by Simon Archer
“The universe smiled on us this week,” Clint started. “The ingredient breakdown of the cat girl saliva was much simpler than I expected. We had it done in less than a day, so we immediately set to figuring out whether its healing properties came from a formula involving specific combinations of the ingredients, or if it came from the ingredients themselves,” Clint paused to make sure everyone was following what he was saying. When nobody said anything, he continued. “We ended up isolating a simple protein. After testing, it showed to be one of two healing ingredients in the saliva. The downside to this specific protein is that it rapidly deteriorates in its natural form.” Clint’s eyes scanned his audience.
“So the healing agent is biological, not chemical?” Kennedi asked Clint.
“Yes, it is biological. This is actually from the aloe vera plant,” Clint told us. Leah raised her hand like she was in school and waited for Clint to nod in her direction before asking her question.
“Can we recreate it synthetically?” she wanted to know.
“We will not need to recreate it,” he started. “The plant protein itself cannot be patented, so we will be able to use it in its natural state, but here comes the interesting part. Most of the solution that the protein is suspended in is a variation of different species of a common eastern Asian plant along with a trace amount of chamomile.”
“But what about all of the ingredients on the report I gave you?” Leah didn’t wait to raise her hand that time.
“That’s just it. The majority of those ingredients were not found in the saliva, which can be one of two things,” Clint began to answer. “Either Omnicorp falsified the report, or they added ingredients to the original batch of saliva that they first implant into their CGs, and then the cat girls filter it out as they reproduce the saliva. I could find no evidence of why the ingredients they listed need to be used for an initial implant, however.” Theo scooted up in his chair a little bit.
“So what you’ve got is plant goo,” he said, chuckling. Clint smiled and waved a finger at him.
“You are not wrong, Theo,” he replied. “Something that kept bugging me, though, is why they used some random Asian plant that has no history of being used in a ceiling or medical capacity? Chamomile, on the other hand, has a long history of being used as an herbal remedy for a host of different ailments, but there was such a small amount of it in the saliva, I didn’t think it was enough to make a difference, as far as the formula was concerned. So, on a whim, I combined the protein, which was suspended in aloe vera water, with straight chamomile, leaving the Asian plant out.”
“What happened?” This time it was Rosie asking the question. She was sitting on the edge of her chair, listening intently.
“What happened is that I was very happy with my little whim! It turned out that the Asian plant additive actually stunts the reproductive properties of the aloe protein. However, when the protein is combined with chamomile on its own, the proteins regenerate at amazing rates. Now, that, of course, is the simplified version, but to sum it up, we have our own saliva solution to implant into cat girls, plus one that I managed to stabilize in a lab setting.”
“Stabilize, as in it can be used without a cat girl?” I asked cautiously, not wanting to get my hopes up too high.
“You are exactly correct,” Clint clarified.
“Omnicorp had the capacity to make this solution available in a self-replicating formula, and chose not to do so,” I replied disgustedly. “That would make sense why there were never even any medical trials. The fuckers didn’t want the info out.” While the whole despicable mess made perfect sense, well, when it came to Omnicorp anyway, it was still hard to swallow that a company would do that. Charlie cleared his throat to get Clint’s attention.
“Can you prove that Omni knew they had that capability?” Charlie asked.
“I can,” Clint answered him. “The Asian plant is not one that is ordinarily a part of biological compound mixtures. Not even for experiments. Hell, I had to have some overnighted internationally to me because I could not find it in the United States. Granted, the company had no requirement that they share their formula, nor make it available to the public, but purposely designing it to self-limit… I can’t imagine that information would be good for public relations.”
“Were you able to verify that the new formula you have can be replicated in catgirls?” Leah chimed in.
“That is a very good question, Leah. I was able to do some preliminary testing of the new formula in a cat girl. One of my most trusted lab techs, who was working on the project with me, asked his cat girl, and she agreed to test it for us. By all evidence that we have to date, the formula can be replicated inside a CG.”
Clint leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath. As he let it out, he smiled and waited for his information to sink in. The group of us started looking from one to another to make sure we had all heard the same thing. Then Leah shot up out of her seat.
“YES!” she screamed. “YES, YES, YES!” She pulled Charlie onto his feet, threw herself into his arms, and kissed him. “YES!”
It was only a moment later that all of us were on our feet, celebrating. Kennedi and Rosie were bouncing up and down with their arms locked together, and Krysta threw herself on to me for a hug. Even Theo spun Bev around the room a couple of times in all the excitement. Clint was the only one who remained seated. He was watching the celebration and laughing at all of our antics.
“Clint! You need to be up here with us!” Charlie said to him, offering his hand to help Clint out of his chair. “After all, you are now a part of this! Welcome to the craziness!” Clint stood and shook Charlie’s hand firmly.
“I’m happy to be here!” Clint replied. He joined the celebration, which quickly turned into a brainstorming session on how to use his information. What he had unlocked, would completely change the faces of our businesses, of the medical community, and of Omnicorp, although the latter would not experience a positive change.
“We have to get this to Brody right now!” I said to Leah.
“I’m on it!” She shot back with the biggest smile I have ever seen on her face. We all suddenly heard a huge whistle come from Theo. We quieted down and looked over to him and Bev.
“Does a fireside dinner celebration sound appealing to anyone here? I know Ellie and I could whip something up!” Bev surveyed the room.
A hearty round of yes’s spread through the room.
“Great, let’s make it early. I have a horse to pick up in the morning!” Bev squeezed her shoulders up by her ears and clapped her hands together with excitement. Then she looped her arm around Theo’s, and the two of them left.
“I had better get back and finish that corral if Bev wants to bring a Horse home to it tomorrow!” I told Leah and Charlie. “Let me know if you need me for anything before you come to the house. I will make sure to keep my phone on me.” I winked at Leah jokingly. Charlie shook my hand and slapped me on the arm. It was his traditional hello and goodbye. Kennedi made a round of goodbyes before we left, her last being with Clint. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Clint looked very happy at what she was telling him. When she was finished, she joined me, and we left.
Once we were inside my 4Runner, I reached over and squeezed her hand. I had a random, overwhelming feeling of gratitude to have her by my side. She picked my hand up and kissed it.
“What were you talking to Clint about?” I asked her.
“I told him how much I appreciated him telling the truth,” she informed me, “and I also told him that he is a terrible liar!” She busted up laughing.
“Well, it looked like he took both things very well!” I laughed with her. I was looking forward to the evening when we would be with all of our friends, laughing together. Clint had been invited to dinner, so it was actually a good thing that Kennedi had talked to him. He had come through for us, and I wanted him to be comfortable.
I had taken a chance on him, and it had paid off.
&nbs
p; 19
The Lindys’ town car, with Charlie, Leah, Macy, and Reina, was the last to arrive at Theo and Bev’s house for dinner. I had asked Leah to invite Reina, so I could have a chance to talk to her about her tail twitch. I had not seen her, and I didn’t want to wait any longer in case something was really wrong. Kennedi and I met them on the porch and took them inside the house. Charlie and I Immediately went through the living room and out to the fire pit, while the girls stopped in the kitchen to see if they could help with anything. Clint, Theo, Rosie, and Krysta were already relaxing by the fire in the beautiful wooden loungers that Kennedi had built. Charlie and I had no more than sat down when Leah, Kennedi, Macy, and Reina joined us.
“Too many cooks in the kitchen!” Leah shrugged as she walked to the lounger beside Charlie. Macy carried a tray of drinks that she proceeded to pass out before taking her own seat. Reina chose a lounger beside Macy. She looked like she wasn’t quite sure what she was supposed to be doing.
“Kick back, Reina!” Theo said to her. “I’m happy you could make it. Welcome to our home!”
Reina scooted back in her lounger, got comfortable, and smiled at Theo. “Thank you for inviting me. I have heard stories about things that happen here and am happy to have a visual to match. Your home is very warm and inviting.”
“All the credit for that goes to Bev!” Theo laughed.
“Yes, Theo. All the credit goes to Bev,” I rolled my eyes at Theo, my tone sarcastic, “because she designed and built the porch, and the corral, and this fire pit. She replaced the roof, fixed the fireplace, re-tiled the kitchen floor. You had nothing to do with making this place comfortable!” Theo was a very humble man, so my sarcastic attempts to help him give himself credit for his work made him a tiny bit shy.
“Yes,” Theo said without missing a beat. “She has done a lovely job on all of those things!”
“One day, you will admit it to yourself how much work you do!” I scolded him, lightheartedly.
“Nah, who needs it?” Theo waved his hand across his body at me. It was a silently communicated ‘shut up.’
I shook my head and chuckled to myself as I turned my attention to Macy.
“Was Leah able to fill you in on our meeting with this brilliant gentleman right here?” I asked her, gesturing towards Clint. Clint smiled and gave a small embarrassed laugh.
“She was!” Macy said. “I was so bummed that I couldn’t be there at the meeting. The store doesn’t run itself, however.”
“I think it is high time we train another back up for you,” I suggested. “With Krysta running the books, Rosie always bouncing around with product testing, and Kennedi holed up in her art studio, you have ended up taking the brunt of the responsibility there. It would free up more of your time for UsForThem. What do you think?” Rosie tilted her head to the side and raised her brows.
“I can only think of one individual who I would feel comfortable trusting our customers to in my role,” Rosie replied. She turned her head and looked at Reina. Then she looked from me to Leah. “Opinions?” Leah smiled over at Reina.
“Is that something you would be interested in doing,” Leah asked Reina. Reina did not hesitate.
“I do love working with the customers. I would be more than willing to train for the position,” she responded. She glanced over at Macy and smiled sweetly. “I can’t think of a better teacher.”
“Well, then!” Leah exclaimed. “As long as Clark is comfortable with it, let’s revisit that idea in the very near future.” Leah turned towards me, a questioning look on her face.
I had not yet talked to Leah about the girls’ concerns regarding Reina. However, I realized that if the idea of Reina training under Macy had come up before I heard about her possible systems issue, I would have said ‘yes.’ The simple fact that Macy would handpick Reina would have been enough for me. I trusted Macy completely.
“A one-hundred percent possibility!” I answered Leah’s unasked question.
“Settled then!” Leah replied. Macy turned to Reina, and the two of them started chit-chatting amongst themselves excitedly. Charlie reached over and took Leah’s hand in his own.
“How is the open house event planning coming along?” He changed the subject.
“Surprisingly well! We have nearly all the details nailed down,” Leah reported.
“What did you decide on for the venue?” he asked her. I was a little surprised that he didn’t already know.
“It is in a parking lot,” she answered him. “Clark would recognize it.” She looked over at me.
“I have been in a lot of parking lots, Leah,” I laughed. “Why would I recognize one specifically?”
“Because it is the lot outside of the pawnshop where you bought Kennedi,” she informed me.
“Why in the world would you have it there? That place and the owner are scum!” I said in shock. I flashed back to the day I walked in the place. I was just looking to sell some jewelry. It was dingy, run-down, and the owner was beating Kennedi. I honestly could not think of a worse place for an event.
“Well, because, other than the pawnshop, the area is actually rather beautiful,” Leah explained. “The parking lot backs up to a park on one side. Part of the event will be in the park as well. However, we wanted the pawnshop in sight to use as a reference during one of our speeches. Our goal is to motivate people to adopt CGs. Telling the story of how a rescued CG had a hand in turning one man’s life on to a different and very successful path is a PR dream!”
I mulled over her logic and really could not find any flaws in it. The woman was a genius when it came to events and public relations, so who was I to argue with her? If my story helped her save some catgirls, I was good with it.
“You make too damn much sense, Leah,” I teased her. “Please tell me I do not have to give a speech!”
“No, you do not have to speak. It is an option though, and one and that you will receive a heavy guilt trip about if you choose not to!” she half-joked. “Sales, whether it is a product or an idea, is always more successful when there is third-party validation!” I crossed my arms over my chest and breathed out in a huff, feigning a fit.
“But I don’t want to,” I spat out like a bratty child. “You can’t make me!” I plastered a huge, overdramatic frown on my face.
“There, there,” Leah said condescendingly. “You are correct. I cannot make you. But think about it this way, poor Kennedi might take your refusal as an indication that you are ashamed to speak about her!” Leah could not keep a straight face. She put up her hand to wave away her own comment as she laughed. “That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever said, I do believe.” Everybody at the fire pit broke out in laughter.
“What is so funny?” A voice asked from behind me. It was Ellie.
“Leah was trying on her comedian hat,” I responded, still chuckling.
“Well, here.” Ellie lifted her arms to bring attention to the tray she was holding. “Have a snack while you change careers!” She lowered the tray in front of me. It was stacked with appetizer plates and a huge pile of her famous turkey wrap appetizers. I took a plate and filled it with wraps before she moved on. By the time she was completely around the fire pit, her tray was empty. She disappeared back into the house as a quiet fell over the group of us outside while we ate. Clint was three wraps in before he looked up and around at us with an expression of disbelief.
“These are remarkable!” he called out. “Have you all had these before?”
“Ellie created these clear back when Bev was teaching her how to cook. They were one of the first things she created on her own,” I recalled for him.
“Why do I get the feeling that y’all eat the best food in Elko on a regular basis?” he commented just before taking a bite out of another wrap.
“Funny that you say that,” Theo piped up. “Belavi just recently won the Best Restaurant in the West Award.”
“With stuff like this coming out of the kitchen, I most certainly understand why!�
�� Clint replied. A lull fell over in the group of us again as we finished our appetizers. Very shortly after I took my last bite, Ellie, Kennedi, Bev, and Rosie walked out to the firepit. Each of the girls had a tray in their hands. Ellie rounded the pit first, with the other girls, while Bev took a seat next to Theo. Ellie’s tray was stacked with plates and silverware, while Kennedi and Rosie’s with meat and corn cobs.
“What are we eating tonight,” Charlie wanted to know. I filled the plate Ellie had given me and booked down to try to answer Charlie’s question. However, I had very little idea of what I was looking at.
“Bacon and bell pepper-wrapped lemon pork tenderloin,” Bev answered Charlie. “And corn on the cob with salted butter, of course.” The pork pieces had thick toothpicks sticking out of them and were big enough to take about two bites each. I wasn’t sure if the toothpick was for picking them up or just holding the bacon together that was wrapped around them.
“This looks delicious,” Clint said. He was the last one to fill his plate. He politely looked around to make sure everybody had their food and waited for the girls to sit down before he attempted to take a bite of his own. As he raised one of the pork bites to his mouth, Charlie, Theo, and I shouted at him.
“No!” The three of us said altogether. Our outbursts startled him, and he dropped the pork pipe back onto his plate.
“What?” he asked alarmingly. He had completely removed his hands from his plate and were holding them up.
“For your own safety,” Charlie started dramatically. “Never put any sort of meat in your mouth while sitting out here unless you have very specifically confirmed that it had been cooked!” Clint looked down at his plate. Then he leaned over even further to get a better look at the pork bite. He looked back about us with a furrowed brow.
“Can’t tell, can ya?” Theo jested.
“Holy hell, I can’t!” Clint responded. I am pretty sure that is the first time I had heard Clint swear. Theo, Charlie, and I cracked up laughing, and Clint joined us. He leaned forward and looked at Ellie. “So, are they cooked, or not?” Ellie put her hand under her chin and very haughtily looked around the circle with her nose held high up in the air.
