
“Here, use this.” Orlov said as he handed her an eye dropper.
Deborah dipped the eye dropper into the vial, then proceeded to deposit a single drop on the table beside Carlos. He stood still for a few seconds just staring down at the drop at his feet before looking up at Deborah. “Ready?” she asked him. He nodded, then looked back down. The uncertainty was hardest part. There was no telling what was going to happen. He could grow, or stay exactly the same size he was now, or this antidote could cause his cells to explode, killing him. “You can't take too much at one time.” she spoke softly. “Just take a little sip.”
Carlos dipped his tiny hand into the drop of the clear liquid. He stared at his cupped palm for a few moments, then gulped down the antidote. He wiped his mouth and stood still, looking back up at Deborah. After a few seconds, he waved his arms and yelled “It's not working!”
“Give it time sweetie.” she told him.
“I'm fucking stuck like this!” he screamed. “I knew it!”
She looked at Orolov and he said “It may be day or two before we see results. I cannot be certain.”
“Carlos.” Deborah said. “Calm down. It's going to take some time before we know if it's going to work or not.”
“Whatever!” he yelled. “There's not turning back now. I've got that shit in me, whatever it does.”

“I'm going to take him back to my place.” she told Claire. “I can't stay here.”
Putting her hands up, Claire said “I'm sorry, but that's just not possible.”
“What?” Deborah said with a frown. Standing up, she pointed her finger at Claire and said “Listen to me Claire. Don't even start with this shit.”
“No.” Claire shot back. “We haven't located Paige yet. I can't let you out if my sight until we have her in custody. I've made a lot of mistakes with you, I'm not making this one.”
“I appreciate your concern.” she replied. “But I'm not buying it. Whatever you do is for Claire, nobody else. You have proven that time and time again. Nothing is going to change.”

She grabbed her jacket, then looked down at Carlos. “I'm serious Deborah.” Claire said.
Without a word, she put on her jacket, then asked Orolov for something to put Carlos in. “I can't put him in that tube, in case he enlarges.”
Orolov turned and walked over to his table, then returned with a plastic bottle. “This should work.”
“Thanks.” she said, taking the bottle. “I have to keep you safe sweetie.” she told Carlos. “I'll put you in here, okay?”
Shrugging his shoulders, he replied. “Do I have a choice?”
“No, not really, I guess.” she replied as she lowered her hand down to him. Three fingers cradled her back, followed by the pad of her thumb covering his chest. Carlos felt like Deborah was the only person in the world that could protect him as her hand rose quickly. Before he knew it, she released her thumb and let him slide off her fingers into the plastic bottle. The plastic was opaque and had a bit of a medicinal smell. Looking up through the opening, he saw Deborah smile at him, then she lowered the top and screwed it on the bottle tightly. The top had many small holes in it, so he would able to get air. There was enough room to sit down with his legs crossed, which was much better that the tube he was in before. He put his hands against the sides to steady himself as she put the bottle into the inside pocket of her jacket.

Getting her things together, she zipped up her bag and slung it over he shoulder and grabbed her helmet. “I'm leaving Claire.” she said as she headed for the door. Claire didn't try to stop her. As soon as she exited the lab, she dialed a number on her phone.
“It's me.” she spoke. “I want you to keep an eye on Deborah. She's heading for her apartment. Make sure nothing happens to her.”
After a short pause, she continued. “I can't discuss it. I just need you to do what I'm asking.”
Ending the call, she turned to Orolov and said “Put whatever you have left of the antidote in a vial. I have to pay someone a visit.”
“You want other samples too?” he asked.
She looked down at the two small needles on the table and asked “Is that all of them?”
“I have more in the locked storage.” he replied. “But I don't have combination. Natasha, I mean Paige has access code.”
“Okay.” she said. “Give me the antidote. I'll be back for the rest.”
 She typed a test message “secured antidote. en-route to wiley residence.” then touched send. A few seconds later, a message appeared. “Understood. Stick to the plan.”
“Affirmative.” she sent back, then took the small plastic case Orolov had prepared. “What should I do now?” Orolov asked.
“I'm having you detained for the time being until we figure this whole mess out.” she told him.
“You have to find her.” he said. “I don't know how much of formula she has taken.”
“Don't worry about that Orolov.” she told him. “We're going to take her down.”