BEST SERVED COLD
CHAPTER 2: PREMONITION
Tracy Gibbens sat at her computer, typing furiously. The faster she got this assignment done, the sooner she'd be able to kick back and relax. Usually her correspondence courses offered no trouble at all. Her mother swore up and down that Tracy was a near-genius; Tracy nearly always whisked straight through whatever assignment the college sent in record time. After all, the night was still young, and Tracy did not want to miss any of it.
"There," she said with satisfaction. With a last click on the Save button, then the Send button, this night's work was complete.
And not a moment too soon, Tracy thought happily. The sound of the apartment's front door unlocking heralded her mother's return from work. With her albinism, Tracy's delicate white skin simply could not bear prolonged exposure to the sun, nor could her baby-blue eyes handle the its blinding radiance; as a result, she slept the day away while her mother was at work. This also kept her from going to a public school during the day; Sarah would absolutely not let Tracy go to school at night in this town. Hence, the correspondence courses that could be completed at night, in the safety of their own little home. When Mum returned from work after nightfall, they sat down and ate dinner (for Tracy's mom), and breakfast (for Tracy) together.
Tracy hastily shut down the computer and bolted from her darkened bedroom. Sweeping down the hall and swinging around the corner, Tracy narrowly avoided colliding with her mother as Sarah stepped into the living room.
"Hi Mum! How was work today?" Tracy asked as she wrapped Sarah in a fierce hug. Sarah shivered violently as her blood ran cold for a second, then she calmed.
"Hello, sweetie. Work was just fine; Mr. McKannen says 'Merry Christmas'." Sarah tried her best to put on a normal, happy front for her daughter, but the urgency of the evidence she carried pressed on the back of her mind, and it showed.
I've got to get us out of here, she thought worriedly, but how? Where can we go? An idea formed then, almost blinding in it's intensity. Wait a minute! I got it! We could go down and stay by the waterfront with Kathy! The thought of spending time with her old college roommate suddenly warmed Sarah all the way up from her toes, thawing out a place in her heart that had been frozen with fear all afternoon. Back in college, Sarah Gibbens and Katherine Wister had been virtually inseparable. There was absolutely nothing they'd kept from each other. Not even the fact that Katherine was a mutant herself. Surely, if there was anyone who could help Sarah, it'd be Kathy!
"What's wrong, Mum?" Tracy asked, sensing hesitation.
"Nothing's wrong, sweetheart. Listen, I want you to start packing some clothes for a few days. We're going down to the waterfront to see Aunt Kathy." Sarah put on her biggest, brightest smile as Tracy squeaked with delight and began bouncing up and down.
"Aunt Kathy" had never before failed to spoil Tracy rotten with free boat rides and 'R'-rated movies. Going there was just as good, if not better, than going to the theater (Tracy's other favorite place). Without another word, Tracy bounded back down the short hallway to grab a bag and begin stuffing it with clothes. Sarah smiled to see Tracy so full of joy, but the smile faded slightly when she remembered the reason they were going, and the danger that would likely follow them.
Just two hours later, with bags packed and ready, Sarah and Tracy drove out into the eternal battlefield of Manhattan traffic. The trip to Katherine's waterfront flat took nearly three hours for all that it was just across the island. Tracy stared out the window dreamily, anticipating all kinds of fun at their arrival. Sarah kept glancing at the rear-view mirror, sweating a few times when one car or another followed them for a couple of blocks. However, her fears were unfounded, and when they entered the waterfront district, traffic all but vanished.
Katherine Wister's home was a modest, but comfortable little house on the banks of the Hudson River, with it's own dock, to accommodate Kathy's boat. Her sport fishing business was modest, but paid for the mortgage and a comfortable living. Being on the waterfront also gave Kathy the opportunity to exercise her power: Sarah had never seen her bested underwater. To all outward appearances a perfectly normal woman, Kathy could out-swim a dolphin, and breathe underwater, as well. Adding to the 'dolphin-woman' image was Kathy's ability to echolocate, using natural sonar to 'see' underwater. Contact with water increased Kathy's physical strength as well, enabling her to bend solid iron bars while underwater.
Sarah hadn't seen Kathy for months, but that hardly mattered; she was nearly family. As Sarah and Tracy drove down the lane, Kathy's house appeared to be completely darkened. Please be home, please be home, please be home, Sarah thought to herself, a silent mantra to keep her from screaming in the mounting tension; she desperately wished that she'd had the foresight to simplly call Kathy ahead just coming over, but the urgency to go had overridden her common sense. She nearly cried with relief when they pulled into the driveway and spotted the living room light in the front windows.
The instant that Sarah put the car into 'park' and killed the engine, Tracy was out the door and moving. She ran up to the front door calling, "Aunt Kathy! Aunt Kathy, it's us!" With all the excitement running though her, Tracy could feel the vibrations of someone moving inside the house, coming towards the front door. Sarah had just starting walking up the front path when Kathy opened the door. Her eyes widened in surprise, but before she could open her mouth to say anything, Tracy happily threw her arms around Kathy's middle, squeezing her in a happy hug.
"Whoa, hi there! Long-time-no-see! Didn't expect you 'round this neighborhood!" Kathy's smile nearly took in her ears, but her voice was underscored with obvious surprise and concern. Her eyes bugged out slightly and she made a little sound in her throat when Tracy squeezed her a second time. "Hey! You're gonna break my ribs like that!" Kathy shivered as an unexpectedly savage chill ran through her. Then she wrapped her own arms around Tracy and lifted her off her feet, playfully swinging her around in a circle.
Sarah watched as she approached, with dread weighing down every step. She really didn't want to bring trouble into this woman's life, the woman she'd spent her wild years running around with, closer to her than any sister. But Sarah had no other choice. Kathy was a mutant; she had to know about this. She'd know whom to contact.
"Hi, Katie," Sarah said softly as she stepped up onto the porch. She eyed her friend nervously as Kathy set Tracy down. Kathy met Sarah's quiet gaze with a look of barely contained curiosity.
Kathy hadn't changed much over the years; the same fiery red hair swept back into a no-nonsense ponytail, challenging green eyes, countless freckles, and slender but solid swimmer's build. All the physical labor she'd done in the past had helped her keep the same figure she'd had in college from swimming team.
By contrast, Kathy noticed that something was obviously upsetting Sarah; gone now was her usual appearance of cool professionalism and control. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead, a few stray wisps of hair, freed from Sarah's bun, had fallen across her eyes, she fidgeted with her fingers, and her normally steady brown eyes glanced around nervously—things that never before had happened in all the time that Kathy had known her. And then, just now, Sarah had called her Katie, something she only did during intimate little moments, or when she was genuinely frightened. Something had rattled her, and rattled her hard.
"C'mere, you," Kathy said, and pulled Sarah into a hug of her own. Kathy smelled faintly of cloves, and the sea. It took every last scrap of determination and willpower that Sarah had to keep from sobbing onto Kathy's shoulder in front of her daughter. After a moment, Kathy pulled back and asked, "What's going on? No—wait, come inside first. I'll make coffee or something." Kathy helped Sarah and Tracy carry their things inside. Ten minutes later, Kathy and Sarah began hashing out the problem while Tracy played in the backyard with Kathy's dog, Gunny.
"I'm in deep water this time, Katie. I don't know if I'm going to make it through this or not." Sarah felt cold again, through and through. She barely noticed the warmth of the coffee mug she clutched with white knuckles. Kathy listened soberly from an old recliner, holding her own mug. She leaned forward and gave Sarah a gentle 'get-on-with-it' hand wave. Sarah took a deep breath and began to pour out her story.
"A few days ago, a man from the FBI came to our apartment, asking questions about my work. Asked if I was satisfied working for the new boss. I told him that I'd preferred working for his father, for more reasons than one. He told me that the Bureau had been watching Douglas McKannen for a while, because his name popped up more than a few times during the Mutant Riots. So far, they don't have anything that they can press charges on." Sarah paused.
"They wanted you to find something for them." Kathy made it a statement. Sarah closed her eyes, wishing that she'd refused.
"Yes," she whispered.
"From the look of things, I'm betting you found something, all right. Bit off more than you could chew, huh?" Kathy tried to lighten the mood, but the humor fell flat.
"You don't know the half of it." Sarah said in ominous tones. She went on to outline the files she'd seen about Project Helot. After the first thirty seconds, Kathy was outraged. After the next two minutes, she went white beneath her freckles, horrified.
"Oh…my…GAWD! HOLY SHIT! We gotta DO somethin' about this! When are you meetin' this spook? D'you still have the disk?" Fear, anger and excitement caused Kathy's accent to thicken. Sarah might have been amused, but for the circumstances.
"Tomorrow," she replied, "In front of Carnegie Hall. And yes, I have it right here."
"That's a little bit public, ain't it? Out in the open, like that? What if McKannen finds out?"
"It'll be alright." I hope. "If anything happens, I can just scream that there's a fire in Carnegie Hall. That should get someone's attention." Sarah's tone projected far more confidence than she felt right now.
"But what if you can't get away? You were right, you know. This is seriously deep. This is way past you, or even me. If they were just after me, I'd go for an extended little swim in the bay. But what are you gonna do?" Now came the really hard part.
"I can't leave Tracy at the apartment. If McKannen does find out, they'd look there first. I was hoping you could keep an eye on her. I'll be safe enough with the FBI." Sarah's expression twisted in desperation. "Please, Katie, you have to help me."
"Of course I'll help you! But I don't think that I'm gonna be able to do this by myself. I got friends in the mutant community that'll help, once I tell 'em about this!" Kathy fairly glowed with determination. "I don't suppose you've heard of the Xavier Institute, have you?" Sarah's heart began to unfreeze. The iron hand around her lungs loosened. Anyone with any connection to the mutant community had heard of that place.
"Well, yes I've heard of it. Didn't really think about it until-" Sarah cut herself off, but she could stop from glancing out the window to the backyard, where Tracy still played with Gunny. Kathy's sea-green eyes grew wide.
"You don't mean—?"
"I don't know. All I have right now are suspicions. Albinism was a fairly common mutation, even before people started flying through the air—" Sarah shot Kathy a look, "—or breathing underwater."
"Hey now!"
"I mean it. I haven't mentioned this to anyone, Kathy. I don't even think that Tracy notices either." Sarah continued to stare out the window.
"Notices what?" Kathy asked prompted.
"Kathy, I haven't had to use the air conditioner all summer. Know why? Because wherever Tracy goes, the temperature drops. Her skin is cold too; I can't remember the last time I hugged her and didn't notice. It's like hugging a block of ice. If she didn't have a pulse and a reflection, I'd swear she was a vampire!" That got Kathy's attention. Her expression was equal parts excitement, shock, fear, and disbelief. Slowly, her face relaxed and became pensive.
"You know, you're right, actually. When she hugged me earlier, it was like she sucked the warmth right outta me. And I've been sitting inside all night." She put her hand to her head, then made a throwing-away gesture, as though she could just pull the thought out of her mind and discard it. "At any rate, the people at the Xavier Institute will be able to tell. They'll be able to help her too, if she is a mutant."
"Right. There's another thing I have to ask." Kathy's head tilted, ever so slightly. A question. Sarah pulled out the disk she'd tucked away, and laid it out on the coffee table next to the one the Feds had given her. Kathy gave a low whistle that reminded Sarah fiercely of a dolphin.
"Whoa, a copy? You go girl! Lemme guess: you want me to hide this, right?" Sarah chuckled at the enthusiasm in Kathy's voice. She sounded just like the cat who'd stolen the cream. (Or the dolphin who got the fish,) Sarah thought suddenly.
"Yes. I'm taking the original to the Feds. I want you to keep this one hidden for me. If anything happens, turn it in to the police, and then to the press if you can. Get as much publicity as you can. Don't let McKannen sweep it under the rug. Once this stuff gets out, get Tracy on the boat and go on a long ride on the bay." Something in her tone set off several alarms in Kathy's head.
"Hold on a second. You sound like you've got this all planned out already. Like you're not comin' back." Kathy felt her cheeks getting hot. "Don't talk like it's all over already! Don't ever, ever do that!" Sarah met her look squarely, like her old self, for just an instant. She stood and began to pace around the living room.
"I'm just trying to be realistic about this, Kathy. This is not a game. This is for real. People like me and you—especially like you—do not matter to Douglas McKannen. Right now, he has all the advantages. It'd be stupid, suicidal, to underestimate him." Kathy growled but did not reply. "Promise me you'll do this, Kathy. Promise me, right now."
"I swear, Sarah. I swear to Poseiden, I'll do it."