The Intangibles

by Alexander Astremsky

  “Yes… I agree… I will tell you all. Please don’t… don’t…”

  “That’s my boy,” said Stinger, taking the tablet. “Now you’re talking business, now you’ve grown balls. I was about to become disappointed in you.” He pointed the camera at Eddie and started recording. “Tell me about the scientist.”

  “Ugh…” Eddie tried to say something but coughed.

  Stinger didn’t make a sound. Eddie suppressed his cough and started to talk in a weak voice.

  “We’d been working for several years already. Max invented a gadget for… well… dematerialization. He called it the Switch. It… which is the bracelet… is capable of making any object intangible. A living or a dead one. He… Max… wants to use it himself. He never let me use it.” Eddie’s voice broke. “He needed me, I did various jobs for him, like coding. And he… he…”

  For the next 30 minutes, Eddie spoke to the camera like a robot. Then, exhausted, he sighed heavily.

  “Okay, that’s it,” said Stinger.

  He put the tablet aside and raised his hand. Eddie was surprised to see Max’s bracelet on it.

  “So, you say it’s the Switch. A weird name.” Stinger stroked the bracelet. “Well, let’s get down to business. As you can see, we know how to crack safes and take what’s inside.” He gave Linda a sly look, and she responded with the same gaze. “However, we aren’t that good with unusual and complicated devices yet. First, tell me what this stupid name is all about: the Switch. It switches something? Or is your Max so short on imagination?”

  “It… it switches, yes. I’ll explain. You see, it switches tangibility, or materialness, so to speak…” Eddie stopped.

  “Enough babbling!” yelped Stinger. “Talk!”

  “You see… Each body or thing has its vibration, as Max said…”

  “Wait. Are you telling me that if I disappear, I will vibrate?”

  “No… I mean yes… it’s kind of like…”

  “Listen, babbler, can you talk like normal people do? Or should I help?” asked Linda, motioning toward the terrarium cages.

  Eddie went pale. “No! No! Sure I can…” He reached forward as if trying to stop her. “Nobody will be able to see you, but it’s not because you vib… vibrate. It’s because the physical body is made of particles. It’s a kind of energy structure, so to speak. And any object, including a body, vibrates on its own level, therefore any object can become intangible if you switch it to a different level of vibration. And then you can get back to the original state with each molecule intact.

  “Interesting,” said Stinger. “So this Switch kind of moves the body to another dimension?”

  Eddie nodded in affirmation.

  “Turn it on.”

  Eddie walked up to him and looked at the bracelet. “I’ve never used it on my own, without Max,” he stuttered.

  “Listen, assistant.” Stinger was getting annoyed. “You worked with him for a while. Don’t tell me you don’t know how to turn on the thing you created together. I will not believe you!” He again raised his hand with the bracelet.

  Eddie hesitated a little and touched the screen of the gadget. It produced a high-pitched tone, like a bird, and the screen went dark.

  He stepped back, shrinking his head into his shoulders, muttering something.

  “What are you babbling again?” asked Stinger.

  “Something is wrong with it,” replied Eddie. “I don’t know what exactly.”

  “What? Tell me! Come on! Nobody will spank you!”

  “Well, perhaps it’s a safety lock-out.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Eddie shrank his head even further in total dismay. “Max said something… about fingerprints. Maybe he set it up to lock out on security breach.”

  Stinger clenched his fists in anger and made a move toward Eddie. Eddie stepped back.

  “And how can you unlock it?”

  “Only Max can,” answered Eddie sheepishly. “The system recognizes his fingerprints only.”

  Stinger looked at him with rage. He wanted to kick this lousy, worthless assistant as hard as he could, and he would, but for the….

  Linda appeared at the door. She’d gotten bored with the ‘interview’ and had quietly left the room. Now she stood in the doorway, watching the scene with her arms crossed.

  “Honey, why are you bothering with him? Let’s go and visit this Max right now. We have something to show him.” She smiled.

  Stinger looked at her, forgetting all about Eddie for the moment. “You’re gorgeous,” he said, caressing her cheek.

  And gorgeous Linda was, with light makeup, a ponytail of black hair, and a coquettish sparkle in her eyes. The perfectly fitting short leather dress accentuated her figure. And thigh high boots completed the picture.

  “I’m taking my car. And this too.” She looked at Eddie pointedly. “I think he could use some freshening up.”

  “As you wish, darling,” Stinger looked at her lovingly and took her by the waist. “You are a goddess.”

  Linda kissed him fervently. Stinger kissed her back, pulling her even closer.

  “Okay, time to go,” she said, softly pushing Stinger away.

  He reluctantly complied. “Okay, darling.” He gave Eddie a baleful glance and commanded, “Get up! We need to visit your scientist friend. You’ll show us the way.”

  Eddie shook his head. “No! I can’t…” He tried to object again but met Stinger’s eyes and shut up. “Okay, I will,” he murmured timidly.

  When they got outside, the moon was already high in the sky. Stinger got into the SUV parked near the entrance, his two assistants followed him.

  The garage door opened slowly, bright light suddenly bursting from the darkness.

  Linda sat in the driver’s seat, with Eddie beside her. The scarlet Lamborghini Diablo, its doors lowering, floated down the driveway, with Stinger’s SUV following behind.

  CHAPTER 6

  The Poison

  The Lamborghini moved along the highway breaking the speed limit, dangerously outracing the other cars. The speed pressed the car into the road, almost fusing them together.

  Linda was relaxed in her driver’s seat. It was odd, considering how aggressively she drove the car. She embraced the wheel with the long fingers of her left hand. With her right arm resting on the beige velvet arm pad, she changed gears. Her short leather dress exposed slender legs and stocking boots, and the high collar concealed and accentuated her neck.

  Eddie sat shotgun, desperately holding onto the door handle. He felt like he got loaded into a torpedo. The oncoming cars flew by with meteoric speed. And every time Linda passed another car, he shrank and squirmed. Every now and then he sniveled, wiping his nose with his sleeve.

  Linda kept going as if nothing was happening. She passed other cars without slowing down, paying no attention to her disturbed passenger.

  Suddenly Eddie sneezed, the contents of his nose transferring onto the squeaky-clean windshield.

  Linda shot a glance at it and her serene face contorted with rage. Eddie tried to wipe the windshield with his hand, but sure enough, only made it worse. In total dismay, he involuntarily wiped his hand against the velvet of the seat. He looked at Linda and froze.

  Linda watched the whole thing with disgust.

  “Can you… please… drive a bit slower?” asked Eddie.

  “I can,” sneered Linda, and instead of stepping on the brakes she floored it.

  Eddie was pressed into his seat and he squirmed again, trying to look away from the road. The car was flying along the highway, drifting left and right.

  “I’m gonna throw up,” Eddie squeezed out.

  Linda changed lanes, this time to the right, and slowed down. She reached for the buttons on her door and pressed one.

  The door on Eddie’s side smoothly went up, and the cool night air rushed into the car. Linda made another motion and his safety belt unfastened. Now Eddie sat there with his fingers plunged into the seat
. All they could hear now was the noise outside.

  A sudden turn to the right threw Eddie onto Linda who instantly grabbed him by the sweatshirt and shoved him outside. As she continued steering, she reached toward him, preventing him from trying to get back in. Eddie screamed when he realized that the upper half of his body was outside the car and he would easily fall to the road if Linda got distracted or loosened her grip. But she

  wasn’t about to do that and kept good hold of Eddie’s sweatshirt with one hand, driving the car with the other.

  “Don’t worry, I’m an experienced street racer,” she soothed him as she made another insane turn to outstrip a huge truck. The Lamborghini was closing in on a truck whose wheels were as high as the car itself. In a moment, they were going to be level with it, with Eddie still halfway out the door.

  The truck driver stuck his head out and looked at the scarlet sports car that was clinging to the rear wheels of his truck. He tried to steer to the right, but Linda stayed on course, not falling behind a single inch.

  Eventually, the Diablo caught up and leveled with the huge truck, with Eddie hanging just a couple feet from its rear wheels.

  Another crafty turn to the right, and Eddie ended up between the mammoth-sized, spinning cylinders.

  The truck driver stuck his head out again. He was pale with shock. The truck maintained its speed and didn’t try to maneuver.

  Linda paused (Eddie felt it was an eternity) and then suddenly turned left, yanking Eddie away from the wheels. Having changed lanes, she pulled Eddie back inside.

  The door smoothly closed. It got quiet.

  Eddie sat there, disheveled and petrified, while Linda calmly looked forward and kept going.

  In ten minutes, they arrived at their destination.

  * * *

  Max’s house was uptown, on the edge of New York City. It was nighttime and the street lights shone softly on the quiet neighborhood. Eddie pointed at one of the houses where they could park. Stinger, who’d followed Linda the whole way, stopped nearby, killed his engine and got out.

  “Wait in the car,” he ordered his minions, and walked toward Linda. She leaned against her Lamborghini and watched Eddie with disgust. Eddie folded himself in half, throwing up on the sidewalk.

  “What did you think?” Stinger snickered. “I doubt even James Bond would have taken it easily! Much less the… assistant.”

  “Okay, let’s go,” Linda said to Eddie between her teeth. “Hey, assistant! That’s it there! You have a lot to do!”

  She turned around and walked toward the entrance. Eddie staggered behind.

  * * *

  A bead of sweat rolled down Max’s forehead and dropped onto the young beauty’s heaving breast.

  She lay on her back, clenching the sheets. “Don’t stop! Don’t stop!”

  Suddenly someone rang the doorbell. The girl flinched, opened her eyes, and stared at Max, who froze with surprise.

  “Who’s that?” she asked.

  “I have no idea,” replied Max.

  Another ring of the doorbell.

  “Who’s that, for God’s sake? It’s midnight!” she yelled, punching the bed.

  “Athena, darling, calm down. I’ll sort it out.”

  Max caressed her shoulder and reluctantly stood up.

  “No way!” Athena picked her silk robe from the floor. “What are they thinking coming at this time? Max, don’t open the door!”

  “I have to, dear. I should check.” He exited the room, zipping up his jeans.

  Athena stayed alone in the bedroom, annoyed, while Max went downstairs and looked at the screen of the house intercom.

  Eddie and some stranger were standing there. Behind them stood a brunette wearing a short black dress and stocking boots. Eddie’s eyes were wandering and he was shuffling his feet.

  This strange crew caused Max conflicting feelings. Who are these people and why are they here? And, more importantly, why is Eddie with them?

  He reached for the door knob but was hesitant to open it.

  “Who are you?” he asked, loudly enough to be heard outside.

  “Good evening,” replied the man calmly. “Do you mind if we come in?”

  “What do you need?” Max asked through the still-closed door.

  The man paused.

  “It’s not about what we need, it’s rather about what you need.” He raised his hand so even the low resolution of the intercom screen showed what Max considered to be his masterpiece as an engineer: the man was wearing the Switch.

  Max flung the door open. “Come in.” Max stepped aside, letting the strangers inside.

  “Get yourself seated.” He pointed at the sofa as they entered the sitting room.

  “Thank you,” said Stinger. “You must be surprised by our late visit. That’s fine. You’ll soon stop being surprised.” He paused. “So, I believe this man needs no introduction.” He motioned his head at Eddie, who was sinking into one of the armchairs. “And this… is Linda,” he said more softly. “Now let’s get to business.” Stinger’s voice became firm. “Your name is Max and we know that you are a very respected scientist and you work on important projects in physics. This is all great, but we’re interested in only one subject of your work—to be more precise, an invention which you’ve been working on for a few years, and on which you’ve been assisted by your… assistant.” Stinger again motioned his head at Eddie.

  Max was beginning to understand what was happening, and his anxiety snowballed. He could only guess what Eddie could have told this man. Any information at all could be fatal for the project.

  There was a series of quiet steps on the stairs. Athena entered the room and halted in surprise as the visitors turned and looked at her.

  “Here’s another important detail of your life,” Stinger said to Max. He looked at Athena and addressed her. “In real life, you’re much more beautiful than on the tennis court, Athena Stone. Did I say your name right? You’re a famous tennis player. I’m really pleased to meet you in person.”

  Stinger gave her a genteel nod of greeting, then walked up to her, took her hand, and touched it with his lips. Athena tried to release her hand, but Stinger held it tight.

  “Sit down, please. Join our conversation. You’ll be one of its major and quite charming participants…” He took Athena by the shoulders and insistently guided her to the other armchair.

  Athena sat down hesitantly and looked at Max, who kept his silence.

  “Now I see what inspired your scientific advances. I mean, who did,” Stinger said to Max. He stood beside Athena, gazing at her.

  Silence ensued.

  Linda chuckled and looked at Stinger. She liked to watch him in such moments. It even got her aroused. She glanced at Max, who seemed agitated, shifting in his seat as if to walk up to Athena.

  “Can we get down to business?” Max sounded annoyed.

  But Stinger ignored his words and kept eating Athena up with his eyes. “Say, Linda, isn’t she to be admired?” He moved his lips to Athena’s ear and whispered so that all could hear him. “You know who I am? Seduction is my name, my heart is set on fire.”

  Athena tried to move away from him but with no success, as Stinger hung over her with his left hand on the armchair and his right curled into a fist.

  “Please stop,” she said.

  Max snapped and rushed to her. But Linda jumped forward like a wild cat and blocked his way.

  “I don’t recommend that, or you may steam him up.” She pointed at Stinger.

  Max paid no attention to her warning and tried to move her out of his way, but Linda instantly chopped him in the throat, and he fell down on his knees in a fit of coughing.

  Athena jumped up but was immediately pressed back down. With no waste of time, Stinger moved his fist to her face. He opened it suddenly and a sharp file appeared in his hand.

  Athena started and froze as Stinger touched her neck with it.

  “Stop, freeze, don’t move, stand still,

 
Observe, perceive and feel…”

  He moved closer to Athena’s face, so close that she could feel him breathing. At the same time, he slowly moved the file down her neck.

  “I walk to you, my sweet,

  I touch you with my glance,

  My stinger’s like a lance,

  The venom is my treat.”

  With these words, he stopped the file. It was against her chest. Stinger pressed it a bit, leaving a small red dot on her fine skin. Athena didn’t dare move or speak a word.

  Max snapped again, but Linda again blocked him.

  “Don’t. He may harm her… and I you.” She held up a small knife.

  “Stop!” Max yelled desperately.

  “We are just starting, sir,” said Stinger with a fiendish grin, which sent a chill down Max’s spine.

  “What do you want?” He tried to collect himself.

  Stinger took his file off Athena’s chest and walked up to Linda and Max with a relaxed smile.

  “Excellent! I love people who mean business.” He sank into the sofa. “I’ll try to be brief so that I don’t waste your time—it’s already late at night and we must have distracted you from something intimate.” He sneered and sent Athena an obscene wink. “Though we have already disturbed your plans for this night anyway. But you can make it up later. Linda, darling, would you give me… you know what. We must get to the main part of our negotiations.”

  Max walked up to Athena, sat on his haunches, and without a word, took her hand. She was pale from fear but still kept her dignity.

  Linda fetched the tablet and gave it to Stinger.

  “So, first we’ll watch a movie.”

  Stinger gave the tablet to Max, who took it askance and, holding it so Athena could also see it, started the video.

  Eddie had screwed him! How much he now regretted giving that moron the Switch... he knew he shouldn’t have done it. The bastard had gotten into more trouble than Max could’ve dreamed of.

  Max shot a glance full of flame at Eddie, who quietly shrank into the armchair and looked down.

  Sure enough, he had found himself in an interesting place, forgotten about the timer, and not only had he materialized in front of these thugs and whores, he had also dematerialized in front of them.